Panther Prints | Issue 2 | December 2019
4 • News PESHPRINTS.COMPuzzledPanthersby Carrieona Moncure.Why is there student Wi-Fi if.we don’t know the password?The Wi-Fi is used exclusively for theschool’s Chromebook use, meaningthere isn’t a specific student Wi-Fi.The guest Wi-Fi, however, is availablefor students to use and doesn’t requirea password.Is there a downstairs tobuilding three?Yes, downstairs building three iswhere all of the agricultural classesare located. If you’re interestedin getting there, you can start bywalking inside of the cafeteria towardthe bistro. Once you’re near thebistro, walk out of the set of doorsthat lead to the patio outside. Youshould see a sitting area there. Takethe ramp and then make a left atthe end. As you’re turning, walk untilthe tennis courts are in view wherethere should be a white, exteriordoor leading into a welding area andfour classrooms.Check out this video walkthroughto downstairs building three:Are students required totake a fourth year science?Yes, you are required to take a fourthyear science because four years of scienceis required to reach 26 graduationcredits. However, you can pick whichclasses you want for the third and fourthscience class.Send us questions atbit.ly/puzzledpanthersPhotos by Carrieona MoncureProposed law lowersvoting age to 17 forstate primariesby Andrew CoxTexas has one of the lowest voter turnoutsin the country and its youth votehas historically been no exception. In2014, just 8% of Texas voters under 30turned out to vote in the midterms. Thatnumber tripled during the Senate racebetween Robert O’Rourke and Ted Cruzin 2018. House Bill 512, introduced intothe Texas legislature December, aims tomake that increaselast.“[Voting is] mostlikely going to continuethat way,” seniorLauren Dunnsaid. “The way thatsocial media has impactedour electionshas been so great,not even [just] withcharismatic politiciansbut with politiciansthat haveteams that run socialmedia targetedtoward a youngerdemographic.”The bill would allow17-year-olds tovote in primary elections,where politicalparties choose theircandidates for stateand county officialsprovided they wouldbe 18 by the time ofthe general election.“When you’re 17[during primaries]but turn 18 by thetime of the generalelection, you don’tget a say in who’s onthe ballot — you justhave to pick who’sthere,” senior TanDau said.If passed, Texas will join 16 otherstates that allow 17-year-olds to takepart in some form of voting or caucusing,a way parties in some other states selecttheir candidates.“It makes sense logically that youwould have people taken into account[now] that would affect something in thefuture,” senior Chloe Foster said.County officials who handle voter2/5of statesallow some form of voting at 173/5statesprohibit any voting until 18Voter turnout for youth inTexas (18-25) grew300%from 2014-2019according to civicyouth.orgregistration across the state expressedconcerns with the practicality and usefulnessof such a bill. The Texas Associationof Elections Administrators opposesthe bill in its current form, believingit would confuse the people it aims toempower because it only allows votingin certain elections.“Some of the young people in myclass are much morewell-informed of thepolitics going onin and around ourworld than some ofthe adults I communicatewith,” APGovernment teacherChelsea Guinsaid. “To completelywrite off their viewsas being confusedyoung people is unfair.”The Harris Countyclerk said theywould support thebill with the caveatthat the 17-yearoldsvoting shouldhave completedtheir governmentcourses beforehand.“That’s fair,” Dunnsaid. “Obviously, youneed to know whereyou stand on certainissues, but alsoif you don’t knowwhat your vote isgetting counted toward,like whetheryou’re selecting adelegate or whetheryou’re directlyvoting for someone,[that] makes abig difference.”The bill is currently sitting in the HouseElections Committee and has yet to beput to a vote in the chamber.“The sooner you get [young] peopleinvolved in politics and the sooner youmake them feel like they’re part of thepolitical sphere, the better the turnoutwould be for actually voting,” Foster said.“There’s a big problem with inaction withyouth in politics.”
@PESHPRINTS News • 5SMU counseling available to districtby Sevval Erenkoln an effort to support the growth of men-health awareness, the district teamedItalup with Southern Methodist University toprovide counselingsessions and mediationservices to thestudents, staff andresidents of Plano.Fees for the sessionswork on a slidingscale, meaningfamilies can requestconflict-resolutionservices based ontheir income level,starting at no costand going up to $45per session.75%of studentsthink out-of-school counselingor therapy is a necessity forthem or someone they knowout of 448 students polled“We’re alwayslooking for more[low-cost] opportunitiesto provide forour families,” PISDDirector of Guidance and Education ServicesJana Hancock said. “We think it’ll bea great benefit to our students and parentsto have this option available for themclose by.”Graduate students or dispute-resolutioninterns hold the sessions while SMUfaculty supervises them. The counselorshave weekly discussions with theirmentors to ensure their patients are onthe right track. Since the clinic opened inSeptember, they have seena significant amount of interestfrom the community.“We were so overwhelmedwith the numberof calls that came in at thebeginning,” Clinic supervisorand SMU Adjunct ProfessorFarnoosh Faith Nourisaid. “We’re trying to makesure everybody’s needs[are] being accommodatedand that’s been more challengingnow.”The clinic at the CoxBuilding offers an abundanceof services such ascouples’ medi- ation,play and ac- tivitytherapy for childrenand teenagers, andfamily therapy for casesof anxiety, depressionand grief. Counselingsessions are availableon Wednesdays andThursdays while conflictresolution services areavailable Monday through Friday, bothof which can be scheduled by phone. Inorder to take advantage of the extra support,the school’s counselors have begunreferring students to the clinic.“We do help with personal issues, butwe’re not therapists,” school guidancecounselor Jinnetter Dixon said. “[Students]come in with emotional stress ortrauma in some form or shape, and it’s alwaysgood to have additional resources.The difference is this [new counselor] issomeone they will be seeing [on an] ongoing[basis].”Hancock believes people with eithersituational or continuous difficulties couldbenefit by having a support system thatassists them in finding ways to cope.“This is just one of a number of servicesthat we’re trying to expand andmake available to people in all parts ofthe district,” Hancock said. “We’re excitedabout this clinic moving in.”ACT to offer new testing options fall 2020by Alexa Dezelanhe ACT plans to provide studentsTwith the option to take the examonline starting September 2020. Additionally,they will now offer sectionretakes for students who may havea weaker score in one subject froma previous exam.However, this only benefits thescore if the college superscores theACT, or totals their highest scoresfrom science, math, reading and Englishsections. Moreover, those whotake the exam on the computer wouldbe able to find out their score withintwo days.“I believe [retaking] would benefitmy score,” junior Tien Huynh said. “If Ididn’t do as well as I thought I did previously,I can improve specifically onthe section I didn’t do as well on.”Supporters believe the option to retakeone section can relieve pressure.“I would study more if I only had toretake a section because it would beless stressful on me,” junior KendraReady said.The new options for the ACT will beavailable for future classes, startingwith the class of 2021, but seniors willnot be able to take the new version ofthe exam, even though many think itCall (469) 752-3098 for counselingand (214) 768-5687 forconflict resolutioncould have helped improve their score.“I think taking this test in partswould have helped me more becausetaking the [whole] test is sucha long process,” senior Lillie Scantlansaid.“[Instead], if I [could retake] onesection that I messed up on, it wouldbenefit me.”Despite seniors’ frustration, somehope underclassmen will take advantageof the opportunity to retakea section or take the entire examvia computer.“I would start taking the test [beforeyour senior year] because if youtake it too late then you might not havemany opportunities to get a betterscore,” senior Tyrone Walker said. “Iwould focus on what my weaknesses[are] and I would definitely study moreand split the test up into different daysif I could.”According to American Test AnxietiesAssociation, around 16 to 20% ofstudents experience test anxiety. Becauseof this, seniors and underclassmenalike feel the updated version ofthe ACT may help students who havetest anxiety or have trouble takingstandardized tests.“It would be less stress on me insteadof having to study for the wholetest, which would be just as stressful,[so I’d want to] avoid that at all costs,”Ready said.64%25%of studentsfavor thenew policyof studentsthink having toretake the wholetest instead of onesection couldbenefit their scoreout of 448 students polled
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4 • News PESHPRINTS.COM
Puzzled
Panthers
by Carrieona Moncure
.Why is there student Wi-Fi if
.we don’t know the password?
The Wi-Fi is used exclusively for the
school’s Chromebook use, meaning
there isn’t a specific student Wi-Fi.
The guest Wi-Fi, however, is available
for students to use and doesn’t require
a password.
Is there a downstairs to
building three?
Yes, downstairs building three is
where all of the agricultural classes
are located. If you’re interested
in getting there, you can start by
walking inside of the cafeteria toward
the bistro. Once you’re near the
bistro, walk out of the set of doors
that lead to the patio outside. You
should see a sitting area there. Take
the ramp and then make a left at
the end. As you’re turning, walk until
the tennis courts are in view where
there should be a white, exterior
door leading into a welding area and
four classrooms.
Check out this video walkthrough
to downstairs building three:
Are students required to
take a fourth year science?
Yes, you are required to take a fourth
year science because four years of science
is required to reach 26 graduation
credits. However, you can pick which
classes you want for the third and fourth
science class.
Send us questions at
bit.ly/puzzledpanthers
Photos by Carrieona Moncure
Proposed law lowers
voting age to 17 for
state primaries
by Andrew Cox
Texas has one of the lowest voter turnouts
in the country and its youth vote
has historically been no exception. In
2014, just 8% of Texas voters under 30
turned out to vote in the midterms. That
number tripled during the Senate race
between Robert O’Rourke and Ted Cruz
in 2018. House Bill 512, introduced into
the Texas legislature December, aims to
make that increase
last.
“[Voting is] most
likely going to continue
that way,” senior
Lauren Dunn
said. “The way that
social media has impacted
our elections
has been so great,
not even [just] with
charismatic politicians
but with politicians
that have
teams that run social
media targeted
toward a younger
demographic.”
The bill would allow
17-year-olds to
vote in primary elections,
where political
parties choose their
candidates for state
and county officials
provided they would
be 18 by the time of
the general election.
“When you’re 17
[during primaries]
but turn 18 by the
time of the general
election, you don’t
get a say in who’s on
the ballot — you just
have to pick who’s
there,” senior Tan
Dau said.
If passed, Texas will join 16 other
states that allow 17-year-olds to take
part in some form of voting or caucusing,
a way parties in some other states select
their candidates.
“It makes sense logically that you
would have people taken into account
[now] that would affect something in the
future,” senior Chloe Foster said.
County officials who handle voter
2/5
of states
allow some form of voting at 17
3/5
states
prohibit any voting until 18
Voter turnout for youth in
Texas (18-25) grew
300%
from 2014-2019
according to civicyouth.org
registration across the state expressed
concerns with the practicality and usefulness
of such a bill. The Texas Association
of Elections Administrators opposes
the bill in its current form, believing
it would confuse the people it aims to
empower because it only allows voting
in certain elections.
“Some of the young people in my
class are much more
well-informed of the
politics going on
in and around our
world than some of
the adults I communicate
with,” AP
Government teacher
Chelsea Guin
said. “To completely
write off their views
as being confused
young people is unfair.”
The Harris County
clerk said they
would support the
bill with the caveat
that the 17-yearolds
voting should
have completed
their government
courses beforehand.
“That’s fair,” Dunn
said. “Obviously, you
need to know where
you stand on certain
issues, but also
if you don’t know
what your vote is
getting counted toward,
like whether
you’re selecting a
delegate or whether
you’re directly
voting for someone,
[that] makes a
big difference.”
The bill is currently sitting in the House
Elections Committee and has yet to be
put to a vote in the chamber.
“The sooner you get [young] people
involved in politics and the sooner you
make them feel like they’re part of the
political sphere, the better the turnout
would be for actually voting,” Foster said.
“There’s a big problem with inaction with
youth in politics.”
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