The Dispatch, Vol. 33, Issue 6, 6/7/21

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CLASS OF 2021 GRADUATION Celebrate the graduating class of 2021 as they continue on to their future endeavors

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AUSTIN'S NEW HOMELESS POLICY Investigation into the passing of Proposition B for Austin's homeless population

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CRUMBL COOKIE REVIEW Review of the taste and look of Crumbl Cookie's four different weekly specialties

coming UP June 4-August 16 Student and staff summer break June 7-June 17 In-person summer school August 17 First day of the 2021-22 school year

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Vol. 33, Issue 6 www.thedispatchonline.net James Bowie High School 4103 W. Slaughter Lane Austin TX, 78749

THE DISPATCH MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2021

Pride in Publishing

Wrapping up the 2020-21 school year

Students and staff reflect on the past year, new grading systems, and next school year Arushi Sharma News Editor

As the 2020-21 school year comes to a close, seniors excitedly move on to their future plans and the rest of students and staff members reflect on this unprecedented year. While this past school year progressed and COVID-19 cases rose, some students were in-person and others participated in online school, never attending classes on campus.

With the number of COVID-19 cases decreasing in the United States, many students are hopeful to return to some sort of ‘normalcy’ as summer and the next school year approaches.

“I feel school hasn’t been the same through the pandemic and being online,” junior Brodi Tokar said. “I miss the social aspect of everything, regarding talking with classmates, teachers, and learning in person.”

As of Nov. 2020, Bowie has been following Phase Three of the Austin Independent School District (AISD) Reopening plan which requires health screenings, masks, and some remote asynchronous days. Junior Aine Flaherty had been on-

Behind the Fence

line for most of the year and recently went back in person.

“In person, I found it so exciting to meet my teachers and watch them try to guess who I was with excitement,” Flaherty said. “When I go on campus to learn, I feel like I can connect with my teachers on a different level and it was a really positive experience.”

As of late April, around 31 percent of AISD students attended in-person classes, while the other 69 percent spent the school year attending online classes through Zoom.

“This past year has been easier in terms of schooling for me because being online has given me more time to complete assignments and teachers have made it easier for us in terms of tests and quizzes,” sophomore Sophie Chasen said.

Principal Mark Robinson is already preparing for the next school year. He anticipates that there will be an offering for both in person and online learning, but not like it was this school year.

“I believe that students enrolled at Bowie will attend classes on campus similar to school before the pandemic,” Robinson said. “The need for remote learning will be met through virtual school at Garza online as it has been in the past.”

Another major change coming next school year for students and staff members, along with the return to full-time campus learning for students, is a new grading system. Next year, the district will align all levels to nine week grading cycles.

“A nine weeks term of consistent grading and feedback allows for more grades to be taken to determine an average,” Robinson said.

“More grades, as long as one is not a zero, give students more opportunity to get the grade they want in a course and make it less likely that a single grade will cause a significant fluctuation.”

While the change to nine

week grading periods does not mean students will have more or less work, past experience with short grading periods has made some students question the impact of this changes on grades.

“I think that we are better off having six six-week periods than four nine-week periods because I think it's easier to manage assignments in smaller increments,” freshman William Gum said. “If there are too many assignments in a grading period it can be hard to keep track and get caught up.”

Currently, final exams are weighted 25 percent of the semester final grade. Next year, that weight has not yet been determined. If it stayed consistent to current weights, exams could be worth as much as 33 percent in the future.

“With the weight of finals, I feel that it puts a lot of pressure on students and negatively affects their mental health," Flaherty said.

“A higher weight can cause many students to have high levels of stress, leading to poor performance on the exam.”

According to University Interscholastic League (UIL), in order for a student to participate in UIL events, including sports games, they must be passing with an average of 70 at the end of the grading period.

“The nine weeks grading period will help athletes maintain their grades and eligibility,” Flaherty said.

“With UIL rules, you have to be passing each six weeks to play, and with more grades to average out, it will help many athletes continue to participate in sports.”

Despite the change in weight for finals and adjustment to the grading system, English teacher Gabrielle Costello is ready for the implementation of the new grading period.

“I personally am excited for the nine weeks grading period because I'm hoping that my future students will be able to utilize the sys-

BOWIE STUDENTS TAKING CLASSES ONLINE

MASKS REQUIRED OVER 600 GRADUATES

2021-22 SCHOOL YEAR LEADS TO...

G GRADIN PERIOD ES TO CHANG KS E NINE WE

GARZA ONLINE SCHOOL

STUDENTS BACK TO IN PERSON SCHOOL ART BY Arushi Sharma

tem to their advantage as the nine weeks means more grades in the grade book and more potential opportunities for redeeming their grade when they need it."

Although there are sev-

eral unknowns about next year, Tokar looks forward to his upcoming senior year with a positive light.

“Next year will be an interesting transition int terms of coming back to school

and adjusting to the nine weeks system,” Tokar said.

“Whether it be socially or just having in person lectures, I can’t wait to retain it all.”

2017 AISD bond boasts new beneficial renovations

Dimitri Silva Dispatch Reporter

In 2017, Bowie began making changes to the campus with funding from the Austin Independent School District (AISD) Bond Program that has been giving money

to the school to improve their infrastructure. These alterations include improvements to the fine arts building, the track, the roofing, and other areas around campus.

Earlier this past year, the parking garage was completed with the funding from the AISD Bond. Ad-

NEW BUILDING: Construction workers place the roof on the new, start-of-the-art theater structure. The building is scheduled to be finished sometime this year. PHOTO BY Dimitri Silva

INDEX

RECAPPING THIS PAST SCHOOL YEAR...

News 1 , 2 Politics 3

Feature 4, 5 Photo Essay 6

ditionally, the garage includes new tennis courts for the Bowie tennis team to practice on.

“I think the parking garage will be most useful for students at Bowie,” sophomore Chazon Mingarine said. “Since I can drive now and I've seen how bad the traffic gets after school, the parking garage will help a lot with [the control of traffic].”

Sophomore Nico Colegrove agrees with Mingarine in that the garage has many uses for students and staff, but he isn't in agreement about the decrease in traffic that the garage will provide.

“The parking garage could cause more traffic, since previously there wasn't many places to park close to school,” Colegrove said. “Earlier, students would park and walk to get to school, but now that there is more parking on campus, it will only make it worse leaving school.”

As summer approaches and with the recent project of the parking

Entertainment 7 In-Depth 8, 9, 16

Sports 10, 11 Pop Culture 1 2

garage finished, the new athletic facility and the new theater have begun to be constructed.

“We outgrew the original athletic building about a year after we moved in,” varsity football head Coach Jeff Ables said. “The building was too small for the number of participants in our athletic programs.”

Not only will the construction of the new fine arts auditorium create a new theater for the campus, but the existing fine arts auditorium is being renovated as well.

"I think our old theater was good, but it had limited space," junior Yuri Lee said. "I remember at dance showcases there were a lot of parents that had to stand because there weren't enough seats for everyone."

Aside from the construction of new buildings, the academic building is currently getting new heating and air conditioning units installed.

Reviews 13 Commentary 14,15

find us

“I think improvements to the academic building are important because better air conditioning for the campus is a necessity for students," Mingraine said.

According to the AISD website, these changes to the academic building are currently 95 percent complete and are expected to be finished before the start of next school year.

"Especially in the Texas heat, air conditioning is essential so I'm really excited to come back to campus with these changes," Lee said.

With the school year ending, the construction on Bowie continues in the hopes of finishing the athletic facility by this summer and the new fine arts building by the Summer of 2022.

“I'm most excited about the new theater because they'll be more space for the dance classes to practice and more seats for visitors," Lee said.

@jbhs_dispatch

2 NEWS

THE DISPATCH MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2021

'Broken Border': Texas migrant crisis Rates of immigration at the Texas-Mexico border are at the highest in over two decades Cade Spencer Editor-in-Chief

Designated along the natural flow of the Rio Grande River, the Texas-Mexico border has a total length of 1,254 miles. Within the significant expanse of the border, there are 649 miles of physical barriers, constructed as facets of Former President Donald Trump’s border wall, 28 international bridges, and 25 designated crossing for commercial, vehicular, and pedestrian traffic.

Thus far in 2021, rates of immigration at the Texas-Mexico border have surpassed the immigration rates of the past 21 years, leading to a crisis situation deemed as a “Broken Border” by the Texas Tribune.

“The current reality of immigration at the Texas border makes me feel that the United States government is ignoring some of our nation’s core values,” senior Kobie Hernandez

said. "We say we are prosperous and the best country in the world, and yet we make it harder for other immigrants to share our wealth by making the process more difficult.”

As reported by the Texas Tribune, 178,622 migrants were taken into custody after attempted border crossings by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the month of April 2021. Out of those in custody, an estimated 67,000 migrants were allowed to remain in the country for further processing.

“Families who leave their home and uproot their family are almost always in search of a better life for themselves and/or their family,” U.S. Government teacher Dalton Pool said. “The most recent influx [of migrants] has to do with the devastating conditions in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Most of the migrants are from these countries and are either fleeing because of high rates of violence and crime, and/or a lack of economic opportunity.”

Currently, the

RES

Biden administration has allowed for unaccompanied minors, families with children seven years of age or younger, and certain individuals in search of political asylum to remain in the country when detained at the border.

In the month of April 2021, 17,200 unattended minors were recorded at the border.

“Minors who are unaccompanied migrants should get preference to adults,” senior Nick Van Lente said.

“Typically, when minors appear at the border, they are rejoining family members in the U.S. who are desperately trying to get into contact and connection with them. Forcing these children to jump through several bureaucratic loopholes in a language they likely do not even speak is beyond cruel and unusual.”

In the month of February, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that ended former President Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” program, which had required political asylum seekers to remain in Mexico border towns until their case was complete. The executive order has allowed for 25,000 potential asylum seekers to prepare to enter the country, with around

TRIC

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ARE No A U.S. Trespa ssin Gov g e Pro rnme per ty nt

said. “They want to say that

10,200 migrants entering under the program thus far.

"I think that the most pressing issue at the border that needs to be addressed is the inadequate care that we provide for asylum seekers,” Hernandez said. “Our government needs to provide more help and resources to immigrants who are escaping situations because they need the extra care; they have given up everything to be here and need our help.”

In the face of unprecedented rates of immigration, the institutions over Texas immigration have had to adjust their processes to COVID-19 health guidelines, requiring that all incoming immigrants undergo COVID-19 examinations. Under Title 42, a federal public health and welfare code, former President Trump was able to deport 733,830 migrants to align with COVID-19 protocols.

“COVID-19 should not affect the amount of immigrants we accept per se, but it should change the way those migrants are handled and processed,” Van Lente said. “With widespread PPE and medical attention, allowing migrants into the country (or into Health and Humans Services, HHS, centers) does not have to be a risk. If migrants are given access to testing, and vac-

cines, a streamlined process can occur without widespread transmission.”

Under Biden’s administration, the Title 42 health clause has remained active, employed to reduce the accepted migration of individual migrants and families.

Throughout April 2021, federal officers returned 110,000 migrants under Title 42.

“Many Americans, including myself, have ancestors who fled a struggling situation abroad and came to America looking for a better life. The vast majority of migrants also fall into that category,” Pool said. “While safety and security should always be priority number one when it comes to our border, we should strive to keep crime and criminals out without compromising our founding principles and miscasting thousands of desperate individuals.”

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency predicts there will be 150,000 children and families in need of asylum assistance at the border within the next two years.

“When people talk about immigration in broad strokes, it seems like more of an abstract subject than a phenomenon that is essentially a life or death sentence for real human beings,” Van Lente said. “The U.S. is really good at having a chronic lack of empathy in its policy, and it is time that finally changes.”

TEXAS MEXICO 2021 Immigration

1

178,622 migrants detained in April, 2021

2

67,000 migrants accepted in April, 2021

3

733,830 individuals rejected under Title 42

4

17,200 unattended child migrants detained in April, 2021

Political Asylum Political asylum grants protection to migrants who have been persecuted based off their race, religion, or nationality SOU

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: Tex

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ART BY Rae Gray and Cade Spencer

Remote instruction challenges AISD's attendance rates ART BY Cade Spencer and Shruti Patel

D E C L I N E

Carey Wooley Dispatch Reporter

1

5,000 decrease in total district enrollment

2

44 percent goal for overall district in-person attendance

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$5 million possible loss in state funding

in Attendance

SOURCE: KVUE.com

2020-2021

Throughout the 2020-2021 school year of remote instruction, the Austin Independent School District (AISD) has had to exercise innovation in its methods for student attendance records. For instance, teachers have employed Google Forms, synchronous Zoom roll-calls, and BLEND submission features in order to track remote, off-campus attendance.

The methods of remote attendance maintenance are crucial for the district to receive funding from the Texas Education Association (TEA), which allocates funds in accordance to student attendance.

As of April 16, only 31 percent of students in AISD participated in on-campus instruction, causing the district to fall short of its 44 percent on-campus student attendance goal.

“I think all students need to be back in person next fall,” child development teacher Bridgette Reyes said. “It is vital for not only their grades and academic performance, but for their social and emotional development.”

With many teachers getting the COVID-19 vaccine and people twelve and up being able to get vaccinated, sophomore Caroline Culli-

nane hopes more people will be inclined to come back to on-campus instruction. In the 2020-2021 school year, AISD had 5,000 less students enrolled in the district as a whole than in the 2019-2020 school year.

“I think that because COVID-19 vaccinations are now open to all high school students, it is safe to open back up school to people who choose to go back,” Cullinane said.

“I will be going back because I get a significant more amount of work done in person than I do while at home.”

While students can receive remote attendance credit for all of their classes this school year, the TEA has continued to emphasize in-person attendance and participation. For students who desire to return to on-campus instructidon, they can decide to partake in fulltime, on-campus learning or the hybrid model, enabling them to come to school two to three times per week.

“I had not considered going back in the first semester, but this semester I went back in-person about a month ago for B-block classes only,” Cullinane said. “Next year, in the 2021-2022 school year, I hope to see people having more connections whether in-person or on Zoom, and more relationships

with teachers than this year.”

With the June 3 date of the school year’s closure fast approaching, Superintendent Stephanie Elizalde is pushing for students to return to in-person learning. According to the Texas Tribune, AISD is in danger of losing $5 million dollars in state funding if they do not increase their in-person attendance to 44 percent.

“I would offer some type of incentive for students who went back, like vaccines or free COVID-19 testing,” Cullinane said. “I would also spend money making sure that the campus’ security and sanity is top-notch so more people feel safe coming back.”

For the 2021-2022 school year, in-person attendance at Bowie High School will be expected in the AISD district, in accordance with TEA expectations and guidelines. If students desire to maintain participation in remote instruction, they are encouraged to pursue instruction in the Garza Independence High School program.

“I thought about [going back in-person] to campus, but I am not vaccinated yet and do not want to take any unnecessary risks,” freshman Bella Barkkume said. “For the next school year, I would get the kids to go back, but I would keep masks mandates.”

POLITICS 3

MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2021 THE DISPATCH

Texans sound off on the 87th session Legislators have sent 520 bills to Governor Greg Abbott for signature, as of May 27 Dylan Ebs Politics Editor

medical doctor or you transfer your child’s medical care, that those are now protected by law."

This year's Texas legislative sesOn May 19, Abbott signed Sension has come to a close. May 31 ate Bill 8, which bans abortions as marked the last day of the legis- early as six weeks during pregnanlative session and Governor Greg cy. The bill does not allow excepAbbott has until Sunday, June 20 to tions for pregnancies that resulted sign or veto bills passed during the from rape or incest, but does make session. an exception for medical emerIn a session that the New York gencies. According to the Austin Times described as "the most American-Statesman, the law is staunchly conservative” in recent one of the most restrictive aborTexas history, bills regarding abor- tion laws in the country. tion, elections, and other issues "I don't like Greg Abbott as have generated criticism from lib- a governor," Kelly said. "He and eral organizations. the legislature are trying to pass "I think the state government or successfully passed laws that trying to restrict voting is a terrible are irrational or hurting people's idea," junior Alika Kelly said. "It's rights or their safety." hurting the idea that people can One conservative priority this use their votes to make a change as session was limiting the goverthey can't do it as easily." nor's power during a pandemic.

Jackie Schlegel, the executive House Bill 3, which has been sent director for Texans for Vaccine to a conference committee, would Choice, a group that lobbies the give the legislature more power legislature on various vaccine-re- during a pandemic. lated legislation, said that this ses"[HB 3] has gone in through sion has been a good one and ap- the House into the Senate, so both plauded the passage of House Bill chambers have agreed we need to (HB) 2536. have a better cohesive approach to "Our number one priority was what happens during a pandem- HOUSE IN ORDER: A state representative reads out a bill during a Texas House floor session, trying to HB 2536," Schlegel said. "The state ic," Schlegel said. "This includes get her bill passed before key legislative deadlines. Every other year, the Texas legislature meets for up of Texas currently outlines certain giving the legislature the right to to 140 days to write new laws and debate bills. PHOTO BY Dylan Ebs conditions in which the state may act during a pandemic and not not remove a child from its home just leaving it into the governors or terminate parental rights. We hands, and we still have some bills much more respectful session than the release of a tape where Bonnen support our first responders, suradded a line in there that says if that hopefully get through in the we have seen in previous years and disparaged other lawmakers and vivors of harassment, and small you seek a second opinion from a next 11 days. Also, it has been a thats been incredibly refreshing offered a conservative group media businesses. I am especially proud that legislators can disagree, but do access on the House floor. to have earned unanimous support so tactfully and respectfully."

"I think [Phelan's] done a real- of the House in naming a new state The COVID-19 pandemic affect- ly good job," Schlegel said. "2019 building the Barbara Jordan Builded the way that the legislature op- was really difficult and I think ing, honoring a noteworthy and erated this session. Both the House part of that was there was just so towering figure of Texas history." and Senate required the wearing of much discourse with the speaker High school students have the masks, although those measures and there was just a lot of conten- opportunity to get involved in the were recently removed. While tion there, but Speaker Phelan has legislative process at the Capitol. some other state capitol buildings Democratic committee chairs, he Many legislators welcome high have been closed, the Texas State has Republican committee chairs, school students to be interns, and Capitol has remained open for the and they have good balanced com- people of all ages can contact their entire legislative session. mittees for the most part, and it legislators to get involved during "It just seems like the morale be- seems like the legislators in gener- legislative sessions. Schlegel entween all legislators is a lot higher al have come together to pass some courages young people to get inwhich is very interesting because really good things. I think it’s been volved when the Texas legislature of COVID-19, you would think it a good session and I think we will is in session. would be more stressful, but the see more of Dade Phelan."

"The [Capitol] seems overHouse and the Senate both worked According to Texas Legislature whelming and intimidating, but it's through it," Schlegel said. "They put Online, the House has passed 1,525 actually really exciting and really protocols in place that they each bills as of May 23. State Represen- fun and a lot of good things happen felt were best. They were different tative Sheryl Cole applauded the there too," Schlegel said. "I would protocols, but everybody was really House for passing seven of her bills encourage anybody who has any inrespectful." before a key midnight deadline. terest, even if you’re not entirely The 87th legislative session is "It's important for progressives interested to go and visit the state the first session for Representative at the legislature to keep playing of- house and meet with your legislaDade Phelan to serve as Speaker fense, even when we have to spend tors. You can read about [the CapiMAKING HER CASE: State Representative Mary Gonzalez speaks of the House. Phelan was elected so much of our time on defense," tol] in a book, but when you go in support of HB 1838, a bill that she introduced. The House voted speaker in January after the previ- Cole said in a statement. "I'm proud witness and you go participate in to pass the bill on a 121-22 vote and the bill now heads to the Senous speaker, Dennis Bonnen, de- that I was able to reach across the the legislative process, it's a whole ate. PHOTO BY Dylan Ebs clined to seek reelection following aisle and earn the votes needed to new perspective."

Biden vs. Republicans

Opinion: Republican infrastructure plan misses the mark Dylan Zellner Dispatch Reporter

President Joe Biden announced an infrastructure plan back in March that costs over $2 trillion, with Senator Shelley Moore Capito announcing the Republican plan at the end of April.

The Republican infrastructure bill is a fraction of the Democratic plan with an estimated cost of $568 billion. With these two opposing bills based on opposing ideas, there are bound to be differences in what they have to offer. However, Biden’s plan has more to offer while the Republican plan seems to just be the cheaper option.

Calling President Biden’s plan an “infrastructure bill” isn’t fitting with everything he plans to do. Biden’s plan doesn’t call for just repairing our C-rated infrastructure, as rated by the American Society of Civil Engineers. If you compare Biden's "infrastructure" plan to the Republican bill, then Biden’s plan contains about $832 billion.

But, the $832 billion number is if things like housing, homecare services, manufacturing, research and development, and workplace development, don’t count as infrastructure. Biden doesn’t appear to deem this as a development with the announcement being the American Jobs Plan. However the American Jobs Plan (Biden’s infrastructure bill) can’t even be pegged as a strictly workplace bill as well, with the best fitting title of just being an improvement plan.

Although Biden’s plan is more of an improvement plan, it’s being proposed as an infrastructure plan costing about $1.7 trillion. Why did the Biden administration lower their plan to $1.7 trillion? That would be because the Capito plan is only $568 billion, according to NPR. That large drop from over $2 trillion to $1.7 trillion is worth almost an entire Republican plan. With such a large difference in cost is presented there has to be at least two lines of thought; how much do we get out of it and how much do they take out of American pockets?

Biden's Plan vs. Republican's Plan Comparing the two opposing infrastructure plans Roads and bridges

Biden's plan: $383.5 billion

Republican's plan: $299 billion

Public transportation

Biden's plan: $180 billion

Republican's plan: $61 billion Airports

Biden's plan: $40 billion With just a quick glance at the cost difference, it is easy to assume that Biden’s plan takes a lot more out of American pockets, but how much is that difference? The Biden administration plans to raise the corporate tax to 28% from 21%. The corporate tax rate was 35% under the Obama administration.

In contrast to the 7% raise in corporate tax, the GOP plans to pay for their $568 billion plan through the current tax rate with no mention of raising the rate. Part of Biden’s raise in the corporate rate will also be holding corporations accountable because some corporations, like Amazon, were able to get away with paying very little federal taxes. An Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy

Republican's plan: $44 billion SOURCE The Washington Post ART BY Dylan Ebs

report found that at least 55 corporations paid $0 in federal taxes in 2020.

The Republican plan not raising any tax rates doesn’t mean they have the better plan.

There is a lot the American Jobs Plan gives to Americans that the Republican plan doesn't.

The American Jobs Plan will create jobs and work opportunities, make a greener America, and improve infrastructure. The plan also mentions things like electric transportation, upgrading schools, improving quality of life, providing aid to caregivers, and funding for research to prevent future pandemics.

The American Jobs Plan isn’t just an infrastructure bill; it’s an improvement bill. The Republican plan is only repairing and im-

proving what they define as infrastructure, keeping themselves in the box of the idea of “infrastructure” and general upkeep.

The Republican plan doesn’t seem to include anything that can actually make a real difference other than saving money. The Biden administration’s plan includes acts which create jobs for people and provide for people out of work; a huge issue with the pandemic. Biden’s plan contributes to every single American with the only real cost being a slight raise in corporate tax, and that seems worth it. While this does pile on to America’s debt, it really is just a drop in the bucket with the current debt being somewhere around $28 trillion and rising.

The Republican plan, while only costing one-third of the American Jobs Plan, doesn’t do as much as President Biden's plan. With the largest spending they include being for roads and bridges at $299 billion; how much can that do? The Republican plan seeks to upkeep coal trains and other non-renewable sources while the American Jobs Plan involves electric transportation which is an amazing step towards keeping this planet alive.

Both bills are based off of completely different ways of thinking as well as completely different ideas as what should be included in the infrastructure bill. The GOP plan consists of general infrastructure upkeep while the American Jobs Plan consists of improvement for all. The American Jobs Plan isn’t just an infrastructure bill and what constitutes as infrastructure should not change the fact that the American Jobs Plan does more good than harm.

Questions? Concerns?

Want to share your opinion?

Contact: Email: bowie.journalism@ gmail.com Room Number : F203

4 FEATURE

THE DISPATCH MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2021

Student takes on acting role of the ‘80s

Freshman Clifford Johnson plays BMX inspired character for a Honeycombs commercial Mia Folkers Feature Editor

As the set crew takes places, he props himself up their on his bike. As last adjustments are made to his hair and clothes, he quickly rehearses his lines in his head.

What may seem like a small, second long shot will soon become unique content for hundreds of people to see.

Freshman Clifford Johnson was recently cast for a role in a new Honeycombs commercial.

“I saw a casting call ad on Instagram from Empire BMX, the local BMX shop in town,” Johnson said. “I wasn’t expecting what my role ended up being. It was a call for people who could do tricks on their bikes, so I thought they just wanted a stunt person. It turned out they actually wanted an actor who could do his own tricks.”

Although this was John-

son’s first time in a commercial, he seemed to naturally catch on to the acting atmosphere, according to his mom Suzanne Johnson.

“He was such a natural,” Suzanne said. “He wasn’t shy and had no problem with people watching him do tricks or reciting lines.”

Additionally, Clifford’s manner was seen as very professional, which was helpful on set according to makeup artist and stylist for the shoot, Tara Cooper.

“Putting full wigs and makeup on a young person is not an everyday occurrence,” Cooper said. “Even with the complications of all that Clifford did excellent, especially for his first proper role. He stayed so calm and collected the whole shoot.”

Even for a short commercial, there was lots of work to do on set according to Clifford.

“It was in a neighborhood in North Austin at some-

ALL DRESSED UP: Freshman Clifford Johnson smiles for the camera in his costume for the commercial. On set, Johnson was made a custom mullet and wore all sorts of ‘80s inspired clothing. PHOTO COURTESY OF Suzanne Johnson

one’s house the production company rented out,” Clifford said. “They put paper and plastic all over the floor to protect it, and it took about eight hours. Apparently there are rules about how long an acting day can be.”

For the commercial, Clifford believed there were some small obstacles that made the filming a little difficult.

“One of the hardest parts was that we had to be at the house at 4:00 a.m., so I could get my hair and makeup done,” Clifford said. “It was freezing cold the day we shot the commercial, and I had to keep taking my jacket off to act.”

While on set, there were also some definite plus sides to being an actor, according to Clifford.

“It was so fun to be so spoiled,” Clifford said. “They had the fanciest foods for us to snack. They even had whole avocados in bowls, and for lunch we got fancy tacos catered. I had people to do everything for me: even tie my shoes and take my tissues.”

Along with the advantages the actors got for being on set, Clifford believes the set crew and directors also helped make the commercial enjoyable and successful.

“I expected them to want someone who can do big jumps or tricks, but the jump they had me do wasn’t even one foot high,” Clifford said.

“The sweet thing was that they were all so supportive and impressed by me going off that one foot jump. It was such a big deal to them that I could do that ‘stunt’.”

Similar to Clifford, Suzanne believes the set crew had a huge impact on the success of the commercial experience.

“Everyone involved in the commercial was so happy and passionate about their job” Suzanne said. “The whole experience was inspiring and overall very different than anything we had ever done.”

Suzanne believes that Johnson’s natural character also made him successful in this commercial.

SMILING WIDE: Freshman Clifford Johnson poses for the camera before going on set for the commercial. Johnson’s role in the commercial was to be the flashback of a fathers “BMX kid” phase. PHOTO COURTESY OF Suzanne Johnson

“He’s an excellent BMX rider and has a fun attitude,” Suzanne said. “He also seemed to have no problem following the directions to make different facial expressions or flip his hair or whatever random thing they asked.”

Clifford also enjoyed that the commercial had some experiences with fashion along with acting.

“On set they custom made me a really cool mullet and I got to wear all sorts of fun acid washed clothes from the ‘80s,” Clifford said.

“They liked how I could fake flip a mullet, which is funny

because I wasn’t even positive what a mullet was when I did it.”

Along with Johnson as the actor, the time period for the commercial made the whole experience more unique, according Cooper.

“The fact that it took place in the 1980’s, was the coolest part of the commercial,” Cooper said. “It was like reliving my childhood and the style of editing was just perfect.”

According to Suzanne, the experience of commercial production is a good experience for many teens to take part in if they have the

chance.

“I absolutely think acting is a great experience for teens,” Suzanne said. “You have to follow instructions exactly, pay attention, and repeat the segment till it’s just right. There’s no settling, and it teaches great patience.”

Overall, Clifford believes the commercial was a valuable event for him to take part in.

“The whole experience was like nothing I’ve ever done before,” Clifford said.

“I would definitely take up on the offer again in the future.”

Teens and teachers show passion for special tattoo art Grace Harris Dispatch Reporter

Tattoos, a popular form of self-expression through meaningful designs, art, or phrases on the skin are increasingly popular among young Americans. Many individuals choose to get tattoos to resemble meaningful memories or symbolic designs with a personal significance.

Studies reveal that 40 percent of 18 to 34 year old’s are tattooed; amongst this statistic is former Bowie student, Jada Hamilton. Hamilton has six designs: a cloud, the number six in roman numerals, the phrase “vol. 6”, a dinosaur, a butterfly, and a star dispersed over her body. Each of these are meaningful to her in a unique way.

Hamilton claims that the most memorable design is that of the ‘vol. 6’ tattoo. Hamilton shares that the mental connections she made that led to the tattoo caused it to run deep in her mind and heart forever.

“I’ve so often chosen isolation and that’s such a scary thing, being alone when I could have people and support,” Hamilton said.

“I want to choose intimacy. Sunflower Vol. 6 paints such a beautiful picture of intimacy that makes me want to choose it every single time.”

In addition to this music-related tattoo, Hamilton was inspired by popular artists to get tattooed. ““I’ve always thought tattoos were really cool, and wanted some,” Hamilton said. “After seeing people like Harry Styles and Julia Michaels, I fell in love with the idea of getting covered in [tattoos].”

Music offers expression and escape, prompting many to choose tattoos that relate to a song or artist they connect to. Similar to Hamilton’s Vol. 6 tattoo, senior Jax Cadell is tattooed with a dark side of the moon design in representation of his admiration of Pink

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL: Senior Jada Hamilton shows off her butterfly tattoo.

Hamilton has a total of six tattoos on her body, each with their own significant meaning. PHOTO COURTESY OF Jada Hamilton

Floyd.

“Music runs my life,” Cadell said. “I’m consistently listening to all types. Pink Floyd is an incredible group, so I got a tattoo that I think represents them really well.”

Like Cadell, senior Grace Burden, is mesmerized by the idea of tattoos after getting her first, a dreamcatcher, after her 18th birthday.

“I wanted to get a tattoo because I feel like my body was a blank canvas, and I wanted to add meaningful artwork to it,” Burden said.

“I have always loved how tattoos looked and had always imagined what I would look like with them, so I decided to go for it.”

Following her interest in tattoos, Burden chose to get a dreamcatcher for both its significance to her and coordination to her family members.

“I have always loved dreamcatchers and this tattoo is my constant reminder to live without fear,” Burden said. “My mom and brother have matching tree of life tattoos, so I felt more connected to them through it.”

Other senior students decide to get tattoos that hold them close to those they love.

Two of Hamilton’s six are dedicated to her friends.

“The star on my chest is for one of my best friends,” Hamilton said. “She was a

light for me in some of my darkest times this past year.”

Additionally, teacher Jacqueline Gonzales has multiple tattoos in tribute to friends and family. She has a “La Luna” Loteria card, a Rose Antique Teapot, a black rose, a black cat, and a bouquet of flowers.

“The rose is representing my dad’s side of the family and the black cat is for my sister,” Gonzales said. “Then a bouquet of flowers is for my best friend and her late husband.”

Matching tattoos are also a unique way people choose to feel connected to their closest friends and memories. Gonzales has a matching design with her sister to keep her grandmother’s memory alive.

“The “La Luna” Loteria card is a matching tattoo with my sister, and we got them to symbolize our grandmother and the childhood memories of playing Loteria as a family,” Gonzales said.

Cadell believes tattoos, as a permanent form of expression, are often perceived negatively by society.

“I think tattoos are still frowned upon by some, most jobs require you to cover them up and I think that’s dumb,” Cadell said.

“Its just art.”

Gonzalez believes that tattoos enable individuals to explore immense creative freedom on their body but those interested in tattoo’s must be confident and careful in their decision.

“I would encourage students to think about what they want to be sure they’re making a good choice,” Gonzales said. “I was a teenager when I got my first one but had spent years thinking about it.”

According to Cadell, his experience with his first tattoo was quite pleasant, and believes many other would enjoy the experience of tattoos also.

“I have no regrets,” Cadell said.“It just made me want to get even more tattoos.”

FEATURE 5

MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2021 THE DISPATCH

Senior starts fostering dogs by herself Jenny Toran became a foster dog parent after increased need from Austin Pets Alive Miranda Cardenas Feature Editor

When it comes to animals finding their forever homes with loving families, sometimes that means going into temporary housing for a short period of time outside of animal shelters before adoption.

These animals are placed in foster homes with families who are trying to adopt an animal or help one find its proper home.

Senior Jenny Toran has decided to be a foster parent to dogs this semester through Austin Pets Alive in order to help them find good, suitable homes.

“I decided to be a foster parent this year because I love dogs but I’m going to college soon so it would be less of a commitment,” Toran said. “But I would still be able to take care of them and help them find a great home.”

Toran has had three foster dogs

FEELING SHY: Senior Jenny Toran’s foster dog, Snow White needs help going for a walk.

Snow White has had some trouble adjusting to foster care.

PHOTO COURTESY OF Jenny Toran

so far since starting this journey in March, and has helped them all get adopted.

“Each dog that I’ve taken care of have all been so different but a great experience in their own unique ways,” Toran said. “Each one has definitely had their ups and downs but it’s been so rewarding to help them all get adopted.”

While many people consider helping shelters by being a foster parent, Toran reflects on the amount of work it requires.

“I wish I had known how much reading and research this process takes,” Toran said. “Austin Pets Alive sent over really informational resources to help me prepare, but people should consider that it is a lot of research on your own as well.”

Toran cares for these dogs mostly by herself which includes getting all necessary supplies, and setting up meet-and-greets with potential adopters.

“The meet-and-greet process is super important because it not only gives the dogs the opportunity to meet a potential new caretaker but I can also meet people and see how they interact with the dogs so I know it’ll be a good match,” Toran said.

Toran’s mom, Catherine Toran, has been watching this process but, has let Jenny do it on her own.

“The dogs are completely her responsibility, and she has done a good job coming up with a routine that works for her and these dogs,” Catherine said.

Some people who do not want the full responsibility of adoption often turn to foster care as an alternative, and Austin Pets Alive shelter is in need of more foster homes.

“The shelter has a lot of dogs right now that need temporary homes, so I think foster care is a great way to help out shelters like Austin Pets Alive,” Catherine said.

Going to unfamiliar homes can be uncomfortable for anyone, even animals, so Jenny takes the time to prepare for a new dog’s arrival and make them feel welcome.

“I like always making sure I have enough treats and toys for them to

SPENDING QUALITY TIME TOGETHER: Senior Jenny Toran spends time outside with her current foster dog, Snow White. Toran has been taking care of Snow white for the past couple weeks in hopes of finding a forever home for her. PHOTO COURTESY OF Jenny Toran

feel comfortable with,” Jenny said.

“I always make sure their crate has nice blankets for them too and I make the area as calm as possible.”

Another person who has had some experience with animal foster care while adopting their pet is senior Sean McCulloch.

“I think it’s better to rescue a dog because whenever you rescue an animal you’re not only saving their life but the amount of joy that they bring you too is just indescribable,” McCulloch said.

McCulloch and his family cared for their dog, Luna, for about a week before deciding to officially make her part of the family.

“When we were getting to know her she made us really happy and she was so sweet so we wanted to give her a good home with us because she fit in so well,” McCulloch said.

McCulloch agrees that at first, getting a displaced animal can be very challenging.

“It is a lot to take on at first because you and your animal are getting to know each other but it’ll make you really happy in the long run,” McCulloch said.

For Jenny, one of the most challenging parts of this experience has been realizing that these dogs come first and become a number one priority.

“I definitely feel like this experience has helped me grow a lot as a person because it takes a lot of patience and understanding which is something I feel like everyone can always work on,” Jenny said.

“My schedule now goes around the needs of these dogs and that’s also a big thing to consider when thinking about being a foster parent.”

Each dog Jenny has fostered so

far has been very unique and different from the last, which keeps things exciting for Jenny.

“The shelter gives me some information on each dog I care for but sometimes they don’t know the dog very well so it’s up to me to really see how they are,” Jenny said. “I’ve had really calm or really hyper dogs and even some that are really shy and scared so I always do my best to match their energy so they can feel as safe as possible and comfortable with me.”

To find out ways to potentially foster an animal, people can visit the Austin Pets Alive website or talk to a volunteer.

“If people want to take this on I recommend it because I’ve had fulfilling experiences with each of my dogs, and I’m glad I got to be a part of their journey to finding their forever home,” Jenny said.

New teachers chosen to lead Student Council next year Donna Kim Dispatch Reporter

Recently, many changes have been happening on the campus, like new buildings, parking lots, and teachers.

One more thing to add onto that list would be the Student Council program.

Some major changes are to come to the school’s Student Council, as former faculty sponsor Kaylin Brett took a new job as an assistant principal in the district. New faculty sponsors next year will be Wendy Uzzle and Alejandro Garcia.

“I am really excited to be part of the launch of a newly organized Student Council,” Uzzle said. “It is a great responsibility to uphold the traditions that the group has been part of, and still move it into the future.”

Uzzle and Garcia are current social studies teachers at school, Uzzle teaches AP World History and Garcia teaches U.S. history, AP World History, and is the PALS adviser.

“It’s an honor to be the teacher that can help move the Student Council at this school into the future,” Garcia said. “There is so much to do around here and it’s great to feel like we are making a difference.”

Senior Blake Guerra has been on Student Council for two years. He served as vice president his junior year and served as president of the program this year.

“I love both [Uzzle and Garcia], they both work very hard and have a good vision for what they want the Student Council to be after I am gone,” Guerra said. “Mr. Garcia is my PALS teacher, and I had Ms. Uzzle for WHAP so I

know that the Student Council is in good hands.”

The Student Council is responsible for planning and hosting many events at on campus. There have been many yearly parades and events, such as Homecoming and Bowie Idol that get the whole campus involved.

Uzzle gives her thoughts on ongoing traditions and events at school.

“I don’t know of much that we do at Bowie that has been part of the culture since the school’s inception,” Uzzle said. “Many traditions have died over the years, with new ones rising in their place. I

would love to see more celebrations around the Homecoming week, possibly including a parade. Ultimately, it is up to the students to decide how we continue.”

Even with the potential for change, there will still be many traditions and events on campus that are to be hosted annually that will be returning next year.

“Mr. Bulldog and Bowie Idol will return next spring with hopefully the best shows ever,” Garcia said. “Those two events are such a large part of the campus culture that everyone anticipates participating in or attending.”

Guerra has had the privilege to host and plan many events on campus. While he has worked on many projects, favorite experiences have been community outreach.

“My favorite thing that we planned was the Thanksgiving food drive for COVID-19 relief,” Guerra said. “It was super nice to be able to give back to our community, and it was great to get everyone together again and working as a team.”

Being a part of the this organization is not only planning events. Student Council also tends to the school grounds weekly.

ART BY Isabella Del Nido

“Student Council members are expected to be leaders on the campus,” Uzzle said. “They should set an example for how we treat each other, the teachers and staff, and our physical spaces on campus. While they do not have to be elected to positions, they will be expected to work hard and be leaders among their peers.”

Guerra, being a part of the student council for two years, has learned a lot from his experience dealing with leadership and teamwork. He has learned while being president his senior year, and being vice president his junior year.

“I think the biggest thing that I have learned is how to lead through example and that things will not always go according to plan,” Guerra said. “If you want to be an effective leader, you need to work as hard as you possibly can on whatever it is you need to accomplish. You can’t just order people around and expect them to listen. Sometimes, you may have to do the bulk of the work with only a few people, so it is important to work hard.”

Because Student Council is such a big priority, time management is also a common problem students can struggle with when trying to balance activities and extracurriculars like Student Council needs with their school and work needs as well. For Guerra however, this was not much of a problem.

“Time management was fairly manageable,” Guerra said. “I was able to complete most of my school work right when it was given to me, so I could free up time for my Student Council responsibilities and be able to have a clear head while working on what I needed to.”

Next year’s student council will undergo big changes but plans to stay true to original values. Next year the ability to be a part of this organization will be available to any student who wants to get involved with the group.

“Next year’s Student Council will be open for any student in any grade to join,” Uzzle said. “There will be elected positions, but all are welcome to be members.

Hard work, commitment, organization and ability to lead others are all still very important.”

6 PHOTO ESSAY

THE DISPATCH MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2021

Seniors are granted an in person graduation Class of 2021 reflect on their entirely remote school year as it comes to an end Reagan Zuniga Photo Essay Editor

quite a challenge for some causing seniors like Nick Val Lente to find ways to motivate themselves.

Senior year is normally a crucial period “Something that I learned for myself filled with college applications or making during quarantine has been finding the joy in other post-graduation plans, planning little things,” Val Lente said. “Most of my life celebrations, and making memories with has been a time crunch of doing the absolute friends; this year was very different because most, so naturally I’ve gotten my motivation of the Coronavirus. As the class of 2021 from looking forward to things. During finalizes their high school career, they have a quarantine, when the world just stopped, I much different experience to reflect on. forced myself to find satisfaction and pleasure “I was really looking forward to all of in simple joys. Whether it be feeding my the pep rallies, football games, and student caffeine addiction, planning a weekly virtual activities that come with movie night with my friends, being on campus that were or exercising. ” canceled,” Ryan Kinney said.

Similarly Kinney kept her “Work nights for yearbooks momentum going with her have been virtual, and it’s own expectations of herself been more difficult creating to finish out her school year a yearbook online than in strong. person.”

“My best resource for This was Kinney’s second staying motivated has year as an Editor-in-Chief been my own standards for of Bowie’s award-winning myself,” Kinney said. “I’ve yearbook, The Lonestar. forced myself to get out “One of the major of bed on days I felt like I problems has been couldn’t and have tried to motivation,” Kinney said.

Ryan Kinney continue pushing myself “Being virtual, the yearbook to reach the levels I’ve Senior staffers lose those in-person previously reached.” relationships that help Teachers have had to everyone keep each other overcome trying to keep their accountable. It’s a lot easier seniors engaged and motivated to allow others to pick up your work virtually to do their work during a time where all their than in person. We’ve combated this by interactions with their students is talking to keeping in touch through apps like Band a zoom call full of black boxes. and Trello and checking in through breakout “I tried to be realistic and honest, but rooms every zoom and creating friendships still positive,” Psychology teacher Kris between staffers, editors, and editors-in- Grandinetti-Johnson said. “It was important chief. to remind them of their strength and Senioritis, experienced by students in their resiliency and that things don’t have to be final year of high school, is characterized by the same to be meaningful. No one in history a decline in motivation or performance was had a senior year like the Class of 2021, especially present this year with there being there should be a more layered sense of no in person contact with teachers or other accomplishment to making it through.” students.

After twelve hard years of time consuming “Senioritis really kicked in during the school work and extracurricular activities, sixth six-weeks,” Kinney said. “Being so seniors this year are able to close it out with close to finishing, I’ve found myself moving a COVID-19 safe graduation ceremony on toward the mentality of, how many missing the last day of classes. assignments can I have while still getting “I didn’t think we would have a graduation an A? It’s definitely the least motivated I’ve at first so it didn’t really concern me,” Noah been toward school my entire life, and being Eng said. “As the date got closer though, I virtual allows me to be less inclined to finish think I was happier with an in-person assignments.” graduation. This year has been fake for Staying motivated throughout a year seniors, we didn’t get to do really anything with classes completely online and virtually and school was a joke. So having some sort no consequences for not turning in work of human contact for graduation made things except for a red late box on Blend has been feel real and ended the year nicely.”

”

My best resource for staying motivated has been my own standards for myself.

”

TOP OF THE CLASS: Principal Robinson introduces the class of 2021’s valedictorian, Cade Spencer. Spencer will be attending Georgetown in the fall.

“The most important lesson I learned at Bowie is the power of a growth mindset,” Spencer said. “In all of my high school pursuits, it was a growth mindset that enabled me to persevere, determined, and adaptable. Said mindset allowed me to maintain joy and passion for my learning, viewing mistakes as opportunities for growth. As I move on to college, this growth mindset will remain central to my work and pursuits, allowing me to grow as I experience failure and victory.“ PHOTO BY Reagan Zuniga

FINISHING STRONG: Evan Mallett shakes Principle Robinson’s hand as he is awarded his diploma. Mallett was one of the varsity football team’s captains this year and was severely injured in a car accident last year. “I think this senior class is more connected compared to past years because of all the difficulties we’ve faced together being virtual,“ Seve Moya said. PHOTO BY Reagan Zuniga

SHAKING HANDS: Katie Martinez shakes the hand of AISD Chief Officer of Schools Dr. Anthony Mays.

Martinez’s orange cord represent her taking a college level course through UT OnRamps. “I’m really glad I was part of so many amazing classes that give you a look into the real world,” Martinez said. “I feel like those classes really shaped me into a better person and they prepared me for the world.” PHOTO BY Reagan Zuniga

WALK TO THE FINISH LINE: Seniors line up to walk onto the stage to conclude the end of their high school careers. “I’m really looking forward to this summer before college,“ Noah Eng said. “I have plans to celebrate graduating with a senior trip to Hawaii and Oregon before I attend to UT San Antonio in the fall, which I am also really looking forward to.” PHOTO

BY Reagan Zuniga

TIME TO CELEBRATE: Noah Eng celebrates as he walks off the stage with his diploma. Eng is a four year student athlete on the football team and student worker. “I’m just trying to live my best life before college, because I know once college starts I’m gonna be on my grind,“ Eng. PHOTO BY Reagan Zuniga CAPS OFF: The senior class commemorates their graduation by throwing their caps up in the air. The class of ‘21 had over 600 graduates walk the stage.

“I decided recently that when I graduate college, I’m going to move out of the United States and travel before putting my degree to use and settling down,” Ryan Kinney said. “I think the pandemic and being so confined to my tiny bubble has made me want to expand and really explore the world.” PHOTO BY Reagan Zuniga

ENTERTAINMENT 7 MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2021 THE DISPATCH

Maia Gerdes wins best performer at UIL Abbey Repka Entertainment Editor

Performing on stage can be stressful to some, however to senior Maia Gerdes, the stage is a place where she can escape life and relax. Gerdes was recently awarded as ‘best performer’ at a few University Interscholastic League (UIL) competitions because of the way she stood out while acting.

Gerdes won this award at the UIL One Act Play zone, district, and bi-district competitions.

“Winning the awards were a really special experience for me because it was the first time I’ve ever had recognition by a superior outside of Bowie for the work that I do,” Gerdes said. “After being in the theatre company all of high school it was super reward-

ACTING ON STAGE: Seniors Maia Gerdes and Jaden Davis perform on stage.

Gerdes believes that she won best performer at the UIL One Act Play competition because of her critical thinking skills and her time in the Starlight Theatre company.

PHOTO COURTESY OF Maia Gerdes

ing to have this kind of acknowledgment and I’m really grateful.”

The award is usually given to two people out of all shows performed and it serves as a recognition of people who stood out to the judges. “[Winning the award] really depends on a lot of factors and I owe a lot of the credit to the way that the show was cut and how it kept a lot of really great acting moments,” Gerdes said.

According to Gerdes, this award was a big deal for a few reasons.

“Well one reason was that a lot of actors that I really looked up to had won this award in the past and it made me feel really nice to be on the same level as people who were my role models,” Gerdes said.

As well as winning the same award as her past role models, Gerdes believes this award was a way to prove that she is a good actress.

“It was also a big deal to me just because I won it multiple times, in a way it confirmed that I really had done a good job,” Gerdes said.

Theatre director Betsy Cornwell was one of the directors for the One Act play and thought that Gerdes played the role of her character very well.

“I always focused on her during this monologue, but sometimes I would stop and listen to the audience,” Cornwell said. “The old metaphor, ‘I could hear a pin drop,’ was evident during that moment.”

There are a few qualities needed to become a great performer and Gerdes believes she possesses all of them.

“Well I think it just boils down to the time I’ve spent in the Starlight Theatre Company that gave me good critical thinking skills so I could portray exactly what my character would do and how they would react to certain things realistically and like a real human would,” Gerdes said.

According to Cornwell, Gerdes was able to become such a great actress because of the fellow actors on stage giving her expressions to work from.

“When we were working on a key scene in the play, ‘The Shadow Box’, I knew she had nailed it when she took a long pause and made a dramatic intention change in

her character’s journey,” Cornwell said. “She was helped by the delivery and work of her two prime scene partners, Arianna Ritzie and Aussie Lura who consistently gave her actions and reactions to work from.”

Senior Rachel McBurnett has performed alongside Gerdes before and believes she plays her roles perfectly.

“I was so proud because Maia is my best friend and she doubts her talent a lot so it was wonderful for her to get an award that recognized it,” McBurnett said. “I am so happy for her achievements, she was amazing in this role and she completely deserved it.”

According to Gerdes, there are a few people who have majorly influenced her in theatre.

“Mrs. Cornwell has helped me a lot with theatre because she pushes us so hard, she makes us think and has given me so many techniques that I use in every show,” Gerdes said.

Gerdes plans to continue her journey as an actress by attending Nebraska Wesleyan and majoring in musical theatre.

“I joined theatre at Bowie because it was just kind of the trajectory I was going on since middle school,” Gerdes said. “I always had it in my head that I needed to be a performer and lucky me that I turned out to really love it with all my heart.”

The process of the UIL One Act Play’s performances and awards starts with rehearsals that mainly happened over Zoom.

“It was actually really helpful for me to do so much character work on Zoom because it allowed me to work with Mr. Bazan and Mrs. Cornwell to block the show in a way that had so much intention,” Gerdes said.

“Since all we could really do on Zoom was read through the script and talk about different interpretations non-stop.”

After months of rehearsals on Zoom and in person, they officially performed on stage and then awards were announced after a while.

“Actually performing at competition was a world different from how we started out and making such a quick transition was very nerve wracking,” Gerdes said. “It felt great to perform on a real stage though.”

Band performs their spring concerts to finish the year The closing concerts were named Bowie City Limits and also Heroes and Villains Nicole Rooney Dispatch Reporter

Standing in the courtyard and in the pit, students a part of various bands get together to put on two performances.

On May 7, the theme of the performance was Bowie City Limits, which was a spin-off of Austin City Limits. On May 14, the theme of the performance was Heroes and Villains.

The performances included many different types of music from different parts of the band. Bowie City Limits contained their percussion, jazz, and steel programs.

Heroes and Villains contained two different concert bands, which added to the performance.

“In week one, I performed in a marimba quartet called Refrakt with three of the other upperclassmen in the pit, as well as my solo that I learned this year,” senior Kyle Thomas said. “Also I’m in Wind Band one, so on the 14th I played Timpani on Superman and the Glockenspiel part on March from 1941.”

Since the band put on two different concerts, a lot of preparation time had to go into all of their pieces to make sure they were sounding together and up to par.

“I have been preparing for my percussion ensemble and solo since January,” senior Madeline Kitchen said. “Normally we have a separate percussion concert in April but many factors including the winter storm limited our rehearsal time, so it took us an extra month to be fully performance ready.”

Although the band ran into some complications, they were still able to find ways to practice and prepare for their show.

“For the marimba quartet, we had to practice online for a while, so we would be in a breakout room on Zoom and either play muted with a track, or play along with one person who is unmuted; this is because the lag makes it impos-

PLAYING AT BOWIE CITY LIMITS: Students a part of the steel drums band play during the concert titled ‘Bowie City Limits’. The name Bowie City Limits was chosen to resemble a spin-off of Austin City Limits. PHOTO BY Natalie Cullen

sible to play together on Zoom,” Thomas said. “We eventually got to do occasional socially distanced rehearsals starting in March to prepare for submitting the quartet for contests. For the concert band pieces, we started rehearsing in the gym about a month ago.”

Because of COVID-19, the band was unable to get the experiences that they normally get to have and enjoy. According to Thomas, the

concerts were a great way to close off a rough year and show their talent to their friends and families.

“I was really glad I got to perform in the concerts,” Thomas said. “Getting to learn a challenging quartet with my friends, playing a hard solo, and performing fun pieces like Superman was a great experience that gave my senior year some much needed finality.”

Although COVID-19 did put

a halt on all of the band’s performances and activities, there were a few experiences that they wouldn’t have been able to have as easily in the past years.

“We had a clinic over Zoom with the composer of our piece, Andrea Venet, which was an awesome experience,” Kitchen said. “I don’t think we would have had that clinic normally because she lives in Florida, but since everyone has gotten

used to Zoom, it was easy to coordinate a virtual clinic.”

According to Kitchen, this was not only a good opportunity for the students, but for the parents too. With the band not having as many normal performances, their parents haven’t been able to appreciate their music. This performance gave them the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate their music in a new way.

“I enjoyed watching my kids perform and listening to the fun music,” Kitchen’s mother Necia Kitchen said. “It was exciting to all be together for a live concert. It is amazing what has been accomplished in a complicated Zoom year.”

The band had many supporters at their concerts, such as friends, families, and even teachers. After all of their hard work this year it was nice to see people coming to support them, according to Madeline.

“Everyone in the band is super grateful to the Bowie administration and staff for their support of the band and fine arts this year,” Madeline said. “It was really fun to see Ms. Leos and the other staff members who attended our concerts. We really appreciate their support.”

Overall, at the end of the year the band was able to put together a closing performance that showed their talents, gave the students closure, and let everyone in the band all come together as one, one last time according to Madeline.

“I really enjoyed performing in Bowie City Limits. After playing for nine years, it was so nice to be able to perform live music with my friends for my last band performance,” Madeline said. “Band has brought me a huge community of friends, teammates, and support, as well as leadership and performance opportunities that have stretched me to grow and develop as a person, friend, musician, and leader.”

coming UP in ENTERTAINMENT June 10 Josh Turner Concert June 10-13 Republic of Texas Biker Rally

June 11-20 ATX Television Festival June 18-Aug. 8 Beyond Van Gogh Experience

June 19 Oddities and Curiosities Expo July 9-Aug. 14 Zilker Summer Musical

IN-DEPTH 9

8 IN-DEPTH

THE DISPATCH MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2021

MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2021 THE DISPATCH

s i r i s c a s n s d e l c e a m m o p h i n s ’ g n i b t s

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VOT NO E PRO ON PB

BAN PING M A C

NOW

VOTE Y ES ON PROP B !

AUSTIN NEEDS PROP B!

SAVE OUR CITY

an

PROP B IS INHUMANE

HOMES NOT HANDCUFF S!

G HOUSIN IS A HUMAN RIGHT

ART BY Anna Holme

The recent passing of Proposition B has sparked debates surrounding the current increase in homelessness and the availability of housing in the city Anna Holme Commentary Editor

”

”

“We should implement policies that would help homeless people gain jobs, seeing as many lack the basic aspects needed to obtain a job like a phone, a printer, a bank account, and more,” Jones said. “That would help alleviate some debts that may be further propelling people into homelessness.”

Whether on a federal or local level, more policies that impact Austin’s homeless population are predicted to come in the future. Julianne Hanckle is the director of communications at LifeWorks, an organization that provides resources for youths and families, including ones experiencing homelessness. She argues the possible potential for Austin to be able to eradicate homelessness in the city.

“I think the city is making progress on homelessness, but there still needs to be an increase in the compassion levels by Austin residents,” Hanckle said. “There is a plan to address homelessness and end it, but the solutions need to be supported by residents if we have any hope of ending homelessness for all.”

As of April 20 the media 21, home pric n the Austin e in -R Rock area ound was $460,000, reported b as y Austin Boa the rd of Realtors g n i Accord ing d n E e h t to ity n u m m Co ess n s s e l e Hom n, Coalitio ess sn s e l e m o h in Austin 11 Since 2 d e 010, s increa from Austin h as grown f percent 2020. rom the o t 1 9 4 th to the 201

FUTURE POLICY

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A timeline of several prominent events for the homeless population in the city, from 1980 onwards.

SOURCES: austininnovation.wixsite.com, kvue.com

2004 ARCH (Austin Resource Center for the Homeless) homeless shelter is opened

July, 2019 Camping is decriminalized in the city

May 20 Texas state-wide camping ban is passed in the senate and set to be signed by Governor Abbott

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HISTORY OF HOMELESS POLICY IN AUSTIN 1985 City Council creates the “Task Force on the Homelessness” to research homelessness

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AUSTIN’S HOMELESS POPULATION OVER TIME

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Additionally, according to the National Coalition for Homelessness, 38 in order to push for stricter laws to regulate the homeless population. One of the most prominent of these organizations is Save Austin Now, which percent of homeless people in the United States are dependent on alcohol describes itself as “a bipartisan citizen’s group dedicated to reversing the di- and 26 percent abuse some other drug or substance.

Austin is an ever-expanding city, with one of the fastest growth rates in all sastrous city decision to deregulate all forms of camping.” Save Austin Now “Substance abuse can definitely make being homeless extremely hard,” of the United States, according to WalletHub. With this comes a constantly was a vocal supporter of Proposition B, collecting over 26,000 signatures of Beg said. “Not only are you battling with addiction you are battling all the increasing cost of living, one that has led to housing shortages and struggles Austin residents in support of the policy. other elements of homelessness.” for lower-income Austinites. Homelessness has been rising in Austin, and as Among mental health and substance abuse “Our belief from the beginning is that it does, it brings new conflicts and challenges for voters. issues, there are other factors that contribute unregulated camping is not good for the On Monday, May 3, Austin residents voted to enact Proposition B, a piece residents and is not good for the homeless,” to the estimated 580,000 individuals in the I don’t look at [homelessness] as of legislation that makes it illegal for anyone to camp in public areas in Save Austin Now co-founder Matt MackoUnited States being homeless. According to problem, but rather a symptom of a downtown Austin not designated by the Parks and Recreation department. wiak said in an interview with Fox News. the National Law Center, the top five causes A solicitation ordinance has also been put into place, which will make it “We want to be a part of that solution, but larger problem. of homelessness for individuals from highillegal to solicit money and goods at specific hours and locations. est to lowest are a lack of affordable housing, we are not going to be a part of anything “Proposition B is pointless because all it will do is make Austin less safe that’s going to continue to fail. We care Charles Stampley unemployment, poverty, mental illness and for the homeless and it won’t do anything to actually solve the homelessness about the homeless community, we don’t Social Studies Teacher the lack of needed services, and substance problem,” sophomore Ella Quasar said. “It will make Austin more danger- want to see them continue on the path that abuse and the lack of needed services. ous for the homeless community because there will be a limited amount of they are on right now. For the last two years “I think there are a multitude of different shelter for them.” ways people become homeless,” junior Zoe they’ve been living on the streets in very The Austin American-Statesman reported that Proposition B passed with dangerous situations, it’s time we save our city.”

Jones said. “People can experience homelessness after leaving an abusive 57 percent of voters for the bill and 43 percent against. Under this motion, Other organizations have been avid critics of Proposition B, and have relationship, taking on medical debt, losing a job, etc. The government has violating any of the bill’s guidelines will end in a Class C misdemeanor, fought for the ordinance not to be passed. Groups like the Austin coalition a responsibility to care for the homeless to a certain extent. For instance, I which in Texas can lead to a fine of up to $500.

Homes Not Handcuffs advocate for the decriminalization of homelessness think the city should do a better job at providing affordable housing options, “These people have nowhere to go,” junior Malaika Beg said. “The city and the investment in other solutions. and programs that can help the homeless re-enter the workforce.” should be helping the homeless, not shaming and punishing these people According to the Homes Not Handcuffs website, “Proposition B does for simple things such as trying to get a good night’s rest wherever they can. nothing to address homelessness.” The site also asserts that “it is a cruel Homeless people in Austin already have such difficulty finding jobs that can attempt by Republican strategists at ‘Save Austin Now’ to lock up homeless better their lives, it will be even harder for them to find jobs with a criminal Austinites instead of helping them. Prop B would put in place hefty fines and As for the future of policy regarding homelessness, in 2018 the city counrecord for doing something as simple as sitting on a public sidewalk.” potential jail time for simply being homeless, without providing any hous- cil adopted a plan to address homelessness over the next five years, unThe city of Austin has released a four-phase plan in which to educate and ing, health care, or services. Let’s support real solutions to homelessness, til 2023. The plan includes addressing topics such as outreach and shelter, inform the public about the enforcement of Proposition B. Phase one will not cruel and ineffective fines and jail time.” housing and support services, addressing disparities, system effectiveness, last until June 12, where only verbal warnings will be given to people violatand community commitment. While there are these acknowledgments, ing the ordinance. After that, phases two through four will slowly integrate many argue that Proposition B is a step in the wrong direction. official citations until they are fully enforced on August 8.

“It’s the city’s responsibility because it’s their job to protect the citizens,” “Our next step is to get people out of tents and into better, safer places This discussion regarding homelessness policy extends further than just Quasar said. “If the camping ban has to be enforced, the city needs to open with the critical services needed to keep them out of tents,” Mayor Steve Adler said in a statement after Proposition B was passed. “We must pool our city-wide debates. On May 20, the Texas Senate voted to approve a camping new shelters and actually set aside places for homeless people to live if resources to get our unhoused residents into homes, and that will take the ban similar to Proposition B. If Governor Greg Abbott signs this bill into they have nowhere else to go.” law, as many predict he will, it will make camping in unapproved public The city of Austin initially purchased four hotels to convert to homewhole community rallying together to commit to this cause.” spaces illegal unless given permission to do so. Stampley argues against the less housing, but has already decided to use one of those to house effectiveness of these policies, especially at the state-level. survivors of family violence. Adler and other officials have also intro“Homeless people aren’t criminals; many of them need social services,” duced a plan to add 3,000 housing units for the homeless population Stampley said. “I don’t look at [homelessness] as a problem, but rather a by 2024, at an estimated cost of $250 million.

Proposition B was introduced in reaction to earlier legislation that was symptom of a larger problem. Solving homelessness isn’t about just putting “I think instead of criminalizing homelessness we should foenacted years prior. More specifically, in July of 2019, Austin’s city council people in hotels, it’s about getting mental health care, drug and alcohol cus on creating more equitable housing for the homeless,” Beg decriminalized camping and allowed for its homeless population to camp in abuse treatment, those types of support.” said. “Homelessness should be a pretty high priority because any public place that wasn’t blocking pathAdditionally, a report done by the U.S. this problem will only continue to grow as more people move ways.

Department of Housing and Urban Develop- into the city.”

“For a long time, you couldn’t pitch a tent ment (AHAR) found that around 25 percent Austin is indeed growing, and the increase in the homejust anywhere, but a few years ago, the city of homeless people live with some form of less population here is reflective in the national growth of The city should be helping the homeless, council made camping legal,” social studies mental illness. While testifying to homelessness. From 2019 to 2020, estimates have not shaming and punishing these people severe teacher Charles Stampley said. “The probthe House Committee on Financial Services shown that homelessness in the United States has lem is, I don’t think [the government] refor simple things such as trying to get a on the subject of homelessness, CEO of the grown 2.2 percent, or by an additional 12,751 peoalized how many people were homeless.

National Alliance to End Homelessness Nan ple. These trends are in part due to COVID-19, good night’s rest wherever they can.

Having one tent under an overpass probably Roman described the effects of homeless- since a larger portion of the American population wasn’t an issue, but we literally have hunness. has experienced unemployment.

Malaika Beg dreds of them now. So, it rapidly got out of Junior “Homelessness is a dangerous and dev“The city has part of the responsibility, but it can’t hand. I think [the city council] had good astating experience for people experiencing just be the city,” Stampley said. “No city in America has the financial reintentions, but it’s not good for the city to it,” Roman said. “It leads to worse physical sources to take care of all those people. There has to be a federal response as have hundreds of tents everywhere, espeand mental health and early death. People well. It’s about addressing the root causes.” cially downtown.” who are homeless are much more likely than others to become victims of As for federal action, President Joe Biden signed a $1.9 trillion stimulus According to the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO), crime. It creates long-term trauma. Particularly for young people, it can lead package for COVID-19 in March of this year. Out of this budget, over $30 Austin had a reported 2,506 homeless individuals in 2020, an 11 percent to depression, failure to attach to the labor market, and labor and sex traf- billion has been allocated to assisting with rent and homelessness. Addiincrease from 2019. In response to these rising numbers and the 2019 de- ficking. It disrupts the education of children, and makes it nearly impossible tionally, Biden’s American Jobs Plan outlines creating more and better afcriminalization of camping, many advocacy groups were created in Austin to secure employment.” fordable housing as well as creating more jobs for Americans.

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1990s 1996 Second task force is created by the City Council to create a plan for the homeless

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2021 May 3 Proposition B is passed ART BY Anna Holme

10 SPORTS

THE DISPATCH MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2021

ATHLETES ASSERT UT Football: Season Forecast Luke Smith Dispatch Reporter

The University of Texas (UT) football team played their traditional spring orange and white game on April 24, giving fans and coaches a preview of incoming players.

The white team defeated the orange team 20-12.

Junior kick/punt returner and defensive back D’Shawn Jamison recorded a 92-yard pick six for the white team as time expired in the first half.

The most important decision for new head coach Steve Sarkisian will be choosing Sam Ehlinger’s replacement at quarterback since he was drafted in the sixth round by the Indianapolis Colts.

On the white team, freshman quarterback Hudson Card completed 15/25 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown. The most notable wide receiver on the white team was sophomore wide receiver Kai Money, who hauled in six catches for 79 yards. This was an impressive performance for Money considering his lack of playing time in the previous season.

On the orange team, sophomore quarterback Casey Thompson completed 23/42 passes for 242 yards. I was expecting a stronger performance from Thompson, especially after he stepped up in last season’s Alamo Bowl.

Even though Thompson’s performance was sub-par, he should be the starting quarterback because he trained under Sam Ehlinger for a season, giving him more experience than Card has.

The orange team’s most notable pass catcher was slot wide receiver Jordan Whittington, catching five passes for 56 yards. As a former running back, Whittington’s speed and elusiveness make him a valuable slot receiver.

Star sophomore running back Bijan Robinson led the way for the orange team’s offense, rushing for 54 yards and a touchdown. Robinson has proved he has the potential for a big game as seen in his performances against Kansas State and Colorado.

On the defensive front, sophomore defensive lineman Moro Ojomo and linebacker Jett Bush each recorded three sacks, proving to be strong pass rushers.

Texas finished the 2020 season at number 20 in the nation and has a fairly light schedule for next season.

The most notable conference match ups are the Oklahoma Sooners, ranked sixth, and the Iowa State Cyclones, ranked tenth.

With these match-ups in mind, a regular season record of 8-4 is a reasonable prediction for next season.

Sarkisian has a lot to prove. After spending a lot of his career under legendary Alabama head coach Nick Saban and making questionable decisions as a head coach in the past, this will be a chance for Sarkisian to start fresh with a young roster.

Questions?

Concerns?

Want to share your opinion?

Contact: Email: bowie. journalism@ gmail.com Room: F203

Diving into collegiate athletics Naya Tillisch Sports Editor

As the start pistol shoots into the air, each swimmer launches themselves off of their blocks and into the water. After years and years of doing so every day and night, senior swimmers Wes Wasserburger and Brooke Simpson have both committed to swim in college.

“I’ve been a swimmer as long as I can remember,” Wasserburger said. “I got my start with the local summer league team, the Circle C Seals, and I fell in love with the sport. I spent a lot of time on the Circle C Select Swim team with a lot of fellow kids at Bowie, and I am now swimming at Western Hills Athletic Club, and I couldn’t be happier here.”

Wasserburger has committed to Trinity University to continue his swim career.

“I chose Trinity University because it checks off all of my boxes,” Wasserburger said.

“They have a conference-winning swim team with great coaches whose philosophies I agree with. The academics here are also pretty awesome, and I’m excited to begin working towards my majors.”

Simpson began swimming when she was six years old, and is attending Pepperdine to continue her swim career.

“I wanted to make sure I found a great balance of academics, swimming, and someplace that I knew I could grow and love,” Simpson said.

“I was between numerous places and it was very hard to make a decision, however, Pepperdine always seemed to catch my attention, and I gravitated towards the Pepperdine community so easily.

I had such a warm welcome from the team and I truly feel as though I can grow both in and out of the pool there.”

COVID-19 significantly impacted the college and commitment process, and most of the responsibility was left to the athletes.

“You couldn’t go any-

GOING FOR GOLD: Senior varsity swim member Brooke Simpson does one of her strongest stokes, the 200M breaststroke. Simpson will attended Pepperdine University next year. PHOTO COURTESY OF Mary Lance

where for so long, [and we] couldn’t get on campus,” swim and dive coach Peyton Bobo said. “They could only talk, and Zoom doesn’t show you enough because I think the most important part of the recruiting process is being on the campus and seeing the team. The coach is great and yeah you might go for the coach, but if you don’t like the team, it’s really hard to [enjoy your experience].”

The commitment process was long and tedious, but Wasserburger believes it was all worth it and ended up being extremely rewarding.

“In the middle of my junior year, I began to reach out to various colleges to see which ones would be interested in recruiting me, and I would hop on calls with them,” Wasserburger said. “Since this was during quarantine, I went as hard as possible, and there were some days I was doing as many as four calls. Over

time, I began to narrow my list based on various factors, [and] after touring Trinity, I knew that this was the school that I was meant for.”

Although the hard work has just begun, Simpson is excited about her future at Pepperdine.

“I’m most excited about my future career, seeing how far swimming will take me, and truly just creating bonds with the team and becoming a valued part of the campus community,” Simpson said.

“I am beyond excited to dive into the college experience and take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead of me.”

Bobo is rooting for Simpson and is not surprised she was able to get a commitment to one of her favorite schools.

“Brooke has been a very talented breaststroker since I can remember, and she has just gotten faster and faster,” Bobo said. “I think she’s going

to do great things in college and start to diversify some of her events. The 200IM this year was one of her better events along with her breaststroke, so it was good to see her grow in multiple strokes.”

Though it was a challenging year, the season was still a success.

“Although I didn’t reach my full potential this season due to limited racing and training opportunities, this season was incredible, and [it was] our best season as a team in my four years,” Wasserburger said. “We finished second in our district, just behind Westlake, and had an amazing 200 medley relay where we won and broke the pool record.”

Bobo is proud of the team’s performance throughout the season and in regionals.

“They did great all things considered,” Bobo said. “We couldn’t have any meets with more than three teams until

January, and then we didn’t have a pool because Circle-C kicked us out because of COVID-19 restrictions. That being said, we still had a good time bonding and did well at regionals.”

Both Simpson and Wasserburger are forever grateful that they pursued their passion for swimming and know that they have the potential to succeed at a collegiate level.

“I feel as though there are numerous skills that have helped me become the athlete I am today,” Simpson said.

“Most importantly being grit, determination, trust, and faith. It’s these skills that I carry into much of what I do and being able to have such a strong passion for a sport is incredible. Swimming changes you, and the community around it is fantastic and has brought me the most fantastic people who have the biggest hearts and are truly going places in life.”

Brand new Austin FC stadium excites soccer fans

Austin’s first professional soccer team prepares for their home stadium debut Riley Payne Dispatch Reporter

The sun is shining down on the excited audience as they impatiently wait to watch the Austin FC soccer team play their first home game in their brand new stadium. The smell of hot-dogs fills the aroma of the stadium as the soccer players run onto the field.

The Austin FC soccer stadium, located near the Domain, is finished but has only opened it’s shop to fans so far.

“I think my favorite thing about the stadium is how modern and sleek the design is; it just looks so awesome,” varsity soccer player junior Brodi Tokar said. “They did a really good job with it, and I can’t wait to see it all in person.”

Season tickets for the inaugural season sold out last year, but Austin FC will not play their first home game at the new stadium until June 19.

“I have season tickets, so I’m extremely excited to go to games and support the squad, especially the inaugural game against San Jose during June,” Tokar said. “I am really excited to see the team play their first game there, especially to see how they grow and move forward.”

The Austin FC stadium may host other events in the near future, but there have been some restrictions put in place due to COVID-19 as of now.

“I think that the stadium will bring a positive environment and a way for the Austin community

to transition away from life with COVID-19,” varsity soccer player junior Matthew Tiedt said. “I think COVID-19 has lowered the ability for fans to visit the stadium and see the new team. Soccer fans should definitely be excited about this new team because Austin is a soccer city and a way for everyone to enjoy the beautiful game.”

The establishment of Austin FC may expand the fan base and popularity of soccer within Austin, as it is the first Major League Soccer (MLS) team in Austin.

“I think soccer fans are quite excited for this new stadium and team because this is the first professional team to be established here in Austin, so many people are becoming fans even if they haven’t watched or played much soccer previously,” Tokar said. “I think Austin having its first professional team will eventually [create] a domino effect, [in which we will] we see more professional teams come into the city.”

The capacity for this new soccer stadium is around 20,500 which means it is around the average size of most MLS stadiums.

“I honestly don’t think COVID-19 has had a major impact on the popularity and attraction to the new stadium, as soccer has always been huge in Austin, so the team itself being added to our city was a very popular decision regardless,” Tokar said.

The Austin FC soccer team will play in the Western Conference of the MLS. “The stadium seems so cool and it also looks really nice,” varsity soccer

THE LAST DEFENSE: Junior goalkeeper Zach Kos signed with Austin Bold FC last year. He is excited for formation of the new team and stadium, and he hopes to one day be playing on the team. PHOTO COURTESY OF Zach Kos

player junior Zach Kos said. “I think it will bring the city together because we will be [cheering for and supporting]the same team. I also think that it will be very useful for many things outside of being just a soccer stadium which could definitely be helpful.”

The largest soccer stadium in the world is in Barcelona, Spain which holds 99,354 people according to Ertheo.

“I have been to many professional

soccer games outside of Austin and have enjoyed all of them thoroughly,” Tokar said.

Tokar is looking forward to watching the team grow and develop over the coming years.

“Witnessing players in their element and also doing something you aspire to do when you are growing up is beyond inspiring,” Tokar said.

“I absolutely love watching these games and will probably continue to go to them for the rest of my life.”

coming UP in SPORTS June 12-15 Boys soccer camp @Burger Annex

July 19-22 Cheer camp @Bailey Middle School

July 26 Girls lacrosse camp @Mills Elementary School

J u l y 2 6 - 2 8 Fre s h m a n f o o t b a l l c a m p @ B u rg e r A n n e x

June 7-July 29 Girls strength and speed camp @Burger Stadium June 7-July 29 Boys strength and speed camp @Burger Stadium

SPORTS 11

MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2021 THE DISPATCH

Wrestling wins big in state competition Sophomore Olivia Moreno dominates and comes in first place for her weight class Corinne Piorkowski Sports Editor

After a competitive season with a climactic finish, the wrestling team has all summer to celebrate a state champion.

Sophomore Olivia Moreno placed first in the state finals, allowing her to represent the team as the Texas girls’ wrestling state champion.

“Winning state felt amazing,” Moreno said. “I was in shock because it’s crazy to see how much I’ve improved over a year of hard work.”

A large group of Moreno’s family was able to watch her win the state competition and beat out the other athletes.

“Watching my sister win state right in front of me was such an emotional experience; my little sister, a sophomore, able to pin her way through the hardest tournament of the year and win a state title brought me a feeling like no other,” junior Joshua Moreno said. “I was so excited, I started tearing up because all the work she put in her first two years of wrestling paid off.”

When she won, Olivia was immediately bombarded with cheering and crying tears of joy over her finals match.

“Everyone was super hyped up when I won my finals match, and I remember hearing everyone in the stands go crazy,” Olivia said.

“My whole family was all really proud of me, but they also said they could predict that it was going to happen.”

For Olivia, the experience of winning such an intense competition was unlike anything she’d been through before, as she’s only wrestled for two years.

“I was nervous for the state meet because I hadn’t gone against anyone who had even scored on me all

THE BIG WINNER: Sophomore Olivia Moreno stands tall just moments after her final match at state. Moreno beat out two nationally ranked wrestlers and got first place in the championship. PHOTO COURTESY OF Wrestling Texas

season so I knew I would be going against more challenging wrestlers at a big tournament like state,” Olivia said.

“When I won, I gave all my

teammates and parents hugs and when I went up to see my mom she was crying.”

Wearing the Moreno last name in the wrestling com-

munity comes with responsibility, as their family is very well-known among Texas wrestlers for their talent and work ethic that wins compe-

titions.

“Being in a wrestling family is pretty cool,” Joshua said.

“To place at state in sixth place was an amazing accomplishment, and to have my name called over the loudspeaker in the entire gym, another Moreno finishing topsix in the state, was a feeling I’ll never forget.”

As for other athletes on the team, this year has also been successful for their wrestling careers.

“I didn’t place at the state tournament, but I am not upset with how I wrestled and performed on the mat,” senior Ninabelle Sitler said.

“With only wrestling for four years, I am very proud of the outcome of my wrestling career.”

The coaches were also pleased but not surprised by Olivia’s big win at state.

“Olivia’s win was awesome; she went out and dominated the entire tournament,” wrestling coach Glen Lewis said. “She wrestled less than six minutes to win a state title.”

Due to the pandemic, the set-up for the state competition was different than in past years, which affected the mental state of the athletes when arriving.

“The competition was smaller for sure, I had gone against the same people multiple times and wasn’t really challenged for a while,” Olivia said. “The wrestlers were also very isolated from the parents and other teams, so not being able to socialize was kind of a bummer.”

For the athletes that still have high school wrestling years left, they will continue to prepare to have even better outcomes than they had this year.

“I have to work harder and go the extra mile in my training, getting better in all

aspects of my game, starting with my mind-body connection,” Joshua said. “I have to surpass all the limits I thought I had to have a perfect season and I have to take chances and not hold back.”

There are also outside wrestling clubs and practices that the athletes take up in the off season to improve their talents as wrestlers.

“This summer I am going to train really hard at my club practice and go out of state for national tournaments where the best of the best compete and I’ll learn from those experiences,” Olivia said. “Hopefully, I’ll come back as a next level wrestler for next season.”

Another vital part of the state championship is being surrounded by teammates that are fighting for the same goal.

“The lack of teammates this year was detrimental to the feeling I got before my matches, but with the teammates I had with me, it was nothing but love; they wanted the best for me and held high expectations for me this year so I would work harder,” Joshua said. “The emotions surrounding our group was the same as it was if we were just hanging out, everyone was laughing, having fun, and more importantly, smiling.”

The state championship brought upon many challenges and rewards for the athletes and coaches, and set a precedent for things to improve on for next season.

“State is a competition between the best and like all sports, nothing is guaranteed, and that is what pushes everyone to work even harder,” Joshua said. “Working to surpass the expectations, to upset the college commit, to stay number one, all of it, to finish every match knowing you left it all on the mat.”

Junior fencer slices her way through skills and matches Isabella Del Nido Dispatch Reporter

As she suits up, junior Arwen Addison straps on her breastplate, knickers, jacket, and helmet in preparation for a match.

Twice a week, Addison trains to improve her abilities in one of the oldest sports in history, straight from the 14th century, fencing.

“I started fencing because I thought sword fighting was cool and my parents wanted me to be doing a sport and more extracurric-

ular activities,” Addison said.

Addison began fencing last summer at the Texas Fencing Academy Club, but with COVID-19, Addison had to train through Zoom and occasionally at the academy.

“I started out doing everything online and didn’t get to actually fence anyone until I was a few months into my training,” Addison said. “Honestly, doing training online is just more convenient for me because I don’t have to drive half an hour to the club and back every day.”

SUITED UP: Junior Arwen Addison poses in her fencing uniform in her home. She practices both at a fencing school and over zoom.

PHOTO COURTESY OF Arwen Addison

Throughout the past few months, the academy stopped doing in-person lessons but Addison persevered, practicing with other fencing students.

“When I first started Epee fencing, I would always challenge this one student but he would always win and overpower me easily,” Addison said. “When the coaches began doing classes again after quarantine, he came back to the club and I challenged him, but this time, with all of my new experience I finally won against him; it just shows how practicing can improve your skills.”

According to Addison, fencing takes a lot of precision and accuracy, so doing drills helps develop her abilities.

“When my coaches give me criticism, I try to correct myself immediately,” Addison said. “There’s a lot of technique in fencing, so there’s always something to improve upon with form.”

The Texas Fencing Academy Club offers two types of fencing forms that they teach to young students, which are Epee and Sabre.

“Each form varies in technique, types of blades, refereeing, and equipment,” Addison said. “I mostly perform Epee, and some unique things about Epee fencing are that the whole body is a target from head to toes, the sword’s bell guard is like a round bowl, and it’s the most similar to traditional sword fighting.”

To keep track of points, the academy uses electric swords so each touch can be accounted for.

“It can be stressful trying to keep the score in your favor, but it’s also exhilarating to try for more points and think about how you can overpower your opponent,” Addison said.

According to Addison’s father, Sean Kent, the family is very big on exercise and finding a sport that’s just right for Addison.

“It was my idea for her to start fencing because I put Arwen in a lot of sports from when she was a

SLICING THROUGH: Junior Arwen Addison practices in full gear.

During the pandemic, her backyard was her only outlet of practice. PHOTO COURTESY OF Arwen Addison

kid,” Kent said. “She played soccer, basketball, and tennis throughout her life, but she fell in love with fencing so we decided to focus on that.”

Fencing students train three days a week on Zoom, and twice a week Addison drives up north to her club to practice with others and fences in person.

“It’s so cool to watch in person because fencers are phenomenal athletes,” Kent said. “Arwen is very self-disciplined; in fact, early during the pandemic, I had to be her practice partner which wasn’t fun because Arwen is very good and those swords hurt.”

According to Rachel Dory, Addison’s mother, finding a supportive

fencing school is very important to her.

“Fencing is all about self-motivation and building confidence and I don’t think it gets the appreciation that it deserves,” Dory said.

“It takes self-discipline, as well as an immense amount of strength, speed, timing, and accuracy.”

Overall, Addison’s experience with fencing has given her an opportunity to find an activity that she loves and keeps her active, and can constantly improve on.

“It feels great to score a point, especially against someone with more experience than you,” Addison said. “Training gives me a push of strength; fencing makes me feel like a fighter.”

12 POP CULTURE

THE DISPATCH MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2021

Summer trips out of the country

SEASONAL ACTIVITIES to do in AUSTIN Students are going on senior vacations while others go to visit their family Five things to do to beat the heat this summer that align with COVID-19 policies.

Maya Hayne Dispatch Reporter

With warm weather rapidly approaching, summer activities will finally get on track again. Texas’ heat is no problem when you have places to cool off indoors and outdoors. If you’re more of a nature person or like to be in the safety of a building, there is something you will enjoy for this season.

Going swimming in one of Austin’s many local creeks or lake areas is a great way to cool off. Doing this is completely free for most swimming spots. Along the Colorado River, there are a few spots where you can swim along the shore; these are Hippie Hollow Park, Emma Long and Commons Ford Metropolitan Park. These places are great if you want to go on the Lake but don’t have access to a boat. Some of these parks may cost money, more information is at: httpaustintexas.gov/department/parks-and-recreation/ locations.

Another fun outdoor activity on the water is going paddle boarding or kayaking. On Lady Bird Lake you can rent out a kayak, canoe, stand up paddle board, or even a pedal kayak. These can be rented from Rowing Dock. Prices and more information is available on their website, at rowingdock.com.

However, if you have access to any of these, you can go on Lady Bird Lake for free.

This is a great way to spend time with friends and enjoy the lake.

One way to stay cool and look at cool vintage items is going to check out the Austin City-Wide Garage Sale.

Sadly, this only happens once a month but you definitely don’t want to miss it. If you love thrifting and things from the past you’ll love this. With dozens of vendors there’s so many different things to look at. The Garage Sale takes place in the Palmer events center and has a fee of $7 per person to enter.

Masks are required. More info can be found on their website: ww.citywidevintagesale.com/events.

Another indoor activity with fun things to look at is an art experience. It is called Wonderspaces and is located in North Austin. Tickets are about $15-$25 per person.

This exhibit is interactive and has new artwork rotated every few months. The exhibits have many different interesting and intriguing aspects and are all different in their own ways. Find more info on their website: austin. wonderspaces.com.

During the summer season, being outside and enjoying wildlife is a great activity to partake in. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is a big botanical garden with many different types of wildlife. Throughout the different areas swings, many trees, flowers, and other plants and structures can be found. Tickets are $12 for adults and free for students.

More information can be found on their website: wildflowercenter.org Summer brings back many activities that couldn’t really be fully enjoyed before.

These are just a few ways to enjoy the weather and get a break from it too.

Questions?

Concerns?

Want to share your opinion?

Contact: Email: Bowie. journalism@ gmail.com Room: F203

Callie Payne Pop Culture Editor

School is over, senior Abbey Daigle lays down on her towel covered with sand and soaks in the sun along with the tropical breeze. As her friends walk over with lunch, she can’t help but realize that she has been waiting for this all school year and couldn’t be more happy or relaxed.

A popular trend after high school graduation is for students to go on a “senior trip” with their closest friends. Some people go on road trips while others would rather fly to their destination. Daigle has planned a senior trip to Costa Rica with 14 of her friends for this summer.

“My friends and I decided on Costa Rica because it wasn’t too expensive and they had a lot of options for larger houses,” Daigle said. “Their beaches are so pretty and there are numerous fun activities to partake in. I am most excited for hiking, swimming, and eating yummy seafood.

This is also my first time out of the country and I just can’t wait to experience Costa Rica with my people.”

Freshman Ali Rizvi is also going on a trip this summer but to Thailand. Rizvi has been going to Thailand with his mom ever since he was a baby.

They make this trip every two years.

“I plan on going to Siam Park City which is an amusement and water park that has won a Guinness World Record for the largest wave pool,” Rizvi said. “When I think of Siam Park City I feel really happy because I have a lot of memories from when I was little. I am most excited for the big slides and the wave pool, however I am a little nervous for the roller coasters.”

Due to COVID-19, there are still restrictions when going to the airport and traveling to a new country. Masks are a requirement, as well as some countries may require travelers to be vaccinated.

“COVID-19 has definitely affected my travel- BEACH BUDDIES: Senior Abbey Daigle and friends pose for a picture at the beach as the sun ing a little bit but overall I don’t expect it to af- sets behind them. Last summer, the group took a trip to Port Aransas and rented a house right fect my summer too much,” Daigle said. “I have on the beach. PHOTO COURTESY OF Abbey Daigle been lucky enough to stick to my group of my friends and we have been safe so far so I am hopaway from home.” pate in getting a summer job in order to save moning we will be okay this summer too.”

According to Travel Agent Central, only 28 ey for college.

Some students at Bowie have already been vac“I chose to dog sit this summer because it is cinated which can cause a feeling of relief to know percent of families went on vacation last summer which is about 20 percent lower than it normally something I enjoy doing while making good monthat traveling isn’t as risky as it once was. ey,” Daigle said. “Overall, my advice for people “Since the vaccine is out for teens and I am plan- is.

“My favorite part about going to Thailand who are planning senior trips is to get it done ning to wear a mask a lot, I don’t think COVID-19 is seeing my parents and having a reunion with sooner than later so flights and places to stay are will be a big problem,” Rizvi said. “I am beyond school friends,” Ali’s mom Yanin Rizvi said. “It is available. I would also suggest planning out some excited to see my uncle and my other friends and family from my mom’s side since I have not seen also important to take Ali to Thailand to see his things to do before going so once you get there you can have a blast without having to worry them in almost two years. Although, I will miss family as well as my friends.”

Along with senior trips, most seniors particiabout what your next plans are.” my friends because a month is a long time to be

TikTok trends started by well-known celebrities Ella Waltuck Dispatch Reporter

TikTok has changed social media throughout the last year; it has become a way for people to express themselves and gain a following of like-minded people. It has not only created a new era of digital activism, but as well as changing internet comedy.

It also has begun to change the lives of many individuals, underground musicians are going viral creating musical trends.

One of the most popular dance trends, the renegade, started when popular TikTok user Charli D’Amelio made multiple TikToks doing the dance on. The dance was originally created by Georgia teen Jalaiah Harmon in October 2019. With over 115 million followers, D’Amelio is considered the “Queen of TikTok.” D’Amelio gained five million followers the first five months on TikTok. The renegade dance shows just how far a dancing trend can go on the app when endorsed by popular creators.

“Some advantages of TikTok are all the life hacks or new things you can learn from being on it,” senior Christina Adams said. “I found everything from new places to try, to fun recipes, and new fun trends to do when I hang out with my friends. I always look forward to going on the app at the end of the day, especially right before I go to bed.”

Lots of celebrities have started making their mark using TikTok to promote music and dances. Now enjoyed by 689 million users, TikTok has gained a lot of recognition from celebrities, such as Will Smith, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, and Justin Bieber are all on TikTok. Spears uses her TikTok platform to share workout routines. Bie-

HEALTHY AND TRENDING: Senior Christina Adams pours coconut water into her bowl of fruit as a part of the “nature’s cereal recipe” TikTok trend. She learned about this healthy recipe from Lizzo, a famous singer who created the trend which ‘blew up’ on TikTok to where many users would post them making it. PHOTO COURTESY OF Candy Adams

ber has been posting light hearted funny TikTok’s.

“I have been a fan of the app ever since it first came out in 2017,” junior Erin Gallant said. “I can connect with people and discover new music and can learn a whole range of new things which is just so different from any other platform I have used. I like how you can also direct message your friends to share TikToks.”

TikTok can be a fun, engaging way to connect with friends and share a laugh, but the app can also be distracting.

“You can easily waste time scrolling through your feed. I personally find myself getting distracted watching videos when I could be using my time doing homework or something more important,” Adams said. “People can say whatever they want and can

make you feel bad. It can be very toxic and some videos on the app could really offend and hurt some people.”

After it quickly became very popular on her album Hot Pink, Doja Cat released the single “Say So” in January 2020. The song gained popularity on TikTok in December 2019 after TikTok creator Haley Sharpe performed a catchy dance to the up beat song.

“I remember my ‘For You’ page being full of dances to that song,” Adams said. “It was stuck in my head for at least a week and I kept trying to teach myself the dance.”

In February 2020, Doja Cat finally released the anticipated music video for the hit song. Doja included the viral TikTok dance and the video featured Sharpe herself doing the dance. Doja Cat’s TikTok reign started in august 2018 when she released her single “Mooo!” with her audience being a generation that grew up online, people loved her goofy personality.

Musical artist Jason Derulo is another celebrity who has ‘blown up’ on TikTok. Derulo started making TikToks March 2020 and decided to continue making content. He now has more than 45 million followers on the app.

“I don’t think TikTok will be going anywhere for a while because of how versatile and useful it is,” Adams said. “I know musicians especially love the app because it is such an easy way to promote their music while making a fun trend for others. If I had a business or brand I would do the exact same.”

Derulo released his single “Savage Love” early 2020.

Following the release, Derulo created a dance to go along with the song. Dancers on TikTok began dancing to the song and added a “#culturedance challenge” for creators to show off cultural garb.

“I remember that [the ‘culture dance’] being really popular at the start of quarantine,” Adams said. “I think that’s when everyone started getting addicted to TikTok because there was nothing to do and it was just so new at the time. I love the app a lot and I will definitely continue to use it as a fun source of entertainment.”

REVIEWS 13

MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2021 THE DISPATCH

Crumbl Cookies pack in the sweetness Sammie Thompson Reviews Editor

I’ve always had a massive sweet tooth, and I’m constantly on the search to find the perfect dessert spot in Austin. Because of this, I couldn’t wait to try Crumbl Cookies, a gourmet cookie company that has been receiving a lot of buzz on social media lately.

Crumbl Cookies offers takeout, delivery, curbside pickup, catering, and nationwide shipping of fresh cookies. Every Sunday, four specialty flavors are announced as the new weekly flavors in addition to the standard milk chocolate chip and chilled sugar cookies, which are always available.

Despite only being around since 2017, Crumbl Cookies has already opened up over 175 locations around the country with many more to come, according to their website. Two of these locations are in Austin: one at Sunset Valley Homestead and one at Southpark Meadows. If you want to try either of these locations out, note that they are open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and closed on Sunday.

I ended up going to the Sunset Valley location, and the four weekly

flavors when I went were Pink Velvet, Mom’s Recipe, Lemon Glaze, and Chocolate Cake. I got a party box, which includes a dozen cookies of your choice, and I chose to get two of each of the six flavors.

Overall, I really enjoyed these cookies, but they were a lot larger than I expected. This is definitely a place to go if you are looking to share a treat with your friends.

PINK VELVET My favorite flavor was the Pink Velvet cookie, which had a pink cake batter base, vanilla cream cheese frosting, and pink crumbs on top. The cookie itself tasted like a regular sugar cookie, but fluffier.

My favorite part about this cookie was definitely the cream cheese frosting, which was very sweet but tied the whole cookie together. The presentation was also very appealing; the pink color even matched the iconic pink boxes that Crumbl uses. Because it was my favorite of the six, I would rate the Pink Velvet cookie five out of five stars.

MOM’S RECIPE Another flavor I really enjoyed was Mom’s Recipe, which was a completely new flavor for the company. The Mom’s Recipe cookie is essentially an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie with an added twist: both milk and dark chocolate chips, toffee, peanut butter chips, and a sprinkle of sea salt. This cookie definitely packs in as much flavor as possible. However, it also reminded me of a classic childhood cookie, which is something that I really liked about it. One thing that I didn’t like as much was how easily this cookie fell apart because of the oatmeal-like texture, but I would still rate it four out of five stars.

LEMON GLAZE LAUGHING WITH FRIENDS: Junior Susan Leifker holds a Chilled Sugar Crumbl cookie.

Crumbl Cookies has two locations in Austin. PHOTO BY Sammie Thompson

My third favorite flavor was the Lemon Glaze cookie, which was a lemon sugar cookie topped with a lemon coating and a thin lemon slice. This cookie was very moist and seemed to melt in my mouth.

It’s a perfect treat for summer that was slightly less rich than the other cookies. One thing that was slight-

FRESH OUT OF THE OVEN: This party box from Crumbl Cookies is ready to be devoured. Crumbl offers four weekly flavors, as well as their standard Milk Chocolate Chip and Chilled Sugar cookies, for pickup or delivery. PHOTO BY Sammie Thompson

ly disappointing about it was how faint the lemon flavor was at first, but it became stronger towards the middle of the cookie where the lemon slice was sitting. This cookie grew on me as I kept eating it, and for this reason I would rate it four out of five stars.

but like the Lemon Glaze cookie, I also grew to like this one more as I kept eating it. I would rate this cookie three out of five stars.

the Milk Chocolate Chip cookie deserves three out of five stars.

MILK CHOCOLATE CHIP

CHOCOLATE CAKE

The next cookie is the Milk Chocolate Chip cookie, which is one of the flavors that doesn’t get changed weekly. This cookie was very doughy and it had really big chocolate chips that were still warm and gooey when I bit into it.

While I have no complaints about the taste of this cookie, I chose to rank it second to last because of its simplicity. The classic chocolate chip flavor is something that can be replicated at home or really anywhere that sells cookies, so it may not be worth the price if you are getting it alone. In my opinion,

The last cookie, and my least favorite, is the Chilled Sugar. This cookie is the only one that is served chilled and it is another consistent flavor at Crumbl. The base of this cookie is a traditional sugar cookie and the frosting is pink with a sweet almond flavor. I liked the consistency and taste of the cookie itself, but the frosting was too sweet for me. I would give the Chilled Sugar cookie two out of five stars.

Overall, the cookies that I tried were high-quality, but very sweet.

They were also larger than I expected, so I would argue that they are worth the price of about $3 dollars per cookie. I will definitely be going back to Crumbl soon for a tasty, shareable treat.

The fourth flavor in my rankings is the Chocolate Cake cookie, which tasted exactly how it sounds. This cookie has a chocolate dough with gooey dark chocolate chips and a thick fudge frosting. It reminded me a lot of a brownie, and it was a lot darker of a chocolate taste than I was expecting. I would not recommend this cookie if you aren’t a chocolate fan. After the first bite, it almost tasted bitter because of how deep of a flavor it has compared to the sweetness of the other cookies,

CHILLED SUGAR

Disney star Olivia Rodrigo releases debut album, “SOUR”

“SOUR” has eleven songs: three that were pre-released, and eight that are brand new Cassidy Pesek Dispatch Reporter

After releasing three hit songs, Olivia Rodrigo released her first album called “SOUR,” which includes a lot of different styles of music and songs that listeners can easily relate to. Each song also has their own meaning which can reel listeners in to discover the meaning each song holds. In preparation for the album, Olivia released three songs prior to it: “drivers license,” “deja vu,” and “good 4 u,” which all quickly became popular.

The first song of the album, “brutal,” sounds very different from the songs she released prior to the album.

It’s sort of a punk-rock song that is basically Olivia ranting and screaming about how she feels about herself, and how low her self confidence is. I think a certain amount of people could really enjoy the song. Personally, it isn’t my favorite on the album, but I’d still listen to it if it randomly came on.

A song about watching someone you love find somebody new almost instantaneously after a break up is the next song on the album, and it’s titled “traitor.” This is a softer song compared to the previous one. It’s definitely slower and has a deep meaning that listeners could easily relate to. The lyrics really capture what it’s like to be betrayed by an old significant other, especially when that significant other moved on to the person they referred to as “just a friend.”

The third song on the album is definitely something

SOURCE billboard.com

Opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart

Second largest streaming week for an album of any genre by a female artist

Three top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart

ART BY Cassidy Pesek and Sammie Thompson

almost everyone has heard: “drivers license,” the first song Olivia released. Once this song was released, fans started speculating that the song was about Joshua Bassett, as well as Sabrina Carpenter and the drama behind all of that. The song itself is extremely catchy and it’s also a song about heartbreak, which again, listeners can relate to. The hit song was also released with a music video, which basically just shows Olivia driving around in a car and singing, but still has pret-

ty visuals. This song can be constantly heard on TikTok, which I think is why I ended up getting tired of listening to it over and over again.

The fourth song, “1 step forward, 3 steps back,” samples “New Year’s Day,” by Taylor Swift, who is also Oliva’s biggest inspiration. This song is about being in a relationship and making progress, but then ending up in a completely different stage in the end. This song is pretty catchy as well, and is probably one of my favorites from

the album. The best part of the song is when it says, “I’m the love of your life until I make you mad,” because that is something that a lot of people have to deal with when it comes to unhealthy relationships.

The second song that Olivia released before the album, along with a music video, is “deja vu.” This song is about a past significant other reusing things from their relationship with their new significant other. The music video is pretty much two girls doing

the exact same thing, which symbolizes the theme of reusing things from past relationships. I personally think this song is better than “drivers license” because it was more upbeat and had an interesting story behind it.

The next and last song Olivia released prior to the album, “good 4 u,” is definitely my favorite of the three. The song has so much energy and I really like the meaning behind it. This song has a similar meaning to “traitor,” which is watching a significant other move on quickly.

Overall, the song is just really fun to listen to.

The seventh song, “enough for you,” is about just wanting to be good enough for someone. This song is also a slow song, which I really enjoy because it sounds good and the lyrics can easily be related to.

The eighth song of the album, “happier,” is about wanting an ex-lover to be happy with someone else, but not as happy as they were with you. The song is about heartbreak and relationships, and it’s also a slow song. I think this song is definitely one of my favorites mainly because of the way it sounds.

The ninth song, “jealousy, jealousy,” is more upbeat, and it’s not slow like the past couple of songs. It’s nice how it’s more upbeat rather than sad since the last couple of songs were pretty slow. This song is about being jealous of someone and just constantly comparing yourself to them, which is something people do often on social media.

The tenth song, “favorite crime,” is yet again another slow song, but it still sounds

good and different at the same time. The song is about major issues in a relationship, and it relates this to a crime.

I enjoyed this song too because it mentions getting out of an unhealthy relationship and thinking about how you could let a person treat you like that.

Lastly, “hope ur ok” finishes off the album. This song is my favorite song out of the whole album. It’s about Olivia hoping her childhood friends are doing good, and it’s definitely a really emotional song that sounds very uplifting and peaceful.

Overall, “SOUR” did not let me down. The songs all impressed me and were super relatable. While some of them weren’t my favorite, I wouldn’t skip them if they came on. This album definitely makes me excited to see what Olivia has in store for the future.

SOUR RATINGS Overall- 4/5 Lyrics- 5/5

Emotion- 5/5 ART BY Sammie Thompson

14 COMMENTARY THE DISPATCH MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2021

Texas' colleges Proposition C makes way for an improved OPO should require EDITORIAL proof of vaccination

Austin's Police Oversight On May 1, Austin citizens voted in favor of Proposition C. The new proposal would allow the city council to appoint or remove the director of Police Oversight, making the program more transparent, a move forward in police accountability.

The Police Oversight model can provide many benefits for its citizens if it’s utilized correctly. It’s important to understand how Police Oversight works and how it can best benefit the community at large.

If you are still confused on what Police oversight is exactly, here is what you need to know. In Austin we have The Office of Police Oversight (OPO), which is an impartial city department that enhances transparency and accountability from the Austin Police Department (APD). They can receive anonymous complaints about office misconduct, make recommendations to the APD about general policy, start their own complaints about

officer misconduct, track internal investigations and issue opinions about them. However, simply having an OPO is not enough to ensure police accountability.

Before the passage of Proposition C, the OPO was operating as a normal city department. Although the OPO was separate from the APD, it was controlled by the city manager, who also controls the APD. With Proposition C, the OPO now can operate completely out of regular city management and will report to the city council or a citizen oversight board. This will ensure transparency in operations like the filing of complaints.

The ability to make completely independent complaints is a very important aspect of Police Oversight. Often, complaints are made against police officers but little to no action is taken afterward. Derek Chauvin, the officer who murdered George Floyd, had 17 complaints filed against him prior to the day Floyd was killed. The Police Over-

sight Committee in Minneapolis had been drastically cut down prior to Floyd’s death. This led to a demand to revive the committee by the Minneapolis community; the city later responded by adding three new members.

With a completely functional Police Oversight program, the community can make sure an unbiased source is listening to their complaints, which can hopefully result in action.

Having an unbiased, independent Police Oversight model can only be achieved by the system being completely removed from city management. When the APD and OPO have the same boss it can lead to the boss, the City Manager, might want to make themselves look good and not hold the police to the level they should be held.

Hopefully, the new proposition will lead to a more transparent, independent, and powerful OPO program compared to what the city of Austin has now.

"Oversight can help hold the police or sheriff’s department accountable for officer’s actions."

National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE)

ART BY Amorah Schultze

Amanda Zinni Copy Editor

As COVID-19 vaccine availability increases, more universities are requiring that their students get vaccinated before returning to campus in the fall. While this is a step in the right direction, this effort is being hindered by policies that oppose vaccination. If the government wants to achieve the 'return to normalcy' it desperately wants, the state government should follow in the footsteps of the national government and encourage Texans to get vaccinated.

There are many benefits to being vaccinated. The most obvious benefit is that it protects people from getting COVID-19, a disease that has claimed the lives of more than 500,000 people in the United States alone and can have lasting effects on the bodies of those infected. It is also a way to protect immunocompromised friends and family and allows those who are vaccinated to see their (also vaccinated) friends and family again.

Even with all these benefits, there are very few universities in Texas that are currently requiring students to be vaccinated for the Fall 2021 semester. This recklessness comes directly from the desk of Governor Greg Abbott. In an executive order, issued on May 18th, that states that any “public or private entity” that receives public funds is not permitted to require their consumers to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19.

This means Texas colleges that receive any funding from the state, private or public, are not allowed to enforce vaccine policies.

A popular argument in opposition to required COVID-19 vaccinations is the freedom of personal choice. It may not be ideal to have the national government telling its citizens what to do all the time, but there is a global pandemic occurring.

It should be common sense to

want to get vaccinated so things can return to normal. Clinical trials of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have proven to be 94 to 95 percent effective in preventing COVID-19. With statistics like these, choosing to get vaccinated should be easy.

However, some people are choosing not to get the vaccine and instead plan to rely on herd immunity to protect them from further outbreaks of COVID-19.

It is estimated that roughly 70 to 85 percent of the population will need to be vaccinated before herd immunity can be achieved. Because this percentage is so high, there is no room for people who are medically able to get the vaccine to opt-out.

Herd immunity should be used to protect people who are unable to get the vaccine for health reasons. Which is why individuals shouldn't rely on herd immunity as a reason to not get vaccinated.

Universities across the U.S. must continue to require vaccinations for the protection of staff and students.

Urge your representatives, whether they are in the state or national government, to advocate in favor of your health and safety.

As this pandemic has proven, it is difficult to get people to care about their fellow men. However, getting vaccinated is something small that everyone can do for both their own good and the good of those around them.

The sooner that everyone chooses to get vaccinated, the sooner that things can begin to feel normal again.

Questions?

Concerns?

Want to share your opinion?

Contact: Email: bowie. journalism@ gmail.com Room: F203

Letter to the Editor

Conservative viewpoints are being silenced by left-wing media and the new cancel culture The Dispatch, which is the school newspaper, has recently described conservatives as hypocrites. In its segment “conservatives’ never-ending culture war,” the Dispatch explains that “Republicans claim to be starkly against cancel culture” except for the cases in which the celebrities “(go) against their conservative values,” with the segment specifically referencing the controversy around Lil Nas X’s music video, Montero (Call me by Your Name). While this beautiful piece of reporting tries to make an ingenious point, it sadly falls flat. Sure, Republicans have their views on certain subjects, but disagreeing with those subjects and controversy coming out about them doesn’t constitute “cancel culture.”

Cancel culture is when someone is canceled and is unable to create, share, or say what they want. Lil Nas X was not canceled,

if anything he was promoted. The controversy surrounding his music video has made him well known among many and he hasn’t been silenced in any way. Yes, conservatives didn’t like his video and its sexually provocative displays, along with Lil Nas X giving Satan a very “lovely” lap dance, but that is completely fine. People are allowed to make sexually provocative videos and people are allowed to show those videos disdain.

The problem comes when the Dispatch cleverly calls the conservative “attack” on the Montero music video “conservative canceling.” Has Lil Nas X suddenly been banned from Twitter? Has he been fired from his job? Have labels dropped him like he was a flaming pile of feces? The answer is a resounding NO! As I said above, he has been promoted! Many people know his name and about his struggle with coming

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Content represents the views of the student staff and not school officials.

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out as gay. Good for him, I wish him success! I’m not the biggest fan of Montero, but that Old Town Road remix was pretty good!

Now to get back on track. I take particular offense to the dispatch when they describe Lil Nas X’s situation as “cancel culture,” it’s quite ridiculous and manipulative when you can look up so many examples of conservatives getting canceled.

One example is Gina Carano, who got kicked off of the Mandalorian, for posting her republican views. Another more recent but less known canceling was a black man named Jason Whitlock, who got temporarily banned from Twitter for posting how one of the founding members of BLM bought a $1.4 million dollar home in a predominantly white neighborhood.

Yet another conservative canceled is

PRIDE IN PUBLISHING Monday, June 7, 2021 Vol. 33, Issue 6 www.thedispatchonline.net James Bowie High School 4103 W. Slaughter Lane Austin TX, 78749

Steven Crowder, who has been suspended from YouTube several times. One of the biggest cancellations though, is the social media app Parlor. This was an app that was dropped from Google, Apple, and Amazon simultaneously and was a social media app that mostly conservatives used.

Thank you for reading my critique, Logan Lewis 11th grade Editor's Note: This letter to the editor has been condensed and edited for length as well as grammar and structure to meet AP and Dispatch Style Guides. The full length letter, as written, is available online at thedispatchonline.net, search for letter to the editor in the search bar.

THE DISPATCH STAFF GRADUATING SENIORS Cade Spencer Faith Lawrence Rae Gray Shruti Patel Shikha Patel Miranda Cardenas Mia Folkers Naya Tillisch Callie Payne Abbey Repka Maya Amador Amanda Zinni Amorah Schultze Lucciana Choueiry Carter Scruggs Luke Smith DEPARTING STAFF Max Muzny Maya Hayne Cassidy Pesek Lauren Wright

2021-22 PRINT EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Anna Holme Corrine Piorkowski Arushi Sharma 2021-22 PRINT MANAGING EDITORS Samantha Thompson Reagan Zuniga 2021-22 ONLINE EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Natalie Cullen Izzy Rejino

RETURNING EDITORS Dylan Ebs Azul Lin RETURNING STAFF Colin Barnes Isabella del Nido Grace Harris Donna Kim Emily Loewe Rachel Maddox Riley Payne Nicole Rooney Ella Waltuck Ava Wong Carey Beth Wooley Dylan Zellner

ADVISER Michael Reeves

COMMENTARY 15 MONDAY, JUNE 7, 2021 THE DISPATCH

Border crisis requires policy changes

The Biden administration should do more to reform and aid immigration to the United States Faith Lawrence Editor-in-Chief

The United States’ policies on immigration have drastically changed during the transfer of power from former President Donald Trump to President Joe Biden; the country has seen a pause in the construction on the border wall, more pathways to citizenship, and a suspension of Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” program to allow migrant families to wait in the U.S. for the verdict of their cases.

Despite these changes, the U.S.-Mexico border is facing a record-breaking influx of immigrants and asylum seekers. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), U.S. Customs officials took over 100,000 people into custody along the southern border in February 2021, which is a 28 percent increase from the previous month. Additionally, Biden promised during his presidential campaign to reform immigration to the U.S. and “take urgent action” to undo policies Trump made, however, a record total of 3,200 children were being held at immigration facilities as of Monday, March 8. Since the changes made by the Biden administration have caused little to no effect on the amount of people at the border, the government should do more to help and take control of the situation at the border.

Simply attempting to undo the past four years of policies put in place by Trump is not nearly enough considering the strong racial biases within the U.S.’s immigration system.

Sushma Raman, the executive director of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, highlights three specific areas that policymakers and the Biden administration should focus on: overturning all the directives established while Trump was president, a “wholesale reset” of immigration policies, and address the rise of “smart

ration g i m m I U.S. s Policie

While Trump’s 2018 family separation policy was in place, AT LEAST 5,500 children were believed to have been separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Biden administration promised to reunite those families, but has not yet made any significant change.

SOURCE nymag.com ART BY Isabella del Nido and Faith Lawrence INSPIRED BY a cartoon by Monte Wolverton

borders.” The integration of the three areas Raman mentioned will drastically improve the nation’s policies on immigration.

Focusing specifically on the second area, Raman claims that the U.S. is in need of a wholesale reset to the country’s immigration policies that includes abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in order to demilitarize the border, cease family separation. Instead of “Build[ing] Back Better,” a term coined by the Biden administration in reference to the plan to “rescue, recover, and rebuild the country,” Raman insists that Biden must build forward with a standpoint focused on social inclusion as

well as racial and economic justice. Although the movement to abolish ICE has been seen as radical by the majority of Republicans according to Vox, the movement instead is a rational one due to the abuse and terrorizing that ICE has inflicted upon refugees.

Additionally, Raman’s three steps to re-imagine the U.S. immigration system can seem politically impossible under the direction of Biden, however smaller reforms are unlikely to result in a tolerant and accepting system that the country is in need of.

Addressing all three of Raman’s concerns means the nation can move forward with an extensive reevaluation of the U.S. immigra-

tion system instead of the country’s current approach of incremental and selective efforts.

The Biden administration had yet to keep five major promises made during his presidential campaign. While Biden has formed a task force to help reunite separated migrant families, not one of the families have been brought together. Second, the administration has yet to end the detention of migrant families in ICE centers. Biden’s promise to raise the refugee cap has not been fulfilled, and the construction on the southern border wall has not been officially stopped. Lastly, Biden promised to investigate the cause of the abundance of migrant family separation, but has not yet held the Trump administration accountable.

Many organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have called for the Biden administration to “be bolder on immigration” and to continue improving upon the country’s guidelines. If the Biden administration actually keeps the promises that it made during the presidential campaign, the country will begin to see significant positive change in relation to the country’s immigration policies. However, solely fixing the problems created by the previous president will not be enough to completely fix the long-term issues that the country faces. In order to properly rehabilitate the nation’s immigration policy, the Biden administration needs to completely re-imagine and reform its policies on immigration.

Questions? Concerns?

Want to share your opinion?

Contact: Email: bowie.journalism@ gmail.com Room Number : F203

Celebrity action in politics is unnecessary and harmful Ava Wong Dispatch Reporter

Politics have become a center field for chaos. Celebrities make it even more of a mess.

Through the years the line between politics and celebrity has become even more blurred. Many celebrities use their platform to enhance their stance on politics which makes sense, why not use the resources you already have to support a cause and speak out? But a good handful of celebrities have actually joined the political playing

field running for varying political positions. Some might say this is just their natural good hearts wanting to help change the world, but it just shows their hunger for more fame and power.

The question is: how seriously can we take these celebrities wanting to run for office? And how likely is it that they could actually win an election, especially against seasoned politicians?

Well, as we’ve seen, it works every so often. Looking at former president Donald Trump who was beyond famous before running

CELEBRITIES IN POLITICS In October 2018, YouGov asked adults in Britain if they supported or opposed celebrity involvement in political issues.

9% Support

52%

Neither support nor oppose

33%

Don’t know Oppose

5% ART BY Faith Lawrence

from his work in hotel management. President Ronald Reagan was an actor, and movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger was the Governor of California for eight years. Some aren’t so lucky, including Kanye West who ran in the 2020 Presidential run. However, his seriousness in that is still unclear to me.

As it shows, numerous celebrities have tried their hand in politics.

To many, celebrities offer something new and interesting compared to politicians who have become widely disliked, something that helped Trump in the long run.

Celebrities are different from others who might run for office.

They have charisma and charm which ultimately helped them become famous and can also help sway the voters. As much as this might help the celebrity, this won’t help the country. Fans worship their favorite celebrities to the point they dismiss any flaw, are blind to any insubstantial idea they might have.

These are the people running our countries and deciding our futures. When it comes down to it, we need someone who fully knows what they’re doing and who does everything they can to make the world a better place. There’s no guarantee if our leaders are doing that but celebrities are definitely not reliable to that statement.

Just because they’re a great actor, doesn’t mean they’re gonna be a

great politician. That’s why actors are actors and politicians are politicians, it’s what they’re good at.

Name and money are vexingly key factors in a political environment, so celebrities should be able to perform well. But even with these advantages, it’s hard to know how they’d behave in an election.

Recently, prominent Republican and transgender rights activist Caitlen Jenner drew the attention and shock of many when she joined the Republican Party. She publicly came out as a trans woman in April of 2015 and has recently been called the most famous trans woman in the world.

Jenner announced her campaign in late April, running against current California Governor Gavin Newsom in this year’s fall election.

The seriousness of the celebrity running for office is questionable, but it appears Jenner is really going for governor, taking to Twitter to say “I am a proven winner and the only outsider who can put an end to Gavin Newsom’s disastrous time as governor.”

Newsom has come under attack from his handling of COVID-19 and has been openly criticized by Republicans with his leadership in the state’s economy. According to an article written by abc7.com, more than 1.6 million Californians signed the recall petition which is well over enough to trigger a recall election, but it’s still not official.

Jenner is not the first transgender person to be running for office, Sarah McBride who became the U.S.’ very first transgender state senator, Joanne Conte was the first openly transgender person to be elected to a city council in the U.S., and more, but she is the most prominent. While California is one of the most supportive states for LGBTQ+ people, it’s also majority Democratic which makes it hard to determine who Jenner is supposed to appeal to. Her trans identity may hold her back from Republicans in the state but she is part of a party that has made many anti-trans attacks along with her early support of Trump, which she now claims was a mistake.

As of now it seems unlikely Jenner has a chance at becoming governor. Either way the election goes, it is definitely different and will create a lasting impact. But all-inall, Jenner joining the political environment seems difficult and adds more mess and haste to an already bad situation. As we’ve seen, celebrities in politics don’t bode well, and I don’t see it ending well.

Questions?

Concerns? Want to share your opinion?

Contact: Email: bowie. journalism@gmail. com Room Number: F203

BULLDAWGS SPEAK OUT To what extend should celebrities and public figures be involved in politics?

INTERVIEWS BY Faith Lawrence PHOTOS COURTESY OF Interviewees

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I think they should limit as much influence as possible, when they get too involved it creates a kinda “mob mentality” reaction and many people just follow the politician just because they find the celebrity credible.

Matthew Cluchey Junior

I think celebrities and public figures shouldn’t be involved with politics.

They’re still entitled to their own opinions, I just think they shouldn’t address them openly given their social position.

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I think that celebrities shouldn’t be super involved in politics most of the time, just because it doesn’t usually turn out very good.

There are some exceptions but I think overall I would say no they shouldn’t be.

Fionella Caputo Sophomore

Laurel Schultz Senior

I don’t think celebrities should be involved in politics because they may side with certain legislature that targets their personal audience to boost their careers instead of actually being politically inclined.

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Katherine Leoni Freshman

Edward Day Math Teacher

It never bothers me when celebrities speak to what they believe, but they should realize that they are using their cultural capital by doing so. I will be less likely to listen to a musician that disagrees with me.

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Catch you on the flippity flip.

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If the opportunity doesn't

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With freedom,

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As the Editors-in-Chief of the Dispatch for the past school year, we are beyond proud of the incredible work of our publication. To our senior peers in the Class of 2021 specifically, we are grateful for your continued commitment to the paper and its impactful work on campus. We both began at the Dispatch as sophomores, and now as seniors, we are

Signing-Off

of its print newspaper and daily content on the online platform.

As a result of its in-depth coverage, The Dispatch staff received 201 individual awards, and the publication as a whole was awarded a Pacemaker, a Silver Crown, and a Gold Star. Thus, the Dispatch continued throughout the year as one of the top publications in the nation.

Faith Lawrence

Throughout a year burdened by the hardships of a global pandemic, the Dispatch has portrayed its strength, perseverance, and unwavering commitment to its community. Led by the senior editors of the Class of 2021, The Dispatch publication developed into a vital news source for the student body in the 20202021 school year, publishing six issues

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amazed by the growth and distinction we have seen our paper develop over our three years on staff. Our pride and gratitude for our staff, and fellow seniors, transcend words, and we are excited to see what the paper will accomplish in the years to come.

Love, Cade and Faith ~30~

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The purpose of

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Online Editor-in-Chief, 3 years University of Texas, Computer Science Keep pushing your limits.

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