The Eagle's Eye; Issue 3; Volume 16; Akins High School

THE

EAGLE’S EYE

W. Charles Akins High School

Austin, Texas

Keep up with our stories, photos, and more at akinseagleseye.com

P.3

“Everything that Concerns You”

Volume 16

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Courtesy of Disney

Craft Sales

Adriana Galindo

2016 Recap p.5 Courtesy of Disney

P.6 Ashley “Chow Down” Sanchez

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Exploring Austin

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December 20, 2016

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Rogue One

Issue 3

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David has aids?

Bill would enact stiff penalties on cyberbullies

Mary Griffis

David’s Law would require districts to have anonymous tip lines for harassment Bethany Bissell Staff Writer

Monkey. Ape. Square up. Put him six feet under.

These things were commented on San Antonio teenager David Molak’s Instagram in October of 2015. These messages, as well as messages and posts on Facebook, GroupMe, After School, and text, caused Molak to switch schools for his safety, but the harassment continued. Because of three months of relentless cyberbullying such as this, Molak committed suicide in January.

“It got to a point where he couldn’t look at himself in the mirror because he said he felt like he looked like a monkey,” Maurine Molak, David Molak’s mother, said.

Cyberbullying of this nature, specifically in the cases of Molak and Matt Vasquez, has spurred the push to pass “David’s Law” in the upcoming state legislative session beginning in January. The bill intends to prevent and fight cyberbullying focusing on seven different areas. The most significant proposed change would be to increase the severity of punishment for cyberbullying, making it a misdemeanor to electron-

white house

ically harass a minor and making it possible to put students who attempt to coerce other students into suicide in alternative learning centers or expel them.

“There’s really nothing in current Molak legislation that’s applicable,” Matt Molak, David Molak’s father, said. “It’s become such a problem, and they wanted to honor David by naming the law after him.”

In addition to creating specific punishments for cyberbullying, David’s Law would require that all districts include cyberbullying in their bullying policies. It would also require school districts to have anonymous tip lines to report harassment or threats, and allow schools and law enforcement to work together on investigations of electronic harassment.

Senior Isabella Luna, who has been cyberbullied before, said that the tip line will be good for students because it would help them anonymously report the bullying without their peers knowing.

“If the tip line was anonymous that

would be a good way to low-key say ‘I’m not OK with this’ instead of being a minority of the majority,” Luna said.

Luna did Twitter poll on cyberbullying at Akins last year, and she found that 75 percent of 112 students have witnessed cyberbullying.

Social worker Colleen Arnold said that when students post things on the Internet, they are trying to convey who they are to others, and when people comment negatively on that, they get very hurt.

“It takes a very brave person to share these pieces of who you are,” Arnold said.

“And when you think that people who are connected to your social media are your friends or friendly with you, it can be incredibly hurtful to find out that they’re not as friendly as you hoped they would be.”

As well as David’s Law, Matt and Maurine Molak created the David’s Legacy Foundation, which can be found at davidslegacy.org. The David’s Legacy Foundation works to end cyberbullying for children across Texas. An extension of the foundation is the “Don’t Bully Me Project” (DBM, also David Molak’s initials), which is a project created by a group of lawyers to provide legal services to victims of bully-

ing to help resolve instances of harassment without charge.

“After this happened to David, they got together and were talking about it,” Matt Molak said. “They wanted to do something. They have children that are young, and they were thinking about their future and what this problem would look like years down the road.”

David’s Law was pre-filed in November and will not be voted on until Legislature goes into session in January. They will be in session for six months and David’s Law will go to various committees during this time. If all goes well, David’s Law will be signed in June and go into effect in September.

The Molaks ask that those in support of David’s Law contact their legislators to let them know. One can find their legislators on the David’s Legacy website under “Legislation.”

“I think that we have a lot of good support already,” Matt Molak said. “We’re hopeful that legislators will see this as serious problem and want to do something about it. It’ll be difficult, but we’re going to do all we can to make it happen.”

awards

Akins alumna receives high award at the nation’s capital

Afterschool screen printing program opens students to artistic career possibilities Alejandra Arguello Staff Writer

When Kassey Rocha joined a screen printing internship program during her junior year at Akins, she had no idea that it would one day lead her to a chance to meet the First Lady in a ceremony at the White House.

On Nov. 15, Rocha represented Mexic-Arte Museum’s Screen It! program, which received the 2016 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, the nation’s highest honor for these programs. It was recognized for its effectiveness in promoting learning and life skills in young people by engaging them in the creative youth development programs.

Rocha was selected to represent the Mexic-Arte Museum’s program because she experienced all parts of the Screen It! program and showed strong leadership skills, said Olivia Tamzarian, the museum’s education coordinator.

“We selected her both to award her work and she is a great speaker and also because she’s bilingual and that was important for us to select a student who would be able to talk in Spanish about their experiences connecting to Mexican American cultures is one of the biggest things

▲ Award of a Lifetime

Courtesy White House

Akins alumna Kassey Rocha (middle) and Olivia Tamzarian recieve award from First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House in November. The award recognized Mexic-Arte Museum’s Screen It! afterschool program.

we do,” Tamzarian said.

The award recognizes the country’s best after-school and out-of-school-time creative youth development programs for using engagement in the arts and the human-

ities to increase academic achievement, graduation rates, and college enrollment.

Rocha said she learned the basics of screen printing along with business and leadership skills from being involved in the program and volunteering as a camp counselor.

“Not only did we get screen printing skills in the program, we just learned of a new art movement that we could use out of our own hobby. We could make money by selling t-shirts at times or posters,” Rocha said.

Rocha said it was overwhelming to visit the White House and meet First Lady Michelle Obama.

“It was like a rush, going through multiple security checks and entrances and then I was inside the White House! It honestly didn’t hit me until after and I remembered the many different historical figures that had walked those halls that I had been in, it makes me feel proud and excited,” Rocha said.

Rocha said she think Screen It! was recongized for the national award because it teaches students to not be afraid to pursue their dreams.

“It shows students the idea and takes away the stigma that art can only be a hobby, that it can also be a career,” she said.

INSIDE: Opinions - page 2 Entertainment - page 3 news - page 4 indepth - page 5 life & style - page 6 sports- 7 PHOTO ESSAY- page 8

Opinions

page 2

The Eagle’s Eye

Tuesday - December 20, 2016

Attendance process decisions in need of revisions EDITORIAL

W

hether you know it or not, students are a walking dollar sign every time you show up

at school.

If you aren’t here, the school loses money from the state.

The Texas Legislature revised the state’s compulsory attendance law in 2013 mandating that all students who fall under a 90 percent attendance rate will lose credit for the classes they missed. After students miss four classes in the fall or five classes in the spring they will lose credit.

Last year, appeal processes were created for students who fall below either 90 or 75 percent attendance. If a student doesn’t complete the principal’s plan or falls below 75 percent attendance, the student must have a meeting with an attendance committee to develop a recovery plan.

On the positive side, stricter enforcement of attendance laws has helped to improve Akins attendance in recent years.

It increased from 91.8 percent during the 2014-2015 year to 93.6 this year at the end of the 2015-2016 school year.

However, there are students who fall through the cracks in the system. Some are just missed by busy administrators who have too many students assigned to them.

Others are chronically absent and fail to live up to the agreements established with administrators to make up for the missed class time.

Another problem with the state’s attendance system is that the illnesses are

counted against the 90 percent requirement. The only automatic health related excused absences are those in which a student has a doctor’s appointment or those in which a student was hospitalized.

Otherwise, students must have their missed days due to illness verified by a principal or committee before being cleared. Having to go through verification is an unnecessarily lengthy process for just trying to get a medical absence excused. It makes something that should be very simple is way more complicated than needed.

We as the editorial board believe that to save money and time for everyone involved, the best way to streamline the process is to hire somebody who can only focus on students’ credits.

This will prevent students from being overlooked so that the campus does not lose money due to attendance.

We agree that students must attend school for the vast majority of the time for students to earn credit for their classes. However, in this case the state has not done its part in helping schools better manage attendance and ensure students are coming to school.

The state should provide appropriate funding when it meets this spring to pay for an attendance specialist that will help notify students and communicate with them on a current and up-to-date basis.

Ultimately, this position should help students earn more funding if they can help a school increase its attendance rate.

Something that should be very simple is way more complicated than needed.

LGTBQ

Daylin Ettles

Politics

State bills impede on the rights of trans students

‘Bathroom war’ debates will continue throughout the next legislative sessions The upcoming session of the Texas Legislature is shaping up to be a brutal one for transgender students. Several bills are in the pipeline that could completely void any confidentiality that transgender student had already.

One bill would require schools to share all knowledge about students if parents ask for “personal, direct or incidental knowledge” about their children if they inquire.

And Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is proposing legislation to stop transgender Texans from using bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity.

It seems every discussion involving transgender students is required to loop back to the ongoing “Bathroom War.” But here is the real truth: Transgender students have bigger priorities than a straw man argument like these bathroom battles.

It is the least important issue in just about all of the transgender community.

Yes, it’s important. However, when it gets down to it; being misgendered by other students and teachers, dysphoria, and be-

Editorial Policy The Eagle’s Eye is the official student newspaper of Akins High School. It is published six times a year, generally once per six weeks for the school’s students, staff and community.

The Eagle’s Eye is an open forum for student expression. The Eagle’s Eye is not reviewed by school administration prior to distribution, and the advisor will not act as a censor. Content

Annie Ricotta

target on their back.

All bills like these will do is make the transgender community a scapegoat for things like rape and sexual harassment.

Debates and discussions on the “Bathroom War” only create fear and present two issues and pretend like they have correlation to each other. When in reality,

The Eagle’s Eye

represents the views of the student staff and not school officials.

The Eagle’s Eye will work to avoid bias and/or favoritism. We will strive to make our coverage and content meaningful, timely and interesting to our readers. Our articles will reflect our genuine 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

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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

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In-Depth Editors

Graphics Editor

Opinions Editor

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

Stephanie Valle* Bee Barto* Brenda Amaya*

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Matthew Rocha*

Eliana Gutierrez* TBD*

Ashley Sanchez*

Web Editors

Thomas Cross* Jared Cordero*

Roy Hernandez Annie Ricotta *

women and men are sexually harassed on a daily basis and transgender students just want to be safe and comfortable.

This year, the Legislature should stay out of invading the privacy of gay and transgender students and focus their attention on the pressing issues that really matter.

Vol. 16, issue #3 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.

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

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Opinions Editor

ing able to present how they identify, are all extremely more important issues that transgender students face on a day-to-day basis.

As a transgender person myself, I could care less about what bathroom I use. If others are uncomfortable with a girl being in the girls bathroom, I will use the boys because I was born male and I have those parts. I haven’t used the girls bathroom just because it isn’t that big of a deal to me and I don’t want to risk creating some bigger issue. But I only speak for myself.

While I personally have no issue going into the bathroom of the gender I was assigned at birth, for other transgender students it is a problem they face and it deeply affects them. If they present how they feel and have that confidence to do so, but then have to go into the bathroom of their assigned gender, that hurts, and I’ll admit that, on occasion, it has been an upsetting problem for me, too.

The issue is significantly deeper than just this “Bathroom War” that has ignored all the real problems that transgender students go through every day. Lawmakers seem more concerned with outing transgender students and only want to put a

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Entertainment

The Eagle’s Eye

page 3

Tuesday - December 20, 2016 theatre

Rock of ages

Musicians enhance authenticity of performance Alumni students, teacher perform songs in newest theatre musical Rock of Ages Staff Writers

Unpredictability is one of the exciting aspects of live music.

There’s something magnetic about watching a live musician perform in front of an audience as they hang there waiting to hear the next note that they play.

That’s what theater director Brad Distlehorst was looking for when he decided to assemble a band of Akins musicians to play the music for the recent production of Rock of Ages. Using a pre-recorded track of the music just wouldn’t cut it, he said.

“Just the difference in having live music and seeing the band playing and corresponding with the actors and singers, it just brings a whole other level of excitement to the show instead of just playing a track and faking live music,” Distelhorst said.

The band practiced for the show almost everyday after school. Distlehorst said he was very pleased with how well these band members work together.

Besides the live band, Rock

Disney

of Ages featured many different Akins performers including dancers from the Diamond Dazzlers dance team, with music performed by a live band and choir, and choreographed by the Diamond Dazzlers.

“We made sure we didn’t have to hire any professionals, we wanted to keep it all Akins students,” Distlehorst said.

Besides two alumni and one teacher, the band was made up of Akins seniors like Julianne Tran on keyboards, Aranza Aurrecoch on bass guitar and Zach Finney on saxophone. Finney also served as the conductor of the band. Ulises Chavez, who graduated in 2015, played drums and Ruben Castro, who graduated in 2016, played second guitar.

Senior Boulder Sheffield was originally cast to play lead guitar, but when he was not able to perform a day before the play was set to open, Distlehorst scrambled to find a replacement.

Distlehorst recruited math teacher Derek Hamm to replace Sheffield in the play. Hamm, who

plays guitar, said it wasn’t easy to replace Boulder because he doesn’t read sheet music. He also had to learn 21 songs in a single day before the show was scheduled to start.

“They couldn’t find anybody,

We wanted to keep it all Akins students.

— Brad Distelhorst and it was coming down to the wire and we needed someone who could fill in last minute, and so I ended up taking the part,” he said. “It was hard because there are 21 songs and most of those songs are split into multiple songs, each of those are split up into different keys for different people singing.”

Although he didn’t get to perform in the play, Boulder did serve as a tutor to Hamm on how to play each song, providing tips on how to prepare for the show. ”It was stressful,” Hamm said.

“At first I didn’t know if I was gonna make it, but he really made sure I was ready for the show. I’m just proud that I can help them put on the show they’ve worked so hard for. If it wasn’t for Boulder I wouldn’t have even come close to being ready to play in the band.”

Distlehorst said Hamm helped ensure that the show would go on without wasting money on hiring a professional, and maintaining an all Akins cast and crew, just as initially planned.

“It was kinda crazy at first but luckily we came across Mr. Hamm to help us out and he jumped in and we wanted to keep Boulder in as much as possible, but unfortunately it didn’t work out that way,” he said.

Distlehorst said he was impressed to see how quickly they came together as a band despite never having played music together before.

“I really enjoyed seeing their growth and how well they’ve come together with the little amount time they had,

and seeing how much they can read off of each other already,” Distlehorst said. “I’m really impressed with everything they’ve done. Boulder has impressed me more than anyone with his leadership. It’s really amazing to see all the leadership skills that come out of the students.”

Photo taken by Matthew Rocha

Kelly Polachek Raidy ZaNjeel

Diversity

Disney challenges its normal style with diversity

Artwork made by Mary Griffis

New princesses showcase new ideas presenting issues throughout animated film

Stephanie Valle Editor-In-Chief

When it came down to movies and shows, Disney always played it safe by creating a more “perfect” world within their productions — until now.

Disney is now broadening their horizons and their audience with characters that actually portray the world that we live in by including things such as different races and ethnicities, woman empowerment, and members of the LGBT community.

Movie

In past productions, the main characters had one astonishing resemblance — they were all white. It seems that Disney executives have learned that American demographics are changing and that if they want to keep making money, they need to widen their appeal beyond a single persona type.

The release of Aladdin in 1992 featured the first Disney Arabic princess with the introduction of Princess Jasmine. In 2009, Disney introduced the first African American princess in The

Princess and the Frog, featuring Tiana who is a waitress working at two diners to save up for her dream restaurant.

Disney also introduced the polynesian culture in both 2002’s Lilo & Stitch and the just released blockbuster Moana. Disney was extra careful in trying to capture the true culture in Lilo and Stitch by hiring anthropologists, linguists, choreographers, historians, and cultural practitioners to make sure it was as accurate as possible.

As most fairy tales go, the

prince comes to save the princess.

That was true at least until 1998’s Mulan, who takes her father’s place in the Chinese military to help defeat the Huns breaking the stigma of woman having to depend on men to help make the happy ending come true.

The same can be said about Frozen, in which sisters Elsa and Anna start off isolated from each other from a young age. Anna takes it upon herself to go on a long journey to help her sister herself instead of having Elsa wait for a man to come along and

save her.

Disney has also hinted at gay couples in more recent films such as Finding Dory and Zootopia where quick snippets of couples were spotted by viewers.

By adding new princesses and acknowledging the diversity of its audience Disney is showing its younger audience that these characters are just like them. Instead of sticking to their usual cookie-cutter characters, they are making a much bigger impact with their movies than ever before.

new Series

Star Wars breaks from tradition in latest release Story crawl disappears from beginning credits, fans are worried about changes Alex Moreno Staff Writer

This winter, many Star Wars fans will be eager to see Rogue One, the latest addition to the Star Wars pantheon of films, featuring the return of Darth Vader to the big screen.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, is the first of its kind to not focus on the saga of the Skywalker family. Instead, the movie is meant as a side-story that fits into what is now called the Star Wars Anthology Series. Other films in the series are expected to focus on other well liked characters, including Han Solo

and Boba Fett.

However, there are some who are concerned that the films in this series will not be as good as the original series and is just another way for Disney to squeeze money out of the wildly successful franchise.

Star Wars is a highly lucrative property as evidenced by the more than $2 billion Disney made from all kinds of related sales for The Force Awakens. While some are afraid that Disney is making these films just for the money, other fans believe it makes sense for Disney to keep expanding the Star Wars universe with these films to deepen

the overall experience.

One noticeable difference fans will see right from the very beginning of Rogue One, will be the absence of the famous opening story crawl with the iconic yellow letters fading into the distance of space. Instead, it will have a more traditional movie title opening without all of the text to read, according to reports with interviews with the top producers.

Fans are also concerned about the large amount of re-shooting that took place during the filming of Rogue One. Rumors have flown around the director trying to make the film

more family friendly, because it is meant to be for teens.

However, the actors and directors have said the reshoots are to make the film better and even more accurate.

“I admire (Lucasfilm President) Kathleen (Kennedy) and Gareth and the whole team for having the guts to go, ‘Let’s reopen this. Let’s do some of this again,’” said actor Riz Ahmed, in an interview with the Los Angles Times. “I think it’s because they really care — and Courtesy of LucasFilms hopefully that’s something ▲ Role Call that shows when people The Rebel Alliance line up, prepared to fight. see the film.”

News

Page 4

The Eagle’s Eye

Tuesday - December 20, 2016 Law Practicum

Competition

Akins Mock Trial team wins first place at regionals

Law interns prepare for their State competition that will take place in the capital Daylin ettles Staff Writer

The Akins Mock Trial Team took home First Place in a regional YMCA Mock Trial competition in which it bested 26 schools as far away as Waco and Corpus Christi.

Robyn Katz said she is incredibly proud of the team and their accomplishments.

“The kids did great, we’re so proud of them, I’m proud to have coached this team,” she said. “They are some of the hardest working kids I’ve ever met.”

This marks the second year in a row that students in the school’s Law Internship program have placed first at this competition. With this victory, the students on the Mock Trial team will now move on to compete in State competition at the Texas Capitol in late January.

Katz said she is excited to see the team’s progress.

“They had a very strong commitment to practice,” she said. “They were committed, they really wanted this.”

The case that the team was given involved a 15-year-old on trial for 1st degree murder of a 7-year-old boy. The 15-yearold would normally be tried in a juvenile court, but due to the magnitude of the crime, it was transferred to District Court.

Both the defense and prosecution team have to make their case in front of a student judge.

These competitions can be extremely nerve racking for the students that participate. For many, it was their first time

Store

D’Shalon William

▲ Legal Eagle’s

Akins Law interns placed first at their regional YMCA Mock Trial competition on Nov. 12. The interns advanced to State competition which will take place in late Jan. The team consist of Adrian Ochoa, Jacob Diaz, Marisa Bosquez, Brandon Rottmann, Brenda Amaya, Madeline Ramos and Jessica Brownlee.

doing so.

“I think we were successful because Marisa Bosquez, a junior who plays two we’ve become kind of like a big family, in different witnesses, said they put in a lot of the beginning we didn’t really know each extra time and efother, but now fort preparing for we’re closer than this competition. we ever were. I “We practiced think this was our six hours a week biggest reason for during the day, success.” twice a week afJacob Diaz, a ter school for two senior and one — Marisa Bosquez hours each as well of the prosecuas three hours on tion attorneys, the weekend, we brings up what’s practiced a lot for this, and it definitely in store next for the team as they began showed in the competition,” she said. preparing for the highly anticipated State

We’ve become kind of like a big family.

competition.

He says that this will be a true test for the team and what they can truly accomplish.

“We’ll be going against other teams in the state that also placed first in the competition,” he said. “We’ll have to focus more on the little details of the case and getting an even deeper understanding of the case than we had before.”

Katz said this accomplishment would not have been possible without the support of Judge Mueller, Judge Lipscombe, Judge Shepperd, the Austin Bar Association, and the Austin Young Lawyers Association.

Local law firm’s/attorneys have also made donations so that the Akin’s Mock Trial team will be able to attend the State Competition at the Capitol in late January.

These being; Friday Milner Lambert Turner, PLLC; Barrett Coble and Andrae, PLLC; Law Office of Nikki Hudman; Megan Frederick of Weiss & Frederick, PLLC; Christine Andresen of Cha Law. “Please keep these folks in mind as they truly support the law program here at Akins HS and helping our very own kids,” she said.

The team is taking a short break from practice for now, but it won’t be for long until they start up again in early January in preparation for the State Competition.

Katz said they are prepared for what is in store for them.

“They really want this, they want to go on to compete in nationals,” she said.

“They want to accomplish something they never thought was possible.”

Art & Crafts

Special education program sells hand crafted decorations Studio 334 gives Life Skills students Opportunity to learn business strategies adriana galindo Staff Writer

briefs

Wreaths, snow globes and Christmas tree ornaments might sound like cutesy seasonal art projects, but they are also good business.

At least that’s what Life Skills teacher Jeffery Schafer realized when he started Studio 334 this fall.

The studio is designed to provide Life Skills students with the chance to learn business skills while showing off their art and crafting skills.

Akins Life Skills students are getting creative this holiday season. Since after Thanksgiving, Schafer has made available the handcrafted items that students have made.

The items are available for sale on a Shopify website he set up for online shopping.

The site offers a variety of items that have been purchased mostly by Akins teachers and staff.

Schaffer said that the process of learning to post items on the website for sale and processing orders has helped the students learn skills they will need after they leave high school.

“With other work areas I want them to discover their talents in woodworking, metalworking and leather working,” Schafer said. “We want a small kitchen so they can learn how to cook, and use those talents to bring in more money for studio 334.”

Schafer said the proceeds from the sales are intended to pay for the new equipment and supplies for the students to make other items.

ESL teacher Sarah Barrentine said she purchased a snow globe and a Christmas wreath and was happy to see the Life Skills students developing their business skills.

“I love them they are very good quality and I would absolutely purchase more items for each holiday so I can decorate my classroom and house,” Barrentine said.

Schafer said he expects that the students will also be creating more items for every holiday that comes around as well as household and outdoors items in the future.

Adriana Galindo

▲ Let It Sparkle

Studio 334 handcraft beautiful flowers from paper and glitter, which are now available for sale on www.studio-334.myshopify.com

To purchase items made

by Life Skills Students visit: www.studio-334. myshopify.com

Items include:

- Snow globes - Holiday Star Cards - Gift Tags - Red or White Wreaths

JROTC volunteers in Bastrop to plant Loblolly pines Almost 70 JROTC students Reforestation Program as an from Akins volunteered in effort to help the area known Bastrop on Dec. 10, reas the Lost Pines of Texas planting Loblolly pine regain its famous trees. trees that were burned JROTC have particdown in a large wildfire ipated in this event for in 2011. four years.

The students partThey plant the trees by nered up with TreeFolks’ hand which requires digBastrop County Community ging and a lot of manual labor.

Adriana Galindo

▲ Oh Christmas Tree

Life skill students show off their arts and craft skills by creating Christmas tree ornaments, made out of Popsicle sticks and star embellishments.

4th: School Starts 5th: Akins Girls Soccer Tournament 16th: MLK Holiday (No School) 27th: Coffee With Principal

Upcoming Events S 1 8 15 22 29

M 2 9 16 23 30

T 3 10 17 24 31

W 4 11 18 25

T 5 12 19 26

F 6 13 20 27

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Indepth

The Eagle’s Eye

page 5

tuesday - December 20, 2016

Looking Back on 2016’s Biggest Moments NATIONAL January

February Star Wars: The Force Awakens breaks box office records

Leonardo DiCaprio wins first Academy Award

May

June Chris Ojeda Staff Writer

Highly anticipated Finding Nemo sequel Finding Dory released in theaters

In the year 2016, many things have happened that have either torn society against themselves or brought them together.

However, recently, many Americans have chosen to demonize each other. Republican vs.

Democrat. Immigrant vs. Citizen. Everything seems to be a battle.

Whether it be one political party that won the presidential election or your favorite team that lost to their most hated rival, the amount of hatred is horrible. The amount of riots that have happened all because the results of the election are staggering.

Even sports is not free of animosity with fans getting upset when their team loses and fights breaking out just because they came up short.

The one word that comes to mind in all of this

July

is change. The world as we know it is shifting all around us. Terrorism and hate crimes are becoming more and more frequent, to the point where the United States and other countries have to combat it in ways they’ve never done.

For example, the massacre in Orlando, Florida was a terrible night for the patrons in the bar, where 49 innocent people were killed because a man did not believe in people having the freedom to love who they wanted to love.

Around the world, terrorism has become an international pandemic. With the Brussels bombing, security in every airport has been amplified to ensure the public’s safety. Terroristic threats seem to be on the rise in schools and in public places.

On the bright side, Leonardo DiCaprio won an Oscar for the first time in his 23 year acting career.

So congrats Leo. Let’s hope 2017 is better than the last year.

Hillary Clinton first woman Presidential nominee from a major party

November

November

December

Rio Olympics begin; Michael Phelps wins 5 gold medals, 1 silver.

August

July “Pokemon Go!” is released

“Harambe” dies in Cincinnati Zoo; becomes Internet meme

“Super Mario Run” is released; only available on Apple devices

Moana hits theaters, first Disney Polynesian princess Donald Trump wins Presidential Election

AKINS August, 2016

Student Sharing Program Started

August, 2016

August, 2016

New logo is released

Breakfast in the classroom

October, 2016

August, 2016

December, 2016 Campus cuts back on paper Akins Fine Arts performs Rock of Ages

Blue and Gold night Page Design: Eliana Gutierrez

life & style

page 6

The Eagle’s Eye

Tuesday - december 20, 2016 Exploring

austin

South Congress offers casual shopping, dining Reporters share their experiences about visiting a variety of SoCo businesses

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4. Magnolia cafe m co Un rsey Image cou

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5. uncommon objects Map by Ashley Sanchez

1. BIG TOP CANDY SHOP: Big Top Candy Shop is known for having over 300 types of bulk candy which is priced by quarter pound bags and its selection of more than 2,000 types of pre-packaged/wrapped candy.

The fun circus-themed look of the places provides a unique ambience that makes it a famous fixture on SoCo. This one of a kind business is located at 1706 S. Congress Ave. between Milton and Annie Streets.

Aside from all the candy that Big Top Candy has it also has its own unique beverages like the Chupacabra, which consist of RC Cola, Vanilla, Root Beer and Cream. They also serve the Fiji Mermaid which has blue coconut, lime juice, lime syrup and cream. — Brenda Amaya

2. LUCKY ROBOT: If you find yourself in Lucky Robot’s be prepared for sushi and other Asian inspired dishes mixed with pop culture.

The atmosphere is on the verge of fine dining but without the stuffy demeanor. The quality of the food makes you feel as if you should dress up, but the decor makes the dining experience feel SoCo casual.

When you walk in you are greeted by a waitress who’s wearing Sailor Moon-style outfit.

They hand customers menus filled with pop culture references.

While the menu is full of colorful names it’s also filled with colorful food items.

The food they serve is made with the freshest vegetables and fish, making it a satisfying dining experience.— Mary Griffis

preserving

3. HOME SLICE: Home Slice is a cool experience since it was my first time going. As soon as I walked towards the pizzeria I noticed that there was also another building right next to the main Home Slice that was named “More Home Slice”, that one was mainly to order and go.

When I first walked in Home Slice I first noticed the tasty aroma of the pizza. I really enjoyed the atmosphere it was a dim building that featured a bar on one side and the bar had a great view of the Chefs cooking. As you continue to walk around you can see they have the walls painted with humorous quotes from their mascot “Slicey”. The menu has a nice choice of food not necessarily just pizza, they do have like meatball subs soups, spaghetti etc. — A. Guajardo Jr

4. MAGNOLIA CAFE: “Sorry, we’re open” reads the sign outside Magnolia Cafe, giving customers a hint of the fun and relaxed vibe inside of this South Congress institution.

Magnolia Cafe, known for it’s 24-hour service and diverse menu, has been open in its current form since 1988. It’s the perfect place to stop after a late night concert downtown.

This place is a very Austin atmosphere. Magnolia cafe is full of paintings from the inside, gives the place a charm. Magnolia Cafe is in close walking distance of several other Austin institutions such as Uncommon Objects and several clothing stores. you’re missing out in one of the BEST places to eat in Austin. Even our President Obama has been here.

— Amy Rodriguez

5.UNCOMMO OBJECTS: If you’re looking for something out of the ordinary this is the place.

While I was walking through the store, I felt like I was at a museum because of rare materials that I wouldn’t see at any other store. There is so much to see in this store, from cases of costume jewelry to wall-mounted antlers, rustic furniture to boxes of old photographs, old signs, and pinball machines. Uncommon Objects was created by 20 antique sellers, who got together and made a huge collection of raw materials. I liked about the store is that is well organized as it is divided into different hallways and every hallway have a different color and a different theme.

You could easily spend a couple hours in here discovering treasures. — Melissa Ortiz

childhood

Austin toy museum features classic amusements Founder shares his personal collection of more than 20,000 toys with the public Marcelo Cruz Staff Writer To say Caleb Zammit loves toys is an understatement. In fact, he loves them so much he decided to turn his passion into a museum experience like no other in Austin.

After collecting toys for years and starting a Kickstarter campaign to raise $20,000 for start-up costs, Zammit opened the Austin Toy and Comic Museum in March of 2016. The museum, located at 1108 E. Cesar Chavez St. near downtown, is a repository of amazing classic collectable toys, comic books and video game consoles.

For the price of an $8 ticket, lovers of vintage toys, action figures, retro toys, classic toys, or console video games will have a field day visiting there.

The museum comprised of more than 20,000 pieces, features primarily toys and figurines from the 1980s, the golden age of toys. However, there are also toys and comics from the early 1900s. The museum

showcases many rare and unique items including prototypes of action figures acquired directly from some of the people who used to work in famous toy companies such as Kenner.

Zammit said his most prized possession in the museum is his copy of the first issue of Spider- man, which is worth about $6,000.

Austin Toy Museum will let attendees explore the scenery that their parents and even grandparents grew up with some of the very first video game consoles that were ever made, including Magnavox Odyssey. They have a ton of toys and comics to check out but the best thing is their wide selection of classic consoles. There’s a wide selection of more than 50 games, including some of the most popular arcade games of all time, including Dragon’s Lair, Space Invaders and Ms. Pacman.

There are also amazing displays of original toys like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Wars battles. There is also a large display of mostly original transformers figures.

Marcelo Cruz

▲ Game time

Caleb Zammit displays some of this classic video game consels including an Atari, and a Jaguar. This items are a just few a examples of the more than 20,000 pieces in his collection.

austin toy and comic museum Tickets Adult $8.00 Child $3.00 Senior/Military $6.00

1108 E Cesar Chavez St. Austin, TX www.austintoymuseum.org

sports

The Eagle’s Eye

page 7

Tuesday - December 20, 2016 Wrestling

Coaching

Wrestlers defy myths, outperform competition

▲

Jesus Perez

Guiding Hands

Head wrestling Coach Roy Tambunga gives advice to sophomore Leila Levens. Tambunga, who has coached for 20 years, has successfully guided wrestlers to state championship titles. Akins wrestlers have also won district championships from 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Wrestling program boasts history of success despite little attention from students Evelynn Valladares & Nicole ocampo Staff Writers

Images of huge, muscled behemoths jumping off the ropes of the World Wrestling Entertainment arena are often what come to mind when someone mentions the word wrestling.

But at high school, wrestling is a real sport where there’s only two wrestlers strategizing on how to pin each other with classic techniques.

“You’re using your body as a tool,” wrestling Coach Roy Tambunga said.

Despite a strong tradition of success on the Akins wrestling teams wrestling often goes unnoticed by the student body. One reason that students do not often know about the wrestling program is that there are not many home matches for students to watch.

Many of their matches are against teams as far away as Frisco, North of Dallas and Klein Collins outside of Houston.

Wrestling is a sport where you have to be mentally and physically strong.

Tambunga said that the toughest thing wrestlers face

Basketball

is being able to gain the confidence to be out there wrestling alone, because in the end it is all up to you. He said not everyone is built for wrestling because of it’s individual nature.

“I played football till my freshman year in college, and you can’t compare how hard it is,” Tambunga said. “It’s just you. You have to be mentally tough. You look around and there’s nobody there to help you during a match.”

Most people assume boys are more likely to want to wrestle, that’s not always the case.

“Getting guys is harder, even though as most kids you wrestling around a lot. Or at least I did,” Tambunga said.

“Most boys have this thing where they don’t like to touch other people.”

Wrestling has been at Akins for 16 years and Coach Tambunga has been coaching for 20 years. Coach Tambunga feels that traditionally based off the past that the girls on the team have always done better. In the past there have been two girls who have wrestled for the championship back in 2006 and 2011.

Last year sophomore Leslie Mejias took 3rd place at the state UIL meet. She said it was one of her biggest accomplishments and was a pretty cool experience especially

Potential

Basketball teams continue to improve Larry Durden Staff Writer

Coach Jane Martin and the varsity girls team has all the faith in each other, no matter who they play against. They believe that the team is working their tails off and playing to their full potential.

“In all honesty we have scheduled the hardest preseason that we’ve ever had, and it’s all to prepare for district,” Martin said.

“But before district starts, I don’t really care about wins and losses. I know that our record doesn’t show well but playing against these state finalists and against these regional finalist will ultimately help us in the long run.”

“We’re playing a lot of harder teams and we’re playing a lot more to our abilities,”Martin also said.

Despite their 2-8 record the girls still believe in themselves and feel they can make it to playoffs and become a better team.

“I feel we played alright against those teams, but we’re going to have to play better if we want to make it playoffs,” junior

Denae Lofton said.

But I still think we’re doing great because, we’re playing state finalist and stuff and we’re only losing by 2 and 3 points so I still think we’re playing good.

Just like Coach Martin, varsity boys Head Coach Jesse Hayes and his players say that the team is consistently getting better.

With the boys record being 4-5, they try to make sure they continue to play hard and compete.

“I don’t really like to compare years, but I can say we’re working hard and getting better everyday,”Hayes said.

The coaches can tell you to compete and play hard but that all begins with the players and their will to get better.

Junior Isaiah Landers said the team is doing great right now.

“I feel we’re doing good, we’re working hard in practice and giving our all in games,” he said.

“And we’re playing some pretty good teams, so I think we’ve been playing really well,” Landers also said.

with her being a freshman at the time. Mejias is now captain of the girls wrestling team and she feels that she has learned that with more experience more improvements are to come.

“I learn a lot of moves in wrestling but, I think it comes with experience. The more experienced you are, the more you know,” Mejias said.

This year the varsity team is full of a lot of new talent with there only being three seniors on the girls team. Also, this will be a tough challenge to face with a lot of inexperienced wrestlers starting off. However, Mejias said the season is going well so far regardless of all the new wrestlers.

She says she is very proud of the progress the team is making this year, she said.

Tambunga said he wants the team to do well and have high rankings at district. He also hopes Mejias will come in first or second in state this year.

Despite their success, it is not alway easy to recruit students to join the wrestling team, Tambunga said.

“It’s hard to get girls on the team. I’ve been more successful with it because a lot of girls are looking for something that’s maybe not as regular,” he said. “Whereas in other sports they’ve been there done that for forever.”

page 8

Photo Essay

The Eagle’s Eye

Tuesday - December 20, 2016

Rock of Ages revives classic 80s rock & roll songs Matthew Rocha Photo Editor

Jordan Rouse

▲

Akins theater department’s production of Rock of Ages provided a rolicking good time for audiences in early December.

The main plot of the story revolves around a threatened music venue called Bourbon Room, a place where aspiring rock stars come and show off their skills.

A motley crew of musicians, actresses and bar patrons rally around the threatened venue.

The production brought together students from various fine arts programs, including collaboration of theater, band, Diamond Dazzler, and choir that helped make this play become a reality.

“All the cast, Ms.Vallejo and Mr. Distelhorst helped us a lot and the Diamonds, choir, just everybody in the fine arts helps make this happen and the show went very well,” sophomore Jonathan Macedo said.

Every scene was rehearsed intensely to perfect the timing for the live musical accompaniment that was provided by Akins students, alumni and math teacher Derek Hamm. It was a challenge because the dances and singing routines had to be queued by the band.

“The difficult thing was knowing when to play,” senior Julianne Tran said.

That’s a Wrap

As the musical comes to an end Lonny Barnett (sophomore Jonathan Macedo) announces to the crowd the end of the show. “Since I open up the show I was really nervous, but I came through it I did.”

Matthew Rocha

▲

Matthew Rocha

▲

Guitar Solo

Math teacher Derek Hamm steps away from the band and begins to join the rest of the cast on stage and performing his guitar solo in the front of the entire crowd.

Don’t Leave Home

Sherrie decides to go to Los Angeles, California to fulfill her dream of becoming an actress. Her father (senior Bernard Cardona) and mother (junior Estrella Martinez) did everything to keep her safe at home.

Jordan Rouse

▲

Join Sides

Franz Klinemann (senior Andrew Limas) joins the protester against his mother Hilda (freshman Samantha Soliz) from getting rid of the Bourbon Room.

Matthew Rocha

▲

Drama Phone

Sherrie Christian (senior Maddy Simpson) gets a call from her Mother asking if she is alright or needs anything.

Matthew Rocha

▲ Slurpy Night

Nightly picnic date Drew (senior Ethan Cannon) and Sherrie (senior Maddy Simpson) sharing each other their feelings and thoughts. Drew then shot down Sherrie by saying that they are friends and nothing else.