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F eatures Choosing colleges by reputations School Haley Rush The reputation of a college is what draws or discourages a student to a certain school. It has often showed that unless the college is Ivy League, the football team represents its popularity. Students, focus on the sport standings, the size of the campus, or even looks of the campus when making their final selections. Yes, those are all great attributes, but there are many other important considerations that should not be overlooked when making a final decision. Required classes that have to be taken before graduation is something every senior should research. It may look notable to see a long list of required courses, but it is not impressive to feel the pressure of taking courses that are not of interest to someone. The more required courses that have to be taken mean fewer electives in the field of a student’s choice. Flexible requirements are also something to look for. Schools that have no substitutes for certain classes could later put someone in a bind. The students who need remedial courses in order to pass should make sure the options are offered at the college they choose. College students everywhere complain about the limitation in class space. The more popular colleges, or if the major is popular at the school could easily put students on a waiting list. Enrollments seem to keep rising, while the faculty size remains the same. Many times students who register later have a hard
time enlisting in classes that they need in order to graduate. It is safe to check availability of classes before enrolling. “I was one of the first people to sign up for classes, however there was a problem with my application and I had to go and resign up for classes. When I went back all of the classes I had wanted before were filled. I wasn’t even able to take an english class my freshman year,” said Creek graduate Mary Katherine Molloy. All colleges do not offer every major, especially if the major is something very specific. It is critical to check the major list before applying. “A&M was one of the schools I was going to apply to this year, however right before I sent in all of my stuff I thankfully noticed that they did not even offer my major. Now I will be attending the University of Texas, which is one of the top schools in the nation for my major,” said Kelsey Carlisle. It would also be sufficient to research the school and major. At certain colleges, some majors need separate applications, like music or art. Also extremely popular majors like psychology and journalism could have limited space. Every student learns differently. Some students need more individual attention then others. That is why the student faculty ratio is something that should be highly considered. Students who attend a university with a ratio of twenty students to one professor should not be expecting too much attention from the teacher. The percentage of students who graduate from a university says a lot about the college as a whole. A rate of sixty to
eighty percent graduation rate is very normal, however if the graduation rate is fewer than sixty percent a red flag should be raised. All of these questions and concerns can easily be answered from college guides and rankings on various websites. The colleges website itself is also one of the best ways to get an answer. Another helpful way is to contact admissions officers to get the inside scoop of the school. Also talking to current and graduate students will give an accurate perspective of the college and its surroundings. All of this information will help students m a k e the best decision and get the most out of the college experience, whether the football team makes it to a bowl game or not.
the whole race with a length of 8.78 miles. “It was very difficult having to run uphill,” Capuzzi said, “The wind didn’t help much either.” The group met Governor Perry. At the end of the 24th leg, at a rest stop for teams, the Governor’s racing team caught up with the JROTC at about three in the morning.
by Woods, Gant, Ewing, Solis, and Picou. Eventually the whole group, excluding Picou who was running leg forty, was near the base of the obelisk. When Picou could be seen, the team blazed out to meet him and they ran in together for the last official leg before the epilogue. The Clear Creek JROTC then fell into ranks and prepared to run the last leg from the entrance of the park to the monument, which was about a quartermile. As Courtney called cadences to the runners, people who weren’t associated with the group were cheering them on the whole way to the finish. The team then met at the steps of the tower with photographers and medals. Each runner received a gold metal. Then, all of the participants signed a the relay. large original Texan rebel flag that had “Sam Would Be Proud” added to the top. The JROTC had run 203.2 miles, met the Governor, and pushed through harsh conditions to successfully make their way into history. The organization now has a day named in their honor. On March 26, 2009, the Mayor of League City dubbed the day “Clear Creek JROTC Day”.
Megan McKisson celebrates.
ROTC participates in Texas relay Will Sheffield
In eaarly March, the Clear Creek Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, or JROTC, ran the 203.3-mile Texas Independence Relay, or TIR, from Gonzales, Texas to the San Jacinto Monument in La Porte. The team consisted of 1st Sgt. James Courtney, and students Neil Woods, Nick Capuzzi, Luke Ewing, Candace Gant, Lauren Thompson, Miranda Vasquez, Crystal VanSpyk, Vanessa Jaramillo, Steven Solis, and Antoine Picou. After a quick pep rally in front of the school before the team left, they went off to Gonzales where they would run into history as the first high school team to race in the TIR. The team prepared months prior to the race to make sure each of them was in top condition. ROTC students getting ready to head out for “I am very pleased to be part of this experience and am honored to lead it,” Courtney said, Governor Perry met almost all of the team “The runners will do great. They’ve run over and explained his background in running. 300 miles total in preparation for this race.” “I used to hate running; hate it…I The team began the race at Gonzales always associated it with punishment,” with a 1.15 miles. prologue near the museum said Perry. He finished giving his downtown. After the prologue, there were short speech then congratulated the forty more legs to run plus an epilogue at team, wishing them the best of luck. the end where the team would run together. As the group was just beginning to Each runner was to run different legs seem aggravated about constantly seeing throughout the two-day long race. Nick the 567.31-foot tall San Jacinto Monument Capuzzi had the third leg, the longest leg of in the distance, the final legs were being run
Photo courtsey by Sg Courtney
lunches evolve Haley Rush A major debate facing the school system today is how to improve teens eating habits while in the school cafeteria. Many have proposed the idea to eliminate sodas and snacks like chips and candy. The problem is s c h o o l s have been replacing the vending machines with sport drinks and vitamin waters containing an equaling amount of sugar. A new website was recently introduced with the mission to “design sustainable lunchrooms that guide smarter choices. www.smarterlunchrooms.org does not believe in banning certain foods, but instead guiding students to make healthier decisions. Smarter Lunchrooms reasons, that simply replacing pizza with whole wheat bread and fries with roasted sweet potatoes does not allow teens to make real world choices. “I am actually a person who would rather eat healthy, but when schools are noticeably taking away foods in the lunchroom it makes me crave them more then I usually would,” said Kaci Garrison. The websites main intention is for administrators, but is made accessible enough for parents to easily navigate. The main concern is that students should be encouraged to eat healthier, not forced. For example if the candy, chips, and sodas line is made cash only, while other foods are prepaid then the junk food might be less desirable. Research has also shown the farther away the lunch tables from the less healthy snack line the less likely they are to get up. “Not having sodas in our lunchroom does not make me want to eat healthier. It makes me mad that soon I’m going to be in college and my high school is banning drinks we used to have. I wish I was given more real world decisions,” said Chloe Vogel. Another idea Smarter Lunchrooms has offered is to put the food on smaller plates. The portions will be smaller, but look larger to the students. A solution that has caused much controversy is to raise prices on the less healthy food items. Schools are very cautious in taking this approach due to the disadvantage to kids with less income. That is why Smarter Lunchrooms has offered winning ideas that not only guide students to healthier choices, but save money and make it more manageable for a school to participate.
Photo by Hailey Stephens