All posts by Katie Scott

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.

Uncategorized

Student success displayed in falling failure rates

SEVA HESTER  Staff writer

Northside Independent School District grows by at least 3,000 to 4,000 students each year. In the last ten years, the district has gained a total of 24,000 students. A headcount statistics report showed the attendance on campus was 3,298. With that in mind, it might seem difficult to maintain the district-wide grade averages.

  However, that’s not the case in this situation as, “Grades are mostly the teacher’s responsibility,” campus registrar Michele Turner said. “The grade report secretary, Mrs. Brown, keeps up with errors, incompletes and inconsistencies. She is basically the guard keeper of the grades.”

  Students aren’t the only numbers rising, “as of this year there was an addition of six brand new staffing positions,” Academic Dean Jennifer Bishop said.

  Enrollment is up throughout the district and some campuses are seeing record numbers. Bishop explained how our educators are working to prepare for increased numbers and provide quality instruction to maintain high academic success.

  “[Teachers] work as a ‘Professional Learning Community’, or PLC,” Bishop said. “[It is] to anticipate where students might struggle and work with that. We encourage kids to attend tutoring, and then a specific group we noticed [that was struggling more] was the ninth graders. That’s why we have Connections; other high schools were doing it too. We wanted our freshmen to have the same successes as the other high school freshmen have.”

  Connections is a program created to help students transition from middle school to high school.  Freshmen with resources to pass classes are more likely to continue to do well throughout high school.

  Students passing classes with A-B range grades are more likely to enroll in advanced placement classes.

  “Last year we did 1,500 AP tests,” Assistant registrar Amy Prichard said.

  Advanced Placement classes help students earn college credit, as long as they score a 3, 4 or 5 on the exam.

  “I think that [taking] AP classes in high school is really beneficial because it allows students to not only prepare for college courses but also lessens the load of college,” sophomore Mia Ramirez said.

  Counselors and teachers “advocate for [students] to take Advanced Placement,” Prichard said.

  But what is the reason to take AP courses?

  “Because college is not free. As for school goes, it helps your GPA and if you pass the AP test, you will earn college credit,” Turner said.

  Students recognize the importance of AP classes as well. Senior Delia Flores is enrolled in multiple AP courses including AP Government and AP Economics and understands the benefit of these courses.

  “AP is important because it gets you ahead. Regular classes just don’t give you the prep you need,” Flores said.

rscreen-shot-2016-10-20-at-1-59-04-pm

Uncategorized

Art students and water polo create art for charity

When they’re not at the pool you can find the water polo team along with Coach Haidin supporting the Bexar County Family Justice Center. Students from Coach Haidin’s art classes and water polo team created artwork to donate for an auction, and all proceeds will go directly to the charity. The Bexar County Family Justice Center helps the victims of domestic violence.

Photo by Darcy Loessberg

screen-shot-2016-10-20-at-1-52-24-pm

Uncategorized

Student uploads comic voice overs, gains following

Gallery

LAUREN DECENA Production Editor & NICOLAS CORTES Staff Writer

Out of the many YouTubers that are active the site, the small YouTuber by the name of “frisk the-human-hybrid” happened to make her appearance. Her real name is Cora Cutkomp and she’s a senior here on campus who makes dubbed videos over popular comics. When she first started her YouTube channel Cutkomp said, “I just had so many favorite YouTubers that I watch that, [well] it looks so easy I just had to do it.” While she has had this YouTube channel for a few months she is still relatively new to YouTube and just hit 801 subscribers.

  Not only does she have 801 subscribers but one of her videos has 122k views which is extremely high considering how many views on average she gets per video. However, her videos differ from time to time.

  “Really, you don’t want it too long, I’ve done a 20 minute video plus I’ve seen others with hour long videos people don’t watch the whole thing. It needs to be a specific length because of the attention span for a lot of viewers. Some people have shorter attention spans than others,” Cutkomp said.

  So, Cutkomp bases her videos off what her audience is as well as her own opinion so she can appeal to the masses when making them.

She has also yet to have a very specific uploading schedule for her viewers, but has tried to set almost guidelines for when uploads.

  “I don’t really have one [an update schedule], I need to figure out one. I’m kind of thinking maybe two or three videos on the weekend,” Cutkomp said.

  And while these uploads are clumped together she has to do them with her phone instead of her computer, ranging from video game uploads to the voice overs she usually does.

  “I record using my phone. I go to a website called Roblox, and I play games, but I can record my screen. The players can chat with each other,” Cutkomp said.

  So she uploads a variety of content as opposed to just a complete focus on one subject.

  Along with everything she has done she has not started doing this entirely (voices for characters) until after she saw her favorite youtubers.

  She had done it earlier in life as well, “I’ve actually, done a lot of stuff for voicing, like for class. Whenever we’d read a book with the whole class I’ll do the voices for the characters. I’ve always done that,” Cutkomp said.

  So while she may have been inspired by her favorite YouTubers such as Markiplier, jacksepticeye, Pewdiepie, Popularmmos, Gaming with Jen, Supershadic50, and twilight, regardless she had done it before.

  Nevertheless, frisk the-human-hybrid is one of the many YouTubers that uploads video on a weekly basis for her audience.