In the Spotlight: Missed Events from 2020

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Missed Events From 2020

Ezine Spring 2021

Table of Contents

ing

ann M e l Nico orino L

in Edw

In The Spotlight | 4

Tan

Table of Contents

4

Meet the Editors

6

Texit: Take it or Leave it How a Bill is Passed

8 12

The Rise of Black Lives Matter and Where it’s Gone Since

14

Black Lives Matter, a Timeline of Events

18

a Niay

20

Five Space Missions You Probably Didn’t Know About

24

Jo

iam Will

Ben

n hnso

Austin’s LGBTQ+ Community During COVID-19

ing s e i h

T

ey

hr Pelp

The Ones Left Behind A Timeline of Destruction: Hurricane Laura

New Institute on Digestive Health Scene in Austin Derecho Disaster

26 30 32 36

Hi! My name is Nicole Manning Lorino and I am a freshman at LASA. I enjoy swimming, hanging out with my friends, and playing video games with my siblings. I have lived in Austin, Texas my whole life but I enjoy learning about other places in the world and keeping up with current events.

Nicole Manning Lorino

Meet The Editors Edwin Tan Hello, my name is Edwin Tan and I’m a freshman at LASA. I was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico and moved to Austin when I was 6. In my free time I mostly do homework nowadays, although I like to play tennis, chess, and video games when I can. In addition, I watch the news every morning while I eat breakfast and catch up on anything I missed on social media if I find myself having nothing else to do.

In The Spotlight | 6

Hello! My name is Niaya Johnson and I am a freshman at LASA. I enjoy playing games, playing my instrument, rollerblading, and relaxing activities such as drawing. I was born and raised in Austin and plan to stay here for many more years.

Niaya Johnson

Hi, my name is Ben Pelphrey and I am a freshman at LASA. I’m originally from Dallas, Texas, but I recently moved here to Austin. I enjoy reading, video games, swimming, and hiking. I also have always had an interest in medicine, and want to work in related fields.

Ben Pelphrey

William Thiesing Hey! I’m William Thiesing, a sophomore at LASA from Charleston, South Carolina.

I enjoy looking into election data and demographics, as well as forecasting and analyzing meteorology. I love photography and storm chasing, and would love to be able to do those as a full-time thing long in the future!

TEXIT, TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT

A small percentage of Texans are fighting for independence.

By Nicole Manning Lorino

Texas, the Lone Star State, is rich with history and different rulers. For the past 176 years, Texas had been the 28th state of the United States of America. The majority of Texans are content with being part of the Union, however, a small group of Texans in the early 2000’s rose up and fought to secede from the United States of America to become an independent entity.

Independence has always been a value Texans hold close to their hearts. While being a part of the Union does not allow complete selfgoverning rights, it does offer a hefty amount of state-wide freedom, giving states the power to pass laws and regulations specific to their territory. Many laws begin as mere ideas that are passed around from community to community.

One of the ideas circulating since the late twentieth century has been regarding Texas secession from the United States. Drafted and named “Texit”, the small bill has been fighting to be ratified. If passed, the newly made law would allow Texas the opportunity to remove itself from the United States. While a minority of the population fully supports Texit and independence, the majority of

people do not believe secession is the right course of action. Both sides present arguments to the grand question- should Texas remain a part of the United States, or should Texas break off and form a new nation?

In 2005, Daniel Miller formed the Texas Nationalist Movement. Along with many others, Miller observed that “Washington D.C. was thoroughly disconnected from the needs of every average Texan.”

The TNM works to protect Texas independence and the right of Texans to govern themselves, as well as making sure that every voice is heard. As strong supporters of Texit, the organization has been gaining more supporters throughout the years as people realize what Texit would change and how it would work logistically.

Many supporters of succession acknowledge that while it will not be easy to separate from the United States, the effort is worth the potential benefits. “We’re going to have to sit across the table from the United States federal government and hash out some of the more intricate details of the relationship between Texas and the United States,” Miller said.

American flag flying above the Texas state flag. Texas is the only state that is allowed to fly its flag at the same height as the American flag under federal law. Photo by F. Muhammad, courtesy of Pixabay.

In The Spotlight | 8

Decorative dome interior of the Texas capitol building.

Photo by Nikki Hottman courtesy of Pixabay.

While separation might not pose as a highly tedious task, drafting and approving a new constitution could prove to be more difficult, as large changes must be made to support an independent territory. “Texas will have to make some tweaks to its constitution to be more suitable to our self-governing, independent nation. There are statutory changes that will have to be made,” Miller stated.

Through their efforts to recruit members, the TNM had found that many people agreed with the ideas Texit proposed but were too scared to speak up. “Many people harbor the sentiment, but were almost afraid to say anything about it because they felt marginalized. They had been told by mainstream political pundits that the idea of Texas independence was extreme, that no one else believed it,” Miller said.

After much publicization, including “over 1500 public events, voter engagement, door knocking, phone banking, tabling,” and more, the TNM now has 408,417 members in support of Texas independence.

With help from the TNM, support behind Texit has grown to impressive numbers. However, many government officials are not taking the bill seriously. Michelle Beckley, a member of the Texas House of Representatives, stated that “It’s not going to be on the floor. It’s not even going to get a committee hearing.”

Beckley, along with many other delegates, agree that Texit is not of utmost importance. “This year, we’ve got the pandemic and we’ve got to fund an education. It’s not going to make the time of day this year,” Beckley said, “We don’t have time, especially this year, to be looking at things that aren’t going to go anywhere”.

Downtown Austin, Texas on a clear day. Austin, as the capital of Texas, would certainly be affected by movements for Texit. Photo by Kate Baucherel, courtesy of Pixabay.

Along with government officials, the majority of Texans have not expressed any interest in Texit or independence from the United States. The push for complete self-governance has people behind the movement, but, as Beckley mentioned, “the fraction of people who want it is just so small that it’s never going to happen.”

There are many concerns among the majority about how succession would occur and whether Texas could actually support itself, considering the past failed attempts at selfgovernance.

If Texit is passed and Texas does leave the United States, all of the provided financial support would be lost. “[As a state of the Union,] we get federal money, we get FEMA money, we get compensation for our parks,” Beckley said, “we wouldn’t have any of that”

In The Spotlight | 10

Some supporters of Texit point out that Texas has a high amount of military bases, so the militia would be strong after the split. However, “military bases in Texas are US military bases, and they’re not just going to give those up to Texas,” Beckley stated.

If the bill is approved, Texas would lose all its military support and would need to start from scratch, leaving Texas susceptible to invaders which could cost them their independence yet again.

Complete with a dense history of rebellions against oppressors, independence has always run strong in Texas. “We are an independent state kind of mindset here”, Beckley said.

Even with an independent mindset, whether secession is the ideal solution or not is still being debated.

Field of bluebonnets in Texas field. Photo by Joan Gonzalez courtesy of Pixabay.

The capitol building in Austin, Texas proudly flies both the State and National flag. Photo by Alberto Adán courtesy of Pixabay.

“Everyone seems to think that we can just secede from the United States. We can’t, we’re too reliant on the federal government,” Beckley said, “we’re not our own entity and everything is intertwined. You can’t just leave the United States, as there’s not a good way to split it.”

Another consideration is the high rate of newcomers residing in Texas. “People that moved here from other states are probably not in the mindset that’s going to want to just go away [from the United States],” Beckley said.

Whether newcomers or natives, all Texans need to decide if secession is a good idea or if being a part of the Union is the better choice. Riddled with ups and downs, Texit is a controversial topic with arguments presented from both sides. Secession or no secession, that is the question.

How A Bill

In Texas, as well as in the other 49 states, bills must go through a series of steps in order to be passed and recognized as a state law.

1. A bill is drafted and written up by either a representative or senator.

2. The bill is introduced to the members of the authors chamber.

3. After the introduction, a caption of the bill is read aloud to the chamber. This is called the “first reading”.

4. Then, if the bill is considered, the presiding officer will assign it to a committee.

5. The chair of the assigned committee then sets up a meeting to discuss the bill.

6. At the meeting, the committee can decide to take no action or issue a report on the bill.

7. The second reading is then scheduled for a meeting with the full chamber.

8. At the second reading, revisions can be made. If passed, then the bill is scheduled for the third reading and the final passage.

9. In the third reading, revisions can be made.

In The Spotlight | 12

Is Passed

The process can be tedious, but it allows every Texas senator and representative to agree upon the different aspects of the bill.

If the bill receives the majority of votes on thethird reading, it is considered “passed” from the given chamber.

10. The bill is then sent to the opposite chamber and the same process repeats.

11. If the second house passes it, then the bill is sent back to the original house with the new amendments and revisions included.

12. The original house then agrees on the new changes or schedules a conference with both houses to compromise on the different versions of the bill.

13. Once everything is agreed upon, the legislative governor signs the bill and sends it to the governor.

14. The governor then either vetos the bill or signs it.

15. If the governor vetos the bill, it is sent back to the original chamber to be debated on and revised, repeating the first steps. If the governor signs it, the bill is passed.

In The Spotlight | 14

The Rise of Black Lives Matter and Where It’s Gone Since The rapid change in relevance of one of the biggest social movements in modern US history

by Edwin Tan

In a massive and diverse gathering of people, the crowd’s chant of “Black Lives Matter!” can be heard across the globe, recorded for news outlets and social media. Many members of the crowd begin to feel like they’re a part of something much bigger than themselves, that they might be making a difference by participating in this protest.

This could accurately describe many Americans last summer as they found themselves part of one of the most well known social movements in the world.

Black Lives Matter is a movement dedicated to speaking out against all incidents of discrimination against black people. Although it has existed since 2013, it was suddenly launched into the national spotlight in the summer of 2020 after the death of George Floyd, who was a black man that was killed by a white police officer after allegedly using counterfeit money at a gas station. Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to the streets to protest his death as well as the deaths of many other black victims of police brutality. This sent Black Lives Matter in a meteoric rise to prominence in the U.S. and the rest of the world.

However, nothing can last forever. It has been over 10 months since the murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter no longer has the massive, nationwide protests that got it on the front pages of major news outlets. What changed?

The picture on the left is a protest in New York City that was held in mid-June. This was during the height of the protests held for Black Lives Matter. Photo by Stan Wiechers, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Suyuki McMahon, right, with Chas Moore, left, standing in front of a mural. Moore is the Executive Director of the Austin Justice Coalition Photo courtesy of Suyuki McMahon.

Suyuki McMahon has an idea of what could’ve happened to cause this. McMahon is the Criminal Justice Policy Director for the Austin Justice Coalition, an Austin based organization which prominently supports Black Lives Matter.

The organization arranged an event last June protesting the murder of Mike Ramos, a black man. She believes the decrease in protests has to do with the climate needed for such protests to occur.

“It’s a cocktail of things that come together that make the timing different, make it right, [or] wrong,” McMahon said, “But a lot has happened since the protests of last summer, that I think are affirming to those protests.”

She noted that in the time between the height of the protests and the present day, her team made significant progress towards their goals. They managed to defund the police department and the Department for Alternative Public Safety, and get a new district attorney appointed to office. She also mentioned that Black Lives Matter has brought many new ideas and concepts into the

In The Spotlight | 16

public consciousness, such as the words “reimagined justice”.

The effects of the movement are subtly having influence, even after the protests have died down.

“I feel like the climate for change is different,” McMahon said, “Protests, maybe they will happen, but a lot has happened since.” She clarifies that the protests weren’t the only thing that fuels Black Lives Matter and

“I feel like the climate for change is different.

Protests, maybe they will happen, but a lot has happened since.” there’s a lot of things going on behind the scenes that also have an impact.

“I’ll be honest, so many protests happened because something awful had happened,” McMahon added, “And I don’t want that to be the next spark, I really don’t.”

While Black Lives Matter isn’t making headlines anymore, it hasn’t gone anywhere and is still working hard towards its goals behind the scenes in a more subtle and quiet way.

However, many people aren’t convinced that Black Lives Matter and its goals are quite so honorable. For example, the national protests of Black Lives Matter coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading many to fear that these gatherings of people would cause an increase in infections.

McMahon said she and her team wrestled with it for some time, but decided that the necessary precautions were in place, such as mask usage by almost everyone who attended.

She also said black folks like herself were already feeling under risk of being discriminated against or attacked by police officers, so it was a decision on whether or not COVID-19 or the police was a bigger risk for them.

“But definitely, it took us a lot of back and forth to make the decision to do something like that,” she said, “Because we knew people would come and they really, really did.”

Another major issue that many people had with the movement and protests was the widespread occurrence of rioting and looting of small businesses.

One such person who had these grievances shared their view on the topic, but since they wish to remain anonymous, they’ll be referred to as J. Doe.

“I have no problems with Black Lives Matter in concept, I want to make that clear,” they said, “But the protests last summer allowed many people to

do a lot of unscrupulous things under the name of protesting and I don’t think we can just ignore that.”

Doe explains that the Black Lives Matter movement was one of the most violent and expensive protest movements they can remember. A quick Google search will prove them right; over 25 people were killed over the course of the protests, with 400 people injured, 14,000 people arrested, and over a billion dollars in property damage.

“Of course, I respect an American citizen’s right to freedom of speech and assembly, but I think this goes way beyond just speech,” they explained.

“When these protests begin to have real consequences on other people, that has to be the point

“When these protests begin to have real consequences on other people, that has to be the point we draw the line.” we draw the line.”

Doe notes a common argument they often hear, that the people who riot and loot and the people who protest for racial justice are two separate groups. The former aren’t really supporters of BLM, just people who are taking advantage of the situation for personal gain.

“But there’s a problem.

They took advantage of the situation… the situation that the

Black Lives Matter protests had created,” Doe said, “No matter the intentions of the so called ‘real’ supporters of Black Lives Matter, the fact is that if the protests never happened, the riots and looting wouldn’t have either.”

They go on to say that they believe the incidents of rioting and looting could’ve been much worse, with their reasoning being that the sheer size of the protests was coinciding with a massive global pandemic. If the protests happened before the COVID-19 virus had begun to spread, the protests likely would’ve been even bigger. If the protests are bigger, well, they don’t want to think about how much bigger the size of the riots would’ve been in turn.

“I still wouldn’t have attended any of the protests myself, even if I wasn’t scared of getting the virus,” they said, “And that would’ve been the right choice for me, since who knows how much worse the rioting and looting would’ve been if the pandemic hadn’t stopped people from going out. I think my life would likely be in danger.”

Doe said that while they

respect the drive of the protesters to get their message across to as many people as possible, they believe that in trying to make some lives better, BLM supporters probably helped ruin the lives of many small business owners and other victims of the riots and looting, even if unintentional.

“In the end, this is a stain on Black Lives Matter’s name. The riots and looting made people angry that the movement never really faced any backlash among its supporters for this.” Doe said, “Even if it continues to live on with its followers, I don’t think it’s possible for Black Lives Matter to ever be completely and genuinely loved by the American public.”

Whether it’s a symbol of hope or hate for you, the impact Black Lives Matter has had during its time dominating American media is undeniable. Even though protests and controversy on the same scale as in June 2020 are unlikely, Black Lives Matter doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon and only time will tell what it’ll accomplish in the future.

Looted buildings and a fire from a protest held for Black Lives Matter in Oakland, California that turned violent. Photo by Daniel Arauz, licensed under CC BY 2.0.

New Institute on the Digestive Health Scene in Austin The story of a new medical institute and the dedicated professionals who work there. being a fairly new institution, the Digestive Health Institute has monumental goals and expecta Austin’s digestive health- tions for the future.

”What Dell Medical care scene is lacking. When School was trying to build was people are faced with complisomething a little bit differcated health problems within ent,” Agrawal said, “Medicine is their digestive system, they often have to go elsewhere, like to Dallas or Houston, for treatment. However, as of recently that has changed. Just last year, a new Digestive Health Institute was founded by a small team of dedicated physicians working to provide the vital care that has, up until now, been missing.

The team at the Digestive Health Institute [FLA1] consists of Dr. Deepak Agrawal, Dr. Cristal Brown, GI dietitian Clara Di Vincenzo, Dr. Linda A. Feagins, PA Christina Kim, Dr. Kavitha Kumbum, Dr. Jessica Trevino, NP Amber Armstrong, Dr. Rupal Patel, and Dr. David Tang. With many questions from the general public about how health care has taken a turn for the better, Dr. Agrawal and Dr. Tang are providing the answers to many intriguing inquiries.

The Digestive Health Institute is a new institute founded in 2019 that focuses on digestive health and providing specialty care. It is a collaboration between UT Health Austin and Ascension Seton. Despite

By Ben Pelphrey

changing and it has become too costly for the patients, and it’s Dell Medical School’s vision to decrease the costs of healthcare interviews. It had resonated with what I wanted to do.”

Pictured above is Dr. Deepak Agrawal, Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Dell Medical School. Photo courtesy of UT Health Austin.

In The Spotlight | 18

Digestive Health Institute Offices Courtesy of Dell Medical School

Agrawal had previously worked at UT Southwestern in Dallas, but moved to Austin specifically to create the healthcare institute of his dreams.

“It seemed like an interesting opportunity to build something from scratch,” Agrawal said.

However, in order to see his vision through, he needed high quality and dedicated staff.

When deciding who to hire for the institute, he had many healthcare professionals in mind.

One was Doctor David Tang, who Agrawal had worked with in the past. Tang was excited to

have been invited to work at the Digestive Health Institute.

“Dell medical school provided a great opportunity for me to work in an environment similar to ones I was used to,” Tang said, “and [it] also gave me the opportunity to work on newer methods of interacting with patients.” At the Digestive Health Institute, both goals could be worked toward.

Along with creating the best healthcare institute they could, the small group that ran the institute had other objectives. Tang wanted to create an e-consultation program to

Pictured above is Dr. David Tang, an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Dell Medical School. Photo courtesy of UT Health Austin.

In The Spotlight | 20

streamline the process of meeting with a patient.

“If patients need to see a specialist, they may have to wait for a while only to discover that they can’t receive care because the specialist needs information or tests done beforehand. The e-consult program changes this, and the doctor can know ahead of time what the patient needs,” Tang said.

Tang’s program would streamline the consultation process, and cut down on many fees that can pose an issue for financially disadvantaged patients, as well as making some doctor’s office visits easier, especially since sometimes the patient simply doesn’t need to be in the same room as the doctor to be accurately assessed.

Agrawal also aims to enhance doctor-patient relationships along with improving the institute as a whole. “First, you have to develop the medical side to provide better care to the patients. Then there is the research side, which is to develop new ways of doing things and then to disseminate that information to others by writing papers. And then the third arm is education, which is teaching medical students, residents, and fellows,” Agrawal said.

On the clinical side, he hoped to change medical care so that it is more focused on the patient’s needs rather than

guided by financial interests, which have become more pervasive in medicine today. He also hopes that the institute can do more research on inflammatory bowel disease and liver diseases, which can be complex to treat. On the educational side, they have students and residents who come and work with them. The institute was also approved to start a fellowship program which can create even more opportunities to educate people who have completed 3 years of residency to become gastroenterologists.

With the COVID-19 outbreaks, many businesses were having trouble switching to the new remote teleconferencing technologies, but not the Digestive Health Institute. “It was a relatively smooth transition to virtual consultation,” Tang said, “we were already using an e-consultation program for some

patients.” The Digestive Health Institute plans to continue using e-consultation programs after the pandemic.

The Digestive Health Institute has big plans for the future, and even bigger plans for giving quality digestive health care to the people of Austin.

“The future is to establish ourselves as a true academic program, to have the same kind of reputation as some of the other bigger programs,” Agrawal said, “Our outcomes have to be very, very good, maybe even exceed the national standards, and we have to try to achieve it at a lower cost.”

The Digestive Health Institute team is small, but as they grow, they hope to show the people of Austin that they can provide the quality care which has been absent for so long.

Above is a picture of several members of the Digestive Health Institute. From left to right: Jessica Trevino, Annie Feagins, Kavitha Kumbum, David Tang, and Deepak Agrawal. Photo courtesy of Dr. Feagins.

What Is a Derecho?

A derecho is a complex of storms that create straight-line winds, and can cause massive destruction. The winds can reach speeds over 100mph, more than fast enough to ravage through soybean and corn fields.

An Unlucky End to a Good Crop Season

On Monday, Aug.10, a huge storm called a Derecho formed on the Nebraska - South Dakota border, and made its way through the midwest.

The storm ceased its destructive ways on Aug. 11, only a day later, but it caused much damage in that short period of time. It hit areas of Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin during its destructive rampage, causing an estimated 11 billion dollars in damage. Eastern Iowa and Northern Illinois bore the brunt of the damage the storm caused, and millions of dollars of crops were destroyed by the derecho.

What was lost

Just how much crop was lost due to the storm? In Iowa, for instance, 26 Million acres of land are devoted to farmland in Iowa, and a majority of it was hit by the storm.

Each acre of corn on average outputs 200 bushels, and acres devoted to soybeans outputed an analogous amount. If you multiply those two numbers together, the sheer amount of crops lost really becomes apparent.

More fac

Derechos are o out there, and warm weather. chos in history To be categoriz must be movin than 57.

Derecho Disaster!

By Ben Pelphrey

On August 10, a massive derecho swept through the midwest, damaging crops and causing billions of dollars in damage. For farmers, an event like this can change their whole life.

Terrible Storm

Many farmers, like Rod Pierce, right, had their entire fields flattened by the derecho. And just like Rod Pierce, they are perplexed as to what to do next. Most farmers hit will not be able to salvage much of their ruined crops. It is especially devastating, as the harvest would have been exceptional.

cts about derechos

one of the rarest types of storms are more likely to form during . In fact, some of the worst dereformed after a major heatwave. zed as a derecho, a storm’s winds ng in a straight line and be faster

Photos and information courtesy of the National Weather Service, The Associated Press, WQAD, and the NOAA