The Sidekick - Issue 4 - February 2012

theSidekick

News pg. 3

Coppell High School

185 Parkway Blvd. Coppell, TX 75019

In-Depth Features pg. 15 pg. 12-13 www.coppellstudentmedia.com

Vol. 23 No. 4

February 2012

Students support teacher through battle Runners

going the distance Ben Cowlishaw

Online Copy Editor

cial,” Attaway said.

Attaway did, however, become someone special for many of her students.

“I had [Mrs. Attaway] in seventh grade; in eighth grade some of my friends and I would

Every student has their niche – something they enjoy that makes them feel a part of something. Some students sing, produce artwork or play a sport while others choose to run 13.1 miles.

The reasons students choose to run a half-marathon vary greatly. Some are merely checking it off a list of life goals, while others seek to prove to themselves that they can go the distance. No matter the reason, it all pays off in the same way: an incredible sense of accomplishment that may never be matched.

Senior Connor Wilcox did not have an extensive running history before she ran the White Rock half-marathon last December.

“My first day of training I ran two and a half miles, the farthest I had ever run at one time,” Wilcox said. “It’s good to prove to yourself that you can do anything you want to if you’re willing to put the work in.”

see Students on pg. 4

see Student on pg. 15

Photo by Jodie Woodward

Sophomores Morgan Hobgood and Chris Reed visit their former teacher DeLana Attaway two weeks after her return from the hospital.

Kimberly Del Angel Staff Writer

“Ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own.” – Nikos Kazantzakis

When Coppell Middle School North teacher DeLana Attaway was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma brain cancer in December, the news came as a shock to students who had grown close to the teacher who dedicated her life not only to making learning more enjoyable, but to

creating a special bond with her students.

“Everyone loves It’s a Wonderful Life, and when you realize your life has touched someone else’s, it is so humbling because you do not think of yourself as anything special—and I don’t think of myself as anyone spe-

To see more go to Coppellstudentmedia.com

Boaz’s new app ‘goes with flow’ Cowboys in new district Sammy Robben

Thomas Hair

Sports Editor

Online Copy Editor

The Apple iPhone has become an iconic part of American culture. The device is used by millions of people every day, including what oftentimes seems like the vast majority of CHS students.

For the past year, however, while most iPhone and iPod Touch users frittered away their time accumulating applications, junior Jake Boaz was hard at work constructing his own app – “Flow Check”.

With Flow Check, users can upload

Photo by Rachel Bush

photos of their “flow” (hairstyle) from Facebook to be rated and commented on by others. Boaz’s app is complete with features such as a worldwide leaderboard and the ability to bookmark your favorite flows.

Flow Check was released to the Apple Store on Jan. 18. Flow Check is a free app, but its counterpart “Flow Check Pro” is one dollar and eliminates all advertisements present on the free app.

Perhaps the most entertaining aspect is scrolling through all of the submissions and rating their “flows” on a scale from one to 10. Other well-received elements of Boaz’s Flow Check are its integration with Facebook and its worldwide leaderboard.

“It’s cool how it interacts with Facebook, how it pulls up all of your albums and you can pick your pictures from there,” Coppell

parent Charley Hellmuth said.

“I’m 37 and bald, so I don’t have very many pictures of me with hair any more, but I found one from seventh grade and I’m on the leaderboard now!”

Like any great invention, Flow Check began as a simple idea.

“At the end of last school year I noticed a lot of people around the hallways were obsessed with ‘flow’ and how their hair looked,” Boaz said. “I looked on the app store and noticed that there was really nothing that goes with rating hair or flow so I thought there probably should be.”

Boaz’s idea was a simple one, but it launched him into a harrowing seven-month process that would test his determination and vision. Boaz soon realized

see Boaz on pg. 2

It is 8:30 in the morning and coaches are anxiously awaiting the announcement, packed in a stuffy conference room as they prepare for the chaos that is about to ensue.

Every two years, the University Interscholastic League (UIL) releases new district alignments based on school size and location.

Coppell High School is returning to its former “Lewisville district” with Flower Mound, Flower Mound Marcus, Lewisville, Hebron and Denton Ryan.

Coppell was a part of this district two years ago “The district is tough, and the region is tougher,” volleyball coach Julie Green said. “There are a lot of good teams, but that it is good for us because we will have to compete every game.”

Many of these teams have been playoff contenders in the past few years. Hebron’s volleyball team won the Class 5A

state championship in 2010 and made to the regional quarterfinals in 2011, and their football team made it into one round of playoffs. Hebron’s basketball team also made it to the regional quarterfinals in 2011.

Flower Mound Marcus also has impressive district standings as they are consistently ranked top three in most sports, including volleyball and football. The Cowgirls defeated Marcus in the 2011 regional finals.

Many have written off Lewisville as a weak component in most sports, but its boys soccer team will be strong competition for the Cowboys as both teams are ranked first in their district.

“District play is always difficult,” football coach Joe McBride said. “Our standards and expectations are to be first in district every time, but even if we’re not, we always strive to be one of the top four teams. There are no easy teams.”

District details on pg. 23

Coppell beat Lewisville 48-0 in a 2009 matchup.

Photo by Sidekick staff

news Boaz gets into the flow of iPhone app development

page 2

february 2012

continued from pg. 1 that it takes more than just a good idea to be successful; you have to be able to execute your idea efficiently as well.

With the assistance of his father, Boaz decided to outsource the development of Flow Check to freelance professionals in India. The foreign coders and programmers were a great asset to Flow Check’s development, but communicating with them also posed challenges.

“When you’re working with developers, how you want it to look can be very different from how they picture it in their head, so you have to be very specific with color, outlook and everything,” Boaz said. “That process takes a long time because you have to get it very fine-tuned. I probably changed the app 40-50 times.”

Flow Check is a sophisticated application, and creating it took considerable financial support. However, Boaz is hopeful that Flow Check will be profitable despite the cost of producing it.

“I don’t really want to disclose the cost but the average cost of a normal app is $5,000 to $8,000,” Jake said. “This is a global market. If you spend $5,000 to $6,000 on an app and you have 20,000 users that buy it, you’ve al-

ready doubled your money.”

Though Flow Check is poised to rake in the profit, Boaz has gleaned equally valuable experience that will serve him well in the business world in the future.

“I had to write an entire terms and conditions by myself, I had to set up a company, I had to do a bank account that would route all my money through it, there was iAd Network – there were all sorts of things that were over my head,” Boaz said. “But you get through it, you understand it, and it’s actually helped me a lot in business today.

The entire process of creating Flow Check took Boaz a total of seven months, and countless hours on the phone with India or planning features for the app.

Even after Apple initially barred Flow Check from app store, and even after some told him it was dumb, Boaz did not give up on his idea.

“I’m very proud of him because there were many times he could’ve given up on it, no question,” father Russell Boaz said.

“I’m very proud of him for persevering through it. For his age, I think it’s a pretty great accomplishment.”

Though Flow Check has only been published a few weeks, word of it has caused buzz around

Coppell. Thus far, Jake’s app has impressed users, earning 4.5-star rating on the App Store. The app has already been filled with dozens of uploaded “flows” and most users are thoroughly enjoying the experience.

“I thought it was pretty fun,” Hellmuth said. “Kids that are going to love that and be posting funny pictures of themselves. I think it works out well.”

Flow Check hasn’t yet caught on much outside of Coppell, but Boaz is optimistic that his app could be the next big thing.

Everyone has hair, so Flow Check does have a very wide audience.

“I think it does have the potential [to get popular],” Jake said. “We’ve even had a few sales in China and Switzerland. I think it has potential because flow is a universal thing.”

Thus far, however, Flow Check hasn’t caught on very much outside of Coppell. Moving forward, Boaz and his father are planning on launching a viral marketing plan to expose the app to people all over the nation, or even the world.

“Now that we’ve got [Flow Check] done, we’ve got to launch a viral marketing plan,” Mr. Boaz said. “That’s the next step. We need to do it pretty quickly while there’s some buzz about the app.”

What do you think?

“I think that it is awesome that a student from Coppell took the time to make the app cause it’s so fun to use.”

-Alex Briggs, Sophomore

Photos by Rachel Bush

Flow Check is the first iPhone app junior Jake Boaz has designed and developed, taking a total of seven months to finalize.

“I thought the idea was out there, but I do think that a lot of people could like something like that.”

-Matt Trovalli, junior

“I was one of the first ones [Jake] told and I was excited for him.

It works well for a 3rd party app. The app could be successful if it is marketed well.”

-Griffin Meyer, Junior

february 2012 Photo by Rowan Khazendar

news

page 3

Going for gold to become Girl Scouts for life Jordan Bickham Staff Writer

Although Jena Seidemann is only a freshman, she already has high aspirations, including getting her Girl Scouts’ Gold Award.

Not only will she have gotten this esteemed award for all of her hard work and dedication, but many other things that she has gained from the program over the years.

“A lot of my best friends I got from Girl Scouts, so I have gotten relationships,” Seidemann said.

“And I have gotten experiences and fun memories.”

Girl Scouts is a great way for girls to connect and make friends, get involved in community service and learn leadership skills that can help them throughout their life.

A Girl Scout since the first grade, senior Alycia Ovalle is still involved in it today.

“I wanted to [join Girl Scouts] at first just because a lot of the girls in my grade were in it and said it was a lot of fun. But as I got older, I did not want to do it anymore,” Ovalle said. “When I had gotten into high school, I had already gotten my silver and gold award. My mom was like, ‘you cannot stop now; you are almost there.’”

Although she has stuck with it for 11 years, most of her friends have dropped out as they transitioned into high school and got involved in other activities.

“I went to a Catholic school,

so there was a bunch of us. But in my troop now, there are only two other girls that are in my grade,” Ovalle said. “My friends have branched out, one lives in Farmers Branch, one lives in Carrolton, and I live in Coppell.”

But Ovalle is not the only Girl Scout at CHS. Seidemann is also an avid, passionate and very active Girl Scout who has been involved since first grade. She is still involved in it today, especially with college approaching in a few years.

“The thing that keeps me in Girl Scouts is that I have a lot of good friends in there who are really nice, and I do not get to see them that often since the school is so big.

So this is a way that I can see them,” Seidemann said. “And I am not going to lie, but for college applications, if you get the Gold Award, it is going to set you apart from people. So that is another reason why I do it.”

Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low founded the program 100 years ago in 1912. She assembled a group of 18 girls from Savannah, Ga., to form the first Girl Scout troop. Now, there are 3.2 million girl and adults in the country in-

volved in girl scouts.

“The goal behind Girl Scouts is to produce well-rounded girls,” junior Girl Scout Maddie Migis said. “Now it is to produce girls who can go out into the world and be successful and be good people.”

Migis, a “Girl Scout for life,” earned her Gold Award last year w it h junior

Michelle Pitcher by helping a charity called Project H.E.L.P. through a canned food drive and fundraising to buy a computer.

Junior Sarah Bauer, who is hoping to get her gold award this summer, is using her passion for singing and dancing to create a show choir camp for children this

summer along with a food drive.

“It is going to be kind of like the Vivacé! summer camp with my own kind of twist, and it is going to be a positive and uplifting experience for the kids,” Bauer said. “It is kind of like three projects. I am helping with kids and their self confidence, helping with the canned food drive and I am also hoping to teach adults to lead.”

Not only are their achievements impressive, but also what they learn through the duration of their time in girl scouts helps them in their lives.

“For one thing, [Girl Scouts helps with] college applications,” Ovalle said. “I have had one ask if I am working on my Gold Award or if I have made it, so I get to put that down and it is a pretty big deal. And then I have grown as a leader because it helps young girls become good, strong leaders and stand to their morals and what they believe in.”

The Gold Award is the equivalent a Boy Scouts’ Eagle Scout award, but with so few Girl Scouts obtaining this award, it is a rarity that can make one stand out.

“It is very time consuming,

so that is hard, but once I get my Gold Award, I can say I am a Girl Scout for life,” Ovalle said. “It is harder for girls to continue with it, you do not hear that very often, unlike boy scouts where a lot of boys get their eagle scout. It is just not as common for girls.”

The girls that continue are inspiration for the younger Girl Scouts and are great role models for them.

“I feel like, as an older Girl Scout, I help the younger girl scouts more because there is a lot of mentoring that goes on,” Migis said.

The younger Girl Scouts really look up to those who continue since it’s a huge commitment that takes a passion to help others and a love of the program.

“I had a girl who rang my doorbell and asked if I wanted to buy Girl Scout cookies, and I got to say that I am still a Girl Scout,” Ovalle said. “So you also are encouraging younger girl scouts that you can grow up and you can still be a girl scout in high school.”

While the number of Girl Scouts at the high school is not that large, Girl Scouts is still an incredible program that has grown considerably since its beginning in 1912 with only 18 girls. Now with millions of girls around the US, the program has impacted the nation, teaching girls leadership qualities that help them in whatever they do and creating relationships that can last a lifetime.

the competition is fair,” senior AllState member and Drum Major Brandon White said. “Then you perform at All-Region and if you move on you go to Pre-Area, then Area and then All-State. It gets harder to move on at every level.”

The foundation of many of the All-State members’ success lies in their efforts to rehearse their pieces. “[CHS band director Scott Mason] gave us a really generous amount of time to practice our music in class,” sophomore flutist Brandy Sun said. “If you used this time to your advantage, it was really a huge benefit. I knew coming out of my freshman year that I wanted to step it up this year and advance further in the competition, and [extra practice] really helped me out.”

The previous record number of CHS All-State Band qualifiers was 15 in 2004. No one could have predicted this vast amount of success, not even Mason.

“The night before the competition, I could have only listed one or two students I felt confident would advance,” Mason said. “The results shocked me. I was so pleasantly surprised at the record-setting outcome and was very proud.”

The All-State students are equally proud of their accomplishments.

“Mr. Mason told us that he never thought that record was broken and that he was incredibly proud of all our hard work,” Sun said. “That is something I am really going to be proud of for a long time.”

Even though the practice hours helped the band members get started early, it took more than just practice to advance so far into the competition. You have to have the drive to work hard while practicing and memorize each note.

Moreover, All-State students must remain calm and composed during their performance.

“The real thing that pushes students through the levels of the competition is their practice,” Mason said. “The harder you practice and the more familiar and comfortable you become with the piece, the better you will do on the day of competition. It just makes sense.”

Sometimes, though, the difference between qualifying and being rejected is extremely close.

Sun reminds herself to be humble and continue her hard work.

“I try not to let this honor

define me as a musician,” Sun said.

“There are a lot of people who I thought deserved the award that did not get it. It really comes down to how well you play your piece one time, and it is easy to mess up.

I really am very honored to be an All-State sophomore and I plan to continue working so hard.”

At a school like Coppell, so many people make it deep into the competition only to barely miss qualifying for All-State. White advises these students to not become discouraged.

“I would encourage people in band that do not make it to state to keep their heads up,” White said.

“You have to act really confident and practice diligently. Try not to let your nerves get to you.”

The Coppell Band is proud of their great accomplishments this year, and plans to progress further in the future – and hopefully re-break its record.

All-State qualifiers for the 2011-2012 school year are Mark LeGros, Parker Mason, Chris Lugo, Brandon White, Jonathan Bolton, Sean Nelson, Landon Grissett, Aidan McGraw, Nina Jang, Jason Fang, Madeline Zill, Benson Huang, Lauren Walter, Cinnie Lin, Harini Suresh and Brandy Sun.

Graphic by Brian Hwu

New record set with 16 All-State Band qualifiers

Photo by Rowan Khazendar

The All-State qualifiers head to the airport to compete at the All-State Band competition in San Antonio.

Kristen Shepard Staff Writer

For the Coppell High School Band, 16 is a sweet number. In December, 16 members of the band qualified for a spot in the All-State Band, the most in CHS history.

Generally, band is set up in a two-semester format. During the first semester, the band focuses

on their marching show for football games and competitions. This is a completely different type of music than what they work on in the spring. The spring semester is explicitly marked as what students call “concert season.”

“We get our etudes [All-State audition music] in August. Everyone who plays the trumpet gets the same music to practice so that

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news

february 2012

Public Services Academy gives back to community Jordan Bickham Staff Writer

The cafeterias this past Saturday were a swarm of guests exploring the various attractions at the expo with the Public Service Academy students standing out in their matching red shirts. Not only did these crowds of people fill both cafeterias, but they were also inside the lecture hall, the Commons, the large gym and even outside with the petting zoo.

This was the second annual PSA Free Health Expo and was held by the students of the academy themselves. The expo included face painting, a petting zoo and dozens of vendors ready to display their knowledge. Not only was it a fun place to visit and hang out at, but it was also a great place to learn about careers in the health field.

Planned and operated by the students themselves, they were responsible for contacting vendors and coordinating their presentations at the big expo.

Students got to learn more about the careers they were interested in while displaying their knowledge to the hundreds of guests that attended the expo.

“The expo is a way for us to provide service to the community and service learning,” PSA coordinator and Health Science teacher Brenda Brinkman said.

“The service component is obviously our students working eight hours that day to put this thing on,” Students involved in the medical aspect of the academy have definitely been hard at work getting together with the vendors and perfecting their presentations, but it is all for a great cause.

Sophomore Jenn Love said the hours dedicated to planning the expo was well worth it.

“Obviously the whole idea behind PSA is public service. Public service is helping others and

the whole purpose of [this expo] is to educate the community on different topics, like what would be best for them,” Love said. “And we have the vendors coming in so they can meet them and figure out a plan relating to the different topics they’re covering.”

Not only is the medical side of the academy actively involved in the expo, but also the education branch has been busy testing experiments.

“On the education side of PSA, we are doing science experiments that are elementary schoolaged friendly,” sophomore Ali Martinez. “I’m working a booth called Ghost Writer where you take lemon juice and you write with it on a piece of paper and then you apply heat to the paper and it makes it show up kind of like invisible ink.”

The expo’s goal is to help students understand and learn more in depth about the career paths they wish to pursue in the near future. Whether it is educational or medical, the expo promotes both of the very different sides of the academy.

This was the academy’s second expo, larger than the first one that occurred last year, which had over 1,500 people attend. Not only were there entertainment aspects to the event, but also ways to give back, such as the spring blood drive. There were also free health screenings and a lecture series with professionals talking to promote wellness and health.

“The connection to the community is since we are health care and education, we want to understand the needs of the community and because of health care, promote wellness,” Brinkman said. “And that is why we’re offered the health screenings and all the different things that are at the expo. And my expectation with the academy students is that the expo grows every year.”

Her expectation was right; the expo

was a huge success with tons of people showing up to find out how to live a healthy life and what career options are available in the healthcare field.

“It was really fun, I did not think there would be as many vendors as there were and as many things to do as there are.

I walked around and looked at a few booths, a lot of clubs from the school are here,” Martinez said.

“The National Art Honor Society is here, Love Your Neighbor, Operation Smile, and it’s really neat to see all these clubs I might want to join and different organizations that are really cool and I did not know about.”

The Health Expo was a hitnot only with its visitors- but also with the academy students themselves.

“Overall I think it went a lot smoother than I thought it would be. There were more people, it was really organized and the vendors looked very professional.

There were not many major road bumps or anything, so I think it went pretty well,” PSA sophomore Mason David said.

Many of the visitors were also impressed by how organized the expo was and how many activities were available.

“It was quite fun. The most interesting thing was probably all the interactive stuff they had here.

It’s cool to get a hands on experience and that kind of thing,” sophomore Chris Reed said.

In addition to being a graded major project, it also helps them understand their future careers.

“It’s a good experience to work with the public since that’s the goal of our academy. This expo is giving us a feel for working with different age groups and the public, which we will have to do in our future careers,” Martinez said.

St u d e n t s t h rou g h s u ppo rt Att a wa y lett e rs, f u n d ra i s e rs continued from pg. 1 go and visit her after school and to her,” sophomore Morgan Hobgood said. “We talked to her about everything we would talk to our best friends about. We definitely considered her to be one of our best friends. It was good to know you had someone you could be comfortable with and say anything to on campus.”

Hobgood received a call over winter break from Attaway’s husband, Dick Attaway. He explained to her his wife’s condition, which had progressively shown more symptoms of the disease.

What first began as simple headaches slowly developed into the loss of her right peripheral vision. Her condition worsened when memory loss began to take

place routinely. The Attaways were then sure there was something wrong and decided to get it checked out when cancerous brain tumors were discovered.

A week after Hobgood was informed about Attaway, the monthly newsletter was sent to parents addressing of her situation and condition.

“When my mom read [the newsletter] she broke down and started crying,” sophomore Chris Reed said. “That’s how much she affected even the parents; Mrs. Attaway was a huge inspiration to my mom.”

Reed and Hobgood started a Facebook group to discuss writing letters to Mrs. Attaway to send good wishes and show their appreciation.

“She has been here for us,

and I wanted to be there for her,” Reed said. “I thought these letters were a perfect reminder of how much we care about her, how much we love her. I mean, everybody loves to have a hand-written letter.”

The response was enormous, and within an hour Attaway was recognized both by current and former students, even strangers who had formed an opinion on the teacher by ear.

“I got a flood of emails that said, ‘oh, I was a student of Mrs. Attway’s, please let me be in this group,” Reed said. “I did not think it would get this big this fast. I think I was contacted by 40 people in an hour.”

Reed has collected several letters since Jan. 18 but is expecting more from students who are

A young attendee gets her turn at the petting zoo. Photo

by Jack Ficklen.

Senior Austin Cooper conducted a blood pressure test as part of the health services offered by the Health Science classes. Photo by Jack Ficklen.

The National Art Honor Society set up a face painting booth for the many children that were present at the expo. Photo by Jack Ficklen.

trying to find the perfect words that reflect their feelings.

“I was hoping they could write about memories with Mrs. Attaway; they can say their favorite thing about Mrs. Attaway, they can talk about a funny moment in her class, or funny lessons,” Reed said. “I already got a letter from someone who didn’t even have her.”

Attaway is known for opening up her classroom after school and helping her students with any issues they had, even if they were no longer her students at all.

“I look at the people around me and I think—I have been surrounded by so many awesome people as far as growing up, as far as having a ministry with those girls, as far as just being with them and watching them grow up,” Attaway said.

“Letters to Mrs. Attaway” quickly found its way to CMSN. Seventh and eighth grade history teacher Jessica Kindberg is accepting letters from students at the middle school. In honor of Attaway, both CMSN and CMS East is teaming up to host a charity basketball game at Coppell High School on Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m.

Proceeds from entrance fees and concession sales will go directly to the Attaways. T-shirts will be sold

for the event as well.

Blue wristbands are also being sold for $5 to help benefit Attaway. The wristbands were an idea of Attaway’s colleague, CMSN drama teacher Brittany Reese.

“The original order [of bracelets] was 200, all of which was sold within a week,” CMSN office secretary Sara Sims said.

“All the proceeds will be going toward paying for her medical expenses. The band has her name on it with one of her favorite bible verses, Philippians 54:67.”

A silent auction in honor of Attaway is also being discussed.

Because of the bridges Attaway helped her students build, they will continue to show their appreciation for a teacher who is one of their best friends.

“She has always impacted her students in a positive way because she is really happy and bubbly to have new kids come in every year,” Boyer said. “She makes her kids feel almost like family.”

Attaway is keeping a positive attitude and believes that with her faith and those around her she will be able to fight through it.

“I am just so blown away by the generosity of everybody in Coppell and by the way they are appreciative. I am very thankful,” Attaway said.

. . opinions

february 2012

page 5

Do Disney princesses send a bad message?

PRO A feeling I had never experienced before overwhelmed me as I sat clutching the water color painting, waiting for my mother to pick me up. My stomach felt as if it had flipped on its side, and no matter how hard I tried I could not help smiling.

I stole another glance at the painting and I recognized the name of the boy I could not stop thinking about: Louis. My first crush was upon me.

From the time we are little girls, we dream about love. At least I did. So my peers and I were enthralled with the Disney princess films. From The Little Mermaid to Beauty and the Beast, these movies captivated our imaginations with tales of adventure and love.

However, in recent years, these movies have come under much criticism. The assertion has been made that they are demeaning to women and promote bad behavior. Upon hearing

Disney movies can teach valuable lessons.

these claims, to say I was surprised would be an understatement. I had never seen this apparent underlying hurricane of moral treachery and antifeminist messages.

I can understand the points those with this mindset are making. They believe these movies teach young girls they need a man (i.e. the gallant prince/love interest) to rescue them from their troubles, or we should sacrifice things about ourselves, such as our voice or our freedom, in order to find love, but even that poor behavior can benefit us in the end.

While it is easy to understand where these ill sentiments are coming from, it is also easy to see that they are an exaggeration. These films are not simply tales of hopeless love; they teach lessons, and valuable ones at that.

I learned that we should value what is on the inside rather than appearance from Beauty and the

CON With drool stained down his t-shirt and boogers running from his nose, I was rejected on my preschool playground by my first crush. In that gut wrenching moment I realized everything does not end in happily ever after like Disney does.

For the majority of my life I searched for a Cinderella type romance. I thought having high standards meant to wait to be chased, saved, and swept off your feet by prince charming. These ideas were put into my mind by none other then my preschool pastime: Disney.

To break it down in terms of Disney Princesses, here it goes. Aurora, otherwise known as sleeping beauty, spent the entire movie waiting to be rescued by a prince. Snow White’s goal was to have a prince take her to his castle in which was accomplished only after she foolishly made a wish on a magic apple.

Princesses make girls think that they need to be perfect.

And although in the beginning of the movie Ariel wants to go on land to find gizmos and collect objects, once she meets prince Eric her only goal is to be united with him.

In all of these movies the female characters only priority in their life is to find love. It makes women out to be dependent and lack ambition and drive. Disney manipulates young girls into thinking a man is what will solve their problems and that being alone is simply not acceptable.

In this fantasy land where animals talk and breaking out in random song is socially acceptable, there is an underlined meaning of what love and beauty is that can change a child’s views of the world at a very young age.

Maybe that is what makes Disney so appealing. It sets an unreachable standard of love.

Real life couples face fights about money, time and communication.

Disney films demonstrate respect and kidness in relationships.

These movies can remind us of all the potential the world has to offer.

Beast. I learned that we should stand up for what we believe in from Pocahontas. I learned to value nature (Snow White), to dream big (The Princess and the Frog), and to never give up on something once you set your mind to it (Tangled).

The values taught in these films are more than I can say for other children’s television shows and movies nowadays, which seem to promote fame and fantasy more than anything else. It is true that Disney princess movies center on falling in love, but so do many other films. Throughout our lives, we will watch an enumerable number of movies centered on love.

In regards to the argument the movies teach young girls the wrong lessons about love, this is completely untrue. Yes, in these stories the prince often comes to the rescue of the princess. But why must we take a negative message from this act? We are con-

The female characters’ only priority is love.

stantly trying to teach upcoming generations of women to demand respect and kindness from their partners, so why is a movie about a man who would strive to protect his love something to hide from children?

I was an avid watcher of Disney princess films, yet I have never felt like I was dependent upon men to succeed in life. I have, however, created a standard of respect I expect in relationships.

It seems as if this slander toward Disney princess films is somewhat of a stretch. We can obviously take a negative message from the films if we are looking for it; we can do this with any film, whether it is produced by Disney or otherwise. What a child takes away from a story, whether it is via a movie or a book, is what they glean from the discussions that follow, as well as the morals promoted within their homes growing up.

Disney sets girls up to be disappointed.

Disney couples face struggles about spells, dragons and monsters. It is so extreme and exciting it makes real love seem dull and not “special” in comparison.

Although my father always claimed that I was a princess, I realized very early on that I did not look like one. Disney portrays princesses as flawless. They have a golden voice, perfect skin, and luscious hair. My freckled face and unruly mane never fit the Disney image.

It is odd to say I am jealous of the life of fictional characters, but in some ways I am. It is disappointing that love is not the way Disney portrays it. It is a shame that the majority of relationships end in tears, pain, and dysfunction. Disney have become pros at cutting off the story of their Princesses at the ideal moment. They never have truly explained the most vital part of the whole love story: What happens after happily

What do you think?

“It depends on the “It depends on the princess. story. Sometimes it They all send good messages, sets girls’ standards but Sleeping Beauty and too high, but I don’t Cinderella can make girls feel think they necessarily that only true love can make send out a bad mesthem happy.” sage. ” -Clara Caussey, English -Olivia Richards, teacher Sophomore

Negative messages can be found in any film if you are looking for it.

If we blame low self-esteem in women on a Disney film intended to entertain children with stories of love and adventure, then we are simply making excuses for poor education of morals in the real world.

When I reflect on the Disney princess films of my past, or even when I watch them today, I am not affronted as a woman, but rather I am filled with joy. They remind me of the potential for a pure love, of that fluttery feeling you get in your stomach like I did with my first crush. It reminds me of all the potential the world around us can have. And while I am aware that life is not a fairy tale, that does not mean we cannot dream of a life full of magic.

Disney films do not teach viewers to be accountable.

ever after?

In today’s times, where couples dispose of each other once things get boring and claim that it is because of irreconcilable differences there is no doubt in my mind that the media and movies in particular play a role in this.

Disney sets up girls to be disappointed. That sounds harsh, but in many aspects it is true. I am not saying love should be boring, but I know an average day for me does not consist of being whisked away on horseback into the sunset or having a wicked spell casted on me. Girls get so caught up in the characters of these movies, they forget that it simply is unrealistic to find somebody in which life is perfect with.

In Disney films, the princess always gets saved no matter how close she is to dying or carrying on heavy consequences. In real love there can be consequences to each decision you make and you

Madison Ford

Entertainment Editor

cannot always rely on a man to fix your problems for you.

Disney portrays men as something they are not. They design them to be ultra sensitive, super smooth talking, and beyond charming. This is not what your average man is like. This sets unrealistic standards for women to look for in a man and can add unneeded pressure on a man in a relationship.

It was fun to play pretend when I was a young girl, but love is no longer a game of pretend.

Even though it is not always easy to admit, prince charming is out there, he is just not what Disney had in mind.

“I don’t think young audiences see some of the bad messages princesses send. Not until girls are older do they realize some of the bad messages present” -Allison Mays, Senior

Kara Adkins

Online Copy Editor

. . opinions

page 6

february 2012

Editorial

Students no longer hear about making good choices Many people have witnessed it firsthand - that rebellious group of kids that looks way to young to be smoking or drinking in a public place. Standing there taking in this experience, it is easy to wonder what these kids are thinking, how they will get home unnoticed, and who is going to talk some sense into them? What ever happened to the “just say ‘no’” talks?

In a family-oriented community like Coppell, adults preach to kids from an extremely early age the importance of just saying “no” to the destructive path that drugs and alcohol lead us down.

Back in elementary school, we

could not begin to comprehend the severity of these situations, but we knew they were dangerous and frowned upon.

For most kids, this information is so repetitive it goes in one ear and out the other by the time they reach fourth grade. Although it is highly unlikely for kids to be offered such damaging products at an early age, there is a definite shift in their lives when they feel they must grow up and experiment with some of them.

It is concerning how many different ways minors can get their hands on things they do not need to have: stashes from parents, samples from siblings and

even illegal purchases from stores.

Once they have it, the only thing that can stop them is a moral alarm that should be buried deep, stemming from all the drug and alcohol talks they have received in their life.

The severity of peer pressure is an entirely different issue, but it plays a role in the tragedy that causes destructive behavior from a young age. To kids, if someone else did it and survived, then taking the risk must be OK. It only takes one person to corrupt a whole group.

We live in a society where it appears nearly everyone has been pressured drugs and alcohol by Graphic by Lauren Ussery

Why we all want to be hipsters A cultural plague has fallen upon the halls of CHS, leaving few unaffected by its symptoms.

For the past few years, opposition to mainstream media has become airborne, leading to grotesque transformations of average students into hipsters.

At least, this is how people appear to feel about this cultural phenomenon. As more and more students opt to listen to independent artists rather than Lady Gaga, more and more people become quick to classify these individuals as “hipsters.”

But I am here to boldly say that there is no such thing as a hipster. Rather, every student at CHS is afflicted with some strain of the alternative virus; it just manifests itself to different extremes in varying cases.

It all comes down to the idea of originality.

It is human nature to want to be stand out in a crowd, to not be just another faceless and mindless student shuffling through the hallways. Nobody can honestly say they are OK with being categorized as “just another Coppell girl/guy.”

However, how people respond to this stimulus reflects how far they are willing to go to maintain their

individuality.

For some girls, it is as simple as borrowing one of their dad’s oversized sweaters and coupling it with a pair of hiking boots. For guys, all they have to do is get rid of the Bieber flow and put on some wide-rimmed glasses. There are definitely worse things you could do.

But for some reason, these large sweaters and bulky glasses incite a sort of witch-hunt. Some students are so opposed to these apparent “hipsters” that they classify them as such and never take a look at their own rationale. From what I have seen, those who are so offended by “hipsters” display an inordinate number of hipstersymptoms.

Such symptoms include: listening to alternative music, loudly referencing the fact that you do not watch Glee, wearing any of the aforementioned articles of clothing, detesting brand names and carrying around an oversized camera. I have not met one “hipster-hunter” who did not exhibit at least one of these qualities.

This leads us to the conclusion that everyone, no matter how much they protest, wants to be “hipster” to a certain extent.

2011-2012 Staff Editor-in-Chief

Webmaster

Features Editor

Business Manager

News Editor

Online Copy Editors

Michelle Pitcher Mary Whitfill

Julianne Cauley

Opinions Editor Kelly Stewart

Entertainment Editor Madison Ford

Sports Editor

Sammy Robben

Design Editor Lauren Ussery

Photos/Graphics Editor Brian Hwu

Wren Culp

Addy Lopez

Kara Adkins Ben Cowlishaw Thomas Hair

Staff Writers

Kimberly Del Angel Jordan Bickham Christina Burke Jay Carroll Caroline Carter John Loop Lance McCaskey Tanner McCord Sarah Police

Every time I hear my friend (who coincidentally shows all five of the “hipster” symptoms written above) say things like, “I can’t stand that girl. She thinks she’s so hipster,” what I really hear is, “I wish she would stop trying to take away the only thing that makes me unique.”

I will be the first to admit that I have been infected by the Hipster Plague, but I will not concede that it is in any way a bad thing.

One should not be penalized for trying to form a semblance of an identity – we are all trying to find ourselves, and it can be more than slightly confusing. So if someone is comfortable listening to basement artists and wearing clothes from the 80s, then they should be allowed to do so without fearing the judgment of their peers.

To me, the word “hipster” is synonymous with “original,” and everyone has a right to maintain their own originality. We would all do well to embrace it.

the time they reach high school.

It seems as if getting high and wasted are even encouraged in the shows we watch and music we listen to. Although these things surround us on practically a daily basis, that still does not make them OK. These pressures of society create conflict for teenagers to live out a life they think will be fun and still not destructive to their future.

At such a young age, there is so much life ahead of us, and it does not deserve to be taken away because we shut out the information that we learned in elementary school assemblies. What ever happened to Red Ribbon Week?

It seems as if this nationally celebrated event has become so invisible as we move into higher grade levels. We still get the bracelets and the fun dress up days, but do we take away the message anymore?

Bad things happen when people use drugs and alcohol; that is always the main point.

Even if we know that, it is hard to withstand the social pressures of this generation to stand up for what we know is right. It seems as if society is headed toward a destructive state in which things that were frowned upon are becoming more and more OK. Take a stand against that.

Comments

from the web PRO: UIL bends the rules for athletes

“What about students who are not preAP or AP? Doesn’t this policy discriminate against those who may be inherently academically challenged? Students that struggle in school are already subject to lower self-esteem and hurdles. How does no-pass/no-play help them?”

- Anonymous *Visit Coppellstudentmedia.com to view the full comment

Students struggle with mental illness stigma

“What an informative and captivating article. Blessings to all Coppell students struggling with mental illness, diagnosed or undiagnosed.”

- LL

Sales pop for local Cub Scout “Thank you Tanner for writing this nice article about Kyler. The attention he has recieved from the media has boosted his confidence to reach higher goals next year and has hopefully motivated others to set high goals and not quit.”

- Bwendy Henderson (Kyler’s mother)

Michelle Pitcher Editor-in-Chief

Chase Porter Chris Reagan Erica Rohde Tolu Salako Kristen Shepard Corrina Taylor Jordan Thompson Lauren VerDuin Annie Wen Dyer Whitt

Photographers and Graphic Designers Rachel Bush Jack Ficklen Ivy Hess Rowan Khazendar Haley Madigan Trevor Stiff Jodie Woodward

Adviser

Chase Wofford

The Sidekick is the official student newspaper for Coppell High School. Its purpose is to inform, entertain and provide an educational resource for its readers. This newspaper is a public forum for student expression and thus student editors make all content decisions.

The Sidekick is a member of ILPC, NSPA and JEA. The Sidekick was the NSPA Pacemaker Finalist in 2002, The Dallas Morning News best newspaper honorable metion in 2006, Best Newspaper and Best Website in 2011 and received the Award of Distinguished Merit in 2003 and 2008 and is Broze Star recipent for 2009 from ILPC. The editorials and columns presented in this

paper reflect the view of their writers.

Advertisements are sold as full, 1/2 page, 1/4 page and 1.8 page sizes in black and white or color.

For more information you may reach the adviser in his classroom (D115) or by phone at (214) 496-6239.

To read more stories by The Sidkick staff members, and also to find videos and photos, you can visit coppellstudentmedia.com.

The Sidekick welcomes all letters to the editor, but letters must be signed before consideration for publication. Send letters to cwofford@coppellisd. com. or bring them by D115.

february 2012

. . opinions

page 7

Graphic by Brian Hwu

Whitfill reports pros of media, journalism industry I love the media. #unpopularopinion.

I think the media is the only industry that works more than it doesn’t, I think it is the most fulfilling profession of all time and I completely understand why so many people despise it. I think the media is a perfectly reasonable thing to hate.

There are plenty of reasons that normal, sane people want to throw a shoe at media personalities every time they write another column or open their mouths, but there are an equal number of reasons as to why journalism is the most necessary field in the world.

Journalism is a public dialogue. The people who work in journalism dedicate their lives to

discovering how humanity and the world work. A common complaint among media critics is that journalists are all flaming liberals and 90 percent of the time they are right. But they are right for valuable reasons.

One of the hardest things for media critics to understand is that journalists are not like you. Media people are generally liberal for the simple reason that if good writers did not feel like there needed to be a change in the world they wouldn’t have gone into journalism. They would have gone into advertising to make twice the money and work half as hard.

The media is an essential part of the survival and functioning of our nation’s democracy.

The everyday citizen needs jour- the news and the most interestnalists to wade through all of the ing and eccentric events are what misleading fluff, the political code usually make the front page, and words and candy-coated prob- this is where the true fault in the lems – and resurface with valuable media profession lies. The only and truthful crime that all media The media is the only outlets are guilty information.

Often industry that works more of is catering too in the world much to their audithan it does not... of journalences. ism, supposUsually the edly unbiased writers and broad- latest faux pas of popular social casters are faulted for shoving and political figures get more their personal viewpoints down coverage than worldly and vital the throats of their audiences, but information, leading to a misthe opinion of the writer often balance in the news. This misplays little role in the develop- balance can lead to an under ment of a true news story. And informed audience who is I am not being naïve when I say then forced to suffer the this – it is true. consequences of missJournalists are paid to cover ing out on some of the

most meaningful public record.

While the media industry may not be perfect, its imperfections must be accepted because of the vital role it plays in every part of our society. The media does an outstanding job of linking the entire world together. Journalists have a unique way of pointing out all of the obvious ways we are different and all of the subtle ways we are exactly the same, and for that reason I am able to safely say that the media’s accomplishments out weigh its imperfections.

Mary Whitfill Features Editor

Department of Motor Vehicles driving students insane

The ability to drive a car a confrontation that is provoked serves as an escape, adventure by a customer not getting and privilege for most teenagers. their way.

However, the process in which If you one obtains a drivers license is a come bearing bit less enjoyable. the right inFor most teenagers, their f or m at i on 16th birthday marks the day they and make can solely and legally drive an au- it past the tomobile. Unbeknownst to them, front desk this also marks the day of their troll, then first encounter with the Depart- you are really ment of Motor Vehicles or DMV. in for the ride According to the American of your life, Association of Motor Vehicle Ad- or let’s just ministrators, “The Department of say the sit of Transportation budget is 50 per- your life. cent less than what it was in 1965.”

You will This statistic alone can be then be given used to explain the treacherous a number; this conditions in most DMV offices. number is in Firstly, it appears they ap- fact your one fate, point one front desk employee as you wait in the who is in charge of managing most uncomfortable every single person that walks setting of your life. While through the door. This person, waiting for your number to usually bearing a snarky attitude be called by the monotone speakis the most unhelpful person in er you will discover that your the whole building. They never back becomes stiff in the agonizactually know ingly painful chairs what forms Be prepaired to waste a they have. you need for In addigood amount of your day your spetion to the scoif you plan on going to the liosis inflicting cific goal and either DMV. If you have the mind- chairs, you can rudely disset that renewing your forget about a miss you or stable temperalicense should be a quick ture. Without a refer you to their outdated errand, then forget about it. doubt the DMV website. is either frigidly The problem with this sce- cold or swelteringly warm. Be nario is that if someone forgets a prepared by bringing layered atform needed for their objective, tire unless you want to be miserthe front desk manager will have able during your wait game. to sit there and explain why they By far the most irritable part need it, how they can get it, and of your trip to the DMV will be if worse comes to worse contain the wait. Regardless of what you

Graphic by Brian Hwu hear from friends, family or the department employees themselves, you will have to wait for at least two to three hours.

Do not mind anyone who tells you to, “get there early,” or to wait for a certain time or day of the month.

Be prepared to waste a good amount of your day if you plan on going to the DMV. If you have the mindset that renewing your license should be a quick errand, then forget about it. It will take the majority of the day whether you

get there early or not.

The government needs to do something about the service at the DMV and with that I propose we have more funding for these types of departments.

This will help civilians not to pull their hair out every time they visit the DMV and also make employees more susceptible to doing their job correctly.

In addition to funding, people just straight up need to be prepared.

Have your money, ID, social security card or whatever the authorities want ready.

Do not wait until you are up to bat to warm up your swing; be courteous to others in line and even that incredibly annoyed front desk worker because, whether we like it or not, they are the dictator of that department and have total rule.

Unfortunately the DMV is a must for all drivers, but one thing is for sure, bring a book, iPod, phone or anything to make the wait more bearable.

Trust me, you will thank me later.

Dyer Whitt

Staff Writer

How to Survive the DMV: 1.

Have all of your forms filled out and with you when you get up to the counter.

2.

Be courtious to others.

3.

Take an entire day to do this errand do not assume you will have it done in an hour.

4.

Have money, ID, Social Security card, and other important information out as soon as you get up to the counter - this will help the line move faster.

5.

Bring something to pass the time you will have to be waiting, be it a book, iPod, or anything else.

6.

Do not assume that if you get there early, or wait until a certain day of the month you will beat the crowd - other people have heard of this trick, and will have the same idea you do.

page 8

..

opinions

february 2012

Illustration by Haley Madigan

Beliefs cause tension

Satire, comedy or news?

Comedy Central programs provide alternative source for current events other than mainstream media

When we tune into Comedy Central, we see shows such as The Colbert Report, The Daily Show and South Park. We turn these on to have a few laughs before bed, but we may not understand the significance of the shows and what they are saying.

The actual definition of satire is the use of irony, or sarcasm in exposing or denouncing, and it is on display on these Comedy Central programs. The Colbert Report takes real political disputes and spins them into comedic skits for the viewers’ enjoyment. It uses satire to denounce the major conservative programs such as Fox News’s “The O’Reilly Factor”.

The more liberal stance the shows take gives the hosts a lot of freedom in their approach to the political issues. However, this does not necessarily mean the show has a negative effect. In fact, The Colbert Report has had a great cultural influence on our country.

As a joke, in 2006 Colbert encouraged his viewers to vote online to name a Hungarian bridge after him; he got 17,231,724 votes, and the Ambassador of Hungary presented Colbert with a declaration stating he was the winner of the second and final round of voting. It would have been named Colbert; however, a new law prevented the bridge from being named after a living person not fluent in Hungarian.

If so many people listen and respond to an online poll to name a bridge after Colbert, what is going to stop citizens from taking political advice from him? By

making fun of a candidate in one of his skits, Colbert can greatly affect the overall election due to his publicity and amiability. This also means people who would not otherwise vote now form an opinion because of this show.

This show can be comedic yet enlightening at the same time. In this day and age, I rarely turn on the news to see what is going on; I either do not have an attentiveness for it, or I do not want to be bored. So when I go onto Comedy Central and see the Colbert Report, it opens my eyes to what is going on in the world.

Sure some of it is a joke, and it is a joke that I can laugh at, but after watching it I feel the idea of the joke implanting itself into my head. I am more up-todate after watching the Colbert Report than I would have been had I skipped over the show and watched something else.

Another show that has a great influence on the public is the online show and newspaper The Onion. There are two parts to the show; the first part of the show is a parody-filled segment, including mock interviews that represent traditional newspaper features and editorials.

The second part, however, is a non-satirical entertainment section called The A.V. Club. It features interviews and review of the media as well as weekly features. The print edition includes restaurant reviews, and previews of forthcoming entertainment.

While this show can be a humorous way to enjoy the news, it also has a factual section that can actu-

ally be quite beneficial to readers and viewers of The Onion. It differs from regular news stations that have fast talking, airbrushed figures who drone on about the news in their unnaturally perky voices, using a vocabulary that some younger audiences might not understand.

It is refreshing to watch and learn from a program. I have not watched an entertaining yet informative segment since Bill Nye or the Magic School bus. To be able to have a laugh while learning about our country’s imperative political issues is invigorating.

Though satire is often used to sugarcoat the real issues, it can also be an easy way to bring out issues that would otherwise have gone unnoticed by some. Teenagers now have a source for news that they do not have to pretend to be interested in. Now they can be entertained while learning the same information their parents learn through major news networks.

These shows are beneficial when it comes to the younger population and are, for me personally, to keep up with the news. Now I no longer feel unintelligent because I can carry on a conversation about the current news with my elders, but I am still able to joke about the satire with my peers.

Corinna Taylor Staff Writer

Which news resource is most popular for CHS students?

43% Mainstream media 19% Satirical media 38% Neither

I have a lot to say about the elephants in the room; one of them is Christian, one of them is gay.

They are not bullying each other. They do not want to make a scene – they are not even talking.

One of them is just trying to be a good Christian while the other is just trying to be himself.

The tension between Christianity and homosexuality is powerful in a quiet way; it involves less brutal name-calling than most of the bullying geared towards homosexuals. When it comes to Christianity, homophobia is simply the fear of something “bad” or “wrong,” and the lack of a malicious tongue is made up for with a scathing look, a bitter thought, or even just a harmless inability to understand.

The real problem is many religious people are so wound up over the discipline, rules and the fear of being wrong they forget to follow their hearts. I think some religious people fail to understand how anyone could be truly happy if they are not Christian. Many of them do not realize that no matter how nice you are to someone who is gay, the minute they find out your amicable attitude is only part of your plan to change or convert them, they are hurt.

Don’t get me wrong – I applaud the person who chooses the benevolent route rather than the philistine one. Sadly, whether you mean well or not, you have to understand nobody wants that kind of friendship. It should also be understood that the judgments harbored by people who look down on homosexuals is one of the most disappointing failures I have seen in humanity.

One of my mom’s best friends grew up hanging out with his sister and her friends m o r e t h a n he did w i t h guys, and she always k n e w something was different about him, despite the fact that he had dated a g i r l

through most of high school and was even engaged to her after graduation. The most difficult thing he ever had to do come to the realization that no matter how hard he tried to fight it, he was gay.

I thought of him when my counselor at church camp told me that “being gay is always a choice and it can be avoided with the power of God.” I still tear up when I think of how merciless those words are.

We have all heard the infamous quote in the Bible condemning homosexuality -heck you can find it on Google in a second. But what I don’t understand is how Christians can fervently recite Corinthians 6:11 yet fail to acknowledge James 4:12.

I do believe it says something along the lines of “but who are you to judge your neighbor?”

All I am implying is that the Bible cannot be your weapon if it contradicts your actions.

And these actions, which may seem justified to you, are actually detrimental to the possible happiness of millions of people.

Believe it or not, there are people who are gay and want to be Christian, but are being told they aren’t allowed because some other human decided their future for them. Being gay won’t stop someone from loving Jesus, but you might. And besides, an unreligious person, whether gay or straight, still has a beating heart that deserves to be accepted with the love that Christians say they have for one another.

I passionately advise you to take the road less taken – I promise it is a better one. Stop trying to find the answer to everything.

Stop trying to figure out how some people are gay and some are straight because it isn’t your responsibility anyways.

Let people be gay if they are, Christian if they want to be, and happy because they can be.

Jordan Thompson

Statistics based on a survey of 25 CHS students Graphic by Brian Hwu

Staff Writer

features Ramos receives special access to presidential address page 9

february 2012 Lance McCaskey Staff Writer

As President Barack Obama was giving Americans the State of the Union address, a Coppell graduate was taking another step toward realizing her dream of becoming the first woman President of the United States.

Second lieutenant Brittany Ramos, a 2008 graduate of Coppell High School, recently graduated from the University of Miami. This month, she will be deployed to Afghanistan as a part of 841st Engineer Battalion Forward Support Company. Her Congresswoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, decided to honor Ramos by inviting her to accompany herself to the State of the Union.

“Our brave women and men in uniform proudly perform one of the toughest jobs in America – protecting our freedom, while often risking their own lives in the process,” Rep. Wasserman Schultz said to CBS Miami. “I’m so pleased Lieutenant Ramos will be coming to Washington, D.C. to watch the State of the Union address. She is an inspiring example of the importance of public service to our country. I applaud her for all her hard work and know that she will make the United States proud as she serves overseas.”

Ramos was selected by Wasserman Schultz for making the Commandant’s List, graduating in the top 20 percent of her basic officer leader course.

Her hard work continues to pay off, as she was recently promoted to 2nd Lt. of her battalion overseas.

“She can’t believe how much success she’s having. Just a few years ago she was a high school senior at Coppell High, and now she’s off to Washington for the state of the Union,” Robert Wallace, Ramos’ father, said. “She was in awe of everything about Washington. She said it was life-changing, and something that she won’t soon forget.”

While she is in the military to serve her country and protect our freedom, as her mother did years ago, she plans to go into politics in the future. Ramos’ mother Michelle Wallace, a retired army captain, gave her a piece of advice.

“She wanted to make political contacts, and I said, ‘You’re not going to make political contacts in the Army. I should know,’” she said. “And then this came up, and I said, ‘OK, she was right.’”

Her mother and father found themselves wondering if one day, she would be the one giving the speech.

“She’s always had high aspirations for herself,” Robert Wallace said. “She always knew she wanted to go into politics, and I think she definitely has a chance at office if she continues on this path she’s set for herself. The pride I feel is overwhelming. I can’t wait to see what kind of success she might have in the future.”

While enrolled at CHS, Ramos found her niche as a future politician while campaigning for class president.

Even in high school, she knew what she wanted to do later in life.

“In school, she campaigned at Coppell High and said, ‘I just want y’all to know, I’m campaigning now for 2040. I’ll be running for president. I’ll be the first female president,’” Michelle Wallace said.

Early on, it was clear that Ramos was going places, and going places fast.

Her teachers and peers were aware that she had what it took to go far in life.

“She was one of those students who was really going to capture people’s attention one day,” teen leadership teacher Nicky Fryman said. “People were going to listen to her. In a weird way, I guess it was all in the cards for her.”

While she took a nontraditional path for a politician, she is already reaping the benefits of her hard work in the military.

Come 2040, America may just see the first female President of the United States.

Photo courtesy of the Wallace family

Second Lieutenant and Coppell High School graduate, Brittany Ramos, was provided the unique opportunity to attend the State of the Union address on Jan. 24th.

U.S. President Barack Obama gives the State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress, Tuesday, January 24, 2012, in Washington, D.C. (Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT)

page 10

features

february 2012

News>>The without borders: current events high school student’s guide to world news

written by Mary Whitfill, photos courtesy MCT Campus

Elections With the upcoming presidential election looming just months away, main media outlets have been covering little to nothing else during prime news segments.

While the presidential race is no doubt important, it seems to be overshadowing other elections to take place this November, such as the 2012 congressional elections.

In this upcoming election, 435 members of the House of Representatives will be up for reelection, including the 24th district of Texas’s representative Kenny Marchant.

The 24th district of Texas includes Coppell, Grapevine and Colleyville. Running against Republican Congressman Marchant, who is currently serving his sixth term, is Democrat Patrick McGehearty and tea party candidate Grant Stinchfield.

The results of the November congressional election have the chance to dramatically impact the balance of political parties in the United States.

Currently, the Republican Party holds the majority, with 242 members in the House of Representatives. This party’s presence makes it difficult for democratic President Obama to pass major pieces of legislation without the consent and compromising of the House. If the Republican’s do not manage to hold onto this lead, the Democratic Party will control Congress until the next elections in 2014. If both Congress and the executive branch are occupied by members of the Decmocratic Party, it will be hard for the current policy balance to remain in place.

These often-overlooked elections can be of critical importance to the next president of the United States. During the 2008 elections, only 39 percent of Texas youth turned out at the polls. This epidemic of apathy among young voters is a trend that must be broken, and Coppell students can start by voting for their next congressmen on Nov. 6 of this year.

Syria Steadily growing since January of 2011, the most recent Syrian uprisings have begun to result in a slew of violent retaliations from the Syrian government. Public demonstrations first began in January, and have developed into nation-wide uprisings with protestors demanding the resignation of President Bashar Al-Assad. Inspired by the successful revolts in Egypt and Tunisia, protesters have resorted to similar tactics- practicing hunger strikes, riots and vandalism.

In response to this widespread protesting, rather than stepping down, Assad ordered the Syrian government to begin developing tanks and snipers as a means to discourage the uprising.

Water and power have been shut off in active areas, and food is being confiscated from those involved. According to reports, the Syrian Army executed soldiers refusing to open fire against civilians.

The United States, along with the Arab League and European Union, has condemned the use of violence against protesters, but the Arab League has pulled out monitors due to increasing danger in the country. The Russian government has persuaded the Syrian government to send a delegation to Moscow for proposed peace talks, but the Syrian National Council rejected the idea stating that they “don’t negotiate with terrorists.”

White House spokesman Jay Carney said that Washington supports Russian efforts to reach a peaceful political solution, but he also said that the Syrian government might not be allowed to reject Arab League peace proposals while continuing to harm the people of Syria.

Despite their best efforts to assist Syria in devising a peace plan, a Russian diplomat says an Arab-backed plan to resolve the escalating government-rebel conflict has almost no change of gaining UN approval.

SOPA/PIPA The controversial Internet censorship bills in congress, SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act), have been postponed due to the effective Internet strike taking place on Jan. 18. The strike included popular websites such as Google and Tumblr speaking out on their homepages against the aggressive piracy bills, while other sites such as Wikipedia and Reddit launched site-wide black outs. Citizens took to popular shorthand social networking site Twitter to oppose the bill and by the end of the strike, the phrase “Stop SOPA” was trending.

Both SOPA and PIPA have been “postponed until there is wider agreement on a solution,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith said in a statement.

When first introduced, PIPA seemed to be on the fast track to legalization as a Senate committee approved it unanimously in May. The bill was not faced with such large opposition until the House of Representatives took up SOPA, its own version of the bill. Almost overnight tech companies began lobbying in opposition and large groups of protesters gathered both virtually and at rallies across the nation.

Although both bills have been taken out of current circulation, they have not been expelled from consideration. On the same day as the widespread strike, a bipartisan group of senators introduced OPEN, the Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act. Even with the introduction of the new bill, SOPA and PIPA protesters are being praised for their efforts. After introducing OPEN to the House, California Republican Darrell Issa wrote the following: “Over the last two months, the intense popular effort to stop SOPA and PIPA have defeated an effort that once looked unstoppable but lacked a fundamental understanding of how internet technologies work.”

Kim Jong-il Unlike the death of many other world leaders, international response to the death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il has been muted as many countries fell silent in the time following his passing. The death of this leader holds the possibility to end a 17-year reign over the people of North Korea defined by terror and oppression.

North Korea’s new leadership has the potential to end the countries long standing isolationist policies and engage with the international community in the future. In the last three years of his life, the leader was training his third son, Kim Jon-un to take his place as ruler of North Korea.

Since the announcement was made in December, leaders across the globe have been waiting with bated breath to discover if a smooth power transition can be made to Kim Jong-un or if he will change any of his fathers dictative policies. In the meantime, President Barack Obama has been in close touch with South Korea and Japan, two of the six countries involved in talks on North Korea’s nuclear program.

While South Korea is an ally of the United States, the other key regional player in the talks of nuclear projects is China – the closest North Korea has to a major ally, which sometimes has a testy relationship with the U.S. The United States, backed by Japan and South Korea, has demanded North Korea signal it’s intentions by halting their goading military actions, such as the sinking of a South Korean war ship last spring.

While the death of Kim Jong-il has the potential to transform the North Korean government and begin a shift away from their oppressive lifestyle, little will be known until the intentions of Kim Jong-un begin to come forth. The newest ruler has stayed out of the news almost completely, leaving both the people of his country, and the rest of the world, to wonder what his first move as leader will be.

february 2012

features

page 11

Local college offers unique education opportunities Christina Burke Staff Writer

All of the students in Coppell High School are working toward one common goal: graduation day. On this day, the chains of high school will be lifted off students’ shoulders, and they will begin the first days of the rest of their lives.

The path that takes them there is a road filled with twists, turns and choices. But before they get there, they have to think ahead to the next few years.

The world has become a very competitive place in regards to the education system, and the job market is getting harder to succeed in without a college degree. It is also getting harder to pay for that college degree. Students tend to commence a search for the most scholarships and alternative opportunities for obtaining a degree.

What most students forget to consider is the convenience of an inexpensive college experience available locally.

North Lake College has a chain of local facilities including the North Campus, located in Coppell. While the North campus is known for the location of dual credit with Coppell ISD, there are three other campuses including the South Campus, the West Campus and the Central Campus.

North Lake College strives to provide an education conveniently to those in the Dallas area.

There are many options available to make classes at North Lake the perfect choice for the learner.

Arthur James serves as the

Photo by Jack Ficklen

Seniors Ashely Liu and Melissa Trevino study at the Northlake North Campus before their afternnoon class.

At Northlake, CHS students can take a class for college credit in replace of the high school equivalent.

director for both the North and South campuses of North Lake College and is in the midst of his 11th year working at North Lake. As an alum of the Dual Credit program at El Centro College, he is determined to make students’ experience at North Lake the best it can be.

“The benefit of any community college is access,” James said. ”That is the purpose of which North Lake and CISD built the North campus – so that the students could have access to the quality education that we provide at North Lake College. It’s a benefit to the community. Those courses that we offer are going to transfer over to those major uni-

versities and it is the first step for a lot of students that have aspirations to go onto higher education.”

Statistics from Scholarships. com show the main reasons kids do not go to college are money issues, high school grades and not knowing what they want to do with their life. In future years, the North Campus is hoping to further increase the numbers of students with a college education as well as its numbers of enrollment by enhancing the list of classes offered. James thinks many things are possible with this program in the years to come.

“We have already seen an increase in our Dual Credit enrollment,” James said. “One of the

things that we are looking to do is increase more of that by giving the students more options to take when they’re at the North campus. For the next 10 years or so, I would like to see North Lake continue to grow to where we are able to build. The sky really is the limit.”

Expanding the campus could be one of the first steps to increase the size of North Lake and make it better known.

As it continues to grow, it does not cease to be beneficial to students in the Dallas area.

CHS senior Lauren VerDuin is a student in the Dual Credit system with North Lake. She believes the system to be highly beneficial toward her future at college.

“A lot of kids are having trouble these days graduating in four years,” VerDuin said.

“Kids are taking time graduating in five years because they don’t have enough time and money to graduate in four years so they have to extend college. The Dual Credit program allows kids to get started early and get those basic credits out of the way so that they can really focus on their major.”

VerDuin speaks highly of the program and recommends it to everyone for not only the benefits of college credit during high school, but also for experience and responsibilities of college classes.

“The Dual Credit program at the North campus just gets kids out there,” VerDuin said.

“Dual Credit has the opportunity to show kids what college really is and get them exposed to that atmosphere. It definitely has the power to influence kids in their decision to go to college”.

World History teacher Brian Rohloff is a CHS graduate and attended the University of North Texas. He knows much about the benefits of a local college experience.

“Being close to family is really important to keep you comfortable and in your setting, allowing you to focus more on the task at hand,” Rohloff said.

“With that comfort, you’ll be able to focus better on your studies. It is wildly beneficial to have a community college in Coppell for those who may not have the money to go straight into a big university and to able to be close to home and friends, and be comfortable in the college setting.”

in-depth

page 12

More in the

page 13

Fourth

Quarter Dr. Tom Thompson’s youngest son, a current Coppell student, poses for his little league football photo.

Photo courtesy Tom Thompson.

D

By Kristen Shepard

r. Tom Thompson lives to prove the phrase, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” to be a complete and utter lie. At 63, Dr. Thompson keeps himself busy, serving as a father and husband, an author, a student teacher and college football coach,

whose jersey is retired in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Dr. Thompson refuses to let his age stop him from accomplishing his goals; in fact, he uses it to propel him. When Thompson turned 45, he realized he was not living his life the way he truly

Photo by Lauren Ussery

wished. In response, Thompson went back to school and earned his Master’s. In the mix, Thompson joined several other authors who were writing a book, entitled Fit to Lead, about the human tendency to accomplish less as they age.

The first topic Thompson attacked regarding aging is physical limitation. To prove with the right fitness, age cannot hold you back, Thompson contacted former Coppell High School football coach Bob Shipley, asking to work out with the football team during their summer practices. You heard that correctly: a middle-aged man asking to work out with a high school football team.

Shipley agreed to let Thompson come out with the team if he was able to obtain permission from the school board.

After convincing city officials to let him work out with the team, Thompson suited up to play high school football.

“I was not trying to be a teenager; that drives them crazy. Teenagers simply do not want an old guy

coming into their practice and trying to be them,” Thompson said.

“Instead I just played my best and was almost immediately accepted as a teammate. I was not asking to hang out with them on the weekends, and there was a mutual respect.”

With willpower fueling him through the workouts, Thompson practiced, lifted weights and ran sprints with the team. Thompson took no shortcuts and never used his age as an excuse to lag behind during practice, making him as much of an athlete as anyone out on the field.

“My daughter [2011 CHS graduate Rachel Thompson] was a student at [CHS] at the time and, as you can imagine, she was mortified by the fact that her dad was playing on the football team,” Thompson said. “One day when she needed a ride home, she waited around for practice to end so she could ride home with me. When I walked out with another kicker, whom I told she was embarrassed of me, he told her she did not need to be embarrassed. I felt like part of the team.

That was when I really knew I was one of the guys.”

When Thompson returned to school at Austin College in Sherman, he wondered what had stopped him from doing what he loved at school. Unfortunately, the NCAA would make his attempt to join the Austin College football team a lot more complicated than Thompson anticipated. But even the repeated denial of Thompson’s request, would not leave Thompson defeated. After much negotiation, the NCAA granted Thompson the rights to play on the team, if he would enroll in an undergraduate class.

Thompson, who had several advanced degrees at the time, agreed and used his prior education as motivation to his fellow students

Kick Start, an empowering book written by Thompson, will be available for purchase in Fall 2012. Photo courtesy Tom Thompson.

and remained humble and eager to learn.

With all the conditions settled, Thompson went out for the 2009 Austin College team. It did not take Thompson long to realize he would not get any special treatment based on his age. Thompson became the team’s third string kicker, and began practicing with the team, who he found to be extremely accepting.

Dr. Thompson really showed us that he cared about us, and his story really showed us what is possible when you stand up to obstables.

-Lilly Balsamo, sohpomore “Austin College really has a great football program,” Thompson said. “The athletic trainers, coaches, and players all treated me like I belonged.”

Thompson’s big break occurred when the team took on their biggest rivals, Trinity University, and head coach Ronnie Gage put Thompson in to kick the extra point. Thompson knew this was not out of pity, that Gage put him in because he knew Thompson could make the kick, the first of his college career.

The oldest college player, at 61 years old, in NCAA history, Thompson’s jersey was later retired into the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind. After Thompson’s graduation in 2011, the Austin College coach asked him to return as a coach, an offer Thompson happily accepted.

Football is undoubtedly important to Thompson, but watching his four children grow up serves a huge role in Tom Thompson’s life.

However, watching them obtain an education left Thompson concerned about the state of the Texas education system.

“Education is simply not intrapersonal enough,” Thompson

said. “Our kids are being taught a great deal of information, yet are not learning. It is so important that students learn how to learn and not just how to get by. Cheating the system may get you through high school, but it will not get you through life.”

Thompson knew his ideas and perspectives would not be relevant and accepted unless he himself had experienced the issues firsthand.

For this, Thompson contacted CHS wrestling coach and Physical Education department chair Chip Lowery, who set him up with a student teacher position with teen leadership teacher Nicky Fryman at the beginning of the 2011 fall semester.

In the morning, Thompson would student teach with Fryman and assist with PE classes later in the day.

“I knew immediately when I heard [Thompson] was coming that I would learn as much from him as he would from me,” Fryman said. “When I met him, I noticed how he is just so sweet and humble. I learned infinite things from Thompson, and my students did as well.”

Thompson can relate to the agony students feel throughout the eight-hour school day, for Thompson never took an interest in school until later in his life, when he realized just how important an education was.

By returning to a high school classroom, Thompson hopes to teach other students what he did not learn until later in his life.

“All students can tell when a teacher does not care about their students,” teen leadership sophomore Lilly Balsamo said. “Dr. Thompson really showed us that he cared about us, and his story really showed us what is possible when you stand up to obstacles.”

Thompson taught Fryman’s students more than just curriculum. He was able to relate to the obstacles the students were having through his personal experience, whether it helped them through coping with divorce, staying motivated or even in their faith.

“I did not have anyone to sit with at lunch for a while,” teen leadership student Casey Pittman said. “Dr. Thompson and Mrs. Fryman would sit with me and sometimes even other kids in my class. [Dr. Thompson] always told me that I was special and a great person.”

By spending time with many of his students individually, Thompson made the most of his teaching experience.

“Thompson was able to really talk to me and help me work through my faith,” junior Brandon Richelet said. “I am really never going to forget that. He was a really good listener.”

Thompson was able to make such a lasting impact on Fryman’s classes that her fourth period class threw Thompson a going away party as a thank you for all he had done. And saying their goodbyes was not easy.

“Being a teacher can really take a toll on a person and Thompson got down on our level to really experience what teachers go through,” Fryman said. “He encouraged me to continue doing what I love and for others to find something they love. He really knows this from experience.”

All of Thompson’s experiences helped him in co-writing the book, Fit to Lead, which he published in 2003. In Fit to Lead, Thompson compiles his experiences in leadership with his education of kinesiology and strategic leadership to help inspire others around his age to accomplish their dreams.

From dropping his 5-yearold off at Town Center elementary, to student teaching, to football practice, to writing books, Thompson keeps himself busy and happy, an idea many people relinquish as they age.

Tom Thompson practices as a third string kicker with the 2009 Austin College football team . At age 61, Thompson became the oldest college football player in NCAA history. Photo courtesy Tom Thompson.

features Planned Parenthood funding cuts raise concern page 14 Michelle Pitcher Editor-in-Chief

One of the most abundant and affordable resources for family planning, STD testing and information on reproductive health is also one of the most controversial agencies funded by the Texas government. In this past year, Planned Parenthood has come under serious fire, undergoing several rounds of budget cuts both on the state and private levels, and igniting public opinions across the nation.

There are currently 68 Planned Parenthood facilities in Texas, 10 of which are within 20 miles of Coppell. However, this number may see a drastic decrease with the wave of funding cuts coming over the organization.

During the last legislative session,

february 2012

the Texas legislature cut funding for family-planning programs by 66 percent, or $73.4 million. The legislative board estimates this change will cause 300,000 women in the state of Texas to lose access to care.

“These cuts are going to affect the family-planning providers who were providing cancerscreening pap smears, breast exams, pelvic exams and testing and treatment for STDs,” Planned Parenthood Director of Public Affairs Kelly Hart said. “The routine gynecological care – that is what the cut funding had previously been paying for.”

Not only were some of the programs affected by this loss in funding, but five North Texas Planned Parenthood centers had to close their doors for good.

However, the budget-cut did not isolate Planned Parenthood; every

clinic and center that offered family planning had its budget for the program slashed by the same 66 percent, a major blow to smaller agencies.

“Many other healthcare providers are not sure how long they are going to be able to keep their doors open,” Hart said. “Everybody has had their funding slashed. A loss of 66 percent statewide is a tremendous blow to all agencies that were providing care for patients who can pay little, if anything for their care.”

The effects of this cut will spread farther than just to the pockets of Planned Parenthood’s employees; the entirety of the North Texas area will feel the aftershock.

“The loss of access for so many women across North Texas means more unattended pregnancies, and more children who are

THE SOLUTION FOR CHS

While it may not seem to be the case among the crowded halls of Coppell High School, many students are struggling with questions about sexual and reproductive health. With the reduced availability of Planned Parenthood’s services, CHS students are forced to find other alternatives for their healthcare and informational needs.

Graphic by Haley Madigan

The most extensive collection of resources can be found by simply taking a visit to the school clinic. Upon request, the registered school nurses can provide students with all the information available about sexual and reproductive health.

They can also refer students with further inquiries to one of many trusted facilities in the Dallas area.

“I talk with students who have questions about sexual and reproductive health,” CHS nurse Beth Dorn said.

“If students say they are worried about Sexually Transmitted Diseases, I refer them to an STD clinic in downtown Dallas. If they are worried about being pregnant, there is a clinic in Lewisville that offers free pregnancy testing.”

While many of these care facilities offer similar services to Planned Parenthood, few offer the same variety with the same level of availability.

“North Dallas Shared Ministries has a women’s clinic, but it offers breast exams and pap smears and pregnancy tests,” volunteer Margaret Blackmon said. “We don’t offer family planning.”

Although the information provided by the school clinic is abundant and cost-free, students rarely think to utilize the health services offered on campus.

“I do not get asked these types of questions frequently, but on average, throughout the school year, I will get several questions about STDs,” Dorn said. “Only three or four times per year do I get people asking about pregnancy.”

When looking for where to voice their concerns, many CHS students fear a lack of confidentiality. Many believe Planned Parenthood is the only facility available where they can receive treatment without their parents’ knowledge; however, this is a common misconception.

“We cannot guarantee confidential care for minors,” Hart said. “A lot of it depends on the funding source. In the majority of cases, the permission of a parent will most likely be required.

We encourage our patients to involve a parent anyway. And if there is a special situation, I would advise a minor to call one of our health centers to talk with one of our staff.”

Jane Stonem*, a 2008 CHS graduate, became pregnant her senior year of high school. Even through her personal struggles, she has not wavered in her opposition to Planned Parenthood’s operation. It was her personal experience that the organization does not offer adequate information on the effects of abortion and contraception.

“Teenagers don’t think past Friday night, and they don’t understand consequences - it’s just how their brains work,” Stonem said. “So why is it OK for them to walk into a clinic and make a lifechanging decision on a whim?”

be in cooperation with any agency under congressional investigation, which is being undertaken to determine whether the government will continue to fund Planned Parenthood’s non-abortion services.

However, after the public voiced its opposition to Komen’s stance, the foundation decided to re-enter in partnership with Planned Parenthood.

“This loss of funding affects high school students and college students who don’t have health insurance and employed women who don’t have health insurance,” Hart said.

Planned Parenthood by the numbers

IN2010,THEYPROVIDED

11 MILLION MEDICAL SERVICES FOR 3 MILLION PEOPLE

PLANNED PARENTHOOD

HELPED PREVENT

584,000 UNINTENDED PREGNANCIES

76% OF THEIR CLIENTS

ARE AT OR BELOW 1.5x THE POVERTY LEVEL

1.1 MILLION CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS HAVE RECEIVED THEIR

SEXUAL EDUCATION

THEY HAVE 800 HEALTHCARE CENTERS

THEIR INFORMATIONAL

WEBSITES RECEIVE

COMMUNITY OPINIONS While some see Planned Parenthood’s dwindling funding sources as a cause for alarm, others stand by those who are withdrawing their support of the organization.

Due to their provision of abortion services, Planned Parenthood has often come under fire from religious and community organizations. However, the legality of abortion has not been in question since the Supreme Court deemed the practice constitutional during certain stages of the pregnancy in 1973 in the case of Roe v Wade. Despite this precedent, some maintain strong positions of moral opposition.

going to be born to women who cannot afford to pay for pre-natal care, so Texas taxpayers will be paying for it,” Hart said.

Another crisis came to the agency on Jan. 31 as the Susan G. Komen Foundation announced that it would cease to provide funds to Planned Parenthood’s preventative services. Immediately after this announcement, they provided a brief explanation for their reasoning. A new policy change, they said, now stated they could no l on g e r

Stonem, who went to a health center in Flower Mound for her pre-natal care, agrees that the availability of alternatives to Planned Parenthood offsets the loss of funding for its programs.

“There are plenty of other places for girls to go for private women’s care,” Stonem said. “The school nurse is the first option; they offer everything Planned Parenthood has to offer except birth control and abortions. For a more in-depth women’s checkup, there are women’s health care clinics everywhere. Family doctors can prescribe birth control as well.” *name has been changed

33 MILLION

HITS EACH YEAR THEY ARE IN 10 DEVELOPING COUNTRIES,

PROVIDING AID TO

900,000 STRUGGLING INDIVIDUALS Statistics courtesy of www.plannedparenthood.org

features AP artists master competition, gain recognition

page 15

february 2012 Sarah Police Staff Writer

When asked how she feels about her artwork being showcased, senior Michelle Yi is shy and humble. A modest smile comes across her face as she says “I just had a good feeling” about the piece.

Yi is one of four students at CHS who have received recognition through The Young Masters Art Exhibition. Seniors Christina Wagner and Michelle Yi, and juniors Austin Huens and Ian Maley will have their art displayed at the Dallas Museum of Art from Feb. 5 through April 8.

The Young Masters Art Exhibition has been an annual competition since 1995. It is sponsored by the Dallas Museum of Art and the O’Donnell Foundation.

To enter the Young Masters competition, a student must be enrolled in an AP art class, and submit an original piece of art or an art history essay. Then, a panel of judges will select 60 applicants to be finalists.

After these pieces of art are accepted, the judges will review the art to make sure every piece is original.

Wagner, Yi and Huens have entered young masters before.

Huens even had one piece in the show last year, and though he was not sure he would get in again, he still hoped for the best.

“I thought it was a very slim chance that I would get in

Photo by Brian Hwu

AP Art students selected for the 2012 Young Masters exhibition include (from left to right) Front row: Ian Maley, Michelle Yi, Austin Huens, Back row: Christina Wagner, Andy Scott, Jahnavi Udaikumar. The artwork of Ian Maley, Austin Huens, Michelle Yi, and Christina Wagner will be on display at the Dallas Museum of Art on Feb. 5 through April 8.

the show again, but I’m pretty amazed that it happened,” Huens said. “Watercolor - the medium of my piece - is my favorite medium.”

Several artists inspired the students to create art that would eventually be accepted into a prestigious show.

“I was pretty inspired by surrealism, line work and the master of both of those would be M.C. Esher,” Wagner said.

The students are often encouraged in their art class to find an artist to motivate them.

“There is an artist named Ryan Hall, and I really like his art and wanted to do something similar,” Maley said. “I really like Adobe Illustrator and it is just a medium that I think I have gotten really good at.”

But artists are not the only ones who inspire students. “[My work] is about my brother getting attacked by a junebug. I hate junebugs; they scare me,” Yi said.

Students are also inspired by the big prize in the contest having their work displayed in

the Dallas Museum of Art. “I would say this is a huge motivation for all AP students to step up their game and try to get their work in the museum,” AP art teacher Tamera Westervelt said. “Just by the nature of your artwork being in the museum, I think it makes them work harder.”

The students at Coppell get the opportunity to enter the contest because of a grant Coppell is involved in.

“We get the opportunity because we are a part (of the AP

training for a marathon are to create a running schedule where you slowly build up to the race distance,” Swaldi said. “You have to stick to your schedule, which was a problem I encountered, and eat healthy and drink lots of water.”

Swaldi believes that it is important for students to do something like running a marathon both for the health benefits as well as the immense sense of accomplishment.

ally rewarding.

“The sense of accomplishment was indescribable,” Swaldi said. “I was overwhelmed with happiness, excitement, and I was proud of myself for accomplishing something I never thought I would be able to.”

Mary Ann Calvio, a running coach from RunOn! in Coppell, has been running marathons and other races for several years and helps clients, including students, to train

races, such as marathons, go far beyond the health benefits, and even more so for young people.

“Training for a marathon is not only about training the body but it’s about commitment and being disciplined to the workout schedule,” Calvio said.

“If you are able to commit to the training schedule, I truly believe it teaches individuals of all ages, especially young people, how to see and value life. It is such a great feeling to know that you finish a marathon, you learn a

strategies) grant. It involves the top ten schools in the Metroplex, so we are competing against the best of the best,” Westervelt said.

Westervelt, who has worked at CHS for 19 years, has had her students participate for the past seven years.

“The most we have ever had in the show in this school was five, and we were hoping for six,” Westervelt said.

It was a hard choice for some of the students to pick which pieces to submit.

“I chose two pieces I made last year,” Huens said. “I chose one that was really strong conceptually and the other was stronger technically. So I submitted both of those to compare and contrast.”

Wagner agreed.

“In the words of a famous artist, he got the best of both worlds,” Wagner said.

However, all of this success does not come easy to these students.

“I am really honored,” Maley said. “I think that there are people that have worked harder than me.“ It looks as though the hard work has paid off for Westervelt’s AP students.

“I am very proud of my students,” Westervelt said. “To get their works even on the selection table; to me if you see this work you should be proud that yours is even amongst those. I am so excited that they get this opportunity, for any artist let alone a high school artist.”

Student athletes strive to go extra 13.1 miles continued from pg. 1 Wilcox chose to run the marathon because she knew she was capable of more than she thought possible. She says that even though it is a huge task, it pays off in the end.

“I was inspired to run a marathon because I knew my body could do more than my mind thought I could, and I wanted to prove myself right,” Wilcox said. “It’s the hardest thing you’ll ever do but you can do it. Every day of training is so worth it when you reach the finish line.”

For others, however, the motivation for taking on such a huge task was for the sense of personal accomplishment.

Senior Rachael Swaldi set a goal last year to train for a half-marathon. It made for quite a challenge since she wasn’t much of a runner before hand.

“I was never a big runner, and certainly never the fastest.” Swaldi said. “I had run a few 5Ks before, like the Turkey Trot, but never anything close to 13.1 miles. My main goal was to finish something; to set a goal, and accomplish it, while helping myself by regularly exercising.“ The hardest part of running a marathon, or in Swaldi’s case a half-marathon, may not be the running of the race itself. It takes months of training, conditioning and preparation to run such a large distance.

“The keys to successfully

“ I t ’s important for [students] to train and complete in marathons because it’s a great way to stay healthy,” Swaldi said.

“Also, once you have completed a marathon, the feeling you get after accomplishing something so monumental is overwhelming and amazing.”

For Swaldi, running the half-marathon was exception-

lot about yourself and what your body is capable of.”

Calvio thinks training to run an endurance race is not just a matter of running a lot and increasing one’s stamina.

It is maintaining the internal drive to complete the task at

Photo courtesy Rachael Swaldi

Senior Rachael Swaldi and 2011 CHS graduate Jessie Ross run the White Rock half-marathon.

for races as well.

“We see numerous students, the majority are either doing 5Ks or track at their school,” Calvio said.

Calvio believes that the benefits of running endurance

hand and not giving up.

“Every runner that has run a marathon will tell you that you will always have a training run that you question yourself, ‘what am I doing?”

Calvio said.

Calvio also sees in each individual that everyone has a different motivator for running.

“Each individual is different; what drives one person is totally opposite to the next one,” Calvio said. “Many people do it as a way to stay healthy and lose weight. Some do it to raise money for a love one that has a sickness.

Other people see it as a challenge or something that is on their bucket list that they want to do in life.”

Running is a catalyst for discipline and a way to form new relationships. Many people rely on running as a stress reliever, and keep running through much of their lives.

“Running means a lot of things to different people; running has taught people to be disciplined, others to learn how to manage life, training and family. Running affords you the opportunity to make friends everywhere you go,” Calvio said. “For me, running is a part of my life and I hope to be doing it for a very long time.”

entertainment

page 16 Jordan Bickham

february 2012

Staff Writer

The Harry Potter film franchise has been a huge part of culture all over the world since the first movie premiered in 2001, and it has continued to play a significant role in entertainment today, even with the conclusion of the series.

But the actors are finally putting the series behind them, moving on and beginning new projects that stray away from what the actors are known for.

Many fans are upset the series is over, but truly devoted fans of the cast are willing to follow them even as they move on to new projects.

“It is saddening, but they are growing up and we are growing up with them,” sophomore Kristen West said.

“And now they are moving on, so we are moving on with them, which is cool. Also, it is strange seeing someone that you have always seen play one role for all your life, and then boom, they are playing something completely different.”

Many think it is great the stars of the series are doing new things and continuing on with their careers.

“They do not want to only be remembered for Harry Potter,” senior Maxwell Fillingim said.

“They don’t want to pull a Luke Skywalker where they are only in that one series and are always Luke Skywalker. They want to move on with their lives. They will always remember Harry Potter, but people want to move on and do other things.”

Daniel Radcliffe, the face of the legendary Harry Potter, is one of the first to move forward with a part in the Broadway production, “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying”. The musical centers around J. Pierrepont Finch, who is trying to rise from mail boy to the vice president of his company. However, Finch’s poor and morally questionable business practices jeopardize his career and relationship.

STARS

ESTABLISH

NEW IDENTITIES IN FILM

RUPERT GRINT

EMMA WATSON

THE WHO

This was Radcliffe’s second stint on Broadway, following his performance in “Equus” in 2007.

Radcliffe starred as Finch up until his new project came along, The Woman in Black, which hits theaters Feb. 3. This thriller follows Radcliffe as a young lawyer named Arthur Kipps who travels to a remote town and discovers a vengeful ghost, the woman in black.

“It is weird to see him as an adult because Emma Watson is still in that high school role [in her upcoming movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower], a 21-year-old playing an 18-year-old,” Fillingim said. But in The Woman in Black, I think he is supposed to be a widowed man.”

Sophomore Kenzie Hitz also agrees it is strange seeing him in this completely different role, but thinks it is going to be an exciting new change.

“I am looking forward to The Woman in Black; it looks to be pretty good,” Hitz said. “I don’t think this new role will affect my

view of him because it is a totally different character and a totally different story.”

While it is definitely not like the Harry Potter series, the movie looks to be truly frightening and promising horror flick. With that in mind, the film is definitely a new role for Radcliffe and might take some getting used to.

“Whenever I see him running through the previews [of The Woman in Black], I want to say, ‘Pull out your wand Harry!” Fillingim said.

Radcliffe is not the only one straying away from his Harry Potter roots. Emma Watson, the quirky Hermione Granger, is taking up the role of Sam in the movie adaption of the novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Many fans of Watson and of the novel are excited for the movie, which comes to theaters this summer, including Fillingim, who has read the novel three times.

“I think it could be different [with Watson as Sam], I have not John Loop

HPEARFLOFRMTAINMCEES

4

PAUL McCARTNEY

Super Bowl XXXIX, 2005, ALLTEL Stadium in Jacksonville McCartney’s mash-up of the Beatles and his own music was the perfect tribute to the band that made him a big-time musician. The classic James Bond song “Live and Let Die,” McCartney’s hits “Drive My Car” and “Get Back,” and his serenade to John Lennon’s son, Julian, “Hey Jude” were included in the set list.

decided if I like it or dislike it yet, but it is certainly not the person I pictured in my mind when I was reading the book,” Fillingim said.

Watson plays the love interest of Charlie, played by Percy Jackson and the Olympians star Logan Lerman. The story follows Charlie, a lonely, confused freshman in high school who is plagued by the recent suicidal death of his best friend. While struggling to find friends, he meets two seniors, one being Sam [Watson], who take him under their wing and help him figure out his life.

“I loved Perks of Being a Wallflower because I could relate myself to it. I read it during my freshman year, so it was kind of what I expected, although not so extreme,” Fillingim said. “I have already seen Rupert Grint in another movie, so it is kind of interesting. I liked the movie, but with Watson, it is going to be different.”

Grint, who portrays Ron Weasley, finally makes a name for himself with four movies coming

Michael Jackson’s Super Bowl perStaff Writer formance in 1993 revolutionized halftime shows at the Super Bowl. Before this, it was much more like a college game halftime with marching bands in many of the previous Super Bowls. After Madonna’s dazzling performance at Sunday’s Super Bowl, I began compiling a list of the game’s all-time great productions. Without further ado, here are the top-5 halftime performances of the “Big Game.”

SUPER BOWL

Super Bowl XLIV, 2010, Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens Who are they? Their performance said it all. Lead vocalist Pete Townshend proved he still had it at age 64, and the entire band shook the stadium.

Playing a medley of songs that included “Pinball Wizard,” “Who Are You,” and “Baba O’Riley,” the Who demonstrated that the English do, sometimes, do it better than their neighbors from “across the pond.”

The show ended perfectly, with a spectacular light show from the band’s well-known track, “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

TOM FELTON

Harry Potter stars make new names for themselves on the red carpet. Photos courtesy of Donna Ward/Abaca Press/MCT, Graylock/Abaca Press/MCT, Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel/MCT

5

TOP

5

DANIEL RADCLIFFE

3

2

MICHAEL JACKSON

PRINCE

Super Bowl XLI, 2007, Dolphins Stadium in Miami Gardens You can put Prince against any of the music industry’s hottest stars today and there would be no question about who had more talent. All the vocal and musical talent of one of music’s most influential artists was put in the national spotlight.

The “Purple Rain” was coming down hard as Prince jammed to “Let’s Go Crazy,” “Baby I’m A Star,” “Proud Mary,” “All Along the Watchtower,” and “Best of You.”

out within the next two years, in addition to one that came out this past year, Wild Target.

“I thought [Wild Target] was pretty awesome. It wasn’t him having this love affair, it is him being kind of like the third wheel the entire movie, so I didn’t have to compare his girl in this movie to Emma Watson,” Fillingim said. ”He was his own, individual character and played the kind of scared actor who rises up at the end and proves that he is a decent person.”

Into the White, one of his upcoming projects, is in postproduction and hits theaters this year. His next three movies do not come out until 2013. In fact, two of them, Eddie the Eagle and Cross Country, are still in preproduction. The film he is focusing on now is Postman Pat: The Movie-You Know You’re the One, which is still in the filming process and comes out in 2013.

But the heroes of the series are not the only ones getting stardom. Tom Felton, who played the antagonist Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter, has been busy with movies left and right, and most shockingly, music as well. Felton has gotten a newfound interest in music, beginning with singing on YouTube and most recently with the release of four singles on iTunes.

“It is interesting. When you picture Tom Felton, you picture Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter.

It is weird, but I like it,” Hitz said.

Not only is Felton focusing on music, but he is also continuing with his acting career with three upcoming movies and, most recently, the release of Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Although the actors are moving on from the beginning of their careers, fans will always remember Hermione, Ron, Draco and, of course, Harry Potter.

“It is great they are moving on, but I don’t think anything will be the same as Harry Potter, I don’t think they’re ever going to have the same kind of fame again,” West said.

Super Bowl XXVII, 1993, Rose Bowl in Pasedena It is utterly disheartening that the entire world can’t witness performances like this anymore. The King of Pop was his usual self, belting out a small number of his large list of hits, including “Jam,” “Billie Jean,” “Black or White,” and “Heal the World.” The fact that Jackson is no longer with us makes this performance a whole lot more special in the hearts of his fans.

1

U2

Super Bowl XXXVI, 2002, Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans The Irish band is responsible for one of the most heartfelt performances of the 2000s. The nation was struggling during the short time after the terrorist attack on September 11th. Bono and the other band members were clearly making a strong effort to show the entire United States that there was hope. That was Bono’s main message.

After the opening song, “Beautiful Day,” a sheet dropped down from the rafters, and the names of every victim of the attacks was projected while the Irishman belted out “MLK,” and ended with “Where the Streets Have No Name.” As the performance wound down, Bono lifted his jacket to reveal an American flag lining, symbolizing unity.

Unity is what the Big Game is supposed to be about: bringing your friends and family together to have a good time. All in all, the Super Bowl halftime show represents a fundamental link to pop culture, which helps broaden the interests of viewers all over the nation and the world.

february 2012

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Hermans brings new LIFE to theater department Caroline Carter Staff Writer

Staged during World War II, the Coppell High School Theatre’s upcoming drama production, “The Cover of Life,” displays the struggles faced during this hard time during American history.

With talented actors and actresses, “The Cover of Life” is sure to be another memorable production.

Written by R.T. Robinson and directed by Coppell High School’s Bruce Hermans, “The Cover of Life” tells the story of three brothers who were all sent to fight in the armed services. LIFE Magazine sends a reporter to conduct a cover story on the mother and wives of

the brothers and how they live their daily lives during the war.

“I read it about five years ago and it really struck a chord with me,” Hermans said. “I think the themes in the show are very strong, and the play is a very good actress piece. The aspect of what I could do with the show from a directorial and design concept also excited me.”

Set to be performed on Feb. 16 through Feb. 21 in the Black Box Theatre, the play includes tragedy, humor and love which makes it appealing to a wide range of audiences. However, it is noted that the recommended age for viewing is middle school students and up.

“The material is pretty deep as it is a drama, though

Christina Jackie Burdette Malish Favorite performance

“‘Eyewitness.’ It was really the first play I ever did and it taught me a lot about World War II.””

Memorable Moment

At [Fellowship Church in Grapevine], I did a thing called “Kids CEO” and it talked about how kids are dictating their parents and it told parents not to let their kids control you.

there is some comedy in it,” Hermans said. “The story is actually based off of semi-true events.”

Starring freshman Christina Burdette as the LIFE reporter, Kate Miller, and Christina Moreno, Paige Albright, Mary Claire Phillips and Jackie Malish as the wives and mother, “The Cover of Life” showcases the transformation of the roles of women in the American society during the 1940s and the challenges the women faced while their loved ones were fighting for their country.

“There is a really cool plot line with seeing the struggles that the women face with gaining more responsibility and role in society,” Phillips said. “I play Sybil who is one of the wives that stay at home.

On Theater “It lets you be different people and you can explore yourself and the world around you.”

atre class. She has also performed outside of high school theatre in commercials and short films.

“I am extremely excited to be playing Kate,” Burdette said.

“She is a fun character to play.

In the beginning of the play, she seems to be very well put together and professional. Then by the end, she has loosened up and lets her guard down.”

Burdette and the other actors and actress will begin performing “The Cover of Life” on Feb. 16. Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students.

“Anyone will enjoy this play,” Burdette said. “If you enjoy history, women’s rights or even journalism, this show would be perfect for you to come see.”

Paige Mary Claire Christina Albright Phillips Moreno

Favorite Broadway Show Career Aspirations “‘You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown’” is my favorite because the characters are all really relatable. I also like anything written by Jason Robert Brown.”

And through out the play you can see her internal struggles.”

Philips has been a member of CHS Drama for the past two years and is currently an officer for the Drama Club. Phillips says she is excited for the upcoming production as she can closely connect with the characters.

“It is by far my favorite role that I have played,” Phillips said. “The play is very well written and gives the actors and actresses a lot to work with. Mr. Hermans has been an amazing director and we have all had a good time working with him.”

Newcomer to CHS Theatre, Christina Burdette takes on the lead role in the play. Burdette is currently in The Take One the-

“I really want to study film and television production. I hink I would absolutely love that aspect of the field.”

Memorable Moment

On Theater

Career Aspirations

“It is a good way to express yourself, and gives you a chance to experience a life you don’t have.”

“I aspire to be an actress. This summer I am auditioning with agencies.”

Memorable Moment

“I don’t have just “One of my most practices are memorable moments one; always really fun!” was the time I asked one of the husbands in the show if he was Favorite Broadway Show seeing another man, “I love all of but I was supposed Broadway.” to say woman.”

College Hopeful “I have not really chosen a school yet, but Baylor sounds cool.”

On Theater

“I get to explore how it feels to be in different people’s shoes.”

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AND THE

february 2012

Photos courtesy of the Weinstein Company, Sony Picture Classics, Fox Searchlight, Paramount Pictures, credit to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

OSCAR GOES TO...

Predictions by Wren Culp Best Picture Winner: The Artist Best picture nominee is going to come down to The Artist and The Descendants without a doubt. I think The Artist will prevail however not only because of how unique and special the film is, but how good and entrancing the story is.

Best Actor Winner: George Clooney The Descendants didn’t really sit well with me for some reason but George Clooney was perfect. He owned his role and shall be rewarded accordingly.

Best Actress Winner: Rooney Mara Rooney Mara was scary good as her role in David Fincher’s American version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. You rarely see dedication to a role like Mara’s anymore. Step aside, Meryl Streep.

Best Director Winner: Alexander Payne While The Descendants didn’t quite sit with me like it has for others, Alexander Payne did a phenomenal job at helming a simple yet complex story that George Clooney was born for.

Best Original Screenplay Winner: Woody Allen – Midnight In Paris Simplicity wins me over every time. If someone can make me care about characters and their outcomes with just plain and simple conversation for the entirety of the movie, you obviously have something special on your hands.

Best Supporting Actor Winner: Jonah Hill To have the little kid from Superbad that we all know and love come out and give an career-altering performance in Moneyball is worth all the recognition that the Academy can offer. Fantastic performance.

Best Supporting Actress Winner: Berenice Bejo Like I stated earlier, The Artist was wonderful to watch and to have that kind of dedication and patience to do that kind of movie is amazing. Berenice captured the essence and heart of that time period without saying a single word.

Best Original Score Winner: Hugo – Music by Howard Shore A key part to Hugo’s success lies in the sound of the movie. Each sound and note that you hear is carefully selected and placed in order to create the perfect setting.

Its mood and feel carried the movie along gracefully.

Photo courtesy of AMPAS

february 2012

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Student dancers make it point to pursue passion Annie Wen Staff Writer

Freshmen Silver Stars rehearse and practice various dance routines during their daily fourth period practice sessions. Photos by Trevor Stiff.

The expression of dance is unlike any feeling in the world. It is movement that cannot be described with words. It is individual to the dancer. It is as unique as the person on the dance floor.

For some dancers, it starts at a young age. Senior Jenny Katlein has been dancing for 15 years now.

“My sister who is four years older than me was enrolled in dance by my mom,” Katlein said.

“I would go with my mom to watch my sister dance and I wanted to dance, so my mom enrolled me in dance.”

Katlein dances for the Top Hat Dance Centre in Lewisville.

At Top Hat, Katlein trains in ballet, pointe, jazz, contemporary and tap. She is a member of the Larriettes at Coppell High School.

“I can honestly say that joining Lariettes has had such a positive impact on my dancing and my love for dance,” Katlein said.

“Lariettes has given me the selfconfidence I always lacked as a dancer. I feel like I get shot down for what I can do at my studio, but in Lariettes I feel like I am respected for my dance abilities, and as the humble person I strive to be, all I needed was some respect for what I can do as a dancer to gain confidence in myself.”

Katlein plans to further her dance even further past high school and into college. She was accepted into the SMU Meadows School of the Arts.

“When I got accepted into the SMU Meadows School of the Arts, into the dance program, I just knew that that was where I was meant to be,” Katlein said. “At a good university and in one of the top college dance programs.

I want to become a nutritionist/ dietician specifically for dancers because I have found that eating habits and exercise habits are a lot different for dancers compared to the average person, and I don’t feel that dancers are aware of it.”

For Katlein, dance is not just a physical activity. It is a release from stress and it provides her with the ability to showcase her talents in a way that is truly unique to her.

“I like to dance just like anyone likes to play soccer, baseball [or] tennis,” Katlein said. “It’s an artistic outlet that I have found I

have a natural talent for, and I am truly the happiest person and feel like I am on top of the world when I dance. It’s just such a feel-good hobby. Dance gives me an outlet from all of the stresses of school, family; just life and I love it.”

While Katlein has love for the art of dance she recognizes that, as with all things in life, there are difficulties and struggles of it as well.

“I feel the pressure of having the ideal dancer’s body constantly,” Katlein said. “I am short so I especially feel the need to watch my weight by eating healthy and working out at the gym everyday on top of dancing every weekday morning and Monday-Thursday as well as all day Saturdays at Top Hat.” Another dancer at CHS, freshman Allison Conte, agrees with Katlein on the struggles of maintaining an “ideal dancer’s body.”

“I’ve definitely struggled with body image and I know many other girls that have too,” Conte said. “I think it is because you have to look at yourself in mirrors constantly for hours a day, every day. It is also really intimidating seeing other girls at competition that look skinnier and more muscular than you are, and it really starts to get to you.”

Conte is an officer of CHS’s freshmen drill team, the Silver Stars. Outside of school she dances for the Coppell Dance Centre.

Unlike Katlein, Conte did not start dancing when she was little; it was something she found later in her life.

“I have been dancing for five years,” Conte said. “I tried almost every other sport and I did not like any of them and when I tried out dancing, I realized that’s what I really wanted to do.”

Conte trains in many styles as well: jazz, ballet, contemporary, lyrical and hip-hop. While she is not sure of what she wants to do with dance later in life she is sure that she will continue dancing all throughout her high school years.

“Dance has always been something I look forward to going to,” Conte said. “I love going, especially after a bad day at school, because dancing is like a stress reliever. Dance is basically my whole life.”

While many dancers do pursue formal training, other dancers find the desire and motivation to learn by themselves and

to teach themselves. For junior Daniel Lian, his “teachers” were the people he watched on TV and on his computer screen.

“I started dancing my eighth grade year, “ Lian said. “I saw a clip on YouTube of Michael Jackson’s 25th anniversary Motown performance of Billy Jean. I threw on socks, and tired it on the living room floor. I failed, but it was not the last time I drew inspiration from someone.”

Lian’s love for dance was sparked after movies such as the Step Up series and shows such as “America’s Best Dance Crew” were released.

“Dancing was just becoming more commercialized during that time,” Lian said. “Seeing how easily the dancers moved made me want to learn how to do the same, and their performances served as a catalyst for something that became more than a hobby for me.”

Lian is a member of CHS’s Art In Rhythm or A.I.R. Crew.

Recently, Lian and the members of the crew formed First Step Charity Organization, an organization that allows them to use their dance for a good cause.

“Since my friends and I formed First Step Charity Organization, I feel I have finally found a practical outlet for my dancing,” Lian said. “We donate proceeds from dance events we host to causes such as Rise and Conquer foundation for children with Crohn’s disease or Ulcerative Colitis.”

While Lian has found a true passion for dance he recognizes the struggles of being able to pursue it as a professional career.

“It definitely does not guarantee a stable salary,” Lian said.

“Anything concerning art involves a bit of risk, and usually, the reward compensates for it. It is always good to have other prospects for backup.”

But all in all, Lian continues to take his dancing abilities as far as he can.

“I like dancing because I feel I can translate the music people hear to music they can see,” Lian said. “It’s exhilarating to see people do things a human body should not be able to do, and make it look awesome. It’s also fun.”

Some people find a calling in sports, in music, in art. However, for other people of the world, all of that combines into one and becomes dance.

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february 2012

Senior athletes participate in National Signing Day Nick Jordan

Sammy Robben Sports Editor

University of Texas

David Busby

University of North Texas At 5’11” and 180 pounds, senior defensive back David Busby was a big player on the Coppell Cowboys football team in more ways than one. Busby was one of five captains during his senior year, and now will be continuing on to play at the University of North Texas.

After a season full of obstacles and challenges, Busby is looking ahead to his future with the Mean Green.

“I’m going through a relief period right now,” Busby said. “I’m just happy and enjoying this moment, but also looking forward to next year.”

Photos by Ivy Hess

Jake Larson

University of Texas at El Paso

After suffering what looked to be a career-ending tear to his anterior cruciate ligament in the Cowboys’ second district game, quarterback Jake Larson proved nothing can keep him down as he will continue on to play football at the University of Texas at El Paso.

As starting quarterback his senior year, Larson (6-4, 200 pounds) had 943 passing yards and 64 rushing yards.

Many believed he would not be able to make a full recovery after injuring his ACL, but Larson is looking forward to proving he is back and ready for his next step.

“It’s a great feeling, and it’s just exciting for this to be the end of one thing and the beginning of another,” Larson said.

Since taking the role as starting kicker his sophomore year, senior Nick Jordan has known that he wanted to play Division I football. His dream will come true next year as he joins the University of Texas football team.

During his senior season, Jordan was ranked the sixth best kicker in the nation

by Rivals.com, and scored 49 points for the Cowboys.

Though Jordan has been committed since early September, the decision process was not easy, and he is happy to have it behind him.

“It feels great to be in the position I’m in now,” Jordan said. “The recruiting process is always long and tiresome and it’s nice to say that I’m officially a Longhorn now.”

Sam Rice

Southern Methodist University

After starting as offensive lineman at CHS for three years, Sam Rice will be continuing his career at SMU. Rice is following closely in his father’s footsteps, Doug Rice, who also played offensive lineman at SMU. After an impressive 2011 season, Rice received offers from North Texas, SMU, Marshall, Utah State, UTEP, New Mexico and Memphis. Like all recruits, the joy of being recognized for your talent, makes the years of hard work worth it.

“It’s pretty amazing. All my hard work paid off on the football field,” Rice said.

“We grind out there everyday. I’m glad to see that everything’s coming full circle.

Senior football players are joined on stage by their families as they as they sign to different universities for Fall 2012.

Photo by Ivy Hess.

In the December issue of The Sidekick, a photo on page one of the Coppell High School volleyball team inadvertently did not include all team members. The members of the 2011 Cowgirls Class 5A state champions are Megan Kennedy, Kristin Dickerson, Sarah Arnold, Erica Bohannon, Cassidy Pickrell, Kierra Holst, Kylie Pickrell, Jordan Jones, Bear Bass, Chiaka Ogbogu, Lindsay Stivers, Kate Dicken, Mary-Kate Marshall and Erin Gillen (trainer). Photo by Julianne Cauley.

Photo by Jodie Woodward

Photo by Trevor Stiff

Austin Mankin

Seniors Jett Raines, Warren Oishi and Austin Mankin are expected to lead the Coppell Cowboys basketball team to a winning season and hopefully into the playoffs.

page 21 Warren Oishi

sports Jett Rai nes

february 2012

Photo by Trevor Stiff

Basketball seniors present triple threat this season Dyer Whitt Staff Writer

With an impressive lineup consisting of raw talent, colossal size and experience, the Coppell Cowboys basketball team is in for a successful season. However, somewhat overlooked, is the chemistry and leadership between three senior players.

Seniors Austin Mankin, Warren Oishi and Jett Raines are all third year letterman seniors on the Coppell High School basketball team. In addition to their talents in the sport, the three have been close friends for almost eight years. This close-knit relationship is their main source of strength when it comes to dominating on the court.

For the trio, basketball has always been a favorite past time and hobby. Each of these towering giants started in YMCA leagues and the rest has been history.

Forward Austin Mankin made the tough decision of choosing basketball over soccer in middle school.

“I started playing in second grade and just continually picked the game up until I noticed I actually could take my enjoyment in the sport somewhere,” Mankin said.

The boys all recognized their talent around sixth grade when they joined the Texas Express basketball team. Texas Express is a competitive travel team that allowed the three to prepare for high school level basketball.

“I have been playing ball all my life, but once I started playing on Texas Express I really got to form my own playing style which helped me become the player I am today,” Oishi said.

Oishi, a guard, has been using his passing skills to help lead the team to victory this year.

In order to compete at the high school level, the boys would

need adequate training experience necessary to win in the big leagues.

“Texas Express helped us get a feel for what basketball would be like at CHS. It helped me mentally and growing up in the system prepared me for competition,” Mankin said.

After playing on the team, the boys’ talents in the sport urged them to pursue the game further.

Raines, a power forward and the tallest of the three at a whopping 6-feet, 8-inches, always envisioned himself as a basketball player.

“I always found that basketball was my favorite sport. I like to score the most and have had other interests, but basketball always stuck through,” Raines said.

Besides being on the court together for countless hours a day, the three enjoy spending time outside the hardwood. In their spare time, the group likes to play video games, make videos

and play the usual game of pick up basketball.

Being friends together for so long, the three have developed a keen bond in which they transfer to the court and to their playing abilities.

“Playing with Warren and Jett so much I know where they are on the floor during a fast break type situation,” Mankin said. “We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and I think that is what allows us to play so well together.”

Head basketball coach Brad Chasteen describes the triple threat as skilled and experienced and has high expectations for their future in the sport.

“Austin, Warren, and Jett are so dominant on the court because they know each other so well. They hang out and are good friends. The chemistry between them is pretty special,” Chasteen said.

With a good start to the season, the Cowboys hope to continue their impressive start and 18-4

record. When the losses come however, Mankin, Oishi and Raines try to go into depth with the mistakes made when a game doesn’t turn in their favor.

“We always try to talk to each other and the team about what we did wrong and what we need to do better. Highlighting our mistakes allows us to work on our weaknesses,” Mankin said.

Along with the pep talks, the three seniors try to give the underclassman players the support they need to develop into experienced players.

“I have been trying to be a leader for the underclassmen. Being older you have to teach them things like how to play, how to take control and how to play with each other,” Oishi said.

With the season ahead of them, the triple threat hopes that their skill, chemistry and hard work is enough to put them in position as contenders of a state title.

against Hebron in last year’s first round of the Class-5A playoffs, the Cowboys will look to get off on the right foot.

“The program has nearly transformed in only a year,” senior goalkeeper Phillip Ellis said. “We all knew that things needed to change drastically if we wanted to succeed in the next year.”

The hiring of Rakestraw from

district rival Justin Northwest means going back to square one. But the new coach has an extensive soccer background and should be a good fit for the Coppell program.

“I grew up playing club [soccer] around the area for a competitive club called the Hawks that is now Texans,” Rakestraw said. “I played in a couple Dallas Cups and then in a couple state tournaments for high school.”

Rakestraw then went on to play college ball at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, competing in two national tournaments in his first two years.

Between his sophomore and junior year, Rakestraw ventured to British Columbia, Canada to play for the semi-professional soccer club, the Okanagan Challenge. After graduating from Midwestern State in the fall of 2006, Rakestraw contacted the soccer program at Denton Guyer High School about getting a coaching job.

Guyer hired him on the spot.

For the next three years, Rakestraw would work the sidelines as an assistant varsity coach for the Wildcats. Then he changed schools, moving to Northwest for two more years, this time as the head coach. He has more than enough experience to bring home a championship.

“We use the scrimmages as kind of a starting point,” Rakestraw said. “Obviously, getting two shutouts, knowing that we are going to be solid defensively, and we were able score some goals against some pretty competitive teams.”

Playing in a tough district, Coppell looks to have the advantage early, sweeping two of last year’s playoff teams, Plano Wildcats and Flower Mound, by scores of 1-0 and 5-0, in scrimmages last week.

“I know for a fact that we can win our district if we stay focused and disciplined throughout the season,” Ellis said.

Coppell has always been a topic of conversation when it comes to playoffs.

“Not making playoffs would be an extreme letdown,” sophomore outside forward Chris Madden said.

The Cowboys soccer team has experienced postseason success, including winning a 5A state title in 2004, reaching the state finals in 2006 and notching 11 consecutive appearances since moving districts.

Recently, those postseason hopes seem to have hit a snag. In the past five seasons, Coppell has advanced past the first round of the playoffs just once.

With last year’s playoff loss to Hebron fresh on their minds, the Cowboys are anxious to start the season. Come April, the boys from Coppell hope to be competing for a state championship.

“Obviously, our expectation is to compete for a district championship, so that’s our goal and that is kind of our starting point,” Rakestraw said. “After we win our district championship, then we can move on to that next step, but we are taking it game by game.”

Varsity soccer kicks winning record into gear John Loop Staff Writer

Soccer balls will surely be meeting the back of the net this season. With the addition of new boys’ coach Chad Rakestraw, the Cowboys varsity soccer team will certainly be scoring.

After a disappointing loss

Photo by Brian Hwu

The Cowboys cheer on each other before going onto the field against the Plano Wildcats at the soccer scrimmage.

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sports Baseball steps up to the plate february 2012

Photo courtesy of Sharon Mankin

Julianne Cauley News Editor

The Cowboys varsity basketball team sacrificed a Saturday practice and teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to rebuild and repair homes.

Shooting for service Chase Porter Staff Writer

Over the past few years the Coppell varsity basketball team has not only been competing for a championship but they have also been participating in service projects all over the Metroplex.

On Dec. 3, the boys varsity basketball team sacrificed their usual practice time on Saturday morning to work for a better cause.

Teaming up with the Habitat for Humanity program, the boys built and repaired damaged houses and much more.

“The team did a lot of manual labor,” coach Brad Chasteen said. “They did some landscaping, spackling, painting, repairing dry walls and a good amount of trash detail around the area.”

The Cowboys traveled to a low-income area near Fair Park to try and help out in any way they could. In addition to doing construction work and other work the team met two women that really touched the hearts of the team.

“Meeting those two ladies and seeing how Habitat for Humanity has helped them was a great experience,” senior captain Austin Mankin said. “We also took some pictures with the two ladies so that we could remember the good that we did.”

The two ladies Mankin is referencing live in the Fair Park area and both have homes built completely by Habitat for Humanity volunteers. The team agrees with Mankin that it was one of the best experiences of the day because they got to see the reward of giving.

In the past the team has done service projects such as last year when the team went to the Dallas Life Shelter. There they served food to homeless people and those in need.

“Going to the Dallas Life Shelter was an incredible experience because we really got to see the happiness on the faces of the people serving,” senior captain Jett Raines said. “Doing the Habitat for Humanity project this year was a much different experience but it was an equally rewarding experience.”

Not only did the team touch the hearts of the people they were working for, they also became closer as a team. On the basketball court they can only bond so much so for them to get out off of the hard wood and out of their element the whole team agrees that it was a great bonding experience.

“Working together to repair the houses made us bond even more,” senior captain Warren Oishi said. “We really learned a lot more about each other and improved our team chemistry.”

The team plans on completing at least one or two more projects such as this in the future. For now though the team is focusing on protecting its 11- 1 record with the regular season in full swing.

“Basketball is just a game that we like to play,” Mankin said, “but giving back to the community and helping people out who are in need is more important and doing things like the Habitat for Humanity project was a great opportunity for us to experience that first hand.”

Photo courtesy Sharon Mankin

Seniors Patrick Hemphill and Austin Mankin shovel dirt while they aid in reconstructing homes in the Fair Park area.

For the Coppell High School baseball program, disappointment has summarized its past few seasons. With over 15 Division I recruits in the past five years, the team has failed to progress in the playoffs.

However, with the hiring of new coach Kendall Clark, the team has every intention of winning this year’s state championship.

“Coach Clark brings a lot to the team, especially as he won the state championship in 2008,” senior centerfielder Craig Aikin said.

“He knows what it takes to get down to Round Rock and win the state championship. And that really is what our goal has always been.

We do not care about just winning district, we do not care about just winning in our region, we want it all with a state championship. With Coach Clark, the entire team believes we can do that.”

As head coach at Plano West since 2006, Clark led the Wolves to the regional semifinals in 2007, a state title in 2008 and the state semifinals in 2010.

“Moving from Plano to Coppell has not been about comparisons and comparing my new team to my old one,” Clark said.

“Everyday is just about taking the team on the field and leaving it better than we were when we stepped out on it. If we focus on that, we will be able to do great things this year and hopefully win it all.”

The Cowboys are hoping the hiring of Clark will lead to a more successful post season resulting in a championship.

“Coach Clark comes in this year with an already outstanding coaching record, and we plan to add to that this season,” junior pitcher and first baseman Austin Gardner said. “He already has made a huge impact this year with more purposeful practices. I am hoping that his experience in the playoffs can help us as a team reach the next step, and that is a state title.”

The players also recognize their own responsibility this year.

“A good coach can take you far, but we have individual roles to do too,” junior infielder Tyler Jones said. “To improve our playoff performance we need to not get ahead of ourselves. Everyone needs to focus on the game at hand and do their job, not attempting a home run every at bat or trying to be the hero.”

The Cowboys began preparing for the regular season with scrimmages against schools including Prosper, Birdville, Wylie, Plano East and Grapevine.

“Last year the team may have gotten a little ahead of itself and I think it looked too forward at the big games that we would get titles for,” Jones said. “One thing we are fixing our mindsets on is focusing on one game at a time, obviously winning them all.

This includes all of the preseason scrimmages.”

The team hopes treating every game like it is the most important will help them not only win more games, but also lead

the district. Last year the team finished second behind Southlake Carroll, but with new and strong starters, the team is a competitor for the district title.

“This year I believe we will be really strong,” Aikin said.

“Though we lost seven starting seniors from last year, we still have our pitching staff so we should be good. We match up pretty well in district. The other teams have good pitching staffs but I think that ours should be the best in our district for sure. “ Though losing valuable starting players including Adam Toth, Matthew Kaskow, Tyler Hernandez, Sam Swinton, Lawrence Hernandez and Campbell Cooper, the team has more returning varsity teammates who are filling the vacated positions with quality talent.

“Filling the shoes of someone as good as last year’s seniors is going to be really tough,” junior catcher Matt Delaney said. “Luckily for me, Campbell taught me a lot while he was here. So did the other

guys. We all have been working hard to make sure we uphold the tradition teammates before us have started.”

The players said they will continue to present the same caliber of talent that CHS baseball is recognized for.

“The teams in the past years have had really high goals, but have all fallen short,” senior pitcher and first baseman Connor Foltyn said. “This year, we are returning our top starters and this is key for the playoff run. This should bring some experience into the game and give us an advantage. We think our top starters can match up with anyone in the state and we will lean on them and their leadership to win games this season.”

One of these key players includes Aikin.

“Craig is a great player and he is great to be around,” Gardner said. “He can make the difference for our team in any game, with one swing of the bat he can change a game. As a pitcher I especially appreciate Craig because he can chase down balls in center that I have never seen caught before. He is a great player.”

The team is aware that in order to win as big as it wants, it is going to take more than just one.

With both strong junior and senior classes, this year will prove to be an exciting one.

“The support we had last year really helped us push through the season,” Gardner said. “We really would appreciate a large fan base this year. They will make all the difference when it comes down to crucial games.”

Senior Holden Novak watches his teammates complete a play during practice.

Graphic by Brian Hwu Photo by Ivy Hess

Varsity baseball player, junior Matt Delaney, warms up catching during after school practice. Delaney serves as the starting catcher this season.

february 2012

Rival Records Football

sports

page 23

Students Say

Driving Distance

15.38%

12-1: Denton Ryan 4-6: Flower Mound 6-5: Hebron 10-2: Marcus 2-8: Lewisville

Like it

from 2011 season

a g n i k a T : k c a b look

to Lewisville

4.62%

8.5 miles

Love it

to Flower Mound

18.46%

9.7 miles

Dislike it

Volleyball

15-21: Denton Ryan 26-17: Flower Mound 29-10: Hebron 23-11: Marcus 10-23: Lewisville

6.9 miles

to Marcus

12.31%

11.6 miles

Hate it

to Hebron

49.23%

19.5 miles

Where’s Southlake? from a Coppell Student Media poll of 65

to Denton Ryan from Coppell High School

The Coppell Cowboys football team has not played the Hebron Hawks since October of 2009, when the game went into double overtime at Buddy Echols Field (below).

Staff photos

In November of 2009, the Cowboys trampled the Lewisville Fighting Farmers winning 48-0.

New district means end of old rivalries for Cowboys There is a sea of green on one side of the stadium and a sea of red and white on the other.

Cheers fill the stands and there is an obvious feeling of tension and competition in the air.

Coppell vs. Southlake Carroll is the biggest rivalry game of the season, but it could be ending for the next two years.

As the Coppell vs.

Southlake Carroll rivalry has evolved throughout the years, the tactics used by students has as well, and you can be guaranteed that at least one student will be kicked out of the game for inappropriate behavior. Students from both schools have taken part in acts such as throwing trash at the band members or dancers, writing hostile messages on Facebook groups and the most recent attack came from Southlake students who painted their stomachs to spell “Sloppell”.

As a Coppell student I have never understood the rivalry. It is true that Coppell has a num-

ber of outstanding sports programs and the battle for first place often comes down to Coppell or Southlake, but can it really be a rivalry if one team w i n s ?

Early this month the UIL district realignments were announced, and many Coppell students, coaches and fans were surprised and disappointed to find out that next year we will not be playing Southlake.

Some people said it was disappointing because we have had a rivalry with them for so long and it is just part of our tradition, while others said it was the best game of the season. Despite this arguments, I have to ask myself, is it

really such a bad thing for us to be in a different district?

Even without Southlake playing in our district we got placed amongst some of the strongest teams in the Class 5A region including Flower Mound,

Flower Mound Marcus and Hebron. Many coaches have commented our district will be a challenge for our CHS athletes, and The Dallas Morning News called it the toughest 5A district in most sports.

With this in mind, I think it might a blessing that we got separated from Southlake.

Every year we put so much hype into the one big football game against Southlake. We make shirts, we black out the stands and the stands are more crowded than ever, but it is only for this one game. They are as much a motivation as they are a distraction. We tend to forget about all the games before, and every other game

just seems a little less important.

I do not think rivalries are bad, nor do I think we should never play Southlake again. Rivalries can serve as motivation for teams to work harder, and it can even help to unite a school and produce a sense of school pride. I have no doubt that at least for the next two years we have a different rivalry with a different team, but I think it will be good for us to focus our attention on something, someone other than Southlake.

I fully believe that in two years, if realigned with Southlake, we will be ready and able to “take the mean out of the green” and “slay the Dragons”, but for the time being it is important for us to focus on the teams we have to play and not the ones we wish we c ou l d .

Sammy Robben Sports Editor

page 24

. . the sidekick

february 2012