On Oct. 12, thousands of people from all over the country will pack their bags and head for the rolling hills of Zilker Park in Austin, TX. Greeted by sunny weather and the one of a kind Austin atmosphere this music loving group of people will take part in experiencing Texas’s larg-est music festival-Austin City Limits (ACL). Complete with eight dif-ferent stages and a countless number of popular acts, the festival will last until Oct. 14. Austin City Limits brings people from unique ethnic backgrounds together in an unexplainable atmosphere. Selling out in a matter of days, ACL is not just any av-erage music festival. While the line up always consists of many well-known and loved acts, there are also a few hidden treasures thrown in here or there. !ere isn’t anything people like more than discover-ing new music to jam out to. !rough the rare clash of artists, f i n d i n g a fresh favorite to get hooked on is almost a guar-antee. Aside f r o m

the underground bands, ACL is well known for its superb food. It is a given that Austin has some of the best restaurants in Texas, so it is no surprise that Austin City Limits has a selection o f deli-

cious eats to chow down on. Some of the crowd favor-ites include Guero’s Taco Bar, Pureheart, !e Salt Lick, Amy’s Ice Cream, HOPE Farmers Market, and the

Seedling Truck. With such

a variety of c h o i c e s , everyone is sure to "nd something they will like. Costing up to $400 or m o r e f o r

a three-day pass, an ACL ticket is not in everyone’s price range. However, if you ever get the chance to experience this memorable weekend, don’t hesitate to hop in the car and head to the Texas capital. From the fantastic line up of endless music, the variety of noteworthy food and the di-verse group of music lovers a music festival truly can’t get much bet-ter than Aus-tin City L i m -

its. For

i n f o r m a -tion on tick-

ets, showtimes, parking, hotels,

food, youth activities and more visit the ACL festival website at aclfesti-val.com

OTHE RACLEVolume 41, Issue 2 Friday, September 28, 2012

Stratford High School 14555 Fern Drive, Houston TX 77079

Sports Schedule

p. 10

Homecoming Dining

p. 4 Photo by Katherine Kennedy Photo by Aldo Martinez

Photo by Katherine Kennedy

1. In order to get senior -

2.3. When

-

1

2 3

Homecoming

Spirit is in the Air Arrival of Austin City Limits

Kali Venable

To Mum or Not to Mum

p.15

Graphic by Sarah DavisSee more on ACL on page

Fans of all music genres get a taste of a highly anticipated festival

!e OracleNEWS2 Friday, September 28, 2012

With fall peeking around the corner, everyone’s aller-gies are acting up. In the !rst week of school, many teachers requested students bring some extra Kleenex and hand sanitizer for the class to have. With all the sneezing and cough-ing echoing in the hallways, it is obvious that germs are spreading around like wild-!re. It is scienti!cally proven that the most common germs are located on the bathroom paper towel handles, water fountains, bathroom sink faucets, door handles, library tables and computer key-boards of schools. Some of the most common illnesses for teenagers to get during the school year are the "u, mono, strep throat, and stomach viruses. #ese contagious illnesses are bound to sweep through the school due to all of the in-teraction in a typical day. In"uenza, better known as

the "u, is a respiratory ill-ness caused by the in"uenza virus. #e "u is not the same as a cold, although they share many of the same symptoms including fevers, body aches, and chills. Mononucleosis, also known as mono, is a viral infection causing fever, sore throat, and swollen lymph glands in the neck. Symptoms mainly include drowsiness, fever, loss of ap-petite, and swollen lymph nodes. Strep throat is caused by streptococcal (strep) bacte-ria. #ere are many di$erent types of strep bacteria. Some may cause more serious ill-nesses than others. Common symptoms include fever, sore throat, pain when swal-lowing, and white or yellow spots on the back of throat. Stomach viruses are infec-tions caused by a variety of viruses, bacteria, and para-sites. Symptoms mainly include abdominal cramps, stomach pain, and nausea.

Another of the most com-mon ways that teenagers get sick throughout the school year is from lack of sleep. It is recommended to get 7-9 hours of sleep a night in or-der to maintain a healthy lifestyle. When the human body does not get the proper amount of rest, it slowly but surely begins to shut down. #e longest a human can survive without food is ap-proximately three weeks, without water is one week, without sleep is also around one week. #e less sleep a person gets, the worse an im-mune system gets. #e immune system is a network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to defend the body against at-tacks by germs and viruses. When an immune system is down, it makes it easier to catch a virus in which the body had been exposed. Keeping your immune system healthy and strong throughout the year can lead to many great achievements with school, social life, and

well being. Many people !nd it hard sometimes to stay healthy, but eating the right foods, getting exercise daily, wash-ing your hands regularly, and getting plenty of sleep can help you stay active and live a strong, healthy life-style. #ere are many students at Stratford that do follow these important guidelines that are keeping the school free of bad germs and bacteria. “Every time I use the rest rooms here at Stratford, I al-ways remember to wash my hands. In the beginning of the school year, I also bring Kleen-ex and hand sanitizer for teachers andstudents to use. I think if everyone would do this, Stratford would be a very clean school,” ju-nior Casey Sparks said. It only takes a few easy steps to stay germ-free this sea-son, so do your part to stay healthy.

Graphic by Isabel Deakins

Season of SicknessSamantha VargasAmy Brajenovich

Illnesses are spread easiest among high school students in the fall

A Lotz Better ®

offer just for Stratford faculty students & staff!

Expires 11/30/2012. No coupon necessary. Good only at 14510 Memorial Dr. Schlotzsky’s® restaurant. Not valid with any other offer, sandwich meal or kid’s meal.©2012 Schlotzsky’s Franchise LLC. All rights reserved.

FREEbag of chips with purchase of medium sandwich or 8” pizza**Valid with Stratford ID

www.schlotzskys.com

3Friday, September 28, 2012!e Oracle NEWS

Senior Timeline

September:

Make a pro!le on the appli-cation sites for the colleges you’re interested in. Start !lling out Activities and Ed-ucation sections of applica-tions. Take note of due dates.

October:

Most early decision applica-tion dates are Oct. 1. Start your essays and get review-ers to edit them. Turn in your transcript and teacher recom-mendation requests.

November:

Finish up your essays and any other incomplete part of your applications. Be sure to !nish any supplements if your colleges require them. Check on teacher recommendations to make sure they get turned in on time.

December:

Most applications are due Dec. 1. Take the SAT or ACT for the !nal time - you can send scores to your colleges if you’ve already submitted your applications. Plan trips to visit any colleges that you applied to and haven’t seen yet or want to see again.

January:

Register for FAFSA and start applying for scholar-ships. Check out the Col-lege Prowler website for lists of scholarships that ap-ply to you. Take note of due dates.

February:

Check the websites of your col-leges for your application status if it’s available. Continue work-ing on scholarship applications.

March:

Start receiving accept/deny letters and start narrowing down your decision. Regis-ter for AP tests - make sure you pay on time!

May:

Take your AP tests, and !nish up any outstanding scholarship ap-plications. Enjoy Prom and your last few weeks of school!

April:

Make your decision. Be sure to collect and turn in housing applications and any other required paper-work for enrollment. Find a roommate.

June:

Graduation is June 1. Be sure all your forms and informa-tion is turned in to your col-lege. E___njoy your last sum-mer at home!

Fresh-Busters

“All of my classes are really cool, I just don’t like getting booed at pep rallies.”

“I love going to the football games and being in ROTC.”

“It’s great having so much more freedom than middle school.”

The Class of 2016 shares their thoughts

Myron Milton

What is your favorite part of high school so far?

Leslie MerchanBenito Carranza Marcus Wild

All Photos by Harrison Vaporciyan

“Since I moved from a di"erent district, I like meeting all the new people.”

!e OracleNEWS4 Friday, September 28, 2012

ara’space

Even with the stress of col-lege applications, grades, and extracurriculars, the worst part of senior year for me so far has been the attitude that seems to be so widely accepted among the senior classes of the last few years. Senioritis. Yes, everybody has it. Yes, it is tempting to complain. But the second semester of last year, I got so sick of be-ing in classes with seniors because of the obnoxious repetition of the word. Senioritis is not a legiti-mate excuse for making bad grades, quitting activi-ties, or hal!eartedly par-ticipating in the activities that you are in. Why should senior year be a blow o" year? Aca-demics-wise, yes, you can relax a little bit a#er you’re accepted to college, but not too much or your dream school may change their minds when they see that you’re giving in to the sick-ness. However, giving up your extracurriculars just shows a poor work ethic. It is tempting to drop classes when you are ac-cepted to college, but it is just a bad idea. I would have loved not to have tak-en a math class this year, but I know that I will be glad I took it next year in my freshman math class. Even if I don’t use the math I’m learning now in col-lege, I’ll know that I worked hard my senior year and accomplished something, which is more than a lot of people I know can say for themselves. Every single piece of ad-vice given to you in your entire life is the opposite of what senioritis stands for. Why would you go against everything you’ve been taught just to have a “blow-o" ” senior year?

Sara Boyle

KeyPR: Private Room

availableFM: Fixed Menu op-

tionPS: Patio SeatingR: Reservations

PO: Photo Opportunity Piatto Ristorante

2 PR, R, FM11693 Westheimer

Barnaby’s CafeWalk-Ins

5750 Woodway

Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen PR, FM, PS, R

6401 Woodway

J. Alexanders RestaurantPR

11103 Westheimer

Cantina LaredoR, FM

11129 Westheimer

Bistro ProvenceWalk-Ins

13616 Memorial

Rio RanchPR, FM, R, PO

9999 Westheimer

S

Katherine KennedyKatie Gregory

Mohammad AliParker Barrett

$omas BirdsongEmily Gex

Emily JosephCJ Kight

Maria MaaTaylor Meyer

Julia GexEvan GoodearleChris HachtmanGri%n Henkel

Alyssa PlantTorkild Stenseth Rebecca Tarver

Jonas Yun

Info and Shorts2012-2013 Freshmen Class RepresentativesFreshmen voted in Spartan Time for the new leaders of their class. Freshmen who are interested in walking-on should contact Student Council sponsor Mary Jackson in Room 236.

Oct. 2: Tie-Dye DayOct. 3: Twin DayOct. 4: Camo Day

Oct. 4: All-school vote for King and QueenOct. 5 @ 2:30: Stratford America Pep Rally

Oct. 5 @ 7:00: Football game vs. Tomball MemorialOct. 5 @ Hal!ime: Homecoming Queen announced

Oct. 6 @ 8:00: Dance beginsOct. 6 @11:00: Homecoming King announced

Oct. 6 @ 11:45: Dance ends

Homecoming Week

5Friday, September 28, 2012!e Oracle ADS

SPARTANORACLE.BLOGSPOT.COM

Forgot your copy of the Oracle?

Don’t worry! We’ve got your back, with our virtual issues on

spartanoracle.blogspot.com!

!e OraclePUZZLE PAGE6 Friday, September 28, 2012

For answers, visit spartanoracle.blogspot.com

Graphic by Molly Richter

!e Oracle MUSE 7Friday, September 28, 2012

Even though City Centre has been around for a few years, the hype regarding it has skyrocketed. !e excite-ment for this Houston hot spot still remains, especially when there are concerts or other events scheduled. Some say that the hype is be-ing overdone with everyone claiming that it’s the place to be on most occasions. “I think it’s fun as a place for shopping and eating,” fresh-man Ann Mustacchia said. Shops in City Centre come with a high price tag. “It’s very trendy, but it’s re-

ally expensive,” junior Kaylin Kruseman said. !ere are also many places to eat, but they also are more expensive than some students can a"ord. !ere is a variety of shops in the area including a cooking appliance store, Sur la Table and a cra#y art store, Paper Source. “I think City Centre is over-done because all there is to do is eat and shop,” junior Mar-garet Gray said. With all the publicity, $nd-ing a parking place can be quite di%cult. “I like going there, but the parking is terrible,” junior

Anya Vaporciyan said. !ere is a small amount of space available for booking events, due to City Centre’s popularity. Many of the shops stay open for the evening crowd. “All the stores there are kind of expensive. But it’s fun to go at night,” senior Monica Cas-tillo said. !e crowds of people that are being pulled to City Cen-tre are teenagers and young adults. “I like it, I think for our generation it’s great and more modern,” sophomore Faith Reyes said. Some of the popular shops

there include: Anthropologie, Urban Out$tters, Free Peo-ple, Lulu Lemon, and J.Crew. Besides retail shops, there is also Studio Movie Grille and the frozen yogurt sensation, Red Mango. !e amount of restaurants that have opened have been inviting to the public eye, es-pecially in the area surround-ing City Centre. !ere’s de$nitely a promi-nent modern aspect in all of the shops and restaurants. Whether you think its an over-rated area or Houston hot spot, City Centre has caught the attention of many Houstonians.

Centre of AttentionLayla Shahhosseini

1 day until Florence and the Machine

15 days until Mac Miller, and Two Door Cinema Club

7 days until Ren-Fest

Oct. 12

Asleep at the Wheel,

Delta Spirit,!e Afghan Whigs,

Weezer, AVICII

Honda

Austin Kiddie Limits Austin Ventures BMI

Zilker Stage

Barton Springs

Bud Light

Oct. 13

Oct. 14

!e Wombats,First Aid Kit,Ben Howard,

A-Trak,!ievery Corporation

Hullabaloo,

Rocknoceros,Big Don,

Orange Sherbet,Special Guest, Ralph’s

World

Infantree,Quiet Corral,

River City Extension,LP,

Jovanotti,Trampled by Turtles,

Black Lips,M. Ward

Megan McCormick,Colorfeels,

Justin Jones,Kenny Vaughan

Trio,Patterson Hood

Stapletones,Shields of Faith, !e Relatives,

Lance Herbstrong,!e Soul Rebels,

Umphrey’s McGee

He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister,Patrick Watson,

Esperanza Spalding,

Alabama Shakes,M83

Los Campesinos!,

!e War On Drugs,Tegan and Sara,

Florence + !e Ma-chine,

!e Black Keys

Dev,

!e Whigs,Metric,

Jack White

Caveman,Zola Jesus,

Big K.R.I.T.,Big Gigantic,

BASSNECTAR

Rocknoceros,Jambo,

Orange Sherbet,Hullabaloo,

Special Guest

Quiet Company, Wild Child, Wheeler Brothers,

Dry the River,Father John Misty, Michael Kiwanuka, Punch Brothers,

Steve Earle

Nikki Lane, Native Run,

Gardens & Villa, Space Capone,

Kishi Bashi

Disciples of Joy, !e Baylor Choir,

Sonámbulo, La Vida Bohéme, Lee Fields & !e Expres-

sions, Antibalas

!e Deep Dark

Woods, Bombay Bicycle Club,

Oberhofer, Band of Skulls, Gotye

Civil Twilight, Rufus Wainwright, Andrew Bird, !e Roots, Neil

Young and Crazy Horse

!e Boxer Rebellion,

Gary Clark Jr.,!e Civil Wars,

!e Avett Brothers

!e Features, Freelance Whales, POLICA, Die

Antwoord, Crystal Castles

Big Don, Jambo, !e Q Brothers, !e School of Rock, Peter DiStefano & Tor, Special Guest,

Ralph’s World

!e Eastern Sea, Kopecky Family Band, Moon Duo,

!e Devil Makes !ree, Bad Books, !e Lumineers,Old 97’s, Randy Rogers

Band

NoahGundersen,Royal Teeth,Lera Lynn,

!e Dunwells,Willis Earl Beal

G.S.T., !e Mighty Sincere

Voices, !e Aaron Ivey Band,

!undercat,Ruthie Foster, Barrington

Levy

Alt-J, Stars, Tennis, !e

Weeknd, Childish Gambino

Kimbra, NEEDTO-BREATHE,

Two Door Cinema Club, Iggy & !e Stooges, Red Hot

Chili Peppers

Line AMC up

Graphic by Natalie Yoo

USEPhoto taken by Jackie Mask

!e “Bayou City” may not be everyone’s favorite vaca-tion spot or have the most recognizable skyline, but as the fourth largest city in the United States with six mil-lion residents in the greater Houston area, Houston does have a lot to o"er. Hosting the largest rodeo in the world, being named the Forbes Coolest City to Live in 2012, and making inter-national history with NASA headquarters, Houston pleas-es residents and visitors alike. Houston’s world renowned theater district consists of 17 blocks and 12,000 seats. !e only city in the country to have more seating in a con-densed area is New York City. Our museum district is of equal quality as one of the largest museum districts in the country. 18 institutions, both museums and galleries, form the Houston Museum District. Both districts have been award-winning and in-ternationally acclaimed. !e Bayou City’s large size,

international population, and business makes having an ef-#cient airport system a neces-sity. Bush Intercontinental, William P. Hobby, and El-lington Airports make up the sixth largest airport system in the world. Houston airports’ capability and location al-low the city to be a primary gateway to Latin America for shipments and commercial $ights. Hobby and Bush In-tercontinental are also hubs for two successful airlines, Hobby for Southwest and Bush for United, previously Continental. !is provides many jobs for Houstonians. In 2010 the three airports combined provided over 23,000 jobs and contributed more than 27 billion dollars to the regional economy. Compared to the rest of the country, Houston’s econo-my stayed considerably more consistent than the rest of the nation during the recession, having 2.54 million payroll jobs in 2010. Home to 23 Fortune 500 companies, Houston has

become attractive to many young professionals, the av-erage age being 33. !is also makes Houston’s stable housing market ap-pealing for young employees and their families. Housing costs in Houston have been shown to be 21 percent below the national average, and liv-ing costs nine percent under the country’s norm. Another great attribute of Space City is the number and variety of restaurants available to its citizens. Eat-ing out more than any other city’s residents, Houstonians can choose from pricier res-taurants such as Mark’s or Mockingbird Cafe, or spe-cialty restaurants like Niko Niko’s, featured on Guy Fi-eri’s Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, or !e Chocolate Bar, “hole-in-the-walls”, like Max and Julie’s French restaurant in Montrose, are also local favorites. !e University area of Rice Village, Montrose, and the Heights are other appealing aspects of “H-town”. !e con-

temporary neighborhoods attract students and other lo-cals with their idiosyncratic restaurants, boutiques, and shops. Since Houston is a me-tropolis, e%cacious highways are essential, hence the eas-ily navigable highways and feeder roads. Frontage roads, make Houston’s geographic size easy to maneuver. Another unique facet of

Houston is it’s thriving music scene. Rappers such as Bun B and Chamillionaire are na-tives of the city as well as the illustrious Beyoncé Knowles. !ough Houston isn’t typi-cally considered a favorable city due to its humid climate and unpredictable weather, the city’s distinctive urban sprawl and diverse popula-tion make it a unique place to live.

!e OracleMUSE8 Friday, September 28, 2012

Tweets of the Week

Hone in on Houston Things you may or may not have known about Space City

Graphic by Isabel Deakins and Harrison Vaporciyan

APUSHin’ my buttons. - Mary Kate Goss, 11

Hopefully I’m not the only one rocking the jean dress today. #western- Emma Koydemir, 12

Chandler Callahan

I just googled ‘cute baby animals’ and I still have Eco and Stats homework to do, so yeah I’m a bit of a procrastina-tor.- Abby Moore, 12

!e tiny pumpkins are at Randall’s again #itso%ciallyfall - Matt Sibley, 12

Sometimes I get really excited about getting old & #nally being able to use an automated grocery cart scooter at Randall’s- Katie Temple, 12

Compiled by Chandler Callahan

Let’s play a game. Are you ready? Truth or dare. Dare? Perfect. I dare you, during the next passing period, to walk alone. Where ever you may be going, do it in silence. Lis-ten to the noise around you. All the buzz you hear, aside from that one kid singing, is an ongoing conversation. Whether it be grades, your ex-boyfriend’s hook-up with your ex-best friend, the fact it’s raining, how you wish you didn’t have to run during athletics today… everyone is talking. And it’s usually about nothing. I always marvel at the fact no one ever shuts up. How could anyone ever have that much to talk about? !ere is no substance behind that occasional “wazzzzzup” and automatic response of, “not much”. What else could you possibly respond with? Wait, I know. Because I’ve been forced to listen to it on my treacherous walk to the third $oor. “Oh my gosh in my last class there was like a kid who like fell asleep and we like had to poke him to wake him up and then like…” !ere was no punctuation nor breathing during her one-sentence-but-2-minute-long-story. Maybe I missed the punch line, or maybe she lost her train of thought, but either way there was no point to the story she had told. Other than the fact some kid fell asleep. All of this unnecessary noise comes from the mind set that as people we need to be social all the time. We don’t need to be “chatty Cathys” from dawn to dusk. An added bonus: people always want to know more about the people who never talk over the people who won’t shut up. So em-brace your mysterious inner being and stop talking. Silence is not awkward. Si-lence is good. Silence is nec-essary for your sanity. And more importantly, it is nec-essary for the sanity people stuck behind you on the stairs who don’t care about how much sleep you got this weekend.

Caitlin Hilton

Downtown is the heart of commerce and night

life in Houston where activities and events are always taking place.

Photo taken by Jackie Mask

MUSE 9Friday, September 28, 2012!e Oracle

When I was in eighth grade I went to see Owl City on the night of Hal-loween with my best friend, Eila. We spent the entire week be-fore cutting and sewing fab-ric to make what we decided would be the cutest band shirts ever. !e hours we put into our shirts seemed well worth the product we had produced. Putting on our new shirts we proudly entered the con-cert and pushed towards the front of the stage. In out unique T-shirts, we were part of a group greater than just ourselves, we were true fans. Owl City’s music seemed bet-ter than usual, the night was a total success. Looking back on this experi-ence and trying not to laugh at my horrid taste in music, what I remember most about the Owl City concert was the clothing Eila and I had made. A few weeks ago, while my sister was leaving for college I

packed up my room to move into her old bedroom. While digging through my closet, I came across the Owl City band shirts. Not having seen it over three years, a certain nostal-gic mood "ooded my head and I was cast back to all of the sweet memories the shirt symbolized. !e thing about clothing is that it can bring you back to a moment and make it unbe-lievably real. I am convinced that by put-ting our creativity into the garments we make, we as people learn a lot more about ourselves than we would by going out and purchasing ar-ticles of clothing. For what seems like eternity, fashion-forward clothing has been labeled as both expen-sive and hard to come by. Of course there has always been an underground form of trendy clothing. However, now more than ever people are taking the alternative routes towards out#ts worth

admiring. Websites such as Pintrest, Rookiemag, and Bloglovin have made tracking down cool clothing projects on var-ious blogs extremely simple. As this “do it yourself ” out-look consumes more and more people, the pressure to spend excessive money on items such as jean shorts, jewelry, shoes and shirts or dresses drastically is decreas-ing. Buying a pair of old Levi’s from Value Village for $2 or using your mom’s old pair and cutting them into jean shorts is just as welcomed, if not more, than spending big money to purchase a brand name pair. !e problem is that most people can’t just come up with these imaginative ideas on their own, but that is what is so great - you don’t have to!

By sur#ng the web and vis-iting some of the thousands of fashion blogs online, these projects are very easy to #nd. For those who are creative, coming up with your own project can be even better. Perhaps going to a thri$ store and buying old clothing to make into something new can get your creative juices "owing. Another bene#t from mak-

ing your own jew-elry, shorts or shirts is that you won’t have too much t r o u b l e getting rid of them.

With the fashion industry today, fads never last long enough. In fact, the minute you buy into them, they seem to change. !is becomes frustrating when you spend, for example, $100 on a maxi skirt that re-ally is only seen as cute for a

short period of time. Once that period is over, you feel as if you have wasted $100 on a skirt that you are burned out of. However, by buying a long skirt for a few dollars at a thri$ store or cutting an old "oor length dress and sew-ing the top, the results are di%erent. It doesn’t matter if you wear it for a single occa-sion then donate it to a char-ity, you hardly paid anything for it. Or maybe you want to keep the skirt as memorabilia of the event you wore it to, which is perfectly #ne too. It is comforting to realize that trends are becoming more realistic and accessible. People get irritated with the fact that they can’t have the things they would like and in most cases even the things they deserve. I personally grow annoyed when I realize a shirt I am in love with costs $400 and will never go on sale. Cute clothing does not have to be expensive and seeing

our generation explore that idea brings much originality to each of our out#ts. When I came across my homemade Owl City shirt while cleaning out my closet a few weeks ago, I realized that this idea of “doing it your-self ” is something special and worth recognizing. Chances are, I will never wear that Owl City shirt again due to the alterations in my music tastes and in my apparel desires. Although I would like to think that a few years from now when the Owl City con-cert seems like even more of a distant memory in an alter-nate life I will be able to pull the shirt out of the back of my closet. I can look at an item that at one time represented so much of the person I was and I can re"ect on the changes in my life since then. !e clothing that we make is more than just clothing, it represents the exact person we are in that moment.

The Power of “Doing it Yourself”Kali Venable

Black TambourineBeck

Two!e Antlers

LisztomaniaPhoenix

Wounded!ird Eye Blind

I really like this song. Its con-sistent beats make me feel very calm and relaxed, but at the same time reminds me of a hustle-and-bustle city.

I waited almost the whole song for a tambourine solo and I was greatly disappoint-ed. !is song is a fun listen but very forgettable.

I personally found this song pretty soothing. Basically, it’s a song by Beck, and that’s all you really need to know to decide whether you’ll like it or not.

!e beat is very calming. I rocked and swayed to Beck’s subtle voice until the song in-conspicuously ended, when I promptly forgot about it.

!is song takes me on a roller coaster of moods. !ird Eye Blind really does have some gems.

At times this song sounds ex-actly like a Jimmy Eat World song. It easily blends into the mass of pop rock that came out during the 90’s.

I’m with Lydia here. !is song is more 90’s than Will Smith in a backwards base-ball cap riding a skateboard with Hinder playing in the background.

!is song has the perfect amount of 90’s angst to con-jure up thoughts of base-ment-set music videos and overalls. Because that’s what the 90’s were all about, right?

Phoenix is very good at mak-ing fun songs that I can’t un-derstand the lyrics to. !is is no exception.

!is song is prime example that less is more. It manages to be incredibly upbeat and catchy without sounding manufactured.

!is was a good song when it #rst came out three years ago and it’s a good song now. It’s simple, it’s catchy, and most importantly, it doesn’t pre-tend to be deeper than it is.

When I listen to this song, I tend to forget how much time is passing. I never get tired of this song.

!e tune is very sweet and repetitive. While the singer’s voice is pretty whiny and un-intelligible, it somehow #ts with the song as a whole.

!e amount of tambourine employed in this song is hei-nous. A$er awhile the tam-bourine drowns out all other thoughts. !e vocals are a bit weak.

!e instrumentals here are pretty simple, allowing Sil-berman’s voice and lyrics to shine. !e result: a song that’s equal parts upli$ing and soul-crushingly depressing.

I loved the lyrics and the sim-plicity of the accompaniment of this song. More compli-cated music would have just drowned out the lyrics.

Caroline Suchman

Isabel Deakins

Lydia Sweet

Harrison Vaporciyan

A sentimental look at making your own clothing

“ It is comforting to re-alize that trends are becoming more real-istic and accessible

!e Oracle10 Friday, September 28, 2012SPORTSThe Schedule

FOOTBALL:

-Fri. 9/28- vs. Spring Woods @ Tully 7:00 OUTSMART THE TIGERS-Fri. 10/5- vs. Tomball Memorial @ Tully 7:00 (HC) AMERICA-!ur. 10/11- vs. Marshall @ Hall 7:00-Fri. 10/19- vs. Northbrook @ Tully 7:00 SHINE OUT THE RAIDERS

Tennis:

-Tues. 10/2- vs. Tomball @ SHS 3:00-Fri. 10/5 - vs. George Ranch@ SHS 3:00-Tues. 10/9- @ FB Ridge Point 3:00-Tues. 10/16- @ SHS District Semi"nals-Fri. 10/19- @ SHS District Championships

VOLLEYBALL:

-Fri. 9/28- @ FB Ridge Point 6:30-Tues. 10/2- vs. Spring Woods 6:00- Fri. 10/5- vs. Tomball Me-morial 6:00-Tues. 10/9- vs. Marshall 6:30-Fri. 10/12- @ Northbrook 6:00-Tues. 10/16- vs. Willowridge 6:30 -Fri. 10/19- @ Tomball 6:00

Cross Country:

-Fri. 9/28- @ SHS Tempo Run TBD-Sat. 10/6- @ Nottingham Park 8:00 Spring Branch Invitational-Sat. 10/13- @ College Park 8:00 College Park Invita-tional-!urs. 10/18 @ SHS Tempo

A!er the Astros’ World Series run in 2005, the fran-chise has clearly been in a steady decline. "is season, they came close to the worst record in baseball history. Without a successful ma-jor league team to watch, many citizens of the Hous-ton area have taken interest in the Sugar Land Skeeters. "e Skeeters are a new mi-nor league team that plays at Constellation Field, just 25 minutes away from school. In the Freedom division of the Atlantic League, the Skee-ters are currently third place in their division, with a re-cord of 33-32. "ey are just eight games out of #rst place, behind the York Revolution and the Lancaster Barn-stormers. “I’ve been really wanting to go to a Skeeters game,” said substitute teacher Linda Bad-ger. “I’m not sure about the name, but I guess it’s because there are so many darn mos-quitoes in Texas!”

Skeeters’ games have a laid back feel and tickets can be extremely cheap, which makes a Skeeters game an at-tractive place for any baseball fans looking for a low-key game. “"e games are fun, the atmo-sphere is really relaxed, and the mascots are pretty funny,” said fresh-man John Eyre. Constellation Field is a brand new $37 mil-lion complex that holds 7500 fans. "e seating op-tions include regu-lar stadium seats, a picnic table area, and a grassy spot where fans can bring their own lawn chairs, and tickets are usually around $12. It also has a massive play area for kids complete with a small swimming pool. Park-ing is easy, the theme nights

are fun, and the stadium is very clean. A notable player on the Skeeters’ roster is ex-Astro

Jason Lane. Lane played for the Astros for #ve years as an out#elder and helped get Houston into their #rst World Series by catching the last out in the #nal game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

While he usually was in right #eld when with the Astros, he has been playing as a le!-handed relief pitcher for the

Skeeters. Lane has said that he hopes that his time with the Skeeters will help boost him back into majors. Another player that has been drawing thousands of people to Skeeters games is the notorious ex Astros pitcher Roger Clemens. A!er being the subject of baseball controversy in-volving steroids for years, Clemens pitched for the Skeeters on two di$erent nights, giving up no runs either time. On Sept. 8, Clemens pitched #ve in-nings to his son, Koby, who made his Skeeters debut that night as the catcher. Despite Clemens being

50 years old, Astros owner Jim Crane is now talking about bringing the “Rocket” back to major league base-ball, so Clemens may not be with the Skeeters for very much longer.

Skeeters Creating a BuzzElaine Parizot

Roger Clemens talks to his son, Koby, after warming up his arm before the Skeeters game against the Long Island Ducks. Photo by Elaine Parizot

!e Oracle11 Friday, September 28, 2012SPORTSAlex Newton

Conference Rundown As we near the half way point of the season, and as conference play is fully un-derway, the contenders and pretenders are becoming in-creasingly evident. As usual, the unexpected is to be expected in college football. !e hogs of Arkansas took a historic tumble out of the AP poll as they were once ranked number eight. It was the big-gest fall during a one week period in the poll’s history. !en, shortly a"er their monumental loss, Nick Sa-ben’s tide rolled through Ar-kansas in what would have been one of the biggest games of the year, leaving us once again wondering, who can stop the rolling tide? !e SEC once again ap-pears to be the nation’s top conference although the Big 12 doesn’t seem to be too far behind, while the Big Ten is struggling to retain rel-

evance. As the nation is indulging it-self in the irrelevant debate of whose conference is the best, it’s time I put my three cents in the debate.

SEC- !e nation’s prime confer-ence, the SEC, is looking to continue its’ long-standing streak of national champion-ships. Alabama is o# to an out-standing start, dominat-ing preseason title hopefuls Michigan and Arkansas. Yet Coach Saben is still not im-pressed. !e fall of teams such as Ar-kansas and Auburn has many wondering if the SEC is still the prime rib of the confer-ence cow. “I think the SEC’s stock has fallen a little but they are still the best conference,” said se-nior Matthew Stein. !e new conference induct-ees have struggled with their new friends. Both Texas A&M and Mis-

souri dropped their SEC openers to Florida and Geor-gia. Redimption for the Ag-gies will come this week against Arkansas. Because of the solid play from both teams, the annual Florida Georgia rivalry may $nally be relevant once again as both teams have looked impressive. !e winner of this confer-ence will be decided in the November third showdown between LSU and Bama, yet a"er LSU unimpressive per-formance in Auburn and Al-abama winning by a measly 33 points, Georgia may be a sleeper. Big 12- As all the talk is on the glam-orous SEC, the Big 12 is qui-etly making its own case for the “best conference” status. Don’t get me wrong, the SEC is still the King, but the Big 12 is not too distant. !e replacement of both A&M and Missouri with West Virginia and TCU has

turned out to have been a good trade. Both teams are looking very good through three games. Texas appears to have made a full rebound from their past two season of going 13-12, their $rst conference game will be on the road this week-end against the pokes while hosting Geno Smith and the Mountaineers in two weeks. Oklahoma lost some ground at the hands (or legs) of Colin Klein in a rare home loss. West Virginia is my pick to win this conference along with the winner of the Red River Rivalry who is always a contender and no, I am not a believer in K-State. Pac 12- !e pack twelve took a hit when USC dropped a big one to the Stanford Cardinal putting a broad smile on An-drew Lucks face as his alma matter has continued its dominance over USC for the entire Barkely era. Oregon is their only hope to

make a run for a national title and is looking good a"er an impressive rout of Arizona. Still, one must keep in mind Stanford. Beating the nations number two team makes them a formidable opponent for any team. I see Oregon winning their conference. Chip Kelly is all about fast, and this is a very fast team. !e Pac 12 is also a very strong conference and with Oregon’s o#ense along with their stout defense, if they survive their conference a national title will be within reach.

Big Ten- !e Big Ten, where they play “old man’s football” is struggling to remain rel-evant for the BCS title race. Unless Northwestern or Minnesota, the conference’s only two undefeated teams, can win out, no one from this conference will dethrone the SEC or make a title run. Ohio State, who is unde-

feated themselves, will not be playing in a bowl this year because of a few individual’s disgusting act of selling auto-graphed jerseys. Wisconsin can’t seem to ac-cept life without Russell Wil-son as they, much like Ar-kansas, have gone from title hopeful, to unranked. A tough conference to pre-dict a winner, I’ll take a bat-tered Michigan State to sur-vive and win this conference. ACC- Nearly a year a"er Florida State’s home loss to Oklaho-ma they once again proved they are not there yet. Although Saturday nights home defeat of Clemson showed that Florida State is a contender and with their remaining schedule that has only one ranked team, Flori-da, the Seminoles are primed for not only a conference title but a national title. Clemson is still a BCS sleep-er but Florida state will win this conference.

Midway through the season the SEC is still on top yet many teams are primed to change the conference outlook

!e Oracle12 Friday, September 28, 2012SPORTS

THE RUNDOWN

Position: Running BackFavorite Movie: Bad Boys 2Favorite Food: GumboFavorite Pre-game Song: “I Want !is Forever” -DrakeFavorite NCAA Team: LSUFavorite Professional Team: New Orleans SaintsFavorite Quote: “Be the best you can be.” -Unknown

Position: Cheer Co-CaptainFavorite Song: “Space Jam”- Quad City DJ Favorite Stunt: A Liberty Favorite Teacher: Mrs. Jackson Favorite Dessert: Cookie Dough Favorite Store: T.J. MaxxFavorite quote: “It’s fo free!”- Brynn from Bridesmaids

CLAIRE

AVEN

TERRANCE

PETERS

Race for First Place

Senior varsity inside defensive linebacker David Ra-

-

(Left) This year, the varsity -

-

-

-

(Left) Cross country coach Tony Brillon reminds

Photo taken by Will Klussman Photo taken by Katie Gregory

13Friday, September 28, 2012!e Oracle OPINIONSOTHE RACLE

!e Oracle is a newspaper published every three weeks by the Journalism Department of Stratford High School, 14555 Fern, Houston, Texas 77079, 713-251-3454. !e newspa-per is a member of Columbia Scholastic Journalism Asso-ciation, National Scholastic Journalism Association, Texas Association of Journalism Educators, and Interscholastic League Press Conference. !e Oracle is open to any and all contributions submitted by the readers. Any material can be submitted by e-mail to thestratfordoracle@gmail.com, brought in person to Room 120, or placed in Janice Cummons’ mailbox. !e editorial board reserves the right to determine whether the submitted material will be published depending on the available space. !e submitted material may also be edited to remove libelous or defamatory statements. Any material that is submitted must be typewritten and accompanied with the writer’s full name and grade. !e opinions expressed are those of the individual writer and do not necessarily re"ect the views of the editors, the sta#, the administration, or the school district. !e Oracle sta# strives to produce a newspaper that covers the entire Strat-ford community. !ey welcome freelance submissions and are eager to hear from their readers regarding story and photo opportunities. !e Oracle is also online at spartanoracle.blogspot.com.

Relocating SpiritMichelle Evans

Flipping the Classroom

Ads Editor Mary Margaret Weaver Ads Sta! Emily Brown Jacob Cribbs Kendall Marbach Jacob Pennington Katherine Mavergeorge Design Sta! Claire Galbraith Caroline Suchman Harrison Vaporciyan Sta! Artists Molly Richter Claire Pena

Online Sta! Online Editors Janelle Blackwood Isabel Deakins Samantha Stazo Online Photography Editors Jackie Mask Ariyan Almassi Online Photographers Mark Co#man Michael Martin Claire Pena Rebecca Williams Online Reporters Jackie Velarde Faith Figueroa Building Principal Christopher Juntti Advisor Janice Cummons

Newspaper Sta! Editors-in-Chief Sara Boyle Caitlin Hilton Samantha Hicks News Editors Samantha Vargas Samantha Vanston Hannah Bevers Muse Editors Chandler Callahan Layla Shahosseini Kali Venable Sports Editors Alex Newton Elaine Parizot Elyse Steiber Opinions Editors Michelle Evans Lydia Sweet Esther Jeon Reporters Andres Acosta Dua Mazhar Aldo Martinez Photo Editors Katie Gregory Stephen Martinez Katherine Kennedy Photographers Gil Sanchez Emily Copeland Sarah Sturgis Will Klussman Allison Rice Maggie Vickers Harper Jones Bonnie Slattery Victoria Shin Obviously, we are all di#er-

ent. We talk di#erently, we eat di#erently and we even learn di#erently from one another. So why do we all get treated the same? In the last several years, there has been an emergence of support in a new teaching method known as Flipping the Classroom. Basically, "ip teaching means that a student learns at home and does the home-work in the classroom. !e way a "ipped classroom works is a student is assigned with the task of going home and watching a video created, or provided, by their teacher from which they learn the les-son they are currently on in their class. !e student would then return the next day and apply what they learned on work provided by the teacher. A "ipped classroom setting

is designed to give students more responsibility in their own learning and give teach-ers more freedom to work with students individually within the classroom. It is de-signed to prevent students from skipping or forgetting about homework, whether because they did not want to, couldn’t, or because they did not understand the material. Here in Stratford America, "ipped teaching is being put to use in the physics depart-ment. Students are being given a check list of assignments they must go through before the end of the six weeks with only quizzes and tests being on as-signed dates. Unfortunately, it appears the "ipped classroom is not as successful as one would have thought it would be. !e students seem to be le$ with little real sense of direc-tion and motivation.

Students are being le$ on their own to fend for them-selves, to teach themselves something they do not know or have not learned. A select group of students may have the ability to learn from a video, but others have a di#erent learning style where they need a teacher to lecture them in person for the concept to be fully grasped. If a certain method of teach-ing isn’t working for many students, why continue it? Students have grown accus-tomed to the traditional way of teaching. A$er all, they have been doing it for over a decade, and this change is a very radical one. !ey are used to sitting in class taking notes in their notebooks and going home to put what they learned to use on their assigned homework. !ey are not used to teaching themselves and will probably not get used to it for the next

few years. If "ip teaching is going to be implemented in our school district, it should be done while the student is still young so that they grow up and move from grade to grade with the idea that a "ipped classroom is the way a classroom works. !ey grow used to the idea, just like middle and high students are used to the idea of a tradi-tional classroom. It is being said that the "ipped classroom is the fu-ture of education, but what is being suggested is a dramatic change to the traditional way of teaching. While "ip teaching has been proven to be a viable method teaching in tested classrooms across the country, it is it’s implementation that still has kinks that have to be worked out.

For anyone who has been to one of the two pep rallies, the changes are old news. When the competition gym "oor was "ooded over the sum-mer, pep rallies were tempo-rarily relocated to the middle gym. For the faces behind the pep rallies, this change seemed like it would be a disaster. !e cheerleaders were skeptical about many things including whether anyone would attend the pep rallies and how we would possibly be able to %t anyone who did attend. However, when the bell rang at 2:30 to commence the green out pep rally, all of the skepticism disappeared. We felt surrounded by stu-dents who wanted the school to thrive. We felt like people wanted to be there support-ing their football team. Compared to the compe-tition gym, pep rallies are much more fun in their new location. Whenever the pep rallies were located in the competition gym, some-

times it would feel like no one showed up. Other than the Green Out and home-coming pep rallies, having a full crowd in the competition gym was a rarity. A$er all, if you had to choose between going to an “insigni%cant” pep rally and leaving school 30 min-utes early on a Friday, which would you choose? !e latter is de%nitely the more inviting option, to at least some of the student body. When the cheerleaders and football players look like ants and the bleachers look half-%lled, it’s hard for a student to even care about being there. Nothing is more frustrating than attempting to get a re-action from the crowd and seeing nothing more than a few blank faces. In the middle gym, students are cheering and screaming at almost ev-ery moment. Although it is more jam-packed and there is only one set of bleachers, the middle gym is the ideal place for a pep rally. Whether we are

singing the Alma Mater or trying to be the loudest, the sound of school spirit echoes throughout that gym. Even if there are Sparta-naires and band members who prefer their old spots in the competition gym, the new layout feels more orga-nized. With all of the organi-zations laid out on the "oor, it is almost like a presentation for the students. While we promote school spirit, they give us a reason to promote it. Prior to the construction of the competition gym, pep rallies were always located in the middle gym. !e cheer-leading coach Natalie Ben-zman remembers that time fondly, for it was very similar to how pep rallies feel now in their new location. “!e pep rallies were in the middle gym for a long time before the competition gym was built” said the cheerlead-ing coach Natalie Benzman. “When everyone is so close together, it feels more spir-ited.” !e cheerleaders aren’t the

only ones who prefer pep ral-lies in the middle gym. Even students are getting into the spirit of the change. “I prefer pep rallies in the middle gym, they’re so much more exciting” said sopho-more Tommy Rohleder. !e construction workers are working hard to get the competition ready before the end of the season. At the cur-rent pace, the competition gym is estimated to be com-plete on October 8. Although many were hoping that it would complete before the hectic homecoming pep rally, it looks as though it is a 50/50 chance at the present time. Pep rallies will most likely never be permanently relo-cated to the middle gym. We built the competition gym for a reason, and there is no sense in letting it sit there unused. However, for the few pep rallies that were relocat-ed, it was nice to experience something di#erent: a new wave of school spirit and Spartan pride.

High school is not the right time to switch up the classroom experience

Andres Acosta

Pep Rallies are more spirited in their new location

Having started senior year under the misguided delusion that it would be the relaxing period of my high school ca-reer, I was rudely surprised by the truth regarding the last year of high school. It unfortunately does not actually resemble in any shape or form getting enough sleep or feeling any kind of ease. Instead, you get all the sleepless nights and stressful classes you had junior year and you get to enjoy the “ben-e!ts” of even more stressful classes, college applications, standardized testing, college applications, extracurricular activities, homework, and college applications. (Did I mention college applica-tions?) Only a few weeks have passed since the beginning of school, and already the grounds of the school have transformed into a battle!eld. Tears have been shed, hair has been torn out, and mental breakdowns are taking place

this very moment across the school. "e question where do you want to apply for col-lege is asked every 5 minutes and somewhere, a frazzled senior sobs internally as the question only brings up the thought of the six other college essays that have yet to be written. Funnily enough, the essays shouldn’t take long; in fact, most col-lege essays have word limits varying around 500 words. But like ev-erything else that has to do with college, that seemingly miniscule number called six suddenly seems like an ex-tremely irrational number of six billion. College applications are only a scratch on the surface of se-nior year. We have one more semester to last before our GPA is locked in, but until then, there’s still the home-work that has to be done, the quizzes that have to be taken, and the tests that have to be

cried about. And contrary to popular belief, second semes-ter of senior year is not the s y m - bol of freedom.

Grades still h a v e to be main-

tained a s

colleges have been known to rescind the acceptance of a student because of his or her poor second semester grades. In the meantime, our workload has substantially

increased as teachers try to prepare us for the reality of college, and what was “okay” in freshman year is no lon-ger “acceptable” as teenagers on the brink of adulthood. Senior year is the end of our high school career, but si-multaneously, it is our !rst big step into college. We can’t a#ord to slack o#; we need to work harder to adjust our-selves to college standards. As seniors, we become lead-ers in the extracurricular ac-tivities that we’ve participated in. "ere are the clubs we now have to watch over, sports, musical activities, academic societies, and community service. "e responsibilities that the previous seniors once shouldered for the school fall onto us. "ere are even the seniors with jobs, who are at-tempting to balance work and school and extracurricular activities in a deathly juggle. And still somehow, in the midst of all this, we try to !nd time for ourselves and get more than we bargained

for when we slip into the dan-gerous (but o$en inevitable) clutches of procrastination. In an attempt to remain somewhat sane, I’ve devel-oped my own coping tech-niques. I’ve resorted to eat-ing a lot of Gold!sh at home and watching all 3 seasons of Community before the fourth season comes out. And as such, I probably don’t have much of a right or reason to do any kind of comforting, but to all seniors out there on the verge of mental break-down: take a deep breath (it really does work), think of happy things, and pat your-self on the back! "e six weeks is nearly over and we’ve survived the !rst month of our senior year, haven’t we? It’s already almost October and before we know it, we’ll be facing December cackling maniacally in our demented glee for we will have done the impossible by then and have conquered our college applications. I eagerly await this beloved day.

!e Oracle14 Friday, September 28, 2012OPINIONS

Senior BluesThe overwhelming responsibilities of senior year are weighing the Class of 2013 downEsther Jeon

“Treat others the way you want to be treated” is one of the many pieces of advice my parents used to give me as a child, and honestly I’ve tried to do exactly that. As a high school student, I’ve experienced rudeness to a very unnecessary level. From students to coworkers, respect has lost its meaning and purpose. No matter the age, gender, race, or sexual-ity, respect is supposed to be universally valued. As children, we’re taught the basic structure of respect. “When I hear the word respect, it makes me think about our elders and how we are supposed to respect them,” said junior Greta Gua-jardo. Not only do we respect those who are older but those who have seniority and deserve respect for the accomplishments they have achieved.

As school progresses and we take part in more clubs, respect becomes even more important. Showing disre-spect when talking and lis-tening to fellow club and team members can damage your credibility. Some people take advantage of such respect, and upset others with their delegations. “Respect can be taken ad-vantage of,” junior Leslie Bustamante said. "is is when the whole “treat others the way you want to be treated” advice comes into place. "e one doing the del-egations tend to lose cred-ibility and respect, because respect was not returned. "en there are the people who demand respect. "e demand for respect can upset others and make that par-ticular person to be disliked. When such thing happens chaos and disrespect is fab-ricated and no one is happy with each other. “Respect your teachers,” was the one reminder parents

told me before I went o# to school. To this day I attempt to be courteous and respect-ful to my mentors, teachers, and bosses, only in the hope that they will return the re-spect. "e way you talk to some-one will a#ect the way people see you. From a student’s perspective, one expects the teacher to be nice and polite, but that’s not always the case. Everyone can lose their tem-per at times and act in an in-appropriate manner. When this happens to teachers though, some stu-dents take this as disrespect. "at then concludes with the student talking back and ending up in the principle’s o%ce. Even though one feels dis-respected, treating someone the same way they treated you can not always end up in very positive way. Setting the example to those who lack this charac-teristic might make your en-vironment a more relaxing

and calm place. If you decide to return the disrespect, that doesn’t make you any better than the person. "en the person who was being dis-respectful will just think its right. Instead lean towards being respectful and hopeful-ly the person learns from you. Disregarding who you know, who you are, or who you think you are, respect should be a common part of your character. "is characteristic should be applied at work and school, so the people surrounding you will make more of an ef-fort to treat you with respect as well. Respect takes quite a roll in the circle of karma. When respect is given, re-spect is received. Respecting somebody out loud regardless if you respect them in your own head, can make an over all di#erence. When you ignore your per-sonal opinion toward some-one and show them respect, they’ll take the quality of your character into interest.

Overall respect can be ap-preciated and will come in handy when trying to when dealing with very uncomfort-able situations. Dealing with and issue in a respectful way, can almost always move the outcome towards a very posi-tive resolution. If one does end up having an issue, and the other some-one seems to get aggravated and starts yelling, you prob-ably lost respect for that per-son already, but its always the right choice to back of and argument that’s getting to crummy to handle. If respect can be incorpo-rated into everyone’s life, arguments and disrespect wouldn’t be an issue and more than likely we could all get along. It might sound cheesy and unlikely, but one can dream of peace. Respect can’t be given, it is earned, and when people re-alize this, an organization, school, or work place can also run properly and e%ciently.

R-E-S-P-E-C-TShowing respect to everyone is something everybody should practice Aldo MartinezFaith Figueroa

SamanthaHicks

Graphic by Natalie

A$er three years of wishing I was a senior, my time has !nally come. Senior year is here and I now wish I was a freshman again. I wish I was back in the gym being booed at a pep rally, or sitting in the corner of the cafeteria trying to squeeze myself on a bench with 30 other freshman girls. I wish I was a sophomore again and could go back to the !rst pep rally I performed in as a cheerleader, and back to all those JV football games where we would cheer to the stands because no one would come. I wish I could relive junior year again so I could go back to those Lacrosse games that de!ned my life in the Spring and the surprising moment when we made it into playo#s as our !rst year as a varsity team. While I wish I could go back to all of these things, I am overjoyed that I am !nally a senior with a schedule to die for and so much to look forward too. I love having my Friday nights occupied with cheering at the football games and my school days !lled with working on the newspaper. Everyone always says senior year is so easy though, it’s not. While college applications were not something that I stressed about, I do stress about leaving for college. It’s not for another 1o months, I know, but it’s still scary to think that this time next year I will be away at college and away from my family. But for now, I will keep my-self busy with all my activities and make the most out of the little time I have le$ in such a wonderful place.

!e Oracle Friday, September 28, 2012 15OPINIONS

Jangling bells, sparkly let-ters, and pretty ribbon in various shades of green are all familiar sights and sounds to a person who has given or re-ceived a homecoming mum. While mums can be fun to customize and give to your homecoming date, this Southern (mainly Texan) tradition has turned into an expensive, outdated nuisance. !e main problem with the mums is the outrageous price. Mums are usually about thirty to one hundred dollars. Add that to the price of tickets, your out"t, and dinner, and the amount of money you are spending on one night becomes ridicu-lous. “I de"nitely don’t think they’re worth all the money, but I buy one for my date ev-ery year anyway,” senior Paige Tormey said. Everybody’s mum is a little bit di#erent. !ey can have your name on them, your date’s name, and little deco-rations that are supposed to

re$ect the things you like or are involved in. !e pressure to have the biggest and best mum can cause people to spend more money than they can a#ord. Is a decoration that you will only wear for a few hours re-ally worth all the money? Band parents put in count-less hours cutting ribbon, at-taching decorations, and per-fecting the design of all the mums at a designated house nicknamed “Mum Central.” !is is one of the band’s big-gest fund raisers of the year and it funds a lot of what the band does. While the band obviously needs this money, they could sell something more useful that makes as much or even more of a pro"t. One of the "rst lessons in a beginning economics class is that it is more e%cient to sell something that was easier to make than harder to make if you are getting the same pro"t. Also, mums are just a hassle. !ey are noisy, uncomfort-

able, and really not that ap-pealing to the eye. For girls, as if their shoes, dress, and all the makeup they’re wear-ing the night of the dance aren’t uncomfortable enough, wearing the mum the night before to the game just adds more discomfort to the week-end. “!ey always slip down my arm, I think they’re too heavy,” senior Tyler Garcia said. It is not just people who are cynical about the Homecom-ing experience that don’t like mums. School spirit shouldn’t have any association with the mums, school spirit should be showing your pride in your school without thinking about the dollar amount that it takes. !e people who really take pride in their school are not the ones buying the most ex-pensive mum. !ey are the people who make the most out of the ex-periences given to them for free.

Mums are a waste of time, money, and effortSara Boyle

These timeless accessories are a fun traditionMum’s the Word When I think of the Home-coming game, I think of school spirit, Homecoming Queen, and mums. Ribbons, little plastic footballs, and smiles from Stratford Amer-ica to the moon. I can’t imag-ine Homecoming without the huge clusters of plastic and cloth (or whatever those rib-bons are made of) that moth-ers and $ower-shop workers have spent hours on. Mums are not just another way for girls to go overboard in decorating and show o# their (or their mom’s) artistic skill with a glue gun, although both are important factors in why mums are so fun. Sure, they’re expensive and take a whole bunch of free time to make presentable, but they’re traditional. Every year, girls spend pre-cious money and hours to create glittering heaps of rib-bon, which they hand over to their dates or pin to their blouses at the football game. Even the guys who aren’t too hot on the whole ribbon

thing admit that if it makes their dates happy they don’t mind dealing with it. We all act as if the micro-cowbells annoy us and the ribbons are dangerously close to too long, but, in all honesty, we love it. It’s nice to pass a group of people and hear them whis-pering about how pretty and original your mum is. You put the work into it, you want the outcome. In economics terms: the marginal bene"t is greater than the marginal cost. Getting ready for that Homecoming game, putting on that mum, taking pictures with friends: all things we love. !e amount of Face-book and Instagram sel"es of girls with their mums is enough tribute to how much we love them. Luckily for us, cra& stores display their mum materi-als far before the actual date of Homecoming. Girls: don’t pretend that you don’t pur-posely walk through the mum section at Michael’s when you just happen to be there. You

know you do. !e excuse that mums are too much work isn’t valid, ei-ther - the band booster club is selling them at lunch in the cafeteria. So even if you feel like you aren’t artistic enough to make your own master-piece mum, you can still buy one. For that matter, it’s prob-ably cheaper to buy one al-ready made than make your own. But, then again, the cus-tomization makes it worth it. My favorite thing about mums is the memories. My mother has hung all of my past mums to a wall in our house, making it easy to re-member the game, jokes, cra-zy dresses, and conversations over dinner a&erwards. Who doesn’t love to reminisce? !at’s what high school is all about - making memories. I’m sure many would argue that the true purpose of high school is to learn (and it is)but making memories is a huge part of it as well. So twirl your ribbons and get those glue guns going, because it’s time for Homecoming.

Hannah Bevers

An Antiquated Tradition

“They support the band and they’re such an important tradition and I think they’re fun. I’ve hung all my mums on my wall and now I can remember my memories from high school forever.”

“They’re such an im-portant part of tradi-tion and they’ll serve as memories forever, and I love hanging them on my wall.”

“Mums seem a little too big and some-times useless. I’m not sure why we need them.”

“It’s an important tradition now in high school that needs to be kept. We’ve had it since forever, and they’re worth it de-spite their expense.”

“They just seem over-decorated, noisy, heavy, and altogeth-er annoying. They cost so much money and it makes others feel bad when they can’t afford mums.”

“They’re a waste of money and a waste of time. You only wear them for one day in the end!”

Should mums stick around, or are they a thing of the past?

Jamie Bowers, 10Taylor Cash, 12 Jackie Bartling-John, 11 Gerard Do, 9 Mariana Avalos, 9 Jake Klausmeyer, 11

KEEP ‘EM!DITCH ‘EM!

!e OracleADS16 Friday,September 28, 2012