4611 CypressWichita Falls, Texas 76310

(940)-235-1077www.wfisd.net/Rider

District 4-4AStudents: 1700

Faculty and staff: 150

The football team celebrates as coach Gar talks

after the 21 point 4th quarter comeback against Abeline

Cooper in the first game of the season. Final score 36-35.

whatever.’SThe Raider Volume 51

Photo by Meghan Myracle

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The speed of light is 299,792,458 meters per second. A person will blink

24,030 times in an average day, and in between every blink, every

passing second, our time as teenagers passes before us. We go into high

school counting down the days till it starts or dreading when it does. We sit like

little Energizer Bunnies, jittery with energy in our seats watching the second hand

on the antique 1960’s analog clocks pass. With every tick our hearts beat a little

quicker and our minds rush with thoughts like: what time our state ranked baseball

practice starts, how much homework we have in Kramer’s AP English, how much

longer we have to sit there and watch Mrs. Walker’s backwards clock move

making us think that it’s 10:10 and not 2:50, or wondering if Drew WIlliams,

Parker Baird, Ben Grimm, Will Huddleston and their crew will be dressed in

boxes at the next varsity football game,. This year was a whirlwind between all

the 50-year celebrations and new events like the choir hosting a marathon, or

the bands’ many fundraisers to pay for the invitation to London by Her Majesty

the Queen of England. All the new Raider paraphernalia like the track team’s

Raider flip flops and the huge flags, and the ROHO Snuggies. Whether you were

always at the big events like the Think Pink volleyball game or an independent

individual,who studied for Mr. Pearson’s major test the next day, time flew by.

The freshmen can’t believe they are already in high school voting in the first online

class officer election, sophomores have a hard time adjusting to the thought that

they are not freshmen anymore and have to take the PLAN test, juniors are

shocked that they are finally upperclassmen and don’t have to take an advisory

class if they’re in good standing and the seniors are in awe of how quickly it all

happened, how they actually survived the 4X4 schedule. We’re always on the

go, a new generation who doesn’t know the words “sitting still,” never stopping,

almost as if we were in ... perpetual motion.

Theme2

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PerpetualMotion

Junior Robert Jones drinks from the waterboy at two-

a-days during summer practice. Temperatures ranged from the high 90’s into the 100’s. “It was miserable and took much dedication and hard work, but it will pay off,” Jones said.

“One family, one team.” Photo by Shaylyn Lee.

Design by Jonathan Lanford, story by Callie Cunningham

Opening 3

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Looking around, listening to what people say, where’s the positivity? All you hear about

is how bad it is. The news, the radio, the general talk around school, it’s all so horrible,

maybe even terrifying. All around the world, there are natural disasters leveling the very

ground we stand on. Our country’s economy is going $100,000 more into debt about

every 5 seconds if you look at the national debt clock. $5 million was cut out of our

school district budget, resulting in huge cuts at Rider. The summer before this school

year was so hot that it broke every temperature record our city had, including 100 days

of temperatures over 100. Raging wildfires made it as close as Gregg Road, only five

minutes away. Other schools in the area are threatening to close, so why is there still

a contagious optimism at Rider? Could Rider still be a productive institution despite

all of the destruction around it? I guess so, because Rider is still producing National

Merit Scholars. Rider is still winning state championships in baseball. Rider is still raising

$20,000+ for the Humane Society, still cranking out the best test scores in the district,

still excelling in athletics, still succeeding. While the world around us may be crumbling,

we still posses the unique ability to exhibit exceptional resiliency and character in the

face of adversity. You see, we respect all the things that are happening around us, but we

will always be Rider; all that other stuff …

whatever.

pg. 2

Ope

ning

pg. 2

Ope

ning

’S002-003_2-05185_000.indd 2 10/14/11 4:39 PM

Senior Mary Wetherbee and junior Eric Luster hug after the memorial for 9/11 where one ballon was released for each fatality. “I thought it was neat how everyone could set aside their differneces for one day to come together and honor the lives of the lost,” Wetherbee said.

The Lady Raiders cross country team walks the course at Perkins Park in Burkburnett to get a feel for the track before they run their first meet of the year.

Photo by Montana Mooney

Photo by Emily Fuccio

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pg. 2

8 Sp

orts

what we do.

It’s why we go to pep rallies, it’s all we’re thinking about during class on

game-day, it’s why we have a new state championship Texas sculpture in front of

the school, it’s why we are raising awareness and money for a cure to breast cancer,

why we’re at school a month before the first day, frying our skin to a crispy golden

brown, and fighting the broken air conditioning in the gym. It’s the thing that gives

us satisfaction after a victory, and the thing that gives us a desire to improve after

a loss, whether you are athlete or fan. Sports, it’s what the entire culture of Texas

is built around a lot of the time. It somehow nests a spot inside of your soul and

heals the stresses of the day. For both spectators and players, sports is an escape

from all of the problems we face. The economy, budget cuts, all of the wars, they

all seem to melt away as you’re covering yourself in dirt in 7th period softball

practice, even though you need to go make up a test after school; or rushing the

field, because you can’t contain the excitement of coming back from a 21 point

deficit to get a one point victory over Abeline Cooper. Whether you’re an athlete

or a fan, sports ...

’S028-029_2-05185_000.indd 28 10/14/11 5:12 PM

what we do.

Senior Anthony Wagner celebrates as he enters the in zone for a touchdown during the Little Elm game. “I celebrate the touchdown by raising my finger because we are One Family, One Team,” Wagner said. Little Elm went on to win 51-44.

Senior captain Katie Bennett and the dance team show their spirit by dancing in the stands during the fight song.

Photo by Meghan Myracle

Photo by Meghan Myracle

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YesNo

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Olivia Flores is ...Since January of 2011, Olivia Flores has been learning to cope with her brother, Doug

Ashlock, was deployed to Afghanistan with the United States Army. Without her brother at home, Olivia’s home life has taken a complete 180. “It is

definitely different,” Olivia said, “because he was the humorous person. Now it is quiet. It is sad because he will not be here for the holidays.”

Ever since Doug was a child he wanted to go into the Army. His occupation gives Olivia mixed feelings. “I like it and then I do not like it,” Olivia said. “I like it because it is what he wants to do and it makes him happy, but I do not like it because there is the chance that he could be killed.”

If it were not for Facebook’s messenger, Olivia and Doug would not be able to communicate, let alone have much of a relationship, while he is away serving the country. The only form of communication Olivia and her brother have so that they remain close “is through Facebook, and we will just message each other,” said Olivia. “He can’t use his cell [phone] over there and he only gets one call so he calls his wife, my sister[-in-law],” Olivia said, “so Facebook was the only way we could [converse].”

Story and Design by Michaela Rutledge.

LearningCopeto

Have you been hacked?

Do you have Facebook?

Are you addicted?

Homework and Facebook?

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pg. 14 Facebook

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Story and Design by Michaela Rutledge.

Olivia Flores uses her phone to sign on to Facebook to communicate with her brother, Doug, in Afghanistan. Photo By Meghan Myracle.

7551 miles

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