The Shield (Volume 67, Issue 1) -- Sept. 27, 2019 by The Shield

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McCallum High School / 5600 Sunshine / Austin, TX 78756 Sept. 27, 2019 Volume 67 / Issue 1

WHATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S INSIDE New dress code aims for equity page 6 The Hosack era begins at Mac page 9 Ani Collins, Veronica Crist do double duty as members of cheer, band page 19

Austin joins global climate strike page 16

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The University of Texas’s new financial aid policy expands coverage, catching up to other public universities in Texas.

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the issue

After community complaints, AISD revamps the dress code policy to be more equitable, include more student expression.

a&e

New interim principal Brandy Hosack answers our questions in an exclusive Shield interview. Swedish student Sigrid Ekelin plays flute in the marching band... right as she was learning what a marching band was.

feature The newest installment of Rhodes Traveled explores the Florida Keys on a sailboat, in a kayak and with a snorkel mask.

sports

A detailed timeline of the many Mac extracurriculars that meet well before the school day begins. Varsity cross country captain Gabby Sherwood describes her leadership role and her goals for the rest of the season.

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Sophomore Lucy Marco shouts alongside her peers at the Austin Climate Strike last Friday. Marco and junior Aryana Miller-Fortman served as the McCallum representatives for the Austin Climate Coalition, a group of Austin youth, small businesses, faith communities and creatives banded together to demand action to solve the world’s climate crisis.“We share this earth with so many animals [and] so many species of plants,” Marco said. “We’re ruining it for them as well. I feel responsible for that, just being a human.” Photo by Risa Darlington-Horta. COVER: Ani Collins performs during Homecoming pregame at House Park on Sept. 13. Photo by Dave Winter.

How the fashion industry pollutes the environment and you can do to reduce the fashion industry’s carbon footprint. Students who need accommodations should not need a 504 plan to get the classroom support that they need to succeed.

You can’t avoid standardized tests in the college process, but you can pick the test (SAT/ACT) that works best for you.

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Marching band students Nick Reedy, Beckett Randall and Will Russo practice early in the morning. The band members arrive for practice before 7 a.m. each morning and practice until 8:20. “Practice is pretty tough, but it’s fun,” Randall said. “ We can see the improvement with each rehearsal.” Photo and reporting by Caleb Melville.

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the date

Volleyball vs. Travis @ Mac, 7:30 p.m.

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After spending his summer in a spiritual community, senior Zach Steiner has found it hard to re-engage the school grind..

save

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McNeil Cross Country Invitational @ Old Settlers Park Volleyball @ Dripping Springs, 6:30 p.m.

Late Start

Spirit Day: Decades Day

Football vs. Dripping Springs @ Tiger Stadium, 7:30 Volleyball vs. Lanier @ Mac, 7:30 p.m.

Marble Falls Cross Country Invitational @ Marble Falls

Volleyball vs. LBJ @ Mac, 6:30 p.m. Senior Panoramic

Spirit Day: Class Color Day

Football vs. Lanier @ House Park, 7:30 p.m. Volleyball @ Lockhart, 6:30 p.m.

Volleyball vs. Crockett @ Mac, 6:30 p.m. Spirit Day: Pajama Day

AISD Cross Country Meet @ Lockhart Football @ Seguin, 7:30 p.m.

Volleyball vs. Reagan @ Mac, 7:30

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“There are fewer kids in the hallways, and they’re getting into class on time. Really the point of these new policies is to keep students safe and maximize academic time.” —assistant

New year, new changes

principal Sophia Sherline

Policy changes coming into the new school year JULIA KAY SMITH staff reporter

Walking into McCallum on Aug. 20, no one really knew what to expect. Although the freshman class was new to the dynamic of high school altogether, even the upperclassmen were walking in blind when it came to the new policies put in place by interim principal Brandi Hosack and AISD. Many people recalled the email sent to their parents on Aug. 15 listing these changes which would be implemented during the 201920 school year, and nobody really knew how they would affect the day-to-day life at MAC. The Mac administration told The Shield, however, that no policy change was put in place without reason. “One of the main policy changes targets tardies,” assistant principal Sophia Sherline said. “The new policy states that each student is allowed two free tardies each week, and after a third violation, lunch detention will be given. If given lunch detention, students will be pulled out of class during sixth period and taken to the ISS room where only lunch and homework will be allowed.” The new tardy policy was created in response to teachers who voiced frustration about how their classrooms are continually disrupted by late students. But tardy students aren’t the only distraction the new policies aim to address. “[With] the new phone policy, students are only allowed to use their cell phones for educational purposes, still giving teachers autonomy in how they utilize the technology,” Sherline said. The new cell phone directive is a campuswide policy put in place to help teachers who are unsure how to deal with constant distraction from students’ cell phones. In order for this policy and its resulting disciplinary consequence to be invoked, however, students must be in class. That’s where the new hall pass policy comes into place. In an attempt to lessen the number of students in the halls without reason during instructional time,

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Hosack has prioritized the use of hall passes. Each student in the hallway is to have a hall pass from their classroom to show that they’re approved to be in the halls by their teacher and to help administration distinguish between these students and those skipping their classes. “There are fewer kids in the hallways, and they’re getting into class on time,” Sherline said. “Really the point of these new policies is to keep students safe and maximize academic time.” Starting this year, McCallum’s administration has introduced a new Advanced Academics Committee. The group is comprised of a variety of faculty including teachers of AP, OnRamps, ACC and regular classes, plus counselors—Nikki Nitardy, Shelley Goldstein and Cristela Garcia— and assistant principal Tamara Stone. According to Stone, the main goal of the initiative is to help students get the most out of their education. “The group is looking at our advanced courses,” she said. “We’re looking at how we recruit students for the classes and retain students as well. We want to make sure that all students are aware and knowledgeable of these opportunities.” With the introduction of the Advanced Academics Committee, new policies have been put in place as well. For example, there is a new system in place in the event that a student would like to drop an honors class. “We want the student’s teacher, counselor, and parents to agree on dropping the student down a level,” Stone said. “We don’t want for a student to decide that it’s too much without the student trying to get help. We want our students to be the best that they can be, get the most college credit coming out of high school, and [we] want to be able to guide our students to higher level classes with critical thinking that will help them in the future.” To combat miscommunication and gaps between students and teachers, added academic support has been put in place as well. FIT, or flexible instruction time, has been implemented into the schedule at McCallum in an attempt to build tutoring time into the school day.

TOP: Hall passes on lanyards are part of the new policy changes at McCallum this year. Given to all teachers, students are expected to leave class with the pass in hand. BOTTOM: A brief recap of policy changes coming to McCallum this year. New changes include limits on how many off periods people can take and who can take them,. new procedures with hall passes, new academic policies, and stricter punishments for tardies. Students have the chance to sign up for their teacher’s sessions through the AISD portal, whether it be for tutoring, club meetings, or for mindfulness practices. FIT is designed to help students with their workload and give them more opportunities to make relationships with their teachers. Even the seniors are getting a change for the last year of their high school career, the implementation of free periods. In order to have a free period added to one’s schedule, the student must pass all STAAR or EOC exams, clear all NCs, not be enrolled in any Delta or twilight classes, and be considered college ready by the SAT, ACT, or TSI. A complete college application or military letter must be submitted to Nitardy as well. In the office, students can find the forms needed to apply for an off period. Signatures are needed to verify each completed

application, signifying that a student is officially college or military ready. “Unfortunately, in the past many seniors were given off periods when they were missing necessary credits to graduate,” Stone said. “The change is really a check that’s been put in place so that off-period time is used wisely and so that our students are able to graduate on time.” The changes taking place at McCallum this year were designed to help students by enriching their instructional time and to give the administration a clear outline on how to enforce said changes. “I think with any new changes comes anxiety,” Stone said. “The point of these new policies are about safety and maximizing academic time. [We’re] making sure students are in their classes and not missing out from the teacher, maximizing instructional time.”

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for almost free New financial aid policy includes more students, not room and board

Photo by Kristen Tibbetts 4 news

KRISTEN TIBBETTS co-editor-in-chief Over the summer, the University of Texas System Board of Regents voted to offer free tuition for all in-state undergraduate students whose household income is $65,000 or less annually. UT will also offer a partial scholarship to students whose family income is below $125,000 a year. This policy is set to begin in the fall of 2020, not only affecting current high school seniors, but current UT students as well. “I think what stops so many young people from pursuing college is the fear of financial burden or not knowing how to mitigate college costs,” McCallum principal Brandi Hosack said. “What I’m hoping [this policy] will do is open a lot of doors for students who are deserving.” The policy change is part of the Texas Advance Commitment program, started in 2018. Previously, only students with a household adjusted gross income under $100,000 would receive support and under $30,000 would have their tuition covered. To pay for the expenses of expanding the Texas Advance Commitment program, UT has decided to put aside $160 million of the funds it receives from the state. “We talk in Austin ISD about [the concept of] ‘all means all,’” Hosack said. “This is a university that makes tons of money from tuition, and [they are] putting that to the side and adhering to ‘all means all.’” Based on data from the 2017/2018 U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics survey, tuition and fees at UT cost around $11,000, close to the average cost of state institutions in Texas. Room and board, however, is not covered by this policy and costs over $11,000 more. Hosack hopes these additional costs will not deter students from attending college.

“Hopefully [the waived tuition] will open the door just enough for students to not completely shut down and think that college isn’t for them,” she said. “I hope that it is just enough light at the end of the tunnel to realize that maybe you won’t be leaving your undergraduate years with multiple thousands of dollars of student loans.” Though this policy is still exciting for students and prospective students, it is not a new concept. By completing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), all students who demonstrate need will be awarded a Pell Grant for up to $6,000. This money is administered by the federal government, not any specific college, but many colleges encourage students to submit a FAFSA and receive as much federal aid as possible. On top of federal aid, the state of Texas provides a grant to all public state universities. Even though the colleges have a choice of who to award the money to, most choose to provide extra help for students who demonstrate need. For the most part, this money has always been used to give $5,500 to students who qualify for financial aid, which, combined with the $6,000 from the federal government, would cover even more than the cost of tuition. “What it sounds like UT is doing is guaranteeing this money to the people who need [it],” college counselor Coach Nancy Nitardy said. “This whole thing makes them sound really good, but the reality is people with need already get $6,000 from the federal government and [$5,500 from] the state grant.” This still leaves the problem of paying for room and board and other expenses. Luckily, there are many loan options for students, such as the Stafford Loan. With a 4 percent interest rate, it is one of the lowest interest loans. “Anyone can get the loan each year,” Nitardy said. “Once you stop going to college you have six months before you have to start paying it back, and then you have 10 years to pay it back.” Other universities also have similar policies to UT. For example, Texas A&M has “Aggie Assurance,” where students from families with an income below $60,000 receive free tuition. “[This policy] shouldn’t stop anyone from applying other places because everywhere else has it as well,” Nitardy said. “If UT is going to give you the money, Texas State is going to give you that or more.” Nitardy encourages all students, regardless of family income, to complete the FAFSA and apply for federal aid, even if they qualify for free tuition. “In Austin, the more students that have need and apply to college and stay in Austin, the more money coming into Austin to help it be more economically strong,” she said. “The students who get the $6,000 and then leave Austin [get to] take that with them.” Nitardy encourages students who are worried that they will not be accepted into UT to apply anyway because there are multiple paths to a UT degree. Students can attend ACC or another university, earn good grades, and then transfer into UT, where the free tuition policy would still apply to them. Hosack agrees with this sentiment. “I want every student to know that college is for everyone,” Hosack said. “College has been the separator between the haves versus the have-nots and breaking that cycle gives me high hopes for where we are going as a society.”

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Warren makes Austin campaign appearance News in a

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Following a warm welcome from a crowd of thousands of supporters, Democratic presidential candidate and Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren discusses her early years before she entered politics. Photo by Noah Lawrence.

Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren made a campaign stop in Austin on Sept. 10 to speak to supporters at Vic Mathias Shores. In her speech, she shared the childhood origins what she described as her tough but fair personality, her time as a special-needs teacher and her law school education. As she spoke, the crowd remained silent, listening intently. As the rally ramped up, however, the crowd raised campaign signs that on one side read, “Dream Big, Fight Hard,” Warren’s campaign slogan. Warren’s catalog of campaign promises include ending corruption in Washington, universal childcare and free public university for all Americans. When asked about his opinions on Warren’s performance at the rally, supporter Leon Gonzales said that he believed she stayed true to her election campaign. “It was great to see her in person rather than on TV,” Gonzales said. “Those televised debates can get quite hectic and unprofessional.” -—Noah Lawrence

TO THE BEAT OF THEIR OWN DRUMS: MAC percussion members smile and pose for a preshow picture at the Thunder In the Hills Percussion Invitational competition held in Dripping Springs om Saturday afternoon. Photo courtesy of Paulo Zambrano.

Drumline captures two awards There was much to celebrate at the 47th annual Marching Band Jamboree on Tuesday night, after the Knights drumline came out with two major victories the previous Saturday. Drummers from 25 groups around the state attended the Thunder In the Hills Percussion Invitational, but McCallum stepped away with the title of best front ensemble and fourth place overall. “The performance was absolutely amazing,” quads player Paulo Zambarano said. “Everything came together so perfectly and it really set us up going forward into the season. We were only beaten by three state championship schools with famous drum lines. The whole day was just so great to be a part of.” This was the first competition of the season for the students, with the second, Capital City Marching Festival, just around the corner. The whole marching band will compete at this event on Saturday at the Tony Burger Stadium. —Madelynn Niles

Valerie Stern argues against the proposed closing of Pease Elementary School at AISD’s Sept. Board meeting. Photo by Bella Russo.

School closings shake community Concerned parents from Maplewood and Pease elementary schools advocated against AISD’s proposed school closures at Monday’s board meeting. Plans for school consolidations and closures were unveiled at the beginning of September and identified 12 schools to be closed. The historic number of proposed closures is the district’s response to its debt and shrinking enrollment at the affected schools. Local advocates argued that the changes were not only unneccesary but inequitable. “If the change plan is to go forward as is, African American children would be disproportionately affected three times that of white students, Hispanic students two times that of white students,” Valerie Stern said. “It is not evident how the lens of equity informs this plan.” Trustee LaTisha Anderson aimed to provide some relief to concerned parents at the board meeting by proposing that the process be slowed down and for the district to focus on building community understanding of the rationale behind the changes: “Before you can say ‘This school is going to be consolidated; this school is going to be closed,’ parents need to understand why.” Anderson said. For those looking to better understand the proposed changes, more information about upcoming board meetings and community conversations can be found on AISD’s website. — Bella Russo

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news briefs 5

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Students aren’t supposed to expose their midriff, but other than that, the new dress code allows students greater flexibility to wear what they want to wear. Photo by Samantha Powers.

New AISD dress code aims for equity Relaxed rules permit students more freedom, flexibility; hats, hoodies, tank tops allowed

SAMANTHA POWERS

“Self-expression in high school is so important because it changes every year.”

staff reporter

Students from all over Austin come to McCallum for the Fine Arts Academy, giving the school a reputation as a safe place for students to be free to express themselves. One way students display their individuality is through their clothes. In the past, students, such as sophomore Carden Arellano, have felt that the AISD dress code was difficult to follow and limited their expression. “If you wanted to find a truly appropriate shirt that truly fit the dress code, you had to take the time out of your day to make it yourself, or go to a lot of effort to find one,” she said. Fortunately for students like Arellano, the AISD Board of Trustees updated the dress code on June 17. Before then, the dress code had not been revised since 2007. The possibility of a reform to the code became apparent on May 14, when an article was posted on the AISD website revealing that a working group was created to revisit the code. The announcement called on AISD students, parents and teachers to give their input on the dress code through a survey, and the results overwhelmingly supported a more relaxed dress code policy. Few restrictions from the old code remain, and the new policy has a focus on putting every student on equal

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—junior Helena Laing

Sophomore Matthew Wilson poses for a photo on Crazy Hat Day. The new AISD dress code now allows students to wear hats every day. footing, preventing the ostracization of a student for their attire. According to the district website, “School staff shall enforce the dress code consistently and in a manner that does not reinforce or increase marginalization or oppression of any group on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, immigration status, or any other basis prohibited by law, that adversely affects the student.” Certain rules in the old dress code used female pronouns in the written policy, which suggested that the rules applied primarily to female students. The new dress code is free of any pronouns that indicate gender, and instead uses

the gender-neutral term “students.” “I know that was one of the deliberate moves that the school district took was that they really wanted to look at the language and to take out any gender biases that were in there,” assistant principal Andy Baxa said. “I think they did a better job this time.” Besides eliminating gender bias in the actual language of the code, there are also new guidelines for enforcement. The new rules state that “school administration and staff shall not have discretion to vary the requirements in ways that lead to discriminatory enforcement.” Staff are also prohibited from “shaming” students about the clothes they are wearing. AISD staff members are encouraged to make sure they are practicing equitable enforcement that maintains the dignity and comfort of the student. “They even tell us to be mindful of the potential negative side effects of the conversations and the comments that we make,” Baxa said. Many students and staff members contend that the old dress code was disproportionately applied to

certain groups. “I think that the old dress code was certainly geared more towards coming down on females,” principal Brandi Hosack said. “I think that we were much harsher on girls than anyone, and it sexualized what girls were choosing to wear.” Last year, it was against the rules for a girl to wear a tank top, show her bra straps or wear shorts of a certain length. To prevent the enforcement of these rules the district put forth a guiding principle: “The student dress code should serve to support all students to develop a body-positive self-image.” McCallum students are enjoying the new, more flexible dress code. “Kids now have more freedom for what they’re wearing.” junior Helena Laing said. Since the 2019-2020 school year began, hats, hoodies and tank tops have appeared in the McCallum hallways. Students feel a sense of security that their choices for their own clothing are acceptable and appropriate. There is one rule that the student body is resisting. “One of the things that I’m seeing that students are pushing back on a

little bit is the midriff thing.” principal Hosack said. “You’re not supposed to show your midriff. We haven’t necessarily been true enforcers of that.” Sophomore Caitlin Mitchell expressed a distaste for this regulation that was common among the students interviewed for this story. “If it were to start being a really mandatory regulation within Mac, it would highly change how a lot of the students dress and express themselves,” Mitchell said. The midriff mandate is an exception though in a dress code that overall clearly allows students more freedom in self-expression. “There’s a huge difference in the code from last year to this year,” Baxa said. “As long as you adhere to those three guiding principles [in the dress code], you find that you have a lot of options, a lot of flexibility, to wear what you want to wear.” The relaxed policy has been wellreceived on this campus. “We go to an artistic school,” Hosack said. “You guys are a super eclectic group of kids, and I love that. I would never want to box you into something. … I like that you guys get to express yourselves via the clothing that you’re wearing.” Hosack is not alone in that feeling. “Self-expression in high school is so important because it changes every year,” Laing said. “It’s kind of a stamp of, ‘This is who I am.’”

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Stopping bullets comes at a cost Due to rising concerns about gun safety, more parents are buying bulletproof backpacks GRACE VAN GORDER staff reporter

School shopping season comes around every year. Commercials with kids looking way overly excited, stacks of notebooks, bags of pencils, lunch boxes filled with snacks and every other thing that one might find themselves impulse buying at Target. There is, however, a new item ending up in the carts of 200 percent more Americans than last year: bulletproof backpacks. Most can agree that school shootings are a problem in America. According to a 2018 CNN report, there have been 288 mass shootings in the United States since 2009, and the only other countries that have come even close to that number are Canada and France. While these bags may help protect students and their loved ones, they do not protect their wallets. An average school backpack costs about $30, but a bulletproof bag costs more than six times that amount. A leading brand of bulletproof backpack, ArmorMe, has bags that cost up to $190. “Our bags are of excellent quality, and they hide bullet proof panels inside,” said Gabi Siboni, a colonel in the Israel Defense Forces Reserve service and one of the creators of the backpacks. “We comply with the USA Standard IIIA, which will stop 9-millimeter and .44 magnum bullets.” The USA Standard IIIA can protect against an AK-47 (the gun used in the El Paso shooting) and an AR-15. The price

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tag, however, leaves many wondering if the backpacks are worth it. “They’re producing a product that’s purpose is to protect students but are pricing the product where some students aren’t able to afford it,” junior Hollis Mitchell said. “So, they’re only protecting students who can afford it.” Some students, such as sophomore Ruby Borden, are more concerned with the ability of bulletproof backpacks to actually protect students in the case of a school shooter.

“I don’t think [the backpacks are] needed,” Borden said. “In the case of a school shooter, for instance, it will only cover a small section of your back, and that is assuming that they are shooting at your back.” Mitchell agrees and also believes that the debate over bulletproof backpacks distracts from the real issue at hand. “I think it’s better to address school shootings as the problem and stop that [rather] than bulletproof backpacks,” Mitchell said. “Address the source of the problem.”

INFOGRAPHS by Grace Van Gorder. Siboni confirmed that he has seen a rise in ArmorMe sales with the mass shooting in America. In fact, bulletproof backpack sales have risen between 100 to 300 percent since the recent mass shootings. “Unfortunately, in our world today, we have to consider [these backpacks],” Borden said. “But, I think spending that much money, for something that only has a small likelihood of helping, is a waste.”

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New teachers join the MACulty For new librarian, McCallum is the high school she never had JAVIER VELA staff reporter

English teacher Cassandra Troy shows her sixth-period English 2 students examples of illustrated characterizations from Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima. Photo by Angus Sewell-McCann.

In addition to reading and teaching, veteran lit teacher loves to travel, ride her motorcycle ELLEN FOX

operations manager Experienced, well-traveled, and ready to discuss Kazuo Ishiguro’s latest novel with you. What more could you want from an English teacher? Cassandra Troy has been an English teacher for the last 12 years and is ready to start her next chapter of teaching at McCallum. “Before McCallum, I taught for 10 years at Austin High School and taught all the levels there,” Troy said. “I was teaching AP seniors there for the last five years and traveling internationally with students and stuff like that, [which] was really cool.” After working at Austin High in a traditional classroom setting. Troy decided that it was time for a change in her teaching career. She said goodbye to Austin High and shifted to UT charter schools to assist students who were in need of different types of classroom settings and teaching strategies. “[While I was at UT], I worked with students who were in treatment for emotional trauma or anything like that,” Troy said After working a UT for two years, she decided that she missed the traditional classroom setting too much. She decided to search for a job where she could return to an AISD high school and remembered that she had interviewed at McCallum when she first becoming a teacher but had decided to accept a position at Austin High

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since she had completed her student teaching there. “I’ve always respected the McCallum English Program, they have a really fine group of English teachers here.” Troy said. “People who work at McCallum love working at McCallum.” Outside of class, Troy leads the life of a heroine in an adventure novel. “I travel when I can,” Troy said. “I have a daughter who lives abroad; she lives in Spain, so I try to visit her. I love to ride my motorcycle, I like to go running, I like to, when I won’t catch fire, go outside, and I really just love to read and cook and chill. I’m pretty good at chilling out.” This year, as a teacher for freshman and sophomores, Troy will be teaching classics like Frankenstein, The Iliad and The Odyssey, Things Fall Apart and Crime and Punishment. Although these titles are famous and renowned for their views on humanity and the state of the world, some students still seem to think they are boring and not worth their time, an attitude that Troy aims to change. “I love to read of course; I think every English teacher will tell you that,” she said. “I love to inspire other kids to read too. I like to try to inspire them and let them see that not everything that we read in English is boring; it can be relevant.” This year in English, Troy said she hopes to enjoy a working AC unit and getting to know her students and exploring her role in the McCallum community.

By the time she graduated, Jain Thompson was ready to be done with high school. She took her diploma and went straight to work at an animal hospital, while also attending ACC classes at the North Ridge campus. She was out of high school, but Thompson knew that she still wasn’t where she was supposed to be. “I felt I didn’t fit in,” she said. “I was failing classes until I just decided to not listen to what I was being told and [to] just take the classes I wanted to take.” Thompson began taking classes at the ACC Rio Grande campus, declaring a major in anthropology. “After that shift my transcript began to have more A’s on it,” she said. “It’s just amazing what that can do.” Thompson then decided to follow her passions to San Marcos and enrolled in Texas State. “I got grades good enough to where I could have gone to UT, but Texas State has a better anthropology program.” Anthropology, the study of human cultures and their development, is something that fascinates Thompson. “I focused in cultural anthropology and became obsessed with hunter-gatherers, which was just exhilarating for me and still is,” she said. Then, Thompson embarked on one of her biggest changes yet: she moved to Namibia for a year to teach English. “That’s what exposed me to teaching and schools,” Thompson said. After returning from Namibia, Thompson attended the School of Information at UT, which was where received her teacher’s certificate to become a librarian. Now, Thompson feels like she finally has found a school where she fits in. “[McCallum is] the kind of school that I wish I had gone to,” she explained. “There’s art everywhere and I knew this was a good school.” Thompson is all about giving students the chance she feels she didn’t get. Thinking about her younger self, Thompson had a chance to

Jain Thompson issues Chromebooks on the first day of school. Photo by Nora Kadas. reflect on where she was in high school and how she can help students now. “I think about my younger self, I was really interested in art, mostly painting,” she said. “Everyone around me told me not to go to art school and that I’d never get a job. I realized later that I should have gone to art school because I would have been an awesome art teacher and I would have gotten to do what I love.” Thompson loves the arts focus that the school takes because it gives students a chance to be creative and express themselves. Working in the library, Thompson has an opportunity to expose students to just that. Thompson’s focus on art and literature makes it apparent that she is excited to help students learn in a way that only a librarian can. One of the best parts of settling into the campus for Thompson is working with Jane Farmer. “She’s a mentor,” she said. “I want to be a school librarian, and she’s just showing me how to be a school librarian, so it’s great. I feel really lucky.” Working in an inclusive, open environment is something that fits right into where Thompson wants to be. “It all just feels perfect,” she said.

To read more new teacher profiles, visit macshieldonline.com Miller’s physic/bio classes about more than science History teacher, Wachsmann, brings past to the classroom

Science teacher Kelsi Miller. Photo by Elisha Scott.

First time high school teacher, Vandenburg is all about the fundamentals 27 sept. 2019

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shield A Proust interview with our new principal

Senior Aranza Sanchez talks with principal Brandi Hosack and assistant principal Gabriel Reyes on the first day of school. Photo by Anna McClellan.

Hosack era begins at Mac New principal explains “There’s so many opportunities how and why new in a classroom to be able to talk and learn from policies came to be COHEN JOHNSON-DYE staff reporter

There were new policies and a new principal in place on the first day of school, and the suddenness of multiple simultaneous changes caused some concern among students comfortable with the school as they knew it at the end of last year. But the new principal, Brandi Hosack, was quick to say that the changes were not her idea but rather a response to conversations she had with teachers throughout the summer. “First of all—I didn’t just show up and say ‘This is what we’re gonna need!’ Throughout the summer I met with staff and asked [teachers], ‘What can I do to make things even better or help you in the classroom to streamline what you do?” Hosack said that the main issues teachers said they faced last year were the use of cell phones in the classroom and the issue of students being tardy to class. “[The new policies are] more for consistency than anything else. If you read [the policy] as far as cell phones go, the teacher has full autonomy.” Hosack said that teachers have full control over how they regulate the use of cellphones in their class and that she is focused more on helping iron out wrinkles in the school-wide policy that were carried over from last year. She also stressed the rationale behind the new cellphone policy, which requires that cellphones be used only for academic purposes. Hosack believes that the key for students success in the classroom is collaboration and that cellphone use can

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each other and have that dialog.”

—principal Brandi Hosack

inhibit that collaboration. “I’ve told teachers to just not let students plug up their ears with headphones and completely cut off with one another,” she said. She said that students ability to collaborate and learn from each other is one of the most important dynamics of an effective classroom. “There’s so many opportunities in a classroom to be able to talk and learn from each other and have that dialog,” Hosack said, adding that “there are moments in time,” however, where students being plugged into their phones can be beneficial. “If you’re painting a picture we know that music or what have you will be fantastic fuel for creativity.” Hosack said there is a place for music on campus. “I have music in the office!” Hosack said. She said she just doesn’t want people to use music as a means to shut off meaningful classroom interaction. In the same vein, Hosack is working to create a tardy policy that doesn’t make a bad situation worse by prolonging a student’s absence from class activities. “If you show up tardy, and the teacher says ‘Sorry, you’re tardy, get out of here.’ That’s not meant to be how it should work. You should be allowed to stay. We’re going to mark you tardy and follow policy on it.”

The new policies make the consequence fall outside the class period so the student doesn’t miss more class as a consequence of being late. The third and fourth tardy in any given week leads to a lunch detention and a parent contact, and the fifth leads to a week of lunch detention and another parent notification. The sixth leads to a day of ISS and a parent conference. “McCallum has a pretty long passing period,” Hosack said. “Seven minutes is the longest [passing period] in the state. Actually anywhere I’ve ever been it’s the longest. It’s plenty of time to get from class to class. It’s mainly meant to put a pep in your step and just get you where you need to be on time.” Showing up to class on time in the morning is another issue. Hosack encouraged students to communicate with the admin team if they have a legitimate reason why it is difficult for them to get to school on time for first period. “They should go see their assistant principal who are tasked with monitoring attendance and tell them that they have an issue, and ask how they can be helped,” Hosack said. “If there is a legitimate issue that we know we can help then we won’t penalize a kid as long as they let us know.” As far as broader policy changes go, Hosack said that she understands that McCallum is a special place and that any new policies need to work on this campus. “I don’t come in here trying to turn McCallum into any place I’ve ever been,” Hosack said. “People were getting in trouble for cell phones. It was just happening in different ways; people were getting in trouble for tardies, but it was happening in different ways. I have a real hard time if a parent comes to me and says, ‘How come that kid got x when my kid got y,’ or even if a student says that to me.” Transparency and consistency, Hosack said, are essential. “I don’t want it to be like ripping off a bandaid,” Hosack said. “We’re here to help.”

The Proust Questionnaire, named after French writer Marcel Proust, is a series of 35 questions meant to gauge the personality and values of the answerer. Below are some excerpts of our Proust interview with out new principal, Brandi Hosack. What is your idea of perfect happiness? Perfect happiness to me is, my kids being happy and healthy, and my personal life being in tune. What is your greatest fear? Failure. I think it’s a healthy fear for anyone, but you want make sure that you’re looking at all the options and making the best decisions at all times and you want to look back and have no regrets. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? [I’m] really self critical. It’s like a blessing and a curse at the same time. I hold myself to a very high standard, and when I don’t do something right, I’ll beat myself up about it for a while. What is a quality you like most in a person? Transparency. I like knowing what you see is what you get, and that when I speak to someone, that they’re telling me the truth. Which talent would you most like to have? I would love to be able to sing, I cannot carry a tune. It is like screeching geese when I sing. I’m envious of those who are talented singers. What do you feel is your greatest achievement? Being a parent I’m not a perfect person, and I’m not a perfect mom on most days, but it’s definitely my greatest achievement by far. Who is your hero of fiction? Personally, my personal hero is Wonder Woman, I feel like I have to embody Wonder Woman sometimes in my job every day because my job on this campus is to represent and defend you. What is your motto? “Do what’s right, when it’s right, because it’s right.” I try to live by that. and be a principal like that, and that means that at any given time I have to make the right decision for 1,800 students, or it can be as small as doing the right thing for one student, or teacher, or faculty member. —interview by Javi Vela

Principal Hosack awards the spirit stick to the senior class at the Homecoming pep rally on Sept. 13. Photo by Anna McClellan.

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Lightning Rod brings energy to team New football coach inspires players both on and off the field

RAMPED UP ROD: During the McCallum Knights’ varsity loss to LBJ on Sept. 19, Coach Ryan Rodriquez (top) addresses the defense after a key third down stop. Despite a few bright spots, like forcing LBJ to punt, the Knights had a difficult day on defense. The Knights hope to use their bye week to put in some extra work to prepare for Dripping Springs on Oct. 4. Photo by Grace Nugent. Coach Rod cheers on his defense during the Blue Grey Scrimmage on Aug. 17 at McCallum (bottom left). Photo by Annabel Winter. During the annual Taco Shack Bowl on Aug. 29 at House Park, Rodriguez gets hyped (bottom right). Photo by Grace Nugent.

GRACE NUGENT AND ANNA McCLELLAN staff reporters

Hyped up. Positive Energy. Great Attitude. Those are just a few of the words that come to mind when people think of the new face, actually more like a loud voice, on the sideline of McCallum football. Over the summer, the McCallum football program got a new defensive line coach, Ryan Rodriguez. Rodriguez began his career in high school football at Southwest High School in San Antonio where he was a four-year starter playing offensive line and defensive end. He earned multiple first and secondteam All-District selections. He continued his football career when he became a Texas Longhorn, playing two years under coach Mack Brown in 2010 and 2011. He participated in UTeach until 2015, earning his degree in biology. From there, he went on to coach football at Cedar Park and before coming to McCallum to coach both the defensive line and the track team and also teach aquatic science. Rodriguez wants to instill many lessons into his young players. Head football coach Thomas Gammerdinger told the Shield that Rodriguez’s desire to teach the students was part of his appeal, along with his knowledge of the D-line technique and his coaching abilities. “On the field,” Rodriguez said, “I tell my guys I am looking for relentless violence. I know it sounds bad, but I want them to have fun in what they do.” Rodriguez seems to take his own words to heart, as he brings his own relentless energy to every game. If you have ever seen Coach Rod during a football game, you might be scared. He paces up and down the sideline while watching the game with a tiger-like intensity, his eyes are pinpointed, watching to see what the players can do better. As soon as the defense is off the field and headed to the bench, Rodriguez is there in a flash, dryerase marker and whiteboard in hand, ready to speak his mind. Yelling is Coach Rod’s superpower. It’s a convenient tool to have, especially when you need to be able to shout to your players on the other side of the field. At Taco Shack, a tough game where the Knights lost their three-year winning streak, you could hear Coach Rod’s voice above the noise of the stadium. Especially early in the fourth quarter, when hope seemed all

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“I want them to strive for greatness in every aspect of their life.”

—Coach Rod

“He really is one of a kind, he is always there to celebrate with us when we make a good play.” —Alvino Carbajal but lost and the performance of the players on the field reflected their lack of spirit. The morale booster to the players was Coach Rod’s voice on the sideline yelling, “GIVE ME HEART, GIVE ME ENERGY, HAVE NO FEAR!” Rodriguez not only inspires the boys, but he also celebrates them. During the Knights’ second game of the season

against the Lehman Lobos, Coach Rodriguez would be there to congratulate his “silverbacks,” the defensive line, when they made a big play. “He really is one of a kind,” senior lineman Alvino Carbajal said. “He is always there to celebrate with us when we make a good play.” During the Lehman game when

the McCallum defense shutdown the Lobos, allowing them only seven first downs and reducing their third-down conversion efficiency to 18 percent, Coach Rod was there to congratulate them and celebrate their success. Although Coach Rod is a power source on the sideline, he also believes in inspiring the players and finding

greatness within them, both in the classroom and in their lives. Rodriguez wants his players to realize that they are more than football players and more than athletes. He wants them to see their potential on and off the field. “I don’t want them to belittle themselves and to think that there are only good enough to amount to this,” Rodriguez said. “I want them to strive for greatness in every aspect of their life.” Though Coach Rod is a great coach who gives his all every game, just like his players, football isn’t his whole life, and he makes it clear that football shouldn’t be the entirety of his players’ lives either. He believes that an athlete needs to be the best version of themselves in all aspects of life. Rodriguez’s focus on the whole self is one of the reasons he loves both teaching and coaching; he loves seeing students and players alike succeed and become better people. “I not only love my job because I love coaching football, and I love football, but because I love being with kids and watching them develop,” Rodriguez said. McCallum football is unique, but Coach Rod has quickly found his place on the team. He fits in very well with the players and coaches, which is an impressive feat on such a tight-knit team. When Rodriguez transferred over from Cedar Park to Mac he realized just that a great bond has been built. “I like the closeness of the team, the players, the coaches,” Rodriguez said. “Everybody here loves each other and it brings the meaning of the word brotherhood to a new level for me.” To read more new teacher profiles, visit macshieldonline.com.

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REVOLTING CHILDREN: At the end of the musical Matilda, the school children “revolt” against the evil rule of their headmistress, Miss Trunchbull. This results in a large. extravegant dance number, which Uehara states was definetly one of her favorite to choreograph. Uehara said that the young dancers expressed a joy of learning that was wonderful for her to witness. Photo by Brad Mondo.

Reviving joy in dance SAMANTHA POWERS AND ALYSA SPIRO staff reporters

4,899 miles. That was the distance between McCallum Youth Dance Company directors Natalie Uehara and Rachel Murray this summer. Though they were on opposite sides of the country, both discovered a new sense of artistry within themselves, artistry they are eager to spread to their dance students this year. On one side of the country, Rachel Murray traveled to the concrete jungle of the Big Apple, learning from peers and instructors at the Dance Education Laboratory, or DEL. DEL is a conference for dance educators and students from across the country to convene and study together in New York City. “We danced for a month together looking at ways to bring dance education back into our communities,” Murray said. Murray has a dance background in New York City as a professional dancer, and she made many connections during that period of her life that made it possible for her to attend the DEL as an Arnhold Scholar. Throughout her life, she has worked with countless other professional dancers as well as dance educators. The relationships that she has built during her dancing career affect her to this day. “In dance, it’s a community,” Murray said, “so it’s all about who you know and getting to know different people.” She also mentioned that her work at McCallum played a significant role in her invitation to the conference. “I didn’t have to apply, so I was invited to be a fellow for this workshop.” Murray said. “I would really say that it was based on the work that has been done that we’ve been doing here at McCallum.” Meanwhile, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Natalie Uehara spent time in the tropical paradise of Hawaii, but she wasn’t laying on the beach with her toes in the water. Uehara was asked to choreograph the musical Matilda at Diamondhead Theatre in Honolulu. This isn’t Uehara’s first time choreographing a musical; in fact, she won the Best Choreography Award at the Greater Austin High School Musical Theatre Awards for her choreography of McCallum’s 42nd Street. Her clientèle this summer, however, was a bit younger. The cast was made up of children around the age of nine, and the show also featured an adult cast. Uehara admitted that there are challenges that come with teaching adults and young children together.

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Separated by 4,899 miles this summer, dance directors work toward common goal

“Some of the adults, to be quite frank, don’t have as much movement experience,” Uehara said. “So that’s challenging sometimes, and adults just learn very differently than children.” The relationship Uehara built with the children’s cast was beneficial for both parties. While the children had the chance to develop as performers and dancers, Uehara learned a lot about the chrysalis of young dancers, realizing that the predominant force steering their evolution as dancers is joy. “They have a lot of joy,” Uehara said. “I would like to try and bring that out in the high schoolers a little more.” Both dance teachers developed their professional dance skills as well as their teaching skills at their respective summer programs. Uehara believes in the synthesis of a professional dance atmosphere and a safe learning environment. “What I try to do here at McCallum is present a professional atmosphere, which is kind of what I’m used to from my work before becoming an educator,” she said. This professional dance experience helps to prepare McCallum dance students for their future as artists. At DEL, Murray also worked in a professional environment she hopes to bring back to her classroom. “The heart of the program,” she say, “is really about bringing the professional world of dance [to] dance education when we’re working with younger people.” The McCallum dance teachers work with students every day, helping them to learn and develop as artists, but they believe that they sometimes lose sight of their own development as dancers. Over the summer, both teachers had the opportunity to develop their own artistry and focus on themselves. Speaking about what she learned at DEL, Murray says, “The philosophy is that as dance educators we’re dance artists. And so, to develop as an educator you have to develop your craft as an artist.” Through having the opportunity to take a step back from her teaching role and learn, Murray was able to gain perspective on what it’s like to be a student. “Part of being an artist is being a student and having that chance to learn,” Murray said. Uehara was also given the opportunity to find some peace and rest over the summer. She thinks that as a public school dance educator, her mind can get cluttered with all of the requirements that come with teaching arts at a public school. She contrasted that complicated environment with that of a choreography job.

REACHING HIGHER: Rachel Murray works in New York this summer with UT Bachelor of Arts students. “As dance teachers, we’re dance artists,” Murray said. “To develop as an educator, you have to develop your craft as an artist.” “I was able to really focus in on one thing, and that was something that I don’t often get to do,” she said. Although they spent their summers at opposite ends of the planet, Uehara and Murray found that they have similar takeaways from their experiences. They developed themselves as artists, cultivated their abilities to present a professional atmosphere and learned more about how to help their students flourish. Above all, the teachers want to help their students find what is constantly suppressed by stress, schoolwork, and other commitments: joy. “I think artistic freedom comes from joy,” Uehara said. “I think that if everyone can be a little bit more joyful in all of their arts classes, whether it’s dance or not, their creativity will blossom.” To read more about students’ summer adventures, check out the @MacJournalism Instagram feed or scroll through the hashtag #MacSummerKnights2019.

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Making music with Mathias

Soaking up the pre- Taco Shack energy, junior Jay Mathias, who plays synthesizer in the marching band, poses before kickoff. Photo by Stella Shenkman. Mathias celebrates at the AV back to school party. Photo by Risa Darlington-Horta.

Junior Jay Mathias dreams of recording the perfect song The Shield: What are all the projects you have going on inside and outside of McCallum? Jay Mathias: In McCallum I’m in the marching band. I play the synthesizer, I’m in AV Club; I’m also in film class. Outside of Mac, I do a lot of music, and I have a couple of things I’m working on right now. A couple of songs, one of them is with Will Dooley ‘cause he’s super talented, and one of them is a cover of Tyler the Creator, two songs from his newest album. Pretty soon I’ll be heading into the studio to make some jazz stuff. And I have two commissions I have to finish this month for this guy’s film at Anderson. TS: Do you feel like these projects intersect at all in terms of what you learn and create? JM: Yeah totally. I’ve learned so much from being in the percussion section. I didn’t know at all I was going to do band in high school, My freshman year I did soundboard, just like mixing, and then I got kind of roped into percussion, and since I’ve learned a ton about music theory, how to play music with other people, and it’s been a super interesting journey. And then music intersects with film in soundtracking, so last

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year I started soundtracking for people’s stuff and learning more about sound design. TS: How long have you been making music? JM: So Kealing has a music production class. In seventh grade, I tried it out for a semester and ended up liking it, so then I kept going with it. In eight grade, ACL Live or Spotify gifted them a bunch of studios, so I got super into it then, and it’s been like exponential from there. Meeting so many talented people here inspires me. I started playing piano freshman year, but if you count the computer, it’s been like five years now. TS: What motivates you to keep up with all of your projects? JM: Music wasn’t really totally my passion up until freshman year. Something about it really connected with me. I think that everyone sort of needs something, and I think that I sort of figured out that music was mine. It’s not just making music. Listening to music makes me so happy, in contrast to literally anything else. When I started messing around on the computer, with programs and something I use called Ableton, I started realizing that if I keep doing this, I can start making the music that I like. Especially if I cover Tyler the Creator, who I love, I can make the stuff that I love, and that makes me super happy. Now, if I have free time, It’s what I do. Now it’s my subconscious I guess. TS: How often do you think about music? JM: All the time. Sometimes I’ll think of a

melody or something in the middle of class and I’ll like have to go to the bathroom and record it on my phone. Especially last year, it got really bad, and I stopped doing my homework completely, because every day I’d just go home and make music for like four hours. TS: How do you balance your music with everything else you have going on? JM: I don’t know how to balance it, honestly. Summer was great because I didn’t have to, This year I just make sure I get my homework out of the way, and then I just go straight to music. TS: You’re going into the studio soon to record. How is that process different from what you usually do? JM: Generally, I go into the studio with an arranged song, because studio time is expensive. He cuts my rate to like $30 an hour. That’s still kind of a lot. So, I have to go in with an idea. If I had the money, I would love to go in and make a song. I wish I could, but I can’t afford it. I go prearrange something, assign people the parts and hopefully they know it before [we get in the studio]. TS: Who do you usually go in with? JM: Generally, Julian Smith on guitar and drums, Erik Jensen on bass, or Max Hoff on bass or guitar. Gavin Owens on sax, he’s really good. That’s who I’d expect, but I’ll be doing stuff with Will Dooley soon. TS: Does working with your friends change the experience of recording? JM: Yeah. We’re more open to be critical with each other, and we get almost competitive. We’re all very opinionated. It definitely influences it.

TS: Is there anyone else you’re looking forward to working with? JM: Van Burger, he has a really good voice. Kai Cole, who’s a violinists here, he has a really good ear for music. Crazy talented. TS: What would you do as a career? JM: There are two options, side hustle until I make it, or scoring for movies, writing royalty free music and sound design. TS: Is that a driving force for you? JM: There’s nothing that makes me nearly as happy as music. I don’t care about what i do in college. I just care where i go. As long as I have a place with a good music community, I’ll probably still be doing music in college, even if I don’t have a degree for it. TS: So what’s the biggest reward that comes from putting out a song? JM: I think the biggest reward to me hasn’t happened yet. I get most of my music taste from my parents, and my dad is really into audio equipment and music in general, so I’m waiting for the day when he really, really likes one of my songs. Like intensely enjoys it. I’m waiting for the day when I show him a demo and he can’t say anything. —interview by Bella Russo

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This month: October

Thank you, Hut’s Hamburgers, Austin will miss you terribly. October is coming up, and you know what that means: candy, costumes, pumpkins, sweaters, changing leaves, and the impending sense of doom that accompanies the death of a beloved Austin hamburger joint. Hut’s Hamburgers, a self proclaimed “Austin tradition since 1939,” was opened by Homer “Hut” Hutson with the commitment of serving always fresh, always real, always cheap burgers, milkshakes and fried sides to those looking for a classic American diner experience. I had my first experience with the generation transcending retro-dive bar fusion restaurant this past weekend with my mom, a regular Hut’s customer when she was in college. Before even visiting the location, Hut’s captured my attention through the memories it created. I spent the drive to Sixth Street taking in all of my mom’s stories about the late nights and later mornings spent with her best friends, in a booth, with a Hut’s buffalo burger in one hand and larger-than-life onion rings in another. Stepping through the red, white and blue front doors, all of the stories came to life. It was like walking into a time capsule where the only things reminding you of the current century are the flat screens showing a variety of sporting events placed around the restaurant. Though the menu has been updated with the times, now accommodating the gluten free and vegan crowd, the physical building and atmosphere is straight out of the 20th century. Hut’s Hamburgers has earned its place on the covers of local magazines, like Texas Monthly and in the hearts of Austinites from Airport Boulevard to Sixth Street. Thank you, Hut’s. You will be missed. —Alex Dowd

Photo by Buzz Anderson. Accessed on Flickr Creative Commons. Reprinted with permission.

Take a drive on the wild side Bet you’ve never been to a drive-thru Texas safari. Though it’s a little outside of Austin, the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch is an experience like nothing else. Cruise around Kilimanjaro Outlook, the Masai Savannah, or Tatongka Range to see animals ranging from your average sheep and cattle to longhorns, zebras, and even an emu or two. You can also purchase a bag of food pellets for the animals; they love to eat it straight out of your hand! As well as the drive-thru section, the ranch has much more to offer. You can stretch your legs at their walk-a-bout, which showcases all kinds of monkeys and macaws, even a little lemur island. After your activities, you can head to the Safari Camp Grill to grab a burger and some “Zebra-a-la-mode;” a homemade chocolate cake with white and milk chocolate drizzle. —Ellen Fox

Upcoming UT Football Games Photo by Randall Chancellor. Accessed on Flickr Creative Commons. Reprinted with permission.

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‘Swedish Fish’ dives into Mac pond

For freshman Sigrid Ekelin, every experience is a new one. Including American marching band. MADELYNN NILES staff reporter She walked into the stadium with the other flute players, not completely sure what to expect—her eyes getting wider and wider, taking it all in. The rhythmic chants of the cheerleaders bobbing up and down, laughing as they shouted. Dancers smiling in red lipstick, sparkling from hat to boot. Royal blue covering every square inch, school spirit practically dripping through the stands. The piercing whistle of the coaches, the looming red countdown of the clock, the smell of nacho cheese and the cool breeze of the night—everything whirling together and the chants getting louder and louder. “And this,” her section leader shouted to her over the roar of the crowd, “is an American high school football game.” For freshman Sigrid Ekelin, a lot of things are new this school year. Just three days after arriving in America from her home of south Sweden, she attended her first ever marching band rehearsal. This also happened to be the first day she had ever heard of what marching band was. Two weeks later, she began her first day of school in the United States, and, concurrently, her first day as a high school student. “Every day is such a big experience, and I learn so much,” Ekelin said. “I really just want to do the most I can and just be open to everything, say yes to everything.” It was just over one year ago that Sigrid’s mother began considering applying for a six-month sabbatical in the U.S.—and just before she would present the idea to her daughter. She stated that the question was popped while her and some of her family were out with her sister, who was trying on wedding dresses for her upcoming marriage. “My mom wasn’t like, oh, OK, we’re going to move now,” she said. “My mom said, Sigrid, I got an email about … a sabbatical in the U.S., would you like to do it? Just a thought!” “I thought five seconds, then I said yes.” The following year was filled with interviews and procedures, and in the end, Ekelin’s family packed up their things and headed for Austin. In Sweden, Sigrid had been privately studying and playing the flute for six years, so it was natural for her to join the marching band, except for the fact that she had never seen or even heard of what a marching band was until arriving here. “I feel like everything that’s new, you get nervous.” Ekelin said. “So I

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At the Taco Shack football game on Aug. 29, Ekelin smiles as she waves her flute during a “brass jam” in the stands of House Park. Ekelin stated that her experience at Taco Shack has been her favorite one yet. “I didn’t understand most of it, but it was really fun to watch,” she said. “I just screamed when everyone else screamed.” Photo by Aranza Sanchez. Marching band members Conlin Buttermann and Isobel BuffumRobbins play alongside Ekelin in the stands at the MAC versus LBJ football game at House Park on Sept. 19. “I love the community [at McCallum],” Ekelin said. “Everyone is very helpful and kind, and we have a lot of fun.” Photo by Grace Van Gorder. was nervous, but super excited—a good nervous.” Within the first week of her arrival, she attended Bandapalooza, the McCallum marching band’s informal premiere of the marching show for parents and community members. She began learning the music, as well as viewing a sneak peak performance of the first two movements of MAC’s 2019 show, “Forever In Stone.” “I had never seen anything like that at all,” Ekelin said. “I got so many goosebumps. I was just like … wow.” Now, almost a month later, she has jumped right in to the marching

culture—from dancing in the stands at football games to the daily early morning practices. In band director Carol Nelson’s eyes, she has been very successful in embracing this new activity. “She’s always so punctual, and she tries very hard, and it’s just a delight to have her in our band,” Nelson said. “I was not nervous (for her to start) at all—she seemed so eager and capable, and watching her,” much like how Ekelin felt the first time watching the band perform, “I just thought … wow.” Out of all of her new experiences

here in Texas, Ekelin said that her most memorable one has been attending and performing at the Taco Shack Bowl, the annual football game held against Anderson to kick off the season. “My first reaction when I saw the football players start to begin, it was probably—” she drops her jaw dramatically and laughs. “It took like five seconds for the coach to whistle and stop, because it was just like ... a bunch of guys throwing themselves at each other, and I didn’t understand most of it, but it was really fun to watch. I just screamed when everyone

else screamed.” “Unfortunately,” Ekelin said, “I will be leaving McCallum right before Christmas.” With the marching season finished and the first semester complete, she will return to Sweden filled with new and crazy stories to tell—the days she rehearsed for hours on end in the Texas heat, the nights she spent laughing as she screamed as loud as she could in the stands of a football game, and that very first moment she watched the band perform in August, nervous but excited. The good nervous.

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SCENIC SERENITY: Zach Steiner, right, and his Lama Foundation colleague Aaron (left) overlook the Rio Grande hot springs, which is located a short drive away from the foundation in Taos, New Mexico. Photo

Spiritual summer, strenuous school

Senior Zach Steiner’s reentry struggles after coming back from his time in the mountains JULIA KAY SMITH staff reporter

While other students spent their summer break at a job or simply enjoying some time off of school, Zach Steiner was doing something different. The McCallum senior spent two months participating in stewardship at the Lama Foundation in Taos, New Mexico, an interspiritual community in the mountains. The Foundation has just over a dozen yearround residents, but opens their doors to visitors and retreaters in the summer. The center was built to be a community and educational space that embraces all spiritual and religious practices. The Lama Foundation respects and practices traditions from many different religions, such as Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, and Native American religions. Another core practice is sustainability, which Steiner experienced first-hand by growing and preparing food, chopping trees, cleaning the residential areas and serving the youth groups that came for camp throughout the summer. This was not Steiner’s first stay at the Lama Foundation. If fact, he has attended summer camp there for the past five years. “Ever since I was little I’ve gone to a nondenominational Christian church, which is kind of hippie,” he said. “The church was actually inspired by the [Lama Foundation], so for the past five years I’ve gone on five-day stays there

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with my church.” Steiner explained that the main purpose of the community is to experience multitudes of world cultures and spiritualities, allowing the camp to be a safe place of understanding and independence. “I think the independence [was] a shock,” he said. “Being surrounded by my parents and family has been a little stressful, whereas at the foundation, living [there] I was able to enjoy all that I was doing.” After coming back to McCallum, Steiner found it difficult to reenter his daily life, especially when it came to preparing for college. He immediately began to feel pressure to follow a “perfect” path to college and a secure career, something that he did not experience at the Lama Foundation. The stresses of “normal life” pressure him to use others around him for self-gain. Like many seniors, Steiner feels the pressure to finish his college applications and to make everything in his academic life perfect. After his educational experience this summer, however, he has a different vision of an ideal schooling system. When asked to describe this system, Steiner paused for about a minute. He took a deep breath and then began to explain: “The first thing that comes to mind is smaller classrooms,” he said. “I feel like the best learning opportunities I’ve had are when I’ve interacted one-on-one with a teacher. Being able to thoroughly communicate ideas [is] where I feel I learn the best, [and] small classrooms also take out a lot of the pressure.” To take off even more of the pressure that Steiner felt returning to school, he would eliminate standardized testing and traditional grades. “Putting names to numbers and rankings to people decreases so much morale,” he said. “If you see that you don’t do well on one assignment, it can impact how you’re going to

“When you serve the community, it serves everyone, not just a single person.”

—senior Zach Steiner

MORNING MEDITATION: Among other interspiritual traditions, volunteers and residents at the Lama Foundation in Taos, New Mexico participate in meditation every morning, while other spiritual practices at the center fluctuate depending on the beliefs of the current residents. The center was built to be a community and educational space that embraces all spiritual and religious practices. Photo courtesy of Steiner. interact with other people.” He then went into more detail about why he feels ranking systems drive a wedge between students and could even be detrimental to one’s high school experience. He explained that certain social groups may feel forced to act a certain way because of where they stand academically compared to other students. Steiner credits the McCallum PALS program for his ability to move past both academic and

social pressure that comes along with school. “PALS is probably my favorite class because it brings so many different people together toward one focus of service,” he said. He also mentioned that if it was up to him, he would add an extra social support system into the schooling system. Whether it be in-depth counseling or classes focused on strengthening students’ social skills and comfort, Steiner believes in the importance of building community. “When you serve the community, it serves everyone, not just a single person,” Steiner said. “We’re all at a volatile point in our lives and extra support can do nothing but help us as a whole.” While he has many ideas for a more smooth and sustainable school system, Steiner admits that his experiences at the Lama Foundation did not immediately make him an expert on the subject. “Of course, I don’t have a perfect plan because nobody really does,” he said. “But I think the biggest thing I’ve brought back with me is the importance of community—looking out for one another instead of trudging along with an individualistic mentality.” To read more about students’ summer adventures, check out the @MacJournalism Instagram feed or scroll through the hashtag #MacSummerKnights2019.

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TRUE COLORS: A girl attending the rally with her family (right) creates posters promoting the cause. Austin resident and climate activist Woodstock James (below) hoped to spur lawmakers to action by joining Friday’s strike. “It’s a huge issue that we should all be paying attention to right now,” he said. “The people who need to listen to us are being paid not to, and it’s very unfortunate.” The Austin event was part of a worldwide protest that occurred in more than 150 countries worldwide. Reporting by Samantha Powers. Photos by Risa Darlington-Horta.

ore than 300 students and adults gathered at the steps of the Texas State Capitol last Friday to protest climate change. The strike, which was organized by the Austin Climate Coalition, had students all over Austin walking out of their first-period classes. “Our generation is carrying the mistakes of the past generations,” junior Emily Arndt said. “I am hopeful that our generation and younger generations will learn from these mistakes and not repeat history. Past actions made can affect our future immensely.” During the rally, speakers took turns leading the group in peaceful chants. “I think it’s important for students to attend rallies because we don’t have any other choice for a voice,” senior Elise Cook said. “The biggest way to influence politics is through money, and students don’t have those means. We have to demonstrate and protest; it shows politicians that we do actually care. I don’t think one protest can change the whole system, but repeated action is the best way we can make change.” —Stella Shenkman

Photo by Risa Darlington-Horta

Photo by Stella Shenkman.

Mac, Austinites join worldwide protest “You had a future, we want one too.” That was the message Dripping Springs High junior Ariana Bentz (center) had for the legislators working inside the Texas Capitol. She and two of her classmates, juniors Carmen Comparan and Sheridan Brandt, and hundreds of other Texans swarmed the front grounds of the Capitol building last Friday to protest and spread awareness about climate change. “We don’t have a lot of time left,” Bentz said. “We only have one planet, and it’s up to us to save it.” They also instigated several chants, which spread throughout the crowds, including “Respect our mother,” “[We’re going] on strike so we can prove to the people that we are able to do more,” and “We want to participate in this crisis because in the end, it’s just us,” Comparan said. They also began a chant in honor of Greta Thunberg, the 16-yearold Swedish environmental activist who started the school climate

THE WORLD IS THEIR CLASSROOM: Westlake senior Michelle Van-Doom (above left), one of the organizers of the strike, said it was a struggle to get some of her teachers on board with her skipping school. “I had a teacher ask me ‘I know you’re trying to send a message, but think about the message this is sending to me.’” Her response: “Of course I value your class, but I value my planet more.” Photo by Alysa Spiro. Seniors Ruby Henson, Abby Green, Louisa Najar and Sabri Armani (above right) participate in a rally cry. “Global climate change is universal,” Najar said. “It affects all people. [It affects them] at different levels, but it affects everyone, no matter what.” Photo by Samantha Powers. Hashem Trattori (right), an Austin Peace Academy student, took the initiative to lead the strikers in a few chants and boost morale prior to the speeches at the Capitol. Trattori believes in strength in numbers, stating, “In order for us to actually [have] some change, we have to have everybody pitch in.” Photo by Samantha Powers.

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strikes. “This is all inspired by her. She’s a huge voice in the eco-friendly community, and she’s trying to get change started even though she’s only 16.” Bentz, Comparan and Brandt made sure to stand near the front of the crowd of people to raise their signs to the windows of the Capitol building where Congressmen were gathered inside and made themselves seen as well as heard. Bentz stressed the importance of the movement and these protests for the future of our planet. “It’s spreading awareness,” she said. “It shows that citizens can make a difference in something that’s important to them.” For these students, the issue and what should be done about it is plain and simple: the world needs to change ... now. “I want to live for more than 20 years,” Brandt said to the politicians: “Take better care of our planet.” —story and photo by Elisha Scott

Sophomores Ivy Golyzniak, Chloe Gervais and Alba Perez (above) chant with the crowd in front of the Capitol. Photo by Alysa Spiro. Mac AV student Quinn Lawrence-Sanderson (left) films B-Roll for an climate strike documentary that the AV program will make in conjunction with Macjournalism. “It’s important to document these protests in order to draw further attention to them,” junior Jay Mathias said. Photos and reporting by Stella Shenkman.

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Photo by Risa Darlington-Horta

Photo by Stella Shenkman.

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PUTTING IN WORK: Meliah Arias said that her goal for the first few days of school was to put her head down and get to work, whether it be on the court for volleyball or in the classroom. “I hope to get all my four years finished, do well in all my classes and graduate,” Arias said, “I wasn’t nervous at all [the first day], I had friends in every single class, so that was good.”

A FRESH START: Barret Andrews moved from Lamar to Kealing Middle School in seventh grade. He said the transition to high school has been positive, creating new learning opportunities. “My middle school experience wasn’t very eventful, I’m hoping in high school I’ll have a lot more things going on. Before it was just go to school then go home, that’s it.”

TWENTY-THREE AND ME: Freshman Stephanie Sanchez talks about her cheerleading experience so far at McCallum. With football season in full swing, she hasn’t had much free time. “Taco Shack was fun,” Sanchez said, “but it was hot, and we were up at 3 a.m. for the decorating, and we didn’t get home until about 1 a.m., so I was tired.” Photos by Tomas Marrero.

First day filled with mixed emotions The Class of 2023 takes the “I really like my electives, I really like how I’m able to do a lot of things I plunge into school life at Mac couldn’t before. I wasn’t able to take a printmaking class, which is the class TOMAS MARRERO staff reporter

Most every McCallum student can remember their first day, filled with a mix of nerves and excitement. The class of 2023 experienced their first day at McCallum on Aug. 20. While those who came before them probably would like to forget that they even had a freshman year altogether, the mixed emotions of that first day make it one that most high school students will always remember. This uneasy, nerve-wracking stressful but also wonderful day also provides a glimpse into the rest of your days in high school. To best encapsulate this feeling, one must go directly to those who recently survived it: the Class of 2023. Freshman Stephanie Sanchez had this to say about her first day: “I expected there to be not as many people as there are. I was just rolling with it, I was just trying to find my classes.” Another freshman, Meliah Arias, agreed that the hallways were hard to navigate on the first day. “It was confusing,” she said. “The first day of school I got lost everywhere. The hallways are a lot more crowded than they were in middle school, so it’s hard getting around. Some people walk so slow.” While seeing so many unfamiliar faces in the hallway can be a strange and sometimes intimidating feeling, many freshmen also reported feeling a great sense of optimism for the first year of high school and beyond. Barret Andrews, a Fine Arts Academy freshman, said that his classes afforded him opportunities he did not have as a middle school student. “I really like my electives,” Andrews said. “I really like how I’m

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I’m in now. I’m really into technical theatre, and I’m able to take a legitimate class for that.”

—freshman Barret Andrews

able to do a lot of things I couldn’t before. I wasn’t able to take a printmaking class, which is the class I’m in now. I’m really into technical theatre, and I’m able to take a legitimate class for that. Currently, I’m on the crew for Jekyll and Hyde.” Mac upperclassmen and teachers often recommend that freshmen get involved in campus activities because it is a good way to for ninth-graders to thrive in their new environment. Getting involved in clubs, teams, organizations and extracurriculars allows freshmen to meet new people, make new friends and work together toward something the group finds important. It allows students to feel at home and enriches their high school experience. Like Andrews, Arias also found herself involved in many school activities right away. Her passion is volleyball, and she has been on a team since her days at the small private school she attended before coming to Mac. Sanchez said she too is enjoying getting involved on campus. “I was most excited for cheer,” Sanchez said, “I went to Kealing and I did cheer there, and I plan to do cheer all four years here.” While involvement in activities is important, so is selecting the right core classes. Pre-Advanced Placement classes can put students on track toward receiving college credit and look good on future college applications but can also add a lot of work and

saddle freshmen with low grade point averages or even academic probation for students in the Fine Arts Academy. Sanchez decided to take all Pre-AP classes, a decision she credits to her father. Arias meanwhile decided against AP classes. “I was gonna take Pre-AP classes, but I was afraid they’d be too hard and stressful for me, with a lot of homework,” Arias said. “I have volleyball all the time. I probably wouldn’t be able to do all the homework anyways. That’s one of the reasons I chose regulars.” The transition to high school, a culmination of harder classes, more extracurriculars and more expectations can create anxiety. Andrews, however, said the transition has been pretty smooth. “[The transition] has been pretty easy. Obviously it’s the second week of school, so nothing’s been super intense. The classes have been mediocre; there’s a lot more expectations.” And therein lies the essence of high school: stepping up the responsibilities of trying to prepare for life as an adult. Beyond the first day, with all its nervous excitement and anxiety, lies the most important part of this story: people. A new generation coming into McCallum, looking to make their mark for the next four years and leave a legacy that will long be remembered.

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Pom poms and pep tunes

Collins, Crist do double duty at football games as members of cheer squad, marching band MADELYNN NILES staff reporter

Contrary to what Taylor Swift has to say, these two girls wear both short skirts and sneakers, are cheer (captains) and on the bleachers. Doubling their experience under the Friday night lights, senior Ani Collins and junior Veronica Crist take part in both the McCallum marching band, playing snare drum and flute respectively, and cheer program—a double duty that is both physically and mentally demanding. From before the sun rises for early morning band rehearsal until just before it sets for evening cheer practice, Collins and Crist work and rehearse at MAC before they can go home to begin their homework— all to wake back up and do it again the next day. While these average school days for the girls are long, nothing compares to football game days, especially rivalry games that also require a pep rally performance. Collins said she enjoys pep rallies “because the band can see what I’ve been missing rehearsal for,” a common consequence of the overlapping schedules. Later that same evening, they get several more opportunities to show both of their groups the other side of their lives. “Being able to cheer on the team on the field and see everything and then being on the field with band and participating feels so good … You’re always participating—there’s really no down time. It’s a lot of fun,” Crist said. “But yeah, I’m exhausted afterwards.” Balancing school with the two extracurriculars could seem a daunting task, but both Collins and Crist have ways of managing their workload without getting overwhelmed. Collins said that she has a specific system for handling homework. “I stay up pretty late doing (homework), and if I don’t finish, I have an off period first, so I’ll go home after band rehearsal and then go to cheer class,” she said. “Dang, saying it all makes me realize how busy I am.” Crist has a slightly different approach to managing workload and stress. “Right after school I start my homework, and most days on Sundays I spend my whole day doing work,” she said. “And I write a lot of the time in my journal because I like to document these moments ... if I’m ever close to having a mental breakdown or something, or feeling super overwhelmed, I’ll also film myself just ranting or talking about my day so that I can go back in five years and laugh at myself.” Despite the hectic schedules and challenges, both girls agreed that the reward of participating in both activities makes the heavier workload totally worth it. “I feel a sense of community with everybody, and I get to learn everybody, and it’s just a lot of fun to be able to be in both,” Crist said. “Everybody in band’s like ‘Oh my God, my

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Collins strikes a pose as part of the 2019 marching show, “Forever in Stone,” at the LBJ football game on Sept. 19 . Both girls get “no down time” at the games, as Crist puts it, because of the quick switches between cheer and band performances. Photo by Caleb Melville. As her fellow flute players Taelisen Hutson and Claire De Silva-Yost look ahead with intent focus, Crist giggles up a storm out on the field during the marching show. She told us that in this moment, the cheerleading team was yelling especially loud for her and making funny faces from the sideline, making it impossible for her to keep a straight face. Hutson stated that she really enjoys having Crist as a part of her section in band. “Having (Crist) on the field makes each performance so much better because her energy boosts everyone else’s,” Hutson said. “It must be hard trying to balance both band and cheer, but cheering her on is one of the best parts about football games.” Photo by Dave Winter.

“While I’m on the band field during halftime, it’s fun to see everybody being like ‘Oh my God, you’re in both? How?!’ —junior Veronica Crist friend’s a cheerleader!’ Everybody knows me and cheers me on.” Collins said that it really clicks with her lifestyle. “I’m in soccer, cheer, and band, but I know how to manage my time and take care of my body. … It’s super fun to be busy, in my opinion. I’m never sure what to do with my free time so I love staying active.” Band director Carol Nelson also feels that juggling both activities works out well for the

“I stay up pretty late, ... then band rehearsal and then go to cheer class. Dang, saying it all makes me realize how busy I am…” —senior Ani Collins

girls: “I think it’s great. I think that they represent McCallum. ... I’m proud of them. Of course, it can be a little hectic because the demands of both groups are high, but they’re able to work it out, and they both perform well in both fields,” she said. “Veronica has always been sweet and always has a great attitude… and I think of Ani as extremely capable and talented; she always does her best.” Whether it be a crazy stunt or a new marching technique, Crist and Collins approach every

challenge with the mentality of pushing through and pushing hard. “Sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed,” Collins said, “but I just try to keep in mind that it’s only the beginning, and I’ll get the hang of it soon.” Crist agreed that mindset is key to this lifestyle. “I just calm myself down by breathing in,” she said, “and knowing that I just have to continue.” And so they continue, tackling life with a pom pom in one hand, and a music binder in the other.

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Hike. Canoe. Sail. Snorkel. Repeat. When it comes to beaches, the Florida Keys are hard to beat.

MAXWELL RHODES

assistant editor

lorida, like Texas, is a very diverse state. You’ve got Disney World, the Everglades, retired Midwesterners and down south, the Jimmy Buffett esque paradise also known as the Florida Keys. My trip down there with Boy Scout troop 28 happened in early July, and what a trip it was. Over the course of a week, we covered 50 miles in a sailboat, kayaked among mangroves and snorkeled some coral reefs.

e landed in the Miami airport around noon, and headed south. Our destination was the Florida National High Adventure Sea Base and was located on the Lower Matecumbe Key, about halfway down the island chain. We had arrived in Florida a day early, however, and needed a place to stay the night before we could check into Sea Base the next day. The closest and cheapest place was a campground on West Summerland Key, about 130 miles away from Miami. On the way down, we passed through the Everglades and then the Keys. They reminded me of the barrier islands on the Texas coast, only much more populated and more tropical. There were palm trees just about everywhere and big lizards running along the side of the road. We were thrown right into the Florida environment that night. First attempting to sleep in the stifling heat then through a windstorm that lasted until about 4 a.m. We had breakfast that morning at a local diner, which would be our last real meal for a while and headed north. We made it to Sea Base on time and got checked in. Now, I’ve been to two high adventures before this one, so the process was very familiar: We drop off personal items we won’t need, get

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gear we will need for the trip, have someone go over gear we brought from home that will go on the trip and then sign some forms. After all the items were in their proper place, we met our first mate, who would accompany us on the voyage. He was a 20-something college graduate named Tim. He was from New England and had a slight accent the reminded us of his roots. Our crew was made up of 12 people and each boat could comfortably fit six. Each boat would have a captain with several years of experience, who would make sure things ran smoothly during the trip. Our group’s captain was named Steve, and his ship was called the Quixotic. It was 40 feet long and had a single mast. The cockpit, where the steering wheel was, had a shade cover over it, which would prove to be very nice once we got out in the sun. Below deck was a small kitchen, sitting area, bathroom and bedroom. After a quick snorkel review, in which we learned the proper methods of swimming and diving, we had the rest of the day off. There wasn’t very much to do around base camp, so we occupied our time by playing ping pong with some flip flops, as it cost a dollar to rent paddles. That evening the plan was to sleep on the boat while it was at the dock and take off early the next morning. I was interested to see how this would play out. Below deck on the Quixotic was pretty small, and there were seven of us, including Tim. There was a couch, which could be made into a bed, and since I was the only crew member over 6

feet tall, I got dibs on it. One guy got the floor, the two shorter fellows got the table, which could be folded into a bed, and the rest had the bedroom at the bow. That night while we were plugged into the dock, we took full advantage of the ships AC. This would be the last time we would experience cold air for five days.

e set off bright and early the next morning, and headed west. This was the calmer side of the Keys, and the waves were pretty small. While we were sailing, we could see the small islands around us, and captain Steve told us it was like an ice cube tray, with underwater ridges going between the islands and small channels carved out so the boats could pass through. As we went, he would point out people who were unaware of these channels who were stuck on the ridges. Our first stop was at a mangrove forest. We dropped anchor a couple dozen yards off of the island, suited up in our snorkel gear and swam over. Captain Steve told us the importance of raising the dive flag on the ship while we were in the water, to alert the other ships that we were in the water. One person also would carry a floating diving flag for some extra safety. Once we made it to the mangroves, we got to explore the tangle of roots and the creatures living there. If you just sat still for a while, the fish would come out and you could really get a good look at them. Probably the most interesting thing I saw was a lobster, which definitely looked different from the ones in the tank at the Central Market. After about a half an hour we raised the anchor, and Captain Steve gave us a quick crash course on sailing. He went over the basics: port is left, starboard is right; bow front, stern back. There is the main sail and the jib (a smaller sail in front of the main). One of the most important

The Florida National High Adventure Sea Base, founded by the Boy Scouts of America, is located on Lower Matecumbe Key. It is the third major high adventure, after Philmont in New Mexico and Northern Tier in Minnesota. Photo by Max Rhodes.

things was that there are no ropes on a boat; they are all called lines. And each line has a very specific name and purpose. Lines to raise sails, lines to lower sails. It all seemed very confusing. After several hours of sailing, we anchored where we’d stay for the night. It was only about 3 in the afternoon, so we had some time for more exploring. This time, we busted out the inflatable kayaks. We were right off another cluster of mangroves, so Tim lead our convoy to get a closer look. He insisted there was a passage through them, although they looked pretty dense. After a few minutes Tim found his mystery passage, and we entered the mangroves. It was pretty tight, which made paddling a little difficult, but the mangroves were growing above us so it provided an interesting vantage point. At one point, someone pointed out what looked like a big black spider on one of the branches. Tim told us it was actually a crab, and after looking a little closer I could see that it definitely was. On the way back, we hopped out of the kayaks and swam our way back to the ships. Underneath us was a bed of sea grass that stretched as far as I could see. It looked like an underwater meadow. For dinner that night, we fired up the grill and cooked some hamburgers. Throughout the day Tim was hyping up sleeping on deck, saying how it was much preferable to sleeping in the “stuffy uncomfortable” cabin. So I hauled my sleeping pad up and decided to give it a try. Lying there on the deck, I could see a bridge, which had pretty steady traffic over it most of the night. The past high adventures I’d been on we were very far from any form of civilization, but here we weren’t more than a half mile from an interstate highway. I guess sleeping on the deck of a boat is something you get better at with time because I don’t think I slept for more than 40 minutes.

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After a hearty breakfast of eggs and sausage, we set off. Today, the plan was to exit the calmer waters of the Florida Bay and enter the Atlantic Ocean. Tim was hyping us up for the bigger waves, telling us that two- or three-foot tall ones was not uncommon. Most of us, if any at all, had never experienced any amount of waves like this before. Both Captain Steve and Tim were used to it, of course, but recommended we take Dramamine, a medication to help with seasickness. I, being the hard-headed person am, refused to take any. Our route had us pass through a neighborhood that was right on the water. We gazed at the million dollar homes that had garages that could store up to four speed boats. Then we came to the drawbridge, which we had crossed on the way down to Sea Base a few days before. The bridge only opened once every hour, so we had to time our arrival so we wouldn’t have to wait too long. After crossing underneath, the rougher ocean was almost immediately apparent. Captain Steve told us how to properly navigate the rougher seas, by heading into the waves to prevent being pushed over. After a little while of rocking and rolling, we hooked up to a buoy for another round of snorkeling. This was a place called Hens and Chickens, although no one was really sure why. It was a coral reef, which provided for some interesting viewing. We saw the colorful coral, and the tropical fish. Surprisingly, the rough ocean was much less noticeable in the water than on the boat. The water was a little murky and a little deep, so we couldn’t see perfectly, but it was impressive nonetheless. After about half an hour of snorkeling, I looked up at the boat, and saw it was pitching back and forth much more than before, and huge dark clouds were now above us. All the while, Captain Steve was on deck playing his guitar, unphased by the situation. Climbing up the ladder in this situation is a bit of a challenge. You need to take off your flippers, and you can’t hang on the ladder at all because it will fall off. We all made it up and prepared for the storm. At that point, the clouds had covered all land around us, which made going in a consistent direction more difficult. That, plus the gusty wind and rain made for a challenge. A challenge that Andrew, one of the scouts, was up for. The waves had gotten worse, and the wind was very strong. With only half the jib out, we were moving at over 8 knots or about 9.25 miles per hour. Now that might not seem very fast, but on a calmer day when we were at full sail plus the motor on we would barley break 5 knots. At this point, sea sickness was starting to get to some of the fellows, but for me it was the cold. You might not think of southern Florida as getting too cold, especially in early July, but the mixture of the rain and the wind made it pretty chilly. We continued for a while in this crazy condition, and Andrew later admitted that the whole time he was driving the boat the “Pirates of the Caribbean” theme was playing in his head. After 20-30 minutes of this, we pulled into a cove to wait out the storm. The wind had died down by then, but the rain continued. To occupy ourselves, we stayed below deck and played cards, or slept, in my case. My 40 minutes of sleep the previous night had caught up with me. The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful, except for the hot dogs we had for dinner. I made the decision to sleep inside that night. The next day we would make our way to John Pennekamp State park at Key Largo and get to walk on land for the first time in a few days. It was very sunny that day, a nice contrast from the storm yesterday. Along the way, Captain Steve pointed out the loud motor boats and told us how sailing was the superior method of travel. As we approached the

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Kayaking amongst the mangroves at John Pennekamp State Park on Key Largo. While most state parks have trails for hiking, Pennekamp has these channels throughout the water for boats. Have you ever seen a crab in a tree before? Well, neither had I, until I paid a visit to Key Largo.

park, we left the open waters and had to navigate the more narrow channels surrounded by more mangroves. We passed several other boats in the channel, mostly families in rental boats driven by dads wearing orange-lensed sport sunglasses. We docked the boat, and got her hooked up to the electricity. That was important because now we could turn the AC on. On our agenda that morning was to go on another kayaking adventure, and do some more snorkeling. This snorkel was similar to the first one, looking at the fish in the mangroves and all that, but this time we saw some little sponges that were vibrant blues and reds. The rest of the day we spent back at camp In the aquarium watching some movie about fish, or exploring the small store. For dinner that night, we had some Domino’s pizza, which was a nice contrast to the food we had been eating the last few days. That night we played some more cards, and enjoyed the ships air conditioning.

that afternoon, and stopped less than a mile from Sea Base for the night. After some steaks for dinner and a nice sunset, we stayed out and star gazed for a while. To the north of us was a patch of sky that looked a little lighter than the rest, but it wasn’t where the sun had set. I pointed it out to Tim and he said it was the lights of Miami, over 70 miles away. The next morning we cruised into the Sea Base

harbor early, and after getting everything off the boat, had the rest of the day off. The next day we would spend in Miami before catching the flight back home. With this I had completed all three high adventures for the Boy Scouts, which is a pretty special accomplishment. First hiking, then canoing and now sailing. Texas may have some good beaches, but I think Florida takes the cake.

The Florida Everglades

Downtown Miami Beach

The harbor at Pennekamp

Swabbing the deck at base camp

he next day we were to head back toward Sea Base to find a spot to anchor not far off from the harbor. On the way, we planned to stop at another spot for some more snorkeling. For breakfast, I cooked up some pancakes and sausage, and we were ready to go. This snorkel location was at a coral reef. When we got there, the water was very clear and shallow so we could see the reef very well. We saw many very colorful tropical fish, the hard coral and the soft coral that swayed back and forth in the current. There were some sea turtles and some little shrimp. This was probably the most interesting stop on the entire trip. After about an hour, we returned to the boat. The rest of the day we spent on the move, at one point, Captain Steve told us that we were above the wreck of a Spanish ship that had sunk more than 300 years ago. Supposedly, it was the fastest ship in the land, and instead of letting it get captured by the pirates, they sunk it. The only things still visible now, if you’re up for a dive, are some cannons. We covered a lot of ground (or water, I guess)

Enjoying the view out at sea

Photos by Max Rhodes

A beautiful sunset after a long day

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Knights before nine

What students and faculty do before dawn to keep McCallum programs shining ANNA McCLELLAN

staff reporter

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It’s six in the morning, and the McCallum cross-country team is just beginning to warm up for its practice that day. Some people call them crazy, getting up so early, but as Coach Susan Ashton puts it, “Most everybody that wants to come to cross country has some sort of love for running, so they already love the sport. They want to run, they like running.” Having to get up before six o’clock everyday can be tough, especially on meet days when the team has to meet at the field house at 5:45 a.m. But the early start time helps the runners avoid both the heat and other extracurricular activities. The team’s warm up consists of three laps around the track. Two hundred of those meters are spent jogging, while the remaining distance is made by backpedaling and side-shuffling for 100 meters each. They then move on to static stretches and exercises, usually consisting of squats, planks and push-ups. After that, the team splits into groups to complete their dynamic stretches, ending with buildups: where the runners start off jogging and then build up to a sprint. On Mondays and Wednesdays, the team can usually be found on a neighborhood run. Two common routes are on Arroyo Seco in the Brentwood Neighborhood and or running down Houston to the Texas Department of Health and turning towards Thundercloud Subs (no, they don’t get sandwiches). Tuesdays and Thursdays consist of track and sprint work, which might not be the team’s favorite days, but are important for building up speed. Fridays, or Thursdays if there is a Friday meet, are for ice baths and breakfast tacos. As they finish their warm-ups each day at around 6:30, the cross-country team can usually spot McCallum Band members heading over to the practice lot with their instruments, in their white T-shirts and colored shorts that define their sections. On sprint-work days, they get to hear the band play while they run. :30 a.m. Drum majors Jonah Brown (Junior) and Dexter Canning (Senior) arrive at McCallum to get ready for Marching Band practice that day. The rest of the band arrives at approximately 6:40, then gathers into their respective sections for a 10-minute warm up, and promptly at 6:50 begin practice as a whole, rehearsing for this year’s show, Forever in Stone. At the beginning of their rehearsal, band members practice marching, warm up together and then review their drills for that day. Sophomore Scarlet Frese said that there is no down time during morning practice; the band is always engaged. They are always marching, playing, and if they are on break, they have to hustle, so time is not wasted. After reviewing drills, they run through the show. Then later during the class periods, they

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On the morning of the 2019 Taco Shack Bowl, Blue Brigade Coach Nancy HoneycuttSearle observes as the McCallum Blue Brigade and Band rehearses their kick routine to “Hey Baby” by Bruce Channell, that they will be performing at the halftime show. Photo by Caleb Melville

Graphic by Anna McClellan. are able to touch up and correct what they need. “It’s not just marching band rehearsal in the morning because we also keep working on it in our class periods,” head marching band director Zachary Travis said. “It’s like what are we fixing that morning, and we help reinforce it throughout the class period, or vice versa.” On days that there are football games, Blue Brigade joins them out on the “field” (or parking lot, rather) and they will do a run-through of the halftime performance. And at 8:20 a.m., the band returns to the band hall to allow the students and directors to get ready for school. This timing also allows students to go in for tutoring and the directors to prepare for classes that day. :15 a.m. As the cross-country team starts to arrive back at McCallum and wind down

practice, and marching band still has a little over an hour left in its rehearsal. Meanwhile, the Blue Brigade and the football team are arriving for their morning practice. Blue Brigade begins its official rehearsal at 7:30 a.m. sharp, with captains leading a group stretch. On Mondays, the Blue Brigade learns new dances or finishes up with old ones. Tuesdays are tryout days for dances being performed that week at pep rallies and games. Wednesdays, formations are made and touchups are made to the dances, and on Thursdays the Blue Brigade practices with the band. If there is a pep rally that week, they practice in the gym as well. On Fridays (or any game day) the team will either run through its dance again with the band, or they will stay inside to

make final touch-ups. “Being first thing in the morning, there is much less distraction,” Blue Brigade director Nancy Honeycutt-Searle said. “It’s the first thing they can think of and concentrate on. ... We get it done and out of the way.” Having practice or rehearsal in the morning and getting it out of the way seemed to be a common theme amongst coaches and directors. a.m. By nine o’clock, everyone has finished their practices and are in their first or fifth periods. Getting up early can be exhausting, and being able to get up and have the motivation to get out of bed early can be hard. Somehow, these kids and teachers do it every morning.

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District 25- 5A roundup Varsity volleyball boasts fourth straight district victory At their away conference game against the Northeast Raiders on Tuesday, the varsity Knights crushed the Raiders, 3-0. They shut down the Raiders in their own gym, winning all three sets, 25-14, 25-12, 25-9. “We’ve been playing really well these past couple of games,” junior setter Sophia Henderson said. “We’ve been connecting on the court so well. It’s been really nice to be able to sweep teams like we have been, and we’re expecting more wins to come throughout district.” This marks the fourth straight district win for the varsity since district play started. “It feels amazing to be 4-0 in district because we have worked so hard during the preseason and have really become a close team,” said junior Bridget Russo, who played libero on Tuesday. “This game was interesting because Preslie [Boswell] had to step in to set, and she did a great job stepping in for Sophia and it felt great to come out with a win.” Though the varsity team has a lot of new faces this year, it hasn’t shown in their games, and the older girls are happy to have them. “I think everyone is a lot closer this year,” senior defensive specialist Janael Copeland said. “There’s definitely more of a team bond this year; we have just improved a lot. We’re at the top of our game.” The Knights won their second district game against the Lockhart Lions at Lockhart on Sept. 17, and not only won their 20th match of the season and improved their district record to 2-0, but they settled an old score with a team that swept them in competition a year ago. “It was kind of a shock and really surprising but relieving to just sweep them,” Henderson said. Last Friday, the volleyball teams traveled to Crockett to take on the Cougars in their third district match-up. The varsity team left victorious, winning in straight sets, 26-24, 25-15 and 25-15. The win advanced the team’s record to 3-0 in district play and 21-13 overall. —Sarah Slaten

JUST KEEP SWIMMING: Senior Claire Greenberg gave it her all while competing against other high school swimmers in the breaststroke. “I’m trying to do the best I can,” Greenberg said. “I’m not concerned with tomorrow, but only what I can accomplish today.” Photo by Daniela Morrow.

Swim fights hard for wins at YMCA Swim Meet

UP AND OVER : Junior Samantha Wilson sets the ball over the net at the varsity game against the Northeast Raiders on Tuesday. The varsity team swept the Raiders, 3-0, to improve its district record to 4-0. Photo by Ale Luera.

At the Springs Family YMCA Swim Meet on Sept. 14, the swim team kicked off the 2019 season. Junior Izak Zaplatar finished first in 50-meter breast stroke and the 100-meter breast stroke. Junior Madi Baylor swam in five events at the meet, placing first in the 100-yard and 50-yard freestyle and the 50-yard butterfly. “My future goals for swimming are to swim in college, and I want the team to come together and support each other,” Baylor said. Sophomore Zoe Lynch won first in three events, senior Cole Kershner was first in the 50 free, and junior Kyle Larson was first in the 100 back. The boys 200 free relay team also earned a first-place finish. —Sarah Slaten

Jag rout Knights, send message to all district foes

TO THE END OF THE LINE: Senior Ian Clennan sprints to the end, with several runners on his tail. At the Hays Invitational Clennan was one of the seven varsity boys to finish in the top 25. Photo by Thomas Melina Raab.

Cross-country Team enjoys best result of 2019 season The cross country team enjoyed its best meet of the season at the Hays Cross Country meet on Sept. 21. The boys varsity team took second place as a team, with seven boys varsity runners finishing in the top 25. Chris Riley finished third in the boys varsity race, and Riley finished in 18:10, a little more than a minute off the first-place time of Lehman’s Jose Cano (17:01). Cash Robinson placed 12th (19:28); Ian Clennan, 14th (19:33); Josh Betton, 15th (19:47); Jordan Trimyer, 19th (20:44); Robert Krajicek, 20th (20:55); and Zach Davis 25th (22:02). Both JV teams also placed in the top five at the meet. The girls JV finished fourth, and the boys JV, fifth. The girls varsity did not place in the top five. Catalina Herring was the top girls varsity finisher in 40th (27:90). —MacJournalism Sport Team

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The Knights were defeated by the LBJ Jaguars 56-0 on Thursday, Sept. 19. The Jags found the end zone twice in the first quarter, and then punched it in three more time in the second, leaving the score at halftime at 35-0. LBJ added three more scores in the second half. The LBJ offense kept the Knight Defense on its feet, and the LBJ defense successfully held the Mac offense to less than 100 yards. After the game, Coach G urged his players to reflect during the team’s off week on how to establish a winning culture, starting with a better showing against Dripping Springs. The LBJ loss marked the second loss for the team in a major rivalry game this season. Their season started off with a 29-7 loss to Anderson at the Taco Shack Bowl on Aug. 29. With the loss, the Knights relinquished the Taco Shack trophy after three straight victories. After scrambling for a big gain to put the Knights on the Trojan 5-yard line in

ON TO THE NEXT ONE: Sophomore Jaxon Rosales doubles back to get around LBJ defender in the last quarter of the game Thursday night, Sept. 19. at House Park Photo by Caleb Melville. the fourth quarter, sophomore Jaxon Rosales completed this touchdown pass to senior Takai Satberry for the Knights first score of the season. Though the Knights ultimately lost, they successfully held the Trojans scoreless in the second half and played them even after the first quarter. The Knights quickly recovered from their loss and pulled together as a team, beating Lehman on their own turf by a score of 17-0. A proud Coach G told his

players to enjoy the win but then get ready to get back to work. The next week, the Knights fought hard against Glenn, but ultimately lost 35-14. Caleb Brown had his best day of the season with 194 yards and two touchdowns. After a bye week this weekend, the Knights will resume playing next week on Oct. 4, against the Dripping Springs Tigers at Dripping Springs. —MacJournalism Sports Team

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Coach Susan Ashton talks to girls varsity cross-country runners, giving them advice before their race on Sept. 14 at the Vista Ridge Invitational meet. Photo by Thomas Melina Raab.

Girls sports profile: Gabby Sherwood The Shield: How long have you been doing cross country? Gabby Sherwood: Since junior year. I started a full season junior year. I ran the district meet during freshman year, but that didn’t really count, and I ran on JV. But I joined last year as a junior, and I really liked it. TS: And you’re captain now this year? GS: Yes! I’m captain of the girls varsity team. Before the season started this year, I went to coach and told her that I would be interested in being a co-captain of some sort to lead the girls and encourage them. I really like it; it’s great to just be able to encourage younger girls because I’m one of the older people, and a lot of them are sophomores and freshman, so I just like being there for them and encouraging them, and leading them. It’s not really about being the fastest; it’s about being a good teammate. And I think I’ve been doing a good job. TS: What’s your favorite part about cross country? GS: I think my favorite part is definitely the community of people we have. It’s really hard to get up every morning at 5 a.m. and run, but the people there make it worth it because the people there are very encouraging. They always make me laugh. I think that’s my favorite part—the people. TS: And you were training over the summer right? How did that go? GS: It was definitely challenging, but actually summer practice really helps, the training, the three months of it, is a really helpful preseason because it takes a while to get used to running miles and miles and building up your endurance, and summer practices really helped with that. I also did extra stuff—every day I would go to cross country in the morning and then later I would do speed and strength and sprints, so that really helped me build up my strength from running. TS: Are you excited for this year?

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GS: I am! We have a lot of great young runners; it’s going to be a very young team next year because a lot of seniors are graduating, but they all are fast and are natural runners, so hopefully they stick with it till their senior year. TS: What’s your favorite part about the meets? GS: They’re always really fun. I love getting to experience each new course because every race is different. So I try not to get discouraged if I have a bad race because maybe that course had more hills or was more rocky. But it’s great to have a solid girls varsity team because we’re there for each other and can push each other during the race. TS: What is your favorite memory so far this year? GS: Something that I enjoyed is that it’s become a tradition (started last year) that at practice the day before a meet, we do an easy run and ice baths, and it’s become a tradition that a parent and a runner will bring tacos and juice and fruit, so we get to enjoy our breakfast after an easy run. It’s just a fun activity, and I think it eases nerves about the meet the next day because we’re all talking and joking around and just having fun as a team. TS: How has the season been going so far? GS: The season has been going pretty well. As a whole, we are growing as a team, and everyone is putting in a lot of effort at practices. Everyone had a rough race at the Hays meet this past weekend—personally, I was sick, and I know several of my teammates were injured or not feeling well. But it was just one race; I know that by the end of the season everyone’s hard work will pay off. I was pretty disappointed in my time this weekend (28:07) because it was the slowest time I’ve ever run. But I was sick, and I’m feeling better now so I’m trying to stay positive and look towards the next goal—the McNeil meet this Saturday. Part of cross country is failure; you’re not always going to run your fastest race every meet; you’ll have set backs and injuries, but you have

BOTTOM: Senior captain Gabby Sherwood chases down other runners at the Lockhart Hippensteel Cross Country Invitational meet on Aug. 31. Photo by Thomas Melina Raab. to keep pushing. TS: What are you doing as team captain? GS: As a team, it’s that point in the season where it starts to get a little harder to come to practice; you start to feel a little more exhausted.

I know that everyone else feels it, so as a captain I’m going to try my best to encourage everyone at practices, and tell them I’m proud of them for keeping with it and not giving up. —interview by Sarah Slaten

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Boys sports profile: Izak Zaplatar

By swimming for UT and Mac, junior discovers thrill of competition and his second swim family

TEAM BONDING: Just ask teammates Madi Baylor, Cole Kershner and Luke Gordon, Zaplatar has more than carried his own weight as a team leader. Photo by Jack Hester.

DOUBLE GOLD: Zaplatar won two breastroke events at the Springs Family YMCA meet on Sept. 14. “My motivation is to make my family proud and to be my brothers’ equal in swimming,” he said. Photo by Daniela Morrow.

DIVING UP: Zaplatar dives into the water at the Dripping Springs Swim meet on Sept. 14. In the first meet of the season, Zaplatar finished first in both the 50-meter and 100-meter breaststroke. His teammates and fellow competitors from other high schools congratulated him on his wins. “I really want to drop my time,” Zaplatar said, “but also, I [want] to make a better connection with the rest of the team.” Photo by Peyton Casey.

The Shield: How many years have you been on the team? Izak Zaplatar: I’m a junior now, so three years. TS: When did you discover that you liked to swim? IZ: When I was younger, I would swim for my neighborhood swim team, but after a couple years I lost that. But then my brother got into swimming at McCallum his freshman year, so when I came freshman year, he was a senior on swim team, so I did it with him and just fell in love with it. TS: Who is your brother? IZ: Emerson Zaplatar TS: When did you start swimming competitively? IZ: Probably sophomore year. During freshman year I just did it for McCallum, but sophomore year, I swam for UT and McCallum. So, now I’m still doing it for both of those teams. Club is a lot more competitive because there are more people with faster times. TS: What does your practice schedule look like? IZ: After school at 5:15 p.m., I leave to go to UT. I get back home at 8 p.m. some days, but if I’m staying for McCallum practice as well as UT practice, I’ll stay for an extra 30 minutes with McCallum. I don’t want to overwork myself, so I’ll leave at 8:30 p.m. and finally get home. TS: What do you like about being on the McCallum team? IZ: It’s a family. It’s a lot of fun. Everyone can act like themselves, and it’s very open to

everyone, which I think is great. TS: What are your goals, both in club and at McCallum for this year? IZ: I really want to drop my time, but also to make a better connection with the rest of the team. TS: What has been your favorite moment on the team, any year? IZ: Definitely the overnight meets with the McCallum team. It’s a lot of fun, and you get to spend a lot of time with the team. You get to room with your buddies, and it’s just a fun time. When you go swim the next day, there’s a lot of enthusiasm. TS: Do those meets happen often? IZ: We have about two overnight meets every year, so that’s not a lot, but they do happen regularly. TS: What is the general meet schedule? IZ: For McCallum, we have a meet every three weeks, but I also have a meet every three weeks for UT. So, in all, I have two meets every three weeks. TS: How did you place in the meet last weekend? IZ: I did pretty well! I got first place in both 50 breaststroke and the 100 breaststroke, so I am pretty happy with that. TS: How do you think this season compares to last season? IZ: We lost a lot of seniors, my brother is no longer here, and we have quite a bit of new people. Hopefully we will be a stronger team, but only time will tell. —interview by Kristen Tibbetts

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A captain’s log with senior Claire Greenberg The Shield: Why is Izak a good profile subject for The Shield? Claire Greenberg: Izak is a really good swimmer, and he’s been working really hard these past few years. Also, he’s just a really great guy. TS: What’s your favorite story or memory of having Izak on the team? CG: He’s just a really funny kid. It was cool to see him start our freshman year and grow into a leader on the team and help out younger kids. TS: He mentioned that his brother was on the team his freshman year. What was that dynamic like? CG: It was funny that year because there were three brothers on the team. One was a senior, one was a sophomore, and one was a freshman. We got to see their whole family dynamic, which was really fun and funny. TS: Pretend you are writing a rec letter for Izak. How would you

describe him in three words? CG: He’s very positive, hardworking and outgoing. TS: What are your expectations for him this season? CG: I think he is going to do really well. He has been working really hard over the summer because of his club team, and his times have been dropping. I’m really excited to see how that transfers to high school swimming this season, and who knows? Maybe, he’ll go to state. TS: How do you think he filled those expectations in the most recent meet? CG: He did well. It was kind of a weird meet. I chalk it all up to adverse conditions because the pool was really hot and kind of gross, but everyone did really well. I saw a couple of his races and he’s doing really well. —interview by Kristen Tibbetts, photo by Maggie Provost

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Save the planet and be on trend

By buying brands that practice sustainable fashion and by thrifting, you can look good and be good OLIVIA CAPOCHIANO staff reporter

A river in Taiwan runs the color of taro bubble tea. The water is an opaque purple, reminiscent of Crayola’s violet acrylic paint. Miles of the area’s freshwater supply directly adjacent to the Jiayang Factory is polluted. Around the world, it’s becoming dangerous just to touch the water let alone swim in it. The fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world. The industry has created a disastrous strain on the environment, consuming huge amounts of water and creating loads of pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and solid waste. Low prices and increased consumer demand multiply the environmental harms. As companies race to jump on current trends, they cut corners, resulting in massive and long-lasting environmental consequences. The demand for inexpensive and quickly produced clothes encourages companies to use cheap materials, most notably, toxic dyes. Unregulated textile dying releases toxic chemicals into clean water, poisoning animal life, everything from fish to household pets. More expensive brands are not necessarily more environmentally friendly. A 2011 study into hazardous materials in the fashion industry found that expensive brands don’t care any more about saving the environment than fast fashion. The study even ranked Armani as the worst offender. Armani, despite its high prices, was revealed to have NPEs, hormone disrupting nonylphenol ethoxylates, that often wash into rivers and lakes, more than half of its products. I have good news for fashion fanatics everywhere, an increasingly popular ecofriendly alternative: sustainable fashion, which minimizes environmental impacts throughout a garment’s life cycle. But how do we shop sustainably? First, make an effort to research the brands you buy from. Websites like rankabrand and The Fashion Transparency Index can shed light on popular brands even though they unfortunately neglect teen favorites like Brandy Melville and Urban Outfitters. Make sure you stay on alert for brands that manipulate concerned consumers into believing they care about the environment when their practices prove otherwise. It’s easy for a company to release a statement professing green business policies and sound sincere. It’s also easy for corporations to cleverly “forget” to mention how they pollute rivers and underpay workers and instead make a point of noting how much they donated to charity, despite the contribution being less than 1 percent of their gross profits. For many consumers, shopping sustainably can be difficult. Sustainable clothing is typically pricey, and even shirts can be hard to afford. For many sustainable brands, a blouse can easily be more than $30 or could climb into the triple digits. This is because eco clothing is more expensive to produce, since companies use organic cotton and recycled textiles. Thankfully, the higher price also means higher quality.

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JEAN-IOUS: Sophomore Sorcha Wilson poses with an entirely thrifted outfit. “The shirt is from Goodwill, and the skirt is from Buffalo Exchange,” Wilson said “They were a great price.” Wilson, like many other Mac students, thrifts often and makes an active effort to reduce her effect on the environment. Inset pictures: Brands in Austin are making an effort to switch to sustainable practices. Top left: Loft’s 20 percent recycled polyester jeans. Center left: Madewell’s denim recycling progarm, Blue Jeans Go Green. Bottom left: 85 percent ecologically grown cotton jeans from Zara. Brands have been responding to customer interests and have started making the switch to sustainable style, ushering in an eco-conscious fashion industry, thanks to the efforts of enivironmentally conscious consumers. Photos by Olivia Capochiano. Unfortunately, despite their high price tag, most sustainable brands aren’t exactly ontrend. They tend to market to an older audience, with more financial stability. Many sustainable brands primarily produce neutral toned boxy dresses and wide-legged capris. One brand’s lookbook even reminds you of a catalog of nurses’ scrubs. It’s not something that teens are willing to spend a fair amount of money on. One of the most popular environmentally friendly brands is Reformation. Reformation is known for its stylish dresses and carbon offsets. Alternative Apparel offers basic organic clothing like white tees in multiple styles. Girlfriend Collective is an active-wear brand that attempts

to combat textile waste. H&M is leading the climate positive charge for trendy outfitters. Similarly, Zara and its parent company Inditex, vows to use only organic, recycled or sustainable fabrics by 2025. They’re one of the few brands accessible to teens that have made an effort to protect the environment. H&M and Zara’s adoption of more environmentally friendly practices proves that companies are willing to adapt to their consumer’s demands. Forever 21’s recent bankruptcy further demonstrates that inability to move toward sustainable and high quality clothing will result in mass customer disinterest. Brands that can’t or won’t adapt to the surge of

environmental awareness will pay the cost. Thrifting is also a clever way to reduce fashion waste and reduce the harmful effects of producing new clothing. A large portion of McCallum students buy and donate secondhand clothes to brick-and-mortar stories and also to online markets like Depop and Poshmark. Some students even sell directly back into their communities by setting up Instagram accounts and marketing to their friends. Shopping sustainably isn’t impossible, but it does require effort. By researching what you buy, by spending more for higher quality pieces and by thrifting, you can look great and do your part to help save the planet.

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There has to be a simpler way

Students should not need 504 plans to get the accommodations they need to be safe, successful EVELYN GRIFFIN staff reporter

Imagine being incredibly passionate about your education, but never being able to concentrate on just one thing in class or complete your homework before the due date. You know you deserve more time, but you can’t ask for it. Now imagine taking a test and all of a sudden your hands start shaking and you feel nauseous. You know you should eat but your teacher doesn’t allow food in the classroom. Now imagine taking notes and having to rewrite the same letter over and over again until it is perfect. You know you would retain more of the information by typing your notes on a computer, but your teacher doesn’t trust you. That is how school is for so many students. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was the first legislation in the United States created to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities. It states that in federally funded programs, it is against the law to discriminate against people with disabilities or deny them opportunities given to other people. For AISD students, that means that anyone with a disability can attend free public school just like anyone else, and, with a 504 plan, receive accommodations that help them perform best in school. These accommodations could range from extended time for homework and tests to behavioral management. Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s great that students with disabilities are given the same level of empathy and respect as anyone else, but those without an 504 plan often run into trouble with teachers when they request accommodations. I would know. A little over a year ago, I was diagnosed with type one diabetes. Some of the accommodations I need are being able to eat in class when my blood sugar is low and being able to use my phone during class to check blood sugar readings. I am still in the process of getting a 504 plan, however, so it has been challenging at times to get my teachers on board. The strange thing is, they know about my condition. The school nurse always alerts teachers when they have someone in their class with a mental or medical condition, 504 plan or not. Without a 504 plan, however, not even the very visible filament in my arm and insulin pens in my backpack are enough to guarantee that I will receive these simple, nondisruptive accommodations. I do believe that 504 plans can be very beneficial. Plans like these can be obtained in elementary school and follow you all the way through college. I also believe that there should be some sort of screening process to get one because otherwise students could take advantage of the system for the wrong reasons and teachers would be forced to abide by them. But, for students who have simple requests, like taking notes on a computer or preferential seating, the number of hoops that they and their families have to jump through is slightly outrageous. First, you have to reach out to a counselor about getting a 504 plan on your own. Then, they send you forms to fill out. One of these

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ABOVE: The paperwork that anyone applying for a 504 plan has to fill out and submit digitally to a counselor. Although there needs to be a system in place to obtain a 504 plan, the current one is daunting to many students. LEFT: Because teachers are only legally obligated to allow students to have accommodations if they have a 504 plan, those who do not apply for a plan have no way of ensuring that they receive the classroom accommodations they may need. Photos by Evelyn Griffin.

forms in particular, the parent information form, does not even apply to many of the people applying for a plan. For me especially, the majority of the questions on the form are completely irrelevant to my condition. For instance, one of the questions asks my parents to rate my ability to speak in complete sentences and get along with others. Once all of the forms are complete, applicants have to meet with a counselor to get the plan approved. They must be ready to propose a plan with requests specific to them but are not given any resources to help them. Another thing to consider is the attentiveness

of the parents. Some students don’t have parents who can really help them with their condition. This could be because they don’t understand it or take it seriously, or they can’t give them access to a good doctor, or therapist. What are those students supposed to do? My parents were more than willing to put in the work, but not everyone’s parents are willing and able to do that. Even with parents that can help, some students still don’t think that getting a 504 plan is worth their time because of the mildness of their condition. These students end up doing things the same way as everyone else, even though it impedes their learning. No one should

feel that they have to compromise their ability to learn to avoid paperwork. There has to be a less labyrinthine way to address a student’s classroom needs. Even though the application process is to blame, administrators and teachers have to trust their students to know what their needs are. 504 plans are an outdated and very often unnecessary way to reassure them, but if a student doesn’t think his or her accommodations justify going through the whole process, then their demands should still be respected. While many teachers make an effort to do this, there should still be requirements in place. In a study made public in 2017, the National Center for Learning Disabilities discovered that children with learning disabilities are three times more likely to drop out of school than those without those challenges. I for one don’t want to learn in a place that doesn’t do their very best to combat those odds. We can do better.

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Senior Sarah Slaten waits for someone to open the back door in the hallway across from the front entrance, which usually does not take long. Photo by Kristen Tibbetts.

Locked doors better than nothing Despite backlash, new security policy proves AISD cares

KRISTEN TIBBETTS co-editor-in-chief

Active shooter threats across the nation have prompted students and faculty alike to rise up, call for gun reform and express their democratic rights by protesting at the Capitol. In April of 2017, more than a hundred McCallum students did the same. So this year, to protect students from campus threats, McCallum decides to … lock the front door? It may not be the change we were hoping for, but at least it’s something, right? Two years ago, McCallum initiated the policy of locking almost every door on campus after 9 a.m., with a few exceptions for the front door and main side doors. The policy faced backlash from annoyed students, myself included, but I eventually got used to it. This year, every door on campus is locked all of the time, the only exception being the front entrance. And, once the first bell rings, that door is locked as well. When I heard the news on the first day of school, I believed this would be incredibly annoying and a huge waste of effort. I was worried that all of the shortcuts I’ve spent three years perfecting would become useless and, with two of my classes in portables, I feared it would be difficult to re-enter the building. Combined with the new tardy policy, the locked doors seemed like a sure-fire way to land more students in detention and ISS. I have to admit that some of my concerns were valid, but I overestimated the effect it would have on the student body. Like many students, I don’t believe this is the best way to prevent threats and protect our campus. I would prefer it if Texas passed stricter gun regulations, but the school

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district doesn’t have that power. More effective methods of campus protection, such as installing metal detectors by the front doors, are expensive and with AISD’s current budget problem, are not feasible. The locked door policy, just like the clear bag policy implemented at sporting events last year, is not perfect, but it creates a safer school environment and proves that AISD cares about our safety. As the school year progressed, I was surprised by how easy it was to adapt to the locked doors. Classes in portables have scanners built into their hall passes to make re-entry less difficult. To reduce the likelihood of the passes being stolen, teachers are asked to enforce strict sign-in/out procedures, which has been working well in all of my classes so far. As for the trouble with crowded hallways, shortcut-taking students usually don’t have to wait for more than a few seconds before someone opens the door for them. Though only mildly annoying for students, this policy makes the duties of the administrators more difficult. Hall monitors now have to stop any student without a hall pass and the front office is constantly bombarded with buzzed-in requests to enter the building. I’m grateful that McCallum and AISD care enough about our safety to implement a policy that is a pain to enforce and likely to receive a lot of backlash. I’m glad that every visitor has to to ask the front office before entering the building, and I feel safer knowing that it’s much more difficult for outsiders to come on campus. This policy isn’t perfect, but it protects us without invading our privacy. After the tragedy at Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, the school banned standard backpacks,

providing students with clear ones instead, receiving backlash from the student body. Soon after, a handful of schools across the nation did the same. I am immensely disappointed and angry about the current firearm regulations in America. I am disgusted that the threat of an active shooter is something that has become “normal” in my lifetime. Therefore, I am grateful that AISD understands my fear and is willing to do what is in their power to prevent another tragedy. In comparison, having to give up my shortcuts doesn’t seem like a very big deal.

A CALL FOR HELP: The call button and identification scanner next to the main entrance solve one of the main problems with the locked door policy: students and visitors alike being unable to enter the building during the school day. The hall passes for portable classes have scanners built-in, so that students can still enter the building to use the restroom or get water. And, as the sign on the door states, visitors are required to use the call button and must enter through the main office first. Photo by Kristen Tibbetts.

27 sept. 2019

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Want to avoid the SAT? ACT now.

You can’t avoid standardized testing, but that doesn’t mean the College Board holds all the cards SARAH SLATEN sports editor

Before you start panicking, seeing the words SAT and ACT in the title, know that this article is supposed to help you, not stress you out about the tests looming ominously on the horizon. For all students, the tests are inevitable, especially since AISD has (very kindly) started paying for all students to take an SAT Test during school. Test scores are a constant worry and cause of concern for all students, as we juggle schoolwork and extracurriculars and getting enough sleep at night, on top of trying desperately to improve our test scores so we can get into college and move on with the rest of our lives. But, though you don’t really have an option not to take the test, you do have options about which test to take: ACT or SAT. Both of the tests claim to measure college readiness, and both are used to determine college admissions. Both of the tests have a reading, writing and math section and offer an additional essay along with the rest of the test, but after that, there are important differences. Both tests have their perks, and both tests have their downfalls. And though everyone has a preference, you have to find which test works best for you. The SAT is the classic standardized test, and it’s almost 100 years old. It made its debut in 1926, though by a different name with different scoring, and has since been changed many times, adapting to the changes in the world. The SAT is run by The College Board, a major conglomerate, which runs a college search system, along with running both the AP and SAT tests. College Board is a nonprofit organization but also is a major player in all standardized testing, which rakes in yearly revenue exceeding $750 million. The ACT tests, however, aren’t associated at all with The College Board, and therefore are a completely different entity. The ACT is run by a non-profit organization, and tests reading, writing, math and also, unlike the SAT, science. I took my first SAT in December of last year. I did minimal prep, meaning all I did to prepare was work through a couple math sections in my SAT Test book. So, I went in with a mentality that I would just take the test to see how it worked, and to get a base score that I could work off of in the future. It went as well as expected, and I did OK, but it left me with a good idea of what I had to do to improve. I took my second SAT in April of this year, during the school-day SAT. This time I prepared, practicing for about eight hours on Khan Academy, practicing math concepts I hadn’t looked at for years. I felt pretty prepared, and went in with a good mindset. I managed to raise my score exactly 100 points; all the test prep ultimately paid off. This summer, in a last-ditch attempt to get a better test score, I signed up for the ACT. One of my friends had taken both the SAT and ACT, and had done much, much better on the ACT, getting almost a perfect score, so I decided I might as well take it, seeing if I could do any better on a different test. I practiced a bit, answering a lot of English questions, so I could hopefully boost my reading and writing scores so that even if I didn’t do well on the math and science, I could still get a good score. I did about 50 points better on my ACT (after the scores are converted) than my best SAT score. I even took my ACT over the summer, when I was out of practice with analytical thinking and hadn’t been using my brain very much. So personally, I think the ACT is a better test, and that it’s less difficult to get a higher score on it. Whenever I took the SAT, I felt like they were trying to trip you up, trying to make you choose the wrong answer. Through the entire test I was second-guessing myself, going between two answers that both seemed equally correct. In part, that’s probably true. The College Board needs to make money off the SAT, and having people retake the tests to get a better score is a good way to increase profits. But I didn’t feel like that on the ACT; it felt so

ACT

SAT

TOP: ACT versus SAT graphic by Bella Russo. BOTTOM: SAT and ACT infograph by Sarah Slaten. much more straightforward. The ACT also tests more than just test-taking ability and its questions are pretty basic, though still challenging. The addition of science also allows students with different strengths to excel on the test. The ACT is a better way of measuring all-around knowledge, unlike the SAT, which mostly just measures if you know how to take a test. The ACT also offers better testing accommodations to those who need them. I didn’t, but I know people who did, and the ACT was much more generous with the accommodations then the SAT was, and was also much more open in allowing people these accommodations. My friend had to fight tooth and nail to get any extra time on the SAT, while on the ACT they made sure to give her the extra time she needed. Overall, it feels like the SAT is trying to mess you up, trying to make you fail. The ACT doesn’t feel like that, though it’s still a challenging test in its own right. This ultimately makes sense because of The College Board’s financial involvement, as they reinvest the money you pay into improving College Board, but it does not seem fair. Most colleges will accept the ACT test instead of the SAT, meaning most students have a choice in the matter. I would recommend that everyone try both tests if they are able and work out which one is best for them. I have many friends who never even took the ACT, and excelled on the SAT despite the tricky question wording. But ultimately, it matters which one works for you, and it’s going to be different for everyone. For me, however, the ACT was the way to go.

“It feels like the SAT is trying to mess you up, trying to make you fail.”

27 sept. 2019

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Banning guns is not a panacea

But it’s the most obvious, direct way to reverse a generational trend that shames our nation SHIELD STAFF As high school students in the United States, we know that in many parts of the country, it’s out of the question to strip citizens of their Second Amendment right to own firearms. Banning guns, even military style assault rifles, is dismissed as anathema by Republican politicians, who instead focus energy on excuses as to why gun violence is so prevalent today: violent video games, a lack of mental health support, as well as trauma or domestic violence in one’s background. But while these may be contributing factors to America’s proclivity for mass shootings, the simple fact remains that gun violence is so prevalent today because guns are still so readily available. We agree that the access to mental health education and facilities is all too sparse in these trying times; however, guns lie at the root of the problem. When talking about gun violence, we

must consider the entire epidemic: mass shootings, homicides and accidental deaths. Mass shootings are not just a problem of people wanting to harm people but also a societal failure because access to weapons of mass violence are so easy to acquire. According to the Mass Shooting Tracker, there has so far been 374 mass shootings in 2019, and it’s not even October. The fastest, easiest way to reduce this number is to reduce the number of guns so widely circulating in our communities. The same is true for homicides, where the statement that “guns don’t kill people but people kill people” is true, except for the fact that people killing people is easier with the greater speed and efficiency of using guns. According to the Human Development Index, the United States holds the record for homicide rates by firearm: roughly 29.7 deaths per 1 million people, more than 3 times the closest competitor, Switzerland. In a 2013 study

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heard if it is harder for them to access the simple trigger of a handgun. Accidents happen, especially with guns. In an experiment conducted by the Emory University School of Medicine, it was found that one third of boys between the ages 8-12 pulled the trigger upon finding a gun in their household. Critics would argue that it is unfair to ban everyday guns such as hunting rifles or handguns, but accidents are far too common and far too fatal. At the very least, heavy restrictions should be put on such guns in order to reduce the likelihood that these incidents will happen. Access to therapy, medications, or institutions is not going to solve the problem of outright violence in this country, and banning guns is only the first step of many. But it’s the right first step in finally getting off the starting line in the race to eradicate the epidemic of gun violence in our nation.

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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from both the CDC and Injury Prevention, the correlation between the amount of deaths in an area and the ownership of guns is positive; a 1 percent increase of gun ownership lead to a 1 percent increase in homicides by gun. Gun violence is not only referring to the more than 2,000 shootings that have happened in this country since Sandy Hook, according to the Gun Violence Archive, but also the increased number of suicides that come with an increased supply of guns. The chorus to this sad American song is “more guns, more death,” and suicide is just another tragic verse because guns make suicide easier and quicker. According to the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 96.5 percent of fatal suicide attempts were committed with firearms, while only 7.6 percent used poison, and 5.1 percent, cutting. There is a greater chance that victims of suicidal thoughts and tendencies will get help and have their voice

editors-in-chief KRISTEN TIBBETTS AND JANSSEN TRANSIER

ALEX DOWD, ELLEN FOX, MAX RHODES, BELLA RUSSO, ELISHA SCOTT, STELLA SHENKMAN, SARAH SLATEN, MIA TERMINELLA reporters

adviser DAVE WINTER

ALYSA BIJL-SPIRO, OLIVIA CAPOCHIANO, KATHRYN CHILSTROM, GRAYSON CRUISE, EVELYN GRIFFIN, COHEN JOHNSON-DYE, LASZLO KING-HOVIS, LUCY MARCO, TOMAS MARRERO, ANNA MCCLELLAN, CALEB MELVILLE, ASLY MENDEZ RUIZ, JESSICA MONTOYA-MORENO, MADELYNN NILES, GRACE NUGENT, SAMANTHA POWERS, JULIA KAY SMITH, KAYCEE STROTHER, ISABELA TAPPERSON, GRACE VAN GORDER, JAVIER VELA, KENNEDY WEATHERBY, LOKI WILSON The Shield is published by journalism students in the newspaper production class. Although students work under the guidance of a professional faculty member, the student staff ultimately determines the content. Students may not publish material that is obscene, libelous or that which will cause a “substantial disruption to the educational process.” Content that may stimulate heated

30 opinion

debate is not included in this definition. The Shield operates as an open forum for exchange of ideas. Opinions expressed in editorials are the ideas of the staff. Opinions expressed in the columns are that of the writer’s alone. Letters to the editor are encouraged and must be signed. Positive identification may be required when a letter is submitted. Letters

may be edited. Letters that are critical of the newspaper staff’s coverage of events or that present information that may stimulate heated debate will be published. Letters that contain malicious attacks on individual reporters, the adviser or the principal will be rejected. Anyone interested in purchasing an ad

should contact adviser Dave Winter at (512) 414-7539. Ads published in The Shield do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the staff. The Shield is a member of the Interscholastic League Press Conference, the National Scholastic Press Association, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and the Southern Interscholastic Press Association.

27 sept. 2019

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Opening night at MacTheatreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new musical

Photo by Ale Luera Photo by Dave Winter 27 sept. 2019

Knights open district play 4-0 online preview 31

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The Scales of good and evil

With fewer large dance numbers, fall musical is a showcase for individual acting and singing “Being in a show is all about the energy that you put into your performance,” junior Aydan Howison said. For him, this starts in the dressing room, where he and his fellow cast members listen to music to get ready. “You have to listen to Playboi Carti,” junior Diana Hardage said. “But for real, just surrounding yourself with a good environment. Howison agreed: “With a show like Jekyll and Hyde, you really need to get into the right head space.” Photo by Bela Tapperson.

Senior Owen Scales as Henry Jekyll holds up the potion that transforms him into Edward Hyde. “I loved playing this character because I’m not a typically evil person, or at least I try not to be,” said Scales. “This gave me a chance to scream and yell and punch people in the face, and it’s been wonderful.” Photo by Javier Vela. Moments before she is visited by Hyde, junior Marlee Foster as Lucy Harris sings about starting a new life. “I try to act it as if I’m experiencing Lucy giving into her dream for the first time,” Foster said. “I love playing Lucy. I love how hopeful yet realistic she can be.” Photo by Dave Winter

Sophomore Finn Higginbotham, dressed as Spider, helps sophomore Keely McNab lace up her choker. McNab plays the character of Nellie, a worker at the Red Rat nightclub. Photo by Bela Tapperson. During the first big number of the show, “Facade,” sophomore Sydney Lowe reaches up to the nobles above. McCallum’s production of Jekyll and Hyde is the first run of the show that’s b een put on in Austin, which is one of director Joshua Denning’s determining factors when choosing musicals. “I looked at our talent, and I noticed that we had a lot of beltresses,” Denning said. “What’s a show with really cool, awesome roles for belting? What’s a good one that hasn’t been done in Austin? Jekyll and Hyde. And it just all came together.” Photo by Bella Russo.

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Before opening night of Jekyll and Hyde on Thursday, Sept. 19, senior Mia Terminella and junior Diana Hardage get into costume and putting on makeup. Photo by Bela Tapperson. Jekyll and Hyde will be Scales’ last show, but it’s a perfect show to go out on. “In my first show here, I died while wearing a long, beautiful wig,” Scales said. “And in my last show, I die wearing a long, beautiful wig.” Photo by Dave Winter.

27 sept. 2019