Tiger times print may 2015

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volume 54 • no. 6 • may 21, 2015 • 4001 summerhill rd • texarkana, tx 75503 • www.tigertimesonline.com

LIVING WITH Ana & Mia

Ana and Mia. For some people, these are their best friends.

Ana encourages not eating and slowly dwindling to nothing.

Mia at least wants to eat, but only to purge later when nobody is looking.

The relationship is unhealthy, and oftentimes, impossible to break. >>page 12 photo illustration by k. brinkmeyer

INSIDE

news 2-4 • viewpoint 6-8 • feature 9-17 • sports 18-20 • entertainment 21-23

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TOP TWEETS: @THSStudentMedia

@Carojul272: “I want a boyfriend also maybe some cookie dough” @jerrriiii: “if you need me i’ll be crying bc grades” @rjacooks: “I can’t imagine ever going to middle school again”

tigertimes may 21, 2015

Ol’ Mr. Harris had a farm

by ANNA GRAVES co-news editor Everyone remembers the days of end-of-the-year pizza parties and pre-summer good byes. Science teacher Marvin Harris thinks the fun shouldn’t have to end once you enter the big halls of high school.

For six to seven years now, Harris has hosted an end of the year celebration for his AP students and Science UIL team. The students get to enjoy a fun, yet educational time to end the year with a bang.

“Every year I sponsor a Saturday get together in May at the Harris farm in New Boston,” Harris said.

“The kids that have come always

seem to enjoy it. Everyone that is coming will bring something for the meal, and Mrs. Harris and I will cook big pots of gumbo and grill hamburgers and hot dogs. We’ve had volleyball and kickball games in the past, gone for nature walks and I have stocked my ponds, so there could be some fishing going on.”

Students that have been to the event in the past appreciate the effort that Harris puts in to the celebration and the opportunity that it provides for some of the students to give their last farewells.

“We had a great time last year,” senior Austin Ryden said. “For many of the seniors we’ll never see

each other again. It’s a fun last time to see everyone.”

As the end of the year creeps closer and closer, Harris’ students are becoming excited for their trip to the farm. The end of the year celebration is just another reason why students love Harris.

“I’m really excited,” junior Trevor Danley said. “I love Mr. Harris. The fact that he cares enough about his students to throw us an end of the year party just shows the kind of man he is and how much he cares about each and every one of us. It won’t be like hanging out with a teacher, it’ll be more like hanging out with a friend.”

THE HOT SPOT

sports series

Last issue, readers got a look into the life of senior varsity soccer athlete, Hannah Brantley. This issue of tigertimesonline.com “Faces of the Game” series will feature junior softball player Chealsea Slider.

what’s happening

Six Flags Trip-May 22 NHS, TAFE and Mu Alpha Theta seniors and officers will take their end of trip.

Memorial Day-May 25 Kick back and relax on your Monday off and getting ready to end the year with a bang.

Gatsby CelebrationMay 21 Juniors will have a Great Gatsby party in the cafeteria from 3 to 3:45 p.m.

Drum Major TryoutsMay 29 Tryouts will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. in the band hall.

Spring Olympiad & Powder Puff-June 4 Teams will participate in olympiad games from 1:15 to 3 p.m., and junior and senior girls will participate in powder puff from 3 to 4 p.m.

in this issue summer reading

Page 3

The English department will implement a summer reading list starting this year.

by Grace Hickey

Graduation CeremonyJune 6 A new class of THS students will receive their diplomas from 2 to 5 p.m. at First Baptist Church Moores Lane.

recipe for success

Page 15

Senior has high hopes for graduation and her culinary arts career.

by Tyler Snell

ACT Dates June 13 SAT Dates June 6

getting on the right track

Semester Test Schedule

Page 19

June 3- First and last period tests (regular school day) June 4- B2, B3, B4 tests will be held from 8:30 to 12:40 p.m.

June 5- A2, A3, A4 tests will be held from 8:30 to 12:40 p.m.

Learn the do’s and don’t’s of running from a cross-country athlete herself.

by Lauren Maynard

photo by s. pritchard

tigertimes Texas High School 4001 Summerhill Rd. Texarkana, TX 75503 (903) 794-3891 Fax (903) 792-8971

The Tiger Times is a student-run publication.

The contents and view are produced solely by the staff and do not represent the opinions of the faculty, administration or TISD board of directors.

Print Editors in Chief Madeline Hunley and Robert Hoover Online Editor in Chief Caroline Purtle Managing Editor Amanda Hackleman Co-News Editors Tyler Snell & Anna Graves Viewpoint Editor Kristin McCasland

Feature Editor Molly Crouch Sports Editor Jessica Emerson Co-Entertainment Editors Conor Diggs & Brianna O’Shaughnessy Design Editor Caroline May In-Depth/Copy Editor Maggie Coleman

Public Relations Abby Hill Calendar Editor Daniela Correa Advertising Manager Hannah Williams Business Manager Rachel Stuart Photo Editor Savannah Pritchard Staff Writer Anna Cannon

Jillian Cheney Ahja Cherry Leah Crenshaw Katherine Doan Bethany Dowd Matthew Francis Alex Heo Grace Hickey Hannah Higgins Anneliese Hounsel Raga Justin Naveen Malik Lauren Maynard Alex O’Gorman

Karlee Post Lauren Potter Cailey Roberson Ashlyn Sander Luke Smith Photographers Kelsi Brinkmeyer Savannah Pritchard Faith Rhone Sara Rogers Lauren Gibbert Paige Huddleston Alyssa Olade-Glavin

Carli Sharp Ashley Tyson Israel Arias Rachel Lewis Jordan Rowe Michaela Stiger Daylan O’Neal Brianna O’Shaughnessy Sara Vaughn Kristin McCasland Videographers Ashley Tyson Israel Arias

Daylan O’Neal Sara Vaughn Advisers Rebecca Potter & Clint Smith Principal Brad Bailey Members NSPA, CSPA, ILPC

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tigertimes may 21, 2015

Meet your officers Future student body leaders share plans, ideas for upcoming year

AC BOUDREAUX

The director is in charge of anything that promotes school spirit or anything that relates to patriotism.

ALEX HEO

“I am most excited about being a voice of the student body.

The student body needs a figure that can voice the opinions of the group as a whole through student government, and I am excited for that to be me. I have always been the person who tries to take over when there is something to be done and have my voice be heard, and the opportunity to have that is what I look forward to the most. I believe that I am easily approachable and this will help with leading the student body.”

JT MORGAN

“I want more involvement with all the groups [in our school], not just StuCo running everything.

I want everyone to have a role and have more representation from the clubs and groups on campus. I am really excited to finally be a senior and top dog on campus.

I think next year is going to be great, and I am excited to be one of the student body leaders to make the school year fun. I think it’s going to be a great year for all students involved on campus.”

JOHN NORTON

COMMUNITY SERVICE

The director is in charge of all community volunteer activities and hours.

COMMITTEE DIRECTORS

CAROLINE MAY

TREASURER

“I am most excited to represent the school my senior year and speak for the whole student body instead of just [the senior] class. I am excited about being a leader for my school since it will be my senior year, and I have been a part of StuCo since sixth grade. It’s just great that now I’m an officer and hope that I can influence the student’s and be a great model.

I hope and I think that the 2015-2016 school year is going to be great, and I look forward to serving with my fellow officers.”

SECRETARY

VICE PRESIDENT

PRESIDENT “I would like to promote more school spirit next year and I am going to try and get another dance during the school year because I know that the majority of students enjoy the dances. I want students to have more of a voice with the administration and be able to voice their concerns with issues at our school. I am most excited about all the volunteer activities such as Dash for Cash, Race for the Cure, Community Cafe and so many others that we do. ”

PRIDE AND PATRIOTISM

MADISON MAYNARD

D.A.S.H. The director is in charge of anything that relates to Drug, Alcohol, Safety, or Health awareness.

TAYLOR POST

ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT

The director is in charge of anything that promotes conservation, going green, or recycling.

ALEX MARKHAM compiled by Tyler Snell/co-news editor

Summer reading program to begin

by GRACE HICKEY staff writer For students, summer is a vacation from school and a time to let their brains fall into hibernation. However, this no-school zone of mental relaxation will be slightly infringed upon by the new summer reading program the English department is implementing for those enrolled in pre-AP and AP English.

“Students who are enrolled in these courses will be notified of the reading assignment prior to the end of school,” Principal Brad Bailey said.

“When students pick up schedules in the summer, they will receive the flyer reminding them about the assignment. Parent letters will also be sent home in May outlining the summer reading assignment.”

The English department believes that this program will help students transition into work more easily at the beginning of the school year in contrast to jumping straight from the pool into school.

“The English Department has always wanted to implement summer reading into AP and pre-AP courses,” English department chair Monica

photo illustration by f. rhone

Washington said. “Summer reading is a researched-based method of improving and retaining writing and reading skills. It will help students get off to a great start in AP and preAP classes.”

The new summer reading program will not only aid students at the beginning of the year but will also build a foundation to help learning throughout the school year as well.

“The benefits of this program will help increase our students language skills,” Bailey said. “When students take an end of course and an AP exam, they are assessed by being able to read, interpret, and analyze how style, tone, and diction of a text advance the author’s purpose,

perspective, or stance. By having summer reading assignments, this will help enhance these skills.”

The reading assignment should not take an excessive amount of time from the students’ summer.

“Students will be assigned to read only one book,” Washington said.

“The books are nothing that will cause students to struggle. They can read the books fairly quickly and go ahead and take care of the assignment before school begins.”

Overall, the new program should help students throughout the entirety of the school year and assist teachers with making assignments at the beginning of the year.

“We will start AP and pre-AP classes with one novel read and a common reference point to begin instruction,” Washington said. “It will give students a bit of reading to do over the summer that will hopefully help with the loss of skills that can sometimes occur during summer break. Also, English teachers have a difficult time getting grades during the first five weeks, and when students enter with one assignment done, this will help with that problem.”

Texas bill may cause change in truancy law

by JILLIAN CHENEY staff writer Texas Senators passed Bill 106 on April 15. This legislation decriminalized truancy, the crime in which students are charged for unexcused absences, usually after three consecutive days out.

“I was out for less than a week earlier this year because I had the flu,” sophomore Linley Murdock said.

“On my first day back to school, I was called to the office and almost got sent to bi-state court. I was a little offended because I’d just been sick.”

When students are charged with truancy, inflicting punishment is a long process. Administrators must complete a checklist before charges can be pressed, and this can sometimes take months.

Parents must be contacted, and sometimes house visits are made by police officers or principals. Court dates must be set up, and if the student comes back to school for a day, the process can start all over again.

“The bills in the state legislature now only weaken the school district’s and court’s authority in helping students attend school,” Principal Brad Bailey said. “We need tougher laws to help make parents and students more accountable, so they can receive their education.”

Once this process is complete, and the student has paid a fine or agreed to do community service, the charge goes on his or her permanent record.

“All students have a reason for missing school, and a majority of the time, we can try to prevent it,” Bailey said. “In the past, we’ve provided and washed clothes for students. It really isn’t necessary for students to skip because we can provide help to those who need it.”

A large part of why truancy is such a major issue is because it affects the amount of income a school receives. Students don’t realize the bigger picture and skip just because they can.

“Obviously, people need to be in school so they can get their education, but if you’re sick, stay home,” freshman Mason Shoalmire said. “And everyone deserves a day off now and then if they just want to miss school.”

By decriminalizing truancy, the punishment will be less severe for unexcused absences. Fines will be lowered, students will not be arrested at any cost and responsibility will be held more on the parents than the students. This is seen as a good thing by Senators, who are focused more on individual futures rather than the overall effect on truancy statewide.

“It won’t really affect the average student because they’re still going to come to school,” sophomore Chase Watkins said. “It’ll only be a problem for that minority of people who want to abuse the new legislation.”

Texas Senate has passed the bill, but it still must go through stages of government action before becoming a law. Amendments have been made, and politicians are now focused on improving truancy prevention.

“We’re receiving more pressure to meet accountability standards each year,” Bailey said. “In my opinion, the legislature needs to do more to make realistic accountability measures for our Texas schools, especially when it comes to truancy. If this can occur, we will see even greater things from our public schools.”

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tigertimes may 21, 2015

The Final Notes Music teacher bows out after 25 years of teaching

by ROBERT HOOVER co-editor-in-chief

that are interested and committed to piano and choir and vocal ensemble. I’m going to miss the relationships that I’ve made.”

-Vickie Al-Dubais, music director

photo by s. rogers

Vickie Al-Dubais is retiring from being the choir director, vocal ensemble instructor and piano teacher. After 25 years in the district, she feels as though her time here is done.

“Honestly 25 just sounded like a good number,” Al-Dubais said. “It seems like it’s time to move on.”

CHOIR CONCERT Twenty years ago, Al-Dubais June 1 at 7 p.m. joined the high school staff and hasn’t looked back.

“I taught elementary school for five years, and the lady who was the choir director here was moving to another town, and so I just decided I wanted to give it a shot,” Al-Dubais said. “For the most part, I’ve enjoyed my time here, some years more than others.”

When she was moved to the new PAC building, the administration set up a piano lab and allowed Al-Dubais to teach her classes more effectively.

“They bought a bunch of pianos when we moved into the [PAC] building.

However, when I first started we had just two regular acoustic pianos,” Al-Dubais

said. “ We would put two people at a piano and just take turns. If you were ADD, you were just out of luck.”

Al-Dubais said she was overjoyed with this new set up and has taken advantage of the tools she has been given.

“I’ve enjoyed teaching the piano classes,” Al-Dubais said. “I love giving kids an opportunity to learn how to play the piano that would normally not ever get that chance.”

Leaving the school will be bittersweet for Al-Dubais. Even though she will be able to enjoy her downtime, she will undoubtedly miss her students.

“I’m going to really miss the kids that are interested and committed to piano and choir and vocal ensemble. I’m going to miss the relationships that I’ve made,” Al-Dubais said. “As a music teacher, it’s a little different from like an English teacher because I get to have them all four years.

We get to develop stronger relationships with a lot of those kids.”

Even though the sad thoughts have begun to hit her, she remains optimistic.

Al-Dubais has already started planning her future.

“I just finished making out my bucket list of things I’d like to do,” Al-Dubais said. “I’ve always wanted to learn how to speak Italian, which I’ve started. Also, I’ve

“I’m going to really miss the kids

TILL THE END Vickie Al-Dubais conducts one of her last music classes like it is second nature. She soaks in every last moment of her career before moving on to a new chapter in her life.

always wanted to learn how to play the clarinet, I don’t know why. I think I’m going to go buy a cheap clarinet at the pawn shop and drive my daughter and my pets crazy.”

As graduation approaches, so does the end of Al-Dubais’ long career.

“The song that we are singing at graduation is called ‘Letting Go’ from the musical Jekyll and Hyde,” Al-Dubais said.

“The words are really meaningful for this

being my last graduation.”

Al-Dubais has prepared this piece as a tribute to the school and as her small way of saying goodbye to her last class of students.

“These words are just perfect, I think,” Al-Dubais said. “‘Letting go when my day comes that I must say goodbye to you, it’s the last thing in life I’ll ever want to do, I know it has to be but it’s hard for me, letting go.’”

tigertimes may 21, 2015

community

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tigertimes may 21, 2015

EDITORIAL

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST Theater needs director who will provide stability Rickety folding chair.

Snobby voice to match a snobby expression. Maybe even a megaphone. People have a pretty good idea of what a theater director should look like. While this image is certainly comical, it is ridiculously inaccurate. A real director does so much more than just criticise the actors.

A real director is responsible for choosing shows, getting funds, handling any house duties, directing all students (not just actors), interacting with the booster club, getting everything approved by administration and more. A director frequently looks less like a stereotypical Hollywood snob and more like an exhausted, slightly pale figure attempting to do six things at once. Except lately, the director is looking more like a ghost.

For the last two years, the theater director position has been a revolving door with five directors. The first resigned two weeks before “The Music Man” opened. The second was brought in only to finish the show and was out the door before curtain call. The third

Damien Hamilton, 9 “Organization is a big thing. I think more standards for lower classmen that don’t have any experience with theater would be helpful.”

The only M&M Junior reflects on lack of diversity in publications

illustration by a. o’gorman

and fourth worked together to finish the year, but neither returned after summer.

To the company members, the hiring of the fifth director was a welcomed change. Finally some normalcy after all of the chaos of the previous year.

Unfortunately, this calm was temporary. The current director plans to step down from the position at the end of this year.

Administration is currently searching for a sixth director to fill the spot—hopefully permanently.

This means that the Tiger Theatre Company is now solemnly awaiting the arrival of the sixth director in only three

“We need a good director. We need a new, high quality director that knows exactly what they’re doing and knows how to bring everyone’s inner actors out.”

Savanna Martin, 11

years. Once again the technical department, the students, administration and the booster club will have to work with a another newcomer in a business that requires consistency.

Invariably, the first half of the year will be spent with both director and company trying to figure each other out.

What the Tiger Theatre Company needs right now more than anything else is a director that is willing and ready to stick with the company. This pattern of arriving and disappearing makes it impossible for the theater to be run smoothly, and it is unacceptable for

SPEAK OUT

What can be done to improve the Tiger Theatre Company?

“Find someone that actually wants to stay and make the company better for themselves. We need someone to say ‘I want to be here for the rest of my life.’ One of Layundra Curry, 12 those dedicated directors that’s like ‘I put everything in this. I put theater before my life right now.’”

one of the largest groups on campus. By contrast, at Pleasant Grove High School the theater director has been there for 17 years. As a result, the Pleasant Grove theater runs efficiently and autonomously. There is no need for outside assistance from administration because the theater runs like a clock.

This kind of ideal efficiency can only occur after years of work and development. For Texas High’s Tiger Theatre Company to grow into a theater that matches the size and quality of our school, it too needs a director that will stick around for a decade or two, not just a year.

“First off, we need a director. Then, I think if we had more freedom and we got to do more things, then the theater would go a lot more smoothly, and we might actually advance one year.”

Colby Gillespie, 11

Gabe Lohse, 10

“I think that the theater company should be in control of the events that take place within the theater. The theater department should be more in control of its own theater.”

I am one of a kind, and not in the classical ways like fashion choices or beliefs. There is no one like me at Texas High. I am the only full African American who is a writer on the Tiger Times newspaper staff this year.

One of the best qualities of Texas High is the vast diversity that is unique to our campus. You can always find someone who you can relate to. I adore the entire Tiger Times staff and being involved with newspaper, however being like an M&M in a sugar cookie occasionally gets old. Not that the entire staff is white, but minorities, are well, minor.

I don’t feel unwelcome, but it’s almost impossible to AHJA CHERRY understand staff writer my culture, who I am and where I come from.

They can have sympathy, but not empathy. It’s not a fault of theirs.

Unfortunately, while I was helping distribute the paper, I knew I would have to face the slightly aggressive half of the cafeteria, who has an unattractive habit of rudely refusing to even hold the paper. Despite my suggestion to possibly even look at our lovely pictures, minds were not changing. One student even asked me why should she “read what them white folks have to say.” A gigantic wave of disappointment washed over me, as I realized that the people that I would relate to could not relate to newspaper.

Even though being black isn’t the only thing I am. I feel left without a choice. With there being no one else to represent black culture, I have a desire to inject my culture as much as I can to correct the balance.

There is nothing that I want more than to be able to say that the newspaper can cater the whole population of Texas High. We are on a path of greater range of people involved. Hopefully, one day soon there will not be a lone M&M but just one of many in a bag of trail mix.

And the story continues

Senior fondly looks back on personal transformation

ROBERT HOOVER print editor-in-chief I hate the first sentence. My whole life I’ve loathed starting a story. No matter how hard I try, it comes out dull and obligatory.

I’ve always tried to wow people, and you just can’t do that with a few opening sentences. Much like when I first came to this school, my opening tends to be my weakest.

Freshman year beat me down to nothing, not that I started with much.

What few friends I had from middle school were in none of my classes, and we didn’t talk outside of school anymore. I was alone, disconnected and dreading the next few years of my life. I wish there was more to add, but like I said, my openings don’t

have a wow factor.

Eventually sophomore year arrived, bringing new teachers, new friends, along with some of the old, and saving my life.

If you think people can’t make complete 180s, let my case prove you wrong.

I joined extracurriculars, like newspaper, and started taking advanced classes. I became a little more social and didn’t face many of the previous year’s struggles that I had come to accept as inevitable. However, the most important change was that I felt like myself again.

That may sound silly and cliche, but until you lose yourself and are forced to pull everything back together, piece by piece, you won’t understand how relieving it is.

I’ve always found that the body of the story always comes easiest. All you have to

do is state the facts and let everything spill on the paper. You’ve got your footing, and the rest is clockwork.

Sophomore year flew by in what seemed like five months and made way for the infamous junior experience.

I branched out further, joining leadership and spending more time with friends. The added workload, along with being able to drive, made me feel independent and strong. I felt as though I wasn’t even in that same old school I hated so much. I was in college, meeting in study groups with people that liked having me around. That old anger and emptiness was finally dead, and I was free.

I became happy and was optimistic about the future. Nothing makes you have a more positive outlook on life like a steady climb over the course of three years.

Now comes the hardest part. The conclusion. Trying to tie up the loose ends and make everything work out. Like the introduction, this is impossible. However, the conclusion is much more important.

It’s the final word, your last chance.

Senior year has been nothing but a blessing. I’ve solidified friendships that will last a lifetime. I’m excited that I can leave this place knowing that I got the most out of it I could. I’ve changed as a person, and I’m sure it’s been for the better. Now I just have to keep going, onward and upward.

You can’t make a rainbow Senior takes pride with just one in being unique color MADELINE HUNLEY print editorin-chief

allows you to experience situations on your own and not have someone stare at you or watch your every move. Exhibit A of my many pet peeves.

Hopefully I haven’t bored you to tears because the good part is about to appear before your very eyes. Unless you’re thinking “Wow, this column is really grabbing my attention. I think I’ll read some more.” OK, here we go.

The day I decided to join the publications staff was the day I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I understand that sounds dramatic, but there is no other phrase that can fit three years into one sentence. It brought peace to my mind as I tried to eliminate the stress that strayed from the never-ending piles of school work. s. pritchard

I know what you’re thinking. Why should you read another senior column when you’ve already devoted a good three minutes to the previous stories and have unfortunately wasted your precious time?

I’ll tell you why, because this column is different. Not the “try hard” different, but the “good” different. Because I’m different and difference is a good quality in this world.

Just like everyone else, I have taken on a new persona since the blurred freshman year. Yes, I was a bit on the weird side, but my main focus was to remain true to myself even if those around me were slowly altering themselves.

To me, straying from the things that everyone else does is a good thing. It

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tigertimes may 21, 2015

So now, I feel that it is only right to insert a pearl of wisdom into this column that I’m hoping you have drawn an interest to. Patience is key, young grasshopper. Time really does, so to speak, “fly,” and it is up to you to decide whether you want to slow it down and cherish the time, or turn it into a speed that will tear you apart.

The lessons I have learned while being a part of this organization will follow me for the rest of my life, and frankly, I didn’t even touch on the memories that have made me who I am today. If I could go back, I wouldn’t change anything. As long as you remain the person you want to be and not the person you should be, you’ll look back and smile because being yourself is all you can be in this life.

High school is weird Senior reflects on 4 years spent at THS

High school has been weird. Maybe that’s because I’m a little weird and my best friends are a little weird, but nevertheless, my past four years have been an unexpected assortment of highs and lows, adding up from freshman to senior year. So many things have happened that I never expected. And it’s weird.

Looking around the halls and seeing your elementary best friend and not being close anymore, KATHERINE DOAN seeing staff writer people you’ve gone to school with since pre-k and knowing next year everyone will be on a different campuses in different states, sitting in your kitchen and making a milkshake with your dad to celebrate acing a test and knowing that it won’t be the same over the phone next year.

And of course college will be fabulous and a fresh start and freedom will be a whole new world, but it’s still weird to think about. Let alone to be in the middle of it without fully appreciating the magnitude of the transition.

So this is my farewell to the weirdness of grades 9-12. A graduation from a school system and a state of mind. The realization that the world is bigger than straight As and drill team. That life isn’t fair but that’s OK because I still have it better than I deserve.

I’ve learned through the weirdness that happiness is a choice, entitlement is a disease, and there is a point where apologies lose their meaning. High school is not the teacher of character but it definitely facilitates its development.

And on June 6 when I walk across the stage and receive my diploma, I’ll realize how many years I pined over reaching this moment and wonder if I even like the person that I’ve become in that pursuit.

And I do. Senior Katherine is very different from freshman Katherine, but I like that. She’s more experienced, a little more outgoing, and a whole lot better at dealing with people. And that’s what happens in high school. It makes you into a different person, but it’s OK. Because high school is weird.

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tigertimes may 21, 2015

EITHER OR? HOW ABOUT NEITHER NOR? Senior contemplates self expression, gender identity I had a feeling deep in my chest- a tightening. I couldn’t really breathe that well. And, this time, it wasn’t my asthma acting up. The mirror, cruel and cold, stared back at me, reflecting every fault.

More so than not was my breasts, which, even under baggy shirts, seemed to always be there just to taunt me. I didn’t understand why I cared that there were there. I hadn’t cared the day before that, or the day before that.

I went to school. I was a freshman, bright-eyed and fairly innocent. My friends were there. I laughed and talked with them, but all the while I couldn’t help but think about myself. Why was I so broken?

I buried myself in layers. I kept a shell surrounding me, enclosing me inside.

I didn’t want to accept the feelings that churned in my mind. I didn’t want to accept the way my own body sometimes made me what to throw up, or the fact that I would look at other girls and want to date them. I didn’t want my brain and my heart to tell me these things. If I had a choice, I would have stopped it a long time ago.

It wasn’t until last year that I began to open up. I slowly pulled myself from my shell. I came out as gay to my friends and

BETHANY DOWD staff writer

AMANDA HACKLEMAN managing editor

found a girlfriend that I love very dearly.

But there was still a part of me that didn’t seem right. It heightened itself every time I heard a friend talk about me. Every time someone would introduce me. Two words made me want to cry every time I heard them. Like bullets to the side, they were painful reminders that I wasn’t myself.

That I wasn’t natural.

She. Her. Pronouns. Something so simple. Yet, I still wanted to cry whenever someone would call me one of these. She did that. That’s hers. I never said anything.

I kept it bottled up. But then I would walk past a mirror and look at my body and want to cry all over again. My pillow soon became permanently stained with tears.

I questioned myself at every turn. I didn’t know what I wanted from life, but I

knew it wasn’t what I had. I played around with ideas in my mind of what I might be, but I never really came up with something tangible, that I could truly identify with.

Trans? I never felt like I was male.

Genderfluid? I still didn’t feel male. I didn’t really feel female either.

Label after label. Nothing stuck. I thought I was alone. I was broken. Weird.

Messed up in the head. I didn’t even have the courage to go to my friends because I didn’t know what they would say. I was terrified and depressed. I lied to myself, to my family, to my friends.

Then a miracle happened. I was lazily scrolling through a website geared toward people on the ace spectrum. Asexuality, meaning no sexual attraction, had never really been a consideration for me, but I

like to learn new things, and considering that I know asexual people, I wanted to be able to understand them better. That’s when I found a link to an outside article. It was simply titled, Agender.

That’s all it said. Usually, I would have scrolled right past it, but something in my heart told me to stop and read the article. As I read it, tears began to stream down my face. I don’t think I’ve ever really cried harder than I did in that moment.

All the times I cried because I felt I was unnatural melted away as I read accounts from people who identified this way. It all started to make sense.

An agender person is someone who identifies outside the gender binary. It’s someone who doesn’t feel they are either male or female or anything in between.

They’re people like me.

It was several months ago that I discovered the label, but it’s taken me that long to feel comfortable enough in myself to be able to say with certainty that I am agender. I still get dysphoria sometimes when I look in the mirror, but at least now I can be myself. People can now use my preferred pronouns (they/them). It’s taken four long years of hating myself to come to realize that I am exactly how I’m supposed to be.

Lace, bows and perfection Junior spends a day dressed as a living doll I think we all see ourselves as dolls. We dress up, we act our part and we are stuck in a world that is way too big for us.

Symbolically, we are dolls, realistically we are people. Unless you’re someone like Venus Angelic or Luna Lovely, in that case, realistically you are a doll as well.

Venus and Luna both dress up and do their makeup to resemble dolls. They dress like dolls every day and take extensive care to keep their doll esque image. Venus has become

Symbolically, we are dolls, realistically we are people. a successful vlogger on Youtube where she posts videos of her makeup routines and different looks to get that dolly likeness. Having a small obsession with makeup tutorials, it was only a matter of time before I stumbled across these videos

and became entranced. The idea of appearing like a doll had a certain appeal to me, so I figured why not become a living doll for a day?

So I did just that. I studied the makeup tutorials and began to animate myself. The makeup mainly consist of big eyes and neutral lips so I began by putting on a dark eyeshadow and finished off with a thin line of eyeliner and false eyelashes. I didn’t put any emphasis on my bottom eye lid, giving the illusion that my eyes were bigger than they are.

I used a BB cream to smooth out my skin and used a nude lip stain to fade the natural color of my lips to finish off the look.

I got dressed in a frilly dress and went into town in my doll persona, and I must say it was a positive experience. Sure I got a few strange stares here and there, but I expected that much. I got a lot of compliments from people and once a little girl thought I looked exactly

like her Alice in Wonderland doll.

She demanded her mother take her photo with me, and it was absolutely adorable.

Honestly, I loved being a doll.

After years of collecting dolls and playing with them relentlessly, it almost felt natural to dress as the dolls I had always adored. Yes, it was weird for a while. Yes, there were people who looked at me like I killed their grandfather. Yet in the end, I felt happy. I did what I wanted to and I just ignored the people who couldn’t understand why I was running around in a dress that looks like it’s meant for a porcelain doll. The experience surprisingly boosted my self confidence, as cliche as that sounds. The more people that stared at me in disbelief, the less I cared about what they thought.

Overall, the living doll day was a success. I tried something completely out of the box and ended up enjoying, and I can’t say for 100 percent that I wouldn’t do it again.

tigertimes may 21, 2015

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photo illustration by r. lewis

JUST ANOTHER CUT Senior looks back on history of self harm

by AMANDA HACKLEMAN managing editor

With non-supportive parents, she soon developed the belief that she was worthless.

“I had a really bad home life,” Smith Just another cut. Another explanation. said. “My parents would tell me how ugly More thick bracelets and long sleeves to I was and how I was worth nothing. My cover up. It was a part of her daily routine. parents would hit me for no reason. I just Wake up. Brush teeth. Go to school. Do felt worthless. Like nothing was going to homework. And pick up that razor. get better, and I was stupid. Self harming The cuts littered her took my focus off my worldly arms, all the way up to her Don’t hurt anymore pain. But I wasn’t the one who elbows. But each was such a Get help here deserved it.” relief from the burning ache National Suicide When Smith’s parent’s found within her. Each one helped Prevention Hotline: out, it seemed this might be the to ease a bit of spiritual pain (800) 273-8255 end of the pain and suffering for by replacing it with physical. her. However, her parents did not Just another cut. The damage Safe Helpline: take kindly to the news that their (877) 995-5247 had been done. Senior Leah daughter had been found out.

Smith* knows the meaning of Crisis Text Line: “My parents got involved, self harm. She struggled with 741-741 (text only) and they weren’t upset, they just it on a daily basis during her pretended to be,” Smith said. freshman and sophomore years.

“When I got in the car, they were so mean “The first time I did it, I took a pencil to me. They told me not to do that and sharpener and unscrewed the blade and not to tell anybody what happens at home. started slicing my wrists,” Smith said.

What happens at home, stays at home.”

“I went all the way up to my elbow on Her parents forced her into therapy. both arms. It wasn’t that I was addicted However, her therapist was abusive and to it, but it became like a routine for me. manipulative.

Whenever I got depressed, just get the “They took me to a therapist who blade out. Then, I started using blades ended up cussing me out and calling me from a razor. I did it on my thighs. It all these names and putting me down for got to the point that I got really insecure no reason.” Smith said. “When I told my about my body. I started cutting on my mom what he was doing, he would lie and stomach.” tell my mom that I was crazy. So I started Her home life was the cause of this. cutting again. I didn’t tell my parents,

and I didn’t tell anybody. I started taking rubber bands and pulling them up really high and snapping them. I had welts all up and down my arms.”

The self harm continued, becoming more extreme and violent. Her mental state degraded, leaving her a depressed, hollow shell of the girl she used to be.

“I was so depressed,” Smith said. “I had given up hope. I felt like I wasn’t accepted.

I felt like my own parents didn’t even have faith in me. I wanted to be accepted. I got to the point that I just gave up. I thought if I cut, nobody was going to care anyway.”

Eventually, she realized this wasn’t the point of her life. Familial support from her sister and grandparents gave her a new understanding of herself.

“My sister brought me into a room and told me that she hated seeing me like this and that I didn’t need to do this,” Smith said. “My grandparents told me that I was better than that. My grandparents played a

big part in making me feel like I was worth something.”

Today, this senior looks back on her history of self harm with a new, stronger outlook. Now recovered, she knows that self harm is not the answer to pushing through the everyday struggles of life. For anybody suffering through the same things she did, Leah offers this simple advice.

“Keep your chin up,” Smith said.

“Don’t let anyone tell you you’re not worth it, because you wouldn’t have been put on this earth if you weren’t. You were put here for a reason. You were meant to do good. I believe that God has a plan for you. Everyone has hardships in their life, and it’s up to you how you deal with it.

If you’re thinking about self harming, do something else. Write your feelings down in a journal or talk to somebody. Find another outlet. Don’t hurt yourself because scars are ugly and last forever.” *pseudonym used to protect student’s identity

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tigertimes may 21, 2015

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN After the first round of Tigers Got Talent, the competition narrowed down to the top 10 performers. Seniors Kameren Hopkins and Destini Gladney sang an acapella medley of Christian songs. Senior Lawrence Cope and Junior Elizabeth Colvin danced. Freshman Colin Runnels played the guitar and sang. Juniors Brooke and Savanna Martin sang a duet. Junior Jerry

Banks danced to hip-hop. Senior Morgan Dunn sang “Stay with Me.” Freshman Brennon Cope sang “You and I.” Freshman Andrea Munoz sang “Hallelujah.” Senior Calvin Anderson danced to a techno beat. Freshman Kaitlyn McKinley sang “Good Enough.” Today is the last day to vote on Knomi. The winners will be announced Friday on Tigervision.

KAMEREN HOPKINS & DESTINI GLADNEY

LAWRENCE COPE & ELIZABETH COLVIN

“It's been really fun, it's been an experience that I've learned from,” Hopkins said. “My favorite part was performing with my partner Destini.”

“It’s been a great experience I’ve really enjoyed working with my partner, Lawrence, he's a really great guy,” Colvin said. “It's helped me learn a lot of new things about dancing and it's been really fun.”

“It's been interesting since it's my first time being in a competition competing with other people,” Runnels said. “It's been a good experience, my favorite part has been just spending time backstage with everyone else, getting to know the other talents and people.”

MORGAN DUNN

BRENNON COPE

ANDREA MUNOZ

“Tigers Got Talent for me has been a really great experience to express what I love to do which is singing,” Dunn said. “I've had a lot of fun and I hope that from here my career continues.”

“It's been really exciting and it's a really good experience to go and sing in front of people in the first place and to do it in a competition that's really friendly and everybody’s so nice its been a lot of fun,” Cope said.

COLIN RUNNELS

“Tigers Got Talent has been a great opportunity,” Munoz said. “I’m a very quiet person so it is an opportunity to show people that I actually have a voice and I can sing.”

BROOKE & SAVANNA MARTIN

JERRY BANKS

“It's so fun being able to prepare for something that you get to do with your twin, you don’t get to do stuff like that often,” Brooke Martin said. “It's a lot of fun being able to get with your friends and pick something that you're going to get to show everyone and make your mom proud.”

CALVIN ANDERSON

“It's been a thrill, I'm so glad that I have a lot of competition and all of them are my friends so it makes me more competitive,” Anderson said. “My favorite part has been being able to compete with all my friends and gives me the energy to compete with them and fighting for the same thing.”

“Its been good, I’m just out here having fun, and seeing what I can do,” Banks said. “It’s helped me realize what my dream for the future is.”

KAITLYN MCKINLEY

“It’s been a really amazing experience,” McKinley said. “At first I didn’t know how to start and I was wondering what to do but then I actually got up there and it was an amazing feeling to actually perform.”

compiled by Lauren Potter and Ashlyn Sander/staff writers

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[

R E G IS T E R NO W for S UM M E R & FA LL

]

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For more information, go to texarkanacollege.edu.

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in-depth

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Cycle of binging, purging is hard to break

by MAGGIE COLEMAN in-depth and copy editor

N

o breakfast. Normal lunch. Insane amount of dinner. You can’t help but eat all the food on your plate and maybe even the leftovers.

But that means the daily routine. Turning the shower on. Playing loud music. Vomiting. Purging until you feel better. You keep going because you realized how much you ate. Keep going until there’s nothing left. It’s just a part of everyday life. Eating.

Vomiting. Acting as if nothing is wrong.

The image of being accepted to what our society has deemed as culture. Attempting to mold your body to somehow resemble that of a model in a Sports Illustrated magazine or the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. We know it’s not realistic. But it continues.

While a lot of teen girls admiration for the perfect body comes from media and society, for some it roots a little differently.

“I’ve always struggled with my body size,” Beth Smith* said. “I would say a lot of it had to do with the fact that I was black and went to a white school. Black people are built differently than white people, and so I struggled with the way my body was shaped. It didn’t start until 7 grade when I started noticing that I was different than everybody else.”

The beginning of the signs were easily brushed off due to the fact that becoming a young woman can sometimes be alarming and awkward. Growing into a new body is disparate, and it’s not very disheartening that somebody that age could feel the need to look a certain way.

“I told my mom I wanted to lose weight, and of course, she thought [losing weight] was stupid,” Smith said. “She noticed that when we were out to eat, I would only drink water. So she would start forcing me to eat, but after I ate, I would go to the bathroom and throw it up.”

Hiding such a disease is easier for others.

Recognizing an eating disorder in a middle school is easily shoved under the rug when it comes to

peers. New patterns, however, are never dismissed by a discerning parent.

“At school I had to pretend like I was eating,” Smith said. “So during lunch I would eat and have a whole bunch of napkins, and I would just spit [the food] in the napkin. My mom caught on to me not eating, and she made me tell a doctor. That was when I was diagnosed with bulimia.”

However, society does play a big role in other’s view of themselves. Finding it so easy to look at magazines of size zeroes and wondering why you don’t look like that. Every girl has wanted to look a different way at some point. Some people’s view of different is a bit more dramatic for others.

“I really like fashion so I find myself looking at designer dresses a lot,” Emily White* said. “The models are a part of [the dress with the picture]. I find myself thinking ‘gee this is a really pretty dress.

It’s $7,000, and I could never buy it. But I could also never fit into it as a size 8.’”

Finding the courage to tell somebody about the disorder is intimidating. Letting people think for even a second that you’re not okay is terrifying. The surface of who we are is what people are meant to see. Not what’s really wrong.

“I saw a therapist and that was really weird for me,” White said. “Also, high school athletics really helped me. Between seeing a therapist and regularly exercising with my sport...I think about food on a scale of how much I want it versus how much do I deserve it. That’s kind of twisted to think sometimes I don’t deserve food, but that’s how it all got started for me. In my mind after I exercised, I did.”

It’s difficult to just dismiss the thoughts of purging, however. Something that at one time was a daily part of life just suddenly slips away. For people who don’t have the disorder, it’s arduous to imagine that somebody could want to do that.

They don’t understand the need and desire to purge to make yourself the person you want to be. It’s hard to let it go.

“Even though I’m not still actively bulimic, I still think about it constantly,” White said.

tigertimes may 21, 2015

Eating the right way

by NAVEEN MALIK staff writer The Internet is teeming with fad diets and 10-minute plank challenges. In a world that glorifies perfect bodies and all the ways to achieve them, it’s easy to get lost in the sea of “cabbage soup” diets and miracle fat-melting pills.

However, hidden at the bottom of the ocean are many gems of helpful information that are typically overlooked.

“Bulimia is like an addiction for me. It gave me a fix that I liked. I liked to overeat, and I liked to get rid of the repercussions. Even three years later, I still find myself struggling to eat healthy so I don’t feel the urge to throw up.

I can’t avoid food, so I’m constantly staring my addiction in the face, struggling to give myself reasonable doses.”

The plan is so easy. You just feel better afterward. If you can’t make yourself purge, you’re weak. The gnawing feeling can only be avoided for so long, but the thoughts can only be pushed away so far.

“The temptation to overeat is constant and powerful,” White said.

“And binging and purging one meal makes it so much easier to do the second meal and the third meal and suddenly I’ve fallen back into the habit. I know how easy it would be and how much better it would make me feel to be hungry instead of bloated. After binging, which is basically a weekly thing now, if I don’t purge I criticize myself for being too weak to do it.

If I do throw up, I criticize myself for being too weak to maintain my self-control in the first place. I always want to do it. All the time. At this point the goal is to ignore that urge to binge, not the urge to purge.”

They’re called fad diets for a reason.

EMPTY INSIDE

40%

12%

size 4-6

size 8-10

20%

OUR SIZES

size 0-2

18%

size 12-14

facebook.com/robyn lawley

stratified random sampling

Know what to eat.

Believe it or not, you shouldn’t eat more than about 30 grams of added sugar per day. Your Clif Bar may seem healthy, but it’ll claim 21 grams of that sugar on it’s own. Don’t freak out if you go over, but think about it before you grab a snack.

Generally, “healthy snacks” like crackers and granola bars lack actual nutritional value and are full of unnecessary preservatives. Make a habit of glancing at the nutrition facts before you buy food.

Carbs and fats are important.

Boom. Another plot twist. Despite what you hear about how bad carbs and fats are, they are actually necessary to your diet. Carbs are your body’s main source of energy and fats help to absorb important vitamins. This doesn’t mean that you need to eat butter or a family size order of tater tots from Sonic to survive. Opt for longacting carbs like oatmeal and healthy fats like avocados and nuts.

In some crazy place in 1990s America, supplement companies convinced New Year’s Resolutioners that their results would be a thousand times better if they consumed protein in powder form. Don’t get me wrong, protein powder is great if you don’t eat enough in natural forms or if you’re trying to build extra muscle.

But generally, if you eat three square meals a day, you’ll be fine.

All the healthy eating talk aside, the most important thing to remember when setting out on your quest for fitness is that you need to be doing it out of self love and not because you loathe your thighs or stomach. Slow progress is better than no progress. You aren’t a failure if you slip up every now and then. Don’t compare your progress with others. Eat healthy foods for a healthier you.

Model gets ahead of the curve weighs 180 pounds. Put bluntly, she is an attractive woman that society has deemed as slightly less attractive because of her weight and stature. According to healthstatus.com, a healthy weight range for women 6’2 is anywhere from 155 to 194 pounds. Lawley is an example of a woman trying to break the “acceptable” image teenage girls have of themselves.

She is a pioneer for breaking the mold of what society has made acceptable.

Impatience is human nature. After a week of running on the treadmill and doing squats to no avail, many turn to the fastest possible weight loss method. Plot twist, the diets you’ll find on the Internet are generally only good for dehydrating yourself or losing water weight. You might see a weight difference but chances are, you won’t look or feel any different. Rather than wasting your time on off-the-wall diets, dedicate yourself to working out and eating healthy.

Protein is not everything.

* Names have been changed to protect the identity of the students

Today’s media is filled with tall, skinny women promoting products to be thinner, prettier or appear younger. This sends the message young girls that in order to be attractive to members of the opposite sex you must be pretty, tan, toned and naked.

Robyn Lawley, a plus-sized model, was recently featured in “Sports Illustrated.”

While she is considered a plus-sized model, she is far from what normal people consider large. Lawley is 6’2 and

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7%

size 16-18

3%

size 20-22 design by Maggie Coleman/photo illustration by Savannah Pritchard

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tigertimes may 21, 2015

From sea to shining sea

COAST TO COAST Seniors Selwin George and Haley Rogers were surprised to be accepted into Ivy Leagues but are making the most of the opportunity. photo by i. arias

Seniors accepted into prestigious colleges

by LEAH CRENSHAW staff writer Countless brightly colored tenants adorn the hall outside the college advisement center. Most are unsurprising.

As always, there are multiple flags proudly bearing the logos of A&M and Arkansas with a few Oklahomas and Auburns thrown in as well. But then, tacked on at the edge are two flags that stand out from the rest: Stanford and Princeton.

Seniors Selwin George and Haley Rogers are headed to two of the most prestigious schools in the world. In August of next year, George will be going to Palo Alto, California, to begin his college career at Stanford University. Meanwhile, Rogers will be going to New Jersey to attend Princeton University.

For both of these students, these schools were not originally in the plans.

Rogers never dreamed she would be flying to the third oldest school in the nation for her education.

“My number one school throughout high school has been Vanderbilt,” Rogers said. “Simply because I thought that was the more achievable goal. I actually got wait-listed there, and also got denied at

Recipe for success

Rice. I kind of wanted to call and brag about getting into Princeton.”

For George, the situation wasn’t as much a set of ironic goals as it was a lack of awareness.

“My exposure to the different schools in the states was minimal,” George said. “ I mean I’d heard the name Harvard come up at times, but, in all sincerity I’d never had, even during my application process, a school that I was just dead set on.”

Given that they had applied to such high quality schools, neither George nor Rogers thought they would get in.

The acceptance rates for Stanford and Princeton are only 5.1 and 7.4 percent respectively. For George, that meant he’d need a back-up plan.

“The University of Texas has an auto-acceptance program for a certain percentage of the class that is always changing,” George said. “I decided I would apply there and that way I knew I’d have somewhere to go to school even if I didn’t get in anywhere else.”

Rogers experienced similar fears. After applying to six schools, she couldn’t believe her college education would be coming from Princeton.

“I got my acceptance letter March 31,”

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Rogers said. “It was the day before April Fools Day, and I wanted to wait an entire day just to make sure it wasn’t a joke. I was like ‘Don’t get too excited this could be a complete mistake. It could be someone else named Haley Rogers getting this.’”

This hesitance faded with time, however, and soon Rogers was really experiencing the joy of getting into such a prestigious school. Both Stanford and Princeton have some of the best facilities in the United States.

“I love the firestone library,” Rogers said. “As a reader, that’s the most amazing thing to me is that there’s 70 miles of bookshelves in the library underneath the ground.”

George is equally excited for where his academic career is taking him. He is also grateful for all of everyone who assisted his academic progress.

“I hope to do a service to anyone who’s helped me along the way to getting accepted there by doing the best that I can to capitalize on that opportunity,” George said. “I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of late nights. I’m sure it’s going to be a faster pace than high school, but at the same time, the opportunity there is truly phenomenal.”

George plans to use this opportunity to study bioengineering. Meanwhile, Rogers plans to major in English and potentially graduate to a job in the publishing field.

This kind of educational excellence is new in Roger’s family.

“Neither of my parents went to college,” Rogers said. “No one in my family has ever thought that education would get them farther in life than simply getting a job as early as possible and working for a raise would. It was my grandmother who raised me to believe if I put work in, I’m not any less than anyone else because of the social position I was born into.”

This work ethic has rewarded Rogers well, as has George’s work ethic rewarded him. Both students eagerly look forward to the next phases of their lives taking place on opposite sides of the country. Rogers is especially excited to use college as a place to improve her life and herself.

“My passion is doing something with my life. I want to be a better person for myself,” Rogers said. “I don’t necessarily want to be a better person by society’s standards. I just want to have no regrets about who I am and how I got to where I am in the future.”

Senior follows passion, plans to attend culinary school

by TYLER SNELL staff writer

photo by k. mccasland

The flame crackles when the stove is turned on. Butter sizzles in a pan while green peppers and onions are chopped on a counter nearby. The eggs are cracked and dropped into the pan. Add a little cheese and pepper along with the chopped veggies, and the perfect omelette is served fresh on a platter to start senior Zoe Lynn’s day off right.

Lynn has become an expert in cooking what her appetite desires and plans to start on an associates degree in culinary arts at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Dallas this fall.

Lynn attributes her desire for following this path to starting at a young age.

“I started cooking like when I could walk,” Lynn said. “I would go in the kitchen and help everybody the best a toddler could.”

Passion is what inflames people to follow their dreams, and Lynn said this is what pushed to her to be a culinary artist.

“I absolutely love cooking because there is so much you can do with food, and I love to eat,” Lynn said. “It was mainly my mom and grandma who influenced me.”

Her family is what has encouraged her to be a cook, so Lynn is sad to leave them.

“My biggest fear is the being on my own part, but I have a lot of family there,” Lynn said. “Being on your own in college, having your own apartment, it is kind of scary.”

Although Lynn is fearful of being on her own, she is excited for the adventures ahead.

“I am totally stoked [to go to college],” Lynn said. “I am nervous because of it being college and being on my own, but I am really excited.”

Lynn has high hopes for graduation and her culinary arts career.

“I am looking forward to graduation the most and then starting my own restaurant hopefully,” Lynn said. “I lean more towards fine dining, such as steaks and food like that, and I want to graduate in the top 10 percent of the school.”

Lynn’s goals for college will require

countless hours of work, but she is accustomed to that thanks to the dual credit class at Texarkana College.

“The college will be similar to [the class here], but it will be different because it will be higher end cooking and classes,” Lynn said. “The TC class was really fun, and it taught me a lot.”

Her time in high school has helped Lynn to develop her passion for cooking even more.

“Going in, I didn’t really know a whole lot. I knew how to spice a piece of chicken to where it would taste OK,” Lynn said.

“But the class really taught me how to cut things, cook stuff a certain way, and stuff about all kinds of food.”

Spending so many hours in the kitchen with her classmates has caused Lynn to grow unbreakable relationships with them and has a bittersweet attitude about leaving.

“I will miss all my friends and a bunch of the teachers that I have gotten close to,” Lynn said. “I am going to miss it, but I am excited to be getting out of Texarkana and for life in Dallas and college.”

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a new st g n i ag t t Senior to pursue e e acting as career in college S

AND SCENE In the John Thomas Theatre, senior Catherine Thomas has developed her desire to pursue a career in acting. photo by k. mccasland

by GRACE HICKEY staff writer On the stage, she gazes out into the crowd that is witnessing her concluding high school performance. The final applause booms throughout the audience as she gives one last bow in the theater that has been her home for the past four years.

But as senior Catherine Thomas makes her final curtain call in high school, she is also taking on a new role as a college

student at the University of Houston to pursue her dream of becoming an actress.

“I started doing theater in elementary school; we did a play with the gifted and talented group, and then I did middle school theater,” Thomas said. “I thought that was where I fit in, so I just kept doing it. And here I am now, still wanting to pursue it.”

It was in middle school that Thomas decided that she wanted to pursue acting as a career instead of just a hobby or an extracurricular activity.

An Animated Perspective Senior expresses herself through drawing

by AMANDA HACKLEMAN managing editor A blank page stares at her. She fixes her glasses then picks up her pencil. A pause.

She thinks. Then, she draws. Lines arching across the page, forming shapes. The world around her fades as the picture takes form.

Pencil lines take up meaning as the image emerges from the white page. When she finally sets down her pencil for the last time, a piece of art has been created.

For senior Nikita Marin, drawing is an integral part of her life. Since her early days of education, she has drawn and doodled. Her father has pushed her to better her talent, and both of her parents support her.

“I think it started when I was in second grade,” Marin said. “I would just draw random stuff from shows. I remember

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tigertimes may 21, 2015

when I used to be a Sonic dweeb. I used to watch the show all the time. That’s where it all started, I think, with me being a fan.

My dad inspired me. He used to do a lot of artwork. He was so amazing.

[My parents] always supported my artwork.”

Nikita loves creating artwork for the enjoyment of others. She finds it fulfilling to make people happy through her work.

“My inspiration is the fact that I can draw something, and someone would enjoy it,” Marin said. “The inspiration is to make inspiration for other people. My characters can set a pathway for others to be inspired.”

In her years of doing art, Marin has diversified her artwork in many different ways. However, her main focus has always been on drawing anime. Now, she’s working on trying to do animation.

“I’ve dabbled in some realistic art for

“I started doing theater in elementary school; we did a play with the gifted and talented group, and then I did middle school theater. I thought that was where I fit in, so I just kept doing it. And here I am now, still wanting to pursue it.”

-Catherine Thomas, 12 “When I was in fifth grade, I had this dream to be on Broadway and to do all these crazy things,” Thomas said. “It was when I saw the American Shakespeare Center at Old Washington in eighth grade that I got this feeling, and I don’t know what the feeling was, but something told me that I had to do it.”

While acting is still Thomas’ dream, her love of theater is not limited to just performing. She often thinks about branching into other areas of the profession as well.

“I definitely want to act. I’ll probably act forever, but I really have started to enjoy the idea of directing,” Thomas said.

“It’s something I’ve not quite thought of, I think that may be an avenue I’ll take in another season of my life. And I may even like the idea of becoming a teacher or professor. I definitely do want to pursue education or something in that route. “ Thomas found that the school’s theater department prepared her in not only improving her talent, but also exposing her to the ways of the professional world and its environment. Much of this is due to the revolving door of directors present in the department.

“We’ve had a lot of different directors, and I know that I’ll have a lot of different directors in years to come, so [being flexible] was a good skill to learn,” she said.

“It was a hard skill to learn, but I’ve kind of been able to create more professional relationships that way, knowing that, ‘Okay, I’m going to work with you, OUTSIDE THE LINES Working on a drawing, senior Nikita Marin focuses her artistic efforts on styles such as anime. photo by m. morris

awhile,” Marin said. “It’s really hard but really fun to try to do. You’ve got to get the facial features just right and the texture.

After doing it for awhile, it’s not that hard, per say. I’ve also dabbled in cartoons. My main is anime and trying to do animation.

I draw all of that by hand which can be a thousand pages. I do manga and comics. I do papercraft, sometimes when I’m really bored and all I have is paper. So I get scissors and do shapes and mosaics.”

and then I’m going to move on,’ which has been very helpful, but I’ll still miss [working with the same group of people].”

This flow of new teachers, however, is not the only thing that helped Thomas attain a sense of professionalism. Her fellow cast members have also prepared her for the “real world” when it comes to pursuing acting as a career.

“I think that [our theater department] definitely reflects what professional theater can be–maybe not necessarily in our caliber or in our talent, but in the fact that we are just made up of so many random people that do so many different things,” Thomas said. “It’s taught me to be accepting and that it’s OK to be alone, which happens at first when you find yourself out of your comfort zone. I’m okay being with my friends and fine with being by myself, which has helped a lot.”

Thomas contributes the actress she is today mainly to her high school experience and the struggles and triumphs that came with it.

“The person I am now, with all of the changes and the transitions in my relationships and the people I’ve gotten to know, is so different from who I was before,” Thomas said. “I think I’m a better person for it–maybe not necessarily the person I want to be right now, but I’m okay where I am. You honestly just have to do it and get through it, which is really hard to hear someone say because you don’t really want to, but once you do, you’re better for it.”

Making stories through her images, Marin uses her artistic abilities to help people understand the stories and worlds she creates inside her mind.

“My favorite part about drawing is that my ideas can be put on paper,” Marin said.

“I’m not a very good writer, but when I draw something, I can bring my characters to life on a sheet of paper. I can draw things with them like a dog or a house.

That will help to string together a story.

That’s the best part about drawing because all of that comes to life. Words can make things come to life, but having a visual can help people get into the world you’re trying to portray.”

Marin finds drawing to be one of her favorite pastimes. However, there’s something more to the hobby than passing the time away. It’s important to her, more than anyone might realize.

“When I draw, I’m really expressing myself,” Marin said. “Sometimes it lets me express my emotions, not really what I’m trying to say. I’ll have this random string of emotions, and I can just draw them out and not have to worry about it. That’s the greatest thing about drawing.”

tigertimes april 17, 2015

Take a look back at the year in sports

by JESSICA EMERSON sports editor We mourned for Al Hanna.

We cried when football fell to the Razorbacks. We celebrated when baseball triumphed over Greenville.

This year, we have moved up a classification and faced new competition that we have never met before, and we said goodbye to past rivals.

“Moving up a classification was pretty exciting because every year we think we can make it to state, but we always have to play Highland Park,” junior tennis player Anna Catherine Boudreaux said. “So it was an exciting day when they moved to 6A because they were our hardest competition and we didn’t have to play them anymore.”

Tennis, swim, girls basketball and golf added to their consecutive district championship wins, and most continued on to win bi-district or regionals.

“The team is great, I know all of them, and we’ve been together for a long time,” senior golfer Garrett May said. “We had a really young team, nobody left from last year’s team. It was just an overall good year, and I felt confident the whole season.”

Girl’s basketball also had a successful run, surpassing the Longview Lady Lobos, the district rival and No.1 team in the state.

This triumph gave the Lady Tigers a district title and final home court win.

“It was a very overwhelming experience and it’s sad that it’s all coming to an end,” senior basketball player Chanell Hayes said. “We all grew as a team, and I’m very satisfied with how the season ended.”

In a year of victory, hardships also

had to be overcome. Starting off our year, we lost to our standing rival, the Arkansas Razorbacks, during the 100th game played.

“It was a learning experience,” senior football player Javon Thomas said. “Somebody had to lose.

Somewhere along the line the streak was going to end. We had to learn from it and improve from it. We worked harder in practice, so we couldn’t lose anymore games like that.”

Following the heartbreaking loss, the Tigers lost their voice. Al Hanna’s death impacted Tiger football as well as the entire student body.

“I thought the memorial service was outstanding,” history teacher Chuck Zach said. “What Al would have appreciated the most about it was when Coach Norton got up and said some words, and I know Al thought the world of Coach Norton.

Even more than that, the one thing Al loved more than everything else it seemed was Texas High sports and to see the football team at his memorial in uniform would have been the most fitting tribute you could do for Al Hanna. There wasn’t a game Al covered that he couldn’t go back and tell you details about what happened, and that’s lost. There’s nobody who knows stuff like that like how Al knew it.”

Although it was an adjusting period, the 2014-2015 year was a successful time for Tigers athletics.

“I think Tiger athletics as a whole did really well this year,” junior swimmer Tyler Snell said. “Records were broken and many teams made it to playoffs, and I feel like next year will be even better because this year felt like a rebuilding year. Even when we were rebuilding the teams were still doing really well.”

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tigertimes may 21, 2015

GETTING ON THE RIGHT TRACK

BY LAUREN MAYNARD/STAFF WRITER Runners who retain and regain an enthusiasm for training and competition, or just running in general, have no shortage of advice at their disposal. The main focus of this wisdom is taking

1

DON’T run heel first Avoid striking the pavement with your heels–save that for the power walks.

When walking, one foot is kept in contact with the ground at all times, while running has a moment of weightlessness in the stride. Running with a heel landing can contribute to back and knee pain. Living and obtaining a continuous running career with such a pain as back and knee arthritis is not something I would wish upon my greatest enemy. I’m only 16 and due to not being taught the proper running technique as a young athlete, I have the knees and scoliosis of an 80-year-old woman.

2 3

DO land on the midsole of the foot Landing on the forefoot (rather than the heel) allows muscles to catch the weight of the body in flight, reducing the effects of impact on the joints and bones; thus, making exercise more enjoyable.

DON’T use a long stride Leaping forward while running is inefficient and an energy drain. Instead, stand tall and lean forward, and when the feeling of falling comes into play, step forward just enough to catch oneself.

This should be the length of stride used. It takes less energy to fall than to reach one foot in front of the other.

4

DO take short effective strides Less motion through the joints means less wear and tear and inefficiency during runs.

Less movement means a longer, healthier life for these joints for a pain-free running career. Being only photo by j. rowe

the edge off running, as well as going on the defensive against injury.

So for the most part, advice geared specifically toward this physical activity tends to be broad-spectrum, emphasizing caution and laden with reminders of stark physical limitations.

Less easy to come by are simple guidelines that can help make running heavier on the goals and lighter on the gloom–a desirable stance for beginning runners of all ages.

With that being said, keep the following dicta in mind for every training and racing endeavor.

five foot two short strides have never been a setback for me, but for the taller people of humanity, it is a little more difficult.

down and wear a heart rate monitor to train smarter, not harder. Set the heart rate monitor to keep running at a desirable pace, and then don’t exceed that set pace. The body will adapt, and then you will be able to run more comfortably at this pace, meaning you will be able to run faster without pushing any harder.

5

DON’T wear shoes that are too comfortable The human body works with one major premise: use it or lose it. If support is coming from an external source, like shoes, then the muscles designed to support the framework of the foot (the arches, etc.) will eventually start to fail at doing their job, making the foot weaker and the body more prone to injury. Nike is not for running, no matter how hard anyone argues. They may seem like they are the best thing since sliced bread, but I promise on my eleven years of running that Nike training shoes are all for looks and secretly deteriorate your feet.

Brooks, Asics, and likewise brands are the best for running due to yes, they may seem uncomfortable, but that means they are working.

6

DO invest in barefoot running shoes: When it comes to support, less is more.

Build up to wearing shoes with minimal arch support to help strengthen and develop a natural muscle support in the foot and ankle. Don’t toss your sneakers yet–slowly begin running one block at a time, with less support to gradually strengthen the foot muscles. Developing foot strength can also make the ankles, hips and lower back stronger.

7

DON’T run as hard as possible Many think that if they run fast, they are running efficiently, which isn’t the case. Slow

8

DO work up to running farther, faster Build your run one block, or one minute at a time. Walk between running intervals and recover actively until able to run without needing to slow down, walk or stop. Work on speed or form and technique during “work intervals” and then recover with an easy jog or power walk in between. Interval training can provide beginning runners with faster results in the same amount of time.

9

DON’T get stuck on the odometer Running three, five, or even 26 miles doesn’t really tell if there is any progress made in your running endeavors. Instead, track the amount of time spent running and monitor the intensity using a heart rate monitor.

10

DO run for a time Try to improve covering the same distance in less time. For example, set your workout to run for 30 minutes and see how much distance you can cover instead of running for four miles harder than you can safely run. The more you train, the easier the runs will become.

Either cover the same distance with greater ease, or maintain the same intensity and run farther in the same amount of time.

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tigertimes may 21, 2015

Size Doesn’t Matter Sophomore advances to state despite lack of height

by ANNA GRAVES news editor Sophomore Hannah Higgins recently returned from the state track and field meet held May 15 where she placed fourth in discus with a throw of 128’10”. At regionals she threw a 132’2”, qualifying her to be the school’s only athlete who progressed to state.

“It feels really cool,” Higgins said. “I worked pretty hard I would say, and I feel like all of my hard work has paid off.”

Higgins has been a part of the varsity track and field team since she was a freshman. With her hard work, she has been able to improve her skills.

“My technique has gotten a lot better, and I’m stronger this year than I was last year,” Higgins said. “I started working in the summer, building muscle and going to the gym three times a week, throwing and working on technique. Over the summer my dad helps coach me, and I started going and getting help from the SMU head coach last semester.”

When people hear “shot and disk,”

they more than likely picture a person with protruding muscles and aggressive demeanor. Higgins doesn’t exactly fit the usual description. At a height of 5’6, she may shock her competition as she steps into the pit.

“I am smaller compared to most throwers,” Higgins said. “But I don’t know if I’ve necessarily surprised people. It’s not really based on sized. Yeah, size helps, but it really depends on whoever has the best technique.”

The discus was not instantly loved by Higgins. It took a while before she realized her talent and began to enjoy throwing.

“In seventh grade, I really didn’t like it,” Higgins said. “But then my coach from the middle school, Coach Holland, got me interested in it. She and my mom told me not to give up and that I had potential. So I just kept with it.”

After qualifying in regionals, Higgins and her coaches put a lot of effort toward preparing for State in the specific areas that she needed to improve on.

“We’ve been practicing a lot,” Higgins said. “I’m working on details and major

WINDING UP Sophomore Hannah Higgins practices for the state discus competition. photo by r. lewis

things that will help me improve my technique. We go to the track about everyday. We don’t work on how far [the disk] goes, we’re just trying to add more speed and power.”

Through the rain and sloppy conditions, Higgins managed to bring out all of her hard work in order to compete at the state meet.

“I feel like I could’ve done better than what I did because I’ve thrown further before and I know what I have always been

capable of,” Higgins said. “But I feel like I did okay in the weather conditions we were throwing in.”

With two years of high school to go, the possibilities are endless, and Higgins has high hopes for what is to come.

“Next year I would like to come back stronger with better technique, so that I can throw farther and hopefully hit around 160’,” Higgins said. “I would also like to win state next year and just improve as I progress throughout the year.”

Trottin’ to Syracuse

Volleyball player commits for college career

by JESSICA EMERSON sports editor

MAKE A MOVE Senior Jalissa Trotter has committed to play for the Syracuse Orange. photo by I. Arias

She takes a breath, adjusting the sleeves on her orange uniform.

She takes a breath, walking through the tunnel.

She takes a breath, she is ready.

Now she is taking the next step.

Senior Jalissa Trotter has signed and committed her next four years to Syracuse volleyball.

“I chose Syracuse because of the staff and the people there,” Trotter said. “They were very supportive. They all told me the same thing, so I was pretty sure that was the place that I wanted to be.”

A competitive year round volleyball player, Trotter received many offers from prospering universities.

“I got offers from Syracuse, Howard University, Coastal Carolina and the University of Missouri at Kansas City, a few others, but that’s all I can remember.”

Heading off to a major Division I University, Trotter has prepared and planned to enter New York ready to play against athletes of her caliber.

“I haven’t started my workout yet because they haven’t sent me my workout schedule. I do play club volleyball, and we workout there, and we practice to prepare for tournaments, so I keep touches on the ball. Other than that, I’ve been getting stuff together for my room, so when I get there I can start immediately. I don’t have to worry about anything else.”

Starting at a young age, Trotter always knew that she wanted to play college volleyball, following in her mother’s footsteps.

“I knew from the age of ten,” Trotter said. “I started playing volleyball, and my mom used to play at Henderson State, so I used to be there all the time.

I would watch them play, and it looked fun.”

So I realized that college volleyball was something that I would enjoy and want to do in the future.”

Growing up, Trotter participated in volleyball, basketball and softball, and she idolized her mother through it all. After over a decade of being a competitive athlete, Trotter still wears No. 14 on her jersey in honor of her mom.

“Fourteen is special to me because when I was younger I was a huge fan of my mom,” Trotter said.

“Everything my mom did, I wanted to do. I saw that she was number 14, so growing up I played softball, basketball and volleyball, and I always wanted to be 14. Here I am now, wearing that number, to this day.”

Although she is moving over 1,700 miles away, Trotter has managed to keep her mother’s legacy with help from her future roommate.

“I have a teammate up there, and she was a freshman and wearing 14 already,” Trotter said. “She is going to be my roommate, and I asked her if that was the number she wanted, and she told me not really, that she wanted a different number, and she ended up giving 14 to me. So now I have like the best roommate ever.”

entertainment

tigertimes may 21, 2015

21

Take it back now, y’all

Rewinding the most memorable moments of the school year

by CAROLINE MAY/design editor

Dash for Cash

TISD Bond Gets Passed

Snow Days

Miss THS

9-20-14

11-4-14

2-25-15, 2-26-15

4-18-15

“Dash for cash was a lot of fun,” junior Hutch Tidwell said. “I got to run the flags in front of the racers at the starting line and helped set up. It was fun getting to cheer on some of my buddies who were racing in the event.”

In order to better the school district, the TISD community voted in favor of a bond that will help establish a new sixth grade center. The students will feel much more comfortable in a new facility with more room and a better learning environment.

9-5-14

10-2-14

Texas vs Arkansas Game

Homecoming Queen(s)

With the weight of a 13 year winning streak on their shoulders, the football team couldn’t hold out against their rival another year longer. Devastation filled the stands as the players walked off the field with hearts broken, and it took a great deal of time for students to accept the tragic loss.

This year, the student body voted that two is better than one. Because votes for Homecoming Queen were split between Autumn Jester and Chandler Thomas, both girls were awarded the position.

“I was so excited to get a few days off to relax and enjoy the snow,” freshman Ryann Williams said.

“It was really fun to have snowball fights and go sledding with my friends.”

2-14-15 Rosebuds Carnations “The carnation was brought back from previous years and was held on Valentine’s Day,” senior Caroline Purtle said.

“The proceeds of about 400 dollars went to the Randy Sams’ Homeless Shelter.”

“It was a huge honor to be awarded Miss THS,” senior Katherine Doan said. “The pageant was so much fun, and I really enjoyed getting to spend time with all the awesome contestants.”

4-11-15 Ricky Wins TASC Vice President “I’m really excited to be able to affect more people across the state of Texas,” sophomore Ricky Cooks said. “I have a lot of plans for the organization, and I hope I can make a big difference.”

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entertainment

Can I vent for a bit?

tigertimes may 21, 2015

Senior discusses benefits of using therapeutic app

by AMANDA HACKLEMAN managing editor Sitting at a picnic table under a pavilion, a girl stares at her shoes. Across from her, a family sings Happy Birthday to a 1-year-old. No one makes any effort to include her. No one talks to her. She’s awkward, doesn’t know how to start a conversation with these people. Instead, she pulls out her phone and opens her new favorite app. She types: “It’s amazing how even though I’m surrounded by family, I can still feel so alone.”

She assigns the emotion of “Lonely” to the text, then posts it to her feed. In just a few seconds, responses start pouring in from people all over the world. People offer Hugs and comment on how they can relate. For once, she actually feels like someone cares.

For many, expressing emotions is hard and almost embarrassing. Getting touchyfeely is as foreign to them as Mandarin.

However, it’s much easier to get out those feelings when covered in anonymity on an app specifically designed for it. Now, there’s an app called Vent just for this

photo from Creative Commons

purpose.

Vent is an app for people who wish to share their emotions with other likeminded people. The mission statement is “to connect people with similar life experiences to discuss, support, and feel better about the issues that matter to

them.” Whether you’re feeling nervous, surprised, depressed, angry, loving, or even happy, you can find a way to express yourself.

The first step is to assign an emotion to your Vent. The emotions available range from happy to angry to sad. Pretty much

any human emotion is available in varying degrees of severity. (Ex: sad vs. depressed.)

Then you can post it for anyone to see.

Your Vent will be posted to the feeds of anyone that Listens to you, and to the “latest Vents feed.”

In return, you can Listen to other users and respond to their Vents. You can OMG, LOL, HUG, Favorite, or comment on every vent you see, leaving whatever response you choose. The app will update the user to whatever response you sent.

With the added perk of being completely anonymous, if you so choose, Vent is great for talking about personal issues without the repercussion of a friend seeing drama posted to your Twitter feed.

In the digital age, anonymity is a very rare privilege. However, Vent users can post whatever they choose. No one will ever be the wiser.

Vent is a great app for anyone who is overwhelmed with life and need an outlet for their emotions. Whether a person is battling depression or just feeling angry at their mother, Vent can help you safely express these emotions without fear of judgment or scorn. The app is free for Apple and Android devices.

Cutting wires for clean water Putting down cell phone can help provide water to impoverished areas

by ANNA CANNON staff writer On television screens across the nation, a little African boy holds a gas can of dirty pond water for his baby brother to drink from. The camera pans to a shot of a scrawny woman and her equally scrawny children walking to a stagnant water hole, buckets in hand. Then the UNICEF logo flashes across the screen, followed by an excruciating 30 seconds of a UNICEF representative begging you to help for, “a quarter a day.” For most of us, the option is to change the channel and not worry about it.

After all, we can’t help, can we?

Enter the UNICEF Tap Project, a nifty little innovation that allows the average American to provide clean water for impoverished children without providing credit card information. All you need is your smartphone, the Internet, and 15 minutes or more to go without your phone.

Here’s how it works; go to Safari,

Google, or another Internet browser.

Search ‘Unicef Tap Project,’ and click the first thing that comes up (it should be a white screen with some nice little blue bubbles). Enter your name and email, and begin. For every 15 minutes, one of UNICEF’s many sponsors will donate enough money to buy purification tablets for a full day of clean water. You don’t have to pay anything. Easy, right?

But there’s a catch. If you pick up or move your phone, the timer stops, and if you don’t steady your phone in the next 10 seconds, you have to stop and finish. So that means no texting, no calling, no Instagram, Twitter, tumblr, Facebook, or any of the other wonderful things that the American populace has become creepily dependent on in the past decade.

“No phone?” you may gasp.

“Why must I endure the torture of time spent away from my lifeline of communication, interaction, and entertainment for the sake of a faceless African child?” Well, that’s

the point– if us Americans are so opposed to losing the luxury of cell phones for 15 minutes, think about all the people who don’t even have the necessity of clean drinking water.

It’s not as difficult as it sounds.

Put your phone on the charger, turn down the brightness and leave it on while you sleep. For those (few) of us who get a full eight hours, that’s 32 days of water. Leave it on while you’re doing homework. It’ll keep you from checking Instagram or Snapchat while you’re supposed to be studying, and since it keeps track of time, you’ll know how long you’ve been working. Leave it on the bathroom counter while you’re in the shower– it makes you feel a little better about taking a few extra minutes.

In the way of easy and rewarding ways to help others, the UNICEF Tap Project takes the cake. It’s quick and it’s free, and it tests your self control in our technologically dependent world. Give it a try.

Millions of people go without

water every day. How long can you stand to go without something less crucial?

photo by Brianna O’Shaugnessy

tigertimes may 21, 2015

it

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community

WATCH IT!

Pitch Perfect 2 The Barden Bellas are back, and last week theaters filled for the premier of the “Pitch Perfect” sequel. In “Pitch Perfect 2,” the Bellas will take on the world championship with many hilarious events occurring along the way. Sit back and have a laugh at the showing of the a cappella competition.

LIST

WEAR IT!

DRINK IT!

Triangl Swimwear

Sonic Drinks

With summer right around the corner, there is nothing better to complete your bikini body look than the perfect bikini. Triangl bikinis range from $79 to $89, but there are several cheaper alternatives that look extremely similar on sites such as amazon.com.

Cool down during the hot summer months with the large variety of drinks from The Ultimate Drink Stop.

Also, because school will be out, you’ll always be able to make Happy Hour.

TRY IT!

Flash Tattoos Accessorize your new tan with the perfect assortment of metallic temporary tattoos. These designs are ideal to wear at the beach, the pool or other summer activities.

They are available online or several stores in town such as Romancing the Stone.

READ IT!

VISIT IT!

‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Trilogy

Texarkana Waterpark

Almost every teenage girl’s dream is to have a summer romance, and “The Summer I Turned Pretty” series tells of that fantasy. The drama of the typical brother versus brother love triangle entices the reader and can relate to girls everywhere. These books are the ideal way to spend free time laying around in the summer.

Splash into the season by visiting the Texarkana Holiday Springs Water Park. The park opens Saturday and is open from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. from MondaySaturday and from Noon-7 p.m. on Sunday. Holiday Springs is enjoyable for all ages with water slides, a lazy river, a wave pool and a kids’ pool.

design by Caroline May

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community

tigertimes may 21, 2015