SPORTS & clubs
THE WORLD OF FORENSICS
BY ALEXIS TORRES
“Several years ago, a study at Harvard University found that college admissions counselors said the #1 activity they look for on a college application is forensics. They believe that a student who can compete in forensics is ready for the rigor and academic focus of college. The Reagan Forensics team has grown from about 10 students (5 years ago) to over 45 students this year. The forensics team was the first team from Reagan to qualify students to a National Tournament. I am extremely proud of that fact. I encourage all students to get involved in forensics!” - Ms.Baker (adviser for the forensics team) |
Being in forensics allows those involved to develop speech/drama skills, confidence and friendships. Mrs.Baker (theatre/English teacher at Reagan) and Mr.Puddicombe (English teacher at Reagan) are the main participants of the staff board that help the students prepare and practice their pieces while training them for what life may hit them with. Forensics is great for building help self-confidence when it comes to presenting. As a reporter, I was able to interview Mr. Puddicombe, Ms.Baker and some of the students participating in this month's season to get a better understanding of the world of forensics. |
Ms. Baker
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Amber Brynn
Kirstin Hackbarth
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Julia
- How long have you been participating in forensics?- I have been in forensics for three years, including this one.
- Did you participate in grade school or middle school?- Yes, for two years. I would have done more but my middle school didn’t have a good arts/speaking program and I didn’t want to compete in an “everyone gets a trophy” environment. I like the competition.
- What has been your most favorite piece you have done over the course of your experience?-My favorite piece is a poem I read in one of my categories. It’s made out to be a girl talking about her depression to her mom and included all these stereotypes and misunderstandings about depressed people through the mom’s responses. It really hits home for me and I love the emotion and portrayal of the two.
- Do you wish to continue in 4 n 6? (like if they have it in college also). What is your favorite category?- I definitely plan to continue with forensics. Reagan has a great team, especially with our amazing coaches. It’s really great to find that thing that you’re passionate about and for me forensics falls into that place. Plus it looks great on a college application! After that, it’ll just be for fun and practice in public speaking.
- Has being in forensics helped/prepared you in any way for the events happening in your life?- I am entered in two categories this year. They’re more serious topics (like the poem I mentioned) and it’s really therapeutic to pour all of my real life emotions into my pieces. It’s great practice for any kind of future when it comes to public speaking and confidence in addressing others.
- What’s your overall opinion on the experience you have on forensics?Would you recommend it?-Forensics is a great opportunity for people who might like speaking but aren’t into drama/theatre with such a large audience. There are so many different categories, from play acting to radio speaking. That’s it’s really versatile as far as speaking preference goes. It’s also a great way to make friends and get more comfortable with public speaking. I would definitely recommend it to people exploring extracurricular.
- How often do you practice?- I’m entered in two categories this year, one being a speech and one a compilation of poems and prose (farrago). Right now I usually practice my farrago once or twice a week outside of practice, because I’ve worked with it for a while and now just get to experiment with emotions and pitch/vocals. I am working with my speech more often than that because it’s ten minutes long and has to be memorized!
- What is your end goal for this year’s season?- My goal for this season is really more personal- I want to improve as a speaker. I see all of these amazing returning members (like Anna Liners and Melody Newton- hi guys!) and try to learn from them. If anyone can help me eventually to get to that level it’s Ms.Baker. She’s a tough coach and gives great feedback. She really makes sure we’re all performing to the best of our abilities.
- What’s the main feedback that you’re getting? How do you plan to improve?-A lot of the feedback varies from judge to judge, so it’s difficult to deliver a piece that pleases everyone. Sometimes it really comes down to their personal preference (like; say this line differently, place emphasis here, etc.) but there has been mostly positive feedback on my pieces. I definitely have to work on my time limit (I’m always going over) but in general I’m happy with my emotion and delivery.
- What is the highest achievement you have ever earned?-It’ really too early in the season to notice huge personal developments, but with the help of coaches and judges I’ve been able to improve my pieces. As far as awards go, I was getting fourth-sixth place range at the meets. At our city meet this past saturday, I placed first overall in oratorical declamation (my speech) and second in farrago. I’m really proud of the team for doing so well already this season, and we plan to continue doing so!
The Bolstering Baseball Team
WRITTEN BY JULIO GARCIA
Last year the Reagan Huskies broke boundaries. They reached the state tournament, something that hasn’t been done by another sport in Reagan history. In the eleventh year of existence, the school has only accomplished this feat once and plan on doing it again.
This is something that the students acknowledge, as four-year baseball player and senior Andrew Johnson stated, “It’s a lot of pressure. We have high expectations.” Which holds true since he took part in the team that achieved the incredible feat. Despite the absurd amount of pressure, the spirits are incredibly high. “It’s going to be a lot of work, however it should be really fun,” said Frank Heinrich, a third-year player. “Coach Scott has high expectations for us, and we can do it,” he continued. With high expectations, this team should thrive on last year’s success.
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Going as far as last year is going to be a tricky task for our Huskies, but that doesn’t stop them from oozing confidence. “We can win the city conference easily!” said Frank. This is supported by the fact that the team went 11-1 in the conference, with a single blemish to Riverside. The idea of winning city surrounds the team, as Andrew stated, “We should be able to win city, and maybe make it to state.” With high confidence and the swagger of a winning team, the Huskies should be able to make it extremely far this year.
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March Madness:The Frenzy In March!
WRITTEN BY JULIO GARCIA
Calling all Reagan students! The biggest event in college basketball is slowly coming upon us, so in honor of that, the sports section of the Husky Howler would like to invite you to fill out a bracket! The NCAA bracket come from a college basketball tournament that is held every year, with one goal in mind - a championship.
You don’t have to watch college basketball to do one; it doesn’t even help if you do watch, because all it takes is one game, so we challenge you to fill one out! The bracket will be posted on March 11 on this article, and live updates will be posted on this article as well.
The link to the right holds the bracket, so...
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Admission is free and winner gets a prize to be declared.
All brackets will be submitted to the Husky Howlers, and will not be accepted after March 14. Good luck bracketologists everywhere! SCORING: Round of 64: 1 Point Round of 32: 2 Points Sweet 16: 4 Points Elite Eight: 8 Points Final Four: 16 Points Championship Game: 32 Points |
For those who don’t know anything about college basketball, here’s how it works:
- There are 68 teams divided into four divisions, all ranked from one to sixteen. One being the highest seed, whilst sixteen being the lowest.
- Two teams play for a ticket into the tournament for each division, leading to 64 teams.
- The team ranked #1 will play the team ranked #16, the team #2 plays #15, and so on.
- Once a team loses, they are eliminated from the tournament.
- There are six rounds, known as the round of 64, round of 32, sweet 16, elite 8, final 4, and then the Championship game.
- Scoring for each will be below.
- You need to win each round to go to the Championship game - there is no bye week, which means no team has a week off. Every team plays every part of the tournament.
- If you have a team winning in the preceding round, and they lose in the prior round, you automatically lose that round.
- For example, if you have Wisconsin winning in the elite eight, and they lose in the round of 32, you lose points for the Round of 32, Sweet 16, and Elite 8.
- The person with the highest point total wins first place, the second highest gets second, and third gets third.
International Club
PHOTOS BY SAM PERGOLSKI