September Letter from Editor
As we navigate new classes, I encourage you to slow down and take in the sounds and sights of high school: crowded hallways, the triumphant cheers of athletes, and the quiet pencil scratching of students hard at work. Try something new! Take advantage of all that high school offers: attend a football game, go to a theater performance, or visit the library. Although it’s cliched, time flies in high school, and it’s only a once in a lifetime experience. Therefore, appreciate school despite its challenges and practice gratitude in order to gain a wider outlook on life. With thanks in my heart for God and all the wonderful people on staff, I present the 2023-2024 newspaper wholeheartedly. -Hailey Gorzell (11), Editor-in-chief
Vape Alarms and Crossed Arms
School’s Strict Vape Policies Become Harsher
By: Padraig Gillis (10), Staff Writer
As the citrus-esque scent rises, alarms start to sound off. All of the students in the crowded bathroom stall begin to scatter. The students crawl through the hallway, trying to hide from the incoming admin. Those who are caught for these infractions are sent to DAEP, a disciplinary campus.
House Bill 114 is putting these rules into effect on Sept. 1. This bill makes possession of an e-cigarette punishable, or even a misdemeanor if you have five or more. You also receive a mandatory DAEP placement for any nicotine or THC product. Texas schools are required to be Drug Free Zones.
Schools have been coming up with creative ways to stop the smoking epidemic. “When and if sensors are placed in this campus or on this campus, they will help us respond to situations faster,” Assistant Principal Ms. Smoot said.
Students across Texas are split on the subject. Some kids have adamantly vouched against the Bill, but others argue vaping does harm to the children. It is a very decisive topic among students.
Kids who do not vape have also been speaking up about these new restrictions. “I don’t think it’s justified,” Velton Thomson (11) said, “I think there should be at least one chance that’s given.”
Despite all of the backlash, the administration seems to be doing it for a moral reason. They aren’t trying to save face during Texas public school drama, but instead to protect children.
Our school's front office agrees with this bill, because it promotes a healthier lifestyle. They believe vaping is harmful to our young bodies. “At the end of the day, our end goal is to make sure kids are safe,” Ms. Smoot said, “you don’t know the effects it could have on your body.”
House Bill 114 is putting these rules into effect on Sept. 1. This bill makes possession of an e-cigarette punishable, or even a misdemeanor if you have five or more. You also receive a mandatory DAEP placement for any nicotine or THC product. Texas schools are required to be Drug Free Zones.
Schools have been coming up with creative ways to stop the smoking epidemic. “When and if sensors are placed in this campus or on this campus, they will help us respond to situations faster,” Assistant Principal Ms. Smoot said.
Students across Texas are split on the subject. Some kids have adamantly vouched against the Bill, but others argue vaping does harm to the children. It is a very decisive topic among students.
Kids who do not vape have also been speaking up about these new restrictions. “I don’t think it’s justified,” Velton Thomson (11) said, “I think there should be at least one chance that’s given.”
Despite all of the backlash, the administration seems to be doing it for a moral reason. They aren’t trying to save face during Texas public school drama, but instead to protect children.
Our school's front office agrees with this bill, because it promotes a healthier lifestyle. They believe vaping is harmful to our young bodies. “At the end of the day, our end goal is to make sure kids are safe,” Ms. Smoot said, “you don’t know the effects it could have on your body.”
With the uprising of school related violence and school shooting incidents happening across the region, administrators strive to take a different approach for student safety by updating, enforcing and implementing consequences related to new identification procedures.
“School safety is paramount and this requirement, if adhered to by all staff and students, provides peace of mind not only to all within the building, but parents and all stakeholders within the community,” school librarian Mrs. Lindsey said.
While IDs are used in school as a safety precaution they can also be used in the workplace and in learning how to use them properly can serve as a life skill for the future.
“It also provides a life skill for all that become employed, as identification/swipe-in badges are in most workplaces,” Mrs. Lindsey said. “Also, college students must swipe into all on campus buildings using their college ID badge and it is $25 to replace. So it is a future ready skill.”
ID’s are beneficial to have and there’s a variety of benefits that come with them however, over the last couple of years students have become less willing to comply with the demands of the administration. With the help of the school board the SCUCISD district was able to come up with a new plan for administrators and teachers to follow to help enforce these policies to the students. However, some students feel them to be unnecessary.
“Id's are not a useful resource for the school because it's like I said a hassle for everyone, teachers have to go out of their way to make sure students are wearing id's and have to get mad at students for something so little,” Isabella Ordonez (12) said.
*Every year during the first weeks of school, upon enrollment, parents and students sign that they have read and understand the information in the Handbook. Listed above is the updated version of last year's ID policy that can be found on page 108 in the student parent handbook.*
Mrs. Lindsey said, “It is the same process as last year. You get 2 IDs from the library. The student is billed for the 3rd ID, $5 this year as our costs have increased. I then send an email to administrators that the student or students were billed in My School Bucks and as the administrator is alerted the consequences are administered by the administrator. The administrators then contact the student and parent to alert them and remind them of the district policies.”
Printing ID’s at a fast pace for a lot of students is not cheap. Each ID costs Clemens $5 to print. Over 7000 regular IDs were printed just last year. That number does not include all the other IDs that can also be printed: Off-Campus IDs, Student-Aide IDs, Press Passes just to name a few. The photography company, Photo Texas Photography, that takes photos at prep days/senior portraits provides one ID with the contract to all that attend. This is why prep days are encouraged to attend, to not only have an ID printed by the company, but also a yearbook photo all in one. The state requires the suicide verbage to be on all IDs from 6th-12th grade, which is an additional run through the ID printer and an additional cost that the state does not pick up.
“School safety is paramount and this requirement, if adhered to by all staff and students, provides peace of mind not only to all within the building, but parents and all stakeholders within the community,” school librarian Mrs. Lindsey said.
While IDs are used in school as a safety precaution they can also be used in the workplace and in learning how to use them properly can serve as a life skill for the future.
“It also provides a life skill for all that become employed, as identification/swipe-in badges are in most workplaces,” Mrs. Lindsey said. “Also, college students must swipe into all on campus buildings using their college ID badge and it is $25 to replace. So it is a future ready skill.”
ID’s are beneficial to have and there’s a variety of benefits that come with them however, over the last couple of years students have become less willing to comply with the demands of the administration. With the help of the school board the SCUCISD district was able to come up with a new plan for administrators and teachers to follow to help enforce these policies to the students. However, some students feel them to be unnecessary.
“Id's are not a useful resource for the school because it's like I said a hassle for everyone, teachers have to go out of their way to make sure students are wearing id's and have to get mad at students for something so little,” Isabella Ordonez (12) said.
*Every year during the first weeks of school, upon enrollment, parents and students sign that they have read and understand the information in the Handbook. Listed above is the updated version of last year's ID policy that can be found on page 108 in the student parent handbook.*
Mrs. Lindsey said, “It is the same process as last year. You get 2 IDs from the library. The student is billed for the 3rd ID, $5 this year as our costs have increased. I then send an email to administrators that the student or students were billed in My School Bucks and as the administrator is alerted the consequences are administered by the administrator. The administrators then contact the student and parent to alert them and remind them of the district policies.”
Printing ID’s at a fast pace for a lot of students is not cheap. Each ID costs Clemens $5 to print. Over 7000 regular IDs were printed just last year. That number does not include all the other IDs that can also be printed: Off-Campus IDs, Student-Aide IDs, Press Passes just to name a few. The photography company, Photo Texas Photography, that takes photos at prep days/senior portraits provides one ID with the contract to all that attend. This is why prep days are encouraged to attend, to not only have an ID printed by the company, but also a yearbook photo all in one. The state requires the suicide verbage to be on all IDs from 6th-12th grade, which is an additional run through the ID printer and an additional cost that the state does not pick up.
Shoulder to Shoulder
Overcrowding Runs Rampant
By: Tristan Perez (11), Staff Writer
The clamoring of students clogs hallways, the one-minute bell rings overhead, and the flow of traffic is getting slower and slower. Walking faster won’t get anyone anywhere, fate has already been decided. Teachers begin to close their doors, and the tardy bell bellows one last time.
The school’s population is on a steady rise with the incoming freshman class, along with upperclassmen new to the area. The school’s enrollment has increased by 130 students since last school year. Not being late to class is becoming a more tedious task than before, and clogged hallways are a significant factor.
“The hallways are always crowded, and people aren’t going where they need to. They just stand in the hallway in groups of, like, 20 to 30, and I have to shove my way through,” Dayne Eschenbacher (11) said. “Sometimes I have to take paths I haven’t taken before because there’s people crowding the areas.”
The mall area (upstairs and downstairs), the cafeteria/C wing area, staircases, and the corner of the B hall and entrance of the S hall by the library are the most crowded commuting areas during passing periods. Having to push and shove past each other to get to class in time is becoming more common.
“It basically makes you late to your class,” Peyton Mckay (11) said. “In previous years, it wasn’t that bad, but with more freshmen coming in, and other people coming in from moving does not help the situation, and not to mention the slow walkers.”
While slowly and steadily trickling in the hallway to class, people can get restless or impatient, especially with the slow walkers, or even when people fully stop in the middle of the hallway.
“It’s always been a little overcrowded,” Eschenbacher said. “But in previous years, people were always moving. People stood and talked around, but not as frequently. They would actually go to class and the hallways would be moving, but this year they’re just stagnant.”
Administration is advising students to keep to the right in the halls, walk and talk, and to get to class as soon as possible to keep a steady flow of traffic.
“To improve the traffic, you could point out where to try not to go, but that’s been done in the past,” Mackenzie Stephens (12) said. “Even if it was to be, I guess, pointed out more, it wouldn’t really matter. People are going to take the routes they want to, especially if it’s easier than another way.”
The school’s population is on a steady rise with the incoming freshman class, along with upperclassmen new to the area. The school’s enrollment has increased by 130 students since last school year. Not being late to class is becoming a more tedious task than before, and clogged hallways are a significant factor.
“The hallways are always crowded, and people aren’t going where they need to. They just stand in the hallway in groups of, like, 20 to 30, and I have to shove my way through,” Dayne Eschenbacher (11) said. “Sometimes I have to take paths I haven’t taken before because there’s people crowding the areas.”
The mall area (upstairs and downstairs), the cafeteria/C wing area, staircases, and the corner of the B hall and entrance of the S hall by the library are the most crowded commuting areas during passing periods. Having to push and shove past each other to get to class in time is becoming more common.
“It basically makes you late to your class,” Peyton Mckay (11) said. “In previous years, it wasn’t that bad, but with more freshmen coming in, and other people coming in from moving does not help the situation, and not to mention the slow walkers.”
While slowly and steadily trickling in the hallway to class, people can get restless or impatient, especially with the slow walkers, or even when people fully stop in the middle of the hallway.
“It’s always been a little overcrowded,” Eschenbacher said. “But in previous years, people were always moving. People stood and talked around, but not as frequently. They would actually go to class and the hallways would be moving, but this year they’re just stagnant.”
Administration is advising students to keep to the right in the halls, walk and talk, and to get to class as soon as possible to keep a steady flow of traffic.
“To improve the traffic, you could point out where to try not to go, but that’s been done in the past,” Mackenzie Stephens (12) said. “Even if it was to be, I guess, pointed out more, it wouldn’t really matter. People are going to take the routes they want to, especially if it’s easier than another way.”
Texas breaks record for hottest summer
By: Benjamin Cavazos (11), Staff Writer
Face it, there were some pretty bad summers. But in 2023, Texas breaks a new record for the hottest summer Texas has ever had. Topping in at 109 degrees.
The weather in Texas has always been miserable , but no one would predict that we would have had one of the worst summers in history.
James Snyder (11) over the summer he had to do roadwork for training, so he had to go outside in the blazing heat.
“I’ve only ever gone outside for groceries and boxing and whatnot, and I have realized the sun is scorching, I want to keep my outside time at a minimum,” Snyder said.
With a massive vote, hardly anyone decided to go outside due to the drastic change in heat temperatures. With COVID-19 still around in 2023, it added up to the amount of people who preferred to enjoy summer indoors.
Ezra Damani (11), worked outside in the heat and he had a story to tell about the dreadful heat that occurred this summer.
“As a bigger person, I was sweating like a pig. This summer was especially hot and I majorly had to stay inside,” Damani said.
Greg Abbot passed a new bill called the House Bill 2127 and it is hurting the foundation of construction workers. The mandatory water break is now over with the new law that has been set in Texas.
“It could kill people, they work out in the heat enough even with the water break,” Damani said. "But now that it’s over it can be deadly due to the sun."
The weather in Texas has always been miserable , but no one would predict that we would have had one of the worst summers in history.
James Snyder (11) over the summer he had to do roadwork for training, so he had to go outside in the blazing heat.
“I’ve only ever gone outside for groceries and boxing and whatnot, and I have realized the sun is scorching, I want to keep my outside time at a minimum,” Snyder said.
With a massive vote, hardly anyone decided to go outside due to the drastic change in heat temperatures. With COVID-19 still around in 2023, it added up to the amount of people who preferred to enjoy summer indoors.
Ezra Damani (11), worked outside in the heat and he had a story to tell about the dreadful heat that occurred this summer.
“As a bigger person, I was sweating like a pig. This summer was especially hot and I majorly had to stay inside,” Damani said.
Greg Abbot passed a new bill called the House Bill 2127 and it is hurting the foundation of construction workers. The mandatory water break is now over with the new law that has been set in Texas.
“It could kill people, they work out in the heat enough even with the water break,” Damani said. "But now that it’s over it can be deadly due to the sun."
Today’s Read, Tomorrow’s Ashes
Book bans eradicate education and history
By: Hailey Gorzell (11), Editor-in-chief
Historical pieces and minority authors face fierce wrath from opponents who claim the books are explicit or insensitive. Although the school library has yet to face a ban, there are constant challenges to the book database. Book bans unethically limit knowledge of world history and eradicate student autonomy.
Rather than indoctrination, controversial books generate collegiate criticism and dissection on a deeper level. In “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Harper Lee explores themes of racism, sexual assault and criminal justice in the Deep South through the eyes of a young girl. While critics attack the use of racial slurs, the novel encapsulates racial tensions and class relations at a pivotal moment in the 20th century.
Book bans narrow scholarly knowledge of historical accounts and memoirs. In World War II, the Nazis burned books by Jewish authors and political opponents of facism to promote their agenda. What society allows the government to restrict student autonomy and claim it is for the student’s own good? Certainly not a free society in which the first amendment reigns.
Even if events trigger people or cause them to turn away in disgust, trauma still persists and fractures society deeper than before. Book bans widen the fracture and nurture false security from heinous events which still continue to persist. While book ban proponents argue teens are impressionable, feeble minds requiring protection, literary-inclined students hold deep rooted values which serve as a moral compass.
At the heart of the issue, students’ autonomy and free will is at stake. To promote transparency, libraries should include trigger warnings about historical insensitivities and trauma. Parents can monitor their children’s reading progress and education by asking them questions. If there are any concerns, parents can contact the Texas Education Agency or ask for an alternate assignment for their student.
Today we erase derogatory terms, tomorrow we erase traumatic events, but the next day we erase an entire injustice. Read on fellow students, for one never knows what might reside on the bookshelf tomorrow.
Rather than indoctrination, controversial books generate collegiate criticism and dissection on a deeper level. In “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Harper Lee explores themes of racism, sexual assault and criminal justice in the Deep South through the eyes of a young girl. While critics attack the use of racial slurs, the novel encapsulates racial tensions and class relations at a pivotal moment in the 20th century.
Book bans narrow scholarly knowledge of historical accounts and memoirs. In World War II, the Nazis burned books by Jewish authors and political opponents of facism to promote their agenda. What society allows the government to restrict student autonomy and claim it is for the student’s own good? Certainly not a free society in which the first amendment reigns.
Even if events trigger people or cause them to turn away in disgust, trauma still persists and fractures society deeper than before. Book bans widen the fracture and nurture false security from heinous events which still continue to persist. While book ban proponents argue teens are impressionable, feeble minds requiring protection, literary-inclined students hold deep rooted values which serve as a moral compass.
At the heart of the issue, students’ autonomy and free will is at stake. To promote transparency, libraries should include trigger warnings about historical insensitivities and trauma. Parents can monitor their children’s reading progress and education by asking them questions. If there are any concerns, parents can contact the Texas Education Agency or ask for an alternate assignment for their student.
Today we erase derogatory terms, tomorrow we erase traumatic events, but the next day we erase an entire injustice. Read on fellow students, for one never knows what might reside on the bookshelf tomorrow.