2014 January by Clear Creek HiLife

Astros visit Creek with Alumni pg. 14

Wind Esemnle goes to Chicago pg. 11

Beyoncé XO Scandal pg. 4

Creek’s deployment comes with many advantages By Lisa Nhan Managing Editor Clear Creek High School saw the last Latitude Deployment of the school year on January 23rd for 9th and 10th graders in the Latitude to Learn Intuitive. Creek was the last high school to receive the tablets, and due to the experience of other deployments, the procedure went smoothly. “This deployment went exceptionally well. With our past experience, we were able to anticipate the problems that could come along. I’m very pleased with the result,” said Kevin Schwartz, Chief Technology Director for the district. There were a few problems with the sequencing for the mail accounts, but overall Schwartz felt the deployment saw few issues. 9th and 10th grade students were split up into groups based on alphabetical order, with student leaders who had received their tablets early distributed in each classroom to assist. These student leaders were select 9th and 10th graders who received additional training in early December. Advisory teachers were asked to pick these students based on their leadership skills. “The student leaders were very helpful in the process of the deployment. We really looked to them to help build our technological integration,” Andrea Winters, Director of Learning Technology for the district, said. The deployment additionally aided by almost a hundred members of the district technology staff. These staff members were divided into two major groups. The first were the Technological Integration Specialist who specialized in training and facilitating technology into the district. The Techs were in charge of all the IT, or information technological, problems. There were two to three Techs stationed at each of the classrooms with floaters going around the halls to check in and act as additional help. At each high school, a Specialized Tablet Technician has been placed. Their job is to specialize in exclusively the Dell Latitude 10 tablets. For Clear Creek, Ms. Hailey Williams will be serving Creek full time to help and assist in anything Latitude related. “My job is to know all about the Dell Latitude, inside and out… If I can’t fix your tablet in five minutes or less, I keep it and send it back to the student fixed,” Williams said. Williams will be helping students not only trouble shoot what ever problems that may come up, but also aid in personalizing the tablets for each individual students. (More info on this can be found on page 12) Creek actually chose to be the last

school to receive the deployment according to Mr. David Drake, Associate Principal. This was due to the advantages that came with the additional experience in deployment. “This gave us a chance to watch other deployments in the district and see what

able to connect to the Latitudes. They will also be able to switch between different tablets for different displays and presentations and use the area for possible digital gallery displays. Creek Connections is also expecting a

Photos by Mallori Flanagan

would best suit Creek and its students,” Drake said. Creek’s deployment comes with many unique advantages besides being the last school to receive it for this academic school year. In the Library, a special section has been set aside to act as a “hub” for Latitude and technology integration here at Creek, as described as Mrs. Gladney Lemon, librarian. Creek Connection is an idea made by Mrs. Gladney Lemon to assist in helping students taking advantage of their new resources. “It’s a very unique design that transforms a physical space,” Gladney Lemon said. The design itself is developing through out the year but the basis of it has already been planned out. In the front will be the Creek Connection help desk, where Williams will serve full time to help students and staff with their tablets. There will be a section for lab or group work with seven TVs, to be between 20 and 30 inches, on the shelves that will be

new projector with an eightfoot screen to be put in to enhance the learning experi-

ence. The library is also adding much more resources in the form of digital e-books. There have already been 12,000 e-books purchased for students to utilize. Students will be able to borrow straight from their Latitudes without the worry of late fines. “Students will now be able to research 24/7 with or without the library open. It’s really exciting, and I’m always here to help them and teachers to take advantage of their new resources,” Gladney Lemon said. Students looking for additional resources to aid in learning about their tablets can visit websites such as the District’s own Latitude to Learn website, accessible from the CCISD website, and Common Sense Media. Common Sense Media has been highly recommended from both Schwartz and Winters. It gives information on how to effectively use Social Media in a productive and safe way. The district website

has many resources, such as online Tablet tutorials. There has not yet been a plan for any seminars to teach parents how to use the tablets, but students have been highly encouraged to work with their parents on their technological integration. The most common advice for adjusting to the tablets has been for students to just get hands on experience and see what works for them. “Play with it, explore it, get with your friends and learn what they’re doing. It’s important to explore the opportunities, because you’ll always find more,” Winters said. It hasn’t taken long for students and teachers to be taking the opportunities the Latitude provided. Mrs. Lewis, Biology and PALS teacher, was part of the Trail Blazers intuitive. This was a select group of teacher chosen to receive additional training to aid in the integration of technology in the classroom. The teachers were picked based on their already impressive use of technology in the classroom. In Lewis’ case, she began to immediately adjust her student’s note taking to suit the tablet. She plans on slowly introducing the students to the technology, with assignments like pre-labs on the tablet. “Teachers aren’t just tied to the white board anymore... Students now literally have it all at their fingertips. It means personalized learning at an adjusted learning speed to suit any student,” Lewis said. Other teachers such as Mrs. Dunn, part of the Trail Blazers intuitive as well, have taken advantage of the Latitudes with the flipped classroom approach. This approach has students learning the material at home, with resources such as online videos, and to do the assignments in class. However, there has been criticism that of the tablets replacing the teachers, but the tablets are intended as a tool for the students, not a replacement. “Grades and instruction are not tied to the device. The goal of this program is add to that global window that students today have,” Drake said.. Overall, Creek has benefited from the resources that the Latitudes have given students. “Latitudes have really helped us change and grow as a school,” Mr. Jamey Majewski, principal, said. There has not yet been any news on if the students will be able to take the tablets home during the students, but students will be assigned to the same tablet for the whole of their CCISD education. Clear Creek ISD will continue it’s deployment of the 30,000 tablets in the Fall of 2014 to 9th and 12th graders, then to all of 5th and 8th grade. Latitude to Learn will finish in the Fall of 2015 to all of 6th, 7th, and 4th grade.

Opinion

y d a e r l a u o y e v a h n o i t u l o s e r s ’ r a e Y Wh at Ne w b ro k e n?

F R ESHMEN solution My New Year’s re practice, was to try at swim but I still don’t. -Arthur Antanions grades, but I To get better don’t study. arba -Alejandro B

To eat healthy, but all the good food isn’t he althy. -Sidney Plunkett

To worko ut more buy too m , but my parents uch junkf ood. -Claire C rawford

SOPHOMORES

S ENIORS

myself to do I tried to get , school work more of my ior year. but...it’s sen -Nick Casey

I tried to quit eating junk food, but I don’t have time to eat healthy. -Gabe Garcia

Going to bed earlier, because I watch too much Netflix. -Erica Ryan

2013-2014

HiLife Staff

Principal: Advisor: Executive Editor: Editor-in-Chief: Design Editor: , it e k ro b Managing Editor: y food and I h lt a e h t a e o . T d Features Editor: colate is goo To make because cho b e tt News Editor: i is hard, so er grades, but Che -Sahar Jiwan mistry I don’t th Teen Interest Editor: ink that’ll pening an b e hap- Around Creek Editor: ytime -Christian soon. Arts Editors: Pena Advertising Manager: Photo Editors: Online Editors:

Not eating fast food, but Whataburger was too good. -Riley Williams

To workout everyday because I am a lazy potato. -London Strickland

JUNIORS

on ar’s Resoluti My New Ye but ody builder, was to be a b uilt g my body b the only thin was fat. -Josh Mixon ns, I said I For resolutio it the hours wanted to lim only four et to on the intern ope. hours. Ha...n -Anne Ngo

Start being healthy. Didn’t work because I love food too much. -Rhea Engineer

Jamey Majewski Wynette Jameson Jan O’Neil Arlen Addison Jasmine Garza Audree Hall Lisa Nhan Jenan Taha Arlen Addison Jessica Sieling Lisa Nhan Arlen Addison Jessica Sieling Jasmine Garza Mallori Flanagan Elena Rodriguez Monica Jackson Sydney Mathews

Deja Harrell Emily Berthiaume Brendan Hudspeth Allie Casey Makenzie Jackson

Tried not to be the sexiest person alive. I failed. -Kyle York My New Ye was to sto ar ’s Resolution pe alas, I bro ating candy, but ke it, bec ause I am weak. -Raynie L eard

Emily Ruthven Carolina Sarria

Published at Mirror Publishers in Texas City Email us at: creekhilife@gmail.com Visit us at: http://clearcreekhighschool.ihigh.com For ad rates call: (281)284-1889 Fax: (281)332-9079

Editorial

Arlen’s

Jasmine’s Journal

By Jasmine Garza Editor-in-Chief

Life is unpredictable. Where you begin your journey and the path you take to get to the end is a long and treacherous ride. A few years ago I had no idea what I wanted to do in life, or who I wanted to be. People always told me what they thought I should be, but something in my heart always told me that isn’t what I wanted. I used to worry so much about the little things in life that didn’t matter at all. I’d stress about school, my family, my friends, and what my future would be like. I was to the point where it almost felt normal to be stressed. Where cramming in everything last minute, and finishing assignments at three in the morning was normal. Where being this ideal child, was stressful. It was tough until I realized you can’t live your life only in search of one goal; it has to be about accepting the things as they go. Some of the greatest things, as well as worst things were unplanned for me. I did not know I would join journalism and fall in love with the world around me, that I had become so blind to, let alone become editor-in-chief of my high school paper. It happened by chance. The chance of writing a course number I received from some person I did not know. Writing that number down could

have been one of the best decisions I’ve made. Being in newspaper has taught me so much about myself. I learned about this world around me that before just consisted of my friends and family. A world where I knew what being nice and generous meant but did not practice it. It’s my Journalism One class that really opened my eyes to this whole “live in the moment,” type thing. Dan Eldon was the one to be exact. Learning about Dan Eldon was just a story that really touched me. I grew this appreciation for everything he stood for. I felt like his story spoke personally to me. In the midst of me trying to figure out what I wanted to do, there in front of my eyes was a young man who died doing something he truly loved. The things he did, his adventures, were all intended to help the less fortunate and tell their story, while making it a part of his. It made me realize what humanity should be like, and how unfortunately, humanity was lacking in integrity. Dan Eldon’s life was unpredicted, as life goes sometimes. He was a young visionary person who saw the world from a different perspective than most people see, and lost his life finding himself in the midst. W i t h three semesters left of my high school career, Dan Eldon made me realize how I wanted to live my life. A life so selfless and empowering to others around me. As a journey to figure out what my destination will eventually become. A journey where I let things happen as they do, and believe that there was a reason for it. A journey where I find people I need, and who need me as well. Above all, a journey to find out what my life is meant to be. In the end I think that is all that matters, a life where you can truly discover yourself.

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Anthropology

By Arlen Addison Editor-in-Chief With the artic winds of the recent polar vortexes freezing over North America, it is difficult for many to see how a phenomenon such as global warming can actually be happening. For decades now, doomsday scientists have been frantically warning us about what might happen if we do not address global warming. However, in the past few years, winters in the Eastern United States have been getting more and more severe. How is it that scientists warn us about the dangers of global warming when winters are getting colder and colder and North America hit by several Polar Vortexes? Common sense would suggest that global warming would cause the world to get hotter, yet things seem to only be getting colder. How is this? Earth’s climate is a highly complex system and doesn’t fit easily into common sense. Think of the climate as a ring of dominoes, a single domino tipping on one end of the circle can cause a catastrophic collapse all across the ring. History has proven this point many times before. For example, in 1816 a volcanic eruption on a remote island in Indonesia caused a caused volcanic ash to blanket the northern hemisphere, reflecting sunlight away from the Earth. The result was a year without a summer. Europe and North America saw summer snows, frost caused massive crop failure, resulting in widespread famine and disease, and drastic change in the course of history. Occurrences that may seem inconsequential at the time, such as choosing fossil fuels over renewables, can result in global change, for better or worse. It may be difficult for those of us in continental U.S. to believe that the Earth is getting warmer. But, it is easy for us to forget that winter is upon us and that the weather will be cold. The recent cold can be attributed to the multiple polar vortexes, a natural phenomenon that has been happening for as long as the Earth has been around. In Australia, where it is summer, record temperatures of 108 degrees Fahrenheit are being felt. So hot that in the recent Australian

Open, tennis players reported their plastic water bottles melting to the pavement. Australia is currently reporting the hottest temperatures since the country began recording temperatures one hundred years ago. Texas has also the record-breaking heat waves and droughts we have experienced in the past decade. Climate experts say that climate change will cause the global temperature to increase by a few decrees. Most Americans say that they wouldn’t mind to have it a little warmer in their area, however the term “global warming” is misleading. It implies that the climate change’s only affect will to have slightly warmer days. In science, heat and energy are one and the same. A more literal name for global warming is a global increase in energy. More energy means stronger and more frequent hurricanes and tornadoes. It also means more arctic ice melting, wetter floods, drier draughts, higher sea levels, colder winters, and hotter summers. The consequences of climate change are dire, and they’re being felt at this very moment. However, before can address the problem, we must first agree that climate change is real and that it is a problem. It frustrates me just how easily mankind denies plain truths. If you refuse to believe current climate change models, look to the past. Fossil records indicate that of all global warming events in Earth’s history, ninety-five percent were fueled by an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. If you refuse to believe that the Earth is heating up, then know that an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes an increase in global temperature. Also know that in the two and half centuries since the Industrial Revolution, mankind has been spewing vast amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, a number that has only been increasing exponentially with every passing decade. After reading thus far, the reader may conclude that Earth, and we its inhabitance, are doomed to dire changes. A world filled with rising sea levels, draughts, floods, stronger storms, and harsher seasons. We have already begun to experience the first wave of these changes, but there is still hope we can change our world for the better. All seven billion of us stand at a crossroad, before us lies two paths. Down one path is the comfortable and well-established road we know and love, the road of a world powered by fossil fuels. This road has built our world to what it is so far, but if we continue down this road we shall inevitably find misery and hardship. Down the other road lies that is bold and unfamiliar. This strange new path has only been pioneered by a brave few. It challenges us to change our daily lives to use less and reuse more, to clean that which we have dirtied, and find new ways to do what we do. This path of new energies and new innovations will not be easy, but no new paths ever are. Down this path we can change our world for the better instead of worse.

“We’re all involved in this: our whole way of life is structured around the burning of fossil fuels-We are a flexible and innovative species and we have the capacity to adapt and modify our behavior. Now we most certainly have to do so if we’re to deal with climate change. It’s the biggest challenge we have yet faced.” -David Attenborough

News

Arctic trench bigger than the Grand Canyon found By Lisa Nhan Managing Editor Reaching two miles deep and more than 6,500 feet under sea level, a new Antarctic trench deeper than the Grand Canyon was found. It was hidden underneath miles of ancient ice. The discovery was made by British scientist on location whom were charting the Ellsworth Subglacial Highlands, a mountain range that’s been buried under numerous miles of ice. “To me, this just goes to show how little we still know about the surface of our own planet,” said Neil Ross, the lead study author of the team responsible for the discovery Located near the western Antarctica’s Ellsworth Mountains, the trench could provide new knowledge on the possible landscape of the ice sheet in a warmer global climate according to International Business Times. The news was released in the January issue of the Geological Society

of America Bulletin. The discovery team was made of scientists from Newcastle University and Bristol University’s Bristol Glaciology Centre. The discovery was made after traveling in snowmobiles and a small aircraft with a combination of satellites and icepenetrating radars. Going in, the scientists had known about rifts, but weren’t sure of the size and shape. Parts of the valley were known such as Subglacial Lake Ellsworth. They only had radar data for each end of the valley, without knowledge of what was in-between. However the canyon was so large, it could be seen by NASA satellites, despite the miles of ice it was under. “The only reason that we can have

confidence in the satellite date revealing the full extent of the through was because we could prove the dimensions of the trough

Image courtsey of Newcastle University

from the ice-penetrating radar data at either end,” said Ross to National Geographic. After putting together the research, they concluded that the valley is 1.8 miles deep,

186 miles long and up to 15 miles wide. “It’s a huge privilege to be able to reveal another piece of the jigsaw puzzle that is the surface of our Earth,” said Ross. There is not a lot of information of the valley’s creation other than it was created tens of millions of years ago. It is speculated by the team that the trench was formed when a geological weakness, like a geological fault, was exposed to a river. This is because rivers cannot create rifts this deep in a valley below sea level. “What we do know is that Antarctica has been glaciated for at least 34 million years, and during this time the ice in West Antarctica would have oscillated in size from the small ice-field conditions…to the large ice sheet that we see today,” said Ross. Last year another hidden canyon was found underneath ice in Greenland of a 460-mile canyon. “A discovey of this nature shows that the Earth has not yet given up all its secrets,” said David Vaughan, who was involved with the Greenland discovery.

Beyoncé sparks controversy with Challenger audio By Jenan Taha Features Editor The most tragic catastrophe to ever befall NASA’s early space shuttle program, the Challenger explosion of January 1986, left 7 crewmembers dead, including New Hampshire teacher Christa McAuliffe. Recently, a storm of controversy surrounded the use of an audio clip from the disaster in a song—Beyoncé’s XO. The song begins with a NASA public affairs officer stating, “Flight controllers here looking very carefully at the situation. Obviously, a major malfunction.” Several people connected to the Challenger, including the widow of the flight’s commander, were appalled and offended to hear the clip used in the song. They felt the use of the audio was irrelevant to the song, and trivialized the tragic loss they suffered. NASA was disappointed in the use of the clip, because “the moment included in this song is an emotionally difficult one for the Challenger families, colleagues and friends.” The audio clip is the voice of Steve Nesbitt, who suffered much criticism for his report, which he stated unaware that the Challenger had exploded. Nesbitt was observing hundreds of small numbers on a computer screen that gave him information such as the performance of the engines, but could not see the actual images of the Challenger as it broke apart. “My job was to monitor [the flight] and describe for the public what was going on in regular English. We finally managed to launch, and it seemed like a perfectly normal mission. At 73 seconds into the flight, one of the solid rocket boosters broke loose and it all burst into flames. The orbiter was crossways to the wind and the force of that air broke it into pieces,” Nesbitt said. Nesbitt was in mission control, a windowless concrete box 1000 miles from the actual launch site in Florida. If anything

went wrong, it was hard to tell exactly what it was. “I didn’t see that immediately. I finished reading off the altitude, and looked over at the monitor and saw the two solid rocket boosters going wildly off on their own. I hadn’t seen [the explosion] happen, so

Beyonce poses backstage during the 56th Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014. ( Allen J. Schaben/ Los Angeles Times/MCT)

we were pretty much guessing what had happened at that point,” Nesbitt said. That is when Nesbitt made his famous report, guessing to the best of his ability what had happened. “I hadn’t seen it happen, so I wasn’t able to say ‘space craft has come apart’. We thought maybe it was going to glide back to the launch site. We really were without information, because once it came apart, we lost all data from the spacecraft,” Nesbitt said. Just one minute after lift off, one of the solid rocket boosters on the Challenger broke loose from its mounting and ruptured the gas tank. Holding flammable oxygen and hydrogen, it caused the whole spacecraft to burst into flames. The swift

force of the wind broke the spacecraft apart, killing all 7 crewmembers, and creating one of the most tragic moments in NASA history. As for the inclusion of his voice in the song, Nesbitt does not seem to be as offended as others who were more affected by the Challenger explosion. He claims he is only “a minor footnote” to the whole situation. “It’s still a pretty strong memory for me, but it didn’t upset me very much, compared to a lot of other folks that I know who are extremely sensitive about that— particularly the families of the astronauts who were on the Challenger. Personally, I thought she was using it for some artistic purpose,” Nesbitt said. Beyoncé had no intention of hurting

those who lost family and friends in the disaster. She added in the clip to remind people of the explosion, and restate its importance. “The song XO was recorded with the sincerest intention to help heal those who have lost loved ones and to remind us that unexpected things happen, so love and appreciate every minute that you have with those who mean the most to you,” Beyoncé said. Although the song meaning may be unclear at first, the song was meant to depict the theme of mortality, and how unexpectedly loved ones can die. The clip is a blunt reminder of how suddenly happy lives can be lost, and urges people to spend as much time with their friends and family as possible.

News

Polar Vortex creates record breaking freeze in US By Emily Berthiaume Reporter In January and Februrary, temperatures are expected to be cold, especially up North. However, on Monday, January 6th, the temperatures across the United States plunged into the unusual, leaving Nashville, Tennessee, 40 degrees colder than Albany, New York; Memphis 20 degrees colder than Anchorage, Alaska; and Atlanta colder than Moscow -- Russia or Idaho. This is all part of a “polar vortex” that swept across the central US, and was not just another winter storm. It was the coldest in 20 years in many areas. While the South experienced unusually cold temperatures, it was nothing compared to the Great Lakes region, where temperatures stayed in the negative 20s—before wind chill, which dropped temperatures to the negative 40s in places like Minneapolis. Schools closed across the nation as people stayed inside, protected from the icy cold for a few days. The “polar vortex”, as it is named, is “one of several semi-permanent weather systems over the Earth … an area of low pressure in the upper atmosphere … the layer of the atmosphere above which most of our sensible weather occurs (known as the troposphere)”, according to Weather. com. What happened in this case was the main circulation of the polar vortex in the stratosphere remained in place over northern Greenland. Meanwhile, lower in

the atmosphere at jet stream level, a pair to CNN. of upper-level disturbances, one from Authorities blamed 15 deaths on the the northeast Pacific Ocean. Another rotated southward out of Canada, merged to dig a sharp southward plunge in the jet stream, unleashing the Arctic blast into the nation’s Midwest, South and East. When this pattern sets up, the Central, Southern and Eastern U.S. can plunge into a deep freeze, with subzero cold over large parts of the Midwest, Northeast and parts of New England, Two plows clear the sidewalk on the northwest side of according to Weather.com. Chicago suffered such extreme Pratt and Calvert Streets in Baltimore on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014. ( Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun/MCT) temperatures, The National Weather Service started using the hashtag “#Chiberia” to describe the cold snap, 11 of them being traffic accidents. subzero temps. Anana, a polar bear at the The death of an Indianapolis woman found Lincoln Park in Chicago, had to be taken in her backyard early Monday, January 6th, inside to a 40-ish degree habitat when the “is believed to be weather-related,” police city saw a record low of minus 16 degrees spokesman Kendale Adams told CNN. Fahrenheit on Monday. A man in Wisconsin died of “Twelve warmth centers were opened, hypothermia, and an elderly woman with such as libraries and other city facilities Alzheimer’s disease who wandered away for anyone needing a warm place to stay,” from her home in New York state was found said Evelyn Diaz of the city’s Department dead in the snowy woods about 100 yards of Family and Support Services, according away, authorities there said. At the Salvation

Army Harbor Light Center, a Minneapolis homeless shelter, Executive Director Bill Miller said 750 people came in off the street to spend the night Sunday. This set a new record and continued to grow. Harbor Light “will take in everybody, no matter if they’ve been drinking or whatever their issues might be,” according to Miller. The deep freeze also stalled air traffic across the country, with more than 3,800 flights canceled, according to flightaware. com. Among those stuck waiting for a flight was New York resident Mindy Goldberg, whose family’s flight back from Mexico had been diverted to Boston because of bad weather. “I just called my kids’ school to tell them they wouldn’t be there, and she said, ‘Everyone’s stuck somewhere,’ “ Goldberg told CNN affiliate WBZ. The cold weather slowly released its grip, with most of the country relatively warmed up by January 9th. However, it did not last. The “polar vortex” proved to be just part of an ongoing series of winter storms and cold snaps affecting the United States, with one of the most destructive ones hitting Atlanta on Tuesday, January 28th. On February 5th, another winter storm hit the Midwest and Northeast, causing the cancellation of thousands of flights and schools. While none of those storms brought quite so cold temperatures, the winter of 2014 has proven to be exceptionally cold.

Neutral Internet to be decided in coming months By Arlen Addison Editor-in-Chief Since the advent of the Internet, there has been a fine line between the personal freedoms of its users and the legal claims of the corporations that advertise on it. Last January, Internet users saw a striking defeat when the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the highest court before the Supreme Court, ruled against a free and neutral Internet. The case in question was an ongoing battle between Verizon and other Internet providers, against the FCC, or Federal Communications Commissions. The FCC has long since been trying to enforce net neutrality. Net neutrality is basic idea that Internet Service Providers, or IPCs, must charge the same price for all customers and not discriminate against some customers, while preferring others. This means that under net neutrality the IPC Comcast cannot slowdown a competitor’s websites, such as Netflix, and charge customers extra to have regular speeds on such websites. The fear of the FCC is that Internet Service Providers will make backroom deals with other large corporations to have their websites sped up and their competitors’ slowed down. Any website that cannot afford to pay IPCs for “premium” access to its sites will be purposely slowed down, which will reduce traffic to the site and ultimately kill it. Without net neutrality IPC could essentially kill any website that they have been paid to discriminate against or that poses any threat to them. The principle of neutral communications

is an idea that predates the Internet. First seen in Pacific Telegraph Act of 1860, the act lays out the basic principles of neutral communications. Stating that telegraph

first proposed and popularized the idea of net neutrality. In their 2005 Internet Policy Statement, the FCC declared that Internet user

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts arrives for President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014. (Pool photo Larry Downing/Reuters/MCT)

providers must carry out all messages from individuals, corporations, or any other telegraph lines in the order that they are received, without showing any favor or discrimination. The principle was further developed in 1888 when Almon Brown Strowger invented a device an automatic telegraph exchange device to bypass non-neutral telegraph operators. Operators had been paid by Strowger’s competitors to purposefully discriminate against his messages. In the further decades neutral communications was further expanded as new forms of communication emerged, such as telephone and television. It was not until 2003 that neutral communications was first applied to the Internet when Columbia Law School Professor Tim Wu

would be able to “Access the lawful Internet content of their choice. Run applications and use services of their choice, subject to the needs of law enforcement. Connect their choice of legal devices that do not harm the network. Competition among network providers, application and service providers, and content providers” Though the FCC has been trying to enforce net neutrality since 2005, it has faced continuous opposition from both IPCs and Republicans in Congress. In 2009 FCC Chairman, Julius Genachowski, proposed adding to their 2005 statement so that IPCs would have to clearly define their policies to customers, preventing hidden fees and service cancellation. In 2010 FCC succeeded in getting new regulations approved so cable and telephone providers could not block competitors sites, such

as Netflix or YouTube. Republicans in Congress announced plans to reverse FCC regulations through legislation soon after. Last month the DC Circuit Court sided with Verizon in declaring that the Internet is not a form of communication and therefore the Federal Communications Commission has no authority to regulate it. It is now left to Supreme Court to decide the fact of the matter in the coming months. The Democrats, under the leadership of President Obama, have declared their support for net neutrality in the form two bills introduced to the House of Representatives early February. The bills seek to declare that the FCC does in fact the authority to enforce neutral regulations over the Internet. “The Internet is an engine of economic growth because it has always been an open platform for competition and innovation,” Waxman, senior Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a statement. “Our bill very simply ensures that consumers can continue to access the content and applications of their choosing online.” President Obama added his support during a videoconference this month,” I have been a strong supporter of Net Neutrality. The new commissioner of the FCC, Tom Wheeler, whom I appointed, I know is a strong supporter of Net Neutrality.” While politicians and corporations rally both for and against the idea of a free and neutral Internet, in the end it is up to the Supreme Court and the American people as a whole to decide the fate of the Internet.

Features

Eight Creek students selected for All-State Choir

By Emily Berthiaume Reporter

Being chosen to participate in the All-State Choir is a prestigious honor that certain choir students work hard to achieve. On Saturday, January 11, eight choir students from Clear Creek traveled to Deer Park High School to compete in the annual All-State Choir auditions, and all eight were selected for an All-State Choir. This is an incredible achievement that reflects all the talent at Creek. The students who were selected for All-State Women’s Choir include Gina Serini (12), 6th chair Alto 1, Cecile Wahl (11), 5th chair Alto 1, and Aura Alden (11), 9th chair Soprano 2. The students for All-State Men’s Choir were Charlie Reader (11), 5th chair Bass 2 and Jose Soto (12) 6th chair Tenor 2. Michael Skarke (12) made 1st chair Tenor 1, Jesse Pilgrim (12) made 4th chair Bass 2 and Thomas McCulloch (12) made 1st chair Tenor 1 for All-State Mixed Choir. These students have been working on their audition material since June, have attended summer camps and

made it through four rounds of auditions. They had to learn nine different pieces for the different stages of auditions. At auditions on January 11th, Creek was combined with three other regions en-

According to Mr. Park, the choir director, this is, “the highest individual achievement a high school choir student can achieve.” The eight selected students will now travel to San Antonio in February and

Courtsey of Jenny Ann Barosh

compassing 1/7 of Texas in total, from Lake Livingston to Beaumont, down to Brazosport, through ¾ of Houston, and back up US59. The top ten women and top eight men in each voice section, (Alto 1, Soprano 2, Tenor 1, etc.), make it into one of the three All-State Choirs.

join the other All-State choir members from across the state. There they will rehearse for four days with world-renowned conductors, participate in the TMEA, or Texas Music Educator’s Association, convention. This includes a college night and a per-

formance for an audience of thousands. “It is literally an event that changes these kids’ lives, and we are absolutely thrilled that so many will get to take part in it,” said Mr. Park. Michael Skarke and Thomas McCulloch were both selected for two of the eight available first chairs. In the region auditions, the top five singers were selected to move to area, where they competed with students from four other regions. Out of this top 20, eight men and ten women were selected for Women’s, Men’s and Mixed Choir. Mixed Choir is composed of the top seats from each section, with first being the best. “Making first chair was an unexpected honor,” said McCulloch. Charlie Reader made it to All-State Auditions his freshman and sophomore year, but was never selected for the choir. He said when he heard his name was on the list, it was, “One of the happiest moments of my life, honestly.” Creek choir will represent 10 percent of the choir from the TMEA Area, meaning that Creek has the most students in the choir. No other school in the Area had eight students selected, or even came close.

Review of the biggest moments to occur in 2013 By Jenan Taha Features Editor

It’s hard to describe 2013 in one word—it was a landmark year for gay rights, world politics, and the history of sports, and also had its losses with the deaths of several celebrities and continuing conflict in foreign nations. The year began with Obama’s triumph over Mitt Romney in the presidential election of 2012, and Obama was inaugurated for his second term on January 21st, 2013. The festivities included a parade to the White House, two inaugural balls, and Beyoncé “singing” the Star-Spangled Banner. A few days earlier, in one of the most anticipated interviews with Oprah, Lance Armstrong admitted to his use of performance-enhancing drugs to win all seven of his Tour de France trophies. The world-famous U.S. cyclist was stripped of his awards and shamefully un-sponsored by most of his supporters. February kicked off with the unforgettable Super BowI XLVII in New Orleans, Louisiana. The game pitted the Baltimore Ravens against the San Francisco 49ers, and Jim and John Harbaugh—brothers and the head coaches of each team—against each other. After a short power outage and performances by Beyoncé and Alicia Keys, the Ravens won by 3 points. In a very unexpected announcement, Pope Benedict XVI stated to his fellow Catholics that he would be resigning due to his old age. The public was shocked; this was the first voluntary resignation in nearly 800 years. A new pope would soon take his place in March. On March 13th, Jorge Bergoglio was elected as the new pope, and took the title Pope Francis I. A historic landmark in Catholicism, Pope Francis was the first Latin American Jesuit pope to lead the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics. A tragic attack was added to Ameri-

can history during the Boston Marathon in April. Two home-made bombs placed near the finish-line exploded, killing three and injuring nearly 200 more. The suspects, brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, engaged in gun battles with the police until Tamerlan was killed and Dzhokhar was arrested. England’s Margaret Thatcher died on April 8th from a stroke. The Iron Lady served as the first female prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party. Her funeral was attended by thousands, including the Queen. Three Ohio girls abducted for nearly a decade were found alive on May 6th by a neighbor and set free. The abductee, 53-year-old Ariel Castro, was arrested and sentenced to life in prison, plus 1000 years. May also saw the conviction of Jodi Arias, the young woman who allegedly murdered her boyfriend, for first-degree murder. In June, a landmark trial for gay rights was won when the Supreme Court struck down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denied the acknowledgement of couples by the federal government. Ruling the section unconstitutional, the federal government must now recognize gay couples and let them participate in government programs, such as financial aid and tax returns. Edward Snowden, the former CIA employee and NSA contractor who initiated one of the worst leaks of classified government information, was charged with several crimes against the government, and later took asylum in Russia. This news gave a wide spectrum of reactions, from outrage to praise. In the trial that outraged millions of Americans and shed light on the problem of racial profiling, George Zimmerman was found not guilty of the murder of Trayvon Martin on July 14th. Many felt the verdict had to do with racial preferences, while others believed race was not a factor in the trial. Prince William and Duchess Catherine revealed their newborn baby

boy, George, on July 22nd. Thousands gathered around the hospital waiting for a glimpse of the royal baby. On July 3rd, thousands gathered in Tahrir Square, Cairo, to celebrate the overthrowing of President Mohammed Morsi, who had taken office just a year earlier. Also in the Middle East, Obama asked in late august for an “OK” from congress to strike Syria, the war-torn country led by Bashar Assad. Some question whether this would cause retaliations, but Obama was not swayed by this risk. September had its share of devastations and miracles. In the deadly Colorado floods of mid-September, at least eight were killed by the rushing water and debris. Hundreds more were rescued by helicopters and fellow citizens. A few days after the flooding decreased, Aaron Alexis shot and killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard before police fatally shot him. A memorial was later held for the victims. Less than a week later, a mall in Nairobi, Kenya was attacked by several gunmen, who killed at least 67 people. Abdul Haji, a Kenyan man who raced to the mall with a gun after hearing the news, rescued several people, including a mother and her young children. October began in outrage as the country was thrown into a government shut-

down from October 1st to 17th. All government programs and offices were closed, including national parks and museums, and all government workers were furloughed. A victory was won for the little-known Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons when they won the Nobel Peace Prize, for their efforts to reduce chemical weapons in places like Syria. In a bizarre beginning to November, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford admitted to several misdeeds in office, including using crack cocaine and driving while intoxicated. Surprisingly, he still holds office. A deadly typhoon ravaged the Philippines in early November, killing approximately 6000 and affecting millions more. Several countries rushed to aid the victims, and fundraising events were even held in League City. At the start of December, the beloved South African leader Nelson Mandela died at the age of 95. Mandela was a charismatic leader and powerful force in ending the apartheid that plagued South Africa for decades. The South African people cheered rather than mourned at the memorial service, proud to have had such a great leader. Many big events happened in 2013 that made history, and 2014 is bound is see the same.

Features

Oscar Nominations announced for this season By Emily Berthiuame Reporter

American Hustle, The Wolf of Wall Street, 12 Years a Slave and Gravity were among the leaders of Academy Awards nominations when they were announced on Thursday, January 16. American Hustle tied for lead with Gravity with ten nominations each, including Best Picture and Actress in a Leading Role for Amy Adams and Sandra Bullock, respectively. “I am particularly moved by Sandy’s nomination,” said director of Gravity, Alfonso Cuaron, in a statement, courtesy of CNN. “She is the heartbeat of our film. I thank her for her grace, her trust and her dedication to finding the truth of this character.” 12 Years a Slave, based on Solomon Northup’s 19th century narrative about being taken from freedom into slavery, earned nine nominations. These included Best Picture, Best Director (Steve McQueen), Best Actor (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Best Supporting Actor (Michael Fassbender), and Best Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong’o). “This has been an amazing ride, and to receive nine nominations from the academy is testament to all of the hard work. And for that I am truly grateful,” said director McQueen, courtesy of CNN. American Hustle, a story about con artists set in the 70s, was also nominated for Best Director (David O. Russel) and Best Supporting Actor (Bradley Cooper). Other movies nominated for Best Picture include Nebraska, about an aging

father who makes a trip to Nebraska with his estranged son to claim a million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize, and Captain Phillips, the true story of the 2009 hijacking of the US-flagged MV Maersk

Hustle, in which he plays Jordan Belfort, a New York stockbroker who runs a firm that engages in security fraud and corruption on Wall Street in the 1990s. He has never won an Oscar, but has another chance on March 2nd.

Jennifer Lawrence, by Somali pirates. Amy Adams, from left, Bradley Cooper, Philomena, Dallas Buyer’s Jeremy Renner, Christian Bale and Jen- who made a splash with her star in Columbia Pictures’ Oscar win and acceptance Club starring Matthew nifer Lawrence “American Hustle.” (MCT) speech last year, is also McConaughey, The Wolf nominated again forActress of Wall Street starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Her, about a writer in a Supporting Role for American Hustle. Meryl Steep was nominated for Best who develops an unlikely relationship with his newly purchased operating system, also Actress for her role in August: Osage received a nomination for Best Picture. County, bringing her total Academy nominations to eighteen. Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Award The biggest shocker, according to Buyer’s Club, Bruce Dern for Nebraska and Christian Bale for American Hustle were CNN, was the lack of nomination for Tom also nominated for Actor in a Leading Role. Hanks, who starred in Captain Phillips. The Leonardo DiCaprio received his fourth film was nominated for six awards in total, nomination for Best Actor in American including Best Supporting Actor (Barkhad

Abdi), Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. However, neither Hanks nor the director, Paul Greengrass, were nominated. In the animated feature category, Frozen, the new Disney princess musical that broke records, is nominated against Despicable Me 2, The Croods, The Wind Rises, a Japanese anime film¸ and Ernest and Celestine, a French-Belgium film about a mouse and a bear. Pixar was noticeably absent from the nominations. In the category for Best Original Song, Happy by Pharell Williams from Despicable Me 2 was nominated along with Let It Go from Frozen, The Moon Song from Her and Ordinary Love from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. The song Alone Yet Not Alone from the historical drama of the same name made headlines when it was nominated and then removed from the ballot because of improper campaigning. Bruce Broughton, the song’s composer and former governor, e-mailed members of the Academy to urge them to consider the song during the voting period. “No matter how well-intentioned the communication, using one’s position as a former governor and current executive committee member to personally promote one’s own Oscar submission creates the appearance of an unfair advantage,” Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs said in a statement. Ellen DeGeneres is set to host the 86th annual Academy Awards, which will air on ABC on March 2nd.

8 Announcements

arts That Which Matters

“The Four Seasons piece is a jewelry piece; inspired by the jewelry “boxes” designed by Thomas Mann. My piece has five layers made up of a gold circle backplate, a plexiglass pierced piece, a flat, thin piece of plexiglass, and the two decorative layers of metal on the top. The whole assembly and creation of the piece took six weeks to complete.” -Kirana Bercich

By Frenci Nguyen

What entails greatness? Is it celestial or divine prowess? How now came the modern epithet? Of a common quality easy to forget? May I see what shall occur By making a thoughtless blunderDoes that in and of itself Shatter that vision and make you yelp? Who dictates true infallibility When errors are made simultaneously? The sweetest angels’ wings are flawed, But still the ice of winter is thawed; It matters not these fickle categories Of these over-glorified simple stories. Remember the heart, And the role it played from the very start. Forget selfish desires for an instant And think about what will always remain constant. What constitutes greatness or glory When the passion is not congratulatory? Our memorable heroes are imperfection, We admire them without hesitation, And yet we create a pseudo-reality That reels in superficiality. Well, I say, cheers to the to wondrous soul Who lives from the embodiment of the quality, And knows the true extent of their ability. Praise to those who embrace a weakness As they find their path to ultimate greatness.

“The piece, which I call “Brain Child”, started out as an experiment. I wanted to see how large I could sculpt a face, and see if I could sculpt a bust with two faces, which is something many people don’t do. I wanted the piece to speak to the multiplicitous nature of the mind, which is why it has multiple faces and continuity of line. I’m really happy with the way my little experiment turned out, it’s cool to be able to surprise myself with my artwork.” -Marley Foster

“I constructed this necklace with clothespins, clay beads, and twine. I first disassembled the clothespins, then bond them together with the twine. After that I made the beads and strung it all together.” -Collin Freeman

“Cabachon Necklace. Just reminds me of home. The rocks were collected from Camano Island where my grandmother lives. Everyday I would wander the beach for hours looking for just the right stones.” -Sally Shroyer

The Fading Night By Josh Servellon

A hollow smile during the day, A grim emotionless face by night. As the sun fades beneath the horizon, The fear flows in like the ocean, under a full moon. The question of “sleep or no sleep” crosses, back and forth, in my mind. It haunts me, and drives to the near point of insanity. My heart beats like a Japanese festival drum, and I struggle to ease my heavy breathing. I toss and turn, I try to clear my head, but a heavy doubt restricts me. I often become bifurcated from my careless peace, That puts me to sleep, and sends me to the river of sweet dreams. As the night begins to fade into day, As the light of the celestial constellations begin to dim, Outside of my window, I wonder, in my fearful mind; What happened to my friend, my rest, my carefree summer days, When I spent my afternoons, and nights, Outside without a care in the world. They melted away, like snow on a hot day. As the night fades to day, I lift my heavy body from my cold bed, And walk the noisy halls of school, With hollow eyes, and a pale face... But I have a dim glow of hope, in my heart, That carves a smile, on my saddened face.

10 Around Creek Cadettes to begin performance season in spring By Carolina Sarria Reporter

The Clear Creek High School Cadettes Performance Ensemble is a team composed of 21 girls from all four grade levels who specialize in dance including flags as props in their performances. The Cadette director is Ms. Katherine Allin, who teaches English, and the assistant director is Ms. Erica Diegelman, who teaches American Sign Language here at Creek. Seniors Tatianna Walker and Lauren Eure make up the organization’s leadership team, and the Band Booster Cadette Liaison is Terry Eure. The organization first started out as the school’s Color Guard but soon grew into something more. In the spring of 2012, the school decided to rebuild the Color Guard program and the Cadettes team was introduced in the 2012-2013 school year. Since the team was based on Color Guard, props such as flags are used in their performances alongside Creek’s band. However, the program has taken a more dance-oriented route. During the fall season, the Cadettes accompany the marching band to all their competitions and performances, including all the football games, both home and away. After football and marching season, performance season starts in the spring. The Cadettes also perform at several Junior Varsity and Varsity games for the boys and girls basketball teams. The team also hosts their own dance

project performance, which will take place on April 4, as well as perform in all three of the Cavalier Spring Shows on May 1-3. Towards the end of each semester, open auditions are held and new girls

placements in the dance project performance. The specialty dances include a jazz, hip-hop, and lyrical/contemporary routine. All the Cadettes will perform another three group dances, and those

want and to be able to dance any style. “Over the last year and a half, we have built a team of girls who are not only good dancers but have great character,” she said. “Hopefully we will keep growing in number and also keep the trend going, which is that all the girls have a great work ethic.” The team has built a close bond over the first year and continues to grow. “Getting to meet new people and becoming a family is definitely the best part about being on the team,” said Ikeisha Waters, 11th. Ms. Diegelman said the reason she decided to help direct the team was because she had been dancing since she was 2 years old until her college years, but then stopped. During the transition of Creek’s Color Guard to Cadettes, she occasionally met with Ms. Allin and eventually joined the organization. “What I like most about the team is the collectiveness of all the personalities. It’s a diverse group of girls; they’re like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get,” she said. “And my hope for the team is for them to receive higher recognition of their achievements, and for them being known for being themselves.” Ms. Allin highly encourages everyone to join and stresses that prior dance experience isn’t required. “We can teach you how to dance,” said Ms. Allin. “Our goal is to have girls who love to perform and believe the world is a stage.”

are welcomed to the team. who are enrolled in the Cadette Photo by Allie Casey On the first day of the class, taught by Mr. Cuevas, auditions, the students will be will perform two more pieces. taught a dance and on the second day they After Ms. Allin finished college, will be required to perform in front of a panal she was offered a job here at Creek of judges. The open auditions for the fall to teach English as well as coach the 2014 season will take place on Wednesday, Cadettes team. She had previously May 20 and Thursday, May 21. No formal taught at a dance studio for four years. dance experience is necessary to try out. When asked what she liked best about This year, the Cadettes will have the team, she said it was the freedom the opportunity to audition for special they have to create whatever image they

FEBRUARY Sunday 26

Monday 27

Tuesday 28

Thursday

Wednesday 29

CC Basketball Girls FR Home @ 4pm JV Home @ 2

District 24 Wrestling Championship @ Houston Westside

Scrimmage vs Pearland@ 4pm Sophomore @ 4pm JV @ 6:30pm

Girls Basketball @ Clear Brook FR @ 4pm JV @ 5:30pm

2/7-2/10 Regional 3 Championships Berry/Merryl Center

Scrimmage vs Beau. Westbrook Sophomore @4pm JV @6pm

BYE Boy Soccer

JV Boys Soccer vs Manvel

State Championships 2/20-2/23

V/JVM Boy Soccer vs Clear Lake

JV/V Boys Soccer vs Clear Lake CC Diving District @ Clear Springs

Course Fair!

FR/JV Boys Track Meet vs Alvin JVW Boys Soccer

JVW Boy Soccer vs Clear Brook Diving Regional @ Pearland

JVM/V Boy Soccer vs Dickinson CC Watersports Regional Prelims

JVW Boy Soccer vs Pearland FR/JV Boys Track

JVW Boy Soccer vs Pasadena Memorial FR/JV Boys Track vs Springs

V/JVM Boy Soccer vs Brazoswood

Friday

FR/JV Boys Track Meet vs Alvin JVW Boys Soccer

Valentine’s Day V/JVM Boys Soccer vs Clear Brook Scrimmage vs Kingwood 21

Swim/Dive State V/JVM Boy Soccer vs Clear Springs 28

JROTC Cadette Challenge V/JVM Boys Soc-

District 24 Wrestling Championship @ Houtson West8

JVW Boys Soccer vs Clear Fall V Boys Track vs Deer Park

JROTC Military Ball JVW Boy Soccer vs Clear Springs 22

JROTC Challenger 7 Drill Meet JVW Boy Soccer 1

V Boys Track vs Strake Madrigal Festival JVM Mens Soccer

Around Creek 11

Wind Ensemble performs at Midwest in Chicago By Emily Ruthven Reporter The Clear Creek High School Wind Ensemble was one of four high school bands in the nation selected to perform at the prestigious Midwest Clinic, stationed in Chicago, Illinois. The clinic was held on Friday, December 20. According to Mr. Meyer, the Midwest Clinic is “a convention to enhance our teaching skills. For me, it provides motivation and inspiration to teach every day.” The Wind Ensemble played a total of ten songs at the clinic. An impressive 1800 people attended, standing room only, making it the best attendance rate for the clinic. “The concert attendance rate was better than they ever had.” Meyer said. The pieces that the Wind Ensemble played included Mother Earth, composed by David Maslanka, Down a Country Lane, composed by Aaron Copland and Merlin Patterson, Mothership, composed by Mason Bates, and Afterlight, composed by William Pitts. Other pieces included Charm, composed by Kevin Puts, Hereafter Calls, composed by Michael Martin, March from First Suite for Military Band, composed by Gustav Holst and Michael Story, The Machine Awakes, Daphnis et Chloe, Suite No. 2, composed by Steve Bryant and Folk Festival, composed by Dmitri Shostakovich and Donald Hunsberger. When asked what his favorite song was, Meyer said, “ My favorite song would be Daphnis et Chloe because the students pulled

it off very well and not many high school band students in the country could do that.” The fact that the Wind Ensemble

it felt incredible and that it was “a dream come true.” They began preparation for the Midwest Clinic in August.

Images courtsey of Mr. Meyer

executed all of their pieces so flawlessly was “one of the best feelings you can imagine as a teacher,” Meyer said. The Clear Creek Wind Ensemble was selected for the clinic based on their recording of a piece called Hammersmith, composed by Gustav Holst. When the band got the news that they had been selected, Meyer said that

The concert also featured several guest conductors, including Ray Cramer, John Peterson, and Scott Weiss. Assistant Director, Mr. Cuevas, conducted a piece as well. In the piece Hereafter Calls, there were three guest performers. Their names were Christopher Martin, the current the principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony, Michael Martin, Christopher

Martin’a brother and a trumpet player for the Boston Symphony, and Jeff Nelson, a French horn who was a member of the Canadian Brass for eight years. The piece Mothership featured four soloists from the band. They were Joel Mancini, a senior trombone, Grant Rossi, a junior alto saxophone, Vincent Conder, a junior clarinet, and Dylan Way, a senior trumpet. “It was a great experience because I played in front of approximately 2000 people, which can be daunting. However, after I finished my solo, the applause gave me the greatest feeling in the world,” Way said. According to Mr. Meyer, most of the other students had the same feeling. “The students were a bit nervous and excited at first but all of the nerves faded away once they began playing,” he said. “Once you practice something hundreds of times it becomes second nature.” While in Chicago, the Wind Ensemble visited a Blue Man Group concert, several famous restaurants, and also went to go see the Chicago Symphony. When asked what would be next for the Wind Ensemble, Meyer said, “Playing at the Midwest Clinic will be hard to replicate, however, becoming a TMEA honor band would be amazing as well.” TMEA stands for the Texas Music Educators Association. Clear Creek High School is certainly proud of the Wind Ensemble and all of their accomplishments.

Creek succeeds at Churchill Debate Tournament By Brendan Hudspeth Reporter On the first Friday back from Winter Break, the Creek Debate team went all the way out to San Antonio to compete at the Winston Churchill Classic, held at Winston Churchill High School. The tournament is widely regarded as one of the toughest tournaments in the state, with 68 schools attending. Creek sent the PF team, known as Public Forum, of Lucca Timmerman and Logan Ellis, to PF quarterfinals, placing top eight out of over sixty entries. The team also sent Cameron Littleton to Student Congress finals. Outside of Debate and Extemp, Chelse Tillman and Sebastian Breaux reached quarterfinals in Humorous Interp, and Tillman reached finals in Poetry. The team couldn’t replicate the same success in LD, or Lincoln-Douglas, with both Claire Berlinger and Brendan

Hudspeth going 2-3 with losses to debaters from Dallas, Austin, and all other reaches of the state in attendance. In Austin, LD is different than Houston. While Houston’s LD “circuit” is more traditional, with cases following the original value-value criterion-contentions format, and more emphasis on clarity, Austin is more progressive. This means common practices include spreading, disads, and kritiks. Spreading is a slurred combination of “speed reading”, and it sounds like a constant stream of words with long, desperate breaths every twenty seconds or so. The goal is to get as much information out in as little time as possible, making it harder for opponents to counter everything. The term “disad” is short for disadvantage, and is run by the negative side to show unavoidable impacts in the affirmative’s plan. Kritiks challenge the mindset used by the affirmative and provide an alternative solution.

While debaters and observers won’t see many of that in either PF or LD in Houston, it’s still something to take note of as the ultimate goal for team members is the state tournament in March at Cypress Creek, where all forms of debate will clash. It was for this reason that Creek’s team was told to treat Churchill as state preparation. Of course, winning would be preferable, but experiencing the level of competition was a big takeaway. Churchill provided a benchmark of where the team needs to be in March for the state tournament, and with members advancing to at least quarterfinals in their events, there’s certainly been progress. Not every competitor at Churchill became a state-qualified debater in the end, but this only makes further preparations that much more critical. On January 17 Creek hosted a Debate tournament with 28 schools attending. Ballots were made, judges were brought, and food was sold for students, coaches,

and judges alike. Then there is the matter of organizing events and keeping everything on schedule. Debate tournaments tend to run into the problem of being late by anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours. This can be due to students running late to rounds, judges getting lost on the way to their rooms, the rooms being locked and the subsequent wild goose chase of finding the janitor, or even just an error on the postings, which has, at other tournaments, caused debaters to discover their room is in fact a storage closet. As for Creek, the locked rooms were unlocked before it became an issue, the food was there on time and nobody ran out, and the judges didn’t accidentally wander into the wrong room and miss their round. Although a combination of cold weather and theatre’s comedy show restricting options for the awards ceremony, Creek pulled it off in the auxiliary cafeteria, an impromptu effort planned Saturday night.

teen interest

Surprise wins at the 71st Annual Golden Globes By Lisa Nhan Managing Editor

On the night of January 12, many surprises were revealed at the Golden Globes. The Golden Globes are award ceremonies chosen by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. This year marked the 71st Golden Globes to honor the best in film and television in 2013. It was hosted at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, the annual location since 1961. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler acted as co-hosts for the second time in a row. The biggest wins of the night were for Best Motion Picture. For the Drama category of Best Motion Picture, the winner was 12 Years a Slave. The Best Motion Picture in Musical or Comedy went to American Hustle. American Hustle saw many wins that night. Amy Adams was able to win another award for American Hustle, as she was awarded with Best Actress in a Motion Picture- Comedy or Musical. Jennifer Lawrence also awarded for her work in this film with Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture. What many considered the biggest surprise of the night was Brooklyn NineNine winning the award for Best Comedy Series. The series has only been running for half a season, but beat the other wellestablished series such as The Big Bang Theory, Parks and Recreation, Modern Family, and Girls. The new series follows the story of the 99th Precinct of the New York City Police Department in Brooklyn. It stars Andy Samburg and Andre Braugher. “I almost went to med school, I de-

cided to do this. This is way better, way better than saving a human life. Thank you!” Dan Goor, the show’s cocreator, said in the acceptance speech. However, this was not Brooklyn Nine-

and Jim Parsons for The Big Bang Theory. “Oh no! I didn’t prepare anything! It wasn’t going to happen. You guys. The Globes, right? Who knew? I guess I’ll just thank everyone,” said Samberg.

Other surNine’s only win. Andy Samberg backstage at the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards show at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, Jan. 12, Samberg re- 2014, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Lawrence K. Ho/Los Angeles prise included Matthew McCoceived another Times/MCT) naughey winning welcomed surprised as he won for Best Actor in a Televi- for the Best Actor in a Motion Picturesion Series- Musical or Comedy. He beat Drama for his work in Dallas Buyers Club. out Jason Bateman for Arrested Develop- Many thought the award would go to Chiwement, Don Cheadle for House of Lies, Mi- tel Ejiofor for his work in 12 Years a Slave. “This was unexpected, but grachael J. Fox for The Michael J. Fox’s Show,

ciously accepted,” McConaughy said in the opening of his speech. Dallas Buyers Club saw two wins with Jared Leto taking home the win for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion PictureDrama, Musical, or Comedy. This award was for his work as Rayon. The other Best Actor in a Motion Picture winner was Leonardo DiCaprio for his role in The Wolf of Wall Street. This is his second Golden Globe after his work in The Aviator in 2005. Best Actress in a Motion Picture for Drama went to Cate Blanchett for her portrayal as Jeanette “Jasmine” Francis in Blue Jasmine. After two back-to-back nominations in 2012 and 2013, Amy Poehler finally won her first Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Series- Musical or Comedy for her work in Parks and Recreation. “I think I’m 0 for 13 in these awards, so I was very, very, very surprised to win and very excited,” Poehler said in an interview with E! News. The critically acclaimed film Gravity saw its only win was in Best Director to Alfonso Cuarón. This was despite their four nominations. Other big wins were Breaking Bad for Best Series- Drama with star Bryan Cranston winning for Best Actor in a Television series. American Hustle took home the most wins with a total of three awards. Dallas Buyers Club, Behind the Candelabra, Breaking Bad and Brooklyn Nine-Nine all tied for second place in most awards, with each taking two awards home.

Latitude Deployment, FAQs, and Quick Fixes By Elena Rodriguez Photo Editor

Clear Creek “D-Day” was a success. Hailey Williams, Creek Connection Tech, said, “Deployment went smoothly.” Though there are 30 to 40 students who haven’t received their latitudes, Williams holds “mini-deployments” every Tuesday after school at 2:45 that include Latitude training and concludes at 4:30. Transportation is available for students who do not have a means of getting home. For any problem or question, Williams is available during school hours at the Help Desk located in the library. But for the little things, Williams has provided quick fixes and FAQs that may just solve your problems. “My Latitude is ‘hung up’ and/or won’t charge. What do I do?”

• • •

Hold down the power button for 8-10 seconds. This is a hard shutdown. Press the power button again. If the problem isn’t fixed, visit Williams at the Help Desk

“I don’t have connection to wi-fi! Help!” • Restart tablet

• • •

Swipe charms bar Disconnect and reconnect to wi-fi If the problem isn’t fixed, visit Williams at the Help Desk

You can print from your device anytime you need. • Open up your document • Click “File” • Click “Print” • From the dropdown menu, select “Add Print er” • Type in CCHS and any printer in Clear Creek ap pear • Select the printer you have to print from and click “Print” If your device is lost or stolen: • Contact someone from the school as soon as possible, whether it was lost/stolen at school or off campus • If your device is stolen, file a police report and contact the Help Desk as soon as pos sible

Hailey Williams at Latitude help desk in library Photo by Mallori Flanagan

Teen Interest 13

Sherlock season three returns to televison after hiatus By Jessica Sieling Teen Interest Editor January 2014 marked the return of the critically acclaimed television show, Sherlock, after a two yearlong hiatus. The crime drama, a modern adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic Sherlock Holmes novels, was created by Steven Moffat (head writer of Doctor Who) and Mark Gatiss. Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness, The Fifth Estate) and Martin Freeman (The Office UK, The Hobbit) return as the famous British detective Sherlock Holmes and his partner, Doctor John Watson. The show aired on MASTERPIECE on PBS, the longest-running prime time drama in American television, along with a broadcast episode of Downton Abbey. Because of the second season, which almost 11 million viewer watch, ended with such a shocking cliffhanger, Sherlock fans all over the world have waited anxiously for almost two years for the third season to be aired. Although the show premiered the first episode of the season on New Years Day in the United Kingdom, fans in American had to wait until Sunday, January 19 for the episode to air on television. Continuing the tradition of three episode long seasons,

the second episode premiered on January 26 and the third and final episode of the season premiered on February 2. The season’s episodes include: “The Empty Hearse”, in which Sherlock and John are reunited after their two yearlong separation, “The Sign of Three”, where John and his fiancé, Mary, plan their wedding, and “His Last Vow”, where Sherlock is forced to make a decision in order to save himself and his friends. Even the people working on the show and it revival were excited for the public to see the new episodes. “We are hugely excited about this next series of Sherlock, and have worked closely with our partners, MASTERPIECE and PBS, to bring these episodes to U.S. audiences in January,” said Sue Vertue, executive producer for Sherlock and Hartswood Films, which co-produces Sherlock with MASTERPIECE and BBC

Wales for BBC One. “We promise our fans that Season 3 is worth waiting for.”

Martin Freeman stars as John Watson and Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes in “Sherlock” on PBS’ Masterpiece. (Robert Viglasky/Hartswood Films/ PBS/MCT)

“We love that Sherlock fans are so passionate and eager to see Season 3,” said PBS Chief Programming Executive and General Manager of General Audience Programming Beth Hoppe. “The pairing of Downton Abbey and Sherlock

in January offers a blockbuster night of British drama only on PBS stations.” “The genius Sherlock team has done it again,” said MASTERPIECE executive producer Rebecca Eaton. “These new episodes are as wildly-imaginative and brilliantly-produced as all the others. These people are GOOD!” The cast of the third season kept many of the show’s regulars, including Mark Gatiss, who stars as Sherlock’s older brother, Mycroft Holmes, Rupert Graves, who plays Detective Greg Lestrade, Louise Brealey, who portrays Sherlock’s quirky and sensible friend Molly Hopper, and Una Stubbs, who plays Sherlock’s landlady. But the show also added so new faces this season, such as Amanda Abbington playing John Watson’s new fiancé, Mary Morstan, and Lars Mikkelsen as Charles Augustus Magnussen. Despite the usual two year hiatus between seasons, there have been rumors in the media stating that Sherlock season four could be airing as soon as Christmas 2014. Depending on the writers and actor’s schedules, fan will simple have to wait until more information is available.

New video copyright policy affects Youtube users By Arlen Addison Editor-in-Chief Last December the popular video sharing website, YouTube, rolled out a new change to its copyright ID policy. The video policy resulted ten’s of thousands of YouTube videos being flagged and removed from the site, with music and gaming videos especially affected. In some cases YouTube channels that had videos up for years without issue saw hundreds of their videos removed in mere hours. Many YouTubers have dubbed the event as the YouTube “Copyright Apocalypse”. The change mainly affects YouTube’s MCN’s, or Multi-Channel Networks. These are video networks are composed of several smaller YouTube channels that band together under one management. YouTubers usually join MCN’s because they offer better legal support, allow for easier monetization of videos, and help a YouTuber grow their channel. The majority of YouTube channels are part of a MCN. Before YouTube’s copyright ID policy, when a YouTuber under a MCN created a video they would be allowed to claim the rights to their video. By claiming their vid-

eo, the YouTuber’s claim would take precedence over any other claim of any third parties matched by YouTube’s automatic system. The automatic system uses a database of copyrighted content submitted by third parties. Every video uploaded to YouTube is compared to a database to see if the video matches any copyrighted content. Even if a match was made against a video, the claim of the YouTuber who uploaded it took precedence over the third parties’ automatic match. If a YouTube video did feature copyrighted content, a representative of the third party would have to find the video and manually submit a claim against the video. Only once the claim was manually submitted could the video be flagged and removed. With content ID change, however, a YouTuber’s claim to their video no longer takes precedence over YouTube’s automatic copyright system. The result is that thousands of video, many of which have been on YouTube for years without any copyright issues, nave been removed by an automatic system with zero human review. The videos are being claimed in the name of the copyright holders, mostly music or video game publishers. Though it seems only appropriate to

for YouTube to remove copyrighted music and game content on its site, in most cases music and video game publishers want YouTube to upload videos about their content. When a YouTuber makes a video about music or video game it provides free promotion for the publishers’ content. With thirty-eight of fifty most subscribed YouTube channels regularly publishing content relating to either music or video games, music and video game YouTube videos receive millions of views daily. In addition to providing free promotion to the music or game, video monetization also act as a source of revenue for the YouTuber, allowing to regularly publish more content. However, with the new content ID system removing tens-of-thousands of videos are being removed. Many video game publishers are standing behind YouTubers who are experiencing their videos being removed by content id. Blizzard, publishers of the popular World of Warcraft and the Diablo series, added their support for YouTubers. “If you’re a YouTuber and are receiving content matches with the new changes, please be sure to contest them so we can quickly approve them. We are working on a long term solution, but that is the quickest way to solve issues immediately.” Said Blizzard in an online statement. Many other game publishers, including Ubisoft, Capcom, Deep Silver, and more, have released similar statements. While many of the companies who are having videos claimed in their name are working hard to reverse the claim and get videos re-uploaded, however not all companies are. Even before the new content ID system, there were companies that would regularly claim scores of videos that they have no claim to. During the time in which the claim is being reviewed, the third party that claims a video

receives all monetization for that in video instead of the YouTuber who uploaded it. Even if the third party’s claim is proven to be false, the third party keeps all money during the time in which their claim was being reviewed. This has led to renegade companies that mass claim popular videos. While there is no penalty for a company who’s claim is proven false, a YouTuber who receives three confirmed copyright violations has their channel terminated. With the new copyright system, it is only easier for such renegade companies to make claims to videos that they have no right to. Last month the channels that feature content from the game publisher Deep Silver (Creators of the popular Saints Row IV game) and Bossa Studios (Creators of the game Surgeon Simulator) saw bogus claims from three separate channels with no claim to any of the content. Deep Silver and Bossa Studios are contesting claims from the channels 4GamerMovie, IDOL, and Shock Entertainment Pty, but it is not yet clear whether all claims of these channels have been lifted. Throughout the entire copyright ordeal, the YouTube staff has largely remained aloof. It has been left to the music or video game publishers to dispute claims made in their name, but without their consent, against scores of YouTubers. The YouTube staff has, however, released an online statement shortly after the content ID system was enabled. “We recently enabled Content ID scanning on channels identified as affiliates of [Multi Channel Networks],” said the statement. “This has resulted in new copyright claims for some users, based on policies set by the relevant content owners. As ever, channel owners can easily dispute Content ID claims if they believe those claims are invalid.”

sports

Astros Caravan visits with Creek Alumni Cosart

By Lisa Nhan Managing Editor

Jarred Cosart was only six years old when he told his father he wanted to be a professional baseball player. Only 17 years later, Cosart, 23, was welcomed back by cheers of support and admiration to Creek for his success as a player in Major League Baseball. Cosart came back to Creek as a starting pitcher for the Houston Astros on January 21, 2014. Cosart’s visit back to Creek was a stop along the Astros 2014 Caravan. This program brings the players and staff to the fans as they make stops all around Houston and other cities to build a strong relationship with their fan base. “This is to grow a connection with both ends that in a setting away from the ball park. The open form allows us to get up close and personal,” Bo Porter, Astros’ manager, said. Cosart was accompanied by Porter, Jesse Crain, pitcher, Mike Elias, scouting director, and Robert Ford, Radio Broadcaster, and other members of the Astros Staff. Cosart made his return back to Creek with a lunch with teachers courtesy of Papa John, visits to classrooms, and a pep rally to finish off. With a short amount of time, the Caravan was only able to visit one classroom. The Astros made their way over to the Special Education classrooms for autographs, pictures, and a chance to meet some of their most special fans. During the pep rally, the Caravan members were honored, along with a special presentation for Cosart in honor of his success. The sign read, “Clear Creek High School honors ex-wildcat Jarred Cosart” and is to be placed in the Mallory baseball field at Clear Creek High School, in support of Cosart. It was all finished off with a special appearance from the Astros mascot, Orbit. However the Caravan is not only a time for fans to show support, but a chance for the Astros to

thank their fans for being there. of Class of 2008, Cosart Courtsey of Hi-Life Staff The Caravan presents a unique had not returned back opportunity for the Astros to since his own graduation. give back to the communities that support Clear Creek is one of the few high them. It puts names to cheering faces. schools selected to take part in the Astros “It’s great to come out here and Caravan, and as an Alumna Mantra to say thank you. It’s important for us Cosart, it comes with a special meaning. to come back and show the same “I’ve always wanted to come back here support to the fans,” Crain said. to thank them. This community has always Cosart’s trip back to Creek only been supportive of me,” Cosart said. brought back “good memories.” As part Cosart described his former high school

self as athletic jock type who couldn’t wait to get back on the baseball field. “As soon as I could, I would run back to the baseball field,” Cosart said. When asked about advice for those in high school who are aspiring Major League Baseball players, Cosart said, “Go to class, make it a priority. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and set your mind.” Mike Elias, scouting director for the Astros, had similar advice. “Anyone can play, but it takes a lot of skill and motivation to do repetition. That’s what sets players apart,” Elias said. Straight out of high school, Cosart was chosen by Philadelphia in the 38th round of the June 2008 draft. It was Steve Cohen who signed him. Cosart later transferred back to his hometown in the Hunter Pence trade to the Phillies in July of 2011. It wasn’t until November 20, 2012 where he was added to the 40-member rooster for the Astros. Cosart is currently signed on a one-year contract that lasts through 2014. Cosart has already seen success with the Astros. The Houston Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America named him Astros 2013 Rookie of the Year. He made Astros history last year, despite only doing ten starts. Cosart’s 1.95 ERA is so far the lowest in Astros history. This year Academy Sports and Outdoors and Blue Bell presented the Caravan this year. Stops included many Houston areas, along with other locations in central and South Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma City. It began on the week of January 20 and ended with the Astros FanFest at Minute Maid Park on January 25. The Astros Caravan 2014 certainty achieved its goal in not only bring the fans closer to the team, but reminding the community what a team they have to be proud of, whether its on their plays on the field or off.

Florida State finishes perfect season in BCS win By Brendan Hudspeth Reporter

In the final BCS game before the switch to a playoff format, Florida State finished many stories built up over the season. They rode a Heisman winner freshman, Jameis Winston, much like Texas A&M and Johnny Manziel the year before, and went 13-0 in a ride to the top. There, they met Auburn, the so-called “miracle team”, which had gone 3-9 the previous year, but righted the ship under new head coach Gus Malzahn. Auburn had two miracle victories in their season, the first being a 73yard Hail Mary pass to beat Georgia, known as “The Prayer at Jordan-Hale”. Just two weeks later, they pulled off the second miracle to put themselves on into the National Championship scene. In a close game against then number one ranked Alabama, Auburn’s defense held Alabama to try a 57-yard field goal to win the game with one second left. The kick came short, and cornerback Chris Davis returned the kick from the back of the end zone, 109 yards for a walk-off touchdown. Auburn came into the game

defending an SEC streak of seven straight goal, cutting Auburn’s lead to 21-13. Championship victories, yet Florida State All the fireworks went off in the 4th was favored by ten in the game, partially due quarter, as Winston hit Chad Abram for to their victories an 11-yard coming in touchdown b l o w o u t to put FSU fashion, never back within 1. winning a game Auburn kicked by less than 14. a field goal There were with only 4:42 concerns raised left, extending from this. the lead to However, that 24-20, but Florida State the following wouldn’t be kickoff was able to handle returned for a Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston holds the pressure touchdown by of a close game, the BCS trophy with Kelvin Benjamin looking on at the BCS Levonte Whitfield, Championship game against the Auburn Tigers at the Rose which Auburn Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on Monday, Jan. 6, 2014. FSU putting the seemingly thrived Seminoles back on won, 34-31. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/MCT) on. Those doubts top for the first time quickly came to fruition, as Florida since they opened the game with a field goal. State went into halftime down 21-10. Auburn would show their The second half was a different “miracle” ability, driving downfield story, the narrative being that Auburn, until running back Tre Mason broke the miracle team, had finally run out of off a 37-yard touchdown run to put luck. After an uneventful 3rd quarter, Auburn on top, 31-27, with 1:19 to go. which only yielded an FSU field Florida State then was forced to rely

on Winston in a comeback situation for the first time all season, and he delivered. Winston went 6/7 for 77 yards, including a huge 49-yard completion to Rashad Greene on the second play of the drive. After a series of penalties, with a crucial eight-yard pass interference call on Auburn cornerback Chris Davis, Winston capped off the drive with a two-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin. Although Auburn had nine seconds left, they couldn’t do anything with them, failing to make a play on a last-ditch lateral, which ended with Tre Mason being brought down at the Auburn 37. Florida State sent the BCS era out with a bang, and a permanent smear on the SEC’s streak, winning all seven previous championships. Winston has a bright future at FSU, and as some are touting, the NFL. Auburn running back Tre Mason has already declared his intent to enter the Draft, after finishing his season with 1816 yards and 23 touchdowns, breaking Bo Jackson’s record of 1786 yards on his last touchdown. He is currently considered by many to be the best running back in the draft.

sports

2014 Winter Olympics is hosted in Sochi, Russia By Jessica Sieling Teen Interest Editor

The 2014 Winter Olympics have finally arrived, being held in Sochi, Russia, and officially running though February 7 though 23. Athletes who excel in figure skating, skiing, snowboarding and many more Olympic events will be competing for the gold medal during the Games. This will be the first Olympic Games to be held in Russia since the USSR was broken up in 1991. Before then, the last Games held in Russia were the Summer Olympic Games that were held in Moscow in 1980. 98 events in seven different winter sport categories are to be held during the two and a half weeks. The skating sports include figure skating, speed skating and short track speed skating. Bobsleigh and skeleton are the disciplines under the bobsleigh category. Speed sports include alpine, freestyle, ski jumping, crosscountry skiing, Nordic combined and snowboarding. And the other sports include biathlon, curling, luge and ice hockey. Organizers of the Games have had to do much to prepare for another year of sports, focusing mainly of transportation, eclectic power and telecommunications. The cost of the Games is another issue, however. “As of October 2013, the estimated cost of the 2014 Winter Olympics had topped $51 billion. This total, if borne out,

would be over four times the initial budget of $12 billion (compared to the $8 billion spent for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver), and would make the Sochi

of its viewers. The Winter Games have already been marked with controversies due to Russia’s very strict anti-gay law, which as been a problem for many lesbian,

games the most Switzerland’s Elena Koenz crashes on her second gay, bisexual and or expensive Olympics run during the snowboard slopestyle competition transgender, in history, exceeding during the Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, on LGBT, athletes and Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014. Slopestyle is one of sevthe estimated $44 eral new sports being debuted at the Sochi Games. allies. Many people billion cost of the (Mark Reis/Colorado Springs Gazette/MCT) around the world have already planned 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.” to boycott the Games in protest of the law, However, the financing for the including many major corporations and Games isn’t the only concern for many companies such as AT&T and Chobani.

Representative from AT&T recently stated: “Russia’s law is harmful to LGBT individuals and families, and it’s harmful to a diverse society.” After their statement many other companies spoke out as well. “It’s disappointing that in 2014 this is still an issue,” said Chobani’s CEO, Hamdi Ulukaya. “We are against all laws and practices that discriminate in any way, whether it be where you come from or who you love — for that reason, we oppose Russia’s anti-LGBT law.” “We do not condone intolerance or discrimination of any kind anywhere in the world,” CocaCola said referring to the matter. But many other companies have tired to avoid issues in the future by remaining neutral when it comes to Russia’s laws. Including Scott Dean, a spokesman from BP who stated, “Our sponsorship of the [United States Olympic Committee] is about supporting Team USA, not engaging in political or policy debates.” Whether people are supporters or protestors of the Olympic games this year, it is obvious that this will be another year of recognition of athletes all around the world. The 2016 Summer Olympics games have already been announced and will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 5 through 21, 2016.

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