The Marquee Volume 36 Issue 3

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The Marquee

Vol. 36 Issue 3 • Jan 19, 2022 • Edward S. Marcus High School • 5707 Morriss Road Flower Mound, TX 75028

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Superintendent retires this month

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Senior represents USA in Junior Pan-American games

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Meet your varsity basketball teams

Revisiting history Recent legislation causes controversy in the classroom

editor in chief Sophia Craig managing and online editor Shriya Mukkavilli design editor Alex Thornfelt sports editor Hyunsung Na business manager Aishani Raju reporters Garrison Acree Muna Nnamani Marley Roberson Vanessa Cardoso Alanna Reed Harrison Hamre photographers Avery Jerina Salma Ali designers Jayla Landou Jennifer Banh Marie Dacunos Saloni Mistry adviser LaJuana Hale principal William Skelton

The Marquee newsmagazine is a student-generated publication of Marcus High School. It is produced, edited and maintained through the efforts of the school’s advanced journalism class. The Marquee is designed to serve the school and community as a forum for open discussion and student expression.

The Marquee encourages letters to the editor as part of its mission to educate, inform and provide an open forum for debate. All submissions must be signed. The staff reserves the right to edit all material. Editorials reflect the opinion of the staff, not necessarily that of the administration. Signed columns or reviews represent only the opinion of the author. Advertising rates are $70 per 1/8 of a page, with discounts available. Patron ads are available for $100. Online advertisements are also available. For more information call 469-7135196. The Marquee is a standing member of ILPC, TAJE, ATPI, CSPA NSPA, JEA and Quill and Scroll.

cover Jayla Landou

Freshman stage manager Taylor Maxwell looks over stage cues for the upcoming musical.

Theatre will perform “Little Shop of Horrors” on Jan. 27-30. Photo by Muna Nnamani

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Dishing out desserts

Student-run macaron business flourishes

Finding film

Short film competition sparks new interest for junior

Sugar rush

Finding the best cookie spots in the area

Who’s your teacher twin?

These questions will reveal whether you’re a Pike or a Popp

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LISD superintendent to retire

Rogers meets with Huffines Middle School students on the first day of the 2017-18 school year. Photo submitted

story Shriya Mukkavilli After serving the district for 36 years, LISD Superintendent and former Marcus principal Dr. Kevin Rogers is retiring on Jan. 31.

Rogers first started in the district as a middle school science teacher and coach, later becoming principal of Arbor Creek Middle School.

In the mid 1990’s, he became assistant principal of Marcus, then served as principal from 2000 to 2008. Rogers said he has fond memories of the school and its culture.

“Marcus has long been known as just a place that has incredible teachers, staff and coaches,” Rogers said. “And of course, you put that together with incredible students, and it makes for a great school.”

When Rogers was in college, he studied medicine. But he soon realized education was his true calling.

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“I was raised in the church, and I always knew that service to others…was important to me and to my inner core,” Rogers said. “I had so many amazing teachers in my past that made a difference in my life. I made the decision to become a teacher, and I’ve never regretted that.”

Rogers became superintendent in 2015 after serving as assistant superintendent.

While his job required him to sit in on school board and chamber of commerce meetings, he said one of his favorite parts of the job was interacting with students, whether that be attending sports games or reading to elementary students.

Rogers said he values student opinions greatly. Since he left the school in 2008, he created the Student Advisory Group where students from all over the district can share their thoughts with him.

“Students have a lot of great ideas, and we need to listen to them,” Rogers said.

In the past seven years, LISD

expanded to include STEM academies for younger grades and the Collegiate Academy at The Colony High School, as well as making more technology accessible for students and teachers. But Rogers said it wasn’t just his efforts that allowed for these accomplishments.

“I’ve always believed in we, not me, and I’m extremely proud of the work we did,” Rogers said.

According to Rogers, it’s because of the district’s community of administrators, teachers, parents and students that helped create a plan for learning after COVID hit.

“It’s changed the role of the superintendent and what we did in classrooms,” Rogers said. “And once again, great admiration for our teachers, for our students for being flexible.”

Rogers’ son and head basketball coach Shane said he’s looking forward to his dad’s retirement.

“He deserves to go out the way he wanted to go out and enjoy it,” Shane said.

After retiring, Rogers plans to travel and spend time with his family. Looking back, he hopes the district community remembers him for his impact on them.

“I’m so excited when I get to see former students and they call me Coach Rogers or my nickname when I was here at Marcus was K Rog,” Rogers said. “And that’s something that I’m proud of…I think most people will say, hey, he was a pretty good person, he cared about us.”

Rogers shakes hands with a Marcus graduate during the 2018 commencement.

Photo submitted

design Jennifer Banh

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BATTING WITH THE BEST Student athlete wins international softball tournament story Sophia Craig As senior Haidyn Sokoloski looked down at the “USA” stitched across her jersey, she felt an overwhelming sense of pride and anxiety. She had one chance to make her country proud. This game would decide if Team USA would bring home gold.

But for Haidyn, softball is more than winning.

“It is a failing sport. It’s good to go one for three in your bat,” Haidyn said.

“That’s good to get on base once in a game. It’s okay to fail and it’s okay because you will get more chances.”

••• Haidyn has been playing ever since her mom, Kelly, first took her to a local rec team practice when she was 8.

Haidyn remembers how she stood by the field, bawling.

“I did not want to go. But I went to this practice and the games,” Haidyn said. “And then, after that season was over, I remember thanking my mom like, ‘Thank you so much for pushing me to play the sport, because that’s when I fell in love with it.’”

Up until high school, Kelly was a serious softball player. She played on the Kingwood Diamonds and even came in 13th place in the 1984 ASA National Championships in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Haidyn said that a large part of why she initially started was because of how much her mom enjoyed the sport. Kelly never pushed Haidyn to follow her, but she always saw her daughter’s potential.

Haidyn was always athletic by nature, but according to Kelly she was also clumsy. Instead of her talent, it was her drive to improve that helped her endure the intense training.

”You knew she was going to be athletic, but she didn’t necessarily stand out or anything,” Kelly said, “But she enjoyed it.”

Haidyn started later than many

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players, so she struggled to keep up at first.

“I was one of the worst players,” Haidyn said. “I could not hit the ball or anything.”

After that season, Kelly decided to enroll her in a select team to play against more challenging competition who would push her to play better. Even now

Senior Haidyn Sokoloski has played softball since she was 8 years old.

Photo Avery Jerina

as one of the top players in the country, she attributes much of her success to her team when she was 9.

“We were very fortunate to find a team that the girls were really good and pushed her to get better,” Kelly said.

••• In seventh grade, Haidyn had to make a difficult decision and evaluate whether the sport was something she wanted to pursue seriously. Before NCAA rules were revised in 2018, Division 1 colleges could scout prospective students as early as 7th grade. In order to claim a spot on a school’s roster, Haidyn needed to make her decision quickly. In eighth grade, she was making decisions that would impact the rest of her softball career and life.

Eventually, she committed to Oklahoma State University.

Haidyn said she was first drawn to OSU because they had hired a new coach, Kenny Gajewski, and were building up a program she felt could play in the NCAA Women’s College World Series. She was one of the first players the new coach recruited.

“He’s such a family guy and the whole team is literally one big family,” Haidyn said, “And then the school itself is the perfect college town that I wanted.

And it was a perfect fit for me.”

But even as a player committed to a D1 school, Haidyn has her failures. A quick Google search of her name brings up records of countless wins and articles referring to her as a “rising star,” but as one of the top 15 players in the country, she sometimes only has one or two hits per game.

“In my mind, that’s awful,” Haidyn said. “But looking at that stat, that’s great to do that in a game because softball is so hard.”

As a freshman, she competed in the first bracket game of a Premier Girls Fastpitch tournament in California, the biggest tournament she had ever been to at the time. She struck out all four times she was up to bat and her team lost.

“I was so bad at the plate where my team needed me because I was always up with the runner in scoring position,” Haidyn said. “It was really embarrassing for me.”

In addition to high school and select sports, Haidyn was selected to represent the United States on the U-17 National Softball Team for the first time in Barranquilla, Colombia her sophomore year. The team was , made up of the best high school and college students like Haidyn who hope to someday participate in the Olympic Games.

••• Haidyn returned to Barranquilla for the 2021 Junior Pan American Games at the end of last year.

She arrived in the tropical country

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overwhelmed. She was about to meet the team she was competing with for the first time, many of which she had followed for years. Haidyn was the second youngest player on the team since most were in college.

“It was just really surreal seeing all these girls in real life, because I’ve watched these girls on TV for about a year or two years” Haidyn said.

They had less than three days to learn to play together before they would represent the country.

“It was a lot of weight and realizing as a team meant, we’re… role models to other teams and other countries,” Haidyn said.

The whole tournament lasted a week. Because of the pandemic, the experience was different the last time she competed. Each country’s team was assigned to a hotel floor and required to wear masks to leave their floor.

“We pretty much had to stay in our hotel,” Haidyn said, “Our hotel was our bubble.”

Although meals were provided by the hotel, Haidyn said she didn’t always like the food, so her dad went to the store and picked up a snack that reminded her of home.

“He brought me Nutella and bread,” Haidyn said, “Which is such an odd thing to eat. But all the girls tried it.

And we literally love that now.”

••• On the field, Team USA dominated their competition, beating each team they went up against. By the beginning of the last day, Team USA was set to challenge Team Mexico at home.

Because they had played each other the day before, Haidyn was confident of their chances.

“We knew the pitchers and we understood the batters,” Haidyn said. We had a great team of coaches looking at the batter swings and figuring out what their pitchers like.”

Run after run, the score racked up in Team USA’s favor. Eventually, they defeated Mexico 100, securing the gold.

Despite being one of the youngest on the team,

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she spent a lot of time on the field. Each time she suited up to play that week, she made a TikTok in her uniform to commemorate the occasion.

“I always look back at those, just remembering how lucky I was to wear ‘USA’ across my chest,” Haidyn said.

design Saloni Mistry

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Tailored to her dreams

Junior unveils collection at fashion show story Marley Roberson Decorations of gold, green and purple filled the Mardi Gras themed restaurant, Mrs. Lively’s Cajun Konnection. People settled in to enjoy their entrees, eager for the show to begin.

Junior Jordan Thompson’s heart raced as she tried to keep her head up high. Not far away, her mom quieted the restaurant, and introduced her daughter.

Jordan thanked the people who had helped her and invited her audience to enjoy her original fashion pieces. Nine models walked in, displaying Jordan’s debut collection, “Petals of Rosé.”

Her fabrics were rich shades of pink, red and burgundy. They flowed as the models walked, flaunting the variety in her work.

The first model emerged in a light pink dress covered in delicate roses. The

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tulle skirt fell in layers with the longest ending at her ankles. She wore matching pink heels decorated with flowers.

A dark red eyeshadow tied the look together.

Another model wore a maroon dress as she strutted around the restaurant.

Pieces of sequin fabric fell to her sides, framing the dress as the fabric swept around her.

The next model circled the restaurant wearing a floor length pink ball gown that sparkled as it swirled. Over her shoulder, she wore a sash made up of fabrics from every other piece in the collection bringing the whole show together.

••• Jordan had set out to create her own fashion show after she realized her passion and talent in designing and creating clothes.

Her sewing history started with her work on the school’s production of “Seussical” her freshman year. She learned the basics of sewing and how to use a pattern, feeling pride as she showed the costume designer her first sleeve.

Since then, Jordan’s knowledge has grown significantly. She dealt with quarantine boredom by creating a long, flowy colonial pink and white dress with lacy detailing. Jordan spent the next few months improving her skills through trial and error.

“I am a bit of a competitive person, and I am always ... trying to find ways to improve myself,” Jordan said.

As Jordan’s dedication to her art grew, her parents were quick to get involved.

Her dad took photos of her dresses and her mom supported her with ideas, and frequently found different supplies for Jordan to experiment with.

Jordan became interested in a summer internship at Casa Mañana, a theatre program in Fort Worth, and was invited to create costumes for the show “Bonnie and Clyde.” She worked on jobs like hand sticking hidden seams or serging pattern pieces, learning from experienced teachers.

Jordan Thompson hosted a fashion show to premiere her own designs.

Photo Salma Ali

She’s also designed for the past two years for the school’s theatre program.

She created costumes for shows like “Picnic.” This year she is the costume designer for “Little Shop of Horrors,” which is her first time in a leadership role.

“It’s a fun time because I’m trying to figure out how to lead people,” Jordan said.

••• During the summer, Jordan’s mom approached her with the idea of creating a collection for a fashion show. At first, Jordan wasn’t sure if she could handle the challenge, but on the way to the fabric store, she was overwhelmed with ideas.

She immediately went home to sketch and plan for her show that suddenly came to life in her mind.

“It was kind of magical,” Jordan said.

Quickly her ideas expanded, and soon she was designing and planning an elaborate show.

“So it started out with five designs, and then it went to seven, and then some people came over and then it was nine,” Jordan said.

Jordan’s designs are colorful and dynamic, inspired by her fascination with flowers.

“Each flower has its own shape, its own little personality in and of itself,”

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I made that really touched me,” Jordan said.

••• On the day of her show, Jordan began adding finishing touches to her pieces.

By 2 p.m. they were on their way to the restaurant to get set up.

During the show, the audience watched in awe as the models strutted around the venue, showing off Jordan’s hard work.

Jordan visited every table, taking pictures and thanking them for their support. Her brother gave her flowers, and she was visited by an old teacher.

Mainly, Jordan said she felt proud of herself for accomplishing her goal.

“The fashion show is one way for me to show what I’m passionate about, but also show that I guess I’m worthy of loving myself in a way because I am showing who I am through my clothes,” Jordan said.

Hunter Fields poses in “The Bouquet.”

The glitter engrained fabric is a blend of cotton and chiffon.

Photo submitted by Jordan Thompson

Jordan said.

When finding models, she reached out to her theatre class. One of her classmates, senior Hunter Fields tried on one of the pieces for the collection during a fitting. “The Bouquet” is an elegant ball gown. The pink fabric laid over a hoop skirt swayed as she walked, and the sparkly details in the fabric shined through.

Fields’ demeanor changed as she strutted around the room. She said she felt honored to display the piece.

“I loved it. I literally felt like a princess,” Fields said. “Even walking in it, I was like, ‘yes, this is cool.’”

In that moment, Jordan knew she had accomplished what she had set out to do.

“It was the absolute delight in her eyes. Like walking around in something

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Junior Lora Swindle displays “The Pink Peony.” The three tiered skirt is made of a light pink chiffon and tulle. The satin bodice has a patterned tulle overlay covered in flowers.

Photo submitted by Jordan Thompson

Junior Elli Scheinman models a dress called “The Queen of the Night Tulips.”

This piece is made of a silk blend and burgundy sequins.

Photo submitted by Jordan Thompson

design Saloni Mistry

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Baking business stirs joy story Vanessa Cardoso

Lauren Forsyth started baking in 7th grade and now has a business.

Photo Salma Ali

Sophomore Lauren Forsyth still remembers the smell of cupcakes wafting through the kitchen where she and her grandmother always baked. The time she spent with her grandmother in the kitchen fostered her fondness for baking. In seventh grade, she began selling macarons, French confections that come in countless flavors and colors.

According to Lauren, macarons are hard to make. When searching for macaron recipes, they all have at least sixteen steps, and it’s estimated the entire process takes about an hour and fifty minutes.

Not to mention, everything you have to do again if you mess up.

Lauren said she prepares macarons for charity events.

“Sometimes I’ll give them to

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Lauren experiments with new techniques, such as ombre and piping.

Photo submitted by Lauren Forsyth

fundraisers and it helps spread the word out,” Lauren said.

Lauren runs her business independently, and she has run it that way since she first started. She only received help once. Her father helped her determine the prices of the macarons based on how much she spent on ingredients.

Once, she gave macarons to a friend who was sick so she could feel better.

Her friend had missed school for several days and Lauren felt bad. She knew her friend craved her delectable macarons, so she brought them to her house.

Lauren talks to people through Instagram or email when someone is interested in her services. She mainly caters for weddings, baby showers and birthdays.

Every part of Lauren’s macarons, including sprinkles, are homemade.

Photo submitted by Lauren Forsyth

Her first large order was for a wedding, and she made 200 macarons in total. She was overwhelmed to say the least. She had to throw out two batches of macarons because she had made a mistake while making them.

She stayed home from school so she could finish on time. She started baking at 7:30 a.m. and finished at 11:30 p.m. She did everything herself with no assistance.

“I was probably dehydrated after baking the entire day,” Lauren said.

After college, Lauren plans on expanding her business, but first she wants to attend college so she can learn how to run a business and then she will open a location or possibly two.

“I’ve always liked the idea of being on my own and starting something up,” Lauren said.

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Growing artist Paints a profit For senior Zoe Thompson, her business began as a way to declutter.

“I made a lot of artwork, and it had to go somewhere,” Zoe said.

She didn’t like keeping her art, so she gave it away. At the end of 2021, she received a lot of commissions for paintings.

“I thought maybe I could start selling more officially, and mass produce printed stickers or other pieces of art,” Zoe said.

Since then, Zoe has been selling her artwork on Etsy. Usually someone she knows will ask her to paint an acrylic portrait of their pet.

Zoe’s favorite painting is her selfportrait that she made her junior year for her AP Art portfolio. In the painting, Zoe is sitting on the floor of her bathroom with holes in her arm and stomach, representing pieces that were taken from

Zoe Thompson started selling her art during quarantine. Photo Salma Ali

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her by past experiences with touch. She is holding a bandaid to represent the start of her healing process.

Her self-portrait placed third for the painting category at the LISD art show and second for the painting category at the Marcus art show. When she first started selling on Etsy, she would drop off portraits she was asked to do on people’s porches.

“Before it was just more word of mouth. Like I’ll give you the cash and drop it off at my house,” Zoe said.

This oil painting, “Healing,” is Zoe’s favorite.The holes in her stomach and arm represent pieces she felt were taken away by past experiences.

Photo submitted by Zoe Thompson

Zoe never dreamt her business would become a success. She didn’t even think she would have a business.

When she graduates high school, she wants to pursue a career in education.

She would like to teach teenagers who aspire to become artists. If she has the opportunity to join an international teaching program, she will move countries every year and will be able to teach children from all over the world.

“I would like to teach students the fundamentals of art because it’s so helpful, and I want to encourage building those foundations,” Zoe said.

Outside of school, Zoe is an art instructor in Deep Ellum.

Photo submitted by Zoe Thompson

design Jennifer Banh

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Characters Devin and Olive, played by Abigail Frantz and Jordan Thompson, sit in the car, before going to the mall. They sing along to “Passport” by Ross Newhouse. Photo submitted by Myra Chauvin

Calling the shots

Short film created by junior goes to competition story Marley Roberson

The camera rolls as Devin orders lunch for her and her girlfriend Olive. It’s the usual – a Number 2 with a medium lemonade and a Number 4 with diet Dr. Pepper. As the couple waits on their food, Devin gets the unshakable feeling that something is off.

“Stop calling me kid,” a man yells from the counter at the front of the food court.

Suddenly, a loud BANG echoes through the food court. Olive wraps her arm tightly around Devon’s shoulders to bring her to safety.

They feel hopeless as the man’s heavy work boots draw nearer. The pair hides behind a booth as the threat looms over them.

As they look up, they can see his face

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design Jennifer Banh

and all black outfit.

His gloved hand reaches out, displaying a gun. As the man pulls the trigger, the small moments of their lives – parties with friends, late night drives, birds on the beach – are gone.

••• This is the plot of junior Myra Chauvin’s five minute short film, “SHOTS,” which follows partners Devin and Olive on the day of an armed robbery.

The process for creating the film began when Myra heard about the Texas Thespian Festival, which hosts different theatre competitions throughout the year.

Myra brainstormed ideas until she decided on a gas station robbery plot.

Myra Chauvin has ideas for more projects, and hopes to create more films in the future. Myra began exploring the plot lines she She also plans on pursuing acting. Photo by could include in this concept.

Salma Ali

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“As I was doing that, I started to like it even more,” Myra said.

While writing dialogue for her script, Myra gathered inspiration from real world interactions she witnessed in different public spaces. She rewatched her favorite movies for guidance on shot types and storytelling.

She watched coming of age movies like “Unpregnant” and “Fear Street” for storytelling inspiration.

She wrote her script in a week and a half and focused the rest of her time on developing her characters. She struggled figuring out who she wanted her characters to be, but thought about what kind of characters she wanted to see in media.

“I wanted to have my type of representation on screen,” Myra said. “So it’s just two gay characters.”

Myra, who identifies as queer and uses she/they pronouns, hopes that in the future LGBTQ+ representation can become more normalized.

“Whenever you do see the representation, you’re like, ‘Hey that’s me on stage, that’s me on screen,” Myra said. “Finding those certain parts of you in media, I think that’s so important.”

Myra’s identity influenced the writing of her main characters, Olive and Devin.

After developing her characters, she focused on her story. Myra wanted to create likable characters whose tragic story would evoke emotion in the audience.

“I want to just show a perfect life and … then snatch it,” Myra said. “That’s how families feel whenever something unexpected like a shooting happens.”

Myra then began casting, choosing people she knew from theatre workshops and mutual friends. She knew who the perfect person was for every role.

But Myra struggled to find the right person to play Devin. Originally she did not want to use any actors from the school, because she intended for the short film to be an independent project.

“I really wanted this to be something like outside where I can put my whole entire name on and be like, ‘I didn’t use any help’,” Myra said.

But Myra was hesitant to cast someone without film acting experience for the role . The struggle of casting Devin actually slowed the writing process, and

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Myra felt that she needed to rework the script.

Myra approached junior Jordan Thompson and offered her the role, and Thompson was ready to take on the challenge of portraying the complex character.

“There’s a whole process you have to go through with building a character in the first place,” Thompson said.

Once she had figured out who Devin was, Thompson was able to comfortably play her, and Junior Myra Chauvin reviews footage of a scene shot in the mall. All of the scenes shot in the mall were filmed in was ready to tell her story. one day. Photo submitted by Myra Chauvin “You close your eyes, and you concentrate on that character laughed with them between takes about and on like their beliefs and who they silly mistakes. She shot her scenes in are,” Thompson said. “And then you just two day, and then it was on to editing. let yourself live that way.”

Even though she knew most of the Once she had cast the show, Myra parts of filming, Myra still found herself had to figure out where they would be learning along the way. While editing for filming. Originally the film is set in a the first time, she ran into frustrations gas station, but the gas stations she had when her work didn’t save. reached out to had either not responded “There was one time I accidentally to her or said she couldn’t film there. deleted everything that I did and I had Myra’s mom works at a nearby mall, been working on it for like an hour and and got approval for her to film there. a half,” Myra said.

Filming began, and Myra set out to Though the road was bumpy, she said that the challenges she faced turned out to be for the best. Her main takeaway was learning to value even the moments when things get difficult, because she I really wanted learned something from each challenge.

“Something’s always going to come this to be someback and you’re going to learn a big thing like outside lesson from it,” Myra said. where I can put As she presented her film, Myra felt an overwhelming sense of pride for the my whole entire work that she had done. name on and be As the credits rolled, the room was like, ‘I didn’t use dead silent. any help.

“I was like, ‘This is what I want.’

Everyone doesn’t know whether to clap or cry,” Myra said.

- Myra Chauvin,11 As she received praise from the judges for her storytelling and editing, frame her shots.

Myra knew that she had accomplished “I tried to do as many angles as I what she had set out to do. could,” Myra said. “So, whenever I got to She had created a work that she was the editing process, I could have so many proud of, that she could put her name to choose between.” on, and that portrayed her message of Myra said that the group worked the importance of small moments in life. well together while filming. She often “I felt so proud of myself,“ Myra said.

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design Jennifer Banh

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SE6ONDS

What is your

favorite movie? Why?

Madeline Hoffmann 12

Mamma Mia is my favorite movie because it brings good vibes. It’s very heavy and it’s just a feel good movie. It’s always something I watch for comfort.

If you didn’t have to worry about money, what would be your dream

job?

I wouldn’t have a job.

I would just travel to places I haven’t gone before and go sightseeing.

What is your

comfort music? Why?

I listen to Phoebe Bridgers because she is able to connect her listeners to her music and lyrics, and her music is very emotional.

What is your biggest pet peeve?

I hate when I’m in the middle of saying something and people just cut me off.

If you had the chance to meet any person who would it be?

I would like to meet Phoebe Bridgers. She has a good sense of humor and a good personality. It would be interesting to learn why she writes music and what else she’s about.

What is your favorite feature about

yourself?

I like my smile. It is a distinct feature and it’s inviting to people and it is a good expression of myself.

If you could be the other gender for one day what would you do?

I would have a sleepover with the boys.

Who was your celebrity crush growing up?

My celebrity crush was Justin Bieber. He was popular and it was funny to jump on the bandwagon.

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design Marie Dacunos

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Reframing History

Fogging history’s lens

Local rabbi responds to Holocaust discussions story Alanna Reed In 2018, Rabbi Geoffrey Dennis trudged through the concentration camp. The chilly November air bit at his face as haze drifted through the Polish air. Dennis and his companion, Bruce, roamed about the barracks of Majdanek, taking in its terrible legacy. The open field

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If something was possible at another point in history, it’s possible again.

- Rabbi Geoffrey Dennis

was fenced so prisoners had nowhere to run. Time weathered away the camp, its buildings slowly crumbling. It was left exactly the way it was when the Russian army discovered it in 1944.

Dennis and Bruce walked the length of the camp to stand before an enormous concrete bowl. He peered over the edge at the ashes of the Majdanek victims, preserved by sodium silicate. Dennis and Bruce recited the Mourner’s Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead.

The two friends continued to a processing room, where Nazis evaluated Jews on their slave labor prospects.

Dennis examined the length of the room.

Wall to wall stood wire containers. Filled to the brim with tens of thousands of shoes, ripped from their owners before their murder. Dennis looked in horror at all that was left. The overwhelming smell

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Rabbi Geoffrey Dennis visits gravestones cemented into a wall in Kazimierz Dolny, Poland. A survivor created this memorial to commemorate graves destroyed by Nazis.

Photo submitted by Geoffrey Dennis

of leather and smoke made him gag.

Outside, the sky was colored gray, clouds windswept like a Van Gogh painting. If Dennis could have forgotten where he was, standing among the souls of those lost decades ago, he could almost appreciate the day. But he could not forget.

•••

Dennis has been the rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami for 22 years.

Flower Mound’s Jewish population is small, but he is grateful for what the congregation accomplishes.

“I like to describe it as small but fierce,” Dennis said. “It’s a wonderful community, and people are more involved, because without it, without us, there wouldn’t be much Judaism happening out here.”

Rabbis, he emphasized, are not priests. During school, Dennis earned a master’s in Hebrew literature as well an ordination.

“Any Jewish adult can do what I do.

But I’m usually hired because I’m a demonstrated technical expert on Jewish

tradition,” Dennis said.

There are a number of congregants at Kol Ami, like Joel Loeb, whose mother Liesl was a survivor.

She was 11 when her family escaped on the St. Louis, a German luxury liner.

Captain Gustav Schroeder spent days negotiating with other sites to land.

Eventually, Liesl and her family found refuge in England and came to America.

Liesl is gone now, but Loeb makes sure her experience stays alive.

“It’s sort of left to the next generation to perpetuate that memory,” Loeb said.

Dennis describes himself as a “history geek.” In college, he trained as a historian.

He believes looking back offers insight to the future.

“If something was possible at another point in history, it’s possible again,” Dennis said.

The Holocaust has been disputed for some time. When Dennis read that an administrator in Southlake said that teachers should present opposing views to the Holocaust, he was concerned. He believes that some teachers are now

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not doing experiments on people.”

Dennis tends to avoid making Holocaust analogies and urges others to do the same.

“They’re grotesque,” Dennis said. “They’re usually incredibly inaccurate, and they’re inflammatory.

Because once you’ve called someone a Nazi, what’s there to say?”

Under Nazi rule, Jews were forced to wear the yellow Dennis took this photo at the Majdanek concentration Star of David on their clothing camp. It was one of the first sites to gas prisoners. in public at all times. Their Photo submitted by Geoffrey Dennis patches read “Jude,” the German afraid to teach controversial subjects. word for Jew. This was the German “That’s the frightening thing for me government’s way to persecute Jews. is that it creates a chilling effect against The vast majority of those who choose educating people,” Dennis said. “And I not to get vaccinated do not use am all for educating people.”

Holocaust analogies. However, a small Dennis couldn’t believe his eyes as he group in Kansas recently wore the same read that news story. yellow star.

“That’s reprehensible because….what “This is not the selection out of a is the other side?” Dennis said. “That group who have no control over their genocide is sometimes justified? That fate, which is what happened to the killing women and children can be the right thing to do? I mean, it’s bizarre.”

As for there being two sides at all, Loeb was indignant. He said the fact that We stand it was said in a school environment too was even more scary for him. on the “I don’t know what the other side shoulders of our would be. I mean, the Holocaust happened,” Loeb said. “And it’s whatancestors. I think ever’s documented….These are people’s stories of history. It’s not an opinion. So knowing and it can’t be treated as an opinion.” understanding Another recent trend that Jews find offensive is comparing events today your roots is to Holocaust crimes. FOX Nation commentator Lara Logan likened Dr. essential to being Anthony Fauci to the Nazi phsyician a whole person.

Josef Mengele known for his sadistic and often deadly experiments on children - Geoffrey Dennis and twins.

“The comparison is outrageous,” Loeb said. “And Dr. Fauci is a scientist. He’s

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Jews,” Dennis said. “These are people who have self-selected to do this.”

As a historian, Dennis fears historical revisionism. He said many Germans find that their ancestors played a role in the attempted annihilation of Jews. He worries that this is a cause for editing out certain aspects of history.

“It’s dreadful to think that your grandfather was a terrible human being,” Dennis said. “So the tendency is to try and whitewash it, and to try and excuse it, and try and vindicate them in different ways.”

As a child of a survivor, Loeb finds Holocaust revisionism abhorrent. When he visited Berlin with his mother in 2005, he saw with his own eyes memorials for burned down synagogues.

“My reaction is come on….I mean, you show me an opposing view,” Loeb said.

“If you say it never happened, I’ve got proof it happened. I was there. I saw it.”

Junior Owen Oppenheimer, who is a German Jew, also believes downplaying the Holocaust is detrimental.

“You can make things look not as bad as they really were,” Oppenheimer said. “You can tone down crimes against humanity into ‘Maybe it didn’t happen like this.’”

Oppenheimer occasionally finds offensive graffiti, like the swastika. While Oppenheimer said he doesn’t believe classmates have anti-semitic intentions, the symbol alarms him.

“It is kind of concerning to see that in a nation where we did take a stand against the Third Reich,” Oppenheimer said. “It’s concerning to see how kids are growing up with seeing this as not as bad as it really was.”

Dennis said learning from the past rather than rewriting it can help lead the way to a more compassionate society.

“We stand on the shoulders of our ancestors,” Dennis said. “I think knowing and understanding your roots is essential to being a whole person.”

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Holocaust survivor’s son recalls mother’s journey to America story Alanna Reed Liesl Joseph’s son recalls her as a renaissance woman.

Creativity was her second language. She loved to draw, experimenting with different mediums like an alchemist. Her imagination scampered about, whisking her to the moon and back. She loved playing her flute and loved learning. School became her solace from what was to come.

Liesl was a Jewish girl in Germany. And life would never be the same.

When she was 9, Liesl was taunted by classmates who called her dirty Jew. Headstrong, she stood up for herself, saying her father was a lawyer and he was going to take care of them if they didn’t stop.

“She did not know fear at that point,” her son Joel Loeb said.

••• Loeb has been a member at Congregation Kol Ami, located on Timber Creek Rd, since 1997. All his life, he has honored his mother’s story.

“My mother and father were both German immigrants to this country, and there’s a story to be told, and they’re no longer here,” Loeb said. “So there’s a responsibility there.”

Adolf Hitler’s strong antisemitism was prominent. Liesl saw the effects when she skipped to the park.

NO JEWS AND NO DOGS. Liesl read it over and over. That hideous sign. Dehumanizing any Jew that happened upon it. All she had wanted was to play in the grass. Liesl turned around and left for home.

••• It wasn’t until 1938 that Nazis began their ruthless attacks and abductions of Jews. Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, was a government sanctioned riot where Nazis burned synagogues, vandalized Jewish businesses, and massacred hundreds. This day is known by many Jews as the spark of

Liesl and her father posing on the St. Louis, Liesl clutching her flowers. They were her “first flowers from a gentleman.”

Photo submitted by Joel Loeb

the Holocaust. Liesl’s father’s birthday was the next day. The family was celebrating when the Nazis bashed on the door.

“My mother and her mother...rented the second floor out of their house, and they had Christian tenants, and their tenants hid them,” Loeb said.

Her father was thrown in jail. Since he was a prominent lawyer, the police kept him from the camps.

Nazis slashed through furniture, shattered dishes, yanked books from shelves. Liesl and her mother were safe upstairs, hidden in a closet. Quiet as shadows. 10 year old Liesl was terrified. They all were.

••• Before the Nazis broke up her family, Liesl noticed that people started to disappear. Nazis kidknapped Jews, shipping them away to concentration camps or ghettos in cattle cars. Parents moved their children to safe houses, desperate for any kind of asylum.

To retrieve her husband, Liesl’s mother had to A group photo of St. Louis passengers. Highlighted above are Liesl (right) work and save money. She sent Liesl away to live and Morris Troper (left). Photo submitted by Joel Loeb

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equivalent to $510. They had to fit their most precious belongings into one trunk. After centuries of living there, the Joseph family evacuated Germany.

The night before they left, Liesl and her family visited grandparents and cousins in Berlin, whose quota numbers were extremely high.

Their goodbyes were A postcard of the MS St. Louis, captained by German gut wrenching.

Gustav Schroeder, which led Jews to safety.

“I think they knew Photo submitted by Joel Loeb they might not ever with family friends. Liesl was separated see them again,” Loeb said from her family for a year. The only ••• communication she had with them Hamburg’s port housed the St. Louis, was through letters. Liesl’s mother a luxurious passenger liner piloted by eventually paid her husband’s bail. They Gustav Schroeder, the German captain. had to round up their belongings quickly Cuba was their destination. and flee.

“The captain made sure that these Hitler established a quota system, people were treated as guests and not as an immigration policy that limited the Jews,” Loeb said. number of Jews permitted to escape Liesl felt free for the first time in Germany. It required an emigrant to years. Blue skies stretched above her, apply for a quota number. The lower the the wind blowing through her short number, the more likely they were able brunette hair. She glided on the deck in to break free. roller skates. Her belly was full every “While he wanted everybody out, he night from three meals. Best of all, Liesl really wanted everybody dead,” Loeb was with her parents again. said.

“She still managed to be a happy child As the war exploded, the Joseph on that ship,” Loeb said. family’s number was low. Liesl’s father But the Josephs’ luck wore thin. bought tickets for the MS St. Louis. Schroeder unknowingly obtained phony They could not take more than what is landing permits, so Cuba wouldn’t let them disembark. After seven days floating on the sea, Schroeder was informed he had to exit the harbor.

“Once they had to pull out, their only option was to return to Germany,” Loeb said. “And you could not go back to Germany.”

Because he was not Jewish, Schroeder formed a committee with Liesl’s father as its head to communicate with the passengers. Their fate hung in the balance, but Liesl was unafraid.

“She told me that she was never scared about that because her father was there,” Loeb said.

Schroder refused to send the refugees

Liesl was a Jewish girl in Germany. And life would never be the same.

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back to Germany. The St. Louis left the dock and drifted along the Florida coast.

They negotiated with U.S. President FDR, attempting to persuade him to admit the passengers. But the president would not budge.

“He didn’t want to get involved because the war was imminent,” Loeb said. “And he wanted to stay out of the war.”

Entering the United States directly was proving impossible. The committee reassured the passengers that they would not be returning to Germany. Schroeder turned the ship back towards Europe, desperate for any assistance. Help came with Morris Troper, a member of a Paris committee that protected Jews.

Eventually, after days of uncertainty,

“

While he wanted everybody out, he really wanted everybody dead.

- Joel Loeb

Troper and Schroeder were able to reach an agreement that the refugees would go to Western European countries, including France and Britain. Liesl and her family escaped to England.

Liesl and the other passengers erupted in celebration, donning old ball gowns and dancing like their lives were just beginning.

“It was sort of like the old Germany,” Loeb said.

Troper came aboard the St. Louis the day before Liesl’s birthday. She greeted him, thanking him for saving their lives.

“She said she only wished that there was a florist on board so that she could give him flowers,” Loeb said.

The next day, Troper gifted Liesl a dozen roses.

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Recent bills spark controversy about history education story Hyunsung Na, Aishani Raju & Harrison Hamre

Local conflict

During 2021, conversations about how history should be taught popped up across the state. Ranging from parents to lawmakers, different groups voiced their desire to change certain parts of how kids learn history.

Locally, Southlake Carroll ISD has been at the center of multiple racial controversies regarding diversity training programs and a recent comment by administrator Gina Peddy.

“Just try to remember the concepts of [House Bill] 3979,” Peddy said. “And make sure that if you have a book on the Holocaust, that you have one that has an opposing, that has other perspectives.”

The comment was later denounced by superintendent Lane Ledbetter who said that the district “did not recognize two sides of the Holocaust.”

Around the same time, Carroll’s diversity committee was disbanded.

The committee was first made in 2018 and had a total of 63 community volunteers. In response to the national Black Lives Matter movement, the school proposed the Cultural Competency Action Plan (CCAP) which included cultural sensitivity training, a process to document discriminatory incidents and have a Director of Equity and Inclusion, similar to LISD. Most parents did not support the proposal because they felt it was reverse racism.

After a parent lawsuit in late 2020, the plan was blocked. Then a PAC made up of parents fundraised for three board members, who did not support the diversity committee. As a result the committee has been disbanded and CCAP has been rejected.

Laws about Critical Race Theory To stop Critical Race Theory, two bills were passed in the spring by the Senate.

HB 3979 was first passed in a close 1813 vote after hours of debate, along with State Senate Bill 3, two bills that Governor Greg Abbott said were created to stop Critical Race Theory.

“House Bill 3979 is a strong move to abolish critical race theory in Texas, but more must be done,” Abbott said in a statement on his website.

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan

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Patrick was also in support of the bill.

“This is why we don’t want critical race theory taught in schools,” Patrick said. “It breeds false narratives about our history.”

Junior Xander Colett-Bishop agreed with these politicians that said race should be removed from education entirely.

“I think really it’s none of the school’s business to teach us about race at all,” Colet-Bishop said. “I think… we should learn it outside of school.”

World and U.S. History teacher

“

I do think that we have a responsibility, certainly as classroom teachers, to make sure that we’re not driving an agenda.

-Debbie Brininstool, Humanities teacher

Lauren Kirby believes that changing how history is taught can be detrimental to students’ learning.

“Revising history is dangerous because teachers may teach things a certain way and then students may not fully understand the truth and the magnitude of the situation,” Kirby said.

One clause in HB 3979 prevents teachers from talking about current events unless they can “to the best of their ability, strive to explore such issues from diverse and contending perspectives without giving deference to any one perspective.”

Humanities teacher Debbie Brininstool thinks that these rules

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are unclear but that it is important for teachers to keep their personal opinions out of the classroom.

“I do think that we have a responsibility, certainly as classroom teachers, to make sure that we’re not driving an agenda,” Brininstool said.

Junior Tabor Haigh believes that biases can be harmful to the education of students.

“I really do believe that biases should be removed from historical facts,” Haigh said. “It’s not only a detriment to students, because it can be a big detriment to society.”

Black History One problem some minority students express is that the parameters imposed by the bill affect how Black history is discussed in the classroom. Black History Club member and senior Nichol Chibuzor-Muko believes that it is important to discuss social issues and current events in the classroom.

“I feel that talking about it should definitely be normalized, and it shouldn’t be very taboo, or something that makes people uncomfortable,” Chibuzor-Muko

said. “It’s better that we learn from history than repeat it.”

Senior Jazlyn Holmes believes students receive valuable life experiences when discussing race in school.

“I think that exposing kids to real world issues now in the classroom is going to prepare them a lot more for when they get outside of it,” said Holmes.

“They go to school with different races, sexualities of people, and it’s going to be like that in the real world.”

Senior Dylan Stiggers said the conversations at school about Black history are not broad enough.

“If we talk about Black history, we talk about slavery,” Stiggers said. “And that’s all I hear about…Can we talk about something like a little more positive like what we’ve accomplished?”

Holmes also believes that the Civil Rights movement has been downplayed and only certain figures and aspects of it are taught repetitively.

“Historically, there’s a lot more that goes into it than just the Little Rock Nine or the march against Washington, or the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech,” Holmes said.

With these new restrictions, U.S

History teacher Kaitlyn Wilson states that it is imperative to remain factual when discussing significant events.

“I think that making sure that events are told factually is incredibly important,” Wilson said. “Ensuring that the right discussions are being held to maintain accuracy is especially important.”

Liesl’s story of survival told by her son Continued from pg. 17 Liesl’s father thought that moving to London would increase their chance of getting out, so they moved to a crowded apartment house. Liberty was so close, Liesl could almost taste it. But misfortune struck again.

In London, there were constant blackouts to prevent enemy aircraft from spotting places to drop bombs. Liesl’s father was not safe, either. England imprisoned him on the Isle of Man, an island off the coast of Britain.

“So he got kicked out of Germany because he was a Jew. And he got in prison because he was a German national, because they’re the enemy,” Loeb said.

With her father gone, Liesl’s mother had to work double. She could not support Liesl and herself, so Liesl was taken in by another family.

“And at 11 again, now my mother

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was without her mother, and she was without her father, and she had no idea of what was going on,” Loeb said.

“

She had to grow up…she couldn’t be a little girl anymore.

- Joel Loeb

Liesl reunited with them once her mother found passage out. They took a train at night in the middle of a blackout.

“She had to grow up…she couldn’t be a little girl anymore,” Loeb said.

Once they arrived in the United States, the sight of the Statue of Liberty caught

Liesl’s breath. Lady Liberty represented exactly what Liesl’s family searched for: refuge.

••• When Liesl was 77, she and her son traveled to Berlin in 2005. There are monuments dedicated to Jews murdered in the Holocaust decades before. Liesl and Loeb roamed these memorials, nearly lost in their breadth. As they strolled through the city, they came across a synagogue. The building’s facade was dotted with twin towers and a grand entrance. The two walked into a Bar Mitzvah, received warmly by the hosts. Liesl explained who she was to a few of the congregants.

During the service, the young adult read from the Torah, marking a big step in his Jewish identity. Liesl felt a strong tug at her core. She leaned over and whispered to Loeb. Tears streamed from her eyes.

“Hitler didn’t win,” Liesl said.

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SPare Time Bowling club member improves at sport story Hyunsung Na

Junior Veronyca West felt the 14-pound ball release off of her hand for what felt like the 100th time that day. But as the ball left the tip of her thumb, she felt a sudden pain as she saw blood. West couldn’t believe this small injury could cost her state.

••• A year later, West’s thumb injury has healed. Instead, the small burn mark on her thumb, a result of her six day a week bowling schedule has now taken its place. West has been competitively bowling for three years since joining the school’s bowling club her freshman year.

Back then, she joined the school’s bowling club on a whim, because she needed another extracurricular to take up her time.

Instead she found herself thrown into the world of competitive bowling. By the end of the season, West and the team qualified for regionals. After walking around, seeing the different scores at each lane, she found she was dead last.

“It was embarrassing,” West said. “And I was like, ‘you know what, these girls are really good, I want to be like them.’”

The other competitors’ scores of 180 to 200 blew her average of 115 away. She felt so far away from where everyone else was. But instead of quitting, she channeled that feeling into improving.

“I wanted people to see me as somebody they could compete with,” West said. “I wanted people to see me, better than they saw me at the time.”

But improvement had to wait. West

stayed inside quarantined during the peak of COVID-19 but she knew the only way to catch up to her competition was to play game after game at her nearby bowling alley.

“I had been trying to get better, but it’s hard to get better when you aren’t actually putting in the time and effort to do it,” West said.

As soon as the bowling alleys reopened, West put in the hours at multiple alleys and participated in

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game rise from 115 to 165 to 175, scores far higher than the casual bowler she started out as.

During her second run at regionals, everything was going perfectly for West as she picked up multiple spares with pinpoint accuracy. Then during her first game, a blister on her thumb popped.

Bowling for the rest of the tournament afterwards was painful, to the point where it was barely manageable.

“It was the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my entire life,” West said.

“Because I had to keep bowling since there’s no way I could’ve bowled without my thumb.”

Teammate Colin Robb said that he thought the injury was going to hold West back in the tournament.

“I was a little nervous,” Robb said. “You could see it on the video, there was blood everywhere and I thought that was the end of her run for state.”

Despite her setback, West put up high scores that were neck and neck with the other bowlers.

Her strategy for success was to bowl as little as she could.

“At that point I was like, “I want a strike so I don’t have to throw a second ball in every frame,” West said. “So I threw a lot of strikes.”

In her first match in the semifinals, West beat a senior girl 1-2. In two of her matches, she put up two scores of 240.

“Wow, I have a real chance to win this,” West said.

After her semifinal matches came

This is what I loved doing, this was the thing I wanted to continue doing, and I have and I’ve loved it.

- Veronyca West, 11

bowling leagues outside of school as well.

Her love for bowling had skyrocketed past just a hobby. She wanted to play whenever she could. It was now the sport she loved.

“This is what I loved doing,” West said. “This was the thing I wanted to continue doing, and I have and I’ve loved it.”

••• With help from her family and her coaches, West saw her averages each

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West bowls at the International Bowling Campus. She started bowling her freshman year. Photo submitted by Veronyca West

another long wait to find out if she made it to the next round. Getting to state was going to be a whole different challenge.

To get to state, she needed to be one of the eight best players in the building.

Looking around at her competition, she recognized bowlers that she’d seen average 200 before.

“There’s no way I’m going to make it, there’s no way,” West thought.

But then the announcement came.

She was the eighth qualifier.

“I was just happy to be there,” West said. “It was fun and I was just enjoying bowling, and that was the greatest thing.”

She didn’t care at all that she had the lowest average of the qualified players.

West focused instead on the only thing in her control – her score.

“I was thinking how the next frame was the most important thing, like I didn’t care about what happens in the future,” West said. “This was what I needed to care about.”

West was matched up against the projected winner of the entire tournament in one of her state matches, but being an underdog was second nature for her.

Even though she felt the stinging pain in her thumb, West’s determination never wavered. Keeping up frame for frame, West eventually edged out her matchup, clinching an upset win against one of the strongest bowlers in the state.

“That was crazy,” West said. “She

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is such a good bowler. I was just really impressed.”

As a sophomore in the semi finals, West again put up competitive scores, but lost 1-2. She was upset by the result, but getting third at state was the accomplishment that showed her real potential.

“I mean it was the most eye opening experience I’ve ever had,” West said.

“Seeing how well I could do and loving what I’m doing right now, I could see myself doing this forever.”

This type of success has come at a cost for West, as so much of her time is spent bowling, either for one of her multiple leagues or for the school.

“I’m swinging a 14 pound bowling ball 300 times, 400 times, 600 times in a weekend,” West said. “It’s ridiculous.”

But West continues to persevere.

“I just keep going because I know I can be a good bowler whenever I’m having a good day and it’s fun,” West said. “And that’s what motivates me because I know that I want to have those good days more often, and that if I keep doing it, I will have more of those days.”

“I could see me doing this until the day I can’t anymore, I want to go to college for it, I want to go on the PWBA (Professional Women’s Bowling Association) tour,” West said. “Bowling’s the biggest thing in my life right now.”

Awa rds

Since first joining the club, she’s picked up awards from multiple tournaments.

-1st place at a city tournaments -2nd place at a city tournaments, -1st place win in a Plano adult tournament -1st place team win at the Texas State tournament -7th place at a tournament that she won $350 from All added up to hundreds of dollars and a resume likely to attract collegiate offers.

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Faces of the basketball court

story Muna Nnamani photos Avery Jerina

Shane Rogers, Boys Varsity Head Coach

How did the team train for this season?

We tried to take a lot of pride in the off-season. So at the end of last year, we finished 20 and 7. And our goal has always been to build upon the year before, which has been something that we’ve been successful in doing. And so us as a coaching staff, and especially the seniors, try to really give everything they’ve got in that spring off-season, last spring after our season. And, of course, work and play lots of games over the summer and come hit the ground running come August. I thought that we had a really good off-season, both spring and fall, and it’s led to some success early on in the season so far.

What difficulties have you encountered this season?

Right now, we’re a pretty deep team. So we have nine seniors, three sophomores, a freshman. So it’s kind of just balancing all those skills and attributes from each of the kids.

We have three football guys, which is more than what we normally have on the varsity team. And so, again, just trying to get those guys minutes, kind of get the rust off of their game and, again, ultimately contribute to a winning team.

t

o

What are the biggest strengths of this year’s team?

I think one of the biggest strengths is the versatility of our guys. We have guys that have length and have size, and allows us to play our defense certain ways, and then at the same time, get a chance to run and transition, which I think we do better than really any team that I’ve had as the head coach. And we score the ball much better than we have previously. And so, I think those two, as far as on the court, are some of the big advantages that our guys have. And then, it’s a great group to coach, and they’re great guys. High character guys. Love to be around each other. And that makes a difference, when you have a group that you just love to be around and love coach. That’s what it’s about.

Talianna Jenkins, 12 — Girls Power Forward How would you describe this season’s practices in only a couple of words?

Hustle, sweaty, hard.

What are your goals for the season?

Have more chemistry on the team and be more of a leader.

What has been your most difficult match so far?

Playing Krum… because they were a really strong team and scrappy team, and we only won by a couple. So that was a really hard game… Krum was definitely a harder game because the girls were bigger and scrappier, and we won by a point, thank God. Would you rather make the game winning shot or block an opponent’s shot to win the game?

Block the opponent’s shot to win the game… I feel like that’s just more of who I am, and my character because I’m more of a defensive player, and that just sounds better.

What pro player would you most like to play against?

Draymond Green.

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Zane Hicke, 12 — Boys Center How would you describe practices this season in only a couple of words?

I’d say hardworking, intense. I mean, I just feel like we’re just only working hard because we know what our big goal is. The bigger picture.

What are your goals for the season?

At least go past the third round of playoffs, I’d say for a measurable one. And also get first place in District.

Do you have any pre-game rituals?

Yes, I give the pre-game speech every game. It gets everyone hyped up. And yeah, it just gets us all going.

What has been your most difficult match so far?

I feel like a lot of our games, we beat ourselves. But our most difficult match was probably Richland.

Addison Wragge, 9 — Girls Center and Post How would you describe this season’s practices in only a couple of words?

Very hardworking. It’s like everyone’s pushing each other. We are getting into rhythm, understanding each other, and I think it’s really good.

What are your goals for the season?

My game goals are making at least six points and around eight rebounds each game, but probably just, since being a freshman on varsity, I want to play my part right.

What’s it like entering varsity as only a freshman?

It’s really exciting. I’m really honored to be a freshman on varsity. I get to work with a lot of upperclassmen, I get to learn about them, and also learn about the future of what it’s like being a sophomore, or junior, or senior even.

John Wegendt, 12 — Boys Point Guard Do you have any post-game rituals?

After games, I’ll just hang out with the bros. Mostly, we go and eat some food, but mostly just laying low. Recovering the body.

What has been your most difficult match so far?

We played two tough opponents, Clear Brook and Richardson.

Who’s your favorite player of all time?

I gotta go two, John Stockton and Larry Bird.

Who do you think is the best player on the team?

I feel like we’re all good in our own unique ways, but I gotta go with our two captains, Zane and Luke. They really lead the team.

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Breaking batter Reviewing local cookies for baking inspiration

I’ve always enjoyed cooking for people. I particularly enjoy baking cookies for my friends on special occasions. I’ll usually use the little packets of cookie mix that only require an egg and some vegetable oil, pop them in the oven for 10 minutes, and add something to them to really make them unique. That could be a little more salt, maybe some pecans, sometimes I’ll

put a Reese’s cup in the middle. Recently though, I’ve been losing that spark of making the cookies special, and my list of things I can add to them has been crumbling. So I decided to hit up restaurants across Flower Mound that serve cookies to find some inspiration.

sugar

story Garrison Acree

Crumbl Hot Cocoa Cookie It’s the new cookie restaurant that everyone’s been talking about. It’s the place that has weekly specials. It’s the place that some girl in my English class brought cookies from and gave to us for free the day after I went to buy one to review.

Having heard about their weekly specials, I went to Crumbl to grab their new hot cocoa cookie.

The cookie was served warm, which is actually something I haven’t done before unless the batch is fresh out of the oven.

It was sweet and really thick, to the extent that I feel like I should have taken the cashier up on her offer to order some milk. It definetly lived up to its name, tasting like an actual cup of hot cocoa. It was bigger than the ones I usually make. Crumbl has received a lot of recognition from students, and I firmly believe that it lives up to the hype.

Quality- 5/5 Ripoffability- 5/5

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design Alex Thornfelt

entertainment mhsmarquee.com

Subway Chocolate Chip Seeing as Subway has been a family favorite for years, I decided you couldn’t go wrong with them. The cookie itself was pretty soft and a good amount of sweet. Instead of smaller chocolate chips, there were somewhat larger chunks, which is something I’d never considered before. The larger chunks added more to the crunch, and ultimately just made it better. It was somewhat small, about the size of a mini-CD.

But the price was just perfect for it, costing a little over $1. The cookie from Subway proved to be a great addition to a Subway meal, and another source of inspiration for my next batch of cookies.

Quality- 4/5 Ripoffability- 5/5

Mike’s Bakery Chocolate Chip Mike’s Bakery is a smaller store in a bigger shopping center, Kensington Park, off of I-35. They had a wide variety of baked goods, and the shop smelled amazing. I knew what I was after, though: one chocolate chip cookie.

The cookie itself was cheap, costing a little over $1. In terms of size, the cookie was only a little bigger than an Oreo.

Although, the store had great prices, and certainly gave what you pay for. Along with having the perfect balance between

crunch and soft, it also was the perfect size, just between the smaller ones that I make and the bigger one from Crumbl. I could absolutely steal that crunch-to-soft ratio cooking and cooling the next batch in a very specific pattern.

Quality- 3/5 Ripoffability- 4/5

My “Original” Dish To replicate the cookie from Subway, I used larger chocolate chunks instead of smaller chips by chopping up a dollar store Hershey’s bar into the batter. To get that perfect crunch-to-softness ratio from Mike’s Bakery, I threw them in the oven at 375 for 10 minutes before letting them cool and putting them back in for 2 minutes at 400.

Aesthetically, I tried to carbon-copy the hot cocoa cookie from Crumbl by putting icing on top. However, when I started

applying the frosting, it proved difficult to spread. I had to throw the cookies in the microwave to melt the frosting to properly spread it and then put the cookies in the fridge to cool. I guess that’s just the way the cookie Crumbls.

Quality- 4/5 entertainment Jan. 19, 2022

design Alex Thornfelt

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Which teacher are you? story Alanna Reed photos Salma Ali

Running into our teachers at the grocery store is strange. For some reason, we forget they have a life outside of the classroom. That’s not surprising considering we don’t know much about them past their names. Take this quiz to reveal the little things that make our educators who they are.

What is your favorite movie genre?

A. Comedy B. Sci-fi C. Mafia D. Dramas Which era of music is your favorite?

A. It ranges between decades.

B. 20’s C. 80’s D. Grunge If you could meet any historical figure, who would it be and why?

A. Sally Ride. She was very brave.

B. A T-rex. Because why not?

C. Jesus Christ. He has influenced billions of people over 2000 plus years.

D. Ernest Hemingway. I love his novels and a young Ernest Hemingway was fun.

Which fictional character do you identify with the most?

A. Luna Lovegood from “Harry Potter” B. Boo from “Monsters, Inc.” C. Frodo Baggins from “Lord of the Rings” D. Tim O’Brien from “The Things They Carried” How do you make friends?

A. I don’t get to make a lot of new friends.

B. Humor C. Cash plays and the Dark Web D. Most of my friends are childhood friends.

What is the number one quality you look for in a friend?

A. Common sense B. Light heartedness C. Someone who matches my jovial, vivacious, bubbly personality.

D. Loyalty

Pick one adjective to describe yourself.

A. Unpredictable B. Old C. Vivacious D. Resilient

Where is your dream vacation?

A. Colorado B. Space C. Off the grid D. France

What was your favorite subject in school?

A. English B. Music C. Anything social studies D. Astronomy

If you could go back in time to any event, where would you go and why?

A. Watch the Moon landing. It was epic. Go U.S.A. B. Senior year of high school. It was a good time.

C. The forging of the One Ring. I would try to stop it from happening.

D. 1920’s Lost Generation in Paris. They had so much insight after WWI and how they felt about life is usually how I feel about life.

What is your opinion on pineapple on pizza?

A. That’s disgusting.

B. Delicious C. It is a bane on all humanity.

D. Love it. Can’t get enough of it.

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design Marie Dacunos

entertainment mhsmarquee.com

A 2 mostly

mostly

Jacqueline Felan.

She teaches astronomy and sociology. She is a current graduate student at the University of North Texas, studying sociology. She likes to run, lift weights, take care of her chickens, and work in her garden. She graduated from Marcus and was voted Most Spirited Girl in her senior class, and she still loves spirit days. Her favorite lessons to teach are the moon landing in astronomy, and subcultures in sociology.

B @ D C D ?

David Pike. Mr. Pike is a math teacher

that enjoys working with students. He is a father of two boys who got his immature humor passed down to them. Poor boys. He is married to a former Marcus teacher. He also works with the academically competitive teams here at Marcus, including UIL and Academic Decathlon. Go see him if you feel like you have any area you are strong with.

mostly

Ty Kelly.

He only plays the Powerball or Mega-millions lottery jackpots when they are at least $200 million and he is using other peoples’ money. He believes that it is not the first person who gets up to dance, but the one who follows next.

Kelly believes that one of the easiest ways to solve a problem is to always follow the money. And without question…Gandalf > Dumbledore.

mostly

entertainment Jan. 19, 2022

Lauran Popp.

Ms. Popp has been teaching at Marcus for 16 years and loves her job. She graduated from Coppell High School and received a Bachelor’s degree in English and a Master’s degree in American Contemporary Literature from UNT. She enjoys studying legal cases and completed a paralegal program at SMU. She has an amazing 13-year-old daughter who plays many sports, and Ms. Popp enjoys watching her play all of them.

design Marie Dacunos

27

things we like Snack carts are a treat Every Monday, Wednesday and

Friday in first period, students visit classrooms with treats. At only a dollar for a snack and 75 cents for a drink, even the most broke students can scrounge up enough cash for some sugar to get them through class.

The library is a fun place

Anytime a student goes to print out something, check out a book or just needs a quiet place to study, the library is always a great place to go. With large spaces to spread out and mints, students can feel right at home.

We love our janitors

Every day after thousands of students stomp through the hallways and put their grubby hands on every surface, the janitors are there to clean and make sure the school is sanitary for the next day.

They don’t get enough appreciation, but they truly have one of the most important jobs in the school.

Worlds away column Vanessa Cardoso Last summer, I traveled to Mexico City to visit my extended family. I had not seen most of my relatives since I was 12. When I was waiting in line to board the airplane, I remember being a child sitting on a couch in the living room watching Mexican soap operas. I would spend hours seeing them, excited to experience a life that was different from mine.

One night, I saw 70 people gathered together for a birthday party encircling a blindfolded child trying to break a piñata.

The family members would yell at the child “you can do it” or “oh you were so close, try again.” Their encouraging words excited the child and eventually he would hit the pinata until it fell to the ground and pieces of candy covered the floor. Other children would come running to collect the scattered candy.

Soon enough, I was no longer sitting on the couch. I imagined myself at the park holding a stick in my hand breaking the pinata to bits. My daydream was interrupted when I realized the line of people had advanced. I walked onto the plane and I held on to the thought that I could have what the boy did a large family that loved and accepted him.

When I arrived at my aunt’s house, where I would be staying for the next month, I didn’t feel like the little boy.

Instead I felt out of place, like a zoo animal people stopped to stare at.

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design Jennifer Banh

During my visit, my aunt organized a lunch and almost everyone from my dad’s side came. The older women were in charge of the cooking. They spent all afternoon in the kitchen preparing rice, plantains and mole a sweet and tangy brown chocolate sauce. I appreciated their

efforts to make me feel welcome, but the food wasn’t going to make up for the lost time.

When everyone arrived, we sat down to eat and the adults asked me questions.

They were curious to know what my life was like in the United States. I was selfconscious about the way I pronounced words when I responded to their questions.

To make matters worse, one of my uncle’s told me that I had an American accent. I know I have an accent when speaking Spanish, but I just wished he had not rubbed salt in the already festering wound.

After lunch, everyone stayed at the dining table. My family talked about the memories they had shared together, which I had not been a part of, in a language I did not fully understand.

Their smiles and reverberating laughter made me yearn to share their happiness, but I could not because I had spent all these years a thousand miles away living my own life completely separate from theirs. We were strangers. I was with them physically but not spiritually. I felt myself disappear from the room slowly and become a ghost who could slip away at any moment and nobody would notice.

I had the same issue with my cousins.

Trying to get close to them was not easy.

My cousin Rebecca told me, “You are not Mexican. You are a Gringa.” I never understood why she told me that or why it bothered her so much that I was from another country. The gap between us widened further. We were on opposite islands. Mine was less colorful and cheery.

Her’s was filled with liveliness, music that made you want to get up and dance, and food that filled your heart.

After this experience, I realized even though I share my family’s blood and last name, we are not the same: I am American.

This was clear. And I may not have what the little boy at the park did, but I am glad that I was born where I was, although knowing I could have had a large family had things been different has left me with a void that cannot be filled.

opinion mhsmarquee.com

things we don’t like No cafe or sushi

Before last year, students could count on the cafe or sushi bar for a quick snack or coffee break. Now, they no longer have that chance. Bringing back coffee and sushi, the fuel of at least half of the student body, would make for brighter faces throughout the day.

Unstocked vending machines It’s always sad when all a student wants is Goldfish, only to have to settle for the lesser CheezIts. If the vending machines were restocked in a more timely manner, more students could have their favorite snacks while trying not to fall asleep in class.

Follow the crosswalk

When people don’t follow the crosswalk in the parking lot, it makes navigation more difficult for drivers. Following straight lines is something we learned in elementary school. It’s not difficult, and it makes the parking lot a safer place for everyone.

Finding my style column Harrison Hamre I have always cared about the clothes I chose to wear. As a kid I would dress up in a mix of random items ranging from superhero capes to ski goggles with a stethoscope around my neck and my custom yellow checkerboard Vans. I wore bow ties and cardigans with beat up sneakers and graphic tees. I enjoyed not caring. I saw it as a way of expressing myself.

That is until freshman year, when people started treating me differently for the clothes I wore. People would make assumptions about me and spread rumors about my sexuality based around the stereotype that experimenting with clothing was inherently feminine. And a lot of people thought that about me for a long time.

It was like a switch flipped in my head.

I realized how many people had made assumptions about me simply because of my clothes. I had never thought of the clothes I wore as something people would make fun of me for, and I soon became self conscious of everything I did. I started wearing basic clothes and trying my best to fit in. I was trying to be a person that I didn’t even want to be.

This is when I stumbled across Virgil Abloh, a clothing designer and artist whose work and attitude inspired me to be myself.

Abloh was an unrivaled creative mind who revolutionized the fashion industry during the 2010’s.

opinion Jan. 19, 2022

With innovative and eye-catching designs mixed with exclusivity and multiple Nike collaborations, the hype around his brand, Off-White, was unparalleled. When collaborating with Nike, he took their classic sneaker silhouettes and completely reimagined them in his industrial streetwear design style, creating some of the most iconic sneaker collaborations of all time.

In 2018, Abloh became the artistic director for menswear at the iconic high fashion label, Louis Vuitton and made history as the first ever black head designer at a major high fashion label.

Abloh died on Nov. 28 at the age of 41, but he will never be forgotten. He opened the door for young, unconventional designers to follow in his footsteps and was an inspiration to an entire generation of creators who wish to express themselves regardless of the opinions of others.

His impact is deeper than clothing.

Abloh was a trailblazer who paved his

own path and became one of the most famous and well known designers in the world through only 15 years in the fashion industry. He didn’t go to fashion design school like the majority of clothing designers. Instead he went his own way as an independent artist, and he worked his way to the top by a mix of talent and sheer will power.

He gave me confidence to wear whatever I want but also to take more risks in my life. He designed clothes because he wanted to , and it’s that level of passion, an undying work ethic and simply not caring about the criticism of others that led him to success.

Abloh will be sorely missed, but his legacy will live on by motivating and influencing countless artists and people, myself included.

I’ve been wearing the clothes that I want to wear. I have the confidence now to try out clothes that I find cool like wide fit pants and loafers. Now I get to experiment with mixing vintage streetwear and classic menswear pieces and it feels great having fun with my outfits again.

If you wear clothes that are out of the ordinary it stands out to people, but that doesn’t matter. Clothes shouldn’t be attached to a gender or sexuality. Anyone should be able to wear the clothes they like whether that’s jeans, sneakers, a full suit or 5 inch heels. I enjoy expressing myself through clothes and having fun with fashion, and nobody will take that away from me again.

design Jennifer Banh

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When it’s time to move on column Garrison Acree

On the corner of Pollard Drive in Tyler, Texas sits a charming little house. It’s nothing special – just a one-story brick house with a two-car garage and a wellkept garden. Just over the wooden fence that encloses the yard, 8-year-old me stood next to the trampoline, working on a school project about the solar system.

Stretching across the width of the yard were all sorts of things – some sport balls, rocks and other miscellaneous items, lined up to symbolize the solar system. As I recall the things that Mrs. Costanza taught us over the last few weeks, I use this line to visualize the size of the planets and distance between them. Until I’m brought back to Earth by the quiet creak of the back door to the house opening. I turned around to see my mom walking outside.

“How’s it going out here?”

“Pretty good, just making a kind of model here.”

“Sounds pretty good. How about a lunch break? I made you a PB&J and some fruit.”

“Yeah, sure. I’m kinda hungry.”

She smiled at me before turning around and walking back inside. As I followed her, the sun went behind a cloud and the breeze picked up a bit. The world gets just a little bit darker and I heard the sound of the wind flowing. For a moment, I turned around and looked back at the model of the solar system and felt proud of the project.

For just a moment, I gave a light smile.

It was a nice, simple life. There, my

mom and I had everything we needed. The house was always clean and organized and the days were quiet, save my dog barking at a car driving by. The homework I was assigned was fun to do and rewarding. If I could, I would have stayed in that little house forever.

Excited for that peanut butter sandwich, I turned around and followed my mom inside.

••• That day would end up being one of my fondest memories from when I lived in Tyler. It was also seven months before I would end up permanently moving 200 miles away.

This move proved to be the biggest transition of my life. All of a sudden, I was living in a new house, going to a new school, in a new life. Now that I’m finally comfortable with this new life, I find myself

worrying about yet another transition that’s coming soon.

Back in Tyler, the biggest things to worry about were staying up past 10 PM and writing a soppy love letter to my thirdgrade crush. I didn’t have to worry about getting a job, applying to college or finding somewhere to live. Although, maybe that transition from Tyler to here has prepared me for what’s to come.

When I turned 16, I realized my life has been split into two parts: The first eight years in Tyler, and the last eight years here. It was terrifying then to leave Tyler and start a new life in a new town.

It’s terrifying now, thinking about what I’m going to major in, or how in the world I’m going to pay for tuition. But over the last eight years that I’ve lived here, I’ve joined so many programs that have given me even more opportunities. As I enter my fourth semester on the newspaper staff and sixth semester in JROTC, I start yet another eighteen weeks with the remarkable people that I’ve had the opportunity to work with.

Though I often wish to relive the days in Tyler, this life here in Flower Mound has been just as great.

Now that there’s even more years ahead, along with a whole new life, it’s time to finally let go of those days As I think about going back, I realize something important – the past is final. We can’t relive it. But I’m fortunate enough to have those great memories. Even though those days are over, the future holds even more opportunities to make even better memories.

o v e r h e a r d “Don’t say you’re stressed and then just giggle.

That’s just foul.” - Newsroom

“He picked up my notebook and threw it on the floor.

He’s up to his misogynistic ways again.”

- C Hall “Wow, you’re such a quirky little lawbreaker.”

- A Hall “The people at Chick-fil-A forgot to give me a straw, so my morning is pretty much ruined.” - Orchestra Room

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design Marie Dacunos

“Yeah, we’re the popular kids here.”

“We’re literally sitting in the back corner of the cafeteria.” - Cafeteria “Stop being responsible, no one likes that.”

- 9th Grade Campus

“‘Eternals’ was terrible. We should have watched the new Clifford movie instead.”

- W Hall “Wow, you guys are such antisocial gamers.”

- Orchestra Room

opinion mhsmarquee.com

compiled Aishani Raju photos Salma Ali

Do you think there should be conversations about social issues in the classroom? Do you think there should be a limitation of what is discussed in the classroom?

Garrett Buckles, 11

Collin Baird, 11 I don’t think it’s fair to limit classrooms. I feel like it makes it to where people can’t learn as easily if their views aren’t seen. And then it makes it to where I feel like we don’t have as informed students, because they’re only taught one thing and they’re not allowed to discuss.

I feel like we should put some restrictions on it.

If the class doesn’t feel comfor table talking about it (social issues), then maybe just leave it out.

Trinity Hoffmann, 11

Thomas Raymond, 11

a I think that we have we’re that curriculum I supposed to stick to and think if a teacher goes off of what we’re supposed it to be learning about, can negatively impact our learning.

It’s just history…you might as well talk about it with the facts head on. And just try and get an objective viewpoint. View all sides, view like just explicitly how it was in there more about it.

Holocaust comparisons are inappropriate staff editorial

Recently, a Tiktok went viral when an unvaccinated woman revealed her shaved head. She compared herself to the victims of the Holocaust who would have their heads shaved against their will, leading to many people speaking out against her.

Though most anti-vaxxers don’t use the Holocaust to support their point, this is not an isolated incident. In recent news, we see pictures of people wearing yellow Stars of David to compare the oppression of Jewish people during the Holocaust to recent push for COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

This type of casual, agenda-driven use of the Holocaust has spread to media outlets. FOX News personality Lara Logan compared Dr. Anthony Fauci, the face of the country’s COVID response, to Josef Mengele, the Nazi doctor nicknamed “Angel of Death,” who subjected Jewish Europeans to gruesome experiments.

These insensitive and harmful comparisons are antisemitic.

Often times, young kids are exposed to

opinion Jan. 19, 2022

and participate in antisemitism without understanding the history behind it. It’s not rare to find swastika vandalism by students on bathroom stalls and textbooks around the country. Even if these hateful symbols can be erased, the effect it has on Jewish students can’t.

Students often don’t understand how important this part of history is to Jewish families. According to the Pew Research Center, nearly three-fourths of American Jews consider remembering and understanding the Holocaust an essential to their identity. At the beginning of World War II in 1939, roughly 9.5 million Jews lived in Europe. Today, there are only 1.4 million Jews in Europe, mainly due to the genocides that occurred during the Holocaust.

As Americans, we have the right to free speech, but for anyone to casually compare themselves to the roughly twothirds of Europe’s Jewish population who were murdered during the Holocaust is ignorant and insensitive.

Students read about the Holocaust or

memorize facts for a test but they might forget that each of the lives lost was a mother, a father or a child.

Today, we have the resources available to learn history, and how it affects the world today. People should seek to understand and educate themselves and encourage others to do the same when they see antisemitism. For our community to feel safe to Jewish people, we need to start calling out hate and antisemitism when we see it.

Books about the Holocaust - “Night” by Elie Wiesel - “Boy in Striped Pajamas” by John Boyne - “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak - “Still Alive: A Holocaust Girlhood Remembered” by Ruth Klüger - “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl -”Number the Stars” by Lois Lowry

design Marie Dacunos

31

Down to the wire photos Avery Jerina

The Marauders played lockdown defense Jan. 7 in a close game at home. The visiting Hebron Hawks brought their best, but the fourth quarter lead kept going back and forth. However by the end of the game, the Marauders ended up on top with the 36-33 win secured.

Senior Luke Smith makes a layup against a Hebron player.

Smith scored 11 points in the game, the most on the team.

Senior Chase Patrick dribbles past a Hebron defender.

Patrick scored a total of 8 points in the tightly contested win.

Senior Zane Hicke drives toward the hoop with a defender tightly guarding him.

Senior Chase Patrick shoots a free throw at the end of the fourth quarter.

Senior Dallas Dudley dodges a Hebron defender. Dudley scored 6 points during the winning game.