Myers Park Hoofprint

The Myers Park High School Newspaper

Elle Robinson

Project 2025

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Some of you read the title and are thinking what the heck is this project 2025? That’s what I said too when I initially began reading about it. Quietly, a conservative “manifesto” has been circulating through the media and politicians’ briefcases, spreading the promise of a more conservative America.

According to Mike Johnson, a Louisiana congressman, Conservatives focus on “Individual Freedom, Limited government, The Rule of Law, Peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, Free Markets, and Human Dignity.” Project 2025 goes deeper into the Conservative promise and what Conservative America looks like. Project 2025 is just one iteration of the conservative manifestos that are released every 4 years when election season is upon us once more. These conservative manifestos began in 1937, when US Senator from North Carolina, Josiah Bailey became concerned regarding the “move towards collectivism” as stated in The History Project. This led Bailey to create and present the nation with the first program of its kind, known as The Conservative Manifesto, which presented 10 principles of being Conservative. The 1937 manifesto set a precedent for there to be many more manifestos in the future to be made for the Conservative party to decide what Conservative America would look like. These manifestos plan out the future of America as envisioned by the ideals of the party that created it. So, why is this year different?

As we all know, this is an election year and one that matters a lot for several reasons. America functions as a 2 party system, with the Democrats and the Republicans having a majority of the votes. The Republican nominee for president is former President Donald Trump and the Democratic nominee is current President Joe Biden, but there are numerous other candidates such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. running as an independent. Many important issues, domestic and international, are at stake this election season, including student loan debt, abortion, gun restrictions, the Ukraine-Russia War, and the conflict in Gaza. These hot-button issues will assuredly be at the top of everyone’s mind going into the election season, alongside the outcome of President Trump’s current criminal trial which may lead to him being ineligible for the presidency. This all culminates in America being at an all-time high for political polarization, which is the idea of the divergence of political attitudes away from the center, towards ideological extremes. Americans are viewing the world in a black-and-white way, unable to listen to what the other side has to say. This state is only increased by Project 2025, which foreshadows what’s to come regarding America after a conservative wins the 2024 election. In a democratic republic, such as the United States, the creation of laws is devoid of political motivations. In contrast, Project 2025 states what is to come, such as “deleting the terms sexualorientation and gender identity…diversity, equity, inclusion, gender, gender equality, abortion, reproductive equality, and any other term used to deprive Americans of their First Amendment rights.” When we overlook the principles of America, we are unable to move forward as a country united in the tumultuous times of this world, such as climate change and world peace. 

As many young voters are beginning to exercise their Constitutional right guaranteed and protected by the 16th, 19th, and 26th Amendments, it is of utmost importance that we educate ourselves regarding who we are voting for and why we believe that they will be the best leader of the United States of America. Who you vote for determines the future of America. On behalf of all of the MP Hoofprint staff, GO VOTE!

IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE 18 BY NOVEMBER 5TH 2024, YOU CAN VOTE IN THE GENERAL ELECTION!!!

Award Show Season Recap

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Photo contributed Elle Robinson

Dresses, jewelry, and slightly offensive jokes are all to come with award season! This season gives actors, performers, singers, dancers, and artists a chance to dress to the nines and show off all their hard work (or to prove their superiority). The season typically features a lot of award ceremonies, the pinnacle of which are The Grammys, The Emmys, The Tonys, and The Oscars. Of course, with award season comes drama, whether it be canceled comedians or snubbed singers, so here’s a recap of all that you may have missed. 

Starting strong with our singers! We all expected big things from Taylor Swift’s tenth studio album, Midnights, which ended up winning Album of the Year. This album was arguably the most consistent piece of work by Swift and brought us back to her pop self after her folkier recent projects. SZA had 10 nominations for works off of her second studio album, SOS, and won Best R&B Song for “Snooze” and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for “Ghost in the Machine” featuring Phoebe Bridgers. Bridgers is a member of boygenius, which won Best Rock Song and Best Alternative Song for “Not Strong Enough” which is the 6th track on the record. Surprisingly, Miley Cyrus had never won a Grammy until this year, winning Record of the Year for her chart-topping single, “Flowers”. Also, one of the most decisive categories this year was Best New Artist, which consisted of names such as Noah Kahan, Victoria Monét, Gracie Abrams, Jelly Roll, Coco Jones, and Ice Spice. Monét won the award and promised a great future with such powerful and soulful vocals, but the other nominees should not be underestimated either with many promising new faces. 

At The Emmys, The Bear swept the awards for good reason. The comedy series featuring Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edibiri, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach is full of laughs, hard themes, and amazing cinematography plus acting. The Bear won Outstanding Director in a Comedy, Outstanding Writing for “System”, and Outstanding Comedy, which was against fierce fellow nominees such as Only Murder in the Building, Abbott Elementary, and Ted Lasso. White won Outstanding Actor, Edibiri won Outstanding Supporting Actress, and Moss-Bachrach won Outstanding Supporting Actor. However, one of the more competitive awards was Outstanding Drama Series, with nominees such as Better Call Saul, Andor, Succession, The Crown, The Last of Us, House of Dragon, The White Lotus, and Yellowjackets. Succession ended up winning; however, all of the nominees were deserving and great pieces of work. 

The Oscars came in hot, with many unsurprising wins and some shockers. The 3-hour Christopher Nolan film, Oppenheimer, won Best Picture, Cillian Murphy won Best Actor, Nolan won Best Director and Best Cinematography and Robert Downey Jr. won his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Surprisingly, Greta Gerwig’s box-office-breaking film, Barbie, only won the Oscar for Best Original Song for Billie Eilish and PHINEAS’S single, “What Was I Made For?” and Cinematic and Box Office Achievement Award at the Golden Globes, and many believed was snubbed regarding nominations for Best Actress and Best Director for Margot Robbie and Gerwig, respectively. Poor Things actress, Emma Stone, won her second Oscar in the category of Best Actress and The Holdover actress, Da’Vine Joy Randolph won her first Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. At The Oscars, Ryan Gosling performed a rendition of “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie, notably bringing out Slash and Eilish and FINNEAS performed a tear-jerking “What Was I Made For?” Although we are still awaiting the results from The Tonys, it’s sure to be something to look forward to in anticipation of our favorite celebrities walking the carpet once more!

Blue Zones

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Photo contributed by Change4Health

The Evil Queen from Snow White and Mother Gothel from Tangled both share something in common, aside from being evil. It’s their motivation for their deeds: to stop the progression of time on their appearance. The need to stop time, specifically on our appearance is something we have struggled with since the beginning, of well, time. We beg the youth to wear sunscreen, use peptide creams, dye our grays, use Botox, and have even gone looking for the fountain of youth. One thing for certain, time is inevitable, and no one can outrun it. We have been able to push back the life expectancy of humans thanks to advancements in technology and medicine, but it will catch up to us at one point. Many think that to live a long life exercise, a good diet, or lots of sleep. However, what is the true secret to living a long life? Scientists have been searching for the answer and conducted a study on areas where the proportion of people who reach 100 is significantly higher than the world average (72 years). These areas are known as “Blue Zones’ ‘ and there are exactly 5 in the world: Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Icaria, Greece and Loma Linda, California. So, here’s the secret to a long life. 

  1. Move Naturally 

Instead of working out every day at the gym and purposefully moving their bodies, residents of Blue Zones find themselves moving their bodies naturally. ⅗ of the Blue Zones are located in very narrow, steep regions that didn’t always have access to industrial roads, which “protected these zones from the corrosive effects of globalization,” says Dan Buettner, a Blue Zone Researcher. These areas are typically more compact and not a lot of people own cars, so they rely on public transportation. This will inadvertently make the residents walk more daily than other people in more widespread cities. Walking is one of the best exercises there is, according to Buettner, he adds that having a dog can give the extra nudge to move your body daily. 

  1. Drinking liquids

Consuming water and staying hydrated is important to maintaining healthy body movements, but residents of blue zones also contribute their longevity to other liquids such as tea and red wine. Moderate drinkers of alcohol have been proven to outlive non-drinkers, moderate meaning 1-2 glasses of red wine a day. This is because red wine is full of antioxidants that clean the arteries. Buettner also adds that residents drink a significant amount of tea, stating that, “In Okinawa, it’s often green tea, while in Ikaria it’s usually a tea made with oregano, rosemary or mint.”

  1. Low Beef & Dairy

In a majority of these areas, residents consume little red meat and specifically in Loma Linda, are vegetarian. It’s important to note that they don’t cut out all dairy, having on average 3 eggs per week and drinking oat and goat milk predominantly. In a study by the NIH, red meat leads to “…increased risks of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. The studies have also pointed to an elevated risk of mortality from red meat intake.”

  1. Purpose

This is probably the most unappreciated reason for living longer, but the most important. They find purpose in religion and social circles. Studies have found that attending faith-based services four times per month will add 4-14 years of life expectancy. Having true life-long friends can lead to having no loneliness, and reduced amounts of stress, plus they can lead to more healthy behavior.

We find ourselves consumed in our day-to-day responsibilities, but the true secret to living longer is not caring. Residents of these areas go about their lives naturally, not actively trying to avoid any of these things. They feel fulfilled in their life, which inadvertently causes them to have more healthy habits that we have not adopted. Let’s live longer by living happier!

The Man vs. the Mouse

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Disney is suing Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, and the new Disney board, which he appointed,  after DeSantis declared Disney’s actions to keep control of their special district illegal and instituted a new board to oversee Disney’s land in Florida.

This all began when Governor DeSantis passed the Parental Rights in Education Act, which critics call the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill. This bill states “Classroom instruction… sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur…in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate” This bill was recently implemented for all students in Florida, from kindergarten to high school. Due to the public outcry, Disney publicly denounced the bill and the governor’s actions, thus beginning the feud between both parties.

Currently, Disney has a portion of land in Florida, known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, where the theme parks such as Epcot, Disney World, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios reside. In the district, there is a board that oversees everything, which is appointed by Disney. Disney has been in control of the district since 1967 and the board is in charge of sewage and streets and can levy additional taxes on top of the state ones. DeSantis sought to remove the special privileges by creating a bill that would give him the power to appoint a new board that oversees the district.

 After the bill passed, Disney created a contract that would give the Disney board power again. This granted the board the right to review any changes to the property within its limits and that they wouldn’t lose this power until ”21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles III, King of England.” In response, DeSantis claimed Disney’s actions were illegal and the new board was put in place. Disney sued DeSantis claiming a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” and that they violated the Contract Clause in the Constitution as well as the first amendment: right to freedom of speech. Disney, in the lawsuit, stated that they planned to invest $17 billion at Walt Disney World over the next decade, noting “development and investment of this magnitude cannot effectively take place when it can be nullified or undermined at the whim of new political leadership”. According to the Contract Clause, there must be a change in the situation on why the new board is taking over, which Disney claims that DeSantis’s board is punishing due to them denouncing the governor’s actions. DeSantis told Bob Chapek, Disney’s past CEO, that the company “shouldn’t get involved”, “it will not work out well for you”, and publicly stated that he “would not bend a knee to woke [Disney]executives in California”, would put a state prison in the district, and a government investigation into Disney. 

After Disney announced that they were suing DeSantis, the DeSantis board counter-sued, also under the Contract Clause. They state that the special district “surrenders an essential attribute to its sovereignty”, which is why they have the right to control the land once more.

In response to the feud, NC Senator Micheal K. Garret proposed the “Mickey’s Freedom Restoration Act”, which would give Disney the same special privileges as the company in North Carolina. If passed, the state will appoint a committee that is focused on convincing The Walt Disney Company to move the theme parks and develop them in NC. This would increase tourism in the state and increase the money that could be used for many state projects, including infrastructure.

With all of this to come, the country will be watching to see if DeSantis will win against Disney, as he is expected to run for president in 2024. Who will win? The Man or The Mouse?

Editor’s Note

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I am a firm believer in luck. I also think if you are a kind person, then you will receive the same kindness back. I don’t know what I did to deserve what happened the first semester of my junior year, but it proves my point that that luck(or just bad luck) is real.

Everyone always says junior year is the worst, but my junior year was starting off on the right track. I was getting good grades, and going to San Diego with my mom. We were going to travel along the PCH to Malibu. At this point, I was a fresh driver in a car I got for my 16th birthday. Two days before my trip to San Diego, I got badly rear-ended driving to school. It happens, though, and I am glad no one got hurt. My mom still made me go to the first block, even though I was crying. On a positive note, My mom and I got our nails done that day.

My car was in the shop for a while, so I drove my parent’s car to school(for any seniors reading, no, I did not park on campus). While driving home one day, I heard a clunk but did not think much of it. Once I got home, I looked and couldn’t find my phone. I located my phone with the FindMy app. Turns out that “clunk” was my phone that I left on top of the car, so I got in the car to get it. Once I found it, I realized that it was run over so many times that the case fell off, the earbuds I had wrapped around it were paper thin, and my phone had more cracks than the Saharan Desert. I got a new phone, but it didn’t have a sim card, so I lost all of my photos that I didn’t upload to my iCloud. The worst part, though, was that I didn’t do my BeReals for four days. 

Not long after this, I filled my car with diesel on accident(what is the difference between gas and diesel anyway?) and had to drive my parent’s car to school again. When I was backing up, the door got caught in the ground and overextended. Basically, the door broke. The next day, I needed a turkey for NHS, so I went to Harris Teeter in the broken door car(which had a bungee cord holding it in place), sobbing, listening to “Last Christmas” on the radio station that has holiday music way too early. I get my turkey, go to the register, and the lady asks how much it was, and I say, “four-zero-zero.” She proceeds to say, “Are you sure?” I say yes. She goes to check, comes back, and says it’s 4 dollars. I start sobbing again and say I’m sorry that’s what I meant to say. I didn’t bring a bag, so I was wobbling to the car, lugging a huge turkey, and, once again, sobbing. Did I mention that I forgot to take a photo of me turning in the turkey, which was needed for proof that I donated?

It’s easy to blame bad luck on something that was definitely my own fault. Most of the stories I’ve shared are caused by my carelessness. You know when your parents would tell you to eat your veggies because there are kids who are starving?  Problems similar to mine are real and suck, but compared to others, they aren’t as life-threatening. Perspective is important in every scenario. It’s ok to wallow, but it’s good to laugh at what happened and understand that we are human; we make mistakes and deserve grace. Perspective leads to growth(I am more careful with expensive equipment now).

Sure, you can chalk my first semester up to coincidence or my carelessness, but maybe there was some bad luck there…of course, it depends on your perspective 🙂

The Run for the Roses

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Every year, on the first Saturday of May, is the first race of the coveted Triple Crown: The Kentucky Derby. Held in Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY, the race draws a crowd of 155,000 people, with 16 million people watching worldwide. The Run for the Roses proves to have something for everybody, as the longest continuously running sporting event, the first being in 1875. 

The Triple Crown is a series of 3 horse races: The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness Stakes, and The Belmont Stakes. A three-year-old thoroughbred must win all three races in one racing season to win the Triple Crown. To be able to compete in the Kentucky Derby, a horse must race 35 times around the US and the world. In these 35 races, points are awarded to the horses that place in the top 4 at each race, and the 20 horses with the most points earn a spot in the starting gate at the Kentucky Derby. In the 144 years since the beginning of the Kentucky Derby, only 13 horses have ever won the Triple Crown, including the horse Secretariat, whose story made it to the big screen in 2010. 

One big draw of ‘The most exciting two minutes in sports’ is the betting. Those with enough money can place bets on which horse will win and whether they will be under or over the record time. The ‘Kentucky Derby Superfecta’ is a bet placed on the horses that will be in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. The Kentucky Derby draws 233 million dollars in bet money alone. Fitting the lucrative theme, the victors of the race win 1.86 million dollars, a six-pound gold trophy, and the symbolic rose garland.

The traditions are a big part of the Kentucky Derby, from the song “My Old Kentucky Home” to the signature drink, The Mint Julep. Before every race, along with the National Anthem, the song “My Old Kentucky Home” plays. The song was written by John Prine and has been played before the race since 1936. The Kentucky Derby is also, somewhat of a fashion event, where women wear avant-garde derby hats and the men wear bowler hats. In the heart of spring, guests wear pastel colors, and spring themes such as stripes and flowers. 

Leading up to the race is Derby Festival, which is a two-week-long celebration with events including The Pegasus Parade, the hot air balloon race, the steamboat race, The Derby Marathon, and The Oaks. The Oaks is the American premier and most lucrative race for 3-year-old fillies as the highest level derby for female horses. It too has a signature drink -The Lily. Locals love the race so much that the Friday before the race is a holiday for schools in Louisville. Along with the celebration, fans can visit the Kentucky Derby History Museum, where an exhibit on Secretariat is taking place for the 50th anniversary of the horse’s win at the Derby.

This year’s race took place on May 6th.  The winner of the 149th Kentucky Derby was Mage, taking home the roses and cup by tying with the record, set by Secretariat, running the 1-and-a-quarter mile track in 1 minute and 59 seconds. 5 horses were scratched, including the favorite to win, Forte, who beat Mage in the Florida Derby, but did not compete due to a bruised foot. Angel of Empire, who placed third, was the next in line to win, but Mage defied the 15-1 odds. The win means a lot for the country of Venezuela, as the first time a Venezuelan horse, trainer, and jockey have won the Derby. Javier Castellano, jockey of Mage, states, “He’s a little horse with a big heart. It was the dream trip for any jockey.”. Castellano has tried to win the race 16 times, finally winning this year. 

Next year will be the 150th race, and people around the world will gather around their TV to watch the 2 minutes where history will be made, to see who will win the Race for the Roses.

Fast Fashion: A Rotten Review

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The revival of Y2K and the “Alt” style trends have recently taken the world by storm. Thanks to new social media platforms, the demand for these pieces has increased exponentially, but as quickly as the trends began, the sooner they ended. This phenomenon is known as fast fashion, and clothing companies such as ZARA, Shien, Princess Polly, Forever 21, and H&M are notorious for producing fast fashion clothing. However, the rise in fast fashion has led to many unintended consequences.

Social media platforms such as TikTok and Pinterest have caused fashion trends to spread at fast rates, with many people commenting on posts saying, “Where did you get that outfit” or “Outfit details pls.” The demand for these pieces increases, resulting in companies jumping onto the bandwagon and producing these items. However, the demand for these pieces dies down due to trends constantly circulating in and out at such a fast pace, leaving the companies with a surplus of items. Many consumers fail to ask whether the clothing items were ethically produced because of how cheap the item was and their fixation on the next new fashion trend. 

In conjunction with the wasteful excess of clothing produced, most fast fashion companies use child or underpaid labor to quickly and cheaply produce items. In an investigation into Shein, the $15 billion worth fast fashion company, found that “Several employees across six sites in Guangzhou were Ronfound to be working 75-hour weeks and clocked three shifts per day, often with only one day off a month.” In a report by Swiss advocacy group, Public Eye, interviewed Zuzu, a 16-year-old girl, about her job at an H&M factory and stated, “They employed anyone who wanted to work.” Zuzu, herself, was hired only at 12 years old. Additionally, fast fashion companies are blatantly abusing employees’ rights and causing major health issues. According to a BNR report regarding Zara, “The brand has been linked to forced labor camps in China, and its workers in Brazil are also subjected to inadequate working conditions.” These companies are abusing employees’ rights to create trendy pieces that are low quality and quickly made, just to maximize profits for the company.

Not only do fast fashion companies violate human rights, but they also pollute the environment at staggering rates. Many fast fashion companies overproduce pieces of clothing that are trending at the moment to generate as much revenue as possible. Trendy items have caused companies to over produce in order to match demand.  The trends quickly fade away, but the clothing stays; many companies overproduce by 30-40% per season, according to Platform E. Companies, leading companies to  either place the extra clothing in storage or donate them. Due to the decrease in the quality of fast fashion clothing, only 20% are bought, according to Goodwill statistics. The leftover 80% are thrown away and taken to the landfill. This increase in clothing produced leads to a rise in the waste in landfill and pollution in the air and water, further polluting our planet. According to the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP), fast fashion companies are responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions and are the world’s second-largest consumer of water. 

To counteract this, instead of shopping online with what is temporarily trending, consider whether or not the piece will be your style and still viable to wear in 20 years, which is when trends typically resurface. Many people keep clothing instead of donating it, so when the 20-year cycle hits and the pieces are inevitably back in style, you’ll be ready. Another option is thrift stores, which offer a great alternative to fast fashion. This is where items that come back into style can be found for a lot cheaper and better quality; all they need is some TLC. 

When the next trend inevitably has us all in a chokehold, instead of promoting these fast fashion companies, H&Maybe think about other alternatives.

MP Moxie

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Myers Park is home to many clubs, allowing anyone to make the Park their own. Myers Park juniors Holly Carrey and Hayley Brownlee did just that by forming the Moxie club, which focuses on women’s history, rights, and issues. The club is new to the park, being formed a year ago, but is still  strong this year with lots of student support. The club meetings occur on Monday in Madame Gunn’s room, SC14, and feature topics important to women, and allows members an opportunity to discuss with one another, and educate themselves on the issues. 

Club meetings in March, which is Women’s History Month, focused on the importance of the month highlighting women’s struggles and their history. When asked about the importance of Women’s History Month, Carrey and Brownlee responded, “We believe that women’s history month is important because it gives women a platform to advocate for equality, for progression, and underprivileged groups so that we can have a better society. Not only that but it educates people about women’s accomplishments and inventions throughout history that are typically overlooked or stolen which especially contributes to minorities.”  

The club welcomes everyone to learn about these issues, offering “ a safe space for all students at Myers Park and an educational environment which influences others to learn about new topics and learn how to support movements regarding women. At every club meeting, we present a slideshow on a certain issue and explain it to all of the participants in the club. After the presentation, we have an open discussion where club members have the opportunity to share their personal experiences and discuss what they learned. We include everyone and hear every opinion regardless if we agree or disagree leading to an open conversation,” states Brownlee and Carrey. 

When asked why everyone should learn about women’s struggles, they responded, “Everyone should be aware of women’s issues because women’s issues are human. Moxie does not only cover women’s issues, it covers all of feminism, which strives for equality for all, no matter the gender, sexual orientation, race, or ethnicity.  We must be aware of the struggles women face on a day-to-day basis, from the banning of abortions, necessary medical care, the wage gap, the Pink Tax, and incapacitating periods due to things like PCOS and endometriosis. The more awareness we have of the issues that women face, the more we can do about it- we have to come together to create a change.” The club motivates everyone to learn about women’s struggles, history, and more through “ topics that are important to them and their real-life struggles and experiences. For example, we covered how to deal with harassment, in the workplace, school, or any other potential situation. We like to use current issues to help get our members involved and educated about the current day and have open conversations about it. A large number of our members use Moxie as a safe space to speak about their experiences with the topic of the day or talk about something that they might need advice on from other like-minded people. Having a personal struggle about being a woman be heard by other women makes people feel seen and heard, and it makes them motivated to learn about the struggles of others so that they can be safe and included too.”

Learning about women’s struggles and history is always important, and MP Moxie is a great space and opportunity for anyone interested to learn more to come.  Throughout history, women have faced challenges and oppression, but the club offers for anyone to learn about multiple aspects of women’s lives, while also celebrating what it means to be a woman.  Anyone can have moxie, not just women, so go check it out and learn more about something new!

Speech and Debate

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How do you catch a fish? With debate! Myers Park is home to one of the country’s best Speech and Debate Teams, holding multiple titles, including state and national victories. Club members compete against other school teams in tournaments to win sweepstakes and individual awards. The tournaments consist of 4 rounds, with breaks in between, then, should you get selected to advance, a 5th final round. At the end of the final round, results are posted and awards are handed out to the winners. The team is divided into four parts,  three types of debate: Congressional, Public Forum(PF), and Lincoln-Douglas(LD), and speech, which has multiple subcategories.

Congressional Debate is described by Varsity Co-captain Caroline Lam as “a mock legislative chamber where 13-20 people debate on the passage of bills by alternating between affirmative and negation speakers with questioning in between. Then, you vote on whether or not you should pass the bill.” The bills are usually very similar to what the US Congress debates, including foreign humanitarian aid and environmental sustainability. When asked why Congress is important, Lam responded, “I think that Congress is important because it teaches you to be self-reliant but also helps you learn how to collaborate with people you’ve never met before. It also teaches you to research faster because generally, a tournament has 9-15 bills that you have to be prepared to speak on and learn about in the 1-2 weeks that you get to prepare. This teaches you to be independent, resourceful, and creative.”.  

The next debate style, Public Forum, is described by club president Griffin Bohmfalk as “a 2v2 event based on policy”. Topics of debate last for month-long periods and include medicare for all, no nuclear first use, and civil wars in West Asia. These topics are debated in  “a very evidence-based way. It’s a good mix of performance persuasion abilities and technical debate ability” according to Bohmfalk. He states that to write a good case, “You have to be prepared and unbiased because you must see many points of view for a topic. It starts with a good claim, but it comes down to evidence. Then you get to the impact, Why does it matter, otherwise why are you making this whole platform for something that doesn’t matter.” A key part of public forum is finding the right partner. Megan McCranie, a public forum member, states that “you just need to find somebody who has a good work ethic and is motivated.” Public Forum members become informed world citizens, learning about new topics every month and preparing a case for it. “It’s cool to learn something about the world. 95% of the time you use that knowledge again,” says Bohmfalk.

The third and final category is Lincoln-Douglas, which is a 1v1 philosophical debate inspired by Abraham Lincoln and Steven Douglas’s famous debates in the 1858 Illinois senate race. Varsity co-captain Gil Altman explains, “Lincoln-Douglas differs from other forms of debate because other forms often evaluate specific policies and whether or not they should be implemented, but Lincoln-Douglas is not that. It’s more of a question evaluating morality, justice, and ethics.” Examples of topics include whether voting in the US should be mandatory and whether civil disobedience is justifiable. Altman states, “In the real world, it takes arguments more tailored to subjectivity to win over people’s opinions. This is why LD is helpful. It deals with ethical, moral, no right answer questions. In reality, that’s what a lot of significant questions in the modern world are.”

Last but not least is Speech, which includes two subcategories; interpretations and public address. Interpretations are where students like Hadley Lord interpret a piece of literature as a speech.  This can be performed as duo, dramatic, or humorous. Public address is student-made, where they perform original speeches. This includes Impromptu, Extemporaneous, Original Oratory, Informative, Declamation, and many more. Lord highlights multiple benefits from speech including how “It helps with public speaking abilities in general, events like impromptu where you don’t have much time to prepare your speech help you think quicker and on your feet, which is a very useful life skill.” When Lord was asked what she would tell someone interested in speech, she said, “I would tell them there’s something for everyone.”

Recently, Myers Park hosted the 50th Laird Lewis Tournament, which is an inter-school tournament for all speech and debate events, named after the former Myers Park principal.  The tournament was coordinated by Laird Lewis student chair, Megan McCranie, the parent board, and faculty club director Roselyn Coyne. When asked what went into running the tournament, McCranie responded, “The big thing is getting food donations without having to buy it. Making sure that we have enough places for people to plug stuff in, making sure the rooms are set up, directions, the food stays good, that everyone has an active role in everyone judging their competitors in the rounds, and that everything starts on time.” The tournament is crucial for the club as its biggest fundraiser. Club members and parents came out to support the club by volunteering their time. When asked how she made the tournament run successfully, McCranie replied “We started planning this tournament 3-4 months in advance, so we had lots of time to thoroughly plan what people are going to do, what kind of stuff we want to have, and having the necessary amount of people to help you out.” 

The Myers Park Speech and Debate team has done very well this year, as well as hosted their tournament successfully, thanks to McCranie and Coyne. The club is always open to new members, even if you know little about the club, Bohmfalk recalls “I was like ‘I do not want to go to this interest meeting’ but I went there and fell in love.” Myers Park has been selected to host the State Speech and Debate Championship this March, where members will be competing, and they expect to win big!

Storming the Field

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On October 15th, The University of Alabama and Tennessee football teams faced off against one another in Neyland Stadium, Tennessee’s home field. This annual matchup has ended in Alabama victory for 15 consecutive years. Alabama was ranked 3rd overall and Tennessee ranked 6th, both teams were undefeated. After a nail biting game, The Vols upset the Tide with a stunning victory by a 40 yard field goal to decide it. The end score was 52-49.

This immediately caused a frenzy of Vols fans to rush the field. During the pandemonium, they took the field goal posts, which they hadn’t done since 1998. The Vol fans carried the goal posts to the nearby Tennessee River, where they threw them in. As the madness ensued, a video of UT President Randy Boyd, was recorded smoking a cigar from his box suite where he stated, “It doesn’t matter. We’re going to do this every year”. 

Later that evening, the SEC fined UT $100,000. The University also had to cover the cost of buying new field posts. Despite the deterrents, the SEC continues to have issues with fans storming the fields. The SEC hired more security personnel to prevent this issue after an uprising of fans rushing onto the field. In addition to this, the SEC implemented a regulation stating that the fans who storm the field could receive punishments such as expulsion from the facility, the charge of trespassing, and the loss of future ticket privileges. 

Despite the excitement of storming the field, it does cause some issues. After the Vols victory, Nick Saban and Alabama receiver, Jermaine Burton, were confronted by a fan who had to be tackled in order for the teams to get off the field. Saban stated “I talked to him(Burton). He was scared. I was scared. Some of our other players were scared.”

Andrew Siegel, TCU’s sports field manager, gave insight to the lengthy process of cleaning up after the field has been stormed. Siegel and his 8 person team have to clean the debris from the storming so that their lawn mowers don’t get damaged. Siegel states “I think we found cell phones…We’ve also picked up sunglasses, a pocket knife, lighters, peanuts, pizza crust and beer cans.” TCU, UT, and other schools have real grass, so it’s Siegel’s team and other field teams’ job to maintain it. Mid-October is the prime time for ryegrass (which makes the fields look green in the winter) seeds to be planted. After the fields are stormed, the new seeds are compacted and die.

Recently, it’s much more commonplace to storm the field than it used to be. FiveThirtyEight, a statistics company, calculated that there were 27 instances in 2020, 14 in 2019, and 10 in 2018. Dr. Stephen P. Gonzalez, an executive board member for the Association of Applied Sport Psychology explains this rise, “In a post-COVID year, I think that there’s just a lot of built up or pent up need for normalcy. When athletics are a large part of a school’s identity and in some of these major conferences, it’s an opportunity for people to kind of feel like they’re a part of something that’s bigger than them…. So this is almost like a release valve for a lot of people.”. 

Nick McKenna, Texas A&M’s assistant athletic director for sports fields, describes the recent storming of the field as “ some of what makes college athletics great. Is it ideal? No. But, at the same time, you embrace it. You can’t change it. Have fun. We’ll do our job and do everything to cover it and make the field right afterward.” With the College Football Championship game fastly approaching, all eyes are on the field and the fans for the outcome of one of the nation’s most watched sporting events.