The State LDE Contest was held at the campus of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. Teams across Texas competed for state titles in 12 different FFA Leadership Development Events. All LDE events have elimination rounds at the district and area levels before the state level competition. 

The Sharyland FFA had four teams that placed high at this year’s state competition. The teams compete in one of two preliminary heats of ten teams from across the state. After their performance, the top five teams from each heat advance to the finals. Sharyland had four teams qualify for the finals at SHSU.

The Junior FFA Skills Demonstration team placed 2^nd in the finals and were named Reserve State Champions. The team is to perform an actual demonstration of an agricultural skill including anything in the Agriculture, Food and Natural Resource curriculum using effective public speaking and communication methods. The team’s skill is freeze branding. The team consisted of: Teah Barrientes, Jose Maldonado, & Angelica Leal.

The Public Relations team place 4^th in the finals. FFA members develop and present a 5-8 minute program to inform a specified target audience regarding the Texas FFA and what it represents. The presentation is developed assuming that the target audience has no knowledge of the FFA.  The team consisted of: Shane Carter, David Trevino, Katherine C. Torres, & Kimberly Chavez.

The Agricultural Issues Forum placed 6^th in the finals. This contest focuses on stimulating the study of and interest in agricultural issues among agriculture students and the “non-agricultural” public through a ten minute presentation. The team members included: Elexandra Chelf, Elizabeth Santelises, Jenesiz Vasquez, Alyssa Saenz, Regan Clayton, & Veronica Guzman.

The Senior FFA Skills Demonstration team placed 7th in the finals. Their skill was also freze branding. Members included: Chris Mendiola, Thomas J. Rivera, Adrian Alvarado, & Mitchell Pippenger. The Sharyland FFA Advisors are: Marco A. Barrientes, Joe C. Carter, Horacio “Lacho” Garza Jr., & William B. Wood.

Leadership Development Events focus on creating situations for members to demonstrate their abilities in public speaking, decision making, communication and their knowledge of agriculture and the FFA organization.  Team and individual events are used to reinforce what is taught in agricultural science classrooms.  

The Texas FFA is one of the nation’s largest state FFA Associations with a membership of more than 80, 000 and approximately 1017 FFA chapters. FFA gives students the opportunity to apply practical classroom knowledge to real world experiences through local, state and national competitions. For more information about the Texas FFA Association and leadership development events visit www.texasffa.org.

“It’s a very prestigious honor that requires student athletes, in this case football players, to maintain a certain GPA level, to score a certain result on their SATs, and to be involved in extracurricular activities,” said Ron Adame, Interim Head Football coach.

Students have been selected to The Academic All-State Football Team for about twelve years, where students are nominated by their coach depending on their academic and team performance.

“It’s an award that The Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA) bestows on deserving student athletes,” Adame said. 

According to the THSCA website, the students must meet the following criteria:

• They must have an overall grade point average of 92 or above, including grades 9-11 and the first six weeks of senior year.
• Been a member of the team in good standing at the time of nomination.
• The student must be a senior.
• Be of good moral character.

“I was surprised, I didn’t expect it,” Ryan De Leon said.

After all, the athletes had to find a way to not only balance school work and football but excel in both. 

“I felt my experience was worth it,” Spencer Weaver said. Like all those who qualified, he had to work hard on juggling school work, football, and preparing to graduate. “I had to go home and put the time in.”

Football players have it hard as they practice not only during 3^rd block but also after school until 7.

“It is practice until dark, get home late, and finish your homework,” Coleton said. It was hard work and dedication for these student athletes, but in the end it was worth it. 

This honor not only recognizes the student’s good work, but can go on to help them in the future when applying to college. This honor shows how students will be able to succeed in college and juggle work and college life.

“She could be approached, but she didn’t want to be taken from her crate or moved from her bed,” Grace said. “When she was comfortable, once she got in her bed, you couldn’t touch her; you couldn’t pick her up, nothing. Especially in the crate. She’d growl.”

Kalila made a recovery from being disfigured after being taken care of by Grace and her friend, Kristen Longoria, who volunteered at Recycled Rovers and Friends in Donna.

Thousands of animals are rescued by organizations and shelters every day. Millions of them are being abused and they’re not getting the help that they need.

According to The Humane Society of the United States (the HSUS), the most common victim of animal abuse are dogs, pit bulls in particular. In 2007, 1,880 animal cruelty cases were reported in the media. 64.5% (1,212) cases involved dogs, 18% (337) involved cats, and 25% (470) involved other types of animals. In 2000-2001, 13% of the cases involved pit bulls; in 2007, it rose to 25%. 20 cases concerning cows and pigs were reported in 2007. The HSUS estimates that about one million animals are being mistreated, forgotten or killed in their homes per year.

The youth division from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta2) is an organization against animal cruelty based in Norfolk, Virginia.

According to Peta2, about 6 to 8 million animals are handled by animal shelters in the United States per year. Even though some are claimed or adopted, about 4 million unwanted dogs and cats are left with nowhere to go. Dogs that are left outside face danger every day of the year. They are being abducted, poisoned, and beaten and they suffer from stress and loneliness. In the winter, they suffer from frostbite, hypothermia, and dehydration. Every time you buy an animal from a pet store, a dog or cat sitting in an animal shelter loses their opportunity of finding a home to live in.

More than one hundred million animals per year suffer and die in chemical drug, food and cosmetic tests, biology lessons, medical exercises, and curiosity inspired experiments.

Nowadays, wearing animal fur has become a popular fashion trend. Every year, about ten million animals are trapped and skinned for their fur, even though an average of 40 animals must be killed to make a single fur coat. The most popular tools used for capturing these animals are the leghold trap, the body grip, and the wire snare. Some animals are raised on fur farms after being born. The most common animals raised on fur farms are minks, followed by foxes. Some more creatures raised on these farms are rabbits, chinchillas, lynxes, and even hamsters. These animals live with fear, stress, disease, and parasites every day of their lives, just so that people can wear their fur for fashion events and for their special occasions.

Another reason that people skin animals is for their leather skin. They make clothes and accessories out of exotic animals for their unique skin. The leather industry slaughters about one billion animals per year for their skin. Many of these animals suffer from being in factory farming. The conditions in these places are horrible. They are overpopulated. The animals are often killed, dehorned and branded without the use of painkillers.

One cruel act toward animals could be happening right now in a biology class. This act is called dissection. Before you dissect a frog, cat, or pig in your class, it has to go through a brutal process. When taken from their homes, frogs are killed and injected with a lot of chemicals, just to be cut apart, pricked, and poked. Then, they are being thrown out like trash.

According to Savethefrogs!, the top ten reasons that schools should not dissect frogs are:

1. They are the animal that disappear the fastest from the planet.
2. Most frogs being dissected are taken out of the wild.
3. Farm-raised frogs have high rates of infectious diseases.
4. Few students have the need to know what the inside of a frog looks like.
5. If a student plans to be a doctor, they can dissect cadavers in med school.
6. Some very good virtual dissection alternatives exist.
7. Unneeded killing of an animal is unethical and it teaches students that animals are to be disposed of.
8. It would be better for students to learn about threats towards frogs and ways that we can help them.
9. Students shouldn’t be forced to be responsible for the extinction of the frog species.
10. Leaving the dissection program at your school would send a powerful message saying that you are for the conservation of amphibians

“I think that owners of animals have the responsibility to provide shelter and food for their pets. If they don’t, it is a form of animal cruelty and the owners should be held responsible,” said David Trammell, Video-Tech and Animation/Graphic Design teacher at SHS, who owns 10 dogs and 18 cats.

There are plenty of factors that can help you determine if an animal is being abused. Some helpful signs are:

1. They have open wounds or a lot of healed wounds.
2. They may have untreated skin conditions.
3. They are EXTREMELY thin.
4. Their fur is infested with ticks.
5. They’re weak, limping, can’t stand up or can’t walk.
6. You can see them tied up alone outside of their house with no food, water, or company.

In Sharyland High School, some teachers and students are involved in organizations that are against animal cruelty. Some of them volunteer and are involved in organizations preventing this abuse, such as the Peta2 Street Team. Amanda Delgadillo, a freshman at this school, has been a part of this group for a long time.

“My views on animal cruelty are that it is completely unnecessary because there are many alternatives, especially for animal testing because their body systems are very different from ours. The results are useless and basically it’s a waste of time, money, and they hurt them,” said Amanda.

Like Amanda, people volunteer and/or start organizations to help prevent this abuse. Cinderella Pet Rescue, Inc. (CPR) is an organization located in Penitas, TX, that help animals who have suffered from abuse recover in a safe environment. They were established to help animals that have been abandoned, forgotten and neglected. They rescue these animals and prepare them so that they can be adopted and taken care of by a new family.

One animal that they have helped is Goldie, a pit bull that was brought to CPR because she had been neglected and had a severe tick infestation. The ticks covered her entire body – her stomach, her neck and her ears were the most infected. The ticks on her ears were so massive that you couldn’t see the canal. Eventually, CPR monitored her well and helped her to heal and now, she is happy. Goldie loves people and she is waiting to get adopted.

Another place that also helps animals is Mission Veterinary Hospital. Their mission statement is to enhance the quality of life for their clients and pets.  Linda Cortez, a practice manager here since 2000, reported that they see abused dogs daily. Horses are the most common abused animal that they receive. According to Linda, they have been left in their ranch with no food and no water.

One of the worst cases of animal abuse Linda has ever seen is that of a dog that was tied up to a pole with a chain (not a leash) around its neck. It had no food and no water. The chain was so tight and was on for so long that it had been embedded into its skin. The vet had to surgically remove the chain away from its skin. Even though this happened to the dog, Linda says that it was really brave and sweet during the operation.

There are many ways that we, as a community, can help. ASPCA has a list of top ten ways that we can prevent animal cruelty:

1. Know who to call to report animal cruelty.
2. Get to know your neighbors and look out for the animals in your neighborhood.
3. Make the call.
4. Provide as much information as you can when reporting a case of animal cruelty.
5. Contact your local law enforcement department.
6. Fight for the passage of strong anti-cruelty laws.
7. Set a good example for others.
8. Teach your kids how to treat animals with kindness, love and respect.
9. Support your local shelter or animal rescue organization.
10. Start a Neighborhood Watch Program.
11. Buying products that are not being tested on animals, such as Almay, Bath & Body Works, Bonne Bell, Mitchum, Revlon, The Body Shop, and Urban Decay.

“I think if we all went vegetarian for at least a month, we would see how much it benefits us and it’s not difficult at all,” said Amanda. “All we need is compassion and it doesn’t take a lot of time or money. Just by signing a simple petition; one signature makes a huge difference.”

Circuses are some of the oldest forms of entertainment anywhere. However, some circuses don’t show you what goes on behind the scenes.

“Circuses are no fun for elephants, tigers, and other animals that are forced to perform through the use of whips, bullhooks, and electric prods. Animals don’t want to ride bicycles, stand on their heads, balance on balls, or jump through the ring of fire. But they have no choice,” stated Peta2 in one of their “What They Never Told You: Everything You Need to Know about Animal Rights” pamphlets.

“Animals used in the circus also suffer from extreme loneliness, boredom, and frustration from being locked in cramped cages or kept on chains month after month, city after city, year after year,” Peta2 added. “These animals should be in their natural habitat, exploring, hunting, and raising families. Instead, they are treated like furniture, loaded and unloaded out of trucks and storage areas night after night, just for the audiences’ amusement. The great apes used in movies, television, and commercials are often beaten into submission and forced to perform through the use of fear tactics. This abuse causes the animals to be chronically anxious, always anticipating the next blow. When you see a great ape in a T.V. commercial ‘smiling,’ don’t be fooled − that’s really a grimace that apes make when they’re scared to death. It just happens to look ‘funny’ to us.”

Even though there are some circuses that use these cruel methods to train their animal performers, others are deciding to take a stand against this abuse:

1. Bindlestiff Family Circus in New York
2. Lazer Vaudeville in Colorado
3. The Modern Gypsies in Alabama
4. Cirque du Soleil in Quebec
5. New Shanghai Circus in Montana
6. The New Pickle Circus in California

And many more…

You can also help by taking care of your own animals, volunteering or donating to an animal shelter, by being creative, and by going out with a group of friends and helping out at a local veterinarian hospital.

Pets provide services that not even other people can provide for you. If you are depressed, they can save you the money that you would spend on medicines and expensive therapies. Their warm, open and selfless nature is what helps people be cured. Animals ask for your attention a lot and it may get annoying. But when you pay attention, they fill you with all the love that you could have hoped for.

“It’s our job to take [animals] under our wing and take care of them and give them a place to live.” – Actor/model, Kellan Lutz, also known as Emmett from the Twilight Saga.

This anime adaptation differs in execution from most Shonen Jump anime in that it expands on events of the manga rather than creating “filler” episodes as a method of keeping the story from catching up to the manga’s serialization.

Despite this the anime ended due to frequent hiatuses in the manga’s publication. This was met with much dissatisfaction from fans. The series was later continued in the form of direct to DVD OVA (Original Video Animation). These were released from January 17, 2002 to August 18, 2004.Viz however chose not to release the OVA in North America. Despite the slower rate of releases by OVA, the series again caught to the manga’s troubled serialization.

In July 2011, Madhouse announced plans to create a new adaptation of Hunter x Hunter starting from the very beginning of the manga rather than continuing where Nippon Animation left off. The new adaptation began airing on October 2, 2011 and adapts the manga much more faithfully. This differs from Nippon Animation’s style of putting their own spin on the series by expanding events and character development in their own way.

The 1998 adaptation doesn’t seem to have much of a point now that the 2011 adaptation is being produced. The 2011 version does a better job of adapting the source material and it’s likely that will bring a conclusion to the story. It’s time to discover how the 1998 adaptation holds up.

In the series a Hunter is regarded as a special part of society with many useful privileges. Primarily a Hunter’s objective is to “hunt” for various things in the world. There are those who hunt people like a bounty hunter, discover new species, find lost treasure, and explore old ruins. In order to become a Hunter a person must pass a special test called the Hunter Exam.

The series follows four characters that befriend each other on their journey to become Hunters. The main character is Gon Freecss, a boy who grew up in a small village on Whale Island. He was raised by his Aunt Mito and knew nothing about his late parents. One day a Hunter named Kite comes to Whale Island. He befriends Gon and informs him that his father is still alive and a professional Hunter. Taking Kite’s advice, Gon decides to become a Hunter to find his father and follow in his footsteps.

The first person Gon meets on his travels is a guy named Leorio Paladiknight. Leorio’s reason for becoming a Hunter is that he wants to make a lot of money. His reason for wanting money is because money can buy everything, supposedly. However he actually wants the money to pay for tuition to medical school to become a doctor.

On his way to the exam site they meet a boy named Kurapika Kurta. He desires to become a blacklist hunter; one who hunts down people with bounties in order to bring them to justice. When he was young his entire clan was murdered by a band of thieves called the Phantom Troupe. He seeks to work his way up the chain for a chance to get his revenge for the death of his people.

At the Exam the group then meets Killua Zoldyck a boy the same age as Gon. Killua comes from a family of professional assassins and his reason for becoming a Hunter is because he’s bored.

The anime covers the Hunter Exam Arc through most of the Yorknew City Arc of the manga. The OVA concludes the Yorknew City Arc and covers the Greed Island Arc.

As mentioned before, the anime expands on the events of the manga, sometimes even changing the way events occur, and altering character development/plot points. A lot of the changes allow Nippon Animation to fill in the show’s timeslot with a single chapter. Since one chapter of the manga is released per week this greatly stalls the rate at which the anime series would catch up to the manga. The downside to these changes is that they cause the story to go at a rather slow pace.

Considering that the 2011 version is covering the manga accurately for the most part, the original content is one of the only reasons one could think of to watch the 1998 version.

So the question is whether they are good or not.

The answer is yes and no. Some of the ways they expand on details and backstory can be rather intrusive and the original content changes character development to the point where it would have made the Chimera Ant Arc rather awkward if it was ever animated due to changes in Gon’s personality the anime made.

The strongest and arguably only good example of Nippon Animation’s work on pacing the story is the Yorknew City Arc. Every little change added in it only adds to the experience of the Arc and there is never a boring moment.

The content in the show adapted from the manga is done great. The animation and script are leagues above other attempts at a Shonen Jump manga adaptation. It’s just a shame that they were forced into this slow pace by creating the anime while the manga was having a hard time putting out more chapters.

One of the best parts of the show is the soundtrack. The opening themes are one of their kind masterpieces that pump you up for a show and avoid the typical clipshow style that most Shonen series opt for. Toshihiko Sahashi did a great job composing fitting songs for pretty much any moment in the series and of course director Kazuhiro Furuhashi did well on deciding what song to put where.

The Japanese voice acting for the series is top-notch as we’ve come to expect from their consistent quality. The standouts are Yuki Kaida as Kurapika who actually became famous for the role and deservedly so and Hiroki Takahashi as the villainous Hisoka.

Unfortunately Viz Media didn’t contract with Studiopolis for the English voice actors like they usually do. They instead hired Ocean Productions who have a rather varying quality leaning on mediocre. The English dub of Hunter x Hunter is unfortunately one of those mediocre attempts at voice work. Most of the voice actors hired have never done voice work before and for that they do good but it’s not good enough. The only bit of acting above average comes from Annika Odegard as Killua and Brendan Hunter as Hisoka.

In the end Hunter x Hunter (1999) is a great anime that’s just extremely hard to recommend. The show has an extremely slow pace and makes more than a few odd changes to the story it’s an adaptation from. Then of course there’s the existence of the 2011 remake which is handled better overall. I’d recommend it to a big Hunter x Hunter fan but I reckon they’ve already gone and watched it. Everyone else should go watch the ongoing 2011 version.

The game opens up with Sonic or rather Classic Sonic (referred to as such because of his resemblance to the original character design of Sonic used in the franchises’ earlier years). You are then prompted to play through the level called Green Hill Zone. It’s worth noting that Green Hill Zone is a remake of a level from the first Sonic The Hedgehog videogame.

You are then introduced to Modern Sonic (referred to as such because of his character design being the one we are currently accustomed to) as he celebrates his birthday with his friends. During the celebration a mysterious creature appears, captures all of Sonic’s friends, and sends them along with Sonic into an alternate dimension seemingly in-between time and space.

Sonic (Modern) finds himself trapped in this place with the only place to go being the rather familiar location of Green Hill Zone. After playing through this level as Modern Sonic you’ll meet Sonic’s friend Tails who predicts they have somehow been transported to a hub that connects certain places in time.

Now both Classic Sonic (from the past) and Modern Sonic (of the present) must team up to race through levels, take down bosses, save their friends, and restore time and space to normal.

The game plays like most Sonic games with the objective being to complete a level to unlock the next. Levels are divided into 3 sections; Classic Era, Dreamcast Era, and the Modern Era. Each has 3 levels, several challenges, one boss fight, and one rival battle.

Each level has 2 sections called “Acts”. In Act 1 you’ll play through the level as Classic Sonic and in Act 2 you’ll play it as Modern Sonic. You can complete each Act in any order.

All the levels are remakes of levels from past Sonic games. Each section representing the era of games they are remade from. Since they can be played as both Classic and Modern Sonic you can experience old levels in new ways. This is due to the two Sonics having different styles of gameplay.

Rules of the game apply to both Sonics. Like in other Sonic games you collect rings in levels that functions as your health. Take damage and you’ll lose a bunch of rings that’ll scatter all over the place which will give you a little bit of time to re-collect them. Use your abilities (which differ between the two Sonics) to destroy enemies along the way and in the end it all boils down to completing the level as fast and efficiently as possible.

You’re performance in the level is ranked on a scale of letters with D being the lowest and A being the highest. If you can clear a level with a rank A without dying once you’ll obtain the elusive rank S.

Playing as Classic Sonic is reminiscent of the original games on the Sega Genesis with the game being played on a 2D plane. Classic Sonic’s moves are the same as his Genesis counterpart with him being able to move around, jump, and spin-dash.

Classic Sonic plays like a dream. You’re able to hold down a button to use the spin-dash is a nice improvement over the original Genesis games’ method of holding down and the jump button.

Level design for Classic Sonic is also rather good for the first 2 sections of the games. However it becomes extremely problematic in the last section where levels give a bit too much freedom.

Though it’s not really freedom per say. It’s more like you just don’t know where to go. It doesn’t help that Sonic’s small character model blends in with the background too much. This kind of level design just doesn’t work for a game based on speeding to the end of the level as fast you can.

Modern Sonic’s style of play is reminiscent of the Day-time levels from Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Colors. The game takes place on both a 2D and 3D plane. The 2D sections are best compared to Sonic Rush but with some new abilities. When the game switches to a 3D plane it resembles Sonic Adventure but again with these new abilities.

These abilities that Modern Sonic can use universally are as follows.

First he can boost to increase his speed (though it is limited by a bar that can be re-filled by destroying enemies and doing tricks) as well as use it to destroy enemies along the way. This basically makes it his version of the spin-dash with different functionality.

While in the air you can tap the jump button again to use a homing attack which can be chained to attack close by enemies.

Alongside these basic abilities he can also do a mid-air stop like in Sonic Unleashed, use the light speed dash from Sonic Adventure, and wall jump like in Sonic Heroes.

Level design is dramatically improved from Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Colors. The game doesn’t become too focused on boost to win like Sonic Unleashed as it incorporates more strategic platforming and it does away with the quick-time events.

 Levels aren’t horribly short like Sonic Colors and there isn’t a huge difficulty imbalance like the former. Despite this greater difficulty consistency, the game does pose an odd difficulty spike in the last section.

After completing a level you can use it in an online 30-Second Challenge and Ranking Attack. The 30-Second Challenge gives you 30 seconds to see how far you can get in a level then records your distance and lets you compare your scores from others all over the world. Ranking Attack has you replay a level and compare your resulting score with others online.

Both Acts also contain 5 hidden red rings ala Sonic Colors. Collecting them will unlock artwork (which can be viewed in art gallery), music (which can be listened to in a music box or during levels), and various skills to modify your gaming experience.

These skills can be purchased from the skill shop with points you earn from levels. You can also use these points to purchase extra lives and the original Sonic The Hedgehog as an extra.

Once the section’s levels are completed various challenges are unlocked alongside a rival battle (which is an extra boss fight against one of Sonic’s rivals).

Challenges range from racing a doppelganger to the finish line, collecting rings, and an odd activity involving Sonic’s friends etc. Challenges yield the same rewards you gain from collecting red rings.

The quality of these challenges ranges from mediocre to decent. The challenges that are the most fun to play are really when you race your doppelganger to the finish which is really just playing already unlocked levels.

The ones that unlock skills are pretty good though as they serve as tutorials for the skill so you’ll know how to use it once you obtain it.

The challenges where you need to team up or compete with Sonic’s friends have some charm to them but rarely give you an objective that’s fun to complete. Some of these friend challenges are just more race challenges in disguise which is rather lazy on the developer’s part.

At least one challenge must be completed from every level in order to obtain 3 keys you’ll need to face the boss. Defeating a boss will unlock the next section.

In terms of the story there really isn’t much of a story. There’s of course the introduction to the game I mentioned but after that you’ll rarely see cutscene and when you do it’s just to highlight your next objective. The ending however is great and really the only other point of the game where you feel as though a story is playing out.

The Sonic series has never been known to have good plots and this may be the reason for the lack of many cutscenes. This does serve as a disappointment because what writers Ken Pontac and Warren Graff did do is just gold.

It replaces the more recent series’ standard of trying to work the hedgehog and his cartoony friends into more serious plots plagued by overdrawn dialogue or techno babble with a much more fresh take on the franchise.

The game’s tone resembles a Saturday morning cartoon in a sense that’s serious when it needs to be and funny when it isn’t. Expect all the glorious bad puns and in-jokes that go to the point of self-mockery of what many consider some of the worst games in the franchise.

Overall this is easily one of the best Sonic games ever created. It fixes all the little problems that plagued the previous entry Sonic Colors. The game shoves away all of the overly dramatic tales for the hedgehog and presents its story in a light that fits. This game is more than worthy of being the game that celebrates the series’ 20^th anniversary.

 Highly rated TV shows like Jersey Shore, the Secret life of an American teenager, Gossip girl, and movies such as Easy A, Breaking dawn, and Mean girls show teenagers who are sexually active.

One out of seven programs includes a portrayal of sex. The shopping bags at stores like Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister feature half naked teenagers, and books like the Vampire Diaries and The Twilight Saga both involve sexual content, whether it be hardcore or moderate. Songs such as “Just had sex” by Akon and music videos like “S&M” by Rihanna depict sexual content.

We watch, listen and read them for entertainment but end up being informed about what happens when you have sex and in certain occasions, the consequences. The problem is the information might not always be sufficient to base your own opinion, or helps us make bad hasty decisions.

Statistics show that 46% of high school students in the United States have had sex. When making decisions about contraceptives, STDs, and sexual health choices, 60% of teens are more likely to get their information from TV while as from a health care provider. A survey of teens shows that 62% say that sex on TV and in movies influences them to want to have sex.

In a sample of programming from 2001-2001 TV, sexual content appeared in 64% of all TV programs. Those are just some statistics supporting the sexual influence the media has on teenagers.

Texas who is one of the states that isn’t required to have a sex-ed class is one with the highest pregnancy rate. If we don’t want teenagers to learn stuff from the media, providing these with classes that educate teens with the right information and teaching them the consequences as well as the choices they have, instead of leaving them with an ultimatum could help teen pregnancy lower or simply help them make the right decision.

When teenagers are provided with options, they are more likely to try and make the right decision instead of doing what people, the media, and their friends tell them. Sexual readiness is not the age the media or anyone else tells us someone is ready to have sex, but when someone is ready to make the right decision.

Britney Spears inspires many people by going completely bald, whether she’s fat, skinny, or bald, Britney’s fans will like her for her music.

Junior Leslie Cantu from is inspired by Justin Bieber.

“He’s a great singer and doesn’t care what people say. He wanted to become a singer and he reached his goal,” said Leslie.

Justin has not just inspired Leslie, but many girls and even boys. In his movie Justin said, “I want to let people know there’s a lot of a person that are discouraging in life and that will tell you can’t do something, but you just got to remember that the sky’s the limit.”

Freshman Maria Romeo is inspired by Eminem,

“He speaks the mind of many and say what we really want to say but won’t”, said Maria

Eminem has inspired many adults and teens, because his music has meaning in life and that’s what most of the people look for. He’s inspired many with this quote.

“Say what I want to say and do what I want to do. There’s no in between. People will either love you for it or hate you for it”.

Mr. Nelson band teacher has been inspired by many music artists. He usually stays in touch with the current music.

“For me this isn’t a job this is a passion, and as long as I’m having fun I’m going to continue with what I’m doing” said Nelson. He’s been working for over 35 years in state.

Many people have been inspired by many different artists, yet everyone has their own reasons of inspiration.

Although these movies made the most money on opening nights, students preferred other films.

The most watched thriller and horror movie that attracted teens this year was Paranormal Activity 3 which holds spot number 12 on the Top 100 Movies of 2011.  “It was really scary and freaky, said freshman Grecia Gonzalez. “You never knew when something scary was going to pop up,”

Action movies are just one of the many genres of movies teens liked to see this year.  Although the action in movies may be good, it also depends on the actors and actresses involved in the action. “Taylor Lautner attracted me to see Abduction,” said freshman Kaitlyn Hernandez.

Another type of movie that was popular to see this year was romance. Freshmen Kaitlyn, Grecia G. and Analy Trevino all say that Romance movies were their favorite types of movies to see this year. One of the most favorable romantic movies this year was Crazy Stupid Love.

Junior Miguel Barrera on the other hand prefers action/thriller movies.

“I love to see the reactions of the people around me,” said Miguel.

Grecia Ramirez agrees with him.

“The fighting and punching keeps me entertained,” she says.

Some movies can impress and keep you wanting more, while others make you want to walk out. Computer Lab Manager Michelle Garza said no movies failed to meet her expectations this year while Miguel says there were no good movies in 2011.
The top five movies that teens enjoyed this year were, Paranormal Activity 3, The Three Musketeers, The Smurfs, Transformers, and Abduction.

1. Be honest

If they ask you something, answer truthfully instead of lying to them or making something up. It’s better to be honest rather than to tell lies. They’ll appreciate the honesty and respect you for it.

2. Be trustworthy

Keep their secrets. They told them to you because they knew that you would keep them to yourself. Don’t cheat them or steal things that belong to them. Don’t ruin the trust they have for you because a good friendship is based on trust. Without trust, you have nothing. It’s always better to tell the truth than to lie about things that may be important to them.

3. Listen to them

Sometimes, you will see your friends crying or being sad. Listen to them and don’t interrupt. Let them vent out their feelings and cry all they want. It’ll make them feel better and strengthen your friendship.

4. Don’t talk about yourself all the time

It’s always fun to have someone listen while you talk about yourself, but if you do it too often, they’ll get the impression that you’re selfish and conceited. Let them talk about themselves and tell you about their day. They’ll see you as a good friend to have a conversation with.

5. Check on them when their sick

It means a lot when you take the time to go and visit them when their sick. They’ll feel special and you’d be showing them that you think and care about them.

6. Keep your promises

No friend likes it when a promise is broken. They’ll think that you’re not a loyal person. If you promised to be somewhere, be there. If you promised to do something, do it. You’ll be surprised at how much trust you will receive.

7. Always be there for them

Sometimes, friends just need a shoulder to cry on, even if they are not saying anything. If they need you, be there. It’ll mean a great deal to them if you lend a shoulder to cry on or if you stand by them whenever they have a problem.

8.  Accept each other and who you are

If you have to change who you are when you are around that person, you aren’t being true to yourself. You shouldn’t have to modify each other to be friends. You should accept each other for who you are, not for who you aren’t. Don’t criticize or try to change each other. Everyone has flaws. Be satisfied with who they are and have fun with them. It wouldn’t be a true friendship if you have to pretend to be someone you are not.

9. Be genuinely happy for your friend’s success

If your friend succeeds in doing something, celebrate and be happy for them. They’ll feel appreciated and love the support.

10. Make small gestures

Get them little gifts, smile at them every once in a while, hug them, give them nice notes… You’ll be surprised at how much your friends will care for you. They’ll feel appreciated and know that they always have a place in your heart.

Like Oprah Winfrey says, “Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.”

 STAAR stands for State Test Assessments of Academic Readiness. Beginning with this year’s freshmen class the students have four hours to complete each test and  it will also count for 15% of a student’s grade.

The test was changed because they wanted to give the students a more rigorous test.  Here are many changes students will have to get accustomed to. For example, instead of taking benchmarks, students everywhere around Texas will now be taking CBA’s (Curriculum Based Assessment)

A 9^th grade student, who has already taken the CBA, had a few words to say. “I don’t think the CBA’s were that difficult,” said Roma Salazar. “They are very similar to the benchmarks; the only thing is that I don’t understand why people are freaking out about the STAAR test. It’s the same thing as the TAKS, it’s just different criteria.”

 “It’s kind of hard being the first ones to take the STAAR test because there is more expected of us, but I’m still very confident about it,” said Roma. “My teachers hardly talk about the STAAR, but when they do they always stress how much more difficult it will be from the TAKS.”’ Eric Pequeno, a 9^th grade student, has taken the CBA test and says, “It is hard because I did not study for the test. “The STAAR Test is hard because it has more advanced material than the CBA Test” says Eric.

“I don’t know what to expect out of it,” said Eric. “We are getting harder work to prepare for the test, what makes it even worse is that my teachers hardly mention it.”

Students aren’t the only ones freaking out about the test. Teachers everywhere are worrying for their students. “We’ve had to change many of our lesson plans. The test is going to be more rigorous with deeper focus and we have to get students accustomed to it,” said Diane Butcher.

 “I really hope I can get my students ready for the test,” said Mrs. Butcher. “There are a lot of changes, like how it will be timed and we have to get the students ready for that. The one thing I like about the STAAR is that it will be focusing on specific subjects. Like instead of math it will be algebra 1.” “And, like instead of reading it will be English, spelling, and composition.” said Diane Butcher.

Beatrice Solis, freshmen English teacher,  had opinions on the test. “I am scared for my students because they will be taught the same curriculum and the same content, “said Mrs. Solis “The CBA’s should follow the same format for the STARR, they should be equally rigorous and need lots of material into it,” said Mrs. Solis.

The STAAR test is going to take a toll on teachers and students everywhere. This is the first  year it will be administrated. The state of Texas has turned the TAKS into a more rigorous, timed test known as the STAAR.