McCallum HS Shield (Vol. 63, Issue 5)

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McCallum High School / 5600 Sunshine / Austin, TX 78756 / April 22, 2016/ Issue 5 / Volume 63

WHAT’S INSIDE Celebrating the life and legacy of A.N. McCallum’s better half

page 9 First Lady speaks at SXSW about plans to help 62 million girls learn

page 12 Lamenting the lack of female voices in the classroom

page 19

GOING BEYOND GIRL POWER

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inside

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the issue

PALS go to Texas School of the Blind and Visually Impaired to celebrate Blind Awareness Day. Should politicians refuse contributions from businesses because they always come with strings attatched?

people

The Class of 2016 left no stone unturned when it came to making creative and hard-to-refuse promposals.

As their school year in America comes to close, our international students reflect on their year at McCallum.

sports Juniors Laney Hawn and Brandon Wooley share their thoughts on the mental strength it takes to achieve excellence on the track.

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If Major League Baseball wants to join this century, it needs to lighten up and let the players have some fun already.

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Baseball game against Cedar Creek @ Northwest Park, varsity @ 7 p.m.

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Prom @ Blanton Museum of Art

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Spring play performance @ 7 p.m. in the FAT

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Knights of Steel performance @ 7 p.m. in the MAC

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Dance benefit show @ 7 p.m. in the MAC

End-of-the-year choir concert @ 7 p.m. in the MAC

Above: Senior Hannah Smith catches for the Knights varsity softball team. Photo by Ella Whittaker.

Left: Seniors Terrance Carson and Rose Morgan dance in “One,” the final dance in the Broadway Suite from the first act. of the spring dance show, ‘ soul sightings.’ Photo by Maya Coplin.

Cover: Seniors win contest to see Michelle Obama on SXSW panel.

Her keynote discussed women’s education and gender equality.

The panel featured mediator Queen Latifah and activists Missy Elliott, Sophia Bush and Diane Warren. Graphic by Maya Coplin and Natalie Murphy.

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Gotta love B.A.D. days PALS meet with, learn from students at Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired RACHEL WOLLEBEN assistant editor

actually my favorite part because you’d never really think about it. I never really think when I’m making a sandwich: I just kind of do it. But with the blindfold on I kept asking, ‘What do I do? How do I do it?’ And More Blessings, she was one of the kids that went there and actually used to go to McCallum, she kept laughing at me because I was struggling so much. All of the PALS in my group were just so into it, and you could hear that everyone was enjoying themselves.”

Some other stations covered learning how to walk with a cane and how to play goalball, a sport specifically designed for blind athletes.

“My favorite part was walking around with the cane,” Gerald said. “They showed us this thing called the ‘elbow lead,’ which is a technique used to lead visually impaired people. I had no idea that was even a thing. The teacher who was leading me and telling me how to do it said I was really good at it. And goalball was fun. Imagine playing soccer if the field was smaller, the goals were bigger, and you could use your hands.

I kind of committed a foul during my group’s game.

So I had to defend our goal while the other team took a penalty shot on us. Everybody left the court, and this kid got to throw the ball at me.

For the average high school student, waking up early to volunteer may not be the ideal way to start a three-day-weekend, yet some experiences can make it all worthwhile. On March 25, the McCallum PALS assembled at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired to take part in the student-run “Blind Awareness Day” Program held at the school.

To step into their leaders’ shoes, each of the PALS was given blindfolds and put through various stations conducted by TSBVI students. Each station reflected a daily routine of students at the school.

Senior Luis Alvarez described one such station: “They handed each of us blindfolds or these goggles with one eye covered and a funnel over the other that really limited your sight. The kids leading us were so nice to us. They explained everything and walked us everywhere. I would’ve been totally lost without them. Then they led us through five stations.”

Senior Haruka Gerald agreed.

“We were split into groups led by some of the students who actually live there,” Gerald said. “It was really interesting to talk to them and listen to how they go through life. Like two of my group leaders were visually impaired and not blind, so they both carried around canes and helped navigate us around. So I got to just walk and talk with a visually impaired person that tried to keep me from hitting stuff and talked to me TSBVI students at the same time, which was Adelyn and Jamal pretty cool.” assist junior Alana At the first station, the PALS were tasked with makRaper and seniors ing a peanut butter and jelly Alex Donovan, sandwich blindfolded. Alvarez Jesse Levy-Rubinett, said the exercise taught him how much he takes his sight and Hayden for granted.

Price prepare “It was hard just figursandwiches. Photo ing out where everything

by Richard Cowles. was,” Alvarez said. “This was

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I missed.”

While participating at each station with their group, the PALS made new friends with their hosts.

“I really connected with the sophomore More Blessings,” Alvarez said. “I met her freshman year at McCallum, and I always wondered where she went after. And I found her when we arrived and I hugged her and she said ‘Oh, Luis!’ and immediately went off into a conversation with me.

The kids who were leading us put us before themselves even though they had to watch out for themselves as well. Everywhere, they were able to keep us away from poles and stuff because they’ve been there for a while. It was different because we take advantage of so many privileges that they don’t have.”

Gerald said it was amazing for PALS to have had such an opportunity.

“It really awesome,” Gerald said. “I mean, there we were, on Good Friday, going out and having this experience with these

kids. If I wasn’t in the PALS program, I probably would’ve been like sleeping or doing something not nearly as cool as this.”

The experience of stepping into the shoes of visually impaired peers at TSBVI made a significant impact on the McCallum PALS. “I’m just going to appreciate everything I have,” Alvarez said. “Just having the chance to see what the world looks like, what colors are, to see how things grow and die. Because there’s some kids who don’t get to see that, they just have to listen to everything.”

“People just don’t really realize like what they miss out of life until it’s really not theirs,” Gerald said. “Sight is definitely something we take for granted. But I think there’s definitely this taboo around people with visual impairments, and there shouldn’t be.

They’re amazing people who can do whatever they want. I don’t think they feel bad about themselves, so you shouldn’t make them feel that way.”

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It’s ‘el fin’ for Shamu Officials at SeaWorld entertainment parks have announced that they will end wild Orca breeding and entertainment shows JULIE ROBERTSON photo editor

Sophomore Nickie Cohen has been aware of animal rights criticism of SeaWorld park since her birth. When the news came to Cohen and her mom about SeaWorld not breeding animals anymore, they were excited about what they felt was a big step in the right direction.

“My mom has dozens of animal activists as friends on Facebook and follows similar groups as well,” Cohen said. “These keep us up to date on what’s going on and on anything we can do to help.”

On March 17, SeaWorld announced that it would end its Orca breeding program. The announcement came after animal rights activists staged numerous protests that sought to discontinue the program.

The Shamu Show will end, as will public showings of captive whales. The theme park has issued numerous press releases stating that 2016 will be the last year that the Shamu shows will occur.

“I feel SeaWorld is a business that profits solely off the exploitation and mistreatment of animals,” Cohen said. “These animals are wild and intelligent creatures, and they are confined to tanks that are the equivalent of a bathtub to a human.”

In an email to The Shield, officials at SeaWorld San Antonio declined to comment on their plan to end the orca breeding program. Rather, they affirmed that the mission of SeaWorld is to educate the public about marine life. The email also referenced a website called seaworldcares.com. The website contains information about how the killers whales are treated along with information about the other marine animals at the park.

The website also emphasizes how the connection between trainer and whale is very important so that the whales receive proper care.

Photo by Yathin S. Krishnappa (Wikipedia commons)

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Cohen used to live in Florida and once during eighth grade her school planned on a trip to SeaWorld. Her mom was not OK with the school taking the children to SeaWorld, so she went to the school to try to try to get them to reconsider the trip. The school ended up sponsoring the trip despite her mom’s efforts.

The experience was just the tip of the iceberg in one family’s fight against SeaWorld.

“A major thing that we do is spreading the word to friends, family, anyone really,” Cohen said. “We’ve actually gone to some places and distributed movies and pamphlets that explain the horrors of seaquariums.”

Cohen has also gotten into the anti-SeaWorld activism by watching many documentaries that explain the case against aquariums.

“The first movie I saw about seaquariums was, Lolita Slave to Entertainment. My mom showed it to me when I was very young, and I was so shocked and saddened by it,” Cohen said. “Lolita, a whale that’s been at Miami Seaquarium for over 30 maybe 40 years, was harshly mistreated.”

Cohen also explained how she has seen the well-known movie Blackfish. She believes that Blackfish really convinced a lot more people to oppose seaquariams.

According to a Daily Mail article published in 2015, when Blackfish premiered, SeaWorld lost $25.4 million in expected revenue. After the documentary came out, the CEO of SeaWorld, Jim Atchison stepped down.

Cohen says that the advances that have been made against Sea World have been great because the park has been making more reforms more often, but SeaWorld is still doing bad things to its animals regularly.

“There is literally no benefit for the animals to be in captivity,” Cohen said. “They live extraordinarily longer, healthier, and happier lives in the wild.”

Common SeaWorld Accusations SOURCE: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) http://www.seaworldofhurt.com/features/ten-things-didnt-know-seaworld/

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A lawsuit alleges that SeaWorld drugs its wild orcas before the shows.

Critics claims the pools at SeaWorld are too small for the wild orcas, and the whales therefore have a risk of getting sunburned.

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Opponents of the park claim the pools at SeaWorld have an extremely high chlorine content.

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Animal rights activists insist collapsed dorsol fins are abnormal and unhealthy.

Most SeaWorld performers are not certified marine biologists.

Orcas in captivity have a shorter life span than orcas in the wild.

Some orcas were kidnapped before being sent to SeaWorld.

Sunburns are often covered up by black zink, which can be very harmful

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a time to spread A month of April autism awareness, teach public, mindfulness dispel myths ZOE HOCKER staff reporter

April is the month of autism awareness.

The organization Autism Speaks started Autism awareness month in 1970 hoping that it would promote awareness and acceptance for people with the disability. In 1970, experts believed that children had a 1 in 5000 chance of having autism. Today the ratio is believed to be 1 in 68.

Anissa Ryland is the parent of McCallum students and the executive director at The Johnson Center for Child Health and Development, a nonprofit organization that helps support people with development disorders and their families.

“With so many people living with autism, it is important that everyone be aware of the needs of the autism community and ways they can be supportive and make a difference,” Ryland said. “Having an Awareness Month provides a platform to discuss these issues and educate people.”

Autism is a disorder that impacts the development of the brain. An individual with autism may have limited social and communication skills. They also do things that other people consider different or hard to understand. Unfortunately, there is no cure for autism, but if it is diagnosed early, children can receive education, which helps them adapt to life with autism.

Amanda Boutot is a professor of special education at Texas State University, and she directs the master’s program in autism. She helps build awareness and encourages others to do the same especially in April.

“I put a blue bulb in my porch light to Light it up Blue,” Boutot said. “I have a pin given to me by colleagues at Autism Speaks that I’ll wear to work or speaking events.”

Anissa Ryland and The Johnson Center are hosting fundraisers online to help raise money and awareness. There is an online auction going on until April 30 at www.charityauction.bid/takeactionforautism.

“Lots of great businesses have donated to this auction, and all of the funds raised will be used to provide programs for people with autism and their families,” Ryland said.

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“There are fun items [being auctioned off], including tickets for concerts and merchandise signed by some pretty famous people.”

The goal of Autism Awareness Month is to shine some light on what autism really is and also what is not.

“Only a few decades ago, people with disabilities in the U.S. were shunned by society—parents put their children in institutions because the education system didn’t know what to do with them, and society looked very negatively on the person with the disability and their whole family,” Boutot said.

“Awareness really is about helping society understand that people with disabilities are people first, and their disability doesn’t make them any less human.”

Ryland feels that the most important thing to do to spread awareness is be knowledgeable about the disability.

“There are many myths about autism, including ones that are quite limiting. People with autism can and have done amazing things,” Ryland said. “[They] have a lot to offer and deserve the opportunity to be included, participate in, and contribute to their communities.”

Shown above is the ribbon for Autism Awareness Month. Puzzle pieces and the color blue are symbols for the month.

8 FACTS ABOUT AUTISM - Autism now affects one in 68 children.

- Boys are five times more likely to have autism than girls.

- There is no cure for autism, however, proper education can help.

- About 70 million people worldwide have autism - Autism is not a disease.

- Autism is a disability.

- The symbol for Autism Awareness Month is a blue puzzle piece.

- Autism is different in every person who has it.

Source: Autism Speaks

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Donations with strings attached

Corporat-funded campaigns raise political, moral questions LAUREN CROSBY staff reporter

Big companies invariably play a major role in politics.

During election season, their donations are the fuel that keep the candidates’ campaigns running. Most companies stay quiet about whom they’re supporting, and some won’t back a specific candidate until it’s come down to just one Democrat and one Republican candidate.

Do corporate endorsements really matter though? Many people believe that when companies endorse candidates, it’s because they’re hoping for something in return; others believe their support reflects their overall political stance.

“A company may genuinely agree politically with the candidate,” economics teacher Michael Sanabria said.

“Maybe ideologically they just agree. There’s a lot of companies that are pretty public about their ideology. … Let’s say, like a Whole Foods, they’re pretty public about their ideology and some of their beliefs and political beliefs, and so they may endorse a candidate who they think is aligned with their beliefs.”

But Sanabria also stressed that businesses are in business to make a profit, so when they endorse candidates, they do so because they can profit from it. If a candidate endorses a certain project that could bring in more money for that company (or if support could persuade a candidate to support a certain project), then the company is going to want to endorse that candidate.

“The other possibility is that many people suspect, whether or not it’s true or how many proven cases there are of it, that certain companies may endorse a candidate so that they feel like that candidate, once their in office is going to be [a] more sympathetic ear to policies that that

company wants,” Sanabria said, “That’s what we all want to kind of throw up the red flag over. If corporation X, Y, [and] Z supports this candidate [then] it must be because once that person’s in office, they’re going to ask for political favors. Obviously, different policies [and] different laws can a big positive impact for a company, or perhaps the government itself might award that company contracts or some other thing.”

Most people tend not to connect candidates to the companies that support them because most companies don’t openly reveal whom they support. Some, like Ben & Jerry’s are so open that they’ve even created a flavor in support of their favorite candidate called Bernie’s Yearning (see sidebar story at right). Austin resident Rebecca Ellis is a supporter of Bernie Sanders and holds a strong opposition to Republican frontrunners Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. When asked whether she would continue buying her favorite products if they endorsed such candidates, she instantly replied.

“Absolutely not,” Ellis said. “A company shouldn’t be endorsing a [candidate] and if a company is endorsing a [candidate], it means that they’re wanting some kind of favor in return. I don’t support that. I don’t support businesses supporting candidates.”

Marlon Haygood, a student at the University of Texas, feels the same when it comes to abstaining from purchasing products made by companies that endorse candidates with whom they disagree.

“I don’t think I would buy it if they endorsed someone I had a serious problem with such as Trump or Cruz, but if it was any other candidate like Hillary, I wouldn’t mind,” Haygood said. “It’s not their political views that I mind. It’s the company’s endorsement of people I consider harmful that matters to me.”

Top 10 PAC contributors in the 2015-2016 presidential race by party Democratic 1. International Brotherhood of Electrical workers ($1.27 million)

6. American Federation of State/County/Municipal Employees ($658,250)

2. American Association for Justice ($982,000)

7. United Food and Commercial Workers Union ($650,000)

3.Machinists/Aerospace Workers Union ($717,000)

8. AT&T, Inc. ($616,500)

4. Sheet Metal Workers Union ($711,000)

9. Operating Engineers Union ($615,403)

5. Communications Workers of America ($695,000)

10. Plumbers/Pipefitters Union ($611,600)

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Republican 1. Honeywell International ($1.04 million)

7. National Beer Wholesalers Association ($831,700)

2. Majority Committee PAC ($1.04 million)

8. National Rural Electric Cooperative Association ($831,375)

3. Lockheed Martin ($981,250) 4. AT&T, Inc. ($935,250) 5. American Bankers Association ($911,458) 6. Blue Cross/Blue Shield ($831,950)

9. Koch Industries ($786,900) 10. National Association of Realtors ($779,880) SOURCE: The Center for Responsive Politics

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Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the founders of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Creams, reminded us on Monday that they aren’t typical corporate lobbyists. The dynamic Democratic duo was arrested at the U.S. Capitol, along with 300 other people, at a “Democracy Awakening” protest against big money in politics.

Considering that they were willing to go to jail to support the little guy, it’s no surprise that the ice cream entrepenuers support presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. To express that support, they released a new ice cream flavor called “Bernie’s Yearning” last February. It’s a thick layer of chocolate atop a pint of delicious, creamy mint ice cream. The chocolate disk at the top represents the wealth that has gone to the top 1 percent, and the mint ice cream represents the rest of us. By breaking the chocolate with your spoon and mixing it up, you symbolically redistribute wealth all throughout America.

It seems right they would make a flavor for Sanders in Burlington, Vt., where both candidate and ice cream company started. “We’ve never campaigned for another presidential candidate before because there’s never been a presidential candidate worth campaigning for,” Cohen told NPR. The flavor was made only for the campaign and will not be hitting the shelves anytime soon.

—Madison Olsen

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News in a FLASH New NHS officers elected The members of the 2016-2017 National Honor Society have elected their officers, filling the positions of president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and public relations chair.

“They lead,” sponsor Jane Farmer said. “We try to have to the meetings very student-run, so the president actually runs the meetings. The officers meet with the sponsors before the meeting, so we go over the agenda, but they bang the gavel to bring us to order. It’s not just the president; they sort of take turns with this, [making] the announcements, and [distributing] anything that needs distributing and [taking] questions.”

Even though each officer has his or her own set of roles, they all work together to lead NHS. “It’s very much a team thing,” Farmer said. “The treasurer helps count money at the flower sale and writes receipts. The PR person probably has one of the more constantly active roles because they set up the Facebook page, keep it updated, post stuff and kind of has the responsibility to keep that as an up-to-date source. The vice president very much helps out with everything and helps lead the meetings. Traditionally, that person has had a large role in the holiday service project that we do. The secretary helps with keeping the attendance.

When we sign in, that person then has to get them on the rosters, and that kind of thing; paperwork.”

Junior Quinn Bingham was elected president. Every current NHS member was able to vote in the election.

“I decided to run because I love being a leader, and this is a great opportunity to have more practice working with a large group of people,” Bingham.

The new officers will step into their roles at the beginning of the next school year.

“I’m really happy to be president of NHS because I think it’s a great organization,” Bingham said. “I’m really excited to work with all the amazing kids.”

—Mara Vandegrift

President: Quinn Bingham Vice President: Paulo Santos Secretary: Greta Colombo Treasurer: Emma Irvin Public Relations Chair: Margeaux Brown

Library hosts 7th annual Poem in your Pocket Day with full day of activities Sophomores Selah Russell, Jack Switzer, Evalyn McCusker, Atiyeh Assaf and Alex Escobar pose in front of the Long Center.

Nominated in 4 categories, Titanic cast wins GAHSMTA for Best Ensemble in 2016 Going into the Greater Austin High School Musical Theater Awards on Wednesday April 13, sophomore Evalyn McCusker thought that the theatre department would win numerous awards.

“I went into GAHSMTA thinking that we had the best chance of winning musical direction because our music was very complex,” McCusker said. “It was a very strong aspect of our show.”

The McCallum theatre department was nominated for four awards, all for Titanic: Best Musical Direction, Best Scenic Design, Best Ensemble, and Best Supporting actor (Ezra Hankin).

“We didn’t win three awards in a row, and it didn’t feel great,” McCusker said. “It felt like we weren’t getting any recognition for our hard work that we had put into the show.”

But McCallum still had one more nomination. Titanic was still in the running for Best Ensemble. McCallum was up against Cedar Ridge High School, Dripping Springs, St. Andrews, Bowie and other Austin area high schools.

“I think everyone was really shocked when McCallum’s name was called,” McCusker said. “We all just looked at each other and then realized that we won. We all stood up and cheered. It was a really good feeling.”

McCusker says that all of GAHSMTA attendees from McCallum were happy about the award. Mccuster says that they felt that all their hard work paid off.

“It felt amazing to get Best Ensemble,” McCusker said. “It was really fun to see how happy everyone was and to see all of our hard work pay off.”

—Julie Robertson

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To showcase the works of literature often reserved to supplemental lessons in English, a Poem in Your Pocket Day celebration was held in the library on Thursday, April 21.

“This is the seventh year we’re doing this, and we’re going to talk about Poem in Your Pocket Day,” Farmer said. “We are going to have a before-school session, and I’ve invited teachers to come and staff to share poems, and students can come and listen if they want to. We’ve done it in the past, and it’s really fun.”

At lunch, the festivities continued with professional poet Carey Juttney coming to speak about her time as a poet.

“I’m sure [Jutney]’ll be world famous very soon,” Farmer said. “I have some of her poetry on the door of the library.

She’s published, so she’s going to come talk about writing and publishing and that kind of stuff.”

Farmer found Juttney when someone attached her website to an email, and she decided to look at her poems. After seeing that Juttney did classroom and school visits, she called and set up the event.

“I think that a lot of people think poetry is not fun or just for really artsy, literary people and I think that poetry can be for everyone,” Farmer said. “Songs are poetry, and it’s everywhere, and I just like for us to celebrate that for a day.”

Library assistant June Bloch kept her poem fun and lighthearted, selecting Hally Carrington Brent’s “I Think I Know No Finer Things Than Dogs.” In the classroom, English teacher Nikki Northcutt read poems relating to the book her students are currently reading, Crime and Punishment.

“I think we’ve lost the art of stamina with literature and poetry kind of, like classical music and other things, you need multiple exposures to it to appreciate it, and unfortunately, in the public school environment, we don’t often have time for that,” Northcutt said. “I try to make time and Poem in Your Pocket Day is a great way to remind teachers to make time for it. Poetry’s also a really dense and quick way to get at higher-level thinking.”

Although this is the seventh annual celebration, the event has not always looked the same. One year, previous librarian Scott Wiggerman, who went on to be a published poet, came to speak at lunch. Other years, students were simply welcome to come and share any favorite or original poems they wanted to share. Farmer hopes that the tradition will keep growing in the school.

“I would love it if every student had a poem with them that day and read it and shared it with someone,” Farmer said.

—Haley Hegefeld

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Ratting them out

Faculty reveal their encounters with rodents and how they’ve learned to live with them JOSEPHINE CLARKE and MEENA ANDERSON staff reporters

If you’ve been at McCallum, you’ve probably heard about rats, raccoons or other animals inside the school from teachers or fellow students. Perhaps, you’ve even seen one of the critters on campus yourself.

While it’s hard to get a solid number of how many may be roaming the walls, more than a few teachers have had some experience with them at some point. At a parent-teacher conference about a student cheating, English II Pre-AP teacher Nikki Northcutt was doing her best to appease the parent when something sure to upset came out of the closet.

“My first year here I had Pre-AP freshman, and I discovered that a student had copied off of another student, gave them both zeros, and moved on with my life,” Northcutt said, “What I should have done was call both of their parents, because mom No. 1 was not happy that I did not call her and advise her that this had happened. Fair enough. So she came in, and I was ready to apologize ‘yes I definitely should’ve contacted you, let me show you the work, he copied off another student, our policy is to give a zero’,” Northcutt said. “As I’m talking to her, now keep in mind that she is not very happy with me and she was not impressed with me, a rat comes out from underneath the closet, and darts across the room, pretty much under our legs as we’re talking.”

Experts estimate that there is one rat per person living in the United States. A mother rat can have up to 60 offspring in a year, so they multiply very quickly, which makes up for their very short life span of

about a year. They have many abilities (see Rat Facts), and they show up everywhere.

“I heard some rumors my first year that there were things in the ceilings and up under the school; there’s like space under the school somehow,” head librarian Jane Farmer said.

“Maybe my second or third year we heard some skittering in the ceiling.”

Ron Dotson, who leads the Rodent and Vector Control Office for the city of Austin, has tracked and trapped rats in the city for 23 years. He is undaunted. He told Carol Brorsen of The Austin Chronicle that “You can go out to the cleanest city in the world, but will still have a population [of rats] that have ventured in.”

Like Dotson, English I Pre-AP teacher Diana Adamson has learned to coexist with the furry little creatures.

“The idea of a rat walking through my room while I’m teaching would freak me out.” Adamson said, “I know they’re here, I mean I’ll come in on the weekend sometimes and these things will be knocked off, like ‘hmm, I wonder who’s been visiting now?’ One time I came in and I had some flowers and the flowers were munched on, and that’s how you know they’re here. It’s a big city, rats and critters get displaced, and they have a whole little pipeline of things up there.

Maybe because it’s an old building it’s easier than the newer schools, I just think it’s built differently [than the newer schools].”

Northcutt, too, seems to have embraced the idea of rats in McCallum.

“I would like to trap this rat because I know that he’s still here, and name him Lenny after the character from Of Mice and Men,” Northcutt said, “I don’t actually know, I believe that he’s still in here, and Ms. Olson said she heard some scuttling after we dropped some M&M’s the other day.”

Whether you want to feed them, trap them, or make them the subject of the next biology experiment, there’s no doubt that they are here and will be for the foreseeable future.

“This is my 16th year teaching,” Adamson said. “I don’t think it’s higher than normal, or more than any other school. I think that we’re in an old building, so we’re going to see them.”

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RAT FACTS Rats can swim one-half mile in open water -- that’s like swimming the length of Barton Springs Pool two and a half times.

The rat is the first of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. People born in this year are thought to possess traits which are associated with rats, including creativity, intelligence, honesty, ambition and generosity. The next year of the rat is 2020.

The average body size of a rat is 25 centimeters (9.84 inches) with their tails being an average length of 20 centimeters (7.87 inches).

There are more than 60 species of rat. The largest species is the Bosavi woolly rat, which was discovered in 2009 in the rainforest of Papua New Guinea. It has an average length of 32.3 inches (the size of the average housecat) from nose to tail and weighs around 3.3 pounds.

Rats can fit through openings as small as a quarter: If a rat can get its head through a space, it’s in.

Rats can detect poison mixed with food in as little as two parts per million.

Similarly to humans, rats succumb to peer pressure. Brown rats will disregard their personal experiences to imitate the behavior of other rats. The need to conform can be so strong that they sometimes choose to eat unappealing food if they are in the company of other rats who are eating it.

Facts provided by The Austin Chronicle, Onekind and the Integrate Taxonomic Information System.)

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by Charlie Holden

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Jane McCallum and her fellow suffragettes (PICA 11669). Once the 19th amendment was passed, 5,856 women registered to vote in Travis County nearly the amount of male voters.

Not your average Jane

Headshot of Jane McCallum (PICB 13189). Both photos are from Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.

While her husband may have made a lasting mark on the Austin school district, Jane McCallum left behind a larger legacy that spanned the entire Lone Star State SOPHIE RYLAND staff reporter

You probably know that our school is named after A.N. McCallum, but do you have any idea who he is or was? If the answer is no, then you’re not alone. I certainly didn’t before I began writing this article. Born in North Carolina and later studying at the University of Texas, Arthur Newell McCallum was elected superintendent of AISD in 1903. He served for 39 years, during which time the district grew from 12 schools and 4,459 students to 32 schools and 16,128 students. He was known for believing that discrimination had no place in education, which is why he hired the district’s first Hispanic teacher. He was still superintendent when he died in 1943, and McCallum High School was named in his honor in 1958.

It is not too surprising that a public high school would be named in honor of a esteemed superintendent who served the district faithfully for such a long time. What is surprising is that McCallum was not the most distinguished or notable person in his own household. That distinction belongs to his wife, Jane McCallum. She was a prominent suffragist, a political reform activist, a lobbyist, and the Secretary of State for Texas under two governors. She was also a newspaper columnist, the first female jury commissioner for Travis County and the author of several books celebrating the accomplishments of successful Texan women.

Born Jane Yelvington, she was a Texas native who attended Dr. Zealey’s Female College and the University of Texas. Yelvington met McCallum in her hometown of La Vernia, marrying him in 1896. They had four daughters and a son; she was known for her ability to be an active

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leader involved in many civic issues while still running a full household.

She played a large role in the fight for women’s suffrage as the President of the Austin Women’s Suffrage Association and was an active participant in the Texas Equal Suffrage Association. When the 19th Amendment finally passed, guaranteeing women the right to vote, she served as the state manager of press and publicity for the ratification committee. After the issue she had fought for for nearly a decade was resolved, she wrote, “With high hopes and enthusiasm women stepped forth into a world in which they were CITIZENS AT LAST!” “Mrs. McCallum was a very driven individual,” said Rusty Heckaman ,the Reference Archivist at Austin History Center. “She latched onto the issues she was passionate about and exhaustively pursued them. She would not be defined by social assumptions of her or her gender and demonstrated through her actions what she was capable of rather than accepting what others thought she could accomplish.”

Once suffrage was won, she then worked for political reform. Though she was a member and leader of many different organizations, a particularly notable one was the Women’s Joint Legislative Council. Famously known as the “Petticoat Lobby,” they pushed for education bills, prison reform, stronger prohibition controls, maternal and child health funds, and the eradication of illiteracy and child labor.

“While each individual victory is an accomplishment worth noting, it is the sum of these efforts that may be her greatest accomplishment for the example it provided of leadership and achievement and the voice that she provided for women in the political process,” Heckaman said.

Through the Petticoat Lobby, she fought to have Daniel J. Moody elected governor of Texas. Once he won and

subsequently took office, he appointed her as his Secretary of State. She continued to serve under Gov. Ross Sterling until 1933, making her the only person in Texas, male or female, to hold the position under two governors and for more than two terms. One of her favorite accomplishments during this period was her discovery of an original copy of the Texas Declaration of Independence in a vault in the Capitol building, which she later helped to restore and display in the same building.

After her term ended, she became a presidential elector and a state Democratic committeewoman, was appointed to the first Austin city planning commission and became Travis County’s first female grand jury commissioner. She was also a skilled writer, contributing a feminist Sunday feature called “Women and Her Ways” to The Austin-American Statesman, writing multiple books such as Women Pioneers and All Texans Were Not Males and publishing profiles of notable women like sculptor Elisabet Ney. Her personal participation in community organizations included Texas Fine Arts Association, the League of Women Voters, and the Austin Shakespeare Society. She was also the first married woman to join a sorority at UT, the Alpha Delta Pi. She died on Aug. 14, 1957, outliving her husband by 14 years and leaving behind a long list of accomplishments.

Though her husband’s work was closer to the heart of AISD, one must wonder if perhaps she ought to be honored more.

“The suffrage movement was an important piece of American history,” Heckaman said. “Jane’s role in it should not be overlooked. The importance of both, the movement and her role in it, the impact of its accomplishments, and the context in which it was won should all be a piece of the education provided students today.”

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The price of prosperity High achieving students feel the academic, social pressures of high school CHARLIE HOLDEN and MEENA ANDERSON staff reporters

If you’ve ever been in high school, odds are that you know what it’s like to be stressed. Reasons for stress vary and are nearly always present. Academic as well as social pressures weigh heavy on the minds of students everywhere, but some will experience more than others. Some may feel that high-achieving students have it easier. After all, they tend to experience better treatment from teachers, they seem to be highly esteemed by classmates, and they are able to understand material with ease, but high achievement doesn’t come without work, and a lot of it.

“I get really stressed out when I don’t get a really high grade on even the smallest assignment,” sophomore Kate Knifton said. “I worry that it will ruin everything.”

Setting high standards can lead to high stress levels and can compromise social interaction as well as emotional well-being.

According to a study done by the American Psychological Association, “nearly half of teens (42 percent) report they are not doing enough or are not sure if they are doing enough to manage their stress, and more than one in 10 (13 percent) say they never set aside time to manage stress.” Fortunately, Knifton is not part of that 42 percent.

“I’m trying to lighten up on myself and just give myself a little more room because I don’t want to be too stressed out,” Knifton

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said. “I just try to do my best, and I know what my best is, and I know how well I can do, so I try to do that well.”

Something that can help any student reduce stress levels is learning time management, something junior Ellie Zambarano has worked on throughout her time in high school.

“I think my time management is the thing that’s changed the most throughout high school,” Zambarano said. “This semester I decided not to do the musical, which was a really good thing for myself to focus on different activities, because I struggled a little bit with different classes last semester.

So I think it’s just knowing when I should just have fun for myself and when I should focus on work.”

Time management takes discipline and organization in order to keep track of assignments and still have room for other activities.

“I’m involved in Blue Brigade, student council, and I do rowing after school,” Knifton said. “I do a lot of homework in the car or during classes whenever we have breaks, and I go to bed pretty early because I can’t do homework when I’m tired, but I try to do it whenever I have even five free minutes.”

Sometimes the amount of stress we experience is hard to describe to teachers or parents, and the reason for this is a significant increase of stress levels among high schoolers today. Psychologist Robert Leahy points out: “The average high school kid today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950s.”

Unfortunately, this statistic isn’t a surprise to the students themselves.

“I definitely think [stress levels] are higher, especially because of how much our society focuses on going to college,” Zambarano said. “It’s much more expected for people to go to college. We were reading the college applications of one of the presidents, I think it was Kennedy, and it was an essay and it was so short. That would never be the essay that we would do today. I think the pressure that’s put on high schoolers to succeed has changed so much, and I think that’s something that shouldn’t be that way. I’m not so stressed out by pressures like that, but I know people who just go crazy constantly thinking about how they could do better.”

The stress levels of students today are not only higher than students decades ago, but they may also be higher than some working adults.

“My parents have said they’ve never had that type of stress when they were in high school, and they haven’t really had the same levels of stress in their jobs,” Knifton said.

Despite rising stress levels in recent times, some students have actually calmed down since they entered high school, especially if they came from the magnet program at Kealing Middle School.

“I can’t remember [overwhelming moments] from high school, but I remember a lot from Kealing Middle School,” Knifton said. “I remember one time we were working on this project where we we trying to create a clock, and I remember my project wasn’t working and I couldn’t figure out how to

make it work, and whenever I’m stressed out I just can’t do anything. I just sit there until I figure it out. I think having that experience has helped me manage stress for high school so it hasn’t been as much of a problem.”

Other students have felt some pressures lift since they started high school, not beacuse their middle school was too competitive, but because it was not competitive enough.

“I did math online in middle school because they didn’t offer high school math courses at my middle school, and I think that really challenged me to really get focused because it was really hard to learn online without a teacher,” freshman Zoe Tormollen said.

“It’s been kind of easy here for me, having teachers and stuff.”

Overall, though, stress is a fixture in the life of any high-achieving student.

“It stresses me out when I don’t have good grades,” Zambarano said. “If I came to class and didn’t do my homework I would be like so stressed out, I could not handle that.

A lot of things will be easier if I have good grades, like getting into colleges. That’s a standard that I hold myself to.”

With all the downsides to overachievement, some students may begin to question if all the stress is worth the eventual payoff.

“I guess we’ll see [if the stress is worth it,]” Knifton said. “I hope that it’s worth it but sometimes I have to keep myself in check because when I look back on high school I want to remember all the good memories and all the fun I had, not all the stress that I had.”

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Popping the promposal question

From painted horses to bilingual word play, MAC students go above, beyond Maddy Ghazi and Robert Obando

Daniel Pyrek and Nyla Gershoni

Marley Chilton and Zach Russell

Alex Donovan and Francine Chlebowski Hannah Smith and Liam McKenna

Ignacio Morones Jr. and Natalie Murphy

Lauren Molloy and Stephen King

James Sullivan and Alex Seiler

John Carson and Meagan Garza Sarafina Fabris-Green and Jesse Levy-Rubinett

Hannah Cooley and Sacco Fernandez

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Arturo Hernandez and Quinn Bingham

Kelsey Mitchell and Spencer Cosson

Jake Stagner and Kirsten Timco

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experience first keynote speech by FLOTUS at SXSW Music Fest 12 people

10 a.m. I was going down Cesar Chavez, a street that is

Photos by Maya Crose

HALEY HEGEFELD editor-in-chief First Lady Michelle Obama sat on stage for the first keynote address of the SXSW Music Festival with entertainers Sophia Bush, Missy Elliott, Diane Warren, and Queen Latifah. The assembled panel talked about everything from Michelle’s upbringing in Chicago to their favorite albums, while two seniors, who had found out the day before that they would be there, sat and watched in awe in the front row. “[The panel] was incredible and just hearing them talk about these issues was so amazing,” senior Isabella Kruger-Seiler said. “It really reminded me how lucky I was to have what I have and how lucky I was to be a part of what was happening in that moment.”

The First Lady was at SXSW to promote her newest of four major campaigns, Let Girls Learn, which seeks to provide the public with ways to help the 62 million girls around the world who don’t have access to quality education.

“The theme of the event was education for women,” KrugerSeiler said. “There are millions of girls around the world who have to drop out of school at an extremely young age in order to start working for their family and basically Michelle Obama and all the other speakers were there to tell us how we could help and what the program, Let Girls Learn, would do for women across the world.”

Obama spoke about how her childhood growing up in South Side Chicago affected her ambitions, which included graduating from Princeton University and Harvard Law School, among other things.

According to multiple news reports of the event, Obama told the audience: “Growing up as a black girl on the South Side of Chicago, where the expectations of me were limited, as I was trying to make my way and do good in school, there were always

people around telling me what I couldn’t do. And my reaction to introducing all of the women on the panel. that at that time was to prove the doubters wrong. That spurred Audience members asked pre-selected questions that the me. ‘I’ll show you.’ But not everyone reacts that way, and there women then proceeded to answer. Crose said the women inare many young people whose dreams get snuffed out.” teracted well as a team, and that they all seemed like friends Kruger-Seiler and senior Maya Crose won a contest pre- while talking. sented by the Austin Chamber of “Some guy asked how men could Commerce, in cooperation with the also be supportive of women and There were always First Lady’s Reach Higher initiative, to their education and respecting them,” encourage seniors to file their financial Crose said. “I thought that was a good people around telling me aid information. To enter the contest, question. They were very impressed what I couldn’t do. And all students had to do was file their that he asked that. And they were my reaction to that at FAFSA by March 14, register for the just like, ‘Be supportive, and make contest and post a tweet encouraging that time was to prove sure you listen to them.’” other students to do the same.

The most memorable part for the doubters wrong.

“I entered [the contest] because Crose was getting to hug the First -Michelle Obama I thought to myself, ‘How often do Lady at the end. students my age get the chance to say “At the end of their talk, all of the they got to see Michele Obama?’” Kruwomen came down to where we were ger-Seiler said. “It was an opportunity sitting, and since we were in the front I didn’t think I would ever get again, row, we got up to the gate quickly so and I took it.” we got to hug her,” Crose said.

The day before the event, the girls received an email conThe First Lady had a sense of humor and kept the crowd firming they had won. Both said when they found out they won, laughing during the panel. they were ecstatic, as they admired the First Lady’s involve“Michelle Obama was the exact person I had heard she was,” ment in women’s education.

Kruger-Seiler said. “You could tell she genuinely cared about ev“[The students from all 40 schools] met at the Chamber of eryone and wanted to help in whatever way she could no matter Commerce and then we ate some free breakfast tacos,” Crose how big the obstacle was. My first impression was that of an inspisaid. “Then we all went in groups. In the Convention Center there rational woman and the more she spoke, the more it became true.” was a space up front that was blocked off, and since we were the Crose said the event revealed the First Lady’s humanity. first group to go from the Chamber of Commerce, we were in the “After leaving, I was still in shock,” Kruger-Seiler said. “I front row. And then we sat there for three hours until it started.” couldn’t believe what I had just witnessed. To be in the same The event was kicked off by a performance from Chloe x room as all those amazing performers, entertainers, and peoHalle, a duo that is a part of Beyonce’s new record label. After ple, it really gave me a rush of happiness and made me want to they performed, Queen Latifah took to the stage and started make a difference.”

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always busy, but during SXSW it was filled with tourists with badges around their necks and suitcases in hand. I looked out the passenger seat window to see a police officer every half block on either side of the street; I thought it was weird even for SXSW, until I remembered Michelle Obama would be in town as the first keynote speaker for the music festival.

10:15 a.m. I was in front of the Radisson when suddenly every police motorcycle left their post and joined the rest of traffic. I figured that meant FLOTUS was at the convention center and her keynote speech was about to start. As soon as I had heard FLOTUS was going to speak, I was determined to see her, but I was never able to find the time or location of the speech, as SXSW had not released it for national security reasons. I jumped out of the car, hoping to catch a glimpse of the First Lady.

10:30 a.m. I ran to the convention center ready to start my volunteer shift of hanging posters and handing out flyers but still in search of Michelle Obama. As I walked inside, I noticed a bag check with an extremely long line of people.

After asking around, I learned FLOTUS was in the building and ready to speak upstairs along with Queen Latifah, Sophia Bush, Missy Elliott and Diane Warren in Ballroom D. Trying to avoid the line, I raced inside to the booth where I was volunteering, threw my bag under the table and raced to find Ballroom D. 10:45 a.m. After my badge was scanned, I sprinted up the escalators hoping the room would have open doors and an empty seat. “Everything on the table” the security guard said. I placed my phone, sunglasses and badge on the table and walked through the metal detector while Secret Service was standing by. I was in!

11 a.m. The presentation started with a video for FLOTUS’ campaign “Let Girl’s Learn.” The eye-catching video explained that there are 62 million girls not receiving an education worldwide and that the President and First Lady plan to help those girls go to school and stay in school. The video was followed by an impressive performance of “This Is For My Girls” by Chloe and Halle Bailey, sisters who aren’t even old enough to drive.

11:15 a.m. Queen Latifah introduced Sophia Bush, Michelle Obama, Missy Elliott and Diane Warren to the stage and mediated the panel. While they were serious as they discussed the issues of gender equality and education, they were funny, entertaining, warm and charismatic as they shared their backgrounds and inspirations. Much to the audience’s disappointment, Michelle Obama responded to Queen Latifah’s final question, announcing that she will not be running for President in the future. She will, however, continue to work on even bigger things once she is out of the White House.

12:15 p.m. There were still four festival days left, but I could already call it quits. Nothing else would top seeing Michelle Obama.

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‘A life in a year not a year in a life’ International students share how their Austin experience has changed them forever MARA VANDEGRIFT assistant editor

When Jacopo Bechaz came to McCallum as a foreign-exchange student from Italy, he was expecting to see cheerleaders, go to homecoming dances and prom, and have a locker like he saw in the movies.

“That’s something we students from Europe usually want because we see in the movies with all these lockers, and we want our own lockers,” Bechaz said. “That’s the idea I had, and I thought I could do a lot of things I didn’t do. My expectations were just completely different from what reality is.”

Bechaz lived in a small mountain town in Italy, called Ayas.

He said moving here was an adjustment due to the different programs available and the sheer size of the school.

“At the beginning, the things I saw that were different, like the size and the number of people,” Bechaz said. “This school is way bigger than the one I used to go to. Also here people move from one class to another, while in Italy we have our own classroom. So all these practical things surprised me in the beginning, but after about two or three months, I realized that there were many other things that were different; I couldn’t expect them.”

Initially, Bechaz had expectations about life at McCallum, and when things didn’t go as planned, he became afraid.

“I was thinking, ‘This is not how it is supposed to be. I had an idea, and this idea is not what’s happening to me,’” Bechaz said. “When you move on and you realize your expectations are based on things you don’t know so of course reality is different, you start to realize how many great things you can still have and most of the time, they’re even better.”

Bechaz said going to McCallum wasn’t about the courses and classes but rather about being able to “compare” himself to how he used to be in Italy.

“At the beginning, I tried to be like a normal American student, like take normal classes and do my homework and all that stuff, but after a while I realized that’s not why I was here,” Bechaz said. “I was here because I wanted to stay with American people, and I wanted to stay in an American high school with normal classes, but I wasn’t here to follow a normal American school path because I wasn’t thinking about going to college in the U.S. This just gives me an opportunity that I think most of the kids here don’t have. I have these opportunities just because I’m sort of an outsider.”

Being in America has forced Bechaz to think about his relationship with his family and his country, something that students in Austin don’t have to do.

“That’s something that’s really awesome, the possibility that you have at school to reshape yourself and just enjoy the diversities and different things,” Bechaz said. “I think traveling and facing yourself and who you can be no matter where in the world [is] really great. Because that’s really scary sometimes and it gives you that thrill that you don’t know what to

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do. At the same time, you enjoy life. When you think in Italy about American fast food you’re like, ‘That’s gross! I don’t want to have burgers,’ because we think about McDonald’s. When you’re right here, you try real American food, you can think, ‘Yeah, this is really great so I’m just gonna have as much of it as I can here before I leave.’”

Liam and Vincent McKenna are also international students at McCallum from Paris. The brothers, who went to school from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and didn’t have school sports in their home country, said that life at McCallum is a lot more fun and “chill” than life at their old school.

“I would say meeting a lot of people [is my favorite part of living here],” Liam said. “I didn’t expect to meet that many people. I was kind of afraid because I had never been to a new school, [so] I didn’t expect that. I was also surprised by the role of sports in high school; that was really impressive.”

The McKennas said they have enjoyed meeting many people, speaking English, and experiencing things unique to Austin.

“I love going to Barton Springs when the weather is really hot and just enjoying the time of year,” Vincent said. “It’s just a cool place to go.”

Living in a big city is a new experience for Bechaz, so he wants to take advantage of it. He said that living in a big city is one of the reasons he likes Austin so much; it is so different from Ayas.

“The thing I personally like doing is going downtown,” Bechaz said. “I know this can sound kind of weird or unusual to an American teenager from Austin because, I realize that you don’t go downtown, at least not as much as I do now. I like downtown because even if there are just banks and offices, that’s the idea of an American town that I have. My neighborhood is basically just houses and streets and parks, and that’s cool if you just want to walk [and] be quiet for a little while.

Around here, just to get some pizza or a burger, I need someone to drive me, or I have to walk for more than 30 minutes, while if I walk for 30 minutes downtown I can do a lot of things. I can stay with my friends there, I can stay on my own, I can go to a museum, I can get a burger, I can just enjoy the skyscrapers that I don’t have in Italy.”

Bechaz comes from a small Italian town, around the border of France and Switzerland. He studies in Aosta, Italy, a town with about 30,000 that is cold most of the time, due to the fact it is in the mountains.

Bechaz will return to Italy June 27th to reconnect with friends and family and reflect on his experiences in Austin. He will have one of more year of schooling in Italy due to the 5-year high school program there.

“I will have to study a lot because I don’t know anything about what my classmates are studying right now [in Italy],” Bechaz said. “My school program here is completely different; I took pre-AP pre-cal here but the program is still different, it’s really, really different. I know that, and I’m totally willing

to study more next year because these experiences are worth studying that much.”

Being a foreign-exchange student has taught Bechaz many lessons and has also prepared him more for taking on the future. He said that he used to be a “boring and thorough” student but, thanks to being a foreign-exchange student, he has realized that school is not his priority anymore and that he instead wants life experiences.

“Sometimes I happen to think, ‘What would I be doing now if I were in Italy?’ And the answer is, ‘Nothing, because you could never be in Italy now; this is the place where you have to be, because this is the person that now you want to be and you have to be,’” Bechaz said.”This experience put me in front of difficult situations that were difficult not because they were dramatically impossible, but because I had never faced them before so everything was new, and I had no idea how I had to act in that situation. I just tried and I learned how to fail because I failed many times. You just need to realize that bad moments happen as well as good moments, so just take your time. When you’re down, stay down for a little bit, then you have to know how to get up again, and I think now I know how to do that.

Now even though I don’t know myself completely, I know that I can stay with myself better, and that’s what matters. I feel more ready to be outside.”

The McKennas don’t know what their plans are for next year yet. They hope to stay in Austin with their aunt to continue going to McCallum, but they are not sure if that is a possibility yet.

“Being an exchange student can be hard some times, being far away from your family for one year,” Vincent said. “Apart from that, you learn a lot from yourself and about another culture, so I think when you’re young, it’s really important to do an exchange student [program].”

Liam said that he thinks he has become more mature and independent due to his experiences as an exchange student; he didn’t realize all that he was capable of doing when he lived with his parents. His brother Vincent also agrees that living without their parents has allowed them more freedom to grow.

“This year has had a lot of amazing impact on me,” Vincent said. “I didn’t realize how lucky I was in my life, and after this year I can do whatever I want with my life. I have the confidence to try new things, and I think at 18 years old, that’s pretty impressive.

Bechaz said that he often thinks about his experience but isn’t quite ready to talk about it without others.

“Sometimes I think about when I go back to Italy and people will ask me, ‘How was your experience?’, I think that my answer will be, ‘How much time do you have to listen to me?’ Because if you have 10 minutes, I can tell you, ‘Yeah, it was great, do that. You see a lot of things; you eat a lot of food.’ But if you have more time, there are so many things to say. What we usually say in my organization but I think [also] in other organizations is, ‘This is not a year in your life but a life in a year.’”

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Artistically Speaking: Isabella Grossling

Senior plans to major in business and voice at Berklee University

MAYA COPLIN photo editor

What is your major at McCallum?

I am a vocal major.

What is your favorite thing about being a vocal major?

Honestly, I would say, not necessarily the requirements, but the things that we get to do because we’re vocal majors. If I wasn’t a vocal major, I probably would not have taken music theory or piano. Without those two classes I would not have gotten into Berklee, and I would not have known my passion for music. And then along with the shows that we do, they’re all super fun, and although I complain about them at the time, it’s gener-

ally OK and it’s always a great feeling to put something together.

What college are you going to and what was the audition and application process?

I will be going to Berklee. We had to fill out an online application and we had to send transcripts and test scores were not required, but I sent mine in anyways. For the audition process, I had to prepare a song and so then after you sing your song you had to sight read. You had to do scatting and improv over some chords. There was an interview section as well. I liked the interview better than the audition.

What do you want to major in in college?

I want to major in music business. At Berklee, your first semester, you generally focus on your primary instrument, so mine would be voice. And then your second semester, you start declaring your major and start taking major-related courses. So, I would want to do music business, which is like the music industry, recording labels, music festivals, managing for artists, that kind of thing.

What sparked your interest in this combined topic of vocals and business?

It has kind of progressed throughout these past two years. I was told that “you’re applying to college. Pick a major.” I was like OK, well, I like music but I want to make

money and I really like the idea of music business, and just the things in Austin that have inspired me—Everything around me like SXSW and ACL and just other concerts that I have gone to.

How do you think the two topics relate to one another?

There’s pretty much a business side of everything that you do. I don’t necessarily want to perform, so by doing music business I can still be in the music industry and I can still enjoy the modern music, but at the same time I could be more of the creator instead of the performer.

What would your dream job be?

I don’t know. Being the CEO of a record label or managing for some huge artist.

What through your head when you got in?

I started crying, I was so happy. I called my mom—I was like “Mom, I got in!” It was on a late start, I think. No, it wasn’t. It was last week. I checked my computer, and I was like, “Oh my, God, am I reading the answer right? I really hope I am reading it right, and I’m not just reading it wrong. I was super excited. I couldn’t even believe it.

What was the biggest challenge you have faced relating to choir here at McCallum, or just in general?

Music skills—I have dyslexia so it’s really hard for me to read music, and it’s really hard

for me to be good at it. Obviously, I can read music very well, but for example, I have to be really close to the music for it to register in my mind, which is a lot different because some kids can hold it out here, and it will be fine. That’s hard. And it’s just kind of delayed my ability to be a better musician, which is hard, but I have overcome it a little.

What are you most excited for at Berkeley?

I don’t know. I’m excited for everything. I’m excited that it’s in Boston.

I’m excited for the major that I want to do. I’m excited to make friends and go on a different adventure.

BAACON

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Photos provided by Isabella Grossling from choir concerts she participated in.

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Making baseball fun again BENJAMIN BROWN sports editor

Throughout its 150 years of existence, the game of baseball has been played with a set of unwritten rules and etiquette that the self-appointed defenders of the game insist must not be violated. The biggest of these unwritten rules, the one that I hear the most often, invokes the all-important mantra, “Respect the game.”

But what does it mean to “respect the game”? In layman’s terms, it means, “Don’t have fun,” or at least, “Limit the fun of baseball as much as humanly possible.” Don’t gaze at a majestic home run after you crush it. Don’t celebrate a tremendous play in the field or a clutch strikeout.

Don’t do any of that because that would be disrespecting the game. But how can you disrespect a game? Baseball is supposed to be fun. Pitchers should have the right to celebrate a clutch strikeout without fear of sparking a brawl. Batters should have the right to admire a ball they hit a mile without fear of getting drilled in the back in their next at-bat. These unwritten rules don’t protect sportsmanship. Rather, they punish players for spontaneous acts of emotion after showcasing their world-class talents before thousands of witnesses. These “rules” were created 150-some-odd years ago when actual gentleman played the game; baseball stopped being a game of aristocrats long ago, so why must we still follow their antiquated unwritten rules?

It hasn’t always been this way. During the ’70s, ’80s and early ’90s, it wasn’t uncommon for players to show more emotion.

Think of Kirk Gibson’s or Tom Lawless’s clutch home runs in the World Series. They weren’t criticized for “excessive” celebration back then, and there’s no reason they should have been. They hit clutch home runs in very timely and tense situations.

We—players and fans—got sick of seeing so much emotion from players, and we overcompensated, insisting that players “respect the game” at all times. Now, when Toronto Blue Jay right fielder Jose Bautista flips his bat after a very important home run in his team’s first playoff appearance in 22 years, everyone loses their minds and it makes national news.

Why? Why is it such a big deal now to

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Carlos Gomez celebrates after hitting a home run in the 2015 Wild Card game. Photo by Arturo Pardavila III. “protect” the game from players who show emotion? There’s no simple answer. Maybe it’s the way the next generation was raised; maybe it has to do with different cultures being introduced to the Major Leagues. There are any number of things it could be, but it has to change if baseball wants to keep thriving as an industry.

Players brave enough to show emotion are not only criticized; they put themselves and their teammates in danger. If a batter pimps a home run, an altercation soon follows or the disrespected pitcher intentionally throws at him in his next at bat. These unwritten rules have molded players into emotionless robots who have to act like they aren’t doing something ridiculously impressive. What do football, basketball, and soccer players have to worry about, maybe an occasional fight if someone overdoes the celebration? For the most part, they don’t have to worry about any sort of retaliation from the other team. But if you express yourself in baseball, you’re in the minority.

And you are more likely to be a minority as well. In countries like Japan, South Korea, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and many others, baseball is the country’s

most popular sport, and kids are raised playing it. In those countries the way the game is played is vastly different than it is in the United States. While the rules are all the same, the unwritten rules aren’t.

When international players come to the Majors and play like they have always played in their home country—where they flip bats, yell and scream aftter great plays and wear their emotions on their sleeves— they get chastised. Some adjust to playing the boring brand of American baseball, but some stick to their guns and keep playing like the way they were taught, and they become villains, hated by every opposing fan and player but loved by their teammates and their hometown fans.

A great example of this dichotomy is Carlos Gomez, the center fielder for the Houston Astros. As an Astros fan, I count Carlos as one of my favorite players. He swings hard, he runs hard, and he genuinely looks like he is having the time of his life when he is on the diamond.

Before he was traded to Houston from Milwaukee, however, I was in the same crowd as everyone else. I hated the way he went about the game; I insisted he didn’t play with same class as everyone else. But that’s just the way

he has always played; in his eyes, we were the weird ones for not for not celebrating the joy of playing baseball.

Gomez is not alone. Players like Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper, and Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig have all broken away from the traditional mold and playing the game with much more flamboyance and animation.

Harper has coined the slogan “Make Baseball fun again,” a play on Donald Trump’s campaign slogan, and he’s faced a lot of scrutiny from baseball writers and old-time players as a result. They say things like “How dare he mock the game?” or “How can he say baseball isn’t fun?”

But other players have joined Harper in calling for a resurgence of fun in baseball.

The only way the game will relax, however, is if fans and media stop making such a big deal every time a player shows emotion.

Players won’t feel the need to retaliate if we treat emotional displays within the game as normal.

This is my call to you and to baseball fans everywhere. Jump on the bandwagon, so we can end baseball’s 20-year war on fun and make baseball great again.

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april 2016

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Playing the field

Two MAC track stalwarts, both juniors, share what drives them to vault highter, run faster HANNAH ILAN design editor

The Shield: How did you first get involved in pole vaulting?

Laney Hawn: So my brother was a decathlete; he did 10 events when he was in high school. I did dance before, and he thought I had a good jump, so I tried high jump and pole vaulting when I got to high school, and I really liked pole vaulting so I kept doing it.

TS: What’s the most difficult part for you about pole vaulting?

LH: Meet adrenaline is definitely a thing, and that works really well for runners because then they can go and they go faster than they’ve ever run. But for me, I have to take the time to calm myself down and remember what I’m doing because everything can go wrong if you don’t.

TS: How many jumps do you have to do during a meet?

LH: You get three per height, and you get as many heights as you can clear. If you The Shield: How did you get into football and track?

Brandon Wooley: My brother came to McCallum, and my dad played football, so they both kind of threw football on me, but I just wanted to run track, but I liked to see them smile, so I played football too. I’ve been running track since I was 9 years old. My mom ran track in middle and high school, so it’s just been in my family for most of my life.

TS: What is unique about track?

BW: When you’re on track, you’re completely free. There’s no discrimination against your color or race. You’re just fast or slow.

TS: Has it taught you any life lessons?

BW: So in life normally you want to give up, but you have to stop getting distracted by things that aren’t goals.

TS: What’s it like standing there waiting for the baton to be passed to you?

BW: The scariest feeling in the world.

Even getting ready for a race, when you’re in the blocks on the ground waiting for the gun to go off; it’s terrifying.

TS: How do you encourage your other teammates when they’re running?

BW: Normally since they can’t hear me

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District 26-5A pole vault champion Laney Hawn. Photo courtesy of Hawn. jump and don’t clear it, you get two more tries at that height, but if you don’t clear any of those, then you’re out. But if you keep getting them on like your second or third attempt, you can keep going until you don’t clear it the third time.

TS: Have you ever had an experience where you didn’t clear the first or second attempts but then got it on the third try?

LH: Yeah. It’s stressful. Because if it’s a height you know you can do but like some-

Brandon Wooley exits the blocks during practice. Photo by Hannah Ilan. from a distance I tell them in my head like, ‘Come on JB, come on AJ, you got this. Be perfect; the handoffs got to be perfect and you gotta go.’

TS: Do you want to continue running track in college?

BW: Yes I do. Track is the love of my life.

TS: How has McCallum track shaped

your high school experience?

BW: It helped me keep myself more humble. Because at first, I was like, ‘No one can beat me,’ until someone did. But it helped me stay humble in everything I do.

TS: So what was the situation in which you got beat?

BW: I pulled my hamstring at Burger Sta-

thing’s going wrong you’re kind of like, ‘I gotta get this. This is go time.’ But if it’s something kind of out of reach, it’s more exciting, like I’ll just give it a shot because I don’t put that much pressure on myself; I just try to have fun with it.

TS: What does it feel like when you’re in the air?

LH: It all happens really fast. I’ve been asked a bunch like what does that feel like, or what did you see or hear, and it’s all just a blur. My body is experiencing a blur. I don’t know what happens up there.

TS: What has the sport taught you that you can apply to real life?

LH: I mean there’s a lot of discipline involved. If you get frustrated you’re only going to jump worse, so you have to control your emotions. I also drive really far for practice, so there’s a lot of discipline in terms of time management. But I think it’s all worth it. I have a lot of fun at the meets and everything.

To read more of our interview with Laney, please visit macshieldonline.com. dium two years ago. We were at Burger Stadium preparing for this 4X1, and I was in the blocks, came out and found my mark, and I tried to give the baton to Sabian Cannon, and I pulled my hamstring, so I had to dive to reach him. But we still got third I think.

TS: So what were you thinking during that moment?

BW: Some words came out of my mouth that weren’t cool. But I recently pulled my hamstring on this track too. I was running the 200 trying to beat my cousin Tyrell Washington, and I pulled my hamstring on the curve; it’s easy to pull your hamstring on the curve.

TS: How does middle school track compare to high school track?

BW: I feel like I’m racing the same people, and I’m still trying to get the same goal. Because a lot of people like LBJ, our biggest rivals, went to Garcia Middle School, and I’m still racing them. But I still have the same goals like, ‘I’m going to beat you no matter what.’ It’s my purpose.

To read more of our interview with Brandon, please visit macshieldonline.com.

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Knight Time sports report

Photo by Ella Whittaker

Softball slides into playoffs, looks ahead The Lady Knights play their last district game tonight against Cedar Creek. This will be the last game against the Lady Eagles before the district changes announced earlier this year.

“I think the team’s biggest competion will be Austin High,” senior Hannah Smith said. “Not having Cedar Creek in the district will definitely help.”

As the team looks forward to next week’s playoffs, Smith reflects on the best moments of the season so far.

“Beating LBJ twice was definitly a highlight,” Smith said. “We’re pretty evenly matched with them so that could go either way.”

Junior Talina Bariceno said the team is looking forward to next season with hope.

“I’m sure it’s going to look different because we do have a lot of seniors on the team,” Bariceno said. “But I also know that a lot of girls will step up to fill those spots.”

Bastrop and East Side are also among schools who will not be a part of 26 5-A next season. The Lady Knights celebrate senior night tonight at 7 p.m. at Nelson field.

Photo by Madison Olsen

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Photo by Chloe Shields

Baseball team 12-0 against district foes The varsity baseball team is undefeated in district with a 12-0 record. With four games to play in district, two each against Travis and Cedar Creek, the Knights are aiming to go undefeated in district.

Senior third baseman Jesse Levy-Rubinett says the team needs to pay attention to details in order to remain on top.

“I think we need to focus on our mental approach and think positive, “ Rubinett said.

“Also making sure we keep up with the little things and play really good defense.

Junior catcher Tyler Page said the Knights have one goal regarding the postseason.

“The season has been different this year,” Page said. “We all have one goal on our mind and thats winning a state championship.

The Knights face the Travis Rebels tonight at Garrison Park.

‘Broball’ serves up new opportunity

Two to compete at Worlds in Orlando

Varsity volleyball will be holding a fundraiser May 19, which they are calling “Broball.” The fundraiser involves male students signing up to train with and play for the existing volleyball team.

“It seems that there’s not that many opportunities for guys to play volleyball,” senior Haruka Gerald said. “Ms. Broadbeck really caught that thought too, and we came up with this idea together. She noticed how few male volleyball teams there are in Austin unless you’re a pro.”

Gerald said the fundraiser, which will fund new uniforms and gym updates, provides a rare opportunity for male athletes to support female athletes. “[The volleyball players] are an awesome group of ladies who kick butt all the time,” Gerald said. “I think we should be able to offer support for a team that really deserves it.

The event will be held May 19 in the big gym, seating is open to the public.

Juniors Annie Bodenchatz and Callum hurd are going to Orlando with their team the Onyxcats at Cheer Athletics, along with 9,000 other athletes, to compete in ESPN’s Wide World of Sports on April 23 and 24.

“Only Level 5 [teams are] eligible to even compete at Worlds, and there are competitions that give out invitations to Worlds,” Bodenschatz said. “Throughout the season, the Level 5 teams want to do really good at their competitions so that company will want them to represent the them and give them that invitation!”

In order to get an invitation, these competitive teams practice a lot and work hard.

“Practice has been pretty good,” Bodenschatz said “We’ve just been running the routine over and over again, so we have as much confidence going into it as possible. We practice four days a week until Worlds week, then we’ll practice every day.”

Photo provided by Annie Bodenschatz

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Wait, who runs the world?

The sources of gender discrimination are hard to identify and even harder to eradicate to preface my comments with “I just feel like…” and “This might not be right but…” editor in chief and my actions with “I’m sorry, I’m just having one of those days.”

It’s now been seven years since the day I remember the first time a boy told me I my bubble of fair treatment and educahad to do what he says.

It was kindergarten, I wore my socks all tional equality was popped, and I still find the way up to my scabby knees because I myself deferring to the tone set by male was covered in bumps and bruises from classmates and teachers in every learning my most recent tree-climbing exploration. environment I encounter. I sit quietly while That’s how I was when a male classmate boys incorrectly try to start a car in the leaned over to me on the playground and school parking lot, even though I could easily show them how to do it. I watch with my commanded, “You’re going to marry me!”

With no adult to plead the case of my mouth closed while classmates incorrectly independence, I threw my shoulders back identify feminism in my favorite novel. I find myself too and declared, focused on main“You don’t get to taining a schooltell me what to appropriate do!” That was the There is no clear source appearance, becomment that laof discrimination other than ing polite and beled me ‘bossy’ charming to all for the next than years, decades and of my teachers four years, even centuries of setbacks that and filtering evthough I had no leave women in our country ery possibly ofclue what I did fensive opinion. that was wrong. scrambling to achieve true Institutional It was five equality with men. sexism is not years later, my an issue that legs were a little can be simply longer but their solved. There is scars still spoke no clear source of my fierce, adof discrimination venturous spirit, other than years, when I sat in my principal’s office to report a boy who was decades and centuries of setbacks that harassing me physically and verbally. My leave women in our country scrambling to principal laughed and shook her head, her achieve true equality with men. It is not an well-pinned blonde curls staying perfectly issue of anti-feminist teachers. I can’t point in place, and told me, “sounds like some- to the offensively uneven dress code and one has a crush on you! He probably just blame it for my discontent. The problem runs much deeper, way farther back than likes you; he isn’t trying to be mean.”

I didn’t walk through the halls with my grade school days.

It’s not that girls are being prevented my shoulders back anymore but rather watched my feet tread the halls wonder- from success either. NBC News reports that ing if maybe the boys in my class do get 70 percent of the valedictorians in the Unitto tell me what to do. Ever since that ed States are girls. Rather, the patriarchy of American schools is conveyed, not through day, there has been a nagging voice in my actions and words but rather an atmosphere head every time I want to add to a class discussion or a group project. For fear of of criticism and low expectations.

I wonder what would be different if being ‘bossy’ or ‘dramatic,’ I learned how

NATALIE MURPHY

2001

2016

“

”

22 april 2016

Left: Me on my first day of pre-K. Why did I ever get rid of that outfit?

Photo courtesy of Tamara Murphy. Right: One of my senior pictures in my hometown in upstate New York. Photo by Aaron Albright. principals took girls’ legitimate concerns about harassment seriously and told them that they are being wronged, that they do not owe their bullies anything, and that they should be able to walk through the halls with the same confidence as the boys around them. I wonder what would happen if adults looked kindergartners in the eyes and said “being independent is not the same as being bossy.” I wonder what would happen if I shared my opinions in class without apologizing. I wonder what would happen if I had the same expectations placed on me as the boys I’ve grown up with, and until we find an answer, I will wonder still.

I know I could start the car and drive it, if someone would just give me the key.

For more information about gender equality in education, visit www.ed.gov

opinion 19

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Anyone But Trump 2016

If the Donald wins, at least more folks would get involved in politics In response to the incident, Trump said, “I will say, the people that are following me are very passionate, they love this country, they staff reporter want this country to be great again.”

You can’t defend assault just by saying the assaultWhen you think of the President of the United ers’ love their country.

States of America what comes to mind?

Trump’s rallies are setting the stage for how An inspiring role model and example for the peohe wants America to be. At his rallies, minorities ple or a blatantly prejudiced and ignorant excuse for and the disabled are treated with the utmost disa candidate? respect. They aren’t treated like actual human beDonald Trump, the American businessman, teleings, and no rational American should stand for vision personality and now the frontrunner for the this belligerence. In Louisville Ky., on March 1, Republican nomination for President of the United Shiya Nwanguma, an African-American Louisville States, has developed a reputation for being callous University student, showed up at a Trump rally in and discriminatory, thanks to his harsh opinpeaceful protest. Trump supporters then proceeded ions of minorities and the disabled, and his to take matters into their own hands and forcefully reunapologetic response when people criticize move her from the rally. “They were pushing and shovhim. I personally can’t fathom how anyone ing me, cursing at me, yelling at me, called me every would think Trump is a name in the book,” Nwanguma told reporters suitable candidate for at the event. They were disgusting and President of the United dangerous,” Nwanguma States, but there is one said. positive outcome that Freedom of speech might come from his and peaceful protest election. If Trump are guaranteed rights becomes President, protected by the conmany people will stitution, and it is the THE RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE GOES THROUGH NEW YORK duty of the president be so enraged that they will make a and government to conscious effort to protect those rights.

Republican Primary Results Democratic Primary Results be more involved CNN reporter Jeremy Donald Trump: 60.5% Hillary Clinton: 57.9% with the election Diamond reported John Kasich: 25.1% Bernie Sanders: 42.1% process and in govthat in Birmingham ernment in generAla., a young black Ted Cruz: 14.5% al, and that is what man proceeded to Current Delegate Count Current Delegate Count this country truly chant “Black Lives Trump 845, Cruz 559, Clinton 1,930 needs.

Matter” during one Trump doesn’t of Trump’s rallies.

Kasich 148 Sanders 1,189 like to be wrong or Little did he know (needed to nominate: 1,237) (needed to nominate, 2,383) admit when he is he would soon suffer wrong. A good presthe consequences of ident has to be able to recognize when he (or she) makes a mistake speaking against Trump at one of his rallies. and learn from it, acknowledging that presidents are not perfect and “At least a half-dozen attendees shoved and tackled the protester, need input from the general public. Trump acts like he has all the a black man, to the ground as he refused to leave the event,” Diaanswers and that everyone else in politics is part of the problem that mond reported. “At least one man punched the protester and a womonly he can fix. His supporters have acted even worse in this elec- an kicked him while he was on the ground.” tion than their candidate has. It’s like he has programmed a group of Trump responded a day later with “Maybe [the protestor] white supremacists and people filled with hate to defend his honor should have been roughed up. It was absolutely disgusting what against all critics. he was doing.”

The moral certainty of Trump’s supporters has produced inciTrump’s justifications of his supporter’s actions reflect directly dents that are troubling and scary. According to CNN, two men beat back on his morals and personal ethics. If you vote for Trump you are a homeless Hispanic man on the streets in Boston while making anti endorsing hate, racism, Islamophobia and violence, and you are alimmigrant statements. “Donald Trump was right,” the two men said, lowing them to infiltrate America political discourse even more than according to police, as they beat the man with a metal pipe and then they already have.If you wish to see America change for the better, urinated on him. “All these illegals need to be deported.” vote for anyone but Trump.

MYA NAJOMO

20 opinion

CRAZY STUFF

DONALD TRUMP SAID (abridged version)

“Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” —at a rally in Charleston, S.C. in December 2015 “I have a great relationship with the blacks. I’ve always had a great relationship with the blacks.”

—in an interview with Albany’s Talk radio 1300 in April 2011 “You know, it doesn’t really matter what the media writes as long as you’ve got a young, and beautiful , piece of ass.”

—from an interview with Esquire, in 1991 “ 26,000 unreported sexual assults in the military-only 237 convictions. What did these geniuses expect when they put men and women together?”

-Post on Twitter at 6:04 p.m. on May 7, 2013 “It’s very close to my heart because I was down there, I watched our police and our firemen down at 7/11, down at the World Trade Center rigth after it came down..”

—April 18

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Middle school classmate Lydia Rogerson and I take a rest on one of our seven-mile hikes in the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park. Photos provided Haley Hegefeld.

An employee at the Texas State Aquarium shows a falcon off to the crowd at one of the shows I attended during my field trip to Corpus Christi.

Classmate Alexia Heinrich and I complete a hike leading to ancient cave paintings in the campsite we stopped at on our way to visit Big Bend.

Missed connections

Senior feels she has missed out on an important experience in high school: field trips HALEY HEGEFELD co-editor-in-chief

At the end of the 14-mile hike, my middle school classmates and I sat on the ground outside of the convenience store eating the ice cream we had just purchased. We had just finished our last large hike of our trip to Big Bend that we took with our elective, Amazing Discoveries, class. We all pulled our shoes off of our aching feet and shared our favorite experiences from the hike. The group that I was hiking with told the story about the baby bear we had seen on the side of the trail. We all felt the excitement of accomplishing a difficult task.

In middle school, I was lucky enough to go to a school that took frequent field trips. Some of my best memories from that time of my life are from the Big Bend trip with my Amazing Discoveries class and the Port Aransas trip that I took with my marine biology class. These trips took me outside of the classroom and gave me real-life experiences with the things I had been studying. Whether that was looking at cave drawings from thousands of years ago or trawling the bay to see the organisms living in their ecosystem, I was granted the opportunity to have a real experience with subjects that I had to that point understood only conceptually.

As a spring-semester senior, I am sad to report that I have not taken a single field trip during my high school career, and as I look back on the last four field-trip-less years, I feel like I have miss something valuable.

The mornings of field trips were always the liveliest:

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“

Whether that was looking at cave drawings from thousands of years ago or trawling the bay to see the organisms living in its ecosystem, I was granted the opportunity to have a real experience with subjects that I had to that point understood only conceptually.

”

bringing out the Oreos and Cheetos for the ride, finding out if your friends were on the same bus, choosing movies and games to play on the way there. Everyone buzzed with excitement about the prospects of the day. This attitude filtered through the rest of the day’s activities, and that is what made field-trip-style-teaching so effective: students get excited to learn.

A common misconception about field trips is that they are a wasted day, one without learning. Students run around museums or parks, blowing past anything educational, and mostly just look forward to lunch with their friends when they can act like a nuisance. And yes, I have been on some field trips like this, but those are not the kind I miss. I miss the kind during which I really learned.

On one specific trip, my classmates and I tested water in a local creek for levels of phosphorous to teach us about the effects runoff can have on water supplies. In school, I would

have found myself dozing off reading about this topic, but conducting the experiment and seeing the results myself taught me a lesson about the environment I still remember.

Our trips to science and art museums were the same way.

I had never been that interested in exotic kinds of butterflies or ancient pottery, but to walk through a gigantic room of hundreds of species or clay basins was so memorable. I wanted to know more about these things, and found myself stopping to read the plaques that explained them. These experiences taught me in ways that classroom instructional time never did.

The most common argument against taking field trips, especially in high school, is missed instructional time for students. With the pressure on students to perform well on tests, teachers often have to plan every school day down to the minute to fit in all of the lesson plans needed. While I understand this logic and don’t want to condone students missing an inordinate amount of school, one or two days missed for a field trip in a year is not going to detrimentally affect a student’s retention of material. The best solution may be to schedule field trips far in advance, so teachers know when to expect students to be absent. If the students and teachers plan in advance, they can easily stay up-to-date with what is going on in the classroom with little harm to their or their fellow students’ education.

One day of missed classroom time is far outweighed by the connections students make to material while on field trips. And why not have a little fun, too? Faced between the decision of a bit of make-up work with the opportunity to summit the South Rim in Big Bend or stay home, I’ll choose South Rim and the memories I made there every single time.

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Remake. Release. Repeat.

THE U.S. GOVERNMENT RECENTLY ADOPTED A NEW, FOOLPROOF INTERROGATION STRATEGY.

Movie studios need to learn that remaking a cartoon as a live-action film doesn’t exactly scream originality Disney’s live-action remake of The Jungle Book made close to $291 million globally on its opening weekend in April, and though it wasn’t a bad film, this trend isn’t necessarily a good one. From 101 Dalmatians, to Alice in Wonderland, to Maleficent, to Cinderella, Disney has been churning out live-action remakes with a fiery passion. And they’re not even close to being done; a live-action remake of Pete’s Dragon is expected from Disney this August, along with Beauty and the Beast in 2017.

The recent obsession that movie studios, like Disney, have shown for remaking old films into new ones has left audiences with a burning desire for originality, and the apparent lack of such creativity shown in these remakes is more detrimental to the art of filmmaking than anything else.

As the need for fresh and innovative stories rapidly increases among the general public, the overall quality of any original movies released by the big-budget movie studios to answer that

call diminishes significantly.

Think about The Good Dinosaur, a rather boring Pixar film with great animation and a hackneyed storyline that not many people went to see, or Jupiter Ascending, a horribly written and poorly thought out science fiction film, that’s considered so bad it’s almost laughable. These films were some of the few original ones released in 2015, but were so hastily made to fit audience demand and patience that they failed to provide any quality stories.

But even among the waves of prequels, sequels, and remakes being made, the quality of film stories is running very low. I can’t think of anyone who enjoyed watching The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, or Terminator Genisys.

If there really are some people left in Hollywood who care about the art of filmmaking instead of the profits, they should encourage the business to shift its focus back to developing and making sense out of new ideas instead of on remaking old classics.

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

the

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assistant editors MARA VANDEGRIFT RACHEL WOLLEBEN

sports editor BEN BROWN

Cartoon

by Charlie Holden

editors-in-chief HALEY HEGEFELD AND NATALIE MURPHY design editor HANNAH ILAN

reporters

photo editors

MAYA COPLIN JULIA ROBERTSON

adviser

DAVID WINTER

SYDNEY AMELL, MEENA ANDERSON, JOSEPHINE CLARKE, LAUREN CROSBY, MADDIE DORAN, PAUL GOLD, MILES HANSEN, ZOE HOCKER, CHARLIE HOLDEN, MYA NAJOMO, SOPHIE RYLAND 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 ultimitely determines the content.

Students may not publish material that is obscene, libelous, or that which

22 opinion

will cause a “substantial disruption to the educational process.” Content that may stimulate heated 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 Rhonda Moore at (512) 414-7539.

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

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A sight for spring

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Dance majors perform in annual spring show

1. Senior Christina Beck talks about her love for the Spice Girls in dance, “Tribe,” choreographed by guest choreographer Amy Morrow who returned for a second year to set a piece.

2. Senior Meg Willamont performs in “Roxie,” a part of the Broadway suite with The Intermediate Ensemble.

3. Junior Lexi Staes performs in “On Broadway” a dance performed by the entire company. Each class got a section of the song to showcase their talents within the dance, culminating in a whole company section.

4. Senior Terrance Carson performs in “Any Other World” taught by guest choreographer Quinton Weathers, the director of Rise Dance Company. This was the first time he has worked with McCallum.

5. The Emerging Dance Group preforms “Alergia de Cadiz,” a flamenco dance choreographed by Olivia Chacon, a guest choreographer who creates a dance every year for the freshmen.

Photos by Maya Coplin.

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24 photo essay

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22 april 2016