Winterguard finishes competition season

Saige Griffin Feature Page Editor   

The Winterguard team started off their competition season strong, bringing in a first place, and two second places. The team is a combination of dancing and props like rifles and flags, competing around once a week. Captain Amy Guerra describes the process of preparing for a competition. 

   “We spend the whole week practicing and on comp day there’s a warm up we go to. There’s a body warm up where we practice dancing only and from there we move on to equipment warm up where we practice with all our equipment like rifles and after that we move onto the performance,” Guerra said.

   As the team moves forward in their season, member Eden ( ) says her favorite thing about being in winterguard is the family they have created, “we have our own little group,” Guerra said.

   Captain Amy Guerra says that her favorite thing about her position is seeing the progress everyone makes between the incomers and freshman. Her path to become captain was encouraged by their current tech, who was previously captain. 

If you are interesting in joining Winterguard for the 2023- 2024 school year, here are some important dates:

The Winterguard team including: Amy Guerra, Emmerson Schellin, Pricais Vasquez, Madison Alaquinez, Jerry, Paolo, Talia, Giovanna Arias, Hailey Doriott, Eden Garcia, and more Panthers

HOSA Celebrates Competition Win

Sophia Luna Staff writer

H.O.S.A. or Health Occupations Students of America, is an international organization and club that many of our students are involved in. HOSA has a variety of divisions and career prep paths to participate in. Recently, our own HOSA club competed in their regional competition and advanced to State. The students in HOSA, and their sponsors Ms. Avens and Dr. Cano shared their excitement to compete at State. 

Junior Treasurer, Scarlett Graf, shared she spent her time in HOSA working with wonderful people, and creating an enjoyable environment for everyone in the club.

   “We strive to create a learning environment as well as service collaboration and experience , so we provide our members with the ability to deep dive into something they’re interested in in the healthcare field,” Graf said.

   HOSA is a way for students to explore a variety of options and career paths to take in healthcare.

   “The thing about Hosa is that there’s over 40 competitions you can choose from, and you can take test based ones, and skill based ones,” junior President Hector Frausto said.

   HOSA sponsor Ms. Avins is one of two teachers who helps lead the members to success. This is Avins’ first year as a sponsor.

   “In HOSA we are looking for somebody who is willing to learn, and try new things,” Avins said.

   Seniors Kaleigh Hampton and Isabella Carrizales are both members of CERT or Community Emergency Response Team. 

   “We are best friends and we have this little duo going on, so it definitely helps if you’re really good friends with your partner. It’s also important to uphold an amount of professionalism. It’s easy to have fun in the moment but also to take it seriously,” Hampton said.

   “In Hosa you get to network with people who are interested in the same thing as you, and you are already studying for stuff for your future that you wouldn’t study in regular courses,” Carrizales said.

   Junior historian, Karlee Kenyon, who is on the parliamentary procedure team, was extremely proud of her and her teammates for advancing to state.

   “I love my team, they are my favorite people in the whole wide world. We just work really well together and it makes studying and going to these competitions more enjoyable,” Kenyon said.

   HOSA members felt they accomplished amazing things this year and plan to continue to work hard.

Adopt a dog, they helped me

Staff Writer: Samantha Martinez

Dogs are a man’s best friend, they are companions that will be there for you until the end.They are animals you can run around with or lazy ones that will accompany you during a binge watch of shows. During the pandemic, people needed something to keep them company through this isolation and loneliness, their answer was man’s best friendAs a result,the lockdown really showed how much we rely on companionship to keep ourselves sane.

According to the ASPCA, nearly one in five households nationwide adopted an animal during the pandemic and 90 percent of households are still continuing to house the dogs they acquired during the lockdown. 

But what is it about dogs specifically that drew people in to adopt during this pandemic?  What exactly persuaded people to go out during these hard times and make a life-changing commitment to adopt a dog? 

The American Kennel Club says studies have shown that owning a dog can help with anxiety and stress. Worrying about failing that math test? Get a dog and worry together. Studies show that 40% of dog owners have an easier time making friends. This is due to your beloved canine being a good conversation starter and making you seem more approachable. 

Another thing to note would be the physical benefits these pooches bring. With the rambunctious animals that dogs are, it’s evident to say that keeping them locked indoors doesn’t always cater to their needs. According to AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association), results from a survey showed that out of 1,000 people 53% increased playtime with their pets, and 39% took more dog walks, along with 43% exercising more with their pets than they did pre-pandemic. 

Although adopting any animal is realistically not an easy decision to make on a whim, the benefits are gravitating. Not only with their aid in both mental health and physical health, but also the gift of having a cute animal in your home. 

Multicultural club highlights Ramadan

Staff Writer: Eryca Gomez

 Senior Hajar and junior Yousef Aldhafeeri lead March’s Multicultural Club meeting with a presentation dedicated to the religious observance of Ramadan. The siblings are muslim students, meaning they are followers of the religon of Islam. In their presentation they covered the meaning of Ramadan and its origin. 

  Ramadan is the 9th month in the Islamic calendar and is a month of prayer, fasting, and community. The naming of Ramadan stems from the Arabic root “ar-ramad,” which means scorching heat. Muslims believe that in A.D. 610, the angel Gabriel appeared to Prophet Muhammad and revealed to him the Quran, the Islamic holy book. 

  “Ramadan is determined by the sight of the new moon. The start of the month is different every year,” Yousef explained to the club.

  This year’s Ramadan is from April 1st to May 1st, followed by Eid al-Fitr, a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide because it marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting experienced during Ramadan. 

     In addition to the presentation, the students set up moon colorings and handed out Arabic candy and pastry bags. The club director Laura Dejong also informed the club about a multicultural fest involving other NISD high school multicultural clubs. The fest will be May 25th from 6-8 pm at Stevens HS.

Smith’s Slap Reflects Toxicity of Revenge

Copy Editor: Cristian Velazquez

  The internet exploded near the end of March when, during the 94th Academy Awards on live television, after Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s extremely short haircut while presenting an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, her husband Will Smith avenged her by getting up from his seat and striking Rock across the face with an open hand, then walking back to his seat without saying a word. Smith then continued to escalate by yelling profanities at Rock; making the auditorium gasp, fall silent, and leaving a disconcerted Rock to continue the award ceremony. Smith would win an Oscar for Best Actor about 45 minutes later; giving a tearful acceptance speech for over five minutes, where he apologized to the Academy and the award nominees, but not to Rock.

  “I’m being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people,” Smith said in contrast to his actions not even an hour prior.

  “Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like they said. I look like the crazy father just like they said about Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things,” Smith said, referencing his character in the movie King Richard (2021) he won an Oscar for portraying. Rock made a similar connection before he was slapped. “Uh Oh! Richar…” Rock said laughing as Smith walked on stage.

  I became aware of the incident the night it happened after looking at my phone before I went to bed, as is my bad habit. Going to school the next day, the meme had entranced the majority of the student body. I joked with my friends and laughed about it. People in the hallways were talking about it. People in my classes were talking about it. Two of my teachers discussed the incident with their class.

  As teenagers, we can probably all relate to situations where an insecurity is agitated by someone, we act out emotionally in retaliation, and then suffer the consequences for our actions; penally and emotionally. Countless physical fights at schools follow this formula. A quote dubiously attributed to Benjamin Franklin rings ever-so true in cases like these: “Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame.”

  Smith has since posted an apology to Rock, the cast and crew of King Richard, and the Williams family on social media. He resigned from the Motion Picture Academy while awaiting his punishment from the organization, which was revealed last Friday to be a ten-year ban on attending Academy events. However, none of these acts can make up for the deep, dark shadow that Smith cast on his accomplishment and the accomplishments of others at the Academy Awards with his belligerence that night. His attempt to get even with Rock ended up having multiple negative repercussions that rippled across the Academy, the public, and his own career.

  Many have come in support of Rock for enduring particularly humiliating unjustified violence; myself included. However, some believe that, regardless of Smith’s conduct, Rock’s joke was in extremely poor taste as Pinkett Smith has publicly stated she wears a shaved head, not purely as a style choice, but to conceal her hair loss condition.

  “Jada, I love you. G. I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it, all right?” Rock said smiling; comparing Pinkett Smith’s haircut to the Demi Moore character’s haircut in G. I. Jane (1997), where Moore plays the fictional first woman Navy SEAL, Jordan O’Neill, who also sports a shaved head. Some of the audience, including Smith, laughed at the joke, but many audience members expressed shock and thought it went too far, and Pinkett Smith’s face immediately displayed disapproval. “It’s—that was a—that was a nice one!” Rock said after the joke before continuing his monologue.

  While people may criticize Rock for making a dubiously dubbed “ableist” joke, It is actually Rock who suffers from a disability. In 2020, Rock revealed he was diagnosed with nonverbal learning disorder (NVLD), a neurodevelopmental disorder that hinders comprehension of nonverbal communication. Given this information and Rock’s body language at the time, one can reasonably infer then that he was not even aware that his person was in danger before the slap because Smith failed to give a verbal cue until after he attacked him.

  I do not want to say that Jada Pinkett Smith should not have rolled her eyes and endured the joke. Despite what she has said about her haircut, she is not completely comfortable with her status as shaved-headed, and her feelings were hurt. If the Smiths did not want to take this sitting down, there were multiple options to address Rock’s transgression. They could have expressed their disapproval of the joke by giving a statement after the ceremony, incorporating a statement during Smith’s acceptance speech, leaving the ceremony, or all of the above; perhaps guilt-tripping Rock to make an apology later on and raising awareness for hair loss among women.

  Talking about what could have happened that night won’t change what has already been done. But hopefully for Smith, and for us in our worst moments, we can recognize our mistakes, forgive, and look forward towards a brighter future.

The rise of Wordle

News Section Editor: Emma Szabo

Stove. Lowly. Snout. Trope. Fewer. Shawl. Natal. Though seemingly random, this list of words has one thing in common – they are all recent answers to the daily Wordle. Since February, the game has exploded in popularity. Even if you don’t play it, you’re sure to recognize the setup of little gray, yellow, and green squares people post every day. So, what caused the puzzle’s popularity in the first place, and what keeps people playing – even with some new complaints?  

  The premise of the game is simple – you get six tries to guess a five-letter word every day. It was created by Welsh software engineer Josh Wardle as a gift to his wife who loved word games, and after his family enjoyed the game he made it available for public play. The game, which was shared publicly in October 2021, has been free to play online since launch and picked up in popularity in December 2021. With thousands of daily players, Wordle’s explosion in popularity caught the attention of The New York Times, and was bought for an undisclosed amount at the end of January. For many people, playing Wordle has become a part of their daily routine, and has given them something to talk about.

“I have a streak going, and it also makes me feel smart because I’ve always been able to get the word by the end of the day,” Senior Shelby Crowley said. 

  Streaks and game statistics have been one of the biggest reasons Wordle has spread. With the built in option to share how many tries it took to solve the daily puzzle, Wordle trends almost daily on Twitter and other social media sites. The quick and easy way to share your results (which include a link to the game) makes it simple to increase interest in Wordle and also provides players with a spoiler free way to converse. 

“I love being able to share my results with my family. Every day, we send each other our results in a group chat and it gives us something to talk about that night,” Sophomore Cathleen Vasquez said. 

  Despite the game’s beloved status, fans of Wordle have recently been discontent with the word choices; many believing that it’s the fault of The Times. Words with two of the same letter and unusual letters such as ‘u’ or ‘y’ were uncommon before the purchase, and some of the hardest words had previously been things like ‘tapir’ and ‘knoll’. In contrast, the first two words after The New York Times both started with U, something that players had not seen before. Since then, the words will have double letters more often than not, which has left fans disappointed with the apparent change. Despite the feeling that the game has gotten harder, the New York Times claims that they have not changed the difficulty of the game. In an interview with People Magazine, a representative from the Times said that they are continuing to use the predetermined word list created by Wardle before they acquired the game. 

“I feel like it did get harder, but I’m not sure. Maybe it just feels harder because the company changed and not because the words actually changed,” Crowley said. 

 So, why do people still play Wordle? Despite what seems to be dissatisfaction from fans, difficulty doesn’t deter the die-hard players from their newfound day-to-day routine. Instead, player count has shown no significant change and if anything, the idea that Wordle has gotten harder only adds to the conversation surrounding it. The social and sharing aspects are arguably the most important parts in Wordle’s rise to fame, and it ensures that the game isn’t going anywhere for a while. The simplicity and the one-a-day format the puzzle subscribes to is also another reason players come back each day, which is exactly as Wardle intended the game to be played. So while there are many different reasons people choose to start Wordle, most reasons to stay are the same. Wordle’s charm has managed to capture not only the heart of Wardle’s wife, but of the whole world as well.

Undeniable pull of senioritis

Editor-In-Chief: Diego Hernandez

Four months, wait it’s three now. As the school year comes to an end and spring break has concluded, students are pushing their inner engines to finish the year. Amongst our campus near 3,000 students, 748 of them are pushing, or not trying to the best of their abilities. These 748 students are seniors and are now experiencing senioritis. Senior Jurni Gregorcyk shares her views on what this disease is.

  “I think senioritis is a time where people are just giving up on school as they feel there is no point to it anymore. These individuals are ready to begin the next part of their lives and it’s reflected in their drive,” Gregorcyk said. 

  As many seniors are within the same realm of being excited for college and their highschool chapter ending, there is no shortage to the many victims of senioritis. Senior Zoe O’Donnell shares the appeals and capabilities as to why this feeling is so prominent amongst this class.

  “Knowing that your GPA is now locked allows you to not feel as dedicated to your work. Personally, my wavering grades do not take a toll on me as next year is set for me without added pressures,” O’Donnell stated.

  With looming worries relieved, students are different in how long till they fall under senioritis’ spell. Senior Nico Ojeda explains how he in truth has not yet been able to become affiliated, even though most traditional numbers have been accomplished.

  “I will most likely feel senioritis after spring break or really the last nine week grading period of the school year. Right now I have a responsibility as an in-season athlete for baseball to maintain good grades,” Ojeda said.

  Seniors are not the only ones who seem to be able to become one with senioritis. This incorporation can be experienced among staff and administration alike. 

  “I think teachers can feel it too. They are completely ready for their own personal break away because even when we have three-day weekends or some student holidays they’re still here working,” Gregorcyk stated.

  Senioritis also has the potential to branch out away from what areas in which its temptations begin to take hold. As we go through the end of the year there are various tasks depending on the individual we must go through.

  “For theater at least, Mr. A has to keep us on our A game especially for officers. Throughout the years we’ve witnessed them slipping on their responsibilities and it can become pretty chaotic,” O’Donnell said.

  As our time comes to an end and as we recognize our new paths, school may seem a potential scare. Although it may not be wanted by some, senioritis may be able to set you free.

  “I think I’ll be able to get through a good amount of time without needing it, but ultimately I know I’m going to need it or these last few months and or weeks will be rough,” Ojeda stated.

  Senioritis, an emotion and state of mind, may be students and even faculties answers. Do not fear it as it may set you free.

Principal Martinez makes his mark

 By Diego Hernandez Editor in Chief

The new school year brings about a new era on campus along with a new Principal Mr. Robert Martinez.  Mr. Martinez hopes to improve and lead our campus through this year of transition and shared that he started things off right thanks to our students and staff.  

 “From day one, the students have been very welcoming, and pretty open about their concerns for the school. The faculty is also amazing. In particular our Associate Principal Mr. Christian and Academic Dean Mrs. Bishop.  They have made this transition pretty smooth,” Martinez said.  

  Before being named principal, Martinez researched our school and was familiar with some of the challenges here for students and staff.  Martinez is working with students and faculty to make a few adjustments in the near future. These ideas involve possible changes to the campus layout and some dress code changes that have already taken effect like shorts.  For some of the bigger long-term changes, Martinez is hopeful that we get help from the district and community.   

“I know every four or five years we do a bond proposal in hopes of getting much-needed improvements to our schools from bond money,” Martinez said. 

  Martinez’s main proposals include an expansion project for the cafeteria and library.  He says an additional academic building would also be nice.  Martinez shared there is an area where a building could fit for another two-story building.  One major change happening very soon is the expansion of the Nurse’s office.  

“Our Nurse’s Office just isn’t big enough to support the needs of a campus as big as O’Connor,” Martinez said. 

Martinez decided to move the Nurse’s office to where the Career Center is; more than doubling the size.  

  “I feel like this is a move that we couldn’t wait on,” Martinez said. 

The new Nurse’s Office is scheduled to open in early November.  As part of the move, the Career Center will move into room B103 in the library which will likely increase traffic as students seek out more scholarships and college information while in the library.   

  Prior to his time with us, Martinez worked at multiple schools acting both as a teacher and an administrator.  These all include sister Northside ISD high schools starting off at John Jay.  

“I taught for six years at John Jay as a social studies teacher and then I got promoted to Assistant Principal at Clark, was at Clark for four and a half years and then got promoted to Vice Principal at Brennan,” Martinez said.

  Martinez enjoyed his time at all three schools and shared he’s thrilled to be here at O’Connor.  He reflected that this campus has successful students, with many institutions such as agriculture. Martinez shared he is excited to work with Ag Principal, Mr. Bohlken for the Agriculture Academy’s first year.  

“I love visiting the barnes and seeing all the animals. These things don’t normally take place at school and that’s pretty phenomenal. Overall, I’m very excited about the possibilities,” Martinez said.

  Martinez has always strived for his chances to become a leader in the development of young people. His path to  O’Connor became available with Mrs. Horras’s departure. 

 “I knew the position would become available when Mrs. Horras was promoted last spring. There were actually four principal openings this past summer, and I lucked out and got the best one,” Martinez said.

Mr. Martinez has been preparing for this time with us consistently and through his performance under other advisers

who sat where he is now. 

 “What has really prepared me is that I have had mentors to work under. Being able to establish my beliefs and values for the students was great for me, seeing different levels of students and their successes and challenges has given me the perspective to help students at all levels for the better,” Martinez said. 

  “In teaching, you affect a lot of lives, you can work with students, coach them, and motivate them to become the best that they can be,” Martinez said.

  As the school year continues, still amidst Covid regulations, Principal Martinez shared he aims to improve this campus for both teachers and students, “Go  Panthers!”