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The Fluctuation of Eating Habits During the Holidays

In December, houses all around the world are filled with a more-than-average amount of food. Whether families are preparing for upcoming feasts or receiving holiday cookies as presents, food fills the refrigerators and cupboards for about a month straight. Then, all of a sudden, on January 1st, the cookies have become carrots and the leftover meat has become a low calorie soup.

With all of the food in our homes leading up to New Years, it is inevitable that people indulge, excessively. This increase in consumption, mixed with the lack of exercise caused by the cold and rainy weather, has given the New Year’s resolution it’s fame.

Gaining weight during the Holiday Season is as natural as the growth of a newborn child. Nobody is trying to diet in the weeks leading up to New Years; most people just accept the fact that they are going to add on a couple extra pounds. How does one avoid the delicious snacks and feasts of the December holidays? It is simple: you can’t.

Don’t think calorie repentance doesn’t exist. Starting January 1st, with New Year’s resolutions in full motion, people try to make up their month or two of awful eating habits. They start going to the gym, on runs, and whatever else they could do to feel better about their health. The real question is: how long do New Year’s resolutions last before people start going back to their normal ways?

They call it New Year’s resolution for a reason; it comes with the new year and lasts a very short amount of time. If these promises for a better lifestyle were expected to last all year, they would call it an All Year’s resolution. The purpose of a New Year’s resolution is to get into a healthy habit that lasts all year, but they hardly ever last.

This problem of impermanence comes with a person’s habits going into the New Year. If the person is used to exercising all year round, they are not going to make a health-related New Year’s resolution, they are just going to continue their normal lifestyle. If someone makes a New Year’s resolution, they are obviously trying to start something they are not used to. If they are not used to it, they probably won’t stick with it, making New Year’s resolutions pointless.
So, long story short, eating unhealthily and excessively during the months leading up to New Years is about as common as abandoning your New Year’s resolution one month into the New Year. If this is you, don’t feel guilty or unaccomplished. Feel normal.

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Number of Immigrant Children in Texas Increasing

About 800 immigrant children from Central America who have entered the United States will be moved to two campsites in the Dallas area during December, according to a report from Al Jazeera. Data from the U.S Border control show 10,558 unaccompanied children, mainly from Central America, entered the United States illegally in October and November 2015, about double the number that arrived over the same period last year. Officials say rather than fleeing, many of the children look for U.S. officials, surrender, and request political asylum, citing violence and endemic crime in their home countries. If granted asylum, they are allowed to stay in the United States.

The number of children entering by this manner increased last summer, the total about 63,000 since July 2014. Many were fleeing criminal gangs and drug-related violence in their home countries.

Local churches in Texas have offered to take in many of the children to shelter them.

Officials in Texas counties said they received little notice from state and federal agencies of the arrivals. If the churches begin to get too crowded, the children will likely be moved into a U.S. government-run facility, or be turned over to family members in the United States until their immigration status is decided.
The last increase in unaccompanied minors created what the Obama administration described as a humanitarian crisis. To contain it, U.S. authorities opened temporary shelters, reassigned border agents, added processing centers and immigration judges and started Spanish-language campaigns in the countries that most of the children were fleeing, such as El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

It also led to backlash from Republican leaders who said the Democratic president was not doing enough to secure the border. Immigration has been a hot topic this presidential election and the recent rise in unaccompanied minors into the United States will only add to the debate. The Republican party has already been the subject of media criticism due to the comments made by Donald Trump regarding barring Muslims who would want to enter the country to escape from war in their home lands.

Consequently, immigration has also been a hot topic in the 2016 presidential debate and most of the Republican candidates plan to close the border to Mexico significantly.

The most lenient of stances comes from Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Carly Fiorina, John Kasich, Rand Paul, And Marco Rubio, all of whom consider a “path to stay,” certain requirements for citizenship that vary from candidate to candidate. Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee, and Rick Santorum, are all opposed to legalizing undocumented immigrants, such as these children fleeing the circumstances of their home countries.

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Women’s Rugby

When you hear the word ‘rugby,’ what usually comes to mind? Huge, muscular boys tackling each other and breaking bones while simultaneously getting concussions? Well, the women of Land Park have teamed together to change the stigma surrounding rugby. The Land Park Harlequins rugby team consists of women from McClatchy High School and around the greater Land Park community.

Most of the girls on the team said they joined the Harlequins because they wanted to try something new, and it seemed like a fun sport to play.Yesenia Garcia (‘17) says her favorite thing about playing rugby is how fast-paced it is. She says, “It’s the constant action that makes playing really fun.” Claire Fetros (‘17) also says that the aggressiveness of rugby is what appealed to her the most. Lily Milholm (‘16) calls it a “women empowering” sport making girls feel “bad a**” because they can physically tackle someone to the ground and get up and continue playing and still be fine.

As we all know, rugby is a very physical sport, and injuries are inevitable. In the Harlequins’ first pre-season scrimmage, Alexa Selby (‘16) broke her arm. However, she says when she is able to play again, she will not hesitant to tackle because if she plays scared, then there is a higher chance of getting injured again. Alexa adds that her favorite part about rugby is that, despite being a contact sport, the girls from the other teams are friendly, making it feel like one big rugby family.

New to the sport, Tymeri Asada (‘16), says both getting tackled and tackling someone else is scary to her and she is still getting used to it. But her favorite part about playing is seeing the improvement in herself and her team with each practice. Playing a sport that is mostly affiliated with boys makes her feel proud. She says, “It helps show people that girls can do whatever boys do.”