Established 2006 Volume 7 Issue 1 September 2011 South Pointe High School Rock Hill, S.C.

Ten years laterStallions remember 9/11 Catherine StiersReporter

Sept. 11, 2001, is a day that America will remember forever. This month marks the 10th anniversary of the morning when American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 were flown into the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City.

American Airlines Flight 77 was hi-jacked and crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Flight 93 was also hi-jacked, but the passengers attempted to re-gain control and crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania.

A total of 2996 people lost their lives that day, and the ramifications are still be-ing felt.

Although Rock Hill is over 500 miles away from New York City, it was not im-mune to the impact.

Junior Ashley Beacham remembers that morning as being just like any other, oblivious to the disasters.

“My teacher didn’t tell the class. I didn’t find out until I got home…my broth-ers came in, freaking out, running to wake my mom (asleep in the afternoon from working at night)...I struggled to under-stand it, but I remember a lot of crying,” she said.

Beacham feels the attacks changed this generation forever.

“We have been raised in war,” she said.

Junior Kelli Snyder and her sister Christina lived in Pennsylvania at the time, about an hour away from where the fourth flight crashed.

“We took the plane crash…

a bit harder than many others… because it just made it seem so much more… real I guess, just being so close to home,” said Snyder.

“I don’t think it hit me too hard then because I was young and didn’t realize or understand what happened,” she added.

To many students, Sept. 11 is a hazy memory. But for staff members like coun-selor Stephanie Cocchiaro, however, the details are still crystal clear.

“I was a junior in college, attending an upstate school in New York. I recall go-ing to class that morning, sitting in my seat and looking up at… what I thought to be a movie. Once I realized what was going on, I bolted out of class to call my brother,” she said.

The massive number of phone calls being made caused the lines to jam; it took days for many people to reach their loved ones.

“My biggest fear growing up was al-ways some kind of terror attack, so when this happened it was confirmation to me that we, as a nation, were not as protected as we always thought the U.S. to be. I had a hard time adjusting after that in fear of other attacks,” said Cocchiaro.

Orchestra teacher Heather Turner’s sixth graders compared the images they were watching on television to the movie “Independence Day” in which aliens de-stroy New York City.

Even to those native to New York state with relatives in the city at the time, the attacks were unreal. Dr. Kim Roper said,

“It was [as] if it was a dream. We saw the planes hit and they kept

replaying it. It was days before we were able to

confirm that my aunt was okay.”

For science teacher Susan Fields, the events

of that day had the potential to be even more devastating.

Her brother worked in Building Six, but he

was scheduled to attend

a meet-ing in t h e

second tower. His boss called him at 10 o’clock that night before to cancel the meeting, sparing his life.

That was the last time America was seriously attacked, but many fear it won’t be the last.

“Do I think it could happen again? Sure I do. I think it’s really unlikely with all the security and everything, but nothing is really impossible,” said Snyder.

And there are those who answered America’s need for protection after the at-tacks.

Every Monday, Stallions are greeted in the gallery by South Pointe’s Marine Corps recruiter, Sgt. Jason Oakes. The Monday after the 10-year anniversary of the attacks, Oakes worked with Stallion graduate Ken-dra Arrington, a “poolee” awaiting boot camp in October.

Among the many ribbons decorating the sergeant’s chest are two which repre-sentsome of the highest honors bestowed by the U.S. military, the Bronze Star with Combat “V” and the Purple Heart.

A corporal at the time, Oakes was at the Battle of Wanat, an Army outpost in eastern Afghanistan. He was one of only three Marines there charged with training NATO troops, but then he and his fellow Devildogs found themselves at the center of fierce action as the remote post was at-tacked by the 200 Taliban guerillas.

A wounded Oakes was listed as dead for a time because he was placed on a chopper with body bags. He not only sur-vived the battle, which claimed nine U.S. soldiers, wounded 27, and wounded four Afghan National Army soldiers, he secured weapons that helped the Army in the fight and was shot while rescuing a wounded soldier.

9/11 changed the lives of Americans forever. From vague recollections to haunt-ing nightmares to inspiration for a career, 9/11 altered the way Americans live.

Casualities of 9/11

2,996 total deaths2977 victims

246 victims died on the planes2606 died while in the towers in New York189 died in the Pentagon55 military personal died in the Pentagon 292 victims were killed on the streets by burning debris and falling bodies343 New York City Firefighters died 23 New York City Police Officers died5 EMTs died

Firefighters and rescuers work on the Pentagon several days after the attacks of 9/11

Page 1 September 2011

Tiffany Dagenhart began teaching at South Pointe High this new school year along with numerous other individuals.

She has been married for over a year to her husband Jamey.

Dagenhart was an undergrad from Er-skine College. She majored in History and Social Studies with a minor in secondary education. She graduated from Ermine

High School in Columbia, SC. Right before Dagenhart came to South

Pointe, she heard a lot about the admin-istration and she liked that it was a new school with updated technology.

“The staff has been very helpful,” said Dagenhart.

She also cheered for seven years and has participated in competitions for five

years. She started cheering in eighth grade and continued throughout high school.

Dagenhart would also like to help with student government.

“My goal for my students is to become better readers and writers of historical knowledge,” said Dagenhart.

Richard Pickering is one of the new teachers at South Pointe High School.

He is married with two children, a son R.J. and a daughter Rayne.

Pickering has been working in Rock Hill since 1998 and has been a teacher at Saluda Trail Middle School and Phoenix Academy.

When he decided to go to the high school level, he believed South Pointe was the number one school to teach at.

Pickering teaches Biology, Physical Science and Physics. In addition to teach-ing, he is an assistant pastor at the Langum Branch Baptist Church.

“I have a passion for helping teenagers

Craig Enoch is a new English teacher originally from Midlothian, Va. She is one of the student council sponsors.

She enjoys running, playing soccer, reading and playing golf, a sport she just learned how to play.

Enoch would like to help out with cross country and the girls’ soccer team.

A Virginia Tech grad, she has taught both middle and high school.

“I love the school spirit,” said Enoch on South Pointe. “I love the unity of the staff.”

She formerly taught at Falling Creek

Dagenhart cheers her way throughGovernment/Econ and U.S. History

Pickering has passion for helping teens on and off court

Enoch: ‘Go BIG or go home!’

to reach success,” said Pickering.Pickering was also part of H.O.O.P.S.,

a reason many students recognize him. “H.O.O.P.S is a summer basketball

league that helps kids be safe in their sum-mer time. We took a break and we hope to start back soon,” said Pickering.

New teachers bring fresh ideas, expertise to South Pointe High

Middle School and Lothian High School for an internship.

As far as a quote she lives by, well, see the above headline.

Never sell yourself short to satisfy someone else. Always strive for excellence.

“” Teacher Richard Pickering

Look for more new teacher

stories at spinwired.com over the next

few weeks

Photos by Kaylia

GivensArticles

by Kendra Harris

STAFF

Editor-in-chief...................Taylor Snyder

Managing editor..................Ciara Burris

News editor..................Catherine Stiers

Features editor................Sydney Cloud

Student Life..............Katherine Johnson

Opinion editor..................Abigail Norby

Centerspread editor.........Mary-Hannah Neil

Assitant centerspread editor.......Natalie Deas

Sports editors..................Wade Hopper

Photography editor...............Marie Ealy

Copy Editor......................Blake Roberts

Webmaster..............................Alex Culp

Reporters........................Kaylia GivensAshli SimmonsKendra Harris

Holly KnoxErin Fields

Brandon CrankQuinterrace Ervin

Executive Producer ofSPiN in the Morning......Catherine Allen

Artist..........................Stephanie Nelson

Adviser.................................Cindy Koon

Principal...............................Al Leonard, 2009 Journalism Education

Association Administrator of the Year

SCSPA 2010 Palmetto Award Winner 2010 SCSPA Swipestakes Award Winnner

Senior meeting brings out opinions on dress code enforcementAbigail NorbyOpinion editor

Coming in from summer, seniors had different thoughts and feelings regarding coming back to school.

As usual, the senior meeting with Dr. Al Leonard and the assistant principals brought them together in the auditorium fourth block on Friday the first week of school.

As one of the administrators came up to explain the expectations of the school dress code, certain students brought up issues regarding administrative favoritism and misunderstanding body types.

It got a bit rowdy, and a few students voiced their opinions.

“(Assistant principal Denise) Khaalid tried to tell the students to quiet down and listen,” said Christina Teague, who attended the senior meeting.

She says the scene was rowdy, but the teachers and administrators jumped in and tried to solve the problem.

“Mr. (Andy) Thomas said he would resolve the issue later,” said Teague.

But is this really resolved? A number of students are expressing concern that school officials do not enforce the dress code uniformly.

According to junior Darius Patterson it is not. Patterson has already had dress code referrals twice this year, given out by assistant principal Khaalid for sagging.

“I feel the dress code is full of BS,” he said.

Senior Terrel Gailliard agrees.“I think it is all unfair because white

girls come in short shorts, but black girls can’t,” he said.

Gailliard says the only way to the dress code is equal is that sagging pants is enforced equally for all races.

At the senior meeting, one student had brought the complaint that adults turned a blind eye to the soccer shorts most often worn by Caucasians, while writing up other girls for shorter or same length shorts or skirts.

Senior Naki Moffat too, feels because of her race she is held to a different stan-dard.

“I think sometimes the African Americans get away with less just cause of violations because they seem to be cur-vier in certain areas. African Americans are made different. You can’t help how you grow and were born,” she added.

Not all African American students feel the same way, though. Junior Brent Peterson feels the code is enforced equally.

“I’ve always seen it equal,” Peterson said.

Sophomore Hallie Martens says it depends on the teacher because different teachers have different views on height. Some teachers SPIN interviewed think the code states the garment must be no shorter then the student’s fingertips. Misunder-standing could account for some of the perceived injustices by students. Ac-cording to the student handbook, “pants, shorts, skirts/skorts must be worn at the waistline. No sagging allowed… Shorts, skirts/skorts and splits must not be more than 4 inches above the knee.”

Students like senior Jonquesha Peter-son, who is six foot three inches, feels that it is a challenge being tall.

She says that because she is tall, she

is a target for dress code violations. Adrienne Neale, South Pointe 101

teacher, agrees somewhat on how tall people might be challenged to find clothes that are within the dress code.

“I feel like if someone is tall, things are going to be shorter, but they should still follow dress code anyway,” she said. She also says it is a gender problem as well. She feels that most of the dress code violations are from boys rather than girls.

SPIN tried to obtain the number of dress code referrals by gender, but admin-istrators reminded that there had only been one week of referrals when the informa-tion was requested. Dr. Leonard pointed out it would not be enough to draw valid conclusions from.

Khaalid says that height doesn’t make a difference and that garments have to be above the knee. Khaalid also says that it is not a race situation and that there is “no discrimination.”

As far as the teachers’ discretion, Khaalid said” If you’re sent to the office for dress code, you do get written up even if it’s adjustable”

And although fashion is changing, Khaalid says the dress code does not change with it.

“All dress codes are the same at all three high schools, even ATC,” Khaalid said.

Since no changes have been made for dress code to accommodate height, body types, or teen fashion, students are advised to follow it by administration to limit dis-tractions. Being sent to the office to take off garments means you must have extra clothes brought to you, or you will be sent to In-School Suspension.

After administrative crackdown, soccer shorts like those above have rarely been seen around the South Pointe campus.

1. “I didn’t know it was a rule to begin with.”2. “Yes.”

1. “I think we should be able to eat because of long periods of class.”2. “Of course.”

1. “I think they should let you eat in class because I’m hungry. I do it anyway though.”2. “No, I think rules will be added on.”

Abigail Norby/S

PIN

Alison Canaty, freshman

Michael Pusoloski, junior

Chelsea Jordan, sophomore

1.) What do you think of the school-wide ban on food and drink in the classroom?

2.) Do you think the ban will go away once the year goes on?

September 2011 Page 3

School-wide ban on food?

Page 4 Septmber 2011

It’s 1:32 in the afternoon and the bell rings for third lunch. You walk down to the gallery debating on whether you want to stay at campus and eat the food in the cafeteria or risk getting in trouble with administration and leaving South Pointe to eat at a restaurant of your choice.

This is a common situation that students at our school deal with on a daily basis. As a senior this year, I feel like I shouldn’t have to leave campus during my thirty two minute lunch break knowing that if I do, I may get caught by administration and end up with a referral. I’ve been at this school for three years and I’ve success-fully made it to my senior year, so therefore, I should be able to leave the school freely during lunch.

With the minimal senior privileges that we at South Pointe receive, we would appreciate the trust to leave campus during our lunch break since we are the oldest and we’ve been here the longest.

Senior Lindsay Wooles states her belief on the topic by saying, “They should learn to trust their students after they’ve been here for three years.”

The majority of seniors are tired of the food that is served at South Pointe, saying that it is undercooked or overcooked, the lines are too long, and it’s just simply something that they don’t want to eat. Some students bring a lunch to school, but by the time you make it in the morning to when lunch time starts, your sandwich may get soggy and your packaged meal may not be hot anymore. There is also the food sold in the vending ma-chines, but those are just items that students like to snack on and aren’t exactly seen as “filling” to the students. They aren’t the healthiest choices, either.

“I think it should be considered for seniors to leave for lunch as another privilege because they don’t give us as many choices in the cafeteria and the prices are just the

same as fast food restaurants but you’re paying for food that is nowhere near as good,” senior Jarvis Carter said.

I myself have gotten tired of the small options of-fered for lunch at South Pointe, especially since I’ve been a student here for three years and it’s just the same op-tions repeating each year. We get tired of it, and the fact that students are skipping lunch to go out to eat shows that we want a change in the policy.

Every single senior that I interviewed for this article all said that they wanted to have the option to go out to eat for lunch, all making the same arguments, that we don’t get enough senior privileges and we’re tired of the minimal lunch options we get on campus.

“Lunch doesn’t have an attendance, so you shouldn’t get a referral for so called ‘skipping’ lunch,” said senior Matt Hutches.

Agreeing with Hutches, I believe that it’s not that big of a deal to leave campus for lunch since we aren’t in a class and aren’t missing any educational time. Leav-ing lunch won’t make us miss an assignment or hurt our GPA’s, so administration shouldn’t feel the need to discipline the students for it.

In the Student Handbook that we are given at the beginning of the school year, it states that a student’s first offense for leaving the campus without permission is a two to four hour work detail, two to four hours of a Saturday detention, or one day of ISS (In School Suspen-sion). The more offenses you get for leaving campus, the harsher the discipline is, ranging all the way to recom-mendation for expulsion on your fifth offense. These are the disciplinary actions that are given when a student leaves South Pointe to go out to eat, which are far too extreme for just deciding to drive to a restaurant to eat versus staying on campus and eating in the cafeteria.

On the contrary, teachers and administrators oppose the idea of seniors leaving for lunch, mainly because it is a time and safety issue. Administrative Assistant Kathleen Cole said that she wouldn’t mind the idea of the students leaving if there were restaurants closer to the location of our campus. The fact that we are only given 32 minutes for lunch doesn’t give us much time to drive to the restaurants that are located closest to us and back to South Pointe on time, but students who do skip lunch manage to do so

Administrators are worried that students will be

Senior Jeremy Brown displays a burnt biscut he recieved one school morning this year. Under-and-over-cooked food such as the biscut is one of the reasons why some seniors wish to leave for lunch. Brown could only eat the sasuage patty because the biscut was too burnt. SPiN tried to discuss this issue with South Pointe cafeteria workers, but a real answer could not be obtained by press time.

Tasharra Chalk/Contributor

Katherine JohnsonStudent Life editor

Senior voices opinion on lunch rules

eating and driving, and then speeding to get back to the campus on time for their next class. They have also have concerns that the students will partake in actions such as consuming alcohol or abusing illegal substances. But as I have already stated, we as seniors need to be trusted to return back on time safely and responsibly and not be doubted about what were doing in that thirty two minutes.

Attendance officer Nakia McCloud believes that students will show up to class late if they are given the privilege to leave campus for lunch, but I believe that if a student leaves and doesn’t come back on time, then they should still follow the tardy procedures enforced at the school. It’s up to them to come back on time and be ready for class, and that the administrators need to trust us to be able to do so.

Senior Tevon Potts confidently states, “We’re re-sponsible, we’re the leaders and we should be allowed to leave.”

It’s finally time that the voice of the Stallions be heard about this topic. We’re ready for a change and we’re ready to be trusted as the responsible seniors that we are.

Art Iluustrated by Taylor Snyder

September 2011 Page 5

Sydney CloudFeatures editor

Inspired by his uncle Javon “Lil Sleep” Johnson, junior Arkeem “H.p” Hayden experienced his first rap at the age of eight.

A local rapper, his uncle wrote the track “Lil Ones” for his nephew to perform.

Despite the family tie, Hayden’s journey is all his own.

“People have told me to stay in my own lane and not to worry about what other people think about me, to just focus on me and my music,” Hayden said.

Like most local rappers, Hayden feels that he should take his music all the way to the top. “Whoopdy Bam,” one of his lat-est, more popular hits, has been performed and played on radio sta-tions--such as Power 98-- multiple times. Written by Mark Louch, it features Lil Sleep and Jalisa “Glitta Glam” Jackson, another local rapper Hayden is affiliated with.

“Whoopdy Bam” was first made public at the Ramada Inn in 2009. Hayden was only a fresh-man.

“My first performance I was real nervous, but going into my fourth bar of the verse, I got into it,” Hayden said.

Feeling that public speaking is a big fear for most everyone, Hayden stated it was once that way for him. More performances and practice soon helped rid him of that fear.

Hayden is all about the attention when it comes to his music. Money, award shows and “a lot of girls going crazy” are part of what motivates him.

“I want to be somebody, worldwide,” Hayden said.To show how serious he is about his music and path

to fortune and fame, Hayden has his first mix tape com-ing out soon. Titled “New Jack City,” the name of his mix tape reflects the actual movie “New Jack City,” a film about a power-crazed crime lord. Hayden favors the style of the characters and appreciates the gritty street reality portrayed in the movie.

“Jack” is another name Hayden is well known by and is mostly called that by family and close friends. The name Jack has stuck with Hayden since birth.

As for the nickname H.p, this was given to him during his seventh grade year of middle school by some friends. It was because of his passion for the Harry Potter book series and movies.

Hayden says that he’s putting out his mix tape to keep his name “bubbling” throughout Rock Hill.

“I rap about the real. I mean it, as in I’m real with myself,” Hayden said.

Hayden believes he’s not like the typical male teen, meaning he doesn’t look up to other males and try to be “just like” them. Hayden believes in being self made.

“I like to chill. I like to focus on my music and I want to graduate,” Hayden said.

Music and producing are only minors to Hayden. Although he puts a lot into it now, he believes his educa-tion comes first. Hayden is planning on going to a four year college in Atlanta, Ga. As far as a major, Hayden is planning on having involvement with business. With his family looking forward to him achieving that goal, Hayden has full support both ways.

“My mama supports my music. She’s cool. She’s hip. She’s young,” Hayden said.

What’s interesting about Hayden is that he doesn’t freestyle like most rappers. He feels it’s “a bunch of wasted rhymes” for him. Hayden’s rhymes come about

when he’s alone at home in his room listening to beats while writing his music.

When it comes to performances, Hayden’s number is countless. He has gone from Rock Hill to Chester to Charlotte and all over the Carolinas to Atlanta. His music tends to venture out even more. Hayden has performed at many clubs, a few being Club Ice in Charlotte and Cascades and 321 in Rock Hill. He’s also performed at a spring fling and a few talent shows.

Sitting in his backyard, Hayden began to laugh and reminisce on an embarrassing moment he’d had during one of his performances at the Ramada.

“A duck tried to dance with me,” Hayden said.

For readers not up on the latest slang, a “duck” means a woman who is unattractive. A “duck” walked up and began dancing with him while he was performing. Hayden didn’t dismiss the woman and neither was he rude to her. Hayden loves all his fans and supporters. He also thanks them for helping him on his journey to suc-cess in the music world.

Hayden has the majority of his music on YouTube, Facebook (www.facebook.com/HalfaWhoopdyBam-CliquePound) and Reverb Nation (www.Reverbnation.com/HpDaJackBoy).

“I want people to know that I am H.p Da Jack Boy, and all I want to do is tell my story about how I came up and how I see things,” Hayden said.

Sydney Cloud/SPIN

Sydney Cloud/SPIN

Jack keeps it real in Rap City

Arkeem “H.p” Hayden lays down his latest track at the Shine Time Studio and shares his new album, “New Jack City.”

“I rap about the

real. I mean it,

as in I’m real

with myself.”

New Jack City

PHOBIAS

“I’m scared of fires.”-Izzi Woodard, sophomore

“I’m scared of roller coast-ers.”

-Kwua’drecus Cook, freshman

“I’m scared of people touching me in the dark!”

-Jessica Peeler, junior

“My phobia is nee-dles!

-Taylor Westmoreland, junior

Phobia:an extreme or irrational

fear or aversion of something

“I’m terrified of lady bugs.”

-Lakyn Evans, soph-omore

PHOBIASWhat are YOU afraid of??

“My phobia is mice.”-Tay Hicklin, senior

“My phobia is being eaten by Jaws!”

-Tabatha Cline, ju-nior

“My pho-bia is seeing bugs crawl on the bathroom floors.”

-Jordan Davis, sophomore

“I’m scared of eleva-tors, because I got stuck in one when I was five.”

-Cody Rebh, junior

“My phobia is the little cricket spider things. They make me shiver!

-Macie Outlaw, junior

Photos by Natalie Deas

Phobia:an extreme or irrational

fear or aversion of something

Page 8 Septmeber 2011

Stallion stereotypes:truth or myth?

Joseph Grobusky Eduard KrasnovVivian Bates

“The Prep”

Langston Kennedy

“The Jock”

The Common Perception vs. Reality

Stallions discuss the stereotypes through South Pointe High School and explain whether or not they relate to the common stereotypes from Hollywood movies.

Holly KnoxAssistant student life editor

What’s your label? Are you the “Prep,” the “Jock,” the

“Burnout” or the “Nerd?” These and other stereotypes are used to categorize people.

In Hollywood movies such as “The Breakfast Club” or “Mean Girls” stereo-

types are portrayed in certain scenarios that seem to define their school. At South Pointe High School, just like any high school, you have your common stereotypes which stu-dents all over the campus portray to an extent.

When asked what she thought about being labeled a “Prep,” senior Vivian Bates said that it doesn’t really affect her. But she does feel that she is portrayed that way because of the fact that she is captain of the cheerleading squad and has a sense of fashion.

Just like the com-mon “Prep” you see in the Hollywood movies, they are the

cheerleaders, the wealthy, and

the well-dressed, but

they also can be portrayed as having a rude attitude and being mean to people they find “below them.”

Bates also stated that her wardrobe normally consists of items from Forever 21 and Express, and that she doesn’t find the way “Preps” in movies act to be true in reality because they exaggerate it a lot.

Junior Langston Kennedy is stereo-

typically categorized as the “Jock,” even though he doesn’t agree, since he believes that his style doesn’t portray that of a jock. The fact that he is a highly athletic student could be the reason his fellow classmates may see him that way.

Like the categorization of the “Prep,” in Hollywood movies, the “Jock” can be also found to pick on the people that they feel aren’t as good as them. When asked if he finds that to be true, Kennedy said, “Sometimes for certain people, but not all. I don’t because I’m cool like that.”

Another common stereotype is the “Burnout,” which is associated with stu-dents who don’t seem to care about their academics because the majority of the time they are under the influence of illegal substances.

Senior Joseph Grobusky admitted on the record that he was easily classified in this category, saying, “I like to be under the influence of marijuana. It eases my mind.”

Out of the many social stereotypes, this one is found as incredibly negative, but those who fall under the category find it not to be a problem.

In every high school movie or televi-sion show, you always see the stereotype of the “Nerd.” These are the ones who are portrayed to be incredibly smart, to study all the time and to find pleasure in getting good grades and learning.

On the contrary junior Edward Kras-

nov, whom some might call “nerd,” said, “I don’t study as much as people think I do, it just comes naturally.” Krasnov is top ranked in his graduating class, and he doesn’t seem to be intimidated by people calling him a nerd, which he says happens quite often.

“I take it as a compliment, actually, because it shows other people in one way or another think that I’m smarter than them,” Krasnov said.

By the way the students at South Pointe High School live their every day lives, it shows that the stereotypes in the movies are only true in real life to a certain extent.

“In some scenarios they are very true, but it’s hard to pin all the characteristics in one person,” Krasnov said.

Kennedy agreed with Krasnov, saying that the way movies mirror real life is somewhat true, but it’s always exagger-ated a bit.

“The Burnout” “The Nerd”

Art Illustrated by Stephanie Nelson

September 2011 Page 9

Teachers leave a mark in students, memoriesKatherine JohnsonStudent life editor

Teachers all throughout South Pointe High School, whether new or old, have a certain feature about them that students remember for years. Whether it’s a charac-teristic or the interesting activities they perform, the teachers leave a memory for their students.

It’s easy to say that “What happens in the classroom, doesn’t always stay in the classroom” because students just can’t wait to share what their teachers did that day.

Chemistry teacher John Keith falls under this category easily. His students like having him as a teacher be-cause he lets the students interact in his labs, and the experiments that he does in the classroom are different than what most science teachers do. Keith says that the most memorable experiments

he probably does for his students is his Ice

Cream Lab and the Reactions Lab. Fellow science teacher Susan Fields

is another memorable teacher for the Stal-

lions. She joined the school back in 2009, and students fell in love with her as soon as she arrived. Her accent and her “crazy” personality are some of the few qualities that make students remember her. wShe goes by “Fieldsy” to her students, and even to the ones who have had her in pre-vious years. She enjoys making a personal relationship with the students by being honest and letting them be hands on and interactive in the classroom. Sophomore Micheala Combs excitedly said. “She’s my favorite teacher!” She’s only been in the classroom for two weeks.

Fields says that the most memorable

activities she does for her students are the ones that involve food, like a smores lab that she does in the middle of the semester. Another memorable lesson that Fields teaches is the “Yellow Brick Road”

lesson. It is a way that she teaches the periodic table of elements by singing the tune “The Yellow Brick Road” from the movie, the Wizard of Oz.

As an English teacher, Michael Henthorn can’t exactly be remembered for labs involving foods or blowing things up, but one thing he will always be remem-bered for are his stories that he tells in his classrooms.

“I have a wonderful ability to tell stories and then relate them to the stan-dards for teaching…English is all about our stories,” said Henthorn. Stories like the time a student threw up on him on the

bus, or when a brick was thrown on top of his car and he called the police, and when telling them his loca-tion, he realized it was in front of a mental hospital.

“To say the least, the police thought I was a patient in the mental ward and that I was just crazy,” said Henthorn, with laughter.

Henthorn hopes that his teaching through stories will stay with the students

for as long as they can, and indeed they have. And if you are down on A-Hall and catch him at a good time, you may hear Henthorn singing opera in his classroom, which he says is a form of storytelling to

him. The students that Fields, Henthorn

and Keith teach get excited when they find their names on their schedule at the beginning of the year because they heard stories from previous Stallions that have had them as teachers. When the teachers do something interesting in class, the stu-dents can’t wait to tell others about what they learned and how they learned it and by lunchtime or the end of the day, a large quantity of Stallions have heard about the lesson.

Sallai Moore, senior

“All the fights.”

Jarvis Petty, senior

”I remember my first day of school.”

What is a memorable

moment from your freshman

year?

“I remember getting into trouble and not knowing anybody because I was new.”

Quavontae Rose, senior

Susan Fields, science teacher, gives a les-son to her fourth block Physical Science students.

Photos by Kendra Harris

Science teacher John Keith demostrates a chemical reaction.English teacher Michael Henthron

Septmber 2011 Page 10

Wade HopperSports editor

Rub your hands on the bottom of your shoes. That is about what it feels like on your hands after handling a weight bar in the South Pointe weight room.

At a glance, the weight room looks clean, but closer in-spection reveals otherwise. The floors are slick, and the weight bars leave filthy residue all over athletes’ hands.

According to Varsity Wres-tling coach and gym teacher Eddie Cook, anywhere from 150 to 200 students use the weight room each day. With this many people handling the same equipment, germs are bound to spread.

Most lifters who use the room on a daily basis disapprove of the dirty conditions.

“I think the bars are really disgust-ing. It seems like it got dirtier over the summer and no one cared to clean it,” said sophomore and varsity volleyball player Monica Mullis. “The last time I picked up a weight bar, all this black stuff came off on my hands. There was nowhere else to wipe it besides on my shirt.”

Coach Cook doesn’t think the weight room is as clean as it could (and should) be. The only thing he is in charge of is making sure there is no trash on the floor at the end of the day.

“I don’t know how often the floor and

weight bars are washed,” said Cook.He added that he is positive that they

aren’t in the state that they need to be in.“As a wrestling coach, I’m more

aware of stuff like that,” said Cook. “I have my kids use their shirts when they

work on the ground.”Sophomore wrestler Tyler Allen

said, “We use them to make sure our skin doesn’t touch the floor.”

Coach Jacob Stancil, who has a doctorate in health education, agrees that the weight room’s cleanliness could be improved upon.

“The floor could be better,” said Stan-cil. “The bars are sufficient; they probably just need to be cleaned more often. But the floor is too slippery, and that’s the main problem.”

The weight room has, however, got-

Athletes, coaches gripe about grimeten much better over the last few years.

“The floors aren’t as bad as they were. They used to be really bad until this year,” said senior Logan Yard.

“The floors get cleaned every day, and the bars are disinfected twice a week,”

said Head Custodian Samuel Peay. “What they should have is a container where you can pull out disinfectant wipes.”

As Peay implied, there is work that still needs to be done. To go along with the proposed disinfectant wipes, there should be more hand sanitizer stations.

Also, whatever the custodi-ans are using to clean the floor is not working. A more powerful so-lution should be used to minimize the thin, oily film on the floor.

Finally, the weight bars should be cleaned every day. Af-

ter all, the bars pose a bigger threat to health because they come into contact more often with a lifter’s skin.

The weight room has come a long way in a very short time, but the posi-tive progress the school staff has made towards achieving a perfect workout envi-ronment should not stop until that goal is realized.

“It’s got to be a group effort from all coaches in the P.E. department to keep it clean,” said coach Justin Hardin.

After all, South Pointe has champi-onship-caliber athletic teams. Shouldn’t the school have a championship-caliber weight room?

Wade Hopper/SPIN

Recommendations for cleaning

• Hand sanitizer stations on every wall• Stronger cleaning solutions on the floor and bars• Bars should be cleaned more often• Sanitation wipe dispensers on every rack

All sports created equal?

1. “No.”2. “You work just as hard for every other sport. Football and basketball are just more popular.”3. “Probably not. I do three sports.”

1. “No.” 2. “Because cheerleading is the most important sport.”3. “Yes.”

1. “Yes.” 2. “Because the athletes we have stick out more in football and basketball.”3. “Yes.”

Loftin Bridges, sophomore

Jonna Gibson, junior

Joe Levi, senior1. Do you think

football and basketball deserve more recognition than other sports?

2. Why or why not?

3. Do you plan on attending any sporting events besides football and basketball?

Brandon CrankReporter

Another chapter in the epic rivalry between South Pointe High School and Northwestern High School has been writ-ten with the 16-10 victory by the Stallions before a sell-out crowd on Aug. 26 in District 3 Stadium South. People piled up outside the gates and were told there was no more room inside the stadium.

The rivalry heated up in 2008 when the Stallions beat the Trojans twice, in-cluding the State Championship game.

Northwestern got their revenge the following year, and then last year they beat the Stallions in a game on a national television broadcast by ESPN.

On Aug. 26 at 7:30 p.m. the two powerhouse teams kicked their 2011 high school football season off.

The first half of the rivalry game was full of errors and turnovers for both football teams. The Northwestern Trojans lost a pair of fumbles and threw an inter-ception, and the South Pointe Stallions fumbled and had a pass picked off.

The Stallions didn’t cross midfield for the first time until their final posses-sion during the first half. Midway through the second quarter the Trojans scored the game’s first touchdown on a 7-yard run up the middle which was set up by a pass that was intercepted by Sanquez Holmes. The Stallions answered back with a touchdown of their own by their star half back Man-zey Miller on a 13-yard touchdown run, to tie the game up at the half.

In second half the game belonged to the Stallions. On their opening drive they drove the ball down the field to their own

26-yard line. Miller ran from there to the end zone to put the Stallions ahead 13-7.

The Trojans cut the Stallions’ lead to 13-10 on Sully Foy’s 27-yard field goal in the third quarter.

The fourth quarter was stagnant until Logan Ard kicked a 35-yard field with just over a minute remaining to give the Stallions a 16-10 lead with a minute left in the game.

The Trojans had to go 72 yards in just under a minute to win the game. North-western head coach Kyle Richardson put in Westminster-Catawba transfer Mason Rudolph, a sophomore who had started the game, back in to finish at quarterback for the Trojans. Rudolph’s dad Brett played linebacker for the University of North Carolina Tarheels and is still tied as the leading tackler for UNC.

The Trojans final possession was at the Stallions 21-yard where Rudolph spiked the ball with only 21 seconds left on the clock. With only one more play left Rudolph threw the ball to the left corner of end zone. The ball flew out of bounds as the game clock hit triple zero.

Another exciting rivalry game came to a close with the Stallions on top.

Rivalry renewed: Stallions trump Trojans

(Top) Stallions running back Manzey Miller (2) punches a 26-yard run into the end zone. (Bottom) Quarterback Devin Pear-son (19) scans upfield for receivers Tay Hicklin (10) and Montay Crockett (11).

Quinterrace ErvinSports reporter

South Pointe High School is known for its sports, but there are a lot of other activities going on that don’t get the recognition they deserve. One of these activities is drum line.

Brian Turner, not to be confused with band director James Turner, has been the percussion director since 2006.

Turner says that this year’s drum line is one of the best yet. They plan to go to the WGI, Winter Guard International, world championships. The drum line has competed in this competition before, and they have enjoyed it each time.

Everyday the drum line has outdoor practice during fourth block when they work hard to achieve their goals, and this

time is a huge part of their success.“One day without practice, you

notice,” said sophomore Tommy Bradley. “Two days without practice, the crowd notices.”

Besides performing with the Band of Thunder, the drum line participates in competitions specifically for drum lines.

“The drum line will attend all pep rallies and sporting events, and the indoor drum line competes in the winter and the spring.” percussionist Quincy Goode said.

In these competitions skill and form are key factors, but the songs also play a role in the judges’ decisions.

“All pieces are originals written by professional composer Andrew Mark-worth,” said Goode.

“One day with-out practice, you notice. Two days without practice, the crowd no-tices.”—Tommy Bradley, sopho-more

Bussin’ percussion

Septmber 2011 Page 11

New head football coach Strait Harron gives his players instruc-tions for a play from the sidelines. Coach Harron took over for Coach Bobby Carroll, who now coaches the York Cougars.

Stallion Studs run front and center with players hoisting South Pointe Flags high. The Studs were there to get the crowd pumped for the first game of the season, which was between South Pointe and Northwestern on Aug.26, 2011.

Stallion cheerleaders stand at attention as JROTC walks the South Carolina state and American flags onto the field.

Former band member Kenneth Steele’s band instrument and uniform lay out for viewing as South Pointe’s Band of Thunder plays in memo-riam of him. Steele graduated in the class of 2011 and lost his life in a car crash over the summer.

Photos by Marie Ealy

September 2011 Page 12