Bryan High School * 3450 Campus Drive * Bryan, TX 77802

Rachel HernandezNorseman staff

Thanksgiving break haspassed, and the coming of the holi-day season brings to light severaldebates concerning the ever-changing boundaries of schooland religion. This debate pertainsto several issues the school dis-trict must deal with.

First is the issue of whetherto recognize Christian holidays bygranting a vacation. The secondis whether to acknowledge theseholidays by calling it �ChristmasBreak.�

Many elementary schoolshave instated a policy of abstain-ing from centering class partiesaround these holidays, in additionto the policy of not handing outcandy to students.

Followers of religions otherthan Christianity object to the rec-ognition of Christian holidays anddemand an option to celebratetheir individual holiday free fromattendance repercussions.

Religion in schools is a hottopic outside the scope of holi-days as well. Public school prayerwas ruled unconstitutional by theUnited States Supreme Court by a6-1 decision in 1962. Since this rul-ing, the ramifications of such rul-ing have been the cheers and jeersof parents whose children attendpublic schools.

Student Jacob Jadlowski re-flects a conservative view of thesubject.

�This country was foundedon the principles of God, so shouldour school system,� Jadlowskisaid. The conservative movementto increase the role of religion inpublic schools has been felt re-cently in all Texas public schools,with the implementation of a newlaw that requires a moment of si-lence to be observed in conjunc-tion with reciting pledges to theUnited States and Texas flags..

Students have the option ofrefraining from participating, butsome students are offended by thebehavior of students who choosethis option. Senior David Cargillis irked when students are talkingor obnoxious.

�It is one thing to have dif-ferent ideas, but when studentsare disrespectful, that really both-ers me,� Cargill said.

Some families eschew publicschooling altogether and opt tosend their children to a privateschool in order to strengthen theirChristian teachings. The publicfunding of these private schoolshas been hotly debated, espe-cially this month with the dawn-ing of new legislation that wouldprovide vouchers for these pri-vate schools.

In a CNN poll, 51% of thoseinterviewed favored having thegovernment pay all or part of thetuition of students who attend pri-vate schools. Public schools edu-cate about 90% of America�s chil-dren and many advocates for theeradication of prayer in schools

feel that such a widespread influ-ence must be unbiased and care-fully checked.

School policies concerningthe recogni-tion of reli-gious holi-days differ; insome elemen-tary schools,mock �Thanks-giving feasts�have been re-named �FallHarvest,� andthe Christmasvacation timeperiod hasbeen renamed� W i n t e rBreak.�

J u n i o rRussell Carlifeels the holi-day should becalled �Christ-mas Break,� ashe points out,�There is nowinter here inTexas, at leastnot this year.�

T h ebattle over therole of religionin schoolscontinues torave on, extending to every aspectof school policy. It will clearly re-main a hot topic, but for now theschool is standing by their policyof no religious promotion.

�Winter Break� name reflects trend

WEDNESDAYDec. 17, 2003Vol. 33, No. 3

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�Tis the season

Senior Constance Robertson, sophomore Maria

Ramirez, junior Sarah Rayburn, and junior Elizabeth

Kleinecke are in costume for the choir production

Feast of Carols, an annual holiday tradition performed

by the combined choirs. A highlight of the feast is the

processional presentation of the wild stuffed boar

which symbolizes the beginning of the feast. Three

performances were held in the Blue Commons, with

sold-out crowds attending each night. photo by

Rebecca LeBlanc

“Religion plays an

important role in

today’s society,

so students and

teachers should

decide where the

line between

religion and

schools is

drawn.”

Danny Reyes, 12

“No religion

should be

discriminated

against,

therefore all are

entitled to their

opinions and

religious

activities.”

Dianna

Greene,12

Worst presents?

Students tell of

bad gifts ...p. 3

Gymnastics

Vikings winning at

meets ...p. 6

‘Elf’ good fun

Ferrell shines in

holiday movie ...p. 7

NEWSTHE NORSEMAN ! DEC. 17, 20032

AROUND THE CAMPUSChoir competes inPre-Area

Choir students competed inthe Pre-Area and 9th and 10thgrade auditions on Nov. 4.

The following students quali-fied to compete in the Area audi-tions: soprano 1, Brittany Greenand, 1st alternate; Alto 1, KellyPechal; Tenor 2, Jesse Ocon, 2ndalternate; Bass 1, Casey Welch, 1stalternate; Bass 2, Andrew Orozco.

The following students quali-fied for the 9th and 10th grade re-gion choir: soprano 1, MeganColeman, Holly Jenson, JulieVarley and Katherine Cumpton;soprano 2, Jeana Simpson, RoseMarie Waller, Maria Ramirez andValarie Randolph; alto 1, Kathryn

Ritchey, Ketlyn Lovett and TaylorValadez; alto 2, Katye Hamlin, An-drea Thorne and MirandaRohrbach; tenor, Holland Angel;and bass, Brandon Cole andClayton Bassham.

Key Club updateThe leadership community

organization for home, school andthe community has been gettinginvolved. In the past months theclub has helped the community bygiving a helping hand.

The membership is open to allstudents willing to provide at least50 hours of service each year, whoare of good character, qualify scho-lastically, and possess leadershippotential.

Board modifies policy on extracurricular absencesDesiree KelsoNorseman Staff

The district policy governingthe amount of time students maymiss class for extracurricular ac-tivities was modified by the schoolboard at their November meeting.

The rule was developed bytrustee David Stasny. Accordingto an article which appeared in theEagle last month, Stasny has heardfrom teachers who are concernedabout students struggling aca-demically who miss class fre-

quently for extracurricular activi-ties.

At the board�s October meet-ing, president Merrill Green andothers on the board questionedwhether the policy was necessary.Green noted that teachers couldalways voice their opinion to ad-ministrators.

Superintendent HermanSmith said the district�s policy didnot address the issue.

The board eventually votedto give control of the issue to the

Public library offers winter reading clubDesiree` KelsoNorseman Staff

The Bryan Public Library isholding the second Annual Win-ter Reading Club for teenagers 13-18 years old, or in 7-12 grade.

The event will be held duringthe winter school holiday. Thetheme will be �Journey to MiddleEarth.�

The Society for CreativeAnachronism will perform andhost demonstrations with activi-

ties. Other events include theshowing of the animated versionof �The Hobbit,� a game day, aNew Year�s Eve Fantasy CostumeParty, and a Fantasy ScavengerHunt.

Participants who make it tothe �Cracks of Doom,� or comple-tion of the board game will be ableto come to a special showing ofthe �Lord of the Rings: The TwoTowers� along with a pizza party.

All of the activities are free

and prizes will be awarded. All stu-dents are encouraged to partici-pate in the activities.

Organizers say it is a good op-portunity for students to enrichthemselves with new information.The club organizes this annualreading club in order to get par-ticipation from local teenagers.

The Bryan Public Library islocated on 201 East 26th St. Formore information on the club call209-5600.

Key Club will be helping thecommunity this holiday season.The club is helping needy childrenand sending Christmas cards tosenior citizens in nursing homes.

Key Club meets every Tues-day after school in Rm. 5143 onthe Blue Campus.

Final portrait day forseniors is Jan. 5

Specialties Photography isoffering a one-day makeup day forsenior portraits on Jan. 5 fromnoon until 6 p.m. No appointmentis necessary. Seniors, this is yourlast chance to be photographedfor the 2004 yearbook.

For more information, seeMrs. Farris in Rm. 6160, or call Spe-cialties Photography at 260-9016.

Lorena RangelNorseman staff

Do you have an e-mail ad-dress? If your answer is no, listenup. There is an opportunity foryou to show your school spirit ,team spirit or support your favor-ite college and help out your fel-low peers at the same time you aree-mailing your friends.

Computer systems teacherRon Steedly has started a com-pany which sells e-mail addresseswith special domain names that canbe chosen by the subscriber.Steedly began to think of such acompany during the spring of 2002and actually launched the busi-ness on October, 2003.

These e-mail addresses are anopportunity for people to showtheir spirit for their favorite school,college, or other such activitiesthat are or will be available.

Steedly says address holdershave complete freedom to choosetheir user name. That way the per-son can make it as personal as theywant.

The e-mail address is a wayfor students, alumni and/or par-ents to support their favorite teamor school at an affordable price.The fee is $2 a month, paid annu-ally ($24 per year).

Though some would arguethat one is able to have an e-mailfor free at certain web sites,Steedly says his company�s offer-ings are more personal.

�None of those [free sites] willallow you to choose your own do-main name and have as many fea-tures,� Steedly said.

A unique feature of Steedly�scompany is that a portion of theprofit will go to a scholarship forthe different schools that are in-cluded in the domain names. Thismeans that the number of subscrib-ers who choose bryanvikings.comas their domain name will be usedto calculate the amount that willbe put into the scholarship fundfor Bryan High seniors who applyfor the scholarship.

�It�s a great way to give backto my customers,� Steedly said.

Business provides unique e-mail addresses

National Honor Society members Whitney Dillon and Larissa Jonessort through dozens of candygrams. The holiday project is anannual tradition for NHS. photo by Caitlin Hodges

campus administrator.The new policy states: �The

principal of each campus shallhave the authority to establishguidelines for determing when astudent or group of students maybe excused from academicclasstime to participate in extra orco-curricular activities. Theseguidelines may permit exceptionsto be made when the building prin-cipal determines the guidelines arenot in the best interest of the stu-dent.�

FEATURES 3THE NORSEMAN ! DEC 17, 2003

What is the strangestgift you have ever

received for Christmas?

Rachel HernandezNorseman staff

Times are turbulent, and thecoming of the Christmas remindsus of the things we should bemost grateful for. A large part ofbeing grateful for our own bless-ing is to learn about and appreci-ate the culture and traditions ofother countries around the world.

* Russia-Can you imagineChristmas dinner without turkeyor ham? Christmas dinner in Rus-sia is meatless, and the main dishis a porridge call kutya. Some fami-lies throw kutya up to the ceiling,and if it sticks, they believe therewill be a plentiful honey harvest.

World celebrations of holidays differ*Africa- In lieu of Christmaslights, homes in Africa areadorned with paper ornaments.Families begin gathering food aweek before the festivities, andfreshly roasted goat and ox areserved.*Australia- Australians celebrateChristmas midday on a beach.Aussies enjoy a traditional Christ-mas dinner picnic style, in the swel-tering heat of their summer sea-son.*Iceland- The people of Icelandbelieve in thirteen Santas, andstarting at the December 12, eachvisits Icelandic homes. TheseSantas are the Ashton Kutchers

of Iceland, punking each home tomake their presence felt. The MeatHooker tries to steal the roast, andthe Door Slammer slams doors.*Chile- Most Chilean families ob-serve nine days of fasting beforeChristmas dinner, which they haveat midnight. Because the chimneysin Chile are quite small, Santa�sgenerous girth would overwhelmthem, so he climbs through thewindows.

Throughout the frenzy andexcitement of the Christmas sea-son, it grows increasingly impor-tant for us to think of our brothersand sisters around the world, andto remember: It�s a small world af-ter all.

Desiree` KelsoNorseman staff

Most businesses close theirdoors on Christmas Day, as it is arecognized holiday. However, it isuntrue that Christmas has alwaysbeen a federal holiday.

Christmas was declared a fed-eral holiday on June 26, 1870. Itwas designated by Presi-dent Ulysses S. Grant dur-ing the reconstruction pe-riod after the Civil War.

In America, Christmasis a seasonal celebrationof winter and a religiouscelebration honoring the birth ofChrist. The mixture of both cel-ebrations gives America it ownunique approach to the holiday.

It believed that Jesus ofNazareth was born in the springtime. However, December 25 waschosen for the celebration of hisbirth by a Pope Julius I in the fourthcentury.

Historical origin of holiday customsAlso in the fourth century, a

bishop from Turkey was knownby the name St. Nicholas. He wasknown for doing good deeds whoinvolved children. He was illus-trated as a tall, dignified and a se-vere man, in the medieval and re-naissance times.

His feast on December 6 was

celebrated until about the 16thcentury. Afterwards he wasknown in all of Holland.

Dutch children placed shoesnext to the fireplace for St. Nicho-las and left food for his horse. Hewould gallop on the horse be-tween the rooftops and dropcandy down the chimneys into theshoes.

Meanwhile, Black Peter, whowas his assistant, would leave be-hind the not-too-nice presents.

The Dutch settlers broughtthe legend of St. Nicholas to NorthAmerica. America came to knowthis man as Santa Claus.

The �Jolly Old Elf� with hisreindeer was first described by

Clement Moore in a poem�The Night Before Christ-mas.�The charisma of SantaClaus influences childrenall around. His rosycheeks and red suit

brightens any child�s face to begood for Santa.

The Christmas traditionscome from long ago and all aroundthe world. The traditions range sowide that a list is uncountable.Outside influences have madeAmerica�s holiday celebrationunique and special in its own way.

“A stuffed reindeer.”Austin Shaw-10

“Socks.”Brazos Lackey-12

“An empty X-mas boxwith an IOU note.”Darmish Patel-12

“When I was 17 I got abaseball, glove, and

bat-shaped cuff links.”Mr. Vaughan

“A candy cane.”Monnie Reed-9

“Mittens.”Jillian Stanley-9

“Hairspray.”Kristy Everett-10

“Boxers.”Tyrone Welch- 11

“A Barbie computergame.”

Hilary Francis- 10

“A rock.”Kristen Sikorski-12

“Pencils with myname on them.”

Jenna Arnold-11

“Red socks.”Jerome Shields-11

Dutch children placed shoes next tothe fireplace for St. Nicholas and leftfood for his horse.

What do you know about the Christmas tree?* According to the National Christmas Tree Association, Americans buy 37.1million real Christmas trees each year.* America’s official national Christmas tree is located in King’s Canyon NationalPark in California. The tree, a giant sequoia called the “General Grant Tree,” isover 300 feet high.* An artifical spider and web are often included inthe decorations on UkrainianChristmas trees. A spider web found on Christmas morning is believed to bringgood luck.

OPINIONS4THE NORSEMAN ! DEC 17, 2003

BRYAN HIGH SCHOOL3450 CAMPUS DRIVE, BRYAN, TX 77802

Volume 33, No. 3

The Norseman is a publication produced by the Advanced JournalismNewspaper Production class at Bryan High School. The opinions expressedare those of the author and may not represent the opinion of the faculty, staffor administrators of Bryan High School.

Signed letters to the editor are welcome and may be delivered to Rm. 6160or the Blue Campus.

Member-UIL Interscholastic League Press Conference (ILPC)Winner of the ILPC Award of Distinguished Merit

1998-99, 1999-2000 Silver Star, 2001-2002.

EditorDesiree Kelso

Assistant EditorLorena Rangel

Staff writersChelsa Harriman, Rachel Hernandez,

Ashley Rodriguez, Shawn WalkerAdviser

Sandy Farris

Make the holidays memorable this yearWhat are

the holidays likefor you? I bet itis completelydifferent fromeveryone else.Every personcelebrates theseason differ-ently.

I would have to admit that I con-sider my holiday celebration prettyboring at times. Yet it has its ownuniqueness.

Consider this: in a couple ofyears, or in my case, next year, theholidays will be completely different.I will be on my own. My dependencywill be solely on myself. It will be niceyet not at the same time.

I advise the students at thisschool to really enjoy and celebratethe season. Before you know it youwill have a family of your own andwill look back on the times when youwere a kid.

These times are important and

Holidays are for sharing gift of time with others

precious whether you realize it ornot. Embrace yourself in the sea-son. Do not hold back on any ideasyou have or want to express.

Can you remember getting upon Christmas morning when youwere little and being so excited thatyou could not be still for anything?

It scares me to think that just ashort time ago I was hoping for apuppy. One with a red ribbon aroundhis neck, playful and cute as couldbe, just waiting to play with his newbest friend.

When my brother graduatedand left home for good, it didn�tactually hit home until the holidayscame around. It was different, thewhole atmosphere and spirit hadchanged, but not in a bad way.

As a senior this will be my lastholiday season with the family. Itjust shows you how fast we reallydo grow up, so embrace the momentand just let your parents have aheyday over the whole event.

Go out caroling, drive around

and look at all of the lights, hangout with your family for the holi-days. Believe me, you will havememories that will last a lifetime.The strangest things are the onesyou remember, don�t you agree?

The world around you ischanging and so are you. Howyou deal and react to it is yourdecision.

Make the season bright witha positive attitude. Indeed,youmay frown when it comes to deal-ing with Uncle Joe, but believeme you will manage. Your attitudeabout the whole situation will doa lot.

I have experienced the wholeentire family over for the holi-days. I have eight uncles, not in-cluding grandparents, aunts, andcousins.

Make the most of this holi-day season, as well as the onesthat follow. These times are moreprecious that you think.

The sea-sons are uponus. This meansfamily and fun!Well, that is notthe case for allpeople. Manypeople are alonefor the holidaysand this may

mean that they are alone for most ofthe year. And I, for one, think that isnot the way holidays should be spent.

For as long as I can rememberthere has always been someone therefor my siblings and me. It was a rareoccasion when it was only my momand me, or some other member of myfamily.

That is why I think it is not muchfun at all to be alone for any holidayor in life. There are so many kinds ofpeople that would like to feel a part ofsome celebration, with people whocare, whether it be on Thanksgiving,Christmas or any other holiday.

A great example of this is my par-ticipation in H.Y.P.E. Club. As a mem-ber of H.Y.P.E. I have participated andwill participate in many activities that

are club related. Last year I went toa Christmas party that was givenby H.Y.P.E. for a group of elderlypersons at a retirement home. Eventhough there was not a very bigturnout the residents of the retire-ment home had fun and appreci-ated the effort that we had put intomaking their holiday a little brighter.These are the type of activities thatshould be carried out for all typesof people and for all seasons.

That�s the kind of stuff youonly see in movies and stuff, right?No, no, and again no. This is thekind of stuff you see your friendsdoing and your neighbors and fam-ily. This �stuff� really happens. Vol-unteering is one of the best waysto show that you care. It is also afun way to make a good friend thatyou might not have normally got-ten to know.

Everyone can give you a someexcuse for why they can�t go outand do something, but challengethem to take an hour and go out toan elderly person�s home, or to anafter school club for children anddo things like read with them or

help them around the house.Then ask them how they felt tohave someone appreciate themgiving their time to help. The holi-day seasons are about family,yes, but that is not the only thingthey are about. They are alsoabout giving and helping andsharing your family�s warmth andcheer with those who are not asfortunate as you and your fam-ily. There are so many ways thatyou or your family and friendscan get involved and help.

You are not limited to whatyou can do with the permissionof your parents. You can volun-teer for any activity to help outpeople in the community, and Ican tell you from personal expe-rience that you are left with awonderful feeling of warmth thatyou could not get from anythingelse .

So remember, if at all pos-sible, give someone the gift youhave all year around: love, andthat feeling of being a part of afamily-type circle of friends.

Desiree` KelsoNorseman staff

Lorena RangelNorseman staff

Not joining up may cost youImagine applying for college with a 3.6 grade point aver-

age, 1200+ on the SAT, and not being accepted due to a lack ofextracurricular activity participation. This is quite possibly thefuture scenario for future college applicants. More and moreschools are placing emphasis on applicants who can showqualities developed through membership in clubs and organi-zations.

Being in a club or organization is unfairly looked downupon by many students. Some of this criticism makes no sense.

For example, a student who is in JROTC is sometimes ridi-culed because of the uniform requirement. JROTC studentshave obviously made the decision to pursue an interest in themilitary, and endure the comments they sometimes receive. Isn�tit hypocritical for someone to make fun of a JROTC cadet, yetturn around and demonstrate patriotism by writing letters ofsupport to our soldiers in Iraq? It�s obvious which one of theseis truly developing leadership qualities. (Hint--it�s the studentwearing a uniform.)

Whether it is the science club, Key Club, or UIL math,most students who join a club are interested in that area ofacademics or service. Organization membership opens up somany more opportunities with regards to school, jobs and thecommunity.

Have pride in yourself and others. These organizations areformed for a reason. Learning to work with others, servingthose in need, pursuing competition, and finding scholarshipopportunities are just some of the benefits of belonging toclubs.

Even if your ulterior motive for joining something is just tohave something to put on your college application, that�s atleast better than doing nothing at all. Get involved, and youmight find there�s a whole new world out there for you.

-Norseman Editorial Board

OPINIONS5THE NORSEMAN ! DEC. 17, 2003

RachelHernandezNorseman staff

Letter to the Editor..............My friends and I have found this to be a topic often discussed in an active way.

Many of my friends have piercings and get in trouble for it a lot.They wear their I.D. and do what they are suppose to. They do well in school. I find

the piercing rules to be discriminatory and unfair. One of my friends gets called to theoffice repeatedly just for her eyebrow barbell which even if the barbell is plastic, whichis supposedly allowed, gets in trouble.

The law states that a parent, guardian, or relative of legal age must be present to geta piercing in the first place so if they allow it we should be able to wear it. Read the bookDefine Normal and you will see this topic in the same point of view. The rules should bechanged.Megan DempseyFreshman

Recently in the newsthere has been an epi-demic of disturbing im-ages shown by major me-dia sources. Last monthon Fox News a videotapemade in Iraq of the publicbeatings and torturing ofIraqi �criminals� were be-ing shown repeatedly.

In our own hometown newspaper, pho-tos of the blody and beaten up Uday andQusay Hussein were emblazoned on thefront page. I had to throw it out before my6-year-old cousin stumbled upon the dis-turbing photos.

This is only a sampling of the disturb-ing images shown in the media.

The part of the human psyche that isfascinated with violence is the same part

�A Congress that al-lows God to be bannedfrom our schools whileour schools can teachabout cults, Hitler andeven devil worship iswrong, out of touch, andneeds some commonsense.�--Republican

James TraficantHe couldn�t have said it any better.The government is always looking to

avoid stepping on someone�s toes. In thestringent attention to detail they overlookmore important policies. This scrutiny hastrickled down to the smallest detail, such asthe name of the holiday break. Christmasbreak is no longer called such; it is now

Chelsa HarrimanNorseman staff

known as Winter Break. The atmospherehas become somewhat impersonal becauseteachers are constantly monitoring whatthey say and do for fear of offending some-one. Extreme cases have been reported,such as a teacher being reprimanded for tell-ing a student �God Bless You� in responseto a student sneezing. Give me a break.Teachers have enough to worry about thanbeing censored and punished for these pettythings.

Christianity is not only the majority re-ligion in America, but our country is histori-cally based on the principles and moralsthat come from the belief in God. Imagineour national pledge without the words �OneNation Under God,� or our money without�In God We Trust.� It�s probably hard todo.

that produces the urge to kinow what isgoing on in celebrities� lives. We are stuckon the notion that their lives are more inter-esting than our own.

Because we know every detail of theirlives, we feel as if we are a part of them,when in reality, we�re just creepy peoplewho are essentially really nosy. How canwe be nosy, you ask, when these stars putall of their personal information out there?

Well, we buy the magazines and watchthe press junkets and wish to know everysordid detail of their lives. There is a certainmystique around celebrities, as if they aresomewhat superhuman.

So next time you walk by a newstands,resist the urge to find out exactly what hap-pened on J-Lo and Ben�s wedding night.Youmight just regret that you did.

Basically, we�re just a little too nosy

Common sense needs to return

Tardy policy needs adjustment Bryan High has apolicy that if we are lateto class we must go andget a tardy slip. I haveno idea why theychoose to do this, butit�s dumb. In the morn-ing, I think that tardiesshould not be countedat all, because you

might be running late one morning and youget to school and you have to go get a tardyslip.

You now have an hour D-Hall and ifthe next morning you are 20 or 30 minuteslate you get a two hour D-Hall because youwere already absent and you know youcan�t serve it because you probably haveno transportation to pick you up. If youdon�t serve your D-Hall you will get SAC,although it depends on who your principalis-- if you have a nice principal, explain yoursituation and he or she might let you offand you won�t get anything.

Some teachers let you slide if you havea note from your parent saying why youwere late, or sometimes teachers don�t evensay anything at all. They just let you in theclassroom and they don�t ask any ques-

AshleyRodriguezNorseman staff

tions.Enforcement of the tardy policy isn�t

very consistent. For example, if you arewalking to class, and you are just outsideof the doorway of the classroom and thetardy bell rings, your teacher tells you to goget a tardy pass, and that teacher never toldyou that ever before out of all the time youdo that. That�s not even right. I know it isdifferent if you are just standing outsidejust to chill a little bit. Then it is right for theteacher to tell you to go get a tardy pass.But if you were just walking in the class-room and you are right by the door that�sokay because you were not just standing inthe hallway chilling. But if you are walkingin the doorway when the tardy bell rings,technically you are in the classroom.

If you take 10 minutes to get a tardyslip, you are marked absent. I just think thatwe should not even have tardies in the firstplace because half of the people who gettardy slips never serve them, so what�s thereason of having tardies? The schoolneeds to have an alternative such as allow-ing five tardies a week. Anything over thatwould get a D-Hall or referral.

I think that is a great alternative solu-tion.

What unique holiday tradition doesyour family have?

�We celebrate Christmas aswell as the OrthodoxChristmas on Jan. 7.�

Tatiana Rostovtseva, 10

�We take poinsettas to thecemetery in memory of our

relatives.�Elna Bradford, 10

�We open 12 presents beforeChristmas for �The Twelve

Days of Christmas�.�Austin Burton, 12

�We go Christmas treehunting as a family.�Lana Anderson, 12

�We celebrate a countryChristmas, city Christmas,and traditional Christmas.�

Ashley Barkley, 11

�I use all the Christmas cardswe receive as placecards at thedinner table and each personopens their�s up and reads it

aloud.�Lisa Fritz, teacher

Have something to say?The Norseman welcomes letters to the editor andguest commentary. Bring your letters to Rm. 6160.

Letters must be signed.

SPORTS6THE NORSEMAN ! DEC. 17, 2003

Gymnastics performing well at meetsDesiree` KelsoNorseman staff

The boys gymnastics teamfinished third in their first meet inHurst, Texas Oct. 31.

Dale Taylor placed first onrings with a high score of 9.6. Healso placed 4th in pommel horseand placed 21st overall.

Kyle Stellbauer placed 4th onfloor, 5th in rings, 6th in vault, 8thin parallel bars, and 4th in highbars. Stellbauer received 4th placeall -round.

Daniel Kelly placed 9th inrings, 4th in vault, 6th in high barand 7th place in all-around. JasonO�Dell received 4th in pommelhorse, 6th in high bar and 8th placeall-around.

Josh Clement went 6th placein floor, 9th in vault and parallelbars, and 10th in high bars. Allaround, Clement went 9th place.Clifton Bennett was 15th allaround, 9th in floor and rings, and10th in pommel horse.

On Nov. 14, the team metRound Rock in a dual meet atBryan High. This was the girls firstmeet.

�We�ve started off good, but

Shawn WalkerNorseman staff

The start of the basketballseason began November 18. Fivereturning varsity players are com-ing back from last year. GerardCarter, Sheldon Bell, EddieMacoy, Leslie Jackson, and JohnSmith lead the way for this year�screw..

The starting five will beDarwyn Lamar and BrandonWalton at the guard position. Belland Carter at the forward position,and Jackson at center.

�We have an inexperiencedteam. Our goal is to get back tothe playoffs and maybe try andwin a district title,� said CoachJohn Reese.

Reese says the Vikings are asmaller team than most teams, buthis game plan makes up for thelack of size.

�We are going to run ourusual run and shoot offense. Weneed to have a strong defense,and get our press defense to lead

to easy fast-break points.�The Vikings won their home

opener against Baytown Sterling,83-65. Their overall record stoodat 9-3 after beating Round Rock98-60 in the Killeen tournamentDec. 6.

John Shelton is the new girlshead coach. The returning varsitygirls include Danyell Hines,Tilmila Martin, Ashley Taylor,Tanya Turner, Adonna Weaver,Amanda Walker, Akira Burns, andTreasure McCoy.

�We run a fast pace, uptempo style of game. We havemost of our players coming backfrom last year. We won districtlast year and expect nothingless,� Shelton said.

�The lineup will change a lotthroughout the year,� Sheltonsaid, adding that positions are upfor grabs.

The girls improved theirrecord to 11-3 following a Dec. 9win over Hempstead, 75-37.

have room for improvement,� saidStellbauer after the Round Rockmeet.

The boys were victorious with164.1 points, against RoundRock�s 142.55 points. The girlsonly lost by two points, 108.15-110.1

�So far I�m really proud ofthe diligence demonstrated; how-ever, we still have a lot of workahead of us,� said coach J.T.Fletcher.

In the flloor exercise,Stellbauer received 1st, DanielKelly was 3rd, O�Dell was 4th, andBennett and Clement tied for 6thplace.

On pommel horse O�Dell re-ceived 1st, Taylor 2nd, Bennett3rd, Stellbauer 4th, Kelly in 5th,and Stephen McConnell was 6th.

In still rings, Taylor placed1st, Stellbauer was 3rd, Kelly was5th. O�Dell, Clement and JonathanCadarette had a three-way tie for6th place.

On the vault, Kelly placed 1st,Stellbauer was 2nd, Clement was3rd, Bennett was 4th, with O�Delland Cadarette in a two-way tie for6th place.

Stellbauer and Taylor tied for1stplace in the parallel bars. Clem-ent went 3rd, Kelly was 5th, andO�Dell was 6th.

In high bar, Stellbauer was1st, Kelly was 4th, Taylor was 5th,and Clement was 6th.

In all-around, Stellbauer was1st, Kelly was 2ndand O�Dell re-ceived 3rd.

On the girls side of the com-petition Lindsay Van was theleader. She tied the school recordon bars with a 9.8.

On vault Van received 1st,Halley Hanna went 5th, and MaryReedy went 6th.

In bars Van was 1st, andReedy was 5th. On beam, firstplace was Van and sixth placewent to Robin Pitts.

On floor Van received 2ndplace, Jessica Constancio was 5th,and Halley Hanna was 6th. All-around went to Van in 1st placeand Hanna in sixth.

Bryan placed second in theinvitational on Dec. 5 with totalpoints collecting 168.1. First placewas taken by the Humble Wild-cats with 170.25 points.

Basketball season takes over

Houston-Bound

Senior Viking catcher Cody Waller recently signed a schol-arship to play baseball for the University of Houston. Wallerwas the only catcher signed by Coach Rayner Nobel in the2004 class. Waller batted .292 for the Vikings as a junior,helping Bryan to a second-place finish in 13-5A. Waller hada .448 on-base percentage with 17 runs batted in, 16 walks,four doubles and two home runs. photo courtesy Ruth Waller

7th Annual Doc HessWrestling Tournament

Dec. 20, 20038:30 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Come support the Viking wrestlers

Matches in all three gyms and Silver Cafeteria

Over 1000 entriesThe largest tournament in Texas

New girls coach leads Lady Vikes

ENTERTAINMENT7THE NORSEMAN ! Dec. 17, 2003

�Blonde� has fun, not much substanceRachel HernandezNorseman staff

The second installment of the LegallyBlonde saga is comparable to cotton candy.Sweet, fluffy, but without substance. But,if you�re reaching for cotton candy, is sub-stance really what you�re craving? I thinknot.

In LB2, Elle (Reese Witherspoon) em-barks with her trusty Harvard law degreeto Washington, with the purpose of bring-ing about new legislation to protect animalrights. Paulette Bonafonte-Parcelle (Jenni-fer Coolige) returns as her loyal accompliceand confidante. Coolige seems less rel-evant in the second film, but adds a refresh-ing down-to-earth feeling to the overallbubbly tone of the film.

Luke Wilson returns as Elle�s financee,but is stuck at home with wedding prepara-tions. The film takes a turn for the bizzareas a side plot develops in which Elle�s dog,Bruiser, turns out to be gay, and cultivatesa relationship with another male dog.

The film manges a few laughs, andoverall isn�t offensively stupid, but moneycould be better spent on something more

Ashley RodriguezStaff writer

After ten years, eight albums, tons ofguest appearances, and being embarrassedby Nas, Jay-Z has at last decided to end hiscareer in 2003 with his farewell album, BlackAlbum, before he hangs the microphone upand retries. It is sadly Jay-Z�s last album (orso he says).

He has said that numerous times be-fore and he didn�t retire. Heprobably will retire but onlyfor a little while. If Jay Zsees someone trying tocompete against him, likeNas, he will step up andmake another album just toprove that he is still goodat what he does and he willmake sure that everyonewill know that. That�s whyI say he is going to retire. Ifhe does decid to retire he isnot losing any income because he still hasthe clothing company, ROCAWARE, and

also he has a club, so Jay-Z is a straight-upentrepreneur.

Christmas came early this year becauseJay-Z moved his release date from Nov. 28to Nov. 14 because the album appeared onillegal file-sharing sites such as Kazza andBareshare. The Black Album has 14 tracks.This widely-anticipated album has lived upto, and exceeded, my expectations. This isJay-Z at his best and I mean best. This al-

bum is his best one yet,even better than Life &Times- Vol.3, and that was apretty good album. Track10, �Public Service An-nouncement� is probablyhis most notable track.There is something compel-ling about it. This album isjust pimpalicious! Forthose who don�t know whatthat word is, it�s just betterthan anything--it tops any-

thing. If you don�t already have this al-bum, I recommend that you go and get it.

Chelsa HarrimanStaff writer

Elves. A universal symbol for all thatis innocent, jolly, and mischievous. Thistime of year they can be found whereverthere is Christmas spirit--including the the-aters this holiday season.

�Elf,� a PG-rated movie, is a comedygeared towards kids as well as adults. Themovie�s plot centers around the traditionalChristmas story of the �scrooge-like� char-acter making a transition from cynical tosentimental. However, this movie has anunusual twist that will keep you laughingand entertained throughout the 100 min-utes.

The story is centered around a misfitelf named Buddy who has grown to threetimes the normal elf height. Will Ferrell doesan excellent job portraying the kooky andlikeable self-entitled �Elf.� Through a mis-hap he finds himself in Santa�s bag of toys,is carried to the North Pole and raised bySanta and his elves.

As Buddy grows older he realizes thathe does not fit in with the others in the NorthPole. As a result he begins his journey to

his birthplace, New York City, to hunt forhis parents.

Buddy is astonished at the lack ofChristmas spirit and sets out to change theworld, hoping to at last make his mark andfind his place in the world.

This is a must-see movie that will leaveone remembering just what Christmas is allabout.

entertainng. Elle Wood�s Barbie-like perfec-tion grows annoying towards the end of thefilm and may launch her into a quasi-iconfor young girls, but more fun can be hadwith a lot less saccharin and a little morecreativity.

Bottom line: not worth the cavities.

Ferrell as �Elf� isa holiday keeper

Will Ferrell plays Buddy, an elf who leavesthe North Pole to search for his real par-ents in New York City.

Jay-Z says �Black� is last album

Ashley RodriguezStaff writer

The soundtrack for Resurrection is instores now. It features unreleased songsincluding the new single �Runnin� (dyingto live)� featuring the Notorious B.I.G andproduced by Eminem. This song goes offtha� chain. The rhymes in this song andsoundtrack are hardcore, what Tupac didbest.

It is so different from all the otherTupac wannabe-rappers and music heardtoday. Tupac rapped about real things thatwere going on and real issues that werehappening in the world. He was the onlyrapper that did that and was not afraid todo so. I don�t care what anyone says,Tupac will forever be the greatest rapper ofall times.

�Runnin�� is one of the best songs ofthe14 tracks on the soundtrack. I give bigprops to Eminem for putting that song to-gether because it�s a good song. I also wantto give big thanks to Afeni Shakur (Tupacmom) for putting together this amazingsoundtrack and film.

I highly recommend the purchase of theResurrection soundtrack. I know that wecan�t see Resurrection here, but it can beseen in Houston. Trust me, this movie andsoundtrack is good.

�Resurrection� is Tupac at his best

PHOTO ESSAY8THE NORSEMAN ! DEC.17,2003

Celebratingthe

...performing ServiceLearning projects suchas taking children on ahayride and reading tothem...building picnictables for localchurches...

...decorating thecampus for theholidays...sendingcandygrams to thatspecial someone...

season