2019 April issue

Priests accused of sexual assault, Vatican Summit announced. pg. 6

Deer park petrochemical fire lasting multiple days, causes air conditions to worsen. pg.12

Captain Marvel marks first female-led Marvel movie pg.17

CCISD Robotics gears toward World Championships

By Kadee Loyd Around Creek Editor

The CCISD district robotics team, The Robonauts, won their tournament in Flagstaff, Arizona over Spring Break, and their victory, which is one of many this season, qualified them for the World Championship event.

The group went undefeated at the competition in Arizona, winning their ten qualification matches and six elimination matches. They also won first place at their competition in El Paso a couple weeks before the Arizona tournament.

These wins boosted them to the World Championships, giving them another chance at the title after winning in 2015.

The team has 80 students from all over the district, including Clear Horizons and a student from Dobie High School, and seven of those students come from Creek. They meet four times a week in building nine at NASA, where they build a competitive robot to participate in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC). FIRST stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.” NASA engineers mentor the students, giving them advice and means to improving their robots. Only 50 of the members are selected for the travel time.

Junior Alejandra Tijerina, junior Gustavo Casimiro Vilas Boas, sophomore Christian Goodson, senior Joshua Oh, freshman Luke Buchanan and junior Peyton Burlington are the Robonauts representatives from Creek.

They appreciate the community they get to be a part of with the robotics team and are constantly working with their peers to ensure they make it to the next level of competition. They may have swept the competition in Arizona, but there is always room for the improvement of the robot.

“As always, there’s always

something that needs to be worked on.

Whether it’ll shorten cycle times by a half second or double the points we can get on a climb, we’re constantly looking for the small improvements we can make to raise our robot to the highest possible level it can be. For us, the extramile is just part of the race,” Boas said.

A good attitude and responsibility are very important to the team. Every member

values are sportsmanship, scholastics, learning, sharing, competing and growing,” Tijerina said.

The Robonauts have a true passion for what they do, and they are always ready to do whatever work necessary for the success of their robot. The team knows that it is in big part their passion and effort that fuels their victories.

“This passion that is common

obeys the rules of the Photo coutesy of Alejandra Tijerina throughout the whole competitions and makes team helps everyone on sure to use their team values; their respect and the team right now to do the best they inclusivity create unity and longing success. possibly can. Our average practice week “I believe the reason for our has around 21 hours, and without the team’s success is our strict adherence constant desire for improvement and the to our core values. Some of these dedication that’s inspired on us, it’d be

easy to grow bored and just kill time, but as we’ve learned from too many close-calls, there’s always something that needs to be improved,” Boas said.

Although the students work diligently on their projects, they still have time for fun. The group celebrated their wins in Arizona by playing in the snow. They enjoy the company of their teammates who share similar goals and interests.

As time goes on, Creek members hope to inspire the new students in Robonauts to excel and always push past limits.

“Today, our main goal is not to win competitions, it is to inspire the next generation of engineers. We aim to impact young students before stereotypes take over, and for that reason we have such a diverse team today,” Tijerina said.

The CCISD Robonauts are expected to see more success at the competitions on their way to the World Championship event.

With new improvements and modifications on the robot, the performance of the team is likely to outdo that of previous tournaments. There is no limit on what they can accomplish.

“It’s amazing seeing the Clear Creek students perform so well at the First Robotics competition. Knowing that we will be taking place in the World Tournament this year and won it in 2015 makes it clear that Clear Creek is a school district that can compete on a world scale. This is just the beginning for Clear Creek, the world of robotics is changing as we move into space exploration and I have no doubt that our students will be some of the first to get people to Mars and may be some of the first to set foot there themselves,” Mr. Robert Morales, robotics coordinator at Creek, said.

Round up of 2019 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

with the fun and exciting rodeo experience.

“I would have to say my favorite Along with the performances, the part about rodeo season is getting to rodeo had events such as the cook-offs, wear my cowboy boots and cowboy livestock shows, bull riding, horseback hat and getting to go to all the petting zoos, agricultural concerts,” Jarin Duppstadt, senior, said.

The highly valued and anticipated 2019 racing, Including fried treats like Oreos, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has presentations, camel rides, a milking set the bar higher than previous years and exceeded its attenders expectations. Since 1932, the rodeo has been a favorite tradition of Houstonians and Texans everywhere.

Kicking off on February 25 and lasting until March 17, this year’s rodeo season is packed with entertainment and fun.

Beginning with the annual rodeo cookoff and ending with performances from George Strait, Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen, this year’s rodeo will be hard to top.

Although most rodeos are mainly about the livestock, most Houstonians look forward to their beloved rodeo concerts performed on the famous star-shaped rotating stage. This year’s performers include Kacey Musgraves, Prince Royce, Brooks and Dunn, Luke Bryan, Cardi B, Turnpike Troubadours, Panic! At the Disco, Old Dominion, Camilla Cabello, Luke Combs, Tim McGraw, Zedd, Kane Brown, Los Tigres Del Norte, Zac Brown Band, Kings of Leon, Santana, Chris Stapleton, Cody Johnson, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen.

Reeses, Pies, Snickers, Though many Southerners feel as parlor, pig races, animal Photo courtesy of Flickr foot-long corndogs, though there are too many singers that are nutrition shows, tractor not country artists, others are excited about shows, mutton bustin’ and so much turkey legs, pizza on a stick, funnel the diverse lineup. The rodeo concerts are more. There are also many shops and cake, cotton candy, popcorn and so much always extremely entertaining topped off boutiques open for browsing and shopping. more, the rodeo treats are like none other.

By Shelby Donnow Sports Editor

Located around the carnival and food vendor tents, the Stars Over Texas Stage hosts live music concerts from up and coming artists and family entertainment with no additional charges after getting onto the rodeo grounds.

Another entertaining event held within the few weeks of the rodeo, “Rodeo Rockstar,” is a singing contest that began in 2012 that holds different divisions for ages between 6-21 for solo and group contestants. Though these events may not be the main events, they are fun, entertaining, and inexpensive.

“My favorite part about the rodeo is definitely the food, it is the absolute best,” Sarah Hickman, junior, said.

With over 34,000 volunteers, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo would not be successful without its volunteers. These volunteers fill 108 different committees and spend more than two-point-one million total hours of dedication towards the rodeo. To thank them for their hard work, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo organization gives each volunteer one free pass into almost every concert and one guest into the show. These generous volunteers help the rodeo run smoothly and efficiently.

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is awaited all year by Houstonians everywhere. Each year, the rodeo wows their audience more and more with their amazing setup, entertainment and rodeo lineup. Although this entertaining time of year has ended, the community is excitedly awaiting the next rodeo season to arrive.

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Editorial

Opinion

Maddie’s Messages: Indispensable women

WHAT ARE you YOUR What decade do you wish could live in and PLANS FOR why?

WINTER BREAK? “The roaring 20s because I would like the parties like the in Great Gatsby and I would want to be a flapper.”

-Erikah Bertolasio (10th)

“I want to be born 100 years in the future so that I can see how far the world and Technology has progressed.”

-Shelbi Woodard (12th)

“I would like to live in the dinosaur age because I want to ride a T-rex.”

-Jesse Crutch (9th)

“I wish I was born in the 60s, so i could wear bell bottom jeans in the 70s.”

-Haley Boland (11th)

“I would like to be born in the 50s because by the time Queen was big and in their prime time, I would be in my mid-20s enjoying their music, going to a concert.”

-Brianna Arenzeta (12th)

“In the 60s I had everything. It was safe, we played outside, there were no cell phones, we could just be kids.”

-MRS. Gloria Velazquez

“The 90s because that’s when people started to come up with their own ways of expression, like grunge.”

- Annika Torres (11th)

“I wish I was born in the 90s so I can steal Steve Jobs’ idea and become friends with Elon Musk.”

-nathaniel Overby (9th)

“I’d want to be born in the 31st century because that’s where futurama takes place.”

Mei Robson (12th)

“I would like to live in the 1900s because the comic books were cheaper then.”

-Kollinn Hopefner (10th)

“the 1970s because of Disco and ABBA.”

-Anna Alves (11th)

“I’d like to live in the future, because i would love live in a society with no racism, sexism and hopefully cures to diseases.”

- Mrs. Gladney-Lemon

“I would go to the American revolution because I would like to be a part of something big.”

-anthony Smith (9th)

2018-2019

HiLife Staff

Principal: Jamey Majewski

Advisor: Wynette Jameson

Editors-in-Chief: Maddie Moore Sierra Dickey Assistant Editor: Morgan Severson

Managing Editor: Brittney Melanson

News Editor: Leah Burnam

Online Editor: Lilo Shelley

Features Editor: Arrington Linder

Entertainment Editor: Shelby Donnow

Sports Editor: Anabella Cooper Around Creek Editor: Kadee Loyd

Advertising Manager: Brittney Melanson

Photo-Editor: Danielle Dunavant Erik Soto

Assistant Photo-Editor Riley Healy

Reporters: Kadyn Chatman Photographers: Nicole Alvarenga Jose Rodriguez Grant Coburn Kaila Alvarenga Cameron Heise Mariyah Thomas Alexis Gerado

Bella- Jace Moreno Chloe Tankink Carson Faulkner Sammantha Torch Cece Huff

Published at Galveston Daily News in Texas City Visit us at: www.creekhilife.com or http://clearcreekhs.ccisd.net For ad rates call: (281)-284-1889

3

By Madeleine Moore Editor- in- Chief With International Women’s Month coming to an end, it is necessary to reflect on why the month of March is essential to women around the world. It may seem as though women and men stand together in this age as equals, but in reality, women are still fighting for equal pay, political representation, health care, job opportunities, and education.

Feminism is desperately needed in our world today, but oddly enough most people do not want to be associated with the term. If you claim you are a feminist these days, you will undoubtedly be mocked for it. Somehow the definition of “feminist” has been mistaken for someone who loathes all men and desires for women to be superior. The true definition of feminism is not as extreme as the media makes it out to be. To be a feminist is to advocate for the equality of both sexes. Feminists are not just women, in fact, men are encouraged to participate in the movement now more than ever.

With an influential man such as our president regularly making vulgar com-

ments about women in the media, children and teens are more likely to grow up believing these statements are acceptable to make. In fact, according to Tufts University political scientist Brian Schaffner, conservatives are more open to portraying “hostile sexism” because of the remarks Trump made throughout his campaign.

Despite his countless recent inappropriate comments about women and over a dozen people accusing him of sexual assault, Trump’s candidacy remained intact.

Based on Schaffner’s research, 63% of Republicans said they would be somewhat uncomfortable if someone made a sexual remark about their wife; however, if the sexual remark had come from Trump, 61 percent of Republicans claimed the comment would not bother them.

However, when it was discovered late last year that US Senate candidate at the time, Beto O’Rourke, had been arrested for a DWI back in 1998, conservatives claimed his actions were inexcusable.

How is a crime O’Rourke committed 20 years ago considered more scandalous than several recently sexual assault accusations against Trump? It ultimately comes down to how little we value women today.

Trump has also retweeted a fan message saying, “If Hillary Clinton can’t satisfy her husband what makes her think she can satisfy America?” and has referred to her appearance as “unpresidential”. He has made countless comments about women only being valuable for their bodies, and has insinuated that a woman’s menstrual cycle affects the way they hold themselves in executive positions. During the first presidential debate in September of 2016, Trump interrupted Clinton a total of 51 times, which were either snarky comments or full-on rants. It had nothing to do with the party she represented. At the Republican Primary in 2015, Trump made several sexist comments regarding Carly Fiorina

“How can we effect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation?”

-Emma Watson

being too unattractive to run for president. Regardless of what party you associate yourself with, we as a society should not be tolerating anyone who suppresses women, or any group for that matter.

Women may have the same job opportunities as men, but they are still being discriminated against in the workforce.

Recently, NASA decided to scrap the first all-female spacewalk because they could not supply both women with well-fitting spacesuits. Christina Koch and Anne McClain were scheduled to walk together at the International Space Station in late March, but during her last spacewalk, McClain realized her suit would fit better if it were a size down. Because NASA has a limited supply of medium spacesuit torsos, a man named Nick Hague replaced her in the spacewalk. Despite women making up a significant portion of NASA’s workforce, most spacesuits are made in larger sizes. NASA carries one medium, two large, and one extra-large spacesuit created specifically for spacewalks, and one spare medium and one spare extra-large. However, the spare spacesuits must be extensively prepped prior to use, and Koch had already planned to use the medium suit. Instead of spending the time to prep the suit, Nick Hague was sent on the mission. Although NASA has spent over $200 million on future spacesuits, due to “budgetary restrictions”, NASA has no plans to create new suits anytime soon.

This is not the first time women have been struck down by NASA. In the 60s there was an increase in women astronauts, as scientists had realized they required less food, water, oxygen, could fit into smaller spaces, scored better on isolation tests and overall had better cardiovascular health. In result, a group called the First Lady Astronaut Trainees, consisting of former pilots, was created. The FLATS underwent rigorous and extensive astronaut training, only for their program’s funding to get pulled.

In Captain Marvel, set in 1995, Carol Danvers is seen struggling with her

career as a pilot for the United States Air Force. She is told by the men she trains with that she is too weak, and will never be able to pursue her dream of being a pilot. However, she proves that with endurance, women are just as capable as men.

The introduction of Captain Marvel into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the first female lead was a win for women everywhere. However, when the first trailer was released in September of last year, several viewers were left unsatisfied. Marvel fans claimed that from what they saw from the trailer, the film was too focused on sending a political message. The film’s tagline in the trailer was “discover what makes her a HERo.” which to some, was too focused on feminism. Prior to Captain Marvel’s release, the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes dropped to a 33%, the lowest score a Marvel film has ever received. This is not the first time this has happened with a female driven film. When Star Wars: The Last Jedi, starring Daisy Ridley, was released in 2017, the audience score was once again skewed by trolls.

Brie Larson, who portrays Danvers, will be starring in a Netflix Original film called Unicorn Store, which is her directorial debut. The film has received backlash from trolls, as one claimed Larson was unqualified to be a director, and the only reason the film was created was because of the publicity she has received after the release of Captain Marvel. In retaliation, on their Twitter account, Netflix posted Larson’s credentials, which includes an Oscar win, 58 acting credits, 53 award nominations and several others.

Although there is an extensive amount of sexism in our country, there is a larger issue among us: hatred. Racism, transphobia and homophobia are still apparent in our society today, and are encouraged by politicians, public figures and celebrities. To stop this, we must come together to end hatred and sexism, the very things hindering our nation from excelling.

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By Sierra Dickey Editor- in- Chief Teachers are the ones that mold the youth and ultimately, in the long run, affect who we are as a person and what we may aspire to be. They do not teach to just teach, they want to expand the minds that grow and develop the nation, to make a change within their country and to better the future. However, due to their low paying salaries, their performance and lesson plans may be hindered. Many Americans do not understand the struggle of being a teacher, the task of watching and teaching hundreds of kids a day for seven hours and then creating lesson plans, grading and spending their own money to better their classroom experience; yet undervalued and underpaid, they still remain teaching for the betterment of the world.

The teacher turnover problem, when a teacher leaves their job for another at a different school or drops the career altogether and finds a new one, is a crisis that goes unnoticed in the eyes of normal Americans.

The problem, associated with teachers dis-

By Morgan Severson Assistant Editor-in-Chief What does it mean to be beautiful?

Being beautiful is defined as having qualities that are aesthetically pleasing to the senses, especially sight. But how we determine what exactly makes someone beautiful or not, maybe started out at an early age, and are engraved into our minds by societal beliefs.

I remember when I was young, playing with Barbie dolls and wanting to look like one so badly. This is the case for many young girls as well, because we are told by commercials that Barbie is beautiful. However, in reality, looking anything close to the plastic figurines many girls idolized through out their

Editorial

Sierra Shares: Undervalued minds

satisfied with their salaries, the lack of administrative support, testing and accountability pressures, lack of opportunities and also their working conditions, has increased significantly. According to the “Public School Teacher Attrition and Mobility in the First Five Years,” beginning in 2007 to 2008 the teacher turnover rate was only at ten percent, although still somewhat high, it is expected to lose some teachers every year. Then the following year it increased to 12 percent, then another increase to 15 percent the year after that and the study ended in 2012 that showed another increase at 17 percent turnover.

Seventeen percent teacher turnover rate is equivalent to about 500,000 teachers, half of those moving schools and the other half leaving the profession entirely. Although data shows that the turnover rate in Southern states have a higher turnover rate at 17 percent, whereas the Northeastern part of the US has just above a ten percent turnover rate due to the fact that many northern schools pay more.

Along with that, there has also been a 35 percent drop in teacher education enrollment from 691,000 to 451,000, leading to the conclusion that if actions are not taken to motivate more people into the teaching career then demand for teachers will increase significantly while the supply of teachers decreases.

Concerning the demand of teachers, if the numbers drop like as predicted, and the turnover rate increases, like predicted, then the filling of teacher jobs at schools will be given to less certified individuals, some

even having a long-term substitute in classes. This hinders the learning of the students, making them not as knowledgeable as other classes with a certified long-term teacher.

This ultimately affects our future has a nation, due to the fact that the younger generations will not be as achieved as its older, that

childhood is highly unobtainable.

In fact, if Barbie was human size, she would be almost six feet tall, have a weight medically considered anorexic and a 39-inch bust; a body only obtainable with plastic surgery.

Through social media, celebrities, commercials and more, average people are constantly being fed images of perfect-looking air-brushed people and are expected to somehow look like them. Along with images, companies promote these photoshopped people to sell their products with the promise of having similar if they were to buy such products. This has led to the creation of unattainable beauty standards.

A study performed by Elsevier, a global information analytics business, found that after looking at Facebook for an extended amount of time, it negatively affected the moods of women. The women also had urges to somehow change their skin, face or hair; this is called The Social Comparison Theory. Humans evaluate themselves and compare themselves to others, deeming some less attractive and some more attractive than themselves. People then try to mimic the looks of the people who they find appealing as a way to improve themselves. We are “biologically wired” to want to improve the way we look to fit in, according to Summer Innanen, body image coach.

Although how much we want to change is most definitely influenced by the amount of media we are exposed to.

People feel the need to use cosmetics, weight loss programs and other services to “fix” the way that they look to meet

the “norm.” We use foundation to “fix” our uneven skin tone, we use braces to “fix” our crooked teeth, or we get plastic surgery to get rid of that pesky roll of fat, but ultimately “fixing” ourselves is unnecessary.

We are conditioned to believe that we need to pay thousands of dollars to repair all the flaws that we have, but the features we

on Thursday when the teachers agreed on an average 11.7 percent ($23 million) pay raise and annual cost of living increases with the local school district. The district would be moving money from administrative costs and will eliminate around 150 positions in schools’ central offices; along with ending five-figure bonuses for senior school administrators. Although this was a successful strike for teachers, there are many that go unnoticed and unsuccessful. This change that recently has happened shows hope for the future of teachers, no more second jobs to try and make ends meet, no more struggling to sustain a healthy family and most of all no more desire to leave the workforce of teachers.

The solution the school district above did during the Denver teacher strike was one of many that could be done.

Without getting the government involved, the actions taken were appropriate, however if we are to decrease the turnover rate the federal government needs to reconsider compensation, teacher preparation and the conditions they teach in.

Not only does the teacher turnover rate look bad on America when compared to other nations like Finland and Singapore that have less than five percent teacher turnover rate, but it also intellectually immobilizes in a world that is currently expanding in knowledge. As America continues to underpay and undervalue its teachers, it is limiting the younger generations, something that should be considered. How can we put the students first, if we put the teacher last?

“Most of our qualified teachers are underpaid, and many of our paid teachers are unqualified. So we must give every child a place to sit and a teacher to learn from. Poverty must not be a bar to learning, and learning must offer an escape from poverty.”

-Lyndon B. Johnson is unless the teacher turnover rate decreases and the inspiration to become one increases.

Specifically, on the matter of teacher salaries, there have been countless protests and strikes to increase their wages. In February of this year, more than 2,000 educators went on strike due to being underpaid and restricted on pay raises. Teachers had been “picketing and rallying” for two days while the schools struggled to maintain the students and their schedules. The strike lasted for three days and ended

Severson Speaks: Unobtainable bodies

“Don’t change your body to get respect from society. Instead let’s change society to respect our bodies.”

-Golda Poretsky come with when we are born are anything but flaws; they are perfectly natural.

On TV shows like Project Runway and America’s Next Top Model, they make special seasons where they are “more inclusive,”

and use a group of models that are more diverse. However, what apparently makes the models diverse are their shorter height, heavier weight, older age or their darker skin, because the “norm” for a model is to be tall, thin, young and white. What these shows are promoting by saying that more diverse models make the season “special,” is promoting the idea that if models do not fit the requirements of “normal” models then they are different. When in reality, models of all shapes and sizes are natural, there is nothing special about them.

If these shows are trying to make a point of being more inclusive, they should have been using models that were all shapes and sizes in the first place. The winner of the most diverse season of America’s Next Top Model, Kyla Coleman, is a biracial activist that speaks up about body image, especially after her time on the show.

“Times are changing, and [America’s Next] Top Model is changing with the times. I want younger girls to watch [the show] and be able to identify with us [models] in real life. Plus-sized women, older women…that’s all very important,” Coleman said.

I believe that it is important that we represent a variety of people on TV and social media. When we are constantly looking at people who are modified, and comparing ourselves with them, we will never learn to be happy with ourselves. When we represent people of all shapes and sizes, all weights and heights and all races and skin colors, we teach people that there is no way to look “normal,” we can only look like ourselves.

Strive to be unique, each in your own way.

Core Values

Responsibility is the ability to act independently and make decisions without being told by authority and completing the task. Theatre teacher, Mr. Bradley Hewlett, shows responsibility by having an efficient way to fix a problem when it comes up, says senior, Molly Akin. Mr. Hewlett says he was influenced to be responsible by his mother, a kindergarten teacher, 40 years of time and teaching students. Mr. Hewlett says he utilizes responsibility in theatre by producing a show and bring people together.

The CCISD Core Values

Bradley Hewlett Theatre Director

Fairness is the act of justly treating or behaving towards someone without discrimination or favoritism. Math teacher, Mrs. Stephanie Weldon, shows the core value of fairness by always helping each student individually if they are struggling, said junior, McKayla Kinsky. “Mr. Majewski is a very good role model for fairness,” Mrs. Weldon said on what her influence for being fair was. She utilizes fairness in the classroom by creating equity, giving everyone a fair shot and helping individual students answer each question.

Stephanie Weldon Algebra II & Precal Teacher

Citizenship is the characteristic of an individual who chooses to be a member of society that gives back. Debate coach, Mr. Brian Darby, shows citizenship by inspiring his students to push for the future they want, junior, Zoe Smith said.

Mr. Darby says the people who influenced him to show citizenship were his friends from high school that joined the military. Mr. Darby utilizes citizenship in debate by discussing various existing laws and argue how the effect society.

Brian Darby Debate Coach

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Respect is using good manners, practicing tolerance, and being considerate of others feelings by not hurting anyone. Spanish III teacher, Mrs. Gloria Velazquez, shows the core value of respect by really connecting with her students and being very original and caring said sophomore, Arysa Lothrop. Mrs. Velazquez says her parents taught her when she was a child to give plenty of respect. Mrs. Velazquez utilizes respect in the classroom by not tolerating bullying of any form and always lending a hand.

Gloria Velazquez Spanish III Teacher

Responsibility Respect Fairness Trustworthiness Citizenship Caring

Trustworthiness is the ability to be honest and truthful. English teacher, Ms. Crystal Jez, shows trustworthiness by giving everyone equal oppourtunity, sophomore, Sophie Hoots, said. Ms. Jez said she is inspired to be trustworthy from her girlfriends and parents, because she can tell them things and know that they will not share it. She utilizes trustworthiness in the classroom because her kids have to trust her to take her advice so she can lead them in the right direction, Ms. Jez said.

Crystal Jez English II & AP Lang Teacher

Caring is the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. AP English teacher, Mrs. Jennifer Humphrey, shows the core value of caring by “...always [asking] questions after class and [making] sure that each one of her students knows what to do. When another student is feeling down or confused, she always helps out and makes sure that they are doing okay,” Daniel Lam, junior, said. It is apparent that she cares about her job Lam says.

Jennifer Humphrey AP Language Teacher

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News

Bishops meet at Vatican to discuss sexual abuse

sexual abuse or covering up sexual abuse. lating to sexual abuse. Cardinal Reinhard In the past, many priests went unpunished Marx suggested that there be a clear line of for their crimes due to their bishop’s will- progression in sexual abuse cases so that The Catholic Church has battled alle- ingness to disregard their actions for the the courts, victims and the general public gations of sex abuse for nearly 20 years, sake of remaining uncontroversial. How- can remain updated. Reporters also chimed as some members of its clergy have abused ever, many modern clergy are calling for in on the necessity of remaining transpartheir power. While many congregations of Bishops have signed a legislation into effect which would create a protocol to prevent abuse, like the Dallas Charter in 2003, there has never been a church-wide protocol to address the abuse issue.

The Vatican Summit on sex abuse, which is made up of hundreds of Catholic Bishops from across the world, was announced by Pope Francis after bombshell news dropped that over one thousand kids from Pennsylvania were abused by over one hundred priests. More news broke when it was announced that Cardinal Theodore McCarrick allegedly had sexually abused seminary aged boys.

The summit was called in hopes to both answer the questions of why the abuse was happening and what could be done to stop it.

Discussion of the issues commence on February 21.

Francis reminded the Bishops in his opening statements that not only words are expected of them, but actions and conPhoto courtesy of Wikimedia Commons sequences for those who have been ac- Church-wide, transparent in legal proceedings. cused. Francis then proposed 21 questions ent ways of dealing with sexual abuse.

“If you do not decide in a radical to reflect on, and the Bishops were then The third day of discussion was cen- way to be on the side of the children, shown testimonies from abuse victims. tered around finding ways to be transpar- mothers, families [and] civil society, The second day of the summit dealt ent in dealing with sexual abuse. In the you are right to be afraid of us, because with the issue of legal accountability for past, there have been reported instances of we journalists, who seek the common priests and bishops who were accused of church officials destroying documents re- good, will be your worst enemies,” Val-

By Grant Coburn Reporter

entina Alazraki, a Vatican journalist, said.

On the fourth and final day of the summit, Pope Francis delivered his closing speech on the matter. In his monologue, Francis condemned the abuse which occurred at the hands of the clergy. Francis also cautioned to not enact unrealistic and dangerous measures in the face of crisis. Francis closed his statements with his list of eight priorities going forward which included the prioritization of the victims over the reputation of the Catholic Church. Francis also accused abusers of being tools of the devil.

“It is difficult to grasp the phenomenon of the sexual abuse of minors without considering power it is always the result of an abuse of power, an exploitation of the inferiority and vulnerability of the abused, which makes possible the manipulation of their conscience and of their psychological and physical weakness,” Francis said.

Since the close of the summit, another Catholic Cardinal has been accused of sexual abuse, which, according to the victims, took place two decades ago. While the majority of abuse occurred in the 1950s and 60s the Catholic Church is still facing the crimes of its members in the past, the Church hopes to push forward and enact serious reform to expel the stigma developed around the Church. Some Catholics, including priests, have faced harassment and violence because of their connections to the Catholic Church.

While these incidents have been isolated, they may foreshadow a dark future for the Catholic Church in the Western World.

Anti-Muslim protest against first Congresswomen

By Kadee Loyd Around Creek Editor

A racist display was found set up outside of the West Virginia House of Delegates Chamber at an event sponsored by the Republican Party of West Virginia. The display consisted of a table with flyers warning about Muslim influence and a poster that connected the events of September 11, 2001 to Representative Ilhan Omar, one of the first Muslim congresswomen ever elected.

On Friday, March first, the West Virginia Republican Party held a series of events for West Virginia GOP Day. The display outside of the Chamber attracted a large group of onlookers, who were unsure about the origin of the exhibition and angered by the controversial opinions.

The poster showed an image of the burning World Trade Center and an image of Omar. The words, “‘NEVER FORGET’– YOU SAID,” were written over the Twin Towers, and, “I AM THE PROOF – YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN,” was written over Omar. Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, has told the media that she is getting threats and hateful messages because of the false propaganda.

“No wonder why I am on the ‘hitlist’ of a domestic terrorist and ‘Assassinate Ilhan Omar’ is written on my local gas stations. Look no further, the GOP’s anti-Muslim display likening me to a terrorist rocks in state capitols and no one is condemning them,” Omar said.

The poster led to local and national outrage. The handouts on the table sparked debate, claiming that Muslim influence was detrimental to the American society. They said things like, “Readin’, Writin’, and Jihadin’: The Islamization of American Public Schools,” and, “The Four Stages of Islamic Conquest”.

Many placed blame on the Republicans that organized the event, but the Party claims that they are in no way connected to the display, nor do they approve of it. Melody Potter, West Virginia Republican Party Chairwoman, said that the party supports the freedom of speech but not the spread of such hateful views. In her statement to the press, she said the group had asked the exhibitor to remove it. Republican Mitch Carmichael, West Virginia State Senate President, also denounced the display.

Many House delegates were angered by the display. One was so upset that he kicked a House door open and accidentally injured a doorkeeper.

Delegate Michael Angelucci was infuriated by the remarks made by Anne Lieberman, Sergeant of Arms.

“The Sergeant of Arms of this body, that represents the people of the state of West Virginia, said, ‘All Muslims are terrorists.’ That’s beyond shameful, and that’s not freedom of speech. That’s hate speech, and it has no place in this house,” Angelucci said.

Lieberman subsequently resigned from her position and declined to comment.

A sign that promoted the ACT for America next to the display led many people to believe the group was responsible for it. The Southern Poverty Law Center designated the ACT as a hate group. However, the ACT claims that their organization at a national level had no knowledge of the display and that the people who put it up, if connected with the group, had no permission to do so.

“This was not an ACT for America display. While we find many of the views and actions of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar to be reprehensible, the display in the Capitol rotunda would have never been approved by our National Office,” the ACT said.

Omar herself is not innocent of controversial comments. The House of Representatives met on Thursday, March seventh to pass a resolution against hateful expression, including Anti-Semitic and Islamophobic views,

after Omar discussed Jewish allegiance with Israel making them disloyal to the United States. Some defended her, saying had been unjustly attacked as a Muslim woman, but many, including members of her Democratic Party, believe she was in the wrong for her comments. Some, including President Trump, believe that the resolution should take a stricter stance on Anti-Semitism.

“It is shameful that House Democrats won’t take a stronger stand against Anti-Semitism in their conference. Anti-Semitism has fueled atrocities throughout history and it’s inconceivable they will not act to condemn it,” Trump said.

With more acts of hate, more efforts are made to combat the situations. No Party is in the right or the wrong, with members of both sides creating conflict, as well as taking measures to bring peace to the nation.

News

7

New Zealand mosque shooting burned into history

By Riley Healy Assistant Photo-Editor

A terrorist attack against two mosques in the city of Christchurch claimed the lives of 50 people, and left 50 more injured. The afternoon of Friday, March 15, marked a day of horror and sadness for the island nation of New Zealand.

The attack resulted in the arrest of four people, however only the main shooter, Brenton Tarrant, age 28, has been formally charged and named.

Tarrant carried out the attack using what the New Zealand government deemed Military Style Semi-Automatic rifles that had all been purchased legally. He began his attack around 2pm at the Al Noor Mosque, switching rifles as he ran out of ammunition. He then drove to stage a second attack on the Linwood Islamic Centre, firing at pedestrians on the roadside along the way.

The attack was even livestreamed onto Tarrant’s Facebook account.

“There were so many targets, I didn’t even have to aim,” Tarrant, in the live stream, said.

21 minutes after the report of the attack, police apprehended Tarrant.

They found more rifles in his possession and several improvised explosive devices that he had placed or meant to place during the attack, which has led them to speculate that he had intended on hitting other targets. The police found four other suspects, but had no evidence to hold them and have not yet released their names. The attack was labeled as an act of terrorism by Prime Minister Arden.

Immediately before the attack, Tarrant published a 74-page online manifesto, reciting his hatred for the Muslim refugees he deemed to be “foreign invaders.” The

manifesto was full of other white-supremacist rhetoric, including how he viewed this attack as his solution to the problems he alleged against the Muslim community.

Along with the manifesto Tarrant posted a link on his twitter and 8chan account to his manifesto and a livestream of his attack on his Facebook profile. While officials tried to remove the video as swiftly as possible,

Despite the gruesomeness seen on this day, New Zealanders united rather than divided. The heart-broken nation embraced the families of the victims as well as their entire Muslim population. Natives of the Islands performed the traditional haka in honor of the victims. The ancient Maori dance signifies a tribe’s pride, strength and unity. This sentiment was echoed by

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

they could not prevent it from being seen, and those who saw the tape witnessed Tarrant entered the mosques and fire at both fleeing victims and the piles of bodies to ensure his victims were dead.

Of those killed, 42 were from the Al Noor Mosque, seven from the Linwood Islamic Centre and one died while receiving treatment in the hospital. The ages of the victims ranged from two years old to 71 years old.

the media and entertainment who played the Islamic call to prayer simultaneously before a nationwide two-minute long moment of silence.

Not only did this attack illicit a response from natives, but also from nearly every world leader. Prime Ministers, Secretaries, Presidents and even the Queen took the time to spread messages of support for New Zealand. Women around the

ing off officials to ensure their children’s entrance into the desired university. So far, 10 university level athletic coaches have been charged, including the tennis coach at the University of Texas, Michael Center. Three test proctors or administers have been charged for test tempering. However, none of the children who benefitted from the falsified information have faced legal consequences. No student has been arrested or expelled. However, the daughter of Loughlin, Olivia Jade Giannulli, had her contract with Sephora terminated.

“Universities are trying to contain the fallout from allegations that families with money and clout paid bribes for their children to attend eight prestigious institutions.

They’re facing questions about the fates of students involved and whether they knew about their parents’ alleged acts. And, at a time of year when colleges are whittling down the mountain of applications and sending out acceptance letters, they’re having to look for prospective students who might be connected to the scandal,” Maddison Park, a reporter for CNN, said.

It is the common opinion of many people that the students who knew about the scandal, and consented to it, should be expelled from the university in which they are enrolled. Some people have pointed to a clause in the common application, a college application used by many prestigious universities, which requires student to

when the application is wholly true and wholly theirs. The University of Southern California and Yale have taken actions to punish the students involved. At USC, those students implicated are unable to register for classes until their level of culpability has been decided by university officials. At Yale, those students involved were reminded of their tradition of expelling students who falsified their application. Stanford University followed up Yale, saying they too would expel kids who purposefully lied on applications. The question is now raised of whether or not those students who willingly or unwillingly participated in the scandal should be expelled without discretion. The question of whether those students who had already graduated, yet benefitted from the scandal, should be expelled.

Universities are working with the Depart-

country wore headscarves in remembrance of the mosque shooting victims to show their solidarity with the Muslim population.

“There is no place in New Zealand for such acts of extreme and unprecedented violence, which it is clear this was. For now, my thoughts, and I’m sure the thoughts of all New Zealanders, are with those who have been affected, and also with their families.” Prime Minister Arden, in a press release, said.

The New Zealand government’s response to the attack was incredibly swift. Immediately after the attack, Prime Minister Arden called for a ban on the style of rifles that were used in the worst mass shooting New Zealand has ever had. Less than a week later, on Thursday, March 21, a ban was placed into effect that made all weapons deemed to be Military-Style Semi-Automatic firearms, as well as high capacity magazines illegal to own. While many similar laws had been thwarted by organizations of gun owners, after this latest attack, many of them support the newest ban. The ban does not affect two classes of firearms that are popularly used by hunters, or for pest control and livestock management by farmers.

In the wake of the terrorist attack, mosques were forced to close after the attack, but are set to reopen Friday, March 22. The city of Christchurch was ordered to stay on lockdown until the Police deemed that there was no evidence of any further plans to attack.

The New Zealand government has also ordered there be police protection at mosques for the time being, due to fears that the shooters manifesto could incite more violence from white supremacists. The nation of New Zealand will forever be changed by the horrors they witnessed, but they will also remember the unity felt in the days after.

College scandal highlights admissions inequality

By Grant Coburn Reporter

The top institutions from across the nation, including the University of Texas, Yale, Georgetown and Stanford, were implicated in an admissions scandal benefitting the privileged and wealthy, exposing the deeply flawed admissions process. The crime was exposed by the Department of Justice on March 12.

The scam began in 2011, when Rick Singer began advertising what he called a side entrance to admissions. Singer, who did consult work and motivational speaking, connected his network of high-profile individuals and their kids to people inside of the college admissions process. Singer also found ways to cheat on standardized tests, mainly the SAT, by paying proctors to change test scores and claiming a disability to take the test over two days. Singer also ran a false charity to hide funds he used to pay off college admissions officers to influence their decision when deciding to admit a student. The funds received in the charity were to payoff college coaches so that they would recruit prospective students onto their teams even though those individuals had never played the sport.

The individuals implicated in the scandal include actresses Lori Laughlin and Felicity Huffman. Wealthy CEOs and physicians also took part in the scheme by pay-

ment of Justice to come to a conclusion.

Many people are now questioning the already controversial college admissions process. The process puts unnecessary stress on applicants. With the recent exposure of the inequality between applications, many students now face the uncertainty of whether they lost their spot at a prestigious university due to a bribed application. College admissions is a commonly dreaded process by student, but the knowledge that even though they are entirely qualified for a spot at the university, they may be denied due to reasons entirely outside of their control, only adds more pressure to the admissions process.

The scandal also provides a reminder, that the super wealthy hold advantages that the disadvantaged could only dream of.

8

features

NASA building renamed to honor mathematician

By Morgan Severson Assistant Editor-in-Chief

Legendary African-American NASA mathematician, Katherine Johnson, is having a West Virginia NASA facility renamed in her honor. After being portrayed by Taraji P. Henson in the movie, Hidden Figures, naming the facility after Johnson is a way to further recognize her for her incredible work. Also, the decision is timely because February is Black History Month and March is Women’s History Month. However, the facility is still deciding when exactly the renaming ceremony will take place.

“It’s an honor the NASA IV&V Program’s primary facility now carries Katherine Johnson’s name. It’s a way for us to recognize Katherine’s career and contributions not just during Black History Month, but every day, every year,” Gregory Blaney, Director of NASA’s IV&V Program, said.

NASA is rebuilding its Independent Verification and Validation Facility (IV&V) and then renaming it to the Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility in West Virginia, where Johnson is from. CNN says that this facility “epitomizes” Johnson’s work because the facility specializes in the safety and success of high-profile missions, which is exactly what Johnson did during her time at NASA. Johnson was a computer (someone who does math calculations) who hand-calculated the trajectory of the rocket that took the first man into space, mission Freedom 7. These calculations had to be extremely precise, because any miscalculation could have caused a mishap in the

mission. As seen in Hidden Figures, the computers at NASA were being replaced by calculating machines that could do the job faster and more efficiently. While many people doubted her abilities because of the color of her skin, the astronaut in mission Freedom 7, John Glenn, did not want to take off before Johnson double checked the numbers. On NASA’s website, Glenn

incredible work. According to NASA, Johnson, Jackson and Vaughan were, “breaking down barriers,” and worked diligently through racism and discrimination while still doing their jobs better than their male and or white counterparts.

“Katherine’s work and that of the other women mathematicians who worked [at NASA] with her is the foundation of this

Photo courtesy of Flickr

said he remembers saying, “get [Katherine Johnson]…if she says [the calculations] are good, then I’m ready to go,” before going on his mission.

People like Johnson and other extraordinary black-female historical figures, such as Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan (Johnson’s friends and coworkers also portrayed in Hidden Figures) are recognized and celebrated during Women’s and Black History month for their

building. We are living in a present that they willed into existence with their pencils, their slide rules, their mechanical calculation machines and of course, their brilliant minds,” Margot Lee Shetterly, the author of Hidden Figures, said.

In her 100 years of life, Johnson had to fight through racial injustices to peruse her career and be as remarkable as she is today, which is what makes her work so much more incredible than the average

NASA mathematician. Johnson was born in 1918 and went to school up to eighth grade, the grade where education stopped for African-Americans in West Virginia.

At 14 years old, her parents decided to send her to West Virginia State University where she graduated from at 18 with the highest honors. After college, Johnson worked as a teacher, but she wanted to do more, “her sights were set on becoming a research mathematician,” CNN said.

Johnson became a computer for NASA in 1953 and she worked in the department called “West Area Computing,” the segregated department for African American computers. As seen in the movie, Johnson “pushed her way into briefings traditionally attended only by men,” CNN reported, as a way for Johnson to work her way up in her career. Eventually she became a part of the American Space Program’s “inner circle,” performing some of NASA’s most crucial projects at the time.

In her biography on NASA’s website, Johnson recalls her greatest contribution to space exploration; her calculations for the Project Apollo’s Lunar Lander. This project helped connect signals from the Apollo Moon Lander with the moon-orbiting Command and Service Module.

In 2015, Johnson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by former President Barack Obama for her 39 years of work at NASA. In 2016, Johnson was added to BBC’s list of the 100 worldwide influential women and in almost four decades, Johnson performed countless calculations for NASA and she “loved going to work every single day,” Johnson said.

(281) 332-4195

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FEATURES

Lindberg family founds First Priority Housing

zation and the good that it does. Bay Har- possible to do it without the need for rent bour United Methodist Church, located off subsidies which makes us different from alof 518 in League City, has offered the First most every other organization working on Though the greater Houston area Priority Housing builders space in their the problem. It’s an entirely new affordable seems to be a well-off location in Texas, parking lot to construct these homes with- housing paradigm. Thinking about how to 81 percent of low-income families in the out charge. People all over the community do this is where the shipping container idea League City and surrounding areas do not have access to adequate and affordable homes. When finding this out, Craig Lindberg, League City resident and father of past and present Clear Creek students, knew that he had to do something about this dilemma. After a long and dedicating process of planning, Lindberg founded First Priority Housing.

First Priority Housing is a nonprofit organization that transforms ordinary shipping containers into affordable homes for low-income families. These homes are designed to be produced quickly at a low cost, extremely durable, low maintenance and highly energy-efficient. There are two layouts of these homes, a one bedroom, one bathroom and a two-bedroom, one bathroom. With the rent target for the one bedroom at less than $375 and the two bedrooms at less than $550, these homes are very fit and affordable for those in need. The First Priority Housing builders have put extreme thought and effort into these homes and are achieving outstanding things for the League City community. came from. It’s an ideal Photo courtesy of fehousing.org “Our mission is to change lives by are giving what they can building envelope to solve providing high quality, energy efficient, to help this organization affordable homes to extremely low-in- prosper for the good of the community. this problem: extremely strong, simple to “After Harvey, I saw firsthand the make energy efficient, easy to elevate in come individuals and families. We seek to do this in a way that does not re- severe affordable housing problem in flood zones, and low cost. People have quire ongoing donations or subsidies and around our area. Most folks have no been making shipping container homes for to realize continued affordable rents,” idea that 81 percent of extremely low-in- a long time, I’m applying them to a new First Priority Housing founders said. come families don’t have access to a de- challenge,” Craig Lindberg, founder, said.

As well as many other obvious conThis nonprofit organization consists of cent, affordable home; I know I didn’t. a large number of volunteers who belong The problem is multi-faceted, but suffice cerns about not having a sufficient home, to the League City community including it to say that there are a lot of people in one of the most devastating issues is that founder, Craig Lindberg, Superintendent of our area living in conditions so bad that children growing up in insufficient homes CCISD Schools, Dr. Greg Smith, Pastor of they would be truly unimaginable to most. are negatively impacted developmentally.

I don’t believe it has to be this way. I Many families cannot afford to pay the exBay Harbour UMC, Paul Clines and many others. Along with its advisory board, First think it’s possible to build a large number pensive monthly rent of homes, and these Priority Housing also welcomes any volun- of homes that are not just affordable, but children are suffering because of the dirtiteers who are willing to be fit for the cause. so radically affordable – half the market ness, rodents and low quality of these housThese volunteers strive to change lives and rates – that they effectively create dispos- es. Statistics prove that children who grow be honorable to all people. Many compa- able income for the extremely low-income up in these types of homes cannot grow nies and businesses donate supplies and families who live in them, and I think it’s and develop at the normal rate for their make donations to the support this organi-

By Shelby Donnow Entertainment Editor

9

ages. It is also proven that a decent, affordable home could prevent disease in children.

Though these children cannot do anything to prevent this in their environment, it is devastatingly proven to be true. First Priority Housing recognized that children need a high-quality yet affordable home to study their schoolwork, relax and grow and develop. The First Priority Housing planners and builders strive to do everything they can to prevent these children from growing up in an environment that is not fit.

“Our vision is to develop and build self-sustaining, life-changing neighborhoods where extremely low-income renters can not only find high quality, energy efficient, affordable homes but also experience a ‘pride of ownership’ like a homeowner,” First Priority Housing founders said.

Still growing as an organization, First Priority Housing has accomplished so many good things for the community. The final vision the organization wants to accomplish is creating a neighborhood community filled with these shipping container homes. Volunteers, out of the kindness of their hearts, have donated their time and supplies to the community to make it a better place. The organization is always welcoming to new volunteers and those who are in need of one of these homes.

“I want there to be green space, playgrounds and community pavilions, made from shipping containers of course… all the things you would expect in a middle-class neighborhood but not with affordable housing. My overriding goal is to take families who today can’t find a decent affordable home and help them take a giant step up to where they can have many of the benefits enjoyed by most homeowners,” Lindberg said.

League City is filled with many helpful hands and kind hearts; First Priority Housing founders and volunteers are prime examples of this kindness. This organization provides an amazing way to get involved with the League City community, help those in it and resolve the housing expense issue for those who are in need of extremely affordable homes. First Priority Housing is paving the way for the League City community to continue to grow as one.

12 Around Creek

Deer Park petrochemical fire risks air quality

By Kaila Alvarenga Reporter

A chemical plant facility located in Deer Park broke out into flames, leaving the town terrified and the plant forced to evacuate. The fire’s origin is unknown; however, it is believed a flammable tank was the cause of the fire. The fire quickly spread to the other tanks, causing them to explode. The smoke from the fire rose up to 4,000 feet on Monday afternoon due to the dry and clear conditions, causing the particles from the fire to dissipate above ground.

Although, the particles did not fall to 400 feet overnight, which would have negatively impacted residents’ health.

The chemicals in the 242 tanks at Deer Park contained naphtha and xylene, which are components of gasoline.

Naphtha can cause irritation to the eyes, respiratory system and potentially harm the central nervous system. Xylene, similar to naphtha, is fatal if it is swallowed, and can cause skin irritation. The tanks also contained toluene, a chemical used in nail polish remover, glues and paint thinners. Exposure to these harmful chemicals can cause headaches, dizziness, vomiting and irritation of the nose and throat.

Local and government officials had activated mobile testing devices in various areas and watched setup testing sites that monitor air quality on an hourly basis. One of the testing sites, five miles southwest of the plant, reported elevated levels of carbon monoxide and nitric acid.

The following day, government officials set up a shelter for the people in city of Deer Park. Many students had to miss school on Monday due to the smoke in Deer Park and La Porte ISDs, but returned to school on Tuesday. Many parents worried about their children’s safety as they watched a huge plume of black smoke hover over one of the schools.

Some parents chose to not let their children

go to school until the fire is extinguished, as they did not want to risk their child’s health while the air quality remained harmful.

The fire started with six burning tanks, however on Tuesday, March 19 two more caught fire. ITC officials said the flames had spread to two empty tanks because there was a temporary reduction of water pressure.

On the third day, the fire grew bigger with

por that could have reacted with the hot metal, causing it to reignite very quickly.

“There is still product in the holding tank that has to be dealt with. You still have the same components in regards to the volatility of products that could reignite,” Jerry Mouton, Deer Park Mayor, said.

A shelter-in-place order for neighboring cities was lifted Thursday after the fire was

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia officially out. They lifted a total of four tanks ablaze. A the order at 11:40 am affireball erupted over the ITC facility, but the cause was yet again unknown. ter concerns of high levels of benzene and Emergency responders tried to contain the other volatile organic compounds within the fire using foam and water, however, officials city’s limits. Benzene is a colorless, flamstated that it could take up to two days to mable liquid with a sweet odor that evapoput out the fire and for the fuel to burn off. rates quickly when exposed to air. Exposure On Wednesday, March 20, the fire fi- to benzene can cause headaches, dizziness, nally was extinguished by local firefight- loss of consciousness and potentially cancer. ers, but soon after there was a huge flare ITC officials ordered people to take shelter up that sent another puff of black smoke indoors for several hours due to the worseninto the air. Some suggest that a foam blan- ing air quality, but the order was lifted after ket may have been exposed, creating a va- seven hours. Public Health officials said they

would continue to monitor the air quality even after the shelter order was lifted in order to make sure everyone would be safe.

“Air quality readings are improving, and over the last few hours, they have been significantly reduced. This information, combined with the assurance of Harris County Public Health, allows us to meet our internal criteria necessary to lift our shelter-in-place,” Robert Hemminger, the city’s emergency services director, said.

ITC officials started to feel hopeful about the situation on Friday, but soon after two tanks and chemical runoff in a ditch caught fire, sending more chemicals into the air. The containment wall breached around the tank farm and sent foam and other harmful compounds into a drainage ditch that leads to a Houston Ship Channel.

On Saturday, reports of several toxins were found in the water nearby, leading ITC officials to close the ship channel. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality reported they found nine toxins in the drainage ditch that leads to the ship channel. The US Coast Guard is currently working to remove the harmful chemicals that spilled into the ship channel, and so far they have removed around 60,000 gallons of watery-oil product from the water. The Coast Guard is still trying to partially re-open the ship channel, but it is still unclear how many chemicals leaked from the site. Meanwhile, at the plant facility, ITC officials are still working on pumping the remaining chemicals from the tanks.

With the fire completely gone in the tanks, there are more problems to face at Deer Park. Over 1,000 people have been going to the hospital complaining about itchy skin, stuffy and bloody noses and tightness in the chest. There are still tests being done for the air and water quality by ITC officials and the US Coast Guard to contain and lessen the chemicals in the air and water at Deer Park.

Cavalier auditions welcomes ‘New New News’

By Shelby Donnow Entertainment Editor

As the Cavaliers begin preparing for their annual Spring Show, the time came for them to host their team tryouts. With all the excitement and nerves, those trying out were in high anticipations all week to find out if they would be in the Cavaliers’ new group of, what they call the, “New New News.”

Beginning with the interest meeting on February 19 where they learn about the team’s schedule, events and rules, those trying out for the team started preparing for their tryout and the upcoming year. The official tryout week fell on February fifth and sixth and was held in Creek’s Carlisle gym. The actual audition was on the seventh in the dance room where the group auditioning found out their fate on the team.

Throughout that week, those trying out learned a jazz dance followed by a pom and kick section to evaluate whether the dancers have what it takes to keep up with the Cavaliers throughout their busy seasons.

Often throughout the week, those who are trying out stay up until all hours of the night practicing the tryout dance at local stu-

dios, living rooms or anywhere else they can find some space to dance. When the tryout day finally comes, those auditioning will be placed in groups of five or six based on height and will audition in the dance room in front of a panel of judges, the director, Miss Marka Wood, the assistant director Miss Megan Tallo, the assistant principal in charge of the Cavaliers, Mr. Douglas and the captain, Sophie Bivens. After all the groups have gone and the judges and directors go over the scores, all of those auditioning will come back into the dance room to sit, listen to the seniors prepare them for the year and then run up to the lists hung on the mirrors to see if their number made the cut. While there are many devastated dancers, those who made the team fill the room with joy and excitement. Though the week is stressful, those trying out hope and pray that their hard work will pay off.

“Tryouts is always the most stressful week of my year, but running up to the list of people who made it and seeing your number makes the whole week worth it,” current Cavalier New New and freshman, Makenzie Poston, said.

After finding out whether or not the

dancers have made the team, the “New New News” will attend practice two times a week up until Spring Show to practice their debut dance and get their costumes.

With excitement in the air, the New New News are dying to be able to get on the Cavalier stage and perform in their show.

Though the week of tryouts may be stressful and nerve-wracking, those who make it will feel as though every second of stress was well-worth it. After making the team, the New New New Cavaliers will then begin preparing

for the annual Cavalier Spring Show. They will continue adding to the dance they begun learning during tryout week, receive their first costumes and get a taste of what the Cavaliers experience during their Spring Show season. Though the Cavaliers have a strict seniority system, the new group of girls will finally get to have their hard work payed off by getting to perform in the spectacular show. The current Cavaliers and directors are excited to get to know what additions their team has welcomed this upcoming year.

Around Creek

13

Beto breaks 24 hour presidential fundraising record

By Morgan Severson Assistant Editor-in-Chief

Democratic Presidential nominee, Beto O’Rourke, of El Paso, Texas, raised a record-breaking $6.1 million in the first 24 hours of announcing his campaign.

O’Rourke managed to raise more money in the first day of a Presidential campaign than any other nominee before, beating Bernie Sanders’ $5.9 million in the first day of his 2020 campaign. O’Rourke had over “128,000 unique contributions” with an average of $48 per donation.

O’Rourke earned more votes in the 2018 Senate race (4,045,632 votes) than any other Democrat in Texas before, making Texas a “purple state” (a state that varies between voting majority Democratic or Republican) for the first time in decades. After barely losing the 2018 Texas Senate race against incumbent Republican opponent, Ted Cruz, O’Rourke was expected by his supporters to run for President due to his popularity. In his 2018 campaign, O’Rourke gained support (and shout outs on Twitter) from many celebrities like Beyoncé, Ellen DeGeneres, LeBron James and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

What makes O’Rourke’s campaign so unique is that his fundraising comes entirely from donations; “not a dime from PACs.” Political Action Committees (PACs) are made by organizations to donate to politicians they support in an attempt to influence their decisions. Other Democratic nominees like Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar are following in O’Rourke’s footsteps of not accepting donations from PACs. Not taking donations

from PACs has proved to be a popular campaign strategy because it helps the politician prove that they are looking out for the interest of their voters, not big corporations.

“Sure, he has a lot to prove, especially since he’s so new on the scene compared to a lot of the more accomplished policy thinkers in the race [like Sanders and Warren.] But here’s an important rule of politics, at this early stage of the race, the best ways to measure a candidate’s strength are poles, crowds, money, and media attention…Beto has all those things going for him,” Peter Hamby, political journalist and host of Good Luck America, said.

O’Rourke started his campaign trail in the Mid-West, making his first stops in the states Democrats lost in the 2016 Presidential election, giving him a head start to some of his biggest Democratic rivals, Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden.

O’Rourke made his rounds in six states (including Iowa, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Nevada and Michigan) and returned to Texas March 30, to hold rallies in El Paso, Austin and Houston, all in one day. Some of his rallies are so large, O’Rourke is known for standing on tables and sometimes cars, to make sure the crowd could see and hear him. In order to be elected President, O’Rourke says he needs the biggest grassroot campaign in history and that is what he has set out to do.

O’Rourke is taking a more personal approach to his campaign, like he did in his 2018 Senate race, typically visiting every county in every state he visits in order to reach the most amount of people possible. With so much time left until the primary elections, O’Rourke is campaigning at a remarkable pace, and he is getting

the help of former President Obama’s top campaign strategist, Jen O’Malley Dillon.

“Her leadership, experience and creativity will be a great addition to a campaign that is already doing so much to bring people together to overcome the greatest set of challenges this country has ever faced,” O’Rourke, about O’Malley Dillon, said.

According to Team Beto in a statement, within the first 11 days of his campaign, O’Rourke managed to become a big competitor in the election, which is surprising especially since he announced his campaign considerably late compared to other Democrats. O’Rourke is getting a lot of attention from the media and has proven to be fairly popular. He even caught the attention of President Trump, who said it would be a “dream” to run against O’Rourke and that O’Rourke, Sanders and Bidden were his competition.

“My attitude is, I wouldn’t mind [running against O’Rourke.] I mean, I’d love to have Biden. I’d love to have Bernie, I’d love to have Beto. I mean, Beto seems to be the one the press has chosen.

The press seems to have chosen Beto,” Trump, in an interview with FOX, said.

So what exactly are O’Rourke’s stances on some of today’s most controversial issues? Being a border town native, O’Rourke’s views on the border wall/tighter border security and reducing immigration are negative. In fact, O’Rourke is known as one of the top critics of Trump’s border wall.

Several of O’Rourke’s Instagram posts discuss opposing the border wall and all of the negative environmental effects they would have on Texas and its natural landmarks. O’Rourke often calls El Paso “the safest town in America,” saying how the

collaboration of two nations in a border town is one of the aspects that makes it so great.

He also is a big advocate for protecting Dreamers (children of immigrants who were brought to the US by their parents when they were young, now trying to pursue an education or career) especially since Trump repealed DACA, the act that protected dreamers from deportation while they work or go to school. According to The Houston Chronicle, O’Rourke’s views on gun laws include universal background checks in order to purchase a gun and a restriction/ban on owning “weapons of war” such as AR-15s, commonly used in the recent mass shootings. O’Rourke is also a huge opponent of defunding Planned Parenthood and a huge advocate for women’s reproductive rights.

Although O’Rourke was defeated in 2018, it was by only three percent, and in a typically “Red State.” While O’Rourke says he is a candidate for everyone, young or old, Democratic or Republican, he is the most popular among young, Democratic minorities.

“I lost that race, but in the process of running that campaign, we were able to help change the face of democracy in Texas. So many young people who understand that their voice and their vote will make a difference in the future…In some way we were part of some much larger victory for our state and our country. And now Texas counts!” O’Rourke, on what made him run for President, said.

O’Rourke’s supporters have noticed the hope and energy that radiates off of him. From bumper stickers to large rallies, the support he is getting is monumental, making O’Rourke a promising candidate in the 2020 Presidential election.

14

sports

Rice Lady Owls rank for first time in school history ByKadee Loyd Around Creek Editor

The Rice Lady Owls basketball team have had a very successful season this year, and they have officially been ranked on The Associated Press Women’s Basketball Poll for the first time in the school’s history. Coming in at number 25, they secured the very last spot of the ranking.

At the start of the season, the team had won 17 of their 20 games, which was the best 20-game start the Owls have had thus far. They now have 22 wins and three losses and are riding a 15-game winning streak. They won all 12 home games, nine of their 11 away games and one of their two neutral games. The team is tied with Baylor, the top ranked team, for the longest winning streak in the country. Their successes this season, especially wins against Middle Tennessee, UAB and Conference USA contender Old Dominion, have propelled them to the top 25.

The 2018-2019 NCAA women’s basketball season began on November sixth. Rice’s first game was on November seventh against Texas A&M University. The Owls lost that game, as well as the next against UCLA, but their third game against Little Rock headed a seven-game winning streak. They then lost against North Carolina on December 18 but won the 15 games following that. They

have three games left in the season: one against North Texas on February 23, one against Louisiana Tech on March second and one against the University of Texas at San Antonio on March seventh. The team remains anxious about keeping up their winning streak until the end of the season.

The Conference USA Championships are

asset to the team. Junior Erica Ogwumike, guard, averages 16.3 points and 11.0 rebounds, a team best. She had to sit out the entire 2016-2017 season because of transfer issues from Pepperdine University, but she claims watching the team during that period was beneficial, and she came back even stronger this season. Erica and her older

sister, Olivia, have both to follow the regular season, Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons play for Rice, and their and the young women hope older sisters, Chiney and to make it to the tournament, as Rice has not attended since 2005. Nneka, both played for Stanford and are Nancy Mulkey, center, is a six-foot- now in the WNBA. All four have now been nine redshirt sophomore whom averages ranked in their college basketball careers.

Mulkey and Erica Ogwumike have 12.8 points and 5.8 rebounds. She transferred to the Rice team from Oklahoma proven to be a powerful duo this season, this season and has been an important and they are seen as a force to be reckoned

with. The entire team has been working efficiently to rise up in the ranks. More than half of the roster is from Texas and many grew up within 30 minutes of the school.

Some even played together in high school or on club teams. Many believe the unity and common Houston pride of the players is what has led the Owls to success.

“I wanted to come to Rice because I wanted to be close to home. Of course, Rice University is a great school: There are so many opportunities. And then Coach Langley; she’s amazing.

This basketball program is on the come-up, and I saw the future that we could have here at Rice,” Ogwumike said.

Head coach Tina Langley, who has been with the team for four seasons, is very proud of the women and their hard work throughout the years. She has been working to build the connection between the teammates and make them the force they are today.

“Four years ago when I met [athletic director] Joe Karlgaard, it was clear we had a shared vision for what Rice women’s basketball could become, and that was a nationally competitive program. We are so grateful to all the young women and staff who believed and committed to taking this program to that level,” Langley said.

Sports

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Astros’ additions create hope for upcoming season

By Alexis Gerardo Reporter

their performance. However, the Astros vision to the team roster. A few well known were able to successfully continue their players left the team through free agency The 2017 World Series championship winning streak, and eventually made it with one player, left fielder Marwin Gonwin was a turning point for Houstonians to the American League Championship zalez, received more attention than othstill dealing with the aftermath and trauma Series (ALCS) in 2018 where they lost a ers. Known as the utility man of the team, majority four out of five games against the Gonzalez’s ability to perform well in any inflicted by Hurricane Harvey.

The entire city celebrated the young, talented and diverse team of baseball players who were able to bring home the very first World Series championship (WSC) gold pennant to Minute Maid Park.

However, some say the Astros left much to be desired, including the pennant, in the 2018 season.

The team lost six key players to sports-related injuries during the 2018 season, including shortstop Carlos Correa, 2017 World Series MVP, center fielder George Springer, 2017 MLB MVP, second baseman Jose Altuve, relief pitcher Chris Devenski, starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr., catcher Brian McCann and center fielder Jake Marisnick. First baseman Yuli Gurriel was also unable to play for the first five games of the 2018 season due to a suspension without pay for an offensive gesture directed at the LA Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish.

The temporary loss of signifPhoto courtesy of Flickr position on the field made icant players upset the performance and 2018 World Series champions, the Boston Red Sox. him the go-to substitute harmony of the team during the season.

Since the end of the 2018 season, the for any player.

However, his performance Although all players eventually returned Astros have undergone some serious strateas viewed by an audience was not justified to the field, some of the players - notably, gic changes, including very noticeable rewith his player statistics, so when GonzaCorrea - lost their edge when it came to

lez asked for a higher salary, the chairman and owner of the Astros, Jim Crane, declined.

Gonzalez now plays for the Minnesota Twins.

Another noticeable change in the roster involves the pitchers. The Astros lost key starting pitchers to free agency, including Dallas Keuchel, who remains a free agent and will be unlikely to return, and pitcher Charlie Morton, who chose to continue his pitching career with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. will also not return for the 2019 season because he recently underwent Tommy John elbow surgery.

Though he is expected to make a full recovery and return to play for the Astros for the 2020 season, he will be out for the entire 2019 season. The remaining significant starting pitcher is Justin Verlander who, as of March 23, signed a record breaking $66M two-year contract with the Astros. Alongside their pitching counterparts, the Astros lost a few of their catchers, including Evan Gattis, McCann, who now plays for the Atlanta Braves and Martin Maldonado, who now plays for the Kansas City Royals.

Though the team lost many memorable players, the original structure and heart of the 2017 World Champion team was not able to be preserved, it also gained many players with potential, including pitchers Joshua James and Forrest Whitley, giving the team a very good chance to return to the World Series for the second time.

By Grant Coburn Reporter

las Mavericks, has stunned the league with his stellar age and skill set at such a young age. Doncic won the Euroleauge Most Valuable Player award before entering the NBA and has continued his high level of play even at the next level and is expected to win the rookie of the year award. Deandre Ayton, the player taken number one overall in the 2018 NBA draft, has also adjusted to the big leagues exceptionally, however, his success is overshadowed by Doncic’s.

Other rookies, like Marvin Bagley and Mo Bamba, have not performed as hoped.

While the rookie of the year award may already be a lock, the MVP could not be anything further from it. So far, Antetokounmpo is leading the pack and appears to be the favorite to win the MVP. James Harden, the leader of the Houston Rockets who is averaging 36.4 points per game, is likely the second favorite candidate to win MVP, followed

by Paul George, Stephen Curry and Joel Embiid respectively. As the season comes to a close, the NBA will begin to heat up, as players reach historic heights never before seen.

Mid-season NBA update promises excitement

The past offseason filled the NBA with drama and anticipation for the coming season. LeBron James, arguably the world’s best player, had just left his hometown team for a second time to join the Los Angeles Lakers. Kawhi Leonard, also considered a top player in the world, left the San Antonio Spurs after refusing to play for nearly a year. Demarcus Cousins, an All-Star, controversially left the New Orleans Pelicans to join the Golden State Warriors, who are considered the undisputed best team in the NBA, polarizing an already divided NBA fanbase.

In the Eastern Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks are the number one team.

Led by MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks are becoming a cohesive unit after years of development and waiting. The Toronto Raptors, the team who received Leonard in the blockbuster trade which took place in the sum-

mer, sit one game behind the Bucks. The Pacers, Celtics and 76ers all sit between eight or more games back from the firstplace spot. The Celtics have disappointed this season, as they were expected to win the Eastern Conference with relative ease in the absence of LeBron James, whose teams had previously topped the East almost every year in the past decade. Four of the five worst teams in the league sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

These teams, unable to realistically make a run for the playoffs, are implementing a tactic called tanking, which is to purposefully lose games with the intent to receive the number one pick in the upcoming draft.

The Western Conference has seen much greater competition than the East. The Warriors top the standings, followed by the Denver Nuggets, which were not expected to make such an impact. The Rockets, Trail Blazers, Jazz, Clippers, Spurs and Thunder are also in the playoff picture, with each team securing a win percentage over 500.

The Lakers, led by Lebron James, missed

the playoffs again this year, continuing their run as considerably one of the worst teams in the NBA. The Utah Jazz, led by phenom Donovan Mitchell, are continuing last year’s success and currently sit at number five in the West. The New Orleans Pelicans have failed to live up to their outstanding playoff performance from last year and are currently out of the playoff picture.

Not being in the playoffs is the least of the Pelicans’ concerns, however, as their star player Anthony Davis has requested a trade to all teams outside of New Orleans.

The request comes as a surprise, as Davis has consistently reassured the Pelicans and their fans that he was there to stay. Davis says he prefers to be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, but the two teams could not come to an agreement by the trade deadline. The Pelicans are expected to trade Davis this summer, likely to the Lakers or the Celtics.

Last year saw the arrival of multiple rookies expected to be the future stars of the league, this year has been no different. Luka Doncic, a wing for the Dal-

16 Entertainment

Entertainment 17

Billie Eilish successfully debuts new album

Captain Marvel compliments Women’s History Month

Pop sensation Billie Eilish has recently released her debut album with Interscope Records. Despite this being her first album, Eilish was extremely successful even before the release of the album, WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? Four singles, you should see me in a crown, when the party’s over, bury a friend, and wish you were gay were released in advance.

You should see me in a crown was the first single from the album to be released.

Performing it on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Eilish made her daytime television debut. A music video was released on August 10 of 2018, less than a month after its release on July 18, and has accumulated over 72 million views on YouTube. In the beginning of the song, what sounds like metal scraping against metal can be heard.

This sound plays during various moments throughout the song. The tone of Eilish’s voice seems like a whisper at some points, never reaching “full volume.” Compared to her earlier music, this song, along with others from the album, has a darker undertone.

The second song to be released was when the party’s over on October 17, with a music video released a little over a week later on October 25, gaining over 182 million views on YouTube. When the party’s over is a softer song compared to you should see me in a crown. Eilish keeps a soft

Captain Marvel recently hit theatres, racking in millions of dollars within just a few short weeks. The movie premiered March 8 and was directed by the filmmaking duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who have both previously worked on Mississippi Grind. Boden made history as the first woman ever to direct a Marvel film, in addition to Captain Marvel being the first female-led superhero movie and first Avenger produced by the franchise.

“I feel incredibly honored to be given the opportunity to be here with this awesome group of people. It amazes me that I am the first female director to be doing one of their films. But I just kind of try to tackle it like I would any other job. The more I think about that stuff, the less focused I am. One of the things that I love about this movie is what an amazing collaboration it is between super powerful women and super awesome women,” Boden said.

Captain Marvel is action packed and features talented cast members including, Gemma Chan as Doctor Minn-Erva, Lee Pace as Ronan, Rune Temte as Bron-Char, Colin Ford as Steve Danvers, Djimon Hounsou as Korath the Pursuer and Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson.

Brie Larson, Academy Award winner for Best Actress in the 2015 film Room, plays the infamous Captain Marvel, a.k.a. Carol Danvers. In the beginning of the movie, Danvers, who goes by the name Vers, suffers from flashbacks of a past she cannot remember. In the beginning of the film, Vers, a Kree (alien) warrior, is in the middle of a war with her people and the Skrulls, a shapeshifting race. Vers, captured by a Skrull commander

By Arrington Linder Features Editor

voice and tone throughout this song, although the music video is somewhat dark.

“It’s not really, ‘I’m sad,’ you know what I mean? So ‘when the party’s over,’ I feel like that’s such a sentence. It’s like, ‘I’ll call you when the party’s over,’

Bury a Friend was the first song from Eilish’s new album to be released in 2019.

Although the previous songs have had a dark undertone, bury a friend sets the dark tone for the entire album. The music video was released the same day as

you’re on the phone with the song on January 30, Photo courtesy of Flickr someone and you can’t reaching over 95 million hear them, they can’t hear you, it’s loud, views. Throughout the song, Eilish’s voice they’re mad at you for some reason. I stays soft but during some parts, the beat feel like everybody’s had that struggle becomes heavier, making the song seem with someone - somebody on the phone darker. In the music video, Eilish can be yelling for some reason,” Eilish said. seen with needles in her back, being spun

around and walking around dark hallways.

She teased a snippet of bury a friend two days before the release. The album’s name comes from the line ‘when we all fall asleep, where do we go?’ in Bury a Friend.

“When we made ‘bury a friend,’ the whole album clicked in my head. I immediately knew what it was going to be about, what the visuals were going to be, and everything in terms of how I wanted it to be perceived. It inspired what the album is about. ‘bury a friend’ is literally from the perspective of the monster under my bed. If you put yourself in that mindset, what is this creature doing or feeling? I also confess that I’m this monster, because I’m my own worst enemy. I might be the monster under your bed, too,” Eilish said.

Wish you were gay was the last song to be released before the album. The beginning of the song starts off slow and quiet, but as the song continues, more elements are added to increase the beat of the song.

In comparison to the other songs from this album, wish you were gay does not seem to have the dark undertone like the other tracks.

Other songs on the album include, !!!!!!!, bad guy, xanny, all the good girls go to hell, 8, my strange addiction, ilomilo, listen before i go, i love you, and goodbye. WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? reached number one on iTunes’ album chart. With Eilish’s career being relatively new, she will be releasing more music, the question is when.

By Leah Burnam News Editor

the film progresses due to flashback resurfacing and newer ideas connecting events.

“We are in a time where we feel the need to fear the other… Maybe the monster we need to look at is us,” Peele, at the premiering of his film, said.

The idea of forgetting the past to alter the appearance of oneself or another is a recurring event throughout the film.

Peele, although subtle, put in these connections and events to create the idea that Americans have done just that. A deeper meaning into Peele’s movie suggests that Americans have whitewashed their history in order to overlook their discrimination past and has rewritten it to make it seems more accepting and pride worthy.

Us, a struggle between a family and their doubles in the beginning, turns into a global problem. As the film ends, Adelaide and her family see this on the tv, causing Adelaide to gain a new sense of motivation to end the connection between her shadow self and her own self.

However, the film continues to surprise as another plot twist enters the screen within the ending scene of the movie.

“A great movie makes you think about it, even after the credits have rolled, and that’s what I did. Not every question was answered in the movie, some things had to be pieced together, which I like because it treats the audience like they are small enough to come up with a conclusion themselves, instead of walking through everything,” Shiloh Battise, movie critic, said.

Although Us has can be interpreted in many different ways, overall the film received a 95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and 81 percent on Metacritic. The Peele film breaks the concept of American pride towards its past and history while also making the movie comical, scary and provoking to the minds.

Jonas Brothers reignite band with release of Sucker

Jordan Peele’s Us targets American history

By Sierra Dickey Editor-in-Chief

Jordan Peele, best known for his role as Peele in Key and Peele on Comedy Central, has written and directed another hit movie that targets the idea of American society. Us, released on March 22, hits the very center of American culture, its history. Peele, who has targeted white privilege and power in Get Out, has now directed his attention to the true history of America that people have either forgotten or have rewritten. Although somewhat hard to follow or grasp while watching the film due to its many metaphors and subtle symbolisms, Us later comes together in the end with a major plot twist, another trademark seen within Peele’s movies.

Warning Spoilers.

Along with the ending of Peele’s movies having a distinct style to them, the opening scenes do as well. As in Get Out, Us starts off with an event in the past, something that foreshadows the rest of the movie. Us’s first scene consists of an advertisement for Hands Across America, an organization of millions of people that will “tether themselves together across the world to help fight hunger;” it then transitions to a little girl, Adelaide Wilson, and her parents at an amusement park near Santa Cruz, California. Adelaide ventures off on her own, subtly sees a man holding a Jeremiah 11:11 sign and encounters a strange storm that seems to edge her to a mirror house subjected on “finding yourself.” She enters, to obviously being surrounded by mirrors, when she suddenly hears a noise, trying to remain calm she starts to whistle “The Itsy-Bitsy Spider.” As she heads towards the exit sign, she is shocked to see an image of herself that is not mirroring her, but facing away and then slowly turning

around. This scene, although cut short to keep the mystery and the suspense of the movie, resurfaces multiple times throughout the film, each time showing more and more to connect the beginning to the end.

In between the beginning and the ending scene is where most of the symbolism that is referenced in American culture are seen, some even direct. The next scene, nearly 30 years later, Adelaide, played by Black Panther’s Lupita Nyong’o, is now married to Gabe, played by another Black Panther actor Winston Duke, and has two kids, Zora, played by Shahadi Joseph, and Jason, played by Evan Alex. They are headed to the same beach that Adelaide had the traumatic events of seeing her double unfold, Santa Cruz, California, for a family vacation. However, Adelaide had not told her husband of her past with the beach she tried to forget and thus she begins to internally worry about her presence there.

Fighting off the weariness, Adelaide, although haunted by her past, believes that she will be okay with her family and friends.

As the film progresses through setting and background, Adelaide and her family head to the beach where many of the film’s symbols are seen. As she is talking to her friends, Jason, her son, wanders off and encounters the same storm Adelaide had encounter as a young child. Although the “find yourself” mirror house was seen, Jason instead saw a man with blood dripping from his fingers. At this moment, Adelaide realizes Jason is missing and has a panic attack due to her traumatic childhood event at the same location. Although there are literal meanings in the words Adelaide speaks in that moment, the storm, the man and the mirror house Jason saw convinces Adelaide that something from her past is coming for her.

“Part of the appeal of ‘Us’ is how you interpret what all of this in-

formation and images mean. No doubt the movie will give audiences plenty to mull over long after the credits,” Robert Ebert, freelance movie reviewer, said.

The movie continues to reveal its main theme when the family now realizes that four members of another family are stalking them and standing in their driveway, all dressed in red clothing, a huge symbol throughout the film. The doppelgänger family continues to pursue the house and eventually break in.

This scene first broke the idea of the targeting of American culture and history in the film as Peele made the family in red the exact doppelgangers as Adelaide’s family. As the attack on Adelaide and her family continue by their red twins, their true motivation begins to show. “Red,” the double of Adelaide, states “we’re Americans,” and further goes more in depth as to what they are and what they want. “Red” claims that they are the shadow selves of them, living underground and forced to move and do exactly what their above ground selves to, except in a much harsher way. “Red” is the only one that can talk out of the shadow people; however, her voice is very harsh and raspy, almost dry in a sense. Due to the extreme differences between the sets of doubles, physically and mentally, it shows the two sides of what could be.

The idea of doubles within the film can be interpreted in different way. One, the shadow self is the true nature of the above ground self. The idea that one’s true nature is hidden or that the primitive side of someone is suppressed can be seen throughout the film as the shadow selves cannot speak, they instead use noises and grunts, and some also crawl, again another animal instinct. Basing it off of the cover as well, it reveals Adelaide unmasking herself to reveal “Red” underneath. The other idea, somewhat similar to the one stated above, yet it is instead suggesting she has forgotten that side of herself. This concept gets a little bit more complicated as

By Leah Burnam News Editor

Nearly six years after their breakup, the Jonas Brothers have officially returned with their new hit single Sucker. The song was released on February 28, and a corresponding music video also came out, racking up almost 85 million views on YouTube. This reconciliation comes after multiple reports from entertainment sources such as Us Weekly, which has speculated the groups reunitement for some time.

In recent interviews, the band, which consists of Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas and Kevin Jonas, discussed the reasons behind getting back together. One of which has to do their new documentary that was just announced in partnership with Amazon. The documentary is said to give fans “an intimate look” into their lives and show where they are today compared to their breakup back in 2013.

“Basically, the documentary tracks kind of just our childhood, into our time with the band. It was going to be a story about where we are today and how we have separate

and put on an Earth-bound ship, eventual- crystal and in the process they discover Dr. ly crash lands in Los Angeles. While there Wendy Lawson, played by Annette Benshe tries to uncover a crystal that contains ing, whom Vers recognizes from her memher old memories, and soon begins to dis- ories, but is unsure about who she really is. cover her true identity as Carol Danvers, Dr. Lawson is actually an alias for her who served in the United States Air Force as a pilot in the 90s. “ Y o u have this Kree part of her that’s unemotional, that is an amazing fighter and competitive.

Then there’s this human part of her that is flawed but is also the thing that she ends up leading by.

It’s the thing that gets her in trouble, but it’s also the thing that makes her great. And real identity as MarPhoto Courtesy of Flickr those two sides warring against each Vell, a Kree scienother is what makes her, her,” Larson said. tist, who came to Earth as a pilot and gave Warning spoilers ahead: Samuel L. inspiration to Danvers’ name, Captain MarJackson, who plays SHIELD agent Nick vel. Vers and Fury decide to visit Monica Fury, is assigned the task offkeeping an eye Rambeau, another pilot played by Lashana on Vers by his director Keller. Both Fury Lynch, who happened to be Danvers’ best and Vers go on the hunt together to find the friend before she disappeared, in order to

learn more information about Dr. Lawson.

While in Louisiana visiting Rambeau, they come in contact with Talos, a Skrull, played by Ben Mendelsohn. In exchange for helping his people, he will tell them the details of Dr. Lawson and Yon-Rogg’s identity. Yon-Rogg, a Kree, played by Jude Law, was Vers’ “mentor and commander,” who helped train her. But from the beginning of the movie, he had been keeping secrets from her. Now Danvers, more specifically Captain Marvel, Fury, Rambeau and Talos, decide to team up to defeat the Kree.

Not only has the movie made an impact in the film industry, but it has also become a big influence to young women around the world. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Larson acknowledged the impact her character has made.

“The very nature of this film means that I’m having conversations that I’d like to have about what it means to be a woman. What strength looks like, the complexities of the female experience, female representation. It’s surprising and cool that my first giant movie I get to be having those kinds of conversations. But that’s also why I’ve waited and been particular about what jobs I do,” Larson said.

The film has already surpassed $900 million at the box office and is expected to hit the one billion mark soon. Captain Marvel has passed up many superhero movie’s such as, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Captain America: Civil War and Iron Man 3, becoming the third biggest title in the Marvel franchise. Many fans are hoping for a sequel and are ecstatic what’s to come next.

from fans and has remained in the top five on iTunes’ charts for several weeks now.

Since their reunion, multiple conspiracy theories have been swirling the internet, mostly in relation to another hit boy band, Big Time Rush. A video was posted to Instagram of a girl explaining the seemingly extensive theory. The Jonas Brothers broke up back in 2013, which was six years ago, and there are actually four Jonas Brothers, including Frankie Jonas. Six minus four is two and the Jonas Brothers started planning their comeback in 2018. Now you have three separate numbers; two, 20 and 18. The second letter of the alphabet is “B,” the 20 letter is “T” and the 18 letter is “R.” Many seem to think this acronym stands for Big Time Rush and that there may be another reunion in the making. However, there has been no confirmation of this.

After the Jonas Brothers’ release, they were featured on The Late Late Show with James Corden for one week titled “Jonas Week.” The three men joined Corden on his iconic “Carpool Karaoke,” where they sang Burning Up, Year 3000, When You Look Me In the Eyes, Love Bug and Sucker. They were also in other

skits including “Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts” and “Side Effects May Include.”

Although the group just debuted for the second time, they are already teasing more music. Nick Jonas and Joe Jonas hinted at a new music video via an Instagram Story where they were wearing matching outfits. Joe Jonas even posted an image to his Instagram, captioning it “Shooting something…” When the three went onto the Elvis Duran and the Morning Show on March first, they discussed future song releases and after Duran tweeted his excitement for the astonishing number of songs the group has prepared.

“We’ve got a lot of songs that we recorded…we have probably like 30, 40 songs recorded that we can’t wait to release.

So, I think in the next few months we’re probably gonna hear more,” Joe Jonas said.

With the major success of Sucker and the group’s revamped social media pages, many hope to see a lot more work from the Jonas Brothers. There is no doubt that whatever they do or release, fans will be influenced by their new music.

lives, doing separate things, Joe with DNCE and me with my solo stuff. During that time, we started to realize there was a magic that we felt like we were missing, and so the process was basically just ‘why don’t we give this another shot?’ We started playing a little music together and realized right away that this is where we are meant to be in our lives at this moment,” Nick Jonas, on The Late Late Show with James Corden, said.

Sucker is about a love that causes “the typical” person to break their “typical rules.” In the music video each of the three brothers’ partners appear beside them while they sing about how they are suckers for them. Priyanka Chopra, Nick Jonas’ wife, Sophie Turner, Joe Jonas’ fiancée and Danielle Jonas, Kevin Jonas’ wife, all dazzled in extravagant outfits in the elegant setting of the music video.

The video features many themes and seems to bring out different elements from multiple eras. It was directed by Anthony Mandler, produced by Richard Fenton and edited by Taylor Ward.

Sucker has received many good reviews

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