the
REPORTER
Volume 69
Cy-Fair High School
Issue 6
May 3, 2016
THERE’S NO PLATE LIKE HOME
Bobcat baseball leads district
Pg. 6
WELCOME TO HOUSTON
Explore all the activities Houston has to offer
Pg. 14
ATTEMPT TO END CHILD OBESITY FAILS
Why National School Lunch Programs have
failed miserably
Pg. 19
A flood to remember
For more
in-depth
coverage
and photo
credits,
see
‘Bobcat
Fight
Never
Drowns,”
pages 10-11
@cyfairpress
22602 Hempstead Hwy Cypress, TX 77429
www.cyfairreporter.com
02
INTRO
To Our Readers
In a span of less than two
days, Houston and surrounding
areas were hit with a year’s worth
of rain: 15-17 inches to be exact.
While CFISD students enjoyed a
week off from school, many sadly
lost their homes, belongings - and
some even lost their lives.
Cy-Fair received some of the
worst water damage, along with 56
other district schools affected by
the massive storm.
Despite the overwhelming
flooding, devastation and loss, we
saw Texans at their best. Citizens
who owned boats went into
flooded roads to rescue those who
were trapped, and hundreds have
volunteered their time at churches
and organizations to help with
the clean up. Shelters were
overflowing with donations.
Whatever challenges our
school, our community, our state
and our country may face, we
have shown how Texans take care
of one another.
Emme Enojado
Co-Editor in Chief
Julia Ryza
Co-Editor in Chief
Future Business
Leaders of America
offers insight into
world of business
BLAKE NALL
reporter
Computer programming
teacher Marti Peddicord
sponsors the Future Business
Leaders of America club,
also known as FBLA, a club
that teaches students about
the reality of business and
competition in the real world.
Started two years ago, the club
has been taking its 60 member
students to state and national
level competitions.
According to Peddicord,
FBLA improves students’
networking skills and grants
valuable experience for the
business world. FBLA was a
club in the past, but it wasn’t
until Peddicord took it up
with some of her students that
it really took off again.
“I think it was here a long
time ago, but it hasn’t really
been at Cy-Fair. So, I took
the initiative, I had a couple
of kids who wanted to do it,”
Peddicord said.
Any FBLA member
can enter the district and
state competitions, but only
the winners of the state
competitions may compete at
the national level.
“We had a district
competition and everyone
was invited to the state
competition in Houston.
The winners were Koustubh,
Michael and Gunnar,”
Peddicord said. “Three boys
were invited to go to nationals
which is in the summer time.”
Sophomores Gunnar
Gregurek, Koustubh
Nyshadham and junior
Michael Peroutek placed in
the state competition earlier
this year, and as a result they
are allowed to compete at
the national level. Gregurek
placed in Intro to IT, and
Nyshadham and Peroutek
placed in Web Design.
“It’s been a really good
learning experience,”
Peddicord said. “Even if you’re
a doctor, you go out on your
own and you still need to
know how to do business.
Anybody who’s interested
in any kind of business and
wants to learn about the
world, competitions and
networking should join the
club.”
5. 3. 16
NEWS
Interview. Junior John Mobida is interviewed by Ms. Peddicord for a leadership position in FBLA..
Photo by Blake Nall.
Represent. The YLPA team receives f irst place trophy for the Step Show Extravaganza.
Photo courtesy Tashanda Franklin
SYLPAt eANDp YMPA
p i nPLACE
’ oFIRST
n up
AND SECOND AT COMPETITION
LILY ADAM
reporter
The Step Team brought
home the gold on Feb. 4 by
placing first in the Step Show
Extravaganza at Lone Star
College, and once again, with
the YMPA boys Step Team
placing second in the district
competition on April 9.
“When it’s competition
season, we just practice a lot.
We’ll extend our practices.
Usually they end around four
but sometimes we’ll practice
until six,” four year Step
team veteran, senior Chara
Tatum said. “Our team has
12 girls and eight boys. We
all get to help choreograph
the performances and pitch
Infographic by Alex White
in a little bit, but the captain,
Lasonta Jackson, has the final
say.”
Step team promotes
positive attitudes and actions
of young people according to
Tatum.
“Never stop trying. What
I mean by that, is always try
your very best. You never
know where it could go. The
way step is set up, we have
formations. If you try your
hardest, you can get a spot in
the front of the formation. If
that’s what you really want,
never stop trying for that.
Always push yourself,” Tatum
said.
Jackson and Tatum agreed
that pep rallies are the best
memory from being on the
team.
“We have about six step
routines, one performance
and one dance prepared for
competition,” said Jackson.
“To prepare for competition,
as the step master, I have to
plan the whole show out,
and check it over with our
sponsor, Mrs. Franklin. Then
I start teaching step by step,
break it down and make sure
everyone knows the routine.
And then just start piecing the
show together in order.”
5. 3. 16
NEWS
Turkeys, swine and goats, oh my!
03
FFA MEMBERS PLACE IN CFISD LIVESTOCK SHOW
LAURYN WALKER
reporter
Future Farmers of America
won 45 awards in the 22nd Annual
CFISD Livestock Show and Sale on
Feb. 4-6.
“District wide, there were over
1000 entries, Cy-Fair having over
150 entries,” FFA Advisor Roni
Sadler said.
FFA students were excited for
this show because it allowed them to
showcase and be rewarded for their
hard work.
“This is basically where we get
to show them off and present them
against other schools and it’s kind
of like a competition,” said FFA
reporter junior Ciara Hall.
At the show, awards were given,
such as grand champion, for a variety
of animals as well as agriculture
mechanics projects. FFA members
were awarded for their turkeys,
swines, goats and even agriculture
mechanics projects.
There were more than 45 students
who received recognition for their
animals and agriculture mechanics
projects. The judges chose the ones
with the best qualities.
Senior Bobby Baker was one of
FFA’s winners at the Livestock show.
Baker had his swine for four months
in which he fed and trained it.
Baker’s efforts were rewarded at the
Livestock Show.
“I walked it around and mine was
chosen. I got first place in my class, a
blue ribbon, for my pig,” Baker said.
“It was competitive and exciting. It
was a lot of hard work.”
Baker also received eighth place
for his steer.
FFA president senior Brent
Gwinn, won Grand Champion
Agricultural Mechanics project for
his 24’ Equipment Hauler.
“The gratification I received for
putting in hard work the past four
years was all worth it,” Gwinn said.
“FFA has taught me that you must
work hard to achieve a goal if you
want to see results.”
Rounding Up Awards: Cy-Fair FFA participates in the 22nd Annual Livestock Show from Feb. 4-6: (from left): Charles
Behrend, Simon Wheeler, Advisor Heather Striplin, Advisor Roni Sadler, Advisor Jason Reue, Advisor Tabetha McKinney,
McKenzie Peet, Andrea Bolander; Kneeling: Bobby Baker and Dalton Kowis. Photo provided by Roni Sadler
Creativity’s the new cool
ART STUDENTS ADVANCE TO STATE IN VASE COMPETITION
BRI GONZALEZ
life editor
Art students Sabrina Sommer,
Gillian Lane and Megan Fang
advanced to the State level of the
Visual Arts Scholastic Event on
Apr. 22-23 at James Madison High
School in San Antonio.
Having advanced from both the
Regional Event and the Area Event
held in January, these girls have had a
long, anxious wait. According to the
official VASE website, students from
schools in the 20 educational regions
of Texas are invited to participate in
their Regional Event. The students
are interviewed and their artworks
are juried by certified, professional
TAEA jurors. A Rating IV is the
mark of a superior, exemplary, work
of art. This qualifies the student
to be entered into the VASE Area
Event. After the jury process is
complete, the artworks that qualify
to participate are then processed for
the State Event.
Senior Gillian Lane said that
though the wait was long and
nerve-wracking, the sense of
accomplishment she gained from
advancing was worth it.
“What I get from it is knowing
that my art must be good,” Lane said.
“It’s one thing to have your friends
telling you ‘oh that’s pretty cool’, but
it’s amazing to have actual judges
think your work is good enough to
go to state.”
Lane’s piece was a brass and
copper necklace made to look like a
dragon. Lane said that she had a lot
of fun making the piece, and her love
of dragons fueled her inspiration and
motivation.
“I love art, I really love dragons,”
that what I’ve made has had such a
positive response, since when I look
at my work I only really think of
things that could’ve made it better,”
Sommer said.
Sommer’s piece was a digitally
edited, black and white photo of
a girl with various different facial
expressions, each one overlapped
Fair Art Department to call home.
“Art class is the place that I really
try to forget about everything else
and just focus on art,” Sommer said.
“It’s sort of a safe place where I can
go and ignore all the stressful things
that come with being a junior in high
school.”
Senior Megan Fang said although
Soaring To The Top: Senior Gillian
Lane created a jewelery piece made
of brass in the shape of a dragon.
Two-Faced: Junior Sabrina Sommer
took and edited a photo to show a
girl’s multiple emotions all at once.
Color Crazy: Senior Meghan Fang
uses paint and newspaper to make
a statement.
Lane said. “It worked out pretty well.”
As for junior Sabrina Sommer,
she is also quite pleased by the judge’s
approval of her piece, especially
since she looks at her own work with
a harsh, critiquing eye.
“I sometimes feel pretty shocked
onto the other.
“The concept of it was supposed
to show how people have and
hide different sides of themselves,”
Sommer said.
Sommer said that above all, she is
grateful to have a place like the Cy
she is proud of herself, she’s not her
own biggest fan when it comes to art.
“I’m
proud
of
my
accomplishments, but I generally
don’t like my work,” said Fang. “I
think it’s a struggle that all artists go
through that never really goes away.”
Photo by Bri Baiza
Photo by Bri Baiza
Photo by Meghan Fang
It was her struggle as an artist and
artists everywhere that inspired her
mixed media piece, called “Crazy
Artist: Media Construct?”, using
paint and newspaper on cardboard.
Playing on the word “construct”, she
constructed a deranged artist from
newspaper with stereotypical “crazy”
artist labels.
“It was inspired by interpretations
of modern art and by notoriously
‘crazy’ artists such as Salvador Dali,”
Fang said, “I created a piece that
raises the question of whether artists
are truly crazier than the general
populace or if their craziness is
mainly created by the media. The
newspaper labels integrated into the
artist’s body shows that the media is
an inescapable part of an artist’s life,
whether it makes them seem crazier
or not.”
As for how art has affected her
life, Fang said that she sometimes
hates it as much as she loves it.
“I hate how I hardcore prioritize
it over everything else and have
plenty of nearly sleepless nights
because of it,” said Fang. “But art
gives me those warm feelings that
usually only bread and aggressively
fluffy cats give me.”
04
5. 3. 16
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5. 3. 16
NEWS
Welding
rior
e
t
In
A look into
Projects
ELECTIVES
Sophomore
Mason Lalone
welds a piece
of metal.
Photo by Bri
Gonzalez
made by
interior design
students.
STUDENTS SHARE, DISCOVER
THEIR PASSIONS THROUGH
ELECTIVE COURSES
BRI GONZALEZ
life editor
WELDING TEACHES LIFE SKILLS
Welding teacher Michael
Griffin said the class allows
students to learn valuable
skills that they can use later
in life.
“Welding is a skill you can
use right out of school, and
make a decent salary,” Griffin
said. “It’s also valuable for a
student who may be interested
in being an entrepreneur,
or you can even pick up a
welding job to pay your way
through college.
You never have to worry
about making money with a
job like welding.”
A
rt History
A
P
Art History
teacher
Jerilyn Muster,
stands next
to a poster of
Mona Lisa.
Photo by Bri
Gonzalez.
ART CLASS BROADENS HORIZONS
Junior Priya Nair loves Art
History because it combines
her love of art with her love of
learning.
“Art history is amazing
because, as someone who
loves art, it’s really cool
to learn about where the
paintings come from and
how they’re made,” Nair said,
“Learning about the different
artists and eras of art makes
visiting museums a thousand
times better because now I
actually know the history
behind what I see.”
According to Jerilyn
Muster, the teacher of this
elective course, taking the
class broadens horizons and
helps students gain a deeper
perspective of art not only in
the past, but all around them.
“Studying art history
allows students to look at
our visual past and gives us
a broader view of the world
and greater appreciation
of different cultures and
their history,” Muster said, “
Art history gives you skills
in visual literacy, value of
other cultures, suspending
judgment, and appreciating
aesthetic pleasure by looking
at amazing sculptures,
paintings and architecture.”
Design
05
Photo by Bri
Gonzalez.
DESIGN CLASS OFFERS HOUSE BUILDING TIPS
Jamie Marik-Hall, an
interior design instructor, said
Inter Design prepares students
for real life experiences if they
choose a career in the fields
related to interior design.
“It helps them understand the process of building
and designing livable spaces,”
Marik-Hall said. “Most everyone will have to live somewhere someday. They might as
Projects
made by
interior design
students.
Photo by Bri
Gonzalez.
well make it inhabitable.”
According to junior
Rachel Manalili, the class
provides her with a sense of
security in knowing that she’ll
be ready when the time comes
to get her own home.
“I’ll be more prepared
when I get my own place,”
Manalili said. “I’ve definitely
learned how to decorate a
great room.”
06
5. 3. 16
SPORTS
There’s no plate like home BASEBALL LEADS DISTRICT
EDWARD CATEN
reporter
They played their biggest
rival Cypress Ranch for their
fifth and sixth district game
of the season, losing 4-0, but
coming back the next game to
win 8-7.
Last season, Cypress Ranch
won their second state title,
leaving the Bobcats in the
third round of the playoffs in
district 17-6A, who went on to
lose against Langham Creek,
ending their chance to make
it to state.
But that was last year, with
different players and different
competition. With the Bobcats
ranked first in the district and
third in the state, they plan to
not let that go.
Yet the same rivalry
remains, and the win for
the Bobcats this season to
make the score even means
something big.
Senior infielder and
catcher Beau Orlando agrees
that Ranch is a big competitor
for the baseball team and it
means a lot to him beating
Ranch this year.
“After what happened
last year, they had so much
hype and we felt a little more
revenge. I mean they went
on to win state last year but
we beat them twice,” Orlando
said.
As of April 26 with two
more games to go, the Bobcats
stand at 12 - 2.
“We constantly remind
ourselves on the things
we’ve done to get us here at
this point and not to forget
that because in the game of
baseball it can change really
quickly. You could be at the
top one month and the next
be at the bottom,” Head Coach
Paul Orlando said.
Orlando’s most memorable
game is when they came back
and defeated Cypress Ranch
and Cypress Lakes.
“We swept Cypress Ranch
last year,” Orlando said. “But
they went on to win the state
championship. I would trade
those two wins in the regular
season for that playoff win.
Yes, they were blessed and
fortunate to win state, but
that was last year. We split
with them this year. It was a
great feeling to defeat them
at home, and I know the guys
have bigger goals and we hope
that they are blessed enough
to make it into the playoffs
and have a great run.”
Beau committed to
Navarro Junior College on
Jan. 27 to play baseball. He
has been playing baseball 15
years and he is in his 3rd year
on varsity.
Senior pitcher Kyle Allen
has been playing for 14 years
and is exploring his options to
play college ball.
“We’re definitely one
whole, there’s no ‘me’ in a
our program,” Kyle said.
“Everyone is playing for each
other and it’s pretty much just
like a family. We all care for
each other.”
Sophomore outfielder and
catcher Peyton Lewis hasn’t
thought about what college he
is possibly going to play for,
but he hopes to play after high
school. Lewis has been playing
for 12 years and is in his first
year on varsity.
“I play the best I can in
any way to help my teammates
succeed with any support they
need. We’re a really good team
and I believe we can go far if
we believe,” Lewis said.
The team is facing different
challenges when it comes
to defending the plate and
batting on the field. They are
trying to find the skills that
resolve these certain obstacles.
“The main challenge that
both the offense and defense
face is execution,” Orlando
said. “In order to execute
offensively we talk about
having quality at bats and
hitting in a certain situation in
a game for the team. For the
defense side of it, it obviously
starts with the pitcher on
the mound throwing strikes,
but once that ball is put into
play, the defense reacting and
make a clean play behind the
pitcher.”
Senior and pitcher Clay
Allen is playing his last season
of baseball from 13 years on
playing ball to study Maritime
administration at Texas A&M
University Galveston. The
main challenge for the offense
and defense is commitment.
“Coming out to play every
day, I’d say is the biggest
challenge,” Clay said. “We
have the talent, we just got to
keep working as hard as we
can.”
Three up three down
Senior Blake Critendon prepares to f ield the ball during their Cypress Ranch game on March
29. Photo by Madison Murray.
Few times I’ve been around that track
GET TO KNOW THE BOBCAT RUNNING STARS
Photos by Alex White
ALEX WHITE
public relations
Elizabeth Owolabi: freshman
Kylie McMahon: junior
Q: What do you do?
A: Shot put
Q: Pump Up Songs?
A: “Baby” by Justin Bieber
Q: What do you do?
A: 100m Hurdles, 300m Hurdles, 4x4 relay
Q: Pump Up Songs?
A: “Confident” by Demi Lovato
Kassidy Gore: sophomore
Harrison Wilhelm: junior
Q: What do you do?
A: 100m Hurdles, 300m Hurdles
Q: Pump Up Songs?
A: Fall out boy and twenty one pilots
Q: What do you do?
A: Pole vault, 4x1 Relay
Q: Pump Up Songs?
A: Seven Nation Army
5. 3. 16
SPORTS
Swimmin’
through
college
SENIORS GRANTED SCHOLARSHIP HONORING MAEVE GIARDINA
Going for the goal
Senior Angela Kelley throws the ball to one of her teammates during a match
Photo by Diego Martinez
EMME ENOJADO
co editor-in-chief
It looked like just another
water polo tournament.
Blue sky, sunlight
glistening off the surface of
the water, the booming voices
of coaches, the whistle of the
referee, and cheers from the
parents watching from the
stands.
But one thing was
different, out of the ordinary.
Half of the players were
wearing a rainbow of neon
colored tutus- the other, crazy
patterned knee-high socks.
It was the first annual
Maeve the Brave tournament,
hosted by the Maeve the
Brave Scholarship Fund, a
three day long gathering of
water polo in remembrance
of Maeve Giardina, a 14 year
old swimmer and water polo
player for Cy-Creek High
School who passed away last
year after a tragic golf cart
accident. Giardina loved
wearing tutus and crazy socks,
and the players did the same
in honor of her. Eight players
from the tournament, all
seniors, received a scholarship
with an amount that is yet to
be determined.
Out of the eight, two were
co-captains for our own girls’
water polo team, Angela
Kelley and Jacy Phariss.
“I was pleasantly
surprised to be a winner of
the scholarship and felt very
grateful towards Maeve’s
parents for choosing me as
one of the recipients,” Kelley
said.
Kelley and Phariss are
both varsity swimmers and
have been in the pool since a
young age, but were equally
new to the sport when they
first started. Kelley took
a splash at water polo her
freshman year when she “first
found out it existed”, and
Phariss her sophomore year.
Quickly falling in love with
water polo, both moved up to
play club with Viper Pigeons
Water Polo, competing year
round and playing in the
Junior Olympics in California
in the summers after their
sophomore and junior years.
The two co-captains have
worked intensely with the rest
of the team, placing them 5th
in the region.
“They both would
encourage the team and pick
them up after a loss, and push
us through to win games we
thought we could not win,”
head coach Hannah Dore said.
Between 6 a.m. practices
and three-day long
tournaments an hour drive
away, Kelley and Phariss have
learned the essentialness
of teamwork and created
friendships tighter than their
water polo suits all through
playing a game they love.
“Getting to lead the girls
in and out of the pool is
amazing,” Phariss said. “It’s
probably the best feeling
teaching everyone a sport
that I fell in love with and
watching them get better and
better with every game.”
Sophomore and varsity
goalie Dalton Courtney
is especially thankful for
all of Angela and Jacy’s
encouragement. “They were so
helpful when anyone needed
it in practice,” Courtney said.
“We wouldn’t be the team we
are without them.”
Unfortunately, Phariss will
not be continuing the sport in
college as Texas A&M Corpus
Christi, the school she will
be attending, does not have
a team. Kelley, who will be
entering Texas A&M College
Station, plans to play on their
intramural team.
“Playing water polo
has taught me a lot about
teamwork and has beensomething that I have really
enjoyed participating in over
the past four years,” Kelley
said. “I love the sport and all
of the people I have become
friends with through it. I
could not imagine how my life
would be if I had never started
playing.”
Follow us on
Twitter
@cyfairpress
for Bobcat
sports
updates.
07
Infograph by Claire Mynatt
Prepare for the win
Senior Jacy Phariss holds the ball to watch for her teammates during one of their matches.
Photo by Diego Martinez
08 LIFE
5. 3. 16
Balancing act
JUNIOR COMPETES
IN GYMNASTICS
COMPETITIONS
JULIA RYZA
co editor-in-chief
She approaches the fourinch wide balance beam,
with loud, chaotic cheering
humming in the background
from the four other events
happening in the gym at once.
The judges call her to the
beam, and she waits for the
salute to begin her routine.
Naturally her nerves begin
to take over.
But for the next minute
and a half, muscle memory
propels her forward with
graceful turns and leaps
comprising the act of the
balance beam.
The intense focus and
control required during a
balance beam performance
is what made junior Jensen
Lacagnina’s favorite event
of the four gymnastic
competitions.
“Every event you do your
own routine,” Lacagnina said.
“I did all four- bars, beam,
floor but my favorite was
beam. I just like how you just
focus on really having control
but making it look as graceful
as possible.”
Fourteen years of
Lacagnina’s life consisted
of year round training and
eventually competing at a
competition level.
“I really liked the two
gyms I was at. They want
you to have fun but do your
best. They want that family
environment. That’s the
gymnastics route I took,”
Lacagnina said.
For three and half hours,
five to six times a week
Lacagnina practiced at the
gym.
“However much you put
in, whatever you do is what
you’ll get out of it,” Lacagnina
said.
Despite the intense rigor
and training of gymnastics,
one of the hardest challenges
Lacagnina faced was moving
from her first gym at Houston
North Gymnastics to Mazeika
Gymnastics.
“In 2010 when my first
gym closed down, going to
the new gym was the hardest
thing, ever. They were like
family.” Lacagnina said.
Lacagnina would go on
to compete in more than 50
competitions in her career,
and in her last one in 2015 she
even placed.
“My last competition ever
I won 3rd on beam, which
Living a legacy
Poise, placement, perfection. Junior Jensen Lacagnina performs a backf lip on a balance beam
during a gymnastics competition. Photo courtesy of Jensen Lacagnina.
was really awesome for me
because the past couple of
competitions I hadn’t had
anybody to compete against,”
Lacagnina said. “I got 3rd out
of the state and there was like
25 girls I was against, so that
was really awesome.”
Lacagnina’s coach of seven
years Sarah Wysocki saw
how Lacagnina stood out as a
gymnast.
“She always set goals to
achieve and was constantly
focused. She came into the
gym everyday ready to work,”
Wysocki said. “In over 10
years of coaching, she was
the most respectful gymnast I
have ever worked with.”
But spring of 2015 would
be the last time Lacagnina
would compete.
“For about two years I had
a lot of back pain, but I just
kind of thought like ‘Oh it’s
gymnastics,’” Lacagnina said.
“Almost everybody has back
pain because of how much we
go backwards. And then in
about May or April of 2015 it
was getting severely worse.”
That summer Lacagnina
finally saw a doctor.
“After an MRI and X-Rays
they found out that I had
two cracks at the bottom of
my spine and two ligament
tears also, cause my spine
had kind of slipped forward a
little bit,” Lacagnina said. “It’s
permanent also, so I couldn’t
do really anything to make it
better.”
Lacagnina was confused,
part of her didn’t want to give
up yet, but she started to think
about the possible frustrations
about not being at the level
she wanted to be.
“The doctor said I could
keep competing but I probably
wouldn’t be able to be at the
level, and I would only be able
to do the back tumbling once
a week,” Lacagnina said.
Lacagnina decided that
going in twice a week and
doing basic gymnastics was
better than dropping the sport
completely.
“I just wanted to go in and
do whatever I can,” Lacagnina
said.
For her mother Kim
Lacagnina, her decision
proved to be an equally
difficult matter.
“My heart broke for her,”
Kim said. “I was sad that my
child had an injury, especially
one that was going to keep her
from being able to participate
competitively in a sport she
loved.”
But Jensen still finds
herself coming to the gym
twice a week, doing small
workouts and practices on the
beam and tumbling.
Despite the
disappointment that comes
with leaving competition level
sport, Jensen learned how
important gymnastics had
been in her life, and watching
her fellow gymnasts gives her
hope for her future.
“Stepping out of being
in the competition and the
stress, it actually helped me
love gymnastics even more,
because I love watching the
other girls get their skills,
and I love doing gymnastics
without the stress,” Jensen
said.
“I’ve been able to look back
at gymnastics and really see all
that it’s taught me.”
SENIOR EARNS ACCEPTANCE TO WEST POINT ACADEMY
HANNAH WOODRUM
reporter
We salute you. Senior Cira Wolf is one of two Cy-Fair 2016
graduates who was accepted into West Point Military Academy.
James Richie will also be attending. Photo by Hannah Woodrum
Following in her sister’s
footsteps, senior Cira Wolf
got accepted into West Point
Military Academy in January
2016.
“I mainly applied because
my sister graduated from
there in 2014, and my uncle
went there. So it’s kind of like
a family thing and it just felt
right to apply there,” Wolf
said.
Getting accepted into West
Point was a major relief for
her but is also caused nerves
to erupt.
“It was a really good
feeling. It’s a relief to know
that I’m going but at the same
time I’m scared on how I’m
going to do there” Wolf said.
Getting into West Point
isn’t easy to get into either.
“It’s fairly hard to get into.
You have to have a good
SAT score, then you have to
physical fitness test and you
have to get a nomination from
a congressman,” Wolf said.
She applied to three other
colleges, but West Point was
her first choice.
“I only applied to three
schools West Point, Yale and
Harvard,” Wolf said.
She finished her
application before
Thanksgiving and got her
nomination in December.
“I finished my application
a little bit before Thanksgiving
then got my nomination in
December. In January I found
out from West Point I got
accepted,” Wolf said.
This hasn’t made a huge
impact on her life, but it has
helped her set out her career
for years to come.
“Yes, I guess it has changed
my life like it has helped me
setup my career for the next
nine years which is a pretty
big thing” Wolf said.
Military has been
something she has been
looking into for the future.
“It’s probably going to end
up being a career for me,”
Wolf said.
West Point has its own
meaning to her.
“It’s something that really
builds your character and
leadership because you get to
work as a team together but it
also tests you and pushes you
to break out your shell,” Wolf
said.
Her family is her biggest
inspiration into achieving this
goal.
“Definitely my family. My
older sister helped me with
my application and my family
has been there supporting me
throughout the whole thing,”
Wolf said.
The hardest part for her
was the physical part. The
physical part of getting into
West Point consist of pushups, sit-ups, and a two mile
timed run.
“The physical part was
probably the hardest part for
me but it motivated myself to
work out” Wolf said.
Much of what she did in
high school has helped her get
where she is today.
“I took ROTC for three
years and I did a whole bunch
of leadership positions. I
also joined the tennis team
sophomore year and I’ve
been on varsity for the past
two years. And also different
clubs the Environmental Club,
NHS, Student Council and
stuff like that to get service
hours,” Wolf said.
5. 3. 16
LIFE
!
E
Z
E
FRE
THIS IS THE PUN POLICE
Jumping in the halls Juniors Shea Hunter and Bailey Allison getting up to shenanigans. Photo by Hannah Willingham
STUDENTS SHARE PUNS VIA REMIND 101
HANNAH WILLINGHAM
business manager
You may have received a
text from a friend or seen the
handwritten shout out to “text @pun
police to 81010 for daily puns” on
Mrs. Hayton’s white board. Hopefully
this inspired you to join the 490
other people in signing up for the
daily Remind 101, brought to you by
the Pun Police: junior Shea Hunter
and sophomore Bailey Allison.
They met during soccer season
last year because Allison was a
trainer and Hunter was a player.
Allison continually cracked jokes
that Hunter overheard and enjoyed.
The girls discovered early on that
they can easily toss a conversation
back and forth with each other, and
that they connected through jokes.
“We have the same sense of
humor,” Allison said. “We both just
find little stupid things funny. For
example, one time someone got hurt
and I go ‘Ay, at least your eyebrows
look good. Also, I would order pizza
to the field and Shea was like, ‘Omg,
you’re so weird, I love you.’”
They initially sent puns to each
other weekly, or even daily. That
is, until they decided to share their
laughter with a wider audience.
“I was just bored one night and
thought it would be a fun way to
daily make others laugh,” Hunter
said. “I remembered that I heard of
others sending Bible verses or picture
of puppies through Remind 101, so I
decided to check it out.”
Because Hunter knew that Allison
liked puns, two weeks after she
started the Remind (on Nov. 30), she
asked Allison to help her out.
“She’s the funniest person I
know,” Hunter said. “She always finds
some way to make someone laugh
in any situation and I like that. One
time before a football game, I stayed
after school with Bailey and we
just sat in the hallway telling funny
stories and puns as they came to our
heads. We texted a lot and each reply
was a pun in itself.”
Hunter created the name, “Pun
Police” when she corrected someone’s
pun on Instagram, and they said,
‘What are you? The Pun Police?’
The girls take turns scheduling
about six puns a week. Who is in
charge of those puns is randomized.
Hunter chose to use Remind 101
because it is user friendly and it
reaches a wide audience.
“I never dreamed it would get this
big,” Hunter said. “At first it started
out as a joke, but before I knew it,
100 people were signed up and that’s
when I knew I couldn’t just forget
about it.”
To get started on a pun, Bailey
starts rhyming words and then fills
in the blanks. She either makes up
a joke or uses Google for ideas. The
jokes posted are about half original.
Animal and food jokes are the easiest
for Bailey to make up.
“I really like puns because they
are simple, but still really funny.”
Allison said. “Sometimes you have
to think about it before you find it
funny.”
Hunter gets notified when
someone joins the group, and when
they check or star a message. People
can chat or even send in their own
puns through the comment section
in Remind 101.
Hunter got the word out through
Twitter, mass texting at lunch and by
word of mouth.
“Puns are the best type of jokes
and I just wanted to share them with
the world in an easily accessible way,”
Hunter said.
They do not plan the encouraging
messages in parenthesis at the end of
each pun, but it’s included as a force
of habit.
“I just like making people laugh
and puns are a good way to do that
because there’s always one that they
haven’t heard before and that one
could end up making their day”
Hunter said.
*Class Code: @punpolice
Infographic by Hannah Helgren.
09
10
5. 3. 16
CENTER
FRONT PAGE:
Clockwise from top:
Photo by Jon Shapley/©Houston
Chronicle. Used with permission
Photo by Carol Luecke
Photo courtesy of Paul Orlando
Photo by Robert Jordan (2)
Photo by Butch Stephens
BOBCAT
FIGHT
14 ROOMS FLOODED. $4 MILLION IN DAMAGE
EMME ENOJADO
co editor-in-chief
O
Cy-Fair front parking lot f looded the week of April 18. Photo by Candace
Claiborn
Locals work to rescue up to 70 horses along Cypresswood Drive near
Humble along Cypress Creek April 18. Photo by Mark Mulligan
After sophomore James Luecke’s home f looded, he called friends Haley
Cope, Jason Michels, Cameron Arnold, David Joe and Erin Reilly to help
move furniture and wet carpet. Photo by Carol Luecke
n the eve of Sunday, April
17, everything seemed
calm. The skies were cloudy and
grey, students were finishing up
homework that was probably due on
that Friday before, and no one even
imagined for a second what was to
come.
That night, it started to rain. Then
more rain. Then harder rain. The rain
was relentless. Hail stormed down
from the sky and weather alerts
blared from phones. When school
was announced as canceled Monday
morning, students rejoiced. But
Houston was hit especially hard this
time around and questions of when
school would be back in session were
raised when families opened their
front doors and found their street to
be nonexistent, replaced with murky
brown water.
The flood of April 18, 2016
emerged as the worst flooding across
Harris County since Tropical Storm
Allison in 2001 and left the city with
more than 17 inches of rain, 8000
homes damaged, 200,000 students
out of school and eight dead. Fifty
three schools in CFISD experienced
damage, Cy-Fair High School one of
the most damaged with the library
and 11 rooms flooded after water
started flowing in from the senior
deck. Two other rooms experienced
ceiling damage. And although an
entire week out of school, jokingly
called “spring break 2.0”, may have
been a nice break, some students
met the face of death and others
lost everything to the rushing flood
waters.
IN THE FACE OF DEATH
Sophomores Tristan Seyedain
and Lucas Overbey were trying to get
home April 18 when they were swept
away by flood waters in Longwood.
Seyedain said they were walking
home after hanging out with friends
and they needed to cross Longwood
Trace to reach their destination.
“Lucas started slipping and my
first instinct was to save my friend,”
Seyedain said. “I was simultaneously
holding onto my bike while holding
onto him which backfired on me. We
both drifted out into the tree line.”
Freshmen Kami Thurston and
Hannah Johnson attempted to save
Seyedain and Overbey, but the boys
refused. The girls would be in danger
of the current taking them if they got
in too deep.
They were treading water for 10
minutes, unable to touch the ground
beneath them as they held onto trees.
Fear was running through both of
the boys’ minds as they wondered
how much longer they could hang
on to the trees and what type of
creatures could be swimming around
in the murky water.
Local Samaritans came together
to save the teens by throwing a rope
out and pulling them to safety one at
a time.
“They pulled me out first because
I was closer to land,” Overbey said.
“Tristan was farther away and was
eventually pulled out a little later. I
lost my bike and ended up staying at
a friend’s house until I was able to get
home. It was very, very scary.”
When they both reached land
they shook everyone’s hand who
helped them survive as people
checked to see if they were
unharmed. Neighbors had called 911
and life flight while they had been
stuck in the current.
“It was terrifying but it was
actually really exciting,” Seyedain
said. “I had an adrenaline rush
afterwards. I survived. I escaped
death. Not many people can say
that. It was probably one of the more
terrifying experiences of my life.”
FROM HOME TO HOTEL
“The house is ruined! Get up! The
house is ruined!”
These words from sophomore
Nick Vazquez’s stepfather rang
through his ears as his home started
filling with rushing flood waters.
The time was 6 a.m. on April 18
when Vazquez’s parents woke up in
terror and ran to tell him the water
outside was rising. Outside their
house, the water was 4 feet deep and
climbing higher.
Vazquez said the house was one
story and his family attempted to
move most of their belongings as
high as they could and hoped for the
flood waters to recede. They didn’t.
“It kept creeping up until
around 6 p.m. When our house was
completely flooded we had to leave,”
Vazquez said. “We packed backpacks
and waded through waist high water
until we reached dry land.”
In his backpack, Vazquez stuffed
as much clothes as he could fit,
toiletries and his contact solution.
There was only room for a few
SUZY VAZ
opinion e
5. 3. 16
CENTER
11
NEVER
DROWNS
ES. COMMUNITY REMAINS STRONG.
ZQUEZ
editor
MADI CHRISTIAN
opinion editor
necessities. The family was forced to
leave behind furniture, electronics
and personal belonging with the rest
of the house.
The family borrowed a friend’s
car and they drove to a La Quinta
hotel to stay for the night. April
20, Vazquez moved in with close
friend Marion Bessinger in order to
continue attending school while his
parents are still residing in the hotel.
Vazquez and his family just
moved into the now ruined house
a year ago after they traveled from
Washington to Texas. His parents are
looking for a house to lease and buy
in the meantime.
“Everything in our house has
been ruined,” Vazquez said. “There’s
nothing left to salvage. We have to
completely start over.”
WHERE WE STAND
April 18 at 4 p.m. water started
rising fast. Thirty minutes later,
water streamed into and began to fill
sophomore Autumn Wade’s house.
“We started freaking out, not
knowing what to do,” Wade said. “We
put my brother on an air mattress
and floated him to the neighbor’s
house. We stayed there until
Wednesday.”
Wade was overcome with stress
when her one-story house was
I survived,
I escaped
death.
becoming consumed with more
water. Her family attempted to move
their belongings to higher ground in
order to salvage as much as possible.
On Wednesday the Wade family
and other neighbors were rescued by
the Coast Guard. The neighborhood,
Lakes Cypress Estates was covered
underneath with around 10 feet of
water.
“It was kind of cool to be rescued,
we were on a boat and when we got
towards land we moved into this
army vehicle,” Wade said.
The family had only moved into
their house this past February. Two
months later and they are forced to
reconstruct by putting in new floors
and new walls.They will be staying
in a relative’s spare house while their
home is being repaired.
“We have to buy all new furniture,
new clothes and new technology,”
Wade said. “Our family has helped
by giving us clothes and food.”
Wade said the condition of her
house now is deeply upsetting. Floors
are torn apart, walls are coming
down and there’s mold all around. A
place where Wade said she feels safe
and happy has been damaged. The
wonder of how her house could be
completely fine Monday morning,
but then flooded by the afternoon
won’t leave her mind.
“It’s upsetting to see the damage,”
Wade said. “We have to start over
again.”
Wade’s home was only one house
damaged out of more than 2,000. The
support of her friends and family are
blessings in this difficult time.
***
Sophomore Kami Bonnette woke
up at 3:30 a.m. that Monday to her
mom in a panic, frantically shaking
her to get out of bed. When she did,
her feet didn’t touch the dry flooring
she was used to. Instead, they were
submerged in 2 inches of flood water,
which spread throughout her whole
house.
“The first thing we did was throw
towels and blankets down frantically
trying to stop the water from
continuing to come in,” Bonnette
said.
But this only made their issues
worse by wasting our blankets and
towels, causing them to be rushing
to wash the blankets and towels.
Although they did not have to
evacuate, the Bonnettes were forced
to rip out all the carpet and wood
flooring and will have to cut out
approximately a foot of drywall from
the ground up.
“What’s the most challenging
about this is coming home from
school and my parents from work
and having to work on the house
until bedtime,” Bonnette said.
“Then, I still have to stay up to do
homework, eat and shower, leaving
me exhausted all day.”
Despite the tragedy that struck
them, they recognize that others
have it worse and are thankful for the
family, friends and neighbors who
have reached out and helped them
through this situation.
“We could never make it through
without them,” Bonnette said.
TWEETS
Of the issue
WAYS TO
HELP:
SNHS is collecting clothes,
shoes,toys, HEB gift cards and
hygiene products. Goods can
be dropped off in Sr. Luna’s
room (4007).
NHS will be collecting
cleaning supplies, garbage
bags, detergent, hygiene
products, clothes, shoes and
toys for those who have been
hurt by the recent f looding
in our area. Goods can be
dropped off in Mrs.Colwell’s
or Mrs. Garner’s room.
Houston Northwest Baptist
Church: join the disaster relief
team
hnw.org
Samaritans Purse: volunteer
teams to help homeowners
samaritanspurse.org
Q:
How do you feel about some
of the new classroom f loors
(concrete)?
“I feel like they add
rustic vibes to our
school that we lacked
before. It’s more...urban.
No longer can we be
called Cy-Farm”
-Alyssa Andrichik, 11
12
5. 3. 16
LIFE
Not worth it
STUDENT HAS LIFE CHANGING DRUG EXPERIENCE
SUZY VAZQUEZ
opinion editor
At 8:55 a.m. Dec. 16,
2012 Tonya Bauer was asking
people to recommend places
where she could get her
daughter cremated.
At 1:15 p.m. that same day
the hospital staff extubated
her daughter and stopped all
medication and nourishment.
The only thing left flowing
into her daughter’s veins was
morphine to help ease what
she thought would be her final
moments.
The next day, Tonya saw
a glimmer of hope. Emily
responded to doctors and told
her mother that she loved her.
Emily was going to live.
Emily Bauer, a sophomore
at the time, was hospitalized
just nine days earlier on Dec.
7, 2012 after having a reaction
to synthetic marijuana. The
drug caused extreme vasculitis
in her brain, which stopped
the flow of her blood and
oxygen. After several strokes,
portions of her brain tissue
either died or were severely
damaged.
Emily started smoking
synthetic marijuana a
few weeks prior to her
hospitalization. She was
applying to work at Walgreens
and knew they were going to
drug test her. Since synthetic
drugs don’t appear on a drug
test, she knew she would pass.
“I had been smoking
synthetic marijuana with my
boyfriend at the time at my
house and I started to like
have a psychotic breakdown
and everything. I was running
into walls. I peed in a laundry
basket. It was just bad,” Emily
said.
Emily’s mother said
Emily’s boyfriend called to
tell her about her daughter.
Although they were smoking
from the same bag, his body
did not react to the drugs and
his phone call saved Emily’s
life.
The following nine days
included a combination
of sedation, an induced
coma, multiple MRIs and an
emergency brain procedure.
The chances of her survival
were slim.
On Dec. 14, 2012, Emily’s
family met with a neurology
team to discuss the damage
caused to Emily’s brain.
“We were told she would
never know us or herself,”
Tonya said. “We were told
that she would never gain
any use of her legs or arms
again. We were told that she
would never be able to eat or
use the bathroom on her own
again. We were told she would
never again be aware of her
surroundings. We were asked
to think of what Emily would
want. What quality of life
would Emily want?”
The Bauer family decided
to stop life support, but
within a week the doctors
were proven wrong when
Emily began to show signs of
survival.
“I was amazed and I
couldn’t believe that the
doctors were so wrong.
Afterwards they told me ‘The
brain is an amazing thing,
you never know what is going
to happen,” Tonya said. “It
became my mission to help
her recover as far as she can
and we still work on that every
day 40 months later.”
Since her hospitalization,
Emily has returned to Cy-Fair.
She attends school for half
a day but has assistants who
take her notes for her, read
to her and help her with her
courses. Emily said everything
has changed because she can’t
read, write or walk anymore.
Despite her disabilities, she
focuses on the positive and set
goals for the future.
“I’m in physical therapy
right now. It’s very strenuous,”
Emily said. “My goal right
now is to be able to walk
across the stage at graduation
and to dance at my prom this
After the fact. Emily Bauer is now in a wheel chair after the incidence that changed her life. Photo
coutesy of Tonya Bauer
year. I’m really afraid of falling
at graduation though. It’s
probably my biggest fear.”
Emily’s mother and
father started a charity
called S.A.F.E., Synthetic
Awareness for Emily. They
focus on educating others
of the dangers of synthetic
marijuana. They speak
publicly at high schools and
middle schools in Texas. They
have also spoken in front of
the Texas Senate Committee.
What Emily’s mother
wants other people to know
is that there is no high that is
worth living like this. Emily
would do anything to go back
in time to change her choice.
“The most important
thing that I’ve learned is that
we shouldn’t take things for
granted and that nobody is
invincible,” Emily said. “This
could have happened to
anyone.”
5. 3. 16
Peace, love & Tex Mex
CODY BROWN
life editor
Soto’s Cantina
10609 Grant Road
Houston TX 77070
Cost per person: $12-15
Soto’s Cantina has
the appearance of, well, a
Mexican Cantina. The walls,
covered in photographs of
famous Mexican musicians
and figureheads, open up to
comfortable leather chairs
and large wooden tables
illuminated by the numerous
windows throughout the
establishment and the
overhead lights.
In addition to a dogfriendly patio, where coworkers chat over a meal,
Soto’s also features a larger
dining room and a banquet
room in the back where a
formal living room would
exist if the building still
functioned as a house. The
kitchens, formerly bedrooms,
have that delicious, savory
aroma of Mexican food
constantly wafting from
their double doors, making
customers hungry from
outside the restaurant.
I usually order chicken
fajitas because, why not?
Fajitas are a safe bet at almost
any Mexican restaurant so this
time I took a step outside of
my comfort zone and sampled
Soto’s take on another
Tex-Mex classic: chicken
quesadillas and queso.
My meal cost $15 ($10 for
the quesadillas and $4 for the
queso, not including tax), and
the waitress offered me water
CULTURE
SENIOR REVIEWS LOCAL
MEXICAN FOOD RESTAURANTS
hungry people.
Eating nearly all of it by
myself put me in a food coma,
but Soto’s queso, complete with
the amazing quesadillas, made
the entire ordeal of lying in bed
with an overly-full stomach
worth it.
Rating: 5 out of 5
sombreros
When I visited Gringo’s
after school, the host kindly
directed me over to the bar
to place a to-go order. As I
placed my order for chicken
enchiladas with Gringo’s
Amazon sauce, the bartender
duly took my order and took
the time to ask and make sure
my order was correct. He
made sure I had ordered the
correct type of beans and the
correct type of tortillas for the
enchiladas, and he even asked
me if I needed silverware
for the meal. Another waiter
brought me chips and salsa
while I waited for the order,
which took around eight
minutes to fill and come out
to me.
Fast, friendly service is
something Gringo’s prides
itself on, and I can say that
their efforts did not go
unnoticed.
The enchiladas were the
first food item I sampled, and
I was immediately impressed
with the savory, creamy,
cheesy chicken and tortillas
I stuffed in my mouth. The
Amazon sauce reminded
me of Chuy’s Chika Chika
Boom Boom Enchiladas,
almost to the point where I’m
convinced Gringo’s stole the
idea verbatim. I scarfed them
down almost as fast as I had
stuck the first bite into my
mouth, and I ate all three. If
it isn’t already immediately
obvious, I’m a huge fan of this
Tex-Mex classic that Gringo’s
has taken a modern spin on
for the better (and tastier).
The beans worked as a
flavorful spoonful of relief
between the filling bites of
enchilada. The chunk of
Mexican sausage, onion,
celery, cilantro and other
spices were very flavorful and
addicting, but the soup poorly
lacked salt. After I added
the packet of salt included
in my silverware, the beans
developed a wholesome, bold
flavor that I would expect out
of any Mexican restaurant
worth its name as one of the
best.
In addition, the rice was
refreshing, with a bit of spice
and crunch from celery to
round out the flavor, but
again, it lacked salt. Ironically,
the chips had far too much
salt to constitute much of a
corn flavor, but still had that
delicious crunch I love.
The salsa and creamyjalapeño sauce acted like a
yin-and-yang on the palate.
Where the salsa was spicy and
tangy, the creamy-jalapeño
sauce sought to tone that kick
back with a refreshing, thick
helping on the chip that I
found rather addicting. Plus,
it was also fun to alternate
the flavors in an almost
guerrilla-style onslaught of
chips entering my mouth,
and I found myself finishing
the entire bag of chips and
salsa in a record amount of
time, considering I’m not the
biggest fan of either types of
dip.
Rating: 4 out of 5
sombreros
tasted store-bought: doughy,
thick- and ultimately, I tasted
the tortilla more than I did
anything inside of it.
The additional toppings for
the fajitas- grilled onions, pico
de gallo and guacamole- did
almost nothing to enhance
the flavor because the tortilla
served as a barrier for any
substantial tastes to develop.
I’m a huge fan of grilled
onions on my fajitas because
they add acidity on top of
the spice of the meat, but
again the tortillas masked
their presence. I would have
enjoyed the pico de gallo
more, had it actually consisted
of entirely pico de gallo; it
had way too much lettuce in
it, almost to the point where
I could say I was scooping
salad into my fajitas, and the
guacamole tasted plain, with
no lime or any spice to liven
it up. Disappointing, since
many of my mother’s friends
recommend the fajitas.
The queso was by far the
most appetizing food I ate
from El Jimador, but calling
it “appetizing” is a stretch.
It had a nice, smoky quality
to its flavor, but that was the
only discernable flavor amidst
the melted cheese. Every
additional pepper, onion and
jalapeño sank to the bottom
of the styrofoam container,
meaning that my last bites
of the queso were especially
chunky and spicy when the
entire vat should have been
flavorful and substantial down
to the last bite,
the way I like
it. The cheese
didn’t taste
like traditional
Mexican queso;
it tasted more
like an attempt
was made to
masquerade
its status as
illegitimate
Mexican
“blended
cheeses.” If I can’t
enjoy my queso, I can’t enjoy
my food. It’s as simple as that.
Rating: 2 out of five
sombreros.
and chips while I waited. I
took it home and began
shoveling the food down
while it was still hot.
The quesadillas are
amazing, period. Before I
even put them in my mouth,
I noticed how heavy each
was as I laid them out on my
plate, and I could see grilled
chicken, chilis and melted
queso fresco practically
falling out of the tortillas.
They smelled divine, almost
as if they were as fresh as they
had been since they left the
kitchen.
Once I took my first
bite, the quesadilla triangle
practically exploded with
flavors of savory cheese,
spicy chilis, and moist, wellseasoned grilled chicken.
Sufficed to say, each bite of
food was as flavorful as the
helping before it, and each
quesadilla was filling and
satisfying. I could only eat
three out of four before I
was full. Even though Soto’s
has its quesadillas listed as
an appetizer, the dish almost
completely satisfies as its own
complete entree- and at a
much better price than many
of the other, equally delicious
options.
Soto’s queso may be one
of the best bowls of queso in
the entire Tex-Mex hub in
Houston. It has a very fresh
taste thanks to the pico de
gallo, fresh cilantro and spicy
jalapeños that constitute
its gooey, cheesy, delicious
texture.
In addition, a small order
of queso can feed three
Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen
27030 Northwest Freeway
Cypress, Texas 77433
Cost Per Person: $10-13
Photos by Cody Brown
El Jimador Mexican Restaurant
12640 Telge Rd. Suite E.
Cypress, TX 77429
Cost per Person: $15-18
Many of my mother’s
friends obsess over this small
restaurant. It’s supposedly a
great place to stop and grab a
bite with a co-worker during
the lunch rush. I decided
to stop in one day after UIL
rehearsal and test those
sentiments for myself.
When I placed my order,
the manager had to step in
to assist the cashier with the
transaction, even though I
told her that I speak Spanish,
in Spanish. My order, which
consisted of chicken fajitas
and queso, came out, duly
packaged, within eight
minutes, and I took it home
to enjoy before I began my
homework.
Sadly, the service was the
only redeeming quality about
El Jimador.
The meal came out to
$17.09, which is far too
much for one person’s food.
Worse yet, the quality of the
food only detracted from my
praises for the establishment.
My fajitas, though they
were warm, were very lightly
seasoned and tasted very
bland. The tortillas I received
to accompany the meat
13
14
5. 3. 16
CULTURE
Welcome to...
AUDREY GRAY
culture editor
Stop
1
Museum District:
With 19 museums ranging
from art to science to animals,
you’re bound to find the
perfect museum for the
adventure you’re craving.
Houston’s Museum District
displays some of the most
famous artist in its popular
attraction, The Museum of
Fine Arts. “I enjoyed building
number two the most because
the art was more interactive,”
junior Katie Clark said. Just
around the corner sits the
Museum of Natural Science.
If dinosaurs, the history of
Stop
2
Space Center Houston:
What makes Houston one
of the most unique cities
in the country? We hold
the corporation that trains
astronauts, sends large
spaceships into the solar
system and put the first man
on the moon. Spend a day at
NASA’s family friendly space
exhibit and take the chance
to feel what it’s like to be an
astronaut living in space. “The
evolution and rare diamonds
and gems are your thing, this
is the museum for you. These
are only two of the many
amazing exhibits Houston has
to offer.
For addresses to every museum
visit houmuse.com
713-715-1939
Photo by Katie Clark
Stop
4
Bayou City Art Festival:
Welcome spring in with one of
Houston’s largest outdoor art
festivals at Bayou City. April 29
to May 1 more than 300 national
artists will be working in 19
different artistic mediums. The
festival goes from 10 a.m. to 6
p.m. each day and tickets are $12
for adults and $5 for child.
7026 Old Katy Rd #221,
Houston, TX
77024
713-521-0133
Space Center was really cool,”
senior Madison Dubiski said.
“My favorite part was where I
got to check all my weights on Artwork by Lizzie Faria
the different planets.”
1601 NASA Pkwy
281-244-2100
Stop
3
Free Press Summer Fest:
Start your summer off with
popular bands, giant dance
parties and delicious food
trucks with Houston’s biggest
music festival: Free Press
Summer Fest. This year on
June 4-5 at Buffalo Bayou’s
Eleanor Tinsley Park the
festival will be featuring
bands like Edward Sharpe
and the Magnetic Zeros, The
Chainsmokers and ASAP
Ferg. “It was a lot of fun
because I had never been to a
music festival before,” senior
Jordan Choate said. “I didn’t
know what to expect, but I
had a great time with
my friends.”
Eleanor Tinsley Park
(888) 512-SHOW
Photo by Audrey Gray
Stop
5
Photo courtesy of Madison Dubiski
Carnival Houston:
Carnival Houston is a unique
celebration of the Caribbean
tradition of bright colors,
fun music and food from
different countries. This year
the festival will be June 9-12,
Photo courtesy of Carnival Houston
and throughout the days there
will be costume balls, neon
paint parties and extravagant
parades. Everyone is welcome
to participate in the event,
even to the extent of buying a
festive Caribbean costume and
joining in the parade. Tickets
are $7 for adults and $3 for
children.
1419 Polk St
832-614-9337
Stop
6
Houston Barbecue Festival:
Enjoy a day of Houston’s
barbecue with friends and
family on May 22 at NRG
Park from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The somewhat new festival
features the best barbecue
in Houston according to
Photo courtesy of Houston Barbecue
Everfest. “Houston barbecue
continues to evolve with
traditions of Texas barbecue
combining with the
international cuisines that our
city is known for. This year’s
festival will showcase the
unique barbecue styles from
24 of the best barbecue joints
in the city,” Founder J.C. Reid
said. Restaurants include BBQ
Godfather, Blake’s BBQ and
The Brisket House. General
admission is $60, but buy your
tickets now for the early bird
sale of $50.
NRG Park- Gate 13- Green lot
832 454 6106
15
5. 3. 16
CULTURE
New York state of mind
JOURNALISM STUDENTS TAKE IN CITY LIFE
SWITCH BRILLO
news editor
I wouldn’t have minded
walking a mile to Grand
Central Station in the middle
of the night if my umbrella
hadn’t been turning inside
out or if my hat was about to
fly off into the street or if my
hands weren’t numb from the
cold. And it was only the first
day.
I also wouldn’t have
minded walking to Columbus
Circle, ready to get in the
subway, only to realize I had
forgotten my wallet and my
Metro Card. Running all the
way back to the hotel, up
seven flights of stairs (the
elevator was broken, how
convenient), and back to the
subway is not very fun when
you have Lauryn Walker
holding it against you for the
rest of the trip.
During spring break, the
small flashing LaGuardia
sign that read “Welcome to
New York” introduced the
journalism staff into the
streets of New York City. Little
did we know, as we drove
through the Queens-Borough
bridge that lead us into
Manhattan, the experience
that awaited us for the next
five days.
Our mornings consisted
of roaming the campus of
Columbia University, taught
by advisers from local schools
to editors from The New
York Times and Rolling Stone.
Whether it was discovering
the secrets of a school-wide
sex scandal in the lecture halls
of Columbia Law or learning
InDesign hacks inside
Hamilton hall, I couldn’t help
but feel like I was already a
college student. It was also
taking a dive at Mel’s burger,
ordering food like you
owned the place or sitting in
the middle of Morningside
Heights, eating food truck hot
dogs with a couple of friends,
that made you feel like the day
could last forever.
Other days consisted of
reminiscing through the 9/11
Memorial, being atop of the
Statue of Liberty, walking
the halls of Ellis Island, and
eating at Umami burger inside
a booth overlooking the
Hudson. It went from learning
insider details at the top floor
of HBO Headquarters (Jon
Snow MIGHT come back?)
to feeling retro at Tom’s
Restaurant, only to realize
their toaster caught on fire.
But something about
those New York City nights
made you feel larger than
life. It was almost like those
typical movies or shows you
see growing up where people
escape into the city and go on
an adventure.
It went from a blue man
jumping to our balcony
seats to seeing a Jack Black
look alike convincing 5th
graders to start a rock band.
It went from clapping along
to the Grease soundtrack in
Ellen’s Stardust Diner to our
Australian waiter serenading
us with “A Whole New
World.” It went from singing
Vincent Nguyen “Happy
Birthday” at almost every
restaurant we ate at to raiding
lasted only five minutes.
The side stories for Lex
Luthor and Lois Lane were
never resolved or came to
a concise ending. Lois’s
adventure had an end, but Lex
wasn’t able to have that luxury.
Lex Luthor, played by
Jesse Eisenberg, gave a
performance that was not
only awkward, but rather it
was more Eisenberg being
himself instead of performing
his role as Lex Luthor: an
incredibly clever, calculating
businessman who gets what
he wants when he wants it.
Amy Adams as Lois Lane
didn’t do a great job. The
writers tried to give Lois a
significant role in the movie,
but it ended up being a waste
of effort. Henry Cavill as
Superman was decent, but he
wasn’t given the chance to be
a good or bad Superman due
to getting the short end of the
stick. The fact that the movie
was so Batman oriented was
the reason why Superman/
Clark Kent’s character fell so
short. I would have loved to
see more Superman and get to
know him better.
On the other hand, Ben
Affleck was a wonderful
choice as Batman/Bruce
Wayne. He was everything
we wanted in Bruce Wayne:
the businessman who cares
about his employees and the
lives of others. He‘s scared
of Superman, and he doesn’t
want the world to be in danger
because of him. He kicks butt
as Batman in the fight scenes
and says great lines. Affleck
knows exactly who Bruce
Wayne is and nailed the role.
Gal Gadot was a fantastic
Wonder Woman who made
good use of what screen time
she had. Her fight scenes were
amazing and exactly what we
expected from the Amazonian
warrior princess.
The entire movie is very
dark considering that the
world hates Clark Kent for
destroying Metropolis in
the Man Of Steel movies.
The scenes where Superman
was put on trial for his
actions were out of place and
didn’t need to be there. All
Superman wants is to do the
right thing when no one else
will. Instead, the Superman we
saw was a depressed shell of
the hero we all idolize.
Doomsday looks like a
cave troll from the Lord Of
the Rings. He didn’t need to
be there at all. There was no
point in killing Superman
since he was alive at the end of
the movie. I get what move the
writers were trying to make,
a 3-story book store called
The Strand.
It went from eating
the best Chinese food I’ve
probably ever had at Joe’s
Shanghai in Chinatown to
walking through Little Italy
and buying gelato ice cream
in 50-degree weather. It went
from eating authentic New
York pizza in Times Square at
John’s Pizzeria and laughing
about our classes with Mrs.
Provo to Mrs. Harris banging
at our door at 4 a.m. because
we all slept in on the morning
of our flight out of New York.
It went from waiting in
the freezing cold outside
the Richard Rogers Theatre
to see the cast of Hamilton
to making eye contact with
Jonathan Groff. It went from
Hunter Woods guiding us
through the city to being
blinded by the flashing lights
in Times Square. It went from
staying up watching ‘Friends’
in our massive suite room in
The Salisbury to crashing on
our beds after a long day.
Despite one piece of
Journalism students spend spring break in NYC for the CSPA Spring
Convention and awards. Photo by Lillian Harris
missing luggage, Madi
Christian getting off the
wrong subway stop, the 200
miles we probably walked
over a course of five days or
discovering that it would snow
the day AFTER we left, I could
easily say that this had been
one of the best weeks of my
life. Exposing myself in this
new environment opened my
eyes into a world that I want
to be a part of.
Not only did our
newspaper bring back a Silver
Crown, but we brought back a
piece of the city with us. After
our long journey into this
foreign place, I soon learned
the magic of New York wasn’t
in the bright lights or the tall
buildings-- the magic of New
York was its ability to bring
16 kids from the middle of
nowhere together to create
unforgettable memories.
But I will admit, once we
landed in the Dallas Love
Field Airport, the first thing
I did was head straight to
Whataburger.
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=6QjnvtAIrkU
Batman V. Superman THE DAWN OF DISAPPOINTMENT
LIZZIE FARIA
online editor
Warning! If you haven’t
seen this movie, go see it right
now because I’m about to spoil
everything and rip this movie
apart.
Batman vs. Superman is
a better Batman movie than
a Superman movie. It’s a two
and a half hour hot mess that
comes off more as a confusing
mash-up of unnecessary side
stories and events, rather than
an epic fight between two
iconic superheroes we were all
hoping to see.
This movie flopped for a
number of reasons. The plot
itself wasn’t clear enough as to
why Superman wanted to fight
Batman. Yes, he didn’t agree
with Bruce Wayne’s ideas of
justice, but it’s not enough to
make a solid argument for
him to be fighting Batman.
Since the movie was so
Batman-centric, there wasn’t
enough time for Superman
to get his views and his side
of the argument across.
Plus, there were so many
side stories that it became
overly complex and they were
poorly slapped together and
ultimately didn’t need to be
there. The whole reason we
were there to see this movie
was for the fight, which could
have been better if it hadn’t
Photo courtesy of DC Comics
which was very gutsy and
would’ve been interesting to
see if they hadn’t brought him
back. There was absolutely
no time to fall in love with
Superman’s character which
resulted in him not being
done justice. I wish, as a
Batman fan, I had walked out
of the theater understanding
Superman and appreciating
his character.
The Justice League
cameos were fine, except
for the Aquaman cameo.
It’s a recording of Aquaman
coming in contact with an
underwater camera and
poking it awkwardly with his
trident. The Flash looked great
along with Cyborg, who made
me feel a little uncomfortable
because half his body was laid
out on a lab table. The Flash
actually showed up twice with
one cameo being in a fever
dream and the other alongside
Cyborg and Aquaman.
This movie made me more
excited for the solo movies
than it did anything else. It
tried to be too many things
at once which contributes to
its downfall. It tried to cram
too many stories together. DC
said they didn’t want to be like
Marvel, but that was a huge
lie. They tried to be something
they’re not, and it showed in
the production of the movie.
There was no set up, the
pacing was too fast and the
characterization wasn’t there.
Overall, this movie flopped
due to so many plot holes and
poor execution. But maybe
DC will redeem themselves
with the upcoming Justice
League solo movies and
Suicide Squad. But until then,
I’ll have to listen to Marvel
fans rub salt in the very
obvious and painful wound.
16
OPINION
CYPRESS: to stay or not to stay
MADI CHRISTIAN
opinion editor
Construction, traffic, and
cows in the middle of the
road is just an average day
in Cypress, Texas. Hotels are
on every corner across from
gas stations. Flooding occurs
every April and May. Every
house looks the same. There
has to be more than just this
little suburb town.
I am not about to bash
on Cypress. I grew up in this
town. It will always be my
home, but there is a huge
world outside of Cypress.
In 10 years I don’t want
to walk into a restaurant and
have a waiter who used to be
the kid who sat next to me in
math class. I don’t really want
to have that awkward run-in
with a high school ex and
have to be stuck hearing all
about their happy family and
successful job, while I am still
trying to figure out my life.
Once I get older I don’t
want to look out my window
and see Highway 290. I would
rather see the skyline of New
York City or the beaches of
California or even Big Ben in
England. I’m tired of seeing
5. 3. 16
THERE’S MORE TO THIS WORLD
CYPRESS: THE PLACE I BELONG
have missed the opportunity
the same scenery every
to walk around Columbia
day. I want to see different
University or missed learning
architecture, different kinds
how to ski.
of plants and trees, different
In each place I go to I learn
roads and different people.
something that I could never
Seeing the same things each
learn from staying in Cypress.
day of my life makes me feel
like I’m not living my life to its I need the curiosity of new
places to keep me going. The
full potential.
wonder of what else is out
Being a writer requires
there in the world. I want to
me to have adventures to
worry about the next city I am
write about. Being stuck in
going to, not what to name the
this town blocks ideas from
new high school being built.
flowing to my mind. I ran out
I will always come back to
of ideas. It’s time to move on
Cypress to visit the memories,
to a different place and write
but I don’t plan on ever
about my experience there.
staying. The world is calling
Pictures of faraway places fill
my name.
my bulletin board next to my
mirror in my room. New York
City, Italy, Los Angeles, Paris,
and England. They are there
to remind me of my goal to
get out of Cypress. One day I
hope to learn from traveling
and be able to write about my
adventures.
Through my years at
Cy-Fair High School, I’ve
been given the opportunity to
travel for a couple of school
trips.This past year I went
to New York and Colorado.
The feeling I receive from
just being dropped off at
the airport is the feeling of
adventure and something
new. I come home from those
trips a whole new person. If Art by Bri Gonzalez
I had stayed in Cypress and
not wanted to explore, I would
because it’s part of my identity.
Cypress isn’t exactly a small
town. We have a population
of 122,000 as of 2010, but it’s
more personal compared to
the multi-million populations
of other cities. I always hear
my friends and classmates
talking about how as soon
as they graduate high school
or college they’re going
straight to New York, Los
Angeles, London, etc. and I’m
completely shocked that so
many people are willing to just
leave their whole life here in
Cypress and not look back.
I’ve traveled to England,
Norway, Canada and other
places all over the world.
Going out and seeing the
world we live in is a great
life experience, but I want
Cypress to be where I will
grow old and raise my kids.
I want my future kids to
have the happy Cypress
childhood my parents gave
me. I have great childhood
memories of going to swim
practice for the Stingrays
swim team, skating at the
Aerodrome with my best
friend, and going to the Mr.
D’s snow cone stand with
my dad. All these memories
are things I could’ve only
experienced in Cypress. I
want to stay close to my
family here and visit them
KAITLYN COATS
assistant business manager
I love to travel and see the
world, but when picking a
place to live I would stay right
where I am. My family is here.
My father is buried here. The
places I’ve grown up with are
here, so why would I uproot
everything and lose being
close to all of that? I want
to stay in Cypress, not just
because it’s my hometown, but
whenever I have most of my
aunts, uncles, and cousins
along with the house I grew
up in and the schools I went
to. I want to show my kids
the place I grew up. I want
my kids to have the great
education from Hamilton and
Cy-Fair like my siblings and
I got.
Cypress is safer than a big
city, yet we still have access
to one of the biggest cities
in America. We are just a
less-than-a-hour car trip away
from Houston. Houston has
an amazing cuisine, access to
big concerts and festivals, and
NASA, which is all in easy
access to anyone in Cypress
with a car.
I know the people around
me in Cypress and in a big
city people don’t get to know
the people around them. In
Cypress I already know the
town around me so I don’t
have to relearn everything
I know about a city. I was
born a Cypress resident and I
intend to be one for life.
Life never simple when you move every three years
LAURYN WALKER
reporter
Where am I from? That’s a
complicated answer.
I was born in Anchorage,
Alaska. I was less than a year old
when I moved to Gabon. I was
two years old when I moved to
Venezuela. I was five years old
when I moved to Houston, and
I was seven years old when I
moved to Nigeria.
My family
has
a tendency toward bouncing
across the globe seemingly at
random. By the time I was six, I
had already been to 10 different
countries, including Scotland,
the Cayman Islands and South
Africa.
Traveling has its expected
advantages. There are places
and things some people will
never get to see that I have
already seen. Airports and
planes became my comfort
zone. Five hour layovers turn
into an easy nap session. I have
my answer for those cheesy
ice-breakers where you have
to say a fun fact about yourself
(In my opinion, ‘I’ve been to 14
countries so far,’ is a pretty
good fact).
I’ve been told that my
life is astounding and
great. Some people are
envious that they haven’t
traveled as much as
me. There’s no way
around it. I’ve lived
a pretty nice life.
Art By Lauryn Walker
However, people seem to always
overlook any of the drawbacks
from being tossed around the
world.
I’m used to having to pick
up my life and leave countries
on a whim. It sounds great, in
theory, but life is never simple.
I don’t have friends that
I’ve known since birth. I don’t
have nostalgic memories when
I go anywhere. When I’m asked
where I’m from, I sigh and get
ready to unleash how I’m not
really ‘from’ anywhere. I haven’t
lived in any single place long
enough for me to be able to
claim.
Living in places where most
people don’t comes with the
realization of why people don’t
live there.
In Gabon, my brother and
I had a nanny who took care of
us when our parents couldn’t.
We didn’t know much French
at that age, but we knew if we
chanted ‘piscine’ long enough,
we would finally be able to leave
our hotel.
Hotels and apartments
became the norm for me. In
Venezuela, my life once again
became a hotel. We never
had a house, a place we could
truly call our home. We spoke
Spanish, though now my
American traits have taken over,
erasing the foreign language
from my mind completely.
My dad told me that we
would have a driver when we
moved to Nigeria. I thought
that was the coolest thing.
I could be like one of those
rich kids on television with a
chauffeur. He even had a fancy
name: Kingsley. However, I
came to realize that the driver
wasn’t for luxury, he was for
necessity. When a Nigerian
officer pulled us over one day,
I was told to keep quiet and let
the driver handle the situation.
Soon, a cop with an AK-47 sat
himself down in the passenger
seat of our car. My mom yelled
at him to get out, and his
surprised look as he exited our
car. I remember that between
my mom and an armed cop, he
was the one who was scared.
In my first school in Nigeria,
two armed men shot up the
gate and stole one of my friend’s
car in the morning. No one got
hurt and I was only nine years
old, too young to recognize the
harmful situation for what it
was at that age. They didn’t even
cancel school that day.
Eventually I changed schools
to the American International
School. I joined the swim team.
On my way to the Murtala
Muhammed International
Airport for a swim meet taking
place in the capital of Nigeria,
Abuja, the meet was suddenly
canceled. Boko Haram, a
terrorist group, had blown up a
news stand near the school we
were heading to.
Our schools were regularly
in and out of session for
extended periods of times
due to riots in the street. They
protested wages, oil prices
and political corruption. I
remember thinking it was cool
how I could stay at home all
day until I realized that I really
couldn’t leave our apartment
complex. I was confined.
I’m not saying that the
places I’ve lived are horrible.
From my overall experiences,
they were actually pretty fun.
Already being in Africa meant
that going south to Kenya,
where I got to get close and
personal with a lion and several
elephants, was easy. It meant
that I got to meet people from
all over the world who shared
my experiences.
It’s fun to glamorize the life
of a moving kid, but everything
has its ups and downs. I’m
happy with my life and my
experiences. I’ve been living
in Houston for four years
continuously so far, the longest
I’ve ever stayed in one place,
but I’m a kid who’s used to
surprises. I know adventure
could be just around the corner.
So, where am I from? I like
to consider myself a citizen of
the world.
5. 3. 16
ADS
17
Start Here Today Transfer Tomorrow
High school juniors and seniors it’s
not too early to start thinking about
college!
Visit your College Connections Advisor Fridays at
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18
OPINION
Alex from Target, and other atrocities
JUNIOR SICK OF 15-SECOND OF FAME SENSATIONS
Art by Lauryn Walker
NICOLE SHAIR
news editor
“Damn Daniel, back at it again
with the white vans.”
It’s been a few weeks since I’d first
heard this quick catchphrase from
my friends on multiple occasions
but I didn’t know the source or why
it had become so popular. Curious,
I click on a Youtuber’s React video
with the same similar phrase that I
had heard from my friend, Lauryn,
not too long ago and wait patiently
through the familiar opening.
A few minutes into the video, I
hear that famous line.
Now, unless you’re a social
media recluse like me, you’ve
probably heard about the newest
meme to grace the Internet’s front
page. Whether you hate these boys’
Snapchat compilation or you can not
seem to stop replaying this hilarious
duo, the Damn Daniel meme is one
of the hottest trends on social media,
for now, at least.
Because, just like all the other
memes which have come and gone
down social media’s “Hall of Fame”,
it won’t last long and, soon enough,
another idiotic meme will follow.
And, as Albert Einstein once said:
“Two things are infinite: the universe
and human stupidity; and I’m not
sure about the universe.”
Before the Damn Daniel Duo,
viral trends included the Cinnamon
Challenge, a competition to see who
could consume the most cinnamon,
and the Condom Challenge, a game
in which one person filled a condom
of water and dropped it on another
person’s head in order to make a
“water beard”.
On the not-so-dangerous side,
viral memes like The Dress and the
duo compilation are also quite stupid
for the simple reason that they don’t
benefit society in any way, shape or
form other than providing less than
10 seconds of empty entertainment.
Most of these trends did not take
long to become viral superstars and
it took even less time for them to bite
the dust. Why they became popular
in the first place is a mystery in itself.
In fact, some of these viral
challenges were quite dangerous and
a threat to teenagers’ few remaining
brain cells.
The Condom Challenge, while
it did produce a unique effect and a
couple laughs, did almost suffocate a
few people who tried it.
When a Today reporter asked
James Bryant, associate chief nurse
for emergency services at Cleveland
Clinic, what he thought about the
Condom Challenge, he replied there
are real risks involved with this [the
Condom Challenge] prank.
When the condoms broke,
it was possible that teens could
inhale pieces of latex which include
spermicide that could harm or
poison teens, according to Bryant.
Though this doesn’t sound like
a big deal, choking on latex or
suffocating due to something which
is used for protection isn’t something
that I think is worth the risk.
In regards to the Cinnamon
Challenge, the same risk-toentertainment ratio applies.
Pipe
down
promposals
SOPHOMORE QUESTIONS PROM TRADITIONS
‘This prom
season, don’t
be afarid to
go the simple
route and ask
your date out
without all the
extraness’
MELODY BERRYHILL
reporter
It’s what every girl dreams of
since they were little. It’s the gateway
to probably the best night of your
life. It’s prom. Prom takes efforteverything from finding the perfect
get up to booking a party bus. Before
all of that though, there typically
comes a promposal. They could
either go very well or embarrassing
in a matter of seconds.
Here’s why the extremity of
promposals should be stopped
immediately:
We’re still in high school. It
should not be equivalent to a
marriage proposal.
If I’m on my way to 4th period, I
don’t want to show up to class with
confetti and glitter stuck in my hair
Photo courtesy of
Jessica Riley
from a promposal that occurred in
the main hall.
Sometimes they can be cute,
but other times an observer would
have to question if the person
getting asked out was almost as
uncomfortable as they were.
It seems like these days it’s more
of a competition as to who can get
the most twitter retweets and go viral
from their outrageous promposal
than it is to genuinely ask the
person. Pages like @besttpromposals
showcase excessive promposals, like
5. 3 . 16
According to Robert Glatter, MD
and contributor to Forbes online
magazine, serious complications of
the Cinnamon Challenge include
choking, respiratory failure and
collapsed lungs as well as the
development of “reactive airways”
or wheezing in response to the
cinnamon powder. As a practicing
ER who’s had first-hand experience
with teens who’ve done the
Cinnamon Challenge, Glatter can
attest to how dangerous this viral
trend can be.
On the other end of the spectrum,
while things such as Damn Daniel,
Alex From Target and The Dress
might not cause someone immediate
danger, the sheer stupidity of how
popular these things can get and
how much coverage they garner is
ridiculous.
Now, I’m all for being nice to
others and giving out compliments.
What I find stupid is how these
boys’ Snapchats have been blown so
out of proportion to the point that
the duo have been guests on The
Ellen Show, as well as given a lifetime supply of Vans, just for making
some stupid five-second video.
Same thing with The Dress or
Alex From Target.
I have no issue with the concept
of both of these trends .but it’s
because of the media frenzy
surrounding these hot topics and
how passionate people have become
over things that make no difference
in the world that irritates me.
Sure, it’s fun to laugh and joke
about some stupid videos, but once
you have national media news outlets
covering these flash-in-the-pan
stories, it’s gone a little too far.
Photo
courtesy
of
Maddie
Littlef ield
this one where a guy asked a girl to
prom down on one knee (as if they’re
getting married) at DisneyLand.
While some of them can be
hilariously funny, like one where
this guy did an “The Office” theme.
We don’t take into consideration as
to how the other person feels about
it. If they wanted to say no, they’ll
automatically be pressured to say yes
from how many people are staring
intently at them.
People also may have high
expectations from the countless
videos they’ve seen all over social
media and quickly be disappointed
if their supposed prom date doesn’t
ask them to prom while riding an
elephant in the main hallway with
their name on a big banner.
The simplicity of asking “will you
go to prom with me?”- is long gone
from the overshadowment of some
guy serenading a girl to a cheesy love
song in the middle of a cafeteria.
My perfect idea of a promposal
would be someone going to my
house with a box of chocolates or
a banner with something creative
written relating to prom.
We are all young and it shouldn’t
be that deep. Some people prefer to
have an extravagant promposal and
there’s nothing wrong with that since
it’s a personal preference.
This prom season, don’t be afraid
to go the simple route and ask your
date out without all the extraness
because the only thing that matters is
the fun you two will have together.
5. 3. 16
OPINION
STAFF ED
19
Art by Bri Gonzalez
the
REPORTER
staff
Co-Editor in Chief
JULIA RYZA
Co-Editor in Chief
EMME ENOJADO
Managing Editor
JOHN SANCHEZ
Sports Editor
CLAIRE MYNATT
Opinion Editors
MADI CHRISTIAN
SUZY VAZQUEZ
Culture Editors
AUDREY GRAY
EMILY SCHULTE
News Editor
NICOLE SHAIR
SWITCH BRILLO
Life Editors
CODY BROWN
BRI GONZALEZ
Business Managers
HANNAH HELGREN
HANNA WILLINGHAM
KAITLYN COATS
Public Relations
ALEX WHITE
Copy Editor
LAURYN WALKER
Reporters, Artists
EDWARD CATEN,
HANNAH WOODRUM, BLAKE NALL,
MELODY BERRYHILL, LILY ADAM
Online Editor
LIZZIE FARIA
SWITCH BRILLO
Adviser
LILLIAN HARRIS
OUR POLICY
The Reporter is a Cy-Fair High School
student publication. Its purpose is
to inform and entertain the student
body and faculty, and also to serve
as a lab for students enrolled in
advanced journalism classes. The
views expressed in this publication
do not necessarily reflect those of the
entire Reporter staff, the Cy-Fair High
School faculty and staff, the Cy-Fair
Independent School District or the
school board. The Reporter maintains
the right to refuse any goods or
services that it deems inappropriate
for teenagers. The Reporter is a Quill
and Scroll, TAJE, NSPA and JEA
member. Cy-Fair High School is
located at 22602 Hempstead Highway
Cypress, TX 77429. Please contact
the journalism classroom at
(281) 897-4658 to advertise in this
publication or email
[email protected].
ATTEMPT TO END CHILDHOOD OBESITY FAILS
In 2013, tragedy struck. Strawberry milk
was banished from lunchrooms across the
nation. This was a result of the First Lady
Michelle Obama’s campaign to end childhood
obesity and promote a healthier lifestyle.
Obama’s latest escapade has taken place
within National School Lunch and Breakfast
under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.
According to the National Conference of
State Legislatures, on Jan. 13, 2011 the United
States Department of Agriculture released a
list of nutrition standards that would have to
be met by public schools across the nation for
schools to receive a 6 cent reimbursement on
the meals they provide.
It is easy to see that the creation of these
regulations were done with good intentions
to implement education about healthier food
choices early on in childhood. Obesity in
children is a legitimate issue and should not
be ignored. There are changes that make sense,
like the realization that pizza can’t be consumed
in place of a vegetable serving.
The basic foundation of this plan was to
include more whole grains, fruits, veggies and
lean protein, and give the USDA authority over
school nutritional standards and regulations.
Sadly, most schools ability to meet these
regulations have fallen short.
“No school has been certified as meeting
the updated nutrition standards that took
effect July 1, 2014, including sodium limits,
the requirement that 100 percent of grains
be whole grain rich, and the mandate to offer
a full cup of fruit at breakfast,” according to
a statement released the School Nutrition
Association, a national, non-profit organization
representing 55,000 school nutrition
professionals across the country.
It seems like the only parts of the meal plan
that haven’t been blown out of proportion are
the proportions themselves.
Meals and calorie counts are based on a
“one size fits all” idea, which is completely
inefficient and unhealthy. Under federal
regulations for school meals nationwide,
kindergarten to fifth grade students may only
receive up to 650 calories, sixth to eighth
receive 700, and ninth to twelfth receive 850,
according to an article on medicalnewstoday.
com.
Under these regulations, a 6’3” senior
linebacker for the football team should be fed
under the same nutrition regulations as a 4’11”
petite freshman girl.
You’ve got kids whose only two meals
are breakfast and lunch at school and they’re
getting a grand total of 1,100 calories. That’s
not enough. Most school aged kids need up to
2,200 calories per day and that number rises
when entering puberty. We are all different
shapes and sizes and we all need different
things to stay healthy.
Basing everyone on the same scale defeats
the purpose of promoting health.
One of the main changes in the act was
adding more vegetable selections and healthier
alternatives, but with cuts being made to the
en-tree options provided. The veggie sides
make up more of the plate than the necessary
protein packed en-tree.
There has also been the infamous recent
uproar among students over the sudden limit of
only one ketchup packet for each meal, which
is due to the modifications implemented in
March to include condiment calories into the
total calories allowed per meal. But this, like
every other regulation and change made to the
cafeteria menu, was not a decision made by
CFISD faculty.
It is important to remember that just
because we may find the rules unfair, our
feelings toward the school lunch regulations
should not be directed at the cafeteria staff or
those who carry out what is dealt to them in
the meal department for CFISD.
“I’ve just been telling the cashiers to use
their best customer service, but we need your
help so we can enforce the procedures. As you
can see, everyone is working hard and trying
our very best to give [the students] the best
and to serve [the students] better,” according
to CFISD Director of Food Service Darin
Crawford.
Our government has proven its inability
to execute welfare based programs that are
supposed to help those in need. Instead these
taxpayer funded programs go to waste, as the
National School Lunch Program has a 16.3
percent improper funding rate: meaning 16.3
percent of the funding does not go towards
its intended program according to Payment
Accuracy.org, an official website of the United
States government.
In the end, it is not the government’s job to
do “what is good for you” against the will of the
people. That is not how a democracy works.
This applies if the programs they do implement
fail to work.
It is up to parents and the will of the people
to decide what is best for them and their
families. We are strong minded individuals
capable of making our own decisions and it
is up to us to choose the healthy or unhealthy
option. We do not need the government to
hold our hands and pick out what we are going
to eat that day.
20
PHOTO ESSAY
SENIORS COMPETE
IN TRADITIONAL
FOOTBALL GAME
JOHN SANCHEZ
managing editor
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT
Squad goals. Fellow male cheerleaders lift senior Jed Dvoracek
and Jacob Macias during the Powder Puff game. Photo by Bri
Baiza
Running with the plug. Senior Angela Harris runs toward the
goal to score a touchdown. Photo by Bri Baiza
Jumpman, jumpman. Senior Jacob Trlica entertains the crowd
by performing a jump split. Photo by Bri Baiza
Trick em’ out. Senior Kyler Wyatt runs towards her teammate
senior Chara Tatum. Photo by Bri Baiza
Running through the f ield. Senior Thao Nguyen chases
opponent senior Cydney Rockford. Photo by Bri Baiza
5. 3. 16