The
EAGLE’S EYE W. Charles Akins High School Austin, Texas Volume 18 May 20, 2019
“Everything that concerns you.”
AkinsEaglesEye.com
@AkinsEaglesEye
@AkinsJournalism
Austin Schools face Imbalances ANDERSON
Akins experiences overcrowding issues, frozen to transfer LANIER
Page 12 MCCALLUM REAGAN
LBJ
GARZA EASTSIDE MEMORIAL
AUSTIN
BOWIE
TRAVIS CROCKETT
AKINS
In opinions
In Entertainment
How to fix low school spirit
Page 6
In Life & Style
Gaming takes bad turn to the future
E-girl trend takes internet by storm
Page 11
Page 21
Upcoming Events S
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June Akins at Large Carlos Barron
Three seniors lift up the winner of the first ever Mr. Eagle Pageant. The winner of the pageant was Senior Gabriel De La Garza
TEASERS
5 NEW CLASS Peace officer interaction class 7 SCHOOL THREATS Severity not understood 9 SENIOR FAREWELL We say goodbye to our staff 21 E-GIRL TREND New trend causes conversation 24 YEAR REVIEW Major sports events timeline EDITORIAL POLICY The Eagle’s Eye is the official student newspaper of Akins High School. It is published once per six weeks, for the students, staff and community. The Eagle’s Eye is an open forum for student expression, not reviewed by school administration prior to distribution, and the advisor will not act as a censor. Content represents the views of the student staff and not school officials. The Eagle’s Eye will avoid bias and/or favoritism. We will make our content meaningful, timely and interesting. Our articles will reflect our objective of reporting news and will be held to a high standard of quality. We will make every effort to avoid printing libel, obscenities, innuendo and material that threatens to disrupt the learning process or is an invasion of privacy. We will avoid electronic manipulation that alters the truth of a photograph. All icons used are from flaticon.com. Staff editorials represent the opinion of the editorial board arrived at by discussion and will not be bylined. Bylined articles are the opinion of the individual writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Eagle’s Eye staff or administration as a whole. The Eagle’s Eye welcomes reader input. Please send any letters, articles, comments or corrections to Akins. journalism@gmail.com or mail them to 10701 South First Street Austin, Texas 78748 or drop them off in room 223 with advisor David Doerr or an editor. Letters must be signed, and emailed letters will require verification before publication. We will not necessarily publish all letters received and reserve the right to edit for length and clarity. The Eagle’s Eye does not necessarily endorse the products or services found in advertisements from local businesses.
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21st-24th
Final Exams
Early Release Day 9 a.m.-1:10 p.m.
24th 31st 4th
Last Day of School Early Release Day
Akins HS Graduation Begins at 1 p.m.
Diploma Pick-ups Begins at 1 p.m.
ILPC/UIL
HONORS
Bronze Star Award 2007 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Silver Star Award 2019
NSPA
All-American - 2013 Nominated for Pacemaker - 2013
TAJE
Superior Coverage 2005 2008 2007 - H.M. Sweepstakes 2010 - 2nd Sweepstakes 2011 - H.M. Sweepstakes 2016 - Best In Show
CSPA
2011 - Silver Medal 2012 - Gold Medal 2015 - Gold Medal
NewsBrief: O
Chromebook Return Policy
On May 20, seniors will be required to turn in their Chromebooks in RM 176 in the New Tech Building. Students can turn them in from 8:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. If students do not have one of the components, they will be expected to pay for it. An unrecovered Chromebook is $315, a charger is $35, and a case is $15. If students have lost laptops or have had their laptops stolen, they are asked to report the loss to Ms. O’Neill the next day so replacement can happen in a fast manner. If students do not report within a day they become financially responsible for their laptops.
On the Cover
Frozen Transfers F
or years, Akins High School has faced the problem of an overcrowded school. As a result, transfers to Akins are now closed to prevent further overpopulation. This affects students who want opportunity or want to finish their high school years at Akins, but have moved out of the school zone. However, this “frozen” status is often misleading, as many students find loopholes or backdoor ways to attend frozen schools. This practice often puts students who attempt to transfer for legitimate reasons at disadvantage. Read the full story on pages 18 and 19. Cover illustration by Ash Catalan and Austin ISD map.
Editor in Chief* Ash Catalan Opinions Editor* Austin Rutledge Entertainment Editor* Tania Dominguez In-Depth Editor* Dee Carreon Photo Editor* Christian Silva Life and Style Editor* Andrew Martinez
STAFF LIST
Staff Writers Joshua Guerrero Pheonix Braly Gregory Roque David Ridge Justin Wan Jaden Garrion Nathan Martinez Rito Pineda Emily Bellinghuasen Aubrey Hill Samantha Salazar Angela Glass Jon Garza
Editor in Chief* Mylo Bissell News Editor* Monse Rubi Soto Entertainment Editor* Anneliese Olivo Sports Editor* Diego Gutierrez Photo Editor* Jennifer Arriaga Life and Style Editor* Jayda Houston Jamie Bain Diego Cedillo Jose Garcia Isaac Villafranca Eli Calderon Zeta Handy Evelyn Moreno Arianna Farner Brianna Cozzi Bethany Bissell James Mendiola Andy Clay Jennifer Espinoza
Editorial Board* All titles marked with an asterisk contribute to the staff editorial Icon Credit: Some icons from flaticon.com
News
Page 4 - May 20, 2019
Training program guarantees a job after graduating Mylo Bissell
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Editor-in-Chief
tudents who are about to graduate often experience the fear that they’ll be jobless after leaving high school. To help ease the concern of Akins graduates, the Ready, Set, Teach (RST) program offers some reassurance through a partnership with the Austin school district’s“contract in waiting” program. A contract in waiting is an arrangement in which RST students who graduate from college are promised a job at Austin schools when they graduate with a degree in education. The RST program provides an internship for Social Services Academy students who want to be teachers to work in the classroom and get hands-on experience with students. RST teacher Cecilia Gutierrez said she worked to start the contract-in-waiting program to help provide a sense of job security for her students. “The focus (of RST and the contract in waiting) is to identify students who have an interest and passion and set them on a pipeline to become teachers,” Gutierrez said. Gutierrez said she is passionate about creating new teachers. “I think it’s a place we can have an impact unlike any other,” she said. Good teaching is what brought seniors Carla Velarde and Gabrielle Cantu into the program.
“I want to affect somebody’s life the way mine was affected by a teacher,” Cantu said Both said they intend to utilize the contract in waiting. “(The contract in waiting) means I won’t be completely jobless. There’s a chance I’ll still get to work in a classroom,” Velarde said. “The focus (of RST and the contract in waiting) is to identify students who have an interest and passion and set them on a pipeline to become teachers,” Gutierrez said. Texas schools face a teacher shortage. According to Edmentum, from 2002 to 2012 the student population in Texas grew by 19.2% which is almost 6 times the national average of 3.3% which creates disproportionate student to teacher ratios which is recommended to be 29 students to one teacher in Austin. Texas also suffers from very low wage competitiveness, which is the median starting wage for teaching compared to the median starting wage for other college graduates. The contract in waiting also benefits the school district by ensuring there are students from Austin who are motivated to become teachers. Gutierrez said she thinks teachers who are from Austin will be more motivated to stay in the profession because they are from here. “You can learn about all this stuff but until you are comfortable in the classroom with real kids, it’s all theory,” Gutierrez said.
CLASSROOM HANDS ON
Cecilia Gutierrez
As part of the RST internship program senior Carla Velarde goes to schools and interacts with students.
Oppurtunities offered by RST
Is an $8,000 per year scholarship from the Raise Your Hand Texas foundation A mentorship from a local principal or educator An online community for scholars in the state Participation in national and statewide class meetings for scholars
Funds to attend the Raise Your Hand Texas symposium Professional support leading up to graduation Scholars have access to on-campus teaching clubs
News
The Eagle’s Eye
Page 5 - May 20, 2019
New law requires students to learn police interaction Rito pineda
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Staff Writer
ollowing a string of deadly encounters between law enforcement and civilians, the Texas Legislature passed a law in 2017 that requires students to take a course that educates them how to interact with police. The bill was passed after the high-profile case of Sandra Bland, was found hanged to death in her jail cell three days after being arrested for a traffic stop. State Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, one of the measure’s authors, said the bill wasn’t a “silver bullet” but a step in the right direction in a 2017 Texas Tribune article. The Community Safety Education Act, requires all high school students to take a course that provides students with instruction on proper interaction with peace officers during traffic stops and other in-person encounters. In Austin ISD, district officials announced that they intended to begin offering this instruction to freshmen enrolled in World Geography or World History courses. However, at Akins, this plan has caused confusion and problems for teachers because very few freshmen are enrolled in
World Geography or World History. So campus administration made the decision to offer the instruction through English 1 classes, which all freshmen are required to take. The district has designed a BLEND lesson that teachers use to offer the curriculum to students online. The lesson centers around watching a video and answering questions like “What are some things you should and should not do when interacting with a peace officer during a stop?” And “As you watch the video, think about how you would feel if you were stopped and how the officer feels.” District officials estimate that the course will take students about 45 minutes to complete. Sophomore Noemy Cervantes-Sainz, thinks that this class is important and believes now is a good time to get informed. “This class is important because for most students whenever they walk near a peace officer they most look away or avoid eye-contact or walk faster because they feel awkward and nervous,” she said. “But I do feel it’s better to have an actual peace officer (to talk to) instead of having to just watch a video on a computer.” Kim Patton, who is the head of the Re-
STUDENT AND OFFICER INTERACTION
Matthew Rocha
Officer Joshua Visi speaks to freshman Domanick Flores during a story sharing group activity. The Restorative Justice program had officers come in every Friday to build community relationships between officers and teenagers in 2017.
storative Justice program at Akins, said she is concerned about wheth er the lesson will help students because it is only being provided through an online curriculum. “I do think this class is necessary, but I think they’re going at it the wrong way because it’s on the computer,” Patton said.
“That really is a big difference because when you meet an actual peace officer, you will learn that they are people too who are just in uniform, but when you do that on a computer, you don’t get to build a relationship with them. And the relationship that you do build will be fake.”
Art students project vandalized; no police report filed Bethany bissell
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Graduating Editor
rt students in Kristen White’s ceramics class knew someone was purposefully destroying their projects when they returned to class and discovered their work smashed on the ground. White had assigned the students to make mugs that were abnormal shapes to make them unique for a major year-end project. However, she discovered about 30 projects that were destroyed by a small group of fellow students in their class. “I found (my ceramics project) smashed in the kiln room,” sophomore Liliana Casas said. “I didn’t have just one project smashed. I had multiple.” White said that when she first noticed that student work was being damaged, she assumed that it was accidental. She said that she realized that it was purposeful when the incidents increased in frequency. “I realized there was an actual group or person purposely damaging them about three weeks into the project, where ev-
SMASHED PROJECTS
Mylo Bissell
Student ceramics end of year projects were smashed by a classmate. In some cases, students were able to repair their project.
ery class period we’d find five to six projects smashed,” White said. “Some of them we could repair, (but) most of them we couldn’t.” Sophomore Alexis Gillo said that she
was frustrated when she found a hole in her project, but she was able to repair it. “Most people had theirs completely cracked or broken,” Gillo said. “They had to redo a whole other project just to get
their grade.” White said that some students came to her with a video of an individual recording himself smashing a student project. She said that although she has this video, she is not sure that this is the only individual that damaged mugs. “I think it’s really sad that they would purposely do something to hurt their peers,” White said. “It’s hard work. It takes a long time but just ruining something that someone made. I don’t know why they did (it).” White reported the incident to campus administration. She said that she thought about having the students write apology notes or clean the room, but decided against it because she was not sure that she had a full understanding of who did what. The suspected students were given ISS by the administration. “It was very stressful for me,” White said. “I felt really bad for the students because every day we kept coming in and seeing stuff smashed. The look on their faces, they’re just devastated.”
opinions
Page 6 - May 20, 2019
ash Editor-in-Chief
Mylo Editor-in-Chief
Austin Opinions
Jennifer Photo
Anneliese Entertainment
Dee In-Depth
Andrew Life & Style
Jada Life & Style
Diego Sports
Monse News
Editorial: School should increase campus spirit efforts
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omplaining about lack of school spirit among the student body is a common past time at Akins. Students like to talk about how lame this or that event is going to be even though they don’t even give it a chance. Yes, sometimes there are legitimate concerns about attractive advertising that will appeal to students. For example, some of the fliers that are taped to lockers across the campus leave a lot to be desired. And it’s certainly not enough to make a few intercom announcements or place a hastily designed fliers around campus when promoting an event. That said, The Eagle’s Eye believes there are some solutions that can be implemented during the next school year that can help to improve student participation in activities and events, making Akins a more enjoyable place to go to school.
No. 1: Increase Student Council Involvement
Many students don’t even know that we have a Student Council. The presence of the organization seemed to be severely lacking this year. We cannot recall an event — other than Spirit Week and pep rallies — that Student Council was involved in organizing or promoting this year, and that’s a problem. We believe that the best way to improve school spirit is for next year’s Student Council leadership to make student activities and events its top priority. We believe that being a member of Student Council should be something more than just something to list on a résumé. We want our next student council to take on big projects like organizing fun events that the entire campus can participate in. We realize that StuCo members are typically busy students and that they may not know how to put on an event, but we would like to see them try to do more than just the requisite picking of theme days for one week out of the year before a big football game. We believe that StuCo has a special role to play in encouraging student participation. If StuCo takes the lead, we believe other student organizations will get involved if students are able to have input and a role to play in making it a success.
No. 2: Friendly Academy Competitions
One of our greatest strengths at Akins is our academy system. Our academies make Akins unique and help give a sense of identity to students who might otherwise be lost in a campus of more than 2,700 students. Let’s capitalize on this academy structure by starting some friendly competitions between students that are not all sports related. We are tired of only having pep rallies related to supporting our athletic teams. When we only focus our spirit events around sports, we leave many students
Phoenix Braly
who do not participate in sports left out. We have heard that teachers participate in an “Academy Cup” competition made up of fun physical challenges, Karaoke performances and scavenger hunts. We believe that students would also like to have their own academy competitions or be able to contribute to the teacher’s Academy Cup by participating in similar competitions.
No. 3: Host Field Day Activities
The best way to get students engaged in school events is to have a field day where everyone is engaged and everyone is having fun. We recommend that we have at least two field days with one happening at the beginning of the school year and another happening after STAAR testing — or maybe even during STAAR testing when many students are stuck doing nothing in holding rooms. These events should be organized by the Student Council and school administration. Teachers are passionate about their academy cup and we think students will enjoy one that they can participate in, as well. The events should include a mix of physical, performance and academic competitions so there is something for all students to enjoy. We realize that it will be difficult to justify a field day to the campus administration, but we think it could be incorporated into a “Focus on Your Future Day” type of event that have been successful in the past. By taking time to “build culture,” we think it will pay off in the long run in the form of improved attendance and student involvement.
No. 4: Get Creative with Marketing
This year, there were some good events hosted that we wish more students would have attended. This includes The Mr. Eagle Pageant, which allowed students to show off their talents. Promoters did their best to promote this event with some nice posters hung around campus and announcements over the intercom. However, we encourage event promoters to get creative with their marketing. We all know that students have short attention spans, and it is hard to get their attention when they are fixated on their cell phones. We encourage promoters to try using Snapchat and Instagram to promote events. Make some goofy videos. Use memes. Just make it fun and the students will start spreading the word. We believe a creative pitch can help overcome the problem of students who don’t attend events because they just aren’t comfortable attending social events. If the events are appealing enough it could help shy students come out of their shells and cause a bandwagon effect. We believe that if campus leadership takes a more inclusive approach to event planning, it will help students who only want to attend events with their small group of friends. The annual Blue & Gold Night event is a great example of an inclusive event that has something for everyone. The Eagle’s Eye believes these kinds of events could encourage students to hang out with friends at Akins after school instead of going straight home to play video games. Once students start a habit of participating in after school activities they will be more likely to participate in other activities at school.
Opinions
The Eagle’s Eye
Page 7 - MAY 20, 2019
Class discussions lack diversity in student perspectives Bethany Bissell Graduating Editor
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e’ve all been through it. Whether it be in a festival panel or a classroom discussion on social issues. Mostly everyone has grimaced through someone else’s long-winded comment. In classrooms especially, it is easy to become “that guy”—the one who always pipes up to share a view or opinion. It’s often dreaded when “that guy” raises their hand, and they become viewed by others in the class as a nuisance. But is this negative perception justified? For me, the issue of self-expression in class is something of a double-edged sword. While I believe that productive discussion about important topics is vital to becoming a more well-rounded individual, I’m also easily fatigued by the debates and discussions that are had in classrooms. These
debates are often bogarted by “those guys,” making it difficult for a diverse array of perspectives to be heard. Often, the offending individuals in classroom discussions do not lack good intentions or interesting ideas—they lack a certain situational awareness. Most Socratic seminars and similar activities begin the same way. There’s a long stretch of silence. One brave soul breaks the silence, and the discussion typically runs more smoothly from there. These activities run into problems, however, when the same handful of people continues to pipe up. This turns a well-intentioned classroom debate into a monotonous exchange of the same ideas from the same people. For many of us that dread “that guy” in class, the animosity does not stem from vast ideological differences or resentment; it stems from the resulting debate’s lack of productivity. I still want to hear from “that guy” in class, just as I want to hear from all my classmates on issues that they’re passionate about. I just want to ensure that each classroom is a place where all students
Phoenix Braly
feel at liberty to pipe up and express themselves, and not just a select few. The best way to ensure a balance of expression in class is for a teacher to encourage and incentivize participation. For many
teachers, this means making comment in class discussion a grade. This is a wonderful first step in the direction of making the classroom a more open and enriching space for all students.
Students don’t recognize the gravity of school threats Zeta Handy
Graduating Writer
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n fall 2016, there was the social media clown threat that scared students. In spring of 2018, there was the ammo threat that caused a lockdown. And in late April there was a social media threat that caused the arrest of an Akins student’s boyfriend who posted a picture of guns on Snapchat and implied that he would use them on anyone that messed with her. For the last three years of my high school career, some type of threat has been directed toward Akins. Thankfully, none of them resulted in anyone getting hurt, but they still had consequences. These kinds of threats are typically considered a third degree felony, which is punishable by two to 10 years of prison and a fine up to $10,000. The ease of social media can make such threats — even ones that are meant as jokes — more prevalent and wide reaching in their impact. A dumb post on social media can literally ruin your life. The social media threat that happened this year was considered a terroristic threat. Anyone convicted of a misdemeanor offense for making a terrorist or criminal threat faces up to one year in county jail. For a felony conviction, a court can impose a prison sentence of a year or more. Sadly, some young people do not understand the consequenc-
Jamie Bain
es for their actions, especially when it comes to social media posts. They might try to argue that their First Amendment rights protect their speech, but that doesn’t apply when you are making threats to hurt someone or cause students to be afraid at school. The clown threat was about killer clowns that were attacking people. As a joke, an Akins student made a Twitter
account posing as a killer clown and started taking pictures inside of the school claiming that they were looking to hurt students.. Last year’s lockdown had many students thinking it was a joke at first. Initially, students didn’t take this situation seriously.However, after students became frightened when they started hearing rumors spreading around the school on social media about the student who brought ammunition him on a school bus and made verbal threats to other students. Parents were terrified because very little information was released to the public during the lockdown. Eventually, the former Akins student was arrested when police located him at the nearby Southpark Meadows shopping center. He was charged with a 3rd-degree felony for making the threats. Students who were in the portables were especially scared because they are more vulnerable and have even less visibility near the classroom doors. Students relied on their teachers and social media checking the status of the lockdown and to learn what going on around the school. These recent incidents have made students aware of the proper way to report social media threats, reporting what they see to school administrators. Principal Tina Salazar said students contacted her via email to let her know about the threatening social media posts from April. She said she appreciates students contacting her when they see things like this online that make them feel unsafe. Students can also report these incidents to Austin ISD police department by calling 512-414-1703. It’s not worth doing time. Don’t destroy your own life over threats on social media.
Local Entertainment Page 8 May 20, 2019
Guitar program finds success through the school year Gregory Roque
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Staff Writer
he guitar program is among the many fine arts programs to have found success this year. At this year’s UIL competition, Guitar was able to achieve Professional Sweepstakes in sight reading as well as Outstanding Ensemble. Guitar teacher Thomas Mann said it takes a lot of work to get to the point where students can earn recognition at University Interscholastic League competitions. They spent many hours working through difficult parts to shape the sounds so it sounds like a unified group instead of 25 different students playing their parts. “Then it becomes one beautiful thing with all the dynamics and the phrasings and all the different type of articulation is that need to be done together,” Mann
said. Three of his best students who were part of the Sweepstakes win were surprised that they won; however, they were proud of their accomplishment. “We worked really, really hard for it and we had to rehearse the parts a lot,” sophomore Alaina Nesby said. And we just wanted to prove that we could be the best.”Junior Logan Austin said he is looking forward to achieving a lot of success in the guitar program in the future. “We have a lot of potentials, like a lot of the students in the program really cared about it,” he said. “So I felt like we had a really good shot at doing good UIL.” The students who won sweepstakes said they were glad they won from all the training they did every day but are hoping to do more the same thing next year.
BRINGING HOME AWARDS
@AkinsStrings
Students in the advanced guitar class celebrate winning a “professional sweepstakes” award at the University Interscholastic League’s competition. Both the advanced students and the beginning students won sweepstakes in Classical Guitar Ensemble Concert and Sight Reading.
Endgame movie ties together the stories of the MCU Josh Guerrero
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Staff Writer
ince its release of Avengers: Endgame in late April fans of the huge Marvel franchise are still talking about it weeks later. It’s a fitting ending for a series that has spanned absolutely lost their minds 22 films. And it provides a full-circle conclusion, allowing fans to say goodbye to a cast that they’ve watched since they were in elementary school. The movie is amazing. It’s everything I had hoped for and more. It’s hands down the best movie that I’ve ever seen. The movie has very few flaws. I loved it, and everyone I know who has seen it has said the same. Endgame is one of those movies where no matter your age or your interest in Marvel, you need to go see it. I recommend that everyone go see it because it’s not like any other movie out there.
Reactions and critiques
I had a genuine reaction to a mind blowing scene where Captain America picks up Thor’s hammer. This was a first for audiences to see another person wield Thor’s magic hammer Mjolnir, which legend says only comes to those who are worthy. This scene shows Captain America using Thor’s powers along with his classic shield to fight Thanos. This scene was one of the craziest, intense fight scenes I have ever seen. It was insane. I can’t compare it to any other fights in the movie. I think the final battle scene was perfect. At first it appears that Captain America is standing alone against Thanos and his whole army full of aliens and monsters. Then, out of nowhere, Doctor Strange comes through a portal and then brings back everyone by opening many others. All of the MCU heroes from the past 22 movies come to help Captain America and fight Thanos and his army. It was something I can’t describe in words, and I think everyone else who has seen this movie will agree with me because there is no other movie like this. No other movie brings together dozens of main character heroes who have their own movies to have a huge fight scene. It was simply amazing to me. Of course, all throughout the film it was filled with laughter and applause, but the scene that people were actually screaming, applauding, crying and just overall freaking out over was when Cap was fighting Thanos with Thor’s hammer. I think one of the saddest and most amazing moments is when Tony Stark gets ahold of the new Infinity Gauntlet to do a snap of his own, Thanos, and his armies whiping out then turning them into dust in a second. This was the most insane thing I’ve ever seen in a movie. It was a nice touch that right as he snapped he said his famous line from the first Marvel movie: “I am Iron Man.” That moment sent the whole theater audience into shock and cheers. However, soon after it becomes apparent that to use the Infinity Gauntlet the wearer has to be very strong and Stark just isn’t powerful enough to withstand it. He later died as all of the characters came around to realize what he did and how good of a person he is. Overall this has been the biggest movie of my life and I feel like many others feel the smae way. It truly is a must see. Amazon
Out of all the movies I’ve seen in my life I don’t think any has come near to the reactions and critiques of this movie. People were buying tickets months before it’s release, paying crazy prices — myself included. And then in the days immediately after the release, the words “Endgame” became a taboo topic in public that would cause people to cover their ears or become upset, saying “don’t spoil it bro or I’ll kill you.” Some of my teachers even threatened to potentially kick students out if they were to spoil the movie. Because Endgame starts where Avengers: Infinity War left off in a major cliffhanger, there was a huge potential for spoilers. For days, Endgame was all I heard about in the hallways and at tables, where people talked about what happened and their emotions towards the film. This movie by far is probably the saddest movie that I have ever seen, which seems a bit crazy considering that it’s a superhero movie. However, it also has some of the happiest moments with the superheroes beating the bad guys that the audience enjoyed watching. People walked out of theaters with tears streaming down their faces. During some of the intensely emotional scenes with little audio, you could hear the sniffling of crying fans. I even choked up a few times during some of the most monumental scenes. Then we have critics who are giving this movie an amazing score which it deserves.
Standout Scenes (SPOILER WARNING)
Senior SECTION
Akins Student Council
Kaleb Stevens
Nathan Martinez
page 9 Diego Gutierrez
Farewell messages by and for students
sEnior Farewell Page 10 - May 20, 2019
Seniors share experiences, advice as EE Graduates: they leave high school Bethany Bissell
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Outgoing Editor-in-Chief
s the class of 2019 prepares to walk the stage, many outgoing seniors are beginning to take stock of their high school experiences. Senior Aimee Ornelas said that her years and high school, and her senior year especially, were full of good and bad moments. “The best part of my high school experiences has been being able to be a part of theater,” Ornelas said. “It honestly became my home after all these years,” Senior Joseph Martinez said that his final year of high school was one of self-discovery. He said that the year was stressful, but he learned to be comfortable being himself. “(I found out) who I am and who I wanted to be after high school,” Martinez said. “I had a blurred image of myself in my head and now it’s very clear because of the people I surrounded with. Martinez and Ornelas both said that
they had problems adjusting in their senior years as well. While Martinez said that he experienced elevated stress and pressure, Ornelas said that she struggled with senioritis. “When I was a junior, I honestly didn’t think I’d get ‘infected,’” Ornelas said. Martinez said that the workload he experienced in his senior year was far more than he expected. He said that this workload was the worst part of his school year. “I’m glad I had my mom, teachers and friends to help me out,” Martinez said. Ornelas and Martinez both had similar advice to give to incoming seniors, which was echoed by senior Layla Medina. Medina said that the solution to stress and lack of motivation is organization and prioritize them. “(New seniors should) balance priorities and have fun at the same time,” Medina said.
SIGNING OFF
Emily Bellinghausen
A senior signs the Class of 2019 banner in the CCC on signing day. The seniors received cake and got to sign the banner.
I’m incredibly grateful for the past year, the friends and colleagues that I have gotten the opportunity to work with and Doerr. Geaux Tigers.
Senior section
The Eagle’s Eye
Page 11 - May 20 2019
Jennifer
“Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.” -Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice To all of the people who have supported me since the beginning and to my family and friends who stand beside me from better to worse. To Thomas Hamilton: Meh.
Andy Entertainment Editor 3 years on The Eagle’s Eye staff Thank you to all of my teachers for pushing me to strive for my best in school and in life and believing in me and supporting me throught my experience at Akins. To all incoming Seniors do your best and try your hardest and enoy your last year it will be over sooner than you think.
sEnior Farewell Page 12 - May 20, 2019
Jj
Twitter: @jjmendiola82 Instagram JJm16 Snapchat JJ11mendiola Facebook JJ Mendiola “We won mr stark”- Spider man “You cant see me” - John cena
My Cute Self
“ the fanny pack makes the man” - me “Bagaww” - chciken
Angela Glass bby “I was getting too powerful so god nerfed me” - Peter Glass
@radicalpimpster @Cookin’ With Angela
Senior section
The Eagle’s Eye
Page 13 - May 20 2019
Papa jon When I finish high school, I want to take all my graduation money and buy myself a motorcycle. But my mom said no. She had a brother who died in a horrible motorcycle accident when he was 18. So she said I could just have his motorcycle.
the1theonlyjon
David People in high school disappointed me more than my GPA did.
Hall of Chad’s
sEnior Farewell Page 14 - May 20, 2019
Justin In my yearbook like 5 years ago, someone quoted “I stand up” as the first thing I did when I woke up, and I’m happy to say that hasn’t changed.
@Jwannaa
Eli Calderon
Mr. Stark I Don’t feel so good... @elighost219-Snapchat @eli.c.301-Instagram
Senior section
The Eagle’s Eye
Page 15 - May 20 2019
Jaden I want to thank Mr. Doerr and the newspaper staff for helping me during my 4 years at Akins High School. Also, shoutout to all my fans and supporters.
Zeta “ Nobody can go back and start a new beginning but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”- Maria Robinson I want to say thank you to all the teachers that believed in me. But I would also like to thank Mrs.Guajardo for helping me when I need it you knew I could achive more and pushed me to strive for it. Last but not least I would like to thank my mom for always making sure I had everything I needed for Orchestra and school but also always making sure if I needed to stay after school rain or shine you were there to pick me up. You came to all my concerts. To my family I also thank you. We aren’t perfect but no one is.
sEnior Farewell Page 16 - May 20, 2019
BO
Nathan
RE
Not everyone is meant to make a difference but after being in this class and seeing what happens in the world I can try and help make a difference in my own way, thank you Mr. Doerr
Arianna! (arianna)
This was my first year on newspaper and man, GNISSIM MISSING what a ride. It's been a This is a murder mystery good experience to learn yretsym redrum a si sihT about journalism and how a newspaper really works. It's been cool running the social media accounts and getting a taste for what it's like having so. many. notifications on twitter that are not on my own account. if you find this dog please contact me at 01189998899991197253
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Local Entertainment
The Eagle’s Eye
Page 17 - April 15, 2019
Hard to beat video games to play during the summer Jose Garcia
W
Staff Writer
ith summer around the corner, you probably have a lot of time on your hands. What is a better way to spend it than with video games that can keep you occupied for as long as
you please? A game that I recently completed is Marvel’s Spider-Man for the PS4. It gave me that feeling of accomplishment that you can only get when you see that 100% show up on the screen. To do it, I had to basically eradicate crime in every district in New York City
Nintendo
Atlus
Kojima
and beat all of the bad guys. It took about three months to accomplish because the map was so huge. Although swinging around New York City, taking pictures, and fighting bad guys sounds like it could get old; however, it can actually be quite addictive especially when you see yourself nearing the end of
the game. The following are interesting and time filling games that may have you addicted to playing for weeks in order to complete. Whether you’re a completionist looking to add more trophies on your wall, or just someone looking to kill your free time these games will be a great fit for you.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
This is a long game to beat if you want to complete everything as you take in the huge map and shrines that you have to complete along with story quests and korok seeds. One amazing thing about this game is that you can play it however you want. As I did I’m sure you will have a lot of fun with the combat, horse riding, and figuring out how to solve the puzzles that you can find in the game.
Persona 5:
thief life. You can only do two activities per day before the next day starts for 7 months which can take a pretty long time. The RPG elements, the animated cut scenes here and there, and the wonderful soundtrack make this game appealing to play non-stop.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
open world games take a quite some time to beat. Metal Gear Solid V draws players into this game because it gives you the advantage of developing your own gear and weapons to aid you on your mission. Just like Breath of the Wild, the game encourages you to play in any way you choose, which makes this game entertaining and fun to play.
You play as Link, a Hyrule Knight who wakes up from a 100-year nap in the land of Hyrule. After some time to get used to his surroundings in this new 100 years later land he is given one quest to defeat Ganon and rescue Princess Zelda who has been trapped in Hyrule castle.
You play as a criminal the code name of Joker who gets arrested for pulling off a casino heist. He then recounts the past 7 months that had led to his arrest. This game takes so long because you play this game in two ways. You manage your social life and your phantom
After waking up from a 9-year coma from a helicopter accident, Big Boss is rushed into a world where he must rebuild his army and create a new “Outer Heaven,” a world with no borders. Metal Gear Solid V is different from its predecessors because it has turned into an open world game and usually
New changes turn video game consoles to digital only Brianna Cozzi
I
Staff Writer
n 1976, the Channel F, the first cartridge-based video gaming console, was released. Originally, called the Video Entertainment System, the VES had just under 30 games, which were stored on the “video carts.” In the 1980s, Atari and Nintendo popularized the game cartridge as the common means of buying, selling and trading games. In the 1990s, the PlayStation started the trend of using compact discs because of their greater storage amounts and decrease in costs of production. In the 2000s, the PlayStation, again, pushed the industry to change the way gamers purchased games through online sales on the PlayStation Store. Another popular feature that began to catch up with the world of gaming was ‘Expansion Packs’, which were packs which contained extra downloadable content to add to your game. These Expansion Packs were downloaded immediately to your chosen console, allowing players to access the content. As the future of technology advances, video game consoles are following quickly behind by ridding themselves of cartridge and disc slots, advancing to the point where we can choose another option — digital copies. Digital copies of video games are downloaded directly to video game consoles after an online purchase on the supported shopping site on said console (Xbox/PS4/Switch). This allows you to play the game the same way you would with the physical copy of the video game. This new change from disc slot to no slot is a huge change in gaming culture, considering that game stores have been a hub for gamers to explore, browse and discover new
Ash Catalan
and games. Some are worried that this trend will result in the collapse of game stores if physical copies are pulled from shelves, replacing video game racks with video game merchandise. Sophomore Zachary Coleman, said he thinks that the transition to digital-only consoles isn’t necessarily a bad thing.“You can lose physical copies of games, then you’ll have to go back to GameStop and buy it again,” he said. “But with digital copies, you’ll have to lose your hard drive, and that would be kind of difficult to do.”
in-depth
Page 18 - May 20, 2019
Transfer Form
FROZEN TO
TRANSFERS
Students denied transfer to Akins due to overcrowding and attendance boundaries Dee Carreon
L
In-Depth Editor
ast summer, senior Jennifer Espinoza’s family made the mistake of being honest. Espinoza’s family moved a few miles north, placing her home in the Crockett High School attendance zone. Her parents reported their new address when they had to submit some official paperwork to the school district. Because of this change of address, Espinoza was dropped from the Akins roster of enrolled students. It wasn’t until a teacher notified her that she wasn’t on his rosters over the summer that she found out that she wasn’t enrolled at Akins anymore. Prior to this, she had been at Akins since her freshman year. Espinoza said her parents did not feel right about lying about their address, which they have heard other parents do to ensure their children can attend Akins. “During the middle of (my junior) year, my parents went to the (school district) and told them about my situation,” she said. “The administration told them that they weren’t going to pull me out in the middle of the year because I was already in the system and that it wasn’t fair for me to move half-way.” What she thought would happen was that they would let her end her final year at Akins. Instead, she was transferred to Crockett High School over the summer. Espinoza had to write letters to plead her case touting her grades, regular attendance, involvement in extracurricular activities and other advanced classes at Akins. “They had told me that the chances of me going to Akins was very small because Akins is frozen (to transfers),” she said. “They’re overpopulated and not to mention the new school year is about to come up and there’s going to be even more kids trying to come in.” For more than 10 years, Akins has been officially frozen to transfer students because it is overcapacity. The campus’ official capacity is 2,394, according to the district records. However, Akins regularly has enrollments of more than 2,700, which is accommodated with portable classrooms that have become permanent fixtures on campus. Espinoza said the worst part of her experience process was enduring the uncertainty of not knowing if she would be able to return to Akins to finish out her senior
year. Espinoza said her requests to return were initially denied by district officials. She said she had to meet with Principal Tina Salazar to enlist her help to stay at Akins. “School was also about to start (it was August) and I was still (psychologically and emotionally) struggling only to find out that I had been denied,” she said. Espinoza’s story is a good example of how students are caught in the middle of changing demographic patterns in Austin that has left some campuses chronically under-enrolled and others overcapacity for more than a decade.
AISD Takes Action
Now that the district is in the middle of the school funding crises it is being forced to make some difficult decisions about potentially closing and consolidating campuses. District officials are have recently hosted a series of community meetings to gather input on its reinvention planning process. The process entails reimagining how Austin schools could be used to “benefit students and communities, reinvesting resources to bring the visions into reality and reinventing how students are educated in Austin ISD,” according to the district’s website. At the same time, Akins is dealing with o vercrowding, the district as a whole is rapidly losing student enrollment dropping from 86,000 to 80,000 in the last five years. To counter the loss of enrollment district officials are hoping that an effort to revamp and reorganize the district’s campuses will attract families to stay in Austin ISD. “Decades-old campuses are no longer the optimal learning environment for tomorrow’s leaders and the AISD community must come together to support the growth of a new generation,” according to a statement on the district website. “These school changes will include a variety of updates to accommodate more equitable programming and
learning environments that will support students across the district to be successful in college, career and life.” The school board plans to vote tonight on a set of “guiding principles” it will use going forward as it considers various scenarios on how to close campuses, redraw attendance boundaries, balance diversity and move desired academic programs to where it is needed. District staff plan to give a short list of options for the school board to consider in October.
How Will Changes Affect Akins?
It is still unclear how these proposed changes will affect Akins, which is still a popular choice for parents and students. District officials are also unsure how the proposed changes will affect crowding and the transfer freeze at Akins. Beth Wilson, stated that several options are available to address overcrowding at campuses, including freezing transfers and additional portable classrooms; however, these are all things that have already been put into effect. Wilson further stated that It is possible that boundary changes could be proposed for Akins to relieve overcrowding, but that it is not currently being discussed. In this context, overcrowding is defined as a school that is more than 110 percent overcapacity. Akins is currently 117 percent overcapacity. The current demographic projections show that the enrollment at Akins is slowly going down but it is also projected that it will take at least five years for the enrollment to decrease back to 110 percent. The redrawing of the attendance boundaries may help to accelerate the process and bring Akins back to a manageable enrollment level. It is also convenient that Akins’ Ash Catalan
in-depth
The Eagle’s Eye borders Crockett High School which has an enrollment 70 percent below its campus’ capacity. Potentially, the district could move some desired academic programs to Crockett that would encourage students to transfer to that campus. However, it would likely take several years to change perceptions about Crockett to make them want to voluntarily transfer their students to Crockett. To quickly address overcrowding at Akins, it would likely require the redrawing of attendance boundaries. Even so, parents are known to use false addresses when enrolling their children at Akins to send them to their desired campus.
What Attracts Students to Akins?
On a survey done by The Eagle’s Eye, 48% of the students that answered agreed that the academy system was the main attraction with advanced academic courses and career training programs tieing in second place both at 33 percent. Senior Ariana Farner said she thinks Akins also has a better campus climate for students compared to some other nearby schools. “Our academy system makes it so that there’s no chance for cliques or some sort of social hierarchy in the school to be dominant,” she said. In other schools, students are lumped together and put into classes wherever it is necessary. “Here in Akins, somebody could be really well known in the STEM academy and not even be known to anyone in the ABLLE academy,” she said. Farner said that the academy system gives students an opportunity to get prepared for a job and get a taste for what kind of job they want. “You either realize that you really like (that job) and be prepared to spend thousands and thousands of dollars in college to take those classes or, like me, they could realize that it’s not their thing and they spend
Page 19 -May 20, 2019 thousands and thousands of dollars for nothing,” she said. “I think that sort of opportunity is really appealing.” Akins offers programs and internships within the academies that other high schools in the district may not offer. Because of this, students who are suddenly transferred may face uncertainty concerning whether or not their credits will transfer or be applicable on a new campus. Espinoza said she would have missed the academy system and the elective programs that Akins offers if she would have been forced to transfer to Crockett this year. “It was a bad feeling for me because in the letter I wrote that it was my senior year and I wanted to finish it in Akins,” Espinoza said. She said she was also fearful of losing credits and worried that Crockett wouldn’t provide her with the classes she needed to finish her endorsement. She said she felt betrayed by the system. “It just blew me away how they don’t really regard the students and what they’ve done (academically) and how that affects them in the future,” Espinoza said. “Instead, they look at the numbers and statics and try and equalize them. They said that even if you’ve been (in Akins) for three years, even though you’ve had your entire experience there, your address tells us that you have to go to Crockett.”
Struggles transfering to Akins
36.5%
of students suffered from anxiety and unsure feeling
12.9%
of the students that answered the survey were denied the request
29.7%
of students have known people who have been denied
Ash Catalan
What attracts students to Akins?
All numbers generated from an online survey conducted by The Eagle’s Eye on May 9 with 160 respondants
Advanced academic courses
33.1%
Career training programs
33.8%
Good teachers Teacher recommendation Preferable over others Reputation
24.8% 7.6% 24.8% 22.3%
48.4%
of the respondants agreed that the Academy System was the primary attraction
Life & Style
Page 20 - May 20, 2019
Math teacher competes in pro-level billiards matches ISSAC VillaFranca
D
Staff Writer
uring school, teachers are very busy with the daily grind of preparing lessons and grading pa-
pers. During the summer, however, some teachers take time to pursue what they enjoy. Math teacher Elise Briseno has her sights set on pursuing her hobby of playing pool this summer at big national tournaments and leagues. Briseno is part of two organizations called the Billiard Congress of America (BCA) and the American Poolplayers Association (APA). Briseno was interesting in playing soccer, but found that her body could not handle doing it regularly. Briseno decided to get into pool to feel her competitive drive. “I needed some kind of sport,” she said. “I am really good at math, so it was kind of an easy transition for me.” Briseno keeps her work life and her pool life separate. However, she said she tackles pool with the same intensity that she approaches teaching. Both require being organized and following a strict schedule. Briseno said being a math teacher helps with pool because there is some math involved with pool.
Bethany Bissell
A PASSION FOR BILLIARDS
Math teacher Elise Briseno holds her APA TriCup qualification round billiards trophy. When she isn’t at school, she plays professional pool.
“At the same time, its muscle memory,” Briseno said. “It’s physics. It’s just having a good routine.” Throughout the summer Briseno enters national tournaments such as the US Open, which hosts a 9-ball tournament where she competes as an individual. She also competes on an Austin-based team with the APA.
“APA has their city cup, which my team will be going to in June so we can go to Vegas again hopefully,” Briseno said. Briseno said that she has had many accomplishments in playing pool, but believes her biggest accomplishment happened in a tournament with her pool team. Briseno’s team placed really high in the Las Vegas tournament.
“We got 52nd out of the nation so that’s out of about 800 teams,” Briseno said. Briseno said her biggest failure was her lack of experience. Briseno started off playing against high tiered players with high skill levels. The pool associations rank players at different levels, ranging from a tiers 1-9. Briseno did not know the expectations of playing against high-ranked players. “To not know how to play against 7s, who have been playing for 20 years, that was kind of jarring,” Briseno said. The money Briseno receives from the national pool organization is for the necessities when she travels. Briseno also chooses not to gamble for money, “They do give us fees for our stay in Vegas, for food and for the air ticket so that’s the payment we get,” Briseno said. Briseno said that, ideally, she would become a professional pool player in the future, but that is not her plan. Briseno does not want to be on TV and doesn’t even want to tour in Europe. She said she would rather compete in male dominated tournaments but the billiard leagues are divided by sex, and Briseno doesn’t like that. “The fact that I’m working most of the year, it’s very difficult to do that,” Briseno said.
EE REC MMends: Fun summer jobs for students Samanatha Salazar
M
Staff Writer
any students look forward to the summer because of all the free time it provides. Teenagers will finally be able to spend time with friends and family or stay home and watch Netflix all day. Meanwhile, others prefer to earn a paycheck to pay bills or save for college. While there are lots of entry-level jobs out there to work at fast food restaurants or retail stores, the summer can provide a chance to work a fun job that provide perks that are not available during the school year. You get to be in the sun all day and by a pool as a Life Guard. Take charge of taking care of others while participating in summer activies as a Camp Counselor. Working at SPUN Ice Cream is great for cooling down during the summer with ice treats.
1
Life Guard
• Descriptions: Watch over the patrons and keep order in an emergency. • Age: 15 and Up • Pay Range: up to $15.25 an hour • Location: Various City Neighborhood and Municipal Pools • Why its fun: You get to be in the sun all day and maybe even get a tan while you’re at it. • Benefits: Make good money while spending time near the pool. • Contact: (512) 974-9330
2
Camp Counselor
• Descriptions: Lead a group of kids while being responsible for their safety. • Age: 16 and Up • Pay Range: $13.00-$13.50 an hour • Location: The Children’s Center of Austin at Westlake • Why its fun: You get to spend your summer doing fun activities while guiding children as they grow. • Benefits: Make relationships with the kids as you grow with them. • Contact: (512) 329-6633
3
Dessert Assistant
• Descriptions: Work as an ice cream scooper or pastry assistant. • Age: 16 and Up • Pay Range: $8.00-$11.00 an hour • Location: SPUN Ice Cream at the East Austin Shop • Why its fun: You can get free ice cream and treats while creating creative baked goods. • Benefits: Develop good worth ethic while improving customer servise • Contact: (512) 524-1768
Life & style
The Eagle’s Eye
Page 21 - May 20, 2019
E-girl fashion develops into lifestyle from online jokes Anneliese olivo
A
Staff Writer
girl gets pulled in by her collar. A disembodied hand puts hearts under her eyes. She looks scared and confused. Then in one jump, she’s wearing a striped shirt under a baggy black t-shirt with a skirt and fishnets. She has become an e-girl. A new trend has been on the rise of influencing teenagers everywhere to become e-girls. “For me personally, it’s a lifestyle,” sophomore Raini Birnbaum said. Being an e-girl used to be a way to slutshame famous women on Instagram, but now being an e-girl is known for being a girl who dresses in a 90s emo/skater-inspired way. Typically, you would see these types of teenagers on social media, but the more popular this trend becomes the more common it is to see students at school showing their e-girl style in their everyday outfit choices. “It’s the type of girl who tries to differentiate themselves by doing bold things that others don’t like to do or won’t do,” Birnbaum said. Sophomore Dyona Stevenson described an e-girl as someone who likes to dress in a Japanese pop culture look “where they’re sort of anime looking with pigtails, hearts on the cheeks, dress, and usually dark clothing.” Although there are girls who dress like this, they may not identify as an e-girl. They just like the type of clothing. But there are
some girls that intentionally dress this way to show their interest in the e-girl lifestyle. For example, Stevenson said she sees it more as a fashion trend. “It’s more what you wear to make you an e-girl it’s more about your appearance.” Dyona also said that she wouldn’t actually count herself as an e-girl. She only “dresses like one” because she “just likes the style.” On the other hand, Birnbaum said that “it can be both, but I don’t really think you’re an e-girl if you just dress like that. But for me personally, it’s a lifestyle.” Birnbaum said she thinks the look is a lifestyle to her because to her it involves having a social media presence. Being an e-girl is “taking things that you wouldn’t see most people do or wear and you’re doing it,” Birnbaum said. “You have more of an online presence, and you have people look up to you because internet fame is a part of being an e-girl,” she said. This trend does not only wrap around social media platforms it wraps around fashion as well. This type of fashion typically includes long-sleeve striped shirts, dark clothing, 90’s-style pants, combat boots, and fishnets. Accessories that would complete an e-girl look include scrunchies, eyeliner art on the cheeks, chains, a black belt, and chokers. Birnbaum said she shops for her clothes at thrift stores, Forever 21, and JC Penney’s. She also shops for her accessories at these stores. However, she also makes her own jewelry sometimes. Stevenson said she shops for her clothes
“
9
”
11
They’re virtual, come from the internet more than anything
”
Justin Wan
Justin Wan
“
modeling them. There is also the app Tik-Tok where you may find many girls that post videos of themselves turning into an e-girl. This has been known as the “E-Girl Factory.”
What is an E-Girl?
It’s Pretty much like a TikTok emo girl
Gabriel Tristian
on an online website called Coco Bye that she found from an ad on Instagram. Instagram is one main social media platform where e-girls post pictures or videos of themselves showing off their outfits and
Justin Wan
Andrew Martinez
Lilliana Boon
Ash Catalan
Luis Guzman
“
10
Girl on the internet all the time or an ‘emo girl’
JJ Adams
“
12
”
A girl who is famous on the internet for having a mass following so she’s considered an e-girl because people dont know them in real life
”
photo essay
Page 22 - May 20th, 2019
Prom court nominees campaign for king, queen titles
Jennifer Arriaga
FRIENDLY COMPETITION, THE FIGHT FOR KING AND QUEEN
Senior nominees anxiously wait as they count votes that will decide who will be King and Queen. All nominees have had each others back throughout the whole campaign.
Jennifer Arriaga
R
Photo Editor
unning to be Prom King or Prom Queen is like running a mini political campaign. The vote happens at the prom event so it takes campaigning with posters and giveaways to win the popularity contest. This year the graduating seniors who ran for Prom King
and Queen went all out when it came to preparing, campaigning, and presenting. Senior Connor Archer was one of four candidates who ran for prom king. “Overall the best part of campaigning was how all the people running for prom court supported each other,” he said “There was absolutely no drama with each other like there’s been seen in previous years; and I think that highlights the class of 2019 and how caring we are for one an-
other.” Prom nominees Abram Gomez and Emily Sanchez received the most votes, and were named the king and queen of the prom. Both were very excited to earn the honor. “Wining Prom King was a really nice way to end my high school experience,” Gomez said. “I’m really thankful for everyone that voted for me and (I) appreciate all the support that I received.”
READY TO CROWN
WALK THE WALK
StuCo adviser Christina Jenschke prepares to announce and crown the 2019 King and Queen.
Jennifer Arriaga
Seniors Connor Archer and Jennifer Jaimes walk under the sabers as part of the Prom Court after their names were announced.
Jennifer Arriaga
photo essay
The Eagle’s Eye
Page 23 - May 20th, 2019
GETTING A FRESH CUT BEFORE PROM
GETTING THE VOTES
Senior Javier Cortez campaigns for prom king by handing out fruit cups to students between passing periods on Friday before prom.
Senior Javier Cortez who ran for prom king gets lined up at his barber shop so he looks his sharpest for prom.
Jennifer Arriaga
Jennifer Arriaga
Jennifer Arriaga
CAMPAIGNING FOR PROM KING AND QUEEN Jennifer Arriaga
THE CROWNING OF KING AND QUEEN
Prom King Abram Gomez and Prom Queen Emily Sanchez celebrate their win with their first formal dance of the evening. During the dance they had invited to the other candidates to come dance with them on the floor. They then signaled for everyone else to join, as well.
Seniors Abram Gomez and Emily Sanchez campaigned for votes by handing out lollipops and mini water bottles with their names printed on them.
SAY CHEESE
Seniors Michael Delarosa and Carla Valarde who were the two nominees who didn’t run with a partner, get together to take a picture on their special prom night.
Jennifer Arriaga
MAKEUP MAGIC
Courtesy of Jennifer Jaimes
Prom Queen nominee Jennifer Jaimes has eye shadow done professionally glamming it up before the big night.
Page Contributions by Christian Sliva*
Sports
The Eagle’s Eye
Page 24 - May 20 2019
sports round up
Memorable Akins sports moments and achievements November
September
Akins football loses a heartbreaking rivalry game to Bowie 49-28 despite heroics from quarterback Nicholas Cagle dropping them to 3-5.
Akins Football ends their season with a win against Lehman 49-25 ending their seniors careers with a win.
Christopher Saul Moreno
JJ Mendiola
Akins Defeats Del Valle 21-14 to end a 2 game losing streak putting the eagles at 3-2 to finish the month.
October
December
February Head Baseball Coach Gene Salazar earns his 300th career win as Akins beats Leander Glen 11-3 during an AISD tournament.
The Akins Freshman A boys basketball team finishes their season with 20 wins.
Mylo Bissell
Mylo Bissell
February Junior Sophia Rivera earns a 2nd place finish at the 2018 capitol classic tournament.
April
February April
Football Stephen Kates — Northwestern Oklahoma State University Grey Wagner — Southwestern University Davis Ryan & Tripp Ryan — Dordt University Volleyball Emily De La Garza — Eastfield College Morgan O’Donnell — Colorado Mesa University
COLLEGE SIGNINGS
Bob Morton
Mylo Bissell
Akins Wrestling finishes 4th at the UIL 6A state tournament and places highest of all the Austin teams.
Boys Track finishes their season as 6A district champs in the 4X100m, 100m and triple jump, and with new school records in the 1600m, 3200m, 4 X 100, 4 X 200m, 110 Hurdles, and Triple jump.
Akins defeats the top ranked baseball team in the state handing Lake Travis their first loss of the season with a score of 9-5.
Basketball Patrick Verastegui — Bethany College in Kansas
Girls Soccer Erika Cardona — Texas Lutheran University
Baseball Dave Wilson — Stephen F. Austin State University Connor Archer — Sul Ross State University Andrew Wilk — St. Edwards University
Boys Soccer Miguel Garcia Zuniga — Fisher College in Boston Ramiro Parche & Carlos Castro — William Penn University Softball Julissa Moreno — The University of Texas at Arlington