“Springing into the Last Quarter”

By TMI Journalism Club

Reflecting on Spring Break- The Value of Rest

Photo from iStock

What is a break? Many of you spent your spring break traveling to foreign countries, or simply driving a few hours south to Corpus. Based on the results from our Instagram poll, students traveled all over the world, from Pakistan and the Bahamas to Port A and Mexico. It’s safe to say that many people enjoyed their week off, taking full advantage of the break given. 

A break can be defined as “a pause in work or during an activity or event” as Oxford Language puts it quite simply. Especially as school comes to an end, the workload can grow stressful as tests and finals gradually approach. Also, everyone has their own personal dilemmas that can easily add to the stress caused by school. How do you take a break even when spring break is long gone? This is where the value of rest comes into play.

Humans are made to have a healthy balance of work and rest. Working extensively can lead to depression and dissatisfaction, and let’s be honest, no one really likes anyone who is only focused on work and school. However, resting all the time causes laziness and a lack of improvement, two characteristics that no one wants to obtain. So how do we implement both work and rest? It’s important to listen to your body and create routines that work best for you personally. Maybe you always feel tired in the evening because track practice has been pushing you to your limits. So, instead of staying up until 2 a.m.  just trying to do the bare minimum of your work, allow yourself to take a nice hot shower, do your skincare routine, put your phone on Do Not Disturb, and go to sleep by nine. That way, by five in the morning, you have slept for a good eight hours and should be ready to work with a clear mind. This is just one example of balancing work and rest.

As the year wraps up, I encourage you to explore how you can take care of your mind and body by resting. Listen to your body. Listen to how you feel. And most importantly, don’t forget to take care of yourself and your mental health. Spring break may be over, but that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to take it easy.

Student vs. Staff/Faculty Basketball Game

This was the second year of the Student Vs. Staff Basketball Game. Both the students and the staff gave it their all with a final score of 86-84, leaving the faculty with a “W,” unfortunately. The game was close throughout, and many students were shocked by the faculty’s skill. Mr. Griffith was given an MVP award at the end, with Coach Brown also leading the staff to a win. Although the students lost this year, staff members better be ready because next year we are coming back better than ever! 

Big Tent Event

On Wednesday, March 22nd, four seniors, Gabby Beck, Devin Khemalaap, Kendrick de Luna, and Andy Cubriel, took the stage during the second Big Tent Event of the year. The seniors did an exceptional job telling their stories in a casual, Ted Talk-like fashion. To add to this incredible event, Niya Omiridis ’24 opened up the night with a beautifully-sung Fleetwood Mac cover. Great job to all the students!

Spring Sports

TMI lacrosse team and TMI track team

Spring sports are well underway with district, regional, and state competitions coming up next month. So far this season, we’ve seen amazing performances by our baseball team, softball team, tennis team, track team, boys lacrosse team, and our newly formed girls lacrosse team (more about them in the Q&A section).

Many TMI panthers have enjoyed coming out to watch the baseball home games, even taking advantage of their study hall periods to do so. We’ve also seen a number of home tennis matches and a successful season so far for them as well. Softball has recently brought home some hardware; earlier this month, they had a tournament in Llano where they won both of their games and won their bracket! Track, even with a good amount of seniors leaving the team, has also seen the team grow with many new members this season. TMI boys lacrosse has once again dominated their division (a division higher than where they were last year), looking to win another state title. Finally, girls lacrosse is almost to a close with their first program win against SMH just a few weeks ago, and we can’t wait to see how this team will continue to grow.

Looking Ahead: Prom 2023

Juniors and Seniors! Prom will be on Saturday, April 22nd at the San Antonio Zoo. Use the QR code to purchase tickets, or click the link: https://form.jotform.com/tmiepiscopal/prom-tickets. Also, if you are interested in bringing a guest outside of TMI, fill out this form by April 17th: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a7IrfZU6vKFRJCbABd2Sy0V1b4_68ZdT/view. Girls, start wrapping up your dress shopping, and boys, start asking out your desired dates. It’s about time!

Yearbook 2022-2023

As the 2022-2023 school year comes to a close, Panthers can start looking forward to getting their yearbooks! Thank you to the hardworking staff and Mr. Rupe as they have been coming in on weekends, staying after school, and working during flex or lunch to meet their deadlines. The staff, which consists of eight girls, have dedicated so much time and effort into making sure this yearbook is the best one yet. Stay tuned for the announcement of the yearbook theme!

PANTHER VOICES:

Mini Muse:

Celebrating student creativity.

Cristian Beitz ’24: The Harm of Censorship

The world has seen its fair share of censorship recently, from Russia’s wartime censorship of their losing war in Ukraine to whole government entities like the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) keeping the Chinese people unaware of the truth, while feeding them lies. These may seem troubling on the global stage, but what if this very thing can be found in your own backyard? Censorship occurs in private entities all over the United States of America (USA), keeping unwanted truths from being shared, due to one major sentiment: fear. Private entities are worried that truths may harm their reputations, and as a result, they keep everyone in the said entity from expressing their own truths. This may seem like a fair out issue, but it affects every one of you

¿Nuevos cambios? ¡No, no se puede!

By: Ramiro Cavazos

In a time after the major Black Lives Matter movements, I can only sit and think about “what if?” What if the Latino community successfully supported La Raza Unida (and if it supported itself)? We as Latinos represent the largest ethnic minority in the United States representing about 20% of the population. In spite of this, we only represent 11% of the voting population. Latinos seem uninterested in politics and in voicing their opinions through democracy. Latino activists are not afraid to voice their opinions on national television or on a countless number of podcasts, but we still refuse to vote.

The fact that the Latino community is now turning against the democrat party, which it pledged its allegiance to 70 years ago, doesn’t surprise me. Those who do vote have disproportionately voted with the Democratic party, an allegiance stemming from the scramble for representation in the wake of the Chicano movement. This has only led to unfilled promises and little to no representation. In fact, it was Ronald Reagan, a Republican, who gave Latinos major representation with the appointment of Dr. Lauro Cavazos as the Secretary of Education. Latinos constantly vote with politicians who rely on the “Identity Politics” vote. They actually don’t care about the true issues facing their own communities and are frozen in a time where Cesar Chavez is alive and well and others are fixing the community for them.

When I attended the 27th Annual Cesar Chavez March for Justice something dawned on me, that I was part of a political play. I was the fake audience that will give a positive reaction to anything related to the mission of Cesar Chavez and the march, and when politicians like Roland Gutierrez and Julian Castro made their speeches they focused not only on the mission and legacy left behind by Cesar Chavez but also similar political talking points used during the 2022 Midterms. Uvalde, Gun Violence made a huge appearance at a march that at its core is supposed to focus on Unionization and workers’ rights. Many institutions were present and it felt very fake, as a march where the Police Sheriff is in attendance feels less like a March for Justice but a political ploy. The presence of politicians facing Reelection campaigns (Like Mayor Ron Nirenberg) and challenging national races (Rumor is that Roland Guitierrez is planning a senate run against Ted Cruz) was ever present at the march. The march itself was boring with cheers of “Si se puede!” ringing out and “Viva San Antonio” over megaphones.

After the March, I was more focused on where I was going to eat lunch rather than what I had participated in. This march sparked no change and will not spark any change. This march is the twilight ceremony for the last generation of Latinos who remember La Raza Unida, a massive political party proposed to give Latino people to vote for and their own united political platform or the Chicano movement, a movement by Latino college students to push for a new Latino identity (as Chicanos), fight against racism and push the community forward. As a modern Latino who is politically minded this march felt nothing more than political theatre and I was part of the backdrop. This further reinforces the hard truth that Latinos are unable currently to fight for their rights or move forward. The Latino community seems content with its current situation as a sign reading “Latinos will suffer through despair together” reinforced this mindset. Latinos seemed all too focused on how far back we are and how to maintain the status quo than focusing on how to move forward and grow. If all we are going to do is to complain about the existing economic, social, and political setbacks rather than focusing on the solutions to these issues then Latinos will stay frozen in the Chicano movement (many still refer to themselves as Chicano/as today).

What do we need? Its complex economic opportunities and reform are paramount to our success as a group. We lag behind Whites and Asians in median income despite accounting for $2.8 trillion of the US GDP. We also lack representation in politics mainly due to the fact we loathe voting and only represent 11% of the voting population in spite of representing 18.9% of the total population of the U.S. being the largest ethnic minority. Latinos also face ever-mounting racism fueled by rhetoric from xenophobic groups. Shootings like in El Paso were caused by this coming in a time where almost all minorities face real risk living daily life (Jews in California, Blacks in Buffalo). So I end my rant with a question, Will the next generation of Latinos be the one to buck 50 years of stagnation and bring us forward as a community? I am part of the generation that needs to answer this question with a resounding yes. Failure to do so will lead to us moving further behind to a point of no return.

Kaleb Yu ’24: The Lost Phone

Advice Column:

Q: How can I be nicer to people? 

A: The first step to act nicer to people is to identify how you are being mean to others. Once you’ve done that, identify why you are being mean to them. It’s time to self-reflect and think about how you would want others to treat you. Try to begin with some random acts of kindness without gaining a reward. Think about your words before you say them. Good luck and be kind!

Q: Should I have joined lacrosse? I am a girl so I am not sure they would accept me. 

A: Fortunately, we have a wonderful girls lacrosse team with around twenty members. The team was created by juniors Alexis Block and Tiffany Dai, who we had the privilege of speaking with. Tiffany Dai says, “We welcome players of all levels of experience and we would love to have you! It is never too late to join.” To answer your question about joining lacrosse, Alexis states, “Yes. We have a lot of fun at practice and you should come to try it out.” The club meets on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The club also has extra gear, so you won’t even have to buy your own equipment when trying it out! Give lacrosse a try and join this amazing group of athletes. 

Q: What is What?

A: Depending on your perception of what is, this question may vary; however, at its very core, what is only a word connecting to a question regarding an item or piece of information presented? This is arguably one of the most general and common of the five W’s of the English language. This also can be applied if one is unable to process the details of audio from another human yearning for their attention. If one is pondering about existence, we are unsure of what “what” is at its most basic form. In reality, we can’t really ever figure it out and attempting to figure it out in a more serious manner will result in a deep pondering which will occur for an unknown amount of time. In other words, one can spend millennia pondering and still not even have a single piece of the puzzle describing what “what” exactly is. There are many interpretations, but these are some of which I believe to be the most prevalent. The only clear answer is in the form of a question I will ask you. The question is, “What is what to you?”  Only then will you not have to ponder because there is no clear answer to the question you’ve asked.  It is all up to interpretation.

Q: How do I get a boy to be my prom date?

A: Prom is coming up, which leaves many people asking this one detrimental question: “Who will be my prom date?” Typically, boys ask girls, but don’t be afraid to step out of the status quo. However, if you would rather be asked with a mediocre sign and pink roses, here are some tips to get a guy to ask you to prom:

1. Hang out with him at school. Treat him as one of your friends. (He already should be if you want to spend a whole prom night with him). Don’t overthink anything, just spend time with him when you can.
2. Ask him if he’s going to prom. Get the question of prom rolling in the air, but remain indirect. Don’t ask him who he’s going to prom with yet. Just ask him if he’s even going. If he keeps the conversation going and asks you about your thoughts on prom, that’s a great sign. If not, he could just be clueless.
3. Ask him if he’s going to prom with anyone. Who knows, he could have a secret girlfriend from Arizona who is flying out to see him! To be safe, once you’ve built a good friendship with him, ask him about his date ideas. If he mentions another girl…welp!
4. If you have done all of these steps and he hasn’t even considered you as a date, just let him go. If he really wanted to go with you, he would! Plus, just be your authentic self and remember it’s always okay to go alone or with your friends.  

Q: How does Sage Dining Services create their fabulous meals?

A: They use high quality ingredients and expertly trained chefs to make their delicious masterpieces.