Notre Dame fire causes world-wide devastation
Carter Crookston advances to State UIL Tennis competition
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Endgame wraps up Marvel’s Avengers series pg 20
Creek advances to State at 2019 Academic UIL meet By Kadee Loyd Around Creek Editor
Creek students had a very successful 2018-2019 District Academic UIL competition in March, placing second, just under 20 points behind Springs. Seventeen of the students who participated in the wide variety of subjects moved on to the regional competition, which took place on April 13. On Friday, March 29 and Saturday, March 30, Creek teams went against other schools in the district for the first-place title in individual subjects and in the overall competition. Many Creek students secured high ranks, and individual teams took home many of the first and second place awards for overall subjects (Social Studies, Spelling and Vocabulary, Literary Criticism, Science, Math, Journalism, Current Events and Debate). “I was very proud of our sponsors and kids and the way they performed. We had good participation, which is critical in that event, and our kids were well prepared. They scored plenty points on the way, so I’m very proud of all the academic coaches and our students for all that they did to prepare,” Jamey Majewski, principal, said. The juniors on the Social Studies team swept the competition away, with Tony Dudley claiming first place, Carli Fontaine taking fourth, Anna Alves taking eighth and Brandon Doan 14. The team received first place in their branch of competition, and all four students moved on to the regional competition. The event consisted of a multiple-choice test and an essay, both of which focused on Civil Rights. To prepare, the team was given a guide and The Race Beat, by Gene Roberts, to read on their own time. It is evident the team put effort and time into these extra studies to achieve their results. “I read a lot of information surrounding the Civil Rights personally. This year’s AcaDec topic was the 1960s, which overlapped really well with Civil Rights,” Dudley said. The Spelling and Vocabulary and the Literary Criticism teams took second place at the competition. Senior Adonai Haragot, who
placed third in Spelling and Vocabulary, moved on to Regionals. Seniors Mete Karagoz and Tim Brazzel also participated in the event, placing fourth and seventh respectively. In Literary Criticism, junior Rolly Ojo took third and went to Regionals, while sophomore Noah Ellis received fourth and junior Ayan Sarkar got sixth. Junior Peyton Burlington, sophomore Helen Ding, junior Elida Met-Hoxha,
“It was great going to the competition with my friends in the science team. We’ve really grown close over the course of studying, and I just enjoy having fun with friends at these kinds of academic events,” Ding said. Senior Cameron Noorbakhsh competed in Math, Number Sense and Calculator Apps, taking fifth, third and first, respectively. He qualified for the
Photo taken by John Lewallen
junior Madelyn Skierski and sophomore Adara Toran made up the Creek Science team, which was awarded second place overall. Ding placed first in Biology and moved on to regionals. For the competition, students had to take a three-part test. Their strategy was to focus on one of the three topics, Biology, Chemistry or Physics. Over the course of the process, the team had the chance to build a sense of comraderie.
regional competition for Number Sense and Calculator Apps but was unable to attend due to a college visit to Rice. Members of the Creek HiLife staff kept the winning streak going, taking first in Journalism and second in Current Events as an overall team. Sophomore Arrington Linder and senior Sierra Dickey took first and third, respectively, in News Writing, and both moved on to Regionals.
Junior Maddie Moore placed fourth in the event, making her a first alternate. In Feature Writing, junior Morgan Severson received fifth and sophomore Leah Burnam sixth, while Severson claimed second in Editorial Writing and moved on to the next level of the UIL competition. In Headline Writing, Linder took second, Dickey took third and Burnam took fifth; Linder and Dickey moved on regionals for the subject. At the regional competition, Linder took fourth in the event. In Copy Editing, Moore placed second and Severson fourth. Moore moved on to round two, and Severson was a first alternate. Senior Grant Coburn placed sixth for Current Events. Other members of the Current Events team were Severson, Burnam and senior Riley Healy. Debate is not unfamiliar with competitions after countless tournaments throughout the year, and they once again showed off their skill at the UIL competition. Sophomore Meghan Lindquist took fifth in Poetry, sophomore Emma Tyler took fifth in Informative Extemp and senior Rachel Boyd, the 2018-2019 District Champion, took first in Lincoln-Douglas Debate and moved on to regionals, where she earned second and moved on to state. Seniors Sanjana Shah and Sunny Wang secured first place for Cross Examination Debate, and senior Jack Callahan and freshman Nathaniel Overby received second in the event. The members of Creek debate enjoyed the competition and look forward to even more success in the future. “I most enjoyed watching my friends compete and be successful in topics and events that they really care about,” Tyler said. After hours of looking through textbooks, guides and online resources, taking practice exams and studying all the required material, the Creek UIL Academic Teams’ work finally paid off, earning them silver in the competition. Although Creek did not see as much success at the regional competition, the students were proud to represent the school and prove that Creek has some of the most talented and hard-working individuals out there.
Choir and Orchestra sweep the competition at UIL By Kadee Loyd Around Creek Editor
Creek is once again filled with pride for their fine arts programs. Choir and Orchestra recently attended their UIL competitions, and both teams received Sweepstakes, the highest award in performance and sight-reading. Choir and Orchestra are both required to perform three pieces of music that they have been working on for several months. After the performance, they enter the sightreading room where they read and perform a piece of music after silently studying the notes for a short period of time. Choir sightreads on solfege, solmization syllables, while Orchestra silently plays by fingering the notes mimicking the movement of their
bowing. The Sweepstakes award is an average score of ones from the six judges – three judges for the performance and three for sight-reading. The scoring scale is from one to four for choir and from one to five for orchestra, with one being the best. On April fourth, four of Creek’s choirs bussed over to the First United Methodist Church in Dickinson eager to show the judges the work they had accomplished on their music. Bel Canto, the sub-nonvarsity treble choir, went first for Creek. Their musicality and precision in their pieces, Simple Gifts, Sing to the Lord, Alleluia and The Poet Sings, had the judges asking, “Are you sure they are subnon-varsity?” The choir of freshmen girls has less members than they have had in years, but they made up for their smaller
size with stunning voices and hard work. “We had to work a lot every single day to achieve the goals we wanted to, and we had to really work on our skills and improve; learn new things and all that type of stuff,” Ashlee Zachary, freshman Bel Canto member, said. Concordia, the non-varsity tenor-bass choir, followed Bel Canto. After last year’s disorganization and struggles for the men’s choir, their performance proved how much the team has grown. Their songs, Sing Me a Song of a Land That is Gone, Leave Her Johnny and Hey Ho, Nobody Home, showed off the boys’ rich tone. With only a few stumbles in the sight-reading room, they walked away with ones from all judges. After Concordia came Kapelle, the non-varsity treble choir. This group of
sophomore, junior and senior women has been performing at a varsity level throughout the year, and after hearing the choir’s musical performance, a few members of the audience told director Mr. Sean Stultz that they were surprised the group was not competing at that level. Their songs, Lullaby, Ich Wollt’, Miene Lieb’ and Hej, Igazitsad, were filled with passion and brought tears to eyes of the members of the audience. They breezed through sight-reading and brought home a shiny, new Sweepstakes plaque. Symphonic, the varsity mixed choir, went in the last slot of the entire competition, and they were determined to finish off the judges’ day with a bang.
Continued on page 18.
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Opinion Senior Edition
What are your plans for after high school? “I am moving to Los Angeles to at tend USC and majo r in political Scie nce.” -Shelbi Wood ard
“I plan to get a film degree and make it big in hollywood with Andrea.” -Jackson Mendez
"I plan to get a film degree and make it big in Hollywood with Jackson.” -andrea Boening
“Try every grape native to Turkey while living in a tokyo hotel for two years and maybe like, go to college.” -Kabir Sharma
NT o to U g o t n “I pla jor in and ma ecause I stics b lingui arning love le ges.” langua lips hil -Kaeli P
n “I am going to Sam Housto al state and major in Crimin the Justice and one day join ey th FBI to help kids because are our future.” -Noah Deel
“I will major in and entrepreneurship own hope to start my or business in interi design.” a -Olivia Translavin
to oving m n o for “I plan unteer ve l o v o l mo Haiti t n I wil e h T . uy r a yea et to b e r t s l l gh.” to wa sell hi d n a r low Hoove -Todd
“I’m joining t he air force because it’s the best cho ice for me and I wan t to help our cou ntry.” -Sophia Creg er
“I am going to go backpacking in Europe for a year.” -alex Hammack
“I AM G O AUSTIN ING TO UT AT TO STU DY NESS IN THE MC BUSICOMBS PROGR A M .” -KIT MA TTHEW S
“I am g oing atten d coll to ege at te xas State and I plan t o join th Debat e Team e .” -Rach el Boy d
college “To thrive in nt to be because I wa life, I want someone in parents to make my proud.” Sanchez -Alejandro
2018-2019
HiLife Staff
Principal: Jamey Majewski Advisor: Wynette Jameson Editors-in-Chief: Maddie Moore Sierra Dickey Assistant Editor: Morgan Severson Managing Editor: Brittney Melanson News Editor: Leah Burnam Online Editor: Lilo Shelley Features Editor: Arrington Linder Entertainment Editor: Shelby Donnow Sports Editor: Anabella Cooper Around Creek Editor: Kadee Loyd Advertising Manager: Brittney Melanson Photo-Editor: Danielle Dunavant Erik Soto Assistant Photo-Editor: Riley Healy Reporters:
Kadyn Chatman Nicole Alvarenga Jose Rodriguez Grant Coburn Kaila Alvarenga Cameron Heise Mariyah Thomas Alexis Gerado
Photographers:
Bella-Jace Moreno Chloe Tankink Carson Faulkner Sammantha Torch Carson Faulkner Cece Huff Donica Booqua
Published at Galveston County Daily News in Texas City Visit us at: www.creekhilife.com or http://clearcreekhs.ccisd.net For ad rates call: (281)-284-1889
3
Editorial
Sierra Shares: Overlooked Americanization
By Sierra Dickey Editor-in-Chief People call America the melting pot of the world, supposedly consisting of cultures from all other regions and welcoming their beliefs by giving freedom to exercise their traditions; however, every other heritage except American is in some way whitewashed and Americanized due to societal expectations placed upon them by Americans. Some feel that the suppression of other cultural views and traditions has been an ongoing problem since the emergence of America, or the New World, and although overlooked, it has deteriorated the purest forms of culture, some dating back 4,000 years. Although many would think that the mixing of cultures is beneficial, it also has its downfalls, including the end to understanding the past and ways of life each culture represents. America forces foreigners to adapt to their culture to further progress themselves, resulting in unseen suppression of cultures for the gain of global Americanization.
By Maddie Moore Editor-in-Chief Due to the recent spread of misinformation about vaccines on social media, the first outbreak of measles, since it was declared eliminated from the US, has occurred. Though the anti-vaccination movement is far from a new concept, social media has caused a significant increase in its number of supporters. The first wave of the anti-vax movement occurred in 1796, when the smallpox vaccine was invented. Most people had a general distrust in doctors and medications and were concerned about vaccines being unsanitary. For religious reasons, many groups decided against vaccinating their children. The modern wave of the movement, which we see exaggerated online today, occurred in 1998 when British gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield released a paper proposing
The Native Americans, who were welcoming and curious of Europeans (like Columbus in 1492), were people of tradition. They believed in shamans, ancestors and evil spirits that created night terrors and dreams that signified the future; along with spiritual rituals, they had customs of being violent only when necessary and using all resources that were given to them for their survival and for trading between tribes. However, even when Columbus was gifted with gold from the Native Americans, he still continued to enslave them. If they were to ignore his commands, then they were either sent to a torture camp or mass genocide would occur. This was the first act of suppression on a major cultural group. Another act involving Native Americans was in 1838 when the Cherokee tribe had to walk the “Trail of Tears,” established by Andrew Jackson for the purpose of having available land East of the Mississippi River. Due to the involvement of European culture and the new found “American heritage,” Native Americans were forced to comply with the Europeans and to integrate their culture into the old traditions established hundreds of years beforehand by tribal ancestors. Thirty years later, the Transcontinental Railroad was in the progress of being built, a new industrial age dawning. At the same time, America, seen as the free nation with many economic opportunities including the Gold Rush, was attracting the attention of foreigners, specifically the Chinese. The mass migration of the Chinese was solely due to the low job opportunities seen within Asia. However, although America had many positions, thousands of
Chinese immigrants were sent to work on the Transcontinental Railroad. There they would mine miles of mountains while being treated extremely poorly, paid extremely low wages and were forced to live on the camp with a curfew and strict housing laws. They were
vaccinations correlate with autism. However, the paper was redacted, as the data was falsified, and Wakefield only wrote the paper for his own financial gain. Today, anti-vax supporters are mainly concerned about what is in vaccines, and the side effects of them. Although many vaccinations have been proven safe, the spread of misinformation online has created a movement that is putting our population at risk. Most states allow religious groups the right to choose whether or not to vaccinate their children, which was not initially an issue. However, as more people began opting out of vaccinations due to misinformation spread online, the percentage of the population receiving vaccinations fell outside the herd immunity range, or the percentage of the population that must be vaccinated in order for the rest of the population to remain immune. For example, in order to protect the majority of our population from measles, 96% or more of the population must be vaccinated. If the percentage falls below 96%, the population becomes more susceptible to contracting the illness. Because of the increasing anti-vax movement, 387 people across the country have contracted measles between January 1 and March 28 of this year. Measles, and several other illnesses, can be easily prevented by the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine, but due to misinformation spread by anti-vax supporters, people
having been doubting its effectiveness. Despite anti-vax supporters spreading the idea that vaccines are dangerous and ineffective, there is no solid scientific evidence to back them
ilies all across the globe come back to their roots and have a family reunion. However, Asian students that are studying abroad cannot have this luxury as they are heavily committed to the program and are forced against it. Although students do celebrate with other abroad students and skype their families for the dinner, the limitations set on diverse cultures due to Americanization and the idea of spreading it has severed communication between the individual and their true heritage. Most will say that Americanization is a necessity in order to progress as a nation and to be recognized during the early years of colonization. However, most Americans do not understand that with Americanization comes hindering other cultures for personal gain. I do believe that the integration of American language and ethics is imperative for nationwide harmony, however, I do not agree with the idea of dehumanizing foreign individuals based on their beliefs and stopping them from being who they truly are, what their past generations have passed down. We can still progress as a harmonic nation with the mixing of cultures, but we should never forcefully make a cultural group conform to American views to be more acceptable into society. If we cannot accept one’s beliefs and integrate them into our own, then how are we considered a melting pot? There is a difference between knowing a culture and truly respecting that culture. Anyone can know and understand there are different ways of life, but respecting it means showing equal opportunity for integrating it into American culture as it is for American culture into Chinese, Native American or any other belief in the world.
“Americanization means the process of becoming an American. It means incorporation, becoming a part of the polity - becoming one of us. But that does not mean conformity. We are more than a melting pot; we are a kaleidoscope, where every turn of history refracts new light on the old promise.” -Barbara Jordan forced to adapt to American culture and suppress their own, not integrate them. Because of this, Chinese culture seen in today’s society in America compared to in Asia is heavily influenced by Americans and lacks in true culture. The Lunar New Year, aka the Chinese New Year, is one of the most important traditions within the Asian culture, especially the New Year’s Eve dinner, where scattered fam-
Maddie’s Messages: Anti-vax Awareness
brain damage or even death, however these side effects are extremely rare. A severe brain reaction, which could lead to brain damage, has a one in 83,000 chance of occurring and death has a one to two per million chance of occurring. Ultimately, the benefits of vaccines outweigh the risks of receiving them by a landslide. In order to counteract the influence anti-vax organizations have on the internet, we must continue to ban them from advertising on major websites and other forms of social media. Facebook, as well as Amazon have already chosen to ban anti-vax organizations from participating on their platforms, and many websites are following suit. By doing so, we are eliminating false information from being spread even further. By choosing to not be vaccinated, we are making ourselves and people around us more susceptible to illnesses such as measles, smallpox, polio, influenza and chickenpox. If someone who is not vaccinated comes in contact with someone with a weaker immune system, such as an infant or an elderly person, they could potentially contract a life-threatening disease. Ultimately the best way of preventing these illnesses from reintegrating themselves back into our society is educating parents about the pros and cons of vaccinations. We must make parents aware of the lies anti-vax organizations are spreading online, and allow them to make their own decisions based off the information presented to them. We are lucky to be living in a time when vaccinations are available to us, and we should be taking advantage of the preventative strategies we have against illnesses today.
“Vaccines save lives; fear endangers them. It’s a simple message parents need to keep hearing.” -Jeffrey Kluger up, and most are conspiracy theories. Although vaccines are not 100% effective, they are more effective than receiving no vaccine at all. As for the side effects vaccines may have, they are mostly minor. Typical side effects include mild soreness, redness, rash and in worse cases fevers. Smallpox vaccines could potentially result in extreme side effects such as seizures,
4 By Morgan Severson Assistant Editor-in-Chief As this year’s Earth Day passes by, it is time to reflect on the true meaning of the day and how poorly we have celebrated it. Earth Day is much more than merely posting a picture that says, “Happy Earth Day,” and then carry-ing on with the rest of your day. It is ironic that people posting about Earth Day, are the same ones supporting a presidential administration that is toxic to the environment. Under the Trump administration, 78 environmental protection laws (most of them put in place under the Obama administration) have been repealed or are in the process of being repealed. The New York Times says that these repeals can cause up to 80 thousand additional deaths in a decade along with major respiratory problems for the population. To truly celebrate the beautiful planet we call home, we must elect world leaders that care for the Earth and the creatures on it. It is no secret while repealing these environmental protection laws, Trump had money on his mind. Being a former businessman, it is no surprise that Trump would help big business cut corners when it comes to environmental protection laws to make a few extra bucks. For example, the Deer Park petrochemical fires had a major effect on the air quality, dumping 42 thousand pounds of benzene (a carcino-
By Grant Coburn Reporter For four years I anxiously awaited the college admissions process. To make myself a better applicant, I took all AP courses, where I exceled in most of them; attended SAT prep classes, where I earned a score in the 97 percentile, worked for two years at a tutoring center and volunteered at my church, where I helped feed and clothe hundreds of homeless in food drives I organized. Despite these successes, I was denied by my top school and I was denied my major of choice at my number two school.
Editorial
Severson Speaks: Climate Consciousness genic chemical) into the air, yet the company (Intercontinen-tal Terminals Co.) continued to say that the air quality was not affected. The Houston Chronicle notes that this compa-ny has a history of being harmful to the environment, failing nine out of their 12 quarterly Clean Water Act evaluations, dumping well more over the federal amount allowed to be poured into the waters. The fact that there is a federally allowed amount of waste that can be dumped into the ocean is a shame. That amount should be zero. Additionally, Trump is blatantly and ignorantly denying the fact that global warming is real. Besides the huge amounts of research that have been put into climate change, Mother Nature has proven herself the effects of climate change. According to the Alliance for Climate Education, 2018 was a record-breaking year for the repercussions of cli-mate change and last year, “while President Trump continued to deny the science of climate change, Americans felt its impact like never before.” Climate change caused the most intense hurricane season in history in 2018, which Houstonians got to experience firsthand with the insane amount of flooding and power that Harvey bestowed upon us. The 2018 Wildfire season is California’s deadliest to date, ravaging through the state and burning down thousands of communities. It is clear that we need to take action now, before it is too late. As humans, we need to
come together to reverse climate change on our home. Scientist predict that we have until 2040, to reverse the centuries of harm we have done to the planet. According to Healthy Holistic Living,
if we scaled the Earth’s age to 46, humans have inhabited the planet for four hours and depleted 50% of the world’s resources in one minute. We need to act now. While we cannot elect a new leader until 2020, there are things we can do in our everyday lives to help cut back on our impact on Earth. At-
tend an environmental protest, pick up the next piece of litter you see, do your homework in natural light instead of under a lamp and more! We also need clean renewable sources of energy, such as solar power and wind turbines. In-stead of investing billions into a wall, the administration should be investing in our environment because if we do not, the effects will be irreversible. Trump puts so much emphasis on protecting Americans from criminals, rapists and drug lords coming into our country trying to harm us, while the person harming us is sitting right in the oval office. The United States has recently agreed to help fund the reconstruction of Notre Dame after the fire accident, but many environmental activists were quick to point out that the US is neglecting its own problems and should not be donating to a building. While it is okay to want to restore a historical building, the US is neglecting the people in Flint, Michigan, who after five years of begging and pleading with the government, still do not have clean water. Additionally, the money donated to Notre Dame was enough to clean up the entire mass of garbage in the Pacific Ocean. The Earth is warming up at an unimaginable rate. By 2040, if no changes are made, the artic will only have ice in the winter months, causing the water levels to rise and several species to be extinct. That means no more polar bears. Action needs to be taken now, before more species, including humans, become extinct as well.
On the outside, my college admissions may seem like a colossal failure, it may seem like everything I had done to become a good applicant was in vain; however, in reality, it has helped build me into a better and stronger person. The tears I shed over my admissions decisions helped me understand how I need to refocus my life to worry
for its own sake, the hours I stayed up past midnight studying chemistry and biology were not done due to the excitement for the subjects, but for the satisfaction an A would bring me. Instead of taking valuable and interesting classes that were not on an AP scale, like PALS, I loaded my schedule with AP classes I did not care about. I allowed
and they cannot coexist. Do not worry about those things which are outside of your control, like the decision of a judge or admissions officer. Rather, work on things you have power over by studying and putting your best effort into all things. Do not make the same mistakes I did. Do not allow yourself to be consumed by
about the present and not about the future. We live our lives in anticipation but when we stop and appreciate the world, we are able to see the beauty of the world around us. Instead of worrying about my college application, I wish I would have valued the activities I did for their meaning and not for the gain they brought me. While my service and volunteer work were done
the anxiety of not getting a competitive GPA prevent me from taking classes that would have helped me grow as an individual. Success is not the only determinant of what makes a good life. Happiness and self-satisfaction should be prioritized above achievement. A good life is better determined by the joy you bring yourself and the people around you. Constant anxiety impedes joy
fear of the future. I may not have gotten into Harvard, Yale or Stanford but I have learned how to appreciate the life I have been given in the moment. I was blessed with so many opportunities to grow and to succeed, but I was not content with my position in life. The future will worry about itself, all we can do is work in the present.
“If we give Donald Trump eight years in the White House, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation.” - Joe Biden
Coburn’s Confessions: College rejections
“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We only have today. Let us begin.” -St. Teresa of Calcutta
5
Editorial
Best of Britt: Nostalgia at its finest
By Brittney Melanson Advertisement Manager I do not write, I do not take pictures, I handle the money. So, when the Editors-in-Chiefs told me I had to write an editorial, I immediately put it off. Now I am sitting here at my computer, deleting each sentence as I type it. Everyone said it would be easy for me to write a reflection on my high school experience, and I thought so too, but as my mind races with memories from the past four years I cannot figure out how to put them into words. Coming into Clear Creek High School, I never would have expected my life to turn out the way it is right now. Let me start off by saying I have an ideal schedule for senior year. I have five periods, Government and Economics, Forensics, three periods of Newspaper and get out of here at 12:08 pm. I am the Managing and Design Editor for The HiLife, and this position made it possible for me to somehow get a job at Farmers Insurance before I was even 18. The real-world skills I learned handling the money and all business aspects of the newspaper has already benefited my outside life substantially. I also found my
second mom by joining this class, Mrs. J. Thanks for being you and being there for me. I have been anticipating graduation since Pre-K and now that it is less than a month away, I would give anything to restart. I realize now that I wasted so much of my childhood wishing time would go by faster, waiting for the weekend to come, wishing it was spring break or summer already, just wanting time to move forward instead of enjoying the time I had. I woke up one day and realized I was wishing away my childhood, after that I began making the most of my youth. I went to numerous concerts, traveled as much as my bank account would let me, and partied my heart out. As I got older and older it all seemed so surreal, I became aware that I was living through the milestones I had wondered about my entire childhood. In these four years I had a lot of “firsts.” I discovered my first love, my first heartbreak, my first everything. I got my first car, my first debit card and even my first speeding ticket. A few years later I got my first job working at Baskin Robbins with my best friend, Mariyah; all these milestones came and went in the blink of an eye. One of the best things that happened to me was in February of my junior
year. Mariyah moved in with me and I cannot everything will always be okay in the end. even begin to explain how much fun it is to Throughout all my years of school have your best friend there with you every day. my attendance has never been as bad as I strongly believe that high school is a senior year. Senioritis is real. First semester I had 27 make up hours because I would wake up and go right back to sleep instead of school. I justified my lack of attendance with the fact that I maintained good grades, but I learned from my mistakes because make up hours are a pain in the butt. I met a lot of interesting people in the past four years, and only a handful of them are still in my life. I came to the realization that it does not matter how many friends you have or the amount of people you know, find those few people who actually support you and your aspirations and keep them around. These are your best years time to make memories, and that is exactly of your life so do as much as you possibly what I did. During your high school career, can: travel with your friends, eat whatyou will create so many unforgettable expe- ever you want, if you get the opportunity riences that will stick with you forever, but to try something new, don’t hesitate just you will also go through some of the toughest go for it. So, I guess what I am saying is times. It is how you deal with these situations make the most of your high school years, that matters. Things happen and everything is it really does go by in the blink of an not always going to go how you thought, but eye. Deuces Creek, it has been eventful.
“Nothing lasts forever, but at least we’ve got these memories.” -J. Cole
Lovely Lilo: What high school did for me
By Lilo Shelly Online Editor The time has come and all good things must come to an end. My role as a Clear Creek student is dissolving, as we step closer and closer towards graduation, the day we’ve all been dreaming of since we first enrolled in school. But as I prepare myself to leave the nest and step into the real world, I look back at my high school career and ask myself, “what did I learn?” My freshman year of high school I lived in Portland, Oregon with my father. So, my first day was not all too exciting considering all my friends that I went to middle school with were thousands of miles away in Texas. I cried all day and even got pushed down the stairs by an
upper classman. I struggled terribly and by the middle of the year I had made a solid of three friends, I was not happy. I expressed this to my feelings to my father and what I thought was best for me. He listened and in April, 2015 I was sent back to live in Texas my mother. On my first day at Creek I got into a fight with a girl in my PE class and I was having an even harder time trying to get myself together. My mother was pushing me to start working and I was taking on all kinds of new responsibilities that I did not know if I was ready for yet, but I kept pushing. When it came to my sophomore and junior year, socially things gradually started to ease up, but school things got a little more tense. Its all about finding that balance for yourself. Learning how to keep your grades up, having a social life, and maintaining a healthy mentality. It’s hard, I know. But if I could give you any advice going into high school or just
how to look in life in general; stay true to yourself. Do what makes you happy. Don’t worry about what others think about you.
it and manifest that energy into making a difference. You will go nowhere in life constantly being negative and bringing down other people. Be social and put yourself out there in the world, you only live once. Namaste young one phone be like that sometimes love go hard to the high Treat every day as if it were your last. Before you know it will be your senior of high school doing all your lasts as well. Do not rush to grow up, we have all our lives to be adults. But only four years to be a Wildcat. Cherish the moments, live in the now and put away your phones. Laugh a little more, cry a little less. I learned that things are only going to get done if you push yourself. Self-motivation is key to success. If you do not want things for yourself, no one’s going to want them for you. The only person making life decisions for you is you. So, do not give up on yourself and continue moving forward no matter how hard it gets. Discover who you are and then embrace yourself on purpose. Be the difference.
“Eliminate what doesn’t help you evolve.” -Anonymous There is plenty of room for error. Do not dwell on your mistakes, instead look at them in different perspectives. Try to look at the brighter side of things, take a lesson out of
6 By Alexis Gerado Reporter Everyone has an opinion about dieting. Whether it is a person who could never give up eating meat or the extreme opposite of that, dieting is a popular topic of late, due to movements such as animal rights activism and climate change awareness and prevention. There are many general beliefs about dieting, what is beneficial and what is less so, but the common beliefs are not as true as one may think. Over the last few years, the food industry has evolved in order to accommodate people maintaining their diets anywhere from a low-fat diet to the keto diet to veganism. According to VegNews, over 51% of chefs in the US alone have added vegan options to their menus in 2018, a 31% increase since 2017. The number continues to grow as more and more people change their daily diets. It is astounding how many people have become health-conscious in the past year, however the reason for it, which most people are unaware of, is that America is facing an obesity epidemic. A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2017 shows that a record breaking 40% of adults and 20% of adolescents are obese. Obesity can lead to diseases such as cancer, osteoporosis, heart disease and strokes, high blood pressure, diabetes and gallbladder disease. All of these diseases can be cured with medical treatment, however, in extreme situations, treating these diseases can
By Donica Booqua Reporter I remember like it was yesterday: the day I found out that I was going to be a mom. At such a young age I never thought in a million years that I would be a mom. When you’re young, just the thought
Editorial
Alexis’ Advice: Diet alternatives decrease quality of life. It has been noted by many nutritionists and physicians alike, that doctors focus on treating the problem by prescribing several medications, but disregard prevention of said diseases. There is, however, one method with many studies proving its success that can not only prevent these diseases, but reverse them, and that is the plant-based diet, veganism. People who have been treated for diseases that correlate with being overweight or obese have seen remarkable results after switching to a plant-based diet. Not only do they lose the extra weight, but results have shown that their energy levels have increased. In some patients, the effects of the diet occurred so quickly, they were able to stop taking their prescribed medication as soon as a week after switching their diet. However, this diet is not just designed for the overweight and obese. Physicians also recommend that people switch to a vegan or at the bare minimum a low-meat diet in order to achieve the healthiest lifestyle, especially those who perform athletically, which brings up the first myth of foods. Meat is not the only source of protein on the planet, and is not the key for those who are active in sports or other forms of physical activity. Proteins also come from a wide variety of plants. There is no definitive reason that proteins from either source are better than the other, but they both have their pros and cons. For instance, though plant protein is bountiful, but most plants do not carry all nine amino acids, which are essential for bodily function, therefore making them an incomplete protein. Because of the lack of complete proteins, eating a wide variety of protein rich plants such as beans, lintels and nuts is necessary for vegetarian or vegan diets. Plant protein also lacks vitamins which animal protein is abundant in, including vitamin B12, vitamin D, DHA (omega 3), Iron and Zinc. On the other hand, though animal protein is considered a complete protein, it comes with the risk of high cholesterol, heart disease, weight gain and more. Plant proteins, however, have been shown to be linked to a number of health benefits such as high fiber content, which aids bodily digestion and lowers the risks of heart disease, as well as diabetes. Bottom line: plant protein is overall the healthier
option as it aids bodily functions and performance. Those who are athletically inclined tend to disagree, arguing that meat adds extra strength that plants cannot provide. However, many professional sports players are on plant-based diets, including New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady and pro-tennis player Venus Williams, and more pro-ath-
about having kids, taking care of them and getting everything that they needed, was scary. I had no experience when it came to raising a child, so I knew it was going to be a learning and growing experience. Once I told everyone in my family that I was having a baby, there were lot of mixed feelings about it. I had some of my family give me their support while I had other family members who had started to immediately think different about me. It was really a rough time just trying to understand why some of my family members didn’t want to really be involved anymore. Right then and there I realized that I was going to lose people that I thought I could run to. I decided that I would not try and amend any relationship with my friends or family if they were not okay with the fact that I was going to keep my baby and try to raise her as best as I could.
On March 23, 2018 I gave birth to a baby girl. When I first held her, I knew right away that nothing else in the world mattered. My mother instincts had immediately kicked in, I was so cautious about who I let see my daughter. It was a rough start the moment I got
“Life is a tragedy of nutrition.” -Arnold Ehret
letes are switching over to the vegan side. A common defense meat eaters use to insist they are eating healthy is that they stray from red processed meats and eat only white meats. However, there is no evidence to suggest that white meat is better for someone to eat than red meat. In fact, the evidence suggests that it may be just as bad, if not worse than processed red meats. White meats have less saturated fat than red meats, and it also has less vitamins. White meat, more specifically chicken products, are also given saline injections in a process known as plumping. It has been claimed that the saltwater solution makes the meat juicier and more flavorful, but a consequence of that is that the meat is high in sodium. Consuming high amounts of meat can lead to many life-altering diseases as noted earlier, however, the most notable one is cancer. The International Agency for Research
on Cancer (IARC) classified processed meats as a group 1 carcinogen, the same category smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol is classified under. More than 800 studies were reviewed by 22 experts in 10 different countries. The studies show that eating 50 grams of processed meat a day increased the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%. Red meats fall just a category below the carcinogenic ladder, classified as a group 2A carcinogen. For red meat, there is evidence which shows an increased risk of colorectal, prostate and pancreatic cancer. Though evidence and studies show that plant-based diets are the healthiest lifestyles to lead, there is one invincible variable that could prevent all these diseases in a single individual, and that is genetics. Based on a person’s genetics, a person may be more or less likely to contract diseases. To put it in perspective, one person may be able to smoke cigarettes their whole life without getting cancer whereas another person may only smoke five years and contract cancer just from that short time span. Genetics can make a person more or less susceptible to diseases caused by everyday variables, including cancer and obesity. Therefore, although vegan diets are recommended to the general public, it may not pertain to certain individuals who are genetically predisposed. For those who are curious, a new form of genetic testing allows a person to see which genetic conditions are more or less likely to occur during their life. Although they may not be for everyone, vegan and low-meat diets are recommended for the general public because of the numerous benefits that accompany it and the risk factors being cut out from the lack or reduction of meat. These risks that come with eating meat are just the few that have been recently discovered in the past decade or so. Many unsettling factors are becoming uncovered including how medical companies like IARC and the American Diabetes Association are funded by companies that promote unhealthy food choices and how doctors receive only 19.6 hours of nutrition education during four years at medical school. These facts are meant to unsettle readers, and encourage them to take the first step towards a healthier future: be aware of the problem then take action.
Donica’s Discussions: Perseverance
because I had not been at school since last school year. It was really nice to go back to school for a little while. My mother and father decided around September to move to Texas. I was kind of upset having to move because all of high school I had been to different high schools due to my parents always moving for work. I started school at Creek in October. I was not scared to really meet anyone new because, to me, it was something that I had gotten used to over my high school year. Today is April 25. After spending some time here at Creek, a lot has changed since first arriving here. I had made a lot of friends but I have also lost friends. It has been a learning experience since I got here. Just trying to balance work, a new relationship, school and taking care of my daughter has somewhat made my life a little hectic. I learned overall this year it is okay to make mistakes as long as you get yourself back up and not lose insight of what you’re about to accomplish because you are so close.
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” -Steve Jobs home from the hospital. My sleeping schedule was all over the place. I would probably only get about four hours of sleep throughout the day. Honestly, it took about four months to really adjust to this new type of schedule. The first two months of my senior year were spent in Ohio. When it came to starting off the school year it was hard to adjust
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Editorial
Erik Expresses: Photography journey I am a photographer for The HiLife newspaper. I first was interested in photography three year ago, when my dad’s friend one brings his camera to parties to take pictures. When he wanted to be in the photos, he would ask me to take the pictures and always told me that the pictures came out great. That become my job for every party he attended. Every time he wanted to be in a picture, he would yell my name so I could take the photo. Even though people would offer to take it, he would only want me to. He saw that I actually liked taking pictures with his camera, and saw that I was a quick learner with it. One day, he made a promise in front of everyone that when he got a new camera, he would give me his old one.
By Erik Soto Photo Editor
Taken February 4, 2018
Three years later he actually kept his promise, a promise I did not even remember. The first picture I took with my camera was actually a good one of my dog, even though I had no idea what I was doing with the settings. When I first started taking pictures, I knew very little about my camera. I would usually just put the camera on automatic mode, because I did not know what the settings did, until I joined newspaper this year. I got to learn about my camera just by experience with using the camera and a poster Mrs. J has on her wall. The poster has the basic settings: shutter speed, ISO, aperture, and tells you basically what each does for the camera. I would grab a camera and start messing around with
the settings; after two days I understood what each setting did. It was hard to get used to manual mode because you have to constantly change the setting yourself, and because of this, it is sometimes hard being a photographer. You have to work with the environment around you, and sometimes it is not on your side. I really think I’ve grown my photography skill, especially my eye. I see more and more awesome things to take pictures of and someone can even make a simple rock look cool. I can tell you now photography is not pointing a camera at something and pressing a button. I mean it is a little but if you want to be seriously great at it, there is a lot more work involved.
Taken April 15, 2019
Riley’s Rambles: The saddle’s salvation
By Riley Healy Assistant Photo Editor In southeast Texas, everyone has some sort of experience with storms. Some of us were alive to bear witness to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and all of us were here for Hurricanes Ike and Harvey. Some of us evacuated, others did not, and usually we always underestimate them. These storms are the perfect form of destruction, so powerful that the ancients viewed them as the wrath of the gods, as that was the only thing you could really compare them to. And I am one of the few who have been there to witness the full power of them. When I was seven years old, Hurricane Ike hit my home of Galveston Island, where I was born and raised. I was there for the floods when six feet of water had filled
the first story of our house. I was there to watch the three houses across the street from mine catch fire and burn to ash as my father ran through the smoke to help one of neighbors. I was even there, sitting on my front porch with a family friend when we saw the magnificence of the eye crossing in the distance. The experience traumatized me in such a way that for months after I was afraid of any thunderstorm and I had almost no memory of life before the storm. Following the storm, my family moved to League City, and I entered a school where I knew no one. However, while this was traumatic, and for a while, yes, I was bullied for being the new kid who cried when thunder clapped, the aftermath of Ike did not turn out to be so bad. It was after Ike that I discovered a passion and a sport that has ultimately gone to shape me more than the storm has. When we were temporarily staying with my aunt in Cypress, they had the insane notion to put me on the back of a horse, and to be completely honest, I only accepted because I was bored and wanted something to do. But what I did not realize is that it would cause a spark that would lead to a fire. When we finally settled in League City, I almost immediately began taking lessons
at the Bayview Equestrian center where I would train for five years. I had several trainers while I was there, but the only one who I can say made a considerable impact on my life was Christy Burns. She took horse riding from being my hobby, to making me
in North Carolina, a video of the ride to debrief. She even helped me find my horse Eddie when previous ventures had failed, and one left me with some nerve damage. The damage in my left arm, a traction injury to the ulnar nerve, caused me to be unable to use my left arm for three months. I was not really able to do anything I had previously found enjoyable, such as fishing or playing trumpet. The inability to do the things I loved placed me into a slight depression. But what I soon learned was that because of the bond and the trust that had been established, I could ride my horse without any use of the left arm, which in the English discipline is rarely done for safety reasons. It seems as though through almost every challenge in life, from the horrors of hurricanes to serious injury, I always manage to find my salvation in the saddle. Horses offer a safe harbor, as they do not care about your sins or your scars, they only see their partner. The bond between a horse and rider is closer to that of family rather than owner and pet, especially since it passed down the family tree as well. As a fourth-generation horseman, I do not know where or who I’d be if chance had not placed me in the saddle.
“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” -Winston Churchill a real competitor. My horse Luke and I had become one of the most successful pairs in our divisions. Even now, after almost every competition I send Ms. Christy, who is now
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News
Notre Dame Cathedral fire marks historical tragedy By Arrington Linder Features Editor
were not damaged in the fire and the main as a beautiful center of faith for countless structure of the cathedral was saved, the generations of Catholics and as a source roof caved in and the spire on top of the ca- of inspiration an architectural brilliance A devastating fire broke out at the Notre thedral fell over. Most of the artwork inside for the millions of tourists who were Dame Cathedral in Paris, allegedly starting the cathedral was saved and moved to the blessed to visit it. It is difficult to process because of an electrical short circuit. The fire, starting on April 15 at 6:20 pm, was eventually put out the next day around 9:30 am. Many donations have been made in an effort to help rebuild the parts of the cathedral that were lost in the fire. “The fire at Notre Dame reminds us that our history never stops and we will always have challenges to overcome. We will rebuild Notre Dame, more beautiful than before-and I want it done in the next five years. We can do it. After the time of testing comes a time of reflection and then of action,” Emmanuel Macron, President of France, said. In less than a week, over one billion dollars have been donated to help rebuild Notre Dame. Macron plans to have the cathedral rebuilt in time for the Paris 2024 Olympics, but some experts say that it will take at least 15 years. Although the amount of donations received means Notre Dame will eventually be rebuilt, some people believe the money should go to other causes such as world hunger, arson attacks and/or poverty. To make their cause known, yellow vest protestors marched across France and set fires to many items. The protestors believe that rebuilding Notre Dame Louvre museum, where Photo courtesy of Commons Wikimedia this tragic loss,” Bishis not the only problem France has to solve. they will be inspected for op Robert Deeley, Di“I am not interested in joining them, water and flame damage. ocese of Portland, said. but I can understand what they’re an“France has lost a cultural icon that The fire started in the attic and quickgry about. There is a lot of injustice,” has stood for over eight centuries, and the ly spread to the roof and the spire. WithAntonio Costes, Paris citizen, said. world has lost a beloved symbol of Christi- in minutes of reaching the spire, it began Although the two iconic bell towers anity. The Cathedral of Notre Dame served to lean and eventually, broke off. Around
500 firefighters worked to extinguish the fire and at least one boat was instructed to pump water from the river. Two-thirds of the roof was destroyed in the end, with the cause still remaining unknown. Theories of renovation mishaps or an electrical shortage have arisen, but nothing has been confirmed. “Once these massive timber structures start to burn, they almost never can be stopped. We focus on their masonry walls and forget all the massive timber within,” Jonathan Barnett, international fire safety authority at Basic Expert in Australia, said. Although both the transept and belfries were equipped with hoses, their diameter was too small to hold a large amount of water. Notre Dame also lacked firewalls and sprinkler systems due to them effecting the “aesthetic” of the cathedral. With these systems put into place, the fire might not have been as bad. “I am what you call a lapsed Catholic, but I always found Notre-Dame to be a deeply spiritual place, even though it was also a tourist spot. It felt vibrant and serene at the same time,” Sylvie Lacour, Paris citizen, said. There are ongoing investigations in place to find out the true cause of the fire, but the current theory is an electrical short caused by construction equipment. France and other parts of the world have suffered a tragic loss. Despite the fact Notre Dame will is planned to be rebuilt within five years, it will never be the same as it was before.
News
9
DHS Secretary resigns due to constant border conflicts By Leah Burnam News Editor
Commissioner (CBP), Kevin McAleenan, McAleenan is acting secretary it is supposwill now become acting secretary. edly only short term according to a White McAleenan had previously been House official. However, he has already sworn in by Nielsen as CBP commissioner chosen CBP Chief Officer, John Sanders, The Secretary of Homeland Security, back in March and has spoken out about to replace him as acting commissioner. Kirstjen Nielsen, recently resigned after holding the position for three years. News of her resignation broke Sunday, April seventh, after a meeting with President Donald Trump that entailed details of the border security agency. Nielsen later explained her reasoning for resigning in a letter. “I have determined that it is the right time for me to step aside. I hope that the next secretary will have the support of Congress and the courts in fixing the laws which have impeded our ability to fully secure America’s borders and which have contributed to discord in our nation’s discourse,” Nielsen said. The meeting was requested by Nielsen in order to plan for the future of the border. Nielsen has become a prominent figure in defending the prosecution of immigrants crossing the border that has resulted in numerous family separations. In speeches to the media, she has even spoken out about how “in danger, there is no custodial relationship between ‘family’ members, or if the adult has broken the law.” The weeks leading up to Nielsen’s resignation, President Trump asked her to close entry ports along the borPhoto courtesy of Flickr “Sanders has provder and was supposedly intent on asking the border, saying how the US immigration en instrumental to adher to resign. President Trump announced Nielsen stepping down via Twitter stating, enforcement system along the bound- vancing CBP’s mission and organizational “Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen ary was at a critical point. In a speech in priorities across the agency. In addition Nielsen will be leaving her position, and I El Paso, Texas, he explained that there to bringing greater focus on the agency’s would like to thank her for her service.” He is a large number of asylum seekers, but operational requirements, he has provided also went on to say how the current Unit- there is not enough room to detain them strategic direction and oversight to critical ed States Customs and Border Protection at US Border Patrol stations. Although, enterprise services and operations support
functions across the agency. With Sanders’ leadership, CBP will continue to excel, remain ever vigilant, and accomplish the mission with steadfast resolve,” McAleenan said. In a series of people leaving, US Secret Service Director, Randolph Alles, announced he would step down at the beginning of April, with James Murray taking over his position. This comes after multiple rumors of Trump wanting to fire Alles leaked. But in a press statement Alles assured people that that was not the case, though there will be “transitions in leadership.” During the administration of George W. Bush, Nielsen worked for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), but left to become a cybersecurity expert. After she returned in 2017 and chose to resign this year, she remained as secretary through April tenth in order for a smooth transition and to “ensure that key DHS missions [were] not impacted.” With the significant increase in resignations and dismissals of the Trump administration, the turnover rate has continued to grow as a result. In Nielsen’s letter to President Trump she explained how she “worked tirelessly to advance the goals and missions of the Department,” but was proud of everything DHS had accomplished. “I can say with confidence our homeland is safer today than when I joined the Administration. We have taken unprecedented action to protect Americans,” Nielsen said. “Our country – and the men and women of DHS – deserve to have all the tools and resources they need to execute the mission entrusted to them.”
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News
Mueller report not released despite public protest
By Grant Coburn Reporter
The conclusion of the 2016 presidential election came with the suspicion that the Russian government had involved itself in voter manipulation. President Donald Trump, who won the 2016 election, denied any involvement with the Russians. An investigation in possible collusion was commenced in May 2017 and was conducted by former FBI director Robert Mueller. The investigation has since been concluded and it has been reported that there was no link between President Trump and collusion with Russia. However, some controversy has emerged, as the report has only been released to a few individuals; it has not been released to the public or to members of Congress, despite a unanimous vote to release the report to the public. The House of Representatives, which has the power to begin the impeachment process of the president, voted 420 to zero to release the Special Counsel Investigation findings to the general public, however, the resolution was denied by Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell. McConnell cited a need for the Justice Department to review the materials before any action could be taken. The report, which took over two years to procure, currently has no release date to the public. The lack of transparency has inspired the anger of many citizens, as they believe the actions of the government should be fully public knowledge. The House’s resolution to release the
report may have been blocked, but they still hold the power of subpoena, or calling a person to testify under oath. The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee has done just that by requiring
release the report through the court systems if he does not do so willingly and quickly. Attorney General Barr has claimed that the report does not indict Trump in election meddling or obstruction of justice. President
Mueller to testify to Photo courtesy of Commons Wikimedia Trump has commented on this Congress about the interpretation by denouncing contents of his report. the Democrat by calling their This is the first step in challenging Attor- efforts to pursue Trump’s indictment a witchney General William Barr’s decision to hunt and elating in the interpretation that he not release the full report. House Dem- is exonerated. However, some investigators ocrats intend on legally requiring Barr to that worked on the report with Mueller have
said that their report was more condemning than Barr’s interpretation of the report makes it seem. Barr has commented, saying that he intends to release the full 400-page report but needs time to omit confidential information. Mueller’s investigation has already led to the arrest of some individuals related to the Trump Campaign. Thirty-four individuals have been indicted or have pleaded guilty after being implicated in the report. Paul Manafort is likely the most high-profile individual among the group, as he served as Trumps campaign chair. He was indicted on 25 accounts, including fraud. Some controversy has emerged because Trump has suggested that he may seek to pardon Manafort. However, the public has been very vocal about their discontent with the idea of Trump pardoning someone with such close ties to him. So far, Trump has made no decision on whether to pardon him or not. Both Democrats and Republicans are preparing for their responses on the release of the report. Muller will also be required to testify to congress on the contents of the report. There is no doubt that the report will eventually be released and that the public will be able to form their own opinion on the case, regardless of the Attorney General’s recommendations. The highly contested report will be continue to be fought over, as Democrats seek to impeach Trump, while Republican seek to protect for reelection in 2020.
UT Austin astronomers discover two new planets By Kaila Alveranga Reporter
An undergraduate from The University of Texas at Austin and her team of astronomers have discovered two planets. The young astronomer, Anne Dattilo, found the planets by using an artificial intelligence program to sift through data collected by NASA’s Kepler space telescope. By using Artificial Intelligence (AI), Dattilo is helping other astronomers by providing a new era in astronomical research. AI is the development of computer systems that can perform tasks that normally require human intelligence. The developments include visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making and translation between languages. This technique is more accurate when identifying additional planets than traditional methods. Dattilo gained interest in the project about a year and a half ago, after astronomer Andrew Vanderburg had a seminar during one of her classes. Vanderburg uses data from Kepler to hunt for planets orbiting distant stars. She created an algorithm that sifts through data taken by the Kepler to find out signals that were missed by traditional planet-finding methods.
“AI will help us search the data set don’t see for those reasons,” Dattilo said. hindered the device to where it could not uniformly. Even if every star had an earthKepler, which launched in 2009, was measure the light quite as accurately, and the sized planet around it, when we look with designed to point at a small patch of space data collected was harder to interpret. Once Kepler was down, Dattilo modified an AI program, AstroNet-K2, to work on data from the last part of the Kepler mission. Dattilo explained that this project reuses data from Kepler’s extended mission and has formed a new algorithm. Due to this, K2’s data collected was different when compared to the spacecrafts original mission. The modified program found stars that appeared to have planets, but Dattilo and her colleagues used a telescope to confirm the findings. “K2 data is more challenging to work with because the spacecraft is moving around all the time. If we want to know how many planets there are in total, we have to know how many planets we’ve found, but we also have to know how many planets we missed. That’s where this comes in,” Vanderburg said. The Kepler and the K2 missions have already discovered thousands of planets around Photo courtesy of Flickr Kepler, we won’t find and measure the light other stars, with an equal number of othall of them. That’s just from 100 thousand stars er planets waiting to be confirmed. The because some of the dain the field of view. The two planets that Dattilo discovered are ta’s too noisy, or sometimes the planets light from the star would dim slightly if a both very typical planets that are signifiare not aligned right. So, we have to cor- planet is orbiting one of them and passes cantly close to their host star, they have rect for the ones we missed. We know in front of it. However, Kepler soon start- short orbital periods and are extremely hot, there are a lot of planets out there that we ed to malfunction. The mechanical failures along with being slightly larger than Earth.
News
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Rhino poacher killed by elephant and eaten by lions By Kaila Alveranga Reporter
A suspected rhino poacher was killed by an elephant and then eaten by lions at Kruger National Park. The incident happened on Monday, April 8, after the man, who has not yet been identified, entered the park with four other men. Reports claim the men went into Kruger National Park in an attempt to kill rhinos for their horns. However, when they were searching for the rhinos, an elephant suddenly attacked the poacher, killing him. His fellow hunters had carried his body to the road where they then left him to be found by other drivers. After they fled, the man was eaten by lions. The unidentified poacher’s family was notified of his death on Tuesday, April 9, later in the evening by his friends. In an instant, a search party set out to find and recover his body. Rangers searched by foot to find him while police flew over the area, but because of the fading sunlight, the body could not be found. The search continued on Thursday morning in Kruger National Park where, with the help of field rangers, the police discovered what was left of his body. The only remains were his skull and a pair of trousers. “Indications found at the scene suggested that a pride of lions had devoured the remains leaving only a human skull and a pair of pants. Entering Kruger National Park illegally and on foot is not wise, it holds many dangers and this incident is evidence of that. It is very sad to see the daughters of the deceased mourning the loss of their father, and worse still, only being able to recover very little of his remains,” Glenn Phillips, managing executive of Kruger National Park, said. The four individuals who joined the illegal hunt were arrested on Wednesday, April 10, by the South African Police Service. The suspects appeared in Komatipoort Magistrate Court on Friday, April 12, to face
charges of firearms and ammunition without license, conspiracy to poach and trespassing. The judge ordered them into custody and had a court hearing the following week, pending a formal bail application. The African Rhino is targeted for their horns because of the belief of people who practice Eastern medicine. The
between 349 and 465 black rhinos living at Kruger and between 6,600 and 7,800 white rhinos, who also suffer from poaching. Kruger is an intensive protection zone where the government employs a range of resources to deter poaching, like aircraft, dogs, special rangers and an environmental crime investigation unit. In 2016,
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
horns are considered an aphrodisiac (a love drug) making it more valuable than cocaine in some parts of the world. They believed that rhino horns can purify water, detect poisonous liquids and act as an antidote for poison. Vietnam is currently one of the biggest rhino horn consumers, and their demand for it raises most of the poaching. Out of all five species of rhinos, the biggest concern is for the black rhino, which is considered critically endangered after its population dropped from about 65,000 in 1970 to 2,400 in 1995. Conservation efforts have helped boost their numbers up and the world’s remaining black rhinos live in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Zimbabwe. In 2016, there were
the South African Police Service made 680 poaching and trafficking arrests and 417 of them were in and around Kruger. The department announced that 6 men, including two syndicate leaders, two police officers and a former police officer had been arrested for trafficking in rhino horns. “The rage and anger of many people at the rampant poaching that is endangering rhinos and elephants is understandable. But the joy and gloating over the death of a poacher is crass and misguided. Killing poachers will not stop poaching. Poachers are just the foot soldiers of international criminal syndicates. Poaching is a serious, ongoing problem at the park,” Isaac Phaahla, Park Spokesman, said.
There are many solutions being formed to try and stop rhino poaching and the eradication of rhinos as a species. Several conservationists are brainstorming and exploring different proposals to save these innocent creatures. One of these solutions is dehorning rhinos, they believe that without a horn, the rhinos are useless to poachers. However, there are complications as rhinos need their horns to protect their young, defend territories and forage for food. While there has been some success to dehorning, there have also been failures. Dehorning leaves a small part of the horn behind, and removing it would be painful and dangerous. Poachers are also still willing to kill rhinos for a stub. Another solution a conservationist is suggesting is injecting the horn with poisonous dye. The poison may not be harmful to rhinos but only harmful to people who ingest it. The dye, similar to dyes that stain banknotes, makes the rhino horn poisonous to anyone who eats it and an airport X-ray can pick it up even if the horn is powder. This solution may conclude in the rhino horn being useless on the black market. The conservationists hope that this idea will cause the rhino horn to lose its commercial value because it is unsafe for ingestion. There is no evidence yet that shows the rhino’s body might absorb the poison. The final solution is to educate the population about rhino horns. Many people still believe that the rhino horn has medicinal properties, but there are no credible medical studies to suggest it. You can find many medicinal properties of the rhino horn in many plants and herbs. Anti-poaching and informative campaigns are also being set up to help the people understand. None of these solutions may be successful on their own, but rhino conservationists need a full campaign that incorporates certain aspects from each solution. The campaign will show people that rhino poaching is harmful to the animal and the environment, and the actions needed to protect the rhinos.
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Features
Rice University students protest Pence’s presence
By Alexis Gerardo Reporter
ber of Rice Left. Liu kicked off the con- otry, his rhetoric, his policies?” Liu said. The conversation took a turn to disversation by beginning with the topic of opposing moral and political views com- cuss Pence’s open disapproval with the More than 100 students at Rice Uni- pared with the protestors and that of Pence. LGBT community and how his pres“When you are in a position of pow- ence could disturb their peace of mind. versity gathered in protest of Vice President Mike Pence across the street from the Baker Institute of Public Policy, where Pence was scheduled to address current relations between the US and Venezuela. Many students arrived with rainbow flags in support of the LGBT community and also brought signs portraying VP Pence as bigoted. Students who participated said they acknowledged and respected Pence’s First Amendment right to speak, but this also reserved their right to protest his speech. “There will be those who say that, as Americans, we ought to hear out what Pence says. Firstly, it’s hard to hear someone out when none of us were allowed in the room. Secondly, we believe in free expression, and when we disagree with those in power, we will never consider silence to be our only choice,” Moses Glickman, Martel College freshman and a member of the Rice University Young Democrats, said. The group of protesters all atPhoto courtesy of Wikimedia “People like Pence tended the event for a variety of reasons, er like he is, and you are have been making me feel full of hatred like [Pence] whether it be to support LGBT rights, unsafe my whole life. When I was growing is, you have the power to act on that hahave a voice in US-Venezuelan relations, up in rural Michigan in the ’90s … being tred and cause suffering to others. At this or debate opposing political views. Many queer was the worst thing that could happen protest, on this campus, we are those club organizations on campus attended to to you. But I wasn’t scared of who I was. others. So how can Pence’s presence on show their support, including members I was scared of people like Pence finding campus be anything but an attack against of Rice Left and Rice Young Democrats. out,” Baird Campbell, a graduate student the members of our community, whose The first speaker at the event was Alice Liu, a Duncan College junior and mem- very existence is threatened by his big- in the department of anthropology, said.
The conversation transitioned once more to turn the attention of the protestors from Pence’s presence directly to the problem Pence flew down to discuss: US-Venezuelan relations. “Please stop making it about [Pence], or about the current president, or even about the next election. There are people dying in Venezuela. There are people fleeing the country in the thousands. This shouldn’t be a protest about homophobia or climate change. I am equally as passionate about those issues as you guys, but we need to concentrate on the issue at hand,” Junior Gerardo Penchyna said. Not only were the Rice students protesting Pence’s visit because of his political views, but the students protested the restrictions surrounding it, specifically Sonia Torres, a Venezuelan senior student at Rice’s Hanszen College. Pence’s visit was an invite-only event which meant students were not able to get full, public access to the information he was giving. As a Latina, Torres felt this action was contradicting to Pence’s intentions; even though he was delivering information on US-Venezuelan relations, because his visit was invite-only, the access to information was restricted. “It’s a politically complicated situation. I do think there are some obvious things that need to be said and opposed and justifies the existence of a protest here. Why were they not invited to the dialogue with Pence? It’s clearly an attempt to close off the Latino community from this very important policy discussion,” Torres said.
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Robonauts complete competiton season at Worlds By Kadee Loyd Reporter
The CCISD Robonauts have shown an impressive amount of skill through their successes over the years. After their FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) World Championship win in 2015, the team of students from all over the district have been working hard to once again advance and take the competition by storm. This 2018-2019 season, the group made it to the World competition held in Houston and was able to get all the way to the semi-finals round. “I think the students were super excited to be heading back to the World Competition for FIRST Robotics. The students acknowledged what things they did well and worked on improving sore spots in their performance,” Mr. Roberto Morales, Robotics coordinator at Creek, said. From April 17 to 20, over 15,000 students, ages six to 18, from 40 countries came to Houston to compete in the world’s largest celebration of STEM for students. Another competition with an additional group of 15,000 students occurred in Detroit from April 24 to 27. There are four FIRST programs: FIRST LEGO League Jr., ages six to nine, FIRST LEGO League, for ages nine to 16, FIRST Tech Challenge, ages 12 to 18 and FIRST Robotics Competition, ages 14 to 18. The event brought these students, as well as their teachers, sponsors, organizations and the colleges that support them together for an exciting competition. Among the onlookers was Jim Bridenstine, an administrator for NASA, who was excited to see the progress of the students and encourage them to seek even greater things through his opening speech. “Thirty years of FIRST robotics, and it gets more impressive every year. In November, I had the opportunity to go out to NASA Jet Propulsion Center in California… Many [of the people I met] were graduates of the FIRST robotics
program. They were alumni. Think about this: 10 years ago, they were in your seat. Ten years from now, where will you be? What will you discover?” Bridenstine said. Houston’s Minute Maid Park, George R. Brown Convention Center and Discovery Green were hustling with mechanical creations and many students eager to win. The FIRST Championship was presented by Qualcomm Incorporated, an American technology company that
head to head to collect more samples in the allotted time. The winning alliance of the 2019 competition was comprised of four teams from California: Team 973, Greybots, Atascadero, California; Team 1323, MadTown Robotics, Madera, California.; Team 5026, Iron Panthers, Burlingame, California; and Team 4201, The Vitruvian Bots, El Segundo, California. The CCISD team competed in the FIRST Robotics Competition. After many
specializes in wireless Photo courtesy of Gustavo Vilas Boas wins this season, includtelecommunications ing the tournament in products and services. Arizona, at which they The 2019 challenge for the FIRST went undefeated, and the one in El Paso, Robotics Competition was DESTINA- at which they also received first place, the TION: DEEP SPACE. Throughout the team was confident that they would see season leading up to the competition, the success at the World Championship comstudents were tasked to fundraise, de- petition. They were Team ¬118 and were sign a brand and create and program a allied with Team 4911, Cyber Knights, Serobot with limited resources, strict rules attle, Washington; Team 2147, Chuck, Spoand time limits. These robots would then kane, Washington; and Team 5006, Apocompete to collect samples, gather cargo phis, Fayetteville, Arkansas. The alliance and prepare for liftoff before the simulat- made it all the way to the semi-final round. ed sandstorm hit. Alliances, which con“We worked hard and put in everysisted of roughly four teams each, went thing we had to get everything out of
what we built. We spent the last few weeks giving it all we could in those 21 hours to make it to the semi finals in our division. It was an amazing experience, and getting to interact with all the other teams from around the world and seeing everyone’s robots and designs brings a whole new meaning to FIRST,” Christian Goodson, member of the Robonauts from Creek, said. There were also many other awards, including awards for individual students. Six alliances were honored for winning in each subdivision, and others received awards, such as the Engineering Inspiration Award, Autonomous Award, Creativity Award, Excellence in Engineering Award and Industrial Design Award. Many Texas teams were recognized for their outstanding work in all four FIRST programs. The FIRST Competition not only gives students around the world a chance to create impressive robots and compete with many other young people; it allows them to develop a new set of skills in technology and mechanics, as well as social interactions. “Throughout each of our four programs, FIRST teams get hands-on experience with modern engineering equipment and technologies, but they also take on public speaking, leadership, problem-solving and collaboration challenges that build core skills and confidence. FIRST is providing a transformative experience for our young people across all population groups,” Don Bossi, president of FIRST, said. FIRST is a great experience for all the people involved, whether they are direct participants, mentors or simply onlookers, and the CCISD students have enjoyed every moment of this season. They are grateful for the support of their teammates and all that they have gained throughout the competition. They will soon prepare themselves for a new, successful season. “I have been so excited to watch the students perform at different levels of tournament play and can’t wait to see how they grow and the new ideas they begin to implement next year,” Mr. Morales said.
Creek celebrates an enchanting evening at prom By Shelby Donnow Reporter As the end of the year began rolling around, Creek’s prom was highly anticipated for all attending. Prom is something that students wait for throughout their entire high school experience. Held at the South Shore Harbour Resort and Conference Center on Saturday, April 27 from 8 pm to midnight, this night was one that students described as unforgettable. The theme of this magical evening was Enchanted Garden, which was previously voted on by the senior class. This wonderful theme made the event and venue extremely beautiful and enchanting. “I had a ton of fun this weekend at the dance and at the beach house my group went to. It was a lot of fun hanging out all weekend,” Nick McGowen, senior, said. When entering the dance, students were welcomed by Creek staff and beautiful decorations and lights. Students, along with Mr. Majewski, danced the night away on the dancefloor to the music played by the DJ. There was even a smoke machine to add excitement to the dancefloor. With the class
superlatives, the students were excited to see who won each award. Bri Arenzetta and Hunter Smith won most likely to be a famous athlete, Isabell Hu won best artist, Thomas Pierce won most fun person to hang out with, Bianca Zamora won most scholarly, Austin Vining won most likely to run for office, Shaylin Jarvis won biggest wildcat fan, Jackson Brister and Matthew O’Valley won most likely to be a famous SoundCloud rapper, Doss Plunket and Miranda Phelps won cutest couple, Dorie Poe and Emily Wankowicz won soul sisters, Shelbi Woodard won most likely to be a social media influencer, Kabir Sharma won most likely to be a millionaire, Skaila Sonenburg won most likely to win a Grammy, Sutton Anderson won most likely to move to Hollywood, Jose Rodriguez and Jack Callahan won biggest bromance, Jarin Duppstadt won class clown, Emily Matthews won Emily Matthews, Yasin Samalhouda won biggest case of senioritis, Olivia Valentine won best smile and Doss Plunket and Hannah Gay won prom king and queen. “Even though I had a lot of fun throughout the whole weekend, my favorite part about prom was win-
ning
class clown,” Duppstadt said. “My favorite part about my prom weekend was winning Prom King and cutest couple with my girlfriend, Miranda. I had a lot of fun this weekend,” Plunkett, said. Prom has become a tradition that requires months of preparation. Not only do students attend the dance, but they also form groups for the weekend to rent a beach house, take pictures with a professional photographer, get their hair and makeup done, get matching shirts for everyone in the group to wear the Friday before the dance and so much more. Couples also must get their formal attire with time for alterations, corsages or bouquets and boutonnieres, matching outfits for the theme nights they may have at their beach houses and anything else they may need. Though the girls have to worry about their dresses, hair, makeup and so much more, most guys ask their dates in an elaborate and exiting way. Many people have many different plans for their weekends, but each group always have the time of their lives at prom and all that comes with it. Each senior and their date will enjoy their unforgettable weekend with one another.
“I got my hair and makeup done in the morning and then I had to pick up my flowers and headed to takes pictures with my prom group by HeyPrettyBaby Photography’s Ian Wood. We went to the dance and then to my beach house in Galveston. My group spent Saturday and Sunday at my beach house and left Monday during the day. Throughout the weekend, we had theme nights at the house, went to Schlitterbahn and had so much fun with each other,” Kit Matthews, senior, said. Prom is a long-awaited tradition for all high school students. After anxiously waiting, those who attended this year’s prom had a night filled with amazing memories and experiences. There is no better way to end out one’s high school career then getting to spend one last occasion with their class. Prom is something that its attendees will never forget. The seniors feel as though theirs was the prom they had always imagined. The 2019 prom was a huge success and will be very hard to beat in the following years.
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Around Creek
Crookston crushes competition and continues to State By Kadee Loyd Reporter
Creek’s varsity tennis team recently attended the regional competition, and three students, junior Carter Crookston, senior Griffin Baillargeon and senior Alejandra Lopez, showed off their hard work and skill through impressive victories. On Wednesday, April 17 and Thursday, April 18, Creek competed against many other teams from around the region. After a long day of matches, Crookston came away with first place in the Region Three Boys Single Championship, not dropping a single set and moving on to the state tournament at College Station. Baillargeon and Lopez received fourth place in the Mixed Doubles Championship, an impressive feat, but they unfortunately fell short of state. Tennis coaches Mr. Derick Geise and Mr. Patrick Russell were extremely proud of their students’ victories and their work this season. They are excited to watch Crookston move on to the State Competition. “We haven’t had a boy from our school win the Singles State Championship since 1981, so it’s been a while, and he has a chance to do something that hasn’t been done in a very long time,” Coach Geise said. Crookston has a special passion for this sport. It has been a large part of his life since he was nine years old, he is ecstatic that he was able to succeed and represent his school at Regionals. After matches against Lamar High School’s Alex Koong, Cinco Ranch’s Brian Wan and a Kingwood student, Crookston advanced to the final round against Katy Taylor High School’s Christopher Cequea-Rivero and, after a
heated match, took the first-place title. “It felt amazing. Nothing feels better than winning while representing my school at the same time. I’ve been playing tennis since I was nine, so the preparation started then, I guess. There’s no secret practice method that works better
careers, but Creek is proud of their effort and how far they got into the competition. “When I put [Baillargeon and Lopez] together in the spring as a Doubles partnership, I wasn’t sure what to expect because they’re both good players, but they’d never played with each other. In the
Photo courtesy of Caylinn Vasquez than hard work and dedthree or fourth months ication,” Crookston said. together, they just kept Baillargeon and Logetting better and betpez made it deep into the Regional Com- ter the more they played with each othpetition, with wins against Clements High er, and I think that comradery over the School and Dawson High School. Their few months really helped build them journey to state was unfortunately cut short to be successful,” Coach Geise said. after a six to three, six to three loss against This season of tennis started off shaky Kingwood High School. The senior duo was in the fall, and the students were wordisappointed by the loss, as it was not how ried that they would not be able to pull they wished to end their high school tennis through without more wins. However,
the spring season proved that even after struggles, they were capable of bouncing back and claiming their well-deserved spot at the Regional Competition. “We experienced some troubles in the fall, but we were still able to fight and make our way to region, and you can say that the spring season has been as strong as ever with two Creek teams representing at region: me playing Singles and Griffin and Alejandra playing Mixed Doubles. We hope to have even stronger results in the years to come,” Crookston said. Both the Junior Varsity and Varsity teams have seen great success this year. Recently, the Creek teams attended the District competition, where the JV Girls team placed first and the JV boys placed well. Sophomore Jessica Sammons got first place in Girls Singles, while sophomores Maddie Vasquez and Jillian Wohl got second in Girls Doubles. Junior Ethan Ngyuen and sophomore Kirtan Patel received second place for Boys Doubles. The Varsity team brought their A-game to Districts, with senior Michaela Clark leading off. Freshman Mary Tacorda went undefeated at five singles, and every Creek starter got recognition at the District Competition The Creek tennis team has grown and seen many successes together this year. After so many tournaments, long days of practice and social events, they have created a strong bond and memories that will last forever. “My experience on the Creek tennis team has created some of my favorite memories. They’re like a second family to me, and I’m extremely proud to be representing them at state,” Crookston said.
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Creek Cavaliers kick off annual spring show By Shelby Donnow Reporter
As the year comes to a close, the Cavaliers are preparing for their annual end of the year Spring Show. With this year’s theme as “Can You Feel It?” the Cavaliers will put on a show filled with all emotions. Falling on May 3 and 4, the team will perform three different shows on Friday at seven pm and Saturday at one pm and seven pm in the Clear Creek Auditorium for ten dollars a ticket. There will also be a snack stand and a place to purchase flowers for the dancers. The team is working day and night to perfect their end of the year show for their audience. Starting the week before Spring Break, the Cavaliers began preparing for their long-awaited show. Working tirelessly throughout their day, the Cavaliers practice for about 20 hours a week to make sure their show is as perfect as they can make it. During their class period and on their own time, the officers choreograph almost every dance in the show. Their dances include their opener, class dance, tap company, jazz company, mom’s dance, three competition dances, officer dances, the social committee dance, officer/director dance, senior guy/girl, senior hip hop, senior lyrical, finale and more. Throughout these practices, the Cavaliers got to relocate from the dance room to the auditorium for the two weeks before the show. The dancers get to practice on the spacing of the stage with the lights, wings, curtains and props. Along with all of the on and offs of the stage, the officers have to set up an area back stage to use as a dressing room due to them being in almost every dance in the show. The girls absolutely love their time practicing on the stage because they can feel the excitement and anticipation of the show. Though having an immense amount of fun, these girls will be very busy. “Even though this season is always very stressful and exhausting, it is my favorite time of the year. I am so excited to continue practicing on the stage and then to debut our
show.” Braelie Sawyer, sophomore, said. Along with all the diligent practices, Spring Show for the Cavaliers is always filled with fun and laughter. The team gets the chance to continue bonding and making life-long memories. Most dancers feel as though their Spring Show season is their favorite season of the year. During show week, the team stays in the audito-
almost every Cavalier would not want to spend their time any other way. The Cavaliers love Spring Show season all the memories and good times that accompanies it. “Spring show season is a great time to bond backstage throughout all the practices and shows. Some of my favorite memories are at Spring Show or the practices,” Olivia Translavina, Senior Lieutenant, said.
The Cavalier diPhoto courtesy of Shelby Donnow rium until 11 pm every rector, Marka Wood; night of the week, proassistant, Megan Talviding more time for the team to have fun. Since all these extreme- lo; and officers, Sophie Bivens, Captain; ly long practices fall on the week days, Translavina, Shelby Donnow and Chloe you can always find worksheets and texts Martin, Junior Lieutenants; choreograph books throughout the seats of the audito- and clean dances each day to get them to rium, backstage, and sometimes even on their highest potential. While cutting muthe stage so the dancers can fit in doing sic, choreographing, teaching, cleaning their homework whenever they have time. and perfecting dances, they are working While it may sound like all this practice as hard as they can to perfect the show. Though the dancing is the main attracwould make the team dread the season,
tion of the show, that is not all that needs to be prepared. The extravagant lobby is decorated to the theme of the show, this year’s “Can You Feel It,” by the Social Committee, Kit Matthews, President; Sydney Lococo, Vice President; Lauren Ryan, New New Liaison; Ashley Leistad, Secretary; Melina Marquez, Chaplain; Emily McTaggart, Historian and Daisy Huerta, Photographer. Parent volunteers also take hours out of their busy weeks to decorate the entrance, sell tickets, set up and run the concession stands, organize the flowers available for purchase and more. Not only do the moms help out behind the scenes this year, they also get to show off their dancing skills in the show due to the mother-daughter dance. While some moms would rather hide in the back, others cannot wait to get to dance with their daughters. Though Spring Show is special to each person on the team, this is the last performance the seniors get to experience with the team. With all of their senior dances including senior hip hop, senior guy/girl, senior lyrical and special sections of many other dances dedicated to them, the dancers get to soak in their last moments on the stage as a Cavalier. They also get to play a slideshow made for them that tells about each senior and their plans for the future. While very sad for the seniors and their team to see them go, the team knows each senior is about to experience the time of their lives and are happy to have gotten to share their last show with them. “I am so sad that it is my last time dancing with my best friends and I will miss all the Cavalier traditions,” Matthews said. The Cavaliers are in high anticipation to debut their show. They have worked extremely hard to perfect their show the best way they can. With the amount of dedication and practice the Cavaliers put into their last show of the season, they strive for it to be their best one yet.
18 Choir
Around Creek
continued from page 1. Their goal was to convey a story in each of their unique pieces, Zigeunerleben, Placido e il Mar and Kalkadunga Yurdu, and after many excited expressions and a standing ovation from the audience, they were confident they were successful. Zigeunerleben included beautiful solos from junior Riana Vermillion, junior Luci Melcher, senior Brandon Falknor, junior Brady Raboin and senior Skyla Sonnenburg, as well as duets from senior Miranda Hixson and junior Sophia Sereni and from seniors Mitchell Bonvillian and Travis Falknor. Placido e il Mar included a solo from senior Kat Velasco, whose soaring high notes astounded the audience. As the choir entered the sight-reading room with director Mr. James Park, they beamed, full of energy from their final performance of Kalkadunga Yurdu. “It was days like that that remind why I do just what I do and teachers like Mr. Park and Mr. Stultz that make the experience worth all of the work. The final song of our performance was an out-of-body experience that was the closest way to seeing how music saves people,” Alicia Brown, senior Symphonic member, said. Cantabile, Creek’s other non-varsity treble choir of sophomore, junior and senior
women, did not compete at UIL, but they did go the Pre-UIL where the judges gave them positive feedback and kind comments on the work they had accomplished. Orchestra took their Chamber ensemble, their highest, to the UIL competition on Friday, April fifth. The event was held in Creek’s auditorium, and
Grobey led the students with a steady rhythm, and with an artistic performance of their pieces Divertimento by Mozart, Elegy by Jarrett and Jig by Holst, the group received ones from two of the judges, and a two from the last. They were worried as they made their way to the sight-reading room, knowing that they would have to
as more orchestras from earn all ones from the Photo courtesy of Alyssa Loyd other schools arrived and judges to receive the performed, the pressure Sweepstakes award; they to succeed built up. Fortunately, the Creek did just that. With five ones and a singular ensemble did not have to wait long, as they two, Chamber got Sweepstakes, their were first to go. Director Mrs. Katherine rightful award after so much hard work.
“I’m very proud of the work we did, but I think one of the judges was just kind of wrong in the way they scored us. I thought that we played really well,” junior Jaide Cockrell and sophomore Matthew Ha, members of the Chamber ensemble, said. Creek’s Symphony, non-varsity, and Philharmonic, sub-non-varsity, orchestras also competed at UIL on April 17, roughly two weeks after Chamber. With passion, dedication and skillful finger movements, the two mixed groups were able to impress the judges and take all ones at the competition. All three orchestras received Sweepstakes, keeping up with previous years’ winning streak. Orchestra practiced their music diligently to get their results. They had weekly sectionals and rehearsals, and Mrs. Grobey is proud of all of the work they have done and the sense of unity they have created. “What drives the students to excel is their cumulative desire to do well and sound the best they can as an orchestra. They feel a lot of pride in what they do, and they know when they start to sound good. The teamwork and comradery that result in the process is also so rewarding for them and keeps them going. They are hungry to learn and to work together to create something beautiful,” Mrs. Grobey said. Through their successes at their UIL competitions, both Choir and Orchestra proved that Creek continues to have outstanding talent in the fine arts, and it is clear that current and future students will be no different.
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Entertainment
Marvel’s Endgame obliterates box office records By Maddie Moore Editor-in-Chief
Angeles, said. “We shot this first, before Marvel expired. Iron Man, which was rethe solo film. So I had to stumble and try leased over a decade ago, was directed by to figure out who this character was with Jon Favreau and is considered the incepThe latest Marvel movie not only con- no script for this and no script for Captain tion of the MCU. Although they would cluded phase three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), but brought the end of an era. Avengers: Endgame was released on April 26 and destroyed box office records with a $1.2 million opening weekend globally. Endgame received a 96% certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and has been called a “emotionally impactful [movie that] does whatever it takes to deliver a satisfying finale to Marvel’s epic Infinity Saga.” The highly anticipated film follows the events after Avengers: Infinity War, where the Avengers lost to Thanos after he acquired all six infinity stones, snapped his fingers and eradicated half of the universe. It picks up 22 days after Thanos’ snap, and reveals that Tony Stark and Nebula are stranded in space on the Benetar, the Guardians of the Galaxy’s ship, after the events that took place on Titan. The Avengers, on the other hand, regroup and attempt to locate Thanos, this time with the help of Carol Danvers, better known as Captain Marvel. Danvers, portrayed by Brie Larson, was revealed to play a role in Endgame during an end credit scene in Captain Marvel. Her Marvel either. All that, plus not realize it until later, Photo courtesy of Flickr introduction was initially teased in an In- I had to perform for the first Iron Man would end up finity War end credit, where Nick Fury, time in front of legends.” paving the way for the played by Samuel L. Jackson, pages DanAlthough Endgame was a beginning next 21 Marvel movies that would follow. vers as he fades away from Thanos’ snap. for Larson, it served as an end for oth“[Iron Man’s] bar for success was “This film [Endgame] will always be ers. Endgame is the last film both Rob- pretty low. It felt high, at the time, but it so personally dear to me because it was my ert Downey Jr., who plays Iron Man, and was not that high... But as we were makfirst time playing Captain Marvel,” Larson, Chris Evans, who plays Captain America, ing the movie and looking at dailies, and during the film’s press conference in Los signed on for before their contracts with we were looking at effects tests com-
ing in, we realized that this was really going to be special, and even perhaps more special than we thought,” Kevin Feige, Marvel Studio’s President, said. Although the film features newer members of the MCU, such as Captain Marvel, Endgame focuses predominantly around the original six Avengers. It concludes a significant chapter of the MCU in a way that is satisfying for longtime fans, and pays homage to previous films such as Iron Man, Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor. “What’s special is all of the actors, and the family that has come together, over this decade plus,” Feige said. “Part of the journey is the end. Four or five years ago, we started talking about, “What haven’t we seen in films based on comic characters? We haven’t seen an ending that’s a definitive conclusion to an overall saga.” That’s why it’s called Endgame, and why I think it’s very, very, very special.” The next Marvel film, Spider-Man: Far From Home, will premiere in theatres July 5, and is said to pick up just minutes after the events of Endgame. Starring Tom Holland and Jake Gyllenhaal, Far From Home will serve as an introduction to the next chapter of the MCU. Although the MCU will continue forward with phase four of its story, Endgame serves as an unforgettable and heartbreaking end for fans who have grown up with the franchise.
Cage the Elephant releases relatable album: Social Cues
By Sierra Dickey Editor-in-Chief
The popular indie band, Cage the Elephant, has recently released one of their most emotional and personal albums yet. Inspired by the hardships Matt Shultz, the lead singer, experienced, Social Cues stays consistent with the band’s style but is more relatable than their previously released albums. Social Cues was released on April 19 with early releases of Ready to Let Go, House of Glass, Night Running and Goodbye. Ready to Let Go, released on January 31, one of the catchier songs on the album, starts off with a hard beat, making the song have a harsher tone; however, the lyrics of the song are quite the opposite, them being extremely tragic and heartbreaking. Being the first song released on Social Cues, it introduces Shultz’s divorce and the emotions that came along with it. The song, placed in Pompeii, is where Juliette Buchs, wife to Shultz for seven years, and Shultz realized they were headed for a divorce. He parallels his life to the history of Pompeii, “I’ma spread these ashes, never had control,” suggesting that Shultz’s once perfect relationship was destroyed and turned to ashes just as Pompeii had after a volcanic eruption. The second song to be released was House of Glass on March 8. The song
features a hypnotic sound with very repetitive lyrics centered around isolation and illusion. It has a darker tone than most Cage the Elephant songs. Night Running, the third to be released on March 28, features Beck Hansen, an American singer and record producer. The two together create a song that has a reggae like vibe, that makes it a free-flowing song that is also quite repetitive. The collaboration between Beck and Cage the Elephant on the song has allowed for them to partner together on a tour. Although the song does not directly reference the hardships that Shultz had been going through at the time, the constant running within the song symbolizes denial or lack of coping. The last song to be released early, on April 8, and the last song on the album is Goodbye. Most songs on the album have an upbeat tone to them, however, being the closing song to their album and a closer on Shultz’s emotional chapter, it takes on a very slow and haunting feeling. The song, featuring a piano in the background, allows for Shultz’s pain to resonate through his voice. The song is an acceptance of his relationship with Buchs at an end, there is no saving it. Shultz looks back on the good times along with the bad, to which he is very emotional and thoughtful, suggesting their
end is something he feels great sorrow over. Other songs within the album that contribute to Shultz’s pain is Broken Boy, the first in the album, constantly stating “Tell me why I was forced/born to live in this skin.” The pain within the song and the overall album had contributed to Shultz stopping and taking breaks for weeks from the actual album. Broken Boy obviously shows that Shultz does not want to be experiencing these hardships in his life. “I just remember at that point in life, things were pretty turbulent,” Shultz, to Loudwire Nights host Toni Gonzalez, said. “My cousin had passed away, who was a best friend growing up, an actual best friend had passed away, two really close friends had committed suicide and then my relationship was on the rocks.” Skin and Bones, the fifth song on the album, is about the power of love. Though Shultz is lost within the pain and has “been runnin’ for so long, all that’s left is skin and bones,” he closes his eyes “and lets the love-light guide [him] home.” Similar to Skin and Bones, Love’s the Only Way and The War is Over are all revolved around the idea of love and the power of it. Love’s the Only Way suggests that there is a place where an escape to hardship must be somewhere and that’s where the
warmth of love is located. The War is Over targets the understanding of love on a global scale. “One day you will find love war on both sides; the war is over.” Another reference is potentially to Trump and his border wall, Shultz’s states that “you can build your walls, love will tear it down,” ultimately stating that love is the strongest feeling there is and will overcome hate. Other songs within the album include Black Madonna, Tokyo Smoke, Dance Dance, What I’m Becoming and Social Cues. These songs do not include specific reference to his personal life, however they do target the expectations placed upon them in the music industry, something that can ultimately lead to drug abuse and alcoholism. Shultz, after months of breakdowns and breaks within the span of Social Cues, has created something that many can empathize with. Although the band has created an album stylistically and musically similar to their previous ones, it adds in a new level of emotions that evokes a higher understanding of pain in the audiences. Music is an escape for many people, either writing it or listening to it, and Social Cues is the embodiment of that.
Entertainment
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Netflix’s Santa Clarita Diet premieres third season By Leah Burnam News Editor
The third season of the comedic horror show Santa Clarita Diet, which premieres on Netflix, just hit the screens of subscribers. The new season began on March 29 and features many well-known actors and actresses such as Drew Barrymore, Timothy Olyphant, Skyler Gisondo, Mary Elizabeth Ellis and Natalie Morales. The show follows a young woman, Sheila Hammond (Barrymore), and her husband Joel Hammond (Olyphant), who live in the suburban city of Santa Clarita with their teenage daughter Abby Hammond, played by Liv Hewson. Both Sheila and Joel are realtors, but everything changes when Sheila’s world is flipped upside down after a seemingly harmless experience leads her to being a member of the undead. Warning, spoilers ahead: Season one shows the Hammond family dealing with Sheila’s new transformation and trying to understand how she became a zombie. However, it is not until the very end of the season that they discover how. The three of them go on the hunt with their next door neighbor Eric Bemis (Gisondo), who happens to have a crush on Abby, for a cure. In the second season viewers begin to see Abby and Bermis’ relationship grow and how Sheila and Joel continue to struggle with the morality of killing people to suffice Sheila’s hunger. Almost one year after the second season’s finale premiered, the third season of Santa Clarita Diet was announced on Netflix’s YouTube page. The 50 second long
video clip showed Sheila making a vow the video continues to show the family and around, nearly threatening Sheila’s true to Joel to be with him “for the next thou- Bermis going on crazy adventures together. identity as a zombie on multiple occasions. sand years or so,” but immediately ended, The third season picks up right where With each season there comes a leaving many fans wondering what was to the second left off with Anne Garcia (Mo- new villain, this season happens to be Dobrivoje Poplovic, played by Goran Visnjic. Poplovic is on the hunt for zombies before a group called the Knights of Serbia tries to kill them. However, Joel is trying to join the secretive society in order to protect Sheila from other hunters. The rest of the season continues with the Hammond’s trying to stay alive as different things are thrown their way and try to keep their family’s life stable. The creator of the series, Victor Fresco, recently revealed in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter upcoming plans for the show and what could happen if a fourth season is announced. “I sort of imagined it [Santa Clarita Diet] going five years…that seemed right to me. I think the relationship is interesting and fun and emotional and loving enough that you could want to stay with the Hammonds for a long time because they’re wonderful, so there’s always stuff there for us to mine. I think we’re introducing a huge new storyline for season four if we come back, and our challenge would be to come up with another one for season five, but I have no doubt based on these characters and this life that that would Photo courtesy of Vimeo come. One week after rales), a sheriff who is in a be something we could do,” Fresco said. the announcement vidrelationship with Lisa PalmSanta Clarita Diet includes a mixture eo, the trailer was released. In the opening er (Ellis), Bermis’ mom, who once had of everything; zombies, murder, humor of the video the Hammond’s were shown suspicions of Sheila and Joel being in- and even love. The show has received a trying to get back to a more normal life, volved in one of her murder cases. How- “certified fresh rating” of 89% on Rotten until Sheila asks Joel if he wants her to turn ever, she thinks Sheila is a disciple of God Tomatoes and seven-point-eight stars on him into a zombie so they can live together who came back to life to do His work on IMDb. Although nothing is confirmed, the forever. The scene cuts off and the rest of earth. Garcia continues to follow them show is anticipated to have another season.
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entertainment
BTS releases new album Map of the Soul: Persona By Leah Burnam News Editor
BTS, one of the world’s biggest South Korean boy bands, recently came out with a new album titled Map of the Soul: Persona. It was released on April 12 and has a total of seven tracks, with one of them featuring well-known artist Halsey and another in collaboration with Ed Sheeran. Two music videos for their new songs Intro : Persona and Boy With Luv, were also released. The album plays with the ideas of love and is intended to showcase BTS’ maturity. It includes Intro : Persona, Boy With Luv (feat. Halsey), Mikrokosmos, Make It Right, HOME, Jamais vu and Dionysus. Intro : Persona is a solo song for one of the main rappers, Rap Monster, aka RM. The music video features RM rapping and dancing in what looks to be an abandoned classroom, while singing about his motivation for music and the struggles of finding yourself. BTS consists of seven members, Jungkook, Jimin, V, Suga, Jin, RM and J-Hope, all of whom are included in the second music video for Boy With Luv. The song is about falling in love and wanting to protect that love from the ups and downs that life brings. In the music video, that message is delivered through beautiful visuals and choreographed dance moves. Halsey appears to act as the love interest and sings about how she has waited her whole life to find someone right for her. Boy With Luv’s video has become YouTube’s most-viewed 24
hour debut in history with 74.6 million views and were congratulated by many. BTS made their debut on the comedy-skit TV show Saturday Night Live (SNL) to perform their new song Boy
group explained how they met Halsey and why they decided to work with her on Boy With Luv and that Ed Sheeran was actually the one to write Make It Right. “We [BTS and Halsey] met like two
With Luv. However, many Photo courtesy of Wikimedia years ago backstage fans wondered why Halsey and she told us that she was absent from the perwas a big fan. When she formance. But the singer quickly assured came to Korea last year, we said how we people saying that she would be joining should collaborate and we got this track them at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards. for this album and we thought Halsey In an interview with Beats 1, the would be the best voice for it. And Sheer-
an is one of the greatest songwriters and we have always adored his music. He said he wanted to write us a track and we just could not believe it,” RM said. BTS said they would also love to work with famous artists such as, Drake, Billie Eilish and Troye Sivan. Rumors have also swirled that a collaboration with Shawn Mendes is in the works and in an interview, Mendes assured fans that “it will happen.” RM then went on to do another interview with Entertainment Weekly (EW) about the identity of BTS and how they try to stay authentic. “I don’t want to compare, but I think it’s even harder as an Asian group. A Hot 100 and a Grammy nomination, these are our goals. But they’re just goals,” RM said. “We don’t want to change our identity or our genuineness to get the number one. Like if we sing suddenly in full English and change all these other things, then that’s not BTS. We’ll do everything, we’ll try. But if we couldn’t get number one or number five, that’s okay.” Map of the Soul: Persona is BTS’ third number one album in just 11 months and the boy band is the first to accomplish this since The Beatles. They have quickly become a global sensation and are not planning to stop anytime soon as they still have many goals for the future of their career.
Tony Award winner Ben Platt releases debut album
By Arrington Linder Features Editor
Tony-award winner Ben Platt, recently released his debut album, Sing to Me Instead. The album was released on March 29 and announced on January 28. Sing to Me Instead consists of 12 songs, four of which were released in advance. The first two songs to be released were Bad Habit and Ease My Mind on February 1. The music video for Bad Habit was released along with the song and Ease My Mind came out on February 13, both have accumulated over one million views on YouTube. During the Ease My Mind video, Platt comes out publicly for the first time. Because these songs were the first to be released, they set the tone for the album. Both songs are slow and heartfelt, like most of the tracks on the album. The line “make ‘em sing to me instead” is sung in Bad Habit, which is most likely the inspiration for the album’s title. Bad Habit begins with solely piano, which blends into the background as the song progresses. Although the tempo never increases much, Platt’s vocals become more powerful throughout the song. In Ease My Mind, the tempo increases slightly as Platt’s vocals become stronger and adds to the emotional aspect of the song. “I love that a byproduct has been being able to be representation for the queer community and to show that’s very much part of who I am, but also I don’t want that to replace the music itself,” Platt said. Grow As We Go and Temporary Love were the last two songs to be released prior to the album. Possibly the most emotional song
from the album, Grow As We Go is consistently backed by the guitar and Platt’s heartwarming vocals. The music video for Grow As We Go has received over three million views, and Temporary Love has received over one million. Temporary Love was released a week after on March 8, and out of the four
“I wrote Grow As We Go about how desperately I wanted a very special relationship to work despite knowing how much personal growth we both still needed, and to hear that it’s resonating with you guys means the world,” Platt said. Both New and Share Your Address
released early, is the most are the most upbeat songs Photo courtesy of Wikipedia upbeat. Although it starts from the album and alwith piano, the song slowly though still conveying becomes more upbeat. Platt performed Tem- an emotional message, are more lightporary Love on The Ellen DeGeneres Show hearted compared to the rest of the album. a little less than a week after its release. In Case You Don’t Live Forever is a
heartfelt song about someone shaping Platt into who he is today. During the song, Platt states that this person is his hero and he loves them more than they will ever wrap their head around. Older was performed on Today and The Late Late Show with James Corden. Older centers around focusing on the present and to not “pine too much for other parts of your life.” The music video for Older was released on April 17 and has received over 300 thousand views. The final song from the album is Run Away, which is dedicated to his parents. Run Away seems to be set up as a story due to it being told, or sung, from a third-person point of view as opposed to first. “I wanted to write about this first relationship that I was in, where there was an embarrassment of kindness in the sense that I could feel him knowing this wasn’t right, but he didn’t have the courage to just tell me that, so he started to remove himself in little ways that almost felt more painful, because it was like, ‘Why would you drag this out and make me guess where we’re at,” Platt said. Sing To Me Instead, as said by Platt in an Instagram Story, is intended to be listened to as a whole in order to tell a story. Sing To Me Instead peaked at number two on iTunes’ Albums chart. Overall, this album is extremely touching and will tug at anyone’s heartstrings.
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