ASHESSummer/2015

Vol. VII Issue IV

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TABLE OF CONTENTSopinions

4. All The Wrong Questions 5. Relieble 6. Under Pressure 7. Rejected 8. Breaking the Bank

sports 9. Fork in the Road10. A Splash of Variety11. Girls vs. Boys

features12. In State Colleges13. Out of State Colleges14. Forever Young15. Money, Money, Money

editorsGabby HirneiseAnita RamaswamyShoshana DubnowLauren BukoskeyChuck DriesKamren GilbardAngela Velzquez

student news16. Just a Spoonful of Sugar17. Apply Yourself18. Broken

staffersAlvarez-Maximilien, BellaBabione, IsabellaBeal, DamionChristakos, ChloeCorvo, JiannaCottingham, OliviaHenderson, AvaLopez, IsleyMackenzie, MeganMann, AllysonMarkus, SamanthaMyers, JessicaPaulson, SheyanneRamsay, SkylarSliger, Grace Tomany, SophiaTully, AubreyVaughan, Grace Wilbert, NicoleWilhite, Marissa

Editor-In-ChiefStudent News

SportsA&E

DesignOpinionsAdvisor

arts & entertainment20. The Sound of Music21. Make It or Break It22. Play That Funky Music23. Transformation Tuesday

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WRONG

ALL THE

QUESTIONS “Why did she stay?”

This fundamentally flawed question is repeated by many people in

response to incidents of domestic violence. While the question may

seem innocent, it actually reveals a darker side of our society. As

TIME Magazine explains, “It’s a good impulse, but a bad question.

“Why didn’t you leave?” is to domestic violence what “Why were

you out so late?” is to rape; this puts the focus on the victim’s choice

to stay rather than the abuser’s choice to hit her.” The recent public

criticism of domestic violence victims led to backlash from a commu-

nity of survivors who started the Twitter hashtag #WhyIStayed, to

try and provide some context as to why they made the decisions they

did. Their reasons are varied, including fear, threats, children, and

financial obstacles. The hashtag, #WhyIStayed, is the unfortunate

result of a community that blames the victims, rather than the abus-

ers, for their situations.

Victims of domestic violence usually don’t even have the power

to leave their situations in the first place. First, there is the massive

risk--TIME reports that over 70% of domestic violence murders hap-

pen after the victim has left the relationship. Second, many of these

victims have no place to go. Domestic violence shelters from coast to

coast are routinely operating over capacity. For example, South Caro-

lina experiences an average of 36,000 cases of domestic abuse each

year (almost 100 per day), but has only 18 shelters for victims trying

to leave their abusers. This shortage in capacity ultimately resulted

in 380 women in just one year in the state being turned away by their

local shelters. Clearly, in many situations, leaving is not so simple.

In 2009, when a video leaked of rapper Chris Brown assaulting

his ex-girlfriend, Rihanna, she declared in an interview with Diane

Sawyer that she wanted to be a positive role model for young girls.

“When I realized that my selfish decision for love could result in

some young girl getting killed, I could not be easy with that part. I

couldn't be held responsible for going back. Even if Chris never hit

me again, who is to say that their boyfriend won't? Who's to say that

they won't kill these girls? These are young girls and I just didn't

realize how much of an impact I had on these girls' lives until that

happened," she told Sawyer.

Three years later, she got back together with Brown, and they

released a song together, called “Nobody’s Business,” with lyrics that

alluded to the idea that what happened between Rihanna and Chris

Brown was strictly personal and should be kept out of the public

sphere of commentary. A deluge of voices came out asking Rihanna

why she would stay with a man who treated her like Brown did. Her

most vulnerable moments were made conspicuously public, and

while Rihanna may have felt comfortable speaking about the issue,

many other survivors do not feel the same.

But just because Rihanna is a celebrity does not mean she is exempt

from the pain and trauma of handling an abusive relationship. The

issue of domestic violence affects many people, regardless of social

or economic status. Tricia Brent-Goodley, a professor of Social Work

at Howard University says of Rihanna’s experience, “What this story

tells us is that domestic violence doesn’t discriminate and that it can

occur no matter how wealthy you are, how beautiful you are or how

smart you are,” she furthers, “It is so much easier for us to focus on

one individual – why doesn’t she just leave – it is much harder for us

to focus on ourselves and our communities – what are the messages

we send that keep women being abused in abusive relationships? Our

silence and our own inability to champion this issue fosters a sense

that domestic violence is not an issue. We need more courageous

people to stand against domestic violence.”

Sometimes the line between raising awareness for an issue and

disrespecting the privacy of victims is blurred. At the end of last

year, former Baltimore Ravens player Ray Rice was caught on video

punching his fiancee, Janay Palmer, and dragging her unconscious

body out of an elevator. The video was widely circulated throughout

the news, revealing a vulnerable moment to the scathing commentary

of the media and its viewers. Although many outlets justified this

coverage by saying it promoted awareness of domestic violence, it

simply revealed a deeply personal and painful moment to the public,

creating an even more complicated situation for Palmer. Again, the

questioning from the public persisted-- why did Palmer stay, choos-

ing to marry her abuser instead of leaving him immediately? After

Palmer asked the media to leave her alone, the public outcry over her

personal life grew louder and louder.

In a culture where the concept of privacy has been rendered obso-

lete, it is only natural for us to form opinions on the intimate details

of other peoples’ lives. The blurred line between public and private

lives affects a wide range of issues, from trivial thoughts to monu-

mental concerns. E! News host Giuliana Rancic provided her racially

motivated commentary on actress Zendaya Coleman’s hairstyle of

choice. CNN asked its readers what they think of Angelina Jolie’s

double mastectomy, a highly personal medical decision. But far more

disturbing than either of these examples is the public’s propensity to

intrude in the lives of domestic violence victims. Domestic violence

is a deepy personal issue that arouses strong feelings from everyone

involved. If we want to make progress on raising awareness for this

issue, we cannot leave behind those who matter most--the victims

themselves. Unless we as society take the initiative to condemn

perpetrators and support victims of domestic violence in a respect-

ful and conscientious manner, thousands will continue to suffer in

silence. -Anita Ramaswamy student news editor

spread made by : Kamren Gilbard and Sammie Markus4

Remember when Blackwater, a private

military company used by the United States,

was convicted for randomly opening fire on

civilians in Kabul and killing 14 innocent

people? Not many people do because CNN

was too busy vilifying Hillary Clinton for

wearing sunglasses in a Chipotle to actually

report newsworthy events. It’s an inherent

human trait for people to be curious about

the latest news. People look to journalists

for reputable information, yet lately, journal-

ists have felt the need to compromise their

integrity in order to gain a greater fan base.

The results of their decisions have created an

environment of distrust and bias.

Although the initial purpose of journalism

was to relay information in a clear way to a

large audience, this intent has unfortunately

shifted over the years. Journalism is amaz-

ing because it has the power to disseminate

important information in a clear, concise, and

thought-provoking manner. Before newspa-

pers, the “common people” were not able to

learn what was going on with government

officials. Their curiosity gave journalists the

ability to increase the accountability of public

officials and empower people to take a stand.

Newspapers helped garner support for the

Minutemen during the Revolutionary War

era. Newspapers like William Garrison’s The

Liberator and Frederick Douglas’ The North

Star motivated the abolition of slavery. Jour-

nalism is a tool for people to be productive,

informed members of society. Unfortunately,

this definition has morphed into a hideous

behemoth that sacrifices integrity for likes

and money. Society’s obsession with Kim

Kardashian’s rear end has undermined the

innovations brought by iconic journalists.

The desire to make the biggest splash has

overtaken the motives of journalists. There

are hundreds of child death cases each year,

yet the Casey Anthony story received the

most attention because she is young and

pretty. Not to mention, Brian Williams lied

about being hit down by an RPG while rid-

ing a helicopter in Iraq for the sole purpose

of building up his reputation as a heroic

reporter.

Dramatic political leanings of different

news sources have also helped to redefine

journalism.

“Particularly in TV news, each outlet

struggles to capture and hold onto audiences

with correspondent “personalities,” too often

at the expense of the real story those per-

sonalities are supposed to cover,” Newsweek

photographer Bill Gentile said.

Along with the overextension of reporter

bias in the media, plagiarism also infil-

trates the news. In 2014, CNN reporter and

TIME magazine columnist, Fareed Zakaria,

plagiarized another writer’s work. Although

Zakaria received some retribution, his status

as a journalistic golden boy for foreign af-

fairs granted him complete impunity from

punishment. These scandals violate the trust

between writer and reader. Writers are the

ones who are supposed to be truthful, who

are supposed to go above the call of duty

to deliver honest information to the general

public. Zakira’s impunity is similar to the

immunity from punishment corrupt officials

and public figures possess because of their

immense influence.

The phrase “tell the people what they

want to hear” may sound cliché, but when

the news reaches a point of becoming “too

graphic,” it becomes the motto for journalists.

In 2013, CNN news chief Eason Jason

admitted that for years, the network had su-

garcoated former leader of Iraq Saddam Hus-

sein’s atrocities. The journalist tried to justify

this by stating that he wanted to “maintain

access to the Iraqi dictator.” Analysts have in-

vestigated the network’s reasoning and found

that it was full of holes.

“CNN could have abandoned Baghdad.

Not only would they have stopped recycling

lies, they could have focused more intently on

obtaining the truth about Saddam,”theWall

Street Journal writer Franklin Foer said.

People love to sugarcoat. Kids sugarcoat

how much time they have spent watching

TV so that they will be allowed to watch one

more episode. Parents sugarcoat how long

the car ride will be to California. There are

some situations, however, where sugarcoat-

ing is unacceptable, and journalism is one of

them. Facts are facts, and as soon as a jour-

nalist tampers with the facts to make people

feel more secure, it is no longer an accurate

representation of reality.

Other misguided reports of news have

sprouted from the desire to report on trivial

occurrences that are not significant. ISIL

has been in operation for 10 years, yet Justin

Bieber’s airbrushed abs in the Calvin Klein

commercial and Mitt Romney tying a dog to

the roof of his car have taken priority over

the greater issues.

Newspapers were originally created so that

people could keep up-to-date with current

events. Today, newspapers have evolved

into a source of warped news that cater to

a certain group of people. Until journalists

learn to stop compromising their integrity,

distrust and personal motives will dominate

the industry.

relieable-Shoshana Dubnow sports editor

Summer 2015 OPINIONS 5

Under Pressure “When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happi-ness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy.’ They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t under-stand life,” John Lennon said. This quote from John Lennon epitomizes how our society prioritiz-es exceptionalism over happiness. Teenagers are often pressured into overcoming obstacles they don’t necessarily want to tackle; compro-mising their happiness for a sense of acceptance. Teenagers nowadays have a lot of responsibilities. From school-work to extracurricular activities, standing out and being ‘exception-al’ is getting harder every single year. Acceptance plays a huge role in a person’s life. Teenagers are trying to achieve exceptionalism, but most of the time the bar is set too high. Is the pressure to achieve causing children to grow up sooner than they would have twenty plus years ago? In most cases, yes. The world is a lot more competitive than it was a few decades ago. “The upcoming generation of teens is cognitively superior to their parents during their teenage years. It’s mainly because of the kind of exposure they get during early age with the help of technology. The world is becoming a more competitive place, and high schoolers are needing to fight harder for their place in this world than ever before,” TED Talks employee Girish Sharma said. Teenagers have acquired more responsibilities than necessary in order to get a head start on life. “No one really gives you a choice to grow up or stay young. At some point in your life you just have to, and it happened to me way too young,” sophomore Kennedy Bates said. When it comes to school, some students tend to aim for the stars academically. There is a large number of tests students have to take such as the SAT, SAT Subject tests, PSAT, ACT, IB, AP exams, etc. These contribute to an excessive amount of stress and anxiety. Teenagers are also overwhelmed with other commitments to sports, a social life, and familial obligations, which take their toll. Trying to balance all of these activities has become extremely hard to deal with. “People tend to put their needs aside and do what they believe will help them achieve greater things. I am definitely against cramming all night just to ace a test. Everyone needs a good night’s sleep to function properly. Some students completely push their mental health aside just to ace a test,” junior Sarah Wenner said. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, students take the occasional bad grade as a personal failure, which increases their anxiety levels. About 8% of today’s U.S. teens suffer from some type of diagnosed anxiety disorder. Anxiety has been on the rise among children and young adults since at least the 1950s. School counselors and nurses alike have cited increased amounts of pressure, social media, and divorce as causes for this surge in anxiety

that has not only affected teens who suffer, but also school adminis-trators trying to help their students. “Students sort of are ‘trained’ to push away their happiness for success in several situations. They are so used to a heavy workload and such a small amount of sleep, they don’t even recognize how un-healthy they are living just to be someone in this competitive world,” Wenner said. Homework is a contributing factor of stress in a high schooler’s life. High school teachers on average assign about 3.5 hours of homework per day, according to a recent survey conducted by the University of Phoenix College of Education. For high school students who typically have five classes with differ-ent teachers, that could mean as much as 17.5 hours each week. “We come to school for seven plus hours a day and you get sometimes over two or three hours of homework. You have a small amount of time to grow up before you are no longer allowed to be a kid again. I barely know how to do so many things just because I have no time to learn,” Bates said. The pressure to be the best is starting to rain on younger children too. Many parents worry that if they don’t enroll their kids in a lot of extracurricular activities, their children will be missing out or left behind. Though sometimes parents involve their children in so many outside activities, that they have very little time left just to play, have fun, and be kids. “The adult competitive world has invaded childhood. Children’s schedules are such that they are living with a lot of stress. Parents are expecting their kids to have responsibilities that adults should have—in this case, to live these schedules, to multitask, to prioritize time, and to be efficient in the use of time,”professor of Family Social Sci-ence at the University of Minnesota and author of Take Back Your Own Kids, William Doherty, said. Some people would argue that parents of high-achieving students play a detrimental role by pressuring their children to achieve unre-alistically high levels of stress to satisfy the parents’ needs. Parents of academically talented children have been accused of pushing their children to accomplish success at exceptional levels, and in some cases, sooner than they are ready for. While there is evidence that parental factors have a positive association with, or facilitate, children’s achievement, there has also been great concern that parents are responsible for pressure and foster performance anxiety in their children. Standing out is something practically everyone wants to do. Stress is just another part of life, but should not be a huge factor of one’s existence. “You should be successful at what you are doing because in my opinion that is important--to excel at what you put all of your work into. (sic). But getting good grades or being the top of your class is never as important as being a genuine person,” Wenner said.

-Jessica Myers staffer

spread made by : Kamren Gilbard and Sammie Markus6

REJECTED

After putting one’s heart and soul into

a college application, a rejected student’s

only consolation is that their interest was

“appreciated” by a college and that the

college “deeply regrets” their inability to

offer the student an admission.

College is one of the most significant

milestones in an individual’s life. It is re-

sponsible for future jobs, friends, and most

opportunities. Attending the right college

seems imperative to a student’s success.

While most people believe this means

they must attend their “dream” Ivy league

college, very few people actually achieve

this goal.

Stanford University, for example, is a

dream school for thousands of students,

but their acceptance rate is remarkably

low at 5.1%. This means that 94.9% of

students that apply are left waiting in

agony, only to receive the same standard-

ized, automated rejection letter, with no

explanation for their non-admittance.

College counselor Lynell Engelmeyer

believes that colleges are accepting fewer

people.

“Ivy League schools are admitting [an

infinitely smaller] percentage of students

who apply. These students are truly the

needle in the haystack of college-bound

applicants,” Lynell said.

The admissions process is not perfect.

In fact, there are many flaws in the system

that prevent colleges from admitting the

most competent students to their pro-

grams. The majority of the process is

based off of numbers. Students’ GPAs,

test scores, varsity letters, or number of

activities are all compiled into an applica-

tion, judged, and then either rejected or

accepted. What is not always taken into

account is the vast differences between

high schools across the nation. Every high

school has a different standard, course, or

level of difficulty that makes it impossible

to compare them. Due to this focus on

numbers, colleges base their admissions on

how perfect a student looks on paper, not

their personal attributes.

Though it is impossible for a university

to privately interview every single one of

its applicants, this system cannot fairly

judge one student as superior to another.

“The most flawed part of the process is

that the admissions officers will never truly

know a student, which becomes a problem

when they must decide to deny or accept

students with very similar applications,”

senior Cailey Gulinson said.

Colleges do not reject students, they

reject their resumes, and the amount of

rejected resumes continues to climb dra-

matically.

Most of these rejection letters come from

Ivy League schools, where it is virtually

impossible to get accepted because the col-

leges reserve a specific number spaces for

certain types of students.

“Ivy league schools have to set aside a

special amount of new spots for faculties’

kids or for athletic kids. They have spots

for international students, and if a selective

school gets 30,000 applicants for 3,000

seats, they have already given away 1,200

seats before you even apply,” Chaparral

guidance counselor Mr. Perry said.

Even before a student applies, their

chances of admittance are slim to none.

This prevents even the best students in the

nation from going to their dream schools,

no matter their brilliance, creativity, or

charisma.

According to College Board, the “Admis-

sion officers at selective colleges readily

admit that as many as two-thirds of the

students they reject are fully capable of

succeeding academically at their institu-

tions.”

This statement demonstrates how

impersonal colleges’ admissions decisions

are and how getting cut should not affect

a student’s sense of self-worth. Colleges

reject thousands of students who have the

potential to be as successful as accepted

students. Unable to predict the future,

admissions councils are bound to make

mistakes. Students do not need to feel em-

barrassed and worthless, especially since

these colleges have no way of accurately

judging one’s potential.

“It doesn’t matter what the name of the

school is, and it doesn’t matter what their

sweatshirts look like. What really matters

is that you end up at the right school for

you and that you can be successful no mat-

ter what college you go to,” Perry advised.

As long as students work hard and make

the most of their college experience, they

can be successful wherever they attend.

Applying to college should be about

finding the right fit for a student, not about

attending the most prestigious school.

Beginning as early as freshman year,

students are badgered by their relatives’

questions that usually concern college

choice or preferred college major. Pretty

soon, all the parents begin comparing their

child’s school and try to one-up all of their

friends. Parents, teachers, and peers put

additional pressure on students that adds

to the stress of applying to college, and

students’ own happiness is thrown aside

for the sake of attending the school with

the best name.

College should be enjoyable and con-

structive. It is where students learn, grow,

and experience freedom like they have

never experienced before. Whether you

end up at a state school or an Ivy league,

your faithful commitment and positive

mindset can lead you anywhere you desire.

-Aubrey Tully staffer

Summer 2015 OPINIONS 7

Breaking �� � � � bankthe�

The thought of going to college excites all who wish to continue their journey through academia. Many children grow up hearing their parents talk about their amazing college experiences. Unfortu-nately for many students, their dream college is just too expensive. An Arizona high school student planning on graduating in four years can incur a debt between $41,592 to $114,016 from an in state and out of state university. 70% of college graduates have student loan debt at an average of $25,000. Due to these extraordinarily high numbers, college graduates in United States collectively owe one trillion dollars in student loan debt. Unfortunately, college students will continue to carry the burden of student loans unless significant action is taken to decrease college costs. “When we make college more affordable, we make the American dream more achievable,” former president Bill Clinton said. A student loan is offered to students to pay off education related expenses that may include tuition, room and board at the university, or books. Students are usually required to pay back loans once they

complete their degree at their university. However, the financial strain of student loans

on graduates is extremely concerning and detrimental to their economic security.

The monthly payment on $25,000 debt is $280 a month, including 6.8%

interest over the course of 10 years. This can cause major financial

strain on a student straight out of college. On average, a college graduate can expect to make $44,000 their first year out of

college depending on their profession.

Even though that might sound like a lot, it goes by fairly quickly for an indi-vidual who is also expected to pay taxes, buy furniture, and pay rent. The exor-bitant cost of a college education de-prives students of economic flexibility, leaving little room to spare. People who have attended college play an important role in government and society, considering that the U.S. has transformed into a knowledge based economy. According to a representative from OECD, “Economies are increasingly based on information and knowledge. Knowledge is now recognized as the driver of productivity and economic growth leading to a new focus on the role of information, technol-ogy, and learning in economic performance.” Although college isn’t everyone’s dream, students who want to at-tend should be able to and not be punished for their lack of wealth by high college costs and overbearing debt. A college education not only enriches society socially and economically, but it also acts as a blueprint for life. This helps stay focused on having goals and exploring their passions. Many students who have college in mind are discouraged because of the high costs. People should not be punished for having goals of higher education. Everyone deserves an equal right to the high-est level of education available. Outrageous college costs prevent people from achieving socioeconomic mobility and living the “American Dream by saddling students with more burdens than they need.

Rising college debt is harming students everywhere. If we don’t work to fix the problem, how bad will the consequences be?

-Grace Vaughan staffer

spread made by : Skylar Ramsay and Sammie Markus8

WOLPE

1

Forkin the

Road

According the the NCAA, a minimum of 3.4% of men will continue basketball in college, and 3.8% of women will also continue playing women’s basketball. Students are not obligated to play sports in high school, even though their partici-pation will enhance their college resume. In high school, sports participation is more common than it is in college. However, once students get into college, many of them quit their sport so they can redirect their focus to other interests dur-ing college. When students play sports, their strengths shine through. They tend to immerse themselves in it, enjoying each moment. “Playing soccer has given me the op-portunity to get a scholarship for college, kept me focused on my academics, and kept me in shape,” Chaparral senior and varsity soccer team goalie, Taylor Wolpe, said. “I did not have tons of time to party and socialize throughout high school, so soccer really kept me on track to achieving my goals and prioritizing.” Wolpe will be attending Georgia South-ern University on an athletic scholarship next year. “I chose to play in college because even though I would get frustrated during the

recruitment process sometimes and get frustrated during injuries and just with the sport in general, every time I stopped playing for awhile I missed it. I couldn’t imagine working 15 years to not play in college,” Wolpe expressed. The Study Board of Compliance re-cently determined that nearly one-third of high school students will drop their sports due to brutal schedules.Other reasons for quitting include a change of interests, lack of playing time, injuries and coaches’ decisions. “I just wanted to focus on school and not worry about the extracurriculars. It took up a great amount of time in my life. Practice was four days of week for numer-ous hours plus match days were even longer, and wouldn’t get home until seven or eight, it just consumed my life,” senior, Lauren Butler, said. This year, Butler quit the varsity tennis team at Chaparral High School but still participates in a club tennis team out of school. Butler is looking forward to col-lege where she can explore interests other than tennis. “I want to do rowing. I think that will be loads of fun,” Butler said. It takes great devotion to play a sport and a lot more to continue it in college. A

recent study by NAU said a daily schedule for a college athlete starts at 5:30 AM. The athlete will get up, eat, and hit the gym for a couple of hours before classes start. Then they must go to after school practices, which are usually 2 or more hours long. Sometimes athletes will even need physical therapy to help with the aching muscles, making athletics into an even greater time commitment. In 2013, the company Gatorade con-ducted a study to determine how much sleep a college athlete gets. They found out the average college athlete, gets 4-7 hours of sleep depending on game nights or homework. Moreover, it’s understandable why so many people quit their sports after high school. Whether they are playing a sport or not, all students have the opportunity to suc-ceed in whatever they do. College athletes will find success because they are devoted to their sports; however, non-athletes have the freedom to pursue their passions with-out worrying about an upcoming game. “I am definitely up for a new challenge in my life, and this has always been a goal of mine since I was a little kid. It’s awe-some to see it actually become a reality,” Wolpe said.

Among the important decisions in the lives of seniors is the choice ofwhether or not to continue to play their sport in college.

Summer 2015 SPORTS & OPINIONS 9

-Skylar Ramsay staffer

ASplash

ofVariety

Ac-cording to the

Center for Disease Control and Preven-tion, only 27.5% of

high school students are exercising

the recommended 60 minutes a day. Only

a small number of students are blessed

with athletic talents. According to the National Federation of State

High School As-sociations, 7,795,658 students participated in school sports during the 2013-2014 year out of the approximately 100 million high school students. Students who participate in multiple sports are exceedingly extraordinary. These individuals learn to balance schoolwork, sports, and social lives. Similar to the be-loved characters of High School Musical, Lo-gan Hicks and Moorea Walker apply their talents to succeed in a variety of teams and programs at Chaparral. Chaparral junior Logan Hicks dedicates her talents to two high-intensity sports: ice hockey and lacrosse. Ice hockey became an integral part of Hick’s family when her father played on various teams in the National Hockey League. Hicks began ice hockey training when she was nine years old. Lacrosse, in addition to ice hockey, plays a large role

in Hicks’s family. Inspired by her lacrosse-playing older sister, Hicks started playing

the game during freshman year. Hockey season occurs from the beginning of the school year to March, which overlaps with lacrosse season, Janu-

ary to May. The overlap of the two sports’ seasons offers Hicks a unique opportunity to improve her fitness and athletic performance. “It’s good cross-training. I never am play-ing one sport for too long. A lot of people get burnt out from playing too long in one sport,” Hicks expressed. During the months of overlapping sports, Hicks’s schedule rapidly becomes dif-ficult to balance. From school, Hicks will commute to hockey practice and then to lacrosse practice. In addition to physical health, Hicks also gains transferable skills from playing two sports. “It’s a lot of hand-eye coordination and it’s conditioning. Hockey is a lot of leg strength. It really helps when I go from hockey to lacrosse because I’m already in pretty good shape so it’s easy to transfer over,” Hicks explained. Hicks has committed to Syracuse Uni-versity for both ice hockey and lacrosse. Initially, Hicks was only going to play ice hockey at Syracuse, but she eventually decided to additionally ask about the girl’s lacrosse team. “I was getting my scholarship money for hockey but I really wanted to play lacrosse too; I didn’t really want to give it up,” Hicks said. “When I was at Syracuse, I was talking to both coaches. I was talking to the lacrosse coach about how after hockey season was over, I would transfer right over so I would get into shape and I would work with the team a little bit before I went in.” The difficulty of balancing sports and school will continue and undoubtedly

increase as Hicks enters college. Hicks is preparing for the university’s academics and sports. Hicks’s love for sports, however, will help her succeed in the future. “In hockey I’m defensive-minded, but in lacrosse I’m a midfielder so I score a lot,” Hicks said. While participating in multiple sports is an amazing feat, being involved in the arts as well as in sports is equally brilliant. Chaparral freshman Moorea Walker has learned to balance her passion for theatre with her love of badminton. Walker began her badminton career this year when she competed on Chaparral’s varsity team. Walker’s interest in theatre began when she was in middle school. This year, Walker participated in Chaparral’s production of Cinderella as a member of the ensemble. Rehearsals required Walker to be dedicated, dancing from four to nine each day. Since each activity shares similar characteristics, it’s easy for Walker to tran-sition between her two passions “The endurance from badminton helped me in Cinderella. Sometimes we would just keep running the same number and you would get really tired,” Walker said. Playing badminton and acting allow Walker to gain stamina and have a diverse high school experience “I enjoyed the different groups of people and new perspectives on things. Being a part of two really different groups of people and all the different age groups too in theatre versus badminton was a great experience,” Walker said. “In general, it was more fun being on stage than on the court.” Students who devote their time and en-ergy to multiple sports or activities benefit immensesly. Hicks’s and Walker’s interests in various sports and art forms will aid them in their future.

Chaparral students excel in the “three A’s”-- academics, athletics, and activities. Some outstanding students are

dedicated to excellence in more than one of these categories.

spread made by : Shoshana Dubnow and Skylar Ramsay10

-Allyson Mann staffer

The moment we’re born into this world, our gender already deter-mines who and what we’re supposed to wear, think, and be. From a young age, we are taught that blue is for boys and pink is for girls. Boys play with action figures and girls play with Barbie dolls. As we grow up, gender begins to affect our lives in an even greater way. Women and men both face social restrictions set up by society that shame them for enjoying certain things. The world of sports further perpetuates these inequalities. Almost all the hype surrounding professional sports is strictly male-based. The NFL, MLB, and NBA are constantly being streamed on televisions, phones, and radios. The nonstop attention and massive audience for these teams are phenomenal and profit-able, but it leaves the women athletes out in the dust. Even though women can possess as much talent as men when it comes to the game of basketball, no one would be able to guess that by the huge gap that lies in their salaries. Tamika Catchings, who has been playing for the WNBA for over a decade and re-ceived three gold medals in the Olympics, experiences firsthand the disadvantage of being a girl in the professional world of basketball. According to USAToday, Catchings’s career earnings in 2012 were estimated to be about $3 million according to USAToday, while Kevin Garnett, a player for the Boston Celtics, earned $291 million. Garnett and Catchings hold many of the same accomplishments. Both own Olympic gold medals, won the Most Valuable Player, and Defensive Player of the Year awards. The only major thing dif-ferentiating them is a single chromosome. “Hopefully, one day, things will change,” Catchings said in re-gards to the salary gap between men and women. Although one can rely on hope, the future isn’t looking too bright just yet. There is also an inconsistency in funding between men’s and women’s sports teams in college. As stated by the Women’s Sports Foundation, women’s sports teams only receive 38% of college sports operating dollars and 33% of college athletic team recruit-ment spending. Women also pocket only 45% of scholarship dol-lars, leaving the rest to all the male athletes. Money isn’t the only issue when it comes to the gender gap. So-cial discrimination is faced by both males and females in the realm

of sports. It is quite rare to see a boy on a high school cheerleading team or a girl kicking up mud on the football field. Society has set up standards that baseball, basketball, and football are centered around males, while sports such as ballet, cheerleading, and volley-ball are often referred to as female sports. These stereotypes are not only exclusive, but they also repress people from doing what they love in fear of being mocked or shamed. Ronin Shimizu suffered the ultimate price for pursuing his pas-sions of becoming a male cheerleader. Shimizu joined the Vista Junior Eagles Cheer Team in sixth grade, being the only boy on the team. Unfortunately, others saw his love for cheerleading as a rea-son to mock and taunt him. Shimizu became a victim of excessive abuse, with people using homophobic slurs against him. The young boy eventually left Folsom Middle School due to the bullying, but it was too late. Shimizu was found dead in his California home on December 3rd, 2014, having taken his own life. “Ronin was a target of bullying by individuals that could not understand or accept his uniqueness. Ronin was not just a target of bullying because of his participation in cheer, but for him just being Ronin,” Brandon and Danielle Shimizu said. “We as his parents will make it our mission in life to turn this tragedy into something positive and hopefully prevent another senseless tragedy.” The need to eliminate these standards of “masculine” and “femi-nine” sports is vital. Always, a feminine care product company, launched a campaign to try and end some of the stigma surround-ing girls in sports. The 60-second commercial aired during the Super Bowl this year, causing the hashtag “#LikeAGirl” to trend on Twitter. In the commercial, they rally up a group of young boys and ask them to do certain actions ‘like a girl’. Unsurprisingly, they all begin to flail their arms, flip their hair, and screech about a bro-ken nail. Then, they bring in a group of young girls, asking them to do the same. The young girls then give all their effort, showing off their best run, throw, hit, and kick. The campaign effectively redefines what ‘like a girl’ really means. “Why can’t ‘run like a girl’ also mean ‘win the race’?” one of the young girls in the commercial asked. The world of sports is wondering the same thing.

Gender inequality is ubiquitous in all factions of society, and the world of professional sports is no exception.

GIRLS vs.BOYS

Summer 2015 SPORTS 11

-Sammie Markus staffer

ASU

UofA

NAU

ARIZONA Students attending in-state schools next year

Tennessee University of Tennessee

Sloan, Meghan Texas

Baylor University Gerardo, Carter Willis, Cameron

Rice University Blecker, Aaron

Southern Methodist University

Marshall, Ashley Texas A&M

Wong, Edward

Texas Christian University Wang, Olivia

Texas Tech University Thomas, Kayla

University of Dallas Martin, Kelly

Utah Brigham Young University

McKnight, AllisonPrice, Brady

University of Utah Ransil, Holsten

Virginia Virginia Tech University

Ransil, Holsten

Washington Gonzaga University

Johnson, Adam Jones, Zach

University of Washington Wasserman, Max

Washington State University

Shewchuk, Taylor Whitworth University

Beard, Hannah

Washington DCAmerican University

Miller, MaxGeorge Washington University

Barzani, ArshanPederson, Karl Richards, Miranda

Wisconsin Marquette University

Carr, Delaney

Agrawal, Raghav*Aldrich, Lauren*Archambault, Haley* Barchini, DanielBartell, BrettBelsito, Nena Biggane, IanBjerkeseth, OliviaBlock, Geoffrey*Brock, TreyBurgin, MichelleButler, Lauren

Caldwell, MichaelCarr, MichaelCarras, Drew Catalana, NicoleChild, Sarah

Danis, ReganDeadrick, Sam Drake, ElaineDries, Charles*Dries, Ellen*Einhorn, AlecFoedish, Liam Fritz, Chandler* Frye, CatherineGeiser, Rachel*Goldstein, David

Greenwald, Ellie* Guajardo, Ella Hamilton, SamanthaHasenmiller, MaureenHays, AdamHenry, Lauren* Isaac, EdwardJeffrey, Connor Johnson, Amberley* Kaufman, KaylinKent, AnneKim, CindyKlipstein, AsherLambert, Shelby Lawrie, TeralynLille, Jacob*Littenberg, Lauren

Loonam, Danny Macklin, EllieMacMillan, MillieMarshall, Preston Masters, MaxMcAllister, Cameron*McCardell, JackMehmedagic, Selma Mian, Yasmine*Mikalacki, AleksMiller, MattherMurray, Zach Nash, PageNelson, ToreyNguyen, VinaOberhaus, Jack*Phillips, Sarah

Prawzinsky, Nelson Raskin, Carren*Reck, Maddie Resch, MasonRosenstein, Luke Saenz, SteveSchaub, KendallSchultz, DillonScorzo, Angelino*Shover, JasenSills, Jessica Sipes, Sean*Smith, CarterSpyres, DeanSt. Marie-Lloyd, GunnarStorts, RachelStrachan, Allie

Sumner, AdrianThurston, MaryTrenter, Kayla*Whisler, Melanie Wilson, Jeff*Yanez, Diego* Ziomeck, Lucas Root, Chris*

Aaronson, KaitlynAgostinelli, Alexa Altiveros, GabbyAltman, EmmaAnderson, TrentAsayesh, RezaAschenbrener, TaylorBaxter, PartonBellaire, Kayla Bellmore, KonnorBerry, CarsonBorkowski, LaurenBrinkman, JackBroscart, Justin

Byrnes, RuthCable, AlexCamacho, ErandyChang, Jason Christopherson, Katie Connor, Dagen Davis, PrestonDries, Elizabeth*Finefrock, SarahGottica, Daniel Harader, JadeHeisten, HayleyHelsten, HayleyIchilov, Adam

Katz, Benjamin*Kazemi, YasminKilpatrick, TimKlebosky, David Kleilfield, Robbie Latham, AlexaLoreto, Tori Martineau, Peter Moniuszko, AlexPadish, MackenziePaniagua, Justin Penka, Michael Rabinowitz, AaronRahn, Zach

Raissen, ChloeRimsza, NicoleRimsza, Sarah* Rodriguez, Kiersten Rosenthal, BlakeScanlon, Sean Schiefelbein, Zach Spence, Drew Spencer, DanielleStrauss, Ilyssa Thomas, JosephThorell, AlexandraVandel, Rachel Waller, Trent

Woods, ClaireZohar, Tal Bigbee, Jack*Griffin, ChaseRimsza, Taylor Weyers, Lilly Wilcox, Michael

Altneu, MatthewBenson, ColeCain, AshleyClayton, MadelaineDeBlander, Ashly

Downhill, AmyFayne, LizzieGettleman, RachelGraham, AustinGustafson, AlexHaley, CatJongewaard, BrianneKwiatkowski, RyanLaryea, PresleyLowery, Sierra

Matken, SimranMcDonald, Madison Melidoni, Kaci Montana, MaddieMorrow, Hannah Oberhaus, PaigePayne, BrandonPerkins, ChasePiatale, NicoleProsch, Barrett

Sautter, Allison Solod, AaronThomas, RachelTipton, ZaneWendt, TrevorWiebke, HannahWirski, KelseyZola, Gianna

Callaway, KansasFink, MichaelGarcia, Baylie Gross, CelinaGuaragna, Sophia Jackson, DallasLamm, MichaelLinda, PucciniMarklow, SamMiller, ColeMonson, NickMounts, GunnerMullakandov, AdaliaO’Donnel, SeanPauly, SydneyRiviere, MaxSheehy, McKennaSt. Claire, ChaseTolson, Matt Zitzer, Mackenzie

SCC

Yavapai Junior College Guarangua, Nicholas

PVCC Carmack , Danielle Greenbeck, GrahamLee, Billy

Field, DaynaGillette, Kimberly Harpenau, Noah Henry, AlfredWozny, BrockWells, Callie

GCU Embry RiddleAdema , Walker Bradshaw, Matthew

Devry UniversityHuss, David

Coconino Community College

Gore, HawkenMcDougall, Chase

* Honors College

spread made by : Gabby Hirneise 12

UofA

University of AlabamaNelson, Parker

California

Santa Barbara City College

Cal Poly State UniversityFaase, MadelineKaplain, Erika

Pepperdine UniversityRoh, Madalyn

Chapman University

UC BerkeleySilver, Hannah

Pomona College

American Musical Dramatic Academy

Zuber, Indigo

Stanford University

Orange Coast College Sundhu, Dustin

Colorado State University

Emory University

University of Coloradoat Boulder

Kotin, JustinMartinez, Marcus Xiao-Kim, Elisha

Brooks, Nate

Purdue University

Colorado College Harper, Hannah

Barbera, Taylor

Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandise

Santa Clara University

California Institute of Technology Adam, McKenna

Gulinson, CaileyWelker, Haley

Eberhardt, Avalon Loyola Marymount University

Schell, Mary

Artigue, Heidi San Diego State University

Fratianni, CoreyHammer, JaclynMurphy, AllyTrandal, Laura

Rimsza, Alex

Daniels, JonahShannon, Michela Slade, KobySusha, Sierra

Treger, Dylan

California State University Northridge

Sinadinos, Jill

UC Los AngelesRosholt, Michael

UC San DiegoL’Heureux, Lauren

UC Santa Barbara Nicholas, Madison

UC Davis Klein, Lauren Morgan, Katie

University of Southern California Berry, JacksonGreess, RachelHorton, EmilyLopes-Gilbert, MaiaMahoney, MalinProwda, Alex

Rocky Mountain College Harpt, Matthew

University of Coloradoat Colorado Springs

Gann, Adonijah

Lynch, Jack University of Northern Colorado

Gibson, Mallory University of Denver

Boskie, Anna

US Coast Guard AcademyRowe, Taylor

Broward College Cohen, Robert

Florida State University Martin, Luisa Sahlin, JacobStein, Sari

University of Florida Ehrenfreund, Alexa

Disney College ProgramPolcyn, Katie

Georgia Southern University Wolpe, Taylor

Georgia Institute of Technology Sills, Jacob

Hawaii Pacific UniversityBlaskey, Brycen

University of Hawaii Dengel, Diego

DePaul University Dravillas, Alexandria

Columbia College Matylewicz, Travis Mallace, Sydney

Lake Forest College Hiland, Hannah

Prechtel, Madison

University of KentuckyMashni, Allie

Tulane University Woods, Samantha

Harvard University He, Emma

Brandeis University Fielman, Sarah

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Baughman, Jaclyn Northeastern University

Tomlinson, Jake Tufts University

Ramaswamy, Anita Kravetz, Nina

Kettering University Crowley, Kendall

Michigan Tech University Palumbo, Samantha

Carleton College

University of St. Thomas Pederson, MaryJane

University of MissippiMetz, BradHamilton, Olivia

Slater, SofiaUniversity of Missouri

University of Montana Luhrs, Nicki

University of Nevada, Reno Robinson, Mackenzie

Seton Hall University Spencer, Kaoina

University of New MexicoHuffer, Emily

Colgate University LaTerra, Lauren

Cornell University Miller, Nick

Devry University Stapleton, Matthew

Hofstra University Gerber-Manning, Gabby

New York University Abidor, Richard Martin, Kayvon

Parsons School of Design Gordon, Chris

US Military Academy Wiley, Preston

West Point Naval Academy Messina, Sam

Yeshiva University Domb, Gil Esses, Maurice

Duke University Kotzin, Jarred

Elon University Lyon, Paulette

Denison University O’Malley, Sam

Miami University Beeh, Kate Perelman, Jackie

Oberlin College Maron, Matana

University of Pennsylvania Thomas, Willy

Johnson and Wales University Lavelle, Hailey

American University

George Washington University

Wisconsin Marquette University

Yavapai Junior College

Summer 2015 FEATURES 13

Alabama

Colorado

Connecticut

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Illinois

Indiana

Kentucky

Louisiana

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nevada

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

Forever Young Growing up

and becoming an adult

is a part of life that

everyone fears.

Being thrown out

into the real world and

experiencing independence

for the first time requires

courage and adjustment.

This can develop into a fear

for some.

Peter Pan Syndrome (PPS)

is an example of one of those

fears. PPS is a condition experienced by

men who fear growing up. Dr. Amaren-

dra, a medical blogger and

founder of Syndromes Pedia,

concluded that the men affected

by this condition are unable to

handle serious situations,

often act like children,

and fail to pursue their

goals in a professional manner.

According to the

Beaumont Psychological

Services, men with PPS are

“emotionally stunted at an

adolescent level”.

The idea of assuming the

responsibilities of adulthood and living in

the real world deeply frightens men with

PPS.

Though the bodies of PPS sufferers

mature normally, the men’s personalities

and actions resemble those of a child.

The Disney movie Peter Pan is about a

young boy who travels to a land called

“Neverland” where, as long as he stays in

Neverland, he will never age. Since child-

hood involves very little responsibility and

is considered to be nothing but fun and

games, Peter Pan and his friends choose

to stay in this land of dreams. Those with

PPS are living in their own “Neverlands”.

More people experience this condition

than one would think, even those in the

public spotlight.

“A recent example that is often cited

is the way in which Neverland became

Michael Jackson’s fortress-retreat, a place

where escapism and fantasy ruled, and

not-so-magical reports and accusations of

child molestation with boys surfaced, and

then disappeared,” Dr. Dan Kiley from

the Association for Natural Psychology

said.

Men with PPS live in a place where

reality does not exist. According to the

Beaumont Psychological Services, having

no schedule means having no obligations.

The men are unable to develop and main-

tain relationships. They have a hard time

relating to women because they constantly

want to define their “macho” strength. In-

teractions with women often end in abuse

because the men want to represent their

superiority over the women. Since suffer-

ers of PPS are unable to sustain relation-

ships with others, they often experience

severe depression.

One’s parental treatment and child-

hood experiences are responsible for their

condition’s development. Overprotective

parents are often said to be the root of

this syndrome. The children are unable to

develop a sense of independence, causing

them to mature slowly. The lack of self-

discipline leads to laziness, irresponsibil-

ity, and difficulty controlling emotions.

However, growing up isn’t a concern just

for PPS sufferers. Students at Chaparral

are concerned about their futures as well

as they should be.

“As a child, your parents have helped to

guide you through life and show you the

way. They support you and pay for some

things you never even think about. Grow-

ing up means that you now have to do all

of that on your own. You have to hope

that your parents have given you the tools

to make it out in the world as an adult,”

sophomore Kaitlin Slepian said.

Since children become so reliant on their

parents during their childhood, they have

difficulty parting with them on a daily

basis.

Adulthood does not necessarily begin

when students go off to college. De-

pending on the situation, people may be

introduced to adulthood earlier than oth-

ers, especially when their circumstances

require adult-like decisions or behavior.

“I think that just because you are legally

an adult doesn’t make you an adult. I

believe that you can be 16 and be an adult

if you are put in the situation where you

need to act like one. So in my situation in-

dividually, yes [I am an adult]. My parents

let me make my own decisions financially,

health-wise, educationally, etc.,” senior

Taylor Wolpe said.

Part of becoming

an adult is learning

to adapt to change.

Managing their own

money, having a roof

over their heads, pay-

ing for food, etc., are actions that form a

basis for adulthood because they demand

a sense of responsibility and common

sense.

Though the future is unknown, and

adulthood is filled with expectations and

responsibilities, it is necessary to adapt

and accept the growth and development

of the adult lifestyle.

“Everyone is scared, and they are lying

if they say otherwise, but my parents have

raised me to embrace change and enjoy

those moments. You can be scared and

miss out because you are being overly

anxious, or you can be scared and end up

being very successful and enjoying what

life gets you,” Wolpe stated.

“Part of becoming an adult is learning to adapt to change”

So come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned.

spread made by : Jessica Myers14

-Chloe Cristakos Staffer

Getting a job in high school may just be as smart as studying in high school. Students who get jobs are able to rack up some hefty savings for spontaneous purchases, college tuition, and their futures as indepen-dent consumers. However, balanc-ing both school and a job is difficult. What could possibly be worse than a combination of academic difficulties and dealing with “real world” responsibilities like taxes, shifts, or subordination? The driving force behind most stu-dents’ employment is the same force that drives adults and many others: money. Teenagers want money, and according to the 2014 Rand Youth Poll, the average annual income of 15-17 year olds is $4,923, totaling some $91 billion in annual earnings collectively. The majority of this money is spent entirely on clothing, with the average upper middle-class teen spending roughly $1,100 a year on apparel. However, the motives are not entirely materialistic. Perhaps the biggest perk to work-ing as a teen is establishing one’s in-dependence. Working their own jobs

and managing their time properly, high school students become better equipped to live on their own, free from their parents’ guardianship. The responsibilities they take on, coupled with independently earned incomes, affords them a myriad of possibilities. Teenagers get to spend their own money on items they want without having to ask their parents for some cash. If they have a car, they can use their hard-earned cash to pay it off themselves, giving them much needed experience in handling car payments for the future. Nowadays, high school students face increasingly large obstacles when working or applying for a part time job. According to the Wash-ington Times, ever since the Great Recession of 2008, post-graduate students and the elderly have dis-placed teenagers. These individuals possess more work experience than their younger counterparts. Thus, they require little to no training compared to their virtually inexperi-enced teenage counterparts. In the last decade, there has been

a greater emphasis on academic performance in the last decade. The Washington Times explains how analysts have found that parents pressure their teens more on the side of studying rather than getting a low-wage job. This runs the risk of making them scholastically stagnant. Other studies have shown that stu-dents who are aware that their jobs are time-consuming tend to handle their time more efficiently. Ideally, procrastination is thrown out the window. All in all, there doesn’t seem to be clear consequences to whether high school students should seek employ-ment. This decision is much more specific to the individual. It becomes the sole duty of the job seeker to effectively manage time, save money, and perform well in school. However, getting a high school job will undeniably provide much needed work experience, which can be useful in any number of careers and situations beyond high school and college.

Money

MoneyMoney

Summer 2015 FEATURES 15

-Damion Beal Staffer

You don’t have a temperature, you don’t feel sick, but you need a cure fast--especially since you have to make it to school before your test next period. The disease that produces this scenario is called senioritis, and it is extremely contagious, spreading around seniors faster than a new social media app. Coming down with senioritis has been said to be similar to taking math courses in high school: unavoid-able, no matter how much someone resists. Senior Adam Hays is one of many students afflicted by this illness. “[Senioritis is] no longer caring about school in general,” Hayes said. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines senioritis as “an ebbing of motivation and effort by school seniors as evidenced by tardiness, absences, and lower grades.” Yes, seniors are almost done with high school. They can see the finish line which is why they are prone to the sick-ness during the spring. How-ever, is it bacterial or viral? It is neither; it is a developmen-tal and social disorder. Ac-cording to Psychology Today, because 60% of seniors in high school pursue a higher educa-tion, they believe they deserve a “blow off ” year. Who can blame them? They have been working hard and studying ever since finger painting began in preschool. According to The Journal of College Retention, 50% of col-lege freshmen don’t graduate from the college at which they first enrolled, demonstrating that studying habits definitely suffer when a student comes down with senioritis. The symptoms include feeling overly tired, being late to school, not putting forth the most effort, and feeling overwhelmingly stressed. “It’s a whole lot of stress actually, doing homework the day it’s due, which comes from no longer caring about school,” Senior Sam Redmond said. Students no longer feel motivated to do their work because they are focused on college. With the beginning of the year dedicated on college applications and receiving college ad-mission letters after winter break, stress defines senior year.

Colleges know that seniors are less likely to work as hard after they gain admission, so they came up with the cure for the contagion: checking last quarter grades. The hardest pill to swallow is when students find out they don’t have a break their last year and actually have to focus on schoolwork. Yes, it sounds like a broken record, start-ing by the parents the day kids start to school, but school is always important, and colleges are now enforcing how it needs to be taken seriously. Colleges’ cure to senioritis was designed to keep kids concentrated on their classes and not to be so preoccupied on the year to come. After researching different colleges, the senior year grade

requirements differ for each college, but could include summer school if the certain average grade is not meant. For example, the University of California schools recom-mend to not get below a “C” average senior year. Vanderbilt University has an average GPA that needs to be achieved and maintained throughout senior year. “Senioritis causes students to think that you don’t have to try in college when you really do, so thinking that you are almost done with trying is wrong,”

Chaparral Economics and Government teacher Mrs. Nich-ols (formerly LeDuc) said. Chaparral produces a similar anecdote to try and contain the manifestation senioritis becomes. The “Miss 10 Do it Again” policy is also supposed to promote higher attendance rates among high school seniors. “Seniors don’t understand that the “Miss 10 do it Again” policy isn’t just for the school, it’s district wide. Seniors end up getting behind,” Nichols said. If senioritis is running too rapid and a student misses more than 10 days, he or she runs the risk of having to take senior year over again. Colleges can also take away admission state-ments if students take senior year as a joke. Seniors have to be cautious about coming into senior year by staying on top of their school work. The final diagnosis is in. As Redmond says, “It’s simply a trap, there’s no avoiding it.”

Just aSpoonfulOf SugarChaparral seniors discuss senioritis and its possible remedies...

“Senioritis causes students to think

that you don’t have to try in college

when you really do.”

spread made by : Anita Ramaswamy16

-Lauren Bukoskey a&e editor

Apply Yourself Every year, 2.5 million young Americans apply for college, including most of Chaparral’s senior class. Most students have a dream school in mind, and for many, this is an Ivy League school. Just last year, 250,000 applications were sent to these schools, which include Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, UPenn, Princeton, and Yale. However, dream schools are not necessarily Ivy League, as every student is seeking some-thing different from the college experience. “I always thought I’d want to go to an Ivy,” senior Heidi Artigue said, “but walk-ing around a liberal arts campus in Califor-nia totally changed my mind.” Artigue will attend Pomona College in the fall. Campus visits are excellent ways for students to discover the environments of their chosen schools. This is one of many factors students may consider. Dr. Steven Antonoff, a former admissions director at the University of Denver and college plan-ning consultant, recommends identifying eight qualities your dream school should have. These can include size, cost, location, student life, academic environment, and other qualities. “The single most important factor in making a sound educational choice is knowledge,” Antonoff explained. Dream schools can also be based on academic programs, which is the case for senior Jaclyn Baughman. “I knew [I wanted to attend MIT] when I decided I wanted to study engineering, which I found out after doing robotics my freshman year,” Baughman said. However, not every student knows so early. Dreams can change and it is impor-tant not to feel chained to one institution. “It’s important to keep an open mind about what schools you want to go to,” Artigue said. Once a dream school has been picked, the next question is how to make your applica-tion stand out. “Try to take those honors and AP classes, even if they seem intimidating. There are so many people much more intelligent than me who easily could have excelled in hon-

ors classes but opted out due to unrealistic hype around their difficulty,” senior Emma He explained. He will attend Harvard Uni-versity in the fall. “It [also] helped [me] to engage and take initiative in different activities that corre-sponded to my natural interests,” He said. Many admissions counselors agree that sticking with your natural interests is a good way to stand out as a candidate. “It’s important to be well-lopsided rather than well-rounded,” said Steven Roy Good-man, coauthor of College Admissions Together: It Takes A Family. Baughman is a Chaparral student who perfectly demonstrates Goodman’s idea. “I maximized my chances [of getting in] by joining clubs that let me learn more about engineering such as robotics, science bowl, internships, and other math/science activities,” Baughman said. Being involved outside of class is espe-cially crucial in an environment where good grades and test scores are usually not enough to get students admitted to top schools. However, this does not mean grades should be neglected. “Making sure my grades stayed up was the most important thing in helping me get in,” Artigue said. As many Chaparral juniors are realizing, the first three years are most of the war, but the final battle remains. As senior year begins, the path to students’ dream schools shifts to the actual college applications. For many, this is the driest stage of the admis-sion process. “The college application is hardly sexy,” Gen and Kelly Tanabe said. The pair are authors of 13 books on col-lege planning, including the Get Into Any College series.Many students find that the best way to handle the workload is to start early. “Over the summer, I made a list of col-leges to apply to, taking into account schol-arships, chances of getting in, location, et cetera,” He said.

After all, college ap-plications, especially those to top-tier schools, can involve a lot of work. “It involved

academic questions such as GPA, course selection, grades, AP scores, test scores, and ranking. They asked about my high school activities, jobs, awards, and what I did over the summer,” Baughman said. “Essay ques-tions involved my biggest challenge, what I do for fun, what my favorite personality trait is, and what I want to major in. I had to send recommendation letters and I also sent in a maker portfolio showing things I’ve built. The last part was the interview.” Most students apply to multiple schools, increasing the workload even more. With all of these moving pieces, it is important to remain organized. “Organization definitely could’ve been better - [if I could do the process over again] I wouldn’t have a mess of miscel-laneous college papers piled on the floor, I would start writing my essays earlier, and I wouldn’t ask my teachers and counselor for recommendations the day before a deadline,” He said. With all of this work, it can be easy to lose spirit; however, it’s important to let personality shine through the application. “My essay teetered on the edge of inde-cency,” He explained. Finally, it’s important not to get so fixated on college admissions that you forget to enjoy high school. “Spend time with your friends!” Baugh-man advised. “Everyone is leaving soon and it’s very sad.” Keep in mind that although 2.5 million students are applying for college, their ap-plications are distributed across more than five thousand colleges in America alone. Even if the ‘dream school’ doesn’t work out, there are thousands of other good options. “I tried really hard to have an open mind-set about colleges by constantly reminding myself that I could find happiness in and make the most of anywhere I ended up,” He said.

Summer 2015 STUDENT NEWS 1517

-Sophia Tomany staffer

bro ke “We are supposed to have the highest level of performance with the lowest level of support. That equation just doesn’t work.” This is SUSD Superintendent Dr. Peterson’s response to Gover-nor Ducey’s order for schools to “tighten their belts.” As the new state budget exhorts educators to reduce school expenses that are already at a bare minimum, criticism of the governor’s policies has erupted all across Arizona. The past legislative session was a maelstrom of bad news for educators, with cuts becoming commonplace and controversial bills evading the understanding of both constituents and congress-men alike. Garnering the most backlash is Ducey’s $24 million “Arizona Public Achievement District” account, which is intended to serve as a mechanism to help ‘high-performing’ schools expand their facilities by funding wait lists. “By creating what I call the “Arizona Public School Achieve-ment District,” we can give our state’s best public schools – quality schools that are at capacity or have waiting lists – new and innova-tive options,” Governor Ducey said during his State of the State address in January. Unfortunately, the governor has yet to outline a plan for how the funds will be used, to whom they will be allocated, and what they will exactly accomplish. As a result, state representatives from both sides of the political spectrum remain concerned. In an exclusive interview with Chaparral Ashes, Representative Kate Brophy McGee (R-Phoenix) denounced the ambiguity sur-rounding the governor’s achievement district plan. “There have been no details released about the program, and no legislation introduced,” Representative Brophy McGee declared. “At this point, the $24 million is a carve out with no substance. I am anxious to know what the plan for these dollars will be.” Chaparral Ashes asked Governor Ducey what mechanism would be in place to regulate the outflux of taxpayer dollars to unidenti-fied locations, but the governor’s office has yet to comment. According to Tim Ogle, executive director of the Arizona School

Boards Associa-tion, the program will most likely fund charter schools, which are public schools that do not possess districts but are instead run by private, for-profit companies. Ducey, a former member of the Arizona State Board for Charter Schools, appointed a new education transition team that is inundated with people affiliated with charters. Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas accused Ducey of possessing bias toward the expansion of charter schools while shortchanging traditional public schools. “Clearly he has established a shadow faction of charter school operators and former state Superintendents who support moving funds from traditional public schools to charter schools,” Douglas expressed in a February press release. Although charter schools already receive state funding, there is little, if any, transparency to determine how opera-tors use the money and how much is actually invested to improve the quality of students’ education. Pundits argue that the ‘Achievement District’ plan is a blatant violation of the Arizona constitution’s gift clause that prohibits the state government from using taxpayer dollars to invest in private companies and other NGO’s. “Based on what he has said in past public statements, I

50#Arizona’s national rank in terms of per-pupil education spending 14%

The percentage of funding cut from state universities un-der the new budget, equivalent to $99 million total

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bro ke ncan’t imag-ine how this can be anything but uncon-stitutional,” Senator Steve Farley (D-Tucson) said in an interview

with The Arizona Republic. The problem isn’t, however, that Ducey is expand-ing ‘successful’ schools. The problem is that legislators approved the appropriation of $24 million because the governor “said so” without any detail while cutting public universities by $99 million, completely eliminating funds for community colleges in the Pima and Maricopa Coun-ties, and failing to adjust the K-12 budget for inflation, despite an Arizona Supreme Court order from July 2014. This “wait and see” form of policy-making is fine for decisions of less impact. However, many criticize the pro-gram and its effect on Arizona’s children, 80% of whom attend district schools. “I believe with a little more time and a lot more work we could have arrived at a budget solution that would have produced better outcomes for K-12 and higher education,” Brophy McGee expressed. “I worry very much that the cuts we are making now are creating far greater expenses down the road. While we cannot spend beyond our means, we must not fail to account for the future expenditure demands with the decisions we make today.” Amidst a flurry of complaints from educators, legisla-tors tried to mitigate opposition to the budget and other

bills through their attempt to pass Senate Bill 1172, which would have prevented teachers as well as superintendents from speaking against or on the behalf of certain bills. Violating this law would have resulted in a $5,000 fine. Due to fear of censure and persecu-tion, Chaparral Ashes was unable to obtain many ‘on-the-record’ quotes from educators affected by the potential gag order. “1172 obviously made me really uncomfortable. And the more things that come down the pipe that impact my ability to teach students the way I see fit and the way that 23 years have told me is effective is really frightening,” Chaparral AP English teacher Ms. Marsh expressed. Fierce opposition toward this bill resounds all across the state. “SB 1172 raises grave constitutional concerns. It may violate school and district officials’ free speech rights,” Arizona School Boards Association spokesperson, Heidi Vega, declared during an interview with the Arizona Republic. “It will freeze the flow of information to the public that seeks to ascertain the impact of pending legislation on their schools and children’s education.” SB 1172 is only one of many concerns surrounding the past legislative session, and the implications of Ducey’s decisions reach far beyond the classroom. Proponents of his policies argue that the budget needs to be balanced, a legitimate concern in any state with a limited number of dollars to distribute across a variety of causes. However, cutting funding from schools has an indubitably important effect on students due to the socioeconomic and societal significance of education policy that will yield long-term ramifica-tions if not properly addressed. Since voters approved the Scottsdale School override in Novem-ber, class sizes in our district will actually decrease, teacher salaries will increase, school specials will return to elementary schools, and seven assistant principal positions will be restored. “Day-to-day classroom life will not be impacted,” Dr. Peterson assured. “Because our Community supported our M&O Override, we will be able to direct those dollars to the classroom. Unfortu-nately, many other areas outside the classroom will be impacted.”

135$The yearly dollar amount per student slashed from public school districts 83%

The percentage reduction in district additional assistance funding, which cov-ers things like food and transportation

Summer 2015 STUDENT NEWS 19

-Kamren Gilbard opinions editor

Everyday, the majority of people listen to the beautiful sound of music. From classic rock to reggae, every person who listens to music has been able to feel every emotion, yet connect to music in different ways.

When listening to a song and connecting with the mood, people feel understood by the artist and relate to the type of emotion, message, and sound they are trying to portray.

Serving as a crutch to emotional, physical, and mental needs, music can help deepen the understanding of one’s self.

In society, music can serve as a type of therapy.In other words, music therapy is, “a systematic course of treatment using music and its properties and structure to facilitate change in a client or patient, by ad-dressing specific goals and needs,” Music Therapist Shana Bousard said. When becoming a therapist, one must be board certified by the American Music Therapy Association, (AMTA). It typically takes about four years to earn a bachelor’s degree and a certification from the AMTA. A typical day of music therapy would include writing

lyrics, composing songs, and playing different kinds of instruments for specific patients. These specific tasks help rehabilitate the patients. Every patient is unique; therefore,

the schedule from day to day varies depending on each pa-tient’s needs.

“I see clients from infants to older adults; I see people with developmental disabilities, autism, Down’s syndrome, dementia, and learning and sensory disabilities. Goals are different for each client; they might be to improve speech, motor control, attention span, direction following, memory, self expression,

etc,” Bousard mentioned. By playing music for patients or with them, music therapists

help people express themselves in order to heal. “Music allows people to express themselves in ways no

other stimulus can. People can relate to music on a variety of emotional and spiritual levels. Music is a very personal

thing,” Bousard said.Through their participation in band, choir, or orchestra, Chaparral students use music as an outlet.Senior Mallory Gibson has had an experience like no other when it comes to ev- erything involving music.

“My piano and voice teachers have definitely inspired me, just in how supportive they are of my talent, and how happy they are in their professions,” said Gibson. Choir has been a great way for Gibson to shine through vocally and instrumentally. Her special talents for displaying

her voice along with piano have gotten her very far in life. Al-though the arts department is hardly recognized, it has provided

life-changing experiences for students, which is why it is so important to keep it running.

.. “I wouldn’t be the same person today without music. I try to imagine a life without music and I can’t,” Gibson explained.

The special connection she has made with music has pushed her to share the beauty of sound with the world by becoming a music teacher after she gets out of college. Many teens in high school have used music to help them through tough times in life. Psy-

chologically, music plays a huge role in the human body. It changes the attitude of the listener, which leads them to have a whole new mindset on whatever obstacle lies ahead. According to an article on BufferSocial, “people who listen to pop tend to be more outgo-ing and hardworking whereas people who listen to rock tend to be more creative and at ease.” When people listen to music they love, the chemical dopamine is released in the brain. News Medical explains that dopamine is a neurotransmitter released in the brain, which controls the pleasurable reward center.

. . ... This changes people’s attitudes entirely, making them go from sad feelings to happier feel-ings. Stress levels go down, leaving the person feeling centered.

.... One study done in 1988 by Christopher Chabris, showed that the brain responds to music patterns extremely well, helping stress levels among people go down immensely. This particu-lar project was called the Mozart Effect. In William Pryse-Phillips’ Companion to Clinical Neurology, the Mozart Effect can refer to:

.. “A set of research results indicating that listening to Mozart’s music may induce a short-term improvement on the performance of certain kinds of mental tasks known as “spatial-temporal reasoning;”

.. Music serves as a voice that is meant to be heard. For example, someone who is sad and listens to a solemn yet uplifting song can see that even though sadness should be felt, there is always a way to get back up and keep fighting. Being able to rely on sound leads us to believe music can serve as therapy to a diverse group of people.

.. Music therapy is not a very big job within the mental health field, but is growing steadily. It is by far a unique and special way of healing people by giving them strength and courage to overcome whatever deterrent that heads their way.

.. “Simply put, music can heal people.” Senator of Nevada, Harry Reid.

The Sound of Music

“I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive

expression of hu-manity. It’s some-thing we are all touched by. No matter what cul-ture we’re from, everyone loves

music.” – Billy Joel

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-Jiji Corvo staffer

In the acting world, whether someone “makes it or breaks it” can often come down to one moment: the audition. During those few minutes, actors, young or old, experienced or inexperienced, scared or brave, have the opportunity to prove that they fit the role. Some-times they do, but other times they do not. Senior Karl Pederson knows the pain, strain, and gain of audition-ing all too well. He has tried out for the past ten shows at Chaparral, and landed roles in nine of them consecutively. However, his first taste of theatre did not go as planned for Pederson. “My first audition was Grease my freshman year. It’s a musical, and I cannot sing, unfortunately, so I did two weeks of rehearsal for the audition with the music teacher at the time,” Pederson admitted. “I was actually one of the four males who did not get a callback.” Although Pederson has struggled with some aspects of theatre, he has succeeded in others. Over the years, he has built upon the experi-ence of his first audition and learned to play his strengths. Now in his senior year, it is no surprise to see Pederson’s name on the cast list for an upcoming show. “I’ve become more aggressive, more competitive, more confident in my abilities. That translates into I’m louder, I’m more energetic, and I’m able to remember my lines,” Pederson said. “It’s kind of a fear-intimidation factor when you first get there, but now I’m the one doing the intimidation factor, so it’s just an entirely different feel.” Many might argue that auditioning is equally as competitive as trying out for a sport. Until the roles are casted, everyone is desper-ate to make the cut. This is especially difficult when the members of such a tightly knit department like theatre are forced to outperform their friends and colleagues who want a part just as badly as them. Despite this, Karl Pederson and his fellow senior actor Ethan Smart have maintained a close bond throughout the shows they have done together in high school, such as Chaparral’s most recent show, Crimes of the Heart, in which Pederson was casted as Smart’s understudy. Smart originally began acting as a child because he wanted to “be rich and famous and recognized,” but quickly developed a deep pas-sion for the theatre. He might not be rich and famous yet, but Smart is well-recognized throughout the school for his strong performances. He began auditioning for shows in the fifth grade, and since then has auditioned for many of Chaparral’s shows. “My first audition was for High School Musical at Desert Stages Theatre,” Smart said. “I was ten at the time. I went up and I said, “hey, I’m auditioning for Troy Bolton”, and of course, when I found out that I was just ensemble and that the role of Troy had gone to a seventeen year-old, I was disappointed. That didn’t help my self-esteem”. Despite his rough start, Smart picked himself back up, learned to draw from his experiences, and grew from the initial disappointment. “Rejection took a long time to deal with when I was younger,” Smart confessed. “But you have to understand, from the director’s point of view, they want what’s best for their show, and obviously they didn’t see you fitting. A lot of the times, not getting a part leads into something better for you.” Even though not getting the desired role can be an opportunity to develop as an actor and as an individual, both Pederson and Smart agreed that there is rarely a better feeling than the joy of nailing an audition and landing the part. “It’s beautiful, it’s wonderful, that’s when you truly feel like you’re on top of the world,” Pederson commented. While the auditions are full of uncertainty, doubt, and worry, everything falls into place when the role is solidified. “I’m ecstatic,” Smart said. “I’m absolutely so excited, just because, more than anything, it’s a new challenge.” However, the aftermath relief or sadness greatly differs from the moments of auditioning. During those few minutes, actors have to deal with the butterflies in their stomachs, blank minds, and even pure adrenaline that pushes them to reach new depths.

Pederson also experiences a sort of black out during many of his auditions, and only afterwards is he able to collect himself and replay what he did in his head, looking at what went well and what he could have done better. “During the audition, I don’t know what I feel,” Pederson said. “I just kind of go blank. There’s a period where my mind is singularly focused on the audition. My character sort of takes over.” On occasion, a particular audition sticks in the mind of the actor in complete detail, contrasting the usual blank space. “In Dracula junior year, near the end of callbacks when my role was pretty much solidified, I had to go onstage and sit in a chair. I had to get [dances] from about fifteen different girls who were audi-tioning for the roles of [dancers],” Smart recalled. “I had to keep a straight face.” Pederson remembers a more personal audition from his senior year. “The audition that really got to me was Cinderella. It was my last show with Mrs. Flayton, who’s like a second mom to me,” Pederson reflected, “And I already told you that I can’t sing, but as I was sing-ing, she started crying, because that was our last one together. That’s the one I’ll remember forty years from now.” Auditioning takes a lot of out people, especially high schoolers who are also trying to balance school, a social life, and sometimes a job. They have to give their all, and sometimes that’s not even enough. They have to prepare for weeks, cope when they forget their lines onstage, and sometimes have to deal with rude directors or other auditioners. The skills that these individuals learn from the process, however, will stay with them for a long time. “You learn to collaborate with so many types of people,” Smart commented. “You really have to cooperate and collaborate with everyone. It helps me take things on and be prepared and project myself in the best way that I can.” Despite the pressures of auditioning, the few moments of bravery required to step up can bring endless opportunities, both inside and outside of theatre. The actors involved have gained a side of them-selves that will affect the people they become. Karl Pederson will take on a little of the boldness of Dracula from Dracula. Ethan Smart will take on a little of the integrity of Clive from See How They Run. No matter the strengths, experiences, or ages of the students, they should all be encouraged to explore their boundaries. “Just have fun with it, more than anything,” Smart advised. “It shouldn’t be that stressful. Maybe you won’t always get the part, but hopefully you can learn something along the way and carry it with pride.” Whether or not people realize it, they are faced with a form of auditioning everyday. It does not matter if they are applying for a job, meeting a new colleague, or even talking to someone they want to befriend. All of it involves stepping into the spotlight, giving their everything, and accepting whatever the results may be for the best.

Make it or Break itThe smell of fear is in the air, people are reciting the same lines over and over again, welcome to the terrrifying world of auditioning.

-Isley Lopez staffer

Summer 2015 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 21

For decades, music festivals have provided experiences for those with eclectic tastes in music.

Since Woodstock, music festivals have acquired more and more popularity in the U.S. So far this year, Arizona has hosted Pot of Gold and The Chipotle Cultivate Music Festival. Over the summer, Warped Tour and Summer Ends Music Festival will also be coming to Arizona. These festivals are a great way to raise awareness and money for certain causes. Chipotle Cultivate’s goal was to encourage people to take on a healthier diet. They did this with hands-on activities demonstrating what ingredients can be found in fast-food versus natural foods. One of the activities was making spices that people could use for the food they cook at home. Music festivals also economically benefit the music industry. Although the revenue from music festivals won’t make up for the 50% drop in sales of recorded music since 1999, concert tickets sales filled 40% of those decreases between 1999 and 2009, ac-cording to LA Weekly. Coachella, the crown jewel of destination music festivals, a sort of spring break for music lovers, features three days of music. It features over 150 bands, played over the course of two weekends, featuring old and new music - Red Hot Chili Peppers, Moby, Wu Tang Clan, Social Distortion, Japandroids, Vampire Weekend, and more. Coachella is a part of the rapid increase in the popularity of music festivals, small and big, around the country, and it reflects interest in the live music experience over the past few decades. Music festivals are a cheaper way to experience live music. A person can listen to a number of their favorite bands over the course of a few days for less money than a concert. Coachella along with many other music festivals provide great entertainment and an amazing experience for people around the country. “It’s a really great experience, going to music festivals, because

you get to listen to your favorite bands and make new friends,” freshman Serena Porambo said. Going to music festivals is an amazing way to meet new people who you’ll be friends with for a long time. “A lot of people start fights which cause people to get hurt and it causes a lot of other problems for the whole festival. I know at Chipotle Cultivate they had to delay one of the performances be-cause so many people were getting hurt,” said freshman Hailey Ritter. Porambo gave advice to bring money and water so that you don’t get dehydrated She also suggested to go to the festival a little earlier than it starts so that you can get used to your sur-roundings. Her last piece of advice was to “have fun and try to avoid the rude people because most of the time they are just there to start trouble and ruin everyones experience. Also don’t be afraid to talk to strangers because they are most likely really nice and will become friends with you. They’ll make your experience ten times better whether it’s your first music festival or your fifteenth.” Live music is a great way to get out of the house and have some fun with friends. Over the summer, Summer Ends Music Festival will be coming to Tempe for four days. Artists like G-Eazy, J.Cole, and Jimmy Eats World will be performing. Accompanying the different mu-sical acts, there will be food vendors, beverages, sponsor booths, arts and crafts, and more. It will be a weekend for families, teenagers, adults, and people from all over the country to come and enjoy. The live music industry will be around for many years to come. Along with improving the economy of the music industry, these festivals provide a way for someone to see their favorite bands and to meet new people and make friends. Music festivals

are the experience of a lifetime and will continue to become more and more popular over the next decade.

According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, copy-right is “the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of something (as a literary, musical, or artistic work) without consent.” Many lawsuits concerning copyright infringement have

emerged within recent years, the most memorable being the conflict between Marvin Gaye and “Blurred Lines” songwriters Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for allegedly copying Marvin Gaye’s song “Gotta Give It To You”. Copyright infringement is a serious offense. Although these offenses don’t seem very serious, they have the ability to ruin lives and take money. Stealing the words of others is like taking their money, especially since individuals in the music industry receive hefty paychecks for ‘writing’ and performing songs. Copyright law applies to books, online documents, movies, and songs. Plagiarism can ruin reputations, and the legal repercussions of this act are hardly worth a run-in with the law.

PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC

COPY CATNo one likes a copy cat not even in the music world where everyone is supposed to express their own style.

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-Bella Alvarez staffer

-Olivia Cottingham staffer

Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and other television channels were part of every millennial kid’s upbring-ing. Suite Life on Deck, Hannah Montana, Zoey 101, and High School Musical were a big part of our lives growing up. We even dressed up like the characters from these shows and movies for Hallow-een because we aspired to be like them. The glamorous double life of Hannah Montana was every girl’s dream lifestyle. As the characters grew older, the shows of our generation came to an end, and the lives of the stars outside of their childhood roles began. Some of the stars used their fame to make successful lives for themselves while others ended up blinded from their life as a childhood star. Hollywood is notorious for making children grow up too fast. Miley Cyrus and Zac Efron are two classic examples. Miley Cyrus’s career as Hannah Montana started when she was only twelve years-old. Before fame, much like her character on the show, Miley Cyrus grew up on a farm and always aspired to become an actress and singer. Once she claimed some recognition from her role as Hannah Montana, her quiet life on a farm was transformed into a life full of paparazzi, red carpet events, and Hollywood parties. Little by little, Cyrus became more controver-sial. First, with her album Can’t be Tamed and then surprising her fans with the release of her Bangerz album. Cyrus, after Hannah Montana ended, fought to crush her Disney Channel personna by releasing scandalous music and sporting edgy fashion decisions. “I never faked anything. I never played the Disney game of smiling and being a princess and then suddenly having a hard time, saying, ‘That isn’t who I really am,” Cyrus said. Cyrus continues to ignore the status quo and regularly posts pictures of her partying with psychedelic effects on social media. Caught up in the life of partying, she argues that she is just being

herself and that what she is going through is not “just a phase.” Zac Efron, another child star from Disney Channel, has also fallen into the Hollywood lifestyle. “He was a child actor, and you don’t need to have a sociology degree to see the pitfalls, especially as they transition to becoming an adult actor,” Seth Rogen said during an interview with TMZ. Being surrounded by drugs and alcohol constantly and dealing with life struggles that were made public by the press, Zac Efron turned to drugs and alcohol to escape stress. After struggling for a long time, Efron made the decision to improve himself for his own well-being and for the fans who treat him like a role model. Efron has gone to rehab, joined Alcoholics Anonymous, and has been seeing therapist regularly. So far, he has made a lot of progress, but his addiction still lingers. “It’s a never-ending struggle,” Efron said to told E! News. For some celebrities, they make it out of their childhood unscathed. Hilary Duff, for example, once a star on the Lizzie Mc-Guire show, is now a mom and a singer/songwriter. Duff is one of the very few celebrities that has left Disney Channel without any scandals. “I think people assume I’m perfect. I’m not. I make mistakes. I do things I regret. I’m stubborn,” Duff said. Duff never claims to be perfect in her life. She admits she has made mistakes but is always trying to be her best self to act as a role model for her son and her fans. Although the distractions involved in Hollywood leave many people heading down the wrong path, it is possible to stay focused on what is really important in life.

TRANSFORMATION TUESDAY

-Ava Henderson staffer

Summer 2015 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 23