The Hillside ChronicleVolume 3, Number 6May 2014

hillsidechronicle.com 3727 Fayetteville St. Durham, N.C. 27707

In this issue...

By Morgan MansonStaff Writer The proposed merg-er between Hillside New Tech and Hillside High School has been canceled. “After listening to parent groups, student groups and teachers, the de-cision was made to maintain separate identities,” James Key, area superintendent for Durham Public Schools, said. Earlier this school year, it was announced that New Tech and Hillside were planning to merge for the following school year; this would have changed New Tech into an academy, as op-

Hillside and Hillside New Tech will not mergeposed to a separate school. “Instead of being a separate school, New Tech would have become an acad-emy much like the IB, Busi-ness and Finance, and Fresh-men academies at HHS,” Mr. Key said. “Even if the merger took place, the dis-trict did not want the pro-gram at New Tech to change.” Instead of merg-ing, each school will take the initiative to have coun-selors, teachers and admin-istrators collaborate and share each other’s resources more than in previous years. This is to be done so that students from both

schools can benefit, when appropriate, from the pro-grams that exist at each school. However, polls show that 54 percent of the Hill-side/ New Tech commu-nity believe that the merg-er should be reconsidered. “I think that the merg-er was a great idea to begin with because it would allow students to not feel so seclud-ed in their specific block. Stu-dents wouldn’t go around say-ing ‘Hey, I go to New Tech’ or ‘Hey, I go to Hillside,’ we would all be one unified school, one Hornet family,” Hillside ju-nior Traeranz White said. Whole data shows that

Everything you need to know about

graduationSee page 7

By Arya’n ForbesStaff Writer The Hillside Student Government Association served as Central District Chair for the 88th annual State Convention of North Carolina’s Association of Student Councils. This was the first time since 1995 that Hillside was elected the con-ference chair. As chair, they chose to host a conference at Hillside entitled “Building Futures, Growing Heroes.” Thirty schools from around the region attended the day-long meeting on Oct. 26. Students were greeted by the HHS Band playing outside and the conference opened with a presentation creat-ed by HHS Drama Director

Wendell Tabb and performed by HHS drama students. The day was divid-ed into sessions for the 262 delegates to learn and take knowledge back to their home schools. Sessions included top-ics such as fundraising and ser-vice projects and were “well-re-ceived,” according to HHS SGA Adviser Nelda Caddell. Sessions were led by Student Council members from Hillside and other schools.Lunch was served, followed by more sessions and the creation of thank you notes which were taken to the VA hospital in Durham to thank the veterans for their service. “Hillside students worked hard to make the day run smoothly,” Ms. Caddell said,

adding that they had been meeting since before the be-ginning of the school year to plan and prepare for that day. “It was a really great program and experience,” Rep-resentatives Tanika Coffin and Kayla Daniels said. “It allows student voices to be heard, and we are all very loving.” Hillside then sent a group of representatives to the State Convention, which was hosted at North Sur-ry High School in Mount Airy from March 28 to 30. Five delegates attended as stu-dent representatives for Hill-side. In the conference’s final meeting, HHS passed the chair-manship to another school. Representative Joy Wright said the conference

was “constructive” and that it focused on “making school better and student activities.” Representative Imari McLean gave her final report for the Central District. The executive meeting was mod-eled as if it was a general as-sembly. The students attended sessions on leadership which were hosted by other student council members and advisers. Hillside was awarded the Louise Hunter Honor Coun-cil Award; and also received a certificate for their $500 con-tribution to Victory Junction, a camp for disabled children which was chosen to be the service project for the NC As-sociation of Student Councils. Whitney Hamlett, a Hillside junior, was one of the

representatives who participat-ed in the Talent Show, hosted at the conference by Russ Peak. The next big event for SGA will be the Powder-Puff football game. “Every-one is ready to get it up and running; it is also a good way to fundraise for the school,” Representative Erica Gor-ham said. Those interested in signing up to play Pow-derpuff football (girls) or act as cheerleaders (boys) should have attended the in-terest meeting on May 5. Anyone who needs more information should contact Daniels. The game will be held on Friday, May 23. Tickets will be sold for $3.

All the best pictures from Prom

See pages 4 and 5

Should the merger be reconsidered?

a significant amount of the community would be pleased with the merger, but some are happy with the cancellation. “I have mixed feelings about the merger, but of course the negative effects would be losing our small school iden-tity.” Hillside New Tech math

teacher, Alexis VanCulin, said. The two schools re-main independent of each other, and New Tech contin-ues to maintain its magnet school status and its rank-ing of number 36 in the state according to usnews.com.

SOURCE: This data is based on an email survey of 111 Hillside and Hillside New Tech faculty and students.

Hillside SGA takes the opportunity to host a conference

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HILLSIDE COMMENTARY

The Hillside Chronicle is a newspaper designed to catch the interest of students, staff, parents and teachers. The Hillside Chronicle is dedicated to spreading news to the student body while inspiring students to get active in the school. Our primary goal is to inform our community about the positive things going on around Hillside, while informing them about the latest news. We are honored to be partnered with the Durham VOICE. For more content, please view our Web site: hillsidechronicle.com.

Adviser: Elizabeth DeOrnellas

Staff Editors Spring 2014: Editor-in-Chief: Olivia Barringer, Managing Editor: Nathan-iel Cockerham, News Editor: Samantha Pratt, Opinion Editor: Imani Nunn, Arts Editor: Ja’Vette Campbell, Sports Editor: Deandre Harper and KJ Covington, Photography: Taquaisha Patrick, Design: Waikaiki Joseph, Online: Denia Guerrero, Business Manager Adonis Barbee

Staff Writers Spring 2014: Maria Bartolo, Skylar Brewer, Tanizja Brown, Diamond Cannady, Arya’n Forbes, Brittany Jenkins, Morgan Manson, Adrienne Moore, Ry’Shau-na Rogers, Kiera Scott, Janika Stevenson, Sidney Thompson, Ashley Weber and Tanasia Williams

By Maria BartoloStaff Writer The “Not One More Deportation” campaign aims to stop the U.S. govern-ment from deporting immi-grants without a good reason. There were 80 cam-paigns going on April 15 in different states; one was held in Raleigh, where people protested outside the Wake County Justice Center, and another was held outside the Durham Police Department. People gathered at the Detention Center in Ra-leigh to talk about their expe-riences and tell stories of how their family members were deported, according to for-mer Hillside English teacher Emily Chavez, a local activist. I think people who have been most affected by the deportations will not stop protesting until President Obama halts the deportations. People from Arizo-na, Pennsylvania, Georgia and New York traveled to Washington, D.C. to pro-test in front of the White House demanding that the president halt deportations and stop separating families. According to the Huffington Post, protesters held signs that said, “We want to move the President to be the champion that he was elected to be and not the de-porter that he has become.” DREAM Action is a coalition of groups who are trying to bring attention to the problem. One of the co-direc-tors of DREAM Action, Carlos Chavez, was also involved in the protests that were in Ra-leigh. According to NBCla-tino.com, he said that he got involved after the deporta-tion percentages rose so high. Statistics show that about 2 million people have been deported during Obama’s presidency, and most of them don’t have any criminal record in United States. I think 2 mil-

lion people is a lot, and Pres-ident Obama and Congress should consider this problem and halt deportations because they are causing a lot of pain to many children who have to stay here without their parents. The people who are protesting to stop the depor-tations don’t know whether to put more pressure on Con-gress or on President Obama. Some people say that it will be better to put pressure on both. Some people think it is time to recognize that Congress won’t do anything to halt deportations and if change is to come, the Presi-dent is the one who can do it. People think putting more pressure on President Obama would be better be-cause he can at least stop the deportations; if he doesn’t want to reform the law, he still has the power to stop the deporta-tions and stop the sadness that many families are living in be-cause they have been separated from their family members. According to NBCla-tino.com, during the re-elec-tion of President Obama, he had the highest Latino sup-port for any presidential can-didate in the nation’s history. In the 2012 election 71 percent of Hispanic voters supported President Obama’s reelection and 27 percent voted for Mitt Romney, ac-cording to Univision News. Most of the Latino population voted for President Obama because they believe in the promises he made, such as creating immigration reform and making college affordable. According to YouGov.com, Latino voters regret vot-ing for President Obama in the election of 2012 because he hasn’t fulfilled his promises. I think Presi-dent Obama should keep his promises because a promise is a promise.

A crowd of more than 50 demonstrators gathered in Raleigh on April 15 to speak out about the nearly 2 million deportations executed under Barack Obama’s presidency. Standing across the street from the Wake County Detention Center, protesters shared their stories

while others listened, including many children who are DREAMers (the DREAM Act, which has yet to be ratified into law, would allow those who came to the United States when they

were under the age of 16 to qualify for citizenship if they are enrolled in school or enlisted in the military) or part of mixed-status families. The event, sponsored by the Comité Popular Somos Raleigh, was one of more than 80 across the nation. Photo courtesy of Emily Chavez

The parents of Rocío Hernández tell the crowd their family’s story. Hernández, for whom North Carolina is home, was taken into detention on April 5 and has since been deported

to Mexico. Photo courtesy of Emily Chavez

EDITOR’S NOTE:By Elizabeth DeOrnellasAdviser It has been my hon-or and my privilege to serve as the adviser for The Hillside Chronicle for the past three school years. When I arrived at Hillside, I was struck by its incredible sense of commu-nity. The students, staff and alumni all have a keen sense of how important Hillside High School is to its community, and the newspaper has histor-ically been an important part of holding together that legacy. I have worked hard to restore this publication to its former glory, and it’s time for me to

say thank you to all those who have helped me along the way. Thank you to my ded-icated students, my invaluable proofreader Lisa Henninger, my supportive administrators (not every principal would re-act to a front page feature on test scores with the comment, “People need to know” - I ap-preciate the commitment to transparency and a free press) and every staff member who has taken time out of their busy schedule to assist my re-porters. As I prepare to move out-of-state, I know I will al-ways have a special place in my heart for my Hillside family.

Deportations must stop

HILLSIDE ACADEMICS

PAGE 3

By Morgan MansonStaff Writer Every classified ju-nior attending a Durham Public School was giv-en the opportunity to take the ACT test Tuesday, April 1 free of charge. “We successfully tested 267 juniors at Hill-side, and overall it went very well”, Renee Wilburn, HHS test coordinator, said. The original test-ing date of March 4 had been rescheduled twice due to inclement weather. The ACT is a national college admissions examina-tion that consists of subject area tests in English, mathe-matics, reading and science. “It allows students to show their academic abilities, and is a better indicator of col-lege readiness,” Ms. Wilburn said. “This year is the first that our score will be included on our school report card, for state accountability reasons.” DPS assisted in prepar-ing juniors for the exam. Three sessions of ACT prep were held at Durham School of the Arts, to help students better under-stand the ACT test format and to increase skill knowledge. In accordance with that, Hillside itself aid-ed students by providing them with review sessions, test-taking tips, strategies to use, and also a practice test.

However, many students remained un-easy about the test. Jessica Grant, a New Tech junior said, “No, I am not confident with how I did on the test; I don’t feel like I had enough time.” With this exam being a high priority test for any stu-dent trying to get into college, it is very common for it to be re-taken as many times as desired. Hillside student Kha-yah Jones said, “I plan on retaking the test now that I know just how much time I have and what to expect.” The month-long ex-tension on the testing date could have either been looked at as a set back or an opportunity. New Tech student William Moran said, “I would have been more prepared had we tested on time, but I am con-fident enough on how I did.” Some students feel that they were prepared for the March 4 exam and then began to slack after the delay, while others took the time to prep further. New Tech senior Ka-mal Simpson said, “I took most of my free time at home to study, and I also approached some of my teachers for extra help.” No matter how stu-dents felt about the test, the eagerness to receive the scores is universal and much of the staff and students can’t wait.

After delays, juniors get a chance to take the ACT

Jesus (Daniel Johnson) and two thieves (Jeremiah Thomas and Dominique Cassamajor) are crucified as a village person (Emmanuel Tabb), the Angel (Taylor Owens) and Bobby (Philip

Williams) watch. The play mixed Biblical stories with the tale of a modern-day family. PHOTO CREDIT: Ry’Shauna Rogers

Drama Department closes its season with a gospel showcaseBy Ry’Shauna Rogers and Janika StevensonStaff Writers A fire alarm, trig-gered by smoke effects, sound-ed during the last showing of Hillside’s season finale, the gospel musical Perilous Times, but that didn’t stop Bria Cald-well from delivering her solo. The show featured many such dramatic moments in its run, and many students in the cast were asked to play double characters, a challenge which was “training them to be actors,” Drama Director Wendell Tabb said. During the show the students also made a connec-tion. “It made us think as a whole,” Senior Sydni Leavy said. During the crucifixion scene, “We were committing our selves to Christ, recom-mitting our souls,” she added. “Perilous” means to be full of danger or risk. Perilous Times is a play about a family who is struggling with day to day issues along with family is-sues. Emma, a mother of three, played by Hillside senior Sy-mone Crews, cohabitates with Robert, played by Hillside ju-nior Travin Duncan. Emma and Robert raise their children to be God-fearing and respect-ful. Due to Robert not being the father of Emma’s children, Bobby, Lil G, and Nell are not as tolerant of him. Emma hides the fact that Rob-ert beats her but her children know what goes on and they feel that if he is the one for her then he would marry her. Nell, the sister of Bob-by and Lil G, has issues with her boyfriend and also day to

day issues but she also goes through life with her moth-er present physically but not mentally. Nell wants for her mother to be there for her, and to just talk to her when she needs a shoulder to cry on or an ear to listen. Bobby is a main char-acter played by Phillip Wil-liams, a New Tech sophomore. When the play begins Bobby is just coming home from jail. Bobby has problems within the streets and his mom is worried about him getting into more trouble and not being focused on turning his life around to Christ. Lil G is the little brother of Bobby, played by Noah Thompson, a Hillside sophomore. He plays the role of a young man trying to do the right thing for his family and show them ways to better themselves. He expresses him-self through poetry, going to a night club, where poets share their thoughts through poetry. While at this night club, Lil G runs into his broth-er Bobby, who also had an en-counter with a guy named LJ: whom he has had past issues pertaining to his getting in trouble. He was also the me-diator between LJ and Bobby while they argued. Bobby is confronted by LJ and doesn’t give him the response he wants to hear. With this being said LJ took out his gun and slapped Bobby. Bobby ran, leaving his brother behind. Bobby returns home and begins to smoke; he then wakes up in Biblical times. Bobby is guided by an An-gel, played by Taylor Owens, a Hillside senior. The Angel

shows Bobby many things and expresses to him her love for Jesus. Bobby in the begin-ning is stuck in his ways of the 21st century and does not completely comprehend what the angel is trying to get him to realize. She wanted Bobby to understand why Jesus died on the cross and why he rose. While Bobby is in Biblical times, he is exposed to the crucifixion of Jesus and God giving a blind man sight. Emma walks in on her son on the floor think-ing something is wrong with him; he wakes up happy and over joyed. He tells his mom how he believes in God and that he is going to turn his life around because God can do great things and that he died for our sins so that we would live the right way. As a Christian wom-an, Emma was proud of her son, who she thought did not know the Lord. She only wanted the best for her chil-dren and hearing him confess that he was going to turn his life around gave her hope. At the end of the play’s educational matinée, the actors gathered outside to talk with the audience. Teachers from the other schools chimed in, say-ing to the Hillside students, “Tell them how important it is to stay in school.” Junior Shel-by Miles, who played a moth-er of a slain child, agreed: “School is very important, and you need it succeed in life no matter what your profes-sion may be.”

Major Coleman is named a Teacher of the Year finalist

By Adrienne Moore Staff Writer CTE teacher Ma-jor Coleman has now made it to finalist level of the se-lection process for Durham Public Schools Teacher of the Year. This school year is the second year in a row that a Hillside teacher has been a fi-nalist for the district’s Teach-er of the Year award, as his-tory teacher Bryan Proffitt reached that level last year.

The district winner is chosen through a three-part process. A panel of Durham School Board members in-terview the nominee, assess his curriculum and previ-ous teacher evaluations and then observe the nominee during a classroom session. Mr. Coleman’s feelings toward this honor are mod-est. “Being under the micro-scope just pushes me to be an even better teacher next year.”

Principal William Logan presents Major Coleman, now a district finalist, with his award for being the school’s Teacher

of the Year nominee. Photo courtesy of Maureen White

ROARING ‘20s: HILLSIDE NIGHTS

Chasen Harris and Stephon Mack were named Hillside Prom Queen and King. Brianna Rochelle and Dontae Thomas-Williams were named Prom Queen and King for

New Tech. PHOTO CREDIT: Sidney Thompson

Koplyn Cheston, Shakira Harwell, Aalyha Giles, Ana Krah, QuiNeshia Graham, Kayla Tate, Kira Taylor, Arie’yana Easterling, Diamond McQueen, Ashauna Giles and Daria Robinson

make their entrance. PHOTO CREDIT: Sidney Thompson

Faculty members Sakinah McDuffie, Marylin Rodriguez, Vanessa Price, Holly Jordan, Elizabeth DeOrnellas, Jaclyn Novotny, Tammy Chance and Denise Jackson celebrate Prom.

Photo courtesy of Anthony Pierce

Mauryce Epps, Breana Kea, Kiara Williams and Amari Hamilton arrive in the lobby of the Millennium Hotel.

PHOTO CREDIT: Diamond Cannady

Symone Crews, Taylor Owens, Shana Covington and Erica Gorman enjoy their time in the ballroom. Photo courtesy of Anthony Pierce

New Tech grad Marius McAllister arrives with Miss Hillside QuiNeshia Graham. PHOTO CREDIT: Sidney Thompson

Timothy Mangum and Joy Wright show off their match-ing outfits. PHOTO CRED-IT: Sidney Thompson

Students vot-ed for Prom King and Queen by se-lecting a can-didate’s bag as vote monitors recorded the results. Photo courtesy of Anthony Pierce

STUDENTS CELEBRATE PROM 2014

DaShea Smith and Raymond Green won “Best Theme” for their ‘20s costumes.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sidney Thompson

Students pack the dance floor to celebrate “Hillside Nights.” Photo courtesy of Anthony Pierce

The Wobble got everyone out on the dance floor. Photo courtesy of Anthony Pierce

Jazmine Dixon-Holman and Trevion Thompson were named “Best Dressed.” PHOTO CREDIT: Sidney Thompson

LEFT: Tiffany Mercado, Trecia Smith, Destiny Clinton, Can-

dace Person and DeShauna Cook enjoy their Prom.Photo courtesy of Anthony Pierce

RIGHT: Rayquan Fowl-er and Alexis George were named “Best

Dancers.” PHOTO CRED-

IT: Sidney Thompson

PAGE 6

Hillside girls track takes first at Conference; boys take second at Regionals

Sophomore Marcus Krah competes in the 110-meter hurdles. His perfor-mances during the indoor season made him an All-American.

PHOTO CREDIT: Maria Bartolo

By Deandre HarperStaff Writer The girls track team went into conference with the No. 1 seed, and they successfully won the confer-ence track meet. The boys went into Conference number two, and came out of Conference in second place. At the Regional track meet, the boys placed second overall, out of 25 teams. The girls placed ninth overall, de-spite missing one of the leaders of the team, Taleya Harris. “I feel like the boys came out and smashed the regional track meet, and they’ve performed at a high level and competed against high compe-tition,” Coach Rob Clodfelter said.

The following Hillside ath-letes qualified for States: for the girls, Charlotte George, Courtney Go-ins, Victoria Powell, LeLe Grissom (4x800 relay); Demia Scott, Jamila McKoy, Imari McLean, Khira Har-ris (4x200 relay) and Imari McLean (long jump); for the boys, Mar-cus Krah (long jump, triple jump, 110-meter hurdles); Marcus Krah, Trevion Thompson, Donte Wil-liams, Tyrone Lyons (4x100 relay); McKinley Brown (300-meter hur-dles); Tim Mangum (long jump); Lonnie Kendall, Dawud Holloway, Evan Davis, McKinley Brown(4x400 relay); Desmond Jackson (100, 200, 400 meters, and long jump).

LEFT: The girls track team celebrates their PAC-6 conference win. The athletes and coaches pictured are as follows (left to right): front row: Alexandra Simpson; second row: Fahsyrah Knight, Jamila McKoy, Khira Harris, Jasmine Hines, Jolanta Pinkney ; third row: Coach Rob Clodfelter, Taleya Harris, Imari McLean, Victoria Powell, Adora Harris, Charlotte George; fourth row: Vanessa Bright, Lele Grissom, Coach Euba McKoy. The girls team went on to place ninth at Re-gionals. Photo Courtesy of Rob Clodfelter

BELOW: The boys track team, led by sophomore Marcus Krah, placed second at both Conference and Regionals.

See our Web site, hillsidechronicle.com, for updated cover-age of the both teams’ performances at States!

By Diamond CannadyStaff Writer Hillside soccer earned many successes this year, including the naming of Kirsten Smith as one of the two All-Con-ference Goalies for the 4A Conference. Deja Um-stead was also named to the all-conference team. Hillside earned four wins this season: against Southern High School, 2-1; against E.E. Smith High School, 7-1; against Granville Cen-tral High School, 2-1 and against Person High School, 1-0. A c c o r d -ing to Coach Jokyra Bull-ock-Scott, the standout offensive players this year

HILLSIDE ATHLETICS

Senior softball players prepare for their next steps

Soccer team finishes the season with four wins

were Jareea Bullock and Briana Wills. The stand-out defensive players were Ana Krah, Brianna Head and Olivia Hager, Coach Bullock-Scott added. The team struggled through injuries this season. One of the captains, Jasmine Hardy, suffered a fractured knee, and two other play-ers suffered ankle sprains. Because of all of the injuries on varsi-ty, Mrs. Bullock-Scott had to pull JV players up and put them on varsity. “So far I feel good about the season and the wins overall, but I feel that the team can work hard-er than they’re doing now,” Coach Bullock-Scott said.

Senior Ana Krah, one of Hill-side’s standout defensive play-ers this season, takes a throw-

in during the game against Northern High. Photo courtesy

of Jokyra Bullock-Scott

Arie’yana Easterling plays left field and has

plans to go to Hampton.

Delecia Utley plays second base; she has been accepted

to Howard.

Joy Wright is first base for Hillside; she will attend

UNC-Charlotte next year.

Chelsea Allen, Hillside’s right fielder, is headed to Shaw

University next year.

PAGE 7

By Adonis Barbee and Kiera ScottStaff Writers Seniors are up-set that this year there is a 10-ticket limit for graduation. The reason there is a ticket limit this year is because of safety and security concerns in the past, Cherelle Lee, se-nior guidance counselor, said. There isn’t anything that Durham Public School students can do to prevent this; Duke University and N.C. Central University, which will host the district’s graduation ceremonies, have their minds made up about the ticket limit. The universities told all the counselors about this adjustment to gradu-ation at the end of March. Ms. Lee said she would have preferred the universities to tell everyone beforehand so they could have time to prepare. William Logan, Hill-side’s principal, said, “Earlier notification would have been preferred; the decision was made earlier in the year, and I think it should have been shared in the winter months so everyone could plan ac-

SPOTLIGHT ON GRADUATION

By Janika StevensonStaff Writer Graduation will be on June 12 at 9 a.m. at Duke Cameron Indoor Stadium. Seniors need to be at Duke in their gowns and dark shoes no later than 8 a.m. Everyone should be aware of the 10 ticket limit. Seniors who need more tickets can go to the Hillside Web site and click on the ticket picture to put in extra ticket request. Graduation practice will be at Cameron Stadium on Tuesday, June 10 at noon.

Seniors will get 10 graduation tickets

By Imani NunnStaff Editor My four years at Hill-side have been a whirlwind. They have come with their share of sunshine, rain, thun-derstorms and droughts, but all of that helped me grow and bloom into the person I am to-day! The feeling of graduating high school and preparing to take one of the biggest steps of my life is indescribable. Hillside and the teachers here have helped me learn not only about math, science, Social Studies and English, but they have taught me about how to be suc-cessful in LIFE! For that I cannot thank them enough. Hillside is not your average high school, and the students here are not just nor-mal students. Looking at Hill-side from the outside in, you would think that it’s all about

cordingly.” Hillside students will be able to order their tick-ets online after Spring Break. They can order 10 tickets, and those who want more have to put in a re-quest through the Web site. “Everyone isn’t go-ing to have 10 people come to their graduation, so they should figure out who’s go-ing to have extra tickets and try to work it that way,” Dr. Logan said. “We are trying to figure out how many tickets each person needs, and who doesn’t need 10, and give them to people who need more.” Everyone isn’t grad-uating; unfortunately, so those will be extra tickets as well, Dr. Logan added. “I don’t think it’s fair because people have been making arrangements to come to other people’s graduation from out of town, and it is in-considerate to people that have large families,” Senior Jasmine Hodges said. “They waited to the last minute to tell everyone two months before graduation.” Students can try to make a change, but I don’t think it will work because

Seniors should prepare for graduation events

Duke has already put the rule into effect so there isn’t much we can do to change it.” James Key, Durham Public Schools superintendent of high schools, stated the fol-lowing in a notice to all district high schools: “Due to security concerns that have occurred in recent years around the country at large events open to the general public, Duke University and N.C. Central University have requested that we require all persons entering our graduation ceremonies to have a ticket for admission.” The decision was made to allot each student 10 tickets to help ensure that our graduation venues do not become overcrowded. As an additional secu-rity measure, both universities will use their security staff to check bags upon entrance. Mr. Key also stated that every high school has already been allot-ted 200 extra tickets and those that need more should contact Amy Bass by May 5. “The pur-pose behind requiring each entrant to have a ticket was to make sure not just anyone off the street could enter a gradua-tion ceremony,” Mr. Key stated.

LEFT: Seniors can now go to the school Web site to

request their graduation tickets. Ev-

eryone is al-loted 10 and can request

more. PHOTO CREDIT:

Maria Bartolo

Graduation will be June 12. PHOTO CREDIT: Kiera Scott

Imani Nunn says she’s had an amazing

journey, and she’s ready to start her col-lege career. She plans to study journalism in preparation for

a career as a sports commentator or talk

show host. PHOTO CREDIT:

Ernest Johnson

Nunn says her goodbye

After the rehearsal, the school will hold a senior class picnic on the football. Project Grad will be held at the Down-town Marriott begin-ning at 10 p.m. on June 12.Registration will be on the available soon on the school Web site. Each senior is allowed to bring one guest who must enter with their host; everyone must be checked in by midnight. The party ends at 3 a.m., it will feature food, priz-es and a $1,000 scholarship.

what you wear and who you know, but when you talk to some of the people here, you realize that everyone here has a story and everyone is a survi-vor of something. The students here want to become bet-ter than what they are today. High school has been the hardest task that I have had to tackle in my life, and on June 12, 2014 I can say that I have SURVIVED high school. You know they say, “Time flies when you’re hav-ing fun!” That statement couldn’t have been more true. I never thought my gradua-tion time would have come this fast, and I never expect-ed that I would have become a mentor to underclassmen. I just want to say thank you to everyone for everything they have done for me, and I look forward to seeing what the future has in store for me.

QuiNeshia Graham, Brian Edwards, Chasen Harris, Rysden Dunn, Kiana McCall, Breana Kea, Shaheed Cure, Mercedes Lilestin, Joy Wright, Gimere Tooles and Christina Mattioli celebrate their acceptance to N.C. A&T University during Hillside’s Senior Breakfast. The

event was held on May 2 and included complimentary chicken and waffles.

SENIOR FAREWELLS

By Tanasia WilliamsStaff Writer Dear Seniors of 2014, we have been through many trials and tribulations. The amount of patience required to get through our last year is an outstanding amount. We, as a class, have faced many battles against our teachers, our parents and even ourselves. Though we have been pushed down, the Kings and Queens of 2014 have fought through it. We, being the Kings and Queens of 2014, need to not only influence the under-classmen to be as great as us, but also to remind them who was the best. The underclass-men are waiting impatiently to jump and take the throne.

We won’t let them just take it, they have to earn it by working hard and playing hard. For example, Kayla Tate is one of the biggest en-thusiasts in the senior class. Tate wants to become a judge and she definitely has the po-tential. She has a lot of school spirit and is one of the friend-liest people you will ever meet. She works hard and plays harder. Another great person to look at is Kayla Daniels. Daniels is class president and a very active person in school activities. Other seniors have shown that they’ve definite-ly earned their spot on the throne. Underclassmen need

It’s finally coming to an end! During these four years, we have overcome many struggles and obstacles such as getting last minute credits and getting all the things filled out for college and applying for scholarships and now it’s all over. We are about to em-bark on a new journey in our lives. High school has been hard for a lot of us, but these experiences and situations have made us stronger and taught us many lessons. I would like to give a big thank you to all the staff, teachers, parents and commu-

nity members who have helped us reach this moment in our life. We are very thankful. I also would like to give a special thank you to our principal, William Logan, who has given us the proper tools, advice and push that we need-ed to get where we are now. We truly thank you and love you. Everything comes to an end sooner or later, and now that time has come. It’s time for us to apply all the things we learned over the course of our lives so that we can be success-ful. I wish all the senior students of 2014 the best; we truly are the Kings and Queens. I wish everyone best wishes and best of luck in the future.

High school has pre-pared us to move on

LEFT: Tanasia Williams says it is important for

seniors to take time to be the best that they can be as individuals and as a

united class. PHOTO CREDIT: Olivia

Barringer

to do the same; that way when their time comes, they will be ready. But until then, they need to just watch the throne. However, there is no need to fight. We as seniors know that our time on the throne is coming to an end. As we pass on our crowns and step off of the pedestals, we begin our jour-ney toward our own path and our own goals. It is important to take the time we have now to be the best that we can be as individuals and as a united class. United we stand and united we fall; but in our case, instead of falling, we will fly. We’ll do whatever it takes. Just as long we remember what made us who we are today.

The underclassmen need to earn their place on the throneOlivia Barringer says high school has been hard for a lot of

us, but these experiences have made us stronger and taught us many lessons. PHOTO CREDIT: Ernest Johnson

By Olivia BarringerStaff Writer

By Nathaniel CockerhamStaff Writer Class of 2014, we are about to take the next step in our lives. High school has been rough for many of us. Some of the situations that we experienced have made us stronger and more willing to reach our goals. I, for one, have had a tough time during my four years here at Hillside, and I know I’m not alone. From dealing with schoolwork and people in gen-eral, to dealing with personal issues outside of school, I’ve dealt with a lot. Then there are students who have jobs on school days and weekends, so that makes it very difficult to keep up with school work. Although I was able to meet up with some of my friends from middle school, I still felt like I needed more, as if there was something missing. Then, something major blindsided me.

Nathaniel Cockerham says that high school can be rough for many students. PHOTO CREDIT: Olivia Barringer

During my freshman year, in the middle of the school day, I found out that someone had burned my house down. I felt like I lost ev-erything. Out of everyone in my family, my dad and I must’ve been the most hurt about the loss. I couldn’t control my emotions at the time, and it felt like there was nothing that I could do. For the following weeks, it was hard for me to stay focused in school. My grades started to drop. I be-came anti-social and very

misunderstood. It took al-most a year for me to recov-er from what had happen. However, I was soon able to find myself again. This time, I was better than before. When I found out that our home was being re-built, it gave me hope. I also started to bring my grades up and was getting more posi-tive feedback from many of my teachers. I also started to become stronger mentally. So, although these past few years have been tough, we have to finish out this year with a bang!

Schedule of senior events:Seniors beat the odds *Monday, May 19: Family Feud Game Show /

Showtime at the Nest (Talent Show), 3 p.m. in the theater

*Tuesday, May 20: The Amazing Race (Scaven-ger Hunt - no more than six per team), 3 p.m. on HHS campus; dress to show your team spirit

*Wednesday, May 21: Go to War: Men vs. Wom-en Decathlon, 3 p.m. in the stadium; wear sports-wear

*Thursday, May 22: Awards Night, 6 p.m. in the theater, business casual attire

*Friday, May 23: PowderPuff Game, 6 p.m. in the stadium; tickets cost $3

*Saturday, May 24: Step Show, 7 p.m. in the the-ater

*Sunday, May 25: “Evening of Memories,” 6 p.m. in the lobby/cafeteria, semi-formal attire; those who want to participate in this reception must turn in $5 to Media Coordinator Nelda Caddell by Friday, May 23