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McCallum High School / 5600 Sunshine / Austin, TX 78756 / April 25, 2015 Issue 5 / Volume 62

WHAT’S INSIDE Student Council prepares for the senior prom at the Blanton Museum of Art

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y v a e h s h g i e w e g a m i y d o B Student models work to abide by body specifications, despite their effects pages 16-17

Staffer recommends five classes to be added to the curriculum page 25

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sports

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Senior Jeremy Statman receives a scholarship to Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri, to continue his soccer career

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Sophomore Solana Oliver works to gain her Gold Award by coordinating a school-wide drive to provide necessities for McCallum area students and their families

Senior parents, students raise money to fund the alcohol- and drug-free post-graduation celebration at the Millennium Youth Complex

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Cover graphic by Mary Stites.

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Lady Knight softball vs. Cedar Creek @ Cedar Creek

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Senior Prom @ the Blanton Museum of Art 8-11 p.m.

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Knights baseball vs. Cedar Creek @ Northwest Field Knights of Percussion Performance @ 7 p.m. in the MAC

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Musical Theater Showcase @ 7 p.m. in the MAC

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Signature song

Music program receives first place in nation from Grammy Foundation

the music program; the Grammys Foundation is looking for a music program with “stand out performances in a wide variety of areas.”

“A lot of schools are fortunate to have a really strong choir, or a really strong band, or one particular thing that is their thing that they’re really amazing at, and that is their stamp,” McElveen said. “So for us to have submitted recordings of all of our major strands—band, choir, orchestra, classical guitar as well as our steel band program and jazz band—all those recordings went in.

It really tells me the level of education that our kids are getting here is exemplary, that everybody is working really hard and it’s paying off.”

This award will help the music program make and keep connections with other schools, McElveen said.

Band director Carol Nelson conducts the wind ensemble. Photo by Aiden Foster.

The award will also help recruit the best students to McCallum. and that list is condensed down to 100 to 150 semi-final“Our partnership with Parkdale Secondary Colists. Schools then send in recordings of band, choir, or- lege from Australia, who was here back in December, news editor chestra, classical guitar, jazz ensemble and steel drums that group of students came and performed with our Band director Carol Nelson was about to conduct a in November, and the Grammys Foundation decides students at their choir cabaret for their holiday thing,” McElveen said. “The director orchestra concert when she got a call from a number the finalists.

“We were on the list of of their school that came on the from California; she didn’t recognize the number so she trip with them, Mr. Downing, ignored it. It wasn’t until she got back to her office and winners before, and there are the people that get a has used this Grammys Founcalled it back that she found out the Grammy Foundation award that we got to dation named the music program the 2015 National smaller gift and they get the recognition of a sigformalize our relationship. He Grammy Foundation Signature School; they are the nature school,” Fine Arts was telling me just yesterday only school in the nation to receive this award. he was trying to make the argu“The head person at the Grammys Foundation said, director Kalyse McElveen ment about how important it ‘I want you to know you’re on speaker phone and my said. “They pick a couple is for his school in Melbourne, leadership team is here. McCallum High School has of ‘gold medalists’ and then Australia, to have international been named the national Grammys Signature School,’” they pick an outright numrelationships so that they conNelson said. “When they announced it, everyone in ber one winner. This is the -Carol Nelson, band director tinue to build on the quality of California was clapping and cheering. I was so excited, first time we’re the number one winner.” their programs and learn from I probably said, ‘Oh my gosh’ six times.”

This is the third time a school from Texas has won others. One of the places he wants to make sure they have Nelson said when she heard the news, she didn’t the award. With the first place title comes a grant of a formal relationship with is our little school.” think they were first place in the nation.

Being awarded as the 2015 National Grammy Signa“I emailed the people in California and said ‘We’re $5,000.

“Really our big thing is to see if we can find maybe ture School is all part of a bigger picture, McElveen said. so excited,’” Nelson said. “In my next paragraph I said, ‘Is there only one national Grammy Signature School?’ one thing that would benefit everyone,” McElveen said. The award will hopefully lead to new opportunities and The person said, ‘Yes, and you’re it!’ It’s quite an honor; “There is one thing that is missing from our new theater donations coming to McCallum. that would really help everyone, and that’s basically “The Fine Arts Academy just celebrated its 20th a big honor.”

This is the first time McCallum has been award- an acoustical treatment from the stage. It’s many more anniversary, so in another 20 years, [I hope] that this ed first place in the Grammy Foundation Signature thousands of dollars that just five, but if we were able award is part of our larger effort to continue to ensure Schools. The music program will host a celebration May to leverage those funds and do some really meaningful that all of our kids are getting the best possible educa7 which will feature Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel. fundraising and we can get enough money to buy that tion that we can give them, that possibly some param“He’s gonna give a little concert,” Nelson said. one thing, then that will positively effect everybody. eters are widened so that we can do an even better job,” “They’re gonna send some presenter to present the big We’re not looking at, ‘Okay, band is gonna get x dol- McElveen said. “Then in 20 years we are even better check. We’re gonna just celebrate the wonderfulness of lars,’ you know? We’re really trying to think globally than we are now and that we have that support and reabout how we can use that money for everybody.”

McCallum High School.” sources to be a shining beacon like some other districts The Grammys Foundation invited 20,000 schools, McElveen said this award speaks to the quality of have and use their art school.”

MARA VANDEGRIFT

“When they announced it, everyone in California was clapping and cheering. I was so excited, I probably said, ‘Oh my gosh’ six times.”

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Protection or danger?

Texas Senate approves bill allowing concealed handguns on college campuses RACHEL WOLLEBEN staff reporter

When junior Griffin McDonald heard the state Senate approved a bill that would allow concealed handguns on college campuses, he saw no problem with the decision.

“I think it’s a pretty good idea,” McDonald said.

“Granted, there’s a lot of alcohol and stuff on universities, so that gives it the potential to go out of hand.

But if a responsible citizen has a concealed carry license and has gone through the proper training, then I don’t see a problem with them carrying on a campus.”

On March 19, the Texas Senate gave the final approval for Senate Bill 11 in a 20-11 vote, which would allow concealed handguns on public higher education college campuses.

“I voted against the bill because my amendments were not adopted and because of the safety concerns expressed by students, faculty, administrators and campus police chiefs,” Texas Senator Judith Zaffirini said. “The carrying of handguns currently is prohibited on campuses because the Legislature recognized the unique nature of college campuses not only as places that require an atmosphere that allows the free exchange of ideas, but also as locations teeming with our state’s precious youth.”

If the “campus carry” bill does pass, then anyone with the right licenses can carry concealed handguns into university classrooms and buildings. However, they must be 21 or older, be taking a class on campus, and pass a background check and shooting test.

“I believe people have Second Amendment rights, and I also believe

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there should be reasonable rules about the appropriate time and place to carry guns safely,” Zaffirini said. “College campuses are not appropriate places for guns.”

Democrats offered nearly 24 amendments for the bill while it was being discussed in the Senate, all of which failed.

“I think allowing handguns should be a liberty, but if there’s a university that just feels like that’s not the way to go for them, then there’s a private aspect of that,” McDonald said. “And if there’s a university that just says ‘No, we don’t allow it on campus,’ then I guess that’s up to them. But it should be allowed.”

Some of these amendments included allowing university student bodies to vote on whether guns should be permitted on campus. Zaffirini proposed an amendment allowing higher education institutions to ‘opt-in’ to campus carry and another allowing them to ‘opt-out’.

“Those responsible for administering and overseeing activities on college campuses for hundreds of thousands of students, faculty and staff should play a role in deciding whether and how handguns should be allowed there,” Zaffirini said. “I also proposed an amendment clarifying that handguns would not be

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by Rachel Wolleben allowed at places on campus such as schools, hospitals, polling places, sporting events, bars and places of worship.”

Those in favor of the bill have argued having it be passed will help protect students while on campus, while opponents, which include most student groups and leaders of Texas’ top universities, said the bill would make campuses less safe.

“Senators in favor of the bill argued that it was essential to ‘liberty,’” Zaffirini said. “Those of us opposed to the bill, however, raised significant concerns about safety and cost. What’s more, some of us questioned why university leaders could not be trusted to implement regulations that would best meet the needs of their respective institutions.”

Various forms of campus carry are allowed in at least 20 states, yet only a small number have made it a definite right in their state laws, as the Texas bill would.

“People have valid concerns about gun control,” McDonald said. “They don’t want to get shot. But personally, with the way so many anti-gun laws are spreading, it looks like they’re trying to take away our guns. It’s a right of the

citizens to be armed.”

If the bill is implemented, significant changes will be made for campus life at universities all across the state, including the University of Texas. Students with concealed handgun licenses who live in dorms on the UT campus will have to pay more to ensure their gun is secure.

“I believe the changes would be negative,” Zaffirini said. “Allowing guns on campus could have a chilling effect on the free exchange of ideas on campus, which is crucial to the mission of higher education. And campus police chiefs have said that allowing guns on campus could make it difficult for their officers to respond to a campus shooting in progress.”

The University of Texas System also reported that in the next six years after the bill is passed, if it is at all, the school could face potential costs of up to $40 million. Part of this would go to hiring 62 new employees, including 40 police officers, but none at UT Austin.

“You never really know something’s going to happen at a campus until it does,” McDonald said. “How much do they think a bunch of lives is worth? $40 million? Or is having maybe around 200 people dead worth it?”

After sweeping through the Senate, the bill now moves on to the Republicandominated state House of Representatives, where it is likely to be passed there as well.

“Carrying weapons is a civil liberty we have,” McDonald said. “If teachers or professors that have gone through the proper channels and training are allowed to have them, then we won’t have any more shootings like Sandy Hook.

People will be able to protect those around them.”

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The great divide Racist stickers reveal gentrification, economic line drawn by IH35 MEENA ANDERSON staff reporter

Stickers reading “Exclusively for white people, maximum of five colored customers, colored BOH staff accepted, sponsored by the city of Austin” were put up in six East Austin businesses on March 11.

“I was shocked at first and then I laughed about it.

I thought, ‘It’s not real. It’s just a big joke. Some stupid person did it.’ That’s what I thought,” attendance clerk Jewell Jackson said. “In this day and time, and here in Austin, that really wouldn’t be happening.”

It turns out that activist lawyer Adam Reposa put up these stickers in businesses like Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop and Rare Trends Boutique without the owners’ knowledge. He posted a video explaining why he did it. “[Minority groups are] getting pushed out, and pretty quick. This area of town is turning into whites only,” Reposa said in the video. “Not by law, like it used to be, and everyone’s going to jump on, ‘That’s racist!’ ‘That’s racist!’ Man, this town, the way [expletive] works is racist! And I knew I could just bait all of y’all into just being as stupid as you are.”

Reposa went on to explain in the video that he wanted to highlight the issue of gentrification, especially in East Austin, where the price of living is getting increasingly high.

World Geography teacher Katie Carrasco said she has noticed the rising population moving north of Austin as the housing prices continue to rise.

“It’s the gentrification of neighborhoods in Austin.

It’s that there isn’t enough affordable housing, and we continue to have such a big gap in earnings among minority groups,” Carrasco said. “It’s natural that you’re not going to be able to live in a place where you can’t afford it.”

A census done in 2012 shows the income segregation, with mostly high income, white households being located around West Austin, and mostly low income, black and Latino households being located east of Interstate 35.

Jackson has lived in East Austin her entire life and has seen gentrification happening around her.

“It happens in my neighborhood. I’m the only black person on my street. Caucasian families have bought [houses] all around me,” Jackson said. “Before they built the house next to me, I could sit on my couch and look out the window and see the UT tower, and I could see the capitol. Now I see nothing but the house on my

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right side. My taxes go up every year, and I go up there and fight it.”

Austin is the third fastest-growing city in the U.S., but it’s also one of the only cities in America with its black population declining. Between 2000 and 2010, the African-American population dropped 5.4 percent.

As property taxes and prices rise, especially in the East, more minority groups are being displaced. The April 10 issue of the Austin Chronicle stated that 58.9 percent of residents in the East Cesar Chavez neighborhood are of Mexican ancestry. The median property price in that neighborhood is $314,236, which is more expensive than 76.3 percent of neighborhoods in the U.S. “It’s just going to become more polarized in various neighborhoods,” Carrasco said. “It’s just displacing people. One way or the other, people are getting displaced by those who have the money to displace them.”

The price of living in Austin is becoming increasingly expensive and is 10.1 percent above the national average.

“I think in order to get attention, you have to have people speaking out. And the difficult thing is that when you are having to work so hard to pay your bills, you don’t have the time to organize and have meetings and to go knock on doors of the capitol building,” Carrasco said. “That’s why people are still so ignored, because they don’t have the luxury to be able to take that time off work, to find child care or to rally to some kind of event. So it kind of perpetuates.”

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Worth its weight in gold Sophomore creates school service project for Girl Scout award RACHEL WOLLEBEN

her project is to bring in groups that already have the means of staff reporter getting stuff done to participate in the program. We agreed to When sophomore Solana Oliver needed to find an take on collecting the toiletries.” issue to resolve with her Girl Scout Gold Award project, Clothing donated to the she knew homelessness and poverty in school commuKnights in Need program will nities would be perfect. be inspected and cleaned by stu“I’m not expecting to change all of McCallum,” Olidents in the Life Skills program. ver said, “but I’m hoping to improve the lives of the 50 Anyone who wants access to the or 60 students that may not have the money or housing Clothing Closet can contact Anto get certain resources. I just want to make their lives derson. a little bit easier.”

“That’s actually part of the Around the end of February, Oliver began working Life Skill’s curriculum, which is on her community program, Knights in Need, which great,” Oliver said. “It’s really she designed to be a way for anyone at McCallum to nice that it’s something they can provide basic resources for students and families who help out with. The bus passes may be in need of them. branch is being taken over by “I think that it’s easy for many of us to not be aware the PTSA.” of the need that’s out there,” librarian and National The NHS is running a toiletry Honor Society sponsor Jane Farmer said. “Many studrive to gather resources they dents in these unfortunate positions don’t really show can give to any students who their need for whatever reason. It may just be things may need them. Posters with they don’t want to face. So the Knights in Need prodetails can be found all around gram can really make a big difference for them.” campus.

With this program, students can give to those in “We’re running the drive from around April 1st need in three ways: donations of money to purchase through the 17th. Of course we can accept stuff if people Capital Metro monthly student bus passes; donations bring in things a little late,” Farmer said, “but we use this of clothes to the Clothing Closet; and donations of toideadline as a form of getting people’s attention. Our goal letries to the students who need them. is to get a whole lot of toiletries, so then maybe we can “I got the idea to start this program from a PTSA do this again next year.” meeting where they For Oliver, applywere talking about ing this project to the doing something Girl Scout Gold Award similar,” Oliver said, means receiving the “only with their idea highest achievement in the program would Girl Scouting. have to go through “It’s very similar PTSA and the social to a Boy Scout’s Eagle service specialist, Project,” Oliver said.

Ms. Brooke Ander“You have to put in son, would have -Solana Oliver, sophomore a certain number of to organize it. But hours and you have to I knew she was alcreate a massive project that will help your community ready busy enough being the school social worker, so all in a way that will last for longer than what you’re putI did was take up the project.” ting in.”

Knights in Need is supported by several school orGold Award recipients usually spend around one to ganizations like the administration, special education, two years on their projects. Girl Scout Gold recipients PTSA, Key Club, NHS, Friends of McCallum Students, can earn college scholarships and even enter the miliand the McCallum Alumni Association. tary one rank higher than other recruits.

“Solana approached me to talk about if the NHS “Right now I’m mostly just waiting for the papercould participate in this large project that she’s doing,” work involved and finishing the project itself,” Oliver Farmer said. “She explained that one of the aspects of

“There is a competition for a scholarship, but usually that’s not why you do the project. You do it because you see a problem in your community and you have the urge to fix it.”

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said. “After that I’ll hear whether the Council thinks it’s worth a Gold Award.”

Many steps are involved in the process of starting this community program, like identifying an issue, investigating it, building a team to work on it, creating a game-plan, presenting it and gathering feedback, taking action with the revised plan, and educating and inspiring others.

“For us in the NHS, I just talked to the officers about the program and tried my best to explain what it was all about,” Farmer said. “They got on board, and then we talked to the whole membership. Everybody was very excited about it.”

Students who wish to take advantage of the available resources from the Knights in Need program may visit with Anderson to learn more. Those who want to donate money for bus passes can drop off a check at the front office written to McCallum High School PTSA with Bus Pass Donations in the memo line. Donations of clothes and or toiletries can also be taken to the front office, but make sure to mark them for Knights in Need.

“An average student can literally do anything to help,” Oliver said. “If they have old clothes they aren’t wearing, like that really ugly shirt that your grandmother handed you and you hated, they could give that to the Clothing Closet. It’s so easy, and even if you don’t want to give away something, giving money to the Knights in Need program is even better.”

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n a h t More y t r a p a

MAYA COPLIN photo editor

Studies have shown that graduation night is one of the most dangerous nights of a student’s life. The time between Memorial Day and Labor Day is labeled “The 100 deadliest days” for teen drivers, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

To counteract this problem, parents have created a national program called Project Graduation to educate seniors and their parents on the dangers of substance abuse during a student’s high school career and specifically around graduation. Parent Brad Chandler founded McCallum’s Project Gradation Program in 2012 and is currently president of the program.

Project Graduation includes Shattered Dreams, Texas PTSA Crash program, Texas A&M Agri-Life Watch your BAC program and Grad Knight. Shattered Dreams is a program including a mock car crash caused by drinking and driving. Grad Knight, a program that provides a substance free party for seniors after their graduation, is an all

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night lock-in June 4th. Chandler has been involved in Grad Knight four times since 2006. His goal for Project Graduation is to have three events per year, one for parents and two for students.

“Graduation night is one of the most dangerous nights for a newly graduated high school student,” Chandler said.

“Our intent is to provide a safe drug and alcohol free, fun even that the students will remember for the rest of their lives.

The goal of the Project Graduation organization is to support the McCallum community by bringing awareness to the effects of drugs and alcohol and to provide a graduation lock-in celebration.

Grad Knight is to provide a fun environment for the graduating students and to have every one of them attend to create a hugely successful party.”

Grad Knight, organized by parent D’Anne Stites, will be held at the Millennium Youth Complex. The party is free for all seniors and will include bowling, basketball, skating, movies, food, video and arcade games, a dodge ball tournament and ski ball.

“Grad Knight gives kids a safe opportunity to celebrate on graduation night and a chance to spend time with their classmates before going off to college, work and new places,” Stites said. “[My goal is] to have every member of the Class of 2015 attend, have a good time and be safe the next day. And the next.

And so on.”

Stites has been involved in organizing Grad Knight off and on since 2009.

“It is important to me because I

Project Graduation to provide safe environment for seniors after they receive diplomas think McCallum is a great place to go to school,” Stites said. “I want every kid here to reach new goals safely and successfully after graduation. There’s lots of stories in the news about bad things that happen to kids from drugs and alcohol- kids that are too young to drink at all- and kids need to understand those actions can harm themselves and others in many ways” According to Chandler, the Class of 2015 has done various fundraising activities such as foundation grants, corporate and social club donations, HEB grocery gift cards and Flamingo Flocking to earn money to support Project Graduation. Flamingo Flocking, a project where someone can order pink flamingos and have them land in someone else’s yard, has earned over $1600. Chandler hopes to eventually be able to have McCallum donate funds to other high schools to help them fund a graduation night event. Senior Miguel Minick earned $480 towards Grad Knight after he created a video that showed the dangers of drink-

ing and driving and talked about graduation. Any video that was entered into the contest created by the Texas Department of Transportation was awarded $480.

“I didn’t have that much time to prepare.” Minick said. “I just got two friends to help me, and my brother was in town for spring break and he helped me film it. I just tried to make it interesting and engaging instead of reading a script.

That would be kind of dry. I had a day to shoot it, edit it and turn it all in. It was actually pretty hectic but fun too.”

Project Graduation includes speakers, student events and seminars. Chandler said because the program is for the community, the more the community is involved, the more likely it will survive, flourish and add value to the high school experience.

“Many people think Project Graduation is just a party,” Stites said. “It’s really an entire education effort that supports a party, as well as other important events, such as the Shattered Dreams program, to keep kids healthy and alive.”

Reckless Repercussions • Death by car is the number one mortality risk for adolescents, and alcohol consumption is implicated by 33% of these fatal accidents.

• Automobile fatalities that involve alcohol jump from 33% to 40% on graduation night • 1/3 of those under 21 who die in accidents lose their lives during graduation season • Statistics have shown that students celebrating on the evening of graduation can experience one of the most dangerous nights of their young lives Statistics provided by Brad Chandler according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Photo by Mary Stites

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Knights in need School social worker creates programs to support students HALEY HEGEFELD co-assistant editor

Brooke Anderson

Programs: Friends of McCallum: a group of concerned parents who want to meet the needs of students Support group for grief and loss: a place for students coping with loss to talk with others dealing with the same thing Knights in Need: Anderson sponsors sophomore Solana Oliver’s Gold Award, a program for collecting toiletries for students who need them Bus passes: a collection for students who need money to ride the bus home to make sure they are safe

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From her very first day at McCallum, school social worker Brooke Anderson said she felt welcomed.

“I wasn’t quite sure what to expect,” Anderson said. “Walking in to a new job is always kind of exciting, and I just remember really being blown away by how friendly everyone was and how welcoming everyone was. I was also happily surprised how people really seemed to understand my role and were excited, and right away were providing me with referrals, names of students they wanted me to check in with.”

Anderson said because hers was a role and service that people at the school really wanted felt good.

“I was already working for the school district in another capacity as a social worker,” Anderson said. “I knew the social worker before, [Bree] Borgsteadt, and she told me she was leaving and I was interested in getting back in to working more with a variety of age levels because I was focused only on elementary at the time. I was excited that I could possibly have the opportunity to step in to this role.”

Anderson serves the McCallum vertical team, which includes 13 schools of all levels. However, most of her time is spent at McCallum.

“I think I’m more visible here, so students come in and talk with me, and the counselors know me better, so they refer a lot more to me,” Anderson said. “For the other schools, I’m primarily a consultant.

If the counselors have concerns about a family or a student, they call me; they ask for some information or advice. I might

contact the family by phone, sometimes I’ll do home visits, but a lot of my time, I would say almost 50 percent of my time, is spent here.”

At the school, Anderson has started a group called Friends of McCallum Students, which is a group of concerned parents who want to make sure the needs of all students are met.

“I was following the other social worker’s lead when she was soliciting donations for bus passes because she found that to be a pretty big need of students, to make sure they got to school safely,” Anderson said. “As I was taking that over and soliciting donations, a parent came to me and said, ‘Well, what are some of the other needs? If kids need bus passes, they probably need some other things.’

We met and talked, and she thought that it would be good to open up to other parents who might be interested.”

Anderson has started a group for students with grief and loss, and another for coping with chronic conditions, whether that is a medical condition or a mental health condition. She also brought in a UT graduate student of social work to provide additional support for the students.

“The needs I see a lot are mental health,” Anderson said. “I think high school is a challenging time. There are lots of changes, not just physically and emotionally, but then there are also a lot of additional pressures once you get to high school with future planning. The course loads can be very demanding, so students many times need additional emotional support. Sometimes they can get that through school and sometimes they need a little bit deeper, a little more involved [support] and they need to be

referred outside.”

Nurse Kathleen Volkaert works closely with Anderson to support the students.

“A lot of times I might be the first person to see a student that comes in just to maybe rest or chill out or whatever,” Volkaert said. “Then I find out by talking to them that maybe they’re having some anxiety or depression or just some psychosocial issues that really a therapist would be better at working with. I usually always ask them and tell them we have a social worker here on campus who can help refer them to outside agencies or who can even see them, so I ask if that’s okay. I always want to get the student’s permission for that. I will either email or call her and see if she can meet with that student.”

Counselor Mindy Croom, another staff member Anderson works closely with, said she is a great member of their team. She said Anderson is dependable and gets along very well with kids.

“When Bree left back in the fall, before we met [Anderson], we were like, ‘ugh,’” Croom said. “We were so sad, and then [Anderson] came in, and she’s just great.

She hasn’t missed a beat.”

Anderson said her goal is to make sure every student knows there are services to help him or her.

“I’m always surprised when I meet with a new student,” Anderson said.

“Like, ‘How have I not known about this?

How has this student fallen through the cracks? They’ve been taking care of themselves for this long without any support.’

So my goal is to do some more outreach so that students know that this service is available because there are lots of caring and concerned people that want to help and provide some basic needs.”

Anderson’s Career History

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St. David’s Emergency Room Social Worker

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Learning Support Services with AISD

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news in brief MARA VANDEGRIFT news editor

Junior wins national scholastic writing award Junior Lizzie Fierro won a 2015 Scholastic Art and Writing silver medal for journalism on March 16.

“They judge it regionally first [where] I won a Southwest Gold Key [in February],” Fierro said.

“Then it goes to the national level and they choose their winners and split it up into gold, silver and bronze.”

Fierro wrote “Sexism in STEM Starts Early-So We Junior Lizzie Fierro won a Must Combat silver medal for journalism.

It Early Too” when she worked for an online newspaper over the summer and fall semester.

“The newspaper was a social justice themed newspaper,” Fierro said. “That was one of the topics we pitched. She had me do a lot of research on it. We worked on it for a long time, and then it was published in October. The contest was in December, so I was like, ‘Well, I already finished this, so I might as well see what happens if I enter it.’”

Fierro said she was very surprised when she won the key and medal.

“I actually totally forgot about it, so at least when I won the Gold Key I was like, ‘Wow, I didn’t know that was still a possibility,’” Fierro said. “When I won the silver medal, I was like, ‘Okay, I did not think that was gonna happen.’ But I was very happy.”

Winning this award gave Fierro more confidence and validated her hard work, she said.

“I think a lot more people should enter it, at least with the writing [portion],” Fierro said. “I know we have a lot of support for the art students, but I think we have a lot of good writers at McCallum, too.”

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PALS carried buckets like this to raise money for sustainable water facilities in Africa.

They also used these to take bucket baths.

PALS participate in shower strike to fund raise The PALS are participating in a shower strike in support of Well Aware, a local non-profit that builds sustainable water facilities in East Africa. Their goal is to raise $3,500, and they won’t shower until they do.

“I proposed this to the PALS, and they were all on board,” sponsor Richard Cowles said. “It officially began on Friday at midnight. I have shown them how to take a bucket bath. When I lived in Chad for three years, every time I bathed it was with a bucket, about four gallons of water. If they’re in athletics or whatever or if it’s just a little too much, they can still take a four gallon bucket bath.”

Cowles and the PALS are trying to raise awareness by carrying their buckets with them to raise money and contacting the schools that they visit.

“As I’ve been telling people, the day is not so bad, you’re moving and shaking,” Cowles said. “Falling asleep at night is a little noticeable, and the morning— I’ve been waking up a little early because I’m uncomfortable, but that’s kind of the point. To recognize a lot of people in parts of the world don’t have access to water, and this is what life is like.”

It takes $10 to provide sustainable water to one person. If the PALS meet their goal, they will bring sustainable water to 350 people.

“If you can establish a facility in a village, the technology is there, [then] it should be pretty sustainable,” Cowles said. “I think they do have to do some kind of maintenance, but I think once the facility is built, it kind of takes care of itself. They train local folks to be able to

repair it, and the parts are readily available, which is really the key. My time in Chad I saw a lot of projects that people had well-intended but were not well thought out. ‘Oh, we found this really cool pump.’ Well, that pump is only made in one part of the world, and when it breaks, the parts are impossible. You really have to focus on things that are sustainable.”

Cowles said the goal is to bring awareness and raise money.

“Anytime you gain new perspective on how people live and interact I think that’s a big gain,” Cowles said.

“One of those things that I’m lucky to have done is had those type of life experiences: been to Chad, lived there for three years, studied Spanish in Mexico, all those gain perspective on the plights of everyone. I think that’s an important attribute we can gain.”

President: Hannah Wright Vice President: Charity Copeland Secretary: Isabella Grossling Treasurer: Lilli Niester Publicity Chair: Melissa Palacios

New NHS officers announced The 2015-2016 National Honor Society officers were announced April 20.

“The officers work very much as a team,” NHS sponsor Jane Farmer said. “They bring up new ideas to do.

This year we worked on improving things we didn’t think worked great in the past. They meet with the sponsors to decide what projects we’re gonna do and when we’re gonna meet.”

Each position is very busy, Farmer said. They each meet with sponsors to help think of ideas and make sure everything is on track.

“The president is the one responsible for getting stuff done,” Farmer said. “He or she leads the meetings, meets with the sponsors often to get updates and make sure everything is going, [and] is a leader in projects and activities that we do. The vice president steps in when the president can’t be there [and] has been traditionally very active in coming up with the projects and thinking them out. The treasurer just helps with the money, helps the sponsors count the money, and makes sure there is money. The secretary does a lot of record-keeping, takes attendance at meetings; the secretary keeps us on track.

The publicity chairman maintains the Facebook page and helps keep the word out about everybody.”

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Be a Betta filmmaker Junior Elizabetta Diorio named UIL state finalist for her films ‘Lucy and Grasshoper,’ ‘Plastic Bag’ EMMA CUNNINGHAM staff reporter

Junior Elizabetta Diorio, who went from middle school choir major to high school film director, competed and was a state finalist at UIL for her films “Lucy and Grasshopper” and “Plastic Bag.” After competing at UIL, Diorio’s films, such as “Plastic Bag” and “It’s Really Odd,” were featured at Austin Film Festival and South by Southwest.

“Usually I try to write a script about something that’s been on my mind lately,” Diorio said, “and I think the most important thing is coming up with good characters that are relatable and compelling and seem like people would want to watch.”

Diorio said she gets most of her inspiration from people and experiences in her life.

“I usually start with a character, [another version] of some different people in my life and go from there,” Diorio said.

Diorio was introduced to the four-year film program and started filming at McCallum when she was a freshman. “[I enjoy] the people you meet and work with, and it’s a really unique environment,” Diorio said. “There’s not a lot of programs where you are the head of it and you are controlling your story and finding actors for the films.”

Diorio said the biggest difference in each film process is working with the different actors and the new experiences with each person.

Film teacher Kenneth Rogers has worked with Diorio for almost three years and said he knows her style of filming. “[Elizabetta is] very good at tell-

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ing a story,” Rogers said. “She’s extremely good at directing the actors, and she is very good at getting what she needs from her crew.”

Diorio said she loves the challenge and the learning experience of filming and directi n g

her own films.

“Plastic Bag” is about a guy who is in the middle of his life, dealing with mediocrity. He goes through his awful day, and he goes to a grocery store where he fights for a plastic bag and regains h i s

Diorio looks into the camera while filming a short film for her Audio Video Production Class. Graphic by Mary Stites.

vigor through that experience. “[My friend and I] were talking about when the bags were banned, and we were [thinking] what if that was the last straw for someone,” Diorio said. “We thought about what would have to be going on in a person’s life to make them feel that way.”

Though these usually short films with possibly no dialogue may seem easy to make, the process of filming and editing take much longer than the three to 25 minutes the audience see on the screen. Diorio had a seven-minute film that actually took four months of work.

“The most difficult part is definitely keeping a present mind on set,” Diorio said.

“There’s a million different things you have to think about, especially in the guerilla [all over the place] filmmaking we do.”

Diorio’s newest film is 25 minutes long, and she will have to continue working on it over the summer.

“I’m trying something a little more experimental and visually-oriented,” Diorio said.

Diorio said she wants her films to be more visually-oriented in the sense of meaning and quality above an average high school student.

The 25-minute script Diorio is currently working on for the summer is about a kid who, when he was really young, wanted to be the president of the moon. However, that dream never really faded away, becoming less cute and less socially acceptable as he got older. “[I] put a lot into [filming],” Diorio said. “It’s nice when someone else thinks that you have a compelling story and you executed it well too.”

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Altered Ego Fake IDs easier to spot than many teens realize HANNAH ILAN

staff reporter

As senior Jean Poole* orders a margarita, the waiter asks to see her ID. After pulling out her handmade, temporary drivers license, she reads the menu nervously, trying to act calm as the waiter inspects her ID. For many high school students, the burden of purchasing alcohol is lifted after they gain access to a fake drivers license.

While fake IDs are nerve-racking to use and are sometimes hard to pass as real, the rewards of getting away with it are what makes having a fake ID worth it, Poole said. The best part, she added, is that you can go do things that you aren’t able to do if you’re under 21. “[I think having a fake ID has made drinking] a lot more fun because I have always wanted to go to 6th Street and I finally went. It was a really great night,” Poole said. “It was awesome, so it was fun to have finally been able to do that.

I might get sick of it eventually, but for now, while I first have it, it’s pretty fun.”

Along with enjoying the perks of having a fake ID, many students also keep the consequences of getting caught in the backs of their minds, influencing where and how they use them. Junior

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Photo illustrating the process of making a fake ID. Graphic by Hannah Ilan.

Mary Christmas* said she rarely uses her fake ID to purchase alcohol because the risks are quite high, and she doesn’t want to get caught just because she was buying alcohol for a party that weekend.

She only risks it for special events such as holidays or nights out on the town.

“If you have all of your information on it besides your real birthdate, then it’s a misdemeanor, or a class C,” Mary said.

“But if you don’t have any of the real information, then you’re pretty much saying that you’re someone else, and that’s a felony.”

Although students are finding ways to make fake IDs look more and more real, there are new technological ad-

vancements that liquor stores and law enforcements can use to catch fake IDs, Sam Issa, an employee at King Liquor, said. Black lights and card readers are helpful in trying to spot fake IDs, but according to officer Mike Reilly, there are decent sized handbooks that detail all the specific holograms and hidden words real IDs have that can help people spot the differences between fake and real IDs. “The fake ID doesn’t have any state seal on it, so it looks so real but it looks kind of faded a little,” Issa said. “So the real ID if you grab it and wiggle it back and forth, you will see the state seal or the state stamp in the background. They

are often thinner and it is not as shiny and it doesn’t have any seals. Also, if you scan a fake ID, it will give you, ‘Error, error,’ so it won’t go through. Any newer credit card system will show you. For alcohol purchases, it has to be perfect. And if someone has somebody else’s ID, we have the right to take their ID and report them to the police.”

According to Riley, students get IDs from states that aren’t very common. Places like Hawaii are very popular because not many people come from there, so police officers don’t know what specific details to look for, so they often believe the ID is fake. However, Riley added, there are a lot of holograms and hidden images that are very hard to fake, especially because regular printers aren’t precise enough, which easily gives away if an ID is real or not.

“It’s not too difficult to make fake IDs,” Poole said. “There is a website online and you can order ID templates for $5 and you can download them onto your computer. I downloaded the [California] template from the website, and then I used InDesign and I just put my picture in the picture box. I would make boxes that said like “First name” and “Last name” and I would do that and then I would used the color tool to fill it in. Then it was just like a basic font, so I typed in my name and everything. And that was it.” *Names in this story have been changed for the privacy of the individuals.

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Facing reality

1. Austin Fire Department works to get the crash victims, played by Seniors Megan Dale, Blakley Dancy, Rosevelt Mathews and Charlotte Lichtenheld out of the car.

2. Dancy, who was declared dead on the scene, is escorted off in a hearse at the end of the Shattered Dreams presentations..

3. Senior Adam Freng, the drunk driver in the scene, acts through a field sobriety test.

4. Lichtenheld is moved into the helicopter that is headed to the Emergency Room of Dell Children’s Hospital on a stretcher.

5. Dancy lies beside the car as students arrive at the crash scene with Lichtenheld waiting to get removed from the vehicle.

Photos by Aiden Foster

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All good in the hood

Students come to McCallum from all over Austin

HYDE PARK A historic area located in central Austin, Hyde Park stretches from 38th and Guadalupe to 50th and I-35. Although minutes from West Campus and downtown, it’s actually a quiet neighborhood full of close, quirky families and local businesses, including Avenue B Grocery, Austin’s oldest continuously operated grocery store. Over the years, as with much of the city, the property values have skyrocketed, which has brought a lot of attention and wealth to the area.

Places to check out: Black Gallery Lagoon, Mother’s Café

BARTON HILLS An area predominantly known for its festival grounds and popular streets, the Barton Hills neighborhood starts in Zilker Park and spreads to where 360 and Loop 1 meet. Being among downtown and trendy parts of south Austin, this neighborhood keeps it weird while still being relatively quiet and family-friendly. In the mix of houses that have been standing for decades are more modern homes with newer homeowners, which is becoming more popular.

Places to check out: South Congress, CRAFT

TARRYTOWN Tarrytown, another historic neighborhood of Austin, is a friendly community in between Loop 1 and Lake Austin. Weekly newsletters keep everyone up-to-date, including upcoming events and offers on jobs. Tarrytown is also home to Laguna Gloria, now a site for contemporary art. The neighborhood lies in the active central Austin, but the lush forestry keeps it quiet.

Places to check out: Pease Park, Magnolia Café

CHERRY WOOD A small triangle east of I-35 and lying between Airport and MLK Blvd. is Cherrywood, one of the friendliest neighborhoods in Austin. The locals aren’t afraid to strike up a conversation with strangers, but almost everyone in the area knows each other.

The whole community is diverse, from the locals who live there to the businesses and homes existing there.

Places to check out: Cherrywood Coffeehouse, Patterson Park

AIDEN FOSTER staff reporter

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Graphic by Aiden Foster

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HALEY HEGEFELD co-assistant editor

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1. Juniors Hannah Cooley and Isabella Grossling put prom invites into the envelopes. Photo by Haley Hegefeld 2. Juniors Sierra Moore and Alexia Heinrich work on stuffing the envelopes for seniors who purchased tickets. Photo by Haley Hegefeld.

3. Senior class president Kate Pargaman organizes and alphabetizes the envelopes to later deliver. Photo by Hannah Ilan.

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Freshman year, the student council officers looked a little different than now. T-shirts, athletic shorts and sneakers were the outfits of the day, and they always had a lunchbox in tow. One thing that hasn’t changed about them, though: They’ve always known they wanted to have an amazing prom.

“You can only do a certain number of fundraisers every year, and we’ve been doing the maximum with T-shirts and candy canes and the Crush sodas,” student council president Kelly Olson said. “We’ve just been working really hard to try to raise money so that we’re able to have a nice prom this year.“ The officers, seniors Olson, Mary Stites, Megan Jones, Kate Pargaman and Harrison Brown, spent countless hours in the main hallway during lunch selling items to have the money for an event they could only imagine at the time. Now, they can finally begin to see it.

“We researched places that you can have a prom because not all locations will let you have a prom,” Olson said. “Then we saw how much money we had and what we were working with, and we were able to narrow it down to places that people at McCallum would be excited about.”

Finally, senior class sponsor Stephanie Stanley had an idea they all loved. The officers knew they wanted to have prom in a venue that was unlike any that had been done before, so when she proposed to have prom at the Blanton Museum of Art, the officers jumped on the idea.

“I got super-excited when we walked in because they have this big, blue wall made out of tile there, and I was like, ‘Wow, that’s so perfect because our school color is blue,’” Olson said. “Then seeing the stairs where you can look out over and imagine what it’s going to be like when we get to dance there. The people that are in charge of the events at the Blanton had pictures from a different event that was kind of like a prom. Seeing how they did it and how it’s going to be, oh it’s so exciting. I’m just very excited for everything.”

McCallum is the first school to have its prom at the Blanton.

Stanley said the managers of the Blanton were very excited to have them because they wanted to get their name out there for being a nice venue as well as a museum.

“I figured that if we have [prom] somewhere that McCallum had never had it before, that nobody had ever had a prom before, and it was a cool space that

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people knew because I know a lot of McCallum students go to the Blanton for fine art stuff, so they were familiar with it,” Stanley said. “They would think it was cool.”

Once the venue was set, the officers began to construct the details, deciding on the layout and the decorations.

“If you first walk in, the entire downstairs floor will be the dance floor,” Stanley said. “We’ll have cocktail tables and water and lemonade and stuff downstairs and then we have the big stairway that goes upstairs. There’s a mezzanine balcony that overlooks the dance floor, and that’s where the desserts and the food will be.

We’ll have some big round tables up there for people to go up and sit, but you can still look over and watch the dancing.”

The museum is known for the blue tile walls in the foyer, which Olson said are beautiful on their own, so minimal decoration will go a long way. Decorations will include flower centerpieces, white lights and flameless candles.

“We can’t use a lot of decorations there since it’s a museum,” Olson said. “Like they don’t want us putting tape on the walls or tacks or anything. I actually enjoy that because there’s no chance of

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it being tacky or anything.”

The Blanton, unlike many other venues, also lets the client choose its own services for the DJ and catering, among other things, Stanley said. This allows the price to be more flexible.

“The Bob Bullock [one of the competing venues] does this thing where they roll in the catering and the rentals and stuff all in to one so you don’t really have a lot of options as far as how much you want to pay,” Stanley said. “They just do it all for you, like a wedding venue usually would. The Blanton gave us a bunch of options for catering and a bunch of options for rentals that they usually work with so that I could look around for who was going to give us the best deal.”

In addition, student council was granted the non-profit discount for the venue. This means the officers have to prove that they spent every dollar that they made on the prom.

Now, all that is left to do is get themselves ready for tomorrow.

“I think it’s going to be very gratifying [when I go to prom] because we’ve worked for this so hard,” Olson said. “I’m going with Megan [Jones] and Mary [Stites].

We’re going to be in the same group, and the three of us have worked so hard for this. I think it’s going to be very like, ‘Wow, we finally accomplished it.’”

Question: What was your favorite fundraiser that you’ve done?

Student council president Kelly Olson: “When we did the candy grams because we kind of stole it from ‘Mean Girls.’ We had somebody deliver them dressed like Santa Claus. It’s pretty fun to see everyone when you go into class to hand them out. Everyone gets really excited about it.”

Question: What was your promposal?

Student council treasurer Harrison Brown: “I took Megan [Jones] to a Mexican restaurant. I had a sign that said ‘Will you got to prom with me, or is this too cheesy?’ I brought out queso and a cheese quesadilla.”

Question: If you could make a prom playlist of three songs, what would they be?

Class president Kate Pargaman: “‘Love In This Club’ by Usher, ‘True’

by Spandau Ballet and ‘Fergalicious’ by Fergie.”

Question: How did you find your prom dress?

Student council vice president Megan Jones: “I went to BCBG the Outlet because BCBG dresses are really, really nice and expensive, but at the outlet, they have them discounted.”

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A sizeable change to body image Local models pioneer new idea of a perfect body JULIA ROBERTSON staff reporter

Models are portrayed as people who have perfect bodies, but that couldn’t be further from the truth, according to sophomore model Ellie Hathaway.

“I think everyone feels self-conscious about their body, me included,” Hathaway said. “Even models get that sort of stereotypical skinny girl, perfect look, but it’s not like that at all.”

Currently working with her own personal agent, Hathaway got her start modeling two years ago when she lived in Seattle. She has modeled for about two years. Freshman Tess McMillan has modeled for about a year and got into the industry when her mom’s friends started needing models for their art. Both

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McMillan and Hathaway want to turn their modeling jobs into a professional career when they are older.

“I definitely want to continue modeling when I am older,” McMillan said. “My favorite part of modeling is getting my makeup done, and that sounds really girly, but I like it because I feel just really glamorous.”

Hathaway has her favorite part of modeling as well.

“I love the different clothes, and when you get a really fun and great photographer and crew, it’s really fun to work with them,” Hathaway said.

Common stereotypes can be found in modeling too, Hathaway said.

“I think the most common stereotype would be the super-skinny, almost anorexic and starving yourself just to

model,” Hathaway said. “It definitely does not have to be like that. I don’t starve myself. You watch what you eat, but I don’t starve myself. I know a lot of models that don’t, and most models don’t. So that’s a very untrue stereotype.”

McMillan said she doesn’t want the modeling industry to control who she is.

However, the amount of requirements the agency makes Hathaway follow becomes stricter and stricter a few weeks before the shoot.

“For about two weeks before the shoot, you drink a lot of water and do a lot of de-toxes,” Hathaway said. “And then about a week before you really limit eating. Although I don’t starve myself, I really limit what I eat. Mostly just fruits and vegetables and juices, and then about 12 hours before you only have

water. It’s really hard physically for me because I’m on sports teams. My energy really lowers, and you’re not eating a lot.

Plus, you’re just really not that happy because your calorie intake is so low.”

Her body doesn’t thank her for this super-dieting, Hathaway said.

“I’ve wanted to quit a few times because I have just been so hungry,” Hathaway said, “and after some shoots I will just go get ice cream right after or brownies or something.”

Hathaway said it can be hard for her to understand why she has to diet so much.

“Physically, when I have to diet so much, I am very hungry and really tired,” Hathaway said. “And mentally it is tough sometimes because you are thinking, ‘When I was hired by them I

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Freshman, sophomore overcome challenges of body image continued from page 18 was eating more and they liked me then.’ And then sometimes you are thinking, ‘Why I am doing this? Why am I dieting and limiting my eating?’ I guess you just kind of have to get over that and tell yourself that it’s only for a week and it’s really no big deal.”

Cutting down on food intake by a large amount is a huge stereotype regarding models, McMillan said.

“I don’t think that there is just one ideal type of beauty. It’s superunfortunate that in this industry you have to be just one thing and that’s it,” McMillan said. “It also leaves out like a lot of beautiful bodies and faces. So yeah, I’m really focused on it not controlling my life. I have thought about body image a lot in modeling. I know that regarding

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modeling there’s just an image that you kind of have to be, and I don’t want that to control my life. I’m definitely not going to stop eating.”

Models in the industry find themselves comparing themselves to other models, Hathaway said.

“It’s interesting because the more I get into it, the more I compare myself to other models,” Hathaway said. “I’ll compare myself in pictures to other models and stuff. You absolutely compare yourself to other models in other pictures.”

Hathaway says when she goes back to look at her photos later on, the frustration sets in as she sees how much they have been Photoshop.

“It’s tough every now and then looking at the Photoshop pictures because you think, they hired me when

they saw me in person and that’s what they wanted,” Hathaway said. “Well, now they go and change all the pictures and whatnot, and you know that it happens. And sometimes they don’t change it much, which is great, and you’ll think to yourself, ‘This is awesome. I look like myself!’ But then when they do change it so much you think, ‘Well, it doesn’t even look like me, so why did they even ask me?’ So it can be really tough that way.”

A law was recently passed in France to have a required minimum weight for models to comply with. Hathaway said it would be a good idea to pass a similar law here in the United States.

“I think there should definitely be a law for minimum weight,” Hathaway said, “because for someone to take it

that far and starve themselves to death is crazy. I think there should be a minimum weight, 100 percent.”

McMillan said no one has the perfect body.

“I’ve learned that nobody is perfect and you can never be perfect and you can never have the perfect body,” McMillan said, “and there really isn’t a perfect body because there are so many different types of bodies.”

Her advice to models just starting out is simple.

“Don’t change who you are, mentally.

And don’t change the way you look, physically, just to model,” Hathaway said, “because in a year or two you’re going to be out and it’s not going into be worth it. Don’t change who you are.

Don’t change who you want to be.”

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Jump for joy Blue Brigade performs ‘Dancin’ on Air,’ the annual spring show

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1. Silhouettes of sophomores Brittne Miller, Laney Hawn and Ariella Dos Santos, the BB Trio.

2. Blue Brigade members perform their jazz dance routine.

3. The Dancin’ Dads dance with their daughters.

4. 2014-15 Captain Allie Faulkner leads the group during “Last Dance,” a Blue Brigade spring show tradition.

Photos by Aiden Foster.

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Freshman Max Perez targets freshman Jack Switzer in passing drills. Photo by Ben Brown.

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co-sports editor

The Knights football team will kickoff its 2015 spring football season on April 23, which will culminate with the spring game on May 21.

Last year, the Knights didn’t participate in spring football due to the departure of former head coach Jason Cecil. Only eight players from the 2014 varsity team will return after losing 20 seniors to graduation, including district MVP Sabian Cannon and nine first team All-District players.

“It’s going to be a challenge,” sophomore Ben Wangrin said. “There’s going to be a bunch of new starters who haven’t played at the varsity level, so they’re going to have to learn things quickly.”

Wangrin said he wants to teach the newcomers like he was taught when he made the varsity team “I want to be able to answer their questions and help them in whatever way possible. We don’t want to make excuses and temper our expectations just because we have so many new faces,” Wangrin said. “Last year, Manny Berrelleza and Brent Chandler really helped me adapt, and it made the process a lot easier.”

Wangrin said the main thing the newcomers need to remember is that they are on varsity for a reason.

“We need to help the new kids not get down on themselves and help them stay confident,” Wangrin said. “I think that will be the biggest problem they will have.”

Head coach Charles Taylor said the biggest difficulty with having so many new faces will be the process of starting over.

“The biggest difficulty with that is in the past years we’ve had kids who’d been with us for three years, so they knew what to do, so we were adding to the playbook,” Taylor said. “Now with new kids, you have to make sure they know the basic playbook. We got to teach them from scratch, and that’s the toughest part.”

Taylor did say there are some benefits

from being able to start over.

“A lot of times you’re starting with upperclassman,” Taylor said. “They already have their way of doing things, but starting with young kids gives you a blank slate, so you can teach them not to develop bad habits. You can fix them before they get into bad habits.”

Taylor said he has dealt with a big roster turnover while coaching before.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time, and it’s worked out before,” Taylor said. There’s been years where I had a bunch of sophomores starting and playing. They ended up playing together for three years, so by their senior year we had a well-rounded team. It takes a year or so to really get it going. But this occurrence is nothing out of the ordinary.

You just have to remember these kids have never gone through this process before, so you have to treat them as such. With the senior class we had this year, there were certain things I expected. With new guys, you have to address from the bottom up.”

Taylor said he refuses to temper his expectations for next year’s team just because of the newcomers.

“You just have to lay it out there,” Taylor said. “We talk every day about what the expectations are, and you have to take it in steps. We don’t shoot low here. They’ll still be expected to beat Anderson, win district and win the bell.”

Taylor said there are many positions where they need someone to step up, but none are bigger than the quarterback position.

“Offensively, it all starts with your quarterback, and we have got to find a new quarterback this spring,” Taylor said. “It all starts from that spot, so once you have that taken care of, you can work from there. We’ve had Sabian Cannon for a few years, and he was a good one. He was a team leader and he was kind of like a coach on the field, so there were certain things he knew he was supposed to do that you didn’t have to tell him to do.

When you got somebody out there like that to help the younger kids and take the leadership role, it helps everyone stay calm.”

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sports in brief

Junior Lily Dickenson shoots against a LBJ in 2-1 loss March 14. Photo

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Junior Luke Richter tees off in the district tournament April 2 at Colovista golf course. Photo by Nancy Nitardy.

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Girls soccer falls in first round

Baseball closes in on district title

Varsity girls soccer team fell to Vista Ridge 8-0 on March 27 in the first round of the playoffs, ending the season.

“We all knew that it was going to be a really tough game,” sophomore Quinn Bingham said. “I was happy that we even went to the playoffs in the first place, so I was just ready to play as hard as I could.”

McCallum played Bastrop to decide the district title on March 23 and lost 3-0, making the team runner-up.

“It would have been nice to have done better, but we all were playing really hard,” Bingham said. “I think if we had been working just a little bit harder in practice, the outcome of these last two games would have been different.”

According to Bingham, the team just needs to focus on rebuilding for next year and try to fill the shoes of seniors who are leaving.

The Knights baseball team is closing in on a district title with a record of 11-1.

The team sits in first place a half game in front of Cedar Creek.

“Other than one game, I think we have played really well so far in district,” senior Eric Sandoz said. “Our team needs to really work on having energy in every game. Our one loss to LBJ was embarrassing because we did not have any energy and did not play to our level.”

The team will face Cedar Creek twice in the final week of the regular season to decide who wins first place in district.

“I’m definitely not worried about the games,” Sandoz said. “I am really excited to get to play Cedar Creek since they did beat LBJ twice, and they are going to be incredibly important for both teams.”

The Knights’ next game is tonight against Travis at Northwest Field.

Golf team fails to advance

Softball team fights for final playoff spot in district

The golf team competed in the district golf tournament April 26. The team did not place high enough to advance to the regional tournament, though.

“I’m definitely disappointed that we did not make it to the next round,” senior Bret Smith said. “As a team we played well but just not well enough to finish second.”

The Knights finished in third place behind two Bastrop teams. Only the top two teams had the chance to advance.

“The course that we played on is Bastrop’s home course and a course that we have not played on that much,” Smith said. “We have played there a few times before, so we cannot blame our lack of experience at Colovista for not advancing.”

According to Smith the, team needed to perform better around the greens and putting.

Seniors Smith and Nick Robertson received second team all district honors at the tournament.

The softball team is closing in on a playoff birth with two games left in the regular season and a record of 7-5.

“Being around the team has been really fun this year,” junior Melissa Minette said. “We have had really good chemistry this year, and that has really been seen in how we play defense. Since we communicate well, we are able to play well.”

According to Minette, the team has focused on offense in practice, which has been their weak point so far this year.

“We have been improving a ton, especially on offense compared to the beginning of the year,” Minette said. “We still can improve even more, though, but I think we are headed in the right direction for playoffs.”

The tam’s next game is tonight against Cedar Creek at Cedar Creek.

Senior Eric Sandoz pitches against LBJ in 9-7 victory on March 17.

Photo by Julie Robertson.

Senior Lyndsey McGinty pitches against Crockett in 9-2 loss on March 27. Photo by Laura Smith.

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Deja Gadison

The Shield: How long have you been doing track?

Deja Gadison: I started my seventh grade year.

TS: How did you get involved in track?

DG: Well, in third grade I had ran for a team, but at the time I was lazy. I was a lazy kid. I was like, ‘No I’m not gonna do track. I’m never gonna do track.’

But then I got into it in seventh grade and I started winning and winning and I liked it. I liked it a lot.

TS: What events do you compete in?

DG: The 100 meter dash, the 4X100 meter relay, the 4X200 meter relay, the 200 meter dash, and sometimes I run the 4X400.

TS: What is the hardest part about training for track?

DG: Just getting mentally there. The practices sometimes are really hard, so you’re there physically. Any-

The Shield: What got you into track?

JB Faught: I got interested in track with the idea that I could get faster for football.

TS: Has it helped you in football?

JBF: It’s definitely helped me. The physical part, it teaches you how to take care of your body, how to stretch right, and you have to learn how to eat right. Also, it gets you in good condition so you don’t get tired as easy, and you do a lot of strength and speed work, so you get stronger and faster.

TS: What events do you compete in?

JBF: I run the 100, the 4X1 relay and the 4X2 relay.

TS: What’s the hardest part about training for track?

JBF: Pushing through to finish the workouts because when you’re running a lot and you’re competing with your teammates, it starts to hurt. You have to push each other to keep doing it.

TS: What are you thinking about right before the gun goes off?

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JBF: Your heart is pumping fast and you get goose bumps and you’re kind of looking at the guys next to you. You have to focus on what you’re gonna do. For example, in the relays I’m the fourth leg. I watch my first leg take off, hands off to second leg, and the whole time it just keeps building up and building up and then I get the baton in my hands and it kind of explodes. That’s when things are in my hands. Everything kind of zones out and you just go.

TS: How do you mentally prepare yourself for a meet?

JBF: You have to relax because if you’re nervous, you kind of sweat more, you have to go to the bathroom more and it burns nervous energy. But if you’re relaxed, chances are you’ll perform better because you have a clear head. You know what to do.

TS: How do you relax during a meet?

JBF: Make small talk with your friends.

Like when you’re sitting around with your friends stretching, we just kind of joke with each other, keep the conversation relaxed.

TS: After you have a run that you’re not so proud of, how do you come back from it?

JBF: We think about it. You keep it on your mind, in the front of your thoughts when

body’s there physically. You just have to be mentally there to practice.

TS: What’s your goal for this season?

DG: This season my goal is to make it past regionals and possibly go to state. But hopefully I want to run not a 12 flat but like a 12.1.

TS: What’s the best part of track?

DG: Getting something right, or beating someone who’s beaten you so many times and then finally beating them. That feeling is so good.

TS: What do you bring to the team?

DG: I bring a lot of motivation to other people because most of the girls on the team look up to me. So I have to do everything good, like make sure they don’t see me talk back or anything. I mean, I don’t do that anyways, but I try to help them. Like they say, ‘Oh I can’t be like Deja,’ and I’m like, ‘Yes you can. You can be just like me if you just work and stop worrying about me and worry about yourself. Try to be better than me. Don’t try to be just like me. Try to be better.’

TS: What’s something about training for track that people might not know?

DG: It’s really not that hard, like for sprinters it’s really not that hard. We just have short distances and long rest time, long breaks. Even when we do longer stuff we have the longest breaks, so it’s really not that hard because you get long breaks to catch your breath.

TS: What have you learned from track?

DG: I learned that it’s fun. It’s not just about you. You still need other people around to help you perform better.

It’s not an individual sport. It really is a team sport because you need the other people to help you do better because you can’t just do it by yourself.

TS: How do you prepare yourself mentally?

DG: I tell myself, ‘Okay, you know, it’s going to be hard, but it’s going to come out good later on.’ I just tell myself to practice hard now and go do all of the sweat and tears and stuff, and then once I go to the track meet, just perform and I’ll do good.

TS: What’s your best record?

DG: My best record is 12.5 seconds in the 100.

you go to practice because if you forget about it, it’s not there to motivate you. You have to remember how bad it hurts, how it feels to get beat, and how it feels to be embarrassed and that kind of drives you.

TS: What have you learned from track?

JBF: I’ve learned how to not let yourself get so down. It’s easy to lose a football game, and that’s devastating, but when your teammates look to you, you can’t let them see devastation because you have to get ready next week for the next game, so you have to hold yourself a little bit higher.

Also, you learn how to work hard on your own because track is really an individual sport. The spotlight is on you when you run, whereas in football you can kind of hide because it’s not one- on- one, but in track there’s this little bit of fear because it’s just you versus the other guys.

JB Faught

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The ultimate rivalry Knights’ frisbee team takes down LBJ 10-7

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4 3 1. Freshman Atiyeh Assaf leaps for the frisbee, jumping over two defenders.

2. Senior Ben Monroe catches the frisbee on the run looking to advance it up the field.

3. Junior James Sullivan tries to block the frisbee from advancing while defending the opponent.

4. Junior James Sullivan reaches back behind him to try to catch the frisbee on the run.

5. Senior Ben Monroe looks for a teammate to pass the frisbee to while being defended.

Photos by Mary Stites.

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Scoring a scholarship Senior invited to play soccer for Webster University HANNAH ILAN staff reporter

Sitting at home, senior Jeremy Statman received a text message from Webster University’s head soccer coach, Mike Siener, confirming that he not only was offered a spot on the team, but also a scholarship to play.

His hard work and dedication to two soccer teams had finally paid off when he learned that he was given the opportunity to play on the university’s team with a scholarship.

“When they sent in the report, I was exhilarated about what I got,” Statman said. “I didn’t know I was gonna get as much

as I did, or if I was gonna get anything at all. I knew about the school so I sent the coach an email, he looked at my Hudl account (a website where scouts can see a player’s sport history), he saw my highlight videos that I have and he emailed me back. We just kept in touch, and he decided that he wanted me to come play and got money from the school and everything.”

Throughout his time in high school, Statman played on both McCallum’s team and his club team, Lonestar.

Although he said he will learn new techniques during the summer to use while playing at Webster, he said he has also acquired many of skills from his two teams, including what it’s like to be a part of a team. From his six years on his club team, Statman not only learned how to pick up on other player’s playing style, but he’s also learned how to play at a faster pace than most high school teams, allowing him to have the knowledge of how to work with others to prevail through intense situations. However, he said his time on his high school team has not only been a fun experience, but he’s also learned important lessons that he’ll be able to use while at Webster.

“I think my freshman year prepared me the most,” Statman said. “I was the only freshman on varsity, and

I was playing against a lot of guys who were a lot bigger and stronger than me because we had about 13 seniors on the team that year. I didn’t play a lot, but what helped me was just playing against the guys who were bigger, stronger, faster and who knew more than me about soccer or were just better. It helped me a lot.”

With excellent academics, a prominent Jewish community (which he has been a part of in Austin) and family close by, Statman said he knew Webster University was the school for him. However, while Statman knows Webster is his ideal place, he is going to have to show the soccer team that he is the best choice for them too, on and off the field.

“Academics-wise it’s definitely going to be harder,” Statman said. “I’m definitely going to have to step up in telling myself to get it done on time. On the other hand, my level during the game is always really high. I’m always running after the ball, chasing after it if I lose it, just trying to go forward and score goals. But I also work back on defense. Hard work in general is what I’m pretty good at. I’ll just have to work as hard as I can and prove to the coach that I’m the right person in whatever position I play on the field.”

Senior Jeremy Statman aims for a shot. Photo by Hannah Ilan.

Team jersey design questioned The Ultimate Frisbee team has been a club for more than eight years. However, according the senior Ben Monroe, every year there is a controversy over the jerseys and whether they are school appropriate.

“I have not been dress-coded personally for wearing it,” Monroe said. “I know that other people in the past have been dress-coded, but we have never had to actually change what was on the jerseys.”

The team has used an acronym for McCallum Ultimate Frisbee since the team’s inception.

“What the jersey references and the implications of what it says would make it inappropriate for school,” Principal Mike Garrison said. “As the principal, I am the person who judges whether they are appropriate.”

Teacher Christopher Purkiss sponsors the Ultimate team.

“I’ve just jumped in as the sponsor, so I have not met with any administrator,” Purkiss said. “In the future, if there is an issue, the jerseys could change, but for right now, the jerseys have already been made. I will need to find out more in the future.”

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Students who wear the jersey at school are asked to either turn them inside out or put on another shirt, according to Garrison.

“If a student refuses to put on a different shirt, then they will be placed in in-school suspension,” Garrison said. “That has been my policy in the past. If it escalades any more, a parent will step in and persuade the student to make the corrections.”

Every year, students design the jersey for the team.

This year, Monroe and senior Joseph Curbello designed it.

“I know there are some potentially derogatory implications,” Monroe said. “However, all of the slogans are things we do in the course of a game, so I think people are making too big of a deal out of it.”

According to Monroe, if the jerseys were such a big deal, the administrators would just force them to change it.

“I don’t monitor as much what goes on out of school as much as at school,” Garrison said. “It was my understanding that the shirts were just to show you were on the team and they were not actual jerseys, but I think it is something

Senior Ben Monroe passes the frisbee around an LBJ defender. Photo by Mary Stites.

I could look into more.”

Monroe said the jersey has remained similar since at least the seniors of 2012.

“When we play, most of the players do not even pay attention to our jerseys,” Monroe said. “They usually have to ask what it means, and we explain the acronym. Some players don’t understand that it stands for McCallum Ultimate Frisbee and think we are only making a derogatory reference.”

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Daily deals BEN BROWN AND AIDEN FOSTER co-sports editor and staff reporter

Monday Dickey’s

Dickey’s Barbeque, located just across the street from Thundercloud on Burnet, offers above-average barbeque at a great price, especially if you partake in their great weekday deals that feature a new main item every day along with two sides and a drink for only $7.99.

I went on a Monday and got the pulled pork Big Barbeque sandwich with a side of waffle fries and green beans, and it was fantastic. They fry the fries up fresh to order and make your sandwich to order right in front of you, so you know it’s fresh. If I had ordered the sandwich, two sides and a drink at normal price, it would have been $3 dollars more. It made for a good meal.

If you’re craving barbeque and don’t want to spend $15, Dickey’s daily deals are the way to go.

Dickey’s also offers free soft-serve ice cream, so after every meal you can get a sweet treat.

Local restaurants offer noontime specials

the Austin area. They offer all the classic sandwiches a sub shop should. They offer 27 sandwiches as well as soups and salads. Bi-weekly they offer specials on their different subs, often close to $2 off the original price, which produces customer-pleasing deals on delicious sandwiches. The Thundercloud Subs location on Burnet is a stone’s through away from McCallum, a straight shot down Houston Street, which makes it a great choice for a cheap and delicious lunch.

Pinthouse Pizza

Thursday

Pinthouse Pizza

Titaya’s

Wednesday Titayas

Thundercloud Subs

Tuesday Thundercloud

Thundercloud Subs has been an Austin institution for close to 40 years and has 18 locations in and around

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Titaya’s Thai cuisine, located off Lamar Boulevard directly across the street from the McDonalds and is so popular with McCallum students, offers delicious Thai food classics at a great price during lunch hours.

Their lunch special runs from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday. They offer the many Thai classics like Pad Thai, a variety of fried rice dishes and an array of curries. Normally I wouldn’t go to Titaya’s for dinner because I believe it is over-priced and I do not want to pay that much for Thai food, but their lunch specials are great deals priced in and around the $8 dollar mark.

I got the Gang Massuman Curry, which is a red curry with potatoes, carrots, onions and chicken. It was delicious and was perfectly spicy. It was a huge portion, so huge that I had enough to take out a doggy bag. For lunch, the curry was knocked down $3 from the original price, which makes it a great and delicious deal.

Being a mile away from McCallum, Pinthouse Pizza is a must for lunch. The local business is known for its artisanal beers, but the food is just as beautifully crafted. For about $10, you can get a 10” pizza, drink and side salad. And if you’re worried about time, the restaurant is only five minutes away, and your food can be ready in 10. But you can also call in an order, and they’ll practically give you a tour of your meal to assure you you’re not walking away with a faulty lunch.

Friday Maudie’s

Maudie’s Tex-Mex, an Austin institution, recently opened a new location in the Triangle, a development located just down North Lamar. Maudie’s offers a dollar off the normal prices for some of their delicious Tex-Mex meals. They have five special plates that are featured on the lunch menu. I ordered the Mexican Plate, which came with two cheese enchiladas and rice and beans. The meal was delicious, very quick and very filling. Maudie’s serves a lot of good food for only $6.75, and it’s only about a five-minute drive from Mccallum.

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I’d take that

Staffer suggests classes that could be offered in schools What the heck are taxes and how do I pay them?

After all these years of being prepared for the “real world,” I’ve found that I am not at all prepared for the responsibilities of adulthood.

I mean, the government makes adults pay money that I don’t even know how to make. I need some help, high school. Give me one class to help me figure out the machine. I know how to flawlessly graph a polynomial function, but I know nothing about my taxes. Honestly, not only do I have no idea how to pay my taxes, I don’t even know what they are. Like, how many taxes do I have? Who do I pay my taxes to?

Are they going to send me to jail if I do them wrong? I just don’t know.

How to apply for college It’s so close yet so far, that big dark storm cloud that hangs over my entire high school career: college. Every test I’ve taken, every late night study session, every paper, every grade, every last broken pencil tip has been for this, and facing it is extremely overwhelming. I’m lucky because I know where I want to go, I have a goal ahead of me, but I don’t know how to reach it. At the surface the process seems too complicated. My biggest fear is that I’ll miss a step somewhere and put my whole future at stake. I wish I spent less time in school in classes to make the grades I’ll submit to college and there was window for me to take a class that taught me how to get there.

Every long conversation about the principles of existentialism, flashcard to memorize the periodic table and books about life in ancient Rome are supposed to help my future; but the “building blocks” of education don’t seem to be providing me with the tools I need to reach my future. I need an hour and a half every other day to be in a classroom where the curriculum is solely for me to complete my applications with one on one supported catered for my personal goals. A class for somebody to tell me, “Hey, it’s all going to be OK. Applying to college isn’t as scary as it seems.

Let me show you how.”

Woodshop Or any other classic high school class that is featured on every ‘90s TV show. You know, the classes where all of the main characters just happen to be assigned seats right next to each other, become lab partners and learn valuable life lessons from their teachers, who also just happen to teach all of their classes. My expectations of high school were dashed when I realized that my friends aren’t in all of my classes, and usually the bell doesn’t ring five minutes after the teacher finishes taking attendance.

If I could take woodshop with all of my best friends, just think of the sticky situations we could get ourselves into and then solve in 30 minutes or less.

Talk about great TV!

How to get over a broken heart Oh, high school. I mean, they can’t expect me to spend my days in this place, eight hours a day, 180 days a year, surrounded by endless social opportunities and not end up in a bad relationship or two. So in that case, it’d be really helpful to have an hour and half for when it inevitably doesn’t work out. Maybe a room with some couches, an endless supply of cookie dough and a constant loop of Taylor Swift’s “1989” playing in the background. Then I’d be ready to take that algebra test and not accidentally smudge all my answers with my tears. Okay, I guess high school heartache is not that rough. But still, some social recovery time would be much appreciated. Oh well, I shake it off.

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A joint Pre-AP World History and English II class Too soon?

NATALIE MURPHY assistant editor

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Taking a step forward Dancers perform variety of dances in spring show 1. Freshman Margaret Praderas dances in “El Choclo” as part of The Emerging Dance Troupe.

2. Junior Christina Beck and senior Jacob Roberts-Miller dance in “step.touch,” choreographed by Scott Marlow to a mix of music by Buddy Holly, Robert Henke, Sparks and Barbra Lynn.

3. Freshman Kennedy Schuelke dances in “Dissension: an experimental piece of clash,” choreographed by dance teacher Brazie Adamez and the Emerging Dance Troupe.

4. Junior Meg Willimont dances in “La Yumba” with Pre-Professional Dance Group.

5. Pre-Professional dance group including Nene Mbaya, Lauren Wallace and Meg Willimont perform “Carry On,” choreographed by adjunct instructor Amy Marrow.

Photos by Maya Coplin and Aiden Foster.

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