The Eagle's Eye; Issue 5; Volume 18; Akins High School

The

EAGLE’S EYE W. Charles Akins High School Austin, Texas Volume 18 April 15, 2019

“Everything that concerns you.”

@AkinsJournalism

@AkinsEaglesEye

AkinsEaglesEye.com

Old San Antonio Road Closing

City’s plan to close road complicates bus routes Page 5

In opinions

Wealthy parents scam elite colleges Page 7

In Entertainment

Theatre student acts outside of school Page 14

In Life & Style

Exchange students share experiences Page 21

Upcoming Events M

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Akins at Large

Ready, Set, Teach interns enjoy their annual overnight lock-in by playing a bonding game.

There are more than 20 new teaching interns this year. Photo by Mylo Bissell.

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TEASERS

NEW VOICES Students testify for HB 2244 SOCIAL STUDIES Students frustrated over credits STREAMING Alternative services allow for choice FFA Students raise livestock for sale, gain skills BASEBALL Team practices, bonds between games 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.

17th Cap and Gown Distribution 22nd Dance Spring Show 25th Coffee with the Principal 26th Eagle Trustee Awards 30th Film Showcase Begins at 6 p.m.

Herff-Jones arrives

Begins at 7 p.m.

Begins at 8:30 a.m.

Begins at 6 p.m.

HONORS

ILPC/UIL

Bronze Star Award 2007 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

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

The Issue’s Comic

On the Cover Campus road closure

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ld San Antonio Road, which runs behind the campus, is closing in the fall of 2019 due to the road’s status as a dangerous low water crossing.

The crossing can flood up to 16 feet with heavy rain, and has been the site of many dangerous situations and accidents on campus. The road closure will force the buses to reroute, creating possible traffic and danger in the parking lot and nearby roads.

Read the full story on page 5. Cover photo by Sean Claes.

STAFF LIST

Comic by Phoenix Braly

Interested in having a comic featured in The Eagle’s Eye? Go to tinyurl.com/akinscomics

Editor-in-Chief* Bethany Bissell News Editor* Mylo Bissell In-Depth Editor* Dee Carreon Sports Editor* James Mendiola Life and Style Editor* Angela Glass Staff Writers Joshua Guerrero Phoenix Braly Anneliese Olivo Gregory Roque David Ridge Justin Wan Jaden Garrion Nathan Martinez Rito Pineda Monserrat Rubi Soto Emily Bellinghausen Aubrey Hill Samantha Salazar

Opinions Editor* Jennifer Espinoza Entertainment Editor* Andy Clay Photo Editor* Christian Silva Graphics Editor* Ash Catalan Life and Style Editor* Jon Garza Jamie Bain Diego Cedillo Eliana Ramirez Jose Garcia Isaac Villafranca Eli Calderon Zeta Handy Evelyn Moreno Arianna Farner Diego Gutierrez Tania Dominguez Austin Rutledge Brianna Cozzi

Editorial Board* All titles marked wirh an asterisk contribute to the staff editorial Icon Credit: Some icons from flaticon.com

News

Page 4 - April 15, 2019

Large population hurts students, counselor workload Monse rubi soto

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Staff Writer

he National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a student to counselor ratio of 250:1.This fall the Akins enrollment number was calculated to be about 2,810, creating a ratio of about 500:1 student-to-counselor ratio.

Each academy at Akins is different, so the caseload of a counselor varies, but the smallest academies still struggle to find the time to be able to properly help a student.

Margarita Moreno, Green Tech Academy counselor and the lead counselor for Akins, said that she balances her workload as best as possible between her academy caseload and her leadership role at Akins. However, she said it is possible that Akins counselors could end up with 500 or more plus students per counselor.

“We try to help out as many kids we can, especially since we know kids struggle a lot,” Moreno said. “So counselors have to balance mental health with academics and that is a very difficult balance.”

Melinda Van Horn, Academy of Business, Leadership, and Legal Enterprises (ABLLE) counselor said she has about 540 students on her caseload.

“It’s harder to do more frequent check-ins with students and (there’s no time) to be able to just sit one on one and talk with students,” Van Horn said.

Having twice the ideal caseload affects counselors. Van Horn said that she isn’t able to do activities that they would like to do.

“I’d like to do more and have more time with students directly but because there’s so much stuff to have to do, just paperwork wise,”Van Horn said.

Because of the counselors’ overload of students, and paperwork some students suffer the consequences. In some cases, students struggle to find their counselors for academic or emotional help because they are not in their office or are really busy.

Mylo Bissell

COUNSELOR CASELOAD

Jacey Saylor-Carroll, counselor for the Social Services Academy, review paperwork she uses to keep track of student progress. All Akins counselors struggle with caseloads above the ratios recommended by the American School Counselor Association.

“Usually when I stop by the counselor’s office she isn’t there. I’m guessing she’s busy, but when she is there she answers the questions I have,” junior Mirella Garcia said.

Junior Cassandra Resendiz said that she often ends up handling her problems herself when she can’t reach her counselor.

“It’s hard to reach them and ask for help because when I do, she’s not at her office (or something),” she said.

Some students do not know about the Student Support Services (SSS) office. The SSS focuses on emotional and mental health needs. It also helps students in need of basic resources like coats, backpacks and snacks.

“I think (the SSS) really values our students and cares

for all parts of them not just their academic success but their mental health success,” social worker Meg Scamardo said, who heads the SSS. Senior Alison Butler said that she is glad the campus has a social worker.

“If we didn’t have a social worker the other counselors or everybody else here wouldn’t have time for their kids,” senior Alison Butler said. “It’s nice to have someone here that’s available for the students.”

Although counselors can be busy and have a lot on their plate they always try their best to attend a student.

“I still think this is the best high school on the planet,” Van Horn said. “It would be great if we did have more counselors.”

Counselor Overload AT AKINS, THERE ARE:

THE NACAC & ASCA RECOMMEND:

1 COUNSELOR FOR EVERY 250 STUDENTS

BUT

ABOUT 500 STUDENTS FOR

EVERY COUNSELOR

That’s

DOUBLE the recommended ratio Bethany Bissell

News

The Eagle’s Eye

Page 5 - April 15, 2019

Twilight credit recover program could face budget cut Justin Wan Staff Writer

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econd chances. That’s what the Twilight program offers students who have failed classes or lost credits because of absences. However, the future of funding for these credit recovery programs has become a subject of worry recently.

“We know that everything is not etched in time until the budget is 100% approved,” Cathy Requejo, a Twilight project specialist said.

It’s primarily for students who have failed a course and need to recover.

Melissa Contreras, one of the teachers for the Twilight program, said that counselors sign the student up, and she and math teacher Christopher Aguilar monitors progress. The funding cuts have also shrunk the support the students would’ve gotten.

“The budget cuts have removed one teacher from the previous two teachers monitoring the students each day. ” It helps to have two teachers with the number of kids in the program. Normally if they had over 10 students, two teachers could help out. If the number of students dropped, then they would only have 1 teacher, but due to the budget cuts, they’re only allowed 1 teacher at all time, the time frame is also reduced this year.

This year, the programs operate from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. Last year the program was able to run from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. So now kids have even less time to complete their work, which is concerning.

“So it’s time. It’s I less time for them. So it makes it harder for you know for them to have that support,” Contreras said.

Some students can come in and only do a test, whereas in last years case they were able to stay and study and take the test, and complete the next units work.

TAKING CARE OF CREDITS

Mylo Bissell

Students work after school to earn credits in the district’s Twilight program. The program could face budget cuts this year.

“I’m thinking what that means is they’re eliminating maybe an elective or some other class that they cannot take that could play a factor in the graduation requirements,” said Contreras.

Pending road closure causes concern about bus routes Bethany Bissell

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Editor-in-Chief

lmost everyone on campus has an Old San Antonio Road story.

They often revolve around how dangerous it is for pedestrians and drivers. Its sharp turn, hilly terrain and lack of shoulders can make the most confident think twice about traversing it. Over the past school year, two students have been hit by drivers coming up the road in front of the bus loop.

Principal Tina Salazar said her vehicle has been hit while driving on Old San Antonio Road about seven years ago. She said that the road was slick, and another driver hit her.

“This car was coming and I was trying to get away from him,” Salazar said. “He slid right into me.”

Because of the traffic danger and the high risk of the low water crossing, the City of Austin has decided to close the road in the fall of 2019. The low-water crossing is the major prompt for the change; the street can get flooded to over 16 feet during heavy downpours, and it is one of the 10 most dangerous crossings in the city. Project

manager Reem Zoun said that Watershed Protection for the city considered different solutions for this dangerous area before settling on road closure.

“We looked at different bridge options to upgrade that low-water crossing into a bridge which would have been much higher,” Zoun said. “We looked at flood warning gate arm and we looked at closing the roadway and eventually providing an alternate route.”

Sophomore Malachi Chambers said that he’s used the road as a shortcut to Southpark Meadows in the past. He said that while it feels more natural and is a shorter route, he’s been close to getting hit before.

“It wasn’t exactly the safest option,” Chambers said. “Around the turn is probably the most dangerous part.”

Old San Antonio Road will only be closed to vehicles. It will be accessible to pedestrians and bikes, and there will be an unlockable gate for emergency vehicles. In addition to the closure of Old San Antonio Road, a cul-de-sac will be built on the west side of the closure and there are early plans to extend Brezza Lane and install a traffic signal on FM 1626. Zoun said that the feedback she’s heard about these

ROAD CLOSURE

Courtesy City of Austin

City officials announced that they plan to close Old San Antonio Road to most traffic in the fall of 2019.

changes from nearby residents and Akins community members has been largely positive.

Salazar said that she doesn’t know what the buses will do next year before the extension of Brezza Lane. The buses rely heavily on the road, leaving and arriving before and after school on the street to make their

way to Interstate 35. Salazar said that she’s thought about multiple options, but isn’t sure what the route of arrival and departure will be next year.

“It’s going to be a huge transition for us,” Salazar said. “I wish they would shut it down at the end of July (instead of in the fall), but they’re not going to.”

News

Page 6 -April 15, 2019

Campus sees new personnel, administrative changes Isaac Villafranca

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Staff Writer

ajor personnel changes midschool year are always a challenge for any campus and Akins is no exception.

This year, Akins experienced the leadership turnover in the Social Services Academy two times as it started the school with an interim assistant principal and then after a new assistant principal hired in late December only lasted about a month before leaving Akins.

Carrie Carter-Walker is the new Assistant Principal (AP) for the Social Services Academy. In early February Green Tech Academy lost its Academy Coordinator and a replacement was not announced until late March. AVID teacher Christina Garcia-Mata, a long-time Akins teacher, was appointed to fill Green Tech Academy coordinator position.

Carter-Walker, was an assistant principal at LBJ Early College High School before transferring to Akins in late February.

She said she loves it here. where most of the academy is located. Car“I tell people all the time this is like ter-Walker is contacted with complaints evheaven for me because where I came from ery day about termite issues, water issues, was a completely different culture,” Car- and others.. She has recently contacted peoter-Walker said. ple in the district office to fix the air conCarter-Walker said she loves everything ditioning in the portables, and plans to do about the Social Services Academy, includ- many more things to the portables, ing the structure, the energy, and the stu“(The) portables are just really not in dents. However, she has goals on how it can good shape so I had to make a lot of differbe improved even more. She said she hopes ent calls,” she said. to branch out to Former area hospitals to Green Tech increase the numAcademy Cober of students ordinator Rabattling for internchel Willey ships provided by played many the academy., roles at this “(I want to) school, oth– Christina Garcia-mata continue to grader than the uate even more academy costudents directly into the field with their ordinator. She was head cheerleading coach certification is my main goal for them,” and coordinator of the student ambassador Carter-Walker said. program The cheerleaders still do not have Even though Carter-Walker loves the a permanent head coach. Garcia-Mata, who Social Services Academy, she is not pleased has been the AVID coordinator and AVID with the condition the portable classrooms, teacher for almost 10 years at Akins, said

(I’m) still trying to learn and do some of the stuff that academy coordinators are expected to do

she needed a new challenge to grow as an educator. Garcia-Mata is new to the Green Tech Academy but enjoys the people and students who are involved with the academy, “(It’s a) solid group of people that I would be excited to work with outside of my own previous academy,” Garcia-Mata said.

Being a teacher is sometimes challenging and time-consuming, especially if a teacher just became the new coordinator for the academy. The hardest challenge Garcia-Mata is facing is time, and learning how to do her new role, “(I’m) still trying to learn and do some of the stuff that the academy coordinators are expected to do,” Garcia-Mata said.

Garcia-Mata does not feel the need to change anything at the moment, but she hopes to hear feedback from the academy.

“I don’t want to come in and try to change anything especially if it’s working, but I am going to be open to ideas,” she said.

New Voices advocates testify in favor of student press Mylo Bissell

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News Editor

bout 40 students and advisers from across Texas gathered at the Capitol on April 4 to support a bill that advocates believe would protect student journalists, advisers, and administrators.

The students were there to ask the Texas House Public Education Committee to approve HB 2244, which is modeled after laws that have been passed in 14 other states. These laws are aimed at clarifying student press rights.

Student press rights activists contend that the Hazelwood decision has enabled school administrators to censor student journalists from writing about legitimate topics of interests when school officials consider those topics too controversial or unbecoming of the school’s reputation.

For senior Bethany Bissell, editor-in-chief of The Eagle’s Eye, an incident at Prosper High School in North Texas lead to the realization that other students in other parts of the state do not enjoy the same level of press freedom as she did at Akins.

“I hadn’t really considered the fact that I had been taking my status as a free student press organization for granted until I heard about things that had happened in Prosper and Frisco and that our standard of operation wasn’t universal,” Bissell said.

At Prosper, the students were censored repeatedly by their principal, banned from writing editorials and their faculty newspaper adviser was forced to resign because of the conflict with the administrator.

Bissell has worked all year, with the help of Prosper senior Neha Madhira, to organize people in a movement for free student press.

“Working with students from across the state and seeing people speak passionately about this kind of legislation...has been really empowering and energizing,” Bissell said.

Madhira began working on passing a New Voices law in Texas.

“I feel like nobody really cares about it until it happens to you and that’s why I think it’s

SPEAKING OUT

Angela Glass =

Senior Bethany Bissell testifies before the Public Education Committee. Bissell has been a student journalist for six years.

so imperative in Texas,” Madhira said.

Bissell and Madhira both testified in favor of the bill to the committee. Texas Association for Journalism Educators Board President Margie Raper said that the success of the hearing comes from the student involvement.

“You can tell (the committee members) have a heart for kids,” she said. “This is student-driven legislation while everything else they are probably working on is money driven.”

Opinions

The Eagle’s Eye

Bethany Editor-in-Chief

Mylo News

Page 7 - April 15, 2019

Jennifer Opinions

Andy Entertainment

Dee In-Depth

Angela Life & Style

Jon Life & Style

Jj Sports

Christian Photo

Ash Graphics

Editorial: Economic status can create educational gap

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n March, the Justice Department announced the results of the largest college admissions scandal ever investigated in the United States. The scam involved 50 people, including actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, who worked with a broker to fudge admissions test scores and bribe athletic coaches to guarantee the admission of dozens of wealthy students into elite colleges.

Some parents paid $15,000 to $75,000 to raise their children’s test scores artificially. Others paid even more to bribe athletic coaches into giving their students athletic scholarships. After admittance, the students faked an injury or withdrew from the team while maintaining their spot at the school. While this scam is high-level and extreme, The Eagle’s Eye believes this scandal speaks to a much larger issue involving college admissions and equity; families that can afford certain resources for their children have a financial advantage in getting into elite schools.

Legacy Admissions

The oldest and most well known of advantages that wealthy students enjoy is called legacy admissions. Students with parents who attended elite colleges like Dartmouth and Harvard are shown a greater preference when applying to these schools. Often, the guardians of these applicants are regular donors to the colleges. These admissions policies tend to perpetuate the fact that these selective universities are historically lacking in diversity.

According to a Purdue University study, admittance influenced by legacy is a practice dating back 100 years, when colleges were only attended by wealthy white men. This historical precedent has followed elite colleges into today; Harvard, the oldest university in the nation, is 42% white with less than 2% of “Dean’s List” applicants last year considered economically disadvantaged. If legacy admissions continue to hold weight when considering candidates, it hinders efforts to bring economic and racial diversity to these colleges.

Testing and ‘Demonstrated Interest’

Another benefit that lower-income students do not get to enjoy is quality access to college preparatory resources such as SAT/ACT tutoring and summer programs at universities. These kinds of initiatives can improve the attractiveness of college applicants substantially, but not without a price. The average SAT tutor goes for $70 an hour and the Brown University Pre-College program charges up to $8,000 for their courses.

SAT tutoring has been proven to raise scores, often by a rather large margin, and many selective universities value students who have “shown interest” in the school by touring often and going to summer pre-college programs. These advantages could make or break an admission decision between two similarly qualified candidates.

Ash Catalan

While these privileges are much more readily accessible than legacy preference, there is still a substantial amount of wealth required for parents to provide these advantages to their children. Economically disadvantaged and impoverished families — those that make up more than half of the Austin ISD — will likely never have access to these things.

Often, these advantages do little to affect merit; SAT and ACT tutoring is typically focused on teaching the language of the test and strategies instead of material.

While SAT/ACT tutoring shouldn’t be done away with and online tutoring services like Khan Academy have made admissions test practice more accessible to every socioeconomic situation, we believe that“demonstrated interest” should not hold any weight in the admissions process at all.

Community Privilege

An ugly truth about American society is that almost every aspect of life is affected by race and class, and language and social practices are no exception. In general, richer and whiter populations in America have access to higher quality educations, while poorer and more diverse populations are subject to underfunded and more poorly-managed schools.

This affects the way that we speak and think; the communities we develop affect how we interact professionally and unprofessionally, formally and informally. The language used in wealthier populations is largely seen as the standard

for professionalism and academia.

Research in recent years has shown that black and Latinx populations receive much lower SAT score on average than white and Asian populations. Some researchers and sociologists have cited inherent bias in the language on the test, specifically in the verbal section, where the subjects written about are ones that white populations would be expected to be more familiar with.

Equitable Merit

The amount of reform required to make elite college admissions equitable is colossal. There’s an obvious need to dismantle the collective American perception of advanced academics. For too long, the idea of smartness has been associated with richness and whiteness, stemming from academia’s white male history. For the college admissions process, this means adapting the SAT and ACT tests to be more accessible to all backgrounds.

The Eagle’s Eye believes that the advantage that individuals that attend elite colleges receive follows them for the rest of their lives. Too little of the decision process for receiving these advantages is based on equitable merit. Until these colleges and communities reckon with this themselves, poor and minority students will suffer disadvantages largely outside of their control.

opinions

Page 8 - April 15, 2019

Underclassmen should consider career pathways soon Angela Glass

Life & Style Editor

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n May 31, seniors will graduate and start their futures. For many graduates, the uncertainty of the future is terrifying. College is pushed onto every kid, leading them to believe that it’s their only option, but so many paths and programs are out there so that young people can have the future they want.

Students should examine all career preparatory options and pick the one that will make them happiest. As an outgoing senior who has recently made a decision about my future, I think that students should consider all options, including college, before they graduate.

Military

Enlisting in the military is a great route after high school; not only are you giving back to your country but earning benefits in the meantime. In order to join the military, you need a high school diploma or General Educational Development (GED). Also, you need to be in good physical condition and pass the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test.

The benefits you get are incredibly attractive. They provide you with health care, housing, low-cost life insurance, education benefits, and a good salary.

While serving, you can get training in different fields.

Depending on your branch, you could learn skills in aviation, engineering, healthcare, human resources, photography, and media. In the military, you can explore what they have to offer you, learn a few trades and figure yourself out so that when you’re done service you have a plan.

Trade Schools

Not every job requires a 4-year degree. Some only need you to have specific skills. Many fields of work can be prepared for with great boot camps and associates degree plans.

Capitol Idea is a nonprofit that provides financial support and professional guidance to community members around Austin. If your application to the program is accepted, you choose one of the majors they provide and take classes at Austin Community College (ACC). They pay for all of your school expenses. Once you finish, they will set you up with a job related to your major. You will be required to work for a few years at that company before switching majors or pursuing more school.

The University of Texas at Austin offers web development boot camps that teach you to code in 12 to 24 weeks.

They give you a strong foundation on complex websites so you can enter the industry after the camp is over.

Other trade schools offer different programs. Look around in or out of state and see what calls to you. Certain careers require more schooling even more than a bachelor’s degree. A trade school might not be the best option depending on what interests you. If you do choose to pursue this route, please make sure it would work for what you want to do.

Jamie Bain

Internships/Apprenticeship

The best way to get an inside view on a job is through internship and apprenticeships. This experience allows you to work within the industry you want to pursue; mentors are there to guide you and overall it is a hands-on learning process. It is also the best way to gain experience and skills in the field you want.

Akins offers a few different internship programs in each academy. See what opportunities your academy offers and prepare for those programs. Many of these internships offer certificates and could be turned into a job after high school.

The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Academy (STEM) apprenticeships are not like the other internships Akins offers. These take place over the summer after senior year, you work for an engineering firm during the summer and then the next year they pay for your ACC classes as you continue working with them.

Social Services Academy (SSA) provides field certifications for every internship. A lot of the other internships offer certifications as well, you could get a job after high school and attend school or just work. These internships are competitive, so to seriously be considered for one make sure to keep your grade point average (GPA) up.

College

College is an amazing opportunity if you can go. While it’s expensive and a lot of work, earning a degree can mean easier acquisition of higher paying jobs. You will still need to work on professional skills to make yourself as qualified as possible for your desired position, but a bachelor’s degree will still provide a significant advantage.

If you’re questioning what you want to do and unsure

which major to apply for, you can change your major. Or if you want to save money, attend ACC or another two-year college before transferring to a 4-year school.

Having a degree gives you an upper hand in life, and having the college experience allows you to grow as a person by meeting different people and challenging your beliefs. While in school you can take electives, join clubs and take courses you really care about.

Gap Year

If you are really unsure about what to do, consider a gap year or semester. Some people need a break after high school to learn some life lessons before they commit to a path that will structure their future.

Going back to school will be slightly harder after a year because scholarships for gap years are less common, but it is doable with grants and loans. If you are planning on applying to competitive schools, this is not the best option. If you just need time and decide to go to trade school or find an internship or apprenticeship, then you saved yourself student loans.

If you take this route, really take the time to figure out what you want to do with your life, because you can always go back and get an education or follow one of the other paths.

In the end, you live for yourself: find a career that will make you happy, look at the skills you need and make a plan for how you will get those skills. It is important that you make the best decision for yourself ask trusted adults for their advice and take what they say into consideration.

Start thinking about what you want now so you can do your research on different careers and find opportunities to get ahead.

Opinions

The Eagle’s Eye

Page 9 - April 15, 2019

State harms students with relaxed social studies rules Austin Rutledge Staff Writer

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any juniors dream of having a “laid back” senior year, enjoying multiple off periods and off-campus lunch after years of toil.

However, some of these students are having their dreams crushed when they find out from their counselor that they don’t have enough social studies credits to be accepted to the college of their choice.

Students ran into this problem because Social Emotional Learning (SEL) courses were required of Akins freshmen in place of the typical World Geography course. This means that many students end up behind on their credits. I believe that world geography should be required for freshman permanently and is not to be skipped in any year because social studies skills should be taught.

What might you not know?

Many students on campus who have aspirations of going to college, may not know high school requirements for graduation are not the same for college entry requirements. College Readiness Counselor Christine Kesling recommends all students research what colleges they want to go to and do some research on which colleges they’re interested in and review the acceptance requirements when deciding what classes they need to take in high school.

For example, Texas State University requires three credits of social studies while the University of Texas at Austin requires three Social Studies credits but four are recommended. And because the college admission process is extremely competitive, Kesling recommends that students do as much as they can academically to make their application stand out.

Students who want to meet the four credit social studies recommendation should talk to their counselors. It’s important that these conversations start happening with incoming freshmen because that is the year that has most recently been affected by a change in the state graduation requirements.

The history

In 2014, the State Board of Education reduced the number of social studies credits required to graduate, making World Geography an optional course. During the 2014-

2015 school year, Akins stopped automatically placing freshmen in World Geography, opting to place freshmen in supplemental reading or leadership skills classes.

Since then, Akins students have taken electives to earn a fourth social studies credit such as psychology, sociology or ethnic studies. World geography is still offered as an elective, as well.

Social studies teacher Greg Izor said he thought the state board of education’s change eliminating world geography as a required class was “stupid.”

The importance

”I think (world geography) is extremely important,” he said. “It really sets a spatial stage for the history classes but also, more importantly, is a place where you learn really broad themes like the importance of resources and conflict over resources and accessibility to water and trade. And it’s the backdrop for everything that’s going on in the world right now.”

This is a problem because it is causing students to scramble their junior/senior year to make up those credits, adding more stress for the students. Counselors have an overload of students so making time for students could be hard because of the number of students each counselor is responsible for.

I believe the state should make world geography classes mandatory because it will help schools like Akins align their course requirements with what colleges recommend.

Bring back World Geography

I believe the state should make world geography classes mandatory because it will help schools like Akins align their course requirements with what colleges recommend.

Besides the college admissions aspect, not requiring four years of social studies credits only cheats out students on their education because they do not receive a full picture of what’s going on in the world.

Senior Ben Dobbs expresses his thoughts on if Akins should make all four years or Social Studies mandatory.

“If it became a requirement, I feel that some students wouldn’t like it,” he said. I’m personally all for it. It makes college entry a lot easier and I feel like you want to try and get students into college then you would try to (meet) their standards. You would want to make sure that the entry will be a seamless process as possible. You do not want to have any roadblocks because we didn’t have to take another (social studies) class.”

Ash Catalan

Reasons to take four years of social studies Vertical alignment (of World Geography and World History) is needed in order to promote a systematic approach for student success.

Success on the 11th grade US History STAAR will depend on an academically mature student with knowledge and skills from a 9th grade World Geography and a 10th grade World History course.

Texas Alliance for Geographic Education Texas’ High School Graduation Plans and the Future of Social Studies

LOcal Entertainment Page 10 April 15, 2019

Senior plans to study acting in college, pursue theatre Zeta Handy

S

Staff Writer

enior Jonathan Macedo has emerged as a star of the Akins theatre program.

He’s been a performer since the 7th Grade when he starred as the Big Bad Wolf in The Trial of the Big Bad Wolf. He decided to join the Arts and Humanities Academy at Akins after he saw a friend a Dare To Dream hip hop dance show.

“I knew that I wanted to be in the environment of the arts. I’ve always loved the arts regardless if it’s the music from the instruments or the movement of the body or the presence of someone on a stage,” Macedo said.

As the years went on he performed in Akins Journey Theatre performances of Rock of Ages, Hairspray, and Chicago. He said favorite role was his most recent performance as Billy Flynn in Chicago.

“I really enjoyed portraying the role of Billy Flynn. It was so fun and challenging,” Macedo said.

In addition to performing in Chicago, Macedo also designed the choreography in the play.

In 2017 Macedo was accepted into the Zach Scott Theatre Pre-Professional Company. Zach Scott is a professional theatre based in downtown Austin.

“It’s an intensive program that Zach Theatre offers in its educational program,” Macedo said. “You have to audition to be (accepted) in. The audition includes songs, monologue, and a dance call. They train you to be a professional performer and make you grow as an artist and person.”

Everybody has expectations for themselves and others especially when they are preparing for a performance.

“I hold really high expectations on myself as well as my cast,” he said. “I really try to meet those goals myself and push myself to the best of my ability. As for my cast as long as I see them working hard and having fun and getting close with everybody else it makes me so proud.”

Macedo hasn’t performed in every play the Akins Journey Theatre program has produced in the last four years, but he has been a major contributor to the department.

“Jonathan hands down is the hardest working student I have,” theater director Brad Distlehorst said.

Macedo decided against auditioning for the One Act Play after Chicago because he said he needed some time to pursue other interests.

SEASONED ACTOR

Bethany Bissell

Senior Jonathan Macedo preforms in Chicago. Macedo has preformed in several musicals at Akins including Rock of Ages and Hairspray and is also involved in theatre outside of school with Zach Scott Theatre Pre-Professional Company.

“I do theatre outside as well as train, so spires me so much and I want to be as good Theatre in college,” he said. I was lost for that already takes up so much of my time” as him one day,” Sanchez said. a bit on what I wanted to do with my life he said. I knew that if I added that on top Distelhorst, who started working at after high school. Then I thought why not of everything I would’ve gone crazy. I also Akins, when Macedo was a sophomore, pursue something I really love to do and feel like you can’t commit to so many things said he has seen Macedo grow into the per- have a huge passion for,’’ Macedo said. because you won’t give it your 100% to ev- son he has become.

Macedo has found what he wants to do erything and you’re basically wasting your “Jonathan has gone through his ups and after high school, and is waiting to hear time.” downs just like all other students but he has back from the school’s he has applied for Senior Opal Sanchez is in the theatre grown and matured into a great performer and also their theatre programs. program with Macedo and has seen him and one of the best leaders of our program,” “I’m not at all surprised that he is purgrown into the person he is today.

Distelhorst said. suing Theatre as his profession,” Distlehorst “Jonathan has grown so much over the College is in Macedo’s path he plans to said. “I think I saw it in him before he saw it years,” she said. “He has gotten so much pursue musical theatre or just theatre. in himself. I’ve said it since his sophomore better with his singing and dancing. He in“I plan to pursue Musical Theatre or year that this is what he was born to do.”

Local Entertainment

The Eagle’s Eye

Page 11 - April 15, 2019

Self-taught dancer builds following, gets sponsorship Nathan MArtinez

W

Staff Writer

hile dance is typically thought of as something students learn as part of a team or with formal instruction with private tutors, social media and YouTube dancers are taking down those clichés.

Senior Emanuel Garcia-Ruiz — known as “Airpulse” on social media — started dancing four years ago by watching videos online and is slowly building his own internet following.

“I didn’t take any classes whatsoever,” he said. “I’ve been teaching myself off of YouTube and basically doing the day to day dancing grind.”

Garcia-Ruiz has been dancing since he was a kid, but within the past four years, he’s been taking it more seriously to try and make his passion into a career for him. I really do believe (I can make it as a dancer),” he said.. “I’m striving for that.”

Garcia-Ruiz has had many influences over the years, including groups like Dragon House and Non-Stop. When he was young, Michael Jackson was his favorite dancer.

Recently, he has been more influenced by Fik-Shun, who shares the same “pop animation” dance style, where the movements tend to look rigid and jerky.

When Garcia-Ruiz posts videos of himself dancing, he usually also adds some commentary about how to stay positive in life.

Senior Jesse Rios, one of Garcia-Ruiz’s best friends, occasionally helps him record his videos. He said that Garcia-Ruiz’s style is unique. Rios said he thinks Garcia- Ruiz’ down-to Earth personality type is an asset that helps people

FUTURE IN DANCE

Nathan Martinez

Senior Emanuel Garcia-Ruiz shows off his dancing style called “pop animation”. Garcia-Ruiz is currently working on becoming a professional dancer and is a representative for Lavish Supply.

enjoy his videos.

“His dancing is unique from everybody else’s that I’ve seen dance,” he said. “It’s different.”

Another technique Garcia-Ruiz uses to gain attention is adding hashtags to his posts about the positive message, song titles, musician names, or the overall mood of his dance. Adding tags helps build his audience as they search for related content on social media.

He believes this strategy helped him get his sponsorship for his videos. A streetwear company called Lavish Supply reached out to him to ask him to be a representative for their company.

“They send me chains monthly or every other month for free,” he said. “They also said that they’re going to start paying me now because they realized that I keep buying from them.”

Upcoming releases, events & games for April 2019 MOVIES Penguins

MUSIC

EVENTS

VIDEO GAMES

Austin Fashion Week

Anno 1800

The Curse of La Llorona Jade Bird

Fusebox Festival

Mortal Kombat 11

Under the Silver Lake

Alan Parsons

Austin Reggae Festival Days Gone

Avengers: Endgame

Marina

Austin Auto Show

Apr. 17

Apr. 19

Apr. 19

Apr. 26

Cage the Elephant Apr. 19

Apr. 19

Apr. 26 Apr. 26

Apr. 17

Apr. 17-21

Apr. 19-21 Apr. 26

Apr. 16

Apr. 23

Apr. 26

Final Fantasy XII Apr. 30

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Austin ISD sees increase in use of religious, philosophical vaccination exemptions Anneliese Olivo

W

Staff Writer

hen senior Christina Samuels began the second semester of her freshman year at Akins, it started with a fight.

It wasn’t a physical fight, but instead a philosophical fight over beliefs about the medical value of vaccines. For Samuels, she personally did not object to being vaccinated to attend public school.

“I’d like to live a little longer if that’s possible,” she said.

Her parents, however, felt otherwise.

She says that her mother didn’t want to get her vaccinated because she thinks “they put a little bit of the disease into you.”

Samuels, whose name was changed for privacy concerns, was pulled out of class and held in the nurse’s office. The nurse informed her that she wasn’t legally allowed to attend public school because she wasn’t vaccinated. The nurse called her mom, who arrived later that day. Samuel’s mom let her know that she did not want her vaccinated.

Instead, her mother was given an exemption form that allowed Samuel’s to attend school without being vaccinated.

According to the Washington Post, Texas is one of 17 states that allow parents to opt out of vaccinating their children if they cite personal or philosophical objections.

In recent years, the rates of parents utilizing exemptions to state vaccination laws have grown steadily as greater numbers of parents have associated themselves with anti-vaccination beliefs for various reasons.

This worries many medical experts after resurgent cases of measles have developed in various parts of the United States where there are high concentrations of unvaccinated children.

Resurgence of Measles

Until recently, the measles disease was a nearly eradicated virus in the United States, dropping from 40,000 cases per year between the period of 1980 to 1991 to fewer than 100 cases per year between 1992 to 2008, according to the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

Ash Catalan

This was thanks to the efforts of the Center for Disease Control, starting in 1978, in combination with the widespread use of vaccinations.

In this year alone there have been more than 387 cases, and most medical experts attribute this rise to the increase in vaccination exemptions.

The Autism Myth

Some trace the recent anti-vaccination movement to a debunked medical study.

In the United Kingdom during 1998, Andrew Wakefield, a former British doctor, published a paper in the Lancet in which he hypothesized and concluded that the vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella were connected to the development of autism.

His conclusion was based on flawed research –– not studying the incidence of autism between both vaccinated and unvaccinated children. The claim that autism was a consequence of intestinal inflammation and the fact that other researchers couldn’t

reproduce his results –– and the study was subsequently retracted and did not become a part of the scientific record due to scientific misconduct.

In 2010, Wakefield lost his medical license as well as his credibility on several charges on accounts of fraud and unethical behavior by the General Medical Council.

He lost his medical license, left the UK and, as of 2011, he now lives in Austin, Texas.

Despite his flawed research and the loss of his credibility, Wakefield’s theory has been spread on social media by celebrities and antivaccination groups.

Rising Exemption Rates

In 2018, Travis County was included on a list of 15 U.S. counties considered “hotspots” where more than 400 kindergarteners received non-medical vaccination exemptions.

The increase in exemption rates can be seen in Austin high schools, as well.

In 2017, there were 27 exempted stu-

dents at Akins out of 2,511. This year, according to records provided through an open records request, there were 31 students who received exemptions.

Since 1972 Texas has allowed children attending school to be exempted from getting vaccines for medical and religious reasons. And in 2003, the Texas Legislature approved a new exemption option called “reason of conscience.”Other states like California had a “reason of conscience” law as well.

But after the recent measles outbreaks, some are fighting against the anti-vaccination trend.

Immunize Texas

Jinny Suh, founded Immunize Texas in 2016 to combat misinformation and laws that loosen vaccination requirements.

Suh said she began advocating after she had her first son in 2012 because she encountered a doctor who advocated for a delayed vaccine schedules. She also had

Page 13 - April 15, 2019

some negative encounters with anti-vaxxers in the parenting groups I joined.

“I became aware of the growing anti-vaccination crowd in Texas, and in Austin, especially,” she said. “I decided to start posting publicly about my pro-vaccine status on my Facebook and through that, was connected to the opportunities that eventually led to the creation of Immunize Texas.

Currently, Immunize Texas is working to give private citizens and private businesses (regardless of whether they are pro-vaccine or anti-vaccine) the information and clarity they need to make the decisions that are right for them.

Suh said she has heard various reasons from parents against vaccination, but she said they all have something in common: “denial of science and a fair bit of selfishness.”

“Unfortunately, science doesn’t care about what your personal beliefs are,” she said. “Viruses and germs have no regard for your wealth, your education, your refusal of facts. And as much as you don’t believe it, I do what I do not just to protect my loved ones, but I do it to protect yours, too.”

Suh said the exemption trend is not looking good in Texas right now.

“In (2003) less than 2,400 non-medical exemptions were filed,” she said. “This last school year, we had almost 57,000 filed. That’s a huge increase in a short period of time and when you look at a more detailed view of vaccination rates in individual cities and even, in communities, you see that people who choose not to vaccinate tend to cluster in the same areas which lead to dangerous levels of undervaccination that threatens the public health for those communities.”

Texans for Vaccines Choice, which advocates for greater access to exemptions, supported the “reason of conscience” or HB 2292 that was passed in 2003

along with other bills that had to do with vaccinations.

The organization posts articles on its website that blame vaccines for giving children disabilities, injuries, and diseases. The organization did not respond to an inquiry for an interview by The Eagle’s Eye.

At the Forefront

School nurse Ashley Nowell explained the process of how they handle unvaccinated students.

Each new student is required to provide a shot record upon registering.

“We follow for years to get lists of students needing shots, and then it’ll pull up,” she said. “We can contact them that way. They’re in our system and they would pull up every month. Like who needs shots and then we count on our students to bring us their shot records so we obtain their shot records and know what they need by registration like every year.”

The procedures for when a student isn’t vaccinated are very simple The school nurses just notifies the student and/or the parents of that student.

“So we say ‘Sorry you need this vaccine, in order to be registered into school’ and then if they need the vaccine it comes up on our list, and we just call the parents and let them know and we send letters to parents. So we email letters and we’ve told students too, and we’ll bring them down and give them a copy of their shot record, and tell them they need this particular shot.”

Nowell said she supports vaccination because she has seen firsthand the effects of diseases while working in the healthcare field.

“I’m first in line for vaccines along with her personal three children who are in line for vaccines as well,” she said.

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Page 12 - April 15, 2019

cdc.gov

500

Total

Exemptions

Akins Anderson Ann Richards Austin High Bowie Crockett Eastside Garza International Lanier LASA LBJ McCallum

2748 2191 850 2292 2901 1425 399 171 220 1495 1229 828 1752

31 43 24 82 101 26 4 6 71 12 17 4 93

Percentage of school population 1.12 1.96 2.82 3.57 3.48 1.82 1 3.5 32.27 0.8 1.38 0.48 5.3 Source: AISD

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Viral infection common in children.

Vaccine is 97% effective in prevention

Ear infections occur in one out of every ten children with measles and can result in perminent hearing loss.

One out of every twenty children with measles gets pneumonia, which is the most common cause of death from measles in children One out of every thousand children with measles develops Encephalitis (swelling of the brain) which can leave a child deaf or with an intellectual disability.

AISD High School Exemptions 2018-2019 Campus

Recent Measles Outbreaks

sclerosing panencephalitis is a very rare but SSPE: Subacute fatal disease of the central nervous system.

Caused by measles virus infections aquired early in life.

In some cases SSPE progresses rapidly leading to death within three months of diagnosis.

In other cases it progresses chronically and slowly.

Prevention in the form of the measles vaccination, is the only real way to stop the occurrance of SSPE Source: CDC.gov

Dee Carreon

reviews

Page 14 - April 15, 2019

Captain Marvel movie leads into final Avengers movie Josh Guerreo

C

Staff Writer

aptain Marvel, Marvel’s second to last installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe starring Brie Larson as Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel is quite the big deal for many reasons.

It’s the first Marvel movie with the lead hero character featuring a woman. It takes place in the 1990s before most of the other movies in the MCU so the famous characters viewers know like Nick Fury, SHEILD Agent Coulson and Ronan the Accuser are all at least 20 years younger in Captain Marvel.

The reason many fans are excited about this movie is because Captain Marvel is expected to be an important character to undo the damage done by Thanos at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. In a post-credit scene at the end of Infinity War, Nick Fury is seen using a customized-pager that displays the iconic logo for Captain Marvel signaling her expected emergence in End Game movie, which will hit theaters on April 26.

Infinity War set up End Game as a vehicle to bring resolution to the disappearance of half of all life on Earth, including the Avengers heroes, who were seen disintegrating at the end of Infinity War. With half of all life gone, many fans were shocked but were excited by the surprise ending.

Fans will be eagerly wanting to see Captain Marvel for any tidbits they can learn about how she will battle Thanos and possibly bring back the huge loss of life on Earth.

That might seem like a tall order, but in her own movie, Captain Marvel proved how powerful she is.

I saw the movie the day it came out and liked it quite a bit. I wasn’t expecting anything at first since I didn’t know much about Captain Marvel at all except that she was pow-

erful. The movie started off fairly slow as it rolled out all of the who, what, where, when, how and why. However, as the story played out it really just gets better and better.

When the audience first encounters Captain Marvel, she is known as “Vers” when she lived among the Kree aliens on the planet Hala. This name appears to be the result of a broken dog tag that was found at the site where she crashes a jet when she was a U.S. Air Force pilot. However, Vers true identity is unknown as well as the origin of her own powers.

At the beginning of the movie we see Vers hunting down aliens called Skrulls. She chases them to Earth because she believes they are seeking a weapon that will be used against the Kree. During her adventures on Earth she experiences flashbacks to her previous life some six years after disappearing from Earth. As the movie progresses she discovers who she really is and where her powers come from.- The director did a really good job introducing a new major character on par with the Iron Man and Captain America origin story movies.

There is also a huge plot twist in the movie that absolutely sold me on the movie. Marvel movies aren’t known for their plot twist so it was really refreshing and new to see it in the Marvel Universe.

Actress Brie Larson did a really good job in my opinion.

I thought she was a great pick for playing Captain Marvel, seeing her in the costume with the really cool looking effects like the glowing eyes and mohawk hair was amazing.

I know some were concerned about her being casted as Captain Marvel but critics seem to have enjoyed her performance. In fact, the movie is already doing better than it was expected to do. It was just something new that I’m not really used to seeing so it was nice and new to watch.

It also featured stunning visuals with space battles and

Ash Catalan

Captain Marvel using her powers which don’t compare visually to anything else we’ve seen before.

I would definitely go watch this movie if your a fan of Marvel movies. It also has an end credits scene that reveals a very big thing in the upcoming Avengers End Game.

Days Gone has anticipated release, cinematic features Diego gutierrez

G

Staff Writer

amers are counting the days, until Days Gone hits Play Station 4 on April 26, as they anticipate it to be the biggest blockbuster game of 2019 and a fork in the road for the gaming scene.

Since first being revealed at the end of the E3 gaming expo in 2016, Days Gone excited fans for it’s potential to be a game changer in the survival horror genre. Fans of the game have been waiting to play it a long time as a leaked release date of Dec. 29, 2018 came and went with relatively little news about the status of the game. That was true until the game was slated for a Feb. 22 release, which was again pushed back again until April 26.

Days Gone, which is devoid of a mul-

tiplayer mode, pays homage to a genre of gaming that relies heavily on a narrative approach. It represents the antithesis of industry trends that have focused on multiplayer modes and in-game purchases.

Fans are excited to see how Days Gone contrasts against the biggest games of the past two years like Fortnite, Call of Duty Black Ops 4 and Fallout 76.

The game drips in atmosphere featuring a dynamic weather system and a unique way to traverse the landscape. Fans are also looking forward to its solid combat gameplay which is supposed to feature a revolutionary enemy artificial intelligence. Leading with a superstar voice actor, developer SIE Bend Studio is

on a mission to remind everyone that big budget video games have the ability to rival cinema, not only in sheer scale and spectacle but also in the depth of the stories they tell. Days Gone is set in post-apocalyptic Pacific Northwest of the United States.

The game takes place two years after a global pandemic occurred which killed almost all of humanity. Players will occupy the role of Deacon St. John, a hardened biker and a former outlaw-turned-drifter and bounty hunter. Deacon moves from settlement to settlement on his motorcycle fighting cannibalistic creatures called “freakers” and other hu-

Days Gone excited fans for its potential to be a game changer

mans along the way. As the virus continues to spread, it affects everything, ranging from bears to dogs, to people, to small children. The virus causes the infected to take on unique abilities and weaknesses enabled by individual AI systems.

Hordes of “freakers” move throughout the map in their own fluid and organic way, changing the landscape and ensuring that every experience is fresh and new.

The currency is “freaker” ears and the player gets to decide what kind of person they want Deacon to be through dialogue and moral choices.

Through blending elements of hit shows like The Walking Dead and Sons of Anarchy, SIE Bend Studios hopes to breathe life into a genre that has been fading into the background since the dawn of this current console generation and we will soon finally get to see if they got it right.

Reviews

The Eagle’s Eye

Page 15 - April 15, 2019

Mortal Kombat 11 improves, upgrades popular game Eli CAlderon

I

Staff Writer

t’s hard for a game with 10 previous versions to stay relevant, but fans of the Mortal Kombat franchise are hopeful that NetherRealm Studios has achieved that when Mortal Kombat 11 hits consoles on April 23.

Mortal Kombat is famous for its gore and extreme violence that has players coming back when a new game that is released.

Fans of NetherRealms’ other major fighting game hit Injustice 2 will be eager to play the new Mortal Kombat because it will use the studio’s state-of-the-art motion capture system that will really help bring the characters to life.

According to an article by IGN, “The new graphics engine showcasing every skull-shattering, eye-popping moment, brings you so close to the fight you can feel it.”I have to agree with this statement.

The new game engine that is running the famous title is very impressive especially when I thought Mortal Kombat X’s game engine was amazing. They really are making

tremendous improvements.

Even with all of the stated improvements to the game, there are still some Mortal Kombat fans that are on the fence. Many are disappointed that the game is becoming very repetitive and the fighting style that is implemented in the game has come to a slower pace compared to other titles.

Mortal Kombat 11 looks and very much like the previous title that came out.

With all of this feedback NetherRealms’ has work cut out to please these fans, but I am confident the game is going to be amazing and feel completely new.

Along with visual improvements, there talan have been content Ash Ca additions as well as new features that have

been added to the game. With the announcement of new characters and new DLC items for the game, there are a plethora of items to check out.

For example, the new gear system NetherRealm is implementing will be very similar to the previous version in Injustice 2 that was released last year except that it will only be cosmetic and will not affect gameplay.

Some have argued that the customization system in Injustice 2 gave players an unfair advantage because to get the advantage, you only had to pay for the better armor.

With the new player customization that NetherRealms has placed in the game, you are now able to make your favorite character look specifically how you like.

With all of these options for your character and the different available

gear that you will be able to unlock the possibilities are endless for customization.

Fans will also enjoy seeing returning characters from the last game plus some extra surprises that we may see once the game fully comes out.

We are also getting multiple versions of the playable characters. NetherRealm also announced that we will be seeing some time travel back and forth and possibly have more than one of the characters at play at once. For example, in the trailers that have been released by the studio, there are two different incarnations of classic characters Scorpion and Johnny Cage.

The fatalities that have been placed into this game are the goriest and bloodiest fatalities we’ve ever seen NetherRealm create for a title in this series. With the improved graphics and the detail that they have put into them, they can be quite unsettling and disturbing. Now all of these things may just sound like the regular Mortal Kombat games that we’ve been getting for the past 27 years or so, but I believe Mortal Kombat 11 has the potential to keep this series alive with all of the new features and improvements.

Disney+, Apple TV+ create competition for streaming Jennifer Espinoza

C

Opinions Editor

ord cutting has gone mainstream as video streaming services have diversified their offerings and major brands are entering the market place with their own new options.

According to statistics by Forbes, the streaming service business generated $20.1 billion in revenue in 2018, which is likely the main reason that new companies are kick-starting their own streaming services.

This rise in popularity is transforming the entertainment and broadcasting industries as more and more viewers are dropping cable providers and are turning to streaming services.

Streaming providers are taking different strategies for building their businesses.

Some are starting as providers of niche content while others are working to be general entertainment providers.

Most offer free trials to get viewers started in paying for a subscription. They usually promote the fact that they are ad-free and offer exclusive original content.

Some companies resort to targeting specific audiences with their preferred taste. For example, YouTube Premium offers its audience ad-free music, and an offline function and access to content created by YouTubers. It also offers exclusive content from famous celebrities that have partnered with YouTube. DC Universe, which provides a catalog of old and new DC superhero shows, also allows users to access a huge online archive of DC comic books.

Other types of streaming services such as Hulu and Netflix are more diverse in the content that they provide to their audience and can arguably be the case of why they are so popular. They also provide popular original content such as The Handmaid’s Tale from Hulu and Stranger Things from Netflix. These platforms are also considered to be comfortable and well known so viewers already trust these platforms to have what the certain person wants or looking for.

On the other hand, this is a huge disadvantage for companies who are starting up their own streaming services. Recently, Apple announced Apple TV+, which will

offer subscribers access to the many shows the company has been developing with A-List names, including Steven Spielberg, J. J. Abrams, M. Night Shyamalan, Ron Howard, Sofia Coppola, Octavia Spencer, and Jennifer Aniston. The Apple TV+ app will be built into televisions built by Samsung, LG, Roku, Amazon Fire, and VIZIO. Apple hasn’t yet announced the price or the specific release date.

Disney+ is another highly anticipated entry into the streaming game because of its status as one of the largest owners of content. When the service goes live in late 2019, it will automatically become a powerhouse because of its huge catalog of content, including Disney originals, Marvel Studios, Star Wars, and Pixar.

The launch of Disney+ will put shows like Marvel Defenders currently only available on Netflix in question. Disney is expected to remove all of the content it owns off of Netflix. Disney Plus is where the expanded company’s family-friendly content will be available. Hulu, however, which is now controlled by Disney will be the place to Disney’s edgier material, like four

Bethany Bissell

planned Marvel cartoons aimed at adults.

The cost of this streaming service has not yet been announced but it is expected to cost less than Netflix. More details about price are expected to be released in late April.

photo essay

Page 16 - April 15, 2019

Christian Silva

EVERY SINGLE REP COUNTS

Junior Cameron Hernandez practices his batting. These practices focus on driving ones hands, and the knob of the bat straight through the baseball at the right angle for a big hit, maximising the power and torque focused onto the ball.

Baseball players train to finish out the season strong Christian Silva

I

Photo Editor

n baseball, training is a constant.

The Akins Varsity Baseball team takes this to heart, always putting in time and effort preparing for the next game.

The team practices every day during fourth and eighth periods as well as afterschool and most Saturdays when games are not scheduled.

Coaches have players work on perfecting the mistakes from the previous games.

Other days they work on drills, and then mix in some batting practice. All this dedication is an effort to make it to playoffs and win the district championship.

The team has five returning seniors, David Wilson, Conner Archer, Andrew Wilk, Julian Smith and Santiago Rodriguez.

Wilk, who plays catcher, said the team trains hard and works to come together as a unit.

“Outside of practice we try to hang out and bond as a team,” he said.

Wild said he thinks training is important to help the players establish good habits and routines. “(It helps) make sure we all see the big picture, which is making it the playoffs,”

he said.

Wilk also believes the team has strengths like their strong chemistry and trust between each other. Despite that Wilk said the team’s biggest challenge is their own mindsets.

“We have to go out on the field with the highest amount of confidence in ourselves… so that we succeed and get out jobs done,” Wilk said.

There is a lot of pressure the players go through. They workout hard during practice and carry around their equipment all day. Players also miss a lot of class time for games, making them juggle their schedule around in order to make up missed class work.

Head coach Gene Salazar always tells the players who are behind in academics “there is a reason it’s called being a student-athlete, because the student part comes first.” He emphasizes that players must pass their classes to be eligible to play. Because of how late the games finish up, some players end up doing class work on the bus while on the way to their games.

The baseball team just recently beat the Lake Travis Cavaliers, which is a big deal in school history. Lake Travis was the number two team in the nation and was knocked down to number four because of

SCOUTING OUT THE COMPETITION

Christian Silva

Coaches Gene Salazar and Anthony Degilia observe the team during their practice. Salazar encourages players to focus on schoolwork.

one game.

“We went into that game as underdogs facing a big shot team, and ended up giving them a run for their money,” Wilk said.

Lake Travis was also the last team in the district to have an undefeated record

until they played us.

“We will have our hardships and will face a lot of adversity, but we will just have to rise up and keep pushing,” Wilk said.

Players on the team said they plan to finish the rest of the season with high energy, and giving it their all.

photo essay

The Eagle’s Eye

BROTHERHOOD FIRST

Page 17 - April 15, 2019

Kaleb Stevens

Senior Julian Smith gives the team a pre-game pep-talk. The team also says a prayer to boost morale.

FINE TUNING SKILLS

Christian Silva

Senior Julian Smith practices with a tee. He does this to maintain his swinging mechanics and work on the “bat-to-ball” contact point.

TEAM WARM-UPS

Kaleb Stevens

Players warm up with drills right before scrimmage againt Vandergrift on Tuesday. The team plays fridays as well.

POWER AND FORM, TO MUSCLE MEMORY

Christian Silva

Sophomore Jordan Guerrero practices his swing before the team leaves for a game. He does this so that his swing is warmed up and ready for the game.

PUTTING IN THE WORK

JJ Mendiola

Senior Julian Smith and Junior Cameron Hernandez run through dynamics during school practice. This is a drill helps them perform routine plays better during games.

sports

Page 18 - April 15, 2019

Track breaks records and places top five in the district Gregory rogue

M

Staff Writer

embers of the varsity track teams are earning recognition this year as athletes have consistently broken school records and earned first place finishes at meets.

At the Canyon Lake Hawk Relays on Saturday, Feb. 23 at Canyon Lake High School. The Varsity Boys placed in 3rd out of 14 teams.

Also, all runners and throwers represented Akins very well especially the Varsity Track runner Matthew Quiroz, who had a time of 4:37.64, He broke the school record for the 1600 meter sprint in which he placed first. He also came in first place 1st place in the 3200-meter sprint at the meet.

The track team also had good performances at the Texas State Invitational Meet.

The Varsity Girls track athletes took in fourth place overall in a very competitive meet. Freshman Mak’hi Falkquay came in first place in both the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash, setting school records.

She also earned second place in the triple jump, breaking a school record.

Falkquay said she has hoped to make it to state this year even as a freshman. “(I just want) to just get out there and do my best,” she said.

Sophomore Diego Hernandez said he has his own methods of finding a good mindset before competitions.

“Before a run, usually on the way to the track meet I listened to like some really motivational speeches, or my music and my mindset is just to be number one and get a good time and spot,” he said.

The boys and girls track teams have had high performers, and the coaches are proud of their teams, giving them support and hoping the teams can do it again next year.

Misty Lindsey, head coach for the girl’s varsity track team, said she is very proud of all of the track athletes this year.

“I think we had some standouts but our real focus is going be to get this group to work as a team,” she said. “So we had several students take down some school records but we would really like to just recognize everyone instead of focusing on one on one or two girls. They’re a young group and we wanted to learn to work together.”

Falkquay set a school record in the triple jump and the 100-meter dash and Pistel Knox set a school record on the long jump, Lindsey said. Lindsey said there are a few

Luke Becerra

RUNNING TO THE FINISH

Senior Alpha Mara takes the baton from Isaiah Sibi Hackney to finish and take 1st place in the South Austin Relays. Varsity boys took 3rd place in their district at the meet.

athletes that have a good chance at advancing to regional and state track meets.

Students competing in the hurdles, 4 x 100-meter relay and the two-mile runners all have a really good chance of advance into the regional meet.

“We look forward to seeing any athlete from the entire Akins Track program go and I think those boys have a really good shot,” she said.

Lindsey said injuries hurt some of the female athlete’s chances to advance to regional and state meets, but she is looking forward to seeing athletes like Falkquay returning to compete next year.

Lindsay said the coaches will continue to work with athletes to see what skills they’re good at so that they can build for the future.

“We have a very young program with lots of potential but we just really needed to see what we need to do with them,” Lindsey said. “They worked hard but we’ve got a lot of work to do going forward.”

TRACK SEASON ACCOMPLISHMENTS Canyon Lake Hawk Relays JV Champions Canyon Lake Hawk Relays Varsity Runner Up Austin ISD Relays Sub Varsity Champions Austin ISD Relays Varsity Runner Ups Varsity Boys 6A District Champion in: - 4X100m - 100m - Triple Jump

Broke school records in the 1600m, 3200m, 4X100m, 2X200m and 110m hurdles.

Source: Joseph Saxe

Sports

The Eagle’s Eye

Page 19 - April 15 2019

Boys soccer reflects on the troubles of a rough season Jaden Garrion

T

Jose Hernandez

FAKE OUT

Senior Ramiro Parache dribbling around on a Austin High defender. Akins won that game 2-0 against Austin High.

Staff Writer

he Boys Varsity Soccer team had a record of 5-8-2, missing the chance to advance to the district playoffs this year and make a better step into making team progress.

Although the team had a rough season, multiple players said they learned a lot this year.

Senior Brian Medina said he feels like he was able to better himself as a person this season.

“I learned that as the year progressed you can always get better as a person, and as a teammate that you always have to rely on the people along with you on the field to get the job done,” Medina said. “It’s not an individual sport and that’s why when you work as a team everything comes out as it should.”

Junior Jose Orozco said he learned a lot this year that can help him next year. “(I learned) not to be an individual player, be a team player,” Orozco said.

The team faced many challenges this year. Head coach Chad Timmons said he saw the team struggle with remaining consistent at every game.

“That’s probably the biggest one — playing as a team and being consistent throughout the year and throughout a game,” he said.

Orozco said he felt that the team struggled with playing as a team.

Senior Juan Bocanegra said the team also struggled with communication.

“The challenge I felt we faced was it was really hard for us to communicate and have the chemistry to build it up,” he said.

Medina said that some players were not as committed to the team as they said they were going to be at the beginning of the season. Some didn’t show up to practice or games, he said.

“When we face difficulties they just left and I think that was the biggest thing that hurt us this year,” Medina said.

Orozco said he hopes the team can be successful next year and make it to the playoffs.

Girls soccer says bye to seniors and looks to the future Jose saldana

A

Staff Writer

lthough the girls’ soccer team saw a lackluster season with only one win, they celebrated a victory on the varsity team’s “Senior Night.”

Coach Le’Von Griffin said that the team has seen a significant improvement over the season, and he is happy with those results.

“We are ready for any challenge heading our way and will give it our all,” he said.

Griffin said he is looking for the team to continue getting better, as the players did from game to game.

“We also came in with so few girls with varsity experience this year and I just want to see the steady improvement out of that group,” he said.

Griffin said that one of their challenges is that there are not many experienced players on the team.

“With being such a young group and not understanding how fast the game is going to be once you go from JV soccer to being able to play varsity soccer,” Griffin said.

Griffin describes the team as motivated and outgoing.

“They aren’t just there here to play soc-

cer,” he said. “They are here to take it seriously and want to be a respected team in the district.”

“Although there aren’t many seniors many players have stepped up and kept the team positive.“I would say a lot of them have stepped up,” he said. “The group of seniors is a small group but they are definitely more vocal then they were as underclassmen.”

Senior Jessica Lopez said she was proud of her team despite the losses they experienced.

“Even through big wins and tough losses we stuck together as a team. I was happy and sad going into my last season knowing that it was last time I was gonna suit up and play with my girls.”

Senior Erika Britz, captain of the girl’s varsity team, said she believes they worked really hard for this season. She said she thinks the team has done great things despite not always winning their games.

“I appreciate Coach Griffin for always pushing us to the limit in order to overcome any obstacles in the way,” Britz said.

The team saw a lot of new players step up and show that soccer will be good hands in the next coming years.

MOVING THE BALL

Jose Hernandez

Sophmore Noemy Cervantes Dribbling down the field looking to make a goal. Akins lost to Lake Travis 0-10.

life & Style

Page 20 - April 15, 2019

The Eagle’s Eye reviews daily breakfast-in-classroom items

EE Mylo Bissell

B

News Editor

reakfast food is a champion of all cuisines. It’s a perfect mixture of savory and sweet. It’s what I look forward to most in the mornings.

Breakfast-in-Classroom (BIC), however, is underwhelming, to say the least. BIC is provided to free to all students as part of the national school breakfast

Breakfast Taco

Mylo Bissell

Rating: 4/5

program.

Akins was the first high school in Austin ISD to adopt BIC when the program started during the 201617 school year. The program allows students to pick from a variety of meals each morning that rotate on a regular basis.

It’s a large undertaking to prepare about 2,000 meals and distribute them to hundreds of classrooms each morning.

Biscuit & Sausage

Mylo Bissell

A lot of the foods are not stars of this meal genre but there are a few items I would say are noteworthy.

For the purpose of reviewing I looked at my favorites, the biscuit and sausage combo, a yogurt parfait, and breakfast tacos. For the sake of fairness, I set up a threepoint system to give each food a chance. Aesthetic: When I look at it, do I want to eat it? Is it appealing to the eye?

Taste: Is it seasoned? Do I enjoy eating it? Fullness: Will I be OK until lunch?

Yogurt Parfait

Mylo Bissell

Rating: 2/5

Rating: 3/5

Aesthetic:

Aesthetic:

Aesthetic:

The tin foil. The gleam as you open the box under the fluorescent lights. These may not be the prettiest, with slightly burnt edges and a whole wheat tortilla in an interesting brown shade, but the feeling of slight elation This bright spot in my morning makes them the apple of my eye.

The patty looked okay, a little like soggy and the breading is a weird color. The biscuit looks burnt, with black streaks on the sides of it, and a bit dry. Jelly was exciting to see. The jelly alludes to a sweetier treat, as if it’s supposed to make the treat less dry. Having a carton of juice also makes any breakfast look more appealing.

Probably the prettiest breakfast at Akins the layers the bright colors the clean clear packaging. It has a lot of visual appeals. The yogurt parfait being layered and bright colors gives it a more organized and pleasing look, making it more welcoming for most students.

Taste:

Taste:

Taste:

OK let’s discuss fillings. Bean and cheese is pretty good. They fill to the brim and they are seasoned. They are always warm and have a perfect amount of cheese but maybe too much bean. Bacon and egg- The egg is a cross between a powdered egg and real egg and honestly pretty good. The bacon is like bacon bits and they aren’t super present though there is a prevalent bacon flavor with the eggs that make it a great meal.

Without jelly, the biscuit crosses into unflavored scone territory. It’s dry and a little bland. The chicken tastes damp and flavorless but when you add the jelly the added flavor and texture elevates the meal to something on the more enjoyable end of the spectrum. The jelly is crucial to this breakfast meal, without it the biscuit & sausage is just as good as a piece of wood.

Well… at least it looked good. The yogurt is too tangy and tart. It leaves a weird film like feeling in your mouth.

The fruit chunks are too big to be well incorporated but very light and refreshing and enjoyable to have on its own. Especially the peaches which is pictured. On another negative note, the granola to yogurt ratio is a little too much for my liking.

Fullness:

Fullness:

Fullness:

This is the least filling of these. One taco doesn’t fill you up at all. You never order one taco. An inclusion of another taco could fill me up, but by time you decide to get second taco they’re all gone. So you have to substitute the second taco with a fruit.

I feel fairly full after I eat this. I may circle back for a piece of fruit but I’ll be fine until lunch. The thickness of the biscuit really helps making you full. Probably one of the most filling breakfast that is given, but sadly it’s the worst tasting.

Because the textures and tartness usually become a little much for me I more-often-than-not don’t finish a whole parfait. These usually don’t tide me over to lunch.

Maybe with a less tartness taste purpose it could fill me up until lunch.

life & Style

The Eagle’s Eye

Page 21 - April 15, 2019

Exchange students compare Austin to home countries Brianna Cozzi

B

Staff Writer

eing an exchange student comes with many pros and cons, and as you can imagine, it’s pretty jarring leaving your birthplace, to experience an entirely new culture, taking in new sights and smells. But these students were brave enough to take the opportunity to leave their home, and take up the challenge of adjusting to a new living space. These students come from diverse

places and cultures, meaning they all have different views on how our school functions, comparing our education system to theirs.

Each student stays with a host family, and that host family provides anything that a normal family would, food, protection, and care. Although these students have host families, they do still feel homesick from time to time, but each student has their own way of dealing with their homesickness, whether that be skype or phone calls.

Each student has different experiences since each stu-

Mizuki Kita

Japan you ever traveled to the United States before Q: Have last year? or any other countries?

A: Yes, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam and Australia you have any choice on where you would study Q: Did as an exchange student?

I chose the United States, because I wanted to A: Yeah, learn English.

Ash Catalan

dent has traveled across the United States before coming to Texas, making friends along the way and forming new relationships and seeing new places, maybe even experiencing different holidays or traditions when staying with a host family, obtaining a refreshing view on the world as they travel and learn.

“I love that Austin is so diverse,” said sophomore Marie Anyiam, a German exchange student. “ And I love the people here, it’s so colorful downtown and I think it’s creative, I love it.”

are some of the cultural difference you’ve Q: What experienced? school is so different. It’s so big, too. I A: The think it’s a pretty big school. are some of the differences staying with a Q: What host family?

A: I have to do my chores.

Marie Anyiam

Germany you ever traveled to the United States Q: Have before? Or any other states?

are some of the cultural differences that Q: What you have experienced? education system is probably the biggest A: The difference because, school here is so different.

A: I have a feeling in Germany it’s harder and has more discipline.

How do you like your stay in Austin so far?

Q: Q: How do you feel staying with a host family? like it a lot. It’s a cool city, downtown is super A: Inice.

A: I love my host family I’m in right now.

I’m excited for south by southwest.

Yeah, I’ve been to Connecticut, New York City, and Florida.

Ash Catalan

Ricky Lee

South Korea you ever traveled to the United States Q: Have before this trip?

A:

Ash Catalan

I’ve been to New York City, Washington D.C., and Canada.

there anything you don’t like about Akins, Q: IsAustin, or the United states in general? only problem is that some American colA: The leges give some penalty to Asian students who want to go to college.

you describe your hometown and school Q: Do you feel any homesickness?

Q: Could for us? not really. Well, I did feel a bit homesick, A: Yeah, Yeah, well, my hometown school had too much but I’m good right now.”

A: of a competitive spirit.

life & Style

Page 22 - April 15,, 2019

FFA raises livestock, earns money for college, program Jon Garza

T

Life & Style Editor

he Future Farmers of America (FFA) is a program to support agricultural education for students who are seeking an agricultural career.

The program teaches students how to raise livestock and grow plants to sell, Many of the students in the program have worked with livestock since they were little kids as it was passed down to them as a family tradition. while for others, it is an entirely new experience.

The practice of raising livestock is a conflicting experience for some students who tend to grown fond of their animals.

Livestock animals are not pets and owners have to avoid creating any form of emotional attachment, knowing that they will eventually sell their livestock for slaughter.

Senior Jenna Thorton, a third-generation FFA member, shared some of her favorite stories, like the time one of her steers got loose during one of the shows.

“But my favorite story of all time was the time I placed first in a class of 63 steers

Courtesy to FFA

SELLING YOUR LIVESTOCK

Sophomore Alejandro Santos shows a market goat.

at San Antonio,” she said. “It was definitely one of my favorite moments. The best feeling in the world.”

Raising livestock comes with great responsibilities. To have a healthy animal, caregivers must clean their pen, feed, and water them twice a day. This along with exercise helps manage the amount of muscle

and fat the animals develop. Owners must also wash their animals and make sure that their skin is well-cared for. The goal of raising a livestock animal is to have the best looking, best-tasting one.

The students have to treat their livestock more as a way to make a profit rather than a pet. Having to know that their animals will

go to markets and will most likely be used for consumption.

Junior Elisabeth Allbritton, an FFA member since 6th grade said, raising an animal is “definitely a strange mix between pet and project.”

“Of course, when you spend so much time with them every day, you get a bit attached,” she said. “But at the end of the day, they’re livestock animals.”

The relationship between animal and caregiver can also be important to have the confidence and ability to win a stock show, Thorton said.

“The way I see my relationship with my animals is as a partnership,” she said.

“When we enter the ring at a stock show, it’s the two of us against the world.

This confidence can come a long way in these stock shows. Students raise their livestock for months in order to sell them in the show’s auctions. Here students can earn money from their livestock to use for their next year’s projects, or for college expenses.

Senior, Natalia Perez won 2nd place in the largest livestock show in the world. She won $5,000 to start her college savings.

Tania Dominguez contributed to the story.

Colonel uses past missions as inspiration for students Jose Garcia olonel Jack R. Rickman, a command pilot with 3200 total flying hours uses his experiences to help the AFJROTC program. Col. Rickman recounts his past missions, like having to land a C-5, a large military transport aircraft, with the nose gear retracted and a nearly empty fuel tank with 50 passengers on board. The retracted piece of gear made landing tight, causing it to spark up. The landing scratched in the under part of the aircraft and saved all the passengers. This act of bravery gain Col. Rickman the Air Medal. Experiences like these are used to encourage JROTC participants to be the best citizen they can be.

The Eagle’s Eye: What were some of your flying memories?

Colonel Rickman: We had the mission of flying the president’s motorcade and his limo. We also carried Marine One the helicopter that the president flies in. We’d fly into Andrews Air Force Base, which is right next to Washington D.C.. That’s where they keep Air Force One. We would land in there and then the motorcade they bring them on the Secret Service would bring on the limousine and bring everything on. For example, I went to Switzerland.

We dropped everything off and then a few hours later the president lands in Air Force One and his limousine pulls

Jose Garcia

C

Staff Writer

up and picks him up. It’s pretty cool. We were in Santiago Chile when President Clinton was down there. We took President Clinton’s helicopter. I flew (for) the first Bush and the second Bush and Clinton. I have countless flying stories and the cadets get to hear quite a few of them.

EE: What did you like about serving in the military?

CR: I felt a sense of pride being able to do what I did, to serve my country.

EE: Why did you decide to go into teaching?

CR: The mission of AFJROTC is to produce citizens of character for our country. I really enjoy being a good influence on my cadets. I think there is about a 99% graduation rate of students that are in the Akins AFJROTC program. Cadets are held to a high standard of discipline by our corps, and they rise to the occasion.

EE: What direction do you want to take the corps?

CR: I plan to keep doing what this unit had done for many years. This is the best unit I’ve had the privilege to lead, from MSgt Rios to the cadets. They are top-notch and we plan to keep producing good citizens for our country.

EE: What are some other interests/hobbies you have?

CR: I was a CrossFit coach for 9 years and I still workout using the CrossFit philosophy. Also, as part of the corps’ wellness program, I conduct a healthy lifestyle challenge every semester.

EE: For students who are unsure if they want to join

Col. Jack R. Rickman JROTC, can you explain why you think it is a valuable program for them to join?

CR: This program is not like we’re not trying to recruit kids into the military. It’s just a citizenship program. It’s wearing a uniform, learning stuff like etiquette. It’s learning aerodynamics because I was a pilot. We fly the flight simulator so we learn about flying and learn life lessons as well, such as working out and eating healthy. That’s our thing. That’s our number one rule, to teach everybody love everybody. (We’re) teaching them to be good people.

ADVERTISING

Pages 23 & 24 contain paid advertising provided by the Akins administration and not content created by The Eagle’s Eye staff.

Community

Grocery Giveaway serves 3,311 families

Page 23 April 15, 2019

Corrections internship program seeks applicants for career readiness

The Grocery Giveaway on March 16 was a huge success.

The project serviced 3,311 families and special delivery was made to 50 families. We had 187 volunteers in total.

Wonderful volunteers including staff and students received many compliments from the community on their service.

Students invited to participate in Ladies of Distinction conference Kerrie Carter-Walker, Social Services Academy Assistant Principal, invites Akins students to participate in a great opportunity for our young women.

The Ladies of Distinction is a non-profit organization Carter-Walker founded in 2012 on a mission to mold young women into global leaders.

The purpose is to intentionally transform our lives in order to change our community.

The organization will host its 4th Annual Young Women’s Conference in May with the theme “Be Fearless.”

A bus will be provided to

transport 40 of our young women to the conference where they will be provided a light breakfast and lunch for the young ladies and chaperones. The event will feature various breakout sessions with topics, ranging from fitness to personal finance to the transition from high school to college.

The event will be held May 15 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the AISD Performing Arts Center.

Students of all grades are eligible to register for the free event, which has a deadline of May 3.

Visiting Puerto Rico this summer Stay tuned for future travel opportunities next year

Interested in a career in Corrections? Then join the Akins High School Correctional Services Internship (CSI) your senior year.

With a partnership with the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, Akins students have the unique opportunity to go out to the Downtown Travis County Jail and the Travis County Correctional Complex in Del Valle to learn directly from current Correctional Officers.

Students will learn hands on skills and gain important knowledge about the Correctional Services Industry. Upon completion, students will be career ready with a professional portfolio that will include a professional resume, four industry certifications, industry references, letters of recommendation from industry professionals, along with awards and accolades during the internship.

Check out our web page on the Akins High School website under the CTE Programs tab by clicking on Criminal Justice. Also follow us on Twitter @AkinsCSI.

JKL/Green Teens clubs take students camping for 2 nights in state park On March 29, members of Akins JKL and Green Teens went on their 3rd camping trip. They spent two nights at Guadalupe River State Park.

Students enjoyed a weekend of hiking with master naturalists, river fun and sleeping in tents under the stars.

Keep Austin Beautiful provided delicious food and arranged activities and the Texas Outdoor Family Program provided a trailer full of camping equipment as well as a Park Ranger who conducted camping workshops on building campfires and Leave No Trace principles throughout the trip.

The goals of our combined clubs include connecting students to new opportunities, unplugging for health and wellness, and serving our communities through sustainable practices.

Akins JKL and Green Teens meet after school on Mondays and Thursdays in room 220. Meetings include workouts like cycling and yoga, recipes, food prep and healthy nutrition, sustainability education, and a focus on gratitude as a daily practice. Planning will soon be underway for next year’s camping adventures.

community Page 24 April 15, 2019 The Eagle’s Eye

ADVERTISING Pages 23 & 24 contain paid advertising provided by the Akins administration and not content created by The Eagle’s Eye staff.

Contact faculty adviser David Doerr if you are interested in advertising in The Eagle’s Eye by sending an email to david.doerr@austinisd.org.

Principal’s Letter Eagle Nation, It is hard to believe that we are beginning the last six-weeks of the 20182019 school year and we are quickly approaching graduation. I am excited beyond words to proceed over my first graduating class, the prestigious cohort of 2019. With that said, buckle up because here we go!

There are many important reminders for all students. Seniors, it is time to wrap up completing college applications and FASFA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) with the help of Ms. Sarah Simmons in the College and Career Center. This is the time to ask for help because this six-weeks will be over before you know it.

Juniors and Sophomores, it is time to make sure you are TSI ready. Juniors, this means that you need to complete your TSI tests for math, reading, and writing by August 19, 2019. Please sign-up in room 149. We will be testing students Monday-Thursday all summer long beginning at 9:00 a.m. Juniors, if you want to choose your 4th year English and math class, it is imperative that you take care of this early.

Students enrolled in Algebra I, Biology and/or US History are gearing up for their STAAR EOC tests during the second week of May. I am proud of the focus and effort exhibited by both students and teachers in preparation for these exams. I know our scores will reflect that hard work. In addition to those exams, we will also have Advanced Placement exams occurring the first

Congrats to 2018-2019 BPA Competitors!

We had an amazing year! unior an enior Courses available: Year 1: Business Information Management usiness nterns Year 2: Principles of Business, Marketing, and Finance ha e an opportunity to apply Year 3: Accounting or a pai internship at Year 4: Business Practicum (Internship) A on Akins campus or Business Management

Tina Salazar two weeks of May. As we plan ahead for summer, remember that it is an excellent time for current 10th and 11th grade qualified students to take free ACC classes. Students, please see your counselors about this awesome opportunity to earn free college credit!

I want to thank our Akins High School community and families for all of their work in supporting our students every step of the way: teachers, parents, guardians, mentors, CAC, PTSA, our PSS, and all other students, alumni, and people who love Akins as I do.

The end of the year is near, but alas, there is still much work to be done.

Students, work hard to the finish and be proud of what you have accomplished.

It is an honor and a privilege to serve you all. Wings Up!

Akins Blood Drive — April 26th Must be 17 or older and weigh at least 115 lbs Consent forms are required for all donors See Mrs. Looney in 308 to sign up

2018- 2019 Akins Business Program Highlights:

Sincerely, Principal Tina Salazar

+++ FUN FIELD TRIPS TO AUSTIN BUSINESSES!

10701 S. First St. Autin, TX 78748

NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID MAILED FROM ZIP CODE 78660 PERMIT NO. 16

Compete:

See this link for more info: https://tinyurl.com/y6hgk9pk AND

Startup Superstars Shark Tank Competition

Congrats to Abyth Rodriguez for receiving 2nd place in AISD!

Startup Superstars is organized by the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce with volunteers from Rice University Scholarship prizes are awarded by sponsors!