April 2011

it on the chin; gas prices are going up too quickly — overnight. That’s the kind of thing that kills them; they can’t raise re-tail prices that high and be competitive,” said Gene Guilford, president of the In-dependent Connecticut Petroleum Asso-ciation, “They’d rather sell you a $2 cup of coffee than a gallon of gas. They make more money on the coffee.” ICPA President Gene Guilford represents the people when the issue comes to oil and gas manufacturing. Be-ing concerned about the conflicts in the Middle East, Guilford is comfortable with the slow decrease in oil prices. Peo-ple still believe that the ever changing oil prices may become harmful for everyday life, so they came up with the solution to take fewer trips to their local stores, such as Wal-Mart or Target. “I don’t think we are going to see much higher prices,” Guilford said, “Over the last few days, the situation has stabilized and so have prices. There’s still plenty of product [crude oil] in the marketplace. People are reacting to what they think might hap-pen.” Oil prices are still said to decrease in the next year, and superstores are be-ginning to see an increase in their prices again. Ever since September of 2010, gas prices have been increasing to its

Aaron Williams

“All great American writers were newspaper people.” - John Gould

Index

Reporter

Conflict has been erupting in the Middle East as countries try to fight for their preferred government. Current countries fighting in their own revolution consist of Egypt, the starting country, and later Libya. Both countries are fight-ing for their president to step down from office considering they dealt with mea-sures towards the citizens. In response to this conflict, the people have noticed that through the power of resources like me-dia and protest, the chances of a success-ful revolution is imminent. The outcomes of these revolutions began to become noticeable throughout the world as other countries, such as are own, are seeing the consequences of the riots. For example, considering trade has been stalled or in-terrupted between the United States and the Middle East, necessities such as oil and gas has become difficult to obtain. The result led to a slow increase in gas and commodity prices. Gas prices have been increased by 29 percent since 2010. Gas stations and the consumers are both being nega-tively affected by the increase in prices. Consumers have been showing up less at gas stations since gas is so much harder to obtain, and the stations have been see-ing a decrease in productivity since then. “The retailers right now are really taking

Page 2...Weston EB Warriors

Page 3...Protecting the Protecters

Page 4...Social Media: Voices, im-ages, effects

Page 5...Movie Reviews

Page 6-7...Teacher Interviews

Page 8....Weird Wacky World

Page 9...Horoscopes

Page 10...Teacher Interviews (Cont.)

Page 11...Sports

Page 12...Art Review

April 2011 Volume 9 Issue 5

peak of 82 cents, according to the Lun-dburg Survey, produced by Trilby Lun-dburg. The Lundburg Survey is an inde-pendent market research company that specializes in the U.S. petroleum market and other related industries. Due to the unavailability of crude oil produced by the Middle East, buyers are having to buy a substitute oil from other sources, whichthen increases demand and creates a chain reaction of an increase in oil and gas prices from other buyers. Lundburg says that the increase in gas prices could dampen the country’s chances of recov-ering from the high debt. “Higher prices today are certainly capable of halting that gasoline demand growth, which would reflect bad news in the economy,” she said. Nobody can say for sure when the conflict in the Middle East will be-come resolved. The Egyptians have reported that they have experienced a better economy and social impact since President Mubarak stepped down from office, and Libyans are still waiting for word of President Ghadaffi’s removal. The ongoing revolutions will continue to affect the world and America’s concern with shipment and purchase will still be in effect.

CougarpolitanNewsApril 20112

On March 11, 2011, many were sitting in classrooms waiting for the bell to ring to release them for spring break, but on the other side of the world thousands of people were fighting for their lives. Japan was struck with three di-sasters; a tsunami, an earthquake, and a nuclear explosion, all just days apart. Approximately 8,500 people have died and 13,000 are missing, and as of now that number could increase. The ones that survived are trying to salvage what they have left and are dealing with the radiation affects from the nuclear explo-sion. Because of the radiation threats people face in Tokyo, Japan many pur-chase bottled water and other rations for precautionary measures. The national government has already put a limit on the amount of water bottles citizens are allowed to purchase. The radiation is progressively getting worse. For a short

while there was a fear of the radiation contaminating the sea water. As a result, emergency workers are trying to cool the reactors in an effort to prevent a melt-down. They have now switched to using fresh water as a coolant, rather than sea water. People in Japan are definately on edge, and while the crisis happened over a month ago, people all around the world have still being affected. This disaster has everyone around the world lending a helping hand. Even famed singer Gwen Stefani has donated $1 million to help the people of Japan. “I’ve been inspired by Japan for many years and have a true love, appreciation and respect for the Japanese people and their culture,” Ste-fani said. There are also many other asso-ciations, such as the Red Cross, that ac-cept all possible donations for the people in serious need.

Quadruple threat

hits JapanMaesen AshPage Editor

Everyday thousands of kids around the world face the reality that they have an infection, virus, cancer, or disorder and everyday they live with the hope that someone somewhere will help them fight their tragic fate. Weston Zucha, a sophomore student and band member, was born with a rare hereditary skin disorder called Epider-molysis Bullosa. Epi-dermolysis Bullosa or EB causes one’s skin to be very sensitive, if not treated properly the skin can tear or blisters can be formed. Ban-dages are to be worn e v e r y -day and changed t h o r -o u g h l y to pre-vent an i n f e c t i o n f r o m appearing. For the past three years t he Crosby community and neighboring contributors have stood by Weston’s side to help make everyday life a lit-tle easier for him. On Saturday April 2, 2011 the helping continued. High school students, teachers, and faculty members, and other supporting people gathered at the high school football stadium to walk-a-mile to raise money for Weston.

“It feels good to know they care,” said Zucha. Mr. and Mrs. Zucha were also there to thank all who walked and do-nated to their son’s cause. “I mostly want to say thank you and you all helped alot!.” All do-

nations will go towards the protective bandages Zu-

cha must wear every-day. These ban-

dages are too expensive for the i n s u r -a n c e

company to cover

the cost, that’s why it

is widely felt as one’s duty

to help a fellow peer during his

struggle. The com-munity and residents saved the date, Satur-day April 2, 2011 and

headed down to Cros-by High School’s foot-

ball stadium from 4 to 6 p.m.to walk for support.”

Every penny counts and ev-ery step was appreciated.,” said Darlene Vantine Zucha’s aide. All proceeds will be given directly to Zucha. Walk-ins were welcomed the night of the event. Those that came out and supported the cause will now be able to call themselves proud EB Warriors.

Weston’s EB Warriors

fight for fundsMaria HuertaReporter/Photographer

The CHS French III students were given the opportunity to video conference with Canadians and get a first-hand glimpse of their culture, as well as practice their French skills with students from a French-speaking country.

On April 1, students were able to connect with Brampton Heart Lake Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario and practice their French. Crosby students were then introduced to Canadian sophomores with the focus of the video conference showing where each class was located in its French studies and allowing students the opportunity to talk in French about a typical day in their life, the qualities of each school and aspects of their towns.

The process of contacting the school, setting up the session, and making sure the technology worked correctly was performed by Brenda Quintanilla, Crosby Secondary Instructional Technologist. Having performed similar conferences at San Jacinto and Lee Colleges, she offered to direct the videoconference.

Quintanilla sent out an email to numerous schools in order to find a class willing to video conference with Crosby. “The main hardship,” she said, “was finding someone who would respond and try to connect. Initially we wished

for France, but the time differences made it impossible.” Mr. Osei-Akoto, the Canadian teacher who responded to Quintanilla’s email, was the only reply she received.

The effects of speaking to students from another country were apparent. “It was really cool to see that people in a completely different country weren’t all that different from us,” said junior Erin Valentine. “For example, one Canadian girl mentioned she enjoyed iced coffee, their school lunches are cut into A, B, and C sections, and all admitted to enjoying Drake and despising Justin Beiber. Students also discovered that there were certain differences between them; Brampton Heart students said that their school emphasized fine arts, charity and environmentalism while Crosby students told about their school’s enthusiasm for sports and competitive academics like UIL drama and debate.

Dr. Morris, principal of Crosby High School, hoped that through this experience French III students would begin to gather an understanding of a different culture through communication. Many students expressed their gratitude for being able to meet their Canadian counterparts and a plan to keep in contact via a Facebook club page.

French III Students video conference with Canadian classrooms

Danica Womack Editor-in-Chief

“It feels good to know they care.”

OpinionApril 2011 Cougarpolitan 3

It is estimated that there are 1,447,896 active and 1, 458,500 reserve personnel in United States armed forces. All those serving must be counted as mil-lions of lives, millions of individual per-sonalities, millions of emotions, ideals, and, very simply, millions of human be-ings. Because of these millions of people one is said to feel safe living their daily lives without fear. But recent disclosures have brought to light the lies that are told to the public and prospective defenders. If you were to ask a recruiter, it would be assured that the United States gov-ernment will take care of its protectors. Unfortunately, that is not the case. As of May 2010 an average of 31,827 U.S sol-diers have been wounded in action while serving in Iraq alone. This often results in life changing injuries such as loss of limbs or permanent brain damage.

The government can offer little more than a “thank you” and an “I’m sorry”, leaving these ex-militia men and women in desperate situations; dying or perpetually impaired so that they can do nothing to help themselves or their fami-lies that so depend on them. The govern-ment has itself concluded that 200,000 homeless soldiers can be found in the

PRotecting the PRotectoR

Megan MorrisNews Editor

U.S. Such troubling circumstances of-ten leads to desperation, attributing to an all-time high military suicide rate.

One such case of government desertion is that of Sergeant Bernhardt Rupprecht. In 2008, his military pay having not been placed into his ac-count, Bank of America repossessed Rupprecht’s 2004 Dodge Neon while the serviceman was in Iraq and later an unnamed collection agency attempted to collect $11,000. Rupprecht was re-portedly discussed that a large financial institution that receives $25 billion in bailout money from the very govern-ment he was trying to protect was at-tempting to take his property with no consideration of his situation.

Civilian groups have noticed these frightening statistics and taken it upon themselves to help these strug-gling fellow citizens. One such organi-zation is Homes for Troops, an organi-zation that’s efforts have raised millions of dollars to build homes for soldiers in need, no matter the state or branch of service, allowing them a hopeful future in a home that is better equipped for their specific needs.

On Monday, February 21, Cros-by High School clubs, community orga-nizations and Crosby residents came to-gether to host a supportive rally, namely a barefoot race across the football field in honor of a Crosby Drew Intermedi-ate student named Hannah Turner. Turn-er raised $300 for the cause. A total of about 375 people competed, raising over $5000, in recognition of special guest Troy Yocum. This former soldier has made a vow to walk 7000 miles across 31 states for 16 months to raise $1 mil-lion for the medical or domestic needs a serviceman’s insurance may no longer cover.

This fund-raiser hosted by the school’s JROTC also successfully broke the Guinness world record of partici-pants in a 100 yard barefoot race.

“I really appreciate all that Cros-by has done. I decided to start this drum hike because it helps all those troops that are struggling with daily life and I feel helping them in this way is something,” said Yocum.

Turner was thrilled that the re-sult of the race showed so much support for the cause, explaining that it is impor-tant because she herself has serving fam-ily members.

“I would feel bad if the soldiers that protected me came home and didn’t have anything to come back to, so I raised the money to help them the best I could,” said Turner.

Yocum and others that insist on going out of their way to help these troops say they will do all they can to in-sure those who have served receive the proper treatment they so justly deserve through donations and time. But, some communities question how far financial aid can go, while others say that’s the best thing that can be done.

“Pretty much donations of time or money is the best thing. People can donate to associations or volunteer for events that assist the ex-military get back on their feet.” said Sgt. Timothy Mead-ows, a Crosby JROTC instructor.

A diverse collection of business-es, websites, and groups such as Brad-ley-Morris Incorporated, which finds jobs for former military personnel and MilitarySOS.com, which gives support and assistance to military spouses and significant others of all branches around the world, gives hope that the military will be taken care of. If not by the gov-ernment, by the public.

Comic by: Jordan Comeaux

4 April 2011 CougarpolitanOpinion

Human opinion and imagination, coupled with numerous options of ways to apply and present so many images to the public, is one of, if not the, most powerful influences on the world’s vast population. Everyday these images are published on the glossy pages of magazines, the millions of multicolored pixels of televisions, 10ft by 8ft billboards seen while driving along the highway, radios, newspapers, and numerous other types of media accessible every hour of the day to the estimated 6.9 billion of the world. Everyday these are seen and everyday these productions of public information take hold of that very public, convince them, persuade them, and stay with them subconsciously. M o s t infamous of the effects of t h e media, according to the concerned population i s that of sexual and physical obsession, the need to be beautiful, outwardly-appealing, and, most alarming, the desire to be extremely thin. The danger of this fixation rests on the dark shoulders of Anorexia Nervosa, a progressive and vastly popularizing eating disorder characterized by one’s refusal to eat because of an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Another such morbid and frightening outcome is the violent and self -d e s t r u c t i v e behavior that has taken hold of the world, v i a such popular sites as YouTube. Though this site is known to have filters scanning for inappropriate contents, its large body of videos cannot be completely investigated, resulting in daily school fights, teenage beatings, suicides and threats taking their place among the 700 million videos believed to be hosted by the site. Unfortunately, this uprising of suggestively violent material being uploaded to the internet is not as startling as the human interest being taken in witnessing such acts. One video of three boys enacting a suicide bombing received over 300,000 hits. This “monkey see, monkey do” attitude shows the impressionable psyche of modern youth. The young public’s desire to participate in something that

will be noticed is evident especially when they take part in copy-cats of infamous murders and executions, as with the December 30, 2006 execution of Saddam Hussein. The hanging of the convicted terrorist was videotaped on a mobile phone and placed on the internet w i t h i n hours, receiving much

controversy, none more so t h a n after a young c o p i e r died in Pakistan. T h e boy, Mubashar Ali, 9, hanged himself, w h i l e r e - e n a c t i n g

H u s s e i n ’ s hanging with the help of his10-year-old

sister after tying a rope to a ceiling fan

and around his neck in his home in Multan, Pakistan. Also a recent study has revealed that over a hundred videos are in fact show-by-example “tutorials” of how to injure one’s self; 50 percent of which show pictures while 28 percent show actual cutting. These videos, mainly of young women slicing or burning their own flesh, are in danger of glamorizing the act. Dr. Michael Miller, the head of a clinical program for teens with a history of self-harm and suicide at the University of Minnesota and starter of this study, hopes these eye-opening conclusions will convince widely visited sites like YouTube and Google to take precautions for its impressionable visitors. Most recently, though, of those affected by the circulation of the social media is that of the recent string of revolutions, consisting of demonstrations, marches, labor strikes, and violent clashes between protestors and security personnel, in the Middle Eastern countries of Libya and Egypt.

The revolution in Egypt, also know as the Revolution of Rage among

other names, lasted 18 days and ended with the deaths of over 300 people and the eventual stepping down of President Hosni Mubarak. The coordinators of these revolutions used popular hosting sites such as Facebook, used chiefly for the January 25 protest in Tahrir Square, Cairo and Twitter to organize and rally those who would take part in the demonstrations. Because of such progressively used medias, the public unrest was soon fueled into a full on rebellion in the said countries due to the people’s feeling of dissatisfaction in government control and way of action, resulting in serious and potentially dangerous consequences for the rest of the world; progressively high gas prices, increases in loss of jobs, wage cuts, and eventually…an American revolution?

Megan MorrisNews Editor

Social Media: voices, images, effects Often high school students

can’t wait to get their license and drive to school for the very first time. They’re online picking out their favorite models with their fa-vorite colors and can’t wait to get it when they get their license. Most teens do this without even realiz-ing that the Ford F-150 in black they want has as little as 10 miles to the gallon when it comes to gas. They don’t realize that gas is be-coming more and more expensive and don’t think about how fuel-efficient they are. Many of those big trucks and SUVs take gallons of gas and tons of money just to fill them up. Before you know it that gas and money is all gone and it’s time to fill up the car again and break your wallet when it comes to paying for it. Luckily, automo-tive dealers are realizing the times are changing as far as gas goes and that some of their vehicles aren’t fuel-efficient, so to fix it they’re creating cars with gas mileage of up to 40 miles per gallon, such as the Nissan Leaf and Toyota Prius. These cars are revolutionizing the car industry and before anyone knows it, people will have a much more fuel-efficient vehicle. Due to the older cars hav-ing low gas mileage, websites are releasing the best and worst ve-hicles of gas mileage. A website called Mother Nature Network re-leased their review of the best and worst cars with gas mileage, each

with their mile per gallon, whether they’re a standard or automatic trans-mission, and the maker of the car. Eventually cars are going to be much more fuel-efficient and people won’t be worrying about the price of gas because of their new and improved vehicles. Gas prices may be getting higher, but the new cars and better gas mileage are fighting back against it.

Top 10 Most Fuel-Efficient Cars:Toyota Prius Hybrid (automatic)- 50 MpgSmart ForTwo Passion (automatic)- 39 MpgHonda Insight EX Hybrid (automatic)- 38 MpgVolkswagen Golf (Manual)- 38 MpgHonda Civic Hybrid (Both)- 37 MpgFord Fusion (Both)- 34 MpgScion xD (Manual)- 34 MpgToyota Camry Hybrid (Both)- 33 Mpg

Top 10 Worst Fuel-Efficient:Ford F-250 diesel engine (Automatic)- 10 MpgHummer H2 (Automatic)- 11 MpgCadillac Escalade (Automatic)- 13 MpgChevrolet Avalanche (Automatic)- 13 MpgChevrolet Silverado 2500 (Automat-ic)- 13 MpgFord Expedition (Automatic)- 13 MpgJeep Commander Limited (Automat-ic)- 13 MpgLincoln Navigator Ultimate (Automat-ic)- 13 MpgNissan Armada (Automatic)- 13 MpgNissan Titan (Automatic)- 13 Mpg

Gas Guzzlers ReporterBrent Matula

CougarpolitanEditor-In-Chief.............................. Danica WomackAssistant Editor............................. Ashley FeackCopy Editor.................................... Colleen GilmorePhoto Editor ................................... Martin LemondGraphic Artist.................................Kelsea Pipkin, Machelle RobertsPhotographers ................................. Chris Mercer, Paola Ochoa, Jessica Curtis, Will Anderson Reporters........................................ Aaron Williams, Brandy Lozano, Brent Matula, Caley Frye, Laura Duarte, Lauren Douglas, Maeson Ash, Maria Huerta, Megan Mor-ris, Norma Trevino, Rachel Cessna, Shayna Segari, Staci O’ReillyAdviser.........................................Michelle Courrege

CougarpolitanThe Cougarpolitan is a student-run newspaper serving Crosby High School. All students are encouraged to participate. The Cougarpolitan staff reserves the right to edit submitted material for accuracy, grammar, and length. The Cougarpolitan will not publish any material that falls under the Supreme Court’s definition of unprotected speech. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters to the editor, suggestions, critiques, and complaints are welcome and encouraged. The staff editorial(s) represent that of the writer, not that of Crosby High School.

Entertainment 5April 2011 Cougarpolitan

Movie ReviewsBrent Matula

BeastlyReporter

Beastly is a modern-day take on Beauty and the Beast featuring Vanessa Ann Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer. Pettyfer plays a teen named Kyle, who is obsessed with money, looks, and popularity. Kyle is insensitive to people’s feelings and makes them feel inferior if they aren’t attractive. Kyle learns his lesson though when he embarrasses a so-called “witch” played by Mary-Kate Olsen who turns him into a hideous creature to teach him that looks aren’t everything. After he is changed his is forced to live with a maid, a blind tutor and oc-casionally his father. His father has the same personality as him when it comes to looks and doesn’t like to spend time with him or even be around him. Eventu-ally his dad doesn’t even bother to come around anymore. Kyle gets tired of be-ing forced to stay inside all day and starts

sneaking out of the house. He soon runs into a girl who he has a crush on. Kyle begins to stalk her and eventually tricks her and her father to letting her come live with him. Lindy, played by Vanessa Ann Hudgens, resents Kyle at first, but they soon start to click after he keeps try-ing to get her to fall in love with him. Kyle has to learn the true meaning of love first before she even considers him. Soon they are spending all of their time together and fall in love. Overall the movie was very en-tertaining, but somewhat predictable. You knew exactly what was going to happen and who was going to fall in love, before it even happened which made it less exciting. Even though it was pre-dictable, it was still a good movie with lots of emotion and passion between the characters and is a great romantic movie for couples on a date.

RangoMaria HuertaReporter Rango (Johnny Depp) is a sheltered chameleon who struggles to find his true identity after unexpectedly being stranded in the hot, open desert. After just a few minutes under the scorching hot sun Rango soon realizes that he won’t survive the night if he doesn’t find some water to hydrate himself. Walking, walking and walking, he seems to be getting nowhere until he sees a girl in the distance. Bean (Isla Fisher) is a resident in a town called Dirt and after meeting Rango she offers him a ride to find help. After arriving in Dirt, Rango convinces everyone that he is a big shot murderer who has accomplished a lot in his life when in reality he’s just a house pet who lives the life of a sophisticated, spoiled chameleon. He gains the respect of the mayor and the people of Dirt and becomes the Sheriff. When a water shortage hits this small, rundown town and the last bit of water in the bank is stolen, it is Sheriff Rango’s moral duty to find the thieves. Rango’s heroic adventure to save the town is intriguing, thoroughly enter-taining, and worth watching on the big screen. Rango is currently playing in theaters everywhere. Movie-goers can see for themselves if Rango’s quest to save one town at a time is successful.

Summer!

Summer Break! Ah! It’s right around the corner. So close that you can almost feel it, the ice cold water of the pool you’ve been waiting all season long to take in. Or that certain beach with the sand that is just perfect enough to squish between your toes. Well for those of you who did that during spring break well then congrats to you. As for those of you who were stuck at home with all of the time of the world, consider these options for the sum-mer:Swimming at Cecil’s Newport Beach or the poolCamping Galveston beachTheme park CruiseMoviesPicnic

Throw a party Go to the mall Tanning Water Park Open up a lemonade-stand FishingHave a car washZoo

What’s Your Favorite Color?

Shayna SegariReporter

Red: You are very strong, you like being noticed and people should approach with caution and “beware” when around you. Red’s a hot color that evokes a powerful emotion you are passionate and ener-getic. Red is often used as a symbol of pride and strength. You are competitive because red is also a sporty color.Yellow: Is the brightest color to the hu-man eye. If this is your favorite color you’re youthful and fun! Happiness is a top priority for you. Sunshine and other light playful feelings describe you. It is a cheerful energetic color and so are you!Blue: Is a cool calming color. You are

creative and intelligent. Blue is a very popular color and so are you. You are loyal, strong, wise and trustworthy. Blue has a calming effect you are probably calm most if the time. Blue is the color of the sky and the sea which people often associate with beauty.Purple: Combines the stability of blue and the energy of red. You treat your-self like royalty, nobility and prestige. Mystery, magic, power and luxury are some of your favorite things. Purple is often used to portray rich powerful kings, leaders, wizards and magicians. You have the appearance of being fun and easy to get along with.

Paola OchoaReporter

6 April 2011

We love our teachers! Mooney

What “stereotype” would you say you were? Did you fit in with the jocks or the kids who worked with computers?

I was in the nerd group. We would play strategy board games and have LAN (Local area network) parties on the weekends.

Is teaching your job, or do you have more than one job? If so, please explain.

Well if you count jobs that don’t profit: Housekeeper, Caregiver, Personal Shopper, Cook, Dry cleaner, Decorater, Chaufer, and Tutor.

What “stereotype” would you say you were? Did you fit in the jocks or the kids who worked with comput-ers?I was a goody-goody who was always involved at school and made straight A’s. However very few of my friends were the same way; so while I was a good,

nerdy kid, I hung out with the rocker, grungier-type.

Has teaching always been what you’ve wanted to do?

No, I worked for a state environmental agency for 3 years and an environmental consultant for 5 years.

Cook

Metcalf

Darbonne

What are your views on social networks

I love facebook, but I hate things like match.com

Boone

Keel Who influenced or made you interested in becoming a teacher?

Mr. powers taught me my senior year and he made me interested because he made learning fun.

Do you like sports? If so, please tell me what some of them are? I love sports. I played volleyball, softball and ran track. My favorite sport to play is volleyball, but my favorite sport to watch is football.

Van Horn

7Cougarpolitan

We love our teachers! Mooney

Why did you choose to work at Crosby High School?

I wanted to marry my girlfriend so I needed a job. Bay-town had no job openings but Crosby did.

FlournoyHas teaching always been what you’ve wanted to do?

I was a lawyer; that’s what I wanted to do.

We love our Teachers!Keel

Who influenced or made you interested in becoming a teacher?

Mr. powers taught me my senior year and he made me interested because he made learning fun.

Van Horn

MalcharDo you feel that teaching is going to be your permanent career or not?

Honestly, I love it and would like to keep doing it , but I also have other interest in higher eductation and business.

Wallace What are you thoughts on valentines day?

Its a made up date by hallmark and you shouldn’t have one day to show your other that you love them

DR. RoderDo you remember what your first job was? If so, please explain.

I was a janitor, I cleaned with my mother at a chemical plant

Blanchard

Features8 April 2011 Cougarpolitan

The Icecreamists, a trendy ice cream parlor, says its breastmilk “Baby Gaga” ice cream sold out as soon as it launched Friday.

The company paid women who donated their breast milk after a health screening. The milk is then pasteurized and churned together with vanilla pods and lemon zest. The dish, which comes in a martini glass, sells for 14 pounds ($22.50) each.

Matt O’Connor, who owns the company, says the product is “organic, free-range and totally natural.”

The Food Standards Agency says there are no specific laws prohibiting businesses from selling human milk products, although they must comply with general food safety laws to ensure the product is safe for consumption.

We all scream for...

For eight days, 19-year-old Estibalis Chavez has been camped outside of the British embassy in Mexico City, surviving only on water and demanding an invitation to the upcoming royal wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William.

The tent in which Chabez is living is decorated with pictures of the soon-to-be-married couple, as well as signs that read “Are they going to let me die just because they wouldn’t give me an invitation to the royal wedding?” and “This is my only dream,”. A facebook page has also been set up by Chavez -- all in the hopes of catching the attention of the royal family.

All members of the royal family refused to comment on the situation, and no invitation has been sent.

Starving for Royalty

Colleen GilmoreCopy Editor

Assistant Editor

Ashley Feack

Firefighters say they have re-moved a 5-foot-long alligator who was hiding behind a couch after floodwaters washed it into a home in northern Brazil.

Capt. Luiz Claudio Farias of the Parauapebas city fire department says that when the floodwaters receded on Tuesday, a woman saw her 3-year-old son petting something behind the couch. It was an alligator. She quickly snatched up the boy and called the fire depart-ment.

Farias said Wednesday the al-ligator was apparently well fed. “If he was hungry he could have seriously hurt or even killed the boy.”

The alligator was taken to an environmentally protected area near the city and released into a river.

See you later, gator!

On January 11, 2011, Capcom’s latest DS adventure Ghost Trick: Phan-tom Detective made its way to American shores. With lead development handled by Shu Takumi, the release was highly anticipated among fans of the cult favor-ite Ace Attorney series, Takumi’s claim to fame. While Ghost Trick carries with it all of the quirky characters and ab-surd dialogue that gave Ace Attorney its charm, the game’s titular system of supernatural hijinks gives it a character entirely its own and establishes it as a must-play for any DS gamer.

The story starts at the scene of the protagonist’s death, or rather, mur-der, in the center of a desolate junkyard. His soul, still suspended on Earth, is in-stantly wiped clean of all memory; the only clue left to him is a pointy-haired corpse, which he can only assume is his, and a red-headed detective, the sole witness to his demise. But no more than moments after his own killing, this young woman encounters a hit man and is promptly shot dead.

While beginning with the death of the game’s two primary characters may seem strange, this is where the ac-tion comes in. The stranded ghost is ap-proached by a mysterious possessed desk lamp that reveals to him the special abili-ties given him in this state--his “ghost tricks”, which enable him manipulate nearby objects, travel through phone lines and, most importantly, rewind to four minutes before a corpse’s death. Unfortunately, rules dictate he cannot prevent his own death, and even worse, he has only until sunrise to make use of his powers, for at that point his soul will disappear forever.

Under further directions from the desk lamp, the main character begins a single night’s journey in search of both his identity and conspiracy surrounding his death. The world is artfully rendered in colorful, remarkably smooth 2D ani-mation, filled to the brim with nutty co-medic dialogue, and wrapped in a wildly interwoven web of mystery. Most of the gameplay revolves around reviving key

characters by stepping back in time and interfering with their deaths by control-ling objects. Though there are complaints about the linear nature of these puzzles, since there is only one method that can solve each, they remain more than suf-ficiently challenging and typically re-quire a decent amount of re-tries and experimentation to overcome. While, as with Ace Attorney games, the story takes center stage, Ghost Trick’s gameplay is notably both more immersive and distin-guished than Takumi’s previous works, marking a movement towards a better balanced game.

Critics have generally looked upon Ghost Trick positively; 1UP.com gave it an A, GameSpot gave it a 9.0, IGN gave it an 8.5, and it’s Metascore counts an 83. Undoubtedly, most review-ers reiterate the point that, though a lit-tle text-heavy and slightly limited in its gameplay, the ingenuity of both Ghost Trick’s story and puzzles make the game a worthwhile endeavor--one rewarded with an ending that will make anyone’s heart melt.

An East Boston woman at-tempted to smuggle in over 12 lbs. of cocaine in a bag full of dirty diapers. Her excuse is that she had no idea what was in the bag and was being used as a mule. She told authorities that a woman approached her at the airport in Mexico and paid her $300 USD to bring back a piece of luggage with gifts in it. She was told a relative at the Boston airport by the name of Juan would approach her and pick up the luggage.

The 12 lbs. of coke were discov-ered when other passengers apparently complained of a foul smell emanating from this piece of carry-on luggage. Ac-cording to a police report, the luggage was opened by the accused, using a key and inside they found a plastic bag with 20 soiled diapers and 12 one pound bags of pure cocaine wrapped inside.

This crime stinks!

Features 9April 2011 Cougarpolitan

EmbarrassingMoments

Ask Annie

Horoscopes

“Dear Annie, I caught my boy-friend cheating on me the other day and we have been dating for over a year. Now I find out that the other girl is pregnant!! Now he’s begging for me back, what do I do?” -Please help, Confused.

What you need to take into consideration when asking yourself this question is that he may do this again. You must keep in mind the baby. If the girl choos-es to keep the baby, this child is go-ing to be in your boyfriend’s life, mean-ing yours as well. You will be dealing with a baby and trying to fit into hectic schedules. You will also be dealing with

the mother of the baby. Keep in mind your age and your responsibilities. It may just be easier to move on and for-get the guy who hurt you. I mean, who would want a cheating, lying, and de-ceitful boyfriend to drag them down?-Annie. “Dear Annie, I’m new to this

school and not only do I hate my bor-ing classes, but I don’t know anyone! I’ve tried talking to new people, but it never works. How can I meet new peo-ple?” -Please help, Mr. Lonely

I can see how this would be a pain but this is a problem that can be solved. It’s a two in one answer. Think about it, if you’re in boring classes and they’re

electives, change them! Try out for some sports; they’ll put you in

athletics where you’ll meet people who enjoy the same sport you do! Sports aren’t your thing? Then try

art, band, or even dance. There is so much to choose from with

new people in each class. Have fun and be yourself,

Just talk! -Annie.

One time when I was younger, about 5 or 6, my family and I went to a hotel with my cousin. I was walking around with my brother and cousin and I couldn’t see the pool over the gate because we were on the third floor. My brother and cousin kept making fun of how I was too short to see over the gate so I stuck my big head threw it. And yeah, you guessed it; my head got stuck in the gate. My brother had to call the maids in the hotel to cut the gate to get my head out. They still laugh at me about that. And they told my boyfriend. I mean, come on! Everyone does something stupid when they’re around that age but wow. I mean, why MUST you see over the gate? What’ so important about looking over a gate!? And then making fun of your shortness drove you to make that dumb mistake. To make it worse, now they have something better to make fun of you for! This is truly embarrassing, when they had to call the maids. If you got your head in, you can get it out. No need to make a scene. Also, who cares that they told your boyfriend? You were young and naive, we all have a childhood story that we try to hide.

So I was in class and sitting next to a guy I really liked. He sent me a note and told me he liked me. I wrote him back and told him I liked him too. Well, the teacher saw me and took the letter. He read it to the whole class and then everyone started to laugh. My crush then yelled out that it was meant for my BEST friend who also knew I liked this guy. They started dating, and currently still are. Now every time they see me, they crack jokes about how I thought he was talking to me. Yea, that’s my least favorite class.

Wow, this is an embarrassing story you were rejected by two people you know in the front of a class. That love triangle is a love line now. I’m not going to lie though; your position is pretty bad. I mean, what kind of friend does that and why would that guy publicize the misunderstanding? That’s just wrong. I’m sorry but it’s not just their fault, maybe next time you won’t jump to assumptions.

Annie Anonymous

Annie AnonymousReporter

Reporter

ARIES:(3/21-4/20) You are able to stand your ground more than usual this month. You will do your best to make an impres-sion and these attempts will be either reinforced or challenged when facing others, as well as yourself. You want to leave your mark on the world in some way—however big or small—and you are excited to do so.TAURUS:(4/21-5/21) This is the time to re-search and reflect on your objectives. You may experience sleeplessness, espe-cially if you are not allowing yourself the chance to get more rest. Others may enjoy a more dynamic dreams but not for you. Its keeping you from getting the sleep you need, so now would be a good time to try meditating which helps focus your mind on what you need or want.GEMINI:(5/22-6/21) Group activities and joint efforts are the best way to accomplish your goals right now. It’s best to organize projects and put things in shape. The part you play for other people in your life comes to the forefront now. You may take actions to achieve your more

personal long-term goals as well.CANCER: (6/22-7/22) Your ambition and your desire to be acknowledged for your achieve-ment comes to the forefront. You are likely to have an increased desire for others to notice you. Events taking place now will have a great bearing on your future and will be long reaching in their effects. Now is a time when great progress can be made and recog-nition earned.LEO: (7/23-8/22) This month, you are more passionate and daring than ever. Agitation and desire for exciting activ-ity will drive you. You will become ag-gressively involved in expanding your basic beliefs and your philosophies about life. Creative projects can flour-ish with your enlarged focus and redoubled ef-forts.VIRGO: (8/23-9/22) You have a tendency to act impulsively, and you could come across as an “open book” now. It’s a fa-vorable time for solving problems and improving your skills. You tend to say what you believe now. Keep in mind

that what you say o r write now has im-pact, for better or f o r worse!L I -BRA:(9/23-10/22) You’ll be focusing on your work this month, but more in terms of what you gain from it. Social activities may revolve around your working environment. Some laziness is possible now, as you tend to as-sociate pleasure with work! Perhaps you are socializing more than usual on the job. You will also b e looking at working for the community and for society at large.SCORPIO:(10/23-11/21) You will enjoy power and authority in your work, and helping people makes you feel good in the midst o f things, because you accept their limi- t a -tions compassionate- l y . Hard work contin-ues, but you find it exciting and full of promise. SAGITTARIUS:(11/22-12/21) This is an excellent time to take steps t o improve things like

your friendships and grades. You will experience a lot of things and might gain admiration or distinction.CAPRICORN: (12/22-1/20) Lack of confidence in yourself, in others and in life itself could put a restraint on your plans. This is a time when others don’t seem to notice your efforts, w h e n progress ap- p e a r s to be negligible if at all, when nobody seems to extend their hand to you, when you need to play it alone and you could feel resentful for it!AQUARIUS:(1/21-2/19) You still need to learn to relate better to others, but now it’s on the intellectual level: the exchange of ideas, innermost thoughts and per-sonal beliefs, rather than emotions. No carelessness of any kind should be allowed if you w a n t to achieve your goals. You are more cu- r ious and alert than usual, and you could be quite busy with proj- e c t s , homework, or troubles with family and friends. Much energy will be spent in understanding and adjusting to your surroundings.

Lauren DouglasReporter

I caught my boyfriend

cheating on me!

I’m new to this school...

10 April 2011 Cougarpolitan Features

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11b-3367 © 2011 The College Board

We love our teachers!What were some of your hobbies in high school, and what are some now?Then it was scuba diving, sailing, and cycling. Now I like to go sail-ing, kayaking, cycling, snorkeling, woodworking and restoring my old house in Galveston.

Coach LewallenDo you remember what your first job was? If so, please explain.I did dishes for one year at Red Lobster. The second year they moved me up and taught me to cook.

Evans

#1 Is Crosby your hometown? If not, where are you from?I was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Because my father was in the army, I’ve lived in Africa, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee, and Kentucky.

Coach Smith What are your feelings about the removal of TAKS in Texas schools?I believe TAKS isn’t necessary. I think it’s a political thing. I say it’s a waste of time and makes teacher miss out on teaching.What places did you visit when you were in the Navy?I went to Japan, Hong Kong, the Phil-ipines, Singapore, Thailand, Baharin, Sri Lanka, Guam, Korea, Oman, Ha-waii, California, and Florida.

LoweryDo you remember what your first job was?I was a gas station attendant and Race Track storekeeper

Has teaching always been what you’ve wanted to do? Yes, I started a community sign language classs when I was in 10th grade!

3rd- Marcus Wade

1st- Austin Walter 3rd- Christian Egans

1st- Austin Walter 2nd- Christian Egans 3rd- Aston Walter

1st- Austin Walter, Aston Walter, Christian Egans, Juan Morales

1st- Aston, Austin Walter, Christian Egans, Juan Morales 3rd- Randal Ardoin, Nick Meighan

Sports 11April 2011 Cougarpolitan

Sophomore Darrian Emanual nails the high jump at practice.

Senior Callie Walker completes a successful pole vault.

Track StatisticsWill AndersonReporter

Girls Boys 400 meter time:

200 meter time:

100 meter time:

4x1 relay time:

4x2 relay time:

4x4 relay time:

300m hurdles time: 3rd- Jessica Tutor

110m hurdles time: 2nd- Jessica Tutor

Discus:

Long Jump: 1st- Jasmine Cartwright Triple Jump:

Distance: none

Pole Vault: Height: none

3rd Gilbert Moreno, Lucus Mason, Cullen Gleason

2nd- Joseph Fuselier (JV)

2nd- Joseph Fuselier (JV) 2nd- Randal Ardoin

3rd- Blake Wright

Nick Meighan Austin Walter Cullen Lee Nick Meighan 3rd- William Anderson

Art Review12

Editor’s note

:

Danica WomackEditor-in-Chief

April 2011 Cougarpolitan

The Artist’s Corner

Listen to the wind,It tells a story.It whispers the oldest of tales,

Listen.The voice murmurs and rises,

And rises,And speaks,And falls,And that is the story.Do you understand?It is the story of life itself.

The rise,The fall,The story happens again and again.

All around us...In the flower that blooms and withers,

In the mist that rises and the rain that falls.

But do you understand?

It rises and falls and rises again.

The story has no end.Signed,Katherine King,Sophomore

Story of the Wind

This Surrealist piece is by junior Michael Smith

If walking down the alleyway,

Best not to stop and stare.

You will see a dying man,

He will have fleas in his hair,

He will be wearing dark black,

Most appropriate for the occasion.

Too bad after his death there will be no spared occupation,

But like I said do not fret and do not stare,

You will be surprised if you knew who was lying there.

I’m sure he is of no interest to you,

You probably wouldn’t care,

Just throw a coin down if you feel guilty,

Just walk away, he knows it’s all you can spare.

Please, just be on your way and let the creature stay there,

I suggest you wish him the best and say you regret his

station,But due to this situation it is best to listen to my advice.

Do not stop and stare, just simply walk away and let the

man die there.

Signed,

Megan Morris

Junior

If Walking Down an Alleyway