Tag Archives: Sarah Henry

Lexi Burch, News

FC speech team host third annual Highlander Howl

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By Lexi Burch

This weekend FC’s speech and debate team will host its third annual Highlander Howl speech tournament. There will be over ten schools and 150 students participating.

“It is a chance to showcase our school to other teams around the state and bring attention to speech and debate at our school,” said speech coach Wallace Austin.

FC has been hosting this tournament for the past two years and it has been growing each year.

“It’s gotten a whole lot bigger this year year than it was last year,” said junior Sarah Henry. “We have over 150 students participating from all over the state.”

The tournament is a large scale competition with lots of teams, students, and over 50 adult coaches and judges. Putting together a tournament like this takes a lot of time and effort.

“With over 190 competitors it’s very important to be organized in advance and make sure everything goes smoothly during the tournament,” said Austin. “This is our third yeah, so that helps. This is not our first rodeo.”

This tournament is open to the public but students must be accompanied by an adult. The meet begins at 8:30 a.m. and awards are scheduled for 3:00 p.m. The Highlander speeh team would love to have as much support as they can get.

“People can watch different events and see for themselves if they would like to participate,” said Austin.

Features

Sophomore Sarah Henry shares her experiences, beliefs as an atheist

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Editor’s note: This story is part of our print coverage of the different religions at FC. To see what ran in print check out the PDFs of pages 36 and 37 of our April 20, 2012, issue.

By Meghan Poff

Sophomore Sarah Henry

Bagpiper: How did you come to the decision to become an atheist?

Sarah Henry: I was raised in an atheist home, so I grew up with secular ideas all throughout my childhood.
BP: Even though your parents were not religious, did they allow you to form your own ideas?

SH: Even though my parents don’t have any religious beliefs, they really encourage me to explore and learn about different religions.

BP: How did you first begin to come out to people at school as being an atheist?

SH: I first declared myself as an atheist after I went to Camp Quest, which is a camp for free thinkers. I love having that because when people try to convert me, I have an entire group of people to call upon to support me.

BP: What are some of the stereotypes you have seen that people have toward atheists?

SH: A lot of people have told me that the only reason atheists don’t believe is because they don’t know anything about god. The fact of the matter is that I’ve read the bible and learned about other religions and I simply don’t agree with them.

BP: What do you think peoples general perception of atheists is?

SH: Many people believe that because atheists are not religious, that they have no morals and don’t do anything good. This is not at all the case.

BP: What are some of the principles that you live by as an atheist?

SH: Now, I just try to live honestly, and basically as a good person.  For the most part, I try to be a good person, and do what I know is right. I think that’s more important than having a specific belief.

BP: Is there anything else you would like our readers to know?

SH: If they were to wipe all of the atheists off the face of the earth, it would eliminate 95% of the National Science Board, but only 5% of the world’s prisons.

Eli Bolus, News

Speech team accomplishes FC best at state finals

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By Eli Bolus and Jared Murray

 

This past weekend, the FC speech team produced three state finalists: junior Chase Dyer, senior Clayton Cassidy and senior Paige Settles, who went on to place fourth in the state in Impromptu Speaking and Extemporaneous Speaking.

Both Settles and the team placed fourth this year. The state meet uses a sweepstakes system, awarding a higher amount of points to individuals who place higher. The points are then tallied together and the team that garners the most points is awarded first.

While this is the third time Settles has qualified for state, it is the best the team has ever done as a whole, said speech coach Wallace Austin.

“Everybody predicted Paige would break into finals, but none of us really expected to place so high,” said sophomore Sarah Henry.

Settles had a lot to say about her numerous state appearances.

“By the end of the day I was really tired. It was very cut-throat,” said Settles about this year’s state competition.

While some might think that numerous awards and state appearances would be the best part of being a member of such a successful program, Settles had this to say: “[My favorite part about speech] is how much I’ve changed as a person.”

Settles is not the only thing changing on the team. The upcoming season marks the loss of numerous seniors who have helped to shape the program during their time at FC.

“We are losing Paige, who is our team captain and a really great leader, so that will change a lot of things on the team next year” said Henry. Also graduating are AJ Adams, Brittany Bowen, and Cassidy.

Although the season is over for the speech team, preparation have already begun. “People have already started writing or choosing speeches to present next year,” said Henry.

Austin is preparing by sponsoring a rummage sale to raise funds for next year’s season and an upcoming trip to nationals in Indianapolis.  The sale will take place April 28 and donations will be accepted.