The recently announced plan for AISD bud-get reductions dismayed

many teachers, including AP U.S. Government teacher Diana Bradley, as well as other school em-ployees. A couple of days after the budget cut was publicized, Bradley decided to give her AP Government students a chance to influence the political agenda by encouraging them to write letters to Diana Patrick, the represen-tative of the 94th District. “Many of my students are already of voting age, and I thought that this would be a good way to expose them to politics and raise awareness,” Brad-ley said. “The budget reductions may reduce college financial aid opportuni-ties and may affect the future of most of the high school students, although they may not have realized it.” The students had to write the let-ters so that Bradley could mail them in the proper moment, right after the budget reductions were made known. Bradley also gave the writ-ers some suggestions on how to construct a professional, persua-sive letter to a political repre-sentative. Here is a sample of student letters:

Students voice their concerns

thewarriorpostISSUE FOUR

APRIL 7, 2011MARTIN HS

ARLINGTON,TX

Government teacher Diana Bradley’s students become directly involved in politics

“If we cannot be taught the vari-ous skills to excel in specific fields, such as in career-based electives, then we cannot be knowledge-able and prepared for the kind of future each of us carries.” • se-nior Arooge Iqbal

“You have been praised for the improvement of education, and I trust you will be able to impact the budget cuts. So, let us disprove Friedrich Ni-etzsche, who said, ‘In large states public education will always be mediocre, for the same reason that in large kitchens the cooking is usually bad.’ I would like the $50,000 spent on a UTA park by the City of Arlington and the $7,000 spent annually to maintain it to instead go towards educa-tion.” • senior Abraham Lam

“The day that government cuts the education budget is indeed a rainy day.” • senior Michael Lau

“Martin is an exceptional school that we are lucky to be attending. However, Texas education as a whole is lacking compared to the rest of the country. Instead of asking for technology grants to put televisions in the cafeteria and getting iPads, Promethean boards and document cameras for teachers, the state should ask for federal grants to keep teachers employed. The money is available. We just aren’t using it in the best ways possible.” • senior Anna Liu

“The people of Texas, I believe, don’t realize that education is a domino effect – one thing affects another and so on – with nothing standing alone. And while education affects al-most everyone, other issues such as Medicaid and money for jails should be addressed before diving in directly to education.” • senior Melissa Bandy

Kate Clemens • Staffer

Victoria Chowdhury • News Editor

page 6…

“I have a cousin who is a teacher in Fort Worth, and I am worried about whether or not she will have a job next year. She loves her job, as most teachers do, and it really upsets her to think that our state government doesn’t care enough about education to find a way to save it.” • senior Dillon Dolejsi

page 24…

Why is AISD going through this budget crisis?We are going through a recession, and the state has not increased school funding since 2006. Texas has contributed $3.1 billion from the state “Rainy Day” fund. The district also has a Rainy Day fund to help the district through this time, though the school board has not yet voted on how much, if any, will be used. While the district currently has a healthy fund balance, they also have a deficit budget and has been dipping into the fund since 2006. District leaders believe that it is not wise to continue using the fund balance to pay for the costs.

How much debt is the district in?AISD has roughly a $10 million deficit. Add the state’s lack of funding, and it becomes about $38 million.

What are possible outcomes?Some possibilites are across-the-board layoffs including cuts in central office, reduction in insurance contributions, hiring and salary freeze, possible stipends taken away and larger class sizes.

What programs are being cut, if any? How many teachers and administrators are being cut?The plan announced March 29 stated the following: Programs being cut are

AISD budget shortfall explainedthe Success program, student affairs department and drug free programs. They are cutting six high school assistant principals, eliminating guidance techs, eliminating a receptionist at each secondary campus and two kindergarten teaching assistants per elementary campus.

What’s happening at Martin?We are losing one assistant principal, a guidance clerk, a receptionist and 18 teachers, though 14 are retiring or resigning and will not be replaced. Each teacher will teach one additional class period for a savings of $4.5 million. The district will delay IB implementation at Martin and Seguin high schools for a savings of $100,000.

Who decides what programs are being cut and the number of faculty and administrators getting cut?Superintendent Jerry McCullough and his staff make recommendations, but ultimately, the School Board decides how many positions will be cut at each campus. Campus administrators will designate which specific employees will be surplused.

How is this going to affect the district overall?According to AISD’s website, “with the devastating reductions expected in state

foundation and grant funding next year, we will need to make

deep budgetary reductions in all areas.”

What are options for teachers?

Teachers can voice their opinions to the Board. Many teachers have

campaigned by writing letters addressing

their concerns. Some teachers made the drive out to Austin to protest and

meet with state and local representatives. Teachers have been wearing blue ribbons to

bring awareness to the district’s current situation of losing faculty due to lack of funding.

For morecoveragesee pages

11 - 14!

page 8…

Sisters Susannah and Maddie Metzgercompeted against each other in Martin Idol

news

3Brains with

You can feel the heat of the fire, the flames licking the moisture out of the air around you, voices crying for help. It’s so hot, and the pressure to save lives is intense, and you have to hurry or the building will collapse. Then you stop daydreaming, and get back to your math homework. AISD is now offering a Fire Fighter Academy. This academy is a two-year double blocked class held at Sam Houston every A day. In order to join, students should talk to their counselor and fill out an application sophomore year, and applicants must pass multiple requirements. Students must have a GPA of 7.0 or higher, pass a physical fitness screening test and a criminal background check and be willing to commit to a two-year program, along with a few Saturday activities. The program is a dual credit class, and when completed, the student will earn four elective high school credits, and 24 hours of college credits. Coming out of the program, it’s possible to earn a Texas Commission on Fire Protection basic certification and an EMT certification. It will give students an early start on a fire fighting career. Juniors and seniors that are planning to go into fire fighting now realized how great an advantage the academy would have been for them. “The program could’ve taken a year off of college for me,” senior Bobby King

said. “I could’ve gone into fire fighting school a year younger.” The program is certainly not a watered-down version of a fire academy for high schoolers, but they will do the same kind of training that college level fire students go through. Some of the topics covered are: ropes and knots, search and rescue, terrorism awareness, ventilation, water supply and lots more. There will also be an opportunity for hands on training with live fire at the Arlington Fire Training facility. “There is book work where they learn the theory, but then there is also hands-on experience with everything firefighters do,” Coordinator Anne Miller said. “They will use the same protective equipment, ladders, ropes, hoses – everything firefighters use.” Like other dual credit classes, kids will receive both high school and college credit classes for free, saving students money for the continuation of college. By earning an EMT certification, it will give the opportunity to work in an ambulance right after high school. In addition, while you’re working as an EMT, the city will pay for your Fire Fighting school, saving students even more money. “It’s a great opportunity for students who know as a tenth grader that they want to be a fire fighter someday,” counselor Dana Bishop said.

brawnFire&waterFire fighter academy comes to AISD

Jacie Lewis • Opinions Editor & Emily Zerr • Staffer “We don’t have a lot of competition,” Literary Criticism competitor junior Victoria Chang said. “We are going to state this year.” The confident, enthusiastic spirit pervades through various UIL Academic teams as they prepare for the Regional meet, which will be held the weekend of Apr. 16 in Lubbock, Texas. The District meet was held March 25. Throughout the year, the participants tested their abilities at the several invitational practice meets. “I joined UIL last year because I am competitive by nature, and UIL is the only way I can use my strength in academics to compete,” sophomore Science competitor Benjamin Yang said. “I am serious about studying this year, probably because I really want to beat an incredible sophomore from Paschal who is possibly our biggest rival in Science.” The teams use different techniques to prepare for the contests. For example, the UIL Science team meets every Friday after school to review practice problems while snacking on a donuts. “One Friday evening before an invitational meet, a group of us went to Taco Cabana to eat and to study,” senior competitor Ellie Hozhabri said. “We all

UIL Academic Team veterans share anecdotes from their years of involvement

ordered loads of tortillas, queso and flautas and stuffed ourselves as we rummaged through the Biology book, stopping to study anything we felt we didn’t know. We had great laughs because some of our teammates tell many nerd jokes.” This year, the Social Studies team’s topic of study is The Final Frontier: U.S. Space Exploration. They are required to read the book The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe and study the supplemental materials, such as the movie Apollo 13.

“UIL is not just about studying, it is about having a great time with your team as well,” senior competitor Farhana Ganchi said. “During our study sessions we play games like Jeopardy and fire questions at each other. It’s stressful, but we entertain each other.” Meanwhile, this year’s

Literary Criticism team is studying the novel Pride and Prejudice, a play called The Hairy Ape and poems by Thomas Roethke. They meet every Monday and Wednesday after school to review the required reading and to learn a few more obscure literary terms such as “scazon.” “My way of studying is reading a little bit of the Literary Glossary every night before I go to bed,” Chang said. “One time, the team went to my house to study and we watched Pride and Prejudice three times. We can all quote that movie now.”

Kate Clemens • Staffer

Advancing Teams: Literary Criticism, Social Studies,

ScienceAdvancing Individuals:

Editorial Writing - Brooke SmithHeadline Writing - Ellie HozhabriPersuasive Speaking - Rachel ReinPersuasive Speaking - Matt LandryProse Interpretation - Catherine

White

4 n

ewsSpeak your mind

YAPA holds another dabate concerning educationA debate hosted by YAPA club was held Feb. 18 during lunch. Students discussed whether Creationism or Evolution should be taught in schools. Creationism is the belief that the humanity and Earth were created by a supernatural being, and Evolution is a change in

species of organisms over time, based on inherited traits. These students shared their opinions on the topic at hand.

Ashley Cunningham & Rowan Sharp • Staffers

“If somebody had anything that went totally against how Creationism is wrong, then honestly the entire Christian religion

would have broken down already. So if there is nothing totally against this theory, then how come you can’t put this into school education but you can put the theory of natural selection into school education?”

•junior Sara Doran

“Part of education is learning about real-world stuff. In the world, people all believe different things. To educate students for the future when they are living on their own,

you need to show them both views. I’m not saying they should lean toward one or the other, but they should simply state that the

possibility exists. You can’t rule it out.”•junior Hayden Haschke

“What we are taught in science classes are conclusions based on the scientific process: posing questions,

making observations. Nothing about Creationism has been found from those processes, so how can we

teach it in a science class?”•senior Anna Liu

“If anyone has read a biology book, they should know that there is an Atheistic, anti-religious spin to it. They don’t say specifically, ‘There is no God,’ but they allude to the fact that they think there

is no higher being, that there is nothing else. They put this in there because the people who write the books are Atheists. They do put their own personal spin on everything. We shouldn’t take

what’s in our biology book at face value, because they do put their opinions in it. I’ve seen it.”

•senior Joey Francis

“Evolution of one species to another species, like how we are supposedly descended

from apes, cannot be proven or disproven. That’s why I think that both Evolution and Creationism should be taught in schools so that people can decide whether or not they

accept it. People are put into schools to learn, to choose for themselves to solve their own

problems.”•senior Jeremy Sessumes

“This country is not based on the right of religion. This country is based on the freedom of religion: the ability

to choose things. But that’s the difference between the freedom and ability to have a religion and the right

to public education.”•sophomore Claire Griffin

NEUTRAL CONPRO

Sophomore Claire Griffin debates against teaching Creationism in schools. Freshman Maryam Khan and senior Kate Clements listen to the discussion. Photo by Ashley Cun-ningham

Senior Ellie Hozhabri ar-gues her opinion against the teaching of Creation-ism in schools. Photo by Ashley Cunningham

Junior Sara Doran argues that Evolution is just a theory also, so Creationism should be taught in schools. Photo by Ashley Cunningham

Junior Dalton Altstaetter argues that both theories should be taught in schools. Photo by Ashley Cunningham

5

Krissy Woodward • Sports Editor

‘She loved being a teacher’Faculty and staff remember Carol Potts

Her pets were her kids but her students were her favorites. Social Studies teacher Carol Potts loved teaching and being around her students. She worked hard with every student she encountered and made sure no one would fail on her watch. Potts went on medical leave right after winter break and was not able to return. She passed away as a result of multiple types of cancer. She had been feeling poorly for awhile, but insisted on still coming to school and teaching. After much convincing, she finally went to the hospital the week after first semester finals. There she was diagnosed with cancer. Potts entered a hospice care facility the first Saturday of Spring Break and passed

away within 24 hours. “She always chalked it up to old age whenever she wasn’t feeling good,” PAP World Geography teacher Sarah Scoggins said. Potts taught everything from geography to economics. She could work with any type of student and loved them all the same. She might even be the only teacher who could really handle good ole senioritis. “Carol worked well with seniors,” assistant principal Marlene Roddy said. “She did everything she could to get her seniors to pass.” Potts was from El Paso, where she taught for 25 years, but moved to Mansfield to be closer to her family. She started teaching at Martin in 1995 where she took Roddy’s Government teacher position. She was a worldwide traveler, and she enjoyed teaching geography, although she was teaching government and economics over the last few years. “Carol and I taught next-door to each other for 17 years,” AP Human Geography teacher Rhonda Pugh said. “She loved being a teacher at Martin. She was a very compassionate teacher and always worked with students who needed her

extra attention.” Potts was an animal lover. She kept cats, dogs, ducks and even a Koi fish pond at her house. She kept pictures of her beloved animals all around her room. “She provided a wildscape for migrating birds, and she loved her pets dearly,” Pugh said. She was not only loved by current students, but former students remember her quite fondly as well. With comments of praise and compassion, many students from as long as four years ago remember her. “She was always willing to help you out whenever you needed it,” 2010 graduate

Adam Joiner said. “The way she taught wasn’t like other teachers’ ways. Hers were unique.” A memorial service was held March 29 in her honor at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Arlington. Many faculty and students attended and senior, Brandon Tison, performed “I’ll Fly Away” on his guitar for her. Potts donated her body to science. “She was such a sweet woman who loved to teach,” senior Taylor Lawson said. “It’s sad to know she’s left us but good to know she’s in a better place.”

Snow make-up days set We all enjoyed the five days that we had off from school because of snow. But the rumors about how many days we have to make up and when we have to make them up are flying. So it is time to clear the air so everyone knows what to expect. The school district only has two days readily available to make up days. This doesn’t mean we can’t make up more than two days of inclement weather, though. “Every year we have to build two days into the calendar to make up,” Principal Melinda Reeves said. “This year the days are the Cinco de Mayo holiday on May 2 and the Friday after the end-of-year exams, June 3.” Because of the large amount of days that we missed because of snow, the district as well as most other area districts have applied for a waiver from the state so they won’t have to make up all of them. “I’ve never known the state to refuse a waiver for making up inclement weather days,” Reeves said. The reason that the district doesn’t want to make up all the days missed is that people have already made plans in advance for spring break and summer. The district doesn’t want these people to have to cancel reservations and travel plans so they have applied for a waiver. May 2 will be a B day, for two B days in a row. June 3 will be the A day final exam day.

Calvin Lemley• Staffer

Social Studies teacher Sarah

Scoggins is coordinating donations

in honor of Carol Potts. To contribute to the ASPSCA

in Potts’ name, see Scoggins in

room 205.

online

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6

Whether you’re going with your best friend, the love of your life, a mere acquaintance, or maybe

even your cousin, prom is an event most students of all generations look forward to their entire high school careers. With all the stress that goes into preparing for the night, we took some time to ask some veterans to share their thoughts on their experiences. Assistant principal Kelly Hastings went to school in Mansfield. Her prom took place at the old Cowboy Stadium. “My date had actually been turned down by another girl before he asked me,” Hastings said. “But we were friends so I went with him.” “I actually went to two proms,” speech and debate teacher Chris Proctor said. “I went to Martin’s prom with my best friend. We had always known that we were going to go with each other. The second prom I went to was with a friend of mine from Bowie, who became an actress and recently starred in the Paranormal Activity movies.” And just like finding the perfect dress, it’s important to arrive at prom with style. “My boyfriend and I had a limo already rented, but he found another limo in

some guys field out in the back woods,” public speaking teacher Michelle Fratto said. “It was raining that night and as we were on our way the limo broke down twice. His dad had to come pick us up from the side of the rode in his Buick.” “We just had to take his dad’s car,” Hastings said. “But don’t worry, his dad didn’t drive us to prom.” Teachers advise seniors to be prepared

for some mishaps and always have a plan B. “After our limo broke down and my boyfriend’s dad picked us up, we went back to his house,” Fratto said. “We had completely missed our reservations for dinner and we were starved. We had to eat leftover cold chicken and rice. I can still see it in my head when I talk about it.

It makes me gag.” Above all, during

the stressful preparations don’t forget to have some fun.

“Go with someone who will have fun,” Proctor said. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be a romantic thing. You don’t want to look back and not remember who you went with, like it was just the fling of the month.” “Same advice to the girls,” Fratto said. “And don’t tan the day of prom. You’ll be orange.”

Everyone is preparing to dance the night away at the biggest party of senior year: prom. However,

teenagers belonging to the church of Latter Day Saints, or Mormons, will go to their own prom hosted by their church. The LDS Prom is Friday, Apr. 8 from 7:30 to 11 p.m. at Celebrations Event Center in Highland Village. This year 400 to 500 youth are expected to attend. The prom is held in order to bring teenagers who have different values together. For these teenagers, there are specific differences in their prom experience because it is hosted by their churches. “The main differences between Martin’s prom and LDS prom is the dress code, music and dancing,” senior Janine Brannock said. “The music played won’t have any offensive or foul language, sexual references or meanings or promote violence. Dancing at LDS prom would have to be the biggest difference in my opinion since I’ve been to both. Dancing at LDS prom avoids any moves suggestive of sexual behavior, full body contact, etc.” An important aspect of the Mormon religion is its emphasis on modesty, which does not lose its relevance just because there will be a formal event. The guidelines for girls’ dresses are that

they need to be at least to the knee, with no cleavage or plunging necklines, as well as having sleeves that cover the shoulders. No halter, spaghetti straps or one-shoulder sleeves are allowed. Girls are permitted to wear a shawl or cover-up if they’d like to, but they can’t take it off. There also can’t be a lot of back showing on any dress. “The dress code for the ladies makes buying a dress tricky, but in the end you end up being more comfortable and won’t have to worry about any parts popping out,” Brannock said. “My first year I went, I bought a dress that didn’t have sleeves so I had it altered to have cap sleeves put on to make it modest. Last year I bought another dress that was missing sleeves but instead of getting it altered, I bought a little light cardigan to wear over it. I have already found my dress for this year that already fits all the dress standards, but I spent hours searching online for a modest dress that is actually cute.” While it may be more complicated to follow these dress expectations, the teenagers do not have a problem with it and appreciate the boundaries. “The dress code is perfect for the setting,” junior Aaron Black said. “The standards fit the setting and the standards of our church.”

While the costs for Martin’s prom can quickly add up, the Mormon prom is essentially free, as the only costs people pay is what they spend to get themselves ready. “In years past, each person attending the prom had to pay about $30 to attend, but this year the church is just paying for the whole thing out of its budget so everyone can attend, no matter their financial situation,” Brannock said. Yet with all this fun to be had, the Mormon teens are not ones to exclude. Many are inviting non-Mormon friends to come and join in the excitement. “This is my first time,” junior Sam Ravenscroft, who is not Mormon but was invited as a friend, said. “I expect a lot of classic dances, like line dances and basic ballroom dances. There won’t be any grinding or anything, but you can’t do that in any church-related function. I expect it to be a lot of fun.” This large event brings together the Mormon youth, giving them the chance to meet people and bond while having fun that does not contradict their

Kate Black • Online Editor & Oscar Araujo • Staffer

Annual LDS Prom holds teens to higher standards of modesty

Modest is hottest

Larissa Gonzales, Emma Bruce & Kaylyn LeFan • Staffers

Teachers reflect on their prom experienceBlast from proms past

Public Speaking teacher Michelle Fratto and her prom date. Photo courtesy of Michelle Fratto

Seniors Janine Brannock and Maile Kendrick with 2010 Arlington High School graduate Ariel McLain participated in last year’s Mor-mon Prom. Brannock, Kendrick and McLain attend the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Photo courtesy of Maile Kendrick

religious beliefs. “It’s fun, having people around you that share the same standards,” Black said.

features7

Academic Dishonesty includes but is not restricted to the following:• Taking someone else’s assignment or portion of an assignment and submitting it as your own.• Supporting academic dishonesty by providing your work to others, whether you believe it will be copied or not.• Misgrading work.• Using any form of unauthorized memory aid during tests or quizzes. • Giving or receiving answers during tests or quizzes. It is a student’s responsibility to secure his/her paper so other students will not have the opportunity or temptation to copy from you.• Accessing a teacher’s materials for the purpose of enhancing one’s academic status• Plagiarism. See below. Plagiarism involves turning in part or all of another person’s published work as your own. Students must use quotation marks and documentation to indicate words taken exactly from another source; ideas put in the student’s own words but from another source (paraphrasing) must also be credited to the original source.

New honor code adopted

Consequences of Academic Dishonesty:• First offense: The assignment receives a zero, and the citizenship grade is lowered at the teacher’s discretion. Note: A citizenship grade of C will eliminate consideration for National Honor Society or result in the removal from National Honor Society. Direct, verbal parental contact must be made.• Second offense: The assignment receives a zero. The citizenship grade will be lowered an additional letter grade, and a direct, verbal parental contact must be made.• Third offense: The assignment receives a zero, the citizenship grade will be an F. The teacher will contact the assistant principal who will facilitate a conference with the student, parent, counselor and/or assistant principal.

Teacher Responsibilities:• Clearly outline and define unacceptable academic behaviors within the teacher’s course.• Address the degree to which students may collaborate on the completion of assignments, making distinctions where necessary as to assignment types.• Clearly outline the responsibilities each group member must bear for a collaborative assignment or project.• Address the use of study guides (e.g. Cliffs Notes, Sparks Notes, etc.) in course work.• If a student has violated the Honor Code as outlined in the Academic Dishonesty section of this code, direct verbal contact with the parent must be made by the teacher.• If the consequence is a C in citizenship, the parent and student must be informed that the student will be denied admittance to or removed from National Honor Society. Likewise, if the student does not receive a C in citizenship for a violation, the teacher can-not retroactively impact the student’s consideration for National Honor Society.

•an essay•a paragraph•an idea•a phrase

Anyone, including •an author•a critic•a student•the internet•someone on TV

•writes out•rephrases•summarizes

It is plagiarism if a student:

by and turns in •all• part

of •a test•an essay• journals•homework•any other assignment

without appropriate quotation marks and credit

MHS Honor Code “Honesty is a value that holds each person to the truth, to tell the truth, and to defend the truth. Honesty results in fairness for each member of the James Martin High School community. Integrity is firm adherence to our values, with and without the presence of others. Respect is treating others as we would like to be treated. In an environment of respect, work we turn in as our own is our own. Responsibility is the quality of being ac-countable for our actions and accepting the consequences of our actions. The Honor Code is a physical represen-tation of the values that James Martin High School encompasses. At any educational in-stitution, a code of conduct must be estab-lished so that people, teachers, and students alike, know the proper way to behave. The behavior students acquire through their ac-tions is the most valuable gift they can carry with them after graduation, and it is the most valuable gift any educational institution can give. Formulas and facts and information can carry students only so far in life. True success lies in one’s desire to be good for the sake of being good – doing the right thing, even when no one is looking. The Honor Code is not meant as an imposition but rather as a standard to which all students and faculty should be held. At Martin, we push each oth-er to higher academic achievement; this code asks that we hold each other with the same rigor and passion in academics to a standard of integrity and of personal achievement.”

Committee outlines definitions, consequences for cheating

8

While in a class, the subject of religion might come up. The s a m e

religions are always mentioned: B u d d h i s m , Catholicism, atheism. But what about other views? Sophomore Amber Johnson has one that sparks interests in other students. “Wicca is a nature-oriented lifestyle and Pagan religion,” Johnson said. “There are the main components: earth, water, air and fire. It’s based on Karma. Do good, and good will happen to you.” Her family, which is open to many beliefs did accept her views. “My mom was the one who introduced me to it,” she said. “I looked it up on my own, and it’s on the dot with my own views so I just started the practice.” Due to the rarity of the subject, she is open to the common questions asked by classmates. Contrary to what most believe, Wicca is not in any way tied in with dark magic or any supernatural concepts of that sort. It is in fact a case-by-case belief system. While

WICCA?What do you know about

some are involved in a coven, a group with similar beliefs that meet, some are also independent. “For me, it is a religion and lifestyle,”

Johnson said. “I am not involved in a coven, which makes me an independent Wiccan. There really are no specific rules to follow. I just do whatever feels right.” When it comes to deities, there are some, but it also depends on the beliefs of the Wiccan. Some common deities do include the Triple Goddess and the Horned God. There are also

no specific rituals for Wicca, but some common ones

do include palm readings and candle burning. “Burning candles is a thing that I like to do,” Johnson said. “Sometimes friends ask me to do it for them. For example, if they’re having relationship problems, I’ll burn a red candle for them. Red signifies a healthy relationship. When it comes to my own use, like if I have a test coming up, I’ll burn a yellow candle the night before. Yellow signifies clarity of the mind, and it helps.”

Cristiani Fernandez • Staffer

Sophomore Amber Johnson shares her interpretation of Wiccan religion

What’s with......kids playing games?

up ...Student Council elections?

AVID freshman Jasmine Johnson participated in a “Minute to Win It” competition in the cafeteria March 11. Johnson’s task was to solve a cut-out cereal box puzzle under a time limit. “I played two games which were a bit challenging, but fun, in which I had to complete each within the one-minute time limit,” Johnson said. “I’m so glad I’m in AVID so I can do events like this.” Photo by Kyandra Irick

Student Council Officers for 2011-2012Student Body Officers:

Austin Taylor - PresidentMaddie Metzger - Vice-President

Taylor Whitworth - SecretaryTaylor White - TreasurerDrew Chasak - Historian

Whitney Jorgensen - Sergeant at ArmsSenior Class Officers:

Jarrett Way - PresidentNick Bisely - Vice-PresidentConner Trussell - Secretary

Doak Parks - TreasurerGracy Harmon - HistorianJunior Class Officers:Nico Garofano - President

Pearson Daniels - Vice-PresidentTara Schickedanz - Secretary

Blake Bishop - TreasurerConner Beene - Historian

Sophomore Amber Johnson is part of the little known religion Wicca. Photo by Meyer Wallace

...Gollywhopper Games?Key Club will host the Gollywhopper Games Friday night, April 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. in Gyms A and B. Key Club, DECA, AVID, Geo Club, Ready Set Teach, NHS, cheerleading, football, soccer, basketball, tennis are par-ticipating along with clubs at Boles, Young, and all seven feeder elemen-tary schools. The Gollywhopper Games will be a math carnival, free for students in grades K-6, but a school supply donation is encouraged.We’ll also have a spaghetti dinner in the cafeteria from 5 to 8 p.m.

Sophomore Pearson Daniels is sworn in as Junior Class Vice-

President at the Student Council Installation lunch March 30 at

Spaghetti Warehouse. Photo by Doug Murray

feat

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Wilma and Fred: Though it is overused, you and your honey will look yabba-dabba-darling as Fred and Wilma Flintstone. Fred’s brown-spotted orange garment can easily be made out of felt or another cloth and Wilma simply wears a white dress, big pearls and a bun in her hair.

Surgeon and nurse: Scalpel, syringe, party! For the intellectual couple, comfy scrubs and stethoscopes will make a couple costume to die for. (Wink, wink.)

Peas in a pod: These costumes also work for a group of friends if you and your other half are going with several people. Simply coordinate light green t-shirts with darker green jackets. But if you want a more elaborate pea, wear big light green felt circles on t-shirts.

Padme and Anakin: Luke ... I am your costume. If light sabers are right up your alley, don your cinnamon-roll pigtails and little tiny braid to become Princess Padme and Anakin Skywalker. If you’re going with a group, you could even incorporate Han Solo, Yoda and Chewy.

Girl Scout and Boy Scout: If you miss the good ole’ days when you were respected based on the number of cookies you sold or the number of patches you got at camp, you and your date could be a Girl Scout or Indian Princess and Boy Scout. Just wear your old uniform (except for the pieces you’ve outgrown) and salute your friends with the classic three-fingered gesture.

Robots: Beep ... Beep ... Be robots. If your favorite dance at prom involves stiff, bent elbows, a blank stare and systematic bending, you’re just the type for this costume. Hot glue bolts to a gray t-shirt and spray paint a box silver for your head. Cut holes out of the box for your eyes and decorate the box to your heart’s content.

Pigs in a blanket: If you’re feeling a little sleepy after prom, this might be the perfect costume. With some pink paint on your cheeks and a plastic pig nose, you and your date can wrap yourselves in a blanket and snuggle throughout Bahama Bash.

Lady Gaga and an egg: For the unconventional couple, this pop diva and poultry product will turn heads. Who can forget Lady Gaga’s one-of-a-kind entrance to the Grammys? After reportedly spending three days “incubating” in a fake egg, she emerged for her performance. The diva date should wear wild make up, a light blond wig and whatever crazy attire she has. The other date should wear a large white piece of felt cut in an oval shape attached to a t-shirt.

Snooki and The Situation: If your days consist of GTL and fist-pumping, why not be your idols for Bahama Bash? Guidettes, spray-tan up and cake on a few pounds of makeup. Don’t forget to sport “The Bump.” Guidos, gel your hair to impossible heights and wear ultra-tight shirts. If you want to go all-out, use a marker to get The Situation’s signature abs.

Katy Perry and Russell Brand: This costume is great for the admittedly unorthodox couple. Girls should wear a dark wig with interestingly colored highlights, bright makeup and bejeweled, vintage clothes. Guys should also wear a dark wig, 70s style clothes and have your date use a dark eyebrow pencil to give them Russell’s super thick brows.

Jim and Pam: If you love practical jokes and your ideal vacation is to the beautiful Scranton, Ohio, Jim and Pam Halpert will be perfect for Bahama Bash. This is a relatively easy costume to get. Girls, wear a black skirt and a button-down blouse and guys, wear your hair flipped out, a dress shirt and khakis. Carry some blank paper since

you’re paper s a l e s

people.

Angry Birds: If little green pigs are your ultimate nemeses and you have a favorite type of irritated bird, you and your date should be characters from your favorite app. Get a t-shirt the color of your desired bird and draw its face on the shirt using t-shirt markers. Add details with colored t-shirt paint.

Mario and Princess Peach: When you see a mushroom, do you scramble to get it in hopes of getting an extra life or that you’ll grow a few feet? You and your date will love being the lovely Princess Peach and the heroic Mario. Ladies should dress in a princess gown and wear a blond wig. Guys should wear a red hat, a fake black mustache and blue overalls. If you’re going as a group, also include Luigi and Bowser.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: This costume is perfect for a group who misses the magnificent television of the 90s. These costumes can be bought in a set or can be made by wearing light green t-shirts and putting different colors of cloth over your eyes. Kowabunga, dude!

Jesse and Woody: We’ve grown up watching Woody and Buzz save the day, fall in love and even find a new owner. What better way to celebrate our love of Toy Story than to dress as our favorite characters? You and your date can dress as Buzz and Woody, Woody and Jesse or even Buzz and Bo Peep. These costumes usually are best bought versus made. If you want to include your friends, they can dress as the dinosaur, Slinky, the piggy bank or Mr. and Mrs. Potatohead.

Puzzle pieces: This costume is cheap, easy and can easily be made into a group costume. Draw puzzle pieces in various shapes on t-shirts. This will work for you and your puzzle piece or you can make a whole puzzle.

Power Rangers: We all had a favorite ranger. This is again for the couple or group who loved television shows of their childhood. Unfortunately, the best Power Ranger costumes are usually bought. Go, go, Power Rangers!

With prom just around the corner, you probably already have a dress or a tuxedo, a date and a limousine ready to go. But don’t forget what happens after prom. Dressing up for Bahama Bash has been a tradition for years and many of us plan to uphold this custom. If you’re having trouble thinking of a

creative costume, here are some ideas. By Becca Ryan • Features Editor

What you need to know:Bahama Bash will be held at Martin from midnight to 6 a.m. after prom.Tickets can be bought in room 285B every B day until April 29 for $25.Checks must be made to Bahama Bash and you must have your I.D.

Combating

17 of the best Bahama Bash costumes for groups and couples

costume

cha os

Checks must also be separate from checks for prom tickets.

feat

ures

10 wayLovetheyou lieAlaina O’Daniel • Copy Editor

The Eyes Have It

Normally, you blink about six to eight times per minute, but under stress you’ll blink more often and more dramatically. How to use this: Make sure you don’t blink too often when you lie to anyone. Blinking too much will make people think you’re freaking out over something. Don’t look at the person you’re lying to for too long. Liars often overcompensate for being perceived as fidgety and focus too long on one thing.

Liars tend to cross their arms, legs or hands when lying. It denotes defense because the liar feels like the actual lie, and it makes them feel like they are exposing themselves. Hiding your hands, like in your lap or your pockets, are signs of deceit or untrustworthiness. How to use this: Make sure that you keep your body open, arms at your sides and hands open. Don’t fidget. People will think that you’re nervous about something.

Hands Up

When you lie, there is usually an adrenaline rush afterwards. The rush causes the capillaries to expand, making your nose itch like crazy. How to use this: After you lie, resist the urge to scratch your nose. It will give you away immediately.

Nose Goes

Lying. Studies show that people tell an average of four lies per day. Other studies show that men lie six times a day, twice as often as women. With as many lies as we tell, it’s no surprise that lying is down to a science. People have begun studying the body language involved with lying. Consider this a personal episode of Lie to Me.

special•section11

FACT

With Arlington and other school districts across Texas bleeding due to budget cuts, true, false and even some partially true rumors have flown around the school. Find out here what’s fact and what’s fiction – for now. Budget cuts are a work in progress.

FICTION CHANGES BEING CONSIDERED

Will teachers be charged for having a microwave or refrigerator in their rooms? This is a measure the board has discussed, along with the option of banning such appliances completely.

Not at this time. But the district has discussed firing two coaches from each AISD high school. This budget decrease could save AISD $642,000.

Will AISD be firing any coaches from their high schools?

Teachers with a probationary contract are any teachers who have been working for three years or less. As schools cut positons with teachers picking up an additonal class period, probationary teachers will be the first considered for these cuts. However, there will be no across-the-board cut on probationary teachers. Some probationary teachers hold positions in one-teacher departments that may not be replaceable.

Are all teachers with probationary positions going to be fired?

AISD has eliminated the positions of fine arts specialist and the fine arts clerk at the district level.

Is AISD firing any fine arts teachers?

No fine arts program will be cut completely, but budgets may be reduced from certain programs. The district is considering cutting orchestra and band only from elementary schools, but there are no concrete plans to do so. Martin’s programs will remain.

AISD is cutting certain sports programs from Martin.There are no plans to cut sports from Martin all together, but budget cuts are possible in any program. Also, one cut March 31 included the elimination of two assistant athletic coordinators at the administrative level.

As of now, AISD will not be closing a high school. A junior high was considered for shutting down, but that was not recommended to the school board at its March 31 meeting.

AISD will be closing down one of their high schools.

Martin won’t be adding the IB program any time soon.Bringing the IB program into Martin has been highly anticipated, but the program will be delayed due to the budget problems. Holding off on the IB program in Martin’s curriculum will save AISD $100,000.

AISD is cutting multiple fine arts programs from Martin.

AISD plans to eliminate their stadium rental at UTA, causing certain football games to be played elsewhere. This budget decrease will save AISD $99,000.

AISD will no longer have access to the UTA stadium.

AISD is reducing administration budgets with things such as eliminating six high school assistant principals (including one from Martin) and one junior high assistant principal. This budget decrease will save AISD $4.8 million.

AISD will be drastically reducing administration budgets.

Next year all teachers will be required to add an extra period on their schedule. Adding an extra period will save AISD $4.5 million.

Teachers will be changing their schedules.

Connor Gillaspia • News EditorSara Syed • Staffer

As a means to pursue the reductions process, the school board decided to delay the implementation of the International

Baccalaureate Programme at Martin and Seguin High Schools. This delay will save the district about $100,000 but also opened the door for potential and current Martin students to transfer to one of the four district schools that already have established IB programs. A district-wide meeting was held March 30 at the PDC to discuss possible ways interested students can work around the delay in this program, such as transferring free of charge to other campuses that provide IB curriculum. “It’s important for us to provide the most thorough information that we can to our students and their families about the varying locations that students can choose to transfer to be a part of it,” Young Junior High principal Roger Jones said. “It would be a disservice to our students and their families for us to attempt to manipulate their decision-making process.” Since transfers are being allowed for the sake of taking IB classes, some eighth graders have to consider move to a different cluster school if they want to participate in the IB program. Other high schools in the district are eager to accept students from the Martin cluster.

“I don’t want to lose our top-notch students,” principal Melinda Reeves said. “We have a strong AP program that’s really successful. We’ve got awesome programs here. Martin has always been an academic school.” Programs such as IB and AVID are paid with House Bill I funds which are stretched across all six district high schools. According to Bowie HS IB Coordinator Robert Allen, adding IB programs to Martin and Seguin would result in the district surpassing this allotment. “For right now [delaying IB at Martin] is the right move,” Allen said. “With that being said, I hope to see IB at all high schools because I believe firmly that it is a fantastic program that actually strengthens a campus. I believe that AP must remain strong at all campuses and run IB concurrently to do the most good for our kids.” Those students who expected IB to be implemented at Martin must now consider transferring to another high school that does offer it. One of the largest in the district, Bowie’s IB program has 72 IB students as of now, with 85 applying for next year’s program. “Every Bowie IB kid that has graduated in the program is in college and doing quite well,” Allen said. “Most received vast amounts of college credit even if they didn’t earn the IB diploma.” As of now, smaller IB programs do have some disadvantages regarding the availability of IB classes. If

IB programs were to spread to more high schools, this could add greater difficulty with scheduling. “Offering it at more than one or two schools limits the number of students, and therefore places some limits to the classes we offer and the scheduling of the classes,” Arlington High School IB Coordinator Brenda Gilmore said. According to Allen, an increase in the number of students in an IB program can yield better schedule flexibility, since there can be more sections of a class. “Increased numbers, up to a point, can only strengthen a program like IB,” Allen said. “Right now I would love to have any student who has a desire to push themselves academically to consider coming over to Bowie and joining our IB family.” However, an essential setback to transferring is the University Interscholastic League (UIL) policy. UIL does not allow students who transfer from school to school to participate in their competitions. “I can see where the line could get blurry when you have recruitment going on and kids getting on different UIL teams,” Reeves said. “You have to be careful.” Looking at annual accomplishments, Martin still holds a strong status in AP curriculum and scores, while providing many other successful organizations and clubs, especially UIL activities. “I hate to lose IB here, but I feel like our students are still being well served overall,” Reeves said.

Ellie Hozhabri • Editor-in-Chief

Delayed IB at Martin saves money, leads to transfers

Pay poor tax of $100,000

Get it right or Go To Jail

GameBudget cuts force AISD to choose their next moveon

Lauren Peel • Staffer Chemistry teacher Lydia Berry said she is now regretting her decision to leave her former corporate job for teaching. Berry is a probationary teacher. A probationary teacher is any teacher in his or her first three years of teaching at Martin, regardless of the number years of teaching experience. Due to the budget cuts, the possibility being laid off is looming over Berry. “I’m chemistry certified, biology certified and math certified,” Berry said. “They need teachers like me.” Statistics show Texas is number 49 in verbal SAT scores in the nation and 46 in average math SAT scores. Texas also has the second youngest population of any states, meaning that this could affect the future. “This is messed up,” Berry said. “And it’s the students who will suffer ultimately.” Teachers and administrators throughout the district attended a rally in Austin March 12. At the rally the participants marched to the state capitol. When they reached the capitol, superintendents, students, and teachers made speeches over the educational funding issues. “It was amazing to see everyone of all ages and cultures,” assistant principal Tunya Redvine. “People not even associated in education came to the rally as concerned voters.” The participants involved in this aimed to get legislators’

attention and to show them that they should use the state’s Rainy Day fund for education. The Rainy Day fund is money the federal government gave to states as cushion money for when the state runs into a tough spot. “We have this back up fund for a reason,” Assistant Principal Marlene Roddy said. “It’s a rainy day.” The goal of the teachers and administrators going to Austin was also to address the formula to finance schools that has been insufficient. Fixing this this will probably include increasing the tax base. Participants in the rally were trying to get legislators to vote to benefit education. “Unfortunately, free public education is not free, and we feel for our future and our children,” Roddy said. The effort put into rallying and sending letters showed teachers and administrators that the concerned public will not stop fighting for the education funding. “I think there is a big pressure to do these things,” Redvine said. “We will still keep doing what we’re doing through emails and holding public meetings.” The fight for the education funding has just begun and the rally was a way for the public to express their concerns. “I need to show my support for what is right,” Roddy said. “When they say they need to cut teachers, that’s not right.”

Advance to Congress Avenue

The Ready, Set, Teach program is not just a class to take if you want to become a teacher, it is a program that is double blocked and is an internship for students who are interested in becoming teachers as well as working in a field involving children. The students are involved with teaching Pre-K through 12th grade and can take the course for two years. At the end of the year, students receive a letter that guarantees them a job in Arlington ISD if they complete college in four to five years. “It’s a fun class to take for all of childrens’ aspects be-cause it teaches you skills about people and children, even if you don’t like teaching,” senior Chloe Chafetz said. The recent budget cuts however, are not expected to hurt the program too much because Ready, Set, Teach is in the Career and Technology department and has federal funding from the government. However, the future teachers’ jobs might be affected from the budget cuts since there isn’t enough funding to

support all of the jobs. So, how can they promise a job to people right out of college when they can’t afford the ones they have now? “I don’t know if my letter of commitment will be valid after college, since they are cutting so many teachers,” se-nior Garret Thurman said. “It depends on what classes I take and how I do in college, that guarantees my job.” The Federal funding is what supports Career and Tech-nology classes, but it also gives money to general funding if they need it for the department’s classes. For instance, the computers in a technology class can be replaced while the rest of the school still has the same old computers, because the funding is different and comes from a certain department. “I believe that new teachers will have job opportunities in not the next year but the following year because older teachers will not want to stay around since the work load will be more to handle,” Career and Technology depart-ment head Greg Patton said.

If you pass Go, collect $200

Kelley Duff & Jaimie Gisburne • Staffers

Budget cuts affect Ready-Set-Teach program

Teachers protest at the Capitol

12 sp

ecial•section

Imagine you have everything you could ever want. Now blink. It’s all gone. What are you going to do? This may not be something you think about on a day to day basis, but some people do. We all know that there have recently been significant cuts made in the Arlington Independent School District, and it has affected many of the hard-working teachers all throughout the city. Senior Caitlin Stringer’s mom Cindy Stringer is a Kindergarten assistant teacher at Wood El-ementary. She was recently told that she is going to be laid off at the end of this year. “My mom and I have a great relationship, and at the time, I was talking to her about college and prom, I could see change in her face while I was talking and I became deeply concerned. She then took my siblings and I into the living room and told us the news,” Caitlin said. This is an extremely sensitive situation. Think about it. What if your mom sat you down randomly and told you that she has lost her job and that things are going to change soon? Your outlook on life would change so much. Your everyday routine would change. “I honestly was stunned and it didn’t hit me until I was driving to show choir when I started crying,” Caitlin said. “Since then, it has given me a new outlook on life. Things can happen to anyone and I realize that now. I am more

careful with my money, and it has made me appreciate what you have because any day it could be easily taken away. Really, I put all my trust in God because I know he has a plan for my mother and my family.” It not only has affects on your everyday life, it also affects your home life as well. Family time becomes more precious than everything at this point. It’s the most important thing you have. “We have become more supportive of each other,” Caitlin said. “I have found my siblings and I are working more as a team, whereas before we were always against each other. We just want to create a ‘stress free’ environment for our parents.” Stringer’s mom is now trying to move on, and is con-stantly applying for new jobs. “This year, instead of Caitlin being in the limelight of our year, our focus is on a job for me and our finances,” Cindy Stringer said. This is just one family that has been effected by the cuts. There are many others across the district that are worried about what they are going to do for the future and how not only their lives, but their families lives are going to change as well. Imagine you have everything you could ever want. Now blink. It’s all gone. Now what are you going to do?

Alyson Smedley • Designer

Pay school tax

The word “reductions” has been buzzing around campus for several weeks, but many are not familiar with what exactly these eliminations are. In 2006, House Bill I reduced property taxes from $1.50 to $1, proposing that business tax would cover the difference to not affect schools. However, with a downgraded economy, Texas’s debt has increased due to the resulting failure of this bill. “We’re receiving the same funding now as we were in 2006,” superintendent Jerry McCullough said. “But education cost has gone up.” The majority of the reductions lies in the elimination of staff members throughout the district. This is due to the fact that 89 percent of the district budget accounts for payroll. Those who will not be teaching next year must be notified 45 school days before the end of this year, which falls around April 18. “Just by the teachers teaching an additional period a day we’ll lose 18 people,” principal Melinda Reeves said. “I can’t really imagine anything worse than that.” But 14 teachers have announced they will retire or resign at the end of this school year, leaving only about four teaching positions that will need to be cut at Martin. Communication between cluster school communities is a significant way of uniting the parents and administrators to explain the progress of the reduction process, such as the “Power of Ten” Townhall Meeting March 2.

“I think it went well,” calculus teacher Katherine Lambert said. “There were some things about the 2006 Bill I was unsure about, which were cleared up at the meeting.” A present consideration is to find other methods to raise the money so that the number of job losses can be reduced. In order to reduce the potential amount of second round of reductions, the district is promoting a tax ratification election to take place. This election would be for raising the taxes to relieve the debt by $33 million. The tax paid presently is $1.04, but the maximum is $1.17. “If we could get those extra 13 cents, that could really help,” Reeves said. The problem with the election is that the earliest it can be held will be around Jun. 18, when the last day of legislation is May 31. A group of administrators and teachers went to the capitol at Austin March 12 for a rally. Other methods for parents and students of voting age are emailing and sending letters to the legislators. “Bottom line: it’s not too late to get our proposed funds back,” AISD rally organizer and Boles prevocational teacher Melody Soroka said. “It will take our legislators hearing from us and parents, as well others citizens. Please do not give up. Gear up.” To promote awareness, a Blue Ribbon Campaign is being held. Students, parents, teachers and other AISD faculty members wear the ribbon as a way of saying “save our schools.”

Make general repairs on all your propertyEllie Hozhabri • Editor-in-Chief

Cuts hit close to home for student, parent

Cuts hit Martin – 18 teachers will not be replaced

13special•section

Educationempowers

Mimi Larkin • Music Theory Teacher

Teacher expresses her personal view of budget cuts, priorities and education spending

When our students are hurt-ing for whatever reason, care-fully we pat them on the back

(knowing they actually need a hug), si-lently praying we will not be reported, or worse, lose our job for “touching a stu-dent.” The teacher cautiously observes as a spir-ited class discussion of religion evolves. Even though “God” is a part of this great country, as teachers we must be very care-ful (“politically correct” one might say) during this lively discussion, or we could lose our jobs. We probably should just step back and let the class have their own dis-cussion. Austin is “scissor happy.” Let’s cut this! Let’s cut that! Our classroom budgets will be cut more. As usual, we can and will handle this as we always do. Martin isn’t just a high school, it is a family, and it is a way of life. As teachers, we help each other. We share our supplies. We encourage each other. We stand united. We can do this. Educa-tion empowers! It seems Austin begrudges our huge $50,000 salaries, from which we so generously purchase needed items for our classrooms and donate to those less fortunate. “Scissor-happy” Austin suggests we slash probationary teachers. As our students are our future, our probationary teachers are our educational future. In just a few years, when the now veteran teachers have retired, these bright, exuberant, intelligent probationary teachers will not be present to step forward to become the needed vet-eran teachers of tomorrow. They will have moved forward. They will probably be in the corporate world making a lot more money and will not be coming back into education. What a sad day for education! Those were the teachers who taught with heart. Education empowers! Our politicians do not seem to know, nor probably care, that for some students, school is their only warm, safe refuge. Their teachers are the only adults in their lives who offer encouragement, care, guid-ance, laughter, a pat of reassurance, kind-ness, interest, set needed boundaries, and demand their best and their excellence. These same students will try their best, in the face of life’s adversity, to meet the bar of excellence – their bar of excellence be-cause they know there is that special teach-er who loves them and expects their best. They don’t want to disappoint that teacher because they love that teacher in return. We all had that special teacher at some point in our lives, even if we weren’t one of those students who never knew where their next meal was coming from or where they might sleep each night. As always, it comes down to MONEY and POWER. Whoever has the money has the power and usually (not always, but usually) wants more power and more money. Everything we do in life comes down to money. It is not about what is

best for education, or what is best for stu-dents, or what is best for teachers. You ask what affects all of this has on me? I may lose my job along with thou-sands of other teachers across our great state of Texas. Do I have the answers or solutions to these issues? No. As many of you, I have ideas and opinions I have shared with our campus representatives. We have sent letters to our senators and representatives, but way down deep in my heart, I wonder if it really makes a dif-ference. I want to think it does, but I’m just one person. Do they really care what I think? Most likely, they do not. They do not care that I pour my heart and soul into my students and what I teach. They do not care about all the extra time I spend trying to make lesson plans better and easier for students to under-stand. I shouldn’t speak in first person, I should say “we.” They don’t care about the hours we spend writing college recommendation letters, sponsoring campus organizations, tutoring before school, during lunch, after school, talking with parents, study-ing, preparing students for different UIL competitions, Standardized Testing, etc. Will I stop doing these things? No, be-cause I am a teacher. I teach with heart. And … education empowers! There are many people who have viable answers and solutions to the educational issues we are facing. The people in Austin are going to wait until they have almost completely choked all the life from of us and we are trying to raggedly draw in our last shallow breath before they agree to pass some kind of sales tax, we have a TRE or someone actually decides it’s “raining.” They say they want what is best for our children. I don’t believe them. They want what is best for their pocketbook and what will get them re-elected. Tech-nically, that is the same thing and takes us back to the money and power issue. I wish just once in my lifetime, someone I have voted for would actually fulfill their campaign promises. We teach because we love to teach. We have a gift of knowledge to share with our students. It is a gift they take with them for the rest of their lives. We could have had other careers, but we chose to teach. We chose to teach because we see and understand the value of young people. We teach with HEART. We teach with LOVE. We teach with PATIENCE. We teach with a SENSE OF HUMOR. We teach with HONOR. We teach with INTEGRITY. How many corporate ca-reer people actually work day after day, year after year, with the qualities that we maintain for a lifetime in the classroom? We teach with HEART! I love to teach. I love this school. I love James Martin High School. I love these students. I love what I teach. I am a GREAT teacher. I teach with HEART! Education empowers!

Purchased with teachers’ own money:

$ Chalk $ Paper $ Erasers $ Paper clips $ Scissors $ Glue $ Tape $ Notebooks $ Rulers $ Pencils $ Kleenex $ Staples $ Highlighters $ Rubber bands $ Internet cables $ Internet hubs $ White out $ Band Aids $ Sticky notes $ Hand Sanitizer $ Spiral notebooks $ Given lunch money to students $ Paid for AP Tests $ Taken up a collection because little Johnny needs a coat $ Taken up a collection because a student’s family suffered from a house fire or a flood $ Teachers make donations to almost everything the leadership classes sponsor $ The list goes on

14special•section

eleanor•grace•martin

15

Each year the faculty nominates eight seniors to recognize citizenship, leadership and

commitment. Seniors will vote on one boy one one girl to receive the Eleanor Grace Martin

Award on April 13 and 14. Winners will be announced at the Senior Awards Assembly May 18.

Eleanor Grace MartinAwards

Maken-zie JordanWhat are your

plans for the future?

Attend University of Arkansas and major in psychology then Masters at UNT and become a family and abused children’s counselor

What is something most people don’t know about you?I love to travel and do missions. I hope to go to Africa.

What clubs and activities are you in?Varsity Volleyball Captain, Varsity Golf, NHS, Student Council

What kind of imapct do you think you made on Martin?I have tried to invest in teens and showing them that they have a say and can do what they want in a constructive way.

Collin GaineyWhat are your plans for the future?

University of Arkansas and studying pre-med for ER surgery.

What is something most people don’t know about you? I write poetry.

What clubs and activities are you involved with?Public Speaking Club President, Student Body Vice President, Homecoming King, and Mr. MHS all four years.

What kind of impact do you think you made on Martin?I’ve made a positive impact because I set a high standard of excellence and I brought together different cliques to form one super awesome charismatic senior class – 2011.

Russell BellomyWhat are your plans for the future?

Football Scholarship to Michigan

What is something most people don’t know about you? I have high expectations from my parents because my sister went to Harvard.

What clubs and activities are you involved with?Spanish NHS, Key Club, Sports camp

What kind of impact do you think you made on Martin?A positive impact. I want to be thought of as more than a football player.

Nikki MadukaWhat are your

plans for the future? Rice University on a full ride basketball scholarship and major in biology because I want to go to medical school and be-come a psychiatrist.

What is something most people don’t know about you? I’m 16. I skipped kindergarten.

What clubs and activities are you involved with?Key Club Treasurer, Co-President of MCA, NHS, Spanish NHS

What kind of impact do you think you made on Martin?I think I’ve made a positive impact on the basketball court, the classroom, and in the MHS community by becoming a selfless leader and striving to do my best even when I want to give up.

Iman Session-BrownWhat are your

plans for the future?Dual major in philosophy and commu-nications, minor in Spanish and business and then pursue a law career.

What is something most people don’t know about you?I am not as mean as I look.

What clubs or activities are you involved in?MCA, NHS, SNHS, Key Club, YAPA, Spanish Club, Richard Greene Internship

What kind of impact do you think you made on Martin?By being a compassionate person, I have helped create a better atmosphere at Martin, and created a positive influence on other African-American women.

Ryan WilliamsWhat are your plans for the future?

I plan on attending Texas Tech University as a business major.

What is something most people don’t know about you?I have a slight obsession with the color yellow.

What clubs and activities are you involved with?NHS, Key Club, Physics Club, Seekers, Spanish Club and Ping Pong Club.

What kind of impact do you think you made on Martin?I hope I have encouraged younger stu-dents to continue to work hard, and do their best at everything they do.

Grant DanielsWhat are your plans for the fu-ture?

Texas A&M to pursue a telecom media degree. Then maybe go into the mission field and be a freelance photographer.

What is something most people don’t know about you?I always stop for two seconds at stop signs and I have a whistle that I blow when cars don’t stop.

What clubs and activities are you involved with?Senior student body president, Stu-Co, Seekers, Key Club, Site-Based Commit-tee, D.A.S.H. and S.O.A.R.

What kind of impact do you think you made on Martin?I lead by example. Through that example I really hope I lead with integrity and boldness. I hope I showed people you can have fun in high school without making bad decisions.

Camry TardyWhat are your plans for the future?I’m going to TCU

or Tech for business school. I might start a bakery or possibly go to culinary school.

What is something most people don’t know about you?I really like to cook.

What clubs and activities are you involved with?Captain of the golf team, Stu-Co, NHS, Ping Pong secretary, SNHS and Spanish Club.

What kind of impact do you think you made on Martin?I’m a positive role model that portrays leadership qualities, and I think I’ve made an impact on golf by showing the girls that you have to practice really hard and work for what you believe in.

... photos by Rachel Fiorella

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Staffers:Lauren Aguirre, Savannah Anderson, Oscar Araujo, Kendra Brown, Emma Bruce, Katy Burley, Meghan Cabra, Kaitlyn Caprio, Kate Clemens, Kim

Clower, John Crowley, Ashley Cunningham, Emma Cuppett, Emily

Dalton, Brittany Daniels, Kelley Duff, Cristiani Fernandez, Katy Fitzgerald,

Lauren Florence, Samone Franklin, Susie Gibson, Taylor Gillum, Jamie

Gisburne, Larissa Gonzales, Jessyca Hernandez, Rachel Hodnett, Kyandra Irick, Taryn Jacobson, Kaylyn Lefan,

Calvin Lemley, Faith Lewis, Susie Machi, Sara Mancha, Brooke

Marquis, Doug Murray, Jordan Pasayan, Paige Patterson, Lauren Peel, Victoria Powers, Rowan Sharp, Maddy

Smith, Sara Syed, Meyer Wallace, Emily Zerr

Ellie Hozhabri Editor-in-Chief

Kate Black Online Editor-in-Chief

Alaina O’DanielBrooke Smith

Copy Editors

Victoria ChowdhuryConnor Gillaspia

News Editors

Lauren FlorenceJacie Lewis Opinions Editors

Tamlin JenningsEntertainment Editor

Courtney ReilBecca RyanFeatures Editors

Addie TrammellKrissy Woodward

Sports Editors

Rachel Fiorella Photo Editor

Susie ChungAlyson Smedley

Designers

Laurel GregoryStaff Artist

Tricia RegaladoAdviser

Melinda ReevesPrincipal

James Martin High School4501 W. Pleasant Ridge Dr.

Arlington, TX 76016

thewarriorpost

The Warrior Post is the official monthly pub-lication of Martin High School. As a public forum, we will publish letters to the editor as space allows. Letters must be signed, but names may be withheld. Opinion columns represent the opinion of the Warrior Post or of Martin High School. The Warrior Post will not accept advertisments for products or ser-vices not legally available to students. The Warrior Post is a member of ILPC, TAJE and Quill and Scroll and a recipient of both the Silver and Bronze Star Awards.

staffeditorial

To set the facts straight, senior Jeff SoRelle, who had been taken out of the state championship hockey game

beforehand, jumped onto the ice after one of his teammates got into a scuffle with a Keller player towards the end of the state finals game. As he was approaching the fight, another Keller player hit SoRelle

Reconsider cuts to Fine Arts programsLost in themusic

Brooke Smith • Copy Editor

“Tradition of Excellence.” This banner is proudly displayed in our fine arts class-rooms, and rightly so. Martin’s award-winning history in all music departments – band, choir and orchestra – has been a source of pride for hundreds of students. The music department was crowned with a Grammy in 2009 and had 15 all-staters this year. The Chorale choir had the honor of singing at the Meyerson Feb. 21. The Symphony orchestra placed third in the state in the fall and continues to earn sweepstakes at UIL every year. Marching band travels the state competing, and the Wind Symphony placed sixth in the state last year. But our continued legacy was nearly crippled by potential budget cuts. In ef-fort to reduce spending in AISD, one re-

duction being considered was to eliminate fifth- and sixth-grade orchestra and sixth-grade band in elementary schools. Thankfully, at the March 31 school board meeting, members decided to remove these fine arts programs from their list of proposed items to be cut. For now. And they definitely made the right decision. We would have suffered a significantly loss here at Martin if these programs were cut. Elementary instruction is the foundation of our superior fine arts programs, and if that foundation is pulled out from under-neath us, our tradition of excellence will collapse. Our high school directors love to rec-ognize their colleagues who teach at the elementary and junior high levels. At con-certs for example, these teachers’ names are listed in the program to recognize the instruction they provide for students be-fore entering Martin. Our directors really mean it when they say “we couldn’t do it without them.” Teachers at the junior and high school levels depend on this early instruction so that they will be able to build on previous skills rather than be forced to teach the ba-sics of playing an instrument. Taking away this foundation would hinder them from achieving everything that they do now. It would keep them from excelling in state-

wide competitions and elevating their stu-dents to a standard of which they can be proud. Fine arts cannot be looked at as merely an elective for enjoyment and to give us kids something to busy ourselves with. It is much more valuable than that. Take, for instance, the Renaissance, a pe-riod where the arts flourished. Do histo-rians reflect on this era as a waste of time, money and talent? No, of course not. It’s rather known as one of our more respect-able moments in human nature, especially when compared to the Dark Ages just be-fore. Fine arts should not be deemed less wor-thy than academics or sports in finance. Yes, all programs are experiencing some form of budget cut, but the notion of tak-ing away band and orchestra from elemen-tary kids would have been completely ir-rational. So thank you, AISD board of trustees for remembering the arts. I recognize that budget cuts are imperative, but by spread-ing out the pain of them more evenly across programs instead of focusing on one, you prevented the collapse of our sublime programs. By choosing to not re-move their foundation, Martin’s fine arts no longer have to worry about becoming irreversibly impaired.

from behind, hard enough to break his jaw and knock him uncon-scious.

Videos of the incident being shared across both the news and Facebook

have inflated harsh opinions about the fight. Such fervent propositions

like sending the Keller student to jail for assault or placing mul-tiple players of both opposing teams on probation have been

rumored. Although the result of the fight may have been more se-

vere than others, fights on the ice are a common occurrence in hockey. The drama surrounding

the game is overblown, aided in part by the media’s coverage. If

the fight had not been caught on camera it would have not blown up into the mon-ster it is now. All the apologies would have not been neccessary without help from the media to blow up the public’s opinions. Parents and administrators feel that the fight is an embarrassment to school’s sportsmanship although hockey is not a UIL sanctioned sport and is not purely a Martin team. Students from around the city play on the “Martin” team but we get the blame because our name is on their jer-

seys. (We’ve also gotten the credit

over the years for the team’s success.) Students here don’t feel the same humili-ation but more sympathize with SoRelle. On top of losing the game and ending up with his jaw wired shut, SoRelle will still face consequences from USA Hockey and the local Texas Amateur Hockey Associa-tion. The hockey team, while still the War-riors, will no longer be permitted to use the Martin name or MHS emblem even though it consists mostly of Martin play-ers. Changing the name will not make the situation disappear or clean the stain wrongfully left on our reputation. The Martin hockey team has gotten physical before, although never to this ex-tent of severity or coverage, there has never been this much public disapproval. That’s unfortunate. We all need to remember that Martin is a big school, represented by more than 3,500 students, some of whom act won-derfully and some of whom act irrespon-sibly. And we also need to remember not to base our opinion of Martin and its stu-dents on what we see in the media. Get the facts, be rational and think for yourself.

Leave it on the

iceHockey fight’s publicity leaves bruises on our reputation

17opinions

By now most of us have heard in some way or another about the budget cuts for school districts throughout Texas. The State Legislature is planning to cut about $4.8 billion in state aid to schools because of a budget gap. Some of the things that make this state great are what is hurting us as students. The low spending by our state government, low taxes for people with upper level incomes, and low housing prices are all things that Texas residents enjoy. But at what cost? While the leaders of Texas in Austin may not be spending much, that means that students aren’t receiving much. This accounts for Texas’ place as 43rd out of 50 in state rankings dealing with high school graduation percentage. This all leads back to someone. First elected in 2000, Governor Rick Perry has been praised for many of his policies and his stance as a fiscal conservative. Yet fiscal conservatism doesn’t always work and can’t be expected to. From 2004 to 2010, Perry went on 23 foreign trips, both personal and as the governor. The state paid one percent of the expenses, but when it comes to security details the state spent over $1 million in state money. Just last year, Perry refused an $830 million dollar federal education grant, arguing that it would violate the Texas Constitution. Then, when he finally agreed to accept the federal funds, Perry instead used it for the Texas Enterprise Fund. It has recently been discovered that 90 percent of the money given from this fund has gone to corporations that have made substantial donations to his campaign. Perry’s move of putting the government funds into the Texas Enterprise Fund is

the misappropriation of public goods and can be construed as corruption. But it doesn’t stop there. While Perry can be praised for his Christian values and sticking to what he believes in, he needs to realize that his beliefs cannot be applied to everyone. Texas has the highest number of executions since 1976 by more than 300 people. In 2009, it was even suspected that an innocent man had been executed five years before. When a forensics team was formed to investigate, Perry’s office stated that it was not high priority and was a waste of state money. In short, the fact that a man executed may have actually been innocent was not of significant importance to investigate. Perry even refuses to believe that global warming is a threat to Texas ecology. He supports his argument with articles that aren’t even written about or by scientists. He shows a surprising lack of foresight by opposing greenhouse gas emission regulations because he believes it would have devastating impact on the Texas energy industry and economy. Although secession is not legally possible by Texas since the Civil War, Perry has still made veiled comments advocating the secession of our state. Not only that, but he supports the controversial Arizona Act and wants to sign a similar bill here. So while our governor advocates fiscal conservatism and seems so determined to protect the Texas economy, he hurts Texas students. But he fails to realize that those very same students that he is depriving of quality education are vital to the future economy of Texas. Pretty Boy Perry cannot continue to think that the same tactics will continue to serve the state of Texas well in times so much different from when he first took office. The people of Texas, especially the students, need to speak out and make change by either finding a more competent governor for our situation or convince the current one that he needs to change his tune. Some may think that, as students, we don’t have a voice. But throughout history it has been the students who bring about the change. We have to write to our state government and organize groups to

Have you heard that there’s a “crisis in our classrooms”? And no good crisis comes without serious consequences. One of the largest repercussions that the AISD budget shortfall will have on all of us will be teacher’s larger class loads due to their losing a conference period. It already takes teachers weeks to learn all of their student’s names. Imagine the

confusion and length of time it will take with such an increase in the amount of students they’re teaching. First off, desks will run out very quickly at the beginning of the year and even now there are classes that have students sitting on stools or crammed into the corners of the class. In addition, there will not be enough books for class sets, requiring students to carry all their books to class each day. It will also hinder teachers’ abilities to tutor because all the work they would normally do during their conference will now have to be done during lunch since they will be teaching an extra class. One of the largest amounts of time teachers spend on their jobs is grading. And with such a significant increase in the number of students and papers they have to grade, it will take longer for students to get feedback on their work back.

Your thoughts begin wander to the college applications you completed last night. You’re uncertain whether any of these colleges will accept you, or even consider you because you come from AISD and due to previous cuts, the quality of education you’ve received has greatly decreased. Now it’s harder than ever to compete with students from different districts and states. This could be the potential outcome for students if the school board plans to continue with its proposals for the budget crisis. One of the proposals that could harm the future of our education is the addition of one class to every teacher (we’re talking about 30-plus students each). The growth of classes will distract them from their main goal: educating the students to the best of their ability. The lack of attention teachers can devote to individual students will cause grades and GPAs to suffer. Class sizes have been increasing for years and we often find ourselves struggling to simply ask a question and receive the assistance we need. With the increasing class sizes, this problem will only be magnified. With the large addition of students to each class and the extra class period teachers will have to take on, teachers will have less time to devote to the extra activities they take on. Many teachers sponsor clubs and organizations and help with tutoring. Some clubs could be discontinued without the support of these educators. Our college applications will be stripped of the activities that allow students to set themselves apart from other students. Through many of these clubs and

organizations, we are given opportunities we would not have elsewhere.The hopes and goals that many of us have for the future could be pushed out of reach if the board decides to go forth with this aspect of their budget proposal. The budget crisis doesn’t only affect schools, it affects the entire community. If the quality of Arlington schools decreases, fewer students will be enrolled in the district and fewer people will want to bring their families. A district with overcrowded classes, limited after-school programs, and extracurricular activities will not attract many families. The school board members need to realize the long-term budget problems this decision may cause in the future. Fewer students in the districts equals less money for Arlington. While huge class sizes will pose a problem, the board’s decision not to fire all probationary teachers will be greatly beneficial for AISD. From an early age, teachers have a huge impact on the lives of many students. For some students, the teachers may be the only positive influence in their lives. The board still needs to approve utilizing its own Rainy Day fund. It is the best way for the board to prolong the time they have to consider alternate solutions to the budget crisis. The decisions they make will still have a lasting effect on their future, as well as ours. We are the future work force of America and we need a quality education to prepare for this task. With a less-than-mediocre education, Texas will fall even further behind our embarrassing national ranking of 48th in education, so a good education is key in bringing Texas education up to an acceptable number. The trustees should imagine their children in our situation. (Some have or have had children in AISD.) Would they want their children to remain in a district where there are no opportunities? However, it seems as though the board cannot empathize with the situation students could be forced into. Without a quality education we won’t be prepared for the future.

However, the biggest and most overarching effect in every classroom will be the amount of chaos. Once you have a class of about 28 students, each additional body put in the class adds noise, more work to grade, and an enormous stress load. Class time is wasted simply because it takes longer to settle a larger class down, pass out papers, and the quality of education that students receive is lowered when a teacher must spread herself so thin to attempt to meet every student’s needs. All the additional noise and energy in the room makes the teacher’s minimum goal to get through her lesson, while students questions end up on the back burner because there just isn’t enough time to go through each person’s individual problems with a subject. Specific to science classes, an increase

in students will decrease their ability to do labs. With so many people to organize and so much supplies to set up, it becomes a major feat for a teacher to get ready for a lab. Labs are so important to a student’s understanding of chemistry and help “hands-on” learners grasp a concept, but with the difficulty of being able to accomplish this students are the ones who suffer. There are many harmful effects that these serious budget cuts will have on us, but nothing will impair education more than increasing a teacher’s student load. From the fact that we are lacking the resources to accommodate any more students in one room to the teachers being unable to keep up with grading so many papers and giving quality attention to each students weaknesses, education will suffer and impact our entire community.

Calvin Lemley • Staffer

Kate Black • Online Editor

Budget cuts += lower educationRick Perry’s reign needs to end

Larger class sizes will be too much to handle

Budget cuts will diminish the quality of our education in AISD

Laurel Gregory • Staff Artist Taylor Gillum • Staffer

(Rick Perry)

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entDreams, Sunday shoes, Duckie

The best way to spend Prom nightRowan Sharp • Staffer Lauren Aguirre • Staffer

She’s All That Best Unrealistic Prom Choreography

and pig’s blood Prom, the stereotypical high school thing to do. Well, you being the rebel that you are, decide to stay home and watch movies. Now you’re sitting there kinda regretting your decision and it’s too late to go. Not to fear because for the low, low, low price of popcorn, renting fees and tis-sues, you can watch prom movies. But you might say, “It’s too hard to pick out mov-ies, just too much work.” Not to worry folks, because we have scoured through the decades and found the best of the best.

sync. Yeah, it was really choreographed, but the music in general would make any child of the 90s say, “Oh, I haven’t heard that song in foooorever.” And for this, the award goes to the Earthquakes and company for their amazing dancing. This company definitely does not include Brock. The boy just does not know the difference between dancing and wanting to claw your eyes out dancing.

One popular jock and one unpopular artist with a bet thrown in on the side and what do you get? This late 90s film. The story is about a bet made by Zack Siler to make Laney Boggs the prom queen. The prom is basically the whole backbone of the story so it gets brownie points for that, but the thing that really impressed us is the choreographed dance scene. “The Rockafeller Skank” is the song of choice. You know the song on Just Dance 2 with the DJ? The scene, while not having the same moves as Just Dance 2, has everyone dancing in

Footloose Best Resurrection of Dance Prom

Welcome back, Jack, and kick off your Sunday shoes. It’s time to party! In this 80s classic, Ren McCormack is the new kid from Chicago. Just like any normal teenager, Ren loves music and dancing. However, in Bomont, rock music and dancing have been banned, thanks to the town’s kill-joy reverend, Shaw Moore. Ren soon makes friends and also a girlfriend, Ariel. Eventually, Ren is able to prove to the city council that music and dancing are acceptable

according to the Bible and the reverend convinces the council that the students should have a prom. Overall, this movie is a great watch. It has various music and drama elements that create an awe-inspiring effect. In the end, Ren becomes the life of the party at prom and a dance scene ensues. This is the kind of scene that makes you want to get up and join the party. For this and reminding the town that dancing is definitely not a sin, Ren deserves this award.

Pretty in Pink Best Prom Ending

Well, isn’t she just pretty in pink? This John Hughes movie is the story of Andie and Blane who have to overcome differences to be together. The movie has great lovable and funny characters and is a classic high school movie. So is it a cheesy cliche romance? Yes. Has some plot problems? Yeah. Still a must see? Of course it is. It’s John Hughes, people! This movie has a great ending of the young lovers at prom getting back together, friends

becoming friends again, songs that can’t be forgotten, and a homemade polka dot dress complete with lace and typical 80s off-the-shoulder sleeves. So Andie, Blane and of course Duckie, we give you the award. Now Duckie, when you go celebrate this award don’t have too many juice boxes. We know that you have a bike, but it’s still drinking and driving.

Carrie Best Prom Gone Wrong

For most people, a bad prom is horrible music, pictures and dates, but for these students, the definition of a bad prom is drastically different. This 70s classic tells the story of a socially awkward girl Carrie and a ill-timed bucket of pig’s blood. The movie chronicles her rise to being considered normal then in the climaxes when it all comes tumbling down. This scene is hard to forget to say the least.

With this unforgettable scene and story, Carrie is still relevant today as seen by the 2002 remake. Using Carrie and prom in same sentence is not uncommon. Theme-wise, it has a great message: don’t mess with the socially awkward because they can mess you up. Carrie, we hear by give this award and a way too long applause. Don’t worry. They’re not “...all gonna laugh at you.” Congrats. P.S. We promise there are no... let’s just say “surprises” to this prize.

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Working anywhere will give a whole new insight on the art of making that place run. My place of business is a movie theater that doubles as a full restaurant and bar. Ten months have passed, and I’ve come out with a whole different outlook on life...at the movies. You could say it’s made me all the wiser. They could also say it’s left me in need of an occasional therapist. But then they’d be lying. Here’s how you can ruin YOUR movie experience and MY day at work.

At the ticket booth: Let’s start off with what is not-so-commonly referred to as “the vortex.” This is the phenomenon where as soon as an average person walks underneath the theater’s pavilion, they instantly lose the ability to read, count or tell direction. The movie times are listed neatly in a row above the ticket sellers. This is easily visible from the line, roughly three feet away. Therefore, there is no excuse for standing in line for 30 minutes just to walk up to the window and ask us what is playing. And please avoid giving us the “valley girl” thing. “Ohmidgod! Hahaha, like, I totally forgot which movie we were coming to, like, see isn’t that, like, really funny!? Hahaha ohmigod!” No. It’s not funny. It’s annoying. You have 35 people standing behind you rushing to go see their movie. Please hurry up and pay so I can move on with my life. Also, before any of you ask: yes, these are all the movies we have. No, we are not hiding special movies in a separate VIP section for people we like. And yes, it really is sold out. I didn’t put the sign up just to mess with you, and there really is a small chance that your party of 10 will all find seats together in an entirely full theater. Don’t yell at me because you came 30 minutes late to opening night. And for the record, I’m not inside each theater. I can’t tell you how much of the movie you’ve missed or if it was anything important. I’m outside, waiting to sell you a ticket. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t have an extra pair of eyes in the theaters to answer all of your questions. Coupons are not good for eternity. They do eventually expire. Therefore, it is not my fault that you didn’t use your coupon on time. Don’t get upset at me when I can’t give you a discount on a coupon

you got in the fifth grade for perfect attendance. Sneak a peek at the expiration date. If I could, I personally wouldn’t care about giving you a discount. It’s not like I’m making money off of it anyway. If it’s expired, you have to pay full price. I’m sorry, but you probably should have used that before you graduated from elementary school. Since we’re leading up to the money-handling portion of the process: there was this wonderful invention someone came up with long ago known as a wallet. It conveniently holds your money so you don’t have to crumple it up in your pocket. Or worse. When you come up to pay me, I do not want your sweaty money. The pocket of fat near your pit is not your private stash for cash. Get some pockets or a purse or anything else, really, to store your money in a more convenient manner so that I don’t vomit when you hand me your sweat-drenched paper currency.

Before you go in: Do: Answer us when we try to make pleasant conversation. Now this isn’t even about going to the movies. This is about common courtesy. When anyone walks in, most times, if not every time, you’ll hear us say hello and ask how your day is going. This isn’t for our personal benefit, nor is it necessarily for yours. It’s just us trying to be polite. Even when you leave and we try to say goodbye, many times we’re ignored. This isn’t something that makes me cry myself to sleep at night or anything. But it’s something that irks me about the general public. Take time to acknowledge our existence every once in awhile. And also, kudos to the people who stop to thank the employees for working on holidays so your family can spend time together instead of spending it with our own families. Unlike most places, many movie theaters are open 365 days a year and many employees miss out on time with family because of it. It’s not as if we want people to bow down and worship us, but the few people that do pass by to thank us can really make a difference in how the day is going. You can, but you don’t have to: Tell us where you’re going every time you leave the movie theater. Obviously, if you left something in the car we are not going to make you purchase another ticket to get back into your movie. Just remind me when you come back that you’ve already

been inside. But quite honestly, I couldn’t care less that your smoking habit has gotten so fierce that you can’t get through a movie without chain smoking. Nor does it matter to me that you’re taking a trip to the bathroom before your movie starts. Or any time, really. Nor do I particularly request to hear about what adventure you plan on going on in search of whatever you left in your car. Once you come into the theater, you’re not stuck there forever. Escape is possible. Unless you’re an employee. Then you may be stuck for awhile. But since you’re not, don’t worry about going in and out. Keep your stub and stop tapping us on the shoulder to “remember your face.” We get it. You’ll be right back. Don’t worry. We’ll be right here. Do not: Lose your ticket before you go into your movie. The 10 foot journey from the ticketbooth to inside the theater should not be a particularly difficult one. Next time you embark on this short endeavor, keep your tickets securely in your hand so you don’t spend 20 minutes in search of the crumpled ball of tickets that you’ve already jammed into the smallest section of your wallet. Either that, or have a good explanation ready for as to why your tickets are already mysteriously wet. Nor should you wander the hallways in search of your movie. I told you exactly where your movie theater is. If I say your movie is in Theater 4 to the left, it really is to the left. But feel free to go down the hallway to the right just to make sure. I promise I really didn’t lie to you. Also, I hand out lights and menus. You just turn on the light if you need to speak to a waiter. Not every single person needs their own light. There is no point in having five people next to each other with their lights on when you’re all together. Or menus.

In your theater: Do: Be neat when you eat! Whoever said popcorn was a good movie-going food has obviously never cleaned up after a kids movie. They should have let people gnaw on bricks to save the effort. Attention babysitters, moms, dads, sisters, brothers and anyone else coming with children: If you are going to order food for your kids (and by all means don’t make them starve) please make an effort to make some of the food reach their mouths. When I rule the world I’m either taking all popcorn out of movie theaters or painting all the floors to

look like popcorn so no clean up would be necessary. I realize that cleaning is part of the job, but we shouldn’t have to spend 30 minutes sweeping up your kid’s mashed-up popcorn and Cheerios. We have all heard the phrase “silence is golden,” however many people shrug it off without a second thought. But before your movie starts, silence your cell phones and all babies. I’m not asking you to keep your phone or your kid out in the car, but if you answer your phone in the most intense part of the movie, if someone kicks you in the head from behind I’ll just look the other way. And when little kids cling on to the legs of the workers when we walk into the theaters, I think we have full permission to shake them off. You also might want to remind them that I’m not Mommy. Do not: Use the movie theater as a place to get your groove going with your boo. Normally, I’m a “to each his own” kind of girl. I honestly don’t want to know anything about your love life. But guys, this is not okay. There are hundreds of other places that you can do your business without my commentary. My place of work is not one of them. Just because the lights are dimmed for the movie doesn’t mean we don’t know what’s going on. You’ve given us a good story but please don’t let that encourage you. Putting your feet on the same table that I eat off of is gross. I understand that it also functions as a comfortable foot rest and even I, knowing the rules, have a problem with resisting resting my feet in such a convenient manner. However once I get my food, I do not want to think that someone’s three-year-old sneaker was the same place that I put my cheeseburger. Think about it. If I drop a French fry or even a piece of popcorn, it is to the point of no return. You don’t know all the things your shoe has tread over. It’s like dropping my fry into an abyss of germs. That’s gross. I assure you that the tables are wiped clean before each movie, that does not counteract your foot’s dirtiness. I might as well be eating out of your dirty gym sock. Although many of the people we have encountered have made us lose faith in humanity as a whole, try your best to break the spell and proceed with minimal incident. Keep movie theater employees’ faith alive with classy, capable people such as yourself and don’t fall underneath the status quo known as the “vortex.”

Lights, camera... please no actionDos and don’ts to improve your movie going experience – and my workplace environment

Brooke Marquis • Staffer

Sophomores Sterling Hackley, Lane Milne and Dylan Taylor make up the all-sophmore band Antarctic. They recently competed in battle of the bands in Lewisville, taking first place for the first round. They have currently written four songs and are in the process of completing four other songs for their demo. Photo by Susie Machi

Cool as ice

Addictingapps

Well-known burger joint and hangout spot for many Martin students,

Molly’s Burgers, has opened a new restaurant in the Kroger parking lot off W. Green Oaks, Molly’s Pasta House. When I arrived, there was no one working in the front, but soon someone appeared, ready to take my order. Molly’s Pasta is an Italian restaurant, but it’s also pretty casual. You order up front, pay up front, find your own seat, and then they bring your meal out to you. It turns out the man who took my order was the only one on the job, so as soon as I had ordered, he made his way to the kitchen. The restaurant is decorated to give the restaurant an Italian feel, with walls painted to look like bricks with grape vines covering them and calming Italian music playing in the background. My appetizer, fresh garlic bread and marinara sauce, was out in under ten minutes, and my entree, Fettuccini Bellagio, followed within ten minutes after that. It’s quick enough to make a trip to during lunch, but you may

Moron Test The Moron Test is a crazy game that consists of taunting jungle animals and simple activities with adverse results. What seems to be super easy turns out to have a twist to it. For activities that say “press the green button,” the button moves, the color changes or the button disappears. Then, just when you think that you have finished, more levels come to confuse you and to pull you back into the game. While the “Moron Test” costs 99 cents, it is definitely worth it for the hundreds of levels and hours of entertainment that will ensue.

Angry Birds The pigs are stealing eggs from the birds. Time to retaliate! As you help the birds attack the massive pig army, you choose their path. As you slingshot the birds toward the enemy, your goal is to make them fall, and ultimately, die. The injured pigs poof into clouds when you have defeated them. Defeat all of the pigs in a level and you can move on to the next level. Many people are already addicted to Angry Birds, but an iPhone isn’t complete without this one. The new classic costs 99 cents, but a free, lite version of the game is available too. Either way it cannot be passed by.

Rat on a Scooter Simple controls and simple ideas take over this game about a rat that rides his electric scooter through the high up world of construction sites. As he rides through many levels on scaffolds and over traffic cones you touch the phone to make him jump, while he follows the path, going off the scaffold. For $0.99 you can own this high flying game.

Cover Orange This game features another very basic idea that will have you pulled in immediately. Cover, hide, and move the

You’re sitting in class, bored out of your mind. You slowly reach for your phone and suddenly you’re wrapped into the world of taunting turtles, a war between birds and pigs or rats riding through construction sites. The simple, addicting iPhone games

have taken over as we can’t help but love them. We never think about why they are so addictive or what keeps us from putting them down, we just want a new one to play.

Here are a few apps that you may or may not have heard of for your phone.

Buon appetito

find the prices a little high for that. The portions were absolutely perfect; it wasn’t too much or too little. The pasta I ordered was just a tad bland, but it was nothing a little salt couldn’t fix. It was presented very well, the creamy white pasta looked great and the little pink pieces of bacon mixed in seemed to be calling my name. The service I recieved was wonderful. The man who was working was nothing short of friendly, made small talk with customers as they walked in, and got my food out to me in a surprisingly short amount of time. I thought the pricing would have been a little more reasonable had it been in the $5 to $7 range, rather than the $7 to $8 that it was. Molly’s Pasta is definitely not a restaurant you need to get all dolled up for, but you wouldn’t look out of place if you did. If you’re looking for some real Italian food, Molly’s Pasta House may not be the place for you, as you may be slightly disappointed. But if you’re looking for a good place to eat with friends after a game, or even for a casual date, I would definitely recommend it.

oranges away from the acid rain cloud that is coming to destroy them. Using blocks and barrels, you move the oranges into hiding places before time is up and the acid rain comes by. It is new, 99 cents, and one of the best for the iPhone.

Doodle Jump The top paid app of all time on iTunes deserves its title. All you have to do is tilt your phone, meanwhile avoiding aliens, spaceships, black holes, and spaces between the tiles that you must land on. Trampolines, rockets, springs and propeller hats help take you to new heights as you watch your score soar as well. Words can’t even describe its addictiveness. The weeks of entertainment and distraction due to this game are worth the 99-cent cost.

React We all played Bop It as a kid, and this game will take you back to those days. Four basic actions - Shake it, Pinch it, Poke it, Slide it - seem easy at first, but become increasingly challenging as time goes on and the challenges speed up. It is easy enough to continuously play without tedious thinking or planning. All you need is focus. It’s another 99-cent game that will keep you entertained at all times.

Words with Friends Competition is a driving force in everyone, especially against your friends. In Words with Friends you create an account where your games will be saved. Once in the game, you add a friend’s game based on their user name, and the game begins. Like Scrabble, you place words on a board and try to score more points than your opponent. These games, up to 20 at a time, can go on for weeks and often becomes a staple in your daily activities. The full version of the game, ad free, costs $2.99 but there is a free version with ads available.

New, casual Italian restaurant opens in Arlington iPhone gaming apps fill up students’ free time

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Take one...and action!John Crowley • staffer

While most people our age are restricted to what they can film on their phones or iDevices, the Barber boys have taken a professional approach to filmmaking. Us-ing a ZR900 Canon camcorder, seniors Matthew and Nathan Barber have spent more than three years writing, directing, editing and starring in The Lawmen, their own home movie. “It started out as a comedy inspired by the Indiana Jones movies,” Matthew said. “Raiders of the Lost Ark has been a major influence on us, as well as the director Me-rian C. Cooper, who directed King Kong.” The Barbers have been movie buffs since they were nine years old, when Jurassic Park initiated their long-term infatuation with film. Since then they have their free time watching and researching movies, es-pecially adventure flicks, finding inspira-tion for their own films. “Our movie is a western about two brothers,” Matthew said. “One of them is a lawman, the other a gambler, and they find a map that leads to loot that was sto-len and buried by bank robbers. There’s a complication, however, because the trea-sure is also being hunted by a band of ex-Confederate soldiers, who want to use the money to fund a rebellion against the US Government.” The Lawmen is based on classic westerns, with a number of action scenes on par with professional films, including horse chases and a hand-to-hand fight with a Bowie knife and a branding iron. The Barbers said they took pains to make their

Senior movie makers saddle up on the road to success

movie realistic, such as renting out Rollin’s Creek Old West Town, a recreated ghost town complete with saloons and stables. “If your movie’s going to be fun to watch, then you know it’s going to be a pain to make,” Nathan said. “We not only built a prop cave, we also made prop mummies, dynamite sticks, hand-painted arrows and torches. We also bought two tarantulas for the movie. You always need a fun bug gag just to creep out the audience.” Filming occurred in a variety of plac-es, from an opening jungle scene shot in Kauai, Hawaii during spring break, to the famous Double Arches of Moab, Utah (also filmed in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), to the cave built in the Barbers’ backyard over summer vacation. The final product will include footage shot in five states in two years. “The worst part of the whole film was one of the horse chase scenes,” Matthew said. “In the scene, Nathan is supposed to jump from one galloping horse to another. Our horse trainer was supposed to have a special device that would make the jump easier, but he forgot it, so the day of the stunt he had to teach Nathan how to do it raw in about 15 minutes.” “It was just awful,” Nathan said. “At first we couldn’t get the horses to synchronize together, and we wasted an hour figuring that out. But even after I got the horses to run together, I couldn’t quite get onto the second horse, so I kept winding up strad-dling both horses. Eventually we got the scene done, but it took forever. I was sore for two weeks afterward.” The Barbers completed filming late

2010, and are now working on the pro-duction values. All of the sounds, from spurs and foot-steps to dialog, need to be recorded and re-dubbed over the base soundtrack. Mat-thew and Nathan spend about three to five hours after school and their entire week-ends working on sound clips. “Once we get the sound done, and input the soundtrack, the film will be ready for

release,” Matthew said. “The soundtrack score is being composed by Juan Carlos Enriquez, a Martin graduate who’s study-ing music in college. He says it will take about four months to compose. As soon as the score is added we’re planning to regis-ter The Lawmen on line with the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), which will help if we submit to film festivals or use it to apply for film school.”

From Old West shoot-outs to shooting actors, two seniors show their stuff on the silver screen with their movie, The Lawmen.

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Jessica Delgado Softball

How do you prepare for games? I get ready before a game by listening to the song “Big Poppa.” I also pray before every game for both my team and my opponent to stay safe and not get hurt.Who is one of your role models inside this sport? Lisa Hernandez is my number-one role model for this sport. She is one of the best pitchers who has ever stepped foot on a mound. She started out at UCLA and continued to pitch with the USA team all the way until she was 41 years old.What is your favorite part of the sport? My favorite part of the sport is rounding third base and all I see is home plate, and I will do anything to get my foot on the base before they tag me. I love the rush of the game.Do you plan on playing after high school? Yes. I just recently signed with East Texas Baptist University, who has the defending national champion softball team. What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses? My biggest strength has to be me being a leader and helping people out on what they are doing. Every team I have ever played on, I have always been a leader. My weakness is not being able to take a loss.

StephanieAnasi Soccer

How did you get started playing your sport? I have been playing soccer since I was really little. My sister played it and after watching her play, I fell in love with the sport.Do you have any a w a r d s / m e d a l s /accomplishments? My club team won the national championship in 2008.How do you train? I train every day in high school and every other day for club. Our practices are usually focused on tactics, skills and work rate.What position(s) do you play?I play forward and midfield.What are some of your goals for the season? We hope to make it as far as possible in play-offs and possibly get to the state final.Do you plan on playing after high school? Yes, I am going to play soccer at Creighton University in Nebraska on a full ride.What makes you a unique player? I think I am a unique player because I give my all in every game and I work really well with others.What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses? My strength is that I am fast. My weakness is my size because I am smaller than a lot of the girls.

Kayla Pompa Swimming

How did you get started playing your sport? I started swimming when I was 12 because I can’t run to save my life and it’s the only sport that doesn’t involve running.Do you have any awards, medals, and/or accomplishments? I have received about 15 medals throughout all four years of high school. I was district champion freshman year in my 100-yard breaststroke and have made regionals from sophomore to senior year.What event do you swim? I’m a sprinter, which basically means I don’t do any race past 100 yards. I usually swim the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle.What are some of your goals for this season? My goals for last season were to break 58 seconds in my 100-yard freestyle and to break 27 seconds in my 50-yard freestyle.What is your favorite part of your sport? My favorite part is diving off the blocks. What makes you a unique swimmer? Swimming is mainly an individual sport with the occasional relay. But I think that might also be what’s unique about me because even though it’s an individual sport, I try to have events for us as a team.

Brea Garrett Track

How did you get started playing your sport? In seventh grade, my mom begged me to try track. I told her no, but she said she would pay me $20 every meet, so I did it.How do you train? I work with Coach Holly Hartley. We do everything from pyramids to ladders. I also work with Coach Anthony Gonzales, and a personal trainer as well.Who is one of your role models inside the sport? Besides my mom, who ran track for a long time, Jackie Joyner Kersee. She does the heptathlon, she also does all of my events and we are kind of the same build.What are some of your goals for the season? I want to be district champs because my class hasn’t gotten it yet. I also want to go to state for my three events and win them all.Do you plan on playing after high school? I’m going to Texas A&M to run track.What makes you a unique player? My events. Shot put and hurdles don’t really mix, but apparently I’m good at both.What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses? My strength is my legs because they are very powerful. My weakness is not listening.

Addie Trammell • Sports Editor Tamlin Jennings • Entertainment Editor

Kendra Brown • Staffer Katy Burley • Staffer

Courtney Reil • Features Editor

Girls spring sports are in full swing this season. Check out some of these highlighted players representing their team.

HayliePerrySundancers

How did you get started playing your sport?My sister was on the team when she was in high school. My parents wanted me to become more involved as I went through school.Who is one of your role models inside the sport?Mrs. Gaither, our director. She is perfect and a great dancer. I look up to her a lot. This past year we have gotten so much closer and she has become one of my best friends.What are some of your goals for this season?We got a lot more new freshman to the team, which is different for us. Many of them had never danced before. So we had to get everyone up to par on technique. We accomplished this goal and much more.What makes you a unique player?When I started, I had no experience with dance. My dad even told me I was more likely to get on the football team.What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses?My biggest strength is I am always willing to work hard and to try and accomplish things. My biggest weakness is it’s very easy for me to become overwhelmed, but it’s something I’ve worked on this year.

Photo by Doug Murray

sports23

JordanMoore Soccer

How did you get started playing your sport? I didn’t start until I was 13, which is really late, but then I started playing club.Do you have any awards, medals, accomplishments? When I was 15, my club team won the National Championship title and last year I made it in the top 100 players in country.What position do you play and what do you like about it? I play right back. I like playing defense because you can still be involved with the offense. It’s the best of both worlds.Who is one of your role models inside this sport? My favorite player is Dani Alves. He plays my position and I try to look up to and play like him.Do you plan on playing after high school? Yes. I am going to play at West Virginia University on scholarship.What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses? My physical athleticism is my strength, and not finishing my shots are definitely my biggest weakness.

Hunter MonkTennis

How did you get started playing your sport? I was diagnosed with scoliosis when I was 12 and after surgery the doctor told me that tennis would be a good sport for therapy, so I started then.Do you have any award, medals, accomplishments? I played in tournaments at least twice a month for a few years, so after a while I had a ton of trophies. I just started keeping only first place trophies.Who is your role model inside this sport? Coach Moore. He is such a good player even though he’s the same height of most freshman girls.What makes you a unique player? I used to get mad so often that I was put on probation sophomore year. Now I’m completely the opposite. Matches never make me angry anymore, which doesn’t sound unique, but in serious matches everyone gets angry.What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses? My old coach was a really great server, so that is probably my biggest strength. My backhand is really bad, so most of the time I just try to run around it and hit a forehand.

DrewDowdyBaseball

How did you get started playing your sport? Well after my first word was ball, my parents signed me up.Do you have any awards, medals, accomplishments? My club team was ranked second in the nation, and I also got moved up to Varsity during the playoffs my freshman year.Who is one of your role models inside this sport? Josh Hamilton. He has a great story and has a great work ethic.What are some of your goals for the season? I want to hit at least a 300 and make no errors.What makes you a unique player? I have lots of power, but I’m still fast.What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses? My strength would definitely be my speed, but it is a disadvantage that I am younger than the majority of my opponents and teammates.

CharlesWooldridgeHockeyHow did you get started playing your sport? My brother Bragen, Hunter Monk, and I all used to play hockey outside in the street with tennis balls and recycle bins when we were little.How do you train? I go to hockey practice twice a week and I work out all the time when I’m at home. It’s one of my favorite things to do. I get really confident whenever I work out.What position do you play? Defense. What is your favorite part of your sport? Becoming one with the team and with the ice is one of my favorite parts of my sport, but my number one would have to be getting to see my girlfriend while I’m playing my games. She helps me get into the game and win.What makes you a unique player? I never let anything distract me from the game or from practice. What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses? My biggest strength is my strength. I work out everyday, so I know I can pretty much take anyone from the other team. My biggest weakness is that I can›t skate very well.

Addie Trammel • Sports Editor Tamlin Jennings • Entertainment Editor

Kendra Brown • Staffer Katy Burley • Staffer

Courtney Reil • Features Editor

Boys spring sports are in full swing this season. Check out some of these highlighted players representing their team.

RyanWilliamsGolf

How did you get started playing your sport?I used to be hardcore baseball. I broke my shoulder when I went skiing so I looked for a new sport. I went one day with my dad and loved it.Do you have any awards, medals, accomplishments?I am team captain and an Eleanor Grace Martin finalist.Who is one for your role models inside the sport?Phil Nicholson because he’s also left-handed and has a good family.What are some of your goals for the season?My goal for our team is to win district and go to Lubbock for regionals.Do you plan on playing after high school?Yes, in college. I am trying to go to Tech and walk on.What makes you a unique player?I’m not one to lose my temper on the course. What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses?My strength is I play for a reason and my reason is that it’s time to get in the glory of God’s creation. My weakness is I am very competitive and sometimes I try too hard.

Photo by Doug Murray

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essayHeaven

sentAudience on Cloud 9 at Mr. MHS

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2. 1. Senior ballerinas send senior Greg Hein fly-ing in the air.2. Top 5 contestants eagerly await for the an-nouncement of the top 3 spots. Senior Danzel Williams was named Mr. MHS.3. Junior Myles Johnson as he sings his heart out in his fresh blue Polo Shirt.4. Contestants perform during the talent com-petition.5. Junior Austin Taylor plays drums for his tal-ent. Photos by Emma Cuppet

“The question we get asked during formal wear is the hardest part of Mr. MHS to me. We don’t know

what we are going to get asked until the night before. I just make sure I know exactly what I’m

going to say.” - senior Teni Seriki

“I’ll miss rehearsals every day and seeing the guys I’ve gotten close to.” - junior Cameron Williams

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