November 2009 - Healthcare

MARCUS HIGH SCHOOL {5707 MORRISS ROAD} FLOWER MOUND, TX 75028

Grapevine

table of contents

{4} HOSPITAL Presbyterian Hospital of Flower Mound will open in early 2010 and is expected to increase job opportunities. by patrick iversen and kelsey mccauley

n e w s m a g a z i n e

The Marquee newsmagazine is a student-generated publication of Marcus High School. It is produced, edited and maintained through the efforts of the school’s advanced journalism class. The Marquee is designed to serve the school and community as a forum for open discussion and student expression.

The Marquee encourages letters to the editor as part of its mission to educate, inform and provide an open forum for debate. All submis-sions must be signed. The staff reserves the right to edit all material.

Editorials reflect the opinion of the staff, not necessarily that of the administration. Signed columns or reviews represent only the opinion of the author.

Advertising rates are $30 per 1/16 of a page, with discounts avail-able. For information call 469-948-7137.

The Marquee is a standing member of ILPC, TAJE, ATPI, CSPA, NSPA, JEA and Quill and Scroll.

ALL ORIGINAL MATERIAL IS COPYRIGHTED.

PHOTO BY NATALIA CHEKHA

{14} KOLE THE COMEDIAN Senior that doubles as actor and come-dian was inspired by theater teacher to pursue stand-up. by kelsey mccauley STORY BY ASHLEY SOLARIffdsf

{8} BASKETBALL PREVIEW Both the boys’ and girls’ teams’ starters talk about high expectations for their upcoming seasons. by lauren rose and kate o’toole

COVER GRAPHIC BY SHAMEER DHALIWALCOVER DESIGN BY NATHANIEL THORNTON

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the marqueen e w s m a g a z i n e

editors in chief patrick iversen, shelby bookout

photo editor natalia chekha

assistant photo editormark turnbull

graphics editors amy hillberry, shameer dhaliwal

business manager alexis sherwoodnews editor

kate o’tooleassistant news editor

carley meinerssports editor

luke swinneyassistant sports editor

erryn bohonin-depth editor

alex mehlhafffeature editor

natasha jordanassistant feature editor

kelsey mccauleyentertainment editor

devon millerassistant entertainment editor

taylor rossopinion editor

ashley solarireporters

samantha draper, lauren rose, jasmine sachar, joey ulfsrud graphics/photographyadan castillo, nathaniel katz,

brandon prill, allison przybysz, sarah quinn, sean richmond

nathaniel thornton, breyanna washington

adviserlajuana haleprincipal

gary shafferman

In the Medieval Times editorial (Vol. 24, Issue 2, page 21), we presented incorrect facts about Medieval Times’ al-cohol policy. They do not, in fact, sell alcohol during matinee shows. Therefore, students could not have bought alcohol during the field trip. The decision to concel the trip was made by Mr. Shafferman based on information he collected over the the past year and a half.

RETRACTION

Seniors and parents will have to reach into their pockets a little deeper next fall, as the cost of college tuition rose considerably in the 2008-2009 school year and is expected to continue climbing.

According to a College Board report, public four-year uni-versities increased tuition and fees by 6.6%, making the aver-age cost of public school about $15,200 per year. The average cost of attendance at four-year private universities increased by 4.4%, to an average cost of $35,600 per year.

Head counselor Cheryl Richie said that state budget cuts across the country are to blame for the steep increase in public university tuition. States have had to cut funding for higher education because of the lack of money. Richie said that although tuition does go up every year, there is another factor that makes this year different from the rest.

“Everybody’s in this economic crisis right now,” Richie said. “Even col-leges, even our school, we have less teachers, bigger numbers in the classroom, smaller bonuses—and it’s all because of money. So if the public school system is suffering, colleges also suf-fer for the same reasons.”

Senior advisor at the University of North Texas Money Management office James Matlock also blames the increase in costs on the sluggish economy and the steady rise in tu-ition inflation.

“A lot of times the government proceedings have been trying to do is stop (increases) from coming so that college can be more and more affordable for students,” Matlock said. “Sadly, it gives the opposite effect, where big schools are having to raise tuition at an even higher exponential rate.”

With these steep increases in college costs, prospective university students are having to seek out other means of af-fording college. Richie said she has seen big changes in the way students are looking for these different methods, such as a more aggressive search for scholarships or jobs.

Last summer, after narrowing down her list of potential universities, senior Natashia Shaw had been actively seek-ing out ways to contribute to their costs.

“I tried to not go over $40,000, but I have a big price range because I also applied to other colleges that will give me a bunch of scholarships,” Shaw said. “It’s pretty much going to come down to who gives me the most money.”

Shaw said that while she is worried about affording col-lege, she said she’s found numerous ways of lowering out-

STORY BY JASMINE SACHAR

College tuition, fees continue to riseMore students looking to cut college costs

NOVEMBER 20, 2009 {the marquee} design by shelby bookout 3

{NEWS}

of-pocket costs. These include student loans, FAFSA grants and scholarships. Every senior in the United States is en-couraged to fill out a FAFSA form, a federal application that gives college grants to students based on their parent’s in-come taxes.

“I’m on the Internet all the time looking for new schol-arships, so hopefully that’ll get me somewhere,” Shaw said. “Going to college is important for me, so that I am well trained in a trade of choice, so that I’m not floundering and I have some credentials, so I hopefully get a higher paying job.”

Richie said that the grant aid has been growing, due to the economic conditions. Many of her students, she said, are even choosing to attend a community college for two years and then transfer to another university as a way of saving more money.

“I have a lot of parents who are saying ‘If you’ll go to a community college for the first year, we’ll be able to save,’” Richie said. “Now community college is a lot less expensive but, if you’re doing it on your own, trying to go to school and work, that’s pretty hard.”

Matlock said that many students who have little fi-

nancial aid and whose parents are paying “out of pocket” are taking out student loans.

“They’re taking on a higher student loan debt now, hop-ing that once they do graduate, they will be able to start pay-ing those loans back,” Matlock said. “A lot of students look at student loan debt as a bad debt but actually it’s a good debt because you’re investing in yourself. You’re investing in your future earnings.”

Richie said she advises students to apply to many schools of their choice and then talk to the financial aid director of that school. Some schools, she said, will give students better offers in grants or scholarships than others.

As Shaw waits for her college replies to come in, she said she recommends to not worry about the cost and apply to several colleges that have many different price ranges.

“You can’t lower your standards based on price because there is financial aid, there are scholarships and if you look out there, you can get a lot of help,” Shaw said.

Matlock said that although economic situations around the nation might be tough, he wants people to realize the importance of higher education.

“Although college costs are rising, the output you get is worth so much more. The knowledge that you gain is worth so much more.”

4.4% The amount that tuition at private, four-year colleges has increased.

20%The amount of full-time students enrolled in public, four year colleges that cost more than $36,000 per year to attend.

6.6%The amount that public, four-year colleges have increased tuition and fees.

7.3% The amount that public, two-year tuition has increased.

67%The amount of full-time undergraduates that receive grant aid.

$400 About how much more than last year students will pay for room and board.

source: http://www.collegeboard.com

19%The amount of full-time students enrolled in public, four year colleges that cost more less $18,000 per year to attend.

32% The amount of full-time students enrolled in public, four year colleges that cost between $3000 and $6000 to attend.

31% The amount of full-time students attending public, two-year colleges.

}“If the public school system is suffering, colleges suffer for the same reasons.” -CHERYL RICHEY, COUNSELOR{

will continue his work in Denton.“The new hospital would not really affect our family since

my dad has an established practice in Denton,” Genovese said. “He doesn’t work too far away now, and because his practice (is already established,) the new hospital will be too far away from his current patients. But he does suspect many of the Lewisville doctors will end up switching.”

Genovese said that, overall, he expects that the hospital will have a positive effect on the citizens of Flower Mound.

“Well for a lot of people it’s a lot closer,” Genovese said. “The closest hospital I can think of is all the way in Lewis-ville. So for the Flower Mound people it’s a quicker transit.”

Watson said he hopes the reputation of the Texas Health name will attract doctors and physcians to the new hospital.

“Both the ‘Texas Health’ and ‘Presbyterian’ names are very well-known and respected in North Texas,” Watson said. “That is one of the reasons the Town of Flower Mound town council and local community leaders were so support-ive in bringing the hospital to Flower Mound. Texas Health is the largest health care system in North Texas, and we have established a reputation as a provider of quality patient care and innovative, advanced medical technology.”

The Town of Flower Mound will be expecting a new ad-dition near the first quarter of 2010. In conjunction with the highly anticipated River Walk at Central Park, a medical facil-ity dubbed the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Flower Mound is planned to reach completion at the beginning of next year.

Flower Mound, the designated site for the hospital, re-ceives, on average, over 2000 incoming residents to the area annually. Within a seven year period, the city of Flower Mound experi-enced a 34 percent increase in population. For this rea-son, associates of Texas Health Resources, the largest health care system in North Texas, and mem-bers of the Town of Flower Mound town council determined Flower Mound to be an ap-propriate venue for the hospital.

“Our market research showed a real need for another quality hospital to serve the needs of a population that will continue to grow and require close convenient access to care,” said Wendell Watson, director of Public Relations for Texas Health Resources.

Watson said the hospital, expected to cost approximately $160 million, will provide expanded access to quality health care services and attract new physicians and other medical professionals as well as create hundreds of new jobs in the Flower Mound area.

Located on a stretch of land in between Morriss Road and FM 2499, the hospital will be the first certified Leader-

ship in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building in North Texas. According to Watson, “the building will in-corporate advanced, environmentally-sensitive and energy-saving building materials and techniques.” Such techniques include installing energy-efficient ventilation and lighting systems which will result in a 15 percent energy reduction. Also, 20 percent of all products used during construction ei-ther contained recycled materials or were produced locally.

Among the many amenities available to patients attending the hospital, Watson said the building will provide approxi-

mately 100 patient beds, an emergency depart-ment, twelve operating suites, as well as medical services for women and children. In addition, ar-eas for meditation, views of the scenery and wire-less internet connections will be provided for famil-iles and visitors.

The hospital is ex-pected to generate 500 to 600 new jobs by 2013, including a medical staff comprised of about 200 physicians. Watson said those who practice medicine and are currently looking for employment in the area should be encouraged by the new construction.

“Many of the physicians who will practice on the medical staff and the employees of the hospital will be people who also live in Flower Mound, and word-of-mouth will be a pow-erful reinforcement of our reputation,” Watson said.

However, convenience isn’t always motivation to relocate for those who already maintain a position at a medical facil-ity. Sophomore Connor Genovese’s father works as a doctor at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton. Genovese said that while the new hospital is closer to home, his father

{the marquee} NOVEMBER 20, 2009design by brandon prill 4

Convenient care comes to townNew environmentally friendly hospital under construction

STORY BY PATRICK IVERSEN AND KELSEY MCCAULEY

{NEWS}

PHOTO BY NATHANIEL KATZTowering over the trees, the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Flower Mound hospital is being built as part of the Flower Mound River Walk project on the land between Morriss Road and FM 2499. The hospital is to be expected, complete in 2010 and is also the first stage of the Flower Mound River walk project.

}“Many of the physicians who will practice on the medical staff...will be people who also live in Flower Mound.”

-WENDELL WATSON, PR DIRECTOR FOR TEXAS HEALTH RESOURCES{

Illustration of the completed hospital in early 2010.

Combining characteristics of the River Walk in San Antonio and Southlake Town Square, Flower Mound has decided to cre-ate its own River Walk. The development is not scheduled to be completed for 10 years, but many citizens are being affected now.

The River Walk at Central Park will be 158 acres of land north of FM 1171 between FM 2499 and Morriss Road. The develop-ment will include parks, ponds, parking and a new hospital. It will also be used for office space, retail stores, dining, and residencies. The River Walk itself will cost in total about $5 million. Development administrator Julie Watson said that the town of Flower Mound supports the project and is excited to have a central business district.

“Over the past two years, there has been some opposition to the project by folks that do not want Flower Mound to develop,” Wat-son said. “They want it to remain rural.”

Within the 158 acres of development of the River Walk, 46.5 acres are being set aside for things such as ponds. Along with office space and commercial properties, the River Walk will also be home to condomini-ums, townhouses, assisted living, and senior living homes.

As a result of the new develop-ment, many trees that are hundreds of years old and other parts of the environment have had to be cut down, however, the developers say for every tree removed, one tree will be planted. Many residents are also concerned that noise and traffic pollution will increase in the area. Another concern is that other shop-ping centers, like those in Parker Square and The Shops at Highland Village, still have empty buildings to rent. This causes many residents to question the amount of success the River Walk will really have.

Expansion of roads FM 1711 and 2499 are not in the plan of the River Walk, but roads will be throughout the River Walk con-necting various neighborhoods, shops, of-fices and parks. City officials are currently proposing a six-lane road expansion to help traffic flow, but is not official yet.

“As far as the roads around the project, TXDOT is working feverishly to get the roads widened so traffic will not be an is-sue,” Watson said.

Residents of Flower Mound near FM 1171, 2499, and Morriss Road are going to be affected by the development like junior Gabriella Goss and her family. Goss said she likes the idea of a River Walk.

“I think it’s a good idea because it will boost the economy,” Goss said. “Some of the stores in The Shops you can’t really shop at because it is all so expensive, so maybe hav-ing less expensive stores in the River Walk

would defi-nitely be ben-eficial to the younger age group.”

J u n i o r Sean Casey lives near the development and is look-ing forward to

whenever the River Walk is complete so she can take advantage of it.

{NEWS}

NOVEMBER 20, 2009 {the marquee} design by adan castillo 5

}“As far as the roads around the project, TXDOT is working fe-verishly to get the roads wid-ened...”

-JULIE WATSON, DEVELOPMENT ADMIN.

{STORY BY LAUREN ROSE

STORY BY ALEXANDRA MEHLHAFF

Central Park to arrive in Flower Mound

PHOTO BY MARK TURNBULL

Construction brings jobs and helps local economy while making town pretty

Target announced in October its plan to help promote recycling of plastic bags by giving cash back. Every time a customer walks into Target with their own grocery bag, they will receive five cents back. Around the same time, CVS Pharmacy announced its rewards program called “The Green Bag Tag”. After four times of reusing the same bag while shopping at CVS Pharmacy, customers will re-ceive one dollar.

By starting these programs, the companies hope to keep the plastic bags out of the environment, and to stop the wasting of money on bags. Target Guest Service At-tendant Jessica Simbeck said that even though not many people know about it right now, it is a good plan.

“A lot of people, when they do use them, they love them,” Simbeck said. “One it helps them with taking gro-ceries because you can fit more in these bags and they’re stronger, and two they don’t have to worry about recycling their other bags. They get more use than a plastic bag.”

In an attempt to reduce second-hand smoke, the city of Highland Village is in the process of passing a new smok-ing ban. The city council recently voted 4-3 in favor of en-acting the new law. The ordinance will go into effect after next month’s meeting.

Smoking will be restricted on all city parks and trails and within 25 feet of any entrance to a public building. In addition, smoking will not be allowed in restaurants or bars unless the correct ventilating system is in place. Smokers who violate the law will face a fine of up to $500.

Highland Village isn’t the first to propose the ban. Fort Worth, Flower Mound, Frisco and Plano have enacted similar policies as well.

City manager Michael Leavitt says that Highland Vil-lage could benefit from the ban.

“It’s a positive,” said Leavitt. “We would be removing the potential of second hand smoke around playgrounds and children.”

Over the past few months the Timbercreek trails behind Tim-bercreek Elementary School have undergone repaving and leveling. Before the makeover, it consisted of dirt trails and cracked, old sidewalks. Now that they have been fixed, with paved walkways, more people can run and bike ride more enjoyably and easily.

Local stores become green Smoking restricted in city STORY BY SAMANTHA DRAPER

The blueprints for the new Flower Mound riverwalk include several shops, condos, public areas and the Presbyterian Hospital of Flower Mound. The city officials said they plan for it to be a focal point in Flower Mound and provide a pedestrian-oriented enviroment.

www.flower-mound.com/riverwalk/documents/TRWCPpresentation.pdf

Timbercreek’s trail makeover

“I wouldn’t say I live directly next door to the River Walk, but I can see the construc-tion from my roof,” Casey said. “I feel that the River Walk is a great idea.”

One of the major parts of the River Walk project is the building The Presbyterian Hos-pital of Flower Mound. While the hospital is expected to open in 2010, the overall project of the River Walk will be opening at different times. The tourist attraction will also include many trails for athletes, benches, sidewalks and sitting areas for the public. But many students, like Goss, will miss out on the Riv-er Walk opening.

“Unfortunately by the time they would have it all done I would be in college,” Goss said. “But at least my parents would get to enjoy it.”

www.flower-mound.com/riverwalkThe ideal design for the shops and other buildings for the Flower Mound riverwalk.

In early August, 34 points separated Marcus and Grape-vine. Ten weeks later, the two teams played like mirror im-ages of each other. For one half, at least.

Injecting a heavy dose of senior rusher Stephen Hopkins and junior rusher Rufus Mason, the Marauders wore down a competent Grapevine team in the game’s final 24 minutes to advance past the bi-district round of the postseason, 48-18.

“We just had to come out and play,” said Bryan Erwin, Marcus head coach. “We didn’t play with a lot of energy or passion in the first half. For what reason I don’t know, but we’ve got to do a better job at preparing our kids and having them ready to play.”

The Marauders were able to force the Mustangs out of their element early on in the eventual 62-28 rout that opened the sea-son for both teams in Au-gust. Marcus needed one half to find it’s rhythm in the rematch, closing out the second quarter with a 13-10 lead. The opening 24 minutes featured a nip and tuck affair, as the Mustangs went blow-for-blow with Marcus.

Entering Saturday’s contest, Erwin said running the ball was top of mind for the Marcus offense and in an outing that saw seven different Marauders register carries, the toll was heavy on the Grapevine defense.

Totaling 321 yards rushing on 53 carries, the Marauder stampede was spearheaded by 167 yards and three touch-downs from Hopkins; the second score opening the flood-gates to a 34-10 Marcus lead early in the fourth quarter.

“We’re going to run the football,” Erwin said. “We’re go-ing to throw the play action pass. That’s our game plan.”

First round completeSTORY BY PATRICK IVERSEN Mason supplemented an additional 80 yards and despite

the reliance on the two backs, it was rusher Harvey Gid-dens who opened up the firestorm. A 20-yard scamper by the sophomore capped off Marcus’ first possession of the third quarter.

Both squads utilized a run-heavy attack and kept the op-posing defense honest with the occasional swing or screen pass, but Marcus’ second-half push forced more and more ill-timed pass attempts by the Mustangs.

Operating at its most fluid, the Grapevine attack was predicated largely behind quarterback Reed Ryan, along-side rushers Christian Schroeder and Chris McDade. The team already showed marked improvements from the start

of the first meeting in the contest’s opening moments.

“(Grapevine) was a lot more con-fident,” Erwin said. “Their kicking game was a lot better. They didn’t make many mistakes. They had a couple turnovers, but no huge mis-takes that allowed us to blow the game open.”

Consuming, clock-killing drives were par for the course for this pair

of ball control offenses during the first half, with Marcus’ re-buttal to the Grapevine opening score was it’s shortest drive at only seven plays.

“We’re just fortunate,” Erwin said. “Not every high school football player in the state of Texas gets to do this and I hope our kids are grateful. I hope they appreciate the moment and enjoy the journey. But we’ve got to come back next week and get ready for the No. 1 ranked team in the state.”

They face their toughest challenge tomorrow against Ce-dar Hill. The Marauders kick off against the unbeaten Long-horns in the area round of the postseason on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Cowboys Stadium.

Avoiding a tackle, junior running back Dagan Newsome scores a touchdown during the Mound Showdown game on Oct. 30. Marcus won the game, 63-39, resulting in an overall 2-2 district standing,

6 {the marquee} NOVEMBER 20, 2009

{SPORTS}

Win against Grapevine moves team further

design by adan castillo

PHOTO BY NATALIA CHEKHA

Favorite song?

“70 x 7” by Brand New

“Toes” by Zac Brown Band

“We Be Steady Mob-bin’” by Lil’ Wayne

“November 18th” by Drake

“Crazy Rap Song” by Afroman

Any Look-a-likes?

If you could only save three people from a disaster, who would it be?

Jazzie Slater, Mom and Dad

Mom, Dad and Tyler Cobb

Mom, Dad and sister

Will Smith, Lil Wayne and Mom

Megan Fox, Will Smith and Jeff Dunham

Brode Boyd, 12 Football

Tanner Bacino, 11 Football

Juan Idarraga, 11 Soccer

Josh Innman, 12Basketball

Sean Faber, 11Swimming

Luke from O.C.

Nick Jonas

Harry Potter (with glass-es)

Will Smith

None

Student athletes are influenced everyday by television, radio, tabloids and the Internet. The Marquee gets to know some of the players.

Favorite Food?

Fettuccini Alfredo

Pizza

Anything

Fried Chicken

Ice Cream

If you could be on any reality show, what would it be?

A Shot at Love with Brode Boyd

Survivor

The Bachelor

Josh Wants a Millionaire

The Hills

COMPILED BY LAUREN ROSE

{SPORTS}

}“We’re going to run the football. We’re going to throw the play ac-tion pass. That’s our game plan.”-BRYAN ERWIN, HEAD COACH{

The sun has yet to rise as senior Ricky Randall makes his way down the street to begin his journey of the day. Over the next four hours, Randall will pedal mile after mile as he trains for his next big race. But for right now, in the quiet hours of the morning, he relaxes as he enjoys his ride.

Randall has been cycling for only a year but has already found it useful in cross training for his second sport: cross country. After a lack of nearby trails made mountain bik-ing too difficult to train for, Randall switched to cycling and found a new sport to love. He said that since beginning to cycle, he can run much further than he could before.

“It’s just like cross country with all the endorphins, but it’s a totally different crowd of people,” Randall said. “I like that burning sensation in my quads when I’m racing and it keeps me going. I always want to be like Lance Armstrong.”

Roughly six months after starting to cycle, Randall began to enter races and soon made his way to the top of the leader board by winning first place in each of his first four races.

“My first race I was really nervous,” Randall said. “I was pretty much shaking the whole race. It was pretty intense. But you can’t really prepare yourself for the feeling you get from winning. The joy is indescribable.”

After winning his first few races, his health stopped him from continuing his winning streak and he was forced to slow down and watch his competitors pass him.

“It was horrible being sick for a race,” Randall said. “I ended up getting fifth place. All those people that I’ve beaten before just kept getting further away from me and I couldn’t do anything about it. Knowing you could beat them if you weren’t sick was a horrible feeling.”

Randall ultimately took seventh place in the state cham-pionship race. Senior Austin Robison, who has been cycling since he was 11, said that races are interesting because cy-cling is not limited to being just an individual sport.

“Cycling has team tactics as well,” Robison said. “It’s more of a strategy game than it is a strength game, but it also pushes the body to its maximum limits. On a team you’ll have eight people, and all those guys have to do different tasks like time trials and sprinting. Everyone has to work together to try to get the team a win.”

Robison’s dad works part-time at Mad Duck Cycling in Grapevine, which has given Robison the opportunity to get free equipment to help him cycle. Robison said his most ex-citing race took place in Paris, France where he was one of six junior riders selected to represent the United States.

“To know that I was a part of the six selected out of the thousands and thousands of people was amazing,” Robison said. “It was a really good feeling to know that you were the best in the Southern region of the country. I raced in the ju-

nior race but there is also an Under-23 race and an Elite race. Hopefully someday I’ll be able to do those two as well.”

Even though they’re the only student racers from Mar-cus, Randall and Robison have only faced each other twice. Randall said he was surprised to do so well against Robison.

“I beat him both times that I raced him,” Randall said. “He’s been racing for a long time so it made me feel pretty good since I didn’t know how I would compare to him. He’s got a lot more endurance than me right now and can push his pace really well.”

Training for cycling races, is a vigorous process which Robison said not many people are aware of. His cycling season runs from February to October in which he will have races almost every other weekend.

“I don’t think people understand just how many hours people have to put in for the sport,” Robison said. “A lot of football or basketball players train and work out a lot, but in off-season for cycling I’ll have two hours in the gym before school and then a five-hour ride after school every day. The

hours we put in are absurd and no one can really understand that.”

Robison has had to make sacrifices to keep cycling such as not getting a job because he doesn’t have enough time for it. Instead, he said he tries to concentrate on his priorities.

“The hardest part about cycling is being able to focus on what you want to do,” Robison said. “It’s hard for me because

I like to have fun and hang out with my friends, but at some points I have to tell them that I can’t hang out one week be-cause I have to train for a race. It’s difficult to balance school, a social life and cycling and still be successful.”

Randall also said that cycling takes focus, but the thrill of rac-ing and the friends he’s made

with the sport makes it all worth it.“Everyone’s there for the same reason,” Randall said.

“Everyone wants to put themselves through the pain and see who comes out the victor. There’s peer pressure from everyone else that makes you want to do well. That makes it so much fun.”

{SPORTS}

NOVEMBER 20, 2009 {the marquee} design by sean richmond 7

PHOTO BY MARK TURNBULL

STORY BY LUKE SWINNEY

}“I don’t think people under-stand just how many hours peo-ple have to put in for the sport.”

-AUSTIN ROBISON, 12{

Ricky races his mountian bike around trails at Grapevine lake on Saturday Nov. 7. He was chosen to race with the offroad team RBM after being scouted by them during a road race in which he participated.

Head-to-head,cyclists share thrillsCross country helps one train for cycling, other experiences exclusive French race

PHOTO BY MARK TURNBULLTraining and conditioning are very important for senior Ricky Randall, who participated in a 24-hour offroad race.

{the marquee} NOVEMBER 20, 2009design by shelby bookout 8

{SPORTS}

COMPILED BY LAUREN ROSE AND KATE O’TOOLE

Because of the return of six skilled and disciplined players, the varsity girls’ basketball team expects their teamwork will help lead them to the championship in Austin.

“We have a good team, and we have all the skills and tools to win district as well as make state, defeat-ing every team in our path.”

Forward Hailie Sample, 11

“We believe everyone on the team has something to contribute and will play a role in our success this season.”

Point Guard Jasmine Shaw, 11

“I think we’re going to be really good and go really far in the playoffs and hopefully go to state. We’ll beat Southlake of course.”

Forward Raven Short, 12

“We expect to go to the championship. Our goal is to go all the way to Austin for state and win.”

Head Varsity Coach Kit Kyle

With a new coach taking responsi-bility and bringing in new plays, the varsity boys’ basketball team wants to go further than district and make it to state.

“We’re actually playing as a better team, becoming more aggressive and just looking out for everybody on the court.”

Center Marcus Smart, 10

“We plan to win state and the regional finals. We have everybody including the starters coming back.”

Guard Jason Semien, 12

“We are just playing to our strengths and trying to keep the ball out of the paint so no one gets high percentage shots.”

Point Guard Phillip Forte, 10

“They’re very talented, and if they play really hard and they’re team-oriented, then we can go all the way.”

Head Varsity Coach Danny Henderson

Returning starters promise results

PHOTOS BY ALLISON PRZYBYSZ

}{ }{

Sample Shaw Short Smart Semien Forte

Runner sets records Prepared for successSTORY BY JOEY ULFSRUD STORY BY SAMANTHA DRAPER

PHOTO BY MARK TURNBULLSenior Haley Neisler spikes the ball while playing the Hebron Hawks at Hebron High School on Oct. 22. The girls went on to lose their game 1-3 but still advanced to playoffs. The girls had their final game on Saturday Nov. 14 and won their first game but lost their second which ended their season with a final district record of 6-4.

Just 10 seconds can make all the difference.Junior Craig Lutz is the front-runner for the cross coun-

try team. On Oct. 30, Lutz surpassed his 5k personal record of 15:00.00 by ten seconds to place first in the district meet in Southlake. Then Lutz surpassed his new time of 14:50 with a 14:45.00 at the state championship on Nov. 14 in Round Rock, to place first once again.

Lutz also achieved this record time after an injury near the end of the last school year. After receiving a stress frac-ture on his shin, Lutz was not able to fully train for 11 weeks. Even after such a setback, Lutz’s recovery is now comple-mented by his best time ever.

However, Lutz does not have time to celebrate. The Na-tional qualifier meet, known as Nike South, is coming up to-morrow morning. This means that the team cannot focus on their previous performance and must look forward to the more difficult meet ahead.

“If we can all perform to what we are all capable of, we should be able to place in Nike South,” Lutz said. “We sur-passed expectations at State, so we are excited about Nike.”

Marcus swimmers are trained and prepared for the new season starting this fall with an attitude of team camaraderie and commitment. Coach Shannon Gillespy said she is confi-dent in her team’s performance.

The meet on Oct. 27, at the Lewisville natatorium, showed that the hard work and training paid off for the team by win-ning against Arlington Martin High School. With more par-ticipation on the team this year from the boys, the team has had more improvement than ever.

To get ready for a meet, junior Tyler Kelly said he feels that practice and motivation is the key to getting the best results for the team.

“Before a meet I’ll get my calorie intake up and practice a little more than usual,” Kelly said. “I sometimes stay after practice to swim longer than everyone else. I’m always the first one in the pool and the last one to leave.”

With results getting better and a sense of team spirit, players like Kelly feel optimistic about the team’s future.

“With the team getting bigger, I hope it continues to do so,” Kelly said. “I hope the team goes to state this year.”

after my rounds saying it again, ‘Head up, chest out, heels down, smile when you pass the judge.’”

Pagano has been training with Shannon Flanagan at Si-lent Knight Stables in Krum, Texas for about a year. She said that her relationship with Domenick is unique because of how dedicated he is to horses and riding.

“He is almost like a son because he basically lives at the barn,” Flanagan said. “He is dedicated to being great and he loves riding. Domenick really cares about people and animals. These days kids seem a little self absorbed, but not Domenick.”

Pagano soon plans to purchase a quarter and thorough-bred cross horse named Tee. Pagano often visits Tee at the Silent Knight Stables, and he said that their close connection is easily identifiable by the way Tee reacts towards him.

“Tee knickers when I walk up to him,” Pagano said. “He will see me and neigh. I will be like ‘Tee!’ and his ears will perk up. Tee, I connect with. When I get into a fight with someone or I have a bad day, I just want to be with him. He is always there. He is so much more than just an animal.”

Pagano plans to make his career choice revolve around horses. He is still uncertain about what he wants to be, but horses are always going to be a passion in his life.

“Whether I do some-thing else jobwise, I will al-ways have horses,” Pagano said. “My mom always told me ‘if you do something you love, you will never work a day in your life.’”

For a moment they are no longer just a teenage boy and a horse. In that moment they become one to perfect jump-ing hurtles. The bond they share is like no other. When the rider wins, he doesn’t solely take the credit. Together they win it all. They win the championship, the honor and most of all friendship.

At his parent’s suggestion, sophomore Domenick Paga-no, then age 5, had a pony party where the children attend-ing got to ride ponies. Pagano grew attached to the ponies and when the party was finished, he pleaded with his parents to allow him to take horseback riding lessons. In these les-sons, his interest in horseback riding grew.

“My passion for horses is something you really don’t see in other people that ride,” Pagano said. “Some people do it because they have the money so they can do it. Some people do it because they are forced into it by their parents. I do it because I love the horse, I love the sport, I love the chal-lenge, and I love the thrill of jumping.”

Pagano said horseback riding should be seen in society’s eyes as a true sport. Not only does it require the rider to be in shape, but there is a mental level that is required that exceeds most sports.

“It is so dangerous because this thing is living, breathing, it has a heart beat, it has a brain, it has a mind of its own,” Pagano said. “Just riding itself, you have two stirrups and a dinky piece of leather between you and this horse, and you are jumping five foot fences. It takes so much leg muscle and so much mental stability.”

Pagano said that at every practice and competition his mother is always there reiterating what the trainer says. Al-though he said it gets annoying sometimes, Pagano is thank-ful she is always there for him.

“She is always at the shows and at the lessons,” Pagano said. “If my trainer will say something, she’ll be right there

{SPORTS}

NOVEMBER 20, 2009 {the marquee} design by brandon prill and mark turnbull 9

Not friend, but familyStudent and horseshare special bond

STORY BY NATASHA JORDANPHOTOS BY SARAH QUINN

As soon as the Monday night game ends I sprint to the computer, praying that my Manning/Wayne combination can pull it through for me again in fantasy football. Last I checked, my fierce opponent and I were neck and neck with everything coming down to the last game of the week. I login as quickly as possible and scroll down to my game. My mind races while the page loads, and I try to do the math in my head.

New York’s defense with two interceptions and a defen-sive touchdown is worth 10 points, but is that enough to beat Steve Smith this week? And did my kicker rack up enough field goals to give me the win? These questions enter my mind in the split second it takes for the computer to load. Then the final score pops up on the screen.

The expression on my face falls. By one measly point my opponent had beaten me. I was close, but close isn’t enough in fantasy football. I wouldn’t have cared so much about the loss if it wouldn’t have been such a high-stakes game, but it would be weeks before I heard the end of my devastating loss. The competition between my grandma and I is tough.

In the Swinney Football Association (SFA), tensions run high as my family battles each other in a weekly football clash. With 12 teams in total, the NFL season is the most exciting time of the year for my family. And not just the teen-agers, my grandparents get excited about fantasy football even more than I do. Every year I play my grandma, and almost every year I lose.

Forget the Cowboys and the Giants. Put my brother and I in the same room during the week we play each other and the rivalry is sure to be intense. But through it all, we bond as a family and grow closer together. From my parents and my brother to my grandparents and aunts and uncles, we all look forward to August and the official SFA Draft Day at my house. It’s almost a holiday to our family, and it’s one of my favorite days of the year.

As the season progresses and the best teams reveal them-selves through their point totals, the fight for the playoffs becomes critical. Only four teams can make it out of the 12, and the final week before playoffs is the most important.

The eventual winner of the league gets bragging rights for the rest of the year, but the competitive nature of my fam-ily is all in good fun. During Draft Day ’09 I looked around my living room at every one of my family members studying their football magazines and trying to pick which players will be their stars for the year. I simply smiled.

Some families eat dinner together every night to stay connected. Others might have “family game night” every Friday or go on a weekly picnic. Mine chooses to play fan-tasy football and I wouldn’t want anything to change. Sure they’re unique, but that’s why I love them.

I’m sure when we’re in our 50th season of our league, the competition will be as intense as ever. And by that time I plan on having the most championship rings. It will happen.

Fantasy sport brings family together

YOU’RE NOT MY FATHER

LUKE SWINNEY

Pagano trains the Clydesdale by jumping fences which help both of them in competitions.

Sophomore Domenick Pagano rides his 19 hands Clydes-dale on Saturday Oct. 24 at Silent Knight Stables in Krum.

{THEME}

NOVEMBER 20, 2009 {the marquee} design by nathaniel thornton 11

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

As the family slouched into their seats with curious faces, his news soon overwhelmed them. Bob Butler* told his family that he lost his job with the sales company he had been at for more than 18 years. After a lot of disbelief, tears, and unanswered questions, the family realized their lives were going to change. Even though it was hard to grasp the fact that he would have to start over, he knew it was necessary to begin searching. He had a family to take care of - Kelly*, who was about to attend college; Trace*, an elementary school student and soccer player; and Julie*, his wife of 24 years.

“It is one of the most unpleasant feelings and experiences that I have gone through,” Bob said. “Particularly, because I started thinking right away about my family and how they will handle it. It is one of those experiences that is so surreal. Did this really just happen to me?”

Health CareThe Marquee investigates in

ner workings of health care

STORY BY ERRYN BOHON *Names have been changed to protect identity of sources

{the marquee} NOVEMBER 20, 200912 design by nathaniel thornton

{THEME}

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

Parent’s occupation gives student unique view

Senior Nathan Boyne and his mother Adryana Boyne stand infront of her “wall of fame” at their home in Highland Vil-lage on Monday Nov. 9.

PHOTO BY MARK TURNBULL

Public options, threats of socialism, big government and deficits are all words that senior Nathan Boyne hears the

second he opens his front door coming home from school. No matter what news network his mother has turned on--- Fox News, CSPAN or CNN--- the topic these days seem to revolve around one thing: the debate over the new healthcare reform.

Since his mother is a Republican activist, pol-itics is often discussed in the Boyne household. In fact, health care reform is often broached and the family collectively opposes it.

“Obviously, there are disadvantages to the health care that we have now,” Nathan said. “But when you look at the health care in other countries, it also has its disadvantages. Even though it may be easier to access, doctors may be less willing to work and having being paid less, it’s sort of like a negative incentive.”

Nathan’s mom Adryana Boyne is an official national representative for the Republican Na-tional Committee and the National Director of VOCES action, an organization that helps in-form Latinos about conservatism and encour-age them to take political action. Along with a

After losing several weeks of sleep from wor-rying, Bob starting searching for a new job. He was given a month’s notice to find a job within the company before he was let go. Also, the fam-ily was given a severance package that would last them around six to eight months, and would help them survive.

“The package includes training and support for looking for a new job,” Bob said. “And it helps the grieving process that I went through from shock, to disbelief, anger, then acceptance.”

Julie was upset by the fact that her job as a teacher’s aide would cover only about half of all the family’s expenses. She said she cried to her friends at work multiple times. But at home, she helped try to calm the family down and show ev-erything was okay underneath her worries.

blog and bi-weekly commentary on a radio talk show, she has been in numerous RNC commercials in English and Spanish regard-ing health care reform.

“We do need a health reform, but certain-ly it’s not the health reform that the presi-dent and his administration wants,” Mrs. Boyne said.

At the beginning of November, after many hours spent in revision, the House narrowly passed a health care reform bill which includes a non-for-profit public option for those individuals who don’t have health insurance. This particular option would be available to all and the government will be runnig it.

“Socialized medicine is not the answer,” Mrs. Boyne said. “We need to look for com-petition so we can see if there are opportuni-ties of buying from any state, not necessar-ily only from one state. I believe that it’s a choice of the people to see what doctor is taking care of them and which type of care and coverage they want to have.”

Since this summer, health care reform has been a prime topic for all media outlets and a source of great controversy. Because the health care reform bill is speculated to

increase government involvement in what many believe is a free-market business, Republicans and other opposers say the bill goes against the basic principles of the country and--- limited government input.

“I believe in personal responsibil-ity and in physical responsibility,” Mrs. Boyne said. “I believe a small government is better. The government should not have power in every single issue. This is a capi-talist republic, so I believe that to continue being a capitalist republic hopefully we can recover our values.”

One disadvantage of the current health care system, according to Nathan, is the difficulty accessing the system. However, he still firmly believes that Con-gress should take a different approach in changing it.

“Honestly, I’m a fan of capitalism, and I do not believe health care is a right,” Na-than said. “I think that people should earn money in order to be able to get health care and that way the doctors have incen-tive to work. I know that in other countries, people say that (socialized) health care is efficient but then overall, the doctors are not getting paid as much.”

STORY BYJASMINE SACHAR

“I made us remember the most important part,” Julie said. “That we are a family and we would get through it.”

The family was grateful that state law gave them healthcare under Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) after the first six months of insurance with his old company end-ed. It was extended under the current administra-tion to provide a discount to them throughout the year. Considering he was out of work for eleven months, the coverage helped drastically. Kelly ended up contracting Swine Flu, so the insurance alleviated much of the cost.

Bob said that the current healthcare reform in Congress is in need of fixing things in its system before it continues. He said healthcare reform should wait until the economy improves more.

“We are hurting a lot more from not having a job, than by not having health insurance,” Bob said. “If the current healthcare reform accepts a lot more patients into the system, but does noth-ing to provide for more medical resources, then we will all be much worse off than we are today.”

Bob said that after 11 months of searching for another job, he accepted one on Nov. 2, and was eager to start up again. While the search was hard, he said he tried as hard as he could to pro-vide for his family’s future. As the new job kicks into play, some things will go back to the way they were before, but their finances will take a while to recover.

“Financially things are tough, until the new income flows into the bank account,” Bob said. “Right now, we are still living day by day.”

{THEME}

NOVEMBER 20, 2009 {the marquee} design by nathaniel thornton 13

}“We were so devastated by dealing with the cancer that being dropped kind of came as a secondary underlying worry.”

-LAURAN POPP, TEACHER{

Family health crisis comes at inopportune time

Parent’s occupation gives student unique view

Sitting with the letter in front if her, English III teacher Lauran Popp, had no idea what was ahead for her and her family. She was a 20 year-

old college student who had just been diagnosed with cancer. After her dad had lost his job, and her boyfriend broke up with her, Popp felt like noth-ing could get any worse. The let-ter still sat in front of her, Popp slowly dragged her fingers along the crisp edges of the envelope. The news would be hard hitting for a family who has enough struggles going on already.

She began to read the letter, soon finding out that her insurance company Unicare, had dropped her completely for having a pre-existing condition. After getting the letter, Popp said her main focus was to get better.

“So much stuff had already happened up to that point,” Popp said. “It was rough, especially on my family. We were so devastated by dealing with the cancer that being dropped kind of came as a secondary underlying

worry.”Popp was diagnosed with a type of bone cancer called Peri-

osteal Osteosarcoma. After losing his job, Popp’s father, Jerry Sensabaugh, said he was surprised when the letter from the insurance company came in the mail.

“I was in such disbelief,” Sensabaugh said. “There had been many times where they had dropped us before, but then we would call and it would have just been a mistake, but this time when we called they said it was the truth. After having just had lost my job, this came

as utter shock.”After being dropped from their insurance, Popp and Sen-

sabaugh went to their family friend, lawyer Robert Wood so they could fight their case. Popp said when they first called the insurance company, the company still would not pay. Wood went in as an arbitrator and settled a deal outside of court.

Before Popp had been diagnosed, she went to the doctor because she had noticed a bump on her leg, which she thought

was just calcium build up. After receiving an MRI her doctor informed her that the bump was not cancerous and she had nothing to worry about.

After her dad lost his job they switched insurances. To avoid pre-existing conditions, a person must put down every medical condition they have had in the past, which Popp did. When the insurance company found out that Popp had known about the bump on her knee, they classified it as a pre-existing condition. But Popp said that she didn’t worry about the bump because her doctor had said there was nothing wrong with her.

“I think that the company should have acknowledged the fact that we were honest, it wasn’t like I was like ‘Oh I may have cancer and I’m not going to tell you,’” Popp said. “I think they should have excepted and realized that it was an honest error. I didn’t know I had cancer. I wasn’t with holding it from them.”

Health care has become a rising controversy throughout the country, and Popp experienced it first hand. Currently there are 43 million Americans without health care. Popp said she thinks that public medical insurance is okay right now. Sensabaugh agreed with his daughter and also said that pre-miums should be lowered.

“Everyone should be able to get health insurance and it should be a reasonable price,” Sensabaugh said. “Right now the cost of health insurance is way out of hand. The govern-ment needs to get control of the price.”

STORY BY CARLEY MEINERS

Do you believe taxes will be raised to pay for

free health care?

Do you think illegal immigrants will receive

free health care?

False: The current bill does not grant “free” healthcare to anyone, the bill also states that individuals who are unlawfully here will not be able to receive health benefits.

Remains Unclear: To pay for healthcare that lower income or destitute people will receive, tax-es paid by tax-paying citizens are expected to be raised. This has sparked some controversy be-cause many people don’t want to pay for a reform with which they do not agree.

Do you think doctors will have the choice

whether someone lives or dies?

False: There were alleged panels of doctors who would help families decide if a family member lives or dies. This will not be part of the healthcare plan.

*300 students polled

COMPILED BY TAYLOR ROSS AND JASMINE SACHAR

GRAPHICS BY SHAMEER DHALIWAL

Fact or FictionWith many rumors about the new bill, The Marquee discovers if students know myth from truth.

{FEATURE}

{the marquee} NOVEMBER 20, 200914 design by breyanna washingtion

He was on his own. Tonight’s performance featured no supporting roles or behind-the-scenes production crew. This particular show, unlike others he had participated in, could be performed without the aid of glittery makeup, costumes or sound effects. There would be no fictional character to hide beneath. He was utterly alone, except for the curious faces of the crowd in front of him.

One observer, his teacher, contributed to the unseasoned comic’s nervous state. Tonight, both senior Kole Frank-lin and theater teacher Deborah Garoui would take the stage.

During the summer, Kole performs at the Backdoor Com-edy Club located in the Double Tree Hotel in Dallas. There, he’s given a total of three minutes to charm the audience.

“I had a hard time finding one that would let me perform under 18 years old, but the Backdoor Comedy Club would, so that’s where I got started,” Kole said.

In fact, it’s because of Garoui’s presence that Kole decid-ed to perform at his first open-mic night. A twenty-year vet-eran of stand-up comedy, Garoui said she knows first-hand the obstacles a comic must overcome.

“He’s a smart comic,” Garoui said. “He had to get over

that whole fear of bombing because every comic does. But once he got over it—once he actually bombed—I think he improved.”

While Kole said that coming up with jokes on the spot is entertaining stand-up comedy requires much preparation. He said the writing process isn’t considered writing at all because in most cases, for a comedian, a recorder is more useful than a pen and piece of paper. He bases his material

on events that happen in his everyday life.

“You can’t just sit down and start writing jokes,” Kole said, “That’s not the way it works. Whenever you think of something funny, or see something that’s ri-diculous and know whether people can relate to it, then you have to…record it im-

mediately because you’re going to forget it if you don’t.”Kole’s versatility as a performer is also evident through

his involvement in the school’s theater department. There, he exercises his true passion for the art of theater.

He began his theater career as a freshman, after realizing he was no longer passionate about playing football. Kole said he discovered his love for acting after his first experience in a school production.

“It was during (The Wiz) rehearsals and I’d be stuck here at school for 12 hours at a time, and I just didn’t mind be-cause I loved it,” Kole said. “I was like, ‘If I can go through something for this long, and still like what I’m doing, then

STORY BY KELSEY MCCAULEYPHOTO BY NATALIA CHEKHA

During the varsity theater production of Alice in Wonderland, senior Kole Franklin performs as Mad Hatter the “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat” on Nov. 4. Franklin has been in many school pro-ductions including All Shook Up, Treasure Island, and The Wiz. His next role will be Tevia in Fiddler on the Roof opening early in Jan. 2010.

}“I was like, ‘If I can go through something for this long, and still like what I’m doing, then I should try getting into a position where I can get paid for it.’”

-KOLE FRANKLIN, 12{

Acting for laughs

I should try getting into a position where I can get paid for it.’”

Kole said theater requires extreme commitment and pro-vides almost no room for social activity beyond the audito-rium due to the long hours he spends at school rehearsing and performing.

“I don’t really have very many friends outside of theater,” Kole said. “Even my boss at work, I drive him crazy because he likes me as an employee but he can never schedule me…I’m always at school.”

Late nights spent at school aren’t the only factors con-tributing to Kole’s stress. The audition process can also be a pretty grueling experience.

“I guess the hardest part about audition processes is if you don’t get cast as the part that you want,” Kole said. “It’s not like they’re insulting your abilities, it’s just that they don’t think that you’re right for that part,” Kole said. “So you have to train yourself to think that instead of ‘Oh, I’m terrible. I’m leaving.’”

While both theater and stand-up comedy require an on stage setting and an audience, Kole said the atmosphere for a stand-up comedy show is dramatically different from that of a theater production.

“It’s not the same at all because you’re putting yourself up there for people to judge and not the character you’ve as-sumed,” Kole said. “So before I go on stage for stand-up, I’m a shaky, nervous wreck.”

Despite the many setbacks actors are forced to come to terms with, Kole said the source of his passion for acting is a simple one.

“At the very root of it, it’s just fun to pretend.”

Student steps in spotlight taking his talents to stage

Q ANSWER

NOVEMBER 20, 2009 {the marquee} design by breyanna washington 15

{FEATURE}

Tyler Caldwell,12

{Q}: Would you rather have a radioactive spider, a vampire or a rabid squirrel bite you? Why?{A}: I would rather a radioactive spider bite me because it could possibly lead to Spider Tyler.

{Q}: If you could change into any state of matter—solid, liquid, gas or plasma—which would you change into? {A}: I don’t want to be a solid because I don’t want to be bound to my container. So probably a gas so I could effuse everywhere.

{Q}: If you could be any food and have the celebrity of your choice eat you, what food would you be and who would eat you?{A}: I would want to be a big hamburger chowed down on by Oprah Winfrey because Oprah Winfrey only eats the best hamburgers. {Q}: If you could visit any of the Seven Manmade Wonders of the World, which would you visit and why?{A}: I would want to see The Pyramids because they are a great example of teamwork.

{Q}: If you could be one Sesame Street character, who would you be?{A}: I would be the Count because I have an affinity for numbers.

{Q}: What’s your favorite Thanksgiving Day food? {A}: I like the sweet potatoes because of the tiny marshmallows.

{Q}: Which career would you prefer: interpretive dancing, figure skating or synchronized swimming? {A}: Okay this is a weird answer but figure skating so I could be like my role model Kristi Yamaguchi.

Shots heard around nation

UESTION

&PHOTO BY NATHANIEL KATZCOMPILED BY KELSEY MCCAULEY

PHOTO BY ALLISON PRZYBYSZ

The shooting at Fort Hood army base in Killeen, TX sent shockwaves throughout the nation, shockwaves that can even be felt here by students and faculty in a range of ways.

Junior Brandon Shockley’s brother E5 Pvt. Ryan Shock-ley was at Fort Hood on Thursday. Because the response team that was supposed to lock down the base wasn’t ready, Shockly’s team was sent in with tanks to block all entrances and exits of the base, where they had to stay for 30 hours.

“We knew that he was on the field but he called us be-fore we even saw it on the news,” Brandon said. “No one re-ally knew what was happening so I was kind of a wreck. Not knowing was pretty scary. He’s all right, he just can’t believe it happened on American soil.”

Shockley’s fear of the unknown was shared by English teacher Mindy Sample, whose son is in the army and whose whereabouts were not known until later Thursday night. Her son then called her, explaining that he was safe at home with his wife.

“It really scared me and I tried not to get too upset until I knew the facts,” Sample said. “My whole reaction was that ...I anticipated worrying about him overseas, not worrying about him on base with a fellow comrade. It was really just a sad chain of events.”

Senior Ryan Jones, group commander of JROTC, recieves military updates on his phone, enabling him to learn of the attack the minute it happened. His first thought was whether he knew anyone there. Fortunately, he said, he didn’t.

“In the military there are several individuals who act out against their own country,” Jones said. “Everyone (in JROTC) was extremely mournful. A lot of people knew rela-tives and such who were there.”

The suspect in question, Nidal Malik Hasan, was told prior to the massacre that he was to be deployed into Afghanistan. Jones thinks that this might have contributed to his outburst of violence.

“If I were to be deployed, I would imagine it’d be stressful because they’re over there for great amounts of time,” Jones

STORY BY JASMINE SACHAR

A message reads “Our prayers are with the Fort Hood vic-tims” on an electronic billboard in the ROTC trophy case dur-ing the week following the shooting.

said. “You only get ten days to do what you want before you leave. Before (Malik) was at Fort Hood, he was at Walter Reed hospital in D.C. It’s a pretty stressful place because you see the impacts of war.”

Though he didn’t know anyone who was at Fort Hood, JROTC Sgt. Fred Norwood’s first thought upon hearing about the massacre was utter disbelief.

“That’s the bad part, because the location was so close to home and these people, some of them, just signed up to join the military right out of high school,” Norwood said. “Some families expect something to possibly happen overseas, not here in the states.”

Norwood believes, however, that this massacre was a “one-time event” and doesn’t think that it will affect army recruiting for high school students.

“As a matter of fact, after something like that (they) vol-unteer because they want to serve the country,” Norwood said. “If they have their mind made up already…they’re go-ing to go anyway.”

Senior JROTC member Brandon Smith was another stu-dent who wondered for a short period of time if any of his friends were at Fort Hood that Thursday.

“It’s kinda one of those things where the soldier just snapped and it happens, not very often,” Smith said. “I’m lucky none of my friends were in there at the time. They were all deployed already so I feel pretty fortunate that I’m not directly affected by it.”

Smith, a Navy-hopeful, said he felt unsettled upon hear-ing about the shooting.

“It’s one of those things where you don’t know what to think,” Smith said. “It’s terrible. Your stomach just turns over. Maybe he was just a traitor at heart and we didn’t know it.”

Fort Hood massacre hits close to home

PHOTO BY ALLISON PRZYBYSZAfter discussing the Fort Hood incidents, Sgt. Fred Norwood sits in front of a detailed American mural in the ROTC room on Wednesday, Nov. 12.

{FEATURE}

{the marquee} NOVEMBER 20, 200916 design by shelby bookout

A young, intellectual mindEighth grade student takes high school classes

Sitting upon a stool, peering into each jar filled with preserva-tives, the students carefully examined each specimen. Chatter filled the room as students conversed over the disgusting or intriguing appearances of the creatures in the jars. The preserved rat, which was supposed to be white now turned brown with formaldaehyde, received many disgusted looks. Kevin Ewart observed each jar with intensity as he scribbled a picture of the contents, and wrote a small decription about each creature on his chart. He wasted no time dis-cussing the lab with his classmates as they spent more time than necessary talking about the dead rat and other specimens. Instead he simply sat down in his seat to fin-ish other homework and study like any dedicated student would do.

Kevin Ewart is not the typical student who signed up for Pre-AP Biology with Christa Walters. He is currently an eighth grader at Bri-arhill Middle School but attends Marcus as a student for Pre-AP bi-ology. He spends first period on the Marcus campus taking up the first two class periods of his middle school day. His father drops him off at Marcus in the morning, and he carpools with another eighth grader who attends Marcus back to the middle school. Although this may seem like it would be confusing to handle on a day-to-day basis, Ewart said that Marcus isn’t much different than middle school, oth-er than the fact that he is shorter than most high school students.

“I’ve never been directly intimidated,” Ewart said. “I’m probably just considered a short ninth grader.”

Although the few students who decide to take Ewart’s path said that they are usually made to participate in advanced programs, Ew-art said that his parents do not force him to participate in Pre-AP biology, but instead that it was his choice.

“This is my ambition, my parents wouldn’t make me,” Kevin said. “I want to try to cram as many AP courses as I can before going to college. That would be a lot of college time, and college costs money, so trying to save money whenever possible is always a good plan. Plus, I learn things quickly and I would get bored if I was still doing eight grade stuff.”

Pre-AP biology teacher Christa Walters said that she believes that students should try to advance if they are able to do so.

“If they have an opportunity to excel in math and science so they can get ahead I think they should take it,” Walters said.

Next semester Ewart will continue his fast track by taking Pre-AP geometry and just like this semester he will spend first pe-riod at Marcus as well. Ewart said that although he doesn’t like math as much as science he wants to take the class in order to do other classes he wishes later in his high school career.

“Math is really cool especially its more vague areas,” Ewart said. “Where you’re not adding two and

two but where you are taking the square root of negative two and seeing what happens.”

Biology is not the class that Ewart prefers to take, but it is a re-quirement to pursue his real passion—physics. Ewart doesn’t know where he would like to go to college, but he does know that at this point in his life he wants to become a theoretical physicist in the quantum mechanical area.

“I really like quantum mechanical stuff because it interests me,” Ewart said. “I actually have a theory going on right now. I was ask-ing about the expansion of the universe when I was going to Pre-K. Of course, I thought it was because there are more stars being formed and they needed more space, but the point was I was inter-ested in it.”

STORY BY NATASHA JORDAN

PHOTO BY SARAH QUINNEighth grader, Kevin Ewart, studies his notes for his future Pre-AP test to maintain his A class average during first period on Nov. 3.

}“I’ve never been directly intimidated. I’m prob-ably just considered a short ninth grader.”

-KEVIN EWART, 8{

The Marquee will have a fundraiser on Dec. 5 at the Sonic on Morriss Road.

Come out and support us!

{the marquee} NOVEMBER 20, 200918 design by sean richmond

{ENTERTAINMENT}

COMPILED BY JOEY ULFSRUD

1 Luke Skywalker & Obi-Wan

2 Vader and the Emperor

3 Captain Kirk and Spock

4

Han Soloand Chewbacca

9 Lord Helmet and Colonel Sanders

8Darth Revan and Darth Malak

7Captain Jean Luc Picard and William Riker

6

“Apollo” and“Starbuck”

5

Philip J. Fry andBender Rodriguez

10 WALL-E and EVE

TOP 10 SPACE

These two are the driving force behind Star Wars and they are the reason that the Empire was defeated in Episode Six. The skills that Obi-Wan gave Luke helped him in future train-ing and Obi-Wan’s guidance helped Luke free the Galaxy from Darth Sidious. They take the top spot because of their representation of the Star Wars series and their overall impact to science-fiction movies.

This duo can be found in the fictional city of New New York on the animated TV show Fu-turama. They were chosen because of the perverted view of the future they represent. Bend-er is a robot who smokes and drinks and Fry is an idiot from the present, where he didn’t fit in. The illogical view of science fiction that Futurama represents is translated through Fry and Bender and their unique friendship and characters somehow survive this crazy image of the future.

These two masters of the Dark Side conquered an entire galaxy in Star Wars. Together they are symbolic of the entire Star Wars universe. Their tyranny set the bar for future sci-fi galactic beings of evil and their performance has set precedence for future stories to draw from. Not only that, but even their voices have become something of a running joke amongst sci-fi fans and parodies of the series.Captain Picard and First Officer Riker lead Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Enterprise.

These two have had a profound influence, much like Spock and Kirk’s, on the sci-fi genre. Though the relationship between Picard and Riker can be rocky at times, they serve as a foil to the rest of the crew and show that in the end, the matter at hand is much more important than a petty argument or mistake.

Captain Kirk and Spock were the leaders of the spaceship Enterprise in the original Star Trek. This duo prevailed over seemingly insurmountable odds time and time again, from de-feating evil Kirk clones to overcoming a hallucinogen that influenced Spock to assault Kirk. These two have certainly had a profound cultural influence, including the name of the NASA spaceship Enterprise, which comes from Star Trek’s Enterprise.These two are Sith Lords in the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Ko-

tOR). Their checkered past and constantly evolving story have created one of the greatest video game epics of all time. Not only that, but this duo’s history rivals that of the main-stream Star Wars story line. The story of these two in KotOR is known as one of the greatest stories in video game history, rightfully earning a spot among famous space duos.

These two proud owners of the Millennium Falcon are always good to have in a pinch and bring humor to the story of Star Wars. Han saved Chewy from a Wookie slave ring and since then the two have formed a strong bond over the course of their adventures. These two are another example of an infallible and courageous duo because their quick wit and piloting experience saved the crew of Star Wars time and time again.

Another spot goes to the most famous knock off of Darth Vader, Mel Brooks’ Lord Hel-met. Along with Colonel Sanders, this captain of the Spaceship/Mega-Maid Spaceball 1 at-tempted to drain all of the air out of the peaceful planet of Druidia. Their odd relationship and the laughs they bring to the screen really make this sci-fi parody stand out above any other.

These two crew members of the ship Battlestar Galactica, Apollo and Starbuck, are best friends, yet there are complications due to gender difference and Starbuck’s history with Apollo’s late brother. Despite these issues, they eventually find peace and trust in each other through all of the events of the series. These two amazingly complex characters are some of the best on television.

This cute, metallic duo from the movie WALL-E had quite a rocky start. EVE was re-luctant to befriend WALL-E at first, but eventually she formed a kind of loving relationship with him that helped them work together to bring about the re-colonization of Earth. Their determination and romance make this one of the most touching and memorable space duos and one of the best Pixar films to date.

DUOS

The first installment of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is the biggest selling first-person action game of all time. The sequel, Modern Warfare 2, has been surrounded with hype ever since conception. It does not dis-appoint.

The game begins with a training exer-cise reminiscent of the original Modern Warfare, but that’s the only similarity. From this point on, the player finds himself in developer Infinity Ward’s famous staged scenes. These scenes pit the protagonist in a stressful situation that highlights key points of the story. The game play is fast paced and the weapons seem to have more stopping power than before. The game also has higher quality graphics and resolution textures.

Unfortunately, the story in the campaign

does not meet the bar set by the previous Call of Duty sto-rylines. The campaign is an adrenaline rush the whole way through, but it lacks substance. In other Call of Duty games,

the story is told with a mixture of in-game dia-logue and briefings in between levels, but in this installment, the story is told almost en-tirely within the briefing scenes.

Yet, Modern Warfare 2 excels in the newly implemented Special Ops mode, and the mul-tiplayer aspect. The multiplayer is very famil-iar to players of the previous Modern Warfare, and the new special ops mode adds variety to single player and cooperative modes.

Modern Warfare 2 is not just for the play-ers looking for an adrenaline rush or a basic shooting game. The plot might be lacking, but the gameplay and new modes make up for the story.

NOVEMBER 20, 2009 {the marquee} design by breyanna washington 19

{ENTERTAINMENT}

REVIEW BY JOEY ULFSRUD

Wonders abound in ‘Wonderland’While walking across tables and laughing maniacally, the

brightly colored Mad Hatter, March Hare and Dormouse sip tea with their new friend, Alice. Alice, the newest resident of Wonderland, stares back at them with a confused expres-sion. For a moment, the audience feels as if they too are a part of this perplexing situation.

On Nov. 5-8, the theater department put on the play Alice in Wonderland. It is a tale of a young girl who falls into a rabbit hole, which leads her to Wonderland. After landing, the girl encounters odd experiences for the remainder of her stay in Wonderland. While she journeys through forests, stumbles upon unusual characters, and plays croquet with lunatic royalty, Alice navigates through this strange land in order to avoid getting beheaded by the Queen of Hearts.

The play began with a video of Alice in the woods taking a nap and then following the White Rabbit to Wonderland. This scene would’ve been a more effective beginning had it been performed live rather than recorded ahead of time. Af-ter entering Wonderland, Alice apears on stage and runs into the easily offended Mouse, who recites a poem. The scene seemed to take away from the rest of the play.

However, through every scene of the play after the rocky

beginning, humor and wonder intertwine, giving the audi-ence feelings of giddyness and childlike joy. As Alice makes her way through Wonderland she encounters crazy charac-ters that grab the audience’s attention. Characters such as the Queen of Hearts, Mad Hatter and Mock Turtle fill the auditorium with laughter because of the play’s well-written script.

With intricate lighting and various set changes, the play had a wide variety of visual aspects. During set changes tech students wore white gloves that glowed under a black light to keep the play flowing, which made the usually tedious set changes more entertaining and fun. The backgrounds were well designed with very bright colors, and all the sets fit per-fectly with the scene.

Detailed costumes kept the eye intrigued from beginning to end. Crazy colors, elaborate make-up and big hair acces-sories and hats all came together to make the costumes ex-traordinary. The actual students were almost unrecognizable because their excellent make up and costumes.

All in all, the play was well done. The characters were hu-morous, the costumes were colorful, and the sets were put together nicely. The audience walked out feeling as though they had just had their own experience in Wonderland.

REVIEW BY CARLEY MEINERS

Performer lives on REVIEW BY KATE O’ TOOLE

During a dress rehearsal, seniors Jessica Wilson and Hollis Edwards perform the “House of the Dutchess” scene from the production of Alice in Wonderland on Nov. 4. The play ran Nov. 5 - Nov 8 in the Larry Sigler auditorium.

Forget the Michael Jackson you once knew – the sus-pected pedophile, the man heavily in debt and the plastic surgery addict. This Is It highlights Jackson’s greatest trait: being a performer. The documentary shows not only how agile Jackson was before his death but also how dedicated he was to making his concert amazing. The movie is filmed in HD and features many of Jackson’s hits such as “Man in the Mirror” and “Billie Jean.” Not only is there behind-the-scenes footage of the rehears-als, but the movie also includes commentary by director Kenny Ortega and the singers and dancers involved.

Even haters of Jackson’s can understand why this man was loved and worshipped by so many people. When Jackson appears on the screen, at 50 years old, it is amazing how energetic and youthful he seems, danc-ing and singing in nearly every take. Although tedious at times, This Is It shows how much work and effort went into Jackson’s last tour. It also shows how many people were dedicated to making these concerts magical, most notably the Australian guitarist playing behind Jackson.

If the concerts went on, Jackson and company prob-ably would have wowed fans, especially in person as opposed to seeing it in the cinema. It is a shame that Jackson did not have the chance to say goodbye to his fans, but This is It is a very worthy tribute and a heavy reminder of why Jackson was a star in the first place.

PHOTO BY NATALIA CHEKHA

Game release lives up to considerable hype

Second album outshines first releaseREVIEW BY DEVON MILLER

Anywhere but Here, the follow up to Tallahassee band Mayday Parade’s first album, A Lesson in Romantics, has already accomplished something the first CD did not. It has cracked the Top 40 Billboard Chart, reaching number 31. Released on Oct. 6, Anywhere but Here, the band’s first major label release, impresses with 11 tracks, each com-plete with powerful guitar riffs and heartfelt lyrics.

There was debate over whether Mayday Parade would be able to fare well without lead vocalist, lyricist, and gui-tarist Jason Lancaster, who left the band after the release of A Lesson in Romantics in 2007, but the remaining five members seem to be doing just fine judging by the grow-ing fan base that Anywhere but Here has brought them.

“The Silence,” the first single off Anywhere but Here, is filled with lyrics that are bound to tear at a listener’s heart-

strings. Another strong song is “Kids in Love,” a nostal-gic ode to young romance. While the lyrics are simplistic, “Closed lips, she was never one to kiss and tell,” they’re extremely relatable and catchy, as are upbeat “Get Up” and the touching love song “The End.”

While the overall album is good, Mayday Parade seems to have left behind their signature sound, a mix-ture of emotional storytelling and potent guitar solos, for a more upbeat, straightforward style of music. Although the change seems to currently be working in the band’s favor, some older fans may be turned off by the absence of the band’s original sound. Despite the change in tune, Anywhere but Here is worth listening to from beginning to end. Listeners will not be disappointed.

All together, I felt much more tired and achy without sleep. My mood also took a drastic turn for the worse. I snapped at peo-ple I normally wouldn’t have snapped at and became a negative person until I was able to go to bed. And when I finally did get to sleep at 2 p.m., I slept all the way until 1 a.m. that night, which threw off my sleep schedule for the next few days. The night after catch-ing up on my sleep, I woke up at 1 a.m. and just stayed up until 8 a.m. If students rely on skipping sleep to keep up with school, it will ultimately worsen their mood, hurt their grades and endanger their lives.

To assess my mental ability without sleep, I answered 15 simple math flash cards. With a good night’s rest I finished the cards in 51.2 seconds, but after staying up all night it took me 56.3 seconds. Not only did it take longer, it was just generally more difficult to think things through. I even spent 5 seconds try-ing to figure out 173 multiplied by 0. Had it been a school day and I had a test or quiz, it would have taken me much longer than normal and I wouldn’t have been as accurate. My sleep direct-ly affected my academic ability.

design by brandon prill 20

{ENTERTAINMENT}

In ConcertCOMPILED BY TAYLOR ROSS

Dashboard Confessional@ The Palladium Ballroom

Nov. 22, 5 p.m.Price:$28

KISS@ American Airlines Center

Dec. 6, 7:30 p.m.Price: $20-126

Train@ House of Blues Dallas

Nov. 23, 7 p.m.Price:$30-50

Forever the Sickest Kids@ House of Blues Dallas

Nov. 26, 6 p.m. Price:$17-25

Selena Gomez@ House of Blues Dallas

Nov. 28, 2 p.m.Price:$20-35

All American Rejects@ The Palladium Ballroom

Nov. 29, 7:30 p.m.Price:$30

311@ Nokia TheaterDec. 5, 7:30 p.m.

Price: $50

SleepWith homework, extracurricular activities and social lives, getting a good night’s sleep can be

difficult for students. The Marquee takes a look at what sleep deprivation can do by having a staff member stay up for 30 consecutive hours and then conduct two experiments to examine the effects of lack of sleep.

{the marquee} NOVEMBER 20, 2009

What keeps you from sleeping at night?

Are you tired right now?How many hours of sleep do you get on average?

Does the amount of sleep you get affect your schoolwork?

No

Yes

67%

33%

No

Yes

70%

30%

STORY BY LUKE SWINNEYless in Marcus

Underoath@ House of Blues Dallas

Dec. 13, 7 p.m.Price: $22-35

To assess my physical ability without sleep, I tested my reaction time while driv-ing and also maneuvered through a series of four cones spaced 22 feet apart. Without sleep I ran over both the first and the fourth cones. My vision went blurry, and I couldn’t turn fast enough to avoid hitting them. With sleep I made it through the cones easily without hitting any of them.

To further test my reaction time, my friend and I found an empty stretch in the parking lot and I drove until I got to a con-stant speed of 20 mph. My friend held a large ball and as soon as she dropped it, I had to stop the car as fast as I could. After I slept I managed to stop the car completely in 3.1 seconds, but after pulling my all-nighter the time almost doubled – 6.1 seconds. It took me awhile to even realize the ball had been dropped and then took even longer to actu-ally stop the car. Because a sleep deprived person has a longer reaction time, danger-ous accidents are more likely to occur.

20%

Other

Phone

Homework

Video Games

TV

Internet

15%

20%

6%

17%

22%

Physical Test - Driving

More than 10

8-9

6-7

4-5

Less than 3

59%

14%3%

21%

3%

Overall ImpressionMental Test - Flash Cards

Results are based on a poll of 300 students.

{STAFF EDITORIAL}

NOVEMBER 20, 2009 {the marquee} 21

When the school first opened, the se-renity gardens on both sides of the atrium hallways were used for students to socialize; however, for the past few years the gardens have been closed to students and have be-come rundown in the process. Four years ago, SADD took over the project of cleaning them up for show. Although the gardens are cleaned out every year, students are still not allowed to use them. As of right now, the gardens’ only purpose is to look pretty for those who pass through the atrium hallways. There are many ways they could be put to better use.

If students were allowed to go into the gardens during passing periods, they would have a chance to get a breath of fresh air dur-ing the day, and it would be used rather than just wasting away beautiful space. Students could also eat their lunch in the serenity gar-

dens rather than sitting in the crowded caf-eteria. It would be easier to monitor students in a small, enclosed area because there would be a smaller student to teacher ra-tio, whereas in the cafeteria there are many more students than administrators. In addi-tion, if littering were to become too much of an issue during lunches, SADD could increase its annual cleanings, which would give the club members more opportunities for service hours.

Vandalism is the main reason the gardens remain closed to students at this time. Be-cause it has been unlocked at night, people have gone in and trashed them. According to members of SADD, the gardens have been littered with garbage on several occasions. Taking a few precautions could easily solve this problem.

If the gardens were open to students, a

Riverwalk takes territory, finances

Garden needs to be used

The River Walk at Central Park development plan, de-signed to contain parks, shopping centers, offices and a hospital, has caused major controversy.

The River Walk, located in the 160 acres of land be-tween 2499 and Morriss Road, alone without any of the structures, has been estimated to cost a minimum of $5.6 million. For this project, it can be assumed that it will cost much more than the minimum in order to obtain the “up-scale atmosphere” that the citizens of Flower Mound de-sire. We think the $5.6 million is just not enough to cover replanting trees, creating ponds and making the look of the River Walk an acceptable place.

Problems such as drainage and oil drillings may cost more than estimated. More than likely more problems will arise and more money will be spent to fix them. Al-though the budget seems incomparable to the $32 mil-lion spent on Marcus’ new stadium, the key word for this project is minimum. Will the project cost more than the minimum? The likelihood is yes.

The plan has eight phases of completion. As each

phase is completed the property tax on the retail shops and other businesses located in the River Walk may continue to increase. Al-though this presents an opportunity for the property taxes for the homes in the Flower Mound area to decrease, a problem with this economic plan results in possible increased prices for the goods sold at the stores.

A second look at Parker Square brings up another point against the new river walk development. The same developer who de-signed Parker Square had the concept that Parker Square will be a part of the community. There may be celebrations, shopping, and socializing occurring at Parker Square at times, but the amount that does occur is not nearly as much as predicted when Parker Square was first established. What happened to Parker Square that caused it to do so poorly? Huge anchor stores didn’t purchase space in Parker Square, which caused it to become less successful. Will this become the outcome of the new shopping center since the previous project designed by the same developer failed? Possibly.

The Shops at Highland Village appeared on the scene several years later, and they’ve been more successful. Many desired stores such as American Eagle, Banana Republic, and Zumiez brought

business to the Highland Village area. The AMC movie theatre brought even more business to the shops. Is it necessary to build a new shopping center with the suc-cess of Highland Village just down the street? No.

Those opposed to the building of the River Walk have the environmental appeal on their side. In the course of building the River Walk, 100-year-old trees have been cut down in the process, destroying one of the last green belts in the area. Supporters say for every tree cut down, another will be planted in its place. Although this concept seems beneficial, it will take hundreds of years for those new trees to amount to the size of the ones that exist in their place currently. Should we destroy one of the last green belts and become even closer to the atmosphere of New York City? The Marquee staff says “no”.

In conclusion, the money should be used on other necessities that the city needs instead. The staff is disap-pointed that the town of Flower Mound would take a risk and place the pursuit of economic success over the best interests of its citizens.

security guard, teacher, or other administra-tor could watch over the area during pass-ing periods and lunches to make sure they are not vandalized. Also, cameras could be installed around the gardens to monitor them. Furthermore, they could be locked up at night to ensure that nobody can trespass onto the property.

We feel students have the right to use the gardens. Those who wish to earn the right to utilize them should either join SADD and help clean the gardens or find another way to convince administration to allow the stu-dent body to visit the gardens during lunch and passing periods.

At this time, the serenity gardens sit on the sides of the school, abandoned and un-locked. The administration needs to make a decision: either give the students access to them or lock them up completely.

SCHOOLGARDEN

Student Log #5975...No windows...No

flowers...This dark, dreary class is making me emo. Hopefully I will start digging my

escape with the spoon I made from my shoe

and this pencil...If onlyI could have a

place to go in betweenclasses...

Oh, I wish...“Dream sequence”

Leading economic experts are saying that we are on the way to recovery! The recession is over!

Hey, now that we’re in the ‘green’

money-wise, maybe we should put a River Walk right next to our new shops! We really need four drug stores within 3 miles of each other!

Who could have predicted that the River Walk would

tank and suck up all our money? Who, I ask you, who?! Please be civil! Maybe we could build another amusement park! That will bring more money right? What could go

wrong?!

As I was getting more and more nervous, the anticipation was killing me and my body was shaking. My hands were sweaty and drops were running little by little down my face. This was it. All I had worked for the last seven years came down to this exact moment. Standing across from my friend who was already crying, anxiousness was getting to me but I couldn’t do anything about it. I had to just stand there pa-tiently and wait. The director’s voice came from a distance and her instructions signaled me to hold out my hands and close my eyes. I was just a girl with a big dream.

As I was waiting for my envelope, thoughts took me back to years of watching the Marquettes perform under the Fri-day Night Lights. With their sequined uniforms that spar-kled brightly from head to toe, and the white cowboy hat with a red sequined trim, I came to tears knowing I wanted this so badly. But I was just a baby. I was only a freshman and I didn’t know much about high school itself.

When I received my envelope, I opened it with excite-ment, but to my disappointment, I didn’t make it. Devastated as I was, I had to go home and face my friends and family and explain what happened. Sure I was sad, but I also came to realize that God made the director’s decision. He didn’t want me to be on the team for that year. I understood that later after being so upset for several weeks. I knew everything would be okay.

So for the next two years I kept working my butt off to get as good as I could be. I wasn’t going to stop dancing be-cause my dream fell through the first time around. I joined the competitive drill team at my dance studio to get a taste of what I was missing. I later joined the performing company to continue my goal. I understood the fact that I couldn’t just forget about Marquettes that I had worked so hard for in the first place. I missed my friends and missed the amazing op-portunity to get on the team.

I continued at the studio for a total of two years and then realized that was not what I wanted to do anymore. I was losing friends on Marquettes due to different schedules and things were not working out anymore. So when the next year of tryouts came around for my junior year, I knew I wanted to give it another chance to be a part of the team.

Again, after another long week of practicing and learning new kick and jazz dances, the tryout day came. I worked to my fullest extent and the girls in my group of four helped me so I could dance my best in front of the judges. After-wards, I waited again in the locker room for the final verdict. When everyone was called into the gym for our envelopes, I started crying. To be denied a second time would just make it worse. I had pursued my dream and I needed this boost of confidence once in my life. Sure I had an amazing family and friends, but this would mean the world to me. I never gave up and kept on trying. When I received my envelope, I opened it with much excitement, and this time, I called my mom with an answer of “I MADE IT!!”

The time has come for me to admit, “My name is Patrick, and I’m a procrastinator.”

Unfortunately, deadline has come and passed, and I’m just now working on my column. And as I write this col-umn, I am procrastinating on a scholarship essay, my PreCal homework and studying for Government.

This isn’t uncommon. As I have found, once a procras-tinator, always a procrastinator. After each late-night cram session for a paper or test, the question always comes, “Why do I do this to myself?” With the response, “Next time it will be better. Next time I’ll start in advance.” But that never hap-pens. And as the years have progressed, my procrastination has only gotten worse. Now in my last year of high school, I’ve become a pro at the art of procrastination. Once, I might have stayed up late the night before, but now sleep has be-come much more enticing, and I tell myself it can wait until morning. Or second period.

As a journalist, I thrive under a deadline. That pressure of a few minutes to finish an assignment could not make me more motivated or driven. More recently, the serious bouts of senioritis I’ve been experiencing lately have helped dig me deeper into my procrastination hole.

I don’t know what it’s like to take study breaks. By the

time I get down to business, if I took any breaks, I wouldn’t be able to turn in my assignment on time. I used to offer the “I-work-better-under-pressure” line, but I don’t even bother anymore. Apparently it doesn’t matter whether or not I work better; apparently that’s the only way I work.

I often think it requires more planning to procrastinate than to not. The procrastinator possesses an entirely differ-ent mind-set. In my world, it isn’t so much, “I have a paper due next Monday,” as it is, “Hmmm, Monday morning is go-ing to be very busy.” Starting early isn’t an option.

I’ve had my share of backfires though. I’ve turned in countless papers late and suffered the consequences. Who knows, maybe it just means I know I can write mind-blowing masterpieces so that getting one-third a grade knocked off will mean nothing to me. But you’d think I would’ve finally learned my lesson. Well, I haven’t. The adrenaline rush is too great. The sorrow of a lower grade is no match for the thrill of procrastination.

Procrastination requires unearthly confidence. It’s not recommended for the faint of heart. It takes guts for people who want to live life on the edge.

I want to finish this column with a compelling ending, but I’m out of ideas. Oh well, I’ll think of something later.

{the marquee} OCTOBER 22, 2009

{OPINION}

Should students be

allowed in the serenity gardens?

COMPILED BY ALEXANDRA MEHLHAFF PHOTOS BY NATHANIEL KATZ

Persistence pays for future

THE DANCING QUEEN

Erryn Bohon

Procrastination takes over life

GETTING TO THE POINT

Pat Iversen

“Not really, because it would become a prob-lem. Kids would miss class just to chill with their friends and mess it up.”

Mariah Morris,Freshman

Parking In Band Lot

As the band season winds down, new parking spots are becoming available. This could not come at a better time because senior spots are already causing the parking lot to lose precious spaces. How-ever these students have a reason to rejoice. There will no longer be the need to rush to school in the early hours of the morning, just to secure a parking spot.

Breakfast for Lunch

If students miss out on the most necessary meal of the day, there is no longer a need to fret—breakfast at lunch will allow them to fill up and get that satisfying feeling. Eat-ing delicious food such as chicken biscuits and fruit parfaits were a nice change. It was such a privi-lidge the week of Oct. 19 through the 23 that they should just contin-ue the breakfast feast all year.

Longer Thanksgiving

Cramming for tests, quizzes, and the two hours of homework in the evening can be a stressful task. It is nice to know that students and the faculty are getting a full week off for Thanksgiving break, rather than three measly days. The ex-tra days will allow the students to spend more time with family and friends, along with time to rest.

{BOOMBAS}

“We should be able to go out there before or after school, to be in a place somewhere nice. If you’re out there it is still, quiet and peaceful.”Jacob Simmons,

Sophomore

THINGS WE LIKE

design by brandon prill 22

My friend’s face had disbelief written all over it. “You’re not a vegetarian anymore?” she asked. I shook my head, somewhat shocked at myself. After being a strict vegetarian for four years and raw food vegan for 3 months, I did a com-plete 180 from my former beliefs and started eating meat. The weird thing was that I felt no guilt from it.

To me, killing an animal--fish to cows--was murder and not only did I avoid it, but I tried to show my friends and fam-ily how awful it was to eat meat. I repeatedly pushed tofu and fake vegetarian foods on my friends, and expressed my views whenever they would eat an animal. I tried to make them watch slaughterhouse videos, which contained cruelties that were unimaginable. I couldn’t understand why people who were so fun and kind wouldn’t stop eating meat.

Looking back, I have realized I became the person that I hated most– someone who constantly would preach and push my friends in trying something they didn’t care like. Eventually, I did become used to people eating meat and the disgust on their faces whenever I would offer up some tofu bacon or fake chicken wings. One thing that caused me to change was my recent passion for cooking. Reading the labels of the frozen soy meat products showed me exactly what I was eating and it wasn’t real food.

Also, I didn’t care as much anymore. I ate meat this sum-mer for the first time in four years, bracing myself for the guilt of eating an animal but nothing happened--the world didn’t stop, my parents didn’t question me of why I was eat-ing the meat I so vehemently opposed and I felt perfectly fine. Sure, ethically it is a good reason to stop eating meat, but I realized I didn’t have to ban meat all together.

I could support the people and local farmers that raise and slaughter their animals humanely, instead of buying large brands that use factory farms which stuff thousands of animals together in cages and torture them cruelly. I have accepted that animals die for people to eat, and that death is a natural cycle. Although now, I understand where food comes from, and as a result, I have more of an appreciation for the people who make it and the animals that give their lives to it. I understand that animals aren’t to be taken for granted, and instead of eating large servings of meat at every meal, I eat mainly vegetables with sometimes a side of meat.

Sure, I do miss the title of being a vegetarian, and the environmentally-friendly and liberal stereotype that comes with it. But other than that no, I don’t miss it all. I rather spend my life eating real food than fake. I appreciate what vegetarianism taught me though--that vegetables can be good, meat isn’t necessary for survival and that a death is a death. What is the difference between a cow dying and a jel-lyfish? Today, I’ll gladly eat both, and I have no reservations to eating chicken feet or bone marrow. In fact, this weekend I’ll be trying Foie Gras, otherwise known as duck liver, for the first time. Am I scared or disgusted? Nope. Instead, I look forward to it.

Somebody with a broken-out face or rolls hanging over their waistline isn’t someone worth dating. I know it’s harsh, but for most people it’s true.

“I’m not that shallow” is a phrase I hear quite often. I’m here to call your bluff. After six years of dating and seven-teen years of observing other relationships, I’ve noticed physical attrac-tion comes first. I don’t know of anyone that went out of their way trying to get close to someone unattractive with the ultimate goal of dating that person.

It is an unspoken, universally known dating principle that there are leagues. Leagues vary for each person and the groups can vary from the mission impossible, people that are almost too attractive, to the socially awkward people that have trouble keeping up a conversation.

Through not everybody has the same taste, we still search for the opposite gender that we, personally find attractive.

{OPINION}

OCTOBER 22, 2009 {the marquee}

Marquee Remarks“Yes. I think

students should be allowed. Teachers get a teachers’ lounge and stu-dents should have a place for some fresh air.”

Katie Heckett, Senior

“I do. I think that anything that improves the aesthet-ics of our campus, in other words makes it more beautiful and enjoyable, that every-body should be able to benefit from it.”

Jennifer Forthun, Teacher

Stocking Sodas

Although the thirst quenching drinks, such as Vitamin Water, are a great substitute for fattening so-das, it would be nice if the vending machines were actually stocked once in awhile. If Vitamin Water is our only option, they should at least keep the vending machines stocked so students have access to healthy drinks all day.

Classroom Supplies

While students pay for school supplies at the end of the sum-mer for the entire year, teachers are forced to pay for classroom supplies. In order to succeed in teaching they must pay supplies for a class of twenty five students or more. The school district should pay for these average supplies, in-stead of having the teachers burn a whole in their pockets for them.

Too Few English Books

It is frustrating not being able to start a book in English class be-cause you have to wait until other students have finished with it. Too few books in the English Depart-ment and too many students does not equal out pleasantly. If the school is willing to shell out $32 million for a brand new stadium, they should be able to spare a cou-ple hundred for more books.

{HEYS}

Looking past stereotypes

SHLEY “BUTTERS” OLARI

Ashley Solari

Lifestyle takes a turn around

ONLY COOL KIDS QUIT

Kate O’Toole

We all stay in our bubble and our standards rarely change. People typically date people that have similar physical traits, for example hair color. It may be our subconscious, but when we do this we miss out on some great personalities that hide behind people we consider not worth our time.

Unfortunately, we are nasty and judgemental. We bring ourselves close to those we feel are on the same league as us regard-less if they may have snot-ty personalities. We get to know attractive people in hopes that maybe their personalities correspond to their appearance.

As teenagers we set high standards for others due to mass media that tells us that if you aren’t stick thin and tall then you aren’t attractive. We PDA so others will get jealous and think ‘wow, he is with her?’ So in the end our relationships with those close to us almost solely depend on the judgment of our fellow peers because if they don’t accept it then there is no way we could.

“I think they should. Right now all we get to do is sit there and look at them, and it is kind of pointless.”

Benjamin Corzatt, Junior

}People typically date people that have similar physical traits....It may be our sub-conscious, but when we do this we miss our on some great personalities.{

THINGS WE DON’T LIKE

design by brandon prill 23

A red 12 X 36 inch acrylic painting hangs in the local art gallery in Lewisville. The piece called “You Would Know” by art teacher Evan Cranston, is compiled of col-ored blocks from some of his brother’s old wedding invitations. The art piece forms an ape that evolves into a girl-like creature. This piece is the one of many displayed by LISD art teachers in the Art Gallery behind the old Black Eyed Pea off I35E S.

“I made these pieces directly for the show, so it was kind of easy to narrow things down,” Cranston said. “The toughest aspect of any art show is trying to think of the tone of other pieces being entered. I did not want my work to stick out terribly from the other pieces, so I decided to use paints and ink.”

The Art Gallery is run by volunteers and is focused on getting artists in the com-munity recognized for their creativity. The gallery has three rooms, two devoted to LISD art teachers and the third reserved for students that have received awards in excellence. The owner, Leslie Morgan, said the gallery brings quite a few people on a day-to-day basis.

“It’s a pretty quiet place just because the location is so secluded,” Morgan said. “But we do get people that will spend a good thir-ty minutes to an hour just admiring the art work. This is an easy-going kind of place, teachers put up their artwork themselves. They put a title on it and leave it up to others to interpret.”

An untitled watercolor painting of a flow-er with white petals from art teacher Julie Murdock also hangs from the wall. Mur-

dock said she was inspired from a Rose of Sharon in her backyard that bloomed and that she tried to capture that beauty through her passion of painting.

“My artwork is influenced by the beauty of nature,” said Murdock. “My work tends to be realistic and happy. I try to make my piec-es colorful. I work hard to add contrast and color to make my work more interesting.”

Cranston said he finds his inspiration from listening to music.

“I feel that music is an integral part of my art making process,” he said. “It helps me take my mind off of consciously making decisions and more thoroughly focus on the direct process of making art. Depending on what the tone of the piece is, I listen to dif-ferent music.”

All but one of the art teachers participat-ed in the art show. Cranston said his future goals are to work on fine-art painting and il-lustration work from comic books.

“I work on art every day,” Cranston said. “It keeps me in practice, and helps me im-prove. I sketch a lot, but usually like to have a finished piece so I do not feel like I’m wast-ing my time. During the day, I teach, so as soon as I get home, I work on art, it is the best way to end the day!”

{the marquee} NOVEMBER 20, 200924 design by sean richmond

STORY BY ASHLEY SOLARIPHOTOS BY ALLISON PRZYBYSZ

Artsy endeavors Marcus teachers get chance to shine at localgallery, showcasing their submitted works

{spotlight}

1) “You Would Know” by Evan Cranston- acrylic paint and drawing ink2) “Untitled” by Pedrameh Manoocheri - watercolor3) Photography by Kathy Toews4) “Spirit Healer” by Jim Neiswender- mixed media5) “Untitled” by Julie Murdock-watercolor6) “Dylan and Dog” by Evan Cranston-acrylic

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