Restaurants of 3009
Football games, cool weather, friends, and fastfood, this is what a lot of students Friday nights consist of during football season. The football games are undeniably filled with school spirit and support for the gold and royal blue buffaloes, however a big part of football Fridays are being able to hangout with friends. The night starts at Lehnhoff stadium, but where it ends up is possibly more important.The restaurants off of 3009, such as Mama Margies and Whataburger, are crowded with students after the games to continue the fun. These restaurants are highly debated as to which one is ultimately the best place to go.
“I go to the restaurant to simply hangout with friends,” Matthew Shofner (11), said. “Sometimes I'm not even hungry, but I will still go for the squad.”
After being at the clemens football game for a few hours, most students are ready for something to eat. Plus hanging out with your friends is a big perk to the ongoing tradition of flocking to restaurants along 3009 on Friday nights. Some students just enjoy going to the restaurants to hang out with friends because it is the tradition.
“Even if it's crowded and takes awhile to get your food, it's still nice being around your friends and hanging out with them.” Shofner said.
Students obviously love Friday night football games, but it's apparent that the place to hang out with friends is the 3009 restaurants.
“All restaurants are fun to hang out at, but it's what makes each one different that determines where you and your friends will end up at.” Miranda Gomez (college freshman), said. She would never fail to show up at Mama Margies with her big group of friends and she is passionate that Mama Margies is the best restaurant.
“You get free chips, it's a lot bigger than the other ones, and it's not a whataburger so everyones not going there. It's like some people are going there but not everyone.” said Gomez.
Reagan Bohman (11) also loves going to Mama Margies after the games and when asked why it's her favorite restaurant she argued that the authentic atmosphere is more comfortable.
“ I like the big windows and the patio lights and the booths are just more comfortable than other restaurants.”, Bohman,said.
Typically when students favor one restaurant, they dislike going to the other one.
“Whataburger (is overrated) because the chicken is mediocre,” Bohman said. “And it's always super crowded.”
However, Shofner is a big fan of whataburger and would prefer going there over any other 3009 restaurant.
“Whataburger is the king of fast food burgers in Texas,” Shofner said. “it's also just the place where everyone links up.”
The variety of places to eat creates a division in the students' Friday night football traditions.
MARISA GOMEZ (11)
Staff Writer
“I go to the restaurant to simply hangout with friends,” Matthew Shofner (11), said. “Sometimes I'm not even hungry, but I will still go for the squad.”
After being at the clemens football game for a few hours, most students are ready for something to eat. Plus hanging out with your friends is a big perk to the ongoing tradition of flocking to restaurants along 3009 on Friday nights. Some students just enjoy going to the restaurants to hang out with friends because it is the tradition.
“Even if it's crowded and takes awhile to get your food, it's still nice being around your friends and hanging out with them.” Shofner said.
Students obviously love Friday night football games, but it's apparent that the place to hang out with friends is the 3009 restaurants.
“All restaurants are fun to hang out at, but it's what makes each one different that determines where you and your friends will end up at.” Miranda Gomez (college freshman), said. She would never fail to show up at Mama Margies with her big group of friends and she is passionate that Mama Margies is the best restaurant.
“You get free chips, it's a lot bigger than the other ones, and it's not a whataburger so everyones not going there. It's like some people are going there but not everyone.” said Gomez.
Reagan Bohman (11) also loves going to Mama Margies after the games and when asked why it's her favorite restaurant she argued that the authentic atmosphere is more comfortable.
“ I like the big windows and the patio lights and the booths are just more comfortable than other restaurants.”, Bohman,said.
Typically when students favor one restaurant, they dislike going to the other one.
“Whataburger (is overrated) because the chicken is mediocre,” Bohman said. “And it's always super crowded.”
However, Shofner is a big fan of whataburger and would prefer going there over any other 3009 restaurant.
“Whataburger is the king of fast food burgers in Texas,” Shofner said. “it's also just the place where everyone links up.”
The variety of places to eat creates a division in the students' Friday night football traditions.
MARISA GOMEZ (11)
Staff Writer
Superbloom: The Album
A psychedelic, dreamy, rock-inspired, album called Superbloom, was released Oct. 23 and everyone should listen to it. The writer and creator of this album is Ashton Irwin, or the drummer for the Australian band 5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS), famously known for their number one songs like “Youngblood” or “She Looks So Perfect”.
Many 5 Seconds of Summer fans were questioning the fact that Irwin was writing the album away from the band.
“I am in a band that allows me to create freely inside and outside of it.” He said on Instagram. And, on his Spotify account, Irwin said, “It was really freeing and inspiring to me, the songs I’ve written for this record couldn’t be sung by anyone else but me.”
The songs in Superbloom have a fairly personal aspect to them, talking about personal topics that Irwin himself has experienced.
“Yeah, we’ve identified a lot of my mission statement is self-acceptance and healing, unveiling trauma and looking into it, being brave enough to like, I feel angry at the world all the time. I’m depressed. I resort to alcoholism, drugs, I do whatever I can to blackout,” Irwin said to Music Feeds. “It’s like I’ve been there. I’ve been in that place. And I just, I support people healing themselves, repairing seeing themselves, wanting to be more empathetic or just developing empathy at all.”
Not only does Irwin talk about his experience with drugs, alcohol addiction, and depression, he also relates to body dysmorphia, suicide, and toxic masculinity in his album, especially focused on men.
“A mission statement of mine is to help guide young, creative, sensitive men as well, which is pretty weird. I just care. I care about how men are seen in society and I care about their development.” said Irwin “You can’t just say men are trash and forget about men. There needs to be character development, reinforcement, positive reinforcement. It needs to be loving. Men are not going to get better if we just hate them.”
Moreover, Irwin not only focuses on men, but he also focuses on his fans as a whole.
“I kind of like being really transparent about how I'm doing things with you guys because I think it's important for you guys to feel its purity and its pure creation,” he told his fans on social media. “My lyrics feel true to me and they’re seemingly resonating with you beautifully. We’re on an amazing ride together. Thank you from the heart for listening”
The 26-year-old got started on his album, Superbloom, at the beginning of the year, right before him and his band released their latest album, “CALM”. After “CALM”, Irwin and his roommate, Matthew Pauling found themselves writing and producing an album together in his Los Angeles home during the COVID-19 quarantine. Not only did Pauling and Irwin collaborate, but also Irwin’s girlfriend Kaitlin Blaisdell and friends Ryan Flemming, Gianni Arone, and more helped him with the art portion of the album, including the photography, cover art, and videography.
“I'm so blessed for our friendship and you have taught me so so so much,” Irwin said. “I was a stumbling child when it comes to production but you always listened to my story and my narrative and what I wanted to get across in my music even though the ideas are so grand, I feel like we really nailed a record. I'm really proud of the lyrics that we wrote together.”
“I wanted to develop a visual artistic way to influence my music. I wasn't very good at it years and years and years ago, but over the past couple years especially with 5SOS I've been able to identify my own artistic illustrative style... you see that in so many (other) artworks like “Greyhound” and “Sunshine” and kind of exploring that but then (I realized that no, I should be collaborating on this.”, Irwin said.
However, it’s not only Irwin that is excited about the album release and the contents in it, his incredibly huge fandom, coming from his career in 5SOS and solo career anticipated this album since it was first announced Sept. 23.
“I was really excited to hear from other fans about how they connect to the music and find the underlying meaning to certain phrases in his songs. This interests me most because of the amount of thought and emotion that artists, like Ashton Irwin, implement into their art form.” said Devin Bosch, a fan of Irwin and his band.
The fans appreciate the honesty and creativity of Irwin’s writing and album and had great reactions to it. Such as, Reagan Bohman, another fan of Irwin and 5SOS who had feelings of growth, mentally and physically. And feels as though she wasn't alone in some of the problems she faces everyday through Irwin and the other fans listening.
“I really like that Ashton released his own album because it allows him to express who he is as an individual and connect with his fans more personally than when he is in the group,” Bohman said.
Although Irwin hasn’t had the most revolutionary success with his album, the contents inside and the whole meaning behind the album is what means most for Irwin and his fans.
“Ashton Irwin’s new album is honestly revolutionary. He poured his heart and soul into that album and is willing to share his personal feelings with his audience. To him and his fans, it’s not of great importance that this album is popular in numbers.” said Bosch. “It’s important to remember that Ashton wrote and developed this album for himself. There is so much vulnerability in each of the songs and it could quite possibly help someone else who is dealing with alike issues cope with their current conditions.”
Students such as Bohman and Bosch recommend Superbloom to anyone and everyone, especially if they are going through everyday problems.
Superbloom is out now.
Emily Trevino
Staff Writer
Many 5 Seconds of Summer fans were questioning the fact that Irwin was writing the album away from the band.
“I am in a band that allows me to create freely inside and outside of it.” He said on Instagram. And, on his Spotify account, Irwin said, “It was really freeing and inspiring to me, the songs I’ve written for this record couldn’t be sung by anyone else but me.”
The songs in Superbloom have a fairly personal aspect to them, talking about personal topics that Irwin himself has experienced.
“Yeah, we’ve identified a lot of my mission statement is self-acceptance and healing, unveiling trauma and looking into it, being brave enough to like, I feel angry at the world all the time. I’m depressed. I resort to alcoholism, drugs, I do whatever I can to blackout,” Irwin said to Music Feeds. “It’s like I’ve been there. I’ve been in that place. And I just, I support people healing themselves, repairing seeing themselves, wanting to be more empathetic or just developing empathy at all.”
Not only does Irwin talk about his experience with drugs, alcohol addiction, and depression, he also relates to body dysmorphia, suicide, and toxic masculinity in his album, especially focused on men.
“A mission statement of mine is to help guide young, creative, sensitive men as well, which is pretty weird. I just care. I care about how men are seen in society and I care about their development.” said Irwin “You can’t just say men are trash and forget about men. There needs to be character development, reinforcement, positive reinforcement. It needs to be loving. Men are not going to get better if we just hate them.”
Moreover, Irwin not only focuses on men, but he also focuses on his fans as a whole.
“I kind of like being really transparent about how I'm doing things with you guys because I think it's important for you guys to feel its purity and its pure creation,” he told his fans on social media. “My lyrics feel true to me and they’re seemingly resonating with you beautifully. We’re on an amazing ride together. Thank you from the heart for listening”
The 26-year-old got started on his album, Superbloom, at the beginning of the year, right before him and his band released their latest album, “CALM”. After “CALM”, Irwin and his roommate, Matthew Pauling found themselves writing and producing an album together in his Los Angeles home during the COVID-19 quarantine. Not only did Pauling and Irwin collaborate, but also Irwin’s girlfriend Kaitlin Blaisdell and friends Ryan Flemming, Gianni Arone, and more helped him with the art portion of the album, including the photography, cover art, and videography.
“I'm so blessed for our friendship and you have taught me so so so much,” Irwin said. “I was a stumbling child when it comes to production but you always listened to my story and my narrative and what I wanted to get across in my music even though the ideas are so grand, I feel like we really nailed a record. I'm really proud of the lyrics that we wrote together.”
“I wanted to develop a visual artistic way to influence my music. I wasn't very good at it years and years and years ago, but over the past couple years especially with 5SOS I've been able to identify my own artistic illustrative style... you see that in so many (other) artworks like “Greyhound” and “Sunshine” and kind of exploring that but then (I realized that no, I should be collaborating on this.”, Irwin said.
However, it’s not only Irwin that is excited about the album release and the contents in it, his incredibly huge fandom, coming from his career in 5SOS and solo career anticipated this album since it was first announced Sept. 23.
“I was really excited to hear from other fans about how they connect to the music and find the underlying meaning to certain phrases in his songs. This interests me most because of the amount of thought and emotion that artists, like Ashton Irwin, implement into their art form.” said Devin Bosch, a fan of Irwin and his band.
The fans appreciate the honesty and creativity of Irwin’s writing and album and had great reactions to it. Such as, Reagan Bohman, another fan of Irwin and 5SOS who had feelings of growth, mentally and physically. And feels as though she wasn't alone in some of the problems she faces everyday through Irwin and the other fans listening.
“I really like that Ashton released his own album because it allows him to express who he is as an individual and connect with his fans more personally than when he is in the group,” Bohman said.
Although Irwin hasn’t had the most revolutionary success with his album, the contents inside and the whole meaning behind the album is what means most for Irwin and his fans.
“Ashton Irwin’s new album is honestly revolutionary. He poured his heart and soul into that album and is willing to share his personal feelings with his audience. To him and his fans, it’s not of great importance that this album is popular in numbers.” said Bosch. “It’s important to remember that Ashton wrote and developed this album for himself. There is so much vulnerability in each of the songs and it could quite possibly help someone else who is dealing with alike issues cope with their current conditions.”
Students such as Bohman and Bosch recommend Superbloom to anyone and everyone, especially if they are going through everyday problems.
Superbloom is out now.
Emily Trevino
Staff Writer
The Trouble With E.L.A Books
In every English class on campus, students are reading books required by the state curriculum. After a full minute of groaning and sighing, each student gives in. With these books come assignments by the dozen and everyone dreads it. As soon as the first reading check is announced, every student’s eyes become glassy as they realize the teacher is dead serious that there are reading checks each and every week. The horror of reality sinks in as they realize they don’t get time in class to read it. Four chapters in one week seems utterly impossible to even the best of students. Some may be scared of English class forever.
Every year, students are required to read at least one novel assigned to them by the curriculum. At the end of each section, there is a reading check. At the end of each book is an essay. Students dislike the assignments and that dislike transfers to the books themselves. Every day, students are anxiously waiting for the teacher to assign the next big project or assignment.
“I understand that we have to read some of the books, there are probably ways to make reading a less interesting book more interesting than writing an essay,” Logan Micheal (10), said. “A lot of them are classics. It’s just that kids our age just don’t always find the classics interesting.”
English two teachers have already talked to their classes about an essay at the end of their current class novels and students' reactions are less than enthusiastic.
“The hope is you’ll learn specific analytical skills,” english teacher Bailie Craford said. “So when you’re reading literature, you’re looking at the author’s use of specific things, devices, techniques and you’re analyzing the effect.”
Some students struggle with getting through their books and can’t complete the assignments on time with everything going on.
“If you're really struggling to get through with something, I would simply encourage you to continue practicing time management in getting through it,” Crawford said.
Another strategy, suggested by Micheal, is to focus on one character you like to get through the book. Use that character to spark some interest in what is happening.
“When English teachers give us books to read as homework, they make reading that extra assignment that nobody likes,” Jonathan Beierle (10) said. “Reading thus becomes something that you feel as though you have to pay attention to all the time. This then makes reading an often stressful thing for students.”
For some students, it is a struggle to find time in their schedules to read the book. With extracurriculars and homework, they are forced to cram the four or more chapters in the night before the reading check.
“I’m just going to encourage y’all to do your best like you would in a normal year, to simply make the time,” Crawford said. “I think it’s one of those, being a little bit more diligent in time management.”
For some, the books just aren’t that interesting. Teachers usually pick nonfiction or realistic fiction and that doesn’t interest everyone.
“I don’t dislike all the language arts books. I mean, they’re just normally not books I would choose to read off the shelf myself,” Micheal said. “Sometimes I’m forced to read books and I end up enjoying them. It’s just a 50/50 shot.”
Variety in class novels would be appreciated especially by those who like other genres than the normal ones teachers pick.
“Try to find something that kids might actually enjoy,” Beierle said. “By that I don’t mean that kids should be absolutely loving the book, I mean that they should at least be interested.”
At the same time, students are also reading independent novels they get a choice in.Those are much more enjoyable for students.
“We try to incorporate independent reading because there’s so many benefits to reading in that you get to choose what you want to read,” Crawford said. “You’re reaping all of those benefits without realizing it.”
ADRIANA STRANG
Staff Writer
Every year, students are required to read at least one novel assigned to them by the curriculum. At the end of each section, there is a reading check. At the end of each book is an essay. Students dislike the assignments and that dislike transfers to the books themselves. Every day, students are anxiously waiting for the teacher to assign the next big project or assignment.
“I understand that we have to read some of the books, there are probably ways to make reading a less interesting book more interesting than writing an essay,” Logan Micheal (10), said. “A lot of them are classics. It’s just that kids our age just don’t always find the classics interesting.”
English two teachers have already talked to their classes about an essay at the end of their current class novels and students' reactions are less than enthusiastic.
“The hope is you’ll learn specific analytical skills,” english teacher Bailie Craford said. “So when you’re reading literature, you’re looking at the author’s use of specific things, devices, techniques and you’re analyzing the effect.”
Some students struggle with getting through their books and can’t complete the assignments on time with everything going on.
“If you're really struggling to get through with something, I would simply encourage you to continue practicing time management in getting through it,” Crawford said.
Another strategy, suggested by Micheal, is to focus on one character you like to get through the book. Use that character to spark some interest in what is happening.
“When English teachers give us books to read as homework, they make reading that extra assignment that nobody likes,” Jonathan Beierle (10) said. “Reading thus becomes something that you feel as though you have to pay attention to all the time. This then makes reading an often stressful thing for students.”
For some students, it is a struggle to find time in their schedules to read the book. With extracurriculars and homework, they are forced to cram the four or more chapters in the night before the reading check.
“I’m just going to encourage y’all to do your best like you would in a normal year, to simply make the time,” Crawford said. “I think it’s one of those, being a little bit more diligent in time management.”
For some, the books just aren’t that interesting. Teachers usually pick nonfiction or realistic fiction and that doesn’t interest everyone.
“I don’t dislike all the language arts books. I mean, they’re just normally not books I would choose to read off the shelf myself,” Micheal said. “Sometimes I’m forced to read books and I end up enjoying them. It’s just a 50/50 shot.”
Variety in class novels would be appreciated especially by those who like other genres than the normal ones teachers pick.
“Try to find something that kids might actually enjoy,” Beierle said. “By that I don’t mean that kids should be absolutely loving the book, I mean that they should at least be interested.”
At the same time, students are also reading independent novels they get a choice in.Those are much more enjoyable for students.
“We try to incorporate independent reading because there’s so many benefits to reading in that you get to choose what you want to read,” Crawford said. “You’re reaping all of those benefits without realizing it.”
ADRIANA STRANG
Staff Writer