Good Longhorn News

It is never too early to start the recruiting process, at least not in the Teeter household. At only a couple months old, Jet Teeter has received his first Division 1 offer to play football at the University of Texas, instantly becoming the youngest recruit the world has ever seen! 

Some people are more shocked than others, however with Jet’s dad being the head football coach, many say it was only a matter of time before his name started popping up in the recruiting world…maybe just not this early. We like to believe that it came naturally and he was hopping around and practicing defensive plays in the womb, which makes this situation seem a little less shocking and a lot more expected. When asked Trey Teeter, Jet’s father, said “We are so excited about his offer. He has been working so hard on all of his rolling over and back exercises. He is beginning to talk too much so we need to continue to get better in that area but he is a neat little dude.”

Now that Jet has officially received his first D1 offer, expectations are already sky high. This is just the beginning of a long recruiting journey, with more offers likely on the way. Others might think he should take his time enjoying being a kid first, but for now it looks like Jet’s main focus will stay the same, perfecting his nap schedule, staying on top of feeding, and maybe squeezing in a little training with his dad on the side. 

While it might be a little while before we find out where baby Jet commits, one thing is for sure, he’s already off to a strong start!!

Happy April Fools!

Holcomb High School’s own Mr. Thompson very recently won $350,000 in the Kansas Lottery! But that’s not the end of the story…

Mr.Thompson, Felt a lot of emotions about winning the lottery, “I felt like it was a prank. I wanted to cry. I just felt so shocked!”, a normal reaction for someone who just won 350K!

Following this, he immediately began to plan what to do with all his new money. Though some would expect that he would quit and get a new job, he stated, “Well, it is a lot of money, but I didn’t think it would be enough to quit. So, I decided to see if my luck would “come in clutch” and I went to the casino to see if I could double it.”

Consequently, he went on a long adventure of trying every slot machine and, though the first few didn’t give any good fortune, he ended up with another $1,000! He rode the high of winning and found himself at a roulette table. Feeling convinced his luck wasn’t a coincidence, he bet all his money on red. And he won!

In the end, it looks like his Saint Patty’s Day luck ran out, and after winning a full 702K dollars a leprechaun jumped out from underneath the table and stole all of Thompson’s “pot of gold”!

Happy April Fools!!!

Can you imagine playing a role in your favorite movie franchise and meeting your favorite actors? For most people, this is a dream that will never happen, but for Mrs. Conrardy, this is a dream come true. Mrs. Conrardy, the freshman algebra teacher and a hard-core Star Wars fan, took a chance and auditioned to be a character in the upcoming Star Wars movie, Star Wars: Bloodline of the Sith.

Disney, owning the Star Wars franchise, decided that this film needed character and familiarity. The only way they thought to achieve this was to fan-cast. They opened auditions to the public in June 2025; hearing this, Conrardy jumped at the opportunity to be cast in her favorite franchise. “I got cast from an online application for fan casting. I play a mute character, so there’s not a lot of speaking lines.” Despite this, she is still ecstatic about this new opportunity. She might even leave her teaching job to pursue a career in acting!

Fellow Star Wars enthusiast, Mr. Schreibvogel, also auditioned for a role in the new movie. Unfortunately, he was not even called back and was ghosted by the casting agency. He was devastated, as his dreams of being in a Star Wars movie had slipped through his fingers. Seething with jealousy, Mr. Schreibvogel said, “I’m happy for her, but I hope she falls and breaks her foot so I have to step in.” Unfortunately, the possibility of this happening is slim to none. Conrardy is doing an excellent job in fulfilling her duties as an actress.

Creator of Star Wars, George Lucas, had a particular image in his head for this new character. We cannot name this character due to copyright and secrecy. Because Conrardy was a perfect fit for this role, she has developed a special friendship with George Lucas. She says, “I am most excited to continue our friendship and get to know George a little more.”

When all is said and done, this would be an amazing opportunity…. if it wasn’t April 1st. HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY!!!

Gorillaz, the alternative British group, recently came out with a new album. Best known for their most popular song to date, “Feel Good Inc.”, the virtual band dropped The Mountain on February 27 of this year. 

Most would agree that good art, be it a life-changing movie, a heart-wrenching song, or a meticulously detailed painting, has some kind of story to it. Initially, when playing the first song from this album, you might not think there would be a very deep story, especially if you’ve never listened to them before. But, by the end of the first listen to the album, it’s clear there’s a web of many themes and connections, all significant in their own vague and brilliant ways.

The inspiration behind this album was both the creators of Gorillaz experiencing their fathers passing, as well as a trip together to India. Spiritualism mixed with their grief and current events worked to compose The Mountain.

As you listen, you realize that The Mountain is supposed to represent people as a whole, and the songs convey the struggles the world has faced before many times. The idolizing of evil authorities, following harmful ideologies as a society, the ever-present fear of death. The chaos they experience is directly related to things we in history have experienced and continue to live through. It talks about a fictional world, similar to our own, where people would rather be unaware of the evil things going on around them. Ignorance is bliss, but would you accept bliss over freedom, if you knew you were being lied to?

For example, in “The Happy Dictator”, the main voice is this man who is brainwashing people into believing he’s a god who’s helping them, saying there’s “no more bad news, so you can sleep at night”. But he’s just hiding what goes on to convince everyone that there’s nothing to worry about.

 
The album’s tone varies from calm and happy to profound lines that hit home and bring you out of your absent-minded listening. All the songs connect to another in some way, despite all of them feeling so different from one another. The lyrics at times felt like they were dragging, such as “Empty dream machine without you,” but the electric synths, the percussion, the stringed instruments, all felt like they pushed the words to have deeper meanings that begs for a second listen. 

The instrumentals never feel too long. When everything is intentional, you’re sure that you have to pay more attention than you were already. When the trumpets come in, they play proudly, like a reminder that there’s something bigger than you that you only see in passing. The harmonizing of ethereal voices in the background feels like they emphasized the themes of the story subtlety, but completely.There’s so much more to say about this album, but finding it out for yourself is half the fun.

Regardless of how well you understand the band as a whole, it’s absolutely worth a listen. You can find The Mountain on all major music streaming platforms!

When does a person become a human? Do you answer this question based on your political party, religion, pressure from your peers, or simply from experience? Maybe you don’t have an answer to this question at all.

“Pro-life” and “pro-choice” are opposing viewpoints in the abortion debate. Many HHS students have formed an opinion about this topic, along with reasoning to support what they believe. 

Pro-life advocates believe life begins at conception, viewing abortion as immoral and seeking to legally restrict or ban it, often based on the belief that a fetus has a right to life. Kaitlyn Foreman, senior, stated, “I consider myself pro-life because I consider abortion to be murder. The baby is already developing and breathes and eats just as the mother herself does.”  

Matthew Rosen, senior, had a similar point of view, stating, “I am pro-life because there is no justified reason to murder another human being, whether they are young or old.” Daniela Martinez, senior, who is also pro-life, brought up the option of adopting, “Even if you don’t want the kid, someone wanting to adopt will, and then the baby can still have the opportunity of life.”

On the other hand, pro-choice advocates believe individuals should have the legal right to decide whether to continue a pregnancy, emphasizing bodily autonomy and access to abortion services. Max Baldridge, junior, said, “I am pro-choice because I think that everyone should have the choice to have a kid or not, and if we limit situations where abortions are allowed it’s a slippery slope on limitations and the topic.”

Shaylynn Orosco, senior, had close to the same idea, saying, “ I am pro-choice because I believe in bodily autonomy, with the right to your own body, as well as the 4th amendment when it comes to the privacy of your own life. Abortion should be accessible for anyone who cannot carry a baby to term due to medical issues and/or the pregnancy was forced due to abuse. There’s many cases where babies/fetuses are born in the fallopian tubes and that is unsafe for the mother. Therefore, I see myself as pro-choice to protect females and their reproductive health.”

While many students may know the difference between the two and have an opinion, some choose to stay out of the debate altogether. 

Xitlali Santana, senior, said, “I don’t see myself as either because I don’t know enough about abortion and haven’t educated myself.” She makes a good point when she mentions her choice of staying out of an issue that she doesn’t feel educated enough to speak on!

So, what do you think about the issue of abortion? Is it something that you are deeply passionate about, or has it ever really crossed your mind? Whatever your opinion may be, whether you are pro-life, pro-choice, in between or nothing at all, we all deserve to be respected despite our beliefs!

Question 1: My little brother keeps calling his football his “chocolate egg” and I feel like he is losing aura with the boys in his class. What should I do? I want him to fit in but I also want him to be himself. 

Answer 1: While I do not have any little brothers myself, I do have three younger sisters I try to look out for. Sometimes they will come home and have the most interesting stories to tell about how they sold their erasers at school or traded another kid for something at lunch. But some stories are more concerning.

For instance my sister in second grade came home with a few choice words that were not appropriate for her age. While my mom reminded her that it was not appropriate, I started thinking about how I feel like the younger generation has learned to grow up too fast. Sometimes they have their adolescence stolen from them from vulgar things they can hear from their peers at school or from things that they are exposed to on the television. I think if your brother wants to call his football a “Chocolate Egg” you should hold on to that as long as you can because you never know when the world will influence a change. As for the rest of the boys in his class, maybe they will start saying it too. Next thing you know, it will be a tradition on super bowl Sunday that he will tell his future children about!

Question 2: I want to get a credit card but I am just turning 18 and I’m not sure if I am responsible enough for one. What should I do? 

Answer 2: “Free sandwich, Free T-shirt or Book that trip” are common things credit card companies use to draw in young customers. Imagine you are walking to your class in college and you missed lunch because you slept in way too late. You see a sign that says “Free sandwich” and all your problems are solved. All you have to do is sign a paper that ties you financially to a credit card company. As you are signing this paper the people standing there are thinking, “Great I have another young adult that will be in debt with me, potentially for a very long time.”

The reason they are thinking this is because most young adults just leaving their parents house are vulnerable to wanting to never miss out. You tell yourself, I could sign up for this card and go on that long trip I’ve been wanting too. But in reality you are setting yourself up for failure. Having a credit card can be beneficial but only if you are financially responsible, and let’s admit it, most of us are not. But if you are financially responsible, then a credit card would be a beneficial option for you because you can start building a credit score which is very important.

Credit scores are used to determine if you are a risk for someone to lend you money. If you have a good credit score, then it will be easier to get housing, a loan and lower credit card rates. But if you are irresponsible it tanks your future before it even starts. For instance, you could be denied that loan for a car you really need or you could not be approved for housing that is also vital for everyday life. All you need to ask yourself is can I spend an amount of money that I can pay off every month or will you erratically go on that trip with your friends you know you can’t afford. Either way after reading this, I think we can all agree “free” food is not always worth it! 

Have you ever heard of Arachibutyrophobia, the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth? Maybe you have Anatidaephobia, the fear that a duck is watching you. And we can’t forget about Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, which ironically is the fear of long words. Believe it or not, the students and faculty of HHS have some pretty weird phobias, just like these. What are they, you might be asking? Well, let’s find out!​

Senior Bella Galliart says, “I am scared of little holes next to each other; they freak me out. I could gag whenever I see them.” This fear is commonly known as trypophobia, which is the fear of holes or irregular patterns. Most people with this fear are more scared of the tiny holes that are closely spaced and have no apparent ending. This fear, however popular, can be questioned. Is it really a fear? Or is it just plain disgust? 

Masklophobia is the fear of mascots. Some might say this fear is childish, some say it’s real and terrifying. Hailey Medina, senior, thinks it’s real. She says, “ The people under there are creepy, and I don’t like when they have human bodies with animal heads. It’s really scary.” It might be the unknown,. Maybe it’s that they are uncanny with their open, unblinking eyes, exaggerated smile, and silently unpredictable and distorted appearance. Who knows?

We’ve covered the weird phobias, but what about the more common ones? Scared of rodents? Mickey Mouse isn’t calling your name? You have Musophobia. Carlie Obergon, a sophomore, has this fear. She said, “I think rats and mice are dirty and disgusting, and I want nothing to do with them. They are too smart and therefore can predict and smell my fear. They are overall just too smart, nasty, and greedy.” Valid fear if you ask most people (except Mickey).

Speaking of rats, human traffickers are a big scare in today’s life. Abductophobia is the fancy name for being scared of getting taken by human traffickers. Cambria McClure, sophomore, thinks the rich people are to blame. She says, “Getting trafficked is my biggest fear because it happens a lot and we are hearing more about it every day.”  Perhaps this is referring to certain files that have recently been released, it’s anyone’s guess…

Not scared of traffickers? What if they try to chase you! The fear of being chased is referred to as diokophobia. Don’t like running, well, you’re out of luck! Haden Kennedy, senior, states, “Being chased makes me really anxious and jumpy. It only really affects me if there’s not a lot of people around.” Being chased releases your survival fight-or-flight senses. So you might need to either take up boxing in your free time or become a track star overnight.

Everyone has fears, but we’ve got some scaredy cats at HHS. Do you think these fears are valid? What if it were obesophobia, the fear of being obese? Or acrophobia, the intense fear of heights. Even if it were parasitophobia, the fear of having parasites. No one has a fear of nothing; there’s always something scary out there. It’s just a matter of what are YOU afraid of?

The world is a crazy place and we can never truly know what is real and what is fake. Was the Moon Landing fake? Is Kanye West a clone? Was Covid 19 even real? Nowadays, conspiracy theories are all over the internet and in our conversations. We may think that these conspiracy theorists are crazy, but what if they are on to something?

Simply looking up “conspiracy theories” on TikTok will bring up all sorts of crazy theories. One of the most talked about is the moon landing. Many people, including Mr. Miller, believe that is was fake. Mr. Miller, senior English teacher, said, “It’s all kind of weird. The U.S definitely had good reasons to fake it.” He is right, we did have a good reason to make a fake moon landing. At the time, the U.S was in a race with the Soviet Union to land on the moon first. There is also no wind on the moon, so how was the American Flag moving? If you have ever watched the Moon Landing video, there are no stars in the background, but satellite images of space always have stars in the sky.

Mrs. Davis, English Interventionist, said, “JFK’s assassination was totally set up. There’s just so much evidence that proves it.” This conspiracy theory could very possibly be reality. Evidence shows that the bullet that was shot at JFK was a professional hit that no one could do without extensive training. The videos that were shown to the public had been cut and edited together, so there is missing information.

Do you believe in the Illuminati? Many people believe that Hollywood and D.C. is controlled and funded by this mysterious organization. Aubrey Leonard, senior, said “I think the Illuminati is real, and if you are a high up celeb in Hollywood, then you had to sell your soul to the Devil.” This theory could possibly explain how these seemingly normal people of average talent entered extreme wealth and fame.

Finally, the age old debate, are aliens real? People have claimed to see UFOs and odd looking figures, but who knows if they are telling the truth. On January 1, 2024, aliens had reportedly entered the Bayside Market Place in Miami Florida. Witnesses reported seeing 8-10 foot tall, shadowy figures wandering the area at the time. The police showed up at the scene and supposedly took care of it. Since this incident, the public has heard very little about these “aliens.”

When you hear these theories in your everyday life, don’t be so quick to dismiss them as crazy, for they could be true. Be careful out there and don’t forget to thank Beyonce and put on your tin foil hat.