www.TheCougarTimes.com

ougartheC Times

Volume 12, Issue IDecember 2013The Student Newspaper of Juan Seguin High School, Arlington, Texas

When Arlington ISD police Sgt. Anita Ellis lost her 23-year-old son in 2003, she thought it was the hardest thing she would ever have to deal with.

She never thought that four years later she would be diagnosed with lymphoma.

Ellis’ fellow security guard, Arlington ISD police Cpl. Shan-telle Fields, also fought her own battle with cancer. Together, they are recovering as colleagues and as friends.

The shock of discovering the can-cer and the struggle of accepting she had it was overwhelming, Ellis said.

After a hard fight and six years of being cancer-free, Ellis went to the doctor for a routine check-up after finding blood clots in her arms. She was hoping for good news, that she would continue to be in remission.

“I went to the oncologist for tests in December,” Ellis said. “I had blood clots in my arms from the radiation I received the last time I had cancer.”

The good news she hoped for

never came. Her hopes were crushed when the oncologist diagnosed her with cancer once again. This time around, she was going to have to beat the ovarian cancer which was advanc-ing rapidly. After the huge jolt of re-ality wore off, Ellis was ready for the battle she knew would not be easy.

“My family was very supportive,” Ellis said. “ We all just put our faith and trust in God.”

Ellis is the security supervisor and has been at Seguin for four years, but she has been a security guard for 20

years. She is a self-proclaimed worka-holic and came back to work as soon as it was possible.

“This job is my calling,” Ellis said with a smile. “I believe that I am teaching life lessons because you will always have to follow rules.”

Fields’ battle was a little different. She had to beat breast cancer.

“I had breast cancer four years ago,” Fields said. “I am now in remis-sion.”

A mammogram caught the can-cer in the early stages. She had both breasts removed in an effort to pre-vent it from coming back.

“I was sad at first,” Fields said. “I cried for about 15 minutes and then I let it go. I put it in God’s hands.”

Fields relied on the love and sup-port of her two daughters. The finan-cial toll was devastating.

“As a single parent, it was hard financially,” Fields said. “It threw me into the hole, but I had a great sup-port system.”

Ellis and Fields both survived can-cer by catching it early. They now go in to be tested and checked very often to avoid cancer again.

“My advice is to get regular check-ups,” Ellis said. “There are always warning signs.”

InsidetheTimes

News 2-3Editorial 4Opinion 5Sports 6-7Features8-10Entertainment11

Take Flight ChrisFamily and friends mourn classmate Da’Christian Wallace after he lost his battle with leukemia.

Page 2

There’s No Such Thing as a Free Senior YearStaff Writer Taylor Smith writes about her struggle with senior expenses.

Page 4Arlington ISD police Cpl. Shantelle Fields (left) and Sgt. Anita Ellis have both battled and beaten cancer. They are now healthy and thriving.

Life Is More PreciousFire Alarm Pops to LifeThe culprit of the mysteri-ous after-school fire alarm from Nov. 12 is finally uncovered.

Page 3

Cobb SquadCheck in on the Cobbs after their twins were diag-nosed with cerebral palsy.

Page 8

She sits at the bottom of the stairs listening as the screams of her mother being beaten echo throughout her home. The scared 14-year-old clutches a bottle of vodka, and her knees go weak as she tries to find the strength to get back on her feet again.

She’s dragging her legs, as tears begin to well up in her eyes, and prepares herself for a deci-sion that will change her life forever. She finally makes it to the bathroom, opens a cabinet, while attempting to hold back uncontrollable sobs as she steadies her trembling hands and grabs a pill bottle.

One by one she swallows pill after pill and chases each down with a swig of vodka. She looks in the mirror, and thinks to herself, “If this is as good as it gets, I don’t want it.”

She makes her way to her room, gets down on her knees and slowly lays her broken body on the floor. The scent of mildew invades her nostrils, tears stream down her face and soak into the damp carpet as she goes unconscious, awaiting her death.

***Amy Hampton was born and raised in the

projects of New London, Conn., with a mother on welfare, an abusive stepfather, and five sib-lings.

Making it through each day was a struggle,

Amy Hampton prepares assignments for her world history class.After overcoming abuse, rape, and an attempt at suicide, she finally fulfilled her dream of being a teacher. See History on Page 8

Breaking FreeHampton Makes Road to Recovery

StephanyeKnightNews Editor

PhotobyStephanyeKnight

Staff WriterTaylorSmith

PhotobyTaylorSmith

The Storytellers’ Life-saving Goal

Storytelling has always been an outlet for human emotion, and now it can lead to saving lives.

This is the goal of Storytell-ers Campaign, which is a group sponsored by the organization To Write Love on Her Arms that helps students receive help for mental illnesses.

The founder of Seguin’s Story-tellers Campaign, sophomore Kate Chappell, had a tough experience of her own during sixth and sev-enth grade. She had a difficult time making friends. That caused her to look for attention in the wrong places. She became depressed which led her to self-harm in hopes it would help her with the pain.

“I felt really bad about myself for a long time,” Chappell said. “I had no one to help me through my depression.”

During seventh grade she dis-covered the organization To Write Love on Her Arms, and was moved by their efforts to help people overcome struggles like hers. The charity began in Orlando, Fla.,

2006, when the founder, Jamie Tworkowski, wrote a story about his friend struggling with self-harm and addiction which he titled “To Write Love on Her Arms.” The story became a hit and T-shirts were printed in order to pay for his friend’s treatment. Since then TWLOHA has become a non-profit

organiza-tion.

“I strug-gled with those same mental illnesses,” Chappell said. “To Write Love on Her

Arms provid-ed people with help and treatment and I was inspired by that.”

The Storytellers Campaign is a group created by TWLOHA for high school students to promote awareness about mental illnesses and raise money for the To Write Love On Her Arms charity. Chap-pell decided she wanted to help students know they’re not alone and they don’t have to keep quiet about the challenges they face like

she had to, so she started her own campaign at Seguin.

“I want the Storytellers Cam-paign to change stigmas about self-harm, eating disorders, depres-sion, and other mental illnesses,” Chappell said.

Last year, Chappell’s English I teacher, Briana Blake, required the class to write a research essay and she chose to write about her experi-ence with self-harm.

Blake took an interest in Chap-pell’s story and talked to her about it. Chappell saw how much she cared and decided to make Blake her sponsor for the campaign.

“I was honored when she asked me to be her sponsor,” Blake said. “I agreed because I knew it was important to her and I wanted her to make sure she was able to ac-complish her goal.”

After getting approval from principal Sam Nix, and getting her application to TWLOHA approved, The Storytellers Campaign official-ly began Oct. 1. The group is gain-ing contributors quickly and has raised $100 in less than a month.

A fellow contributor, sophomore Breanna Fawks, heard about the organization from Chappell and af-

ter the first meeting, immediately decided to stay.

“I joined because I know what it feels like,” Fawks said. “I want to help people understand it gets bet-ter, and it is a big deal, don’t ignore it.”

The Storytellers are spread-ing the word about their group through announcements and are fundraising by selling “The Story-tellers” bracelets for $5.

They hosted a brown bag sale in early November where people from Seguin and the entire com-munity bought used clothes.

Shoppers bought a paper bag for $10 and gathered as many clothes into their bag as possible.

There will be many other fund-raisers during the semester that go toward the goal of raising $1,000. All of their proceeds will be sent to To Write Love on Her Arms which will donate that money to people in need of rehab and recovery.

“What To Write Love on Her Arms is doing is wonderful,” Blake said. “Their efforts are really valu-able.”

Blake

A smile that could brighten a room, a laugh that was contagious, a goofy kid. Those were words that could describe Da’Christian Wal-lace. Wallace was a very loving guy, he impacted a great deal of lives, as shown in the number of people who showed up Wednesday to a memorial for the senior.

People shed tears, laughed and reminisced at Wallace’s memory. Even those who didn’t know Wal-lace before he died from leukemia on Aug. 29, mourned the Seguin student known as “Take Flight.” They cried, even ones who didn’t have a clue who Chris “Take Flight” Wallace was.

One person in particular who had felt that Wallace impacted his life drastically was coach Billy Cunningham.

“Even when you know someone is sick you don’t expect them to leave,” Cunningham said.

Cunningham had first met Wallace during his freshman year, and had always been strict with the rules. From day one, Cunningham had Wallace running up and down the bleachers as punishment for wearing sagging pants. It got to the point to where Wallace was running bleachers without being told to.

Even though he was punished here and there, he was still a great

athlete, Cunningham said. Wal-lace had scored a triple-double his sophomore year and gave truth to the nickname “Take Flight.”

It wasn’t until the first basket-ball season of Wallace’s sophomore year that he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, a disease within the bone marrow. He fought back AML once and returned to school. Wallace was able to beat AML the first time because of his athleticism, especial-ly from the condi-tioning on Cunning-ham’s bleachers.

“After defeating cancer the first time he thanked me for making him run the bleachers,” Cunning-ham said.

A friend of eight years, senior Keuna Hancock, thought back to times she shared with Wallace.

“We were su-per close, we did everything together, he was like a brother to me,” senior Keuna Hancock said.

“His most memorable character-istic was his smile, he was always happy,” Hancock said.

Hancock spent the week after

her friend’s death raising money for his funeral costs. She said she put her whole paycheck into the cause. Her best memory of Wallace was when she said they went to the fair and ate pig’s feet.

At his September memorial, Chris’ mother Johnnie Wallace

thought back to times she had with Chris.

The first vague sign that alerted her that something was wrong was when she noticed Chris’ swollen arm, and it wasn’t healing. They went to the doctor who later diag-

nosed him with cancer. Although this wouldn’t be his first time he would end up in the hospital, his siblings never left his side. Wallace had two brothers and two sisters, 20-year-old Dakendrick, 18-year-old Damanian, 11-year-old Dayja, and 26-year-old Damanicka. While still

mourning over the loss of her son, Johnnie Wallace said she still prays that scientists will keep study-ing and try to find a cure for leukemia.

The memorial was held in the Seguin gymnasium where Cunningham pre-sented Wallace’s mother with the $1,700 that Seguin students and faculty raised to help pay for the funeral.

After the memorial, stu-dents, faculty and family members alike sent orange helium-filled balloons to the night sky to remind Wallace that he is loved and missed by all those who had cared for him. De-

spite the tears rolling down the faces of loved ones and friends, they wore smiles in

memory of Wallace.Wallace’s funeral was noon

Saturday at Holy Tabernacle C.O.G.I.C, 2800 East Loop 820 S. in Fort Worth.

(Sarah Stroud and Kate Chap-pell contributed to this report.)

Fallen Athlete Takes Final Flight

StephAllevaEditor in Chief

DavidLymanOpinion Editor

December 2013News2

Courtesyphoto

Campaign Raising Money To Send Troubled Students to Rehab

Da’Christian Wallace’s funeral was held at Holy Taber-nacle in Fort Worth in September. The varsity basket-ball team has dedicated its season to him.

December 2013 News 3

Fire Alarm Pops to Life

The theatre department received a $4,000 grant recently that will fund performances in-volving real world problems for junior high and elementary students.

Luke Longacre, the theater arts department head, applied for the Arlington ISD Education Foundation grant on a whim.

He never expected to actually win.“I was just hoping and praying that it would

work out,” Longacre said. “I didn’t really expect it to happen, even though I was told that we were the only school that applied.”

The plays will be based on topics involving so-cial issues and problems that young teens face in everyday life. Longacre plans to have these plays ready to go and perfected starting in January.

He also plans to start up a program where high school theater students serve as mentors and help answer questions that the younger kids do not feel comfortable asking adults. Some is-sues include how to deal with eating disorders and how to overcome bullying.

“I think it’s more important for them to get a mentor’s perspective versus an adult’s,” said Lon-gacre. “It’s less awkward and more relatable.”

Longacre said he’s anxious to begin the pro-gram but knows it’ll be a lot of work.

“I’m excited,” he said. “I’m also a little bit scared and nervous because now we actually have to do it.”

The campus was evacu-ated Nov. 12 after school and the firefighters arrived on the premises. Admin-istrators ran around the school searching for the cause of the alarm while students stood out in the cold. What they weren’t ex-pecting was for the culprit to be a small bag of micro-wavable popcorn.

“A student and I were catching up on some work and I decided to pop some popcorn to snack on,” biol-ogy and environmental systems teacher Oluchi Igbokwe said. “I put the bag in for only three minutes!”

Suddenly, Igbokwe got a whiff of a burning smell coming from the science prep room. When she ran into the room and through the smoke, she opened the microwave and another wave of thick smoke hit her.

Senior Isaac Salazar, who was in Igbokwe’s classroom at the time, witnessed the whole incident first hand.

“As soon as the burning smell hit us, Ms. Igbokwe ran like a track star, with form and everything, try-ing to keep the popcorn from burning,” Salazar said.

Igbokwe hurriedly snatched the bag from the microwave and opened the door leading to the hallway

to let the smoke air out. But where there’s smoke there’s fire, and the fire detectors did their job a little too well.

“The popcorn bag was black and completely caved in, even the inside of the microwave was black!” Igbokwe said.

All the students and staff immediately evacuated the building. In the distance fire trucks screamed toward the school as administra-tors searched for the cause of the alarm.

“When we got outside I watched students and staff shivering and administra-tors searching for the fire,” Igbokwe said. “I felt so

guilty.”While waiting outside,

Igbokwe laid eyes on Kirsten Lundin, the dean of instruction, and ran to her hoping to explain the whole fiasco. Lundin laughed and advised the firefighters and other ad-ministrators the school was safe.

Igbokwe then re-entered the building to find princi-pal Samuel Nix and share her story.

“When I found him he laughed and told me ‘Miss Igbokwe you know there’s a button on the microwave that says popcorn!’”

Theatre Department Wins $4,000 Grant Award Will Fund Mentorship Acting Program For TeensJezabelSantos

Sports Editor

The Juan Seguin High School Theatre Department received a $4,000 grant to help fund an acting program geared toward helping younger students overcome negative social stigmas.

CourtesyPhoto

A mysterious fire alarm caused an evacuation Nov. 12 after school, which resulted in staff and students standing outside in the cold weather. The unlikely culprit was later found to be burning popcorn.

PhotobyStephAlleva

StephAllevaEditor in Chief

Scholarship InformationTitle Grade

LevelAward Contact Due Date

Harlequin Corp. Dance Scholarship

10-12 $1,000 www.harlequin-floors.com

Each Month

Gulen Institute Youth Platform

9-12 $2,000 www.gu-lenyouth-platform.org

Dec. 20

Gen and Kelly Tanabe

9-12 $1,000 www.genkel-lyscholar-ship.com

Dec. 31

“Top Ten List” 9-12 $1,500 www.scholar-shipex-perts.com

Dec. 31

Burger King Scholars Program

12 $1,000-$50,000

www.bk-mclamo-refounda-tion.org

Jan. 10

Gates Millen-nium Scholars

12 $1,000Covers college cost.

www.gsmp.org

Jan. 15

Dell Scholars Program Michael & Susan Dell Foundation

12 $20,000 www.dellschol-ars.org

Jan.15

“Make the U” (Haz la U)

12 $15,000 www.col-gate.com

Jan. 20

RMHC Program

12 $1,000 www.rmhc.org

Jan. 21

Scholarship Tips• Be organized. Stay on top of deadlines, gather all pertinent documents and make copies of everything submitted. Send applications by certified mail to ensure receipt.

• Follow instructions carefully. Some scholarships require essays, others may want letters of recommendation. Send in what is requested and proofread everything. Typos and miss-ing materials will be costly.

Our ViewBoard of Ed. Dumbing

Down Texas

Dropping Algebra II Necessary to Help Texas Students Succeed in High School, Careers

Texas is in the national spotlight again. The Texas Board of Education has decided to overhaul the entire system and voted to drop algebra II as a graduation require-ment. This would mean that only students wanting a distinguished diploma would take the class. Academic experts say that it is a prerequisite for many college classes. The Board of Education should leave the requirements alone. Algebra II is necessary to prepare students for the advanced math classes in college.

In Texas, the recommended diploma plan requires students to take four years of math including algebra, geometry, alge-bra II and another math class. The lowest diploma plan offered allows students to get away without the class.

It’s understandable that everyone does not have the same plans for their lives after high school. Everyone may not go to col-lege. Students may go into the workforce or even the military. Math may seem like a waste of time, but it can help in life. Money is one of the most important things in today’s society and it completely revolves around math.

The Texas school system is already one of the lowest ranked systems in the nation. We need to be able to compete academical-ly with the rest of the United States. Taking out algebra II is just dumbing down the system even more. Instead of focusing the entire school year on taking the STAAR and the TAKS, we should focus on mak-ing students successful and helping them get the most out of their education. The state board needs to add more classes in elementary and middle school that prepare students for more challenging courses in high school. If students are more prepared, they will not fear algebra II and they may do better in it.

Public schools are already falling behind their private school peers. Most private schools teach algebra in the eighth grade and algebra II sophomore year. It is not fair for students in public school to fall behind private school students. Everyone in the state should have the same opportunity to succeed. Therefore, we should all have the same requirements.

Algebra II plays an important part in getting a good high school education. It helps prepare you for other classes and helps you gain experience.

The Cougar Times is the student pro-duced newspaper for Seguin High School. The purpose of the paper is educational, but it also serves to inform and entertain read-ers. This newspaper is a forum for student expression and the place for meaningful discussion on issues concerning the Seguin community.

Newspaper content is determined by and written by the staff. Editorials reflect the opinion of the newspaper. Columns and commentaries reflect the writers’ views and do not represent the opinions of the newspa-per staff or school administration.

The Cougar Times values reader submis-sions. The staff reserves the right to reject or edit for length, style, punctuation and read-ability. All submissions must be signed to be considered for publication.

Please notify us if you find any errors. We will gladly correct anything that we have wrongly reported.

The Cougar Times StaffSteph Alleva

Editor-In-Chief

Sarah StroudEntertainment Editor

Taylor SmithStaff Writer

Stephanye KnightNews Editor

Kate ChappellFeatures Editor

Juan Seguin High School7001 Silo Road

Arlington, Texas 76002Principal: Sam Nix

Jon Nielsen, The Cougar Times publications adviser, can be reached by calling 682-867-6810 or emailing jnielsen@aisd.net.

Jezabel SantosSports Editor

David LymanOpinion Editor

Alissa CrowderSocial Media Editor

December 2013Editorial4

The Texas State Board of Education recently voted and came to the conclusion of dropping algebra II as a course requirement for graduation. This decision is mainly due to statistics showing that algebra II is one of the major reasons students across the state of Texas are being held back or are ineligible to walk across the stage.

The decision to drop the course is great and it helps many of the students who don’t quite understand the course reach success much faster.

Studies have shown 20 percent of Texas students will not use algebra II in the career they wish to pursue. Some students are going to college to be English teachers, artists, singers, songwriters and many other things of that sort. None of the jobs listed require the

use of algebra II, and making students take algebra II who wish to be successful in those jobs is pointless.

Not all “good-paying” jobs require college degrees. Air traffic controllers, dental hygienists and electricians are only a few of the jobs that pay very good money and don’t require going to college. Although college is important, students who don’t under-stand the concept of algebra II shouldn’t have to struggle or risk not graduating when there are other opportunities avail-able to them.

Those against the drop of al-gebra II questioned how Texas graduates will compare nation-ally to other graduates. Many say the bar is being set low and students were being given the easy way out instead of having to face a challenge that the course came with.

It’s always nice to have a little challenge, but after fail-

ing so many times, students not only want to give up on the course, but they want to give up on school as a whole.

After a certain amount of tries, students begin to feel as if they failed themselves. The state board would rather help them out than continue throw-ing challenges and things at them that they don’t under-stand.

A solution was offered that would satisfy both of the argu-ments: shorten the course in-stead of canceling it altogether. That way students who would like to take it could and if they failed, it would not count against them.

Dropping algebra II as a required course to graduate high school was a successful choice and will help all Texas students.

(A’Lexus Donald is a jour-nalism I sophomore.)

A’LexusDonaldSpecial Contributor

ArtbyAdrianRamirez

OpinionDecember 2013 5

TaylorSmithStaff writer

A Costly Senior Year It’s what you’ve been working

13 years for. It’s the only reason you’ve suffered through childish drama and seemingly pointless classes. It’s the only reason you haven’t fallen asleep every class even though you really wanted to. You’re finally ready to graduate! Senior year seems so new and ex-citing, but then you see how much it costs.

I always wanted a class ring and a yearbook with a senior advertise-ment in the back. I was ecstatic when Jostens came and showed us how to make class rings. Person-ally, my mother said she would set aside $1,000 for everything I needed for senior year including cap and gown, class ring, yearbook, prom and college application fees. I laughed when she told me this because I didn’t know everything would add up so fast.

I got the shock of my life when

I started applying for college. I never knew I had to pay just to apply until I started looking junior year.

The cheapest fee I had was $45, but it came with a $400 housing deposit I have to pay as soon as I’m accepted. The SAT was an-other expense I wasn’t prepared for. I had to pay for two SATs and the prep books for the SAT. When it finally came time to order my cap and gown, I knew it wouldn’t be cheap. For my cap and gown and other things from Jostens, my mom spent a total of $250. After hearing stories from other people, I’m dreading seeing how much I’ll have to pay for prom.

The prices for everything senior related are ridiculous, especially since we are supposed to be paying thousands of dollars next year for college. I believe that we should be cut some slack since this is sup-posed to be the year to sit back and enjoy.

To Achieve or Not to Achieve

TaylorSmithStaff writer

Loud talking, the screech of chairs on the floor, people crowding around the tables and seemingly endless lines; all of these things describe the cafeteria.Obviously it all gets annoying, but

one of the most irritating things has to be the lines. They seem to go on forever. Everyone stands there, in more of a clustered group than a line, waiting for food that will be cold by the time they get their tray. It is ridiculous. One boy waited in line for 20 minutes and when he got the chicken alfredo it was cold, not even room temperature, as if they had just taken it out of the freezer.Not to mention the inconsiderate

people who suddenly decide they

are more important than everyone waiting. They just walk up and cut to the front of the line, like their hunger is somehow more signifi-cant than anyone else’s. It wouldn’t be as bad if it was just them but, no, they bring half the cafeteria and their grandma with them. It’s the most annoying thing ever and the teachers just watch and let it happen! This pushes you far back in the line so that when you get your food; you have 10 minutes to eat, your food is cold and just nasty. However, all of this could be prevented if people would just kindly not move their entire clique in front of everybody.At least give everybody a fair

chance to have a warm lunch. If the food isn’t going to taste great, the least you could do is try to give people a chance for it not to be frozen.

Cold Lunches GetStudents Heated

SarahStroudEntertainment Editor

ArtbyZoeJackson

Senior year is supposed to be the easiest and most exciting time of your high school years.

Most people tend to slack off and forget how important the last year is. Ever since I learned how to read at age 4, my parents pushed me to do my best at everything.

They enrolled me in a pri-vate school and expected me to automatically succeed.

I went to private school for 8 years before coming to Seguin for my freshman year. Switch-ing schools was the biggest wake up call for me.

For the first time ever, things didn’t just come to me auto-matically. When I failed my first geometry test, I went home and cried for hours. I beat myself up about it for a long time.

It took some help from my

best friend to help me real-ize that I can’t be the best at everything.

I learned that failing at one thing doesn’t mean I’m stupid. I believe this is why people give up on school.

After I learned my lesson, I renewed my efforts to become successful. I started using a planner and I scheduled time to study.

I went to tutoring and tried to take better notes. I started looking at colleges the sum-mer before my sophomore year. I compiled a list of colleges I thought would be good for me and put them in a binder.

I collected as much informa-tion as possible on each school during the entire year.

Looking toward my future has always made me feel amazing, but it always makes me anxious. I’m so nervous I’m going to fail. I started look-

ing at colleges the summer before my sophomore year. By that point, I had changed my entire view of what I wanted to do in my life.

I was talking to some other students in my grade and they told me that they had no idea what they wanted to do in life. I was shocked. I never thought that some people didn’t think about their future constantly like I did.

Senior year is the time when you can begin making deci-sions about your own life. You may not have plans to go off to college, but that doesn’t mean that you can let your senior year go to waste.

You still have to take things seriously so you can gradu-ate and move on from high school. Don’t give up on school.

No matter what kind of higher education you decide to do, it will benefit you to do

it. Most people that only achieve a high school diploma are not eligible for certain jobs.

Plumbers need certifica-tion, too. No matter where you plan on going with your life, senior year is the start of that.

You have to do whatever it takes to get to where you want to be.

You’ve worked this hard for this long. Why give up now when you’re almost finished?

(Taylor Smith is a senior staff writer of The Cougar Times.)

PhotobySarahStroudA cluster of students waits in line for their food during lunch. Many students complain that by the time they recieve their food, it’s cold.

PhotobyDavidLymanStaff writer Taylor Smith speaks up about senior expenses. By the time she graduates she will have spent about $1,000.

Senior Signs With Wichita State After years of intense preparation and hours

of grueling practices, senior Aundra Stovall has fulfilled her biggest dream of signing to play college basketball at Wichita State University.

“Basketball has definitely shaped me into the person I am today,” Stovall said.

With influence from her dad, Stovall started playing basketball in the second grade. When-ever she is playing, her parents are always in the crowd cheering her on.

“Neither of my parents played basketball,” Stovall said. “They have always been supportive of my love for it though.”

Stovall has played point guard on the Lady Cougar Varsity basketball team for her entire high school career.

“I chose Wichita State because it’s not that far from my parents and it has my major,” Stovall said.

In addition to playing basketball, Stovall is involved in National Honor Society, Student Council, and Project SOAR. She is very excited to graduate and plans to major in prosthetic engineering while working to get the chance to play professionally.

“There isn’t a specific team I want to play on,” Stovall said. “If I don’t play professionally, I want to make prosthetics.”

Courtney Phillips, head girls basketball coach, is ecstatic about her star player’s signing. She was decked out in Wichita State gear for the event.

“She’ll excel at Wichita State,” Phillips said. “They’re lucky to have her.”

In the past four years, the Lady Cougars have been district champions, bi-district champions for three years, and regional quarter finalists for three years. Phillips, who has been coaching for 25 years, believes this is due in large part to

Stovall.

“As our leader, she’s a huge part of the reason why we are successful,” Phillips said.

As a result of an injury during a scrim-mage earlier this year, Stovall will not be playing this season. She plans to be back to 100 percent in time for her first season of college basketball.

Quarterback Conquers More Than Just Football

Down by more than two touchdowns at half-time of the homecoming football game against Mansfield Summit, senior quarterback Kelton Moore took charge.

Senior quarterback Kelton Moore sits on the sidelines during the game against Mansfield Legacy.

Senior quarterback Kelton Moore sits on the sidelines during the game against Mansfield Legacy.

He led the team back from the deficit to nar-rowly lead his team to a 29-28 win, which became a defining moment in a sea-son and in Moore’s career as a leader.

Moore is more than just a football player. He is a disciplined, respected stu-dent who just happens to be leading his team into the playoffs for the first time in five years.

Quarterback coach Christopher Reil first started coaching Moore when he was a sopho-more.

“You have to respect him because of what he can do,” Reil said. “You also have to respect the fact that he is consistently here. He does what he needs to do.”

Sophomore year Moore made varsity and played the first half of the sea-son as wide receiver and quarterback. The last five games he moved up to starting quarterback.

Although he has battled numerous injuries, Moore has made many achievements as a player. He was newcomer of the year as a sophomore, player of the week this year, and broke an Arling-ton record for a 98-yard touchdown.

“My greatest achieve-ment has been being a student athlete,” Moore said.

Moore has proved to

his coaches to be a leader. With their 6-3 record this season, he is close to rush-ing for 2,000 yards. He also led Seguin in their first seven on seven state tournaments and has been offered a scholar-ship to the University of Nevada.

He had his sights set on the University of Texas, but isn’t sure if that is go-ing to happen.

Coaches watch out for their players and hold them accountable for their actions. They spend a lot of time and build relationships with them.

“The three hours that we have them, we know what they’re doing. It’s those other 21 that you’re concerned of as a coach,” Reil said. “You don’t have those concerns with Kel-ton.”

In class, Moore is gen-erally quiet, and respect-ful of teachers and others. This applies especially to his teammates.

“His teammates expect

him to be there and work hard,” Reil added.

Moore started play-ing football when he was five years old. Watching games on TV and encour-agement from his father influenced him. His par-ents continue to push him harder than anyone.

“It is fun,” Moore said. “It’s something that I’m really passionate about.”

Despite his achieve-ments, Moore is humble and has worked hard to accomplish what he has.

“He’s very quiet and unassuming,” said Reil. “You wouldn’t even know that it’s him.”

Senior Kelton Moore rests on the sideline as we watches the game progress. Moore is not only an outstanding athlete but also an outstanding student.

Fall Sports6TaylorSmith

Staff Writer

KateChappellFeatures Editor

Senior Aundra Stovall (middle) just signed with Wichita State to play women’s basketball. She poses with (from left to right) coaches Jeffrey Stanley, Mike Wagner, Courtney Phillips and Anthony Robinson. She hopes to one day play professional basketball.

PhotobyBriannaJohnson

Courtesyphoto

Kelton Moore’s 2013 Football Stats

Rushing TD’s: 30Rushing Yards: 2, 135Passing Yards: 1,620DefensiveSolo Tackles: 4Total Tackles: 7Interceptions: 2

Aundra Stovall’s 2012-13 Stats

Points per game: 11.4Assists per game: 2.7Rebounds per game: 3.1Steals per game: 4.01st Team All DistrictTABC All RegionAcademic All District Stovall

Coaches Monitor Athletes’ Social Media UsageAfter a cheerleading event during the sum-

mer, Khellsi Washington went home, opened her Twitter account and joked about the squad’s poor performance.Washington, a sophomore, thought she was just

having fun not knowing that the obscenity laced comments were helping to dig her own grave.Unfortunately for Washington, someone was

watching. They took a snapshot of her Twitter activity, turned it in to her cheer coach and Wash-ington was kicked off the team.“I feel bad because all the cuss-words and stuff,”

Washington said. “They were all unnecessary. I feel that I just didn’t have to do that.”More people are posting inappropriate mate-

rial on social networking sites, which has ruined among other things, careers, reputations and re-lationships. And it’s not just only affecting adults, it’s happening to aspiring athletes at Seguin like Washington.Jonathan Crocker, the school’s girls soccer

coach, is monitoring his athletes more closely this year to keep them safe from themselves.“This isn’t something new,” Crocker said. “Every-

one hears about it in the news. It’s just something that has no manners to it and needs to be moni-tored for the well-being of everyone. ”Crocker rarely has to deal with these issues, but

just the same, he’s not taking any chances. He wants his athletes to only deal with good things and not have to worry about the digital conse-quences where everything is out there for public viewing.While Crocker hasn’t had these social media

problems in the past, the same cannot be said for the school’s cheerleading squads.Shanta Mackey, the cheerleading coach and Sci-

ence department chair at Seguin, repeatedly tells her girls, “Image goes a long way.” She stresses that they, and everyone in general, should be careful of what they put on the Internet because based on what one puts, that is how one is per-ceived.“I’m not against social networking; I think it’s

great,” Mackey said. “It’s when people use these great opportunities to hurt others instead of ad-vancing their knowledge that gets to me. I like to look at it as the good, the bad, and the ugly. “Mackey said that the good parts of social me-

dia are being able to connect with friends and advance one’s learning; the bad parts are when the addiction to these sites begins to impair daily activities such as driving; and the ugly is when teens and adults do things that are inappropriate and harmful.Katra Ridgeway, Seguin’s head volleyball coach,

hasn’t had any social media issues to deal with, but she has expectations that her girls will con-duct themselves appropriately while online. If she finds herself dealing with these issues, she only dishes out sets of punishing exercises such as “dirty one-hundreds” and “log rolls.”“I have informed my girls that they shouldn’t

put anything out there that they don’t want their mother to read or know about,” Ridgeway said. “Five or 10 years from now, it could affect your education or life, and teens don’t fully realize that. Once it’s out there, even if you delete it, it can still be found.”

Swim Team Makes a Comeback

December 2013Fall Sports 7

Seguin’s swim team grew in-credibly from five members to over 20 from last school year to today.This staggering increase in

students brings hope to swim coach Alex Weidemann that this will be the best swim season the school has had in years.“It’s very hard to do things

with only five people,” Weide-mann said, “It’s very exciting this year with a large group.”This is Weidemann’s second

year coaching and teaching biology at Juan Seguin. He was never discouraged by the team’s small size last year, but admits a larger team will be more fun and rewarding.“I want to have some region-

al qualifiers this year,” Weide-mann said.Swimmers who place in the

top six at district qualify for

regionals. Last year, nobody got past the district round for Seguin. The district meet is Jan. 24-25 and the regional meet is Feb. 7-8.Weidemann is determined

to build a swimming culture throughout his team and the school. Weidemann’s goal is for the team to grow in size and talent.“I want them to build that

culture and learn teamwork,” Weidemann said.Second year swimmer and

sophomore Nick Olivares joined the team last year in hopes to meet new people and have fun. Though he admit-ted having a team so small in size wasn’t as enjoyable as this year.“We weren’t winning any-

thing,” Olivares said.Last school year he and the

rest of his teammates recruit-ed fellow students and spread the word about swimming.

Olivares acknowledges how well their efforts succeeded. He said the team is much bet-ter than it used to be.“We have a lot of good poten-

tial to make it to district and regionals,” Olivares said. “I want to see the team grow and get stronger.”Senior Carli Callender, re-

cently enrolled in Seguin and the swim team this year and complements its growth and efforts. She has confidence they’ll make it to the state meet as a result of their hard work.“I have high hopes for myself

and this team,” Callender said.She takes pride in the times

they’ve been making and how much they’ve improved since the start of the season.“We work really well to-

gether and are with each other all the time,” Callender said. “We’re like a big family.”

StephAllevaEditor in Chief

Traffic Tickets DefendedIn Fort Worth, Arlington, Euless, Grapevine, Southlake, Hurst,

Keller, Forest Hill, White Settlement, Colleyville, Bedford, North Richland Hills, Richland Hills, Watauga, Haltom City, Crowley, Mansfield, Pantego, Dalworthington Gardens and

elsewhere in Tarrant County.

JAMES R. MALLORYAttorney at Law

(817) 924-32363024 Sandage

Fort Worth, TX 76019-1793No promise as to results.

Any fine and court costs are not included in fee for legal representation.

www.JamesMallory.com

Still need to order your cap and gown?

Still need to order your ring?

Visit Jostens.com today.

JezabelSantosSports Editor

Seguin’s swim team has grown in numbers this year. Coach Alex Weidemann had five mem-bers last year but has 20 this year. Weidemann said there are high expectations this year.

What!?!?! You didn’t buy a yearbook?!?It’s okay.

There’s still time to buy your totally awesome yearbook for just $70, payable to ‘JSHS Yearbook’ in Room C203.

But you better act fast! When yearbooks arrive there may not be any left!

You don’t want to miss out on getting your yearbook!

If you have any questions visit Mr. Nielsen in Room C203.

Visit balfour.com to pre-order your personalized Cougar Yearbook.

CourtesyPhoto

December 2013Features8

History Teacher Overcomes Struggles

Cobb Quad Hopeful After Enduring ObstaclesJezabelSantos

Sports EditorAfter weeks of being at their

children’s hospital bedside, Aman-da and Matt Cobb finally had a mo-ment of rest when the chaos had died down. The Cobb twins, John Raven and William, then 4, had been in the hospital for about three days when their oxygen levels sta-bilized and their fevers subsided.

There was just enough time for Amanda and Matt to get some much-needed rest away from their sick childrens’ bedside. They never expected to come back minutes lat-er to a room full of frantic nurses rushing their sons to the intensive care unit.

John Raven and William were born with hydrocephalus, a form of cerebral palsy caused by exces-sive fluid in the brain. Now, after spending 33 days in the children’s hospital last year, things are dras-tically different from a year ago. With the help of Seguin Nation, the Cobb family has been able to re-cover from the tough uphill battle they’ve had to climb.

“For the most part everyone has been supporting and loving,” said Amanda. “Seguin family contribut-ed dinners and money, but overall people were and are just present for the boys and it shows that they really enjoy it. At first it was hard for me to deal with everyone’s generosity because of my ‘provide for myself’ type of nature, but after much talking into I finally began to accept everyone’s help.”

Wendy Teer, a close friend and anatomy teacher at Seguin, kept the school updated on the family’s progress. She also provided the latest news to the people outside of the Cobb family who were worried.

“I have never seen such an amazing outpouring of support,” said Teer. “The faculty and student body at Seguin really stepped up to provide for the Cobbs. They cooked meals, gave money, prayed, checked in, and just loved on the Cobbs.”

Teer took over coordinating AVID for Cobb during her time at the hospital, making sure les-son plans were done for Matt and Amanda. With permission from former principal Michael Hill, Teer would leave Seguin, drive to the hospital to check on her friends, then return to coach gymnastics practice.

“I did this virtually every day while the boys were in the hospi-tal,” said Teer.

Teer wasn’t Amanda Cobb’s only big source of support. Her husband, Matt Cobb, was not only her shoulder to cry on, he was also her partner in the long suffering of worry.

“When the boys first started with fever and respiratory prob-lems I was just worried,” said Matt Cobb. “But as things started esca-lating quickly I became shocked at the acceleration and severity of the situation. My frustration also began to rise because of not being able to have control in the boys’ well being, but it helped that the

doctors kept us aware all throughout.”

John Raven and William are now home and healthier than before. Over the summer they underwent research at Duke Univer-sity, where in addition to the hydrocephalus, they were also diagnosed with a rare form of genetic mus-cular dystro-phy. Muscular dystrophy is a condition in which muscles lose function and cause organs to shut down. There is no cure.

“Even though it sucked that it happened to be such a terrible diagnosis, being a science nerd, my curiosity warred with my concern,” said Amanda Cobb.

The boys attend Kooken El-ementary in Arlington, and are in a special program that has helped them improve their cognition and development.

“Our biggest concern is germs and whether or not something alarming could happen again, but we aren’t going to put them in a

bubble because of our concern,” Matt Cobb said. “We want them to be exposed to the world in a nor-mal way.”

Despite their worry and sus-pense over the boys’ situation, the Matt and Amanda Cobb said their family is stronger.

“It has made us value time, people and the details of life more than we did before,” Amanda Cobb said. “We have grown an appre-ciation for the simplest of things. Things such as breathing and eat-ing; things that everyone takes for granted.”

she said.“It was tough, sometimes I went

to school just to eat,” said Hamp-ton, who is now a World History teacher at Seguin High School.

Hampton’s home was in dis-array. Her biological father was nowhere to be found. She’d never known him. Money was tight, almost nonexistent. Putting food on the table was near impossible. Hampton wore hand-me-down clothing, and when she grew out of them, she had no choice but to continue to wear them.

“I wore shoes that were too small for me once and my toenail fell off,” Hampton said. “Even though they were small, they were shoes. That was the only thing that mattered.”

Her stepdad took the place of her absent father; however, in the seven years with him he was physi-cally abusive toward Hampton and the rest of her family. It was during those times that Hampton traveled back and forth between her house and her aunt and uncle’s home, a place she felt safe from the vio-lence.

But when she returned to New London, Hampton went through a lot of trying times. She found herself feeling angry growing up because she felt that she didn’t have a voice.

“Instead of anyone talking to me, or really trying to help me, they labeled me as a problem, and it made me feel neglected,” Hamp-ton said.

She felt neglect nearly every day until she met a seventh grade teacher who had a positive influ-ence on her. That teacher once left Hampton a comment in her Eng-lish journal with the inspirational quote, “Forever and forever keep fast this steady course.” Hampton saw that message as motivation, a message that meant to her that she should continue through the negative and find the positives in her life.

But as her teen years were ap-proaching, Hampton wasn’t ready for what was in store for her next.

***She was raped.While babysitting for a neigh-

bor, her cousin and a friend decid-ed to stop by. Hampton had known him, and even had feelings for him, so she didn’t think anything of it when he wanted to come in the house. They had been drinking that night, and he started making moves on her. He started with kiss-ing, but was aiming for something more.

He took advantage of her, and took what she wanted to keep the most. Hampton could never get it back.

She had never had any sexual experience before, and this was not the way she planned on losing her virginity. Hampton told her cousin about the situation and her advice was avoidance. Don’t tell anybody, keep her mouth shut, the cousin said.

“She told me that if I told any-body, that he would go to jail and

it would be all my fault,” Hampton said. “I was told that it was my fault because I was the person that let him in, and that I set him up be-cause I knew he felt the same way about me, as I did for him.”

Never feeling more hurt and betrayed by the person she was closest to, Hampton wanted noth-ing more than to get away.

“I wanted out, I wanted to be away from it all,” Hampton said.

She thought back to her father, the man she never knew but was convinced that he would take the pain away.

“I’ve always had dreams of one day meeting my father, going off to live with him and just being happy,” Hampton said.

But she’d later discover that finding happiness would be tough-er than she thought.

***Hampton decided to hop on a

train to New Haven, Conn. She wandered through the town with nothing but an address, looking for the man she had waited years to meet. But she was too disappointed for words when she discovered her father was a homeless heroin ad-dict and was dying of AIDS.

“When I met him he asked me for money,“ Hampton said. “And I gave him all I had, I felt sorry for him.”

As she tried to leave New Ha-ven, she got stuck at the train station because she had no money for a ticket. She called her mother who drove more than an hour to meet her at the station. They drove

back home to New London, only to be hit with another blow that sent Hampton over the edge.

When they got back home, Hampton’s stepfather began an-other barrage of physical abuse. This time he took it out on his wife. Hampton took it all in while sitting on the stairs.

After the rape, the torment and ugliness in the world around her, Hampton finally met her breaking point. Taking her life would be the only solution. A bottle of NoDoz and a bottle of vodka was the thing. She’d made her decision.

Hampton took a whole bottle of the caffeine pills called NoDoz, an estimated amount of 15 tablets and chased it down with the alcohol.

After taking the pills, she laid down on her bathroom floor and stared out the window.

“As I laid there, I just remember everything kind of fading away, it seemed like everything was blend-ing together, like watercolors,” Hampton said.

Then she blacked out.Hampton awoke in a hospi-

tal room. She looked and saw her mother in tears, and she felt ashamed and sad. Her mother had been through so much already, from the welfare to the physical abuse, and Hampton felt she had scarred her mother once more. She stayed in the hospital for three days.

Still at age 14, not long after the rape and the suicide attempt, Hampton’s mother left her alone.

Continued from page 1

See Rough on Page 9

Amanda and Matt Cobb’s twin sons have battled hydrocephalus since they were 4 years old.

PhotobyStephAlleva

Most people do not know what they want to participate in during high school. Emajae Clements attended her first Family, Career, Community Lead-ers of America meeting when she heard they had cupcakes. She never would have guessed she’d become the first FCCLA national officer in Arling-ton ISD history.

Clements, a senior, joined FCCLA her fresh-man year. She climbed her way up the FCCLA ladder by moving from a member to vice presi-dent to president. FCCLA focuses mainly on family and deals with career and community issues. Mem-bers do volunteer work, learn about leadership and setting goals. They also compete at regional and state conferences. Anyone in a family and consumer class is eligible to compete.

Clements traveled to the FCCLA national conference in Nashville,

Tenn., last July. After a grueling selection pro-cess, she gave a speech in front of 5,000 delegates from across the nation. She will be a national officer for a year and will help plan conferences, lead workshops, write articles and travel the country speaking at state conferences.

“I am extremely excited to be making history,” Clements said. “I want to inspire people to make the best of their

high school years.”Cathy Ownby, the FC-

CLA adviser for Seguin, attended the conference with Clements and was with her every step of the way helping her write essays, resumes and speeches. This is her 10th year as an advisor and she was made a national advisor due to Clements’ achievement.“Emajae will generate excitement for FCCLA at Seguin,” Ownby said. “She is good at public speaking and

interacting with others. She’s very determined.”

Clements, who is also a drum major for the Juan Seguin Cougar Band, has big plans for her future after she grad-uates next June. She’s applied to University of Texas, Rice, University of California-Los Angeles, Texas A&M and Texas Tech, but is undecided. S

“I want to start off as a sideline reporter and then transition to my own TV show,” Clements said. “I want to become a house-hold name and start busi-nesses and nonprofits.”

Clements has made a name for herself at Seguin for being a part of FCCLA, National Honor Society, Key Club, the Student Leadership Advi-sory Board, Project SOAR and Student Council. Her advice is to try and stay organized and humble. It also helps to have a great support system.

Clements’ friend and fellow FCCLA member, senior Eddie Raimundi, said he finds that he can become a better person just watching her.

“Emajae is a hard working individual that inspires me to do good things,” Raimundi said, “not just in FCCLA, but in my community.”

December 2013 Features 9

She ran off with her husband, leaving the young girl to fend for herself on the streets. With no home, Hampton got involved in the wrong crowd. She found herself in a gang, started partying, and was shot at during a drive-by shooting.

She sometimes slept in grave-yards because she knew that no one would come into them at night to harm her. Hampton was also kicked out of school for fighting, so she was enrolled in an alter-native school, only to be kicked out because of truancy. Hampton ended up dropping out of school.

After all that Hampton went through, she realized that she could do better, that she would do better.

“We can’t control the odds that may be stacked or rise against us. But we can control our resolve to overcome those odds. Everything is a choice. There are no excuses. I was determined to make a change,” Hampton said. “To have faith.”

She started thinking of the times she stayed with her aunt and uncle, Pat and Bill Willard. Hamp-ton said she found comfort in their home. It was one of the only places she felt happy in. She wanted to go back.

“I wanted something more for my life,” Hampton said. “I looked around me and I realized that the only way things would change for me is if I changed them for myself.

It was by the grace of God and the strength I gained from develop-ing a relationship with Him that enabled me.”

Hampton called and asked if they would like to add a new addi-tion to the their home.

“We were very happy,” said Hampton’s aunt Pat. “We were happy to hear that she wanted to make positive changes to her life.”

And of course with new sur-roundings came new rules, and Hampton had to adapt to these boundaries. There would be no al-cohol, gangs or drugs. Her days of living on the streets were over, and Hampton was committed to turn her life around.

“She had boundaries, like who she could hang out with and what time to be home. But within those boundaries she had a lot of free-dom,” Pat said.

From this Hampton started her road to recovery. She began taking part in the church community. She attended Christian counseling and gave herself to God.

“It wasn’t about the opportu-nity, it was the decision, and it was by the grace of God that gave me that strength to keep moving on,” Hampton said. “If it weren’t for Him intervening and guiding me through the steps to get my life back on track I wouldn’t be the per-son I am today.

“I give all the credit to Him.”Hampton also made education

her top priority. She graduated in three years, was vice president

of the French Club, played var-sity tennis, and was a member of the National Honor Society. She received $1,000 from the Texas Department of Education for 99 percent mastery of the TAAS test, and got a scholarship to Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches.

“It wasn’t easy, I made the choice to change my life around, I made the choice to stay in when my friends were going out, and I made the choice to stay after school,” Hampton said. “It wasn’t about what I had been through, it was about where I was going.”

Hampton met her now husband of 16 years her first day in Texas at a Rangers game and they started dating not long after that. She then got pregnant at 17 years old. Hampton lost her scholarship and it forced her to drop out of tennis. But she came too far for another setback. Her pregnancy never stopped her. She married her hus-band, graduated from high school and started her road to college.

Her husband, Damian, en-rolled into the Air Force after high school, which caused the couple to move around a lot. Hampton end-ing up attending multiple colleges including TCC (Tarrant County College) in Arlington, Campbell University in North Carolina and Black Hills State University in South Dakota.

It took 6 years, but she com-pleted college and wanted nothing more than to be a World History teacher.

“I wanted to make a difference in a child’s life, because I had that teacher in my life,” Hampton said.

The 7th grade teacher told Hampton “No matter what hap-pens you keep moving forward.”

The message stuck. Now Hamp-ton has realized she can have that same affect on her students. She tells them that there is nothing keeping them from the best that life has to offer.

“You will achieve only what you believe in your heart that you’re capable of. So let your past be a landmark, representing how far you’ve come and don’t look back unless you want to go that way,” Hampton said.

“When I was younger I always felt like nobody was listening, and I want to be the person to tell them that I am here, and that nothing is impossible.”

***On a hot day in late August,

Amy Hampton pushes open the double doors of Seguin High school with only one goal in mind: to make a difference.

She walks down the long halls until she reaches her new office. She waits for the bell to ring, as anxious faces fill the empty seats in her classroom.

She paces back and forth through her classroom, and intro-duces herself to the class.

“Hello, I’m Mrs. Hampton, it’s very nice to meet you all.”

Continued from page 8Rough Beginnings Lead To Happiness

Senior Emajae Clements is the first FCCLA nation-al officer in AISD history.

Courtesyphoto

Clements Takes the Cake

The crowd roars to life, the cheerleaders chant and the mascot dances and jumps around during the football game.

Although the mascot is at every game and pep rally, very few know who is really behind the mask. Sophomore Isabel George is the one who suits up for each event and puts on a show.

This is George’s first year as mascot and she got the idea to tryout as a freshman last year.

“I was walking down the hall-way and I saw a paper on the wall that was talking about mascot tryouts,” George said. “ I thought to myself ‘That would be fun. I’m gonna try it.’ It was really a ran-dom thought.”

Usually for tryouts there are three judges, and anyone try-ing out has to come out and do a routine to music. The judges then choose the best student to be the mascot for the year.

Amy Bierman, varsity cheerlead-ing coach, is in charge of setting up the tryouts each year.

“When I first met her I don’t know if she said more than 10

TaylorSmithStaff Writer

The Face Behind the CougarSarahStroud

Entertainment Editor

See Mascot on page 10

Senior Named to National FCCLA Post

December 2013Features10

Body shaking out of nervousness, Jesse Ford begins to strum the opening chords to “Blackbird” by The Beatles. It is the first time he’s ever played in front of an audi-ence, and his nerves are reeling.

He never pictured that this moment would come so soon. And he never expected that it would be at his best friend’s fu-neral.

Ford, a junior, has always had a talent for the guitar. After the death of his beloved friend, Alyssa Crowe, he felt that playing their favorite song would be the perfect opportunity to honor her.

“Her death only makes me want to be better,” Ford said. “It

makes me strive to try harder to play better.”

Ford first started playing guitar at the age of 12 with the in-fluence of his grand-father. He taught Ford basic skills; enough to convince him to make a career out of it.

“It is my passion,” Ford said. “I love play-ing. I love how happy

I feel when I do, and I especially love how people re-act to my mu-sic. If I play a sad song, then my audience usually gets sad and if I play a happy

song, they get happy. I find that amazing.”

Braden Ferdinand-sen, one of Ford’s best friends, agrees that Ford has talent and is constantly showing his support by talking to him and keeping Alyssa’s memory alive in a positive way.

“Jesse is one of those people who I can go to and feel

better instantly,” said Ferdinandsen. “I was devastated to see him after he got the news that Alyssa had passed. There was no vibrancy. There was no ‘him’. It was just his body blankly walking down the halls.”

Evan Womack, Ford’s closest friend, attended the funeral to both say goodbye to their best friend and to give Ford support.

“He wasn’t playing for the crowd and they knew that,” said Wom-ack. “He was playing for Alyssa… and that’s what matters.”

Even with both of his closest friends’ support, both Ferdi-nandsen and Womack agree that playing for Alyssa was good for Ford.

“Jesse playing at the funeral was the best thing he could’ve done,” said Ferdinand-sen. “The fact that he had to let go of all his emotions for her and move on it has made him a better person.”

Guitarist Overcomes Fear to Honor FriendJezabelSantos

Sports Editor

Have you heard about …Access Point Communications UnlimitedDo you want a company that will go above and beyond your expectations?

A company that will beat everyone’s pricing?

Who will put YOUR needs before their own??

Sounds way too good to be true, doesn’t it? Well, here at APCU we give you everything you expect and then some. We strive for excellence and guarantee perfection with every job completed, APCU takes great pride in all our work and we deliver nothing but the best with our quality products, outstanding customer service and 100% customer satisfaction on ALL services provided.

Now, let me tell you about the services we provide ...Installation Services

• Kiosk • Wireless Stations• Rollout Programs• Complete Store Build-Out & Remodel Installations• Fixture, Display and Furniture • Installations• Sign and Graphic Installations • Interior Decor Package Installa-tions

• Vinyl Installations• Wall Covering Installations• Millwork Installations• Maintenance Programs• Site Surveys

Business Services• Structured Cabling, Voice, & Data• Network Equipment• Phone Equipment

• Cabinets• Intercom PA Systems• Wireless Networks• Multi Zone Audio Receivers, Sound Systems & Speakers

Residential• Structured Cabling, Voice, & Data• Home Theater Systems• Intercom Systems

words, but she puts that suit on and she’s like a whole differ-ent person,” Bierman said. “She dances around and is able to be herself.”

George prances her way through each game with enthusi-asm.

“My favorite part would be being able to dress up in the suit and do all the things you usually can’t do at a football game or anywhere else,” George said.

George is able to cheer with the cheerleaders, interact with the crowd and even people on the field.

Now that football season is over, so is mascot season. George’s mascot responsibili-ties are over for now, unless she decides to try out again next year which she is planning to do.

”I will miss everything from the Friday night games, the marching band and Starline performance, the audience’s reac-tion every time a touchdown was scored,” George said.

Sophomore Isabel George pumps up the crowd at a football game. This is her first year as mascot but she doesn’t want it to be her last.

Mascot Mystery Finally Uncovered

Continued from page 9

PhotobyLauraMcMahan

Ford

George

Ups, Downs of Warped TourMy own sweat, along with other people’s,

dripped down my body. Being so closely con-fined in the crowd ignited a fear in me. I could feel an anxiety attack coming on. We were packed in like cattle in front of the stage.

I let my guard down for one second and a female crowd surfer landed on top of me. As I was pushing the guy ahead of me to get closer, I began to crumple to the ground. Luckily my guy friends lifted her off and saved me from being on the ground in a crowd of hundreds of people.

The Vans Warped Tour literally had its ups and downs. When I wasn’t facing other fans, I was enjoy listening to my favorite bands. If you get claustrophobic, being even two people away from the mosh pit is not for you. If you are too nice to throw elbows, prepare to either be an-noyed or hurt.

In my case it was both. Some guy decided to stand with his armpit in my face and his back pressed against me. With his arm raised I could not even see the band I was watching, and I could smell his need for more deodorant. Meanwhile another large gentleman repeat-

edly stepped and jumped on my toes. For the next few weeks my toenails became more and more purple. Afterwards, I refrained from wearing sandals no matter how hot it was. Bloody toenails is exactly what I wanted people to see when school started.

The temperature the day of the concert was well into the 100s. Within the first two or three hours people already needed medical attention.

Water is the most important thing when it is that hot with minimal shade, and you are on concrete. After drinking so much water you would expect to need to use the restroom after 12 hours. When your body is that dehy-drated, the water leaves through sweat. I’m perfectly okay with not having to enter those public restrooms.

Overall, Warped Tour is a memorable experience. There are plenty of pros and cons. I had anger, claustrophobia, and exhaustion that day, but it was one of the best days of my life. I saw into a world that I had never seen before. I got out of my comfort zone, and I saw a few of my idols. I would go through the bad parts again just to experience the good.

‘Catching Fire’ Beats the OddsThe “Hunger Games: Catch-

ing Fire” is a spectacular sequel to Hunger Games. The talented cast, directors, film effects and the sur-prisingly accurate representation of the book make it a major hit.

On opening weekend, “Catching Fire” made more than $160 mil-lion alone. It broke the November box office record in its debut, and is still making millions. It’s clearly not disappointing the fans.

Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence portrays Katniss Everdeen perfectly. The love story she has between Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) has the viewers arguing over which boy she should choose.

Their acting skills were excel-lent, especially because many of the scenes were filled with special effects the actors couldn’t actually see while filming. Everything they did was believable.

The special effects themselves are jaw-dropping. If people didn’t know any better they would swear it was all real.

The action makes people claw at their seats and pray for their favor-ite characters, like any good action movie should.

“Catching Fire” is directed by Francis Lawrence, a different direc-tor than the one from the first “Hunger Games.”

His camera style was much smoother and captured action scenes and difficult angles flaw-lessly. The new film style added to the movie’s excellence.

Even though it’s impossible to capture the entire novel in an hour and 45 minutes, they kept true to the story’s plot which is what most book-based films struggle to do.

The storyline of “The Hunger Games” is complex and goes much deeper than a love triangle be-tween Katniss, Peeta and Gale.

Which is my one complaint about the movie and the media surrounding it. Everyone is so focused on which boy she should choose, they don’t pay attention to the real problem: The dictating government and the actual games themselves.

Besides those grievances, the quality and execution of the film is astounding. It makes people exit the theater craving more.

This astounding sequel beat the odds and unbelievably topped its predecessor: “The Hunger Games.”

“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” is awarded 5 out of 5 mocking-jays.

December 2013 Entertainment 11

KateChappellFeature Editor

The ‘Lion King’ Roars to Life

The lights dim and anticipation cascades through the air while the sound of bongos fill the room. When the curtains rise, the familiar song roars through the auditorium causing excitement through the crowd.

“The Lion King” the musical begins.

The spectacular event re-en-acted the entire movie from start to finish with wonderful puppets, jaw-dropping costumes, realistic scenery and an extremely talented cast. It was clear that the producers and casting directors of the musi-cal were thoughtful and precise when choosing the cast.

The main characters had voices so eerily similar to the voices from the movie, you would’ve thought they were the original actors. The dancing, singing, and acting was impeccable.

There were rarely any slip-ups, and those mistakes were disregard-ed due to the artistry on stage. The directors did add a few scenes such as giving the hyenas a musical number when they ran into young Simba and Nala in the elephant graveyard.

A scene was also added where Scar takes a romantic interest in

grown-up Nala while he is king. But Nala quickly refuses Scar’s of-fer to make her his queen, and the musical continues into the original plot of the movie.

While they did change a few details, they were insignificant alterations compared to the overall astounding musical.

“Lion King” the musical gets 5 out of 5 stars.

The Lion King Musical re-enacted the beloved Disney movie glori-ously and with precise talent.

StephAllevaEditor in Chief

StephAllevaEditor in Chief

Art by Adrian RamirezThere are both good things and bad things about Warped Tour including getting step-ping on by a mob and using a smelly bath-room.

Courtesyphoto