Tornado Times, October 2020

Pompano Beach High School Pompano Beach, FL

October 2020 @TornadoTimes

Vol. 12, No. 1 thetornadotimes.org

What e-learning looks like ...

Henderson: supporter of students and staff ’til the end

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Remembering social studies teacher

Barney tests his way to the top Tornado Times is produced by students at: Pompano Beach High School 600 NE 13 Ave. Pompano Beach, FL 33060 Phone: (754) 322-2000

October 2020 Volume 12, Number 1 Print issues in the 2020-21 school year are planned for October, December, Februrary and April.

For students, teachers and parents who need information on the school and events, Tornado Times is a quarterly printed magazine and a daily updated website that will report the news, lead the school and provide a public forum. Unlike social media, our product provides more insight on our school and events. By emphasizing coverage of what is happening, offering an outlet for students and providing a check and balance, we will promote dependability, responsibility, honesty, accomplishment, teamwork and success.

For the students, by the students Tornado Times is a public forum for student expression. The newspaper staff is responsible for determining what subjects are to be covered and warrant placement in the newspaper.

As a public forum, Tornado Times welcomes letters to the editor.

Letters must be signed and sent to pbhsnewspaper@gmail.com. The staff reserves the right to edit letters for poor taste, libel and space.

Advertising rates are available at estore.browardschools.com.

Please contact us by email or by phone if you have any questions.

Advertising which promotes illegal products under Florida law, includes false statements or is written in bad taste will not be accepted.

The opinions in this publication are not necessarily those of advertisers, Pompano Beach High School or Broward County Public Schools.

Tornado Times is a member of the Florida Scholastic Press Association, which awarded the newspaper a bronze certificate for its 2019-2020 issues.

Senior becomes National Merit Semifinalist

The two sides of e-learning

Follow us online:

thetornadotimes.org @tornadotimes 2 | Table of Contents < October 2020 > @TornadoTimes

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One columnist likes it, one doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t

Being Black in America Pride alone may not conquer oppression

No more years: US needs Biden The Tornado Times 2020 endorsement

Greene bridges digital divide

7 8 10

Senior starts nonprofit about technology

Schools shift to test optional But Florida schools still require SAT or ACT

Young voters can make impact Mr. L encourages participation

X aims to combat prejudice Instagram seeks to combat racism at school

12 12 13

Spring sports travel for fall

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Athletes work through seasons cut short

Football makes its return First game scheduled for Oct. 29

Our Staff Eduardo Andrade, Editor-in-Chief Matthew Shanbom, Editor-in-Chief Emma Parker, Managing Editor Keanu Silva, News Editor Alisha Durosier, Opinion Editor Javier Garcia, Sports Editor Kayla Gayle, Student Life Editor Dr. Andrew Shipe, Adviser

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October

Calendar

26. Girls volleyball @ South Plantation 28. Girls volleyball @ Northeast 29. Football vs. Boca Christian 30. Girls volleyball vs. Western 31. Masked Singer event

November

15

2. Girls volleyball vs. Taravella 3. Teacher planning day 6. Football vs. Pembroke Pines Charter 9. Girls volleyball vs. Cooper City 10. Girls volleyball vs. Cypress Bay 11. Schools closed 12. Report cards issued

12. Girls volleyball vs. Deerfield 12. Football vs. Northeast 16. Girls volleyball vs. Coral Glades 17. Interim reports issued 19. Girls volleyball vs. Ft. Lauderdale 20. Football @ Coral Glades 23-27. Thanksgiving break 30. Girls volleyball @ Flanagan

December

2. Girls volleyball vs. Coral Springs 3. Girls volleyball @ Nova 3. Football vs. Hollywood Hills 7-10. Spirit Week 10. Football vs. Pines Charter

Henderson supporter of students, staff ’til the end

By Emma Parker, Managing Editor Social studies teacher Vaughn Henderson passed away, unexpectedly, over the weekend of Sept. 26.

Henderson was a veteran, AP Human Geography teacher, backbone of the theater department, Broward Teachers Union steward and club sponsor of Gender-Sexuality Alliance(GSA), Thespians and Improv Club. He was also involved in the School Advisory Committee, Faculty Council, Sunshine and professional development.

Aside from his many titles, students and staff described Henderson as, first and foremost, a supporter of his students. Every year, he focused on his students from their first day as a freshman until their last day as a senior, whether it was in AP Human Geography, Theater, GSA, or anything else he was involved in.

“Mr. Henderson was the first teacher at Pompano to believe in me and he supported everything I wanted to do, even if it’s not how he would’ve done it,” junior Amalia Phend said, president of the Thespians

“Mr. Henderson was the first teacher at Pompano to believe in me, and he supported everything I wanted to do.” — Amalia Phend, junior

Club.

Several student performers cited Henderson’s encouragement.

“At the beginning of (freshman) year, I was shy and honestly not great at acting or performing in general, but throughout the year he made sure to dedicate time and effort to each and every student, me included, so that they can reach their potential,” sophomore Riley Dion said.

Henderson’s colleagues on the faculty also recognized his support for students.

Nicole Hanna, social studies teacher and chair, described Henderson as someone who “cared deeply about making sure that students felt included, welcomed and a part of the PBHS experience.”

Spanish teacher Ketty Hill, BTU co-steward with Henderson, said he worked to solve any problem that presented itself, whether big or small.

“We were always collaborating, brainstorming ideas as to how to improve around school,” Hill said. “No issue was ignored. Although we worked in different departments, we collaborated a lot for the well-being of all, faculty and students.”

Henderson’s mother, Madeleine Henderson, and sister, Sherry Rich, are welcoming any cards from students and staff.

The address is 5298 Buckhead Circle, Boca Raton, FL 33486 There is also a memorial page, where students can comment and share the importance and influence Henderson had on them: https://www. gatheringus.com/memorial/ vaughn-henderson/5257.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF BEANPICKER YEARBOOK

GRAPHIC BY MATTHEW SHANBOM

Barney tests his way to the top

By Matthew Shanbom, Editor-in-Chief

PHOTO COURTESY OF SEAN BARNEY

Senior Sean Barney was announced as the school’s lone semifinalist for the National Merit Scholarship Program on Sept. 9. Barney credits the school’s Friday PSAT review sessions, led by literacy coach Ann Wayland Coach and former math teacher Alan Gates, for his success.

“I went to these review sessions every Friday for eight weeks,” Barney said. “At the very least, it gave me exposure to the test into the type of questions.”

In addition to earning a high score on the PSAT, the qualification process involves an application with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

“You also have to write an essay,” Barney said. “It’s a very vague prompt where you talk about something that impacted you … I talked about my brother.”

Barney hopes to go into computer science in college.

“In eighth grade, I wanted to switch out of a class,” Barney said. “And the most accessible

class was this coding class.”

Barney then continued his passion for coding in high school by taking the computer science magnet track.

“Once I went into high school, I’d already kind of had this little thing for coding,” Barney said. “And after doing that … seeing that I was good at it, I was like ‘yeah I want to do something with this.’”

Barney hopes to then apply this knowledge to programming cars.

“One of the most important things in the car is the ECU (engine control unit), basically the computer in the car,” Barney said. “I think it’d be interesting to program those things.”

While Barney has been thinking about what he wants to go into in college, he hasn’t let the question of where he’s going escape him.

“Primarily, I think I would want to go to UF because they (are) one of the best schools in Florida,” Barney said.

Barney has also stated that he is applying to MIT and Georgia Tech as reach schools.

GRAPHIC BY MATTHEW SHANBOM

thetornadotimes.org < October 2020 > News| 5

The two sides of e-learning

Pro

By

Eduardo Andrade, Editor-in-Chief The 2020-2021 school year has gotten off to an unusual start. For the first time, students are in online school full-time. Though there are drawbacks, the district appears to be too eager to return.

“They are moving way too fast. It feels like they are almost using us as test subjects,” sophomore Ryan Gans said. “That isn’t what they are doing but that’s what it feels like.”

By a wide margin, the biggest advantage of online schools is the public health factor. e-learning is much safer and reduces the risk of coronavirus spreading among students and teachers by keeping them away from crowded classrooms.

Many teachers and students, are ‘at risk,’ and the only way to truly protect them is by continuing virtual education.

“If students attended school physically, the number of cases could’ve soared,” said freshman Andrea Nguyen.

Another benefit to online class is the start time. Studies show teenagers desperately need more sleep. Even the 20 minute delay in class time has noticeably improvemed student’s sleeping habits. Plus the ability to work from home has simplified the morning routine of going to class and removed what can be a pretty big hassle for some students, who can travel upwards of 40 minutes to

make it to school.

“Students have more time to sleep because they aren’t spending it to commute between the campus and their homes,” Nguyen said.

Online class has also helped some stay organized. Since everything that’s due is online or in Canvas, it’s impossible to miss an assignment because it wasn’t written down.

The convenience factor of online school has also been a major plus. For many students working from home is just more comfortable. They can create their own ideal learning environment and thanks to the fact that students stay at home, nobody ever forgets to bring their homework to class. There are no lines for bathrooms or lunch, and no restrictions on what you can eat or order.

“It is very nice to be able to wake up, brush my teeth and hair, then get right into a Teams call from the comfort of my room,” said Gans.

Despite the downsides, online school has been the better option for many students.

“As much as I knew it would affect my ... grades and mental health, (online school) was the right choice,” said Gans.

6 | Opinion < October 2020 > @TornadoTimes

Con

By

Javier Garcia, Sports Editor Even if something is necessary, there can still be flaws or areas of improvement present and e-learning is not exempt of this.

There are some problems not really in anyone’s control, for instance, a student’s internet is slow giving a bad or even incomplete learning experience, or a teacher who has been teaching in a classroom on a whiteboard for 15 years and is now trying to shift their whole curriculum while stumped by issues with apps like Canvas or Teams. Point is, there are issues prevalent to e-learning that take the whole “learning’ part out of it, again, to no one’s fault.

“There have been days where I end up just staring at my laptop screen almost the whole time, one class after another,”

senior Kayce Briggs said.

The major takeaway when shifting to e-learning is the removal of the social aspect of school, which isn’t always just chatting up with friends but the friendly competitions to score higher on the next quiz, or a teacher giving you that push you needed, or just having people around you. These little interactions have been replaced with boxes with our classmates’ initials over them, just as the ambient noise of pencils writing and papers flipping were replaced with the white noise of silent chat rooms when the teacher is tired of being the only one talking.

“There have been days where I end up just staring at my laptop screen almost the whole time, one class after another.” ­— Kayce Briggs, senior Granted, some of these issues have been addressed. Originally, some classes could go the whole 113 minutes from beginning to end without leaving the screen, but that issue was quickly resolved when teachers were directed, after a meeting between administration and PBHS Voice, to give students substantial breaks during every class. And I understand that distance learning has been the best way to keep us all safe from COVID-19.

But there’s only so much school staff can do. I’m sure I am not the only student who has rolled their eyes at their computer, thinking, “Man, I want to go home right now,’ while sitting in your very own house. That is the soul-draining effect of E-learning.

GRAPHIC BY EDUARDO ANDRADE

Being Black in America By

Kayla Gayle, Student Life Editor This year has been hard for many of us, but especially traumatic for Black people.

From the explosive revival of the Black Lives Matter movement on social media due to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many other innocent victims, to the discrimination we live with in our daily lives, we’ve had, to say the least, a difficult year.

Our value as human beings up for debate for centuries, but it’s been remarkably loud these past few months as we’ve had to deal with condescending comments and people demonizing us for demanding equality, reparations and the dismantling of a system that oppresses us. Even peers from our own school have participated in the alienation and gaslighting.

Describing being Black in America simply as “hard” would be an extreme understatement. It is truly a wonder how Black people wake up every day and just live their lives.

I know that I will never live in a world where I’m not oppressed and discriminated against for the color of my skin. I know I’ll always live in a world that has my dad working three jobs just to provide for my brothers and me. The same world that has me 613 miles away from my mom because

of a protractive and broken immigration process. The same world that will always hold me at a disadvantage of all opportunities that may come my way.

I know that no matter what country I decide to step foot in I won’t be at peace. The trauma of my ancestors, my own experiences with racism and my fears for my brothers will always be with me. I know that being a Black woman means I have a target on my back.

I know that Black members of the LGBTQ+ community, especially Black trans women, have an even bigger target on their back and that we aren’t doing enough to protect them from the violent hate crimes being committed against them and that we need to protect them the way we pledge to protect cisgender heterosexual Black men and women.

I know we’ll be protesting for years to come. I know we’ll be rioting for years to come.

I know we’ll be fighting for a revolution for years to come.

The difficulties and struggles of being Black in America give me a glimpse of what it’s like to be Black anywhere else in the world because the mistreatment of Black people is universal.

The preference for lighter skin tones instead of darker ones is a sick, unethical mindset that is unfortunately shared globally. We’ve all heard the conversation about representation in the media, but I’m going to mention it again.

Growing up in the early 2000s was hard for a lot of us due to the lack of representa-

tion in the media. As a young girl in Jamaica, the only U. S. show I remember watching on Disney Channel with a black, dark-skinned female lead was “That’s So Raven.” Barely being able to see people like me on TV was damaging to my mental health.

I grew up with the mentality that lighter skin was better; more appealing and beautiful.

I used to be envious and filled with frustration and sadness that I got my dad’s darker skin tone as opposed to my mom’s lighter one. Simply because I didn’t see myself represented in shows, movies or even in the dolls I played with.

Thankfully, I was able to grow out of that mindset and realize that Black is beautiful. I love my dark skin and wouldn’t trade it for the world.

It genuinely breaks my heart to know that I went through that at such a young age and that other Black kids, especially Black girls, did too.

Now, it’s euphoric to see that a lot of us are being loud about our love for being Black.

I think Black people as a whole are in a state of self-love that I’ve never witnessed before.

Maybe it’s because now we have access to social media but I’ve never seen, in my generation, “I’m Black and I’m proud” exemplified so tremendously.

With trends like “#BlackBoyJoy” and “#BlackGirlMagic,” I can’t help but be ecstatic for my people.

(On a side-note: we really need a self-love hashtag like those for non-binary Black people.)

To me, being Black means being strong, proud, happy, beautiful, funny, bold, powerful and thousands of other adjectives that embody our color, history and culture.

I love being Black.

“We are the most beautiful creatures in the whole world, Black people. And I mean that in every sense,” musician Nina Simone said.

Source: Mapping Police Violence GRAPHIC BY EDUARDO ANDRADE

thetornadotimes.org < October 2020 > Opinion | 7

No more years: Amer The case for Biden The Tornado Times is endorsing former Vice President Joseph R. Biden for president of the United States.

While the best argument for a Biden presidency is that he simply isn’t Trump, there are some more reasons to vote for the Democratic nominee in this election.

One of the biggest long term threats to our planet is the climate disaster. Biden has promised to listen to scientists and commit to working on a solution for the problem.

During his time as vice president, President Barack Obama’s administration rejected the Keystone XL Pipeline, raised fuel efficiency standards in automobiles, released the Clean Power Plan and joined the Paris climate agreement.

Many of these actions have been undone by President Trump.

Somewhat ironically, the United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters endorse Biden despite his vow to block further development of the Keystone pipeline.

Biden’s plan for the environment has the U.S. reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Later than we’d like, but it’s better than having no such plan like Trump. He also plans on investing over $1 trillion over 10 years into domestic green energy, combating climate change while creating high skilled and well paying jobs in the U.S. Biden’s approach to climate change, recognizing that the environment and the economy are not necessary antago-

nists, comes from his centrist ideology, which will help unify the country in this period of hyper-polarization, and his relative civility and decorum is something the country desperately needs in its leader.

A Biden administration would also be more likely to restore order and calm the civil unrest in the United States.

As district attorney of San Francisco and attorney general of California, vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris has the experience needed to effectively crack down on crime.

Meanwhile, Biden has promised to reform the police and emphasize community policing while also saying he does not plan on defunding the police.

He says he will end for-profit prisons, one of the most reprehensible aspects of our criminal justice system, and will commit to rehabilitation rather than punishment.

Biden has actually shown interest in working with reform groups to address the grievances being aired by the Black community. Furthermore, he denounces White supremacists with no hesitation, which is more than can be said for Trump.

While Trump’s racism makes Biden look like Martin Luther King, Jr., he does admittedly have some unforgivable moments in his political career, such as calling Obama the “first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright.”

However, by appointing Harris, a Black woman and someone who criticized Biden for working with senators who supported segregation, as his running mate, Biden sends the message

8 | Opinion < October 2020 > @TornadoTimes

that he is willing to admit his mistakes and is working towards fixing the issues with race in this country.

Biden’s social policy will also restore rights and freedoms to underrepresented groups.

The Trump administration has come after the rights of transgender Americans, restricting their ability to serve in the military and turning a blind eye to noncompliance with Title IX. Furthermore, Vice President Mike Pence’s history with the LGBTQ+ community can be described only as appalling. He has long been against anti-discrimination laws protecting the rights of gay people and has been a strong opponent of gay marriage.

The Trump administration has violated some of the most basic human rights of undocumented immigrants, forcibly sterilizing detained women and holding children who have been separated from their parents in cages. While a simple reversal of these horrifying and backwards actions and mentality would be a tremendous first step, Biden actually supports restoring and improving the rights of the underrepresented.

In terms of the economy, Biden is the clear choice. Under the Obama administration, Biden helped bring the U.S. back from a financial disaster.

Trump has sent America into one.

The Obama administration inherited the housing crisis and the worst financial disaster since the Great Depression, Obama and Biden were able to turn this around in eight years and handed over a thriving economy to the new president.

After maintaining the upward trend for a few years, Trump’s poor handling of the coronavirus pandemic has sent America back into a downward spiral from which it will struggle to recover.

Biden’s tax plans would undo the excessive cuts made by the Trump administration, which saved a few Americans billions in dollars while others were left with much less than what Trump promised despite social programs being cut.

Joe Biden has a clear vision and plan when it comes to protecting and restoring our environment, his economic experience in times of crisis will help restore our national economy, he has shown a willingness and desire to fix race relations in this country

and reform the policing and criminal justice systems. Socially, Biden’s policy will push America closer towards being the free and fair nation our founders envisioned. He is the clear choice for president.

The case against Trump On all levels, President Donald J. Trump has shown a supreme failure to lead. On the national scale, polls by the Pew Research Center have shown that the divide between Democrats and Republicans has steadily grown, and a vast majority of the population and both sides of the aisle expect

rica needs Joe Biden this divide to keep growing.

Meanwhile, his leadership in the White House has not been any better. The rate of turnover in Trump’s cabinet makes the White House look like a McDonald’s in a college town.

During Obama’s first term four executive departments saw a change in leadership, including those in cabinet level positions and excluding temporary or acting officials. Under the same criteria, in Trump’s first term, 15 executive departments have had their heads changed.

The coronavirus pandemic has shown just how desperately America has needed better leadership. President Trump consistently spread misinformation about the virus and failed to decisively enact policies that would help the situation. By his own admission, Trump knowingly downplayed the virus, likening it to the flu, causing many Americans to underestimate the severity of the situation.

Trump did not wear a mask in public until July 11, and he disregarded the advice of almost all public health experts, holding gatherings of thousands of people, many of whom also did not wear masks.

And while health experts universally agree that the key to an effective response to the pandemic is testing, President Trump has repeatedly said that we should “slow the testing down” and early plans to expand testing “went poof, into thin air,” according to someone who worked on a pandemic response plan with the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who had taken a leading role in the effort.

In the early stages of the pandemic, the president said the hope was to keep death numbers under 100,000 people while the White House said the upper limit for deaths was 240,000. Trump doubled down on the 100,000 figure in May and argued for reopening the economy, fearing that an economic crash would kill more people than the virus.

The result: over 220,000 deaths at the time of writing, with the number rising every day, and one of the worst economic crises in American history.

Trump tried to trade American lives for economic recovery and failed. His attitude and actions have contributed to the fact that the U.S. is among the worst countries in deaths per capita due to COVID-19, with 63 people per 100,000 dying as a result of the virus.

Trump’s hesitancy to condemn white nationalism and white supremacy makes him absolutely unfit to be president.

Racial tensions have flared under Trump’s time in office and rather than trying to unite the country, he attacked victims of police brutality and blamed the “radical left” for the strife.

While Trump claims that violence is a “left-wing problem,” his own FBI director, Christopher Wray, testified under oath before Congress that a majority of the 100 arrests for domestic terrorism in 2020 were “motivated by some version of what you might call white supremacist violence.”

And while ambivalence to racism is a problem on its own, Trump takes this a step further and actively supports it. He has retweeted a video in which a

supporter of his yells “white power,” claimed that President Barack Obama was born in Kenya and that African-American congresswoman Ayanna Pressley was not born in the United States, called the phrase “Black Lives Matter” a symbol of hate, and refered to Haiti and some African nations as “s---hole countries.” There is no justification for pandering to racists, let alone participating in racist rhetoric and actions.

On top of all of this, Trump has even failed to deliver on his campaign promises. The US is still in NATO, only three miles of “the wall” has been added to the southern border, and none of it has been paid for by Mexico, Obamacare is still largely intact and Hillary Clinton has not been prosecuted.

In fact, if you’re on the search for corrupt politicians, Trump’s team is a good place to start. Trump’s campaign officials are more likely to be charged with a crime than illegal immigrants, not exactly what you would expect from a “law and order” president.

Trump seemingly has no regard for the ethical standards and expectations of the president. According to the Code of Federal Regulations, no member of the executive branch can “use his public office for his own private gain, for the endorsement of any product, service or enterprise, or for the private gain of friends, relatives.” The rampant nepotism in the administration is unethical to the point of negligence, considering the fact that Kushner was appointed to lead the coronavirus pandemic response despite no medical or

public health background.

This nepotism also led whithouse.gov to promote the jewelry line of Ivanka Trump and led Ivanka herself to promote Goya beans after her father received praise from company executives.

When it comes to Trump’s impeachment, few have put it better than Mark Galli, former editor-in-chief of Christianity Today: “The facts in this instance are unambiguous: The president of the United States attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president’s political opponents.

That is not only a violation of the Constitution; more importantly, it is profoundly immoral.”

As a final note, the Tornado Times finds it worrying that for 10 out of 15 years before being inaugurated as president, each member of our staff paid the same amount of money in federal income tax as the President of the United States, a multi-billionaire.

The case against President Donald Trump, in the opinion of the Tornado Times staff, is frankly overwhelming and cannot be surmised in 1,000 words. What we can say is that he is largely responsible for one of the biggest disasters in the history of the U.S., he has failed to deliver on many of his campaign promises, his ethical record is staggering, and the country is more divided now than it was before he entered office.

Donald Trump should not be reelected as president of the United States of America.

thetornadotimes.org < October 2020 > Opinion | 9

Greene bridges Senior Jordan Greene reacts to the news of becoming Miss Broward County’s Outstanding Teen 2020. Greene spent months preparing for the competition.

PHOTO COURTESY OF JORDAN GREENE Greene’s company provides resources for those who have limited access to technology.

GRAPHIC BY EDUARDO ANDRADE

10 | Student Life < October 2020 > @TornadoTimes

Data according to the Pew Research Center and Microsoft

s digital divide

By Alisha Durosier, Opinion Editor

Senior Jordan Greene has expanded an eighth-grade Girl Scout project into a nonprofit company that seeks to reduce the gap between those who have access to technology and those who do not.

Greene’s company, Conquering the Digital Divide (CTDD), developed from Hard Drives for Humanity, a project which earned her a Girl Scouts Silver Award.

“I could only imagine how difficult school would be if I didn’t have the internet or a computer,” Greene said.

Greene, who has participated in Girl Scouts since kindergarten, was able to raise money to fund the giveaway of three laptops.

“That was like the coolest thing ever,” Greene said.

Conquering the Digital Divide was Greene’s effort to bridge her preexisting passion for technology with her developing interest in serving those who don’t have or don’t know how to use technology.

In order to cater to her target audience, Greene made a plan last year to teach technological literacy classes.

In February, Greene was able to teach her first class at Habitat for Humanity.

Greene received an overall positive response, attendees saying that they learned a lot and that they would come back for another class.

“At this point it wasn’t a company it was a project,” Greene said.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Greene then faced a dilemma.

“I was kind of stuck for a little bit, because I didn’t know how to carry on my project,” Greene said. “It was like I definitely had to get this done. I just didn’t know how to.”

Greene’s mother suggested incorporating Conquering the Digital Divide and applying for 501(c)(3) status, making Greene’s project into a company.

“So I started from there and it took forever,” Greene said.

With coronavirus restrictions strictly prohibiting physical meetings, Greene decided to record her presentations. After recording the first three presentations in English, she came to a realization.

“I was like, wait a second, we can reach a bigger audience,” Greene said.

With the assistance of some of her bilingual friends, Greene’s videos were translated into Spanish, Portuguese and Creole.

Of all her accomplishments, Greene is the most proud of her company.

“My company is something that I’ve nurtured, like it’s my baby,” she said.

“There is not a day that goes by where I don’t work on something for Conquering The Digital Divide,” Greene said. “CTDD involves the hard work of so many other people. I am really thankful and appreciative for all the work that they do.”

Pageant win built Greene’s grit

By Alisha Durosier, Opinion Editor

Senior Jordan Greene credited her victory in the Miss Broward County pageant for helping her build the confidence necessary to deal with the ups and downs of starting a business.

“It was very foreign to me,” Greene said. “I went into pageantry with this really biased mindset, that’s its all lipstick and hairspray and catfights and it’s really not.”

Miss Broward County is a scholarship competition in the form of a pageant. Greene won the title of Miss Broward County’s Outstanding Teen 2020.

“The moment they said my name I kind of screamed,” Greene said. “I didn’t think I could do it, I didn’t think I had the ability to adapt to this new situation.”

Greene’s victory served as a life defining moment for her.

“If I could do this thing that is completely out of my universe and out of everything that I know, then I can commit to any-

thing else that I really want to do,” Greene said. “It was one of my favorite experiences, and I actually think it kind of shaped who I am today, because it gave me the confidence to walk into a room and be like, ‘Oh, yes, I can do this.’”

Greene is aware of the endless opportunities her future holds.

“I’m one of those people who prepares a lot for the future but doesn’t really have a clear goal,” Greene said. “I have so many ideas of where I want to be in the future, it’s kind of unreal. I know wherever I go to college, I’ll do what makes me happy.”

Her contrasting list of career paths include starting a tech startup, being a model, research, becoming Miss America and being a pioneer in quantum physics.

“I’m very excited to see what the future holds, I have proven to myself that I could do whatever I set my mind to,” Greene said. “I feel like the cool girl I wanted to be in the fifth grade.”

thetornadotimes.org < October 2020 > Student Life | 11

Young voters can make grown impact

By Javier Garcia, Sports Editor

One of the prime questions in this election is will the youth transition from hashtags like #MeToo, #NeverAgain, #ParklandStrong, #MarchForOurLives, #WeCallBS and #BlackLivesMatter to voting.

“Something I noticed this summer with all the amazing protest is that you guys are going out there and really participating in social change,” social studies teacher Michael Lichtenstein said. “Though none of that translates into policy if you don’t go out and vote.”

In the 2018 midterm elections (for senators and representatives, but not for president), those aged 18-29 made up 36% of those who voted, a huge increase from 20% in 2014, according to the U. S. Census.

“You guys (students) have a prime opportunity to expose new voting trends …, but only if you vote,” Lichtenstein said.

The reaction to the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School showed that Generation Z can be the generation of change. Thanks to the generation’s growth alongside technology and social media the platform to speak has never been more accessible than ever which makes them naturally more vocal about issues. But that public front means nothing, Lichtenstein said, without voting in the privacy of the polling booth or on a mail-in ballot from home.

“The only thing that we have as individuals within our system of democracy that we can solidly decide if we want or don’t want a candidate,” Lichtenstein said.

GRAPHIC BY MATTHEW SHANBOM

Out-of-state schools shift to test optional

By Matthew Shanbom, Editor-in-Chief

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many colleges have shifted to a test-optional policy for this application cycle. This means applicants will not be required to submit an ACT or SAT score for those schools.

While students have the option to apply without tests, many are fearing the lack of a test score will hurt their application. Only 21% of respondendents on a Tornado Times Instagram poll said they apply to colleges without submiting test scores “I feel like everybody else kinda has scores,” senior Bria Kuntz said. “And that it’ll probably make me look worse that

I have nothing to show for my entire educational career.”

On the flipside, school counseling confirmed during a class visit that students who choose to provide scores will not be hurt if they provide a score whether good or bad.

BRACE advisor Mia McFadden did not respond to requests for comment.

Many students stated they would provide a score if they felt it was good enough, usually drawing the line above a 1300 on the SAT. “I will probably report a score if I feel it favors me,” senior Jeffrey Drew said. “Otherwise, I could probably use test optional.”

The list of universities that

12 | Student Life < October 2020 > @TornadoTimes

shifted to test-optional admissions for 2021 includes some that have recently accepted students from PBHS: Yale, Brown, Johns Hopkins, Boston University and New York University. Some schools, notably the University of California system, have shifted to test optional permanently.

“I know for this pandemic, it’s a good thing for colleges to do (test optional),” senior Steve Padmanaban said. “But honestly, I don’t really like having a test optional (policy) forever. I feel like an SAT or some sort of standardized test is something important in the college admissions process.”

However, some students do not believe that standardized

testing works.

“I would much rather have GPA, which is an accumulation of four years of work… rather than this one test I took for four hours,” senior Jordan Greene said.

Not joining the test-optional trend is the public university system in Florida, one of only two states requiring test scores from applicants this year (Wyoming is the other). The Florida university system reassures students that any difficulties faced because of COVID will not be ignored, and students can tell colleges about their struggles in the indicated field on their applications.

X aims to combat in-school prejudice

By Kayla Gayle, Student Life Editor

There has been a history of prejudice occurring in our hallways, classrooms and now even Microsoft Teams Meetings. Students complain about the supposed lack of action by administration which leads them to not have the school spirit they are expected to.

A Black female student, under the alias “X,” which was chosen to represent the unknown, decided to make an Instagram account (@pbhs. safespace_fromignorance) to combat the discrimination she’s witnessed.

X chose to stay anonymous due to a fear of possible backlash from her classmates, parents, and school.

“There’s been a lot of people in the account’s DMs (Direct Messages) that’s been spreading a lot of hate and I don’t want to become a target because of it,” X said.

Despite those fears, X still created the account to raise awareness of the situation suffocating students of minorities.

Originally, X emailed Principal Hudson Thomas, Assistant Principals Jill Samaroo and Loralyn Carlson, Intern Principal Lisa Spencer, all the guidance counselors and BRACE Advisor Mia McFadden on behalf of Black and Hispanic students.

The email, which is posted on the Instagram account, detailed several accounts of racist acts done by fellow students.

“When I emailed the school at first, I was expecting them to reply to at least acknowledge that I said something but they didn’t and that made me really upset,” X said. “So I knew making the account would spread

the awareness of the issues that we have at our school and that it would put administration in a position where they would have to reply, where they would have to say something.”

X created the account two days after sending the email because she had yet to receive a reply by then and she hoped to inform other students about the issues occurring on campus, which is exactly what she did.

“I didn’t really know about (the racial prejudice at Pompano) until that account was made,” Junior Jack Lewis said.

“I think it’s a good thing that someone made (the account) and brought those issues to light.”

When emailed for an interview in regard to this article, Thomas, Spencer, Carlson and Samaroo were unavailable for comments before the publication’s deadline.

The account gained positive feedback from multiple students that believe it is making a difference.

“I think (the account) is important because a lot of people don’t know or pay attention to what’s going on and not only (does it) inform, (it is) also an outlet for people who just want to talk,” Sophomore Krystal Felix said.

Though, not everyone agrees with the account and how X is running it. Senior Amanda Flynn described the account as “extremely messy” in terms of the account’s action plans.

“Their emails are just ranted statements as far as I’ve seen with no directive to actual change,” Flynn said. “You can’t just rant to administration, at the end of the day they do have

other responsibilities, so you have to have an actual plan.”

In response X said, “I understand where they are coming from… However, when you want change, a bit of ranting may occur to show the person/ people you are ‘ranting’ to that there is a pattern, an issue. The entirety of the email was NOT a rant, it was a report. It was a cry for help I made on behalf of the Black, Indian, Hispanic, etc. community.”

“As a ‘directive of change,’ we are trying to get administration to notice there is a clear issue.

We are trying to cause a rise so they will do something about the issue. I tried to set up a meeting where students would be able to express their feelings and voice concerns about the issue at our school, but the staff at our school refuses to acknowledge it,” X said. “That’s where the change would’ve started. The plan was to do the meeting, which I was expecting them to agree to for the sake of the Black and Hispanic population at our school, but they

foiled that plan.”

Due to administration failing to reply to her email about setting up a meeting with her and other students, X’s new plan consists of contacting the school board and said, “if they choose to do nothing about it, I won’t hesitate to go to the news.”

“We understand that administration has ‘other responsibilities’ but their priority is the welfare of the students,” X said.

Other students seem to share this sentiment.

“No matter how big or small it is, it’s still an issue that needs to be addressed and resolved. I hope the admin will do something,” Lewis said. “All we can do is just bring awareness and educate about the issue.”

Though X originally created the account and contacted the school in regards for racial issues, they have decided to expand their message.

“When I saw there were other issues like with the LGBTQ community and other races too: Asians and Hispanics, I was like okay this needs to be more broadcasted, this is an issue we need to fix,” X said.

Students of different minority groups seem to also have problems regarding discrimination.

“I feel the issue with most of our issues (is that) they’re all little things that no one sees the purpose of but they all bubble together and everyone is mad but they can’t pinpoint one area to be mad at,” Flynn said.

“I just want to say we have a zero-tolerance policy for cheating and bullying,” X said. “But why isn’t the one for discrimination against other people not as strictly implemented?”

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Spring sports athletes hang on with travel clubs

By Javier Garcia, Sports Editor

Senior Tahj Reed may have had his lacrosse season cut short by COVID-19, but that didn’t mean he stopped playing. Like many spring sports athletes, he has been enjoying weeks of travel lacrosse practice, keeping him from catching “quarantine body” and looking forward to testing his skills at a series of tournaments, one as early as this October.

“Obviously there had to be some changes, forms that needed to be signed, risks that need to be acknowledged,” Reed said, “but at the end of the day we still get to play lacrosse in a relatively remote setting.”

Playing fall travel sports means a lot more than just another opportunity to play. To some, it has provided a much needed distraction to help get through the odd times.

“I was very relieved because soccer helps me out a lot, with stress and health,” senior Jacob Giraldo said.

Even pre-COVID, many athletes used sports as a gateway out of their regular life, or as Giraldo put it, to “cope” with the things they’re dealing with.

When the days are started to mush together, the repetitive cycle of isolation confined in the four walls we call home could finally be broken a few days a week to go out and have fun.

“I can’t compare how important this time is for me, but beyond (just) for my skill, but for my mental (state) and how I get to look back at this final year,” Reed said.

Matthew Restrepo and senior Tahj Reed clear a turnover of possessions downfield during the travel Gold Coast Shootout tournament Oct. 20 PHOTO COURTESY OF TAHJ REED.

Senior Paul Spada defends the goal at a game on Oct. 6 PHOTO BY MICAHEL YEARY

14 | Sports < October 2020 > @TornadoTimes

GRAPHIC BY EDUARDO ANDRADE

Players look forward to return of football

By Eduardo Andrade, Editor-in-Chief

After the season was delayed for months, the football team will be playing its first game a few weeks into the second quarter on Oct. 29 against Boca Christian, this game will also be Senior Night for the team. Broward County Public Schools allowed teams to begin voluntary workouts on Sept. 21.

“As soon as they said practice was starting (I knew) I was gonna be there,” senior Nicholas Mickol said. “I missed too much time on the field already, (I’m not) going to miss more.”

The late start to the season means that there will be fewer games, with only six matches in the season, ending with a home bowl game against Pine Crest on Dec. 11.

“Our seniors won’t get the chance to have their final season to be played to the fullest,” junior Neile Thomas said. “With how much extra work we have put in as a team, their final season should be one to remember.”

After a few weeks of conditioning, the team started their first practice on Monday Oct. 12th. New safety protocols were put in place for the conditioning and practices as a precaution against

COVID-19. Players and coaches must have their temperature checked before starting practice and players must fill out a wellness form. Everyone must stay six feet apart from each other when on the sidelines and masks must be worn, except when players are running drills.

“I’m excited. Not really worried about getting the virus, if I’m being honest,” senior Brayden Larosee said. “I think the safety protocols taken are enough to make me feel safe.”

“I didn’t realize how much I would really miss playing ... But it feels great to be back out with everyone and competing.”— Nicholas Mickol, senior Though the virus has limited opportunities to recruit new members to, the football team has been able to add new underclassmen.

“Everyone who was on the team last year just tried to get all their friends to join,” Larosee said.

However, this influx of inexperienced players combined with the limited conditioning, practice time, and the lack of preseason games could mean that the team starts a step slow this year.

“It’s been a while since anyone has played, so I can see us making stupid mistakes more often, like jumping offsides, forgetting a play, etc.,” Mickol said.

The team is especially looking forward to its first two games, home games against Boca Christian and Pembroke Pines Charter on Oct. 29 and Nov. 6, respectively. The game against Boca Christian will also be the first home game of the season and the teams Senior Night.

Mickol says he is excited to just be “able to walk out there (on Senior Night) and reflect on the last couple of years that has led up to the moment.”

The game against Pembroke Pines Charter will be the first time the two teams meet since they met at the end of last year. Pompano won the game 21-0, securing its second win in the last game of the season. The game ended with an altercation between players.

“Pembrok Pines Charter is a game everyone who played last year is looking forward to,” said Larosee. “Last year’s game ended in a fight and also led to words being exchanged over social media. I guess you could say it may be a rivalry.”

Despite the setbacks and new restrictions, players have been happy to return to the field.

“I didn’t realize how much I would really miss playing,” said Mickol. “But it feels great to be back out with everyone and competing.”

thetornadotimes.org < October 2020 > Sports | 15

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