Tiger Times April 20, 2012

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texas high school • 4001 summerhill rd • texarkana, tx 75503 • www.tigertimesonline.com

Kony 2012

volume 51 no. 5 • apr. 20, 2012

Read more stories online

photo illustration by a. mccoy

news

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Mark your

calendar

Art show

The art department will host an art show April 28 through May 4 in the lobby of the Sullivan Performing Arts Center and the library. The theme is Experience Art. Works will range from ceramics, mixed media, oil, acrylic, to charcoal, with pieces from all art classes represented.

Spring Show The drill team will host their annual spring show, “Let’s Get Loud,” at 7 p.m. May 11-12 in the theater.

Tickets will be available from drill team members about two weeks prior to the show for $5.

Awards

The academic awards ceremony will be from 6-7 p.m. May 3 in the John Thomas Theatre. The senior awards ceremony will be from 6-8 p.m. May 17 in the theater.

NHS National Honor Society will host their induction ceremony at 2 p.m.

April 29 in the John Thomas Theatre.

About 118 students will be inducted, and 128 seniors will receive collars.

Yearbooks Students who haven’t bought their yearbooks may want to do so before they arrive in May. Currently, books cost $60; after they arrive, they will be $65.

Order forms are available in the cafeteria during lunch and in Room 50.

tiger times april 20, 2012

UIL team to compete at region taylor potter staff writer After competing in the district meet in March, many of the UIL academic competitors will advance to the regional meet on Saturday in Denton. At the district meet, the team took home second place, as well as individual and team awards.

Individual and team awards were as follows: Accounting: Hunter Bobo, sixth place.

Second place team: Hunter Bobo, Alex McBay, Shakayla Scott.

Current Issues: Bryan Berry, second place; Clayten Simpson, fifth place. Second place team: Bryan Berry, Clayten Simpson, Dylan Buchanan.

Editorial Writing: Emily Hoover, first place; Taylor Potter, third place; Sydney Schoen, fifth place.

Feature Writing: Taylor Potter, first

place; Sydney Schoen, second place; Carlye Hudspeth, sixth place.

Headline Writing: Morgan Williams, third place; Emily Hoover, fourth place.

Informative Speaking: JB Wells, third place.

Journalism: First place team: Emily Hoover, Carlye Hudspeth, Taylor Potter, Sydney Schoen, Morgan Williams.

Literary Criticism: Emily Hoover, first place; Victor Wedding, fifth place. Second place team: Emily Hoover, Victor Wedding, Alex Walker, Heather Lanier.

News Writing: Taylor Potter, first place; Carlye Hudspeth, second place; Sydney Schoen, third place.

Persuasive Speaking: Paige Oliver, sixth place.

Poetry Interpretation: Tara Clem, fourth place.

Social Studies: Abigail O’Gorman, first place; Victor Wedding, sixth place. Second

place team: Abigail O’Gorman, Victor Wedding, Meagan Hunt, Heather Lanier.

Spelling and Vocabulary: Macy Shirley, fifth place.

The one-act play cast performed “Dearly Departed” April 2 in Denison. Peter Garrett received All-Star Cast; Adam Graves received Honorable Mention All-Star Cast; and Kato Brown received the Technical Crew Award.

The following students will be advancing to the regional meet: Bryan Berry in current issues; Emily Hoover in editorial writing and literary criticism; Taylor Potter in editorial writing, feature writing and news writing; Sydney Schoen in feature writing and news writing; Morgan Williams in headline writing; Carlye Hudspeth in news writing; JB Wells in informative speaking; Abigail O’Gorman in social studies; Alex Walker in literary criticism; Victor Wedding in literary criticism; and Heather Lanier in literary criticism.

Newspaper wins CSPA Silver Crowns shayla james staff writer The print newspaper and online newspaper received Silver Crown Awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association at Columbia University March 17. Twentyfour students went to New York City to accept the awards.

“It was interesting to see how many schools were actually there,” junior Casey Hitchcock said. “I knew there would be a lot of people, but not from so many areas. I was really proud of the awards we got.”

Crown awards are the highest recognition given by the CSPA and are selected by a panel of judges who specialize in the field of journalism.

“We are honored to have the online newspaper to put more pictures on,” senior Hannah Patterson said. “We’ve been enjoying the print newspaper,

and having the online also is great. To have won these awards is very special to us.”

The judges base their evaluations on all aspects of value to the reader or viewer, including presentation, coverage, photography, writing and editing.

“We received crown awards for both the online and the print newspaper,” senior Emily Hoover said. “We work really hard to make sure that both have interesting and original content. This year we expanded the online newspaper, to where a lot of stories and packages were written specifically for it. The online newspaper has been our main challenge this school year.”

Those who attended the awards ceremony were as follows: Carley Amox, Ruth Arnold, Katie Black, Rachel Burgess, Elizabeth Cook, Allison Fahrni, Ann Marie Hilborn, Casey Hitchcock, Emily Hoover, Amy

Receiving the Silver Crown awards for print and online newspaper at Columbia University on March 16 are junior Autumn Sehy, senior Emily Hoover, junior Davis Payne, senior Elizabeth Cook, CSPA chairman of the judging committee Bruce Watterson, senior Daniel Pellegrin and Allison Fahrni, juniors Brianna Sellers and Casey Hitchcock.

McCoy, Claire Norton, Paige Oliver, Sierra Orr, Hannah Patterson, Davis Payne, Daniel Pellegrin, Caroline Prieskorn, Haley Rushing, Madeleine Russell, Autumn Sehy, Brianna Sellers, Macy Shirley, Alexis Williams, Hailey Woods.

“The trip to New York to accept the award was really amazing for me,” senior Elizabeth Cook said. “Being a three-year member of the staff and an editor, getting to actually receive the award we worked so hard for was really rewarding.”

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tiger times april 20, 2012

Teacher of the year Skinner proud to receive honor from peers shelby kelley staff writer No two teachers are exactly alike. Each has different strengths, and even some weaknesses. However, the teachers at Texas High share one thing in common–the drive to help.

Every year, the faculty selects a teacher who has exhibited an extraordinary ability to help students become successful. Algebra teacher Lindsay Skinner was recognized as the Teacher of the Year last month.

“I was completely shocked when the administrators walked in my room with the orange chair,” Skinner said. “I didn’t really think I would win since I’ve only been here for three years and my competition was so wonderful.”

Skinner has been teaching for five years.

“I started out teaching sixth grade math at TMS, then moved to DeKalb High School to teach Algebra 1 but couldn’t stay away from TISD,” Skinner said.

Skinner finds joy in just being there for the students.

“I love getting to know all my students and being able to help them through each aspect of their year,” she said.

Principal Brad Bailey said Skinner has a positive influence on her students.

“We are very proud of Mrs. Skinner for being selected as Teacher of the Year for Texas High School,” Bailey said. “She is a dedicated teacher who works to instill high character and love of learning in all of her students.”

Those who have had her as a teacher agree.

“Mrs. Skinner always does her best to make sure that every student in her class is successful,” junior Macy Shirley said. “She always gave us the opportunity to get help every day. She tried to make math fun, but we still got our work done and were pre-

With prom just around the corner, make sure you are doing these things to get prepared.

Ask a date.

It’s not too late to find a date for prom.

Don’t be dumb.

Be sure to attend Project Celebration following prom. It will last from 1-4 a.m. in Tiger Center.

Don’t miss this.

Project Celebration will have huge inflatable bounce houses, laser tag, a mechanical bull, ping-pong tournament, bingo, a casino, auctions and lots of food.

What’s it gonna cost?

Tickets are $45 until Friday, after which they will be $55 until May 1. Pictures will be $15 and up depending on the package. There will also be a senior pictures for sale.

Random drawings.

Every 15 minutes door prizes will be given away, but you must be in attendance to win them.

Winning.

Algebra teacher Lindsay Skinner sits in the official Teacher of the Year chair after being awarded the honor last month. photo by h. patterson

pared to go on to the higher level of mathematics.”

Skinner will go on to compete for the district Secondary Teacher of the Year award next month.

“I believe that a teacher’s job is to do whatever it takes to help each student be successful at whatever they set their mind to,” Skinner said. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

You can win all sorts of prizes at project celebration including: laptops, iPads, navigational systems, gaming systems, outdoor sports items, luggage and gift certificates.

In the casino you will earn tiger bucks to use in the auction.

“Enchanted Evening” 8 p.m. May 5 Truman Arnold Center

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tiger times april 20, 2012

T-BOTS recognized at regional competition

StuCo set to hold elections

daniel pellegrin staff writer The Texas High T-Bots team is a high maintenance organization, one that involves hours of time, devotion, teamwork, and metal...especially metal.

The T-BOTS team competed in the FIRST Robotics Competition Dallas Regional March 30-31, earning several honors for student leadership, academic excellence and sportsmanship.

The competition was a series of challenges, like the “Rebound Rumble” which doesn’t allow a driver to control the robots as they shoot basketballs at different height hoops, the higher the hoop the more points are awarded, the entire match lasts 2 minutes and 15 seconds.

“We are given a manual listing what we can and can’t use in our build, which starts the competition and its all up to us to get it done,” junior Cassandra Langworthy said.

“The building takes six weeks, but we have to practice building during the summer and there is a lot of experiences that you need to participate.”

The T-BOTS were also awarded the Judges’ Award during the competition.

“The judges award means that the judge liked our robot the most out of the rest of the competitors,” Langworthy said. “We made it to the Top 8, but we were eventually eliminated from the competition.”

Junior Krista Petty was also one of the two students selected as a FIRST Dean’s List Finalist for her exemplary passion and effectiveness in achieving FIRST’s mission.

Members of the T-BOTS team competed in the FIRST Robotics Competition Dallas Regional last month, earning honors for leadership, academic excellence and sportsmanship. submitted photo

“We are all very proud of Krista for making the Dean’s list,” junior Logan Porter said. “We are really hard working and the team is completely students led. We do all of the planning and work by ourselves.”

Sponsor Mark Patrick said the award was the robotics version of being a National Merit Scholarship finalist.

“All of us coaches were so thrilled to see Krista win this award for her passion, dependability, and dedication to excellence,” Patrick said. “She deserves this recognition and so much more.”

Prior to the competition weekend, the T-BOTS were honored by being selected as the only team to present during the FIRST VIP Luncheon which included executives from JCPenny, Texas Workforce Commission, Greater Training, DeVry University, Mouser Electronics and Time Warner Cable. Porter who spoke to the group about her experiences within the STEM program and how the FIRST program is changing the lives of students and the

future of engineering.

Staff sponsors are Brandon Burnett, Trent Hanna, Patrick, Seth Schirmer and Nathan Upchurch.

“I am so proud of our students,” Patrick said. “With their talents, skills, dedication, and student leadership, the T-BOTS students have taken this program to new heights every year. They always represent Texas High, Texarkana ISD, and all of Texarkana with excellence and pride.”

The team consists of Alex Walker, Brian Lee, Caleb Strutton, Celoste Dart, Christian Pennington, Clay Miller, Cortlandt Bursey-Reece, Desiree Smith, Josh Whitehorn, Kasandra Langworthy, Kendall Link, Kenneth Harris, Kritsta Petty, Logan Porter, Matthew Crawford, Robert Tidwell, and Ryan Peavy.

“The team is like a family, we stay after school, sometimes all night, to work on our project,” Langworthy said. “I met a lot of cool people this year and got much closer to my team.”

Student Council will hold elections for class officers and student body positions early next month.

Student body president Cari Cunningham said those who are interested in pursuing an office should know what to expect.

“Someone running for an office should expect the best, but prepare for the worst,” Cari said. “A good leader is outgoing, honest, organized, unbiased and dependable.”

Cunningham recommends running for office.

“Some of my best high school memories have come from being a StuCo officer,” Cunningham said.

“I’ve gotten to go to so many events, met so many amazing people, and gotten to do so many things because of my role. And even if someone doesn’t win their campaign, they can still be active in StuCo and Leadership. Why not try it out?”

Cunningham offers the following advice.

“Anyone thinking about running should go out and talk to the entire student body during their campaign,” she said. “Officers not only represent their friends, but the entire student body. A good way to get your name out is to make posters.”

Those who wish to run for office will need to fill out an application, which will be available from sponsor Susan Waldrep in May. Officers are expected to attend all StuCo meetings and planned events.

For a complete list of Student Council class officer duties, see the complete story at www.tigertimesonline.com. -staff reports

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tiger times april 20 2012

staff editorials

Record boards should be maintained Speak Out In many schools, record boards stand as a pinnacle bragging point. A symbol of pride and accomplishment. It shows the history of a school’s success in athletic endeavors, and the talented athletes that have been a part of its athletic programs.

However, if this board remained grossly outdated, it has quite the opposite effect on schools. It makes the school seem embarrassed of its students. It makes the staff look lackadaisical, too uncaring to do something about it. None of these things seem flattering and quite contrary to what athletic directors, principals, and coaches would say about their athletes.

If this is so, then the question remains.

Why hasn’t the track record board in the tiger center been changed since 1996?

Let’s put this into a more relatable scope. 1996 is the birth year of arguably half of the students, that is, a majority of sophomores and the freshman class (but let’s not forget the ones that are even younger.) In this 16 year time period, 11 out of 18 have been broken on the girls’ side, some of which have been as recent as last year. The same, if not more, goes

for the boys’ side as well.

The coaches and faculty are known to be absolutely dedicated to their student athletes, always providing top-notch equipment, a trainer for athletes to go to when injured, after school tutorials to help those struggling in classes, and even paying for dinner out of their own pocket to reward athletes after winning a meet. To leave the track record board unchanged just does not represent the character of these coaches.

While it may remain insignificant to the large percentage of the student population, this board is a goal marker to all those who participate in track. In the mornings, everyone in track sees the board. Most have it memorized. It sparks inspiration. That inspired moment leads to dedication and the conquering of the times on that board.

To leave it unchanged does justice to no one. It doesn’t give credit to the talented athletes that put long, hard hours into practicing. It doesn’t show the care and support of the faculty. It doesn’t give younger athletes better goals to strive for.

It just doesn’t put the school’s best foot forward. If pesky athletes looking for a little recognition weren’t around, would it ever be changed?

These grievances have been reported to not only the track coaches but also to athletic director Barry Norton and principal Brad Bailey who have answered promptly and reassuringly that the board would be changed soon. While this is exactly what is to be hoped for, in the future, it shouldn’t take 16 years to change names and times on an orange sign.

The bottom line is, all athletes should be equally acknowledged, no matter what the sport. After all, these students are representing our school. You would think that Texas High would do more than just pat them on the back. The record board stands then as a symbol. If something can simply slip by callously unchanged for 16 years, what’s to say that the same negligence wouldn’t transfer over to another sport or extracurricular activity? It’s high time for a little tiger pride to shine through for the students, and it all starts with this board.

Internet content filter censors too much Few students at this school can remember the days when the school’s Internet was almost completely unrestricted. Students had the freedom to visit whatever website they wanted and met little resistance from the filtering system.

Eventually, students began to take advantage of the school’s trust and began to visit some controversial websites. In response to the students’ behavior, the school installed Internet blocks on a variety of websites, some of which were absolutely harmless and created no disruption to the school environment.

Fast forward a few months. Students are desperate to use their old websites for research and entertainment. This desire spawned an interest in proxy sites that could be used to bypass the system.

Students had a few months of freedom, but the school was quick to cut the sites offline.

tiger times Texas High School 4001 Summerhill Rd. Texarkana TX, 75503 ( 903 ) 794 - 3891 F ( 903 ) 792 - 8971 The Tiger Times is a student-run publication. The contents and views are produced solely by the staff and do not represent the opinions of the faculty, administration or TISD board of trustees.

Then there was peace. Students simply found other websites that would fulfill their thirst for information and fun. But, of course, there were also students who discovered alternative ways to explore some more controversial material. Those over the TISD Internet system decided that a new website-censorship system was necessary to keep students’ noses out of websites that show topics that may not be school-appropriate.

Recently, students have been tormented by the “blue screen” that continues to ruin their chances of finding new information or ways to stay awake during down time in a technology class. While some sort of filtering system is probably necessary, this system is far too strict.

Websites that in no way harm the educational process, and even some that aid learning, are being hidden from students’ eyes. Websites that are being censored include student publications from other editors in chief Emily Hoover Carlye Hudspeth managing editors Elizabeth Cook Ashley Diggs advertising manager Natalie Banks news editor John David Goins

viewpoint editor Brianna Sellers feature editor Wynne Tidwell sports editor Autumn Sehy entertainment editors Mary Claire Boudreaux Davis Payne photo editor Hannah Patterson

schools, e-mail accounts and even harmless websites that aid student study habits. These websites that were designed to help students are instead sitting behind a blue screen and are helping no one.

Those over the Internet system believe the system is in place to keep students safe. While the filtering system may prevent students from happening upon illicit material, it also hinders a student’s ability to find quality information that could be used for school work. A possible solution to this problem could be to set up a way for students to request a website to be unblocked. No such process has been set up on the new filtering page.

Those in charge of the district’s Internet should realize that the censorship is far too heavy. They should lessen the security of the Internet so students can spend more time learning and partaking in the sites that do encourage learning, rather than staring at a blue screen. staff writers Zachary Baker Angela Derrick Christina Harris Jacob Hill Casey Hitchcock Shayla James Shelby Kelley Josh Klein Dawson McGonagill Abigail O’Gorman Daniel Pellegrin Mackenzie Phillips Taylor Potter

Do you think the Internet filter is too restrictive when doing research?

“I find it a highly inefficient method of censorship, that restricts our abilities to do research and look up topics that otherwise would increase our education.”

Seth Purcell, 12

“There was a girl in the library who was trying to search for swallows and it was blocked; I just thought that it was stupid because they are making it worse than it actually is. I mean it isn’t even that bad.”

Paige Oliver, 11 “It’s totally necessary for some kids, I mean it isn’t for a lot of us, but for those kids it is completely necessary.”

Lexi Watkins, 9 “I believe they are a bit strict because they block helpful websites and it makes research more difficult.”

Alex Frederick, 10 “I was trying to look up a bible verse, Phillippians 4:6, and it was blocked. I looked it up in Google, and every website I came across was blocked with the TXKISD logo.”

Logan Porter, 11

compiled by Josh Klein

Riley Rogers Isabella Saporito Sydney Schoen Madison Sewell Hannah Wren

Claire Norton Caroline Prieskorn Haley Rushing Brianna Sellers Hailey Woods

photographers Ruth Arnold Katie Black Taylor Coleman Allison Fahrni Alex Garner Casey Hitchcock Amy McCoy

advisers Rebecca Potter Clint Smith principal Brad Bailey members ILPC, NSPA, CSPA

The Tiger Times is the official student publication of Texas High School.

The primary purpose of the Tiger Times is to inform the students of the school, while practicing the ethical canons of journalism. Letters to the editor may be dropped off in Room 50. Each letter must be signed and include the student’s grade. Letters are subject to editing.

6 riley rogers & daniel pellegrin staff writers

CON

viewpoint

OPPOSING SIDES

of the Kony issue

In April 1994, while many of us were still just opening our eyes for the first time, Rwandan citizens saw the mass genocide of over 800,000 people, perpetrated by their own citizen militia. The UN sent peacekeepers for the purpose of guarding citizens and carrying supplies in a futile attempt to bring the country back to order. But while all the world watched in horror as the mass killing went on for more than a week in Rwanda, America took no action, and allowed other nations to double the issues faced and spread it into the Congo.

We remained strictly far away from the conflict in the U.S; while public zeal for the Rwandan crisis was originally high, it would plummet once the lifeless bodies of our troops began arriving. The long, hard process of removing our troops from the conflict zone would take months or even years. The cost of the occupation of yet another country (the United States already had troops in Japan, Germany, South Korea, Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, and several others, which spread our army to the limit) would not have pleased a population already beginning to protest the strain.

The U.S. is no stranger to involvement in other countries’ issues. The U.S. claims political world dominance over other countries, but we have little to back up this ridiculous claim. It is true that history repeats itself, so it only seems fitting to look to the past for our answers to debates of the present. The United States has shown little but overconfidence and underachievement in foreign affairs. With the nation’s scars from the memories and tragedies of Vietnam, Korea, and in the Middle East, just to name a few, the nation should be adamant about staying away from the Kony crisis-not advocating it.

Forget for a moment the moral and emotional ties to Kony 2012. It is just too easy to get sucked into the emotional side of this conflict. Yes, there are children kidnapped into an army of murders and younger girls forced to be sex slaves, but would the public feel differently if it were adults being forced into the army, not children? It’s all perspective. These Kony 2012 advocates use one sided propaganda to their advantage.

They tug at the heartstrings of the American public by showing these defenseless children, but they fail to show the harsh realities of involvement in war. The Kony 2012 campaign shows the U.S. government in a bad light because of their unresponsiveness pertaining to Kony, but they fail to tell or consider the reasons why the U.S. has not sent troops.

War cannot be based on emotion. War is an immense strain on the national economy and the nation’s fragile structure. It is a big investment and should not be taken lightly. Despite our patriotic sentiments, not every war can be won. What many people do not realize or consider is that defeating a rebel army is next to impossible.

Looking back in history one can find several examples: the American Revolution, the Korean War, Vietnam. The American public may underestimate the true power of an near invisible enemy and they won’t fully grasp the idea of an unwinnable war until its too late.

The areas affected by Kony’s regimen do not directly affect the US, the war would only bring devastation to a country we have no reason to go to war with, bringing both more enemies and more countries dependent on America for recovery. The U.S. seems to have the notion that it is expected to police the world, since we have been portrayed that the “hero” of World War II. This is just another misconception, because the U.S. did not enter the war until they were directly affected at Pearl Harbor, we by no means entered as a valiant messiah to save the broken people of Europe.

Before anyone can take a educated stance about any controversial issue, including the Kony 2012 campaign, they should consider past historical events. From past experiences with controversial issues like genocide and communism, the U.S. has had a stout precedent that we should not fight a war against an ideal. Kony 2012 is a moral crisis that should be left up to the peace-keepers of the UN.

tiger times april 20, 2012 brianna sellers viewpoint editor

PRO

If you haven’t heard the commotion going around about KONY2012, you must be a hobbit. For days, I saw the re-tweeting of the “KONY2012” video along with the side note of “Omg, you have to watch this.” However, the detrimental posts of the “negative Nancys” followed, which wasn’t shocking, but irritating, considering they knew nothing about the cause.

A big pet peeve of mine has always been people who are quick to argue without a point. With that in mind, considering that I am a huge supporter of Invisible Children (the organization fighting to rid Kony and his powers), it literally infuriated me when I logged on to see countless posts of people criticizing and deriding the Kony cause without even researching the issue.

It would be one thing if people knew what they were even arguing about instead of ranting on about how we shouldn’t intervene in Uganda, or, better yet, anywhere in Africa, but that isn’t the case--at all.

Thousands, no, millions of children are being forced into an army to go around, murdering other children, mothers, fathers, and other random adults. He turns young girls into sex slaves and abducts kids and turns them into night commuters. This is solely for one purpose--power. For those who still do not know, Joseph Kony is the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) who is in charge of this inhumane regime.

Here’s the thing, the LRA has been moving for more than 26 years.

Twenty-six years of nonstop murder, families fleeting from town to town to escape and find hope. Tell me again that America shouldn’t do anything about this.

So here’s the deal: Invisible Children was founded by Jason Russell in 2004 to stop this crucial mass murder, also providing multiple ways for everyone to become involved including Schools for Schools- Schools can raise money for Invisible Children to use towards stopping Joseph Kony and can also interact with other schools.

The goal: Make. Kony. Famous. Make him viral. Make him known. Invisible Children did this and succeeded by producing videos that spread all over the internet. After this years production of KONY2012, everyone and their mother knew who Kony was.

However, since the outbreak of the Invisible Children, and even more recently after the KONY2012 video was released, the charity was slammed with numerous attacks debating whether the mission was appropriate without truly evaluating the cause.

The first argument I heard was only 33 percent of the profits go to Uganda, which may be true, but you have to take other investments into accountability. Invisible Children is strictly a non-profit organization; volunteers receive a pat on the shoulder.

After researching the finances of the Invisible Children, I found that it spends upward 80 percent of the budget on its programs and services which actually surpasses other charities we continue to support every day such as TOMS. Thirty-seven percent of the profits go to Central Africa Programs. However, some of us assume that this is all they spend on the cause. Negative. They must spend a percentage on awareness programs, the web site, radio towers for the Ugandan community, transportation to and from Africa, and fund-raising.

Another is that the United States should not intervene because we are not the world’s police force. Fact–we aren’t, and supporters agree, but this is why we want the international justice court to take him to the Hague. This is more than just a few murders to rub some dirt on, this is genocide. Crimes against inhumanity are a complete different story.

It’s not even about emotion anymore, it’s ruthlessness and inhumane, and if someone is trying to stop someone from doing such horrid things, I support that 100 percent, world’s police force or not. I don’t understand how our country could sit back and relax while another Holocaust is forming in Africa.

2012 will be the year this crazy madness end, and that is what “Cover the Night” is about. In fact, I am organizing a team of people to cover Texarkana with “Cover the Night” banners to show my support for Invisible children and to finally put an end to Kony’s African genocide. Whatever it takes, we will stop at nothing.

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viewpoint

tiger times april 20, 2012

Abort the madness

Pro-Life groups contribute support for maniacal purposes That awful pause and sudden silence.

Everyone’s thoughts turn to counter arguments or how annoying this conversation is going to get.

There is always that one student who seems to be placed on the planet just to bring up abortion at the worst possible discussion point. The scene goes onto its usual end in one of two ways: either everyone agrees and continues with their day, or two or more people begin to duke it out for half an hour, obliterating any ideas of keeping facts straight or having a civil discussion.

Anyone who has been in the area during one of these instances knows just how it is one of the most awkward, disruptive, and least productive events one can come to witness.

Next to “that one racial slur, often found in hip-hop,” no other word is near as controversial. No other topic could even come close to stirring up such deep-seated passion among individuals, and these are not emotions of affection, which usually follows the conversation of conception, but ones of anger and rage. In fact, there’s no issue in this country anywhere near as combustible.

Abortion viewpoints cut barriers, divide homes, seperate regions, transcend countries, and bring about massive displays of action between sides. With the amount of discontent resting on both sides it seems that any display of one’s views are acceptable, including (and sometimes especially) the violent ones.

No one on the pro-choice side seems to care when anti-protesting laws are passed, choosing to believe that all losses of free speech will benefit their cause; no one on the pro-life side seems to care if an abortion doctor is murdered, no matter how ironic it is to be pro-life and support the killing of doctors. Both sides are driven with such a righteous zeal for their opinion they don’t care what the cost is, as long as the other side is left disadvantaged, demoralized, in prison, or dead.

Abortion opinions, for many, decide who their friends are, what political party they join, who they give their money to,

in my opinion

daniel pellegrin/staff writer

“No other topic could even come close to stirring up such deep-seated passion among individuals, and these are not emotions of affection, which usually follows the conversation of conception, but ones of anger and rage. In fact, there’s no issue in this country anywhere near as combustible.”

and who they pick for president. It’s a massive hot button political issue, but what most are ignorant to is the fact the abortion hasn’t been a political issue since 1972; abortion is a supreme court issue. The Supreme Court has ruled that prohibiting abortion is unconstitutional, meaning that no politician can pass any legislation prohibiting abortions. So all those letters, emails, picket lines, and strategic voting are moot and can’t change the fact that abortions are constitutional.

Then there is the idea that it’s a “religious issue.” That somewhere in the Holy Bible God says “thou shall not and under no circumstance abort a second trimester fetus”; and that somewhere in the Good Book, the moment that life occurs is strictly defined and arguably laid out for all to understand.

As far as my Bible goes, there isn’t. And because of this misplaced idea, people interpret any pro-choice organization as one with sinister plans to bring down Christianity. It’s ridiculous to me that the abortion argument can be interpreted as an assault on religion.

But still, all that pent-up anger toward a political issue (which it isn’t) and religious issue (which it isn’t) that is abortion, always plays out in the end with a throng of men, women, and more disturbingly children, staked out in front of some planned parenthood clinic screaming curse words and bible verses at anyone who comes in or

out. Pro-life groups display signs depicting mangled fetal corpses to women coming into the clinic, their sole intention being to cause enough distress to an already unimaginably distressed women, hoping that she reconsider her abortion regardless of the situation.

Since the early ‘90s, abortion clinics have seen more than 163,000 acts of violence or harassment perpetrated by pro-life protesters, acts like: picketing, assaults, kidnappings, anthrax threats, bomb threats, death threats, fire bombings, shootings, and murder have all been attributed to radical pro-life protest groups. These groups hold on to the idea that all the violent outrage is warranted because it prevents abortions from occurring, and that someone can maintain they are pro-life and still kill doctors and nurses.

These groups are fairly radical with their opinions, one being that PepsiCo uses aborted fetal kidney cells in their soda product to enhance flavor. They grasp onto any notion that could be used to take down or discredit abortion practices. These types of groups thrive on the fact that when something is on the internet, it’s treated as a scientific and accepted fact. The ridiculous claims then fuel the fire, which burns atop of this deeply set emotion regarding the subject and the cycle of violence and getting nowhere.

But while residing in Texarkana we

would have to travel for many miles just to see that kind of turmoil, and being so far away from it you wouldn’t expect that anything we do could possibly influence these crazy people. You wouldn’t expect even a simple event like “Day of Silence” to be viewed as support to them. These people who kill doctors and nurses don’t think like we do, of course, and many of them, like Scott Roeder (the man responsible for shooting a doctor during a church service), were looking at the vast number of students in order to justify their homicide. This begs the question: if bombings and homicides are occurring and the perpetrators are heavily invested in the idea that they have overwhelming support, why do students even participate at all?

The “Day of Silence” movement involves students covering their faces with duct tape to “honor the voices of those who could never have a voice,” but it isn’t directed toward their congressman or their president-really the movement doesn’t seem to be directed at anyone for change, it’s simply a way of demonstrating feelings and not recognizing that efforts won’t affect any law.

These types of movements aren’t swayed by the idea that their political avenues are nonexistent, and they either aren’t aware, or don’t wish to think, that their actions could be bringing on more violence.

But if people wish to do something about abortion, write to the Supreme Court instead of picketing hospitals and shooting doctors. Why tie yourselves to such extreme entities of violence and not then leave immediately after discovering what a smoldering and tattered road you’ve set yourselves on? To do otherwise is to be an enabler, a mafia wife, for the true devils of extremism that draw their legitimacy from the multitudes of followers who have no idea to whom they are actually influencing. When you protest things that only nine people in the entire country can do anything about, your statements fall upon the deaf ears of politicians but fan the fire of support for those who wish to take the fanatic route to an inevitable ending of destruction.

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MustList

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By Casey Hitchcock

Titanic 3D

The top 5 things to try out in April One Direction

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“Titanic” was and will always be a family favorite and a movie of history. Now, it’s even better.

It’s in 3D. The movie was released on the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the infamous ship, not coming too shy of the $1.8 billion it grossed in the original release with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Luckily, this movie will continue to be a family favorite with all new viewers and fans arising in 2012.

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iPad 3

The iPad has become one of the best technological objects of this generation.

Now, it’s even better.

With a bigger and better processor, a more accurate sensor, and a higher quality screen, the iPad 3 has been a major improvement to entertainment. With all of its buttons and functions within reach, the new iPad is exactly how it sounds: amazing.

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Draw Something

Want a new way to talk to your friends? Try pictures. Draw Something has taken over the gaming lives of a lot of teenagers. Being one of the newest apps for iphone/ipods, it has gotten popular quickly. It’s an interesting way to see how creative your friends can be and how smart you really are. So, sign in, pick some friends, and start drawing.

This UK boy band is making its way to the US. Within the first week of their official release, the song “Up All Night” hit No. 1. The boys were put together

by Simon Cowell during the competition XFactor, and being young and talented, they escalated quickly. If you haven’t heard them, maybe now is the time to start.

Justin Bieber

Everyone heasts his music. His fans adore him, sometimes to extreme. But for Bieber, his music is on the rise. With a more mature sound, he released his new single “Boyfriend” March 26. However, this was not the end. Bieber intended to release an album in spring or summer. By leaking snippets of his music video to keep the viewer guessing, he set himself up to a large reaction. In comparison to his other albums, the new album “Believe” sounds like it will follow the fandom in excellence.

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5 finds

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downtown When Texarkana was in its beginnings, downtown was the place to

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go. But, as time passed, that all changed. As our town grew, it’s hot spots changed, leaving the historical downtown area virtually vacant.

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However, there are still some fabulous places. You’ll want to make sure you check these out.

1 Flour Child 112 Pine Street Texarkana, Arkansas This new up and coming restaurant boasts the freshest raw ingredients possible with meticulous attention to detail. Their style is described as a combination of contemporary, traditional, and southern to create unique taste that has already made a big splash in the community. The food is vibrantly displayed with a taste to match its beautiful appearance. Whether you order the green beans or the bacon-wrapped quail, you will be sure to leave happy and full.

2 Silvermoon

3 Twisted Vines

217 W. Broad Street Texarkana, Texas

218 West Broad Street Texarkana, Texas

The Silvermoon on Broad was originally constructed in the late 1800s as a hotel for railroad workers, but now serves as a meeting place for almost any occasion.

From the Great Hall, which can hosts receptions for up to 250, to the Silvermoon Theater, which can seat about 120 people, the Silvermoon is the go-to spot for gatherings.

Twisted Vines is a floral studio located downtown Texarkana. Twisted Vines specializes in weddings and floral design for special events. The studio’s floral designs are perfect for any occasion, but are especially appropriate for your senior prom. The floral studio also offers floral arrangement delivery for a variety of occasions. While operating as a floral studio Twisted Vines also doubles as a cafe Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., offering a diverse lunch menu with frequent deals and coupons on their Facebook page.

photos by h. patterson

4 Hopkins Icehouse 301 E. 3rd St. Texarkana, Arkansas Hopkins Icehouse is a gem of its own. The once “Feed and Seed” store dating back to the 1900s has now been renovated into a place of daytime cuisine and vibrant nightlife. Claiming to be a place “that is reminiscent of days gone by,” Hopkins is a perfect place to grab a pizza and relax with friends. They are open Monday-Thursdays from 11 a.m. to midnight, Friday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m, and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m.

Gateway Farmers Market Corner of Jefferson Avenue and East Ninth streets Texarkana, Arkansas The Gateway Farmers Market is the perfect way to support local agriculture producers. Area farmers gather here to sell a variety of fresh vegetables, fruits and other products, such as homemade jellies, jams and honey. The market is open on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 7 a.m.-noon, or until sold out.

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KONY2012 kony 2012

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title title blah blah blah blah The movement through the film sydney schoen staff writer Invisible Children released its tenth film (out of twelve), Kony 2012*, on March 5, 2012, depicting the maliciousness of Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony and what we, as Americans, can do to preserve the future of Uganda, its surrounding countries, and its residents. The documentary’s “call-to-action” resonated in millions and caused many to realize the effect they can have, even as teenagers, in a human rights crisis.

However, with the resonation and sense of power that came from the video also came controversy. Speculation arose that Invisible Children’s financials weren’t corresponding with what they were expected to be contributing in order to aid the situation in Uganda. YouTube videos emerged in response to the posting of Kony 2012, one of which was articulated by a Ugandan. Outcry even came from the Ugandan prime minister, Amama Mbabaz, who views the documentary as a hindrance to the economy and has spent time trying to “fix” the problems he believes the Kony 2012 video has created.

Despite the harsh assumptions and backlash, the Kony 2012 movement continues to thrive and have supporters. Among those are some of Texas High’s own population.

On March 8, 2012, sophomore English teacher Anne Fruge showed to her B2 class the Kony 2012 video after receiving requests from her students. After having already watched it herself upon the referral of a friend and deciding it went along with the lesson, Fruge complied and played the film.

“When I watched it, I was amazed by the quality of the video and was touched by the fact that so many young people were bonding together for a common cause,” Fruge said. “I loved the fact that the use of the creator’s son in the video boiled down the issue to very simple terms without political associations. The video called for everyone to stand up for what was right for all humanity, whether it benefited them or not, and I think that’s an inspiring thing.”

Although certain of the video’s good intentions, Fruge isn’t as secure in declaring herself a member of the movement created by the video and foundation.

“Honestly, I’m torn,” Fruge said. “I need to do more research. I’ve heard a lot of negative press lately, so I definitely need to check on the organization before I make that statement [saying I support the movement].

However, I want to be a good world citizen and have been supportive of the movement to stop genocide in Darfur and the Sudan.”

Among the students to first see the film as it was presented in Fruge’s class were sophomores Madeleine Pellegrin and Miles Coleman. Both saw the video as insightful, but they differed on their stance with the organization.

“At first [when I watched the video], I didn’t really know what to think,” Coleman said. “I thought it was just another video on YouTube, but as I kept watch-

11 Ali Kushayb - The Sudanese warlord is wanted for his war

crimes in Darfur. The charges against him are 504 assassinations, 20 rapes, and the forced displacement of 41,000 people.

Omar al-Bashir - The President of Sudan is wanted by the International Criminal Court for his part played in the Darfur Genocide. He ordered the ethnic cleansing of 200,000- 400,000 people and tampered with evidence, such as covering up mass graves. al-Bashir is the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC.

Ayman al-Zawahiri - Osama Bin Laden’s successor, al-

Zawahiri is now the current leader of al-Queda with a 25 million dollar reward on his head. He is responsible for bombing US Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.

Félicien Kabuga - Kabuga is wanted for funding the

Rwandan genocide, conspiring to commit genocide and 9 other charges against him by the International Criminal Court.

ing, I became more and more empathetic for the people affected. I can’t really say I’m a supporter [though]. For one, I think, yes, it’s terrible that it happened, but we have our own problems in our own country. Also, because of recent events from the founders of the organization, I don’t feel as if the cause could even be justifiable anymore. I have not recommended the video to anyone else, but I believe all people need to educate themselves on the topic.”

Pellegrin, however, knew of the video beforehand and believes in Invisible Children’s cause.

“When I watched the video in class, I wasn’t as shocked as other students because I had some previous knowledge of the Kony crisis, but I still found it very insightful,” Pellegrin said. “I especially liked it because it was not only informative, but it brings the sensation of power to rally the people who would normally feel like their voices didn’t have enough strength to stop such a large problem. I have always had a soft spot for those who can’t help themselves, whether it be adults or children but especially kids. Thinking of innocent kids being torn from their homes and families to kill or be a sex slave for a cause they certainly do not support, [is heartbreaking].”

On April 4, 2012, Invisible Children released another documentary, Kony 2012: Part II- Beyond Famous**, as a way of addressing more thoroughly what needs to be done to have Kony obtained and the Lord’s Resistance Army disbanded. But despite addressing the problems posed by the first one, many were unaware of Part II’s existence.

“I wasn’t aware of a second video, but I would love to watch it,” Pellegrin said. “These videos are truly amazing to me. After days and days of driving in road rage, pushing through hallways, and seeing hatred and disrespect, I am pleased to know so many people care about others.

Not because they have the answer to the homework, or they’re hot, but because they’re people; not even ones from the same country but ones of one world.” * http://youtu.be/Y4MnpzG5Sqc ** http://youtu.be/c_Ue6REkeTA

Jean Bosco Ntaganda - The African warlord is wanted for war crimes such as ethnic massacre and forcing children to fight.

Cover the night: Tonight If you find yourself piddling around on the World Wide Web, it probably won’t take you long to find some sort of news or articles about the Kony 2012 campaign.

The Kony 2012 campaign was created by Jason Russell, an American film director and co-founder of the charity organization Invisible Children, in hopes of getting Washington’s focus on what is believed to be a present threat to the people of Uganda, Africa: Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army.

To get Washington’s full attention, Russell has planned tonight as a day of action. On this day supporters of the Kony 2012 campaign will “cover the night” and blanket their towns with posters and flyers at sundown so when everyone wakes up on Saturday, they’ll wake up to the face of Joseph Kony. If you would like to join this movement and get involved in Cover the Night, you can purchase a Kony 2012 Action Kit at invisiblechildren.com. The kit comes with a T-shirt, a KONY bracelet, an action guide, stickers, a button and poster.

In support of the movement Andrea Carrillo, 11

“I support Kony 2012 because this past year, my family and I have been going through a lot, so one day after school my mom showed me the video and it made me realize that there are kids out there going through worse things than we are. The reason why the video stuck out to me so much is not only that they are getting kids involved, but also everyone else too. The reason why I’m interested is because Kony isn’t very known, that’s why he keeps doing what he is doing. What we are trying to do is make Kony as famous as we can, so he could stop doing whatever he’s doing. Most of the kids in Uganda, Africa, are suffering and having to kill their parents and obey under his law. I just like the fact that they are not only reaching out to kids in high school and the young people, they are also reaching out to the president and famous people to let them know that there can be something done.”

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tiger times april 20, 2012

The true meaning of family Senior meets father for first time in 16 years madison sewell staff writer It’s a sunny day in South Carolina.

Senior Mallory Greene gets off the couch and paces in the living room of the house she was staying, her nerves getting worse by the minute.

Most of her friends are at the beach, on vacation, or just in Texarkana, enjoying their spring break.

For her, one of the most important moments in her life is just minutes from happening.

Mallory sits back down on couch, fidgeting.

A few seconds later, she’s back up again.

Walking around helps keep the nerves down.

It’s been more than 17 years since she’s been to this place.

She can’t believe that it’s actually happening.

After this long, she just assumed that she would never see him.

The reality of it is sinking in.

Any minute now.

Mallory paces a million questions running through her head.

“What was this going to be like?”

It’s been 17 long years, and Mallory Greene is meeting her dad for the first time face to face. *** 11 years before.

Mallory walks into the cafeteria and takes a seat by herself.

Today was the annual “Donuts for Dads” at Wake Village Elementary.

She sits watching the other kids eating and laughing with their dads.

Why doesn’t she have someone?

Why isn’t he here?

She just doesn’t understand.

She looks around the room. A bunch of happy kids with loving dads oblivious to her loneliness.

She tries her best to not let on how much she’s hurting and forces bits of donut into her mouth. *** Her mother and father were never married.

Her mother knew the relationship wouldn’t have worked out.

After she had gotten a new job as a chemical engineer at International Paper, she and Mallory had moved from South Carolina to Texarkana, her own birth place, when Mallory was just an infant.

Now, Mallory is back in South Carolina.

She is still in the living room waiting. Waiting on the doorbell.

Waiting for the sound that will change everything. *** “How would you feel about meeting him over spring break?” her mom asks.

Mallory is surprised by the question.

She had told herself since she was young that when she turned 18, she would try and meet him...

But those were childhood fantasies.

She didn’t think that it would actually happen.

After a few seconds of no reply, her mom says, “It’s up to you Mallory. You either do or you don’t.

Either way it’s fine.”

“I do,” Mallory answers firmly.

This is what she had wanted to do for so long.

However, her mind wanders...

This man whom she had only seen pictures of.

This man whom she had stopped receiving monthly calls from at the age of twelve.

This man whom she hadn’t gotten any financial support from since she was a baby.

This man who didn’t raise her.

A wave of doubt, of fear, of nervousness, hit her.

She shakes it off. She was going to go through with it. *** Now it was time.

It had come faster than she ever thought it would.

The whole thing was surreal.

Mallory continues pacing back and forth.

“What am I going to say to him?”

“Does he have other children?”

She wonders to herself.

Her head is swimming with scenarios, but she has what she’s going to say planned out.

A knock on the door jolts her back to reality.

A tall man in blue jeans and a yellow collared shirt walks in Senior Mallory Greene with the picture of her father holding her as a baby. photo by t. coleman nervously.

He has light blonde hair and blue eyes, just like her.

She doesn’t think that she’ll see him again, but that She’s frozen. doesn’t matter to her right now.

They stand staring at eachother.

A sense of closure washes over her.

All the planning she had done means nothing now.

She’s grown up.

She can’t even think. No words come to mind.

It’s in this time she thinks about what family means to The moment is overwhelming. her.

After a few seconds which felt like an eternity her She has been blessed with a great mom who’s given her dad says with a awkward, nervous laugh, “So, do we hug a great life. now?”

She realizes what a struggle it was for her. How strong Mallory smiles, relieved by the break in the tension, she had to be to raise her on her own. and replies “Yeah!”

Mallory is grateful for it.

It goes to show that family isn’t necessarily about *** blood.

Two hours later, her dad leaves and Mallory has time to It’s about who has always been there. take in everything that’s happened.

Who had been your best friend. Who had been to The great “what if ” in her life has been answered. every recital. Who had told her she looked beautiful She had done it. She had gone to him on her own free before going to every homecoming dance. will.

She feels lucky.

She had met with him. She had done everything she In meeting her dad, Mallory discovered what true wanted to do. family was and realized that she had had it all along.

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Volunteer in action Stephenson receives Wilbur Award carlye hudspeth co-editor-in-chief Summer 2011.

Catherine Stephenson (now junior) gathers supplies, turns on her iPod, and sits alone at her kitchen table. As “Yellow” by Coldplay comes to an end, she puts the final touches on her newest painting.

Catherine had spent a large portion of her summer with a brush in hand. When she wasn’t painting by herself in the kitchen, she did so with people about five times her age.

“I founded something called ‘Art for the Heart’ because of my art teacher’s mom,” she said. “I had known my art teacher for a long time. Her family and my family were really close. Her mom was about to pass away, so I painted her mom a picture.

It made her so happy.”

Catherine took art lessons at the Artist’s Hideaway for seven years. She decided to put her talents to a good use, painting with people who might not have had any visitors if it hadn’t been for Catherine.

“Art for the Heart was sad, but I knew I was doing a good thing,” she said. “The old people were so lonely. They would always clutch onto me and beg me to stay longer.”

While visiting the nursing homes, Catherine had the chance to converse with the residents.

“I met a lady from Vatican City at a nursing home,” she said. “When we were painting together, she drew me a gorgeous picture of Mary, and it was amazing. She gave it to me and I still have it.”

When Catherine wasn’t creating artwork with the elderly, she was with young children. On top of volunteering at nursing homes, Catherine interned for CASA. “CASA is [also] really sad,” she said. “It’s for

kids who come to abused homes. You see the stories of the things that happen to them. It’s horrible.

Stuff that you wouldn’t even believe happens in Texarkana.”

Though Catherine was shocked by some of the situations she was introduced to, she appreciated the opportunity it presented.

“It made me more aware of the issues that go on in Texarkana and it makes me appreciate everything that I have,” Catherine said. “It makes me want to help more because the more you do, the more you realize what needs to be done.”

Catherine has devoted hours of her time trying to better our community and even the world. On top of founding Art for the Heart and interning for CASA, she reads to daycares over Christmas and summer break, stuffs bags for the Domestic Violence Center once a month, makes hygiene bags for the Battered Women’s Center, goes about once a month to the blood center, and has participated in the 30-hour famine.

Catherine was given the Wilbur Award on April 10 because of her resume of outstanding community service. The award is given to an outstanding young adult who recognizes the “Power of One,” positively affecting the quality of life for oneself and their neighbors in Texarkana. The award was named after longtime community service leader, historian and Texarkana native Wilbur Smith.

“I was really excited about getting the award,” she said. “My sister got it a few years ago, so I was happy that I got it, too.”

Though she is only in high school, Catherine knows the importance of helping the community.

“You are never too young to get involved and make a difference,” she said. “Pick something that you love to do and find a way to help others while you do it.”

Junior Catherine Stephenson received the Wilbur Award for her numerous volunteer efforts. photo by b. sellers

Visit the online site for more stories and videos:

www.tigertimesonline.com

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Playing her heart out Freshman opens up about surgery taylor potter staff writer

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here is nothing she can’t handle. It doesn’t matter what problem the doctor finds. It doesn’t matter what tests they’ll put her through. She is strong. She is confident. She will get through this.

Freshman Kallie Phillips went to get a physical so she could play softball but left knowing that something could be wrong with her heart. After some tests were conducted, it was determined that Kallie did need to have surgery to fix a hole in her heart.

“The doctor said he heard a murmur, which is basically an extra ‘swish’ sound,” Phillips said. “Most doctors would have overlooked it. He called my mom and said he’d rather be safe than sorry.”

Phillips went on to have multiple echocardiograms to determine if she was in need of a surgical procedure.

“They thought there might be a hole so they sent me to another hospital,” Phillips said. “They found out that there was one.”

Even though the condition was serious, Phillips did not react negatively to the news.

“I was just like, ‘okay’,” Phillips said. “I knew it could be bad, but I didn’t care.”

Phillips’ mother did not take the discovery as well as her daughter.

“She was almost in tears,” Phillips said. “She was freaking out. I thought she was going to cry.”

The doctor explained that the condition could be repaired by a catheter surgery or, as Phillips’ mother put it, getting “cracked open.”

It took a while for what was to come to sink in.

“I wasn’t scared at first,” Phillips said. “It wasn’t until a couple days before the surgery when I realized, ‘oh my gosh, I’m having surgery.’”

Many of Phillips’ friends were supportive and were optimistic for a speedy and safe recovery.

Freshman Kallie Phillips bunts the ball during softball practice Friday. Kallie had open heart surgery last summer. photo by h. rushing

“A lot of them freaked out, too,” Phillips said. “Most of them just said that they would be praying for me.”

As the surgery approached, Phillips’ fear of what could happen increased.

“I kept thinking ‘what if something goes wrong?’”

Phillips said. “My grandma died from anesthesia, so I did think a lot about that.”

There was some business that needed to be attended to before the surgery. Phillips didn’t want to leave her life unfulfilled, just in case something happened.

“We went to Macaroni Grill and I literally ate everything I could get my hands on,” Phillips said. “I had a ton

of bread and a lot of Coke.”

Once she was in the operating room, the hospital staff gave her medicine that has caused her to lose a lot of her memories about the surgery day.

“They gave me something called ‘goofy juice,’” Phillips said. “That’s really the last thing I remember. Apparently, I kept talking though.”

Even just before going under the knife, the surgery was not the most pressing issue on her mind.

“While I was on the ‘goofy juice’, I had started to yell at my sister,” Phillips said. “I said that we were going to Macaroni Grill afterwards.”

Ladies golf team becomes first-time district champions jacob hill & autumn sehy staff writer & sports editor

Freshman Madeline Hunley tees off during the girls’ district golf tournament April 4-5 in Yantis, Texas. The team became district champions for the first time in school history. submitted photo

As the final ball rolls into the hole on the 18th green, the Lady Tigers sweep district for the first time in Texas High history. With strong performances by all of the girls, they were able to beat out their stiffest competition, Sulphur Springs.

“The tournament was intense,” freshman Madeline Hunley said. “We were going up against our rival Sulphur Springs. On the first day we were nervous to play but we all ended up having an 18 stroke lead at the end of the day.”

On the first day, freshman Emma Edwards led the Texas High pack with a score of 81 strokes. Behind her was freshman Madeline Hunley with 83 strokes, freshman Camryn Parsons with 90 strokes, sopho-

more Sabrina Larson with 98 strokes, and sophomore Merissa Valenzuela with 100 strokes.

“The second day I shot an 86 and our number one player, Emma Edwards, shot a 76, which put us way ahead of Sulphur Springs,” Hunley said. “We ended the tournament with a 38 stroke lead, with Sulphur Springs in second.”

The tournament ended with Edwards placing second overall finishing with 76 strokes, Hunley with 86 strokes, Parsons with 87 strokes, Larson with 98 strokes, and Valenzuela with 94 strokes.

“I was so excited,” Edwards said. “It was the first time in Tiger history to win. I was also super happy when I posted a score of 157. The whole team was astonished and crazed. Everyone contributed with the scoring and we all did our best. The whole team played an important part with winning.”

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tiger times april 20, 2012

photo by c. prieskorn

by elizabeth cook managing editor This spring break, students were at the beach. They were working, hanging out with friends or getting caught up on sleep.

Senior Annie Garrett was in the emergency room.

“I was going to try out for cheerleading at Harding University, where I’m going next year, and they were trying to teach me a front handspring,” Garrett said. “I’d done about four or five of them that day, and this was the last one I was going to do.

When I landed, my knee did something weird, and I landed on the ground. It was really, really bad pain and I immediately started screaming and crying. The coach came over and they told me to lay down.”

With her parents by her side, the trip to the ER was a frenzied one.

“One of the doctors we knew really well happened to be on call and he did the evaluation. He thought I’d just torn my meniscus,” Garrett said. “It sits on your knee like a cushion and there’s two on each side. They thought I’d just torn one of them. So they put me in an immobilizer and sent me home.”

With relief that the injury was not a major one, the Garrett family returned home, awaiting an orthopedic appointment to begin a treatment plan, but came away with unsettling news.

“They did an MRI and made me an appointment with Dr. Cooper in Dallas, who did Travis Turner’s surgery,” Garrett said.

“They looked at the MRI report before we got there and it said I’d torn my ACL off the bone, had torn the MCL partially, the PCL partially, had bruising on the bone

Change of plans Knee injury during college cheer tryouts doesn’t keep this senior down and had stretched other tendons. There were only two things in my knee that weren’t torn. They said that surgery was the only option.”

The surgery was deemed successful with almost an immediate transition into therapy and recovery. Garrett will be in recovery for nine to 12 months, spanning the end of high school, her last high school summer, and the beginning of college.

“They had to take a tendon out of my knee and used screws and put the tendon back where the ligament should have been,” Garrett said. “Basically they had to make an ACL out of a tendon [and the rest is] still torn right now.”

It took time for Garrett to accept her condition.

“It took me probably ‘til a couple weeks ago [to be able to accept it],” Garrett said.

“I’d have my moments of ‘Oh, I’m fine’ and then I’d go to the doctor, and it’s ‘oh, you’re having surgery,’ and then you get out of surgery and you’re just like, ‘This hurts. I can’t do anything.’ And then you have that moment where you realize you don’t have any movement. I could straighten my knee and I could flex my quads. I couldn’t bend it.”

With only a split-second for the injury itself, and with two hours for the surgery to fix it, the implications of it all could

have long-term effects.

“They said it’s pretty common with girls that if you tear one ACL you’re more likely to tear the other one,” Garret said. “Then the way my bone structure is, I’m more likely to tear it, and with me being double jointed, it increases my odds. I just have to be really careful what I do.”

Only able to put 50 percent of her bodyweight on her leg for eight weeks means Garrett will have the immobilizer and crutches for prom and graduation.

“It’s really made me see that senior year is one big cliche, all of it,” Garrett said.

“It’s really not that big of a deal. It feels like you’re missing a lot at first, but then you’re realizing ‘Ok, it’s just one more dance.’ I’ve been to a million dances. It’s graduation, we had one in eighth grade and kindergarten, I’ll have one from college and medical school.’ So it’s not like you’re missing that much. It feels like a lot at first but then you rationalize it.”

Garrett will also miss her senior year dance solo during her dance studio’s recital.

“It’s your senior moment,” Garrett said.

“I’m missing the four other dances you’re supposed to be in and seniors are always in front.”

Despite the setbacks for now, Garrett won’t let it keep her from doing anything.

She plans on trying out for cheerleading at Harding again her sophomore year.

“They said they’ll know if I can do it physically when I’m almost healed. They said I might not ever dance again on pointe,” Garrett said. “I might be able to, but might not, it’s just kind of up in the air right now. There’s things that could be much worse.”

Cheerleaders make NCA staff autumn sehy & christina harris sports editor & staff writer

Seniors Alex Garner, Dyamond Miller and Patience Beard (not pictured) have been accepted to be on the National Cheerleading Association staff. photo by h. patterson

It’s their last day of cheer camp.

Senior Alex Garner has been attending since the third grade. This will be her last year--a decade of cheer camps is coming to an end.

To end their journey, the seniors participate in a tradition known as the “senior walk.”

“You get to do the senior walk on the very last day of cheer camp,” Garner said. “You hug the girls in the squad and tell them your favorite thing about them.”

After the walk, Garner received the honor of being asked to apply to work on the staff for the National Cheerleading Association, and was accepted. Seniors Patience Beard and Dyamond Miller were also accepted.

“It’s very competitive,” Garner said. “There are thousands of girls who want that position. It’s something I’ve wanted for a long time.”

Only five to six girls from each camp are asked to apply to work for NCA, and even fewer are actually accepted. The girls had to submit a video for their application.

“I tried out for All-American at camp last year and made it,” Beard said. “Then Alex, Dyamond, Maggie and I received an application to be on staff, so I decided to send in a video and ended up making it.”

Miller has been going to NCA camps for four years. Beard has been going for five, and Garner has been going for 10. At these camps, they were taught by staff members, the prestigious position they have now received.

“Last year we had a really fun buddy,” Beard said.

“She was on staff and she was really helpful and fun and she taught our team a lot.”

As a part of the staff, Beard will travel around Arkansas, teaching at cheer camps. Garner and Miller will travel throughout East Texas doing the same.

“I can’t wait to teach camps and be a part of NCA,” Beard said. “I looked up to the NCA instructors and I can’t wait to set examples for others too.”

The girls had to send their applications for staff positions by December first, and didn’t receive word that they were accepted until March. “[I was] excited,” Miller said. “Kind of in shock.

I’m just happy they picked me to become a part of the NCA family.”

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sports

tiger times april 20, 2012

THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS compiled by Mackenzie Phillips & Taylor Potter TRACK

SOFTBALL

GOLF

BASEBALL

TENNIS

DERRIUS GOODEN, 12

ASHLYN BUNCH, 10

MADELINE HUNLEY, 9

ANTHONY RHONE, 10

CAROLINE SMITH, 11

FAVORITE CHILDHOOD TV PROGRAM?

“Looney Tunes,” I like Bugs Bunny.

“Scooby Doo,” my room was decked out in that dog.

I really liked watching “SpongeBob.”

“Dragon Tales,” Dragon Land sounds great.

“My Litttle Pony.”

SPORTS SUPERSTITION?

have to wear four pairs of socks.

I don’t buy into that stuff.

I don’t believe in wearing the same underwear.

Usually, if I play bad the day before a tournament, I play well the next day.

If I can make three shots into a trash can, I’ll have a good game.

I bounce the ball twice before each serve.

POST-COMPETITION MEAL?

Probably Chick-fil-A. Nuggets and iced tea.

I usually go out but only eat like a salad.

I eat something different every time.

For baseball? McDonald’s.

Chili’s grilled chicken sandwich

BEST FRIEND IN ANOTHER SPORT?

John Michael McGee, even though he plays like every sport.

I am pretty good friends with Caroline Byrd, she’s in soccer.

One of my best friends is Annie Tarwater in tennis.

Justin Lewis; he’s in track right now.

Morgan Norfleet; she’s a cheerleader.

MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT?

My mom walked in on me at a school dance.

This girl at a baseball game brought a puppy, and it peed on my white shorts.

One of the first tournaments I was at, I swung and missed the ball.

Bita si que none consed experati restis nis exerit et

Hitting myslelf in the face with a score card.

SOMETHING YOU MUST WEAR IN EVERY GAME?

Four socks.

Underarmour headband; it just fits me. I have to have it.

I have a necklace I always wear.

I always tape my wrists.

Always.

My necklace; I never take it off.

WHICH COACH DO YOU THINK IS THE BEST DANCER?

I enjoy Coach D. It’s funny.

I don’t know if she’s the best, but I would love to see Coach Hardy dance.

Coach Sadler. I’d like to see her try to dance.

Probably Coach McClure; he’s very young and lean.

Never seen any of them dance really, but I bet John Watson can get down.

It may be difficult to compare two sports, but we compared five athletes of separate sports to see just how alike or different they truly are.

Petrino firing divides fans After his involvement in a motorcycle wreck on April 1 with his mistress and employee of the football program, University of Arkansas Head Football Coach Bobby Petrino soon found himself at the center of sports media storm and out of a job.

The coach was released due to knowingly misleading the police and school officials about the involvement in the wreck of 25-yearFormer Arkansas coach Bobby old employee Jessica Petrino. Erik Campos/The State/ Dorrell. The coach’s MCT termination has split college football fans over whether personal lives and morals should be involved on the field.

“Even though he was having an affair, that

should have been dealt with in the home not in the workplace, unless it was effecting the time on the field coaching,” sophomore Choctaw Williams said.

Senior Laikyn Hadaway agreed that his professional and personal life should be separate.

“Football and personal relations are two different things,” she said, “and ethics shouldnt matter between him and his coaching staff.”

For others, the line isn’t so clear.

“He lied to his superiors,” sophomore Braden May said. “His personal life shouldn’t be a part of his coaching life, but he lied and failed to set a good example for his team.”

His reputation could also hurt the university.

“He didn’t have his priorities straight,” freshman Nathan Reiter said, “and it didn’t reflect the Arkansas program in a positive light.”

For freshman Jonathan Asher, the decision to fire him was simple.

“He violated the morals of his contract,” Asher said. from staff reports

18 complied by Isabella Saporito staff writer

entertainment Which teacher are you most like?

tiger times april 20, 2012

We asked some of your favorite teachers a series of questions and now you can find out which one you are most like. You might be surprised what you learn.

1. What is your favorite type of food? a. b.

Medium-rare steak Animals I have hunted, killed and prepared. Deer, squirrel, wild hog, quail.

c.

Soul food-fried chicken, collard greens, mashed potatoes, green beans, lots of gravy.

d.

Mexican food, seafood, dessert. Actually, I like anything EXCEPT lima beans-gross!

2. Cake or Pie? a. b. c. d.

Blueberry Pie

a. b. c.

d.

Wisconsin Quahog, Rhode Island Anywhere in Italy. The churches are breathtaking and the culture and history is fascinating I have several--Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Destin, Florida. I really like Chicago too.

5. What place have you always wanted to go? a. b.

Istanbul, Turkey The superbowl to watch Tony Romo lead the Cowboys to a glorious victory.

Either or both

Cake with a tall glass of milk

c.

Apple or Chocolate Pie

The Amazon rainforest. I would like to take a boat ride down the Amazon River and see all the rare creatures that only live in that area of the world.

d.

Charleston, South Carolina

3. What is your favorite genre of music? a. b. c. d.

4. What is your favorite place in the world?

Classic rock DubStep Talk radio Contemporary christian or ‘70s era music

* If you choose mostly A’s you are most like history teacher Chuck Zach. If you chose mostly B’s you are most like history teacher Lance Kyles. If you chose mostly C’s you are most like history teacher Sarah Duch, and if you chose mostly D’s you are most like leadership sponsor Susan Waldrep.

6. What is your favorite song? a. b. c.

d.

“Southern Cross “ by Crosby, Stills and Young “Something About a Truck” by Kip Moore “Defying Gravity” from the Broadway musical “Wicked.” The first time I heard it, I got chills!

“They Can’t Take That Away from Me” by George Gershwin, “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey, and any Al Green song.

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entertainment

tiger times april 20, 2012

Foreign Movie Greats abigail o’gorman staff writer

When it comes to foreign films, these are worth watching

Cinema Paradiso (Italy)

The story follows a filmmaker as he has flashbacks of his childhood, stemming from a call informing the death of a yet undescribed character, Alfredo. The movie shows his first and true love, his job in the village theater and his deep bond with with the theater’s projectionist.

Tora! Tora! Tora! (Japan-United States)

Forget Pearl Harbor. If you want to watch a quality account of the infamous air attack, this collaboratory Japanese-American production is the film for you. It provides a historically accurate and highly interesting retelling of the Pearl Harbor bombings from both the American and Japanese perspectives. And there’s not a single romance movie cliché in sight.

Ivan the Terrible (Ivan Groznyy) (USSR)

Les Diaboliques (France)

Waltz With Bashir (Vals im Bashir) (Israel)

Pan’s Labyrinth (Mexico)

Pans labyrinth is dark and eerie tale set in fascist spain, in the year 1944. The story follows a young girl as she escapes from reality into a fantasy world . She meets various mythical, strange and magical creatures along the way as she explores the overgrown labyrinth guided by a faun, named Pan. It is written and directed by Guillermo del Toro.

Life, Above All (South Africa)

Life, above all tells the story of a family ostracized by their townspeople in an african village and how tradition, superstition, disgrace, fear and secrets can move people to hate. A 12 year old girl rises up and with her you see the bond between a mother and daughter that reflects modern Africa.

‘Avengers’ will be legendary, like Littmann’s ‘stache ashley diggs co-managing editor The ultimate blockbuster. A conglomerate which will expose more definitions of spectacular, thrilling, amazing and awesome than Merriam and Webster could shake a stick at. This movie will be to film what the Magna Carta was to modern government. This film will define the manhood of this generation.

Don’t worry ladies, this film has plenty to offer you too, with strong heroines who at no point take a backseat to the male heroes in the film. This film’s star power shines brighter than Edward Cullen on Spring Break in Miami, with main roles filled by Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, and Samuel L. Jackson, just to name a few. Not even Mr. Klondike would miss this movie for one of his own bars. This film will break down barriers of the stereotypical summer movie, replacing empty thrills with legitimate storytelling and action that does not distract from the plot, but enhance it. In fact, description of this film can only be correctly realized through one analogy.

This film will reach Mr. Littmann moustache status... legendary. From middle school until junior year, you know not the man, but you know the ‘Stache.

You hear tidbits about him and his government class is, but it is not until you finally reach the mountaintop of senior year that you experience Mr. Littmann’s class and teachings. This class prepares you, and excites you, for life’s next chapter..

That, faithful readers, is what the “Avengers” will do for modern cinema. It will expel those films in the genre which will now be considered obsolete, and begin a new era in film making, a graduation of sorts for the action movie genre. This film will combine brains with brawn.

The Avengers will not just be a great superhero movie, it will be a great film encompassing all genres. Beginning in the olden days of this past decade, in the year 2008, the film “Iron Man” set the wheels in motion for this soon to be stalwart of the film industry. Following this box office smash, films such as “The Incredible Hulk,” “The First Avenger: Captain America” and “Thor” proved that superhero films were no longer just popcorn fodder,

proving to be just as critically successful as they were financially.

Each films wove the separate heroes together a little more and finally on May 4 the dreams of men and women, boys and girls, all around the world will come true

when Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, Black Widow, Nick Fury, and Hawkeye grace the silver screen in one monumental film.

Catch “The Avengers” in theatres on May 4.

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tiger times april 20, 2012