Category Archives: Feature

Feature

Awareness on campus Mental Health Month

Salma Valadez

Staff Writer

For nearly 70 years, the United States has dedicated the month of May to breaking stigma surrounding mental health and educating its citizens on this very prominent issue. Up until recently, the topic of mental illnesses and disorders has been a major taboo – especially for schools and workplaces. Both students and faculty have shown support for more open discussions about mental health.

“Talking about mental illness openly helps the person suffering, but also those around who might feel the same.These discussions show those who suffer they are not alone, and helps to break the stereotypes of mental illness. Because they have been stigmatized for so long, people are afraid to talk about them because they worry it makes them look ‘less than,’ but talking about them openly helps show that these illnesses are not an indication that someone is incapable any more than catching the flu is,” English teacher Mrs.Weber said.

Students and faculty have also expressed concern about the impact mental illnesses and disorders have on students.

“Absolutely, (mental illnesses affect students) in the same way a physical disorder might affect our ability to concentrate or complete our work,” Mrs. Weber said.

Although the school has several events to spread mental health awareness, there are many ways it can further break mental health stigma.

“(O’Connor can) Try to bring awareness to mental illness and acceptance through education,”AVID teacher Ms.Womack said.

The school has dedicated a week to spreading awareness about mental health to its students and faculty.

Feature

Diving dreams of Regionals go down the drain

Jennifer r. Gardner

Staff Writer

As sophomore Dillon Jimison jumps off the diving board something feels off. Slight discomfort in his back that doesn’t go away. He knows that back injuries for divers are nothing to mess around with but he can’t stand the idea of sitting out during the championship season. He endures the discomfort in his back, earning scores of sevens and eights despite the growing pain. The atmosphere during competition is full of both anticipation and eagerness as his competitors and supporters watch from the sidelines.

“I get excited, I mean I know what [the divers] can do. Sometimes I’m a little nervous but most of the time I’m very excited for the fact that they’ll either hit it or they won’t. [Diving is] an individual sport and its tough,” Diving coach Barbara Rios said.

After the district meet, with first place secured, Jimison is taken straight to Sportsmed medical center.The diagnosis; a partial fracture that puts him on the bench for the rest of the season. Both Jimison, his family, and his coaches are stunned as their hopes for regionals go down the drain.

“His mom informed us that he was having issues.We knew it was a couple of weeks before districts and he wanted to try and make it through,” Rios said.

Dillon’s team and coaches were shocked at the severity of his injury, and as Rios shares, were very concerned for Jiminson but handled the situation well with good sportsmanship and support.

“It was the worst timing I could have had because it was the championship season so after districts I could have gone to region- als and after regionals state, but I couldn’t because my back fractured,” Jiminson said.

When Jiminson went to his coach and family about the fracture, there was no disguising their disappointment. Despite his success and skill, he would be forced to sit back and let his back heal before he could go back to diving. While the top six spots in regionals would be filled by Northside students, Rios shared that it was still frustrating not having Jimison able to compete against North East despite him having top state potential.

“What I had planned on doing was even if it was a fracture I would still have the option of being able to compete and maybe just tough out the pain but even my doctor told me that’s not an option. Like you need to sit out to keep things from getting worse,” Jiminson said.

While recovering Jiminson had to wear a back brace for at least three months, wearing it for over 23 hours a day, taking it off only for showers. Jiminson shared that it did fix his posture and that it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. Jiminson also described that his family and friends helped support him during this time and that his family especially played a big roll in his recovery. Their care and his passion for diving giving him the motivation to keep going.

“Diving is a terrifying sport [but] the thrill of getting a new skill, one that you didn’t think would otherwise be possible before, is a feeling I’ve never felt before. Its so motivating it’s keeps it worth it,” Jiminson said.

When his friends asked about what happened Jiminson tried to make light of the situation.

“I told ‘em it was just arching my back wrong and [a fracture] can happen to any diver and it happened to me. It was unfortunate timing considering it was right when the season mattered the most but what can you do,” Jiminson said.

Despite all of this, however, Jiminson continues to look on the bright side. He shared that even though this year didn’t go as well as he hoped because of his injury he still has high hopes for the next two years showing not only his endurance but also his drive to succeed. He shared that not once during his injury did he feel like considering leaving diving, and that through it all he felt like this whole ordeal was simply something he had to get through and that he can’t wait to get back.

“Any kind of fracture or sitting out and not being able to play is frustrating but you will return and you will return stronger so if you just keep your head up things will be okay,” Jiminson said.

Feature

Junior Alyssa Owens crowned Miss Helotes

Nicolas Weissenberg

Staff Writer

This year at the Helotes Cornyval a new pageant winner was crowned. Junior Alyssa Owens became 2019’s Miss Helotes. Owens shared she worked hard to prepare and looks forward to spreading a positive message about Helotes with the community.

“One of the things that we did was we got together every Sunday and we practiced for 2 hours and so we would go over walking patterns which is like walking down the aisle for the different parts of the show being the fashion and then the evening gown and then we also practiced interview questions on stage and then also off stage interview questions that were held in the morning. We learned to dance and we performed that during the show too,” Owens said.

After all the hard work and dedication, she came out victorious. Winning a pageant is a big deal and it comes with its own set of responsibilities.

“Just being a good image for the younger kids because I know a lot of kids look up to me and I remember when I got crowned the little girls were just staring at me and I find it so cute, but one of the responsibilities has to be maintaining a good image for the Helotes community,” Owens said.

Being Miss Helotes involves being a good role model in the community and especially for the younger crowd. On top of responsibilities, skills can also be gained through a new experience such as winning a pageant.

“I’ve had to learn a lot of time management because during the Cornyval time I was gone for like 4 days and so after school I had to run that way and then after that I had to do homework so lots of time management. Also just talking with new people and being more social,” Owens said.

Through the pageant Alyssa learned how to manage her time better as well as socializing more and communicating with new people. Participating in a pageant requires some form of support whether it be from family, friends, or teachers.

“One of my biggest supporters has to be my parents for sure and my sister and then my best friend Tyreke because he helps me a lot and helps me be more confident in all that I do. It has to be him and then also my parents for sure because they do a lot for me, they helped me practice my interview questions and they helped me just get ready,” Owens said. With support from friends and family she was able to build enough confidence to become Ms.Helotes. With the newly gained title Miss Helotes, Alyssa wishes to accomplish her goal.

“As Ms.Helotes I’d like to bring more awareness to what Helotes actually is and how close a community we actually are because I feel like people outside of Helotes don’t really know like ‘oh well I know Helotes is a small town, but what do they do.’ Not a lot of people know what Cornyval is, not a lot of people know where Floore’s is and those are like really hot commodities within the Helotes community. So as Ms. Helotes I’d like to get the word out,” Owens said.

She wishes to spread the Helotes culture beyond the city’s limits.

Feature

Oscar Season Buzz

Jennifer R. Gardner

Staff Writer

Nothing creates a commotion in the media quite like the Oscars. Even though the ceremony isn’t until February 24, students have already voiced their various opinions on the nominations: who is a shoo-in for the win and who will be left to eat the dust.

“My favorite is ‘The Favourite’ I don’t think it’s actually gonna win anything. Maybe it’ll win a screenplay writing award. I’m excited [for] the movie ‘Green book’ because [it is] probably the best movie for families to go see. [it] had the widest appeal [it was] one of the most approachable films. I’m excited about the movie ‘Roma’ just because it brings netflix movies more into the mainstream, [like] the idea that a netflix film could win or be nominated for best picture. I do believe the director of ‘Roma’ won best director so I’m excited about that because it’s changing movies in that it’s not just the big studios that [are winning] the awards,” Media lit sponsor David Vetters said.

Films that swept up most of the nominations, coming in with about ten each, were ‘Roma’ and ‘The Favourite’. ‘Roma’, an autobiography of Alfonso Cuaron’s childhood growing up in Mexico City, is the first Netflix movie that got Oscar nominations and as such, won’t be a part of the Oscar’s usual Best-picture showcase.

“There are a lot of movies nominated [but] I don’t think all of them deserved to be nominated. I haven’t seen all of them but of the ones I have seen, any of the ones I know about, I think ‘BlacKKKlansmen’ has a real chance [and] The Favorite has a real chance. I think ‘Black Panther’ was probably like ‘oh like a welcome to the party throw you a bone’ kinda nomination,” senior Mackenzie Acree said.

A film that will be part of the best picture showcase, however, is Yorgos Lanthimos’‘The Favourite’, set in the 18th century, centers around two cousins trying to gain the favor of Queen Anne to set a place in her court.The film centers around a predominantly female cast with Olivia Colman nominated for Best Actress and Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone for Best Supporting Actress. ‘The Favourite’ has also been nominated for best costume design, a tough competition between, but not limited to, films like ‘Black Panther’ and ‘Mary Queen of Scots’.

“[Mary Queen of Scots] was interesting it was so graphic though I saw it with my 80-year-old grandfather and I did not want to sit through those sex scenes next to him. It really earned the rated R rating. It was a little painful but the movie itself is just so good and Saoirse Ronan’s performance was beautiful,”Acree said.

While some students may not have seen ‘Mary Queen of Scots’ most have either seen or heard of the national blockbuster ‘Black Panther’.

“I thought it was an interesting movie. I do think it was over exaggerated in the way that people [are] basically saying it was the best movie because now young black teenagers can look to a hero but skin color doesn’t really matter.That’s my only gripe about it. That’s not [with] the movie itself but with what people were saying about [it].That’s the only problem it was a good movie though,” sophomore Jack Royer said.

Another nomination that turned a few heads was Sony’s ‘Into the Spider-Verse’ and Wes Anderson’s ‘Isle of Dogs’. Into the Spider-Verse took four years to complete with most of that time going into its unique animation style.

The Isle of Dogs creators took as much care to detail as Spider-Verse with 240 sets and 1,000 handmade puppets.

“Best-animated needs to go to ‘Isle of dogs’. I know it’s not the favorite [and] I know people want it to be ‘Into the Spider-Verse’ but the Oscars are not about popularity the way the Golden Globes are in awhile ‘Spider-Verse’ was more popular ‘Isle of dogs’ was technically more complicated and it’s a better film overall,” Acree said.

While it’s fun to debate about which nomination will go to who, the heavier subject weighing on this year’s Oscars is its host or lack of one. Kevin Hart stepped down from hosting the Oscars due to the controversy surrounding his homophobic tweets from ten years ago.

“I think it’s an unfortunate situation all around. I know that this was a big deal to Kevin Hart. Early on he said it was one of his goals and that he didn’t want to initially apologize because he said he addressed it in the past however when they looked at it he never actually apologized in print until he was called out by the Academy. It was a situation that occurred because the academy didn’t do their research before they selected their host. So part of it’s on the Academy for not doing their homework before they picked their host. I wish it turned out differently because what he said was offensive to some people and it could have been a great teachable moment because Kevin Hart did go out and he did apologize and it was a good apology in my opinion and he has shown growth. I think it could have been a great way to show that people do change and that he is not the person he was when he made those tweets. I understand that he didn’t want the issue to be about him but it was going to be about him anyway. I wish that he had stayed on and that he had addressed it and said ‘yes I made statements that some people found offensive in the past I have grown as a person and I’m not that person anymore’ and make it a positive learning experience. Unfortunately, that’s not how it went and so they’re now without a host,” Film club sponsor Robert Beckwith said.

The category people may not be aware of is the Academy Award for Best Short Film. Last year’s winner, Dear Basketball a short film about Michael Jackson’s retirement from playing basketball, sparked some controversy because many felt it didn’t deserve the award in light of other more complicated and meaningful films.

“I’m excited to go to the Bijou [theater] and watch the animated shorts.That’s a tradition with my family. I was really upset about the animated shorts last year because Dear Basketball was terrible and it didn’t deserve [to win].There were five other shorts that deserved that award more. It only won because it was Michael Jordan,” Acree said.

It’s no secret that many students are excited about movies like ‘Spider-Verse’ and ‘Black Panther’ the only thing is the probability of these films actually winning is slim considering the Academy’s preference for Indie films.

“The Oscars are Elitist. As much as I think it’s important to award achievements in film making, because it really should be appreciated as an art form and it’s not by a lot of people, the Oscars are really elitist.An example of that is Roma which is a very artsy indie film that no one has watched being nominated for like literally everything. I love indie film but that’s indie to a point and it’s a foreign film on top of that. Its elitism and that’s also translatable to important actors getting noticed for parts that are not necessarily the best parts that they’ve had like Christian Bale forVice. It’s important to remember that what wins is not usually the best that came out,”Acree said.

Feature

Black History Month: Students reflect

Salma Valadez, Bijou daVant

Staff Writers

Every year, Black History Month presents an opportunity for the nation to reflect on the adversity fought through and the achievements accomplished by influential and powerful African-Americans throughout history. Students shared the importance of celebrating Black History Month and how it empowers them.

Senior Inaya Briscoe shared the significance of the opportunity for everyone to learn about black history that Black History Month provides.

“We greet others and learn of the struggle others have dealt with but also how they have prospered.This month goes on past February and it empowers me because it helps me understand that I should be proud of everything about me and my culture,” Briscoe said. Along with Briscoe, junior Tyreke Lumpkin shared how Black History Month allows African-American stereotypes to be broken.

“I’ve learned overtime different cultures and generations have obtained to understand that we as African-Americans aren’t who society portrays us to be. Knowing that, I’ve come to the conclusion that no matter what the world has painted African-Americans to be, this month showcases greatness at its finest,” Lumpkin said.

Sophomore Shasha Ogork shared how celebrating Black History Month empowers her to be proud of heritage.

“During Black History Month, I feel like people finally talk about black people in history being more than slaves and poverty stricken. You hear about black people excelling. During Black History Month, I feel empowered by seeing all of the other people on TV that look like me. Looking up and seeing all the gorgeous and powerful black women who are changing stereotypes every day gives me hope that I can do the same,” Ogork said.