The Dispatch, Vol. 36, Issue 4 02/16/24

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FEATURES Assisted living club members get together during FIT to create Valentine's Day cards and boxes pg. 5

IN-DEPTH Students and staff discuss the unfortunate reality of animal cruelty, along with prevention pg.

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SPORTS Freshman twin sisters Danica and Daniella Williams take their first varsity basketball season by storm pg. 10

PHOTO ESSAY Bowie Starlight theatre company puts on the Big Fish musical for their spring production pg. 6

PHOTO BY Madison Rasp

ART BY Mazzy Warren

PHOTO BY Adriana Choueiry

PHOTO BY Liberty Pittman

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, FEB. 16, 2024

Vol. 36, Issue 4 www.thedispatchonline.net James Bowie High School 4103 W. Slaughter Lane, Austin, TX, 78749

Pride in Publishing

OUT OF COMMISSION

Issues y t i l i with cam b i s s pus infrastructure continue to limit acce

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Call the Americans with Disabilities Act compliance checker at (626)-4862201 with your concerns.

Emerson Traugott Executive Editor: News

Cowey said. “I had to burn up my PTO hours because I couldn't use the elevator. And when I returned to work Securing the lid back on the drythis year, it was still broken.” erase marker, nutrition teacher Halle Students and staff who have inWhittington completes a message on juries and disabilities feel that class the whiteboard outside her door. The relocation is the only option for them. sign is addressed to her fifth-period As the elevator remains permanently class, reminding them that they are inoperable, these injured students, relocated to a different room in F hall their classmates, and teachers must downstairs from her normal classadjust to a new learning environment, room. halfway through the school year.

Students and faculty who are phys“More than half of my classes have ically unable to use the stairs can no had to move downstairs since the longer access the second floor, as the elevator broke,” sophomore Marsha only elevator on campus is permaWarnkent said. “Not only does this nently out of commission. In the event create a strain on the class, as my that one of their students is incapable teachers don’t have access to their of accessing their classroom on the normal classroom and normal class second floor, teachers are required to routines are interrupted, but also navtransfer to a ground-level classroom. igating campus has been more difficult “When teachers have to relocate without the elevator.” classrooms, the class atmosphere The current elevator has been changes,” Whittington said. “Teachers here since the building was originally put time into building a community built, and no major repairs have ever within their room, by been made to it. setting things up in a Over the last several way that makes stuyears, there has been dents feel comfortable. constant fluctuation N ow that we find Having to adjust to between functionality someone else’s room, ourselves outside of and non-functionality. while simultaneously This is likely a conADA guidelines, there sequence displacing another of old and teacher, is a chalare people on campus faulty parts, which lenging adjustment. become more difficult who have been Classroom efficiency to find as each year directly impacted with passes, according to can be dramatically affected by this assistant manager to real harm. change, especially for the principal Samuel teachers who rely on Cabrera.

Mark Robinson the materials in their “The problem Principle own classroom, such comes back to an as desktop computers, internal part of the which they can’t drag elevator, specifically a from classroom to classroom.” control board within the elevator sysFor over a year, the elevator in tem, that has to be taken out and sent the academic building has continued to the manufacturer's headquarters to malfunction. As a result, math in Maryland to repair because none teacher Charles Cowey was unable to of those parts are available here,” access his classroom after a physicalCabrera said. “The elevator is 30-plus ly disabling injury. At the end of the years old, so now after making those 2022-23 school year, he had to use fixes, the majority of the broken parts two weeks of his earned paid time off no longer exist, which has led to our (PTO) to adjust to his disconnection current inability to make repairs.” with his classroom.

Bowie was built in 1988, two “I had to use my sick time for years before the American Disabilisomething that I couldn't control, ties Act (ADA) was passed in 1990. but that the school should control,” Many of the building’s systems, from

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plete before the next school year, the the elevator to the lack of sufficient 2024 to 2025 school year,” Robinson ramps, limit those who are physically said. “We're gonna do everything that disabled. These students and staff are we can to make that happen.” unable to access areas of the school The $500,000 that will fund the that able-bodied people can. comprehensive renovation will not be “ADA requires all public spaces to be accessible to everyone, and that law sourced from a bond, but instead allowas passed in 1990, unfortunately, a cated through the pre-existing mainfew years after Bowie was originally tenance and operation budget. This built,” Principle Mark Robinson said. budget is strained due to recapture, a “However, now that we find ourselves process where school districts redirect outside of ADA guidelines, there are a portion of their property-tax revenue people on campus to the state to be used who have been directfor other districts.

“Austin gives about ly impacted with real 50% of our total mainharm. So, multiple We want to make departments within tenance and operating sure that we the Austin Indepenbudget to the state dent School District prioritize preventative every year, as a part of recapture,” Steen(AISD) are aware maintenance to of the problem and port said. “It is very are involved in the difficult on AISD, we ensure that we’re oversight required to are pinching pennies. catching problems remedy the situaHowever, when it before they fail. comes to facility maintion.”

Renovations on tenance, that's someChristine Steenport thing that we have to the elevator are set AISD Chief Officer of to begin this sumcontinue to maintain, Operations and our bonds help mer, according to us tremendously. We AISD Chief Officer have to make sure that we are taking of Operations Christine Steenport, care of students and allocate the buddistrict involvement, and planning for a complete modernization began in get accordingly.”

November of 2023.

AISD violation of ADA compliance “There are two campuses in AISD across two campuses for nonfuncexperiencing problems with their tional elevators highlights the rapid elevators, and we have a plan for upspeed at which campuses are decaying.

Sustainable solutions for recurring dating both,” Steenport said. “To fully problems concerning failing building rebuild the elevator, custom pieces are systems beyond that of just elevators necessary, so vendors come out to the is being taken into consideration campus and measure everything. The during the planning for a more proacvendors then fabricate those parts, which could take anywhere from two tive district-wide support, according to months to 16 weeks. They then have Steenport. to come to campus and install the sys“We want to make sure that we prioritize preventative maintenance to tem. This step takes somebody eight ensure that we’re catching problems hours each day, for about a month and before they fail,” Steenport said. a half. And finally, inspections and “We’re looking at the issue from a permits must be obtained through the holistic viewpoint, so we can better city, with that in consideration, the full timeline can last up to months. All prepare ourselves for future budgets.

We know elevators will be aging out of which will cost a little over a half of across the district, and we also know a million dollars per elevator.” it’s not just elevators that will age out.

Construction of the elevator is exSo, thankfully, the bond has helped pected to be finished before the start the district a lot with maintenance, of the next school year according to and we’ll see a lot of summer imRobinson.

“The renovation will be fully comprovements.”

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ART BY Asher Hagan

Students raise funds for cancer research Stricter FIT rules enforced Sophia Sanchez Executive Editor: Writing

Robert “Robbie” Roesler de Villers quickly succumbed to leukemia at the age of 16, after five frustrating years of battling the illness with various treatments. His parents Rudolph and Antoinette de Villers set out to start a fundraising organization in their son's name, geared to helping those who are suffering from the same illnesses he struggles with.

Now, over 70 years later, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) continues to support and fund cancer patients as they navigate their medical journey. As the society continues to grow, new fundraising plans have been made available to support cancer research.

“LLS Student Visionaries of the Year is a seven-week fundraising campaign, and there are 19 teams of 26 candidates, and I'm one of the 26 candidates,” sophomore Addison Spalding said. “I'm working in a group and we are currently on week four of the seven weeks and our goal is $40,000.”

Sophomore Colin Bay’s family first introduced him to the Student Visionaries of the Year (SVOY) program and was heavily encouraged to apply

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to participate. “Bulldogs Bite Cancer,” the Bowie chapter of this organization, was formed between Spalding, Bay, and their third member, sophomore Derrick Osobase.

“We are the first cancer fundraiser at Bowie,” Osobase said. “We also get to represent our school and doing this just genuinely feels good. I'm excited to find out how much we can get out of this, and to see just how much money we can raise in total.”

Participants competing in SVOY first decide on what specific section of LLS their funding will go towards, such as research, patient education and support, or advocacy. Bulldogs Bite Cancer is focusing their funding on research.

“My mom was the reason I joined,” Spalding said. “She worked at Dell Children’s Hospital with cancer patients for over 20 years. When she got diagnosed with cancer, she had some of the best doctors, who did such amazing things for her, especially with the advanced research. She took it so well. Derek and Colin have their own reasons, but we all chose to do this because of how much research has evolved in the past 20 years.” READ MORE "Bulldogs Bite Cancer" pg. 5

NEWS 1, 2 STUDENT VOICE 3 FEATURES 4 , 5

New semester sparks reminders of old policies

SAVING LIVES: Sophomore Addison Spalding joins her friends in signing up for a fundraiser. Each person has the opportunity to win student visionary of the year. PHOTO COURTESY OF Addison Spalding

IN-DEPTH 7, 8-9 SPORTS 10, 11 ENTERTAINMENT 12

REVIEWS 13 OPINIONS 14, 15 PHOTO ESSAY 6, 16

The bell sounds after first period and students begin meandering in the hallways, and fleeing campus. STEM Instructional Coach Cindi Carroll, and School Improvement Facilitator Whitney Vohl scramble for a solution to the disorganized hallways as Flexible Instructional Time (FIT) begins.

Last semester, administrators realized there were students not signed up for a FIT session or had not seen that they were assigned to a FIT session in Enriching Students. Due to this, a plan was created during winter break for a FIT reset.

“The biggest reminder has been that students need to sign up for a FIT session using Enriching Students,” Carroll said. “That was the biggest message we were trying to send as a school.”

This semester, students are now being reminded during their first period class to double check Enriching Students.

“Students need to check their FIT portal in Enriching Students,” Carroll said.

“They need to make sure they aren’t assigned to a fit before signing up to go

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where they want.”

Last semester, there was a struggle with students leaving campus during FIT and disrespecting the teachers that were in charge of patrolling the hallways.

“Administrators are seeing students pouring out of campus,” Vohl said. “There was this negative mindset from students that were undervaluing FIT and seeing it as an opportunity to leave campus.”

Students who continue to utilize FIT as it is intended to be used are also affected by this stricter new policy.

Classrooms are fuller and spaces are harder to come by.

“The FIT policy should be less strict because now some FIT sessions are overcrowded,” freshman Jazzlyn Hepburn said. “Now, people can’t do their work because so many students are coming into the classroom that don’t actually need to be there.”

STORY BY Peyton Dorsey SCAN TO HEAR MORE! PODCAST BY Noah Bihan and Noah Ellinger

2 NEWS

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, FEB. 16, 2024

Community resources soar

New superintendent named by the district

Shaheen sparks helpful mental health discussions on campus Charlotte Koellner Executive Editor: Content

A former Bowie Bulldog, Matias Segura aims to improve multiple programs within Austin ISD

As students wait in line to walk the stage at graduation, they hear the name of a former classmate announced. The auditorium erupts into sympathetic cheers and applause as the former classmate’s family accepts their diploma on the student's behalf. In recent years, this experience has become more common as teenagers struggling with mental illness resort to suicide as a solution.

Globally, one in seven adolescents will encounter a discouraging experience with mental illness at least once during their teenage years, according to the World Health Organization. Many of these instances go unnoticed, undiagnosed, and untreated. Bowie is no exception to these statistics and has recently implemented additional resources for students who may be struggling.

“We have a new mental health counselor, Kimberly Shaheen, who just joined us at Bowie this semester,” history teacher Alejandro Garcia said. “Her entire job is to be a resource for students who are struggling, or who go through something at school that they need to talk about immediately.”

Students can visit Shaheen in the counselor’s hallway at any point during the school day, or visit their alpha school counselor.

"I want Bowie students to feel supported," Shaheen said.

"My goal is that students talk to someone they trust. Even if that someone is not me, I'm here to help get them to whoever that trusting person may be."

Additionally, students who may be struggling with a mental health crisis can access the national suicide lifeline by calling 988 or visiting 988lifeline.org. This helpline is available 24/7 and provides confidential counseling free of

I apologize that this looks rushed, I was trying to get it done within this weekend so I would be able to make edits as needed.

LMK of anything that needs to be changed, or if I have time to polish it more.

On January 25, 2024, Superintendent Matias Segura was unanimously appointed as Austin Independent School District's (AISD) permanent superintendent. Segura had been serving as interim superintendent since January 9, 2023. His mother worked for the district for 42 years, he is a Bowie graduate, and has children at schools in the district.

Segura had previously been the Operations Officer for the district. He led the implementation of the 2017 $1.05 billion bond, which allowed for Bowie to update its fine arts and athletic buildings, according to the AISD 2017 Bond Book. He also helped develop the 2022 $2.4 billion bond which contains updates to heating and air conditioning at Bowie, according to the AISD Bond Program 2022.

“Segura seems inviting, open to answering questions, and open to learning more about us students,” Student Council Co-President Riley Harris said. “I think he's a good person, and, so far, I haven’t heard any complaints.”

Since joining AISD, Segura has made numerous improvements to the district's Special Education programs, according to the AISD Board of Trustees.

These changes include increased testing, and requiring faculty members to participate in a two-day Special Education Professional Development training.

“We’re always expanding our school culture and we’re very open to individual learners,” Harris said.

“I hope that our Special Education programs can grow and become incorporated into classrooms.”

For nearly the entirety of this school year, the single elevator on campus has been experiencing issues. This is a problem both Student Council Co-Presidents hope can be immediately addressed by the district, due to the non-inclusive nature caused by this issue.

“Our schools are inaccessible for a large number of people. It's not accessible for visitors, students, and teachers in many cases,” Student Council Co-President Charlotte Hill said. “I feel like there’ll be a big push for inclusion and accessibility and our elevator hopefully is just one of those things.”

There’s also a push for better treatment of teachers. Since the pandemic, the district has been asking a lot of teachers and ultimately, teachers need to be respected and given more resources so that they can support students.

“It’s really important to focus on what resources we need to allocate to teachers and students to make them feel safer,” Hill said. “I think the district needs to be working with teachers to ensure the welfare of students is being considered.”

Along with making updates to the facilities on campus, Student Council Co-Presidents hope that Segura makes time to meet with students at AISD campuses. By making himself available to hear students' needs he's showing them that he's approachable.

“I think that seeing a face and being able to put it to the actions that are being done would be really helpful,” Harris said. “I know that, at least from the people I’ve talked to, that students would like to have a face-to-face interaction.”

When it comes to making decisions that are going to impact students, social studies teacher and Student Council Sponsor Alejandro Garcia believes Segura should keep the students in mind and not let regulations or politics get in the way of what students need. The goal is to help Bowie grow and become a better school.

“I hope that he continues to do the right thing for what’s best for students,” Garcia said. “And as long as the kids are doing the right thing and being pushed to be the best they can be, that is what I think our focus should always be.” STORY BY Katie Grumet

1-866-4887386

988

ART BY Sophia Sepulveda

expense based on personal needs.

“I've used 988 to cope with personal issues before,” junior Atlas Garance said. “I've also used the lifeline to help friends who mentioned being a danger to themselves, and needed quick help.”

In recent years, Bowie has provided Gramercy, a mental health clinic, available on campus. This allowed students to attend regular counseling sessions without worrying about traveling back and

1 in 7 teens struggle with mental health

ART BY Charlotte Koellner

833-8972474

SOURCE World Health Organization

40% since 2019. Garcia attributes forth from school.

“Gramercy was a great resource this unfortunate increase to the increased accessibility of social because not everyone has the media. means for transportation to and “Social media is the catalyst for from a therapist's office,” senior most mental health-related probRaven Kemenesi said. “And, some lems,” Garcia said. “Social media therapists don’t accept insurance, promotes unequal comparisons, so counseling can get expensive. which is unhealthy because people Having it offered in a school are comparing themselves to a glomakes the world of a difference.” rified false sense of reality.”

Students have expressed diffiAccording to the Mayo Clinculty navigating mental health criic, stigmas surrounding mental ses due to obstacles in finding the health can deter people from right therapist. However, Bowie seeking the help they need. Garcia can align students with a mental believes that engaging with others health specialist outside of school about mental health can encourif they express interest. age students to “We have Care ask for help when Solace here on needed. campus, which “When adults is a program that When we're scared on campus open assists students or of discussing up about their their families who struggles, as I want to get set up sensitive topics, have with my with a therapist,” that's probably classes, it can be Shaheen said. “We good for students send the parents an indication that because they a consent form, it needs to be realize, ‘Oh, if an and they’re able to adult is going input their price discussed more. through that, range or insurAlejandro Garcia then I don't feel ance. Students can History teacher so alone’,” Garcia also specific their said. “Moving in preferred gender, that direction, not ethnicity, and age only as a school, but as a society, range of their therapist, and I will will help us get on the right track, help them get set up with one.”

Studies recorded by the Nation- and alleviate some of those difficult moments where people al Library of Medicine show that feel alone.” suicidal behaviors in high school students have increased by over

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School traffic poses a dangerous threat to student life Savannah Riggins Dispatch Reporter

According to biology teacher Jessica DaThis, paired with the car’s high speed, vis, teachers are also feeling the pressure resulted in the dangerous accident. The inof dismissal times. Many students pack up jured student survived the accident but did Tires screech loudly as a teenager peels before the bell rings in an effort to get out require medical assistance, and an ambuout of the parking garage at high speeds. of class before they are lance was called to campus.

Suddenly, their car comes to a halt and, dismissed. This causes “I saw the car leave the before they know it, the lives of two people garage really fast,” Rusing frustration for many have been changed forever. instructors. said. “It all happened so With a student body In 2019, construction of the Bowie park- quick, but the next thing I “With a student that is as large as ing garage began. The garage was completbody that is as large as saw was the student on the ed in 2021 and has since been available for ground and people crowding Bowie's, dismissal Bowie’s, dismissal can be student and faculty parking. Many students around them.” a bit chaotic as students can be a bit chaotic run to get out of the took advantage of the new parking spots, In a rush to get home, but a parking garage can be hard to manage students tend to disregard parking lot,” Davis said. as students run at times, especially for new drivers. The “Also, when students are driving laws on campus, to get out of the new garage has resulted in many hazardous and instead make reckless released early, it is unfair situations and even a few accidents. Deto those that are held unmistakes behind the wheel. parking lot. spite the drawbacks, according to students til the bell. Classrooms Careless driving paired with and administrators, overall, the parking Jessica Davis need to be consistent and a lack of patience makes garage benefits the Bowie campus.

Biology teacher hold all students to the it difficult for students to “The garage was a good addition to the bell.” remain considerate of others campus because it gave a lot of students Students aren’t the on campus. space to park,” senior Lillian Ruxer said. only contributors to the traffic. Parents also “Always be on the lookout for pedes“It’s especially nice because there isn’t play a role in this situation. According to trians,” Black said. “It’s important for all Texas heat beaming down on Black, parents often pick up their students drivers to be vigilant our cars all day.” and actively try to avoid in non-designated lanes, which can be very An accident occurred on dangerous for pedestrians. accidents.”

December 11, 2023, while a The longest I've “I have observed that students try to get Accidents aren’t student driver exited the parkoff campus really fast,” Black said. “I am the only conflict waited in Bowie ing garage, and collided with a in the front of the school during dismissthat plagues Bowie’s student crossing the road after traffic is 35 minutes, afternoon dismissals. als and I have noticed that parents don't class. follow a lot of the traffic rules, either. They Students rush to their and that was just to cars to leave quickly “Being patient, driving are parking in handicapped spots, which is slowly, and not being distractturn on to Slaughter when the bell rings at against the law, and picking up kids in the ed will help keep everyone drive through lane.”

4:35 p.m., and students from the parking safe,” assistant principal Although the current dismissal system who wait to get to their Whitney Black said. “Watchgarage. is frustrating, the potential fixes for these car face the possibility ing out for pedestrians is situations aren’t foolproof either, and it of being stuck in traffic.

Lillian Ruxer important because people are will remain impossible to fully solve the “The biggest drawSenior running to get to their cars, issue. back of the garage is and they’re not paying close “It is tough because the current dismissthat it takes forever to attention to what’s around them.” al system is congested and frustrating for get home after school,” Ruxer said. “The According to a witness, sophomore drivers," Davis said. “But, the potential longest I’ve waited in Bowie traffic was 35 Hanson Rusing, the pedestrian crossed solutions also come with their own set of minutes, and that was just to turn on to without the crossing guards permission. issues.”

Slaughter from the parking garage.”

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ART BY Sophia Sepulveda

STUDENT VOICE 3 FRIDAY, FEB. 16, 2024 THE DISPATCH

Club to career pipelines run through Bowie A look into clubs and organizations that lead to careers and community for students Asher Hagan Executive Editor: Art & Graphics

Bowie has many opportunities for about, even if it's not specific to agristudents seeking to enter the medculture. I’ve seen students transform ical field including a Health Science from being really shy to not being Practicum class where afraid to talk to peostudents can earn a ple and I think that Sophomore Emily Sturzl stands Certified Medical Assishas a lot to do with tall as she accepts her award as a state tant license while still this organization.” semifinalist for junior prepared public in school. These coursLike FFA, Society speaking at the 95th Texas Future For me, this club es can give students Farmers of America (FFA) Convention of Women Engineers has allowed me to certification, while is another national in Dallas, Texas. Sturzl knows that HOSA can give stuhappiness and pride she feels wouldn’t organization that build myself as a dents connections promotes a career to be possible without her friends and person and as a and knowledge students. Society of other members of the FFA. Women Engineers is FFA is a national organization leader. I've become about different medical a club that helps conwhere students are able to raise animuch more fields. nect female students mals, study agriculture, and compete “HOSA interested in engiin a variety of categories. The organiconfident. opens up neering with resourczation also allows for students to take Ryleigh Carrasco plenty es. One of the things up leadership positions, such as Struzl Junior of opthe club does is bring who is Bowie FFA’s Student Advisor.

BPA vice president portuin guest speakers to “Because you can travel around nities give advice to club and meet new people,” Struzl said. for members.

“FFA opens up your perspective and scholarships and “Hearing from guest speakers and can change your way of thinking. It networking in the working engineers really allowed me really does change your morals. You healthcare field,” to rethink what type of engineering I also learn life skills like leadership wanted to do,” senior Emma Munsing- Merkel said. “What and public speaking along with raising I’ve learned in this er said. “I got to see their experiences livestock which is really interesting.” organization will benefit and that has been really useful to me One major resource that Bowie’s my future in more ways in the long run. The club was also FFA has is an actual farm on campus. than I can count. HOSA a handy thing to put on my college Just beyond the softball and basehas taught me how to applications.” ball fields, the farm is home to many work with a team, life Society of Women different kinds of saving skills, and most Engineers is not the animals leading stuof all how to work hard only organization that dents to gain handsand follow your career gives students expeon experience.

I've seen students pathway.” rience in STEM fields “I joined FFA One benefit of being however. Another club because I came from transform from part of a national organizathat gives students an agricultural backbeing really shy to tion beyond having resources, opportunities in these ground and grew up is having opportunities to put on fields is the Health around it,” Sturzl not being afraid events. Clubs such as Business Occupations Students said. “In FFA, there to talk to people Professionals of America (BPA) of America (HOSA) are leadership and utilize fundraisers to pay for certain club. HOSA is a way speaking opporand I think it has a expenses. Hot Ones was an event that students can learn tunities, but also lot to do with this more about the medical where students were able to pay one opportunities for dollar to vote for two teachers to face field in order to gain students that want organization. off and eat increasingly hot chicken experience and become to raise animals. The Kaitlyn Platt wings until one teacher gave up. employed. memories you make Agriculture Teacher “BPA also helps with learning how “I joined HOSA with the people and FFA sponsor to organize and market events through because after college animals really do last fundraisers like Hot Ones,” junior I plan to become a PA a lifetime.”

BPA vice president Ryleigh Carrasco and follow along the Bowie’s FFA was said. “We were able to raise funds for pathway of health science,” senior recently taken over by Agriculture travel to competitions and leadership HOSA vice president Hannah Merkel teacher Kaitlyn Platt, who was a part conferences. When we travel, we meet said. “HOSA gives you really meanof her high school’s FFA and knows people from all over. It’s a really fun ingful experiences that you can add first-hand its effects on students. experience to bond while still learning to your resume and offers an amazing “I think the students that truly and developing new skills.” community of high schoolers also get involved in FFA leave here with Each summer, BPA puts on camps wanting to become future healthcare amazing leadership skills,” Platt said. for members of different chapters. providers.”

“It really helps students gain skills BPA’s camp lasts for three days and and discover what they are passionate

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aims to teach students basic office procedures, etiquette, and speaking skills.

“Camp was a really wonderful opportunity for our team,” Carrasco said.

“Not only did we gain new knowledge but we also made new friendships

with the Texas BPA State Officers and Chapters. For me, it has allowed me to build myself as a person and as a leader. Through BPA I have learned how to better work in teams and handle myself as a leader.”

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For the completed crossword go to @jbhs_dispatch on instagram 3 1 4

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HOT ONES: Assistant Principal Hector Munoz bites into a hot chicken wing during a Business Professionals of America fund raiser. Hot Ones was a fund raiser put on by BPA to raise funds for travel and competition expenses for the year. PHOTO BY Alex Edwards

tudent Spotlight

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CROSSWORD BY Asher Hagan

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Down: 1. Fiona Padalino was invited to play soccer for what university? (pg. 4) 2. The ___________ continues to be problematic in an opinion on page 15.

3. On page 13, Maddy Franco compared _____ and chain restaurants.

5. A club featured on page 5 aims to help people in _________ living.

6. Students won at the _____________ Art and Writing Awards on page 12.

10. A story on page 2 explores the _______ and car problems at Bowie.

"Geno, the Puppet master"

"Happy 2024!"

Brett Rice

Patt Collins

Senior

"The Mario RPG remake was such a surprise to see on the switch, I've been playing a-lot since it's realest and I just had to draw Geno because of it."

Senior

"Here's a new year's drawing I did of some characters I've drawn on my Instagram."

Across: 4. Kate Alexander is a __________ swimmer who is featured in the sports section. (pg. 10) 7. An opinion on page 14 claims that ________ promotes misogyny and toxic relationships to teens.

8. The ____ Foundation was founded in memory of Andrew Escobedo in support of mental health for children who are survivors of cancer. (pg. 7) 9. The double truck on page 8 takes a look at animal ___________.

11. Big ______ is the annual musical put on by the Starlight Theatre Company this year. (pg. 6)

Want to submit your own art, photos, or writing?

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4 FEATURE

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY FEB. 16, 2024

Joyfully juggling into the new semester

Pins and balls in the air, Bowie’s newest club brings opportunity to learn something new Isabella Verette Feature Editor

ture to bring joy, along with a fun way to exercise just by juggling and hanging out with friends.

According to the National Library of Medicine, The weight bounces off their hands as pins juggling can promote positive neuroplasticity. and balls fly through the air, bringing smiles and Neuroplasticity has been seen as a factor in laughs to those around them. Sophomores Mia greater intelligence, and the ability to recover Urrbazzo and Riley Redmer started the Bowie and regenerate from traumatic brain injuries juggling club at the start of the 2024 semester. like a stroke. So, besides getting a sweet treat “We thought it would be a fun way to hang and hanging out with friends, club members are out with our friends,” Urrbazzo said. “And it strengthening their brains. turned out to be better than we expected.”

“Sometimes they bring in donuts during Chemistry Teacher Jacob Slaughter is the jugmeetings, which makes going even better than it gling club’s host teacher. This year is Slaughter’s already is,” Crawford said. “But figuring out how first year at Bowie, and he is already making his to do multiple things at once has been challengmark hosting this club for Redmer and Urrbazzo. ing.”

“At first, it was kind of a joke, Slaughter has been juggling until Mr. Slaughter told us he for the last four years after he was getting the club papers,” took an interest in all of the Redmer said. “And now we have variety of ways you could juggle We really just a ton of members.” along with learning something The club meets every Friday thought it would be new. during FIT in Slaughter’s room, “Juggling has so much vaa fun thing to do which started as a way to teach riety,” Slaughter said. “It’s not Redmer and Urrbazzo, after they with our friends, that only how you juggle, that is, in took an interest in his skills and what sequence, but also what looks funny, and juggling pins. you juggle.”

“Mr. Slaughter had juggling entertaining, and it This club started because pins in his classroom, and one of the juggling pins Slaughter has been. day we just started learning,” keeps in his classroom and there Urrbazzo said. “We started to is a story behind it.

Mia Urrbazzo practice and it just went from “I wanted to give another Co-Founder there.” point of entry for students who Unlike other clubs, there are may be interested in juggling.” no outside-of-school events or Slaughter said. “I had shown my commitments, they just dedicate their time to students I could juggle during class and Riley juggling. They work on teaching new members and Mia took a particular interest.” the skill and share in the joy that it brings.

There are a few club members who came in “It’s a really fun place to go and hang out with previous experience, one of whom is sophowith friends and try something new,” sophomore more Louis Olmeda. member Zoe Smith said. “I’ve even gotten other “I taught myself after my mom bought some friends to come try it out, and watching each juggling balls for Christmas,” Olmeda said. “I’m other try something difficult has been funny and pretty confident in my basic skills so now I’m enjoyable.” just trying to learn tricks.”

According to Smith learning how to juggle There are lots of tricks you can do while isn’t the easiest task, club members are taking juggling. There are easier ones like, cascade, and things slow, and starting small, like starting with then extremely hard ones, like the six-ball founballs rather than pins, and using fewer balls betain and five-ball cascade. Along with what you fore moving on to more challenging amounts. juggle, increasing the difficulty.

“I started off juggling with two balls, which “Juggling balls are an easier place to start I’m still doing, before I moved on to three which for more people, which is why club members is more challenging,” Smith said. are starting with them,” Slaughter said. “But, For Redmer and Urrbazzo, juggling pins just looks so cool, juggling was also a learning even though they are so much experience, being that they both harder.” had never considered juggling This club is also a great way before. Almost all of the people for athletes to improve their in the juggling club are beginhand-eye coordination without ners, and the club meetings even knowing. A combination of revolve around helping people rhythm, reflexes, and balance, progress in their juggling skills. all factors that contribute to the Slaughter has juggling videos improvement of hand-eye coorup on his TV and walks around dination. the room showing the members “Practicing juggling can only new tricks. improve hand-eye coordination,” “We learn through Riley, Olmeda said. “It’s a great enviMia, and Mr. Slaughter, but also ronment to be in while not even Jacob Slaughter through the people around us,” realizing you improve a vital skill Chemistry Teacher Smith said. “I’m not the best at in sports.” it, but it’s nice to know everyLike Olmeda, some of the one is learning and there are members are self-sufficient when people around us to help.” it comes to improving their skills during club The majority of the club came from friends of meetings. Members like Smith and Crawford the co-founders, like sophomore Jennifer Crawneed more assistance and they are provided with ford, a teammate of Redmer, and Smith who is in just that. the same chemistry class as the two jugglers.

“Riley and Mia do a great job of teaching “I play basketball with Riley, who is the vice people and helping them learn,” Slaughter said. president of the club,” Crawford said. “She told “But I also walk around and provide assistance me I should join so I thought I’d give it a shot.” and encouragement, along with showcasing new Some perks to this club are its inherent natricks, or techniques.”

"

"

Juggling has so much variety its not only how you juggle, that is, in what sequence, but also what you juggle.

BALLS FLYING: Club leader Mia Urrbazzo concentrates while demonstrating how to juggle three balls at once, for other club members to learn. Urrbazzo has just starting juggling this year, with the help of her chemistry teacher Jacob Slaughter. PHOTO BY Gabby Bouchey

Slaughter, the master of juggling in the club meetings, started Redmer and Urrbazzo off on their juggling journeys. While he likes to see his students trying something new, and having fun, this club is an opportunity for him.

“I’m getting to expand my juggling repertoire,” Slaughter said. “I’d love to keep sponsoring the club next year because it allows me to try harder skills, and help the students do the same.”

Even though the club started out of the blue, Redmer and Urrbazzo plan to continue it through the rest of their time at Bowie. Even if that means the basis of the club changes from just learning how to juggle.

“We want to continue this into next year no question,” Urrbazzo said. “As people start to advance, instead of learning how to juggle I think we will all start to learn complex tricks.”

Club members are excited by the idea that this club will continue into the next school year.

Being able to improve their skills, and do more impressive tricks.

“They told us when the club started that we would improve in six meetings of the club,” Smith said. “So, next year if the club continues I hope to continue to improve and then finally start learning a few tricks.”

Crawford is practically excited about next year’s club, not only because of the improvement of her skills but also the social aspect.

“It really is one of the funniest fits to go to and I look forward to Fridays,” Crawford said.

“I’m hoping more of my friends join and we can all advance and learn more alongside other club members.”

SCAN TO SEE MORE! VIDEO BY Gabby Bouchey

Juni r Fi na Padalin sh ts her sh t f r Harvard s ccer Bentlee Toland Feature Team

Junior Fiona Padalino checks her email as usual, and her jaw drops as her eyes scan across the screen. It’s an email from Harvard to go to a soccer camp. Padalino was in shock and denial, thinking it was a scam, but after some time she realized it was the real Harvard University that picked her.

Filled with excitement, she tells her parents and they pay the fee to go to Boston for two days.

“I have been playing soccer for 10 years since I was seven,” Padalino said. “So, I was super excited Harvard would even reach out to me.”

Padalino not only has her schedule filled with soccer on Bowie’s Varsity women’s team and Austin FE Westlake soccer club, but she also plays the piano, is in Girl Scouts, and she’s in all AP or advanced classes. Doing homework and practice can be difficult but Padalino gets it done.

“For Westlake, we practice three times a week, and then we usually have two games a weekend,” Padalino said. “So, we’re practicing a lot. For school soccer, we practice every single morning during the offseason, during the in-season, we practice every morning except for game days.”

Even with Padalino’s chaotic soccer schedule she was able to academically meet Harvard’s expectations for a spot in the camp. Harvard Universities GPA requirement is between 3.9 to 4.1.

“Everyone that I met had good grades, and it seemed pretty selective,” Padalino said. “I did not know what to expect, my strategy going into it was just to be outgoing and try my best.”

Recruits have to have done very well in school, not only in education but in athletics too. The Harvard Women’s Soccer Class of 2023/24 has led the team to 49 wins, the fifth-most by a single class in the program’s his-

KICKING IT: Receiving the ball from a defender under pressure, junior Fiona Padalino plays a long ball up the field to her teammate. Padalino is one of the two starting goalies for the Bowie girls soccer team. PHOTO BY Nick Wong

tory, the most since the 1997 graduating class.

“It was super interesting to challenge myself out there and work as hard as I could in front of all these other amazing athletes,” Padalino said.

“I am used to constantly seeing challenging competition, but these girls just knew how to shoot. It was a crazy competition and it was so fun.”

Soccer can not only be great for physical health by lowering body fat and improving muscle tone and endurance, but it can also have a positive impact on mental health. Soccer can help build relationships, confidence, teamwork, and decision-making skills.

Physical activity also boosts endor-

phins, leading to a sense of euphoria which reduces stress.

“I’d say soccer has helped me with leadership skills and how to bond with other people,” Padalino said. “When you’re with a team, you need to have good chemistry on the field.”

Like with any sport soccer can be mentally challenging and keep a positive mindset, along with developing trust is key to succeeding in the sport.

“The Harvard camp taught me how to have a good mentality, to look forward to something challenging, and to know that I can build myself up to achieve it,” Padalino said. “Even if you fail, you know you know you tried your hardest, and what mistakes you

made to work on and improve for next time.”

According to a three-year epidemiological study of professional soccer.

Goalkeepers don’t get hurt as often as field players. While the overall and lower body injury incidence in goalkeepers was lesser than in field players, upper body accidents were higher. Goalkeepers can easily injure themselves and Padalino can relate.

“While I was at practice, this girl kneed me right in the face and I fell back and landed on the floor; everyone was calling my name, but I couldn’t hear them,” Padalino said. “I got back up and thought: ‘Let’s get back up.

Let’s keep playing.’ I got up and every single person’s jaws dropped, my face was dripping blood all over the floor.”

This incident lead to quite a few complications for Padalino in the after math having experienced such a harsh injury.

“I got home, and then I went to the bathroom. I looked at it and it was so deep, I started crying, so we went to the ER, and I had to get 12 stitches in my face,” Padalino said. “I also had two black eyes and my whole face swelled up. Going back into the conflict of high competition after an injury like that, I was terrified.”

According to Padalino being a goalie can be harsh but also very rewarding. Outfield players experience more praise, but that often comes with the frustration of being benched for lengthy periods or not starting games. It is rare for a goalkeeper in the starting line-up not to play the full 90-minute game. So, coming back after her injury was a lot of pressure.

“If a goal keeper makes a mistake it’s most likely a goal, the best part is when you make a good save,” Padalino said. “You hear the crowd chanting, or your teammates compliment you. I just love the camaraderie that comes with being a goalkeeper, because everyone cheers for you when you make

a save.”

According to Padalino’s teammates and friends, like junior Anna Peterson, she’s not only a good teammate but a great person and friend. She’s known to be hardworking in almost everything she tries.

“She is a great motivator on and off the field,” Peterson said. “Always pushing me to be my best and hyping me up whenever she can, not only in soccer but also in everyday life.”

The Bowie soccer community can be very supportive, not only because they are a team but also because many of the players have been playing together since they were in elementary and middle school. Soccer connects teammates in many ways; Padalino’s other teammates share similar sentiments about like those of Peterson.

“I would describe Fiona as loyal, super funny, caring, and hard-working,” senior Cristabela Mendoza said.“Fiona is great at soccer, and she’s also good at being a person who cares for everyone, while being driven and competitive on the field.”

While her teammates agree, she’s a great teammate and friend, they also agree she has a great future in soccer. “ I think Fiona has a very bright future ahead of her, and I’m so happy that she is being found in the recruiting world,” Mendoza said.

SCAN FOR MORE!

PHOTO GALLERY BY Nick Wong

FEATURE 5

FRIDAY, FEB. 16, 2024 THE DISPATCH

Bulldogs Bite Cancer in local fundraiser

Sophomores join the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for Student Visionaries of the Year CONTINUED from pg. 1 Jessica Lucas, the Campaign Development Manager for SVOY, believes it is important for younger generations to actively assist with cancer research, in whatever ways are sustainable for them.

“The youth is our future,” Lucas said. “Leukemia is the number one most diagnosed form of childhood blood cancer, and 480 people are diagnosed with some form of blood cancer every day. With younger generations being involved with LLS, it shows support for their own generation that is so heavily impacted by this disease, and their ambition to end blood cancer.”

The SVOY fundraising challenge ends on February 24. As the seven week period comes to a close, teams race to network and gain sponsors for their cause.

“You have to ask a lot of people, and then set up a lot of meetings to find sponsors,” Bay said. “It’s more difficult for in-person meetings, because you have to memorize everything in the presentation. But it is fun to get together during in-person meetings with our teammates.”

In order to prepare for meetings, the team researches what sponsor they will be focusing on, and then uses google slides presentations, formatted and provided by LLS, to pitch to prospective sponsors.

“Colin is focusing on a lawyer right now,” Osobase said. “He’s going to

get a meeting really soon, and we’ve also tried reaching out to Thomas J. Henry, which is a pretty big business here. My mom is a real estate agent, so we’re thinking about asking her for help. We have a team member whose dad works at Google, we were going to contact them, so it’s a lot of networking.”

The group continues to aim for $40,000, but believe with their current progress can even beat that goal.

“I hope that our purpose influences others,” Bay said. “I’m just excited to find out how much we can get out of this, and how much money we can raise in total. I feel like it’s important to volunteer, and LLS gives us benefits and helps other people out. So, it’s a win-win.”

Collecting sponsors is not the only way to support the Bulldogs Bite Cancer team. According to Spalding, anyone can make a difference.

“People can support the fundraiser in so many ways,” Spalding said. “I know parents are very involved, so I’m posting on Facebook and targeting those parenting groups who might be able to help us reach our goal. We also share the links of our individual stories. You don’t even have to donate money to contribute, just being able to share that link is helpful.”

According to Lucas, a Grand Finale round will be held at the end of the seven-week period, where they will announce the SVOY winner, and celebrate all the teams that contributed to

WORKING TOGETHER: The Bulldogs Bite Cancer team works along side their friends on their next presentation for Student Visionaries of the Year. The fundraiser ends on February 24 with a grand celebration for the teams, and recruitment for new teams begins in March. PHOTO COURTESY OF Colin Bay

the fundraiser.

“This experience has made me more aware of all the work it takes to be a part of this process,” Osobase said. “It’s already hard enough to ask people for their money, so you have to be very detailed in how you present.

I’ve gotten better at that, and speaking

to different people and being able to convince them.”

Since the foundation of the LLS, the organization has raised over $1.6 billion for their mission, and continues to advocate for cancer awareness.

“It feels really good to contribute to this, because I’ve lost many members

of my family to cancer,” Spalding said.

“My mom’s so proud of me. Being able to watch her grow after her treatment, was just a really nice experience. Every hour that you put into it is going to benefit somebody else. Even if you only donate $5 it’s all going to contribute to the cause.”

Students raise residents spirits with Assisted Living Club Charlotte Schwarte Dispatch Reporter

People bustle around in a constant routine, as numbers are announced loudly. B12. I26. O67.

Eyes dart from board to board, and students watch on. One last number is called, and cheers erupt from one side of the room. Bingo!

The Assisted Living Club (ALV) is relatively new to the JBHS club scene, having started in the beginning of the 2023-24 school year. Its co-presidents, sophomores Anusha Rudra and Abby Laine, hope to bring company and support to Brookdale Beckett Meadows, an assisted living home here in Austin.

“Our club is used to provide senior citizens with the social interaction that they need,” Rudra said.

The club visits nursing homes as a group, where arrange a wide range of activities for the seniors, such as hosting and playing games, eating dinners with them, and helping to clean up after them. Club member do everything to interact with them; they even spend time singing with their elders.

“I feel really good after volunteering at the home,” Rudra said. “It’s such a rewarding experience to connect with the residents and knowing that you have made a positive impact on their lives.”

Every Wednesday during FIT, ALV club meets in English teacher Rebecca Hertel’s room or their club sponsor Shelby Pennington’s room, where they discuss volunteer opportunities and make gifts to send to Brookdale members. While they only visit one nursing home at the moment, they hope to expand their visiting region and membership.

“We’ve built such a connection with the select group that comes to every volunteer event,” Rudra said. “It’s because we’re working together to help the residents.”

The presidents were inspired to start the club

HAND MADE CRAFTS: Sophomores Darby Kendrick (left) and Grace Hertel (right) fold, cut, and create valentines day boxes for the Brookdale Beckett Meadows assisted living home. The Assisted Living Club have been regularly meeting with residents and feel that their club has created a little family within the home. PHOTO BY Gabby Bochey

after joining the Children’s Hospital club, but they decided they wanted to take a more handson approach, where they could visit the people they were helping.

“We both loved that concept, but were sad we couldn’t actually go and interact,” Laine said. “So, we thought of visiting nursing homes because they are more accessible.”

The rest of the pieces fell into place after sophomore secretary and treasurer Gabby Bochey’s schedule freed up, and she joined the leadership team shortly after the club began.

“It’s an experience that I think more people should be able to participate in, because it’s really good for the community,” Bochey said.

“And it’s great to find new friends among the residents.”

The duties of the leadership positions include overseeing funding, helping provide materials for crafts, creating social media posts, and planning volunteer opportunities and meetings.

“Gabby and Abby really helped me out on doing this, and they are making this club possible,” Rudra said. ”They are my biggest supporters.”

For events to be planned, Rudra contacts Linda Wiggins, the Resident Engagement Coordinator of Brookdale.

“The pairing of young people with seniors is very enriching for our residents,” Wiggins said.

“They love the interaction and the opportunity to build relationships with young people out in the community.”

A good portion of the members’ incentive for joining ALV was to experience their career paths in the real world, whether that be psychology and social works, or something in the medical field. Sophomore Shivani Dilip-Latha is pursuing a career as a therapist, and for this reason was drawn towards the club.

“I want to learn how different minds of different ages think, and this was a really good opportunity to talk to people of all generations and see how they act with people who are younger than them, and how they treat them, and how they interact with us as a whole,” Dilip-Latha said.

According to the Center for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) over 1.3 million people in the United States live in a nursing home, and a large portion suffer from illnesses or cognitive impairments such as Alzeihmer’s disease.

“I know sometimes their families don’t visit, and as nice as the facility is, it’s sad to me how we just ship our elders off into a home and ignore them forever,” Bochey said. “I think that’s sad that we do that in our culture. Having young people, young minds come and talk to you to see what they’re doing, they really love that.”

Despite the age difference, the club members and Brookdale residents have been formed new friendships and connected over the acts of kindness that forms the basis of the ALV club.

“I went up to one of the residents and I gave him a card,” Laine said. “He asked for me to hold on to it for him. Then we were about to leave so I went to give it to him. He hugged me, because I remembered. It was really nice.”

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6 PHOTO ESSAY

Big Fish and even bigger talent THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, FEB. 16, 2024

RED WHITE AND TRUE: A group of joyful soldiers salutes as the spotlight gleams on their glittering outfits. Edward Bloom has defeated the blow dart adept enemy soldier. “Red white and true is my favorite number for sure, because there’s so many good attributes,”assistant director and actor Bubba Infante said. “The choreography, the song, and the costumes are just so amazing.” PHOTO BY Alex Edwards

Starlight Theater Company’s spring musical hits the stage Elizabeth Yowell Liberty Pittman Photo Essay Editors The house lights dim and the stage comes alive in color, gradually, murmurs among the audience are replaced with the sound of the live orchestra. Curtain up, it’s show-time! On Jan. 19, Bowie’s Starlight Theater opened with their first performance of this year’s program-wide musical, Big Fish.

“It was definitely at the top of our shortlist of musicals that we were considering. It just has a lot of heart, it’s just a great story,” head director and Bowie theater teacher Marco Bazan said. “People love it and we love it and we love working on it.”

Big Fish is a fantasy-esc dramedy that explores the relationship between a big shot from a small town, Edward, and his city-settled son, Will. As Edward nears the end of his life and Will anticipates the beginning of his own son’s life, Will is determined to find the truth to the crazy, wacky stories about his father’s life that he has told Will since he was a child.

“The show just gives me butterflies,” sophomore Big Fish lead Graciela Grahmann said. “Seeing this relationship with the father and son and all these different characters, it’s just so cool to see.”

This year’s show held a special place in many people’s hearts, whether on stage, behind the scenes, or in the audience.

“I always tried to pick plays that are going to mean something to people,” Bazan said. “My director in high school would always say ‘you always do the show for the person in the back who’s sitting there who needs to hear this story.’”

This year’s musical had significant on-stage student contributions, with a cast consisting of two sets of leads and several various ensembles, including a dance

ensemble that performed several numbers choreographed by student leaders Madigan Pound, Gibson Gelfer, Alice Jeffries, and Genivieve Downing.

“It was really fun, but it also came with a lot of challenges,” junior Gelfer said. “It’s as hard as any other leadership role; getting people to focus, taking action, being assertive, but also the creative aspect of it.”

Bowie STC students also had several back stage contributions in costumes, hair and make-up, and set design, as well as the highly anticipated return of a full student orchestra and choral backing vocals.

“It’s the fact that people from outside our department join us, whether it’s a dancer, a cheerleader, or a musician,” Bazan said. “Especially now having the live orchestra back on our team, it’s really lovely to bond with all these people that you maybe don’t always see.”

The musical is the STC’s biggest production in terms of participation, bringing people from all aspects of the theater department into one project.

“It’s the only time during the school year that we’re all working on one project,” Bazan said.

“So, I think that my favorite part is that we’re all unified.”

Working collaboratively in rehearsals for the several weeks leading up to the first performance is what makes it worth it for many students, including senior Finnigan Alexander, who played Edward bloom alongside Griffan Yancy.

“My favorite part about musical season is the performing live,” Alexander said. “Performing itself has got to be my favorite bit just because you get to get up there on that stage and show everything you’ve been working toward for so long. It’s so rewarding.”

SINGING IN SHOCK AND AW: The Alabama Lambs dazzled the audience with their personality filled song and dance routine. However they didn’t just catch the audience’s attention as the lead singer Sandra Templeton played by Amelia Cook also caught the eye of young romantic Edward Bloom played by Finnegan Alexander. “At first Sandra starts out just trying to have fun with her friends, and then suddenly she meets her love interest,” Cook said. “I am a very emotional actor in the sense that I put myself in the perspective of my character, so trying to work through what my character would be feeling throughout the song while trying to sing was a challenge.” PHOTO BY Adriana Choueiry

ONE SMALL STEP FOR A GIANT: Zach Kohlmyer performing as Karl the giant wows the towns folk and the audience as well. The townsfolk forgo their previous judgments and accept Karl for what he is, tall and all. “I really liked being Karl the giant,” Kohlmyer said.

“It was fun walking on the stilts and getting to learn a new skill. I also just really liked the character of Karl the giant.” PHOTO BY Alex Edwards

WHO KNEW DAD HAD A SECRET HOUSE: Will Bloom played by Dylan Shahid-Russell discovers his father has a split mortgage on a house out of town, and is determined to find out what his father is hiding. He never believed in his fathers wild stories, but this house was proof of a real mystery surrounding his dad. “I approached my character Will Bloom with the understanding that he has a lot of questions,” Shahid-Russell said. “My character is very uncertain, very direct, and kind of broken.” PHOTO By Liberty Pittman

THE RINGMASTERS A WEREWOLF: Edward Bloom played by Finnigan Alexander discovered the wolfish nature of the circus head and confided in him about the potential love of his life. The ringmaster gives Edward crucial information allowing him to set out on an adventure to find the woman of his dreams. “You don’t know what’s gonna go wrong, but that’s part of the fun of it, getting to express all of the fun that you’ve had and all of the work that you’ve put in,”Alexander said. PHOTO BY Adriana Choueiry

7 FRIDAY, FEB. 16, 2024 THE DISPATCH

Aid the future with the ADE Foundation

Bowie family creates foundation to support children with cancer in remembrance of late son

LEAVING A LEGACY: The ADE Foundation was founded in 2023 by Bowie testing coordinator Wendy Escobedo, her husband Matt Escobedo, and their daughter Olivia Escobedo. It was founded following the death of their son in 2020, as a result of suicide, and strives to help children experiencing similar depression-related issues. PHOTOS COURTESY OF Wendy Escobedo

Kate Davis Editor-in-Chief

about how hard it is; it made us much more that his prognosis wasn’t good. We knew that helping others was really important to him. His understanding of each other and the people around us, and probably more accountable message was about his struggles and mental In 2010, Andrew Escobedo was diagnosed for our own feelings. It would have been health. So, we knew that we wanted to do with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) at something to bring positive change to kids who very easy to let all of these feelings overthree years old, and proceeded to undergo four whelm us, and impact everybody around have experienced all the things that Andrew years of chemotherapy. Following his diagnous. We could've fallen apart as a family. It experienced in his short life.” sis, Andrew lived in the Dell Children’s Blood would've been really easy, but I think theraOne of the fundamental reasons behind and Cancer Center for 25 days, undergoing py is what saved us.” the creation of the foundation was to fulfill treatment. Following that initial treatment, he The Escobedo family is aiming to use Andrew’s goal of helping others. continued to visit the cancer center multiple “No matter what it is kids are going through their grief to broadcast and honor Andrew's times each week to be treated, and took chestory. They want to use what they have in their life, whether it’s illness or trauma or motherapy drugs from home. The last year of learned from his life and his struggle to any of that, I think what Andrew would want his treatment included observation and blood support others who may be facing similar for them to know is that it’s okay to ask for work to ensure the cancer didn’t return. issues. help,” Wendy said. “That was his big thing. He “The treatment, it just became life, it be“It’s made me a lot more empathetic to really felt like he had a bigger mission. That’s came normal to him,” Andrew’s mother Wendy what he would tell us, ‘I’m just meant to do what kids are going through, and what peoEscobedo said. “His friends were a huge part of something else. I’m not supposed to be here, ple in general are going through,” Wendy his recovery, physically and emotionally. When said. “His passing makes me, Olivia, and I’m supposed to do something bigger.’ He just he beat cancer, we had a huge party. All of his Matt all want to be a little bit kinder, and had this need to make things better for people friends came, and there was a waterslide. It just let people know that, if they need to and I don’t think he knew how to do that. He was a big relief, and I think ask for help, then they need to ask for help, really wanted to make an impact. we felt like maybe we were And so I think telling his story, as and it’s okay to do that.. And it’s okay to do done. You don’t really think that. Andrew really wanted to make an imhard as it is, it's a really importabout the side effects that pact. Telling his story, as hard as it is, it's a ant thing to do, because I think go on once you’ve been really important thing to do, because I think it's what he would want us to A ndrew was so through an experience like it's what he would want us to do.” do.” smart, caring, and that. When we found out Although Andrew’s family has been Since its creation, The founhe beat cancer it was quite heavily impacted by his death, his legacy has dation has dedicated its efforts to wise.

I am forever joyous. Those were the best reach those outside his home. The commoney for its cause. The grateful for the time raising years of my life.” munity of friends he built around himself funds raised go to Doctor Beverly During the initial years continues to reflect on his loss and what it Bernal, a clinical psychologist at I spent with him. following his remission, means for them. the Dell Children’s Blood and Those that knew him Cancer Center, where Andrew Andrew created a tight“It's definitely made me think about, not knit group of close friends. only my own mental health, but about the was tested and treated. were truly lucky.

According to Wendy, these people around me too,” Campbell said. “It’s “She is the one who is able Olivia Escobedo friends were energetic, made me try to understand what others to address concerns with PTSD Andrew's Sister exciting, and risky; but they are going through, and think about it from and trauma when they start the were also big supporters a different point of view. You don't really treatment, instead of four years of Andrew's health and think about those struggles until someone later when they’re done,” Wendy happiness. close to you actually goes through that, and said. “For us, when Andrew was in treatment, “There was this one time when we were we were more focused on healing his body, and you see it firsthand. It’s definitely been a walking through the woods behind my house, very eye-opening experience.” not so focused on the mind. We thought he and there was a fence with metal spikes. He The ADE Foundawas young, so it wouldn’t impact tried to jump over it and cut his entire leg open him. Dr. Bernal is getting that tion is always accepting and had to get 20 stitches,” sophomore Kieron donations on their webearly intervention with kids who Campbell said. “Andrew was always up for any- are struggling, and I think that’s site, but they are also thing. Whenever we wanted to do something really impactful for the kids she’s Telling his story, as offering other opporhe’d want to do it too.” tunities for students to helping.” hard as it is, it's a Even with all of their reckless fun, Andrew's support the cause.

According to the American friends attest to his intelligence at his young “We had our first Cancer Society, PTSD can be the really important thing age. He was interested in the world around fundraiser this year in result of the pain from cancer, to do, because him, and had no problem exploring the topics November,” Wendy the medical treatments, and the that caught his attention. said. “We were really lengthy periods of time spent in I think it's what “He was a very intelligent, dedicated type to have a the hospital.

Andrew would want fortunate of person,” sophomore Luke Willmann said. lot of friends and a lot “Chemotherapy and radiation “He was always super interested in whatever of his friends, their affects the brain in ways we do not us to do. he was doing, and he got super into all the parents, family and a lot understand yet,” Olivia said. “It Wendy Escobedo things he was working on. He could take apart of our clients through also comes with many traumatic Testing Coordinator anything and put it back together and make business. I think we effects. I’m so glad that ADE has something new out of it.” raised around $170,000 helped to fund a full time psycholAs Andrew grew older, he began to presthat night between ogist so children and families in ent more symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress ticket sales and a live auction where we the hospital will now have the opportunity to Disorder (PTSD) and struggled with the effects talk about their mental health.” auctioned off pieces that were donated by of his treatment, which left him afraid for the local artists here in Austin. It was a really According to his family, Andrew’s mental future and grappling with the memories from fun night. It'll be an annual event, and that's health was greatly affected by the COVID-19 his time in the hospital. Those struggling with how we'll continue to fund this foundation pandemic.

PTSD, often face depression and anxiety, and every year. We hope that Dell Children's will Many people, students especially, suffered can experience nightmares, panic attacks, and absorb the position and start paying for the from the prolonged stress, inaction, and isounwanted intrusive thoughts. foundation. Then, we'll find another hospilation during the time spent in “It affected him drastital to expand to, or continue to give Dell's quarantine during the COVID-19 cally. I think it affected him money for another cause.” pandemic. According to his famto his very core,” Wendy Alongside the foundation’s notable imily, Andrew’s mental health was said. “He would mention pact on the Austin-area, the Escobedos' have greatly affected by this event, and Grief doesn't end that the lights in classrooms goals for goals for growing their program, to he struggled with the problems it were the same as in the in six months, or a placed on his mind. continue to support and honor those who hospital. The fixtures in need their help in the future.

“Andrew did well in therapy, year, or three years. the bathrooms, the flush “In the future, we would like to expand and we could see that it was on the toilet, they were all It stays with you the program that we are pioneering with benefiting him. However when the same; even the cleaning Dell right now,” Wendy said. “So, eventuCOVID hit, it seemed that we forever and I think supplies smelled the same. ally, we’d like to see that program spread were back at square one,” Olivia It affected everything he did, it's important to talk said. “Andrew and I became the to other children's hospitals in Texas, and and it scared him. Things hopefully nationwide. We like having a closest we’ve ever been over about it. feel scarier when you’re clinical psychologist on staff to work with COVID, because the isolation young and you’re faced with the kids, so that they can focus on mental was extremely hard for him. I Wendy Escobedo life and death. Then he got health as a part of the overall treatment for could see that he was trying so Testing Coordinator to be 13 and his brain grew each and every one of the kids.” hard, but the mental strain was old enough to realize what Having witnessed the effects that poor still too much to battle.” been through, and it really mental health can have on children, the EscAndrew’s death has greatly impacted scared him.” obedos encourage others to seek support. his family, friends, and those who surround In 2020, Andrew died by suicide at age 13.

“I just want kids to know that the him. His struggles with mental health have This event inspired the creation of the ADE resources are out there,” Wendy said. “Even inspired them to focus more on their own Foundation, which focuses on his legacy. The if they have all the resources, and they're mental health. They are continuing the fight foundation was established in October of 2023 still struggling, I want them to understand that Andrew started, honoring his memory by

by Wendy, a Bowie testing coordinator, her that their experiences might be affecting remembering his life and caring for their own. husband Matt Escobedo, and their daughter them. They shouldn't hesitate to seek out “Our family is in therapy, all three of us Olivia Escobedo, a former Bowie student. help when they need it; Andrew would want still regularly attend therapy and it’s important “We decided to create the foundation them to know that it's okay to ask for help if to us,” Wendy said. “Grief doesn't end after when Andrew was still in the hospital on life six months, or a year, or three years. It stays they need it.” ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUsupport,” Wendy said. “At that point, we knew with you forever. And it’s important to talk TIONS BY Mazzy Warren

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Reach out for help:

Crisis Text Line

Text HOME to 741741

Teen Line

Text TEEN to 839863 Call 800-852-8336

Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Call or Text 988

Austin Travis County Integral Care 512-472-4357

Contact your Bowie Counselor by your last name

A-Ca - Hunter Ruffin Ce-Fri - Brian Wennberg Fro-J - Laura Rodriguez K-Mik - April Giuffre Mil-Reg - Kim Gilbert Reh-Ta - Sheldyn Miller Te-Z - Nicole Hepburn Wellness Counselor - Kimberly Shaheen

To support children diagnosed with cancer: Donate to Dell Children's Blood and Cancer Center Participate in toy drives for children at Dell Children's Volunteer at the Dell Children's Hospital Donate to the ADE Foundation TO VISIT THE DELL CHILDREN'S WEBSITE

TO VISIT THE ADE FOUNDATION WEBSITE

IN-DEPTH 9

8 IN-DEPTH

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, FEB. 16, 2024

FRIDAY, FEB. 16, 2024 THE DISPATCH

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

CONCERNED ABOUT CRUELTY? Call local authorities at 3-1-1 or 512-974-2000

Captive whales and dolphins typically have less than 0.0001% of their natural habitat range.

ART BY Mazzy Warren

Students encourage respect for their animals in the face of longstanding industrial cruelty

Contact the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals at 214-742-7744

Mazzy Warren Editor-in-Chief

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SOURCE World Animal Protection

280+ CHIMPANZEES

ART BY Mazzy Warren SOURCE Humane Society

are still waiting to be moved out of labs and into sanctuaries...

Wild dolphin calves typically wait three to six years before separating from their mothers...

ended in 2015.

Amusement

SO UR C

X

Money

Animals may be mistreated for economic gain, which is most commonly seen in fighting operations.

Apathy

A basic level of callousness towards animals can lead to ignorance of their value as sentient creatures.

cats other animals ART BY Mazzy Warren SOURCE National Library of Medicine

participants believe animals experience thoughts and feelings

67%

SO UR C

participants believe animal experimentation is always wrong

ce an ta ES

$

Misunderstandings of humane and proper care for animals is especially common in cases of neglect.

94%

ce an ta ES

?

Ignorance

dogs

ART BY Mazzy Warren SOURCE World Animal Protection

Some people will attack animals for entertainment and “shock value.”

This is most common in youths.

Unmanaged emotions like anger, fear, and rage can result in harmful behaviour taken out on animals.

% cruelty cases are committed against

six months old.

SOURCE Colorado LINK Project

CRUELTY IN SCIENCE

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...While captive animals can be separated as early as

COMMON MOTIVATIONS FOR ACTS OF ANIMAL ABUSE

Anger

ELIMINATING CRUELTY

CRUELTY IN ENTERTAINMENT

...even though US experiments on chimpanzees

ART BY Mazzy Warren

3D bio-printing, robotics, and computer models; of ourselves that we’ve grown apart from. The poaching, which is the illegal trade and hunt of they are also exploring the possibility of using hutreatment they’re given; it’s unacceptable. It’s wild animals, especially rare or exotic ones. man cells, tissues, and organs in testing. Despite not okay to hold them in small cages, and to beat “Animal lives are being dedicated to one spemounting concerns against animal testing, the scithem for training, especially if it’s for our own cific thing, one item,” Platt said. “When it comes With Cash barking at her feet, senior Amelia entific community is reluctant to change, as they entertainment. Yes, they are animals but they still to fashion, we just see money signs; industry deOlivas picks Mochi up off her shoulder and places have relied on such models as the have lives just as important as ours.” mand for certain skins influences the bearded dragon back in his enclosure. She “default method” for testing and There is documented evidence of handlers how we go about getting it. Peosmiles as she passes her snake, Salazar, and opens research for decades. Old habits physically abusing animals in their training regple are just trying to make quick the door for Cash to follow her outside, where hard, Early understands, but iments; they use whips, muzzles, electric prods, money, and that rarely leads to If you want to show die she’s going to check on her lamb, King. Stepping he is excited to see the different bull-hooks, and starvation to punish their “perwhat’s best for the animal.” around her heifer Fancy and steer Ken, she grins ways the scientific community formers.” Additionally, animals are often separatOlivas believes that conyour care for your at her chickens and promises to come back later might grow beyond these habits. ed from their families, or are bred in captivity and sumers need to learn to match animal, research with feed.

“New alternatives are very sold to parks for more breeding; all of which is their outfits to their values. To She loves her animals, and she can’t imagine technology heavy, which can be detrimental to their emotional development. avoid going out of fashion, she what they need to ever treating them cruelly or unfairly. It hurts her good for statistical-analytical data, “Animals’ emotional state is important, not believes everyone should look thrive; it’s about to know that animal cruelty can be so prevalent so we can better organize the only to their happiness but to the length of their at the critical issues concerning among capitalistic enterprises in America; she results and perform less testing,” life,” Platt said. “Sometimes in zoos, you can tell animal welfare in the industry, taking the time to wants to encourage consumers to be educated and that the animals seem really depressed, because Early said. “Artificial Intelligence and to make an informed decision care for them. considerate in their support of these industries. is a very mixed blessing, because they’re in such small, unnatural environments while shopping. She encourages “To those who mistreat your animals– how nobody knows what it will be in that don’t match their needs. It’s definitely an isresearch into company policies on Madeleine Rains is your cruelty helping you? Does hitting that the future. They might be able to sue that could be improved, and it plays a big role trading in leather, wool, silk, fur, Senior animal, or starving that animal, help your end create a full-blown human with in the quality of their lives.” and exotic animal skins. goal in any way?” Olivas said. “The answer is some sort of DNA 100 years in the According to the ALDF, there are few legal “My policy is, use every single always no. I know people will get frustrated with future; I don’t see it happening protections for animals in zoos, circuses, movies, part of the animal,” Olivas said. their animals, but you just have to understand right now, but it could very well be a possible, or amusement parks, and the few protections “I eat meat, I wear leather; but I don’t support that mistreatment won’t solve any problems. If interesting experimental tool.” that have been established are often unenforced. the businesses that use their animals unethically the animals are happy, in good health, and in good Fortunately, senior FFA Vice President Charles and irresponsibly. You need to know where the care, then you will be happy too.”

Early and Olivas both believe that animal misproducts you’re buying are coming from, that’s a treatment is decreasing in movies and TV shows. priority.”

Animal trainers and handlers are regularly hired Olivas loves her animals. To show her appreciato take care of four-legged actors; when it comes tion for them, she finds the things they like to do; to performance, Early especially values protecting Cash loves treats, and while Fancy and Ken love and displaying natural behaviors. scratches, King prefers to go on walks with her.

According to the Humane Society International “Often, with domesticated animals, you can let According to Olivas, who is president of BowOlivas enjoys doing these activities, not only be(HSI), the term “animal testing” refers to prothem behave naturally,” Early said.

“If the movie ie’s Future Farmers of America (FFA) organizacause it makes them happy, but because she feels cedures performed on living animals for biologis centered on an animal, then that animal should tion, there is a fine balance between education their bond grow with these affectionate actions. ical, medicinal, and safety research for industry behave like an animal, not like an and cruelty. She loves nonprofit “Whether they love playing, or exploring, or products like cosmetics, household cleaners, food actor. Otherwise, it’s not a good organizations, which tend to getting treats, I’ll figure it out so I can reward additives, drugs, and industrial chemicals. movie, and nobody should be focus on education and wildlife them with what they love,” Olivas said. “If they “While animal testing does help us advance watching it.” protection, and not on profiting do something for me, I’ll do something for them. our research, there’s right and wrong ways to go Early believes education is from animal entertainers. UnforIf you cannot If they treat me well and make me happy, then I about it, and often animals are unfairly selectcrucial to preventing animal abuse tunately, not all animal projects want to do the same things for them.” ed for testing,” Platt said. “Researchers need to do something in entertainment.

Instead of zoos, are as positive as these.

Rains suggests education and research as the make sure, if they’re trying to find new medicines marine parks, or circuses, visit “I love publicly funded zoos, humanely, you best methods to love animals. Websites like the for us, that they handle their animals with care. animal sanctuaries; instead of and I know their animals are Animal Foundation, the Best Friends Animal Animal experimentation probably isn’t going to shouldn’t be doing watching movies and shows that treated well,” Olivas said. “Prigo away, so it ultimately needs to be adapted to be Society, and the American Kennel Club all offer use live animals, watch those that vate zoos are a different story; it at all. There is no information relevant to pet owners who want to more practical and humane.” use CGI or other technology for they are often just lions, tigers, better understand and provide for their critters.

Activists believe that most procedures, even excuse to be cruel their animals.

He suggests boycotand other wild animals, sitting in “Be very connected to your vet, because your those classified as “mild,” have the potential to ting businesses that profit from a cage in someone’s backyard. I to animals. vet will know exactly what your pet needs to be cause animals severe physical and mental pain. cruelty to animals, and finding don’t want to put for-profit monhappy and healthy,” Rains said. “A professional Animals can be subject to force-feeding, forced other outlets to enjoy time with Amelia Olivas ey into that, because they aren’t will give you the best information, for the best inhalation, and injection for chemical exposure in these creatures; Olivas agrees. based around education, and they FFA President way to take care for your animal. If you really toxicity testing.

They are often exposed to drugs, “If you cannot do something often have awful standards of want to show that you care about your animal, chemicals, or infectious diseases at levels that humanely, you shouldn’t be doing care.” take the time to research what they need to thrive; cause illness, distress, or death; this mirrors the it at all,” Olivas said. “If someone is acting cruelly, FFA Sponsor Kathryn Platt believes the topic It’s about you knowing that you take the time to infliction of wounds, burns, and other injuries to kick them out.

There is no excuse to be cruel comes with many misconceptions, especially love and bond with them.” study healing.

Researchers also impose other mato animals, they should be kind and learn how when it comes to the livestock industry. Animals If someone witnesses suspected animal cruelty, nipulations to create “animal models” of human to train them well, without having to put force play a huge role in Platt’s life, and she believes in they are encouraged to call 3-1-1 to report the diseases, ranging from cancer, to stroke, to depresthe importance of promoting love and compassion behind it.” incident; “cruelty” includes improper care violasion. It always ends the same, though: killing for these creatures; that’s why she highlights the tions like tethering, hoarding, and not providing by carbon dioxide asphyxiation, neck-breaking, difference between fighting for animal rights, and food, water, and shade. It can also include physical decapitation, or other means. fighting for animal welfare. abuse and major neglect. Animal cruelty investi“Companies should be treating their testing “Animal rights activists believe the animals gations are handled by the Austin Police Departanimals in the best way possible,” Early said. “If Stepping into the outlet store in the mall, have the same rights as us, and they don’t think ment. animal testing facilities were to follow that expecRains looks around at the products on display. In animals should be used for anything in human “Animals are here for a reason, and that is not tation, they wouldn’t cause as much harm as they one store sits a mannequin, dolled up in a suede production, at all,” Platt said. “Our FFA falls more skirt and a gray cashmere sweater, paired with a to misuse them,” Early said. “Their comfort is currently do. There are better and more efficient under animal welfare, because we focus more on really, really important, because what does hurting ways to test, you can still use silk scarf and lambskin Uggs, all of the animal’s needs, doing everything we can to an animal do to help them, or to help you? You animals, but we have to draw which is layered under a fur-trimmed make sure they have a good life, instead of giving have to understand that you are meant to work a line between saving human coat. While it’s no secret that these them the same rights as people. Welfare is more with them, and be ethical with them. At the end lives and unethically ending materials come from live animals, sustainable, especially as more people beThere are better of the day, they will be slaughtered, so you want animal lives.” this fact is commonly overlooked in come educated on proper care for their them to live a good life while they have it. Their Although Olivas doesn’t the face of normalization, marketing ways to test. We animals.” comfort is just as important as ours, because how support the lack of ethics in devices, and the appeal of the final According to the Animal have to draw a line animal testing, she believes would we feel if we were in their position? Not product. According to Collective Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), being comfortable, not getting cared for?” it is a necessary evil; for her, Fashion Justice (CFJ), millions of between saving animals-turned-entertainers lead Bowie FFA members believe it is not only imthe good outweighs the bad, wild animals suffer through exploitamiserable lives that rid them of human lives and portant to protect animals, but it’s also important as such experiments can save tion and slaughter for the benefit the stimulus that supports their to reciprocate the love they offer to their owners. human lives. Despite possible of certain fashion brands each year, unethically ending complex physical, behavioral, To do so, Early encourages owners to take care ethical issues, the scientific as they continue to ignore more and emotional needs. Senior animal lives. community agrees that animal humane options. of them: feed them healthy food, give them lots Madeleine Rains appreciates experimentation is a long-held “We’ve really moved farther apart of exercise, and take them to the vet for regular animals for the unique Charles Early standard that won’t be going from nature, and because of that, checkups. Olivas encourages people to enjoy and perspectives they give FFA Vice President away anytime soon. Despite most people don’t think about where pamper their pets: take a few extra minutes to on humanity; travel, this, Rains hopes to see altertheir clothes come from,” Rains said. cuddle, let them play with other animals, and confinement, and forced “If companies come from a humane natives to this practice. give them extra treats. Cherish every moment performance deprive “It’s a really difficult subject, because we do standpoint while selling leather and wool items, spent with these animals. They know how much wild animals of the need animals for research and science, but at the and if we have shops promoting that kind of humans love them, and view their owners as the singular worldview same time, they’re being held captive, they are openness, we can call out the companies that are world on which they live, thrive, and love. that Rains loves so often mistreated, and they’re being subject to acting cruelly.”

“Animals shouldn’t be mistreated. Ideally, they much. exploitation for their entire lives,” Rains said. “It In a study conducted by CFJ, titled Cruelty is get disciplined; they get rewarded; they under“I really appreciate Out of Fashion, researchers found that as much as is highly cruel. I think, when we are performing stand, they learn, and they get better,” Early said. animals because they drug trials, they should transition away from 95% of all fur sold in the fashion industry comes “It’s all about how your animal walks with you have a very different from wild animals that are bred in and confined to live animals and begin testing on tissue cultures, and how you walk with your animal. You just have sense of everything cages for the entirety of their lives. The most com- simply to save more animals from painful illnesses to find that bond. They are curious little creatures, around us,” Rains monly exploited animals are mink, foxes, chinchil- and side-effects.” and this world is complex. We just have to spend said. “They connect The National Research Council hopes for a fulas, and raccoon dogs, whose fur is used to make time with them and love them, because animals to nature more, and ture in which scientists rely on alternatives to ancoats, boot trims, pom-poms, and other products. were created for humans, and humans were they show us parts imal experimentation, using artificial intelligence, Platt believes this practice could be equated to created for animals.”

USED FOR FOOD

USED FOR CLOTHING

CRUELTY IN FASHION

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LOOKING FOR A NEW FRIEND? AUSTIN PETS ALIVE

USED FOR EXPERIMENTATION

A no-kill animal shelter that pioneers programs designed save animals from euthanasia

USED FOR ENTERTAINMENT

ART BY Mazzy Warren

ART BY Mazzy Warren

Address: 1156 West Caesar Chavez Website: austinpetsalive.org Contact: (512) 964-9651

AUSTIN HUMANE SOCIETY A non-profit that focuses on care, education, and emergency response.

Address: 124 West Anderson Ln. Website: austinhumanesociety.org Contact: (512) 646-7387

10 SPORTS

A

THE DISPATCH FEB. 16, 2024

THLETES SSERT

Lady ‘Dawgs dominate district led by senior guard Micah Walton Point Guard Questions? Concerns? Email:

bowie.journalism@gmail.com

To say that we’ve come along way throughout the course of the season would be a major understatement. From fall ball in September to February playoffs, we’ve excelled beyond what was expected of us.

At the beginning of our season in November, head coaches in our district ranked all nine teams and their expected outcomes, sort of like an NCAA AP poll. We were projected to finish in fourth, just barely making a playoff spot.

Now, we ended up finishing second in district, while contending for first place with Westlake, one of the most competitive teams in the state. We even managed to split the season series, as we beat Westlake at home after losing to them earlier in the year.

After a successful 202223 season, we graduated 13 seniors. Nyla Anderson and I were the only returning Varsity players this year. The majority of our district thought that our team would fall off due to the fact that we would have to rebuild our program from the ground up, but that only made us better.

To become a winning team, we knew that we had to lock into the talent that we knew we had and pair it with unmatched effort. At the very start of the season, we established that with these two traits are paired, we could become unbeatable.

We also established that to be great on the court, you have to be great off of it. Encouragement and effort is a must for us.

I’ve never been on a team that has loved each other this much, we’re all genuinely best friends, and this team means everything to me. We set aside time to hang out with each other at our own free will, and I feel like a lot of teams lack that bond, or there’s cliques within a team that make it divided.

Another thing that we’ve emphasized throughout our winning season is confidence.

We don’t allow arrogance on our team, but we do instill confidence in ourselves and others because we all believe in each other.

We trust each others capabilities, which only strengthens us. When someone makes a mistake, we all do. When someone does something great, we’re the first to celebrate it.

We’ve definitely had our rough patches during the season, but what we’ve always done is learned from our mistakes. Mistakes aren’t excusable or dismissed when made, but they are made up for with effort.

Mistakes and lessons led us to where we are now, contending for first place in district and our first playoff win in years.

Playoffs start soon, and we’re scheduled to play Vandergrift, the third seed in our bi-district in the first round. I have no doubt that we have the talent and the character to not only beat Vandergrift, but also to make a deep run this year. *Have a sports opinion or story you want to share? Contact bowie. journalism@gmail.com to be the next feature columnist.

SCAN TO SEE MORE!

VIDEO BY Austin Ikard

Para-athlete swims for ‘Dawgs

Freshman Kate Alexander is aiming to compete in the 2032 Paralympics Ben Tillisch Executive Editor: Sports As the starting pistol sounds, ringing across the water and echoing throughout the arena, freshman Kate Alexander explodes through the air, cutting the surface tension of the water like a knife. Swimming hard, Alexander carves through the pool.

25 yards later, Alexander gracefully pushes off the opposite wall and makes the turn.

Hearing the shouts of encouragement from her teammates and coaches, Alexander wills herself to swim faster as she closes in on the finish line.

Reaching forward, Alexander touches the wall of the pool, emerging to find that in her first Bob Stallings Aggieland Invitational she managed to record a personal best of 35.73 seconds in the 50 yard freestyle competition.

“I always set a goal for myself,” Alexander said. “It’s always an exciting thing to improve, whether it be beating someone else or recording a new personal best time. It gives me motivation to keep going.

At the same time though, I try to relax and remind myself that it’s not the end of the world if I don’t swim my best race.”

Alexander first began swimming when she was eight years old. Since then, the freshman swimmer has competed in a number of races, including freestyle, fly, backstroke, and breaststroke in various competitions.

“It really helps me with my confidence, and it brings me joy like every time I do it,” Alexander said. “For me, swimming is like an escape from reality, especially if I’m having a rough day. It makes me stronger and makes me happy.”

Unlike many of her competitors though, in 2021, Alexander was diagnosed with a form of peripheral neuropathy known as Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT), a hereditary nerve disease that impacts muscle control.

“It’s been hard to swim because I’m swimming against

KICKING HARD: Freshman Kate Alexander swims the backstroke race. Alexander holds a personal best time of one minute and 46 seconds in the 100 meter backstroke. PHOTO COURTESY OF Kate Alexander

able bodied people, when I’m the only disabled swimmer in most competitions,” Alexander said. “So, it’s been hard, but I’ve accepted who I am, and I’ve learned to set my own goals, while also competing with other swimmers.”

Despite CMT, Alexander continues to swim competitively. In December 2023, Alexander had the privilege of competing against the fastest para-swimmers in the country at the U.S. Paralympics Swimming National Championships in Orlando, Florida.

“Swimming has definitely made me feel more confident throughout my entire life,” Alexander said. “It shows that I’m capable of doing things and it gives me a lot of motivation.

Overall, it improves my self-esteem, partly because of having such supportive teammates and coaches.”

At the Paralympics National Championships, Alexander raced formidable competition,

inspiring.” including collegiate para-swimIn her most successful race mers, in six different categories at the National of various Championlengths and ships, Alexanstrokes. Freshder finished man Logan 14th overall in Jones details Kate’s positive the 100 meter Alexander’s outlook and attitude butterfly with mentality that time one propelled her influence her life in all aminute and to the pinnacle areas. The glass is 45 seconds. of para-swimming in Ameralways half full with Throughout the 2023 fall ica. her, and she can season, Jones “Kate experienced doesn’t let achieve anything. first hand the her disability immense dedihold her back Chloe Carr cation of Alexand she never Kate’s Swim Coach ander that led stops working to her national hard,” Jones success in the 100 meter Fly. said. “Seeing the effort and “Kate has a great ability to positivity she puts into every take criticism and focus on it swim makes you want to try and make it better,” Jones said. harder. It’s tough after a hard “She is a very determined perrace to keep the positive energy son and it’s always inspiring to and not pass negative energy to see someone with that quality. your peers, but Kate is always Her positive attitude and deterin a good mood and is always mination will take her far.” ready for what comes next, it’s

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In preparation for the National Championships, Bowie head coach Carr has integrated Alexander into multiple meets to help Alexander continue to improve. In order to do so, coach Carr has adjusted to the freshman’s CMT. “Coaching a para-swimmer means working with the swimmer, as I do with all swimmers,” Carr said. “Working with Kate has been a breeze.

She’s great at advocating for herself, and we’ve built much trust. She knows what she needs and knows she can tell me, and I will understand and respect her needs.”

As a student-athlete, Alexander is responsible for balancing her educational and swimming commitments. According to Carr though, Alexander’s uplifting attitude allows her to be impactful in all of her activities.

“Kate’s positive outlook and attitude influence her life in all areas,” Carr said. “The glass is always half full with her, and she can achieve anything. She is always working hard to be successful in and out of the pool. She always supports and encourages the swimmers, and she uplifts the team with her light.”

Having attended the 2023 National Championships, Alexander’s next target is the 2032 Paralympics in Australia, where she hopes to represent the United States. However, Alexander also has other goals she aims to achieve presently and in the coming years.

“I’m trying to spread awareness,” Alexander said. “I want the Paralympics to be more popular because I know there’s a ton of other people with disabilities out there who don’t think they belong in their sport.

But, everybody’s a person and there’s a path for everyone. I think if people like that can find the para-athletic world, they would feel much more comfortable and they would be around people more like them. So, I want to promote it and share with the world more about para-athletics.”

Freshman twins making an impact on the court Caroline Baxter Sports Writer

Driving the ball down the court, freshman Daniella Williams scans the court, searching for an open teammate.

Williams handles the ball confidently, skillfully shielding the ball from her defender.

Finally, Williams fires the ball into freshman Danica Williams, her twin sister, who found space on the wing. In one motion, Danica catches the ball and smoothly rises into her shooting motion. With complete faith in her twin’s ability, Daniella begins the jog back to defense before the ball has even hit the bottom of the net. She knows that Danica has drilled the shot.

“What I enjoy most is being able to play with Danica,” Daniella said. “It’s like a different level of connection between us and it’s really easy to play with each other.”

Danica and Daniella are one of three underclassmen, and the only two freshmen on varsity. The twins take after their older brother, Darius Williams, a senior point guard, who has been played for the varsity ‘Dawgs since his sophomore year.

“Since our older brother played basketball since he was little and we used to always go to his games, I was inspired to be like him,” Danica said. “So, I started playing. We started off playing in elementary school and in i9 Sports.”

Even though Danica and Daniella are twins, they have opposite strengths and positions on the court. Their bond still always attributes to the benefit of one another.

“I play as a three most of the time,” Danica said. “And Daniella usually is the one handling the ball and bringing it up the court on offense. She is very good at driving to the basket with her left hand.”

Because of their complimentary talent, the twins have helped the Lady ‘Dawgs solidify their spot in the playoffs. Sophomore teammate Grace Guzman points out the immediate impact Daniella and Danica have made.

“They both are always playing at

COMING UP IN SPORTS:

super high intensity and never seem to get tired,” Guzman said. “They keep the team in good spirits even when we aren’t winning or in the best of moods.”

The Lady ‘Dawgs concluded their season in second place in district play with a 14-2 record. This success, according to Danica, stems from the work ethic expected of varsity players.

“It is definitely very hard and tiring,” Danica said. “There is a lot of running involved. We have practice every first period and sometimes in the morning and afternoon. It can be a lot to balance outside activities because we seem to always be at basketball.”

Along with high school basketball, Danica and Daniella both compete on teams in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) division outside of school. They also train with private coaches when they can to get better.

“We have AAU, which is extra training, when we don’t have high school,” Danica said. “It is usually every day, but right now during high school season we only practice during the weekends.

We also go to the gym to workout after school.”

Even with the strenuous work needed to be a part of the team, Danica and Daniella believe it is beneficial they play together. They believe it helps them understand the runs of play to help them win.

“It is always great to play with each other because we have a relationship no one else has,” Daniella said. “I’ve only ever played two games without Danica, so it will be very weird if we end up going to completely different colleges in a few years.”

Playing Division 1 is the pinnacle of collegiate athletics. Danica and Daniella both have aspirations to reach this level.

“I would love to play college basketball just because of how much I love this sport,” Danica said. “I don’t really mind what division I play in but I would always prefer to play Division 1.”

Despite only being a freshman, Danica and Daniella have both gained varsity experience needed to compete at the next level. However, they’re only one year removed from middle school

GETTING A STEAL: Freshman Daniella Williams attempts to steal the ball from the opposing guard. Daniella is one of two freshman on varsity. PHOTO BY Adriana Choueiry

and have seen first-hand the difference in levels of play.

“High school basketball is totally different from middle school basketball,” Daniella said. “We do a lot of harder things and we pay a lot more attention to actually playing rather than learning the basics.”

As a freshman, Daniella believes there is more pressure to perform and meet expectations. This being said, the Lady ‘Dawgs house a positive environment needed to effectively integrate underclassmen.

“My teammates cheering me on that calms me down when I get nervous,” Daniella said. “They just tell me it’s okay if I mess up and that I’ll get it next time. This helps me not dwell on it for too long.”

Along with stress from being on the court, it can also be very hard to balance being a dedicated athlete and a hard-

working student. Danice and Daniella are both responsible for maintaining passing grades to be eligible to play, which creates a heavy workload for the twins.

“It is hard trying to find time to study because of our basketball schedule,” Danica said. “I usually have to do my homework either really late at night or find time during the school day to complete it.”

In preparation for their first round playoff game against Vandergrift, the twins attribute the seasonal success of the Lady’ Dawgs to team chemistry.

“It is super fun that we get to play with people we know and that we’re close with,” Daniella said. “We all get along super well and the team chemistry really helps us win our games. I will miss them when they leave for college before us.”

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SPORTS 11

FRIDAY, FEB. 16, 2024 THE DISPATCH

Star emerging for Bowie track & field

Junior Owen Langdon has been a key contributer to the Bulldogs’ track squad this year Sam Vane Sports Editor

Because Langdon plays football and track, he has to train differently following the football season in order to prepare for track.

Junior Owen Langdon is waiting at the turn.

“During football season I really just train for His hands sweating, heart pounding, waiting for strength and speed,” Langdon said. “I don’t care the baton to enter his grasp before he can take about my running form when on the football off. He feels the baton hit his hand and runs like field. So, when the season ends and track starts the wind passing everyone around him, giving I have to relearn some of my running form so the Bulldogs a key lead in the race. This is what I can run better in meets which is really tough Langdon has done time and time again for Bowie because I’ll be so used to running one way and and he is looking to continue his success this then I have to change my entire form in only a year. couple weeks.”

Langdon has been running track since seventh Langdon’s coach, Brandon Pittman, has been grade, allowing him to perfect his skills and form around track his entire life. This season will be over time his 23rd year coaching track. Pittman’s knowl“I really did it to help with football because I edge has helped Langdon in his track career. would be able to become faster and stronger for “Coach Pittman is a really good coach,” football,” Langdon said, “But then I really took Langdon said. “He’s done a lot for a liking to track and started me as a runner and really helps taking it more seriously.” with my training and getting me Langdon runs multiple racto take that next step in track to es, including the 4x400m and become really good.”

L angdon sets the 110 hurdles. Since Langdon is a The Bulldogs lost a lot of taldual sport athlete, his training pace of all of us and ent last year according to Coach time in the relay race is limited, Langdon, a returner to pushes us to be the Pittman. however his teammate, junior the squad from last year, has had Xander Pratt, has been training best we can. He’s to step up not only as a runner, with Langdon for several years, but as a leader. really become a helping to compensate for the “He’s been encouraging guys lack of time. leader this year and to come to practice which helps “I’ve known Langdon since a lot,” Pittman said. “The thing we can all see it.

I was ten,” Pratt said. “It helps with track is we have so many that I already know his habits athletes that also play other Xander Pratt like how he hands off the baton sports, so we don’t often get to be Varsity Track & Field runner and how fast he tends to run.” together for practice and LangPratt and Langdon have don being able to get everyone to always had a friendly rivalry come to practice together really between them, which help push them to improve helps us with chemistry and team flow.” their race times Pratt has also noticed Langdon’s emergence “We’re both competitors and we always want as a leader, helping the team aim for new heights to be faster than each other,” Pratt said. “It really for this season. helps us cause we are both training to be better “He’s really become a good leader for us and and it’s fun to compete with him.” it pushes us to all be better,” Pratt said. “I think This lifelong friendship between Pratt and he’s helped us a ton with training and staying Langdon has helped them tremendously, allowpositive about the season and getting ready for ing both to be in the top four for the Bulldogs it.”

4x400m.

Typically in track the fastest person in the re“Getting to run with Langdon is really fun lay is the last person, also known as the anchor. because since we’ve known each other for so Coach Pittman takes a different approach placing long everything is like second nature,” Pratt said. his fastest runner, Langdon, in the second spot.

“It really helps the team and everyone run better “A lot of people wait and put their fastest when you have known them for so long. It feels runner on the anchor, but a lot of times the race like a family.”

"

THE MAD DASH: Junior Owen Langdon practices sprints, during track practice. Racing against fellow sprinters Langdon starts off strong. PHOTO BY Nick Wood

OFF THE BLOCKS: Junior sprinter Owen Langdon bursts out of the blocks during practice. Langdon focuses on a strong launch to give him a good start in his races. PHOTO BY Nick Wood

could be over by then and then all of a sudden he’s having to pull from behind,” Pittman said.

“So, if you put him on that second leg, you can lengthen your lead a little bit and it makes the race a lot easier for the other guys because they aren’t trailing.”

Langdon thought he was going to be running anchor this year, however Pittman’s philosophy has gave Langdon a new perspective.

“I was really surprised,” Langdon said. “When he said I was running second I was confused but the more I thought about it it made more sense for me to run second and I trusted coach to put me in the best position to succeed and give the team the best shot to win.”

Pittman believes that being a dual-sport athlete has helped Langdon greatly and is a big reason why he is as good as he is.

“The lifting during football season is key because one of the fastest ways to improve your speed is to get strong,” Pittman said. “So, I think the lifting part of it and then just the mental toughness part of football really helps as well.”

Langdon’s season last year was cut short due to injury. This devastated Pittman who has really made it a priority this season to keep Langdon healthy.

“Last year Langdon came up short for making state in the hurdles because he got injured right at the end,” Pittman said. “What we’re looking for this year is just for him to stay healthy and be 100 percent going into the most important parts of the season.”

Langdon has always wanted to run track in college. However, according to Langdon there are improvements to be made in order to get an offer.

“I want to try to stick to running but I will have to do some field stuff if I want to run in college,” Langdon said. “I’ll probably do pole vaulting, triple jump, or long jump.”

Pittman has bigger expectations for Langdon outside of this season or even in high school, as he believes Langdon has the ability to continue to run at the next level.

“Langdon is definitely able to run track somewhere in college,” Pittman said. “I think he’s got a really good chance and he’s already looked really good this year.”

Because Langdon and Pratt have been running track together for so long, Pratt is considering the possibility that they will be teammates in college.

“That would be awesome,” Pratt said. “Since I’ve known him for basically my entire track career it would be really cool to continue to run together in college.”

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12 ENTERTAINMENT

Bowie celebrates fine arts programs THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, FEB. 16, 2024

We Love Austin Music Initiative turns heads in the cafeteria during a week-long event Lucy Johnson Entertainment Editor

participate in these daily performances. Teachers communicated with their students about the opportunity to As guitars are tuned and drums perform in the cafeteria to showcase are tested, the cafeteria buzzes with their electives. student chatter. Students and teachers “Our band directors told us that collaborated to put on the We Love the band was going to kick off the Austin Music Showcase. Through week with some jazz combos, and collaboration amongst the fine arts since none of the other saxophones programs, students from each elective wanted to do it, I decided to participerform a practiced piece to the rest of pate,” senior Layth Rafati said. the student body during lunch hour in Participants were notified of the the cafeteria. Students were presented showcase and had only a tiny amount with jazz combos, live piano solos, of time to prepare. However, students sing-along karaoke, and dancing. and teachers quickly set up instru“We Love Austin Music is an ments, speakers, amps, and microinitiative by the city of Austin, but it phones. is really through non-profits like Texas “We weren’t given a ton of time Cultural Trust, Austin Music Founto prepare for only a couple of days,” dation, and Kane TX radio station,” Rafati said. “In that time, someone music theory and piano teacher Randy in our group recommended 2nd Line, Cantu said. which some people might recognize; The week-long performances allow it’s pretty easy to throw together, students in these and it was pretty easy programs to show to fit a couple of solo off their skills and SCAN FOR MORE! sections in as well.” experience playing Even with quick music for a live preparation time, paraudience. ticipants still enjoyed “We love Austin performing alongside Music Week, is the their friends and puteffort of the Texas ting on a show for the Cultural Trust to audience. bring awareness to “I jumped on the the art and music opportunity to help VIDEO BY Reagan Tso programs specificalwith the choir spirit ly on our campusday,” senior Laura es,” Cantu said. “We Schulze said. “It was fun seeing everyhope that one day, schools all around one get excited about singing songs will be doing this.” and hearing their friends sing.”

The fine arts programs hope that by A sense of community and positivexposing other students to these elecity fills the cafeteria when students tives, more students will be inclined watch their peers perform their to partake in the programs and explore small performances. Many students different musical pathways at Bowie. say they enjoy this different type of “A big part of this event is the background entertainment, making involvement of the student body and their lunch period more enjoyable and their leadership,” Cantu said. “It has kickback-filled. been cool seeing people come out and “I think this was good for morale ask, ‘Hey, can we talk about this photo on campus,” junior Emma McMillian and this video.’” said. “These pieces of fun entertainThe execution of the activities rement switched up the school environquired a lot of coordination and planment and made the cafeteria a more ning. The participating students, their lively place.” teachers, and staff helped showcase The event’s first two days consisted the events, which paid off as many of the guitar and live music program, students enjoyed the performances. orchestra, and piano electives. Start“It was a matter of having a coning the week off with the jazz band, versation with the music teachers participants set the tone for the rest of about their interest and availability the week. for these events to take place,” Cantu “I enjoyed the first two days as it said. “This also goes for the students was more background music,” junior and whether or not they wanted to Emma McMillian said. “I particularly participate.” liked the jazz band. I could still hear Students volunteered their time to

ALL EYES ON THE MUSIC: (Top) Choir teacher Aaron Bourgeois assists student with choir led karaoke booth. (bottom left) Jazz band warms up on the keys for their lunch time performance. (bottom right) Theatre perform the Alabama stomp while sporting ‘BIg Fish’ t shirts. PHOTO BY: Gabey Bochey, Alex Edwards, Austin Ikard

my conversation amongst all the instruments, making for a really calm environment.”

The following days consisted of musical theater and choir karaoke. The choir program provided an open mic for anyone who wanted to share their singing talent, and musical theater surprised their peers by breaking out into a dance.

“The musical theater performance caught me a bit off guard, but it was still entertaining, and they definitely caught people’s attention,” McMillian said. “The choir was interesting as it got other people involved. I liked the more low-key performances because

they were more comfortable to endure.”

Many students thought the event should have taken place in the courtyard. However, We Love Austin Music had to be relocated to the cafeteria due to weather conditions.

“I wish the weather had been nicer, and we could have held the event in the courtyard,” Schulze said. “It would have been more enjoyable, as the music would have been less overwhelming to everyone in the cafeteria and would have been a bit more of an optional atmosphere for students.”

Although the weather limited the events, students, teachers, and staff

made the best of the situation and came together to provide great entertainment.

“I like it in the cafeteria because more people can be involved and entertained,” McMillian said. “It was nice watching other students and their creative abilities.”

More We Love Austin Music will be planned in the future. Since Austin is the world’s music capital, students and teachers want to celebrate that on not just our campus but on others all around.

“I’m hoping we can celebrate this in conjunction with the city and the community every day,” Cantu said.

Scholastic Art competition brings novice student’s best Savannah Linscomb Entertainment Editor

In the back of L hall, student artists scribble meaningfully at large pieces of paper as their skillful hands create art worthy of rewards. In mid December a handful of Bowie’s art students submitted pieces to The Scholastic Art competition, with three of them winning awards.

Lily Florance won a Silver Key for her painting “Subject #4742” painting, Asher Hagan won an honorable mention for their “A Human being without age is not a possibility”, and Oliver Huckaba won an honorable mention for their drawing “Reflection”.

“I like Scholastic,” art teacher Mollie Ryan said. “Compared to other competitions it’s not very paperwork heavy, students create art and get to submit it.”

Each student created an unprompted piece of art they chose to submit to the competition.

Some students’ pieces started as work for their

A LOOK IN THE MIRROR: Oliver Huckaba’s piece conveys a feeling of disassociation found in reflections. The drawing which earned an Honorable mention in competition. PHOTO BY Madison Rasp

class and ended up being submitted.

“If I see them working on a piece I think would be good for competition I try to encourage them to submit it,” Ryan said.

The work is graded by key; the artist would have earned a Gold Key, Silver Key, or Honorable Mention. “ I always encourage them to go to the award ceremony so they can see the artwork and see the caliber of work,” Ryan said. “Silver Key and honorable mentions is still some of the best work being submitted.”

Although Ryan worries about the disappointment students can face when they do not place in the competition she feels that the experience is good for students.

“I think it can be disappointing for students who do not hear anything back,” Ryan said. “I always encourage them to go to the award ceremony to see the work that did place.”

Students spend many hours over several class periods working on their art.

“Some students work on pieces for months,” Ryan said. “They put a lot of effort into their work.”

Most students competing started there pieces as in class assignments. Junior Oliver Huckaba was creating a piece for an in class assignment when it was suggested to him to submit it to competition.

“I was about halfway through the piece when Ms. Ryan told us about the competition,” Huckaba said. “I thought, why not just see what happens.”

Artists find inspiration in many places, nowadays inspiration can also be found on social media. Huckaba uses the app Pinterest to help find inspiration.

“I find most of my inspiration scrolling on pinterest,” Huckaba said. “I gather all sorts of ideas I want to draw.”

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in the feeling of dissociation when looking into the mirror. The drawing which took around seven hours for Huckaba to create started with a small sketch. “ I usually will start with a small sketch of what I want to draw and see how it looks,” Huckaba said. “ I draw a cleaner version of the sketch onto a bigger piece of paper and from there add shading and colors.”

Senior Lily Florance shares a similar creative process and spent around 12 hours on her painting. Florance found inspiration on drawing attention to hard hitting topics like sexual assault and womens rolls in the world.

“I really wanted to talk about sexual assault and womens roles,” Florance said. “I feel like it can be really influential to high school girls.”

Similar to Huckaba, Florance’s piece started as an in class assignment, the prompt being to create a piece of art which comments on a social topic.

“It’s such a topic,” Florance said. “And to be able to use imagery to comment on this topic was really important to me.”

Florance’s imagery utilizes many known symbolizations of women as well as major Greek Mythology representation.

“The pomegranate is a reference to Persephone and Hades,” Florance said. “It fits well because it’s a story about women having their basic rights taken away.”

Other aspects of the painting include a bison which represents another part of Greek Mythology, Hera who is associated with womanhood, and a fallen swan representing Zeus.

“The swan and the bison are kind of balancing each other out like yin and yang,” Florance said.

“With the pomegranate in the middle.”

Deciding to submit the painting was easy for Florance who felt the overall message and importance of the art made it the perfect competition

AWARD WINNER: . Lily Florance’s piece deals with a more serious topic of womens roles and sexual assault. The painting won a silver key in competition. PHOTO BY Madison Rasp

piece.

“The feminism and ideas about womanhood are so important,” Florance said. “It was the most striking piece I had made this year.”

Florance and Huckaba’s use of imagery and combined artistic skills allowed for both of them to place in competition.

“We have some amazing artists here,” Ryan said. “This kind of competition can really provide them with motivation and fuel to improve their skills, or give them the boost of confidence they need.”

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REVIEWS 13

FRIDAY, FEB. 16, 2024 THE DISPATCH

Hyped hybrid tavern thrills customers

A recent addition to Brodie Lane becomes the new hot spot for Shady Hollow residents Claire Scott Reviews Editor The bartender diligently mixes crystal clear ice into the stainless steel cocktail shaker, and while streams of warm sunlight sparkle through the wooden blinds, ceramic plates clink as customers puncture their food with their polished forks.

The Local is a diner-tavern hybrid restaurant that serves a wide array of popular, mouthwatering American and European-inspired dishes. This restaurant has everything, from captivating cottage pies to fabulous French toast, and even soothing strawberry salads; you’ll be sure to find at least one meal you’ll thoroughly enjoy.

Nate and Tiff Wales launched this remarkable restaurant in October of 2023. According to communityimpact. com, the couple created The Local with inspiration from their Welsh and English heritages. They wanted their restaurant to be a favorite dining spot, as well as a place to unwind.

The Local has become increasingly popular for their specialty cocktails and classic American and European-based sandwiches. This establishment is far from a chain restaurant, as its only location is at 9901 Brodie Lane.

This restaurant is a perfect place for the Bowie community to grab a bite to eat, whether that be after a long school day with friends or during the weekend with your family. The Local

is a great study spot, as the seating is relatively comfortable, and the sound level has a similar decibel level to a bustling coffee shop. Not only is the Brodie Lane location just three minutes away from school, but it has also accumulated a four-out-of-five star rating on Google Reviews and Yelp.

Because this restaurant was opened less than a year ago, many popular and reliable review pages have yet to do a proper analysis of the diner.

If you try out The Local, plan on bringing as many guests as you would like, because there is a wide arrangement of seating options, with several rows of leather booths and bar seats.

Another thing to note is that The Local is surprisingly clean for how much seating the establishment provides, thanks to the diner’s stellar staff.

The outside design of the diner was nothing remarkable, as it looked like the rest of the buildings located on Brodie Lane. However, after walking into the establishment on a brisk Thursday night, I was immediately charmed by the interior design of The Local. Inside, you are met with columns of matte leather brown booths and emerald green walls that accent the wood counter tops.

Unlike other restaurants, it seems like the Wales put a lot of thought and care into the interior, which makes it even more worth a visit.

The Local offers brunch, lunch, and dinner menus; it’s worth mentioning

A NEW ADDITION: The Local has become the newest addition to Brodie Lane. The diner is located between JuiceLand and Oak Park Dental. PHOTO BY Claire Scott

that the lunch and dinner menus are similar, and the brunch menu is the only menu with different options.

Although the restaurant doesn’t offer gluten-free or vegan food, they do serve a plethora of salads and bowls that you can remove the protein from.

It wasn’t easy to choose what dishes to try, but I settled on the Sweet Potato Hummus, the Cottage Pie, and the Grain Bowl.

Although I was hesitant to order Sweet Potato Hummus as my appetizer, I ended up thoroughly enjoying this unique dish. The hummus consists of chickpeas, roasted sweet potatoes, and olive oil, and is served with a side of toasted sliced pita bread. I loved how the earthiness of the chickpeas and the nuttiness of the sweet potatoes contrasted with each other to make the perfect flavor. The texture was perfect, as it wasn’t grimy from the blended chickpeas and effortlessly spread onto the pita bread.

I would rate this dish five-out-offive stars, because the hummus is jampacked with earthy flavors and the pita bread slices come out of the kitchen at the perfect temperature. For $14, the Sweet Potato Hummus is definitely worth it, and it can comfortably feed up to two people.

The bowl is made with quinoa, roasted brussel sprouts, cauliflower, spinach, mushrooms, and cilantro-lime aioli. This bowl is nothing like I’ve ever tasted, and I made the right decision ordering it. I enjoyed this dish for the cooked brussel sprouts, and the cilantro-lime aioli enhanced the refreshing flavor of the greens. Another aspect to note is that the dish’s presentation was done well and it made it look significantly more appetizing.

I typically don’t gravitate toward salads that have quinoa incorporated into them, but the texture of the quinoa grain and the crunch from the roasted brussel sprouts worked together perfectly.

I would rate the Grain Bowl fiveout-of-five stars, and out of all the foods that I tried here, the Grain Bowl was by far my favorite. For the price of $14, I would absolutely order this dish again.

The last plate I ordered was the Cottage Pie. This entree is made with curried sweet potato, braised beef, carrots, and peas. I assumed that this dish would be similar to a pot pie, but I was wrong. The braised beef under the layer of curried sweet potato tasted very rich and was filling. However, the curried sweet potato layer didn’t have any taste to it, and had a similar texture to mashed potatoes.

SITTING AT THE COUNTER: Customers drink their cocktails at the bar. The diner offers a variety of seating for both small and large groups. PHOTO BY Claire Scott

Although I wasn’t a fan of the mushy texture, the rich beef flavor pleasantly surprised me.

I would rate this dish a three-outof-five stars because, although the sweet potatoes had no flavor, the taste of the beef effortlessly contrasted with the freshness of the peas and carrots.

For $18, I wouldn’t buy this entree again due to the lack of sweet potato flavor and mushy texture.

When it comes to American-style diners in Austin, competitive is an understatement. Just minutes away from The Local are popular and well-loved restaurants, like Galaxy Cafe, Oasthouse Kitchen and Bar, and Evangeline Cafe. All of these restaurants serve the same genre of food and have little-to-

no distinction between their menu items.

The Local dominates all of the diners between Slaughter and Brodie.

Although most of the restaurant’s dishes can be found just about anywhere else in the Austin area, there are some unique bites that I haven’t discovered anywhere else, such as The Local’s Hatch Mac Bites, Sweet Potato Hummus, and Strawberry Salad.

I recommend you visit The Local.

The menu has delicious hidden gems that you can’t find anywhere else, the staff goes above and beyond for their customers, and the restaurant creates a comforting ambiance and unique experience for customers of all ages.

The quest for the greatest Battle between the eateries matcha in downtown Austin Maddy Franco Dispatch Reporter

Val Tikhonova Dispatch Reporter

By definition from Merriam-Webster.com, matcha is a finely ground powder made from green tea leaves. People consume it by dissolving it in hot water.

I reviewed Jo’s Coffee on 1300 South Congress Avenue, Medici Roasting on 1100 South Lamar Boulevard, Radio Coffee and Beer on 4204 Manchaca Road, and Merit Coffee on 1105 South Lamar Boulevard. At each of these locations, I ordered an iced matcha with oat milk and Simple Sweetener.

Jo’s Coffee’s opened in 1999 and they are famous for hosting concerts, chili cook-offs, and fundraisers.

One thing I’ve noticed when drinking matcha is that the oat milk completely overpowers the matcha’s earthy flavor. However, I get that when drinking Jo’s Coffee’s matcha. It seems like they used an adequate amount of matcha powder per cup of oat milk.

The cup had a regular amount of ice, was blended to perfection, and had the right amount of sweetness. To my surprise, I paid $8 for 16 ounces of matcha, which is extremely overpriced.

Even though the matcha on its own was good, it wasn’t worth it. The next place I visited was Radio Coffee and Beer. This shop consists of a main coffee shop, a bar, a large outdoor seating area, and three food trucks.

Their matcha was very bland, was served with no sweetener, and tasted entirely like milk. It’s

not awful if you want something to drink while eating, but it’s not enjoyable on its own. The drink was on the cheap side, as it only cost $4 but it didn’t taste the best and I wouldn’t recommend Radio Coffee and Beer if you specifically want matcha.

The next place I reviewed was Medici Roasting. This shop has six locations around Austin and they opened their first location in 2006.

The interior of the shop is dimly lit, has limited seating, and has a barista station in the center of the room. Medici Roasting serves their matcha in 14 and 16-ounce plastic cups. Even though their cups are on the small, they do add a lot of ice compared to the liquid in the cup.

The price of a 14-ounce drink is $6, which is extremely overpriced considering more than half of the cup is ice. I don’t recommend this matcha if you want a fair price.

Lastly, I went to Merit Coffee. This shop opened its first store in 2009 and since then has built multiple stores around the Austin area.

Merit is a house-style cafe. The matcha they made had a nuttier taste, I personally preferred that. They use California oat milk, and I believe that the difference in taste is due to this milk.

Their matcha has a nuttier taste that I preferred over all the other matchas’ I tasted.

The cup was larger and had less ice than Medici Roasting’s matcha. I prefer Merit Coffee’s matcha because the matcha was $6, the cup was larger than Medici Roasting’s, and it had a better taste.

Merit Coffee’s matcha took the cake because of their fair pricing and unique flavor.

TAKING ORDERS: Baristas at Merit Coffee take orders from behind the bar. The restaurant has an extensive menu to order from PHOTO BY Val Tikhonova

As the Austin community grows, so do the dining options. The choice between a local and chain restaurant has become a difficult decision to make when deciding where to eat out.

Local restaurants, with their unique charm and their community relationships, offer a culinary adventure that goes way beyond just the dining experience. The ambiance adds a personal touch that encourages a connection between the staff and the community.

On the other hand, chain restaurants have mastered the art of reliability and consistency since they are owned by corporate organizations. While visiting a chain restaurant, you’re always prompted with a standardized menu and dining experience.

For my local restaurant, I chose Dan’s Hamburgers. This is a diner that specializes in hamburgers. Dan and Frances Junk originally established the restaurants. The restaurant has four locations: 4308 Manchaca Road, 610 Old San Antonio Road, 844 Airport Boulevard, and 5602 North Lamar Boulevard.

I went to Dan’s Hamburgers at their Buda location. My food came out in a decent amount of time and I waited around ten minutes for the staff to call my order number over the intercom.

Dan’s Hamburgers offers a wide array of food to choose from, ranging from burgers, to sandwiches, to chicken tenders, and even breakfast. My group ordered four burgers, four sides, and four drinks, which all came out to around $40. Compared to other burger joints in the Austin area, Dan’s hamburgers is in the middle tier in terms of its food prices.

ORDERING AT THE FRONT: A customer orders her food at the counter of Dan’s Hamburgers. The diner offers a drive-through experience and a front desk inside the facility for customers to place their orders.

PHOTO BY Maddy Franco

When the food came out, it was hot and smelled good.

Dan’s Hamburgers never disappoints, and as expected, the burger was delicious. The curly fries were also good as well, fries from other restaurants can be soggy and under-seasoned however, these were crispy and tasteful.

I thoroughly enjoyed the environment of this establishment. It wasn’t as busy as it usually gets on weekends and I was able to find a table without a problem. The diner has booths, tables, and a bar with swivel seats. The inside of Dan’s Hamburgers has the style of an old diner that adds a nice touch to the restaurant’s whole background. The staff was nice and offered help whenever I needed it.

I chose to review Pluckers for a chain restaurant. Although Pluckers isn’t considered a national chain, they are considered Texas chain restaurants with the exception of having two restaurants in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Pluckers has 29 locations spanning all over Texas including Austin, Dallas,

Houston, San Marcos, San Antonio, and Killeen. Pluckers was started in Austin by two college students, Dave Paul and Mark Greenburg, who attended the University of Texas at Austin.

I chose to go to the Pluckers located on South Lamar Boulevard. Pluckers restaurants are typically busy around dinner time. My group and I went at 4:30 pm and we got seated immediately.

As expected, a basketball game was playing on the restaurant’s televisions. While it was noisy, it felt like you were in person at the basketball game.

While their food is a little bit on the pricey side, it is worth it since the amount of food you get is a large amount.

I prefer local over chain dining. While chain restaurants offer stability in their menus, you simply can’t ignore the unique experience a local diner offers. Eating locally supports small businesses, opens opportunities to connect with a community, and it always feels like the owners care about their customers.

14 COMMENTARY

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, FEB. 16, 2024

D ISPATCH STAFF Dispatch Print Co Editors-in-Chief Kate Davis, Mazzy Warren

Dispatch Online Co Editors-in-Chief Alex Edwards, Austin Ikard Executive Editor: Content Charlotte Koellner Executive Editor: Writing Sophia Sanchez Executive Editor: News Emerson Traugott Executive Editor: Art/Graphics Asher Hagan Executive Editor: Sports Ben Tillisch Executive Editor: Multimedia Mars Canepa Junior Leadership Team Vivi Lopez-Stern, Arden Ray News Team Peyton Dorsey, Gabby Bochey, Katie Grumet, Alec Morse In-Depth Team Liberty Pittman , Elizabeth Yowell Feature Team Savannah Riggins, Sam Bode, Bentlee Toland, Isabella Verette Entertainment Team Savannah Linscomb, Maddy Franco, William Balke, Lucy Johnson Sports Team Sam Vane, Cooper Ceniceros-Fike, Noah Ellinger, Michael Vienneau, Caroline Baxter Review Team Claire Scott, Val Tikhonova, Maddy Franco, Fiona Padallino Opinion Team Vivi Lopez-Stern, Madeleine Travis, Gianna Gonzalez Arts/Graphics Team Sophia Sepulveda, Iola Bidwell, Lane Foxcroft Multimedia Team Slyder Degelia, Madison Rasp, Nick Wong, Reagan Tso, Zach Tishgart, Quinn Wilkinson, Audrey Cullianane, Adrianna Choueiry, Pierre Vandervennet, Nick Wood, Noah Bihan, Arden Ray, Arlo Haug, Will Olenick, Ryan Zuniga, Charlotte Schwarte, Harrison Austin

Students drive recklessly on campus Teens need to be held accountable for driving unsafely at Bowie EDITORIAL

Many high school students dream of the day when, newly acquired driver’s license in hand, they can finally drive themselves to school. This rite of passage can give a newfound sense of freedom and independence to adolescents. However, the risks and responsibility that come with this important milestone cannot be overlooked.

On December 11, 2023, a Bowie student was hit by a car near the gate of the parking garage on campus. While the details of this accident are not public, this unfortunate incident should not have occurred on a school campus.

Regardless of the specificities of this particular accident, it is necessary to address the culture of unsafe driving that is so prevalent on campus.

Ultimately, there needs to be more accountability for students who chose to drive unsafely at Bowie High School.

The recklessness exhibited by teen drivers on campus can be witnessed on a daily basis.

One example of this includes driving well over the five miles per hour speed limit which is in place to keep pedestrians safe in and around the parking garage.

Furthermore, loud engines revving, and screeching tires from inside the garage can be heard frequently. Drifting is another popular maneuver among adolescents striving to impress their friends.

According to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in 2020, car crashes were the leading cause of death among adolescents in the United States. This study also reported that teen drivers between the ages 16-19 were almost three times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash per mile driven than those 20 years or older.

Given these statistics, it is clear that some adolescent drivers lack the sense of maturity or responsibility necessary to operate a vehicle.

However, there are strategies that could be employed to promote safer driving practices among teens. A crucial consideration surrounding this topic is that, according to the CDC, a significant amount of teen motor vehicle accidents are completely preventable.

Because of this, accountability for teens who chose to drive recklessly on school grounds is necessary. This would create a safer environment as students navigate such a large high school.

Additionally, a sense of awareness would be instilled in teen drivers that could benefit them both on and off campus.

There is currently little enforcement of the regulations in place to keep drivers and pedestrians safe at Bowie. Other than occasional announcements over the intercom reminding students to be cautious while driving at school,

Sam Bode Dispatch Reporter

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You’ve been in a reading slump lately and are now craving a good romance novel to revive your love for reading. You turn to TikTok for book recommendations and grav-

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there are no systems in place to hold irresponsible drivers accountable.

In order to encourage students to drive more safely on campus, there needs to be consequences for those who chose to ignore rules that have been established for a reason.

One solution that would promote more responsible driving practices on campus would be for administrators to consistently monitor parking areas with heavy flows of traffic in the morning and afternoon.

Furthermore, there should be a system in place that calls for drivers to receive a citation for unsafe actions such as exceeding speed limits or performing maneuvers that put other students in danger. An individual who receives three citations should be required to complete a Blend course that refreshes their memory on safe driving etiquette.

While some may believe that these precautions are unnecessary, many students voice frustration about the lack of maturity their peers display while driving on campus. Even though accidents like the one mentioned previously are not frequent, students should not have to go to

school worrying about how the negligence of other drivers may impact them.

Enforcing these precautions would only help to encourage students to be more mindful when driving, and create a more secure environment on campus.

Although driving can unlock a new level of independence and confidence among teens, adults are still responsible to guide and enforce practices that lead to the success of young drivers. This can be achieved on campus by implementing systems that promote responsibility and accountability among student-drivers, leading to a more positive experience for all those involved.

SCAN TO SEE MORE! PODCAST BY Zach Tishgart

BookTok promotes toxic and misleading dynamics

Advisor Michael Reeves, MJE

Friday, Feb. 16, 2024 Vol. 36, Issue 4 www.thedispatchonline.net James Bowie High School 4103 W. Slaughter Lane Austin TX, 78749

SLOW SLOW DOWN DOWN

ART BY Sophia Sepulveda

itate towards the hashtag “BookTok” which has over 28.3 million posts. After anticipating to discover your next favorite book, you are baffled at what you find.

A significant amount of the most popular romance books on BookTok are filled with plots involving physical and emotional abuse and toxic relationship stan-

dards.

Young teenagers are being led astray by the overwhelming negative influence of BookTok and its constant promotion of romance novels that glorify misogynistic ideas, toxicity, and abusive relationships.

Words like “controlling” and “abusive” don’t exist in the world of BookTok. These negative concepts cover their tracks by disguising themselves as “dark romance”.

Dark romance novels follow storylines that contain an extreme power imbalance between characters. These plotlines could range from anything between emotionally manipulative relationships to hostage situations. Such novels romanticize abusive and controlling tactics, and they can become desirable to vulnerable teens that are unaware of what healthy relationships look like.

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover is an example of a popular BookTok novel that perpetuates the normalization of power imbalances and emotional abuse in relationships.

The female lead falls for the male lead, who is emotionally absent.

This novel normalizes the man’s domination over the woman, telling her what she can and cannot do. He belittles her, and uses unhealthy coping mechanisms to make himself feel better, all while the woman falls in love with him.

The terrifying fact about these narratives is that impressionable teens are being told by thousands of BookTok users that this behavior is completely normal.

Older audiences that come across unhealthy romance books can identify the toxicity of the story more easily. Because of this, they are able to redirect themselves to other novels without any lasting damage. That said, young teens have no defense against this behavior because these novels constantly tell them that having a controlling and jealous partner creates a fun and successful relationship.

According to Planned Parenthood, dating violence is when your partner hurts you or repeatedly tries to control you. Abuse can be physical, but it can also be emotional and isolating.

The romance novels “BookTok'' promotes are convincing teens that controlling and isolating behavior means that your partner loves you an incredible amount and wants to protect you. In reality, it is a

common method abusers use to emotionally guilt their partner into staying with them.

Because TikTok is such a massive platform, untrustworthy, self-published authors are able to promote their stories to a much larger audience than they could before. Their unfiltered stories often strike the interest of young, naive teens who don’t know any better.

Companies like Barnes & Noble and other bookstores are recognizing this pattern on BookTok taking advantage of it. Many bookstores now have a BookTok section that is geared towards teenagers. These sections usually contain tables with a mountain of misogynistic romance books and a cute sign that reads “BookTok Recommendations” on top. Companies that do this are further contributing to adolescents being influenced by the harmful behaviors they enconter.

TikTok is used by a large range of ages. As a result, many users may believe it is not their responsibility to shield young viewers from this toxicity because the platform is meant for everyone. This idea is detrimental to the upcoming generation.

According to Axios, 63% of teenagers reported that they use TikTok regularly. Many of those teens are being exposed to abusive content every single day. All TikTok users are responsible for not spreading misogynistic and abusive content across the platform.

While no one benefits from seeing that kind of content, it has a much bigger impact on younger minds. Older generations of writers are taking advantage of teenage innocence and use BookTok to promote abuse and misogyny as entertainment.

There are other websites that teenagers can turn to for book recommendations, a popular one being Goodreads. On Goodreads, all novels are sorted into categories and each have their own summary.

This allows for readers to find their new favorite novel completely on their own and without any influence from others.

Ultimately, teenagers should not use BookTok to find their next romance novel because they will likely encounter novels with abusive, toxic, and misogynistic plot lines. Reading glorified toxicity at such a young age, could have everlasting effects on young teens and their romantic relationships.

COMMENTARY 15

FRIDAY, FEB. 16, 2024 THE DISPATCH

No elevator causes relocation issues Lack of a functioning elevator proves to be a major inconvenience for students and staff Madeleine Travis Commentary Editor Questions? Concerns? Email:

bowie.journalism@gmail.com

The elevator in the academic building has had major issues since the end of the 2022-2023 school year.

The building that students spend most of their time in during the school day is around 36 years old and has been host to many inconveniences over that time. Things such as heating and air conditioning as well as asbestos in the walls have plagued students. Being the oldest building in the school, huge structural revamps need to be made in order for students to go about their normal school schedule. The issue has recently escalated when AISD officials have made it clear that the elevator problem will not be fixed during the current school year at all.

This means the school administration has to tackle the problem by themselves, without district support.

They then decided that the best route to take is to move all of the teachers, who have injured or disabled individuals in their classes, from their upstairs classrooms downstairs. This means that all the teachers downstairs have to be removed from their classes for their short and valuable planning periods. The elevator breaking has left half of B-hall and the majority of E-hall evicted from their classrooms and reasonably upset about the situation.

The district funding should be focused on the older buildings that need repair, especially when a functioning elevator is a necessity for many students, and is also required for the school to be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Workers have just now started preparing to fix the elevator over the summer, despite problems since last year. Students shouldn’t have to give up fundamental functions of the building if they have a disability based on something that’s out of their control.

Many of the staff members who are located downstairs are also being negatively affected by the elevator’s lack of regular functionality.

Due to the district’s inadequate consideration, many of the teachers in the downstairs wings are being removed from their own classrooms, which is unfair because it is taking up

their own time to be productive. Relocation of the classes makes it difficult not only for the teachers but them makes it hard for students who need to leave campus to be found.

This in turn, causes a major waste of time for aides to search out the right classroom, and is especially problematic for students who might have appointments. ​​ The classes that are being relocated to downstairs wings due to their injured or disabled students have decreasing productivity due to the adjustments having to be made when constantly moving the class resources to different locations.

A good working elevator needs to be of higher priority to the district because it’s a necessity for the school building to be functional. If the academic building has two stories there needs to be a quick and efficient way for students with disabilities or injuries to get from floor to floor with ease. The district should have an emergency fund, which would be funded by the surrounding areas’ tax dollars that should be allocated to the schools in their district.

So, that when the older school buildings develop issues they can be fixed in a timely manner. This should happen as a standard across the whole district because many older schools have recurring issues that need to be prominently fixed.

It should be something that’s given to the district to fix very needed amenities of the buildings. This should be for huge, sudden issues especially so the individual school doesn’t have to find alternate less practical solutions to the problem.

Another reason the elevator is a major issue is because it denies students the ability to access the whole building. Before the school came up with the relocation of the classrooms certain injured and disabled students weren’t able to attend their upstairs classes at all. Most were regulated to the library and had to wait for teachers to get their work to them. This lack of access to their teachers is affecting student’s grades unfairly, due to a situation out of their control.

The elevator needs to be fixed because students, teachers and school administrators shouldn’t have to make notable changes to their busy work

Want to make a complaint?

Call the Americans with Disabilities Act compliance checker at (626) 486-2201

ART BY Sophia Sepulveda

weeks because of something that’s out of their control.

The issue that happens to be against the ADA Act has gone on since the

Vivi Lopez-Stern Commentary Editor Questions? Concerns? Email:

What is one of your biggest concerns about campus traffic?

INTERVIEWS BY Madeleine Travis PHOTOS BY Madeleine Travis

Freshman

Ruby Jay

Sophomore

Traffic is concerning when you need to get too important places like after school activities or the doctor.

"

People drive crazy around here its insane, I just feel like people need to be more cautious around the school when rushing to get home.

"

I get scared that people are going to get hit in or hit each other when people are trying to rush in the Hayden Dusterhoft parking garage.

Junior

Clayton Laney Senior

due to the district’s refusal to make the requested repairs. The issue is unacceptable and can’t be continually ignored.

The U.S. must stop funding Israel-Hamas war

BULLDAWGS SPEAK!

Jean Rodriguez

2022-2023 school year and has had more than enough time to be fixed.

This issue has continued to spiral

bowie.journalism@gmail.com

A humanitarian crisis, an act of terrorism, hostages, war crimes; these are just a few phrases that commonly appear in constant media coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas, a militant organization in Gaza, launched an attack on Israel brutally killing over 1,000 people and taking Israeli citizens hostage. The Israeli government responded by blocking food, water, and fuel from entering Gaza. A ground invasion of the Gaza Strip was launched, and the territory was bombed indiscriminately, resulting in thousands of civilian deaths.

According to The Hill, a $14.3 billion aid package was passed in November 2023 by House Republicans in support of the Israeli military amidst a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The United States government must stop funding

this attack on civilians to break this cycle of violence and focus its efforts on restoring peace in the region.

As stated in an article by PBS, the Biden Administration has bypassed Congressional approval twice to approve an emergency weapons sale to Israel. Additionally, fragments of American-made bombs (Joint Direct Attack Munitions) have been found in Gaza. According to PBS, the explosion of these bombs will instantly kill anyone within approximately 33 yards, and lethal fragmentation can occur up to 400 yards from the source.

By sending weapons that are contributing to the destruction in Palestine, the United States is participating in the displacement of thousands of innocent people who have lost homes, relatives, and lives. The dehumanization of Palestinians is also made abundantly clear in this process.

The siege in Gaza has reached a level of severity that is comparable to some of the most destructive conflicts in history. According to an article

by PBS, the United States led an assault to expel an Islamic State group from the city of Mosul in Iraq in 2017 killing 10,000 civilians over the course of nine months. During that conflict, 15,000 air strikes were conducted throughout Iraq in comparison to the 22,000 strikes that have already been carried out in Gaza since October 7.

Participating in conflicts that contribute to destabilization in the Middle East is a concept the U.S. knows all too well.

Disheartening statistics displayed in an article by National Public Radio (NPR) reveal that approximately two million people have been displaced in Gaza and at least 10,000 children have been killed.

Finally, according to PBS, neighborhoods, schools, and mosques have been destroyed by airstrikes. Aid issued by the United States has contributed to the destruction of hospitals, churches, and universities.

According to NPR, the Great Omari Mosque, as well as the Saint Porphyrius Church, considered to be the third oldest

"

I see people zooming, even find myself zooming because it’s normalized but we shouldn’t normalize zooming.

" ART BY Layne Foxcroft

church in the world, have been bombed.

Israa University (an important institution of higher education in Gaza), was intentionally demolished. According to ABC News, only 16 of the 36 hospitals that were operational in Gaza prior to October 7 are still functional.

The most fundamental aspects of an entire society are being wiped out with the United State’s funds. Military aid from the U.S. has impacted a significant percentage of this population, many of whom aren’t in any way affiliated with Hamas. Furthermore, the situation in Gaza only worsens with the complicity of American leaders.

The careless actions of the United States government to fund this war plainly displays that Palestinian lives are not attributed equal value in the eyes of the U.S. government. This incredibly flawed response adds Gaza to the long list of territories that have been destabilized with the aid of the U.S. While President Joe Biden has had talks with Israeli leaders in recent weeks about scaling down this operation, there has been no accountability. The United States, through its funding and weapons, has already contributed to a significant loss of civilian life.

Leaders have chosen to remain silent regardless of the suffering on both sides of this conflict. Because of this, Palestinian civilians are left without access to basic resources and the families of hostages have no choice but to watch on as the location of their loved ones is bombed.

Viewing war as the only option will not lead to a peaceful resolution. The most impactful action the United States could take would be to stop funding this war, and call for an immediate ceasefire to halt the loss of innocent lives.

It is imperative to ensure safety of all civilians prior to addressing the snapping tensions between these two territories. The United States must break the violence cycle and have equal treatment of all human lives.

16 PHOTO ESSAY

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, FEB. 16, 2024

Tracy leads Bulldog LAX team into season

PREGAME RITUAL: The Bulldogs starting lineup stands together to listen to a quick briefing from the refs and shake hands with Austin’s players. Many players were excited to start the pre-season with a game against the rival Maroons who are two tiers above Bowie. “We knew if we played our game we would get something out of it,” captain Camden Tracy said. PHOTO BY Nick Wood

Young team looks to capitalize on preseason games to gain experience going into district play Noah Bihan Photo Essay Editor

Together, they’re focusing on building a unit that values teamwork, resilience, and straAs the varsity boys lacrosse tegic play. team gears up for an exciting “What’s always drawn me pre-season, the atmosphere into the game is the fast-paced is rich with anticipation and a decision-making,” Tracy said. fresh sense of purpose.

“You need to anticipate not just “This season is super your move, but everyone else’s exciting for all of us,” Coach on the field.”

William Laurel said. “I’m very Tracy’s love for the fastproud with the level of all our paced decision-making intrinsic players.” to lacrosse is mirrored in coach With Laurel, stepping up to Laurel’s training regiment, the head coach position, there’s which emphasizes strategic a new energy around the team. thinking and anticipation. As Laurel, a Bowie alumni, brings they adapt to this rigorous a unique blend of training, the passion, experiteam is beence, and a deep coming more connection to the adept at readschool’s lacrosse ing the field The team is young, legacy, making and reacting but we have a lot this transition instinctiveone full of promly, which is more potential than ise. essential for ever before. We’re “I’ve come to the dynamic appreciate the nature of the going to prove how coaching on a sport and the good we can be. more personal challenges level,” junior Ian they will Hoard said. face in the Camden Tracy The personal upcoming Varsity Captain touch Laurel season. brings to the “It’s an team resonates exciting deeply with the players, fostertime to cap off my high school ing a sense of individual attenlacrosse career as captain, tion that elevates their game. especially in one of the fastThis coaching strategy is not est-growing sports,” Tracy said. only sharpening their skills but As the pre-season looms, also weaving a stronger sense the excitement within the team of community within the team, is palpable. Laurel is pushing setting a solid groundwork for the boys to their limits, but the promising season ahead. there’s a shared understanding “We’re a tight-knit group,” that every drop of sweat is a senior Camden Tracy said. step toward greatness. The “The guys fit well together team’s dynamics are shifting, and there’s mutual respect all with each player stepping up to around.” contribute to a collective goal Tracy, the team’s captain, of winning games. is at the forefront of embrac“Each game, each practice, ing this transitional era for is a step toward the legacy we the team. His leadership and aim to build,” Laurel said. “The commitment are more vital challenges we face will only than ever as he works to unify strengthen our resolve as a the team under Laurel’s vision. team.”

"

FACE-TO-FACE: Sophomore Cole Wong runs toe-to-toe with an Austin High defender. Bowie struggled offensively and end up losing 21-2 to the Maroons “They are a very experienced and physical team, and we have a lot to work on,” midfielder Wong said. “My game knowledge and field vision is better this year and I hope that I can utilize those skills to score more goals and help my teammates.” PHOTO BY Nick

PASS PERFECTION: Long Stick Midfielder (LSM) Haq Newton lunges forward with a powerful pass, capturing the athleticism of the sport.

His extended reach reflects the intensity of the play. “We play a lot of really good teams this pre-season,” Tracy said. “We’ll prove that this year isn’t just a rebuilding season.” PHOTO BY Nick Wood

RIGHT - MOVING DOWNFIELD: Matthew Fair maneuvers around the field showcasing the agility the sport demands. His stance communicates the stakes of the game as the team strives for the championship. “Making state will be tough no doubt, but the ‘Dawgs are hungry to win,” Hoard said. PHOTO BY Nick Wood

ABOVE - SETTING UP THE SHOT: Camden Tracy plants his leg as he gets ready to launch a shot at goal. The moment is a snapshot of the intense one-on-one battles that are central to the game’s action. “You have to think about where everyone is on the field, how they’re gonna move, and what your next move is,” Tracy said.

PHOTO BY Nick Wood