volume 29 number 6

8/6/2019 Volume 29 Number 6

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Norseman stafferwins at state

JoJo Arevalo, aNorseman staffwriter. placedthird in the StateUILWriting contestMay5at the Uni~versityof Texas AreV8.loin Austin.

Also competing at thestate meet was co-editor UzCarr, who placed' seventh inEditorial Writing.

Speech competitorJanelle Wea.therford placed'sixth in Persuasive Speak-Ing..

Academic awardscelebration set

A 92 and' above "Cel-ebration" will be held June 1from 8:30-10:30 p.m. at theBryan Aquatic Center. Theevening of awards, musicand refreshments will re-p/ace the traditional cer-emony to recognize studentswith averages of 92 andabove. Awards will includ'eblankets, medals andplaques to recognizeaca-demic achievement.

Invitations for the eventhave been mailed to eligiblestudents.Senior Superlativesannounced at Prom

Senior Superlative hon-ors were announced' at theProm May 13.

Winning the title of Mr.and' Miss BHS wereMarycruz deleo" and Alton"Tiger" Burton. Senior classfavorites were Lance Haynieand Cathleen CatUn. Othersuperlatlveslncluded. SeniorLady & Gentleman-AndressDavison and' Micah Sims;Most Likely to Succeed-LucyPatraneHa and BrockFaulkner; personality Plus-Me'lissa Ruffino and' IvanMora.les;. Most Splri ted-Stephanie Lyles and' JonKleckley; Most Athletic-Kristen Greeno and' MaJ-quls Turner; Most Beautiful/Most Handsome-CindyBorski and Jesus Mo.rales;Most Talented-JenniferPerry and Drew Jones; BestDressed-Allison Broachand Eric Murphy.

Bryan High SchoolVolume 29. No.6SE- --- ----------

Ar f'anglng M.ard l Gras decorations fo r Prom, Jarred Hamlin he lpsout at the Hilton the night before the big event. The Junior ClassCounci l raised money through a varietyof fund-rai sers to put on theProm for the Class of 2000.

Foundation establishedto benefit students, staffMatt S t .eUbaue .rStaff writer

T he s ch oo l b oa rd i s c urre nt lywo rk in g w i th a newly-fanned non-profit f ounda ti o n who se p ur po se ist o p ro vi de fin an ci al a ss is ta nc e f ors ch ol ars hi ps , t ea ch er g ra nts , a ndp ro gra ms fo r w hic h tra ditio na lf un di ng i s n ot a va il ab le .

Created in 1999, the B ISDFoundation is composed of 20b oa rd m em be rs fro m all r ea ch es o ft he c ommuni ty w h o a re c omm it te dt o m aki ng a d if fe re nc e f or s tu de nt sand t eache rs .

The idea for the foundationc am e a bo ut w hile th e distric t w astrying to im plem ent a p lan for ane ar ly c hi ld ho od c en te r. Wh il e r ai s-in g m on ey fo r th e l ea rn in g c en te r,t ho se i nv ol ve d r ea li ze d t he y c ou ldt ak e t hi s p ro je ct mu ch f ur th er .

"A 5 w e saw that w e w ere get-ting all t hi s s u pp o rt from t he c om -m un it y w e re al iz ed th at th is c ou ldbe b ig ge r t ha n ju st g et ti ng m on eyfo r a n e arly le arnin g c en te r," sa idf in an ce c omm it te e m embe r A u st inBryan.F or s tu de nt s a nd t ea ch ers th ism ea ns th at th ere w ill be m ore o p-portunities f or t ea ch er s t o d ev el opin no va tive c la ss ro om p ro je ctsthrough grants, m ore m oney forstudent scholarship funds, a nd mo st

importantly. according theg roup 's l it e ra tu re , t h e f o und at io nwill encourage a ca dem ic e xc el -le nc e i n B ISD.

A c co rd in g t o Bryan, fundingcomes from a v ar ie ty o f s ou rc est hr ou gh ou t. t he B ry an -C o ll eg eStation a r e a . all of w hom share ac omm on g oa l.

'The mon ey fo r t he founda-tion co me s fro m people in thecom munity w illing to donatem oney for the c ause of help ingschool children,' B ry an s ai d.

A f u nd -r ai si ng d i nn e r w i ll beh eld in t he S ilv er C am p us c af ete -ri a o n J un e J 3 at 7 p.m. T h e e ve ntc ha ir s f or th e fo un da tio n h av e s etup an all-star cast to h elp w ith th earrangements.

K ic kin g o ff t he e ve nin g w illbe O utb ac k S te ak H ou se w hic hw ill be p ro vid in g a ste ak d in ne rwith all th e trim min gs a t n o c ostt o t he f ou nd at io n. T h e d in ne r w il lalso feature key speaker GeneS ta llin gs , fo rm er he ad footballcoach at Texas A& M, who willbe emphas iz in g t h e impor tan ce ofs u pp o rt in g p ub li c s choo ls t hr o ug_bpr ivate donations.

F or m or e in fo rm ati on o n th efo un da tio n o r t he d in ne r, c on ta cto rg an iz er B ill E rw in a t 6 96- 6966.

Crisis management plan outlines policyRecent bomb threats bring attention to evacuation procedure

Inth e c ase of a b om b th re at,s tu de nts c an b e m ove d to the sta -dium.

"Mo vin g t o V i kin g S ta di umis our first p lan of action, be-cause it is an op en space a nd canb e e asily c he ck ed for d ev ic es,"K op ec s aid .

S tu de nts c an b e b use d to th eC iv ic A ud ito ri um i I th e s ta diu m

is deem ed un-safe.

L iz C arrCo-Editor

In the wake of two M archbomb thr ea t s in . wh ic h t he e va cu -ations w ere earned out differ-ently, som e may wonder whatexactly is dictated by th e crisism an ag em en t p ol ic y.

T he p la n is se t in to a ction assoon as a t hr ea te ni ng c al l is re -ceived and iscarried out intwo p h as es .

T he firsti nv ol ve s t ra c-ing a call andcomparing itto a c he ck lis tt o d et erm in eits validity.

"We just want kids toknow that a prank likethis can land them indeep trouble with theschool and the govern-ment."Dr. Joe KopecExecutive Principal

Bothbomb threatsin M arch re-sulted in stu-dents beingp laced in Vi-k in g S ta di um .The secondevacuationw as handleddifferently

t ha n t he f ir st , h ow eve r, with no -tificatiou taking p lace door tod oo r r at he r than o ve r t he p ub lica dd re ss s ys tem .

A ccording to B IS D D irec-. tor of School Safety and D rugP re ve nti on , S uz an ne P he lp s, t heproper procedure for t his t yp e o fevacuation involves a desig-nated individualcarrying a writ-t en m e ss ag e from d oo r to d oo r.

"For se-curity rea-s on s, w e c an 'tsay specifically what is on thechecklist," E xe cu ti ve P ri nc ip a lJoe Kopec said. "W e just wantkids to know that a prank likethis can land them in deeptrouble w ith the school and thegovernment."

Ifthe decis ion is m ad e to re-a C L . to the threat, one o f tw othin gs c an happen=evacuationo r l o ckdown ,

This is because use of the publica dd re ss sy ste m c an c au se c erta intypes of b omb s t o d et on at e.

Ina s itu at io n in vo lv in g a g un -man on campus, a p rocedurecalled lockdown i s imp lement ed

inw hic h te ac he rs sw ee p p eo pleout of the halls and lock them -selves and their classes in th eroom until t he d an ge r s ub si de s.BISD hasa c ri si s m ana ge -m ent p lan and has p rovided ori-e nt at io n t o emp lo ye es .

What others are saying about. ..School Violence

In 1999, theMetropolitan Ufe Insurance Company conducteda survey of American teachers. students and law enforce-ment officers to gather information about their experiencesand feelings conceming school violence. Among the find-ings were the following:~ The majority of public school teachers and law en-forcement officials believe that the causes of violence intheir school center on the family: lack of parental super-vision at home and lack of family involvement in thestudent's education.~ For students in grades 7-12. the cause of violence inschools most frequently cited is peer group pressure. The majority ofpublic school teachers and students feelvel}' safe when they are at school. Both teachers and students who are in urban loca-tions are less likely than those who are in suburban orrura/locations to feel vel}' safe when they are at school.


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4 Norseman e- May 22 , 2000BHS SO much better than image

O ka y B ry an H ig h, n ex t y ea r le t's fig ht e ve ry d ay , h av e a b om bt hr ea t w e ek ly 00 Tuesdays at tw elv e a nd o nly go to clas o n d ay sw he n t he re are su bs o r v id eo s. B ec au e that w ha t's h ig h chool iabou t , r ig h t?

Having as m uc h fu n a yo u p sib ly c an a nd ris kin g y ou r lifea nd th o e f the . T hat's what high ch 0 1 i s abou t .

So tak heart. Th y may ha e called u low -perf rm ing in thepast, but we are dam g d at what we do.W e would be a blue ribbon school if they'd just cha nge thecriteria.

A nd w hat about these TAA S scores? So w e can't read. No-b od y w ill k no w wha t t hi s s ay s.

Okay, m aybe we're not as bad as this, but that's how ornecom munity m em bers tend to p erceive us. A ll of O UTgreat accom-p lis hm en ts in a th le tic a nd a ca de mic competition are lost in there po rt o f v io le nc e, I w test scores and lack of Nati nal Meritcholars.

OUf ftball team m ade it to late, as did a m em ber of ourtrack team . Our football team one again t o k th e d istric t title ,and our ShyA nnes w on numerou awa rd s. O ur gyrnnas ts ar e go -i ng t o n at io na ls .

A nd there's m ore. The Academ ic D ecathlon team sw ep treglonals and m ade it [Q s ta te . T h e, peech te am w in s c on si te ntly ,and a handful of our journali s aw s ta t e- lev el succe s i n t he irre p ctive UI L events. ur mu ic p rogram s regularly w in u pe-rior rating in competition in and ut of tate. Our Fed ral R -. e rv e C ha ll nge re c rd i so g oo d, th e o rg an iz atio n h as c re ate drule to keep us f rom w in ni ng a ften.

a w hy are we till doing things that we don't need to bdoing? How m any lim es have we been comm ended for m atureconduct at p ep ra llie s o r a sse mb lie s, y et w e c on tin ue to h av e fig htsalma t on a daily ba "is?

V ike , look at what you have, all the things you're g reat at.Look at the trophies that line our walls the cholar hip s we re-ceive. th c lleges we'r accep t d to. Focus on these thing andIa e the rest behind. Then you'll b com e all the great t hi ng s y ouwere m ant t be .

-Norseman Editorial Board

ORSEMANCo-edttors - Liz Carr, Janice CotsonisChief assistant editor - Chaunte WhiteAssistan t editors - Takeltha Gooden, Toear ro Wi!1iamsStaff w rite rs - Jo Jo Arevalo, Man Stelibauer. Janalee SeefeldtAdviser - Sandy FarrisThe Norseman is a publication of the Bryan High School Jour-nal ism Department, 3401 E. 29th, Bryan, TX 77802. (409) 731-7400. Member UIL-ILPC. Opinions prin ted in the Norsemanare those of the indiv idual writer and do not necessari ly ref lectthe views of the students, faculty, staff or administration ofBryan High School. Letters to the edi tor are weloome. Let tersmust be signed and delivered to Rm. 6160 or placed in theadviser's mailbox in the Blue Campus offtce. The Norsemanreserves the r ight to edit or condense letters as space permits.Material which could be considered obscene or libelous willnot be considered for publication. The Norseman does not guar-antee publication upon submission.

o rruonRandom ramblings from a tired teacherOn getting older and Milli -Moms ...

We're not inTexas anymore, TotoSenior prepares for out-of-state college adventure

In th e ti me s in ce r foolishlya gre ed to w rite C ha lk T alk , I 'v etried to think of a t p ic. Ihavep lenty of thing I ould writeabout, but omehow they alleem to trivial. Ieel a th ugh1s ho uld im pa rt a ge a dv ic e to d e-p a rt in g s eni or s . .. o r at least ornecliche word of w i dom .Io n't h av e a ny w is e i ns ig htth ese d ay s, th ou gh . Ido haveo rn e ra nd om c ary th ou gh ts a nda fru stra tio n to v en t, h ow ev er, ify ou c are to re ad fu rth er.

S ca ry th ou gh t # l: Itr ea ll y istrue that tim e pas e quicker theolder you get Ido n't have tim et o exp la in . ..j u st tru 1me on thisone.

S c ar y t ho ug ht #2: T he o ld eryou get, the m ore like your p ar-ents you becom e. Ye , you w ill.W hat's even scarier is that itdoesn't really bother you thatm u ch w he n it h ap pe ns . Y ou d on 'te ven w an t to know th e exp lana-t io n b eh in d th i n.

S c ar y t ho ug ht #3: Y ou w illreach a point in your adult lifew hen you don't know the nam esof any of the current popularba nds or other m usical acts, nordo you want to know them . Youw ill h av e y ou r te en ag e d au gh te rset the bu tton s on y ur c ar r ad iotoWTAW, KAM -FM a nd a nyoldie station that w ill tune ind ec en tly . Y ou 'll h av e b utt on le ftover .

S c ar y t ho ug ht #4: Y ou m aybuy a cool car in m id-life, sucha s a L ase r R ed M usta ng c on ve ct-i ble w it h l ea th er i nte rio r. b ut t ha tgreat B ose sound ystem is only

W e ll. th is f ou r-y ea r o dy s e yis drawing to a clo e an d in af ew m o nth s I'll b going awayto co l lege . Though t his p la ce h asnot always been good to m e, Ido n t know if!m quite ready tole av e it, a lo ng w it h e ve ry th in g Ik no w a nd lo ve .

R ight now it 10 ks as ifl'mgoing to a sm all Bap tist choolc all ed L ou is ia na C oll eg e. L et 'sjust say I experienced a m inorc ult ure s ho ck w he n T w en t to th ere ce nt p re vie w d ay .

I gues the m ost noticeablething I w ill have to adju t to ith e sim ply th e di ta nc e. I t t ak efiv e h ou rs to d riv e to P in ev ille .w he re t he c ol le ge i lo ca te d, o na c le ar d ay w ith m in i m al t ra ff ic ,p roviding one doe n't get stuc kbehind a log truck on the nar-ro w tw o-la ne ille ga l-to -p as shighway through the B igT hic ke t. w hic h is a b o lu te ly th eonly w ay to ge t there.

Okay , 0 I w as a lre ad y d is-concerted before 1 ven gotthere, and m aybe tha t coloredm y initia l view of the p lace butI don't think I w a overzealouin s po tti ng th e n eg at iv e a sp ec tso f m y p ro sp ec tiv e h om e.

he fir t thing I netic dw he n w e a rriv ed in A le xa nd ria ,P in ev ille 's tw in c ity , w a th e a b-e nc e o f a w ell-d efin ed a nd v is-

used to p lay things such asAretha Franklin' R-E-S-P-E-C-T , a ny th in g b y ZZ T op C hic ag o,Beeth ven or Mozart, and eilSperry ' G arden Line. Andsom etim es you w on't p lay any-thing at all.I'm having otber carythoughts as Imake thi list(m os tly I'm sc arin g m yse lf), b utIe all y n ee d to v en t a fru st ra tio nbefore I f inish, let's change thesubject.

The M illion M om M arch inW a h in gt on , D. . o n Mo th er 'sD ay w ee ke nd r; a lly b ug ge d m e.Fo r tho e w ho aren't fam iliarw ith w hy m others storm ed then atio n' c ap ita l, it w as to p u. h fo rstronger gun legi lation. Be-c au se , a s y ou all k no w, g un s killp e op l e . .. p eo p le d on 't k il l p e op le .O r a t least that' w hat Ie r ce i v edto be their m e age.

ne speaker likened theireffo rts to push for stricter guncontrol to that of M othersAgain D runk Driving(MADD). Sh e cited the in fluenceM ADD has had in reducing then umb er o f a lc oh ol -r el at ed t ra ff icdeath and said the M illi-M om scould have that sam e typ e of ef-f ec t o n g un l eg is la ti on .

Well, unles I'v e b ee n a sl ee pf or t he p as t 10years Ldon't thinkMADD wa 1I e ful in o ut-l aw in g t he instrument o f d e ath int ho e a lc oh ol -re la te d fa ta lit ie s.A lcoh I purchas and use is le-g al fo r t ho se 2 1 a nd over inmoststates, a nd autom obiles are al-ways available for no moneyd ow n a nd l ow f in an ci ng .

ible m iddle-cia . W hereasB ry an -C olle ge S ta tio n a nd al -m ost e ve ry o th er to wn I'v e e ve rbeen in has included everalsubdivi ion compo ed of brickhouses w ith m anicured law ns,Pineville-Alexandria didn't ap -p ear to have any. It eemed thatp eo pl e e it he r l iv ed in apparentp overty or resided in gloriousold V ictorian hou es. It was ak ind of bizarre thing for me, am em ber of the 3 bedroom , 2 and1 1 2 b ath ro om m id dl e c la ss .

A id e fro m th at, th ou gh , th etown wa n t bad. It e medrathe r n rm al and afe, althoughI was lightly alarm ed when Isaw my fir: t h ur ri ca ne e va cu a -tion route. A nd everyone that Ie nc ou nte re d w as n ic e.

T he c olle ge , a t le ast th e e n-v iro nm en t, p ro ve d to m y lik in ga s w ell. It w a a v irtu al p ara diseof p ine trees, p orch sw ings andneocla sical architec ture , andb ad a p leasant le i urely fee l.

A ll of that c uld not p i-b ly c om pe ns ate fo r th e g en era ls oc ia l w eir dn e s I e nc ou nte re d.They grouped u according toth e m ajo r w e p la nn ed to p ursu e,a nd o f a Jl th e jo urn alism /E n-g lish/French peop le I was theonly non-Loui ianan and [heonly per on who actuallyw ant ed t o s tu dy n ew s pa p er -t yp e

andy Farris.. ,Joumalism teacherM ADD is effective in edu-

cating peop le on the dangers ofmbining a l cohol and d ri v in g . In

other w ords the y go after thosewh o u the p r ducts in an irre-spon ible manner .

W hat is so annoying to m ea bo ut tb e g un c on tr ol a rg um e ntsi that there' very little beings ai d a bo ut i nf lu en ci ng t he b eb av -ior of those who may use gunsirrespon ibly. There' almostn thing being a id a bout p uttin gre pa n ibility f o r g un- re la t edd ea th sq ua re ly w he re it belongs:o n th e h ea ds o f t ho se w ho p ull th etrig ge r. B ut w e c an 't w ait u ntil itreaches that p oin t c an w e?

W e ll, w ha t a bo ut b ec om in gm ore inve ted in th e liv es o f o uryoung children and teenager ?W hat about know ing w ho yourk id 's frie nd . a r ?Wha t a bo ut re -a lly pending tim e w ith today'skids and finding ou t what theylhink? What ab ut f in di ng w aysto head off fru t ra ti on b ef or e itreach s a b o il in g p o in t?

Show me a kid who canb ui ld b omb in t he f am i ly g ar ag ew ithout being detec ted a nd I'lls ho w y ou a k id w ho se p are nts areeither too afraid or too stup id toa sume the responsibility ofparenting.

W e need to dem and re P O D -sibility from everyone and topt ry in g t o find s ca pe go ats j us t b e-cause w e don't w ant to be m adeto fe el g uilty a bo ut w he re w e'v ef ai le d. S c ar y t ho ug ht , huh?

LIz CarrCo-editor

w ri ti ng . N e ed le s to sa y, th erew ou ld b e o th er T ex an s a nd o th erjournalism rnaj r s a ro un d w he nI actually got there for chool,but) couldn't help but feelingL ike t his little group m ight be am icrocosm of the w hole p laceand a harbinger of what was tocome.

Bu t 00 mat te r w he re I w en t,I 'd ba e the arne trouble, right?Everybody ha p roblem s m ak-i n g f ri en d in a new p lace don 'tthey?

De p ite the weirdne s atfir t, I feel like I'U eventuallym eet p eop le and adjust.W ithonly 1200 stu de nts, I'm b ou ndto e ve ntu ally m ee t all o f th em .

Pinev ille is just anothertown. It ba g d and bad, likeB ryan. Ju t because it i dis-p laced 400 mile to the east inan other state doesn't m ean thatI can't be comfortable there.And college won t be that bigo f a d ea l, e ith er.

It all boil down to the factthat life continue, regardles oftim or p lace. II I have to do isge t out there and join in.


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Controversy continues aroundthe nation as some schoolsrequire random drug testing of

its athletes. Though thepractice has been declaredunconstitutional by courts insome states. random drugt~ting continues.Should there bedrug testing forschool athletes?

"There should berandom drug

testing. Idon' t dodrugs and studentswho do shouldn'tget by with it. "lindsay Anderson,10

"Yes, because ifthey do it atcollege, theyshould do It here.That way, athletesw ill k no w w ha t to

expect . "Katrina Amos, 12Giving thanks, saying goodbye

I've finally reached one of the fourrna t imp rtant day f my life, highshoal graduation. Mo t people wonderwhat the big deal is, you re just going tostart cho I all over again. I gue s younever reaJly know until you get there .

I can say that I will miss the 'wicked'hal lways of Bryan High. These hal lwayswil l forever h Id fond memories inmy life.At times 1wonder if the e walls could talk.what they say about the bomb class of2000?

From th first day that we entered thedo r of Lamar. we have made hi tory atBryan High. We wee the f ir t and onlycia s to graduate after four full years onthe trimester plan. We proved i t success-ful, too. es, history was made but we didhave our, hall I say. ernbarra ing mo-ments.

Not only did ju t bing a part of theclass of 2000 make me proud but. theevents, teachers, and students that wereinvolved made it ev n b tter.

First, to the one person I could counton no matter what, Coach Pier . Through-out my four year here a great impact wasmade on the way my high school careerwent because you were involved - alwaymaking sure that I made the right deci-i n in whate er ituati n I was in.Thank.

}OJforc a r -inga minvesting so much time in me, and our

whole track team. I know that you willhave much succe in the future and thatGod wi II ble you becau e you haveblessed many others.

OK, now to the actual team. Girls,never top wanting th succe of winningfir t becau e as one, you all can't I e. Inthe future ju t continue to be a team eventhough we've had our little epi odes ev-eryone wa till there for one another intheir time of need. If you continue to dothis your team will never fall. Good luck.

Mr. arris, I don't know where totart. You ha e given til opportunity forour whole staff to expand our wings inmany ways and it is greatly appreciatedby all of u . You were the one of manyteacher that Weweren't afraid to tell any-thing and know that none el e wouldknow about it and I want to thank you forthat.

To anyone didn't get to mention, youare apprec ia ted also. I can't forge t to tellthe rest of the Gooden girls, keep it hot atBHS!

Takeltha GoodenAssistant editor

Slackers pay attentionA springtime comes to an end and

we feel the warmth of the summer unrays on our legs. we dream about tbeoccurrences that are about to take place.

Meanwhile, teachers stand in frontof our classes and try to teach theirclasses the main components of the sub-jects that we all know we will need inthe near future.

They ha e a great amount of pa-ti nee for students who are pa . ingnotes and continuing their own sideconver ations after they have askedmany limes for students to listen to theles on that they have prepared.

But the only thing that i n ourminds is what we are going to do forSpring Break and how we are going tospend those last precious days with ourfriends.

We think to ourselve "I can't waitto go to Cancun, hopping for a newwardrobe or just to get some extraleep."

Then reality hit. us when you re-ceive a be low-stellar grade on your testand you think "How could this teachergive me this grade?"

What have we mis ed? Did thisteacher give us this grade or did we just

Tocarro William.Assistant editor

lack off and de erve thi grade and nowwe do not want to take credit for our ac-lions?

We need to under itand that choolis a job and n t a temporary one.

We have to concentrate on what weactually attend school for, and that is tobetter ourselve .

Yes, seniors this also includes you!Especially, you! We are at the end of ourhigh scbool career and we need to remainin the tate f mind of education. Acm-ally take a moment and think what willhappen if you do not pass that Econom-ic . Government, or EngJi h IV. Gradua-tion wil l not be plaus ible.

High school is a step that everyonemust take to become a better person butif you can barely gel out of high school,how in the world are you going to makeit through college?

Even though our high sch 01 worldmay seem like it i coming to a fa tend.we must see that there is still more hereto be learned.

Goal reached through help ofmanyI'd like to pretend like I'm sad that

my high school career i. about to end,but I'm not, I am more ready than everto walk across the stage and accept myhard-earned diploma. Although mybattle with the book' was hard-fought.I've finally reached my goal. But I didnot do it alone. There have been manypeople that have given me guidance, mo-tiva tion and tons of support. So Iam de-voting this space to (hem and sayingthanks to a few of the people who havein many ways belped to shape my fu-ture:

Mrs. Prejean- Thanks for get ting offthe subject and telling us stories aboutyour crazy uncle. I appreciate all yoursuppor t over the years .

Ms. Whiteley- Honest ly, your classwas probably tbe hardest cia. s that I'veever taken. but your continuing encour-agement helped me to do well. It maysound funny but .I appreciate your tr ict-ness; it help d me to focus. Don't everlet them break you!

Dr. Liles- I've got to say that if Icould do it all over again I would haveyour cia s third period every day.Thank for making lunch so enjoyable!

Coach Taylor- Sorry about thewhole UT thing. but we'll always havePizza Hut! Thanks for believing in meand proving that I 'm not mathematicallychallenged.

"No, because i t isan invasionprivacy."Amber Fazzjno,

10

"II goes both ways . ..iIthey test, they' l l know allthe athletes will be ableto do their best, butsometimes peoplemake mistakes andneed another dlance."

Krlsty McConnell, 11

"Yes, because it'snot fair to studentswhen other athletesare taking ste-

roids."SergiO Aguilar, 10

"Sure. It wouldmake the learnsmore successful."Cody Parrott, 12

Somewhere over the rainbowDeparting senior wishes for a place without prejudiceIt' not like I need to tell you thatgraduation is almost here. Everybodyknows that it's coming, The very air atBryan High ishumming with the amountof antic ipation bing emitted fr m ev-ery senior body.

About this time of year th seniorson the Norseman staff write their finaledi torials. They slap all the underclass-men with a plethora of advice whichpromises to enrich the high chool ex-perience for all those who wil l be return-ing for th next few years.r ve been through a lot at BHS, butI don't have any life-altering advice toleave behind me. Nor do I have any agewords for the depar ting eniors; I 'mjus tas curiou a the ne t graduate aboutwhat is to come.

It is the end of the beginning andhopefully things will only get better as Ienter the next chapter of my life. I ammore than ready to get out of thi malltown where I'm surrounded by smallpeople with closed minds. I can onlybope that omewhere over the rainbowthere is a place where people are accept-

Chaunte WhiteChief asst. ed.

Mrs. Greeno- Thanks for being bluntand tel ling us the truth about our health.seem to remember everything I leamein your class, even THE MOVIE!

Coach Reese- Iwill rni you! Thanksfor following us from Jane Long to BHS.It was nice to see a familiar face in thehalls.

Coach Mart in- Thanks for providinginspiration for my fantastic basketball sto-rie . and encouraging me to do well. Anoh, yeah thanks for making the boy jogaround the gym before the game in theircute little warm-up outfits!

Mrs. Farris- You are the best! Thankyou for all of your "psychic intuition :'your guidance and support. and the ridein the 'stang that I will never get. And ohyeah. sorry about the Sonic incident!

To all the ones I missed it's been aball. and to all the underclassmen keepyour head up. it'll be over soon. I hate toay it but I'll mis thi. place, despite thel imes when I dreaded walking through thedoors. But no matter what I will alwaysbe a Viking and this will alway, be myhome. I'm out!

Janice Cotsonl.Co-edltor

ing and not judgmental. Perhap there isa campus where I won't be subjected toderogatory commentsabout people be -cause of their color or religion, ocialclass or appearance.

Mo t of all, it would be nice to fi-nally e cape the hypocrites who screamat the top of their lungs about people whoshould break out of their cliques, thenimmediately tum around toensure the ex-clu ivene of their own group ,probablydenying admittance ba ed on coJor, clasreligion ...you get the picture.

There must be a tOWD or campussomewhere where aperson can have herhead, wear a burlap sack as a dee .spouther philo phical beliefs and date some-body of equal ly eccentr ic choice and st il lwalk through campus without having todeal with the snickers and bel it tling com-ments of tho e people who prefer to com-ment on life a oppo ed to live it. ITyouget there first, send me a postcard.


6/8

LeattHesNorseman. May 22,2000String trainingTurbyfill to retire after two decades with orchestra

who've graduated from this pro-gram, 1alway enjoy seeing howthey've grown up," Turbyfill said.

Five of Turbyfill's formertudents have gone on to becomeorche tra director them elves orto teach private lessons.

"The arts are so important ineducation, and we have to havesome way of perpetuating them, 'Turbyfil l said. "We always needpeople to pass the torch to."

Although most of his stu-dents do not pursue music afterhigh school, Turbyfill is stillplea ed to know that they havegotten something out of their ex-perience in the program.

Current students also havememories of Turbyfill.

"He [Turbyfill] has beenknown to throw his baton acci-dental ly when he di rects, so oneyear we attached it to one ofthosewrist key rings and gave it to hima a present," said senior SallySarle . " He actually u ed it for awhile."

Liz CarrCo-editor

He lifts his baton. The or-chestra snaps 10, poised [or thefirst note. Silence, pregnant withanticipation ' falls over the audi-torium. All attent ion is focusedon him. Then, with. a single. de-cisive stroke he commands theonslaught of the maelstrom. Thaistorm has raged for over 20years.

Director Harold Turbyfillhas watched the orchestra growfrom a fledgling federal programto the award-winning organiza-tion that it i today. This month,he stands before them for the lasttime.

"I think what I will rnis themost is watching student whohave struggled to learn their in-struments fj nally succeed,"Turbyfill said.

Some of Turbyfill' fondestmemories have been of the se-niors each year.

''When I bu mp into students

Sophomore Rachel Sta nywill remember learning musicwith Turbyfill as more than sim-ply a technical process.

"Me Turbyfill is a goodteacher. He bas always been moreconcerned with feeling the emo-tion of the music than anythingelse," Stasny said.

A song performed in the lastconcert held special emotionalsignificance for Turbyfill . Clas-sical Jazz," by Texas composerCarold Nunez, was commis-ioned by Turbyfill's wife inhonor of her hu band and the or-chestra.

Turbyfil l's plans for his re-tirement include repairing instru-ments, something he alreadyloves. He currently does all therepairs for the district, but ha saccepted a job at the String andHorn Shop.

The violins wail passionatelyover the rumbling of the basses.He swings his arms wildly, die-

Orchestra director Harold Turbyfill is retiring at the end of this year.

gins 10 fade. The storm hasended, subdued to quiet, gentlerain. He til ts his head inquiet ap-preciation ofhis students' efforts.Another performance has ended.

toting each thundering beat.Louder, louder, louder and morefrenzied the piece becomes untilit settles on the last definitivechord. Hefreezes. The chord be-

Keystone Club definingservice to communityrowing pain sTeens n eed p ar en ta l s up por t, g uid an ce iniden ti ty searchJoJo ArevaloStaff writer kill . In April members of the club at-tended a regional conference in Missouri.

"The conferences are designed to aJ-low the club to meet kids their age thatare also leaders in the community,"Cannady said. "They al 0provide a placewhere we can learn new ideas and projectsand at the same time share our ideas."

Freshman Justin Anderson just joinedthe Keystone Club this year."I thought the club would be a greatopportunity to interact with the commu-nity, ' Anderson said.

Senior Arlitha Ivy bas been in theclub for four years and feels it has been agood experience.

"At first I joined the club because itwould look good on my college and schol-

arship applications,but then I fanned abond with the mem-bers and advisorwhich will last a life-time" Iv y said.

One upcomingproject for the Key-stone Club is a BigBrother/Big Sisterprogram for the chil-dren of the Boys andGirl Club.

The purposeof the Big Brother!

Big Sister program is to work one-on-onewith the kid 0 they can get to know ubetter and so they have omebody to lookup to and confide in," Marah Fry said.

Ifany high school student isinterestedin joining the 12th Man Keystone Clubfortbe 2000-2001 school year, they shouldcontact Club Advi or Gary Cannady orClub President Marah Fry at the Boys andGirls Club.

"I strongly recommend joining theclub. I t isa chance to give back to the com-munity, help the youth meet new peopleand develop your leadership abiliti es,"said first year member Jonathan Lopez.

Chaunte WhiteChief asst. ed.

Ifthe teens of America had a nationalanthem it would be titled "Parents JustDon't Understand."

This slogan rings out from the heartsof many of America's teens. As growingpains begin to stretch past the strugglesof adolescence and reach into the rebel -liousne sof the teen years parents shouldunderstand that teens have a natural needestablish their own identity.

"Iwish my mom would realize that Ineed to be able to express myself," saidsenior Channaine Campbell. "Ican't con-form to her ideas of what she wants meto be."

Parents seem tothink that when teensbecome distant there is a problem, butaccording to many experts, separatingfrom one' parents is a normal and nec-essary step in personal development. Itdoes not necessarily mean they are do-ing something wrong.

"At this stage teenagers often rejecttheir parents and all that they stand for sothat they can make a clean break fromchildhood as they attempt to form an iden-tity of their own," said Leslie Ell is of BCParent Magazine.

Many teens also agree."I spend a lot of time in my room by

myself these days, just l is tening to musicor talking on the phone," Campbel l said."It's not that I'm trying to hide anything,it just helps to get away and think: some-times."

However this situation doesn't al-ways leave teens and parents at odds

"My mom understands and respectsmy need for personal space, because shehas the same needs," said senior MaryWiede.

This withdrawal of teens also makesprivacy another issue that becomes preva-lent during these trying years. It is cru-cial for parents to respect their children's

privacy. Going through their room, read-ing diaries or rummaging through otherpersonal belongings, without reasonablesuspicion shows a total l ack of respect onthe part of parents .

"Ifparents invade their children's pri-vacy without just cause then i tcan lead towithdrawal and also mistrust of the par-ent by the child," said local psychologistDebra Milburn.

Though at times there may actuallybe a need for parents to intervene, for in-stance if something serious is really trou-bling them. The best thing to teach teensin these situations is to look in the rightplaces for the answers to their problems.

"The other thing Io when counsel-ing adolescents searching for a sense ofidentity is to encourage them to look onthe inside, rather than the outside, for theanswers," Ell is said.

Ifteens can't find it inside themselvesthen it is important that they have some-one they can go to and if parents can't bethere they should make sure that some-one po itive is.

"Often people look back on their ado-lescence and identify a sports coach.teacher, neighbor or relative that had arelatively fleeting. but powerful impact onour lives," Ell is said. "If you're suddenlyno longer your son or daughter's heromake sure there are other worthy candi-dates to fil l the void,"

Experts agree that having a strong rolemodel is important but being able to com-municate with their teens is a skill that allparents should acqui re. In fact. commu-nication is said to be the most importantfactor in the parent-teen relationship dur-ing these troublesome years .

"Communication is the foundation ofany good relationship," Milburn said "Ifparents wi ll spend more time listening totheir teens than talking to them it willmake them want to talk to them more andwithdraw less."

Throughout the community, numerousgroups can be found that do things tohelpimprove the Brazos Valley. Yet few ofthese clubs are as obscure as the 12thManKeystone Club, a small but extremely ac-tive community service group located hereinBryan.

"The Keystone Club's main purposeis to improve the community in any waypossible, and at the same time develop theleadership kills needed to succeed in life,"said Keystone advisor Gary Cannady.

Since it began in the Brazos Valleyfiveyears ago, the Keystone Club has d nemany things to improve thecommunity.Tbe club performs such tasksas visiting nursinghomes, cooking din-ner for the kids at theBoys and Girls Club,as well as runningtheir annual Hallow-een carnival andcleaning communityparks.

Bryan High se-nior Marah Fry hasbeen a member of theclub for four yearsand is currently thepresident of the orga-

"At first I joined the clubbecause it would lookgoodonmy college andscholarship applica-tions. but then I formeda bond with the mem-bers and advisor whichwill last a lifetime."Arlitha Ivy, 12

nization."Itfeels great to be giving back to thecommunity. Every time we finish with anactivity, I aJways feel like I have done mypart to belp make the community better ,"Fry said.

The club recently put on a public Eas-ter egg hunt.

''The Easter egg hunt was a big suc-cess," said two year member Nola Fry."All the kids bad a great time and wenthome with a smile on thei r face."

The Keystone Club also attends re-gional, statewide and national conferencesto help them develop their leadership


7/8

5 ' orts No,,",man Ma 22 . 20007State berth crowns softball successJoJo ArevaloStaff writer

Bryan High softball coachJanice Williamson fir t got theword that she was to be the headcoach afth Bryan High softballteam while she was hitchhikingin Europe.

"I was with a group ofteachers and we were trying toget away from a moreconvent ional trip to Europe andget to know the people, so wewere hitchhiking," William onaid.

Every so often, the groupwould stop and phone homeju tto see what was going on.

"I called my parents andthey said Athletic DirectorMerrill Green had called andoffered me the job," Williamsonaid

For Williamson, the call waslong-awaited good new .

"I had been asking for ateam for two or three years so Ijumped at tbe chance,"Williamson said.

Williamson's cause wabelped back home by numerousparents and tudents who voiceda imilar opinion to the ch 1board.

At that point the BHSsoftbalJ program began "buildinga tradition of excellence" as theycontinue to do now even in their12th eason.

The first two seasons (1989-1990) were subpar for the teamas they posted a record of 11-25in those two years. However,things would tum around in thenext few seasons, as the Vikehad a win-loss record of ]76-83from 1991-1998, won fourdi trict titles along the way andmade one trip to the tatetournament.

The team had what appearedto be a lackluster season last year,having a record of only 13-15after eight st raight seasons witha winning percentage of .50 ormore. However, nine of those 15losses came by a singI run andth team was plagued by injuries.

"Last year's record wa n'tindicative of how the teamplayed," Williamson said.

Apparently the othercoaches agreed, voting theViking softball team thepreseason pick for districtchampion.

And now as the Lady Vikecontinue their run through the

playoffs, one can expect the teamand players to catch the eye ofmore and more college cout.Since the beginning of theprogram. the Vike have ent 14students to play collegiate ball.

"The further you go into theplayoffs, the more visibili ty theteam gets and the more l ikely theplayers are to get cholarships."Williamson said.

Williamson believe theLady Vikes will hav as muchsuccess in the up oming seasonsas they have bad thu far.

A tournament earlier thisseason can be cited as proof ofthe possibility of continuedsuccess. The Viking programentered four teams and proceededto win first second, and thirdplaces, as well a the can alationtrophy.

The girls have been rankedashigh as number two in the tateby some polls and were rankedthird by the Texas Sports RadioNetwork going into the stateplayoffs.

After such a great season,one can be certa in that once againthe bar has been raised to a newheight for the fu ture Bryan Vikingsoftball team.

Ending the season on a good noteTakeltha GoodenAssistant editor

The defending District 13-SA champ have once againclaimed their title.

The Viking track teamproved that they were once againback to take care of buines atbey competed at the districtmeet on Apri l 13-14.

The Vikings took first placein everal events at the meet.

"The team worked really

hard to achieve the goals thatthey had set for them elves," saidcoach David Greeno.

As a result of the ucce ofdi trict meet, spots were earnedto go on to the regional meet inWaco at Baylor Univer ity.

"I think we will competewell atthe regional meet becausewe have the desire to do it," saidsenior Terrell Henderson,

Although the team had a

disappointing turnout at theregional track meet they aren'tgoing to let that stop them.

'This year we had a youngteam and it wa like a learningexperience for them and will onlymake us stronger for next year,"said junior Randon Branch.

The team is looking forwardto defending their district t it le inthe new dist rict as well as takinganother trip to the regional meet.

CHAMPIONS

Viking Gymnasts captured the state team championship for the fourth t ime in f iveyears. Two Vlkes also achievedindividual champion status. Michael Farnsworth isstale champ on pommel horse, and Chris Moncivais isstale champon rings. Drew Jones reached the f inals Inf iveevents. more than anyone else atthe meet. Brian Nemec was a floorfinalist, finishing fourth. Other members are Erik Altherr, Patrick Daniell, Billy Dunford. Gabriel Dunford. MichaelMcConnel. Jesse Vessel and Chandler Wood. Farnsworth, Moncivais andJones also qualified forthe National meet inMadison, Wisconsin from May 26-28.

SW ING HITS

Scenes of the season ... (clockwise from top) As the lineup is in-troduced, the varsity softball gir ls raise some enthusiasm with eachother. Jenni fer Survant eyes the approaching bal l. Rachel Wernerfires a warm-up pltch to the catcher. L indsey Bond br ings the bat,around, sending the bal l to r ight field. Summer Johnson stretchesto catch a ball. The Lady Vik.es earned a tr ip to the state tourna-ment in Austin last weekend by defea ting the Nacogdoches LadyDragons 1-0 in regional playoff action. This marks the secondappearance in the state tournament by the Lady Vikes wi thin thepast few years. photos by Bi ll Meeks

Golf team expecting changes next yearMa" Stell bauerStaff writer

With two di trict qualifiersand several top five fini shes theViking golf team ha een a pro-ductive year.

'I'm pleased with the waywe ended our season,"said coachRon Newhouse.

The girls golf team had afif th place finish in distr ict withthe boys not following far behindwith a eventh place win.

'We played real wen in thespring but we had a di appoint-ing district bowing,' saidNewhou e.

With seven tournaments andthree district they ended theirseason strongly. But even thoughtheir season has just ended theyfeel that it is never too early tostart looking toward next year.

"Next year will be quite dif-

ferent for us, because of the factthat we are switching to the se-mester y tern which wi ll shortencla periods, and also we willonly have one senior on ourteam,' said Newhouse.

Newhou e has some ideasfor next year season.

Next year the team will tryto take advantage of the TexasA&M golf course.

"It' a really nice golf courseand will us to improve our-selves," Newhouse said

The golf team will also tryto take weekly trips to the drivingrange, but to do this the team wil lneed money.

"My plan is to try and host atournament next year so that wewill have money to do thingsnecessary for the golf team tocontinue to get better," aidNewhou e.


8/8

volume 29 number 6

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