Tornado Times, March 2018

March 2018 Pompano Beach High School 600 NE 13 Ave. thetornadotimes.org @TornadoTimes

Vol. 9, No. 5 Pompano Beach, FL 33060 pbhsnewspaper@gmail.com

PHOTO AND PAGE DESIGN BY JULIA LATCHANA Seniors Nate Tackett and Camila Duarte shout chants, leading a walkout on Feb. 21 to protest for gun control and show support to those affected by the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School , which killed 17 and wounded 14. Thousands of students across the country participated in similar walkouts. throughout the week of Feb. 19-23.

Never Again New 2 security Go vote gym 12 New13 6 Walkout

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March 2018 • thetornadotimes.org

news

New procedures include locked stairwells, deputy armed with AR-15

By Emily Powell, Section Editor

Staff members of Pompano Beach High School have been working to make their students feel safer after the school shooting occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas on Feb. 14.

On the international holiday of love, nineteen-year-old Nikolas Cruz decided to Uber his way to his old high school and kill 17 innocent people, resulting in the fear of staff and students in schools across Broward County and the country. Because of these reactions, staff have decided to step in and do whatever it takes to make students feeling safe again.

Since the shooting, stairwell doors have been and will remain locked from the outside, making it harder for possible intruders to get into the building. To have the doors opened, a call will have to be made to any security guard on campus and a pass will be required. Locks have also been added to the gates leading into

Deputy Smith monitors the campus with her AR-15 assault rifle in hand. She has promised that she will do everything she can to keep students safe.

PHOTO BY EMILY POWELL

A new sign is posted on gates leading to the outside of the campus. New locks were also installed to make it harder to get onto campus from outside.

PHOTO BY EMILY POWELL

the school. Parking lot gates, bus loop gates, any gate leading onto campus will be locked and only opened if necessary. ID badges are also expected to be worn, since it is a Code of Conduct rule and helps staff determine who really belongs on campus.

School resource officer Deputy Stephanie Smith was recently assigned the job to carry around an AR-15 assault rifle, the same kind of rifle that killed 17 innocent people and injured 14 others. The rule was imposed by Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel to enforce safety at schools and to make students feel safe again.

“I do feel that students feel safer now that I carry around my

AR-15,” Deputy Smith said. “I know that because I ask them as I carry it, and nine out of ten times students say that they feel safer.”

Deputy Smith and other members of PBHS staff are continuously coming up with new ideas to keep our campus safe. Some of their ideas included a fence being built around the perimeter of our campus and more security in the courtyard watching over us.

“Security and staff are currently working on lots of ideas to make our campus safer,” Deputy Smith said. “Unfortunately, it takes a tragedy before they start to listen.”

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March 2018 • thetornadotimes.org

news

History of Henderson

Teacher discusses life as part of LGBTQ community

By Charlotte Hood, Asst. Section Editor

In the recent meetings of Gay-Straight Alliance, members have begun to include presentations of LGBTQ history, including many prominent and influential figures in the community. As they review the achievements and struggles of the LGBTQ individuals of the past, they also have a piece of that history among them: club sponsor Vaughn Henderson.

Henderson attended Coral Springs High School, graduating in 1982. During this time, he says there was little talk of the LGBTQ community because it was so heavily stigmatized.

“I can remember going to the library and looking up every book that had the word ‘gay’ in it,” Henderson said. “Just so I could understand and … learn about the feelings I was having.”

Henderson was not able to be open about his sexuality during high school for fear of backlash from his community and peers.

“No one ever came out in high school because … they would have gotten beaten up; they would have been kicked out of their home; they would have lost anything they could have gotten in society,” Henderson said.

Unlike today when many schools across the country have GSAs and adults that LGBTQ students can turn to for advice and support,

Mr. Henderson’s junior year yearbook picture. Henderson graduated from Coral Springs High School with the class of 1981.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MR. HENDERSON

Henderson didn’t have any access to a safe environment where he could freely express himself and talk about his sexuality.

“We didn’t have teachers who people could turn to, even if they were just allies,” Henderson said. “It just wasn’t existent.”

The lack of representation in mainstream media as well as the lack of informative and respectful conversation of the topic of sexuality and LGBTQ individuals had an impact on Henderson’s sense of self.

“I felt like I was the only one, that there was no one else like me,” Henderson said. “I felt like … I was actually wrong; that I was a bad person.”

Henderson also witnessed the discrimination and backlash toward the gay community during the ’90s as the public wrongly associated such individuals with the AIDS disease that was spreading during the period.

“There were rumors that if you were found out to be gay or had AIDS, that you were going to go to these concentration camps,” Henderson said. “People went back into their closets because people would… tie the AIDS stigma to you.”

As he looked back on his experiences, Henderson recounted how the representation of LGBTQ individuals in the mass media has changed.

“When I was in high school there was not a TV show that had a gay character on it,” Henderson said. “There was not anywhere in the country where someone was openly gay.

It’s not like today, where we have Olympians who are openly gay. We have sports people; we have actors.”

SGA members attend state convention

By Alexis Schatten, Asst. Section Editor

Fifteen SGA members attended the Florida Association of Student Councils State Convention at East River High School in Orlando from Feb. 16-18, learning new leadership tactics and ways to get the student body more involved in school events.

“SGA conventions give student leaders a chance to use their voice and share events they do in their community to aid their schools,” sophomore class president Lor-

raine Angelakos said.

The workshops taught students many different, important lessons about how they can better use the resources they have and allowed students from different schools to discuss projects they’ve done in the past that have been successful. “[During the swap shop workshop], they assign you to a room with kids from different schools and you discuss your different methods of fundraising and the

different things your school does pertaining to the state projects and such,” sophomore Victoria Santa Lucia said.

Because the convention separates students from their peers, it provides a good time to make new friends and connections.

“My favorite part of the convention is meeting other students and being pushed out of my comfort zone,” said Angelakos.

According to Santa Lucia, the convention was an eye-opening

experience. She thought the convention in its entirety was inspirational and taught many important lessons that she will carry into the rest of her life.

“I learned that everyone, especially everyone our age, needs to stick together and work together to make our future better, to work for a better life for all of us, because if we all just stand here and hate on each other, we won’t get anywhere,” Santa Lucia said.

March 2018 • thetornadotimes.org

opinion

5

Prioritize school safety, don’t militarize schools In light of the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, students have been forced to not only think about those who were lost, but about their own safety in school.

Parkland was deemed the safest city in Florida by the National Council for Home Safety and Security recently, and Stoneman Douglas one of the top 50 schools in Florida, according to the U.S. News and World Report.

In a city that is supposed to be so safe with a school that is ranked so high, it begs us to ask the question: Are any of us safe from an event like this in our schools?

The answer is no.

None of us are safe, and that is unacceptable.

A school is supposed to not only be a “safe space” from firearms, but in general. Schools are a place where some students find refuge from bad household situations or get food their families cannot provide. These spaces that are so imperative to a young person’s development should not be the same place where they fear their best friends, classmates and teachers will be killed.

So how do we fix this?

The solution is not arming our teachers.

Arming our teachers will not prevent an active shooter from

coming on campus, not to mention the facts that most teachers do not feel comfortable carrying a gun and there is a major lack of funding towards schools, so the training required as well as the firearms themselves would take funding away from the materials that are necessary in schools like textbooks, computers and desks.

The answer is not metal detectors. Going through a metal detector every time you walk on campus is not only a huge morale issue, but would be another waste of the scant funding schools are currently given.

In order to prevent a mass murderer from coming on cam-

pus, the security of our schools needs to be more of a priority for our school district and our state education departments. Students

should be required to wear our school IDs, as we once were, and all entrances to the school should be monitored.

While our security guards do a

wonderful job in helping students, it is too easy for a person to walk on campus unnoticed.

The security guards are preoccupied by monitoring the students directly, whether it is students trying to leave campus and skip class or opening the parking lot gate for a student.

The blame for this should not be on our school security guards, as they just do what they’re told by the district. The district and state should prioritize monitoring who comes on and off the campus more closely.

Our campus also must be more closed off to the public.

Due to the school’s proximity to the North Broward Education office, the campus is too open to truly regulate its safety.

In order to make this change happen, to secure our own safety, we must be the change. This is our future, our lives, and we have to fight for them in whatever ways possible.

Walk out. March on Washington. Call or write your legislator and your school board member. Use social media to organize.

And when they doubt, belittle or troll you, call BS. This slaughter must never happen again.

Never again.

GRAPHIC BY KRISTINA LATCHANA

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March 2018 • thetornadotimes.org

opinion

If you want change, go vote By

Sam Rosser,

Asst. Sect. Editor

Republicans in the state capitol shot down a measure to ban assault rifles last week, and on Feb 26 Republicans in the Senate killed a bill to ban assault rifles nationwide. An AR-15 assault rifle is what Nikolas Cruz used to kill 17 innocent students, teachers and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School earlier this month.

The president of the United States of America sent his daughter, a fashion designer, to negotiate one of the most complicated international relationships the United States has ever seen on behalf of a nation of 320 million.

That president has been under

investigation since day one of his administration. Republicans have a majority in the House of Representatives, the Senate and have control of the White House, and yet, they struggle to legislate effectively.

Republicans have broken promises, lived under constant scandal and failed to make anybody besides the wealthiest Americans’ lives better. It’s time to vote them out.

Democrats harbor a 10-point lead in the generic congressional ballot, which is simply a choice between a republican or a democrat, Donald Trump’s approval rating is hovering in the high thirties and the respected statisticians and political operatives at Fivethirtyeight think there are a whopping 18 gubernatorial races democrats can win this year.

None of this can be done, however, if our generation does not go vote. Our generation is socially

liberal, we believe the climate is changing because of human action and we favor higher taxes on the wealthiest among us.

However, we’re infamous for our laziness. You might wonder what we’ve done to deserve that label, but they’re right. We don’t go vote. In the last midterm election, only one out of six citizens 18-29 voted. Only 16 percent of our generation voted. Sixteen. Comparatively, half of our grandparents’ generation voted, and our grandparents make up roughly the same percentage of the electorate as we do.

I know I’m not the only one who’s been sitting at the Thanksgiving table sitting quietly while our nearly senile grandfather goes on about the “good old days.” Well, our senile grandparents still get to vote, and they have nothing better to do on a Tuesday in November. Well, we get to vote too. So go and vote.

Unclean campus breeds ignorance By

Madison Steinkamp, Asst. Sect. Editor

I have a theory. My theory is that no one a part of administration ever ventures down Sixth Street (the road our buses drive down to get to the bus loop). Why? Well, have you ever ventured down that road and looked at the ground? Have you ever walked to the junior parking lot? If you have, you know exactly what I am going to be talking about. The trash.

Not just trash in general, which is plentiful, but the beer bottles, beer cans and liquor bottles, all empty but still on our school.

Of course, our campus is an

open campus and does host events besides school events, but doesn’t it seem ironic that we advocate a drug-free school (which does include alcohol), yet show no enthusiasm to clean our school to replicate the drug-free mentality?

I walked from the junior lot to the bus loop and counted two beer cans, three beer bottles and two liquor bottles, one of which was directly next to the PBES fence.

How helpful is an assembly advocating against drunk-driving when you just walk to your car and see our school littered with alcohol? Everything the student just listened to in that assembly is forgotten. If there is alcohol on my school grounds, why can’t I drink it?

By leaving alcohol containers on the ground, we aren’t just littering the earth, we are littering minds

by, in a way, promoting the consumption of alcohol.

This littering is not the fault of our janitorial staff, nor the administration, nor the students, nor the city. Maybe it is the city’s for not cleaning up after hosting an event, maybe some students do chug a beer before school and litter it, maybe the administration does not walk to the junior lot to see this, maybe the janitorial staff thinks that path is the least of their worries, but it’s not just one person or one group’s fault; as an entity we all should be working to better our school, we all should care about the trash on our grounds, we all should do something about it.

Regardless of who brought the alcohol onto the grounds, it needs to be picked up, and I don’t care who does it, just clean the path.

Alexandra Griffin, Editor in Chief Jessica Buchanan, Managing Editor Jamie Black, Gray Page Editor Samuel Rosser, Asst. Gray Page Editor Alexis Schatten, Asst. Gray Page Editor Madison Steinkamp, Asst. Gray Page Editor Charlotte Hood, Asst. Gray Page Editor Maria Suarez, Color Page Editor Julia Latchana, Asst. Color Page Editor Jordan Brown, Asst. Color Page Editor Andra Danu, Asst. Color Page Editor Emily Powell, Business and Web Editor Kristina Latchana, Business and Web Editor Dr. Andrew Shipe, Adviser Tornado Times is produced by: Pompano Beach High School 600 NE 13 Ave. Pompano Beach, FL 33060 Phone: (754) 322-2000 Email: pbhsnewspaper@gmail.com Website: thetornadotimes.org Twitter: @TornadoTimes Print issues in the 2017-18 school year are planned for October, December, March and May. Online issues are planned for November, February and April.

For students, parents and teachers who need to be informed about what’s happening in and out of the school that affects them, Tornado Times is a print and web publication that provides timely multimedia and interactive coverage. Unlike social media, our product is focused around school events from the perspective of the bigger picture.

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 silver certificate for its 2016-17 issues.

March 2018 • thetornadotimes.org

opinion

PRO: Gun

control CON: Controlling guns means can save lives By

Alexandra Griffin, Editor in Chief

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

The preamble to the Constitution clearly states the purpose of the document. In light of the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas on Feb. 14 and the eight other school shootings in the first six weeks of 2018, the Second Amendment is no longer upholding this purpose.

A “more perfect Union” is not one where innocent children get chased down and killed by their disturbed peers. To “establish Justice” for those fallen is not “sending thoughts and prayers”.

To “insure domestic Tranquility” is not having kids’ best friends shot in front of them in a “safe space.” To “provide for the common defense” is not allowing a person who is barely an adult and is known to be disturbed to legally purchase a semi-automatic war weapon. To “promote the general Welfare” is not ignoring the voice of the people and ignoring our cries for gun control. And “the Blessings of Liberty” are not to send eight-year-olds to school fearful that a school shooter or armed teacher will shoot them.

While I respect the Second Amendment and our forefathers who created it, times have

changed. The Second Amendment is just that, an amendment, and it wouldn’t be the first time that as a country, we amend the constitution. If we can get rid of Prohibition, we can enact gun control, not banning guns, gun control.

We need mental health checks other than a simple checkbox on a form that does not need to be verified by anyone. We need a ban on assault rifles. We need to ensure that there is not another person that has their life ripped away from them while sitting helplessly in school.

As students, we cannot sit by idly. We must be the difference.

If we want change, we must be the ones to make it. We must join forces with our peers at MSD and fight for our lives, for gun control.

Write your representatives, senators, and president, participate in school organized walk-outs, march for your life on March 24 in cities all over. Be the change we want and need.

In 2015 there was at least

1

mass

shooting, on average, for each day of the year.

On average states that have higher rates of gun ownership and sales have more gun-violence.

States that have higher than average gun ownership rates also have higher than average amounts of police officers killed on duty.

Since the Sandy Hook massacre in late 2012 there have been over

1600

mass shootings in the United States.

The United States has only

4.4%

of the world’s population but over half of the civilian-owned guns in the world.

*Statistics from Vox GRAPHIC BY CHARLOTTE HOOD

7

controlling people By

Jessica Buchanan, Managing Editor

The Second Amendment was created with the security of our people at the forefront of the framer’s minds. Since its passage in 1791, the amendment states, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

In the wake of a tragic mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, community members took immediate action to enact gun control laws on the general population, specifically the banning of automatic and semi-automatic assault rifles. However, gun control and an assault weapons ban will not prevent the problem from occurring again.

The definition of a well-regulated militia then and today might have changed but the foundation is still there. A well-regulated militia should allow for any legal U.S. male or female citizen to obtain a firearm as long as they pass the required background checks and are of legal age.

It is the “right of the people,” the individual person, to own a firearm, not the state or national government to declare what they think is best.

As citizens we are held accountable for our own personal safety. By placing gun control laws on those that want to obtain a firearm, their right automati-

cally becomes infringed upon and the Second Amendment is no longer upheld.

I do not disagree with the fact that Nikolas Cruz in the Douglas shooting should not have been able to get his hands on an AR15, with the mental condition he was in, but when it comes right down to it, the AR-15 did not pick itself up and pull the trigger. It took Nikolas Cruz to commit that action and he along with the failure of law enforcement and his guardians to take away his guns should be held solely responsible.

It takes a person to fire a gun, not the gun itself.

Therefore the issue does not lie in an assault weapons ban. The assault weapons ban that was in place from 1994-2004 did little to deter crime, which is why it was not reinstated when it expired.

According to the FBI murder weapon statistics, only 3 percent of firearm murders were committed using rifles. If an assault weapons ban were to be passed by legislation it would essentially only be preventing 3 percent of murders by firearm.

If the right to bear arms is torn away from the citizens of the United States, then there will be no way of protection when another incident happens.

The truth of the matter is that if someone wants to get ahold of anything illegal, then they will find a way to do it. 1.2 million Americans each year are arrested for possession of drugs according to the Drug Policy Alliance, and millions more go unaccounted for. Possession of an illegal firearm would not be decreased due to legislation.

Read more at thetornadotimes.org

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March 2018 • thetornadotimes.org

Friends of victims victims Friends fear for for their their safety safety fear

By Maria Suarez, Section Editor

After the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, students have taken the courage to perform walkouts in protests while others are still left with a void in their hearts and fear in their eyes.

Junior Allie Tomaini not only lost two of her friends, Jaime Guttenberg and Meadow Pollack, but she was also left in fear for her safety.

“It took me five days to come back to school,” Tomaini said. “I was nervous to come back. If it could happen at Douglas because it’s a closed campus, what would stop it from happening at Pompano when it’s an open campus.”

Tomani was one of the students responsible for scheduling the school’s walkout to the Pompano Beach City Hall.

DESIGN BY MARIA SUAREZ

“I was pretty proud of the walkout,” Tomaini said. “It was a way for students’ voices to be heard.”

Junior Elizabeth Lieberman was struck with fear not only from the shooting but also finding out that one of her close friends at Douglas had been rushed to the hospital.

“When I first heard about it, I was in shock,” Lieberman said.

“When I found out two people had died, I realized that that’s only 25-35 minutes from us and that could’ve been easily us, and I didn’t feel safe at school.”

Sophomore Alyssa Wild agreed that she felt unsafe coming back to school. Although Liberman’s friend was recovering at the hospital, Wild’s friends lost their lives.

“I was upset that I lost people

that were close to me,” Wild said.

“And I think there could be more that we could do at this school to make it safer.”

Lieberman also began thinking about how security could be improved.”There could’ve been ways to prevent it,” Lieberman said. “I feel unsafe and I can’t get the proper education that I deserve.”

School staff has since made some changes to security procedures. Deputy Stephanie Smith is now carrying an AR-15 assault rifle, the same gun the shooter Nikolas Cruz used, and students are now required to show their IDs to go up the staircases during the day.

“I got scared when I saw Deputy with the gun, but knowing that it’s not in the wrong hands makes me feel safe,” Tomani said.

In loving memory of a. Alyssa Alhadeff, 14 b. Jamie Guttenberg, 14 c. Aaron Feis, 37 d. Carmen Schentrup, 16 e. Gina Montalto, 14 f. Scott Beigel, 35 g. Meadow Pollack, 18 h. Alaina Petty, 14 i. Chris Hixon, 49 j. Martin Duque Anguiano, 14 k. Peter Wang, 15

March 2018 • thetornadotimes.org

centerspread

a.

c.

h.

d.

i.

9

m.

n.

j. b.

o. e.

k. p.

l. Cara Loughran, 14 m. Joaquin “Guac” Oliver, 17

f.

g. l.

n. Helena Ramsay, 17 o. Luke Hoyer, 15 p. Alex Schanter, 14

q.

q. Nicholas Dworet, 17

Mourners raise their candles at the Feb. 15 vigil at Pine Trails Park for the victims of the Parkland shooting.

PHOTO BY ALEXANDRA GRIFFIN

¡Bienvenidos a España!

student life 11

March 2018 • thetornadotimes.org

Travelers head to Spain

By Julia Latchana, Asst. Color Section Editor

Twenty-three Travelling Tornadoes will be visiting France and Spain from March 21 to 31 to immerse themselves in a new culture.

“I am excited to go to Europe for the first time and see what life there is like,” junior Megan Tirrell said.

These students will be visiting Paris, France; Montpellier, France; Roses, Spain; Barcelona, Spain; Madrid, Spain; Cordoba, Spain; and Seville, Spain.

“I’m really excited. I have never been to Europe before, so this is going to be such an amazing and unique experience,” senior Kristiana Kassis said.

The trip cost about $3,000, which covers all expenses aside from money needed for food and souvenirs.

Business Professionals of America went to their state competition on Feb 9-11. Chika Amahagwu, Darlie Ibrahim and Rochilda Fevrius won fifth place in the small business management category, and Kaylie Jimenez, Alena Krause and Vikasni Mohan won fourth place in their global marketing category.

SGA gave away sunflowers to spread cheer on Valentine’s Day. The Student Astronaut Challenge team attended the state/ national competition from Feb. 21-24 finishing 11th overall.

The Multicultural Show was hosted by the International Travelling Tornadoes on March 1.

The event raised over $2400 for the Spring Break Trip.

The Interact and Car Club Car Show was held on March 3.

In order to meet the cost, students have been participating in fundraisers, including car washes, Poinsettia sales, PDQ and Chipotle nights, Krispy Kreme Donut sales, and the Multicultural Show and Silent Auction.

To prepare for the trip, Assistant Principal Jill Samaroo had the students bring their luggage, fill it with 10 to 11 textbooks (about 50 pounds), and then told them that they were in Spain and had 10 minutes to catch a train.

“She made us take the bags up the central stairwell to the third floor, down the east stairwell, out around the back of the school to the basketball courts, and back along the east side of the teacher lot so we finished back at the front office,” junior Zachary Tirrell said. “It was a nice way to burn some calories.”

Juniors took the SAT exam for free on March 7.

Military Ball will be held at the Signature Grand on March 16.

On March 21 two students, senior Haley Blatt and junior Kevin Munez will depart for France for the second portion of the exchange program.

Spring Fling will take place March 22 in the cafeteria. The dance will be hosted by the freshman and sophomore classes, but all students are welcome to attend.

Students will be taking the ELA Reading exam on April 16-19.

The drama department will be putting on a showcase on April 25 in the auditorium, performing individual monologues and scenes from musicals.

University of Miami’s concert band plays on the final night of the festival on Feb. 3. The Frost Honor Band Festival lasted two days, Feb. 2 and 3.

PHOTO BY KELLY ZHANG

Musicians shine in UM Band

By Jordan Brown, Asst. Section Editor

Winning the final game of the season in any sport is pretty important, but for the kids who press keys and read music instead of pass balls and memorize a playbook, the closest thing to a championship is the University of Miami Honor Band, an annual band festival where around 260 kids are nominated by their band directors all over Florida.

After rehearsing in three separate groups for two days, the musicians perform together at a concert on the last day.

Nominated students don’t get in just by nomination; they also have to audition for several judges, and then those judges determine their placement in either of the three groups.

“For the audition, we had to play three prepared excerpts that we received beforehand,” sophomore bass clarinet player Sean Durham said. “The prepared excerpts weren’t that difficult and focused on a specific skill like tone quality, rhythmic accuracy, musical expression, for example.”

The three separate bands, the Honor Band Wind Ensemble, the Orange Concert Band and the Green Concert Band, each had a different conductor, not necessar-

ily from the UM music programs.

The musicians were assigned, after their auditions, to certain chairs based on their skill level.

“I met a lot of talented musicians from Palm Beach County as well as some from the Tampa area” junior saxophonist Malik McGowan said.

Over the course of the two days, the students didn’t just rehearse and perform; they each also had the opportunity to take a master class on their individual instruments run by UM staff.

The conductors included retired conductors, current conductors, the Associate Dean of the UM Frost School of Music and the conductor from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

“Being a part of the University of Miami Honor Band was a great chance to enhance my musical career at the high school level,” McGowan said.

On the last night of the festival, UM’s band performed, followed by the three separate high school bands.

“The overall experience was fun and a great way to increase my musical knowledge and meet new people and make new friends from all over Florida,” Durham said.

12 student life

March 2018 • thetornadotimes.org

Pompano walks for change

By Jamie Black, Section Editor

After the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, students at this school, along with many other schools across the country, organized a walkout on Feb. 21, urging change and remembrance of the 17 who lost their lives on Feb. 14.

Seniors Nathaniel Tackett and Camila Duarte organized the walkout and were happy with the results.

“We didn’t expect that much of a turn out,” Duarte said. “I think a good percentage of the school walked out. We also didn’t expect for it to last that long.”

Tackett was pleased with the enthusiasm before and during the walkout.

“Everyone got really involved and passionate about it, and a lot of other people decided to take it upon themselves to make more walk outs and get passionate about it,” he said. “So that was really good.” Another group planned and executed a second walkout, traversing the 16 miles between this school and Stoneman Douglas on Feb. 27, getting over 75,000 “likes” and 20,000 re-tweets on Twitter.

The next day, junior Allie Tomaini organized a walkout after B Lunch, meeting up with Blanche Ely High School students at Pompano Beach City Hall.

Students take to the streets on Feb. 21, walking out of their classes to protest school security and gun control issues. Protests occurred across the country after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which killed 17 students and staff members.

PHOTOS BY EMILY POWELL

sports13

March 2018 • thetornadotimes.org

Above: Junior Shane Schulte throws a winning shot in the Feb. 28 game against Coral Springs. The team’s next game will be on March 13 against Gibbons.

Left: Junior Dante Hunter Poe grapples over the ball with his opponent from Coral Springs. The boys team lost 1312 to Coral Springs on Feb 27, bringing their record to 2-1.

PHOTO BY ALEXANDRA GRIFFIN

Water polo begins season with splash

By Alexandra Griffin, Editor in Chief

The boys water polo team had its first match on Feb. 8 against South Broward. The team is working towards its goal of getting further in playoffs that it did last year.

The boys team has a record of 2-1 for the season so far, stopping their winning streak on Feb. 27 with a 13-12 loss to Coral Springs.

“The whole team is working for states,” junior Ronald Hache said.

“The goal for the overall season is

to advance farther than last year.”

The team as a whole, and as individuals, have been working on ball movement and other skills as well as minimizing fouls and the amount of players ejected.

“My personal goal is to be the

best defense in Broward County,” said Hache.

The next game will be on March 13 at home against Gibbons.

Coaches floored by rebranded gym

By Emily Powell, Web and Business Editor

The gym is open once again after renovations were initiated by athletic director Jason Frey, who felt the space needed a rebranding.

“The logo that was originally in the center wasn’t even our logo,” Frey said. “It was just a random tornado. So to drum up more excitement for the basketball and volleyball programs, we’ve decided to make it look cleaner and really update it to show us who we are.”

With renovations beginning Dec. 8, life shifted for the staff and students who depended on the gym for games and classes.

The floor is newly painted in the gym, which was closed for two months. Athletic director Jason Frey directed the updated design.

PHOTO BY EMILY POWELL

Coach Judd, who teaches many classes like HOPE and team sports, uses the gym as one of

his classrooms. Since the gym was being renovated, he had to hold class in locations other than

the gym, making it hard for his students to change out (which is a part of how he grades his class).

“Long-term, it’s a really beautiful gym and it’s in good shape,” Judd said. “Short-term, it was temporarily difficult to manage because the locks were changed and it was a little unwieldy to get in and out, but all in all it was worth it.”

During the renovation, the basketball teams switched their home games to away, and practices had to be held either on the outside courts or at Crystal Lake Middle School.

Renovation finished Feb. 9, one month later than planned.

14 sports

March 2018 • thetornadotimes.org

Tran makes racket on tennis court

By Andra Danu, Asst. Color Page Editor

As the tennis season started back up in the middle of February, junior Isabella Tran was eager to get back onto the courts.

Tran has been playing tennis for about seven to eight years now, half of her lifetime.

“I first discovered my passion for tennis when I began watching my older sister play,” Tran said.

Tran decided to follow in her sister’s footsteps, crediting her as her most important inspiration for picking up a tennis racket and ball.

Being on the team since freshman year, Tran has remained consistent with her main goal for each season. This season is no different.

“I want to win one match at districts,” Tran said.

Her main strategy on the court is to stay calm and focused. The team’s friendly atmosphere as a whole helps create a healthy playing environment.

“In my opinion, the team’s best quality is how we are able to help each other,” Tran said.

Although Tran has a lot of experience with tennis, she credited Coach Messano for always challenging her on how she can improve.

“Coach helped me learn how to become better at volleying,” Tran said.

Even though sports and academics don’t mix for all students, Tran feels no pressure as she succeeds in both.

“You have to know how to manage your time,” she said.

While Tran does not have any plans in the future after high school for tennis, she would not want to play any other sport.

“Tennis is a great way to cooperate and have fun with other people,” Tran said.

The softball team has a record of 3-4 as of March 4. Junior Jeritza Montero has been one of the leading players. “We have worked very well together and everyone seems to be having fun and playing well together,” junior Regina Monaco said.

The next home game is on March 13 against Coconut Creek.

The boys water polo team has a record of 2-1. They lost to Coral Springs 13-12 on Feb. 27. The next water polo game will be on March 13 at home against Gibbons.

The boys and girls tennis teams played their first games of the season on Feb. 15 against Coral Springs at Pompano Beach Tennis Center. The girls won 5-2 and the boys won 7-0. The next home game is on March 12 against Coral Glades.

Junior Isabella Tran gets into position as she awaits to receive the ball from her opponent during practice on Feb. 27. The tennis teams played their first games on Feb. 15.

PHOTO BY ANDRA DANU

The boys volleyball team lost its first game against Western on Feb 28. The team’s top players are senior Nicholas Gil, senior Andrew Frasco, junior Matt Narkier and junior Ricardo Stewart.

“Our immediate goals are to learn the game and progressively get better as the season continues. We have a lot of new players to volleyball, including myself, who have never played high school volleyball and we’re quickly learning to play together,” senior Nathan Lacerda said. “We really want to get a winning record and be able to compete with the elite teams in our district like Monarch, Deerfield and (Marjory Stoneman) Douglas.”

The next game will be on March 12 at home against Monarch.

The flag football team kicked off its season on March 6 at 4:30 against Pines Charter.

“We want to make districts,” senior captain Samantha Baron said. The team’s next game will be on March 13 at Somerset.

The varsity baseball team has a record of 3-1 as of Feb. 28. The team’s goals are simple: “beat Gibbons and get a ring,” senior Alexander Skirvin said. The next varsity home game will be on March 13 against Pine Crest.

The boys and girls lacrosse teams lost their first games 13-0 and 11-1 respectively.

Freshman Erin Wheaton scored for the girls. The next games will be on March 12 at Flanagan.

16 last look

March 2018 • thetornadotimes.org

Walkout to keep the Glocks out

Students and staff gathered at the flagpoles at noon on Feb. 21 to remember the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas

High School shooting and voice their concerns about current gun regulations. Model UN students gave brief speeches before the crowd walked around the perimeter of the school. The walkout was approved by administration and Deputy Stephanie Smith, who made sure that no students were harmed.

Junior Madison Tappa

Senior Log

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Junior Luan Rios

Senior PHOTOS AND DESIGN BY ANDRA DANU

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