CLEAR HORIZONS STUDENT NEWS

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2 OCTOBER 2015

Entertainment REVIEW: in Houston Kayla Sturdevant On October 2nd, 2015, I was lucky enough to attend the Twenty One Pilots concert at the House of Blues with my friend and fellow journalist, Nida Syed. Before the show started, Nida noticed her and a lot of other concertgoers were wearing the same shirt. She took photos of three different instances. I’ll let the people decide who wore it better. When we got inside, the place was packed, so we joined the crowd and found the closest spot we could to the stage. Finish Ticket and Echosmith opened for them; they were great to listen to, but nothing compared to what was coming. The lights dimmed and red fog appeared on the stage. Josh appeared on the drums in his mask while Tyler was in his skeleton outfit at center stage. Tyler began singing on the hanging microphone from the ceiling. When they started the second song, , Tyler held a black sheet in front of his face. I believe it was supposed to represent the name of their most recent , “Blurry Face.” Many more songs were played, including Car Radio, Trees, and Doubt. Tyler instructed the audience to sing along and we sang every word, even when he stopped. It was beautiful and amazing. Incredible stunts were made and the night unfortunately came to a close with red confetti shot into the crowd as Tyler and Josh bid us a good night. I hope to see them again soon.

Josh on left and Tyler on right. SPORTS

MLB Postseason Juliette Patterson The MLB postseason is here. After 162 regular season games and two wildcard games, eight teams are taking the field to compete in playoffs. In the , the Mets, the St.Louis Cardinals, and the clinched the East, Central, and West divisions, respectively, with the Cubs in the wildcard spot. The same situation is taking place in the with the , the , the , and the . Playoff games will air every night until the end of October to determine who will win the 2015 . Below is a rundown of every team currently in the MLB playoffs.

NL East: 90-72 (.556) Despite various pitching problems this season, the Mets clinched their first playoff appearance since 2006. Player to Watch: Jacob deGrom With 14 wins and 8 losses this season, Jacob deGrom has been a memorable starting . He’s had more than any other pitcher on the team this season and is scheduled to start the first game in the series against the Dodgers.

NL Central: St.Louis Cardinals 100-62 (.617) As the team with the best win-loss percentage this season, the Cardinals led the NL Central from the start. The Cardinals made it to the National League Championship Series last year, but were beat out by the Giants, who went on to win the . Players to Watch: All of them While none of the Cardinals hold league-wide records, they have great stats and high returns. Teamwork has paid off in St.Louis; this team is good at being a team.

NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers 90-72 (.568) The Dodgers have been relatively quiet all season. Although they played two no-hitters, the Dodgers are no strangers to postseason appearances. They’ve participated in playoffs 5 times in the past 9 years, but have yet to win a World Series since 1988. Player to Watch: Right-handed pitcher Zack Greinke has played a remarkable season so far. His ERA is the best in the league at 1.66, and it marks his best season to date. Greinke is set to start in game 2 against the Mets. all statistics and information found on mlb.com NL WC: 97-65 (.599) Though the Cubs haven’t been to postseason since 2006, the last time they made it to the World Series was 1945. The ended the 2015 regular season one game behind the , but won the wildcard game 4-0. Player to Watch: Jake Arrieta pitched four complete games this season and was one of the seven players to throw a no-hitter in 2015. His fourth was the wildcard game on October 7th.

AL East: Toronto Blue Jays 93-69 (.574) The Toronto Blue Jays haven’t been to postseason since 1993. Player to Watch: Josh Donaldson Josh Donaldson joined the Blue Jays this year after a trade from the A’s. Not only does Donaldson have the highest batting average on the team, he has the highest number of hits (184) and the best on-base percentage (.939).

AL Central: Kansas City Royals 95-67 (.586) The Royals went to the World Series last year, but fell to the 4-3. Unlike the Giants, the Royals returned to postseason this year, vying for a second world championship. Player to Watch: Sometimes, the key to a good infield is an active . Eric Hosmer is evidence of this. Not only is he the king of double plays, Hosmer bats left-handed, which gives him an offensive advantage over right-handed batters.

AL West: Texas Rangers 88-74 (.543) Though the Texas Rangers were involved in a cutthroat pennant race with both the Houston Astros and the of Anaheim up until the last few games of the season, they came out of top as division champions. The Texas Rangers have yet to win a world championship. Player to Watch: Shin-Soo Choo Typically found in right field, Shin-Soo Choo excels both offensively and defensively. He’s helped keep the Rangers’ outfield strong all season, which led to great numbers in the later months.

AL WC: Houston Astros 86-76 (.531) The Houston Astros played the worst season in franchise history in the 2013 (51-111). In two short years, they’ve turned around and become a winning team. In September, they won the wildcard game against the to earn their first playoff appearance since 2005. Player to Watch: Leading the team in strikeouts, wins, and walks+hits per pitched, Dallas Keuchel is a potential Cy- Young candidate at 27 years old. Keuchel is set to start game 3 against the Royals. School

Free Stuff Announcements Rebecca Nguyen Some Tips to Money / Get Free Stuff (Cont. from September)

4. Read San Jac emails. Every once in a while, these emails tell you about events that have free food or free stuff. There will be speakers about certain subjects, but you don’t have to stay the whole time to get the free food. For example, they sent out emails about GradFest, and there was free popcorn, candy, and cookies. If you don’t want to check your college email, simply set your college email to forward all emails to your personal email.

5. Join San Jacinto Honors Program. Once you have taken three classes, and you have a cumulative GPA of 3.25 on the college side, you can register to be in the San Jacinto Honors Program. They have applications inside the Honors Lounge, which is upstairs. They offer cheaper drinks and snacks than the vending machines. You can get some of the same snacks for only fifty cents! Occasionally, if you are lucky, they will also have free pizza. They also offer free printing of up to five pages a day.

6. Check out the Clearance Section. Inside of the school store, there is a place where they have stuff that is half off. The products have a red mark over the barcode. Sometimes, employees will overlook the fact that something has already been marked off and give an additional fifty percent off.

Upcoming Free Food Events October 14- Dessert Day Study Break outside of the Library from 1:00-2:30 pm October 29- Halloween Event in Building 11 November 5- Journalism Club in Building 9 room 100 from 3:30-4:00 pm

We really do have free food. These delectable treats were made by one of our co-editors. Senior Car Wash Nida Syed

The seniors are having a car wash on October 24th at the Chick-Fil-A Located at 321 Marina Bay Dr, Clear Lake Shores, TX 77565 from 9AM-1PM. The money will go towards the senior account for senior week. We use this week to cool off from the year and participate in all sorts of fun activities. Please tell your family and friends to bring their cars around and get them washed! dailymotion.net

fiction

Her Soul as a Landscape Sarah Halprin

Her soul is made of monumental snowdrifts and quiet glaciers that filter the sun like a prism. Hidden beneath the pristine sparkle are the warm bodies of sleeping creatures, tucked safely away like secrets. The ice chills her lungs, every breath like music, every snowflake a different note. Her soul is made of rolling hills and sprawling skies, clouds billowing like pillow cases. Eagles swoop in endless spirals that only exist in the spaces between her bones. They soar through her veins, and her blood sings with the freedom of flight like the flow of her hair in the wind. Her soul is made of lavender trimmed townhouses and long winding streets. Roads through her heart, and wild emotions have no place for stop signs. Clotheslines close the gap between homes, families connected by a simple string of wet laundry and children chasing a soccer ball below. Her soul is made of leaping fish and crashing waves, a day at the beach where the only visitors are the sun and an uninterrupted blue sky. Buckets of emptiness are poured into the ocean, swallowed by seafoam and made whole again by the silver flash of fins. Saltwater seeps into her skin, laughter dancing inside her mouth and spilling out in sandcastles. Her soul is made of caves hollowed deep within her chest, tunneling through rough granite walls into cool, underground chambers. Cavernous echoes bounce off rocks as crystals bloom from weathered stones. Her heart beats in time with the drops that fall from stalactites, rippling in the murky green pools below. Her soul is a home that follows wherever she wanders, a landscape of herself. It is wide and never ending, desperately clinging to dreams too big for her body, protecting them from the wild winds of the universe. It is a patchwork personality, unfathomably deep, infinitely expanding, and never once the same.

Rethink: A Letter from Our Planet Kaitlyn Raines

4,543,000,000 years old and still counting! I have circled the sun longer than there has been history. All of my work has revolved around you. I’ve had both good years and bad. There was a time when humanity was in peace, but that time is long gone. My once plentiful resources are now scarce, my waters tainted brown, my inhabitants struggling for clean air, and my once free acreage now enslaved by men. Who is responsible? I give so much freedom to humanity. My land is a gift to farm and live on, and is asks only of the same respect from you. Instead, you take parts of me and claim them as your own; how can a child claim to own his mother? And how does that child treat his mother? Does he cherish her and protect her from harm? Does he take her offerings and give to her in return? No, this child takes from his mother and throws back his generous gifts like garbage! Now I write to you, humanity, begging for change. I am getting sick and no one is nursing me back to health. What will you gain by printing that extra paper that came from the very trees that give you life? I ask you today to think about me, especially when you throw that soda bottle into the landfill or that plastic container into my seas. This is a short message to you, humanity, about your home. Take care of me and I will take care of you. Take me for granted and I will fight back! Rethink. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Save lives.

SERVICE LEARNING

Saving Wildlife Should Come Naturally: TWRC Wildlife Center Needs YOU! Ayah Albustami

Many of us students need non-profit organizations for service learning hours, and believe it or not, many volunteer facilities need us as well. This especially applies to small, secluded companies, such as the Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition, or TWRC Wildlife Center. TWRC was started in 1979 and with the help of volunteers, they’ve taken in and healed over 135,000 injured, sick, or orphaned wild animals. The center`s goal is to rehabilitate animals, and, if possible, release them into the wild after treatment. After treatment, if an animal is seen unfit to return to the wild, it becomes an education animal. This means that it lives at the center under regular care of volunteers to be seen by young children at wildlife camps for educational purposes. Currently, the center`s education animals are Olive the opossum, Iris the owl, Bob and Lucy the squirrels, and Lojack the woodpecker. Each of these animals has a unique story about how they became an education animal, which you can hear by attending a volunteer orientation. Other various visitors include lizards, spiders, and snakes! Oh my!

TWRC treats many animals, from deer to rabbits to cougars to opossums. In fact, on my first volunteer shift as a center volunteer, I was able to handle ducks, weigh opossums, greet the grumpy raccoons, and feed birds such as the graceful dove. Did you know that doves lift their wing and ‘slap’ anyone coming close to them as a defense mechanism in an attempt to be intimidating? My first dove gave me quite a scare! Because the facility is run primarily by young volunteers, animals needing critical care are given to separate rehabbers that work alongside TWRC. Similarly, feisty or endangered animals, such as deer or cougars, are only treated by licensed and experienced vets. In addition, young, seasonal critters, such as baby birds or squirrels, are placed in separate volunteer programs that run at the center. The only requirement is a registration fee of 25 dollars and attendance of one of the provided feeding trainings. The separate programs are for the animals’ safety and health, as most birds or squirrels entering the programs are between 4 to 12 weeks old, requiring an ample amount of attention and frequent hand-feedings.

Sadly, though TWRC was Houston`s first volunteer-run wildlife emergency and rehabilitative care center, it has now become largely unknown and is usually short on volunteers. This critical shortage causes senior volunteers and dedicated college students to work longer hours for absolutely no pay, as it is a non-profit organization. It is vital to the lives of young animals and the cleanliness of the center that volunteers be able to commit to their shifts and responsibilities while remaining honest and hardworking. Tasks and shifts are diverse and multiple, so volunteers should have no trouble contributing to saving their environment and local wildlife.

Furthermore, volunteering at TWRC encompasses, according to a study by the University of Washington, the 6 most important qualities of Service learning: Integrity, Reflective, Contextualized, Strength-based, Reciprocal, and Lifelong. Essentially, TWRC requires Integrity, promotes Reflection on busy and meaningful assignments, and provides Context from mentors and various lessons. It is also structured so that volunteers can choose familiar positions and play to their strengths, applying to both Strengths and Reciprocity. When you join TWRC, you create a Lifelong connection with the animals you care for, your fellow volunteers, and the friendly, caring staff that guides you along the path of wildlife care and rehabilitation.

By simply becoming a member of and volunteering with TWRC, you can make a difference. You can better the lives of thousands of young or sick animals through the spread of awareness, feeding, and rehabilitation. The next time you look for a Service Learning opportunity, remember, TWRC wildlife center is the most incredible way to save a life, help a cause, or educate younger students. Believe me, the volunteers at TWRC will be thrilled to have you.

TWRC Wildlife Center: Address: 10801 Hammerly Blvd, Houston, TX 77043 Phone Number: (713) 468-8972 Website: http://www.twrcwildlifecenter.org/

Kemah’s Toughest 10k Run Kayla Sturdevant One of the Service Learning opportunities announced in the Daily News was the Kemah Toughest 10K run on Saturday, September 19th, 2015 from 5:30 am to 12 pm.

There were different stations to work, but I was at the food preparation station. My job was to set up the food and hand it out to runners after the race. Preparation included fruit boats with watermelon and oranges, potato and bacon breakfast burritos, and bananas. There were many choices to keep the runners’ tummies happy.

Other stations available were at the sign up table. Signs directed runners to run in a certain direction. In the picture, the fruit I helped set up is at the bottom and there were businesses set up around the food to promote their products. It was amazing to see the community come together to support the same cause. The Toughest 10K was supporting the cause while raising money The Bridge over Troubled Waters, an organization that helps prevent domestic violence. About two thousand runners from around the country came to participate. Overall, the run was a success.

If you need to earn service learning hours, there will be more races: one on the 17th of October at Galveston and another on the 15th of November in La Porte. The contact information is on the Daily News. It was a lot of fun and I definitely recommend participating if you have the chance.