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Volume 12, Issue IIMay 2014The Student Newspaper of Juan Seguin High School, Arlington, Texas

Arlington voters ap-proved a $663.1 million bond that will give students access to new technology and facilities.

Director of communi-cations for AISD Leslie Johnston is looking forward to seeing the changes that will be made in schools.

“With the bond there will be safety and security improvements, expanded career and technical educa-tion opportunities, and and a focus of science, technol-ogy, engineering and math at elementary schools,” Johnston said.

The bond allows the district to make upgrades and renovations to school security systems and air conditioning and heat-ing units and add a new

sports facility that will host swimming, wrestling and gymnastics events..

Seguin will receive a multi-purpose activity cen-ter for athletics, fine arts and other extracurricular groups.

Fine Arts programs at every school will receive new instruments, uniforms, risers and choir shells. Along with that, a district-

wide fine arts center will be built within the next five years. It will contain a 2,500- seat performance hall, classroom space, and an instrument repair facil-ity with a career and techni-cal education program for

students. Theatre arts teacher

Luke Longacre is excited about these benefits.

“A lot of things that

have unable to be used because they’ve needed re-pairs are finally going to be used again,” Longacre said. “We are going to start fresh with brand new equipment. It’s like Christmas.”

Athletics is receiving a districtwide athletics complex. It will be used for swimming, wrestling and gymnastics. Existing athletic spaces at each high school will also be reno-vated.

“On rainy days the gyms are packed with sports that need to practice, so the athletics center is greatly needed for those occa-sions,” Seguin’s athletics coordinator Courtney Phil-lips said.

The property tax rate is expected to increase by about 15 cents because the bond was passed.

InsidetheTimes

News 2Sports 3Opinion4Editorial 5Features6-7Entertainment8

From Mr. to DocFrench teacher Alexander Fraiser receives his Ph.D. in educational leadership.

Page 2

Rock Stars on a RiseStudents adventure into the world of the music business by starting up-and-coming band, Timeless City.

Page 6

Voters Approve Bond for District ImprovementsSuccess on the TrackCheck out special contribu-tor Quinton Gale’s story on the varsity track girls’ suc-cess in the state track meet.

Page 3

Music Man Debuts in MayThe anticipated musical stars senior Franklin Munos and junior Randi Bivens.

Page 8

Jane Edwards walks to her class, thinking of the biology test awaiting her when she takes notice of the people around her, pointing and snickering.

Her heart races. “What’s going on ...?” she wonders. She quickly makes her way through the crowded hallway, trying to shove off their stares. Edwards takes a seat in biology, pondering why people laughed at her. The teacher walks up to her with a pass in hand. It says to visit her assistant princi-pal. She can feel the panic climbing up her throat.

As she walks into her AP’s office and sits down, he looks at her with a sym-pathetic look.

“Jane… There are some pictures of you going around school.”

Her heart slams into the floor.

Edwards had to face the fact that the boy she trusted turned against her by showing other people

explicit pictures she sent him in confidence. Edwards has agreed to tell her story to The Cougar Times on the condition that her real name not be used in order to protect her identity.

Because of the advance-ments in technology it’s become easier to take and send nude pictures than it would’ve been 30 years ago. But there’s a risk. Those pic-tures end up on Instagram or Facebook accounts that are specifically made to humiliate these girls. Teens have also embarrassed girls by sending pictures to their friends in group messages through the texting app Kik. Edwards wasn’t exposed on one of these accounts, her picture was only shown to other

Apps such as Kik and Instagram provide entertain-ment for teens, however the consequences can be dire when a person’s privacy is violated. Issues arise when teen girls send nude photos that end up exposed on these forms of social media.See Teen on Page 2

Teen Sexting Could Lead to Humiliation, Legal Issues

StephAlleva&SarahStroud

Editors

PhotobyStephAlleva

Features Editor

KateChappell

“We’re going to start fresh with brand new equiptment. It’s like Christmas.” – Luke Longacre

Seguin Bond Improvements• Multipurpose center for athletics and fine arts• New instruments, uniforms, and choir shells • District-wide fine arts performance center

New Graduation Plan CustomizesHigh School Experience

Steph AllevaEditor in Chief

Taylor Smith Staff Writer

May2014News2

Beginning next year, students will have a person-alized high school experi-ence that will allow them to choose classes based on their career goal.

The new program, called the foundations graduation plan, will enable students to select classes from five different categories includ-ing science, technology, engineering, mathemat-ics; business and industry; public services; arts and humanities; and multidisci-plinary studies. This pro-

gram keeps students from taking unnecessary classes their career goals don’t require.

“The new graduation plans are designed to help students do a series of electives from one concen-tration area so that they’re not just taking a little bit of everything like we do now,” lead counselor Greg Mat-lock said.

For freshman, Arling-ton ISD will do away with the three basic graduation plans: minimum, recom-mended, distinguished. But this year’s freshmen, sophomores, and juniors

will have the option to con-tinue their current plan, or change to the foundations plan, while the incoming freshmen have to choose the foundations plan.

“It’s designed so that they have a career focus area,” Matlock said.

It’s possible to change an endorsement, but after 10th grade, students will need their guardian’s signature. Sophomore Caitlyn Hoang believes students will ben-efit from the foundations plan.

“I think it’ll prepare stu-dents more for the future,” Hoang said. “The endorse-

ments prepare you better for life, not just college.”

Dean of instruction Kirsten Lundin has con-fidence the new plan will have a positive effect on graduation rates and bet-ter equip students for life beyond high school. She said the foundations are a necessary change for all schools.

“The graduation plans as they stand right now only prepare kids for either a diploma or college,” Lun-din said. “This provides the flexibility in what educa-tion is beyond high school.”

There are education pos-

sibilities that don’t include a four-year university. Lun-din said the foundations plan helps students explore other education and career options during high school so they don’t graduate wondering “what next?” She also said it gives them experience and preparation for the life they’re specifi-cally interested in.

“Because it’s a personal graduation plan, it’s what each child individually wants and needs to gradu-ate from high school,” Lundin said.

Calling Dr. Frasier French Teacher Receives Ph.D. in Educational Leadership

As the audience cheered wildly in the dimly lit stadium, Alexander Frasier walked across the stage for the final time on May 11th at University of Texas - Ar-lington to recieve his Ph.D.

“I really wasn’t nervous,” Frasier said. “I was excited.”

Frasier graduated from the University of Texas - Austin in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts in French, Bachelor of Science in Communication and a

Spanish minor. Frasier also earned his

master’s degree in Market-ing at UTA.

“I earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership,” Frasier said.

Frasier is the sole French teacher at Seguin and teaches all levels. He has been teaching at Seguin for 10 years.

“My favorite part of teaching is helping students make their lives better through education,” Frasier said.

Natalye Del Prado is the

third French 3 Vice Presi-dent of the International French Club, a club Frasier started.

It aims to create cul-tural understanding among students and to help break down barriers by learn-ing about other cultures. The students go on trips to culturally diverse restau-rants and museums to learn about new people.

“He has taught me a lot about life,” Del Prado said about Frasier. “We learn much more than French.”

Frasier walked the stage May 11 at the University of Texas-Arlington to recieve his Ph.D in Educational Leadership. “I really wasn’t nervous,” Frasier said. “I was excited.”

Photo by Taylor Smith

only shown to other classmates, but other Seguin students have been a victim of these acts.

“Because of social media it’s much easier to release these pic-tures,” counselor Alicia Curry said. “It’s by the touch of a button now.”

Edwards said she was mortified when she discovered the trouble she got herself in to. Once they send the pictures they lose con-trol of what happens to them and

where they end up. She said she felt betrayed and she couldn’t trust anyone. She began keeping to herself in school, not talking much or hanging out with friends. Her advice to other girls that feel pres-sured to send pictures is simply, don’t do it.

“Even if a guy sends you a pic-ture, don’t send one back,” Edwards said, “He’ll try to tell you that you can trust him, but you should only trust yourself.”

According to the Texas Penal Code, section 43.261, not only do

these indecent exposures hurt the girls but they can also cause legal trouble for everyone involved. Parents can also be charged with Texas’ Child Enticement and that’s just if their child sends one of these explicit pictures.

“He thought I was cutting him off, so out of revenge he betrayed my trust and showed everyone the pictures,” Edwards said.

If a person is caught sending or receiving sexts from other minors, they can be charged with a Class C misdemeanor and face

up to a $500 fine. If the pictures are used to harass, embarrass, or abuse another person, for example, the Instagram accounts, then the charge is brought up to a Class B misdemeanor, which can result in a fine of $2,000 or up to 180 days in jail. In the eyes of the law, the per-son who exploits these images will suffer the greater consequence.

“Don’t expect someone else to protect your privacy more than you protect yourself,” assistant principal Kari Pride said.

Teen Sexting Could Lead to Humiliation, Legal IssuesContinued from page 1

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During the last quarter of the intense soccer game against Bur-leson, junior Marilyn Goewert was taken out by her opponent while defending a shot on goal. Goewert was the last defender and when the ball sailed over her head, she sprinted to protect her goal and her opponent viciously kicked her ankle.

“I saved the goal, but we both went rolling on the ground,” Goew-ert said.

Goewert is suffering a combina-tion of fractures in her ankle and torn ligaments as a result of her effort. She has had to endure wear-ing a boot, and using crutches.

Athletes all over, just like Goewert, are constantly sacrific-

ing their time, money, and especially their bodies, all for the love of the game. In an injury surveillance study conducted by the University of Colorado at Denver, boy’s and girl’s soccer had an estimated 339,431 inju-ries nationally, boy’s and girl’s basketball had 168,926, and boy’s wrestling had 85,485. They are still less than football, which had an estimated 509,158 injuries. Overall, within all high-school sports, there was an estimated total of 1.36 mil-lion injuries.

Senior Nicko Boleware injured his ankle during one of his basket-ball games when he took a shot

and came down on a player in an awkward position.

“I’m frustrat-ed about getting injured,” Bole-ware said. “I’m supposed to be playing bas-ketball in the summer and now that might

not happen.”Many athletes suffer the same

misfortune. Their opportunity to play the sports they like is often taken away by an unfortunate mishap.

Senior Alanna Berecin suffered an injury to her brachial plexus, a network of nerves running from

the neck to the arm, during wres-tling regionals.

“I was fighting this pin, and for some odd reason my neck was go-ing one way and my shoulder was going the opposite way,” Berecin said.

Berecin has had to undergo intensive therapeutic massages and suffer from the inability to go at her full capacity. It may have even cost her a title at the state wres-tling tournament.

Despite all the injuries, these athletes and many more, keep pushing on and not giving up.

“I’m passionate about it, it helps get my mind off things and release stress,” Goewert said. “I didn’t ever think I’d get hurt like this, but it’s what I like to do. I’m willing to take that risk.”

Nerves on the Mat

Athletes Sacrifice for the Love of the Game

The adrenaline races through her body as she steps onto the mat. The memory of last year and the hope to place higher than fifth is in the back of her mind. She struggles to push the pain of her current in-jury aside as the match begins.

Alana Berecin was the only girl from Seguin to make it the state wrestling competition. She competed on Feb. 14 and Feb. 15 in Garland in spite of a nagging injury to her shoulder. The in-jury took place during a region-als match that resulted in nerve damage to her Brachial Plexus, which is the network of nerves

that branches off from the neck to control most of the upper limbs. This caused severe pain in her shoulder and limited the rotation of her arm.

“The nerve tightened and I had to go to rehabilitation for it.” Berecin said.” The doctor advised me not to wrestle but I figured that I was a senior and I wanted to go out with a bang.”

Berecin had gotten to the third round of competition before the real trouble arrived. Berecin was close to pinning her competitor when she got called for her hair being shown.

“After I got called for my hair, the girl I was compet-ing against kept going for my

injured shoulder, which really cut my chances of winning the match.” Berecin said.

Berecin was soon pinned to the mat thus losing her match.

“She was the only girl from the team to make it to state, which is great, but I had wished she would have been able to go even farther in the com-petition,” her coach, Katelyn Jamieson said.

Although she has had a successful high school career, Berecin has decided to not con-tinue wrestling in college.

“I had the chance to wrestle on a scholarship but I don’t want to further injure myself,” Berecin said.

May 2014 Spring Sports 3

Jezabel SantosSports Editor

Sarah StroudEntertainment Editor

Senior battles injury as she competes in state wrestling competition

Senior Alana Berecin is the only girl from Seguin who competed in the state wrestling competition although she was injured.

Holly Howell consults injured athletes on how to improve their condition.

Photo by Sarah Stroud

Photo by Steph Alleva

The Seguin girls track team brought home silver and bronze medals from compet-ing at the state track meet last week in Austin.

The girls 4-by-200 relay team that consists of sopho-mores Lateria Gooding, Aubrey Ridgeway, Tonea Marshall and freshman Ja’Maya Crowe placed third among class 4A competitors with a time of 1:39.20. Marshall also placed second in the girls 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13:70 sec-onds, which broke the previous hurdle record for Seguin’s girls set in 2011.

The last team to win gold at the state track meet was the 2011 girls 4-by-200 relay team.

Girls track coach Katra Ridgeway said she is excited about next year.

“The most exciting part is

their youth and potential,” Ka-tra Ridgeway said. “We finally have a group of girls that can set a Seguin record at district, regionals and state.”

Marshall said that despite her individual performance in the 100-meter hurdles, she still relishes her team success more than her own.

“The team success was bet-

ter than mine because it was a group effort and everybody was doubting us,” Marshall said.

When asked if it was hard to get the girls to work hard dur-ing practice, Katra Ridgeway replied, “Oh, Lord, yes.”

Gooding said she wasn’t sure she wanted to run at the begin-ning of the season, but glad she continued.

“At first I didn't want to run,” Gooding said. “Now I see my potential.”

Gooding and the rest of her relay team all plan to come back next year.

“The special thing about this team is that the of us are sophomores and one fresh-men,” Aubrey Ridgeway, coach Ridgeway’s daughter, said.

Coach Ridgeway said she has a special goal for this team next year.

“They can win the state team title,” she said.

Track Stars Win Silver, Bronze at State

Photo by Janice Nweke

Ridgeway Gooding

CroweMarshall

Quinton Gale Special Contributor

At a recent track meet, Lateria Gooding warms up for her event. Her relay team con-sisting of Aubrey Ridgeway, Tonea Marshall, and Ja’Maya Crowe placed third in the state.

Opinion May 20144

Gotta Go My Own WayAhh ... young love in high school,

where kids kiss in hallways, walk so slow in the hallway that others can’t get by, and never leave each other’s sides.

High school is full of young love and some heartbreaks, especially when that special someone means everything to you.

It was junior year and I met him through one of my best friends from Starline. We were friends from the start. He would hang out with us, watch us dance, laugh with us and all of that good stuff. I didn’t real-ize that he would’ve taken an interest in me weeks later. We talked and he was nice to talk to. He really was awesome.

I didn’t realize that we would go on a date that upcoming Friday to go see “Iron Man 3”. He was a gen-tleman. He picked me up, bought me ice cream and all that good stuff. It was honestly too good to be true. Two years going without a relationship and here this guy was laying himself at my feet. I was head over heels.

That night I became his girl-friend. May 3, 2013, I had a boy-friend finally. I was on cloud nine. We talked everyday, tried to see each other everyday, so we became clingy to each other, as young,

drunk in love, teenagers do.One month goes by and it’s been

the most fun, happy, scary time together.

We realized that we wouldn’t see each other for a whole summer since he got grounded because of something he did not go into de-tail, but just know it wasn’t good.

Summer comes along and he has summer school over at Bowie, three minutes away from my house. Every day, he made it an effort to ride his bike to Bowie and then to my house after. Our summer together was amaz-ing, even though I ne-glected my little cousin who came for the summer because he was over all the time and I never paid attention to her. I sadly regret that now.

Fast forward a month later. Senior year is finally here. This is what we both had been waiting on. We were going to spend our senior year together. Prom, college,

everything we wanted to stick our relationship out. We’d got through the summer and now it was time to enjoy life again. We spent our A days going off campus together and spending time since he was in football and I was in Starline. I cheered for him at all the games. Even though he wasn’t on the field all the time I was his No. 1 fan.

As our fourth month together rolled around I was still ecstatic. I felt like we really were going to

make it and then one

day I get hit with some-thing unex-pect-

ed. He asked

to take the rela-

tionship a step further

which I was not ready for. That was

a shocker and that was the week leading

up to our break-up. We didn’t talk, we gave each

other space, and we didn’t have the same relationship we did four months ago. It became quiet and awkward and even more quiet.

That Sunday, I got out of church and we talked and he decided it

was over between us. I’d never been so hurt in my life.

I was in Office Depot when he told me and I sank to the floor bursting into tears. My best friend, Tabran, had to help me out the store be-cause I couldn’t even walk.

My mom was in California at the time and she wasn’t getting home until later that night. She called me multiple times checking on me before getting on the plane.

I was fine, then I’d break down and cry. I was fine, then I’d break down and cry again. I was seriously fine, and then I cried myself to sleep that night. I cried myself to sleep for a long time.

I had dreams about him every night for months on end and I didn’t even know why. I was so hurt it wasn’t even funny.

Teenage love can definitely be amazing, because coming from someone who’s experienced a real first heartbreak this year, the good times definitely outweigh the bad. Sometimes things have to fall apart for someone to real-ize that you’re better off without them and if it’s meant to be, it will come back. A first love is always the greatest, but it can also be the worst heartbreak of all.

Kaitlin Coward is a senior in Journalism I.

Standing behind the curtain, cry-ing and praying for the first time in awhile, waiting for my moment. The lyrics to Eminem’s “Lose Your-self” coursing through my brain. Nerves running through my body like sports cars rac-ing down the track. I was scared. Scared of failure, scared of judgement, scared of everything. However I had to let it all go. This was my time to do something that I love for a change and nobody, espe-cially not myself, was going to ruin it. The next thing I know the spotlight is on me and it feels as if the words are caught in my throat before they begin to flow through my mouth. Once I hear my words echo through the auditorium a feeling of relief and euphoria washes over me.

However, what did any of that mean if neither of my parents or any other family, besides my little sister, were there to see it? That feeling of looking for people that weren’t there was almost

overwhelming. I wanted to cry. Yeah, it was my moment to shine but no one was there to bask in it with me. No mother, no father, no stepfather, no one. All this did was reassure the already existing feeling of apathy my family holds against me.

Sure, they all had solid excuses, but still. Plus seeing my costars hug their families afterward didn’t relieve the pain of the infected wound. OK, maybe not infected, but it hurt.

While that sucked, it proved something, it shined a new light of its own on the dim situation. While I would have loved somebody’s support, it wasn’t necessary to my success. You can do anything you set your mind to and be proud of it and work hard for it and achieve it without constant encouragement. While it would be nice to have support, you can be self-sufficient. That’s what I aim to do at least. Do it all, but I guess do it alone.

Taylor Meyer is a sophomore in Journalism I.

Sophomore Recaps Emotional Impact of First Theater Performance

One thing that angers me is when people judge others based on their sexual preferences. Sexual-ity shouldn’t define how a person is looked at because everybody is equal.

Martin Luther King said it best during his “I Have A Dream” speech. His words were: “People should be judged by the content of their character.” That quote means a person should be judged by who they are on the inside and the characteris-tics they show.

The United States is known as “The Land of the Free,” yet same-sex mar-riage isn’t legal in several states around the country. Technically, homosexuals are be-ing robbed of their free rights. It should be their decision on who they decide to marry.

Although some people argue the point that God put a man and a woman together, others can pro-vide a counter argument that some

people aren’t tied to a religion. Also, being heterosexual may not please many men and women or make them happy. They should be with the people they love.

Children and teenagers are being bullied, losing friends, and even committing suicide all because they are judged based on who they choose to date.

The children who are bullying the homosexuals were taught to judge people of that nature in the past. That’s not right.

Society should be blamed world-wide because the cycle of teaching others that being homosexual is wrong must be broken.

The United States has to do bet-ter as a whole to give free rights to all homosexuals. Citizens should stand up for their rights and for the rights of others. Just because you don’t believe it’s right, does not mean you can judge someone’s life decisions.

A’Lexus Donald is a sophomore in Journalism I.

Don’t Use Religion to Argue Your Prejudices

Kaitlin CowardSpecial

Contributor

A’LexusDonaldSpecial

Contributor

Taylor MeyerSpecial

Contributor

Our ViewScannable IDs Could Make School Safer

Don’t Give Students The Cold Shoulder

The school should require ID card scanners at certain doors on the campus to avoid mis-haps such as unwanted visitors sneaking on to school grounds.

Allowing students to scan their ID’s in the morning and during lunch hours would pro-vide a safer learning environment while not infringing upon an upperclassman’s privilege to leave campus.

The doors leading to the student parking lot stay open until all lunches end, which is at 1:10 p.m. allowing anyone to slip in undetected. If students had the scanning technology avail-able, the back doors would open only for those with ID access. With ID scanners, students that get locked out of the building after 1:10 p.m. can easily come inside without waiting for someone to open the doors.

Authority figures at school have been le-nient about ID cards, only requiring students to have them in possession instead of around their necks. This causes problems because when students don’t wear their IDs, the staff isn’t able to tell students from strangers. New ID’s with scanning technology would mean every student would be responsible for wearing IDs, which will avoid confusion and keep the school safe.

Safety is the most important reason students need ID scanners. The security level at school is weak and more needs to be done to improve the well-being of everyone on campus. ID scan-ners is a huge step in that direction.

The opposition states that having ID scan-ners would be far too expensive to install, but since the school already has a scanning system in place for staff, there’s no further installation required. Long term costs are inexpensive.

Another disadvantage is it could be easy for unauthorized people to use a student’s ID card. However, the ID cards can be easily terminated when reported stolen or lost.

The front doors closest to the main offices would stay open all day for visitors, while every other would be locked and only accessible through scanning, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Although the expenses could be high, safety trumps money any day when the lives of the youth of America could be at stake.

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

Newspaper content is determined by and written by the staff. Editorials reflect the opinion of the newspaper, not the individual staff member.

Columns and commentaries reflect the writers’ views and do not represent the opinions of the newspaper staff or school administration.

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

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

The Cougar Times StaffSteph Alleva

Editor-In-Chief

Sarah StroudEntertainment Editor

Taylor SmithStaff Writer

Stephanye KnightNews Editor

Kate ChappellFeatures Editor

Juan Seguin High School7001 Silo Road

Arlington, Texas 76002Principal: Sam Nix

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

Send in your story ideas or submissions to seguinnews@gmail.com

Read us at www.thecougartimes.com

Jezabel SantosSports Editor

David LymanOpinion Editor

Alissa CrowderSocial Media Editor

May2014 Editorial 5

With this recent cold and wet weather it’s understand-able why students would like to wait inside for their rides yet unless you have some sort of writ-ten permission to stay inside you are told to go outside. Students are forced to wait in the cold and are given a big hassle if they try to go back in the school.

The school should allow students to wait in the hall-ways near the front and back doors for their ride home. This would make students happy and perhaps reduce the amount of absences that occur due to illnesses.

Sending students outside in the cold tends to make them

get sick more often. Plus, with the flu going around, it’s even more important for students to stay dry and warm. Students getting sick would mean they have to miss school and miss out on valuable education.

Teachers always talk about the importance of being at school everyday but, students can’t do that if they are get-ting sick.

Some students have projects to print out or do research for after school. It can be hard to do so when as soon as the last bell rings security guards and teachers are yelling at students and herding them toward the door. If you are not immediately where you need to be, then you are escorted outside.

The library stays open until 3:30 p.m yet only one or two students go in after school. Meanwhile, 30 or more go in

in the morning because it’s less of a hassle to get there

Some say allowing students to remain in the building would cause trouble because no one is there to supervise them but security guards and teachers stay after school more often than not. Students would be less likely to do any-thing wrong when there are teachers all around than they were outside with no authority around.

The students who have to wait for a ride should be able to sit inside at the front of the school while a security guard or teacher watches over them. It would make a lot of people a lot happier and it wouldn’t be that hard to do.

Sarah is a sophomore and the entertainment editor the the paper.

Sarah Stroud

Entertainment Editor

Illustration by: Zoe Jackson

May2014Features6

After Endless Moves, Senior Finds Her Final Home as a Cougar

She sighs as she zips up her overflowing suitcase, getting ready for another big move. She slowly walks out of the empty room, heads out the front door and stands at the curb in front of the house. She turns around to face the empty home and frowns. She’s both wish-ing and thinking that this needs to stop soon.

Even though it’s not her first move, Brianna Johnson has never gotten comfortable with the fact that she is constantly moving around. Johnson, 17, has moved 15 times in her life. That’s one move every 13 months. And this year she will be attending and graduating from her seventh high school: Juan Seguin.

“All of my moving around has definitely made me the person I am today,” Johnson, a senior said. “You meet a plethora of people from all walks of life in several dif-ferent social and physical environ-ments. It’s like I’ve experienced

everything in the world.”Three months after birth, John-

son made her first move. She relo-cated from Fort Campbell, Tenn. to Atlanta. From that point on, Johnson has lived in Washington D.C., two cities in Virginia, South Carolina, Kentucky, New Orleans, upstate New York, Brooklyn, N.Y., North Carolina, Maryland and now Arlington.

The reason for these moves is because both of Johnson’s parents are in the military. Her mom and dad are divorced so each time her mom deploys she stays with her dad wherever he is at the time. But when both of her parents deploy she lives in Arlington with her grandmother.

As nice as it may seem to travel the country, there are some down-sides, Johnson said. She has to con-stantly move around, so she never really gets the chance to make friends and be a normal teenager.

“Moving is so systematic; you’ve been completely uprooted from what you’re used to: the people, streets, houses and friends,” John-

son said. “Making friends was hard because everybody has already es-tablished their groups, and it’s kind of crazy for me to just come up to you and try to be your best friend,” Johnson said.

Johnson had a hard time with making friends at first, but she soon grew out of that phase.

“Brianna is always funny, styl-ish and fun to be around,” junior Joshua Robertson said.

School is also a challenge for Johnson. Every school system is different, therefore some schools require certain things that other schools don’t. Like the need for uniforms or not, and the rules and conduct. So she said she has to do a deep investigation on the locales she’s about to move to.

“I’m probably the only person in the world who reads the hand-books,” Johnson said.

After Johnson’s mother retired

from her military career, Johnson stayed in Arlington where she plans to graduate.

“This is my last move before my move to college and into adult-hood,” Johnson said. “It’s my senior year, my last time to be a kid.”

Johnson also says that she enjoys Juan Seguin the most because of its family appeal. She’s made friends and she enjoys Juan Seguin.

“Brianna hasnt had the chance to live a normal life, shes been ev-erywhere,” said Jonathan Crocker, Johnson’s calculus teacher. “Shes managed to keep a good head on her shoulders, and she is a great student, i enjoy her in my class.” Johnson plans to attend New York University, Cornell, University of Houston or the University of Texas. She plans to major in business and minor in accounting.

“I can’t sit around reminiscing on where I’ve been,” she said. “I’ve got-ten the chance to go where most kids haven’t and I’m grateful for that.”

Johnson

When senior Anh Ho walks into Principal Nix’s office her heart is pounding in her ears. Nix finally speaks and pretends to scold her. She’s utterly shocked and begins to wonder what kind of trouble she could’ve possibly gotten into, when suddenly the room is filled with his laughter. Ho wasn’t even moder-ately close to a wrongful deed.

After having waited months on end for a response from the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program, at last she re-ceived a congratulatory letter from President Obama himself.

The Prudential scholarship is the United States’ largest youth recog-nition award based exclusively on volunteer community service.

The purpose of the program is to give recognition to young people who are dedicating their time to make a positive difference in their communities.

Ho applied for the scholarship in September when Go Center advi-sor, Gabe Escobedo, recommended she should.

“The Go Center really does help with college applications, scholar-ships, and all of the senior necessi-ties.” Ho said.

To qualify for the scholarship she needed to describe her community service activity during the previous year and submit the application to Nix by Nov. 5.

Ho volunteers in NHS, HOSA, and FBLA. She is also part of the Arlington Reading Corp’s Literacy Program and reads to elementary school kids at the Southeast Arling-ton Library. She enjoys building relationships with her reading bud-dies and watching them improve their reading skills.

“It’s such a rewarding feeling to volunteer,” Ho said. “I feel like I’m putting my time to better use.”

While she didn’t get any money from the scholarship, she says the recognition she got from the president will look great on college applications.

“The money doesn’t matter to me,” Ho said. “This letter is reward enough.”

Senior ReceivesPresidential RecognitionSteph Alleva

Editor in Chief

Senior Anh Ho won the Pruden-tial Spirit of Community Award and received a recognition letter from the president.

Lights shine on the stage as five normal high school students make their way out in front of the audi-ence at to perform.

The band took the name Time-less City in January 2013 and has gone through 4 member changes since it started. The band now consists of junior Johnny Ballard, sophomore Leo Quintero, sopho-more John Hale, senior Ray Grul-lon, and junior Michael Galvan.

Even though the band’s name came from a previous member, it means a lot to lead singer Hale.

“It is supposed to represent the euphoric feeling you get when you accomplish something, like the timeless moments in one’s life,” Hale said.

In talking to any one of its five members, their love for music is apparent.

“Drumming was the last thing

I tried to learn how to do before I gave up,” Grullon said. “It became the only thing I live for. I finally found something I loved that I was good at.”

The band is often called to per-form at the Curtain Club in Dallas, and have earned up to $400 from playing one gig. However, Quin-tero, the lead guitarist, said it’s not about the money.

“Playing on stage in front of ev-eryone is amazing, the only place where I can be myself and the only place where I’m not shy or ner-vous,” Quintero said.

Galvan, the rhythm guitarist, agreed.

“I love performing, it does not matter if I am getting paid or not,” Galvan said.

Timeless City has had many performances at The Curtain Club and is one of two finalist in a battle of the bands to perform at the annual Wildflower Art and Music Festival in Richardson in May.

Timless City is Note-able Finalist in Battle of the Bands

Alissa CrowderSocial Media Editor

The members of Timeless City were excited about their performance at The Curtain Club. From left to right: junior Johnny Ballard, sopho-more Leo Quintero, sophomore John Hale, senior Ray Grullon, and junior Michael Galvan.

Stephanye KnightNews Editor

Photo By Kate ChappellPhoto by Steph Alleva

May 2014 Feature 7

When Samuel Nix was a history teacher at Workman Junior High, he had a student who couldn’t read. The stu-dent’s name was Trey.

Nix was determined to help Trey, understand what other teachers couldn’t. He always heard from other teachers and saw that Trey constantly sang and rapped. So Nix tried to find other ways to help, and one of the ideas that he came up with involved writing music to teach history.

“Trey told me that none of the other teachers made sure that he was learning, but I did,” Nix said.

It was then that Nix wanted to be able to touch more than just a handful of students like Trey, he wanted to be able to make a difference in every student’s life.

“I became a principal be-cause I want every student to have the opportunity to learn,” Nix said. “No one should deny them that right.”

Now after a year as princi-pal at Juan Seguin, Nix said he feels he’s moving in that direction. Since his arrival he has decreased the number of tardies and absences among students, both obstacles to an education. And it’s too early in his tenure to see if the changes he has made in the curriculum have improved the test scores.

He helped students realize that being tardy can come with a lot of problems, including missing class. So to correct it, he created lunch detention for students who are tardy.

As for student attendance, Seguin now has one of the

highest attendance ratings in the district. But Nix doesn’t take all the credit.

“It’s not all about me, I’m not the only one that cares,” Nix said. “It’s a group effort. It’s the teachers that stay late to help out the kids, it’s the coaches that practice hard with the kids. I am only part of it.”

Nix has helped the school, not only when it comes to rat-ings, but he is willing to give out an extra hand. One of the things he is known for is sweep-ing in the cafeteria, and help-ing keep the school clean.

“I think hes made a huge impact on our school, you can see it in the students,” sopho-more Vivian Lacey said. “I love the fact that he really cares about the students. By far he’s the best because all the other principals just let stuff go, he is something different.”

And its not just the students that are noticing the difference, faculty are enjoying the chang-es as well, including geometry teacher Wesley Ownby.

“I think Mr. Nix is doing a very good job,” Ownby said. “He genuinely seems to care about the students and teach-ers.”

Nix Carries Out His First Year Expectations

Stephanye KnightNews Editor

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Principal Samuel Nix speaks at a pep rally.

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Cast, Crew Work to Perform Musical in May

May2014Entertainment8

Alissa CrowderOnline Editor

Alexis Carrier

Special Contributor

Senior Franklin Munoz never thought he’d be in the spotlight.

Though his shyness has held him back, Munoz hoped that get-ting a role in the school’s musical would help him to be more outgo-ing and confident. He stepped on the stage for his audition with pres-sure and insecurity holding him down. He left the stage victorious.

Munoz breezed through audi-tions earning the lead role of Harold Hill.

“I’ve always wanted to be in some kind of theatrical perfor-mance whether it was a musical or not,” Munoz said.

This was not Munoz’s first time performing. He was also an un-derstudy in the play “Rabbit Hole” earlier this year.

“The best part is just forgetting about everything that happens throughout the day and then get-ting to be a different character,” Munoz said. “For those few hours

you get to be someone else.”Junior Randi Bivens was drawn

to the “Music Man” and earned the role of Marion, the librarian, by her love for singing.

“A lot of my friends said that I should audition because there is so much singing,” Bivens said.

The cast and crew of over 50 members have been working on the play, set for the end of May, since auditions ended in January.

Theatre arts teacher Luke Longacre is directing Seguin’s first ever production of this musical.

“Feb. 24 is when we started hav-ing rehearsals,” Longacre said. “We’ve been rehearsing twice a week.”

Bivens said she enjoys being with her friends despite the time committment.

“I am most excited to perform with my friends,” Bivens said. “It has been a lot of fun, but a lot of hard work, too.”

Opening night for the show is Thursday. Performances continue through June 2.

Senior Franklin Munoz rehearses the dance “Shapoopy” with sopho-more Gina Gutierrez in preparation for the “Music Man” next week.

ScHoolboy Q Educates on ‘Oxymoron’

Stephanye KnightNews Editor

Lana Del Rey’s Dreamy Movie Soundtrack Becomes Billboard Hit

Bad Seed Rises Into Music Business

If anyone can grace-fully turn a romantic and upbeat song into an eerily sinister piece, its Lana Del Rey. The 27-year-old American singer-songwrit-er has covered “Once Upon a Dream,” a song from the 1959 Disney classic, “Sleep-ing Beauty”. But instead of

keeping the upbeat pace and cheerful melody, Land Del Rey transforms it into the perfect soundtrack for “Maleficent,” the upcom-ing remake of “Sleeping Beauty”.

The song was officially released by Lana’s youtube channel, “LanaDelReyVE-VO,” on Feb. 4. It sets the tone even more for the already sinister movie and is leaving listeners in awe.

Lana has a history of leaving her audience feel-

ing this way. In 2013, her “Young and Beautiful,” for the soundtrack of “The Great Gatsby,” received the same response.

Many of her songs have a slow pace and may leave people bored, but the slow pace can be perceived as her signature.

She sings with emotion in this song and you are sure to hit the repeat but-ton. More than once.

Stephanye KnightNews Editor

Photo By: Sarah Stroud

The rock band from Maryland, Bad Seed Rising, recently released its debut EP “Charm City” on April 15.

The record label which released the track, Road-runner, has produced bands such as Killswitch Engage, Slipknot, and Black Stone Cherry in its past 34 years.

The five track EP has a very 80’s rock vibe that 16-year-old Francheska Pastor’s voice seems to be made for.

Their sound is unique in itself, but that is not

the only unique thing about the band. Besides Francheska, the band is made up of 12-year-old Aiden Marceron, 13-year-old Mason Gainer, and 15-year-old Louey Peraza.

This makes Bad Seed Rising the youngest band to ever be signed to Road-runner Records.

The band is often de-scribed as “mind blowing” and their EP is nothing but that.

I just did not believe they were as young as they are. Not only is their sound different, it is very mature.

All members are home-schooled in order to focus

all of their time on the mu-sic and making the band successful.

They are currently focused on turning strang-ers into fans. Three of the

members have been life-long friends due to their fathers being in the band, Shaft, together, which was previously signed to Roadrunner Records in the 1990’s.

The album is the most original I have heard in a long time. It has a sound that is completely it’s own, and it flows together nicely.

It does not sound like a lot of artist’s albums where they bounce back and forth between different sounds. Bad Seed Rising has a dis-tinct sound and they stick to it.

Photo courtesyBad Seed Rising has members ranging in age from 12 to 16 years old. This band from Maryland has made their mark with their original and mature sound.