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If one were to walk through the door of any classroom at Coppell High School, they would immediately encounter a combination of various cultures and ethnicities. In this day and age, diversity is prized, and direct interaction with other beliefs is encouraged.

One often-overlooked belief in Coppell’s assortment of religions is that of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – more commonly known as the Mormon church. Despite being the sixth largest religion in America, with a membership claimed to be over six million, Mormons are still not adequately understood by many Americans.

Essentially, Mormonism is another breed of Christianity characterized by the belief in modern-day prophets of Jesus Christ.

“It’s the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints, so we do believe in Christ and we believe the Bible is true,” junior McKenzie Langford said. “We believe in modern day revelation and that there is a latter-day prophet and that he receives inspiration from God.”

In a recent survey conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute, only 17 percent of Americans claim to know exactly what the Mormon Church believes. From this uncertainty stem falsehoods and misconceptions, a trouble that has often plagued Mormonism.

Even in an upper-class community such as Coppell, people have expressed false ideas regarding Mormonism, ranging from polygamy to worship of Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon faith.

“They’re just totally misinformed,” chemistry teacher and member of the LDS church Bob White said. “The church does not adhere to polygamy any longer. It’s called the Church of Jesus Christ for a reason; it’s not the Church of Joseph Smith.”

While polygamy does have a valid historical association with early Mormons in Utah, the Church has not practiced it for a long time.

These common misconceptions have posed challenges to Mormon kids growing up in Coppell.

“I do feel kind of judged because I feel like whenever people meet me and I tell them I’m a Mormon they kind of think ‘oh that girl is not really a fun person’ because I’m Mormon,” junior Megan Rich said.

Mormonism is a religion described by Langford as having “high morals.” The Mormon Church’s dedication to a chaste lifestyle has also impacted the way Mormon students at CHS live.

“Ever since fifth grade, when kids found out what swear words were, I haven’t used swear words whereas a lot of other kids do,” junior Bradley Melville said. “And then we don’t drink tea or coffee or anything [with caffeine].”

Whether it be refraining from certain words or refusing to drink certain beverages, the Mormon lifestyle is one that disagrees with the habits of most modern teenagers. As one walks down the hallways of CHS, it is difficult to block one’s ears from the vulgar shouts that seem to reverberate off the walls.

Mormon students arrive at the LDS church in Coppell for early morning seminars every weekday before school. Photo by Jodie Woodward.

The chasm between the idyllic Mormon lifestyle and the lifestyle of an average teenager has never been wider, requiring devout faith on the part of the small Mormon community at CHS.

“I think they’re might be more pressures to conform now,” White said. “I think there is a gulf between what the Church holds as the values and standards that youth adhere to. That difference has expanded since I was in high school.”

To combat the influences of the world, most Mormon students attend seminary. These Mormon students wake up very early to attend highly encouraged seminary, held every weekday morning at 6:30 a.m.

At times, the time consuming nature of the Mormon faith can be a burden to high school students, especially those in high-level classes. The combination of late study nights and early morning seminary takes a toll on many CHS Mormons. However, they emphasize that seminary, though demanding, is worth every minute.

“Yes, of course it has [affected me] because you’re always waking up early and you’re tired,” Rich said. “I can definitely say from experience that it’s worthwhile to go. If I wasn’t Mormon I probably would’ve had a completely different lifestyle.”

Mormonism is a unique faith, and thus, a unique community of Mormon students has developed at CHS. Though small in number, Mormon teens are sure to always have someone to turn to when in need. Moreover, many Coppell Mormons share the same activities – with a majority of them being in the choir.

“It’s a very small population, but we’re really tight-knit,” Rich said. “We do a lot of activities together, and I always feel comfortable because I have a group of people I can turn to whenever I have an issue.”

The Mormon community is a valuable asset to a high school with dozens of different religions. Their steadfast dedication and unique take on Christianity makes Mormons stand out from the crowd. The representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at CHS have embraced this niche and are proud of their beliefs.

“If you ask people who don’t know me too well, ‘Hey do you know Brad Melville?’ they’ll probably say ‘Oh yeah, the Mormon kid’ because I always wear BYU shirts and stuff,” Melville said. “I feel like I’m recognized as being the Mormon kid, but it’s not like a bad or good thing, more like just a trait.”

There is no denying that parents from countries in East Asia (and other areas) tend to hold their children to a higher standard than parents from the west. A controversial new book, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” outlines the exact lengths that some East Asian parents will go in order to make their children the best at everything they try.

The author of the book, Amy Chua, chronicles her experience of raising her two daughters. According to CNN, Chua faced criticism because of the extreme methods that she used. In an article that Chua wrote for the Wall Street Journal, she maintained that this harsh way of parenting is superior to the Western way because it produces more successful children.

The book tells the story of a different method of parenting than most people in the west are used to and gives it flavor because the viewpoint of the person writing. Though controversial, it should still be interesting.

On Sunday, May 16, Irving residents may have heard the sound of beating drums, the smell of fresh pad thai and the cheers of Dallas residents watching dragon boat teams race across Lake Carolyn in Las Colinas.

Behind the scenes of the fourth annual DFW Dragon Boat Festival, however, were performers and volunteers who often had been there since early in the morning, making sure the event went smoothly.

The event kicked off early in the morning with several musical and cultural performances, such as Emily Lo of Plano Shepton High School, who not only played on the 21-string Chinese harp but also performed a classical Chinese “calligraphy dance”.

Emily Lo of Shepton High School performs a traditional Chinese calligraphy dance.

“The way I use my fan and move imitates calligraphy,” Lo explained. “I first got interested in Chinese dance because I always admired the grace of the choreography. When I saw it performed for the first time, I was stunned.”

Lo and her parents stressed the importance of staying connected to her Chinese heritage.

“If you lose your culture, you lose your identity,” Lo said.

Dragon boat races took off throughout the day, with 36 teams competing (the Irving Fire was the frontrunner and has been the winner for every single festival). However, running the event from behind the scenes were the various volunteers from across the Metroplex. University of Texas at Dallas students and Adil Shaikh, a 2008 CHS graduate, and Shirley Wu had been working the event since 6:30 a.m..

“It’s been a headache setting up booths, banners putting up tents, carrying around coolers and water and ice, especially because it was really muddy In the morning, but it’s been really fun meeting people,” Wu said. “I got to meet the mayor [Phil Dyer] of Plano.”

One performance that was very popular with the audience was the Lion Dance, performed by students at Lee’s White Leopard Kung Fu School. The lion dance is a traditional Chinese dance in which two people work as a pair underneath a lion costume to mimic the rhythmic movements of a lion, which is a guardian animal in China.

Alex Campolo and Adam Reed were two of the dancers; both are part of the two branches of martial arts schools in the Dallas area, Lee’s White Leopard Kung Fu in North Dallas and Wu Yi Shaolin Martial Arts center in Coppell at Belt Line and Macarthur.

“Lion dance is an integral part of doing kung fu,” Campolo said. “It builds a lot of the stance work needed for martial arts: arm strength, the leg stance work, the jumping ability, coordinating with a partner, knowing where you are in the air. It all translates into really good martial arts skills, so martial artists tend to be lion dancers too.”

In fact, Campolo, who lives in Colorado, had to rush to learn the choreography for the lion dance performance due because one of the dancers was suddenly injured the day before. However, since he has been practicing martial arts for 21 years (“a senior student,” as Reed describes him), he was able to get up to speed quickly.

“The hardest thing is that you can’t see what’s going on, you can’t see a thing,” Campolo said. “When you see lions that are in sync with other lions, it means they practiced a lot with each other because they know each other’s rhythms.”

In addition, lion dancers have to deal with many different handles and grips inside the lion costume, between the pole that holds the weight of the lion, hand pieces to move the mouth, and a string apparatus to move the ears and eyes.

Lion dancer Adam Campolo demonstrates how the many handles inside the lion suit work.

“Coordinating all that while you’re doing the movements, remembering to reach up and blink the eyes once in a while and making it look like a living thing is kind of the art form of it,” Campolo said.

Despite the difficulties of this traditional dance, Campolo and Reed still enjoy performing it, as is tradition before a martial arts demonstration in order to bless the demonstration.

Reed, Campolo’s partner in the lion dance, has been practicing martial arts for seven years.

“It definitely adds a different aspect to the martial arts,” Reed said. “The lion dance makes it into a team sport; as we’re training together, it brings people together through the rhythm of the entire team, not just the person under the cape with you. If one person is off then it looks like the whole team is off, so you really have to be together.”

Eric Emerts, who has been practicing martial arts on and off for about 10 years, played the drum while the lion dancers performed.

“We have a set routine,” Emerts said.

“But we rarely follow it,” Campolo interjects as everyone laughs in agreement.“What you practice and what happens on stage are very different. You’re blind and it’s hot, and you slip, and…”

Emerts’ powerful beats provide the background music for the lion dancers and infuse the performance with drama and energy.

“The drums, the music is just supposed to be there to make sure it sounds lively and there’s tons of energy in it,” Emerts said. “Basically I just watch them, and as soon as they start moving I’ll watch their cue and that’s when I change their beats.”

Different beats are specific to each movement, so Emerts is constantly on his toes during the lion dance.

Drummer Eric Emerts provides the beats for the lion dancers.

“Watching them is really the hardest part, to get the right beat and the right time,” he said. “I’ll start a beat, and they won’t be doing what I want them to do so I’ll have to change the beat and go with that, without it sounding like I did the wrong thing or something.”

In the end, all six lion dancers plus the two drummers worked together to put on a riveting lion dance performance to kick off the dragon boat event.

“Lion dance, even though it’s always fun, it’s always a tremendous amount of work,” Campolo said. “You never get good enough at lion dance so it’s easy – you’re always tired and exhausted at the end of it. It’s really a labor of love.”

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