Dec 2017

Students donate time, resources for holiday fund raisers p. 4

Winter sports update p. 8

Founded in 1991 Vol. XXVII Issue III

December 2017 http://thepirateshook.com

Acosta's case continues

By Elijah King Wildin Acosta graduated in June, but his journey is not over yet.

Acosta fled gang violence in 2014 from Honduras. After traveling by foot and bus through Guatemala and Mexico, he turned himself in to immigration officials at the border. He was later released to join his parents in North Carolina and enrolled at Riverside.

In January 2016 he was arrested, detained, and set for deportation.

Thanks to the help of students, teachers, community organizations, and elected officials, the Department of Homeland Security halted his deportation and eventually released him.

After returning to RHS in September to earn his remaining credits, Acosta graduated last June.

His appeal for asylum went to court on Oct. 6, but Judge V. Stuart Couch delayed the case until Dec. 5. Acosta, 20, got married on Nov. 6 and filed an I-130 visa application which, if approved, would allow him to stay in the country legally because his wife, Angela, is a US citizen.

At the trial, Acosta’s attorney stated that they had submitted the I-130 application days before and had the marriage certificate and letters, but needed more time to produce additional evidence.

I-130 visa applicants have to produce evidence of an authentic marriage, such as a marriage certificate, witness list, letters from friends and family members claiming the marriage is real, photographs and proof of shared assets like joint bank accounts and utility bills.

Angela attended Hillside High School. She and Wildin met during high school, then later reconnected online.

His attorney, Nardine Guirguis, addressed the media after the trial and spoke at length about their marriage.

“From my own personal knowledge, I’ve seen them bicker like husband and wife,” she said. “I’ve seen them kissing each other like husband and wife, where I’m like ‘go get a room,’ and I have as since recognized that this this is nothing short of a beautiful marriage that we all strive to find.”

Couch will now decide whether or not to approve Acosta’s request to withdraw his appeal for asylum.

The trial is scheduled to resume on January 4, 2018 at 11 a.m., but Couch could make his decision sooner and inform both sides in writing.

Acosta and his legal team were excited to get extra time to build his visa application.

“It’s only a month, but anything can happen,”Acosta said.

2017 graduate Wildin Acosta speaks to media with his wife, Angela, after his Dec. 5 hearing.

His trial has delayed until Jan. 4.

• PHOTO BY BRYAN CHRISTOPHER

Sophomore Colby Vasquez (left), senior Quatasia Jones (center) and freshman Angel Ortiz (right) pose with their December Student of the Month • PHOTO BY ASHLEY CRUZ plaques. Riverside recognizes students' positive decisions and contributions to the school every month.

Students of the Month recognized for fairness New program highlights positive behaviors and decisions

By Talitha Maxwell Freshman Angel Mejia Ortiz, sophomore Coby Vasquez Hernandez, junior TaKala McNeil and senior Quatasia Jones were named Riverside’s December Students of the Month.

The purpose of the Student of the Month program is for the school to recognize students who demonstrate a specific character trait. While Riverside has offerred numerous

ways to honor outstanding students, this is the first time Students of the Month have been recognized for a specific trait each month.

“The student of the month program is to get Riverside going in a different direction so students don’t feel like their only disciplined,” says administrative intern Brittany Chambers.

The program rewards kids for doing good things while in school, such as getting good grades, making

Kadeira Carr joins RHS Administrative team

By Estefany Fuentes Riverside finally has a new assistant principal.

Kadeidra Carr joined the RHS administrative team on Dec. 4. She replaces Charles Carter, who left on Sept. 29 for Page High School in Greensboro, NC. The wait wasn’t only long for Riverside but also for Carr.

“It was exhausting,” she said.

“There was a time when I didn’t know if I was going to be able to come or not.”

Carr was an assistant principal at Lakeview Secondary School for the past five years. Lakeview is a school that contains students who have been long term suspended from their base schools or administratively placed there by their principal. “[Lakeview] is a very high energy school with a family feel,” She said. “It’s not a bad school. It just happens to contain students who make bad decisions."

Carr said no two days are the same at Lakeview.

Carr would describe herself the same way her previous students would describe her, she’s energetic, self-motivated,flexible, very passionate about students, very transparent, open door policy, hard worker, and a team player. Her students at Lakeview would always go to her for assistance if needed help with anything.

“I had a strong relationship with my students,” she said.

Before coming to Riverside, Carr did some homework. She knows that Riverside is one of the better schools in Durham. She’s heard about the school’s new robotics program, and looks forward to working with such a diverse student body.

“I think [the diversity]is absolutely awesome,” she said.

When she first heard she was going to be an assistant principal here she was very excited about working at a comprehensive high school. Carr last worked at one in

responsible decisions or helping out in the school. “[The school] assigns each department a character trait," said English teacher Alecia Knaub, who helps organize the program. "For example, November’s character trait was fairness and this month in Social Studies it's courage.”

Teachers and administrators hope the program helps highlight positive things happening in the building.

“Sometimes people tend to fo-

cus on the negative things that are happening like fights, incidents, or restricted movement,” said Chambers. “This is talking about the good things students are doing in the school.”

While many students can be nominated each month, only a few win.

“When more than one nominee is chosen in a grade level we randomly pick a student out of the hat,” said Knaub.

Kadeira Carr se une al equipo de administracion de RHS

Por Estefany Fuentes Wake County four years ago.

She’s also excited to work with Riverside finalmente tiene un nueRiverside’s administrative team. vo subdirector.

“I was really excited to know Mrs. Kadeidra Carr se unió al equipo Williams was principal here,” Carr administrasaid. “I tivo de RHS know el 4 de dicI'm goiembre. Ella ing to reemplazará learn a Charles a lot Carter, quifrom en se fue el her.”

29 de septiH e r embre para expecPage High tations School en f o r Greensboro, RivCarolina del erside Norte. a r e La espera simno solo fue •PHOTO BY JAVIER MORALES p l e .

New Assistant principal Kadeira Carr joined RHS a g o tadora S h e on Dec. 4.

She previously worked at Lakeview. para Riverwants side, sino también para Carr. the students to follow the rules “Fue agotador,” dijo Ms. Kadeidra and do the right things. She wants Carr.

“Hubo un momento en que no the staff to be a team player and sabía si iba a poder venir o no.” to be available for the students if Carr fue subdirectora de Lakevneeded. To have an open door policy iew Secondary School durante los where kids feel comfortable talking últimos cinco años.

Lakeview es una to the staff. escuela que contiene estudiantes que “It’s such a big school,” she said, han sido suspendidos a largo plazo “but I feel like it can still have a de la escuela o ubicados administrafamily feel.” tivamente allí por principio.

During her first few weeks on “[Lakeview} es una escuela de con the job, Carr has noticed that Rivmucha energía y con un ambiente erside doesn’t have many fights or familiar,” dijo Carr. “No es una discipline issues, but there is a lot mala escuela.”.Simplemente sucede of skipping going on. que contiene estudiantes que toman “It’s like, habitual,” she said. “We malas decisiones are talking about days and days."

Carr dijo que no hay dos días que Carr wants to dig deep into the sean iguales en Lakeview. data and figure out why kids are not “Tuve una relación sólida con mis coming to school. That’s her biggest alumnos,” dijo Carr . priority to fix at RHS. Carr se describiría a sí misma de She also said the staff has been la misma manera que sus alumnos amazing. Everyone has been very anteriores la describirían, ella es helpful and welcoming. energética, automotivada, flexible, She’s also enjoyed working with students and looks forward to learn- muy apasionada acerca de los estudiantes, muy transparente, y con ing more about them.

If you ever need assistance from una política de puertas abiertas, Carr she will be outside the court- trabajadora y jugadora de equipo.

Sus estudiantes de Lakeview siempre yard during lunch duty. acudían a ella en busca de ayuda si

la necesitaban.

Antes de venir a Riverside, Carr hizo algunos deberes. Ella sabe que Riverside es una de las mejores escuelas de Durham. Ella ha escuchado acerca del nuevo programa de robótica de la escuela y espera con ansias trabajar con un cuerpo estudiantil que es tan diverso.

“Creo que [la diversidad] es absolutamente increíble,” dijo Carr.

Cuando se enteró por primera vez de que iba a ser subdirectora, estaba muy entusiasmada de trabajar en una escuela secundaria completa. Carr trabajó por última vez en una en el condado de Wake, pero eso fue hace cuatro años.

Ella también está emocionada de poder trabajar con el equipo administrativo de Riverside. “Estaba realmente emocionada de saber que la Sra. Williams era la directora aquí,” dijo Carr. “Sé que voy a aprender mucho de ella.” Sus expectativas para Riverside son simples. Ella quiere que los estudiantes sigan las reglas y hagan las cosas correctas.

Ella quiere que el personal sea como un jugador de equipo y esté disponible para los estudiantes si es necesario. Tener una política de puertas abiertas donde los niños se sientan cómodos hablando con el personal.

“Es una escuela tan grande”, dijo, “pero siento que aún así puede tener un ambiente familiar.”

Durante sus primeras semanas en el trabajo, Carr se ha dado cuenta de que Riverside no tiene muchas peleas o problemas de disciplina, pero hay muchas omisiones.

“Es como, habitual,” dijo. “Estamos hablando de días y días."

Carr quiere profundizar en los datos y descubrir por qué los niños no van a la escuela. Esa es su principal prioridad para arreglar en RHS. Ella también dijo que el personal ha sido increíble. Todos han sido muy serviciales y acogedores.

Ella también disfruta trabajando con estudiantes y espera aprender más sobre ellos.

Traduccion Por Ricardo Galeas

2

•Editors: Eliza Althisar, Zoe Ashe-Jones, Leonardo Galeas-Salgado, Joe Laird •Photo Editor: Ashley Cruz •Artists:Taj Smith, Priscilla Tuhkanen •Web Editor: Ricardo Galeas-Salgado •Staff: Luis Apolonio, Alexis Del Castillo, Mair Famet, Estephany Fuentes, Ashley Gonzalez, Sigrid Jensenoyaski, Elijah King, Zach Krause, Lucas Krieg, Talitha Maxwell, Javier Morales, Sheenah Nela, Joshua Nicholson, Diavian Poole, Divaldo Santos, Abraham Sarmiento-Hernandez, Llahir Soto-Luna

Editorials

Give it up for our RHS “Firsts” On November 11, Tiffany Haddish hosted Saturday Night Live.

Of the 568 hosts during the show’s 43 seasons, Haddish was just the twelfth African-American woman and the first black female stand-up comedian. It was a historic moment, but also a startling reminder that opportunities for minorities, particularly females, are still far from equal.

Founded in 1991, Riverside High School has had many female, minority “firsts” worthy of recognition.

Marguerite Peebles was Riverside’s first African-American female principal.

Serving from 1994 to 1997, Peebles paved the way for future administrators like Jackie Tobias and Tonya Williams. Science teacher Jeff HarI would have quit school. I don’t know Journal of Personality and Social ris, who has taught who would be writing this column, Psychology showed that in the first here since the school but it sure as heck wouldn’t be me. minute of embarrassment, heart opened in 1991, said I would be sitting at home reliving rate increased, but after minute two, Peebles’ left a lasting that memory and crying. When it it was back to normal. The study legacy. happened to me as a senior, I sat on also showed that embarrassment “She helped began the table and laughed hysterically. increases your blood pressure over a shift to more faculAccording to an article in Psychol- the whole two minutes. ogy Today, embarrassment is actually ty involvement in decision making,”Harris said. “[There was When you’re embarrassed, it good for you. It helps to maintain might feel like you’re the only also a] motherly aspect to her personality and she knew how social order by communicating to person this has EVER happened to provide the comforting effect of your mother” to students.

By Zoe-Ashe-jones others that you understand what you to and you’ll never recover from Harris also said Peebles knew how to separate those who did wrong (that made you embar- it, but you’re not. Everyone gets Last month, I broke a table by want to ride along and those who actually want to promote sitting on it. Later that week, I was rassed) and that you’ll try to do better. embarrassed, whether they show change. walking down the hall and I got hit People who show embarrassment and it or not.

Athletic director Margaretha is another example of someone with a basketball. Once I accidentally apologize are more likely to be liked My life is a string of incredibly who took the the first steps towards diversifying Riverside’s and forgiven than those who don’t. embarrassing occurrences. Even FaceTimed my ex. faculty. Chambers came moved with her students to RHS when the All my life, I’ve been plagued by Embarrassment in flirting can even thinking about writing this article school opened. She is Riverside’s first African-American female embarrassing moments. Things hap- make your crush like you more. is embarrassing me. While life There are also physical responses and everything about it is pretty athletic director. She’s worked in Durham Public Schools for over pen to me that wouldn’t make normal people blush, but make my whole face to embarrassment. As a little kid, embarrassing, there’s nothing 40 years, making her the district’s longest-tenured employee, but turn red and force me to replay sce- when I got embarrassed, I would anyone can do about it. The science plans to retire at the end of the school year. narios in my head. Through the course cry. Class presentations? Cue the behind embarrassment shows that Most recently, Angelica Spratley became the first African-Amerof a day, I’m probably embarrassed tears. Talking to a cute boy? Here everyone is embarrassed and it ican female engineering teacher when she joined RHS in 2016. come the waterworks. Anything and affects everyone, even if they don’t at least 20 times.

“I originally came to Riverside to tutor several students, and While I get embarrassed a lot, everything would embarrass me, and show it. Knowing that makes me parents told Mr.Velegol, so he reached out to me about the posiit hasn’t stopped me from being a in turn, make me bawl. feel better, because if everyone tion” Spratley said.

When you get embarrassed, the experiences embarrassment the functional member of society. I’m “I hope that when I leave, that someone that is just as passionate an editor of the paper, player on two veins in your neck and face are same way, I’m not that weird after about diversity, restorative justice, and minorities in STEM will sports teams and captain of one, and programmed to dilate in response, all. Personally, being constantly take my place,” Spratley said. an okay student. I’ve even gotten into making you blush, according to the embarrassed has helped me. I college! Embarrassment is just a part same Psychology Today article. This don’t have to do my makeup in Riverside is lucky to have more opportunities for women of of my life now, so I’ve managed to is really interesting because it tells the morning-I can just think about color than Saturday Night Live, but we could still do more. Our us that embarrassment and blushing something embarrassing and I have deal with it thus far. faculty is an important part of our school, and it should be as diare a genetic advantage that helped blush on.

Over the years, my sense of what is verse as our student population. It’s important for students to see truly embarrassing has changed, too. us at one point, or why would we people who look like them leading classrooms and other schools.

Freshman year, if I had broken a table, still have it? A study published in the Thank you, Ms. Peebles, Coach Chambers and Ms. Spratley, for paving the way.

Riverside is lucky to have more opportunities for women of color than Saturday Night Live, but we could still do more.

Demosle aliento a nuestras primeras de RHS El 11 de noviembre, Tiffany Haddish organizó Saturday Night Live. De los 568 anfitriones durante las 43 temporadas de la serie, Haddish fue la duodécima mujer Afroamericana y la primera comediante Afroamericana. Fue un momento histórico, pero también un recordatorio sorprendente de que las oportunidades para las minorías, especialmente las mujeres, aún distan mucho de ser iguales.

Fundada en 1991, Riverside High School ha tenido muchas “primicias” femeninas y minoritarias dignas de reconocimiento.

Marguerite Peebles fue la primera directora Afroamericana de Riverside. Sirviendo desde 1994 hasta 1997, Peebles despejo el camino para futuros directores como Jackie Tobias y Tonya Williams. El profesor de ciencias Jeff Harris, que ha enseñado aquí desde que se abrió la escuela en 1991, dijo que Peebles dejó un legado duradero.

“Ella ayudó a comenzar un cambio hacia una mayor participación de la facultad en la toma de decisiones”, dijo Harris. “También hubo un aspecto maternal en su personalidad y ella supo cómo proporcionar el efecto maternal” a los estudiantes.

Harris también dijo que Peebles sabía cómo separar a los que solamente hacían su trabjo y los que realmente querían promover el cambio.

La directora atlética Margaretha Chambers es otro ejemplo de alguien que dio los primeros pasos hacia la diversificación de la facultad de Riverside. Chambers se mudó con sus estudiantes a RHS cuando se inauguró la escuela. Ella es la primera directora atlética Afroamericana de Riverside. Ha trabajado en las Escuelas Públicas de Durham por más de 40 años, convirtiéndola en la empleada más antigua del distrito, pero planea retirarse al final del año escolar.

En el 2016 Angelica Spratley se convirtió en la primera profesora Afroamericana que enseña ingenieria en RHS. “Originalmente daba clases de tutoría a varios estudiantes, y los padres le dijeron al Sr. Veegol, por lo que se comunicó conmigo sobre el puesto”, dijo Spratley.

“Espero que cuando me vaya, esa persona tan apasionada por la diversidad, la justicia restaurativa y las minorías en STEM ocupe mi lugar”, dijo Spratley.

Riverside tiene la suerte de tener más oportunidades para las mujeres de color que Saturday Night Live, pero aún podemos hacer más. Nuestra facultad es una parte importante de nuestra escuela, y debe ser tan diversa como nuestra población estudiantil. Es importante que los alumnos vean a personas que se parecen a ellos como aulas líderes y otros puestos de liderazgo. Gracias, Ms. Peebles, Coach Chambers y Ms. Spratley, por despejar el camino.

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December 2017

Opinion

3

Face Off: Who's the real GOAT?

He's called the GOAT for a reason

By Zach Krause

The stats and rings speak for themselves, Michael Jordan is the greatest player in basketball history. His points-per-game average is the best ever He went sixfor-six in NBA championship games and earned the Finals MVP every single time.

No other player has ever done this, including Lebron James.

T h e r e ’s a reason Jordan is known as t h e “ G O AT ” (greatest of all time), and it’s because no one else has come close to his level of greatness.

This debate shouldn’t even be happening, since James’ career isn’t even over yet, and as of now he hasn’t achieved what Jordan did. James only has three championships in eight finals, and although his stats are extremely good and his leadership is unparalleled, Jordan still has to be considered the better player.

One of the biggest questions in basketball history is: what if Michael Jordan hadn’t taken a total of four years off from basketball during the middle of his career? Jordan had averaged well over 30 points

per game for seven seasons straight when he took a year off to play minor league baseball. He then came back to average slightly under 30 points per game for four more seasons before retiring for three seasons.

He could routinely put the team on his back to get the result he needed.

Who could forget that historic second half comeback against the Monstars in Space Jam?

Lonzo Ball is overrated To me Lonzo ball is the most overrated. People say he’s going to be on of the greatest, but personally I don’t think that’s going to happen.

If he keeps playing how he is now, he’s not only in trouble, but the lakers will be in worse trouble than they’re already in.

They already lost two of their star players last year: Nick young, and D’angelo Russell. And Lonzo is only dragging them down.

He was good in college, but he must have cold feet.

He was getting more points in college than he is now.

In college he was averaging 14.6 point per game. But

He came back again after that for two more seasons to average slightly more than 20 points per game at the age of 39. One of the main reasons James is considered a better player is that he just has more of every stat, but had Jordan actually played a full career the story could be very different.

It’s no secret that basketball games are won by scoring the most points, and the greatest scorer of all time is Jordan.

Other stats come into play, too, when discussing who the best player of all

time is, but scoring has to be considered the most important stat, and no one in history has been better.

Jordan’s ability to perform in big games is evident in the fact that he made it to the NBA championship game six times, won every single time, and was named finals MVP every single time. Lebron has only won three championships despite making it to the championship game six times, meaning his success rate in the finals in half of Jordan’s.

Although James is a very respectable basketball player, Jordan’s record in the finals, and unparalleled level of scoring makes him the better player. Michael Jordan changed the way basketball is played like no other player has before, inspiring a whole generation of future basketball players to “Be like Mike.”

Jordan’s incredible career could have been even better than what is was if he had played more, which is crazy to think about. He routinely put the team on his back to get the result that was needed. Who could forget that historic second half comeback against the Monstars in Space Jam. If Lebron can somehow manage to beat the Warriors in the finals again maybe he’ll pass Jordan as the “GOAT”, but for now he still remains the king and Jordan retains his title of the GOAT.

• GRAPHIC BY TAJ SMITH

There's only one King

By Joe Laird The question we are discussing is who is the best basketball player of all time. It is not who is the greatest champion ever, that is Bill Russell. It is not who has scored the most points, that is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The greatest basketball player ever is Lebron James, and based on statistics, that is indisputable.

Michael Jordan is considered the greatest player of all time by some for two reasons: his scoring and his championships. These two things do not round out an entire basketball player’s career, and they certainly don’t prove Jordan to be better than Lebron.

James is the more than just a scorer, and he leads Michael Jordan in almost every other statistical category. His career averages (and/or totals) assists, rebounds, blocks, and field goal and shooting percentages are all better. His well-rounded style of play provides more scoring opportunities for his team, and overall makes other players better than Jordan’s often one-dimensional scoring.

Because of his well-rounded play style, Lebron has a visibly bigger impact on his team, and it shows when he walks away from them. In 2009, Lebron left the Cleveland Cavaliers, who he had led to the NBA Finals just one year before. After he left, the

Cavaliers went from having a 61-21 record in 2009-10 to going 19-63 in 2011-12 after he left. When Michael Jordan left the Chicago Bulls in 1993, they went from having a 57-25 record, to a 55-27 record. This proves that Jordan’s teams accounted for much more of the the workload than just himself, while Lebron accounts for most of his teams production.

Along with this, James has a\ box plus/minus(a measure of all statistics put together, seeing how you positively or negatively affect the production on

Even though Jordan beat the Monstars with the Toon Squad behind him, Lebron made it to the NBA Finals with a team of Zydrunas Ilgauskases backing him up. your team) 9.15, which is better than anyone else in history by over a full point. The second in history is Jordan, more than a full point behind at 8.09. As far as bpm goes, Lebron is by far the best in NBA history, which speaks volumes towards his production on the court, and the success of his teams.

Lebron James is also much more versatile than Jordan was, as he can play any position on the court and be one of the best, if not the best, at

the position he is playing. He has the passing ability and athleticism of an elite point guard, and the physical dominance of an all-star center. Michael Jordan, on the other hand, was not able to compete with the physical big men of his time period, and couldn’t keep up to their elite style of post play.

Along with this, Lebron James is one of the most durable players of all time. Through 15 seasons, the longest amount of time Lebron has missed is just two weeks, which is especially impressive for someone averaging 38.9 minutes per game in their career. Jordan, on the other hand, broke his foot in his second season, and missed 64 games throughout the season. Along with this, Jordan took four seasons off in between his 15-year career, which provided him with time to rest and recover from any tearing down in his body. James, however, has performed consistently as the best player in the world for 15 consecutive seasons, and doesn’t show any signs of wearing down.

Lebron James has at least 3 more years of performing on this incredible level that he has maintained throughout the last 15 years, and he may even produce more than that. Lebron James leads Michael Jordan in nearly every statistical category, and though Jordan has more rings, he also had better teams.

Even though Jordan beat the Monstars with the Tune Squad behind him, Lebron made it to the NBA Finals with a team of Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ backing him up, which is certainly the bigger accomplishment.

Letters To The Editor

now he averages 8.7 points per game.

I usually don’t agree with Stephen A. Smith, but at this point I think it’s okay. A few weeks ago Stephen smith called Lonzo ball a bust. And if you look at his stats, from last year to this year, there’s no doubt about it.

Lonzo ball is not a bad player, he’s just not using his full potential. In some games he goes off, meaning he drops over 20 points, crossovers, and he’s draining threes.

The Lakers have won 2 of their last 5 games, which dropped them down to eleventh in the western conference.

I’m not saying Lonzo is a bad player, but he needs to get it together.

By Wesley Williams, freshman

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student organizations give back this holiday season.

Chick-Fil-A Leader Academy will provide holiday cards, care packages, and sing Christmas Carols

50 residents at Concordia Transitional Care and Rehabilitation.

The Junior Classical League collected over 50 pounds of non-perishable food items for Durham for over

Urban Ministries.

100 chew toys for dogs in shelters.

Men’s Varsity Basketball read books to 90 first graders at Holt Elementary School.

Men’s Varsity Basketball will spend 4 hours at the Durham Rescue Mission helping them preparing The Junior Classical League made over

the Christmas Meal on Dec. 22.

The Republican Club raised

$100 for two randomly selected teachers to donate to a charity of their choice.

8 Riverside families.

French Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society and Destino Success collected over 55 winter coats SGA collected turkeys and canned food for

for Riverside ESL students and their families.

32 christmas carols at Croasdaile retirement community.

JROTC raised $1,720.00 in its adopt a family program that supported 6 families this year Tri-M sang

with Christmas gifts.

By Ashley Gonzalez

• PHOTO BY ERIC WENNERSTROM

Riverside's Latin Club has a monthly service project to help their community. In December they made over 100 toys for dogs in shelters, and in November they collected canned food for Durham Urban Ministries.

Continua el caso de Acosta Por Elijah King Wildin Acosta se graduó en Junio, pero su trayecto aún no termina.

Acosta huyó de la violencia de pandillas en Honduras en el 2014.

Después de viajar a pie y en autobús por Guatemala y México, se entregó a oficiales de inmigración en la frontera. Posteriormente fue liberado para unirse a sus padres en Carolina del Norte y se inscribió en Riverside.

En enero de 2016, fue arrestado, detenido y procesado para ser deportado. Gracias a la ayuda de estudiantes, maestros, organizaciones comunitarias y funcionarios electos, el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional detuvo su deportación y finalmente lo liberó.

Volviendo a RHS para obtener los créditos restantes y finalmente logró graduarse el pasado mes de Julio.

Su apelación para un asilo llego a la corte el 6 de octubre, pero el juez V. Stuart Couch pospuso el caso para el 5 de diciembre. Se casó el 6 de noviembre y presentó una solicitud de visa I-130 que, de aprobarse, permitiría a Acosta permanecer en ella. el país porque su esposa, Angela, es ciudadana estadounidense.

En el juicio, el abogado de Acosta declaró que había presentado la solicitud I-130 días antes y que tenía el certificado de matrimonio y las cartas, pero que necesitaba más tiempo para presentar evidencia adicional.

Los solicitantes de visa I-130 deben presentar pruebas de un matrimonio auténtico, como un certificado de matrimonio, lista de testigos, cartas de amigos y familiares que afirmen que el matrimonio es legítimo, fotografías y comprobantes de activos compartidos como cuentas bancarias conjuntas y facturas de servicios públicos.

Acosta y Angela se conocieron durante la secundaria y luego volvieron a tener comunicación después que ambos se graduaron.

Su abogado, Nardine Guirguis, se dirigió a la prensa después del juicio y habló extensamente sobre su matrimonio.

“Por mi propio conocimiento personal, los he visto discutir como marido y mujer”, dijo. “Los he visto besarse como marido y mujer, y desde entonces he reconocido que esto no es más que un hermoso matrimonio que todos nos esforzamos por encontrar” El juez ahora decidirá si aprueba o no la solicitud de Acosta de retirar su apelación de asilo. El juicio está programado para reanudarse el 4 de enero del 2018 a las 11 a.m., pero el juez podría tomar una decisión antes e informar a ambas partes por escrito.

Acosta y su equipo legal estaban emocionados de tener tiempo extra para trabajar en su aplicación de visa.

“Es solo un mes, pero cualquier cosa puede pasar”, dijo Acosta.

PHOTO BY BRIAN STRICKLAND

Men's varsity basketball small forward Jevon Johnson reads to first-graders at Holt Elementary. The Varsity team is also helping to prepare the Christmas meal at the Durham Rescue mission this year.

Hi my name is Georgie.

When IAR rescued me, I was dehydrated, starving, and my eyes were horribly infected. My foster family says I’m a little shy, but I’m only a few treats and cuddles from being your new best friend.

Could you adopt me and be my forever home?

Please help us help kittens like Georgie!

ADOPT – VOLUNTEER – DONATE www.animalrescue.net

IAR has helped provide medical care and find homes for 16 homeless kittens and cats from Riverside High School.

December 2017

Community

"Renting the first amendment"

5

Net neutrality repeal concerns teachers

By Alexis Del Castillo Imagine a pay-to-play game.

There are no levels to be unlocked, and it’s easy to win. All you have to do is spend money. The more money you spend the better you are. Those who do not have money to spend are left at the bottom of the leaderboard.

Stuck on the bottom because there’s just not enough money.Now, imagine the game is the internet and the goal of the game is to have access to as many different websites as possible.

Equal access to internet sites is the heart of the current net neutral-

ity issue. Net neutrality is the basic principle that prevents Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from charging extra fees, censoring websites, and controlling what can be seen and done on the internet, according to www.savetheinternet.com.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) repealed net neutrality on Thursday December 14, 2017. This means that ISPs such as Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T will be able to freely manipulate popular websites such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Google and YouTube.

They could legally add paywalls so

consumers would not only have to Michael O’Rielly and Brendan Carr. purchase internet access from their Out of the five, only two are pro net internet providneutrality: FCC er, but also pay "I am a champion for Commissioners subscription fees Mignon Clythe consumers." to websites themburn and Jessica selves.

Rosenworcel.

The decision Consumers are Christopher Meglin, was up to five still concerned people. Leading about increases math teacher the charge against in rates, as well net neutrality is as a philosophiFCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who was cal shift in internet policy. appointed FCC Chairman in January “I am champion for the con2017 by President Trump. Following sumers,” said teacher Christopher Pai are two FCC Commissioners, Meglin. Meglin teaches mass com-

• GRAPHIC BY BRIANA BLACKWELL

munications and English. He is an involved individual who advocates for consumer rights and is anti-corporations.

But repealing net neutrality could also fuel corporate growth, which could in turn boost the economy. Pai is a former top lawyer for Verizon.

Verizon has been spending millions of dollars on lobbying and lawsuits towards the death of Net Neutrality, according to theverge.com.

Now that the FCC is, for the most part, an advocate for policies that will benefit ISPs, such as the removal of net neutrality it is motivated more than ever to repeal net neutrality Without net neutrality these restrictions could create a more positive community because most of the negative aspects will be censored.

ISPs are also keen on offering consumers a slow lane and fast lane. This means that the more consumers pay, the the faster and better experience they’ll get.

The introduction of fees to an internet web package deal may be in the works. Similar to television packages, these packages will give access a group of websites. Consumers looking to use only a couple websites could get a more cost effective option that what they’re currently paying for if net neutrality is repealed.

Additionally, Many smaller websites of business owners may get more exposure because of the fact that if their website is in a package, more people will be inclined to visit all the websites that they are paying for, thus increasing exposure to lots of small businesses that may have gone unnoticed.

However, social studies teacher Andrew Glickenhaus remains concerned that, cost aside, the internet is for the people, and repealing net neutrality would violate American’s First Amendment rights. “[Consumers are] renting the First Amendment,” said Glickenhaus. "In order to access all information that could be available, there would have to be a required payment."

RHS cultural arts programs hold winter concerts

By Abraham Sarmiento Along with cold weather, December is also bringing great performances from Riverside’s performance groups.

On December 6 orchestra held its annual winter concert. All the money from ticket sales went to the Ailyn Maldonado scholarship.

Ailyn Maldonado was an RHS student and member of orchestra who passed away in December 2014.

The scholarship gives four hundred dollars to a student in orchestra to apply to music related education expenses, such as private lessons.

This year the Riverside orchestra gave away two scholarships.

“We do the concert every year to honor Ailyn’s memory,” said orchestra teacher Sarah Moore.

“There are a lot of students who would like to get better at music but can’t afford to get private lessons or afford instruments or afford to go to music camp. It feels great to give away two. There are a lot more applicants this year.”

On December 14 the Riverside band held a concert at Brogden Middle School and the dance program performed its winter recital, Time,

on December 15 and 16. The dance program featured sixteen dances, as well as two senior dances choreographed by the seniors and based on the experiences that impacted their lives. Oscar Garcia Maldonado and

Loviee Shuler choreographed the first dance, and Anautica Hunter choreographed the second.

The RHS chorus held a holiday concert alongside Hillandale Elementary and Brogden. Hillandale

performed firast, then Brogden.

Finally Riverside performed Handel’s Messiah and three other movements.

The holiday concert has three traditions. It starts the concert

• PHOTO BY ABRAHAM SARMIENTO

The Riverside orchestra performes at the third annual Ailyn Maldonado scholarship benefit. Nearly all of Riverside's performance groups held a recital before the break.

Ahoy matey!

Have you too much money?

Wanna get rid of some buckaroos quick?

Support The Pirate’s Hook's annual sponsorship drive. https://www.gofundme.com/thepirates-hook-sponsor-drive

with Candle Light, then performs In The First Light and ends with Fruit Cake. Welcome Canon and Processional (candle light) is a tradition started by Ms.Byers, the chorus teacher at Hillandale. In The First light is a tradition started by Jeff Whicker, who was Riverside’s chorus teacher before Ms. Boliek.

Fruit Cake is a tradition started by Ms. Boliek. Every year at her high school, they would end the concert by performing the song. When Fruit Cake is performed, alumni in the audience are invited to perform with the chorus.

The money raised from ticket sales will pay the cost for setting up the concert, then the rest of the month will be split up by the three schools and used to buy classroom supplies.

Finally, on December 20 the RHS theater program will have a showcase called Almost Durham.

The money raised from tickets sales will help fund future productions and reimburse the theater.

“The showcase is a great opportunity for people to see what the theater does, and an opportunity for people to see our skills,”sophomore Raven James said.

6

Naughty or Nice: The Teacher Edition Time to find out what Santa really thinks about your teachers

By Eliza Althisar Still struggling with whether you should get your teachers a nice gift card from Starbucks or a great big lump of coal? Go through this list and check all that apply. One check = one point. At the end, add up all the points from each section. Which ever you have most of will help you determine whether your teachers are naughty or nice.

They're naughty if...

1. They give you a test the week of break 2. Every single assignment is busy work 3. All they grade is tests 4. Their classroom is -10 degrees 5. They get mad when you bring back food from lunch 6. They don’t let you retake quizzes or do test corrections 7. Their tests don’t match the study guide 8. They make bird noises during class 9. They give tests on Mondays They're nice if...

1. They offer extra credit 2. They let you use your phones 3. They throw a holiday party before break 4. They tell you and your classmates relatable things on a daily basis 5. They keep Power School updated.

6. They let you follow them on Instagram 7. They will listen to you complain about your relationship drama and give feedback 8. They write you a college recommendation letter the night before it’s due 9. They use a 20 point curve to grade everything Five or more Naughty points: your teacher is naughty! Leave coal on their desk as a present.

Five or more Nice points: your teacher is nice! Buy that gift!

Pirates' Hookok

The Pirates' Hook 2017 Gift Guide

Having trouble deciding what to buy your friends? Need last minute gift ideas for teachers, administrators, and significant others? Have no fear! The Pirates’ Hook gift guide is here to help.

With gift ideas for everyone from the lax bro to the social justice warrior, we have you covered for holiday gift exchanges.

By Zoe Ashe-Jones For the teacher who wrote morning: -new purple vans and you a college recommendaa polo shirt for that tion letter the night before fresh fit it was due:

For the odd one out you For the girl you’ve been got in your friend group’s dating for a million Secret Santa: -scrunchies! The 90's are back years:

love me that’s ok!”

-a t shirt with your faces baby -fuzzy socks, regardless of genon it (both because it’s really cute and when you der. everyone loves fuzzy socks!

-candles that smell like their home inevitably break up she can state for them to take to college with burn the shirt) them so they can light it -an Eno hammock for ~snugduring their crying gles~ sessions -one of those fill in the blank books about why -cough she’s important to you For your For the best friend who drops for the s o r e because there’s nothing hard core you’ve already bought ev- t h r o a t f r o m talking so much girls love more than -a megaphone (so he can greet Republierything for: guys talking about more people!)

-a snow globe frame for mini can untheir feelings polaroids of the two of you to take cle: For the guy you’ve been to colleg a For the frat bro - n e w dating for three weeks Reain your life: phone gan and want to get him

case Bush ‘84 t shirt for those a present because ~vintage~ vibes you like him...BUT -a Trump Train hat you don’t want to to wear while he seem like a crazy hunts -a temperson: porary tattoo -a keychain of with the iconic his favorite football Ronald Reagan team-because he has quote “facts are the ~*key*~ to your just stupid things” heart! (don't tell him -crethat though) atine for -a car For your bleeding heart those gains air freshliberal of a sister: brah!!! ener from -a Hillary Clinton t shirt (you can -a five bath and body still be with her even though she lost!) pound with your works in the shape of a -a coffee mug that says “male tears” weight face on it to remind new friends penguin and a scentportor “i just want to save the planet and set so he they already have a BEST friend able fragrance refill in end racism” (an ACTUAL mug I saw) doesn’t - a cookbook for you guys to bake peppermint or cinnamon -another temporary tattoo that lift too together and then every time you eat caramel swirl (bonus-for says “nevertheless, she persisted” much too cookies you’ll be reminded of your the rest of your relationship to commemorate the equally iconic quickly best friend you can buy him refills!)

Mitch McConnell quote about Eliz -a dum -a ~meaningful~ Spotify abeth Warren my’s guide to laFor the vice principal playlist with songs that say “I like crosse (self explanatory) • GRAPHICS BY YANNDEL CRUZ who always says hi in the you, but I don’t love you, but if you -a starbucks gift card -alcohol (because teachers drink things besides Starbucks) -a pie that was $2.00 off at Harris Teeter because it expires today (tell your teacher you still had to get your $5 sub if they accuse you of being cheap)

Riverside is in the light side Students, teachers get pumped for Star Wars

By Ricardo Galeas There’s a balance between the light and dark side in the galaxy.

Although it is scary, Riverside has its own Jedi fighting for the light math teacher Jordan Nguyen.

“I really like the balance between the light and dark side. I think they took a lot of pieces that maybe weren’t necessarily original and brought it together into one original piece,” Nguyen said.

The thought of the galaxy being filled with many different things that scientists can’t even explain sometimes, resonates with many people like Mr. Nguyen.

“I like that they took a basic idea of something in the unknown and they just played around with it, there is: space travel, there are lifesavers, which I think it’s pretty original,” Jordan Nguyen said.

Mr. Nguyen enjoys Star Wars,

and he believes the 80s and 90s versions were far better than the early 2000s prequels. But the newest one has grabbed his attention the most.

“I like the most recent star wars movie. I think it was well written, I think they had some big shoes to fill and we saw what happened unsuccessfully with star wars one, two and three, I think those were garbage,” Nguyen said.

Mr. Nguyen believes the new Star Wars movies have a much better video and audio quality than the previous versions He believes the whole movies are just better since Star Wars four.

“Star Wars four, five and six sort of set the standard,” Nguyen said. “They were made a long time ago but they were something new, so how do you bring that to 2016-2017, twenty-first century and make it relatable, I think they did that so that’s probably my

"I like that they took a basic idea of something in the unknown and they just played around with it, there is: space travel, there are lifesavers, which I think it’s pretty original."

Math teacher Jordan Nguyen

favorite one,” Many people prefer the first Star Wars movie The New Hope, it marked the beginning of a very popular franchise.

Freshmen Victor Amaya and Senior Colin Sudai share the same opinion as Nguyen when it comes to Star Wars.

“I like the first one the most because they set up the whole story, it was great film,” Amaya said.

“I will say the new hope just because it was the starting one, everyone went to the theaters to watch that first and it had the most storyline behind it,” Sudai said.

At the time when they first released Star Wars there wasn’t much technology advances like today.

Despite that some people believe this movie was well developed.

“The creativity for it at the time and the original movies like the models and everything were done by them and they just looked good,” Sudai said “I really like All the good editing and technology they put into it, is a story that is not realistic but is very interesting,”

See Star Wars: The Last Jedi at: AMC Classic Durham 15 on Friday the 22 at 4:30 pm, 8 pm, 7 pm, and 10:15 pm.

AMC Classic Durham 15 on Saturday the 23 at 12:30 pm, 3:45 pm, 7 pm, and 10:15 pm AMC Classic Durham 15 on Sunday the 24 at 12:30 pm, 3:45 pm and 7 pm.

December 2017

Community

7

Sharing Holidays

By Jose Leonardo Galeas

• GRAPHIC BY YANDELL CRUZ

A Christmas Sacrifice

A marine giving up Christmas to serve for his country

By Jose Leonardo Galeas Christmas is around the corner, but the Daffron family won’t have their traditional Christmas Eve dinner.

Junior Caleb, Sophomore Josh, and Freshman Isaac Daffron won’t see their two older brothers, John and Adam, because they both are Marines and will be in basic training through holidays.

This is the first time the brothers are not going to be spending

Christmas together, They have always been together during this holiday time.

Adams was supposed to have Christmas off, but unfortunately his superior officer took it away since they are advancing his training because he is going overseas to the borders of Iraq and Syria.

“For us, Christmas was never really about getting presents and stuff,” said Caleb. “When we were younger we didn’t have a lot of money, so Christmas was always just time together with each other. It’s kind of weird not having the togetherness this Christmas.”

“Adam thinks it sucks that they don’t get too much time off,” says Isaac. “At least he is trying to get Christmas off.

That would be something nice to have

"It doesn’t really matter if we get anything for Christmas.

Maybe the best present would be hanging out with him."

Isaac Daffron, freshman

"For us, Christmas was never really about getting presents and stuff."

Caleb Daffron, junior him, but this year we are not going to be able to make it. At least he is coming home closest to christmas.”

Isaac finds not being able to spend Christmas with his brother Adam upsetting, because they are very close to each other.

“Adams and I are the closest of the brothers and we just like hanging out and stuff. It doesn’t really matter if we get anything for Christmas maybe the best present would be hanging out with him.” he said.

John who is 19 years old, is doing basic training in Parris Island, South Carolina right now.

“There is no break during basic training,” said Josh. “There are 13 constant weeks of training so he

will miss out on Christmas as well.”

The Daffrons lost their mother when they were pretty young. Their father took on the responsibility as both mom and dad for his children.

“My dad was pretty upset when he found out that we won’t be able to spend christmas together, he never wants us to leave.” Caleb said.

Daffron’s father wish they could have spent Christmas with Adam and John “My father is very sad about it because he was really expecting at least Adam to be here for Christmas.” Josh said.

Un infante de la marina renuncia a la navidad para servir a su pais

La Navidad está a la vuelta de la esquina, pero la familia Daffron no tendrá su tradicional cena de Nochebuena.

El estudiante de tercer año Caleb, el estudiante de segundo año Josh y el estudiante de primer año Isaac Daffron no verán a sus dos hermanos mayores, John y Adam, porque ambos son infantes de la marina y estarán en entrenamiento básico durante los días festivos.

Esta es la primera vez que los hermanos no pasarán la Navidad juntos, siempre han estado juntos durante estas fiestas.

Se suponía que Adam iba a tener la Navidad libre, pero desafortunadamente su oficial superior le canceló sus vacaciones ya que están avanzando su entrenamiento porque se está yendo al extranjero a las fronteras de Irak y Siria.

“Para nosotros, la Navidad nunca fue realmente para conseguir regalos y cosas así”, dijo Caleb. “Cuando éramos más jóvenes no teníamos

mucho dinero, así que la Navidad siempre se trato de pasar tiempo juntos. Es algo raro no tener esa unión esta Navidad “.

“A Adam le molesta que no tengan suficiente tiempo libre”, Isaac dijo.

“Al menos está tratando de obtener las vacaciones de Navidad. Sería algo bueno tenerlo en casa, pero este año no podrá estar. Al menos vendrá a casa en una fecha cercana a Navidad”.

Isaac encuentra triste el no poder pasar la Navidad con su hermano Adam, porque son muy unidos el uno al otro.

“Adam y yo somos los más cercanos de los hermanos y nos gusta salir y hacer cosas juntos. Realmente no importa si obtenemos algo para Navidad, quizás el mejor regalo sea estar con él “, dijo el.

John, que tiene 19 años, está haciendo un entrenamiento básico en Parris Island en Parris Island, Carolina del Sur en este momento.

“No hay descanso durante el entrenamiento básico”, dijo Josh.

“Hay 13 semanas constantes de entrenamiento, por lo que también

se perderá la Navidad”.

Los Daffron perdieron a su madre cuando eran muy jóvenes. Su padre asumió la responsabilidad como madre y padre de sus hijos.

“Mi padre estaba bastante molesto cuando descubrió que no podríamos pasar la Navidad juntos, él nunca quiere que nos vayamos de su lado”, dijo Caleb.

El padre de los Daffron desearía haber pasado la Navidad con Adams y John “Mi padre está muy triste porque realmente esperaba que al menos Adam estuviera aquí para Navidad”, dijo Josh.

"We spend Thanksgiving with his family and Chrstmas with my family."

Kristina Gersie, English teacher

Una Navidad Sacrificada

Por Jose Leonardo Galeas

Dividing family loyalties when you marry is a big dilemma many couples face during the holiday season.

English teacher Katrina Gersie, who is getting married this June.

Gersie and her fiance have come up with an arrangement of switching off holidays so they share time with each of their families.

“The way we have been doing it is that we spend Thanksgiving with his family and Christmas with my family and maybe later depending on peoples schedules that could switch.”

Gersie said. “My fiance’s family is in the area and mine is faraway, so when we have more time off at Christmas it makes sense to go further away, and for Thanksgiving we kind of stay in the area.”

Even though she is excited to spend time with her future in-laws, she is a little bit sad about seeing her own relatives less.

“When you get married you start thinking about starting your own family, which I think is very exciting,” she said, “but with that comes some loss as well. I kind of have to start prioritising his family now over my own family which I still love so much. So it is exciting but sad at the same time.”

Despite these new holiday schedule, she said that her mom has taken it in a very good way.

“I think that if she did act sad or she said that she’ll miss me a lot, that would be a lot harder for me,” Gersie said. “But she is very supportive and understands that sometimes I have

"Para nosotros, la Navidad nunca fue realmente para conseguir regalos y cosas así" Caleb Daffron, Estudiante de tercer año

"Realmente no importa si obtenemos algo para Navidad, quizás el mejor regalo sea estar con él" Isaac Daffron, Estudiante de primer año

For up-to-the-minute news, visit thepirateshook.com And follow us @thepirateshook!

to be somewhere else. I’ve heard of parents that do get more upset about stuff like that, but my mom is good about it.”

Instead of spending this Christmas in her childhood home since Gersie is traveling with her mom and her boyfriend, her sister and her boyfriend, her brother and his girlfriend, and her fiance to Mexico for this Christmas.

“Even though I’ll be with people that I care about, and I care about my fiance’s family too, I think you miss the nostalgia and the memories of being where you grew up” she said.

Although this change is going to be a little bit hard for her, she thinks it will be way harder for her fiance and his family because they are used to being together during the holidays.

“For his family is harder to let him go, but my family is kind of like ‘we are used to it’ since a lot of us have been in different places for a long time.”Gersie said.

One thing she is going to have to get used to is having a more formal christmas eve dinner at her parentsin-law house.

“For Christmas Eve dinner at my family’s house, we always have what we call a ‘munchie dinner,’ which is just like eating a bunch of snacks, like chips or like veggies and dip,” she said. “We are usually more relaxed.”

8

The world of E-Sports

Pirates' Hookok

A new form of competitive sports has gained world-wide recognition by

Lucas Krieg

To the average person, gaming appears as just a hobby, a way to have fun and past the time, such as watching a movie.

However, Electronic Sports, better known as ESports, have attracted millions of fans and competitors and many events offer large money prize pools.

The scene is drawing big name businesses looking to sponsor events and players such as Red Bull, Logitech and Coca-Cola.

ESPN has been covering ESports on ESPN3 occasionally just like it would a college football game.

ESports has even crossed over into holding large events in traditional sport venues. In 2013, Riot Games sold out the Staples Center, the home of the Los Angeles Lakers, for its League of Legends Championship Series Finals. 12,000 people cheered the teams on in person, while 32 million tuned in online to the livestream, according to Fortune Magazine.

The ESports scene has grown for other games besides League of Legends, such as Nintendo’s popular fighting game series, Super Smash Bros.

Junior Kojo Buansi is no stranger to the Super Smash Bros. competitive scene. He competes regularly in tournaments around the Triangle. Most notably, he competed in a tournament hosted in Greensboro with countrywide talent competing for glory.

Tournament events for Super Smash Bros. are not uncommon in the North Carolina region. A weekly tournament is hosted in Greensboro, a bi-weekly tournament is hosted on the campus of North Carolina State University, and with over 4,000 people in the Facebook Groups, there are plenty of people to meet up with and improve your skills. Buansi’s favorite part of being a competitive gamer is meeting new people at tournaments and practicing hard to become a more developed and skillful player.

As Buansi’s passion for ESports grows, he doesn’t want it to overshadow his academics.

“Academics are really important for me and I need to get into a good college, said Buansi, “Since my dad got into a really good college, Duke, I’m inspired by him and I think I have the abilities to go to a really good college like him.”

Luckily, the two can coexist,

at least once a week after school. Riverside has its own gaming club. The club started at the beginning of the semester and is focused on Super Smash Bros, welcoming anyone who is looking to have a good time.

“That’s why I attend a Super Smash Bros. club here at Riverside, to polish my skills and meet new people who have the same ambition as I do.”

Club members play lowstake, “friendly” matches and prioritize learning and improvement over glory and bragging rights.

“Playing friendly matches to get more experience and being in the tournament is important,” Buansi said.

“You get the experience of being there, meeting people, talking about different aspects about the game, it’s all about experiencing as many things as you can.You can take that knowledge home and come back even better.”

The Super Smash Bros. club meets every Tuesday right after school in Room 224.

The person on the left In the picture above shows number one ranked Super Smash Bro's melee player Juan "HungryBox" Debiedma.

In this particular event he teamed up with amateur player Clementine Siddhartha at an E-sports torunament in Greensboro.

Spectators look on as Debiedma and Siddhartha duel it out in the championship rounds of the Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament.

Winter Sports Spotlight

• PHOTO BY ASHLEY CRUZ

Varsity Guard Christian Johnson makes a layup in the first quarter of a December 11 game against the Australian basketball program Bush Rangers. The men's varsity basketball team has started there season off with a 3-5 record.

• PHOTO COURTESY OF BROC DICKERSON

Junior Jalen Adams and two individuals from opposing teams posing for a picture after the Riverside Wrestling Invitational at Riverside on November 22. The podium had Adams at 1st place in his events for that evening.

Upcoming Athletics Events Men's Varsity Basketball Tournament @ Southern Granville 12-28 - 12/30 Men's Varsity Basketball @ Hillside 1/3, Women's Varsity Basketball @Hillside 1/3.

Men's Varsity Basketball vs.Panther Creek 1/5, Women's Varsity Basketball @ Panther Creek 1/5.

Mens Varsity Basketball @ Green Hope 1/12, Womens Varsity Basketball vs.

Green Hope 1/12, Winter Track Championship Meet @ Winston-Salem JDL Fast Track1/13.

Women's Varsity Basketball @Jordan 1/15 (MLK Classic) vs. Knightdale, Men's Varsity Basketball @ Jordan 1/17.

Men's Varsity Basketball vs. Cary 1/19, Women's Varsity Basketball @ Cary 1/19.

Men's Varsity Basketball @ Athens Drive (Coming Home Spirit Week) 1/23, Women's Varsity Basketball vs. Athens Drive, Wrestling Tournament 1/24 @ Fuquay-Varina,Winter Track Meet Championship 1/31 @ Eastern Alamance, and 2/10 @ Wiston-Salem JDL Fast Track

December 2017

Sports

PLAYER RANKINGS

9

The NBA season is three months in, so which players are performing on the highest level?

By Joshua Nicholson

1. James Harden (Houston Rockets) 31.5 Points Per Game, 9.1 Assist, 5.2 Rebounds Under the Mike D’antoni coaching system, Harden has blossomed into the leader of the Houston Rockets. The Rockets value sharing the ball, passing, getting the most convenient shot,and speeding it up and finding the open shooter. With an array of talented veterans in Eric Gordon (former sixth man of the year), Trevor Ariza, Chris Paul (9time All Star) and a budding young star in Clint Capela, Harden seems to have found the right fit in Houston.

2. Lebron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) 27.8 Points Per Game, 9.3 Assist, 8.5 Rebounds A walking freight train, James has led the Cavaliers in single game scoring more than 15 times already this season, en route to leading the Cavaliers to 13 straight wins a streak eventually being snapped on a December 8 road game against the Indiana Pacers.

James and Cavaliers veteran cast have come to a common understanding on how to play together despite the loss. Channing frye, Dwyane Wade, Kyle Korver, Jose Calderon, and J.R. Smith have helped carry the load throughout the season despite

injuries to Tristan Thompson, Derrick Rose, and Isaiah Thomas.

3. Demarcus Cousins (New Orleans Pelicans) 26.2 Points Per Game, 5.1 Assist, 12.2 Rebounds Going into his seventh season as an NBA player, Cousins has the look of a star. Since the 2013-2014 season, he has averaged 20+ points, a trend that seems to be headed in the right direction. He has also shot better than 45% from the field since

t h e 2012-2013 season. Cousins has shined for years on bad teams, and now that Star-forward Anthony Davis is injured his stats haven’t dipped.

4. Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) 29.8 Points Per Game, 4.5 Assist, 10.5 Rebounds Antetokounmpo, better known as the Greek Freak, is having a MVP-caliber year.

After averaging a little over

20 points in the previous seasons, now he is the second-leading scorer in the NBA. He has lead his team to a 15-13 record.

5. Kevin Durant (Golden State Warriors) 26.1 Points Per Game, 5.3 Assist, 7.0 Rebounds Sharing the ball with three marque all-stars sounds like a daunting task, but not for Durant. The Golden State Warriors have been led by their nucleus of star talent in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, but Durant is the glue.

The Warriors offense and cohe-

he has clearly shown that he can lead a team in more than one way. He has lead the Boston Celtics to one of the league’s best record at 25-7, and not just by scoring.

Irving’s has had 39 steals in just 30 games played thus far, that’s more than half the amount of steals he had during his Championship season with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015-2016.

7. Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers) 24.1 Points Per Game, 3.5 Assist, 11.0 Rebounds A youthful star, Embiid is a dominant force in the paint. He is shooting almost 50% from the field, and has shown only in his second year that he is a force to be reckoned with. Embiid, along with rookie Ben Simmons, have created a foundation in Philadelphia.

Their 1414 is a good first step, and has

• GRAPHIC BY TAJ SMITH

sive nature allows Durant to shine, and this season with the Warriors he is shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from three.

6. Kyrie Irving (Boston Celtics) 24.2 Points Per Game, 4.9 Assist, 3.0 Rebounds Irving doesn’t have the most eye-opening stats, but

Athlete of the Month

been a confidence-builder for the Philadelphia 76ers organization.

8.Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers) 25.8 Points Per Game, 6.2 Assist, 5.0 Rebounds Lillard has quietly shown himself to be the leader of the Trail Blazers as they jostle

Atleta de mas Chuck Manning

Chuck Manning

By Divaldo Santos Most athletes look forward to some time off during their offseason, but junior Chuck Manning is too hard-headed to relax.

Manning plays both football and basketball, and had little time to rest between seasons. After playing four different positions - defensive end, linebacker, running back and tight end - for the football team, he switched his shoes and became a power forward on the basketball team.

Manning has played both sports throughout his high school career and believes his diet and training regimen allow him to handle the transition. He followed a food plan including a ton of protein and making sure to work out almost every day.

He did a lot of conditioning in order to keep his endurance up for football, and it also helped him to transition to basketball as soon as fall sports ended.

Manning said there was a different training regime for both sports.

“Football was mainly weights and running,” he

said. “For basketball, it was running and practicing skills like dribbling and shooting.”

He thinks of himself as “a hard head,” going into every game with the mindset that he’s going to win.

He loves both sports. He was always around football players growing up and took up basketball later in his life.

However, with an eye on playing football in college and division I scholarship offers on the table, he recently made the difficult decision to step away from basketball. He wants to go to college and continue playing football mainly, “maybe some basketball, but I’d have to see.”

Basketball coach Brian Strickland is sad to lose him but understands his decision.

“I miss his leadership,” Strickland said. “He’s an honest, hard worker who always brings positive attitude to every practice. He really holds himself and teammates accountable and makes sure he gets things done in the right way. Chuck does his best to be an extension of the coach.”

Football coach Cory Lea is excited that he is only a junior and will have the opportunity to play in college.

“He’s a great young man and great student and I look forward to see him on the next level of education,” Lea said.

Manning hopes his hard work and dedication will inspire o t h e r R i v erside students and athletes.

Finally, Chuck w a s asked if he had any word or advice to tell the readers and audience.

“Find something you want to do and always keep going for it, or come talk to me,” Manning said. “I’m a kind and chill person.

Don’t give up and always make sure you have more than one thing to do, so in case you give up or fail at one thing you have your backup plans.”

with some of the best teams in the league. Lillard (7th in the NBA in scoring), along with his partner in crime CJ McCollum, have lead the Trailblazers to the sixth spot in the Western Conference, and third in the Northwest Division.

9. Kristaps Porzingis (New York Knicks) 25.5 Points Per Game, 1.3 Assist, 6.6 Rebounds Due to a lingering ankle injury sustained during a November 29 game against the Miami Heat, Porzingis’ scoring has come back down to Earth after an insane start to the season, when he averaged close to 30 points in his first 10 games.The Knicks’ record has evened out to 16-13, placing them at sixth in the Eastern Conference. Porzingis, after missing two games to that ankle injury, posted 18 points and 5 Rebounds in his return.

10. Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards) 23.7 Points Per Game, 3.5 Assist, 4.2 Rebounds Beal is a dark-horse, but he has been lighting it up recently.

Since entering the league in 2012, Beal is now averaging almost 25 points on 45 percent shooting, the second highest percentage in his career. He along with John Wall, has found himself in contention for the Eastern Conference title in the past few years. Beal has shown he can come through in the clutch and produce on a nightly basis, giving the Wizards a boost come playoff time.

Honorable Mention: Stephen Curry, Devin Booker, Anthony Davis, Donovan Mitchell, Ben Simmons, Victor Oladipo, John Wall.

Por Divaldo Santos La mayoría de los atletas están esperan con ansia un descanso durante el receso de temporada, pero el joven Chuck Manning es muy testarudo para relajarse.

Manning juega fútbol americano y baloncesto, y tuvo poco tiempo para descansar entre temporadas.

Después de jugar en cuatro posiciones diferentes (como extremo defensivo,defensor,corredor y receptor final) para el equipo de fútbol americano, ​​cambió sus zapatos y se convirtió en el alero fuerte del equipo de baloncesto.

Manning ha jugado ambos deportes a lo largo de su estadía en la secundaria y cree que su dieta y régimen de entrenamiento le permiten manejar la transición. Siguió un plan de alimentación que incluía mucha proteína y se aseguraba de ejercitarse casi todos los días. Hizo muchos acondicionamientos para mantener su resisten-

cia para el fútbol americano, ​​y también lo ayudó a transicionar al baloncesto.

Manning dijo que había un régimen de entrenamiento diferente para ambos deportes.

“El fútbol americano era principalmente de pesas y correr, dijo el. “Para el baloncesto, estaba corriendo y practicando habilidades como driblar y lanzamiento”. Él se considera a sí mismo como “una persona testaruda”, yendo a cada juego con la mentalidad de que va a ganar.

Él ama ambos deportes.

Siempre estuvo rodeado de jugadores de fútbol americano y aprendió baloncesto más adelante en su vida.

Sin embargo, con el ojo puesto en jugar fútbol americano en la universidad y con ofertas de becas para jugar en la primera división sobre la mesa , recientemente tomó la difícil decisión de dejar el baloncesto. Él quiere ir a la universidad y seguir jugando fútbol americano, “tal vez un poco de baloncesto, pero tendría que ver”.

El entrenador de baloncesto Brian Strickland está triste por perderlo, pero entiende su decisión.

“Extraño su liderazgo”, dijo

Strickland. “El es honesto y un buen trabajador que siempre trae una actitud positiva a cada práctica. El es realmente responsable y apoya\ sus compañeros del equipo y se asegura de que ellos haga las cosas bien.

Chuck hace todo lo posible para ayudar al entrenador “.

El entrenador de fútbol americano Cory Lea está emocionado de que el tendrá la oportunidad de jugar en la universidad.

“Es un gran joven y un gran estudiante y espero verlo en el siguiente nivel de educación”, dijo Lea. Manning espera que su arduo trabajo y dedicación inspire a otros estudiantes y atletas de Riverside.

Finalmente, se le preguntó a Chuck si tenía alguna palabra o consejo para contarle a los lectores y al público.

“Encuentra algo que quieras hacer y siempre sigue adelante o ven a hablar conmigo”, dijo Manning. “Soy una persona amable y tranquila. No te rindas y siempre asegúrate de tener más de una cosa que hacer, así que en caso de que te rindas o falles en alguna cosa, tengas planes de respaldo.“ traducido por Luis Apolo-

10

Playing with fire

Pirates' Hookok

Near-death experience inspires Seargent Gerald Mitchell to appericate every day

By Mair Famet

but I was in such a rush that I didn’t take anything with me. All I had was JROTC instructor Gerald Mitchell my hat.” is not supposed to be here right now.

He covered his hand with his hat, It was a clear day and 94 degrees in stuck it in the fire and tried to pull 2001 when Mitchell left Kuwait. He the circuit breakers loose, but they and his team spent the night there after were already melted. picking up passengers en route to “Plan B was to take the cannon Germany, where they would pick up plug off and it had 24 threads on helicopters, then head to California it,” he said.

It was a trip he’d made dozens of Mitchell then kept spinning the times before as part of Operation cannon plug with his hat, but it took Enduring Freedom. He’d carried five minutes to get it off. While all that pilots and crew to and from Kuwait was happening, he was inhaling the numerous/dozens/hundreds of times toxic fumes. Mitchell showed up just before. He even helped save Jessica in time before the battery exploded.

Lynch.

“If it exploded, it would have Lynch, a high-profile prisoner of burned a hole in the side of the plane, war, was loaded into a military heli- which would eventually take out the copter. She was a US Army Soldier engine and crash us,” said Mitchell. who served in “It was the invasion of an interIraq. esting Mitchell day.” thought he was After joking. the in“Yeah right, cident the battery is on Mitchell fire,” he said to underhis partner. went a Amused, he battery went to look of tests, downstairs which himself and i n saw that the cluded battery was indrawing deed on fire. blook “I was from the scared,” said knuckMitchell. “I ran els of downstairs to his right JROTC instructor Gerald Mitchell put the fire out, h and.

• PHOTO BY JAVIER MORALES

• PHOTO COURTESY OF GERALD MITCHELL

Sgt. Mitchell (left) speaks with friends prior to taking off for a mission during the early 1990s. Mitchell nearly died when his plane's battery caught fire during a flight out of Kuwait in 2001.

• PHOTO COURTESY OF GERALD MITCHELL

Doctors also determined that the mas- ten, and it helps him remember to be sive dose of grateful for toxic fumes every day. he could have “ G e t contributed to through today, the blood clots live through he dealt with t o d a y, b e later in his cacause the sun reer. comes up toMitchell still morrow, and thinks of the exit’ll start over perience ofwith some-

"It was an interesting day."

Gerald Mitchell, JROTC instructor

thing different and something better,” said Mitchell.

He also shares the story with his students. Sophomore Shanielle George took away a sense of courage from Mitchell’s story.

“He shows me that little things influence big decisions,” said George.

“Despite the things that go on in your life that are bad, I’m still here, you’re still here,” said Mitchell.

Course Corrections Riverside offers over 200 classes, but students and staff keep looking for new options groups. Classes that specialize in a specific type of science would Riverside offered 215 courses to be best, compared to most current students in for the 2017-2018 school science classes which cover broad year, but many students want even topics, and rarely focus on a subject for more than a week or two. more options.

By Sigrid JensenOyaski

A Pirates' Hook survey showed that many think RHS needs more interesting electives, especially those in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). 30 percent of those surveyed voted for more classes with a specific concentration of science.

Currently there are 17 science classes, one of the smallest class

“In AP bio we spend maybe one week on a topic with lots of material that other classes could spend a whole month covering.” Says sophomore Kaia Spero. “You learn enough to pass the class but you don’t really get the chance to explore the topics you’re interested in.”

Students also want more AP elec-

tives, as well as classes that reflect their interests, but are sometimes deterred by lack of AP credit.

Senior Lucas Coker thinks we need an AP music theory class.

“It’d be the level after advanced band or strings so we can continue learning instead of becoming a teacher ’s assistant,” Coker said.

Junior Ariel Fabito wants more outdoor classes.

“RHS is really close to the Eno but it’s rare that we get to go out if its not for science class,” Fabito said. “Even then, you only go out once a semester.’’

Senior Prince Bull agrees.

“We need more classes outside,” Bull said. “I’m tired of being in this building all the time. Especially since most of the time we have really nice weather but we are stuck inside an over air-conditioned building.”

While 23 percent of people sur-

veyed think Riverside needs more business classes, potentially even a business pathway, almost a quarter of the school’s classes are already CTE business classes. Riverside already offers the same number of business classes as Math, Science, and English combined.

While we can’t just create classes as students see fit, it is possible to get a class added to next year’s roster.

To start, a student needs to suggest a class to a teacher from that content area. The teacher will then bring it up at their department meeting to the department chair. If it sounds like a good idea, it will be introduced as a potential new class at a school meeting. If enough people sign up for it, and a teacher is available to

Happy holidays from The Pirates' Hook!

teach it, the class will be introduced.

However, there are a few restrictions.

“Classes need at least 20 people, otherwise it’s not a good use of teachers and space.” Guidance counselor Portia Jacobs said. “Some classes offered during registration are not actually taught if there isn’t enough interest.”

While RHS offers 215 classes, freshmen are only offered 63. Nine of these classes are only offered to freshmen, leaving 152 classes only available to grades 10-12.

“I think it’s fair that freshmen are offered less classes,”says freshman Katie Kelly. “It gets prerequisites out of the way and helps us adjust to high school.”