October Newsstreak

B1: JROTC leaders’ journies in the program B6: How fall sports captains affect their teams’ dynamic

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A10: Homecoming and spirit week activities

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where every person has a story

Harrisonburg High School • 1001 Garbers Church Road • Harrisonburg, VA 22801 • 540.433.2651 • Volume XIC • Issue 2• October 29, 2015

Doerr, crew contribute to one act performance Ellie Plass Online Editor-in-Chief Junior Ryan Doerr is no stranger to the HHS stage- or rather, the wings of it. She has been a part of stage crew for musical since her freshman year and assisted the head stage manager, alumna Phoebe Copeland, with the One Act process last year. However, this year, she is the one in charge. Doerr is the stage manager for this year’s One Act production, “The Insanity of Mary Girard”.

“I’m taking Phoebe Copeland’s place because Megan Labarge, who is the stage manager for musical, is in marching band, so she can’t do it and I stepped up to do it,” Doerr said. “I sort of manage the cast and I’m training the crew right now on lights and backstage. I’m sort of just there to help Swartz with whatever he needs help with.”

As the stage manager,

Doerr has numerous responsibilities. Before the cast starts rehearsing after school, she sets up the light booth or gets costumes.

The crew is in its early stages of production, and has only just begun experimenting with lights.

“We’re kind of starting to incorporate the costuming and the lighting with the acting and it’s sort of coming together in a really cool way. You can see what Swartz is envisioning,” Doerr said.

Doerr is a close assistant to director, Stanley Swartz.

She is assisted by three crew members, sophomore Gabby Wilson, junior Ana Hart and freshman Angelee Skye Rios.

“I have a little more input [than crew] into like, as far as notes are concerned, like what Swartz wants to do with the show and I’m sort of herding cast and crew at the same time so

See CREW page A2

PHOTO COURTESY OF BOB ADAMEK

THE INSANITY IS REAL. (From left to right) Freshmen Ayam Ali, Julia Inouye, Parker Rising, junior Eleanor Alger, sophomore Josh Lucas and sophomore Olivia Kasidiaris surrond senior Jaymie Inouye (center) as furies that are there to torture her. Jaymie Inouye plays Mary Girard in “The Insanity of Mary Girard”, the One Act’s show this year. Here, her ankles and wrists are tied to a chair in a cell as the furies touch and torment her.

Singers produce Choir Day show

Band members competing in annual assassins game

Ava Reynolds HHS Media Coordinator

Austin Swift Print Editor-in-Chief

Choir Day is exactly how it sounds: a day for different choirs to showcase their work, but also collaborate with one another. This annual day includes rehearsals throughout the school day for the high school choirs, Treble Choir, Men’s Choir and Honors Choir, and an after school rehearsal with the choirs from Thomas Harrison Middle School and Skyline Middle School.

For the high school students, the day started at 10 a.m. They began by warming up, and then practiced too songs: “Hazrat” (which includes guitar and violin accompaniment) and “Vine and Fig Tree”. Lunch came after that, followed by more practice.

After school, the high school students practiced getting on and off stage up until the middle school choirs arrived.

See CHOIR page A2

Scholarship program helps latino students Faith Runnells Print Editor-in-Chief Seven seniors will graduate this year with an opportunity for a 5,000 dollar scholarship due to their involvement in the Scholars’ Latino Initiative (SLI) program. As freshmen, Latinos are invited to apply to the program, which assists them in college preparation and decision making throughout the next four years.

English and AVID teacher Hannah Bowman has been the official coordinator of the program for the past three years. She, along with a hispanic representative, Costanza Rojas, school representative, Kirk Moyers, and a board representative, goes through the applications of the potential scholars.

“It’s an intense interview process… We go through [the applications] and pick the top three to seven students and they are named scholars. The big difference is that they are required to do all of the activities and whereas the members are just invited

See SLI page A2

Coming up Fall sports updates Ethnic food reviews Thanksgiving feature Humans of HHS feature One act news Winter sports sneak peak Columns and editorials First to arrive, last to leave Gun feature

PHOTO BY AUSTIN SWIFT

GOTCHA! Freshman Jack Fleming kills senior Noah Heiei with the help of other members from the band. “I felt mildly sad that I was out... I put up a pretty decent fight and it took like five people so I am satisfied,” Heie said.

For a few weeks each year, members of the band develop an odd affliction to each other’s elbows.

What is mistaken for a fight is actually a “kill”, and when it looks like their arms are cold, it’s really just a method of protection. Assassins is a game adopted by the band for bonding purposes, but it becomes a source of excitement and, eventually, paranoia. Assistant drum major Hollyn Slykhuis has watched from the sidelines the past three years, but still sees the effect it has on the band.

“Getting people to know each other more [is the goal]. The band is so big that you might get a name of somebody you might not really know, and then you have to figure out what their schedule is and where they are during the day and hunt them down, which is an interesting way to bring the band

together since we’re pitted against each other, but I think it works,” Slykhuis said.

As an onlooker with elbows safe from harm, Slykhuis finds humor in watching kills.

“I’ve heard some stories of people killing people at their houses which is pretty funny, like just a few weeks ago I was out at the Food Coop and Seth [Bontrager] killed Zach [Benevento] just when they were getting groceries, so when people have their guards down that’s when it’s pretty funny,” Slykhuis said.

The attitude towards the game changes throughout high school as members become more familiar with it.

“I’d say the typical freshman is confused. They don’t really know what’s going on and then they just get killed right away usually, and then sophomores start to get more into it, junior year you’re really

See ASSASSINS page A2

Media Day connects print, broadcast, yearbook programs Samantha Little Feature Editor On Monday, Sept. 28, all newspaper, yearbook and broadcasting students joined together to be a part of the school’s first ever HHS Media Day. The main goal of this day was to expose all of the journalism students to the simplest ways of doing different things with technology and to get them practicing what they are actually learning in their classes.

First year broadcasting adviser Emilee Hussack taught students the key points of videography and the different techniques used to better convey a story.

“They learned ideas about yearbook and how to frame a shot, they learned quick video basics and also learned quick writing basics,” Hussack said. “We wanted to give them this small workshop so that we won’t always need three journalists at one event, but only one journalist equipped with the skills to write the story, to write the caption and capture some quick video.”

The students were put into teams with at least one journalist from each media class and they then travelled to different workshops together. Throughout the day, they had to collaborate to create one

See MEDIA page A2

PHOTO BY MARY STRICKLER

FILL THE FRAME. Sophomore Kristina Klopot is a first-year yearbook staff member. She and her group focused on Mac Bair’s biology classes on Media Day. “We talked to him about what he does all day, what classes he has and what they’re doing in all of those classes... We took a lot of pictures, videos and [did] interviews,” Klopot said. “[My favorite part of it is] talking to new people and doing interviews.”

Social Media www.hhsmedia.com @_HHSMedia @StreaksSports @hhsmedia15

On the Web Spirit week photo galleries Feature package stories Extended coverage of print packages Advertising forms and information Breaking news from school and the community Live video footage of sports Variety of reviews and blogs Featured photo of the day

October 29, 2015

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Band members being killed in game ASSASSINS from A1 junior year you’re really competitive and want to win, and then by senior year people start to lose interest,” Slykhuis said.

Slykhuis has found the seasoned assassins to hold an advantage over the younger ones.

“The seniors know what’s going on more, and I feel like they usually find out faster who has who just because they know more people, so they don’t have to be quite as on top of covering their elbows and stuff as freshmen would, because they wouldn’t necessarily know how the game works and everything, so the seniors can be laid back,” Slykhuis said.

Senior Jose Requeno-Villeda knows what it takes to win, as he was the victor in the 2014 competition.

“You have to relax [and] keep it calm. And keep watch at all times, you can’t forget you’re still playing,

because your guy could be right behind you at any second. It takes skill, patience and time,” Requeno-Villeda said. “With patience, the game goes on for like three to four months, so you have to have patience. With skill, you have to know when to get your kill, because everyone is usually paranoid. Walking down the hallways, you just have to act calm and [act] like you don’t have them so you can sneak up at the last second and get them,” Requeno-Villeda said.

The final kill offers a new challenge, as it becomes one-versus-one.

“He has to kill you, but you have to kill him. If you try to get him and you fail then he can get you that very second and you [lose].

You’re very paranoid at the moment so you’ll always have your elbows covered, because if you make it that far you don’t want to lose.

I killed him two times, but they didn’t count because I broke some rules,” Re-

queno-Villeda said.

Having conducted a legal kill on his third try, Requeno-Villeda was relieved to see the game come to an end.

“After three months of waiting, after not being able to walk down the hallways in peace, I was like ‘wow, it’s finally over and I won.’ I thought I got a prize, but nothing,” Requeno-Villeda said.

As for those not directly connected to the band, Slykhuis understands how it could be seen as odd.

“It’s probably pretty strange, especially at the beginning when everyone is still alive, but it dies out really quickly as a lot of people die at the beginning, so when they see a kill happen they might be kind of confused,” Slykhuis said.

With the majority of players dead after the first two weeks, the remaining survivors will be pick each other off until an eventual winner is crowned.

Lopez-Zelaya appreciates SLI program SLI from A1 to do all of the activities,” Bowman said.

Sophomore Daniel Ramirez became a scholar of the program last year.

“We’re a group of Latinos and we come together and help each other to prepare ourselves for college. We also have activities to help the community and we just try to get our name out there right now,” Ramirez said. “We’re basically trying to do anything we can to help the community and better our education.”

Senior Kelly Lopez-Zelaya has been a part of the program for three years now.

She is looking at JMU, EMU, GMU, VCU and possibly UVA after graduation.

“Every other Wednesday we stay after school and have ‘Early College’, which is preparing us for an actual college class,” Lopez-Zelaya said. “We do essays and they also give us connections. We can meet people from different universities and we do university tours.”

Lopez-Zelaya appreciates the program for its encouragement throughout her high school career.

“It helps me prepare for college and be like, ‘Okay, calm down. You’re as ready as you can be for college.’ Also, it motivates me to actually apply. Because, honestly, if I wasn’t in this program I would probably wait even longer to apply for college,” Lopez-Zelaya said.

Every Latina who applies as a freshman is automatically a member of the program, but the scholars are those of the program that receive the benefits after graduation.

“We want to include as many people as possible while also recognizing that it is a

scholarship program. There’s only a certain amount of money that we have and there’s only a certain amount of money that we can procure, so we don’t we don’t want to promise that to more students than we can actually provide it to,” Bowman said.

Although scholars are initially determined at the end of the application process, members who excel throughout the program’s activities may be invited to be scholars. “[Being a scholar] depends on being able to get good grades and keep up your education and be on a certain standard that they’re looking for,” Ramirez said. “For me, making sure I’m able to balance everything between school and SLI after school [is the hardest part].”

Although Ramirez does not yet know where he plans to continue his schooling after graduation, he does have a tentative plan for his studies.

“I may study computer programming or possibly law. I’m hoping that meeting some of the mentors from SLI will help me achieve my goal,” Ramirez said.

Bowman finds the program to be somewhat of an equalizer for college and its requirements.

“This program has provided me with a focus for what I want to accomplish in schools. It’s provided me with an avenue for really close relationships with students that I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise,” Bowman said. “Just in terms of my own personal reason for being a teacher, a lot of it had to do with social justice and helping give everybody an equal opportunity, and this program is a physical manifestation of that.”

PHOTO BY AVA REYNOLDS

DO-RE-MI. Sophomores Eva Didot, Julie Hedrick, freshmen Anne Penrod, Nayeli Ramirez-Nuevo, senior Christy Lovos and freshman Nina Andrews perform a song during Choir Day.

PHOTO BY ELLIE PLASS

LIGHTS PLEASE. Junior Ryan Doerr and sophomore Gabby Wilson work behind the scenes to adjust the lights and other effects for the One Act.

One act crew enjoys freedom with lights CREW from A1 it’s sort of an elevated position in that regard,” Doerr said.

Sophomore Gabby Wilson is one of the members of the crew. Wilson has never been on a crew before, but acted in musicals in middle school, as well as during her freshman year.

“This year is different.

[Swartz] just kind of told us, he gave us two light cues and then said ‘just do whatever you want or what you think is cool’, so we’ve had a lot of freedom with it this year,” Wilson said.

The stage manager and crew positions were selected in a slightly different manner this year than what

is usual. In past years, managers have reached out to those who they think would enjoy the position.

“This year... Swartz couldn’t fit [everyone who auditioned] in the show, but he still wanted everybody to stay with us. Ana and Gabby and Angelee had auditioned but he sort of was like ‘We don’t have a spot for you in the show, so we’re gonna put you on stage crew’,” Doerr said.

Wilson is one of the crew members who originally auditioned for a role in the show.

“Well, the list was just posted and I was on crew, so I was excited because it’s something new. I get to try that out and see, like, back-

stage effects,” Wilson said.

As a member of the crew, Wilson mostly helps with the spotlight. She also helps Doerr with other various details.

“Ryan is in charge of sound board so I help her, like, shift something or tell her if it looks too bright sometimes, but mostly [Doerr is] the head,” Wilson said.

Although Wilson does prefer cast to crew, she is enjoying her experience.

“We got a day when we just got to mess around with the lights and when you see something that works and it looks awesome [it’s] just like realizing how a director’s mind works,” Wilson said.

Middle school singers join choir day effort they were generally all CHOIR from A1 and around fairly chill and nice,”

Senior Marjorie Bonga is a member of the Honors Choir, the audition-based choir at HHS. “The middle schoolers came and we practiced getting on stage with them and where we would be, and then we practiced a song together which was “Freedom is Coming”. That was the song we all sang together,” Bonga said.

This was Bonga’s second choir day, and she noted that it was smoother than her first because she knew what to expect.

“My first choir day I was really nervous. I didn’t know what I was doing my first time, what to expect.

This year I was more like ‘Ok, choir day! I’ve done this before! This is cool!’ and I moved up a choir so now it’s like “Yes, I’m cooler!’,” Bonga said.

Freshman Noah Pope, a member of the men’s choir, experienced his first choir day ever this year, because he didn’t participate in choir in middle school.

Pope thought the day went well overall; however, he wishes for more organization next year.

“The worst thing was getting organized with where to go because it’s kind of hard with the middle schoolers in the choir room,” Pope said.

Collaborating with the middle school choirs provides a different experience for everyone participating in choir day. Junior Ben Hollenbeck, a member of Honors Choir, was surprised at their maturity and enjoyed interacting with them.

“The middle school students were pretty great.

They were a lot more mature than I was expecting

Hollenbeck said.

Pope on the other hand noted the change between him and the middle school students.

“There’s definitely a difference. It’s kind of nice seeing the change,” Pope said.

Bonga enjoyed seeing middle school students who she knew previously.

“I knew some of the middle school students because they have brothers and sisters here, and it was really cool to see that they have the passion for music like I do, and they are getting it at a younger age, because I didn’t do middle school choir. I did it in high school so it was really nice seeing that and what they’ve been working on,” Bonga said.

A low point of the day for Bonga was the length of the day. Rehearsals started at 10 a.m. and the final concert took place at 5 p.m.

“It’s just really long.

It’s like a whole day and I am missing other classes.

I don’t know how I would change that, because it’s choir day, not choir period, but I just get really tired. I just feel like more breaks [would] would work a little better,” Bonga said.

Hollenbeck, however, didn’t mind the length that much and recognized the changes made from last year in regards to it.

“From last year’s standpoint, choir day last lear was too long but they actually shortened it this year. It wasn’t that much different, but we just had more time to work on schoolwork and stuff. They did it for financial reasons, but it works out better for everyone.

It was actually quite fun,”

Hollenbeck said.

The whole day of rehearsals was leading up to the final product: a concert at the end of the day. The concert consisted of a full men’s piece, a full women’s piece, an honors choir piece, a piece of only high school students, then each of the middle school choirs performed, and then there was a full group of all high school and middle school students.

“Overall, everything seemed to click together. Everyone did well.

There was a moment after “Horizons” when nobody clapped and we were all afraid the song didn’t come across and then it was like ‘Oh yeah, now we start clapping’. It was a little bit awkward,” Hollenbeck said.

Bonga also felt the concert was a success, noting that once everyone was together and understood where they were going, the concert came together well.

One special part of the day for the choir members is getting to collaborate and meet with the choirs that they don’t share class with.

“We had a women’s piece and then we had a men’s piece so then when the women were singing the men had time to socialize for thirty minutes and then when the men were singing the women had time,” Bonga said.

Hollenbeck experienced memories from when he was in men’s choir.

“It is a little bit nostalgic remembering how we acted, how crazy we were back in the men’s choir days, so it was fun to see some friendly faces,” Hollenbeck said.

Journalists hone their craft while collaborating on media day MEDIA from A1 multi-media story to post online.

“I think Media Day really helped [the students who were having a hard time understanding the changes],” Hussack said. “They got to work with the other students, and not only saw the dedication and professionalism that the other groups used, they got to more clearly see the vision of HHS Media and how we can really cover a story from three different outlets.”

With this being the first year the three media classes have successfully joined together, the biggest point of collaboration is going

to be through their website, where they’ll be able to include all of the media forms to tell a story. The HHS Media advisers agreed they felt that all three staffs needed to know the basics of journalism and the different aspects of it, and then each student could work to get more proficient at one specific aspect.

Newsstreak student and online editor-in-chief Ellie Plass taught the students in her workshop how to upload stories and media online through Wordpress.

Plass believes that the best possible way to obtain more school news coverage is through a connected media staff.

“The whole point and

purpose of news is to provide the most cohesive information to people,” Plass said. “By working together within classes, we will be able to put out a much better and stronger product that we would as any one staff. Additionally, everyone on the staffs should want to get better, and this is the best way for everyone to learn and do that.”

Their goal for news coverage this year is to have someone taking photos and video, writing a story, and working on social media at every event covered by the media team. Newsstreak adviser Valerie Kibler says that all three staff will continue to collaborate on telling the stories of HHS

for the rest of the year.

“My hope is that members of each staff will search out kids from other staffs and ‘hire’ them to help them tell their stories better, using the best media possible,” Kibler said.

Every year, there’s a collection of state and national journalism conferences that all media students have the opportunity to attend. Once at these conferences, schools can submit their work for competition and then return back to their staff room with new ideas to improve their product.

“They’re just really energetic places where you meet people from other schools and see what oth-

er programs are doing and it’s all revolved around journalism,” Hussack said.

“Anything you can possibly think of or wonder about concerning journalism, they cover.”

With two national conferences and several state conferences, the attendees have the ability to take part in many workshops comprised of different content and to meet new people working in the same field.

Yearbook editor Marjorie Bonga attended the national conference in Washington D.C. last year and it gave her new design ideas that helped both her and her staff improve.

“You learn what other staffs are doing and you get

to meet so many new people that give you ideas on how to interview better or take pictures better,” Bonga said. “It’s just a good thing to experience as a whole, because these conferences help better you as a journalist. My favorite part is definitely meeting new people who do and love the same thing I do.”

Members of the three media staffs are excited to collaborate together and for what the year will bring.

“By teaming up with others who are good at [what they do], we can put together a better package that attracts more viewers to our website because we’re combining more avenues of entry,” Kibler said.

October 29, 2015

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Leadership replaces Olweus during ELT period David Gamboa Photography Editor

Streaks Leadership, a program formerly known as Olweus, is the new program being used by the school for improving the school environment. The outreach tactics for the program include in-class powerpoints and discussions that are geared to lead toward a better understanding on a topic and a common goal. Topics such as school spirit and bullying have been covered in the past. During the school year, Thursdays typically have an hour of the day set aside for Extended Learning Time, and every few ELT sessions, there is a scheduled Streaks Leadership meeting. Instead of using the time for improving their grades and participating in other activities, students stay in their class and form a circle and the teacher or instructor leads the discussion on the topic at hand.

Junior Harmony Wilson is a

strong advocate for the Streaks Leadership program and is one of the ambassadors. She and other ambassadors work together, along with Dave Ward, in meetings, discussing topics to cover in the meetings held on ELT days throughout the school.

Ambassadors also help with fundraising events and volunteering for school activities, such as helping make decorations for spirit week.

“I felt strongly about it my freshman year because I was bullied quite a bit and I figured becoming an ambassador would help me cope with a few issues I was dealing with, which it did,” Wilson said.

For Wilson, becoming an ambassador was making a posture change for the school.

“I also figured no freshman or any student deserves to feel how I felt that year and go through those same things I did, and if I could prevent at least one other person from deal-

ing with that same harassment, even if it meant leading some lame classroom meeting, I would 110 percent be all in for it, because becoming an ambassador meant becoming a change in our school,” Wilson said.

Junior Alanna Whitfield is part of the coordinating committee and a student ambassador.

Her spot on the committee was given as a result of the training she received during the summer of her sophomore year. During the ELT classroom meetings with Streaks Leadership, student ambassadors are sent to help facilitate the classroom meetings and discussions. The program is focused on more that just bullying.

“It’s more than [just bullying], it’s about building community, friendship and a safe environment for everyone. So if we have leaders to lead a class and guide them it will mean more to people,” Whitfield said. “The leaders try to build a safe haven with the class.”

PHOTO BY DAVID GAMBOA

Gov school fosters collaboration

WARD LEADING LEADERSHIP. Dave Ward presents the idea of Streaks Leadership to a class of students during the weekly ELT period.

Alissa Burnette Staff Reporter

Should you take SAT or ACT?

Massanutten Regional Governor’s School provides a twoyear, half day program to junior and senior students based on environmental science and technology. Located in Mount Jackson, Virginia, students from Harrisonburg as well as Page County, Rockingham County and Shenandoah County can attend by applying sophomore year and going through the entire application process to get accepted. HHS students senior Michelle Eckstein and junior Molly Campillo have both been attending Governor’s School since the beginning of junior year.

“I heard a lot of good things about it and different friends that I had said that the learning there was really cool and that it was a really great environment for learning,” Campillo said.

Participants of Massanutten Regional Governor’s School arrive at the high school doors every morning at around 6:50 a.m. and take a 45 minute bus ride to Mount Jackson. They arrive at Massanutten Regional Governor’s School at 7:45 a.m. when school would normally start. Students take mathematics, science and English courses and then return to their home school to take their other required courses and electives, as well as to participate in extracurricular activities.

“I really, really don’t like getting up so early in the morning, and also kind of being separated from all my friends at HHS,” Eckstein said.

While the students are at Governor’s School, they engage in work that is collaborative.

“It’s really collaborative.

There’s so much project based work,” Eckstein said. “In addition to the classes being collaborative, you are constantly working with peers. So there are like three to five people in a group on a certain project and you are able to work on your teamwork skills and leadership ability and you get to know yourself a lot better through that process, so you kind of get a general idea of you as a team worker.”

The teachers at Governor’s School also work in collaboration to plan interdisciplinary learning activities. At least 75 percent of the instruction in their courses are interdisciplinary and over half of the lessons are structured on the principles of prob-

Maria Snell-Feikema Photography Editor

PHOTO COURTESY OF ZACH BENEVENTO

COLLABORATION AT GOVERNOR’S SCHOOL. Junior Molly Campillo works on a statistics project on bagels during her time at Massanutten Regional Governor’s School. lem-based learning.

“All of the classes are interdisciplinary, which means we have projects that span over all of the classes,” Eckstein said. “We go on field trips and do field exercises like going to the river to actually collect water quality or measure water discharge.”

The teachers guide the students through a curriculum that simulates real-world experiences with real-world expectations and over half of the lessons are structured on the principles of problem-based learning.

“At Gov school the learning is mostly project based, so instead of the teacher standing up at the front and teaching us, we’ll have the reading done already at home and then we’ll work on projects with our group and then present them to the class,” Campillo said.

The students also engage in simulations, presentations, investigations, problem-solving activities, extensive research and intensive use of technologies and mentorships, making it different from everyday school.

“It’s different because all of the teachers are on the same page, so instead of getting four different projects or pieces of

homework, most of the time, they’re collaborative. The other thing that makes it different is that on Fridays, there’s a built in research block. So instead of going to Gov. School we go to a mentor,” Eckstein said.

The students often work within a group doing projects with a professor.

“My specific project is working with a professor from the JMU Biology department,” Eckstein said. “I work with Mary-Hallet Culbreth on looking at escape behaviors for crickets, specifically what their antennae do, so we stimulate them with a ball. We shoot a ball at them and then they either turn and run away or run away and jump, and we watch what their antennae do as they escape from the ball.”

The curriculum includes classes that are AP or honors. The goal is to prepare students for the rigor of the classes that they will have in college.

“I definitely think that it has benefited me. It has given me a better outlook on what college is actually going to be like and how you have to motivate yourself, and you can’t rely on teachers to be harping on you to get your work done,” Eckstein said.

Autumn is here, and as sophomores, juniors and seniors are gearing up for college, many are questioning whether to take the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) or the ACT (American College Testing). The two tests have various differences, including the content being tested, how they are scored, and what types of questions are asked. According to HHS counselor Rachel Linden, the current SAT is based more on aptitude and critical thinking.

“The SAT is more of a measure of your aptitude, or your reasoning skills,” Linden said. “The SAT has often been called the ‘SAT reasoning test’. You have to be a critical thinker. There’s more abstract concepts [unlike] the ACT, which is more about your knowledge that you have gained in the classes that you’ve taken.”

In terms of the ACT, Linden says it is driven more by the tester’s knowledge of four components; math, science, reading and the option for a writing section.

“The ACT is written in more common classroom language,” Linden said. “It’s written more directly. It’s more like an SOL test.”

Despite the ACT being more fact-based, however, Linden says that the ACT focuses less on vocabulary than the SAT. “There are always people studying words that you would find on the SAT that you wouldn’t find anywhere else,” Linden said. “[The ACT] is more straightforward.”

Additionally, Linden states that because of the different format between the two, different students might perform better on the SAT or the ACT, depending on their test-taking abilities and how they process information.

“Everybody’s a different test taker, and everybody has different strengths in how they process information,” Linden said. “So you might do better on the ACT, [or] you might do better on the SAT, depending on what kind of a learner you are and how you digest and dissect questions.”

According to Linden, the SAT is usually better designed for stu-

dents with certain learning traits.

“Some students are analytical thinkers, have a lot of vocabulary and are well read.” Linden said. “So if you’re good at that, then the SAT is going to be a natural fit for you.”

Unlike the SAT, Linden says the ACT is designed for students who do well on content-driven tests like the SOL. “A lot of kids rock the SOL’s because they know the content. They remember the material, [because] it’s based on content knowledge,” Linden said. “You’re not trying to pick apart the question to try and figure out what they’re trying to get at, you’re just asked a straightforward question and you give a straightforward answer.”

Conjointly, the SAT and ACT are scored differently as well. The scores of an SAT are based on three different sections on each scale of 200-800, whereas the ACT is based on a composite of three sections and optionally a fourth, the writing section. Individually, each section can be scored up to a 32. The composite score is the average of those sections combined. Because the writing section is optional, Linden says the best way to decide whether or not to take the writing section of the ACT is to check the application requirements for the specific college.

“With the SAT, a lot of schools are still just looking at your critical reading and the math section,” Linden said. “However, some [schools] ask for the writing, so if they’re looking for a writing score, you’d want to do the optional writing [if you were taking the ACT].”

Despite differences, Linden says most schools accept either SAT or ACT scores.

“Every school, or even scholarship applications, asks it differently,” Linden said. “Most colleges accept either SAT or ACT score. 99.9% will accept both, and they will take the best of either.”

Accordingly, Linden says that because of most colleges allowing both scores, trying both is a good option.

“If you take the SAT and the ACT multiple times, they will look at which is the best score. They want to give you your best shot at getting in,” Linden said. “So taking both of them is not a bad idea.”

College Visit and Scholarship Info November

November 3: 2015 Prudential Spirit Award The Prudential Spirit Award is a scholarship given to students with exemplary community service November 16-20: Virginia College Application Week

December

December 4: ELKS National Foundation Most Valuable Student Program Given Based on leadership and financial need December 15: Burger King Scholars Program Only the first 50,000 applications will be reviewed December 18: NFIB Young Entrepreneur Award Must be running a small business to recieve

Activities in the Library Lab:

College trivia Door prizes every day over announcements Mascots from colleges Admissions directors Teacher college door competition

VACW info

This week is arranged for students to raise awareness of colleges and the application process. The goal is for counselors to work one-on-one with students. There will be translators available at anytime for parents and others who would like to come to the events. Students may sign up at the counselor’s office.

Cheryl Logan, BRCC Career Coach “Overall, we are just trying to create a college safe zone where we can get students to relax a little bit more about the whole process.”

PHOTO BY VALERIE KIBLER

HEADED TO COLLEGE. Cathy Soenksen helps students navigate their way through college night. The fair was open to area students and held at JMU. “I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for our students to see the vast array of options and be able to put even briefly a face with the name of an institution and feel that they’ve made a connection,” Soenksen said.

October 29, 2015 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 Editors-in-Chief: Print: Faith Runnells, Austin Swift Online: Ellie Plass Managing Editors: Abby Hissong (print), Garrett Cash (online) and Olivia Comer (online) HHS Media Coordinator: Ava Reynolds Advertising Manager: Joshua Byrd Photographers: Ava Reynolds, Maria Snell-Feikema, David Gamboa-Pena, Brian Alvarado Page Editors: Ava Reynolds, Faith Runnells, Austin Swift, Maria Snell-Feikema, Samantha Little, Hannah Miller, Audrey Knupp, Tazhan Jaf, Jackson Hook, Theo Yoder, Lucie Rutherford, Abigail Hissong, Garrett Cash, Olivia Comer, Sabrina Gerald Staff Reporters: Yusuf Aboutabl, Brian Alvarado, Yogesh Aradhey, Stephen Barranco, Alissa Burnette, Kyle Brown, Joshua Byrd, Garrett Cash, Christa Cole, Olivia Comer, Danny Dombrowski, Sarah Earle, David Gamboa, Sabrina Gerald, Sako Haji, Sam Heie, Angel Hendrix, Abigail Hissong, Jackson Hook, Tazhan Jaf, Audrey Knupp, Joshua Lichti, Samantha Little, Irene Liu, Bryan Luna, Owen Marshall, Hannah Miller, Alexia Munoz, Richie Pannell, Nyah Phengsitthy, Ellie Plass, Anna Rath, Doug Ritcher, Keyla Rivera, Christian Rodriguez, Faith Runnells, Lucie Rutherford, Noah Siderhurst, Maria Snell-Feikema, Becky Staton, Owen Stewart, Austin Swift, Emily Thurman, Austin Vanfossen, Madison Varner, Theo Yoder, Carrie Yoder 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 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 understand that the school newspaper, newsstreak. com, now has an online version of the publication.

I DO NOT want my son/ daughter (place student’s name here) to have his or her name or image published on this online venue.

Op-Ed-A4

The Newsstreak

Parking fees for school need to be eliminated NEWSSTREAK STAFF EDITORIAL For many years, HHS has decided to charge for parking passes and it is taking a toll on the students. Faculty and staff do not have to pay this fee to park in the school lot, so why should students be regarded any differently? The mandatory $30 fee that is requested of students in order to park their car in the parking lot is not only unreasonable, but for some, unaffordable.

Now, if we had a scarcity of parking spaces, maybe I could understand a fee. However, with almost half of the parking lot left unoccupied, there is no reason to charge students a full tank’s worth of gas for the ‘privilege’ to park on school grounds.

When one takes into account the multitude of after-school activities, there are many other students for whom it is much more convenient to drive. For students who work after school jobs, they don’t have time to sit on a bus for an hour, and need to get to their jobs promptly after school. For

those who have to stay longer to play sports or stay for a club past 4:30 p.m., the options for rides are very limited.

With parents who work full time jobs, it is not always an option to have them pick students up, making having a car readily available a necessity. Driving, for many students, is the only timely way of transportation, because of homes being on the outer city limits and up to 30 minutes away from the school.

High schools should not even have the right to charge for parking, as it is simply taking advantage of those students who, for whatever reason, drive to school.

As citizens of Harrisonburg City, we pay taxes to the government that cover the cost of maintaining the parking lot and plowing it in the case of snow or ice. Kids should not be charged for what their parents have already paid for.

The administration argues that the $30 demanded from driving students goes ‘back into the school’, but the logistics of where this money actually goes is often

CARTOON BY AUDREY KNUPP

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.

lost in translation.

Parking on school property should not be considered a ‘privilege’ and instead be regarded as a right of passage to any student

with a valid license. All students should be treated as fairly as the teachers and administrators, regardless of how they decide to commute to and from school.

It’s time to seriously consider purpose of SOLs Hannah Miller Feature Editor SOLs. The dreaded evaluations of not our intelligence, but instead our ability to feign an understanding of meaningless questions.

The Virginia Standards of Learning are stupid, that’s a pretty wide spread belief.

It’s not just students saying this because we don’t like testing, even most teach-

ers would wholeheartedly agree.

The SOL tests are seen as a joke, as they should be, but they’re stressful nonetheless. A public education is supposed to be provided to help students learn. Instead of actually applying our minds to legitimate problems, we are forced to learn certain concepts that, on the SOL tests, will be reworded until unidentifiable as the same topic.

In middle school, the only real reason our eighth grade SOLs mattered was because it determined what classes were available to us this year as freshmen. This year, I’ve come to realize a lot of my teachers see the SOLs as below our capabilities even.

Their goals for the year are to teach us what we need to know, and when we sit down in front of that screen, we’ll be able to know we’re not the ones S.O.L. During the SOLs, I’m the most bipolar person you’ll ever meet. When you walk up to me, you don’t know if I’ll be completely normal, a little distant, or totally overstressed and snappy. My mind is switching between actually caring and putting in more study time, or realizing that it doesn’t matter, and that no harm will come of just putting the notes away.

It’s still the same deal once I’m in front of the computer

with the actuquestions and al assessment stress that comes in front of me. along with them Some quesdoes not provide tions I’ll spend a chance for stu20 minutes on, dents to perform just mulling to the best of over the posGuest Column their abilities. sibilities while Your capabilities I second guess may be higher, but myself over and over. Oth- standardized testing isn’t a er questions I’ll realize are good way to show it. not worth my time, and According to the Amersuddenly ‘A’ becomes my ican Test Anxiety Associanswer. Too much time is ation, about 38% of high wasted worrying about school students have some questions and scores when, degree of test anxiety. A in reality, it’s not worth it. standardized test is an easy Colleges don’t even way to have a student freeze look at your SOL scores. up and doubt themselves.

Now, if you fail, that will Even if that student’s acabe noticed. Whether you demic capabilities are above passed is noticeable, but a mere test, it won’t always not whether you got a 400 be reflected in his or her or a 600. scores.

My main issue with There are better ways to these assessments is that go about testing students. they are not accurate rep- None of them will be perresentations of a student’s fect, because no student is knowledge. No offense to perfect. There are too many Mr. Moyers, but I’m sure different ways students the committee sits around learn and do well, but a and tries to determine the standardized test is definitemost perplexing way to ly less than adequate. phrase a question. One of Even if you just made the my friends last year did well SOLs a little less general, or in her classes, getting all A’s. took fewer of them, a betBut when it came to SOL ter system could definitely time, she was only a couple come around, but the quesof questions off from failing tion is: will anyone do someher civics SOL. thing after the realization The wrongly worded that it needs to be changed?

Enough is enough when it comes to hat rule in school Maria Snell-Feikema Feature Editor I wore a hat the other day. It was a simple hat, a beanie, no big deal. I wasn’t intending to enact any sort of rebellion on that particular day, I had just been cold in the morning, and the thought of the beanie on my head had simply slipped my mind. No teachers mentioned it. No one minded, and for what logical reason would they? Around the time of breakfast I was told by a certain teacher to remove my hat. Only being slightly bothered, I obliged.

But as I turned the corner, in a sudden spurt of rebellious spirit, I put the hat back on. I was going

outside anyway, by the very same on a field trip to teacher because JMU, and I figmy hat was still ured it might be on my head and cold outside. because that As my group was apparently was heading an incredibly relout, we passed Maria’s Musing evant problem. the same teacher At this point, I was I had encountered especially bothbefore, and I was promptly ered by the absurdity of directed to remove my hat, the teacher’s complaints, with what seemed to be a so I simply walked on. The militant order. I slipped it teacher, probably without off, bothered by the con- intentions of actually disdescending tone. But as we ciplining me, but rather to turned the corner, I covertly assert his authority, chased slipped it back on, not only after me through the crowd because I was feeling rather and yelled out, “NEXT TIME bothered at this point, but IT’S MINE!” also because I was going Why was the presence outside. of my hat received as such I had kept the hat on a serious crime? Why without trouble until after should I remove my hat in lunch, when I was berated his presence? Should I kiss the ring on his finger as well?

Had the teacher even led me to believe that I should respect him? Not especially. In fact, his incredibly authoritarian act of insisting that I rid my head of such a triviYES al item as a hat seems to almost justify choosing not to respect him, for he was not respecting me. I am a year away from being a legal adult, so why am I still being demanded to bow down to every authority that walks

Do you agree with the hat rule?

18%

NO

82%

my way? He was not teaching me a life lesson, he was not disciplining me for the good of myself or of others.

His belligerent reaction was simply to reprimand me for “not respecting his authority”.

This absurdity lead me to find out exactly why wearing a hat indoors is considered so rude. I was immediately lead to a webpage literally titled “hat etiquette”, where it went on to say that it was considered polite to remove one’s hat indoors, during the national anthem, and “in the presence of a lady”, which is in itself ridiculous. The article, however, is talking about etiquette rules from the turn of the 20th century. The idea that we should be following an antiquated rule of etiquette is absurd.

This rule is exactly like when many high schools used to enforce a rule against chewing gum in class. Once it was removed, like in our high school, teachers stopped seeing it as something rude and became comfortable with it.

They don’t care anymore because it has been recognized that it’s irrelevant. Once the outmoded symbolism of wearing hats indoors being seen as “disrespectful” is removed from our school, this misguided perception of some teachers will vanish as well.

High school students don’t get a lot of freedoms.

We’re trapped in a building seven hours a day. Our parents and futures force us to be absorbed in academics

and activities that take up the rest of our hours. We have curfews and grades, helicopter parents and teachers. In actuality, our overall rights compare with those of a locked-up jailbird. How are we supposed to become leaders of our future if we are consistently treated as if we’re deranged deviants too? How are we supposed to gain the confidence that we will succeed on our own if we are forced to stay under the umbrella of insignificant rules, that neither prevent nor accomplish anything but pointless conflict? How are we supposed to be united as a community when there are teachers who can’t even trust us?

Like Bartholomew Cubbins, a character of the most endeared author Dr. Seuss, I will not take my hat off for you. If you want my respect, you must respect me first. The administration should be focusing on building a community around common sense and becoming a better person, rather than creating divisions between authority and student. Yes, many teachers nowadays don’t mind when students wear hats, but some still follow this archaic rule, and abide by it to assert their self-perceived “ever-crumbling” authority. We will respect you if you respect us. Let’s spend less time spotting out kids in the hallway wearing hats, and more time building a positive learning environment.

October 29, 2015

The Newsstreak

Humans of HHS-B10

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

Junior Zoey Fox

“I don’t like school spirit because it expects students to have blind loyalty to an institution. It’s not realistic and it makes people close-minded. I “I have a headache and people think it’s great to support the teams and school, but the idea that we’re won’t leave me alone. I was just supposed to perceive with the knowledge that we’re going to win and in class and trying to put my head that we’re the best no matter what is just not realistic. Maybe I’m a pesdown and everyone kept trying to simistic, well, yes, I am a pessimist, but that is so illogical and extreme to talk to me. That’s why I’m out here, me, and I just think it’s better to take a more realistic view of the world I’m going to the nurse.” than that.”

Sophomore Dania Tejeda

Junior Hanzel Murillo

“What’s a memory you cherish?”

“Seeing my dad and grandma when I came from Honduras.”

“How is Honduras different than the United States?”

“I just remember the school life.

I used to go to a private school.

Everything is so different; the culture, the education, the opportunities. Everything seems different.”

Junior Cecily Lawton

“The Mets are in the playoffs right now. I have a lot of home team pride because I’m from New York, so it’s been really cool to watch my home team succeed.”

Juniors Shelby Rios-Jones and Cassie Sheets Junior Sofia Opal

“What’s a memory you cherish?”

“Going to Italy for my sixteenth birthday. The food was really good. I liked seeing the Sistine Chapel. I didn’t want to leave. I decided I definitely wanted to live there.”

Senior Samantha Smith

‘Where do you see yourself in 10 years?”

‘Working as a CNR, being happy somewhere, and being financially stable.”

“How did you two meet?”

“We got in trouble together. It was in seventh grade in Ms. White’s class. We talked back to her and refused to do the work, and we’ve been friends since. ”

Freshman D’Andre Moats “What was the saddest moment of your life?”

“When my grandfather died.

He was really close to me.”

Junior Kyre Johnson

“What makes you angry?”

“The pecking order of the school. People have certain ranking, social status. Just plain old jerks in general.”

Freshman Henry North-Sandel

“I’m a junior host company number four. It’s with the fire station.

Basically I’m giving community service. I’m helping them with stuff they need to get done so they don’t stressed.”

Art teacher Kelly Shradley-Horst

“What is the meaning behind your tattoo?”

“In ancient Jewish tradition it was a symbol of promise and fertility. I got it because of certain things that have happened in my life that I wanted to immortalize or remember in a positive way.

Photos & Interviews by Maria Snell-Feikema, Brian Alvarado & Austin Swift

Senior Ayanna Shine

“I just wanted to look different today, because no one else has this and I’m special. I just like looking different.”

Senior Tyreeq Engle “What would you do with a million dollars?”

“I’d probably pay my mom’s house off and then buy a Suzuki bike.”

October 29, 2015

2015-2016

HHS

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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+.

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October 29, 2015

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Sports Briefs Band competes in Parade of Champions BOYS CROSS COUNTRY RESULTS

10/7, 2nd place at Rockingham County Fairgrounds 10/10, Glory Days Grill Invitational, Individuals placed in different races 10/17, 3rd at Running with the Wolves, Wolf Branch Farm

UPCOMING RACES Conference Tournament, 11/1 Senior Christian Gehman “Mostly the running. It used to be more like the social ‘I like the people that did it,’ and over time, that kind of morphed into ‘I like the people and I like the running.’”

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY RESULTS

10/7, 1st at Rockingham County Fairgrounds 10/10, Glory Days Grill Invitational, Individuals placed in different races 10/17, 3rd at Running with the Wolves, Wolf Branch Farm

UPCOMING RACES Conference Tournament, 11/1

FRESHMAN FOOTBALL RESULTS

10/8 vs Spotswood W 28-8 10/12 vs Waynesboro W 24-14 10/15 vs Broadway W 13-6

UPCOMING GAMES 11/5 6 p.m. vs Turner Ashby

VARSITY FOOTBALL RESULTS

10/1 @ Waynesboro W 29-25, 10/9 vs Spotswood W 16-6 10/16 vs Broadway W 35-29

UPCOMING GAMES 11/6 7 p.m. @ Turner Ashby Nadeem Bitar (Senior Defensive Lineman) “We all work as a whole. If we don’t, we will just combust and it will be an awful day for the team.”

JV VOLLEYBALL RESULTS

10/6 @ Waynesboro L 2-1 10/8 vs Turner Ashby L 2-0 10/15 @ Fort Defiance L 2-0 10/17 @ Eastern Mennonite L 2-0

UPCOMING GAMES End of Season

VARSITY VOLLEYBALL RESULTS

10/6 @ Waynesboro L 3-2 10/8 vs Turner Ashby L 3-0 10/15 @ Fort Defiance L 3-0 10/17 @ Eastern Mennonite L 3-1

UPCOMING GAMES Conference Tournament 10/2

COMPETITION CHEER RESULTS

9/30 Cancelled 10/5 @ Robert E. Lee, Placed 4th 10/14 @ Millbrook, Placed 6th

UPCOMING MEETS End of Season

GOLF

RESULTS 10/5, tournament at Heritage Oaks Golf Course, Placed 4th

UPCOMING EVENTS End of Season

Angel Hendrix Staff Reporter On Oct. 17, the 38th annual Parade of Champions (POC) competition was held at James Madison University. The HHS band competes each year. Each band competes in their respective class. Last year HHS placed eleventh in their class. This year they placed fifth after moving up to a class for larger bands.

Senior Allison McGranahan has been a part of the band for four years now.

“POC is our biggest competition. The most competitive bands come out, so we usually don’t even place in the top three, but we try our best. But we’re really there to watch the other bands. It’s really exciting because we’re in our hometown, so it’s like we get to represent what Harrisonburg is,” McGranahan said.

Senior Laura Ruple also thinks POC is an exciting event.

“I think around 50 bands go, including JMU marching band and it’s just-- it’s wild. It’s all day. It’s longer than 12 hours probably and just so many people go and the stands are full and it’s so much fun and just playing on a college field is a really different feel,” Ruple said.

Ruple and McGranahan, performed at the Parade of Champions competition this year as members of the HHS band for the fourth time. Both play the clarinet. “[Clarinet has] become my main instrument. I’ve played violin for a really long time and

PHOTO BY IRENE LIU

READY. SET. MARCH. Members of the marching band line up during the Parade of Champions at Bridgeforth Stadium. The Blue Streaks went on to place fifth in their class with a score of 71.65.

I’ve started focusing a lot more on clarinet for the past few years,” McGranahan said.

Since POC is one of the biggest competitions our band attends, Ruple gets nervous when it comes around.

“I always get the jitters before that one just because it feels like such a big deal and that’s usually by the end of the season and so you’ve put in so many hours [of practice] at that point, you really want to do well,” Ruple said.

McGranahan, on the other hand, isn’t as nervous as Ruple. “[I’m] not really [nervous] because I’ve done it three times, but there is a lot of hype surrounding it. So we like to get our freshmen really excited and

I’m sure a lot of them who haven’t done it before would be.

It is really, really exciting,” McGranahan said.

The band practices outside as a whole for two and a half hours every day. They work on marching fundamentals, practice running their entire show and running bits and pieces of the show at a time. Many hours go into practicing, so Ruple isn’t worried about not being prepared for the POC competition.

“I think we always feel prepared. Of course, everyone has their ‘Oh, I wish I could have done that better,’ moments there, but I mean we’re never not ready for it,” Ruple said.

Oct. 17 was also the date of the HHS homecoming. The

first performance of Parade of Champions started at precisely 7:47 a.m. and ended after the JMU Marching Royal Dukes performed for a second time at 10:30 p.m., so not many band members were able to attend the homecoming.

“We usually get out of POC really late so most of us don’t even bother because it’s so little time to go,” McGranahan said.

This year HHS was in class AAAA along with nine other high school bands including E.C Glass, Albemarle, Dominion, John Champe, Colonial Forge, Briar Woods, William G. Enloe Magnet, Oswego, and Battlefield. They placed fifth in their class with a score of 71.65.

Teachers spend free time playing fantasy sports Yusuf Aboutabl Staff Reporter Many fans have turned to fantasy sports, a competition in which you build your own team from different players around the league and match them up against other people’s teams, because of the intense interest in watching sports, but no real outcome happens from the wins and losses.

History and psychology teacher Mark Healy has been playing fantasy football for over half a decade. He started off the tradition with several of his friends back in 2008. Many people have come and gone from their group, but the rules stay the same: draft your team, place money into the pot, and hope that the players you selected do well in real life. They don’t just play for competition, though.

“I’ve been doing it for about six or seven years now,” Healy said. “I do it for fun but at the same time competitively with my friends. It’s just a way for six dudes to get together and have a little fun.”

One of the members of Healy’s group is social studies teacher Jay Hook. Hook plays it for more than just competition, but as a way to attain social status amongst his peers.

“It’s a way to compete

against your family and friends and get bragging rights,” Hook said. “It’s a way to talk a little trash to people.”

Hook involves strategy when he plays. He looks at players’ previous performances and what team they’re going against, then he judges his weekly selections based on his findings. A motivation factor for him is the money that can be won.

“It’s nice when you win a league and get a nice big check,” Hook said.

What has surprised Hook the most is the amount of growth he’s seen in fantasy football over the past decade.

“It’s amazing how big fantasy sports have become. It wasn’t really around 10 years ago and now it’s everywhere,” Hook said.

But not everyone plays fantasy football. Fantasy soccer has been gaining attention throughout our school as well. As soccer gains popularity throughout the U.S., the fantasy soccer fan base expands with it.

English teacher Richard Morrell competes in a fantasy soccer league with a group of his colleagues. His group has been changing throughout the years since he started in 2010, but the common denominator in their relationship has been fantasy soccer.

“It has helped us maintain [connections] with people who

PHOTO BY YUSUF ABOUTABL

IT IS NO GAME. Social studies teacher, Mark Healy, enjoys playing fanstasy sports with fellow faculty members. Healy is part of a group with government teacher Jay Hook. have moved away,” Morrell said.

“But it has also allowed us to reach out to people and bring them in the conversation.”

Morrell likes to brag about

how well his team or his family members’ teams are doing.

“We play for trash talk,” Morrell said. “We like to diss one another for their selections.”

Athletes help raise money for uniforms Owen Stuart Staff Reporter Money is a big part of all sports, amateur and professional. Teams have to buy uniforms and equipment for their players and transportation to

get the team to their away games. Fundraising is a key activity for teams to collect the money they need to buy these things for their team.

Many teams hold events unrelated to their sports in order to raise money for the team, such as a golf or kickball tour-

Cost of Uniforms

nament, while other teams hold “team dinners” at restaurants where a certain percentage of the proceeds go to the team. However, some teams decide to keep it simple and keep fundraising out of their agenda.

One team that doesn’t go the fundraising route is the golf team. One of their players is junior Cade Templeton.

“No, we’ve actually never done [fundraising],” Templeton said. There isn’t quite as much to buy on a golf team as there is on other athletic teams, and Templeton attributed that as a reason fundraising isn’t done.

“We don’t really need anything except a collared shirt, and we buy the clubs ourselves,” Templeton said. Templeton didn’t make it sound like a big deal, but golf clubs are fairly expensive, new or used.

A set of twelve Callaway golf clubs will set you back at least $219.99. In addition, a nice golf bag can cost upwards of $150.

“We used to have bags, but they got really old. [New ones] would probably help a little bit,” Templeton said. While fundraising isn’t as huge in golf

as it is in sports such as football and volleyball, Templeton says it does have a purpose in golf.

“We could look better as a team, we could represent our school well.. Just look more like golfers,” Templeton said.

On the other side of things, the cross-country team does participate in fundraising, and freshman Jonathan Warner had a unique way of describing the ways they fundraise.

“Our team is very community friendly, and we go around and pick up trash that people have left irresponsibly,” Warner said. The cross-country team also has to purchase parts of their uniforms.

“We buy our own shorts and warm-ups, which cost around $25, maybe $30,” Warner said.

Warner seems to think that the fundraising they do is quite enough.

“Um, I think nothing [else could be bought with more fundraising],” Warner said.

Freshman Ethan McHone, a football player, had a different take on that subject.

“I think we could get new jerseys and pants,” McHone said.

October 29, 2015

Sports-B7

The Newsstreak

Volleyball teams meals are tradition on game day Kyle Brown Staff Reporter

PHOTO BY BRIAN ALVARADO

TIME TO EAT. Junior Jessica Denton prepares her plate before a home volleyball game against Broadway on Oct. 20. “[My favorite part of team meals] is definitely the food. It’s always something different and it’s great,” Denton said. The team went on to win the game 3-1.

Every day that the girls varsity and junior varsity volleyball teams have a game, they participate in a team meal to let them have a time of fellowship before a game.

For each game a different family signs up to bring in a meal for the team to share. According to junior Casey Wilson, an outside hitter on the varsity team, the meals really help the team relax and get some downtime to just do their own thing before the game.

“We all eat and talk, and… just have a little fun team time together before we have to go play our game,” Wilson said.

The meals not only help the teams relax before a game, but Wilson also explains that they’re really helpful with team bonding as well, to just talk and get to know each other.

“I think that it does [help with team bonding] because we just get to talk about whatever comes to mind, and it’s a nice downtime before the game,” Wilson said.

Cross country meals prepare team Lucie Rutherford Sports Editor For cross country runners, what they do the night before a big race is almost as important as the race itself. Loading up on carbs is the mission in mind for each runner before they hit the course.

Sophomore runner Jack O’Brien is one of the many boys on the cross country team this year.

“We used to have team meal at people’s houses, but now the team is so big that we have to have them at Purcell [Park],” O’Brien said.

For the girls’ team, the transition from last season is the exact opposite. Junior varsity runner Naomi Gelberg-Hagmaier is part of the considerably smaller team this year.

“It was all bigger last year.

There are less team dinners and they’re not quite as big,” Gelberg-Hagmaier said. “Our team has definitely decreased in size.

The seniors are usually the ones that try to organize meals, but juniors have to do it too as we have a very small senior class this season.”

One of the juniors stepping up this year is runner Molly Campillo. Campillo also has a sister running JV this season as a freshman.

“At my house, we’ll put a paper over the table so while we’re eating everyone can draw and play games on the table,” Campillo said. “We’ll eat our dinner, there is tons of food, and we’ll get to talk the whole time and just be with your teammates. Afterwards we’ll go and play games outside or dance around.”

Despite the differences from previous seasons, a continuing tradition is the team’s dance: Jai Home.

“Jai Home is a dance that we all know, or working on learning that’s really fun. It’s something from running camp that a few of us go to each year, so we’re just trying to bring it back,” Campillo said.

“Not all of us ended up learning the dance but it was funny to watch everyone do,” Gelberg-Hagmaier said about the tradition.

Except for the size of both the boys and girls teams, meals are pretty similar. Every Friday night before a Saturday race,

SPORTS COLUMN Austin Swift Editor-in-Chief Alas, a solution to the age old question- how do I balance homework and responsibility with attending sporting events? Every year I face the same dilemma. It challenges my love for sports, as well as my desire to achieve and sustain a decent grade. This year especially, as college applications mixed with APs mixed with my inability to function without an afternoon nap really cut down on opportunities to go to games.

That text you send your friends telling them you have to write an essay instead of go to the game with them. Yeah, we’ve all been there and it sucks. I’ve struggled with it enough over the years. But the good news is I’ve devised a plan to help all those who have or will encounter the same problem.

the teams load up on food, talk about the big race, and have a good time with fellow teammates.

“It’s good to have carbs the day before a race,” O’Brien said. “We always have pasta as the main dish, then there are sides and desserts. A bunch of the parents are in charge of the meals. They have a committee that decides them.”

Unlike the boys’ team who has meals at Purcell Park, girls on the team host their teammates at their own homes.

“Sometimes we’ll do meals at parks that are combined with the boys. At those, the coaches will organize everything, but if it’s just the girls, then we have to organize it on our own,” Gelberg-Hagmaier said.

On top of a Saturday meet, the teams have a Wednesday meet each week as well. Each runner is on their own for those.

“We’ve done it a Tuesday night once, but that’s a bit chaotic with school and all that, so we generally stick to Friday nights,” Gelberg-Hagmaier said.

Regardless of it being a Friday night or Tuesday night, team meal is a time for fellow teammates to get together and eat.

Nina Andrews, a freshman and team manager of the volleyball team, explains that team meals are just a place to have fun and have a laugh with the team.

“I would have to say…[the most memorable team meal] was when Becky Staton’s mom, she bought us all wraps, and the wraps were, like, really big and we couldn’t even fit them in our mouths. It was hilarious,” Andrews said.

Wilson also explained that it was nice to have a time to hang out with the team, and friends while not being on the court or doing homework, not necessarily worrying about volleyball.

“It’s just fun to hang out with friends, and not really have to be working on homework, or working on volleyball and playing. It’s just a fun little relaxation time when we can just hang out,” Wilson said.

Andrews enjoys the time with the team during the meals. She claims this is why she attends. “[I go to team meals] not because I have to, and you don’t have to go if you don’t want to, but I just think it’s fun to go and hang out with your team,” Andrews said.

Football team meals create bonds Sako Haji Staff Reporter Throughout the years of the varsity football team, there have been new players each year. Every year a new member is added to their large family.

They all learn something new about each other every day whether it’s from a long practice, meetings, hanging outside of school, or team meals.

Team meals are a big role for them in their way of team bonding. This is where all the team players, coaches, managers and family members gather and eat as a whole.

A lot more is going on than just consuming food; there are connections being created at each sit down. Players get closer to others than just their teammates, and create a friendly vibe with everyone there. Senior Luis Pinedo-Lafferty considers his teammates more than just players on the field, but family on and off the field.

“Team meals are really important. They give us the op-

portunity to socialize and have a great bond with the team,” Pinedo-Lafferty Said.

The football team has a team meal every week during the season. It is a tradition before every game. The team knows more than just the plays they are given on the field, but they can also read and understand each other, and it is rare for them to lose this connection.

“Even if a game is cancelled and we do not have a team meal that week, the players never lose sight of each other,” Pinedo-Lafferty said.

Pinedo-Lafferty has been on the team for all four years of high school and not once has there been an incident pushing him towards leaving the team.

“If there ever is any kind of drama with the team it doesn’t last long, because we solve our problems quickly,” Pinedo-Lafferty said.

The football team is a large family inside their own perimeters. They practice together, they play together, they learn together and they bond while eating together.

How do you balance sports with homework?

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October 29, 2015

Sports-B6

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Team captains make difference Boys’ cross country captains have led their “wolf pack” through successful season Irene Liu Staff Reporter HHS’s boys cross country team is made up of close to 30 boys.

The team captains are the seniors, who have contributed their time as runners to lead the underclassmen.

Practice began in August, but most runners started practicing on their own over the summer.

Coach Lauren Jefferson used to only coach the boys team, but took over the girls team as well when a coach was needed. According to Jefferson, the seniors are very active during practices and keep things moving.

“We have a routine that we follow, so generally the seniors help move people through that routine. We do the same kind of routine before meets, so they’re also making sure everybody gets a proper warm-up and does drills and does our usual running warm-up and then gets to the line on time, and then also does our warm-up routine at the line as well,” Jefferson said. “The seniors keep things moving along, encourage people, and keep the priorities straight over what they want to accomplish on a daily basis.”

Before each meet, the team walks along the course to famil-

iarize themselves with the path and runs the final mile to warmup. The seniors run alongside the rest of the team but still lead the team in the right directions. Sophomore Urie Conis thinks that the seniors bring the team together.

He would like to guide the underclassmen to do good things when he becomes a senior.

“They really are the center of our community. We wouldn’t be as connected if we didn’t have them. They’re a good influence and can teach their experiences that they collected throughout the years,” Conis said.

Senior Nicholas Deutsch, who has been running track since sixth grade and started cross country specifically for the high school his sophomore year, doesn’t think much has changed for him in the leadership department now that he’s a senior.

“I’ve always been the top dog, alpha wolf pack leader for the cross country team. They all kind of look up to me. It’s like a father-son relationship and obviously I’m the father,” Deutsch said.

On the other hand, senior Diego Josue-Avila thinks that being a senior is different because of the new levels of experience compared to when he was a freshman.

“Being a senior, you already

PHOTO BY ERIC MILLER

WARMING UP. Senior captain Nick Deutsch rallies his teammates before a race. “I’ve always been the top dog, alpha wolf pack leader for the cross country team... It’s like a father-son relationship and obviously I’m the father,” Deutsch said. The team is coming up on the post-season conference races. know what’s going to happen and you already have experience from all four years of running cross country,” Josue-Avila said.

Senior Austin Engle has been running since his sophomore year and believes that it’s his responsibility to lead the underclassmen for the most part.

“They should be able to take care of themselves to a certain extent, but at the same time, we can lead them and show them the right way to do things,” Engle said.

The seniors believe that part of their role as a captain is to set examples for the underclassmen.

“The little freshmen look up to us, so we have to be an example, follow the rules, and obey others, and respect authority,” Josue-Avi-

la said.

Same goes for senior Abrham Amine, who has been running since his sophomore year.

“Freshmen and sophomores have a lot to learn, so you kind of have to be an example for them,” Amine said.

The team’s juniors are also prepared for this leadership role before they dive into the team as captains.

“Every year, I do what I call the junior-senior leadership summit, and basically it’s a meeting, sometimes it happens in the summer when we’ll meet after practice and have bagels or something to eat. Sometimes it happens during the school year, early season. But basically I pull all the juniors and seniors together and let

them know that participation and their leadership is important,” Jefferson said. The meeting isn’t just for seniors, but it’s also for juniors who are mentoring athletes, so the summit is something that doesn’t just focus on the seniors but also implements the younger athletes.”

Overall, the seniors collaborate well by bringing their different qualities together to make the team better.

“We’re like the different members of the Justice League. Like I’m Batman, let’s say Diego’s Superman, we all have our own contributions that we bring to the table and we all have our different qualities that we bring to the table and use to influence the team,” Deutsch said.

Johnson, Medley guiding football team Noah Siderhurst Staff Reporter

PHOTO BY KEN RUTHERFORD

LINE UP. Receiver Abner Johnson lines up against Spotswood. “Since we just won last Thursday, everyone is pretty positive... it’s looking pretty good for us,” Johnson said.

The team went on to win their game against Spotswood, improving their overall record to 4-2.

The varsity football team has had a rough past few years. For the past two years, they have only managed two wins a season, but thanks to the efforts of the coaches and players, the team has already won more games this season than in all of last year. Two players instrumental in making this happen are the captains, seniors Abner Johnson and Devin Medley.

“Since I’m the captain, people have to look up to someone, so if I’m there with my head down, saying bad things about the team, it’s going to reflect on the whole team,” Johnson said. “I always have to stay positive.”

Medley described his role similarly.

“Usually as a captain, people look at you more and so whenever they see you doing something, even if they see you doing just one little extra thing, everyone seems to follow you and that’s just the mentality everybody has,” Medley said.

Football coach Chris Thurman thinks the captains are very dependable.

“I trust them. I guess that’s the easiest way to say it; I trust them,” Thur-

Smith, Herrera at helm of competition cheer Alexia Munoz-Moctezuma Staff Reporter You may find the competition cheer team traveling to other schools to compete while bringing their energy and enthusiasm. The captains of the team, senior Merrantanee Smith and junior Amanda Herrera, are in charge of the team and have the responsibility of perfecting the group. Trust, determination and compromise are what it takes to be one of the many high-flying traveling cheerleaders, according to Smith.

“Staying focused while we’re practicing, a lot of practice, compromising with each other, not arguing [is what it takes to lead a group of cheerleaders],” Smith said.

Leading a group of high-spirited and passionate girls at the same time can be a challenge.

“It’s hard sometimes because you cannot control people you know? But we try to work with everyone..as a group we always try,” Herrera said.

As tough as it gets, Herrera gets plenty of motivation from the whole team.

“The guys [motivate me] actually, everyone in the team. It’s just, everyone is different, but we always try to be positive,” Herrera said.

With much practice thus far, it seems that Smith believes that the competition cheer team will bring home the trophies this season.

“I think we do really well because as we’ve been moving on we’ve been

getting better every competition that we’ve gone to,” Smith said.

Being a captain can have it’s downside and make it difficult for them to keep everyone in line. Not only does the leader of a hard-working team have to supervise the teammates, but they also must be supportive at the same time. “[We have] to try to be nice to other people because you cannot be rude you know? They will get mad,” Herrera said.

Overall, Smith enjoys being one of the two captains of the team and doesn’t mind commanding people because of the success it brings to the competitions.

“It’s good being a leader...it shows you that you’re responsible...your coaches think you’re responsible enough to do things...I don’t do it [commanding] to be mean I just do it because I know that we need to get better,” The motivation goes all around the team and inspires the cheerleaders that they could, one day, become a captain as well. Sophomore Deja Gentry is a cheerleader on the the team who aspires to be one of the captains in the future.

“They’ve showed me what I should look forward to with being a captain, I really want to be a captain,” Gentry said. “I feel like as leaders of the team, it really helps keep the team together...they’re really good motivators at the same time too so that way nobody would get off track if they’re keeping everybody in line.”

man said.

Thurman trusts them so much that he says the team is almost completely under their control.

“I’m just the football coach, it’s their team. So, they run their team.

They make sure that things are done the way they’re supposed to be done by the other kids. They really are in charge of their team. We coach them up, but it’s their team,” Thurman said.

Senior Luis Pinedo-Lafferty expressed his adoration of the captains.

“The captains are awesome, man.

You have to work to be a captain, and you look up to those people, you know, because they work for it,” Pinedo-Lafferty said.

Medley has goals that he hopes he can lead his team to accomplish by the end of their season.

“By the end of the year, I’d like to see us as a winning team, not coming out losing at the end. That’s all I really want, is to have a winning team,” Medley said.

Coming away from a big win against Waynesboro, Johnson seemed optimistic about the rest of the season.

“Since we just won last Thursday, everyone is pretty positive. Waynesboro is considered the best team in our district, so since we beat them, it’s

looking pretty good for us,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s main goal for the team, however, is different from Medley’s.

“I’d have to say a good goal would just [be] for all of us to have a good relationship with each other,” Johnson said.

Both captains did agree on the fact that there is only so much they can do to lead the team. At a certain point, the other players will have to step up and do their part as well.

“Just keep leading them as a captain, you know, that’s all I really can do.

I can’t make the plays for them. I have to depend on my teammates doing it for me. I just hope we all learn together,” Medley said.

Johnson hopes to set an example for next year’s captains.

“I think hard work is the most important thing, so I’m going to work my hardest and hopefully the next person will do the same,” Johnson said.

The work ethic of captains is more often than not seen as the basis of the team. Whether or not it will be enough to accomplish Medley’s goal of having a winning team will have to wait until the end of the season to be determined.

Hartman, Benton find best in others Joshua Lichti Staff Reporter Not only is junior Athena Benton the varsity volleyball team’s libero, and senior Sophia Hartman a full rotation starter for the team, but they both carry the responsibilities of being a captain.

“I put myself in the position to be a nominee for it [becoming a captain],” Hartman said The volleyball team is struggling this year with a record of 1-15. They look to their captains to try to turn the season around.

“The energy is still there. People still enjoy volleyball, but it’s definitely not going as we had planned,” Hartman said.

The volleyball team only has four games left to turn their season around.

“We’re not playing that well this year,” Benton said.

A reason the volleyball team could be struggling might be that HHS has implemented a middle school volleyball program only this year. Broadcasting and English teacher Emilee Hussack is the coach of the middle school volleyball team at Skyline Middle School. Before that, students had no local opportunity to play volleyball for a school team until they reach the seventh grade.

Benton started playing volleyball in fifth grade, while Hartman started in eighth grade.

Different teams have different ways of selecting captains. Some teams have the coaches decide and some the players decide.

“Each player votes and they can vote for as many people as they want and the coaches tally it and they announce who the captains are,” Benton said.

The role of captains varies from team to team.

Some teams let the captains do a lot and some only have them leading stretches.

“As a captain, you call the coin toss, pick serve, and you have to choose what you’re wearing for game day,” Hartman said.

The varsity volleyball team has two captains to orga-

nize the other eight players and one manager.

“I think that I can communicate with the girls pretty well, and just communicate between the coaches and girls,” Hartman said.

A lot of teams know who their captains will be before they are announced.

Sometimes there are surprises and sometimes it goes as people expect.

“I kind of expected it, I’ve been playing for varsity since I was a freshman,” Benton said.

“I definitely enjoy leadership roles, so I wasn’t too taken off guard by it [being a captain],” Hartman said.

For many captains, Hartman and Benton included, being a captain not only means being a leader, but having faith in the team as well.

PHOTO BY BRIAN ALVARADO

COIN TOSS. Captains Sophia Hartman and Athena Benton stand for the coin toss before a game against Broadway. HHS went on to beat the Gobblers three sets to one.

October 29, 2015

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October 29, 2015

Your

Coffee Connection

Black Sheep Coffee adds to downtown Abigail Hissong Print Managing Editor Something new is brewing downtown- and it’s located in the newly opened Ice House Building. Black Sheep Coffee is the newest addition to the coffee shop scene and it is a game changer.

James Madison University alumni Chance Ebersold decided after graduating from school and various food service careers that it was time to make his own space in Harrisonburg.

The space charms customers right away with its low lighting, a station for doctoring up your coffee, and a handwritten flow-chart menu that helps you decide between the many drink options.

For Ebersold, building Black Sheep Coffee was a labor of love; he even used reclaimed wood from tables he built for his wedding reception in the shop. He envisioned a space with an open floor plan and low counters, to encourage interaction with guests. That, and excellent coffee of course.

In my opinion, Black Sheep has the best coffee in the Harrisonburg area, (even though it’s also some of the priciest). Sourced from Red Rooster Coffee

Mr. J’s brings back average cup of joe, iconic charm Maria Snell-Feikema Feature Editor

I walked into Mr. J’s, the classic bagel shop most everyone knows of in Harrisonburg, on a Friday afternoon to have lunch.

As I entered the door, the humbling atmosphere of the deli gave a welcoming aura-- this is a place loved by locals, a homely place with nothing to prove, simply a place with good food and good vibes.

I had gone to Mr. J’s plenty of times before, but I’d never tried their coffee, for whatever reason. I approached the cashier, who warmly asked me my order.

I decided on a “Californian”, a sandwich of swiss cheese, hummus, and vegetables, and of course, a regular coffee.

I sat down in a booth, along with my friends who had come along, and the indisputable charm of Mr. J’s was immediately evident.

The sunlight poured in through the wide windows, and we were surrounded by a friendly glow of neigh-

borly warmth. A family sitting nearby seemed appropriate to the atmosphere, their baby gurgling nonsense, the mother smiling back in pride. Looking up at toothpicks stuck to the ceiling, in a quirky sense, told a story of the laughter and frivolous moments that had happened in the deli in times past. My order number was called a few minutes after I had sat down, and so I walked back to the counter to collect my tray.

The coffee came in a quite ordinary disposable coffee cup. Tempting as it was, I waited to drink, watching for the enormous amount of steam billowing out of the lid. It was a good five or 10 minutes before it had cooled to comfortable drinking temperature. I appreciated the freshness of the coffee, but personally, I prefer not having a burnt tongue.

When it finally cooled down, I took a sip. The coffee wasn’t particularly new and exciting-- it was coffee, just regular coffee, like I had ordered. It wasn’t overwhelming, as some

more contemporary coffee houses might make their coffee, yet it wasn’t bland either. It wasn’t trying to be anything it wasn’t set out to be. It was a good medium-- a practical, average cup of joe.

It was a fair complement to the sandwich I had ordered. It was simple and underwhelming. It didn’t necessarily provide much excitement, but it was coffee. I was caffeinated and that’s what I wanted.

I finished the coffee and left the deli, satisfied with my meal. I hadn’t been opened up to a new, vast world, but I had had a meal, and it felt good inside my stomach.

If I had been craving a more pungent, extravagant coffee, I would have surely looked elsewhere, but for bagels and friends, welcoming locals and simplicity, Mr. J’s was a solid choice. I honestly wouldn’t go to Mr. J’s specifically seeking out their coffee, but it definitely adds a nice complement to their similarly modest, but comforting food.

MONTHLY

PHOTO BY ABBY HISSONG

PICKING UP STEAM. JMU student and Black Sleep employee Nicole Butler creates a feather design in Hissong’s coffee.

Emily Thurman Staff Reporter

KEY: 1 CUP PER PERSON

ALMOST WEEKLY EVERY DAY

Roasters in Floyd, Mudhouse Coffee out of Charlottesville, and Lexington Coffee Roasters, Ebersold takes pride in keeping his coffee locally sourced, and freshly brewed. I just got a basic latte, and I was not disappointed. It’s smooth and creamy nature was irresistible. Even people, (like myself) who tend to add sugar to mellow out the impact of coffee straight up, don’t need it here.

Black Sheep doesn’t just offer coffee though; espresso, pour-overs, affogato, tea, and kombucha all are plausible options here. It also has a variety of artisanal sodas, homemade by the baristas every day.

My only complaint regarding the space was how little of it there was. I stopped by the shop on Sunday evening, and it was packed. I got my latte for there, and had to stand up because there was not a seat for me to sit in.

Still, the ambiance and undeniable coziness make the shop stand out from the corporate coffee shops I am used to. If you are looking for a chill place to study, relax, or catch up with friends, I would highly recommend the cool little space tucked away in the alley of the Icehouse Building in downtown Harrisonburg.

Starbucks has impressive selection of drinks

How often do you drink coffee?

NEVER

Food-B3

The Newsstreak

DAILY

INFOGRAPHIC BY REBECCA STATON

Starbucks, located on Hillside Avenue across from Bridgeforth Stadium, has many different selections of coffees, teas and food items including bagels, scones, cookies, cakes, and sandwiches.

As I walked into the doors of Starbucks, I noticed that there were a lot of people wearing college attire and a very strong smell of coffee that was swarming around me.

There were individuals with a friend or by themselves sitting at small tables near the windows reading or on their phone or

computer. All I could hear was the chatter of the people in line giving their orders. I tried to listen to the things that they were ordering to get an idea of what sounded good. I looked up at the menu and noticed that there were a lot of things that I haven’t really given much thought to or even heard of before.

I finally settled on a vanilla bean frappuccino. The guy at the register asked me for my name and wrote it on the cup and handed it off so he could take the order of the person behind me. I walked over to the side of the counter and watched a girl who looked like she was a college student make the drink.

She put ice and some other items into a blender, and as that was mixing, she started working on another person’s order. The blender stopped and she came back over and poured the contents into a cup. The girl picked up a metal bottle and put whip cream on the top.

“Have a nice day,” she said with a smile.

I really liked the frappuccino because it was cold and it had a rich taste. The service was fast and they were extremely friendly. I was very impressed with the service because there weren’t that many employees and there were a ton of people who come in and out of the store.

Sheetz is serious competitor in coffee industry Bryan Luna Staff Reporter

PHOTO BY ABBY HISSONG

DO-IT YOURSELF. Sheetz allows customers to create their cup of coffee the way they want, when they want.

Usually, when you think of a good coffee shop, a gas station isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. In fact, gas station coffee is often treated as just a cheap grab-andgo for truck drivers trying to stay awake in morning and night shifts. Not fresh, not flavorful, not good.

However, Sheetz may just be the exception.

I went down to Sheetz on South Main Street on a dark Monday night. The place was peacefully quiet and tranquil, which, to me, is more preferable than a noisy and chaotic coffee shop. The coffee bar stretches out to both entrances, reinforcing the quick and easy access service expected from a gas station.

With the press of a button, you could

have yourself a simple cup of joe. For those that like a little more oomph in their drink, Sheetz definitely has the tools for it. For starters, the station has many cup sizes to choose from, and more importantly, you can always expect every size to be stocked.

Secondly, Sheetz has many flavors to choose from. The core flavors, such as breakfast, classic, decaf, sumatra and french are great building blocks for your creations.

Add in any of 10 or more creamers or mix in any of their special “cupo’cinno” flavors (like french vanilla, pumpkin spice, caramel brownie cocoa and chai), and you have yourself a fantastic beverage that warms the soul. I chose french vanilla with a tad bit of half and half creamer. I’m not a fan of strong coffee, but the rich taste of french vanilla softens up the beverage.

The bar was notably clean, no crumbs, spills, or trash in sight. Nearly every single coffee pot machine was still fresh, telling me

that the workers were keeping up with the brewing. Interestingly, if the “fresh light” is blinking rapidly, Sheetz will offer you a free coffee for the inconvenience. It goes to show that even gasoline stations can give quality customer service.

What surprised me the most, however, was the inclusion of a coffee bean grinder.

Such a device, while commonplace at coffee shops, is more rare at gas stations.

Another alluring aspect of Sheetz coffee is the price. Sheetz is not only cost-efficient, but a offers a great bang for your buck. It’s some of the best gas station coffee I’ve ever had. There are definitely places with better coffee, but at Sheetz you don’t have to wait in lines, wait for someone to make your drink their way, have to listen to loud machines and the keyboards of aspiring writers, or pay extra cash for an already great cup of coffee. In short, you’re getting more than you pay for.

October 29, 2015

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DECA prepares emerging leaders through real world applications Theo Yoder Sports Editor Every year, students have the opportunity to get involved with community service, improve school spirit and prepare for careers in marketing, hospitality and finance through DECA. DECA is a co-curricular organization that goes along with any marketing and business course.

Its purpose is to prepare emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in hospitality, tourism, marketing, finance and travel. DECA is advised by Mallory Cromer.

Cromer oversees all DECA operations along with the 10 student officers. “[DECA] gives students real world application. We live in a society where we push everyone to go to college, but at the same time… the generation I am currently teaching, needs skills like social skills and problem solving skills and public speaking skills. You are going to need these skills whether you go to college or not. This is what

DECA does,” Cromer said.

Every year, DECA takes two major field trips that are open to any DECA member. The first trip is to the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema where students learn about franchising.

The second trip is aimed at a couple of local businesses here in Harrisonburg where there is a question and answer session with the owners about why they decided to become that type of business.

DECA is student run by 10 officers: a president, four vice presidents, historian, treasurer, secretary, and a reporter. Senior Abner Johnson holds the position of president. “[DECA] has helped me a lot with public speaking, it is fun to compete and it is a good challenge, it’s an all around good hobby to have,” Abner said.

Throughout the year, DECA competes in multiple competitions. The competitions consist of a district, state and national level.

The district competition is held at the Valley Mall, states at Virginia Beach and Nationals in Nashville.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MALLORY CROMER

JUST KEEP RUNNING. DECA members help at Skyline Middle School for the annual Sherry Burcham Anderson 5k.

The students volunteered to set up, work the finish line, clean up, and cheer for the younger runners. The Sunday run had members from DECA and Key Club working to make sure nothing was left undone.

The competition consists of a scenario where the student has 10 minutes to read, study and come up with a solution for the scenario. Afterwards, they

have 10 minutes to present their solution as well as answer questions from the judges. Group and written events vary on timing and group numbers.

Cromer was involved with DECA during her high school years and took it over here at HHS seven years ago.

“My favorite part is

making sure that you guys are getting the skills necessary to survive whether you go to college or not,” Cromer said.

Key Club’s new sponsors prepare for year of volunteering Josh Byrd Ad Manager

PHOTO COURTESY OF MACHELLE RADER

A FEAST AT OCTOBERFEST. Librarian Billie Martin and the Key Club help at Octoberfest. Students came and helped to serve food as a volunteering project.

The Key Club has turned a new leaf with two new sponsors for the club.

Nurse Angela Knupp and librarian Billy Martin are co-sponsoring the club this year. Previously, the club was sponsored by business teacher Maurizio Antonnicola. Even with new leadership, the club sponsors say that there are not going to be any major changes to Key Club, however, it will be a little different.

“I don’t know necessarily if we would say changes.

Certainly, with new sponsorship you get different ideas and different ways of doing things,” Knupp said.

“Not that the old way or our way is newer or better or anything was bad, it is just different.”

Knupp hopes to change procedure and utilize technology available so students can more easily sign up for events and opportunities.

“We may be doing things differently,” Knupp said “We are using different technology, different ways to sign up, [and] utilizing our members differently.”

Senior Harrison Chicas

Habitat for Humanity builds houses for needy Bryan Luna Staff Reporter Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization that builds and renovates homes for people in need.

HHS contributes to this cause by offering a club of the same name that welcomes students to lend a helping hand, too.

The sponsor of the club is mathematics teacher, Patricia Kelley.

“It’s all student-run,” Kelley said. “They take care of everything, I just sponsor the club. They’re a bunch of smart kids. They know what they’re doing.”

The club communicates with the Virginia Habitat for Humanity headquarters, but also works in the field. It provides students community service hours and an opportunity for students looking to work

locally.

Senior Ami Mehta, a returning member from last year, is now president of the club.

“I’m really passionate about this club,” Mehta said. “It puts you in a place where you’re directly helping the community.”

According to Mehta, “many organizations help people behind the scenes with money and supply donations, but few go in person and get hands on.”

As president, Mehta has several responsibilities such as leading meetings, coordinating events, sending out emails and being the link between the headquarters and the school.

This year, they are trying to push beyond housework and into food drives for Thanksgiving and clothing drives for Christmas.

Communication was also a bit of an issue last year, so

PHOTO COURTESY OF BIANCA PIERSON

HOLES. Kaitlyn Cue and Precious Carper dig a hole as they garden. The members of Habitat for Humanity volenteered to landscape houses previously built by them. that’s another weakness they want to turn into a strength.

“In the past, we’ve met after school and on club days in Room 422,” Mehta said. “Nothing is set just yet, but we’re trying to push meetings to the first

Monday of every month.

Builds aren’t as common; a total of about five weeks throughout the year. In between that, we also have fundraisers and all that stuff. It’s really fun, really great.”

Kurdish Club has been a part of the club list since it was at HHS’ previous location that is now Memorial Hall. The idea of the Kurdish Club came from a student who wanted to let people know more about his nationality. Muhammad Kareem is a Harrisonburg City Public Schools liaison and sponsor of the Kurdish Club.

“In 2004, there were a

couple Kurdish students who built the foundations of Kurdish Club. Proudly, one of the kids was my son.

His name is Dilan Kareem.

He was the first president for Kurdish club. I am very proud of him,” Kareem said.

The original founders from 11 years ago were president Dilan Kareem, vice president Mokrian Mahmood, treasurer Gawana Canivi and event coordinator Allah Calihi.

Kareem, the sponsor of Kurdish club since 2005, has a goal to get any students

the education they deserve.

“The Kurdish club is an international club. It is for all students, regardless of color, nationality or language.

It is for all students at HHS. Our goal is an educational goal. We need to educate kids and prepare them for college; we are focusing that the students be ready for college learning. Also, we learn about people’s culture, about world news, about staying active and being on time. Also, we are going to learn about classroom rules,” Kareem said.

Kareem really stresses that he wants all students in Kurdish club to behave well in the classroom and find the potential they have.

“We need to be nice, be responsible and respectable to others. In Kurdish club we are looking for a student’s identification.

We don’t care where he is from or where she is from.

The important thing is that we find their ID. That way we can find out how much power of education this student has,” Kareem said.

done great things; we’ve donated money to great events.”

The club has already volunteered for many events this year like the International festival, Children’s Museum fire safety day, Second Home fundraiser and the Sherry Anderson 5k fundraiser for the Harrisonburg Education Foundation.

The club has been asked to help with one more activity for the month of October.

The club has about 30 members right now, but they are expecting more people to join in the coming weeks.

Blair starts lacrosse club Sako Haji Staff Reporter

Kurdish Club still focusing on preparation for college Jackson Hook Sports Editor

emphasized that he is looking forward to the changes and utilizing more technology to get volunteer opportunities out to its members more quickly.

“We know about events give or take a week before,” Chicas said. “And we give them about four days to decide whether or not they want to do it.”

Knupp also is proud of Key Club’s past and everything the organization was involved in, like its generosity and students.

“We had a great past of 20 years of Key Club support of our community,” Knupp said. “Kids have

In our surrounding school divisions there are not any competing lacrosse teams. Although the sport is not very much recognized down here, it is a very well known sport in many places. Hoping to break this trend, teacher Jay Blair created a club specifically for lacrosse with the hopes of increasing familiarity with the sport throughout the school and community.

“Ultimately what we would like to do is have both girls and guys teams at the school and have competitive opportunities in the region with other public school systems,” Blair said. A lot has to be done before official teams at public schools can be created.

And while familiarizing lacrosse is an issue, financial needs create an additional obstacle.

“The equipment and the fields is a lot to think about considering the financial necessities,”Blair said.

The lacrosse club did have one workshop, but because of poor weather, it was not very successful in opening it for the rest of the community.

“We did have one

large lacrosse workshop for everybody to come out, but the pouring rain was not very inviting,” Blair said.

“We are partnering [with] Madlax [Massanutten District Lacrosse Club] to sponsor a workshop in hopes to organize a much bigger workshop that would have school wide appeal with local coaches, and opportunities for all kids to come out and play,” Blair said. The Lacrosse club is starting early with all of their set up, including its organization and workshops, in hopes of achieving their goals by the next school year.

Because many people are so unfamiliar with the sport, the club’s number one priority is to give people more knowledge of the sport and for them to know how fun it could be to have it as a school sport.

“It is a sport that is tremendously popular in the north. Where I grew up, everybody played lacrosse and it was one of those big sports in the community. So I believe it has potential of expanding down here,” Blair said. The lacrosse club plans to increase it’s name around the community and start something new in the athletics of our public school systems.

October 29, 2015

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JROTC leaders work their way up in military status

Yogesh Aradhey Staff Reporter

On day one of JROTC as a freshman, senior Dylan Grogg was just another first time student with no rank. Now, four years later, he has worked his way up through the system, earning himself the title Cadet Lieutenant Colonel.

“I came in the first weeks and just loved it,” Grogg said. “On the first day, I walked in and the Colonel talked about how everyone got close and how everyone became a family and how everyone cares and has each other’s backs.

And it just hit me, I needed that because I was having problems at home.”

ROTC has leadership skills woven into it as it helps its students develop thse skill sets.

“You have to lead the people that you are working with. Dedication. You have to show up to each event, you have to show up to work each day,” Grogg said.

This principle is another that is rooted deep into the JROTC ideology. It is taught from the very start with a creed that new students must memorise before receiving their first rank.

“You have to memorize an eight-line creed that you live by,” Grogg said.

The leadership values that are learned in this program will aid

Grogg in a unique way as he has goals of joining the armed forces.

“I’m planning to go to JMU or Radford. JMU is my first choice,” Grogg said. “After that, I’m going to commission as a second Lieutenant in the Army. Obviously, it [the leadership skill set] is going to help me later in life with the career path that I have.”

Another leader in JROTC is junior Juleian Cappell, a three-year veteran. His journey began at his sister’s open house when he went in the room and saw the battalion commander.

“I saw all the medals on her chest. I saw her on top and I wanted to be like her,” Cappell said.

Now, as a Lieutenant Colonel, he is in a position to lead his fellow classmates.

After learning themselves, JROTC leaders try to make the process go more easily for others.

“It’s really hard because you have a different group of kids every year, but you want to just try and lead them the right way,” Cappell said. “You can show then that yes, highschool life can be stressful, but you can still succeed.”

Cappell himself is an example.

“In middle school, I wasn’t really… I was a pretty bad kid,” Cappell said. “Colonel and Sergeant Major have really changed my outlook on life and really motivat-

Meaning behind JROTC decorations Cadet Challenge Medal: The top 10 cadets are chosen to compete in five graded events. To earn the medal, a JROTC student must score above an 85 in every event, which is graded out of 500.

Superior Cadet Medal: The superior cadet medal is given to one cadet from each JROTC level a year, for being the top cadet in their group. Groups are classified by skill and experience.

Top Raider: The top raider medal is awarded to a student on the Raider team for participating in all events.

The student must place first in each event.

Cadet of the Year: One student receives the Cadet of the Year for being the top cadet in their class.

This student must demonstrate impressive physical ability and leadership skills.

Legion of Merit: Legion of Merit medal is awarded for professional excellence. Once each year, one person is receives this honorary medal.

Raider Meet Medal: JROTC students can win a medal for being the top person to complete any drill in a Raider meet. Raider meets take place every Saturday.

Drill Team Pin: Students can receive a drill team pin for winning first place in any team event.

JCLC Pin: To receive the pin, a student must pass a whole week of military training camp.

Raider Pin: The Raider pin is awarded to a team if they receive first place in an event or drill.

Leadership Camp Pin: All JROTC leadership camp participants are awarded a pin.

Color Guard Pin: A student can receive the pin for being in the guard.

Recondo Badge: A JROTC student can receive a Recondo Badge by attending Recondo school for two days. To receive the medal, a student must pass all the drills and exam given.

JROTC Ribbons: Throughout the year, any student in JROTC has the opportunity to receive each ribbon for participating or being involved in an event.

This is the easiest decoration to receive.

Academic Achievement Wreath: This pin is awarded to students who succeed in school. The minimum GPA is a 3.95.

INFOGRAPHIC BY NYAH PHENGSITTHY

PHOTO COURTESY OF KELLIE SERRELL

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG. Dylan Grogg, Isis Gutierrez-Ledesma, Soma Barzanji and Alex Mastrapa practice presenting the nation’s colors during their JROTC class. They present the colors at every home football game, as well as in competitions throughout the school year. ed me to do things.”

Grogg has also tried to help new people onto the right course.

“Seeing others come into the

program, I know now I was where they are and I know how much it affected my life and I want the same thing to happen to them,”

Grogg said. “I know how much it has made me a better person and I want the same for them.”

Healy reminisces on his military childhood Garrett Cash Online Managing Editor Marc Healy, an AP European History and A psychology teacher, spent his childhood moving from country to country, never spending more than a few years in one place. His father’s role as the commander of southern NATO forced the family to routinely move throughout Europe and America.

During his travels, Healy picked up multiple languages such as Italian, German and English. In Healy’s eleventh and twelfth grade years (1985 and 1987), his father was needed in Naples, Italy, where a series of misfortunes befell the family.

“I drove home one day, and my dad was sitting there, and he said, ‘I need you all to sit down. I’ve got some serious things to discuss’,” Healy said.

The event his father needed to discuss was a terrorist act committed in the Mediterranean Sea by a Libyan dictator. “[Muammar Gaddafi] had captured this cruise ship, the Achille Lauro, and his people killed one guy by gunfire. [They] shot him in the head and pushed him overboard,” Healy said. “The picture I remember was a guy in a wheelchair that gets pushed overboard.”

The attack spurred President Ronald Reagan to take action against the terrorist. The United States intelligence organizations detailed the location of Gaddafi, but by the time they bombed the location, he was already gone.

“In my house, we had a red phone that I was never allowed to touch.

It had no dials. You just picked it up and I don’t know who you talked to, somebody important,” Healy said.

“And all I remember was that my dad said, ‘There’s been a bombing order.

President Reagan has issued an order. We will fly from Aviano air base to Libya and try to bomb him and kill him.’ By the time the bombers dropped their ammunition, Gaddafi had left, but his grandson was killed.”

The collateral death incurred

My ping-pong table [was] on fire, the patio furniture [was] on fire, and right there in front of me [was] a guy with bullet holes right in his chest.”

The bodyguards kept the family safe from the gunner.

It was not the only time they would keep Healy and his parents safe from harm.

“My mom, my dad and I were being driven through downtown Naples and guys on a Vespa just start shooting at the car and the bullets are bouncing off the window, and the secret service people shot from the inside of the car and took care of the guy on the Vespa,” Healy said.

Despite the dangers of being in a military family, throughout PHOTO COURTESY OF MARC HEALY all of the life-threatening situations, the influences Healy experiGaddafi’s anger, compelling aggresenced gave him a desire to pursue his sive action towards the Healy family. father’s occupation.

“In the Islamic tradition, they take “Growing up in a military family, the saying ‘an eye for an eye’ very I thought I should go in the Army,” seriously. There was a death threat Healy said. “I went to JMU, and I went issued on my mom, my dad and myinto ROTC just because that’s what I self. From that point on, I couldn’t go thought I should do. And I did that for anywhere without an armored car about three years until I had to make and bodyguards,” Healy said. “I’d go a decision, ‘Do I sign my contract and on a date [and] they [were] about 10 join the army or not’?” steps behind me the whole time.”

Healy’s ultimate career decision Security was forced to increase was fueled by a realization that the as a result of the attack. Healy was reason he was joining the army was trained to know what to do if a dannot for himself, but for his dad. gerous situation arose.

“The day I was supposed to sign “We had practiced all of these the paper, I decided not to join the scenarios before. What I should do Army,” Healy said. “I finally realized I if something ever did happen,” Healy wasn’t doing it for myself, I was doing said. it for somebody else,” During his time in Italy, Healy had The experience of deciding not to to put that knowledge to use more be in the Army was one that resultthan once.“I [was] sitting in my living ed in a nurturing attitude from his room, and I hear basically a bottle father. crash, and I kind of look out the win“That was one of the hardest dow over the patio in the back,” Healy phone calls I had to make, telling said. “My ping-pong table was on fire. my dad that I wasn’t going into the Then I see a shadow run across, and Army,” Healy said. “One of the coolthen something else fly and then anest things he said was, ‘well whatevother explosion. Molotov cocktails is er you want to do, be the best you what they were throwing.” can at it’. Then he said, ‘what are you The gunfire stopped, and the guard going to do?’ I said, ‘I think I’m going outside motioned to Healy that everyto be a teacher,’ and he said, ‘Well thing had been handled. that’s a good profession’,” Healy said.

“I [was] running to the backyard.

Marines offer different route to education Olivia Comer Online Managing Editor Melody Wilson joined the marine corps when she was 18 and served for two years in reserve and three active. It was an experience that changed her life.

“I went to college when I was 16 for two years, 16 and 17, then I kind of fizzled out and that’s how I wound up in the military. I was 18 going on 19 when I enlisted,” Wilson said It is not uncommon for individuals in the military to come away with something valuable. For Wilson, it was discipline.

“My biggest takeaway from there is the need for discipline. I came into education later and I think the number one thing that I see among young people today that they’re lacking is a discipline or a work ethic,” Wilson said.

As of Jan. 31, 2015, 1.4 million people in the United States are enlisted in the military. Of those people, the number one reason to join

was out of pure patriotism, but for Wilson, it was also about harsh times and struggling to find a job.

“Long story short, it quickly became evident that I needed to do something different and that I wasn’t succeeding at the level that I could succeed. My second year in [college] I went ahead [and left] and did not come back. I stayed home because my parents basically gave me an ultimatum that she wasn’t going to continue to fund my schooling [if I behaved] like that.

She said that I needed to get a job so I ended up working and in the work field I found out very quickly that it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I didn’t want a dead end job with no future.

At that time my only ticket out was the military because of the option of schooling and to see the world and to get a marketable skill. I wound up at a recruiting station [where] originally I wanted to go into the air force but it was an extremely long waiting list for the air force, so the marine corp recruiter got ahold of me and he said ‘I can get you in right away.’

And that’s how I wound up [in the marines],” Wilson said.

The military provides schooling and develops a strong work ethic for those who need it. Enlisting can offer a different route to a good education.

“I went away to school and even though everyone in my family traditionally was younger, not everyone [it was] my mother and my uncle they all went to school young but I was the only one in my family who graduated young and went away to school young, but I don’t think that I was emotionally or socially ready to be on my own at that age. When I went to school I wasn’t organized or prepared for the rigor and I found myself with a lot of freedoms and just being unrestricted and I didn’t handle the social aspect of school well with balancing academics. I was off balance that way. I was also heavily enlisted in the fine arts at that time and everything I did I was more concerned with the shows and productions than in really doing my work,” Wilson said.

The Newsstreak

October 29, 2015

Feature-A10

Homecoming2015 SCA improves attendance at dance

Faith Runnells Print Editor-in-Chief Last year, the school sold 236 homecoming tickets. The school had over 1500 students. This year, the Student Council Association (SCA) board’s mission, as they planned the homecoming dance, was to get more students participating.

Senior Josh Byrd has been a part of SCA for three consecutive years, and is now the president, alongside first year SCA member, senior Karan Chalishajar.

“The theme for homecoming was black and white. And the reason why we chose that is because it seemed like a very classy theme and also it was a relatively simple theme. Our plans were to decorate the walls and the pillars in black and white,” Byrd said.

In the first week of September, a new leadership class conducted surveys around the school that asked students what their favorite theme for homecoming would be. This led to the black and white consensus.

“Black and white will encourage the most participation based on our polls, we got a really high response for that. Also, cost was an issue and black and white is easy to setup and it’s cheaper than any other [potential theme],” Chalishajar said.

According to the surveys, a majority of the student body was also somewhat intimidated by the overly fancy aura of homecoming.

“A lot of people thought you had to be dressed very formal and that’s something we wanted to change. We really just [wanted] to communicate that you can show up in khakis and a polo, nothing too formal.

We also wanted to discuss that you didn’t have to dress to the theme,” Byrd said.

Time management proved to be the hardest task for the SCA when preparing for homecoming.

“We had to order everything about a month in advance so when the school year started, Mrs. Kibler, our sponsor, told us ‘look, you have to come up with a homecoming theme right now’ so we had to decide it right then and there,” Byrd said. “It’s very fast paced and you have to get stuff done on time. Otherwise, it could ruin the dance.”

SCA ordered many decorations including black and white streamers, black and white balloons and mason jars that they filled with candy. They also arranged for former School Resource Officer Antoine Sinclair to be the DJ, because of his work last spring at prom.

“He had a lot of positive reviews [at prom]. Everyone really liked him,” Byrd said. The decoration costs, however, were not as guaranteed.

“We bought everything on credit and just hoped we sold enough tickets. We budgeted for at least 300 tickets, so we really hoped we could bump that number up [of tickets sold] from last

year’s 236 to at least 300,” Byrd said.

Homecoming advertising was indeed successful, as 372 tickets were sold.

“Managing what we wanted to do with the cost [we had available] was really hard,” Chalishajar said. “We [didn’t] want it to be too generic. More participation was definitely a huge deal this year compared to previous years because it’s been going down… Trying to match everyone’s taste and decide what everyone would like [was the hardest part].”

Once those tastes are determined and the decorations and materials are in, however, the SCA staff enjoys putting the final product together.

“I actually like the set-up. After we ordered all the stuff, we came in that morning at 9 a.m. and set everything up. It’s kind of interesting to see all of the stuff you ordered finally [come together]. It’s really interesting how you can transform a room,” Byrd said.

The leadership class and SCA’s efforts ended up paying off.

“I really think [we got a lot of people to come out to homecoming] because of the leadership class and the communication they did. We did commercials and posters to really get the message out to the student body,” Byrd said. “[We wanted] to help those who don’t know exactly what it is understand what it is and feel welcome to come.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF VALERIE KIBLER

KING AND QUEEN. Seniors Abner Johnson and Sophia Hartman dance the first dance after Johnson is crowned at the dance. The two were elected homecoming king and queen by the HHS student body.

SCREAM IT. Members of the senior class participate in the class calls during the homecoming pep rally on Friday, Oct. 16.

After the cheerleaders called out “Blue Streaks, Blue Streaks, what’s your call?”, the class responded “H-H-S”.

Leadership class integral in spirit increase Douglas Ritcher Staff Reporter The leadership class at HHS had an active role in the preparations for homecoming.

Taught and led by Don Burgess, the class has reached out in an opportunity to learn about student opinions on the week of homecoming.

“We did something that was pretty cool. Early on, you have to put folks out of their comfort zone. We’ve done that. One of the assignments we had was to visit all three lunch shifts and don’t go up to your friends. Go up to folks you do not know, that aren’t in your clique, and do a survey,” Burgess said.

Students asked their less-familiar colleagues question such as “Are you going to homecoming?” “Why or why not?” Burgess was adamant about his students having personal conversations rather than passing out written surveys. He viewed this as another way to develop leadership skills during their involvement in homecoming.

He believes this exercise was a success.

“There were different kinds of feedback. We got feedback on the venue music the cost. Also, we got the good the bad and the ugly in the responses. The feedback was good because it got

the students to come out of their shell,” Burgess said.

The leadership class has followed up by making commercials pertaining to the questions asked in their surveys about homecoming and spirit week. These commercials have aired during the morning announcements several times. Junior Kyel Towler, a student in the leadership class, played a role in these commercials.

“We split up into groups. We had a group that focused on spirit week, one that did homecoming [and] I was on the football one,” Towler said.

Towler’s group compiled football highlight clips for the commercials. The groups also worked on posters to place around the school. Towler hoped that these would change the school-wide attitude about homecoming that he was familiar with.

“People have complained in the past about how it’s boring or ‘Why would I go to homecoming? It’s not for me,’” Towler said.

Towler along with other members of the leadership class helped set up the commons area for homecoming for a few hours the morning of the dance. Helping out with school events like this has been a positive experience for Towler.

“It’s been dope. The class is really fun. Everyone in there is really fun so I can’t complain. You should join the class,” Towler said.

SENIOR POWER. Seniors Faith Runnells and Maddy Penrod discuss strategy during the powder puff game. The seniors won 20-13.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MARLEY ADAMEK

PHOTO BY BRIAN ALVARADO

GET IN THE GROOVE. Dean of Students Kris Vass shows off his school spirit on Tie Dye day during homecoming spirit week.

FUN TIMES. Dance attendees pick up their candy jars as the dance ends (left). Friends Ella Shulgan and Marley Adamek enjoy neon day during spirit week. Red out was the most popular dressup day on Friday of that week.

October 29, 2015

Feature-A9

The Newsstreak

What’s in your classroom?

Tazhan Jaf Staff Reporter Bright lights and contrasting colors.

Teachers express themselves through furniture, artworks, tie dye, and even music in their classrooms. They add unique characteristics by moving away from the traditional norms of posters listed with class rules and desks positioned in rows.

Cara Walton, a World History teacher, never had her own classroom at the old high school, so when she was given one here 10 years ago, she didn’t hesitate to mark her territory with swirly colors.

“I feel like if a classroom is warm and welcoming and has things that are visually interesting and relevant to the concept, it helps students be more engaged,” Walton said.

Walton incorporates World History into the artwork surrounding her walls, from pieces from the Mesopotamian era to Greek mythology.

“Even though it’s not related to content, I like the tie dyes. I feel like they add some color and visual appeal, but I also really like the posters because I can usually refer to them,” Walton said.

Mary Strickler is another teacher who decorates her classroom for the kids and her benefit as well.

“Just like your bedroom matches your

personality type, I spend more time here than I do in my own bedroom. I want it to be a very pleasant place. I am a CR (Concrete random person, according to the personality test). I believe in four or five things happening at the same time,” Strickler said. She keeps a lounge area in the corner of her room for her Yearbook staff and posters line her walls representing her diverse taste in literature and munsicals. She also keeps the radio on when the class is deep in work.

“I’m not the teacher who stands on a podium and directs students, I’m more of a mentor who helps you figure your own way through it,” Strickler said.

Strickler doesn’t decorate the classroom herself; she has her students come up with ideas for decorating, making it unique each year. Marjorie Bonga, one of the yearbook editors-in-chief, was one of the students who participated in redecorating the room.

“It was actually very fun. The last three years the room has looked the same, and my co editors-in-chief and I wanted a new feel. A more homey type of feel, also a place where people can feel welcomed and relaxed. That’s why I loved decorating the room. It was hard at first trying to figure out where we wanted everything, but Strickler gave us free reign on how to decorate, so it was nice creating something all of us wanted,” Bonga said.

PHOTO BY TAZHAN JAF

COOL DIGS. History teacher Cara Walton’s classroom is decorated with tie-dye tapestries and history-related posters. Students enjoy rooms that have decorations and personal flair more than bland white walls.

Feng shui is a Chinese philosophical system of harmonizing everyone with the surrounding environment. Both Walton and Strickler use this method in their classrooms to reduce stress and add personality.

“My surrounding has to be very pleas-

What’s in your trunk?

What’s in your backpack?

Q&A with junior Safi Mukumbilwa

Q&A with junior Molly Campillo Q: What do you have in your trunk?

A: I have a raincoat, my cross country bag, a Christmas present, a movie and a towel.

Q: Why do you have a raincoat in your trunk?

A: My sister needed it for the football game on Friday because she was there for the academic excellence and it was cold outside.

Q: What is in your cross country bag?

A: Sweatshirts for the cross country team. They were sent from a former member.

Q: Why do you have a movie in the back of your car?

A: It’s our family’s movie and we were going to lend it to someone.

Q: What and who is the present for?

ant. I’m under a lot of stress. It’s also a bonding between my [yearbook] editors.

They came in during the summer and made it their own. If you invest in it then you are more likely to be a part of something,” Strickler said.

Q. Is there anything that is important to you in your book bag?

My school work, my make-up and wallet.

Q. Why is [your school work] important to you?

My school work is important because I need it for my classes.

Q. What are some items that in your bag that you use for your classes?

My pens, Pencil, and lots of papers.

Q&A BY MADISON VARNER

A: It’s for my sister for Christmas.

Q: Why is there a towel?

A: It’s left in here from the pool last time we went.

Q: Is there usually anything else in your trunk?

A: No, never. I haven’t opened it in months.

Q. Why do you have make-up in your bag?

I have my make-up so if I need to freshen up just a little.

Q. Do you find any of your items in your bag interesting?

No, not really.

Q. Do you have any items that are personal to you in your bag?

My make-up.

Q&A BY KEYLA RIVERA

English department members enjoy decorating their office Anna Rath Staff Reporter In the English department teacher lounge, there is a wall plastered with pictures. Each English teacher brought in a picture that shows something special and unique about them, whether it is a picture of them with their family and friends or an inspiring quote. There is also another wall that has three department pictures on it. English and debate teacher Aaron Cosner has a picture displayed on both of the walls.

“My favorite is the bottom [picture] because that’s our band, Cardinal Syntax, it’s Mr. Norment, Mr. Beppler, Mr. Dean and myself, having a good time,” Cosner said.

English 10 and literacy teacher Crys Roach also has a picture special to her on the picture wall.

“The [picture] with all of the gold and silver drawings is mine, my daughter did it. She [drew]

What’s in your department office? stuff from my favorite books, a Stephen King signature, a raven from [Edgar Allen] Poe, I follow team Heat, so there’s the basket ball, I love to shop, and I’ve got a little apple because I’m a teacher and those are [pictures] of my whole family surrounding [the drawings] it,” Roach said.

Within the English department lounge, there is a large variety of objects, including a yoga ball, a basketball hoop, a non-working refrigerator, Rockem Sock-em Robots, a juicer and four coffee makers.

“I don’t like to work in a cubby, because I’m a little bit claustrophobic, but the most useful thing by far in the office to me is the Keurig coffee maker,” Cosner said.

English 9 and Literacy 1 teacher, Heather Hostetter also likes to drink coffee and occasionally

buys creamer for the English department lounge to share.

“Clearly the school does not buy our coffee or our creamer or sugar for us so we have to, so what happens is we run out then we go several days without coffee, or Ms. Delozier hides the coffee from me because she doesn’t think that I make it properly , so we probably have that [coffee fund jar] there so that we can all pool our money,” In the department lounge, each teacher has a cubicle-type cubby for them to work in before, after and during their planning periods. Each cubicle includes a a desk or work space, sometimes a computer and lots of shelves and drawers.

“The English department is unanimous in declaring Mr. [Richard] Morrell to have the most… oddly arranged cubicle.

Some would say cluttered, but if a single piece went missing he would know about it,” Cosner said.

Many of the teachers including Delozier and Ms. Caitlin Francis also keep many personal items in their cubicles.

“I have my hula skirt and coconut bra, and a snakeskin and rabbit foot,” Delozier said, “And my big scary moth. I found it in the parking lot one morning.”

“I haven’t been[working at HHS] long enough to begin accumulating the weird things, so I think the strangest thing [in my cubicle] might be my Gobstoppers®. We were given these at our first department meeting of the year so I just keep them on my desk and when I need a quick sugar rush, I grab a gobstopper,” Francis said .

Aside from having personal

items in their cubicles, most of the teachers keep planning and work materials there.

“I’ve got my teacher’s editions of textbooks, I have my lovely binder that I use for English department meetings, I’ve got all our stuff about SOL’s, so I use that kind of stuff pretty frequently,” Francis said, “I have this tray here that was here when I got here and I’m not utilizing it very well, it’s a little messy, I need to use it better to organize things.”

Some teachers also put items and photos that are special to them on the walls of their cubicles.

“I have a calendar. Some of my really, really good friends in college were all English teachers together in different parts of the state,”Francis said, “So one of our friends made a calendar with pictures of us from our college days together. I keep it up [on the wall] to kind of remind me of my buddies, it’s nice.”

Can you match each English teacher to his/her department cubicle?

Heather Hostetter

Aaron Cosner

Hannah Bowman

Melody Wilson

Crys Roach

Danae Delozier

Caitlin Francis

Jill Hagmaier

Cubicle 1

Cubicle 2

Cubicle 3

Cubicle 4

Cubicle 5

Cubicle 6

Cubicle 7

Cubicle 8

Answers: Jill Hagmaier is Cubicle 1, Melody Wilson is Cubicle 2, Crys Roach is Cubicle 3, Caitlin Francis is cubicle 4, Danae Delozier is Cubicle 5, Heather Hostetter is Cubicle 6, Aaron Cosner is Cubicle 7 and Hannah Bowman is Cubicle 8

October 29, 2015

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October 29, 2015

Experience-A6

The Newsstreak

Sneller practices mindfulness throughout his day Ava Reynolds HHS Media Coordinator

When the bell strikes 2:35 p.m to mark the end of the day, some teachers go on to coaching an after school sport, some leave to attend to their own children, others stay and grade papers. However one of the science teachers at HHS, Erich Sneller, goes home to something different: his yoga routine.

“The cool thing about yoga is wherever you are as long as you have the space to do it, the physical aspect at least, it happens.

For me, I noticed as I would practice yoga, I would just find this mental calm that I had never experienced before and that is where kind of the heart of yoga lies, in the tradition dating back thousands of years in India, and literally if you want to look at the definition the root is yuj, which means to join in Sanskrit [sacred language of Hinduism] joining the individual self with the ultimate self, however you define that. In essence it’s connecting what is that personal aspect of you with the larger sequence and larger spectrum of the universe,” Sneller said.

Sneller practices the physical aspect of yoga five or six times a week.

“Most people, when they think of yoga, they think of the postures, like the physical postures. That’s how it started for me, I was doing the fitness aspect of it, and I still do that, and every day I go through certain sequences. There are different kinds of traditions within yoga, as far as what the physical sequences look like, so there are so many different postures that I’ll go through and it’s an awesome cardio vascular workout and muscle strengthening and stretching,” Sneller said.

Sneller’s interest in yoga began six years ago, while he was attending Iowa State.

He decided to

14

try a class, and came away really enjoying the instructor and his practice, and even looks back to his first few classes today.

“I think about it a lot because at the end of the class I felt so open; every joint was relaxed, my muscles, I was tired, but I could feel my pulse and my whole body,” Sneller said.

Although Sneller still looks back at his start with yoga, he acknowledges the fact that his practice has evolved some throughout those six years, as he has gone from being a student, to teaching yoga at Iowa state, being a student again and having his own personal routine and practice. The major shift in how he has practiced has changed in that it’s gone from a more physical practice to an everyday mental practice.

“In the very beginning, I wasn’t saying I was gonna make my practice like this, it just kind of was. That’s where I am really practicing now is how do I continue that throughout the day where I am finding some equanimity throughout the rest of the day and a lot of that then is understanding how I react to certain situations or if I’m really stressed out, this kind of coming back to the moment and calming down so that’s not a physical posture, but definitely a mental practice and there’s a lot of different ways that can look,” Sneller said.

One mental practice aspect to yoga is chanting, which originates from the chants and songs from Sanskrit, a sacred language of Hinduism. The different chants, similar to Catholics reciting prayer after prayer on a rosary, are chanting the many names of god. Sneller often will chant the word ram, which is one of the names of God and in a way represents the universe.

“R-A-M, and just chanting that again and again and again. So for me, I guess I find the most connection in chanting many names of God, and I think that the ultimate reality is so pluralistic. I don’t think we can say it’s this, but not that. There are so many options, however you want to describe it.

For me, chanting a word again and again and again in my head just can really bring me to the moment,” Sneller said.

Another mental practice to yoga is breathing and being mindful.

Controlling breath is a very prominent aspect to yoga, but it doesn’t have to be only in a yoga class.

Sneller acknowledges the fact that people not think they can get into yoga because they just can’t fit it into their schedule, but in reality, there are so many moments throughout the day to be more mindful and to breath and be peaceful. Sneller, who used to feel stressed around his commute for his old job, began to find simple ways to be more mindful about the situation, such as telling himself exactly what he was doing while he walked from his car to the school, which allowed him to stay in the present.

“I started thinking like ‘Well, I drive’,” Sneller said, “That’s another moment to practice yoga; to join yourself with some ultimate sense of reality and to be more peaceful and just all you do is breath.”

Sneller benefits from his yoga practices, but he would one day like to extend it to the student population at HHS perhaps in the form of a club or an ELT choice activity.

“I would like to maybe do something like a morning, gentle yoga. It’s kind of like stretch and wake up and then maybe like an afternoon one, too. It might be tricky to do a lot of postures, but we could totally do some mindfulness practice in the auditorium,” Sneller said.

One of the things Sneller likes about yoga is that it can be for anybody, and it benefits anybody who will practice it.

“I can’t think of anybody who it would be detrimental for them to be more present or to calm their minds.

You are still a body and you still have a mind that is constantly bringing thoughts in front of you,” Sneller said.

For those who are thinking of starting some form of yoga, Sneller recommends group classes. From his experiences, he believes it is really fun to practice with people and learn different instructors’ styles and sequences. Sneller also recommends yoga videos that circulate the web; however, he recognizes that postures aren’t the only way to begin to sample yoga. Starting slowly and having something to build off of, not trying to tackle too much is key according to Sneller.

“It can be as simple as even just sitting, like being mindful about the way you’re sitting or breathing,” Sneller said, “It could be just noticing how you’re sitting, or taking five deep breaths when you wake up everyday, or one time a week or throughout the day just being more mindful for two minutes, it can be as little as you want.”

Hours of Homework

Number of Students

10 8 6 4 2 0 0-30 mins

30-60 mins

1-2 hrs

2-3 hrs

3+ hrs

Time spent on homework Freshmen Sophomores

Juniors

“I generally just draw.”

Sophomore Naomi Gelberg-Hagmaier

Seniors

“Play violin.”

Junior Sarah Jackson

“I run long distances.”

Senior Kayla Leaman

“I walk.”

Veronica Ortiz

“I read. I play with my daughter. I chill with my family.”

Dave Ward

How do you

relax?

“I read.”

Junior Alanna Whitfield

“I listen to music.”

Freshman Hannah Brown

“I do a little wood work.”

Craig Shoemaker

“I’ll watch a movie or take a nap.”

Junior Alex Osinkosky “I sleep.”

Freshman Farah Ragah

INFOGRAPHIC BY AUSTIN SWIFT

emphasizes that no matter how small the beginnings of practicing yoga are, they will always be beneficial.

“There are so many things we all juggle but every time that I've ever done a class or gone through even a few poses I’m always glad. I’m never like ‘Oh that was a waste of time…”. It’s always a benefit,” Sneller said.

Juggling life

Teachers, students struggle to balance school, personal life, remain stress free Jackson Hook Sports Editor

12

Sneller

marketing teacher.

“I try to come to school really early and get all of my school stuff done in the mornings. I teach night Balancing school and social life school, so when I’m not helping out can be a tough thing to accomplish. one of the kids, I’m doing school Sports, clubs, and other extracur- work, but when I go home I don’t ricular activities can become a part take any school work with me beof the conflict when trying to find cause I have two small children and the balance between school and I’m a mama and they need me so free time. Senior football play- I don’t take any school work home er Luis Pinedo-Lafferty Jr. claims with me,” Cromer said. he doesn’t have a lot of off time Being a mother can also take throughout the week. away the little free time there is to “There’s not much off time. We spend during the day. go to study hall every day, then go “If I had more free time I would to practice and get out at about do more fun things with my kids.

6:30, go home and eat. If there’s I’d take them different places, any extra homework, I expose them to things, do that,” Pinedo Lafor simple things like ferty said. take them to the “My school/ Although, park. I feel like free time ratio would on the weekmy free time is ends, Pinetaken up with probably be something do-Lafferty the like school... 70 percent and cleaning Jr. says he house, playhas more free time 30. I need to get ing with the free time to kids a little it more to like 50 and 50 do what he bit, cleaning wants. though,” marketing the house “On the some more teacher Mallory weekends I’ll and making maybe hang out Cromer supper. We just with some football don’t get to do as buddies. When it was many cool, fun things as a little warmer, we used I want,” Cromer said. to go fishing and other stuff as a Cromer is also involved in the group, but it’s colder so we usually DECA club which can take up lots stay home a lot more. We might go of time during school and outside to JMU games or have sleep overs,” of school.

Pinedo-Lafferty Jr. said.

“We are at a lot of school events While football takes up a lot of for [DECA], especially the school time during the school year, Pine- store and all of that good stuff. So do-Lafferty finds help in study hall that has put a whole new twist onto and with his team. free time. Sometimes I’ve got to “Study hall really helps with bring the kids with me. It’s a balanc[getting work done], and also ing act, whatever’s important you coach and coach’s wife. She really make time for,” Cromer said helps the football players with getCromer’s busy schedule calls for ting work done,” Pinedo-Lafferty Jr. a lot of work and less free time that said. she gets to spend with family.

On the other hand, students ar“My school/free time ratio en’t the only ones who have to bal- would probably be something like, ance school and freetime. Teachers school, including DECA and apparel spend just as much time in school stuff, 70 percent and free time 30. I as students do and have the same need to get it more to like 50 and 50 issue of balancing free time and though,” Cromer said. school time. Mallory Cromer is a

The Newsstreak

October 29, 2015

HOT or NOT Homecoming Dance: More decorations and students created a more spirited student body. The dance started at 8 p.m. with a theme of black and white. The variety of music provided a more diverse environment.

Us air attack on Afghanistan hospital: The US had the wrong information and bombed an Afghanistan hospital.

Spirit week: Five days leading up to the homecoming dance where students, teachers, and administrators showed off their school spirit.

Scorch Trails: The second book in the Maze Runner chronicles did not follow the plot line of the award winning novel.

Football’s winning record: The football team had a larger fan base because of their winning record.

Troops Staying in Afghanistan: The president will be announcing that over 5,000 troops will stay in Afganistan past 2016.

No more bending for the 6s: Apple claims that the new iPhone, although thin, will not bend like the 6.

Sickly Black Whopper: Burger King has launched a cheeseburger with a black bun for Halloween that has been making some people sick. The burger is infused with A1 sauce to make it black.

Emily Kennedy Slows Sex Trafficking: She created Traffic Jam, a program that helps track trafficking using public data.

Oregon Shooting: Shooter shot and killed nine students at a community college in Oregon.

Democratic Debate: All of the eligible democratic candidates came together to give voters a view of their positions.

Typhoon in the Philippines: Typhoon Koppu left approximately 16,000 Filipinos displaced from their homes and two dead.

Walton Originals: Mrs. Cara Walton sold various types of her tie dye shirts outside the library before homecoming week. Most of the teachers sported her tie dye with style.

California Mudslides: Thunderstorms in California triggered an earth slide, trapping cars in five feet of mud.

Drivers Ed Drunk Goggles: The drivers ed classrooms went outside and drove golf carts in the back parking lot with drunk goggles on. They simulated what it would be like to drive while intoxicated in hopes to teach teens to never drink and drive.

Texas Wildfire: Over 40 homes were burned and the forests were devastated.

Powderpuff Football: On Wednesday, Oct. 14, the junior girls played against the senior girls in a game of flag football. Seniors took the win with a score of 20-13.

Pluto’s Poisonous Lake: Pluto’s famous, frozen, heart shaped lake was found to be poisonous for humans Powderpuff Volleyball: Sign-ups for the boys powderpuff volleyball, juniors versus seniors, are in Mallory Cromer’s room. The game is on Wednesday, Nov 4.

Bleaching Coral: Global warming is raising temperatures and killing the ocean’s coral, turning it white. No more vibrant colors under the sea.

Pep Rally: Fall sports teams were recognized and Eric Miller got a face full of pie. The red sea taught HHS student the chants and the pep rally ended with each grade in a chanting war.

Youtube Millionaires: Youtubers with a lot of subscribers become millionaires by filming themselves.

The Sea: Gone are the Red Sea and the Blue Sea. After a meeting with the sea leaders, they came down with an agreement of the new HHS football student section, which is now one integrated sea.

Cargo Ship Sank: A cargo ship sailed into a hurricane and was lost at sea. Some remnants of the cargo have been found, but the ship has not been located.

Op-Ed-A5

Death is reminder that life is precious Faith Runnells Editor-in-Chief Tears. Questions. Regret.

For me, today, the death of my grandma brought me all of those. It seems the loss of a loved one does nothing but hurt you, and it hurts you deep.

Why can’t we just have our family and friends around forever?

It seems there is no real value to death. However, it seems the value of death’s opposite, life, is giant. Life is treasurable.

Life is cherishable. But, think for a second about why this value of life is so grand. Think about what makes life like this.

Ultimately, there is more value in death than we think.

Life is this grand way because of death.

Last spring, a student from a

neighboring high school passed away from a car accident on the way to his school’s soccer game. I didn’t even go to that high school, but the reactions of those who knew and loved him were felt throughout the entire community.

The amount of respect and appreciation for his life was expressed everywhere, from Twitter regards to pre-soccer game honors, to an amazingly well-attended wake and funeral service. This is just one example of the fact that after a death occurs there is always a regenerated respect for life.

And we need this newfound respect every now and then.

Every day, the always prevalent possibility of death is what makes life so dear. Without an end, the beginning and middle don’t mean anything, and

that’s what life is. became famous beDeath is the occause of their work, casional, yet necesthe same work that sary reminder to us they had done while that life is precious. they were alive. But Without it, life’s it wasn’t noticed, or value would be almore accurately, apHave Faith most, if not, equal to preciated, until they nothing. Without it, I probably were gone. wouldn’t say ‘I love you’ to my Death is valuable. It’s immom every time I walk out of portant. It’s necessary. We the door, because I know she need it to happen around us already knows that, but I want so we can be grateful for all of to make sure. Without death, the moments of our own lives. for all I know and can predict, And every death that you are society would fall apart. indirectly affected by benefits And think about the value of you. Don’t get me wrong: by someone else’s life after their no means will I ever be gratedeath. Edgar Allen Poe, Emily ful that my grandma passed Dickenson, Vincent Van Gogh, away this morning. It sucks, Galileo Galilei. All are exam- and it will always. But I do find ples of people who during their comfort in the fact that even lives were nothing more than though it doesn’t feel like it, evordinary, if not less than ordi- ery death has a greater meannary. But after they died, they ing than we give it.

Being ‘basic’ is starting to become insulting Ellie Plass Online Editor-in-Chief Basic. It no longer means something that is simple or elementary. Instead, the word has evolved into a kind of insult; one that ridicules girls for liking things that are popular or stereotypical. Urban Dictionary goes so far as to describe a basic person as “someone who is unflinchingly upholding of the status quo and stereotypes of their gender without even realizing it”.

Let’s just get one thing straight. I think Starbucks is delicious. I don’t care who you are, but anyone can enjoy a peppermint hot chocolate after a day of being outside in the snow. Everyone can appreciate the novelty of the Pumpkin Spice Latte- come on, it has it’s own Instagram. And leggings?

They’re possibly the most comfortable piece of clothing ever.

It’s like wearing nist and empowered, pants without actuyou’re bitter but if ally wearing pants. you aren’t, you’re Who doesn’t want weak. There are a lot that? Because this more than that, but is the way I feel, those are the ones and maybe because that come to mind.

I look the way I do, Obviously, these Plass I have been labeled are terrible and unPerspective true generalizations. basic on more than one occasion.

While basic is the Now that that’s out in the only one that has a trendy and open, let’s get down to busi- widely used “name”, all of these ness. Basic is a word or idea that stereotypes have something in insults people based on their common. They all do their best likes and dislikes, but it isn’t the to make people feel like they only one. Lately it seems that no shouldn’t like what they like or matter what people like, they that what they like is wrong. are given a label of some sort. They put everyone into categoIf you like school and you work ries, when in reality those catereally hard on your homework, gories are far too rigid to actualyou’re a try hard. If you don’t, ly describe anyone at all. you’re a slacker. If you think Most people are so much Uggs are ugg-ly (ha, ha) and you more interesting than any of prefer the Black Sheep to Star- those categories could ever bucks you’re “alternative”, but if show. When you put people Uggs are your life and Starbucks into stereotypes, even ones is like a mother to you, you’re that seem as harmless as babasic. If you’re incredibly femi- sic, you are missing out on the

opportunity to find out what makes them unique and awesome. Almost everyone is guilty of assuming these things about certain people. I’ll be the first to admit that judgements based on the part of a person I first notice have come out of my mouth. That doesn’t mean I’m happy about it.

You should never let anyone tell you that what you like or what you care about doesn’t matter. I’m here to tell you that what you like is your own business and that it doesn’t always have to define you in a way that you don’t want it to (unless you like Crocs because those are just not ever okay). But if you do want it to define you, that’s cool, too. I wouldn’t want to put you all into one category or anything.

So this is me, taking back the basic. I will drink my Pumpkin Spice Latte and I will enjoy every sip. But that doesn’t mean that you have to.

One and Done rule needs to be eliminated from NCAA Doug Ritcher Staff Reporter It’s been a typical October for college football: unforeseen upsets, ranting and raving coaches, floundering commentators, game-winning fumbled punts and those promotional highlight edits set to Imagine Dragons remixes.

Aside from the remixes, these are things that make not only football, but all college sports great. They produce some of the most genuine, emotional and exciting action on TV. However, some of the quality of these productions is lent to a dividing matter in college sports. That matter is the “one-and-done” system.

The issue of “one-and-dones” starts with the dream of many high school athletes to one day play their sport professionally in a league like the NFL or the NBA. Those high schoolers aren’t qualified to play professionally unless they’ve had a certain number of years out of high school, specifically oneyear in the NBA. In that one year, the default choice of many is to play college ball. Once they’ve spent one year in college, they are eligible for the NBA and many will leave after just one year in college thus the term “one-and done.”

Most of these NBA-bound players will receive full scholarships for their services as basketball players. Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with giv-

ing athletic merit student athletes who scholarships, but leave behind large there’s something scholarships and unwrong with using finished degrees. academic money That’s where it on the players that affects the world never even had inoutside sports. Coltent on pursuing a leges and universities Doug’s college degree. should be primarily Thoughts This is not meant academic institutions to attack players and with the rules in that do so; “one-and-done” is place, they have simply become their best option. Any strong athletic developmental leagues NBA-hopeful would choose it, for certain players. Ending the but it shouldn’t be an option one year rule opens up new in the first place. It’s astonish- opportunities and resources to ing that the NCAA hasn’t done those going to college that inanything in partnership with tend to pursue degrees. Student professional leagues about the athletes should be what their amount of waste the current name implies: very talented system is creating. If there was athletes who are also pursuing no “wait one year” rule, we a degree at their respective colcould cut down the number of lege.

Paul Ryan should run for House speaker Josh Byrd Ad Manager

Vice Presidential He would be a fresh candidate Paul Ryan and young face to is now considered lead the party into the person to unite the 2016 elections, the factions in the to try to grow their conference. He is congressional maa strong business jorities. conservative who As speaker, Ryan believes in small Right-Winged would set the legisByrd government and low lative agenda. This taxes, which plays power would be well with the Freedom Caucus, good for him. Ryan is a supand is liked by the establish- porter of entitlement reform, ment members of the party. tax reform, and spending re-

form in general, but he hasn’t been able to get his legislation through.

As speaker, Ryan would be able to bring reform bills to the floor and have votes on them.

Another reason Ryan should run for Speaker is because he has the votes to win. Freedom Caucus chairman Jim Jordan says that the caucus would support him, thus getting him over the 218 votes needed to be speaker.

For the past couple weeks, Capitol Hill has been crazy. It first got crazy when Speaker John Boehner shocked the country when he announced he would resign from Congress by the end of October. He announced his resignation the day after Pope Francis spoke to a joint session of Congress.

He resigned because of party infighting and a possible no-confidence vote by 42 members of a far right GOP group called the Freedom Caucus.

His resignation has since led to a Speaker’s race. The three GOP members who were running were Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz and Florida Congressman Daniel Webster. McCarthy was the favorite and was expected to get the most votes, until he announced the day of the conference vote, that he was dropping out of the Speaker’s race. This sent even more shock waves through Congress.

There is a savior PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL HAIRSTON though. House Ways RUNNING FOR RYAN. Paul Ryan visited the Shenandoah Valley on Sept.

14h, 2012 at the Rockingham fair and Means Chairman grounds when he was running for Vice President. and 2012 Republican