October 2016 – The Howler

You Have a Choice: Third Party?

October 29, 2016

By Cameron Purcell, Staff Writer

The 2016 election is arguably the most heated in American history, and has split America into two halves. Though, many in these halves do not recognize what is beyond Republicans and Democrats, what is beyond red and blue. Many believe that there are only two choices when referring to politics and the election itself. But a choice is not a choice if its options are limited to merely two. Thankfully, there are many other options.

There are over 30 official political parties in the United States, with five of them being recognized as having a significant amount of influence: Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Green Party, and Constitution Party. All five throw a candidate into the political field as a potential president, yet it has been instilled in us that only a Democrat or Republican would ever win, and that they are the only choices.

Democratic Party: Hilary Clinton

Republican Party: Donald Trump

Libertarian Party: Gary Johnson

Green Party: Jill Stein

Constitutional Party: Darrell Castle

Each party has its own unique set of core values, and each of their candidates have their own agendas they wish to put forth. If you find yourself unsatisfied with the current reigning two parties, do not let the myth “that voting for a third party does nothing” dissuade you from voting for who you truly feel is the right choice. Even if a third party does not succeed in this election, support via voting results in a higher campaign budget for said party.

Not only that, but you voted for someone who you thought would do America well. You voted per your honest beliefs. There is a concerning lack of hope in America as of late, and many feel as if there is nothing that can be done about the many problems prevalent in our lives.

But they are only half-right.

Nothing can be done unless someone makes something happen, unless someone contributes to change. Every citizen in this country has the ability to tremendously impact the current structure of our government. Whether it be through direct activism and public speeches, or doing some small research on a third party and voting what you truly believe, you have the irrevocable power to bring about change. It is up to you how you will use this power, if at all.

And never let anything shake your belief in your own power.

Where to Vote

October 29, 2016

Clown Craze

October 29, 2016

By Sarah Reece, Staff Writer

“This clown situation is ridiculous,”said Lonestar-Kingwood freshman Mark Ragusin(cq). “How can someone want to play dress up and walk around forests and streets all by themselves late at night just to scare people? They can catch these hands(they can fight me).”A lot of students are feeling that they should take these matters into their own hands as the situations begins to threaten them.

According to Melissa Chan(cq) from Time.com, the clown sightings began in South Carolina in August of this year. First, it seemed there intent was to scare children even more than nightmares of clowns already portrayed to them from movies and books. Now, as growing attraction to the phenomenon occurs, the clowns are outreaching to college campuses.

These attacks are no joking matter. They are affecting the community, and now they are targeting college students.

Learn more from a video at https://www.instagram.com/p/BLINrXxDAab/?taken-by=oconnelldan .

According to the student body of LSC after questioning several people on campus, a list was constructed to help make students aware of the different ways they can stay safe whether it is on campus or at home.

Sauerkraut and Clubs Top Oktoberfest

October 29, 2016

Photos by Ashlae Jaetzold.

Oktoberfest, hosted by Office of Student Life, highlighted live German music and traditional food on October 25. Students got to meet and greet with clubs that participated in the event.

Use Your Right to Vote

October 29, 2016

“The efforts of the Government alone will never be enough. In the end, the people must choose and the people must help themselves.” – John F. Kennedy

By Lizeth Lara

We lose everything if we don’t vote and I say this because this is the time that your votes will matter the most for the 2016 Presidential Election. Also, some of the seats in Congress are up for re-elections. People may not be satisfied with our choices for the 2016 Election and truly how can anybody be. This is the time to stand together for what we believe in.

Look how far we have come in America; we went from no public schools, no women’s rights, no Civil Rights Act, no environmental laws to what we have today. The future is slipping right through your fingers like water. We cannot let America stand divided in the midst of such hatred, violence, racism, and ignorance.

We are all here for the same reasons; to complete the dream we have chosen for ourselves, to create a difference in the world; we may just achieve them at different times in our lives but we cannot let America be destroyed. It doesn’t matter who you are, what color, race, culture or gender you are. I urge you to go out and vote because this is the people’s America, our America and it is time we take control. Vote, and vote as you please, because at the end of the day, this is your life, and you decide for yourself. Vote for the best candidate possible, stand up for what you believe in. This is the time to make a difference. So much violence, hatred are walking through and claiming the streets in our nation, racism is still alive but, we are one America and can overcome our challenges.

“America will never be destroyed from the outside, if we falter and lose our freedoms it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” – Abraham Lincoln

We have brave men and women that fight in wars so hard for this country, we must do what is right to keep it. It is so easy to get up and go anywhere such as the mall or the movies, so motivate yourself to go vote, and remember why you are here and what difference you want to create that benefits this world. On November 8, make this one accomplishment of many; just vote. Only you can stop yourself from achieving what you want to see in this world. We dream it, we achieve it, and we live it! It is time to take back what is ours. Let your voices be heard now more than ever and speak for those who cannot be heard. The future of this nation is in your hands. Maybe we need a lot more than a vote to be saved from destruction, but that is where the saving begins.

Adventures with Cam: Paintball and Honor

October 29, 2016

Creative Commons, Photo by Victoria Padevit Brown. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/. No changes were made.

As told by Cameron Purcell, Staff Writer

When I first heard of the paintball event that would be sponsored and paid for by Lone Star College-Kingwood, I could not have been more excited. However, I was a naive boy, blinded by dreams of glorious paint-based warfare.

Before battle, all of us were briefed on the rules and regulations of warfare. The most notable being that if you were shot, you were to raise your hands up and escort yourself to the timeout zone.

The first match was to be a battle between Kingwood as the opposition, attempting to claim a castle being held by the students of North Harris.

As soon as the match began, our team ran for cover as a seemingly unending torrent of paint balls flew towards us.

We slowly advanced towards the castle, lobbing a few paint balls at the enemy before rushing forwards to a new area free of fire. I devised a plan. Like true soldiers, they did not question it, and one ran out into the hailstorm as the other mate and I ran for cover. The plan went off without a hitch.

I felt some remorse, however, as I saw my teammate take a walk of shame back to the beginning of the field, covered in splatters of yellow paint. I made a promise to myself that his sacrifice would not be in vain, that Harris would never set foot in this castle ever again!

That promise was quickly shattered into minuscule pieces.

I felt the first paintball hit my exposed arm. It was like a miniature knife piercing my skin for a split second, followed by a stinging pain that turned my skin red before it was covered in running paint. Shortly after, an individual had braved the storm of paint and planted his hand on the castle wall, ensuring victory for Kingwood. This was followed by yet another victory, and another…

At the end of the day, Kingwood came out with one more loss than wins, and we ascended beyond mere boys and had become men. Except for the girls, they became women.

Not only was it an exhilarating journey that flooded me with adrenaline and determination, but I formed brotherly bonds with others who hailed from LSC-Kingwood. It was an honor fighting alongside them and serving our campus proud. Paintball is something I highly recommend to anyone even mildly interested in the prospect.

Honoring Female Playwright of Longest Running Murder-Mystery

October 29, 2016

Creative Commons, Photo by Matthias Rhomberg.

By Kirsten Fuller, Managing Editor & Gabrielle Moore, Editor-in-Chief

Two driving factors for theater Director Eric Skiles and the department to choose Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, was the idea of honoring female playwrights and murder mystery. The Mousetrap (with an added modern twist) is an edge of your seat, visual page-turner, classic murder mystery question of ”Who done it?” This well-renowned play still shows eight times a week at St. Martin’s Theatre in South London.

Aside from the immense length of the play, there is something that can be taken away from this. “Things may look a certain way to the obvious eye, but really keep all options in mind,” Carl Hailey said, an alumnus who played “Detective Sergeant Trotter, “kind of like Sherlock Holmes, if you eliminate all other options, what is left, even if it’s unbelievable, that must be the answer.”

Creative Commons, Photo by shrinkin’violet.

The cast consisted of three alumni, four current LSC-Kingwood students, and one service area high school student. The seven who were casted after Labor Day. The cast and crew were all part of the collaboration process in creating Christie’s play at LSC-Kingwood. When Skiles was asked how he viewed directing:

“I view directing as being an air traffic controller. My job is to let all the planes fly around because they know what to do. I just have to have to keep them from running into each other.”

The theater department has three upcoming productions of Spring 2017: Ann-Marie McDonald’s Goodnight Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet directed by Kalliope Vlahos is first to premiere on the Main Stage of the Performing Arts Center on February 23rd at 7:30 p.m.

These four productions are part of the 2016-2017 theater season where the department is asking the school to join them in celebrating the female playwrights, to which Katelynn Bauer who played as “Miss Casewell” in The Mousetrap said, “it’s great that they’re focusing on that.”

Lady Coyotes Struggle in Year-End Tournament

October 29, 2016

LSC-Kingwood Lady Coyotes vs. University of Houston-Downtown Gators, 11:30 a.m., October 22, at University of Houston-Downtown. Photos by Clayton Whitaker.

By Clayton Whitaker, Staff Writer

The LSC-Kingwood volleyball team just wrapped up its fall season with a tournament hosted by University of Houston-Downtown in a double-elimination contest. Other LSC campuses involved were Tomball, North Harris, and CyFair. Lady Coyotes had a couple of close games against North Harris and UHD, only to come out on the wrong end of these match-ups. In the end, Tomball won the tournament with UHD coming in second. Lady Coyotes were eliminated in the fourth round against UHD.

LSC-Kingwood Gives Hand to Reaching American Dream

October 29, 2016

New citizens swearing to Naturalization Oath of Allegiance. Photo by Christina Xu. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/, no changes made.

By Melanie Quijano, News Editor

Lone Star College-Kingwood was able to help make the lives of local residents a little bit less stressful on Saturday, October 8. In providing their facilities to National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund, the nonprofit organization had the means for helping residents fill out the complicated form that is a citizenship application. This part of naturalization is close to the last step in a process that, for many, has taken 20 years or more. Citizenship application can be distressing for many people who are not yet fluent in the English language because it has so many prerequisites and steps.

Created with images from Creative Commons. No attribution needed.

According to the NALEO Educational Fund, in order to first apply for citizenship you must be at least 18 years old, have lived with a residency in the United States for five years or only three if the person is married to a citizen, be a person of “good moral character” (this is determined based upon the applicant’s criminal record), and be prepared to pass the naturalization exam.

This part of the process can take from six months to a year, sometimes more. The form itself is 20 pages long and is filled with advanced English language. For this reason, LSC-Kingwood volunteers and attorneys were on hand to help residents in obtaining their citizenship.

Contrary to popular belief, not just anybody can become a United States citizen. Even those who are eligible for citizenship must go through a long complicated process that ends up costing thousands of dollars. Although to some, this may seem like too much of an inconvenience; for many aspiring candidates, becoming a citizen of the United States is the key to their freedom and success. It is their American Dream.

Sweet Sounds of Freedom

October 29, 2016

Scenes from the Concert Choir’s recent show at 7:30 p.m., October 25, in Recital Hall (MUS 101). Photos and video by Orianne Elliott.

Lone Star-Kingwood’s Concert Choir held its Fall Concert in the Music Recital Hall on October 25th, 2016. Directed by Todd R. Miller and accompanied by Rob Hunt, the Concert Choir sang pieces from Mozart to Schubert’s music from the American Civil Rights Movement. Also featured a guest pianist and conductor Andrew Schneider.

Check out this video to hear more from the choir.

Archive - October 2016