B J
The
Jacket Buzz
Starkville High School • 603 Yellow Jacket Dr. Starkville, MS 39759 • shsjacketbuzz.com Volume XXI, No. 5 • 05-14-14
SHS students, teachers affected by April Tornados Students and teachers band together to grieve with and relieve tornado victims Page 3
Senior Journalists: “So long, farewell!”
SHS senionrs write their last stories for The Jacket Buzz Pages 10-11
Starkville Tennis goes to state Tennis players go to state competition and represent SHS Page 16
The
SENIOR
Edition
Seniors look forward to interesting college choices or a career change nGraham, Riddick attend college out of state, look forward to leaving Mississippi By Hemanth Nannapaneni Writer
In Mississippi 90% of students attend an in-state college, and seniors at SHS usually go to MSU or another college near Starkville. However, some seniors decided that they wanted to go against the norm and leave Starkville to go somewhere else. Sara Lacy Graham is attending Birmingham-Southern College. Graham said that she never really wanted to end up at state, and that she really wanted to go to a smaller school in a new city. “I was interested in the college when I lived in Alabama,
and I love Birmingham as a city. Plus, the entire atmosphere of the college just suits me,” said Graham. She feels like living in Birmingham is just far enough to have a fresh start but close enough that is won’t be too difficult to visit Starkville. She received a Presidential Honors Scholarship which totals $108,000 over four years. She plans to major in English with a minor in Communications. Erica Riddick is another senior who is going out of state. She is enrolling in Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. She said that remaining in Mississippi never crossed her mind and that she has always wanted to attend college away from home. Riddick said, “I feel that attending an institution outside my resident city will be an amazing experience. There are so many amazing opportunities outside Mississippi and I can’t afford to let all of them pass me by.” Riddick received a $42,000 Academic Scholarship. She plans on majoring in Biology with a concentration in Pre-Med.
By Iyunna Clark Writer
Teanna says that Treanna feels the exact same way. Teanna is planning on being a field artillery mechanic, while Treanna is set to become a supply specialist. They depart for
there are two specific seniors who will be graduating and planning to go military. Teanna and Treanna Jefferson will attend basic training in order to prepare for the military. “It was the quickest route to starting our college careers,” Teanna said. “I am very excited; being in JROTC helped me with the decision of wanting to be in the military. Speaking for her twin sister,
basic training at different times, with Teanna leaving on July 29 and Treanna leaving on Aug. 6. Both of the twins look forward to their careers in the military. “I just look forward to serving my country,” Teanna said. “I made my decision [to join the military] to serve my country and show my condolences for those who fought for me.”
Although many of our seniors will attend multiple community colleges and universities as freshmen after high school,
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SHS Students set to Students set to attend attend MSMS, look to future Governor’s School, excited By Alexyia Turner Writer
As the 2013 – 2014 school year nears its end, thoughts and plans of the upcoming year begin. For this group of students, the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science is the next stop to success. The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, or MSMS, is a very prestigious public and magnet, residential high school of Mississippi that focuses mainly on the student’s gifted skills in mathematics and science. As Sophomore Tanzim Hassan said, “They have a lot more opportunities than Starkville High.” This may be true, as Newsweek and The Daily Beast have listed MSMS on the best high schools in America for two years running. In order to apply, the
students had to fill out an information application and provide testing scores as well as, write two essays, provide a resume, obtain three teacher recommendations, submit a math or science work sample, and got through an interview. They would then find out if the were accepted, denied, or placed on the alternate list. There are many sophomores in Starkville High School that have been accepted and are already planning the transition including Katelyn Jackson and Joy Carino. For these three students of Starkville High, they were all excited to be accepted and begin their careers at MSMS. “My dad wants me to go, but my mom wants me to stay,” Jackson said. For Hassan, it was different. “My parents expect me to attend because me sister attended
MSMS,” Hassan said. “The main thing I may have a hard time with is living with someone else for the first time and learning that compromise.” The transition may be a little different for Jackson, who said, “I know a lot of people there, so I will be able to make friends. And it’s not that far from Starkville, so I will be able to come home on the weekends.” Carino and Jackson might not have plans for college yet, but Hassan stated, “I will be applying to the Ivy League schools such as Harvard and MIT and I plan on majoring in Biochemistry, Biophysics, or Aeronautical Engineering or Physics.” The next step for the many sophomores at Starkville High is the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science in hopes of accomplishing their dreams.
By Ben Mackin Writer
Two Starkville High School students will be going back to class this summer to attend the Mississippi Governor’s School. Sophomore Michelle Li and Junior Shelby Adair will spend twenty days at Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, where the state administrated program will be held. Governor’s School, designed for juniors and seniors to provide academic, creative, and leadership experiences for those who have demonstrated exceptional ability in school, was established in 1981 by Governor William F. Winter. Running from June 1st
through June 20th, Governor’s School is a residential honors program, meaning students will spend the evenings in accommodations provided by MUW. Adair and Li, who are friends as well as peers, plan to room together. This is not the first time SHS students will attend the school. Adair said, “Another student (Emily Turner), told me about Governor’s School. I signed up for it because it will look good on my resume, but once I started looking at the class options and recreational opportunities I got really excited.” Students will be offered three different forms of courses: college level major courses, leadership seminars, and interest area courses. In-
terest area courses offer the opportunity to explore a wide range of areas, from comedy improvisation to cooking. Adair said, “I got excited because it looks like there’s a lot of focus on what causes abnormal human behavior. I find that stuff really interesting.” Students planning to attend were required to fill out a form by January 31st, but Adair said it was not hard to fill out. Adair expects the experience to be one worth having. “From what I’ve heard, it’s supposed to be a really good experience,” Adair said. “You have a classes a couple times a week you get college credit for, and the rest is supposed to be community service and leadership skills training.”
Young, Calmes retiring, move on Holloway looks back to visit with family, raise cattle By Khris Carr Writer
By Emily Woomer Writer
As the years pass by, there are people students can always count on the keep Starkville High School running smoothly. These people provide us students with moral support and learning experiences, they push us to be our best and encourage us the whole way, they work behind the scenes to be sure we have a clean and functional school to learn in; these people that we would be lost without, SHS’s faculty and staff. Sadly, there comes a time when we have to say bye to these employees, the time when retirement comes around. This year SHS has two beloved employees who will be retiring, Jessie Calmes and Carrie Young.
Calmes started out working as a Starkville School District bus driver. After 20 years, he decided to take on a job as a custodian at SHS. “I was driving the school bus and I got use to being with the kids so I decided to switch over to being a janitor at SHS,” Calmes said. As a janitor, he does just about everything. From cleaning to unlocking doors to checking out any building problems, Calmes keeps a very busy day. After 22 years, he feels like his time at SHS is finished. “I’ll miss being around the people I work with,” said Calmes. “We’ve had a lot of laughs and fun together.” He is, however, looking forward to everything that comes
with retirement. “Most of all, I’m excited about not having to get up early and going to work.” Raising beef cattle will occupy Calmes’ newfound free time. Meanwhile, Young has taught in the Starkville school district for 27 years. She spent 18 of the years teaching history at Armstrong Middle School, and the last nine years she spent at SHS teaching US government, World History, and US History. She had the opportunity to practice her teaching with the younger first grade classes. Every Friday if she had an A+ average in all of her studies, she was allowed to teach a 20 minute lesson to the first graders.
“From that point on, I had always wanted to be a teacher,” said Ms. Young. Her students have always been her inspiration to keep teaching. “I’ve had students who didn’t want to work, but I’ve had so many students who wanted to learn and those are the ones that kept me going,” said Ms. Young. During retirement, Ms. Young looks forward to spending more time with her six grandsons and on-the-way grandchild. She also plans to go on a family trip to Disney World and Hot Springs, Arkansas. In the end, the SHS faculty, staff, and student body will miss both of these members of the Jacket family.
Toriano Holloway spent the last month filling in as Principal at Starkville High School, while continuing his role as Assistant Superintendent, where he enforced discipline, academics, and expectations. It was hectic yet, a job that had to be done, while on the search for a new High school principal. “Goals I had for Starkville High School were to focus on academics, raise the expectations, and bring back the discipline,” said Holloway. “I think everyone understands our graduation rate is low and that Subject Areas Test is a reason we aren’t graduating.” Enforcing education meant no sleeping in class, no laying heads down, and no disrupting classes. Students made wiser decisions when realizing punishments were severe, due to not participating in the change for better
education. “Something I felt improved under my leadership was the culture,” said Holloway The school’s values focused more on graduation rates and discipline under Holloway’s leadership. Teaching, learning, State testing, and graduation became a priority that needed to be met at Starkville High. “I hope the next principal will continue to emphasize how important structure, discipline, and academics are to the students,” said Holloway. Holloway spends each day walking the hallways, and developing a relationship with the faculty and students. Although Holloway won’t be Principal next year, he will still be a part of theYellowJacket family, as Assistant Superintendent. “Once a Yellow Jacket always aYellow Jacket,” Holloway said.
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AP course load Spamalot Cast earns praise, revamped for 2015 have fun putting on musical By Kristen Lacy Writer
As the school year and Advanced Placement classes come to a close most students have already decided on the AP courses that they will be taking next school year. However there are going to be some definite changes in the schedules of AP courses. Students will have the option of taking AP Human Geography and AP-Pre English.Those and classes like AP literature and AP Government will occur in the same block and students will take the classes together. This will occur by maintaining the block schedule. Within the block schedule there will be an A-B schedule to allow this. For example, if a student is taking freshman AP Human Geography and subsequently AP-Pre English first block they simply switch from AP Human
Geography Monday to AP-Pre English Tuesday and switching like that for the whole year while the rest of the schedule remains a normal block schedule. However, classes like AP Chemistry, AP Biology, and AP Calculus will be yearlong classes that will consist of a prerequisite class the first semester and turn into the AP class second semester keeping the same students in the same block for the entire year. This type of AP schedule is a result of the College Board path of AP courses that most benefits students. Assistant Principal Sean McDonnall said that the school is “aligning the AP classes with the College Board structure and path,” in order to create a more successful AP experience for students.
By Rylan Christensen Writer
definitely tell that the students were very confident by their acting and if they weren’t, you couldn’t tell,” Chloe Bardon, audience member, said. The play was two acts and had a short intermission be-
Starkville High School students performed the musical comedy, Spamalot, this past weekend in the Starkville High Theater. “I had heard people mention Spamalot last year and it is very popular,” Jessica Price, director, said. There are several musicals numbers in the play. Price said she was really surprised that it was not hard to find students who could sing and fit for the correct parts. “Everybody had really good voices and we could usually see who fit the different parts quickly.” Price said she looks for confidence, willingness to try Crow and Steve Jones sing new things, and strong voices Allison in Spamalot. Photo by Rylan Christensen. during auditions. “You could
tween the acts. The play lasted about two hours including intermission. Price said the cast got their lines down quickly, but she gives them a strategy to memorize the lines. “I tell students to record other cast members doing their lines, and then leave a gap for where their own lines would be. Then, they just play it over a lot to help memorize their parts,” Price said. Price said that all the students did not always show up for rehearsal which was an obstacle, but it did not totally hurt the production. “Rehearsal has gone well, but we started rehearsing early so we have had a lot of time,” Price said. She enjoys directing and she loves every thing about theater. “I enjoy seeing it go from pages
to a stage,” Price said. Bardon was a student in Price’s intro to theater class last semester. “She knows a lot about theater, and I could tell she has a lot of passion for it,” said Bardon. Price thinks plays are harder to direct than musicals because for plays someone is always saying lines and has to be in a certain spot at a certain time the whole time. “Musicals have a lot of dance numbers and songs,” Price said. Price has always enjoyed performing in plays. “I have also loved directing this play,” Price said. She said she enjoyed working with her cast a lot. “It is bitter sweet. It has been great to be a part of, but now that it is over, it is less stress on me,” Price said.
Students take on Tornado Relief, get supplies By April Reese Writer
On Monday, April 28, severe weather caused thousands of people, across several states, to take shelter. The severity of these storms caused Alabama, and even Georgia to declare a state of emergency. Sadly, the weather claimed the lives of at least 30 people, including John Servati. He was a member of the Alabama Swimming Team and lost his life after saving his girlfriend from a falling wall. Many SHS students who swim on the local Shockwave Aquatic Team as well as swim coaches and swim officials in our area knew and loved him, and will miss him dearly. Though Starkville was safe from most of the destruction, several lives of the people, right here at Starkville High School, were affected. Kim Killen, who travels every day from her home
in Louisville, is familiar with the tornado’s damage. “My whole family lives in Louisville,” said Killen, “We did have damage. The tornado lifted our roof, so we have rafter damage and water damage to most of the house.” But this is one of the lucky stories. “My brother’s family lost his whole house and everything in it,” Killen said. Through it all, the spirit of Louisville is not broken. “It will take a nice while, but we will come back just as strong we were before,” Killen said. Killen isn’t the only one who has seen the reality of a tornado. Ms. Kelli Dawkins’ sister, brother-in-law, their 9-year old daughter, and their son lost their home. “Their home was totally wiped out.The back of the house and the roof were totally ripped out.”
Now, the rebuilding begins. “I’ve seen pictures before on TV and the computer of houses that were damaged, but it’s nothing compared to actually standing in the middle of it. Stepping over boards and nails, helping search for a wallet or a favorite sweatshirt and it’s in the woods or in a tree. It’s sad,” Dawkins said. However, Starkville High School students stood up in the face of the storm’s wrath. Ty Adair’s two World History Acc. classes and his Advanced Placement European history donated rolls of trash bags, cases of water bottles, and boxes of canned goods to the recovery effort. “It was something that we [the students] didn’t really think too hard about,” AP Euro student Aaron LaFrance said. “When he told us what it was for, we were really encouraged to donate stuff.”
The remains of Kelli Dawkin’s relatives’ home still stand, as seen in the above left picture and above right picture. Contributed photos.Marshall Adair coordinates loading the supplies gathered by SHS students in Ty Adair’ World History Acc. and AP Europeon History in the bottom left and right photos. Photos by Shelby Adair.
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PROM- Sounds and Sights DECA attends international It was a very vibrant and exciting atmosphere full of life and color, and I can’t wait for the next one. -Arman Borazjani
By Grace Linley Writer
The DECA club traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, on May 2. DECA stands for. From May 2 to May 7, the club competed against many foreign countries, along with all fifty states, in an International Competition. Some of the countries there were China, Guam, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Mexico. The competitors each had to take a 100 multiple choice question test on their subject, and then role play in front of a panel of judges with only ten minutes of preparation time. Ian Hurley and Ceci Heard both competed for SHS. Hurley, who competed in principles of hospitality and tourism, did not make the finals.
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DECA is an amazing student organization that teaches life lessons. -Kathy Dawkins
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competition, Heard in top ten
However, Heard, who competed in principles of business, management, and administration, made the Top 10. The of-
ficial scores have not been released yet, but she was the only person from Mississippi to get called. While in Atlanta, the DECA club toured the World of Coke Museum, had a DECA Day at Six Flags Over Georgia, visited the Georgia Aquarium, went to an Easton Corbin and Brett Eldridge concert at the Georgia Dome, and went to a Fashion Show provided by the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising out of Los Angeles. Kathy Dawkins, the DECA sponsor, said, “DECA is an amazing student organization that teaches life lessons and helps prepare students for the future.”
Buffington bridges school gap, works toward unity By Michelle Li Writer
As all students know, Starkville School will soon be consolidating with the Oktibbeha County School District. One remarkable student at SHS works to make this transition as smooth as possible. Cat Buffington, a junior at SHS, has created a club called Unity that incorporates students from Starkville High, Starkville Academy, and the county Schools. “Unity is a student led group organized to bring all the high school students together so they can get to know each other and serve our community. Currently, there are eighteen members in Unity, but I recently got a three-thousand dollar grant so I’m going to try to expand the club to about sixty members – twenty from SHS, twenty from Starkville Academy, and twenty from the County Schools so that it will be balanced,” Buffington said.
“We normally meet once a month and usually do two service projects each month. Upcoming service projects could vary depending on what comes up, but I’m sure we’ll be volunteering a lot this summer.” The grant has charged the organization to continue reaching out and giving back. “Because of the grant, hopefully we’ll have enough money to start a couple of big service projects. I’m really excited to get more students involved in the community,” Buffington said. Buffington’s recent opportunity
to attend a conference got the ball rolling for this project. “I started this organization after I went to the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation in Oxford,” Buffington said. “They encouraged students like us to talk about the problems in our community and come up with solutions to resolve these problems.” The problems of the Oktibbeha County motivated Cat as well. “One of the problems that I saw was that it was really disappointing that Starkville’s youth only hung around people who were like them. This motivated me to start Unity,” Buffington said. She feels like she gleans a great deal from the program. “Also, it’s a good way to help the community, when you’re working together for a common good,” Buffington said.
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Lifestyles
A Year in Review
The Junior class puts together quite a showing at the homecoming pep-rally.
The flag girls’ new twirl show keeps fans mesmerized.
The drama classes’ zombie makeup is extremely realistic.
Page 5• 05-14-14
Jamie Coleman becomes emotional upon being crowned homecoming queen.
The football team continues the tradition of running through a bust em at all home games.
Senior Zeb Rice prepares to jump, at home against Columbus.
The 2013 Miss Yellowjacket, Sophomore Emily Woomer with 2014 Miss Yellow Jacket, Junior Philippa Romen.
The Yearbook Editor thinks the new underwater camera is the best investment the journalism department has ever made.
Dr. Paul L. Ruff Adolescent Medicine, Sports Physicals (662) 323-0399
Page 6 • 5-14-14
Lifestyles
Fun in the Sun By Michelle Li Writer
By Shelby Adair Yearbook Editor
With post-apocalyptic and survival shows the hot trend right now, many summer camps are offering survival camp options for teenagers and young adults. Sophomore David Usher will be attending one of these camps this July. Camp Kanakuk, located in Missouri is a Christian camp offering many adventure camp options, including survival. The Kanakuk website offers this description of the camp, “Build character and learn spiritual lessons through using only what God has provided in the woods. This camp will push campers to the limits of their physical and mental endurance. We will teach them to go into the woods with nothing and survive.” By Hemanth Nannapaneni Writer
This summer a lot of us will be wasting away our summer in Starkville, but some people have some awesome summer plans. Ben Mackin is going to Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The world cup is the most popular spectator event in the world. It is attended by hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world. He will land in Sao Paulo with his family and will visit some of the relatives that live there. “Trying the food and experiencing the culture is going to be a very interesting experience,” said Mackin. Although he travels to foreign countries frequently it’s going to be the first time he is going to a country where English isn’t the main language, so
Usher said he was most excited about the solo trip at the end of the two weeks, when he will be dropped off in the woods to survive for two days. Usher is flying to Missouri to and from
the camp. “It sounds like it will be a ton of fun and I look forward to learning to survive for two days.”
As students all know, summer is almost here! While most people are busy planning their summer, Junior Philippa Roman already knows exactly what she’s planning to do. “Since I’m an exchange student, I got to apply for this really awesome summer program that allows exchange students from all over the world to get together and basically road-trip throughout the West Coast from California to Washington to Arizona to Colorado,” she said, “it’s going to be amazing and I’m so excited! We not only get to hit big cities like Las Vegas, San Diego, and Los Angeles, we also get to explore nature in places like the Grand By Kelley Mazzola Editor-in-Chief
getting around the language barrier will be challenging. “I plan on using Google Translate a lot,” said Mackin. On June 24 they will drive to Brasilia where they are going to watch the Portugal vs Ghana group stage game of the World Cup on June 26. “It’s a once in a lifetime experience that everyone should be able to experience. I’m very excited because I’ve never seen an international soccer game and I will get to see Cristiano Ronaldo play,” Mackin said. Portuguese winger, Cristiano Ronaldo, is one of the best and most iconic soccer players of our time. After that on June 30 they will attend a knockout stage game in Brasilia as well.
Mackin said, “My family got the idea for the trip from World Cup commercials and I said that we could go to see family too, and they agreed. I guess advertising did its job.” The trip will be about a week and a half then he will return to Starkvegas.
Alex Mazzola will have more to do than preparing for college this summer. She plans to attend the Health Occupation Students of America National competition in Orlando, Fla. “I’m excited,” Mazzola said. “I want to do better than I did at state and have fun in my senior year.” Mazzola, a high school senior bursting at the seams to graduate, has been a member the Millsaps Career and Technical Center’s HOSA program for two years. This year, she competed at the Miss. HOSA competition in the category of Clinical Specialty. Mazzola earned 3rd place at this competition, and the top three slots in each category go to the national level. While there, she and her compatriots who earned laurels at the state competition plan to visit the Disney World parks in two days, and then compete for two days. Before she can attend the HOSA competition, however, she has signed on to rest and recovery time from the school year
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Canyon and the beaches.” The exchange program that is organizing this trip is called RotaryYouth Exchanges. Rotary is an international study-abroad program that sends students from all over the world to the United States for school for either a few weeks or even to a year. Every year Rotary coordinates a two week tour of the western United
States for exchange students.T allows them to further immer themselves in American cultur and explore famous American landmarks and cities. “I feel that this will be a grea opportunity to meet other ex change students like me and ju have fun!” Philippa said, “I love traveling and I can’t think of a better way to spend my summ
with her family in Cape Hatteras, N.C., on June 13th through June 21st. “We go to the beach everyday and swim. We eat out every day, which is nice because we don’t get to do that at home,” Mazzola said. “We do puzzles, watch TV, go shopping, and hang out with [our] cousins.” However, this year, her vacation time may be cut short by her soccer team, Tupelo Futbol Club, if they should win the Miss. State Cup tournament. If they win, they advance to the regional tournament; each year, the location of this tournament changes. Last year, the location was Oklahoma; this year, the location is Baton Rouge, La. “It would make my dad and I have to leave directly from North Carolina and that would mess up my vacation because it’s one of my favorite places in the world and I love going there,” Mazzola said. However, in the end, her soccer teammates come first. “I have to be dedicated and loyal to the team; they need me,” Mazzola said. Even after all that, her HOSA
trip is squished by yet anoth event behind it; she plans on a tending an event called HOM WORK with the St. Joseph Catholic Youth Organizatio This is the second time she pa ticipated in this activity. HOMEWORK is a trip whe students do community servi within the state of Mississippi their communities. This conce was formulated in response the Catholic Diocese of Jackso placing a moratorium on m sion trips for youth organizatio to Saltillo, Mexico, due to safe concerns. This year, HOMEWORK set in Tupelo, Miss. Mazzola fee like HOMEWORK has had beneficial effect on her life an will act as the rubber stam of approval on the summer 2014. “I learn how other peop live, and how they need he that I can offer,” Mazzola sai “It opens my eyes to the wor around me, and it gives me chance to spend time with m friends and family. I get to s people who I don’t necessar get to see a lot in the scho year, and that’s why it’s fun.”
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Guess Who Teacher
This Teacher:
-Used to have a truck with two functional doors.
-Knows how to make viking fortifications.
-Grew up in California.
(The February edition of Guess Who Teacher was Coach Fischer.)
Lifestyles
Page 7 • 05-14-14
SHS Faculty: Teaching you about their Best Summers Ever “When I went to the Harvard Institute and played golf on all the nice courses”-Dr. Holloway “When I was training for the Mississppi Highway Patrol. I loved learning the new communications.”-Mr. Fuller “The three summers when my children were born.”-Mrs. Dibble “When I spent the summer learning how to sail. My dad taught me.”- Mrs. Warren “The summer I got married and the summer of 9th grade when I went to Disneyland.”-Mrs. Nicholson “When I got married and honeymooned in Jamaica.”-Mrs. Gassaway “When I had an internship at Michigan State, where I got to visit Detroit and Chicago.”-Ms. Tillman “1996, in college. College summer of 1996. I can’t tell you about it.”-Dr. Ray “The summer we went to Disneyland with our oldest child.”-Mrs. Albritton “Summer of 2008. I worked for a church in Ocean City, Maryland. I was one block away from the beach.”-Mr. Williams “When I was 12, because we swam everyday and I got to hang out with the pretty girl who I liked.”-Mr. Fyke “Summer of 2009. I traveled the country (road trip) from Indiana to California and got to see a lot of sights while training for MSU cross country.”-Mrs. Masterson-Young “When I was 15 and my dad took me to the mountains for a week.”-Mrs. Killen “The summer before I got engaged. I had a good, great paying job and had fun being single.”Coach Fischer.
Have a great summer! Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @shsjacketbuzz
Senior Last Wills and Testment I, Brandon Sparks, leave my football abilities to Chris Rogers. I leave my basketball locker to Ralph Leonard, and I leave my intelligence to my cousin Christina Ware. I, Marlow Rogers, give Tyler Rogers and Chris Rogers my intelligence and hard hitting in football. Go hard next year! I leave my football number, number 16, to Antavius Hendrix. To my football boys, I’m going to miss playing with you all. Win state next year! I, Alexis Pastor, leave to my little brother Zanist Pastor my love and wisdom. You are whom I am going to miss when I leave for college. To my lovely cousin Aleah Watt, I leave my locker (#144). Take care of my baby, LOL. I’m truly going to miss your smile. To my adorable Sidney Robinson, who I enjoyed spending my last moments in JROTC, I leave my love, tears, and the hugs I fet from you everyday. I love you, Sidney. To my little/oldest Chelsea Carr, I leave a box of memories we shared together during my senior year. I’m going to miss seeing you in the gym and hallways each morning. To Morgan Guray, I leave my love and hope. You have a great senior year. I, Teanna Jefferson, leave ALL the JROTC cadest a long memory of me, in order to
constantly remind them to be the best that they can be and be all that they can be. I leave Connor Bohna all the S-3 jump drives that have PowerPoints, Who’s Who and anything he will need to make the 2014-2015 school year the best for the Battalion. I leave the WHOLE Drill team, Color Guard, Honor Guard, PT team, and Staff a note to read once I’m gone. I leave my grayish-blue rolling chair to Alexis Starks. I leave Lauren Lucious the hopes that she stays of ISS. I leave my cousin Daneshia Lucious with my locker. I leave Sydney Robinson and Morgan Gray with my long-lasting friendship and the promie of me coming back to visit with them after basic training. I leave Lt. Colonel Webb with a picture of me and Mr. Hershey and SGM Daniels with a bunch of “NEW RECRUITS” for the Dril team. I, Evan Thiam, leave my locker to Tyranni Outlaw and my fighting spirit and semigenuine smile to Khris Carr and Jared Williams. I, Brian Roberts, leave Jake Mlsna my good looks and luck with the ladies. I leave Cameron Maddox my ability to have common sense. I , Ethan Follett, leave Brayden Jackson the defintion of a Derivative. I leave Connor Dunne my swag. I leave
Starkville High School with the right to say I went to school here when I’m famous. I, Mitchell Young, leave Nuria Minor my JROTC jacket. I also leave my dance skills to the newcomer who tries to top me. I leave my leadership skills to the JROTC newcomers. I, Brittany Mosely leave Alana Santiago and Lakedria Tate my smartness and the ability to stay focused on what is important and GRADUATE.
I, Montel Alexander leave my path of success and luck to Jameela Kimbrough. I, Iyannia Hollingshed, leave my knowledge to Lakedria Tate and Jasmine Rogers. I leave my locker and my class clown jokes to Chris Rogers. I just want to leave them my success, so that they can walk across that stage. I love you all and may you all have a great year. I, Kimberly Hill, leave my love, good looks, brains and encouragement to Jaleesa Mobley and Nicole Hacket. I love you guys, and I want you all to make me proud. I also leave my love to my little brother Kory Hill; do well, my baby sissy loves you. I also want to leave Montario Montgomery my French skills (LOL). You are my best friend; love you!
I, Jewell Spruell, will Jakima Fulton to do right in school and Shymyha Bell to finish her last two years in school strong.
I, Kelson Bohna, will Courtney Wilson and Laken Vickers joint custody of Colin Atwell’s longboard. I will a case of Old Spice deodorant to my brother Connor Bohna. I will Patton my hobby of magnents... Not collecting magnents, just magnets. I, Leandria Harris, leave a dollar and my love to Dremeisha Robinson. I leave my attitude to Quianna Brown and I leave my locker to Amber Scales. I, Myron Barnes, with great honor, leave all my musical inclinations to Jalin Mobley. Use it, Jalin, to encourage others. I also leave my choral music folder (number 18) to Khris McCarter, my little brother. I leave locker (number 12) to Justice Gillespie. Finally, I would like to leave all my FFA duties and roles to my cousin, A.J. Smith, and my god-sister Sarah Byrd. I love you all. I, Kevin Ware, leave my locker to my little sister Christina Ware, Krea Self and other friends. I leave my foolish, clowning self to Jared Williams, my little brother. I leave my post moves, big guy moves, to Caleb Guyton, Ja-
mal William, and big Jessie. I leave my love to Kayla Minor. I, Immane Montgomery, leave my happiness to Kayla Minor. I leave my locker to Taylor Price and my ability to play basketball to Alize Carter. I leave my ability to shoot the rock to Erylea Williams. I leave my goofiness to Taylor Price, my kidness to Neisha Lucious, my madness to Daija William, my love to all my coaches, and my ability to play all sports to Raphael Leonard. I leave my joy and pride to the Lady Jackets and my love and good looks to Kiana Smith. I, Shayla Evans, leave my little sister Brianna Fisher my love and my goofiness. I leave my bestfriend Alize Thompson my locker and my craziness. I, Alicia Carter, leave my sister Iyuna the drama of this school. I leave Khris Carr and Shelby Adair the stress of Journalism, and I leave my ‘good luck’ wishes to all SHS athletics. I leave the 4x400 to Taylor Rodgers and the 800 to Kennis Kingery. I leave my front row parking spot to any obnoxious senior who wished to park there, and I leave my locker to any junior who gets it- Mrs. Thead will hold a conversation with you every morning. I, Kelley Mazzola, leave all the joys and stresses of Journalism to Shelby Adair
and whoever else is an tor next year. I leave al friends and “coworkers the Starkville High Sch RoboJackets the resear paper and continued w for luck and success. I this piece of advice to M shall Adair: “Don’t bre robot, Marshall!”
I, Alex Mazzola, leave t backline to the SHS Lad Jackets Soccer team. I my legacy in HOSA to juniors in HOSA.
I, Alexandria Ward-Kni leave all Starkville Varsi cheerleaders my school and uncoditional love. Lindsey Gillespie my fa cheers to call out. I lea breanna Mitchell my tw skills, and I leaving Kait Jackson all my cheer ba leave Delta Tate my smi facials during every pep and games. Make me p I leave the flute section the SHS Band my goofi and leadership abilities. love you all, and I’m go miss you all! I leave Ha Randle all of my flute p abilities. I love you, ba leave Jameela Kimbrou the times we’ve had du band camp and how yo to always call me “Alex dria.” I love you, girl! my favorite freshman g Shivani Patel, Hailey Li Ranneishya Grayer, and White, my high spirit a my love. I love you gir
ts 2014 Class Awards Recap
edill my s” on hool rch wishes leave Mareak the
the dy leave the
ight, ity l spirit I leave avorite ave Auwerking tlyn ars. I ile and prally proud! n of iness .I oing to ailey playing abe! I ugh all uring ou used xanI leave girls: inley, d Lexie and rls so
much. I leave Cary Cato and Donteriah Purnell my laugh and my love. I love you guys!
English Jackson Rosinski-English I Angella Osinde-English I Acc. Ashley Bishop-Reading I Katlyn Whyte-Reading II I, Kayla Tate, leave my locker Amari Harris-English II to Donteria Bonner. I leave Tanzim Hassan-English II Acc. Foreign Langauge my marching skills for band Madeline Jones-English III Alexie Williams-French I to Krea Self. I also leave my Kristen Lacy-English III Acc. Nathan Barlow-French II Shayla Evans-English IV love to Donteria Bonner and Science George Ellis-French III Vivian Barksdale-English IV Acc. Krea Self. I leave my personAaron Bird-Introduction to Biology Stuart Woomer-Spanish I Kayla MacGown-Creative Writing ality and attitude to Donteria Terrance Grayer-Biology Kendra Kolbet-Spanish II Brittany Mosely-African-American Literature Marika Dunne-Biology Acc. Bonner. Alessandra Otondo-Spanish II Tanzim Hassan-Debate Davis Matthews-Physical Science David Houston-Spanish III Tanzim Hassan-Public Speaking Lamarious Quinn-Life Skills Science Carys Snyder-Spanish IV I, Jaylon Davis, leave to Emily Turner-AP Literature Ashley Bishop-Life Skills Science III Melinda Xu-AP Language my junior babies Brannon Justin Rickels-Chemistry Georgia Tucker-Foundations of Journalism Godwin, Presley Flowers, Jacob Easley-Chemistry Acc. Kelley Mazzola-Newspaper Richard Hill, Ceci Heard, and Math Dormen Bell-Daily Living Skills Erica McGee-Transition to Algebra Shelby Adair-Yearbook Kiondra McNeal-Biology II Amber Burns the ability to Alex Hanson-Algebra I Alicia Carter- Journalism Lab Design Justin Rickels-Anatomy and Physio strive hard to make through Georgia Tucker-Algebra I Accelerated Preston Booth-Broadcast Editing ogy Lamarious Quinn-Job Skills Math I your senior year. I leave Khris Carr-Broadcast Anchor Phillip Quinn-Personal Social Skills Ashley Bishop-Job Skills Math II James Barlow-Employment English I to my beautiful, intelligent Alexia Powers-Geometry Kathryn Anne Stringer-Zoology Sam Bracy-Employment English II Khris Carr the ability to make Brady Hunt-Geometry Accelerated Erica Riddick-Dual Enrollment English Composition Charlie Henderson-Microbiology Sydney Robinson-Algebra II everyone smile with your Stuart Woomer-Genetics Shanika Musser-Algebra II Accelerated Fine Art Justin Pritchard-Household Living presence and to be famous. Daniel Henderson-Functional Math Austin Burns-Introduction to Theater Skyler Buford-Botany I leave to the Mattox sisters AlliGrace Story-Trigonometry Carys Snyder-Theater II Cecilia Heard-AP Biology the ability to leave all your Nancy “Cici” Zhang-Advanced Algebra Anna Shaw-Theater III Jeremy Burt-Pre-Calculus competitors in the dust at Grace Linley-Art History Kristen Lacy-Calculus the finish line, even though Matthew Reynolds-Marching Band Field CommandDaniel Montgomery-AP Calculus er I wouldn’t be caught dead Britton Walker-Marching Band Field Commander running. Business Technology Eli Dailey-Marching Band Field Commander Ashley Rude- Desktop Publishing I Andrew Rogers-Concert Band AlliGrace Story- Desktop Publishing II I, Noa Katherine Hardin, Social Studies Chelsea Taylor-Concert Band Nathan Barlow-Introduction to World Geography leave all my gingerness to Josie Buntin- Wbe Page Design I Sammira Rohani-Advanced Choir Julvian Cattledge- Web Page Design II Hannah Laird, Lexi Turner, Tierra Agnew- Innovative Apps Using Tech. Mary Hunter Brown-Freshman Choir Ashley Bishop-Career Prep I Kayla MacGown-U.S. Government Meghan Wolf, and Anna Camryn Dawkins- Information Processing Elizabeth Jones-Chamber Singers Tu Zhang-U.S. Government Accelerated Art Nicole Underwood. I leave Jared Williams- Computations in Bunsiness Lee Bryant-AP U.S. Government CC Nancy Zhang-Art I “Pop that thing” to Hannah Eli Stewart- Business Law Taejzah Elliot-Career Prep II Herry Ho-Art II Laird, Lexi Turner, and CaiKelsey Trainer-World History Catherine Buffington-Art III April Reese-World History Accelerated lee Helen McClain. I leave all Marina Zhuk-Art IV Katlyn Whyte-Career Prep III Valencia Epps-Photography I things Disney Meghan Wolf. Hunter Wiley-U.S. History Noell Teaster-Photography II I leave all my fame and talent Breland Anderson-Photography III Kathleen Ritter-U.S. History Accelerated to Eli Dailey and Richard Melinda Xu-AP U.S. History Alex Ross-Photography IV Hill. Finally, I leave all things Dorothy Lewter-Mississippi Studies “Twerky” to Lexi Turner and William Paul Ellis-Mississippi Studies Accelerated Nytoria Randle-Financing Your Future Anna Nicole Underwood. Eli Stewart-Economics Leticia Bulla-AP European History Health and P.E. Ander Pagent-Boys PE Yachimma Tucker-Girls PE Jhane Roberts-Health
Opinions
Page 10 • 5-14-14
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Study, turn up, and enjoy high school ALICIA’S ANSWER ALICIA CARTER times out of ten that high school sweetheart won’t be around too much longer after high
that’s okay in some situations, but don’t let it become a regular thing. Don’t think you have to study study study and not have any fun because the academics are so important. I went to parties regularly, I ran track my senior year, I got to, how my mother says, “go and do” a lot while maintaining a 3.0+ GPA, As and Bs my entire high school career, and being involved with school organizations. There’s a balance in everything, it’s up to you to find your happy medium. Make your next year/years here at SHS count, in both the classroom and your personal life.
“
Don’t think you have to study study study and not have any fun because the academics are so important.
school, that’s when the world gets real. So if a relationship is where it’s at, go for it, but don’t be pressed for one. High school has also taught me the importance of keeping the future in mind. A lot of seniors struggle with the realization that as of the first day of their senior year, they have one school year to, not get it together because they should already have
Kelley Mazzola Editor-in-Chief
Shelby Adair
Alicia Carter
Yearbook Editor Lifestyles Editor
Photography Editor Opinions Editor
Laken Vickers
Angela Hobart
Sports Editor
Adviser
all of this myself until I sat down and thought about it. So my final advice to the underclassmen is: Yeah, have fun when you can, and by fun I mean all aspects of fun whatever that may be to you, but don’t make fun your first priority. Put your school work first, I know it gets stressful and I’m not going lie, sometimes I put myself before my other priorities, and
Staff Members
Khris Carr Iyuna Clark Kristen Lacy Mary Grace Linley Ben Mackin Hemanth Nannapaneni April Reese Daniel Ruff Alexyia Turner Emily Woomer
“
It doesn’t seem like I’m about to graduate in a few days. NO. MORE. HIGH. SCHOOL. EVER. Now I’m grown and am about to be out on my own at college. Surprisingly, high school has taught me quite a few things these past four years. I remember my first day as a freshman, I thought I was cute. I now know that I wasn’t cute, at all. But other than my transformation, high school has actually taught me lessons. High school has taught me about friendships, and by friendships I mean its taught me who was really there for me and who wasn’t. We’ve all heard it, “friends will come and go” but they sure do in high school. Looking back at the amount of friends I had my freshman year and now up to my senior year, I can count the number of friends I have on one hand and not use all my fingers. A couple were real and stuck through it all, they were there my freshman year and they are still here my senior year, but plenty of them have come and gone. So in short, underclassmen, don’t trust every smiling face you see and don’t dislike people you haven’t taken the time to get to know. High school has also taught me about relationships. Not trying to sound like a Debbie Downer or crush any little freshmen’s dreams of marrying their significant other of one week after high school, but advice to high school couples would be to not be so consumed in the relationship that they forget about important things. High school is when one discovers oneself, and one might not be able to do all that when the focus in on someone else. I’m all for relationships, they’re fun, and everyone wants to be loved, but nine
it together, but keep it together so that they can start successful lives after high school. Do the best in all classes, get involved, and have fun while doing it. Truth is, high school is just a four-year period of stressful classes, drama, fun times, and as time gets closer to the goal of these past thirteen years, graduation, the lessons start to unfold. I actually didn’t realize
Statement of Policy
The Jacket Buzz is published three times each semester by the Journalism
Department at Starkville High School. The Jacket Buzz is a student-run publication committed to providing SHS with objective information.
The Jacket Buzz serves SHS as a forum for student expression. Opinions ex-
pressed are those of students and don’t reflect the views of others in the
Starkville School Distict. Content decisions are made by student editors, and
factual errors will be corrected by a retraction in the next issue. Letters to the
Editor are accepted and published, excluding those that are deemed libelous or
disruptive. Unsigned letters will not be published, and all are subject to editing. Please email all letters and comments to shsjacketbuzz@gmail.com.
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Page 11 • 5-14-14
Affirmative Action unlawful Fear of future irrational MAZZOLA MANTRA KELLEY MAZZOLA
As a senior and, frankly, not a member of a minority, I’ve always found Affirmative Action legislation applied to university admissions a very sensitive and polarizing topic. And, right out of the gate, my stance is that these policies, when applied to higher education, are not reflective of the times. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the historical significance of Affirmative Action. These policies, passed in the 1970’s by the United States Congress, sought to address continued racial and gender discrimination in both the work place and the university setting. I also understand that these programs have worked by giving underprivileged minority students an opportunity at the American Dream. This experience is painted elegantly by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor in her memoir My Beloved World. These programs have encouraged racial diversity in universities as well as a celebration of minority cultures, something precious indeed in the United States, arguably one of the most diverse nations in the world. However, those opportunities, in my opinion, have come at the costs of non-minority students’ opportunities for higher education. A recent Supreme Court case, Fisher vs. University of Texas at Austin, clearly demonstrates that perplexing vicious-circle, in which a “perfectly qualified” student sued the University of Texas at Austin for a simple reason: the admissions office did not accept her application on a basis of race. In recent years, several states, including California and Michigan, have altered their state constitutions to neutralize Affirmative Action and to make higher education admissions blind to racial qualifications, and, the Supreme Court has supported those amendments. The rulings of the court cases University of California vs. Bakke and, just at the end of April 2014, Schuette vs. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, demonstrated the Supreme Court’s commitment to defending the actions of those states. Specifically, in the Schuette case, Michigan voters approved of Proposition 2, the proposition that required the state to amend
its constitution to prohibit discrimination in public education, government contracting or public employment. This proposition was a direct response to the 2003 Supreme Court rulings in Gratz vs. Bollinger and Grutter vs. Bollinger. After all the research that went into understanding the full scope of Affirmative Action and the court cases involved, I immediately consulted my handy dandy Advanced Placement United States History textbook to read the 14th Amendment. I did this just to see the verbiage used in the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, because the first thing that popped into my head when reading about racial qualifications and quotas and all that jazz was, “Doesn’t Affirmative Action violate the 14th Amendment with regard to equal protection under the law?” And, in my interpretation, the states’ application of Affirmative Action to public universities does in fact violate the Equal Protection Clause. The 14th Amendment says, verbatim, “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” The key word here is “enforce.” By enforcing Affirmative Action policies on public universities and by discriminating against American citizens of non-minority backgrounds (which I believe is happening), the states are in fact violating the 14th Amendment. However, I’ll leave this fight for the lawyers and judges. I support the decisions in Bakke and Schuette, because the states that have invalidated Affirmative Action have the Constitution on their side, from my interpretation of the 14th Amendment and my analysis of the times. There are racial tensions in America, I know, but in order to get beyond the scars of the past, Americans must bury the racist hatchet. Becoming colorblind in education has been a very American way to start change, as seen with Brown vs. Board of Education. If justice is colorblind, why shouldn’t education be as well?
MAZZOLA MANTRA KELLEY MAZZOLA
To be honest, fear has driven a lot of my decisions in life. For instance, when I was a kid, I was afraid of falling while climbing, so I didn’t climb many trees. Now, my main fear stems from the future, as in the next semester at Mississippi State University. The Future may seem like an easy concept to accept and to deal with, but, in all actuality, it’s one of the most scary concepts out there. Will I succeed next semester? Will I get lost on my college’s campus and miss class and send myself into a fiery spiral of failure? Those types of questions haunt me with tenacity due to one simple thing: I don’t know what’s going to happen next. Underclassmen, all this rhetoric may seem circular, so let me blunt again: my fear is irrational. Worrying about the future is a futile pursuit because what will
happen will happen, and failures are some of the greatest teaching tools. Sure, you might be really shook up emotionally for a little while if you slip up in college, but college is the time to figure out who you are and what you plan to do with the rest of your life. I’ve seen that dynamic play out time and time again: the pattern is you trip over the issue, you get up while dusting yourself off, and you creatively figure the problem out. If you follow this pattern, there will be nothing to fear. In addition, your high school years are the years to enjoy. As a wise editor before me wrote, “High school matters.” In my short time here, I’ve enjoyed participating in SHS’s Robotics Club, Journalism program, and (to the shock of many and my own ire) AP courses. Maybe I’m a masochist with taking so much on, but in the end, so what? I’ve
learned the skills I need for college while enjoying the ride to get there, and that’s the important thing. So, after all my rambling, what’s my conclusion at the close of my senior year? For one, while I’m ready to leave, I had fun here. There will be a part of me that will never leave Starkville High School or Starkville because it’s my hometown and my alma mater, the location of my initial intellectual formation. Secondly, my fear of the future is irrational. Even after all the horrible things that have happened in our world, there is still a spirit of optimism, a dream of positivism that keeps us innovating and hoping. I know I’m not invincible, but I don’t have to be. You only live once, right? Make the most of it and just jump in!
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Sports
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Bowling ends Season, looks forward to Future Challenges By Kelsey Damms Writer This bowling season, Coach Jim Philamlee and boys’ team member, sophomore, Cody Prewitt, expected the Starkville High School boys’ and girls’ bowling teams to win state championships, and they came very close. “This past season, I would say, was an eight out of ten,” Coach Philamlee said. Even though neither team carried home a championship, the boys placed third at regionals and state competitions and the girls finished with a respectable fourth place at regionals. Overall, both teams had a great season and show much promise for the future. Significantly, at both regionals and state the SHS boys came in third behind Tupelo and Neshoba Central. Prewitt said, “We feel really good about that.” These results indicate that Starkville comes from the strongest region in the state and this tough competition has provided experience for the team next season. “We did very well this season, but I know we can do better” Prewitt said. Many players had personal bests this season, including Prewitt, his younger brother Seth and Tayler Dawkins. “I personally
feel that we majorly improved as a team with every game we played,” Prewitt said. Coach Philamlee echoed this view. “I don’t think there was one outstanding player this year,” Coach Philamlee said, “we all improved as a team.” Eighth grader Seth Prewitt was the most improved bowler on the boy’s team, leading the squad with an average score of 170 and managing a high score of 252, both beating his previous year’s marks. The boys’ team was also strongly supported by Ethan Tucker,Tyler Dawkins, and Hugh Stone who all averaged scores between 140 and 160. All the boys’ eight starters, including Hugh Stone, Brandon Le, Nathan Smith and Ryan Picard, averaged over 130. On the girl’s side, Skylar Runnels led the way with an average score of 146. Fellow Lady Jackets’ starters Savannah Lee, Amber Miller, and Vanessa Collins all averaged over 100. Autumn Lowe, Jessica Rowe, Carly Daniewicz and Damari Blakely rounded out the girls’ starters. The boys’ and girls’ teams also had to overcome serious injuries. “Earlier this season, I had a broken hand and couldn’t play,” Prewitt said, “and even though it has completely
healed, it still throws off the balance of my hand.” Jessica Rowe, a member of the Lady Jackets, was also out for part of the season because of a broken arm. Cody Prewitt is usually the top player on the boy’s team, but because of his injury was surpassed by his younger brother. Both Cody and Jessica have now healed and are already preparing for bigger and better things next season. Coach Philamlee was very pleased with the outcome of this season but knows there is always room for improvement and expects the teams to be even more successful next year. Luckily neither the boys’ team nor the girls’ team is losing any players to graduation this year. Next year the teams will only get stronger with the addition of new players from the junior varsity squad while regional rivals Neshoba and Tupelo are expected to lose most, if not all, of their leading players. The team’s goal for next year is to not only beat Tupelo, their main competition, but to also win the state championship. “I think we can easily win state next year,” Coach Philamlee said. “I’ve been coaching for nine years and the future looks better now than it has ever before.”
The Bowling Team poses for a quick picture before heading off to competition. Submitted Photo.
The Starkville High School Archery Team aims at State. Submitted Photo.
SHS Archery shoots to State By Aaron LaFrance Writer
SHS archery has completed its inaugural season. Robert Bowden, a SHS senior on the team, said that he didn’t know what to expect from this year’s season, that the team was completely new to most of the members although several had participated in archery clubs such as 4H, a youth development organization. Alex Shaw, an Armstrong Middle School student, also the highest scoring SHS archer at the state competition, said, “I had no idea what to expect out of this season as it was the first the SHS team has competed in.” He went on to say that he and a few of his teammates have participated in archery clubs or have had experience shooting bows through events such as hunting. “I truly believe that we hit any expectations we could have envisioned,” Michelle Guyton, the head coach of the SHS archery team, commented, “the fact that we made it to state was amazing, especially for a new sport, I did not know what to expect from this team; although, I did have experience with some of them through the 4H archery program. Bowden explained that any expectations he
may have had for the season were quickly surpassed. He never expected them to make the qualifications to go to state, the program was new to him and most of the other team members, “I am greatly impressed with how far we managed to make it in our first year as an SHS sports program.” “We had several high scoring individuals, such as Ander Padgett, Ben Bartlett, Rachel Oliveri, Sarah Johnson, and several others,” Guyton said, “but it takes a working team to win, all shooters from each team are added together to obtain a team score which is then compared to other teams to gain a ranking out of the 11 6A division teams.” Alex Shaw, the highest scoring SHS archer at the state competition, elaborated saying that even though he was the top archer, the team wouldn’t have made fifth place out of eleven at state without each and every team member, a single person cannot make a winning or losing difference in the teams score, it is a team sport. As a new team, archery faced obstacles that they were able to overcome through teamwork and perseverance. These challenges were naturally those that come with having a newly implemented sports pro-
gram. “Huge obstacles to the team were the procedures of the competitions,” said Guyton, “not knowing what to do at matches was very confusing, at the beginning we were all amazed by the sound of all the arrows hitting the targets. It sounded almost like popcorn.” Another obstacle that the team was forced to overcome was a shortage of bows said Shaw. Several team members brought in personal bows. Guyton believes that the team had success its first season. “The team did very well for the first season, I am especially proud of the sportsmanship the team showed, archery is scored on a honor system, team members score their competitors, allowing moral development for the team.” According to Guyton the team will face changes going into the next season; the team size is going up from 24 to 34, and with a season’s experience under their belt is prepared for next season’s competitions. “Next season will be at least the same if not better. We plan to go to the state meet again and increase our ranking in the state,” said Guyton. With the team being new this year, Robert Bowden expressed hopes that the program will gain more interest and members at tryouts in October.
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Sports
2014 Yellow Jacket Baseball comes to an End By Georgia Tucker Writer Spring baseball has come to an end, finishing with a 14-13 season. Starkville High School baseball is, however, preparing to come back even stronger next year. The jackets did not advance to the play offs, but the team did exceed Coach Travis Garner’s expectations. Garner said that he didn’t have any expectations prior to the season, considering he was a new coach and the district was moving up into 6A. “We were going to be in a very difficult situation and it just wasn’t fair to have high expectations,” Garner said. JD Taylor and Justin Conner, both sophomores, each expected for the team to make the playoffs. “When we didn’t make the playoffs I was angry and upset, but overall just disappointed,” Taylor said. “It was really difficult
because we were just one bug hit away from being in the playoffs,” Conner said. During the season, the Jacket’s pitching staff did an excellent job, especially Colbey Rivers and Justin Conner. Offensively, “Tanner Clanton led the team in most offensive categories, while both JD Taylor and AJ Brown also had a very strong offensive season,” Garner said. “I feel like I pitched well throughout the season. I give most of the credit to my defense,” says Conner. “But I believe that Clanton was a very valuable player this season and he also had the highest batting average.” Clanton was also selected to play in an all-star game that will be played later this summer. In Taylor’s opinion, Brown was a very valuable player. “He’s probably the most
Captain, Jace Hobart, aligns a putt. Submitted photo.
athletic player on the team and he came through in tight situations, both offense and defense,” Taylor said. Coach Garner found the most difficult part of the season to be the transition from 5A to 6A. “We had two nationally ranked teams in our division, and the team lacked experience,” said Garner. “The only frustrating thing is that we were very close to taking a great stride forward.” “We came out with a winning season, so that’s good but, to me, it’s a failed season without being in the playoffs, “Conner said. “Heading into the season, I felt really confident playing for Coach Garner; I knew it would be different going from a bunting coach to a big hitting coach.” Taylor said. Garner said that this year the Jackets are losing four seniors that all played roles on and
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off the field but hopefully the underclassmen will fill their spots moving forward. “Losing the seniors is going to hurt our offense and defense, but mainly pitching,” Taylor said. Garner said that the sophomore class is a big group and those guys gained a lot of experience this year. “They should be better next year. I will be disappointed if we do not take an even bigger step forward, at the minimum of making the playoffs and going from there.” “My goal for this upcoming season is to make it all the way to state and hopefully win it all,” Taylor said. “I think next season is going to be great. We’re going to get everybody fired up; all the players are hungry for the playoffs. We aren’t backing down,” Conner said.
SHS baseball players high five. Photo by Alicia Carter.
Yellow Jacket Golf drives to the End of the Season hoping would be in the nineties Hobart said that Brooks stepped out of his eye. We had very few By Rylan Christensen Writer Starkville High School’s boys’ golf team has wrapped up another season. The team competed in seven matches/ tournaments, winning one and getting second in another. Starkville High School has recently been moved into division 6A, and they knew that this season was going to be harder competing against other schools. “Prior to the season, I expected the boys to make state, but we knew this season was going to be harder. It all pretty much fell on the older players, Jace Hobart, Cameron Maddox, and Ethan Chastain,” Coach Angela Hobart said. The high school golf team also has middle school students who participate in high school matches. “We have two middle school players, Brooks and Braxton Jenkins, who I was
this year so we would have a shot at state,” Hobart said. In the district tournament Starkville High boys shot a 355 score. Overall they got fifth at district but needed to be in the top four to make it to state. Jace Hobart, captain of the team, said his expectations for the season did not pan out because they did not make it to state. “The team actually shot 10 strokes better than they did last year, thanks to the play of Brooks and Braxton Jenkins getting pretty good scores at district,” Coach Hobart said. Coach Hobart said that Jace scored an 82 in district. “Some of the older players’ scores were not quite as low as we needed them to be, and Grenada sneaked in on us.” Brooks Jenkins, an 8th grader, was said to have the personal best of the season. Coach
up this season. “Often times he beat the high school players with his score.” Jace Hobart was consistently the lowest scorer on the team, and he scored the best in district. “Occasionally Brooks Jenkins would come in and he would be team medalist of a particular match or tournament.” Coach Hobart said. Cameron Maddox, who is one of the top five players, is taking AP classes. He was not able to come to a lot of the practices and matches due to the class. “Cameron wasn’t able to make it to some matches, which was a big loss,” J. Hobart said. One of the main things the golf team faced was the weather. Coach Hobart said that the team played in extreme wind, freezing temperatures, and rain. “One match it was so windy someone’s contact flew
matches or tournaments with decent weather,” Angela said. Starkville’s team did not have any seniors graduating. Hobart said that they are a very young team since the teams oldest player is a junior. “I feel like we have a lot of room for improvement. Most of our tournaments we played a junior, sophomore, and three eighth graders. I feel like some of the players didn’t play up to their potential. Next year I expect better play from everyone.” Coach Hobart said. “I’m the captain and I’m the oldest on the team. I need to be able to shoot better than I did this year,” J. Hobart said. Coach Hobart said that the middle school boys will improve for next year. Her expectations for next year are to make state. “We are going to do it next time, we are not going to let anybody sneak in on us,” Coach Hobart said.
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Sports
Softball prepares for Future team By Anna Hayden Taylor Writer Expectations are difficult to determine when the incoming athletes on a team are new, so Starkville High School softball coach,Wendy Jolly, goes back to the basics. “Before the season started I expected us to be more competitive, improve fundamentally in hitting and fielding, and improve mentally,” Jolly said. Freshman varsity right fielder, Mckayla Hayes, thinks the team could improve on communication, taking practice seriously, and not having attitudes towards each other. “We had trouble communicating with each other during our games,” Hayes said “During the season we would not take our practices seriously.” Making playoffs this year was an ultimate goal for the Lady Jackets this 2014 season, but the goal had some bumps in the road. “In the last game against the Columbus Lady Falcons, we did not have a lot of communication and we had low energy during the game,” Hayes said. The Lady Jackets had a season record of 2-12-0 and a district of 1-5-0, which includes Madison Central, Northwest Rankin, and Columbus.
Coach Jolly and the staff felt they started the season stronger than they finished the season. “The team definitely improved in the areas that we were working on improving, but we did make not the playoffs this year,” Jolly said. “Both the coaches and the players were disappointed.” The Lady Jackets had five players who all had personal bests during the season.Those players were Donnasha Hubbard, Shanele Johnson, Sasha Shurden, Callie Wells, and Iyuna Clark. “Donnasha Hubbard stepped up as a senior during the season with good hitting and fielding,” Jolly said. “Both Callie Wells and Iyuna Clark did great on the mound pitching for us this year.” The Lady Jackets’ starting catcher was injured in the first part of the season so Sasha Shurden had to step in. “Sasha Shurden stepped in for our injured catcher and did a great job,” said Jolly. Jolly said she did not have just one key player who contributed to the success of the team this season. “All 18 players contributed the team’s success by sticking together and pulling each other up through the bad times; they grew mentally this year.” Every team has obstacles to face in the season. For the Lady
Sophomore, Callie Wells, throws a pitch. Photo by Alicia Carter.
Jackets those obstacles were being inexperienced, being fundamentally sound, and being mentally strong as a team and as individuals. “I was very pleased with the progress we made fundamentally wise with our hitting and fielding,” said Jolly ”,we continue to get stronger in all areas of the game.” The Lady Jackets are losing seniors Shanele Johnson, Sasha Shurden, and Donnasha Hubbard. Jolly said that these seniors have helped set the foundation for the future of this team. “They all played an important role and contributed to the success and growth to the team.” The upcoming Lady Jacket softball team is very young. Jolly is looking for her leaders to emerge and step up to the plate. Jolly expects her team to continue progress in all areas, physically and mentally. She feels they will continue to get stronger and more competitive by next season. “Team morale was very high towards the end of the season and we did not argue a lot,” Hayes said. “If we keep communicating and keep our heads in the game without giving up on our coaches or teammates, I expect us to go the championship next year.”
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Golf wraps up for Season By Maculley Johnson Writer Starkville High School girls’ golf team finished with a feeling of success.They played in five matches this season, placing first against Cleveland and West Point.They also placed second at district which advanced them to state. At state there are four nine-hole rounds of golf.The girls advanced through all four rounds and placed twelfth at state in 6A. The three golfers advancing to state were Kaylie Beth Hobart, seventh grade, Paige Lemm, eighth grade, and Kristen Lacy, eleventh grade. The Lady Jacket golfers are coached by Angela Hobart. At the state tournament, Lemm was team medalist for the Lady Jackets with a score of two hundred and twelve, Hobart followed with a score of two hundred eighteen, and Lacy followed with a score of two hundred thirty three. Before the season, Coach Hobart felt like the girls could improve from last year, and felt like they would make state. “There are only four teams in our district. Girls moving up to 6A was actually an advantage to us because our 5A district last year was a lot stronger than the 6A was this year. So I felt like we would make state and I felt like the middle school girls would step up.” “I expected us to make it to state because we moved up to 6A and last year we barely missed so it was pretty much just to get there and then improve for next year and hopefully do better at state,” Captain, Kristen Lacy said. Coach Hobart said that if an individual doesn’t shoot a qualifying score of 70 in the morning round on the first nine holes then that individual doesn’t get to come back for the second nine in the afternoon. So the girls’ goals were to strive for those qualifying scores each morning and they succeeded. “They qualified each time so
they advanced and got to play through all four rounds.They ended up placing twelfth out of sixteen teams.” “Paige Lemm and Kaylie Beth Hobart, both Armstrong Middle School students, were team medalist at sometime during the season, so they both had some personal best rounds,” Hobart said. “I would say the MVP at state was Paige Lemm. She had our lowest score at state and she really helped us to jump into that twelfth position there,” Hobart said. Coach Hobart said that the weather was absolutely terrible this season. “The main problem we had this year was horrible weather.We had very cold conditions; we played in thirty two degree weather.Their hands were numb and it’s very hard to hold a golf club when you can’t feel it.We played in extreme wind, we played through tornados, and we had rain. So weather was our biggest enemy this time and although everyone else playing was experiencing the same weather, it affects some people worse than others.” “I feel like this season we
reached a lot of goals, but I do feel like there is room for improvement. Next year I am hoping that we will move up in the rankings.We plan to practice this summer so that we can be better next year,” Hobart said. According to Hobart, the team is not losing any seniors this year but younger players still have to step up. “There are no seniors on the team so there’s not going be anybody to replace, but the middle school kids next year are going to have to drop scores even more because they are the future of the team.” Lacy agreed. “My expectation for next season is that hopefully we will make it to state again and do better than we did this year and go ahead and move up.We have an extremely young team, besides me.The other two girls that went to state are in middle school. So it’s kind of up to them after next year.” Coach Hobart expects the team to have a better showing next year. “Next year I feel like we will definitely be able to cut about ten or fifteen strokes off of our game which will automatically make us more of a contender at state.”
Captain, Kristen Lacy, tees off. Submitted photo.
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Sports
Athletes sign with College Teams
By Laken Vickers Sports Editor
The school year is coming to an end and the seniors at Starkville High School are preparing to leave the Jacket Nation once and for all. Seven special seniors, however, aren’t just looking forward towards being in college. These seniors are looking forward to competing as athletes at the colligate level. This upcoming fall, Princeton Jones, Darius Grayer, and Fontavious Smith will take on the football field once again, this time, however, not as Yellow Jackets. Jones has signed to play for Hinds Community College, while Grayer and Smith have both signed to play for Holmes Community College. The basketball court will also see some Yellow Jacket action at the collegiate level next year. Dontavious Self has signed to play basketball
for East Mississippi Commoving onto the next level play for Mississippi State munity College. “It’s a in basketball. Schaefer has as an interesting one, great opportunity to get a signed to play for Mississeeing as her father is the chance to keep doing what sippi State University this Woman’s Basketball Head I love. I’m going to miss upcoming season. “I feel Coach. Schaefer said, “You being a Yellow Jacket but extremely blessed to be know, a lot of people tell I’m very excited to be goable to have a God given me I’m crazy for choosing ing to the next level to play talent that has brought me to play for him out of all basketball.” Self said. Self to many opportunities and my choices I had but being looks to the next season to be able to take it to the able to play for an amazwith excitement but he also next level is only another ing coach that is also your has realistic expectations. blessing and challenge that dad is something not many He knows that it requires I’m ready to take on.” Some people get to experience. hard work and dedication view Schaefer’s choice to The coaching staff is famto keep improving to the point of greatness on the college level. Self, however, seems prepared for this new challenge and mindful of what it means. Self said, “I think it’s going to be a challenge. I think the game of basketball on the court is going to be much quicker and harder. Competition is going to be better and a lot more is going to be expected of me in college than what was expected in high school.” Blair Schaefer signs with Mississippi State. Submitted photo. Blair Schaefer is also
ily and I didn’t want to go away from that. I know it is going to be challenging but he has coached me from the sidelines for eighteen years so four more at the highest level is just so amazing to think about.” Schaefer also knows that playing at the colligate level will bring on a set of new and possibly harder challenges. “It’s a totally different game at the D1 level. Everyone is good there where as high school there are only selective amounts of people who have what it takes to be really good players. I will have to learn what I can and cannot do early on so that I can benefit the team in the best way possible and then, when I build on my weaknesses, I will add more to the team. It’s just a growing process from freshman to sophomore year.” Not only will former Starkville High School stu-
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dents take on the football field and the basketball court, but also the soccer field. Noa Hardin and Megan Moorhead have both signed to play soccer for Itawamba Community College next season. Hardin said, “I’m super excited because I get the chance to continue my soccer after high school and I didn’t think I would get that opportunity. I’m also super excited because I get a chance to take my skill to the next level.” One may ask what sets these athletes apart from everyone else and how they themselves can get the chance to be a college athlete. “You need a Godgiven talent; if you don’t have that God-given talent you may not get the opportunity. A lot of people have it but they waste it,” Coach Tate Fischer said.
Boys track pushes through season, does well By Khris Carr Writer
“Our pre season pectations were to be competitive and relative in 6A and I know we were that,” said Steven Griffin. Starkville High School boys track team succeeded during their journey to the 6A State Championship meet Saturday 11, 2014. Charlie Henderson and Alex Ross were State Champions, Ross became the 6A 1600 m with a time of 4:33.18, and
Henderson became the 6A Pole Vault Champion with a height of 13’6. “The boys track team had an excellent season moving back up to 6A, with a 9th place finish at the State Championship Meet. Charlie Henderson, Alex Ross and Christian Kingery represented the Yellow Jacket program proudly. They were just a small sample of the guys that worked extremely hard this season,” said Griffin.
Coach Caroline Woomer is excited about next season. “Next year, we’re getting a better track,” Woomer said. “That will allow us to host our own meets.” Woomer feels like more local people will become involved as a result of hosting track meets at Starkville High School. “More people will see our track team compete here, and that will help involvement,” Woomer said.
Charlie Henderson polevaults to success. A senior, he will be missed. Submitted photo.
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Sports
Girls track leaps forward
By Laken Vickers Sports Editor When the girls track team’s season started, Coach Caroline Woomer predicted that the long distance program would be successful. “I knew we’d have a strong long distance program, and I was excited because our distance runners had been working hard since cross country, and they really led the team in a lot of ways.” One of those who led the team was Kate Mattox, a freshman. Mattox finished first in the State Meet in the 1600 meter and 3200 meter runs. “I just wanted to get my personal record,” Mattox said of her pre-season expectations that she achieved. Mattox added that she went from not having a great start to being state champion. “I was nervous with practices at first since I was not doing as well as I wanted,” Mattox said. “I got really motivated and started praying I would work harder at practices, and now I’m happy with what I have done.” Mattox’s times at the state meet were 11:06.04 in the 3200m, and 5:09.22 in the 1600m.
Kate’s sister, Walker Mattox, placed 5th in both the 1600m and the 3200m. Long jumper Ralesheia Gee, a sophomore, got 3rd place with a personal record of 17 feet and 11 ½ inches. Gee wanted to qualify in all her events, which included high jump and 100m dash, but mainly wanted to do best in long jump. “My personal record was 17 feet all season,” Gee said, “but last week (one week prior to state) I got 17 feet and 8 ½ inches.” After this accomplishment, Gee now wants to jump 19 feet her junior year. Emily Woomer went into the State Meet being the best at SHS in the 200m and 400m dash, with a personal best of 58.54s in the 400m. At state, Woomer was also competing with the four person 400m relay team. “I was hoping we would go to state again,” Woomer said, “and we are; we got 4th place at the North Half Meet.” Unfortunately, Woomer injured her hamstring in the 400m and was unable to continue competing. Earlier in their season, the team had to face the chal-
lenge of practicing during bad weather. “The weather was a big challenge because it was cold for so long,” Coach Woomer said, “and runners don’t like to run in the cold because they pull muscles. But we worked through it, and are better for it.” Coach Woomer also believes they had an advantage because of this, since their fitness level was higher than those teams who gave in to the obstacles. For Emily Woomer, the weather made practices harder. “We would practice on the practice football field and it would be muddy, especially in the areas we all had to run on.” “Unless it was thundering and lightning, or life threatening, we’d run,” Kate Mattox said. “I’m really glad about that, since every little thing counts, especially moving to 6A where the competition is so much tighter.” Overall, Coach Woomer thinks this was a great season. “This was a turning point for the team,” Coach Woomer said. “It established what we will be for now on.”
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Kate Mattox sprints down the final stretch of the 4x4. Photo by Alicia Carter.
Summer training proves worthy By Charlie Henderson Guest Writer Success in anything does not come from short bursts of effort followed by a season of idleness, whether it be academics, wealth or sports, especially not sports. Different athletics have different characteristics, but the common denominator among all is that success in any sport requires determination, focus, and persistence year round. The off-season in particular is where champions are made. If one does actually train during the summer, then the benefits from a hard-working
season get multiplied. There’s a rule of thumb called the “10,000” rule, meaning that 10,000 is the number of hours that it takes to master any skill. We all don’t expect to be the top masters of what we do, but to succeed at all takes hours of practice. And guess what the summer is full of? Hours. Hours and hours and hours, many of which are vacant, and those hours are just waiting to be filled with a training session. And now, the most important unsung virtue of offseason training is the freedom from stress. Competitions are best at bringing out the things
that we are already good at, but the stress that accompanies competition often stifles the creative learning process. But during summer, when competition is out of sight, one can be liberated from stress and can practice their element with no distractions. These times help us see our sports for what they truly are, and we can freely explore all the nuances that it takes to master them. And then, when the real season rolls around, the competition will stimulate a much vaster reservoir of potential that was built up while others sleep.
Tennis makes a Final Serve By Shaukassia McMullen Writer
Like any other team, Starkville High School’s tennis team had high expectations for their upcoming season. They also had many goals, winning a state championship being one of them. However, throughout the season the team faced many obstacles that may have changed their lives forever. “Getting ready for tennis season, my teammates and I wanted what every other tennis team wanted and that was to win the state championship. We had big expectations for the upcoming season,” said freshman, Anna Hayden Taylor. “Our motto was to practice hard so we could play hard.” Tennis Head Coach, Robert Junior, Hannah Laird, hits a tough return. Submitted photo. Fyke, also had big expectations for the team. Fyke expected to
win and to qualify every member of the tennis team for the state championship. “Looking back at the expectations we accomplished a lot, however, getting every single member qualified did not happen.” Fyke said. “Although we didn’t meet our expectations, I’m still proud of us as a whole because we accomplished a lot. Even though we were only teammates, we loved each other like family and, most of all, we were all having fun playing the sport that we loved.” Taylor said. Fyke added, “We had a pretty good season. We made it to the quarterfinals of the North State Championship, we made the playoffs in a very tough district form 6A, and we qualified four students into the state tournament. We had Richard Hill and Will Irvin make the quarter finals of the state championship
and Emily Turner and Hannah Laird make the semifinals of the state championship.” Fyke said. “Overall it was a fairly successful season.” “Our team was full of great players but Emily Turner and Hannah Laird stood out the most in the girls section.” Fyke said. According to Fyke, the girls have accomplished a lot these past few years they didn’t disappoint this year either. The girls won a majority of their in-season matches and they also made it into the final four in the 6A state tournament. “Richard Hill is one of my personal favorites. He’s not only a great person to be around, but he also is an awesome tennis player.” Taylor said. “Will Irvin and Richard Hill have been two of the most valuable players this season. They made the final eight of the 6A
boy’s double championship and they have contributed to our team tremendously.” Fyke said. “As a team, we’ve had many obstacles. One being that we’re in a very tough district and the other obstacles were Madison Central and Northwest Rankin. We weren’t sure if we were going to surpass those obstacles and we didn’t with Madison in our district match but we did end up squeezing pass Northwest Rankin, 4-3, to get that spot in the play offs.” Fyke said. “I’m very proud of my team and the way they represented Starkville and the community.” Fyke said. “Although we didn’t win state championship, we still had a very successful season. We worked hard this season and they deserved every win they won but next season we will work harder and try to bring home the state championship.”