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20 Experiences
If you thought it hard for a
person like me to maintain a
vegetarian diet for as long as I
have, you are not wrong.
For as long as I have taken
this route toward better
health, I have endured an ineffable
effort to ensure that no
person could throw me off this
course. And it has taken a toll
on both me and my mother, for
she is the one who has to
ensure my well being.
In a recent interview with
Margaret Lopez, M.S., R.D.,
Child Nutrition Program director,
I explained my dilemma
and she gave me “the facts”
about vegetarianism in schools.
After years of reading outreach
and activist blogs on the
Web Site www.peta2.org, I was
overwhelmed by fellow vegans
talking about how they got
friends to sign petitions to get a
vegan/vegetarian entrée added
to the school lunch menu.
The interview was my chance
to get an idea as to why a vegetarian
option doesn’t exist on
the menu instead of going to
complain to the district directly.
But, I felt that asking the
district to accommodate a vegetarian
option would be the
equivalent of a health-conscious
anyone asking for a
South Beach Diet option.
My problem has always been
school lunch time. Although
LISD’s open campus policy
offers leeway for students to
enjoy lunch anywhere they
please, I cannot afford to eat
out everyday, and quite frankly
I could not bear the very idea of
a diet consisting of solely junk.
But the temptation of fast,
cheap, and greasy food like
Wendy’s or McDonald’s lurks
when the lunch bell rings.
I’ve found that all that waits
for me at the cafeteria is a salad.
If and when I do stay for lunch
on campus I am greeted by a
tired plastic container of greens.
As much as people have
The New Ethic
by
Theresa Rocha
A veg diet is tough
thought that I keep a diet of
solely lettuce, that is incorrect.
Because I have opted for a
diet that favors my health far
more than a diet of no restriction
would, I have put myself
in a separate category, that of
which is not favored among
meat eaters. And until a few
days ago I have asserted that
perhaps the district would not
care for a single view of mine.
But I was wrong.
Lopez shared information
that I was ignorant to because
I was so convinced that the
district would not worry for a
single student unless the rest
were in favor of the same effort.
She informed me the lunch
program keeps strict federal regulations
it must comply with.
The program has to ensure
students are presented with
certain amount of food that
provides a quantity of vitamins
and proteins.
Concerning the Lenten season
alternative to meat on
Fridays, Lopez said fish is
served in observation of the
season. Other options are
given on those days as well.
I asked if the district would
ever consider adopting a vegetarian
diet as part of the menu.
“…if there were enough students
demanding the change
then we would sit down and
discuss a menu change,”
Lopez said.
A vegetarian diet should suffice
to promote good health but
unfortunately vegetables do
not carry the same proteins
and vitamins found in meat.
The accommodation of vegetarian
options would be considered
if vegetables contained
the healthful amount of B-12
and protein found in meat.
Although my dilemma was
not resolved, I am comfortable
knowing that the lunch program
is trying to work for us
and not against us as some
students may believe.
March is known for one
thing, that is March Madness.
College teams have one thing
in mind, the NCAA tourney.
Every year college teams play
and give everything they’ve got
in order to qualify in the NCAA
tournament, known as March
Madness.
March Madness brings a lot
of opportunities for basketball
teams to shine.
Every year the NCAA
Tournament has the Cinderella
stories and the underdog teams
that prove they can be a challenge
to beat.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi,
Jackson State, Old Dominion,
Oral Roberts, and Long Beach
State are some of the new faces
that competed in the tourney.
There were also those who
have a tradition of always making
it to the Madness month;
Duke, UNC, Gonzaga,
Villanova, Ohio State, Florida,
Georgetown, UCLA, and
Kansas.
Sixty-five schools qualified in
Waffle Iron
search of being national champions.
Last year the Gators took
the trophy by surprise, when
everybody predicted
Villanova or Duke nameplate
on the trophy.
This year’s tourney was quite
different; the traditional strong
teams did not make it far and
lost early.
After 65 schools competing,
some teams were eliminated,
and others made it to the Sweet
Sixteen, the Elite Eight, Final
Four and at the end the
National Championship.
Florida Gators once again
came in strong and beat everybody
in their bracket; but there
was a team to fear and ready to
take on the Gators.
The Ohio State Buckeyes is
The Magnet Tribune
May 11, 2007
Art: Vanessa Sanchez Story idea: Valerie Briseño, Annabel Gomez,
and Veronica Medellin.
April brings showers and TAKS
Tourney gives thrills to fans
Sports Zone
by
Ed Herrera
the team I’m talking; the
Bucks dominated their division
conference and were the
number one pick in the top 25
all season long. The Bucks
came in strong in March, making
them the opponent for the
Gators.
The battle for the National
Championship was between
the Florida Gators and The
Ohio State Buckeyes on April
2 in the Georgia Dome in
Atlanta. The two great teams
played and gave it all they
had, but at the end the Gators
came on stronger beat the
Bucks 84-75, making the
Gators back-to-back national
champions.
It was great season but every
year this madness keeps getting
better!