All posts by Katie Scott

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Guide for Singles on Valentine’s Day

By Faith Castan guest writer

February 14th is a day that love is in the air, couples can shout their love by gestures and get replies of jealousy. It’s also the only holiday that people can feel alone and excluded from society, but that can all change by embracing the day and focus on how single can be a whole lot of fun too. Society has pushed us to believe if we don’t have a significant other we can’t be happy on Valentine’s Day, which is a lie.

Valentine’s is a day of love, not a day to sit around and feel sorry about yourself for not having that ‘fairytale romance’, so stop waiting for the one, grab a friend and seize the day. Spending the day with friends can make the holiday special and relaxing. You’re not dealing with the pressure couples go through to make everything perfect while worried about disappointment. Couples don’t have the choice to skip over February 14th even if they hate it. They have to power through, spending all their money on tangible things that will mostly end up in the trash eventually, guys have to sit and watch romantic comedies wishing it can be over, girls have to swallow their disappointment when given a keychain than a Kendra Scott. That’s why spending Valentine’s Day with friends is more stressed free not having to mask your feelings with your significant other. Galentines can be an excuse to spoil each other and show how much you both care, or even relax and have a chill hang out . Show each other off, and let everyone see it’s okay to not be part of the stereotype. If it’s being with your soulmate or being with your best friend both loves can be unconditionally and should be celebrated.

Single on Valentines can also be a reminder to appreciate yourself. While others are focusing on their girlfriends/boyfriends you can have some you time. It can be a day all about you. Treat yourself , want to throw your money on clothes? Do it. Want to have two dinners for you and yourself? Do it. Want to eat junk food all day and watch netflix? Just do it. Want to buy stuffed bears and chocolates after Valentine’s Day when everything is half off? Trust me no judgment here.

You can never go wrong by spending the day with the most important person in your life: you. It might sound lame, but embracing self love is the most important love to have. When you’re filled with love you won’t be walking around with that burning jealousy whenever you see a couple or the pressure of not having someone, you’ll feel complete. Valentine’s is not a day to feel ashamed, but to love being single.

Even if half the world is excited and the other half is downhearted February 14 is just another day. You can choose to walk confident of who you are, not caring the lovey dovey faces in every corner or pity yourself which will lead to nothing. Just remind yourself that the greatest love is the one within and how can you not believe that if Whitney Houston said it. Don’t let the day go by without expressing some kind of love and feeling that happiness that comes with it.

Uncategorized

46th Annual Gerlach raising over $1 million in scholarships

 Gerlach results:
Grand Champion
Steer- Jack Phipps
Lamb- Kaleigh Zueck (Record $9,100!)
Goat- Brittney Haby (Record $24,000!)
Swine- Gabriella Guzman
Turkeys- Jace Burkholder (4-H)
Chickens- Malorie Cruz
Ag Mechanics- Brandon Meier/ Logan Weynand
 
Reserve Grand Champion
Steer- Macaela Skinner
Lamb- Kaleigh Zueck (Won Grand and Reserve)
Goat- James Olivarez (4-H)
Swine- Lauryn Moos
Turkeys- Jacob Clay
Chickens- Mikayla Garza
Ag Mechanics- Jacob Workman/ Matthew Workman
Opinion

Netflix’s Insatiable: A “Fat” Flop

Salma Valadez

Staff Writer

The new Netflix show “Insatiable” sparked controversy this past summer long before the show was released in August due to a misleading portrayal of fat-shaming in the show’s teaser. Many falsely accused the show of fat-shaming on various social media platforms, however, after the show’s first season dropped viewers quickly substituted the heavy bashing for the praise of the show’s satirical take on the popular formerly fat trope that’s plagued television, movies, and literature for decades. However, the issue with the amount of support the show is receiving, though, lies in the fact that the qualities of the show for which it is being praised for are subpar at best and utterly non-existent at worst.

While the main premise of the show is centered around the realization that becoming skinny doesn’t result in the immediate end of all of the main character’s problems, an eye-opening truth that hasn’t been shown before, the show manages its message without seemingly any regard for maintaining a central focus on the purpose behind its creation. Consequently, the primary intent to disprove a trope that society has been brainwashed to believe for decades becomes confused
and unclear. The show seems to associate lampshading, a technique that allows the show to highlight its self-awareness without having to handle the responsibility of deconstructing or criticizing the harmful aspects of a specific trope or topic within it, and satire as synonymous which enables it to depict problematic themes without consequences.

By labeling itself as a satirical work it convinces viewers that, despite the insensitive nature of a situation, action, or character, it’s able to portray certain scenes without facing any repercussions for being offensive. However, merely calling a show satirical because its main topics are dealt with humor, irony, and exaggeration doesn’t automatically mean the show is successful in being a satire. As a result of the lack of commentary or critique on the prominent societal issues within the show, it ultimately fails at what it was purposed for. Certain scenarios in the show are often riddled with damaging, inappropriate, and sometimes even stereotypical jokes that it attempts to pass as acceptable because it repeatedly confuses knowledge of the destructive tropes it depicts for satire. For example, the show’s male lead Bob Armstrong, a disgraced lawyer, and former pageant coach has false allegations of child molestation made against him. Through- out the show, the situation is handled with insensitive humor unsuitable for the seriousness of the extremely topical issue. Insatiable’s choice of ridiculing sexual assault allegations is especially concerning considering one of the show’s actresses is responsible for popularizing the #MeToo Movement by encouraging women to come forth with their experiences regarding sexual harassment and assault. Instead of providing commentary on rape culture and its impact on the lives of both women and men, the show alternatively decides to use false claims of sexual harassment as a revenge plot which is both belittling and profoundly insulting to the entire objective of the #MeToo Movement.

Insatiable’s poorly handled attempt to address the damaging effects the formerly fat trope has instilled in media for years resulted in the production of an amateurish satire with an inconsistent message. While the show aimed to criticize society’s standards regarding body image, in comparison to other series and films that properly promote body positivity, the final product was an offensive, insensitive, and unrealistic show.

News

Nike Ad causes controversy

Nicolas Weissenberg

Staff Writer

Recently Nike dropped their Dream Crazy ad which is part of the 30th anniversary “Just Do It” slogan campaign. The ads chief spokesperson, Colin Kaepernick, is most known for kneeling during the national anthem at various football games which started in 2016. Even though the ad featured many other athletes from Nyjah Huston to Lebron James, the spotlight was on Kaepernick. Some people were furious that he was in the advertisement while others were inspired. Those that were angered went onto social media to express their feelings.

On the internet, there are plenty of videos showing people burning their own Nike shoes as a type of retaliation towards the company. This reprisal began shortly after the ad was dropped. Whether it be in a barbeque pit or on the front lawn, people have managed to destroy their shoes in many different ways. Some people poured gas on their shoes as others just lit it and slowly let it burn.Although Nike’s market value has gone up by 6 billion, people burning their shoes still affects the company.

“Honestly I thought it was just, in a lack of better terms, idiotic because they’re giving money to the cooperation anyways.They’re just burning shoes when they could be donating it to so many other places or different people like veterans that don’t have shelter, food, or clothing or shoes to wear,” Senior Robbie Smith said.

Not only do 300 million children around the world not have shoes, but there are also 1.5 mil- lion veterans that live in poverty in the United States. Moreover, in the midst of all this hardship people are burning good shoes. As Smith stated, donating those shoes could have helped a lot of people that are struggling, but instead, they turned into ash.

Although some people were resentful of the advertisement, there are still many people that felt inspired by it. Countless people found the ad very inspiring because of Kaepernick’s role in it. Though he wasn’t the main focus of the ad, Kaepernick managed to inspire people as did the other athletes who made appearances. Considering that Nike is such a large cooperation, a lot of people have been affected by the advertisement.

“I found the ad very inspiring because he’s standing up for what he believes and he even got fired,” sophomore Carlos Masso said.

Since Kaepernick became a free agent in 2017 no team has offered him a contract. He also filed a grievance because he suspected that the owners of the teams colluded so he could not get signed. Even though he hasn’t gotten signed on to a team yet, he still stands for what he was protesting for and now that he has a job with Nike he is no longer unemployed.This is very inspiring because of the way he persevered his beliefs even though he was practically fired from the NFL for doing so.

News

Parkland returns to school, students reflect

Faith Collins

Online Editor

Last school year, February 14 marked a devastating day for America, and especially the people of Parkland, Florida. Six months after an active shooter walked onto their campus, taking 17 lives and ruining what was supposed to be a day filled with love, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School started a completely new school year. Going back to school, many students still fear for their safety and claim the tragedy will be in their thoughts forever.

Starting a new school year isn’t exactly what every student looks forward to during the summer. It was especially troubling for these high school students whose lives would never be the same after the loss of numerous innocent classmates. This subject also makes our students think of how they would feel if they were in their place.

“I still think about Parkland and the 17 students who lost their lives, and I’m also thinking about gun policies and moving forward. I want to help them. We are a generation that witnessed [Parkland], now we have to go off and influence our government. We’re going to be the new policymakers. We’re going to be the new generation that replaces [the people in office]. I hope that we always think about Parkland. I would not know how to feel if I were a Parkland victim,” senior Amaya Larralde said.

Larralde recalls the day she heard the news from Florida, and the emotions she felt when listening to the news on television.

“I remember looking at the news and I was sitting with my mom, brother, and sister, and crying after seeing the 17 students on the screen. I don’t know why it touched me a lot, but I knew that this was so wrong that these kids won’t have a full year with a graduation anymore because someone else chose that for them,” Larralde said.

Numerous school districts have established policies on security in an attempt to decrease the likelihood of shootings like Parkland and Columbine from happening again. For example, NEISD implemented a clear backpack policy starting in the fall.

“Personally, I think [the policy]’s a step in the right direction, but I don’t feel like it’s enough. Just because a backpack is clear doesn’t stop someone from grabbing a gun and coming to school,” Larralde said.

Now that school shootings like Parkland and Columbine are becoming more common in American society, junior Jonas Meza feels that schools should take certain measures such as watching facial cues of visitors and students, and being more aware of the way people around us are behaving.

Meza describes how he would feel if he were in any of the Stoneman Douglas student’s shoes this school year.

“I’d be [hesitant] because I would think that everything would be a school shooting,” Meza said.

Even though the shooting took place in Florida, it reached the lives of many other people across the nation, especially students.

“It was a horrible, horrible tragedy that happened. It didn’t just shake that town, it shook the entire nation and started so many protests, uprisings, and a lot of outbursts that I think helped the community,” senior Sawyer Murphy said.

Along with the protests, many students felt as though there wasn’t enough being done to prevent these tragedies.

“[Schools] should be more invested in how our mentality is of each one of our students. It shouldn’t be ‘don’t bring guns to school’, we should get a more in depth perspective of what’s going on inside the minds of the students,” Murphy said.

Murphy continued to share her thoughts on the school system’s approach toward creating a safer environment for students.

“I think they’ve tried, but I don’t think they’ve tried in the right ways.There are other measures you can take to prevent these kinds of tragedies.You don’t chop down a tree by hacking at the leaves, you have to start at the root, and the root is what’s going on inside of the lives of the kids who commit these crimes,” Murphy said.

As evident in the graphic on page one, there were numerous different attempts to incorporate security policies in schools across the nation. In one example, a school in Tennessee installed bullet proof glass in their front office for security measures. Policies as such are proceeding to be implemented in various other schools since the tragic event earlier this year.

Opinion

School shootings shouldn’t be the norm

Leah Lievrouw

Editor-in-Chief

When 20 first graders were murdered at their elementary school, I was twelve years old. Sandy Hook, more so than any of the other 15 major school shootings that have occurred in my lifetime, really stuck with me. I remember watching the small kids be- ing quickly led away from the scene, holding each other’s shoulders in a line the same way my classes did when

I was their age going to music class together. I watched parents sob and scream for their dead children. Some kids were too young to realize what exactly was happening and looked aloof while their parents crushed their tiny bodies in a hug. My brother was the same age as those dead children. This event would make me the angriest I’d ever been.

I watched the politicians that are supposed to represent me and my family, either ignore the issue or blame other factors. Ted Cruz used his inaction as a campaign tool, his ironic super pac ad actually bragging.

“Ted Cruz makes things happen. … After Sandy Hook, Ted Cruz stopped Obama’s push for new gun-control laws.”

There’s nothing unique about the Parkland shooting. Outcasted teenager gets a hold of a gun he shouldn’t have, takes out frustration on innocent lives, the number of casualties varies. What is different, however, is the fallout. Students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School along with victims parents and other gun control advocates have banded together to form Never Again MSD, an organization dedicated to reducing gun-related violence.

Regular school shootings are a reality that today’s kids are growing up with. Inaction is what we’ve always known. The current leaders of this country don’t give a damn about what’s happening to these kids. If they did the problem would have gone away after Columbine.

The idea of arming teachers is comical. No offense to any of my previous teachers, but I wouldn’t trust a single one with a gun. And the teachers don’t want them either.

The gun control debate is at an unusual crossroads in its development. 20 small children murdered in their classrooms was probably the last chance there was of quick, wholesale gun policy change. There is no telling what it will actually take to get comprehensive gun control legislation.

Even something as simple as a firearm database seems impossible at this point.

In 1996, Australia experienced the worst mass shooting in Austrailian history and the 15th deadliest ever. 35 murdered and 23 wounded at a tourist attraction at Port Arthur, Tasmania. Conservative leaders of Australia’s legislative body led the charge on banning assault-style weapons, bravely going against
their constituents. This was political suicide, but being reelected wasn’t their concern. It was the safety of the people they represented. Unlike the cravens that are American congressmen, Australian politicians respect the privilege of authority and responsibility to act in the best interest of the people.

Accepted NRA campaign donations by Texas representatives in the 2018 midterm election cycle alone.
Information from OpenSecrets

Guess which was around when the second amendment was written? Photos courtesy of yoursecondamendment.com and muzzle-loaders.com.

The Australian government bought back semi-automatic rifles and instituted a coherent and logical system of tracking gun ownership. The right to own and use firearms was not infringed, and they have had a total of zero mass shootings since.

John Paul Stevens, the namesake of the Northside high school, was a supreme court justice for 35 years, a lifelong conservative centrist. Most consider Justice Stevens above partisanship, he defended the constitution above all in his time as justice. He will not, however, defend the second amendment.

According to Stevens, the second amendment was never intended for civilians to overthrow a tyrannical government. It was put in the constitution before the U.S. had a military large enough to defend the country.

“Concern that a national standing army might pose a threat to the security of the separate states led to the adoption of that amendment, which provides that “a well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” Today that concern is a relic of the 18th century,” Stevens said.

Sports

Girls basketball wins district title

Joseph Till Staff Writer

 For the first time since the 2014-2015 season, the Lady Panthers basketball team won the district championship. The team finished with a 15-3 record in district and had an overall record of 24-10.                                                                                                       After four straight losses to start the season the girls went for seven consecutive wins to get on back on track. They would go into district with an 8-6 record before going 13-1 to start district play. That run of games included a nine-game win streak. A 3-2 record in their final five games was enough to give them a one-game cushion and the district title. Freshman Juliana Tapia, who averaged 4.3 points per game and a team-leading 2.6 steals per game, was the only freshman on the team this past season and believed the team had what it took to win the district title.                                                                                 “The team worked well together so I just knew we would do good. We worked, we all had the drive to get it, we all wanted it,” Tapia said. She also shared some of her favorite moments from the past season.                                                                                    “Just when I first stepped on the court, the big court. It was different, it was faster. In the locker room before every game we would all get in a huddle and pray and cheer,” Tapia said Senior Natalie McCoy, who averaged a team-high 14.5 points per game, said she knew the team could make a run at the district championship.                                    “After the first half of district play, we had beaten every team except one making us the first seed. Taking care of business early allowed us to play each game with less stress,” McCoy said. She also talked about the factors that goes into a close title race.             “The biggest factor in a close race is taking care of your own business so you don’t have to rely on anyone else. And that all starts with just putting the ball in the basket,” McCoy said. She also talked about some of the things she is going to miss going forward.   “Playing on a winning basketball team. I will miss the feel of high school basketball and the community around it,” McCoy said. She finished her high school career averaging 9.5 points after four seasons on varsity. Another main contributor through the season was junior Nicole Hemphill. She averaged 14.1 points to along with 9 rebounds per game which ranked second and first on the team, respectivley.                                              “The defining moment in which I believed that we could win district was when we lost to Pflugerville… we were neck and neck the entire time and really gave them some tough competition. I knew from then on, if we could compete the way we did against Pflugerville, we could definitely win our district,” Hemphill said. She also talked about the most memorable moment for her this the season.                                                                   “My favorite moment of the season was when we beat Brandeis in December… Beating Brandeis is always extremely gratifying,” Hemphill said. Head Coach Karmen Wilson was always confident in her team’s ability.                                                                                   “I felt all along that we were capable of winning district. It is a long season with lots of games, so just staying focused, and injury free was key for us,” Coach Wilson said. She also mentioned how important the seniors on the team were.                                             “I will miss our great senior leadership; they were all focused and vocal and encouraging to their teammates,” Coach Wilson said. There were six seniors on the roster of thirteen this season.                                                                                                                           The Lady Panther’s season would come to an end in a 55-44 loss to East Central in the first round of the playoffs. Plenty of players are returning who helped contribute to this seasons success. Fans and players alike look forward to another great season.

News

Prowler website making switch and updates

The newspaper hosted at ohsprowler.com for two years and now make the move back to original wordpress version here at studentnews.nisd.net/oconnor. We release issue 5 of the Prowler this week and will begin progress on the final issue of the 2017-2018 school year this thursday.  If you wish to submit story ideas, or important events to cover you can message us on twitter @OCprowler or comment here.