The Roar: April Issue

the

ROAR Voice of the students

April 2017

Enchanted Prom

• College caution • Marvel vs. DC: The Final Four • Riopelle steps down as head coach

West Shore Jr./Sr. High School 250 Wildcat Alley . Melbourne, Fla. 32935

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Table of Contents April 2017

pg 4

Editorial

pg 6

Freedom Oppressed?

“The Roar” shares its views on immigration policy

Staffers tangle over press rights

Photo courtesy: Kathryn Etherton

pg 9

Pro(m)blems

pg 12

College Caution

pg 14

Senior Spotlight

pg 17

Back on Track

pg 19

Marvel vs. DC

pg 20

Love it/Hate it

pg 21

Wacky Stories

pg 22

Reviews

pg 23

7 Things

Event planners overcome obstacles

Campus safety concerns upperclassmen

Projects showcase talent

Runner seeks redemption at Regionals

Final 4 voting opens

Dress shopping, line dances, Prom-posals

The craziest Prom-related news stories

“Green Light,” “13 Reasons Why,” “Logan”

Best songs played at Prom

Photo courtesy: DSP

Publications Policies:

The Roar recognizes itself as a public forum and encourages letters from West Shore students and members of the community. The Roar cannot print ads promoting activity illegal by Florida law, ads opposing any religious beliefs, ads written in poor taste, ads with racial or sexist comments, ads considered inappropriate by the staff, advocacy advertising or ads containing libel. The Roar is not responsible for web sites viewed through links found on pages mentioned in the publication. The Roar values letters from our readers: maximum length for letters is 200 words. No more than one letter a semester will be published from a writer. Letters and columns are edited for length, content and clarity. The Roar maintains the right to edit all submissions for poor taste, length, grammar and libel. Views expressed in the “Opinions” section do not necessarily represent the views of the Brevard County School Board, the West Shore administrators, faculty, student body or The Roar staff.

Staff:

Editor in Chief: Helen McSorley Managing Editor: David Thompson Copy Editor: Briana Sandoval Sports Editor: Ben Lack Designers: Gianni Valenti, Sarah Petrone Staff Writers: Alexa Carlos Tamez, Hope Dougherty, Ahjaney Friar, Kishan Ghayal, Matt Jones, Billy Macom, Elizabeth Marrin, Rachel Montgomery, Taylor Smith Adviser: Mark Schledorn Cover photo: Ahjaney Friar Cover caption: Junior Kerri Jadunandan and UCF sophomore Aaron Shishilla dance at Prom on April 1.

Submit:

Send in your opinions to wstheroar@gmail.com

April

3

In Our Words

The unintended consequences of building a wall In recent weeks, most of the focus on the topic of immigration has been focused on the Middle East, namely, the travel ban that President Donald Trump issued blocking any immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen from coming into the country for 90 days. But instead of discussing this order and its negative consequences, we would like to focus on something many of us seem to have forgotten about: the wall.

Ah yes, the wall. A wall that Trump promised Mexico will build for us. A wall that he signed an executive order to build on Jan. 25. In addition to building a physical wall, the executive order also called for more detention centers, more border patrol, and to withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities, or cities that do not comply with national immigration laws. Pretty intense, right?

Walls are built to divide. Trump campaigned on this promise of a wall and rhetoric that was divisive. How will cutting ourselves off from the world help us? How will it hurt others? Not everyone coming from the Mexican border is running drugs, and it makes no sense to believe that. A lot of these people aren’t even looking for help, but rather for opportunity. And aren’t we the land of opportunity? After all, this nation was built by immigrants. We pride ourselves as the melting pot, but this is a title we can no longer claim if we shut out the rest of the world.

If this tug at the heartstrings didn’t work, let’s back up and take a look at the actual situation. According to The Washington Office on Latin America, there is already a barrier that blocks people and vehicles along 635 miles of the border. Compared to 2005, this is a 444 percent increase in mileage. But there are spots where there isn’t a barrier that cover approximately 1,317 miles. While that is significant, much of that expanse is covered by a natural border, the Rio Grande. The other sections are located in inhospitable terrain where it would be hard to cross and also expensive to build on. If the main worry is drug smuggling, WOLA claims the majority of drug smuggling takes place at points of entry, not through holes in the border. Building a bigger wall won’t fix this problem.

Now let’s take a look at the economics of building a physical wall. There is no doubt the wall will be costly. It would be taxing on U.S. foreign relations and on our culture.

But putting that aside, let us look at it financially. President Trump has claimed that the wall will cost around $10 billion, but when Bernstein Research did its own calculations, it found it would take between $15 billion to $25 billion. This calculation assumes a length of 1,000 miles and a height of 40 4 April/Opinion

feet. The Bernstein calculation shows substantially higher cost than Trump’s, perhaps because Bernstein didn’t account for the free labor Trump assumes he will get.

Finally, here are two more points about Trump’s wall that perhaps you haven’t considered — food prices and private property. First, if the wall and harsher immigration policies are implemented, the price of agricultural products will increase. According to “Modern Farmer,” undocumented immigrants living on the southern border account for about 50 to 70 percent of the agricultural workforce. If the wall was built, it would increase the price of retail food by about 5 to 6 percent. Second, we must consider what that means for the people living on the U.S. side of the border and their potential loss of property. Eminent domain laws allow the government to seize any private property it sees fit for public use and pay the owners what the government thinks it’s worth. Eminent domain would most assuredly be part of the equation if Trump’s wall were to be fully realized.

We don’t need a wall. We don’t need harsh immigration policies aimed at destroying lives. We need to think about this issue in a realistic and not divisive way. We shouldn’t have a completely open border policy—we don’t want to invite in danger. But it should be more open so that we can help people and avoid expensive projects that will ruin our foreign relations and increase the tax burden on U.S. citizens.

Cartoon credit: Regan Willner

Letters to the Editor “The Roar” has a huge political bias. Being a strong Republican, I am sad that “The Roar” is talking about more gun rights being terrible, saying everyone is going to carry a gun around and the murder rate will go up. I know that article was made under the opinion article, but I believe it should use evidence and not just say that murder will go up.

This is not the only example. For the past three years that I

While Prom is normally a time of excitement and joy, this year seems to have a different feel. Instead of being in awe about all the Prom-posals going around, I find myself annoyed. Most people are just worried about having a date on their arm without really putting thought into the fact that they really don’t even know the person they are asking. Or even if in a certain situation where a guy asks a girl and the girl really doesn’t want to go with them and the guy knows that, but they ask anyway which puts the girl in an awkward position where she feels obligated to say

We’ve been eating cafeteria lunch food since we were in seventh grade. Back then, two delicious and warm breadsticks were only 50 cents. Now, if we want to buy an off-brand breadstick, we have to pay 50 cents for one. This is only one of the multiple food items that have increased throughout the years. Recently, we have noticed that all of the prices of the food are going up in the cafeteria, and we are furious. We are already poor as it is, and paying $2.50 for some chicken strips is breaking the bank. When we went to purchase chicken strips we only had two dollars to our names which still wasn’t enough to buy food. We understand that fewer students are buying food, but raising prices is not the way to go to compensate for lost wages. This tactic only discourages students further in purchasing food. There are goldfish packets that are 25 cents each and we are not ashamed to admit that we purchase four sometimes because the price is so reasonable. We don’t always have time to

Roar too Bias

have gone to this school, I have read dozens of articles that have a liberal bias, I believe that the yearbook should argue both sides equally, or there should be more Republican writers. Also, “The Roar” has more grammar errors, then [sic] my 4-year-old-sister trying to type on the keyboard.

Please fix this issue of mine. Thank you.

By Thomas Unger, 9

Empty PROMises

yes out of sympathy. It’s just becoming super aggravating because Prom is supposed to be fun but instead of people enjoying the moment surrounded with friends they are more stressed about who’s going to look hot on their arm.

It’s frustrating because I shouldn’t have to feel like I don’t want to go to Prom because I don’t have a date nor should anyone be embarrassed by the fact that they don’t have one. This whole process has just become super frustrating, and it’s not fun anymore.

By Ahjaney Friar, 11

Money Munching

make lunch every morning, so eating food from the cafeteria is the only option left, but we can’t continue to pay three dollars-plus every day, just to fulfill our hunger. One may say ‘hey why don’t you just apply for reduced lunch?’ Well, reduced food is only available in one of the three lines which has limited food options and neither of us can qualify for reduced lunch. Just because my parents have jobs doesn’t mean we get all of their earnings, bills have to be paid and our parents expect us to fend for ourselves. We are seniors who only have a couple months left, so what’s the point? We understand that some prices may be set by the district, but others have been going up substantially in the past couple weeks. We know nothing can be changed this year, but hopefully in the future the prices can go back to the way they were. Also, the bags of chips only have like five chips in them! But that’s for another letter LOL.

By Chanel Bailer and Aakilah Hernandez, 12

Opinion/April

5

Freedom Oppressed?

Trying to discredit the media can have grave consequences

By Briana Sandoval Copy Editor Freedom of the press is a key principle in maintaining democracy. However, less than a month after taking office, President Trump posted on Twitter a threat to the media’s right established in the First Amendment in 1791. On Feb. 17, President Trump tweeted “The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!” After this statement, journalists and others nationwide went into an uproar. In addition, the Trump administration blocked several news outlets such as, “CNN,” “the New York Times,” “the Los Angeles Times,” “Politico,” “Buzzfeed” and “the Washington Post” from a closeddoor press briefing led by White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

Merriam-Webster defines freedom of the press as “the right to publish and disseminate information, thoughts and opinions without restraint or censorship as guaranteed under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.” However, it seems like these media outlets previously mentioned are beginning to become restrained or at least criticized by Trump and Spicer. During a Feb. 16 press conference, Trump called on reporter April Ryan of American Urban Radio Networks, who asked if he would include the Congressional Black Caucus in discussions about his agenda for addressing urban policy. In response, Trump first asked if they were friends of hers, presumably because Ryan is black. Second, Trump responded with — “Am I going to include who?” — ­ denoting that he did not remember what the CBC stands for. To make matters even more cringe-worthy, Trump additionally asked if Ryan wanted to set up the meeting, to which Ryan responded that it is not in her place to set up the meeting. Trump’s comments were offensive and ignorant towards Ryan. However, its doesn’t matter because Trump supporters likely don’t watch the news anyway because he keeps bashing the mainstream news organizations.

Another thing to keep in mind is if these limitations

6

April/Opinion

Photo credit: Creative Commons

The president’s comments coupled with combative press briefings can have a chilling effect on a free media.

on the press will worsen. Let’s look at the rules against freedom of speech in Russia. According to freedomhouse.org, “The Russian state controls, either directly or through proxies, all five of the major national television networks, as well as national radio networks, important national newspapers, and national news agencies.” The thought of American news outlets being manipulated by the government is truly terrifying.

Freedom of the Press is in jeopardy and our president and his supporters don’t seem too concerned about its endangerment.

No elected official has ever loved the press, and that is as it should be because the founders sanctioned a free press in order to keep an eye on them and to make their decisions and actions public. I can only hope Americans will wake up and realize the essential role a free press — as imperfect as it is — plays in the health of our nation.

Much of today’s media functions as an enemy of the people

By Billy Macom Staff Writer President Donald Trump recently called several news outlets “enemies of the people.” After digging around online I found plenty of responses which cited previous uses of the phrase “enemy of the people,” usually comparing Trump’s use of it to Hitler’s and other tyrants’.

It’s not hard to see that media has changed dramatically in the past couple of decades. Now that everyone’s on their cell phones, it doesn’t require much effort to watch or read the news. While this is definitely a good thing, I think the media is still the enemy of the people. I know that many of you reading this probably think of the media as that fourth branch of government, keeping everything in check. While that holds some legitimacy, I don’t think of most media outlets — especially mainstream media outlets — as protectors of the truth. In the past, media has been the cause of genocides, wars, and conflict in general, not to mention the media’s frequently biased judgments regarding scientific topics. Now most mainstream media outlets are just distracting and useless, only helpful to irrational ideologues. There are those who don’t have time to think for themselves, who are complacent in being told everything. While they are satisfied with this lack of critical thought, I’m not.

The more people trust the media, the more they grow comfortable in not thinking for themselves, and when a majority of people place a blind faith in the media, they abandon their search for the truth and refuse to stand up for themselves. The media and large companies work with the government to advance their own agenda, and now that it’s the media’s job to search for everyone’s truth, it can be distorted and revised to fit any narrative. I think a key part of being an individual is finding out the truth yourself. If you believe everything you hear just because you trust the source that’s giving you information, your thoughts become unoriginal. Your truth is someone else’s. Not only is it dangerous for society as a whole, but to me it’s sad whenever the indoctrinated try and make their case. I’m not saying that faith is bad — although by definition it is a belief lacking evidence — I’m saying that blind faith is bad. You are your ideas. Don’t entrust your mind to others.

Recently I saw an ad for the “Daily Show featuring Trevor Noah. In the ad, he pranced around knocking

over newspapers and other forms of media each time shouting “fake news,” in a sarcastic and mocking voice.

I’ve enjoyed the daily show in the past. Watching Jon Stewart convinced me that there are plenty of issues that are fun to look at piece-by-piece. While both Noah and Stewart are great communicators, Noah has made me lose all faith in the show. When he talked about a gender wagegap in American soccer, I was immediately disappointed.

Noah fails to realize that men’s and women’s soccer are both completely different animals. Each gets paid by viewership, performance, whether they win or not, and probably some contracts. Gender plays no part. There was also the dishonest interview with Canadian writer Gavin McInnes, who after cracking a couple jokes was made out to look like an idiot with some shady editing. The way the “Daily Show” distorts reality to shape its own narrative is regressive and dishonest.

The death of newspapers and other paper forms of media is occurring right now, and while I do enjoy holding a newspaper in my hand, I know that getting rid of paper is better for the environment. In addition, the internet is a million times more accessible. The reaction of many media outlets however, is to attack other platforms. Pewdiepie, the most subscribed YouTuber in the world, was called out as a Nazi. This is just more fake news designed to redirect people back to other media platforms. If you watch his videos at all, you can tell he isn’t a Nazi. Many articles have been published declaring him a Nazi because he had shown the swastika and one of Hitler’s speeches in a video, even though it was just being used as a joke and they are taking everything out of context. “Context doesn’t matter!” is what most of these articles argue. They must hate every history book then, also they must hate their own article, after all it has a picture of Pewdiepie’s video, showing Nazi flag and all. Unfortunately this is nothing new, as YouTube is plagued with whiny, fake progressives who produce equally fake “news.”

The “liberal” agenda nowadays is a complete mockery of liberalism. When Trump calls out the media for fake news, he has a valid point. These outlets are the propagandists of our time, who just want the expand the group, not the mind of the individual. If you support truth, then I would recommend trying out more YouTube channels, as they are generally better than the mainstream media at everything.

My point is this: the media — at least most of it — is against you and me, the common people.

Opinion/April

7

Wavering Wi-Fi Unreliable Internet frustrates students, faculty

By Hope Dougherty Staff Writer On-campus internet functionality is often frustrating. As students are in class working on their laptops or Chromebooks, the Wi-Fi connection will sometimes go out numerous times.

Part of this is due to the school’s need to upgrade its Wireless Access Points.

“Our coverage, as far as how many WAPs we have in each classroom, is pretty good, but some of the WAPs need to be replaced,” technology specialist Terri Friend said. “We are actually in line to receive them from the district this year. I really think you will be able to see a difference when they are installed.”

Testing drives the decisions behind which school receive technology upgrades first. Schools that use laptops for testing in the classrooms are the first to see new WAPs, so internet connections will be strong during exam season. Because West Shore mostly tests in dedicated computer labs, it is not a priority.

However, Wi-Fi performance is not completely dependent on WAPs. When the internet bandwidth reaches a maximum,

it appears the connection to the Wi-Fi has no internet access, causing those devices to sometimes automatically disconnect.

Senior Rohan Patel said he experiences this fluctuation on a daily basis.

“We use our Chromebooks almost every day in AP Literature, and the Internet constantly goes in and out,” Patel said.

“Sometimes I have to log in five or six times.”

Internet issues are also a part of virtual lab teacher Mrs. Richardson’s classroom. “Several weeks ago, during sixth period, all of our internet stopped,” Richardson said. “We were only down ten minutes but we have other issues as well, like one specific computer doesn’t have a usable internet connection at all because we can’t get anyone up from the county to fix it.”

Friend says that these issues are sometimes unavoidable when dealing with Wi-Fi. “Part of it is the nature of the beast, but we work very hard to keep all of our resources up to date. That’s the biggest challenge we have; keeping up with the newest technology because we don’t receive enough funding.”

Pro(m)blems

Venue complications pose obstacles for event planners

By Rachel Montgomery Staff Writer Before Saturday’s Prom, hours of preparation were put into creating the perfect night through planning, fundraising and set-up. With all of the decorations and beautiful dresses the night of, the thought of “how did all of this happen?” doesn’t always cross people’s minds. One of the most important parts of planning Prom is the venue, which for the past two and current Junior Classes, has been one of the biggest issues.

Back in 2015, Prom was held at the Hilton Rialto. When the Junior Class officers arrived to decorate, the banquet room was not cleaned from the event before and staff members were reportedly not helpful.

“I think there may have been one or two people from the hotel helping us,” said 2015 Junior Class President Callia Karas. “We started cleaning everything up ourselves and trying to set the tables, but even most of the tablecloths that we were given were dirty. The whole set up took a lot longer than expected and class sponsor Jill Whitacre, my mom and a few others ended up staying behind to see the final touches through while students got ready. Mrs. Whitacre was even able to get some of our money back after complaining about the whole ordeal. I’m assuming the hotel was just very understaffed that morning, but it definitely wasn’t fair to us.”

Last year, the class of 2016 Junior Class officers picked the Viera Holiday Inn on the premise that the venue would have helpful staff, and be overall better than the Hilton Rialto — but they had similar complications with the Holiday Inn last year for set-up.

“The room was supposed to be clean prior to arriving and it wasn’t so my mom vacuumed the banquet hall before Prom,” Secretary Alyssa Feliciano said. “I was definitely disappointed with the staff because on our first tour they seemed really promising and helpful but when the day of Prom came they were basically [missing in action]. It was frustrating to constantly have to go find the staff for simple things that should’ve already been done, like the tablecloths and vacuuming.”

When it came time for the Junior Class to pick a Prom venue this year, they had issues with getting approval from administration on venues. The officers began looking at venues at the end of last school year, but didn’t begin touring until the beginning of this year.

Photo credit: Callia Karas

Connecting the pieces Juniors assemble the dance floor at the Hilton Rialto.

Photo credit: Rachel Montgomery

Enchanted Forest Gianni Valenti and Matt Henderson decorate the venue.

“Almost every venue we [the Junior Class officers] proposed didn’t fit admin’s “parameters” and they kept suggesting that we choose the Holiday Inn,” Junior Class President Gianni Valenti said. “We didn’t want to choose the Holiday Inn, and wanted an alternative venue because we could minimize food cost by having our Junior Class historian Jojo Lawrence’s mom cater it. After lot of back and forth we had to settle on the Holiday Inn because that was the only place that had our date available. Honestly I don’t know why admin let us believe we could pick our own venue when they wanted us to pick that one so badly.”

Despite those concerns, Junior Class sponsor Matt Henderson said the Junior Class officers worked together to make Prom an unqualified success. From last year and this year’s fund-raisers combined, the Junior Class was able to raise $6,000 for Prom.

“The main thing with this group of officers is that they’ve worked together,” Henderson said. “They’ve all been together and really helped to make a decision and be a part of fund-raising efforts, and that money helped us to make and build a better Prom.”

News/April

9

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Thanks for a Great Prom

College Caution Sexual assault concerns women as they head off to universities Photo courtesy: Creative Commons

By Elizabeth Marrin Staff Writer

Safety First Many colleges come equipped with emergency safety lights that dial 911.

It is estimated that one in five women will fall prey to sexual assault during the course of her college career, and that should come as no surprise since the number of forcible sex crimes on college campuses increased by 49 percent between 2008 and 2012, according to the findings of National Public Radio’s Investigative Unit. With sexual assault crimes climbing in number and fewer than one third of cases resulting in expulsion, many wonder whether or not college campuses are safe.

“It’s definitely something that I’ve thought about a lot, and it’s something that makes me nervous to go off to college,” said senior Alyssa Schafer, who plans to attend Florida State University next fall.

“Everyone has that idea of going to a huge college party with tons of people, and I’ve pretty much decided that I’m not going to do that. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that I’m just not comfortable, especially when those parties are thrown by fraternities most of the time. I want to go — and it sounds like a lot of fun — but I just don’t feel safe enough.”

Certain measures have been taken to prevent campus rape. These include Congress establishing the Bipartisan Campus Accountability and Safety Act, which increases campus accountability and requires better coordination with law enforcement, and the enactment of the Campus Save Act, which requires higher education institutions to educate students and staff on the prevention of rape, acquaintance rape, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. Although these prevention methods have been implemented, sex crimes on campus continue to occur, and the way they are handled continues to be a gray area.

“It’s especially scary to read about when nothing happens about it, like when people aren’t expelled or when sometimes campuses turn on the victim,” Schafer said. “[Turning on the victim] is a terrible thing to do to someone.”

However, with the Association for Student Conduct Administration having advised universities across the nation against being punitive when dealing with sexual assault on campus, Schafer said she accepts that in this reality rape happens. And it isn’t uncommon for the perpetrator to escape unscathed.

“I’ll definitely be really cautious around people on campus knowing that [sexual assault] happens so frequently and little is done to prevent it, or little is done afterwards about it,” Schafer said. “It’s the reality that we live in. I don’t think it should be this way, and I don’t think it’s [the victim’s] fault. But 12 April/News

Top 5 Safest Campuses in Florida as reported by niche.com

1. Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne

3. Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale

2. Warner University, Lake Wales

4. Florida College, Temple Terrace

5. Southeastern University, Lakeland Infographic: Helen McSorley

realistically, living in this world, you do always have to be careful. I’m not going to let it police my life or prevent me from doing fun things, but it’s always going to be at the back of my mind.”

Senior Brianna Youhana, who will be attending Florida Atlantic University next fall, discovered this reality last October when she visited the University of South Florida during its “Stampede to Success” event. After speaking with a security guard on campus, she was left uncertain in regard to the way campus rape is dealt with.

“I asked him about how they deal with sexual harassment and assault at the college, and I felt like his response wasn’t very reassuring,” Youhana said. “He didn’t reassure me and say that they took it as a very big deal or that the boys were severely punished. He just said that you have to watch your surroundings, don’t drink too much, and make sure that if you go to a party, you’re with someone with whom you are comfortable.”

In fact, according to data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request to the U.S. Department of Justice, of students found guilty of having committed sexual assault, 13 to 30 percent are expelled, between 29 and 68 percent are suspended, and approximately 23 percent receive a different punishment altogether, ranging from educational sanctions to probation. These statistics are telling of reality, according to Youhana.

“He told me about two occurrences of rape at the school, and he kind of turned it on the females,” Youhana said. “He said that they should have taken more caution, and that it’s not really something you can control. He did tell me that they have an app for calling medical assistance if you see somebody who is passed out, but overall, he turned it on the victim. I think that our ‘blame the victim’ mentality stems from sexism and rape culture, which are still prevalent issues in today’s society. There is no shortage of cases in which the victim is blamed rather than the offender prosecuted.”

While accepting of the notion that sexual assault is no longer an uncommon offense across college campuses, Youhana emphasizes that sex crimes need to be dealt with in a more serious manner and that rape culture and the victim blaming that accompanies it needs to be put to an end.

“Sexual assault is a very major issue and it should definitely be viewed that way,” Youhana said. “Yes, it’s something that happens a lot, but that doesn’t make it OK. They’re our bodies, and while a lot of people like to say that it’s what a woman is wearing, that doesn’t mean consent. Unless she says yes, you can’t do anything. You can’t take it as a joke and think that women are there to touch and look at. I feel like it’s become such a normal thing in today’s society, and it’s not OK.” News/April 13

Project Profiles Environmental enthusiast buzzes about bees

By Alexa Carlos Tamez Staff Writer For Senior Project, Kathryn Etherton had to buy soil, plant a variety of flowers and wait patiently.

Her goal was not to create a mediocre garden to check off a box during her senior year. Instead, Etherton had a bigger purpose ­­­— to not only attract bees, but attract attention to their slow-growing trend toward extinction.

“I love the environment,” Etherton said. “I’m always looking for ways that I can help it, and knowing about the horrific decline of the bee population, I wanted to act upon it.”

Senior Seminar teacher Jessica Hartman called Etherton’s project impressive because of the work involved and for the extra-mile Etherton had to go through to succeed.

“You know without a doubt that it took way more than the 20 hours required for her project,” Hartman said. “Her [project] was so dependent on experts in that field. She had to learn a lot first on how to be around bees, build the garden and then maintain it.”

Etherton already had planned to start a bee garden when her friends mentioned that it would be a good idea to do it as a Senior Project. She agreed and submitted a proposal to Hartman.

Etherton said the hardest part of the project didn’t directly involve bees.

“The actual gardening was the most difficult part of my project,” she said. “I had wanted to start out from scratch with seeds but after many failed attempts, I resorted to buying already-grown flowers.”

Even though she experienced hardships early on, Etherton mentioned that her favorite part of completing the project was working with Mary Ellen, who served as her consultant and is wellknown locally for her honey. “[Ellen] was super sweet,” Etherton said. “She gave me some good advice which means that I’ll hopefully be able to carry on in continuing my

14 April/News

Photo courtesy: Kathryn Etherton

Bringing in the Bees Senior Kathryn Etherton completes her flower garden in order to attract bees.

garden.”

Hartman said planting a garden is daunting in and of itself, but the work doesn’t there.

“Maintaining a bee garden is not typical,” she said. “It has a lot of challenges with it. Even just the fear factor of bees would be enough to scare half of our students away, let alone the amount of work that goes into it because it’s so different.”

Senior Luisa de la Hoz mentioned that Etherton’s project fit her personality and she couldn’t imagine a better one for her.

“She’s super into the environment,” Etherton said.

“When she told me about her project I was instantly excited for her. She is super-hardworking, and I know that she put a lot of effort into the garden itself and all the research for her project.

Although Etherton has yet to witness any bees pollinating on her flowers, she has seen them around her house and continues to work on the garden. Her hope is to have bees pollinating on her blossoms regularly.

“I definitely want to be able to do this in the future,” she said. “Even when I have a space of my own. I also hope to simply inspire others to act and make small differences.”

‘Flawmore’ shows more In a society that idolizes long legs, perfect skin and a toned body type, teenagers can feel as though they cannot even begin to meet those standards. Increasingly, young adults feel as though any perceived imperfections they have are immediately noticeable to everyone and anyone. In response to such notions, senior Ian Kennedy decided to create a magazine called Flawmore designed to emphasize alternative kinds of beauty.

“I’ve struggled with many insecurities,” Kennedy said. “But every day I’m learning to accept the ‘flaws’ that make me unique. So for my Senior Project, I wanted to do something that would allow people to experience the same confidence that I’m gaining.”

In the process of creating the magazine, Kennedy arranged a photo-shoot with Photo courtesy: Jaida Condo several different models and consulted with a professional photographer.

Close up Senior Ian Kennedy photographs senior Melissa Saunderson at his shoot.

“The project means so much to me because it was also supporting the idea that there isn’t one ‘perfect look,’” freshman Jade Norton said. “We were told not to wear too much makeup unless that is how we express ourselves. I chose to not wear any, but I still felt beautiful.”

Kennedy hopes to get the statement out that beauty is not defined by society’s expectations and that everyone is beautiful in their own way.

“Beauty is not defined by society’s standards and expectations,” he said. “We cannot glorify and idolize only one body type and ignore the appearances of everyone else. I hope my magazine shows that you can be beautiful no matter who you are or what you look like.”

Silaghi’s puppet finds3. its voice

Melinda Silaghi found inspiration for her Senior Project in a book she read as a child.

“A bunch of people had been taken hostage by an indigenous group somewhere in Alaska,” Silaghi said. “The guy used ventriloquism to get out of the sticky situation. I thought that was really cool, and then I was like I kind of want to do that.Senior Project was basically an opportunity to do it.”

In order to learn how to perform ventriloquism, Silaghi signed up for a $100 online course by professional comic Tom Crowl. “[Crowl’s] website was actually really good,” she said. “A lot of professional ventriloquists still sign up for his course even if they already know it because his techniques really help. I really enjoyed it.”

Senior seminar teacher Jessica Hartman said that although Silaghi’s project was not Photo courtesy: Melinda Silaghi over the top, it was unusual and she had not seen anything like it before. Thomas also Puppet Master Senior Melinda Silaghi was pleased with the amount of effort Silaghi put into her project. practices ventriloquism.

“It’s a really cool hobby and really cool talent that she’ll now be able to take with her for however long she wants to,” she said “And the fact that she did it in English and then in Latin is extra — impressive.

It just takes it one step further, and makes it one of the projects that stands out.”

For Silaghi, learning her new skill did not turn out to be as difficult as she thought, although she did face a few 4. obstacles before mastering her technique.

“When I first started I thought that I would have to speak with my stomach,” she said. “But then I realized, as I went through the whole process, it’s actually not that hard. The hardest part was not moving my lips when saying the letters 4.

M, P and B.”

News/April

15

Fenced In

Students wary about new security recommendations Taylor Smith Staff Writer A panic gate, camera monitored buzz-in entrance and new access point for the library could be among the many safety features to be installed throughout the campus coming as soon as next school year. The renovations, while not finalized yet, were brought on by the school district in response to parental concerns over recent issues that have taken place throughout the country.

“Although it’s still in the design stages with the architect, some of the things talked about were wanting to make sure that the campus doesn’t have a lot of access points during the day to where people could just walk in and roam our campus, possibly leading to bad things,” Assistant Principal Catherine Halbuer said. “So what will happen is the gates to the parking lot will be locked at 8:30 sharp. There will only be one way in, which is through the back like it is now, we kind of have that similar but there will be an extra gate going across so that someone who’s walking down the street can’t just walk onto campus. At that gate there was also talk that students who come late or dual-enroll will have to buzz in through a security camera from the student parking lot. The double doors beside attendance, where most students come in will be secured during the day as well, so the only way someone could enter the school from the east side of campus is through the front-office door.”

Along with the safety features to be installed throughout the campus, the media center will also receive renovations towards improving the security of the school.

“The gates by the media center will be closed and locked during the school day,” Halbuer said. “We’re developing a plan for entrance into the media center from the back of the building instead of the front side that faces the middle school car loop. Along with that, a lot of the students’ favorite place, out by the portables near the gym, is going to be secured so that they will no longer be able to enter athletic events without paying at the gate. Because if students can sneak in through there, anybody else could too.”

School Resource Officer Chuck Landmesser assures that overall, the school’s atmosphere will remain the same.

“The only change is for late/dual enrollment students in that they’ll have to come up to the gate by the cafeteria to get buzzed in,” Landmesser said. “Drop-off 16 April/Sports

Photo credit: Taylor Smith

Behind Closed Doors The hallway gates remain locked up over the weekend.

and pick-up will remain the same, as will student parking. The gate by the firehouse and courthouse, where students typically go through to access the campus, will remain unlocked as well.”

Despite administration’s assurance, not all students are convinced that the renovations will bring a positive change, such as Junior Hannah Schwalm-Radak.

“As someone who’s doing dual-enrollment, I feel like having to buzz in everyone who is coming from that would just be kind of an inconvenience for everybody.” SchwalmRadak said.

Junior Jadasia Norris, however, feels that the security upgrades are a step in the right direction towards ensuring the safety of students’.

“Adding fences for our safety, or anything really that doubles up on our school’s security, would be a good thing for West Shore.” Norris said. “It’s because of all the school shootings happening everywhere else that I feel like we could take more precautions to prevent any incidents.”

Back on Track Junior Jared Hayes returns to reclaim his spot in the state finals

By Ahjaney Friar Staff Writer Running on pace for a 1:57 minute finish and coming in so close to advancing to states before falling last year at regionals, varsity track captain Jared Hayes is working hard to redeem himself this year in order to cross the finish line at states. With a personal record of 1:59 minutes for the 800-meter run, Hayes is looking to shave that time to a 1:54.

Despite his falls Hayes is hopeful that he will prevail in his upcoming races including states.

“I hard everyday at practice and do my best at my workouts,” Hayes said. “ My goal is to make it to states and I’m going to work hard to make sure I can get there.”

Senior and teammate Grant Gibson believes that the work Hayes puts in will overall help with the outlook of the season.

“Jared is looking pretty good for the season,” Gibson said. “At the Merritt Island meet he ran around a 50 second 400-meter dash, which is really good for him considering that’s his best time. So I think that is going to translate to his 800-meter run. I think he can easily accomplish his goals by the hard work he has been putting in this season.”

Hayes participates in meets outside of West Shore’s schedule. Along with his 800-meter time he has also been working on improving his 600-meter time which is an event not offered in high school track. He and a few others on the team travel to various colleges in order to compete in college-level races. Recently, at a West shore scheduled Merritt Island meet, Hayes ran in the 800-meter race only to improve his 600-meter time. He dropped out of the race at the 600-meter mark.

“It was funny to see the looks of everyone’s faces when Jared dropped out of the race,” junior Kayla Garoust said. “He was in the lead by a tremendous amount so no one was really expecting him to not win. Everyone on West Shore’s team knew what was happening, but you could tell that the maneuver he pulled threw other schools for a loop.”

At last year’s regionals in Pompano Beach, Hayes unexpected mishap when he fell just within 100m of the

Photo credit: DSP

Rely on Relay Junior Jared Hayes approaches the last 100m stretch while finishing the 4x800 relay at Melbourne Central Catholic High School.

finish line in his 800-meter race.

“He had sort of a setback last year at the regionals,” teammate Mariah Jones said. “I know it must’ve crushed him falling short before the end and I think it kind of crushed everyone there rooting for him as well. But I think having that failure made him hungrier for victory and now he’s working harder than ever in order to achieve his goals.”

Supportive team member Jacob Kent is certain that Hayes will ultimately come out on top.

“I have 100 percent confidence in him that he will make it, he’s decided what he wanted to do and is one of the hardest workers on the team and also the most dedicated to the sport so I know he will do everything that he physically can to reach his goal.” Kent said. “He puts in so much work, constantly timing himself and looking for improvements, it takes one heck of man to spend time out of his weekend in order to train, not to mention all while doing this keeping up with his school work.”

Sports/April 17

End of an Era

Varsity basketball head coach steps down after more than a decade in command

By Ben Lack Sports Editor After 13 years and 137 wins, Athletic Director Tony Riopelle is stepping down as the boys’ varsity basketball head coach. Robert Salazar, a Wildcat alumnus, is taking over as head coach. Riopelle recently set the school record of 17 wins in a season, led the team to a Wildcat record of 53.2 points per game this year and coached the boys to another school record of 11 three-pointers made in a single game in his final match as head coach against Holy Trinity at the district semifinals.

“I want to spend more time with my family,” Riopelle said. “My daughter is 10 years old and now she is getting involved with more activities, and I want to be able to be at more of her stuff. Being an athletic director and a head coach can be hectic at times, especially during January and February. It’s really crazy because we’ve got soccer and basketball all going on at the same time and then the spring sports start and it’s just pretty hectic.”

Riopelle said he will stay involved with the varsity team as an assistant coach, Photo courtesy: DSP and intends to help throughout the season with practices and games, in addition Moment of Motivation Coach Riopelle makes in game adjustments with the boys’ varsity team to remaining the athletic director. However, he said he does not plan on attending during a time-out of a home game. the summer open-gyms and conditioning sessions.

“I couldn’t imagine not being involved with the kids in some way,” Riopelle said. “So I’m going to be assistant coach and Salazar, who played for me when I first started coaching at West Shore 13 years ago, is going to be the varsity coach. I’ll be his assistant, which will give me a lot of free time in the offseason, because he’ll deal with all of that while I’ll be there for most of the regular season.”

Sophomore Travis McClendon, a second-year varsity guard, acknowledged that there will be a lot of change for the team to adapt to. In addition to losing Riopelle, nine of the 13 varsity players this past season will be graduating in May, including forward Evan Lanier, who averaged 12.2 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game and was recruited by Division II colleges.

“It’ll be a big change because he’s been coaching so long at West Shore,” McClendon said. “But it could also be a good change. We have a whole new group of players coming in, so getting a new coach at the same time could be good. I like Coach [Salazar], I’m really comfortable with him. I feel like he’s a players’ coach because in the past few years he was a player.”

The Wildcats, led by Coach Riopelle, were district runner-ups in 2009 and made it to the Sweet 16 of the state series the same year. He also coached West Shore to three holiday tournament victories, averaged more than 10 victories a season throughout his 13-year career, and won the Florida Academic State Championship in 2008 and 2016.

Have a great Spring Break!

Final Four 4. Captain America

vs

4. The Flash

DC

Heroes Marvel and DC frontrunners, Spider-Man and Batman both fell in the Elite 8. Captain America has quickly become a fan favorite after taking down both Iron Man and SpiderMan in the past 2 rounds. Coincidentally both 4-seeds from the Hero bracket have made it to the Final Four, along with both 6-seeds on the Villains side of the bracket.

Thanos and Deathstroke have had incredible runs thus far, taking down both Villain 1-seeds, Magneto and The Joker respectively, on their way to the Final Four.

“I was really socked when I saw the results that Spider-Man lost to Captain America,” senior Sacha Laloo said. “He’s my favorite superhero and I really thought he was going to go all the way. I think I’m going to vote for The Flash because I really like the TV show and is one of my favorite DC heros.”

Finally down to Marvel vs. DC match ups, it’s time to choose a side and go vote at www.westshoreroar.com and decide which Hero and Villain will reign supreme.

6.Thanos

6. Deathstroke

Villains

Love it Hate it Dress Shopping “You are looking for a specific thing in a specific price range, but once you find it it’s worth it.”

—Kara Dubec-Hunter, 11th

By Briana Sandoval and Helen McSorley Editors

“There is a lot of pressure to find a dress that is only going to look good on you and not match anyone else’s.”

—Joanna LaTorre, 12th

Line Dances “They are so much fun, especially with my team. Everyone gets into it. They are really great.”

—Madison Glatz, 12th

“Line dances are so tacky. I hate them.”

—Michael Fagan, 12th

Prom-posals “I like Prom-posals because this school is pretty boring and it brings excitement to the day.”

—Evan Lanier, 12th

“I think sometimes [Prom-posals] get blown out of proportion. It’s a little over-dramatic.”

—Mariah Jones, 11th

Survey Says Tweet

Tweet West Shore Yearbook

West Shore Yearbook

Prom dress shopping?

Love it Hate it

Promposals?

81%

Love it Hate it

19%

26 votes Final Results 12:00 AM Mar 10, 2017

27 votes Final Results 11:58 AM Mar 10, 2017

Tweet West Shore Yearbook Line Dances?

20 April/Entertainment

Love it

41%

Hate it

59%

17 votes Final Results 11:59 AM Mar 10, 2017

85% 15%

Date Dilemma

According to “The Week,” a Seattle mom used Craigslist to try to find her daughter a date to prom. Offering $350 for four “hot male teens” to bring her daughter and her friends to the dance, the ad also included a description of the night: a seven hour evening, getting fitted for a tux, riding in a limo, Prom, dinner, and parties afterward. The ad also required an interview, but the ad was later taken down.

Taking Prom by Storm

At a school in Kansas, Prom-goers spent two hours in a bunker after a massive tornado overtook the high school. According to “Huffington Post,” once the tornado had passed and it was safe to leave the bunker, there was only 30 minutes left of the Prom, but students had made the most of the night by belting out songs in the bunker.

Wacky

Stories Compiled by Helen McSorley Editor in Chief

Branching Out

According to “Huffington Post,” an Illinois teen ended up in the emergency room after Prom-posing. The teen hung a sign from a red double-decker bus asking a girl to Prom, and when she said yes, she boarded the bus so they could ride off into the sunset. But after standing up on the top deck of the bus, the teen hit his head on a tree branch and ended up in the emergency room.

Making Mem(e)ories

Back in 2012, West Shore student Ankur Mehindru took his formal Prom photos with his date­— an XBox. The photo made its way around the Internet, briefly gaining fame and recognition on social media. Mehindru said he switched his date with his XBox in the photo to annoy his mom.

Entertainment/April 21

Reviews

Roar critics share their thoughts on the latest music, movies and books After a hiatus of four years, New Zealand singer/songwriter “Lorde” debuted her new single entitled “Greenlight” on March 2, which really should’ve been called “Limelight,” as it’s become her most popular song in less than a week.

Garnering more than 15 million unique listeners to date, “Greenlight” is a promising return to the industry and has received overwhelmingly positive reception. “Greenlight” is a song that is uniquely Lorde — it would fit right into the tracks of “Pure Heroine” with its heavy bass and quickly changing rhythms.

However, “Greenlight” is set apart in context, and clearly describes a life after the “teenage glory” that was present in her first album. Overall, “Greenlight” is an impressive return to form for Lorde, receiving massive popularity seemingly overnight while still maintaining her unique and original sound that keeps her longtime fans listening.

By Rachel Montgomery The title makes it sound like a sappy romance story, but “13 Reasons Why” by Jay Asher is anything but. When a shoebox full of tapes shows up at Clay Jensen’s door with no return address, he is delighted to receive a package. But that delight soon turns to dread as he begins to listen. Each tape is filled with the voice of Hannah Baker telling her story — the story that led to her suicide. And each tape is dedicated to a person who contributed to the ruination of her life. The tapes must be sent to each person on the list or else their stories will go public, but Clay has no idea why he is on the list, so he must keep listening to figure it out. “13 Reasons Why” is the type of novel to grab your attention and not let go until the story is over and the Netflix original series based on this novel promises the same type of compelling, yet unnerving storytelling.

By Helen McSorley

Hugh Jackman’s eighth and final film starring as Wolverine, “Logan” is the third installment in the “Wolverine” franchise and is undoubtedly the best yet. With this being the first R-rated X-Men/Wolverine movie 20th Century Fox has produced, they really took the training wheels off and went all in, with F-bombs dropping regularly and blood flying every time Logan slashes a baddie in the face. Along with the gory violence and salty language, “Logan” at its simplest form is a story about redemption that has most of its audience wiping tears from their eyes when the closing credits begin to roll.

By David Thompson

22 April/Reviews

7 Songs best music at Prom

By Briana Sandoval Copy Editor

Photo credit: Creative Commons

4 5 6 7

1 2 3

“Changes”

by David Bowie

"Love on the Brain”

by Rihanna “iSpy”

by KYLE (feat. Lil Yachty)

“Fake Love”

by Drake

“Bad and Boujee”

by Migos (feat. Lil Uzi Vert)

Photo credit: Creative Commons

“24k Magic”

by Bruno Mars

“I Don’t Wanna Live Forever”

by ZAYN and Taylor Swift

Photo credit: Creative Commomns

Enterainment/April 23

Florida Institute of Technology is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate, baccalaureate, master’s, education specialist and doctoral degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Florida Institute of Technology. Florida Institute of Technology is committed to nondiscrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnic or national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, ancestry, disability, genetic information, military status, protected veteran status, or other non-merit reasons in admissions, scholarship and loan programs, educational programs, athletic or other university sponsored programs or activities, and employment including employment of disabled veterans and veterans of the Vietnam Era, as required by applicable laws. Contact the Title IX Coordinator at 321-674-8700.

MK-051-117

Talk to your Guidance Counselor for details.

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