The Shield (McCallum HS). Volume 65, Number 4 (March 26, 2018)

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shield McCallum High School / 5600 Sunshine / Austin, TX 78756 Volume 65 / Issue 4 / March 26, 2018

IN NEWS

A tragedy.

A nation at a crossroads.

In the wake of the tragic shooting in Parkland, Fla., America struggles to agree on what will make us safer

The long and complicated relationship between Texas laws and gun ownership spans more than a half century. page 4

IN OPINION The tragic mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High should inspire legislative action not just expressions of sympathy. page 24

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Mass shootings on Texas campuses are not new. We examine the history of these tragedies and their outcomes.

In the past month four bombings have rocked the city, but the death of a prime suspect may have put those fears to rest.

inside

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the issue

a&e

April has a lot to offer when it comes to activities in Austin.

Read our picks in food, shopping and more.

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Learn how Fine Arts Academy senior Aly Candelas lives the double life as both a film major and a band major.

feature

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Four faculty members from four different generations talk about growing up and what they think of Generation Z. Amazon released a short list for cities in the running for their HQ2, prompting Austinites to come up with their own theories.

sports With Coach Taylor gone to Pflugerville, Coach Gammerdinger takes over as head football coach and athletic director.

Sophomore track member Kyla Gibson and varsity soccer senior Jerry Howard talk about the value of being on a team.

opinion Senioritis is an international phenomenon that is totally normal, until it isn’t. We’ll write the rest of this later. Promise.

RIGHT: A group of students outside the original Anderson High on March 1, 1956. The AISD board ordered its schools be integrated the previous August, but it didn’t happen until June 1963. To read more about segregation within AISD then and now, please see page 14. Photo by Neal Douglass. Reprinted with permission. BOTTOM: Freshman Mariana Torres DeLine competes at the National Archery in Schools Program tournament at Lamar Middle School on Jan. 28.

Photo by Kristen Tibbetts. Cover design and photo by Julie Robertson.

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save

Some books in the English AP curriculum are worth reading twice while others give SparkNotes a good reason to exist.

March/April

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

Baseball vs. Crockett @ McCallum @ 7 p.m.

Baseball vs. Crockett @ Garrison Park @ 7 p.m.

Pre-UIL Band Concert in the MAC @ 7 p.m.

Softball vs. Austin High @ Butler Metro Park @ 7 p.m.

Student holiday — No school PTSA meeting in library @ 6:30 p.m.

Softball vs. Travis @ Butler Metro Park @ 7 p.m.

Baseball vs. McNeil @ McNeil Ballpark @ 7 p.m.

Pre-UIL Orchestra Concert in MAC @ 7 p.m.

Softball vs. Crockett @ Garrison Park @ 7 p.m.

Baseball vs. Lanier @ Nelson Field @ 7:30 p.m.

Softball vs. Lanier @ Noack Sports Complex @ 7 p.m.

Baseball vs. Lanier @ Northwest Field @ 7 p.m.

Softball vs. Reagan @ Noack Sports Complex @ 6 p.m.

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Even though gerrymandering is rampant throughout Texas, voters of all backgrounds, especially young voters, are turning out to the polls in high numbers.

“I think that it’s a right that not a lot of people take advantage of as often as they could, and people in the 18 to 24 range generally have the lowest voter turnout of any age group,” Dietz said.

“Imagine how much we could accomplish if some of us just took the time and went to the polls.”

The great divide Who votes might be less important than who draws the boundaries of each district EMMA BAUMGARDNER staff reporter

Voting signs were placed outside of the school on March 6, directing voters where they could cast their votes in the Texas primary election. Photo by Madison Olsen.

Generic medications for less 512-465-9292 medsaverspharmacy@gmail.com 1800 W 35th St 26 march 2017

On March 6, Texans raced to the polls to cast their ballots in this year’s primary election. Since the 2016 presidential election, several Texas Democrats have started grassroots campaigns designed to target voters who felt disillusioned with both the local and national government’s rhetoric and policy. Texas has always been known as a deeply red state, but in recent years it has increasingly become closer to purple with the resurgence of a movement to flip the Texas legislature blue.

In an area like Travis County, this idea seems plausible, but with the way the lines for congressional districts are drawn, larger Texas cities, where more Democrats turn out to vote, are divided in order to split the vote. This phenomenon is known as gerrymandering, where local governments draw district lines in order to maintain party majority.

District lines were drawn in 2010 when the United States census allowed for Texas to gain four more seats in the U.S. House. It was up to the Texas legislature to redraw these lines, making it possible for Republicans in Congress to divide more liberal areas of Texas, making sure that the votes of Democrats in those areas would have less of an impact. There are clear examples of gerrymandering throughout the United States, orchestrated by both parties, but the Austin area in particular is known to be one of the most gerrymandered cities in the country.

Government teacher Erin Summerville is familiar with the use of gerrymandering in redistricting.

“I think what’s tricky is your goal when you draw a district is to make it a cohesive one,” Summerville said. “You want to keep a community together so they could elect a representative that represents the community. In gerrymandering, your strategy would be cracking and packing. You crack up a group, like Austin’s been cracked up and then packing them all into one area.”

There are six Congressional districts dividing Austin; only one is represented by a Democrat.

“Lloyd Doggett is the one Democrat; his district hugs the 35 corridor from Austin to San Antonio,” Summerville said. “All the other ones go out to the suburbs of Houston, Dallas and then out west, too.”

Austin is not the only major city gerrymandered in Texas.

“In the Houston area in 2003, there were issues over gerrymandering there,” Summerville said. “It was not brought to the Supreme Court as a partisan issue but as a disenfranchisement issue. If you looked at the Houston area at that time, it looked as though the black vote was eliminated through gerrymandering. The Supreme Court took it up at the time, because the Voting Rights Act protects people from being essentially disenfranchised, so it was a way to tackle gerrymandering so long as it wasn’t partisan.”

While gerrymandering doesn’t necessarily

impact the primaries, where Texans register to vote between candidates within a specific party, it greatly impacts the results of the general elections in November.

Democratic party voter turnout skyrocketed this year in early voting for the primaries, especially in Travis County, where 56,000 people voted before election day. This can be compared to 2014, where only 20,389 constituents voted early. Included in this statistic was a large amount of young voters. At McCallum, seniors waited in line to cast their ballots. Among these seniors was Ruby Dietz, who worked earlier in the year at a table during lunch to help register students eligible to vote in the primaries.

“I’ve been excited to vote ever since I turned 18,” Dietz said. “What made me feel accomplished was the amount of time that I spent researching the candidates.”

In total, 111 Democrats ran in the primaries, with at least one Democrat running for each of the 36 House districts.

“This is the first election that I’ve been able to actually participate in, because not only am I legally allowed and registered to vote, but I’m also really interested in the outcome,” Dietz said. “You should vote, but you should also at least try to educate yourself in some of the issues.”

One of the most politicized local elections was the race for Texas Agriculture Commissioner between incumbent Sid Miller and Austin attorney Trey Blocker. Miller, known for his strong conservative viewpoints and relationship with the president dating back to Trump’s early campaign, won the primary with roughly 1.5 million votes.

Miller has been thrown into the national spotlight in recent years due to his proximity to Trump during the latter’s presidential campaign and was on the shortlist to be named Trump’s Secretary of Agriculture. Trump himself tweeted about Miller’s primary campaign, calling him “Trump’s Man in Texas,” a title Miller holds in high regard.

“I was Tea Party before there was a Tea Party, so I’ve always been to the right, ultra-conservative,” Miller said in an interview with The Shield. “With the vote we got [on March 6], we garnered moderates and conservatives and Republicans all across the spectrum. I just ran on my record and said the things we’ve done here at the TDA [Texas Department of Agriculture] and put it out there and let the voters decide.”

One of the main controversies of Miller’s time in office was an accusation of mishandling of taxpayer dollars to pay for a trip to Oklahoma City where he was administered a “Jesus Shot”, which supposedly cures the recipient of all illness. Miller has rebutted this by pointing to other records of financial practices during his time in office.

“We run a real tight fiscal ship,” Miller said.

“When I got there, we were $18 million in the red. We got that fixed in eight months, and now, because the efficiencies we’ve gained from the changes we made at the agency, we’re gonna be able to rebate and even possibly lower some of the fees.”

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The struggle to legislate gun safety

The long legal road from the 1966 UT Tower shooting to the present is filled with many turns EMMA BAUMGARDNER staff reporter

To understand Texas’s relationship with guns and gun control it is necessary to understand the historical context of the issue, and that history is a long one. Laws regulating the sale and use of guns are not new to the state: the right to bear arms, granted in Article 1 of the Texas Constitution, gives congressional authority to regulate gun use. This clause is more restrictive than the Second Amendment in the National Bill of Rights, which intends to deny the federal government any authority to regulate guns.

Texas law has to adhere to federal restrictions, but it also may place establish its own restrictions on gun ownership. Before the 1966 UT tower shooting, which is considered one of the first mass shootings in U.S. history, there were little to no restrictions on gun ownership and the purchasing of firearms. After the shooting, however, the federal government passed the Gun Control Act of 1968, which prevented the sale of firearms to felons across the country. The act, which was passed as a reaction to the high profile shootings of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Attorney General Robert Kennedy was among the first actions taken to regulate the possession of firearms. State gun laws in Texas continue to be less intrusive than federal gun laws, but over the years there have been many regulations put in place, among them laws that affect gun licenses, the right to conceal firearms and the right to carry them openly.

Some gun-control opponents argue that laws banning specific types of guns do not stop their usage in mass shootings. For example, a federal gun law effective from 1994 to 2004 known as The Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Act banned assault weapons as well as large capacity magazines. Even though semi-automatic firearms were federally banned, two of the three mass shootings that took place within the 10 years the law was in place involved the use of different types of semi-automatic handguns.

Texas law requires that an individual must be at least 21 years old to be licensed to carry a handgun.

There is no license required to purchase a handgun,

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but a specific license is needed to carry one. Those equipped with a permit are allowed to open carry in areas not specified as gun-free zones. In order to obtain a handgun, individuals must submit an application, go through classroom training and pass a written exam and a shooting test. The original bill was passed in 1975, and has since been revised to change the requirements of the application process.

All of the handguns used in Texas mass shootings were purchased legally; however, the shooters in each instance suffered from some mental instability. Out of the 17 shootings in Texas that have taken place over the last five decades, six of those shootings involved the use of a handgun.

Even though there are many laws regulating handguns in Texas, there are few dictating the regulation of other types of guns. Texas has no laws pertaining to the registration of firearms, the regulation of magazine capacities and assault weapons or background checks during private sales. Texas does have, however, concealed carry laws. Concealed carry of handguns wasn’t legal in Texas until 1955, and it wasn’t until 2016 that open carry became legal (but only with a license). It has always been legal to open carry long guns. Long guns like rifles and shotguns are less common in Texas mass shootings compared to pistols and automatic rifles. Out of the 17 mass shootings that have occurred since the UT Tower shooting, seven have involved long guns.

The perpetrators of the majority of mass shootings in Texas have displayed multiple behavioral warning signs leading up to the attacks. In the case of the 1980 Daingerfield Church shooting, Alvin Lee King III killed five people and injured 10 with a semi-automatic rifle, a M1 carbine rifle and two revolvers.

King was on trial at the time for the rape of his daughter and had asked multiple members of the church to testify on his behalf. None of them agreed to testify, which led him to decide to storm the church that Sunday. In the 2015 Tennessee colony shooting, William Mitchell Hudson shot six people who were camping on land neighboring his property. Hudson, who believed their land was rightfully his, separated the family in the woods, shot five, and stabbed one. In his trial, Hudson’s lawyers argued for a lesser sentence based on his personality

SHOOTINGS IN TEXAS

1966-2018

disorder, brain damage and an abusive home life.

Hudson’s ex-wife, Catarina, filed a protective order against Hudson in 2004 on grounds that he threatened to kill her and her daughter. This order banned him from owning any kind of firearms or ammunition. Just a week before the shooting, Hudson was arrested at a convenience store for assault. When the police officer arrived, he discovered a handgun on Hudson’s person, and two other revolvers in his pickup truck.

Hudson’s possession of firearms on multiple occasions illustrates how Texas gun laws already in place can’t always prevent shootings because they are not consistently enforced.

Mass shootings in Texas are statistically most likely to take place either at a church or in another public space. In the 2005 Sachse Assembly of God shooting, A. P. Crenshaw had a verbal dispute with a parishioner in a church parking lot. He left and later returned to fatally shoot the parishioner and the pastor in an area next to the parking lot. He then got in his truck and drove to a horse trailer

at an intersection, where he fatally shot the two women inside. According to neighbors, Crenshaw often yelled at them and fired guns on his property, and would also leave exclamatory notes on the cars of churchgoers. In most of the mass shootings in Texas, including this one, the perpetrator exhibited prior signs of mental instability.

With the amount of mass shootings that have occurred throughout the nation in the past decade, supporters of the Second Amendment fear that their right to bear arms might be curtailed. Partly in response to this constituency, Texas lawmakers have passed more lenient laws regarding gun ownership and use. On the 2016 anniversary of the UT Tower shooting, the Texas legislature passed Texas Senate Bill 11, which allowed for the concealed carry of handguns on college campuses. The issue of gun control has been a difficult one for legislators to tackle as there are constituents who wholly disagree on what gun policies should be in place.

Sen. John Cornyn, R–Texas, the Majority Whip in the U.S. Senate, is working closely on the issue of gun control to draft and pass legislation upon which both parties agree.

“Like every Texan, I want to prevent violent crime, and I believe this begins with fully enforcing existing gun laws,” Cornyn said in an exclusive email interview with The Shield. “The federal government has not adequately enforced the 2007 NICS Improvement Amendments Act (P. L. 110-180), a law that is supported by organizations ranging from the National Rifle Association to the Brady Campaign.

Passed unanimously by Congress, this law requires states to submit criminal history and mental health records of individuals who are adjudicated as a danger to themselves or others in order to prevent them from legally purchasing firearms. This includes felons, domestic violence perpetrators and other dangerous individuals.”

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence is a nonprofit group dedicated to the prevention of gun violence founded in 1974. The campaign strongly supports stricter federal gun laws.

The NICS Improvement Amendments Act accesses three databases that are monitored by the FBI. According to the law’s provisions, states provide information so that individuals that fall

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under the restrictions outlined by the NICS are not be able to buy firearms, but unfortunately, information pertaining to mental health and domestic violence convictions is not always reported to FBI databases. Texas is not a point-of-contact state for NCIS, which means that there is no state system of background checks; instead, sellers need to abide by federal requirements for background checks established by the FBI. In the case of the Sutherland Springs shooting, Devin Patrick Kelly, who was tried in court marshal in the U.S. Air Force for domestic violence, was able to buy a Ruger AR-556 semiautomatic rifle when records of his conviction were not transferred to the correct FBI database.

“This failure to share information had tragic consequences in multiple mass-violence events, including Blacksburg, Va., (2007); Charleston, S.C., (2015); and Sutherland Springs, Texas (2017),” Cornyn said. “In each of these cases, a dangerous individual who was prohibited from purchasing firearms was able to pass a NICS Background Check despite criminal or mental health records that were not uploaded to the system.”

Two out of the 17 mass shootings that occurred in Texas since 1966 took place in a personal residence, and in both cases the perpetrators were previously arrested on charges of assault and domestic abuse. Texas laws concerning gun ownership in case of domestic violence convictions do not require the state to remove firearms already in the possession of the perpetrator, but do limit their ability to purchase firearms. In the 2014 Harris County shooting, Ronald Lee Haskell killed six people, including two children. The victims were related to Harris’s ex-wife, Melanie Stay, who had divorced him in 2014. Prior to the divorce, Haskell had been arrested in 2008 for assault and domestic violence, leading Stay to file a protective order against him. Haskell found the victims’ house while searching for Stay, whom he had followed from Utah to Texas. Just a year later, another even deadlier mass shooting took place in the same county. David Conley fatally shot six children and their parents at their home.

Conley was in a former relationship with the mother, Valerie Jackson. Conley’s prior criminal record, which dated back to 1988, included a five-year prison sentence in 2000 for assaulting his girlfriend with a knife and nine more months served in 2013 for threatening Jackson with a knife. In addition, he had a warrant for his arrest at the time of the shooting for another assault charge. Conley purchased his gun online, which has different laws in Texas than in-person purchases. When buying from a website of a

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Sources consulted for story and information graphics: Austin Chronicle, Brittanica.com, The Bryan Eagle, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives website (atf.gov), CNN, Congress.gov, The Dallas Morning News, FOX News, Giffords Law Center, The History Channel website (history.com), Mother Jones, NBC, NPR, The New York Times, The Spokane Daily-Chronicle, Texas Monthly, USA Today.

Federally Licensed Firearms dealer, the seller mails the gun to another FLL location near the buyer, where they conduct a background check.

If a seller privately auctions off a gun to a buyer in the same state, however, no background check is required. According to the Gun Control Act of 1968, a federal law, firearms dealers must be licensed and therefore require background checks in all sales. The act, however, directly excludes anyone who “makes occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby, or who sells all or part of his personal collection of firearms.” This provision allows for unlicensed dealers to sell firearms without the use of a background check. Some states have passed laws alongside federal law that make background checks necessary for both licensed

and unlicensed dealers. Texas has no such law.

One of the ways that gun control is being addressed today is by placing more regulations on the sale of guns to the mentally ill. Even though guidelines for purchasing handguns in Texas address this issue, more regulations on all types of guns are being proposed nationally.

“I believe improving mental health is another way to prevent violent crime. On Aug. 5, 2015, I introduced the Mental Health and Safe Communities Act of 2015 (S. 2002), which was later included in the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016, and was signed into law last year (P.L. 114255),” Cornyn said. “This legislation enhances the ability of local communities to identify and treat potentially dangerous, mentally-ill individuals. The law also includes reforms to increase the use of treatment-based alternatives

for mentally-ill offenders, and improve crisis response and prevention by state and local law enforcement officials.”

Even though Texas continues to be one of the strongest proponents of the right to bear arms, many Texans support passing laws that would provide for more background checks. “This is the debate we should be having—a debate that focuses on the root causes of mass violence, fully enforcing current law, and addressing improvements for mental health care in America,” Cornyn said. “We can tackle these problems without curtailing Second Amendment rights.”

As legislation moves forward in Texas and nationwide, the debate over gun control rages on as politicians and their constituents try to find common ground and come up with solutions to one of the defining issues of our time.

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An Austin Police Department officer picks up traffic cones on Tuesday that were used to barricade an area of Houston Street at the Brentwood Townhomes apartment complex after a suspicious package was reported there.

The report was a false alarm, and the officers left the scene before the end of fifth period.

After 19 days of domestic terror, serial bombing suspect dead

Pflugerville man with $115,000 bounty commits suicide as authorities pursue him Wednesday; police advise continued caution in case there are accomplices or additional explosive devices CHARLIE HOLDEN co-editor in chief

The Austin bombings that have taken the lives of three people and injured five others within the past month appear to be over. One of these deaths was that of Mark Conditt, the prime suspect in the serial bombings. In the early morning hours last Wednesday, authorities closed in on Conditt along I-35 in Round Rock. Conditt, who was a 24-year-old white male and Pflugerville resident, killed himself with an explosive device before he could be apprehended. One SWAT member was injured in the blast. Austin Police are still investigating the possibility of accomplices, and urge the public to remain vigilant as the whereabouts of Conditt in the 24 hours before his death are still unknown.

Since the attacks started on March 2, more than 500 local, state and federal law officials throughout the city have been working to find the suspect. They made their break on Tuesday when they confirmed the FedEx drop-off center from which the bomber sent two packages. The center, located in Sunset Valley, was combed over by FBI agents for hours on Tuesday. FedEx issued a

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statement saying that by using the drop-off center the suspect left “extensive evidence,” all of which was turned over to the authorities. This evidence included surveillance videos from the center as well as from surrounding businesses. Authorities were also able to use clues found when analyzing an unexploded bomb found at a different FedEx Center on McKinney Falls Parkway.

Since the attacks started, more than 1,000 calls were placed to the Austin Police Department reporting suspicious packages. One of those calls was to report a package located at the Brentwood Townhomes apartment complex on the corner of Houston Street and Grover Avenue on Tuesday morning. The call, which reported a suspicious package on the property only feet from the McCallum campus, turned out to be a false alarm, but the police tape, traffic cones and patrol cars still caused heightened concern among students and teachers on campus.

The first explosion, which occurred on March 2, took place in Northeast Austin. From there, the incidents moved south. The first three bombings targeted African-American and Hispanic residents, leading some to believe that the perpetrator was committing hate crimes.

The victims of the fourth attack, however, were

white. Brian Manley, the interim Austin police chief, told ABC’s Good Morning America on Monday that local authorities were considering all possible motives, including, but not limited to, racial bias.

“We’ve said from the beginning that we’re not willing to rule anything out, just because when you rule something out, you limit your focus,” Manley said.

This strategy proved useful. Even though the threat of the bomber has been neutralized, his motivations are not yet clear.

“We do not understand what motivated him to do what he did,” Manley told reporters at a pre-dawn news conference on Wednesday.

Authorities have access to Conditt’s internet history, which may provide some clue as to his motives for the attacks. They were also able to access Conditt’s social media accounts with the help of his roommates.

In addition to the evidence found the FedEx locations, officials also relied on the help of civilians, who have been encouraged to report any information they have to an established tip line. A reward has been offered for any tip that leads to an arrest in the case. The amount, which started at $15,000 climbed to $115,000 in

just over a week. There have been no reports on whether or not any individual has been rewarded.

Leading up to Conditt’s death, AISD took many precautions to ensure the safety of students until the threat was eliminated. In an email to teachers Tuesday afternoon, the district’s chief officer for teaching and learning, Edmund Oropez, informed staff that all FedEx and UPS deliveries to AISD sites will be suspended until Monday, March 26.

“Recent events call for extreme caution, and we urge campuses to suspend orders and deliveries to minimize safety risks,” Oropez wrote. “We will continue to work with the Austin Police Department, state and federal entities to take any necessary safety precautions.”

One of the four bombing victims, 75-yearold Esperanza Herrera, remains in serious condition. Anthony Stephan House, a 39-yearold construction worker and a graduate from Pflugerville High School, was killed in the first attack. Draylen Mason, a senior at East Austin College Prep and an accomplished double bass player, was killed in the second attack.

This article reflects the most current information on Wednesday, when The Shield went to press.

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IF YOU FIND A SUSPICIOUS PACKAGE: 1. Trust your instincts. If the package is at all suspicious, it should be treated with caution.

2. DO NOT handle the package.

3. Remove yourself from the area. Go someplace safe.

According to the police, the primary suspect in this investigation is dead, but residents should remain cautious and report any suspicious packages or activities.

WHAT IS SUSPICIOUS? Illustration by Charlie Holden.

Sources: Austin Police Department, U.S. Postal Service

Excessive postage

No return address

Misspelled words, badly typed or written addresses to title only

4. Immediately call 911 to report the package.

If you have any information regarding the investigation, please contact Austin Police using Twitter, Facebook, or through the tip line, (512) 472-8477 (TIPS). Anyone with information may remain anonymous.

Excessive tape Tied with string, protruding wires

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Stains, discoloration, leaking

Lopsided or uneven sides

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March 2: A package left on the front porch of 1112 Haverford Drive explodes at 6:55 a.m. Anthony Stephan House, a 39-year-old African-American man, is killed.

Sources: Austin Police Department, U.S. Postal Service

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March 12: A package brought into the home at 4806 Oldfort Hill Drive explodes at 6:44 a.m. Draylen Mason, 17, is killed, and his mother, Shamika Wilson, is injured. Both victims are African-American.

LOCATIONS RELEVANT TO THE INVESTIGATION:

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March 12: A package picked up outside of 6708 Galindo Street explodes at 11:50 a.m. Esperanza Herrera, 75, a Hispanic woman, is critically wounded.

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March 18: Two white males in their 20s trigger a tripwire, setting off an explosive on the side of the road on the 4800 block of Dawn Song Drive at 8:30 p.m. Both men sustain serious but non-lifethreatening injuries.

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March 19: Two packages are mailed from a Sunset Valley FedEx drop-off center located on 5601 Brodie Lane.

* 2 4

March 20: One package sent from the Brodie Lane drop-off center explodes just after midnight at a FedEx sorting center in Shertz, near San Antonio. The package, which is destined for Austin, injures one FedEx worker, who is treated and released at the scene.

March 20: The other package mailed from the Brodie Lane dropoff center is found unexploded at a FedEx ground facility at 4117 McKinney Falls Parkway. at 6:19 a.m. No one is injured.

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March 21: Early in the morning law officials accompanied by a SWAT team, pursue the suspect, Mark Conditt, along I-35 in Round Rock. Conditt kills himself with an explosive, injuring one SWAT member in the process.

Sources: KXAN, KVUE, The Austin American-Statesman

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MacJournalism adviser Dave Winter wins CSPA Gold Key award at New York convention Over spring break, eight members of MacJournalism visited New York City for the 2018 Columbia Scholastic Press Association Spring Conference at Columbia University. The conference held workshops that students and advisers could attend as well as an awards luncheon where adviser Dave Winter was awarded with a Gold Key. The staff won two Silver Crown Awards, one for their 2016-2017 print newspaper and one in the hybrid category which considers both the print and online editions of the paper. The Crown Award is the highest honor that CSPA awards to its member publications.

In order to earn a Gold Key, Winter first was nominated by a CSPA committee, then he had to secure three recommendation letters. Winter received letters from Principal Mike Garrison, 2017 co-editorin-chief Alana Raper, and Kate Carter, a co-worker from his old school, Grady High School in Atlanta.

“Mr. Garrison’s letter made me feel very good,” Winter said. “I value his opinion a great deal, and it meant a lot to me to read that he appreciates how the coverage that we have done of school events has helped the whole school.

“Alana’s letter was very sweet. She was such a great editor. The fact that she appreciated me meant a lot because I think the world of her. She was beyond terrific, so that was really good. The third letter was written by Kate Carter who I co-advised with in Atlanta. To be honest, she brags about the same way my dad does.

When she talks about me, I sometimes am not even sure who she’s talking about. It’s

like, ‘Wow that guy sounds pretty good! I would give him a Gold Star… Oh wait. She’s talking about me!’ We were a good team back in the day. We have each other’s backs.”

Winter was awarded with a Gold Key on March 16 at a special luncheon. Only four advisers in the nation received this award.

“It meant a lot to me that CSPA said, ‘Hey, thank you for your service to scholastic journalism.’ I wouldn’t say that I do this so I get an award,” Winter said. “The staff awards mean more to me than individual awards and the buzz that we get on campus for the stuff that we are doing is even more important than the awards. ... I think people are pretty tapped into the stuff that we do, and that’s really the most important thing.”

While in New York, the MacJournalism team attended a variety of sessions, but one in particular stuck out to Winter: the panel of students journalists from Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. “[The Stoneman Douglas session] was pretty profound,” Winter said. “It’s almost like being a support system for your students is more important than teaching them anything about journalism. That’s what those kids were saying. They appreciate the journalism they’re learning but more than anything they felt like they were home when they were in [their journalism] classes. I hope I do that a little bit.”

Winter enjoyed being able to attend this conference with his students and continues to enjoy taking part in high school journalism.

“The thing that’s great about being a high school journalism teacher is that a lot of the pressures that are on professional journalists are not in play,” Winter said. “We can just do

MacJournalism captures 123 individual Best of Texas awards On March 21, McCallum’s journalism publications learned that they won 123 individual Texas Association of Journalism Educators awards for publications in 2017 and 2018.

Senior Madison Olsen, who is an assistant editor for both publication staffs, won 25 awards for articles and photographs she created. The Shield co-editor in chiefs Charlie

Holden and Julie Robertson picked up a combined 31 awards between them.

The yearbook staff won 42 awards. The Shield staff took home 52 awards for print newspaper and 29 for online newspaper.

According to the TAJE website, the contest elicited a total of 1,289 entries, of which there were 570 winners overall.

—Julie Robertson

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

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

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

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News in a

FLASH

Journalism adviser Dave Winter accepts the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Key Award from CSPA Past President Ray Westbrook and executive director Edmund Sullivan on March 16 in the Low Library on Columbia University’s campus in New York City. Photo by Joseph Cardenas. the work and be in it together as a team and not have to worry about corporate pressure or ad revenue. The great thing about it is that it’s pure editorial journalism. If you have enough people who are all-in and giving it everything they have and doing that work with other people who feel the same way, it’s the best. I don’t think [that it’s just] journalism that’s like that. I think there are other things on this campus that are like that. The teacher gets a lot of satisfaction because the kids are pouring everything they can into what they’re doing and that’s what’s great.”

—Maddie Doran

CSPA Gold Key Recipients 2018 Maureen Barton Journalism teacher, career/ technical education instructor Ana Rosenthal Hockaday School Dallas, Texas Marva Hutchinson Providence Senior High School Charlotte, North Carolina Dave Winter McCallum High School

Senior film students earn Carson Cummings film scholarships Senior film students Will Magnuson and Isabel Lerman found out March 1 that they were both winners of Carson Cummings Film Scholarships.

The scholarship honors the memory of filmmaker and Anderson graduate Carson Cummings by helping young filmmakers pursue their dreams.

Students who entered the competition had to make a film after receiving a line of dialogue and a prop that must appear in the film they submitted. Alex Robicheaux, a filmmaker and friend of Cummings, and Cummings’ mother Melisa presented the awards. Magnuson was named the first-place winner and received a scholarship of $7,500 for his film “Honey Butter Freedom Biscuit.” Lerman called her film submission a mockumentary about a serial killer, a self-absorbed meninist who is universally hated by the serial killer community. Magnuson said he was happy but also surprised to win.

“I was pretty unhappy about my film at first,” Magnuson said. “I tend to be pretty hypercritical of my own work, but I was able to get it where I was happy with it.”

Lerman finished third and earned a prize of $2,500.

Top: Will Magnuson shakes the hand of Melisa Cummings, the mother of Carson Cummings, after he won first place for her son’s memorial scholarship with a film called “Honey Butter Freedom Biscuit.”

Bottom: Isabel Lerman shakes the hand of Cummings’ friend Alex Robicheaux. She won third place in the Carson Cummings Film Scholarship competition.

26 march 2018

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This month: April

Zilker Love specialty pizza from Austin Terrier.

Photo by Madison Olsen.

Things to do: Pet Parade

3435 Greystone Drive austinterrier.com

The 19th annual Easter Pet Parade will take place on Saturday, March 31. After the parade down South Congress, the crowd will meet for a pet costume contest, followed by live music and snacks.

It costs $20 to enter your pet in the costume contest, but all of the proceeds from the pet parade go to Austin Pets Alive,

and registration is only necessary if you wish to participate in the contest.

To participate in the parade, go to the starting location at Hudson’s Meat Market (1800 South Congress) at noon on Saturday.

For more details or to preregister for the contest, visit joscoffee.com.

Photo by Madison Olsen.

Photo by Madison Olsen.

Places to eat: Austin Terrier Austin Terrier is a local, dog-friendly restaurant in central Austin with great pizza, burgers, sandwiches and much more. You can sit out on the patio with your pup (or just dog watch because there are always plenty of cute dogs to pet) or sit inside.

When we arrived at 3435 Greystone Drive with our pooch, the friendly wait staff immediately brought us a water bowl and some dog treats. For the humans in our party, they have more than two dozen mouthwatering sandwich combinations on the menu.

I ended up settling on one of their specialty pizzas, Zilker Love for $9.95 (see top

photo), with spinach, red onions, marinated tomatoes, feta, pesto, Kalamata olives, fontina and mozzarella. We also ordered a fry trio ($7.95) and a sandwich called the Dancer ($7.95), which had Turkey breast, lettuce, diced tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts and avocado with garlic mayo.

First to come out was the fry trio, which had Sweet Potato, Truffle & Parmesan, and Paprika & Mustard, and each distinct flavor was delicious. All the food was really high quality for a reasonable price, and coupled with the great service and dog-friendly environment, Austin Terrier deserves five stars.

The outdoor rack at the APA. Photo

by Madison Olsen.

Places to shop: Austin Pets Alive 26 march 2018

Feel like you’re doing good and treat yourself all in one when you stop by the new thrift store that benefits Austin Pets Alive at 5801 Burnet Road. The store opened last May and relies on kind and helpful volunteers and donations to benefit Austin’s most vulnerable animals. The store’s mascot, Sweetie the dog, runs around the store and is one of the many friendly faces that greets you when you arrive.

The store looks small from the outside, but it’s really amazing how much they economize the space inside. It doesn’t feel too crowded, and you can easily find something from the vast selection of clothing, shoes, decorations, records and more. Unlike some thrift stores, the

APA thrift store has their its well-sorted and displayed, which makes it so much easier to find things you love.

The inside of the store has different rooms for “designer” vintage wear, which is surprisingly cheap for such a great quality, and media, such as old vinyl records. They have a great selection of clothing, and I never leave the store emptyhanded because I always find something so amazing that I just can’t pass it up. It’s really easy to find good items at affordable prices, so you can totally splurge on clothes, books or records without breaking the bank. The APA thrift is definitely a hidden gem in the Austin secondhand scene.

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Freshman one-act show wins big at UIL ZOE HOCKER

assistant editor Although no main stage shows are showing, MacTheatre is not hiding in the wings. The freshmen performance theatre majors took to the stage in March for the annual UIL One-Act play competition, where they performed The Glorious Adventures of the Mighty Robin Hood Starring Robin Hood as “Robin Hood,” a spin-off of Disney’s 1973 movie, Robin Hood.

At the district competition at the AISD Performing Arts Center on March 9, the Friday before spring break, MacTheatre earned the Best Crew award for the first time in school history, and Blake Houston earned a Best Actor nod, making it the fourth consecutive year that a McCallum freshman has earned UIL distinction as either a Best Actor or Best Actress winner at the district competition. Other MacTheatre winners included All-Star crew member Bela Tapperson, All-Star cast member Magnus Bohls and honorable mention AllStar cast member Ava Grace Light-Whipple.

The strong showing enabled MacTheatre to advance to the bi-district competition. It was a considerable accomplishment, considering that play game together in less than a month since the

cast was announced on Feb. 13.

Houston, who plays the narrator, Prince John, and a few other extra characters in the play, said that the rehearsal process was tedious for him but paid off in the end.

“It was a lot of running the show with a lot of different variables,” Houston said. “We had a run where we did it with no words and just used gestures to get the point across. Then we did one completely with our eyes closed, so we would just use the words to tell the story. It wasn’t like any of the rehearsal processes I had ever gone through, but I think it really did help us put on the show that we did.”

Bohls, who played the title character, said he took inspiration for his character from the original movie.

“The main thing that helped me characterize Robin Hood was the accent,” Bohls said. “I feel like I drew a lot of inspiration off of the old Disney classic, [and] I feel like the cast used a little bit of that movie magic to characterize [its] characters.”

UIL has specific rules for what is and isn’t allowed at the competition, which forced the actors, director and crew to pay attention to details.

“We had to cut this huge, nice carpet because it was over the fabric limit,” Bohls said. “It’s definitely stressful to read through the entire

rulebook and make sure that everything is OK for the performance.”

The last rehearsal before the performance was a turning point for the cast and crew, Houston said.

“We had really figured out how the show was supposed to work, and so we had that energy from the night before, plus all of the excitement of putting on a performance in a competition,” he said. “That all added to a heightened sense of adrenaline and whatnot. That really put the show over the top.”

Houston said the competition was tough.

“I had only watched one other [school’s] show, but that show was incredible,” he said. “I was blown away that we were even able to compete with them, so winning Best Actor was really surprising, because I was like, ‘Was I really that good?’ I was surprised, but it was exciting.”

Light-Whipple said the cast and crew were overjoyed when they found out they had won multiple awards.

“We were all really excited,” Light-Whipple said. “We had won a lot of awards, and we were really excited to be able to go to Dripping Springs and represent McCallum this year.”

The bi-district competition was held on Thursday at Dripping Springs High School, but the results were not available at press time.

Freshman Ava Grace Light-Whipple, playing Capocomica, and Magnus Bohls, playing Robin Hood, square off in the freshmen theatre majors’ UIL one-act play, The Glorious Adventures of the Mighty Robin Hood Starring Robin Hood as “Robin Hood.”

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Artistically Speaking: Aly Candelas

Photo by Madison Olsen.

Navigating a double major in band, film hasn’t always been easy, but senior wouldn’t have it any other way The Shield: Why did you decide to apply to the Fine Arts Academy for both band and cinematic arts?

Aly Candelas: All throughout middle school, I was in band and I really enjoyed the environment and the experience of it all. I only actually took one film class before high school, and it was a film and literature class so it was about the culture of film and not really [about] the technical aspects. It was more like a film analysis class, really. I really enjoyed learning about the culture surrounding film and surrounding the whole industry. We had a project to make a film, and that was probably the highlight of my seventh-grade year. I mean to be fair seventh grade is pretty rough for everybody, but that was probably the highlight of my year. From there I had been writing more scripts and watching more films than movies. I had just been slowly introduced to both of these different worlds and when I heard that McCallum had this growing cinematic arts program, I just wanted to be a part of it. I knew I wanted to be in the band program forever.

TS: How is it balancing band and cinematic arts?

AC: Film is definitely one of the easier majors to double with, but band is not. It’s very difficult to double major with band just because of the time and energy commitment.

TS: What is it like managing the curriculum requirements of two majors?

AC: On top of just my graduation [course] requirements, I have requirements for band and for film and they never intersect with one another. The two extra classes that I have taken for film are Theatre and Technical Theatre and are not the same as Piano and Music Theory which I have taken for band. On top of that, film and band are both double-blocked, but I haven’t been able to take band double-blocked since sophomore year because of how complicated my schedule is.

TS: When did you start playing the flute?

AC: I started playing flute in sixth grade. When I was in sixth grade, my parents decided that I wasn’t going to go to just middle school, I also had to have an outside commitment that I was a part of, and I chose band. I was intending on quitting after sixth grade because I knew that in seventh and eighth grade I was going to play basketball.

I picked the smallest instrument because I knew I was going to be riding the bus, so I was like, “Oh, I’ll go easy and pick a tiny instrument!” I remember one of the last few days of sixth grade, being placed in band for next year, and this kid in our class was trying to quit, and our band director was like “No! You can’t quit. I’ll bring cupcakes if you stay in band. You can’t quit!” and I’m thinking to myself, “Oh God. I can’t quit.” He kind of scared me. I started to like it more and had more of a reason to stay in band when I started marching band.

I love marching band.

TS: Are you looking to pursue either band or film in college or as a career?

AC: I definitely want to keep writing films. I don’t know if I’ll be able to be out directing and producing, but I really enjoy screen-writing. As for band, I really have liked music theory, and I definitely want to keep learning about that throughout college, but I don’t know if my career would include music really in any way.

TS: What have you learned at McCallum from being involved in both majors?

AC: In film when I first started, I had dreams of becoming a filmmaker. I learned through my experience at McCallum and my experience with my internship that film as a career just isn’t for me as much as it is just a hobby or a side thing that I want to keep doing. It’s not the means of making a living for me. I love it, and I’m sad to say that I won’t be doing it for my whole life, but when I have to choose and get down to it, I think it’s just too crazy for me to stick with.

TS: What are your roles in each of your majors?

AC: In band, I am a squad leader, which is fun. Basically we just teach people how to march and that sort of thing. It’s really more during marching season that it’s more applicable. We teach people how to march and are really the leaders of the band. I am in charge of filming and editing all of the plays and musicals that MacTheatre puts on. I choose which days we are going to film, what cameras we use, who helps me and whatnot.

TS: What are your plans for college?

AC: I am planning on going to the University of North Texas and majoring in philosophy, and from there I hope to go to grad school and become either a philosophy teacher or something to do with philosophy.

TS: What have been some of your biggest accomplishments at McCallum in film or in band?

AC: The first thing that comes to mind is when band went to state this year. That was amazing and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In film, I’ve made a few pretty good films that I am proud of. I made a music video that I really loved. I have also been a paid intern for a little over a year now.

TS: Can you talk about that internship a little bit?

AC: I am a paid intern for a local artist here in Austin. She has been a great mentor for me and has taught me a lot about pursuing your dreams and doing art as a career and the logistics of making your life the way you want it to be instead of fitting into this mold that the world has created for you. She has done a few projects that were on South Congress during South By Southwest, and last year I was involved in documenting that process and creating a 15-minute film about that, which she kept and shows to people sometimes to show her work and talk about it.

TS: What would you say to someone considering becoming a double major?

AC: I’d say that if you really want it and work hard towards getting your life balanced out and sticking with both, then you can make it work, but it takes a lot of sacrifice and time and energy that you’re giving away to these causes that you value so much.

TS: How has it been balancing your school work with all of the extracurriculars you do?

AC: The first three years [of high school], I really struggled and I didn’t know but I actually have ADHD. When I started getting treatment for that, my grades completely turned around and greatly improved. Ms. Ramsay, the fine arts director, pulled me into her office last year and I was really close to getting out of the academy [due to grades]. She said, “Hey. I think you should drop your majors and focus on graduating high school. I don’t think

“Life is kind of a race, and what you realize as you mature is that the race isn’t with others; it’s really with yourself.” senior Aly Candelas

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you need to be doing this extra stuff,” and I said, “Let me prove you wrong. Give me a chance and I will prove you wrong.” I started getting the treatment I needed and then I came back into her office and she told me that she had never been more proud to have been proven wrong.

TS: Do you have anything, as a senior, that you want to look back on from band or film?

AC: One of the great things about McCallum is that it really enforces competition, not only with yourself but with your peers.

You want to be first chair, or you want to be selected for this film festival but maybe only one kid can be selected or there can only be one first chair. Film and band have taught me to push myself and to force myself to go the extra mile, but at the same time [they have] taught me to not worry too much about other people and where they are. Life is kind of a race, and what you realize as you mature is that the race isn’t with others; it’s really with yourself.

TS: How has it been being able to be apart of the Fine Arts Academy? How do you think your experience here would compare to going to another school?

AC: I always tell people that McCallum is like a tiny Sixth Street put together in north central Austin. Also, being a part of the Academy Ambassadors has really opened me up for more leadership and more professional roles in the arts.

TS: What are your responsibilities as an ambassador?

AC: I have done a few recruiting events. I have worked the Fine Arts Academy showcase. I actually was one of the emcees. My job is just trying to help prospective students and parents understand how the film program runs and how McCallum runs. I get asked a lot of questions not only about film but also about just high school and growing up. Then additionally, with the current freshmen, William Magnuson and I are their big buddies, and we are just there for them if they have questions. We are responsible for being a friendly face for them. It’s kind of hard, especially at the beginning of the year, to be a freshman and you are just figuring things out, so William and I and the other ambassadors are just there for them.

—interview by Zoe Hocker.

26 march 2018

GEN X

Mr. Whiz Ms. Pringle

MILLENNIAL

Mr. Lehman

BABY BOOMER

SILENT GEN

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Ms. Long

Students have changed; opinions haven’t Four generations of McCallum faculty on what shaped them and what they think of Gen Z

How old are you? I am 81.

What do you think some characteristics are of your generation? Harder working than today for sure. That’s the biggest difference.

Everybody had to work. I don’t care; it just is a different society. Now, all that people want to do is look at their phones or their computers or punch buttons. Never want to do any actual work. People in my generation had to actually do physical labor; what’s happening now is probably going to save social security because people aren’t going to live as long; they don’t do anything. The only people that get any exercise are probably the athletes. Everybody else, they don’t do anything, just relax and punch buttons. Society’s going downhill right now.

It’ll have to change.

How well informed about world events were you as a teenager? As a teenager, probably not near as well-informed because there wasn’t that many means of communication. I mean the only thing we had was radio. But the main things that were going on, you knew about. Now you probably know about a lot of things you don’t need to know about, or it’s made up stuff.

What do you think about the millennials?

What I think about ‘em? Hadn’t really thought about them that much. They’re probably going to shape the future. Future political parties and everything will probably be based on their actions. And I think they may be getting more involved now because of all the weird stuff that’s going on. I think they’ll probably favor a third political party.

What do you think someone in today’s generation Generation Z has that you didn’t have? Every modern convenience that you can have. You don’t have to do [anything]; everything is right there for you. It’s just an easy life.

What benefits do you see Generation Z having over you at the same age? They can just be lazy and survive. This is a lazy generation.

It really is. Problems in the future.

What obstacles do you see Generation Z having that you didn’t have to overcome?

Too many distractions, all the technology. There are distractions everywhere. You have so many opportunities to make things up. If you don’t do what you’re supposed to do when you’re supposed to do it, you have six chances to make it up, which didn’t happen before.

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How old are you? I turned 70 [in January].

What do you think are some events that shaped your generation? The Vietnam War [and] the whole ’60s movement with Woodstock, peace, love, protest. The changes in racial conflict situations with busing and integration.

The initial start of mass killings was [with] the shooting at the UT Tower. The destruction of The Twin Towers—that’s something that I find it hard for people not to be able to relate to, and [there are students] that weren’t even alive then.

What do you think someone in today’s generation has that you didn’t have? Oh, obviously the technology. I think your generation is extremely distracted by your technology, and that’s scary. [And] social media, I mean—wow!

That course we did for the [Chromebooks] about your digital footprint, I think lots of young people should have [learned that] years ago.

How does Generation Z compare to other generations in school? Truthfully? Very low work ethic for a large number of kids. They just don’t understand deadlines [and they] don’t want to do work. You start out high school with 100,000 doors of opportunity out there and by the end of ninth grade, there’s only a thousand.

What do you look forward to coming from Generation Z? I look forward to them coming up with some better solutions for things.

Perhaps after this last election for our president, politicians will understand that really anybody can be president.

What obstacles do you think Gen Z has that you didn’t have? Our environment is a huge obstacle. We have a finite planet and set of resources, and they just can’t go on forever.

What social or political issues do we have today that you didn’t have? This Republican, Democrat fight where nothing gets done is just crazy. They need to get themselves together and work for a common cause. After 9/11 happened, there was a unity of us against the world. That didn’t last. It’s almost like we got a wake-up call and then we went back into this [attitude] where we’re like “we can’t do anything about it.”

What do were some cultural differences and pastimes you had as a child?

I remember when people of color had to sit at the back of the bus, I remember when there were black water fountains and white water fountains.

There’s been a major change, and people’s attitudes in my own family have changed.

How old are you? 39.

What do you think some characteristics are of your generation? I think I’m considered Generation X, which is like slacker, disengaged, directionless, adaptive, self-reliant.

What events do you think shaped your generation? The fall of the Berlin Wall, AIDS, MTV, birth of technology.

What do you think about millennials? They are idealistic, adventurous, entrepreneurial, environmentalist, somewhat entitled What do you think Generation Z has that you didn’t have? Lots of inclusive, sensitivity, social media, immediate feedback, and less need for self-reliance.

What benefits do you see Generation Z having over you at their age? I think that having instant access to answers via technology has freed up some time/energy for things like innovation. Also these days, it is easier and cheaper to travel and have interesting experiences than it used to be. And, tolerance and inclusion are more highly valued than they used to be—more people have a voice than before, and fewer people are marginalized.

What obstacles do you see Generation Z having that you didn’t have to overcome?

Because there is instant access to everything, it may be difficult for them to really focus and use a lot of time and effort to solve problems. Also, everything is broadcast on social media these days so they can’t do anything without fear that it could be posted to the internet. And, because empathy and validation are so important to the generation, I worry that the average person may be a little sensitive and needy. Less gets done when you have to consider the opinion of every party involved.

What obstacles did you have to overcome that Generation Z will not ? Having less access to information and having to spend more time doing research. Not knowing as much about what was happening in the rest of the world. Traveling without access to the internet or google maps. Less tolerance and voice for those who didn’t fit in to the norms.

What do you think some cultural differences are between generations? In Gen Z, experience is highly prized more than money/ wealth. Also being different/interesting is more highly prized. And there is an “everybody gets a trophy” mentality that we didn’t have.

How old are you? I am 24.

Do you know what generation you are?

I did some googling, and it seems like I was born right on the cusp of two generations. I am in the Millennial because I was born in 1993. However Generation Z starts in 1995.

What do you think some characteristics of your generation are?

People in my generation grew up with technology, but we got [it] later in life. I got my first cell phone as a ninth-grader, and it was a Nokia brick-looking phone. I think my generation is comfortable with technology, but can also put it away when necessary.

I still remember going outside to play on the weekends and not online. Board games were cool once. Another characteristic of [millennials] that seems to be getting worse, is [belief in] the concept that hard work pays off.

What events shaped [Millennials]?

9/11 definitely shaped my generation. I feel like people in my generation are more skeptical and on-edge when traveling. It’s weird to think that today’s high schoolers were not even alive for that event. [Another thing is] same-sex marriage laws. We are more accepting of people and look at love as love. I think that is going to get better and better as the generations grow.

How informed about world events were you as a teenager?

As a teenager, I was very ill-informed. I think teenagers are in their own little bubble as they are trying to figure out how to mature and grow up, manage school, friends, and peer pressure.

However, news on our iPhones helps increase awareness and interest.

What do you think about millennials?

I think kids today (myself included) are too invested in our phones. Kids are getting bored in class—OK, some classes are boring—but I think outside of class, their brains are too overstimulated that learning is not enough for them. I also think millennials are very accepting of all. I love that. However, it’s hard to say something without horribly offending someone and that doesn’t seem fair. Some people have different views than you and that’s OK; don’t start an argument [just] because you disagree.

What do you think Generation Z has today that you didn’t have?

Technology, entitlement, more acceptance, female independence.

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Proust Questionnaire: Dana Olson English teacher talks gas station restrooms, Taylor Swift, travel blogs and losers named Phoenix The Shield: What is your idea of perfect happiness?

DO: Being around people you care about and people who care about you. Just finding fulfillment in everyday life and not feeling like you’re constantly waiting for things to get better but that things are good and you’re comfortable with that.

TS: What is your greatest fear?

DO: To be murdered in a public restroom.

Especially gas station restrooms, I hate them.

They’re so scary; it’s like every time [I] go into a gas station bathroom I feel like there’s a pretty good chance someone has been murdered there before. Anyone can be hiding behind that door just waiting to kill you. And I also don’t like walking on those grates on the street. I prefer to walk around them just in case they fall apart when I walk on top of them, and I fall into a sewer.

TS: What is a trait you most deplore in your life?

DO: I think overall, laziness. I have very little patience for people who are lazy and who feel like they just deserve things and that they don’t have to work hard for it. Laziness is something that I have very little respect for.

TS: Who is a living person that you most look up to?

DO: I’ve always looked up to my parents [because] they’re good people. They’re caring, they always had really high expectations for us growing up, but they weren’t overbearing about it. My dad’s the smartest person I know, and as I got older I realized how much my mom did for me, and she’s just a really good mother.

TS: What is your greatest extravagance?

DO: Probably eating out. I eat out a lot because I love trying new things, and I think part of enjoying the place that you live is finding good local spots and trying new things, so I’m usually like no budget when it comes to going out and having a really good meal. We all have memories associated with food, and so I think it’s a really powerful way of bringing people together.

TS: What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

DO: Maybe perfectionism. I don’t think that everything you do needs to be perfect; that’s an unrealistic expectation for yourself.

There are very few things in your life that you’re going to look back on and be like, “Oh I did that perfectly.” I think there’s a difference between hard work and doing your best work and being a perfectionist. You shouldn’t strive for perfection because you’re always going to be disappointed. It’s OK to make mistakes and if someone’s pushing you to perfection then I don’t think that’s a healthy thing.

TS: On what occasion do you lie?

DO: I lie all the time. When my students say, “Are we your favorite class?” I always lie. I don’t know if you can publish that. My siblings think I’m a compulsive liar. I disagree, I guess sometimes I can be kind of dramatic, so I embellish my stories a little bit. They’re not lies; they’re just making my stories more interesting.

I wouldn’t lie to anyone about anything serious,

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Dana Olson sits at her desk, reading from one of her favorite books, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. “I like 19th-century Russian literature a lot,” Olson said. “‘Crime and Punishment [is] one of my favorites, so I love being able to teach that.” Photo by Joseph Cardenas. but things that aren’t going to harm them like, “Are we your favorite class?” Sure. It’s not a lie, but it’s not the truth.

TS: Which living person do you despise?

DO: Taylor Swift. I do not like Taylor Swift at all. And I’ve never liked her, I’ve thought she was a poser from day one. So yes, this causes many issues on road trips, when people try to play Taylor Swift songs: it’s not gonna happen.

Right now me and my fiancée are trying to make our wedding playlist, [and] because I am a kind and caring and loving individual, I have given him one Taylor Swift song instead of none; that was my compromise, one Taylor Swift song you can choose whatever song you want, except “Bad Blood.” I think that is one of the worst songs ever written.

TS: What or who is the greatest love of your life?

DO: Obviously my fiancée. I love him a lot.

Maybe my dog but my fiancée is a much nicer person than I am. You should always marry someone who’s out of your league I think, so I think yeah for sure he’s the love of my life. But

I also was a really big fan of my dog. That was before we met though. My dog got me through some dark days, but now that my dog is gone, my fiancée has stepped in and filled the void.

TS: Which talent would you most like to have?

DO: I wish I could dance. Dancing is more about a public thing, and when you can do really cool dance moves I think people are real jealous of you. Like, if you can hit a high note when you’re singing, yeah it’s cool, but if I could do some neat break dancing moves or something I feel like people would think that’s something way cooler.

TS: What is your favorite occupation?

DO: My dream job doesn’t really exist anymore because of the internet and blogging, but my dream job would be to write for like Lonely Planet or those top 10 travel books because that is like the best job ever. You get paid to go stay in super nice hotels, to eat at super nice restaurants, to travel and all you have to do is write two sentence reviews on everything.

Like that is the best job ever. So that would’ve

been for sure my dream job, but I realized that it wasn’t really a practical. It doesn’t really exist anymore because there are so many travel bloggers that no one really goes and buys travel books anymore, and travel books aren’t really being updated anymore. And then I had met someone one time that worked for a company that planned personalized travel itineraries of Japan, like a few cities in Japan, so he had this company where that’s what he did, and so I was telling him about this like “Oh my gosh, this would be my dream job,” and he’s like, “you need like 10 years of travel experience to even be considered [for the job],” and I was like “Well, at this rate, books will be dead,” so I was like “It’s just never going to be possible, and I’m not gonna start a travel blog.” I just wanted to jump to the part where you get paid a ton of money and get to travel. I don’t think you get paid a lot, but everything gets paid for. And then my sentences can be like, “Pillows were extra fluffy, and the service was excellent, five stars.” That would be the best thing ever, but unfortunately it doesn’t exist anymore. Now I’m stuck being a teacher. No, this is a very close second dream job of mine. Highs and lows but definitely, I like that every day is different, and I like seeing people do well. I don’t like seeing people be lazy, but I like to see people do well, so it balances out.

TS: What are your favorite names?

DO: I don’t know, I’ve never been one of those people that’s like “I have all my kids names picked out blah blah blah.” That’s not really me.

But, when I have talked about it with my fiancée, every time I know a lot of names that I don’t like, and I think the longer you teach, the more names you don’t like. I have 170 students, so that’s 170 names and so if you’re a loser student I’m always going to have a bad taste with that name, but if you’re a really good student then I’ll be like, “Oh I had a student named so and so and they were so wonderful.” But I would never name my kid something where I feel like it’d be like a self-fulfilling prophecy or anything because I was also a camp counselor, so also lots of kids, but there was this one kid named Phoenix, and Phoenix doesn’t really sound like the type of kid that would be quiet and reserved and good. He was a total lunatic, and I was like, “Well obviously, his parents named him Phoenix!” Like he kind of has this name that he has to live up to where it’s just kind of an intense name. I feel like if they would’ve named him something like John, maybe he wouldn’t have been such a psychopath or something. Is there anyone named Phoenix at this school?

Hopefully not, they might be a psycho.

Interview by Joseph Cardenas

This interview is based on a modified version of the Proust Questionnaire, a series of 35 questions meant to gauge the personality and values of the answerer. This page offers an excerpt from our full interview with Ms. Olson. To read the complete conversation, please visit macshieldonline.com.

26 march 2018

the

shield

Segregation in AISD: then and now The reasons for the racial divide are many as are the ways in which it shapes the student experience SOPHIE RYLAND assistant editor

Though Leander Thompson’s parents were in and out of jail frequently when he was a kid, he always managed to push himself to succeed in elementary school. When he got to middle school, however, his academic life went downhill when he noticed something about himself.

“Middle school was when I became aware that I was noticeably different,” Thompson said. “It was not until the first day of middle school that I realized I had to officially split from my elementary gang. I went from being a straight A student, to an F student.

Not because I was dumb, but because I was unhappy.”

Thompson had gone into his honors classes looking for his friends to sit with, but he soon realized that now, his was one of the only AfricanAmerican faces in the room.

“I had no friends to relate to,” he said. “I felt like everyone looked down on me. Not having class with my friends encouraged me to be late all the time just to walk them to theirs. Coming into the magnet program I was already behind. I had never even heard of doing homework in the summer.

When it came to buy materials for big projects I was late getting them, because we did not have a car. Everything in general was more difficult.”

Unfortunately, Thompson’s story is a familiar one across the nation, but particularly in Austin.

Austin: A Segregated City If one looks at a map of Austin and considers the racial distribution, something becomes starkly apparent: Austin is a segregated city. The west side of I-35 is overwhelmingly white and affluent, while the east side is where most of those living in poverty and people of color reside.

In 2015, researchers Richard Florida and Charlotta Mellander found that while Austin is one of the most rapidly growing urban areas, it is also one of the most economically segregated metropolitan areas in the United States. Additionally, it is the only city in America experiencing both overall population growth and a decline in its African-American population.

According to city demographics, AfricanAmericans once made up about 25 percent of Austin’s population, but that number has fallen to 8 percent and will drop further to about 5 percent according to city projections. As Austin gets more expensive, African-American families move out to suburbs, while more affluent white citizens move en masse to the downtown area. The black population in Pflugerville has quintupled since 2000.

In a University of Texas study, 56 percent of African-Americans who left Austin to move to surrounding suburbs stated that they moved out because the cost of living was unaffordable, while 24 percent of respondents said they were unhappy with the quality of education their children were receiving in east Austin’s schools.

“Austin has a horrific student achievement gap,” says Dr. Kevin Foster, a McCallum parent and UT professor specializing in race and education. “Black students are really badly underperforming, and one of the things you see as a result is the exodus of black

14 feature

Left: Students from the original L. C. Anderson, AISD’s high school for African-Americans, study chemistry on October 31, 1955. Photo by Neal Douglass.

Accessed through The Portal to Texas History. Right: A 15-year-old Shirley Hendricks was the first African American student to integrate McCallum in 1963. Photo from the 1965 McCallum yearbook.

“We really need to push our students to be in [AP and pre-AP] classes, but then make sure that those classes are welcoming for them, because the major complaint that comes out of their mouth is, ‘I’m the only person of color.’”

—AVID teacher Elida Bonet

families from Austin schools. They go to other school districts they think are safer for their kids, and where they think they’ll have a better experience.”

Race and class are tightly intertwined; the median income for black households in Austin is about 40 percent lower than those in white households. Additionally, more than one-third of the children of color living in Travis County live under the poverty line, more than five times the rate of white children living in poverty.

These segregated neighborhoods overwhelmingly result in segregated schools. Another UT study found that in Austin, schools are segregated by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status and language, a phenomenon they term “triple segregation.”

Schools suffering from triple segregation are half as likely to be rated as “exemplary.”

But it’s not just Austin; the link between race and wealth holds true across the country. Additionally, the rest of the country is similarly segregated by race and socioeconomic status. According to a report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, half of black children live in neighborhoods with a poverty rate above 20 percent. This poverty is correlated with higher rates of violent crime as well as weak infrastructure.

According to a study released by Stanford University, the four factors that most affect achievement gaps are racial gaps in income, poverty rates, unemployment rates and educational attainment by parents and other family members.

Another systematic factor that goes into school segregation is inequitable school funding. Forty to sixty percent of each school’s budget depends on

local funding, which perpetuates a cycle in which wealthier schools attract wealthier parents, who in turn contribute to the wealth of the school, which then becomes even wealthier and attracts more wealthy parents, and the cycle continues.

A History of Discrimination March 22 marks the 90th anniversary of Austin’s infamous Koch and Fowler city plan. This plan, which the city of Austin adopted in 1928, designated an area east of Interstate-35 as Austin’s “Negro district,” establishing most of the city’s segregated facilities there in an effort to push the black population into the area. An area south of the “Negro district” was similarly designated for Hispanic families.

The high school designated for African-American students was the original L. C. Anderson School. Its campus now hosts the Alternative Learning Center.

In the early 1900s, as Austin’s Mexican population grew exponentially, AISD established multiple schools for Spanish-speaking children.

Superintendent A. N. McCallum, spearheading the school’s opening, responded to protesting parents by saying that the “children were not transferred because they are Mexicans, but because of their inability to speak English makes them an impediment to the progress of the Englishspeaking children.” The Austin History Center has since suggested that the schools likely targeted students based on Mexican ethnicity rather than language because those with Mexican-sounding surnames were segregated into the schools

regardless of what language they spoke.

The AISD school board order that schools be integrated came in August of 1955, but it was not fully implemented across all grade levels until June of 1963. Thirteen black teenagers were the first to integrate Austin’s schools; one enrolled at McCallum, five at Travis, and seven at Austin High. The first student to integrate McCallum was Margie Hendricks Bedford, then 15.

Austin’s desegregation order was lifted in 1980; afterwards, the city no longer was obligated to use busing or any other initiatives to proactively promote integration. Some social scientists have argued that rescinding integration court orders prompted many cities across the country to rapidly resegregate.

What Segregation Means for Students and Schools Schools that are segregated by race and income are far more likely to underperform academically as opposed to whiter, wealthier schools, a concept known as the “achievement gap.”

AVID, or Advancement Via Individual Determination, instructor Elida Bonet has firsthand experience with the achievement gap. She says that one of the harder parts of supporting her students of color is encouraging them with AP classes.

“If you’re not doing pre-APs and APs, college is going to be really hard,” Bonet said. “We really need to push our students to be in those classes, but then make sure that those classes are welcoming for them, because the major complaint that comes out of their mouth is, ‘I’m the only person of color.’”

Bonet says that many socioeconomic factors beyond students’ control can negatively affect their achievement.

“If you’re hungry, then your brain is just not working well,” she said. “We [also] have so many students who work. They’re pretty much supporting their entire families. We don’t realize [we have students] working 40 hours.”

In many states, districts spend more per pupil on disadvantaged student populations, but low-

income and minority students are still more likely to have inexperienced teachers and a greater teacher turnover rate.

Another issue to consider is that while more than 50 percent of the public school population consists of students of color, according to the Department of Education more than 80 percent of teachers are white. Studies have shown that white teachers are about 30 percent less likely than black teachers to predict that a black student will earn a college degree, and 40 percent less likely to predict that that same student will complete high school.

“Among teachers there are not always consistent expectations of students and sometimes, call it a gentle prejudice, perhaps,” Dr. Foster said. “Once schools get a reputation as being this way or that way, it too becomes a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. You have structures that treat kids differently, and when you treat kids differently, lo and behold, kids perform differently.”

AISD superintendent Dr. Paul Cruz says the district knows of these issues and is confronting them directly.

“You have to just call it out at the leadership level … when [my team and I] meet with principals and our staff members, this is actually what we talk about, and we say, ‘These are the areas where we’re doing well and we’re proud of that, and here are the areas where we’re not doing well, and we know we need to change it.’”

Integration doesn’t just benefit children of color; instilling the value of diversity promotes critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Ninety-six percent of major employers said in a survey that it is important that their employees be “comfortable working with colleagues, customers and/or clients from diverse cultural backgrounds.”

So is increased integration a priority for the current administration in Washington? The U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, recently ended the Opening Doors, Expanding Opportunities grant program, which was meant to support districts in expanding their socioeconomic diversity. She has also prioritized and promoted school choice, especially charter schools. Experts on education disagree, but past studies have suggested that charter schools intensify existing segregation.

One reason magnet schools can be more segregated is due to a behavior termed “white flight,” where white people, consciously or unconsciously, seek out communities that are predominantly white. One researcher found that white families in majority-black neighborhoods are more likely to enroll their children in private, charter or magnet schools than white families in majority-white neighborhoods, regardless of income.

One promising and inexpensive solution to level the playing field is a system of controlled-choice, in which parents rank their top picks for schools in a lottery system, and about half of each school’s seats are reserved for lower-income students and half for higher-income students. This system is more popular among parents than forced citywide bussing.

Many districts are now focusing on integration that is based on socioeconomic status rather than race, as The Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that it is unconstitutional for schools to implement integration efforts on the basis of race.

AISD launched a pilot plan for integrating schools in 2016, focusing on adding special programs to attract more affluent families to District 1, which encompasses much of east Austin and includes many of the most segregated schools in Austin.

Another potential solution to promoting integration would be to keep low-income families in Austin in the district by promoting affordable housing. One proposed policy is for the city to

26 march 2018

incentivize mixed developments—not 0 or 100 percentaffordable housing— to prevent the isolation of the wealthy.

There are other solutions to be considered on a more personal scale. The national AVID program is designed to help first-generation, low-income students go to college. Bonet says that it is necessary to support these kids because otherwise, they do not have the encouragement they need to succeed.

“You have somebody who’s looking after you, who’s encouraging you, who, when it’s time to select courses, says, ‘You should be taking pre-AP, you should be doing this, these are the classes you may need for college,’” she said.

Other programs to help students in this situation include universal early childhood education, which can help close the achievement gap by making up for factors such as less time spent reading in the home, mental health support services, health-care programs, and nutrition efforts. For example, Austin ISD reduced the Latino dropout rate to a third of what it was five years ago by offering more mental-health and tutoring services.

Bonet says that it helps both teachers and students to speak frankly about race and how they can help.

“I think that we have really had a lot of conversations with faculty… We sit around saying, ‘What can we do? How can we help? How do we keep kids in pre-AP and AP?’, because you walk into a pre-AP or AP class, and there’s almost no minorities,” Bonet said.

Fortunately, Leander Thompson said that he found strong mentors among his teachers, and they helped push him to overcome the challenge of feeling alone in the classroom. He is now a student at Tuskegee University. Thompson urges all teachers to look out for their kids who may be struggling with circumstances beyond their control.

“Get to know your student,” he said. “Adults can help by acknowledging the fact that every child is different. Not every child starts school knowing the same things, or they may be used to learning things a certain way. In the classroom, teachers should strive to make their students feel comfortable. … There’s more to teaching than just teaching, and the older I get I realize this.”

Dr. Foster similarly urges teachers and administrators to do all they can to support those who, for whatever reason, feel discouraged by the system.

“This is not just a national challenge, it’s also an Austin-specific challenge, but it’s also a challenge that can be addressed,” Foster said. “You have many kids of all backgrounds who have tremendous potential, and it’s up to us as educators to tap into and build upon that potential.”

This is an abridged version of this story. To read the full version, go to www.macshieldonline.com.

Minority percentage of student population

Economically-disadvantaged Percent of students at percentage of student population risk of dropping out

Percent of students who took at least one AP test

Minority percentage of teacher population

AISD

72.7

53.3

52.2

35.4

38.7

McCallum

52.7

26.7

39.8

36.9

24.8

Eastside Memorial

97.3

85.2

81.4

36.9

41.2

LASA

44.4

7

2.2

92.4

17.1

LBJ

98

77.6

66.5

3.9

55.1

Above: The map illustrates the racial disparity between the east and west sides of Austin. Map by Eliot Tretter in “Austin Restricted: Progressivism, Zoning, Private Racial Covenants, and the Making of a Segregated City.” Report accessed through Creative Commons. MIDDLE: Senior Josue ZepedaSanic and AVID teacher Elida Bonet pass out candy to AVID members to make Dell Children’s Hospital gift bags. AVID works to prepare first-generation college students for higher education and future careers. Below: Table created by Sophie Ryland based on 2015-16 district data.

feature 15

the

shield

Segregation in AISD then and now The reasons for the racial divide are many as are the ways in which it shapes the student experience SOPHIE RYLAND assistant editor

Though Leander Thompson’s parents were in and out of jail frequently when he was a kid, he always managed to push himself to succeed in elementary school. When he got to middle school, however, his academic life went downhill when he noticed something about himself.

“Middle school was when I became aware that I was noticeably different,” Thompson said. “It was not until the first day of middle school that I realized I had to officially split from my elementary gang. I went from being a straight A student, to an F student.

Not because I was dumb, but because I was unhappy.”

Thompson had gone into his honors classes looking for his friends to sit with, but he soon realized that now, his was one of the only AfricanAmerican faces in the room.

“I had no friends to relate to,” he said. “I felt like everyone looked down on me. Not having class with my friends encouraged me to be late all the time just to walk them to theirs. Coming into the magnet program I was already behind. I had never even heard of doing homework in the summer.

When it came to buy materials for big projects I was late getting them, because we did not have a car. Everything in general was more difficult.”

Unfortunately, Thompson’s story is a familiar one across the nation, but particularly in Austin.

Austin: A Segregated City If one looks at a map of Austin and considers the racial distribution, something becomes starkly apparent: Austin is a segregated city. The west side of I-35 is overwhelmingly white and affluent, while the east side is where most of those living in poverty and people of color reside.

In 2015, researchers Richard Florida and Charlotta Mellander found that while Austin is one of the most rapidly growing urban areas, it is also one of the most economically segregated metropolitan areas in the United States. Additionally, it is the only city in America experiencing both overall population growth and a decline in its African-American population.

According to city demographics, AfricanAmericans once made up about 25 percent of Austin’s population, but that number has fallen to 8 percent and will drop further to about 5 percent according to city projections. As Austin gets more expensive, African-American families move out to suburbs, while more affluent white citizens move en masse to the downtown area. The black population in Pflugerville has quintupled since 2000.

In a University of Texas study, 56 percent of African-Americans who left Austin to move to surrounding suburbs stated that they moved out because the cost of living was unaffordable, while 24 percent of respondents said they were unhappy with the quality of education their children were receiving in east Austin’s schools.

“Austin has a horrific student achievement gap,” says Dr. Kevin Foster, a McCallum parent and UT professor specializing in race and education. “Black students are really badly underperforming, and one of the things you see as a result is the exodus of black

14 feature

Left: Students from the original L. C. Anderson, AISD’s high school for African-Americans, study chemistry on October 31, 1955. Photo by Neal Douglass.

Accessed through The Portal to Texas History. Right: A 15-year-old Shirley Hendricks was the first African American student to integrate McCallum in 1963. Photo from the 1965 McCallum yearbook.

“We really need to push our students to be in [AP and pre-AP] classes, but then make sure that those classes are welcoming for them, because the major complaint that comes out of their mouth is, ‘I’m the only person of color.’”

—AVID teacher Elida Bonet

families from Austin schools. They go to other school districts they think are safer for their kids, and where they think they’ll have a better experience.”

Race and class are tightly intertwined; the median income for black households in Austin is about 40 percent lower than those in white households. Additionally, more than one-third of the children of color living in Travis County live under the poverty line, more than five times the rate of white children living in poverty.

These segregated neighborhoods overwhelmingly result in segregated schools. Another UT study found that in Austin, schools are segregated by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status and language, a phenomenon they term “triple segregation.”

Schools suffering from triple segregation are half as likely to be rated as “exemplary.”

But it’s not just Austin; the link between race and wealth holds true across the country. Additionally, the rest of the country is similarly segregated by race and socioeconomic status. According to a report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, half of black children live in neighborhoods with a poverty rate above 20 percent. This poverty is correlated with higher rates of violent crime as well as weak infrastructure.

According to a study released by Stanford University, the four factors that most affect achievement gaps are racial gaps in income, poverty rates, unemployment rates and educational attainment by parents and other family members.

Another systematic factor that goes into school segregation is inequitable school funding. Forty to sixty percent of each school’s budget depends on

local funding, which perpetuates a cycle in which wealthier schools attract wealthier parents, who in turn contribute to the wealth of the school, which then becomes even wealthier and attracts more wealthy parents, and the cycle continues.

A History of Discrimination March 22 marks the 90th anniversary of Austin’s infamous Koch and Fowler city plan. This plan, which the city of Austin adopted in 1928, designated an area east of Interstate-35 as Austin’s “Negro district,” establishing most of the city’s segregated facilities there in an effort to push the black population into the area. An area south of the “Negro district” was similarly designated for Hispanic families.

The high school designated for African-American students was the original L. C. Anderson School. Its campus now hosts the Alternative Learning Center.

In the early 1900s, as Austin’s Mexican population grew exponentially, AISD established multiple schools for Spanish-speaking children.

Superintendent A. N. McCallum, spearheading the school’s opening, responded to protesting parents by saying that the “children were not transferred because they are Mexicans, but because of their inability to speak English makes them an impediment to the progress of the Englishspeaking children.” The Austin History Center has since suggested that the schools likely targeted students based on Mexican ethnicity rather than language because those with Mexican-sounding surnames were segregated into the schools

regardless of what language they spoke.

The AISD school board order that schools be integrated came in August of 1955, but it was not fully implemented across all grade levels until June of 1963. Thirteen black teenagers were the first to integrate Austin’s schools; one enrolled at McCallum, five at Travis, and seven at Austin High. The first student to integrate McCallum was Margie Hendricks Bedford, then 15.

Austin’s desegregation order was lifted in 1980; afterwards, the city no longer was obligated to use busing or any other initiatives to proactively promote integration. Some social scientists have argued that rescinding integration court orders prompted many cities across the country to rapidly resegregate.

What Segregation Means for Students and Schools Schools that are segregated by race and income are far more likely to underperform academically as opposed to whiter, wealthier schools, a concept known as the “achievement gap.”

AVID, or Advancement Via Individual Determination, instructor Elida Bonet has firsthand experience with the achievement gap. She says that one of the harder parts of supporting her students of color is encouraging them with AP classes.

“If you’re not doing pre-APs and APs, college is going to be really hard,” Bonet said. “We really need to push our students to be in those classes, but then make sure that those classes are welcoming for them, because the major complaint that comes out of their mouth is, ‘I’m the only person of color.’”

Bonet says that many socioeconomic factors beyond students’ control can negatively affect their achievement.

“If you’re hungry, then your brain is just not working well,” she said. “We [also] have so many students who work. They’re pretty much supporting their entire families. We don’t realize [we have students] working 40 hours.”

In many states, districts spend more per pupil on disadvantaged student populations, but low-

income and minority students are still more likely to have inexperienced teachers and a greater teacher turnover rate.

Another issue to consider is that while more than 50 percent of the public school population consists of students of color, according to the Department of Education more than 80 percent of teachers are white. Studies have shown that white teachers are about 30 percent less likely than black teachers to predict that a black student will earn a college degree, and 40 percent less likely to predict that that same student will complete high school.

“Among teachers there are not always consistent expectations of students and sometimes, call it a gentle prejudice, perhaps,” Dr. Foster said. “Once schools get a reputation as being this way or that way, it too becomes a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. You have structures that treat kids differently, and when you treat kids differently, lo and behold, kids perform differently.”

AISD superintendent Dr. Paul Cruz says the district knows of these issues and is confronting them directly.

“You have to just call it out at the leadership level … when [my team and I] meet with principals and our staff members, this is actually what we talk about, and we say, ‘These are the areas where we’re doing well and we’re proud of that, and here are the areas where we’re not doing well, and we know we need to change it.’”

Integration doesn’t just benefit children of color; instilling the value of diversity promotes critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Ninety-six percent of major employers said in a survey that it is important that their employees be “comfortable working with colleagues, customers and/or clients from diverse cultural backgrounds.”

So is increased integration a priority for the current administration in Washington? The U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, recently ended the Opening Doors, Expanding Opportunities grant program, which was meant to support districts in expanding their socioeconomic diversity. She has also prioritized and promoted school choice, especially charter schools. Experts on education disagree, but past studies have suggested that charter schools intensify existing segregation.

One reason magnet schools can be more segregated is due to a behavior termed “white flight,” where white people, consciously or unconsciously, seek out communities that are predominantly white. One researcher found that white families in majority-black neighborhoods are more likely to enroll their children in private, charter or magnet schools than white families in majority-white neighborhoods, regardless of income.

One promising and inexpensive solution to level the playing field is a system of controlled-choice, in which parents rank their top picks for schools in a lottery system, and about half of each school’s seats are reserved for lower-income students and half for higher-income students. This system is more popular among parents than forced citywide bussing.

Many districts are now focusing on integration that is based on socioeconomic status rather than race, as The Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that it is unconstitutional for schools to implement integration efforts on the basis of race.

AISD launched a pilot plan for integrating schools in 2016, focusing on adding special programs to attract more affluent families to District 1, which encompasses much of east Austin and includes many of the most segregated schools in Austin.

Another potential solution to promoting integration would be to keep low-income families in Austin in the district by promoting affordable housing. One proposed policy is for the city to

26 march 2018

incentivize mixed developments—not 0 or 100 percentaffordable housing— to prevent the isolation of the wealthy.

There are other solutions to be considered on a more personal scale. The national AVID program is designed to help first-generation, low-income students go to college. Bonet says that it is necessary to support these kids because otherwise, they do not have the encouragement they need to succeed.

“You have somebody who’s looking after you, who’s encouraging you, who, when it’s time to select courses, says, ‘You should be taking pre-AP, you should be doing this, these are the classes you may need for college,’” she said.

Other programs to help students in this situation include universal early childhood education, which can help close the achievement gap by making up for factors such as less time spent reading in the home, mental health support services, health-care programs, and nutrition efforts. For example, Austin ISD reduced the Latino dropout rate to a third of what it was five years ago by offering more mental-health and tutoring services.

Bonet says that it helps both teachers and students to speak frankly about race and how they can help.

“I think that we have really had a lot of conversations with faculty… We sit around saying, ‘What can we do? How can we help? How do we keep kids in pre-AP and AP?’, because you walk into a pre-AP or AP class, and there’s almost no minorities,” Bonet said.

Fortunately, Leander Thompson said that he found strong mentors among his teachers, and they helped push him to overcome the challenge of feeling alone in the classroom. He is now a student at Tuskegee University. Thompson urges all teachers to look out for their kids who may be struggling with circumstances beyond their control.

“Get to know your student,” he said. “Adults can help by acknowledging the fact that every child is different. Not every child starts school knowing the same things, or they may be used to learning things a certain way. In the classroom, teachers should strive to make their students feel comfortable. … There’s more to teaching than just teaching, and the older I get I realize this.”

Dr. Foster similarly urges teachers and administrators to do all they can to support those who, for whatever reason, feel discouraged by the system.

“This is not just a national challenge, it’s also an Austin-specific challenge, but it’s also a challenge that can be addressed,” Foster said. “You have many kids of all backgrounds who have tremendous potential, and it’s up to us as educators to tap into and build upon that potential.”

This is an abridged version of this story. To read the full version, go to www.macshieldonline.com.

Minority percentage of student population

Economically-disadvantaged Percent of students at percentage of student population risk of dropping out

Percent of students who took at least one AP test

Minority percentage of teacher population

AISD

72.7

53.3

52.2

35.4

38.7

McCallum

52.7

26.7

39.8

36.9

24.8

Eastside Memorial

97.3

85.2

81.4

36.9

41.2

LASA

44.4

7

2.2

92.4

17.1

LBJ

98

77.6

66.5

3.9

55.1

Above: The map illustrates the racial disparity between the east and west sides of Austin. Map by Eliot Tretter in “Austin Restricted: Progressivism, Zoning, Private Racial Covenants, and the Making of a Segregated City.” Report accessed through Creative Commons. MIDDLE: Senior Josue ZepedaSanic and AVID teacher Elida Bonet pass out candy to AVID members to make Dell Children’s Hospital gift bags. AVID works to prepare first-generation college students for higher education and future careers. Below: Table created by Sophie Ryland based on 2015-16 district data.

feature 15

the

shield

The Ale‘X’a Files

Austin makes Amazon list of Top 20 HQ2 sites MAX RHODES staff reporter

Anthony Hopkins lounges in a garden with several peacocks in Amazon’s Super Bowl LII commercial. Fans have pointed out how this depiction could be alluding to Austin’s Mayfield Park. The perceived allusion is one of several details in the ad that some observers believe might indicate that Amazon has already chosen Austin to be the home of its HQ2.

Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world, is keeping the nation’s eye on his shipping company, Amazon. On Jan. 18, they released a new list of cities to possibly host their second headquarters.

Compared to the original list of 238 cities, this new list contains only 20. Among those listed are Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, New York City and Washington D.C. And still at the top is Austin.

Amazon has said it will release what city the headquarters will be in by the end of 2018, and with the stakes high, people have been looking for hints dropped by the company on what city they will ultimately choose. It’s suspected they did just that during Super Bowl LII. During the game, Amazon ran a commercial in which their artificial intelligence service, Alexa, supposedly lost her voice, and various celebrities

had to fill in, such as Gordon Ramsay, Cardi B, and Anthony Hopkins. At the beginning of the commercial, Alexa tells a customer the weather of Austin, before losing her voice. This small detail can be easily buried by the rest of the commercial, but it could also be a significant clue. It’s probably not a coincidence that they mentioned one of the top cities in the running for their second headquarters during one of the most watched events of the year.

It’s impossible to determine if Amazon ran this commercial to drop the hint that they are moving to Austin, as it is a very small detail. But that hasn’t stopped people from making some wild assumptions. For example, the reason they say Alexa lost her voice was because of the bad allergies in Austin.

Also, when a customer asked her to play country music, it’s because Austin is a hub for several genres of music, and Anthony Hopkins feeding the peacocks is in reference to Austin’s Mayfield park.

Of course, these are very far fetched theories, but it’s fun to think about.

Knights shine at SXSW Zamarron, Butler present at festival ANNA COMPTON assistant editor

Two students had the chance to present their passions during the annual South by Southwest festival across Austin earlier this month. Junior Xavier Zamarron presented at a panel during the festival’s education section, or SXSWedu, and sophomore Weatherly Giblin had her short film shown at Texas High School Shorts program.

Zamarron presented in a mindfulness panel at SXSWedu alongside two other students— first grader Teo Cardenas and fifth grader Addison Green— and his former kindergarten teacher, James Butler. Butler now works as a member of the Austin Independent School District’s social emotional learning, or SEL program, and specializes in mindfulness. As a mindfulness specialist, Butler encourages students and teachers to incorporate the meditative techniques of mindfulness in the classrooms and in their lives outside of school.

“Mindfulness is something that I’m very passionate about because it helped me through a difficult stretch in my personal life,” Butler said. “I realized how helpful [mindfulness] was for me and started using it with my students about eight years ago. It completely transformed my class atmosphere, so I kept going and haven’t stopped.”

Zamarron and Butler were able to reconnect because of Zamarron’s involvement in the PALS, or Peer Assisted Leadership and Service, program at McCallum. Shortly afterwards,

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Butler asked Zamarron to be a part of his mindfulness program, and the rest is history.

Zamarron wasn’t the only PAL represented at the panel, however. Other PALS shared their opinions and experiences about mindfulness on video, which was shown at the SXSWedu panel on March 12.

“I have been to so many conferences and very rarely hear from kids in the presentations [or] panels even though we’re always talking about kids,” Butler said. “I believe in the power of the youth so I wanted to provide a platform for them to share their voice.”

Zamarron believes presenting at SXSWedu was a great opportunity to practice public speaking, and he hopes to continue practicing with the Social and Emotional Learning Program in the future.

“To prepare for the panel I’m just doing a lot of mindfulness,” Zamarron said. “But also we have a bunch of practice sessions where we invite family members and stuff like that to practice for fun on people.”

Similarly, junior Weatherly Giblin prepared for the showing of her film as part of the Texas High School Shorts Program. After making her film for her dance show, McCallum’s film teacher, Ken Rogers, suggested she submit it to SXSW. “My film is more experimental than a story,” Giblin said. “It’s a lot of glitter and lights and dancing, and it’s just more pleasing to the eye ... it’s supposed to evoke an emotion.”

Giblin has never attended SXSW as an audience member, but is excited to see all the different films and meeting new people who share similar interests.

“I think I’ll probably get a different perspective,” Giblin said. “And I’ll definitely get to see a lot more films [this year], so that’s exciting.”

A still photo from sophomore Weatherly Giblin’s short film, titled “Take a Chance.” The film was shown in the Texas High School Shorts section at SXSW on March 10. When asked how she plans out her films, Giblin responded saying “Usually when I’m filming I kind of just come up with ideas on the spot rather than planning it out. I get inspired by the location or the actors I’m filming with and I go from there.” Published with permission.

Teo Cardenas, Xavier Zamarron, James Butler, and Addison Green pose at SXSWedu on March 12, the day of their panel presentation.

Photo by Sinthia Rangel.

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Spring sports round-up

Junior Lily Meyers powers past an LBJ defender on Feb. 21.

Photo by Bella Russo.

Varsity rebounds to win three straight games

Senior Mason Bryant pitches against Austin High on March 12. Photo by Greg James.

Senior Mason Bryant struck out 15 Travis Rebels, resulting in a victory March 21 over host Travis at Burger Baseball Stadium. The Knights won 4-2, as freshman Trinidad Dela Garza drove in two of McCallum’s four runs and scored once. Senior Davis Roe scored twice.

The Travis win gives the Knights a 3-1 district record, second only to the LBJ Jaguars who are 4-0 in district play. The Knights’ sole district loss was to the Jaguars 3-2 on March 6. The district title could be on the line the next time McCallum plays LBJ in the last district game of the year on April 24.

The Knights faced off against Travis on Friday, but we did not have game information at the time we sent The Shield to print.

The McCallum varsity girls soccer team wrapped up a second-place district finish with a 3-0 win at Ann Richards on March 10, their last game of the regular season. In all, the Knights went 11-2-1 in district play, and 15-4-2 overall.

“We finished second in district, which is pretty good, and we only lost to Austin High [in district], [which is] a very good team,” said freshman goalkeeper Lindsey Plotkin. “So I think the season has gone pretty well so far.”

McCallum’s second-place district finish earned them a first-round game against Dripping Springs at 8 p.m. Thursday at Burger Annex. Plotkin says the team’s goal is to make it farther in the playoffs than they did last year when they fell in the first round.

“I want to win at least one game,” Plotkin said. “If not, I want to play well and try to make it a close game, so even if we don’t win I want it to be a good game and not a blowout.”

—Steven Tibbetts

Senior Addie Race leads off second after her first double of the game on March 21.

Photo by JR Cardenas.

Varsity softball team overwhelms Lanier

Gerohan Irias joins Marcel Lopez-Reed, Jerry Howard and Adrian Martinez in celebrating one of his three goals as McCallum beat Austin High on Feb. 20. Photo by Isaias Cruz.

Boys soccer wins eight of nine to earn playoff spot The varsity boys soccer team will face Dripping Springs in the first round of the 5A playoffs on March 27. Although the team lost 3-2 to Dripping Springs at the beginning of the season, senior goalie Eric LaWare said that the team has improved more and is ready to take on the Tigers.

“We’re both very strong teams, and it should be a good match,” LaWare said. “We’ve improved a lot throughout the season, and we’re ready to show them what we’ve learned.”

The team is currently on a nine-game unbeaten streak having won eight games and drawn one.

26 march 2018

Girls soccer works together to finish second in district

Addie Race and Julia Crofut both went 3-for-3 with three runs batted in and four runs scored as two of the stars in a veritable Knight constellation as the varsity softball team outshone Lanier, 20-0 on March 21 at Noack.

“It was so much fun. The team was in such a good mood and it honestly just felt so nice to play,” Race said. “No one was stressed and it felt good to win.”

Zoë Hocker homered and drove in three runs, Ciara Medrano hit two triples and drove in three runs, and Nina Buford pitched a shutout while striking out seven.

Senior Mariah Jackson scores the first run of the game against Lanier. Photo by JR Cardenas.

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Gammerdinger named head football coach DO NOT changesub this template

Players say Coach G will bring discipline, structure to team JULIE ROBERTSON co-editor in-chief

Ten years ago, Thomas Gammerdinger was a rookie coach teaching special teams to seventhgraders. The Friday before spring break, he accepted the post as head football coach and athletic director at McCallum, taking the reins of a team that reeled off 14 straight victories en route to the 5A Division 2 state semifinals.

When Macjournalism caught up with him on Tuesday, Gammerdinger found it hard to put into words what the new position means to him.

“I’ve worked here at McCallum for eight years,” Gammerdinger said. “I’ve been a coach from 10 years. It means a lot that I get to be at McCallum because I love this school, and I love these kids and I get to share this awesome moment with kids that I care about and coaches that are good friends of mine.”

Of his middle-school coaching origins Gammerdinger joked that there really is not a lower position you can have in public school athletics and that even in those humble beginnings, the head coaching high school position has always been his ultimate goal.

“I’m not going to say it was a straight upward trajectory,” Gammerdinger said.

“There were certainly setbacks but that’s what makes it better. It makes it good whenever somethings hard you got to work for it and you got to grind for it.”

Gammerdinger said he went to talk to Principal Mike Garrison the Monday after Coach Taylor left and told him he was interested in the job.

“He told me to apply for it, and I went down and interviewed about two weeks ago down

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at the Burger Center Office,” Gammerdinger said. “There was about a seven-person panel there including Mr. Garrison and they were thorough and asked me about 10 questions and called me the next day and said they were going to offer me.”

Garrison said that Gammerdinger was the best man for the job.

“He knows football, he loves McCallum, he loves his players,” Garrison said. “And with his leadership, the McCallum football program will continue to be successful.”

As defensive coordinator, Gammerdinger oversaw a vast improvement in the team’s defense during its historic 2017 regular season and playoff run. After giving up 130 points in its first five games of the season, the Knight defense held its next nine opponents (including four playoff teams) to 72 points. In the season’s signature win— a 20-7 victory over 2016 5A D2 state finalist Calallen—the defense had perhaps its finest hour.

Junior Deron Gage, who totaled more than 1,382 yards from scrimmage and scored 15 touchdowns in 2017, said his favorite memory so far with Gammerdinger came at that moment.

“After we beat Calallen, [Coach G] came into the locker room and took off his shirt and started screaming,” Gage said. “That was pretty fun and he got us hyped up. He hypes us up every game so I’m ready for him to take over as the head coach and lead us into playoffs.”

At the football banquet in January, Gammerdinger was quick to give his players the credit for the defense’s turnaround.

“You really can’t say enough about these kids,” Gammerdinger said. “It’s just a really special group of people. They did everything we ever asked them to do. We always talk about how on defense we want to play with effort, accountability and toughness, and these guys, they lived it. It’s rare to meet a group of young people who are as committed to something as these guys were.”

Senior linebacker Jackson Masters credited

“We are going to define success for us as self actualization: we are going to be as good as we can be.

—Head coach Thomas Gammerdinger Gammerdinger and his other Mac coaches for helping him grow from a scrawny freshman special teams player into a senior defensive leader who will play Division 1 football at Texas State next year. He especially praised Coach G for running the offseason weight program that helped him get bigger and strong between his junior and senior years.

“I don’t think I could ever thank Coach G, Coach Osorio, and everyone else enough for what they did for me,” Masters said. “G, Osorio, and Stancik helped me develop into a good football player and they are like father figures to me. I love them. I only got this type of opportunity because of what the coaches, my teammates, my parents and what McCallum did for me.”

Tackle Judah Copeland expressed the same gratitude when he talked about his opportunity to play college football at Harding University next season. “[The coaches] gave me the most they can give to a freshman,” Copeland said. “Mac gave me the worth ethic it really takes to be successful doing anything really. Shout out to Coach G for that.

That man is one of the hardest working men I have ever been around.”

Gammerdinger’s willingness to work hard is equaled by a humility that has endears him to his players. The returning players we contacted all expressed eagerness to work with Gammerdinger as their head coach. Like Gage,

Newly appointed head coach and athletic director Thomas Gammerdinger coaches up his defensive players during the Calallen game. Photo by Dave Winter. junior nose tackle Lloyd Barriere said he was eager to get to work under Gammerdinger’s leadership.

“The overall mood will change on the team,” Barriere said. “We will be even more prepared for the next season than we were this season.” ” Junior Gabe Williams, another key defensive starter at free safety in the 2017 season, also said he was glad that Gammerdinger was going to be the head coach.

“I was really excited and happy for him,” Williams said. “I thought that he knew our group well and would be the best person for the job.”

Williams also said that Gammerdinger knows how to structure practices and scrimmages in order to prepare the team in the best way for their games.

“I think that he will be a lot more structured, and he will try to get the team to focus on perfecting the fundamentals and details of the game,” Williams said. “After losing such a strong and talented 2018 class the details will be a lot more important this year.”

In terms of winning games in 2018, Gammerdinger referenced John Wooden and his definition of success.

“The definition of success isn’t necessarily winning every game,” Gammerdinger said.

“But if you do the best that you can do, then there is not much more you could have done.

So we are going to define success for us as self actualization, we are going to be as good as we can be. That will be success.”

“In the last game of the year against College Station, even when the game seemed to be out of hand he was still faithful to us,” Williams said.

“He never gave up on us, which I think is the reason why we all care about him so much.”

—with reporting by Delaney Carter, Amarissa Lozano and Steven Tibbetts

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JULIE ROBERTSON co-editor in-chief

the best year in school history for the McCallum 2017 was football program. The team made it to the state semifinals, so it is understandable that head coach Charles Taylor would get some looks from programs looking to hire a new coach.

One such program, Pflugerville High School, liked what they saw in Taylor and offered him the a job as head coach and athletic director. Taylor informed his football team and the faculty on Feb. 14 that he has accepted the offer.

“It was a great opportunity, good for my family, close to the house,” Taylor told The Shield. “Just little details like that when I looked at it sold it for me.”

Taylor said that he had thought about the idea of moving to Pflugerville for a little while, but once he made the decision to move he looked ahead at what all the school had to offer.

“It’s a school that is rich in tradition and history,” Taylor said.

“The past couple of years they haven’t been great, but they do have potential, and it’s just one of those jobs. They came down to 5A, and I think it’ll be a pretty good situation.”

Taylor’s departure accentuates what already promised to dramatic change next year. Before Monday’s announcement, the team knew it was to lose 24 seniors to graduation, but now in addition to 24 new position players, the team will also have a new head coach in 2017 defensive coordinator Thomas Gammerdinger.

Because of the team’s great success this season, many of the players said they believed Taylor might leave the school for another coaching job.

Senior JB Faught said that the move did not come as much of a surprise considering how far the team made it in playoffs.

“I understand, they pay more out there, and Coach Taylor has a family; he has to do what is best for him,” Faught said. “He’s done a lot of good things for McCallum.”

Even principal Mike Garrison was not surprised at the move for Taylor.

“Coach Taylor is a very talented coach and individual,” Garrison said. “There was no doubt in my mind that eventually he was going to find another job would present more challenges for him.”

Senior wide receiver Tyrell Washington said that the move is hard, considering the impact Taylor made in his own life.

“I’m a little disappointed that he decided to leave,” Washington said. “I thought he was going to stay. If I was a junior I probably would have cried, but I’m a senior now so I won’t be here next year.”

Taylor informed his current football class of the move before he told the faculty in an email. Many of the returning players said they also were not caught totally off guard by the decision.

According to junior Gabe Williams, when Taylor broke the news to the team, they were accepting and congratulating to Taylor.

“I was a little disappointed at first, but I realized it was what was best for him,” Williams said. “So at the end of his little speech I congratulated him and wished him well.”

According to Garrison, Taylor will leave behind a legacy of many wins.

“He developed a program that the students bought into, and they worked hard,” Garrison said. “They did what they were asked to do, he held them accountable, he did things the right way, Taylor held his emotions and he

in check while being interviewed by local news stations after his team’s fourth-round win against Calallen in the Alamodome on Dec. 9.

Photo by Dave Winter.

26 march 2018

A leap of faith

Former head football coach Charles Taylor walks out of the tunnel at halftime of McCallum’s loss to College Station in the 5A D2 semifinals at NRG Stadium on Dec. 16. Photo by Madison Olsen.

DO NOT change this template

Former players praise outgoing coach, say his departure will make challenge of next season even tougher “He developed a program that the students bought into and they worked hard. They did what they were asked to do, he held them accountable, he expected his players to do things the right way.”

—Principal Mike Garrison

expected his players to do things the right way.”

With the team losing 24 seniors to graduation, the adjustment for the juniors and lowerclassmen will be even steeper than previously thought. Senior running back Alexander Julian said that the juniors are going to have to step it up.

“They will just need to become leaders themselves and take that part over,” Julian said. “They’ll need to know that they are going to have to face a lot of adversity, but they can overcome it, I know they can.”

Senior Jack Switzer agreed that the team is going to have to become self motivated, and take initiative on things like coming into the weight room for early morning workouts.

“They’re going to have to work harder in the weight room and unfortunately there are elements that the players can’t control that are happening to them right now,” Switzer said. “They’re just going to have to stick together.”

Senior safety Will Loewen said that taking advantage of the off season will be key.

“Just keep on working,” Loewen said. “Take advantage of the off season because it’s a really great time to build up talent, both as a football player but also building up character as a person.”

Senior Davis Roe agreed that the juniors will need to work hard, but that they will also need to keep in the mindset of not giving up on themselves.

“There are a lot of talented kids, and if we have learned anything from this season it’s that teamwork and believing in your teammates, that’s what makes the difference,” Roe said. “So just keep that mindset while they are in the weight room.”

Faught said that Taylor created a culture where his team was all-in. “He used our team as an

analogy of a boat,” Faught said. “When we were 4-6, it was just the boat and no one wanted any part of it, and this year, everyone wanted to get in the boat, and was like ‘you can’t be halfway in the boat, you have to be all the way in.’”

Roe remembers Taylor as being animated, always fired up on the sidelines.

“You can see it in the film,” Roe said. “So when someone does something wrong or messes up, he’s on the sideline screaming and throwing stuff. He was fun to play under, so I’ll miss him.”

According to Washington, however, one of Taylor’s biggest messages however was to believe.

“That’s the one thing he always told us,” Washington said.

“We made it to the playoffs because he told us to believe, and just work hard because that’s what got us where we are, we made history.”

In terms of the future of McCallum football, many of the players agreed on who they wanted to be the next head coach.

“I hope Coach Gammerdinger is the head coach,” Loewen said several weeks before Gammerdinger was offered and accepted the job. “He has really helped me grow both as a person and an athlete. He deserves it, he works hard. He also leads the workouts during the summer and puts a lot into the program.”

Gammerdinger has been with the McCallum football program for eight years. Less than a month after Taylor announced his departure, Gammerdinger was offered the job. Despite what appears to have been a smooth transition, Taylor said leaving was not an easy decision to make. He said he will miss McCallum and all of the memories he made as the head coach, his favorite being making it to the state semifinals. When asked what he will miss most, Taylor answered quickly.

“Oh, the kids, the faculty, the community,” Taylor said. “It’s a great school. It really is, and I’m just going to miss that. I enjoyed my time here but you just have to take a leap of faith.”

Garrison said that he will miss Taylor’s presence on campus and their conversations they had about the coming football game that week.

“I’ll miss Coach Taylor coming up the halls in the morning,” Garrison said. “Talking to any of us administrators who were out here in the hall while the kids were going to class. Especially during the football season, talking about the game and upcoming games and our players and the challenges they were going to face in the next game.”

But in the end, for many of the players, what Taylor has taught them on the field will serve them for the rest of their lives.

“Coach Taylor has taught me to believe in myself,” Washington said. “Just put in all your hard work, and try your hardest and you can accomplish anything you want.”

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Jerry Howard sends the ball downfield during the Knights’ 2-0 victory over Reagan on March 9 at Nelson Field. The win was the team’s eighth victory during a nine-game unbeaten streak to end the regular season.

Photo by Isaias Cruz.

Leaving his mark

Senior defender Jerry Howard says his team’s epic turnaround began with practices in the rain The Shield: When and why did you start playing soccer?

Jerry Howard: I started playing when I was really young and I kept playing. I started playing when I was 3, so it’s been 15 years.

TS: What has been your favorite part of McCallum soccer?

JH: It’s actually my first year at McCallum. I transferred in the last six weeks of last school year. I really like the coaching staff here. Coach Martin and Osorio are awesome, and our group as a team has a lot of depth. We’ve had a lot of injuries, but we are a solid group and we push each other.

TS: Where did you go to school before McCallum?

JH: I went to Round Rock High School as well as this school in Dallas called Lone Star High School.

TS: Outside of school, what teams have you played for?

JH: Outside of school I used to play for Lonestar’s Academy during my freshman year at Round Rock, and in Dallas I played for FC Dallas’ academy my sophomore and junior year. This year, I’m just playing McCallum soccer.

TS: Is there any significance behind your jersey number?

JH: Not really, I just wanted one that fit, and I wear a large. Only 21-25 were large so I thought 23 was the best number so that’s why I chose that one.

TS: What position do you play?

JH: Defense.

TS: Do you plan to play soccer in college?

JH: Not NCAA maybe intramural.

TS: Are there any schools that you are thinking about in particular?

JH: Not really. I’ll just see where I end up academically first.

TS: What schools have you applied to?

JH: I’ve applied and got accepted to TCU, SMU, Houston and Indiana University. I have applied

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and I’m waiting to hear from Northeastern, Boston, and Washington University in St. Louis.

TS: What has been your favorite memory from this year in McCallum Soccer?

JH: I like the practices where it has been raining, and we still go out there and make it really fun. Gamewise, I’d say scoring my first goal was really exciting.

TS: What will you miss most about McCallum soccer?

JH: When you play high school sports, you represent all your friends and have them come to your games; you represent your school, too, so I’ll miss that. This is probably my last year playing competitive soccer, so I’ll miss that as well.

TS: Do you feel the team met its goals that were set the team at the beginning of the season?

JH: We started of really rocky; we lost almost every game in preseason. But during district play we’ve done well, and we’re coming together.

I definitely feel like we’re hitting a stride and that we made the playoffs, and that was our main goal this year.

TS: What do you like about playing defense?

JH: I like the challenging physical aspect of it. Pushing people off the ball and going for headers. It’s not like the attackers who just dribble the ball; I like to attack the ball and be physical with people.

TS: What do you plan to study in college?

JH: I really want to study business economics or quantitative analysis.

TS: What game did you score your first goal at McCallum in and how did it feel?

JH: I scored my first goal in the game against Travis (on Jan. 31 in a 3-3 tie), and it felt really great because I played goaltender before this year, so it felt good to be out in the field my senior year. I don’t get a lot of chances to score so when I can it’s cool.

—Gregory James

Taking her shot

After placing in district last year, sophomore Kyla Gibson sets her sights on new heights The Shield: Why did you decide to join track?

Kyla Gibson: I really liked exercising a lot, and I figured that if I already do volleyball, why not try out track and try another sport. My friends also convinced me to do track.

TS: Which one do you like better track or volleyball?

KG: Track for sure.

TS: Why do you like track better?

KG: Well it is an individual sport, so you don’t really have to depend on other people. I don’t know I just really like it a lot better.

TS: Did any of your family members play track? If so did that influence you?

KG: Yes, and it also influenced me as well.

TS: What did your family do?

KG: My mom did shot put and discus, I think my uncles did 100 meters, and my cousins did hurdles.

TS: Are you happy how the season has gone so far?

KG: Yea so far it’s going good. [Feb.15] was our first meet and I think this year is going to be a pretty good season so far.

TS: What are your goals for this season?

KG: Definitely to become stronger and faster and a little more competitive.

TS: How are you going to achieve them?

KG: Pushing myself to do more. Instead of just going and competing in one specific level, I’m going to strive for a higher level and diversity.

TS: How does this season compared to last year?

KG: This year, there are a lot more freshmen, not a lot of sophomores, and only a few juniors and seniors, which is a lot different from last year. The girls are also a lot more open this year.

They talk about anything and everything. We are kind of like a family all together.

TS: Do you guys motivate each other?

KG: Yes, if we feel like we want to quit, we usually just say things like, “No, you got this,” or “Hey, you can do this; just keep pushing”.

TS: Are there any teams you considered a rival that you look forward to playing?

KG: Definitely Elgin because they are really good, and we have never beat Elgin before, so it would be nice to finally beat them.

TS: Do you have a favorite meal before games?

KG: A granola bar because I can get that protein and an orange.

TS: Do you have any prem e e t rituals?

KG: This year we don’t really have anything, we just meet and start doing what we need to do. But last year we did a bunch of singing and dancing before we start.

TS: What’s your favorite memory playing?

KG: This year it would definitely be [the first] track meet since ... we were going up against Bowie, and they are amazing, and it was nice to see how McCallum really showed out yesterday, like we did really good.

TS: How do you stay motivated when you don’t want to run?

KG: I have had my moments where I want to quit and I usually just say to myself, “It will all be worth it in the end.” When you get that medal, you can always say, “Oh yeah, I got that medal because I did this.

TS: Have you won any medals?

KG: Yes, last year I won four, and I won them for shot put and discus.

TS: How did you feel when you won those medals?

KG: I felt really good about it.

TS: How are you improving on your past training in order to get faster?

KG: So this year instead of doing everything halfway or not to my full potential, I’m actually doing 100 percent and putting in all my effort.

And also on my own I’m working out to get better.

TS: In three words describe your running and track experience.

KG: Fun, early and happy. There is a lot of happiness there.

TS: Proudest accomplishment?

KG: Definitely placing in district in last year of doing two events that I have never done before, which was shot put and discus.

TS: After a long day of track how do you cool down and relax?

KG: So I usually have a roller so that way I can roll out my muscles so I won’t be sore. I also take a hot shower, and I drink a bunch of water.

TS: Does track help you relieve stress and help you calm down?

KG: Definitely, especially for classes. If I am stressed out track is my gateway especially when it comes to running and throwing. That’s probably why I throw, so I can throw everything out.

—Abigail Salazar

Photo by Sophia Shampton.

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Freshman archer aims for nationals

Mariana Torres DeLine prepares to compete at state, aspires to build a McCallum team next year STEVEN TIBBETTS staff reporter

To understand freshman Mariana Torres DeLine’s relationship with archery, you first have to hear about her reaction when she learned she had qualified for the state National Archery in the Schools Program, or NASP, tournament.

“I was having a mental breakdown at the moment because I was very stressed about school,” Mariana said, “and my dad walks into my room and hands me his phone and on it is the qualifying cut-off scores, and it took me a while to realize that my score was higher than the cutoff score. At first, before he walked in, I was just crying because I was stressed and then after it, I was crying because I qualified. It was exciting.”

Mariana’s dad, Jim DeLine, was the person that first got her into archery. As the physical education coach at Highland Park Elementary, DeLine had become a certified archery instructor by NASP, and wanted to start an archery unit in his class.

“We had a huge fundraiser and it became something that we did as an in-class activity,” Mariana said. “And over time is was just one of those things that I learned to love.”

DeLine thinks Mariana first got into archery because she liked the way it felt to shoot and because she was talented.

“Mariana got into archery because the sport itself is empowering,” DeLine said via email.

“There is something magical about shooting a bow and arrow, something even more enchanting when you become proficient. She has always been a wonderful dancer and keen

to the importance of technique and form.

These skills translated nicely to her becoming proficient with the bow and arrow.”

Thanks to her dad’s equipment and coaching, Mariana continued to improve as an archer by practicing a few hours every week after leaving Highland Park. While she admitted that having her dad as a coach is tough at times, she said she really appreciates her dad’s help.

“I don’t like admitting things like [this] to [my dad], but I am thankful for him starting the program,” Mariana said. “He does coach me.

He doesn’t think it, but I do take [his coaching] into consideration. Being coached by my dad, it’s not always the most pleasant experience. We get into little spats about it, like he would tell me to do something, and I’d just glare at him like, ‘don’t tell me what to do,’ but it’s cool.”

Despite the challenges that come with coaching your daughter, DeLine enjoys coaching Mariana because of her determination.

“It is a dream [to coach Mariana],” DeLine said. “We try to keep our practices fun and enjoy the time together. It is not always perfect, but I really respect how determined she is to get better, and the steps she takes to get there.

What else could a coach or dad want?”

Practices with her dad are what prepared Mariana for archery competitions like the NASP tournament, she participated in on Jan. 28 at Lamar Middle School. This tournament was Mariana’s chance to qualify for the state NASP tournament, but to qualify she would have to score higher than many other high school girls across the state. With a trip to

state on the line, Mariana achieved a personal best score, 266 out of a possible 300 points.

Mariana, however, doesn’t remember much about that competition.

“Archery to begin with is very methodical, and it’s one of those things that you need a rhythm for,” Mariana said. “And so I usually don’t pay attention to what I’m doing, I pay attention to how I’m doing it, so I kind of blank out. I focus as hard as I can.”

Mariana’s focus was rewarded when she found out she had qualified for the state competition.

In Mariana’s next tournament, the Kennedale Wildcat Open on March 3, she shot a new personal best score of 274 points. Fifty of those points came from a perfect five-arrow final round, where she hit the bullseye each time from 15 meters away.

“This is very rare, like a hole in one in golf,” DeLine said of the perfect round in an email. “The first in the history of Highland Park, Lamar, and McCallum archery!”

Mariana competed in the state NASP tournament on March 21-22 in Belton, where she had a chance at qualifying for the national competition. The results of the competition were not available at press time. “[I want] to shoot the best I can because in all honesty, I won’t probably be able to qualify for nationals this year,” Mariana said. “So my goal is just to do the best I can and get as much experience as I can so that next year I will be able [to make it].”

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For Mariana though, archery isn’t all about how well she does in her competitions; it’s more about how archery makes her feel.

“Archery is one of the few things I have confidence in,” Mariana said. “I’m not a very confident person to begin with, so even if I don’t end up doing something great with it, I want to still be able to do it because it makes me feel good.”

Mariana’s biggest goal in her high school archery career isn’t just to excel at her sport, but to share it with others around her.

“I would like to start a team at McCallum because it’s a lot easier qualifying on a team than it is individually,” Mariana said. “In fact, I was the only person at [the Lamar] tournament trying to qualify individually.

By the time I graduate I would like there to be a team, and I would like to go to state with that team.”

Luckily for Mariana, her dad is bringing lots of new archers into his program.

S e v e n t y - t w o a rc h e r s from Highland Park and Lamar qualified for the state competition and are going to Belton with Mariana. The future for McCallum archery is looking bright.

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Mariana Torres De Line prepares to shoot an arrow at the a NASP state qualification tournament at Lamar Middle School on Jan. 28. Mariana finished the tournament with 266 out of a possible 300 points, which at the time was her personal best. Mariana later learned that her score was enough to qualify for the state NASP tournament in Belton on March 21-22.

Mariana’s results from that competition were not in as of print time. Photo by Kristen Tibbetts.

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The maximum score is 10 points per arrow. The archers take five shots each round for a maximum score of 50 points per round. The archers shoot a total of three rounds at 10 meters from the target and then three rounds from 15 meters away. In all, the archers take 30 shots for a maximum score of 300 points.

Photo by Madison Olsen.

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The good, the bad and the recycled You have to read ‘em (OK, maybe you don’t), but you don’t have to like ‘em (but sometimes you do) MADISON OLSEN photo editor

By the time we get to senior year, we’ve read a lot of books for English classes, and if you’re anything like me, you have your favorites and your not-so-favorites. Whether it’s because of characters, plot, cirriculum or anything in between, it isn’t hard to tell that some books have it while others really, really don’t. Love them or hate them, here is a quick rundown of what makes the books for AP English amazing (or awful) in my humble opinion.

The best of the AP curriculum The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver: When I was just a few pages into the novel, I could already tell that this was going to be one of my favorite books. The characters were very developed and strong, so I quickly grew attached to them. The themes in the novel were not only relevant to current events, but opened my mind to explore other perspectives and was so well-crafted that it sent chills down my spine.

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien: I think this book is one of the few I finished in a day. The way it’s told is unique and really spoke to me. O’Brien’s honesty in presenting the events that transpired during, before and after the Vietnam War and his assertion that his point of view is valid and true even if it’s subjective made me question everything.

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan: This book is like listening to a new album from your favorite artist for the first time. It’s like the roller coaster of emotions you ride— dancing around during the dynamic intro to the album, laying on the floor staring at the ceiling during the mellow songs, and getting lost in the lyrics only to arrive at the end of the album, wanting to hear it again for the first time. Each story had a different beat and a different mood, but they all came together to form a work of art.

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner: We had to spend hours in Mr. Watterson’s class just to piece together a cohesive timeline, but after we established that timeline, it became a fun challenge to try and decipher what was going on in the novel. There’s no denying the book is difficult to read, but it’s so worth it.

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner: I really enjoyed this novel because I liked the class discussions about the characters and themes. Faulkner’s twisted story lines allow the reader to understand each character’s backstory, which makes the novel a fun read.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: I realize Mary Shelley’s old-timey language isn’t everyone’s style, but I have to give her some credit because I think the concept of the book as a whole is rather hilarious. She’s writing about a

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man who tries to replicate the birthing process and fails miserably, and the underlying themes of the folly of man and hubris really tied the novel together.

The Stranger by Albert Camus: I’m not going to lie, while I was reading this book I was not a fan. I found the main character annoying, and I think that as a freshman I didn’t have the maturity to handle such an existential work. But I was able to appreciate it once I went back and read it on my own my junior year.

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: It was really hard to get through some of the abuse the characters endured in the novel, especially when it was only heavily implied (and you can’t help but picture the worst), but I think making domestic abuse a prominent issue in the novel really made the story impactful.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare: I wouldn’t call myself a Shakespeare enthusiast, but I really enjoyed this play. Acting it out in class and getting to watch Mr. Watterson stab whichever student was playing Polonius was entertaining, and getting to study it alongside the film Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead helped me get a lot out of the unit.

Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: Although I enjoyed this novel, it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. When we finally got to the novel, and all I could think was ‘eh.’ The imagery in the novel was really vivid and the storyline wasn’t difficult to follow, but in my opinion it didn’t live up to the hype, even though it was still a good novel.

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky: This book is one of those books that you either really hated or really loved, and I fall in the second group. It was kind of tricky to keep track of all the old Russian names, but once I got a level one understanding and a grasp of Dostoyevsky’s style, I could really go all in and immerse myself in the story.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe: We read books by mostly white authors at this

school, so reading Things Fall Apart side by side with Purple Hibiscus provided a fresh perspective on the world. Not only that, but it was straight up a good book with well-developed characters and a lot of twists in the story that kept me on my toes.

The ending rips your heart out, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The worst of the AP curriculum Walden by Henry David Thoreau: Although we didn’t read the whole book, just getting through the chapters we were assigned without catching some Zzz’s was a task in and of itself.

Oedipus by Sophocles: The only good thing about this book was that I got to use the joke, “Why doesn’t Oedipus curse?” (Because he kisses his mother with that mouth). It was a slow and painful novel to read, and although seeing Ms. Northcutt dress up as Jocasta helped ease the pain, I still did not enjoy this play.

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway: Hemingway is notorious for his to-the-point style of writing, which in my opinion deprives the reader of the vivid details and developed characters that make books fun to read. Even the main character wasn’t that developed, not to mention annoying, and the only prominent woman in the novel served little purpose other and being the basic stereotypical girlfriend/ object of desire. The book reminded me of those flavorless wafer crackers. It wasn’t disgusting, but the book was just dry and didn’t do anything for me.

Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck: I know I was just complaining about there being zero imagery or detail in a novel, but there’s a line, and Grapes of Wrath crossed it. The novel was so saturated with details of the countryside and the Hoovervilles along the highway that it made the book so hard for me to get through.

The Odyssey by Homer: I’m a fan of Greek mythology, but this epic poem is so long. We didn’t even cover half the chapters. The only thing that broke the spell of boredom that overtook me when while reading this novel was hitting my head against the back of the chair.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare: Even though we acted a majority of this play out in class, as we did Hamlet, I didn’t really enjoy the story as much. I can’t pinpoint a specific thing that made me dislike the play, but the story never really grabbed me. In my opinion, a good book should shake you or make you question what you believe, or be entertaining at the very least. And I didn’t get any of those things from Macbeth.

Instant Word Power by Norman Lewis: Just thinking about this book makes me groan, and the few people who bothered to get through the first chapter will likely agree. I can appreciate the sentiment behind adding this book to the curriculum, because I will admit that my vocabulary could use a little help, but I think I would learn more from word of the day toilet paper.

The ending of Crime and Punishment: This is one of the few books I have literally thrown across the room. The ending of Crime and Punishment took a really conflicted, well-developed main character and solved his problems with God and love. Like, all of the sudden he goes off to Siberia and becomes a reformed, contributing member to society? Nuh-uh, the prison system in 1865 Siberia was not that good.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho: While the novel was a quick read and more interesting than say, Grapes of Wrath, I couldn’t help but laugh at some of the magical baloney. Some might say I don’t get magical realism, but studying this novel reminded me of listening to people trying to explain horoscopes to me.

Richard III by William Shakespeare: It wasn’t the worst play I ever read, but there are so many better Shakespeare texts I would read before reading this on

Hamlet (Hamlet), Meursault (The Stranger), Frankenstein’s Monster (Frankenstein), Ruth May Price (The Poisonwood Bible), Sasha Blake (A Visit from the Goon Squad), Caddy and Benjy Compson (The Sound and the Fury), Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov (Crime and Punishment), Okonkwo (Things Fall Apart), Tim O’Brien (The Things They Carried), Oedipus (Oedipus). Cartoon by Charlie Holden.

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More than meets the eye

The symptoms of senioritis are the same as those of depression, causing some to dismiss what could be early signs of the illness CHARLIE HOLDEN co-editor in chief

In October of 2015, the Texas Education code changed its definition of one school year from 180 days to 75,600 minutes. This means by the time we seniors cross the stage at the Frank Erwin we will have spent 302,400 minutes within the walls of our beloved A.N. McCallum High School. Combine all those minutes of anticipation with the tedious college-application process and the anxiety of an entire future laid out at our feet, and it should be no surprise that when we get to those last 37,800 minutes—the spring semester of our senior year—we’re feeling pretty done. Grades drop. Attendance suffers.

Motivation flees. The sweatpants come out.

Welcome to senioritis.

Senioritis, as a cultural phenomenon, isn’t new. High school and college seniors across the world and across the decades have fought against this seemingly unavoidable obstacle as they brave the homestretch of their education.

Some get it worse than others, but it’s not something that’s going to go away anytime soon. In moderation, senioritis isn’t such a bad thing—for many, the reduced course load of senior year allows for some well-deserved coasting and gives students the time to invest their energy in passion projects outside of school. But when cases of senioritis go beyond moderation, when they last longer and become more acute, they should be examined as the manifestation of a much larger problem.

Lack of motivation. A loss of interest in activities that used to bring you joy. Distancing yourself from responsibilities. Having trouble concentrating on work. Constantly feeling tired, even after a long night’s sleep. These are symptoms of a mostly harmless and often joked about “disease,” senioritis, but they are also signs of clinical depression, a serious mental health disorder. It’s easy to joke about senioritis, especially because it’s such a relatable topic among peers, but senioritis frames serious symptoms as playful, commonplace and harmless. This dismissal can send mixed signals to those experiencing early signs of depression, keeping them from seeking the treatment they deserve.

Coming to terms with depression is hard. Many people, myself included, try their best to rationalize their feelings in an attempt to minimize the distress that they feel. Everyone gets sad. Everyone doesn’t care about school. Everyone can’t get out of bed in the morning. Denial is a powerful tool: all it

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takes is a slight shift of focus from yourself to everyone else. To overcome this doubt, you have to confront your own destructive thoughts and behaviors, which isn’t so easy, especially when the person you’re on the worst terms with is yourself. It is essential to realize that yes, everyone gets sad, but not everyone lives their life in a haze. Not everyone has negative thoughts that tug at the corners of each moment of joy. Not everyone lays in bed at night for hours, always tired but never sleeping. Depression is as legitimate as it is debilitating, which is why it must be taken seriously.

If you find yourself attempting to justify your senioritis to yourself, know that there’s a bigger picture. Even those of us with the most mild cases of senioritis should take the time to examine the reason behind our lack of motivation. It’s been a long four years, and most of us are just ready to be done, but it’s important to recognize when it goes farther than that. The cure for senioritis is graduation, but depression is a daily battle that won’t go away without action. It won’t go away after May 31. It won’t go away after you’ve completed your college orientation.

It will be with you in the years leading up to your diploma, and it will stay by your side each year after that. It’s not about cures, it’s about coping, and the only way to you can get the tools to cope is to seek help. Talk to your friends. Talk to your family. Most importantly, talk to a professional. Seek a diagnosis by a medical professional rather than the internet, and know that there is not and will never be any shame is seeking help. Denial is a powerful tool, but it can only work for so long.

There are 65 days, or 93,600 minutes left in the school year. The clock is ticking down on our time in high school. Some days will fly by, and others will crawl past in a long waiting game. We’re always waiting: for prom, for summer, for school. Some of us are waiting for things to get better. And things can get better.

They can, and they will, all you have to do is take the first step towards making it happen.

If you are experiencing symptoms of depression, please seek help.

National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255

Illustration by Charlie Holden.

Show me the money Applying for scholarships can be more confusing, tedious than college applications MADDIE DORAN assistant editor

The day I finished my college applications was a great day. I felt so accomplished and was so glad that I was done, or so I thought. My entire college spreadsheet list lit up green, meaning everything I had to turn in was done; now I just had to wait on the decisions. Soon enough, that column started to light up as well, and the stress of finding a roommate and putting a down payment on a school began to set in. It almost felt as if this part of the process was more stressful than applying.

First, I had to start filling out scholarship applications. But I figured I didn’t have to start right away. Perhaps that’s because I have been an avid procrastinator since middle school, so why stop now? While most schools give you about three months to do applications, as a procrastinator, I didn’t really start doing them until the week they were due. The feeling of thinking I had all my college stuff done was so amazing, so then realizing it wasn’t done yet did not feel too good.

I started looking at general scholarships that could be used at whatever school I decided to attend. I constantly was getting emails about which ones to sign up for, and just when I thought I had found a match, it would lead me to a sketchy website, and I couldn’t figure out if the scholarship was real. As I began to zero in on what schools were at the top of my list, I looked into specific

scholarships for those schools. While half the essay questions were extremely weird, the other half made me feel like I was just filling out another college application. For one of the weird questions, I had to write about three books that have changed my life that I had read in the past year that I truly felt changed my life. While this may be easy for the avid reader, I really struggled to think of books.

After stretching the guideline a bit to the last two or three years, I was able to come up with some. But thinking about it, why is this what schools want to know? Are they looking for someone creative, or someone scholarly? While it is easy to say “just be yourself,” it’s incredibly difficult to avoid thinking about how to tailor your application to what you think the school is looking for in an applicant.

I still haven’t picked a school, but after narrowing the list down, I started to think about the whole rooming situation. How would I find a roommate? What would they be like?

Would I be friends with them? Lots of schools have Facebook pages that I have aimlessly scrolled through trying to find someone that would work. It feels almost impossible to pick someone through social media, just like it feels almost impossible to sift through the mountains of scholarship applications that are out there. But I guess that’s just how it’s done this day and age.

For me, there is just a lot of uncertainty surrounding college. And while applying to schools is hard, doing all the scholarship applications afterwards is even harder.

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Thoughts, prayers are not enough Why automatic rifles should be banned GREGORY JAMES

I Stoneman Douglas High School students and the Parkland, Fla., community held a candlelight vigil for the 17 victims who died in the mass shooting at the school the day before. Photo by Kevin Trejos, The Eagle Eye. Published with permission.

The time for talk is over; we need legislative action to prevent shootings JULIE ROBERTSON

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co-editor in chief

student athlete with a swimming scholarship ahead for him at University of Indianapolis, a football coach, a geography teacher, an athletic director: these are among the 17 lives that were taken at the horrific high school shooting in Parkland, Fla., on Wednesday Feb. 14. The alleged gunman, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, a former student at the school, opened fire on the multi-story school, covering every floor with gunfire, shooting anything and everything in sight with his AR15. The stories of the victims hit home for me.

The student victims on this campus are similar to students here, students who had promising futures or involved in school programs and activities. All our elected officials seem to be offering are their “prayers and thoughts.”

I am saddened beyond belief for the students who watched their best friends, teachers and coaches murdered before their eyes. I am saddened for the parents of the students who now have to live after losing a child. What upsets me the most, however, is the fact that this type of event has become normal.

I receive a lot of news notifications from different outlets every day. At 2:11 p.m. I got the first notification from CNN saying that there was an active shooter in a Florida high school. The fact that I saw this, and the notice didn’t even really faze me is red flag No. 1. In my generation especially, we are pretty much used to seeing breaking news of this type every week.

It has almost become commonplace.

That is unacceptable. I cannot believe that at this point in our society, kids (and their teachers) are losing their lives in school where

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we should be learning and feel safe. There are shootings at concerts, where people are just trying to have fun. There are shootings at office buildings, where people are trying to contribute to society or simply earn a living to feed their families. And when these shootings happen, as they all too frequently do, what do our elected officials, whose job it is to protect us, do? They’re tweeting out their thoughts and prayers. But you know what? Time is up for this response.

We need change, we need background checks, we need gun control now more than ever. I listened to all of the reports about the shootings on NPR and read the statistics, but I went to Twitter to see what actual people were saying, and I found them debating gun control over the hashtag #GunReformNow. The hashtag was trending No. 1 worldwide. I watched a horrific video posted by one of the students inside the school that showed bodies strewn across the school hallways, a teacher with a pool of blood around her and SWAT officials sprinting up and down the hallways.

Tears brimmed in my eyes. Can you imagine walking down McCallum’s main hallway seeing bodies on the floor from an active shooter littering where you are usually laughing with your friends and buying football tickets? Your favorite teacher, who carried you through math, killed before your own eyes, because a domestic terrorist got his hands on a gun and opened fire? After watching the video, seeing students plead for gun control and parents of the victims putting out messages of grief, I am left with one simple question: what does it take for senators and congressmen to wake up and confront the twisted society that they are allowing to exist unchecked?

I refuse to hear the argument about our right to bear arms. The founding fathers

implemented that right with the intention of rifles that shoot two to four bullets a minute.

An AR-15, the same gun used in the Feb. 14 shooting, shoots 45-60 rounds a minute. It is simply not credible to argue that the founding fathers even imagined such a weapon let alone intended to protect a citizen’s right to bear it.

What does it take? Does it take a legislator’s own child to be killed in a shooting for there to be action in Congress? Heck, a shooter shot Republican congressmen at a softball practice back in June, and still Congress has not taken the action necessary to protect the American people from this weapon.

It is offensive to me to hear people say that guns protect others, and that is their primary purpose. I’m tired of the media calling Cruz “mentally disturbed.” Call him what he is, a domestic terrorist. If you want to label it mental disturbance then maybe put some government funding into health care for those with cognitive disabilities.

I have no respect for those who tell us we are supposed to be the next generation of leaders, and fix all of the problems that were created in the last generation when we can’t even go to school and safely learn. Do not tell me that you’re relying on me to fix global warming or immigration when I’m older if you can’t even keep me alive long enough to go through a school day without someone opening fire on a class because he easily obtained a gun. Protect us, implement gun regulation, let our voices be heard because we know this is not the last mass shooting. It’s only a matter of time until someone you know or you yourself is the one affected by this domestic terrorist attack. Don’t let that be when you wake up and decide it’s time for change.

staff reporter

n five of the last six mass shootings, the shooter used an AR-15 rifle to injure or kill victims. The only exception was the shooting at the Pulse Nightclub, when the shooter used a pistol and a Sauer MCX rifle, which is a similar weapon the AR-15.

The AR-15 is a semi-automatic version of the M16 rifle that the U.S. military uses.

This fact alone should be enough to convince politicians that the weapon should be banned from civilian use. After fierce debate in the Floria state senate and house, SB 7026, or the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, was passed by a vote of 67-50 on March 7. Florida governor Rick Scott, initially said he would read the bill “line by line” before signing it. But after meeting with the families of the victims, he signed the bill on March 9.

The legislation bans bump stocks, which allow for semi-automatic rifles to function more like automatic rifles. It will also raise the minimum age for firearm purchases from 18 to 21, require a three-day waiting period between gun sales and give law enforcement more authority to seize weapons from those who have been deemed mentally unstable. Finally, the bill provides funding for armed school resource officers and mental health services.

The passage of the law is a step in the right direction, but it only affects Florida. Until a measure like this reaches the national level, little will change. If the politicians can’t effect change, maybe retailers can. Dick’s Sporting Goods is one retailer trying to be part of the solution. The company’s CEO, Edward Stack, announced on Feb. 28 that Dick’s would suspend all sales of assault style weapons in its stores, as well as the sale of high capacity magazines. The company also will raise the minimum age for gun sales to 18 from 21.

The Parkland shooter, Nikolas Cruz, 19, bought one of his several guns from Dick’s.

When the company found out the CEO said, “We had a pit in our stomach. We don’t want to be a part of this story any longer.”

Despite this voluntary ban and a similar one by Walmart, CNN reports that there are still more than 56,000 licensed firearm dealers nationwide. Piecemeal decisions by a retailer here and there are not going to stop civilians from buying assault weapons.

Cruz bought his AR-15 at such a store a year before he committed this tragedy. The only way to achieve a complete ban is through federal legislation. And, as the students who survived Feb. 14 at Douglas High School have said so eloquently since, our generation must demand that our government ban these weapons. With a nationwide protest staged on March 14 and another scheduled for April 20, the national debate is reaching a fever pitch. If our leaders refuse to make change, then our generation will change the leaders.

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A Shield survey of 51 McCallum faculty members

Teachers speak: guns on campus The majority of McCallum faculty surveyed disagree with Trump’s proposal to arm educators On Feb. 21, a week after the mass shooting at Majory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., President Donald Trump attended a listening session with the family members of those killed in the Valentine’s Day attack as well as the families of victims of other mass shootings. When it came time to talk solutions, Trump suggested adding guns to campus. “If you had a teacher who was adept at firearms, they could very well end the attack very quickly,” he said.

Three days later he tweeted, “Armed Educators (and trusted people who work within a school) love our students and will protect them. Very smart people. Must be firearms adept & have annual training. Should get yearly bonus. Shootings will not happen again—a big & very inexpensive deterrent. Up to states.”

Earlier this month The Shield sent out a survey to McCallum faculty asking their opinions on the President’s idea. Below are the breakdowns of answers to four multiple choice questions as well as selected written responses. Some responses have been edited for brevity and clarity.

“I think money well spent would be hiring more teachers and counselors. More teachers would mean smaller classes where we can spend more time making connections and getting to know all of our students better. More counselors would mean more support for students who are identified by their teachers or peers as being at risk.”

—Elise Baughman

“Arming teachers is a terrible idea. Money would be better spent targeting mental health. In no way do I excuse the behavior of any shooter, but it’s clear he was in pain, and everyone knew. I believe people tried to reach him and help him, and it’s terrible what happened, but I believe that more could have been done to treat him. I would feel better putting tax dollars towards social and emotional training and classes for students. There is so much divisive energy in the world, and we need to make effort to come together, and learn from each other.”

—Daniel Vega

“Money would be better spent addressing the lack of services and safety nets that could prevent one from even considering a mass shooting in the first place. The focus should be on education—many would not feel comfortable if schools are made into “hard targets” as the president and NRA suggest.

With that said, many are concerned about the safety of schools, which should be addressed on a school by school basis.”

“The money should be used for mental health for our students and to make our school safer. Less points of entry, doors that lock from the inside, ways of exit through windows, etc.”

—Elida Bonet

“I would only arm teachers who have had past experience with handling a gun. I do not believe training once or twice is going to be productive. I do not believe that teachers should get paid to be a designated shooter because I don’t want someone to sign up for the extra pay. They need to be someone who wants to protect our children.”

—Lolly Randal

“The way an armed person needs to act to protect themselves and others, and to protect their firearms, is counter to the way a teacher needs to act to build strong relationships with students.”

—Anonymous

—Clifford Stanchos

“As a concealed carry holder, I carry most of the time when I’m not at work. It is something that gives me a sense of comfort. This empowers me to act defensively in case of emergency and gives me the opportunity to protect those around me, especially my family.”

“I wouldn’t feel comfortable having a gun even if I had training. More police officers on campus would be money well spent. They are trained to have guns and use guns. Teachers should not have to take that on and an incentive to pay teachers more to carry a gun is insulting.”

“I would love to see AISD do a better job with security all around. As a teacher, I sometimes feel like a sitting duck with all the outside entrances on our campus and the lack of cameras in our halls. If we can’t even catch a classroom thief due to lack of cameras, then how can we reasonably expect to accurately follow a shooter around campus and catch him/her?”

—Anonymous

—Anonymous

—Sarah Noack

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A generation finds its voice In wake of unspeakable violence, students start to mobilize, demand substantive change Over spring break, 12 students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School spoke to a room packed with hundreds of people at the Columbia Scholastic Press Association spring journalism conference on the campus of Columbia University. On Feb. 14, the students’ lives were changed forever when a shooting took place on their campus, taking 17 lives and injuring many others. During their session before a packed auditorium, The weight of their words carried to every corner as the audience listened intently. Eight McCallum Journalism students and their adviser were lucky to be a part of that audience.

The primary focus of the students’ presentation, clear in the title of their keynote, “It’s Our Story. We Want to Tell it,” was to explain how the newspaper, Eagle Eye, and yearbook, Aerie Yearbook, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas are tackling the task of reporting the event and its aftermath while also helping their school recover.

On its website, The Eagle Eye has added four pages dedicated to different forms of recovery: Our Story, Extraordinary Acts, Healing and Politics & Activism. In print, The Eagle Eye plans to devote an entire issue to honoring the lives lost on Feb. 14. This issue will not include anything regarding activism or gun control. For the following issue, they plan to address those reform issues by talking about gun control and what students can do to promote it. The yearbook is adding 17 memorial pages for the victims as well as other spreads going chronologically throughout the year and the process of recovery.

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Marjory Stoneman Douglas journalism students and faculty sit in a row, answering questions and talking about their experiences since the shooting during their keynote. making their voices heard and electing the leaders that will make change. The time is up for stagnation in our government.

Our generation has grown up in a world that is reliant upon technology. It is both a benefit and burden. As we grew older, our relationship with technology evolved alongside us. Saturday morning cartoons transformed into social media, then into constant news alerts, tweets and headlines. Most high school students aren’t seniors and aren’t old enough to vote and can’t take action in that way. Addressing topics as serious as mass shootings, however, can neither be delayed months nor years from now, and students want to see change now. Until we can reach the ballot box, students should encourage each other to speak out in any way that we can. Even if it isn’t perfect, social media has a powerful role to play in helping students catalyze change in today’s world. With it, teens have a direct line to leaders and politicians, a place for their voices to be heard and a site for communicating and organizing larger protests.

We hope that our classmates too are counting down the days until they’re allowed to make their voices heard at the ballot box.

We hope that the moment we all turn 18, each of us has registered to vote, no matter our political side. We hope that the fire in our hearts does not fade, only reappearing after the next tragedy.

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

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Watching students our age speak about an event so unimaginably devastating was extremely moving. They discussed coping with 17 student and administrative deaths, the grief and survivors’ guilt and balancing life as a reporter with the need to grieve. It was an extremely powerful and moving 45 minutes that had the hundreds of people in the room feeling like barely a few seconds had passed.

The strength and composure that the students held on stage was unreal, and we applaud them for taking the time to grieve and then choosing to take a stand on what they believe needs to be changed.

The nationwide ripple of activism that has occurred since the Florida shooting is as essential as it is groundbreaking. All over the country students have been mobilizing in the aftermath of the Stoneman Douglas tragedy. Students have become activists and wish to demand substantive action from their government.

Students around the country that do not know their pain firsthand, students who could have simply sat back and waited for someone else to create change, are vocalizing their rage over the senseless violence. McCallum students have joined in the chorus of protest, some of them planning to participate in the April 20 walkout. These actions—walkouts, speeches and increased voter registration—in the upcoming legislative sessions gives us hope for the future.

It is a crucial time in our government in which wholesale turnover in both the Senate and Congress may occur. When those elections take place, the same students who are now begging for change from those who will not listen to them, will be able to vote,

editors-in-chief CHARLIE HOLDEN AND JULIE ROBERTSON assistant editors ANNA COMPTON

MADDIE DORAN

ZOE HOCKER

MADISON OLSEN

SOPHIE RYLAND

adviser DAVE WINTER

reporters EMMA BAUMGARDNER, JOSEPH CARDENAS, GREGORY JAMES, MAX RHODES, ABIGAIL SALAZAR, KELSEY TASCH, STEVEN TIBBETTS The Shield is published by journalism students in the newspaper production class. Although students work under the guidance of a professional faculty member, the student staff ultimately determines the content.

Students may not publish material that is obscene, libelous or that which will cause a “substantial disruption to the

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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 prin-

cipal will be rejected.

Anyone interested in purchasing an ad should contact adviser Dave Winter at (512) 414-7539. The Shield is a member of the Interscholastic League Press Conference, the National Scholastic Press Association the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and the Southern Interscholastic Press Association.

26 march 2018

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Scan the QR code or visit macshieldonline.com to check out our Top 14 moments from Spring Break 2018. Photo courtesy of Bryn Lewis.

Follow: @macjournalism on Instagram The Odland sisters may not share the same interests but they share a bond as sisters. Photo by Lily Morales.

Darian Dietrick poses with her favorite accessory, the classic Converse high-top sneaker. Dietrick is one of many women whose photos and stories are a part of the International Women’s Day editorial photo gallery, which can be found online.

Photo by Bella Russo.

26 march 2018

Varsity baseball earns crucial sweep versus district rival Austin High Check back every week for a new #TuesdayTop10 photo gallery Students taking off-campus PE shouldn’t have extra hurdles to earn their credits online preview 27

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Keeping HOPE alive in images

The demolition (and relocation) of the famed dowtown graffiti gallery is scheduled for June Deana Ortega from El Paso: “When we come to Austin we visit, but this is the first time [I’ve come to paint]. We heard that they were going to take it down, so we wanted to come and put some art up and remember [the gallery]. This is one of the coolest spots to come visit because it’s constantly changing since people are always putting things up. It’s almost like [the gallery] lives. I don’t know of any other place like this. It’s like a gem.”

Louis, tag name Ulo Ang: “I’ve been doing murals professionally for 10 years. I’m out here to practice, have fun and try things out.

I’m definitely going to miss [Castle Hill], but I think we were lucky to have it in the first place since the owner was gracious enough to let HOPE run it as an outdoor street gallery. It’s sad that it’s going to be replaced.”

Cyndia and Nevay: “This is our first time here.

I painted a heart with my name in it,” Cyndia said. “I [like] that I get to paint here.”

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Derek: “I’m from California, but I’ve been living in Austin for six years. I’m sad that [Castle Hill] is going to get torn down even though it doesn’t have a whole lot of sentimental value for me. But I do appreciate, and I wish I did spend more time here, I just haven’t built up the relationship with this area. It’s an art rendezvous point for graffiti but also for other things. I see musicians come through here and street poetry.”

Zoyah Rahman, Atika Rahman and Miriam Zaman from Houston: “The last time I came here I was with my mom and my little sister, and [at the time] we were going through some family stuff,” Zoyah said. “It was a struggle climbing to the top part [of the hill], but when we got to the top, we [enjoyed] the sunset together. It was really nice talking and bonding up there.”

Photos by Madison Olsen.

26 march 2018