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OPINION
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Back-to-Back: Block Schedule
Nifa Kaniga Opinion Editor
Let me tell you what I think about the block schedule. Plain and simple--I hate it. My right hand man JT Dahill disagrees because it works in his favor. Sure, it provides me with more days to complete homework, projects, and catch up on assignments I may have forgotten, but the cons outweigh the pros. The first problem I have with the lock schedule is the A-day, B-day, Flex-day stuff. Why implement this type of schedule when the period schedule is so much simpler. Go here, then here, and finally here. With the block schedule, alternating days break the flow of learning. Second, why do this and make class periods longer? It’s easy to get used to, but it’s tiring. When students are in one period for so long, days feel way slower, even though we’re in from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Third, the split lunches. It’s really not that bad, but it makes no sense and disrupts
the class schedule to drop everything and go to lunch. Lastly, the five minute passing periods cause many problems. Whoever did this must not understand the struggle of a single student trying to get to the other side of the school swimming against the current of a literal river of students filling every hall. People seem to forget that we have lanes. How does one expect me to get from the start of A-hall to the end of D-hall amongst thousands of students trying to do the same--in five minutes? This could be a school Olympic event. And if this is administration’s take on addressing lack of annual physical fitness classes, it’s not working out. No pun intended.
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JT Dahill
Opinion Editor Block schedule has been a big success due to the fact that it was implemented in a very well organized and prepared fashion. Sure, some students were confused a bit on the first day, but that comes with the first day of school every year. Students have gotten past that and are now getting into the routine. Of course, there are some who dislike block schedule for different reasons, but students don’t have to like the block schedule to be successful. My friend and co-editor, Nifa Kaniga, hates block schedule. He finds all these different periods and lunch schedules vexing. For instance,
Meet the Staff Editor-in-Chief Jaxson Thornton ‘18 Opinion Editor Nifa Kaniga & JT Dahill
Features Editor Jaxson Thornton ‘18
Sports Editor Jillian Shepperd ‘17
Entertainment Editor Nifa Kaniga ‘17
Online Editor Grayson Ruiz ‘18
News Editor JT Dahill ‘17
Staff Writers Emily Curran, Olivia Fletcher, Giselle Galletti, Alyssa Weinstein, Camryn Horst
he left in the middle of class thinking that he was extremely late to his next period. He came back to the room in a slump of embarrassment because he ran into his class only to realize that everyone was staring at him were not his fellow classmates. As close as I am with Nifa in our love-hate relationship, I don’t understand why he doesn’t seem to realize that the benefits of block far outweigh his confusion over the matter. For instance, block offers more classes to take throughout high school. This, in turn, allows teachers to teach less students during the day, giving them more time for individualized instruction. Furthermore, students have much more time in class to reflect on lessons and complete classwork given which reduces the amount of homework. Block also reduces the amount of material that students would usually need to reflect on throughout the day. Block schedule is a very valuable asset that can benefit tremendously should one choose to allow it.
Opinion
MyDSHS welcomes reader viewpoints through letters to the editor and guest columns. Opinions expressed in myDSHSnews are not necessarily those of the Dripping Springs High School or Dripping Springs ISD administration.
Editorials, Columns & Letters
Editorials express the opinions of the myDSHS Editorial Board. Letters and columns are the opinions of an individual and not myDSHS.
Letters
To submit a letter, email DSHSstudentmedia@dsisdconnect.com. Letters should be a maxiumum of 400 words. The letter is not guaranteed to be published.
October, 2016
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COLUMN
Preventing the BANG,BANG, BANG... Grayson Ruiz Staff Writer
It seems like every time I turn on my TV there is some type of shooting. Whether it’s a school shooting, a shooting at a business, or even a shooting in a Planned Parenthood center. It’s making people much more fearful about leaving high school and going to college because there’s no guarantee if you are in a safe place anymore. So, how can these be prevented? How can we, as a nation, not be scared anymore? Basically the only thing that pops into my mind is Gun Control. I’m not saying that all guns should be banned and that we should all dispose of them; it just makes sense for these shooters having their guns to not
have them. Eddie Garcia, a police chief from San Jose, California, states that he “agree[s] with the right to bear arms, but [he] equally believe[s] in the limitations that have been placed by our courts. One aspect that [he] find[s] interesting is that the Second Amendment was adopted in the late 1700’s. [He] wonder[s] if today’s modern weaponry were available then, if the amendment would look the same. [He] suspect[s] not.” The problem is that we mourn and we pray for about a week after the shooting happens. Many will come forward and say we will fight to change things and that this needs to stop. But we never actually
do anything about it. It has become a repetitive process that cycles over and over again. The process we can use to change things once and for all is something I’d like to call a “3 Step Plan”. First, we get rid of the loophole that allows people to buy assault weapons, such as AK-47’s. A law was put in place to ban assault weapons from people, but gun manufacturers found a way to change how many rounds you could take in an assault weapon, therefore going around the law that was put in place. Those types of weapons should be used for war, not for hunting. Second, we put heavy background checks at all gun shows. Many gun shows don’t even reinforce any type of background check, so any kid could go in and
purchase one. And third, treat guns more like cars. Everyone should have a license to have a gun, and if they hurt people with that gun, have insurance and be liable to pay for the damages of people or the area. The Sandy Hook Elementary shooting was one of the most horrific and terrifying shootings that involved the brutal murders of 26 people. The victims include 20 kids between the ages of 6 and 7, along with six staff members. These kids, who barely had grown up yet, were killed by a psychopath at a place that was supposed to be a place they could learn, grow, and create. Since that shooting, there has been 186 school campus shootings in America. According to a Los Angeles Times article, that means
“a gun has been fired on school grounds nearly once a week” which is both frightening and astounding. We can’t continue to live this way anymore. We need to put aside our differences and do this for the safety of one another. We need to take a stand and mean it. Nicole Hockley, whose son passed away in the Sandy Hook killing, claims that people “need to not just look us in the eyes, but look at our children and the lost ones and see those faces, see what’s gone and remember this isn’t just about political parties. This isn’t just about careers. This is about people. And this is about making change to save people. And it’s important to remember the people you are doing this for.”
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NEWS
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Entertainment
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The Walking Dead Universe Update Nifa Kaniga
Entertainment Editor October 23 is approaching ever so slowly, and with that, we get additions to our favorite series in The Walking Dead universe. Keep in mind, there are so many spoilers ahead, and Fear the Walking Dead will not be talked about as the second half of season two has already begun. You’ve been warned. In AMC’s The Walking Dead, season six ended with Negan’s sadistic game of eeny meeny miny get the life beaten out of you with a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire named “Lucille”. We don’t know who got pulverized for sure, but here are some original theories. Glenn: AMC’s The Walking Dead follows the comic book pretty closely, and Glenn is the unfortunate victim gruesomely beaten to a literal pulp. It is not 100% though, because the show has had some major deviations with character additions and removals, plot twists, and plot progression. Also, Glenn tried to be a hero so Negan could use that as a fatal example of what happens to the unsubmissive. Maggie: Facing pregnancy complications, it’s sad but safe to say that Maggie’s unborn child may be undead and eating alive at her insides, causing her the extreme abdominal pain, and giving her the bite. Negan himself even comments on Maggie’s half dead appearance and proposes to put her out of her misery, when Glenn steps in. Negan would have no use for a person about to die and turn, making Maggie a likely victim. Carl: Needing Rick to do his bidding, Negan can’t kill him. However, killing Carl in front of his father would break Rick down into subservience. This would show Rick the true extent of Negan’s dominance and his own existence as a leader meaning nothing. Michonne: Jeez...Did you see the intensity of the evil eye she game him?
Wouldn’t want to keep such deadliness around to bite me in the back later. Daryl: Causing a lot of problems for Negan’s henchmen, Daryl is a good pick. His death would break the morale of the other characters, bring justice for Negan’s group, and show what happens when you
so awesome, exciting, and will deepen the story’s plot. Even with the deviations, the show is still following the comics. King Ezekiel: A zookeeper before the apocalypse, his companion is a menacing tiger named Shiva—yes, a freaking tiger. He is the self-proclaimed king of “The
AMC’s The Walking Dead Season 6, Episode 16 Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan Chandler holds the group captive defy “the new world order”. Abraham: Judging the way Abraham looked at Negan, we can assume that Negan assumes what kind of character Abraham is—being the one able to defy authority completely because he is the boss of his choices. He gave Negan, the “might as well kill me now because I’m not doing jack for you, buddy,” look. Abraham’s boldness could be his killer. Eugene: Because he was breaking down. Negan would not want any weaklings in his community. Now, a lot of phenoms were confirmed in the season seven reveal trailer, that are
Kingdom” (I mean, what would you even do? He has a trained tiger) and a close friend to our delinquent buddy, Jesus. He also hates Negan, and in the comics, Jesus introduces Rick to Ezekiel with hopes that they will take Negan out co-op style. Did I mention that he’s Michonne’s ex? Whisperers: If you go back and watch the last scene of the reveal trailer, you see the status of Tara and Heath, who face off with some zombies buried in sand. Those zombies don’t seem to be the regular old walkers, and Whisperers aren’t to debut until season eight, with the show in parallel with the comics moving at a pace of
20 issues per season. However, it is possible because the Whisperers come into play and become an enemy to all within the war between Rick and Ezekiel versus Negan. Who are the Whisperers you ask? They are a colony of savage nomads who wear the skin of the zombies to blend in—acting exactly like walkers, but just as deadly with weapons as everyone else when in danger. This is definitely a game changer for the new season. Now, in the more interactive side of The Walking Dead, Telltale has confirmed season three to premiere late fall—whenever that will be. We last left off with 12year old Clementine, Kenny, baby AJ, and Jane on three timelines, depending on your decisions at the end. You ended up at Wellington if you chose to let Jane die by Kenny’s hand and stay with him, where you are turned down because the community is overpopulated. You ended up back at Carver’s community, Howe’s Hardware, if you chose to shoot Kenny to save Jane and stay with her. If you let Kenny kill Jane and chose to leave him for being dangerous and unpredictable, or shoot Kenny to save Jane and leave her because she was trying to prove her point by getting him killed, Clem takes baby AJ and walks out. After the nine days later transition, we find Clem in a field of migrating walkers. She guts a dead undead, smears the guts on her and AJ to camouflage, and walks into the herd. There are a whole lot of speculations in the reveal trailer of why teenage Clem is missing a finger, and who the man, Javier, is, his relationship with Clem, and why he and another walker he put down have a Capricorn symbol/76 burned on them, calling them “marked”. There are a lot of ridiculous theories out there saying that baby AJ died and bit off Clem’s finger, and that Javier is part of some cult or slave trade. Some even suggest that ruthless Lily from season one came back and has something to do with it all. We’ll just have to wait for October 23 to see how it all plays out.
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MYDSHSNEWS
Get ready for ACL 2016 Emily Curran Staff Writer
Live music: the all-time Austin attraction. With the exciting combination of popular bands, great food, and lots of people, Austin City Limits Music Festival is coming up quickly and DSHS is ready! Each year, ACL has many big-name bands and artists that attend and perform live on eight stages, active from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. each day during the festival. “I never look at the set list,” Maddi Newcombe said. “I think it’s fun to be surprised!” Although Newcombe and others express a desire to be spontaneously impressed, others will attend to support their favorite bands and artists. “I’m most excited to see Cage the Elephant,” senior Hunter Gentry said. This year, some of the top artists include Kendrick Lamar, Mumford and Sons, Radiohead, Willie Nelson, Flume, Band of Horses, and Local Natives. Even if you’re not big on music, ACL is also known for the food. “There’s a lot of food stands that are really good and I enjoy the festival’s atmosphere,” Gentry said. As it seems, anyone who has been to ACL once is bound to go back again. Newcomb and Gentry both intend to return, and have attended previous festivals. For all prospective ACL go-ers, tickets are almost completely sold out with some availability on Sundays. From September 30-October 2 and October 7-October 9, ACL Fest will bring thousands of people from across the country and several from our very own high school, who really enjoy hanging out, eating great food, and listening to great music.
The Spotlight on DSHS Theatre Alyssa Weinstein Staff Writer
The DSHS theatre department has high hopes this year, beginning with their first production, Noises Off. Theater director Rachel Koske is looking forward to this classic comedy
Photo by Alyssa Weinstein The theatre team practicing their British accents for their production “Noises Off”. that the team has wanted to do for a long time. “Noises Off will be the department’s big, hilarious jumpstart to this year’s lineup of productions, which include the musical My Fair Lady, The Laramie Project, and The Marowitz Hamlet. These plays will give the theatre students a variety to work on and at the same time will challenge the team,” Koske said. The Dripping Springs community can expect this year’s theatre productions to be better than ever with more extensive sets
along with bigger production values. However, now that the two leading stars, Joey Kelly and Trey Stallings have graduated, the school and community wonders how the theatre department will change without their high-level acting presence on stage, this season.
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Being a theatre teacher, Koske realized over the years that even though the strongest talent may leave, there is always new and young talent waiting to be discovered. The departures of Kelly and Stallings simply create space for new actors to make their big break. Who knows, we may see the next Joey Kelly or Trey Stallings reincarnated on stage this year. “The DSHS theatre department’s main goal this year is not to suck and most importantly, to utilize everyone to the best of our skill levels,” Koske said. She hopes to combine everyone’s different strengths and backgrounds to create the best productions possible. The theatre department’s goal for 2017 is to perform a play in one of Scotland’s great art festivals, but they must raise enough money from this year’s productions. Koske tells her aspiring actors to tell the truth. She does not believe that acting is pretending, as most people do. Her philosophy is to always be honest on stage; that is what the audience comes to see. “It’s hard—harder than what you think,” Koske said. “Acting is purely taking the mask off, and being truthful to yourself, and to your audience.”
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CREATIVE
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SPORTS
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Varsity football keeps their eyes on the prize for the 2016 season Jillian Shepperd Sports Editor
The Dripping Springs Tigers varsity football team has remained undefeated half way through the regular season. They claimed victory in their second district game, against the Seguin Matadors. The Tigers annihilated Seguin 56-28 in the most recent matchup bringing them to an overall record of 5-0. “We just need to be 1-0 in the next upcoming games,” Head Coach Galen Zimmerman said. “Our goal is to get better because we want to be in the playoffs.” With playoffs heavy on everyone’s mind, Zimmerman would like to see
the team progress and continue to stay driven and be supportive of one another. “Our goal is to get into playoffs and not to ‘get’ into the playoffs,” Zimmerman said. “We want to make a good run through it.” Dripping Springs hasn’t ever had a team that has played through December. “We’ve had playoff teams, good teams, but I don’t know if we’ve ever won 11 games,” Zimmerman said. The football team also beat Kerrville-Tivy before facing Seguin with a score of 26-7.
“This was the first time we’ve ever beat Tivy,” Zimmerman said. “It is really cool to be able to tell the guys whose older brothers have been through the program that they have done something that their older brother
Photo by Sophia Elizarraras, Staff Photographer
hasn’t.” While continuing to execute the game plan well, the Tigers will play their next conference game against the Lockhart Lions after a well deserved bye-week; the Lions currently hold an overall record of 2-3. “We cannot settle for ‘satisfied’,” Zimmerman said.
“We have to stay humble and we have to stay hungry.” So far being halfway into the season, everyone has been working hard together and making an effort. “This season so far has been wonderful,” Zimmerman said. “We have great team chemistry and our kids believe in each other.”
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Tiger tennis swings into the 2016 season Rylee Matousek Contributing Writer
The Tiger tennis season is in full swing and the promise of success seems very likely for the star-studded team. The group is currently ranked fifteenth in the state of Texas and plans to advance within the next few tournaments. Coach Cary Jackson feels very confident about this year’s team. “We should be moving up if we beat a couple of teams that are above us in state rankings,” Jackson said. The team is a combination of new and returning members, giving the younger players an opportunity to learn tips from the upperclassmen. “The team is a very close-knit group of kids,” Jackson said. “Our goal, like many other athletic teams, is just to get as far as we can and hopefully move on to state.” After winning their match against Marble Falls, 17-2, the team members felt hopeful about playing against Vandegrift, who they fell to 1-10. The team quickly rebounded, however, and defeated Cedar Park in grand fashion, winning 17-2. Nicole Cross, a senior on varsity, has high expectations for the rest of the season. “This season has started off really well for our team,” Cross said. “We worked super hard over the summer and it’s finally starting to pay off.” The team has already proved impressive to the entire community, but they are still finding difficulties in playing against such highly ranked teams, having recently lost 2-17 against Lake Travis. “We’ve been struggling with our district and state rankings,” Cross said. “We are tied for first in district and ranked fifteenth in the state of Texas, but every match counts and losing can really affect our rankings.” Despite how successful the team will become by the end of the season, their ultimate hope is to leave a lasting impression on one another. “I think our goal is to grow closer to one another, have fun on and off the court, and work as a team to accomplish bigger goals,” Cross said.
Photo by Ashtyn Bode, Staff Photographer Junior Jayci Goldsmith plays her first year of public school tennis on the varsity tiger tennis team.
Photo by Olivia Marklein, Staff Photgrapher Junior Cece Van Trease competes on the DSHS shooting team. Here she is shooting skeet at the Hog Heaven invitational in Dripping Springs.
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