The Featherduster Volume 40 Issue 1

Fe a t h e r d u s t e r the

Westlake High School 4100 Westbank Drive Austin, Texas 78746

Volume 40 Issue 1

October 24, 2008

2008 October

The Featherduster, the newsmagazine of Westlake High School, attempts to inform and entertain in a broad, fair and accurate manner on subjects which concern the readers.

The publication also seeks to provide a forum of ideas and opinions between the staff of the newsmagazine, the faculty and the local community about issues presented.

All material produced and published by The Featherduster staff is copyrighted and cannot be reproduced without the writer’s consent or that of the editors. Content decisions rest in the hands of the staff, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier.

Opinions expressed in the columns that appear

in The Featherduster do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the entire staff, the school administration or the adviser.

The staff encourages letters to the editor as an avenue for expressing the opinions of the readers. All letters must be signed to be considered for publication. Due to space limitations, not all letters will be published, and the editorial board reserves the right to edit them for purposes of placement. No material will be printed that is libelous, advocates an illegal activity or which the editorial board deems is in poor taste. The restriction includes letters to the staff, advertising and anything else the board feels presents an inappropriate message.

contents brains + brawn

Who’s your girl?

The story behind the decorators, bakers and painters.

people + places

28

Misages = Love Physically the cutest couple. Ever.

trends + traditions

44

Voting rights Your guide to the candidates — even if you aren’t in AP Gov.

rants + raves

54

Good eats A dare devil or a slow eater, you better get back to class on time.

cover photo manipulation by Sam Womack

12

Jake Webb

Running back senior Ryan Swope runs the ball during the football game against Bowie Sept. 26. Westlake picked up its first win against the Bulldogs 49-34.

The Featherduster Staff Editor-in-Chief Sarah Adler

Managing Editor Molly Moore

Web Masters Matthew Chang Hetty Borinstein

Graphic Designer

Copy Editors

Sofie Seiden

Brains + Brawn

Sam Womack Asst. Shannon Soule Asst. Aaron Retersdorf

Katherine Kloc Holly Heinrich

Leah Whitlock Asst. Anisha Ganguly Trey Scott Katy Roden Asst. Meredith Kolda

People + Places

Ashley Carlisle Asst. Mary-Margaret Parrish Asst. Katie Sorenson

Trends + Trads

Jake Webb Asst. Helen Anderson

Rants + Raves

Leslie Reynolds Asst. Leland Krych Asst. Hannah Comstock Maff Caponi Asst. Lauren Nelson Asst. Trevor Wallace

Photo Editor

Business Manager Adrienne Cooksley

Subscriptions Mekala Keshu

Photographers Barrett Wilson Caroline Hunt Hannah Kunz Jacob McLaughlin Katherine Finn Lizzie Friedman Moira Bering Laura Aldridge

Reporters

Abby Bost Abby Hanna Alex Bishop Alexandra Bell Amrit Khalsa Annie Valliant Blake Mackie

Brett Mele Chelsea Kneply Christina Shin Cody Crutchfield Danielle Brown Emily Huang Hillary Hurst Jake Bitting Jamie Lee Jamie Mathis Jasmin Khan Jenna Stene Jenny Messer Julie Dorland Kelsey Randle Leah-Marie Duran Lee Caffee Luci Ortiz Matt Frank Matthew Sherman Michelle Ling Morgan Ridulfo Peter Sorensen Ryan McGrath Shelby Christopher Sofie Seiden Suze Shelton Walter Bezanson Zach Wasfi

Adviser

Deanne Brown

Mum om

Westlake mothers enjoy keeping up the Homecoming tradition

Autumn has arrived, which means the chrysanthemum, or “fall flower,” is in full bloom. In other words it’s mum time again: so boys, shell out your 40 bucks, and mum moms, start working. Those of you who are new to Texas probably have no idea what a mum is, and why people walk around with these massive ribbons attached to their jeans. It’s a Southern tradition that girls wear mums for Homecoming, therefore long before Homecoming week florists are bombarded with orders. Or in Westlake’s case, a group of moms gather to create the decorative corsages. To some it’s a “fashion statement,” but often it’s also a way to tell someone you care, which is a why a boyfriend, parent, sibling or close friend buys them for you. Traditionally they were made using real chrysanthemum flowers, but now they have been replaced by silk flowers so you can keep them for a longer period of time. But, mums aren’t only for girls — guys can also sport a smaller version of a mum, or an armband.

Eight hundred and seventeen flowers, 10,000 yards of ribbon and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome are some of the ingredients that go into the making of a Homecoming mum. Many girls look forward to mums when Homecoming rolls around, but what they don’t realize is the serious amount of labor that parents put into making them. If you go into the mum room (360 A), you’ll find yards of ribbon, drawers full of trinkets, and women cutting, gluing and stapling for hours on end.

You may wonder who would ever want to do this thankless job. The main ladies behind the madness are Betsey Kirksey, Dawn Stene, Nikki Bryant, Caroline Bowers, Liz MacDonald, Candy Spademan and Becky Buckley Bitting.

“I do it for the kids,” Bowers said. “I also enjoy the crafting and creative aspect of making mums. It’s a great group of women volunteers who enjoy the camaraderie of working together, and of course the gossip.”

2007 Mum Totals 66

46

Lizzie Friedman

Westlake’s volunteer mothers Valerie Prochnow, Dawn Stene, Caroline Bowers, Betsy Kirksey and Becky Buckley Bitting prepare an assortment of pre-ordered Homecoming corsages. This year’s Homecoming game is Nov. 7.

Mum-making is very labor intensive, requiring many volunteer hours. The volunteers spend around six hours a day at school, in addition to the jobs they do at home. They also have to calculate how many flowers to buy, what kind of ribbon looks best and design the mums so they look different every year. It’s like running a little business, except they don’t get to keep the profit.

Despite the long hours and hot glue burns, it all pays off in the end because the fundraiser is always a huge success. This year they have increased the price by $5, so they’re hoping to top last years impressive profit of $15,000. All the money goes back to the school, making it the second most profitable PTO fundraiser after the athletic concession stands.

So when you go pick up your mum, think about all the hours that went into making it. Each one is handmade and no two are exactly alike. Keep it for as long as you can, so the chrysanthemum will be in bloom all year long.

— Jenna Stene

Large Mum total: 646

352

Mini Mum total: 71

139 43

Hyline Star Steppers Sr. Girls Date Cheer

Armband total: 100

You know you

us

Senior Girls commit hours to baking, shopping, decorating for varsity football players

Jacob McLaughlin

Senior Girls members Paige Poulin and Julia Thrash work on posters one evening after school for the football game against Colleen. Every week the Senior Girls spend time creating costumes for their players and signs to place around the school. Their identities are kept a secret from their players until the season ends.

The girls, dressed in flamboyant pink shirts, crawl on all fours as they paint the defiant words of retaliation and savagery on blank sheets of paper — their motives questioned by those who don’t understand. Later that night, they sneak into a varsity football player’s room to vandalize his walls with streamers and signs. They creep into his kitchen and proceed to place freshly baked brownies on the counter. They turn around and walk back to his room, lay his costume for the next morning on his bed, and close the door behind them. They will be back.

The timeconsuming task of preparing for varsity football games can take hours per week for Senior Girls, the volunteer spirit group that Barrett Wilson supports the Every week, Senior Girls paint signs for their players based upon a specific team. theme. They then decorate the Commons and halls.

“I would say my group spends about three-and-a-half hours per game painting signs,” head Senior Girl Caroline Farmer said. “The most stressful part has been balancing school work with getting the costumes and painting signs. Every week we buy costumes and decorations to put in the guys’ rooms. Food is probably their favorite thing we leave for them. A lot of people think that the girls are the ones paying for everything but they should know the players’ parents are required by UIL to reimburse.”

Ashley Duncan takes a lot of time out of her evenings to accomplish

the long list of tasks.

“We have to go all the way to Party Pig to shop for his costume and decorations for his room,” she said. “And then we have to bake, which takes an hour or so. Then, on Wednesday nights, we take about 30 minutes to decorate his car. It’s a lot of fun, but it’s very time consuming, especially when I have things like college applications and homework to do.”

As another head Senior Girl, Ellie Spears spaces out her tasks to make the job of being a Senior Girl a little more manageable.

“It’s really not a stressful job as long as you plan ahead,” she said.

“Every time we go shopping for our boy we buy enough supplies for the next three weeks so we aren’t having to work on it every single weekend. It makes a huge difference if you space it out. My responsibilities are a little bit different being a head Senior Girl, but definitely nothing extreme. The hardest part was this summer when we had to match the groups of girls with the players. We wanted to get all of the groups matched with a boy they wanted, so it took a little extra time trying to accommodate that.”

Jacky Alamia has been creative with her boy’s costumes despite having a budget.

“For Wild West Day we made our boys West Coast rappers,” she said. “I think [being a Senior Girl] is a great way to get the boys pumped for the game. We have two boys and it takes about an hour to decorate each room, not to mention buying supplies, baking cookies and painting signs; it’s hard to stay within the budget.”

Courtney Keville’s experience being a Senior Girl has been really enjoyable for her even though the restrictions on dressing up can sometimes get in the way of her plans for the boy’s costume.

“Since there is no cross-dressing allowed, it limits things a little,” she said. “[His parents] are so sweet and his brother is awesome too.

He helps us blow up the balloons, but he eats all the candy.”

The football players truly appreciate what the girls do to support them.

“I really get a lot out of what they do,” senior David Babin said. “We love coming home from team dinner Thursday nights to a decorated room and candy. I love my Senior Girls, but the one thing I would suggest to all of them is to bake more cookies and brownies. They don’t realize how much we really need and love them.”

— Meredith Kolda

Not a wasted effort

Recycling program enters contests

Jake Webb

During the first Student Council blood drive of the year, which took place Sept. 10, senior Brandon Thomas donates a pint in the Commons during seventh period. “It was my first time giving blood,” Brandon said. “It wasn’t really that bad, and you got free Nutter Butters.” Brandon was one of 78 students who donated that day.

Blood, sweat and fears

Student Council blood drive breaks previous records Eager and nervous students lined up at the makeshift doctor’s office in the Commons Sept. 10 for the first blood drive of the year. These students offered their time and one of the most important things they can give — their blood.

The blood drive was coordinated by the Student Council who put the event together.

This blood drive collected 78 pints from students 17 years of age and older, making it the most successful blood drive ever at Westlake.

Officers seniors Bailey Morledge and Sarah Adler both worked hard to help coordinate the blood drive.

“My job was to help co-chair the blood drive,” Bailey said. “I helped with advertising, getting people to sign up and making sure things ran smoothly.”

First-time donors are sometimes scared about what the donating process will be like, but senior Stephanie Woods had a different approach.

“Before I donated I was excited about doing a good thing for the community,” Stephanie said. “After I donated, I was going to get some food when I fainted.”

Doctors recommend getting a good night of sleep and eating well before donating, which can help prevent fainting and other mild side effects.

“Even though I did faint, I still encourage others to get involved,” Stephanie said.

Other students were petrified about what donating would be like.

“I was really afraid of the needles beforehand when I saw Sam Womack faint and his eyes rolled back into his head, which made me more nervous,” senior Emily Arnold said. “But I think I’ll donate once a year anyways.”

The Student Council has scheduled four blood drives this year. The next two will be held Dec. 10 and Feb. 24.

“Previously, the fourth one has collected the least since there was a rule saying if you had been to Mexico recently, you could not donate blood,” Student Council sponsor Melissa Dupre said. “But this year some of the previous restrictions have been lifted.”

These students are not only saving lives — they are setting examples for the community and their peers.

— Danielle Brown

With the world population at its highest, recycling is a hot issue. Although it is difficult to change habits, the Westlake Cleaning Up The Environment club is making great headway within the school to become more environmentally active. With more than 300 members and the only school in Central Texas that recycles at this rate, including recycling all seven types of plastic rather than the normal two plastics, the club is firm in its foundation and prepared to make an impact.

“After eight years of expansion and planning, we are ready to go the next step: awareness in the community and abroad,” club president junior Nathan Liu said.

These eight years have helped the club grow and mature, and now the CUTE club is taking even larger strides by entering national and local recycling contests.

“The main goals of the competitions are to encourage and recognize the people who are promoting wastehandling and public space stewardships,” CUTE club sponsor Leslie McCulloch said.

An upcoming contest, hosted by Keep Austin Beautiful, is the Longhorn Recycle Roundup. The schools send in applications describing their recycling schedules and habits, then a panel of judges chooses the winners.

Prizes include $500 to each of the top five programs.

Another competition that the CUTE club is entering is the Keep America Beautiful National Awards. KAB is America’s top community improvement organization whose primary goal is to educate people so they will take more responsibility in helping out their communities.

There are three categories that organizations can enter: litter prevention, beautification and waste reduction.

Westlake has entered the waste reduction category. The winners of the competition are recognized at KAB’s 55th National Conference Dec. 5 in Washington, D.C. Not only is Westlake’s recycling club becoming more environmentally Barrett Wilson aware, but the staff and parents are as well. They are taking more initiative to become “green” in as many aspects as possible.

“There is a change in our school,” McCulloch said.

“The staff is much more proactive about recycling. I get emails from teachers asking about recycling at home and how to deal with all kinds of materials.”

With so much support from the community, the CUTE club is now starting to think about reusing. Members are in the process of discussing ideas with the Chap Club like reusable water bottles and Westlake-themed canvas bags for shopping.

“We can make an impact,” Nathan said. “We want to make our voices heard to show that our generation cares about the environment. Not only that, the club also brings different people together. No matter who you are, you can share a united concern for the earth around us.

It’s about time we showed the world who we are and that we care.”

— Jamie Lee

Missing

Though major opposition exists, the chairman of the THECB has argued that since Pre-AP courses don’t follow a national curriculum like that of AP courses, there is no way to standardize them. Thus discrepancies in course material and difficulty will exist. However, Westlake officials still insist that Pre-AP students shouldn’t be disadvantaged for taking higher level courses.

“Westlake is against the current proposition because it undervalues our Pre-AP kids and all of their hard work,” counselor Jeff Pilchiek said. “The counseling department has had to do enough level changes to see that there is a big difference between regular and Pre-AP courses. It doesn’t make sense for them to be counted the same.”

Another point of controversy with the THECB’s proposed guidelines is the consideration of dual-credit courses as being equal to AP courses, which would give courses taken at community colleges the 1.2 multiplier that AP courses receive. School officials believe that this undermines the significance of the 1.2 multiplier given to AP courses due to the fact that many dual-credit courses are less difficult or not as structured as AP classes. To put it in perspective, an ACC P.E. class would be given the same multiplier as an AP Biology II class.

“For average America, sometimes dual-credit courses are the most advanced courses they have,” Pilchiek said. “But we know that in a competitive high school, APs aren’t equal to community college courses — many are more advanced.”

The original education code mandating the uniform GPA stated it would be implemented for the admission of high school graduates of the Class of 2009 into Texas Public Universities. The recent opinion issued by Attorney General Greg Abbot on Aug. 26 stated that a transition period is needed. He suggested that the next four classes, starting with the class of 2009, remain unaffected by the proposed system.

Westlake officials are supportive of this idea.

“At the hearing, I recommended that decisions should apply beginning with students entering sixth grade during the 2009-2010 school year,” Rawlings said. “I believe that you can’t change the rules in the middle of the game, and since the proposed GPA would count high school courses taken in middle school, students and parents must know about the GPA system prior to their enrollment in courses that will affect their GPA.” The THECB will meet Oct. 22 to discuss all of the comments, including those made by Rawlings at the Sept. 17 public hearing. The group will then meet the next day for a discussion and possible adoption of THECB Commissioner Raymund Paredes’ final recommendations on Oct. 23. The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will broadcast online on the THECB website.

— Ashley Carlisle

point

the

School officials reject proposed provisions of new Texas uniform GPA

I

n response to the obvious inequalities within the top 10 percent rule for admission to Texas public universities, last year the State Legislature ordered the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to develop a uniform method for calculating GPA and class rank in high schools state-wide. The THECB’s proposed guidelines for the uniform GPA have aroused dissent among educators throughout the state who don’t agree with the proposed provisions regarding the multiplier given for Pre-AP classes and dual credit courses.

“Principals across this state have not reached a conclusion as to whether or not a uniform GPA is a good idea,” principal Linda Rawlings said in the Sept. 17 THECB public hearing. “We are clear, however, that there are serious concerns about this proposal.”

Under the proposed guidelines, students in Pre-AP classes would no longer have the current 1.1 multiplier applied to their grades, essentially making their grades equal to those of students taking regular-level classes. Westlake administrators have joined educators from across the state in opposition to this provision.

“We [the school administration] believe that this proposal discourages students from pursuing Pre-AP classes and that students, as a result, will be less prepared for AP classes,” Rawlings said. “Many of our students are intrinsically motivated, but all of our students realize in today’s competitive school environment what they have to achieve with a GPA to make the top 10 percent. If students receive the same GPA for a regular and Pre-AP course, why should a student choose to take a Pre-AP class that is more rigorous and make a 92 if the student can take a regular class and make a 98?”

How will the proposed uniform GPA be calculated?

The proposed GPA will be similar to the GPA system applied to current sophomores and freshmen, where regular courses get a weight of 1.0 and AP courses get a weight of 1.2. However, unlike the GPA of current underclassmen, the proposed GPA will give no multiplier to Pre-AP courses, will include courses taken in middle school that count toward high school graduation and will give a multiplier to dual-credit courses. Here are some examples:

Student: Joe Stud, Class of 2014

Classes: Unweighted Grade: English II 92 X 1.0 Algebra I 94 X 1.0 IPC 98 X 1.0 W. History 92 X 1.0 PE 88 X 1.0 Spanish I 94 X 1.0 Yearbook 92 X 1.0

Sum

Sum/# of classes = 650/7 *This average will be used for Joe’s class rank.

Student: Fanny Featherduster, Class of 2014 = = = = = = = = =

92 94 98 92 88 94 92 650 92.86*

Classes: Unweighted Grade: English II Pre-AP 80 X Algebra II 90 X Chemistry Pre-AP 86 X W. History AP 91

X PE 88 X Spanish II 92 X Newspaper 94 X

Sum/# of classes = *This average will be used for Fanny’s class rank.

Weighted Grade: 1.0 = 1.0 = 1.0 = 1.2 = 1.0 = 1.0 = 1.0 = Sum = 655.8/7 =

80 90 86 109.2 88 92 94 639.2 91.31*

He

knows what he’s doing

Blair Silverberg expands California tutoring company to cater to Westlake

From the sunny grounds of Stanford University comes a gift that Westlake can appreciate: some really good tutors. But these tutors aren’t really good because they have spent a lot of time in a stuffy office trying to perfect high school calculus; they are better because they know exactly what you’re going through, as they just went through it, too.

“What we’re trying to do is have students who have recently experienced going to high school and applying to college tutor students who are currently doing that,” 2006 Westlake graduate Blair Silverberg said. “The idea is to have tutors who have recently been in their students’ shoes, who can convey all the benefits of having been through those issues and learning those lessons.”

A junior at Stanford University, Silverberg started connecting elementary, middle and high school students in the Bay Area with related college student tutors several months ago before bringing the idea to Westlake. He believed that the current way by which tutors and students were connected just wasn’t cutting it.

“It’s nonsense for a student to have to go to some company to find a tutor and then be forced to work through the company,” Silverberg said. “Parents and students want to find a person that they can trust and build a relationship with.”

Now, with Silverberg’s new system for helping students find tutors that they can relate to and learn from, students can benefit from the experiences of someone who understands them.

“The tutoring is much more targeted,” Silverberg said. “You can have all sorts of adults [helping you],

“

We have an edge over other tutors because all of us personally took Westlake classes and know what it takes to succeed. I think the proximity in age will help students relate more to us.”

— 2006 Westlake graduate Blair Silverberg

but they don’t remember what it was like. There’s a certain level of understanding, and the tutoring is extremely comfortable and relatable.”

Around the Bay Area at schools such as Palo Alto High School, Silverberg and his tutoring company have been trying to raise awareness about their company with their website.

“The website enables students to view tutors in the area, along with their academic biographies,” he said. “Tutors can see the students eager to learn about their subjects as well.”

In California, Silverberg and his friends themselves are the tutors. But as the company expanded to include Silverberg’s former home in the hills, Silverberg needed to find some more convenient options. He found 16 former Westlake students who now attend UT and are interested in helping out kids who are going through what they remember all too well.

“I feel that our tutors’ closeness in age and background will greatly benefit both the student and the tutor,” UT freshman and 2008 Westlake graduate Robert Paape said. “We have an edge over other tutors because all of us personally took Westlake classes and know what it takes to succeed. I think the proximity in age will help students relate more to us.”

Further expansion is on the horizon for Silverberg, a young entrepreneur who started his first business making pens at the age of 14. He has friends at Harvard and MIT who have also expressed interest, but that doesn’t mean that he is rushing to the East Coast.

“We’re completely open to expansion where it makes sense, but it’s stupid to expand all over the place when we’re just starting out at Westlake now,” Silverberg said.

But more than just offering an alternative to the current, somewhat distant system that tutors have worked under until now, Silverberg’s tutoring company plans to be a more efficient way to help students.

“If you want to play in the NBA, you should learn from the person that plays on the NBA that comes from your hometown and played on your school team,” he said. “There’s nothing quite as relevant as learning from a successful person with your background.”

— Sarah Adler

College connections Graduates reveal tips for acceptance, success, fun at popular universities Out of state or in? Private or public? It’s college-choosing time here at Westlake. And while seniors are crowding Naviance by signing up for facetime with their school’s representatives, we’ve been doing some research of our own.

The following information was gathered from graduates who attend some of Westlake’s most popular universities. They have shared with us their favorite part about the school, what they love about the town, their advice for freshmen and their tips for acceptance. With this, the decision-making process might be made slightly easier.

— Hannah Comstock University of Southern California — Kelly Maynard, Class of 2008 Favorite Thing About the School “There are a lot of cool people. There’s a fun night life. There’s a lot of Greek life here.”

Advice for Freshman “Remember there’s a time difference; it’s important. Balance partying with school. If you don’t, you’ll get way behind in classes.”

Favorite Thing About the Town “It was like a culture shock. Everyone here is from California, so we’re different. The people are really nice. It’s an awesome city and there’s a lot to do here. Good shopping! It’s not really how they make it out to be on TV shows, it just depends on where you go. You can go to Venice Beach to people-watch, but you don’t really go in the water...”

University of Arizona — Hannah Lamkin, Class of 2008 Advice for Freshmen “You need to over-prepare for your first tests. Because even though everyone says ‘it’s okay if you do badly it was the first one,’ it is really hard to make a come back if you fail. Also, apply for housing ASAP because it is hard to get the dorm you want if you apply on the deadline.”

Tips For Acceptance “Besides the whole SATs and such, make sure you highlight any clubs or organizations that have anything to do with your desired major. For example, I wanted to get into the business program so I wrote my essay about how I worked at Build-A-Bear and such.”

University of Texas — Gerritt Vaan De Graff, Class of 2008 University of Colorado at Boulder — Hillary Russell, Class of 2008 Advice for Freshmen “Freshmen need to remember that you’re paying $45,000 for an education, not to party. A lot of freshmen here don’t know anything, and are really screwing themselves over because they go out every single night and all day long and never go to classes. It is really stupid.”

Favorite Thing About the Town “My favorite thing about the town is how beautiful it is. I look out my dorm and walk onto my balcony and see the mountains. The sky is always blue, and the sun is always shining and it’s green everywhere. It’s literally heavenly.”

Favorite Thing About the School “My favorite thing is how big it is. There are so many different people here and you get to experience a lot of different things.”

Favorite Thing About the Town “For Westlake kids, living down here is a complete change.

The places that you used to just drive by are now a part of your life.”

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Texas Tech — Hannah Bering, Class of 2007 Favorite Thing About the School “I love my sorority and the football games most. The Greek system is amazing here at Tech. There is always something going on, and the football games are also amazing. Being in the student section at a home Tech game is like nothing else. It doesn’t matter who you are, when you’re at a Tech game, you are all Red Raiders.”

Favorite Thing About the Town “I have to admit that Lubbock itself isn’t too amazing. But because it isn’t, Tech makes up for it in so many different ways. It is truly a college town with college students everywhere. At other universities you’re in a city, like at UT you are in Austin, but in Lubbock, you’re always at Tech.”

Baylor University — Hillary Kunz, Class of 2008 Tips For Acceptance “I think I got into Baylor because I had a lot of extracurriculars. I was in the second quartile, so I wasn’t at the top of my class. But I did have newspaper for all four years, Teen Teaching and Star Steppers, so they saw I was dedicated to multiple activities.”

Favorite Thing About the School “My favorite part of Baylor is the atmosphere. All the guys open the doors for girls, and people you don’t even know will smile and say ‘hi’ when you pass by.

The campus is gorgeous; people just sit in the grass and study or nap under the shade of trees. Baylor has this great program called Bearobics, where it’s $30 for a semester of classes like yoga, Pilates, abs, kickboxing, etc… and you can go to as many classes per week as you want.”

Texas A&M — Patricia Dewey, Class of 2008 Favorite Thing About the School “My favorite thing about A&M is the spirit, along with the sense of community on and off campus.

I have met the greatest people through my sorority and by living on campus. You can’t walk down the street without getting a ‘howdy’ from everyone who passes. I haven’t found anything that I don’t absolutely love about this place.”

Advice for Freshmen “Appreciate Texas A&M University for all that is has to offer. I have been an Aggie my whole life, but I never realized what a special place it truly is. If you are going to visit, I suggest that you stay with a student. The academics, history and traditions are great, but the student life is even better.”

Sporting his number 25 practice jersey, varsity football player senior Ryan Swope rests during a break Aug. 23 at the Westlake Kickoff Carnival scrimmage against McNeil.

Sprinting with the ball, varsity football player senior Ryan Swope barrels towards the sideline on a large run against Cedar Park Aug. 29.

Running

Sam Womack

wild

Sam Womack

Reigning District MVP Ryan Swope leads Chaps in rushing By third grade, he had scored his first touchdown. At the start of his sophomore year, he was selected to play varsity football.

Last winter, he was declared the District MVP. In the spring, he verbally committed to play college football at Texas A&M. By the end of this season, his helmet will be littered with game stickers awarded for touchdowns and big plays. And when all is said and done in his career, the mention of his name might evoke memories of his numerous highlight-reel plays: sweeping towards the sideline, eluding hopeless defenders and then breaking away from everyone, leaving defensive backs in the dust while the student section chants his name.

But right now, senior Ryan Swope is not fighting for extra yardage or crossing the goal line. On a quiet Wednesday morning, he is not wearing his Chap uniform or helmet. Instead, he is reflecting on the game that means so much to him.

“Football is definitely something that I have a passion for,” Ryan said. “I always will.

It’s something that I like to do. I just love catching the football, running the football and blocking. Whatever it is, I just love the game.

It’s a gift from God.” Ryan discovered this passion in elementary school, when he began playing Pop Warner football. In third grade, while most of his peers were learning how to multiply and divide, he was learning how to score touchdowns. Under the guidance of his coaches, Justin Jacobs and Ryan’s father Paul Swope,

Ryan quickly became accustomed to tearing up defenses. Carrying the ball was always something that came to Ryan naturally.

“I’ve always been a running back, ever since third grade,” he said. “I’ve always loved running the football.”

By the time he began playing for Hill Country Middle School, most people started seeing glimpses of the star player that he could be.

“He was so dominant in middle school,” senior tight end Hank South said. “At that point, we were all pretty certain that he would be a star on varsity.”

His sophomore year in high school, Ryan was chosen to play on the varsity level. In the beginning of the season, he played sparingly, used mainly on the kickoff team. His breakout performance came against Anderson, a game in which the Chaps were leading by a large margin. After waiting patiently for a chance to show what he could do, Ryan did not disappoint in his debut, scoring four touchdowns and showing flashes of the great player that he would one day become.

“Being a sophomore on varsity is a waiting game,” Ryan said. “You have to know that your time will come. My time came early. I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity and prove that I can play football.”

After that performance against Anderson, nobody doubted that he could play. Seeing a need to get their new star on the field, the coaches tabbed him as a starter at safety, the position that he would play for the remainder

of the season as the Chaps went on to the State finals. The road to State is still Ryan’s favorite experience as a football player.

“Experiencing that trip, all the playoff games — it’s something else,” he said. “It’s a long journey and it’s fun. I really enjoyed that trip; it was the time of my life.”

Last season, Ryan’s junior year, Chaps had expectations of another deep playoff run.

However, a disappointing loss to San Antonio Reagan in the opening round of the playoffs ended their season. But it was the season that put Ryan Swope on the map. Making the switch back from safety to running back, his natural position, he found that he hadn’t missed a beat. After amassing 1700 total yards and 22 touchdowns, he became a coveted recruit in the state of Texas. Rivals, an online recruiting database, classifies him as a threestar recruit (out of five), and lists him as the 45th best athlete in the nation. According to Ryan, the success can’t be credited solely to him.

“You always have to thank your linemen up there,” he said. “They never get their names put in the paper, but if it wasn’t for them, if it wasn’t for the quarterback getting me the ball, if it wasn’t for the receivers blocking upfield, I probably wouldn’t have done what I did.”

What he did was garner District 25-5A’s Most Valuable Player award and make a name for himself in Central Texas. During the season, Ryan was being seriously recruited by Texas A&M and Texas Tech. In March, he ver-

bally committed to play football for the Texas Aggies and head coach Mike Sherman.

“I went up there for two junior days, and the coaches were really personal,” Ryan said. “I got to know Coach Sherman; he’s a great guy and has a great family. The facilities are top-of-the-line and I felt like everything was right. The number one thing was that it was a good place to go get an education. I thought about it for a while and thought that it was the right decision.”

As for what position he will play in college, the coaches told Ryan he will be a slot receiver, to utilize his speed, and a third down running back, to use his hands. Ryan concedes that he would be happiest playing running back, but that he will always do whatever it takes to help the team win.

“I love running the football,” he said. “If I could do that, I would be so satisfied to play running back at A&M. But if they need me at receiver, then I’ll play receiver. I just want to go in and make an impact and help the team out in any way I can.”

While it may be easy to look ahead to what will surely be a bright future, Ryan still has his eyes set on this season. A 0-3 non-District record might be a rarity in this Westlake community so accustomed to success, but Ryan, a captain, looks to change things.

“I would love to put those three games behind us and get a District championship,” he said. “Everybody needs to stay positive.

It [District] is a whole new season and I believe in this team. We just need to stay positive and play our hearts out. That’s the main thing, to keep on playing and to keep our heads up.”

When the season ends, Ryan will hang his number 25 jersey up for the final time.

In May, he will graduate in the class of 2009. In September, he will don his maroon uniform and run though the tunnel into Kyle Field amidst 80,000 crazed fans known as The 12th Man. But now, Ryan Swope, who will be remembered as one of the best Westlake football players ever, is just playing football for the Chaparrals.

There he goes, high knees bouncing as he makes a cut past the line of scrimmage.

Nobody can touch him. There he is, powerfully shrugging off defenders as he slashes towards a crease in the defense. Nobody can stop him. Now watch him go, racing towards the end zone, opponents diving at his feet. Nobody will catch him. The stadium rocks as the student section begins their war chant.

“It’s a cool experience to play football at Westlake,” Ryan said. “It’s fun, we’re so fortunate to be playing in front of all these people in this stadium with this new turf and this jumbotron. It’s a dream come true, just getting to come here and perform on Friday nights. It’s pretty special.”

— Trey Scott

The

Price is

Junior QB leads Chaps in first season as starter

right

When junior Tanner Price was a freshand as receivers we have learned to always man, he suffered a setback that threatened to come back to the ball to help him out,” wide end his career. During the fourth play of the receiver senior Mike Walker said. first game of the season against Lake Travis, The intensity of playing on Friday nights Tanner was scrambling when he was hit by is different than going to after-school practhe defender. As they rolled, Tanner’s left leg tices. To be successful, a quarterback needs to remained stuck under the defender. And then execute well and guide the team.

Tanner felt it pop. The resulting injury, a seSo far, Tanner has shown that he has what vere tear to his ACL requiring surgery, brought it takes to be a successful quarterback at the his season to an end. high school level.

“The first three weeks of rehab were pain“One of the things I like about playing ful because my knee was still swollen,” Tanner quarterback is that it is a leadership position,” said. “Also when you have surgery, you lose all Tanner said. your muscle in your thigh and muscle memory, Tanner shows that he has plenty of leaderso you have to ship and takes regain that. It responsibility for was annoying plays that go right to have to do it as well as those [rehab] every which aren’t as day and it got successful. old.”

“He takes After gothings personing through ally, and makes six months of everything his fault rehab at the saying, ‘My bad, Austin Sports my bad,’ when he Medicine, Tangets back to the ner felt strong huddle,” Mike said. enough to re“Being the turn to the field quarterback is the for off-seatoughest position son training. on the team,” varShannon Soule sity football head Today, Tanner is the starting coach Derek Long Junior quarterback Tanner Price gets stopped short by the Cavalier defense. This was the quarterback said. “You are the first time in the 3 year history of the Great Lake Showdown that Westlake has lost. for the varsity focus on offense football team. and you must be As a sophomore on varsity, Tanner primara leader by the nature of the position. Tanner ily saw action in the fourth quarter of games in has done very well this year. As a junior and a which the Chaps led significantly. Now, in his first-year starter, he is learning and improving first season as the starter, Tanner has provided every week.” solid leadership and shown good chemistry Tanner said the person who has influenced with his backs and receivers. him the most is his father.

“Tanner is a great leader,” running back “He pretty much raised me to play football,” senior Ryan Swope said. “For a quarterback Tanner said. “My dad was a football player, and that is something you need and he does a good we would go out and play catch ever since I was job of that on the field and off.” in kindergarten.”

The 6’1”, 185 lb. quarterback is very mobile His enjoyment of the game is as intense as if he feels pressure. He has learned how to esit was then. cape the pocket, extending the play and tucking “I think just being a part of the varsity footthe ball and running if forced to. ball team is a great experience,” Tanner said.

“He knows when to get out of the pocket — Ryan McGrath

Volleyball standout junior Sara Shaw pledges early to USC

Sam Womack

Committed

University of Southern California recruit, Junior Olympic Champion and Westlake junior Sara Shaw makes it look all too easy. She plays with a striking fluidity and excels in every element of the sport she has been dominating for years.

“I began playing volleyball in the fourth grade, but it wasn’t until freshman year that I decided I definitely wanted to play in college,” Sara said.

At age 13, when the majority of her middle school teammates had just begun playing, Sara was under the watchful eyes of college recruiters. At 14, she was the second player to ever make the varsity volleyball team as a freshman, behind Jessica Mihm in 1998, who also went on to play for USC. By 15 she was one of the top 10 recruits in the nation for the class of 2010. “[Recruiters] wanted to talk to me, but my parents wouldn’t let me talk to them,” Sara said. “They thought I was too young.”

By sophomore year, her parent’s apprehension gave way to the persistent scouts.

She obtained offers from schools such as Pepperdine, University of Florida and UC Berkeley before accepting head coach Mick Haley’s offer to play at USC. “In May [of sophomore year] I called Coach Haley and told him I had decided to become a Lady Trojan,” Sara said. “My parents were very supportive of my decision. They helped me through the process but let me make my own choice.”

In addition to playing for Westlake head coach Al Bennett, Sara is under the guidance of Austin Junior Volleyball Director Glen Lietzke and his coaching staff.

“Austin Juniors has taught me how to be a team player and work hard,” Sara said. “It’s a huge time commitment.”

This summer the long training hours in Dallas paid off. In late June and early July she competed in the USA Junior Olympic Volleyball Championships, as she has every summer since she was 12 years old. This year, however, was different. With seniors Elly Barrett and Abby Howden at her side, Sara’s Austin Juniors team placed first, giving them the prestigious title of National Champions.

“We had targets on our back going into the tournament because we were the number one seed,” Sara said. “It made it that much harder, so it meant a lot to win.”

She is undecided as to what she would like to major in, but is confident in her decision to attend USC in the fall of 2010.

“I love the school and the coaches,” Sara said. “Plus, it’s 20 minutes from the beach and 10 minutes from downtown Los Angeles.”

As for plans to play beyond college, Sara is looking into a career in beach volleyball, a current hobby that allows her to train outside of the gym and places emphasis on being a well-rounded athlete.

“Misty May and Kerri Walsh are definitely my volleyball role models,” Sara said.

When asked if she will be playing in the 2016 Summer Olympics, she smiles and replies, “Let’s hope so.”

— Alex Bishop

Sara’s stats (as of 10/8/08)

Receiving a serve, varsity volleyball player junior Sara Shaw passes the ball to a teammate during their match against Austin High Sept. 11.

Austin High scored a mere 48 points to our 75, leading to the perfect start for an undefeated district season.

Sam Womack

• averages 5.2 kills and 4.2 digs per game • 55 aces, 42 blocks and 400 kills this season (91 games) • second on team in digs • 86 aces in 2007 season – second all time record for a single season

A

With an 8-0 record, the young but motivated varsity volleyball team dominates District

killing spree

Left, right. Jump. Set. Step, cross, step. Jump. Block.

The players move back and forth across the court in a constant wave of motion.

These continuous, fast-paced movements are the fundamentals of volleyball.

These are the rhythms of the game.

This steady tempo has been placed on the shoulders of a much younger group of players than usual on the varsity volleyball team this season. Twelve underclassmen make up a vast majority of the team, while only four seniors hit the court as varsity players. Compared with the 11 seniors and three underclassmen on the team last year, this is a drastic change.

“With this many young players, it speaks well for the future,” coach Al Bennett said. “However, the downside is that well over the majority of the team has to learn the expectations of being a varsity player, and that has an impact on the entire team. The same is true in playoffs, and there is no room for a learning curve like there is during the season. You lose, you are done.”

With such a variety of age groups on a single team, ranging from new sophomores to experienced seniors, naturally there was

an air of uncertainty at the beginning of the season.

“At first it was slightly awkward having so many different age groups and hearing so many comments from coaches and newspapers about the immaturity of our team,” defensive specialist junior Olivia Caridi said. “But once we got to know each other and became more of a team, age wasn’t a factor.”

Although critical eyes have looked down upon the young team who has the challenge of following in the footsteps of last year’s second place state team, there are definite benefits to having girls of different ages on varsity. The skills of the older and more experienced players rub off on the younger girls.

“Having older girls with the experience on the team has definitely been beneficial to us sophomores,” middle blocker sophomore Ella Praisner said. “They have been through all of this varsity stuff before and without their leadership we would be lost. I had trouble adjusting at first, but the older girls were always willing to help me out so I could try to play at their level.”

One would think that the age gaps would get in the way of bonding, but this is not the case at all.

“We had a talk during the very beginning of the season about how to keep good team morale and how drama, fighting and gossip affect any team in really negative ways,” Olivia said. “So we all try to get

Left: Eyeing the ball, varsity volleyball player senior Abby Howden sets a teammate at home against Cedar Park on Sept. 9.

Right: Making a tough dig, varsity volleyball player junior Katie Darilek leaves it all on the court against Bastrop Sept. 16.

Jumping with concentrated effort, varsity volleyball player junior Jennifer Schuler spikes the ball at Cedar Park defenders Sept. 9.

Sam Womack

along the best we can. Bonding is very important for us. Everyone contributes in great ways.”

Overall, the varsity volleyball season has resulted in a 24-7 record so far and the team is quite pleased with its success.

“I feel like each year there’s an expectation to live up to when you’re playing Westlake volleyball,” right side hitter senior Lindsay Bixby said. “So it feels good to try and keep up with last year’s pace.

Everyone has had such high expectations for this team and I feel like we’re living up to them as best we can.”

Left, right. Jump. Set. Step, cross, step. Jump. Block.

These tempos are permanently engraved in the minds of sophomore, junior and senior players alike.

These are the rhythms of the game.

— Hillary Hurst

{Swimming

{

Samantha Tucker competes in 2008 Olympic trials

“

“I don’t think you have a start and end point for training in swimming,” Samantha said. “You’re training all year long and when you have an important meet coming up, you start to taper, or cut back, on the intensity of the training so your body gets a chance to rest before competing.”

After months of training, all of her hard work paid off. She finally got what she had been working for — her trial cuts, or rather the times she needed in order to qualify for the Olympic trials. In short, it was ultimately those times that sent Samantha and her family on a plane to Omaha, Nebraska two years later to watch her compete in the 2008 Olympic trials. For most, an experience like this would cause a person to drown in their own nerves, as they are essentially competing in the same place as the greats like Michael Phelps and Dara Torres. For Samantha, however, it was the exact opposite.

“You can’t be worried about how someone else is swimming, otherwise you aren’t swimming your own race anymore,” Samantha said. “You have to focus on what you want to do and just do it.”

Positive attitude in mind, Samantha competed in two events during the week long meet. Between events, she completed warm-ups and also watched others compete including her best friend, Hayley McGregory, who ended up breaking the 100-meter backstroke world record. In order for Samantha to make it to the semi-finals, she needed to have one of the top sixteen fastest times. From there, to make the finals, she would need one of the eight fastest times. Whoever gets first or second in the finals makes the team. Unfortunately, Samantha did not end up making the team, but she did leave with something: her pride.

“I competed in the 100-meter freestyle and the 200-meter freestyle,” Samantha explained. “I went into the 200-meter free 58th and ended up 27th, receiving a best time. In the 100-meter free, I was seated 63rd and ended up 24th, also swimming a personal best time. Just goes to show you can miss making the team and still have the best meet of your life.”

Looking back at the trials, Samantha not only attributes her success to her rigorous training, but also to her family.

“My family is obviously my biggest support,” Samantha said.

“They all watched me swim and always told me how proud they were of me just for being there. It’s really great to have that

I plan on going to the 2012 Olympic Games in London and winning gold. Not making the team this year is only going to push me harder to make it in four years.”

— junior Samantha Tucker

{

I

It was time. The moment she had been waiting for was finally here. Junior Samantha Tucker stepped up onto the platform, carefully slipping her goggles over her eyes and stuffing the last few hairs into her swim cap. Almost robotically, she moved into diving position, carefully listening to the announcer’s every word. She had done this so many times before, but this time was different. This was the Olympic trials.

Samantha has been swimming since before most people her age could speak full sentences. As the years progressed, so did her swimming. Moving beyond the “water-wing” days, she swam in a variety of swim meets to showcase her talent and by high school competed on Westlake’s swim team as well as club team.

At the age of 14, Samantha finally got the times she needed to qualify for the 2008 Olympic trials.

“I started swimming when I was two,” Samantha said. “We were all playing around in my grandma’s pool when she noticed I could actually make it to the other end without dying. So my parents put me on a team when I was four to start competing.”

Although Samantha is what some may call “a fish with legs,” she is very different from other swimmers in the goals she sets for herself. While many swimmers dream of going to the Olympics the first day they dive into the pool at practice, Samantha had other motives.

“I only really started thinking about the Olympics when it seemed like something I could actually do,” Samantha stated. “I wanted to be a part of it when I saw Michael Phelps swim in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. It was so motivating and I was getting faster, so I decided to make that one of my goals.”

In an attempt to make this dream a reality, Samantha worked harder than ever, practicing more and more to shave a few seconds off her times.

“I have always had a deep-founded respect for how hard my sister works,” Samantha’s sister, Westlake graduate Nicole Tucker, said. “She works harder than anyone I know, but the most amazing thing about her is that she never complains about how early she has to wake up, how grueling her workouts are or how tired she is.”

Samantha’s training did not stop when the school year ended, however. While many kids set off on their summer vacations, Samantha persisted in working towards her goal.

the dream}

{ {

much love with you when you go into something as new and exciting as the Olympic trials.”

To this day, Samantha has no regrets about going to the trials and coming home without her membership on the 2008 Olympic swim team. Not making the team this year may have actually been Samantha’s disguised blessing, as she now has the extra spark she needs to continue to improve her own records.

“I plan on going to the 2012 Olympic Games in London and winning gold,” Samantha said. “I’m so motivated right now and not making the team this year is only going to push me harder to make it in four years.”

As Summer 2008 came to a close, Samantha was back at home, but not empty-handed. Although this summer did not bring her an Olympic gold medal, she did end up with a gold medal from a different meet.

“At the trials, I ended up qualifying for the World Youth Team,” Samantha said. “To qualify, you had to be the fastest in your event at trials and born in 1991 or higher. I swam the same events that I did at trials, qualifying first in the 100-meter free and second in the 200-meter free. At the meet in Monterrey, Mexico, where it was held, I won the 100-free, matching the meet record, and got second in the 200-free overall. The three relays I swam won gold and the USA Team won gold for the whole meet.”

With the Olympic trials and Monterrey meet behind her, Samantha will go back to her normal training routine of waking up at 4:22 a.m. and getting her daily swim practice in before most people have even thought about getting out of bed. Swimming is her life, her love and her dream, and she wouldn’t give it up for anything in the world.

“The great thing about swimming is however much you put into it, that’s how much you get out of it,” Samantha said. “You have to go to practice and train for a purpose. When you find something to work on or have a goal you’d like to reach, it makes swimming so much easier. As for competing at trials or the Olympics, it’s the same thing. You just have to decide for yourself you can do whatever you set your mind to. Once you do that, you can do anything you want.”

— Shelby Christopher

Shannon Soule

Junior Samantha Tucker qualified for the 2008 Olympic trials, swimming the 100-meter and 200-meter freestyle. Her performance at the trials earned her a spot on the World Youth Team.

Merit -ing

28 seniors receive news of National Merit Semifinalist standing

excellence The Semifinalists and their top college choices

On Aug. 29, 28 seniors were invited Finalist standing, students must prove that Daniel Algaze — Stanford to a pizza party thrown by the counseling their exceptional score was not just a fluke Miranda Apfel — MIT department. Although the reason for the by providing the National Merit Scholar orAnkur Bajaj — Harvard gathering was intended to be kept a secret ganization with their high school transcripts Maff Caponi — Arizona State from the honored guests, the group had a and SAT scores. The selected Finalists will Daniel Chen — Caltech hunch as to why they had been summoned. not be notified until January. The Finalists Crosby Cook — Swarthmore “We had been told before that the Nareceive thousands of dollars from either the Marie Feng — MIT tional Merit results should be coming out Merit program or their top choice colleges Abhinav Golla — Stanford around that time, and the office always takes they indicated on their qualification form.

Scott Gorthey -- Notre Dame on a celebratory twist when Westlake climbs “The first choice college on the form is in Caroline Hunt — Brown/ RISD up the test score ladder,” senior Andrew fact to alert the school that the students are Valerie James — Knox Waks said. “So, it seemed pretty natural that interested in them,” college counselor Jeff Katherine Kloc — Yale we were being called in for a National Merit Pilchiek said. “We encourage the students Angela Lin — MIT Scholar celebration of sorts.” here to choose a school that offers Merit Katherine Lindzey — Cornell Regardless of the failed attempt at seScholarships. Most of the Ivy schools don’t Megan Lo — MIT crecy, the students had plenty of reasons to do that, so we tell them to put down a school Patrick Naeve — Rice be excited. At the meeting, principal Linda that would offer them some advantage either Evan Patterson — Caltech Rawlings announced that the 28 seniors monetarily or by granting them an admisMatt Praisner — UT were National Merit Semifinalists, meaning sion.”

Barton Prideaux — US Naval Academy that their scores on the PSAT were in the top The 28 seniors have high hopes that Blake Renner — MIT .5 percent of the nation. This year, students being named National Merit Semifinalists Dusty Rhodes — MIT had to make a 215 or higher out of a possible could win them an acceptance from the top Nick Seach — Notre Dame score of 240 to qualify. universities in the country.

Michelle Sikes — undecided With 28 Semifinalists, Westlake beat “While colleges are increasingly looking Trey Sullivan — UT last year’s record of 26 with a smaller at students as individual people and not just Megan Twomey — Stanford senior class by about 60 students. Despite as their test scores, National Merit status Andrew Waks — Columbia the somewhat misleading large number, certainly helps in admissions,” Andrew said.

Sarah Wilbanks — UNC becoming a National Merit Semifinalist is a “Every inch helps since Columbia University, Jackson Wimberly — Georgetown hard goal to accomplish. To prepare for the my dream college, is obscenely competitive.”

PSAT, many of the Semifinalists took classes — Katherine Kloc or hired tutors to boost their scores.

“I wanted to get National Merit, but I needed to raise my PSAT score about 30 points from when I took it my sophomore year,” senior Blake Renner said. “I knew it would be hard, but I decided that it would count for SAT prep too.

After a PSAT class and 10 or 15 practice tests, I raised my score 32 points, qualifying me for National Merit.”

Although being a National Merit Semifinalist is an honor in itself, the students have a long way to go to become Finalists. Out of the 16,000 Shannon Soule Semifinalists nation-wide, only The counselors threw the Semifinalists a celebratory pizza party on the first Friday of the school year, Aug. 29. Westlake had the second highest number of Semifinalists of all 8,200 scholarships are awardschools in the area, after Westwood’s 30. ed each year. To qualify for

Triple Triple threat threat F

Freshman triathlete enjoys success, looks to compete in 2016 Olympics

Barrett Wilson

Freshman Alexi Williford trains at Lost Creek. She devotes almost every day of the week training for her meets, either swmming, running or cycling.

Cycling in Lost Creek, Alexi prepares for her upcoming competition. In Austin, there are triathlons almost every weekend.

Barrett Wilson

reshman Alexi Williford pushes harder and harder to finish her 200-meter swim. On to the last lap she takes off, racing against the clock. She approaches the final lap, breathing heavily from her strenuous effort.

She touches the wall. She has finished. But the race has only begun. Ten kilometers (6.21 miles) of biking, two kilometers (1.24 miles) of running and a multitude of staunch competitors at her heels -welcome to the world of triathlons, a world where Alexi thrives.

Alexi has been competing in triathlons for six years. The endurance and skill level involved is almost unfathomable.

“I would say that triathlons (on a scale of difficulty 1-10) are an 11,” Alexi said. “They are very, very hard. There are points in the race when I think that I can’t finish, but then I say that I would hate myself if I didn’t finish.”

For Alexi, training is a race within itself.

She has to prepare for triathlons harder and harder every time in order to beat her old time and improve. This is difficult, maybe more difficult than the race, and she does it almost every day.

“I train at Lost Creek, Town Lake and on Bee Caves,” Alexi said. “At Lost Creek,I swim on the LAC Cruisers. At Town Lake I run for Cross Country and I bike in my free time, basically anywhere with a road, mostly on Bee Caves. I have different coaches help me train, one for swimming and cross country at Westlake, and I have an overall triathlon coach.”

Alexi has swimming on Mondays and Wednesdays and runs cross country every morning, Monday through Friday. With all that training and time commitment, she has developed a strong work ethic. She has little time for schoolwork, but still manages to finish every project and assignment.

“I finish my homework after swimming and soccer,” Alexi said. “So some nights I am up very late studying.”

Triathlons are not the only sports in which Alexi participates in. She is a very active athlete and one sport does not satisfy her thirst for competition and winning.

“Other sports that I do are basketball, soccer, track and cross country, of course,” Alexi said. “I plan on playing basketball and track this year at Westlake and I am already runnning for the cross country team.”

Alexi has grown and improved in almost every sport she tries, a talent that most people lack. All the training she does pays off when she runs, swims and bikes the many triathlons she does in Austin, or around the states. In Austin, during triathlon season, there is an event almost every weekend, for adults and children.

“I do the IronKids, CapTex, Skeese Greets [an all female race] and Rogue,” Alexi said.

“Outside of Austin I have run in Wisconsin, Louisiana and Colorado for national competitions.”

Alexi has set the standards very high for her career as a triathlete. She has plans of eventually joining in two of the most grueling, brutal races within all triathlon events.

“I would like to take part in the 2016 Olympics and run in the IronMan Kona in Hawaii when I am older,” Alexi said.

The Olympics consists of a 1500 meter swim, a 40-kilometer (24.85 miles) bike and a 10-kilometer (6.214 miles) run. The IronMan Kona consists of a 3.8 kilometer (2.36 miles) swim, usually in open water, a 180 kilometer (111.85 miles) bike and a 42.2 kilometer (26.22 miles) run.

Alexi is coming along the road, done with her 10 kilometer bike. She is now down to the last event, the 2 kilometer run. She passes by runners left and right until she is in the front.

Alexi is running harder and faster than ever.

Alexi is running ahead of the pack.

— Cody Crutchfield

that big steps come in baby steps. If we get a lot of people “I believe doing little things, then something giant happens. ” — Alan Graham, founder of Mobile Loaves and Fishes school supplies. Graham’s daughter, junior Marlee Graham, and his son, freshman Keaton Graham, also came to help the people displaced by the storm.

“I went down to New Orleans with my dad and my friend [junior] Kaitlyn Nolan,” Marlee said. “We cooked hamburgers for an elementary school and gave the kids school supplies and clothes and anything else they needed that we had. I loved helping them because they were so grateful, and even with the disaster the children were still really happy.”

The destruction left in Katrina’s wake was shocking.

“We went to where the levee broke in New Orleans,” Marlee said.

“On one side of the river where the levee did not break, the houses were still intact. There was just water damage. But when we sat on the unbroken levee we were able to see the wreckage from the broken one.

None of the houses were there — it was just stone and bricks.”

MLF continued to help people in regions ravaged by the hurricane.

In one project, they partnered with Habitat for Humanity to rebuild the home of an elderly woman living in a rural area. She is one of many whose lives have been changed by MLF. “The other week, a woman called my mom, asking for help,” Marlee said. The woman had three children and was going through a divorce.

She hadn’t worked in nine years and was having trouble getting into the workforce. The wages she received from her job at Walgreen’s were not enough to support her and her sons.

“She was crying when she called because she was so embarrassed to ask for help, and the places she had already gone to for help had denied her,” Marlee said. “She came up to the commissary, and my mom and I got together groceries for her and her sons. We gave them cereal and chips and fruit and whatever else we could get. When we were showing the boys what we were giving them, their faces lit up.

You could tell they were hungry, and it broke my heart to see those adorable children have to go through so much pain at such a young age. But I felt comforted knowing they weren’t going to be hungry for at least a week.”

And now MLF is tackling its latest project to help people in need — Habitat on Wheels, a program to provide housing for the homeless, an idea Graham came up with through his love of hunting.

“When you go down to these deer regions, a lot of the time you’re living in an RV. It’s your home while you’re on a deer lease,” Graham said. “And I was always puzzled why [RVs weren’t used as] affordable housing to lift people off the streets.”

MLF began purchasing gently used RVs to provide homes for people whose life circumstances had left them on the streets. Among the people helped by the program were Antonio Carmona, his wife Linda, and their 47-year-old mentally disabled son, Gordy.

“I was homeless,” Antonio Carmona said. “I had a handicapped child. We lived in a cardboard box on Congress.” He heard about Graham and MLF at Church Under the Bridge, an organization that offers church services and food to the homeless beneath an overpass every Sunday.

“Alan said he could help me, and I believed it,” Antonio Carmona said. “They help me in every way they can.”

MLF provided the Carmonas with an RV, and gave Linda Carmona a job at the commissary preparing shelves for the trucks. Antonio Carmona, as his wife says, “donates his time.” Despite a disability he has been volunteering at MLF for three years, doing landscaping and carpentry.

“I pray every day that God gives me the strength to come and help them,” he said. The RV project was so successful that MLF decided to

photo courtesy of Marlee Graham

Mobile Loaves and Fishes founder Alan Graham and his daughter, junior Marlee Graham, share a family moment.

At MLF, Graham is affectionately called “the Santa Claus for the homeless.” “I think my dad is a really great person and I love that he accepts people for who they are and not for what they are,” Marlee said. expand it and came up with the idea for Park Place Village, an RV community for the homeless that will be located in East Austin.

“We’re building an RV park,” Graham said. “We’ve been buying gently used RVs and trying to lift people off the streets for awhile now, and now what we’re trying to do is develop an entire community dedicated to this population. I envision it being a nurturing community that’s not only a great place to live but has community activities. This is a space where people can relearn working skills. They can rest and heal.”

In a way, he explains, it will be a little like this high school.

“In Westlake High School, we’re building future scientists, writers, and doctors,” he said. “It helps you discover what you want to do in life. [The park is] helping people discover, or rediscover, what their purpose in life is.”

“It gives them a home,” Keaton added. “They feel safe. They start to feel loved.”

One of Mobile Loaves & Fishes’ goals is to end inaccurate views about the homeless.

“You know how when you say the word ‘homeless’ a certain stereotype comes up in your mind?” Graham asks. “The stereotypes are put in our minds by the media. When all of these volunteers go out on the streets, they get to know the people on the streets and find out the stereotypes aren’t true. One of the biggest things we do is change people’s perceptions of who they are.”

Starting an organization that has made a difference in the lives of so many has changed Graham too.

“I have so much compassion now for people who have had some pretty tough breaks in their lives,” he said. “My relationship with God now is so strong. I just love what I do now more than anything.”

— Holly Heinrich

Sam

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Wom

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Jake Webb

Antonio Carmona and his family were homeless before they heard about Mobile

Distributing food, building a community, Westlake family creates Mobile Loaves & Fishes to help Austin’s homeless

t first, it was an idea.

Alan Graham and his wife, Tricia, were having coffee with a family friend and talking about a church in Corpus Christi that brought blankets and coffee to the homeless on cold nights.

“When I heard the idea, the image of a catering truck got into my mind, as a way to distribute food,” Graham said.

If trucks could be used to distribute coffee and blankets, they could also be used to distribute meals and other supplies that those living on the streets might need. His concept was the reverse of a soup kitchen — instead of the homeless coming to them, they would go to the homeless. And so Mobile Loaves & Fishes was created.

“At first we thought we were going to buy an old salvaged catering truck,” Graham said, “but everybody we talked to about it loved the idea and practically started throwing money at us. We raised about $25,000 within a couple of months. When we unveiled the truck at my church [St. John Neumann], we had about a thousand people line up to volunteer. The response out of the chute was just unbelievable.

The only real difficulty was that we were overwhelmed with volunteers.

And that’s a blessing. I don’t look at that as a problem.”

Ten years later, Mobile Loaves & Fishes has grown to 12,000 volunteers.

“I believe that big steps come in baby steps,” Graham said “If we get a lot of people doing little things, then something giant happens.”

Nowhere is this truer than with MLF. What began as a single catering truck and a group of dedicated volunteers here in Westlake has expanded into a $1.5 billion organization with 15 trucks and branches in Nashville, New Orleans, Rhode Island, San Antonio and Minneapolis.

MLF went to help New Orleans for the first time after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city.

“We were there two days after Hurricane Katrina hit,” Graham said. “The first two trips we made into that area, we brought food, water and friendship.”

pin doctors

New club provides the ultimate experience

Jake

The cry of “ULTIMATE,” shatters a still silence as a “We’re not school-sanctioned,” Steven said. “It would take black disk is hurled across the TLC a lot of organization, a teacher sponsor and a lot of medical practice fields, whisking into the waivers and releases. It’s not worth it.” grip of the opposing team. It Fears of becoming Westlake-exclusive also prevented the is 11:30 Saturday group from forming a school-sanctioned club. morning, and the “Last year, some of the best players didn’t go to Westlake,” air is filled with a Austin said. “I don’t want my group to become an official mix of playful camaraderie school club because if it is, I don’t know if non-Westlake and bold competition. people can come out and play.”

The bright sun pours onto the memThe members of the group represent a mix of “hard bers of Westlake’s Ultimate Frisbee Club, core players” who’ve played a lot and some who just demanding an early water break. Standcome to enjoy the sport. Skilled players are inviting ing around a donated water cooler, they and willing to teach newcomers the techniques of catch their breath, talk and strategize the game. plays. Everyone’s mood is light and “It’s just a fun sport,” last year’s Ultimate friendly — a small slice of summer saved Club co-founder senior McLean Shaw said. from when the club started back up in “There is no pressure to win. It’s purely July. recreational.”

“Most of [the games] were lackadaiThough the club claims to be “disorganized,” each player sical and laid-back,” sophomore Steven adherently follows the rules of the game, keepCampbell said. “We just wanted to see ing the heart of the sport in mind. friends on the weekend, to have some“One of the principles of ultimate is to thing to do and to get out of the house. respect other players and the rules,” Jake We That’s how it started.”

Steven said. “Many tournaments bb Steven was inspired to start the and official games don’t have Westlake Ultimate Frisbee Club after refs. We call our playing some pick-up at Commons own fouls, Ford Park this summer. and try to “I decided I wanted to get more have people involved,” Steven said. “I started fun.” a group at the same time as Austin Harris, and now both Ultimate Frisbee is becoming a popular groups play together.” pastime because it has simple rules and a The combined group holds games on Saturdays at 10 a.m. non-competitive vibe. or in the evening starting at 6.

“Ultimate is a great sport for anyone who “I send out a message to 40 people, and they show up,” likes the action of football, minus tackling,” Steven said. “Some days we have captains and some days we Austin said. “It’s a great way to play an just do stuff like juniors and seniors vs freshmen and sophointense sport without having to make the mores. It usually lasts about two hours, but we play until huge time commitments associated we’re tired or want to switch up teams.” with a school-sponsored team.”

The club is primarily based around two Facebook groups, The group currently has Westlake Ultimate Frisbee Club and Weekend Ultimate Fristwo main goals: to recruit bee, both of which inform players of upcoming tournaments any interested players and and games. to have a good time.

“We have groups [for] anyone interested in joining fris“I want people to come bee,” said senior Austin Harris, founder of Weekend Ultimate if they want to join — the more people the better,” Frisbee. “We message the whole group instead of calling inSteven said. “I just want the group to grow and have many dividuals [so] we can find out what time works best for most successful games.” people.”

Finishing their water break, the players head back to the The effort and planning required in starting a new “official field still blazing under the unrelenting sun. The teams find school” club juxtaposed the sport’s low-key few-rule appeal their places at opposite end zones. “ULTIMATE,” echoes and imposed a heavy burden on their creators. Steven and across the field, the disk is once more united with air, and the Austin studied their options and decided that the club should game continues on. continue on without becoming affiliated with the high school.

— Lauren Nelson bb

We

Mind over matter Diagnosed with a genetic disorder, senior learns to value the present

W

Walking down the hallways of Westlake, senior Blake Renner does not look any different than the average student. But the zigzagged scar on the back of his head is a hidden reminder of a notso-average medical experience just two years ago.

It was Blake’s freshman year when his journey began. Dianne Renner, Blake’s mother, took a trip to the doctor during the fall of 2005, complaining of back pain. The doctor claimed not to find any evidence of a serious condition, and sent her back home. A week later, she was “in bed, uncontrollably shaking,” and taken to the ER with a serious kidney infection. Having lost trust in their doctor over the ordeal, the Renner family established themselves with an entirely new doctor, Dr. Eunice Chen.

As a new patient, Blake went in for a routine check-up. Upon inspecting him, the doctor was alarmed to find patches of light brown skin discoloration, something Blake had had his entire life.

“We just thought they were birthmarks,” Blake said.

Turns out they were not just birthmarks, but “café au lait” spots, and were a possible symptom of a genetic disorder called neurofibromatosis.

“A couple people in my family also have the spots,” Blake said. “But it’s a recessive gene and no one else in my family has the full-blown disorder.”

Neurofibromatosis is a genetic disorder of the nervous system.

There are two types, neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and type 2 (NF2).

Type 1 is most common. The disorder consists of café au lait spots (usually six or more), and neurofibromas (fleshy growths under the skin). There is also the possibility of enlargement or deformation of the bones, as well as brain tumors that develop on cranial nerve endings or in the spinal cord.

With a symptom of a genetic disorder waiting in plain sight, Dr. Chen suggested that Blake go in for an eye examination to check for another visible symptom of the disorder.

Tiny growths in the iris of the eye (colored area) called Lisch nodules (that do not usually affect vision, making them easily overlooked) was the symptom that officially confirmed Blake’s disorder. The procedure to test for this symptom was not nearly as painful as the news that followed.

“They have to dilate your eyes,” Blake explained. “Everything was so bright. I rode home in the car with a shirt wrapped around my head to avoid the light.”

When Blake was officially diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, exploration of his symptoms was first on the to-do list. He went in for an MRI and was given more unsettling news.

“I had a grape-sized tumor on some of my nerve endings in my brain,” Blake said. “The tumor was benign and we just watched it for about a year until it started growing. That was when we had to get it removed.”

The tumor didn’t create any serious problems with Blake’s physical functionality except for some minor peripheral vision loss in his left eye. But in order to avoid any future damage, doctors insisted that the tumor be removed.

Sam Womack

The surgery was scheduled for the end of Blake’s first semester of sophomore year.

“It was kind of a fluke that we even found a neurosurgeon,” Blake said. “Dr. Tim George had just come to the area right before I needed the surgery, and we were pretty confident with it all.”

The risks associated with brain surgery were not only serious but potentially life-changing, and although everyone was scared, Blake’s family and friends put on a brave face and stayed optimistic.

“I was surprised at how calm I was about it,” Blake said. “My family was really supportive and we stayed positive about it all.”

But the day of the surgery proved to be a scary one.

“I wasn’t very scared about it until I was in the waiting room, wearing a hospital gown,” Blake said. “All of those stories about people waking up during surgery really freaked me out – I was pretty worried.”

The surgery was a success and the only physical byproduct was more extensive loss of peripheral vision. Blake recovered quickly and temporarily took anti-seizure medication after the surgery. Since then, maintenance treatment has consisted of routinely checking for other growths that could develop at any given time.

“I go in for an MRI once a year,” Blake said. “I’m going to have the disorder forever; it’s always going to be there. I could very easily get another one at some point. But right now there is nothing unusual.

Scar tissue filled in where the tumor was and everything is pretty normal.”

It’s been two years and Blake is still brain tumor-free. The only visible reminder is the scar on the back of his head, which is skillfully hidden under his hair. Blake has continued on with school and extracurricular activities without any interference from the disorder. Since the surgery, though, he has changed his outlook on life a little bit.

“I’ve started to value the present a lot more and am less worried about the future,” Blake said. “Enjoy what you have while you can.”

—Adrienne Cooksley

Discovering

the world of

Sophomore experiences Olympic games, Shanghai culture

photo courtesy of Shreya Banerjee photo manipulation by Jake Webb

think of China as a purely Communist country with bland people, but they were very vibrant, happy people.”

Though she enjoyed studying Chinese, she learned how big of a challenge it is.

“If a word means one thing, it means another,” she said.

“If I tried to say something, half of the time the person had no idea what I was saying because if you mispronounce a word even slightly, it changes the meaning completely. It’s a very hard language to learn.”

With the Olympic soccer matches taking place in Shanghai, Shreya and her family were able to watch the women’s United States versus Canada game.

“There were a lot of Chinese people supporting Canada but [the United States] came out on top,” she said. “Even though we were the only people out of about 200 supporting the United States, everyone was very nice and respectful. When the United States won, people were actually congratulating us.”

During the two months they were in Shanghai, Olympic soccer games were not the only thing that occupied their time.

“We really got to know the city,” Shreya said. “We became so familiar with it that after a while, my sister and I were able to walk around without our parents to explore on our own. We felt very safe in the city.”

Coming home to the United States was comforting, but also a little disappointing to her.

“I love Austin, it’s my hometown,” she said. “But I really miss China and how they really retain their culture no matter how modern the world around them is. Here, things are predictable and slower than in Shanghai. Traffic is tighter and people are less patient. It was pretty weird coming back to H-E-Bs and Walgreens. Markets were replaced with grocery stores and malls once more. I will admit, coming back from China and their patriotism for their country really made me proud to be American. People there really respect the United States, which was a surprise to me. At least I can understand everyone again.

I definitely want to go back someday in the future.”

— Meredith Kolda

China

Walking through the Shanghai airport, carrying their bags and following the silent crowd of travelers, sophomore Shreya Banerjee and her family took in the swirls of defiant aromas, colors and shapes, filling their senses and braiding the family into the world of China.

Planning to spend two months in an entirely different and exciting city, the Banerjee family looked forward to experiencing something completely new.

“It was incredible,” Shreya said. “With people from all over the world staying in Shanghai for the Olympic soccer games, it was hard to believe we were still on Earth. I had never seen so many different people in one place. We stayed in a loft next to one of the tallest buildings in China, and there were people from Finland, Spain, France, Germany, the United States, Russia — just so many places. It was so amazing.”

While in Shanghai, Shreya took classes to learn Chinese and traditional Chinese calligraphy. Learning the native language threw her into the culture around her, leading her to grasp a more personal understanding of the country.

“It was funny, in the classes nobody spoke the same language but we were all there for the same reason,” she said. “People came from all over to take Chinese. A lot of them were taking the class for job purposes because learning Chinese these days is a huge plus. Though no one spoke very much English anywhere in the city, people were always accommodating and willing to help out. They would try and find someone, anyone, who was able to speak even the smallest bit of English to help us find something. People in the United States sometimes

Forces of attraction Watt it takes to be physics gods

I

f physics teacher Mark Misage is frantically attempting horizon. I think the next thing will be scuba diving.” to prepare the day’s lesson at a rate of 280 joules per second, Along with hopes to scuba dive, the Misages also want to begin what does t equal when Physics teacher Nancy Misage walks into building a plane of their own, one of their most ambitious projects they his office at a velocity of 2.5 meters per second? have yet to undertake.

Let me rephrase this problem in Standard English: The year “This is going to be a busy year, because we really do want to build was 1994. Armed with a degree in molecular biology, Nancy had a plane, and that will probably take multi-years,” Mark said. “Because, graduated from college with high hopes of becoming a researcher.

I mean, it takes a long time. It’s a plane. And it’s going to be in the gaBut after realizing that she hated lab work, she went back to school rage and you build it in parts. We also want to scuba, probably spring to get a graduate degree in science education as well as her teaching break.” certificate. Before she could “And then there’s racecar become a student teacher, school,” Nancy added. however, she had to observe “Yeah, that’s her thing,” Mark “classroom management” in said. “We just have to go to racea normal setting. Because of car school.” her area of expertise, Nancy This adventurous and fun-lovhad expected to be observing ing attitude has been a constant a biology teacher, but she was in their relationship. Earlier in for a surprise. this year, they gave each other “I find my name and read motorcycles for Valentine’s Day, a across and see Mark Muhholiday that normally goes uncelhuhh… Mark something with ebrated in the Misage household an M,” Nancy said. “I didn’t because it is eclipsed by Feb. 15, know how to say it because the day the two met. nobody knows how to say it.

“He just came out of his office And I look and go ‘Physics? and said, ‘I found Valentine’s Why do they have me observpresents,’” Nancy said. “And I ing physics?’” said, ‘what do you mean ValenAlthough they were attine’s presents? We don’t ever tracted to each other early celebrate Valentine’s Day.’ He on, they decided to wait until had the pictures pulled up on his her observation was over to computer. He goes, ‘This is what I begin dating. want to get you.’”

Jake Webb “Her last day was May 13, “And then I said, ‘And this is Physics teachers Mark and Nancy Misage prepare to leave the staff parking lot at the end of the day. The couple sold one and that was our first date,” what you’re getting me’,” Mark of their cars to make room for the motorcycles and their airplane project.

Mark said. “We felt like waitsaid. ing would be a good thing to Since then they’ve ridden the do.” motorcycles to school every day, provided weather permits.

Ever since they met, physics has been a staple in their relationship.

“We love riding the motorcycles,” Mark said. “Makes coming to Despite working side by side for many years in the Physics department, work an adventure.” the Misages have diverse interests outside of Westlake. Now, 13 years The enthusiasm they bring to their projects and passions is equally after their marriage in 1995, collaboration is their way of life. applied to their jobs as the residential physics gods.

“We sort of do everything together,” Mark said. “Just about the only “We can’t imagine doing anything else,” Nancy said. “We wouldn’t thing we don’t do together is — she goes to yoga.” be nearly as happy if we worked apart, and certainly if we weren’t both “And I can’t get him to do it!” Nancy interjected. “I can’t get him to teachers. Because there’s no way he’s going to get summer off and I’m come!” not.”

“Maybe someday,” Mark said in an unenthused and thoroughly As one of the elite few married couples on staff, the Misages emunconvincing tone. “We’ll see…” brace their celebrity.

Despite this negligible instance of destructive interference, the “It’s just fun,” Nancy said. “It’s fun to be ‘The Misages.’ It’s our Misages consistently work together on lesson plans as well as a slew thing. It’s who we are. It’s what we are.” of elaborate projects and hobbies, consisting of everything from flying Whatever life brings, the Misages are equipped to approach it with planes to scuba diving. an optimistic (albeit sarcastic) manner.

“There’s something new every year,” Nancy said. “Like when he “We just try to have fun,” Mark said. “That’s kind of what it’s all earned his pilot’s license, I had to be part of it. I had to sit in the back about.” of the plane. I went to ground school and did everything with him be“You make your day,” Nancy said. “You get up and decide to make cause it just makes sense. I never knew that I’d be interested in flying the day fun.” but — why not? And I love it. We just always have something on the — Helen Anderson and Katherine Kloc

refuge in NGC at the Westlake hurricane shelter

During a game of sharks and minnows with the Ike evacuees on the lacrosse field, wrestling coach Pat O’Harra throws a ball at one of the kids. “It was great to see the kids have some fun,” O’Harra said. ”But it was even better to give the parents a break.” Other teachers, like math teacher Laura Ringwood, also volunteered their time on Friday as well. met a woman with an extreme case of dementia. There’s not any more subtle way to introduce this woman, mostly because there was nothing subtle about her. She would try to “fire” evacuees from working at the shelter because she thought they were trying to take her money. She would confront completely calm people about their “negative and aggressive” attitude. She would wake the families with newborn babies at 11:30 at night to warn them that we were going to use the hurricane to drown their babies. No one could keep her calm.

No one could get her to stay in bed. She would only talk to “Rose.”

Could we call Rose? Could we find Rose? Why can’t she sleep next to Rose? As it turns out, there was no one there named Rose. “Rose” was a woman staying at the shelter that she had met once during the trip and had doggedly followed ever since. “Rose,” tired of being followed, snuck away to a corner of the Ninth Grade Center gym.

After finding “Rose” again, the crazy old lady with dementia suddenly decided that “Rose” wasn’t worth following anymore…I was, but thankfully not as seriously as she followed “Rose.” She kept asking me to fire people and to warn people about drowning babies. I’d put her to bed and two minutes later she’d be up asking people about their bad attitudes.

I left for a half hour that Saturday night to grab some dinner. I assumed she was being taken care of. Upon my return to the shelter, I saw her being led out by two Constables to be taken to Brackenridge and eventually the State Hospital for a mental evaluation. I assumed at some point that night she would have been taken somewhere else outside of our shelter, but what really hit me was the look on her face.

She couldn’t have been any more angry or confused. I heard her asking for Rose again and why she was leaving.

I got no further details on this woman throughout the rest of the weekend, and that was the last I saw of her.

My experience with Edna and Carol ended similarly. I left Saturday night after a solid hour of talking the two women through being moved from their comfortable isolated room to the gym with the general population and eventually to a hallway to stop their complaining.

There, Edna, Carol’s mother, showed me stacks of pages of verses that she said had been commissioned by God to write. She had an entire suitcase full of new scriptures and old Bibles. She had pages and verses for when God was correcting her from straying from the church. She

Playing on the lacrosse field, wrestling team members junior Peyton Burns and sophomore Richmond Howard push a blocking sled upon which stand two very excited Ike evacuees.

Wrestling coach Pat O’Harra worked with volunteers from the wrestling team to provide a constructive fun environment for the evacuee kids.

had stacks of new verses praising the Lord and honoring him. She believed that publishing these were both her and Carol’s mission given to them by God through the Assembly of God Church.

After making and remaking beds and air mattresses for both of them, I went home to get some sleep before my nine hour shift at HEB the next day. I felt bad for sleeping instead of helping on Sunday morning, but I was tired. I volunteered and worked that weekend, and I felt like a little sleep was in order, and I figured that the Westlake staff and community, as well as the Red Cross, would be just fine without me.

I returned Monday morning to volunteer before class. I asked both Westlake and Red Cross volunteers about Edna and Carol’s whereabouts, but none of them could tell me where they were. One woman said they may have been moved. Another said she hadn’t seen them since the previous night. A volunteer that had been there since that morning said she hadn’t seen them altogether. Both Carol and Edna talked about leaving the school in search of either a plane or a hotel, but no plans were definitively made and no one knew if they had left. I was assigned the task of directing students outside before I could really search the shelter for either of the women. My priorities quickly shifted to other things and I never heard about either of them again.

As quickly as the volunteers and evacuees came and set up an emergency shelter, they had left. Tuesday evening after a short shift at HEB, I returned to volunteer, but everyone was gone. I knew eventually that evening they would go to the Convention Center. There was no trace of any volunteers or evacuees ever being there. I found no one.

Originally, I came to take a few pictures and make it home by midnight. Maybe pick up some extra hours at HEB that weekend and, like most other Westlake students, do my best to avoid the 260-person situation piling up in a part of the high school that I seldom find myself in anyway. What I got was much more than the 27 pictures that I snapped in about 15 minutes total over two days. I got an experience far greater than any photo or any written story. I got an opportunity to touch people’s lives in a time of need. It was a weekend well spent, and, if nothing else, it gave me a few good stories to tell.

— Jake Webb

Ike forces evacuees to take Student’s account of a weekend of community service

C

arol believed she had the gift of prophecy and a holy mission to write another book of the Bible. Another woman refused to sleep in the same room with black people, claiming that they were “demon-possessed.” One woman had Parkinson’s and ate through a tube. For five days, they all lived in Westlake High School.

I watched the buses roll in at roughly 10 p.m. on Thursday night. I watched 80 boxes of Domino’s pizza disappear in almost half an hour.

I watched the Rotunda fill up with special needs evacuees who were supposed to have been bused to a different shelter…all through the viewfinder of a Canon 20D. I came as an unbiased observer to take pictures and interview. My press pass granted me nothing more than a chance to cover possibly the biggest event to hit Westlake all year. I’m not a really warm, fuzzy, emotional guy. I didn’t expect to get as involved as I did.

At roughly 10:30 p.m. I had gotten caught up in helping more than shooting. With a video camera in one hand, my still camera in the other, a wireless lapel mic setup wired and strapped to my shirt, two camera bags and three lenses, I was solving minor problems: answering evacuees’ questions and restocking the pizza. It was a little much. I came to take pictures and shoot some video for The Featherduster web site, but at roughly 10:30 p.m. I locked up all of my equipment, signed into the Red Cross volunteer book and officially got to work.

The Westlake shelter wasn’t supposed to receive special needs evacuees. They had a separate shelter of their own with doctors and nurses and other special needs people. Occasionally we had an EMT out of sheer luck.

But despite that, the group of special needs evacuees steadily grew surprisingly larger as people came off the busses. Even though I had no required Red Cross training or prior experience, they assigned me the task of finding a place for, and moving, these clients. We were confined to the Ninth Grade Center. The nurse’s office was too far away. So were the Chap Court and the Commons. Classrooms were off limits. The gym, locker rooms and weight room were occupied. We settled on the Ninth Grade Center office.

The small teacher’s lounge area became the “infirmary.” At first, we started with just one extremely elderly lady and her family. She had Parkinson’s, she was tube fed, and she lacked any form of bladder control, requiring constant diaper changes. She’d been wearing the same diaper since at least early that morning. Her husband was set on insuring her comfort while her son had kept logs of her fluctuating blood pressure and physical condition. In our new infirmary, she had a couch, a sink, a nearby bathroom and plenty of privacy.

We packed the rest of the office mostly with older people whose “special need” was something they could manage themselves, like high blood pressure or food allergies. But among those clients were two families with newborn babies. I’m not talkin’ one-month-old babies.

One was 12 days old and the other had been born that morning just a few hours prior to loading the buses. Obviously, they were in no state to spend the weekend in a gym with more than 200 other people.

Eventually, one family got a big storage closet (with a cot) and the other family set up in a small office.

Just when we thought the special needs section had been settled

“

I came to take pictures and shoot a few stand-ups for the Featherduster web site, but at roughly 10:30 p.m. I locked up all of my equipment, signed into the volunteer book and officially got to work.

and packed quite nicely, we met Carol and her mother, whose name I can most clearly remember to be Edna. Name a disease — they had it.

Name a food — they couldn’t eat it. Name any substance on the face of God’s green earth — they were allergic to it. Both women had no tolerance to yeast, extremely high blood pressure, occasionally extremely low blood pressure, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, anaphylaxis, a host of “extremely rare diseases” due to overexposure to pesticides classified as such by the National Office of Rare Diseases, a tendency to break out in hives under stress, food allergies, strep throat, pneumonia, a multitude of other diseases I can neither pronounce or spell and a bad attitude about the whole situation.

Following their journey through the school is like watching a cheesy early American explorer documentary where the thick red line travels from dot to dot showing each major city they stopped in briefly summarizing years of travel and exploration in just a few seconds. Carol and her mother began in the special needs area. Then, because of the smell (which they feared would send them into anaphylactic shock or cause their lungs to shut down completely), they were moved farther back in the office around a corner. The next day there were moved to a small room with a couch in the infirmary. Two days later they slept in the hallway near the black box theatre. A day later, they moved on to another shelter.

It was with these two women that I spent most of my time and effort. Over the course of three days they complained to me, confided in me, cried to me and developed an awkward attachment that, eventually, developed into a an unusual relationship.

It wasn’t really until Friday that I got to know them very well. They were moved into a room with a couch in the “infirmary” section. Every hour and half or so I’d go in and check on them. First it started with brief summaries of their medical conditions. It moved to their evacuation story. Eventually it got around to family problems. A few times they broke out in full blown tears. At one point they shared with me their divine mission given to them by God. Each time it ended with, “You’re an angel! I wish we could adopt you as our grandson.”

It was on Friday night that they first got air mattresses and blankets. Due to a miscommunication between the evacuators and the evacuees, no one had brought anything to sleep on or blankets to keep them warm. The PTO provided 400 air mattresses between Westlake and Hill Country.

It was between handing out air mattresses and visits to Edna and Carol that I

be quick to Judge

Don’t

H

Junior shows that there is more to her than her father’s celebrity status

Her school life looks like classic Westlake: a member of Hyline, orchestra, Academic Decathlon and founder of the DDR club.

However, Julia Judge’s life at home is very different for one astronomical reason: her father, Mike Judge, is the creator and star of the cult-hit shows, King of the Hill and Beavis and Butt-head, in addition to being the writer and director of movies such as Office Space and Idiocracy. But despite her father’s obvious success, Julia has always remained grounded.

“Neither of my parents grew up with a lot of money, especially my dad, so they raised me to appreciate what I have,” Julia said. “Living in Austin and not California helped a lot, too. I’ve spent time with kids in California, and even the people with not-famous parents are ridiculously spoiled. That really showed me that I didn’t want to be like that.”

She has always felt that her father’s career was just a job, one like any other parent. Fellow students, however, did not share her same view; they were always fascinated with his occupation in the entertainment industry.

“Well, in middle school it was sometimes hard to tell who really wanted to hang out with me for me, or if they were just talking to me because of my father’s career,” Julia said. “It’s better at Westlake because it’s so freaking huge that no one knows anything about me, so I can get to know people normally.”

Julia knows who her real friends are. She has surrounded herself with a close-knit group that is always there for one another and they all accept her for who she is, not who her father is.

“I’ve known Julia since kindergarten,” junior Lily Patterson said.

“I was friends with her before I even knew who her dad was. She has always been a good friend to me and never let who her dad was change her character.”

Though having such an accomplished father was sometimes difficult for Julia, she doesn’t mind the occasional benefits she receives from it.

“I met Mila Kunis recently and it was so fun because I’m a huge fan of That ’70s Show,” Julia said. “I also had a very small part in Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams because my dad played Donagon Giggles. It was exciting.”

However, some of the perks she enjoys most aren’t all that glamorous.

“My dad knows a lot of really obscure movies and documentaries that he shows me, like Story Tellers and Windy City Heat,” Julia said.

“It’s cool because some of my favorite movies I never would have seen if it wasn’t for his involvement in that field.”

Like her father, Julia has a passion for film and a very high interest in the industry.

photo courtesy of Julia Judge

Junior Julia Judge was able to experience some time on her father’s movie set in September. She hopes to pursue a career in the film industry.

“I’ve gone to summer camps for filmmaking before,” Julia said. “It’s nice having a dad in the film industry because he helps me a lot. For example, he lets me use his editing system and helps me with sound mixing and stuff like that. But it’s really important to me and my dad that I don’t get any free rides because of his success. My dad started from the very bottom, so he hates it when people he meets try to use him to promote their careers. If that’s something I want to pursue, I want to make it on my own.”

Julia has been working steadily towards her goals by participating in many extracurricular activities and maintaining good grades. She has high expectations for her life and is not afraid of working hard in order to achieve them.

“Right now, my ideal future would be to go to Lewis and Clark College, get my PhD in anthropology, make documentaries for the History Channel and be a college professor in my retirement,” Julia said. “I guess that’s all kind of a long shot, but I’ll try.”

She takes after her father’s ambitious attitude. Their numerous similarities have fostered a close relationship. This may be why Julia loves bonding with her dad.

“My dad and I like to watch ultimate fighting together,” Julia said.

“Actually, more like he’s obsessed with it, and I hate it and make fun of him for it. It’s nice, hanging out over some good old-fashioned smack downs.”

— Leah Whitlock

pg. 38

=mc2

this, i believ e

pg. 42

>>

There are principles, passions, thoughts

and experiences engrained deeply within us. These are the foundations upon which we base our decisions. They are what shape

us as people. They are what drive us as individuals. They direct the rest of our lives.

What is your truth? What do you believe?

For more, check out www.westlakefeatherduster.com

Step 7: If you have a bathroom that is connected to your room, make sure the door is closed when you sleep.

Harmonious Habitat

Step 6: Having soft lighting is ideal. Avoid having a ceiling fan or light above your bed.

Step 4: Put something beautiful where you will see it right as you wake up.

Step 5: Do not sleep with your head near a window, because your chi could escape and you will feel more tired when you wake up.

Two students share what they did to practice the art of Feng Shui

Step 3: Place your bed where the door is clearly visible when you are sleeping — this will make you feel secure.

Step 1: You should not be able to see yourself in a mirror while you are sleeping.

Step 2: If you have a bedside table make sure all of the edges are rounded.

Art by Nadia Waheed

F

eng Shui is the ancient Chinese practice of arranging home or work environments to promote health, happiness and prosperity. Emphasis is placed on color selection and furniture placement in order to promote a healthy flow of chi or vital energy. Basically it’s a way to arrange your furniture to give you or people who visit your room a more positive energy. While it may sound complicated and tedious, there are simple things you can do to Feng Shui your room, from painting the walls to simply moving your bed.

Junior Morgan Ridulfo decided to Feng Shui her room to reorder her life during a difficult time for her and her family, while senior Elena Whitlock and her family used Feng Shui to reorder their house to make it feel more opening and inviting.

“When my parents got a divorce, my life was really turned upside down, so I took stability anywhere that I could find it and started rearranging my furniture and knick-knacks to match what the book said,” Morgan said.

Some people Feng Shui their homes to make them feel more appealing and calming for the family and their visitors.

“My mom hired a designer that used Feng Shui,” Elena said.

“He thought that it would make our house feel more open and

create more space. We rearranged furniture and put it at different angles.”

Resulting from a room that has undergone Feng Shui is a room that is filled with more of an open feeling and altogether a better energy.

“I definitely notice the difference in our house,” Elena said.

“It feels a lot bigger, more organized and the rooms seem more cohesive.”

When you decide to Feng Shui there are many ways you can learn about the art.

“I would tell them [people wanting to Feng Shui] to buy a book or have someone help you that knows about Feng Shui that can give you a good direction,” Elena said.

Upon researching Feng Shui you may find that different people have their own interpretations, but it is the same basic idea. The rules of Feng Shui can be understood in many ways. There are many types of Feng Shui focuses, or the mood people want their room to display. You need to make use of the rules to insure your chi is happy, because when your chi is happy, everyone is happy.

— Annie Valliant

You

can’t

spell

‘psychotic’

without ‘psychic’

Trust me, you will enjoy this. It’s like I can see the future.

The rumors are true, human race — your days as the dominant species of this humble Mother Earth are numbered.

Evolution has once again reared its gene-manipulating head and has thus begun to nibble slowly at its finest creation, Homo sapien, with sharp little teeth formally known as natural selection, which rip away with the highest efficiency.

In a world bombarded with unprecedented perils, it is only the nature of nature to adapt to the harrowing surroundings.

What is needed to combat the malicious forces of this toxic planet is a new race, a superior race.

Homo superior, if you will. I, my friends and foes, am an example of that race. Yes, yes, clap clap to you, professor, you have guessed correctly: I am a mutant.

Scoff you might, many have — it bothers me not. Soon the laughs and mockery so often thrown at me will turn to cheers when your inferior race discovers my incalculable power. Though I have yet to find another of my kind, I know (trust me) that one day, my brethren and I will join hand in naturally-selected hand to take our rightful place at the top of the animal kingdom. Nay, top of all the kingdoms.

Start counting.

Until then however, I will have to satisfy myself by making mischief and ruling the local domain with my own power, which won’t be too hard considering its massive down payment on being the most awesome thing ever. Are you curious humans? Rest easy, I am merciful, and will therefore soothe your little, panicking minds. The particular mutation of my DNA has granted me the power of foresight. Basically, I am so psychic I saw your minds being blown by reading this two-and-ahalf months ago.

A common misconception about the clairvoyant is that their psychosis occurs in visions or flashes of scenes to come. This is silly. There are many sides to the psychic polygon, each side hosting its own aspect of the psychic power. We are talking like tetrakaidecagon here.

But rather than list the 14 sides of my prowess, I will describe in detail my most prominent three.

— Molly Moore

Even if I can’t see you, I know you are there: I am walking down the hall one day when I think I see Friend Carl. But alas, as I near, I notice it is not in fact Friend Carl, but Pal Steve. Rather confused, I turn the corner and right as I begin to walk down the stairs, whom do I see but FC walking in the opposite direction. This hypothetical situation happens to me all of the time.

In fact, it happened five minutes before I started writing this. The basic terms of the power entail that I am able to receive the waves of peoples’ auras and convert them into probes that alert me to their presence. In simple terms, I can sense people. Though it has yet proven useful, I am quite sure that one day I will sense the moustache off of some sinister wrong-doer. Don’t think you can sleep easy, villain, s’all I’m going to say.

Weather or not it’s going down, I know what’s up:

As dark clouds formed overhead, miles away and yet unseen, Aunt Millie sat, rocking nervously on her Alabama porch, grumbling about her aching knees. Suddenly, she springs up mid-rock, exclaiming “It’s a storm Uncle Henry! A storm, a storm!”

Uncle Henry, knowing not to take this proclamation lightly, gathers the children and the livestock and heads for the cellar. He tries to take Aunt Millie, but she won’t budge. It’s her against the elements, as nature intended. She stands and looks boldly into the brooding cyclones.

“You may wreck a body, Winds and Rain, but you can never destroy a soul.”

Though the storm did destroy her physical being, her weather-predicting ability was swept into the era emb wind, still quite alive.

S y a It has settled within me.

by M Art

I believe the term you are searching for is “Motherlicking Bad A**.”

You could say it’s a calling:

The two events with the highest concentration of the mystic both involved my late cell phone, Larry. The first took place on the Saturday of ACL weekend ’06. I was lounging on the ground, bumpin’ to whatever was playing when I heard my cell phone ring. I touched the top of my bag, didn’t feel it, so gave up. A few minutes later, I heard it again, so I searched my bag with greater vengeance. Upon failing to locate him, I used my friend’s phone to call it and was struck dumb when someone else answered the line.

“ACL Fest Lost and Found, is this your phone?”

My phone had telepathically called to me. Dude.

Okay, so the next psychic occurrence of the phone kind happened about a year later. A friend and I were getting ready for a night of par-taying (sure.) so I was walking around my living room, readying myself. As I brushed past the dining room table, I thought I heard my phone crash to the ground. I swept around and as I did, I watched my phone fall from the table onto the floor, making the exact sound I had heard just a second earlier. Obviously my powers were manifesting into something greater and more significant than I could ever have imagined. It hasn’t happened again but oh, it will. You could call it a hunch. Or “Molly’s Supreme Psychic Ability.” Whichever suits your fancy.

Three students defend the foundations of their beliefs Atheism

=mc2

>>>

Putting humanity before the idea of God

Atheists are the second most hated religious group in America. So then what’s the number one hated group? Scientologists. Thank God we have Tom Cruise, Xenu, and the rest of the gang to cut us atheists some slack. But since I’m not a Scientologist, I guess I’ll have to make do writing about the second-most hated religious sect.

I used to believe in God. I’d go through all the motions of Christianity, from praying to going to church regularly. But as time went on, I began to think about things and look at them more in-depth rather than just taking everything I heard at face value. I began to have some doubts about the validity of some Christian beliefs. If Jesus loved everyone, then why do you spend an eternity in hell if you didn’t believe in Him? Also, whenever I saw preachers on TV, half of the time whey were preaching love, and the other half of the time they were preaching that homosexuality was a sin and that anyone who was homosexual would go to hell. That seemed contradictory to the whole “love everyone” part of Christianity. This was the first thing that led me down a slippery slope of rethinking my views — a downhill slide that was accelerated by science.

We have reasonable explanations as to the origins of the universe of man, like the Big Bang Theory and evolution. To me, these seemed more likely than some omniscient force appearing from out of nowhere and creating the world. We have no proof that the verbatim transla-

Religion>>>

Faith defines who we are and who we can become

tions of the Bible can be taken literally. The Old Testament itself wasn’t written until years after any of the events occurred, while the New Testament wasn’t written until after Jesus had died.

When I looked at other religions, like Judaism and Islam, they all contained inconsistencies within their scriptures. Each of them believed in the same basic idea, and yet they all had incredibly contrasting views as to how to go about it. So which of those should I believe? I was able to put more “faith” in the powers of man than in the powers of God. The main thing that I could never understand, though, was if there was a God, where did He come from? Every time I asked that question, I usually got the same answer: He just appeared. But how could he just appear? Wouldn’t something have to create him?

Shouldn’t there be a God for God? And if they had no difficulty believing that God could just appear randomly from the cosmos, why was it inconceivable to them that planets, people and plants could do the same thing? Eventually, all of this added up to me becoming atheist.

Just because I’m atheist doesn’t mean that I secretly spend my nights sacrificing small children and puppies to Satan. All it means is that I don’t believe in God. Any God. While other people are able to take things on faith, I prefer to have proof before I make any important life-changing decisions.

— Zach Wasfi

When people talk about someone being religious, a distinct stereotype often appears in their mind. Many people think of what some call the “extremes” of religion, such as a far right-wing fundamentalist who tries to impose his/her beliefs on others, or the polygamist cults that allow men to marry multiple young girls. Some may think of the Hasidic Jews who choose not to shave the sides of their faces and can only eat kosher foods due to their beliefs. Others may think of the devout Muslims who pray multiple times each day and have a restricted diet. One might even envision a Quaker who still drives a horse-drawn

buggy and refrains from using electricity. However, there are many ways of “being religious,” and religion can be a different experience for everyone.

I know many people who have had a major “religious experience,” which led them to where they are in their faith now. Although I never had a significant event which led me to where I am with my faith, religion privately guides my life, helping me to decipher good from bad, right from wrong.

Religion is and has always been part of growing up in a large Catholic family.

Beginning when I was only a child, we prayed together each night before

>>>

Agnosticism

Hedging your bets for a pleasant afterlife

I wasn’t always agnostic. From birth, I was technically Hindu, though my parents never really stressed the finer points of Hinduism. Our family ate beef and we went to temple a total of three times a year. Hindu practice in our family was viewed as more of a cultural experience than religion. However, as my conscious thought evolved, I grew tired of keeping track of the many gods and goddesses, and began to question the idea of faith.

I grew up among Christians and Jews, all of whom knew of this concept called church, all of whom asked God for favors and pledged themselves to Him. As a kid, there were often moments where I felt I was missing out, like when a teacher would ask for “Sunday best” attire. I had no idea what a church was, let alone what kids wore to them on Sundays. The notion of church bewildered me. What was the point of it? Their religion was so structured compared to my loose interpretation of faith. Prayer every week seemed somewhat excessive to me, but I still wanted to understand why.

I delved further, attempting to educate myself in the beliefs of Christianity by reading books and asking my friends. My results surprised me. A single being creating the entire universe? I refused to believe that life and creation could be explained so easily. I couldn’t fathom how my classmates could so readily believe what had been told going to sleep. Lying in bed, with my family in tow and religious candles lit, my parents would explain the mysteries of the rosary, the life of Jesus according to the Bible and the events that took place in Jesus’ time. On holidays such as Christmas and Easter, we would visit with our many relatives and go to Mass together. When we were younger, we would play games. But as we all grew older, we began to discuss issues and often times it led to religious topics. By listening to what my family thought about issues, and learning more about topics, I began to form my values.

Although my family molded my beliefs, they were solidified after I went through confirmation and was confirmed into the Catholic Church. My family attends Mass every Sunday. Although I used to dread sitting through Mass when I was younger, because I have formed my own values and understand the beliefs of the Church, Mass has now become meaningful to me.

I know that in times of tragedy many people question their faith, and some even lose it completely.

I feel that God gave us freedom of choice, and although there are those who abuse that freedom

to them since they were born, solely on the basis that that was what they were taught.

I finally concluded that religion was not for me. I couldn’t bring myself to believe in the many splendid incarnations of Hindu deities, nor the faceless God of Christianity. But I didn’t want to put my foot down on God all together.

So I simply concluded that religion, at this point in my life, was not a decision I needed to make…and that’s what led me to where I am today.

Agnosticism isn’t a Art by Anisha Ganguly religion; it’s a philosophy.

Religion, for me, is about being content with yourself and not passing judgments on others. Who are we to decide the existence of God? It’s a bit arrogant to assume the truth based on no facts at all, but I’d also say that it’s presumptive to shut down the idea of God altogether.

Although I’m not a religious person, I’m still spiritual. I believe that there is something out there, but it’s okay that I don’t know exactly what it is. I’ve learned to appreciate Hinduism as part of my Indian heritage, as well as the beauty of Christianity and the other faiths that my friends practice. My family has visited Roman Catholic cathedrals, Anglican churches, Muslim mosques, and Hindu temples all around the world and at every single holy site we’ve been to, I have always felt a tangible spirituality in the air, and I believe that is a beautiful thing, no matter what religion you practice.

As an agnostic, I don’t judge others for the religions they believe in, but I do take umbrage at others telling me what to believe in. There have been multiple instances where different people, not only Christian, but Hindu as well, have essentially damned me and my family to hell when they hear that we don’t practice a concrete religion. This is where I think people take religion too far; it’s not up to others to tell you how to practice your faith. Spirituality should be about self, a concept that you interpret on your own. Your beliefs are your own — no one can change that.

Understanding others’ points of view is central to agnosticism. I’d like to think that being agnostic doesn’t offend people when it comes to the touchy subject of religion, because in an ideal world, we should learn to appreciate other faiths, even without practicing them. Agnosticism is my way of classifying myself in a religion, without necessarily belonging to one. I’ve learned to accept others through agnosticism, but mostly, I’ve learned to accept myself and what I believe in.

— Anisha Ganguly and create calamitous events, I believe that good comes out of bad, light comes out of darkness.

I witnessed this when the country pulled together after Sept.

11, demonstrating amazing acts of kindness and charity to those they had never met before. Corner delis provided free food for the police officers, volunteer searchers and firefighters. Hotels and New Yorkers opened their homes to those who lost their houses in the fire. Ambulances, fire trucks, police, food, money, refuge and support for those who lost a loved one were also provided.

When unwanted or unexpected

events occur, I feel more comfortable knowing that God is always there to talk to and that there is a reason and a bigger plan for everything. I am glad that I have my faith to rely on.

Being religious is a choice. It’s the way I grew up, and how I wish to live my life.

— Mary-Margaret Parrish

Awkward Astrology

I know you’ve missed the constant guidance with which the stars provide you. Maybe you’ve been scared of attempting interpretations on your own; the consequences can be intimidating. Don’t worry, your impeccably trained divination diva is back, and the stars have all your answers.

Scorpio (Oct. 24 — Nov. 22) You’ve been holding a grudge for a long time, passionate Scorpio. Several lifetimes, actually.

Today is the day to forgive. The complicated process of finding out who you must forgive, why you must forgive them and that person’s current incarnation will take you most of the next year.

This is conveniently just long enough for me to come up with a new batch of horoscopes.

Sagittarius (Nov. 23 — Dec. 21) Today is the day to do something stupid. Not throw-something-at-thetrash-can-and-miss stupid, but really, enormously, cosmically stupid. Get an impulsive face-lift, invest in platinum belly button rings, buy yourself a Hannah Montana wig and attempt impersonations on the street corner for money. While this may seem to be an unappealing way to spend your weekend, I promise it will turn out well for you. Just remember that I’m not liable for any Miley Cyrus-related smackdowns.

Capricorn (Dec. 22 — Jan. 19) Did you know that doing the same thing over and over again is the definition of insanity? If your answer was “Yes, yes, yes, yes,” you’re a typical Capricorn. Patterns satisfy your astrological needs. Might I suggest joining Mu Alpha Theta, reading some Edgar Allen Poe or, for the very brave, breaking free from the rut in which you find yourself. Of course, lying on the bed in a fetal position counting the tiles on your ceiling isn’t that bad.

Aquarius (Jan. 20 — Feb. 19) Though the dawn of the Age of Aquarius has long past, each stone you throw into the universe’s pond has a ripple effect. By which I obviously mean, make waves. Big ones. Make veritable tsunamis with your deeds, because if you stay too long in the metaphorical shower, your toes are going to get all wrinkly. Ew. Pisces (Feb. 20 — March 20) You’ve been so busy with social engagements lately that if you don’t take some time for yourself, you’re going to explode. Please, lock yourself in a closet before that happens, because spattered Pisces guts are not an attractive fashion statement. Choose your closet with care, and you just might end up in Narnia.

Aries (March 21 — April 20) A pioneering sign, you are sure to lead the way into a new and unusual future. However, know your limits, and be ever mindful of the gruesome warning those ill-fated settlers, the Donner Party, gave their lives to share. On the other hand, if being cannibalized is your idea of a good time, the stars will gladly watch your violent downfall.

Taurus (April 21 — May 21) Your star color is a vibrant, eye-shattering shade of pink, and you should wear it.

Constantly. No, boys, maroon is not close enough. Release your inhibitions and pull on that vivid pink cardigan. The stars have spoken.

Gemini (May 22 —J une 21) You are going to get wretchedly sick soon.

However, you, like so many others, will be unable to miss school. Unintentionally, you will be the catalyst for an all encompassing, school-wide plague, the likes of which will ne’er be seen again! The story of your struggle will be legendary, culminating in an epic battle with the hacking, phlegm-y cough, which has taken over Westlake High. Only you can save us all.

Cancer (June 22 — July 22) You’re like a tank, barreling through the hallways of life towards your goals. It’s going to pay off with some serious free time later on.

Leaving tread-marked faces in your wake will not earn you points, so watch out for those of diminutive stature. Hey, they represent the Lollipop Guild. It’s not wise to mess with the Lollipop Guild.

Leo (July 23 — Aug. 21) Throw off your chains, mighty Leo! Break free from the normalcy of your existence.

Just because everyone around you is following the same boring path, doesn’t mean that you must also degrade yourself. You might be too young to join Greenpeace, the Peace Corps or even vote, but it’s never too late to change the world. Besides, you thrive on the adversity that being different throws your way. You might want to dodge the rotten fruit.

Virgo (Aug. 22 — Sept. 23) It has been said that the more complicated your coffee order is, the more high-maintenance you are. If this holds true for you, Virgo, you can already feel the grande-triple-shot-hazelnutmocha-chai-decaf-espresso-iced (with extra whipped cream) coasting its way down your throat. Look for love in the coffee shop and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Libra (Sept. 24 — Oct. 23) It’s time to bust out those golden scales and judge someone. Pick anyone really, it doesn’t matter. Don’t bother tempering your judgments with kindness either, let it all out. The world is waiting for your blunt, callous opinion. You could be the next Perez Hilton.

— Hetty Borinstein

Art by Paul Zuker

40

trends + traditions

MoreMann

thanmeets the eye Faith-driven student clarifies beliefs of his religion

It’s 6 a.m. and senior David Germann is wide awake and already in deep discussion about a passage in the Bible. These daily study sessions, known as Seminary, are a facet of the Mormon community, and a tradition David has been practicing for many years.

“It’s Bible study,” David said. “It starts at 6 a.m. and goes for an hour. People think it’s church, and that I go to church every day. But it’s not like that. It’s a youth group Bible study.”

Along with Seminary, David attends other events having to do with the Mormon community. By the end of the week, David has spent about 10 hours studying the Bible in different ways.

“I have church on Sunday, Wednesday night youth group and Bible study on schoolday mornings,” David said. “I try to have personal scripture study on a daily basis — sometimes that’s 10 minutes, sometimes that’s half an hour.”

No drinking alcohol or doing drugs or anything potentially addictive. No dating until 16. No premarital sex. These rules, among others, are the regulations by which David lives his life. Although they may come off as strict to some, David feels they ultimately benefit him.

“People think all these ‘restrictions’ limit me, but in reality all these standards we choose to live by, in effect, open up only more possibilities for the future and a better chance for happiness,” David said. “I myself wanted to wait until 16 to date because who wants their mom picking up their date in the minivan?”

Though he appreciates the restrictions, David is sometimes subject to judgment and jokes from his peers.

“I get poked fun at occasionally,” David said. “But people come to respect my choices and how I live my life because they know how important my standards are to me.”

One of the traditions of Mormonism is to go on a two-year-long mission trip when followers turn 19. On these missions, they proselyte (teach) about the Mormon religion and serve around the world.

“Going on a mission is an opportunity to serve others,” David said. “They, sometimes by going door-to-door, teach people who want to know more about our church and what we believe. They do a lot of service in the communities where they reside and also learn whatever language is required for where they are sent. My older brother, Eric, is in San Bernadino, California right now. He loves serving the people and has had great experiences so far. I’d love to go foreign, but if I get sent stateside, I’ll be just as happy. When you’re out there, you’re supposed to be completely devoted to serving, so contact with family is limited to only letters and emails.”

Mormons, contrary to popular belief, quit the practice of polygamy in 1890. But with the recent polygamist sect scandal in the news, the association of Mormonism with polygamy has been under even harsher scrutiny.

“I understand why people think that with what’s in the media and how our church used to be,” David said. “But for a long time now we’ve moved away from and shunned the practice. Polygamy, in any form, is not affiliated with the Mormon church.”

The polygamist scandal is not the only one to affect the Mormon community. There are also misunderstandings when it comes to their faith.

“People think we’re not Christian,” David said. “But we are. We believe in Jesus Christ and that He is the son of God and that we are saved by His grace.”

It’s 7 a.m. and the class is over. While some students are just waking up, David closes The Book of Mormon knowing he started his day off right.

“People think it would suck [going to Seminary that early],” David said, “but I love it.

I love studying the Bible. My faith is extremely important to me. My relationship with Jesus Christ is my number one priority in life. So, in a way, you could say it ‘defines me’ because it influences every choice I make. I try every day to be the best person I can, by doing the right things and serving other like Christ would.”

— Hannah Comstock

Sam Womack

Pro-life vs.

J

Upperclassmen discuss the issue of abortion, she

unior Brennan Wong grew up in a liberal bi-racial family. Senior Caroline Parrish was raised in a conservative Catholic family. These upperclassmen not only lead different home lives, they are extremists on the political spectrum, Brennan is a loyal Obama supporter and Caroline follows McCain. They may be polar opposites; however, both students have strong morals, ideas and views. They came together to discuss a very controversial issue: pro-life vs. pro-choice.

Featherduster: What is the pro-life view?

Caroline: To me, pro-life is when you believe in not killing anyone that’s saved; those who are innocent.

FD: What is the pro-choice view?

Brennan: For me, I think pro-choice is saying that you believe a

C: Do you know his stance on the botched

abortion? He thinks that even after a baby is born, you should be able to take it into another room and just do away with it.

B: When they have a botched abortion,

Caroline Parrish

FD: Why do you believe what you believe?

C: I believe that we all should save the innocent because they are in-

most of the babies don’t have a good Senior chance of surviving, and Obama doesn’t want to fund that because he believes it’s Pro-Life a waste of money. It’s wasting millions of dollars for a one-in-a-million chance that a child could live when it’s outside the womb, and it’s not stable.

B: Well, controlling someone else’s life kind of has to do, for me, with

C: I follow McCain because he is pro-life and I disagree with Obama’s

woman has a right to choose whether or not she has an abortion.

nocent. I don’t think that it’s right that we should be able to control somebody else’s life when they have little say over it.

more the women being able to choose whether or not she procreates.

I don’t think that it’s fair for the government to put restrictions on whether a woman should have a baby or not.

C: Do you believe that it’s a baby?

B: That’s a good question. I believe it’s a fetus, that’s what it’s defined

as, and I believe that after a certain amount of time it should be illegal, because after a while it starts becoming killing a baby. But I think that where the laws are right now, it’s legal in the first trimester and states can put bans on the second.

C: So you don’t think it’s a baby in the first trimester?

B: No, I think it’s a fetus. After four weeks the heart beat starts and

after nine weeks you can hear the heart beat. But I also think that the point is not whether or not it’s a baby, I think the point is not whether or not the woman should be forced to have a child that she doesn’t want to have. When do you consider that it’s a life?

C: At conception, and I have scientific facts that agree with that. This is from The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology Edition

by Keith L. Moore, it says that “human development begins at fertilization, the process at which a male gamete or sperm unites with a female gamete or oocyte to form a single cell called a zygote. This highly specialized cell marks the beginning of each of us as a unique individual.”

FD: Do you know the positions of the presidential candidates on this subject? Which do you follow more and why do you agree with their views?

B: I follow Barack Obama’s opinion, and he basically says that he

wished, from his morals, that women wouldn’t have abortions. But he feels that it’s against a women’s privacy right. He believes that, like in Roe vs. Wade, women should choose whether or not they have a baby because under the 14th Amendment it says that a baby is not protected as a person.

opinion that women should be able to kill their unborn baby.

B: Do you agree with Sarah Palin’s views? She believes that women

should not be able to have an abortion even in cases of rape, incest and if having a baby would be detrimental to the mother’s health.

C: Yes, because I believe that the doctor can try and save both the baby

and the mother. You don’t automatically have to kill the baby. You’re at least trying to give it a chance.

B: What if the woman will die if she had the child? I just don’t under-

stand how you can ask a woman to give up her life knowing that in the first or second trimester she has a good chance of dying. I don’t see how you can ask a woman to have a kid that’s not yet visible to the human eye, but still ask her to give up her life.

C: I know if it were me, I would feel a bit selfish saying that I am so

much better than this innocent little child. I’m not saying that if you feel that way then I would call you selfish, I am just mean that, I personally, couldn’t deny someone else the chance to live just because I felt that I should live.

FD: Does religion play a role in whether you are pro-life or pro-choice?

C: I am religious, but I don’t think that you have to be religious to know that killing a baby is wrong. Killing anyone is wrong.

B: No, it doesn’t. I am not a very religious person, and I think there

should be a separation between church and state. I just don’t think it plays a role. I think that morally if you don’t want to have an abortion, that’s fine. Don’t have one because you think it’s against your beliefs.

But I don’t think anyone has the right to say, “Well, since my morals say that a person can’t have an abortion, then you can’t have one.”

Pro-ch ice

light on the battle between morals, democracy FD: Is there ever a circumstance when abortion is necessary?

Caroline: I cannot think of an instance in which or when I think it’s okay for a woman to abort her baby; no.

B: Well what about rape? I just don’t understand how you can make

a woman who has been raped or who has been a victim of incest go through nine months of carrying that baby in her womb, or living with that baby for the rest of her life. I don’t see how you can make a woman relive the worst night of her life for nine months, even if she gave it up for adoption. How is that fair to make a woman have a baby when she didn’t want one and it wasn’t consensual?

C: I don’t believe that two wrongs make a right. I don’t think that she

would get rid of those bad feelings by killing the baby. I mean, she is still going to have those memories, so I think that what we need to work on is care with counseling and help her get through those emotions. She always can give it up for adoption and that way she wouldn’t be killing it. She would still be giving it a chance.

B: The problem with adoption is that there are millions of kids all over

the country that don’t get adopted each year. Especially when the baby is born addicted to crack, born with AIDS or born with disabilities.

C: I don’t know of Austin having an adoption center, and I don’t think

that anyone is unwanted. Sure, there are times when it is very, very hard, but just because somebody has a disability doesn’t mean they are unwanted or any less special than me or you. There are people in line trying to adopt kids, but the adoption process is very hard and very long. So, maybe that’s what we need to concentrate on, how we can change the adoption process so it’s a little bit easier.

B: I wasn’t saying that they aren’t special.

It’s just that it’s easier for children with no Brennan Wong disabilities to get adopted. Well, in a perfect world, it would be amazing if families Junior were willing to adopt babies with AIDS, Pro-Choice babies addicted to crack, babies with disabilities, but that’s not the case. We see it all the time: those babies that aren’t adopted just stay in the adoption centers or stay in foster homes the rest of their lives. I think that it’s evil to bring a child into this world with so many disabilities and make them live their life, in most cases, unloved. I don’t think that’s right.

FD: Do you think that men should have a say in whether abortion should stay legal or become illegal?

B: No, I actually don’t. Men will never have the joy or the strife of

carrying a baby inside themselves for nine months and having to give birth to a baby. They will never have the opportunity to experience it; therefore I don’t think that they have the right to say, “No, you can’t have this baby.” They will never have to go through it.

C: I think that’s really interesting that many pro-choice advocates feel

that way because every Supreme Court judge on the Roe vs. Wade case was a man. I mean it takes two to make a baby. You’re going to tell my

dad that he has no say over my life, because he’s a man? Yes, I think a man should have a say in whether abortion is legal or illegal. Also, many of the Planned Parenthood abortionists are men, and many of the pro-choice advocates are men. I don’t see the women pro-choice advocates telling them to quiet down.

B: Well, the whole point of them being pro-choice is because they be-

lieve that women should make their own choice. It’s more that, a man can help get a woman pregnant, and then just leave. Men aren’t the ones that have to walk around with a protruding stomach [that says], “Look, I’m 16; I made a mistake.” They don’t show signs of that. They don’t ever have to experience giving birth or being pregnant for nine months.

C: Yeah, but the man was a part of making the baby, so shouldn’t he have a say in what happens with its life?

B: No, because men can easily get up and leave. What if they just leave

the woman they got pregnant? I think that the woman should be the one to make the final decision, obviously, because no one can tell her what to do with her own body. But if she is in a committed, stable relationship, then I am sure that she and the man who got her pregnant will have this talk and take into consideration what his views are.

But, overall I don’t think the man should be able to say, just like I don’t think the government should be able to say, “You have to have this child.”

FD: What do you think the repercussions of making abortion illegal would be?

C: I think that a lot more lives would be saved and I think that, in general, it would be an overall really good thing.

B: Before the Roe vs. Wade case, from the late 1800s to 1973, when it

was illegal, there were many unsafe abortions performed. If a woman doesn’t want to have a child then, in most cases, she will probably get what she wants. She will find a way not to have that child, like what people call back-alley abortions, which is when a woman will stick something up herself to pop the sack that holds the fetus. I think that we would see doctors still performing abortions on women whether it’s legal or not.

C: If abortions became illegal don’t you think that more lives would

be saved compared to the lives lost regarding the women performing back-alley abortions? I agree that some women and babies would die, but so many more people would live.

B: But if a woman performs an abortion herself and dies, that is two

people that would die. I don’t think that it would save any more babies.

I think forcing someone to do what you think is morally right can cause dangerous repercussions. I think women are going to get what they want. If they don’t want to have a baby, then they will find a way to have an abortion.

C: I agree with that statement. I think that they will find a way even

if it is illegal, but the woman has a baby and then decides that she doesn’t want it, she doesn’t have to throw it away. She can give it up for adoption. interview conducted by Leah Whitlock

FO R

2008 Elections

Dummies

For the past year, news and radio stations have bombarded American voters with information on the 2008 presidential candidates. While some of this media coverage is straight from the facts, the rest is full of biased opinions and false representation. To help clear up this confusion, here are the basics to keep you at least somewhat informed.

— Katy Roden and Katie Sorenson

Obama

Issue

•Will attempt to revive North American Free Trade Agreement.

Economy

McCain •Would not impose new taxes.

•Supports Bush’s tax cuts.

•Favors a free trade agreement with Oman.

•Wants to cut corporate taxes.

•Free trade supporter.

Environment

•Believes in global warming caused by humans.

•Supports nuclear power.

•Plans to produce a climate friendly energy supply.

•Wants to limit greenhouse emissions and create less environmentally damaging technology.

•Wants to give incentives to limit emissions in order to become more fuel efficient.

•Plans to raise income taxes on the wealthy and continue to increase corporate taxes.

Immigration

Iraq

Healthcare

Education Oil Drilling

•In 2006, wanted to allow immigrants to stay in U.S. and work as long as they applied for citizenship, learned English, paid taxes and cleared a background check.

•Now supports securing the border by implementing a border fence.

•Also supported the 2006 bill to allow immigrants to stay and work if they appled for citizenship, learned English and paid taxes.

•Now promotes a secure border, with fence and more patrols.

•Wants temporary citizenship for illegal alien workers.

•Opponent of the war.

•Favors invasion and current strategy.

•Plans complete withdrawal by 2009.

•Backs sending more troops.

•Promises removal of troops within 16 months in office.

•Wants to keep troops stationed until war is won, which he estimates will be around 2013.

•Demands mandatory healthcare for children.

•Healthcare should not be mandatory for everyone.

•Would provide coverage for workers with no healthcare benefits.

•Would establish a financial aid program for lowincome people.

•Would increase teacher pay, not connected to standardized tests.

•Supports “parental choice” of public, private or home schools.

•Plans to change the “No Child Left Behind” law to avoid abandoning art and music programs.

•Will put more money into community colleges.

•Limit offshore drilling.

•Start offshore drilling.

Sources: www.obama-mccain.info, CNN, HeraldNet, www.reuters.com, www.ontheissues.org

ren W e n i r e ath Junior K ain ‘08 for McC

Senior Jack son Wimber ly for Obama ‘ 08 Rachel English

glish

Rachel En

Featherduster: Why do you support John McCain?

Katherine Wren: He is an American hero; he, his father and his grandfather all fought in combat. He’s always put his country before himself and has incredible experience and strength to reform Washington, healthcare, our economy and social security.

FD: What have you done to raise support?

KW: I went to Washington for one week where I volunteered in the McCain headquarters. I made phone calls to people trying to promote McCain. I also wear McCain shirts and have a bumper sticker.

FD: How do you think McCain will improve the U.S.?

KW: Well, his foreign policy will help protect us by force if necessary.

If McCain is elected, the taxes will be lowered. But, if Obama is elected for president, the wealthy, who worked hard and went to college, will be taxed and punished for their work. I also believe McCain’s healthcare [policy] is much better than Obama’s, who wants universal healthcare. And while [it] would be nice, it is ridiculous because we don’t have the money or the power to do what he is promising to do. For example, the veterans’ hospital. If we can’t even help and pay for veterans, how are we supposed to [support the whole country]?

FD: What characteristics draw you to McCain?

KW: I will admit, McCain is not a good public speaker at all. But it is what he is saying that I believe in. Palin, on the other hand, is by far the best public speaker I have ever seen.

Another characteristic of McCain is how dedicated he is to our country.

The fact that he can’t even lift his arms above his head proves that he will always choose our country before himself. He will go against the Democrats or his own party to fight for what is right.

FD: What do you have against Obama?

KW: Some of the plans Obama has made are agreeable things, but there is no way to finance them. He talks about his plan for healthcare, but there is no money to back it. And Obama does not have enough experience to be our next president. Our VP has more experience than he does. McCain should be our next president. It’s time for him.

Featherduster: Why do you support Barack Obama?

Jackson Wimberly: This may sound cheesy, but he’s simply the leader we need right now. I don’t doubt that John McCain is a good man, and would undoubtedly make a fine president. But there is simply too much at stake in the world right now to take a risk on another Republican administration. Obama’s strengths address the problems we are facing as a nation. His emphasis on rebuilding America’s prestige is a necessity.

FD: What have you done to raise support?

JW: During the primary season, I signed up to volunteer for the campaign. I became a precinct captain, made calls, talked to people, canvassed neighborhoods, made t-shirts, etc. The best way to promote his candidacy is to just get the word out and make sure people are educated about the issues. After that, the choice is sort of a no-brainer.

FD: How do you think Obama will improve the U.S.?

JW: Once elected, he’s going to have a hell of a lot to deal with. I wouldn’t expect the sky to get any bluer right away. “W” is leaving us with a national debt of over $9 trillion. We’re in two wars. The economy is tanking. Education is suffering. There’s a lot to fix. But an Obama presidency is a start on the right track.

FD: What characteristics draw you to Obama?

JW: Many have characterized Obama as difficult to relate to, but I couldn’t disagree more. Obama’s story is uniquely American. This is a biracial guy with a goofy name, an absent father and an unsettled upbringing who worked his way to the presidency. His journey is completely in line with the tenets of the American promise: that we all have the opportunity to make what we will of our lives. Plus, he’s super-fine. Let’s get real here. Have you ever looked into those eyes? Damn.

FD: What do you have against McCain?

JW: Well, I actually like him. I mean, I did. But the John McCain we all used to love is gone now. He used to be a maverick. He used to reach across party lines, shake things up, act ethically. But, I’ve got to tell you, he has become one of the most inconsistent candidates I’ve ever seen. It seems like there’s a new John McCain every week. [Also], I just have to say something about Sarah Palin. Choosing her is the most irresponsible thing McCain has done.

graphic by Chandler Tomsu Jacob McLaughlin Michael Long

Veteran government teacher shares life-long passion with government classes

The

power of politics

Sitting in a sea of political bumper stickers, government teacher Jane Ann Aaron Retersdorf Craig feels right at home. As she points to two stickers out of the seemingly endless array, ranging from the 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater to the current presidential contender Barack Obama, her eyes light up and a girlish smile sweeps her face. She coyly tells of the stickers’ designer—herself.

From playing dolls with her Midland neighbor Laura Bush to designing campaign stickers for Carter to teaching government; politics has been a constant presence and passion in Craig’s life. Coming from a politically active family in Midland, Texas, Craig was introduced to the subject at a young age.

“When I was little, my father would wake me up early to go to breakfast with him,” Craig said. “We’d sit at a table with the district judge, the mayor and city council people. I was the only female at the table and I knew enough to not speak unless spoken to, so I just sat there and absorbed it all. It was always a passion of mine.”

Though women weren’t encouraged to be politically active when she was growing up, Craig was inspired to continue to be passionate about politics through her grandmother’s example.

“My grandmother was a suffragette,” Craig said. “She died when I was six, but she told stories about being one of the first women to vote. On Election Day, she would have other women at her home for tea and would take them to vote because many times their husbands wouldn’t let them. [She] got a job as one of the first women at the census bureau in 1900 and when he told her to come home because he wanted to get married she said no. She told him that he’d have to come to

nt, e d i s e r ep If I wer uld...

I wo sh

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Rache

Washington or wait until she finished her job because she was proud of being one of the first women in Washington. So he came to Washington. He was accepting for a man in 1898.”

Craig’s continuing interest in politics and government led her to get a degree in political science and history from Southwestern University. While there, Craig established her educational philosophy and mission.

“When I was in college I was asked on an oral exam what I wanted my class to be, and I said I wanted a civics laboratory,” Craig said.

“They have labs in science, why not have one in civics where you teach students actual, practical skills that they can take out into the real world once they leave school? That’s what I’ve tried to do, teach kids about issues and get them registered to vote.”

Craig has continued this mission for the past 41 years. Though she planned to retire earlier this year, the upcoming election made her change her mind.

“It’s always so fun to teach during election years and I love to see my students get involved,” Craig said. “They’re first-time voters and if I can get them to vote for the first time, then there is a good chance that they will continue to vote for the rest of their lives.”

Though she doesn’t know when she will exactly retire, Craig continues to enjoy teaching and hopes that she is inspiring students to be politically active throughout their lives.

“Politics is a young person’s game because the hours are long,” Craig said. “I like to see the kids get educated about politics and since I have a lot of knowledge and experience volunteering for campaigns and being a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, I answer their questions and hope they stay interested. Every day they look around the room at the stickers and they ask, ‘Who was so and so?’ The posters themselves are history and I can tell them about it because I’ve lived it.”

— Ashley Carlisle

“…pass more pro-choice legislation and decrease our dependency on foreign oil.”

How has the election affected government classes this fall?

“My government class has sparked more of my interest in the current election because I’m learning the political jargon and system associated with it. If the election wasn’t going on right now, I don’t think I’d learn as much from class.”

— senior Laura Berry “Government [class] helps you understand more about the election. In the news they expect that you know all of these terms and now I better understand them. Mrs. [Kris] Phelps discusses the election and the issues and she tries to keep everything balanced. We learn so much because she doesn’t try to sway our opinion.”

— senior Megan Lo

“We discuss current political events and the election on a daily basis. Keeping up with the election is an integral part of our class. It makes what we learn more applicable to life and the current political situation.”

— senior Ford Rylander

“I’ve changed the order of the units so that we cover elections, campaigns, parties, media and ideologies before the election. My students are watching the debates and I’m doing everything I can to get them involved.”

— AP government teacher Kris Phelps

“…make Girl Scouts sell their cookies all year long.”

— senior Erin Feller

— senior Kaitlyn Bennett

“…legalize public nudity.” — senior Jesse Breedlove

“…rewrite the constitution onto scented paper.”

— senior Othon Almanza

“…make sure that America had the same rigor, relevance and relationships that Westlake does. Go Chaps!”

— senior Kory Curtis

“…appoint Steve Ramsey as my VP.” — senior Gibson McGuire

“…provide solutions and funding for the environmental crisis.”

— senior Carly Mackay

Confessions

of an armchair

Olympian

How the spirit of the games transformed a sports skeptic

I

t was a typical Monday afternoon at Panera, and apparently I had ordered a mozzarella panini with a side order of Michael Phelps impersonations. Not that this was anything new: the Olympics had been the primary topic of conversation among my friends and me for about a week now (though it seemed more like two-and-a-half by our lazy summer calendar). But the novelty hadn’t worn off, judging by the odd looks that assailed our table, where we were managing to make fools of ourselves by pretending to dive off the 10 meter platform and illustrating racewalking with our hands, while simultaneously yelling over each other in zealous agreement that Usain Bolt’s latest win was beyond belief.

I was still getting over the shock of the whole situation. The world was turning inside out and backwards, and as a sportsapathetic non-athlete, it looked like I was going to have to change my personal doctrine of life. Could it truly be that watching sports on TV was an enjoyable pastime? No, surely not.

So why was I stationed on the couch every evening, mesmerized by the athletes who appeared on the screen before me? Why did I spend the daylight hours discussing what exactly the sport of rhythmic gymnastics entailed or how Phelps beat Cavic by one 1/100th of a second? How come all of my sentences followed the same formula: “Did you see it when [insert athlete here] did [insert awe-inspiring feat/devastating loss here]?”

I suppose that the opening ceremony started it all. Watching the athletes file in — the flag bearers each sporting obscenely large grins, the names of countries that I had never heard of being read over the loudspeaker in English, French and Chinese, the mosaic of different cultures forming in the stadium — gave me hope for humanity. Yes, it sounds hackneyed and naïve, but seeing all of these people putting

aside their differences, even just for this one night, made me think that perhaps the world still had a chance of surviving. Clichéd as it may be, I realized that I was not simply a resident of the United States, or Texas, or Austin, but of planet Earth.

Maybe it was the drama of the events that pulled me in so magnetically. I wasn’t just watching sports — I was watching dreams being fulfilled or crushed, I was watching life stories, I was watching controversy in real time. Whether it was the French swim team claiming certain victory and then suffering defeat to the visible exhilaration of the Americans, Kerri Walsh losing her wedding ring in the sand of the beach volleyball court or the much-discussed Chinese gymnast fiasco, the excitement made my mental field trips to Beijing even more highly-anticipated. Maybe the videos of Mrs. Phelps in ecstatic sobs and the baby pictures of Nastia Liukin were just a ploy to attract more viewers. Still, I am proof that they were effective.

Or perhaps it was my inner patriot, normally the lukewarm fellow who grudgingly allows me to put my hand over my heart when the Pledge of Allegiance is recited during morning announcements, who turned me into an Olympic fanatic. I had expected that I would be, for the most part, indifferent to the United States team. And yet I found myself teetering dangerously close to the edge of my seat while Shawn Johnson walked the balance beam, filled with an undeniable sense of pride whenever I saw an American at the top of the podium.

So although that inner patriot has retreated back into his cave and I certainly don’t plan on watching any golf tournaments on TV any time soon, it doesn’t mean my Olympic craze has died, at least not entirely.

Though I’ll be 20 by the time London rolls around, I’ll still sacrifice all my dignity in order to mime the 100 meter butterfly in public and launch full scale debates on 2012’s greatest athletes.

— Helen Anderson

I wasn’t just watching sports — I was watching dreams being fulfilled or crushed, I was watching life stories, I was watching controversy in real time.

[Opinion]

Facts of

Life?

Religion merges with science

I

had an unconventional education. My parents sent me to a private Montessori elementary school that had the reputation of producing children with strong personalities and an individualistic outlook on life. So at the age of six, when I asked my teacher where babies come from, instead of handing me some sort of embarrassing pamphlet with a name like, “The Wonderful Way that Babies are Made,” my teacher launched into a lecture about evolution.

The way she saw it, if children wanted to know where humans came from, she might as well start at the very beginning. It never crossed my young mind that there might be someone else in the world who would try to argue the theory in which she so fervently believed. That fantasy was unexpectedly shattered a few years ago when I heard about two theories called “creationism” and “intelligent design.”

That summer, I decided to delve into the depths of the internet by doing some research. I wanted to know why evolution, my security-blanket of a theory, one that I had readily accepted since childhood, was suddenly under fire.

After extensive perusal, I found some answers.

Creationism is the belief that God created the universe in seven days (as declared in the book of Genesis) and intelligent design is the belief that the world had been created on purpose by a nondenominational superior being in an unknown period of time.

But, despite all the information that I had unearthed, despite all the brilliant minds devoted to finding the answers to life’s greatest question, the origin of the world still remains up for grabs.

I think that people should have the right to believe whatever they want without persecution, but I was shocked to find out that in order to gain further support from younger generations, creationists had begun to target education. Through my research, I learned that by carefully editing and censoring textbooks, extremists can furtively slip their own beliefs into education, making theory into fact.

Evolution has been included in almost every science textbook in the last 50 years. Because of their impressive arsenal of facts and fossils, supporters of evolution have been able to justify the presence of their theory in textbooks until recently. But despite all the evidence to support the theory of evolution, more and more textbooks are denied publication because they present ideas that conflict with conservative beliefs.

Recently, pressure from extreme religious activists has forced

“

Intelligent design is just creationism dressed up in a lab coat. There isn’t a shred of science supporting it. The principle here is important: No one should use government, including public schools, to promote their own religious views over everyone else’s.”

— Dan Quinn

Amrit Khalsa

publishers to switch phrases like “millions of years ago” with “in the distant past.” They have also yielded to extremist demands by editing textbooks that include information regarding slavery, Islam and negative views on capitalism.

“Students won’t be prepared to succeed in college and in future jobs if these textbooks become widespread,” said Dan Quinn, communications director of Texas Freedom Network in Austin. “They will get a 19th century education in their 21st century classrooms. Students deserve to learn about real science, not phony arguments that attack real scientific research. And besides, whose stories about creation would we teach? Not all people of faith learn about the same religious account of creation. In addition, not all people of faith believe that the Bible’s story of creation should be taken literally.”

Because creationism has proved to be too extreme for many of the textbook publishers, the far-right activists tried a different tactic. Thus, the idea of intelligent design was introduced as a less radical alternative to creationism.

“Intelligent design is just creationism dressed up in a lab coat,” Quinn said. “There isn’t a shred of science supporting it. The principle here is important: No one should use government, including public schools, to promote their own religious views over everyone else’s. If we allow that to happen, then we will undermine the religious freedom of others.”

Texas Freedom Network diligently works to prevent far-right activists from implementing their own views into what are supposed to be completely factual textbooks. They have launched several fierce campaigns like their “Stand Up for Science” project that works to promote religious and educational freedom through a coalition of scientists, teachers, parents and business leaders.

“We have made considerable progress, but we still have much to do,” Quinn said. “The fight against censorship is an ongoing battle.

It’s simply irresponsible to allow personal politics to interfere with the education of young people. Our science classes should teach about science, and teaching about religious concepts like creationism should be left to families and churches.”

According to an article in the Sept. 24 issue of the Austin American-Statesman, new textbooks that include the theories of creationism, evolution and intelligent design are now in the process of publication. The Texas Board of Education has “tentatively set a deadline of March for the final adoption,” which means that “the state could adopt new science textbooks in 2010 or 2011, and the new books are scheduled to go in to schools in fall 2012.”

“As far as textbooks go, I think only scientific evidence should be in textbooks,” biology teacher Kara Wolf said. “But, that doesn’t mean that I don’t think all the theories should be discussed in the classroom.

I think an educated person needs to know all of the different theories out there.”

How will this issue turn out? It seems that only time will tell. But a decision can be reached through increased awareness and strong beliefs on the part of the students who will be affected by this change.

The decisions made today affect the education of tomorrow.

— Amrit Khalsa Want more information or to voice your opinion?

Go to www.tfn.org or www.tea.state.tx.us

[staff editorial]

Proceeding with poise Tips on how to garner respect in the hallway The warning bell rings, echoing throughout the hallways like a nagging mother. Barreling down the hallway like a freight train with its throttle revved at its highest, Johnny B. Goode realizes that if he hadn’t stayed to chat with Richey Rich, he might have made it to class by now. Hurdling the steps and a couple of freshmen, Johnny approaches the Ninth Grade center doors with 45 seconds to spare and some startling relief, having calculated the estimated time left to class to be only about 35 seconds Bam! A freshmen bounces off of Johnny like a nucleus undergoing alpha decay.

“What is this, England?

Walk on your side of the hallway, buddy,” Johnny tells the startled midget. He then realizes that this unexpected collision put him off his course by 3.2 seconds. Johnny then proceeds to accelerate at 1.2 m/s², reaching a terminal

velocity at 1.8 m/s. Will Johnny make it to economics on time? We’re sorry about the drawn-out physics problem, but the answer is no. He would have made it if it wasn’t for the gaggle of gawky underclassmen crowding the hallway, causing Johnny to make

seven evasive maneuvers. What does Westlake need, traffic signs? Come on people, walking to class is an easy feat. We at The Featherduster are tired of receiving tardies because you, the populace, can’t catch up on the latest episode of “Gossip Girl” at lunch.

And furthermore, what is this, a boxing match?

Why has it become commonplace to walk to class with a posse of associates like you’re Muhammad Ali? There is an art to advancing towards your class in the hallway that is being neglected. So we’ve decided to reintroduce the dusty tome of The Ethics of Strolling to Class by Confucius. Yeah, we’re kidding, it’s not actually a book, but that would be pretty cool, huh? Instead, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to write a couple of guidelines to help educate those without knowledge of the sacred art of walkArt by Katy Doughty ing unobtrusively.

The Commandments of the Corridor 1. Thou shalt not discuss meaningless snippets of information with thine friends between classes just to hear thyself talk.

2. Thou shalt not walk on the wrong side of the hallway; doth thou thinketh this the ancient kingdom of Saxon?

3. Thou shalt not congest the hallway with an exorbitant amount of friends.

4. Thou shalt not stop suddenly in thy tracks in order to hug a friend or scream something annoying in a high-pitched voice.

5. Thou shalt not loiter in doorways with thy buddies unless thou desires a wallop upon thy helm.

6. Thou shalt not carry an inordinate amount of books and parchments in thy arms and spill them all over the ground.

7. Thou shalt not stampede towards athletics; lest thou desire a re-enactment of Mufasa’s demise.

8. Thou shalt not caress thy lover’s glove, obstructing the flow of travel.

9. Thou shalt not crowd the stairwells with thine inquiries of chemistry or Spanish.

10. Thou shalt not step on thy neighbor’s shoe and cause general disruption while thine neighbor tries to relocate it.

The

only

will ever man who you

reach

How my father’s job as a pastor has influenced my life

“W

hy don’t you ever wear that shirt to church?” I ask my dad. He’s sitting in our kitchen wearing his favorite t-shirt, on which is a picture of Jesus descending on a cloud, hands outstretched. At the bottom, in bold letters, are the words, “Jesus hates the Yankees.”

“It would offend an old lady,” my dad answers, “I guarantee it.” Offending an old lady is a bad idea in my father’s profession. This is because he’s a pastor.

I always get the exact same reaction when my father’s job comes up in conversation. “You’re a preacher’s kid?” they’ll ask redundantly. “Yes,” I reply, as though my answer would be anything different. At this point a noticeable change always occurs in the eyes of the person in front of me. Often I get responses like, “Cool! What church?” or “I’m not really that religious.” However, regardless of what they’re saying, I get the impression that they’re thinking one of three things: A.“I can talk about my religion with him because he shares the same views and won’t judge me,” B. “I am making a mental note to watch what I’m saying around him because he’s definitely going to judge me for it and he’s probably a prude,” or C. “I’m 90 percent positive he’s dogmatic and judgmental so I will now talk about my belief in religious tolerance.” Basically, people think religion has made me intolerant and conservative. In actuality, I believe Christianity teaches universal acceptance and that Obama is the better choice for president, but being a preacher’s kid has given me an interesting childhood.

When I was young, my favorite music on earth was ‘90s Christian rock powerhouse (or as much of a powerhouse as you can be when your fan base is 90 percent Christian boys under 30) the Newsboys.

A witticism based on the fact that they declared the good news of Jesus. They featured lyrics that told everyone that Jesus was the only, “…way to explain the kind of change, that would make a dead head sell his van, that would make a vegetarian barbecue hamster.” Now my tastes are a little different. My favorite bands are all secular. I don’t think I know many other people who can say they know all the words to “Come Thou Fount” and “Rosetta Stoned”. However, to this day I keep my favorite childhood cassette tape in my car and play it for anyone who asks about it. Much to my dismay, either no one has noticed or no one has appreciated the humor

in the fact that some of the lyrics on this tape are, “If the Lord don’t care and he chooses to ignore-ah, tell it to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.” This may have something to do with the fact that a lot of my friends aren’t as familiar with Sodom and Gomorrah as I am, but this is just conjecture.

Only within the last few years have I discovered that other people don’t know as much as I do about Christianity. I ’ve heard so many sermons and gone to so many Bible studies that at one point I assumed pretty much everyone knew what I knew. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that not everyone knows the difference between NIV and KJV. Even more surprising was the discovery that even though I’ve essentially mastered a subject, it’s never helped me raise my grade point average.

The only exception to this was the class discussion of John Steinbeck’s classic allegory to the book of Genesis, East of Eden. At no point did I read this book (sorry Ms. Crocker), but I still managed to make a perfect score in the graded discussion purely because I knew more about Old Testament prophets than anyone else in the room. It’s their loss that they were never told that Jesus loves them by a singing cucumber or told by their youth pastor that the word sarcasm derives from a Greek root which means “to tear flesh.”

Things like this make the archetypes for what a pastor’s family ought to look like seem almost laughable to me. I think some people really believe, or are at least afraid that, my family resembles something like the one described in The Poisonwood Bible: that we self-righteously believe that we are the standard by which all people should determine their own salvation. I think my older brother gave the best description after he cried in Little Miss Sunshine during the scene when the little girl asks her grandfather if she’s a loser because “Daddy Jake Webb hates losers.” When my parents asked him if this was because my brother believed he was a loser in their eyes, his response was automatic: “Of course not! It’s your job to tell people that it’s okay to be a loser!”

In the end though, I honestly don’t think my father’s profession has affected me to any serious degree. What I really believe has made the difference has been growing up in a Christian home.

“We don’t live this way because I’m a pastor,” my dad said, “It’s because I’m a Christian.” Can I get an Amen!

— Trevor Wallace

My name is Jonas A war of words over the hottest boy band since ‘N Sync Pro-Jo Bros Their faces adorn the walls of teenage girls’ rooms, they are a repetitive subject of nighttime fantasies, and their names circulate the gossip mill of Hollywood’s young and elite. They are Nick, Joe, and Kevin — they are the Jonas Brothers…

Songs

Their catchy pop-rock tunes contiune to grace the top 100 charts, no matter how juvenile the lyrics. I still enjoy listening to the song “Year 3000,” although the lyrics are about living underwater and the reincarnation of Kelly Clarkson.

Still, the Jonas Brothers are continuing to evolve into more mature artists. Their third studio album, A Little Bit Longer, features tunes that have been compared to The Beatles. Personally, I think the reason they are being compared to The Beatles is because people are remembering the days when thousands of screaming girls would stalk a band’s every move.

Fans

Girls seem to have a fascination — or dare I say, obsession — with the Jonas Brothers. But what exactly is spawning this drastic obsession? Is it really their talent? Or the fact that they live “wholesome” lives and wear purity rings? Or perhaps their stunning good looks? Whatever it is, it is not uncommon for devoted fans to spend multiple nights camping out with their families just to sit in a stadium and watch their favorite band in the world perform on stage. Signs with phrases like “Will You Marry Me Kevin Jonas?” can be seen at sold-out stadiums where the brothers perform. Girls find themselves spending numerous hours studying Joe’s favorite animal or what kind of girls Nick is attracted to because of an irrational belief that if they were to meet them, they have as good of a chance of becoming their new girlfriend as Miley Cyrus.

— Leah-Marie Duran

Anti-Jo Bros

I have to hand it to the marketing department at Disney — they have the ability to turn three regular brothers into pre-teen girls’ gods.

The truly astounding part is that these brothers have become milliondollar commodities with absolutely no outstanding musical skills or originality.

Songs

There’s no other way to put it: the Jonas Brother’s songs are ridiculously lame. The lyrics are repetitive, vapid and shallow, all along the lines of “You’re so pretty, I’m attracted to you, I love you,” or “We have high self-esteem.” All three brothers “play” guitar, but they have yet to extend beyond the realm of basic chords and quarter notes. The vocal quality seems dissonant at times, the boys reaching for notes that are out of their range, which results in an overall constipated sound. The drums are pretty decent, if only because it is one of the few aspects of the band untouched by the three brothers.

Fans

Maybe their music wouldn’t bug me as much if they didn’t have their cult-like group of followers.

They grace the cover of every teen magazine on the shelves. Give them a couple months and teenage girls with obsessive personalities will start erecting shrines and temples. The level of worship they receive is quite terrifying; next thing we know, they’ll be bringing out the Kool-Aid. But what really tips me over the edge to pure and utter outrage is the comparisons to the Beatles. The Beatles?!?! Oh, I must have heard wrong.

The Beatles had talent. They were revolutionary, original and they had substance. What do the Jonas Brothers have that set them apart from the rest? Skinny jeans and emo-mullets.

— Brett Mele

You can’t kill

2008 — Death Magnetic

The Met-

Rock legends back with a vengeance So let’s say you’re Metallica, the most successful heavy metal band of all time. You defined two decades of metal and hard rock. Your first four albums were masterpieces of thrash metal. Then you moved towards a more mainstream rock-metal sound. Your Black Album sold like an illegal substance but you faced allegations of “selling out.”

Then, you really lost it. Your next two albums, Load and ReLoad, were mediocre, unmemorable hard rock failures and your fans began to lose their faith. And that’s when you just fell apart. Your lead singer and guitarist went to rehab. Your drummer alienated your fanbase by leading the fight against internet downloading. You had to hire a therapist just to figure out enough of your band’s problems to get an album together. An entire movie was dedicated to showing just how spectacularly dysfunctional the process of putting together your next album was. And the album, St. Anger, that you somehow produced?

Terrible, a complete mess, the worst thing you’ve done since... ever. So the question is: What do you do now?

You release Death Magnetic, Metallica’s ninth studio album and their best work in 20 years. I’ll be clear right now: it’s not in the same league as their first four albums, the angry and berserker Kill ‘Em All, the genre-defining Ride the Lightning, the best metal album ever recorded, Master of Puppets, and the amazingly-technical and intensely dark …And Justice for All. But new producer Rick Rubin, who managed both Slayer and Johnny Cash, has coaxed out of Metallica their speed metal chops and, more importantly, their focus and drive.

The album opens with the frenzied and aggressive “That Was Just Your Life” which harkens back to the wild days of Master of Puppets. “The End of the Line” slows down long enough for some sweet guitar licks and a slow, acoustic section that explodes into a furious guitar duel between vocalist and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett. New bassist Robert Trujillo, in his first appearance on a Metallica studio album, makes his entrance felt on “Broken, Beaten & Scarred” which rumbles menacingly in a slower tempo before speeding up into a classic thrash metal jam session and wickedly fast guitar solo.

The strongest track has to be the phenomenal “All Nightmare

1983 — Kill ‘Em All

1981 — Band forms after ad placed in LA newspaper. Guitarist Dave Mustaine fired due to drug issues.

1988 — ...And Justice for All

1986 — Tour bus skids out of control in Sweden and flips several times. Bassist Cliff Burton is killed.

Long” which combines the fury and speed of their early albums with the melodic guitar riffs of their mainstream successes. Hetfield’s lyrics have thankfully moved away from embarrassingly-personal introspection to snarling choruses like “Hunt you down with no mercy/Hunt you down all nightmare long.” This is a song that thrashes like Ride the Lightning and proves just how far Metallica has come from the failures of their group-therapy-produced St. Anger.

The album is not without its missteps. Continuing their streak of poor decision making, Metallica released the weakest track, “The Day That Never Comes” as the first single. It isn’t a bad song by any means, but it has some pretty uninspired sections and is a complete rehash of the band’s hit power ballad “One.” “The Judas Kiss” lacks direction and focus and seems like a return to the hard rock meanderings of Load and ReLoad, despite a really cool intro and some crazy rhythmic patterns. Metallica also decided to follow up their masterful ballad “The Unforgiven” and less masterful “The Unforgiven II ” with the hugely unnecessary “The Unforgiven III.” While better than the second version, there is little of interest for the first several minutes, other than a piano-strings intro and some mediocre slow rock riffs. However, the second half of the song is pretty phenomenal, as it breaks away for an excellent, long, slowly building section that finishes with Hetfield screaming “Why can’t I forgive me!” as Hammett rips open the single most face-melting guitar solo in Metallica history.

The album winds down with the 10-minute instrumental epic “Suicide & Redemption” that shifts between some of the heavier riffs Metallica has written and melodic guitar lines. The song runs on a little long but it’s all solid material. Closer “My Apocalypse” is a short (comparatively; at five minutes, it’s the shortest track on the album), violent, thrashy rampage through everything that made Metallica the kings of metal.

Death Magnetic is no masterpiece and no one will argue its merits against Metallica’s first four albums, but it rocks as hard and sees the band return to what made them legends without re-treading too much old ground. It’s fast and furious and, most importantly, it’s Metallica.

— Maff Caponi

1996 — Load

2003 — St. Anger

2000 — Metallica discovers that its music is available online via Napster and leads the legal battle against the file sharing service.

Facebook stalking has become more than just a pastime, infecting thousands of students daily On Feb. 4, 2004 the miracle that is Facebook was born.

Originally created as an online community for Harvard students, this website has become a phenomenon among college and high school students around the globe. Facebook, a site that was intended to be a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them, has had its fair share of effects on the human race, namely by creating a new breed of humans unlike any other. They walk among us every day. They know our profiles by heart. They know every secret of our high school lives. They are the Facebook stalkers. Of course we’ve all heard of this species — we make fun of them all the time. But have you ever considered if YOU were one?

You might be a Facebook stalker if...

You’ve looked through every one of someone’s 500 tagged photos more than once.

Might as well have Facebook stalker painted on your forehead, ‘cause this screams creeper. Okay, looking through the photos once is no big deal, you’re just curious. But twice? If you are able to list every place a certain person has gone on vacation since the seventh grade, you’ve gone too far.

You have multiple Facebook bumper stickers from various people about your stalking.

This is a definite Facebook stalker alert. Yeah, one or two from your best friend is okay, but nine? And from people you hardly know? Let’s just make it clear that they weren’t just trying to be funny by giving you that bumper sticker gift…

You overhear someone’s conversation and already know what they are talking about because you read their wall-to-wall.

If this is you, try to keep it on the down-low. Don’t be the one who chimes into the conversation with people you have never spoken to in your life.

You confirm rumors you hear by checking the person’s Facebook.

For instance, you hear that two people have a “thing” and then immediately check to see if it’s “Facebook official.”

You see someone who looks familiar and then realize it’s because you’ve Facebook stalked them.

No, you haven’t met them before, so don’t try and convince yourself otherwise.

You’re on Facebook for more than three hours…on a Friday night.

Honestly? What else would you be doing other than Facebook stalking if you’re on for more than threehours? And no, Facebook chatting is not an excuse.

You know the exact time and date when someone makes up or breaks up.

If someone mentions to you that a couple has broken up and you are able to recite the exact time of this break-up, well, let’s just say the signs aren’t good.

You know a person’s weekend plans before they do.

Looks like you’ve been reading too many wall-towalls…

You change your interests to match that of your current victim.

Okay, let’s make this clear. The person isn’t going to ask you out on a date just because your favorite movie is also Superbad.

You’re mad about the new Facebook because it’s harder to “Facebook stalk.”

This should be your epiphany that you are a Facebook stalker because, first of all, most are mad about the new Facebook because it’s hard to adjust to the new formatting. You, however, are more concerned with the extra effort you have to put in to read wall-to-walls or look at pictures.

You have looked at the same person’s profile more than three times in one day.

How many times do you need to look at a person’s profile before you realize that you have it memorized by heart? Trust me, you do not, under any circumstances, need to make sure you are there when the person’s status changes.

Jacob McLaughlin

Does this sound like you? Here’s some advice that may help While some of these stalking habits may not pertain to all, if more than two of these apply to you, chances are you could be a Facebook stalker. Yes, there are varying degrees of Facebook stalking, some worse than others, but the facts don’t lie.

And the cure? So far, none exists. Seeing as most do not suffer from the disease of Facebook stalking, scientists have not made that a top priority. However, if you are really concerned, you may want to divert yourself to other activities, make an FSA club (Facebook Stalkers Anonymous) and, if it’s really bad, make an appointment with Dr. Phil.

He worked with Britney Spears, he can work with you.

— Shelby Christopher

What’s for

lunch?

Restaurant suggestions for the time-concerned

La-z Eats

Within one mile of WHS, these restaurants are perfect for anyone who wants to sit and have a good 20 to 30 minutes of chill time. No worries about being late to class, these are the regular hot-spots for students venturing off-campus for lunch.

McDonalds: Personally, I would be happy if I never ate here again, but that’s not the point.

Situated on Bee Caves Road, this purveyor of “fine foods” is cheap and quick — almost eerily quick. If it takes longer than one minute for them to bring your food out, then slap my momma and call me Bubba. $ Thundercloud: Affectionately called T-Cloud by its customers, this delicious, nutritious, “Austinesque” sub shop is a short ride away and employs a friendly staff. Caution: this place is commonly frequented by the UPS gang — a caravan of delivery drivers who insist on dining at the same restaurant as their co-workers. $$ Chipotle: One of the most popular lunchtime hangouts, Chipotle is an upscale Taco Bell, complimented by tantalizing soft tacos and burritos. Disclaimer: by comparing this to T-bell I didn’t in any way or form mean that you get diarrhea (common side affect of T-bell) afterward, I just meant that it is Mexican food. $ Texas Honey Ham: Two words: The Club. Also, they have delicious breakfast tacos. $

Leland’s Stinge-ometer $- Cheap, basically $8 or less. $$- You may easily spend over $10 here. $$$$$- Hello blood-clots!

You Need to Hustle

Art by Lauren Nelson

Frequented by those bored of the same old food in Westlake and the risk-takers, these restaurants either take longer to serve your food or they are outside the one-mile radius of the school.

Magnolia Cafe: If you’re in the mood for pancakes fit for the gods, come here during lunch. They still taste good even though it’s not 3 a.m.

P.S. Every day is a good day for Magmud. $$ Zuzu: Mexican food, mmm, and its name is fun to say. $$ P-Terry’s: If time permits, come here before journeying to Mickie D’s. These burgers are far superior to the latter. Also they make good milkshakes. $ What-A-Burger: Constantly pronounced “Water-Burger,” this fast food establishment is open 24/7. It’s basically the same thing as McDonald’s except that it has the Honey Chicken Biscuit, which is amazing. $

Askin’ for a Tardy

The title basically says everything, doesn’t it? Hokay, so either you have a severe case of the munchies and can’t take no for an answer, or you don’t mind being late to class.

Veggie Heaven: I’ve never eaten here before, despite the recommendations from my friends. My stomach yearns for blood and meat, but if you feel like eating green stuff, then plan on calling in your order from school. $? (I don’t know! How much can grass cost?)

Schlotzsky’s: I’ve visited this restaurant many times during lunch and it seems like every time I come back, I’m tardy. However the sandwiches and pizzas are scrumptious. Also they have those cool, circular blinky things that vibrate loudly when your order is ready. This object is very entertaining to babies, small children and me. $$ Fogo de Chão: This Brazilian steak house is awesome, however there will be no time to return to school after you gorge yourself. In fact, you probably won’t even be able to move. $$$$$ (50 bucks a person) — Leland Krych

P

Pompous

etroleum New gas station on 360 really pumps us up

In recent months, a new flagstone behemoth has sprouted up in the hills beside Loop 360. However, this does not imply, as you might suspect, a new development of overpriced homes, nor a cluster of unsightly office buildings. Despite its red tile roof, elegant archways and west-facing terrace, the structure is but a gas station nestled cattycorner from Davenport Village. Yet Tuscany @ 360, as it is so humbly entitled, offers much more than gas alone; it includes a café and wine bar as well.

I was intrigued by this interesting new eatery. Were the pretentious name and ostentatious architecture of the gas pumps merely for the sake of irony? Or do the people in Davenport really just require a latté and a fresh scone to offset the scent of petrol in their morning commute? Or have gas prices climbed so high that they necessitate a bottle of wine to soothe the pain of auto owners? Either way, I deemed the café worthy of an hour or two of my time to see what the fuss was all about.

Upon entering through the chic automatic doors, I was immediately impressed by the covered balcony overlooking the hillside, which seemed somewhat out of place with the fragrance of hot dogs roasting in their roller grills permeating the air. Yet despite my biases against the prospect of dining on coffee cake and an iced mocha amongst the gas pumps, Tuscany has accomplished a surprisingly pleasant environment.

The café section is framed by a large aquarium, and the eating area comes with a million-dollar view of the Texas Hill Country. However, the culinary options are somewhat lacking, as the café serves only the same coffeehouse staples that can be found at any of your neighborhood Starbucks, plus a few pre-packaged sandwiches and paninis. All the pastries are delivered daily from the local Little Big City Bakery and are rather tasty, but were not quite as fresh as I had hoped. The paninis and sandwiches were rather uninspired, and what claimed to be a “Traditional Italian Panini” appeared to be little more than bread and two kinds of cheese. For nearly $6, I would suggest looking elsewhere for a panini that is constructed with a little more care and a little less cheddar cheese. If you can’t find something to quell your appetite in the café, simply round the corner and you will discover a variety of provisions to choose from, including canned chili, Easy Mac and Mrs. Baird’s bread in the convenience store section.

If the fare is not to your liking, Tuscany does offer plenty of coffee drinks and a vast wine selection of more than 20 choices. The wines, mostly from California, range in price from a $19 Pinot Noir to a $40 Rombaur, Napa Merlot. The coffee, which my companion deemed “definitely better than Starbucks,” includes such options as a Tazo Tea Latte ($3.05 for a small, $3.85 for a large), a Cold Brewed Marble Mocha ($3.50 for a small, $4.40 for a large) and many others. When Tuscany first opened, the beverages served were Seattle’s Best Coffee, but the café was planning to switch to an independent franchise called Texenza Coffee. Tuscany is also trying to expand by getting slices of cheese and fruit cups to sell.

Tuscany also has the benefit of being the only gas station along 360 for miles; just another way to lure in customers who are driving in the bottom quarter of their tank.

As the restaurant has only been in existence since August, it is understandably still working out a few kinks. But I have faith that as the café becomes better established, it will be able to send satisfied customers away with a full stomach and a full tank.

Photos by Katherine Finn — Leslie Reynolds

Caroline Elizabeth Hunt

>>

X2

Two completely different students who just happen to have the exact same name

Sam Womack

More Caroline coincidences...

Robert: Senior Caroline Hunt’s little brother and freshman Caroline Hunt’s dad’s middle name.

Mary: Senior Caroline Hunt’s little sister and freshman Caroline Hunt’s grandmother’s name.

On April 1, 1994, in the city of Miami, Florida, I entered this world as an independent, healthy, 9 lb. baby. My silky brunette curls, brilliant hazel eyes and chubby baby curves were the simple characteristics that set me apart from the other babies in the nursery. Caroline Elizabeth Hunt, a simple, yet flowing name, was scribbled onto my birth certificate and there it would stay as my brand forever.

Until time moved on and I reached the beginning of high school, I was my school’s only Caroline Elizabeth Hunt. I was unmistakable.

It all began in sixth grade when the phone calls, invitations and confusion began. Me, being an immature 11-year-old, ran to the mailbox one day and found, to my surprise, an invitation to a Sweet 16 birthday party. I boasted in pride that I was cool enough to be invited to an awesome teenage party, until I realized that I had no idea who the girl even was. It must have been the wrong address, I thought, and I sent it back to the person who had mistaken me for someone older. This was not the last bit of mistake mail I received. One afternoon, an envelope arrived in our mailbox addressed to me from Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church.

The church asked me to help with activities during the Sunday service that weekend. First of all, I didn’t even go to that church, and second of all, I was too young to be babysitting.

I also began to receive phone calls. Teenagers with mature and intimidating voices asked for Caroline Hunt. That obviously was not me.

To relieve my own confusion, I decided to look up Caroline Elizabeth Hunt in the Eanes directory. Thinking I would only see my name, I confidently scanned the page. Unsurprisingly, I saw my name, grade and phone number. Nothing earth-shattering. Then, I continued on to the next name, and there it was in dark black ink.

Hunt, Caroline (9) was inscribed on the page. Not only was her name Caroline Hunt, but it was Caroline Elizabeth Hunt: my exact name.

A current of warm tingles filled my stomach. It was like a huge blow in the gut, in a “wow, I can’t believe it!” kind of way. What is she like?

What kind of stuff does she like to do? Does she know about me?

Years quickly passed by and the confusion lived on. I was now nervously entering my freshman year in high school, and the older Caroline would be entering her senior year. Coincidentally, we both took choir and attended the annual retreat at Mo Ranch. There, we finally met face to face over a get-to-know-you game called speed dating.

She turned out to be even better than I had expected. As soon as she knew I was the other Caroline Elizabeth Hunt she reached out and gave me a big, warm hug. It felt like I was meeting another part of me, a part that just happened to have the same exact name.

We have not known each other long, but already we are sharing the multiple funny stories over the confusion of our names.

“I was at my friend Catherine Clark’s house and I saw that her little sister Annie had received an invitation to ‘Caroline Hunt’s’ party,” the senior Caroline Hunt said. “I was a little confused before she explained that there happened to be another Caroline Hunt.”

To name just a few, the “other” Caroline Hunt participates in activities such as Hyline, choir, art and Student Council. She is also a National Merit semifinalist, which raised confusion as the announcement was made to the entire school. People thought that I, a freshman, had received this honor. Aside from school, Caroline takes part in her church youth group, attends Bible study and is active in an architectural mentorship.

Facebook is interesting when it comes to us Carolines. It is yet another complication. Some of my friends have accidentally added her onto their Facebook, and I myself have gotten some upperclassmen friend requests.

“I get confused when her status changes on Facebook. It always shows up on my newsfeed as ‘Caroline Hunt is [something that I am not/something that I am not doing],” Caroline said.

To know that you share a name with someone out there in this heavily populated world is a strange yet amazing feeling. To actually have the opportunity to meet that person is a moment in life you will never forget. Yes, the other Caroline Elizabeth Hunt and I have the same name.

But we are two different individuals, two different spirits, two different Carolines.

— Caroline Hunt

A dhab of joy Vegan-friendly café exceeds expectations

O

n the corner of 29th and Guadalupe, the place that generally catches people’s attention is Toy Joy. People unfortunately fail to notice Dhaba Joy, a funky and discordant bakery and café which proudly announces that “Yes! We are vegan!”

Upon entering this café, I had trouble deciding what to look at first — everything in the compact restaurant was screaming for attention.

Crowded around spindly tables and chairs too close together for my comfort were people sporting multiple piercings and tattoos, long skirts with even longer hair and a mother with way too many kids.

The knick-knacks in the store were even louder and brighter than the people. Vegan cookbooks, witty postcards, talking stuffed animals and eclectic cooking utensils were all crammed into this too-small space.

The café had a large chalkboard as a menu where they showcased the ice cream of the day and the newest type of hummus that they had received. The board also displayed the various smoothies with highly creative names such as ‘Monkey Me’ and ‘Red Buddha.’ I also noticed that they did indeed have dairy milk, though there was a picture of a sad cow near it, as though daring the customer to order it.

Despite all these oddities, I couldn’t imagine a better place to eat lunch. I will admit that the fact that the whole restaurant was vegan and organic did weird me out a little. I mean, sure, I eat healthy food, but I had never been anywhere near this healthy before. Plus, the employees behind the counter seemed to be far more interested in their own personal affairs than with taking orders — something that greatly annoyed me.

I took a deep breath and stepped up to the counter, leaning over the glass case that contained numerous sweets which looked normal, but I assumed they were just as “healthy” as the rest of the things here.

“Can I help you?” a woman covered in tattoos asked me in a bored voice. I had no idea what to order. Everything was new and foreign to me, the food was all made out of God-knows-what and I was feeling a little frightened. I decided my best bet was to order something simple, something that would be the same at any restaurant, vegan or not. I decided on a smoothie and an avocado and hummus sandwich.

“Anything else?” the tattooed girl asked, turning away from her co-worker who continued to talk about her “boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend’s dog”. I quickly shook my head.

As I waited for my order, I wandered around the little restaurant, playing with the wind-up toys and laughing at the various posters of Albert Einstein. I had plenty of time to browse since my seemingly simple order was taking a very long time.

Caroline Hunt Vegan soft serve ice cream is a favorite for vegan and non-vegans alike. The flavors include chocolate, peanut butter and a swirl of the two flavors.

Caroline Hunt

Dhaba Joy is a vegan cafe located at the corner of 29th and Guadalupe next to Toy Joy. It is also one of the few venues in Austin that carries gluten-free products, which are made with rice grains instaed of wheat.

When they finally called out my name, I was forced to go outside to eat as the inside of the restaurant’s chairs and tables were all still occupied. I sat down with my sandwich and smoothie and cautiously took a bite.

And, to my surprise, it was excellent.

The vegetables were, well, just vegetables, and the smoothie I had chosen tasted better than other smoothies I had tried, though it had a slightly different consistency. The hummus in my sandwich was one I hadn’t tried before, and I found myself loving that, too.

After I finished eating, I walked back into the café, which had cleared out a little, and looked around a little more before leaving.

When I did leave, I felt satisfied with myself for trying something new.

So whether you are vegetarian, vegan, a healthy eater or just plain adventurous, this little hippie haven is a great spot for lunch, or even a midday snack; just make sure to bring your sense of humor and your patience with you.

— Morgan Ridulfo

Caroline Hunt Dhaba Joy also offers a variety of vegan cakes, cupcakes, and muffins. The food is moderately priced —cupcakes are $2.50 apiece.

Caroline Hunt Eating gluten-free red velvet cupcakes, freshmen Rebecca Burt and Danielle Brown spend their Monday afternoon at Dhaba Joy.

[opinion]

Stuff We Like Treasure Math Storm

Our Native Friend “Officer Harmon! I need a status report!”

“We got an unidentified bogey walking within a mile of the Westlake High School campus sir!”

“My God! Do we have a visual?”

“Yes sir, it appears the bogey is wearing traditional Native American garb and is armed with a bow and arrow.”

“God help us all, we need an immediate quarantine of the area, and a lock-down.” *gasp* “A lock-down, are you sure?”

“I give the orders here, private.”

“Sir, this is a police station, not the army.”

Native American man: a harmless “Indian” proud of his heritage, or passé terrorist gone wild? Historically, there have been many raids on settlements in the past by Native Americans. Therefore we, The Featherduster, believe that Westlake needs to fortify its position in case of an attack. We have determined that the Native American man was actually a scout, sent to map our encampment.

What we need to do now is buttress the campus and arm ourselves with some of those new-fangled one-shot powder muskets. This is no laughing matter, or maybe it is, because we couldn’t stifle our glee when we heard why we sat in silence with the lights off for 15 minutes.

— Leland Krych

If you venture into the deep recesses of your mind, you may remember one of the greatest educational PC titles in history: Treasure Math Storm. While playing this game back in the early ‘90s, catching little elves with nets never seemed like so much fun. To top it off, the elves would not simply test your mind, but rather your soul, with their quizzical scrolls they would read to you. Who could possibly forget the tears and sweat those elves brought as they asked for the answer to 3 + 2 ?

— Lee Caffee

Sarah Palin

Have you heard the most joyous news? The superfine and extremely saucy 1984 runner-up for Miss Alaska, Sarah Palin, may be the next vice president of the USA! It’s about time that Alaska had a voice in the lower 48 with all they’ve been through. As many of you (or just some of you…do any of you know this?) know, Alaska, more specifically Palin’s hometown Wasilla, had a caribou crisis recently. But even with the responsibilities of running a huge town like Wasilla, population 5,469 (Will Wynn eat your heart out!), Palin personally took care of those Arctic cows. This proves that Palin has the experience and the passion to run a country. I mean, if shooting caribou doesn’t prove that Palin’s an experienced politician, I don’t know what will. Shooting a hunting mate in the face?

On top of it all she was the governor of Alaska for, well, I guess if you round up it’s one term. It just goes to show that anyone can be vice president if she works hard and then luckily has a rich powerful man whisk her off to Washington to gain women’s votes.

— Matt Frank

Michelle Ling

Georgia vs. Georgia Considering the great number of geography majors and buffs, it should be a known fact that there is actually a difference between the European country of Georgia and the U.S. state. საქართველო, or Georgia in English, is a country located below Russia. Georgia the state resides in the southeast corner of the United States. When news broke out that Russia was invading Georgia, confusion swept over Americans. Why were the Russians attacking us?

It turns out our Peach State is safe for the time being. While in our Georgia you may find yourself eating five pounds of smoked barbeque, in Europe you would likely be eating muzhuzhi, ham cooked in vinegar and pigs’ legs. Be sure to note these differences before you yell, “Those Commies are trying to steal our peaches!”

— Danielle Brown