Hawk September 21

The

Hawk

Hendrickson High School 19201 Colorado Sand Drive Pflugerville. Texas 78660 Volume 15, Issue 1 September 24, 2021

And then COVID happened Students, staff discuss return to in person learning Pages 8-10

In this Issue....

2

Mask Timeline

4

14 Afghanistan Update

Junior Olympic athlete

2

News Volume 15, Issue 1

state of the

UNION

Other states, territories vary in their COVID-19 restrictions

Multiple mask mandate revisions cause uncertainty among districts

Kaitlyn Nash | Managing Editor

May 18

Governor Greg Abbott prohibited government entities from issuing mask mandates, including schools.

Aug. 13 Judge Jan Soifer granted a temporary restraining order to allow Travis Country to proceed how they wanted, including at the schools in the district.

Aug. 11

Travis County ordered masks in all schools as Travis County was getting ready for schools to come back in person.

Aug. 15 Superintendant Doug Killian said we would require masks, but they won’t be able to “enforce” it.

Aug. 11

Later that same day, Killian stated that masks would not be mandated because they talked to their attorney and they didn't get a temporary restraining order.

Aug. 19 School faculty has a meeting about how they are going to enforce mask wearing at school.

Kaitlyn Nash | Managing Editor Currently, there are around 42 US states and territories that do not require masks, including Texas. The other states and territories, however, all have complete mask mandates or mask mandates for people who are unvaccinated.

The District of Columbia, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington all have a mask mandate for their citizens, regardless of if they are vaccinated or not.

Consequently, all of these states and territories have had less of a COVID-19 spread compared to states without mask mandates.

On the other hand, California, Connecticut, Illinois, and New York have mask mandates only for people who are unvaccinated.

Throughout all 50 states, around 700

colleges and universities have required that students and staff get the vaccine in order to go to their schools. However, no high schools around the nation have vaccination mandates for their students and staff, only incentivizing the vaccine in order to stop the spread.

Moreover, with the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the vaccine, we may be seeing a rise in the number of vaccine requirements.

Furthermore, hundreds of schools across the nation have required masks for their students and staff.

In fact, according to Matt Barnum, more and more schools have transitioned to requiring masks because of the increase in case numbers in past months.

However, many public high schools and middle schools across the country have avoided requiring masks because of state discrepancies and to avoid legal troubles.

State, local mask policies spark controversy in schools Liliana Moran | Asst. Editor In early June of this year, Governor Greg Abbott issued a mask ban for all public schools in Texas, requiring schools to make masks optional for all students, teachers and staff.

Earlier this Aug, with the start of school and rise of COVID-19 variant cases, various counties, districts, and schools have issued their own mask mandates against Abbott’s ban. This includes Travis County, whose mandate was ordered on Aug. 11.

“The local health authority, Dr. Desmar Walkes, and every other doctor and scientific study I've seen says that wearing masks, especially while you're indoors, prevents the transmission of the Delta variant of COVID-19

better than if you're not wearing a mask,” Travis County judge Andy Brown said. “And so, that's why me and some of the school districts and others ordered that requirement, to keep kids healthy, to save lives.

Now the governor is trying to use the reverse of his power and say you can't keep kids healthy, you can't try to save lives, and I'm going to say that you can't order masks. And so, I disagreed with his ability to do that and we went ahead and entered our order anyhow.”

The mask mandate requires that all students, staff, and visitors within a school located in Travis County are required to wear a face covering. This mandate went into effect for

Pflugerville ISD schools on Aug. 16 after a decision made

by PfISD’s superintendent, Dr. Douglas Killian.

“Dr. Killian sent out an email to everyone, and said Travis County now has a mask mandate,” Associate Principal Michael Grebb said. “We had gone to school, Thursday and Friday, then it was the weekend, and the county then had a mask mandate and everybody now needed to wear a mask at school.”

Abbott has recently made claims on how he is prepared to fine or sue local government officials, school districts, and public universities who defy his ban.

“He said he could fine local

governments or local authorities so, I assume that means me [and] could also mean the school districts,” Brown said. “I think the biggest risk of us not doing anything, is that kids can get sick or worse, if we don't have this mask requirement. And, I think over the last couple of weeks we've seen, especially in Leander, and other school districts that are not requiring masks, the rate of COVID-19 infections and transmission are much higher than in schools like Austin ISD where they are requiring masks. I think I saw a graph where there were over 400 cases in Leander in the first few days, or the first week, and there are only 100 in AISD. And, AISD is a much larger school

district.”

These mandates on a county level can be expected to stay put until the Texas Supreme Court makes their decision on whether local school districts and counties can keep their mandates in place. The decision will be up to the school districts later on.

“We base a lot of our decisions on the Austin Public Health stages, we’re in Stage Five, so that’s where a mask is pretty much required everywhere,” Grebb said. “Unfortunately, like everything else with COVID-19, it’s been flexible based on the number of cases and the outbreaks in the community, the positivity rates, the hospitalizations, things like that.”

News September 24, 2021

3

Democrat Quorum break ends, Election Reform Act signed into law Landon Self | Asst. Editor in the House the bill did not pass by the end of the 30 began immediately after the first on Aug 7 and the same The 87 Texas Legislature Regular Session convened day session. State Representative Celia Israel was among bill was filed. At the start, a quorum was not present in on Jan. 12, and adjourned Sine Die, to not return those who broke quorum. the House as Democrats remained away, yet many that for the current session, on May 31 with unfinished “This special session was ultimately designed to pass had left from the Senate returned. Senate Bill One passed business. On the evening before the session ended, legislation to placate the concerns of a fraction of the the Senate again, after a 15 hour filibuster by Senator Democrats in the Texas House broke quorum to deny a electorate that doesn't believe the election results of Carol Alvarado. bill reforming election law from being passed. Per the 2020,” Israel said. “It was absolutely worth the fight, as “We were having a long debate with back and forth Texas Constitution, a quorum in the Texas House is two- well as the sacrifice to be away from home during this questions with a lot of spin on the other end,” Alvarado thirds, or 100, of its members. The bill at the center of the time. I saw my job as taking the fight to Washington said. “It wasn't going to change the narrative so that's controversy is Senate Bill One, by Republican Senator DC and we elevated the issue to national prominence. why I decided to do the filibuster to get the public's Bryan Hughes. attention and be able to talk “If we get past the national in depth and I went line by rhetoric and look at what is line in the bill.” in the bill, we'll see it's really The amount needed for common sense reforms to a quorum was present on make sure votes are counted the House floor on Aug. accurately and people are 19 after members that left treated fairly when voting,” had returned. The House Senator Bryan Hughes said. then proceeded in referring “I've heard every generalization Senate Bill One to the House about the bill, that it would Committee and then it make it more difficult to vote, passed the House on Aug. 27 that it would discriminate by a vote of 80-41. Due to against certain groups or certain an amendment in the House, people yet when we look at the Senator Hughes refused details of the bill no one can to concur, sending the point us to that.” legislation into a conference Governor Abbott called the committee. The conference first Special Session for July Committee report was 8, and just a few days later, 59 adopted by both houses and Texas House Democrats along Senate Bill One was signed with some Senators busted Members of the Texas Senate gather on the Senate floor for the opening of the second called Special Session on by Governor Abbott on Sep. quorum again and went to Aug 7. Photo by | Landon Self 7.

Washington DC. This prompted “When we meet in session, House Speaker Dade Phelan we act on information, and the Republicans to order a “Call of the House” which That would not have happened had we not made the bold complaints, and learn from folks back home whether is to compel members to be present. However, in the move so that the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement its education or transportation or public safety or health Texas Senate, a quorum was still present and the bill was Act be passed out of the US House.” care or voting, and that's what Senate Bill One is about.” passed by the upper chamber. Yet, due to lack of quorum Governor Abbott called a second Special Session which Hughes said.

Taliban takes over Afghanistan government after U.S. Troops withdraw Landon Self | Asst. Editor Antonio Guardia | Reporter In the days following the Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks, President George W. Bush signed a joint resolution authorizing the use of force against those responsible.

The resolution would then be used as the legal justification for sending US troops to Afghanistan, and other measures to combat terrorism. The Taliban, a terror organization according to international governments, went into retreat. Over the 20 years since, the US military has been in Afghanistan to help stabilize the Afghan government. However, in recent

years, there has been much controversy discussing the US's involvement in Afghanistan, which was when President Joe Biden said he wanted a full withdrawal.

After being sworn into office, Biden began withdrawing troops from the Middle East. The Taliban, seeing this as an opportunity to regain control of the country, waited until a majority of the American troops had left for them to move in. On Aug 15, they took control of the Afghanistan capital, Kabul and the Afghan government collapsed. The Taliban seized 88 billion dollars worth of military equipment.

Thirteen US Marines were killed in a terror attack in Kabul on Aug 26 where over 60 Afghan civilians were also killed.

A suicide bombing outside the Kabul Airport was the first act followed by a another explosion at the Baron Hotel.

Following these attacks, the Taliban issued a mandate that women need chaperones in public and music would be banned. President Biden had previously announced he wanted a full withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan by Aug 31 and following the attacks, he continued to push for that date.

In the wake of the Taliban's takeover,

civilians have been attempting to leave the country, most have been venturing to the capital of Kabul, attempting to board U.S Transport aircraft, whereas some sought to leave the country via other means.

With a flood of civilians attempting to leave through Kabul, the regional airport became crowded beyond belief, desperate yet determined, many civilians flooded the runway, hanging on to the landing gear of the C-5 Galaxy transport plane.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken testified before Congress on Sep. 13 and shared that there were 100 to 200 Americans remaining in Afghanistan.

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News Volume 15, Issue 1

PfISD school board revises dress code Kaitlyn Nash | Managing Editor On Aug 23, the PfISD district advisors changed the district’s dress code policy for all of its schools. Their major idea for this dress code is to support “equitable educational access” and help “create an inclusive energy.”

The new rules are comparatively less restrictive than the last dress code that was enforced.

However, senior Xylie Nazworth believes it’s not enough.

“I think that the concept of dress code is kinda stupid,” Nazworth said. “The real meaning is definitely not what we all get told. I think the most messed up thing about the dress code is the meaning behind it.”

The guidelines that help provide the road map for the new dress code fall under three categories.

First of all, what students must wear. They must have a shirt on that touches the waistband in the front, back and sides.

Next, they should have on pants which could count as jeans, skirts, sweatpants, leggings, a dress, or shorts. Finally, shoes must be worn as well. Senior Max Garcia agrees that some rules are needed.

“There is no world where students can dress however they want, we the students know, the teachers, and the administrators know what is and is not appropriate,” Garcia said.

In addition to the basics, there are also things students may wear. It allows students to wear hats and other head coverings that allow for the face and ears to be visible to staff, however religious head wear is an exception. Another less restrictive rule is that one may wear opaque, fitted pants, yoga pants, and skinny jeans, including ripped jeans as long as undergarments are not exposed.

Tank tops, spaghetti straps, and halter tops have also been permitted, in contradiction to past dress codes.

“I would consider the new

dress code less strict than the other one especially because we’re allowed to have spaghetti straps,” Nazworth said. “[It] was ridiculous to say that I wasn’t allowed to wear spaghetti straps.”

Finally, the things that students cannot wear. Like past years, the district won’t allow clothes with violent language or images, including drugs, alcohol, or any illegal activity, nor will it allow clothes with hate speech, profanity, or pornography, including messages that create a hostile environment for marginalized groups. Clothes also can not “reveal visible undergarments” and dresses

“

We really looked at ways to get rid of some of the stuff that was unfairly punishing certain groups of students.

Michael Grebb, AP

and shirts must have straps.

Although hoods are accepted, they must not cover your face so much that a staff member cannot “easily identify” you. However, Garcia believes the dress code is still targeted at female students.

“I was questioned about a particular shirt I wear often,” Garcia said. “I can understand in my case why a punk rock band shirt can be misinterpreted but the ease of my situation rarely represents the situation of many other students who are dress coded based on an agenda, and it is predominantly female students targeted by this agenda.”

However, there are a few circumstances where the dress code may be changed for individual schools within the district. The first is if there is

an extracurricular activity that the principal regulates the dress code to fit. The second is if campuses want to enforce a more restrictive dress code. This must be done with the acceptance of the Campus Advisory Council and the Area Executive Director.

Garcia saw this loophole as well.

“Looking at the new dress code, I still see issues with a lack of specificity and this leaves room for interpretation especially when the school has backed inherently aggressive policies against women’s clothing,” Garcia said.

Additionally, the staff is not allowed to “shame” students when pointing out dress code violations by having them kneel or bend over, measure straps or skirt length, call out students in front of groups, or accuse students of “distracting” their peers, etc.

“The first thing teachers need to do is take their personal beliefs and throw them out the window because students don’t dress according to the beliefs of one teacher who is one or two generations before them,” Garcia said. “Secondly, teachers should consider speaking up against any policy they disagree with and that applies greatly in terms of a dress code.”

All in all, the new dress code that has been mandated this year is comparatively less restrictive on students and their clothing choices. But Garcia and Nazworth both agree that the dress code should not be as harsh, even with the new implementation.

“I think the problem with the current dress code is the problem with every dress code,” Nazworth said. “It’s just the essence of what a dress code means itself. Just to simply put it, it’s sexist. It wants women to cover up their bodies and teaches women from a very, very young age that it’s their fault that men look at them. It contributes to rape culture.”

Merchán takes top spot

Senior Stephany Merchán placed first out of 89 contestants in the Spanish Creed competition over the summer. Merchán was the first Hendrickson student to compete in this event and won FFA their first state title.

Photo provided by | Pilar Gonzales-Munoz

Recent Debate Victories

Tournaments lead to success Nosa Osakue | Reporter The Speech and Debate team competed at the Pflugerville Swing on Sept. 4 with several successes.

“It was a high-ranking informative speech tournament that is set up with a 10-minute window that allows us to come up with a presentation and then inform the audience,” senior Audrey Fife said. “After working so hard and putting in so much work it was really satisfying because it was worth it at the end.”

Fife won the Tournament of Champions in Informative Speaking. She was joined by freshman Shauri Yedavalli and junior Gabby O’Donnell who were Semifinalists in US Extemp. Senior Afsaneh Masoumi was a Semifinalist in Foreign Extemp. Junior Melanie Garza and Masoumi made it to Octofinals in Public Forum, or PF, debate.

“For this tournament, I was nervous about how it would turn out,” junior Gabby O’Donnell said. “Regardless of how it went, hanging out with my friends and teammates was a great experience.”

They also competed at the in-person Lake Travis debate tournament on Sep. 18. Masoumi and Garza won 1st place in PF debate and junior Kaitlyn Nash and sophomore Maya Hay made it to Semifinals in PF as well.

In Cross Examination, or CX, Yedavalli and freshman Isaiah Duvvuri made it to Quarterfinals.

Multiple of them also made it to Foreign and Domestic Extemp Finals including Nash, Fife, Garza, and juniors Devin Nguyen and Lucas Flores.

“This tournament was probably the best one I’ve ever participated in,” Nash said.

“I believe it might’ve been because it was our first in-person tournament in two years.”

The new novice debaters also placed in some events.

Freshmen Orion Oren and Ahneesh Kaur and junior Elijah Evangelista placed in Extemp Finals while freshman Hadley Wimmer and Kaur made it to Semifinals in Novice PF Debate.

The CX novice team consisting of freshamn John Brown and Evangelista won 2nd place and freshman Ayden Kamenicky and Aiden Schaffer made it to Semifinals.

News September 24, 2021

Work Like a Girl, Fight Like a Girl

Club reaches out to women and allies Natalia Zavaleta | Asst.

Editor Due to the pandemic and lack of students, clubs were not able to meet or fully be involved in certain activities. Now that more people are back on campus, clubs are once again starting their in-person meetings this year. One of the first being Girl Advocates!, a club that centers around uplifting young women’s voices and philanthropy.

“We were happy that our little networking that we did actually paid off,” president Nishka Talwar said. “All we did was during freshman and sophomore Orientation, Afy and I were representing NHS so we were letting people know to join Girl Advocates!”

Girl Advocates! creates a safe space for girls to express themselves and their feelings.

“This year we are focusing on BIPOC women and creaing a safe platform to speak for anyone to use,” secretary

Afsaneh Masoumi said. “And people who can’t use their voice, specifically because of the circumstances that they are in.”

Throughout this year they have plans to collaborate with other clubs and organizations on campus and talk about monthly topics.

“We are introducing a topic called Members Choice which allows the members to choose what they would like to talk about,” Talwar said. “We can do research on the topics and talk to people about them.”

The current officers would like to keep this legacy going and continue to benefit the community of women on campus.

“I was shocked when that many people showed up,” Talwar said.

“We were afraid that this would be the last year of GA because there were not enough people who were members for enough years to continue.”

This lesser known club around the school held their first meeting a month ago. While only advertising on social media and a flyer during orientation, they expected a small turnout, however when the meeting commenced every seat at every table was taken by someone.

“We didn’t expect it to be that big,” Masoumi said.

“We initially thought just old members would show up but there were a lot of new people as well. There were a lot of freshmen and sophomores who originally weren’t a part of Girl Advocates! because we weren’t able to expand that much last year.”

Girl Advocates! holds meetings every two weeks on Tuesdays in the library and encourages and welcomes everyone.

“We empower each other,” Masoumi said.

“We hear each other’s stories.”

Max Garcia, Afsaneh Masoumi, and Maya Lewis running the Suicide Awareness table. “Members of Girl Advocates! worked together to create a sign that helps promote awareness about Suicide Prevention month,” senior Afsaneh Masoumi said. “We provided resources to those who are struggling with mental health.”

Photo provided by | Girl Advocates! Instagram

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School Safety

Shooting threat, administration responds Lilianna Moran | Asst. Editor On Aug. 14, two days after the first day of school an anonymous post on Snapchat was discovered making threatening remarks toward the school.

The post was quickly reported by concerned students and parents and was immediately sent to the school through Anonymous Alerts, an app used to privately report any concerning information to the school involving the safety and well-being of students and staff.

“Nothing’s too small to look into, if you as a student, or anybody around the school community sees something,” Associate Principal, Micheal Grebb said. “We honestly will look into any of those [alerts] because, that’s a lot of the time where we can defuse problems before they get big by looking into or investigating what’s going on”.

The school contacted the local police department and the post was quickly deemed non-credible. The person behind

the post was found to attend none of the schools within our district. However, additional precautions were taken for that coming Monday.

“We had police officers at every exit and entrance when kids were coming in,” Grebb said. “We had administrators at each door, teachers at each door, just trying to make sure everything was normal”.

Students are encouraged to be safe and smart online to avoid any serious consequences.

“Social media can be dangerous, sometimes people will say things and they might be joking or post a picture-that ends up getting them in trouble,” Grebb said.

“The most important thing is, even if you think something is not important, it’s really important for us, if you send us an email, if you stop us in the hall, if you go on anonymous alerts, so we can find out what’s going on.”

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Opinions Volume 15, Issue 1

• Your Turn

• Staff Editorial

TikTok trend causes destruction of bathrooms A new trend on TikTok referred to as “Devious Licks,” promotes stealing items from the school, particularly in the bathroom.

These items typically include bathroom mirrors, toilet seats, soap dispensers, sinks, and the COVID-19 stay to the right signs in the hallway.

Stealing in any form is obviously illegal, whether it’s shoplifting a bag of chips from the convenience store, or stealing money from someone.

While stealing bathroom items, and COVID-19 protection signs is still illegal, this trend simply makes no sense. What is the point of stealing a toilet seat from a school? Why would someone possibly have the need to steal a soap dispenser? How does someone even accomplish removing an entire sink from a bathroom and taking it out with them? There’s not a clear answer to any of these questions besides the fact that people are just

germs live in a high school bathroom. By stealing items like toilet seats and sinks, people are promoting the spread of these germs, possibly COVID-19, germs, because they think it’s funny.

People who are stealing these items also need to think about the consequences the entire school could face if it continues.

For example, in 2019, administration locked certain bathrooms due to a widespread vaping issue. In this particular situation, administration could potentially lock

following a TikTok trend that they think is funny.

In addition to the stupidity of this trend, it’s simply just unsanitary, especially in the midst of a pandemic.

Hundreds of students use the bathrooms every day, whether it’s to use the rest room or to just wash their hands, millions of

all bathroom doors during class and only allow students to use the bathroom during passing period. By implementing this, administration will have the ability to constantly monitor each bathroom to ensure no one is stealing items from the bathroom This is an issue for students for multiple reasons, first, some students may not have time to even get to a bathroom during a five-minute passing period. Additionally, if every student is trying to use the rest room during passing period, the lines for each bathroom will be excessively long, so students who do have time to even use the bathroom during passing period still run the risk of being late to class.

Participating in the Devious Licks trend is flat-out unsanitary, illogical, and selfish.

Participating in a trend simply because it’s funny is not reason enough to restrict bathroom use for the rest of the school.

The simplest and most obvious solution to stopping the devious licks trend is to simply stop participating in it. Stop stealing unsanitary toilet seats, and sinks for a laugh.

“I think it’s funny, but also stupid, because now they’re starting to lock the bathrooms and that’s effecting me and the other students.” - Kamaria Turner, 12 grade

“The devious lick challenge was funny the first few times it happened, but its escalated to an annoying point and its becoming more serious and unnecessary. Like sure taking one or two soap packets isnt the worst thing in the world but now the mens restrooms are missing all their dispensers, mirrors, soap, and even toilets” -Madison Rudkin, 11

“I think originally it was a semi decent prank however when it affects the safety of students and being sanitary and such then it’s getting out of hand” - Val Hernandez, 11

“I think that the devious lick TikTok trend on TikTok is very amusing...seeing it happen in our own school is annoying. When I go to the bathroom and have to search for a [dispenser] that has soap in it.”-Rylan Carter, 10

“It’s stupid, one because well once the stuff is stolen the school is not going to replace it back, they barely have enough budget as it is. And I’m sure most of the time people are recording themselves doing it and they forget that’s an actual crime, they can get fined for that.” - Alysaa Hernandez 10

Illustrations by | Yael Behar The Hawk, the official student newspaper of Hendrickson High School, is an open forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions.

Hendrickson High School 19201 Colorado Sand Drive Pflugerville, TX 78660 http://www.pfisd.net/HHS (512) 594-1100 Student Population: 2,134 Staff: 180 Adviser: Kari Riemer Principal: Daniel Garcia www.facebook.com/HawkNewspaper

Opinions expressed reflect the beliefs of the student author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the entire Hawk Staff, the Hawk Adviser, the Hendrickson Faculty and Staff, or the Principal.

Letters to the editor are welcomed, and may be dropped off in E211. Corrections will be printed when brought to the attention of the staff.

The Hawk is printed monthly at Community Impact in Pflugerville, Texas. 1,000 copies are printed each run, and are distributed to the student body for free through an advisory period and on newsstands throughout the building.

Editorial Staff

Associations

Co-Editors: Seth Deaton & Angelyna Rosales Managing Editor: Kaitlyn Nash Copy Editor Yael Behar Assistant Editors: Lili Moran, Landon Self, Ethan Tittle, Natalia Zaveleta

Antonia Guardia Nadia Johst

Reporters

Kate Hayes Natalia Mancini

Artists Yael Behar, Daniel Mendoza

Inez Moreno Nosu Osakue Sarah Schulze

Interscholastic Press League Texas Association of Journalism Educators Journalism Educators Association National Scholastic Press Association Columbia Scholastic Press League

Honors ILPC Bronze Star 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 ILPC Silver Star 2021 Columbia Scholastic Press League, Gold Medalist 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 Silver Crown, 2017, 2018, 2021 Pacemaker Finalist, 2018

Photo by Daniel Mendoza Model: Xylie Nazworth, 12

• Hit or Miss

• Our Turn

Opinions September 24, 2021

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Hallway-Dismissed lunches cause Trans staffer reflects on lack of bathroom inclusivity seniors shorter off campus options Kate Hayes | Reporter number of over 100 bills targeting trans citizens In the past years, all seniors had “A” lunch so that they could use their Talon off period to go off campus and have more time to get their food, eat, and be back to class on time. This year the senior class is spread throughout all the lunches. This means that students only have 30 minutes to go off campus and get food, instead of the full hours. This is because the lunches are determined by what hallway students are in instead of the class. The students are dismissed by hallway to prevent students from disrupting on-going classes by walking by, but some teachers requested a certain lunch separate from their hallway’s lunch, defeating the purpose of the hallway dismissal. Not all seniors having “A” lunch this year is a MISS.

Lunch seating unsafe during Delta No matter what lunch time you have, it can be agreed upon that lunch can be quite chaotic. From getting food, to finding a table to sit at, it’s certainly an adventure. With safety and cleanliness now being a prominent factor in decision making, students are finding it difficult to stay safe from COVID-19 while eating. The CDC government guidelines describe the best way to keep a school safe as staying masked and maintaining physical distance. In regards to our current lunch layout, neither of these are protected. It’s impossible to keep a mask on while eating, and the distance isn’t enforced. The lunch time seating is a MISS.

Dress code changes for better Recently the dress code was updated. Before it changed, mostly females were subject to shaming for wearing clothes teachers believed to be “provocative.” Dress code rules were made for adolescent females rather than males which was contributing to slut shamming and rape culture. Many complaints of the blatant sexism in the dress code from students and some parents helped to pressure the school into changing the dress code. Since the new dress code went into effect, rules regarding clothing allowed to be worn in school were relaxed. Tank tops are allowed to be worn and “the fingertip rule” for skirts and shorts no longer exists. The dress code is now more inclusive to all sex and body types and recognizes that every high schooler’s bodies are different, and body shape and development should not play a part in whether a person is out of dress code or not.

We find the updated dress code RIGHT ON TARGET.

School opening time causes inconveniences to students School opens for students at 8:15 in the morning. Students who’ve arrived early usually wait outside the doors till then. Though, this rule is not convenient. As a lot of teachers have tutorials set to start before 8:15, causing students to either show up late and possibly miss tutorial times or sneak into the school. Many students are also dependent on someone else to drop them off and don’t have control over the time they arrive at school. So, in cold or rainy weather, students will be forced to wait outside. Potentially ruining their clothes and making them more vulnerable to sickness. Students not being able to enter the school before 8:15 is a MISS.

The issues that transgender students face in the education system have been in the spotlight since 2016, when the Obama administration issued directives that granted protections for trans students in schools. Since then, guidelines concerning school policy have been rescinded and reissued, and hotly debated within state legislatures. One issue regarding school policy, however, stands above the rest as a very ordinary but nevertheless pressing concern for trans students. This is the problem of access to school bathrooms. What should be a simple and straightforward process is unnecessarily complicated for trans people, as politicians and school administration often bar us from using the bathrooms of the gender we align with.

Using the bathroom corresponding to our assigned gender at birth is an experience many trans people would feel deeply uncomfortable with, eliminating that as an option. Some gender nonconforming or nonbinary people wouldn’t want to use a men or women’s bathroom at all. So, what should be done?

Certain protocols are in place in some schools to assist trans people with this dilemma, Daniel Mendoza | Artist namely allowing us to use staff bathrooms. This would be an acceptable alternative at our school if there were not only two staff bathrooms in the entire building accessible to students, both in the upstairs D hall. If you are a trans person who needs to use this staff bathroom, no matter where you are in the building, you may be forced to trek to this specific corner of our large school just to use the bathroom. This could be a major inconvenience for you depending on where your classroom is located at the time you need to use this bathroom, and an action as simple as using the bathroom can waste a massive amount of time that frankly didn’t need to be spent.

Similar situations to ours exist in high schools everywhere across America, and barriers against trans people exist outside of the school system as well. In June of this year, the Human Rights Campaign officially declared that 2021 had already set the record for the highest amount of antitransgender legislation in recent history, as a record

have been filed in state legislatures across the country. Seventeen of those bills have become law.

The common thread between these laws is that they are aimed at restricting trans people from public resources--bathroom bills, sports, restriction from medical care, and religious refusal from goods and services. The most malicious implication of these bills, however, is that many are explicitly intended to target the most vulnerable members of our community: trans minors. These bills specifically regulate the school sports teams trans students can join, how teachers interact with them, and, of course, what school bathrooms they can use. The assault on our rights as trans minors has pervaded all spheres of our life.

One of the most blatant attacks on the rights of trans minors this year was a bill belonging to our own state legislature, Texas Senate Bill 1311.

The bill would have revoked the medical license of any physician who prescribes hormone replacement therapy or puberty blockers to minors, intentionally depriving trans people under the age of 18 of medical treatment which, in many cases, saves them from long-lasting mental anguish--or worse.

SB1311 failed to advance in the House, yet the bill’s existence is a depressing reminder of the reality that for thousands of young trans people nationwide, our ability to express ourselves with the gender we align with is constantly under threat. From federal legislation, to state legislation, to even local school policy, trans people are consistently marginalized in all areas of life.

As a society, we are far from eliminating the social stigma attached to the existence of trans people.

However, we can take steps towards allowing us the same convenience and comfort of our cisgender peers in the school system. The solution should be simple: at the very least, begin allowing transgender people in the bathroom of the gender they identify with, and create more gender-neutral bathrooms that do not rely on archaic perceptions of sex and gender to function. If the education system wants to churn out happy, successful trans students, this is a demand that becomes all the more urgent with each passing day.

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Feature Volume 15, Issue 1

And then COVID happened

Influx of returning students to in-person crowds hallways Yael Behar | Copy Editor This year, students who took online school throughout last year are coming back in-person, and the increased number of students is a stark contrast to the empty hallways and black squares of Zoom meetings.

“It’s shocking to people because it was so peaceful last year,” Associate Principal Michael Grebb said. “I think the biggest class last year was 15 students. Most of them were nine to 10 kids in-person. This year when most of the classes are 30 kids in every class that you have. It just seems pretty full now, and that’s just the way we schedule it, so we can make sure we’re maximizing the

amount of staff we have.”

More than half of the student population was online last year, with the remaining number in in-person classes, left to attend desolate classrooms.

“Last year, we probably averaged about 600 students a day, and this year there’s about 2100 students, so that’s probably three times the number,” Grebb said. “If you were here last year, that’s probably why it seems crowded now.”

Crowding within classrooms is particularly evident in AP classes, where the number of students has reached near 40s in some classes.

“We’ve looked at certain classes and tried to level them out and reduce some, but we’ll look closer once we get to the AP drop,” Grebb said. “That’s coming up September 7 through the 10, and then that way we’ll be able to balance classes a little better.”

Some classes have been adjusted due to teachers leaving or several other factors, according to Grebb.

“Since last year, we did a little bit of shifting in classes to accommodate, but we aren’t short staffed or anything,” Grebb said. “I only have one big piece of advice: Just use the back hallways.”

Teachers, staff share thoughts on lack of mask enforcement Lilianna Moran | Asst. Editor Most people are familiar with the challenges and changes faced last year in school as a result of the rise and spread of COVID-19. While dealing with the continuous effects of the disease along with the Delta variant, schools this year have a new challenge to deal with: how to maintain safety while the classrooms return to a full capacity learning environment.

On Monday, Aug 16, PfISD issued out their district wide mask mandate to help slow the development of the variants in the community.

“It’s serious, the positivity [rates], the new Delta variant, people are getting letters now that there’s positivity within the school,” Associate Principal Michael Grebb said. “The only way we get to no mask is to do our part right now, and slow the spread.”

PfISD’s order was given after Travis County’s new order requiring schools to mandate face-coverings was issued days prior, going against Governor Greg Abbott’s state-wide ban against mask mandates within public schools.

However, despite this technically being a mandate, PfISD schools and teachers can only highly encourage students to comply with the school mask policies, as an attempt to avoid controversy.

“We got an email from Dr.Killian right around the same time that the courts decided that mask mandates could kind of be upheld in schools,” AP calculus and statistics teacher Amanda Gass said. “I understand where the district is coming from, especially while the things in the courts are being decided, but I

wish we had a stronger, ‘You must put “I’m happy it exists. Very happy. I don’t attempting to mandate it.” this on your face,’ and not be as much of know about others, but it felt to me like Gass hopes to see that this mandate a request as it is.” early July, late June, [that] maybe there helps to protect everyone in the school.

With the stress of re-adjusting to regular was a light to the end of the tunnel with “I’m hoping that it will keep kids from classrooms this year and learning how to this thing and then it just got really bad getting sick and keep teachers from work around a classroom environment with the Delta variant running around,” getting sick. I don’t think we can pretend during a pandemic, English teacher Caswell said. “Putting a piece of cloth that COVID is over, it clearly is not,” Liana Gonzales finds the mandates’ lack over my face to prevent the spread of Gass said. “Hopefully it will help us of enforcement worrisome. disease seems like a pretty reasonable have a healthier and safer year.”

“This year has just been stressful trying thing to do, so I’m glad we’re at least to navigate how to go back to regularity.

So, not being able to enforce [the mask mandate] does add some anxiety just because I have some family members that are higher risk and some friends that are higher risk,” Gonzales said. “I just wish there was something we could enforce to stop the spread”.

Despite her worries, Gonzales is relieved to see a high compliance rate within her classes.

“The majority of my students wear them, and that makes me very happy,” Gonzales said. “I see that they care about their fellow classmates’ safety and health and so, when I strongly encourage [masks], most of them will wear it.”

Gass noticed a similar occurrence in her classes as well.

“My students have been pretty respectful of it,” Gass said. “They might be a little annoyed with me because any student who walks in without a mask, I offer them one every single time they walk in. But, for the most part, they’ve been okay with it.”

With the continuous rise of COVID-19 The hallway during passing periods with various states of masked students. cases within the community, AP physics “The fact that it’s not universally enforceable is definitely a challenge,” Gass said. teacher Brett Caswell, believes that “Masks really only work if everybody abides. And, if everybody isn’t, then we issuing the mandate was the right move definitely have holes in our system.” to make.

Makaya Smith | Photographer

9 Senior class kicks off year at sunset, sporting events Feature September 24, 2021

Seth Deaton | Co-Editor Pruett said she was pleased by the amount of people that blankets. There were pictures being taken. It was just Dozens of people gathered together to watch the sun came out to kick off their senior year. really nice. And it just reassured me that this senior year set after their first day of school. However, it will be the “I was super excited because like people that I knew is going to be a good year. The whole night, I was going last first day of school they will get to experience. of but didn't know personally were there and there around and saying thank you to everyone. I said thank After a junior year full of quarantines and cancelled was a good amount of people that showed up,” Pruett you to almost every person for coming. I was truly events, seniors Tatum Pruett and Angelyna Rosales said. “And it was a chance for there to be no cliques grateful that everyone showed up.” decided to take their final year into their own hands. like everyone, just came together. And although people Soon after the senior sunset, many of the senior class Together they set up the senior started this year's Hype Crew, sunset, which took place the and this was led by Rosales, evening of the first day of Pruett and many others. school.

“Most of the people that went “I felt like it would be really to the senior sunset are in the fun,” Pruett said. “And after the hype crew,” Rosales said. “It’s last few years we've had with pretty much anyone who wants COVID I wanted the senior to be involved with events this class to be able to do something year. We want to have school and we don't know if it's going spirit and we didn’t get to do a lot to get horrible again, we don't of that last year with most of the know if we're going to get shut events being cancelled. I think down again, so I wanted to do the senior sunrise helped bring something while we could.” everyone together and got things All the information for the going for our senior year as far as event was spread through social getting people involved.” media. Pruett made a flyer for The first event that the hype the event and posted it on her crew participated in was a various social media accounts, volleyball game versus Stony after which dozens of other Point. people reposted it to spread “We had a huge turnout, and awareness. the Austin Statesman wrote an “I talked to Faith D’Alfonzo, article on us,” Pruett said. “It who was last year's Student was really exciting. And it was Council President, and she broadcasted amongst social talked to me about the idea and media. FlxAtx posted us quite how to get it set up and how a few times. It was written in to do it,” Pruett said. “Then a newspaper. This year's Hype me and Lyna talked about if a Crew is huge, and we're trying to sunset or a sunrise would be The Hype Crew supports the Varsity Volleyball team during the Whiteout game against Stony Point. make that inclusive to everyone. better, and a lot of the little “Hype Crew is really something that’s important to our class,” senior Angelyna Rosales said. “The So unlike years before this year, details. I’m technically the one Senior Sunset brought everyone together and got things going for our class. Now we’re trying to get I feel like we're really about who hosted it, but Lyna did help everyone as involved as possible to make this as good of a senior year as it can be.” inclusion. And so this year unlike me. She helped me build up the Makaya Smith | Photographer years before, the Hype Crew is courage to announce it, because trying to stretch out the whole I felt like not a lot of people would show up, because were separated in their separate groups everyone was year so that we don’t focus on football and volleyball, I'm known but I'm not like out there. I was scared that there at the same time. I was extremely happy. I was but we also bring light to the smaller sports who don't people I only knew directly we're going to come and ecstatic almost. It was so nice to be there and just see get that same attention and that same support. This year I did want a bigger turnout. Like I wanted this to be a like I stood up in the bed of my truck and just looked is all about making the most of our senior year.” senior class thing.” and they were all spread out over the field, and it was Over 50 seniors ended up showing up to the event, and a great turnout. Everyone had their trucks, there were

Assistant editor reflects on father’s COVID-19 experience Natalia Zavaleta | Asst. Editor When vaccines first became available to the public, my dad was one of the first in my family to receive it. As an elementary school vice-principal, it was important for him to be vaccinated as soon as possible.

My father was always at risk, he suffers from asthma.

Without his inhaler, his asthma attacks could be very deadly. At the beginning of the pandemic, we all stayed home, limiting our outside contact with the world.

He deals with many allergies and him getting up in the morning with cold-like symptoms was pretty common. Although about a month ago he started having constant symptoms, we all began to worry and started being more cautious around him. The possibility of him having COVID-19 remained in our minds but wasn’t really spoken about.

Getting the call about my dad contracting COVID-19 was scary. My mind raced with thoughts. Is he going to be hospitalized? Would I miss my first day of school? Is my grandmother okay? Is he okay? Then the possibility

of me having it freaked me out even more. I had just started my new job and I couldn’t afford to miss almost two weeks. Stress was building up and I could feel my anxiety creeping back up.

I got tested that same day, which luckily came back negative. I double-masked and was careful around other people. The rest of my family’s tests came back negative too but my father was stuck in his room, officially quarantined.

Due to all of us being fully vaccinated, the strain didn’t hit him as hard as others. He experienced severe cold symptoms which were manageable with over-thecounter medicine.

The house felt empty and quiet. He usually brings light into every room he walks into. I was starting to miss him, we all were. Our dogs slept outside the bedroom door, waiting for him to come back and feed them a handful of treats like always. I was waiting for him to walk into my room and show me new bands and new music. Everyday I worried about his health. Terrified

that it would get worse overnight and I’d have to see him stuck on a hospital bed, breathing through a tube.

Sadly, this was the reality for a lot of families, I was lucky. We started to see improvement and after a few weeks he was back better than ever. We were all safe and made it through this nerve-racking experience.

By sharing this story, I hope people will understand that we are still in the middle of a pandemic. COVID-19 is still something we all as a society should worry about. The only way we can create change is by staying safe and following these set guidelines; wearing a mask, washing your hands, avoiding large gatherings.

As repetitive as these may get, it’s for everyone’s safety.

Losing a loved one to something that could have been preventable is heartbreaking and my heart goes out to all the families who have lost someone to COVID-19.

This is still a global issue and will continue to be if we don’t start taking serious actions. Get vaccinated if you can, wear a mask, wash your hands, and start caring about others around you.

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Feature Volume 15, Issue 1

Student body weighs pros and cons of in-person learning Kate Hayes | Reporter Illustrations by | Seth Deaton For the past year and a half, the halls felt more desolate than ever, used only by school staff and the few who chose to return to in-person learning last school year.

That image seems a far cry from the present, as today every room in the building seems to be filled to the brim with masked and unmasked students returning to learning face-to-face with teachers and peers.

This fall, thousands of high school students across the nation are returning to their classrooms in a very different situation from the start of last school year.

While there is a limited virtual learning program currently being offered by Pflugerville ISD, the vast majority of students are returning to in-person learning after many school districts last year provisionally transitioned to online learning. General opinion over the transition to in-person learning has been mixed, as those returning to in-person learning consider advantages and disadvantages of both types of instruction.

“In person learning is easier for my learning style because I need to work with my teachers and peers to understand material,” junior Aidan Doseck said, who attended classes fully virtually last year. “Online learning was extremely difficult for me as my grades hit an all time low. I couldn’t keep up with deadlines, I didn’t understand the lessons, and my mental health suffered.”

Now that they are attending classes in-person, it offers

greater opportunities for them to socialize with their peers.

“I really missed the interaction of in person last year,” Doseck said. “I was really looking forward to the dayto-day hanging out with my friends that online learning just didn’t have.”

For others, like sophomore Janisa Miles, online learning offered greater flexibility than in-person learning and worked better for her learning style.

“I prefer online learning because I felt like I had more control over my schedule and it made me feel more comfortable,” Miles said. “It was so much easier on virtual, mainly because I didn’t have to walk to each class and when I get off school I’m already at home so I won’t have to wait for the bus to drop me off. I noticed to others it was difficult because they kept getting distracted, but for me it felt like a normal school year.”

Junior Lauren Montemayor, whose interest in art makes in-person learning especially important to her, seemed to experience this same problem: distraction.

“Online learning last year was difficult for many reasons, the main cause being getting distracted very quickly,” Montemayor said. “I’m looking forward to being able to participate in art again, joining art competitions and activities such as the chalk walk.”

In addition to making participation in art easier for her, she prefers in-person for all kinds of classes.

“When it comes down to assignments and learning new topics, being physically in class makes it to where

I can comprehend the material easier compared to online,” Montemayor said. “Being able to see things being drawn out while being explained in person makes subjects like math easier to learn.”

Regardless of learning preferences, the comparison between in-person and online learning shines a new light on the experiences of disabled students, like sophomore August Hiatt, who has been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and amplified pain syndrome.

“The best part about online learning is that as a disabled person, I have a lot of strain on my body all the time,” Hiatt said. “Being able to sit on my couch instead of walking around the school is way easier for me.”

In the school system, which presents unique challenges due to a lack of accessibility, the reality can be intimidating for disabled people.

“I can have a flare up at any moment and not be able to move my body,” Hiatt said. “But, staff are notified of this and they know so it’s not really a big deal. It’s just scary for me because I could collapse.”

Although online learning offered plenty of benefits for August, it still presented difficulties for him.

“The hardest part was getting connected with teachers and being able to get all my work done and focus in a house setting with a whole bunch of people there,” Hiatt said. “Now that we’re in person, it’s way easier to mingle with other classmates and make that connection with other people, and also make connections with teachers. It’s easier to understand the courses.”

Return to in-person learning creates differing opinions Natalia Zavaleta | Asst. Editor Illustrations by | Seth Deaton Waking up early in the morning before school to get ready, has become a reality again for a lot of the online students. No more getting up five minutes before the Zoom with a bed head, thanking that the teacher doesn’t require cameras to be on.

Although staying online all year had its perks, students are now facing the effects of coming back to physical school. From trouble adjusting to the school schedule to just losing focus, students have had to get rid of these old habits.

“Staying at home definitely impacted my learning in a bad way because there was a lot of time and opportunities for me to slack off,” junior Tam Ly said. “I wouldn’t do my work because I either didn’t understand it from not being able to pay attention or just not wanting to do it. Overall it made me lazier and it made me not want to do my work. I averaged a solid C in all of my classes, which was terrible for sophomore year.”

These students acknowledged the difficulty of being able to stay focused and pay attention in class.

“It’s made me space out more,” senior Ilwaad Mohamed said. “It feels like we skipped an entire school year.”

And some found it hard to keep their hands off their phone.

“My phone was my best friend during online learning,” Ly said. “I just basically got on it every chance I got. Now in school I usually reach for it often instead of doing my work. I’m pretty sure my attention span lowered, because every time a teacher would talk I would space out and forget everything they were saying.”

Other students can agree to disagree with the struggles.

Some preferred staying home and learning online.

“Doing school online made learning more comfortable so I think I did better last year because of that,” junior Angelina Alvarado said. “Personally I didn’t mind staying at home because it allowed me to get a lot more work done and I felt like I had more time to do things throughout the day. For some of my classes it was like a working period and I didn’t have to attend Zooms so it was kinda like an off period where I could get ahead or just have time for myself.”

Some of this year’s sophomores had never really been on campus, or even knew where everything was located prior to their very first day back.

“Having friends who helped me find my way around the school was my best help,” sophomore Noah Cantrell

said. “With just some friendly help, the way around gets easier every day.”

According to these students, getting back into the school routine was not so bad, except for classes feeling longer and having to be at school for eight hours.

“It wasn’t too rough having to wake up and get ready for school,” Alvarado said. “The classes though feel way longer and in person rather than online because Zooms were anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour. So that’s definitely taken some getting used to for sure.

In the end, these students had different ways of getting back to this new normal and some were excited to come back.

“Adapting back to in-person classes was easy, I was mentally and physically prepared to get back to it,” Ly said. “It was just like freshman year; walking, class, then walking again. I get to see my friends in or between classes too, which is nice.”

Students have been trying to make this year as normal as possible.

“It is worth it in the end,” Mohamed said. “We can have a safe school year.”

Students Staying Virtual

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Feature September 24, 2021

Students opting out of in-person attend new virtual school Yael Behar | Copy Editor A new school year has brought with it several changes to curriculum delivery.

While most students opted to go back in person, some stayed behind, in a new form of virtual learning -- Private Virtual Learning Academy (PVLA.) During the 2020-2021 school year, teachers had Zoom lessons opened, teaching virtual students and in-person students simultaneously. In contrast, PVLA is entirely separate from in person classes, and different from last years learning methods.

“Students who participate in virtual instruction will not be assigned to a home campus or a PfISD teacher; a thirdparty vendor will provide the virtual instruction,” Assistant Coordinator of Curriculum and Innovation Rachel Naugle said. “We have partnered with Pearson to provide the Texas certified teachers and curriculum for our virtual school. While the curriculum is Pearson’s, the content is aligned to the TEKs and students are covering the same material as they

would if they were in-person. Day-to-day activities would be different. Because the program is designed to allow students to remain safe while learning at home, there are no permitted on-campus activities associated with the virtual academy.”

The PVLA was open on an application based acceptance.

Students would apply using google forms, and if the district approved the students, they would be allowed to participate, opting out of standard school.

As of now, all spots have been filled.

“Space is limited in the program,” Naugle said. “Seats are reserved for those who completed the application in May. Families will need

to confirm their space, and for some students, this setting may not meet their educational needs. Students must maintain satisfactory academic and attendance standards to remain enrolled in the virtual academy.”

In addition to the differences in curriculum, there's also several differences in course material and course selection.

“Virtual students and families would be provided with a full battery of online courses that will meet promotion and graduation requirements, including advanced placement courses; however, virtual course options will be limited,” Naugle said. “The program is designed to allow students the ability

to remain safe while learning at home.

Therefore, there are no permitted oncampus activities associated with the virtual academy.”

The district still hopes that students will continue to switch to in person learning.

“You could familiarize yourself with the campus' Safe Return to Learn plan, reach out to the campus principal to discuss the strategies and practices they have in place to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and then make a personal decision based on what is best for your student,” Naugle said. The district’s long term goal is to join the Texas Virtual Schools Network, which is a network of virtual public schools across the state of Texas. We hope to one day offer a virtual option for students even after COVID-19 is no longer the prevailing reason a student wants to attend a virtual school, but PfISD is confident that the best opportunity for most students is to learn in person with their teacher on campus.”

Photo Courtesy of PfISD

AP Affliction

Virtual learning impacts 2021 AP scores Yael Behar | Copy Editor After the stark change in school routine that came with COVID-19, many students were left attempting to repair grades; including the grades of AP classes, STAAR results, and the results of AP tests.

In a usual year, AP tests are intended to be difficult, however compared to past year percent distributions, the number of failed scores in almost every subject across the board has significantly increased.

“I think that there were a number of reasons why.

Partially the learning gap that occurred at the end of the 2020 school year, and partially the issues with work completion and the general apathy/lack of initiative that many students experienced due to virtual learning,” AP English Teacher Emily Overton said. “However, as a result of all of this we adapted our instruction and pacing for AP English III, and as a result we didn’t see quite as big of a drop in scores as we may have anticipated.”

Many schools administered the AP tests in person, with a limited number of students taking a modified, virtual version of the exams. For the more specialized AP courses like AP Art, Collegeboard opted to send in virtual portfolios instead of the typical physical copies.

“I feel that there are a little of both issues with performance,” AP Art teacher Lawrence said. “The new

format was a big adjustment and just when teachers were beginning to figure it out, we went into lockdown. This past year, I did not see in person over half of my AP students at any point last year. It is really hard to give effective feedback to students in the arts from a screen.”

Zoom learning was said to have a big impact on the connection teachers and students had, something that might connect to engagement in learning an absorbing material.

“There was a correlation between students who had their cameras on and students who received 4’s and 5’s.

I think these students were more active learners and therefore got more out of the class,” Overton said. “I think students would perform better just because we’ve had this month to have in person instruction and lay the foundation of the course. Students have learned much more information and at a quicker pace than at this time last year. Additionally, I would feel more comfortable holding students accountable for participating in Zooms and having their cameras on now that I know them personally, versus virtually, which would also help performance.

As things adjust and return to something with a semblance of normality, schooll might just become what it used to be.

“Like last year, we have taken steps to slow down our pacing and are focusing on some of the more basic level skills,” Overton said. “Thankfully I taught sophomores last year and Mrs. Westbrook taught freshmen, so we have a pretty good idea of where our AP students are at.

This helps to plan in a way that will allow our students to, hopefully, be successful!”

Yael Behar | Artist

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Feature Volume 15, Issue 1

From Small Town To Big League

Junior marches in world class drum corps over summer Ethan Tittle | Asst. Editor As the bright lights shine on to the Lucas Oil Stadium, junior Alexander Simmons walks, with his corps, to his spot on the field. After weeks of training he gets ready to perform his final run, at the Drum Corps International World Celebration.

Simmons transferred here over this past summer. Seeing the difference in how serious marching band is taken in Texas compared to Tennessee and Illinois was an eye opening experience.

“My old high school marching band was completely optional and we only did it from early August to about October,” Simmons said.

“Then we just had normal Concert

Band during the day, so marching band was completely separate. And here. I really liked the opportunity to get to work on marching band during school.

When musicians want to take marching band to the next level they can audition to play for a Drum Corps over the summer. Then if they are good enough,they will compete in the Drum Corps International World Championship at the end of the summer.

“I just wanted to take my marching and playing to a whole nother skill level,” Simmons said. “And to do that, drum corps I saw could push me just beyond my limits. So the second I saw what those people could do. I was like, sign me up. They just got so much stronger. Their technique, their playing, their marching, they just looked like absolute beasts, and I wanted to be a beast.”

After deciding to march, the musicians choose from over 45 different corps across the country to audition for.

“So at my school, my best friend's sister marched for the Colts for a few years before and she had a really great experience there,” Simmons said. “They had a very strong family there. So I decided I want to march the Colts and three of my other friends from my high school made it, too. So the four of us went together to march Colts.”

Typically the drum corps season starts at the beginning of summer. Then, the corps spent the next 2 months training for the championships on Aug. 9th.

“Every day is hard work,” Simmons said. “As it is with every drum corps you're waking up at 7:30am, lights out is 11:30pm, and it's nonstop work

the whole day. But there's nothing more rewarding than knowing that you've given it your all for every single second of every single day and seeing your final product at the end of the season.”

Simmons was 16 when he was marching with the Colts. This means that he was marching with people that were up to five years older than him.

“I was the youngest one in the entire horn line, which was pretty crazy,” Simmons said. “I didn't even realize that until like week four. But I wouldn't say there's an age gap. I mean, there was an age gap, but like, they respect everyone as equals, they don't say, ‘oh, you're young, you must be trash.’ They respect you for who you are and what you can put out onto that field.”

This year the Drum Corps International corporation decided to make the ‘Championship’ a ‘Celebration’ at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to bring back the community after not being able to see each other for a whole year. At the Celebration every single band got to perform along with the Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, and some other special guests.

“You don't really feel in touch with the outside world [during the season],” Simmons said. “You just kind of feel like you have your new way of life. And it's like living a whole entire new life like that.

I leave everything behind. Don't worry about what's in the past. Don't worry about what's in the future. I just live in the present. And that's just incredible. A lot of people don't really get that. You just completely leave everything behind and you just have one task.”

Feature September 24, 2021

Movie Time

13

Staff reviews recently released movies Old Free Guy Kaitlyn Nash | Managing Editor As I exited the theater after watching M. Night Shyamalan’s new movie Old, the last thing I expected when I looked up the movie was to find bad reviews.

Even as I raved to my friends about the movie, they made fun of me for how much I liked it. I’m here to explain why this movie is exceptional and why everyone who disagrees with me is wrong.

I have watched enough horror movies to know that when I’m watching them, I need something to keep my interest other than endless jump scares. That’s why I prefer psychological horror movies, which is exactly what Old is.

In the past, Shyamalan has been an avid psychological horror movie maker, with some of his most popular psychological movies being Split, The Sixth Sense, and Unbreakable. These movies make you question everything you thought you knew about basic horror movies.

In addition to the significant amount of plot twists, Old also had a large number of humorous moments that helped relieve the anxiety of the movie. Aaron Pierre, also known as “Midsize Sedan” in the movie, does a great job of this as he constantly made me laugh out loud in the theatre with no remorse.

Another factor of the movie I loved was that the ending actually connected to the rest of the movie and made sense.

Instead of leaving the audience on a cliffhanger, Old gave us an ending that

was straightforward and that we would think about for days after.

Additionally, the actors that were cast in Old were phenomenal. Alex Wolff and Abbey Lee Kershaw were both able to fit into their characters perfectly and display the emotions that made sense in the situations they were put in.

Rufus Sewell also did an impeccable job at portraying a prejudiced man with schizophrenia and missed no opportunity for his character to become more and more crazed.

All in all, even if you don’t like the movie, viewers have to admit that the movie takes multiple interesting twists and turns that keep the audience compelled until the end.

Seth Deaton | Co-Editor to dominate the movie industry movie Going into the theaters I did not have plots have gotten so complicated. Now very high expectations for Free Guy. The you have to have seen over 20 previous trailers had made it seem like a very poorly movies just to understand the latest Marvel written spoof movie. Coming out of the movies, and that can make going to see a theater my opinion of the movie couldn’t new movie seem like a daunting task. In have been more different. comparison, Free Guy has a very simple, I expected Free Guy to be very similar easy to follow plot, but still manages to be to Detective Pikachu, both of which star very entertaining.

Ryan Reynolds as the lead role. I thought Free Guy surpassed expectations, it would be an okay movie with a few solid combining comedy and action to create a one liners and semi decent writing. What it movie that’s entertaining for all audiences. actually turned out to be was far from that. The jokes and simple plot keep the movie Free Guy is about Guy, played by Ryan entertaining while being easy to follow. If Reynolds, a non-playable character, or you’re looking for a movie to see for a trip NPC, in a video game who believes that to the theaters, Free Guy would be a great both he and his world are real. It tells the movie to see. story of Guy evolving as a video game character and growing beyond his coded role, while simultaneously showing the programmers trying to get their code back from the company that stole it from them.

My favorite thing about the movie was how self aware it was. The writers understood that this movie was never meant to be serious so even the high intensity moments are somewhat goofy when you analyze them. The movie seems to make fun of itself during the action sequences as characters mention how impossible what they’re doing really is.

What truly made this movie so good was that it did exactly what it was intended to do, which was to entertain its audience.

With Marvel and other franchises seeming Courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Candyman Natalia Zavaleta | Asst. Editor After seeing the trailer I was intrigued.

The horror/thriller movie enthusiast in me was excited. I was tired of seeing the same horror movies getting sequels and prequels. I needed something new, Candyman being the refresher. I came out of the movie, absolutely astonished and surprised.

I was expecting the classic old tale; spirit haunts town, people summon spirit, spirit kills people. At first it seemed that

way, say his name 5 times in a mirror and he’ll come for you and kill you. The plot seemed basic at first, I was getting tired of it. It wasn’t until the last few minutes of the movie that it all finally clicked.

Candyman isn’t meant to be just a thriller, it was a statement. All along there were underlying themes of injustice and racism.

The common problem was that all the people who had become this embodiment of Candyman were killed unjustly by police. The message was shown in such a subtle but big way that it made a big impact on me. I had never really watched a blockbuster movie that showcased

today’s problems in such a way. It wasn’t straightforward and took some thinking to interpret, but it shows that even after watching it, you still think about it. I thought it was on the same level as “Get Out.” The stunning visuals and way of storytelling made it creepy without being necessarily scary or bloody. I would recommend all horror lovers and activists to watch this movie in theatres as it enhances the experience. With an open end it leaves room for interpretation and makes it a memorable film.

Courtesy of Universal Pictures

14

Sports Volume 15, Issue 1

Low Numbers, High Success

Decrease in program numbers doesn’t hinder team performances Angelyna Rosales | Co-Editor Returning to a full-fledged season after the unpredictability of last year’s season due to COVID-19, some sports programs are now facing a 10-15 percent drop in team members.

This drop is especially noticeable within the 2025 freshman class.

“A lot of the programs don’t have as many freshmen as we used to have.” Girls athletic director Norma Sierra said. “There has been a drop and when I say drop, it’s maybe two or three girls.”

Part of this drop does not account for dual-sport athletes.

“If you look at softball, their numbers are low,” Sierra said. “But you get trickles once volleyball is over, they trickle [into softball] or they trickle into soccer. So again, it’s a small drop that’s happening, and I think everybody’s kind of seeing that.”

In addition to this, COVID-19 opt-outs have also affected some programs across the board.

“I think there’s some reluctancy, to really come out here and participate, being in close contact with everybody,”

Sierra said. “Especially after last year not being around anybody. It can work either way where, you get more people saying, ‘you know what, I’m done with this, I want to come out and I want to participate, I want it to be like normal,’ and then you have those that are fearing it, that do not feel comfortable coming, and who are just a little bit more hesitant.”

Programs are utilizing COVID-19 protocols as much as possible to provide safety for each athlete and to reduce the risk of athletes being quarantined during the season.

“We do wear masks, and we talked to the girls about making sure that we are doing things to keep each other safe,” Sierra said. “It’s as difficult as it can be. We’re trying to provide safety, but at the same time, give them some sense of normalcy, and it’s a pretty hard battle because we understand how it can affect the programs and how it can affect the school and then of course, how we can affect their lives.”

To help combat this drop some programs are reaching out to younger athletes to raise their numbers in the following school years.

“All we can do is work with the athletes that are here on campus and to reach out to our middle schools to grow our participation numbers by encouraging young athletes to continue playing in high school,” Boys athletic director Chip Killian said.

Moving forward, some programs could have fewer sub-varsity teams or teams with less depth according to Killian. However, the success of the sports programs is expected to continue despite the slight drop in team numbers.

“We’ve always had a base tradition of winning,” Sierra said. “We’ve always had a tradition of expecting the best and I just think we’ll continue to go with the flow. There are some teams that are struggling, but they won’t continue to struggle. The coaches are very much knowledgeable and persistent to get back to the winning stage. And then, there’s some [teams] that are already there. So, as I said, I still perceive us as being very dominant [and] very much capable of maintaining our own.”

Hurdling Towards Gold

Students compete in Junior Olympics competition

Nadia Johst | Reporter The hot summer air sticks to their skin as the crowd lets out a chorus of approving applause. They feel their heart racing and their legs tingling as they pummel down the track.

Over the summer, the Junior Olympics took place in Houston, Texas. Suzan Ogunleye and Kamryn Grimes both competed this summer. Ogunleye competed in the triple jump event.

“It was really fun because it was everyone who were the best people from each state, so I really liked it and I loved meeting new people in my event,” Ogunleye said.

According to Ogunleye, it was all one big adrenaline rush.

“Competing was really fun because I love going to big meets like that,” Ogunleye said. “And usually at the meets I go to there isn’t a lot of competition, so going to a meet where people jump the same distance as I do is really fun. The best part about competing is when you make the crowd clap whenever you run or jump really far.”

Her goals are getting a full ride scholarship to college and even making it to the Paris Paralympic Summer Games which will be held in 2024. There will be around 540 gold medals given out, with 22 disciplines.

“My plan is to train a lot more and not think about marks as much as trying my best. And hopefully you all will see me in Paris in 2024,” Ogunleye said.

Ogunleye didn’t train as much as she had planned in the month leading up to the competition.

“Personally, I didn’t prepare at all, because I had COVID,” Ogunleye said, “I wasn’t going to go because I was right out of quarantine and I felt so weak, but I went to just go and have fun. If I didn’t do good then there was a reason why.”

Grimes competed in the 400, 200, 4x4, 4x1, 400 hurdles, and 100 hurdles.

“I’ve been there for 12 years, constantly.

It was exciting to be honest, but also scary,” Grimes said, “The team came in 4th for the nation.”

Senior Suzan Ogunleye competed in the triple jump event at Panther Relays during the 2020-2021 track season.

Monty Thompson | Photographer

Q &A

15

Sports September 24, 2021

Acing the Season

Senior volleyball players discuss hopes, plans for rest of district season Makaya Smith | Photographer

Angelyna Rosales | Co-Editor How are you working towards another district championship?

“This season we have a lot of expectations to live up to. So we're all just kind of focused in the gym and we're all, you know, strengthening our mindset as well as our skills on the court. And then, like flexing.” Ella Wendel, 12 “The team is working toward a district championship by writing down our goals and really pushing and working hard in practices to put it towards games and using our best abilities to dominate teams.” Brooklyn Moody, 12 “We are working hard in practice and competing at a high level when we are playing in tournaments.” Karys Dove, 12 What do you think makes the team most successful?

“I think it boils down to just like chemistry, just having that relationship between the different girls and having such strong bonds that they like to reciprocate on the court as well.” Logan Stanhope, 12 “I think energy and communication makes the team successful because that is how volleyball works to win. You have to constantly talk to your team and overpower the other teams during the game.” Brooklyn Moody, 12 How are you preparing for games during practices?

“During practices, we work on the stuff that we need to improve more on such as serve, receive. And once we get into the groove of that we can work on team energy and like rotations for us.” Isabella Martinez, 12 “I am preparing by working on angle passing with service receive and defense with the other back row players and working on communicating to my hitters on spots to hit to gain points.” Brooklyn Moody, 12 “We run through game-like situations and we always focus on passing because if we get a pass we are unstoppable.” Karys Dove, 12 What are your expectations for the rest of the season?

“We expect to go undefeated in district again like last year, and we're trying to make it a lot farther into the playoffs. We're trying to make it to regionals this year. So we have big goals.” Ella Wendel,12 “My expectations for the season are winning district and going far for playoffs, if we could do it last year we can do it again. We have all the talent to get far and succeed.” Brooklyn Moody, 12 “We want to win district and make it far in playoffs, state would be the end goal of course.

We are a talented team and could go very far.” Karys Dove, 12 What is your favorite part about being a senior volleyball player?

“I think honestly, it's just like, the culmination of four years between high school and being around these girls because we played with these girls since like middle school. So senior year kind of feels like this big finale, the big hurrah, and it's really awesome.”

Logan Stanhope, 12 “My favorite part would be being able to watch the team grow and mature for the past four years, we have come a long way and it’s nice to be a part of such an amazing group for so long.” Karys Dove, 12

16

Feature Volume 15, Issue 1

Rockin’ N’ CROCin’

Students reveal meaning behind Croc jibbitz

“I wear my crocs because they’re like really comfortable shoes and, I stole them from my friend because he never wore them and I adopted them but now they’re mine. I wear them every single day and I wear them with every outfit. I have my name on there. I thought that was interesting and then they’re both different sides like my zodiac sign and yin and yang on one side and Coke because I love, like the drink. And then I have, like, a lot of 80’s stuff on there just because I just like to enjoy it a lot.” Faith Merida, 10

“On both of them, I have like a Black Lives Matter thing because of the protests that were going on, so I’m gonna continue to have them on here. The VIP and the Queen is a confidence thing I didn’t have very good confidence before. I’ve gained some since then so I put those on there. I got a Batman minion because my favorite superhero is Batman, and I got a one and a tiger. Because the one was my number for soccer and the tiger was a team I played on. The two different colors are because I like Spongebob and so the yellow one is Spongebob and the pink one is Patrick.” Jolani Murray, 12

“When I was younger I used to have a very big obsession with Hello Kitty. Angry Birds are one of my favorite games to play with our younger and yeah, and Scooby Doo was one of my favorite shows growing up, too.”

Kennedy Wheeler, 10

“The ones on my left foot are the ones that I really like because some of them represent the beach or my favorite kind of fruit. I like to wear my socks kind of cuffed with them. And the ones on the right is my dominant leg so I have my softball, and Spider-Man because he’s my favorite Marvel superhero.” Paulina Dominguez, 11

“Out of all of my jibitz, Darth Vader is my favorite since I’m a big Star Wars fan. Luigi is a close second because I adore Nintendo games and because he is the better brother. I have a soccer ball because it’s my favorite sport, and a taco because my cousin gave it to me. I had more like Spider-Man, a pink cowboy hat, and a sloth but sadly they fell off.” Camille Birt, 12