Newsstreak November issue

A6: Veterans’ Day Parade in Harrisonburg

The

B1: Student bands perform in local gigs

B11: Fall sports season come to a close

Newsstreak

where every person has a story

Harrisonburg High School • 1001 Garbers Church Road • Harrisonburg, VA 22801 • 540.433.2651 • Volume XIIC • Issue 3 • November 28, 2016

PROTEST

PHOTO BY SAM HEIE

STRONGER TOGETHER. Freshman Lenore Penrod and sophomore Lizet Muniz participate in a march to protest president-elect Donald Trump’s views regarding LGBTQ and minority rights. The student-led protest took place on Nov.14. Participants left school 10 minutes early to walk downtown where they congregated in Court Square.

Students march downtown to protest election Sam Heie Feature Editor When junior Lizet Muniz woke up the day after election day, she was devastated.

“I was so shocked. I thought it was going to be impossible for him to become the president, but I was unfortunately wrong,” Muniz said.

This reaction was common, causing uproars and

violent protests across the nation. Muniz, alongside juniors Juan Romero, Dharakshan Shaikh, Karina Vasquez and Ana Santiago, had the same idea, but in a more peaceful manner.

Romero suggested a protest to the group and that enveloped into a walkout.

“The goal of the protest was to promote peace and unity instead of violence and hatred that we have seen in some other protests across the U.S. We saw the

other protests and thought we should have one that actually achieves what it should,” Muniz said.

The protest occurred on Nov. 14, beginning at HHS and ending in Court Square.

The protesters walked the three miles with signs and banners, some reading ‘Love Not Hate’ and ‘Honk if you Love Diversity’. The protest was not intended to be anti-Trump, but instead as a protest against his ideas and values. The group

said.

Despite these fears, Muniz believes that their goal was achieved.

“We had people from the community and the school come up to us and say that they really appreciated what we were doing.

We had hope for our country and we let it show in a peaceful way,” Muniz said.

The original plan for the protest was to leave

See PROTEST page A2

Jackson, Vaughn encourage blood drive

HHS only school in state to win United Sound grant

Abby Hissong Editor-In-Chief

Iris Cessna Staff Reporter If you happen to walk by room 216 during the school day, there is a chance you will be greeted with the smells of various foods wafting through the door. Learning how to prepare foods is just one of the things that goes on in special ed classes, where the students learn how to perform basic household chores.

But now that the school has gotten the United

had some worries going in, however. “...We were worried about being singled out from the community instead of being unified.

After the election was announced, we were in a lot of pain and so was a large part of our community.

There was also a lot more hate after the election, so we were worried we would receive some of that during the protest. That was our only major fear,” Muniz

PHOTO BY SAM HEIE

HEAR THEIR SOUND. Junior Emily Werner instructs sophomore Jasmine Espinoza on the xylophone.

Sound program, the learning in this room is expanding outside the kitchen and into the realm of music.

Six students with intellectual disabilities reap the benefits of the United Sound program on ELT

Next issue...

Start of winter sport season Inside look at crazy parent jobs Every Person Has A Story Features Holiday traditions Sports photo of the month Columns and editorials Musical beginnings Untold stories of HHS teachers Humans of HHS

choice days, starting this year along with their peer mentors. These mentors are band students who have been chosen to teach a ‘new musician’ (the Unit-

See SOUND page A2

With the holiday season approaching, Virginia Blood Services is hoping that people will be open to donating more than just money to those in need.

Blood drive coordinator Austin Rehfield encourages all students eligible to donate blood to get out of their comfort zone and participate.

“I think [giving blood] is a decision that takes a lot of bravery, and not everybody is comfortable with the idea of donating right off the bat. But the fact of the matter is that usually once people take the leap and donate, often times they come out of it thinking

Follow Us! @NewsstreakOnline @_HHSMedia @StreaksSports @hhsmedia16

PHOTO BY CHRISTA COLE

DONATION SEASON. Junior Mikah Vaughan gives blood for the first time during the SCA-sponsored drive. ‘wow, that wasn’t so bad’.

In doing something for someone else, kids often just have this sense of pride when they walk out, and I think that’s something real-

ly special you can’t get anywhere else,” Rehfield said.

Though Rehfield is a strong supporter of student

See BLOOD page A2

Find us on the Web www.hhsmedia.com Updated sports scores and schedules for all seasonal sports Feature package stories and extended coverage of print packages Advertising forms and information Breaking news from school and the community

November 28, 2016

News-A2

The Newsstreak

Advocates achieve goals in student-organized march PROTEST from A1 the school building during the day right after second breakfast. This changed when administrators found out about it.

“We had a Facebook and an Instagram account where we were trying to see peoples’ opinions on when we should do the march. A couple of people didn’t like what we were doing and showed our accounts to the administrators in hopes that we would get shut down or suspended. Instead, they were willing to help us in a way that wouldn’t affect too many people in our school but it still could be carried out.

I’m very grateful for the administrators and the police officers that allowed us to carry this out. We couldn’t have done it without them,” Muniz said.

One of the reasons that Muniz disagrees with Trump’s ideologies is more personal.

Trump vowed to deport illegal immigrants back to their country. Her father was illegal until last year and she still has family members who are undocumented.

“Just imagining my dad not having documentation and being at the risk of deportation is scary. If he would have gotten his documentation any later, it would have been dangerous. He would have been associated with the criminals that Trump presents,” Muniz said.

Muniz was expecting a smaller crowd of around 10 to 20 people, but instead, the final group consisted of around 200 strong.

People, not just from the school, showed up in Court Square to support the protesters. One of these supporters was freshman Lenore Penrod.

“My goal for the protest was to speak out against his ideals and pretty much how he doesn’t love everyone equally. He’s clearly been racist against a lot of people and very sexist to women. It’s gross how people can still hate so much. We’re all human,” Penrod said.

Penrod was anxious going into the pro-

PHOTO BY SAM HEIE

LEAD THE WAY. (Left to right) Juniors Dharakshan Shaikh, Karina Vasquez, Ana Santiago and Juan Romero lead fellow students in protest of some of the ideals of recent President-Elect Donald Trump. The group came up with the idea in wake of the presidential election results and created Instagram and Facebook pages to spread awareness about the event. The walk-out march was over three miles from HHS to Court Square in downtown Harrisonburg where the group rallied. By the time the group reached Court Square, over 200 Harrisonburg residents of all ages and races had joined them. test, not knowing how many people would show up.

“I was a bit worried about people heckling us or flipping us off from their cars, but that didn’t really happen. I was nervous at first, but when I saw how many people were there, I got really excited. To know

that there were that many people passionate about the same cause was pretty fantastic,” Penrod said.

Penrod was one of the speakers at the final location downtown. She took the microphone and spoke of peace, unity and love.

“I just felt empowered at that moment.

It just came to me and I felt like I needed to talk,” Penrod said. “I feel like if everyone did that, we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place.”

Donors look forward to saving lives BLOOD from A1

PHOTO BY CHRISTA COLE

GIVING BACK. First time donor, junior Jaci McGranahan squeezes rubber ball as she gives blood. “I wanted to participate [in the drive] because it’s nice to be able to help people in need, even if I am only one small contributiom,” McGranahan said.

involvement in these blood drives, he admits that there are some drawbacks.

“Because we host the drives at the schools, we take the risk of students not eating breakfast beforehand, which is a huge problem. We take about a pint of blood from every student, and if they haven’t eaten, that drastically lowers their blood sugar. This is what makes people run the risk of passing out. It’s only happened a few times, but it is always really scary when that does happen,” Rehfield said.

Although junior Rebekah Vaughn has participated in blood drives elsewhere, this will be her first time donating here.

“I’m looking forward to it. I hate needles, so the whole process was very uncomfortable for me during the actual donating part. But then, they let you eat some food before and afterwards as well as get out of class, so that definitely made up for it,” Vaughn said.

Other than the obvious perks, Vaughn mainly donates because she feels that it is her civic duty.

“It’s a good feeling to be able to help people. [I participate in the blood drive every year] because in one session your blood saves three lives, and I feel that sacrificing 10 minutes of my being uncomfortable is totally worth it,” Vaughn said.

Junior Ayanna Jackson will be a part of the blood drive for the first time this year, as she had been too young to do so in the past.

“I’ve never participated in a blood drive before since I’m barely old enough.

I only turned 16 over the summer, but I’ve always wanted to be a part of one, so I’m excited to give back,” Jackson said. “I

know that if I was ever in need of blood, it would be given to me because of other blood donors. So I just feel like if I’m eligible to do it, why wouldn’t I? [By giving blood] I can save three lives in one day, and that’s not something you can do every day.”

Unlike most people, Jackson isn’t nervous about the process of getting her blood drawn, rather the aftermath of doing so.

“I’m actually not afraid of needles, and I’ve had blood drawn before, so I think I’ll be okay on that front. The only thing I’m nervous about right now is how I’m going to feel afterwards, because I know I might be dizzy and I’ll want to eat a lot of food,” Jackson said.

One of the most frustrating things for both Vaughn and Jackson is when people refuse to donate blood simply because they do not want to.

“If I could say anything to people who are debating whether or not to participate, I would just ask them not to be selfish. People who donate blood are thinking of others, instead of just themselves. If anything, do it for the free t-shirt,” Jackson said.

For Vaughn, she would just emphasize to people that giving blood isn’t nearly as intimidating of a process as people often make it out to be.

“Giving blood doesn’t hurt, it’s just a weird sensation. [Giving blood] is such a good cause that helps so many people, and all you have to do is give up a tiny part of your day,” Vaughn said. “Also, once you’re done, the blood drive people send you an email that tells you when your blood was used, so I think everyone would enjoy the feeling of giving back.”

Band members guide ‘new musicians’ in learning various instruments SOUND from A1 ed Sound Program’s name for the special ed students involved) an instrument of their choice.

The goal of the program, in the words of Paige Vass, one of the United Sound coordinators here at HHS, is to “provide musical experience for students with intellectual disabilities.”

Vass is the special ed teacher in charge of collaborating with the United Sound program here. In order to qualify for the grant, a school has to apply and be approved by United Sound to get the program, along with have a collaborative relationship between the special ed and band teachers.

HHS is currently the only school in Virginia to have been accepted into United Sound.

One of the six students in not just our school, but the entire state, to be involved is junior Andre Beeton. He is being mentored by sophomore Irene Lui and senior Kennedy Wolter in playing the drums. “[My favorite part about learning how to play the drums is] learning about the beats and the rhythm. It started when my dad would always play music, and I didn’t understand how the music worked that he would play. I only liked the beat and the rhythm,” Beeton said.

Beeton is relearning the drums after briefly playing as a young child. “[I started playing the drums] when I got my first drums during Christmas,” Bee-

ton said.

He is excited to work with Lui and Wolter to learn the drums again, and to eventually perform with the band.

But the new musician/peer mentor (Lui and Wolter) relationship is not one way, it’s mutually beneficial.

“I think it’s definitely helped us in the leadership aspect. We’ve learned how to teach people. [We’ve learned] patience.

Those kinds of things,” Lui said.

Besides improving their leadership skills, being a part of the United Sound program allows them to get to know people they normally wouldn’t have, like Beeton.

“We’re making new friends in places that we’ve never really had friends before. It’s making us grow and expand our friendship circles, including people who we wouldn’t have before,” Wolter said.

Band director Daniel Upton is also involved in United Sound, and thinks it is having a positive effect on both the new musicians and peer mentors.

“The mentor students have opened up and become great leaders and great support systems. I’ve seen qualities of them come out that I haven’t seen before… Also, seeing the new musicians open up and feel comfortable outside of their standard classroom environment [has been a positive thing]. They feel welcomed in the band room,” Upton said.

United Sound will hopefully expand over the coming years. More students may

PHOTO BY SAM HEIE

MAKING NOISE. Sophomore Jasmine Espinoza is instructed on the xylophone by senior Jonathan Aigner and junior Emily Werner during ELT block. United Sound is planning for a holiday concert that all of the members will play in. be involved here, and at other schools, in the future.

“We intend to be able to continue the program and to grow it; to add opportunities for new musicians, so we’ll look at that at the beginning of next year. And down the line we’d like to be able to expand to our middle school and to offer that oppor-

tunity for students earlier,” Vass said.

The band is expanding with this program, both through numbers and diversity.

“Inclusion is a big goal for our band program, so the goal is to get more students involved despite the barriers that they may face,” Upton said.

November 28, 2016

News-A3

The Newsstreak

‘Meet me in St. Louis’ auditions kicks off spring musical Christa Cole Print Managing Editor With callbacks through and auditions performed, this year’s musical Meet Me in St. Louis is underway. The musical tells the story of the Smith family and their love interests as the family prepares to move to New York right after the World’s Fair comes to St. Louis, Missouri.

Director Stanley Swartz predicts the cast to be a large one, which the musical allows for, and is a necessary feat considering about 100 students auditioned.

“I think the cast will be fairly large,” Swartz said.

“The family members are the main characters and it’s a big family, so there’s quite a few of them… it gets potentially pretty big if I don’t double [roles to one person]... I usually do not [double] because I’m looking for ways to get people involved, not to eliminate them.”

Swartz and the other directors have things they look for when deciding the cast.

“Are they staying on pitch? Are they keeping the time signature, the rhythm that the song has?

Are they showing some character along with it?

I don’t want just a dead face with no emotion, no

PHOTO BY CHRISTA COLE

PREP AND PERFORM. Students fill out audition forms prior to auditioning in the chorus room. character, no involvement, I want to see life,” Swartz said. “Monologues, same basic idea. I want to see that they are doing more than just memorizing the lines… I’m trying to see generally how they come across as a person so that I can match that overall characteristic to a character in the show.”

Choir teacher Bethany Houff looks for similar things as well as a few different ones.

“When I watch [and] hear an audition, I’m looking for facial expression/ stage presence, confident, in-tune singing, willingness

to try something new or take a risk, and ability to take direction,” Houff said. “[Also], how many people we can physically fit on the stage, cost of costuming the cast, a student’s singing, dancing and acting abilities... and a student’s ability to keep his/her grades up while spending hours a week at rehearsal.”

Freshman Declan Leach is one who is excited to participate in Meet Me in St. Louis, receiving both an acting and dancing callback. This will be his first time ever performing in a musical. Leach had auditioned for Shenandoah

Valley Children’s Choir as a kid and for drumline this past summer, but this audition was quite different for him.

“I was bodily shaking probably the first hour before my audition, enduring it…. I’ve done a couple of little plays, but nothing this big… Just the whole prospect of having to sing and act, even just for two or three people, on this huge stage, I guess that was just kind of intimidating for me,” Leach said.

Another student who received a callback was senior Maria Garcia-Martinez, for whom this is an

important musical.

“It’s my senior year, so I couldn’t not do it. I’ve done it all four years and it’s just a part of my life now,” Garcia-Martinez said. “[I was] a little bit [nervous], just because I don’t want to screw up my last year.” The fact that this is the final high school musical for Garcia-Martinez is one she has dwelt on.

“It’s definitely bittersweet, like when I got there I was like ‘Wow, this is the last time I’ll be doing this’, because a lot of people think I’m like going to major in theatre and stuff but I’m not, I want to be a nurse so I’m not [going to be] be doing stuff I love anymore,” Garcia-Martinez said.

Though students have survived auditions, callbacks never guarantee a part in the musical.

“We’re still very much in the formulation stage, and that is what callbacks are for, to help us as we try different people out in different arrangements and see how they do,” Swartz said.

Everyone who received an acting callback also received a dancing callback, an occurrence this year that the directors decided for the first time ever. “[In the dance callbacks] they will be taught a dance sequence from

the show in the style of the show to see who moves…

If they can handle that or not, they’re either [moved on or] eliminated at that point. Not eliminated from the show necessarily, but eliminated from doing anything further,” Swartz said.

“So we process through to find out who the best dancers are.”

Both Houff and Swartz are feeling good about this year’s production already.

“I think we’ll have a wonderful show this year.

I love the themes of family and togetherness. I love that this show will feature some great voices singing solos and duets, and this show will have fun dance sequences to highlight the abilities of our dancers. I think it will be a hit,” Houff said.

Swartz believes this musical will be just what we all need.

“I think the kids are going to have a blast; I think the audience is going to have a blast,” Swartz said.

“We’re planning on emphasizing the fun of it all, that’s a lot of what [it] is about this year, and I think with everything that’s going on in the world, and as crazy as things are, I think people are ready for that right now, just some good, clean fun.”

Thomas prepares for forensics Young team practicing diligently for upcoming competitions Sarah Earle News Editor

PHOTO BY JACQUELINE MATEO-SANCHEZ

HITTING HIGH NOTES. Junior Nick Burzamato, sophomore Weston Hatfield and freshman Ritt Culbreth sing their hearts out at the band formal.

Band formal successful Lily Gusler Staff Reporter

The band room was tingling with excitement as the band formal approached.

Freshman Spencer Spears was very eager to attend the dance.

“This is my first year attending because I am a freshman. I am excited about being with all of the other band kids because it’s after our last competition, so we won’t really see each other as much any more,” Spears said.

Spears believes that many of the marching band members will attend.

“I think a lot of people will be there because it is solely a band thing,” Spears said.

Band director Daniel Upton is thrilled to have the formal again this year.

“I think 2013 was the first year that we had a formal. It’s a nice way for the band students to have a social activity together as the band family and just be free, have a good time, relax and enjoy it,” Upton said. “I

have a lot of things that I like about having the formal, but one of my favorites is the superlatives, like ‘Most likely to be in step’ and ‘Most likely to have a smile on their face’.”

The students enjoy a variety of things at the dance.

“Kids usually enjoy the music, the dancing and the superlatives. There is a photobooth that we set up, and people have a fun time taking pictures and that sort of thing,” Upton said.

Drum major Emily Werner loves attending the formal.

“I love the band formal because it’s just a huge party with my band family,” Werner said.

A lot of work went into planning the formal.

“I helped plan a little bit, but it was mostly Lizet Muniz. The dance itself was pretty similar to last year, but with a better DJ,” Werner said.

Courtney Carpenter created the superlatives that the band students voted on this year.

With one tournament down, the forensics team has another to go, taking place on Nov. 10 at HHS. With only being a first year participant in forensics, freshman Atilia Thomas has already qualified for the championships, and is looking forward to the next tournament.

“I did [forensics] so I could get my public speaking better, and to make new friends,” Thomas said. “[Forensics] is pretty cool. I really like doing impromptu speaking. [In] impromptu speaking, you get three topics; say Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. You pick one of those topics and you have to write a speech and present it in seven minutes.”

Since she did so well in the previous tournament, Thomas has set high expectations for the upcoming tournament.

“I placed sixth, so I’m able to compete in the Shen-VAFL tournament.

This upcoming tournament, I hope to do better and hopefully place in the top three,” Thomas said. “[I want to improve] my movement and acting in my speeches while I’m presenting.”

In impromptu speaking, Thomas does not know the three topics of which she’ll be talking about ahead of time, making Thomas nervous. However, once she knows the topic, Thomas enjoys the challenge of writing a speech in a short amount of time.

“The hardest thing is thinking of a speech that will last long enough, because you want to prepare a speech for about four or three minutes. [However], [the best part about forensics] is

that it’s just fun thinking of speeches to come up with and presenting them,” Thomas said.

Not only is there impromptu speaking, but forensics is also comprised of of other strands.

“There are different events [in a forensics tournament]. You’ve got people who say poetry, serious Interpretation, humorous interpretation, etc.

There’s duo interpretation, where you act out a monologue or a play,” Thomas said. “There’s all different kinds for all different people. It’s the artsy side of forensics and debate, while debate is the more technical and government side.”

While juggling basketball and volleyball, Thomas tries to squeeze in time to practice forensics, which takes place in the library.

“I practice usually once a week, but some people that do poetry or humorous interpretation practice twice a week. Mrs. Walton and Mr. Walton have motivated me to do better each time that I practice,” Thomas said. “[To practice], they’ll give me a notecard with three topics. The topics can be anything; they can be quotes, objects, people, etcetera. I think of a speech to say and present it in seven minutes.”

Thomas has struggled with her confidence going into her speech, but has overcome her nerves through encouragement.

“I’m nervous about messing up because I really don’t like messing up.

Once I [have], the whole speech is [ruined] too,” Thomas said. “The biggest thing that I’ve learned is that everyone’s nervous, but honestly, you just have to take your nerves away and just do it.”

The Newsstreak

November 28, 2016 The Harrisonburg High School Newsstreak The Policy The Newsstreak is published by the students of Harrisonburg High School every month. Reproduction of any material from the newspaper is prohibited without the written permission from the editorial board. Advertising rates are available upon request.

It is the policy of the Harrisonburg City Public School Board to comply with all applicable state and federal laws regarding non-discrimination in employment and educational programs and services.

The Harrisonburg High School City Public Schools will not discriminate illegally on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin, disability or age as to employment or educational programs and activities.

Editorials appearing without a byline represent the majority opinion of the staff, but not necessarily the opinion of the adviser, school administration, or the school system.

Signed editorials are accepted from people on the staff, but are subject to editing according to published guidelines and policies. Editorials may be edited for special reasons.

Letters to the editor are encouraged and must be signed and a telephone number must be given.

Names may be withheld if the editorial board feels there is a just cause.

The Newsstreak reserves the right to edit and may refuse to publish ads or letters deemed inappropriate, libelous, or obscene. Please drop your letter by room 444 or give them to any staff member.

Letters may also be sent to the high school.

The Editors and Staff Editor-in-Chief: Abby Hissong Print EICs: Lucie Rutherford, Owen Stewart, Christa Cole Online EICs: Garrett Cash, Olivia Comer, Angel Hendrix Advertising Managers: Madison Varner, Audrey Knupp, Anna Rath Photographers: Christa Cole, Andrew Rath, David Gamboa-Pena, Yogesh Aradhey Page Editors: Kyle Brown, Anna Rath, Yusuf Aboutabl, Christian Rodriguez, Nyah Phengsitthy, Yogesh Aradhey, Hannah Miller, Jackson Hook, Theo Yoder, Lucie Rutherford, Abigail Hissong, Christa Cole, Noah Siderhurst, Sam Heie, Owen Stewart, Owen Marshall Staff Reporters: Yusuf Aboutabl, Yogesh Aradhey, Kyle Brown, Garrett Cash, Christa Cole, Olivia Comer, Danny Dombrowski, Sarah Earle, David Gamboa, Sam Heie, Angel Hendrix, Abigail Hissong, Jackson Hook, Audrey Knupp, Samantha Little, Irene Liu, Owen Marshall, Hannah Miller, Nyah Phengsitthy, Anna Rath, Christian Rodriguez, Lucie Rutherford, Noah Siderhurst, Owen Stewart, Madison Varner, Theo Yoder, Carrie Yoder, Max McDaniel, Hannah Daniel, Lene Andrawas, John Breeden, Ryan Doerr, Andrew Ely, Lily Gusler, Jackie Mateo-Sanchez, Forrest Matter, Jewelia Rodriguez, KiYosia Wallace, Andi Fox, Zoey Fox, Andrew Rath, Edgar Sanchez-Bautista, Vivian Neal, Carson Rising, Iris Cessna, Ty McDaniel, Anzhela Nyemchenko, Jake Urbanski, Josh Wilson, Kenyaa Wright, Samantha Little Professional Affiliations The Newsstreak participates as a member of several journalistic evaluation services including the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA-2010 Gold Evaluation and 2005, 2009 and 2015 Silver Crown Winner), Quill&Scroll Journalism Honor Society (2012 Gallup Award), National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) All-American, the Virginia High School League, Inc. Trophy Class Award, and the Southern Interscholastic Press Association All Southern Ranking and 2010 Scroggins Award winner. hhsmedia.com opt out notice: If you do not want to allow your student’s full name or image to appear on the school newspaper site, please send an email to vkibler@harrisonburg. k12.va.us stating: I DO NOT want my son/daughter (place student’s name here) to have his or her name or image published on the new online version of the newspaper, www. hhsmedia.com.

Op-Ed-A4

Stop overlooking everything HHS offers students NEWSSTREAK STAFF EDITORIAL Though some may have their complaints about our school, there are actually many overlooked aspects that should be recognized that students should be thankful for more often.

We are very fortunate to have the classes that are offered to us here at HHS. Not only are we given the opportunity to take many more AP and Dual Enrollment classes than numerous schools across the country, we have the most offered out of all of the surrounding county schools. These classes increase students’ chances to obtain early college credits and raise their grade point averages, benefitting all who take them.

Aside from core classes, our band and StageStreaks programs are two of the top funded groups in the school.

This allows for more and better materials for both of the programs and more possibilities for productions.

There are also multiple fine arts classes offered that grant students the opportunity to take classes that are better suited for their interests and even futures.

Despite the fact that the cafeteria has to prepare lunch for countless students and staff members, cer-

tain measures are taken to make sure that each of the six varying meal options we have per day are nutritious and have components of locally grown produce. Not only that, but the majority of all of those lunches are prepared on-site by all of the cafeteria ladies. Apart from lunch, our cafeteria also provides breakfast, both hot and to-go, each morning and a free snack for those participating in after school activities. There’s also the free and reduced meal program that ensures all students, including those of low-income, the opportunity to receive the proper nourishment each day.

The countless technological grants we’re exposed to at this school are also something we’re fortunate to have. As students, we have access to many types of technology, such as Apple desktops and laptops, that are often taken for granted.

We are very lucky to have access to those, as many school districts across the country can’t say the same.

Aside from the materials we’re able to use, the good condition of our school itself is often unnoticed. The janitors work long and hard to make sure that the place we spend seven or more hours a day at is as clean and orderly as possible, despite the fact

ART BY GENEVIEVE KENNEDY

that messes are often just left for them to attend to.

Furthermore, our building is well kept up and doesn’t suffer from too much van-

dalism or destruction, which is another detail that isn’t prevalent in all schools.

This upcoming holiday season, take the time

to acknowledge all of the many things we have to be thankful for here; they often go unnoticed and deserve a little recognition.

WHAT IS THE STAFF EDITORIAL? The unsigned staff editorial appears in each issue and reflects the majority opinion of the Newsstreak Staff Editorial Board. The Editorial Board is comprised of all editors-in-chief, page editors, advertising managers, photographers and selected freshman journalism students. In no way does our opinion reflect that of the school system or the administration.

Refugee crisis hits closer to home than you might think Hannah Daniel Columnist

ers step into makeshift rafts that are simply plastic tubes glued to wood. The glue isn’t dry yet and they will break apart at sea.

You’ve been hearing your You drift for three days. parents talking about war Your phone dies and your for months. Everyday, peonotebook and clothes are ple are killed in the streets drenched by sea swells. Your and you’ve stopped going boat threatens to capsize to school because it’s unmultiple times, and you finish safe to leave the house in the last of your food and waHannah-Rama the mornings. One night, as ter at sea. When you finally you’re brushing your teeth, reach shore, you are starvyour parents tell you that ing, dehydrated, and terribly you have to run for your life. You have fatigued-- and you are one of the lucky to be ready to leave within the hour, so ones. Two other rafts in your fleet capyou pack your most precious belong- sized while you were at sea. ings in a backpack and scamper out the You and your family discard the raft door. You bring your phone, a charger, a and walk inland for a few hours until notebook, your blanket, a flashlight, a you reach a refugee camp. You are in a picture of your family in a silver frame, new country by this point and you don’t some canned foods, your grandmother’s speak the language. You take aw tour of class ring, a few changes of clothes, a the camp: the cramped bunkhouses you water bottle, and your passport. In your will be staying in, the shack you will eat haste, you forget your shoes. You leave your meals in, and the bathroom that the house in slippers; by the tenth day of you’ll share with 50 other people (which walking they will be gone. isn’t more than a hole on the ground In the cover of night you begin your with a plastic plate on top of it). You are trek. You leave the city and continue into also handed a large tin can filled with the countryside. You walk until dawn, water, and you’re told that the amount is but the going is slow. You have to dump for showering, bathing, tooth-brushing, your family photo to lighten your back- everything-- just two gallons. You move pack and make quicker time. into your living quarters, having to give You walk for ten days, only sleeping up your blankets and clothes to make for three hours at a time. You finally room for everyone. You lie down on the reach your destination: the sea. Smug- cot immediately, cradling what little you glers have lined up rafts along the shore, have left from home: a flashlight, a water and your mother pulls out a hastily-tied bottle, and your passport. Even though stack of bills to pay for the journey. The it’s uncomfortable, you fall asleep quicksmugglers are displeased; they have ly, for this is your home now. hiked the price and you will not be able This story is adapted from the true to board with the amount you brought. tale told by a Syrian refugee, and this is You have to give up the ring to cover the the plight millions of people face each difference. day. People like me, and people like you.

You receive life jackets, but upon furJust know that no one choosther inspection, you realize that they will es to leave their homes, their counbe useless against the strong current tries, their friends, and everything and may even pull you under. You finally they’ve ever known. Just know that board the rafts with a few other families. no one should have to live like this.

You get an inflatable boat, but some oth-

ART BY ZOEY FOX

Selfishness just shows confidence in your personality Abby Hissong Editor-In-Chief

ly leads me astray. (Except for convincing me to buy $60 shampoo, nobody needs $60 shampoo.)

Personally, I love being This is not to say that selfish. I’m not sure when everyone should be selfish it came to be a bad word, all the time. We’d never but to me, it’s always get anything done. But takspoken to the power of ing turns being selfish can self-confidence. be okay too.

Of knowing what When my you want, what best friend makes you hapwants to list evpy, and making ery single adorthat happen for able thing her yourself. crush did, it’s I’m always my job to sit surprised when Dear Abby 3.0 there and listen I hear about and respond people putting with the obligothers first. Yes, it’s im- atory, “Oh yeah, he defiportant and lovely to think nitely wants you.” If my of helping others, and we parents want to go campshould all do it more often ing for the weekend and and more frequently (and not invite me, fabulous. I I don’t just mean buying hate camping and this way the coffee of the stranger I get to blast my music and behind you in an effort to sing along as loud as I want “pay it forward”). without any distractions.

But if your first priority Helping other people isn’t yourself, then you’re be happy makes me happy, not giving your best to and that’s about as unselfother people. If you are ish as you can get.

One of the best parts happy, healthy, rested and relaxed, then you will un- about being selfish is that doubtedly be a better per- it makes me do nice things for other people. And yes, son to be around.

You’ll be more fun to be part of that reason is for around because you just the credit, and yes, that’s spent four hours watching okay.

Taking credit where Netflix in bed instead of spreading yourself thin try- credit is due is totally okay. ing to make everyone hap- It means I work harder and spend more time on somepy all the time.

You’ll be more fun and thing because my name is more assured, and more on it.

It makes me feel like a loving because you did something to make your- good person, and it makes self better and happier, for other people happy. It’s a no other reason other than total win-win. Whether it’s ordering ‘Insomnia cookbecause you wanted to.

Contrary to what your ies’ to be delivered to my first grade teacher might bestie in college who got a have told you, it is not al- bad grade on a test, or simways a bad thing to be ply making sure my mom selfish. Being selfish can comes home to a clean sometimes be just another kitchen after a long week, way of saying you’re taking these things take effort, and time, and they are decare of yourself.

Since my brother left cidedly unselfish acts.

So be happy, and fulfor college five years ago, leaving me to be a filled, and selfish. The kind self-proclaimed only child of selfish that makes sure at home, I’ve often been you’re the best possible told I’m acting selfish. That version of yourself, the I’m thinking of myself first, kind that lets other peoand everyone else comes ple be selfish too (because it will soon be your turn), second.

And to that I say, of and the kind who works course everyone else hard to do nice things for comes second. I am al- others, even if you want ways, always thinking of the credit. myself first and looking out I promise you, your for what’s best for me. heart, body and mind will I tend to listen to what thank you. my heart says, and it rare-

The Newsstreak

November 28, 2016

Op-Ed-A5

HOT or NOT Torture an ineffective , dangerous tactic

BY CARRIE YODER

Beyoncé sings at the CMA’s: Singing alongside the Dixie Chicks was Beyoncé at the Country Music Awards.

Many tweets were sent out against her singing at the CMAs’, some just mad about a change in the traditional lineup while others brought racism into the debate.

New on Netflix in November: Netflix is all ready to release new shows and movies in November including Gilmore Girls: A day in the Life, The Jungle Books, The 100 (season 3), and K-pop Extreme Survival (season 1).

A new input in the Brexit: A senior British court announced that before Prime Minister Theresa May’s proceeds with exiting the European Union, she must get Parliament’s approval.

Plans to create a gondola: Building a gondola (a cable propelled transit system) connecting Georgetown to Rosslyn has now been discovered as a feasible and legal endeavor.

Most polluted city on Earth: Currently New Delhi is the most polluted city with levels of pollution recorded at 999 in comparison to China’s most polluted city, Baoding at a level of 298.

World Series curse ends: The Chicago Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians 8-7 winning the 2016 World series for the first time in 108 years.

HHS loses against TA: With a loss of 42-28 against Turner Ashby, Harrisonburg lost their chance at the play-offs.

Musical auditions and callbacks: Musical auditions start Nov. 14 and go through Nov. 16 with callbacks following on the 21-22.

Earthquake in central Oklahoma: A 5.0 magnitude earthquake struck central Oklahoma with tremors reaching as far as Texas. This earthquake is the 19th to hit Oklahoma in the past week.

One Act wins states: The high school one act wins first place in states at VTA with their production of “That was then.”

Vine gets cancelled: Twitter decided to shut down Vine.

Thanksgiving break: Thanksgiving Holiday starts November 23rd the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Four dead in explosion: In an apparent suicide bomb attack, four americans were killed at the largest US base in Afghanistan.

City council election results: Democrat Richard Baugh, political newcomer and 1st African American Deanna Reed, retired WHSV-TV weatherman George Hirschmann were elected.

La Nina affects weather: La Niña means bad news for the southeast who is currently seeing a drought.

La Niña will contribute to drier and warmer weather in the southern US and wetter, cooler conditions in the Pacific Northwest.

Winter sports begin: Winter tryouts began Monday, Nov. 7 Toblerone changes shape: Toblerone has changed its classic shape. Resulting in 10% less chocolate for the same price.

The Mannequin Challenge: The new challenge sweeping the internet is the mannequin challenge, a challenge where people assume a dramatic pose.

JMU basketball loses under new staff: JMU men lose against Old Dominion University 62-55 JMU women lost against University of Tennessee 81-69 Supermoon bigger than ever before: On November 14th a supermoon will occur that will be the biggest so far of the 21st century. Scientists say this will be the biggest it’s been in the last 68 years.

Calls to suicide hotlines rise: Post-election there was a rise in the amount of calls to the suicide hotlines.

Presidential election: The presidential campaign comes to a close.

Bannon appointed chief strategist: Stephen Bannon right-winged Breitbart News was appointed to the position of chief White House strategist and senior counselor for the Trump administration.

Sam Heie Feature Editor

pects could be beaten, put into stress positions, water boarded, slapped, harassed, Guantanamo Bay Naval sleep deprived and experiBase serves primarily as a hub ence several different methfor the U.S. Navy, but also as ods of extraction without one of the highest security any conviction under law. prisons on earth. The prison is The program was only used most known for holding the al- outside of the U.S. borders leged masterminds of the Sep. in order to avoid account11 attacks, as well as continu- ability, hence the program ing to practice alleged acts of was implemented on Guantanamo Bay because it is torture on the detainees.

Despite the supposed dis- not on the U.S. mainland.

A senate report on the continuation of torture, it is commonly believed that this torture methods and tactype of treatment persists. tics of torture found that The U.S. is a part of the United they were ineffective at Nations, and therefore must the least. When you strap abide by the international someone up to a long plank of plywood, cover common law and their mouth with the human rights a washcloth and law code, which poor water on it, ban the use of torthey are bound to ture by any means. say something. The Torture is iminformation that moral, outdated, you are supplied and often producwith may be true Heie-er es false answers. or false. It is natuPower If the government ral reaction to try to continues to use these methods of extraction, get yourself out of a strenuous they become a vigilante group situation.

In the case of the Guanworking against the power of tanamo Bay prisoners, there the people.

Resulting from meetings is no solid evidence that the between the CIA, White House torture tactics used produced officials and several govern- any information that would mental departments, the com- protect American citizens. In mencement of the Rendition fact, there was no evidence program has allowed the CIA produced at all. J. Connell, to virtually kidnap suspects learned counsel for accused and secretly detain them with- 9/11 defendant Ammar al Balout any interference. The pro- uchi, says that the CIA torture gram would often find that is used primarily to establish individuals taken in were inno- complete control over the recent, and had no involvement cipient. When interrogating, with investigations. They then they would ask questions they carried out several treatments already knew the answers to that fall under torture and in order to test if the defencruel and degrading actions, dants were being truthful. The both of which are illegal. Sus- psychological term for this is

Did you learn cursive or typing in school?

12%

Neither Both

AaBbCc Dd Ee Ff

Cursive

AaBbCcDdEeGg

Typing

12%

36% 40%

Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg

25 students polled on Nov. 4

INFOGRAPHIC BY ZOEY FOX

The dying art of cursive Zoey Fox Staff Reporter

those that simply wrote in print without lifting their pencil off the page, creating When you take the SAT’s a scrawl that could almost this year, you will encoun- be deciphered.

Then there was me, a ter a box on your answer true connoisseur of longsheet that says something hand.

I, a cursive-writing like, “Please copy the folt ra d i t i o n a l i st , lowing statelived for that ment into the box on the old space provided.

SAT when I could Please write show the test it in your own graders my true h a n d w r i t i n g .” calling of handNo big deal. That writing like a doesn’t necboss. When they essarily mean ‘Please write it leg- What Does changed the test, I the Fox Say was actually disapibly.’ pointed in CollegeThe new SAT Board for replacing doesn’t care about you or your handwriting. But be- the cursive requirement. fore the test was revamped (What kind of monopolistic with a classy new shade of corporation worth its salt CollegeBoard green, there yields to public pressure?)

I usually write in cursive was the old SAT. On the old because it’s more efficient, SAT, the handwriting box but lots of people compliwas different: “Please copy the following statement ment me on my handwritinto the space provided— ing. Even though it’s just in cursive,” the proctors controlled scribbling, curinstructed. For many stu- sive looks elaborate and dents, this would be the impressive. It’s also illegible to the average young perday’s greatest challenge.

Algebra? No problem. son, and it just so happens Geometry? Easy. Oxford that the point of the written commas? Come at me. But word is communication.

If I want to participate in to write in cursive is to tackthe future, maybe it’s more le another beast altogether. important for me to reconO half-remembered lessons from a third grade work- figure my handwriting so that other people can read book, do not fail me now!

Students prayed, and it, rather than keep writing set their pencils carefully in cursive just because I against the paper. The fol- can. Sometimes we have to lowing minutes were a tan- sacrifice our idiosyncrasies gled mess of graphite loop- to keep up with the times.

I’m starting to recognize ty-loops. Strategies varied: some students invented that cursive is a dying art. their own cursive alphabet Print writers whose neat in the moments before the letters look like a font— proctor moved on, others they are the future. Peoremembered the vowels ple who can type are the and most of the conso- future. Times New Roman, nants; they only stumbled size 12 is the future. I’m over capital L’s and G’s, and only sad that CollegeBoard the direction of the loop on thought to hail the new age a lowercase f. There were before I did.

Is torture ever justified?

22% s no aid

64% ssaid ye

14% aid sometsim es

Poll of 100 people

INFOGRAPHIC BY SAM HEIE

known as “learned helplessness.” It spawns from a traumatic experience and causes a sense of powerlessness. This means that the use of torture is not used as it is in your regular action movie. There is no ticking time bomb that the U.S. needs the password to in order to save lives.

In the scenario mentioned before, the use of torture leads to falsified information because of the desperate situation of the person being tortured. Even if there was evidence produced from torture that could be used to incriminate a prisoner, this often can not be used.

Seven of the low value prisoners at Guantanamo were put on trial using evidence that spawned from torture.

Of these, every single one of them was turned down in federal court because of violations in due process and Habeas Corpus. These prisoners were forced to return to Guantanamo and left in the arms of the very people who interrogated them in the first place.

Torture not only has an effect on those directly affiliat-

ed, but it also agitates enemies to carry out further attacks.

The second-hand effects of torture are seen not on home soil, but on the front line of the battlefield. Our actions are closely watched by our enemies, and if they see us treating their friends in a disgusting manner, what do you think they would do to our soldiers and even our families.

If we can’t look upon facts and technicalities, at the very roots of torture, it is immoral to the farthest extent of the word. Every person that is put into a U.S.-owned prison and is expected to be punished by U.S. laws must be treated with the same rights as any other U.S. citizen. If not, then our judicial system has failed the people that are supposed to be protected by it.

Every person has their reasons and every person has their own issues that, in their head, may be justified. We have to look at that aspect of everyone, because if we do not, then you can bet our enemies are, and that may be a justification to attack once again.

Police tensions start at young age “Consider the behaviors and attitudes you’ve observed within the student body and administration during your time here. This is a school full of more diversity than many parts of the country—is it immune to these inherent prejudices?”

- Ryan Doerr

Ryan Doerr Staff Reporter

and Hispanic women being 69% more likely.

While one can focus on the inequality that ocRacial tensions withcurs in these prisin the United States are ons, namely those not news anymore. The that are privately systematic racism that funded, the root of this great nation was the problem begins built upon is an issue with what happens as old as time itself, and before adolescence. the events of 2016 have This prejudice is only brought to light exRyan’s bred from an early actly how deep these Ramblings age, with black and prejudices are ingrained Hispanic students in our society.

Although America boasts making up over 70% of those inabout its freedom and equality, volved in school-related arrests the idea of equality in this coun- or altercations. Harsher puntry is, to most minority groups, ishments, especially within the laughable. Ever since Christo- black community, often put mipher Columbus stumbled into nority groups in contact with the North America, minorities have prison system from a much earlionly known that the white man er age. The underlying prejudices has taken what he wants and destroyed what he For every 100 juveniles incarcerated today: does not.

There is no - 45 are black question regard- - 25 are Native American ing this topic: ra- 15 are Hispanic cial disparities are prevalent in virtu- - 10 are white Statistics from the ally every aspect of - 5 are Asian Annie E. Casey Foundation life. American society now chooses INFOGRAPHIC BY RYAN DOERR to focus on police brutality, and although this is a prominent strug- that come with being a minority gle amongst minority groups, the in America today only widens the tangibility of the issue is easier to gap further, putting these groups grasp when looking at the after- at even more prominent disadvantages. From annual wages math of police interaction.

The differences between rac- to education quality to even es in prison are what truly illus- the war on drugs, minorities are trate the inequality within the targeted in methods vastly dissystem; one in 15 black men and proportionate to those of their one in 36 Hispanic men are cur- white counterparts.

Think about the school clirently incarcerated, compared to one in 106 white men—de- mate of HHS. Consider the bespite the fact that people of col- haviors and attitudes you’ve obor only make up 30% of the US served within the student body population (americanprogress. and administration during your org). The disparity is just as large time here. This is a school full of with women, with black women more diversity than many parts being three times as likely to be of the country—is it immune to incarcerated as white women, these inherent prejudices?

The Newsstreak

November 28, 2016

Feature - A6

Honoring our troops for their service Veterans day important for senior battalion commander Sam Heie Feature Editor There are 28.1 million living veterans in the U.S today. Of those, 50,000 are homeless or below the poverty line of their state. The lack of appreciation for veterans is a hot topic in media, politics and especially for HHS’ JROTC. Every year, the battalion participates in a Veterans Day parade in downtown Harrisonburg.

The march begins near the Roses parking lot and continues along Main Street until they reach the farmers’ market.

On Sunday, Nov. 7, senior Battalion Commander Hunter Manzano led the JROTC cadences in the march. This was his fourth year marching. Manzano believes that the march was much more than just that.

“My whole family is very militaristic, so I think showing support as a community for veterans and what they have done and their struggles is very important.

We see people who are Vietnam veterans and other veterans lined up on the street who salute us. I think by marching, we are showing them that they aren’t alone in any battle that they are going through,” Manzano said.

Despite Manzano’s respect towards veterans, he thinks there is still a substantial problem in the larger community.

“I don’t think America shows enough respect for its veter-

PHOTO BY SAM HEIE

MARCH ON. Senior Battalion Commander Hunter Manzano leads the JROTC cadences during the Valley Veterans Day Parade held downtown on Nov. 7. ans. They should be held up on a podium for what they have done for this country. The Veterans Association is sometimes very unfair on giving veterans help. Sometimes when veterans return home, things aren’t like they used to be and they might have a hard time converting from military life to a normal life and finding a job. I think there should be more assistance for the people who worked to keep America

the way it is,” Manzano said.

Manzano had two family members who served for the military. His great grandfather on his dad’s side served in World War II, and his maternal grandfather who was never deployed.

His relative veterans were lucky enough to not experience most of the problems that some face.

Despite this, Manzano still has relations with veterans who have gone through some major strug-

gles.

“I’ve talked to a lot of veterans outside of my family at the Veterans Day parade and at some retirement homes. Some of them come back missing limbs and other body parts, but for others, the wounds are more on the inside, like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Not all of them who experience trauma develop these issues, but the ones who do have their lives and their

McCutcheon recalls life in Army Kyle Brown Op-Ed Editor Veterans Day is a meaningful time for those who have served in the U.S. army. JROTC Senior Army Instructor Colonel Roy McCutcheon served in the Army from the mid 70’s until retiring in 2001. McCutcheon feels strongly on his beliefs of what Veterans Day means to him.

“Veterans Day represents a lot of sacrifice by a lot of different people. Some, I feel like, have sacrificed more than me. It should represent an appreciation to all those who have served our country,” McCutcheon said.

McCutcheon believes that he himself did not do much to deserve thanks on Veterans Day, but some other veterans deserve recognition.

“Sometimes it is hard to tell who the veterans are, like when I walk around in uniform everyone thanks me. ‘Thank you for your service, thank you for your service’. But there are many other people, much older than me, that have served in WWll, and those are the real people that need to be thanked, because if it wasn’t for that generation we wouldn’t be doing what we are doing now. Those are the people that sacrificed a lot,” McCutcheon said.

According to McCutcheon, a simple way to show respect to those who have served is to show up to simple things like the Veterans Day Parade.

“The parade is there to celebrate the veterans who have made sacrifices. I think that [people should] go out to the parade, and thank a veteran… and do what they’re supposed to do. You will see more people at the Christmas parade to try and see Santa Claus, and I find that sad. Santa Claus isn’t real, but these people are real,” McCutcheon said.

Throughout his time serving in the Army, McCutcheon was never called up to combat. McCutcheon’s father, however, had served in three tours in Korea and Vietnam.

“We moved a lot. It was a little different, because our father was gone for a year, and I don’t know, you’re not really thinking about it, you’re just doing it. It’s just the way of life, but when he comes back, everything’s different,” McCutcheon said. “You learn to make friends, be-

loved ones’ lives altered because of it. I can’t relate to them because I have never gone through anything like that yet, but I definitely do sympathize with them,” Manzano said.

Manzano is not deterred by these stories. Instead, he hopes to go into the navy.

“There are some necessary things that need to happen to keep freedom free, and I’m willing to do those things. I’m grateful for the ones who already have,” Manzano said.

Wayne A. Fulk was one of the veterans that attended the parade. He was never deployed to war, but spent his military time in Forts across the country.

“My time was primarily spent in the U.S. I think that was a bit easier than some of the people I know got it,” Fulk said.

This wasn’t Fulks first parade.

He has been attending them since their beginning.

“It was a good parade this year. We saw a lot of bigger floats and there were a lot more people involved,” Fulk said.

Since Fulk never left to the front lines, he didn’t face too many struggles when he returned back to his home town.

Although he was never deployed, he has friends who have been.

“My veteran friends really enjoy the parade and I think that’s pretty important,” Fulk said. “It’s very important to honor the people who risked their lives for us.”

Band, Choir perform to salute local Veterans Zoey Fox Staff Reporter

PHOTO COURTESY OF ROY MCCUTCHEON

BACK IN TIME. Colonel Roy McCutcheon (right) receives a certificate at the Saint Barbara Day ball at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas on Dec. 8, 1979. cause when you’re moving around all the time, you go to different elementary schools, middle schools. I went to three different high schools, and you learn how to make friends easy.”

McCutcheon spent most of his childhood in an Army background, and believes that it is the reason he decided to join the Army.

“When I was little, all I did was hang out with my dad. You know those field manuals, and first aid manuals? That’s all we had, so I was reading that stuff. I went to work with him and I would see what he would do,” McCutcheon said.

An average day for McCutcheon while serving in the army started at 5:30 a.m. with physical training, and if he was lucky, he would get off at 5:30 p.m. McCutcheon says that while training, the soldiers may have to go through an exercise that could last anywhere from a day, to a couple months. Looking back on his time serving, McCutcheon remembers the best moment during that time. “[My best experience was when I] worked at JMU. I was an assistant professor in military science for 18 months. That was fun because I was like 25, and the students were only like 18 to 22. While my experience was limited, I could talk to the college kids, because I was close to

their age and tell them what [serving in the army] was like,” McCutcheon said.

Later on in his career, McCutcheon remembers an emotional time for him and his family while he was stationed overseas.

“When I was stationed in Germany, I was there with my wife and my son. We weren’t there very long, but my father-in-law got sick with cancer, so my wife and son went back home with him in Dayton, Virginia. I was by myself for the next nine months, and that was probably the worst time because I didn’t have my wife or son there, because they were home trying to take care of him,” McCutcheon said.

McCutcheon believes that he is doing what he should be doing as a former soldier, using his methods and experiences picked up while serving, now teaching JROTC to the students here at our school.

“I never thought I would be teaching in high school,” McCutcheon said. “I use all my experience in the Army to teach them. And [we teach them] in a military, Army-type fashion, but they’re not soldiers, they’re kids. Really, you use your parental skills, and you use that to teach in the classroom. I did my time in the Army, and… I think I am doing what I am supposed to be doing.”

The marching band participated in Harrisonburg’s Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 6, then performed with our high school’s choir in a concert for veterans. This was an opportunity for students to give back to their communities and to learn about the sacrifices veterans make.

Band director Claire Leeper believes it is a very valuable experience.

“This is definitely one of the more unique experiences that we get to offer our students because this area is so proud of veterans and of people that are currently serving.

This is really just a chance for us to give back, and to show our community that we support that, and we stand by all of their choices, and all of their sacrifices,” Leeper said.

The Veterans Day Concert is also a learning experience. Some students don’t immediately understand why they are performing in this concert.

“We take that moment to teach them about why it’s important, and how much veterans really do give up to be able to serve their country,” Leeper said.

Senior Emma Nouri performed in the parade as part of color guard, and sang in the concert as part of the choir. She has seen how much the concert means to the veterans in the audience.

“It’s really nice to have all the veterans there… In previous years I’ve seen veterans tear up for some of the songs we’ve sung,” Nouri said.

Band directors Daniel Upton and Claire Leeper, and choir director Bethany Houff, choose music thematically for the concert.

“Both the band and the choir perform either patriotic tunes or tunes that would be of interest to veterans,” Houff said.

For marching band, this means that they play lots of Sousa marches and music with big fanfares.

They also play songs specific to the military.

Leeper’s favorite piece is one of these, called Armed Forces Salute.

“It’s like a medley of all of the branches of the military, their theme songs.

It is one of the coolest moments when you’re… sitting in the audience, and there’s a narrator, and they say, like when you get to the Army, ‘The United States Army!’ And all of the Army veterans stand up for their song,” Leeper says.

Armed Forces Salute is also junior Drum Major Emily Werner’s favorite piece of music in the concert. She believes the Veterans Day Concert is important because of the example the veterans set for the students when they stand during Armed Forces Salute.

“It’s really cool to see these 60, 70-year-old men standing so proud, and they’re so honored and so excited about serving their country and about remembering that… I think it’s really important for people to see that.

For people to see having pride in something, even if they don’t agree with it,” Warner said.

November 28, 2016

James McHone Jewelry

Ads-A7

The Newsstreak

Hours: Monday - Friday 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Phone Number: (540) 433-1833

Located at 258 Timber Way, Broadway, VA 22815 Phone:(540) 896-7095

Miller, Earle & Shanks, PLLC Attorneys and Counsellors at Law

560 Neff Avenue, Suite 200 Harrisonburg, VA 22801 Telephone: (540) 564-1555

GO STREAKS

L & S DINER

MUTERSPAUGH

Insurance Agency, Inc. Large Enough to Serve,

Small Enough to Care 234 E Market St. #2 Harrisonburg, VA 22801

540-433-2423

Established in 1979

J. Todd Fowler, DDS, PC General Dentistry Phone: (540) 434-2423 Fax: (540) 801-0493 2870-B South Main Street Harrisonburg, VA 22801

Mon-Fri 5:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Sat 7 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

November 28, 2016

Ads-A8

The Newsstreak

THANKS FOR DONATING GIFT OF LIFE!

106 students signed up to donate The SCA and Leadership class appreciate your generosity!

945 S. High St. Harrisonburg, VA 22801

2475 S.Main Street - Suite D, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22801 Phone: 540-434-1738 Fax: 540-434-1338

November 28, 2016

Feature-A9

The Newsstreak

Far from his home in Italy, Frongia teaching Spanish Angel Hendrix Online Editor-in-Chief

TEACHER FEATURE

Spanish teacher Gian Frongia was born and raised in Italy.

There, he completed most of his education.

“I grew up in a small town, smaller than Harrisonburg. It was a regular life, it was a bit quiet and [a] safe place, so everybody walked to school every day and came back, and nobody was afraid,” Frongia said.

Italy contrasts with the United States in a variety of ways, ncluding the school system.

“The language, the culture [and] history, is very different.

The school is very different. In Italy, we have different high schools.

For example, we have a high school where they study just humanities. If you don’t like humanities and say, ‘No I like science and math’, then you can study [at] an-

other high school,” Frongia said.

Frongia attended the high school specializing in humanites and completed some college there. He went to the University of Pisa, but got his masters degree in education at EMU. However, he didn’t come straight to the U.S from Italy. Frongia moved to Mexico prior to living in Harrisonburg.

“Before I came to the United States I was living in Mexico for eight years and had to learn Spanish. Practicing Spanish was so much easier for me than English because Italian and Spanish are very similar,” Frongia said.

At the age of 35, Frongia took a plane to the United States, which has been his home for the past eight years.

“I came here Jan. 7, in 2008 and arrived to [the] Washington D.C airport. I came here because I started teaching Italian at JMU,” Frongia said.

Upon his arrival, Frongia only knew about two or three words in English, which was challenging for him.

“I was working in the foreign language department [at JMU], so it was not a problem at my job because everybody speaks Spanish or Italian… The problem was outside in daily life, like in stores or [with] other people who didn’t speak Italian and Spanish,” Frongia said.

Along with learning English, Frongia also had problems with the weather. Since he arrived in January, it was very cold. He wasn’t expecting it at all. It took awhile for Frongia to get used to the new country. “[It took] several years [to adjust to the area], then I got married. My wife is American, so when I got married, it was so much easier because the culture became part of my life,” Frongia said.

PHOTO BY LUCIE RUTHERFORD

TEACHING TIME. Spanish teacher Gian Frongia works with sophomore Tommy Karageorge during the Spanish 3 class period.

Frongia has traveled to other countries like Spain, Portugal, France and England. His travels have helped him learn an important life lesson.

“Everybody is different in this world. There are many differences and you have to be open minded [and] patient,” Frongia said.

Beers discovers passion for teaching Garrett Cash Online Editor-in-Chief

PHOTO COURTESY OF COLIN BEERS

ON THE ROAD AGAIN. On their honeymoon, Colin Beers and his wife traveled to Cancun, Mexico and visited the pyramid El Castillo, in Chichen Itza while sightseeing. The pyramid is an ancient Mayan ruin and was used as a temple when it was first built.

From Ohio to China, science teacher Colin Beers has kindled his passion to teach.

“I love teaching,” Beers said. “I always say if I had not been a teacher, I would have gone to Broadway, but teaching was always my first [choice]. It was my first love. I love working with kids. In my church, I work with the little kids… When I was in China, I taught middle school. Here I’m teaching seniors, and I love teaching the whole spectrum. I just love teaching.”

After living in several states and graduating from Ohio State University, Beers went on to teach in China for two years at a branch of an international school called Quality Schools International. While there, Beers began to discover himself, and he applied what he learned there to the classroom.

“I don’t know Chinese. It showed me that I have a lot of limitations; I’m not very good at languages. But it taught me that I know how to adapt to the situation. Here at Harrisonburg High School, there are several different teachers in one room, so I’ve had to adapt. I had to adapt a lot more in China than I had to adapt here,” Beers said.

Beers originally wanted no part in teach-

ing. Pursuing a medical degree, he eventually discovered that his passion was really in education.

“I went to school in order to become a medical doctor, and right around my junior year of college, I realized that I didn’t want to do that,” Beers said. “The idea of studying in a library all day, every day [was not for me]. I wanted to actually talk to people instead, so I found a job teaching, [where] I get to study sometimes, and I get to talk sometimes.”

Although qualified to teach biology, Beers finds a special interest in teaching human anatomy. His passion drives him to make an hour commute every morning and afternoon from Madison, Virginia.

“I say I wake up an hour before anyone in the school does, but I love my job,” Beers said. “If I were to get a job over in Madison, it would just be straight general biology, and I would rather teach anatomy. I’ve taught general biology before, but I love teaching the human body.”

Beers is really a fan of performing arts.

“I love movies, I love acting and I love being in dramas and singing and all that type of stuff. I did musicals when I was in high school, I did musicals when I was in college and actually did a few musicals after college as well. I enjoy acting and drama,” Beers said.

November 28, 2016

Experience-A10

The Newsstreak

Willingham’s family copes with Alzheimers Olivia Comer Online Editor-in-Chief Forgetfulness is common for older generations to experience, almost inevitable, but how do you know when it is actually more than simply forgetting things here and there? Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. It deteriorates brain cells gradually, affecting most noticeably memory, personality and overall awareness. Senior Monee Willingham’s grandpa, Garnett Shifflett, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s when she was eight or nine years old.

“They kind of semi-diagnosed him because they said he was going into the early stages and that’s when he started repeating himself,” Willingham said.

Common early signs of Alzheimer’s include (but are not limited to), forgetting everyday routine things, mood swings and confusion.

“His [disease progression] went a lot slower than most people’s, he just started repeating himself. My granddad is a very funny guy, he’s always trying to make someone laugh, so he started repeating the same jokes over and over again or over a period of days he would tell us the same things,” Willingham said. “To him, it wasn’t like he was reminding us, it was more of like he never told us. But to us, we knew he already did. He didn’t forget anything major, like where his car keys were or how to drive, he would just repeat [himself].”

Alzheimer’s is an incurable disease, but patients can still be medicated to help them calm down or feel less confused, and lower anxiety. Willingham’s granddad uses haloperidol (Haldol) to aid his condition.

“We were under the impression that it was helping to slow it down, but it was just to help him calm down. I hate the drug. I needed him to slow down and get better, I knew the get better part wasn’t going to happen, but I wanted him to slow down.

He kind of shut down, he would become very closed and wouldn’t say anything, but when he wasn’t on it he was very fidgety and would pace and ask 15 million questions,” Willingham said.

Shifflett does not remember everyone, but he always remembers Willingham.

“He doesn’t remember people who don’t go see him. I was my granddad’s girl.

I don’t know why, he just picked me. My granddad realized, ‘yeah, she might not be the prettiest’ when I was younger, and ‘she might be black,’ other than all my other cousins, ‘but she’s respectful, she does what she needs to do, she’s really nice, she has a good heart and she’s just an all around good girl,’ while my cousin was pretty with blonde hair and everybody else loved her. My granddad remembers me all the time,” Willingham said.

Willingham and her granddad were very close. From Kline’s dates to fishing competitions, they were always best friends.

“My granddad was my best friend.

We used to go out a lot, and his favorite thing is [Kline’s vanilla] ice cream. He used to come get me from school all the time because my dad’s not around, so he was kind of like the dad role. He remembers people, but memories like going to Kline’s [he doesn’t],” Willingham said. “He tried to make me into a country girl forever, and he put me in fishing tournaments and I won them all. I was a great fisher, I used to get first place all the time. He doesn’t quite remember those.”

Alzheimer’s affects short term memory first and then works its way back to the very first memory the patient had.

“He remembers little kid things like what school he went to, where he lived when he was a little boy, but me being a little girl he doesn’t remember,” Willingham said.

Before the Alzheimer’s developed, Shifflett liked to joke and was kind to his family.

“Before [Alzheimer’s], he was my go to, he was my idol. We were like two peas in a pod all the time; anywhere he was most of the time, I was. He was my biggest fan, my biggest supporter, he was a really great man and he still is. He was very nice to everyone else, very cordial, very sweet and funny, but after he got really bad, he became really mean,” Willingham said.

After the Alzheimer’s set in, the family began hiding anything he could use to injure himself or anyone else.

“With Alzheimer’s, you have two sides; you have the good side where you forget stuff, but you enjoy life, and the bad side where you forget stuff and you’re mean, you’re angry, and he got [the bad side],” Willingham said. “He fought a lot of people, he put his hands on my mom, he accused my grandma of a lot of things that happened that he would dream about and he woke up and thought they were real. It caused her to have a stroke and now she can’t talk and she can’t work her right hand. I remember this time his brothers and sisters came down and said ‘Why are you acting like this, we all love you’ and he said ‘I don’t care about anyone in this room.’ I was sitting in a chair and he pointed at me and said ‘But that girl right there, I know she loves me and I love her’ and that was the only thing that mattered to him.

With everyone else it was night and day with him, but with me he was always the same guy.”

In Alzheimer’s patients, it isn’t unheard of to have spells where they remember everything their families grieve that they’ve forgotten, lasting anywhere from five minutes to a few hours. Anyone who has ever seen or read “The Notebook” is familiar with this concept.

Meet the grandparents

Freshman Kailey Pittsenbarger

“It took me years to watch the movie “The Notebook.” Years. To this day I watch it and every time she remembers, I will break down. It will just kill me, because I remember the first time my granddad did it,” Willingham said. “That was the hardest visit of my life, because I can talk about him and I’m fine. When I say I’m going to visit him, I’m fine. When I get in the car, I’m still fine. On the ride there, I’m still fine. When I walk in the doors, I’m still fine, but when I look my granddad in his eyes, I think we’re going to sit there and he’s going to remember every single thing we ever did together and we’re going to have the greatest time ever. That didn’t happen, and it broke my heart.”

Despite this disappointing experience, on another day, Shifflett was able to remember everything that had ever left his mind.

“One day we sat in his room with him and he remembered everything. He remembered going out with me, he remembered my boyfriend, he remembered Christmases with me, he remembered every little thing,” Willingham said. “I thought ‘I do not want to leave, I want to stay here,’ because when that stuff happens, it’s like you’re living all over again. It feels like you have two separate lives, the

Phil Keaton

Keaton is Senior Hunter Manzano’s grandfather.

He attended RJ Reynolds High School in Winston -Salem, North Carolina.

Junior Aya Al Jubouri

Salman Al Jubouri Judy Merz

PHOTO COURTESY OF MONEE WILLINGHAM

I LOVE YOU LONG TIME. Monee Willingham (Right) hugs Garnett Shifflet (left). This picture was taken before Shifflet was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

“The biggest difference is the electronic age.

We had a plug in telephone with a cord. We had a black and white T.V. Cell phones were not invented, computers were not invented. We had an old typewriter which we used for communication.”

Stanley Botkins

life where your granddad knows you, and the other life where you know I’m about to go over there and he’s not going to say anything. So it’s kind of like you have that little time you can live with someone and in a few hours it’ll be all over and that life won’t be existent anymore. He hasn’t had one in a while but he does go through spells where he remembers everything.”

When Willingham developed an anxiety disorder, her granddad was there to make her feel better. Willingham no longer suffers from the disorder.

“He used to do little things, like he would take me fishing, and to him I was the only fisher-girl that mattered. He just made me feel really special; even though he knew I was chunky, he still fed me all the time. He never let me forget that I was a beautiful person, and it didn’t matter if my grandma didn’t want me, if my dad didn’t want me, he didn’t care who didn’t want me, because that man wanted me with literally all of his heart,” Willingham said. “Even though I’ve been through a lot with his Alzheimer’s, he never lets me go a day without letting me know that I meant something to him. That’s probably my favorite memory, just him always letting me know I was special and that I meant something.”

Grandfather shares insights about growing up during different era “It was different back then.

I hitchhiked home from school.

My dad would drop me to school in the morning. I’d get there before the janitors got there, my dad went to work that early.

I’d sit on the steps of the school for 20-30 minutes and then the janitor would get there and let me in. Then after school, I’d walk out and get on the road, stick my

thumb out and wait for someone to stop. In high school, it was a lot longer, probably 16 miles.

Sometimes you ride in the front, sometimes you are in the back of a pickup, but wherever they are going, they’ll take you. I’d get dropped off at the driveway to my house and then walk the rest.”

Prices now & then gasoline

movies

ice cream

now $2.22 $12.50 $2.74 Kat Bedlinskiy and her grandmother Nadia Bedlinskiy

Kat Bedlinskiy’s great grandfather Vladimir Mikhaylyuk

“Winston-Salem High school down in North Carolina. It’s in the central Piedmont area, not quite the mountains like up here. We had rolling hills instead.”

then $.25 $1.00 $.10

Penrod mourns and moves on from grandmother’s death Sam Heie Feature Editor Helen Larkins, often called Martha, was called grandmother by both senior Sara Penrod and sophomore Anne Penrod. Helen was born in Richmond in 1924.

She passed away in mid March, 2016. At the time she passed, she was 92. Sara and Anne Penrod both had a very strong relationship with their grandmother.

“When I was born, she moved down here from Connecticut so that she could watch my sister and I when my parents were at work. She lived right down the street from the elementary school that I went to; I saw her almost every day of the week. When school was out, she’d walk up the street and pick us up. We would stay with her until five or six or whenever our parents would pick us up,” Sara Penrod said.

Larkins and her husband were admitted to the hospital at the same time for pneumonia. Larkins made it out, but her husband passed away. She was put into hospice care several days before her death.

Sara Penrod was in her second block class when she received a phone call.

“We knew she was sick and that she was going to die. It was just a matter of time.

My dad called me in the middle of class, but the teacher was talking, so I couldn’t answer it. After class, I went into the hallway and called my dad back. That’s when he told me. I felt isolated. There I was in the hallway with no one to talk to, with just a heavy sense of grief. I was shocked and sad, but I was also happy because she had been in so much pain and suffering.

She had told us so many times that she didn’t know why she was still here and how she just wanted to die. That’s sort of the silver lining,” Sara Penrod said.

She lived by herself in her own home until her very last days.

“She was the only grandmother I ever knew. My dad’s mother passed away before I was born. She was such an integral part of my upbringing because I saw her just as much as I saw my parents,” Sara Penrod said.

Three days after Larkins’ death, the Penrod family held a funeral.

“After the funeral, my life moved on.

My family isn’t really big on grieving a long time because life moves on. She will always be a beloved memory, but I have to live my life. It might seem a bit insensitive, but I had to keep my chin up and keep moving. That is what she would have wanted. I’m not completely over it. Sometimes when I’m doing something that will remind me of her, I’ll think of how I miss her or I might get teary eyed, but it is nothing that plagues my life constantly,” Sara Penrod said.

Penrod believes that because her grandmother came from a traditional family, Larkins taught her some of her values.

“She definitely taught me how to be the best hostess. She taught me how to invite people over, make them feel at home and make sure that all of their needs are attended to. She taught me to step back and make sure everyone else was happy before I was. That’s a part of me now. I value other people over myself and want people to feel comfortable being with me,” Sara Penrod said.

Even after Sara Penrod grew up, her grandmother continued to play a major role in her life. She continued to see her

several times a week.

“In my older years, we would talk about world issues. She had such a different view than me because she grew up in such a different time. It really opened my eyes and made me grateful for what I have today,” Penrod said. “She will always be remembered as the kind and compassionate woman she was and I will continue to be a better person because of her.”

November 28, 2016

Feature-A11

Every Person Has A Story

Hardwick fills time by reading extensively Theo Yoder Sports Editor Throughout her lifetime, junior Cary Hardwick has been able to read about three books on average per week. When given a good book or series, Hardwick can even read two or three books per day.

Hardwick was first able to read a complete book in first grade and has enjoyed reading ever since. She contributes her love for books to her family, who are also fanatic readers.

“In my family, my mom and dad read a lot and I grew up in a reading environment which influenced me to pick up reading a little earlier than most,” Hardwick said. “I would take a big bag down to the library when I was younger and just take everything I could get. I would bring it home, spread all the books out and read everything.”

Hardwick’s sister, Ellie, who is diagnosed with autism and is blind, also enjoys reading.

“With my sister, it is harder for her to acquire library books, but when she does have library books, she is reading all the time,” Hardwick said. Compared to her mother and sister, Hardwick reads the most. Although, when compared to her father, Hardwick agrees that he reads the most in the family.

“He has a literal library in his basement full of history books. Shelves on shelves cover the entire room all filled with books.

Personally, I think that his books are boring because I hate reading books about historical people and historical events. I love fantasy books that make you use your imagination,” said.

Hardwick’s reading schedule usually depends on the book she is reading. If she is interested in the book, she can read up to a 500 page book in a single day.

“It all depends on how hooked into the

Harwick’s Top 12 Favorite Books 1. Catch 22 2. Night Circus 3. Graceling 4. For Whom the Bell Tolls 5. The Invention of Hugo Cabret 6. Wonderstruck 7. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime 8. Powerless 9. The Immortal Life of Hennrietta Lacks 10. Everlife 11. Little Women 12. Paper Towns book I am. If I find a book series that I really find interesting, then I can fly through that series. For example, I read the Glass Throne series in less than a week… the series consisted of four books each 400-500 pages,” Hardwick said. An example of a book that Hardwick does not approve and has a struggle reading would be In Cold Blood, a book assigned to Hardwick in her AP English class.

“It’s creepy and I am not really enjoying reading it. I’ll be reading it and then just hit a mood where I don’t want to read anymore. I still have not finished this book and it has been two weeks. The book is about 300 pages, but I don’t like it. Once again, it all depends on the book I am reading,” Hardwick said.

Hardwick has strict criteria when it comes to her picky reading choices. She has trouble finding books now-a-days because she enjoys reading a specific type of book.

“A good book describes the characters well and contains a very good plot line,

PHOTO BY THEO YODER

BOOK WORM. Cary Hardwick reads whenever she has time to, but she is selective about what she reads. “I hate reading books about historical people and historical events. I love fantasy books.” but does not have too many elements.

The book cannot be too much for one person, you have to take in the elements of what is too much and what is not too much. You have to pick out the important things and leave out the excessive aspects of the book. A good book has a character you can relate to,” Hardwick said. Hardwick enjoys books that are not too hard to understand and are not too complex. They must be relatable and easy to follow.

Back in first grade, Hardwick started reading to escape from reality and forget about the stress of her schooling.

“Reading takes off the stress of things.

If you are stressed with school, home life or life itself, you can go home and open a book where you are introduced to an entire new world. You can live and go on adventures with the characters. I love how you can go into a fantasy world and live out the adventure,” Hardwick said.

During her high school career, Hardwick is finding that she has less and less time to read due to homework and assignments, but whenever time permits, Hardwick’s eyes are glued to one of her favorite books.

Mansoor flees Iraq for safety, opportunities Olivia Comer Online Editor-In-Chief

quite difficult because none of us had passports at the time, so my dad had to get us passports. We lived in a hotel for a month or two, I remember that. Then after my dad Ban Mansoor’s spent her first six years got us the passports, the easiest place for us of childhood in Iraq with her parents, two to go was Syria so we just ended up there.” older sisters, Suha and Huda, and youngMost of Mansoor’s family lived very close er brother, Jafar, with her extended family by, and even though the move wasn’t ideal, close by. The family of six was just small they knew it was necessary. enough to leave, while her extended family “They knew it was the safer choice for us. was too large and grounded in Iraq.

If they had the option, I believe they would “We had to leave [Iraq], because of all have left, but since they’re a much bigger the threats my parents were getting,” Ban family they decided to stay. My dad didn’t Mansoor said. “The process was actually take any risks; he wanted us out as soon as possible.”

Bahaa Mansoor, Ban Mansoor’s father, was employed to fix planes in Iraq. This became problematic in war times.

“He has a degree in electrical engineering, but he used to fix up airplanes,” Ban Mansoor said. “At one point, I believe, he did help the American army with their airplanes and stuff, which is one of the reasons we got kicked out of Iraq, or threatened.”

The Mansoors packed their bags and drove to Syria shortly after threats started coming in. Even though it wasn’t planned to move to Syria, they found themselves fitting in nicely with the Syrian people and culture.

“My family actually loved it more than we loved our own counPHOTO COURTESY OF BAN MANSOOR try. When we see the bombs falling EXPLORING PLACES. Ban Mansoor takes a vaca- in Iraq, and then we see the bombs tion in Lebanon with her older sister, Huda.

falling in Syria, we’re more sympathetic towards the Syrian people than the Iraqi people,” Mansoor said. “We lived with the Syrians for about a year and they were so nice; it was just so beautiful there.”

Mansoor attended a private school for second grade while living in Syria. Every morning before school, the students lined up outside in their uniforms and caps to do what resembled a pledge of allegiance. Except this pledge was to a picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

“Our English class was just the alphabet. I still remember my first test in English. It was on the alphabet and I was about to cry. My sisters were walking me to school, because we lived really close, and they were helping me recite the alphabet. It was so nerve racking,” Mansoor said.

From there it took Mansoor five and a half months to become fluent in English.

“Once we got [to the US] I was placed in the newcomer program. I was in third grade, but at the time it was at Thomas Harrison. I was in there for a good five and a half months, and then they placed me at Spotswood [Elementary] in regular classes, which I rocked, [but] I had some grammatical errors here and there. In fourth grade when I went to Stone Spring [Elementary], I was put into those reading support classes because I still needed some help. Then fifth grade and beyond I was in advanced English, back on track,” Mansoor said. “My mom’s English is still broken and my dad is pretty good, but he says stuff incorrect on purpose just to piss me off.”

When they arrived in the US Mansoor’s

sisters were placed in Harrisonburg High School’s newcomer program for seven months. They have since graduated from Eastern Mennonite University and moved back to Kurdistan. Suha now teaches English and Huda teaches science.

“What’s happening in the Middle East is very depressing. I see all these people dying and I think, ‘Oh, that could have been me if I hadn’t come,” Mansoor said. “It’s definitely more stressing knowing that my sisters are so close, especially now that ISIS is up north.

You know how close Charlottesville is to here? That’s how close ISIS is to my sisters.

The school [they work at] is right next to the United States Embassy, so they’re hoping that if anything happens they can just run over the fence.”

At first, being in the US wasn’t the utopia Mansoor expected; it took time for the family to become accustomed to Harrisonburg and the United States as a whole.

“The first two weeks [of being in the US], our bags were packed, we were ready to go home. It’s just like being thrown in a pond and you don’t know where to go. Once we got it, it was easier.”

Mansoor’s favorite thing about the US is the freedom it offers.

“Nobody judges you. You could do whatever the heck you wanted to and nobody would say anything. Over there, if I walked out with a short sleeve shirt, everyone would be looking at me like ‘What is she doing, someone arrest her’,” Mansoor said.

All five members of the Mansoor family were granted their citizenship on Constitution day of 2013.

Wakilongo emigrates from Burundi to finish schooling Andrea Fox Staff Reporter In 2014, junior Deborah Wakilongo moved to America from Burundi, a small country in Africa, to finish high school.

While living in Burundi, Wakilongo learned four out of the five languages that she speaks.

“I speak five [languages]: French, English, Swahili, Kirundi and Kinyarwanda.

In Burundi, they taught French in school.

In Burundi, they also speak Kirundi and Swahili, so I learned those three languages there. Kinyarwanda and KirundI are almost the same things. They’re different, but if I speak Kinyarwanda and [someone else] speaks Kirundi, we can still communicate. I learned English here.

I didn’t [know English when I came here],” Wakilongo said.

Wakilongo learned English through school and by living in America.

According to Wakilongo, the most difficult thing about learning different languages is writing. She is able to pick up the language pretty easily, simply by being around people who are speaking that language.

“Writing is really hard, but speaking is easy. Some of the words are confusing.

lot of people walking on the streets; they drive. In my country, we don’t drive a lot. A lot of people don’t have cars there, so we walk. Here it’s just so beautiful. Here there are four seasons and it is cold. There we only have two: rainy and summer. The food is [also] very PHOTO COURTESY OF DEBORAH WAKILONGO different. Also, TRYING NEW THINGS. The HHS girls’ cross country team cheers on here, people Deborah Wakilongo as she finishes her race. are brave.

They aren’t [For example], ‘two’ and ‘to’ sound the [afraid]. In my country, for me, it’s hard to same but are spelled differently, so spell- talk to someone who is older than me face ing and writing the words is the hardest to face. Here, it’s normal.” part,” Wakilongo said.

Some of the differences are the best Wakilongo has learned that there are parts of America, according to Wakilongo. a lot of distinctions between Burundi and “[My favorite part about living in AmerAmerica. ica is] school. We use a lot of technology, “There are so many differences,” but in my country, we don’t use computWakilongo said. “Here, we don’t see a

ers and that kind of stuff,” Wakilongo said.

While in America, Wakilongo has participated in different sport teams and clubs as well.

“I [ran] cross country this year and I am going to [participate in] indoor and outdoor track. I am in Habitat for Humanity, too. I did track last year. Last year, I was planning on doing tennis, and my friend told me ‘take track, it’s not hard; it’s just running’ so I took track and I liked it, and that makes me want to keep running. This year, I decided to take cross country as well. [My favorite part] is the frisbee [that we play] every Thursday,” Wakilongo said.

Wakilongo has not been able to go back to Burundi since she first arrived in America two years ago, and she isn’t sure if she is going to go back in the future or not.

“I may go back after I finish college, but I don’t know,” Wakilongo said.

As for the future, Wakilongo wants to go to med school to become a doctor.

“I want to be a doctor, specifically a surgeon, because I saw it in a movie and I just kind of loved it. [The movie] is a Korean drama [called] ‘The Good Doctor’,” Wakilongo said.

Wakilongo is excited to go to college in the future, but so far, she has enjoyed her time in America.

November 28, 2016

Feature-A12

Gelberg-Hagmaier cares for cats at cradle Olivia Comer Online Co-EIC Among the restaurants that crowd downtown Harrisonburg is a bit of a 180 degree turn. Instead of burgers and wings like it’s neighbors, Cat’s Cradle advertises with kittens in their windows. The non-profit rescue organization encourages cat lovers to join the kittens in the window to socialize with them before they are sent to a new home.

Student volunteers are also welcome to provide assistance to Cat’s Cradle.

Emphatic cat person, junior Naomi Gelberg-Hagmaier, decided to switch things up after deciding not to continue on the cross country team this season.

“I had done cross country in previous years and then this year it really wasn’t fitting, so I thought ‘Well, if I’m not doing an after-school sport, I should probably do something else.’ I had been thinking about volunteering there for several years and just never taken the initiative to go in and talk to them.

When I decided I wasn’t

running cross country I went in and I was like ‘Hey, I want to volunteer.’ And I love cats,” Gelberg-Hagmaier said.

Cat’s Cradle rescues cats from local shelters that are at risk of euthanization and attempts to find them a place to stay. Sometimes that place is in the actual store, and sometimes it is with volunteer foster families that often end up keeping the cats.

“We have lots of cats in foster care. It’s like when they’re really young and can’t be fixed yet, which means they can’t come in the store, or they’re just not in a place where they can be in that environment because… it can be a lot. We have some cats that are in foster care for comfort reasons. A lot of times those cats get adopted by their fosters because they’ve had them for so long,” Gelberg-Hagmaier said.

To purchase a cat from Cat’s Cradle, first it has to be transferred to PetSmart, then for $100 you can take home a cat that has been socialized, spayed/neutered, and updated on all of its shots.

Why do YOU volunteer?

Sophomore Precious Carper Habitat for Humanity

“I like to give back to community, and it’s fun to get to know others while helping.”

Freshman Wendy Santiago Football concession stands

“I wanted to volunteer because some people aren’t able to stay after school and help.’’

Freshman Alexa Coburn

Football concession stands “It’s a good thing to do, and my friends also help out.”

Freshman Faith Evans SPCA animal shelter

“I really like animals and helping them.’’

Senior Kevin Alvanrod Key Club

“I like to give back to the community.”

INFOGRAPHIC BY ANZHELA NYEMCHENKO

PHOTO BY OLIVIA COMER

PURR-FECT. Junior Naomi Gelberg-Hagmaier spends her volunteer hours at downtown’s Cat’s Cradle after taking a break from cross country this season.

Places to volunteer in Harrisonburg United Way SPCA Cat’s Cradle Children’s Museum AVA Care Massanutten Library Our Community Place Free Clinic Salvation Army Rescue Squad Big Brothers/ Big Sisters Ten Thousand Villages Special Olympics Virginia RMH Volunteer Services Virginia Quilt Museum New Creation NewBridges Immigrant Center

Interest in kids sparks through Explore More Christa Cole Print Managing Editor The local Explore More Children’s Museum is not only a place for kids to play and learn, but also a place for community members to volunteer.

Junior Jack O’Brien’s mother had been involved with the creation of the museum years ago, so she encouraged him to volunteer in his free time this past summer. Operations Manager and Volunteer Coordinator of the Children’s Museum, Caroline Shull, was the one who managed Jack’s volunteering, along with the service of the other helpers.

“Hands-on volunteers interact with children by showing them how to properly and safely use the exhibits. They supervise and maintain exhibits by tidying exhibit areas and restocking supplies, and they prepare materials for special events and programs,” Shull said.

If a certain area is of interest to the volunteer, they can be put to use in that specific place.

“Volunteers who get the most out of their experience at Explore More enjoy working with children and are flexible and willing to do whatever project may come up on a given day,” Shull said.

“If a volunteer shares that they have a special interest or skill, we can plug them into special events and programs that would be a good fit. For example, we’ve had students from the HHS Fine Arts Academy plan and implement a themed event at the museum where they led art activities, and groups have put on performances for the kids.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF GENEVIEVE COWARDIN

CARING FOR KIDS. Senior Ryan Showalter is another student from school who spends his time volunteering at Explore More Children’s Museum.

For O’Brien, though, his routine usually consists of picking up after the children.

“Most days I would come in and I would get a little tag, and then I would just kind of wander around, just kind of pace back and forth. Most of the time it was just cleaning up stuff that the kids would leave out. Occasionally a kid would ask me for help,” O’Brien said.

His two favorite memories involve interacting with the kids, something that didn’t happen often because of the usual presence of parents.

“I remember...a kid came up to me and asked me for help reading a thing for him, which was really cool,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien is very accustomed to children.

“I have a little brother

who is almost six now and that kind of sparked [my] interest in kids… He goes there a lot,” O’Brien said. “I would go there for an hour, and then my mom would bring him and I would play with him for the second hour sometimes.”

O’Brien enjoyed the experience, which has guided him into pursuing a career path in a similar area.

“It made me want to do more with kids, so in the future I can have a job or a position where I can interact with kids more. Doing more of these things [will allow me to] have a more impactful job,” O’Brien said.

The museum offered O’Brien a volunteer slot of two hours for two days a week, and the times were flexible. Volunteers, a mixing pot of high school and college students, com-

munity volunteers, board members and special event volunteers, typically serve for a semester or the summer, but some even stay for years.

“If someone just enjoys being around kids, it’s a good first step [into volunteering],” O’Brien said. He plans to serve there next year as well.

“Quite a few of our high school student volunteers grew up coming to play at the museum with their families, so it’s fun for them to come and help children have a great experience in a place that they really enjoyed and are now able to give back,” Shull said.

If you are interested in serving at the Explore More Museum, you can fill out a volunteer application at http://www.iexploremore.com/volunteer/

Beck’s love for literature grows at library Yogesh Aradhey Feature Editor At the Massanutten Regional Library downtown, Junior Martin Beck volunteers every Saturday for more than just accumulating volunteer hours.

“I do a variety of duties. I re-shelf books, both fiction and nonfiction. I clean DVDs and other cleaning duties.

I also help people find books.”

By the time that Beck had to pause his volunteering for the cross country season, he estimated that he had volunteered over 150 hours.

“I didn’t have much to do on weekends my sophomore year, and I thought it would be a Zen activity to do and that has turned out the be the case. Once you have been shelving books for two or three hours you get into a sort of meditative state,” Beck said. “I love being around books.”

Beck’s love for books started at a young age and has stayed with him through the years.

“When I was a little munchkin growing up in a small

town in Illinois, my parents had a small bookshelf for me. When I was too young to really have the capacity to read, I used to build towers out of them, and that naturally lead to me flipping through them. Ever since then, I have been reading,” Beck said.

Now, Beck aims to read one hour every day purely for pleasure. He enjoys literary fiction and reads a lot of Dickens and Hemingway.

“I enjoy stepping into other people’s lives. Seeing different viewpoints and seeing how someone in 18th century Bangladesh views morality as opposed to my very limited 21st century teenage perspective,” Beck said. “I know a lot of people discount reading as escapism because it cheapens the literary experience, and I guess I do read for escapism to some degree. I just like being transported into another scene than the dreary Harrisonburg fall. But I actually do read because I enjoy it, and I enjoy complex characters.”

Although Beck was forced to take a break from his volunteering, Beck hopes to resume his Saturday’s at the library within a few weeks.

November 28, 2016

Feature-B1

The Newsstreak

BIG ON BANDS Chapter 2 spins off of former band Nyah Phengsitthy Social Media Editor

PHOTO COURTESY OF BOB ADAMEK

MAKING MELODIES. Lead singer Marley Adamek (left) sings into the mic while Patrick Badia (middle) and Cecily Lawton (right) pause, waiting for their parts. The performance took place at the Golden Pony while opening for Jorege Arana Trio and Marbin. Chapter 2 has been together for a few months.

Kirkdorffer writes original pieces Ryan Doerr Staff Reporter Student-led bands have become a staple of our school. Since the inception of “Help Wanted” over four years ago, groups of other musically inclined students have followed in the footsteps of these vocal and instrumental powerhouses.

For junior Brad Kirkdorffer, leader of the band “One Last Year,” his love of music is what fuels his passion.

“I love that everything tells a story. Some things can be expressed through heavy metal or jazz or even Indie, and it’s all about being open to the way the story can be told,” Kirkdorffer said.

Kirkdorffer, along with juniors Ross Kirkdorffer (Brad’s brother) and Cary Hardwick, and sophomore Weston Hatfield make up the primary talent behind “One Last Year,” although because of scheduling and availability, the circle of musicians changes regularly.

“It’s been a lot of fun getting to know everyone in the band and getting to make cool music,” Hatfield said. Hatfield, the band’s drummer, appreciates the musical talents of the Kirkdorffer brothers.

“Brad and Ross are really talented with writing music, so that makes [the band] more fun,” Hatfield said.

“One Last Year” differs from other local bands in one respect.

The band contains influences from other local bands and although

they perform covers, most of their content is original, written by Kirkdorffer himself.

“We’re a mix of 50% heavy metal, 50% Indie. Bob Adamek once told me that all the local bands are influenced by each other, and that’s totally true,” Kirkdorffer said.

For the band, being original is an important part of the creative process.

“I would like to do covers, but staying original is cool because you’re doing something that no one else has done, and that’s a good feeling,” Hatfield said.

For Hatfield, the band is just good fun.

“It’s great getting to play with such good musicians. We’re a lot closer now than I thought we would be,” Hatfield said of the experience.

Kirkdorffer hopes that the band will gain momentum as the year progresses, eventually playing gigs and obtaining relative success within the community.

“That’s all you can really hope for. Money and fame aren’t everything, but being known by your peers is a valuable experience,” Kirkdorffer said. “We started three years ago, and as we’ve grown we’ve developed a unique style and grown into ourselves as musicians.”

With old members from a previous band, Begging to Differ, and a few other musically talented students from school, a new band was created.

Members of Chapter 2 include seniors Cecily Lawton, Lucy Moss, Alexander Wagner, Seth Bontrager, and Patrick Badia, junior Marley Adamek, sophomore Jaden Graham, and JMU student Dryden Labarge. Chapter 2 recently started as a band near the end of August, with a name not used as a continuation from Begging to Differ, but through the students who were already in a previous band. Junior Marley Adamek was one of the starters of Chapter 2, and is the lead singer.

“The kind of music we do is a lot different than the kind of music [Begging to Differ] used to do, but the idea of Chapter 2 is mainly just the people,” Adamek said.

From R&B to soul music to rock, Chapter 2 finds itself singing and playing their own rendition of songs, along with having fun with them.

“I think our best song is ‘Call me Into Soul Man’, my favorite one, because we sound good in it, and it’s fun to sound good,” Adamek said.

The band would say they are in it for fun and to entertain others in a positive way. Practices are usually held on Sunday evenings at the Adamek house, where Adamek’s father turned

Marley Adamek Patrick Badia Cecily Lawton Lucy Moss Jaden Graham Seth Bontrager Alexander Wagner Dryden Labarge

a basic shed into a place where Chapter 2 can practice for their gigs.

“My dad used to be in a band, and he’s managed a lot of bands, so he turned one of our sheds that we have into a practice space, so all the walls are lined with carpet, so it’s soundproof,” Adamek said.

Sophomore Jaden Graham is also a member of Chapter 2 and plays bass, a role where he keeps the harmonic foundation and rhythm during songs. When performing, Graham not only enjoys working with the band members, but seeing the audience’s reaction to their music.

“It’s just a lot of fun performing at the venues… and [seeing] how the audience gets into it,” Graham said.

Being with each other as a band for a few months, Chapter 2 has only performed at The Golden Pony, opening for Jorge Arana Trio and Marbin. Chapter 2 will be playing on New Year’s Eve at the annual First Night event in downtown Harrisonburg.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CARA WALTON

GUITAR WARS. Sophomore Richie Pannell (left) and freshman Leif McCoy (right) shred on their guitars.

Just in Case struggles with starting up

PHOTO COURTESY OF BRAD KIRKDORFFER

FOUR YEARS. “One Last Year” is made up of (left to right) Ross Kirkdorffer, Cary Hardwick, Weston Hatfield and Brad Kirdorffer.

Blair finds time for band throughout career Yusuf Aboutabl Staff Reporter

MEMBERS

His first experience in a band started when he came to HHS, but it didn’t stop there.

“When I came to HHS, I started Playing in a band was not some- coaching track. Dave Loughran and thing history teacher Charles J. Blair Gary Bugg were also track coaches II intended on doing as a child, but at the time and they were in a band in recent years he’s found himself called The Eugenes. They invited me bouncing from band to band. His to join that band and I had a lot of musical career started at a young age fun,” Blair said. “It was the first time when his parents forced him to play I had played with other musicians, the piano for five years. Blair never but the band was mostly about fun. I stopped playing music afterwards. was trying to do something more developmental, so I started a band called Tuesdays with Murphy.

I played with them for a couple of years, and when that band broke up, I started one called Lee Street Taverns.

Our bass player got married and moved to Charlottesville, so that band also broke up.”

Despite all of his early bands disbanding, Blair wasn’t discouraged. He contin PHOTO COURTESY OF CARA WALTON ued to pursue BELTING BLAIR. Teacher Charles Blair practices with his his hobby with band “About a Horse” during a rehearsal. hopes of being

consistent.

“About two years ago, I started this band About a Horse, and it does a bunch of things. It’s a social vehicle I use to get together with a bunch of friends, but I earn money playing music. It keeps me focused on my hobby,” Blair said. “We play 60’s, 70’s and 80’s music, but our focus is mostly the 70’s. I play the piano, guitar and bass since we don’t have a guitarist.”

Blair uses his band as a medium to express himself, but playing in a band can have some negative impacts.

“The worst part about being in a band is also the best part. You put yourself emotionally out there when you’re being artistically expressive,” Blair said. “In an environment that can be critical, and even if the criticism isn’t direct, it can end up feeling overwhelming. For that reason, bands have to get along on such a deeply personal level, and that’s where they struggle. Even for the band I’m in, we still have our periodic struggles with how we identify ourselves.”

Blair has no trouble balancing his artistic life with his teaching. His band gets together six times a month for a couple of hours each time.

“Everybody who’s in my band has a career and a family. We all recognize that the band is an obligation, but if it were my son or my job that needed me, they’d understand,” Blair said.

“It’s not a staggering commitment or anything.”

Hannah Miller Copy Editor Sophomore Philip Hart plays piano in a band formed last year called Just in Case.

“We started our band to have a space to produce our favorite kinds of music as a group,” Hart said.

Unfortunately, getting together to play isn’t always easy. Sometimes, practices are scarce because it’s tough to accommodate each member’s schedule.

“The hardest part about being in a student band is finding time to meet.

Between busy and interchangeable schedules, it’s difficult to find a time allotted for band practices,” Hart said.

Even though band members believe exciting moments and future gigs are yet to come, there are still other celebrated memories.

Sophomore Sam Schaeffer, the band’s drummer, appreciates the practices where the band can accomplish something.

“Some of the practices where we get a lot done, or move ahead a lot, those are some of the best moments, because they’re really rewarding [when you] have everyone working together,” Schaeffer said.

Sophomores Marena Benton and Julia Inouye are the group’s vocalists.

Benton’s favorite part of being in the band is when the song sounds like a finished product.

“The process is really hard, but once we get to a point where the songs sound like actual recordings, it’s just so cool… like that’s you singing, [and] it’s really cool,” Benton said.

The band members are all friends and have fun getting to play music with each other. With the familiarity for one another and enthusiasm for their songs, practices can be an entertaining occasion.

“Overall, whenever we’re all there and really motivated, it goes really well. We have a very positive and including environment,” Schaeffer said.

The name Just in Case was a debated topic that the band settled on last minute.

“The naming of our band was a struggle, and mainly chosen because we wanted to concentrate on our music due to an upcoming performance we had, and not worry about what we were called. We put our biases aside and settled on Just in Case,” Hart said.

Inouye’s love for the band stems from the collaboration. “[The best part is] being able to create music with your peers,” Inouye said.

November 28, 2016

Feature-B2

The Newsstreak

New priorities arise for Shifflett Nyah Phengsitthy Page Editor

PHOTO BY NYAH PHENGSITTHY

NEW PURPOSE. Senior Tristin Shifflet works the cash register at the new local walmart. Checking out customers, she works towards saving the money up for her new baby she is expecting next year. Balancing shifts, school, and a baby always on her mind, time managment is key.

With her baby due in May, senior Tristin Shifflett has found herself working a night shift job at the recently built Walmart on Port Republic Road.

Although having a job as a high schooler is something that people may find challenging to balance, Shifflett has worked other jobs before she was hired at Walmart. From working at Jimmy John’s and Subway in the past, Shifflett found working a night shift job as something she was used to, and less challenging from when she first started.

Shifflett was mainly attracted to working at the new Walmart not because it needed workers, but because it was paying more than her previous jobs.

Ahmed cooking at Chick-fil-a Christian Rodriguez Feature Editor Chick-fil-a is a fast food chain known for favoring chicken over beef and being closed on Sundays because of its religious leadership. One employee who has worked at the local franchise restaurant for three months now, junior Hashaam Ahmed, holds a position making food in the back.

He works every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 4:30 - 11 p.m.and Saturday from 2:30-11:00 p.m. Working these shifts has had an affect on Ahmed’s ability to sleep and his life altogether.

“My sleep schedule is affected because I have to come home and do school work as well. I get close to four hours of sleep compared to eight before the job,” Ahmed said.

Ahmed explains why he chose the job and why he has stuck with it despite time

PHOTO COURTESY OF TRISTIEN BROWN

DEEP FRIED. Junior Hashaam Ahmeddrops chicken nuggets into the oil to cook them at Chick-fil-A. He has worked the late shift for the past three months.

difficulties.

“I chose the job because I needed to start gaining some work experience and [I] heard they pay well,” Ahmed said.

Making a good product is key to the success of the business and something Ahmed specifically works on.

“I work in the kitchen so I make sandwiches, work fryers, dishes, breading, grilling chicken and whatever else I’m supposed to do for the day,” Ahmed said.

Ahmed describes what happens when customers are unsatisfied with his product.

“We run out of nuggets consistently and one time a lady said her fries were ‘too crispy’.”

When a customer isn’t satisfied, they tell us and we can redo their order for free,” Ahmed said.

Popularity of some items on the menu is something Ahmed has to consider when preparing food.

“The Chick-fil-A sandwich is obviously the most popular, but nuggets are something we don’t make as much as the sandwich. When we run out of something, we either make a new batch or wait for the next shipment,” Ahmed said.

While completing the daily duties of the job, Ahmed has discovered that complications can arise.

“I was cleaning a fryer and as I was wiping the sides, my arm grazed one of the oil heating coils,” Ahmed said.

Ahmed’s profit from his job is not only used for personal gain but also for purposes with a generous motive.

“I use it to pay for things like gas, shoes, food, and I always donate some of my earnings to organizations like Relay for life, St Jude’s Hospital, things like that,” Ahmed said.

Advice for someone attempting to balance school and work is something Ahmed has obtained over his short working period.

“Overall it’s a fun experience and a fun way to meet new people. I just try to do as much school work as I can during my break and same at home. Look for good hours not just good pay,” Ahmed said.

“[Walmart] pays me $1.50 more than what they payed me at Subway.

Subway was really simple; I memorized everything in like a week, so it wasn’t that hard. The management was just really bad,” Shifflett says.

At Walmart, Shifflett works as a cashier from 4-10 p.m. on a regular work day, something she finds simple to do as an after school job. Shifflett works most days of the week, with the exception of having most Mondays and Wednesdays off.

Although working has been benefitting Shifflett with the money she’s making, the tight schedule of leaving school and going straight to work every day has become something she finds exhausting.

At the beginning of this year, Shifflett was enrolled as a junior, but when she found out she was expecting, Shifflett skipped straight to senior

year to finish high school early for her child. Already having enough credits to graduate, Shifflett finds her senior year less stressful, which easily helps her balance out school and work.

“I don’t really have homework this year since I’m a senior and all of my classes are regular classes and I’m not in dual enrollment anymore,” Shifflett said.

Shifflett has been saving her money mainly for her child, rather than other things she used to spend her money on. Balancing school, work and a baby is something Shifflett hopes to prepare for before her child arrives.

“Hopefully I’ll be able to finish my classes by the end of May or by the time I will be having my baby, so I don’t have to worry about school, having a baby and work all at the same time,” Shifflett said.

Eberly juggles school, work Vivian Neal Staff Reporter Since the beginning of June, junior Faith Eberly has been working at Dairy Queen, but it hasn’t been just any normal job experience. Instead, Eberly has been experiencing what it means to work the night shift, which at Dairy Queen goes from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. “[I began working the night shift because] I go to school, so I have to work after school. It’s very stressful, I have a lot of homework and then my [job] on top of that. My friends will be hanging out and I have to either work or do homework,” Eberly said.

Eberly spends many of her days planning around her work schedule, considering the only times she gets off are when she asks for it. Even her weekends are spent working, but they tend to be her favorite times because she does not have to work the complete night shifts.

Instead, she either gets off early or is able to work a noon shift.

“It all depends on how they schedule me. I’d rather get off at nine and work that four hour shift, or [be] working on the weekends during the daytime,” Eberly said.

The differences between daytime and nighttime customers has also been noticed by Eberly as she has had the opportunity to see both sides of the coin.

“Now that it’s Halloween, a bunch of people come in dressed up [during the night shift]. One person came in dressed as a witch the other day just because they could. Then [there are] people who get mad at little things, like if their food takes longer than three minutes to come out they will yell at you,” Eberly said. “I feel like people are more irritated at night because it’s the end of the day, and they just want to get their food and leave.”

Eberly feels she has been able to

learn from the experience of dealing with annoyed people, and has been able to deal with co-workers who feel the same annoyance as the customers.

“Some people working have been there all day, so they are also mad.

I’ve learned to deal with irritable people better and manage my own anger,” Eberly said “It’s also good for time management. A lot of people are students that work there, so we are all stressed out together.”

For Eberly, school comes first and then work and friends follow, a struggle she has been able to learn from. She has been able to pick up some wisdom from having a daily job and wouldn’t mind giving out advice to those planning on adding a job to their own plate.

“The more that you work, I think the easier it will get, even going into college with a job and student priorities.

You learn how to manage all the factors of your schedule,” Eberly said. “But despite that, I would recommend not working every day. Spend an amount of time where you are not trying to do everything, because you will need some time to relax.”

PHOTO BY VIVIAN NEAL FINDING BALANCE. Junior Faith Eberly works the cash register taking orders for Dairy Queen’s customers. Eberly has learned many lessons from her job like how to balance her work and school schedules to still be successful.

What is the hardest part of working an after school job?

Junior Ashton Landes Domino’s Pizza “I never have time to do work, especially if I have cross country practice that day.”

Senior Monee Willingham Ciro’s “You have to figure out how to make up your sleep. You also have to learn to prioritize your work.”

Junior Corin Vogel Chick-fil-A “It is hard to balance my school life and extracurricular life because I have to work. It is hard to balance all the difference aspects of my life.”

Junior Ban Monsoor Kohl’s “Not having time to relax. I miss going home and after finishing my homework just sitting there and doing nothing. I now have to work weekends and I miss just having nothing to do.”

DECEMBER 5 State One-Act Play Competition Monticello High School Charlottesville, VA. DECEMBER 8 HHS Winter Band & Choral Concert at HHS 7 - 8 p.m.

DECEMBER 10 All-District Band Auditions at Turner Ashby High School

November 28, 2016

Feature-B3

The Newsstreak

Government students work local polls Lucie Rutherford Print Editor-in-Chief

PHOTO BY LUCIE RUTHERFORD

THIS WAY. Senior Jessica Denton directs voters at a voting booth.

On Nov. 8, 2016, better known as Election Day in America, students of HHS could be found at the area’s voting booths for more than just voting. With the help of government teachers Jay Hook, Mark Tueting and Wesley Livick, all AP, honors and regular government students had the opportunity to volunteer for the election by working the voting booths. Though a few students have volunteered for past elections on their own, this is the most organized HHS has had it, according to Honors Government and Service Learning Government teacher Jay Hook.

“The Voters Registrar’s Office actually approached me, because they needed more volunteers for

Will appoint anti-abortion judges to the Supreme Court.

Wants to stop Mexican and Muslim immigration into the United States.

Against rights for LGBT people.

Wants to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Feels people shouldn’t be required to buy insurance.

Minority Rights

Education

Abortion

unteer to gain AP points, a system put in place where students can boost their grade while gaining real-world government experience, but she was also interested in seeing what the election was really like.

“I guess I also think it would be a cool experience since I’ve never done that much with it [or] helped out with elections before,” Nouri said before Nov. 8. Though Nouri and other students only directed traffic to the ballot box and assisted with curbside voting because of being underage, Nouri gained a new insight towards elections.

“It’s a lot more complex than I thought, too; there [are] a lot more details than I thought to it.

It was just interesting to see different ethnicities coming and voting for who they think. And you could see the sample ballots that they

get, republican or democratic, so it’s interesting to see who got which one,” Nouri said. “The people that were working were really nice, too. I had a conversation with an older guy that was working who just kind of opened up to me about his hatred towards Trump, so that was interesting. I liked that.”

It was takeaways like these that Hook was hoping students would gain from this experience.

“I’m hoping that they appreciate the care with which we run our elections, along with the freedom that we run our elections with,” Hook said. “The vast majority of them have never done this before, so they’ll get to see our representative democracy in action, so to speak. Hopefully they’ll consider doing something like this in the future.”

T R UM P

Criticizes teachers’ unions.

Wants to disband Common Core.

Proposing voucher program for students to pick school of choice.

Pro-life: Wants abortion completely banned.

this election because they were expecting a heavy turnout, so that’s sort of how the whole process started,” Hook said.

After a short training session on Nov. 2, senior AP Government student Emma Nouri found herself working the booths at Smithland Elementary School alongside seniors Kennedy Wolter and Jessica Denton. Nouri worked from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., coming across things that she didn’t expect.

“There weren’t as many people showing their support for a candidate over another, which I thought was interesting, I was kind of expecting that,” Nouri said. “We also didn’t have any cases of someone trying to promote their candidate outside the poll place, which is illegal if you’re not closer than 40 feet of it.”

Initially, Nouri signed up to vol-

Wants increased military presence in South China Sea.

Calls for mass deportations and a wall to keep out future illegal immigrants.

Hopes to form a working relationship with Putin.

Foreign Policy

Health Care

Immigration

For Second Amendment.

Doesn’t believe in expanding background checks, but does want public criminal records to be more available.

Guns

C L I N T ON Pro-choice: Fighting for womens’ right to safe and legal abortion.

Endorsed by two of the largest teachers’ unions.

Supports Common Core.

Proposing debt-free college tuition plans for non-upper class.

Will repeal the Hyde Amendment

Wants secure borders, but rights for undocumented immigrants.

Supports equal LGBT rights.

Wants to expand the Affordable Health Care Act.

Wants increased cooperation with China.

Wants to broaden the reach of Obamacare to undocumented immigrants.

Going to increase sanctions on Russia.

Pushing for a path to citizenship, immigrant integration and protection from deportation.

Seniors vote for first time in presidential election Hannah Miller Copy Editor It’s undeniable that the most recent presidential election drew a lot of attention. As United States citizens reach the age of 18, they may register to vote, which means some seniors in our school had a choice to make.

Senior Andrew Ansah’s beliefs aligned with Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate, rather than Donald Trump of the Republican party.

“The reason [I voted] for Hillary is because, [although] I haven’t followed the election very closely, from what I [had] seen from debates, comments [and] other statements, she’s the one I tended to agree with,” Ansah said.

Although Ansah found an agreeable candidate, many people don’t even see a point to voting. Ansah can empathize with any individuals who are disappointed by the election. “[I was looking forward to] getting it over with, I’m sick to death of this election,” Ansah said. One of these people is senior Kennedy Wolter, who went into the election undecided.

“I actually don’t know who I’m voting for, because I don’t like any of the candidates. I might just roll with whichever one my parents vote for,” Wolter said. “I really liked Marco Rubio, but he didn’t last very long.”

Some people may feel as if it’s their obligation to vote.

Though voting is a civic duty,

Ansah feels as though it’s actually a disservice to vote without cause.

“I don’t think that it’s important for people to vote if they don’t want, and just inflate one side. I think it’s important for people to vote when they want to, and attempt to get their position out there,” Ansah said.

As Ansah has grown older, many of his opinions related to politics have become more his own than his parents’. When it came to election time, the political influence was evenly due to his upbringing and his own resolve.

“The whole family is really democratic, but in terms of this election… and just in general, [my parents’ influence is] pretty 50/50. They have shown me things about the election, but I have looked at both sides and made my own conclusion; and my conclusion is that I can’t believe someone like Donald Trump [was in this],” Ansah said.

Wolter was not going into this decision alone, instead going with another first time voter.

“It [was] my first time, and it [was] my sister’s first time, so we [did] it together. I [was] looking forward to that,” Wolter said.

According to www.census. gov, voters aged 18-24 account for the lowest percentage of votes compared to other age groups. Wolter blames motivation for citizens not voting.

“I know that part of it is because they’re just lazy, and they don’t really feel like they have

to go vote,” Wolter said.

With so many people voting, one small ballot may seem to make a minuscule, if even apparent, difference, but Ansah figures it’s worth a try.

“Honestly, [I do] not really [feel like my vote makes a difference], but if I can do anything to wrap it up, I’ll do it,” Ansah said.

Wolter also feels as if her vote is insignificant in the scheme of things.

“Because I’m one vote out of a million, my vote’s not going to do anything,” Wolter said.

Despite the fact that Hillary is the best PHOTO COURTESY OF KENNEDY WOLTER option for Ansah, he WE VOTED. Senior Kennedy Wolter and can acknowledge the her sister, Mikala, show off their ‘I voted’ fact that she has flaws. pins after voting. “It [was] my first time, “I haven’t been foland it [was] my sister’s first time, so we lowing it really, but [did] it together,” Wolter said. from what I’ve seen in debates, the biggest to change with the election of thing seems to be, ‘Oh, what another president on account are the emails, what are the of Obama being a democrat as emails’. If she somehow had well. the ability to time travel, [then “From what I have seen, it’ll she should] do whatever she most likely be the same as it needed to do with the emails is now, except instead of havto make sure that she didn’t ing the first African American [cause controversy]. Just nippresident, we [could] have the ping the problem in the bud, first woman president-- which that is one way she’d be able to is great, I just wish there wasn’t improve her campaign,” Ansah as much controversy surroundsaid. ing the whole thing… That’s no Ansah doesn’t expect much small feat,” Ansah said.

HHS chooses Clinton in mock election City-wide, state and national numbers taken from WHSV. Whole percentages non-inclusive of Evan McMullin.

HHS students polled in Streaks Leadership.

HHS 545 total votes

CLINTON freshmen sophomores juniors seniors

66 67 49 53

TRUMP

235 votes

freshmen sophomores 43% juniors of voters seniors

14 60 17 votes 17 11% 12 of voters

34% of total freshmen voted 36% of total sophomores voted

VA

U.S.

JOHNSON freshmen 9 sophomores 5 juniors 5 seniors 11

30 votes 6%

of voters

28% of total juniors voted

STEIN freshmen sophomores juniors seniors

27 6 6 votes 6 5% 9 of voters

25% of total seniors voted

1,916,845

1,731,156

116,600

27,272

50% of voters

45% of voters

3% of voters

1% of voters

62,013,985

61,003,417

4,248,612

48% of votes

232 electoral votes

47%

of votes

290 electoral votes

3%

of votes

0 electoral votes

1,300,029 1%

of votes

0 electoral votes

Wants to make availability of guns lower.

Cracking down on background checks.

Tueting hosts viewing parties for debates

Danny Dombrowski Staff Reporter AP government teacher Mark Tueting is trying to get his students more involved in politics by requiring them to get 10 AP points per nine weeks. To help students reach the requirement, he has planned events like debate viewing parties and, opened up opportunities to get involved with the presidential election.

“Some kids are being an election page, others are working for various parties as election day volunteers,” Tueting said.

Offering extra learning experiences and opportunities is nothing new for Tueting, who is in his first year of teaching the AP government course at HHS. “It’s the first year I have been with AP Gov. I used to do stuff like this all the time when I taught AP US History, but my children were much younger. When I taught AP US history, we would have breakfast at Mr. J’s, a bonus class on Thursday, and once every other week we would have a movie night,” Tueting said.

Tueting enjoyed the viewing parties and wanted his students to have fun, but also to learn and understand what was happening during the two hour debates.

“I want it to be fun, part of high school should be fun. Let’s face it, even if that sounds like a dry thing, if we are all sitting around laughing about it and talking about it, it can be fun. Secondly, I want the kids to see what the candidates are actually doing because that is what we are learning in class. A lot of kids probably wouldn’t watch it by themselves but if you attach an AP point to it, some kids will do it just for the grade element,” Tueting said.

Tueting says this election is very unique and wants his students to pay attention.

“This is the first election since 1800 where there is a question whether people will accept the outcome. This is the first time where we have had one of the candidates setting things up to say it was rigged.

Elections are very safe in America, there is no evidence of any kind of voter fraud,” Tueting said.

Senior Ella Shulgan attended both viewing parties held for the class, and enjoyed being with her classmates watching.

“I like it because I usually don’t watch debates, but being with a group made it more entertaining. I took more away from it because it was interesting to see other peoples’ views and reactions to what was being said,” Shulgan said.

November 28, 2016

Ads-B4

The Newsstreak

Riner Rentals is a family-owned, locally-grown, second-generation property management and rental company. We have been specializing in residential housing in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County for over 15 years. Let us help you make Harrisonburg home, or help with your property management needs. Riner Rentals: For ALL your housing needs in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.

(540) 438-8800 P.O. Box 1391 Harrisonburg, VA 22803 RinerRentals.com

TOWNHOUSES

APARTMENTS

HOUSES

PANO’S

Restaurant

Serving the Harrisonburg area for over 20 years HOURS: 3190 South Main St. Tuesday-Thursday Harrisonburg, VA 22801 11 - 9:30 Exit 243 off I-81 Friday - Saturday follow us on facebook 11 - 10 @panos restaurant Harrisonburg Sunday www.pano-s.com 11 - 9

Chris Hite Sales Consultant HHS Class of 1987

Bus. Phone (540) 434-3900 FAX (540) 434-3130 chite@bobwadeautoworld.com

You will receive a free authentic NFL football with every purchase.

Mane Attraction Bring this coupon in and receive

$10 off CHEMICAL SERVICE $5 off HAIRCUT Good from November 28 - December 28, 2016

Michele Rodamer, Stylist

Larry & Christy Boyett, Owners 540-849-9367

243 Neff Ave. Harrisonburg, VA 22801

540-433-2212 or 540-820-5040

November 28, 2016

Ads-B5

The Newsstreak

10% off your entire purchase OR 25% off any one item of choice. Cannot be combined with any other offers or sales. One coupon per student. Must provide student ID and coupon for discount.

Expires 11-30-16

1704 Spotswood Trail, Elkton ,Va 22807 540-289-1032

LeLa’s Boutique & Valley Treasures

BAR-B-Q Ranch Family Restaurant and Caterer 3311 North Valley Pike Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (540) 434-3296 Sunday - Thursday: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Friday - Saturday: 11 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.

GOODS TRANSFER, INC. Joseph W. Good

162 Charles Street Harrisonburg, VA 22802

3175 South Main Street Harrisonburg, VA 22801 540-214-3200 Mon-Fri 7-5

@lelasboutique

www.shoplelasboutique.com

November 28, 2016

The Newsstreak

Sports-B6

Avila vows to play college ball with first team that asks Christian Rodriguez Staff Reporter Fourteen years of his life have been completely involved in the sport. Every summer and fall are devoted to improving on his technique, fitness and strength to represent his school on Friday nights.

Senior defensive tackle Carlos Avila has been a part of the football team for all four years of his high school career.

“Every summer was football, football, football. Work outs, run, stay in shape, eat healthy and most of it was studying film and watching how to improve my technique. Everything I could do to get better at football, I did. I would spend three hours every day on watching film,” Avila said.

Avila’s dedication to the game has changed his life and will have an impact on him forever.

PHOTO BY OWEN STEWART

WE BELIEVE. Sophomore Marcus Robinson-Jenkins (left) hits the “we believe” sign as senior Carlos Avila holds the sign for the team for a game at James Madison University’s Bridgeforth Stadium. The Streaks went on to beat Broadway High School 35-6 in a Valley District showdown. The Blue Streaks finished the season 6-4 and missed a chance at going to the playoffs, but won the Valley District.

“At five I started in flag football, and went from peewee to midget to JV, and that’s been my life ever since. Football to me is a part of life. Without football, I wouldn’t be who I am now. I could’ve been the bad kid in class, doing drugs and all that, but I am not because of football,” Avila said. “It’s put me on a better track with better grades so I have a better opportunity later on. It makes you mature in life. It shows you that if it gets tough, you have to keep on pushing, which has developed me as a man and has made me mature more,” Avila said.

Avila sees his teammates as more than just the other people playing the game with him. “[They’re] my family. I see them all as my brothers. Anything they need, anything they want, I’m there for them. I’m here to cheer them up, keep their heads up. Even though they are not blood, I feel like they are blood. When the team is down, I have to step up and say ‘the game is not over, let’s keep on pushing’. It makes you bond with people much more,” Avila said.

Certain coaches have also influenced Avila on a more personal level.

“Young Coach Carico and old Carico have influenced me. All of the coaches have, because I look up to them like family. I see them as fathers because they’ve been there, and I’ve known them since freshman year,” Avila said.

Although most years have resulted in seasons with more losses than wins, Avila has had a positive outlook on the team since his winning season.

“My junior year was a winning year. I mean, all years before that I played were records of 2-8, that’s one of the things that made me mature and have that ‘keep pushing’ attitude. During my junior year we went 7-3, so I got to feel that enjoyment of winning,” Avila said. “We went through only four wins and 16 losses my first two years, but that year I realized we are actually a good team, and we go out there and do our thing.”

Avila has looked past the losing seasons and put faith in his team.

“I’m even proud of the 2-8 years. I stuck with my team. I didn’t quit and that’s what made us. We went through those tough times and now we are closer and stronger and became a better team,” Avila said.

Avila has two favorite moments looking back on his career.

“My sophomore year against Fort Defiance we were tied up at 21-21. We had

them right at the goal line and it was fourth down, they either had to kick the field goal and were tied up, or go for it.

They went for it and we stopped them in their tracks. We ended up winning because we made the stop,” Avila said.

“Then my junior year at the homecoming game against Broadway, it was a play where a player came down my side, I came inside to strip the ball and we got it from a fumble. We ended up scoring in the next series and winning the game.”

According to Avila, defense requires a certain type of player with a certain mentality.

“D Tackle and fullback is all I’ve played,” Avila said. “With defense, you have to have a passion. You have to have a chip on your shoulder every play and be there for your team. It’s a different mentality than offense, you have to get off the block and make your tackle. Since I was young, I’ve always been rough, so how coach Thompson says it, ‘you have to have a little nasty’, and that’s just what I have.”

With college ball as the goal for Avila, he believes in accepting the first offer that comes into view.

“I’m really hoping I get into college and play. I would love to go to college just to study and get my education, but I would love to play and get my education at the same time. I’m hoping that one day I get an offer and just go play,” Avila said. “My dream college would be LSU, but I don’t have the height or anything. Any school that offers to me first, that’s where I’ll go, because they were the first ones interested. After that, more schools could offer, but I want the first one because it shows they actually want me.”

Football has developed a stronger work ethic and instilled many values into Avila over the years. “[I have learned] to stay strong and be a leader. I can communicate with more people now. It’s helped me get out of my shell and talk to more people,” Avila said. “[I have learned] to push, to have a hard work ethic. I want them[teammates] to understand that it’s just not about going out on the field. You have to be school smart and get in the weight room. I want my teammates to see me as a role model. I hope I’ve put that mentality in them because I’m in the weight room every day. People could say you’re ‘too short or too small’, [but] you just have to think ‘it doesn’t matter.’ I started from the bottom, benching 165 pounds and now I’m benching 405 pounds, so I’ve come a long way.”

Indoor track preparing runners for outdoor season Yusuf Aboutabl Feature Editor The end of the cross country season doesn’t mean the end of running for athletes at our school. The indoor track season starts this month, bringing a wave of returning runners from previous years, each with their own goals for the season, along with new runners.

Junior Sydney Harper has seen success in the past, and hopes to build on that this season.

“My biggest goal is to make it to states this season,” Harper said. “I was able to qualify my freshman year, but I wasn’t able to last year.”

Historically, indoor track has fewer members on the team compared to outdoor track. Although this does hinder the team’s chances at scoring points, several runners see some light in it. Junior Carissa Roberts takes it as an opportunity to strengthen bonds with her teammates.

“I really like the people and the environment that comes with indoor,” Roberts said. “It feels like more of a community since there are less people. You’re able to spend more time with individual people.”

Roberts has consistently done indoor track in the past, but there are some aspects of it that she doesn’t like.

“I don’t like Polar Bear meets at all. I hate the cold,” Roberts said. Polar Bear meets are meets that take place on local

high schools’ outdoor tracks. They are infamous among the indoor team for being windy and extremely cold.

Junior Natalie Pittington uses the indoor track season as an opportunity to prepare for the outdoor season, which she values more, but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t like indoor.

“I like indoor because it gets me prepared for the outdoor season,” Pittington said.

“We do a lot more conditioning in indoor, so that gives us a good base to work on [during the outdoor season].”

Junior Joel ClevengPHOTO COURTESY OF CARISSA ROBERTS er is a pole vaulter, but STREAKS ARE NUMBER ONE. The girls indoor track team presents their trophy and plaque after comthat doesn’t take away peting in the conference champioship meet in the 2015-2016 season. The Streaks went on to win the from his accomplishconference meet at Hagerstown Community College in Hagerstown, Maryland. ments on the team. Clevenger placed eighth in states last year and I want to do that again between the two coaches and see if we the state meet for the can work something out,” Clevenger said. outdoor season. He uses his competitive this year.”

Clevenger plans on doing two sports “And since there’s no pole vault coach spirit to fuel his success.

“I do indoor track to beat people. Plain this winter: wrestling and track, meaning during the indoor season, I’ll have to self teach myself again. But I should be fine. and simple,” Clevenger said. “I feel ac- he’ll have to manage his time well.

Muscle memory.”

“I’m going to wrestle and run indoor complished if I vault higher than others, and that’s what drives me. I placed at this season. I’ll try to set up a compromise

Black learned discipline from years of football experience Owen Marshall Sports Editor Senior Tyler Black has been a part of the Blue Streaks football team as a right tackle for five years, and after this year, he doesn’t know if he will play football ever again.

“It’s sad, I don’t want it to end. I don’t like school at all, but being somewhere you’ve been for so long is just a weird shift to be leaving. It’s sad that I might not be able to play football again, see my friends again and maybe be in a whole other state,” Black said.

Black is hoping to continue his education at James Madison University, Virginia Tech, Bridgewater College, or Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He may be able to continue football as a walk-on, but isn’t yet sure of his college plans. Black is hopeful about making a postseason run in his final year.

“Going to the playoffs would be the best thing ever. Even if we don’t go far in the playoffs, just the fact that we actually went to the playoffs would still be the

greatest thing in the world,” Black said.

Black doesn’t have just one best moment, but instead believes his entire football experience was memorable.

“I think the best moment is just playing football, the whole entire thing overall has been the best moment of my life. Being with my friends, and pulling off wins.

It sucks if you lose, but you lose as a team and you win as a team,” Black said.

Black’s worst season was in 2014 when the Streaks won only two games.

“My sophomore year we went 2-8, it didn’t feel good; it didn’t sit right in my stomach. I didn’t play much, but it was that fact that we were 2-8 [which] sucked.

We definitely grew from that,” Black said.

Fellow lineman and friend Josh Soto believes that Black helps the team by keeping everyone happy and bouncing back from errors.

“I feel like Tyler has brought a lot of positive energy to the team. Overall he is just a positive guy, he loves to let everything go and start up his rhythm again. If there is a bad play, he tells us to focus and that [the next] play is going to be better,” Soto said.

Black believes that football has helped him create a good work ethic and behavior. He credits the cheerleading coach and head coach’s wife who helps the students keep up with their schoolwork.

“Football has taught us discipline, so we don’t do stupid stuff. It has taught us how to study, have good grades and be worried about our grades. During study hall, Mama T. is on us all the time, regardless if you have a C or B. If you are missing something, she’s on you. It’s just that mentality, if we are missing something we should get that done,” Black said.

Soto believes that Black has become a nicer and more outgoing person through football.

“He definitely helps me out. He helps with a lot of people. There are four seniors on the offensive line. Tyler definitely knows all his plays, but if one of us gets injured, he tells us all what to do. If you’re a rookie and you’re new, he might yell at you a little bit, but he is just trying to get everyone motivated to do what they need to do,” Soto said.

Soto believes that their friendship brought together by football helps them

be effective on the field.

“Tyler and I have good trust with each other. We have extremely good communication, I don’t want to brag, but we have the best communication on the offensive line,” Soto said. “We both don’t have to worry about the other not doing their job.

If there is a linebacker blitzing, we call it out, sometimes at the same time, which is ridiculous. We have gotten a lot closer through football. In eighth grade we weren’t that close, but [now] we call each other brothers on a daily basis.”

Black believes that football has helped turn him into the person he is today because of the coaching he has expierenced and the characteristics he has learned.

“When I first went into varsity, I was just a kid. [The coaches were] yelling at us and teaching us all the discipline, [telling us] we aren’t kids anymore, that we’re men. I am more mature now than I was two years ago just from football,” Black said. If I have learned anything from this program it’s that you can’t ever give up.

You have your ups and downs, but you have to take it and bounce back don’t let it keep you down.”

November 28, 2016

Sports-B7

The Newsstreak

Martinez plans to sit out freshman season Owen Stewart Print Managing Editor The Thomas Harrison Middle School seventh grade basketball team finished with a 10-0 record during the 2014 season, and had another strong season in 2015 as eighth graders.

Now, the players from those successful teams have moved into the high school ranks, one of them being point guard Luis Martinez. Martinez believes that his middle school days, where he was a starter for half of his seventh grade year, and his whole eighth grade year, helped him gain teamwork in addition to new skills.

“We really improved, and just learned a lot by ourselves. It really helped us be independent and be more [together] as a team,” Martinez said.

According to Martinez, his middle school teams exceeded expectations, making their success even sweeter for him.

“Going undefeated in seventh grade was [one of my best basketball moments]. We didn’t really have high expectations, we were [only] a decent team. Beating everyone was amazing,” Martinez said.

Despite his middle school success, Martinez has decided to pass on his ninth grade season, and will wait until his sophomore year to try out for high school ball.

“I will be able to work out more, get my game stronger and get [my body] stronger for next year,” Martinez said. “I’ll think

about it and might regret it, but I’m still going to try out next year.

Hopefully, I’ll blow up next year.

[Even without playing this year], I’ll still probably be getting better, because I’ll be working on my skills while they’ll be learning the X’s and O’s.”

Even while passing on high school competition, Martinez will still get his share of basketball in, as he plays AAU ball with the Harrisonburg Wizards. According to Martinez, AAU tournaments offer more opportunities for athletes to be able to showcase themselves as opposed to high school games. “[AAU] is more competition [than high school], so you have a better chance of getting looked at. No [college scouts] really come to high school games; AAU is where you get recognized,” Martinez said.

Despite being a freshman, many of Martinez’s opponents are older players, leading to some improvements in his game. “[Playing with older kids] has helped me be more physical and tough. It should give me an upper hand against my [own] age group,” Martinez said.

Martinez’s AAU team has traveled to many different tournaments around the area, but Martinez lists one played in Maryland in particular as a unique experience. “[My team] went to a tournament in Ocean City, and that’s probably the best experience I’ve had in AAU ball, because it was a lot of fun. Our hotel was right

next to the beach, so when we weren’t playing we just went right to the beach,” Martinez said.

Martinez hopes to use his AAU games and practices to prepare for his sophomore season, when he hopes to try out for the varsity team. This year’s varsity squad is senior-heavy, and Martinez hopes that the loss of players will open up a spot.

“Most of the [team] is leaving, and most of them play my position. I’m not saying I would start, but hopefully I could get a couple minutes as the back-up point guard,” Martinez said.

He believes that while some parts of his game are already fairly strong, there are still some things to improve on during the season. “[My strongest suits] are my dribbling and passing. [I can also] run a team, [but I need to] improve my shooting… Once I get my shooting down, I can focus on everything else,” Martinez said.

Along with improving his skills, Martinez likes to express his personality on the court, and hopes that it rubs off on his teammates. “[I bring] fun to a team, most of all. Some teams that I’ve been with are really boring, like there’s no energy at all, and I make playing fun. While we play, I make jokes on the court. I share the ball, make the team better and, if someone’s down on themselves, I’m like, ‘Don’t worry about it, just get it back’,” Martinez said.

Martinez has played basketball since third grade, and over time he has found a passion for the

Shulgan organizes indoor soccer team Kyle Brown Feature Editor This winter, while some athletes may be doing sports like basketball or indoor track, the girls soccer team will be playing in an indoor turf team to prepare for the upcoming season.

Ella Shulgan, a senior this year at HHS who plans on playing for the varsity team, was the one put in charge of organizing the team.

“I’m naturally a bossy person, and I like organizing things, but it’s a struggle because it’ll be different this year [with a new group of players] and I just don’t know what to expect. The girls are really willing, and everyone is open to try new things, so it’ll be good,” Shulgan said.

Shulgan currently has a team of about 13 girls, and hopes they will have more come out for the team when the real soccer season comes around. The indoor season is split into two time frames, one from late Nov. to Dec., and the other starting in January. Shulgan hopes to field a team for both times.

Alanna MacAdam is a junior this year planning on playing for the varsity team. MacAdam is looking forward to playing more indoor games despite having a season ending injury last year.

“I forgot how much I missed it, because my sophomore season ended early because of a concussion, so I’m finally [getting] back into playing soccer.

After being out for six months

with a concussion, it’s definitely like ‘Oh wow, I don’t really know what I’m doing’ and once you get back into the game it’s like ‘Yeah, I know what I’m doing.’

It’s nice to get back into that groove,” MacAdam said.

Despite the threatening senioritis, Shulgan is open to adding a mini soccer season this winter before her final spring season.

“I am [excited]. It’s my senior year, and my last soccer season.

I’m kind of ready to graduate, but it’ll be good as my last high school activity,” Shulgan said.

Shulgan is ready for spring soccer, and thinks it is a good thing they are able to meet and play as a team before high school soccer starts. “[The main goal] would be to get everyone into shape, because most of us don’t do fall sports. We’re just out of shape and need to run and lift weights so we can be stronger for the season. I hope that it’ll make us comfortable with each other. I just want us to play well [when the soccer season arrives],” Shulgan said.

The HHS girls team will be the only all-girls team playing in the high school group for the indoor league. There will be five other all-guy teams, and two or three other co-ed teams that they will be playing against throughout the season.

Unlike other indoor sessions that offer soccer in gyms, Shulgan enjoys playing on indoor turf.

“The field is smaller, you

don’t run as much, and the ball rolls a lot differently. It’s a lot faster paced, but it’s better than playing in a gym, and on hardwood floors. [Playing in those conditions], that’s awful,” Shulgan said.

The varsity soccer team currently has no coach set for the season, and MacAdam explains the difficulty of training without one.

“Because we don’t have a coach, we’re not allowed to do certain things in school, like we’re not allowed to use the weight room. I know the JV coach has been doing stuff, but varsity can’t do anything specific without a coach. Doing the indoor program to play soccer was one of the only things we could do without a coach,” MacAdam said.

Shulgan hopes that the indoor season will help the team transition into a new coaching style for the spring season.

“It should [allow us to be ready for anything]. I want us to be in shape. It’ll prepare us, because we’ll already be playing, so when the coach gets here, hopefully we’ll be able to just jump right in,” Shulgan said.

MacAdam expresses her only fear of participating in these winter workouts.

“The only disadvantage that could happen is if someone happened to get hurt before tryouts. I think that everything else that is happening could definitely help us out,” MacAdam said.

2016 Harrisonburg Girls Indoor Turf Soccer Roster Hannah Miller Vivian Adel Alanna MacAdam

Anna Bishop Abby Campillo Kendall Thompson

Ella Shulgan

Olivia Comer Audrey Knupp Meredith Goss

Mikaela O’Fallon Monalisa Gebretsadik Francheska Fontanez

PHOTO COURTESY OF LUIS MARTINEZ

HANDLES. Freshman Luis Martinez dribbles a basketball for his middle school photo. game, noting it as a unique opportunity. “[My favorite part] is the connection with your teammates.

Basketball gives you a lot of opportunities,” Martinez said.

“Some people don’t have the

smarts to be a businessman, or a lawyer or anything like that.

Basketball gives you a chance to make it out and do something big for the community, as well as being recognized.”

Athletes work out in off-season Max McDaniel Staff Reporter Almost every sport offers time to work with the coach and the team before the season actually begins. Sophomore Jose Rocha goes to these practices to prepare for baseball.

“Coaches that hit us ground balls...Coaches that make us go through our drills...[They teach us] techniques to get better,” Rocha said Some athletes are content with simply going to weekday practices to keep themselves in shape, but some, like freshman soccer player Lucio Bianchi, get their workouts from other places as well.

On his own time, Bianchi works out using a cardio-centric workout routine.

“I do some drills, runs, suicides and all that and if I have extra time that’s when I do my shooting and stuff because I really need to focus on speed and agility,” Bianchi said. To put how much he does each session into perspective, Bianchi said he also runs 45 minutes on top of everything else.

Soccer isn’t just about stamina and agility, however, it’s also about strength.

“If you want to get stronger, you have to go to the gym to lift, but if you just want to get fit and in shape, [after-school practice] would be a good workout,” Bianchi said.

The preseason practices for soccer are biweekly, and these conditioning sessions to prepare for soccer season. By using a friend’s membership at the nearby 24/7 Gym, Bianchi has another opportunity to workout.

“We can’t just go to condi-

tioning. It’s not going to get us fit in just two days a week. But we keep on working and you’ll get fit, mostly. If you work out every day, you’ll get fit,” Bianchi said.

While at 24/7, Bianchi goes through a routine to work different muscles. He has a leg day as well as an upper body day. At practice, Bianchi has trouble getting access to weightlifting workouts, and going to the gym every day is his way of making up for this.

“At practice we don't usually lift. There is weight training [here], but we don’t usually do that,” Bianchi said.

Rocha doesn’t rely solely on preseason practices to get better, either, he goes to the same gym as Bianchi to prepare for his season as well.

“I go to 24/7 Gym day to get stronger,” Rocha said.

He goes earlier than Bianchi, from 4:30-6 p.m. on weekdays.

Similar to the soccer-playing gym-goer, however, he focuses mostly on strengthening through weights.

“I do everything; lower body and upper body,” Rocha said.

“You get to throw the ball harder, you get to hit harder.”

The Upper Deck is a sports academy in Bridgewater, which Rocha goes to occasionally to get some actual batting practice in.

“There’s a cage in Bridgewater, we just go there and hit…

Sometimes I go to the [Upper Deck] and hit, and if I had a car, I’d go every day,” Rocha said.

According to these two, just lazing around isn’t going to get you anywhere in sports “If you want to get in shape you can’t just sit around, you have to go do something,” Bianchi said.

We’ve Got Our Game Face On. When an athlete suffers an injury, Sentara RMH Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Specialists is ready.

Our dedicated sports medicine physicians and surgeons, many of whom are athletes themselves, have the knowledge and skills necessary to get the athlete back in the game.

When it comes to an injury, we’re part of your team.

• • • • • • • • • • •

Back and neck injuries Concussion care Foot and ankle injuries Fracture care Hand and wrist injuries Knee injuries Same-day appointments for emergencies Shoulder injuries Sports performance and rehabilitation Sports physicals Team physicians for many local high school sports

Now seeing patients in our new, state-of-the-art facility, Sentara RMH Orthopedic Center.

540-689-5500 | Sentara.com

SENTARA IS A PROUD SUPPORTER OF THE HARRISONBURG BLUE STREAKS!

November 28, 2016

The Newsstreak

Sports-B8

Gilbert prepares for varsity season Theo Yoder Sports Editor Because of a change in last year’s boys varsity basketball team roster, junior Steven Gilbert was pulled up from JV to varsity basketball mid-season.

Gilbert felt prepared for the sudden change and was thankful for the opportunity because he has played basketball since the age of seven.

“I used to play on the court right outside my house. My dad used to play and I just liked the sport. It’s a competitive sport with lots of contact and you have to work for what you want,” Gilbert said.

When asked to move up to varsity, Gilbert was concerned with the transition, especially because of the sudden mid-season change.

“It was pretty tough. I was on a lower level and varsity is a faster paced game with bigger people and stronger guys,” Gilbert said. For the upcoming basketball season, Gilbert will now begin the season as a varsity player.

“It feels pretty good because I’ve been working really hard for it and the coaches have seen that. I’ve been working out with other teammates, working on my handles, shooting a lot and in overall getting my exercise,”

Gilbert said. Gilbert finds his motivation for working hard in basketball through his family.

“I am trying to get myself out of a poor place as well as trying to get money to help the family,” Gilbert said. He puts this as his ultimate goal as a result of working and training hard.

Because Gilbert was pulled up to varsity basketball mid-season, he now has an insight to what the upcoming season has in store for himself and for the rest of the team.

He believes JV has prepared him for playing at the varsity level. “[Being moved up] has showed me PHOTO BY OWEN MARSHAL that the game is a faster pace at the CROSSED UP. Junior Stephen Gilbert was moved up to varsity basketball mid-season last year. Gilbert has been trainvarsity level. You ing for his position on the varsity squad this season. His favorite position is point gaurd and hopes to play basketaball have to be tough at a professional level. and you got to work fall preventing him from attend“I love basketball, I have been there for me, that’s the for your buckets,” Gilbert said. In addition to play- ing several open gym basketball played it a whole lot. I’ve played sport I love,” Gilbert said.

Gilbert will be playing point ing basketball in the winter, Gil- practices. Gilbert has found that the sport way longer than footbert also plays football in the he enjoys basketball more than ball. This year is my first year of guard for the varsity basketball football. football. Basketball has always team’s upcoming season.

Jordan plans on varsity basketball Antics distract Beckham’s focus on play

Vivian Neal Staff Reporter

Basketball is picking up circulation and buzz as a new season comes to a start, but there are few people who are as tuned in as sophomore Aaliyah Jordan. This year will not be a normal one as she hopes to display improvement on her basketball game by rising to the ranks of the varsity team. “[I’m determined to move up] because of college, and this summer I got to play with the varsity girls, so I wouldn’t want to lose that time with them because then over next summer [I would have to] try to gain all of that back,” Jordan said.

With seven years of experience under her belt and a surge of confidence, Aaliyah sees no reason why she won’t have the opportunity to move up from her JV days. Even if varsity wasn’t a foreseeable opportunity, she says that quitting basketball would never be an option for her. “[If I wasn’t moved up to varsity], I would be kind of hurt and sad, because I’ve been working all summer to go to varsity, but I wouldn’t stop playing. I would still

Owen Stewart Print Managing Editor

PHOTO BY SAM HEIE

HUDDLE UP. The girls basketball team huddles up during their game vs the Judges of John Handley High School. play JV,” Jordan said.

Jordan looks forward to her future college career and the major potential of basketball scholarships, which also guides her varsity ambitions. These factors motivate her. So much so that she doesn’t mind the potential for less playing time on the court, even with a smaller varsity team in comparison to the JV team. “[During] JV last year, I got good playing time,” Jordan said, “[For varsity], it will depend more on how the game is going, since I am an underclassman and everyone else is older than me. I guess one benefit to

being on JV is playing time.”

Durmount Perry, varsity basketball coach, has seen Jordan’s potential during her off-season work with the varsity girls. Although needing to be objective on the topic of who could make varsity, Perry has still been able to pay attention to Jordan’s effort on the court. “[Jordan] has worked extremely hard in the off-season. [She] participated in the summer workouts as well as traveled with the varsity team to three different camps,” Perry said. “[Her skills include] a pretty good jump shot and [she] plays good defense.”

his success on the field, he is dragging his team down with all of the unnecessary business. In fact, that 15-yard penalty for taking his helmet off very At just age 23, New York Giants wide nearly caused the Giants to lose a receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has already game. They ended up winning, so the become one of the most well-known incident was mostly forgotten, but if figures in sports. As a rookie, he made he isn’t making plays, and the Giants arguably the best catch in NFL history, aren’t winning games, Beckham could a three-fingered grab against the Cowsee himself fall out of favor quickly, esboys, just one of his 91 catches that pecially in a city like New York where year. Beckham has amassed 28 touchthe expectations are always high. down catches over his two and a half Playing in a big city like NYC brings years in the league, one of the best enough attention and pressure, and starts to a career ever. Howhe’s putting more on himever, his talent has started to self by trying to show off become overshadowed by his and look cool. An example antics on the field. is the whole kicking net sitLast year, he was suspenduation, which began during ed for a game for his role in a game against the Redskins a game-long brawl with Panwhen he smacked the kickthers cornerback Josh Noring net in frustration and it man. fell on him.

Lil Stew’s Sports Beckham’s behavior has In another game a coucontinued this year, as he ple weeks later, Beckham has been seen crying in frustration on scored a touchdown, and made a big the sideline, hitting a kicking net (and show of him “making up” with the net. having it fall on him), and taking his He did this a second time in another helmet off after a touchdown catch, game, making sure he was surrounded leading to a 15-yard penalty and a fine by cameramen before executing the of $24,000 from the league. While stunt.

Beckham’s talent is undeniable, he has No matter how you put it, Beckbecome increasingly attention-seekham’s actions are all to gain more ating, and eventually it’s going to cost his tention, and eventually he’s going to team a win. His teammates don’t aprealize he doesn’t want so much of the preciate the theatrics either, as Giants spotlight. If he’s playing well, everyquarterback Eli Manning said after a thing’s going to be sunshine and raingame that “you can get real sick of it,” bows, but when he’s struggling, OBJ is when asked about Beckham’s sideline going to feel the heat, and it will affect theatrics. his success on the field, as well as the Odell needs to learn that, even with way he’s perceived in the media.

Andrade joins wrestling team after moving from Japan Noah Siderhurst Op/Ed Editor Senior Dylan Andrade recently moved to Harrisonburg after spending two years in Okinawa, Japan, where his father was stationed while serving in the military. When their two years were up, Andrade’s father looked for a place to retire and chose the Friendly City. Andrade enjoyed his time in Japan.

“The Japanese were really cool to hang out with. Their culture was just really amazing,” Andrade said.

Andrade and his family arrived in Harrisonburg in the late summer, and Andrade started school here in August. One of Andrade’s first observations about school in the U.S. was the quality of academics compared to that of his school on the military base in Okinawa.

“As far as the schools went [in Japan], they weren’t that good… It was overall an amazing experience [though],” Andrade said.

That’s not to say that Andrade thought his school in Okinawa was all bad; to the contrary, Andrade appreciated the unique experience of seeing cultures from all around the world embodied at the base. “[My school in Japan] was more diverse, which was great because I could meet people from Iraq and all different parts of the world, not just from America. It’s really cool,” Andrade said.

Another thing, besides academics, that Andrade thinks will be better in Harrisonburg is the wrestling team, which Andrade plans to join this season.

“I’ll have a better team [here], and we’ll win more because we’ll be more condi-

tioned,” Andrade said. “[I think I’ll personally be better] here for sure because I feel my teammates are going to motivate me more.”

Andrade wrestled both years he lived in Japan, and hopes to bring some of that experience to the team in Harrisonburg.

A major difference between wrestling in Japan versus in the U.S. are the styles. In Japan, both freestyle, a style focused on wrestling while on your feet that is one of two styles used in the Olympics, and folkstyle, a style practiced primarily in the U.S., are used. Andrade’s experience with freestyle, which is not practiced at the high school level in the U.S., will bring a diversity of experience to the team that assistant coach Eric Miller feels will be beneficial.

“So much of freestyle is done from your feet with takedowns, which transfers over to folkstyle very nicely,” Miller said.

While having freestyle experience may be an advantage, Andrade still prefers folkstyle over freestyle.

Andrade feels his strength is defense, but thinks he needs to work on offense more.

“My weakness [is] taking the opponent down due to me hesitating,” Andrade said.

Despite the challenges of moving to a new school, Andrade hopes to finish out his senior year with a strong wrestling season.

“I hope to absolutely just dominate, just win the season,” Andrade said.

Miller also has faith in Andrade.

“Based on the way that he carries himself and the confidence that he brings, and his excitement about the sport of wrestling, I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do on the mat, and hopefully help

PHOTO BY NOAH SIDERHURST

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN. Senior Dylan Andrade (right) breaks away from a teammate in practice. The two wrestlers are performing various wrestling moves to prepare for the upcoming wrestling season. lead the other team members to have that same amount of excitement,” Miller said. “[He also shows] a little bit of attitude, which is good. You’ve got to have an attitude in wrestling.”

Andrade is also excited about his future after high school. Seeing the military so close had a large positive impact on

Andrade, and was one of the reasons he joined JROTC in hopes of continuing to be involved in the military in the future. “[Living in Japan] makes me really want to join the military and go back. I really like the Japanese,” Andrade said.

November 28, 2016

2016-2017

HHS

NEWSSTREAK

PATRONS

NEWSSTREAK SUPER SPONSORS Bill Rath Bobby and Valerie Kibler Carmen Moreno and Tom Little Chayo Moreno Cynthia Prieto Dick and Nancy Krause Eleanor P. Adams Ervin and Patricia Yoder Jim and Rebecca Newcity Jose and Maria Elena Moreno Judith S. Strickler Kim and Ken Rutherford Mark Varner Michael A. Fornadel Nathan and Regina Hissong Ralph and Carolyn Custer Richard and Sally Morrell Sallie Strickler Tarpley Ashworth Ted and Stephanne Byrd GOLD SPONSORS Amanda Dombrowski

Bonnie and Bill Stewart Brian and Michele Dombrowski Carrie Stevens Chad Rummel David and Lisa Varner Donna and Chuck Schwers Dr. Rob and Ann Rutherford Emily Anderson Emily Sharrer Eric and Becca Miller Gloria Ottaviano and Greg Stewart Gretchen and Stephen Cessna Gwendolyn Baugh Harold Heie Jane and Paul Walton Jeanette and Steve Shepard Joe Glick John Albrite Karen and Brad Newcomer Karen and Burnes Earle KBMG Consulting Associates, LLC

Ads-B9

The Newsstreak

Kira and David Newman Larry Leffel Laura FM Laura Sider Jost Meredith Read Mike and Pam McNallen Mike Eye/ Joan Eye Nan Turner Callahan Nancy Miller Noland and Barbara McHone Richard and Martha Sider Sandra Quigg Scott C. Cole Susan Newsome Ted and Tammy Brown Wayne and Betty Jo Fleisher

SILVER SPONSORS Amanda Sarver Ann Niland Annie and Mark Carpenter Angie Rodriguez Anu Beheraj Austin Swift Bernita Claxton

Patrons are members of the Harrisonburg community and others who support the pursuit of excellence in the journalistic publications of Harrisonburg High School. Money generated from the patron program is used to offset costs of attending journalism conferences, to print our paper, and to purchase up-to-date technological equipment for our journalism lab. To become a patron, see any member of the Newsstreak Staff or stop by room 444. You can also visit www.hhsmedia.com to download a patron ad contract. Patron level is determined by the following scale: HHS Patrons, $5; Blue Patrons, $10; Bronze Patrons, $15; Silver Patrons, $25; Gold Patrons, $50; and Newsstreak Super Sponsor, $100+.

Betty Smith Bill and Ellen Carpenter Bob Martin Bonnie and Richard Ayers Brad and Julia Stewart Caitlin Francis Campbell Rutherford Carl Droms Carolyn Earls Carroll and Nancy Yoder Casey Cangelosi Chad and Cyndi Gusler Chris Fox Chris and Chia-Wei Yoder Cyndi and Chad Gusler Darrell Wilson Dawn and Chris Womack Deb and John Kugel Diana Flick Dominique Evans Don and Marilyn Pedersen Dori Ottaviano Ellie Plass Emilee Hussack Erica Lewis Faith Runnells Frank and Sherrel Hissong

Garry and Peggy Miller Geoffray Estes Gloria Phoenix GranMa and Pop Miller Hayden Rutherford Herman Horne Jack and Mary Broaddus Jan Eckert Jeff Brown Jerry and Jane Detweiler Jill Hagmaier Jim and Julie Kramer Jim and Shelby Cash John and Marian Fitzwater Johnson Family Julie Slykhuis Karen Johnson Kris Vass Krisztina Szekely Mary and Michael Hoysradt Mary Jean Cross and John Asa Hertzler Matt and Maria Swartzentruber Moriah Hurst Myrna Taylor

Nora Maguire White Paul Johnston Rachael C. Eckard Robert and Judy Wolfe Roger and Patricia Cole Sandra Conrad Sara and Dan Gingras Susan Comfort The Krause Klan The Shaver Family Tim and Gwen Stewart Tracy Kephart Tripp and Linda Denton Zsuzsa Fox BRONZE SPONSORS Anda Weaver Beth and Curtis Cash Carolyn Stauffer Cosette P. Johnson David Galgano David Shenk Dennis and Penny Vondrak Gwen Sloop Joe Carico Jere Borg Kathy Starick

Kelly Hammond Kim and Randy Hook Laura and Sam Measell Lynda Blackwell Melody and Dennis Wilson Michael and Sandy Briggs Pat and Earl Martin Peter Norment Rachel Linden Sam Nickels Steve and Anne Turner Sue Pittington Tamra Atkins Teresa Haase The Henderson Familiy BLUE SPONSORS Aaron Gusler Becky Mintzer Beth Clatterbuck Burton Buller Cassandra Copeland Danae Delozier Daniel Upton Debbie Lohman Faye and Emery Yoder Gloria Figueroa Vargas

Hometown Realty Group Kevin Mary Beth and Grace Tysinger Kirk Moyers Korey Lamb Lisa Thurman Lisa Warren Marc Healy Marcus Quintana Moses Tinsley Ms. Brino Ms. Laura Thompson Nathan Barge Phil Yutzy Quillon and Karin Hall Rich Ingram Ryan Henschel Seth Berkeley Seth Shantz Tamra Atkins Terry McCusker Tim Meyers Tricia Comfort Tricia Cummings HHS SPONSORS Bradley Walton

Cathy Grogg Jay Hook Kim Hill Chris Shifflett Clara Yoder Coach Hargrove Colleen Morris Delynda Hendricks Hope LInd Jane Garber Jauan Brooks Luga Samson Ross Foster Roy McCutcheon Russell Wilder Steve Young Suzanne Smith The Wards T. J. Butler Tracey Calderson Veronica Ryman Victoria Giron

November 28, 2016

Sports-B10

The Newsstreak

Madden hoping for college interest as senior Owen Stewart Print Managing Editor Senior Kajuan Madden first got into the game of basketball at the age of six.

At that time, basketball was just that, a game. As he has moved throughout his high school career, however, basketball has become an integral piece of Madden’s life.

“At first, when I was younger, it was just fun, something the neighborhood did, but lately, I have seen myself as being a little bit better than others.

I feel like it could take me somewhere. I feel like it’s an opportunity to take care of my family if I can make it farther, but right now, it’s an opportunity to get a free scholarship,” Madden said.

In terms of scholarships, Madden seems to have plenty of suitors. He has received interest from many different Division II and III schools over his first three high school seasons.

“IUP (Indiana University of Pennsylvania) is interested in me, and they’re actually interested in offering me an academic scholarship,” Madden said.

Madden also has around a dozen other options, but is hoping to expand his horizons.

“They’re mostly just D-II and D-III schools… I’m looking for a lot of D-I’s this season. I’m definitely looking for somewhere to play next year,” Madden said.

To help increase his chances at playing college basketball, Madden plays for Your Future Basketball, a showcase travel AAU team. The team has played all over the East Coast in hopes of showcasing their players.

“We’ve been to Pennsylvania, we’ve been to Myrtle Beach. That’s one of the big ones, one of the Big Shots [tournaments].

We’ve [also] been to a couple CP3 Live tournaments, some in North Carolina.

It’s definitely a lot of showcase. We play in front of a

lot of college coaches, and against good competition,” Madden said. AAU has also been a source of memorable events for Madden, both on and off the court. “[I had] one game, there was a D-I coach there, and Ball Is Life was there recording the game. I played a really good game, I scored like 21 points. Other than that, just having fun with your teammates, actually being able to have your own hotel and being able to play there. There are some really good memories,” Madden said.

As a point guard who is under six feet tall, Madden found an inspiration in former Kentucky and current Phoenix Suns guard Tyler Ulis, who stands at just five feet nine inches.

“I like Tyler Ulis. He’s been a big inspiration for me because he’s a really good point guard, and he’s close to my height. That gives me even more [inspiration], so I can’t have the excuse to say ‘Oh, I’m not tall enough’, or something like that,” Madden said.

To model his game after Ulis, Madden has some improvements he’d like to make. “[I want to improve my] passing. Last year, it was an okay year, but I’m looking for a way better [season] this year. For me to be able to get there, I need to pass better, at least five assists a game. Going to the college level, you have to be able to pass well, [especially] as a point guard of my size,” Madden said.

While Madden believes he has improvements to make, he has already seen some big developments in his game since the beginning of his high school career.

“When I was a freshman, I was more of a rec ball player. I mean, that’s all I used to do. I wasn’t really established into the basketball system, so I would like to dribble a lot, try to break people and try to shake them down. Now, I’m more

of a one dribble and go to the cup [player], or just moving the ball forward, stuff like that to get your teammates involved, and learning that not everything is going to be about you,” Madden said.

With Madden beginning his final season in a Blue Streaks uniform, he’s hoping to see lots of success, not only on the court, but also in the classroom.

“First, with school, I want to do really well with my grades. That will give me a better chance of getting a scholarship, but for basketball, I really want to finish it with some scholarships and some D-I’s looking at me, as well as a lot more points than I had last year; more assists, rebounds, steals, everything in every category,” Madden said. In addition to statistics and basketball talent, there is much more to excelling at the point guard position, according to Madden. “[As a point guard] you have to be the most responsible. When things happen on the floor, the first person the coach comes to is the point guard,” Madden said.

“No matter if it’s your fault or not, it is your fault if anything goes wrong. The point guard is supposed to put people in their positions, so [it can be] pretty hard and frustrating sometimes, and you’re like ‘That’s not my fault’, but it really is your fault when someone messes up.”

Madden also believes that the chemistry of the team, having known each other for a long time, helps him be responsible for his and others’ mistakes.

“You definitely want to build a good relationship with your teammates and be able to know them. Being able to know them creates trust, and I just trust that they’ll listen to [me] more just by knowing [me],” Madden said. “Just the fact of knowing your teammates and having a good relationship with them, and you tell them they’re in the

PHOTO BY OWEN MARSHALL

FROM THE LINE. Senior Kajuan Madden shoots a free throw during a 2015 game against James Wood. Madden has received interest from around a dozen Division II and III schools, including a possible academic scholarship from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. wrong, they’re going to listen to you more instead of snapping back at you. They might still snap back at you, but I mean, that’s just teammates. They’re going to listen to you more than someone who they don’t know telling them something.”

As Madden has gotten farther along in his high school career and is nearing a chance at being a college student-athlete, basketball continues to stand out for him as a passion.

“Ball is life. Basketball is everything to me. When I’m playing, it’s like a getaway for me. Just the fact that I know it could possibly take me far makes it even more important and interesting to me,” Madden said. “Just playing basketball, it’s no worries. But yeah, ball is life.”

Madden’s Choices Where will he end up?

1

2 3

5

4

6

7 8 10 11

9 12

13

1- Thomas College 2- Hamilton College 3- Susquehanna Univ.

4- Seton Hill 5- Indiana Univ. of PA 6- Chesapeake Univ.

7- Marymount 8- Virginia State Univ.

9- Louisburg College 10- Lincoln Memorial Univ.

11- Belmont Abbey 12- Queens Univ.

13- Newberry College

Perry bouncing back from horrific ankle injury Owen Marshall Sports Editor

Injuries are very common among athletes, but most of the time they aren’t severe. Unfortunately, for senior KeeShawn Perry, the ankle injury he suffered during his junior year of basketball ended his season, and very nearly his career.

“My injury last year happened when I went up for a rebound. When I came down, I landed on the defender's shoe and it gave out on itself. My first reaction was [that] I thought it was a cramp, but when one of my teammates helped me up, I saw it wobbling, so I started crying,” Perry said.

Varsity coach Don Burgess was one of the first people beside Perry after the injury. His primary instinct was to help Perry stay as comfortable as possible.

“It was not a pretty sight. Once I saw KeeShawn try to get up, I scanned him head to toe and I saw [the injury]. I got someone from the bench to toss me a towel, so I could cover it because the last thing you want is the person with the injury to see it. [That way they don’t] go into a panic state,” Burgess said. “It was easier for us because we weren’t in the pain, but at the same time we were in pain because that’s one of our kids.”

Perry’s rehabilitation occurred in the weight room with athletic trainer Jen Glazer.

“It was like a reset. You had to act like a baby all over again. You start off with two pound weights and work your way up to fifties with basic squats.

You have to learn how to run and walk again, too,“ Perry said.

Burgess didn’t have a role in Perry’s rehab, but did help him get him back in the groove once he was cleared to play.

“It was all KeeShawn and the sports medicine staff. The only role I had was once he got cleared to come back to open gym was to put him through straight line drills to knock the rust off [of] him as far as ball handling, passing and shooting trying to get him back to where he was,” Burgess said.

Perry was out of all athletics and in a boot for two months. He believes that he was encouraged to play again by the people close to him.

“When I got surgery, I did not want to do anything, but I had my teammates, my dad and [my] family to get me back into my motive. While I was out, I think [my teammates] re-

ally stepped up to help fill the hole,“ Perry said.

The injury helped Perry realize that he needs to continue to practice and be grateful for what he has.

“What it did for KeeShawn was: one, it made him work even harder, but more importantly it helped him not take things for granted. It made him work because it made him appreciate what he was missing. He missed playing with a team and competing. He worked extremely hard because he was like ‘Woah, I want to get back for my senior year for football,’ and he did,” Burgess said.

Perry also believes that being able to return to the football field for his senior season aided his recovery.

“Football has definitely helped me with the workouts and coaches getting back to where I was before. Being in the news-

paper a couple times and being top notch helped me get back into it [as well],“ Perry said.

Perry feels that his game has gotten better, and hopes to be one of the top players on the team. “[The way I play] has not changed. I think [my game] has improved; I feel like I have got 10 times better. This year I want to be the number one player on the team. I am trying to do everything I can to get there,“ Perry said.

Burgess believes that Perry is an asset to the team because of his defensive contributions.

“The thing that makes KeeShawn so good on the court is he’s long and athletic, but really his energy he brings to the table. He brings energy on the defensive end, which allows him to be a spark for us offensively,” Burgess said.

“KeeShawn wreaks so much havoc on defense with deflections, steals and rebounds, which leads to some easy offense on the other [end]. He can defend all five positions, and a lot of people can’t do that, which makes him very valuable.”

Burgess thinks that the injury helped Perry realize that it could happen to anyone, and that he should play every game like it is his last.

“It made him take advantage of what he has, like football. His first six or seven games he was catching big passes after big passes because he said, ‘You know what, I might get injured again.

That could be anybody,” Burgess said. “We all think we’re invincible. You don’t realize you’re not invincible until something gets taken away.”

Komara switches position for junior season David Gamboa-Pena Staff Photographer

Junior Constance Komara has been on the girls varsity basketball team since her freshman year and is entering her junior year with a change in both position and mentality. As a freshman, Komara was more of a post player, but looks to take on more of a shooting guard role in the upcoming season. “[As a shooting guard], you shoot three pointers and you can take the ball up the court,” Komara said.

For Komara, being a shooting guard is not easy and requires a lot of practice and hard work.

“The hardest part is making the shot, it's a lot of practice. You have to shoot every day to get it,” Komara said.

As a shooting guard, ball handling is Komara's least favorite part of the position because of its difficulty to master.

“It's really hard to get good at ball handling, and when you do, you’re really good at it. I’m at that point where I'm close at PHOTO COURTESY OF CONSTANCE KOMARA being super good, but I'm at an iffy point,” NEW POSITION. Constance Komara dribbles Komara said. during her sophomore year. She has moved While playing softball, Komara dove for from forward to shooting guard for this season.

a ball and landed on her shoulder, “They told me I tore my AC band and it [causes] shooting pain sometimes, but it’s getting better,” Komara said. The doctors told Komara she would have to deal with the pain for around three months, but would be able to play. If the pain gets worse, then surgery is the next step.

During the summer and offseason, Komara got in the gym to train.

“We pretty much weight lift three out of the five days and then get in the gym after. On Saturdays, we sometimes have open gym because we scrimmage on Saturdays,” Komara said.

Last year, Komara and Soma Barzanji, who graduated and is now playing basketball at Mary Baldwin College, had a strong relationship on the court.

“She picked me up when I was down and I love that about her. It’s going to be different this year. I need to find that new niche last year,” Komara said.

Because of the participation of basketball players in fall sports, there has been a limitation in offseason teamwork.

“I think [last year] we were more together. This year it’s different because more players play volleyball so we aren't getting that [connection], but hopefully

during the season we will get connected more. Last year not a lot of people played volleyball, so we were all together, all the time, hanging out when it wasn’t basketball, which was cool,” Komara said.

Komara has had a change in mentality towards the game and her play.

“As a sophomore, I was more focused on my skills and carrying the team on my back, but junior year I’m thinking it's a team effort. I'm going to get more assists, more points from my other teammates and share the ball more,” Komara said.

As a sophomore, Komara was named a captain of the team, but felt she didn’t fill the role. “[I need to] pick up my teammates and be more of a captain this year. Last year I wasn’t, but I was still a captain. [I need to] be more vocal to my players,” Komara said.

The girls basketball team didn’t win any games in the 2015-2016 season, but Komara has a positive outlook on the season.

“We didn’t win any games last year, and that is fine because it was a growing year. I feel like this year we are going to win more games, be more positive and actually do something,” Komara said.

November 28, 2016

Sports-B11

The Newsstreak

Sokolyuk finishes senior season strong Christa Cole Print Managing Editor After running cross country since the sixth grade, senior Kevin Sokolyuk finished off his final season with a personal record while attending the MileStat Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 17.

“My season ended in a [personal record] (PR) of 20:26. This was a 44 second increase from my old PR of 21:10,” Sokolyuk said. “It was the best race I have ever been in. The competition was great, the weather was ideal and best of all, I was faster than I ever have been….My last race...was the smoothest one I have ever [run] before. I went in knowing it was my last race, and that I only had one more shot to give it my all.”

Sokolyuk is very proud of his running achievements, especially because of the injury he sustained during his freshman year. Sokolyuk fractured all of the toes in his left foot after rolling it while playing tag with some friends.

“I’ve had my share of hardships, bad races and aching muscles, but in the end, it was worth it all....I went from losing about half of the muscle mass on my left leg because of crutches to running 5K races about twice per week,” Sokolyuk said.

“For me, running one year after my injury was one of my greatest accomplishments during my cross country career. It’s honestly a blessing that I rebounded from such a serious injury to full health in such a short time frame.

I have had a great time meeting new people, bonding with good friends and keeping myself in shape throughout my running career.”

If he could go back though, Sokolyuk would make a few changes.

“If I could do anything differently during my cross country career, I would try harder. There’s nothing wrong with being sore for a day or two,” Sokolyuk said. “Coming back from a Lisfranc injury, I wasn’t confident in my range of motion yet, so I took the first season a little easy, which became a habit I brought into my junior year. And if you ask anyone on the team, I should have changed shoes every season as well.”

Despite what he wishes he could redo, Sokolyuk feels he has had a great career, and that is due to both the cross country coach Lauren Jefferson and his friends.

“My coach, Jefferson, has made a big impact by pushing me to be the best runner I could be and to not only keep running, but to enjoy it along the way. She’s been a great role model even when I may not agree with her completely,” Sokolyuk said. By this, he means they did not always see eye to eye on racing strategy.

“I remember early on, we had some serious conversations about how to run fast,” Jefferson said. “I spent some time in pretty intense conversations before races trying to get Kevin to race and run faster

PHOTO BY JOSHUA LYONS

LAST HOME MEET. Senior Kevin (middle left) runs with senior teammates Jake Urbanski (far left), Yogesh Aradhey (middle right) and Tyler Rodriguez (far right) at the City-County race. This marked the last meet at Thomas Harrison Middle School on Wednesday, Oct 12. Many of the Harrisonburg runners ran a workout during the race, in preparation for their final meet of the regular season at the Mile Stat Invitational in Richmond. as a young runner and I’ll always remember the absolute kindness and patience in his expression as he listened to me...Kevin had the talent to be a contributing varsity runner, but I’m not sure he believed it until towards the end of this season when he saw how close he was to making our top group of runners.”

Jefferson is uplifted by the fact that Sokolyuk persevered through the sport as well as enjoyed it.

“The sport is tough enough that you really have to enjoy it to keep at it every day, and keeping a balance between hard work and having fun is important. I’m glad that a senior athlete who I’ve spent a lot of time with takes this away,” Jefferson said. “He recognizes that I never stopped believing in what he could achieve.”

The loss of Sokolyuk’s presence will be felt by the cross country coach partially for the jokes he brought to the group.

“I’ll miss his very dry sense of humor.

Kevin always had a one-liner or some short quip to offer in between everyone else’s zany talk,” Jefferson said. “When he was a sophomore and junior, you had to pay attention to catch it. As a senior, he’s right in the middle of everything, which has made for some really good times with

the team.”

That team in return has been a motivating force throughout his career.

“My friends have impacted me tremendously by being there for encouragement and support when I needed them. They also motivated me to be better and to get out of my comfort zone….Special shoutout to the squad, a.k.a. Tyler [Rodriguez], Christian [Rodriguez], Jake [Urbanski], Yogesh [Aradhey], John [Breeden], Evan [Jost] and Isaiah [King]” Sokolyuk said.

Not only was the team a source of encouragement for Sokolyuk, but also a group to pull a few pranks with.

“Hands down, the best and most memorable moment of cross country is when Tyler Rodriguez, Yogesh Aradhey, Nick Deutsch, and I picked up a huge dehumidifier off the side of the road and brought it back to school. We were the last ones to come back because we were carrying a 40 pound chunk of metal all because Yogesh needed a motor or something out of it,” Sokolyuk said. “Coach, of course, was not pleased with us...We then were not invited to participate in the post-season workouts and practices...Looking back, it was totally worth taking that dehumidifier back to school. I’ll always remember ‘the

dehumidifier incident’, even after high school.”

Sokolyuk will be nostalgic from now on, looking back on the team and the experiences they’ve had together.

“Truth is, I’m going to miss hanging out with these guys,” Sokolyuk said. “I’m going to miss the positive environment, random shenanigans and inside jokes of the team. I’m hoping I’ll stay in touch with at least the seniors and a few really close underclassmen after the season is over, and maybe after I graduate. It’s tough knowing I won’t experience the rush of running with 20-something of the finest runners Harrisonburg has to offer, but I’ve always known this day had to come at some point, so I just need to accept it now.”

Though he won’t be there to run with the them, he leaves the cross country team his words of wisdom.

“My advice to future XC runners is to go out there, have fun, challenge yourself and don’t be afraid to throw up,” Sokolyuk said. “For my comrades that I will be leaving behind, I say: stay strong, savage and interesting. Don’t let anyone change who you are and don’t let anyone walk all over you. Keep standing up for the boys’ team’s rights.”

What was the most exciting moment of your athletic career?

Tyler Black, 12 “Being on a winning varsity football team.”

Casey Wilson, 12 “Last year when I placed in the conference [in swimming].”

Cedric Ansah, 12 “[My] freshman year when I first ran the mile.”

Athena Benton, 12 “It was sophomore year..It was our fifth set, and I served all 15 points. I won it 15-0.”

Marvin Morales,12 “The John Handley game... becaise Bowl because you win the trophy.”

November 28, 2016

Humans of HHS-B10

The Newsstreak

HUMANS OF In keeping with our motto “Every person has a story,” the Newsstreak interviews students every month in the style of Humans of New York creator, Brandon Stanton. The idea is to tell the story of as many of our students as possible. Check out a similar project at www.hhsmedia.com.

HHS Freshman Gloria Bafunye

“The most exciting thing for me [at the high school] was passing English level 2 before the second semester.”

Senior Josh Soto “When I was putting my shoulder pads on, and putting my jersey on [before the TA game], it hit me. All the memories in the locker room from when I first stepped into that room and first got my helmet my sophomore year, all those hit me.

All the times that I was in the weight room, and I didn’t try my best. Every time that I was on the field and I didn’t try my best all hit me in a rush and I felt extremely emotional. I was just like ‘Damn, this is the last time I am going to play on the field.’ Every week I kept saying, ‘We have 10 weeks left, we have nine weeks left until the end of our senior season.’

During the TA game, coach told us seniors on the offensive line something really important. He said ‘You have 48 minutes left of your senior season,’ and then at half time, when we were down, he said ‘You have 24 minutes left in you entire history of playing high school football. What are you going to do with those 24 minutes?’ That really hit me.”

Senior Kyre “Kuro Kamikaze” Johnson

“I study post World War II Japan art. I know a lot about Japan, better then American history. I also know who was the first black samurai in Japan, and I’m also good at taking pictures. When I was a kid I was always left out. I saw how other African Americans were influenced by rap in a bad way and when I saw how samurai in Japan acted with hard work and honor, I thought I could follow that.”

Sophomore Evan Wood Freshman Aliyah Williams

“What is your favorite pastime?”

“Playing basketball.”

“Why?” “I like being competitive.”

Senior Juleian Cappell

“How did you first start playing basketball?”

“I started playing basketball when I was younger but I moved way from it. I just came to tryouts because a friend challenged me to go and I decided to go. I did not make the team but its ok, it was just tryouts” “Watch out for my boy Kajuan. He’s about to kill it on the court this year.”

“What are you working on in the wood shop?”

“My CO2 car is way too heavy. It’s over 140 grams and everyone else’s is under 100.”

“How are you going to fix it?”

“Just take more [wood] off.”

Senior Duncan Rutherford “What is the best thing about DECA?” “I think the best thing about DECA is that DECA is the number one business organization for high schoolers in the United States.”

“Why do you do DECA? What does it mean to you?”

“I chose DECA because I wanted a club that would help me communicate in everyday life. Whether it’s job applications, whether its informal meetings, formal meetings, [it’s all communications].”

David Barrios

“If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go, and why?”

“Paris, because it is awesome.”

Janitor Carmen Cuevas

“I don’t mind cleaning up after everyone. Except when they spill their juice. I hate cleaning up juice.”

Seniors Neha Pokharel and Athena Benton

“What’s the funniest memory you two have together?”

(Neha) “Right before homecoming we were all going to dinner as a group, and I had on these really high heels. So, as we were walking in, I definitely face planted in the middle of the street and Athena just stood there and laughed at me.”

(Athena) “It was a good night.”

Senior Roberto Gonzalez

“If you could choose to have any super power, what would it be?”

“If I had a superpower, it would be to fly.

That would mean no gas money and I could go anywhere without traffic”

Junior Briana Rodriguez “Who taught you to play piano?”

“Ms. Leeper, the piano teacher.”

“Do you enjoy it?”

“Yeah, I love it. I play [the piano] every day. I like playing anything that is fast paced. I like that I am the one [playing] the music and it sounds good [when I play it]. I like that I am the one [in control] of it.”

Photos by Andrew Rath, Christa Cole, Yogesh Aradhey & David Gamboa