Red & Black, Hillsborough High School, December 2015

& black

Florida’s first high school newspaper Hillsborough High School 5000 N. Central Ave. Tampa, FL 33603 December 2015 hhstoday.com @HHSTodayOnline Volume 117, No. 4

Facing Islamophobia Muslim students suffer from hatred, prejudice because of actions by terrorist groups | pgs. 8-9 The words in this photo illustration come from actual student responses to the question “What do you think of when you hear the words “Islam” or “Muslim”? | Photo illustration by Dana Dinh

2 December 2015

briefly

Red & Black

Journalism Rulez

History Bowl Ballin’

Academic teams bowl over the competition History Bowl Teams A and B compete in the semifinals on Nov. 15. | Photo courtesy of Jenna Callison

History team qualifies for national tournament This year, two Hillsborough teams participated in the U.S. History Bee and the Geography Olympiad.

Team A consisted of Alec Tyler, Parth Patel, Rishi Parikh and Clay Callison. Team B included Jenna Callison, Nicole Shaffer and Laura Quevedo.

Although both teams received medals, Team A defeated Team B in the semifinals. Both groups have qualified for the national competition, which will be in Washington D.C. in April.

“The kids practiced a lot, and their hard work paid off,” said coach and history teacher Mike Mikulec. “Our next competition is in January, and our goal is first place.”

-Suparna Narayan

Mu Alpha Theta takes second in sweepstakes The Math League team participated in the Math Bowl on Nov 17. The calculus team consisting of Kamil Taneja, Gaurav Rao, Jacob Leuthold and Benny Lin won first place, and the school’s team won second place overall in the sweepstakes.

The team has placed in most Math Bowls they’ve attended, and this year was no exception. Under the leadership of sponsor Elizabeth Funk, individual competitors also placed in almost every category. However, the team is still looking to improve for this year’s coming competition season.

“I think overall [we] did pretty well,” said senior Kamil Taneja. “Even though we placed second in sweepstakes, I think that all of the divisions have room to improve.”

-Suparna Narayan

More than just pillows This holiday season, students are providing pillow cases to help brighten the lives of children. The pillows are going to Joshua House, a center for abused and neglected children.

This was the first year of pillow case donations and the opportunity was open for IB juniors and seniors.

Donors received three service or creative hours for the first pillow case and two hours for every donation after.

Next year, the project may extend to traditional juniors and seniors.

Biology teacher Judy Charlton was inspired to bring the project to Hillsborough when she saw the Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorial on Facebook. “[I] had the idea it would be a wonderful service and creative project for students,” said Charlton. She hopes to continue the project in the future and provide a pillow case for every child residing at Joshua House.

-Tegan Smith

Formal fundraiser The senior class will be hosting a winter formal after winter break. The formal will be held on campus, and will be open for all students to attend.

“It’ll be like a homecoming but at home instead,” said senior Simi Himatsingani. “It’ll be fun and tickets will be cheaper.”

Proceeds will be used to fund the senior prom. More info will be available after break.

-Yesha Shukla

Fast facts: NHS Toy Drive National Honor Society members donated toys to benefit the Joshua House Members received three service hours per toy (maximum of six hours) -Tegan Smith

Journalists win awards at national conference The Red & Black newspaper placed twice in Best of Show at the fall National High School Journalism Convention. The back-to-school issue finished second in special sections and the newspaper earned an eighthplace finish in its size classification.

Student journalists also placed in two national Design of the Year categories. Senior Shelby Shoup and 2015 graduate Vijata Patel earned honorable mention and 2015 graduate Ellie Rodriguez placed fourth in magazine cover design. Also, 10 students placed in the national writeoff competitions, including Superior ratings for Kathy Xie (broadcast

commentary) and Annie Aguiar (feature writing). Shelby Shoup and Francesca Althaus earned Excellent, while Monisha Pillai, Cade McCurdy, Gillian Boyce, Jacob Thornton, Amber Shemesh and Bianca Cegatte received honorable mention.

More than 6,000 students and teachers attended the convention Nov. 12-15 at the Walt Disney World Dolphin hotel in Orlando. Journalism teacher Joe Humphrey served as chairman of the local planning team and eight HHS graduates volunteered at the event.

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December 2015

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The audit argument

As the district’s reserve fund decreases, the school board plans to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on an audit

Dana Dinh @ByDanaDee Hillsborough County School Board members have proposed a full-scale efficiency audit from an outside consultant to combat rapid spending of the district’s reserve fund.

The school board has known since July that district was spending large amounts of money from the reserve fund, but its members want to emphasize that the district is not in crisis.

“Our goal is to be a financially stable district,” board Vice Chair Cindy Stuart said. “We are not in crisis. We just want to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent pertinently.”

According to Superintendent Jeff Eakins, while the reserve fund is not dangerously low, if the district continues to spend that money, it will not be able to handle an emergency such as a hurricane. In the past two

just shutting down government and letting consultants do the job.”

“Some of it we are doing it ourselves, but it’s always pertinent to hire an expert, someone who is very knowledgeable in the area, rather than someone who has been working in our district for a long time,” Stuart said, explaining why the district wishes to hire an outside company.

“We’ve seen projections from other counties, and the price tag is rather high, but at the end of the day sometimes you have to spend money to save money.”

The Clark County audit identified about $17 million in savings, according to Stuart and the Times.

Eakins said money used to pay for an audit could not otherwise be spent on needs such as “textbooks, desks and teacher salaries.”

Though the Board does plan on cutting costs, both Eakins and Stuart assure that neither students nor

years, the district has spent $120 million out of savings. Eakins said the district is trying to identify $142 million in savings this year.

“We have to be responsible with how we spend that money,” Eakins told the Red & Black. “[The district] is like a family who has a certain amount of money to spend each month. If the car breaks down suddenly, it needs to be able to pay for that as well.”

The purpose of the audit, Eakins said, is to stabilize the district’s spending so it does not have to spend money from the reserve fund.

In addition, the district must also learn how to sustain itself without money from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, whose grant ends this year.

However, the proposed audit has sparked controversy with its price of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The school board approved spend-

Unexpected guests Covert cats They’re practically invisible and they only come out when the school goes silent. Uninvited or not, seeing a cat can brighten up any terrier’s day.

It’s common to see cats hanging around Positive Park, but not many people seem to know anything about them. That’s because, to

Photo by Madison Forbis

ing up to $818,000 on the review on Tuesday night.

Clark County, Nevada (Las Vegas) spent $900,000 on a similar audit, a district consultant told the Tampa Bay Times.

Tampa Tribune columnist Steve Otto criticized the school board for not handling the audit internally to save money.

“

“Sometimes you have to spend money to save money.”

Cindy Stuart, School Board vice chair

“If you’re like me you only can marvel at how much we spend on local government — only to find out it needs outside help to do a job,” Otto wrote in a recent column. “Sometimes I think we would be better off

teachers will be negatively impacted.

Reductions in spending will come from decisions regarding transportation, electricity, where to purchase technology and other areas. The district has already generated a transportation savings plan that is projected to save $1 million.

However, the school board has yet to reach agreement on a contract with the Hillsborough County teachers union.

One sticking point has been whether or not raises will be retroactive to July. The contract approved this month for some support employees did not include retroactive raises, but did include a raise and a one-time bonus.

“Our core operation is to teach students,” Eakins said. “The last thing we want to do is negatively impact their education.”

It’s a jungle out there. It’s humid, bees are attacking and feral felines roam our bushes.

Here on campus, these unexpected visitors are just another part of the season.

put it simply, they’re just there.

“No one really takes care of them,” said senior Peace Bankole, the president of the Environmental Awareness Club. “We’ve tried feeding them but they run away.” It’s difficult to get an exact count of how many there are, but it’s been estimated that there are about six of them.

One would think that a cat infestation would be a serious problem, but these uninvited visitors may serve a good purpose, taking care of an even bigger problem.

“They’ve talked about trapping them, removing them,” said school nurse Janice Vogt, one of the primary caretakers of Positive Park. “But they eat mice, so they’re probably beneficial.”

Either way, these cats found their place in the doghouse.

-Madison Forbis

Students bee-ware There’s screeching. There’s swatting. The outside lunch tables are unusually empty. One may think there’s a fight going on, a vending machine being broken into or yet another dance battle.

It’s worse: the bees are back.

As the sun hides away, bees are flying out and claiming nearly every trashcan and lunch tray. The tiny insects buzz after students, threatening to sting at any moment.

“It’s annoying. We’re trying to sit down and enjoy our lunch and friends,” said sophomore Jessica Marrero, “Then the bees come.”

Students left for Thanksgiving break hoping the bees would be gone. And they were. But only for a mere 24 hours.

“We’re not allowed to spray any-

thing,” said Principal Gary Brady, “We moved garbage cans to the side, [and we’re] talking to kids about making sure they throw their garbage away.”

For now, kids migrate inside the cafeteria, or simply put up with the annoyance.

-Atiya Simmons

Buzz?

Buzz!

Graphic by John Veliz

4 December 2015

news

‘Airplanes’ takes flight Alyssa Ierna @AlyssaIerna “Reads: 122 <- o.O whoaaaa” “Publishing cause I’m happy! And cause we reached 300 reads! Thank you.”

“AIRPLANES HIT 1K WOOT WOOT!!!”

Junior Shreya Dundigalla’s book, “Airplanes,” hit 5,000 reads one month after the first chapter was published.

Now her completed book has 26,000 reads, a number growing every day, and at its peak was ranked No. 40 of 1,000 short stories by Wattpad.

Dundigalla, known online as “thebestsingerever,” uses Wattpad, an online community for reading and writing, as her platform to share her stories.

Dundigalla joined Wattpad two years ago and was inspired last year to write her first book, a 65-part dialogue called “Airplanes.”

“Honestly, I never knew it was going to become so big so quickly! It really amazed me how many

Visit hhstoday.com for links to Shreya Dundigalla’s stories

Red & Black

Junior Shreya Dundigalla’s book started off as a short story she decided to write on Wattpad. Now, ‘Airplanes’ has reached unprecedented heights.

people like it, it still does!” Dundigalla said.

Amassing 1,700 comments and 3,600 votes on the top 1,000 short stories on Wattpad, Dundigalla attributes her success to her, “amazing followers and many new friends.” The support of her readers is what has kept her motivated to publish weekly, and sometimes multiple times a day.

“Airplanes” has received attention across the world, resulting in requests for translations. The dialogue is now available in Czech and German, as translated by her readers.

“There have been a few instances with a nasty critic or a blunt commenter but my readers have always got my back,” Dundigalla said.

She has taken the good with the bad and has moved on from “Airplanes” to the unfinished sequel “Trains.” She plans to make the series a trilogy, with the last book being “Boats.”

Dundigalla hopes to make her trilogy available as e-books over the sum-

mer, and has looked to publishers like Smashwords and Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing to get the process started.

Dundigalla has been recognized by many of the popular writers on Wattpad, through the contests they host. Her stories “h e a r t b r e a k,” “Finding Love” and “Unrequited Love” all won first place in three separate competitions specifically for one shots, or short stories consisting of one chapter.

She is also currently entered in a scholarship competition run by Chipotle called Cultivating Creativity with her short story called “Cultivating Thought.”

The competition’s 10 winners will be announced in February and will be awarded $20,000 in scholarship money as well as getting their essays published on the bags and cups at Chipotle restaurants across the nation.

“I highly doubt I will win, but I have hope,” Dundigalla said.

Poetry Jam is a grand slam Racheal Maillet @HHSTodayOnline With the 2015 Poetry Jam in full swing, the media center was bustling with students. This annual event features students creating their own spoken-word poetry pieces and presenting them at the end of the day.

Guest speaker Giddy Perez showcased two poems to begin the day. She asked students to rate the poems on a scale of 1 to 10. When giving their scores, Perez asked questions as to better understand the rationale of their scores.

Both positive and negative comments were welcomed.

To prepare the students for their original spoken-word pieces, Perez broke the students up into small groups called “Slam Teams.”

Each member of each group was given lyrics to a song to be performed as if it were an original spoken-word piece. Some students were nervous to perform; however, this exercise

gave them the opportunity to become more comfortable.

Perez encouraged students to channel their nervous energy into positive energy, explaining that they were a team and were to applaud their fellow teammates.

Then, the jam began. Each of the 29 students had prepared a spoken-word piece under three minutes long.

Topics ranged from school to personal problems and even to the death and illness of someone close to them.

While judges deliberated in between performances, Perez initiated activities to keep the audience on task and involved.

Sophomore Erica Fuentes was

awarded first place. Junior Denzel Pierre and freshman Tie’Sere Davis tied for second.

“I’ve been wanting to write about the school system… My teacher was talking about Uncle Sam and that was one of the only

words I caught. I don’t know how to exactly describe my inspiration but that’s pretty close,” Fuentes said about her winning poem.

Poetry Jam winners junior Denzel Pierre, freshman Tie’Sere Davis and sophomore Erica Fuentes pose with Barbara McGee (left) and Giddy Perez (right). | Photo by Racheal Maillet

December 20155 news Gonzalez finalist for district teacher of the year hhstoday.com

Jorge Garcia @HHSTodayOnline If you ever happen to stroll into Maria Gonzalez’s Spanish class, you might catch her hard at work preparing the day’s lesson plans or helping out a fellow colleague with lesson ideas. You’ll probably see her giving people friendly advice, or simply chatting away with one of her students.

Gonzalez was recently announced as one of seven Teacher of the Year district finalists.

In order to become a finalist, Gonzalez had to write three essays concerning topics such as, how she creates a comfortable teaching environment and how be to a good influence on students. But first, she had to win Teacher of the Year here at HHS. Now in her sixth year, this is the first award she’s received.

It was early in the morning, during her first period Spanish class, when she received news of her district achievement.

“I was very surprised, very shocked,” Gonzalez said. “The Education Foundation came in to thank me for my hard work and things like that. It was very honoring and humbling at the same time.”

Immediately after receiving such shocking news, she pulled out her phone and contacted

her husband, who was equally as excited.

Gonzalez credits her achievement to her various acts of kindness towards her colleagues. As a newer teacher, she appreciated all the help she received from veteran teachers which, in turn, inspired her to reciprocate by aiding her fellow coworkers whenever they seem to be having difficulty in the classroom.

Gonzalez is visited by her colleagues and coworkers, who constantly remind her of the reason for her nomination. Some say it’s because she decided to take time out of her day and help them even if she is busy herself.

“I don’t do it because I want to win an award,” Gonzalez said, “I do it because I think going out of your way and being a little bit selfless is definitely helpful.”

Sophomore Yamile Corujo sees the merits of Gonzalez’s teaching. “She always finds a cool way to teach us Spanish, it’s really interesting to be a student of hers and she works really hard,” she said.

And this isn’t an uncommon occurrence.

To Gonzalez, having a healthy relationship with her students is a top priority. Her goal for the classroom is to create an environment where her students know they can be successful. She implements a variety of teaching strat-

Ida S. Baker Award: Suzanne Cooks What is the Ida S. Baker Award?

“I have no earthly idea! No, just playing. I believe the Ida S. Baker Award deals with the diversity of students in the classroom.”

How did you feel when you found out you won?

“I was mad at first because I’ve always said I don’t want to be nominated for anything because I feel like I’m expected to do this, [that] this is my job.”

Why do you think you qualified for this award?

“I am a people connector, period. I am genuine in my relationships and the third thing is that I’m nurturing. It’s noticed not only by students but by my peers.”

Photos by Jorge Garcia

-Jorge Garcia

Spanish teacher Maria Gonzalez supervises while her students work out practice problems on the board. This week, she was named a finalist for district teacher of the year. | Photo by Jorge Garcia egies, and uses a technique she calls “cooperative learning”, which allows students to practice with a partner or someone in front of them.

Gonzalez believes that as a foreign language class, it’s essential to practice the language by communicating with others.

The results for the Teacher of the Year award will be announced in the upcoming months.

Winning isn’t everything for Gonzalez; to her, it’s an honor to just represent Hillsborough. She stated a lot of teachers are very deserving of this award, and she appreciates how fondly her coworkers think of her.

Gonzalez stated she doesn’t need more recognition. Staying humble, she said, “It would be nice to win, but it’s not that important.”

Instructional Support Employee of the Year: Sylvia Bonilla What is the instructional support award?

“It is all the people that are a support to the teacher and to the school. We aren’t teachers; the support is the clerical staff and custodians.

Without us, the teachers can’t do their jobs.”

How did you feel when you found out you won?

“Flattered, because at this school, this is my fouth or third award. I have 12 years at this school. They appreciate what I do for them.”

In your opinion, why were you nominated?

“I’m pleasant. I try to help the teachers and understand them. I’m here to be supportive for them.”

-Jorge Garcia

6 December 2015

opinion

& Talking in code black

ABOUT Content decisions are made by student editors.

Red & Black belongs to the Florida and National Scholastic press associations.

AWARDS 2014-15 FSPA All-Florida 2014-15 NSPA All-American 2014-15 NSPA Best of Show recipient Printed in partnership with The Tampa Tribune EDITORIAL Reflects the view of student editors and can be found in opinion section.

COLUMNS The bylined columns represent the viewpoints of their authors.

LETTERS We welcome your letters, which may be edited for brevity and clarity. Submit via email, deliver to Room 506 or mail to Red & Black, 5000 N. Central Ave., Tampa, FL 33603.

ADS Advertising content is subject to approval of the editorial board.

ONLINE Visit us online at HHSToday.com.

CONTACT Phone (813) 276-5620 Fax (813) 276-5629 Email hhstoday@gmail.com Twitter @HHSTodayOnline

editorial

VOLUME 117, ISSUE 4 EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Dana Dinh, Kathy Xie DESIGN EDITOR John Veliz WEB EDITOR Daniel Hamilton PAGE EDITORS Annie Aguiar, Sarvika Bommakanti, Bianca Cegatte, Madison Forbis, Jorge Garcia, Alyssa Ierna, Matt Lutton, Denzel Pierre, Monisha Pillai, Amber Shemesh, Shelby Shoup, Tegan Smith STAFF WRITERS Katie Delk, Daniel Garrison, Jeremy Leong, Julissa Machado, Racheal Maillet, Alex Morrison, Suparna Narayan, Shreya Patel, Varun Puri, Laurie Rodriguez, Vishwa Shah, Yesha Shukla, Atiya Simmons, Michael Strobl, Theontae Walton ADVISER Joe Humphrey, MJE PRINCIPAL Gary Brady

Students can take their pick. They can sit in groups, forming sentences with new vocabulary words in Spanish or French, or they can sit at a computer, learning HTML, CSS and Java.

Starting next year, those two completely different classes might be the same, at least in the eyes of the Florida Legislature. And that’s not a bad thing at all.

State Sen. Jeremy Ring recently proposed a bill requiring high schools to offer computer courses and make those courses count for foreign language credit in both Florida’s high schools and its public universities.

Doing so would open up a multitude of opportunities for students, especially for those who have no interest in taking a foreign language but wish to receive the Bright Futures Scholarship, by preparing them for careers in our increasingly technology-oriented society.

Long-term benefits The purpose of school is to prepare students for the future. Whether that means preparing them for future careers or making them wellrounded citizens, the presence of technology is only growing. Computers are everywhere. They are in our pockets, our classrooms, our cars. The

In case you missed it:

Red & Black

Computer coding deserves to be taught as a foreign language just like Spanish or French

technology field requires skilled programmers and engineers to get them ready for the eager market.

Computer coding is useful for students who have no intention of becoming programmers as well. Nowadays, most jobs, whether a student chooses to become a technician or a teacher, require at least basic knowledge ge of computers.

Inside the classroom, computer coding courses offer a modern, tactile ile lesson for students who have no interest in n more traditional foreign languages. While knowledge wledge of a foreign language can be enriching and advantageous, it d advantageous won’t be beneficial for students uninterested in learning it. For most students, two to four years of foreign language will amount to nothing more than a handful of mispronounced phrases.

A different perspective Learning how to code offers many advantages outside the job as well. Coding teaches logic, reasoning and positive approaches towards problem-solving. It teaches students how to tackle complex problems with series of simple steps, instead of being overwhelmed.

Just as foreign language gives students a greater appreciation for cultures, programming

gives them a greater appreciation for the media and technology that surrounds us.

It is fair to argue that it may be difficult for schools with fewer resources to get the computers and trained teachers necessary to offer computer coding courses. However, with the movement toward entirely computer-based testing, that is a challenge that most schools have to deal with sooner or later.

Ring’s proposal does not mean the end of foreign language education. It means students will have more opportunities to pursue their interests and prepare for the future, whether that involves a tech job right here in the U.S. or an entirely different job in another country.

Graphic by Varun Puri

The taming of the Trump

• “Dear Terrorists,” an open letter about the Paris attacks • Attendence committee creates a “Perfect 10” incentive program • Over Fall Break, there was a shooting at Citrus Park Mall • Nov. 20 was Transgender Day of Rememberance

These stories and more at hhstoday.com Cartoon by John Veliz

opinion

hhstoday.com

A form of equality Julianna Lechner @HHSTodayOnline Intolerant Target shoppers everywhere are shouting and ranting on Twitter.

The aisles of the superstore no longer are donned in segregated pinks and blues. Barbies are now close relatives to G.I. Joes.

And some people are finding this offensive. Somehow.

Target’s new gender neutral toy section is a huge step in breaking gender roles for children. So why are people fighting it?

Simple. Some people are pieces of dirt.

Target’s initiation of unisex advertising will hopefully spark a movement throughout retailers everywhere.

Imagine being a child in an age where your identity is forced upon you. Girls are given pink toys and pink rooms and pink clothes from the day they’re born. A 4-year-old boy wants to play with his sister’s Barbie? Oh no! Take them away before it turns him gay!

As a kid you’re told to “just be yourself,” yet children are scared to express their identity from a young age, in case their identity is the “wrong one” for their body.

Target is breaking this terrifying standard.

December 2015

7

Target wrongly discredited for conjoining boy and girl toys into one aisle

A little boy wants an Easy-Bake Oven or a princess dress up kit? A girl wants a military tank toy? People aren’t denying them of that anymore.

Devoid of “girls” and “boys” signs, the halls of the Target toy store could mean so much more to some kids.

Kids so often struggle with gender from a young age, and many people and parents are still not accepting of transgender and non-binary people. Target’s movement can make this issue a little bit less difficult for children who struggle with this every day.

Although Target’s new policy may seem minor to the movement of gender non-conformity, hopefully this can be a vital step to universal acceptance.

Gender neutrality for children’s toys is not only an important milestone for transgender/non-binary acceptance, but also for fighting sexism.

Growing up, girls are bombarded with toy kitchen equipment and makeup-covered dolls, while boys can choose from toy guns to building sets to superheros. And what is this teaching kids?

From their first toys, boys are taught that they can build

whatever they want! They can defeat villans and they can be scientists!

And what are girls taught? How to look pretty and skinny like Barbie. How to cook dinner for her husband in her pretty pink kitchen. Never how to build, never how to be a hero, never to inspire them to get a job.

Because that’s only for boys, right?

Some girls want to play with Legos and toy cars. But they think it’s wrong to walk down the boys aisle, so they settle for a Barbie or a “baby’s first kitchen.”

We condition young girls that they aren’t allowed to play with “boy toys.” And when they grow up, this idea is so pounded into their heads that they’re also conditioned to not do “boy jobs.”

But Target is crushing these standards. With no “boys” and “girls” sections, kids are free to find the toys they want without the pressures of gender stereotypes dictating their lives.

Target’s simple change of aisle names could be a huge step in the lives of children everywhere. Tell your kids to “just be themselves,” because now they really can.

Graphic by John Veliz

#It’sJustACup

Graphic

by Vishwa Shah

Vishwa Shah @vishifishy The controversy over the 2015 Starbucks “Red Cup” was totally unnecessary. It’s a red ombre cup.

There’s nothing wrong with it. If you think it’s anti-Christian, your argument is unjustified. The Starbucks cups from previous years have never had a relationship to Christianity — just winter.

In the past ten years, the cups have featured snowflakes, trees, ornaments, shoppers, ice skaters and snowmen. None of these are religious symbols. They’re festive, spirited and wintery, but not Christian.

The current trend is minimalism, and Starbucks’ cups this year reflect exactly that.

People jumped on the bandwagon after a few irate social media posts surfaced. They even managed to get Republican candidate Donald Trump involved, who suggested boycotting Starbucks. (He later retracted his statement.)

The cup managed to garner a lot of attention, both in the Internet

and TV. Twitter exploded with tweets, and #RedCup was featured with an emoji hashflag. Ellen DeGeneres and Stephen Colbert both gave the red cups some air time this year.

Starbucks got a lot of free marketing out of this, so there’s the other side of the whole issue. Sure, it was annoying, but that was a ton of free advertising for Starbucks. People who were against the cup even went there, and asked for their name to be “Merry Christmas.” Did they really think they were supporting their argument? I don’t know.

The whole hullabaloo was annoying and unnecessary. People need to stop taking offense to trivial things like this (which are not even offensive to begin with) and focus on the bigger, more worthy aspects of life.

To see more about the controversy, visit hhstoday.com

8December 2015

focus

Red & Black | hhstoday.com

9

Under attack.

As terrorist groups sour the international reputation of Islam, Muslim students feel the effects

Kathy Xie @kathyidk For Azra Korajcevic, living in a prejudiced society is all too familiar. Since elementary school, the junior has experienced countless microaggressions because of practicing Islam.

Korajcevic is white, with jet black hair that starkly contrasts porcelain skin. Because of this appearance, which is incongruent with the public’s view of a “typical Muslim,” Korajcevic and their brothers know they face less Islamophobia than those with perhaps a darker complexion.

They go to school. They make friends. They sometimes forget that such prejudice and hatred is present in this world.

But then they remember again.

“I don’t wear the hijab, so people don’t know I’m a Muslim; they just assume I’m Christian,” Korajcevic said. “Then I tell them [about my religion], and they just stop talking to me. I’ve lost friends over it.”

And then comes the jokes.

“You hear the terrorist jokes, the 9/11 jokes, and they’re brought up every time I mention I’m a Muslim,” Korajcevic said.

Over the years, they’ve learned to take the quips with a grain of salt. But, tolerance to the insensitivity is low.

“It’s like, ‘Oh, that’s funny... that’s so funny.’”

According to Gallup polls over the last decade, Islamophobia (the dislike of or prejudice against Islam or Muslims) has been on the rise since 9/11. In a 2011 meeting, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations identified Islamophobia as an area of concern. However, this prejudice has skyrocketed since the the formation of ISIS and most recently, the bombings in Paris organized by the group’s members.

When the US toppled Saddam Hussein’s government in Iraq, it unintentionally sparked a civil war where extremist groups like al-Qaeda flourished. A subgroup within the organization, which later became ISIS, used this opportunity to build a support base. al-Qaeda eventually declared ISIS as too brutal and split with the group in 2014.

Since then, ISIS has taken over a mini-state, spanning 80,000 square kilometers (roughly the size of South Carolina) across Iraq and Syria.

The organization has either inspired or been directly responsible for over 50 terrorist attacks around the world, including the Nov. 13 Paris attacks that killed over 130 people.

Huffington Post reported over 52 Islamophobic incidents in North America since Nov. 13, marking almost one every day.

“It’s really harsh to see what my family has to go through.”

–Azra Korajcevic, 11

“They’re completely misinterpreting what my religion really is.”

–Hamad Megahed, 12

“I am not oppressed.”

–Samina Ismail, 12

We asked 173 students what they thought of when they heard the word “Islam” or “Muslim.”

29% of responses were negative

Information compiled

by Shreya Patel | Photos courtesy Creative Commons

Superficiality of hatred

Recently, politicians have used the ISIS terrorist attacks as ammunition to promote anti-Islamic policies. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump suggested keeping a database of all Muslim residents and banning all Muslim travel to the United States.

“Until we are able to understand this problem and the threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life,” Trump said in a statement to CNN last week.

Such statements incense senior Hamad Megahed.

“They’re completely misinterpreting what my religion really is, and it makes me feel like some sort of criminal,” he said. “They’re basing all beliefs on what ISIS does alone, but that’s a terrorist group! It’s ridiculous that they just believe all Muslims would do everything that ISIS is doing.”

According to Megahed, the actions of militant groups have no bearing on the Islamic faith. “I’m pretty sure most of them have never learned about the religion. They’ve probably never opened up the Quran,” he said. He believes in the importance of global cooperation to defeat organizations like ISIS. In the end, despite the bullying, prejudice and insensitivity, Megahed stands with steadfast conviction about the true meaning of his religious ideology.

“The Islam that I am following and the Islam that 1.6 billion other people are following is truly a religion of peace.”

Unlike Korajcevic, senior Samina Ismail has faced direct discrimination on the basis of her appearance. She states that the insensitive remarks and dirty looks usually come from older

Daniel Hamilton, Shreya Patel and Amber Shemesh contributed to this report | Photos

by Dana Dinh

“Do you agree with presidential candidate Donald Trump’s plan of banning all Muslim travel to the United States?”

of students said yes

Graphic by Annie Aguiar Information compiled by Shreya Patel and Alex Morrison

57% of responses were neutral

Following the Paris attacks, presidential candidates voice their opinions

Fuel to the fire

18%

14% of responses were positive

MESSAGE BOARD

people, and stem from the fact that she dons a hijab.

“Many people have come up to me, concerned, saying ‘Oh honey, this is America, you don’t need to wear that anymore!’” Ismail said.

“I don’t think they understand the fact that no one forced me to wear hijab. I wear it because I want to and nothing you say is going to make me stop.”

Ismail wears the hijab because it gives her “a sense of identity, awareness, security and comfort.” She finds it most ironically offensive when women object to her choices of clothing, demanding her to take off the hijab and stop wearing long sleeves, jackets and cardigans.

“They fight for their right to wear whatever they want, but don’t think it’s OK for me to wear whatever I want,” she said. “I am not a poor oppressed girl whose father forces her to look like a paper bag and who has no education. Quite the contrary, to be honest.”

“The attacks are a wake-up call to the fact that what we’re involved with now is a civilizational conflict with radical Islam.”

–Marco Rubio

“There are those who have a thirst for blood in an attempt to spread their philosophy across this globe. We must redouble our efforts to resist them.”

–Ben Carson

“We have to look at ISIS as the leading threat of an international terror network; it cannot be contained; it must be defeated.”

–Hillary Clinton

10 December 2015

life

Lights of the Heights

Red & Black

Seminole Heights glows with holiday lights. Here are some luminescent displays from Central and New Orleans avenues.

Photos by Atiya Simmons

Jolly jingles

“Let it Snow” Compiled by Theontae Walton

“All I Want for Christmas is You”

“Jingle Bell Rock”

N ad

ia Jones, 1

“Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”

Ma

11

, Rodriguez

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11

10

nel e Munguia,

Da

lyn Montarroso

Ja

Kait

, 10

Students reveal which songs they will play on repeat this holiday season

lik Cannon,

“Oh Santa”

11

life

hhstoday.com

December 2015

Ho ho homemade

Hanukk-huh?

As most Americans decorate their homes with pine trees and reindeer, Joshua Nelson lights his menorah instead Denzel Pierre @denzelpierre3 Most kids wake up on Christmas day anxious and excited, anticipating the presents they might get or what’s inside their stockings. Their parents and siblings congregate by the decorated Christmas tree and reach under it to find the presents they have waited for.

After all, it’s America’s most popular holiday.

It’s normal for some to expect that every student celebrates the same holidays they celebrate, especially around Christmas time, which the majority of America is invested in.

But some students haven’t experienced looking under the Christmas tree. Students like junior Joshua Nelson don’t even celebrate the holiday. Nelson’s holiday involves no tree or stockings; It’s much better acquainted with candles.

Nelson and his family partake in Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of light which celebrates the Maccabean victory over the Assyrians.

Jewish families celebrate the holiday by lighting the menorah, a candle holding fixture with nine branches. Every night, one more is lit until the eighth and final night, where all the candles are lit. Nelson’s family will gather around the candles ev-

yousaid it

ery night and sing Jewish prayers.

“A lot of Jewish prayers are like that – they’re all sung,” Nelson said. He thinks of singing as one of the best things about the holiday, a part of the reason for his enjoyment. Despite its popularity, Nelson doesn’t see Hanukkah as a very important Jewish holiday, partially due to the fact that the story of Hanukkah takes place after the events of the Torah. According to Nelson, “Hanukkah’s more like Thanksgiving than anything else.”

Still, he enjoys the festivities. “My mom makes latkes and my father buys presents,” Nelson said. Originally, Jewish children weren’t supposed to receive presents on Hanukkah, but he says that “it’s right after Christmas, and all the Jewish kids got jealous.”

Although Nelson understands and enjoys most Hanukkah traditions, he is “shamefully ignorant” on how to play the traditional game of dreidel.

In the end, the holidays are the way they’ve always been since he was born.

Instead of waking up and staring at the

Christmas tree, Nelson stands by his family’s menorah. He sings Hebrew songs with his family as they light a candle for each of the eight days, which this year, are Dec. 6 to Dec. 14.

The menorah shines to commemorate a holiday they celebrate every year. For him, that’s the way it’s always been.

Students share step-by-step directions on how to make homemade gifts

Character Headband 1) Look up the character and find a part of their costume that would be easy to make, but still a good present.

2) Get a long strip of cloth so the headband can tie in the back. You have to make it double the size of the fabric so you can fold it over and sew around the edges.

3) Turn it inside-out so none of the seams show and fold the end.

4) Get some gold paint. To make a pattern to paint onto fabric, you can cut the pattern out of paper and tape it down onto the fabric.

5) Start with the paintbrush on the paper and pull into where the pattern is so none of it comes up underneath the paper and do that until it’s a nice thick layer of paint.

As told by Samantha Majchrzak, 11

Friend Kit 1) Begin with the container of your friend kit. Take a box and print out lots of pictures of your friend.

2) Cut the pictures into a variety of shapes and size and tape them onto the box.

3) Find any kind of crafts kit from a local craft store. In this case, I used No Sew Fleece Blanket and Pillow from Joanne’s Fabrics.

Graphic by 4) After purchasing the blanket kit, unpack it and grab the Varun Puri cloth, making cuts around the sides.

5) Knot together two adjacent pieces together to tie the different pieces.

6) Continue this around the cloth and you end up with a blanket made of different patterns and colors.

“I go to Michigan [to see 7) Finally, leave a sweet treat for your friend to find. my grandparents and 8) Grab a mason jar and a bag of their favorite candy. cousins].”

9) Fill the mason jar and grab some ribbon to tie around the rim and make it pretty.

-Kayla Pratt, 11 10) Put your homemade craft and jar of candy into the box and smother it in wrapping paper Collected 11) Hand to your friend and watch their face light up!

Students share interesting holiday vacation spots “I went to Key West and my favorite part was snorkeling in the coral reef.”

-Caroline Mercedes, 11

“I’ve been to Cuba, well, I lived there. We celebrate Christmas kind of differently. “ -Jaime Rodriguez, 10

by Jeremy Leong

As told by Alaina Thomas, 11 Compiled by Shreya Patel and John Veliz

12 December 2015

entertainment

Fish are friends Amber Shemesh @HHSTodayOnline You can tell a lot about a person’s choice in smartphone lock screen. It could be a picture of a friend, a pet or a family member.

For freshman Joseph Lugo, it’s two fish.

At first glance, one may not think much of Lugo’s iPhone 5c lock screen. His background is an illustrated picture of two swimming fish, but upon closer look, it becomes apparent that the fish resemble the yin and yang symbols.

Whenever Lugo opens his phone, he’s reminded of his friend Michael Maldonado. Maldonado sent Lugo the yin and yang fish picture because he thought it looked cool, and Lugo decided to make that his background.

“I just liked it because the way that I see it, it’s like how I see my friend [Maldonado],” he said.

To Lugo, yin and yang represent how people aren’t always the way they appear

Red & Black

Joseph Lugo’s phone screen represents a close friendship adult. After talking, Lugo and Maldonado became friends.

Today, the duo is just as close. But Maldonado doesn’t live in Tampa. Or Florida. Maldonado lives in Puerto Rico.

Lugo is originally from Puerto Rico, but in February, he moved to Florida. Lugo said that it was hard for him to leave his childhood friends, but Lugo and Maldonado Skype each other on the weekends.

to be. He explained that although someone may look “bad,” he may actually be “good,” and vice versa.

Lugo said that people judged Maldonado and his friendship because they’re so different. Lugo is more introverted, and likes being alone, while Maldonado is “always friendly, like he could talk to everyone,” Lugo said.

The two became friends when they were in second grade. One day, Lugo was sitting alone in a baseball park in the front of his school, and a group of kids approached him. They soon began pushing, kicking and hitting him. Minutes later, Maldonado appeared.

“This kid that I [had] never talked to, never bothered to say hi to, never knew about his existence, just comes and starts screaming to [the group of kids] to stop,” Lugo said.

The group left Lugo alone after Maldonado threatened to inform an

Anticipated concerts coming to Tampa

Dec.17 The Weeknd

Dec.19 Jingle Ball This year’s Jingle Ball will be held at Amalie Arena on Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m. The event is a part of iHeartRadio’s Jingle Ball Tour, featuring artists 5 Seconds of Summer, Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, Zedd, Shawn Mendes, Tove Lo, Charlie Puth, R. City, Hailee Steinfeld, Conrad Sewell, Alessia Cara and DNCE. The Jingle Ball Tour travels to cities across the United States, this year the destinations were Dallas, San Francisco/Oakland, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Chicago and Miami/Fort Lauderdale.

Tampa’s event marks the end of the tour.

In its sixth year, Jingle Ball can be expected to draw a large audience, since 2014’s sold-out show attracted a crowd of 14,480.

93.3FLZ’s Jingle Ball will also be donating a dollar from each ticket sale to the non-profit Ryan Seacrest Organization.

According to Meredith Seacrest, Executive Director & COO of the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, “The Ryan Seacrest Foundation is proud to team up with Jingle Ball for the third year in a row, allowing us to raise more funds and awareness for our work with children’s hospitals across the country.”

-Yesha Shukla

Somewhere between contemporary R&B and pop lies the sounds of The Weeknd, Toronto based singer, songwriter and producer.

The artist rose to superstardom when his single, “Earned It,” shot to No. 3 on the Billboard Top 100 charts during the release of the “50 Shades of Grey” movie. Immediately afterwards, “Can’t Feel My Face” went No. 1, and The Weeknd’s fan base has since quickly expanded.

Lots of students are getting excited about The Madness Fall Tour, The Weeknd’s first

national tour since the release of his “Beauty Behind The Madness” album.

“Listening to the music through your headphones just isn’t the same. You have to feel his energy and the vibes,” said senior Juli Lopez. “He got really deep in this album.”

The concert will take place on Dec. 17 at the Amalie Arena and breakthrough artist Travis Scott is set to open.

The hype for The Weeknd’s concerts was displayed during his last tour when he sold out every show. Since then, his appearances in festivals like Lalapalooza, Coachella and HARD Summer have drawn huge crowds and were critically acclaimed.

-Julissa Machado

hhstoday.com

May the wait be with you Michael Strobl @HHSTodayOnline Sophomore Jonathan Strickland is getting ready for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” before it comes to theaters on Dec. 18. “I’m planning on marathoning the first six beforehand,” he said. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen them, so it’ll be good to have them fresh on my mind.”

Strickland is just one of millions who plan to see the new film. Its plot has been a constant topic of discussion among scifi and movie fans since it was announced in 2012. Advertisements have been shown on practically every television channel.

The movie is generating unbelievable amounts of hype.

As of Nov. 19, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” had already made $50 million in advance ticket sales, according to Variety. Fandango, the online ticket company, reported that as of that same date, the new “Star Wars” film had beaten the first “Hunger Games” record for most ticket pre-sales. The Los Angeles Times predicts that the movie could domesti-

“I’m very excited. I’m hype ... I’m going to make ‘Star Wars’ themed food when it comes out.”

-Steven Doan, 10

“I’m ecstatic ... because it was a classic film and now a classic comes back to life with a new director. I’m looking forward to it.”

-Vincent DelCastillo, 11

13

entertainment cally gross anywhere from $185 million to more than $250 million.

Despite being only days away from release, “Star Wars” is still shrouded in secrecy. Much of the mystery surrounding the film stems from original “Star Wars” trilogy protagonist Luke Skywalker’s absence in promotional material for the film. Recently, in an interview with “PC Gamer,” Mark Hamill, the actor who plays Skywalker, explained that he was forced to sign a Non-Disclosure Contract where his pay is decreased for every spoiler he leaks. Hamill went so far as to say that he could not even confirm whether or not he’s in the movie.

Director and co-writer J.J. Abrams sees the secrets surrounding the film as vital in the movie-making process. In an interview with Good Morning America, Abrams said that he fears over-hyping or ruining the movie by revealing too much about it.

Despite so many “Star Wars” secrets being kept from eager fans, one fan was able to see the movie early. The Huffing-

ton Post recently released a story about “Star Wars” franchise fan Daniel Fleetwood being diagnosed with connective tissue cancer.

Realizing that he would likely pass away before the release date, Fleetwood and his wife, Ashley, began campaigning for Disney to grant him access to an early screening. The campaign was supported by “Star Wars” actors Hamill, Carrie Fisher, John Boyega and director J.J. Abrams.

Fleetwood’s wish came true, and he was shown the movie early, although the editing process had not yet been completed.

Despite the excitement generally surrounding the movie, some are less excited than others. When asked if she was looking forward to the movie, junior Rachel Arcangeli said, “Kind of. It’s a continuation, so I’m not sure how good it’ll be compared to the old ones.”

With so many questions surrounding the movie’s release, the biggest question remains: Will it be any good? Strickland thinks so.

“It looks promising, I’ll say that much.”

-Jonathan Strickland, 10

“I’m not sure how good it’ll be compared to the old ones.”

-Rachel Arcangeli, 11

December 2015

MOVIE REVIEW

rampus sleighs Holiday horror brings a sinister Santa Alyssa Ierna @AlyssaIerna One time, when I was around 10, I had a nightmare that all my dolls came alive and tried to kill me. “Krampus” is the big screen version of that nightmare, but so much more horrifying.

From what I heard around school, I expected “Krampus” to be some lame, “Goosebumps”-esque movie with a cheesy moral and a happy ending. Then I found out that it was rated PG-13, and my hopes plummeted into the underworld.

I expected to see a terrible movie without any actual scary stuff or gore. Boy howdy, I was so wrong.

“Krampus” manages to have humor without making it seem forced, as is quite common in horror movies.

I watched the trailer the day before I saw the actual movie and immediately regretted my decision to review this movie (I’m a big baby). I realized that I was in for a whole world of nightmares.

The lead villain, Krampus, is accompanied by hellish helpers, like a teddy bear and a jack in the box, but inside of them looked like malformed alligators. Basically, the toys had a lot of scary teeth.

There are many instances of powerful gun-wielding ladies and grannies, which I think every movie could use more of.

The stereotypical movie ending where the little boy defeats the monster and hope is restored isn’t found in “Krampus.” The end is surprising and really leaves a haunting and sick feeling in your stomach.

The “wholesome” and “sweet” moral of “Krampus” is as follows: if you don’t have hope and you indulge in the selflessness of the holidays, a demon will drag your family one by one into the depths of hell. Naturally.

Graphic by John Veliz

14 December 2015

Before the game

sports

Red & Black

Athletes are expected to run, jump, kick, throw, swim, tackle — anything to win. But before all of that, they have to prepare.

1

2

1 Junior Marcia Curry plays Apples to Apples with the rest of the girls basketball team before their Nov. 20 game against Brandon.

The team won 50-33.

2 Junior Bryce Moragne practices before the boys basketball game against Armwood on Dec. 8. The team won 50-46.

3 Senior Izanami Cobos-Frias helps fellow cross country runner and junior Jakob Nikolasora stretch before a race. “[Stretching] mitigates the risk of injury,” Nikolasora said. | Photos

by Annie Aguiar

4 The boys soccer team gathers before a game against Sickles on Dec. 4. The team lost 6-3 | Photo by Matt Lutton

3

4

15

sports

hhstoday.com

December 2015

Soccer teams finding new ways to play New goalkeeper earns time early Daniel Hamilton @dham013 The girls soccer team has found a keeper, and her name is Brianna Joseph.

The freshman has been sharing time in goal with senior Kayla Childs, who was the No. 1 goalie on the roster last season. This season, Joseph has played for 296 minutes, while Childs has only played for 160 minutes.

“It’s really exciting. I didn’t think that I was going to get this much playing time as a freshman, especially since [Childs] is a senior,” Joseph said. “I feel like we’re both on the same level. I mean we’re both pretty good.”

Many players on the team, including Childs, have noted Joseph’s skill as a goalie.

Joseph hovers around the MaxPreps national average for the goals allowed per game, at 1.9 goals per game. However, she has significantly more saves than the national average -- 37 compared to 15.

Childs said she doesn’t mind sharing time.

“I’ve done it before,” she said. “Brianna is talented and I give her credit for that. She deserves her playing time.”

Childs attributes Joseph’s greater playing time to her skill that she had prior to joining the team. Joseph is a member of one of Tampa Bay United’s competitive teams, as well as being trained at D1, a sports training cente.

According to team members, it doesn’t

Pass-first mentality helps boys rebuild

matter much who is goalie in terms of the strategy used during the game. “[The person in net] really doesn’t make a difference on the way we play,” said team captain and midfielder Cassandra Cooper.

Cooper said the only area that might be affected as a result of a change in goalies is how the team handles goal kicks – putting a ball back in play after it goes out of bounds over the goal line.

Despite how fast she got playing time, Joseph said that she hasn’t experienced any animosity from the team members; they have been very supportive.

“I got my skills levels from playing

Matt Lutton @Matt_lutt One hundred twenty five passes a half.

That’s what head coach Steven Colborne says the soccer team needs to be successful.

Without that many passes, the offense will simply struggle to score goals this season.

The 3-5 Terriers are currently working on rebuilding after losing five senior last year, including Blake Rehl and Brian Spivak, who scored 62 percent of last season’s goals.

“Obviously they [Rehl and Spivak] were a big part of the team, but I think we’ve gotten over them having gone and have stepped up quite a bit to the challenge,” senior captain Jake

club, so [the support I’ve received] is kind of understandable,” Joseph said. “I love it a lot. [The team] loves me. They’re really nice. I love the team.”

Brianna Joseph, 9 Photo by Daniel Hamilton

Amine Benkirane, 10 Photo by Matt Lutton

Kennard said.

Rather than replacing key players with different individuals, the soccer team has relied on teamwork and sound fundamentals to pick up the offensive slack. Rehl and Spivak combined to score 42 goals last year. Now, with these two gone,

no single player has scored more than 5, as of Monday.

“We’re playing more as a team,” Colborne said. “Last year, a lot of times we would just look for [the seniors] to score, but now we’re playing more as a team.”

Junior Nikhil Saligame agreed, saying this year’s team plays better as an all-around unit.

“Our style of play is a lot more balanced now, our possessions are better, and our counter attack is more efficient.”

However, the absence of overpowering goal scorers is still noticeable. Saligame himself had to change positions for the betterment of the team. The former defender is now playing forward to facilitate ball movement. The transition hasn’t been too difficult for him, and he already has two goals on the year.

The team also lost its starting goalie from last year. The Terriers have given up almost 3.5 goals a game in the five losses this season.

Following three straight losses, the team added a backup keeper Cade McCurdy as a precaution. Colborne said he hopes the addition of another keeper will encourage the current goalie Bryan Pagoada to put forth greater effort both in practice and games.

“Maybe it will make [Pagoada] work a little harder knowing there is somebody competing for his job.”

Young wrestling team gets back to basics Alex Morrison @Magadon433 A new generation of wrestlers has arrived at Hillsborough.

The majority are underclassmen in the lightweight class, ranging from 106 pounds to 126 pounds. The physical challenges ahead of them are great, but they benefit from the leadership of a few experienced wrestlers. Responsibility has fallen on the more older athletes to concentrate on the basics of the sport.

The differences in experience levels are vast, as senior Connor Knauer demonstrates. He has been ranked second in the state, a level of achievement that no one else on the team has reached. Despite outclassing the many newcomers on the team, Knauer said this influx in young, inexperienced wrestlers is actually an advantage for the team.

“It’s good to have kids coming in as freshman and sophomores,” Knauer said. “They get a lot more years of practice in.”

Knauer does think that practice is milder than in previous years, which he says can be attributed to the lack of experience.

Balancing this out, however, is an increase in focus on the fundamentals of the sport. He said, “It’s always nice to go through the basics because the basics are what win championships.”

This leadership from experienced wrestlers like Knauer has helped first-year wrestlers get their bearings in the sport. Senior Maxwell Maida has learned a great deal from mentoring.

“They’re guiding me in the right direction,” Maida said.

“They’re teaching me all the techniques, moves and everything.”

This has led to early success in wrestling for Maida, who won his first match on Saturday.

Maida’s fellow teammates seem to agree that it is a positive experience. Sophomore Hussain Jhaveri feels that the exercises can be difficult, especially the fireman carries. This isn’t discour-

Senior Connor Knauer and sophomore Jaekwon Bryant sit during a practice. Knauer is ranked second in the state in his weight class and has become a leader on the team. | Photo by Ahava Jernigan aging for Hussain, who says, “It’s a challenge as well as like a fun activity.”

16 December 2015

sports

Red & Black

Baptiste bounces back Future Division I basketball player overcomes knee injury

Katie Delk @HHSTodaySports Despite a pink eye infection and knee injury, senior Trinity Baptiste, varsity basketball member, shoots from around the court, sinking shot after shot.

Over the course of her freshman and junior year, Baptiste scored more than 1,000 points and averaged 25 points a game last year.

Almost every day she is either in the gym working out, attending practice or attending rehab for her knee.

Despite her injuries, Baptiste has been offered scholarships by Sam Houston State, Eastern Kentucky, University of Tampa and East Carolina. She plans to sign

with Sam Houston and aspires to become a physical therapist after she graduates.

Baptiste’s interest in physical therapy stems from overcoming numerous injuries and she wants to help people “get better and to see them go from hurting to walking to running.”

This motivates her to work harder to recover quickly and she wants to help others be healthy as well.

While Baptiste has not played yet this season, she expects to be cleared by doctors next week and will be able to play for the rest of the season.

Baptiste is able to attend games and practices and is a “really good

leader [who] shows the girls what is expected to be done on the floor,” coach Kelsey Gatz said.

Despite adversity, Baptiste has been motivated by her family. Her little sister battled cancer twice at the ages of 2 and 8. Her sister’s fight through the pain and struggles of cancer treatment inspires Baptiste to never give up.

Baptiste has been playing basketball since seventh grade and has learned a lot but wants to keep improving. She challenges herself to become a better person and player.

Baptiste states this mentality has helped motivate her and believes people should “always be willing to learn from others and to be the best [they] can be.”

Senior Trinity Baptiste works on her free throws at her after school basketball practice. While the team learns plays and completes drills, Baptiste is able to work on her ball handling and shooting skills.| Photo by Katie Delk

Late nights for boys basketball Daniel Garrison @HHSTodaySports This season, the basketball teams play up to three games a week with 20 games between Nov. 16 and Jan. 27, with no regular season games over winter break. With games up to three days a week, the team is only able to practice twice during the school week. According to boys coach Orlando Goodwin, this forces the team to make a more efficient use of their time.

Not only are there fewer practices, but the practices are less intense

so the players can recover in time for the next game.

Fewer, less intense practices means less time to improve both as individual players and as a team. According to sophomore Myles Cowart, rebounding and hustling are the main areas of improvement for the team. However, for junior Tim Laurens, shooting and being better teammates are of higher priority.

Goodwin said the frequency of the games not only impacts how the players perform on the court, but in academics as well. After some away-

games, players don’t get home until 11 p.m.

This leaves very little time for studying and completing homework if players want to be rested for school and potentially a game the next day.

“I spend a lot of time monitoring grades,” Goodwin said. “I try to check them weekly.”

Junior Dexter Stallworth said that having three games a week means very little free time and having to use weekends for homework. “I have to use my time more wisely,” Stallworth said.

The team meets during a timeout to discuss changes to defense and offense.

The boys lost the home game on Jan. 4 against Chamberlain 50-48. | Photo by Daniel Garrison