February 2013Volume XI | Issue 3

Page Two-Women in combat ap-proved; violent games condemned

-Obama restocks cabinet

Page Three-Flu epidemic

- K-2

-Anonymous attacks

-Romeo and Juliet law

-Marines pay for college

-Keep the drive safe

Page Four

Page Five-Rodeo lineup

-Porkchop’s Cuisine

-Ask Annie

-Rodeo scholarships

Page Nine

-Valentine’s Day

Page Eight-Beyonce comes back 2013

-How much are you in love?

-Love vs. desire

Page Six and Seven

-Inside scoopFFAArt

UILScience

Page Eleven

Page Ten

-Blasting the Beat

-Name of the Game

-Fabulously Fascinating

-Book review

-Interviews with athletes

Page Twelve-And more...

Layout by Jessica Curtis

News CougarpolitanFebruary 2013

Editor-in-chiefAssistant Editor

News EditorFeature Editors

Editorial EditorSports Editor

Enter. Editor

Jessica CurtisAaron WilliamsCourtney BondsAnita StuebeJosh AkinsKayla FergusonDevan Anderson

Casey Johns

Copy Editors Courtney Bonds

Coral Hohn

Buisness Manager Kristen Hoover

Photographers Devan Anderson, Sam Corral, Sam Nuzum, Coral Hohn, Josh

Akins

Reporters Aaron Williams, Kenneth Rucker, Sheree Fails, Casey Johns, Zachary Leonard, Anita Stuebe, Devan Anderson, Cor-al Hohn, Kristen Hoover, Josh Akins, Sam Corral, Christian Garza,Courtney Bonds, Kayla Ferguson

PrincipalAdviser

Greg BowerMichelle Courrege

Cougarpolitan

The

Page 2

Reporter

Sheree FailsReporter

Anita Stuebe

Women in the infan-try and video game

bans; two things circling the news lately that could be seen as controversial topics.In September of 2013, a small group of young female ma-rines will break through one of the last barriers of macho in the US military. They will be the first class of female offi-cers to take part in the Infantry Officer Course in Quantico, Virginia, a test of both physi-cal fitness and mental will that prepares the corps’ future platoon leaders. All women will be volunteers, with their training closely watched. Such training could lead to women participating in the Marine Infantry permanently.In the coming years, lifting the ban on women in combat, announced January 24, 2013 by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, might prove chal-lenging in the most iconic of military occupations- the in-fantry, (among the most physi-cally demanding branches of the Marines and Army.) For the 65 years that women have enjoyed a permanent place in the United States military, they have been subject to re-strictions. One reason is the idea embedded in our culture

that women should be shielded from great physical risks. An-other is recognition of the phys-ical superiority of the average male over the average female. The last 11 years of war have clearly demonstrated that war-fare is no longer waged in a linear fashion, and that the concept of “front line” no lon-ger implies. Although infantry remains one of the most dan-gerous military occupations, lethal weaponry and tactics have heightened the risk of almost every occupation. War has become more uniformly dangerous. Infantry soldiers & marines are primary forces for operations on foot. They not only travel long distances, but also frequently carry loads in excess of 50 lbs; short- and long-term health effects of such demands can be significant. Physical differences between the sexes remain a tough sub-ject. Determining gender-neu-tral physical standards for an in-tegrated infantry will be one of the most difficult tasks ahead. As well as wom-en in the infantry, another controversial subject at the time is a proposed bill to ban violent video games.Sen. Jay Rockefeller has introduced one of Con-

gress’ first pieces of legisla-tion related to the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut: A bill to study the impact of violent games on children. “This week we are all focused on protecting our children. At times like this, we need to take a compre-hensive look at all the ways we can keep our kids safe. I have long expressed concern about the impact of the vio-lent content our kids see and interact with every day,” said Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. Rockefeller’s bill would di-rect the National Academy of Sciences to lead the investiga-tion on video games’ impact and submit a report on its find-ings within 18 months. The legislation comes after reports suggested that Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza may have played video games like “Call of Duty” and “StarCraft.” Other lawmakers, such as Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Sen. Joe Lieberman have also ex-pressed support for scrutiniz-ing the content of video games. “Recent court decisions dem-onstrate that some people still do not get it,” added Rock-efeller. “They believe that vio-

lent video games are no more dangerous to young minds than classic literature or Sat-urday morning cartoons. Par-ents, pediatricians, and psy-chologists know better. These court decisions show we need to do more and explore ways Congress can lay additional groundwork on this issue. This report will be a criti-cal resource in this process.”In 2011, the Supreme Court struck down a California law banning the sale of violent video games to minors. Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for a 7-2 majority, said the law was “unprecedented and mistaken” and noted that fairy tales, which are read to children at bedtime, have “no shortage of gore.”The Entertainment Software Association, which speaks on behalf of the video game industry, did not return a re-quest for a comment. It has constantly argued, how-ever, that video games do not make people violent.“The myth that video games cause violent behavior is un-dermined by scientific research and common sense,” said Mi-chael Gallagher, president of ESA, in 2010, “according to FBI statistics, youth violence

has declined in recent years as computer and videogame popularity soared. We do not claim that the increased popu-larity of games caused the de-cline, but the evidence makes a mockery of the suggestion that the video game mar-ket cause violent behavior.”Rockefeller’s bill comes be-fore any legislation in the sen-ate to look at the role guns play in violent incidents.“The Entertainment Software Association, and the entire industry it represents, mourns the tragedy at Sandy Hook El-ementary School. Our heart-felt prayers and condolences go out to the families who lost loved ones, and to the en-tire community of Newtown. The search for meaningful solutions must consider the broad range of actual factors that may have contributed to this tragedy. Any such study needs to include the years of extensive research that has shown no connection between entertainment and real-life violence,” said the Entertain-ment Software Association.Both women in the infan-try and the video game ban have yet to be compromised.

Women in combat approved but violent video games condemned

Hillary Clinton, Tim Geith-ner, Jay Carney, Ken

Salazar, Ron Kirk, Hilda So-lis, Leon Panetta, Steven Chu, and Ray LaHood will all be packing their bags and head-ing out as Barack Obama begins his second term as president and his search for nominees to fill their positions. At the beginning of February Clinton stepped down as secretary of state. “I don’t have any real plans to make any decisions. I’m looking forward to some very quiet time catching up on everything from sleep, to read-ing, to walking with my fam-ily. I think it’s hard to imagine for me what it will be like next week when I wake and have nowhere to go. Maybe I’ll go back to sleep for a change,” said the former secretary of state in an interview with The Huffington Post in late January. The current Secretary of State is former Massachu-setts Senator and 2004 Presi-dential nominee John Kerry.

Another member of Obama’s cabinet leaving is Tim Geithner current secretary of the treasury, although he planned to stay through the fiscal cliff, which ended at the beginning of this year, Geith-ner is expected to leave at the beginning of February. Obama has nominated current white house Chief of Staff, Jack Lew, to take Geithners posi-tion. Jack Lew is described by Obama to be “a low-key guy who prefers to surround him-self with policy experts rather than television cameras.” Along with Clinton and Geithner, Ron Kirk ,the US Trade Representative is also leaving. “He needs to make money. He’s definitely going back to the private sector,” says a White House source. Kirk is an attorney and the former mayor of Dallas, Tex-as. There is not an actual date for when he will be leaving the cabinet, but his departure has been anticipated by many. With half the cabinet leaving, the question what will

the other half do. Attorney General Eric Holder plans to stay as he helps Vice President Joe Biden’s task force to find ways to reduce gun violence in America. Secretary of Agri-culture Tom Vilsack will also be staying. Vilsack has been a main key in the Obama ad-ministration and currently plays an important role in framing the administrations positions as it campaigns to modify America’s gun laws, ”I am pleased to continue working alongside President Obama to grow more oppor-tunity and rural America,” said Vilsack at the beginning of the year. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is also keeping her position and plays an important role in Obama’s push for immigra-tion legislation. Along side Vilsack and Napolitano sec-retary of education Arne Dun-can and Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius will also be staying .

Obama restocks cabinet

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NewsCougarpolitanFebruary 2013

Emily will be moved to TIRR rehab to learn how to see, walk, and talk again with-in a few years. “It is my little sister shining through, in ev-ery way she can manage, with every ounce of strength.” said Blake Blake, her older brother. Emily’s mother has started a charity for Emily called S.A.F.E. (Synthetic Aware-ness For Emily). This charity will spread awareness about the dangers of kush so that no one will suffer like Emily.

Courtney Bonds

Casey Johns

Reporter

Reporter

Reporter

Kayla Ferguson

Fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body

aches, headaches, and fatigue. All the above symptoms de-scribe what you could feel like if you get this seasons flu. Forty-eight states in the United States have de-clared this flu season to be one of the worst experienced since 2009 when H1N1, the swine flu, swept over the na-tion. Thirty-four thousand five hundred forty people have been diagnosed with this sea-son’s flu outbreak, resulting in the death of 29 individu-

als, since September 30, 2012. “Recently my clinic has been overthrown with patients who believe they have the flu or actually do have the flu,” said Kemah Physician Kevin Da-vis, “Four out of every ten patients I’ve seen in the last month have actually exhib-ited symptoms of the flu.’’According to Flu.gov every year 20 percent of the U.S. pop-ulation contracts the flu virus. “I’ve also seen many patients who were afraid of catching the flu and wanted advice on how to avoid the flu, and how

to control the flu if you do contract it,” said Dr. Davis.Washing your hands, drink-ing a lot of water, getting an adequate amount of sleep, and getting a flu vaccination are all ways the flu can be prevented.“I haven’t sent many students home with the flu, but I have noticed an increase in ab-sences. It’s hard to say if the flu has reached its peak due to the fact that in many states the flu is still widespread,” said school nurse Tanya Murphy. Many doctors and health officials claim that flu vac-

U.S. under

A girl gets blinded and most-ly paralyzed from smok-

ing “synthetic marijuana” known as kush. Emily Bauer, now 17, tried kush for the first time with her boyfriend and suffered damage to her brain. After 15 minutes of smoking kush, Emily said she had a migraine and wanted to lie down. She then had strokes that caused her to urinate on herself, run into walls, speak nonsense, have delusions, and act violent. She was taken to

Northwest Cypress Hospital, placed in a coma, and spent four days in the ICU while doctors did tests on her brain. Doctors found out the strokes caused part of her brain to per-manently shut down due to the brain not being able to receive oxygen and her blood vessels contracting. After she was life-flighted to Memorial Herman Hospital Children’s ICU, her blood vessels opened up. This caused the pressure to her brain to be at a level twenty-eight (a

cines are running low and only a limited amount can be spared by certain areas, but in reality this “running low” claim is used every year and is misinterpreted by most of the country. When you hear vaccines are running low in your area it doesn’t necessar-ily mean there is not enough to go around, but certain stores in your area have reported shortages. When trying to find a store that still has vac-cines available call in advance and check their supply, if they don’t have an adequate supply,

Page 3

there is probably another store right down the road that still has a numerous amount left. “There are some signs that the major flu outbreak af-fecting the U.S. has peaked in some states,” said Dr. William Schaffner on cbsnews.org. With the flu gradually peak-ing in some areas of North America minds have been set to rest knowing that this flu outbreak is at its worst and can soon come to an end. For now, people need to continue to take precautions for their health and keep getting vaccinated.

Anonymous hacks for justiceAnonymous, a community

of online “hacktivists” known for working against in-ternet censorship for the free-

dom of the people. Anonymous is known for their protests against hate groups and revealing secrets about organizations that would otherwise remain unknown. They hide behind Guy Fawkes masks to keep their identities hidden and stay an anonymous

source. Anonymous has re-cently launched what they call “Operation Last Resort” in honor of Reddit co-founder and internet freedom fighter, Aaron Shwartz, who recently took his own life after alleged thievery of a journalistic website. As part of Operation Last Resort, Anonymous has hacked and defaced the United States Sen-tencing Commission website

in hopes to drop the charges that were put against Shwartz, even after his demise. More recently though, the group conducted a hack against the U.S. Federal Reserve and re-leased information for over 4,000 banking executives, ac-cording to Huffington Post. The website has been restored since then and apparently the incident did not affect any op-eration of the Federal Reserve. Other news on account of Anonymous consists of mul-tiple protests against religious groups known for disturbing the peace. Most notably, the Westboro Baptist Church web-site leak. After the recent San-dy Hook Elementary School shooting, WBC planned to picket the funerals supposedly “praising God for his work in executing his judgment,” according to a Westboro rep-resentative on the Westboro

official website. Not only did any knowing American disap-prove, but so did Anonymous. The group released an online video calling out the church. An animated voice could be heard threatening to “render [Westboro Baptist Church] obsolete,” and to completely dismantle the WBC making it no longer exist as a group and more importantly, as a hate group. Anonymous then con-tinued to hack into the West-boro’s website and release in-formation of several executive members of the church. As well as releasing a public pe-tition against the church onto Twitter, which received over 280,000 signatures. Through-out the battle between the two groups, Westboro Baptist Church has begun to be recog-nized as a hate group and has been banned in Canada and the United Kingdom, which can be

read on the official site as well, thus executing Anonymous’s plans to take down the church. Anonymous has also waged a war against the Church of Scientology. The church is known for brainwashing its members and tendencies to-wards being a religious cult. They are also accused of wrongly using copyright laws to restrict the amount of infor-mation about the church being leaked onto various websites. Anonymous took the initia-tive, releasing a video against the church onto the inter-net, again with an automated voice. The video consisted of Anonymous claiming that “for the good of your followers… we shall proceed to expel you from the internet and system-atically dismantle the Church of Scientology in its present form,” much like the video re-leased against Westboro Bap-

tist Church. Anonymous then proceeded to flood the website with false data as well as re-leasing secrets of the church. Anonymous claims to have knocked the website offline with a denial of service attack, bombing the system with re-quests, and overwhelming it with data, as seen on Huffing-ton Post. The website has since been restored, but Anonymous has stated in their videos, that they would not stop until the church has been destroyed. Anonymous, all in all, has made a significant effect on the amount of hate spread through the internet. They will continue their mission until all goals have been accomplished and complete freedom is an option through the internet.

normal human is from one to ten). She had to have a life or death operation that would drill a hole into her head to drain the fluid from her brain. Kush is designed to mimic the effects of THC, which is the active ingredi-ent in marijuana, with lab created compounds. Gas sta-tions, head shops, and online sites can often sale this prod-uct for as much as $40 dol-lars per gram. “The substance is banned in many European

countries, but by marketing it as incense and clearly stat-ing that it is not for human consumption, domestic sell-ers have managed to evade federal regulation.” accord-ing to The New York Times. The U.S Drug En-forcement Administration said more than 100 different syn-thetic cannabinoid compounds are in circulation with all these compounds, it is difficult for lab researchers to discover what causes these side effects.

Worse than weed

attackfrom within

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Features CougarpolitanFebruary 2013Page 4

Many teenagers would go to the ends of the

Earth to argue that they’re impeccably good drivers. You may have even heard some of your own friends bragging about how they can multitask while behind the wheel. There are many dis-tractions for teen drivers, but sending or reading text mes-sages while driving could very well be the most deadly. Believe it or not, tex-ting while driving astronomi-cally increases the likelihood of an accident. Most teens consider themselves exempt, believing that, since they have done it before without inci-dent, they can easily escape indefinitely without a scratch. Little do they know, accord-ing to most driver education

sources, sending a simple one-word text takes your eyes off the road for an average of 5 seconds. At 55 mph. that’s the equivalent of driving the length of a football field blindfolded. Those five brief seconds could cost not only your own life, but the lives of others around you. While there may be no such thing as a perfect driver, you can easily be a cau-tious driver. Just remember that there shouldn’t be any motive for texting and driv-ing. Take some time to check out some more safety tips at www.KeepTheDrive.com, and share these safety proce-dures with friends and loved ones. Keep in mind, when you drive, you have enough to do. Take a break, turn off your phone, and enjoy the ride.

Keep theClaudia RamirezStudent

drive safe

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When Shakespeare brought Romeo and

Juliet to life, he was inten-tional in choosing two young characters as his protagonists. So now, two teens having a consensual relationship is un-derstandable. But an adult mo-lesting a child is reprehensible. The difference be-tween the two situations would seem obvious. But in many states in the U.S., legal-ly speaking, there’s little dis-tinction between Romeo and Juliet’s mutual decision and the abusive actions of a child molester. An older teen who is intimate with his younger girlfriend can be arrested, prosecuted, and jailed for the act. Even worse, he may carry the stigma of being labeled a predator for the rest of his life. The problem typically

arises when the male is 18 or 19, the female is between 14 and 16, and the parent of the younger teen presses charges. (Even Romeo would be labeled a predator today, as he was be-lieved to be 16 and Juliet 13 when their relationship began.) Though the age of consent (i.e. the age at which an individual can legally agree to be intimate) varies from state to state – and often splits along gender lines – it is de-finitive in one aspect: it refers to intimacy between hetero-sexuals. In over half the states in the U.S., close relations between homosexuals is ei-ther not addressed by existing laws or is considered a crime. In Texas, a new law took effect on September 1, 2011, that prevents teenag-ers and young adults who engage in relations with a

teenager under the age of 17 from being labeled as predators. Often referred to as a “Romeo and Juliet” law, this new law is designed to exempt teenagers and young adults from having to register as pred-ators and being labeled as such just because their consenting partner is under the age of 17. This exemption only applies if there is no more than a four year age differ-ence between the two young people. If the act is between a teenager or young adult over the age of 17 and a teen-ager under the age of 17. Additionally, for the new law to apply, the pur-ported “victim” of the in-timate encounter must be at least 15 years of age.Significantly, this new Ro-meo and Juliet law will not

Kenneth RuckerReporter

Proclaiming Romeo/Juliet laws

You did the time, you got the degree, and now you

have about $56,000 worth of loans or you could have gone to college for free, while getting paid, and do-ing something worthwhile the whole time. That’s exactly what Marine recruiter Staff Sargeant Khris Slaughter advised journalism students to do on January 15, 2013. “You have to want to be a Marine,” said Staff Sargeant Slaughter. This is the first step to get started to-wards making your life have an important marker. Next, you’re going to need at least a 50 on you ASBAV. Then, you have to have certain moral requirements, no drugs, cer-tain tattoo requirements, and physical requirements. This sounds like a lot of effort to put forth, and for what? There is this little thing called a G.I. Bill, with this bill, your enrollment and acceptance into the United States Marines you can get any degree through any col-lege for FREE. That’s right free, and also while you’re out there serving your coun-try and getting a college edu-cation, you’re getting paid. There are a few stipulations though, like boot camp, Ma-rine combat Training, MOS where you learn how to do your job, and after the Marines

so kindly pays for everything all they ask for is your dedica-tion and four years of service after you’re done with college. People are probably thinking “Oh, I can’t get into the Marines,” or “I’m not sure the Marines are for me.” Well here is a rundown of what goes on while in training. In the first phase they take anything that might make you unsuccessful and get rid of it. In the second phase they build you up in a Marine Image, which consist of a certain mental, emotional, physical, and moral standard. Lastly, in the third phase they fine tune you into an outstand-

Marines pay for collegeKristen HooverReporter

Marine Staff Sargeant Slaughter. speaking to the Cougarpolitan Newspaper Staff

prevent the adult individual from facing prosecution for an underlying crime such as carnal assault of a child, but it does exempt the accused from registering as a predator. Recent changes in the laws governing consen-sual acts between minors or an adult 18 years of age and a minor 14-16 years of age have acknowledged that this inti-macy is not the same as moles-tation. The new laws, named “Romeo and Juliet laws” af-ter Shakespeare’s tragic teen-age lovers, attempt to correct overly harsh penalties and prison terms meted out over the years. In 2007, these laws went into effect in Connecti-cut, Florida, Indiana and Texas. In Florida, a 28-year-old man who’d been placed on the state’s offender registry was able to remove his name after

passage of Florida’s Romeo and Juliet law in July 2007. At age 17, Anthony Croce began having coitus with his 15-year-old girlfriend; when he turned 18, the girl’s disap-proving mother pressed charg-es and Croce plead no contest. He was then legally com-pelled to register as a predator. Florida’s new law still regards underage rela-tions as a crime, but a judge may now determine whether to strike this offender desig-nation from those previously convicted. Cases that may lead to an overturned desig-nation would involve a vic-tim who is age 14-17 and has agreed to a consensual rela-tionship; the offender would have to be no more than four years older than the victim and have no other previous crimes of this nature on his record.

ing individual. Also, for you women out there don’t fret about going into a combat zone. In the Marines it is very unlikely that you will be put there. Also, if your let’s say you’re a nurse, you would not be pulled out of your job if a draft were to be put into place. Anyone interested in a opportunity in the Marines can contact Staff Sargeant Khris Slaughter at the Ma-rine Corps Recruiting Service 6908 B Garth Road, Baytown, Texas, 77527 or by phone (281) 421- 2873/7349. The Few. The Proud. The Marines.

FeaturesCougarpolitanFebruary 2013 Page 5

Porkchop’sCuisine

The candle’s glow cast dancing shad-ows across the cur-tains of an open

window, there is a gentle and cool breeze that comes drift-ing in, slow romantic rem-edies play through the iPod’s speakers, the lighting is low and the evening is calm. He gazes in her eyes as she gaz-es back into his and there is nothing that can ruin the mo-ment that has been created on this perfect night, except… a poorly cooked meal! That’s why, in this Valentine issue, I will be giving the perfect meal to prepare for that one sig-nificant other, so the romantic dinner will lead to something even more romantic later. First, the meal needs to be started off with a light Cesar salad that can be cov-ered with fresh basil and garlic dressing. The Cesar salad mix can be found at any local gro-cery store such as Wal-Mart or Kroger. To make the dressing

you can buy a bottle of any brand garlic dressing and add some basil seasoning in with it. It adds a little extra favor to the dressing that anyone will like. Then on top of the dressing you can add a small hand full of craisins (dried cranberries). Next will come the entrée, which will be some grilled pork chops with a side of grilled asparagus with a honey mustard dipping sauce on the side. The pork chops and asparagus will be pretty simple. Grill the pork chops until they are a good color. A simple seasoning can just be some salt and pepper but you can always add other seasonings you would pre-fer such as Tony’s Chacheres or others you might like. Finally there will be the delicious dessert. It will be a chocolate cake with honey dipped almonds and a light drizzle of dark choco-late on top. On the side there will be a small amount of fig

preserves. The cake can be a simple cake mix from any lo-cal grocery store. There are tons of chocolate cake mixes to choose from so you can choose which ever one you feel your significant other will like. Dip some almonds in a small amount of honey and put them on top of the cake. Af-terward you can drizzle some melted chocolate on top of the almonds. The fig preserves are optional, but if you decide to use them you can find a jar of them at many local stores. Wrap all of these dif-ferent ingredients together and you will end up with a very delicious yet simple meal to serve to your significant other. This is just an outline though. There are still tons of things that can be changed to meet that other person’s standards. I hope you enjoyed these ideas I have given. And I hope it builds your relationship to be stronger than it already is.

Rodeo ArtistArtist line up 2013Feb. 25 Toby Keith Feb. 26 Gary AllanFeb.27 Alan Jackson- Armed Forces Appreciation DayFeb.28 Zac Brown BandMar. 1 Mary J. Blige- Black Heritage Day Mar. 2 Brantley GilbertMar. 3 Demi Lovato, and Austin MahoneMar. 4 Styx Mar. 5 Lady AntebellumMar. 6 Dierks BentleyMar. 7 Bruno MarsMar. 8 Tim McGrawMar. 9 The Band Perry Mar. 10 Julion Alvarez, and Los Invasores de Nuevo Leon- Go Tejano DayMar. 11 Jason AldeanMar. 12 Kenny ChesneyMar. 13 Jake OwenMar. 14 PitbullMar. 15 Blake Shelton Mar. 16 Luke BryanMar. 17 George Strait, Martina McBride, and the Randy Rogers Band

Line UpCoral HohnReporter

Josh AkinsReporter

Scholarships worth up to $18,000! The Houston

Livestock Show and Rodeo isn’t just all animals and rodeo art, they offer four other schol-arships that have nothing to do with either of those things.

Metropolitan• 238 four year scholarships worth $18,000 each• To be eligible to apply for this scholarship, the applicant must meet criteria of citizen-ship, residence, academic standing, college/university enrollment plans, demonstra-tion of leadership, character and economic need•Fill out an application

Opportunity• 114 four year scholarships worth $18,000 each• To be eligible to apply for this scholarship, the applicant must meet criteria of citizen-ship, residence, economic need, academic standing, col-lege/university enrollment

plans, leadership and character• Fill out an application

Military• 5 four year scholarships worth $18,000 each• To be eligible to apply for this scholarship, the applicant must be a dependent of a ser-vice member in active duty, reserve, honorably discharged veteran or the National Guard. Applicant must also meet cri-teria of citizenship, residence, academic standing, college/university enrollment plans, demonstration of leadership, character and economic need•Fill out an application

Technical• 10 two year scholarships worth $8,000 each• Participate in an interview process. Has made a formal application to enroll with in-tent to attend a non-profit Texas college or university ac-credited by the Southern Asso-ciation of Colleges and School

Commission on Colleges and participate in a curriculum leading to an associate’s de-gree. Applicant may not re-ceive more than $40,000 in other financial aid, excluding the Show scholarship.• Fill out application To look more into these scholarships and apply go to this website http://www.rodeohouston.com/Scholar-ships/Scholarships.aspx

(according to the official Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo website)

Kristen HooverReporter

Surprising RodeoScholarships

Anonymous AnnieReporter

“My boyfriend’s birthday is coming up and I have no clue what to get him. We’ve only been dating four months and I don’t know the price limit. Any ideas?!” -Confusedgirlfriend -It’s not about how much the gift cost, its how much heart and thought you put into the gift. Think about his in-terest, like his favorite band or what cologne he likes. Tak-ing him to a concert could be a great way to spend time together while listening to great music. If you want a sim-pler approach, take him on a special date to the beach or nice restaurant. (Plus you get to eat the delicious food!)

“I can’t stand this girl in one of my classes. We got into a fight a few months back. Even though I’ve got-ten over it, she continues to irritate me with little rude comments and ugly looks. What should I do before I say something back and make it worse?” –Tiredandirritated -You can’t control others actions, therefore she probably won’t stop. The best way of handling this is following the cliché saying, “be the bigger person.” The reason she picks on you is for a reaction, giving that to her will be falling for the trap. Stay strong; just remember to never let words effect you and who you are.

“I want to get more involved in school activities, but all clubs and organizations have already started. For next year, how can I be more involved?” –Lackingspirit -Find out what you love to do. If you aren’t sure, experi-ment with different clubs and organizations. You never know until you try. Go to after school meetings to discover what the club is about and what it promotes. Also, try talking to your friends in organizations and get an more in depth view on the ac-tivities. Don’t be afraid to meet new people and try new things.

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CougarpolitanBe Mine!Page 6

Teacher Love, Student Love and Love at first sight

Be Mine!February 2013

Page 7

Teacher Love, Student Love and Love at first sight

Layout by Jessica Curtis

Beyonce Comes

Back 2013Love Vs. desire

Results on the back page!

Editorial CougarpolitanFebruary 2013Page 8

“You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is f n

ally b

ette

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n yo

ur d

ream

s.”- D

r. Suess

Layout by Aaron Williams

1. How often dur-ing the day do you think about her/him?

A. I think about her/him ev-ery minute of every day

B. I think about her/him when I see or hear some-thing that reminds me of him.

C. She’s/He’s always in the back of my mind...

D. Out of sight, out of mind!

3. Do you get ornery and depressed when you go more than a few hours without seeing or talking to her/him?A. Of course! Every min-ute I’m not with her/him is not worth living.

B. No, the longer we’ve been apart the easier it is for me to focus on my day.

C. I miss her/him, but we are usually sending each other short messages throughout the day if we can’t get together, so it doesn’t ever feel like we’ve been apart for a long time.

D. If I’m not with her/him, I’m usually with someone else

4. What do your friends think of her/him?

A. They avoid being around us when we’re together. In fact, they are starting to avoid me

when we’re apart now too...

B. They like her/him but don’t really know her/him that well.

C. They all really like her/him and they usually invite her/him along when we’re all get-

ting together.

D. My friends haven’t really met her/him yet.

5. What do her/his friends think of you?

A. I don’t know. We don’t spend time with her/his friends any more. They must be really busy lately.

B. She/He tells me that they like me, but we don’t all get together very often.

C. They must like me be-cause they invite both of us to hang out with them.

D. I wouldn’t know. I don’t think I’ve ever met any of her/his friends.

6. How do you spend your time when you are togeth-

er?

A. Kissing...or more!

B. Go to dinner, see a movie, make out for a while...the usu-

al routine.

C. We do everything! We love sports, movies, dancing, talk-ing...and the kissing is great,

too.

D. We make out. Why else would we be together?

“I thought you loved me!” These five

words are once again sobbed, screamed, or sent in a message when that fairytale relation-ship is saying ‘The End’. As teenagers, we find it difficult to de-pict the differences be-tween love and physi-cal attraction; and in the end, someone gets left with a broken heart, and crushed dreams and plans. As teenagers we be-lieve in love at first sight. However, that is not the case. To be in love you must spend more time with the person than just simply “love” the way they look. That is at first sight. “I believe there isn’t such thing as love at first sight, because you can’t look at some one and

know who they are” said junior, Katrena Johnston. However, most teenagers still believe, and swear, that they are in love by just look-ing at someone. But the truth is you can’t have a real rela-tionship based on physical at-traction it will just fall apart. “I’m not attracted to looks; I’m attracted to who the per-son is.” said senior, Desire Klise. This is the mindset we need to have to truly be in love but at a young age we ignore the facts and let ourselves believe the fairy tales endings and that love at first sight is a true thing. “Most teenagers today say love, but mean physical attraction.” said se-nior, Kenneth Rucker. They

are just extremely at-tracted to how their crush looks, but don’t truly have those feel-ing of commitment and dedication. How do you really know if its love or desire? According to Judith Orloff, M.D. the author of “Emo-tional Freedom”

The New Year has brought with it some

amazing news for Beyoncé fans. Her Super Bowl performance, the release of the new Destiny’s Child single “Nuclear” , her new album ar-riving this spring, and the announce-ment of the Mrs.Carter Show world tour, fans definitely have enough on their plates to be satisfied.

On January 10, Beyoncé posted a message to Facebook saying: “I am so proud to announce the first original Des-tiny’s Child music in eight years!” along with a link that led fans to pre-order the newest Destiny’s Child album, Love Songs, which was released on January 25 which featured the new single, “Nuclear.”

Beyoncé certainly did not disappoint the audi-ence at her Halftime per-

formance at this year’s Super Bowl. Pyrotechnics, thick thighs, and a face-shaped stage weren’t the only things featured at the performance. Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams graced the stage to create a wave of nostal-gia that was once Destiny’s

Child. Helping Beyoncé out with “Bootylicious”, “In-dependent Women Part I”, and Beyoncé’s hit, “Single Ladies”, Kelly and Michelle seemed ecstatic to sing with their former band mate, even if their microphones were only about at a six and a negative four, respectively, while Beyoncé’s was at about a ten.

On February 3rd, Beyoncé announced the start of her Mrs.Carter Show world tour to be April 15 in

Zachary AlanReporter

Destiny’s Child reuniting at 2013 Super Bowl (curteousy of CNN)

there are signs of both feelings. The signs of desire follow: You’re just focused on the person’s looks and body, not their per-sonality. You’d rather keep the relationship on a fantasy level, not discuss real feel-ings. You really don’t want to spend quality time together. The signs of love follow: you want to spend quality time together. You get lost in con-versations and forget about the hours pass-ing. You honestly listen to each other’s feelings, and make each other happy. He or she motivates you to be a better person. You want to get to meet his or her family and friends. So before you think that its love at first sight, think again.

Sam CorralReporter

2. Does thinking about her/him get in the way of

your daily activities?

A. No because all my daily ac-tivities revolve around her/him

B. Sometimes my thoughts distract me, but I don’t get too

far off track.

C. When I think about her/him I want to do a better job and be

a better person.

D. Not at all.

7. How do you spend your time when you are apart?

A. I think about how long it will be before I see her/him again and obsess about her/his

life

B. I spend it doing whatever needs to be done to catch up

on life.

C. I want her/him to be proud of me

D. My time is spent the same way, just with someone else.

Difference in Fake or Real Love

Belgrade, Serbia and will continue throughout fifteen European countries before coming to the United States June 28. Beyoncé will grace Texas

with two shows, one on July 6 at the American Air-lines Center in Dallas and the other on July 15 at the Toyota Center

in Houston.

2013 is already turning out to

be Beyoncé’s year. She was the real winner of the Super Bowl, she got to sing with Destiny’s Other Children, Beyoncé is giving the world a tour that has been on everyone’s wishlist since her album “4“ came out, and we are anticipating a new album within a month or two.

Inside ScoopCougarpolitanFebruary 2013 Page 9

The Art Club have their meetings every Wednes-

day and are preparing for the fine arts festival by creat-ing t-shirt designs and ban-ners to prepare for competi-tions. They’re also waiting on a schedule of community service projects throughout Crosby. The students in the Art Club are also working on refining techniques that they learned in art class. They plan to create murals around town to beatify the more rundown buildings in need of come care. They’re also preparing pieces for culture shapers, art competitions, and rodeo art competition.

Art Club ScienceChoking on the stench of

formaldehyde, gasping for clean air, hands shak-ing, and stomachs churning as Mrs. Joseph’s second and sixth period classes sink their scalpels into preserved, skinned cats, soggy sheep brains, and squishy cow eyes. In anatomy and physiology, junior and senior students are performing cat dissections in order to learn more about how bodies function and where different organs are located in reference to what lies around them. “Dissections are an amazing way to explore the body, and learn about the functions of the working parts,” Says senior Quinton Didone.This is a great learning experience for students who wish to go into the medical field. It’s also a great way for students to get familiar with handling unsettling tasks. “Dissections are fun, and it’s a good hands on experience for obtaining a better under-standing of the body,” says junior Megan Black.

UIL CompetitionsAt the Livingston Invitational

meet on February 2, the journalism team brought home first place. The team consists of Mandi Stiles, Cara Strickhausen, Rosie Cruz, Alex Marroquin, and Mikayla Thomas.“We go to a ton of practice meets, we read through the journalism manual and we take advice from our coaches,”. said Cara Strickhausen.“Alice Hoy is a great coach and the past competitors have inspired me to do well,”.said Mandi Stiles.“Practicing, you get more used to it and Hoy’s edits help a lot,” said Mikayla Thomas. Headline writing: second place Rosie Cruz, first place Alex Mar-roquin Feature writing: third place mikayla Thomas, second place Rosie Cruz, and first place Cara StrickhausenSocial studies : fifth place Rene NovoaNews writing: sixth place Mandi Stiles First place current issues and events team :Robert Cadotte, Emmanuel Wasson, and Joseph FusellerIndividual winners are Robert Cadotte, second place and Emmanu-el Wasson, sixth place

Leslie Rojas, Jessica Muldrow, Dal-ton Cook, Trey McCarty, and Isaiah Telamintes are all apart of the team which won first place for science.Individual winners are Leslie Rojas winning first place, Jesssica Muld-row in fourth, Dalton Cook in fifth, Trey McCarty in seventh and Isaiah Telamintes with tenth.The Klein Forest Meet took place on January 26. The journalism team struck again as they won first place journalism team. In news writing Mandi stiles won second place and Jennifer Castro won sixth place. In editorial writing Cara Strickhausen won first place and Jennifer Castro won fourth place. And for headline writing Alex Marroquin won first place while Mandi Stiles won third and Cara Strickhausen won fifth place.

The Future Farmers of America (FFA) has

stayed busy since the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR) keeps getting closer and closer. On March 8, a group of FFA members will travel to the HLSR, for Tour Guide Day where they will take groups of kids and senior citizens around the live-stock area to show them different types of animals that are usually seen at the rodeo while giving them facts about those animals as well. They will also be explaining to the children and senior citizens different types of agriculture businesses that help the HLSR become what it is. These businesses range

FutureFarmersofAmerica

from cattle herding to horse riding. FFA will also be involved in the annual Career Development Events (CDE’s),

which starts the week of February 11. Some of these

CDE competitions are horse judg-

ing, landscape judging, live-stock judging, wildlife, and farm business management.

FFA members compete in these competi-

tions every year and try to place first. Tons of other schools compete against Crosby so winning first is a big accomplishment. With all of these competitions and trip the FFA’s calendar is chocked full and will for the not only this month but next month too.

Art done by Crosby Students, displayed at the Rodeo Art view-

ing.

HaleyDillard and Corey Schnexnayder cut-ting into a preserved sheep brain in anatomy

and physiology.

Jacob Gonzalez and Ashley Lance were presemted with full-ride scholarships for

their achievments in debate.

The Crosby High School Cougar Stars opened the night at the Toyato Center with their team pom routine on February 5, 2013 as the Hous-ton Rodeo took on the Golden State Warriors. Senior, Cullin Session, preparing to dissect the

eye of a cow.

Jeanne Thibodaux introducing her students art work at the Rodeo Art viewing.

NOW HIRING!Pick up a newspaper application in room 714

Mrs.Courrege’s room

Cougar Stars

Layout by Kayla Ferguson

Layout by Kayla Ferguson

Entertainment CougarpolitanFebruary 2013Page 10

Blasting the Beat When done right, a great love song has the power to make

you feel as if you are in the throws of an epic, earth-shat-tering, everlasting love. Like the auditory equivalent of kiss-ing in the rain or an intimate candle-lit dinner, these romantic ballads will make you want nothing more than to fall in love.

Ever wonder what it was like to gather a large group of

ninjas on a battlefield, brawl-ing to the death while taking on a gargantuan multi-tailed demon? Well, we hope you do now. Namco-Bandai and devel-

oper CyberConnect2 is releas-ing the next installment video game of the worldwide phe-nomenon: Naruto Shippuden. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 presents over seventy playable characters, enhanced fighting graphics, and massive scale boss battles. As like the previous Ultimate Ninja Storm games, the story line closely pertains to the most recent plot in the show. Namco-Bandai wants to appeal to the audience that has seen the story to be a part of the action, and wants to invite those who have yet to watch the series to understand what’s go-ing on. Continuing on Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, the story picks

the Dark on their 16 birthday. Will Lena go Dark and de-stroy everyone that she loves? Or will she be claimed for

the Light and help break the curse that plagues her family? The novel took me on an amazing journey with its vivid characterization,

Beautiful Creatures easy to folllow

Book cover of Beautiful Creatures by: Kami Garcia and Margret

Stohl

Fabulously fascinating Beautiful Creatures by

Kami Garcia and Margret Stohl is an amazing novel that all readers should pick up. The book explores the themes of fate versus free will, the su-pernatural, and love. Beautiful Creatures’ plot flows smooth-ly and proves easy to follow. In Beautiful Crea-tures, Ethan Wate, the novel’s main protagonist, is plagued with dreams of a mysteri-ous girl after the death of his mother. His hometown of Gatlin, South Carolina be-gins to change when a strange girl, Lena Duchannes moves in with her notorious uncle, Macon Ravenwood who is known for never leaving the Ravenwood plantation. Lena is from a family of Casters, an alternative name for magic-users that due to a curse are claimed for either the Light or

Mushy, Gushy, Touchy, Feely, Lovey, Dovey.

That’s right, it’s Valen-tine’s Day. The day full of love, hearts, kisses, and for some misses. Not everyone gets to have the revolting luxury of having a sweetheart on Val-entine’s Day. For some of us, we spend the day around our other loved one, like friends and family. Valentine’s Day doesn’t necessarily have to be about the “love” ev-eryone associates with it. Love comes in many forms. You can love your pet, you should love your family, and we all love our friends.

Zachary AlanReporter

Aaron WillamsAssitant editor

Kristen HooverReporter

Kenneth RuckerReporter

Layout by Casey Johns

up where Konoha is invaded by the Nine-Tailed Demon-Fox, eventually leading up to the Fourth Great Ninja War. Players will be able to witness hands on the events that led up to one of the most climatic

points in the Naruto franchise. Ultimate Ninja Storm will follow the same gameplay as the previous games with some slight tweaks. A new mode has been added where players can engage in side-scrolling missions. While keeping their free-roam stage battles, Namco-Bandai wanted to make the battles feel more realistic and gives the chance for the player to develop their skills rather than mash random buttons and win. The “Awak-ening Mode,” which gave players ultimate power when their health reached a certain level, can only be used once per battle now, stripping the player of the privilege to overpower

fighters and making it more of an achievement to turn the tables. As before, players will be able to select two fighters to assist them in battle, now granting them the ability to jump in and form combos with the player; the fighters’ new combo system came with a twist, and that’s the new health bar, which will deplete every time the support player is hit. The stages have now been drastically modified, giv-ing players more of a feel of the environment as they re-visit memorable areas. Gim-micks have been added to the battlefield, granting the capa-bility of interacting with the environment; if players want to attack their opponent with a giant steel bar and let them fly through a building, they can now. The increased size of the stage grants the new battle feature of boss battles, where players have to fight giant demons using different tactics than normal one-on-one combat; the boss battles correspond with the battles in the anime, so those famil-iar to the show should have a good idea on how to win, while newcomers can test their skills and see if they can win the fight their own way. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 is available for PS3 and Xbox 360 March 5, and is anticipat-ed for a rated T rating for teens.

1. Marvin Gaye- Let's Get It On2. Elvis Presley - Love Me Tender

3. Bette Midler -The Rose4. Dido - Thank You

5. Extreme - More Than Words6. The Beatles - It's Only Love

7. Sarah Mclachlan - Building A Mystery8. Al Green - Let's Stay Together

9. Barry White - You're The First, The Last, My Everything10. Jackson 5 - I'll Be There

11. Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U12. Sonny And Cher - I Got You Babe

13. Chris Isaak - Wicked Game14. Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight

15. Journey - Faithfully16. The Beatles - And I Love Her

17. Cheap Trick - I Want You To Want Me18. Wham - Careless Whisper

19. Carpenters - Superstar20. Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You

So instead of spend-ing all that money on your boo and making

elaborate plans for a “ro-mantic” night, makes plans to hang out with your girls, or guys and just chill. Have a karaoke night, watch mov-ies, play games, eat whatever you want and, of course, in-dulge in plenty of chocolate. I know chocolate isn’t that all Valentine’s Day stuff, sure, but if the day is going to be here, you might as well take advan-tage of what it has to offer. So take this day of love and spend it hav-ing fun and with people you will be around for a while.

such as Ethan Wate’s struggle to escape the social norma-tive of high school life and the seemingly crazy and seduc-tive Ridley Duchannes, and flowing story. I literally would read for intervals of five or six hours without taking breaks. Beautiful Creatures is full of relatable characters and the fa-miliar setting of a small town in the South. Anyone who ap-preciates Civil War era his-tory will love the historical fiction provided by the novel. I would recommend Beautiful Creatures to any-one looking for a wonder-ful novel to read. Beauti-ful Creatures is an amazing start to a beautiful series, the Caster Chronicles. Thanks to the novel’s beautiful imag-ery, awesome characters, and amazing plot, I would rate Beau-tiful Creatures 5 out of 5 stars.

Name of the game

SportsCougarpolitanFebruary 2013 Page 11

Tennis1.What made you want to join the tennis team?“Well, when I was younger (9) I started playing for fun.”2.How long have you played?“I’ve played for years! (Ever since I’ve seen Ser-ena play.)”3.Do you plan on playing professionally?“Of course!”4.How is the Tennis team doing in the tournaments?“They’re actually doing pretty good.”5.Do you think the team can make it to nationals?“Personally, if they’re more dedicated to it and they have a love for tennis, then yes!” -Faizon Matthews

Powerlifting

1.Why did you decide to join power-lifting?“Because not everybody can do it.”2.Have you placed in any competi-tions?“Yes, I recently tied for first.”3.Do you enjoy going to the meets?“Yes, I enjoy seeing other peoples strength.”4.Does this give you a sense of pride or joy?“Yes It gives me pride.”5.Do you plan on continuing this through high school?“I’d love to.” - Tremonte

Greene

Swim1.Why did you join the Swim Team?“It just looked like fun.”2.Do you like swimming?“Yes, it’s a lot of fun.”3.Have you placed in any competitions?“No, we started late so I’m slower than every-one.”4.What is your best time?“1:32 on my 100 Breaststroke.”5.Do you plan on going to college with a col-lege with a scholarship for swimming?“If I could get one, yes.”6.Have you been on the swim team before?“No, this is my 1st year.” -Darrian Paige

Swim1.Why did you join the Swim Team?“I love to swim and it is my favorite hobby.2.Do you like swim-ming?“No, I love it.”3.Have you placed in any competitions?“Yes, we placed 22nd out of 136 on our 200 Freestyle relay.”4.What is your best time?“My best time is 1:10:05 on my 100 Individual Freestyle.”5.Do you plan on going to college with a col-lege with a scholarship for swimming?“No, I plan on being a marine biologist.”6.Have you been on the swim team before?“No, this is my first year and I plan on joining again next year.” -Luis Ibarra

1. What position do you play?“I play all five positions, mainly Small For-ward.”2. Is this the position you prefer?“Not really, I want to be a point guard. I like setting up my teammates.”3. Do you ever shoot baskets?“On rare occasions I do. I mainly pass a lot.”4. Have you ever made the game winning shot?“No, but I’ve hit very important clutch shots.”5. Do you plan on making basketball your career?“Of course, what kind of question is that?”6. Would you like a scholarship for bas-ketball? If so, where?“Yes I would. Either Baylor, Texas Tech, Texas State, or Oklahoma State University.” -Ben Deffenbaugh

1.What college did you get scholarships from? And for what sport?“I got scholarships from Midwestern State, Hender-son State, and McPherson for football.”2.What college did you choose? Why?“I chose Henderson State because their football team has a nice program and I know many people that have graduated from there and they told me it’s a great college and it would be excellent for me.”3.Are you excited about this opportunity? “Yes, I feel like it will be a great opportunity to get to meet new people and to be own my own in a dif-ferent state.”4.Do you plan on making this sport your career?“If I’m good enough to, I would love to go Pro.”5.Will you miss being in Crosby with your friends?“Yes, we have a bunch of memories on and off the field that will stick with me forever.”6.What do you plan on doing after college?“I would like to have my degree in Journalism and to be an anchorman on ESPN.” -Justin Walter

BasketballScholarships

And More... CougarpolitanFebruary 2013 Page 12

The CougarpolitanLetters can be delivered to:

Journalism room, 71414703 FM 2100

Crosby, TX 77532281-328-9237 Ext: 1849

www.crosbyisd.org/education/club/club.php?sectionid=154&

The cougarpolitan is a student-run newspaper serving Crosby High School. The Cougarpolitan staff reserves the right to edit submitted material for accuracy, grammar, length and content. The Cougarpolitan will not publish any material that falls under the Supreme Court’s definition of unprotected speech. Anony-mous letters will not be published. Letters to the editor, sugges-tions, critiques, and complaints are welcomed and encouraged. The staff editorial(s) represent that of the writer, not that of Crosby High School.

Mayde Creek team powerlifting team: Tremontae Green- 4 in region, Matthew Riddick- 4 in region, Grant Narcisse- 3 in region, Kyle Leal- 4 in region, Chase

Nix- 11 in region, Benji Meche- 5 in region, Joshua Opiela- 12 in region, Aaron Davis,

Austin Walter, Val Hernandex, Andrew Hackett, and Angel Galvan

Tristen Cotton going for a lay-up at the Crosby vs. Summer Creek game.

Cade Thompson’s gold medal art work for the rodeo art show.

Darrian Manuel signed with Texas Lutheran University, Justin Wlater signed with Henderson State, and Shaquan Matthews signed with Navar-

ro Jr College.

• Mostly A’s: Slow down before you hurt someone! Hate to break it to you, but you are stuck in the “lust” stage and not getting anywhere close to “love.” Unless you can calm down and learn to behave like a normal human being when it comes to this guy, your relationship is headed for disaster.

• Mostly B’s: You definitely haven’t hit the “love” point, but with a few key changes in your relationship you have a shot at it. Try talking more and making out less. If you can han-dle a deeper relationship, you could really turn your relation-ship into something long-term, but it will take some work.

• Mostly C’s: You probably don’t need to hear it from me, but I think you’re in love! Congratulations! If the two of you keep your relation-ship moving in such a positive direction you can really enjoy some lasting happiness in your life. Just remember that love doesn’t solve everything, you still have to work at it. But, if you wake up every day and remember why it is that you love him so much then you will en-joy an even stronger relationship down the road than you have today.

• Mostly D’s: Why did you even take this quiz? Come back and try again when you are only dating one guy...

Quiz answers

Cougar Stars preform at the Houston Rockets half time show.