The McCallum HS Shield, Volume 66, Issue 5, Feb. 22, 2019

the

shield

McCallum High School / 5600 Sunshine / Austin, TX 78756 / Feb. 22, 2019 Issue 4 / Volume 66

REMEMBERING

COACH DON CALDWELL page 28

WHAT’S INSIDE Dissemination of rumored terrorist threats on social media causes Valentine’s Day absenteeism at Mac, page 9

Carole Keeton was a Mac civics teacher and a 3-term Austin mayor, but neither was the job she cherished most, page 13

The Shield’s official guide of how to enjoy all that SXSW has to offer without going bankrupt in the process, page 18

inside

page 27

the issue

news

05 09

Texas has the highest rate of children without health insurance in the country; experts discuss why this is and how to fix it.

13 15

Anna McClellan profiles her grandmother, a former McCallum teacher and the only female mayor in Austin history.

23 24

Senior Jules Sease discusses his experience working with the visual arts, including his fashion show debut.

McCallum recently experienced a safety scare when a current student was arrested for verbal and written threats.

feature Phones in the classroom: helpful tool, or hinderance to learning? Teachers weigh in with their policies.

a&e

Model: Sophie Lewis.

Designer: Mira MacLaurin and Emma Ollier.

Photo by Stella Shenkman

save

Feb/March

22 23 25 26 26 26 04 05 07 12 18 25

the date

State wrestling tournament (TBA) Track meet @ Drippiing Springs Boys basketball regional quarterfinals (TBA) Boys soccer vs. Crockett @ Noack @ 7:45 p.m.

Softball vs. LBJ @ Noack @ 7 p.m.

29 31

In the annual Teachers in Tiaras event, McCallum teachers showed off their skills, from rapping to improv comedy.

sports Archery is the newest competitive sports team at McCallum; they hosted their first tournament earlier this year.

Junior Sam Buford switches from baseball to wrestling; hear why he made the switch and how it’s been different.

opinion

33 34

Americans need not blame other countries for the world recycling crisis and instead re-examine their own habits.

In our board editorial,we examine the social media scare that rocked our school last week and see what lessons it teaches.

COVER: In memory of McCallum’s Coach Caldwell, Photo by Bella Russo.

page

11

Lady Knights soccer vs. Crockett @ Burger @ 7:45 p.m.

CAC Meeting (Library) @ 5:30 p.m.

Baseball vs. Anderson @ Northwest @ 7 p.m.

Late start Project Graduation meeting (Library) @ 5:30 p..m.

Spring break Classes resume

The Board of Trustees voted to rename Fulmore Middle School after longtime Fulmore teacher Sarah Lively.

Photo by Jazzabelle Davishines.

the

shield

New law supports zero-waste goal Austin businesses that sell food are now required to make the most out of compost

MIA TERMINELLA staff reporter

All Austin business with a permit to sell food are now required to redirect organic waste away from landfills. Businesses now have to provide employees with an outlet to properly dispose of these leftover organic materials. These compostable materials include soiled paper products, food scraps, cardboard, wax boards, flowers and landscape trimmings.

“We have these materials that we can put in a hole somewhere, or we can actually reuse and re-purpose them,” said Memi Cardenas, senior public information specialist with Austin Resource Recovery. Austin Resource Recovery manages the collection of trash, recycling, yard trimmings and composting material for approximately 200,000 local customers.

This requirement was set by the Universal Recycling Ordinance Diversion in support of Austin’s zero waste goal. The Austin City Council adopted the URO-approved the Austin Recovery Master Plan “to ensure that multifamily and commercial properties had access to recycling services,” said Jacob McCombs, a senior planter with Austin Resource Recovery. The URO and Austin recovery master plan set the stage for the department’s programs and services.

The aim of the plan is to reach the zero waste goal by 2040. This means keeping at least 90 percent of rejected materials out of the landfill.

The master plan outlines milestones and steps, such as the requirement of composting, to ensure that their goal is achieved.

The new redirection options regarding businesses are donating food to shelters, sending scraps to local farms and establishing on-site composting. Businesses are able hire haulers to pick up food waste, but the cost to employ the companies can be prohibitive.

Recently the cost to haul compost has gone down, however, due to there being less trash and therefore less cost to remove it.

Experts say that donating food can be difficult in practice.

“Although donating prepared food could help the city’s food-insecure population [those who do not have reliable access to food] dealing with prepared food from restaurants could create other challenges” said Tyler Markham, agency retail specialist for the Central Texas Food Bank.

Redistributing food to other organizations is challenging due to ensuring it is packaged and labeled accurately. Markham said it is easier to go directly to one of the organization’s partners. Businesses are also able to donate food scraps to area farms or compost food waste and paper products themselves.

Austin is in the process of rolling out its new residential curbside composting program, which as of now is available to 90,000 residents, but will be available to all by 2020. The city provides Austin Resource Recovery customers with a green cart for food waste, food-soiled products and yard trimmings. The material is then taken away and processed by Organics by Gosh, a local family fertilizing business who

22 feb. 2019

Batteries wait to be sorted and recycled at Austin Resource Recovery. ‘“We can put [these materials] in a hole somewhere, or we can actually reuse and re-purpose them,” said Memi Cardenas, a senior public information specialist with the waste-management company. Photo by Mia Terminella.

Composting trucks line the parking lot at Austin Resource Recovery. The company redirects consumer compostable waste to to a local family fertilizing business. Photo by Mia Terminella. composts the material and sells it locally.

Compost is classified as decomposed organic material that provides essential nutrients for plant growth. It can be used as fertilizer, and it can be used to improve soil structure to ensure that the soil can hold a correct amount of moisture, nutrients and air. There are many local Austin businesses that allow residents to buy/sell compost. The Natural Gardener in South Austin is an organic plant nursery and garden that makes and sells its own compost. Compost Pedallers is another local

business that is a 100-percent bike-powered recycling program. The Compost Pedallers collect compost from a wide range of homes and businesses and delivers them to gardens around the community and different urban farms.

Austin’s large number of farm-to-table restaurants, farmers’ markets and food trucks report having some success in meeting the new requirements.

Bryce Gilmore who owns Barley Swine, Sour Duck Market and Odd Duck said that

The compost bin at The Natural Gardener, where customers can buy fertilizer made from compost. Photo by Mia Terminella. “cutting down on landfill and waste through composting and recycling has been a large part of his mission.”

Composting rates continue to rise as local businesses and residents become aware of the benefits to composting and the different ways can be involved.

The URO says that “understanding how to make and use compost is in the public interest, as the problem of waste disposal continues to grow.”

news 03

the

shield

Task force issues final budget report Volunteer committee recommends cutting high transportation cost of magnets, student sharing JAZZABELLE DAVISHINES staff reporter

The Austin ISD budget has been a topic of discussion and debate for several months. On Jan. 7, the Budget Stabilization Task Force, created to address a $30 million deficit, released their recommendations for balancing the budget.

A large portion of the recommendations that were made focused on lowering transportation costs in the district. Magnet programs and similar organizations were examined in particular because of their currently high transportation costs.

Because magnet programs supply citywide bus transportation and especially because CapMetro provides free transportation for students, the task force recommended eliminating magnet transportation costs and establishing magnetquality classes at schools throughout the district.

Another cost-saving recommendations was to eliminate the high school sharing model. The high school sharing model is a program in which students have the ability to attend classes not offered at the school in which they are enrolled by traveling to other campuses that offer the course of their interest. “[Course sharing has] made [school] really interesting,” said senior Sutton Ballard, who attends the LBJ Fire Academy. “I’ve gotten to know people at LASA, LBJ, Lanier and Austin

High all through student sharing.”

Transportation costs are high for the program; students often drive themselves between campuses, but many students in the program are unable to do so and have relied on busing.

“Firefighting is a two-year program,” Ballard said, “so it would definitely affect juniors to not have buses.”

Participants say the high school-sharing model, though not a priority in the eyes of the district, has had positive effects on many students and provided them with opportunities they would have otherwise enjoyed.

“Not every school is able to offer every single class,” Ballard said. “McCallum doesn’t seem to have a lot of career-oriented classes whereas some of the student-share classes, like firefighting and veterinary science, are setting you up for a great career.”

The elimination of free transportation for schools with magnet programs is another major facet being discussed. Magnet programs require students to submit an application in order to be accepted into a school other than the school they are zoned to attend. Since magnet programs enroll students from all over Austin, the cost of transportation to and from these schools is significantly higher than other schools in the district. McCallum is a choice program (not a magnet program), so it would be unaffected by this proposed change.

An AISD teacher speaks to the Board of Trustees on the importance of maintaining teacherplanning periods during the development of the 2019 budget. Photo by Bella Russo.

Another measure being taken to fix the issues with the district budget are the consolidation of campuses with low enrollment, specifically those with enrollment lower than 60 percent of capacity.

Many community members have taken issue with this proposal due to emotional attachments and personal histories with certain campuses.

“It’s difficult because people care so strongly,” said senior Sophie Ryland, the only student member of the Budget Stabilization Task Force. “We have people coming and talking to us, really upset, because these campuses matter a lot to them.”

Other proposals include redrawing school

boundaries, eliminating tax exemptions for historical properties and implementing a program to reduce teacher turnover.

Though the district is forced to make difficult decisions regarding the budget, the BTSF says the voice of the community is still important to the process. There were town hall meetings regarding the budget at Travis and Reagan this week. A third such meeting will take place 11 a.m. Saturday at Austin High.

“It’s also great that people are so passionate about this,” said Ryland. “We really want to listen to people’s voices.”

Moms in Prayer Meet at Covenant Presbyterian Church Library

(Fellowship Education Building, 1st floor)

9:30-10:30 a.m.

October 11 November 8 December 13 January 10 & 24

February 14 & 28 March 14 & 28 April 11 & 25 May 9

Krista Sherwood 512-636-5854 ksherwood7604@gmail.com 04 news

Generic medications for less 512-465-9292 medsaverspharmacy@gmail.com 1800 W 35th St 22 feb. 2019

the

shield

Texas first in uninsured children

State has highest rate in country, with lawmakers at a stalemate over what policy to implement SOPHIE RYLAND co-editor in chief

Last December, both of junior Rose Dotson’s parents lost their jobs, and with them, their family’s health insurance. It became a serious issue when her brother appeared to have walking pneumonia, costing them hundreds of dollars, and later when they could no longer afford their daily medications.

“Everyone in my family is on medication, and I take about four different medications from anxiety to headaches to Accutane, and one time we went to pick up one medication, and it was $600 for a one-month prescription,” she said.

“And that’s when my family was like, ‘Yeah, we can’t pay for this.’ So none of us had any of our medications for that six-month timespan. And my brother [needed medication], and he didn’t have [it] when school started.”

Her parents tried to hide the severity of the situation from her, but she soon realized just how much of a financial impact a lack of coverage meant.

“I think my parents tried to shelter me from it at first for a little bit; it wasn’t until we started being really frugal with money that I was seeing that medical insurance is very important for everyone,” she said. “At first I was just kind of like, ‘Oh, it’s just whenever you need it; It’s not that expensive.’ But we learned that we couldn’t pay out-of-pocket, and it was a really eye-opening experience. Despite my parents trying to hide things from me and comforting me, saying that I shouldn’t be worried, it’s something to worry about. We were pretty much living off savings, and we couldn’t be dumping our savings into medication when we had a mortgage and car payments and everything else.

Her story is by no means rare; Texas is, according to a study by Georgetown University, ranked first in the country for rate of children without health insurance. Researchers found that 10.7 percent, or 835,000, children were uninsured, going up from 9.8 percent in 2016.

The study also concluded that one in five uninsured children in America live in Texas. “[Lack of insurance] makes it harder for children to get timely care, whether it’s vaccines to stay healthy, help for strep throat, detection and treatment of cancer before it spreads, eyeglasses to see better in the classroom, or therapy for a developmental delay or disability,” Peter Clark, communications director for Texans Care for Children, said.

This trend was not confined to the state level; legislative attempts to retrench public health programs, spearheaded by the GOP, led to 300,000 more uninsured children in America, a 0.3 percent increase over the course of one year.

“There are a number of reasons [Republicans oppose health care expansion]: resistance to spending money, opposition to policies that are associated with President Obama, an ideology that expects people to solve their problems on their own, and historically an opposition to public assistance programs in parts of the country where people of color are seen as

22 feb. 2019

Source: Georgetown University. Graphic by Sophie Ryland.

“We were pretty much living off savings, and we couldn’t be dumping our savings into medication when we had a mortgage and car payments and everything else.”

—junior Rose Dotson significant beneficiaries of those programs,” Clark said.

Policy experts say that more people became insured with the enactment of the Affordable Care Act and the streamlining of the enrollment process for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, but recent efforts to scale back the scope of those programs have reversed that trend.

“The ACA and CHIP have certainly made a big change in Texas, reducing the uninsured from roughly 27 percent to roughly 17 percent,” Warner said. “Medicaid expansion would be

an excellent initiative alone and help cover a large number of adults. Being more proactive in reducing barriers and outreach would help as well.”

Clark agrees the Medicaid expansion would greatly reduce uninsured rates.

“State leaders have not made health coverage a priority,” Clark said. “The biggest thing that state leaders should do is to accept Medicaid expansion funding to cover low-income adults, many of whom currently have no affordable insurance options.”

This issue has socioeconomic nuances; black, Hispanic and immigrant children are disproportionately more likely to be uninsured, and low-income families make up the majority of those who lack coverage.

“If children are in families with one or more adults who are recent immigrants, even though the kids may be citizens, the parents may be leery of signing them up for fear of exposing their situation or even threatening their green card status for fear of being identified as a public charge,” said David Warner, professor of health policy at UT Austin.

One solution would be to increase awareness of how the process to qualify for and enroll in government-provided health care works; many families that qualify simply don’t know how to sign up, or even that they’re eligible in the first place. According to the study, the Trump administration has cut navigators that guided people to sign up for public service, funding for

marketing and outreach and reduced the open enrollment period in 2018 from three months to six weeks. More than half of uninsured children are eligible for programs in which they are not enrolled.

“We need to put greater effort into outreach and enrollment efforts, including efforts that focus on reaching out to [socioeconomicallydisadvantaged] communities,” Clark said. “There are a number of limitations on immigrants’ access to Medicaid and other health insurance programs.”

Texan Republicans have said that they are dubious about the quality of Medicaidprovided health care and the promise from the federal government to reimburse 90 percent of any expansion of the program. Texas is one of 17 states that have opted out of Medicaid expansion. The Shield reached out to all of the Republican state representatives on the Texas House Public Health Committee; none responded to a request for comment.

“When the Affordable Care Act went into effect, we saw the uninsured rate in Texas decline,” Texas Senator Kirk Watson, D-Austin, said. “We can see further declines in the uninsured rate if Texas expands Medicaid, just like what has happened in the other 37 states (including D.C.). Such an action will have a significant impact on lower-income Texans, a group which is too heavily comprised of minority and immigrant communities.”

The Urban Institute released a report claiming that if Texas either chose to expand Medicaid or found another way to provide insurance for low-income families, then 1.2 million citizens would become eligible for free or reduced health coverage.

“While I am ever hopeful that this issue will be tackled this session, unfortunately the politics tied to it have gotten in the way of the help we can provide to those Texans who desperately need it,” Watson said.

In this year’s state legislative session, state Attorney General Ken Paxton has expressed his intent to reduce the effects of the ACA at the state level. However, multiple state representatives have proposed the Children’s Coverage Bill, which would allow children enrolled in Medicaid to only need to renew every year and would reach out to families eligible for Medicaid and CHIP but are not enrolled.

In a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, 64 percent of Texans said they supported accepting expanded funding for Medicaid at the state level, and 79 percent said they believed that “[e]xpanding Medicaid to cover more lowincome Texans” is either “a top priority” or “important.”

Dotson’s family remained uninsured until both parents found a new job last September.

She said that the experience changed the way she perceived the political discussion surrounding healthcare.

“I definitely was kind of skeptical of universal health care for everyone, that kind of ideal, but now I definitely do think that is something very important. … You know, it is something that everyone needs,” Dotson said.

news 05

the

shield

Will Texas legislature take action?

Senate, House aim to make progress on school reform, disaster recovery, gun control and more DIAMANTE DIAZ staff reporter Staring Jan. 8, the 86th biannual Texas Legislature began the 180 days of determining new Texas policies. This legislative year is supposed to be a year of progression and due to the new makeup of the House and Senate, Texans are eager to see what will happen next.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Republicans have been in control in recent years, but Patrick now must negotiate with Democrats in ways he has not before this year. The reason why?

If the Democratic state senators remain united, one Republican defector can block legislation and return the legislature to bipartisan negotiations, involving the cooperation of two parties, instead of hyperpartisan, being extremely biased towards a single political party.

The most probable Republican swing vote is that of senator Kel Seliger: the last old school moderate Republican who’s butted heads with Dan Patrick in the past. The last time was when Patrick strongly pushed an anti-transgender bill that caused a divide within his party.

No matter the numbers, Democrats and Republicans alike are all considering legislation seeking to bettering the school system in Texas as well as advancing bills dealing with disaster recovery, marijuana legalization and abortion.

Recapture is the collecting of school taxes from property-tax rich districts and redistributing them to property-tax poor districts. Though it seems to be a fair solution on paper, in practice, Robin Hood laws siphon money out of Austin because the property values in Austin have increased, causing the Austin school district to pay out more money and receive reduced school funds in return. Recently there has been talk of increasing property taxes and lowering school taxes so fewer revenues will be caught up by the recapture provision. $2.3 billion has been proposed for property tax relief if lawmakers agree to pass reform to decrease dependence on the socalled “Robin Hood” system. Unfortunately, the decrease in school funds has affected more than just the lives of students.

Teacher’s salaries have also taken a hit, and paired with property taxes increasing, teachers are finding it more difficult to even find affordable housing. The House’s top priority is school finance, but the question is how much of the $7 billion House education bill will be devoted to teacher raises? The Senate is offering $3.7 billion in teacher pay, enough to raise salaries by $5,000 per year.

School safety has also become more of a concern as only within the first five months of 2018, there were 16 school shootings, and Texans want to end that trend immediately. ”It’s a terrible thing to think about, the idea that our lives could be at risk in such a place like school,” senior Isabella Hernandez said.

Gov. Greg Abbott released a 43-page school safety plan after the Santa Fe shooting that took place May 18. The proposal considers a wide range of solutions from addressing mental health, to possibly adopting the “red flag”

06 news

law. The “red flag” law will allow the seizure or surrender of firearms by those deemed an imminent threat by a judge.

There is also the possible state program to arm teachers to be trained by the Texas Commission of Law Enforcement. The governor has proposed streamlining the 80-hour training course and lifting the rule that teachers have to keep firearms under lock and key.

While not all McCallum students would agree with Abbott’s proposals, may do feel that the government must take some action to make schools safer, especially in light of the recent scare over alleged terrorist threats to the McCallum campus.

“This is another wakeup call among many for our local government and beyond to enforce more common sense gun laws and restrictions,” Hernandez said.

Due to the damages left by Harvey, the city of Houston has hired the HillCo lobbying firm to appeal to the Texas Legislature for disaster recovery relief. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner openly stated that his top priority is getting disaster relief funding this session, and he hopes that lawmakers tap into the rainy day fund to provide it.

“Though neighbors and the community really helped out, it doesn’t feel like the state aided its people in any way,” Houstonite James Puckett said.

A few years ago the Compassionate Use Act was signed, allowing for the use of a specific type of cannabis oil for those with epilepsy, but not all who suffer qualify. This year, there may be a significant leap this year in the Texas Legislature.

“Though I don’t agree with full legalization, because I personally find the benefits of CBD oil to be enough for me, the punishments for a small amount of marijuana are far too elaborate,” said one parent who wished to remain anonymous.

With the bordering Texas states all having legalized the medical use of marijuana, Texas has been put under pressure to follow suit.

A couple of bills up for debate this year are the legalization of medical marijuana and the decriminalization for anything less than a gram.

More specifically, the bill aims to lower the punishment from a class B misdemeanor and up to six months in jail time, to a civil offense with up to a $250 fine.

Finally, two anti-abortions bills passed this month to prevent doctors from encouraging abortions and cease “dismemberment abortions.”

The “wrongful births” bills does not give women the right to sue doctors if their child is born with a birth defect so doctors will be less inclined to recommend aborting the baby. Senior Zoe Tormollen said that issue seemed fairly straightforward to her. ”It seems corrupt not to allow doctors to be sued if there was misconduct.”

Texans are eager to see what the legislation will bring us this session. With the new composition of the House and Senate in terms of political parties. The topics of this year are important, but the bills are also incredibly specific in what exactly they address. The Texas legislative session ends May 27, and until then the future of our state on a variety of important policy issues remains uncertain.

86th Texas Legislature:

How does it affect you ?

It all starts in January when the Texas Senate and House of Representatives meet for 180 days to decide on new policies and which to adopt

Teacher Pay

School Safety

Senate Offers $3.7B in teacher

A total of 40 school shootings have

pay raises-enough to raise

occurred since May of last year and with

salaries up to $5,000 per year

more lives having been affected, Democrats are pushing for stricter gun

55%

laws

A majority of high

Texas ranked 27th in the nation in teacher pay in 2016.

Teachers earned roughly

school students don't

$6,000 below the national

feel safe on campus

average.

School Funding How much is going

Recapture in AISD

towards the future of our students?

Property Tax There will be a hopeful $2.3B in property

1,200

tax relief, if lawmakers agree to pass

1,000

reform to decrease "robin hood system"

800

A 26.88% increase in taxes

600

from 2014-2018 has caused taxes to rise $6,343 in 2018

400 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Considering school shootings within the last year, and the recent threat against McCallum, students are coming to realize that anyone could be affected

With recapture on the rise, schools' programs and resources could be at risk

Will property taxes rise? Will school taxes rise? One will help and one will hurt

Teachers all over the U.S. have gone on strike over the decrease in salaries. Could AISD be next?

And it all ends with you 22 feb. 2019

the

shield

Shield repeats as Pacemaker finalist

MacJournalism’s online paper in running for the National Scholastic Press Association’s top honor BELLA RUSSO staff reporter

Two years ago, The Shield Online could probably be best described as an afterthought.

In 2017, the site’s primary purpose was to house digital archives of print stories, an occasional photo-essay, and maybe a fluffy poll or two. Now, after two years of hard work to build a complete website, attract a loyal readership and establish its place as a trusted community news source, you can’t really call it an afterthought anymore. You can, however, call it a national Pacemaker Award finalist.

For the second consecutive year, the Shield Online has been named a finalist for the National Scholastic Press Association’s top award. The Pacemaker Award is given annually to a number of school publications hand chosen by NSPA. Out of hundreds of submitted publications in the online category, 44 were chosen as finalists to compete for the 2019 Online Pacemaker Award.

“When the judges pick the Pacemakers, the sites are competing against each other.” said Gary Lundgren, associate director of NSPA. “What the judges do is talk ahead of time about things that are important to them or what they want to see, and then when the process is done they’ve picked the sites they think are the best.”

The most important quality in a Pacemaker publication, Lundgren says, is the amount of effort spent keeping the site’s content relevant and up to date.

“I think one of the most important things is frequency. How often does that staff put relevant content on the website for its readers?” Lundgren said. “You can argue that in a digital world, if a school is only posting content on its website a couple of times a month, well, that’s not good because the best websites really do push content out daily, and if not daily certainly multiple times a week because you have to engage your readers to read the site.”

Along with frequency and relevancy of content, NSPA judges also look at writing and headline quality, social media presence, photography, how organized and easy to navigate the sites are, and if the site incorporates unique uses of media.

“If you’re using a website, and you’re essentially putting a print newspaper on the website, that isn’t nearly as powerful as if you’re using video and slideshows, and pushing the capabilities to the limit,” Lundgren said.

In 2018, NSPA awarded this website a Pacemaker Award at its spring convention in San Francisco. The website has had a short history, however, and a quick rise to the stand-alone publication it is today. Two years ago, the website served a different purpose.

“We didn’t have much of a website the

22 feb. 2019

Shield photo editor Gregory James and adviser David Winter (above) celebrate with the staff of The Shield after NSPA’s Facebook Live Pacemaker nomination announcement on [date].

Junior Kirsten Tibbetts (right) laughs as adviser David Winter circles the room to hug everyone after hearing that The Shield Online is a Pacemaker finalist. Photos by Grace Nugent. first and second year I was on staff,” Shield co-editor Sophie Ryland said. “At the end of every print issue, we would just kind of dump everything that was in the print issue on there just to have it online, really, but we had no online audience or presence really.”

As a rising assistant editor, Ryland’s vision for the publication was for it to stand alone from the print.

“I remember sophomore year we were doing editor interviews,” Ryland said, “and I was sitting down with Mr. Winter, and he asked me what I envisioned the future of our publication being, and I said ‘I think we need a better online presence’ and he said ‘I actually agree 100 percent with you,’ so that’s kind of the first conversation we had about it. “ That past year, the staff of the newspaper worked especially hard on improving the website, posting content from stories to polls, photo essays and videos every day, all while learning the technical ins and outs of the website. Despite all of their tireless work, the staff was still surprised to be nominated for such an important award.

“You never really expect an award nomination, especially not a Pacemaker because it’s so prestigious,” Ryland said. “It

was really exciting. Mr Winter and I and the staff last year worked really hard on getting established. Last year, we were really just trying to get our foot in the door in terms of online newspapers, so everything happened really fast.”

In 2018-2019, the newspaper staff has continued to make the website a priority. When nominated for the 201819 Pacemaker Award, website editors Max Rhodes and Steven Tibbetts were not surprised, considering the work they and the members of the staff had put into creating new and relevant media for the site.

Although short in history, the development of online journalism established last year still motivates the staff to continue to

improve their website.

Tibbetts and Ryland both said that the staff is determined to keep pushing forward and expanding their site well past when Pacemaker winners are announced this spring. As journalism continues to push away from print and more towards online media, having a well-rounded website is more important than ever.

“Right now, most of our focus is making deadlines for the print, but I think we could start shifting over to doing whatever’s best for the website first,” Tibbetts said. “I’d say for any publication [a website] is pretty important because that’s definitely where the world of journalism is going, farther away from the print and more online.”

news 07

the

shield

New CTE club fares well in Waco

SkillsUSA team wins five first-, two secondplace awards at district STEVEN TIBBETTS staff reporter

McCallum competed in the SkillsUSA district competition for the first time this past weekend.

At the District 10 SkillsUSA Leadership and Skills Competition in Waco, the team placed in all but two of the categories that it competed in. The team members who finished first or second qualified for the state contest April 4-7 in Corpus Christi.

“The majority of my students competing this year are freshmen and I couldn’t be happier with our first time competing,” SkillsUSA adviser James Hernandez said. “We placed in more contests than some schools work years for. My students are already talking about what they will do differently for next year and we haven’t even competed at state yet.”

SkillsUSA is a national membership association serving high school, college and middle school students who are preparing for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations, including health occupations, and for further education. SkillsUSA brings together students, teachers and industry to help provide job and skills training.

Hernandez, who is in his second year at Mac, launched the new club this year after having prior experience and success with SkillsUSA at his previous teaching position with Edinburg Independent Consolidated School District in south Texas. He started a SkillsUSA club in Edinburg in his second year of teaching (in 2012), which is exactly what he’s done this year.

“At that time I was teaching game design and web design so SkillsUSA was a perfect fit since they specialize in Career & Technical Education, or CTE, jobs/classes like ours,” Hernandez said.

“We had many successes and winners. Every year [that I was there] we have placed in game, web and either pin design or T-shirt design at district allowing us to move on to state in Corpus Christi.”

The highlight for Hernandez’s Edinburg team came in 2016 when his game team won first place at state beating out long-time winners, College Station High School.

“That got us our first shot at competing on the national level in Louisville, Ky.,” Hernandez said. “Out of 15 teams we ended up in ninth place, which is not bad at all for our first time at nationals.”

The McCallum SkillsUSA team is now preparing for state and is still in the process of collecting donations on their LivingTree fundraiser (https://give.livingtree.com/c/mccallum-highschool-skillsusa-fund).

“Any donations will be greatly appreciated,” Hernandez said. “These will help us not only pay for our district expenses but also for our state trip to Corpus Christi.”

SkillsUSA Skills and Leadership State competition is April 4-7. Photos courtesy of James Hernandez.

08 news

General Knowledge Quiz Bowl — second place Freshmen Lila Boyd, Jordan Kuzmich, Alexander Kim, senior Meg Goli, freshman Faith Bertheaud, senior Noah Edgerly

Job Exhibit: Digital Illustration — two first place winners Freshmen Ruby Borden and Joey Miguel

Interactive Application and Game Development (Team) — first place.

Freshman Noah Hutchinson and junior Diego Mejia (not pictured)

OTHER WINNERS

Prepared Speech — third place, freshman Silvio Guzman.

T-shirt Design — third place, freshman Ruby Borden.

Advertising Design — second place, senior Noah Edgerly.

Entrepreneurship — third place. Freshmen Jordan Kuzmich, Jessenia Shiguango-Holtz, Yashua Batista-Milk, Sarah Reyes

Job Exhibit: Photo Panel — first place Freshman Olivia Linscomb

Web Design (Team) — first place Sophomores Lily Kopp and Antonio Melton-Molina (not pictured)

22 feb. 2019

the

shield

Reported threats stoke fear, absenteeism Student fears prompt principal, teacher to take action to address concerns over campus safety GRAYSON CRUISE & STEVEN TIBBETTS

staff reporter and assistant editor Fear took the place of love on Valentine’s Day at McCallum.

Two days earlier, on the night of Feb. 12, the Austin Police Department was informed of a terroristic threat made by a McCallum student directed towards the McCallum campus. When APD got to the student’s house, he was gone. The police were eventually able to find the student the next morning after the he returned to his home.

“That student had made a comment that he was going to shoot up McCallum, and he said he had access to a gun, according to the information I received,” McCallum principal Michael Garrison said. “APD was called, and by the time APD got [to his home] the student was gone, so the big concern was that they couldn’t locate him from that point, which was about 11 p.m. They found him at home at about 7:30 in the morning. They did arrest, transport and charge him with making a terroristic threat.”

School went on as normal for the most part on Feb. 13, the day the student was arrested, except for zero-hour classes that took place before first period. Students who showed up for Angie SeckarMartinez and Scott Pass’s zero-hour Calculus BC class, which starts at 7:30 a.m., were escorted into the cafeteria, where they stayed until the student had been arrested. The students were later allowed to go to their class at about 7:50 a.m.

That afternoon, Garrison sent McCallum parents sent staff an email informing them of the previous night’s threat, but as soon as the first threat seemed resolved, rumors of multiple new threats began showing up on social media.

“There were other threats that were posted, and one of the threats said something along the lines of: a friend of the student who got arrested is going to come to McCallum and shoot up McCallum,” Garrison said. “It wasn’t the friend; it was some other third party that posted that.

And then another post said something is going to happen at lunch time. That post has nothing to do with the situation that originated on Wednesday. That was a text that administration had been informed about several days before, and we were investigating it. So this post created new hype about McCallum not being safe.”

That night, Garrison sent another email to parents and staff informing them of the additional threats that had been made to McCallum over social media.

“At this time, there is no danger to our campus, staff or students,” the email said. “Out of an abundance of caution, however, we will have additional AISD police officers on campus tomorrow morning.”

Other than the extra police officers and many absent students, school proceeded normally on Thursday, Feb. 14 despite the rumored threats.

“The canceling of school is always a district decision, and based on the information they had from the investigation, they didn’t feel like there was a need to cancel school,” Garrison said.

Although it was not Garrison’s decision whether or not to cancel school, he backed up

22 feb. 2019

the decision made by the district. “[The AISD Police Department] doesn’t take threats lightly; they investigate them thoroughly,” Garrison said. “We take all the precautions necessary to keep our staff and students here safe at McCallum.”

Garrison believes that the absence of many students from campus on Feb. 14 was in large part caused by the spread of false or irrelevant information on social media.

“There are a lot of times on social media [when] people try to jump on what’s going on and try to add information that is not relevant to a situation or not true altogether,” Garrison said. “The fact that people put stuff out on social media to try to hype up or exacerbate situations created a lot of worry throughout our school.”

Garrison also understands the worries that parents and students had because of the threats.

“I personally understand that parents are going to be concerned, that students are going to be concerned, and they should be,” Garrison said. “I completely understand that parents and students are going to be alarmed and concerned and afraid and anxious. Those are all very natural reactions given the state of things that occur in our nation. I am glad that a lot of our students and parents felt safe enough and trust the district and McCallum enough that they came back to school [on Feb. 14].”

During fourth period Feb. 14, Garrison came on the intercom to talk to the students and faculty at McCallum about the situation.

“Walking around during the day, I felt like students were really looking for some comfort and reassurance from the adults that everything was OK,” Garrison said. “I did drop into a few classes and talked with a few students, and I noticed how they all came and gathered around while one of the other administrators and I were in a class, and they had questions. ... I wanted to reassure them and give them as much true information as I could to help them understand that we’re doing everything we can, and AISD Police and Central Office are doing everything they can to make sure that McCallum is safe for staff and students.”

Garrison was not the only adult at McCallum trying to help students with the difficult situation. English teacher Dana Olson put together a PowerPoint with information from the Department of Homeland Security to try to prepare students in case an active shooter ever did come on campus. Olson says that she put the PowerPoint together in part because she feels that McCallum would not be prepared enough in the case of an active shooter, citing the fact that McCallum does all their drills during one period.

“The only training that we get at McCallum are these lockdown drills, which we only do every once in a while during first period, but the chances of something happening during your first period is one in eight,” Olson said.

Olson also feels like the lockdown drills alone are not enough to prepare students and staff for an active shooter situation.

“I felt like I didn’t have any solutions [for certain problems], and I don’t have any training,” Olson said. “So what do I do in an emergency situation, because, honestly, locking

An AISD police car was parked outside of the front entrance of McCallum on Feb. 14 after the terroristic threats from the previous days. AISD police sent extra officers to campus on Valtentine’s Day “out of an abundance of caution,” Garrison said. Photo by Dave Winter. the door, that’s not really going to do much, especially in [my] classroom. In most classrooms at McCallum we have a wall of windows, and so even in the lockdown drill, where are we even supposed to go to hide? We’re seen everywhere.”

So Olson decided to go out and try to find some answers to her questions.

“I was like, ‘I’m sure this information’s on Google’,” Olson said. “So, I Googled it: ‘What do you need to know if there’s an active shooter?’.

Department of Homeland Security put together a brochure, and so I just copied and pasted the information from the brochure into a PowerPoint.

Then, both yesterday and today, I’m asking my students if this is something they’re interested in going over, and if they are, then great.”

Olson says that she feels like her students have appreciated her efforts to help prepare them for an active shooter.

“So far the response has been really positive, and it made me feel better, and that’s why I’m giving this as an option, because now I feel like the students have a plan, and at the very least they have a plan for this class,” Olson said. “It made me feel better, and I think it’s making them feel safer and making them think a little more actively about what would we do if there is an emergency. Where would we go? What should we be doing?”

Olson also believes that lockdowns themselves are not always the best course of action during an active shooter situation.

“A lockdown is actually the second line of defense when there’s an active shooter, not the first,” Olson said. “That’s what we’re trained to do, is to just lockdown. But I’m right next to a door to exit the building, so why wouldn’t we evacuate?”

Olson believes that some of the problem behind why McCallum is unprepared for an active shooter situation is because nobody wants to talk about it.

“I feel that because it’s not fun to talk about, no one talks about what happens when the shooter is in your room,” Olson said. “Cool, you locked the

door, but it’s too late. The shooter is in your room.

Then what do you do? And no one ever talks about that, and that’s the scariest part. What do you do if you’re in the hallway? Where do you go? A lot of teachers got sued after Parkland because they wouldn’t open the door, and so I kind of wanted to help my students understand this is why I wouldn’t open the door, and that you need to have a plan when you’re out in the hallway, because your plan A should not be, ‘I’ll go back to my class and my teacher will let me in’, because that goes against lockdown procedure, and it’s a safety concern.”

Olson added that despite feeling unprepared in the event an active shooter ever came to McCallum, she still believed McCallum to be safe on Valentine’s Day. “I did feel safe coming to school, and I do trust the administrators and Officer Reilly who had talked to Ms. Adamson, who had communicated with us,” Olson said. “I do trust them, and if they say it’s safe to come to school, then I knew they wouldn’t put us in danger. But I do just wish there was some sort of system. We just need to have it. I hope this is a reality check that we are not prepared. If something like this happens again, being unprepared is the most dangerous thing.”

Garrison is appreciative of Olson and the rest of McCallum’s staff for still coming to McCallum despite the threats.

“I am very proud of our staff. All of our teachers showed up and did their job despite the fact that they’re going to have same of those same anxieties and concerns that parents and students are going to have. They know first and foremost that it’s their job to teach and take care of the students, so I’m very proud of our staff for showing up and taking care of everybody [on Feb. 14] and every day.”

Garrison joined Austin ISD Police Chief Ashley Gonzales and Associate Superintendent of High Schools Dr. Craig Shapiro for a Facebook Live discussion of the incidents described in this story. The episode aired after this story went to press. To view the episode, please visit facebook.com/AustinISD.

news 09

the

shield

Emerging from shutdown woes

With government stoppage averted, affected McCallum families slowly returning to normal GREGORY JAMES photo editor Junior Acacia Burnett didn’t have to tune in to CNN or check the president’s Twitter feed to learn about the effects of the government shutdown. For Burnett, they were all too personal.

Because of the shutdown, Burnett’s mother, Aphrica Farrow, was close to being out of a job at the federally-funded program Women Infants and Children, or WIC. WIC is part of the City of Austin government. The program provides food, health care and breast pumps to mothers in need and is run through the health department.

Luckily for Burnett and her family, the shutdown ended on Jan. 25, after President Trump signed a bill that reopened the government for three weeks on the condition that Democrats and Republicans would come to an agreement on funding for border security; funding that still includes the border wall. On Monday Feb 11, Both the House and the Senate agreed on a compromise that would provide $1.4 billion for the border wall and would guarantee 55 miles of border wall along the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.

Despite the agreement being reached, President Trump stated that he was not happy with the significantly less-funded plan. As a result, President Trump declared a national emergency regarding the border with Mexico on Feb. 15, which gave him the authority to direct billions of dollars beyond what Congress had authorized to give him to build the border wall.

The emergency declaration turned the national discussion to a consideration of whether the declaration was a violation of the separation of powers, but thankfully for the families affected by the government shutdown, it left the agreement between the president and Congress unchanged.

With the government shutdown over, many families are slowly getting back to normal, including the students affected at McCallum.

Their parents have returned to work while the government is reopened.

“It’s definitely better because you don’t have the constant fear of not having a paycheck or source of income,” junior Tyler Broz said. “So most of that was dealt with and it’s been easing its way back into normal.”

Not having a source of income has affected families who rely on the money to live day to day and cover all their expenses. For McCallum families, like freshman Finn Higginbotham’s, the reopen government is a relief after a 35-day shutdown; however, the savings lost will take some time to regain.

“It will probably take a minute for us to get back,” Higginbotham said. “Luckily they are compensating [my dad] for the work he did while the shutdown was going on, so he will get his money back eventually.”

For Burnett, meanwhile, a prolonged shutdown would have been devastating for her family losing a major source of income.

“I hope that this wakes people up that we need more unity,” Burnett said. “Division isn’t solving anyone’s problems, and it is creating

10 news

FACES OF THE SHUTDOWN: Junior Tyler Broz, freshman Finn Higginbotham and junior Acacia Burnett are among the many Americans whose families faced financial hardship because of lost income during the partial federal government shutdown. Photo by Risa Darlington-Horta. more problems like people not getting paid, people getting evicted or could be evicted from their homes. It’s not helping anyone.”

Burnett’s story was not an isolated one either.

She is one of the thousands of cases of families who were affected by the shutdown nationwide.

The nearly 800,000 federal workers in the United States were either working without pay or furloughed. The only federal workers who were working were the essential services such as the United States Postal Service or the Transportation Security Administration.

As a federal agent, Higginbotham’s father is an essential worker for the national government, who continued to work for the government while it was shut down. Fortunately, during the shutdown, Higginbotham’s family was able to get by on his mother’s salary.

“Shutting the government down for this long just because he wants a border wall is not, in my opinion, something that is not only taking away from my family and putting us in a hard position, but also other people’s families who may rely on that income a lot more,” Higginbotham said while the shutdown was still ongoing.

The shutdown was the third shutdown in the nearly two years that President Trump has been in office, and the longest one lasting in U.S. history, lasting 35 days.

Broz’ family was one of the families at risk of losing their home if they could not pay their bills.

His stepfather, a top-tier auditor for the IRS, was out of a job because he has been furloughed. While the shutdown was still ongoing, the family was unable to may payments on the house that the

SHUTDOWN STATS: The partial government shutdown lasted 35 days and affected nearly 20 percent of the U.S. workforce. Photo from Creative Commons. Republished with permission.

Broz family bought in the summer of 2018.

For Broz, who’s to blame was easy to assess.

“Wholeheartedly Trump is to blame for this shutdown because he’s acting like a child in a position of power to shut down the government,” Broz said. “He is not getting funds to build this wall that he wants to when everyone is saying its not a good idea. I believe it wholeheartedly rests on him.”

Broz also believes the proposed wall is a bad idea for our country.

“Over the past 10-15 years they’ve increased border patrol and it hasn’t stopped anything.

It hasn’t done anything to curb the illegal immigration problem,” Broz said. “There is nothing wrong with immigration, and they are expending funds that are better allocated elsewhere to this wall and shutting down the federal government

was not the right move to go for.”

Democratic leaders, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-California, and senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, have repeatedly stated their beliefs that the proposed wall will prove ineffective at stopping illegal immigration, as well as be a total waste of taxpayer dollars.

Higginbotham was talking about the shutdown when the made the following statement, but many have made the same point about Trump’s declaration of emergency.

“If the President decides if he wants to keep the government closed then that’s more similar to a dictatorship than to a presidency,” McCallum freshmen Finn Higginbotham said.

“You can’t hold the government hostage because you feel something has to be done.”

22 feb. 2019

the

shield

Fulmore MS embraces Lively change Decision to rename school might herald name changes to other schools named after Confederates JAZZABELLE DAVISHINES staff reporter

The AISD Board of Trustees voted on Dec. 17 to rename the Fulmore Middle School campus due to the Confederate ties of its namesake.

The district has been going through the process of renaming several campuses named after historical figures connected to the Confederacy.

Several other campuses, including Lanier and Reagan high school are slated to be renamed soon.

Fulmore Middle School was named for Zachary Taylor Fulmore, a lawyer and judge from North Carolina. Fulmore was a judge in Travis County for many years, as well as a trustee for the Texas School for the Blind. Fulmore, however, was also a private in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. The naming of buildings and organizations in honor of historical figures who were in support of the Confederacy or held otherwise racist beliefs and opinions has been a source debate for several years. Fulmore was in the Confederate Army at a very young age, but later did a great deal of good for his community. Some say that history should not be erased; others argue that the preservation of history is possible without honoring and condoning racist actions.

“I think preserving history is important in facilities that are meant for it, like museums or exhibitions,” said former Fulmore student and current McCallum senior Ardis Warrenfells. “But if the names of figures are proudly displayed in the names of our schools; it should be renamed so we can promote better people.”

Many students and other members of the community are positive about this change, viewing it as a step forward.

“I’m glad that the district is recognizing that we need to change things,” said Persephone Harris, another Fulmore graduate and McCallum senior. “I think this will help represent our district as a progressive environment.”

The public recognition of historical figures who supported the Confederacy is a controversial topic, largely due to people’s strong opinions regarding what it represents in the present day.

“I don’t believe in honoring a legacy of racism, so I support the name change,” said Cindy St. John, an English teacher at Fulmore. “I realize

Fulmore teachers and parents urged the Board of Trustees to rename the school after veteran teacher and volunteer Sarah Lively at the Nov. 26 Trustees meeting. Photo by Elisha Scott.

“I would have liked to have had a public conversation about Zachary Taylor Fulmore’s moral legacy, with emphasis on listening to our communities of color and respecting their voices.”

—Cindy St. John, Fulmore English teacher this is controversial because name changes are expensive and we already have inequities in our schools that need to be financially addressed, but those deficits need to be amended at the state level, and that’s another issue.”

Though on the surface this may appear to be a black-and-white issue, St. John would disagree with that assessment. Despite her support for the change, she acknowledges that the decision is a complicated one.

“Honestly, the decision to change the name of a school is complex,” St. John said. “I would have liked to have had a public conversation about Zachary Taylor Fulmore’s moral legacy, with emphasis on listening to our communities of color and respecting their voices.”

There are complications and concerns to be addressed, as there are with any significant change. “As an English teacher, I believe in the power of words and the power of naming things,” St. John said. “Changing the name of

The metal letterings outside of the front entrance of Fulmore Middle School are just one of the pieces of this school that will change with its namesake. Photo by Jazzabelle Davishines. our school does not erase its history; Fulmore will always be Fulmore and the name change marks a moment in its history, one of which I think we can be proud.”

St. John is optimistic about how the change will affect the campus community.

“More than anything,” St. John said, “I hope that these name changes are just the beginning and that we can have meaningful conversations about our shared histories, values and ideas about equity.”

The renaming of Fulmore was obviously a very difficult decision. Task forces at Reagan and Lanier asked that the district delete the first name of the namesakes and leave the last names intact. The district has rejected that solution.

In the case of Fulmore, the board finally came to a decision on Dec. 17. At the urging of the Fulmore community, they approved a change to rename the school after one of its former teachers, Sarah Lively. Lively was a staff member at the school for 25 years. Additionally, she continued to volunteer for the school for another 27 years after her teaching career came to a close. Her dedication to the school, long after her time working there, earned her a place in the school’s memory forever.

Questions about College? Go 1-on-1 with ACC today!

ACC advisors are here to help with your college and career planning.

1-on-1 assistance is just a visit, call, or click away!

austincc.edu/startnow 22 feb. 2019

news 11

the

shield (Almost) a second-period snowfall

HAIL YES: Madi Catalano, Veronica Cist, Mandy Moore, Mia Terminella, Brooke Miller and Naiya Antar take a break from their second period cheer class to enjoy the brief hail flurry by attempting to catch droplets. Photo by David Winter.

CONGRATS CAKE: After her victory was announced and with physical education teacher Lorie Campbell offering her smile of approval, Spanish teacher Juana Gun receives a congratulatory hug from fellow finalist, math teacher Stephanie Watson. The third finalist was physics and forensics science and physics teacher Elise Baughman. Photo by Scarlett Houser.

Gunning for Teacher of the Year Spanish teacher Juana Gun was declared the 2018-19 Teacher of the Year on Tuesday, Jan. 29. The announcement was followed by cake and a lunchtime ceremony in the library.

The emotional teacher said that she has “enjoyed all [her] years at McCallum,” and thanked principal Mike Garrison for creating an environment where she and other teachers can be themselves and do their thing.

“Ms. Gun really deserves this award, because she is such an amazing teacher,” sophomore Gracie Ross said. “I love taking Spanish with her.”

In addition to teaching Spanish, Gun is also the teacher sponsor of Ballet Folklorico. In that role and in many other ways, Gun strives to introduce her students to Latino culture not just to the Spanish language. For 10 years, she has brought Mac students to the city’s Dia de los Muertos parade in downtown Austin, and for the last three years she has sponsored a schoolwide quinceañera where any McCallum student could have the experience. She told the Shield at last year’s event that she started the event because her family could not afford to throw her a quinceañera when she turned 15.

The other finalists for the award were science teacher Marion Baughman and math teacher Stephanie Watson.

Although it could not technically be considered snow, on Friday Feb. 8, students and faculty were greeted with a small blast of hail heavy enough to divert a few Knights from their end of the six weeks studies.

Starting during second period and continuing on-and-off throughout the day, many Knights were able to take advantage of the cold weather with a few minutes of fun. During second period, the soccer team scrimmaged despite the cold and the accumulation that had the appearance of fallen snow.

Students, APD officers meet over pizza During lunch on Feb. 12, students met over free pizza to discuss their relationships with law enforcement and their visions of a safe community. The informative meeting was a collaboration between Mac students and Austin Police Department officers.

The initiative, backed by AISD superintendent Paul Cruz, will feature a series of round-table discussions to better understand and improve the relationship between officers and students. “We wanted to build a project where police and teens came together as equals and where the messaging was in [the students’] hands,” project liaison Lucy Griswold said.

“Students set the agenda, students facilitate the conversation, and students have editorial control over what we make.”

OPERATION CONVERSATION: Students write their concerns down on paper to help facilitate open conversation. Photo by Bella Russo.

Gabe Williams, a.k.a.

McSweetheart, captures Mr. McCallum crown

Sophomore Emma Lindsey appears in Alita: Battle Angel

An annual fundraiser for the class of 2019 prom, Student Council hosted the Mr. McCallum pageant on Saturday in the MAC theatre. The 12 participants went through three rounds: an on-stage interview, a talent portion and a swimwear competition. After these three rounds and a bonus choreographed dance featuring all of the contestants, Gabe Williams was awarded both Mr. McSweetheart and the Mr. McCallum pageant crown.

The cast of the film Alita: Battle Angel, released on Feb. 14, includes an actor from McCallum. Sophomore Emma Lindsey plays the role of Ido’s biological daughter. Ido, a cyber-doctor, adopted Alita after his own daughter was killed by a rouge cyborg. The film is based on Yukito Kishiro’s manga series Gunnm and produced by James Cameron.

Lindsey auditioned for the role two years ago, when she was in eighth grade. According to Forbes magazine, the film earned $43 million over President’s Day weekend and an Arating from Cinemascore.

MR. MAC: Williams waves to the crowd as he is announced the winner, alongside runner up Robert Gossard and Mr. Congeniality Luke Thiessen. Photo by Gabby Sherwood.

12 news briefs

22 feb. 2019

the

shield

From McCallum to mother to mayor Former Mac teacher is Austin’s only female mayor; neither is the job she’s most proud of ANNA MCCLELLAN guest reporter

People would tell her that it was “too tough for a woman,” that she should “stay in the house and take care of her family, cook dinners and let the men take care of the government and political work.”

But former McCallum teacher and tennis coach Carole Keeton knew she could do more than just teach, and she certainly did.

“My dad never distinguished between me and my brother, so I never knew there was anything a woman couldn’t do,” Keeton said.

Keeton taught at McCallum right out of the University of Texas in 1961 and continued to teach civics, economics and U.S. history until the spring of ’63, when she became pregnant with her first son, Mark. In that time, when a woman became pregnant, the school district would not allow her to keep teaching. She had four sons in total, Mark, Dudley, Bradley and Scott McClellan. Mark and Scott worked in the White House for some time under President George W. Bush, and Brad and Dudley are both successful lawyers.

Around the time the boys were all in elementary school, Keeton attended a Austin School Board meeting to talk about rethinking some of the budget cuts they had made. She was laminating chairman of the Casis Elementary PTA at the time, and they needed the funds that had been cut.

“Laminating was very important in those days because we would cut out all the laminating, cover the stuff for particularly your younger grades,” Keeton said.

Also at the meeting, that night were two East Austin activists, Velma Roberts and Larry Jackson, to talk about getting a pilot breakfast program started in the schools. Roberts and Jackson wanted to prove that students perform better after they have eaten breakfast. They volunteered to provide and cook all the food themselves.

“Are you going to pick up the depreciation on the pots and the pans, if you use these pans for fixing breakfast for these children?” one of the Board members replied.

In that very moment, Keeton (who at the time went by her maiden name, McClellan) decided to run for the school board.

“I sat in the back of the room and thought that, and I had never thought about running,” she said.

“You gotta get where you can make these decisions.”

The next year she was elected to the Austin Independent School District School Board.

Although this was in the ’70s, a time when a lot of people were still against integration, Keeton and her distinguished Board colleagues helped lead the peaceful integration of Austin schools.

She was later voted by her Board colleagues to be the first female president of the AISD School Board and the Board of Austin Community College. From there, Keeton decided to run for mayor.

“I’ve never done anything if I don’t think I can make a difference,” she said, “and I thought I could make a big difference.”

When the race was still six weeks away, Keeton resigned from her position as president of the School Board. She believed it would be unfair to her fellow board members if she spent the next six weeks completely immersed in the election. Because

22 feb. 2019

Carole Keeton holds her granddaughter, Anna McClellan, and is surrounded by her other granddaughters, Kathryn and Michelle McClellan, as she gives her concession speech for the gubernatorial race on Nov. 7, 2006. Although, she lost the race, having her family there made it one of the highlights of her political career.“The [best] moments are the moments when the family is all there. And they’re there in good times, and they’re there in the tough times.” Photo by Bahram Mark Sobhani/ ZUMA press. Reprinted with permission.

Keeton (McClellan at the time) was formerly the McCallum girls varsity tennis coach. In this yearbook picture, she poses with her team in 1962. File photo from 1962 Knight. she still had her family to take care of during the day, she spent a lot of time working at night.

All of her hard work campaigning paid off. In 1977, she was elected mayor of Austin, becoming the first (and only) woman to ever hold the title.

“The first term I was elected, being a woman was a big issue. People would say I was abandoning my kids, which was untrue and would’ve never been said about a man,” Keeton said. “But really, it’s not whether you’re a man or a woman, it’s who’s the most qualified. It’s great to be a Texan, great to be an Austinite, and great to be the first woman mayor of Austin.”

She went on with a mission of improving the lives and livelihoods of everyone, revitalizing downtown Austin, and working hard to make sure “we, as a city, were united as a city.”

She held all three of her swearing-in ceremonies publicly in Wooldridge Park so that everyone could attend, and not just a special few. She hoped this would represent what she wanted the government

to be: open and accessible to all.

“Austin belongs to no special interest group, no special individual, no special political credo,” she said.

“It belongs to all Austinites because it is their city, and in a sense, all Texans because it is their capital.”

Her gender was no longer an issue for the public by her second and third terms. Instead, the city council was more focused on pulling everyone together to improve the capital city.

Even though she was determined to make a difference, she never forgot her family along the way.

“Mothering was No. 1, and mayoring was No. 2,” Keeton said. “I would stop news conferences for forgotten lunches, forgotten tennis rackets, whatever it was.”

Following her three consecutive terms as mayor (the most ever served by a man or woman), she was appointed to the State Board of Insurance by Gov. Mark White. She later successfully ran for the Texas Railroad Commission and State Comptroller, being the first women to be elected and hold both offices.

When looking back at when she was a teacher and coach at McCallum, Keeton has many good memories. She says that her time at McCallum is the reason she has an immense passion for education and public service.

“I’m delighted I was in the classroom,” Keeton said. “I loved my days at McCallum. It was a great school then, and it’s a great school now.”

She was able to turn many students’ lives around. For example, she remembers one student who had failed numerous times but needed to pass Keeton’s civics class to graduate from high school.

With Keeton’s help and encouragement, he was able to finally graduate.

Many years later, he came to her house to thank her for teaching him and perhaps more

importantly for having faith in him.

Following her time as State Comptroller, Keeton made the decision to run for governor as an Independent, but she lost the election. Though she was disappointed, she concluded that having her family by her side was all that she needed. “[My family is] there in good times, and they’re there in the tough times,” Keeton said.

After the race was decided, she remembers holding one of her granddaughters (who happens to have the byline for this story) and having the others smiling and waving by her side. Confused, but smiling and waving.

“That’s what it’s about,” Keeton said.

Now that she has retired, the former mayor keeps herself busy with her pets, Sunny the dog and Mac the cat, her artwork and, of course, her family. She has nine grandkids in total, the oldest two, Kathryn and Michelle, are the daughters of Brad and his wife Suzi McClellan.

They are college graduates and are moving on with their careers. Mark’s daughters, Ellie and Alex, are currently in college, and Mark is happily married to his wife, Corinna. Dudley and his wife, Julie, are kept busy with their daughters, Anna and Audrey, who attend McCallum High School and Lamar Middle School respectively.

Keeton’s youngest son, Scott, and his wife, Jill, have the youngest of Keeton’s grandkids with three little boys: Keeton, Cade and Colt.

“My greatest accomplishments are my four grown sons, and my greatest joys are my nine grandkids,” Keeton said.

She looks forward to hearing of the many accomplishments of her family, especially her grandkids and can’t wait for there to be another woman to be elected mayor of Austin.

feature 13

the

shield Junior Zach Steiner drags mulch to one of the trees at Barrington Park on Nov. 3. “We all need to realize that trees are what keep us alive,” Steiner said. “We need to care for them like they care for us.”

Junior Mary Roe (front left) and two other Environment Knights mulch a tree at Barrington It’s My Park Day on Nov. 2. “It was really cool to get everyone together and help others,” Roe said. “I love community service with friends.” Photos by Kylie Elkow.

Club to debut ‘Earth Week’ this April Environmental Knights work to make eco-friendly community GRAYSON CRUISE staff reporter A new club has been gaining a reputation on campus for advocating going green. The Environmental Knights have helped improve McCallum’s environmental health and have raised environmental awareness by participating in projects locally, and even internationally, when they joined the PALS in taking the Shower Strike to advocate for clean drinking water and water conservation worldwide from April 22-29. During a recent club meeting, Gillian Rashid, a senior in her first year as club president, explained her goals for the club.

“I kind of wanted to make it more present in school,” Rashid said. “This club is about supporting environmental awareness and working on projects that involve student community and making our school a better place for the environment. … Right now we are starting to brainstorm about Earth Week, which is gonna be in April. It’s kind of going to be our ‘thing,’ where we have certain activities on different days, sort of like a Pink Week or Pride Week at school. It’s going to center around Earth Day, on April 22 and will have activities throughout the week. This is what we are starting to work on right now.”

The Environmental Knights organize a biweekly meeting every other Friday on A-days. Though their activities revolve around Earth Day, the club engages in many diverse pursuits throughout the school year. Usually, the club splits into groups, so there are many projects simultaneously happening.

“This first part of the semester it has been a little more cohesive, since this is a relatively new group,” Rashid said. “This is also my first time being president of the group, so I’ve been discovering the club’s different aspects. ... We did recently have a volunteer opportunity where we cleaned up Barrington School Elementary

14 feature

RIGHT: Sophomore Lily Morales shovels mulch for trees at a recent Environmental Knights community-service event on Nov. 3. “It was a lot of work, but in the end it feels good to help other people,” Morales said. “I’m glad I went, even though I had to wake up early.” Photo by Kylie Elkow.

Park ... and that was fun. I think about half of the club showed up for that.”

Rashid said that the club’s goals can be difficult to publicize because they are abstract. She said that finding and participating in local eco-friendly activities have helped make the club’s work more concrete, which in turn has helped grow the club’s membership.

“Unfortunately, environmental awareness is a little difficult, because it’s not as tangible of a...subject,” said Rashid, who added that it’s been helpful to start with something like “sock drives, flower sales, etc.; some great things to do, for kids, are things like seed balls, where you put seeds into little clay balls, throw ‘em in a yard, and they’ll grow wildflowers. Last year, what we did was we got a couple trees donated by an organization, and we planted them over in the courtyard by the English hall. These are ways to publicize your club.”

Rashid said she hopes that the club will grow and accomplish great things. She expressed pride in organizing the club’s activities and has found the job of club president very satisfying.

She also expressed gratitude for the other club leaders, i.e. the vice president, the officers and the Instagram manager, as well as the approximately 50 club members, who support the club and make many things possible.

“This year we’re also working on the educational aspect of the club, so we are trying to get some speakers to come in, and maybe have a movie screening of a couple documentaries during the club as well.”

The club was featured in The Shield last April, when the Environmental Knights participated in the Shower Strike with Mr. Cowles, the McCallum PALS adviser at the forefront.

“Yeah! We did that last year,” Rashid said. “We don’t do things like that too often, just because this is starting as a new group, but projects like that are what we strive towards.”

The strike lasted one week, in which participants didn’t use any or nearly any water, in order to spread the awareness of water scarcity in countries like Chad and also to raise money for the nonprofit organization Well Aware. Last year the two groups raised a grand total of $12,000 towards the building of water wells, to give countries who have less access to water a new source of life for their communities.

From local tree planting to international water-strikes to simple seed balls, the Environmental Knights are growing as a school organization, and they are always looking forward to new members to welcome into their community.

Recent activities include picking up the McCallum high school campus, taking the trash out in a nearby creek and planting trees in the appropriate designated Austin areas; Rashid urges students to join even if they may not be able to contribute much time. When it comes to saving the environment, every little bit helps.

For more information about the club, check out its Instagram account, @environmental.knights. For more information on the Shower Strike, please visit the Well Aware website.

22 feb. 2019

the

shield

Left: Junior Rey Bernacki places his phone into its designated slot in the shoe-holder at the front of Clifford Stanchos’s classroom. Students gathered around the cellphone holder before the bell rang for fourth period to begin then slowly, one by one, they parted with their devices, but not before sending their last texts, checking social media one last time and plugging them in to charge before class began. Photo by Elisha Scott. Right: sophomore Abigail Tobleman watches Def Leppard videos while researching in class. Many teachers allow cellphone use during independent work time.

A push-button issue ELISHA SCOTT staff reporter

Whether it’s a buzzing noise from your pocket or the lit-up screen illuminating your backpack, if you own a cellphone, you have probably been distracted in class at some point this school year by your cellphone. You’re sitting in class when you get a notification on your phone. You fight the urge to check it and risk having it confiscated by a zero-tolerance teacher. It seems like no big deal to just check it once, but your teachers don’t feel the same way. Teachers all over the country are fighting the ongoing cellphone battle; the McCallum staff is no exception “[Phones] just tak[e] attention away from what’s going on,” business and accounting teacher Michael McLaughlin said. “I mean, it could be three kids, it could be half the class who are subtly doing something with their phone or thinking about their phones, and if I’m trying to explain something, they’re not hearing a word I’m saying.”

Some teachers have strict policies to restrict or eliminate cell phone use, while others are more laid-back. Certain classes might not require a strict policy for phones; like art, for example, where students often listen to music to relax and channel their creativity. Some classes, however, require a student to read or work on something, in which case teachers believe music could be distracting.

“Many students want to listen to music, and it’s hard for them, because they feel that listening to music helps them focus, but I would argue that that’s not backed up by any scientific research,” history teacher Clifford Stanchos said.

“If you’re listening to Eminem in the background, that’s not going to help you; it might just be a

22 feb. 2019

coping mechanism for you to ignore [your work] and focus on something else.”

Other teachers have different policies for music.

Social studies teacher Michael Sanabria allows music in his classroom, but everyone must listen to the same songs. He says he is against individual music with headphones in his classroom, because it disconnects his students. Therefore, he asks his students for suggestions, and the first person to raise their hand gets to choose. He then plays the song through the speakers so everyone can listen. He says he believes music’s sole purpose is to bring people together and affect their frame of mind in some way.

“We know that music does impact [a person’s] mood, and it alters your emotional state. so [with headphones] you end up with a [space] full of people who are all experiencing different emotional states, and it ends up being really disconnected,” Sanabria said. “In my classroom, I don’t want to have that, so when we listen to music, I would rather all of us listen to the same music so we’re all having a shared experience.”

Core classes typically require students to listen to their teacher for an extended period of time, which can be hard for some. The lure of cellphones may sometimes prevent a student from listening attentively, and they’ll end up taking it out during class. It might seem like just one student isn’t going to do any harm; however, according to teachers, one student leads to two and then three, and then half the class. Seeing another student on their phone both distracts and tempts others. Because of this temptation, many teachers have a no-tolerance attitude about cellphones; some teachers even collect phones at the beginning of class, while others might trust students to keep their cellphones stored during class.

Teachers make case for restricting student cellphone access in class

“I think that there’s a time and place for everything, and I don’t think a learning environment is a time to be distracted by a cellphone,” English teacher Diana Adamson said. “I think they’re problematic, [and] I think we’re becoming more and more like Fahrenheit 451, attached to something all the time.”

Teachers’ policies can depend on the subject, the dynamic of the class and the teachers’ preference.

Some said they change their policy from year to year to see what works. At one time, Stanchos said he had a policy that relied on trust with the students. It was up to them to have self-control and know that his class wasn’t the time for a cellphone. He then changed to having students put them in a bag at the end of the desks, but now he has the students put their phones in a shoe-holder at the front of the classroom at the beginning of class everyday and take them back at the end.

“I find that the shoe-holder removes the conflict,” Stanchos said. “The less you are actually in touch with the phone, the less likely you are to rebel against, say, being asked to give the phone up.”

He believes attempting to eliminate the problem altogether is the way to go, saying that it minimizes class distraction.

While Stanchos’ policy has changed from year to year, Adamson’s changes her policy from class to class. She says she has found that freshman, being the youngest and newest to high school, need to be controlled more.

“I think [it’s OK,] as long as [phones] don’t come out when they’re not supposed to come out,” Adamson said. “They’re supposed to be in the baskets [that are on the tables] for my freshman. For my upperclassmen, if I see them, I’ll treat them just like the freshmen, and they have to give them to me until the end of the day.”

She said that while there have been some problems, she finds that upperclassman are more responsible with phone use and can control when they choose to use them. Therefore, they get to keep them as long as they are responsible with them while freshman must put them in the basket.

McLaughlin’s policy is not much different, but he has some different reasoning behind it. His policy was absolutely no cellphones, and if he sees one, he’ll take it. It has changed slightly; he now usually collects the phones in a bucket at the beginning of class. He says he believes cellphone use negatively affects teenage mental health; therefore, he doesn’t allow them in his classrooms.

“My big concern really is the correlation between screen time and teenage depression, [because] if you look at some studies recently, teenage depression has just gone through the roof at the exact same time that cell phones became popular,” McLaughlin said. “People should be [very] alarmed about that.”

While not every teacher has a strict policy on cell phones, many argue that cell phones, when not used properly, can be a distraction and extend the amount of time it takes for a student to complete their work. There’s no doubt that they can be helpful and even necessary in certain situations; however, taking a cellphone out in class when not asked to can be a dangerous game to play. The best rule to follow is to respect a teacher’s policy and ask if you have any questions about it instead of assuming so as not to have it confiscated.

“My job as an educator is to ensure the education of all students, not just those who can multitask or who can set it aside and get work done,” Stanchos said. “And the best way for me to ensure an education for all students is to just across the board, not allow the phone.”

feature 15

the

shield

MAX RHODES

I

assistant editor

’ve told of my adventures in the far off lands of Colorado and Chicago, but now it’s time to return to the great state of Texas. For those who remember, the last Texas destination I visited was Corpus Christi, but now with spring break on the way, it’s time to head west.

It’s easy to forget the true size of the state.

It has an area larger than France, and El Paso is about as close to Los Angeles as it is to Houston.

Apart from its enormous size, Texas also has a rich history. Although not as old as France, Texas has some structures and stories that date back hundreds of years. One of the best ways to experience this history is by visiting the old forts in the West. Built before Texas was even a state, the forts served as protection to the settlers from the Native-American tribes. Once home to hundreds of soldiers and families, all that remains of these areas are the stone shells of the buildings and various discovered artifacts.

Most also have a visitor center, which displays the artifacts, as well as some buildings that have been rebuilt to show how they would have looked when the fort was in use.

There are several forts in west Texas alone, but the four I’ll be focusing on are Fort McKavett, Concho, Chadbourne and Griffin. Most of these forts are out in the middle of nowhere (save for Concho, which is in the middle of San Angelo, population 100,000). A round trip that hits all the forts is about 600 miles and takes a couple of days, depending on the amount of time spent at each location. The aforementioned San Angelo and the small city of Abilene are the two urban areas that have a decent size, and even some hotels and restaurants.

The closest fort to Austin is McKavett, which is about 170 miles away and is considered one of the best preserved forts in the state. Built in 1852, the fort was used on and off until 1883. During its time in operation, it was used to protect settlers and westbound immigrants. After conflicts with the Native Americans subsided, it served as a supply depot. After its abandonment, it was occupied by squatters for nearly 100 years, who helped the buildings from decaying too much.

One of the more notable structures is the commanding officers’ quarters, the shell of a two-story building and chimney. There are also a few smaller buildings, including the foundation of some of the barracks. Visitors are allowed to explore these ruins, as well as the restored ones, like the officers’ quarters, barracks and schoolhouse.

Fort McKavett offers much history but not much to eat. The visitor center may have some snacks, and the closest town is Menard, which has a Lowe’s, a gas station and not much else.

If it’s a nice day, you could pack a picnic. Or you could head over to the closest town with a population over 10,000, San Angelo, which has some good restaurants, such as classic steak houses like Zentner’s Daughter Steak House and nice Mexican cafes like Fuentes Cafe. It’s also home to Fort Concho.

Concho was established in 1867, and like McKavett, was used to protect settlers and help supply the western settlements. It was abandoned in 1889 and is now a national historic landmark owned by the city of San Angelo.

Unlike McKavett, the structures here have all been reconstructed, as in none of the buildings are empty stone shells, so the fort looks mostly the same as when it was operational. The staff is

16 people

May the forts be with you

West Texas offers centuries history just a road trip away

The stone ruins of Fort Chadbourne overlook the Texas wilderness. Built in 1852, they were once used to protect soldiers and their families, but now all that remains are a few stone walls. In its long history, it also served as a mail-route stop and as a private ranch. Photo by Max Rhodes. dressed in historically accurate clothing as part of the fort’s living history program. When I was there, we met an old man with a wooden leg and a young boy who would shoot off a small canon across the parade grounds.

If tours are available, I would definitely recommend taking one. The tour guides are very knowledgeable and provide information that you wouldn’t get from the various information plaques around the fort. A few of the buildings are open to the public and have artifacts that would have been present when the fort was in use. There are officers’ quarters, barracks, the mess hall and several other buildings. One of the buildings has also been converted to a museum dedicated to the telephone. Our tour guide admitted he wasn’t sure why it was at the fort, but it was a good stop for those who are interested in dialing up the rich history of the phone.

Depending on how much time is spent at the forts, San Angelo could be a possible stop for the night. There are several places to stay, like the Quality Inn, which offers nice rooms and a coupon for free breakfast at the little diner next door. The next fort on the list, and one of my personal favorites, is Fort Chadbourne, which is about a 45-minute drive from San Angelo. Established in 1852, it has a rich history ranging from offering protection against Native Americans, to serving as a stop on the mail route, to operating as a privately owned ranch. All of this and more are covered in the newly restored visitor center, which has artifacts and plenty of information. Also in the center is a Emmy-award winning short video on the history of the fort.

Outside, a tour guide will take you around the fort and show off the ruins and reconstructed buildings. Our guide had some great stories on the history of the fort, and he told us about how he actually helped rebuild some of the buildings.

The final fort on our list, Griffin, is about 100 miles north of Chadbourne (It’s also about 100

miles directly west from Fort Worth). Halfway between Chadbourne and Griffin is Abilene, which is about the same size as San Angelo.

Now, Griffin is kind of in the middle of nowhere, and Abilene is the nearest town where I would recommend finding a hotel. Again, it depends how much time is spent at each fort, but Abilene has plenty of hotels and restaurants, like The Shed Market Barbeque and a Best Western.

Fort Griffin

Fort Chadbourne

Fort Concho

Fort Griffin was built in 1867 and, like the other forts, was used to protect settlers and soldiers form Native-American attacks. Originally, the fort had more than 90 structures, but most of them were made of wood, so the only thing that remains today are the stone shells of the more prominent buildings. All of this information and more are covered in the newly refurbished visitor center. Outside you may notice a few members of the Official State of Texas Longhorn Herd, which freely roam the grounds. Most of the remaining buildings of the fort are fairly far apart, so golf carts are offered for a easier visitor experience. If the weather’s nice, there are campgrounds on the property, which might be nicer than a small hotel.

After you’ve had all the Texas history you can take, there’s a 230-mile four-hour trip home.

There aren’t many interesting things on the way back, just a couple hundred miles of open Texas highway.

With such a grand size, there’s always somewhere to go in Texas, it may just be 500 miles away.

Fort McKavett



A trip west of Austin is sure to fortify your mind if not your appetitite. Illustration by Max Rhodes.

22 feb. 2019

the

shield

Ten questions with Toshio Nishida

In our latest Maculty interview, Japanese teacher opens up about love of wrestling, life in Japan The Shield: When are you happiest?

Toshio Nishida: In general, when I go back to Japan to be with my family and my friends, that’s probably the best time of the year.

TS: Who is your real-life hero?

TN: Terry Funk; he’s a professional wrestler. He’s probably my all-time hero. I’m a big wrestling fan, and he was very popular in Japan at the time. One time I wrote him a fan letter, and he wrote me back. That inspired me to start studying English more and all that kind of stuff.

TS: If you weren’t a teacher, what would you be?

TN: A professional wrestler. I wanted to in Japan.

TS: What is your motto?

TN: Be happy all the time, no matter what.

TS: What possession do you prize the most?

TN: My friends, probably. They help me a lot.

TS: If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

TN: To go back in time. That kind of power

would be really nice, to have the opportunity to redo whatever I have done wrong.

TS: What are your favorite names?

TN: Names? [Laughs.] Like people?

TS: Like names, like what you call people.

TN: Like John? Well, probably Toshio, because it’s my name.

TS: Where is your happy place?

TN: Japan. Tokyo. Not really any specific place, just I have a lot of friends in Tokyo, and it’s always really a lot of fun to go travel there.

TS: What is your biggest pet peeve?

Like something that annoys you?

TN: Hmm. Probably traffic; traffic in this town really annoys me.

TS: How did you get to where you are now?

TN: I studied English, then I studied how to teach Japanese, then I got this job. I studied in Japan, but I came for college here too. I studied in both Japan and here, in California and Kentucky, as an exchange student.

—interview by Ellen Fox

Japanese teacher Toshio Nishida while in Gokayama, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. Nishida is from Japan and he describes his home country as his happy place. “It’s always really a lot of fun to go there,” Nishida said. Photo courtesty of Nishida.

knmanagement.com/careers

knmanagement.com/careers 22 feb. 2019

people 17

the

shield

THE OFFICIAL SHIELD GUIDE TO THE BEST OF SXSW Money not an object? Good for you. Here’s our list of the best SXSW experience your money can buy.

BELLA RUSSO

A

staff reporter

ustin’s annual film, music, art and technology conference is back this spring for its 31st year, kicking off on Friday, March 8 and running until the 17th. The festival will bring thousands of speakers, performers, artists, marketers and creatives to Austin, and crowds of tourists from around the world flocking to take part in the experience. The first weekend will open up with the Film, Comedy and Interactive festivals, with the SXSW music festival kicking off on Monday, March 11. The festival and conference conglomerate will also feature a host of art exhibits, gaming conventions, networking events, parties and showcases across all genres throughout the week of SXSW. INTERACTIVE At the heart of SXSW is the conference series, featuring an inspiring panel of technology innovators, creative visionaries, politicians, activists, entrepreneurs, journalists and others, each pioneers in their fields. Among the panel leaders of the festival are Trevor Noah, the South African comedian of The Daily Show, U.S. representative Alexandria OcasioCortez, rapper and designer ASAP Rocky, artist and musician David Byrne, Abba’s Björn Ulvaeus, president and CEO of Gibson guitars JC Curleigh, four-time Academy Award winner Ethan Hawke and co-founder of the Huffington Post and founder of Buzzfeed Jonah Peretti. Keynote speakers include co-founders of Instagram Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom, film keynote director and actress Olivia Wilde, music keynotes Shirley Manson of Garbage and Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches and Interactive keynotes entrepreneurs Roger McNamee and Joseph Lubin. In total, the conference series will feature 13 hour-long keynote sessions and around 100 featured speaker panels over various themes and trends throughout the two weeks of the festival.

FILM: The film festival of SXSW will span nine days and cover all genres of media from feature lengths, short films, music videos, episodic pilots, animations and more. Jordan Peele’s horror film Us is announced to preview on the opening night of the festival.

The Get Out director’s upcoming horror film will star Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke as wife and husband who have their beach vacation ruined by a group of strange doppelgängers known as “The Tethered.” Also headlining the festival is The Beach Bum, written and directed by Harmony Korine. The film stars Matthew McConaughey as rebellious beachgoer Moondog, and co-stars Snoop Dogg, Zac Efron and Isla Fisher. Booksmart, a film about two studious seniors determined to catch up on lost fun the night before their graduation, is also premiering as is Film Keynote Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut.

Taika Waititi’s television reboot of What We Do in the Shadows, the 2014 vampire comedy, is also set to debut in the episodic premieres showcase. The River and The Wall, directed by Ben Masters and starring Mac alum Austin Alvarado, is also featured in the documentary showcase. The film follows five friends who traverse through uncharted Texas borderlands and explore the potential physical and emotional

18 a&e

impacts of a border wall. A full list of all of the films featured in the festival can be found at SXSW.com MUSIC: Know for showcasing some of the best up-and -coming artists from across the globe, this year SXSW boasts an impressive musical lineup of more than 2,000 artists and performers from more than 60 different countries. Showcases featuring different artists are organized by the festival and are held in a wide variety of local venues, from clubs to churches and parks around Austin. Some showcasing artists include UK-based rapper Flohio, indie-rock group Deerhunter, DJ and legendary Roots drummer Questlove, alt-folk outfit the Strumbellas, psych-pop quartet Crumb, K-pop group iKON, LA rock band Cherry Glazerr, grime MC Novelist, South Korean pop artist CHUNG HA, and arena rock outfit The Amazons, among others that are yet to be announced.

ART: Along with music and film, SXSW will also feature a host of visual art exhibits and installations during the festival. These interactive and often story-focused installations are the works of artists and art collectives across a wide stretch of diverse backgrounds. EVERYTHING EVERYTIME, the project of Naho Matsuda, uses large mechanical screens to display poetry created out of live data streams that viewers can watch update in real time. Festival-goers can also watch a selfie of themselves be transformed onto a canvas as part of the Hash2ash exhibit, only to dissolve into dust seconds later. Semeion invites participants to explore artificial intelligence through a series of structures that react to human presence through light and sound. Louie Palu’s installation Arctic Passage will be displayed in huge blocks of ice on UT’s Harry Ransom Center plaza, revealing large photographs as they melt. Most of the special events and art exhibits featured during SXSW can be accessed by any badge holder regardless of the type of badge.

FREE SXSW EVENTS Ready to party at SXSW without breaking the bank? Below are some events being held during the festival that won’t cost a fortune to get into.

CREATE AND CULTIVATE AUSTIN POP-UP Sunday, March 10: This pop-up, hosted by media company Create and Cultivate, features a lineup of female panelist entrepreneurs, brand designers, and tech professionals, along with free food, all at the historic Allen House. Free with RSVP. BALANCED BREAKFAST SHOWCASE: Monday-Wednesday, March 11-13 at the Jackelope. This free “unofficial” showcase features 32 bands from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Austin and more.

BLACK GIRL VENTURE PITCH:

DNCE plays a free unofficial show during SXSW at the Waterloo Records stage in 2017. Photo by Zoe Hocker.

If you aren’t independently wealthy but want to enjoy SXSW, here’s how you can do it on the cheap,

F R&B artist and El Paso native Khalid plays the Urban Outfitters stage during an unofficial SXSW show in 2017. The concert, like many outside of the official SXSW festival, was completely free, proving again that you don’t need to be wealthy just savvy to enjoy the best of SXSW. Photo by Zoe Hocker.

or most locals, shelling out a thousand bucks on a ticket to SXSW is as ridiculous as the traffic the festival brings to Austin every year. Most locals, however, know that the best part of the festival isn’t always the curated Southx shows, it’s the ones on the fringes: the free, promotional events at smaller venues known for featuring some of the most talented artists from around the world. Keeping up with these unofficial shows, however, can sometimes be a struggle considering how, well, unofficial they are. Here are some of the things a master SXSW cheapskate keeps in mind when making the most out of festival week.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Since there is no one comprehensive website that organizes all of Austin’s unofficial SXSW shows, social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are the best bet in keeping track of shows that are yet to be announced. Groups like The Dirty Team on Facebook and websites like Showlistaustin and unofficialsxguide.com post event info and RSVP links for free concerts, parties, showcases, speakers and more as they’re announced.

Service Awards and the free SXSW Outdoor Stage.

BADGES:

Prospective attendees of SXSW have four badge types to choose from: Music, Film, Interactive and Platinum. The Music, Film and Interactive badges each cover all access to their respective festivals and secondary access to festivals outside of their namesake. Each of the aforementioned start at $1,325. With an Interactive badge, festival goers are first in line to all interactive tracks, keynotes, and featured speakers, with secondary access to music and film festival events. The Music festival badge grants priority entry to over 2,000 artist concerts, showcases, music keynotes and events within the festival, with secondary access to film and interactive events. With a film badge, attendees are given primary access to all film screenings, keynotes and events, with secondary access to select music and interactive events. For $350 more, guests can purchase a SXSW Platinum badge, which covers primary access to all SXSW events, parties and showcases regardless of what festival they fall under. Each badge holder will also have access to SXSW gaming, Marketplace, Startup Spotlight, Wellness Expo, Community

Graphic by Ellen Fox.

22 feb. 2019

YOUR FAVORITE VENUES: While we’re on the subject of social media, make sure you’re also checking in with your favorite Austin music venues so you’re the first person to know when they announce unofficial shows and parties. Among the crowd favorite Austin venues that host these unofficial shows are Waterloo Records, Hotel Vegas, The North Door, and Urban Outfitters. These unofficial shows have showcased everyone from ASAP Rocky, Khalid, Gus Dapperton, and more. After you’ve found a show, just make sure to register for a ticket, as most free shows require you to RSVP beforehand.

SXSW GUEST PASS What better way to take advantage of the official SXSW festival without having to drop your hard earned cash on a badge? A SXSW guest pass gets you access to all of the public giveaways, parties and shows the festival has to offer, most importantly, for free. The pass includes entrance to the SXSW Outdoor Stage, the largest stage of the festival which holds three days of concerts on Lady Bird Lake and has been played by the likes of Childish Gambino, The Strokes, Garth Brooks, Public Enemy, and more. You will also get access to SXSW’s Wellness Expo, the Flatstock 69 poster expo and SXSW Marketplace. To get your pass, all you have to do is register an account on the official SXSW website. For more information about all of the free stuff the festival has to offer, make sure to check your email for updates on where to use your guest pass. Volunteering for SXSW is also a good way to take advantage of the festival, for volunteers can earn a festival pass after working a number of hours. After a total of 48+ hours of work, volunteers can earn either a Music, Film, or Interactive festival badge to use throughout the week. Volunteers can even earn an all access Platinum pass after 64+ hours of work.

GETTING THERE: Now that you’ve figured out when and where you are going to be spending SXSW, it’s time to think about how to get there. For most, driving is out of the question when considering the overwhelming traffic surrounding the festival and often non-existent parking downtown. The Capital Metro system is the most cost-efficient way to get to and from the festival, while ride-sharing apps, rental scooters and bikes like Bird and Lime bikes are also efficient transportation. Luckily, most of the venues you’ll be hopping between during the festival are mostly within walking distance.

Monday, March 11. This event supports women of color entrepreneurs by showcasing their business as they pitch them to the audience.

Then, participants can show their support by voting on their favorite business. Eight winners will be awarded for the event, and the first prize will receive $5,000 in funding.

Donations not required, but you’re gonna want to show some support. Free with RSVP. FLATSTOCK POSTER SHOW: Thursday-Saturday, March 14-16. This official SXSW exhibit presented by The American Poster Institute is displaying more than 60 of the worlds most talented gig poster artists and their works. Visitors can also enjoy live music from the Flatstock Stage as they shop. Free with an official SXSW Guest Pass.

SONGWRITING SHOWCASE AT MOZART’S: Friday, March 15. With Lady Bird Lake as a backdrop, music lovers can enjoy and support local songwriters during this free showcase/songwriting competition at Mozart’s Coffee Roasters. Free with RSVP. FINAL ALTERCATION PUNK ROCK BBQ: Saturday, March 16. Kick Butt Coffee and Deep Eddy’s Vodka is hosting a day of punk music and free food, featuring lineup performances from Sabbath Crow, Steadfast, Heels, From Parts Unknown, and more, along with two secret headlining acts yet to be announced. Free with an RSVP. TRAPAPALOOZA: Saturday, March 16. Enjoy upcoming indie hiphop acts like Troy Ave and Soldier Kidd and more at Trapapalooza’s third annual outdoor stage just off of Red River St. This event will have food tents and trucks and is free with an RSVP. SXSW OUTDOOR STAGE: Attracting more than 50,000 attendees daily, the Outdoor Stage is the largest stage at SXSW and holds the festivals biggest concerts right on Lady Bird Lake. Although a full lineup of performances is yet to be announced, past performances have included Childish Gambino, The Strokes, Iggy Pop and more. The three day charity event is completely open to the public and free with an Official SXSW Guest Pass.

a&e 19

the

shield

THE OFFICIAL SHIELD GUIDE TO THE BEST OF SXSW Money not an object? Good for you. Here’s our list of the best SXSW experience your money can buy.

BELLA RUSSO

A

staff reporter

ustin’s annual film, music, art and technology conference is back this spring for its 31st year, kicking off on Friday, March 8 and running until the 17th. The festival will bring thousands of speakers, performers, artists, marketers and creatives to Austin, and crowds of tourists from around the world flocking to take part in the experience. The first weekend will open up with the Film, Comedy and Interactive festivals, with the SXSW music festival kicking off on Monday, March 11. The festival and conference conglomerate will also feature a host of art exhibits, gaming conventions, networking events, parties and showcases across all genres throughout the week of SXSW. INTERACTIVE At the heart of SXSW is the conference series, featuring an inspiring panel of technology innovators, creative visionaries, politicians, activists, entrepreneurs, journalists and others, each pioneers in their fields. Among the panel leaders of the festival are Trevor Noah, the South African comedian of The Daily Show, U.S. representative Alexandria OcasioCortez, rapper and designer ASAP Rocky, artist and musician David Byrne, Abba’s Björn Ulvaeus, president and CEO of Gibson guitars JC Curleigh, four-time Academy Award winner Ethan Hawke and co-founder of the Huffington Post and founder of Buzzfeed Jonah Peretti. Keynote speakers include co-founders of Instagram Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom, film keynote director and actress Olivia Wilde, music keynotes Shirley Manson of Garbage and Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches and Interactive keynotes entrepreneurs Roger McNamee and Joseph Lubin. In total, the conference series will feature 13 hour-long keynote sessions and around 100 featured speaker panels over various themes and trends throughout the two weeks of the festival.

FILM: The film festival of SXSW will span nine days and cover all genres of media from feature lengths, short films, music videos, episodic pilots, animations and more. Jordan Peele’s horror film Us is announced to preview on the opening night of the festival.

The Get Out director’s upcoming horror film will star Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke as wife and husband who have their beach vacation ruined by a group of strange doppelgängers known as “The Tethered.” Also headlining the festival is The Beach Bum, written and directed by Harmony Korine. The film stars Matthew McConaughey as rebellious beachgoer Moondog, and co-stars Snoop Dogg, Zac Efron and Isla Fisher. Booksmart, a film about two studious seniors determined to catch up on lost fun the night before their graduation, is also premiering as is Film Keynote Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut.

Taika Waititi’s television reboot of What We Do in the Shadows, the 2014 vampire comedy, is also set to debut in the episodic premieres showcase. The River and The Wall, directed by Ben Masters and starring Mac alum Austin Alvarado, is also featured in the documentary showcase. The film follows five friends who traverse through uncharted Texas borderlands and explore the potential physical and emotional

18 a&e

impacts of a border wall. A full list of all of the films featured in the festival can be found at SXSW.com MUSIC: Know for showcasing some of the best up-and -coming artists from across the globe, this year SXSW boasts an impressive musical lineup of more than 2,000 artists and performers from more than 60 different countries. Showcases featuring different artists are organized by the festival and are held in a wide variety of local venues, from clubs to churches and parks around Austin. Some showcasing artists include UK-based rapper Flohio, indie-rock group Deerhunter, DJ and legendary Roots drummer Questlove, alt-folk outfit the Strumbellas, psych-pop quartet Crumb, K-pop group iKON, LA rock band Cherry Glazerr, grime MC Novelist, South Korean pop artist CHUNG HA, and arena rock outfit The Amazons, among others that are yet to be announced.

ART: Along with music and film, SXSW will also feature a host of visual art exhibits and installations during the festival. These interactive and often story-focused installations are the works of artists and art collectives across a wide stretch of diverse backgrounds. EVERYTHING EVERYTIME, the project of Naho Matsuda, uses large mechanical screens to display poetry created out of live data streams that viewers can watch update in real time. Festival-goers can also watch a selfie of themselves be transformed onto a canvas as part of the Hash2ash exhibit, only to dissolve into dust seconds later. Semeion invites participants to explore artificial intelligence through a series of structures that react to human presence through light and sound. Louie Palu’s installation Arctic Passage will be displayed in huge blocks of ice on UT’s Harry Ransom Center plaza, revealing large photographs as they melt. Most of the special events and art exhibits featured during SXSW can be accessed by any badge holder regardless of the type of badge.

FREE SXSW EVENTS Ready to party at SXSW without breaking the bank? Below are some events being held during the festival that won’t cost a fortune to get into.

CREATE AND CULTIVATE AUSTIN POP-UP Sunday, March 10: This pop-up, hosted by media company Create and Cultivate, features a lineup of female panelist entrepreneurs, brand designers, and tech professionals, along with free food, all at the historic Allen House. Free with RSVP. BALANCED BREAKFAST SHOWCASE: Monday-Wednesday, March 11-13 at the Jackelope. This free “unofficial” showcase features 32 bands from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Austin and more.

BLACK GIRL VENTURE PITCH:

DNCE plays a free unofficial show during SXSW at the Waterloo Records stage in 2017. Photo by Zoe Hocker.

If you aren’t independently wealthy but want to enjoy SXSW, here’s how you can do it on the cheap,

F R&B artist and El Paso native Khalid plays the Urban Outfitters stage during an unofficial SXSW show in 2017. The concert, like many outside of the official SXSW festival, was completely free, proving again that you don’t need to be wealthy just savvy to enjoy the best of SXSW. Photo by Zoe Hocker.

or most locals, shelling out a thousand bucks on a ticket to SXSW is as ridiculous as the traffic the festival brings to Austin every year. Most locals, however, know that the best part of the festival isn’t always the curated Southx shows, it’s the ones on the fringes: the free, promotional events at smaller venues known for featuring some of the most talented artists from around the world. Keeping up with these unofficial shows, however, can sometimes be a struggle considering how, well, unofficial they are. Here are some of the things a master SXSW cheapskate keeps in mind when making the most out of festival week.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Since there is no one comprehensive website that organizes all of Austin’s unofficial SXSW shows, social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are the best bet in keeping track of shows that are yet to be announced. Groups like The Dirty Team on Facebook and websites like Showlistaustin and unofficialsxguide.com post event info and RSVP links for free concerts, parties, showcases, speakers and more as they’re announced.

Service Awards and the free SXSW Outdoor Stage.

BADGES:

Prospective attendees of SXSW have four badge types to choose from: Music, Film, Interactive and Platinum. The Music, Film and Interactive badges each cover all access to their respective festivals and secondary access to festivals outside of their namesake. Each of the aforementioned start at $1,325. With an Interactive badge, festival goers are first in line to all interactive tracks, keynotes, and featured speakers, with secondary access to music and film festival events. The Music festival badge grants priority entry to over 2,000 artist concerts, showcases, music keynotes and events within the festival, with secondary access to film and interactive events. With a film badge, attendees are given primary access to all film screenings, keynotes and events, with secondary access to select music and interactive events. For $350 more, guests can purchase a SXSW Platinum badge, which covers primary access to all SXSW events, parties and showcases regardless of what festival they fall under. Each badge holder will also have access to SXSW gaming, Marketplace, Startup Spotlight, Wellness Expo, Community

Graphic by Ellen Fox.

22 feb. 2019

YOUR FAVORITE VENUES: While we’re on the subject of social media, make sure you’re also checking in with your favorite Austin music venues so you’re the first person to know when they announce unofficial shows and parties. Among the crowd favorite Austin venues that host these unofficial shows are Waterloo Records, Hotel Vegas, The North Door, and Urban Outfitters. These unofficial shows have showcased everyone from ASAP Rocky, Khalid, Gus Dapperton, and more. After you’ve found a show, just make sure to register for a ticket, as most free shows require you to RSVP beforehand.

SXSW GUEST PASS What better way to take advantage of the official SXSW festival without having to drop your hard earned cash on a badge? A SXSW guest pass gets you access to all of the public giveaways, parties and shows the festival has to offer, most importantly, for free. The pass includes entrance to the SXSW Outdoor Stage, the largest stage of the festival which holds three days of concerts on Lady Bird Lake and has been played by the likes of Childish Gambino, The Strokes, Garth Brooks, Public Enemy, and more. You will also get access to SXSW’s Wellness Expo, the Flatstock 69 poster expo and SXSW Marketplace. To get your pass, all you have to do is register an account on the official SXSW website. For more information about all of the free stuff the festival has to offer, make sure to check your email for updates on where to use your guest pass. Volunteering for SXSW is also a good way to take advantage of the festival, for volunteers can earn a festival pass after working a number of hours. After a total of 48+ hours of work, volunteers can earn either a Music, Film, or Interactive festival badge to use throughout the week. Volunteers can even earn an all access Platinum pass after 64+ hours of work.

GETTING THERE: Now that you’ve figured out when and where you are going to be spending SXSW, it’s time to think about how to get there. For most, driving is out of the question when considering the overwhelming traffic surrounding the festival and often non-existent parking downtown. The Capital Metro system is the most cost-efficient way to get to and from the festival, while ride-sharing apps, rental scooters and bikes like Bird and Lime bikes are also efficient transportation. Luckily, most of the venues you’ll be hopping between during the festival are mostly within walking distance.

Monday, March 11. This event supports women of color entrepreneurs by showcasing their business as they pitch them to the audience.

Then, participants can show their support by voting on their favorite business. Eight winners will be awarded for the event, and the first prize will receive $5,000 in funding.

Donations not required, but you’re gonna want to show some support. Free with RSVP. FLATSTOCK POSTER SHOW: Thursday-Saturday, March 14-16. This official SXSW exhibit presented by The American Poster Institute is displaying more than 60 of the worlds most talented gig poster artists and their works. Visitors can also enjoy live music from the Flatstock Stage as they shop. Free with an official SXSW Guest Pass.

SONGWRITING SHOWCASE AT MOZART’S: Friday, March 15. With Lady Bird Lake as a backdrop, music lovers can enjoy and support local songwriters during this free showcase/songwriting competition at Mozart’s Coffee Roasters. Free with RSVP. FINAL ALTERCATION PUNK ROCK BBQ: Saturday, March 16. Kick Butt Coffee and Deep Eddy’s Vodka is hosting a day of punk music and free food, featuring lineup performances from Sabbath Crow, Steadfast, Heels, From Parts Unknown, and more, along with two secret headlining acts yet to be announced. Free with an RSVP. TRAPAPALOOZA: Saturday, March 16. Enjoy upcoming indie hiphop acts like Troy Ave and Soldier Kidd and more at Trapapalooza’s third annual outdoor stage just off of Red River St. This event will have food tents and trucks and is free with an RSVP. SXSW OUTDOOR STAGE: Attracting more than 50,000 attendees daily, the Outdoor Stage is the largest stage at SXSW and holds the festivals biggest concerts right on Lady Bird Lake. Although a full lineup of performances is yet to be announced, past performances have included Childish Gambino, The Strokes, Iggy Pop and more. The three day charity event is completely open to the public and free with an Official SXSW Guest Pass.

a&e 19

the

shield

Why they left McCallum

Graphic by Sophie Ryland.

Students choose to switch school for a variety of reasons, some personal, some environmental ELLEN FOX

staff reporter Over the four years of their time, classes of high school get smaller. Every high school will have some students leave before graduation, and that’s nothing out of the ordinary. Students leave their original school for a variety of reasons, some personal and some environmental. The reasons can also be complicated and not as obvious as they originally appear.

We asked three students who have left McCallum to share their reasons for leaving.

What emerges is that there is no one-size-fits-all school environment that will best meet the needs of each student who attends it.

Current sophomore Adrian Haley attended McCallum last year for his freshman year but over the summer made the switch over to the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. Originally, he hadn’t even wanted to go to McCallum; he knew he wanted to be a chemist, so he decided that LASA was a better fit for him. “[My career choice] was a decision I had kind of already made when I took [Integrated Physics and Chemistry] at Kealing, which made me want to become a chemist. So naturally, when I learned that LASA offered organic chemistry, I was thrilled to enroll. Sadly I did not get in [out of middle school] and had to go to McCallum,” Haley said. “I thought I would be miserable all year, [but] eventually decided that I had to focus on what my needs were and left for LASA after successfully applying the second time.”

After spending around a semester at LASA, he said he adjusted to the culture well. As it is a science and math magnet, the workload can be a lot to handle, but Haley said he enjoyed the challenging coursework from a field he enjoyed.

20 people

“LASA does have a larger work load and consists of more difficult work that I have enjoyed doing by coming to LASA,” he said.

“But I found that really the climate is ironically quite similar; there are those that try their best and do very well, those that enjoy complaining about work, because complaining is fun, and those that just don’t care. The difference is just the level of work, different stuff to talk about, and of course, complain about. Socially, I feel that people tend to form a net of close friends through personal relatability, and what’s different with LASA is that people form a net of friendships based on work ... especially if one person is good at one subject and the other, thriving in a different one.”

One reason students why Haley left McCallum is what attracts many other students: the school’s specialty is fine arts, and some students believe that their future lies in another direction.

“I often found myself bored with the homework that was assigned and the level of what seemed to be just ‘busy work’ that sometimes I found just didn’t teach me very much,” Haley said. “The one exception I felt would really be English: that focused on a more discussion-based layout that I enjoyed. That I would say is superior to the LASA English classroom setup.”

Current junior Dexter Barrett also recently left McCallum, but for him the changes were because of family reasons.

“My dad got a really, really good job offer that would change our lives, but we had to move to New York City for the job,” Barrett said. “So if I wanted to go to high school in NYC, then I’d have to take all the new tests in NYC for school and still repeat junior year. Or I could just drop out of McCallum now and get my GED and then move to NYC; I can just do a year of community college

instead of my senior year of high school. Then after that I could just go to regular college and live my life as normal, only I got out of school early.”

Students like Haley and Barrett are testament to the fact that not every students leaves because of McCallum itself; they simply are looking for a different experience elsewhere.

Some students, however, do find that the environment at McCallum isn’t for them. One such person, Harrison Smith, another current junior, transferred to Garza High School last year.

“I had never really been good at school; I found it difficult to concentrate on the mundane and repetitive busywork. ... At McCallum I felt like I had no ability to succeed, and I repeatedly found myself feeling depressed and hopeless,” Smith said. “Switching to Garza was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Along with having a smaller class size and a self-paced curriculum, Garza hosts a tight-knit community of people like myself: smart individuals who either don’t work well in a traditional school or have responsibilities that clash with the extremely demanding workload of traditional high school.”

Unlike Haley, Smith said he did experience a much different climate at his new school; as a smaller school, students he said he gets more personal experiences with teachers and other students and that this personality is extremely important to him as a student, as opposed to the much-larger class sizes at McCallum.

“At McCallum, you are mostly friends with people that chose similar majors; for example, I was mostly friends with band kids and orchestra kids, because my girlfriend at the time was in orchestra. For me, [at] Garza I have noticed less camaraderie, but instead a closer sense of community and school purpose,”

Smith said.

Smith says that Garza keeps the mental health of its students in mind, even prioritizing it over traditional measures of success.

“I believe that a majority of schools should operate like Garza; McCallum and other schools across Texas should be more forgiving and accommodating to its students by offering a selfpaced, alternative curriculum, and should require service hours as mandatory for graduation,” he said. “McCallum should work closer with the surrounding community, as it has so much to offer. McCallum should also have a school garden and an agriculture class, because although I am not a member, it is clear to see that allowing students to work outside reduces stress and allows students to have a sense of how rewarding work can be.

Smith also says that there is a more relaxed attitude surrounding life at Garza.

“All members of the McCallum community should also work to create an environment of respect between students and staff alike, rather than a stressful workplace that only seems to make students miserable,” he said. “Students should not dread going to school; it just doesn’t make sense.”

Regardless of the number who have left, not all people leave for the same reason, it’s not necessarily due to students dropping out; they may be seeking opportunities that are offered elsewhere. Or they may be leaving due to circumstances that are simply beyond their control.

There are choice programs, self-paced curricula and even new cities awaiting students; while they may not be walking across the Erwin Center stage with the their original class, they say that all they are looking for is a high school education that works for them.

22 feb. 2019

the

shield

For West, teaching an art form, too

A student of many disciplines, versatile teacher discovered her greatest passion is the classroom Ceramics and photography teacher Carey West demonstrates how to make a teapot to her Ceramics ll class. Photo by Janssen Transier.

JANSSEN TRANSIER staff reporter

I

n 2000, Carey West had spent the last three years of her life as a resident at the Mendocino Arts Center.

“When you have a residency at an arts center, you basically tech for all the master artists who come in to teach classes. You pug their clay, mix their glazes and load their kilns,” West said.

In exchange, you get to make use of all the equipment in the arts center to work on your own art. Although West loved her time as a resident at the Mendocino, after three years, she was ready to move on and she had to make a decision about what she wanted to do next.

“I knew that I wanted to do something new, but I wasn’t really sure what, so I just slowed down, took a break, worked folding T-shirts, and took some time to really think about what I wanted to do with my life,” West said.

“When I was younger, in high school and college, all my summer jobs used to be at day camps for kids: teaching them about science or taking them out on a boat to look at sea creatures. What I discovered was that although I loved the science part of that, what I really got satisfaction from was working with the kids and teaching them about what I loved.”

And just like that, West decided she was going to be a teacher.

“I got a call from the then director of the Academy here at McCallum, asking if I wanted to interview for a job, so the next day I had an interview, then the next day I had a job. It all just kind of worked out. ”

—Carey West

as my source of income, but I also didn’t want to compromise on my artwork, so I realized that I needed something that would keep me in the arts but also support me financially.”

W

C

arey West was born in Dearborn, Mich., just outside of Detroit. In high school, West first discovered her interest in the arts.

“My high school had what was called an arts humanities program; every class was integrated with the arts, so you learned art history and music theory while you were learning English or history.”

In addition to art, West developed another interest that she would take with her for the rest of her life: science.

“In high school, I loved chemistry and all the sciences but I really loved biology.”

After high school, West continued her studies at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla., where she double-majored in art and science with a focus in marine biology. When she arrived at college, however, she discovered that her passion for science did not run as deep as she initially thought.

“I found that I really loved thinking about science, and I still do, but the fieldwork was something that I had never really experienced, so it was kind of a shock.”

Although she didn’t enjoy the fieldwork side of marine biology as much as she had hoped, she still loved it and continued to pursue her degree.

At the same time, West discovered another passion: ceramics. “I picked up ceramics my sophomore year of college, and I found that I really gravitated towards it. I felt like it kept me grounded.”

West continued to practice ceramics throughout college, and after four years, she graduated from Eckerd College with a bachelor’s degree in art and a bachelor’s degree in science.

After college, West moved to California and worked for the California Department of Fish and

21 feature

West helps social studies teacher Greg Anderson complete a ceramic pot as a part of the “Teach Your Passion” professional development series at Mac on Jan. 3. Photo by David Winter.

Game, while also pursuing a career as an artist. “I worked for the Department of Fish and Game for a while; working on commercial fishing boats, doing research about the migratory paths of salmon.”

West would go on to accompany crews on fishing boats, and every time they caught a fish with a specific marking on it, they would make note of it, and compare the location where it was caught to the location where it was born.

After that, West was offered residency at the

Mendocino Arts Center, where she stayed for three years working as a ceramicist. While she was there she experimented with a few different forms of art—including forgery and other types of metalworking. While she was honing her art skills, she also learned some valuable life lessons.

“The most important thing I learned was how to balance work and my own art.” West said. “It was an interesting experience, because I was pretty sure that I didn’t want to rely only on art

est received her teaching certificate in California, where she taught for eight years.

“The high school I taught at was so small that I was the entire art department, and I was teaching science at the same time,” West said. Around this time was when West first discovered her love for photography.

“Photography came into the picture when I first started teaching. They asked me if I could teach it, and I just said I could, and it turned out I really liked it,” West said. “I feel like you have to just say yes to stuff like that, you can always do it, and it’s important to push yourself.”

West loved California, but after eight years, knowing that she could never own a home, she decided that it was time for a change.

“I had spent a year in Austin in between high school and college, building houses for at-risk youth, so I already had some experience with the city, and I really liked it”. West said. “So I put all my stuff and drove down, and on the way I got a call from the then director of the academy here at McCallum, asking if I wanted to interview for a job, so the next day I had an interview, then the next day I had a job. It all just kind of worked out.”

That was nearly 13 years ago, and now, Ms. West is one of McCallum’s seasoned teachers.

“I would say overall, McCallum hasn’t really changed too much” West said. “People come and go, but the culture of McCallum has pretty much stayed the same.”

“Over my years at this school I’ve noticed that students here are exceptionally caring, and very focused on activism. And especially their ability to sort of step back and look at more than just themselves: that is very unique, in my opinion”.

“Teaching is not easy,” West said. “It keeps getting more stressful, but it’s worth it. When someone makes something that they’re proud of, I couldn’t be happier.”

22 feb. 2019

the

shield

Meet those dancing feet A year after West Side Story, MacTheatre again sells out MAC with 42nd Street

OLIVIA WATTS guest reporter

The drama, lights and showmanship of Broadway took over the McCallum Arts Center as 42nd Street took center stage from Jan. 31 through Feb. 7. The show first hit the stage in 1980. The stage version of 42nd Street originated as a 1930s movie that was based on a book of the same name. The writer of the book, Bradford Ropes, based the story line off of a personal experience he had lived through in the theatre.

42nd Street follows a young singer, dancer and actress named Peggy Sawyer (Helena Laing) who has just been cast in an up-and-coming Broadway show, Pretty Lady, as a chorus member. In that role, she is introduced to the world of Broadway divas and harsh directors. The show faces many challenges as the actors go through relationship struggles and changing roles during the rehearsal process and opening of the show.

Compared to last year’s production of West Side Story, 42nd Street must have seemed a little more lighthearted. West Side Story was heavy on violence and forbidden love including murders and gang violence. Junior Tosh Arora, who played Billy Lawlor in 42nd Street also acted in West Side Story.

“42nd Street is kind of all about song and dance extravaganza, presentational, very Broadway and very out there,” Arora said. “My character is also very a part of that, and he’s a very presentational guy. In West Side Story, the conflict was just so much more intense.

It was gang war, and people were dying and so the stakes were just different and playing a gang leader who’s driven by anger and hatred of another group versus someone who’s driven by fame and lust is just two sides of the point.”

Something that both shows had in common were the countless rehearsal hours spent perfecting the acting, dancing and singing. Junior Lilah Guaragna played Maggie Jones, who along with Bert Barry (Sam Richter) played the script and song writer of Pretty Lady, experienced it all during the months leading up to the show’s opening.

“West Side Story and 42nd Street are both huge shows to put on, with heavy dancing, elaborate sets and difficult music.” Guaragna said. “42nd Street in particular is a giant spectacle of a show, larger than West Side Story, including insanely huge sets and over 10 production numbers. Both shows are challenging, but 42nd is the biggest production in MacTheatre history. We have been rehearsing 42nd Street since the 19th of November. After school rehearsals are typically two hours with four-hour rehearsals on Fridays. On Saturday, we have longer rehearsals around six to seven hours. Once

22 a & e

we get into tech week, we rehearse up to five hours after school, and up to 12 on the weekends.”

The audience is given a glimpse of all the work that goes into a show in 42nd Street. The show mostly focuses on the actors of Pretty Lady but also shows quite a bit of the writers Maggie and Bert, the stage manager, Mac, (Avi Blum) and the accompanying pianist, Oscar (Jonathan Forbes).

“They start the show off with an audition, and they hire people,” Arora said. “It kind of exposes the inner workings of the theatre.”

The audience even gets to see the theatre the company practices in, painted on one of the many backdrops. 42nd Street goes into the private lives of the actors from pre-opening night parties to relationship drama and personal struggles within the leads of Pretty Lady. On the contrary, Mac, the experienced stage manager, knows what he’s doing.

“He’s kind of like a seen it all, kind of bitter been-there-done-that guy,” Blum said. “He’s been around Broadway and the theatre for years, so if anything happens, it doesn’t really surprise him because he’s seen it all.”

Like Mac, 42nd Street’s actual stage manager, senior Zora MooreThoms, has a lot of experience in the theatre.

“This is my fifth show stage managing at McCallum so I’ve had a lot of practice,” Moore-Thoms said. “A lot of the time it’s just learning not to take it personally when people get mad at you or yell at you.”

Even though Moore-Thoms hasn’t had quite as much experience as Mac, she certainly knows what she’s doing. Every set that is put into place and every spotlight that you see has been put there by someone on the tech crew who has practiced for weeks.

“It was such a huge show, with all the things flying in, the stairs, all the costume changes,” Moore-Thoms said. “The directors were drilling us really hard with constant notes so that added a lot of stress.”

The show’s dance numbers alone required a large attention to detail because of the sheer number of cast members and difficulty of the choreography. Guaragna enjoyed the final product of those numbers.

“My favorite song to perform in is probably ‘Go Into Your Dance,’” Guaragna said. “My favorite song in the show to watch is ‘We’re in the Money’ because it is a huge dance number with giant prop dimes and a ton of energy.”

Owen Scales, who played Andy the choreographer, also choreographed the number, “Shuffle Off to Buffalo,” in which chorus members wear pajamas and dance on a train. He said “watching the number and seeing my friends enjoying their time doing it” was the best part of the experience.

Moore-Thoms also said that the camaraderie of the cast and crew,

The writers of “Pretty Lady,” the show that “42nd Street” follows, lead the actors of the show in the number “Getting Out of Town” where they celebrate “Pretty Lady” beginning its touring run. Photo by Gabby Sherwood.

Junior Tosh Arora as Billy Lawlor plays his lead role in “Pretty Lady” as he performs his tap solo atop a six-foot wide dime in the number, “We’re in the Money.” Photo by Bella Russo. make the hard work worth it.

“There are so many things that are unique to McCallum shows,” Moore-Thoms said. “Good Show, going to Amy’s Ice Cream the first Friday of the show and going to Central Market after strike on closing night ... makes it all come to a nice ending with everyone sitting on the patio eating and talking about how fun (and sometimes super insane) the show was. I’ve learned so much, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity, even with the high highs and low lows.”

To read out complete interviews with Moore-Thoms and Scales, please visit macshieldonline.com.

22 feb. 2019

the

shield

Artistically Speaking: Jules Sease Why did versatile visual artist go from sewing quilts to desiging a complete fashion line?

The ‘devil’ made him do it.

The Shield: How did you get into fashion?

Jules Sease: I was sewing quilts [for] quite a while there. How I got into fashion was that I saw the prompt for the fashion show, and I saw that one of the prompts has like the devil figure, and that really interested me, so I was like “I’m going to do this!” and that’s how I got into it, because I had no prior experience to it.

TS: Where did you get the inspiration for your fashion collection?

JS: The devil figure. I really am interested in the figure of the devil just in art in general, and then from the devil figure I drew from ideas of arcs of the devil figure in media like the devil child, the devil lady, because she’s a seductress, the exorcism, demonizing others for what you see in yourself and the classic devil look, with the fire and stuff.”

TS: What designers have influenced you?

JS: I’m a painter; that’s my first thing that I do. Traditionally, that has carried over influence what has been [in my fashion work]... like [Jean-Michel] Basquiat.

TS: How did you create the pieces in your collection?

JS: I sewed every one of them. For four months, I sewed.

TS: What is your favorite memory from the fashion show?

JS: The gratification of [my designs] all fitting and the fact that they looked good. I was really happy with the outcome of it.

TS: What art classes are you in?

JS: I’m in Sculpture II, Ceramics AP and Painting III. TS: Are you in the Fine Arts Academy?

JS: I’m not, because I failed Spanish in eighth grade.

22 feb. 2019

Sease’s painting, titled “I’m Getting Better.” and Sease’s religious self-portrait, titled, “Saving Grace.” Alejandra Berrelleza models one of Sease’s devil-inspired designs during the Jan. 12 fashion show, Paradigm, in the MAC. Photo by Gregory James.

Senior Jules Sease is an accomplished visual artist and fashion designer who sells his pieces on Instagram. Photo by Olivia Watts.

TS: What is your favorite art piece that you have created so far?

JS: I really like my recent one I did. I’m trans, and I’m on hormone replacement therapy for testosterone, and I used the shots that I used every week, three months worth of them, to create a religious self portrait.

TS: What types of art do you sell/create?

JS: I sell little small clothing and fabric items, and I sell

portraits and commissions. ... I do mainly portraits; that is my thing, and I’ve done a lot of dog art.

TS: How are you selling your art?

JS: All through Instagram.

TS: What artists have influenced you in your art?

JS: Basquiat, and a man named David Wojnarowicz. He was an artist who died in the ’90s of AIDS. He was really influential within that community.

TS: How did you learn to paint and do all these kinds of art?

JS: I have always been interested in art. When in ninth grade I started to go through some really rough mental-health issues, that translated over to doing art constantly as a coping mechanism. I went through 13 journals within eight months. That’s what made me start, really.

TS: What made you want to become an artist?

JS: I feel like art is a really powerful thing to share experiences with and reach people who might not typically see the experience that you share within art. Also, it’s just a communication within people of different human experiences and how we experience life in general.

TS: What type of art do you want to learn to create?

JS: I would like to do more fibers. I would like to do bigger pieces with fibers, like soft sculpture. Also, paper-making; I really want to learn how to make paper.

TS: What are your plans for the future?

JS: I’m trying to go to art school, if they give me enough money.

TS: Do you have any particular ones in mind?

JS: Yeah, MICA [Maryland Institute College of Art,] which is up in Baltimore, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Those are the main two right now.

— interview by Olivia Watts

a & e 23

the

shield

1

2

3

(1) Oakley Barber performs “The One That Got Away” by Tom Waits. “It was overall a good experience because it was a chance to laugh at myself and... do something silly and not worry about what people thought,” Barber said. (2) Katie Carrasco lip syncs to “Leader of the Pack” by the Shangri-Las with help from two of her daughters. “My girls are in dance,” Carrasco said. “I don’t feel like I have a specific talent, but they do, so I thought they’d be my talent with me. They got milkshakes as a reward.” (3) Northcutt, along with surprise guest Adamson, do karaoke to “Dancing Queen” by ABBA. Photos by Elisha Scott.

Schooling the stage LASZLO KING-HOVIS staff reporter McCallum’s second fifth annual teacher’s pageant was last Friday.

“I actually screwed up with the Teachers and Tiaras poster,” film teacher Ken Rogers said. “This is actually the sixth annual. I guess I used the background for the old one but forgot to change it.

Oh well, we’re calling it the fifth annual again!”

The money raised from Teachers and Tiaras goes to fund the AV program.

“I feel like the AV Club is really important to the school,” said math teacher Daniel Vega, who played the drums for the teacher pageant competition.

“When Mr. Rogers said their funding was cut and this was a way for them to get funding, I wanted to make sure to do that and help.”

While Vega had experience playing the drums through high school and college, he moved onto the bass eventually.

“Drums are very loud, so I can’t really play them anymore,” Vega said. “I transitioned to bass guitar.

But it’s definitely a passion and I miss it very much.

Luckily, Mr. Rogers has a drum kit in his back room, so I was able to practice. I thought I’d do something flashy and loud. Really, I just wanted to play, I didn’t care what other people thought.”

History teacher Katie Carrasco, the third-place winner, performed for similiar reasons.

“Mr. Rogers has been so good about the technology that he gets in his programs and making sure that each teacher gets access to it,” Carrasco said. “I’ve used the virtual reality headsets that he’s gotten several times this year. I felt like if I’m going to benefit from [the technology]; I need to do my part to get funding.”

“All of the teachers before it started, got together and did a little ‘Put your hands in the middle.’”Carrasco said. “We were like ‘Humiliation for the kids!’ That was our rallying cry.”

First-place winner, English teacher Nikki

24 a&e

Northcutt, along with her surprise duet partner and emcee, English teacher Diana Adamson, did karyoke to “Dancing Queen” by ABBA. “Being in a pageant is a lifelong dream that I never thought I’d be able to achieve until Mr. Rogers created this event,” Northcutt said. “I’ve been in it every time they would let me, which is every other year because if you win, you can’t compete the next year.”

For first-year teacher and second-place winner SCORES teacher Steven Strong, this wasn’t his first time up on that stage either.

“It was the first time I’d done anything onstage pretty much since high school,” Strong said. “I went here for four years, and I think the last thing I did here as a senior was Mr. McCallum. It was fun though; I was fairly confident in my stage presence. I’d been on that exact stage before, so it wasn’t anything new to me. It was just fun to be on stage again.”

Strong performed a personal twist of “You Should’ve Known” by Hopsin at the pageant.

“For weeks leading up to this, as soon as I knew I was doing it, I was doing a remix of Ariana Grande’s ‘Thank U, Next,’” Strong said. “I still have that, but I ended up not performing it. The Monday before the show, this rapper named Hopsin released a song called ‘You Should’ve Known,’ and it got fairly popular really quickly on YouTube. I sat down Wednesday night, and I was like, ‘I’m going to write for this just to see what happens,’ and I liked what I wrote a lot more than what I wrote to ‘Thank U, Next.’”

For Strong, the lyrics he wrote were connected to his teaching philosophy.

“In the third verse,” Strong said. “I wrote about understanding that if a kid is rebelling, pointing at them and getting mad at them for acting in a normal way is something that you could actually look at and be like, ‘Oh, I have been there. I could guide them.

I could assist them. I could show them that I did that and how it turned out for me.’ I think that is important to understand as a teacher and I think a lot of people undervalue that.”

While votes were being counted and the unknown

Teachers show off hidden, newfound talents at Teachers & Tiaras pagent

The unknown comic asks sophomore Luke Robb a knock-knock joke. Photo by Elisha Scott. teacher comic was entertaining the crowd, the teachers were backstage singing along to the Beatles.

“Mr. Pew [math teacher Paul Pew] started playing Beatles songs on the piano, and Mr. Vega was playing little jazzy backtunes,” said social studies teacher Lucy Griswold, who did a monkey impression, a baby impression, a Zumba routine and the worm for her act. “We were all just singing, and it was this really magical moment of collaboration and spontaneity.

It was just worth it to be with colleagues in a playful environment and to look silly for a good cause.”

The magical moment was even more noteworthy because it was the first time the two musicians had teamed up to play.

“I had never played with Mr. Vega before or he with me,” Pew said. “When we just had the chance to jam we had a really good time. That was about my favorite part of the night.”

Meanwhile, counselor Mickey Folger used the opportunity to skateboard around backstage.

While she was skateboarding backstage, she heard the singing come from the teachers gathered around McCallum’s own Lennon and McCartney duo.

“Mr. Strong was laying prone on the ground with

his arms out just flat on his back singing.”

For Ms. Folger, the event was an opportunity to make new connections with teachers.

“Because I’m new here at McCallum, and I just recently transitioned into counseling, [and] I was in this purgatory about my people, so it was really nice to be able to spend time with teachers because I’m not that far removed from what it is to be a teacher,” said Folger, who was a classroom teacher for 15 years. “It was really cool to hang out with Ms. Griswold, get to know Mr. Barber a little better, and Mr. Pew is hilarious. It was just a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it.”

This was history teacher Oakley Barber’s first time performing, but i probably won’t be his last.

“It was fun,” Barber said. “I’d never been on a stage before in that situation. When I was younger, I used to be a clothing model. Believe it or not, I’d been a hair model as well, but I’d never performed on stage. So obviously I was very nervous, but I can see why people like it. There’s a certain rewarding thing to it that I enjoy.”

Barber sung the Tom Waits song, “The One That Got Away.”

“There was no background music at first,” Barber said. “So three weeks before the contest a friend of Mr. Rogers came down and recorded the bass and sax lines so the music that was played was recorded in Mr. Rogers’ studio by a parent and me. He played the bass and I sung, and then he played the saxophone over it.”

Along with the talent portion, there was also an eveningwear portion.

“For me, the eveningwear portion is kind of fun because I was in the Peace Corps in Chad for three years,” math teacher Richard Cowles said, “so I go and pull out my Chaddean outfits.”

Overall, the department raised just under $1,600 dollars from the pagent.

“I think it went great,” Rogers said. “It ran smoothly, the talent was really good, except for that unknown teacher comic, he was pretty bad.”

22 feb. 2019

the

shield

For tortured fans, ‘End Game’ in sight Three long-awaited sequels top the Mac must-see movie list GRAYSON CRUISE staff reporter

Ask someone what the movie they’re most looking forward to this year: it’s almost as if you asked them if they wanted a cookie.

Their eyes light up, they consider it, and they burst out a reply, saying what film they are the most excited about seeing. It’s understandable; there are many movies coming out that people have been anticipating for a long time, and soon they’ll finally be able to watch them.

Movies like Alita: Battle Angel (featuring sophomore Emma Lindsey, see page 12), Detective Pikachu, Captain Marvel, Infinity War: Endgame, Shazam!, the live-action animations of Dumbo and Aladdin, Hellboy, and John Wick 3, just to name a few, are coming out by June, with even more later in the year.

I asked 50 random McCallum students what movie they were looking forward to watching this year and why, and overall, people most mentioned these films: Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Toy Story 4, Godzilla, King of Monsters, Sonic The Hedgehog, Detective Pikachu, IT Chapter 2, Joker, Child’s Play and Star Wars: Episode IX. Avengers: Endgame has gotten a lot of attention, and it was the film that McCallum students most often mentioned wanting to see.

Perhaps this anticipation is due to it being the long-awaited sequel to the original Avengers: Infinity War. The sequel will answer the questions both comic lovers and the regular Marvel Cinematic Universe movie fans have, and for those who haven’t read the comics or spoiled it for themselves have also shared their theories on what might happen in the upcoming movie.

Though in the first movie, many Marvel characters in Avengers: Infinity War met a seemingly fatal end, fans don’t think they’ll be gone for long.

“It could be that one of them gets a hold of the time stone, or [that] Ant-Man uses his new quantum-realm technology to bring the characters back,” said one McCallum student that I talked to. “Whatever it is, I believe that the characters that died do somehow come back, like Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Far From Home.”

“Of course, there’s many things that could happen, and I personally don’t think anything I could think of would be accurate enough, but it’s fun to speculate on what might happen,” another McCallum student said.

With everyone excited for Endgame, McCallum’s students are also interested in Spider-Man: Far From Home. With the return of Spider-Man on his vacation in Europe comes a series of obstacles when Nick Fury shows up in his hotel room. Parker soon finds himself donning the Spider-Man suit yet again to

22 feb. 2019

Our handy illustration not only highlights some of the most-anticipated movies of 2019, but it also makes an excellent must-see movie checklist if you who plan to see them all. You could also use it play movie-watch Bingo with your movie-buff friends. Illustration by Grayson Cruise.

“I always liked the Army men and how they basically came and went as they pleased and met up with Woody when they could, even after they went in separate ways.”

—one Mac survey respondent on why they always liked Toy Story help Fury stop Mysterio from creating chaos throughout the continent. The confirmation of our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man’s return is wonderful news for Tom Holland fans still not over his “not feeling so good” in Avengers: Infinity War and will prove to be a popular pick in the cinemas come this July.

Toy Story 4, coming out in June, is the third most-mentioned movie. The first Toy Story came out in 1995, with characters that are now older than students at McCallum. Despite growing up since the original Toy Story release, many of the

students are excited to see the latest film in the storied Pixar franchise and new cast members that will be introduced, including Ducky and Bunny, two new characters who appear in the Toy Story 4 trailer.

“I remember growing up watching the Toy Story series; I always liked the Army men and how they basically came and went as they pleased and met up with Woody when they could, even after they went in separate ways,” one respondent said.

“I can’t wait to see the new cast coming out!

Bunny and Ducky look so fluffy and funny, and Forky’s gonna be played by Keanu Reeves,” another student said.

McCallum students are ready for a year of many movies, where there’s something for everybody. Whether you want an action film such as John Wick 3, a comedy like The Lego Movie 2: the Second Part or a movie to bring nostalgia from childhood like The Lion King, 2019 is sure to bring take you on a wild adventure of exhilarating, heartbreaking and laugh-filled films all year long.

The most anticipated movies and their U.S. release dates Avengers: End Game April 26 Godzilla: King of Monsters May 31 Toy Story 4 June 21 Spider-Man: Far from Home July 5 Joker Oct. 4 Star Wars, Episode IX Dec. 20

a&e 25

the

shield

This month: FEBRUARY

The sunset from the 360 Bridge Overlook on Jan. 6 . Photo By Zoe Hocker.

MUST-SEE FILMS Two years from the disastrous Fyre Festival, two streaming services. Netflix and Hulu, each released separate documentaries detailing the events leading up to the fateful music festival. The documentaries follow McFarland and Ja Rule on the long road to the festival, showing everything, from the early signs of failure, to the fateful day when the festival launched. The documentaries provide some valuable insight into what is widely regarded as one of the more significant pop culture events in the past five years, going in depth, with interviews with the people directly involved with the festival. Both were very well done; however, the Netflix documentary succeeded in painting a more realistic picture of the whole controversy. To make your own decision, you can find the documentaries on Netflix and Hulu.

EATS The front of Tyson’s Tacos, located on 53rd Street and Airport Boulevard. Photo By Janssen Transier.

TYSON’S

When you get to Tyson’s Tacos, the first thing you’ll notice is the huge menu. From the vegetarian taco, The Hank, with avocado, egg, veggie chorizo, and queso fresco, to the Senor Ranger, with egg, beef fajita, bacon, queso fresco and bell pepper, there’s something for everyone. After you order, make sure to grab a seat on the outdoor patio, because space is limited, and it tends to get really busy. The wait can be a little long, especially on the weekends when they’re flooded with online and call-in orders, but it’s worth it. Tyson’s is located at 4905 Airport Boulevard, and is open 24/7.

26 a&e

CHI’LANTRO

Located in the strip center off of Burnet and North Loop, Chi’lantro brands itself as a “fusion of Korean and Mexican flavors.”

One of my personal favorites is the Kimchi Fries, with a choice of protein, cheddar and Monterey jack, onions, cilantro and magic sauce, all served on top of a crispy bed of french fries. If you decide to try Chi’lantro, make sure to bring a card, as they do not accept cash. The restaurant opened in 2010 and was originally a food truck. The owners made a successful appeal on the network TV show Shark Tank two years ago. You can watch the episode on the Chi’lantro website.

UPCOMING CONCERTS

Noname Feb. 27 @ Emos

Conan Grey March 20 @ Emos 22 feb. 2019

the

shield

‘Walk, walk fashion, baby!’

Gracie turns her nightmare archetype into dream outcome: first place in the Benefit Fashion Show STRUTTIN’: Senior Audrey Sayer models Pearl Heinley’s line in the annual benefit fashion show “Paradigm” on Jan. 12.

Photo by Gregory James.

AMAZING GRACIE: Senior Skel Gracie (below) was the winner of the 2019 Benefit Fashion show, winning a prize of $500 and the opportunity for her line to be featured and walked in a professional fashion show. “I drew inspiration from my own, personal nightmares, as well as the common themes of pop-horror like American Horror Story,” Gracie told The Shield. This is Gracie’s second year designing in the fashion show, “I find the process of being able to take something from vague sketches to tangible, complete outfits really rewarding, and it’s always amazing to look back and realize like, ‘Oh hey, I did that!”

Photo by Bella Russo.

FAST FASHION FRIENDS: Designer collaborators senior Rory Thomas and senior Sophia Shampton share a laugh backstage before their line hit the runway. “It was me and Sophie’s first time sewing,” Thomas said.

“We were really, really proud of all of the hard work we put in.” Photo

by Luca Snowhorn.

22 feb. 2019

For a look at all the photos from this year’s fashion show visit macshieldonline.com.

DESIGNS BY SIMON: Sophomore Loretta Bickley poses at the end of the runway as part of junior designer Tristan Simon’s line, which was inspired by the archetype of the villain. “I was influenced by Warren Lotas.” Simon said. “[Lotas is] an artist and designer that creates a lot of work that helped me develop the imagery that I painted onto my pieces.” Photo by Bella Russo.

GOLDFISH IS GUCCI: Junior model Rey Bernacki (below) wears designer Chloe Shields and Vaughn Burger’s line in the 2019 Fashion Show. Shields and Burger’s line was themed to the archetype of the ocean. “Chloe Shields thought that since the archetype was ocean and water, Goldfish was a good fit for the costume,” Bernacki said. “I really enjoyed meeting and working with a lot of new people in the fashion show.” Photo by Caleb Melville.

MAKEUP MADNESS: Junior Chelsea Gotham applies makeup on junior model Emmaline Benson before the fashion show on Jan. 12. Benson was among the models who wore Jules Sease line whose archetype was the devil. “I love the imagery and representation the Devil figure holds.” Sease said. “Each outit held a different meaning.” Photo

by Gabby Sherwood.

photo essay 27

the

shield

Caldwell leaves lasting Mac legacy

Lessons taught by Mac coaching great were more about life than they were about basketball KRISTEN TIBBETTS staff reporter

At Coach Don Caldwell’s funeral service on Jan. 19, Caldwell’s wife, Dorothy thanked the McCallum community for being behind her husband throughout his career. They were all behind him because as multiple generations of McCallum players can attest, he was always behind them. His former players remember him as the man who not only taught them about basketball, football, PE, or drivers ed, but also about life. His colleagues remember his personality, jokes and the way he cared about each and every person in his life.

Assistant basketball Coach Carlin Shaw was one of those able to see him as both a coach and a colleague. A former McCallum student and basketball player, Shaw rejoined the Knights five years ago and coached alongside Coach Caldwell for two years. As a student, Shaw says he learned a lot more than just basketball from his former coach.

“He taught us life lessons even more so than basketball. [He taught me] how to be a man.”

Shaw said. “It’s incorporated into who I am now.”

Current varsity coach Daniel Fuentes agreed that Caldwell’s teaching transcended basketball.

“He would use the court as his classroom to teach them about life. He was a big influence on the students, and I’m just trying to carry the torch the best I can.”

Fuentes began working alongside Coach Caldwell in the summer of 1998, coaching the freshman football team. By the winter and spring, they began coaching basketball together.

“He taught me to become better, to be a student of the game,” Fuentes said. “[He taught me to] go listen to other coaches, visit other programs and see what they do because you can’t do the same thing with next year’s team.”

Many of his former players spoke of Caldwell’s competitive spirit. David Spradling, who was a sophomore when Caldwell came to McCallum in 1973, recalled the following story playing in a tournament at the Doris Miller Rec Center alongside Caldwell in 1976, the summer after Spradling graduated.

“There was a lot of competition,” Spradling said. “We had to play a team with several University of Texas players including the starting center, 6-foot-7 Gary Goodner. Coach played tough defense against him. He played like a train coming down the court with his speed and power. He was making shots from way outside and battled the bigger guys inside.

I was a little in awe of our opponent but playing with Coach made me relax and play. He was so competitive and didn’t want to lose. He took it to them and outplayed those UT players. We played them tough but lost in overtime. He and I always talked about that game.”

While his competitive spirit was legendary, his former players agreed that it never got in the way of his humble and kind heart.

“If you were to ask Coach Caldwell how many wins he had, he couldn’t tell you,” Fuentes said.

“Very humble.”

Coach Caldwell’s humility did not interfere with his ability to coach well and coach tough.

“His way of showing you that he cared was

28 sports

Don Caldwell laughs with former player Damien Mercer, Class of 1992, in the Don Caldwell Gymnasium after it was named in his honor in a surprise ceremony on Nov. 17, 2017. Mercer played on the McCallum team that made the final four under Coach Caldwell. Photo by Bella Russo. being hard on you and pushing you,” Shaw said.

Fuentes agreed. “I always say that we coach hard but we love hard, and the kids know that.”

Coach Caldwell’s height and reputation made him somewhat intimidating to those who did not know him. Even some of his colleagues even jokingly nicknamed him “the bear.”

But Shaw said Caldwell was also a teddy bear.

“He was kind of tough and intimidating, but when you actually spent time around him it was nothing like this,” Shaw said. “He was the nicest, sweetest man. He would do anything for you.”

“Coach didn’t hide who he was, and I think that’s what kids loved about him,” Fuentes said.

“There was an honesty when you talked to him.

He was the same person off the court; he wasn’t a different guy.”

Coach Caldwell also made sure that he encouraged everyone, whether they were on his team or not. On multiple occasions he would stay behind after games to talk to players and coaches from opposing teams.

“Nowadays people just worry about their team; they don’t worry about the other team,” Fuentes said.

On Nov. 17, 2017, the basketball program named the main McCallum gym the Don Caldwell Gymnasium in his honor. The ceremony, however, came as a complete surprise to Caldwell. To trick him, Fuentes told Coach Caldwell that they were starting up the alumni game tradition again, with Fuentes coaching the varsity and Coach Caldwell coaching the alumni.

“The thing about Coach Caldwell, if he would have known, he wouldn’t have come,” Fuentes

said. “He just wanted to retire and nobody make a big deal, but he was such a big deal in our basketball community, and the McCallum community for that matter.”

Coach Caldwell started to realize what was going on when he saw a podium and chairs being set up in the gym. When the banner was unveiled to reveal the real purpose of the event, his reaction was classic Caldwell.

“It wasn’t some big dramatic reaction where people get tears of joy,” Shaw joked. “It was a Coach Caldwell reaction. He looked up. Looked at it, and was like ‘OK.’” The past two seasons, an alumni game has taken place in that gymnasium to celebrate Coach Caldwell’s McCallum legacy. After 45 years of coaching, 43 of which were at McCallum, his legacy has stretched far.

“He’s considered to be like the dean of basketball in this area.” Fuentes said. “It’s hard to gauge how much [of an influence he has had], but we still see it. I’ll run into kids, and now the kids of kids, and they keep telling me ‘I remember Coach Caldwell when he did this…’.

He wasn’t just about basketball.”

Everyone agreed that Coach Caldwell’s legacy is something that will never die.

“With me personally, he inspired me to be a teacher and a coach,” Shaw said. “The things that I learned from him I’m teaching my son now. It’ll live on forever.”

Both Fuentes and Shaw repeated one phrase when asked how to summarize Coach Caldwell’s lasting impact on the McCallum community.

“We are his legacy.”

Coach Caldwell, far right, talks to his 20152016 varsity team after a tough loss to Del Valle Nov. 17. The Cardinals clipped the varsity Knights 73-55, but the JV squad won its game over Del Valle, 57-55, in the final second. Photo by Jacqueline McLellan.

Coach Caldwell, left, was an assistant coach in 1976 when David Spradling, No. 24, was a senior. Spradling’s son Emerson played for Caldwell’s last team in 2016. Hudson Spradling is a sophomore on the JV team this year. Photo courtesy of Spradling.

22 feb. 2019

the

shield

Right on target

Sophomore Mariana Torres DeLine waits patiently in her seat as the whistle is ready to be blown for the 15-meters shots at McCallum on December 15th, 2018 Photo

by Diamante Diaz.

Archery team hosts competitors big and small in Mac gym DIAMANTE DIAZ staff reporter

Students have grown up with heroes donning a bow-and-arrow on the big screen, from Katniss Everdeen to Hawkeye, but now some are themselves taking to the shooting range.

Within the last year, McCallum’s archery club has grown in hopes to become an established competitive team, as incoming students from Lamar will be the “real deal,” according to McCallum parent and Highland Park coach Jim DeLine.

Sophomore Mariana Torres DeLine has brought the sport to the school, with a sevenyear background, in hopes of sharing her passion with other Mac student archers.

“I’ve been wanting to start up a team since last year, and this year we actually got something started,” Torres DeLine said. “What I really want is to go get people to try something new... it takes courage to try something different.”

The archery blub is tied to Highland Park Elementary school’s nationally-ranked archery program, led by Torres DeLine’s father. As the Highland Park Elementary Scottie Shooters who finished in fourth at nationals in Louisville will be moving to Lamar, the Lamar students who finished 11th at state will need a space to compete at the next level.

A majority of the archery club members had never shot before but have nothing but good things to say about their experience.

“My favorite part about archery is being able to learn every single practice,” sophomore Andrea de Poo Lamadrid said.

Torres DeLine spoke about one of her

22 feb. 2019

McCallum sophomore Nathan Ray lowers himself to call out his target partners’ points to the judge notating and confirming their scores.

“Everyone gets bad arrows, and that’s why it’s called a mental sport.

I’ve shot thousands of arrows to get to where I am, and there’s still work to be done. One arrow can change the way you shoot. The greatest strength you can have is to be patient.”

—Mariana Torres DeLine proudest moments with the team: the first time they all shot from 15 meters.

“Fifteen meters is always a little unpredictable, so it was actually a huge achievement that all the arrows made it on the target.”

Starting with about 13 people, the team has narrowed down to about eight regulars. Though the students vary in personality, they have “really become friends,” Torres DeLine said.

“We’re all dorky in our own way,” she continued, describing how the club has brought together even the shyest of members. “People I hadn’t even known well before are a part of something we all look forward to on Thursdays.”

Coach Nancy Nitardy agrees with this assesment of the team.

“It’s competitive, but they’re encouraging and supporting each other all the time,” she

said. “Quite a few didn’t even know each other, and now they’re all friends. It’s a fun sport, and in my opinion, underrated. It’s not as flashy as other sports, but it teaches you the importance of technique and practice and patience. It makes you set goals and learn how to achieve them. It’s different and unique. I wanted to share that with people.”

The team meets every other Thursday, welcoming and practicing with members at every level.

“It takes time, practice and patience,” de Poo Lamadrid said, a mantra apparently used by many members of the team.

“Be patient and practice,” Torres DeLine said.

“I can’t promise wins or medals or first places, but I can promise an unforgettable experience and memories. ... I’ve shot thousands of arrows

Lamar shooter Victoria Strama lines up using a tool called a “string bow,” something archers use to determine the alignment of their stance or posture. The tool also aids archers in training with release and holding the bow.

Photos by Diamante Diaz. to get to where I am, and there’s still work to be done. One arrow can change the way you shoot. The greatest strength you can have is to be patient.”

The qualities that make a good archer are qualities you can choose to have, Nitardy said.

“Anybody and everybody can learn how to shoot,” Nitardy said.

At the McCallum archery tournament on Dec. 15, archers from 13 schools competed along with eighth McCallum shooters. Garrett Michulka won first place in the ninth-grade boys division.

“Shooting is a time for anyone to just push everything aside and just focus on your target,” Michulka said.

Archers new and experienced competed.

“It’s a mental sport,” Torres Deline said.

“That’s what makes it so competitive. Anyone can do it; it just takes a bit of focus.”

sports 29

the

shield

Stites shuts down the competition Senior captain, self-proclaimed comic relief embraces leadership role on young team

The Shield: When did you start playing soccer?

Ellie Stites: I started playing soccer when I was 4 years old. My dad was my soccer coach, and I played for NASA. TS: What was your motivation?

ES: I always kind of tread my sisters’ wake, and they played soccer, so I started because of them. It was my default I guess.

TS: How long have you been on the McCallum team?

ES: For four years now, varsity since freshman year.

TS: What position do you play?

ES: I play center back. It’s the final person on the defensive line. You have your offensive line, which is comprised of the forwards and the midfields and then you have the center mids, and then you have the defensive line that normally would have two outside defenders and two inside defenders. Depending on the game, the two inside defenders play in front of each other or next to each other. So, I’m always the last person besides the goalie.

TS: Has that always be your position?

ES: No. The first two years that I played for McCallum, I was a midfielder or a forward.

I started playing defense for my club team.

Someone else said that I played defense and we were short on defenders, so Watson put me back there. I guess I was pretty effective so that’s where I am now.

TS: What do you like about being a defender?

ES: I like being able to see the whole filed.

Besides the goalie, I’m the only one able to see where everyone is, which is think is cool. It’s also always really nice when you block a shot or you cut someone off. You’re the final person, so it’s kind of a big responsibility, and it’s always pretty redeeming when something works out.

TS: What are you best memories of being on the team?

ES: Going to playoffs is always really fun.

I have a lot of really good memories, and I’ve made a lot of friends.

TS: What about your favorite memories this year?

ES: Probably the first team dinner at Delaney’s house. Our mom’s coordinate team dinners, and my mom and Steph Carter coordinated this dinner. That’s just always nice because it’s the one time that we’re not actually doing much and everyone gets to hang out.

TS: How do you think the season has been so far this year?

ES: It’s been really good. We have a pretty new team, so it was kind of scary going into it. We’re all great players individually, but that’s the hard part with high school soccer.

Everyone plays different places so we have to learn how to work together. But, I think it has really fallen into place and we’ve all done really well. We haven’t lost a game that we shouldn’t have lost.

TS: What do you think your role is on the team with so many freshmen?

ES: All of the seniors are captains this year, and we all kind of have our own roles. I like to think that I’m sort of the comedic relief of the team because I think to keep things fun. I remind people that high school soccer is supposed to be fun, and it should not be too stressful. I try to

30 sports

Stites launches the ball down the field to prevent an LBJ scoring threat in their game on Jan. 26 at House Park. With two goals apiece by freshmen Avery Miller and Mia Gomez, the Knight’s swept the Jags 4-0. Stites confirmed that beating LBJ was her favorite victory every year, and this year did not disappoint with the win being the peak of the Knight’s shutout streak with three clean sweeps. Photo by Risa Darlington-Horta.

Stites helps the Lady Knights earn another clean sweep by defeating Crockett 5-0 on Feb. 2 at House Park. The victory extended their winning streak to six. The streak reached eight before ending. Photo by Anna Schlett.

Stites (center), with Mr. McCallum cohosts Karel Tinkler and Gillian Rashid, interviews contestant Deron Gage. Photo by Lily Dashner.

“I’m sort of the comedic relief of the team because I think to keep things fun. I remind people that high school soccer is supposed to be fun, and it should not be too stressful. I try to have fun at practice and during games and not get too heated.

—senior Ellie Stites have fun at practice and during games and not get too heated.

TS: Do you think you’ll keep playing after graduation?

ES: I don’t think so. I’ve thought about playing intramural soccer in college, but I’m not sure.

Maybe I’ll play on the club team or do something that’s not too serious because I don’t think I’m good enough to play at a Division 1 school.

It is a lot of pressure. Being a student athlete is like having a job. There’s not a lot of time for other things. I like to play, but not that seriously.

TS: What would you say soccer has meant to you?

ES: It has taught me the importance of

working with others. Being on a team, you have to be approachable, and you have to talk to other people. You need to adjust to different settings and different kinds of people. I think that’s what it has taught me.

Also, I think it has helped me be more outgoing. Soccer is all about creativity and being tough. That has helped me in the real world.

TS: What do you think was your proudest moment?

ES: Always beating LBJ, that is the best.

TS: Do you play them multiple times a season?

ES: We’ll play them twice a season. Every district game, we play twice.

Hopefully, we win a playoff game this year, that would be my proudest moment?

TS: When are playoffs?

ES: The middle to end of March. Our last

game is March 13 I believe. Girls soccer season is the worst [season] because it’s the coldest part of the year.

No so much this year, bit it is very cold and very rainy.

TS: What advice would you give to incoming freshmen?

ES: This kind of goes for anything at McCallum, but you can always do soccer and another thing or another sport. There’s no such thing as doing just one sport at McCallum because you can’t do something else.

So, I’m in Blue Brigade and soccer and I’m also in a lot of other clubs. I think that’s the one piece of advice that I would give to anyone for really any sport.

—interview by Kristen Tibbetts

22 feb. 2019

the

shield

Sports Profile: Sam Buford Buford wrestles opponent during the November scrimmage in the big gym at MAC. Photo by Margaret Olson.

He may be a classical guitarist and a choral singer, but he’s also the boys wrestling team captain The Shield caught up with Sam Buford as the wrestling season was just getting underway.

The Shield: How’s the season going so far?

Sam Buford: Good, we just started.

We had some tournaments. Our first one was against Lanier, and we won that one pretty dang well and I got a technical victory by winning with 15 points to 0 points, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the season will go. We have a lot of new wrestlers, but we are hoping that throughout the season they will do better and we will get to regional and district and stuff like that.

TS: What made you decide to join wrestling?

SB: I joined wrestling because Coach Amaro was asking literally everyone in the school to join the wrestling and also I wanted to explore because I’ve done baseball for the past two years and I was like, “Why not? Try it.”

TS: Have you enjoyed any personal accomplishments this season?

SB: Just winning by Mercy rule, that was really nice for me. It was also against my friend so that was a personal win thing. Also becoming captain was really nice for me because it’s a really nice leadership position that I like to have and teach others how to wrestle.

TS: What’s one of your favorite moves?

22 feb. 2019

SB: I like the low signal. It’s a move where you shoot down and you put your head/shoulder in their knee, and you drive forward, and it buckles their legs.

TS: What’s one move that your good at?

SB: Scrambling because I like to go after the dude, but if it’s obvious where this guy is coming from and I know what he’s going to do the thing, all I can do is react and scramble. Scrambling is where you’re down on the floor with the dude and being in a position that I don’t want to be in, then completely flipping it over and getting a reverse and flipping him on his back and I just smile up at the ref knowing I got the win on the guy.

TS: How do you prepare the night before a big match?

SB: I just kind of lessen my fluid intake the week of a competition and then the day of I drink some water in the morning in the evening and a little bit throughout the day. For my food, I keep it to a minimum, like just protein-based stuff, sometimes liquid diet because that’s very useful because you have to watch your weight. To prepare mentally, I kind of just listen to a lot of Chief Keef because he just makes me want to go out there and destroy some people.

TS: How do you unwind after a big match?

SB: I either listen to Chief Keef or classical music, which is on the opposite ends of the spectrum, but I usually listen to peaceful classical music unless I’m feeling really good and want to turn up then I’ll listen to Chief Keef or Young Thug. I also eat a lot because I might have been fasting before the match and right after the match we get to eat whatever we want and we usually go to Whataburger.

It’s kinda funny because I like wrestler anything that is bad for you.

Sam Buford

Bufords plays in his guitar quartet at the HEB Mueller Cafe. Buford is a part of the chamber guitar class. Photo by Kristen Tibbetts.

Buford sings “Bare Necessities” from the Disney film The Jungle Book during the Sunday matinee Choir Cabaret peformance of “When You Wish” on Dec. 9 in the MAC. Photo by Dave Winter.

sports 31

the

shield

District 25-5A roundup Girls soccer team cruises past Lanier, 7-0

The girls soccer team demolished the Lanier Vikings by a score of 7-0 at House Park on Friday. Freshman Mia Gomez scored twice to go along with goals by sophomore Avery Miller and juniors Mabel Kahlor, Cynthia Maldonado and Karen Esparza, as well as an own goal by the Vikings. Senior Delaney Carter assisted on three of those goals, while freshman goalie Anna McClellan helped the Knights achieve the shutout. The Knight’s are in second place in the District 25 standings at 6-1, behind only the 7-0 Tigers, and are at 11-3-1 overall. The Knights were back in action on Wednesday against the LBJ Jaguars on Wednesday, earning their seventh district win with a 2-0 win to sweep LBJ for the season.

—Steven Tibbetts

SWIMMING AT STATE: Alex Lynch swims breaststroke at the UIL State Swimming and Diving Championships on Feb. 16.

Lynch got fifth place in the 100-yard breaststroke and eighth place in the 200-yard individual medley. Photo by Juliee Beyt.

Three Knights compete at state swimming meet

The swim team competed at the UIL State Swimming and Diving Championships on Friday and Saturday at the University of Texas. On Friday, freshman Zoe Lynch and juniors Alex Lynch and Cole Kershner, took to the pool to compete in the preliminary rounds, attempting to qualify for the finals on Saturday.

Both Lynches qualified for the finals in their events, with Zoe posting the fourth best time in her 100 breaststroke preliminary with a time of 1:06.45, and Alex getting seventh in the 100 breaststroke with a 59.24 and eighth in the 200 IM with a 1:56.69. Kershner got 22nd in his 50 freestyle preliminary race with a 22.54, which was not fast enough to qualify for the finals.

Boys soccer loses to LBJ

VARSITY STRUGGLES IN LOSS: Blake Steckel controls the ball against Travis. Steckel scored Mac’s only goal in a loss to LBJ on Tuesday. Photo by Anna McClellan.

The McCallum boys soccer team lost, 4-1, to the LBJ Jaguars on Tuesday at House Park. The team fell behind 2-0 before sophomore Blake Steckel put the Knights on the board with a goal at the beginning of the second half. The comeback fell short, however, as the Jaguars scored two more goals in the second half to win the game going away. The game was a rematch of the two team’s previous match-up on Jan. 25, which the Knights won 2-1 to open district play. Seven games later, the Knights have added just one more win and currently sit at 2-2-4 in district play and at 6-3-4 overall.

—Steven Tibbetts

32 sports

The Lynch siblings entered Saturday’s finals, and they both either improved on their position after the preliminaries or remained at the same spot. Alex improved his preliminary time in both of his events during the finals. He moved up to fifth place in the 100 breaststroke final by improving his time by 0.35 seconds from the previous day, giving him a 58.89.

Although Alex also improved on his 200 IM time by 0.68 seconds to finish with a 1:56.01, he remained in eighth place in that event. Zoe fell barely behind her preliminary time in her 100 breaststroke final, finishing with a time of 1:06.47, but the slight change in time did not affect her position, as she remained in fourth place.

—Steven Tibbetts

GOALS GALORE: Elle McRae dribbles the ball through open field during the Knights 7-0 win over the Lanier Vikings at House Park on Feb. 15. Photo by Lily Dashner.

Boys basketball falls short against Wagner in first round of 5A state playoffs

The McCallum boys basketball team lost its first round playoff game to the Wagner Thunderbirds at San Marcos High School on Tuesday by a score of 77-60. The Knights got down early in the first quarter, falling behind 27-14 after 12 minutes. The Thunderbirds stretched their lead over both of the next two quarters, getting up 60-39 after three. The Knights outscored the Thunderbirds 21-17 in the fourth quarter, but the four points made up in the quarter were far from enough to overcome the 21-point deficit.

The loss marks the end of the 2018-19 season for the Knights, and the end of three seniors’ high school careers: point guard Andrew Alvarez and forwards Norman Boyd and Jeremiah Ashton. In his final high school game, Boyd led his team in scoring with 25 points.

“Norman’s done a great job these last three seasons for us,” head coach Daniel Fuentes said. “He’s had a season that we’ll never forget, averaging more than 20 points per game. He’s carried us in a lot of games and today he carried us again.”

“I have become a better player playing with different types of people,” Boyd said of his senior season. “[I have learned] to play hard every night.”

McCallum went 20-12 overall this season, including a buzzerbeater in double overtime against Lanier and a four-game winning streak in the middle of district play.

—Lindsey Plotkin and Steven Tibbetts

OFF THE GLASS: Sophomore Charlie Pecina shoots over a Wagner defender during the Knights’ 77-60 loss to the Thunderbirds on Tuesday. Photo by Annabel Winter.

22 feb. 2019

the

shield

The dirty truth about recycling

Paper and plastic nationwide is being dumped in landfills after China’s National Sword policy MIA TERMINELLA staff reporter

Imagine you are out for lunch at Central Market; you just finished drinking your coffee.

There is a recycling bin across the outdoor patio, or there is a trash can a few feet away: which do you choose? What if you found out that both bins led to the same destructive result?

Thousands of tons of materials left curbside for recycling in American towns and cities are going to landfills. Americans recycle millions of tons of trash per year, trusting that the items that we toss in the blue bin go somewhere other than the landfill. While many hope that their recycling is getting re-purposed or turned into something new, the truth is a lot of it isn’t getting recycled at all. In the past, paper, plastic and other materials were sorted and then shipped abroad to China, where they would be processed. Over a third of the recyclables around the world get shipped abroad and China is the biggest importer. About 45 percent of the world’s plastic set for recycling has been exported to China since 1992.

In 2018 China passed the National Sword policy, banning plastic waste from being imported for the protection of the environment and people’s health. China announced that it no longer wanted to import “foreign garbage.” While some waste managers who send recyclables to be processed domestically, or who ship to alternate countries continue to be successful, a majority of our country’s recycling supply is going directly to the landfill. We now have to ask the question how can we better negotiate among ourselves, among the world’s diverse peoples and cultures, so that we can resolve this issue and navigate toward a better future?

Many local officials are not telling residents about the decline due to a fear that residents will give up on recycling altogether.

While China has strictly banned 24 different materials, it also has demanded that the accepted materials (cardboard and metal) be only 0.5 percent impure. If you do not rinse the container or glass before recycling it, even a tiny amount of food or other trash can ruin a entire batch of recycling. Many waste companies say that the new contamination standards are impossible to meet, while others are attempting to clean up recycling streams by limiting accepted materials and educating people on what items can be recycled.

Long before China’s recycling wall, plenty of “recyclables” ended up in landfills due to “single stream” recycling. Single-stream recycling is where residents are able to put everything in the same bin. This method is a switch designed to encourage more recycling; however, it results in more stuff that can not be recycled because it becomes “contaminated.” The Austin residential recycling department said that about 30 percent of plastic collected in these “single stream” bins can’t be recycled. Scrap plastic, previously exported to China netted $300 million in 2015, but now is only worth about $7.6 million. Alternate countries have stepped in to accept more plastics but exports are still down by 40 percent. Countries such as Malaysia, Thailand or Vietnam, have picked up

22 feb. 2019

some of what China is leaving behind; however, they do not waste management systems as welldeveloped as China’s While China has been widely vilified as the cause of the recycling uproar, industry watchers say that the blame should not be placed solely on China.

China has announced public-health concerns, environmental concerns, and an aspiration for independence, as reasons for its policy change.

So, who then should be held accountable for this mess? It turns out we are all to blame.

China’s waste-import restrictions have shown the flaws and problems of the American recycling industry and how bad American consumers are at recycling. One of the major reasons that China created these restrictions is due to the United States sending too much contaminated material that is not recyclable. Many Americans are “wishful recyclers.”

When you take recycling to the blue bin, whether it be at home or at your job or school, it is considered curbside recycling. Typically, curbside recycling is taken by a private company to a sorting plant where then the marketable goods are separated out. The goods found are then sold by companies or local governments to overseas processors. These private companies used to get paid by selling off these recyclable materials; now, it is as if they are being paid simply to have someone take it away. These stricter requirements are also an indication that recycling is more likely to be deemed “contaminated” if they contain materials that are not recyclable. This situation can be referred to as wishful recycling, where people set aside various items for recycling just because they hope they are recyclable even when they may not be.

Most plastic bags, coffee cups, dirty takeout containers, Christmas lights and garden hoses are all not recyclable, yet many Americans toss their trash into the recycling bin without a second thought.

By 2030 it is predicted that about 111 million metric tons of plastic waste will be displaced because of China’s new law. This amount is equal to nearly half of all plastic waste imported since 1988. There are expectations that this turn in the recycling industry will continue for months or years, but there is also optimism that the industry will eventually emerge better and stronger. Already, new recycling markets have emerged with the potential to perform the role that China once did. Recently, recycling has flooded into other Asian nations.

In order to resolve this quickly escalating problem, Americans should take a few extra steps before depositing items in the blue bin.

Rinse containers, glasses, and cartons before recycling them. This two-minute act can save a whole neighborhood’s worth of recycling from being contaminated and sent to the trash. We must act fast, as the amount of waste we create continues to expand. Check local guidelines to find out what can and what cannot be recycled.

Get the peanut butter out of the jar, rise out your smoothie cup and never put plastic bags in the recycling. A sustained way of living is what society needs, and we can built one if we embrace beneficial changes to our everyday lives.

cartoon by Mia Terminella

Source: The National Recycling Coalition

infograph by Mia Terminella

opinion 33

the

shield

Need for gun control never nearer

While the threats weren’t credible, the need for meaningful legislative reform was never clearer Last Wednesday morning, Feb. 13, a manhunt ensued for 18 year old McCallum student, who allegedly made terroristic threats to harm McCallum students and faculty. He was arrested by the Austin Police Department before school started that same morning, and many students went about their day completely unaware of what had transpired until news spread and an official email to parents was sent out that afternoon.

Most of the drama seemed resolved, almost like it never really started, as the majority of the student body was only aware of the threat until after his arrest. Resolved, however, only until of chaos spread Wednesday evening, while everyone was safe at home. Rumors regarding more threats spread through the means of shared screenshots, texts, and misinformation.

The social media posts spread the story that one of the arrested student’s friends was going to shoot up the school that Thursday, on the anniversary of the Parkland shooting, and urged other kids not to go to school tomorrow. Many did just that, saying that they preferred not to take any chances, and Thursday’s attendance dropped sharply compared to the day before. In fact, many of us on the Shield staff chose not to come to school, to be safe, and not risk it.

This particular incident was resolved, thankfully, without any actual violence, but the fear felt by the McCallum community has prompted a new urgency for the

Graphic by Zoe Hocker.

issue of gun control, as everyone has asked themselves, how would my life changed if something did actually happen?

Our government has not made any significant, major restrictions or even adaptations to gun access laws.

We have not seen widespread change.

Though it is worth noting that many stricter gun laws have been passed at state level, there have still been no major advances. Nothing since Sandy Hook, since Las Vegas, since Parkland, or Santa Fe. And these shootings keep happening. Last week it seemed like it

might happen again , and this time at McCallum. Our government needs to make it harder for citizens to obtain assault rifles, such as the AR-15 the arrested student allegedly possessed.

There is only so much we as students can do to encourage the major changes we want to see, regardless of what those changes might be. We want stricter gun control laws. We’ve gone to protests, started conversations with the other side, checked to make sure our parents are voting. But we can’t say, for certain, that the changes we hope

shieldstaff

the

A.N. McCallum High School 5600 Sunshine Drive Austin, TX 78756 (512) 414-7539 fax (512) 453-2599 contact.macshield@gmail.com

editors-in-chief ZOE HOCKER AND SOPHIE RYLAND

assistant editors GREGORY JAMES

for will ever happen. That doesn’t mean that we should stop fighting or that we should lose hope. But it does mean that we might start to have to make adjustments to our reality as it currently is. Mass shootings have happened and continue to happen.

Students don’t feel safe at school.

Last week, most of us realized that we don’t know how to act when faced with a threat like that. It is awfully difficult to determine what threats are credible and what threats are not, especially on your own. We think many students would have felt

more comfortable going to school if the McCallum administration had had more open communication and was honest with what we were facing the next day instead of a brief email that left readers with more questions than we began with. We recognize that the administration probably had their hands tied and were unable to disclose much of what was known, but having more specific information available to the public could have prevented much of the confusion and exaggerated messages that many saw on their social media.

We also believe that community members should brush up on their news literacy; as we have seen, rumors can affect student’s mindset to the point where they will gladly take an unexcused absence over coming to school. If we become more comfortable with identifying credible, trustworthy information, it will be more difficult for opportunists to take advantage of a precarious situation.

It would be impossible to fault everyone--or really, anyone--for the frenzy that filled many MAC families’ evenings that Wednesday. Would it have been better if social media had not gone wild with rumors and fears? The next day, maybe, but likely, at some point, we would have been faced with a similar situation, and these same questions and panic would have risen then.

As a school, we should move forward and use what occurred to teach and motivate us to see how we can improve plans, emergencypreparedness and administration-tofamily communication.

MAX RHODES

KELSEY TASCH

STEVEN TIBBETTS

reporters

adviser DAVE WINTER

GRAYSON CRUISE, JAZZABELLE DAVISHINES, DIAMANTE DIAZ, ELLEN FOX, LASZLO KING-HOVIS, BELLA RUSSO, ABIGAIL SALAZAR, ELISHA SCOTT, STELLA SHENKMAN, SARAH SLATEN, MIA TERMINELLA, KRISTEN TIBBETTS, JANSSEN TRANSIER, OLIVIA WATTS The Shield is published by journalism students in the newspaper production class.

Although students work under the guidance of a professional faculty member, the student staff ultimately determines the content.

Students may not publish material that is obscene, libelous or that which will cause a “substantial disruption to the educational process.” Content that may stimulate heated

34 opinion

debate is not included in this definition.

The Shield operates as an open forum for exchange of ideas. Opinions expressed in editorials are the ideas of the staff. Opinions expressed in the columns are that of the writer’s alone.

Letters to the editor are encouraged and must be signed. Positive identification may be required when a letter is submitted. Letters

may be edited.

Letters that are critical of the newspaper staff’s coverage of events or that present information that may stimulate heated debate will be published.

Letters that contain malicious attacks on individual reporters, the adviser or the principal will be rejected.

Anyone interested in purchasing an ad

should contact adviser Dave Winter at (512) 414-7539. Ads published in The Shield do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the staff.

The Shield is a member of the Interscholastic League Press Conference, the National Scholastic Press Association, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and the Southern Interscholastic Press Association.

22 feb. 2019

the

shield

Photo

by Elisha Scott #TuesdayTop10

Fredericksburg

Photo by Students of Kristen Tibbetts Color Alliance members share how macshieldonline.com prejudice shapes daily life share the shield

check out

explores

Like us on facebook.com/MacJournalism

Follow: @macjournalism on Instagram Photo by Bella Kisler Photo by Elisha Scott

check out

macshieldonline.com

Photo by Annabel Winter

For Owen Scales, on-stage joy outweighs rehearsal pain

share the shield Like us on facebook.com/MacJournalism Follow us on Twitter @macstudentmedia Follow: @macjournalism on Instagram 22 feb. 2019

online preview 35

the

shield

McCallum hosts heritage celebration Knights provide hosts, talent for AISD PAC event honoring outstanding teachers, students

PREACH TO THE CHOIR: The Chamber Choir open up AISD’s annual African-American Heritage Celebration by singing the National Anthem. JUST SUPER: Emcees Naiya Antar and Gabe Williams smile as AISD Superintendent Dr. Paul Cruz congratulates them. “I was honored,” said Williams, who felt that his stage fright was reduced with his performance the night before at the Mr. McCallum Pageant. Antar said the best part of the night was watching the elementary and middle school kids light up when they received their awards. Photos by Madelynn Niles.

CARRY YOUR OWN TUNE: As audience members rise to their feet and applaud, sophomore Marlee Foster (below) belts out the last note in her rendition of “ I Know Where I’ve Been” from Hairspray: the Musical. Foster said that she sang the song because it represents to her the journey of black people: of where they’ve been and where they need to go. Foster found the audience response gratifying. “They really liked it,” she said. “I felt like they had to give themselves permission to be really into it but by the end of the song everyone was smiling. Photo by Madelynn Niles.

SPEAKING VOLUMES: Junior Jaylen Wilbourn looks out into the crowd as she recites her original spokenword poem, “A Free Bird Leaps”. The poem was inspired by Billie Holiday’s “Good Morning, Heartache” and Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Wilbourn said that the piece is introspective but also representative of the experience of Black women. In the poem, the voice of the poet can go places but her spirit is locked in a cage. The bird also sings of the trials of her ancestors. Photo by Madelynn Niles.

SHOW OF SHADOWS: At the AfricanAmerican Heritage Celebration in the PAC on Sunday, McCallum Youth Dance Company members Wynter Winston and Terrel Hall strike a pose as they begin to perform “Aftermath Examined,” a contemporary dance based on the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. The piece was choreographed

by Tulsa-based dance educator, Tyne Shillingford. Hall said that having the whole community there to celebrate their heritage was the best part of the experience. Photo by Madelynn Niles.

36 photo essay

22 feb. 2019