The Hi-Times March/April 2016

TUPELO HIGH SCHOOL

VOLUME 74 ISSUE 5

4125 Golden Wave Dr., Tupelo, Mississippi 38801

THE

HI-TIMES MARCH/APRIL 2016 A STUDENT NEWSPAPER

INDEX

• NEWS..........................2

• FEATURES.............3

THS students let the good times roll at prom. PG7

• OPINIONS..................4 • SPORTS..........................5

• ART&ENTERTAINMENT...........6

NATIONAL MERIT FINALISTS

JEREMY HINDS/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

From left, Walker Fortenberry, James Grant and Emma Rice are Tupelo High School’s National Merit Finalists.

Good things come in threes Austin Nguyen @squishynguyen Staff Writer

While trying to scavenge for all the scholarships available to seniors, Walker Fortenberry, James Grant and Emma Rice have no issue finding one.

The trio of Tupelo High School seniors are National Merit Finalists, meaning they have all been accepted into honors programs at their respective colleges with all of their tuition paid for.

“On the SAT I made a 2160, and on the PSAT I made a 214 out of 240,” Rice said. “The PSAT class here actually helped get my score up a couple points. It went from a 206 to a 214. National Merit Scholars are the top one percent of students in the state.”

According to collegereadiness.collegboard.org, about 1.5 million students take the PSAT. Of these juniors, about 16,000 gain scores that qualify them as Semifinalists (that’s a little more than one percent). This group is narrowed down to 15,000, who become Finalists. Of this group, about 8,000

are awarded scholarships.

“My score on the PSAT was a 233, and taking Tupelo’s advanced classes helped me to prepare for the PSAT, as well as the SAT,” Grant said.

In order to be eligible for the National Merit Scholarship Program, a student must take the PSAT/NMSQT during his or her junior year of high school, be in high school and plan to enroll in college full time by the fall after his or her high school graduation, and be a U.S. citizen or a permanent U.S. resident with the intention of becoming a U.S. citizen. Students who meet these requirements are automatically eligible to participate in the National Merit Scholarship Program.

“Being named a National Merit Finalist is an honor itself, because it’s a very competitive field,” Fortenberry said. “I’m attending the University of Mississippi, and the main benefits of being a National Merit Finalist are the high scholarship offers from most universities.”

To be considered for a National Merit Scholarship, Semifinalists have to fulfill requirements to advance

to Finalist standing. Each Semifinalist submits a detailed scholarship application, which includes essays and information about extracurricular achievements,awards, and leadership positions.

Semifinalists also have to have an outstanding academic record, be endorsed and recommended by a school official, and earn SAT scores that confirm their qualifying test performance. From the Semifinalist group, a certain number of students, varying from year to year, advance to Finalist standing depending on the above criteria. By the conclusion of the competition, a select group of Finalists are chosen to receive prestigious National Merit Scholarships totaling nearly $35 million.

Winners are the Finalist candidates judged to have the strongest combination of academic skills and achievements, extracurricular accomplishments, and potential for success in rigorous university studies. Scholarship winners represent fewer than 1% of the initial pool of student entrants, based on official statistics released by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

THS students attend Tebow’s Night to Shine Karlee Avery @karleeavery Business Manager

Feb. 12 was a Night to Shine for special needs students at Tupelo High School.

“It allows students that wouldn’t normally go to an official school prom to feel comfortable around their peers, and not feel like maybe they’re different,” special education teacher Bert Martin said. “They can feel and act as they want to.”

Night to Shine is an annual event hosted by the Tim Tebow Foundation. The prom is for special needs people who are 16 and older. This year, 200 churches in 48 states and seven countries hosted Night to Shine, including Hillcrest Baptist Church in New Albany. Special education teacher Kim Noe said each person attending is required to bring a buddy, mainly for safety reasons, but the buddies also let the special needs students interact with peers who aren’t like them.

“It really opened my eyes to the needs of the special needs kids and how they’re just people, too,” said Mary Preston Evers, a sophomore who attended the prom as a buddy with, a deaf student at THS.

The night consisted of stretch limos, a red carpet, paparazzi, a cheer section, photo booths and, of course, students dressed to the nines.

“I rode in a limo,” sophomore Zack Guidry said. He also said that his favorite part of the prom was “dancing and eating.”

Junior Heaven Walker said that the red carpet made her feel like a movie star. Instead of the standard one prom king and one prom queen, everyone at Night to Shine was royalty.

“There’s a crowning ceremony,” Noe said. “Every girl is queen of the prom, and every boy is king.”

Being a volunteer for this prom isn’t difficult either. The Tim Tebow Foundation requires that everyone involved, even teachers, are properly vetted.

KARLEE AVERY

Students met in the THS parking lot before departing for the Night to Shine prom in New Albany.

2NEWS

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THE HI-TIMES • TUPELO HIGH SCHOOL • MARCH/APRIL 2016M

{

WHAT’S COMIN’ UP

• THS Track Meet April 9 • ACT April 9 • Baseball @ Southaven April 9 • Blue Mountain College Scholarship Gala with Tim Tebow April 12

• THS Baseball @ South Panola April 12 • Fourth Quarter Progress Reports April 14 • THS Baseball Columbus @ Home April 15 • THS Baseball East Union @ Home April 16 • I Love the 90’s with Salt- N Peppa, Vanilla Ice and More!

April 19 • THS Baseball vs. Hernando @ Home April 19 • THS Play : Absolutely Murder April 21-23 • Earth Day April 22 • Track Region Qualifying April. 23 • THS Track North State Qualifying @ Madison Central April 30 • THS Track State Championships @ Pearl May 6-7 • Mother’s Day May 8 • Baseball State Championships May 17-21 • 9th-11th grade exams May 18-20 • Graduation / End of School Year May 20 • Memorial Day May 30 • Father’s Day June 19

COURTESY

THS Thespians take a lunch break at the Mississippi Thespian Conference.

THS students attend Mississippi Thespian Conference Chael Williams @Chael_williams Staff Writer

On the weekend of Feb. 2627, Tupelo High School thespians attended the Mississippi State Thespian Conference, or Thescon, in Pearl. THS students competed in oneact performances, individual events performing songs and monologues, and also participated in workshops where they learned various types of dance and acting methods.

“Thescon is important because it allows our thespians to become connected with other thespians around the state,” explained Allana Austin, head of the THS theatre department. “They could meet their best friend or perhaps even their college roommate during Thescon.”

Tupelo competed with an edited “one act” taken from the show “Seven Deadly Sins”

by Thornton Wilder, which

they had performed in its entirety in November at THS. From the play’s seven scenese, the two chosen to be performed at Thescon were sloth and envy.

“I really enjoyed working with accelerated students and pushing them to explore various time periods and character types,” director Trisha Pate said. “I’m very proud of them.”

“Seven Deadly Sins” competed with six other one acts from various schools around the state.

Each one act has one actor to be chosen for the all-state cast. Tupelo’s cast member was senior Hollie Trent. Trent was chosen to participate in the all-state cast for her role as the elderly Mrs. Beattie in the scene envy.

“I was extremely surprised, since I am a senior, that I won,” Trent said, “I felt pretty thankful for everything that my theatre teachers and castmates have done for me.

The entire assembly then sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to me, which was pretty cool!”

Multiple students also participated in individual events, or I.E.s. I.E.s are put into five different categories, solo acting, duet acting, solo singing, duet singing and group singing. Each I.E. is scored from a level of one to five, with five being the best and one being the worst. To score a five means the performance was superior. Superiors are honored in a special ceremony on the Saturday morning of Thescon.

THS had two superiors this year, junior Emma Crockett and junior Emma Gousset, both in the solo singing category. Gousset earned a superior with her song “Climbing Uphill” from the show “The Last Five Years,” and Crockett won superior with her song “I Want More” from the show “Lestat.”

“I was extremely surprised and honored to have won,”

Crockett said. “All the hard work of practicing everyday paid off.”

Besides the competition part of Thescon, there are also multiple workshops and classes that are available for everyone present. Taught by professionals, these classes focus on parts of theatre production and performance that are very specific and not traditionally taught to high school students. Tupelo students participated in classes such as stage fighting, swing dancing, broadway dance, costuming, makeup and leadership.

In these classes, Austin said students are around not only thespians from their own school but also thespians from various other schools. This allows thespians from all over the state to be able to mingle and learn from one another in a safe and encouraging environment.

Giving it up for the Lord ILLUSTRATION BY HAYDEN JOHNSON

Austin Nguyen @squishynguyen Staff Writer

Lent is a religious season in which one must give up something they feel like they cannot live without, such as social media, sweets, meat, sodas and a variety of other things. The reason for Lent is to give up and sacrifice one of these worldly things, as God braved the wilderness and resisted the temptations of Satan. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. It is a span of 40 days, not counting the Sundays. Lent is typically observed by Catholics, Episcopalians and Methodists, although other denominations participate.

“I gave up fried foods for Lent, but within the next week I ate a fried chicken tender and a Chick-fil-A sandwich, and then I felt bad about it and I decided to give up sweets for that day, but ended up eating three cookies,” THS senior Ann Douglas Stone said. “Maintaining what you give up for lent is hard.“ Giving up things Christians take for granted can be very difficult and the temptation can be very strong, but Christians must persevere as God did with Satan’s temptations.

Jesus survived 40 days and 40 nights in a barren desert and he survived off of what he found, all while Satan was trying to tempt him with food, water, and power. Yet, Jesus did not succumb to the power

of evil and continued his fasting and so Christians too must not give in temptation.

“Lent is a 40-day period where we take on tasks or give up things that hinder our relationship with Christ, and it’s a way we can prepare ourselves, our minds, and our hearts for the crucifixion of Christ,” senior Mace Hudson said.

Lent is the time where Christians can truly reflect on themselves and their relationship with Christ. During this time it shows how shaky one’s relationship can be with Christ and that Christians must make amends to better the relationship and feel the warmth of God’s love.

Religions other than Christianity also fast.

“Christian fasting is little in comparison to Muslim fasting, which is where you can’t eat or drink anything from sunrise to sunset, and it’s called Ramadan,” junior Celine Mahmoud said. “The day we celebrate it’s over is called Eid. Muslims must control their emotions during Ramadan and must learn to be more of a peaceful person.”

Although the two religions are different, there are some similarities just to different degrees in which they are carried out.

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FEATURES

MARCH/APRIL 2016 • TUPELO HIGH SCHOOL • THE HI-TIMES

CHAEL WILLIAMS

Karlee and Kasee Avery reminisce about their stay in the NIC U with their neonatologist, Bryan Darling.

Twins repay the gift of life the value of life and brings great feelings of joy, thankfulness, and humility when they think of their story and the men and women who worked to keep them alive.

Twins Kasee and Karlee Avery know what it’s One of these people is neonatologist Bryan Darlike to be thankful. In January 1999, the sisters ling. Darling has been working with premature bawere born at 23 weeks and 5 days gestation, nearly bies for 26 years now and said he gets incredible four months early. Karlee weighed one pound six joy and satisfaction from his work. ounces, and Kasee weighed one pound nine ounc“I spent four months with the Averys and trying es. They were as long as a dollar bill. Along with to help them,” Darling said. ”It is incredibly awetheir early birth, certain problems arose some to see how well they are doing.” in their health that made it difficult to “We take food to The Averys said they are grateful survive, especially at such a young age. the hospital evfor what people like Darling and othThe two remained in the hospital for 103 ers have done for them, so every year ery year to feed days after their birth in Neonatal Intenthey try to repay those kindnesses as sive Care Unit. Both had two different oc- them lunch. This best as they can. currences of heart failure, and Kasee had year we brought “We take food to the hospital every to undergo heart surgery, eye surgery and the nurses and year to feed them lunch,” Kasee said. a hernia-removal surgery in Birmingham doctors Subway “This year we brought the nurses and and Memphis. doctors Subway sandwiches.” sandwiches.”

“It hasn’t really affected me health Darling said the Averys bringing - Kasee Avery wise, but it has made me a fighter since food to the hospital every year has Junior day one,” Karlee said. “I have a strong brings a lot of joy to the NICU’s docwork ethic, strong drive, and I know what tors and nurses.

I want in life.”

“Karlee and Kasee coming is so exciting for all of Karlee and Kasee, now healthy 17-year-old ju- us on staff.” Darling said. “We get attached to the niors at Tupelo High School, both attribute their babies we help and are constantly wondering how strong wills and positive attitudes towards life to they are doing, and it’s a pleasure anytime we get their experiences in the NICU. It has taught them to find out and see them. And to see how well the Chael Williams

@Chael_Williams Staff Writer

twins are doing is incredibly encouraging to us and reminds us why we do what we do.”

Through doing this yearly ritual, the Avery’s have successfully been able to reconnect and serve the people who saved their lives.

“We do this to show thanks for saving our lives,” Karlee said. ”There’s no way we could ever repay them, so giving them a meal is the least we could do.”

COURTESY

When Karlee and Kasee Avery were born nearly four months early, they spent 103 days in the hospital.

Night To Shine Continued from PG1 “It’s not very difficult at all,” Noe said. “You go online and you fill out the volunteer application, and then you have to do a background check.

Even if you’re an employee of the school district and we already have our background checks every year, Tim Tebow Foundation requires their own. You don’t have to be in school.

As long as you are 16 or older, you can go as a volunteer. You don’t necessarily have go as a buddy.”

Martin said this prom is different from a standard prom in the way that the students don’t care how other people look at them. Students at a standard prom might be concerned with how other people look at them and who is looking at them, but these students couldn’t care less.

“Especially as teenagers, because you guys have the hardest time because so many people may look at your hair, your clothes, your everything,” Martin

said. “It can be tough to do that and so with our kids, not so much all the time.”

The prom also has a twist when it comes to the parents. The kids aren’t aware that their parents are in another section of the venue, watching all the kids over the event’s livestream.

“They have all the cameras and all the TVs set up,” Noe said.. “The parents can actually watch the prom and watch their kids. You would think you were on the set of a TV show because there are cameras everywhere.”

Sophomore Sterling Gipson said he did the whip and had a lot of fun at Night to Shine.

That’s the point of the event, Noe said.

“It gives them a chance to go and dance and have a good time and interact with peers,” she said. “They feel like they are celebrities on that night. It’s just awesome.”

COURTESY

Spencer Kirkpatrick and Zack Guidry, smile for a photo before leaving for Night to Shine.

Grace Lucus and Shaniya Cook are dressed up for Night to Shine.

COURTESY

Opinions

4OPINIONS

THE

HI-TIMES A STUDENT NEWSPAPER

Editor-in-Chief: Nathan Jackson Chief Photographer: Jeremy Hinds Sports Editor: Meredith Beasley Business Manager: Karlee Avery Staff Writers: Tamara Crump Hayden Johnson Aaron Kwag Bryan Kwag Mary Catherine Miller Austin Nguyen Chris Patty Keywanna Rogers Anhthu Truong Chael Williams Tayolor Witherspoon Adviser: Ginny Miller See more news at thscurrent.org Follow us on Twitter @tupelohitimes

Corrections The Hi-Times newspaper staff is committed to writing the most accurate and compelling news. We strive for integrity. If there is a misprint in an article, photo cutline or infographic, please tell us, and we will correct the mistake in our next issue.

Editorial Policy It is the intent of the editorial staff to provide Tupelo High School students with an opportunity to create a productive forum to further enhance a positive academic environment at the school.

The opinions expressed on the editorial page reflect the feelings of the entire Hi-Times staff unless otherwise bylined.

Guest editorials may be submitted to The Hi-Times and will be published according to available space and relevance.

Anonymous submissions will not be considered.

THE HI-TIMES • TUPELO HIGH SCHOOL • MARCH/APRIL 2016M

Don’t judge a book by its cover Treyce Bannerman @treycebannerman Assistant Editor

High school is undoubtedly one of the most difficult times in our lives. As the days pass, we grow more and more fearful of GPAs, budgeting academics with extracurricular activities, and the infamous senior project. Though the coursework and experiences are new to us, we are visited by the same cloud of judgment every day–stereotypes.

Every generation of students has been inadvertently exposed to ridiculous stereotypes. Because of these stereotypes, we are more likely to develop inaccurate first impressions of our peers. These stereotypes have negatively affected teenagers for decades. Stereotypes have destroyed people’s self-esteem and raised anxiety tremendously–to the point where some students are afraid to come to school for fear of being ridiculed As a senior, I am very familiar with the various cultures and activities around campus. I have been exposed to the various social groups and where these cliques fall on the “social food chain.”

In many ways, Tupelo High School is no different than any standard high school.

Everywhere you turn, you can compartmentalize every person into some social belonging–preps, band geeks, choir songbirds, jocks, scene kids–the list goes on.

With every clique comes a stereotype that entraps each and every high school student in some inescapable caste system. These stereotypes only further divide the student body. Preps are all the same. Band students are antisocial. Jocks

are idiots. These stereotypes manufacture incorrect impressions, strengthen cliques and lead to bullying.

We all know, however, that stereotypes are not limited to one’s social category.

Stereotypes are regurgitated and created every day. They come in the forms of attacks on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc. Simply stated, virtually every aspect of someone’s person could come under attack if common sense is scarce and ignorance is boundless.

In a progressive society, surely we have made some progress over the years! Women are allowed to vote. African Americans are no longer enslaved.

We have come a long way. Truthfully, we have come such a long way, but due to stereotypes, progress in advancing racial, gender and sexual orientation equality and religious acceptance have been set back by decades.

As a band member, I have noticed how underappreciated the fine arts are. Band isn’t a sport because there’s no hard work involved. Choir is easy because “all you do” is sing. Theatre classes are inhabited only by social outcasts. Orchestra is just “plucking” a few strings. In reality, students and teachers within the fine arts department spend countless hours trying to perfect their crafts and create a desirable finished product for an audience.

Fine arts, like any other department, is an indispensable organization that is vital to the well-being and expression of its students and the culture of the school.

We have been spoonfed false information about every aspect of not only the fine arts department, but any organization that is not wildly popular. Unfortu-

nately, stereotypes against the fine arts department are only a few examples out of the droves of stereotypes that plague our school, community and society. We view hipsters as posers. Asians as supergeniuses. Girls that dress nicely as preps dying to impress. Heavy people as lazy.

Skinny people as anorexic. Equality activists as idiots living in the past and spewing antiquated rhetoric.

Every day, we are surrounded by stereotypes. These inaccurate reflections of who we are only harm our relationships with our community and tear away at our psyche. We drift further and further from potential colleagues and friends because we are afraid of challenging society’s perverted view of the truth.

As humans, it is our civic responsibility to emotionally provide for our fellow man. We must focus on building and rebuilding–on loving and being loved. We are members of the most connected and transformative generation in history.

Why not use this power to end the lowkey hatred and angst bred from stereotypes? The time has come to revisit our morals. How much longer will we allow these hurtful misconceptions to dictate our interaction with others?

I have met countless peers, teachers, mentors and role models who want to one day create positive change. I urge you to take the step, no matter how small, to ending unnecessary hurt in the lives of your fellow man. Every day, many students wake up afraid to go to high school. Together, we can change that. Together, we can change the culture.

PCB: Party Heaven or Tourist Hell?

ILLUSTRATION BY HAYDEN JOHNSON

Jeremy Hinds @_JHinds Chief Photographer

Warmer weather, countdowns toward graduation and vacation plans. These things can mean only one thing: spring has finally started.

With the spring season approaching students begin selecting destinations for their spring break and senior trips.

When selecting a destination, vacation staple and party town Panama City Beach always is brought up into discussion. Incorporated into Bay County, Florida, on May 2,1936, PCB started as a small fishing community but grew exponentially due to its location and attractive white sand beaches. Low-rise beachfront houses gave way to high-rise beachfront condos as more and more unused land was

being rapidly consumed by theme parks, nightclubs and other tourist attractions.

Named the No. 1 spring break destination by Fox News and other major outlets, PCB hosts up to 250,000 college and high schoolers every year. While there is no doubt PCB is one of the most popular spring break destinations in the United States, spring breakers still have mixed feelings about it as their destination. The white-sanded city has been featured on Trashiest Spring Break Location lists since the early 2000s. Its reputation for rowdy (and mostly drunk) college students has been displayed each year, even to the point where the City Council passed legislation to ban alcohol consumption on the beach and in other certain areas.

With so much alcohol consumption, it is common sense to assume that the number of crimes would increase also.

Incidents like an alleged public gang rape and a house party shooting that left seven injured in 2015 show how increasingly dangerous the situation in PCB has become. The number of illegal firearms confiscated by police was 49 in 2015, up from a considerably lower nine in 2014.

But with all of the negative things about Panama City Beach, things are improving. City leaders have passed many laws (like the alcohol ban) to improve the general safety of the spring break experience. Beefing up of police patrols and other safety precautions has made PCB a better and safer place to party without taking away all of the fun.

Between all of the exciting parties at places like the largest nightclub in the U.S., Club Lavela, or activities on theNo. 3 ranked beaches in the nation, PCB has so much fun to offer. According to Governing.com, incoming spring breakers spend around $101 million dollars during the month of March alone. For some businesses that’s almost one-fourth of their whole revenue for the year.

One thing is clear for PCB. Despite all the challenges and dangers it brings, spring break is good for business.

The economy thrives on – if not depends on – this influx of tourists every year. And if you stay safe and stay aware of your surroundings, PCB may give you your fix of excitement that lasts you until next year.

PLAY BALL Meredith Beasley @mbeez33 Sports Editor

The weather is starting to warm up and spring is here, and in the world of sports that can only mean one thing: baseball. Something about the warm sun shining after a long, cold winter brings about the craving of the unparalleled atmosphere of a baseball game.

There is simply nothing better.

Tupelo Baseball is one of many anticipated traditions that makes Tupelo Athletics great. This season is the 55th year that the historic field at the middle school has been in use. Golden Wave Field is unique in that it is not at the high school but at the current middle school, which, at one time, was the high school. Over the past few years, there has been talk about possibly building a new field at the high school, but people seem to prefer it at its historic location.

This season, the Golden Wave is led by new head coach Justin Reed and assistants Shane Nichols and Levi Bishop.

Reed has previously coached at South Panola and Louisville. “(He’s) brought a lot of energy to the program this year,” junior catcher Ray Sandroni said of Reed. “It’s fun playing for a guy like that, someone you want to win for.”

Stephen Matthews, junior shortstop, agrees that Reed has made a positive impact on the team already.

“I really like Coach Reed,” Matthews said. “He loves the game and you can see that by the way he coaches; he cares about his players.”

Both Sandroni and Matthews have confidence that the team will have a successful season and hope to make it far in the playoffs. Since 1991, the team has made it to the playoffs every year except for in 2012. They won state in 1991 and 1992, but haven’t claimed the championship again since then.

“We’re going to be pretty good, better than in years past,” Matthews said. “We have a lot of talent on this team and we’re a lot better hitting team.”

Sandroni agreed, saying he expects the team to make it deep into the playoffs.

“Maybe even make it to the state championship,” he said. “That’s always the goal.”

The team is also led by its three seniors, Jason Garrett, Tucker Whitenton and Jarvis Smithey. All three are big assets to the team.

In a WTHS interview, Garrett, pitcher and first baseman, said he’s eager to be a leader on the team and especially can’t wait to play longtime rival Madison Central.

“I’m looking forward to making a good last ride with my team,” Garrett said He also agrees the team could make it far into the playoffs.

“We have a good chance,” Garrett said. “We have a good team this year, a lot of strong players.”

Garrett has committed to the University of Memphis to play baseball after he graduates this year.

Making it to the state championship seems to be a common goal among the players, so be sure to come out and support the guys as they work towards winning that ring.

Golden Wave Baseball is closer to accomplishing its goal. On April 12 at South Panola, Tupelo beat the Tigers 5-0, clinching the 2-6A Division Championship.

The team’s official Twitter account, @gwavebaseball15, congratulated the players on social media after the game: “Region 2 6A Champs!! Great work guys!! #goldenwavebaseball #themblankets #G.R.I.T” THS Sports Information Director T. Braden Bishop also tweeted about the win.

“With the win tonight, Tupelo (14-8) grabs a 1st Round bye and 2nd round home series vs. 1-6A No. 2 / 3-6A No. 3 winner on Friday, April 29th,” Bishop tweeted.

SPORTS BRIEFS Golf tees into new season Tupelo High School’s golf teams started their season with a new coach in late February. Sharon Rial stepped up as coach this year when Mark Enis stepped down to become the assistant principal at Lawndale Elementary School.

Rial said the golf team’s biggest rivals are “Madison Central and some of the private schools.”

Although the teams have to get their averages down some, they have a big group of junior guys who are “hopefully going to step up and lead,” said Rial, who added that her expectations for the season are high.

“With the tournament this weekend, we started out with a better average than what they did last year at this time,” Rial said. “Hopefully we’ll just continue to improve and finish one of the top two or three teams in the state.”

Tebow tackles Tupelo On April 12, Tim Tebow was the keynote speaker for the Blue Moun-

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SPORTS

MARCH/APRIL 2016 • TUPELO HIGH SCHOOL • THE HI-TIMES

tain College Fundraising Gala at the BancorpSouth Arena.

The youngest of five children to Baptist missionaries, the former NFL quarterback became the first sophomore ever to win the Heisman trophy while at the University of Florida. He also won two NCAA national championships while attending the university.

Murphy new THS band director Rick Murphy has been named head band director at Tupelo High School.

He will start July 1 and replaces Tim Matlock. Murphy, who has nearly 40 years of experience, previously worked at McGavock High School in Nashville, Middle Tennessee State University and North Pontotoc High School.

Assistant band directors at THS include Darius Fant, Jeremy Greenwood and Taylor Sparks.

Bowling’s Russell headed to UAB Senior Taylor Russell has been recognized for her bowling talents with a scholarship to the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

“The UAB coaches have been watching me bowl for a couple years now,” Russell said. “They expressed interest and they contacted me about coming for a visit. This is when they talked to me about scholarships would they be willing to offer me.”

Russell’s stats captured the interest of other college coaches, but she is definitely committed to attending UAB when she graduates in May. “I didn’t take any more college visits because I knew that UAB is where I really wanted to go.” she said. “I had other coaches from other schools who were interested in me, but most of them were National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics schools and I really had my heart set on attending an NCAA school.”

– Keywanna Rogers contributed to this report

Bracket busting highlighted March Madness

ILLUSTRATION BY HAYDEN JOHNSON

Jeremy Hinds @_JHinds Chief Photographer

The National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Championship, better known as The Big Dance or March Madness, was created in 1939. The brainchild of Ohio State University coach Harold Olsen, it has flourished into one of the most famous and anticipated annual sporting events in the United States.

The tournament begins with 64 teams (68 if you count the number before the preliminary games) and follows a “one-and-done” elimination bracket. As the tournament progresses, the number of remaining teams dwindles until the Final Four remain to shoot it out on April 4 and 5. This madness, no pun intended, grips the attention of die-hard sports fanatics and casual bracket-makers alike.

March Madness brought in a record number of viewers in 22 years in 2015, reaching an average 11.3 million viewers. At the peak of the final game, the Duke/Wisconsin matchup peaked at a whopping 33.4 million viewers. In the midst of all the hype and staring down of the TV, major companies look to advertise their brands to the masses of viewers. In 2015, 201 major brands like AT&T and Buick reported for $1.07 billion in TV ad revenue. The fact that so many people watch the tournament means that air time and ad spots are extremely lucrative and also very contested.

As all sports fans know, the outlandish traditions that are done are almost as fun as cheering for the

ting down the nets, to St. Joseph’s Hawk mascot never stopping flapping his wings for a game, college basketball is filled with traditions.

But one tradition has become almost a trademark of March Madness: the basketball bracket prediction. Hours of pouring over stats and making predictions just to be lucky enough to get the winning predictions. This tradition has become so popular that billionaires like Warren Buffett have offered immense amounts of money to whoever could correctly predict the course of the tournament. The Quicken Loans Billion Dollar Bracket Challenge, or informally known as Buffett’s Bracket due to his creation of the challenge, offers a billion dollar reward to the lucky bracket-maker and a $100,000 dollar reward to 20 still lucky bracket-makers who get the closest. While no one won the award due to the absolutely impossible odds, the contest in itself shows how serious fans take these brackets.

All the hype surrounding the March Madness tournament is definitely backed with an equal amount of action and excitement. Even closer to the Final Four, the excitement doesn’t dwindle away; it increases.

As the field is narrowed, the skill, passion and effort intensify with each game.

Last year it was came to a showdown between the Duke Blue Devils, lead by center Jahlil Okafor and Coach John Calipari: running a perfect 34-0 record and the Wisconsin Badgers, lead by center Frank Kaminsky and coach Bo Ryan: who had a strong 31-3 season. Both teams were ranked No. 1 in their regions and the final game was an electrify-

challenging each other for the trophy. As many experts predicted, Duke took home the win with a hard fought 68-63 victory over Wisconsin.

2016 was filled with no less excitement than the previous year. In what basketball analysts call the biggest upset in the history of March Madness, the No. 15 Middle Tennessee State University Blue Raiders beat the No. 2 Michigan State Spartans 90-81.

With 23 percent of 13 million brackets turned in indicating that the Spartans would be victorious, the upset came completely out of nowhere and dashed thousands of bracket-making hopefuls dreams of a perfect prediction. The fact that this upset was not close to being the most exciting part speaks volumes for the 2016 season.

The shootout at NRG Stadium in Houston was everything a college basketball fan could dream of. After two halves of non-stop point surges, comebacks and ties you would think one game could not contain so much excitement: wrong. With five seconds left, North Carolina’s guard Marcus Paige hit an insane, off-balance three-pointer to tie the game 74-74.

As Tarheel fans’ hopes rose through the roof and beyond, they were violently brought hurdling back to earth along with the buzzer-beating three pointer by junior forward Kris Jenkins. One ball. Two men. Thousands of wide-open mouths. Just like that, the Madness ended. And those 4.7 seconds, that shot and the Villanova Wildcats basketball team will be cemented in history forever.

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THE HI-TIMES • TUPELO HIGH SCHOOL • MARCH/APRIL 2016M

Is cable dead?

Netflix produces some of the best original content

One of the original Netflix series is the romantic comedy “Love.” Netflix customers can have an unlimited, ad-free television watching experience for just $9.99 a month.

Hayden Johnson @haydenjahnsahn Staff Writer

Streaming movies and TV shows has become routine and part of everyday life. Whether you use Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Instant Video, finding something to watch has never been easier.

Netflix started out as an American DVD-by-mail service in 1998 and began to stream video in 2007.

Netflix now serves more than 190 countries. As of January 2016, Netflix serves 74 million users, with 44 million living in the United States.

Netflix began to continue programming of various genres after these programs had previously been canceled. Some of these programs include cult classics like “Arrested Development” and the 3D animated show “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.”

For a few years now, Netflix has distributed a number of “Netflix Originals,” or programs exclusively on Netflix. One of the first successful original Netflix dramas was “House of Cards,” which

was released Feb. 1, 2013. Set in present-day Washington, D.C., “House of Cards” is the story of Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), a Democrat from South Carolina’s 5th congressional district and House Majority Whip who was passed over for appointment as Secretary of State. He then schemes to get himself into a position of greater power, with the help of his wife, Claire Underwood (Robin Wright). The series has won several awards since its release, including several Golden Globes and four Primetime Emmy awards.

Since its success with some of the first original series, Netflix has spread to even more genres and shows. “Love” is an original romantic comedy that was released exclusively by Netflix on Feb. 19 of this year. The show follows Gus, an on-set teacher/tutor for young actors, and Mickey, a manager at a satellite radio station. Gus has just broken up with his girlfriend for cheating on him. Mickey is in an on-again, off-again relationship with a loser named Eric. Gus meets Mickey one morning at

Hayden johnson

a gas station after hearing her arguing with the clerk. Gus offers to pay for her coffee because she’s forgotten her wallet. The two then spend time together in an awkward and tense friendship.

In 2015, Netflix teamed up with Michael Showalter and David Wain to make a prequel to “Wet Hot American Summer.” “Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp” is an eight-episode prequel series to the 2001 cult classic starring Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, Molly Shannon and many more hilarious cast members. The prequel show stretches one day over a whole eight episodes and depicts in detail what the very first day of camp was like for the teen counselors.

With streaming services like Netflix producing original content and the plethora of shows and movies to choose from on those services, modern cable providers have something to look out for.

Streaming is consistently becoming more popular.

Netflix might be how everyone enjoys television in the very near future.

MOVIE REVIEW

Batman vs. Superman:

Dawn of Justice Chael Williams @Chael_williams Staff Writer

“Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice” is one of the best new movies of 2016. Although many critics have given it bad feedback, I happily disagree.

This movie is a cinematic marvel with gut-wrenching action and heartwarming scenes of friendship, love and family. Throughout the entire film I was entertained and on the edge of my seat.

The story of how Batman and Superman, both of whom are protagonists, end up at odds with each other is both intricate and fascinating.

I was particularly impressed with the performances of Henry Cavill (Superman), Ben Affleck (Batman)

and Jesse Eisenberg (Lex Luthor). We have already seen Cavill as Superman in his incredible performance in “Man of Steel,” and he again proved his job as Superman as superb.

I was particularly worried about Affleck’s performance as Batman because of how well Christian Bale carried the Batman franchise previously, but was pleasantly surprised by how Affleck did.

I was excited to see Eisenberg as Luthor. I was impressed with how he carried himself as being wealthy and distinguished but also showed his gangster and mad-scientist side..

I believe, however, that the most exciting piece of this new film is what DC is going to do with the entire “Justice League” franchise. The film was an intriguing start to the new series of

movies DC plans will begin producing in 2017.

“It brought a different twist to the story than I had expected,” junior

Ben Stanzell said. “It set up a series of movies that have ample potential to be phenomenal.”

I give “Superman vs. Batman: Dawn

of Justice” five stars for the incredible story, impressive acting, and for the exciting future.

MARCH/APRIL 2016 • TUPELO HIGH SCHOOL • THE HI-TIMES

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THE HI-TIMES • TUPELO HIGH SCHOOL • MARCH/APRIL 2016

Spice up your life with secret menu items

mary catherine MILLER

Drunken Fun Guys from Mellow Mushroom consists of cutup pizza dough with beer cheese dip. mary catherine MILLER

A secert menu item at Starbucks is the Rolo Frappuccino.

Mary Catherine @murrythegreat1 Staff Writer

Did you know that some of your favorite restaurants have certain menu items kept in the dark? They can be ordered, but don’t actually appear on the menu. These socalled secret menus aren’t so secret after all.

Drunken Fun Guys from Mellow Mushroom (the closest ones to Tupelo are in the Memphis area) is an appetizer that consists of cut up pizza dough with beer cheese.

Taco Bell has a personalized quesadilla with an extra crispy shell called the double grilled quesadilla.

A Buffalo Chicken Sandwich from Chick-filA is just a regular chicken sandwich with the chicken covered in buffalo sauce.

Starbucks baristas are asked about once or twice a day to make a secret menu item.

“We don’t know the secret menu from memory, but if you show us the ingredients we can make it,” an employee of the Starbucks on West Main said.

Most of the secret menu is made up of regular drinks with some extra pizzazz added, or it’s a simple change in the way a beverage is prepared.

I went to Starbucks and ordered a Sour Gummy Worm Refresher. It’s just a Valencia Orange Refresher with raspberry and peach syrup added. They didn’t carry the Valencia Orange Refresher, but they could still make it.

I also tried a Rolo Frappuccino. It’s a vanilla bean frappuccino with java chips added and

caramel drizzled on the inside of the cup. I think I’m in love with it. This is going to be the one thing I get everytime I go to Starbucks from now on.

“Sometimes we don’t have all the ingredients to make them because Starbucks discontinued some of the ingredients,” the barista said. “But we can still make it.”

Some secret menu items are made from the creative minds of customers and workers.

If you’re in an adventurous mood, try something totally new. It’s just a matter of finding what you like. Play around with the menu.

The cooks and baristas are there to help you enjoy what you’re eating or drinking. If you don’t like what you got, change it again.

At the end of the day, it’s nice to spice things up a bit and have some flavor in life.

ALBUM REVIEW

KANYE WEST: THE LIFE OF PABLO Nathan Jackson @yasnthn Editor-In-Chief

Kanye West has been a part of the music world since the 2000’s. Kanye’s first album was “The College Dropout,” and the song “Slow Jamz” was his breakthrough hit as a solo act. After that, each album and song that had the assist of Kanye on it has been amazing. Nevertheless, I knew his latest project was going to be great and I was not disappointed.

“The Life of Pablo” is the first album from Kanye that isn’t revolutionary. There are tons of artists now who are putting out

music that sounds exactly like Kanye’s old discography. Kanye even mentions that in a song on this album called “I love Kanye.”

Kanye is always ahead of the game in this genre. He brings fresh new beats and words that others don’t feel comfortable with doing until he does it.

My favorite song off the album is between “Waves” and “FML.” Featuring Chris Brown, “Waves” was the song that delayed the album from its initial due date because Chance the Rapper told Kanye that he needed to put that song on the album. I am glad he did, because it is truly amazing. “Waves” used to be the title

of the album, but a change and vision stirred Kanye differently.

“FML” features The Weeknd. The Weeknd’s angelic voice on the chorus makes the song whole.

Overall, “The Life of Pablo” is one of the best albums I have heard so far this year. And Kanye has mentioned this isn’t all he is going to release this year, which excites me even more. Kanye West has always been my favorite rapper. He knows what good music is and is not afraid to try knew things that do not go in the lines of what a rapper is supposed to do, which I like and respect a bunch.