Wingspan WEST HENDERSON HIGH SCHOOL
November 2016 • Volume 35 • Issue 1
Write choice Essays seek to identify best students
Page 7
Vote 2016 Students react to presidential election
Page 12
Home again Former player returns to coach basketball team
Page 18
Films to see Four upcoming films you won’t want to miss
Page 23
3600 Haywood Road Hendersonville, NC 28791
Hendersonville Location 2411 Asheville Highway Hendersonville, NC 28791
Arden Location 2301 Hendersonville Road Arden, NC 28704
828-693-KING (5464)
828-651-KING (5464)
“Ding, Ding, Give King’s a Ring”
2 / WINGSPAN /
Wingspan
Follow us online at WingspanOnline.net
Voters Decide See page 12 4
Staff Editors-in-Chief: Sports Editors: Charlotte Grush Samuel Littauer Sofia Molina Grant McIntyre, asst. Josh Conner News Editors: Web Editor-in-Chief: Dhuru Patel Zach Godwin Graham Neve, asst. Feature Writers: Bartel Van Multimedia Editor: Oostendorp Jackson Whiting Caroline Whiting Sean Sullivan Junior Editors: Bryn Bowen Amber Detwiler Kendall Owens Photographers: Hailey Port Mara Shook Will Lindsey Feature Editors Sarah Stertzbach Graphic Designer: Lilly Summey, asst. Colin Huske Entertainment Editors: Bobby Slagel Emily Treadway Blake Kinsey, asst. Managing Editors: Brandan Naef Katlyne Featherstone Rebekah Littauer, asst.
Staff Writers: Zach Braswell Stone Hogan Zoey Cole Wyatt Hughes Khalil Balanay Lauren Mullis Chelsea King Chloe Eidt Sarah Decker Maureen Husted Alyssa Paull Kinsley Morgan
opinion
4
4 editor’s column
Students adjust to classroom Chromebooks
5 staff editorial
Young voters discouraged by election’s negativity
14 Trump on minorities Minorities outraged by Trump’s campaign
15 sexual assault
Increase in sexual assaults on campuses causes concern
7 pro/con
22 tattoos and jobs
features
news
Should colleges require essays for admission?
11 animal cruelty
Zoos come under fire for recent animal mistreatment
The student forum of West Henderson High School is published four times each year by the newspaper journalism class. The purpose of Wingspan is to convey school and community news to the students, faculty, administration and community. Wingspan content is determined by an editorial board of student
21
16
Tattooed workers still face difficulties with employers
8 HCPS test scores
County ranked fourth in the state for student test scores
editors. Wingspan is a Southern Interscholastic Press Association All-Southern, National Scholastic Press Association All-American, Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist and N.C. Scholastic Media Association All-North Carolina and Tar Heel Award publication. Staff editorials express the opinion
9 political internship Student interns for Hillary Clinton campaign
a&e
16-17 trending Reviewing the latest trends around school
sports 18-19 sports profiles
Get to know the players and coaches at West
20-21 sports updates of the editorial board. Columns reflect the opinions of the individual writers. Circulation is 2,000. Printed by Target Printing & Distribution of Fayetteville, N.C. 28273. Contact the staff at wingspan@hcpsnc.org. The Wingspan staff also publishes online at wingspanonline.net.
/ NOVEMBER 2016 / 3
opinion
Technology
Troubles
Junior Taylor Hopkins and senior Alyssa Hecht use Chromebooks in their anatomy and physiology class. The school received 16 carts of Chromebooks to increase the use of technology in classes. (Photo by Brandan Naef)
Chromebooks helpful, create unexpected problem by | Charlotte Grush
O
pening my email, I recently noticed a very unexpected message from the Henderson County Public Schools. My email contained a warning for “using inappropriate language” in my seemingly innocent AP Statistics homework. Days later I received another warning about an essay I did not even write. One of my peers requested that I edit a college application essay for him. I happily agreed, but the next day I received another HCPS email. This time I was flagged for inappropriate language, and it wasn’t even my essay. I couldn’t help but be puzzled because there wasn’t anything inappropriate in my friend’s essay. I am a senior in four honors and four AP classes, and if my documents are being flagged, imagine the documents from all of the other studens in the school. The administration must be flooded with documents to go through every morning, many of which contain no offensive language at all. This fall Chromebooks have proved to be very useful to both students and teachers. Teachers are switching over to a paperless approach to curriculum and are trying out new interactive programs, including Quizlet Live, Socrative and Kahoot. They are also using Google Classroom to help students organize assignments and classnotes. Though I am glad to have access to more technology, I do not think the Chromebooks are as positive an
4 / WINGSPAN /
addition to our school as everyone predicted they would be. Yes, the Chromebooks allow students to communicate with teachers as well as with each other quickly. Yes, they allow students to have a research tool at the tips of their fingers throughout the day. But is it really worth it to be able to use all of these amazing programs when you are
“
The computer I typed this on was constantly being scanned. The computers are school property, but the program is taking away my privacy.
”
being monitored by the school system all the time? The Chromebooks all employ ZScaler, a program that filters what students have access to. Some websites are blocked on the computers and prevent the students from having the right to access information for research.
The school system is required to use Internet filters to qualify for federal funding, but everything that a student searches for as well as types on a Google document is monitored closely. The monitoring is used to make sure the student does not use inappropriate language, and while this may seem like a positive addition, it has not been successful. I use a Chromebook to complete homework assignments as well as work on college and scholarship essays. Within the first three weeks of the start of school, I received the two emails saying I had been flagged for use of inappropriate language. I had not. These warnings show me that not only is what I am researching and reading is being tracked, but the personal documents I am writing are being monitored as well. This is a scary thought if you really think about it. The computer I typed this article on was constantly being scanned. I understand that the computers themselves are school property, but these programs are taking away my right to privacy. Each teacher that received a cart of Chromebooks is required to go to half-day workshops to teach them how to use the new technology. This takes away time from the teachers to actually teach their students. Not only do the teachers have new responsibilities because of the Chromebooks, but the administrators do as well. For every student that is emailed about using inappropriate language, someone has to go through and read each document and see what the problem is. Technology has proved to be a great tool for 21st century learning in the classroom, but there are always glitches in the system.
Staff Editorial
(Cartoon by Caroline Whiting)
Young voters turned off by election negativity Highlights According to a •recent Gallup Poll,
Donald Trump had a 34 percent favorable rating and a 62 percent unfavorable rating among voters.
Hillary Clinton had a •43 percent approval rating and a 54 percent unfavorable rating.
The number of •adults who get their news from social media has increased from 49 percent to 62 percent since the 2012 election. (PewResearch.org and Gallup.com)
T
he two candidates with the highest disapproval ratings in recent United States electoral history. The most diverse population of voters in U.S. electoral history. The most interconnected population in U.S. electoral history — welcome to the 2016 presidential election. Did this perfect storm of factors lead to the most issue-focused election in the history of the United States? Or did these factors create the most turned-off electorate in U.S. history? People have been cynical about the effectiveness and honesty of the U.S. government for years because of numerous scandals, including Watergate from the 1970s, Bill Clinton’s involvement with Monica Lewinsky and George W. Bush’s insistence that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq to justify an invasion. Donald Trump had his Access Hollywood video moment with lewd comments about women while Hillary Clinton faced persistent questions about her use of a private email server as secretary of state. The 2016 election was the first time both major party candidates had higher unfavorable ratings than favorable. The only thing more common than detractors of one candidate
would be detractors of both. A common phrase uttered among people from every part of the political spectrum was “I hate both candidates.” Approximately one-fourth of the senior class could have voted for president this fall, but many of these new voters were turned off by the entire political process. The first time they went to vote for a president they faced the choice of voting for “the lesser of two evils.” Clinton and Trump had three extremely ugly debates and, for the most part, their television ads slammed one another as unfit to be president without offering positive solutions for the nation’s problems. They could not even agree if the election results would be valid. No candidate had ever questioned the legitimacy of the election results to the degree that Trump did after the final debate where he refused to say whether or not he would accept the results on election night. Americans’ trust in government is close to the lowest it’s ever been. A 2015 Pew Research study showed that only 19 percent of Americans trust their government all of the time. According to the same poll, 74 percent of Americans believe their elected representatives put their own interests before
their constituents. Political disinterest is one of the most dangerous threats to our country. If our citizens do not pay attention to issues and elections, then the government is able to take advantage of us because it is left unchecked. Both Clinton and Trump were chosen by the majority of voters in their respective parties, but according to a recent Wingspan survey of almost 800 students, 35 percent would not have voted even if they were eligible. When people ignore their civic responsibility to vote, they should not complain about the elected officials that are chosen. The only way to have candidates you like is to vote in the primaries when there is a much larger pool to choose from. It is very possible that young people who are just now reaching voting age are going to be permanently indifferent to the electoral process because of the unpopular candidates we had this year. Now that this is all over, America needs to take a long, hard look at how we handle elections and our civic responsibilities. Americans need to identify ways to foster an increased political interest in the next generation.
/NOVEMBER 2016 / 5
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WRITE CHOICE
Should colleges require application essays?
PRO:
You can’t appreciate the amount of time that goes into the college application process until you have to go through it yourself. I am applying to five schools, and so far I can see I’m going to write at least six essays, not counting scholarship essays I might need to write. The average application itself takes around an hour to an hour and a half. Put the essay on top of that, times five, and you are looking at a lot of hours dedicated to the application process. By Jackson Whiting That being said, I wouldn’t change the process at all. Some schools are starting to take away the essay and relying just on test scores and transcripts. North Carolina State University actually asks that students not send them an essay at all. The biggest issue that arises with taking away the essay is that it’s very difficult to determine what a student will be like in a college setting based on numbers. The essays give students the opportunity to express themselves and show the admissions office who they are as a person, not a bunch of statistics. Personally, I can’t tell you how blessed I am that my admissions process isn’t based on numbers alone. My test scores are decent, but not good enough to get me accepted into some of the more prestigious schools I want to go to. But with the essay, I get to tell them about the things that I do in the community that maybe wouldn’t show up on an application. I get to persuade the admissions representatives that I would be a great fit at their school. The application itself doesn’t give me an opportunity to express myself as a person — just a student. However, even though I think all colleges should require essays, that does not mean that schools should rely on the essays exclusively when making admissions decisions. Students shouldn’t be accepted based on the essay they send in alone. There are students who could write an amazing essay who maybe didn’t work as hard through high school or whose test scores aren’t as high. In an article written by Bev Taylor for the Ivy Coach, an Ivy league counselor blog, Taylor claims writing a powerful essay won’t happen overnight, but it is essential in the admissions process. “A powerful essay will grab the admissions counselors’ attention and help them understand exactly who you are,” Taylor said. “A powerful essay could make your readers feel that they just had lunch with you. A powerful essay could be the one part of the application that gets you noticed, and as a result, gets you in.” Like myself, many students are not great at taking tests. They stress themselves out, have trouble staying focused, and don’t prepare well enough. The essays are a chance to make up for poor test scores. In fact, according to former dean of admissions for Bates College, William Hiss, high test scores and success do not correlate. “The human mind is simply so complex and so multifaceted and fluid, that trying to find a single measurement tool that will be reliable across the enormous populations of American students is simply a trip up a blind alley,” Hiss said. “I would never say the SATs and ACTs have no predictive value for anybody; they have predictive value for some people. We just don’t find them reliable cross populations.” College essays aren’t going anywhere. Schools simply cannot judge an applicant on stats alone. To keep the level of prestige that colleges seek, they have to make sure a student truly is the best fit for the school. Test scores and GPA don’t tell how they will behave in a college environment.
CON:
The college application season was finally coming to an end. He had finally finished writing a document that would determine which way his future would lead. He had just sent an envelope containing the completed application to his dream school. Applying to college is one of the most infamous parts of being a high school senior. One after another, the college essays continue to multiply as you apply to more and By Dhuru Patel more colleges. However, the worst part about them is the impact they can have on your acceptance to college. A good essay isn’t enough to get you into a college, but a mediocre or bad essay could definitely keep you out. In the past, colleges focused more heavily on grades, class rank and test scores. Now colleges take into consideration the character of the person applying, as well as their writing ability. College essays give the admissions officers a glimpse into the personality of an individual. However, not all seniors can write a great essay that is both an accurate representation of them and follow the parameters set by the colleges. Every person has his or her strengths and weaknesses. An individual could be very intelligent in a variety of academic topics, but a weak writer. In contrast, an individual could be weak at academics, but a superb writer. This factor makes it so that a college essay won’t be able to accurately represent the writer. Some students spend hours per day to make sure they are quantitatively stronger than their peers. It would be unfair for a person that has worked so hard in school to be outshined by someone who wrote an amazing essay. Colleges should try to focus mostly on an individual’s grades as well as how rigorous the courses he or she has taken. Some people are naturally good or bad at standardized tests; however, they still need to be weighed. There are millions of college applications per year, and they have multiple essays along with them. So understandably, each college essay has a maximum word limit. To account for this, each applicant has to condense his or her information. Details will have to be left out and writing styles adapted to make sure everything fits within the word limit. The cost of college applications isn’t too bad when only applying to one or two colleges. However, multiple college applications can quickly add up to hundreds of dollars in fees. Along with the monetary burden, multiple applications take up a lot of time. Fortunately, the Common Application and CFNC.org have helped cut down the time it takes. “Secondly, there is no connection between those who can write strong personal narratives and those who can write what one is expected to produce in college,” Valerie Strauss, a writer for the Washington Post, said. An individual’s ability to write about his or her own life has nothing to do with what he or she will be expected to write in college. Instead, past research papers or essays could be sent in to give the school an example of the applicant’s writing. Colleges should weigh the essay minimally. Grade point averages, test scores and extracurriculars are things they have devoted a lot of time to. Meanwhile, essays are something they have only spent a few hours on and include the efforts of the editors they may or may not have had. Essays don’t accurately portray someone’s own writing abilities, but instead show the combined work of a writer and editor(s) for a required assignment.
/ NOVEMBER 2016 / 7
news
MAKE THEGRADE HCPS ranks 4th in state for overall test scores by | Kendall Owens / Junior Editor
T
he North Carolina State Department of Public Instruction recently announced that the Henderson County Public Schools ranked fourth out of 115 public school districts in the state for an overall score of 70.5 on the 2015-2016 end-of-grade and end-of-course tests. In the 2014-2015 school year, HCPS students averaged 66.9 for overall test scores. The increase of 3.6 points lifted the county into the top five in the state. “We are so very proud of the hard work and continued excellence demonstrated by our students and staff,” Superintendent Bo Caldwell said. “Today, we celebrate the achievement of our students, the commitment of our teachers and the support of our parents and families.” West scored 71.6, North Henderson scored 64.0, Hendersonville scored 73.5 and East Henderson scored a 60.0 percent. The county’s two nontraditional high schools, Henderson County Early College and Balfour Education Center, scored 95.0 and 15.8 respectively. The average for school systems in North Carolina was 58.3. HCPS scored 12.2 points above the state average. School officials said they felt the school system’s ranking was an important accomplishment. Buncombe County achieved a score of 63.4, Haywood County students scored 66.8, Transylvania students scored 66.4 and Polk County students scored 74.6. “I’m sure the school system leadership in the county
Junior wins award
On July 26, junior Hunter Barnett received the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Youth Award for 2015. The award recognizes students for volunteerism and community service. Barnett volunteers for the Great Smoky Mountain chapter where he
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(Photo illustration by Hailey Port) is excited,” Instructional Technology Facilitator Cari Kennedy said. “I think that the senior staff and everyone involved is very excited.” The N.C. School Report Card is based on the Math I, Biology and English II EOC scores at the high school level as well as EOG scores from the middle schools and elementary schools. Junior Paiton McDonald said she is proud of the school system. “We should acknowledge the academic achievements of the county, and I am proud of our county because I didn’t expect us to receive that ranking,” McDonald said. “We have done a great job of improving our scores, but we need to strive to do better.” Support from the teachers, students and community, Kennedy said, was a major factor in the success of the
helped with raffle operations and banquet set-up. He also volunteers with Great Smoky Mountains National Park biologists, helping to collar and monitor elks. “Hunter devotes his time and efforts to the mission and is one of the hardest working high school kids I have ever met,” Joyce Cooper, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation North Carolina state chair, said to the Rocky
Smoky Mountains Chapter.
Marching band competes On Oct. 15, the Flying Falcon Marching Band competed in the Freedom High School Classic Marching Band Competition. The band won first place drum major, first place percussion, second place color guard, and first place overall in 1A. Members also won grand champion out of classes 1A and 2A and
students’ final marks. “As a school, our teachers are providing great lessons. Our students are putting forth the best effort that they can,” Kennedy said. “As a county, we have initiatives that support teachers, technology coaches, instructional coaches and a lot of support for our students and our teachers to achieve such a ranking.” School officials said while they are pleased with the ranking, they believe steps can always be taken to improve. “Everybody wants to improve, which I think we have done in general. We are going to continue to learn the best way possible and teach our students the best ways we know how,” Kennedy said. “We can have our students perform the best that they can and provide an encouraging and engaging environment to continue to help.”
were awarded a superior rating. Their repertoire included “Procession of the Nobles” by Rimsky-Korsakov, “We Are The Champions” by Queen and “Welcome to the Black Parade” by My Chemical Romance. Their show was called “Rise of the Pawn” with a theme related to chess. There were giant sized chess pieces, as well as movable tiles that were used throughout the show to create
stages and highlight performers. This is the first time the band has used props to add another dimension to their production. The band’s last competition was on Oct. 29 at North Henderson High. They won first place in 2A, first place percussion, first place color guard, first place drum major, first place music and first place visual performance. They also earned a superior rating.
DD
oor oor
to
Senior interns with Clinton campaign by | Sarah Stertzbach / Feature Editor
A
s the 2016 presidential election wound down, students got involved in a number of ways from working the polls to early voting. One student in particular, senior Zach Godwin, worked as an intern for the local Hillary Clinton campaign. Once a week on Tuesday nights, Godwin went to the Democratic headquarters in Hendersonville. He made calls to prospective voters: “Hi, do you plan on supporting Democrats up and down the ticket this November?” Godwin also helped with canvassing events, where volunteers for the party’s campaign went door to door to inform people about the candidates and remind them to vote on Nov. 8. Canvassing was one way to increase voter turnout on election day. As someone who hopes to become a politician in the future, Godwin knew that every vote counted. He started working for the campaign in mid-August. “I got interested in politics because I think that if people believe in the system, then the system ought to help them,” Godwin said. “I enjoy helping people and trying to make the country a better place.” Godwin did a number of other jobs at the Democratic headquarters ranging from data
entry to helping out when the vice presidential candidate, Tim Kaine, came to Fletcher. In August, Godwin worked a rally for Kaine. At this event Godwin stood in front of the building and signed people in. “It was so much fun talking to all the Kaine supporters and undecided voters in Asheville. I got to listen to a story from a man who has voted in every election since 1960,” Godwin said. “I got to talk to hundreds of people who hadn’t decided who they would vote for, and I really enjoyed helping explain the party’s platform to voters.” Godwin said he thinks it is important to show pride for the United States and to contribute to make the country better. Everyone has civic duties and civic responsibilties, and Godwin believes that the only way to truly show his American pride is through completing these duties. Godwin liked to encourage people to get involved in the political process. He encouraged people to go out and volunteer with their local party, even in nonelection years and to stay informed and especially go out and vote. “I thought it was really important for everyone to go out and vote on election day,” Godwin said. “No matter who you voted for, the country was improved simply by more people getting involved in the electoral process.”
Student body raises money
NCTC students compete
School record broken
Concert at Blue Ridge CC
Volleyball team in ranking
The student body recently raised $3,200 by selling spirit chain links in a competition with North Henderson. This competition was run by Student Government Association. All of the money collected in the fundraiser was designated for Camp Star, a summer camp that helps children learn to avoid substance abuse.
Members of the honors theater class recently attended the N.C. Theater Conference One-Act Play Festival Competition at Gardner-Webb University. They performed the play “Journey through May.” The class won awards in creative writing, concert design, artistic design, lighting design and overall best production design.
Senior Tyson Hichman, a mid-fielder for the varsity soccer team, recently broke the school record for total career goals with 134 at West. Hichman took three seasons to break the school record held by Mitch Justus. In the past, he was the All-WNC Striker, and the 2015 Western North Carolina Offensive Player of the Year.
Strings played at the annual Berrian Concert on Oct. 25 at Blue Ridge Community College. Students from all four county schools performed together. There was a professional conductor leading the performance. Members will also be playing in the Winter Strings concert at West on Dec. 7.
The women’s varsity volleyball team is currently ranked as the 25th best team in the country, according to the USA Today’s Super 25 poll of the best women’s high school volleyball teams in the nation The team finished the regular season undefeated, losing only eight sets over the course of the regular season.
/ NOVEMBER 2016 / 9
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Cruel Instincts Grant Kilpatrick
Social media enraged after the deaths of animals by | Hailey Port/Junior Editor
I
t’s May — six days before Harambe’s death. A suicidal man climbs into a lion enclosure at the Santiago Metropolitan Zoo in Chile. The man begins to strip off his clothes and taunt the male and female lions. The lions attack and maul the man, dragging him to their den. The zoo officials’ only solution: shoot and kill the lions. Critics say animal cruelty can be seen in zoos, the food industry, circuses, shelters and entertainment corporations, like Sea World. Recent zoo incidents, such as the deaths of the two lions and Harambe the gorilla, have caused many to speak out for the animals’ rights through their social media accounts. “Animals should have rights because they are living creatures just as humans are,” junior Autumn Wong Chong said. “They were here a lot longer than we were, and they deserve every right to live and be free in their homes as we do.” The death of Harambe the gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio created a long-lasting trend on many social media platforms. After a three-year-old boy fell into the animal’s enclosure, Harambe pulled the boy in the water. Zoo officials acted fast, shooting and killing Harambe. Twitter exploded with furious tweets questioning the necessity of killing the gorilla. The zoo director’s Twitter account
“
I express my views by using snippets of information and my opinion about the topic. I post about them so that others can get a better understanding and eventually choose to take action.
”
— Autumn Wong Chong Junior
was hacked, his profile photo was changed to a picture of Harambe, and the account behind it used the hashtag #justiceforharambe, which only fueled the Twitter fire. The zoo director, Thane Maynard, spoke out about the response on Twitter: “We are not amused by the memes, petitions and signs about Harambe. Our zoo family is still healing,” Twitter makes it possible for many to express their own thoughts and opinions on different topics. Other social media platforms, including Instagram, have been used by students to raise awareness for animal rights. “I created a project in eighth grade about animal abuse and created an Instagram account to raise awareness for animals,” junior Brandi Byers said. “It was cool to interact with other accounts that felt the same way I did.”
Over the summer, another 3-year-old was killed by an alligator at Disney World’s Seven Seas Lagoon. The police euthanized four alligators while searching for the boy’s body. A Disney employee was fired after posting a picture of a sign on social media. The sign instructed employees to respond to questions about possible alligators with “Not that we know of, but if we see one, we will call Pest Management to have it removed.” “People deserve to know,” Byers said. “They should not be restricted to know certain things to keep them from being scared to go to Disney World.” Warning signs and fences are now posted around the lagoon to alert guests of the presence of the animals and the danger of feeding them. Ingrid Newkirk, head of animal charity for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, spoke to Mirrior about the issue, saying, “Disney, knowing that there were alligators in that water, should have installed warning signs because it’s not news that alligators are natural predators.” The mayor of Argentina’s capital city, recently announced the Buenos Aires zoo would close to become an ecopark. “I think rescue centers are important, but I don’t think zoos are,” Wong Chong said. “Zoos are inhumane, and they shouldn’t be getting as much funding as they do. They shouldn’t be able to get away with the way they treat the animals.”
5 Zoo Secrets • Animals are unbalanced and
stressed in captivity because of the cramped spaces and little privacy.
• Some zoos care more about the
money they can make by breeding the animals. The babies help increase profits, and when the animals grow up, they are often traded or sold.
• Zoos claim to be helping
endangered animals when most zoos do not have endangered species.
• On the issue of teaching children
about the animals, zoos show how it is considered okay to keep animals behind bars.
• Zoos are dangerous for animals.
Animals have no way to escape in an emergency. Animals have been starved, poisoned, denied care and have even been burned in fires. (www.petakids.com/save-animals/zoos/)
/ NOVEMBER 2016 / 11
feature
Top Issues of 2016:
Civil Rights 18%
National Security 18%
ELECTION 2016 Economy 17%
Immigration 17%
Education 11%
(Almost 800 students indicate the issue most important to them)
AMERICA’S CHOICE Seniors eligible to vote faced difficult decisions with candidates’ high disapproval ratings
Students react to election results “I can’t really do anything to change the results of the presidential election, but I’m scared about it. I didn’t really like either candidate. Most people didn’t. We will just have to see what happens.” Chloe Hallman, 10 “This is the happiest morning of my last three months. I like that in his speech after being elected he was saying that we as a country need to unify — not just Republicans, but Republicans, Democrats and independents. We all need to get together to make America better” Ross Davis, 11
12 / WINGSPAN /
by | Bartel Van Oostendorp
P
residential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were as different as candidates could be. Trump, the Republican nominee was a billionaire real estate mogul and businessman who had made his name famous across the world building hotels and casinos. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, was former first lady, secretary of state and U.S. senator. Despite the differences they had one major thing in common. They were the most disliked candidates ever to run for office. A Washington Post-ABC News poll from late in the election cycle showed that Clinton had a 47 percent approval rating to Trump’s 43 percent approval rating. “Really the whole thing was just kind of a calamity of terribleness,” senior Zach Godwin, who identifies as a Democrat, said. “You have the worst Republican nominee since Barry Goldwater in the 1960s, the worst Democratic nominee possibly ever and really no one who has any idea what they’re doing. Clinton is probably one of the most qualified people to ever run for the presidency, but she has too many skeletons in her closet to get anywhere with it. And Donald Trump is just a maniac.” The disapproval did not keep Trump from winning the presidential race on Tuesday night. Trump won all of the battleground states, including Florida and Ohio. His ability to flip Michigan and Pennsylvania gave him the 38 votes he needed for a surprise win over Clinton.
Although recent surveys showed that the majority of Americans were dissatisfied with the candidates, it didn’t change the fact that the majority considered it a civic duty to vote. Almost a quarter of the senior class turned 18 in time to vote. “I think everyone should vote. Even if you don’t particularly like anyone in the race, you should research them and vote for someone,” senior Mary Elaine Bridges, who identifies as a Republican, said. “Later on when a candidate gets chosen, those people are the ones who complain about the country, but it’s like, ‘What did you do to help?’ So I think everyone should vote.” According to a Wingspan survey of almost 800 students, 37 percent of seniors indicated they wouldn’t vote even if they could; 67 percent of those answered that they disliked both candidates too much to vote. “If they’re not willing to vote, either they don’t like the candidate, they don’t know enough about the candidate so they just don’t want to place a vote, they haven’t registered to vote, or some people are just lazy and they don’t want to vote,” Bridges said. Students were among the dissatisfied citizens unhappy with their choice for president. The Wingspan survey showed that 71 percent of students had a negative or strong negative opinion of Clinton. Only 15 percent said they would have voted for her if eligible. However, Clinton did have her supporters. “She’s experienced and has demonstrated in several situations that she can
be a leader. She is very intelligent and a lot of people can be confident that she knows what she’s doing because she has in the past,” sophomore Julia Perrotta, who identifies as a Democrat, said. “She shows compassion, but she’s not so compassionate that she shows weakness. When she speaks in front of public audiences she comes across very strong and passionate about what she is talking about. She shows really good leadership and could set a good example of what a woman in the office could be.” Clinton had some definite strengths coming into the race for the presidency. Her experience in politics, her ability to connect with voters and her having the possibility of being the country’s first female president were distinct advantages over Trump. “You have experience,” Godwin said. “She was the first lady, she was the senator from New York, she was the secretary of state, she was an attorney who worked to support children for so long. She’s just a highly qualified person. Plus, she’s been working with the political system for longer than most people voting have been alive. She got her start working for Goldwater’s campaign in the 1960s, she has many years of political experience.” Despite her experience, her reputation in Washington was troubling to some voters. “She should be in jail because of all the emails,” Bridges said. “People call Donald Trump racist, but she’s a feminist, and she’s sexist toward men. I don’t think she’s going to improve jobs for people.
She’s going to tank our economy. I think that she focuses a lot on social issues rather than the government by the people. She’s all about the government power and she wants the control. That’s not the way it should be. She’s fooled a bunch of people.” Trump was, in most opinions, not much better. According to the Wingspan survey, 43 percent of students would’ve voted for Trump if they had been eligible. “I think Trump was very outspoken,” senior Zach Whisenant, who identifies as an independent voter, said. “He has some good ideas, although sometimes he didn’t express them as well as he should’ve. I mainly agree with his stance on the economy because in four years, I’ll be coming up trying to get a job out of college, so the economy is a big issue for me.” Although enthusiastic and qualified in business matters, which made him appeal to some voters, Trump was not without his weaknesses. “He was pretty blunt, and he needed to shut his mouth sometimes,” Bridges said. “Sometimes he just put himself out there, and he needed to be quiet about some of the comments he’s made directed at individual people.” Trump’s confidence and bluntness made him appealing as a strong authority figure, his major strength in the race for the presidency. “He gave really rousing speeches. People enjoyed his speeches. I went to a couple of his rallies,” Godwin said. “Trump had a way of invigorating a crowd like no person I’ve ever seen, but that’s not always a good thing.”
43%
Were you able to vote Nov. 8?
22% of seniors were able to vote Nov. 8
35%
15%
As a senior which party do you identify with?
woudn’t vote
7%
(Based on a survey of 767 students)
Republican
43%
Democrat
15%
Libertarian
6%
Republican Leaning Republican
Green
3%
No party
Battleground
33% Student impressions of Hillary Clinton Student impressions of Donald Trump
Leaning Democrat Strong Negative
Negative
Neutral
Positive
Strong Positive
47%
24%
22%
5%
2%
32%
17%
19%
16%
16%
Democrat
/ NOVEMBER 2016 / 13
feature
Creative Commons photo by Gage Skidmore at Immigration Policy speech in Phoenix, Arizona, on August 31, 2016.
Trump Card Republican nominee faced hurdles with minority voters by / Sofia Molina / Editor
O
ver the course of the year and a half that Republican candidate Donald Trump campaigned for the presidency he voiced his opinions on numerous issues from taxes to foreign policy to job creation. But no issue became more closely tied to the candidate than illegal immigration. On the day that Trump announced his candidacy in June 2015, he described the wall he promised to build along the border with Mexico and spoke of plans to deport illegal immigrants. Toward the end of the election, Trump’s remarks about minority groups and women continued to attract attention and scrutiny by the media as his campaign was forced to disavow an endorsement from the KKK and Trump had to explain a lewd Access Hollywood video. “I was very curious to find out how he had reacted to the election, whichever way it went,” freshman Gabe Brittain said. “In general, I think he was a very flawed character, certainly as a political candidate.” Trump had repeatedly made comments in interviews, debates and statements during his rallies that some Americans, especially those from minority groups, took offense to. “No one’s appearance or gender or ethnicity should ever affect whether or not they have a certain position,” junior Hunter Koch said. “Everyone should be treated equally in all respects of life, including in the workplace and in their families.” “Pig,” “dog,” “slob,” and “disgusting animal” were just a few of the names Megan Kelly from Fox News called Trump out for using to talk about women during the Republican debate on Aug. 6. In response to Kelly’s question, Trump claimed that he did not have time for political correctness and did not remember the remarks she was referencing. Trump repeatedly called for an end to political correctness. Instead, he called for the nation to spend more time
14 / WINGSPAN /
“
No one’s appearance or gender or ethnicity should ever affect whether or not they have a certain position.
“
— Hunter Koch Junior focusing on the issues the nation is facing. “Donald Trump wasn’t the best candidate we’ve ever had, but I supported him nonetheless,” senior Hannah Corn said. “His opinion on political correctness made sense. Too many people have become too worried about political correctness to realize the problems within our country. But I do think he definitely needed to learn how to how to think a little more before he opened his mouth.” Following his big win in Indiana on May 3, Trump spoke at Trump Tower in New York City where he delivered a promise to bring unity to the Republican party. He faced critical obstacles to achieving his goals, especially among women and minority voters. According to a survey done by The Atlantic, seven in 10 women viewed him unfavorably. Another poll by Gallup, found that 77 percent of Hispanics and 86 percent of African-Americans had a negative attitude toward Trump. “I feel like he made women and minorities to be lower than himself,” senior Gabby Burnette said. “He showed no respect for women and minorities and when he tried to mention them in his campaign plans it typically came out as more offensive than helpful.” Immigration had been one of Trump’s main focuses throughout his campaign. When announcing his presidential bid in June 2015, Trump said, “When Mexico sends its
people, they’re not sending the best. They’re not sending you, they’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bring crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” One of his bolder proposals called for building a large wall along the border of the United States and Mexico to keep illegal immigrants out of the country. According to a CNN/ORC poll, six in 10 voters opposed building a wall along the entire border with Mexico. 74 percent did not think that Mexico would willingly pay for the construction of the wall, as Trump had suggested. “He was sort of implying that they don’t really have a reason to come and don’t need to be here,” Brittain said. “Most people coming into the country, that I’m aware of, are fleeing from the violence and the rape and drugs that Trump claimed they were bringing in.” Hispanics were not the only minority group Trump had made comments about. In a campaign press release issued in December 2015, Trump called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” His message came in the wake of the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, that was carried out by two American citizens who pledged allegiance to ISIS. “I don’t think the ban would be the solution to our problems or anyone else’s,” junior Shannon Sellers said. “We shouldn’t prevent innocent people from traveling to the U.S. or seeking refuge from ISIS here. Fifty years from now we don’t want our children to look back and ask us why we didn’t do more to aid helpless people in need.” In the weeks following his call for a complete shutdown of Muslim immigration, Trump’s campaign insisted that we was pivoting away from the blanket ban. “His campaign was really driven by racial appeals,” senior Alyzah Sibayan said. “If he changes the way he speaks about women and minorities throughout his presidency, I think people’s opinion towards him will improve.”
Growing concern for sexual assaults on campuses by / Amber Detwiler / Junior Editor
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id I lead him on? Have I hooked up with him before? Do I often have one-night stands? Did I even say, ‘No’? What is my sexual history? How many men have I slept with? I was treated like a suspect,” University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill sophomore Delaney Robinson, a recent victim of sexual assault said, describing her interrogation by law enforcement officers the night of the incident. Robinson had gone to the hospital hours after she had allegedly been raped to submit for a rape kit. Seven months later, the University has still failed to punish the man accused of raping Robinson, except for suspending him from the football team. During an interview with the accused, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill linebacker Allen Artis, the law enforcement officers took a rather different tone than the one they had used with Robinson. “Rather than accusing him of anything, the investigators spoke to him with a tone of camaraderie,” Robinson said. “They provided reassurances to him when he became upset. They even laughed with him when he told them how many girls’ phone numbers he had managed to get on the same night that he raped me. They told him, ‘Don’t sweat it, just keep on living your life and keep on playing football.’” Artis is currently suspended from the Tar Heels. His first court hearing occurred Sept. 29 and the next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 5. A similar case occurred Jan. 18, 2015 when 20-yearold Stanford swimmer Brock Turner was tackled by two Stanford University international students after being seen on top of an unconscious woman behind a dumpster. The sentence, six months in jail, seemed reasonable to Judge Aaron Persky, who said, “A prison sentence would have a severe impact on (Turner).” The two students who caught and tackled Turner might have thought differently; in her victim statement the woman said, “When the policeman arrived and interviewed the Swede who tackled (Turner), he was crying so hard he couldn’t speak because of what he’d seen.” Incidences like these are now commonly reported in the news — seemingly unfair trials and sentences involving college athletes accused of raping or sexually assaulting women. Star athletes like the Stanford swimmer and UNC linebacker are seemingly put on a pedestal, being treated as though their one “mistake” will not have the slightest impact on their future as an athlete. Why are some rape cases biased toward athletes rather than the victim? Why, even after the trial, are these criminal actions excusable in the eyes of some people?
Means No Student Opinion: Likelihood of Being Sexually Assaulted While in College
9%
41%
Very Likely
Not Likely
50%
Somewhat Likely
6%
Very Likely
92%
Not Likely
2%
Somewhat Likely
(Based on a Wingspan survey of 80 seniors) “We have a constitutional right for defendants that they get a fair trial as unprejudiced as possible. (However,) I think that cases can be unfair to victims,” Asheville attorney Michael Macht said. “The legal system we have is great, the problem is that it requires people to do it, so inherent with people is bias and error.” The rape/sexual assault problem on college campuses is nearly indisputable — 95 percent of the 80 seniors surveyed
(Photo illustration by Mara Shook)
by the Wingspan staff stated that rape and sexual assault are at least somewhat of a problem at universities. Almost half of senior women surveyed indicated that they feel they will be at risk for sexual assault or rape as a college student. According to an online survey conducted by the Association of American Universities, one in four to five women are sexually assaulted during their college careers. “I think one of the main issues at universities is that for a lot of students it is their first time they are away from home, and in all reality there is usually a multitude of alcohol flowing and drugs going around,” Macht said. “I think that the colleges need to step up and be a little more civil minded.” Sexual contact without consent is illegal. In North Carolina, there is no clean-cut definition of consent; rather, it depends on the context of the situation. Colleges are encouraging students to verbally give consent with the phrases “No means No” and “Yes means Yes.” “North Carolina right now has a mentality of ‘Yes Means Yes’ and ‘No Means No’ and the period in between, at least for our purposes, is an issue we are going to look at in the context of the environment,” Macht said. “If we look at Brock Turner, the silent because you are incapacitated, that is never going to be consent.” In the Wingspan survey, 70 percent of students interviewed stated that they were aware that consent cannot be granted if the victim is mentally incapacitated. “The main thing that needs to happen is victims need to be assisted with obtaining services, therapy services, things along those lines. I think we need more education as to what is allowed and what isn’t,” Macht said. “A lot of the cases where they are preventable, I think if there was more education not only on the sex aspect, but if there was more education on the alcohol aspect, I think we would be a lot less busy and I think that would be a good thing.”
/ NOVEMBER 2016 / 15
a&e
TRENDING NOW
Americans jump from one fad or trend to the next faster than we can make them up. The trends vary from dance moves to challenges, but they never fail to bring us closer together.
by / Emily Treadway and Katlyne Featherstone /
Clownin’ Around This year Halloween came early as an epidemic of clown sightings spread all across America — or at least on social media. Once the first sighting was reported in South Carolina, people took to the streets, phones in hand, catching images of clowns. Twitter and Instagram were flooded with videos of clowns chasing people in cars and on foot. What seemed like harmless fun soon turned into something dangerous. A few individuals have taken advantage of this hoax to commit violent crimes, including a murder. No one ever imagined that this “joke” would result in 12 arrests in multiple states, according to the New York Times.
JuJu on That Beat There have been numerous songs that have made dances popular, including “Hit The Quan” and “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae).” “The Juju on That Beat” song has recently “walked in the party” across America, making it the most popular dance challenge of choice. Copious YouTube videos make the dance moves easy to learn. Even our very own senior class showed their moves when they “JuJu-ed” on that beat in their homecoming skit. Dance has always been a form of bonding all around the world and the JuJu is just another way to bring people together.
16 / WINGSPAN /
Bradleigh Robinson
Bottle Flipping In recent months there has been a trending challenge that is taking over social media. The goal is to flip a plastic bottle with it landing standing up and remaining there. When students walk into the cafeteria, they will always see at least one bottle flying through the air. Bottle flipping’s simplicity makes it accessible to everybody. Americans truly have a talent for turning trash into a pass-time. Social media inflates just about everything and bottle flipping is no exception. Brandan Naef
‘GOTTA CATCH ’EM ALL’ by / Sean Sullivan /
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okémon Go took over the summer by storm as the most played and the top grossing game of recent years. It only took this popular game five hours to become the number one app in app stores. Nintendo’s market value increased by $9 million within five days of release of Pokémon Go. Sophomore Curren Podlesney said that he’s been playing the game since its initial release. “I think something good about the game is that you can go around catching different Pokémon, and you can venture out further and catch different Pokémon,” Podesney said. “Going out with friends and catching Pokémon is the best. It’s all about catching Pokémon.” Since the release of Pokémon Go, Podlesney has become very skilled at the game. He has surpassed Level 22 and has successfully taken over seven gyms. He has liked Pokémon for four years now and still enjoys playing it. “The best Pokémon I have is a Nine Tails with a combat power of 2485,” Podlesney said. “I started playing Pokémon Go because everyone was playing it, and I’ve liked Pokémon for a while so I thought I should give it a try.” Freshman Mckennah Vale also has pretty good memories with Pokémon. Her favorite memory
is when she and her brother played and watched Pokémon when they were younger. “My favorite part of the game is the interaction. It’s appealing to throw the pokéball and try to catch the Pokémon,” Vale said. Pokémon Go has given some people trouble. Recently a live streamer was mugged in Central Park. The assailant stole three smartphones and the man’s backpack. The victim was Rickey Yaneza, 43, who was live-streaming late at night. He was assaulted, robbed and left with a bruised face. “He had probably been stalking me in the park. I’d been going there for the last 10 days,” Yaneza said. “He means nothing to me. I just lost three cell phones. He is a scumbag. I have no message for him.” In the game players can earn achievements for going out and walking. The achievement “Jogger” can be gained by walking 10, 100 and 1,000 km. That equals out to 6.2, 62.1 and 621 miles. Players can also hatch eggs, which give the player a free Pokémon, by placing them in incubators and walking either 2, 5 or 10 km. Recently Nintendo has introduced a wearable accessory called “Pokémon Go Plus.” It’s a watch
that any Pokémon Go player can use. It tracks how much the player walks and vibrates when a Pokémon appears. Players can even catch Pokémon without even unlocking their mobile device. Pokémon Go is projected to make $180 billion in the next 10 years. The app itself is making $16.8 billion a year in ad revenue and $3 million a day in in-app purchases. Pokémon Go is expected to gain 700,000 new players a day adding to the 21,000,000 users that already play. Some people say that going out and catching Pokémon will be good and healthy, but according to a study by San Diego Univirsity, the game caused more than 100,000 incidents in a 10-day period.
/ NOVEMBER 2016 / 17
sports
Home, Sweet
HOME
Former high school basketball standout returns to alma mater by / Samuel Littauer / Sports Editor
W
ith 1,782 career points on the basketball court, Joey Bryson left West in 1995 as the school’s all-time leading scorer. This year, 21 years later, Bryson has made his way back to the Falcons’ court as head coach. “West Henderson is home to me,” Bryson said. “I knew that one day I’d hope to come back. I just had to wait until the time was right.” As a player for West in the 1990s, Bryson set multiple records, including the all-time scoring record and most points scored in a season with 727 baskets in 1995. His record still stands today, and Bryson is fondly remembered by fans for the energy he brought to the basketball program. “For 15 to 20 years, West Henderson was known for their basketball,” Bryson said. “Fans used to pack the stands for every game and the energy was always high.” According to Bryson, many games were so highly attended that the local fire marshal had to come clear out areas of the gym because the gym had been filled beyond capacity. Under Head Coach Rick Wood, Bryson led the team to a reputation as one of the state’s most dominant programs. After his high school career, Bryson played four years at Western Carolina University, contributing to a Southern Conference championship and helping his team earn a spot in the NCAA national tournament. In both 1994 and 1995, Bryson was named Western North Carolina player of the year, and in his senior year he was named to the second team AP All-State Basketball Team. Following his college success, Bryson spent several years coaching basketball with multiple teams in Georgia. It wasn’t until 2011 when he returned to North Carolina to coach the North Buncombe program for five seasons. While at North Buncombe, Bryson hoped he would
18 // WNGSPAN WINGSPAN// 18
Head basketball coach Joey Bryson instructs his team during a preseason practice. Bryson was named head coach in June following Coach Billy Phillips’ resignation. Shooting over the heads of the opposing team (inset picture), Joey Bryson sets up for two points in a game he played during a game in his junior season on the varsity basketball team in 1994. get a chance to return to West. “It’s been great coming back to West,” Bryson said. “My family and I have felt very welcomed by so many people in the Falcon community.” Bryson was named coach in June after Head Coach Billy Phillips’ resignation. Phillips coached the varsity basketball team for five years. When he left, he had a 44-75 overall record in the regular season and an 0-3 all-time record in the playoffs. As the team’s new head coach, Bryson takes over a team that has seen only two winning seasons in the past 10 years. According to senior basketball player Kole Thomas, fans can expect an entirely different style of play from past years. “Coach Bryson runs a very fast, high-octane offense,” Thomas said. “His attitude and pace as a coach makes basketball fast and fun to play.” For weeks, West basketball players have been training, hoping to be ready for this year’s season which begins on Nov. 26 against East Forsyth as the team competes in the Coaches vs. Cancer Shootout at Kimmel Arena at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. The Coaches vs. Cancer event has raised approximately $54,000 to go toward cancer awareness and research. With such a large event looming on the horizon, the team began practice on Oct. 31, and according to Thomas, Bryson has been pushing his players to com-
pete at an elite level not seen since the 1990s. “We run a very fast offense, and we hope to make basketball simple,” Bryson said. “When people see our style of play, they’ll understand why our players have been so conditioned.” For Bryson, basketball is a family affair. His son, Ben Bryson, is a freshman and hopes to play on the varsity team this winter. His wife and fellow West alumni April Bryson, a 1993 graduate, is also known in the community for her athletic success in both basketball and volleyball. April Bryson turned down the chance to play basketball for Coach Pat Summitt at the University of Tennessee so she could pursue her passion for volleyball at Appalachian State. She works on the faculty with her husband as the school’s personal finance teacher. “West Henderson is home to me,” April Bryson said. “Everything at West is very familiar and the people have been so welcoming.” Although he’s the one of the most decorated basketball players in WNC history, students and fans won’t find a single medal, plaque or trophy around his office. Instead they will see photos and articles involving his favorite memories as a coach, player, husband and father. “This season will be a success to me if the boys on the team have fun,” Bryson said. “My goal is to rebuild the community of West Henderson basketball.”
Ultimate
FRISBEE Senior sets career numbers in 4-7 varsity football season
by / Josh Conner / Editor-in-Chief
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canning the final stat sheet after a high scoring game against an undefeated Mountain Heritage football team, senior Peyton Frisbee could not help but look in shock at the paper. Frisbee finished the game with 304 rushing yards and six touchdowns in front of a packed stadium at Johnson Field. Both stats were career highs for the running back. “I knew I had a great game that night, but I did not think I had those kinds of stats,” Frisbee said. “When I saw the final stat line I was in disbelief. I was so excited.” His dominant performance earned Frisbee the Asheville Citizen-Times player of the week honor. Frisbee has helped carry the Falcon offense this fall with 1,490 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns with an impressive 6.1 yards per carry average. This is the running back’s second year as a starter for the varsity team. Frisbee said he believes he has taken a big step from his junior to senior season because of a new mindset in the offseason. “My first three years I never came to the summer workouts because I didn’t think they were important,” Frisbee said. “This summer I came to every one, trying to get ahead of every other team.” Frisbee’s teammates have taken notice of his new focus. Senior offensive lineman Alex Browning believes it is the mental, not the physical, aspect of Frisbee’s game that has made him successful. “He is a very coachable player, he is able to adapt to all the changes we have made this season,” Browning said. “He does not try to do too much. He does what
he needs to do, and he does what he needs to do really well.” Frisbee ended the regular season with a strong finish against county rival East Henderson with 266 rushing yards and four touchdowns. The team won the game 48-14. The Falcons put together a 4-7 overall record, including conference wins over county rivals North Henderson and East Henderson. The team has suffered a large number of injuries to key players. Head Coach Paul Whitaker knows his team must improve with playoffs starting on Nov. 18. Playoff matchups will be announced on Nov. 12. “We need to get more consistent on both sides of the ball,” Whitaker said. “Hopefully, we can set ourselves up for a possible run for the playoffs at the end of the season.” Frisbee has not only been a spark for the offense this season, as he has been a starter at outside linebacker for the defense as well. “Since he has been here, he has been a hard worker. He has done everything we have asked him to do,” Whitaker said. “He is able to play multiple positions on both offense and defense. He is just an overall good football player and athlete, and it shows on both sides of the ball.” Frisbee said he realizes a lot of players have helped him have such a strong senior season. “I honestly could not have done as well as I have without my teammates. They all work just as hard as I do every week,” Frisbee said. Frisbee does not plan to play college football while he pursues a degree in wildlife management. “Sports in college is pretty much a full-time job,” Frisbee said. “I do not really want that added pressure while I’m in college.”
Senior Peyton Frisbee breaks through a hole to pick up a first down for his team. Frisbee ran for 74 yards in a 28-12 loss to Hendersonville. “It was a disappointing game, but it was early in the season. We learned a lot,” Frisbee said.
/ NOVEMBER 2016 / 19
sports Soccer teamteam reaches Volleyball finishes second playoffs regularround seasonofundefeated by / Kole Thomas / Sports Editor
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oach Cathy Corliss and her players were surprised to learn that West’s home court advantage in the state playoffs would end after their quarterfinal win and that they would have to travel to Cox Mill in Concord for their state semifinal match-up. The Falcons were ranked first in the state playoffs with an overall record of 28-0, 14-0 in conference, but the NCHSAA moved the regional final to Cox Mill. “Both teams were undefeated, so we didn’t automatically expect the game to be at West if it came down to Cox Mill and us, which it did. We were just shocked when we found out that they weren’t going to flip a coin or do any tiebreaker,” senior Destynee Galloway said. In the regional finals, West fell short for the second year in a row, losing to Cox Mill, 3-1 (17-25, 25-16, 16-25 and 25-23). “That’s kind of how this game was. They beat us the first game, we beat them the second game, and they came back and got us with a six point lead and we couldn’t
recover,” Corliss said. “They’re a very good team, but when you put two teams together like that it really comes down to one thing that can make a huge difference and decide the outcome of the game.” In spite of the loss, success defined the volleyball this season. The team won the Western North Carolina Athletic Conference and earned a Top 25 national ranking in the USA Today Super 25. “The team we played was a great team. We just didn’t play to our potential. Our emotions got to our heads, but we never gave up and we never stopped fighting,” Galloway said. The team coasted through the first four playoff games without losing a single set. The team only lost nine sets in the entire season. “We couldn’t play down to our opponents’ level,” Galloway said. In the first round of playoffs, the Falcons faced South Iredell (3-0). In the second round West faced Statesville, defeating them 3-0. In the third round West defeated Enka, 3-0, and in the fourth round they defeated Marvin Ridge, 3-0.
Playing in front of a home crowd against Polk County, senior Chloe Biggs attacks the ball from the back row after an assist from senior Sierra Jones. The team won the match, 3-1. “It was a high energy game. Everyone was connecting and playing well,” Biggs said. (Photo by Pat Shrader)
Men’s cross country wins conference championship by / Brandan Naef / Managing Editor
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At Jackson Park, senior Avery Worley passes two runners from East Henderson on the final stretch, helping his team win the race. “I was not happy with the results, but I learned a lot for the next race.” (Photo by Byron Collins)
/ WINGSPAN/ / 2020/ WINGSPAN
enior Dylan Shamburger crossed the line and watched as his cross country teammates finished behind him at the Western North Carolina Athletic Conference championship meet at Western Carolina University. Shamburger’s time of 16:10 was the senior’s new personal record. “This was the first time all season I felt like I raced well,” Shamburger said. “I was happy with the time.” Shamburger was followed by junior Jarod Connell in seventh, senior Brandan Naef in 12th with a personal best of 17:39, and junior Kaden Dirks in 14th. The men’s team won the conference title. “We have been runner-up for the conference title the past three years,” Shamburger said. “Everyone on the team had worked really hard all season and we were prepared to win it.” The women’s team placed third in the conference with freshman Madeline Duchesne placing sixth, junior Lauren Kilby placing 10th and freshman Riley Hill placing 14th. “Although it wasn’t my best race, I knew I would have to keep pushing myself to do well for the team,” Hill said. “It was good for us to place third in conference because we are a fairly young team.” The men’s team had to step up their game after one
of the varsity members was injured during a race. Junior Graham Neve was racing at the Eye Opener meet held in Spartanburg when he felt a pain in his shin. Neve was informed that he had fractured his fibula. “When I heard I had fractured my fibula, I was devastated,” Neve said. “It was such a surprise that it had happened. I didn’t think about how it would affect the team because I knew they could perform well without me.” On Oct. 29 the teams competed at the NCHSAA 3A West Cross Country Regional meet. The women’s team qualified for the state championship that took place in Kernersville on Nov. 5. The team of Duchesne, Kilby, Hill, freshmen Maggie Campbell and Whitney Thompson, senior Sophie Fortain and junior Summer Shipman earned a spot in the state meet. “When they announced that our team would be going to state I was so proud to be a Falcon,” Campbell said. “To be a freshman and be able to compete at state is something I never say myself doing. When you work hard enough and stay focused, you can achieve anything.” Finishing fifth place in the region, the men’s team did not advance to the state meet as a team, but sent two individual runners, Shamburger and Connell. “We didn’t show what the team was capable of at regionals. Jarod and I were able to place and make it to state individually, but I was sad more than anything because the team didn’t make it,” Shamburger said.
Soccer team sets record for most wins in a season by / Grant McIntyre and Jackson Whiting
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In a game against North Henderson, senior Chano Gonzalez Escobedo sends a pass to a teammate. “The team played really great that game,” Gonzalez said. “We played our hearts out because they are our county rivals.” (Photo by Pat Shrader)
s the final buzzer sounded, the men’s soccer team celebrated one of their most successful soccer seasons in school history. The team finished regular season with a 17-5-1 overall record along with winning the conference championship with a 13-1 record. The varsity soccer team will look to continue their success in the state playoffs, after winning their first playoff game, 5-0, against North Gaston and their second round game against Northwest Cabarrus, 3-2. “It was a hard fought game,” senior Tyson Hichman said. “We really had to rally together. Hichman scored his 100th career goal for the Falcons in a game earlier in the season. He broke the school’s soccer scoring record set by Mitch Justus in 2009. Hichman broke Justus’ record in three years. He has recorded more than 40 goals this season. “I was really excited to break the record, and everyone was excited for me,” Hichman said. “But I am really just excited I could help my team achieve our goal of winning the conference title.” After a 3-2 win at Franklin on Oct 4, the Falcons sealed a conference championship. The team’s only conference loss came in a 1-2 game at East Henderson. The Falcons have not lost at home this fall with 12 wins at Johnson Field. “I am really proud of the way the boys played all season, and I hadn’t really noticed we haven’t lost at
home,” Head Coach Brian Brewer said. “I’m really proud with the way we play on the road as well, not just at home.” Brewer earned his 150th win at West on Aug 31 against nonconference opponent Erwin. Brewer has been a soccer coach at West for 12 seasons. “Getting that win against Erwin was a great milestone,” Brewer said. “But I am more focused on the overall result of the team, not just myself.” The Falcons have been successful on both sides of the ball, as they have scored at least five goals in 12 games this season. They have also held nine opponents scoreless. The team broke the school record for most wins in a season, which was previously 17 wins. “We are a pretty balanced team, and it may be one of the most talented teams I have coached in my 13 years here,” Brewer said. “I’ve got seven HFC (club league) players and a CESA player. It’s a pretty deep group. They will do anything you need done.” Achieving the accomplishments of a recordsetting season is within the grasp of the Falcons. “We are excited for every game because every game is a big game,” Hichman said. “We go into every game with the attitude that we can win, and we try to play that way. It has worked well this season.” The last time West made it to the third round of playoffs was 2008. The team will face off against Cox Mill (23-1-1) Nov. 10 at Cox Mill. “We have a chip on our shoulder because no one thought we would go this far,” junior Matthew Pitcavage said. “I think we could surprise Cox Mill.”
Tennis players, golfers qualify for playoff appearances by / Rebekah Littauer and Josh Conner
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atching the tennis ball land out of bounds, freshman Emilee Mosso looked at her teammate, senior Mary Elaine Bridges, with a look of excitement as they secured a spot in the North Carolina state 3A tennis tournament. The moment was overwhelming for the first-year tennis player. “I just felt so much relief after the last point,” Mosso said. The doubles pair went 5-2 this season. Bridges and Mosso led the team in doubles play. With a conference title, the pair clinched fourth place in the 3A regional tournament. In the last tiebreaker game, the girls were relieved to see their match point returned out of bounds. “We played some tough matches at regionals against some pretty good players, and we just wanted the win after all of the hard work we’ve put in this season,” Bridges said. “I didn’t think we would go to state because there are a lot of talented girls in our area, but I’m so proud of how we played at regionals. You never know what’s going to happen,” Mosso said. The pair attributed their success as a doubles team to their friendship off the court. On the weekends, the two practice together. “At the beginning of the season I was really nervous to play, but I met Mary Elaine, and she was so welcom-
ing, and we would hit on weekends and work on our own technique,” Mosso said. Last season the team worked their way to a 14-0 conference record and a first place finish in conference. With three of their starting players graduating, the team still finished 10-3 in conference. They finished the regular season 10-7. “The team performed above expectations. The chemistry was really good, and we had a lot of fun,” Coach Allen Combs said. The team finished in third place in the WNCAC conference with wins over East and North Henderson. The women’s golf team also experienced success during the fall sports season. Senior Bradleigh Robinson watched as her opponent’s chip shot landed in the water and knew she would have to capitalize on her second hole of the two-hole sudden death playoff at the state-qualifying tournament. Robinson was able to finish the hole strong, earning a spot in the state golf tournament. “It didn’t seem real at first,” Robinson said. “It was such a big opportunity.” Robinson played some of her best golf of the season as she finished 45th out of 79 participants at the state tournament in Pinehurst. “It was a course where the professionals play,” Robinson said. “It was an exciting opportunity. I had a big weight on my shoulders to play well.”
In a tennis match against conference opponent Tuscola, senior Mary Elaine Bridges hits a backhand stroke to win the conference match. “It was an enjoyble match. I am glad I could get the win for my team.” (Photo by Pat Shrader)
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(Photo illustration by Daniel IppolIto)
Some employers still hesitant to hire employees with visible tattoos by / Graham Neve / Assistant Web Editor
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er shaky signature was understandable, considering the circumstances. Senior Hannah Lindsey was in a local tattoo parlor, and she was trembling a little at the thought of getting her first tattoo. Lindsey watched as the tattoo artist sketched an abstract rose that would become her tattoo. Then he prepared the ink pen. “My heart started racing, and I was still shaky. He had to hold my arm down while he was doing it,” Lindsey said. “It only took him about 15 minutes, and when he was done, my whole body was trembling from the pain and the excitement.” The new rose inked on her wrist was in honor of her mother and her grandmother. Lindsey knew she had made the right decision for her, but she was well aware that tattoos can affect job opportunities and can create prejudices about the people who have them. According to the North Carolina law, “It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to tattoo the arm, limb, or any part of the body of any other person under 18 years of age. Anyone violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.” Although there is a state law regulating the age when an individual can acquire a tattoo, there is not a standard policy among employers on tattoos in the workplace. Some employers still require employees to cover up any tattoo they may have. Junior Kendall Owens’ older sister, Meagan Hickman, works at Coach at the Asheville Outlets. Hickman has tattoos on her wrist, biceps, leg, hip, shoulder, finger and ankle. “We are supposed to conceal tattoos at work just because they could offend some of our customers, but sometimes I don’t, and they don’t say anything,” Hickman said.
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I am looking into some form of pediatric physical therapy, and I hope that in this day and age career path restrictions for tattoos will be lifted.
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— Hannah Lindsey Senior
Hickman has also worked at Bath and Body Works and was told to cover her tattoos there as well. Individual companies have the authority to make their own policies on tattoos. How strictly the regulations are enforced is up to the employer. Senior Destynee Galloway has a tattoo of a wave on her wrist. “I want to work in communications, and I don’t think it would affect my field of work,” Galloway said. Senior Katlyne Featherstone works at Old Navy, where a significant percentage of employees are tattooed. “Old Navy is a pretty accepting place to work. They don’t allow anything crazy as not to ‘scare off the customers’ but we are allowed to express ourselves,” Featherstone said, “which in some cases would be
tattoos or piercings.” A recent study from the Pew Research Center found nearly 40 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 29 have at least one tattoo. Two-thirds of the respondents to the survey said they feel tattoos and piercings hurt an applicant’s chances of being hired during a job interview. And more than one-third – 39 percent of those surveyed – believe employees with tattoos and piercings reflect poorly on their employers. But only 4 percent of those with tattoos and piercings reported having faced actual discrimination because of their ink and body art. Jobs in the medical field often have the most restrictions on visible tattoos. In hospitals, sterile environments are important, and some hospital officials will not risk letting tattoos detract from the image of a sterile environment. “I am looking into some form of pediatric physical therapy, and I hope that in this day and age career path restrictions of tattoos will be lifted,” Lindsey said. The Employee Guidelines for Park Ridge Hospital state: “Since personal appearance is regarded as an important aspect of an employee’s overall effectiveness, administration has the prerogative to implement specific policies and standards to maintain a professional business appearance and safety standards.” “Cover and tell” is a popular strategy that tattooed job candidates use to better their chances to get a job. “You show integrity,” said national etiquette expert Diane Gottsman about the strategy. “Using ‘cover and tell’ would increase chances to get a job, but improving physical appearance isn’t as important as having professional skills.” Students said employers are becoming more accepting of tattoos. “This generation is a lot more forgiving on tattoos than 40 years ago when tattoos would have been looked down on,” Hickman said.
REACH FOR THE
The upcoming holiday season may conjure up thoughts of turkey with dressing and all the trimmings. But Hollywood moviemakers would prefer we think about their upcoming big movie releases. They schedule some of their best movie releases of the year in November so moviegoers can enjoy a warm theater and a good show after overeating. Here are four we think you should consider seeing.
STARS
by / Bobby Slagle and Blake Kinsey / Entertainment Editors
Fantastic Beasts Passengers Science fiction lovers should see Columbia Pictures’ film Passengers, directed by Morten Tyldum, has two main characters: Aurora, played by Jennifer Lawrence, and Jim Preston, played by Chris Pratt. The characters are two passengers on a spacecraft that is transporting thousands of people to a distant planet. The spacecraft has a malfunction in its sleep chambers, resulting in two passengers waking up 90 years too early. The film depicts the struggle between the characters’ love for each other as they live out the rest of their lives on the spacecraft.
MMM Allied Another of our recommendations, Allied, takes place in Europe during World War II and is centered around intelligence officer Max Vatan, played by Brad Pitt, and his relationship with a French resistance fighter. The film deals with the struggles of their relationship and the stress that is put on it by the war. Allied is the third World War II movie that Brad Pitt has starred in and will most definitely be as good, if not better, than his previous films. Robert Zemeckis is the film’s director, and it will hit theaters on Nov. 23. We highly recommend this film for its complex espionage storyline and historical roots.
MMM (Courtesy of Roadside Attractions)
(Courtesy of Warner Brothers Inc.)
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is a film based in the wizarding world from a book written in 2001 by well-known writer J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter book series. The story is centered around writer Newt Scamander, played by Eddie Redmayne, in the secret wizarding world of New York and details his adventures that lead him to write his book that Harry Potter will read 70 years later. It is directed by David Yates and will release in theaters on Nov. 18. Rowling recently announced that Fantastic Beasts will be a five-movie series. If you enjoy a touch of magic, we suggest that you take the time to see this film.
MMMM Manchester by the Sea Manchester by the Sea offers a change of pace with a slightly darker and more serious tone. Manchester by the Sea is a dry comedy centered around Lee Chandler, played by Casey Affleck, who is made his nephew’s guardian after the death of his brother. Dealing with themes such as love, loss and the struggles of raising a teenager, Affleck delivers a convincing performance that is sure tug at your heartstrings. The film is directed by Kenneth Lonergan and will hit theaters on Nov. 18. Manchester by the Sea is one of our more “out there” choices, but it is definitely not a film to pass up this fall.
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/ NOVEMBER 2016 / 23
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