On Jan. 11, Lebanese Minister of Information Tarek Mitri requested that the U.S. provide Lebanese citizens with a reason for the suspicion and remove Lebanon from the list after stating that Lebanon does not sponsor terrorism. Syria reacted similarly to the information, noting that the list acts as a form of discrimination and emphasizing that no terrorism attack ever involved a Syrian citizen.

“I think one of the main problems with airport security is that all we are basing our searches on is race and citizenship,” senior Paul Nguyen said. “I’ve never felt personally discriminated against because of my race in security situations, but I would be offended if I was an automatic suspect because of it.”

After receiving word of a potential terrorist attack on Friday, Jan. 22, India increased security in its domestic airport terminals, which dominoed when neighboring Nepal put its only international airport on high alert.

“It sounds a lot like every country is trying to one-up the others with its airport security,” junior Rachael Olson said. “But I don’t think it’s going to cause anything but trouble. Basically what happened on Christmas is going to keep happening because terrorists keep finding new ways to reach their goals. Our increased security just won’t stop anything long term.”

When signing with a university, a number of athletes desire a school that gives them opportunity to excel in the sport that they play as well as in the academic path they wish to pursue.

“Playing for volleyball for SMU is ideal,” senior Megan Jeanette said. “I’m in IB and so I was looking for a university where I could play volleyball without sacrificing my academics. SMU has the perfect facility for me to do that.”

Many athletes feel that playing a sport throughout college will help them maintain their physical fitness while at the same time become an active member in their school community.

“I definitely think that playing soccer during college will help me keep in shape,” senior Joshua Sealey said. “That’s my main target. I don’t want to be 45 and overweight with a mustache.”

The days spent stalking the mailbox or waiting by the phone definitely took a toll on several students’ stress levels throughout their senior year.

“It was really hard to wait and see what colleges wanted me to play for them,” Sealey said. “Everyone around me knew they were going to UT or Baylor and I was still waiting. I really just wanted to know.”

When choosing a college to attend, students find they do not always get their first pick. It’s similar for student athletes. Fortunately, these competitors keep a positive mindset and continue to hope for the best.

“The school I signed with wasn’t where I was aiming,” senior Brandon Wesley said. “But I feel like I’m fortunate just to be given the chance to play football in college. A lot of people I know aren’t even getting a chance to play for a team in college. I’m glad I’m not one of them.”

For some students, athletics are their life and for others, it’s an enjoyable pastime to pursue in college. Either way, signing with a college or university still holds major importance and significance in determining their futures.

“I can’t imagine not playing sports in college,” Wesley said. “That would just be a tragedy.”

While some argue that Tatum’s acting disappoints in Dear John, the girls in the audience most likely won’t notice due to his rampant popularity. In addition to the extremely attractive male lead, Seyfried portrays a distressed lover perfectly and plays a very relatable character. Although the beginning of the movie starts off a bit cliché, as the plot develops the audience becomes more engrossed in the film and begins to sympathize with both John and Savannah. For those who have read the book some  the movie stays true to the novel for some parts but deviates from the book and has significant differences. Plan to bring some tissues because this movie falls under the tearjerker category. The plot allows viewers of all ages to find something to take from the movie, however it may be slightly inappropriate for children under the age of thirteen.

Starting with the Dallas Museum of Art, this collection of fancy finger paintings practically illustrates the productive capacity that Dallas holds. The art museum opened back in 1984. It stands as the only museum in Texas to house more than 23,000 works of art that come from all sorts of cultures. Now here is the cool part, for all the penny pinchers out there Thursdays are free from 5:00 to 9:00 pm. The museum even throws together a jazz concert for those who show up. Not the kind of guy who wants to stare at a bunch of paintings and pontificate? Well there are a number of other activities that the museum puts on during the weekends, such as films, family activities and studio creations.

The Morton H. Myerson Symphony Center, designed by a Pritzker Prize-winning architect is a really cool looking building. As Apparently the Pritzker Prize is like a World Series ring to the architecture world. When completed in 1989, Dallas finally got some fancy music space for world-renowned soloists and conductors to strut their talents for us underlings.

Moving on to other venues comes the Crow Collection of Asian Art in the Trammell Crow Center. This building holds all sorts of restaurants and gift shops that somehow go well with a collection of Asian art. The place is full of rich cultural experiences.

The next thing on the list of “Things that make the Dallas Arts District awesome” is the Nasher Sculpture Center. Yet another building designed by a Pritzker prizewinner, this addition gives us a rock-solid collection of statues and designs. Opened in 2003, this is the only place in North Texas dedicated to contemporary sculpture.

Now here is the biggie, the recent addition to the arts district. With the sell out, commercial title, the AT&T Performing Arts Center Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House is a must see venue. With this addition, the city of Dallas now has four buildings designed by Pritzker Prize winning architects. The design is modeled as a 21^st century redesign of the classic horseshoe layout. The only good thing I can find about this place is that there is a café open all day.

So with all that the ornamental building and shops seem to let out that Dallas is serious about its arts program and it’s willing to pay up the nose to get what it wants. Not to forget that there is an Opera house next to a symphony hall with an art house down the street, the district meets all artsy needs that the public can think of. The location is perfect; the inner city liquor stores nearby seem to fit right in with the million dollar institutions. So make plans to visit the magnificent add on and have a rich cultural experience in the city of Dallas.

“This year the pep rallies have more spirit because the groups that put it together work more with each other,” senior Radnall DelaRosa said. “Because of this, there is more creativity in singing and dancing during the rally.  Last year, since the football team didn’t play well, there wasn’t much spirit to encourage the players.  But now, because of the upbeat teamwork, rallies seem to be influencing students to cheer on the players more.”

Spirit wear starts to heat up in style each week as the football team scores more touchdowns. T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, scarves and more continue to sell out each game day.   The pep rally and game stands become swarmed with students as they learn how well their football team is doing. This drastic change in school spirit led to new fans and supporters in addition to the old.

According to junior Stephanie Martinez, she was barley interested in coming to any pep rallies before she came to this school. She now comes to every rally, thinking they host better ones than her last secondary school.

“At my other high school everyone just stood there at pep rallies,” Martinez said.  “Here at PESH, the students are more involved. People actually wear spirit wear and cheer on their team. The cheerleaders and drill team are really cool too. They ask you to participate in the chants, so it gets the crowd pumped for the game.”

Sweat and blood spilled out on the field combines with screaming, nail-biting fans on the stands. As football influences students and teachers, a rise in spirit hits the school. With a close streak of football wins, fans become more anxious and excited for each game.  The saying goes, “winning isn’t everything,” but it certainly is to these panther students!

“Last year, my goal was basically just to pass junior year, no matter the grade,” senior Nageen Mir said. “After first semester, anything above a 70 satisfied me. But now, as a senior, I realize that barely getting by won’t cut it anymore. I have to set my standards high and push my limits to be the best that I can be.”

‘High school years are the most important years.’ Yes, students hear it all the time either from parents, teachers or counselors. It becomes so cliché that students fail to realize that they really do spend their most important years in life in high school. Elementary school provides the building blocks of life and middle school bridges the gap between transforming from a child to a teenager, but high school prepares this generation for the future. The classes students take, the choices they make and the relationships they build now all contribute in shaping their lives after college. High school allows students to have a little taste of each career field before choosing what they want to do after graduation. It provides a foundation for future goals and jobs. Whether taking home economics, clinical rotations, athletics or more, high school offers an endless list of choices.

“School is worth it and it is necessary because once you have that basic foundation, then you know you can go do anything,” junior Nikki Sachdeva said. “You can take a leap of faith; you can take risks.”

One common goal of students includes finding a balance between good grades and a good social life. Students can make the best grades but have miserable lives, and that’s not being successful; on the other hand, they can have great social lives and neglect their academic duties. With that said, high school lessons include not only educational lessons, but also teach students how to manage time academically and socially.

“I think once you realize time management, your routines, and how to get back to normal, you understand there is time when you can have fun and play but you really have to focus also,” Sachdeva said.

When students make good decisions and goals, they not only benefit themselves but also generate a better school environment, which then creates a stronger society. These choices do not pertain solely to school life. Even though the decisions made in school influence many aspects in students’ lives, the decisions they make outside of school have an even greater impact.

“School is important, but at the same time I try not to let it dominate my life,” Xiong said. “I try to let myself take control of my life rather than have my life control me. I think that high school experience is super important, and not just the school part, but the socializing and how you have to interact with so many different people.”

As students cross the bridge from high school to senior high, they begin to realize that the goals the make now aren’t just for themselves. The idea of getting that 100 on the test to be the best succumbs to gaining knowledge to help society. Students learn not only the what but also the why.

“Sometimes you’re sitting in class and you’re coloring the ocean and thinking what am I doing?” Sachdeva said. “Why is this important? But I realize that because of our education and the way we’ve been brought up, we have these thoughts and desires to go and meet our goals and help people. If you go out into the world, if you travel, if you interact with others, you’re going get that sense of being clever, and knowing your way around as opposed to what a textbook can tell you.”

As individuals, students need to make choices that will yield greatness. Students need to assure not only parents and teachers but also themselves that they can stand on their own. And as one, united student body, students should take upon what they learn and experience in high school to figure out how this knowledge can benefit the community.  Most important of all, society calls for the class of ’10 and ’11 to be great examples for the future student body.

“I think when we look back on it, I think a lot of us will say that in high school we probably ended up accomplishing quite a bit,” Xiong said. “I think everyone one of us can each leave some kind of impression on the community, be it whether through academic success, community service, extracurricular activities or involvement with the student body. There are a lot of things the class of ’10 and ’11 has to offer for both the school and community.”

“At PESH, huge class sizes help kids get the feel of what college is like,” U.S. history teacher Christina Perez said. “And if you have this feel here, that it’s big, but I can still succeed, most people will move on.”

The U.S. News and World Report commend the campus for having top-notch teachers.

“We take pride in what we do and we try to know what we’re teaching and be good at what we’re teaching,” English teacher Karen Holloway said. “I think there’s just a sense of pride with the teachers at PESH, and we’re all happy to be here. Not to put down the other schools, but we think we’re doing things the best but I’m sure they do too.”

According to the Dallas Morning News, local AP scores are on the rise.  Last year, 24 students from this campus earned a National Merit Scholar title, raising the standards significantly. Alex Ma, who moved here this year from Virginia Beach, realizes the changes in being a panther.

“I used to be a big procrastinator back in Virginia,” a said. “When I moved here, I started getting a lot more organized; didn’t procrastinate as much. And I always keep everything in a binder now, whole punched and everything.”

U.S. News and World Report voted the city of Plano one of the top 10 places to grow up in America based on the low crime rates, strong schools and fun activities. With 7,000 faculty and staff members serving 55,000 students in Plano, the PISD received national recognition for its strength. The Department of Education handed the National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award to 24 schools in Plano.

“This debunks the whole thing about how we’re ranked second because on a national level Highland Park doesn’t even rank up there,” Mrs. Perez said. “They’re nowhere to be mentioned. And for us to meet challenges and to be right there next to Highland Park, it’s pretty amazing.”