The Eagle's Eye; Issue 2; Volume 17; Akins High School

The

“Everything that Concerns You”

Eagle’s Eye

W. Charles Akins High School Austin, Texas Volume 17 Issue 2 November 15, 2017 Keep up with our stories, photos, and more at akinseagleseye.com A nn ie Rico tta

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Dreamers depending on permanent protection ensured by Congress Jorkaed Rodriguez Staff Writer

Junior Emily Garza (name changed for privacy) came to the United States when she was a few months old. Her father came first and her mother came shortly after, along with her and her brothers. Garza grew up undocumented because of this.

In 2012, President Barack Obama signed an executive order implementing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, which provided temporary protection from deportation for unauthorized immigrants with or working for a degree who arrived under the age of 16.

Garza became a recipient and hopes to go to college to become a pediatrician.

“DACA has given me the opportunity to work and have the same opportunities as American students,” she said.

In September, however, the Trump administration announced that it was terminating DACA, offering Congress time to pass legislation that would offer similar protections. In September, the federal government stopped accepting new DACA applications and on October 5, renewal applications were no longer accepted. DACA recipients began losing protected status on the October 5 deadline and all renewals ensure protection for two years. If no legislation, such as the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act is passed, this loss of protected status will continue until the last renewals expire.

“It’s going to be a slow rolloff ” immigration activist and attorney Pedro Villalobos said.

ELL reading teacher Sarah Barrentine said that she has a lot of concerns

about DACA but she is trying not to focus too much on them. “Life will go on, no matter what happens,” she said. “The education that students earn in the United States cannot be taken away from them.”

Garza said that she is worried about being deported to Mexico if no legislative action is taken because she’s never lived there. She said that she wants to encourage other DACA recipients to not give up.

“We can fight to be able to have the same opportunities as the Americans,” Garza said. “(I want to) show President Trump that we are many immigrants that are united. We are part of this country because we are the ones who do the most difficult jobs in this country.”

In case the DREAM Act is not put in place, Villalobos advised students to maintain documents such as school records to show that one has been residing in the United States. In addition to this, he said to advocate within communities.

“Keep advocating to people in your community to lobby their congressmen and congresswomen for a DREAM Act or some sort of congressional law that would permanently ingrain DACA,” he said.

If students have inquiries concerning DACA, they can send inquiries to local public service legal organizations such as the Equal Justice Center. The teacher’s union Education Austin also hosts Know Your Rights informational sessions around Austin.

“Those presentations tell you a lot,” Villalobos said.

Garza said that she is afraid of deportation and that she is upset she might not have the same opportunities she has before, but encourages other DACA recipients to take advantage of DACA while they can.

“Seize the opportunity (you) still have and that is being given to us because not everyone has the opportunity to have DACA,” she said.

“We are part of this country because we are the ones who do the most difficult jobs in this country.”

-Emily Garza

Voting

Results

P.11 AISD bond approved, gives funding across district Jennifer Espinoza

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Students fearful following repeal of DACA Bethany Bissell News Editor

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Last week Austin voters approved a $1.05 billion bond issue proposal that will benefit schools across the school district, including Akins which is designated to receive $13 million worth of improvements.

The bond proposal received wide support with 72 percent in favor. Some of the improvements at Akins include a new building for the Social Services Academy classes, additional gym space or repaired bleachers, improved security system, better WiFi, and air conditioning and roof work.

Physical Education Coach Steve Riojas said he is glad to find out the bond passed. “I do feel that the gyms are in need of repairs,” he said.

“The school is going on 18 years and things that get used everyday are in need of repair or replacement.”

Some opponents of the bond said they believed that the bond money would not be distributed equally among all of the Austin ISD schools. However, district officials, including Akins Principal Brandi Hosack, said the projects they have designated for the bond proposal were evaluated as a priority using a “worst goes first” analysis.

“The district has said how they are going to spend it ... so there

should be some comfort in knowing that the dollars can’t just be spent any certain way, they must be spent as they were allotted,” she said.

Social Services Academy Coordinator Misty Lindsey said she thinks that bond will benefit students by creating a new building to replace the 20 portable buildings used for classrooms for more than 10 years. “Even though Akins has some major issues that we would love resolved, we are so much more fortunate than some other campuses, and the bottom line is that this is about the students of AISD - not the district itself. We as a community need to do right by our young people,” she said.

Election Results: No 28%

Y es 72% Unofficial election results reported by Travis County Elections Office.

INSIDE: Opinions - page 2, 3 In-Depth - page 4 News - page 5 Entertainment - page 6, 7 life and style - 8, 9 SPORTS - page 10, 11 PHOTO ESSAY- page 12

Opinions

page 2

The Eagle’s Eye

Wednesday - November 15, 2017

Teachers argue headphones should be allowed in classes Seniors should have privilege to listen to music if they are being productive during work time Annie

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EDITORIAL

hen teachers are pulling Eagle’s Eye staffers aside to talk about a specific problem, you know something has to change.

Headphone use is prohibited when students are in the classroom even when students are individually working. If an administrator walks into a classroom and there are students using their headphones, whether they are working or not, the teacher will get in trouble. Multiple teachers have told us they wish they had the authority to decide if certain students can use headphones if it helps their productivity in class by helping their concentration.

If you ask the student body, there is an almost unanimous response that headphones should be allowed in some form or another in the classroom. If you ask teachers, however, you can get vastly different answers. Depending on what teacher you ask you could get an outright veto on all headphones, or even a full go-ahead in an ideal world situation.

We certainly don’t speak for all teachers when we say this, and we aren’t going to call anyone out. However, each example is how actual teachers here at Akins feel. Some teachers say that if the student is doing individual work, then it shouldn’t matter whether students use earbuds or not. Others believe that students with ADD would be able to focus better if they wouldn’t get in trouble for using their headphones outside of lecture time.

For students with ADD or ADHD, it can be very difficult to work during the time given in class, because there is so much stimulus. Being able to use headphones mean being able to focus on the paper due at the end of period, instead of Jennifer from the table over, and her most recent breakup.

One student with ADHD said, “headphones can sometimes

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be the only thing that gives me the chance to actually focus in class, but when teachers tell me to take them out and say they ‘have no other choice’ and that ‘it’s just the rules.’ there is clearly a problem with the rule.”

A few even believe that students would participate more in class if they were given the opportunity to listen to their own music at some point. Certain teachers don’t much care if the rule changes or not, they just wish they had a little more say in the matter.

As a teacher, you have to pick your battles and some battles just aren’t worth fighting in the end. Constantly, telling each individual student to get off their phone and take out their headphones is a time consuming process that takes away from instruction time, especially, if the teachers are prohibiting students from working productively during class.

Ultimately, teachers themselves should be able to decide whether or not students get to listen to music in their classrooms. However, we understand that giving teachers this authority has the opportunity to become a distraction if students start to take this privilege for granted and just use headphones as a way to ignore their teachers. So while our ultimate goal is for teachers to decide, we propose a sort of experiment to see if students can actually be professional with the use of their headphones.

Seniors are already given privileges such as off campus lunches because they are the most mature, why not see if they can handle headphones? We at The Eagle’s Eye believe that the best place to start would be with seniors and the teachers who teach them. Since seniors should be more mature and about to go “into the real world” they should supposedly be mature enough to use their headphones as a tool of productivity.

schedules

Lack of work-release program is hardship for those in need of cash Students need an option to be released early to accomodate work schedules in the afternoon

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

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Eagle’s Eye Staff

Web Editor

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In-Depth Editor

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Staff Writers See full list on the Eagle’s Eye Web site

Bee Barto* Annie Ricotta* Bethany Bissell*

Alejandra Arguello*

Jared Cordero Eliana Gutierrez*

Alex Castro* Ashley Sanchez* Marcelo Cruz* Ulysses Luna*

Kelly Polacheck Annie Ricotta*

Basil Montemayor

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.

Editorial board*

Lots of students at Akins need to work because they have many expenses, including gas money, various bills and saving for college. And many of these students, including me, have parents that can’t afford to just give them the money to pay for these necessary things.

Here at Akins, we currently have no official work-release program for students. In the past, these programs have allowed students to leave school early to make it to their job on time. To give some perspective, my employer has very hard-set scheduling blocks like 6 a.m. Given my availability, I’m in a block that allows me to get to work at 4 p.m. at the latest.

This is an obvious problem considering school gets out at 4:30 p.m. and my job is in Sunset Valley, which is a 20 minute drive.

Fortunately, I take courses at Austin Community College during the school day and was given off-periods to go attend these classes as a result. These ACC off-periods and my one regular off-period are what allows me to make it to work on time. Even though I was lucky enough to find a loophole, it was an extremely tedious process to get those off-periods and is not an option for most students.

The closest program to work release on campus is called the “Career Prep Internship.” This practicum in particular has a certain fault that can be deemed inconvenient for those interested. Both 7th and 8th period are designated for “Career Prep;” however, no class periods with early release are available on A days. Therefore, students who work won’t be to go to work until after 4:30 on A days.

On the upside, however, students are able to work on individualized projects to prepare for their ideal career path in 7th period

before going to work during 8th period.

Akins still offers off-periods to seniors if they have completed all of their other graduation requirements. However, in just three short years I’ve seen the application process go from pretty simple to very difficult if you don’t plan on attending college.

Some of the checklist requirements are pretty standard such as good grades, regular attendance and no disciplinary record. However, there are also requirements that are geared toward college preparation like passing the TSI exam or a student’s progress on applying for college.

Going to college is a common goal throughout the student body, but we do have to realize this is not everyone’s plan. There are many other options after high school like going to trade school, starting a business, joining a military branch, and being a member of the Peace Corps. Others become an apprentice/fellow, travel, work as artists, or simply work a job that meets their needs. These are all options people have considered and yet since they aren’t going to college they aren’t allowed off periods or work release.

Even if a student does want to attend college, it is a huge expense and you need a job to make money. Since off periods are so hard to come by, students are put into College Readiness and “fill in the blank” classes such as ceramics, professional communications, and many other electives. While these can have the potential to be beneficial, most students didn’t even sign up for those classes and feel like it’s a waste of time.

All things considered, I definitely believe that our administrators need to look into bringing back a work release option to students who have a plan other than college or simply need to work to provide for their family and themselves.

* The members of the Editorial Board who contributed to the Staff Editorial are marked in asterisks.

Icon Credit:

Madeline Chadie Staff Writer

All icons for kickers are found on: flaticon.com

Annie Ricotta

Vol. 17, issue #2 Honors ILPC/UIL

Bronze Star Award 2007 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

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Superior Coverage 2005 2008 2007 - H.M. Sweepstakes 2010 - 2nd Sweepstakes 2011 - H.M. Sweepstakes 2016 - Best In Show

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All-American - 2013 Nominated for Pacemaker - 2013

2011 - Silver Medal 2012 - Gold Medal 2015 - Gold Medal

Opinions computer

The Eagle’s Eye page 3

Wednesday November 15, 2017 constraints

District web filters restrict useful sites, causes irritation

Teachers should be the ones to make the decision on what content is blocked and what’s not Dee carreon Staff Writer

Web filters are a way for the district to block ‘inappropriate’ websites and uncategorized sites.

I’m sure most can agree that web filters are — to put it in simpler words — stupid and a constant annoyance to students and teachers and, in my view, just a brick wall that stops the learning process. The statement I gave obviously puts this fault on the district because it maintains the filter, but there is an actual law that puts them in this predicament.

The Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA)is a law passed by congress in 2000 for the protection and safety of kids on the internet in K-12 schools. The main fear that schools have is that if they even make one small mistake in allowing an ‘inappropriate’ site, they’ll lose all federal funding to pay for cheaper internet access.

The law, though, isn’t as strict as school districts believe it to be.

The law actually focuses more heavily on the safety and security of minors on the Internet than the prevention of possible distractions in a classroom environment. I feel that it’s the job of the teacher to decide what’s appropriate and the district’s filter should allow teachers to unblock content they believe is helpful for learning.

Karen Cator, the former U.S. Department of Education’s director of Education Technology under the Obama administration, has said that many districts use “brute force technologies that shut down wide swaths of the Internet” like YouTube or certain social media websites. Cator said she believes districts should use “more nuanced filtering” so they can permit students to access legitimate content.

childcare

Annie Ricotta

I think that Internet filtering was actually quite necessary for a time. The internet is an incredibly useful tool especially for students but it can become risky as people can easily track your personal information. This is what CIPA was meant for. The way that some schools follow CIPA is kind of over the top. It seems like when smartphones became commonplace districts started shutting down access to many sites because students cannot be monitored as easily on smaller devices.

Smartphones, if you didn’t know, have the ability to connect to the internet not only through routers but through data services.

Data services are basically just a completely alternate source for connection free from any school restriction. The restrictions that schools have for their Internet only affects the routers they have and the people that connect to them. This is where the difficulties occur. What’s the point of having these restrictions in the first place if most students can completely avoid it?

If anything these filters are completely unfair for students who weren’t — for lack of a better word — “blessed” with a smartphone and a data plan because of high costs. For the students that do have these advantages though, it creates an unnecessary conflict between them and school administrators that try to enforce the restrictions.

Students will try to find ways to bypass them by using proxy servers while the district works to shut down accounts of students who use proxies.

I believe filters are necessary to a point, but they should only be used for keeping students safe from dangerous or fraudulent websites. By continuing the practices that are going on now you’re only going to end up with frustrated students whose access to the Internet at school depends on how wealthy they are.

on site

Student urges for on campus daycare center for pregnant students Akins should be accommodating to teen parents by providing a designated childcare area Britney Gonzalez Staff Writer I strongly believe that Akins could really benefit from having a daycare here for pregnant teens. I come from a family where both of my parents dropped out because they were 16 when my mom found out she was pregnant. They didn’t drop out just because they needed to start working to provide for the baby, or because my mom was embarrassed and didn’t want to be seen.

They dropped out because she didn’t know who was going to be able to take care of the baby. My grandmother on my mom’s side told my mother she wasn’t going to help because she simply couldn’t afford to help. My grandparents on my dad’s side said my parents could move in with them but my father had to get a job and my mom had to stay home and watch the baby. She always says that if she had the choice or some help with childcare, she would’ve stayed in school.

Texas spends $1.1 billion on teen pregnancies annually and more than 60 percent of teen moms end up dropping out of school to be a full-time parent according to the Texas Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Texas is No. 1 in the nation for repetitive teen births since 2014 and every year, has about 35,000 young women that are pregnant before 20 years old. Sadly, 84 percent of school districts provide abstinence-only or no sex ed at all. I took health class my sophomore year and we went over sex briefly but it was mostly just about STDs and then we were on to the next section.

I understand that sex is such a touchy subject and a lot of us don’t

stop

like to talk about it, but sexual activity has enormous consequences, and if I’m being completely honest, I don’t know many people my age who aren’t having sex. I also understand that teachers are limited in what they can teach because of state laws but something has to change. There are parents out there that don’t talk about sex and the possible outcomes that come with it. I’ve had friends that had been having sex frequently and their parents still thought they were virgins.

Akins does a lot to make sure everyone graduates on time no matter how far behind you might be. We have programs like Twilight, Jump start and DELTA. Those programs are all mostly for kids who didn’t pass the class and didn’t get their credit for the course. We like helping those who were lazy and didn’t get their work done on time or didn’t come to school. So why can’t we help out those who are seriously in need of childcare? I know if we tried, we could really make this daycare happen.

Some people may say that having a daycare here would make us look bad or like we are supporting these students getting pregnant.

Having a daycare here means we’re willing to help you graduate no matter what. There are always going to be people out there that want to talk down or be rude but they don’t matter. What matters is the students and trying to get them to graduate and provide childcare for pregnant teens that need help.

A daycare could make a huge difference to these parents that want to complete their education so they can provide for their children. If they had affordable on-campus childcare they would be motivated knowing their children are being taken care of while they are educating themselves to provide a better future for them.

Annie Ricotta

kissing

‘Public Displays of Affection’ block up hallways and annoy teachers Makeout sessions disregard commom courtsey, going beyond acceptable limits and behavior Zeta Handy Staff Writer

Annie Ricotta

So-called “Public Displays of Affection” sound almost cute; however, what we actually see in the halls around campus is anything but cute. Couples can often be seen in the halls in full make-out sessions that go well beyond the campus rules for PDA. The school rule about PDA is students should “conduct themselves in a dignified manner at all times. Self respect is questioned if students do not follow this rule. To preserve this dignity it is inappropriate for students to engage in kissing.”

And the “kissing” that is seen in the halls goes well beyond the G-Rated sounding term PDA. What is often seen would definitely fall under the R-Rated category, making a mockery of the rule. It could be better classified as hallway sex and some of you should consider “getting a room” instead of putting on a show for everyone.

Please be advised that while students are trying to get to class, everywhere you look couples can be sucking face. And last time I checked passing period is only five minutes not 10 because the couples stop and suck face and then afterward talk for another five minutes as they slowly walk to class.

The thing I hate the most about PDA is that I’ll be walking in the hallway and the people in front of me make a dead stop to kiss.

I’m trying to get to class, but “no, let’s stop the whole crowd behind you.” Be respectful of others when it comes to making out. Don’t stop in the middle of the hallway and stop the hallway traffic.

Why would anyone assume that teachers and other students want to see that during passing period. We get it. You are together, you’re a cute couple, and you care for each other. But that doesn’t mean that anyone else wants to see such intimate relations in public.

We don’t need to see you all over each other and there’s a time and place for that, and school is not it.

But it doesn’t stop there. Sometimes you even see PDA in classrooms. While the teacher is talking, those lucky enough to have their teenage love interest in the same classroom will try to get away with all kinds of inappropriate behavior. The couples will be all over each other to the point where the teacher has to physically separate them.

It’s bad to the point that there’s a school rule about it when it should be a common courtesy to avoid intimacy in public. But, the reality is that we also have common courtesy that corresponds with life and the rules that we have to follow in this society.

I am not asking that students stop being affectionate toward each other in public completely. I’m just looking for some basic common courtesy and social/spacial awareness. So remember next time before you kiss, please keep it PG and out of the way.

In-Depth

page 4

The Eagle’s Eye

Wednesday - november 15, 2017

Students put new laptops to the test Pros

Cons

• Fully charged, the battery lasts 10 hours • Weighs less than 3lbs • Drop resistant • 32 GB Hard Drive • flip design • Touchscreen • Webcam

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Eliana Gutierrez In-Depth Editor

A district wide initiative launched this school year, distributing personal Chromebooks to nearly every high school student.

During the early stages of signing students up for the Chromebooks students were given the option to be given a district laptop or opt-out and bring a personally owned laptop. Those who chose to receive a laptop were instructed to bring the device fully charged and only use it for educational purposes.

After a couple months of use, students and teachers have seen positive and negative usage in class.

Some students feel the computers provide students with more opportunities than last year.

“Instead of carrying around a lot of papers it’s just on BLEND so it’s more convenient,” sophomore Andreas Costuros said.

The foremost intention of supplying students with laptops was for academic advancement. Teachers have split opinions on the matter on whether that is happening.

Economics teacher Enrique Perez has embraced the use of these Chromebooks.

“It’s made a big difference in (incorporating laptops to the classroom) because number one I can assign things to kids and not have to make a thousand copies,” Perez said. “It also allows me to do different sorts of things like discussions where everyone can write and comment on other classmates stuff and allow me to diversify.”

Perez said it also helps know all students have access to assignments electronically no matter if they

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• Too many websites are blocked • Can be unreliable • Apps cannot be installed • Can’t access streaming video at home

are at school or home. It also helps when teachers are sick and cannot make it to campus to set up lessons when they are absent.

“If there’s a substitute it’s also easier because I can just leave assignments on BLEND and the students can see it on there and leave instructions so they know how to go about doing so,” he said. “It’s made a huge improvement in giving instructions to kids.”

AVID teacher Christina Garcia-Mata said there are “pluses and minuses to the laptops.”

“It’s really convenient when I do need students to look things up like not having a cart and there not being enough of (the laptops),” Garcia-Mata said. “It’s also been a form of distraction. If a kid’s just really using it for the purposes in class they’re needed for then they would be...a solid thing. But it’s just also increased the amount of time people are trying to get distracted with their computer for Facebook, whatever. Even just chatting with each other.”

Senior Ashley Hogan believes the laptops are not a silver bullet for academic success.

“I feel like it’s less hands on. I don’t think being on technology helps us anymore, and I feel like a lot of the teachers, they just put stuff on there and it doesn’t really make a lot of sense,” Hogan said.

Hogan said the web filters on the laptops are “sufficient.”

“It keeps (students) from inappropriate websites...but it doesn’t keep them from streaming the internet and playing games on their laptops,” Hogan said.

Regardless, students and teachers agree that the laptops will have a lasting impact on changing the way students learn and teachers teach.

Page layout and Design: Eliana Gutierrez

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Eliana Gutierrez

laptops By The Numbers:

*Survey Results compiled from an online survey of 100 Akins Students

Do you think the laptops help your performance in class?

Yes-85%

Eagle’s View

No-15%

Do the laptops make turning in assignments easier?

Yes-56%

No-11%

Somewhat-33%

Yes-48%

No-52%

Question: How do you feel about the new laptops and do you believe they help your performance in class?

LINDSEY HARTZELL

NICO ROMERO

HALEY JOHNSON

“The new laptops are very helpful because it gives us an advance in technology...and it also allows us to have more accessibility.”

“I think they’re distracting. It’s harder to type than write for some people. I don’t think they help us at all.”

“I think they really help our performance academically because we don’t really lose our schoolwork because it’s all online.”

FRESHMAN

Have you had any issues/ malfunctions with your computer?

SOPHOMORE

JUNIOR

DAMIEN ACKERMAN

CHRISTINA GARCIA-MATA

“They’re cool, but I don’t think they help education-wise.”

“It’s really convenient when I do need students to look things up...it’s also been a form of distraction.”

SENIOR

AVID TEACHER

News

The Eagle’s Eye

Page 5

Tuesday - November 15, 2017 Disaster

Technology

AP Geography classes use mapping software to supply aid Students use Geographic Information Systems to find areas of damage after Hurricane Maria Raidy zanjeel Staff Writer

When students enrolled in AP Geography this year, they had no idea that they would be helping with the recovery effort in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria devastated much of The Caribbean Islands.

Geography teacher Maribel Velez Ramos has personal ties to Puerto Rico, where she was born and where her parents still live. When her homeland was hit by the hurricane, she put a plan in place in which she could teach her students how to use Geographic Information Systems–software to help real people who have lost their homes and do not have access to electricity or drinkable water.

Ramos said her class was invited by the GIS company Esri to help with a mapping project, where students analyze satellite images to mark the condition of buildings in Puerto Rico with different color dots. Using Esri software, they mark buildings based on damage. Destroyed buildings are marked red, partially damaged are marked orange and buildings with no damage are marked green.

“What we’re going to be doing is a contribu-

Recruiting

tion to speed the relief efforts over there,” Ramos said. “After we put together the map — which we hope to use this map — soon the (Federal Emergency Management Agency will have) people with iPads in Puerto Rico validating the map.”

Senior Caitlin Spence is a student who has become excited about the Puerto Rico mapping project. She said she has also helped people using a service called Crowd Rescue that lets people report requests and searches social media for calls for help if they can’t reach 911. “ It will just help teach people that there’s never nothing you can do,” Spence said. “You can always go out and help people and you can’t just say ‘oh well I don’t know how to.’ There’s always a way to help people.”

All students in her classes were required to map a single town with 70 dots; however, Senior Anthony Christian has gone beyond the requirement, marking more than 200 in different towns across the island. Christian said the impact of the hurricane was tremendous.

“A lot of people don’t get a chance like this (to help), especially with something so big on a big scale,” he said. “I think it’s inspiring for a lot of people.”

Ramos said that with hurricanes striking the

Raidy Zanjeel

▲ Mapping Disaster

Senior Caitlyn Spence places dots over buildings in Puerto Rico to indicate their damage. Destroyed buildings were marked red, partial damage orange, and buildings without damage were given green dots.

United States more frequently, it is important for students to learn to use the technology.

“We have to learn from this event. So next time we can act faster and we can help and geotechnol-

Grades

Programs

ogy is available to help us speed the process of recovering our relief,” Ramos said. “And I want the kids to know that this is the future of emergency management.”

Mastery

New grade scale introduced

Teachers begin using Standards-Based Grading Eli Gutierrez Staff Writer

Andy Clay

▲ Helping Hands

Former student Brandon Rottman and senior Alicia Alvarez plant a tree in the courtyard. This campus beautification was one of JROTC’s projects last year.

JROTC membership issues

Memes cause problems in gaining students Andy Clay

Staff Writer

Briefs

When recruiting officer Kelly Polacheck makes his pitch to a prospective candidate to join the Akins JROTC unit, he never knows if it will be taken seriously.

Recently, a series of Internet memes portraying JROTC members taking their responsibilities as seriously as World War II-era soldiers in battle has made recruiting efforts challenging for Polacheck.

“The memes aren’t as big a problem as they are more forced publicity,” he said. “The absurdity behind it makes it fairly obvious that it’s just a joke, but it also can make it hard to take us seriously.”

Polacheck said he thinks that the memes have hurt his recruiting efforts for an organization that plays an essential role on campus. JROTC has many responsibilities on campus, such as raising the flag every morning, posting the colors (flags) at official school events and supporting projects across campus.

Corps Commander and senior Ma’Kayla Gay said JROTC is a “spirit force on campus.”

“What that means is we support and promote every organization Akins has to offer,” she said. “I also ensure that all members of the group have the opportunity to develop leadership qualities to their fullest individual abilities, build their confi-

dence, and their leadership skills.”

Because some students do not understand what JROTC is all about, it can make the group an easy target for those whose only familiarity with the group is the memes they see on social media. Senior Alexis Thigpen said she joined JROTC for personal reasons.

“My uncle who had been in the Air Force had just died and I wanted to honor him in a way,” she said.

Gay said she actually enjoys the JROTC memes because she knows that some people in any group can get carried away with taking themselves too seriously.

“The memes are all in good fun,” she said.

Madrigal Dinner On Dec. 15 and 16, the Akins Madrigal Choir will host its annual Madrigal Dinner, featuring a holiday themed concert, play, and meal. The students in the choir dress up in midRenaissance attire and perform in both a concert and comical play.

The shows will begin at 7 p.m. both nights. The choir’s performance will be located at St. John’s Presbyterian Church on Hewitt Lane.

Ticket prices vary based on table location with the closest to the choir being the most expensive. For students, the prices range from $15, $25, $30, and $35. The prices for adults are $20, $30, $35, and $40. The ticket price covers the seat and the catered meal. This event is a fundraising effort for the choir program.

Tickets can be purchased at akinschoir.ludus.com or through akinschoir.com.

Students have experienced whiplash this year as the familiar A, B, C, D and F grading system has been replaced by NYA, NEV, EMG, APR, PRF, and MST. This new system is called Standards-Based Grading and some administrators and teachers believe that it will be a more precise way to communicate student mastery of content. However, the transition for students hasn’t been easy because it does not follow the traditional system they have grown up with.

“The change of the system was so fast, but what is being taught hasn’t changed,” sophomore Michael Serrato said.

Math teacher Natalee Peterson said that standards-based grading should encourage students to do better on their work because it will give them more information on how they truly performed based on the standards.

“Standards-based grading is making sure that your grade in a course reflects what you can actually do, as far as the content goes,” she said.

Although students do not like the fact that grades are rounded down in some cases, teachers believe that the new system provides more accurate labels on student mastery than the old letter-grades.

“I think it gives the student a better understanding of a standard. Because we’re really diving in and dissecting what the standard is,” English teacher Mark Martinez said.

With this system, all grades fall into the following levels of mastery that are associated with different number grades: Not Yet Assessed is a 50, No Evidence is equal to 60, Emerging is 70, Approaching is 80, Proficient is 90 and Mastery is 100.

Sophomore Brianna Palacios said she does not like the new categories because they’re too restric-

Upcoming Events S M 5

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New grading ScalE -Not Yet Assessed(NYA): 50

-No evidence(NEV): 60 -Emerging(Emg): 70 -Approaching(APR): 80 -Proficient(Prf):90 -Mastery(MST): 100

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“There isn’t really anything in between, you get something and it’s set that way,” Palacios said.

In addition to this, students are not happy with how fast your grade can change, if you do well on all assignments and then get a bad grade on one your grade can change drastically. Junior Mason Lanning said he has been frustrated with the new grading system because his grades have been affected many times.

“I’ve been screwed over a couple times because of it. I needed a 70 on a test, but since I got a 63 I got a 60 and it made my grade worse,” he said.

Peterson said she thinks the new system puts the control in the students’ hands.

“If you want a higher (grade) than that fix it and try it again,” Peterson said. “You can redo anything until they get all the way up to 100. Everything is fixable and that’s how you learn.”

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

15. All City Guitar Concert

16. National Honor Society Induction 19-25. Thanksgiving Break

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

30. Late Start Day

Entertainment

page 6

The Eagle’s Eye

Wednesday - November 15, 2017 Wild Ride

New Releases

Nov. 17

Thor film takes audience on a fun ride

Comedy takes precedent over drama in latest series installment Bee barto

Justice League

Showing at multiple theaters

Dec. 8

Thor Ragnarok, has officially established that Marvel Studios can nail every movie they make nowadays. With significantly more humor compared to the past two Thor movies, you will find yourself smiling the entire time.

The past few Marvel Studios films have been just as astounding with movies like Logan, Spider-Man Homecoming and now Thor Ragnarok. In comparison to the last two Thor movies, Ragnarok is easily the best of the three, unusual for a sequel.

Ragnarok, constantly makes fun of the mistakes the Thor series has made in the past, this movie very rarely took any moment too seriously.

The plot easily could have been described in one throwaway line in the next film, something like “Oh, where were me and

Review

Hulk? Screwing around in outer space, what about you (insert literally any Avenger)?”

The plot of this movie was almost unnecessary. Instead, we got this beautiful character development for almost every role, and it was completely unexpected. It was a wild ride of purely random occurrences.

Speaking of random occurrences, there is additions of characters like Korg, who cracks jokes at every moment, and derails every conversation he’s in. He easily could have been a throw away side character with some unimportant backstory. But he is a scene stealer, whenever an inkling of drama appears he is there for comic relief. Korg is beautiful, he represents everything that has improved in the Thor series: comedy first, drama second.

As shown in the trailer, the movie starts out with Thor, losing his hammer, and the return

Courtesy of Marvel Studios

of Hela, the goddess of death.

Thor is also reunited with his brother Loki, his fellow Avenger the Hulk, and a badass warrior from Asgard named Valkyrie.

Together, they team up and work together to defeat Hela and stop Ragnarok, the destruction of Asgard.

However, throughout the entire plot, no character ever takes

anything seriously.

There are also many small little points like, the brief appearance of Doctor Strange, the performance by Anthony Hopkins and the beautiful cinematography with scenes that look like oil paintings.

Overall, Thor Ragnarok was funny, beautiful, awesome and just an all around good time.

Nextflix

Stranger Things 2 expands to grander scale Bee barto

Editor-in-Chief

I, Tonya

Courtesy of Miramax

Showing at multiple theaters

Dec. 15

F A L L

F I L M

C A L E N D A R

Editor-in-Chief

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

comedy

While some binge ate candy during Halloween fans of the Netflix sensation Stranger Things 2, consumed nine new episodes in rapid succession, reconnecting with their favorite characters from Hawkins, Indiana.

The story picks up right where it left off so beware because we are about to reveal some spoilers here.

This season takes everything from last season and steps it up an enormous notch with characters continuing to deal with their ongoing struggles. After returning from the Upside Down, Will Byers finds himself mysteriously connected to that alternate dimension. Joyce is in a happy relationship with a man named Bob, and the “party” finds themselves in the company of a new girl nicknamed “Mad Max.” Meanwhile, Nancy is still struggling with the loss of her best friend Barb and whether or not to tell her grieving parents she knows what happened to her and risk spilling the secrets of the federal laboratory outside of town.

But most importantly, it is revealed that Eleven escaped the Upside Down after her encounter with the Demogorgon. But after

REview

Images Courtesy of Netflix, Illustration by Bee Barto

discovering that it isn’t safe to return to her new friends, she struggles on her own until she is taken in and kept safe in secret by Chief Hopper.

However, what’s most exciting this season is that every character goes through some form of development. Every single struggle each character goes through continues to feel real and natural with relatable experiences like the awkwardness of growing through adolescence. This season deals with many heavy topics like revenge, abuse, jealousy, grief, and

being tempted to use power for evil. All the while almost every character has some kind of post-traumatic stress, or in Will’s case a giant monster from another dimension possessing him.

The show is just as beautiful, loveable, and near perfect as ever. But the fact that Eleven and Mike are able to finally go to the Snowball together, is just so wonderful. The last 5 minutes of this season are just some of the most heartwarming moments in TV history.

new worlds

Mario’s Switch debut introduces new features Classic character explores new worlds, new abilities with Cappy Henry Dominguez Staff Writer

Courtesy of Disney

Star Wars VIII

Showing at multiple theaters

Special Screenings Alamo Drafthouse ● South Lamar – 11/27 – Pan’s Labyrinth, 4 p.m. ● Ritz – 11/28 – Love Actually, 6:45 p.m. ● Mueller – 12/9 – The Gremlins, 8 p.m.

Everyone’s favorite ex-plumber is back and there’s much more to see than just the Mushroom Kingdom in Super Mario Odyssey.

Before it’s release it was one of the most highly anticipated games to launch exclusively for the Nintendo Switch. It’s been almost half a decade since the last time a main 3-D Mario title was released and Odyssey was worth the wait.

Never has a Mario title been more filled with content like Odyssey has. With new features to experience and places to explore it’s no wonder that Super Mario Odyssey was met with the amount of admiration and praise that it received even before its re-

lease. off to venture the globe and resLike always, the game begins cue Princess Peach and Tiara. with Bowser kidnapping Princess The gaming experience overall Peach, along with a new charac- is as fun, beautiful, and smooth as ter, Tiara. players would probably He’s also got a expect it to be, new crew of badbut the modies working alongtion conside him known as trols can feel The Bunny Broodals a bit awkward who serve as wedat first. Playding planners for ers that prefer to use the his absurd plan to comfort grip, or have the Joyforce Peach into Cons be connected to the Switch wedlock. But Mario itself might be somewhat upset isn’t alone either. to find that a majority of MaWith Cappy, a rio’s moves can only be acsentient hat like tivated via motion controls. ghost, Mario is Odyssey introduces a Courtesy of Nintendo able to perform new form of currency which a variety of functions players can use to buy outwhile also being able to posses fits to dress up Mario. But this many unique characters, both time Mario isn’t just collecting new and old. Together they set stars but Power Moons, as well.

The Odyssey is Mario’s new form of travel and Power Moons are what Mario uses to power the Odyssey itself, in total there are 800 Power Moons to find and collect.

Exploration is the focus point in this game, and that’s a good thing because each environment that players will visit is filled with beautiful sceneries, making each place an adventure of its own.

Odyssey also employs aspects from older Mario games with some parts referencing directly to the classic retro design of older versions. They play just as well and are will be very much appreciated by older players, touching at the nostalgia side of things. With all the new changes and additions it makes it feel like Mario’s most freshest and grandest adventure yet.

Entertainment rock

Wednesday November 15, 2017

The Eagle’s Eye Page 7

school

Students treated to mini concert festival during school High School Nation tour offers students a break from the norm, chance to explore the arts Elijah Calderon Staff Writer

Jared Cordero

Online Editor-in-Chief When the 11:05 a.m. bell rang on Nov. 1 students at Akins didn’t go to lunch like usual: they went to a miniature concert festival set up in the parking lot.

It was the second time in the last three years that the High School Nation tour has stopped at Akins, featuring popular artists like Drake Bell.

Students were allowed to enjoy concerts, art activity booths and music instrument stations to encourage them to pursue their artistic interests.

The tour is like a mini Warped Tour that focuses exclusively on high school audiences.

Besides the headlining acts, there were also lesser known artists like Caroline Roman that played on a smaller stage. Roman said she joined the tour to increase awareness of her music.

“I’ve never been on tour, and I was in actual school,” she said. “It was hard to balance because I started my junior year and then flew to (Los Angeles) to do some business.”

One of the primary goals of High School Nation is to promote fine arts curriculum in high schools across the country. The tour travels across the country with a mix of established and up-andcoming artists looking to expand their fan bases with young people.

Akins benefits from the tour stop through donations of equipment the tour provides to the campus fine arts programs. The school received things like microphones and cables, DJ software and equipment, a set of drums, and a piano. Many of the items given to students were provided by sponsors that such as the Truth anti-smoking campaign,

intimate

In-and-Out Burger, Sparkling Ice, Takis, Guitar Center, SkullCandy, and Hollister.

The tour staff also gave out tons of freebies to students like T-shirts, headphones, sparkling water, Takis chips and gift cards to restaurants. Sophomore Alejandro Beltran won a DJ controller set.

Tyson Williams, the Arts and Humanities Academy’s coordinator, said he thinks it is cool that students can go see a concert during the school day.

“It’s a pretty unique opportunity, I saw students sitting at drum kits, and strapping on electric guitars,” he said. “Maybe that’s something that will spark a new hobby or passion” Williams said he thinks the event had a positive response from students.

“Everything seems real positive. I’ve seen screensavers or backgrounds with pictures from the event already,” he said. “I think it was a big success.”

For many students the highlight was seeing a childhood TV star Drake Bell, who was on the show Drake and Josh on Nickelodeon.

Junior Melanina Breeding said seeing Drake Bell was the main reason she went to check it out.

“Seeing Drake Bell was such a cool experience, since I had grown up watching (him),” she said.

With the students that were starstruck, there were also students that were there for other reasons, such as the crowd experience. Junior Hank Scaief said he was only there for the energy of the crowd.

“I experienced the crowd pit more than Drake Bell himself, the thrill of the concert made it especially fun,” he said. “Without the pit, the concert honestly would of not of been fun for me.”

Beltran said he also enjoyed the energy of the event.

“Bro they were crazy and everybody in the crowd was crazy,” he said.

▲ 2nd Role

Alex Castro

Drake Bell, known for his role in the early 2000’s show Drake and Josh, performs as part of the High School Nation tour. It was his second stop at Akins in two years.

concert

Halsey astounds her audience with fantastic performance, visuals

Fans celebrate singer that doesn’t fit the mold of pop princess at Frank Erwin Center concert Alejandra Arguello Entertainment Editor

Fans of Halsey, who have seen her go from playing small venues in Houston to headlining her own tours, can’t help but feel a sense of pride.

However, no matter how big the venue or stage may be, Halsey continues to deliver a show that feels intimate. That was the case when she took over the Frank Erwin Center on Oct. 27, putting on a show that felt like a celebration of an artist who has overcome adversity.

Her show consists of songs ranging from her very first album Room 93, to Badlands and her latest work Hopeless Fountain Kingdom, as well as a cover of her feature with The Chainsmokers.

Kicking the show off with the first track off of HFK, “The Prologue” and having the arena be completely dark to it transitioning into Kanye West’s “Hold My Liquor” while flashing lights and static like projections played over the curtains hiding the stage.

Halsey entered the stage with fog surrounding her feet and pouring down a stage made out of stairs and monitors as her radio hit “Eyes Closed” begins. She sings about continuing to love her ex while being in a new relationship.

Halsey always delivers with the visuals in her shows and this time was no exception. The stairs had built in screens that matched the vibe of the

song. During the performance of “Good Mourning,” koi fish swam on the screens producing a mysterious feeling.

Her performance of the song Strangers was another highlight of the show. Before playing the song, which references a same-sex relationship, Halsey gave a speech saying: “Let’s get two things straight right now. The first is that this a safe place for you, and the second is that this song is from the bottom of my heart so you better dance.”

The crowd cheered as they enjoyed one of their favorite songs. The performance featured an intimate dance with her backup dancer TeeTee, which got a frenzied response from the audience.

Later, Halsey slowed things down with a piano version of the song Closer, which is a collaboration with The Chainsmokers. Halsey gave two speeches, one before and one after. During both, the bond between Halsey and her fans was very noticeable.

Halsey makes a point of making a personal connection with her fans and even recalled specific details about people who have met her and supported from the beginning. She shared with the audience a special moment that happened backstage before the concert in which a couple got engaged.

It was moments like this that made the show an unforgettable experience for fans both new and old.

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▲ Dance Off

Courtesy of DonsLens.

Halsey and backup dancer TeeTee face off on a stage that extended into the audience.

The crowd was splashed by the water on the stage as they danced.

Life & style

page 8

The Eagle’s Eye

Wednesday - November 15, 2017 Committed

scholars

High scoring students sought after by elite universities Top honors, test scores earned through daily dedication to their studies, winning recognition Henry Dominguez Staff Writer

For most students the process of searching and applying to colleges can be a long and taxing road, but for some others it’s a breeze.

Students that are recognized by programs such as the National Hispanic Recognition program and National Merit program are personally emailed by universities, inviting them to apply. For these students they don’t have too look for colleges, the schools look for them. Being a national scholar puts you on universities’ radar screens, making them more likely to be accepted.

To be recognized as a National Merit Scholar or a National Hispanic Scholar it makes students a more competitive candidate for all of those scholarships and there are schools that specifically seek out national merit students, said Sarah Simmons, College and Career Counselor.

Students who achieve high scores on tests such as the PSAT and the SAT are eligible to be acknowledged by the College Board and recognized as high performing students who are then nominated for scholarship programs.

Colleges aren’t just interested in these tests alone, they are just as interested in the student’s academic histories, said Christine Kesling, Col-

Disease

Henry Dominguez

▲ Hitting the Books

Seniors Issac Castaneda and Abigail Peterson study for their upcoming assignments and homework for the 6 weeks.

lege Readiness Counselor. They are looking beyond just the test scores, she said.

“The students that have qualified on these tests don’t just study for that test, they have commit-

ted themselves to their academics from the time that they started school because the PSAT isn’t a test just off of one subject,” she said.“They’ve had to work hard the entire time that they’ve been at

school.”

Simmons said that many colleges recognize that test scores are not necessarily an indicator of student’s’ potential, instead they are only mere snapshots of students’ skills.

“But I can tell you that students here that have made these high scores it’s because they are dedicated students who spend time every single day on reading or writing,” Simmons said.

Ivy League schools like Purdue and Cornell have been sending letters to some students that have received these programs such as Isaac Castaneda, Truman Byrd, Abigail Peterson, and Brittney Arellano who scored high on their PSAT and SAT exams.

Senior Isaac Castaneda said that it’s hard to get on the radar screens of some of the colleges that he wants to attend. He’s happy that his hard work has paid off and that he is now getting noticed.

Senior Truman Byrd said he recommends freshman start using Khan Academy that are interested in preparing themselves for these tests.

“I think the best tool to prepare for the test is Khan Academy’s PSAT/SAT prep program online,” Byrd said. “Its free, and you just link your College Board account to Khan Academy and it builds practice questions based on your previous scores.”

detectives

Biomedical students prepare to solve medical mystery of diseases Students work to raise awareness for the biomed program and its future of training scientists Ruben Nava Staff Writer

Like detectives trying to identify Patient Zero and the source of a disease outbreak, students in Akins biomedical program are training to solve the medical mysteries of the future.

The biomed program, housed in Akins STEM academy, trains students for careers in a variety of specializations, including forensic scientists, pathologists, thanatologists and more. The program has grown and changed in the last four years while experiencing many challenges along the way.

Science teacher Bailey Williams founded the program in 2013, when the STEM academy was looking to provide a new industry focus other than the mechanical engineering it was known for at the time.

Williams, hoped the program would encourage students to study these fields so they could be the next generation to develop new vaccines or solve mysteries about how the human body functions.

“Biomed is an alternative to nursing in Social Services (Academy) which is more about caring for patients,” Williams said. “Biomedical is meant to learn how to diagnose and treat those patients.”

Creating such a complex program at Akins was not easy. Williams had to take three different trainings that were two weeks long in different states. She also had to acquire specialized equipment like pipettes microscopes and the ELISA so students could have

tattooed

hands on experiences.

Senior Saba Naiyer said she has enjoyed doing experiments and dissections in the biomed classes.“We dissected sheep eyes, we built functional hands, and we created bacteria to see how they react to certain conditions and traits,” she said. “We do so much that covers all the science fields and later in the year we plan on dissecting pigs.”

The biomed students have also attended field trips, including the “body farm” at Texas State University, where researches study decomposition of the human body in different conditions.

Each level of biomedical science courses at Akins covers different areas of science on topics ranging from viruses to vaccines.

Senior Jhyzel Rojas, the biomedical program ambassador, said the students in the program have made awareness of biomedical field of science a priority this year as part of their capstone course project.

“Last year we had an idea to go to a few middle schools in the district to educate future high schoolers about biomed and hopefully get more kids interested, she said. “This year, almost the entire class came together to make this possible, being mostly independent as we set it all up to go to Mendez and Paredes.”

Williams said that biomedical science is a field of study worth exploring because of large scale job growth related to it.

Next year, there is a possibility that biomedical program could be a dual credit course for college, featuring actual college students and professors coming to help if it is approved.

▲ Healing Touch

Bailey Williams

Biomedmedical students Sergio Ambriz and Jennifer Quach practice treating and cleaning wounds.

no raegrets

Senior student shares his story and meaning behind his first tattoo Permanent skin art requires a lot of thought, research to avoid regrets, pain and infections Marcelo Cruz Co-Photo Editor

The best way to find out why someone has that crazy dragon tattoo is just to ask them. And there is usually always a story to go with the tattoo, especially the first tattoo someone decides to have inked on their blank canvas of a body for the rest of their lives.

First tattoos are really important because they become a putting permanent picture or messages on your skin forever, and they usually have a deep meaning behind them. Senior Baylor Egdorf just got his first tattoo this year at “San Marcos Emporium.” It’s a cross with his grandma’s name, the date she was born, and the date she passed away to remember her.

When getting a tattoo there are plenty of details that matter: what kind of tattoo you want, where you want it, how big you want it, the tattoo artist you want to use, and how expensive the tattoo is.

Different tattoo artists have different art styles, and different prices so it’s wise to review an artist’s their previous works. It is not an easy process. To legally get a tattoo in Texas you need to be 18 unless you have a parent’s consent.

Once the artist has been selected, it’s important to get an appointment at a time that will work with your schedule because the time to complete the tattoo can vary. The price of a tattoo varies depending on what tattoo parlor you go to, the artist, and the size.

Most places in Austin usually charge about $100 an hour, and there is no telling how long it’s going to take to finish the tattoo until you

check with the artist.

And then there is the question about pain. It’s a good idea to make sure you can withstand the pain of a tattoo before settling on your design. The more elaborate the design, the longer it will take.

How much it hurts depends on an extraordinary amount of factors, some being your personal pain tolerance, and how “heavy” the tattoo artist’s hand is. When a tattoo artist has a “heavy hand” it means he presses down harder than usual and it hurts more.

“It didn’t hurt at all, it just felt like a big irritation, like a mosquito biting you and you just wanting to hit it away or itch it,” Egdorf said.

After getting a tattoo it needs to be taken care of or it will get infected, or the ink will start seeping. To take care of the tattoo it must be washed with lukewarm water and antibacterial soap. And it’s a good idea to apply antibacterial cream such as petroleum jelly, it must be applied to help the affected skin heal properly. It is crucial that you don’t let your tattoo dry out or it will not heal properly.

The tattoo will not be done healing until after the skin over the tattoo peels away like a sunburn.

Getting a tattoo is a big decision. A lot of decisions need to be made so it doesn’t become something you regret. First tattoos will always be special unless they are not thought out properly. “Make sure it’s meaningful don’t just get it to look cool, get something that means something to you and something you thought about for a while before actually getting it,” Egdorf said.

▲ In Memoriam

Marcelo Cruz

Senior Baylor Egdorf shows his first tattoo which is in memory of his grandmother.

life & style head

Wednesday november 15, 2017

The Eagle’s Eye page 9

fashion

Eagle Vogue: Students share their love for different hats Headgear enthusiasts explain why hats are an essential accessory for their everyday fashion

Darcie Papillion

Duberli Ruvalcaba: Because they make me feel comfortable.

Darcie Papillion

Eliana Gutierrez: I wear hats because they’re my safety blanket. I feel more comfortable in such a stressful environment.

Darcie Papillion

Kayla Ford: I like to wear hats because it’s a way to express my style when I have on a simple outfit.

Sweet

Andy Clay

Oscar Garcia: Because its fashionable

and it goes with my outfits and because it covers my hairline.

Andy Clay

Darcie Papillion

Ruben Nava: I just like the way they looked and made me feel secure.

Meaghan Riggins : Because it looks good with my outfits.

deals

Student shares his family tradition of yearly Black Friday shopping

Senior Jose Tapia celebrates his birthday with craziness and thrill of looking for the best deal Annie Ricotta Opinions Editor

Senior Jose Tapia has a family tradition. Every Black Friday he and his family camp out in front of stores until they open so they can get in first and experience the craziness and celebrate Tapia’s birthday.

We spoke to Tapia about his 9 years of experience doing this: Eagle’s Eye: Who else goes with you?

Jose Tapia: “Usually it’s always my close family mom, little brother, and big brother but my aunt’s and uncle’s usually come and use black Friday as an excuse to come as a family and celebrate my birthday.”

EE: How early do you get up?

JT: “Weirdly enough we actually don’t wake up that early we usually go to Wal-Mart or target by 7 but somehow wherever we go my family and me are always first except one or two times when we were second. Dumb luck runs in the family.”

EE: How do you plan for this?

JT: “As for planning things out we usually either look for things we want compare prices and go to the best one but at one point we just went to target and decided when we were in line. In my family we just love the violence and craziness of Black Friday it’s just so pleasant. The number one thing we always bring is always bring is a chair the ones that retract but we are not as crazy enough to bring a tent.”

EE: What stores were your favorite?

JT: “The majority of the time It’s usually either target or Wal-Mart but recently Wal-Mart has been doing a really bad job during Black Friday so Target has been the go to place.”

EE: What’ how you gotten for being early?

JT: “We got a free TV, combined with a in-

terview for a radio station but it was a one time random thing, but every single time, because it’s my birthday my family lets me go first, in target they basically line up and applaud when i walk in because I’m first. It’s weird but at the same time kinda fun since I’m going down the store while riding the cart and everyone clapping on both sides.”

EE: How often do you go/ When/why did you start doing this?

JT: “We go every year at first for the savings but now as a tradition that we really enjoy or like a family outing but you know with fighting, screaming and running which is my favorite part. But we usually are the first to leave as well too and then comes another tradition of it being like somewhere between 12 or 11 and we go to IHOP where we finish my birthday.”

EE: When did you start doing it?

JT: “To be honest I can’t remember when it started but i do know it’s always been the best memory I have of my family coming together” EE: What’s the worst weather you’ve sat through?

JT: “The worst weather would have to be when I was younger and it was still known as a real black Friday. It got so cold and rained a bit which left my hands numb and i mean really numb. But even when I was as cold it was so much fun to be with my family and then we made some dumb jokes about being frozen and then laughed about in IHOP which to be honest felt like a mixture of thanksgiving or Christmas.”

EE. What have you gotten in the past for being so early?

JT. “We’ve gotten two iPhone watches, three Beats (headphones), two Xboxes, two PlayStations, a bunch of games for each, three flat screen TVs, a guitar, and a keyboard.”

“By the way if anyone is going to black Friday they will see me in the front of the line that’s for sure.”

- Jose TApia

Annie Ricotta

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Sports

Page 10

The Eagle’s Eye

Wednesday - november.15, 2017 basketball

pre-season

Akins basketball hopes for a good season with new coaches Rashad Culver Boys Varsity Head coach

Erica Routt Girls Varsity Head coach

Alex Castro

New varsity coaches for boys and girls basketball teams answer our questions about new roles Eagle’s Eye: What has been your previous experience playing basketball?

Rahad Culver: In the past, I have played basketball for my high school and I did some practice with my college team (at the University of Arkansas).

EE: Have you coached anywhere besides Akins High School? If so, where?

RC: I’ve coached at a San Antonio Catholic School and I’ve thought it will be hard job for 1st timing coach but I’ve liked it a lot.

EE: When you found out you were going to be the new head varsity basketball coach after Coach Hayes left, how did you feel?

RC: I’ve felt good because, Coach Hays was a good coach and i wanted to pass that on after he left because I know he will be happy with me being the new head varsity coach and making the team successful for Akins High School.

EE: What are you looking forward to as a head coach this year?

RC: I’m looking for making the team good this year and want them to have fun while they play and play as a team and hope everything goes good and get with the whole team and get to know them better and get them on winning streak.

EE: What challenges do you have to overcome as becoming a new head coach?

RC: The challenges that I want to overcome is making my team look good for Akins high school and make them better and to look forward to this upcoming seasons with the team.

EE: What do you expect from the team for this upcoming season?

RC: To be a good team and work with each while we’re playing on the court and letting everybody play throughout the whole season.

EE: What’s something about yourself that you want fans of Akins basketball to know about you?

RC: I want the fan’s at Akins to know I’m a good coach and that I want everyone to graduate and know that I’m here if you need anything and want to keep you’re a success.

Interviewed by Fabian Morales

Running

Eagle’s Eye: What has been your previous experience playing basketball?

Erica Routt: Well I played middle school, high school, college, and played in the league. So I almost played at every level. I played at University of Texas, I played pre-season with the (WNBA) Utah Stars, a year (professionally) in Turkey and in Israel.

EE: Have you coached anywhere besides Akins High School? If so, where?

ER: I coached at Kempner High School in Sugar Land, Texas and that was also the high school that I went too and coached two years. (I also coached) at Reagan High School and also coached summer league teams.

EE: What are you looking forward to this season as the girls varsity head basketball coach?

ER: I’m looking forward to seeing the girls compete and you know just to see how they’re going to develop throughout the season EE: It is unique that your daughter is one of the players on the team. Is it challenging to coach your own daughter? If so, in what ways?

ER: It’s unique to coach your own kid but she’s a part of the team so everybody is treated the same way but in that aspect it’s fun and challenging. Also be where a bit harder on her than other players on the team.

EE: What challenges do you have to overcome as becoming a new head coach?

ER: The challenges are getting the players accustomed to buy in. As a new coach it’s also good because it’s a whole new slate to get better relationships it can be hard because most of these players had the same coach for about 3 years so it’s something to look forward too.

EE: What’s something about yourself that you want fans of Akins basketball to know about you?

ER: Want them to know that basketball is really my passion and I love it and if you’re looking at it, it’s opened so many doors and opportunities. Sports and them doing well in the future for stability.

Interviewed by E.J. Hernandez

xc

Cross Country boys win first district championship and make history XC Boys surprised with the outcome as they fight for the finish line and break school record Nathan Martinez Staff Writer

For the first time in school history, an Akins boys team claimed bragging rights when the cross country team won the district championship.

The runners were aware they had a chance to claim the championship, but were surprised when they found out they won because it was a very close finish, Cross Country Coach Juan Rodriguez said.

“We knew we were gonna be close, but we didn’t know for sure until they posted results from which we were very shocked,” he said. “My thought was that we didn’t make it because our fifth runner was farther back, but because our first four finished so high we were able to win it.”

Senior Cassius Serf-Roberts said it means

a lot to him to have lead the first Akins boys team to win a district championship.

“It means (1) I did my job as a leader and we listened to our coaches, and (2) it means the team wasn’t running for themselves, they were running for and towards history with confidence,” he said.

It took the team whole to win the championship. They started preparing early enough to train their bodies for all of their races Cross Country Coach Juan Rodriguez said.

“Well the preparation began in the first week of June as soon as school let out last year we started prepping,” he said. “The kids who ran at this district race have been running all summer long as their training.”

Although they didn’t advance past the regional competition, they were satisfied with their overall results.

“I was very happy about my performance at the regionals meet,” Serf-Roberts said.

“My placing was much better than last year’s and my time was much better, as well. I will say that if my time was just a little faster I wouldn’t have been saying I missed state by this amount of seconds, I’d be saying I made state by that amount of seconds. We can’t dwell on the past we can only get better and move forward.”

Serf-Robert said he is confident that the team can continue into the future with better results.

“As long as the team continues to do what we’ve been doing and they stay on their grind I know they’ll continue to be a dominant team in this district,” he said.

The boys are already anticipating the Nike Cross South Regional which will take place Nov. 18 in Houston, Texas.

▲ We all win!

Akins Track

Cross Country boys show off their medals and trophies after a successful meet at the Walter E. Long Park in East Austin on Friday Oct. 26.

sports NFL

Wednesday november 15, 2017

The Eagle’s Eye page 11

politics

Societal issues are making their way into a great escape Fans have strong reactions to players, politicans injecting politics into sports Larry Durden Staff Writer

Kaepernick should be playing on an NFL team instead of having to fight to play

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color” - Colin Kaepernick

At first, we all thought that political issues get handled in the Washington, D.C., or in between elected officials.. But in this day and time, various athletes have begun to take these political issues into their own hands.

Former San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick is the most prominent athlete using his fame as a professional athlete to bring attention to issues surrounding police brutality. He has done so by sitting during the National Anthem due to his disapproval in the way minorities have been treated by the law enforcement.

Because he started his protest by sitting on the bench during the anthem, a former Green Beret, Nate Boyer reached out to Kaepernick letting him know that he thought sitting was disrespectful. This lead to Kaepernick starting a conversation with him and ended in Boyer convincing Kaepernick to kneel during the anthem instead of sitting on the bench. After Kaepernick started kneeling and he received even more criticism, Boyer wrote a second letter directed to “every single American.” He makes clear that he believes people should stop fighting about this controversy.

“No more choosing sides, no more ‘for or against.’ I believe our Veterans will be called upon to lead the way in healing the world and solving its problems; right now our country needs that more than I can remember,” he wrote.

Ever since then, Kaepernick has sparked a flame all across the National Football League, in a way of them also taking a knee during the National Anthem. Kaepernick is not doing this with any intentions of being disrespectful, he is just voicing his opinion in his own unique way.

As I said previously, kneeling during the National Anthem has become a worldwide movement. Other NFL players have hopped on the bandwagon, helping Kaepernick voice his opinion and their own, as well. Denver Broncos Linebacker Brandon Marshall and Oakland Raiders Running Back Marshawn Lynch have done their own rituals to help Kaepernick on his protest.

With both of them including other players around the NFL, taking a seat when the National Anthem is played, has caught the attention of President Donald Trump spoke on the issue saying, “The NFL is showing total disrespect to our great country” which in some ways I can understand why President Trump feels this way.

But at the same time, he is not understanding nor listening to any of the players and the reasons why they are behaving in this manner. In my opinion, Colin Kaepernick and the other NFL players, are in the right.

Growing up as a young African American male can be hard. We face the challenge of dealing with the fact that we could be killed just for pulling our drivers license out of our pockets or we could be harassed for no reason other than the color of our skin.

But not only should we have a voice because of how we are being treated but also for the sacrifice these players are making. In a way, it seems hypocritical. We are fine with these athletes sacrificing their bodies to play a sport we love watching, but suddenly we have an issue when the people we love watching, disagree with the way people in the community are being treated?

Spencer Seyfarth Staff Writer

Before Colin Kaepernick, former quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers became famous for kneeling during the National Anthem, he lead his team to two NFC championships and the Super Bowl in 2012.

However, right now he isn’t on anyone’s NFL roster and filed a grievance case on October 15, 2017 against the NFL, accusing teams of improperly colluding to keep him out of the league. His protest against police brutality has been a lightening rod of controversy, drawing the ire of people who disagree with the manner of his protest.

When he opted out of his contract to make him eligible to play for other teams, the 49ers cut him from the team, making him a man without a team since January 1, 2017.

But in my opinion Kaepernick should be on a NFL team because you look at his stats for the 2016 season he had 2,241 passing yards with 16 TD’s and 4 INT’s with a 59.2 percent completion percentage.

In 2015 Kaepernick was the starter threw week 8 leading his team to a terrible 2-6 start and was benched until week 6 in the 2016 season. And not to mention he has lead the 49ers to the XLVII super but lost 34-31 in an obsolete thriller and also lead them to 2 NFC Championship games and only winning 1 of the 2 games played.

When you first look at his stats and achievements you are impressed and you think to yourself and wonder why this amazing QB isn’t a starting QB in the NFL. The reason none of the owners want him on their team is because he kneels during the anthem and NFL fans don’t like to see that and they don’t buy tickets to the games or they turn the T.V to the other channel and not support that team. Thus, the NFL team he is on won’t make the money they need from ticket sales, jersey sales, and TV broadcasting.

Career stats: - 70 tD’s with 30 Interceptions - 12,271 passing yards - 2,300 rushing yards - qb rating of 88.9%

2016 Season stats: - 9 games played - 16 td’s and 4 interceptions - 2,241 passing yards David Doerr

Tennis

playoffs

Varsity tennis makes Bi-District

Players see improvements within themselves ashley sanchez Life & Style Editor As the number of players on the Akins Tennis Team grow so does its number of wins, leading the team to place 4th in district and qualifying for bi-district for the first time.

The varsity team had a strong season placing fourth, which qualified the team to compete at bi-district tournament. The team lost in bi-district play to Anderson and Westwood, but team players felt accomplished for making school history.

Ashley Gahan, head Varsity Tennis Coach, said she is excited to see the team’s improvement this year.

“This team has shown more dedication and has taken time to practice outside of class and practices,” Gahan said.

The team scored the same number of wins this season compared to last fall season, but had fewer losses improved their overall record enough to help them make it to bi-district.

Gahan said she was excited to see the team’s improvement this year.

“I can’t wait to see how our underclassmen step up over the next few years to continue to close the gap,” she said.

With returning players and new players scoring big this season junior Carla Velarde said she was satisfied to see her own improvement.

“I didn’t play last year, but I did have some wins this year,” she said.

The players said the friendships and bonds have also been stronger this year, motivating them to work a lot harder.

“Everyone was more motivated and we were all bonding a lot more,” Cuadra said.

The motivation from both their teammates and coaches has had a great impact on the team from having different tactics on how to score a point that has built up the way they play.

“We focused on conditioning and waiting for the right shot,” Gahan said.

Each player had a different impact on the team, pushing to the net or challenging each other to do their best.

“The team motivated each other and each had different impart into each player,” Velarde said.

The team was also excited to twice beat Del Valle, which they consider to be their biggest rival, putting them in contention to make it to bi-district.

“The only reason we made it to bi-district was because we beat Del Valle in district and last year we didn’t,” Gahan said.

On the other hands players are thrilled that they made distric for the first time in a long time.

“It was an honor because we have been pushing hard to get to where we are now,” Cuadra said.

The players said their coaches also had a lot to do with their success.

“It was a 50-50. There’s no team without the motivation of a coach,” Cuadra said.

Photo Essay

page 12

The Eagle’s Eye

Wednesday - November 15, 2017

High School Nation tour excites students with music, fun

▲ Interactive Instruments

Nathan Martinez

Junior Chance Burrow plays guitar while sophomore Eli Gutierrez plays drums at a Guitar Center activity booth.

Alex Castro

▲ Where’s Josh?

Former Actor Drake Bell from the TV show Drake and Josh performed “I found a way,” which is the theme song fow the show.

Marcelo Cruz Co-Photo Editor

Alex Castro

▲ Serenading the Audience

Artist Kerri Medders sings alternative/indie music and tours with HSN around the United States.

The High School Nation tour made it’s second stop at Akins on Nov. 1 with even more attractions than it’s last stop in 2015.

The organizers of the event turned the campus parking lot into a mini music festival with live music on two stages, activity booths and lots of freebies provided by the many sponsors of the tour. The sponsors included Taki’s, Truth, Sparkling Ice, Guitar center, Hollister, Ernie ball, and In-N-Out Burger they had plenty of booths to entertain students.

HSN made sure there was never a dull moment with live music playing from the beginning of A-lunch until the end of B-lunch.

The Taki’s crew helped hype up the crowd with a dance floor and music. Students reacted immediately and jumped on stage to show off their dance moves with the Taki’s dance instructor. Truth’s games included name that song, pass the tennis ball to another person with just your chin and chest, and other fun games.

Sparkling Ice gave out free drinks to students, and made vinyl record art by spinning the record with a machine and applying paint to it to create decorative art that students could take home. Guitar Center set up several stations with instruments such as guitars, drums, bass guitars, and keyboards that students could try out. InN-Out Burger had a prize wheel where students could win free fries, sodas, milkshakes, and even full meals.

The live music consisted of singer Heather LaRose, singer and dancer Kerri Medders, singers Milo & Dom, singer Rime Salmi, the band Nikki’s Wives, and even Drake Bell from the famous TV series Drake & Josh on Nickelodeon. HSN gave Akins students an exhilarating experience that definitely won’t be forgotten.

▲ 20K Performance

Alex Castro

Milato from 20K raps and entertains the crowd with his exciting style and dance moves.

▲ Belting Out

Alex Castro

Nikki Whitehead (Right) and Dylan Lauzon (Left) perform on the main stage during the HSN tour stop.

Marcelo Cruz

▲ Droppin’ Truth

An MC with Truth, an anti-smoking campaign, leads students through activities, games, and music played by a DJ. There were prizes given to those who participated and won.

▲ Dance Squad

Annie Ricotta

Seniors Alvin Martinez and John Mejia show off their moves on the Taki’s dance stage.

▲ Diving In

Ulysses Luna

Freshman Eddie Mezher flips into the Hollister ball-pit.

Students challenged each other to see the best dive.

▲ Making art

Sean Claes

Sophomore Mauricio Ramirez paints his very own vinyl record at the Sparkling Ice booth.