McCallum Shield: Volume 63, Issue 3 by The Shield

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McCallum High School / 5600 Sunshine / Austin, TX 78756 / Feb. 5, 2016 Issue 3 / Volume 63

WHATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S INSIDE

Senior Ariana Freitag wins best designer at annual benefit fashion show, STRADA page 16 Seniors race to register to vote as presidential primary season begins page 14

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Faculty votes special education department chair Julie Rigby the 2016 Teacher of the Year. Playwright Stephen Sondheim writes theatre director Denning to confirm he will watch fall musical, Sondheim on Sondheim.

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Spanish teacher Juana Gun wins fourth annual A/V Club Teachers and Tiaras competition with rendition of “Hotline Bling.” Senior bassist Alex Freeman talks about his love of music and his future at the Berklee College of Music and beyond.

sports Seniors Jesse Levy-Rubinett and Hannah Smith play two varsity sports with overlapping seasons.

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Students from LBJ/LASA and McCallum comment on the longstanding rivalry between the two schools.

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Full orchestra concert @ 7 p.m. in the FAT

Boys soccer vs. Crockett @ McCallum: freshman 5:30 p.m., JV 6:30 p.m., varsity 8 p.m.

Presidents’ Day, school holiday

Girls soccer vs. Lanier @ House Park: JV 5:30 p.m., varsity 7:15 p.m.

Late start, classes begin at 10:15 a.m.

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Theatre department’s spring musical, Titanic, @ 7 p.m. in the MAC

Above: Junior Kirby Steckle dribbles the ball down the field during the varsity game against LBJ on Jan. 23. Photo by Maya Coplin. Left: Junior Nellie Johnson models designer Victor Mata’s shirt and pants ensemble. Mata placed second in the competition with his line inspired by Mexico in the ’90s. Photo by Maya Coplin. Cover: Head model Olivia Hardick wears Ariana Freitag’s dress, which has “Her name was Sandra Bland” printed on the back. Her line was inspired by London’s street style and the racial conflicts occurring in America. Photo illustration by Maya Coplin.

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Skip class, no pass New attendance policy requires students to attend 90 percent of class time in order to receive credit

Under the new attendence policy, students must fill out tutoring logs in order to make up the hours they miss in class. Photo by Haley Hegefeld. MADDIE DORAN staff reporter

AISD’s new attendance policy is hitting many students and parents hard. Just ask sophomore Bethany Raup. McCallum administrators communicated AISD’s new policy over winter break to parents through a letter. Raup missed five A-Day class periods and all of her A-day class credits were revoked during the fall semester and her GPA dropped by 0.5. “Last semester I was in check with the previous amount of days missed,” Raup said. Based off of the old policy, Raup was within the credit range, having missed fewer than six classes. “The amount of hours I should have to make up should only be four,” Raup said. “I have to make up 16 hours to receive credits for these classes.” Like Raup, McCallum parent Anissa Ryland also learned of the new policy through principal Mike Garrison’s Dec. 16 letter. Ryland was pretty upset about the new

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policy and wondered how it would affect students. “Changing documented illness to an unexcused absence seems to fly in the face of standard public health practices, as well as common sense,” Ryland said. “Penalizing a student for staying home when they are ill will encourage them to come to school when they are possibly contagious, exposing other students and teachers. This change seems to not only put students and faculty at increased risk, but has the very real potential to have a negative financial impact as well.” Ryland went to district authorities to voice her opinion. “I contacted vice principal Featherstone, and he let me know that this was a districtwide policy, so on Jan. 7, I sent an email to Superintendent Cruz,” Ryland said. Ryland has tried to tweet Dr. Cruz on Twitter, and she posted on Facebook, asking other parents opinions about the policy. “His assistant told me that she would get the letter to him, but I have not heard from

Whether it is their extracurricular commitments, a job, or transportation issues to Saturday school, I worry about the negative impact this may have on keeping children engaged and on track when they have been absent due to illness. -parent Annisa Ryland

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anyone from the district.” “I looked up policies at other Texas districts and from the information provided on their websites and social media pages, it appears that other districts have interpreted the state policies with public health concerns in mind. Most of those I looked up still allowed for a reasonable number of parent-authorized, excused absences due to illness,” Ryland said. “I am simply

looking for an answer on why we can’t do the same.” Ryland is worried about how students will make up the days they missed. “Whether it is their extracurricular commitments, a job, or transportation issues to Saturday school, I worry about the negative impact this may have on keeping children engaged and on track when they have been absent due to an illness,” Ryland said. The school district requires that the hours you missed of school be made up through tutoring hours and makeup work. Raup missed school since she was sick or had a family emergency. She wishes to communicate to AISD that missing school isn’t always something a student can control. “Being sick should be an excused even without a doctor’s note,” Raup said. “Many forms of sickness don’t necessarily call for a doctor.” Excused absences, however, do not count against truancy. If a student misses school for the given amount of days for the semester, they will still have to do the make up hours.

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Pro choice supporters gather on the steps of the Texas Capitol Building Friday, Jan. 22 to celebrate the the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Keynote speakers included an Austin nurse and rabbi as well as a UT student who shared her own story of abortion. Photo by Charlie Holden.

Pro-life supporters marched on the streets of downtown Austin on Saturday, Jan. 23, arriving at the Capitol where guest speakers included Gov. Greg Abbott, who encouraged attendees to continue the fight against abortion. Photo by Charlie Holden.

Anniversary elicits dueling rallies

Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling brings pro-choice, pro-life supporters to Capitol steps MYA NAJOMO staff reporter

A reconciliation bill that would de-fund Planned Parenthood was passed by the House of Representatives on Jan. 6. The vote came after hearings where the House heard vehemently contested allegations that Planned Parenthood might have violated federal laws by selling body parts of aborted babies. According to lifenews.com, the House voted 240-181 with a Republican vote of 239-3 for the bill and a Democratic vote of 178-1 against it. This is the first bill ever to reach the president’s desk that would defund Planned Parenthood. President Barack Obama vetoed the reconciliation bill to defund Planned Parenthood. He believes the bill would reverse all the hard work and improvements in health care in America. Congress can override the president’s veto by passing the act by a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate. Before the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, abortion was a crime. The Supreme Court concluded that a woman’s right to

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make any decision regarding her pregnancy deserved extreme constitutional protection. Pro-choice advocates consider Planned Parenthood to be America’s most reliable reproductive health provider. The organization provides reproductive health care and sex education to all women and men, especially young adults. The sex education they provide is intended to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, to teach about the contraceptive options available and to promote overall good health. At a Texas rally to support pro-choice and celebrate the 43rd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision on Jan. 22, supporters gathered to advocate for the organization. “Planned Parenthood is a really valuable, institution that a lot of people need for a lot of reasons,” said a local Austin man who attended the rally but did not give his name. “I’m pro choice, but abortion isn’t the only thing they do. What they do is essential for many people’s lives.” He added that Planned Parenthood works to provide valuable programs and education that everyone can benefit from and to fight for comprehensive sex education in schools.

The man also praised the organization for fighting for the constitution’s protections established in the Roe v. Wade court decision. “Well I’m gay, I’m a gay activist, and that means that I can tell the government to mind its own business,” the male activist said. “I’ll do what I want to with my own body, and that’s exactly what women are faced with.” The next day at a Texas rally for pro-life on Jan. 23, pro-life advocates argued against a woman’s right to an abortion. “All people should be allowed to be born once they’ve been conceived because I believe life starts at conception, and that [abortion is] murder,” said Janet Krueger, who attended the pro-life rally. “I don’t understand why our United States has allowed that to even get started, and here it’s been 43 years, and it’s still here.” Pro-life advocates believe the decision of abortion should be overturned, and while they don’t support Planned Parenthood’s version of sex education, they do believe that preventative education is essential because the personal costs of abortion are high and not always immediate. “You can get more educated about protect-

ing yourself from actually getting pregnant before the problem, the issue, is there,” rally attendee Elaine Houle said. “It does hurt you, I feel like it just hurts you and the baby once the abortion has begun because you’ll never know the emotional damage until later on, and that’s why people should be more precautious and careful about having sex”. As for the court decision that prompted both rallies, one side might be very happy after the Supreme Court weighs in on Texas House Bill 2. HB 2 is a four-part state law that restricts abortion access. Passed during the 2013 legislative session, the law placed great restrictions on physicians performing abortions that led to the closure of half of the state’s abortion clinics. The law’s provisions have made it harder for poorer women to afford or even qualify for an abortion. The U.S Supreme Court will now consider whether or not HB-2 is constitutional. According to the Chronicle this case is expected to be the most pivotal abortion rights case since 1992, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, and could very well set the course for reproductive health laws across the country for decades to come.

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Making an impact Special education department chair Julie Rigby named Teacher of the Year MARA VANDEGRIFT assistant editor

Special education department chair Julie Rigby was named 2016 McCallum Teacher of the Year on Monday, Jan. 25. The other two finalists were English teacher Nikki Northcutt and math teacher Stephanie Stanley. “It was awesome [to be named Teacher of the Year], it was amazing,” Rigby said. “I’m happy that it happened at McCallum. I think McCallum is an awesome place to work, and it’s just amazing to get it here.” Besides being a department chair, Rigby teaches Algebra II and Math Modeling and is in inclusion economics with Michael Sanabria. “We have several special education students here throughout the campus so [Mr. Sanabria] has about five special education students in his classroom,” Rigby said. “I support those students; I’m like a second teacher for him.” Rigby has been at McCallum since 2006. She left briefly to go to the Ann Richards School before returning. “I’m a class sponsor of 2018,” Rigby said. “I’m [also] a co-sponsor of Project Lunch on Tuesday afternoons, co-sponsor of creative writing on Fridays, and I head the Saturday Winner Julie Rigby (left) stands next to finalists Nikki Northcutt (center) school program.” and Stephanie Stanley (right) at the Teacher of the Year announcement Rigby said that winning Teacher of the ceremony, held after school in the library on Monday, Jan. 25. Year reaffirms what she’s doing as a teacher. “At McCallum, we put kids first, [and] I just think it’s an honor to be involved in tunity to work with special education kids reason why she was named Teacher of the that,” Rigby said. “To win this award here and that just became my love,” Rigby said. Year this year. “I put in a lot of time, and I put in a lot “I’ve done it for the last 23 years, and it’s at McCallum High School [is very special].” of hard work, and I think when you work She also said that being recognized by been awesome.” Rigby has worked hard to help the kids at hard and you dedicate yourself to the cause, her peers at McCallum as Teacher of the McCallum, and she thinks that is part of the people recognize that,” Rigby said. “I think Year is an honor. that’s a lot of [why I was named Teacher of “I think we have a faculty the Year].” of really, really strong teachRigby said the best part of teaching is ers here,” Rigby said. “We working with the kids and that is “everything” have a really strong AP proI think we have a faculty of to her. She hopes to be remembered as somegram, fine arts program, [and] really, really strong teachers one who dedicated herself to the kids and was I think we bring the best of here. ... I think we bring the always there for them no matter what. the best, so to be honored by “I really try to be there for kids both inside them as Teacher of the Year is best of the best, so to be honthe school day and outside the school day,” just incredible to me.” ored by them as Teacher of the Rigby said. “I try and make time to be there Rigby said that her love Year is just incredible to me. for them for whatever they need throughof children and working with out their day. I just think that it’s important them made her want to be-Julie Rigby that when we address the needs of a student, come a teacher and continue we’re not just talking about their needs in the to help them. classroom. If you have needs at home, we’re “I’ve always wanted to work [also] addressing those needs.” with kids, and I had the oppor-

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Responsibilities at McCallum: Algebra II and Math Modeling teacher

Co-sponsor of creative writing

Sponsor of the class of 2018

Co-sponsor of Project Lunch

Head of Saturday school program

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Seniors Ezra Hankin (left) and Kendrick Knight (center), and junior Riley Simpson (right) perform in the theatre department’s productioin of Sondheim on Sondheim. Photo by Zoe Hocker.

Sondheim’s letter to Mr. Joshua Denning. Photo provided by Denning.

Sondheim on Sondheim on Sondheim

After being impressed with show, lawyer connects MacTheatre with famous producer MEENA ANDERSON, JOSEPHINE CLARKE staff reporters

After the successful run of MacTheatre’s Sondheim on Sondheim, theatre teacher and director Joshua Denning was ready for strike. While approaching the stage, however, he was stopped by a man who told him, ‘I represent God.’ “I thought he was a religious activist, or from a church or something, and I didn’t quite understand,” Denning said. “So I was like, ‘Oh…?’ There was a song in the musical called ‘God’ about Stephen Sondheim, and I was clearly confused. Then he said ‘I’m Stephen Sondheim’s lawyer.’” The lawyer proceeded to ask for a DVD copy of the show, promising that the theatre department wasn’t in trouble for violating copyright law. On the contrary, he loved the show, and wished to send it to Musical Theatre International, a very big musical publisher, and Stephen Sondheim. “He said, ‘It’s been [MTI’s] goal for high schools to do their productions and a lot of high schools are scared to do them because the music is so hard,’” Denning said, quoting Sondheim’s lawyer. “‘I want them to see that this is possible

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and that it can be done really, really well.’” Sondheim’s lawyer asked Denning to write a letter addressed to him, to Sondheim, to the head of MTI and to Broadway director James Lapine, explaining the process of directing and rehearsing the show. Sondheim recently got back to him. “[Sondheim’s letter] was dated Jan. 6, and he said he was going to watch it the next weekend, so I’m assuming he’s seen it already,” Denning said. “I hope he just loves it. I hope he sees and feels the purity of having his work interpreted by young artists doing something that adult professionals could do.” When rehearsing Sondheim on Sondheim, Denning made sure all of the actors in the production put their best efforts into it. When he found out that Sondheim was seeing the play, Denning felt blessed. “I feel really honored,” Denning said, “I don’t know what else I could do in this life that would actually be a higher honor than that. He is, in terms of musical theatre, the most brilliant artist that we have in the world. I mean, there isn’t really anyone who has a reputation for being any more innovative, or brilliant, or accomplished, or heartfelt, or amazing

than Stephen Sondheim.” While this is an amazing accomplishment for the theatre community at McCallum, Denning said it shines a bright light upon the school as a whole. “McCallum, every year, seems to get stronger across the board, the whole school seems to get better and better, and I love how the reputation for the school is growing and becoming more positive,” Denning said. “That’s just a huge feather in the cap of all the teachers and students at McCallum. That’s something for the yearbooks and the history books for sure.” Bragging rights excluded, Denning believes students gain so much from the opportunity to go to a school like McCallum. “I think, once you feel like you’re important, you have something to offer,” Denning said. “The Grammy makes us feel like we’re important artists, like we’re important teachers, and this makes us feel important. I don’t mean important like we’re better than other people or arrogant, but I mean important like what we do matters. What we do is worthwhile, there’s value in what we do in terms of education, in terms of building a community in Austin, in terms of making the world a better place, one artist at a time.”

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Soaring to new heights Developer breaks ground on high-rise condo building in Austin, ‘The Independent’ JULIE ROBERTSON photo editor

At the beginning of January, ground broke for the city’s newest high-rise building, The Independent. It will be the tallest all-residential building west of the Mississippi River. Since 2009, the Austonian was the highest at 56 stories, but this one will tower over it at 58 stories. “The Independent is really the final piece in a brand new neighborhood,” said Justin Jacksha, the vice president of new business development at Aspen Heights in Austin. “Our residents will enjoy all the new retail and city amenities currently or planned for construction here. We’ve seen a very diverse group of buyers: singles, families, young and old, you name it.” The Independent will be 685 feet tall and will have 370 condos; the prices for the condos vary widely. According to Perry Lorenz, principle of construction ventures, prices for condos in the Independent will range from $300,000 all the way up to $3 million.

“They’re all different sizes; there are little bitty ones and larger ones,” Lorenz said. “It will surprise you how many retirees [plan to] live there, people coming from Westlake with a 3,500-square foot homes with a swimming pool and a sprinkler system, and now they’re all living downtown and can leave their houses on vacations while they’re away and come back with them exactly the same.” Lorenz went on to say that today, people are realizing that they don’t need a big living room and big bedrooms, because if you live downtown, the entire downtown is your living room. “The draw is that they like the lifestyle,” Lorenz said. “A lot of people that are going to be moving here work downtown, so they don’t need to worry about driving downtown.” The appeal isn’t just for older working adults. Sophomore Karl Lindqvisit lives right in the heart of downtown and loves the convenience. “One of the reasons that I love living downtown is because of the convenience to everything nearby.” Lindqvisit said. Lindqvist lives right near the pedestrian bridge downtown and can’t say enough good things about living there. “One reason that I like living downtown so much is that I am interested in everything that is going up down there,” Lindqvisit said. “Everything I need is in walking distance, which is really convenient.” The people moving to the building will have the advantage of travelling against the rush-hour traffic in the morning, and they won’t have to travel far to get home in the evening. Lindqvist said that when it comes to getting to McCallum every morning, it can be a long commute. “Since McCallum isn’t

downtown, it often takes me a fairly long time to get to school in the morning,” Lindqvisit said. “I have to take the city bus to school in the mornings, which takes a while in itself, then the traffic coming home causes me to be even later then, too.” Although many people can’t afford to live downtown, Lorenz said that their target demographic is not the affordable housing sector, though the city welcomed the donation of $2 million his company made to the affordable housing fund. “You can make better use by putting the money towards affordable housing other places and not in the building,” Lorenz said. “I think it is a better use of the money to put the affordable houses away from downtown where you can get more square footage for less.” Although The Independent will be expensive and out of reach for some, it boasts some premium amenities for those willing and able to spend. According to Jacksha, The Independent is will be a LEED Gold building, meaning it will be one of the most efficient buildings of its size in the city. “As Austin’s downtown continues to become more residential, it’s critical that power and water are conserved and managed well,” Jacksha said. “The amenities are spread across two floors, the ninth and the 34th. The ninth is where the pool is and where the guest suites and lounge areas will be. The 34th floor is more of an owner’s retreat.” Also on these floors there will be an owner’s kitchen, lounge and a private movie theater. Jacksha said that the views on both floors should be stunning. The building looks very similar to a Jenga tower and that is by design. “Our architect, Brett Rhode, uses the term ‘movement’ a lot,” Jachsha said. “There’s energy and movement downtown, and the towers are a bit like watchmen or the titans that oversee the comings and goings of people going about their lives in a vibrant space.” For student Lindqvisit, he says that all the new construction creates new interest every day. “I really like seeing all the new construction being built downtown,” Lindqvisit said. “It’s great because it seems to me like something new is going up every day.” Jacksha said that the project was simply too good of an opportunity to pass up. “It’s truly original, a one of a kind,” Jacksha said. “It’s always incredible to see something come out of the ground from nothing, but this going to be a staple structure in our city and a defining part of our skyline. I hope residents look at it with pride.”

Computer-generated design of The Independent and how it will appear in the Austin skyline. Photo illustration courtesy of Aspen Heights Partners, used with permission.

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Technically speaking

Students, teachers consider the proper means to communicate outside the classroom LAUREN CROSBY staff reporter

When hearing the word inappropriate associated with students and teachers, one immediately thinks of romantic involvement, but the term can also describe a much more common student-teacher interaction: daily communication outside of class. Due to the growth of social media, teachers and students have more ways to communicat than ever before. Texting, e-mailing, and connecting over social networks can be considered inappropriate by the school system. The AISD Educators’ Code of Ethics issued back in 2012, prohibits obvious ethical breeches such as educators providing alcohol or illegal drugs to students or abusing and endangering their students, soliciting or engaging in sexual conduct or a romantic relationship with a student. In addition to these obvious infractions, the code includes many other restrictions on communication between the student and teacher. Things such as texting, e-mailing, instant messaging, blogging and other forms of social-network communicating can be considered inappropriate. “The educator shall refrain from inappropriate communication with a student or minor, including, but not limited to, electronic communication such as cell phone, text messaging, e-mail, instant messaging, blogging or other social network communication,” the Educators’ Code of Ethics states. The problem with the policy is that most students use these forms of communication with their teachers in order to find out things about homework, projects or when they can go to tutoring. Students in band and in the Fine Arts Academy often need their teacher’s number to find out when practice is happening or what events they need to attend. French teacher Melinda Von Rosenberg has been teaching for 26 years and is familiar with the Educators’ Code of Ethics. “I think [the Educators’ Code of Ethics] might be general in nature so that it can be interpreted fairly,” Von Rosenberg said. “You know, it’s common sense [to me].”

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Modern technology has made school communication easier and more complicated to navigate. Photo by Lauren Crosby. On the other hand, English teacher Daniel Myers finds it to be open to more interpretation than it should be. “It feels to me that sometimes things that seem obviously wrong [to me] aren’t officially wrong [with the school],” Myers said. Throughout the years, Von Rosenberg has been cautious. Even with her students creating Facebook pages for things like the French Club, she’s never been a member of them. She prefers to keep her personal life separate from her teaching. “It doesn’t mean I think it’s bad for other people [to use non-school social media accounts to communicate with students],” Von Rosenberg said, “It’s just simpler for me not to do that.” Although Von Rosenberg isn’t one to connect with her students through Facebook, many teachers find it easier to post assignments onto a classroom Facebook page. Some teachers will even create separate Facebook accounts for their students and for their personal life. Myers said the problem in that is that there’s always the potential for these lines of communication to be used inappropriately. Once a student has graduated, Myers thinks it’s fine to become friends with a teacher over Facebook.

It’s the risk that it could turn inappropriate that makes it unacceptable while the student is still in high school, he said. “I wish it was [acceptable to add a student/teacher on Facebook], but I just see it has such a potential for being used inappropriately,” Myers said. “That makes it almost too dangerous to even mess with.” Due to the guidelines put in place, only a few means of safe communication are left. E-mailing is the usual way for students to contact their teachers, but some find it more convenient than texting because many students rarely use their e-mail accounts. Some teachers even use reminder text messages to send to their class to let them know when homework is due or when tests will happen. Since these are a one-way form of communication, they are safter than regular text messages. Even though texting and e-mailing are fairly similar, Myers believes some aspects make them appear different. “It would be super convenient to be able to communicate in a way that’s [safe],” Myers said. “I have kids [who] need help all the time, and I’ll have people e-mail me and that’s OK, but it’s not OK to text. If one of my kids e-mails me, ‘Is this the assignment?’ versus texts me ‘Is

this the assignment?’ All of sudden, it’s weird; somehow, it’s different. They have more personal access to me, though it’s like the same thing. Both of them show up the same way on my phone.” Ramon Walker, a senior band member, knows the importance of being able to communicate effectively with his teachers. Having the ability to text his band teachers has helped him out in many cases when needing to know things such as what uniform to wear for upcoming performances. ”If we are able to talk to our teachers at school, why can’t we appropriately contact them on the phone?” Walker said. “Just asking about an assignment or a uniform is completely appropriate, and it would be ridiculous to label it as inappropriate.” Since the guidelines listed in the Educators’ Code of Ethics are a little vague, it can be hard to know where exactly to draw the line. Von Rosenberg sees the line as being very clear. “Obviously if it becomes of a personal nature, not related to meetings or related to school functions, things that are separate from school,” Von Rosenberg said. “I think that’s when they cross the line.” When it comes to what can cross the line, Walker felt like anything going on outside of school that’s also completely unrelated to the school can be inappropriate for a student and teacher to do together. Walker can also see the importance and the plus side of being friends with a teacher though and finds that being able to talk as more than just student and teacher can make going to school completely different. For example, he and steel drum instructor Mr. Ehlers once wore matching costumes to a McCallum Halloween football game, and Walker considers Ehlers to be a good friend of his. “A friendship with a teacher is completely reasonable to some extent,” Walker said, “I feel like, if you have a friendship with your teachers, you enjoy their class much more, because if they make an allusion or reference to something you know about, you can have a fun little chat about it. Otherwise, you’re just bored to death, suffering through endless lectures about things you don’t care about in the long run.”

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News in a FLASH Committee votes to ask AISD to rename of Lee Elementary The Campus Advisory Council for Robert E. Lee Elementary has voted to formally ask AISD to change the school’s name. The committee is made up of parents, teachers and members of the surrounding Hyde Park community. The elementary school was named after Confederate Army commander Robert E. Lee when it was opened in 1939. “I think it’s great they are wanting to change the name of the school,” senior and Lee Elementary alum Alexia Heinrich said. “We shouldn’t be idolizing Confederates who fought to keep slavery in this country and who are so closely tied with racism.” Many community members agree and believe that the school should change its name to something more representative of Lee. “We had a really awesome principal named Dr. [Mary Lou] Clayton while I was there, and everyone loved her,” Heinrich said. “She knew every family and basically every kid’s name and who their siblings were and just things about your life you wouldn’t expect someone to remember. They keep a picture of her by the office so maybe [they will decide to rename the school] after her.” Even though the committee has asked the district to change the school’s name, the district does not have to do so and has not announced a decision on the matter. “I don’t really remember ever learning who Robert E. Lee was when I was younger,” Heinrich said. “I only knew he was a ‘bad guy’ because my dad did his best to explain

it to me. He always would tell me that it didn’t make sense to name a place of education, or anything really, after what Robert E. Lee stood for.” Heinrich said that while attending Lee Elementary school she didn’t see an issue with the name. “I guess the name never bothered me too much until I was older and understood the significance and who Robert E. Lee really was.” -by Mara Vandegrift

District installs bus cameras to deter stop-sign runners Young Democrats form club to meet today during lunch A middle school student was hospitalized for a week after

being hit by a car walking across Montopolis Drive after exiting an AISD bus on March 4, according to the Statesman. In order to reduce the risk of future bus-related accidents like this one, AISD has launched an initiative to install cameras on the stop sign arms of 30 AISD buses. “Student safety is the reason for the camera installation,” AISD Police Chief Eric Mendez told The Shield. “We want to use every available resource to ensure student safety.” The cameras were installed on Jan. 7 and drivers will start to receive citations in about three weeks from the start of the program. When the cameras were tested last school year they recorded a significant number of citations. “During the testing period last school year we averaged two violations per day per bus for a total of 60 violations a day,” Chief Eric Mendez said.

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Mendez hopes that as drivers become more familiar with the new program, they will stop passing the buses and endangering for students. “We anticipate we will have several violations to start the program,” Mendez said. “As the word spreads about the possibility of a citation, drivers will become more aware of them and not pass buses while loading or unloading.” The transportation director, Kris Hafezizadeh, developed the idea for the program by reading magazines about school transportation and attending conferences. -by Maddie Doran

The Young Democrats Club will meet today at lunch for its first informational meeting. It was created by juniors Hanan Alwan, Grace Bonilla, and Sarah Brownson. “We were really involved in this election,” Alwan said. “We thought of ways we could get younger [kids], like freshmen and sophomores, and everyone else with the same views to sit and watch all the debates and talk about them and what we agree and what we don’t agree with and just vocalize that opinion.” Alwan said that McCallum was a place conducive to the open expression of ideas. “I feel like a lot of people, not specifically at McCallum, but a lot of people, aren’t able to voice their opinions or voice their concerns or differences,” Alwan said. The club is planning on watching debates throughout the year and talk about each candidate and what they think they’re doing right or wrong. “We’re planning on bringing in keynote speakers and just talking about things,” Alwan said. “Grace has connections, so she’s thinking about bringing in some people. [For example] this woman who was the Woman of the Year, the first Latina lawyer of I don’t know where.” Alwan said she hopes the Young Democrats Club becomes a lasting tradition at McCallum even after she, Bonilla, and Brownson have graduated. “I hope that everybody is more comfortable with the political side of things,” Alwan said. “As a younger child, I feel like people think that you’re not supposed to have a say in politics but it’s our future, and I definitely feel like we should be open to all these other things that no one really gets to see.” The club will meet in geography teacher Katie Carrasco’s room, room 114. “This coming election me and Sarah can both vote,” Alwan said. “We get to be part of the next generation of kids who are influencing the world.” -by Mara Vandegrift

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THEN The Roller Racer, came out in the 1970s, became popular in the 1980s and can still be found in preschool playgrounds. Today, it costs an average of $100.

NOW

Vintage Star Wars Stormtrooper released in the 1970s.

Star Wars Stormtrooper released in 2015 after the announcement of the latest film in the franchise.

The Hoverboard, released in 2015, costs an average of $400. Many teenagers received this new technology for Christmas.

A toy’s greatest fear realized

Parents, students discuss the differences in their expectations when they open presents SYDNEY AMELL staff reporter

Almost everyone knows about the popular movie franchise Toy Story. But not many kids today actually have the specific toys from the late 1980s and early 1990s that are featured in the film. The fear that those toys had in the movie has come true: they are being replaced. Instead of the traditional toys, many people now just give gift cards or the toy of the year: a Hoverboard. Many things have changed since our parents were our age, and toys are not an exception. Barbie dolls have changed size, design and now come with more accessories. The Roller Racer has now become the Hoverboard. “A toy is anything that involves something that you can manipulate that involves

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using your imagination,” said Jayson Corbett, the father of freshman Finn Corbett. “The first toy I got was at Christmas in 1972. I was 1 month old. A Hot Wheels car, one that I still have.” Modern toys are a far cry from the simple toys of our parents’ time. Nowadays at Christmas and birthdays, a new phone, a tablet or any other form of technology is the more frequent gift. In general only kids younger than 10 still receive traditional toys. Because of this trend, parents often spend more money. The latest craze, a Hoverboard, costs an average of $400. While in the ’70s a new gaming system cost half of that at $200. “Honestly. I don’t know what the most expensive toy I ever received was,” Corbett said. “Maybe an Atari video game system? Does that count? Or a Millennium Falcon. Maybe $30 back in the day. The highest expectation I remember having was owning

the coolest toys, the hard-to-find ones, the ones all the ‘cool kids’ wanted.” Over the years, many things have changed, not just the toys but also the technology that makes, and is now replacing, them. Kids want what is around them, what they see and hear about. Not only have toys themselves changed, but also kids’ expectations. “Kids want what is advertised,” Corbett said, “what they see on TV or what their friends have. That has never changed. Kids are adjusting for sure. My parents said the same about my generation.” What has changed, Corbett said, is the quality of the toys produced. “Some toys get better. The packaging is prettier, but obviously costs more to produce, which causes the quality of the toy to go down. Technology has made many toys better, obviously, but decreases imagination, in my opinion. For example, in 1977, Star Wars figures bent

at the hips and shoulders. And the head turned. Now they have around 34 points of articulation and come with five weapons instead of maybe one.” According to a poll of 500 parents and grandparents, done by the American Association of Retired Persons, many kids should stop trick-or-treating by the age of 12. By the time students stop trick-or-treating, they stop receiving toys. Freshman Amanda Lambert and her brothers are a perfect examples of this phenomenon. “My two brothers got a jacket and a water bottle because they both like to hike,” Lambert said. “For a gift, I got some new clothes from the thrift store. The oldest toy I remember was a Beanie Baby, the little stuffed animal things. I don’t think I have them any more though; maybe a little cat one that was pretty cute, but I don’t have much of my old stuff any more. I got rid of it.”

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Pageant Material

Fourth annual competition gives faculty a chance to shine outside the classroom

“It’s a very lucky wedding dress. Every time I wear it, I win things.” - Juana Gun

1. Spanish teacher and Teachers and Tiaras winner Juana Gun sings a Spanish class version of “Hotline Bling” by Drake. 2. Counselor and second runner-up Mindy Croom sings her original song, “Everyday Living.” In an interview before the competition Croom talked about her view on winning and losing. “You know life is about winning and losing, and it’s the losing that makes the winning so special,” Croom said. “So if I lose, I’ll just be looking forward to another win somewhere else.” 3. Special Education and life skills teacher Jason Hiatt sings and plays his original song, “Pocket in my Shoe.” During the interview portion Hiatt was asked what class he teaches. “I work with our students here at McCallum that are special needs,” Hiatt said. “And I am so grateful every day to be here, to be with my students, and I don’t have a funny answer for that, ‘cause I love it here.” 4. Juana Gun poses during the evening wear portion of the competition. Gun attributed her win to her lucky wedding dress as well as to her students, or “well-to-do friends,” as she called them. Photos by Charlie Holden.

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Putting a little swing in your state Students, teachers encourage young Texans to vote as primary season heats up Who McCallum seniors are voting for

Source: A Shield survey of 195 seniors “As we’ve seen with Obama’s initial campaign and now with Bernie Sanders and even Hilary Clinton to a certain degree, [young people] getting their voice heard changes the world that their coming into. To start [voting] early on and shaping the world you want to see is going to make a huge difference in later effects. If our parents had really started voting this young, you could see how much progress we could’ve made compared to what we have today.” -senior Willis Wiest

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n the first day of senior year, AP Government student Sarafina FabrisGreen sat at her desk expecting to start preparing for the spring AP test. Instead, she prepared to be a citizen. “Ms. Summerville can register you to vote [at school],” Fabris-Green said. “Having government as a first-semester class was really good because it gave us a good foundation. It kind of tells us what to be considering when voting, and not just the big-ticket items but also our foundations as Americans as a background for our choices.” In her government classes, teacher Erin Summerville gives her students everything necessary to become responsible voters. “I teach how elections work, and I create a lot of relevance and interest for them so that they can have the desire to vote,” Summerville said. “In my opinion, this upcoming primary election is way more interesting and also arguably more important than the general election. So this is an exciting time for my students. [I help them] by making sure they know the process and they know how to vote, and making sure they’re actually developing some interest in the topics.” Since her students are new voters, Summerville said encouraging them to get involved in politics is not always an easy job. “By the time they get to me, my 17- and 18year-olds can be a bit jaded and disengaged from the electoral process,” Summerville said. “They’re not informed enough, and that’s something I try to address. ... There are real ways through the electoral process, and other options beside the electoral process, for making change that people can participate and engage in.” With many seniors turning 18, the presidential primaries will be their first electoral exposure. “[Students] tend to think the November election is exciting, but that’s the one where you’re just choosing between the Democrat or the Republican,” Summerville said. “[For] my folks that say they’re independent or in the middle, who are not a Democrat or a Republican, ... the general election is not making them engaged; it’s not providing them a lot of options.” Since the primaries provide real choices,

Summerville is encouraging her student to engage the process now. “With early voting and how easy it is to vote in Travis County, there’s really no reason not to [vote].” Summerville said. “There are voting places everywhere; there’s even one right here at McCallum.” Summerville, however, isn’t the only teacher actively encouraging seniors to vote. “I encourage my students to vote by handing them a register-to-vote packet every time their birthday shows up on my attendance,” English teacher Tom Watterson said. “It’s important for everybody to vote, but especially high schoolers because the world will soon be theirs and establishing the habit of voting as soon as you are able to turns you into a lifelong voter, which I think is a duty and responsibility of every American.” Ensuring students vote is also important to Watterson because of how hard the process can be. “We don’t go far enough to make sure that everyone who is eligible to register gets registered,” Watterson said. “I am very much in favor of the Motor Voter Act and any effort that would increase the voter registration numbers in the state. I don’t know [if handing out pamphlets is effective] but it’s a direct way to at least remind them to do it. ... I just like to remind kids that on their 18th birthday, in addition to being able to get tattoos and lottery tickets, they can also register to vote, and they should do so as soon as possible.” Even though students’ views don’t line up with other voters in the state, Watterson encourages them to cast their ballots anyway: “I honestly don’t know if it will make a great difference in Texas, where the die seems to often be already cast,” Watterson said. “That said, I believe statistically that younger people tend to vote more Democratic and seeing as how there are no state offices currently held by Democrats, it may very well increase the odds of that happening.” Fabris-Green said it’s difficult being a registered Democrat in this election. “It’s frustrating being a Democrat in a Republican state because of the way the system

IOWA CAUCUS RESULTS: DEMOCRATIC: Clinton: 49.9% Sanders: 49.6%

REPUBLICAN: Cruz: 27.6% Trump: 24.3% Rubio: 23.1%

has been set up to lessen the popular opinion,” Fabris-Green said. “If you are in a state where you’re the minority, it’s harder to have your voice heard. At the same time I agree with the original system that was set up and whichever party is in charge is going to use it to their advantage, but in my position, it’s not working out well for me.“ Despite being a part of the state minority, Fabris-Green plans to “rock the vote” in March and November and advises her peers to do the same. “I think people should still vote because even if a candidate they don’t support winds up winning, at least that candidate will know more of what the people in [their] area desire, so there might be more chance for compromise if [they] realize that not everyone agrees with [them],” Fabris-Green said. As a new voter, senior Willis Wiest is learning which way his representatives lean politically. “[I feel] somewhat [represented by] local government, since I’m now just getting my first experiences of voting, [but] I can’t really say I don’t feel represented,” Wiest said. “I do know from looking at the district maps and how Austin is cut up and segmented, I feel not quite represented. I certainly don’t feel represented by Texas as a state. I don’t align with any of our Texas representatives politically. Wiest said he hopes his vote changes that. “For right now [my vote] is a show of force,” Wiest said. “In terms of looking at the numbers of who America wants as a president, I think you might as well put in your voice to show that there

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is support for this ideology of progress.” After four years at McCallum, Wiest said his political positions have been shaped by the school’s predominately liberal environment. “If nothing else [going to school here] gives you perspective on things because you’re getting to interact with people who are very open about who they are and the beliefs they have,” Wiest said. “Even if you initially disagree with that, you are challenged by them. On the other side of things I don’t think we’re very challenged conservatively. I think, ‘OK, there was Mr. Underwood.’ But who else here as a teacher has really challenged us in debates over positions that no one likes to take? I really did respect that about [Underwood’s class], not to say I agreed with him, but it’s a valuable thing to be exposed to. But even then, the openness of Spectrum and all of the clubs here have made me very tolerant, and it made me more open-minded as a person in terms of what I’m willing to think of, and there’s a lot of things I may have not have even thought about trying to understand if not for the environment of McCallum. That being said, we are in a bubble.” Although his students express strong opinions on political issues, Watterson said he’s concerned that young people will still sit out on the March 1 primary and the November election. “[I think students don’t vote due to] apathy or the feeling that they don’t know enough about an election or a candidate to cast a ballot,” Watterson said. “[I encourage them] to just be aware of the issues and be active in other nonvoting political activities, whether that is participating in rallies or just availing yourself of the knowledge about issues. To me, I want an informed electorate, so informing yourself if you’re unable to vote will pay off down the road when you are.” According to Summerville, the only thing keeping young people from voting is themselves. “The most common thing said to me is, ‘My vote doesn’t matter.’ And I tell them that that is true—if they don’t vote.” Summerville said. “If you vote and if your demographic would turn out to vote, you would be heard. Politicians listen to voters and if you don’t vote, you’re right, [your voice] won’t be heard.”

Voting Rates, by Age, for the VotingAge Citizen Population: 2012

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2012.

“Young people need to vote because we’re severely underrepresented. More people are voting as they get older, and with the amount of young people in our country, if everyone voted, we would have much more power. A lot of young adults, and especially teenagers, feel like they’re not getting their voices heard, but they’re making it so they can be.”

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Putting a little swing in your state Students, teachers encourage young Texans to vote as primary season heats up Who McCallum seniors are voting for

From top clockwise:

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IOWA CAUCUS RESULTS: DEMOCRATIC: Clinton: 49.9% Sanders: 49.6%

REPUBLICAN: Cruz: 27.6% Trump: 24.3% Rubio: 23.1%

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Voting Rates, by Age, for the VotingAge Citizen Population: 2012

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2012.

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n show McCallum stages annual fashio

with lines inspired by countries

MAYA COPLIN photo editor

Senior Ariana Freitag won best designer in McCallum’s annual fashion show held in the MAC on Saturday Jan. 16. Since three-time winner Calla Bordie graduated, this year’s competition was wide open.

Photos by Maya Coplin

ARIANA

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“I have always loved fashion,” Freitag said. “It has always been something that I have been really inspired by throughout my whole life. And I’ve watched a lot of Project Runway, which is pretty funny, and I made clothing for myself. I always wanted to do fashion show, but I never really took the initiative to do it until this year. I realized it’s my last opportunity to really do it.” Freitag describes her line as avant-garde but also simple, with added lacing that brings the designs to the next level. The theme of the show was street style from around the world. Freitag’s line was inspired by the British subcultures of fashion. “I felt like it gave me a lot of opportunities to pull from different subcultures that developed in London,” Freitag said. “I then just used that to create what I wanted to create. Freitag used her line to present a political message. She chose to spotlight Sandra Bland, a recent victim of police brutality in Texas by screen printing the message “Her Name Was Sandra Bland” on the back of each dress in her line. Bland was pulled over for a minor traffic violation on July 10 in Prairie View. The incident quickly escalated causing her incarceration. Three days later, she was found dead in her jail cell. Her death was ruled a suicide. “It seems to be very fishy,” Freitag said. “It makes me upset because we didn’t get answers towards something like this where there is a lot of suspicion that it wasn’t a suicide, and it makes me upset because a lot of black people are at risk for police brutality in America, and we have such a high death rate of black people at the hands of police compared to other countries, and that shouldn’t be the case here in America. We are a first-world country, and we need to treat everybody fairly, and we are moving back-

around the world

CELESTE wards in terms of civil rights sometimes.” Freitag hopes her line will encourage people to learn about Sandra Bland and her case and to reexamine their role in our society. She wants them to think about how to be allies for people of color and the violence that they may face. “I just wanted to bring the story back to her because she might have been fading out of the media,” Freitag said. “We don’t need to forget her name, and we don’t want to forget what happened to her. We want to keep on talking about this, so we can go and fix it.”

VICTOR

Junior Victor Mata won second place in Strada with a line inspired by the chola look in Mexico in the ’90s. Mata took a modern approach to the classic chola look by adding a halter and fitting the jeans in his line. “At first, the theme was street wear,” Mata said. “I was so influenced by the Virgin Mary all of a sudden. I was like, ‘I’ll do Mexico because Catholicism is very focused. They have a really good religious aesthetic like the Virgin Mary and depictions of symbols.’ Then I needed to find a street style that would go with that so chola would.” It was the first time he participated in the show, and it was the first time he had completed a large sewing project on his own. Mata plans on going to college for fashion design or fashion merchandising. “At first it was a hobby,” Mata said. “Then throughout the designing process I found that I really like [fashion]. I love the challenge and manipulating fabric. I’ve always been interested in fashion, and I’ve always wanted to do something like [fashion show]. It was an experience.” Mata wasn’t nervous for the fashion show in the same way he would be for a theater show. He was only nervous whether people would like the line or not. His favorite memory from the show was watching his line go down the runway. “I almost started crying,” Mata said. “It was such a proud moment for me. I was watching from backstage stage left with the other designers. They were like ‘Yes! It looks so good’ We were all talking about the designs as they were coming down.”

While other lines featured pallets of gray and dark brown, senior Celeste Debardelaben’s line featured bright florals and a-line dresses. Debardelaben won third place with dresses that she described as contemporary and more doneup than normal street style. “I wanted to do a-line flowing clothes,” Debardelaben said. “Once I had that idea, and they announced that it was countries, I kind of picked a country that embodied that, so I thought Spain would work well.” This year was the second year Debardelaben participated in fashion show. She said she felt more comfortable this year because her peers were directing it. She originally joined fashion show her junior year because her friend Domino Jones had previously participated in the event. “I really like clothes,” Debardelaben said, “and combinations of what I can express and what I can do with what I wear. I think I’m interested in how that relates to the way people see each other. It seemed like designing would be an interesting way to explore that.” Although she does not plan to pursue fashion design in college, her experience designing for fashion show has helped Debardelaben create costumes for musical theater at McCallum and manage large groups of people. The experience has also taught her to think in more realistic terms. Debardelaben does want to study the role of gender in fashion. “[I] want to pursue gender and the idea of how fashion relates to the idea of gender and what that means moving forward in a society that is more experimental or exploratory in terms of that,” Debardelaben said. This year Debardelaben worked hard and spent more time making sure her clothes were well-made. “Walking out on stage with my line was one of my favorite things to do,” Debardelaben said. “It feels super exhilarating especially this year because there were so many people here. I was so excited. It feels really nice especially when you are proud of your work to go out on stage and be like, ‘I made this!’ and be a representative for it.”

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“I figured at best we have maybe 80 years, and I don’t want to do something that I don’t enjoy doing.”

MAYA COPLIN

photo editor The Shield: What is your major? Alex Freeman: I am an orchestra major. TS: What made you interested in orchestra? AF: Truthfully, it was the only way I could get into the school. I was definitely interested in pursuing an arts career but definitely not in doing orchestral stuff. But I do enjoy playing that sort of stuff. TS: Did you apply to college for music? AF: Over the summer I applied and auditioned at the Berklee School of Music, and I got accepted with a partial scholarship there. TS: What made you decide to go to school for music rather than academics? AF: I figured at best we have maybe 80 years, and I don’t want to do something that I don’t enjoy doing. Music is what I enjoy doing, so I figured if I could make money doing it, that’s pretty awesome. TS: What went through your head when you found out you got into Berklee? AF: I was in the summer program, and I auditioned as well. The way they did it was I went to a summer program at Berklee, and they announced all the scholarships. It was

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Artistically Speaking: Alex Freeman

Senior orchestra major accepted into Berklee School of Music five weeks and at the end of the five weeks they had a concert. They had a presentation basically with all the scholarships. They would list them off. I was sitting with a bunch of friends of mine, and one of us got the first one. I was like “Yeah!” and then there was another one who was sitting right next to me who got another one, and then it was me. It was surreal because when they got it, I was like shaking them, and then when it was me, I was just like, “That happened.” It was less momentous than I though it would have been. It was still exciting; it hit me afterwards that “Oh, I did it!” For me, playing music is being able to write and be creative with it, not necessarily playing notes that are written on a page. If at all possible, I’d like to be able to write and play my own stuff for people. TS: What instrument do you play? AF: I’m primarily a bass player, but I’m also a pianist, and I also play steel drums as well. TS: What is your favorite thing about music? When I play, like when I get really into it: everything just goes away. I’m in my own little bubble, and I just lose myself in it. It’s such a

cliché answer, but it’s really what it is. TS: What is your goal for the future involving music? AF: Hopefully being able to live semi-comfortably just playing music not having to have a regular job. And hopefully being able to create something that other people can enjoy and make a living by doing that. TS: What is your greatest accomplishment so far? AF: A friend of mine wrote music for a musical, and I got to play in that and that was supremely cool. That was really fun. ... It was The Garden of Adah; it was written by Wyatt Martin who graduated last year. TS: What is the process you go through to write your own music? AF: It just happens. It’s not something that I will necessarily sit down and I’m going to write something. Stuff will pop into my head, and I have to plunk it out on the piano. I tend to have it be more organic and natural. ... In the process of that, it develops, but if not, it just sounds forced and contrived. TS: What is your role in the orchestra program at McCallum?

AF: I am one of the bass players in the chamber orchestra. Whenever they need someone to play electric bass for the choir or musical theater, I do that as well. TS: What is the difference playing in a group or playing solo? AF: For me as a bass player, there isn’t really a lot of just playing by myself. It all really comes down to listening. For me, I have to listen and make sure I’m not stepping on anyone’s toes. I’m supporting the melody, so if I’m taking away from that, then I’m not doing my job, and I would probably get fired. It all comes down to listening and being aware of what’s going on and being able to react to it as well. TS: How did you prepare for the audition? AF: You could submit a request to audition, and they would notify you. I applied really late, so I didn’t think I would get a spot, but they notified me about five days before the audition that I had a slot. I had something under my fingers that I had to work back up. Normally, you have a lot more time beforehand so you know what to do and what to expect.

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May the trilogy be with you Your guide to the most popular Star Wars: The Force Awakens fan theories as posted on social media begun tearing itself apart in an effort to RACHEL WOLLEBEN assistant editor

If you’re trying to avoid spoilers, look away now! Since the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Dec. 14, the Internet has

predict how this new Star Wars trilogy will progress. Fan theories to answer burning questions left unanswered by the film have been trending on all forms of social media, but how are you supposed to keep track of the most prominent ones? This guide to some of the most popular fan theories should help you out!

Who is Supreme Leader Snoke? 1.

He is Darth Plagueis, a legendary Sith lord with the ability to cheat death, that Emperor Palpatine tells Anakin about in the prequels. Evidence for this can be heard in John Williams’ musical theme for Snoke, which is very similar to Palpatine’s theme in the prequels. Snoke is Darth Vader brought back from the dead. They share the same facial scars decrepit appearances. And having Snoke be Darth Vader would explain Kylo Ren’s devotion to both Darth Vader and this Supreme Leader Snoke.

Who is Rey, and where did she come from? 1. 2.

She’s Luke Skywalker’s long lost daughter. They both share strong force abilities, piloting skills, a mystical connection to Luke’s lightsaber, and similar story arcs. Rey is Obi Wan Kenobi’s granddaughter. They have similar accents and a shared tendency to use the Jedi mind trick Director J.J Abrams himself confirmed that Ewan McGregor’s (the actor who played Obi Wan in the prequels) voice speaks to Rey during her lightsaber vision. She is simply a random orphan with no connection to any character previously introduced in the Star Wars films. This can be proven by the complete lack of discussion on her backstory in The Force Awakens, and the convenient fresh start that would be made by focusing on a non-Skywalker family member for the new trilogy.

Why did Kylo Ren, or Ben Solo, turn to the Dark Side? 1.

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Because he is a double agent who saw through Snoke’s manipulations and joined the Dark Side to kill him but decided to do this alone because he rejected Luke’s philosophies. This can be proven in The Force Awakens when Kylo Ren clearly explains that he feels his personality is being torn in two and that he knows what he must do to stop that. He was just an innocent kid who couldn’t resist the daunting influence of the Dark Side. This has happened to numerous promising Jedi throughout the Star Wars films, including Kylo Ren’s own grandfather, Anakin Skywalker.

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Not at a LASA for words

Students from LASA and McCallum share their views on the rivalry The Shield: What fuels your rivalry against LBJ? Senior Nico Madrid: I highly dislike how there’s a separation of LASA and LBJ students. When you ask kids that go to LASA like, ‘Oh do you go to LBJ?’ They’ll say, ‘Oh no I go to LASA.’ But then when we talk about sports, they’re like, ‘Oh no we play for LBJ.’ And I’m just like, ‘Ok make a distinction already, you can’t just choose one when you want to.’ TS: As a former LASA student, how does McCallum compare to LASA? NM: Better in every single way. I mean I was just unhappy, I didn’t like the people, and there were pretty much two groups. At LASA there were nerds and jocks and so if you didn’t fit into either of those groups then you were just kind of left out; I didn’t like the jocks, and I couldn’t really have fun with the nerds, so I booked. TS: What’s it like after we lose a game? NM: It was devastating. I was just so done with football after that. I was like, ‘Alright just end the season. Just count us out.’

Senior Claire Sanford

LASA senior Luis Lopez

senior Nico Madrid

The Shield: What fuels your rivalry against LBJ? Senior Claire Sanford: Well, I went to Kealing Middle School, and it feels like half of us went to McCallum, and half of us went to LBJ and I just feel the need to beat them. Like it’s pretty playful because I am friends with a lot of them, but I want to beat them. TS: Does the rivalry continue outside of sports? CS: Definitely. If we’re at a friend’s house, and there’s LBJ and McCallum kids, there’s definitely some tension sometimes in the room in social aspects. It never gets too serious, but we’ve had some rap battles outside of sports. I mean it’s definitely there; the tension’s there. TS: What’s it like after you lose a game? CS: Honestly, I get really salty. It just feels like complete disappointment. I don’t even know how to describe it; it’s just the biggest letdown.

LASA senior Mark Moreno The Shield: What’s it like after you lose a game against LBJ? Senior James Sullivan: It’s really sad. You go out to eat, and you just want to eat yourself to death, and you go home and look yourself in the mirror and go, ‘You’re better than this!’ It’s pretty rough. TS: What happens when you win a game? JS: You just want to go out and celebrate. It’s a really big confidence booster, and you think, ‘I’m on top of the world. I’m that guy.’ TS: Is the rivalry ever intense off the field? JS: With the actual players, yes it is. Like the other night I saw LBJ’s point guard at the gym, and we just didn’t say a word to each other. We just stared at each other.

senior James Sullivan

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The Shield: What personal rivalries do you have with LASA? Freshman Griffin Smith: My cousin, Fox. I think playing against him will be interesting because he plays striker; I play center back. So not only will we be playing him, but I’ll be marking him. So I mean I’ve played a lot with him before, but not like this. TS: Is LASA your top team to beat for soccer? GS: In our district, LASA is a good team, but I think there are also other teams that are better. But LASA is definitely our biggest rival. I think a lot of people who went to McCallum and LASA came from middle schools together, and since they’re so close together, a lot of the students were zoned [together], so they know each other really well and there’s a lot of history that goes back personally between the different players on the teams. So that’s why I think it’s so intense. TS: What do you dislike the most about LASA? GS:I just don’t like it in general, I mean the idea of all that work: it sounds like torture.

LASA senior Andreas Toprac

freshman Griffin Smith

The Shield: What’s it like playing against people you know? LASA senior Andreas Toprac: I just try to hurt them as much as possible because I know them. So I just try to go out there and break their legs because it’s fun. I mean they definitely try to hurt us back. The Shield: What’s it like when y’all lose to McCallum? LASA senior Isaac Ramirez: Honestly it’s heartbreaking. I wanted to cry the night of the football game when we lost to McCallum. Honestly it’s like, ‘Dang we lost to McCallum, but we just have to get them in the next game because usually we play them in two sports.’ And like even when we did lose I was like, ‘Well I know we’re going to come back senior year and beat them at House Park.’ TS: What makes you most mad about McCallum? IR: They stole all the pretty girls and boys. Look who I’m working with! But seriously, I mean we know people from there; it’s fun to fight friends.

LASA senior Isaac Ramirez The Shield: What’s it like playing against people you know? Senior Josephine Smith: It’s fun; you really get into the game. We always play a lot better against teams who challenge us, so I guess they can challenge us in that way, and since we know people, it’s fun to play against them and tackle them. TS: So do you try to hurt them? JS: I mean we’re not trying to intentionally hurt anyone. I mean we give it our all. But if someone gets a foul, I mean, what happens, happens. TS: For soccer how intense do you think the rivalry is compared to other teams? JS: It’s definitely our biggest rivalry. Like that’s the game we look forward to the most and the most people come to it to support us.

senior Josephine Smith

-reporting and design by Hannah Ilan

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District 26-5A Roundup Winter sports highlights and previews

BEN BROWN sports editor

Knights basketball With an 8-4 record in district play after Friday night’s 59-52 victory over Reagan the Knights sit in the last playoff spot at fourth place in district 26-5A, behind thirdplace Reagan (8-3), second-place Lanier (10-1), and first-place LBJ (8-0). They have a 5 1/2-game lead over fifth-place Crockett. With four games remaining, the Knights are eying the playoffs. Since suffering back-toback losses at the hands of Lanier and LBJ, the Knights have won three straight against Eastside Memorial, Bastrop and Reagan. The Reagan win was capped off with an incredible 10-point comeback that occurred in the final three minutes of the game. That win virtually sealed the Knights’ playoff chances. Senior forward Cedric Sanders says the recent winning streak can be attributed to the team becoming more a unit. “We have been working hard as a team trying build chemistry and becoming strong as a group,” Sanders said. Sanders said the Reagan game really demonstrated and showed the team chemistry they had been building all season “We were down by 10 in the fourth quar-

The Knights huddle before a home victory against Reagan. Photo by Grace Brady.

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ter, and I just kept saying ‘I don’t want to lose.’ When we cut the lead to two, I knew it was ours because they were shocked. They wanted us to give up and hand it to them. We took it one possession at a time, and we were able to win. It was our team chemistry, we all had to step up and make plays for us to be successful that night,” Sanders said. Sanders said the goal for the rest of the year is simple: win. “The goal for the rest of the year is to win our remaining regular-season games and work hard to prepare for the playoffs,” Sanders said. Sanders attributed some of the team’s early-season challenges to the fact that they weren’t playing as a team, which makes sense because this year’s team features eight first-year varsity players on the 14-man roster. “We were challenged early with building team chemistry, Sanders said. “It took time for us to learn to play as one but as games went on, we were finally able to use each other’s strengths.” Sanders has been one of the team’s most important players, especially on the offensive end. During the offseason, he said he worked tirelessly to improve his game “I worked hard,” Sanders said. I wanted this season to be my best. I wanted to improve all of the little things to help my game and for me to be a better player.”

Lady Knights soccer

Following the loss of senior Josephine Smith and sophomore Molly Blankenship to early-season knee injuries and the loss of several key players to graduation, the Knights (0-1-1) are off to a slow start through two games. Junior captain Emily Goulet says even with all the turnover, the team has meshed well so far. “There’s been a lot of change with our team this year,” Goulet said. “Between graduating players and the injuries, we have a really young team and a lot of new girls out on the field. We’ve all had to get used to playing with each other and learning each other’s tendencies in order to put all of our strengths together to connect the best we can.”

need to be hungrier to win and score and just leave it all out on the field.” The Lady Knights next game is 10:45 a.m. tomorrow against Eastside at Nocak.

Knights soccer

Sophomore Izzy Gillespie sprints to the ball during a 6-0 win over Reagan. Photo by Maya Coplin. Goulet says the injuries didn’t really have an effect on the mindset of the team. “Two of our key starters had seasonending ACL tears in our opening scrimmage against San Marcos,” Goulet said. “This is heartbreaking for many reasons, and they are greatly missed on the field. But as far as the mindset of the team, we just have to keep working hard to move past it since there’s nothing we can do. All we can do is support our teammates through their surgeries and recovery. It made me feel fortunate to be healthy, and I just have Josephine and Molly in my heart when I play. I want to do my best in honor of them since I know they would be out here playing if they could.” The Lady Knights had to endure a tough nondistrict schedule, but Goulet thinks it has prepared them well for district play. “We played some tough teams to get ready for district, and I think that those games have pushed us to figure our team dynamic out quickly,” Goulet said. “We didn’t really have many easy games to mess around; we really hit the ground running. I think we are well-prepared moving into district after playing a lot of really talented teams.” Goulet says there are many ways that the team can improve. “There are infinitely many things that need work because I don’t think anyone can ever be perfect at playing soccer,” Goulet said. “Specifically for us, if we can communicate and learn our teammates’ habits and ways of playing better, it could serve us really well. Also, I think that we need to work on our toughness and sense of urgency. We

After a 2-2-1 start in district play with losses to Lanier and LBJ, the boys varsity soccer team has turned it around winning two straight against Bastrop and Reagan. The Knights played a very tough nondistrict schedule, including playing the 2012 5A state champs, Sharyland, out of Mission. Starting goalkeeper and senior captain Hayden Price says the tough losses have prepared them well for the season ahead. “So far I’d say our season started out pretty rough,” Price said, “but we are definitely improving every game, and we can start to see the positive results as a part of that.” There is still much room for improvement, Price said. “We need to improve on team defense, finishing games and scoring when we get our chances,” Price said. This is Price’s second year as a captain, so there are certain things he tries to do while on the field. “I try to keep things moving positively, and I try to keep us calm,” Price said. “I also try to get us excited for every single game, so that we can enjoy it and do our best.” The Knights next game will be against Travis on Monday at 7:15 p.m. at House Park.

Junior Captain Sacco Fernandez dribbles the ball against rival LBJ. Photo by Ben Brown.

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Double Duty

Seniors share their experiences of being on two teams since freshman year The Shield: What two sports do you play? Hannah Smith: I play softball and soccer. I started both when I was 4. Well I started baseball when I was 4, and then I transitioned into softball when I was about 11. I have three older siblings, and they each played baseball and

-Photo by Hannah Smith The Shield: What two sports do you play? Jesse Levy- Rubinett: Baseball and basketball. I’ve been playing both of them since I was like 4 or 5, basically my whole life. I guess my dad got me into it. It was a familial thing. TS: Are you gonna continue any of them into college? JLR: Yeah, I’m going to play baseball at Wesleyan University. I did get recruited, but it was kind of like a mutual process because I contacted them first and then told

-Photo by Maya Coplin

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soccer growing up, so it was just kind of like tradition in our family. TS: Why did you continue to play them through high school? HS: I got the chance to play soccer in middle school, and I played softball on an outside league, but I guess I kind of wanted to pursue both because I hadn’t focused on one, and I liked both of them equally. Like I get asked all the time which one is my favorite, and I don’t really have one. I guess I just didn’t really want to pick one over the other. TS: What has each of them taught you? HS: I guess softball has taught me that if I really love something, to just stick with it because we had a hard time with our coach, so just learning to deal with that, I learned how much I really loved softball when I realized I could put that part aside and keep playing. Soccer has taught me how to work towards something in order to achieve it because I was on JV freshman year and that them what camp I was going to be playing at, and they saw me play there. And then I just emailed the coach and went and visited, and so they recruited me, but I kind of had to reach out first. TS: What have each of them taught you? JLR: Basketball has taught me that you have to put in a lot of energy and effort and focus and positive attitude to be able to succeed. Baseball taught me that that stretching is important. No, I’d say that baseball has taught me that you have to be confident in yourself and have a really short memory because a lot of bad things can happen, and you can’t let them affect you the next time you’re hitting or something. You have to sit around and wait to hit for a couple of innings so you can easily just be thinking about it the whole time whereas in basketball the next play happens right after the last one, so there’s a lot

was a bummer, but I worked really hard and made varsity sophomore year, so it was like a goal I set for myself, and I achieved it. TS: What’s that overlap time like? HS: It’s really hard because there’s not really any break at any point. So like instead of having two games every week, I have up to four per week. So I’ll have like a Monday night soccer game, and then a Tuesday night softball game, and then I’ll have a Friday softball game and then a Saturday soccer game. And then whatever days I’m not having a game, I’ll be at one or the other’s practices. So I’ll have like two days out of the week that I’ll actually come home from practice and be able to work on homework, and that’s really tough. Like sophomore year during the research paper, the bulk of it was right in the middle of the season, so that was really hard. I guess school work just always adds up at this point, and that’s like in the middle of both seasons. TS: Do you feel like fans are more supportive of one sport than the other? HS: I feel like softball is kind of the butt of time in baseball when you’re just sitting there not doing anything, and you can get yourself worked up in your head over time. TS: Is it difficult juggling school and two sports at the same time? JLR: It is, but I don’t really notice it as much anymore because I’ve been doing it for so long. But I would say there’s just significantly much less free time, and when I do have it, I’m just really tired. If I get home from practice around eight or nine, I don’t really feel like doing a bunch of homework, so it makes it a lot more difficult in general. TS: Which season do you get more excited about? JLR: I’d say I get more excited about basketball, not because I like it more, but because when we start school, we’re in basketball class for a month or so before the season starts, so we’re working towards it like all year so it’s more of a buildup, whereas in baseball I go over when basketball is finished, so it’s hard

of the joke sometimes. Like my friends are more willing to go to my softball games than my soccer games. Whenever my friends are at my games, it’s kind of distracting. It’s nice that they come and support me, and it’s encouraging. But at the same time when it’s just my parents and the other parents in the stands, I can focus more on the game and not worry about messing up in front of my friends. TS: How has both sports shaped your high school experience? HS: It feels a little bit like my whole high school experience has revolved around sports. But at the same time since both sports happen in the spring semester, I don’t feel like I’ve only done my time doing sports because I have time to do other things. But I’ve definitely made a lot of friends through both of them, and I remember trying out for soccer freshman year and not knowing anyone trying out, and I was really scared, but now I know the entire team and a bunch of the JV players as well, which is cool. And it’s really cool to interact with people in other grades since they’re not in your classes. for me to get excited for the start of baseball when I’m still playing basketball. TS: Is one sport more nerve-wracking during games than the other? JLR: Yeah. I would say baseball. Just because with basketball I can kind of work around the nerves because I get in the game, and I’m going full speed, and I get in the game. But in baseball you’re standing around so much, it’s a lot harder to ignore your surroundings when you’re standing there waiting between all the action. TS: What will it be like leaving both teams this year? JLR: I haven’t really thought about it honestly. Wow, that is kind of weird. Honestly, I haven’t really thought about it at all. I think it’ll be sad, but I feel like I probably won’t think about it that much. I’m sure I’ll be sad when I can’t play basketball anymore when I’m done, but I guess until that point I won’t think about it.

-Reporting and design by Hannah Ilan

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How to get away with mistrial The real problem with Netflix’s Making a Murderer

NATALIE MURPHY Co-editor-in-chief

“Poor people lose all the time.” Steven Avery sat in his jail cell in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, dressed in Mr. Monopoly’s cartoon jumpsuit, on the phone with the only people who believed his story: his parents. A jury of his peers was being assembled to decide whether he should go back to the same prison to which he was wrongfully sentenced 20 years earlier, after being framed for the rape of a local woman. “They got to my head.” Brendan Dassey, Avery’s nephew, sat in an interrogation room with his mother, the only person who was still on his side after he gave testimony confessing that he was involved in the mutilation and murder of Teresa Halbach. Dassey, who was 16 at the time, was more concerned with getting back to school to finish his science project than the pending murder investigation. A cold blooded killer, clearly. “This can’t be happening.” I sat on my couch, yelling at a 2006 courtroom filled with people who can’t hear me. Making a Murderer, the Netflix original documentary about the Avery and Dassey trials, both of which took place in rural Wisconsin in 2007, has flooded news feeds and online forums since the documentary’s release on Dec. 18. Among those angry Internet commentators is me. I stayed up until three in the morning for a solid week, both intrigued and disgusted by the controversial details that made up the famous case. Though there have been hundreds of reviews, theories and protests to prove Avery innocent of the 2005 murder, my own psyche can’t get past the hot mess that was the Dassey trial. The documentary shows Dassey’s confession, clearly exposing the corrupt manipulation used by his interrogators. It was in the best interest of the Manitowoc County Police Department to put Avery behind bars due to his recent lawsuit against them after his exoneration from a 1985 conviction after new evidence suggested that Avery had been framed. Dassey’s confession was the strongest evidence the

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Brendan Dassey (right) cries to his mother Barb Tadych (left) after police interrogation. Image courtesy of Netflix. state had to this point. It put Teresa Halbach in Avery’s garage at the time of her murder, and a 16-year-old with learning disabilities behind bars for life. The coerced confession was not the only travesty committed by the state in Dassey’s trial. The original attorney assigned to Dassey by the state, Len Kachinsky, expressly told Dassey he believed he was guilty and kept Dassey’s legal guardian from crucial information and communication during the trial. When Dassey requested a new lawyer, he was originally denied one. It wasn’t until Avery’s attorney, Dean Strang, stepped in to provide crucial evidence against Kachinsky that the court finally granted Dassey an unbiased lawyer. Still the damage done by

Kachinsky’s investigator who coerced Dassey into further false testimony was not sticken from the prosecution case against him. Another legal blunder was that no one ever explained why Dassey’s mother, his legal guardian, wasn’t present for his interrogation. Even worse, they never asked for her consent to interrogate him and then told Dassey that she had granted her consent. All of these acts are criminal offenses since Dassey was a minor at the time. The prosecution also never shared the gaping holes in Dassey’s own testimony. On the stand, Dassey finally spoke up for himself, and explained in a bombshell statement that he read his “testimony” directly from the plot of a novel he had read in school. Dassey’s testimony

depicting Avery’s alleged act of murder mirrors the violence found in James Patterson’s Kiss the Girls and is every bit as fictional. And then the final straw: the confession video. The interrogators desperately wanted Dassey to confess that he shot Halbach in the head, so they set him up with the prompt, “What happened to her head, Brendan?” “We cut her hair?” He wants so badly to get the story right; you can hear it in his voice. Dassey goes on to confess to a series of violent events he hopes could possibly be the end to his prosecuters’ blatant manipulation. Finally, the detective gives up: “Who shot her, Brendan?” I rose from my seat in shock. “You can’t do that!” Surely this was the end. This was the episode where the Manitowoc Sheriff’s Department gets shut down, Avery and Dassey go home and their family finally gets some justice. But no, Dassey is found guilty of all counts against him and sentenced to life in prison. Other than these plot points, the documentary focuses primarily on Avery’s trial, and rightful so. The prosecution is riddled with reasonable doubt and unanswered questions. But for me the biggest miscarriage of justice carried by the state of Wisconsin is Dassey’s conviction. Honestly, I don’t know if Steven Avery is guilty or not. But when a 16-year-old kid who was coerced by detectives, bullied by his biased lawyer and used as the prime evidence against his own uncle admits under oath that he took his confession directly from the plot of a novel he read in school is sent to prison for life, I can’t sit by and watch anymore without calling for real change. We shouldn’t walk away from our binge watching of this show, forgetting its plot as soon as we’re hooked on the next sitcom Netflix “recommends for you.” Regardless of opinions about Avery’s role in this murder, the truth we should be taking from the show is that when the system is threatened, we are all suspects in this case. If investigators can get away with feeding classified information to 16-year-old and call it a confession, what is keeping any of us from being framed? If our justice system fails even one person, it has failed us all.

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A heavy burden for Texas to carry The new open-carry law has many in the Lone Star State fearing for their safety

JULIE ROBERTSON staff reporter

It would be a nightmare to have to pick up your phone during school and hear that someone very close to you has been injured or killed in a shooting rampage. They may or may not make it, but all you know is that someone ruthless and heartless has decided to open fire on a bunch of helpless people. I feel many mixed emotions when it comes to the open-carry law and the issues it raises. Some people completely support open carry because they feel that it is their right to carry a gun and that the government should not be taking this right away from them. Other people support the law because they feel that they will be better protected if a shooting were to break out somewhere. My fear, however, is that people who are simply not smart enough to be able to handle guns properly now have the power to do so. My mom is a professor at University of Texas and when the campus carry law goes into effect on Aug. 1, she will have to ask her students to not bring their guns into class as

a safety precaution. She isn’t looking forward to it. She is worried that some of her students will not take her request the right way. Another rule that rankles some UT students is the rule that they are not allowed to have guns in their dorms, yet a guest to the dorm is allowed to possess an open-carried gun. To make matters even more complicated, since the open carry law went into effect on Jan. 1, gun owners can now carry their guns into businesses or restaurants. I have been to multiple restaurants and movie theaters where store owners post these massive signs that prohibit customers from bringing their guns in. Scary that they even have to put up those signs? Yes. But is it necessary to put up those signs? Definitely yes. Long story short, I feel like the decision was just one of those big government decisions where individual freedom trumped general safety. Even the chancellor of University of Texas said that this law should definitely not be passed, because of the safety risks. I don’t want to have to constantly worry if my mom will have to be safe when she leaves to teach her class, but that’s a worry I will just have to carry.

Things to bring to class: 1. Paper 2. Pens 3. Guns

Cartoon by Julie Robertson

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Open carry facts: Gun owners may display their guns in their cars. They no longer have to be concealed. You must be 21, pass a background check and receive classroom instruction to have an open-carry license. The person handling the gun is allowed to have it loaded at all times. Any holster that is attached to the belt, no matter where is is on the belt is allowed.

Source: opencarrytexas.org

MEENA ANDERSON staff reporter

The new open carry law, passed Jan. 1, lets Texans carry guns--ranging from pistols to rifles--in public, with the exception of federal buildings, certain schools, sporting events, correctional facilities and businesses that post a complaint sign showing that firearms aren’t wannted on the property. The law states that businesses that make more than 51 percent of their profit from onsite alcohol automatically must prohibit guns in their establishments. Certain businesses, like Brooks Place, a barbeque trailer in Houston, gives customers a 25 percent discount if they have a firearm with them while ordering their meal. Other establishments, like P Terry’s, Whole Foods, and Target have banned the open carry of guns on their premises. Personally, I’m anti-gun. I don’t think that having guns really helps anyone, with the exception of those in the military. The solution to solving the issue of gun violence isn’t adding more guns into our society, especially given the tragic frequency of school shootings in this country; students aren’t allowed to bring guns on campus, and if they’re under 18, they aren’t allowed to possess a gun at all, with some exceptions. So, if a person were to shoot people in a school, no one would be able to defend themselves, and more people would die unnecessarily because of guns. Taking away the guns altogether, or at least having a much more rigorous process in order to acquire a gun would

me make feel safer. Pro-gun groups like Come and Take It Texas or Discover shooting argue that owning a gun is a constitutional right. That may be, but the Constitution was written almost 230 years ago, and society’s structures and concepts have changed a great deal since 1787. There isn’t as much of a need to defend ourselves with guns because there aren’t people on a daily basis trying to invade our country. The military and certain groups of the police force should be some of the few allowed to have guns, because those are the people who are supposed to protect American citizens. A gun in the hands of a person who has less experience than members of organizations like the military is less safe (for most) than a gun in the hands of someone who’s been trained to use it. Another reason I’m against the new open carry law is because I think it will allow for a higher rate of hate crimes against the oppressed. A study conducted by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs in 2014 shows that 80 percent of homicide victims were people of color, and 50 percent of homicide victims were transgender women of color. Now that people with a license (which isn’t that difficult to obtain) can openly carry a firearm, I think the rate of events like these will rise dramatically. I understand that having a gun makes some people feel safer, however, I don’t feel safe even when I see trained police officers with guns, so seeing a person who’s gun experience I don’t know doesn’t make me feel safe or comfortable at all.

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Where credit is due

New 90 percent attendance policy unfair standard for students, parents On Dec. 16, McCallum parents received a letter from principal Mike Garrison outlining the details of the new attendance policy put into effect on Jan. 1. The most significant change for parents and their children is that students attend 90 percent of the days in each class in order to earn credit for that course. This means the student can only miss three or four classes or fewer per semester. Another change causing controversy among parents and students is the new policy regarding which kinds of absences count against the policy and which do not. Among these unexcused absences that count are any cause by an illness that is not justified by a doctor’s note, prohibiting parents from excusing their child’s absence through a note explaining that they were at home on the day of the absence. In the past, a student with no credit in a class due to absences can make up the days they missed through Saturday school attendance, tutoring hours or proof of community service. The policy put into effect on Jan. 1 eliminates the option of using community service to recover credit and only leaves tutoring outside of school hours and Saturday school as means to recover credit. Furthermore, students only have 30 days after the start of the semester to turn in hours to make up for their absences from the previous semester.

The attendance policy is inconsistent with the desire of AISD to ensure that every student graduates on time, but it also is unfairly biased towards those with better access to the resources required to maintain 90 percent attendance. The piece that makes the least sense is the idea that if a student is sick, their only two options are to go to a doctor or go to school. Doctor’s appointments are expensive and unnecessary with most common illnesses. Attending school with an illness prevents the student from recovery and exposes other students and faculty to contamination. Even if a student just left their illnesses unexcused, they would

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

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shieldstaff

Comic by Rachel Wolleben.

assistant editors MARA VANDEGRIFT RACHEL WOLLEBEN

sports editor BEN BROWN

have to carefully plan to miss less than 10 percent of their classes, which is unreasonable since there’s no way to calculate how often you’ll be sick. Restoring credit for one class requires a minimum of four hours of tutoring, or one morning of Saturday school. But if a lack of transportation, family emergencies or chronic illness is the reason for the student missing the in the first place, it isn’t logical to assume the student will have the time to recover all of the hours they missed. There needs to be a system in place to acoount for circumstances students and parents simply can’t control, but this attendance policy removes the ability for parents to decide when it is inappropriate for their child to show up to class, and this is a right every parent should have. To take that right away is to overstep a school district’s jurisdiction. Of course it is practical for the school to keep some sort of accountability in place for students who don’t have a proper reason for missing class or use false community service hours to avoid having to make up the work they’ve missed. The school administration is merely following a policy dictated by Texas legislation; however, the methods that the central administration are prescribing in order to enforce the law are both unreasonable and unfair.

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, BRYNACH HOGAN, 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

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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 David Winter at (678) 984-8849. The Shield is a member of the Interscholastic League Press Conference, National Scholastic Press Association and the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

05 feb.2016

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whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Strut your Strada: fashion show gallery How your social media presence can hurt and help your chances to get into college A side-by-side symphony spectacular: students perform with the Austin Symphony Orchestra Man of the Knight: senior Jordan Wolleban sweeps Mr. McCallum contest

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Living the good life: How two of our editors would spend the $1.5 billion if they won the Powerball Inside look: 10 things overheard during Anatomy class rat dissection On a roll: bowling team extinguishes Round Rock Dragons to win third straight match

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Mr. McHero

A Q&A with the newest

Mr.McCallum

4. 1. Senior Jonah Smith celebrates with Jordan Wolleben when he is announced as the winner of Mr. McCallum. 2. David Ruwwe performs a dance from Napoleon Dynamite, ‘“Canned Heat.” 3. John Carson and James Sullivan team together in an interpretive dance to “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler. The pair is executing the famous move from popular ‘80s movie, Dirty Dancing. 4. Ellias King shows his fire-eating talent to heats things up. King had to show his talent to principal Mike Garrison the week before so Garrison could sign off on the set. 5. Hayden Price, Simon Fremgen and guest Julian Clubb performed their interpretation of the evolution of man, accompanied by a movie made by Price. Not pictured: Nico Madrid.

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Photo 1 by Alana Raper. Photos 2-5 by Maya Coplin.

The Shield: How did you prepare for Mr. McCallum? Jordan Wolleben: I was rehearsing and I was lip syncing to my favorite song, “Move Along.” TS: What part was the most memorable? JW: Performing and I did some beat stuff, and I kinda liked that. I was passing out money and lip syncing to “Achy Breaky Heart.” TS: How did it feel to win? JW: It was unexpected. I didn’t expect it; it was incredible. I was for sure the dinosaur thing could have won. TS: What was your first reaction to winning? JW: I was shocked. I don’t know; it was just incredible. TS: How do you think your mom felt? JW: Probably that she was proud. And she was a little bit in tears. TS: How did that make you feel? JW: Proud. TS: Why did you sign up for Mr. McCallum? JW: Because I thought it would be fun. TS: What do you think you learned from this experience? JW: That I can do anything. TS: What did you think about being called Mr. Hero? JW: I think it was really awesome because the guys said, “Thanks to you, we are having a prom.” TS: What was your favorite interview question that you got asked? JW: Where do you see yourself in five years? TS: What did you say? JW: Me moving to Florida, being a model at the beach and working at Disney World.

05 feb. 2016