The Dispatch, Vol. 33, Issue #4, 4/5/21

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HOMELESSNESS IN AUSTIN Deeper look into the current reality of homelessness in the capital of Texas through photos

pg. 6

QUARANTINE & MENTAL HEALTH Investigation into how one year of quarantine has affected student health

pg. 8-9

CLIMATE CHANGE, NOW Commentary on the urgency that needs to be employed towards the climate crisis

coming UP

April 12 Sixth grading period begins April 17 Class of 2021 Prom May 3 AP exams start

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Vol. 33, Issue 4 www.thedispatchonline.net James Bowie High School 4103 W. Slaughter Lane Austin TX, 78749

THE DISPATCH MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021

Pride in Publishing

N A S O -1 9 I P S ‘U n

Student leaders foster unity in spite of isolation

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Cade Spencer Editor-in-Chief

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feel like a welcoming place for everyone.”

Although Student Leadership has had to adapt to organize events in a remote year, it is becoming apparent that more and more students will be returning to campus, enabling Student Leadership to resume a larger portion of its on-campus work in the upcoming school year.

“Student Leadership is such a great way to be involved with the school,” Campsmith said.

“It has given me a place to feel like I was actually making a difference.”

For students interested in participating in the PASSION-19 event, a Google Form can be found @bowiestudentleadership on Instagram to process submissions. While no official date has been set, winners are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

“The resilience of our community throughout the past year has been incredible,” Robinson said. “Students have been understanding in the face of disappointment, responsible despite challenges, and creative in their use of personal time to learn and grow beyond expectations for this year.”

Reflecting on the year, Robinson expressed that he is grateful for the efforts student and staff organizations have undertaken to fortify the school community until the courtyard is packed once again.

“We have all pulled together as a school and campus to minimize the negative impact and loss for our learners due to circumstances beyond our control,” Robinson said. “‘Until we can meet at the tree’ is a message of hope that we are truly going to get through the current pandemic era together, apart, but not alone.”

Winter Storm Uri harms campus infrastructure

Dimitri Silva Dispatch Reporter

Inches of snowfall, frozen roads, and extreme winter temperatures became Austin's reality throughout Winter Storm Uri. From Feb. 13 to Feb. 17, Austin set a historical record for the highest amount of consecutive days with snow on the ground in its history, according to KXAN.com. Consequently, unprecedented winter temperatures caused infrastructural harm, leading to water damage in the Bowie cafeteria, gym, and theater.

“Many teachers and custodians have helped with the repairs of the storm,” Assistant Principal Aaron Vohl said. “We rented air dryers and blew air through the areas and hoped we did not end up with mold issues. Contractors then came in and helped with the basketball floor which ended up ruined, and we had to dismantle the whole floor.”

INDEX

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‘Until we can meet at the tree’ is Principal Mark Robinson’s motto for the 2020-2021 school year: a year burdened by social and physical isolation. The tree, referenced in the motto, is the Great Oak that traditionally represents the vibrant student life at the school in its location at the center of campus in the courtyard.

“Like a lighthouse in a storm, the Bowie oak is a shared memory and mental image that we all connect with,” Robinson said. “It is a living focal point for all of us in knowing that this too shall pass, better days are ahead, and we will be able to be together again in a common place that we connect with and draw strength from.”

Adopting Robinson’s message of hope and campus unity, Student Leadership has developed a campus-wide initiative called PASSION-19 to create a sense of connection that replicates the community traditionally observed in the courtyard.

“The inspiration behind PASSION-19 was the need for a vibe change given the hard year we have all endured,” Project Manager senior Abilyn Alvarado said. “We have seen many new, cool trends and observed people we know discover new things, and I thought this event would be a really great way to reconnect, show these abilities, and uplift

each other after having little other opportunity to do so.”

As a contest of creativity, PASSION-19 allows for students to create submissions for five categories: art, music, literature, sports, and miscellaneous. Students do not need to include their name as part of their entry. Upon submission, the entries will be judged

by Student Leadership with prizes available.

“I am hoping this event will accomplish our main goal of bringing our students and staff together while being apart, and that it will reintroduce some excitement back into our community,” Alvarado said.

“We truly do have some very talented students and it brings me so much joy to see and encourage their creativity.”

Taking place in the months of March and April, PASSION-19 is Student Leadership’s 2021 installment of the No Place for Hate annual event, which has been a parade in past years.

“As unfortunate events and experiences are a part of life, we must learn to adapt and find and/or create the beauty within these temporary storms while remembering they will indeed pass,” Alvarado said.

“Through PASSION-19, we can admire and celebrate our differences and the things that make each of us unique.”

Throughout the past year, Student Leadership has hosted additional activities to promote campus connection including freshmen and Academy 4 peer mentorship.

“Student Leadership’s role has definitely been significantly different this year,” senior Lily Campsmith said. “We have had to come up with unique events and things to do to still try and make our school

News 1 , 2 Politics 3

After several days of below-freezing temperatures, several pipes burst under and around campus, causing areas in the school to experience floods. In the case of the theater, water damage was inflicted upon the stage floor after the fire sprinkler system was activated amidst the storm.

“I do not think we can blame the school for the flooding because you cannot prepare for freezes that do not happen in Texas,” sophomore Zach Scariano said. “But now that it has happened, we can be ready for the next one with proper funding and preparation.”

Currently, the damaged gym is not expected to be fully operational again until the Fall of 2022. However, the theater is expected to be ready for student use by the first day of school in the 2021-2022 school year.

“The gyms are turning into fine arts areas for band practices and Feature 4, 5 Photo Essay 6

other fine art needs,” Vohl said.

“New gym floors are being built and renovated. However, the theater got heavily damaged, and those repairs will take much longer."

While the destruction of the campus gym and theater has caused several student groups to adjust their practice location, new athletic and Fine Arts facilities are already under construction. In fact, the athletic facility is expected to be ready for use by August of 2021.

“I do not know much about the construction of the new auditorium, but I did see that the foundation appears to be pretty big,” senior Brennon Zaveleta said. “I saw the construction crew working, and I am excited for the students that get to use the facility in the future.”

As stated in the original 2017 AISD bond, the new Fine Arts facility is expected to be operational

by Fall of 2022.

“I was impressed most by the

Entertainment 7 In-Depth 8, 9, 16

Sports 10, 11 Pop Culture 1 2

WINTER STORM AFTERMATH: When pipes were damaged under campus due to prolonged extreme temperatures, the gym floor suffered significant water damage. The gym is expected to be renovated by Fall of 2022. PHOTO COURTESY OF Michael Reeves

extent of the damage and how fast we handled the damage,” Vohl said.

“The whole Winter Storm Uri was impressive, I have never seen anything like that in my entire 16 years Reviews 13 Commentary 14,15

find us

of teaching. We had to act fast to make sure we got the school back Online for students and I think we did a pretty good job at that unprecedented response.”

@jbhs_dispatch

2 NEWS

THE DISPATCH MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021

Surge in Asian-American hate crimes Arushi Sharma & Azul Lin News Editor & Assistant Editor

When COVID-19 first hit the United States, former President Donald Trump began to call the Corona virus the ‘Chinese virus’.

Since then, hate crimes around the country against Asian Americans have risen dramatically as many blame Asians for the spread of COVID-19. The US Department of Justice states that a hate crime is defined as a crime motivated by acts of injustice against race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

Over the past year, there were 122 incidents of anti-Asian American hate crimes in 16 of the country’s most populous cities, showing an increase of almost 150% over the previous year, according to data compiled by California State University’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. Sophomore Ava Wong emphasized her feelings towards the rise of these crimes.

"I don’t feel safe as an Asian American, now more than ever," Wong said. "Living in a community with a big white population ensures staring and judgment everywhere you go. And you’re always aware of it. Now because of the recent attacks, I’m even more scared.

You never know who could attack you or point a gun at you."

Three weeks ago, in Georgia, three Atlanta area shootings took place in local spas around the city.

Out of the eight people killed, seven of the victims were of Asian-American descent. A week later, Keisha Lance Bottoms, the mayor of Atlanta, explained that this shooting was the cause of “built upon hatred for a particular community.”

“The recent attacks on the Asian American women were horrific and unjustified,” Wong said. “The way the white media handled it was almost just as bad. We were told the shooter was having a ‘bad day’. When you have a bad day you take a walk, you don’t go and shoot nine people. These lives were stolen because of harmful stereotypes of Asian women being nothing but sexual objects.”

According to the reporting form

by Stop AAPI Hate, almost four thousand hate crimes were report-

ANTI-ASIAN VIOLENCE RESOURCES:

Here are a few resources with petitions, necessary data, and donation links that can be shared with others: Scan the QR Code to have access to all the links!

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS: • LINK TO LEARN HOW TO SHARE INFORMATION WITH OTHERS: https://www.instagram.com/ hateisavirus/?hl=en • LINK TO LEARN HOW TO SHARE INFORMATION WITH OTHERS: https://www.instagram.com/stopasianhate/?hl=en

• LINK TO EDUCATE OTHERS ON ASIAN-AMERICAN HATE: https://www.pbs.org/show/ asian-americans/

DONATION LINKS: • LINK TO DONATE TO HELP SUPPORT ANTI ASIAN-AMERICAN HATE: https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/ stop-aapi-hateCrimeResources

• LINK TO DONATE TO HELP SUPPORT ANTIASIAN-AMERICAN HATE: https://secure.donationpay. org/aajc/

ed over the course of the past year in which hateful actions and words were targeted at Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, most prominently women.

“COVID-19 and the whole agenda against Asian Americans just heightened and intensified the already present xenophobia within certain individuals,” senior Amorah Schultze said. “We have a very tenuous relationship with this country. We're accepted and celebrated so long as we submit and we’re deferential to the dominant culture and we stay put and we stay silent and we don’t get involved in anyone else’s movement and we don’t fight for awareness for our issues.”

Moreover, with a rise in the number of hate crimes, Asian-Americans like Wong find themselves stuck between their two cultures.

EDUCATING OTHERS LINKS: • LINK TO EDUCATE OTHERS ON ASIAN-AMERICAN HATE: https://www.napaba.org/page/ HateCrimeResources

PETITION LINKS: • LINK TO SIGN PETITIONS TO SUPPORT ANTI ASIAN-AMERICAN HATE: https://www.napawf.org/stopasianhate • LINK TO SIGN PETITIONS TO SUPPORT ANTIASIAN-AMERICAN HATE: https://action.18mr.org/ stop-antiasian-violence/

"I don’t think I have one American identity and one Asian identity," Wong said. "Being Asian-American is a mix of both worlds and it’s hard to be connected and proud of one part when it’s attacking the other. I think that [the increase of these hate crimes] has made me appreciate and love my Asian side in a way that I never have before.”

In contrast, sophomore Donna Kim takes a different approach towards her two cultures, emphasizing her desire towards prioritizing one side over the other.

"As an American, I am honestly so ashamed of this country," Kim said. "I feel like the authorities have not been doing a lot to lessen the hate crimes against the Asian community in America, and every day more and more Asians die. I am hoping that Biden does something soon for the Asian community in

ART BY Arushi Sharma

America instead of just releasing a statement about the Asian American attacks."

Further, Wong introduces the connection between the rise of these hate crimes and the Asian-American discrimination throughout American history, specifically in the education system.

"A lot of people forget about the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Internment of Japanese Americans, which is a big part of not just Asian Americans but also American history," Wong said. "I think learning about Asian-American history is important to help debunk harmful stereotypes which create these ideas towards crime and expand our education.”

Additionally, Kim shares her experience of growing up with discrimination because of her race in different experiences throughout

her life.

“As an Asian American myself, I am so terrified and disgusted at what has been going on,” Kim said. "Growing up in America as an Asian American is already tough enough, and I think a lot of Asian Americans can agree with me on this one. From struggling with identity to people mocking my facial features, to kids making fun of the food I eat and the language I speak, and to wanting to be white and have nothing to do with being Asian, I always struggled with internalized and external issues."

Kim highlights the ways that Bowie students and non-Asian Americans can help the communities being affected during this surge of hate crimes.

“I think the best way to help right now is to spread the word that Asian hate crimes is a serious things, and many Asians are losing their lives to it everyday," Kim said.

"The best someone can do is to sign petitions, or join in marches and protests."

Through this experience Wong recognizes the importance of her identity and takes full ownership of who she is, despite this rise of hate against her and her culture.

"I am proud to be an Asian-American and I know I belong here," Wong said. "We are constantly told to 'go back to where we came from' and that 'we do not belong here'.

The constant cruelty and harassment we are handed every day is something we do not deserve and the reason so many hate where they come from. But what they say shouldn’t define who we are. The Asian-American community is beautiful, and I am happy to be a part of it."

Austin Curbside Composting Program local expansion Arushi Sharma News Editor

At the beginning of 2021, the Austin Resource Recovery, a department of the City of Austin that helps manage local waste to provide resources for the local community, released its final part of the Curbside Composting Collection Program.

The program has been developed over the past four years to provide a composting service to all Austin residents, and this final part expanded the service to over 55,000 households in Austin, including those within Bowie’s region.

The program is part of a larger initiative to cut down waste and decrease the amount of garbage in landfills around Austin. At school, Bowie follows the Austin Independent School District’s (AISD) Zero Waste Initiative, an program that works to compost and recycle in school cafeterias, and has a goal to decrease landfill waste by 90% by 2040. Junior Taru Mishra, who is a member of the JBHS Earth Club, shares her thoughts on Bowie’s implementation of AISD’s current environmental plan.

“I think Bowie needs to focus on managing its trash and waste materials by increasing the number of recycling bins,” WHAT SHOULD I PUT IN MY COMPOSTING BIN?

• Fruit/ vegetable scraps • Coffee grounds • Human and pet hair • Dried leaves • Torn -up cardboard • Garden Trimmings ex: grass or hay

WHAT SHOULD I NOT PUT IN MY COMPOSTING BIN?

• Plastic • Metal • Meat • Dairy Products • Animal Waste • Bones • Fats and oils • Magazines • Yard Trimmings with pesticides or fertilizers

ART BY Arushi Sharma

Mishra said. “This needs to be paired with increased education of people at Bowie regarding what materials can be recycled and what cannot.”

In terms of composting at Bowie, English teacher Kimberly Wiedmeyer describes the necessity of implementing a composting program on campus.

“I see students throw away huge amounts of food constantly: three students will get single servings of fries, each eats a couple, and then they'll throw them away,” Wiedmeyer said. “I really struggle with this attitude and mindlessness about our agricultural system and lack of understanding of how this impacts our environment. For that reason, I think implementing a compost system in Bowie would heighten awareness and create a way to beneficially re-purpose this food waste.”

Although Bowie doesn’t have a composting system yet, senior Liana Chen, who founded the JBHS Eco-Team, hopes that with this expansion of the Curbside Collection Program, there will be more support to add one on campus as well.

“I think the new Austin composting system is beneficial because it will increase the number of people who compost which reduces the city's trash and increases support for composting,” Chen said.

Every household that utilizes the Curbside Composting Collection Program is given a green bin, similar to a trash can bin. Residents will then collect food scraps, yard trimmings, and food-soiled paper in the bin. “[Residents] can simply have carts that allow them to carry their compost on a regular basis,” Mishra said. “This will encourage more people to compost and reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills, limiting the risk to potentially pollute marine and other animal habitats.”

Although the carts cost an additional $5 per month for the service, many believe that the benefits of composting outweigh the costs. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), composting helps enrich soil, reduce the need for chemical fertilizer, and encourages the production of beneficial bacteria. Moreover, the carts are picked up once a week with the regular trash bin on the same day as the regular trash collection, so residents simply have to put the bin outside their homes.

“As a city, it's more convenient for the state to provide the composting bins because it'll increase the number of people who compost,” Chen said. “Composting doesn't require much effort and with Austin's new plan, it'll be even easier.”

While the system’s goal is to decrease the amount of land waste in landfills, it has yet to expand its services to all Austin residents. Although Mishra’s household isn’t included in the Curbside Compost Collecting Program, she described other methods that the city can get its residents to compost, even if they aren’t involved in the program.

“For those whose communities are not included in the current compost initiative, the City of Austin could maybe provide information about how to set up composting in one's own home or area,” Mishra said. “[The city could] add posters throughout the communities to ensure that people

The compost bin has holes on the top of the bin so that oxygen can get into the materials.

The bin holds the food scraps and other composting materials and breaks them down to turn into soil (compost).

Materials that can be composted like food scrapes, animal manure, paper towels, etc. are stored in the bin.

The compost bin has rotating capabilities so oxygen can help decompose the materials.

CHEN HOUSEHOLD COMPOSTING SYSTEM: Senior Liana Chen uses this creation to store her compost.

Eventually the compost is used as soil for her backyard.

PHOTO COURTESY OF Liana Chen

are properly educated in what they are doing in regards to compost.”

Nevertheless, there are other ways to compost in Austin, including creating an individual composting system or dropping it off at designated locations established by the Austin Resource Recovery, such as farmers markets or community gardens.

“Food waste is one of the biggest contributors to global warming, and it's something we all need to be more aware of,” Wiedmeyer said. “If we do throw out food, we can use composting to mitigate some of the negative impacts.”

Aside from Austin residents composting through the program, science teacher Daniel Chonis believes that the goal of composting must be expanded even further in order to help meet the goal of decreasing landfill waste.

“I would also shift the focus away from the individual being solely responsible for reducing waste and hold businesses, companies, and corporations to a higher standard in terms of waste output," Chonis said. “These are main contributors to waste even though the blame is often put on the citizens.”

As Austin increases its Curbside Composting Collecting Program in the future, Chonis reiterates the need for composting in our environment in order to keep it healthy for the years to come.

“As guests on this planet, I feel we have a duty to protect the environment and develop ways to coexist with nature without exhausting all of its resources,” Chonis said. “If we want to continue our stay on this planet, then I believe that we need to treat our environment, and overall world, with more empathy and respect.”

POLITICS 3

MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021 THE DISPATCH

COVID-19 relief bill gives aid to Texans The $1.9 trillion law includes $1400 stimulus checks and extended unemployment Dylan Ebs Politics Editor

President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan, marking the third stimulus bill signed into law during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Some of the most notable elements of the bill include $1400 checks for most Americans, extended unemployment benefits, and an expansion of the child tax credit. As of April 1, more than 130 million Americans have received their stimulus checks from the American Rescue Plan, according to the IRS. “It was a long time coming and it gives our economy what it needs to push through the pandemic and return to a normal life - so I’m a strong supporter,” Bowie parent Ed Scruggs said. “The checks are coming just in time to help us make vital home repairs and payoff bills."

The eligibility for stimulus checks are dependent on the tax filers income and filing status. Individuals who earn up to $75,000 per year and married couples who file their taxes jointly making up to $150,000 a year are eligible for the full $1,400 checks. Adult dependents are also now eligible for stimulus checks.

"I don't think [the checks] are necessary for everyone," junior Austin Dalbey said. "They should be going to the unemployed, and people who have been severely effected by the COVID-19 economic downturn."

A Gallup poll found that 63 percent of Americans support the American Rescue Plan. According TRACK YOUR STIMULUS CHECK PAYMENT HERE

to the poll, 97 percent of Democrats support the bill and 18 percent of Republicans support the bill.

"I support the bill because it helps people who have lost their jobs or not been able to work as much due to the virus," social studies teacher Charles Stampley said.

"It helps families get their kids back in school so they can return to work."

Along with provisions aimed to help recover the economy, the bill includes money aimed at getting Covid-19 under control. FEMA will receive $50 billion to assist vaccine distribution and an additional $47.8 billion is allocated for testing, contact tracing, and other mitigation strategies.

“The biggest issue with teachers now is vaccine access,” Stampley said. “If more teachers are able to get vaccinated, there will be less concern over safety. Fortunately, AISD and other groups are already working to get more teachers' shots. If more kids come to school we will definitely need more masks and PPE.” Although the bill has been signed, questions linger over how some funding from the bill will be allocated. $12.4 billion dollars for reopening schools are allocated to Texas, but there’s uncertainty over how that money will be spent. “[Austin ISD] hopes that funding will be allocated directly to Districts, who are in the best place to prioritize how to utilize the funding to benefit students and the classroom,” an AISD spokesperson said in a public statement. “While earlier federal funding was utilized to supplant state funding, it appears the last two stimulus funding should go directly to districts.”

Some states, like Pennsylvania, have allocated most of their federal funding for K-12 schools directly to the school districts, and public school advocates are calling on the Texas Education Agency to do the same. School districts that receive federal funding are allowed to spend it in a multitude of ways, including hiring more teachers, improving ventilation systems, and purchasing PPE.

STAYING SAFE: Assistant Principal Marie Prescott administers a temperature check while graduation coach Wendy Escobedo hands out colored wristbands students wear daily. Students who choose to attend school in-person have to complete a screening before they can enter the building. PHOTO COURTESY OF Michael

“We are still waiting for the state to provide final guidance and allow districts to start allocating funding,” the AISD spokesperson said. “Once received, we will prioritize student mental, social, and academic supports, especially for our traditionally marginalized students. We also would use funding for improving our safety and ventilation systems in buildings, technology, and summer program-

ming.”

The nearly $2 trillion price tag for the bill has caused concerns about inflation.

"Spending $2 trillion when COVID-19 is starting to go away, and the economy is starting to recover, will end up causing unnecessary national inflation," Dalbey said.

CDC data shows that nearly 31 percent of Americans have received

at least one dose of the vaccine as of April 2. Supporters of the bill believe that the bill will help get Covid-19 significantly under control. “[The bill] means we will have everything we need to complete vaccinations, expand testing, and conduct contact tracing," Scruggs said. “Finally, we have everything needed to give the virus a major final knockout blow.”

House of Representatives passes the Equality Act Emily Loewe Dispatch Reporter

SOURCES: House Clerk & Ballotpedia

How did Austin representatives vote on the Equality Act?

The U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the Equality Act, a bill that Yea 1 would expand protections Name: Chip Roy for LGBTQ+ individuals.

District: TX-21 Nay The Equality Act, which Party: Republican the House passed on February 25, would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by 6 PHOTO COURTESY OF Gage Skidmore Name: Lloyd including sex, sexual orienDoggett tation, and gender identity 2 District: TX-35 Name: Roger to the list of protected classWilliams es.

Party: Democratic District: TX-25 According to the Congress.gov summary of the PHOTO COURTESY OF Public Citizen Party: Republican bill, doing this will prohibit PHOTO COURTESY OF Scott Ellis discrimination in all areas of life, including public facil5 Name: Michael 3 ities, education, and hous4 McCaul Name: Pete Name: John Carter ing.

Sessions District: TX-10 "I think [the Equality Act] District: TX-31 District: TX-17 Party: Republican should be passed, especially Party: Republican Party: Republican because to me, equality is PHOTO COURTESY OF Ed Schipul important," freshman Jordan PHOTO COURTESY OF Gage Skidmore PHOTO COURTESY OF John Carter Lewis said. "I think everyone should have equal chances ART BY Dylan Ebs and race, sex, and religion ery person is created equal "I think that it is someabout how they have always sophomore Emilie Jones should not affect that nor and deserves dignity and rewhat ignorant to think that seen things." said. the way they are treated."

The future of the EqualiPartisan divides were spect," Congressman August being part of the LGBTQ+ Advocates for the EqualPfluger said in a statement. is a choice, something they ty Act faces roadblocks. Bills evident when the House ity Act "But we can absolutely not can control or just plain out in the Senate need 60 votes passed the say that allow the federal governwrong," Lewis said.

"This is to bring a bill to a final vote, bill.

Every if the bill ment to send a down a dewho they are and how they so Democrats would need to Democratis passed, cree that forces Americans are born, they can't control garner support from 10 Reic repreLGBTQ Everyone should to act in violation of sinthat.

[Religious people] publican senators in order to s e n t a t i v e individhave equal chances cerely-held religious beliefs, should open their eyes just a pass the bill. voted for uals will As of April 3, no Repubthe bill, threatens the safety and little more and see how they and race, sex, and be able to rights of women and girls, are just being who they are lican senator has signaled and all but get service religion should not jeopardizes the rights of parmeant to be." support for the Equality Act. three Rewithout affect the way they ents, and puts the lives of Lewis believes that reach"I think that when there is p u b l i c a n having our unborn children at even ing out to religious people not equality, the country represenare treated. to worry more risk." about LGBTQ equality isn't seems to be split because tatives votabout beThe passage of the Equaleasy. people are fighting against ed against ing turned ity Act has sparked conver"I think that would be the the others in our country for Jordan Lewis it.

One away or sations over religious beliefs hardest part because their the diversity and equality Texas repFreshman discrimresentative on LGBTQ rights. A 2015 religion is something they creating two sides," Lewis i n a t e d who voted Pew Research poll found really believe in," Lewis said. said. "But, I feel that the against. against the bill said he did so that 54 percent of Christians "And if that's the way they country wouldn't be as split “I hope the [Equality Act] because of concerns about agreed that homosexuality have been seeing it for their and separated when we see will be the start to solving should be accepted by soci- entire life, it would be hard everyone being treated with religious liberty. some of the problems we ety. to just change their mind an emphasis on equality."

"I strongly believe that evneed to fix in our country,"

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Vaccine update Texas has now opened up vaccine eligibility to the 1C group. This means that anyone in the state who is at least 16 years old is now eligible for the vaccine.

“There's younger people with medical conditions who haven’t been prioritized because their conditions aren’t severe enough,” senior Sarah Campbell said. “Opening up the option to get vaccinated to everyone lets them not have to worry about not getting a chance to get it soon.”

According to KVUE, only 10 million Texans have been vaccinated during the high priority distribution.

"If only a small percent of the people at high risk of COVID-19 have gotten shots, letting younger people get vaccinated is not a good idea,” junior Nathan Wood said.

The state is still aiming to prioritize the 1A and 1B groups for vaccination.

“I feel like [groups 1A and 1B] should still be prioritized because they're more at risk, but not as much as they have been where it's only those people getting the shots,” Campbell said. “Everyone should still get a chance to get the vaccine if they want it.”

Wood believes that it would have been more beneficial to give the highly susceptible population more time to get vaccinated.

“COVID-19 does not really affect my specific age group nearly as much compared to older people, so I do not think the need for more vaccine distribution was high enough to justify it,” Wood said. “They should have waited longer to release the COVID-19 vaccine to the younger members of the population.”

STORY

BY Max Muzny

4 FEATURE

THE DISPATCH MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021

Teen shows unique talents with her voice

Senior Libby Monahan takes on voice acting career with a recording studio in her own home Mia Folkers Feature Editor

Entering the small recording studio, she quickly rehearses her lines. With every word, she makes sure to capture the appropriate tone perfectly into the microphone. Within just a few takes, she will create a whole new person with just her voice.

Senior Libby Monahan has been a professional voice actor since she was eight years old.

“When I was younger, my dad would let me just say random things into the microphone for fun,” Monahan said. “It is my dad’s full time occupation and seeing him do voice acting as I grew up made me want to do the same.”

According to Monahan, she has been successful with voice acting through the help of her father.

“My voice acting career is run under the wing of my dad’s business, he signs me up for auditions and such,” Monahan said. “I am not do-

ing much voice acting work now, maybe a few times a month in a studio because of school and my part-time job.”

Along with setting up auditions, Monahan’s father Paul Martin says he supplies Monahan with all the equipment and tools needed for voice acting.

“I provide a physical recording studio made from my own walk-in closet in our home, and an example for Libby to follow as a professional vocal artist,” Martin said.

According to Monahan she is most frequently involved in narrations for commercials for her youthful vocal range.

“I can manipulate my voice to sound younger fairly easily because that is what I’m most often asked to do,” Monahan said. “My vocal range is pre-teen (masculine or feminine), to young adults.”

Throughout the years, Libby has gained experience in voice acting, and has been

SMILING WIDE: Senior Libby Monahan listens closely to a previous recording of her voice. Monahan has been voice acting since she was eight years old. PHOTO COURTESY OF Skylar Linscomb

involved in a few known commercials.

“I have done quite a few commercials for obscure business’ all over the US,” Monahan said. “Some notable examples were a Toyota commercial in Auburn, Texas, a Lysol commercial, and a commercial that happened to air on Nickelodeon for an Online game.”

According to Martin, Monahan’s success in commercial voice acting has come a lot from her natural talent in the studio.

“She takes direction like a pro,” Martin said. “She understands proper mic technique and intuitively makes good choices in conveying the client’s message. She has range with the ability to play different ages and genders, which gives her many opportunities.”

Similar to Martin, recent graduate and close friend of Monahan, Chloe Bluemel, also believes that Monahan’s natural talent has made her successful and has placed her in very unique parts.

“I think it’s special the voices that she will bring out and create so easily,” Bluemel said. “Sometimes she’ll get the role to speak as a preteen boy, and because I don’t really hear her as that, it’s a little funny and unique for me to imagine.”

Even though Monahan has had successful years of experience, she believes she still has challenges that she consistently has to work with.

“I work a lot on pronunciations,” Monahan said. “I am having to do things over and over again and getting burnt out is very common. The pronunciations get better as time goes on but practicing the script beforehand is a lot of work.”

Although Monahan puts lots of time into her voice acting career, she makes sure to balance her time for other things in her life, according to Bluemel.

“She has allowed voice acting to be a part of her life but not consume it, so she still carries out school work and hobbies,” Bluemel said.

“I believe Libby enjoys the

FOCUSED IN: Senior Libby Monahan rehearses her lines into the microphone. Monahan’s voice acting career is run under her father, who provides advice as a professional vocal artist and a physical recording studio in their house. PHOTO COURTESY

OF Skylar Linscomb

work, but because she won’t be choosing voice acting as a full time job, it’s been more about given her different experiences to help her in the future with career situations.”

With graduation approaching, Monahan explained her plan to continue some voice acting along with her first years of college.

“Potentially I would like to be able to make a living off of this in college if I don’t have enough time for a regular nine to five type job,” Monahan said. “If I have the funds, I’ll set up a mini-recording area in a closet of some sort in a future home or apartment. I am mostly aiming to make some extra money for college or any fu-

ture big expenses.”

Although voice acting is not seen as Monahan’s main career, Martin believes the experience of voice acting for Monahan was worth the time as it introduced many educational benefits. “[Voice acting] teaches one how to take direction and to also self-direct, which is key in this business,” Martin said. “It also shows other work opportunities most don’t know about such as working in your pj’s and not having to deal with people face to face.”

Along with educational benefits, Monahan believes that voice acting has also created some positive social benefits within the family.

“It’s been an interesting

experience working with a family member,” Monahan said. “Learning from someone I’m close to that has been fairly successful has been extremely helpful. It also has brought me and my dad closer because I have grown a great respect for his career and his patience.”

Through her voice acting career as a whole, Monahan explained some important concepts she wishes to take with her into any future she chooses to pursue.

“I want to take away the level to which people are influenced by different types and tones of advertisements as well as remembering my words have a true impact on other people,” Monahan said.

NHS serves community through Central Food Bank drive Nicole Rooney Dispatch Reporter

National Honor Society (NHS) is a volunteer organization that members of the senior class are nominated to participate in based off academic performance. Within NHS, students participate in various volunteering and service activities to help the surrounding community.

Students are invited , by letter, to join NHS their junior year if they have a GPA of 3.75 or higher. After students have been selected there is an application process. The current president for this chapter is senior Kellen Watts. ¨In NHS, I usually oversee service projects that are being conducted and organized. I look for potential opportunities that we can turn into initiatives, and I Zoom with the Flicks to get approval for projects and ask for advice. I also organize meetings with just the officers and with our whole chapter,” Watts said.

Along with Watts, vice president senior Zachary Eilers is a leader in NHS, working in group communication and service organization.

“As a vice president, I help coordinate and run NHS activities,” Eilers said. “I also help lead our monthly meetings where we update NHS students on new volunteer opportunities for the NHS, as well as answer frequent questions asked through our Remind text system for NHS updates.”

NHS has multiple activities and volunteering options within the organization. Each year they do a certain number of activities and ser-

vice hours to help the community.

“In NHS we do peer tutoring and other campus and off campus-based initiatives - such as food & clothing drives, science fair judging at elementary schools, etc,” NHS Sponsor Kelly Flickinger said.

Over the past school year, NHS has been able to do many things for the community such as set up peer tutoring, conduct numerous food drives and collect countless pounds of canned goods for the poor in Austin. Additionally, NHS has donated bathroom products to people who are unable to afford it on their own. Eilers believes this is a reason as to why many students find develop a great appreciation for their work and service within the NHS program.

“Being a member of the NHS is about being a part of something bigger than oneself, of seeing the impact one can make in the world, and being aware of the impact one has as a role model for others at Bowie,” Eilers said. “NHS is truly a rewarding organization to be apart of. Though far less intensive than an athletic sport, NHS is still a clear way for many aspiring leaders at Bowie to take that first step and to work at solving problems in their communities.”

One specific thing that NHS was able to do this year was raising and donating over 2,500 pounds of canned goods. All of what they gathered was donated to the Central Texas Food Bank, to help people who weren’t able to get it on their own.

“At the core, I love service and leadership,” Eilers said. “Organizing drives and service projects,

HELPING HANDS: Senior Alex Johnson helps out with NHS food drive donations. This year NHS raised and donated over 2,500 pounds of canned food to the Central Food Bank. PHOTO COURTESY OF Kellen Watts

being involved in leading a large organization, and serving my community was something I wanted to do during my senior year of high

school.”

Volunteering and learning how to care for the community is a huge part of NHS, but for some students

it is more. Watts believes he will leave NHS having learned many important lessons that could not be taught in a traditional classroom. ¨I decided to be a part of NHS because I love service,” Watts said.

“Being a part of NHS has taught me valuable leadership skills and has also helped me learn to work as a part of something that is greater than myself. It has been fun. NHS has given me a good community of people who I can ask for help and who I enjoy being around.”

Along with learning to care for the community and how to be a good leader, NHS has shown Eilers to look at the bigger picture of what you’re doing.

“My experience as an officer has been very good. I’ve genuinely enjoyed working with the other Officers to run the service drives and initiatives, though seeing the impact of the NHS on the wider community has been the most rewarding part,” Eilers said. “As an NHS Vice President, I’ve genuinely enjoyed the leadership experience and working with our team of awesome NHS Officers to develop and implement the initiatives to serve the community.”

For the Class of 2022, invitations have been sent via student emails for current juniors to apply for participation in NHS in the 2021-2022 school year. If a student desires to apply, an application must be submitted by Monday, April 12. ¨NHS is comprised of such an amazing group of students. Both Mr. Flick and myself are honored to guide these students in their efforts to give back to Bowie and our community,” Flickinger said.

FEATURE 5

MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021 THE DISPATCH

Photo business captures senior smiles Miranda Cardenas Feature Editor

As senior year goes on, one of the milestones that comes with the year is getting senior portraits taken for either yearbook ads, graduation announcements, or even just some nice pictures to commemorate graduating.

Senior Skylar Linscomb has started her own photography business this year in order to help capture these special moments for seniors and to keep practicing her photography skills.

“I’d wanted to start my own photography business for a couple years now but I didn’t have time because of school,” Linscomb said.

“But when the pandemic lockdown started last year I finally had time during quarantine to set up the foundation for it and start a website and really get it going.”

While Linscomb didn’t have the time to officially start up business for her photography until recently,

STRIKING A POSE: Senior Morgan Mayet poses on South Congress Avenue for her senior portraits. Mayet got her portraits done at the end of summer.

PHOTO COURTESY OF Morgan Mayet

she has been getting comfortable behind a camera taking pictures for a long period of time now.

“I first got into photography when I was really young, about eight years old, and it stuck with me when I took my mom’s red point and shoot camera to The Wildflower Center and we had the photos from that printed,” Linscomb said. “Once I saw them printed I was hooked.”

Since COVID-19 has made it difficult to find ways to still creatively market business ventures, Linscomb has had to take time to develop her photography business mostly Online.

“I market myself mostly on my Instagram, and people recommend me to their friends or family or my pictures come up on other people’s Instagrams,” Linscomb said.

“Thankfully my business hasn’t really been affected by COVID-19 because it’s safe enough to do while following all the guidelines.”

Senior Amy Bejarano decided to go with Linscomb after seeing her pictures on social media and seeing that Linscomb was offering great deals.

“She does them at a reasonable price and I did three outfit changes and three locations for a great rate,” Bejarano said. “During the shoot, she helped me get out of my comfort zone and had a really natural poses that still looked good.

I also liked how she edited them, because the edits were very natural and it didn’t look over edited.”

Bejarano looked for a photographer like Linscomb for her senior portraits because she wanted someone who could have fun but also give good direction at the same time.

“She helped a lot by giving advice about poses and lighting. I had never done a professional shoot like this before so it was new to me but it was a really fun experience,” Bejarano said. “In a photographer I look for kindness and fun. Photography is all about capturing special moments so a photographer should always be fun and spontaneous in my opinion.”

For Bejarano, these senior portraits are a way to help commem-

orate her final year of high school and her accomplishments thus far.

“I chose to have senior portraits done to portray an accomplishment which is graduating high school,” Bejarano said. “These pictures are just a fun and exciting way to end the last year of high school, right before you head off to college.”

Senior Morgan Mayet also did her senior portraits with Linscomb in order to celebrate her senior year.

“I do think it’s important to get senior photos because we have had to deal with so much since the pandemic started that doing normal senior portraits made it feel like we had a little bit of normalcy and tradition back in our senior year,” Mayet said.

Mayet knew she wanted Linscomb to take her senior portraits due to the fact that she had seen Linscomb’s work progress over a number of years.

“I went with Skylar for my senior photos because I was looking for someone who can have fun while also being serious about getting the right shots. I’ve known her since 6th grade and I have seen her photography skills develop into beautiful art,” Mayet said. “So, when I was looking for a photographer I knew I could trust her.”

Another factor in Mayet’s senior portraits that made the experience more memorable was that she was able to also do it with her best friend.

“I loved having my best friend there and taking our portraits together,” Mayet said. “We decided to take our senior portraits at the same time together because we thought it would make the experience a lot more memorable and Skylar was really good at scouting locations and backgrounds and she really knew what she was doing.”

While Linscomb has done many senior photo shoots this year, she also works with many different types of clients with different types of situations and circumstances.

“I don’t just do seniors, I can do any student of any age,” Linscomb said. “I’ve also done family shoots, couple shoots, college announcements, and basically anything

IN FRONT OF THE CITY SKY LINE: Senior Amy Bejarano stands on top of a parking garage in order to capture the Austin skyline in the background of her senior portraits. Bejarano used this location as well as other downtown locations for her portraits. PHOTO COURTESY OF Amy Bejarano

someone reaches out to me asking for. I like to switch things up and stay creative like that.”

Linscomb reflects on advice she would give to people interested in photography or starting a business with their photography.

“The only way to get better is to do it more often so you can’t start

off charging a bunch of money. You have to get good shots to get good business,” Linscomb said. “Photography is definitely one of those things you have to do to really learn about each time you shoot because each shoot is different but you learn more as you keep going and practicing.”

Students start learning how to invest in the stock market Dylan Zellner Dispatch Reporter

Planning for the future, investors keep a keen eye on the value of companies. Watching as they lose and earn money through their meticulous research and planning, investors watch as their money works for them. Day to day costs do not stop them from their financial dreams, whether that be early retirement or a new car. The stock market can lend a helping hand for the dreamers future. According to New York Times the stock market can make money work for investors of any age, and learning younger can have exceptional advantages.

Investing at a younger age allows profits to increase because the investments were made earlier. According to Investopedia, if investors were to invest in their 20’s the investment has more time to grow from a $10,000 investment, to a $70,000 investment in an investor’s 60’s.

Senior Blake Guerra says why he thinks it’s good to invest young.

“I think if you are smart with your investments and begin to invest money as an 18 year old it gives you a great chance to build wealth for retirement, which is becoming more and more important,” Guerra said.

Since it’s up to the individual investor to determine which companies to buy their stocks from, it’s important to do research in order to find the right investments worth the money that’s going to be spent.

“I try to invest in stuff that people will always need, and so I have purchased waste management and Union Pacific because I think those companies will always exist and only grow,” Guerra said.

“I have also purchased a mutual fund called Blue chips which consists of some of the world’s largest companies such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft.”

Not only do investors have more time for their investments to grow, but they also have the time to learn by doing, as stated by Investopedia.

Learning with each mistake, young investors have their entire life ahead of them to acquire income; they have the ability to take more financial risks. Young investors are also more tech savvy and will have more technological options.

“It’s crucial to develop highly proficient financial literacy at a young age like in high school,” Guerra said. ”Learning about the stock market does a really good job of teaching people how to invest and save money in a smart way that can reap a lot of benefits.”

Due to new innovative ideas investing in stock had become much more accessible and convenient; according to CNBC, an Online service called Robinhood has gained 3.1 million users. With the average age of Robinhood’s users being 31 years old, Robinhood was made with the purpose of investing to be easy. Junior Kyle Whitney speculates on why he thinks adolescents should invest in stock.

“Younger people investing in stocks gives them an opportunity to start building wealth and also teaches them to start thinking about their future no matter what they do,” Whitney said. “It gives them more time to choose what to invest in by watching how companies in the market and what good and bad market decisions are.”

A Student’s Guide to Investing 1. Pick an online broker

-Some brokers are Robinhood, or Vanguard

2. Decide which stocks to buy -Figure out which companies you like

3. Decide how much stocks to buy -Decide how much you’re willing to invest

4. Plan out a selling strategy -Look at the market and figure out when to buy or sell

5. Start investing in your stocks

-Start making a profit by investing in your chosen companies

Another way technology has interacted with the stock market can be seen with the GameStop surge. According to BBC more than a 104 percent growth originated with investors sharing the direction they saw GameStop going using an Online media platform, called Reddit.

Following the conversations being had on Reddit, chief financial officer Jim Bell resigned from his position

ART BY Miranda Cardenas

to “accelerate GameStop’s transformation.”

Business teacher Marlene Porter voices her thoughts on this surge in growth.

“Gamestop has a sentimental feeling in hearts and minds. I think a bunch of the kids and the younger folks were trying to stick it to the man,” Porter said. “And if enough people go in there and buy that stock it’s going to shoot up the value of the

company because power to the people, power in numbers.”

However, the GameStop surge isn’t only growth, the surge also has a hidden grim reality, according to AP News.

While the market cap reached $17 billion dollars with $325 dollars per share, GameStop has been a dying company. In a growing age of digital Online gaming, GameStop has been losing customer traffic, dropping 20.3% compared to last year in January. Whitney sees the surge as more than just stock exchange.

“It demonstrates what individuals can do to the market and shows how corporations like to be in control of it,” Whitney said. “A bunch of individuals can influence the market the same way the big corporations do.”

While GameStop’s changes in the stock market had a lot to do with an influx of people actually buying stock, it’s important to consider what kind of investment strategy to stick with depending on a person’s end goal. Different approaches like day trading or just holding onto stocks for a long period of time, all influence profits.

“I found the GameStop event humorous to watch for afar, for me personally, I haven’t day traded all that much because I believe I will be more successful in the long run if I invest in stable stocks or mutual funds,” Guerra said. “I tend to buy and hold these stocks to ensure that make the best decisions while also maximizing profit.”

Although GameStop might have a grim future, hedge funds that bet against GameStop are having a grim present. According to Business Insider, a number of large hedge funds lost over

five billion dollars; Point72 Asset Management being one of the hedge funds losing nearly 15 percent and having 19 billion dollars under management.

“The hedge funds have a massive amount of control over the markets and only want to benefit themselves over actually making money for their customers which should be their primary goal because they wouldn’t exist without them,” Whitney said.

While hedge funds continued to lose money, trading options like Robinhood decided to restrict investing for GameStop. According to CNBC Robinhood stated that this restriction occurred because as a brokerage firm, they have to meet certain requirements which fluctuate depending on the volatility in the markets. Such requirements exist to protect investments and the markets.

“I can see it being unethical because the restrictions limit the value of GameStop and the money that can be gained by consumers investing in stock,” sophomore Ethan Smith said. “Because that is another company limiting how much money you make.”

The stock market holds many intricate details that need to be understood, and sometimes in order to get good profits, there are risks that are taken. Learning how to invest, especially at a young age, can leave investors with valuable life skills.

“I think schools should start teaching business skills like these,” Whitney said. “It should focus more on life skills like budgeting and taxes or how to read the stock market in general than the basic curriculum we may run the risk of forgetting.”

6 PHOTO ESSAY

THE DISPATCH MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021

Understanding Austin’s homeless population

Increased amount of people on the street with COVID-19 limiting resources and propositions to make it illegal to publicly camp Reagan Zuniga Photo Essay Editor

WAITING FOR THE BUS: A man sleeps on the ground at a bus stop with his belongings beside him. Bus passes along with bottle water are some of the most commonly needed resources among homeless people. “People need to get places and it’s hard when you don’t have money for lunch or transportation,” Sunrise Church volunteer coordinator Sarah Combs said. “So then rather than giving them money I give them a bus pass, and then I personally also have business cards for Sunrise so that they know we have resources available to them if they want to use them.” PHOTO BY Reagan Zuniga

STAYING OPTIMISTIC: Teva, a 23 year old man goes to Sunrise periodically for services such as food and their mail system. Teva hopes to receive his stimulus checks through the mailing system at Sunrise and use it to buy new books. “It’s been hard to get steady right now, but I know eventually it’s going to work out and I’m not going to be homeless anymore,“ Teva said.

PHOTO BY Reagan Zuniga

LOOKING THROUGH DONATIONS: Teva tries on jackets offered to whoever is in need of them at Sunrise Church.

Teva has been homeless for about 10 months now after leaving home. “I don’t really feel like I’m homeless,“ Teva said.

“I’m almost always by myself but my parents know of my situation which makes it easier knowing there’s some people on earth who actually know I exist.” PHOTO COURTESY OF Michael Reeves

Homelessness in Austin is an obvious problem for a combination of reasons, such as unaffordable housing and lack of shelter space. Laura found herself being unable to support herself and her son after unavoidable events.

“I got where I am now after my husband passed away two years ago and the insurance ran out,” Laura said. “About three months before he passed I broke my hip and was in a wheelchair and couldn’t work. Once he passed away we stayed in a motel for a little while, but right now we’re living out of our truck.”

It’s commonly misunderstood how hard it is to get back into the workforce and find a stable living situation once you’re homeless. Services such as mail or even acquiring an ID become extremely difficult without an address or source of transportation. Sunrise Community Church runs a program on weekdays that helps the homeless acquire their needed services.

“The main reason we exist is to connect people to services and help them navigate through them, because it’s a really difficult system to navigate through,” volunteer coordinator Sarah Combs said. “We offer services such as helping them get food stamps or even just basic things like an ID. If you don’t have an ID then you can’t really do anything. We help get out there, get an ID, get replacement social security cards, and birth certificates.

We partner with all these different organizations, with some of them coming to us.”

Robert Lam is a volunteer at Sunrise and has gotten to work with and help numerous homeless people.

“I’ve gotten to know quite a few people here,” Lam said. “And it’s funny because sometimes I won’t see them for a couple of weeks, and I realize that they’re working, they’re moved on in their life, and that’s a good thing at Sunrise. It’s not a bad thing if I don’t see you.”

In May voters will decide whether or not to reinstate the public camping ban in Austin. If passed, the proposition would make it illegal to camp in certain areas and sit or lie on public sidewalks.

“I’m actually kind of in the middle about it because I can see both sides of it,” Combs said. “Working here, I can see this is a need and if we made it illegal for them to camp out here, they would be gone, but they wouldn’t be gone, and they would not be inside. And I think the general public would think the problem was solved or was not there anymore, which would mean that people would back off from giving and helping get resources. So that’s one side of it. I also agree that it’s not very attractive and so I understand wanting that gone and that it can affect tourism and things like that but the city is trying to solve a problem.”

Public camping used to be illegal but the lifting of the ban in 2019 homelessness became a more visible problem to Austin residents.

“I think it helped in the sense that it brought the issue to light,” Combs said.

“But I think also from what I heard when you have a city that it is not illegal then it attracts people from out of town, or out of state, so then our homeless population grows, because of that.”

Contrary to that opinion junior Sonny Dedmon thinks the ban doesn’t address the right problem by banning public camping and that it

does more harm than good.

“I don’t agree with Prop B because the homeless are just once again being dehumanized and people view them and their camps as clutter and an obstacle when attracting tourism when they should be viewing them as human beings who need help,” Dedmon said. “I think instead of people voting to essentially just make them less visible they should instead look for ways to actually help the homeless.

People think by voting to criminalize people for being homeless they’re solving a problem, but all they’re doing is making it even harder for those people to get jobs and get out of debt because they’re being fined for being poor.”

Very commonly people associate the homeless as lazy and blame their situation on their own personal choices, but this is not the case for most of our homeless neighbors.

“A lot of what we see here at Sunrise is mental health,” Combs said.” So, mental health issues are a huge cause for homelessness because there’s not a lot of mental health resources for any age group out there that really addresses it in a long term.”

To help Austin’s homeless population there are many donation and volunteer opportunities.

“Volunteering is a great way to help,” Combs said.

“Sunrise is open for volunteering on Saturdays for people who are not available during the week, but then also we have it open every weekday, where people can come volunteer, but there’s also other organizations and if you go to vouenteermatch. com and type in homeless there’s other opportunities as well.”

AWAITING RESOURCES: People line up outside of Sunrise Church for access to various resources. Sunrise offers services every weekday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. “I signed up for housing here, and I’ve been getting good medical treatment here on Thursdays, like a motor clinic,” Laura, a homeless woman said. “I started laying there and they’re taking care of my hip for me to send me to a specialist orthopedic specialist, because I need hip replacement surgery, and I have end stage arthritis in both my hips. So they’re trying to get that fixed for me.“ PHOTO BY Reagan Zuniga

CAMPS UNDER MOPAC: Along South Lamar numerous homeless camps are set up under the highway. Camps such as these will no longer be legal under the proposition on the ballot in May. “So I’ve come to learn that, you know we can we can feed them, and you know a lot of mental illness is a big issue here, and we just try to treat everyone with respect,” volunteer Robert Lam said. “And we try to do anything we can for you to help you in your situation. Because you know, anybody can be in that situation. I mean we’re all a couple paychecks away from it.” PHOTO BY Reagan Zuniga

HELPING AT STOPLIGHTS: Asking for help at a stoplight a homeless man walks down William Cannon. Among the homeless, housing opportunities are commonly misconception. “I think sometimes it’s communicated to them that housing is just at their fingertips, and you just have to do this and this and then you can get into a house, but the way the system is set up is it’s not that simple, and the housing system is based on triage so it’s like the worse off, you are then, the more likely you are to get into housing” Sarah Combs said. PHOTO BY Reagan Zuniga

ENTERTAINMENT 7 MONDAY, APRIL. 5, 2021

THE DISPATCH

Color Guard adjusts to virtual times

Spinning flags, sabers, and rifles while practicing remotely requires accommodations Isabella del Nido Dispatch Reporter

Swinging sabers and twirling flags each performance is just the basics for the Color Guard team. Color Guard students work to achieve the perfect routine, working with the band in the process.

But this year, things took a different turn as students were forced to learn to adapt to the shortcomings placed upon them by COVID-19.

Senior Hailey Vogt, captain of the Color Guard, oversees rehearsals and mentors students just getting into the program. Captains in the Color Guard also organize performance and work with band directors to execute plans for who’s performing what.

“At in-person rehearsals, I can hype people up when they start to lose motivation,” Vogt said. “On virtual practices we don’t get to interact with anyone directly, so it’s sadder.”

Finding a family in a sea of over 3,000 students can be a challenge. For Vogt, being on a team opens up doors and opportunities for meeting new people.

“Color Guard is an amazing sport with amazing people. I enjoy the closeness of the team, joining my freshman year was the best thing I could do to find my place at Bowie,” Vogt said.

Color Guard continues to push through, providing practices through Zoom. According to junior Liam Moore, the Zoom practice environment is highly improvised as the team is a very all-hands-ondeck sport. Color Guard is trained to use different tools that are incorporated into their routines.

“At practices we mainly work on three things: either your body, your flag, or your weapon for your body,” Moore said. “We just like to stretch and move around try-

PERFORMING WITH THE BAND: Members of the Color Guard dance to songs played by the band. The team did not get the opportunity to go to world championships this year because of COVID-19, however they were still able to perform at some school events.

PHOTO BY Natalie Cullen

ing to get some choreography in and for your flag you would do tosses.”

When Color Guard is practicing, they have to deal with the uncertainty of Online learning. Some students’ WiFi could cut-out when learning virtually. The in-person students still know what’s happening but it could be hard for the virtual people to catch up. Guard members spend most of their time practicing for performances, however with COVID-19 getting in the way, things are more complicated.

“We’re practicing the same amount of days minus one day, so our amount of practice days hasn’t changed too much,” Vogt said. “It was difficult to continue to operate with the same level of excellence because we lost so much time to the snow storm as well as COVID-19.”

According to Moore’s parents, the inconvenience of switching between in person and Online interrupts parent schedules. Color Guard schedules are prone to change due to how easy it is for practices to get canceled.

“It’s rewarding but time consuming,” Moore’s father Joe Moore said. “Prioritizing school work and practice times is a struggle and it’s hard to find a balance between school and Color Guard practice times.”

Students get on Zoom to learn routines for class but according to senior Kylie Rodriguez, but it can be difficult to understand what they are supposed to be teaching.

“It is very difficult since the Zoom camera mirrors us so when teaching something officers have to explain more about how to do the choreography opposed to what we are used to,” Rodriguez said.

Team members have shifted their focus onto just sharing the routines with students rather than teaching them, saving time but in the end choosing efficiency over the quality of their performances.

TWIRLING THE FLAG: Sophomore Katie Brown performs alongside the band at the Fall Extravaganza. Dancing with and twirling the flags is just one of the major components of being in Color Guard. PHOTO COURTESY OF Michael Reeves

“Color Guard is mainly about just having fun and winning competitions,” Liam said. “Even if you don’t win you still had fun doing the show and being a part of the team.

Students work on perfecting their routines for competition, so learning drill and choreography with dance flags and sabers is high stakes.

“Sometimes we get to do some really fun stuff and other times we don’t but it’s kind of like a dice roll, we just don’t know what part we’re going to get into,” Liam said.

“We might lose that portion of the dance and then get better or sometimes we might lose that part and nothing.”

Getting to that final moment allows the Color Guard

to put all their energy into something positive. According to Vogt, she wouldn’t change a thing.

“I’m sad that I never got to go to world championships in-person because of COVID-19,” Vogt said. “But I’m glad the team gets to go soon, and I think that it will always be worth it.”

Theatre virtually performs the musical ‘The Chorus Line’ Abbey Repka Entertainment Editor

In past years, audience members would pile in to watch students a part of the Starlight Theatre Company put on their annual musical. This year, actors will no longer be illuminated by the bright stage lights, but instead will be filmed and edited together remotely.

The musical has been a popular performance among many students in past years, however due to the restrictions of remote learning and COVID-19, many changes have had to be made to the show this year.

“Many of the actors are using their own bedrooms or Zoom locations as the background for their audition,” theatre director Betsy Cornwell said. “The only sequences we are filming live are the ‘memory’ scenes and, of course, the big finale.”

Typically, the musical is performed live for an audience after winter break, but due to COVID-19 limitations, the ice storm, and damage done to the theatre due to flooding, it will be recorded and edited together for viewers to watch.

“We got a late start on fall shows and it just kind of has a domino effect,” senior Rachel McBurnett said. “Figuring out Online theatre took a while at the beginning of the year.”

This year’s show, ‘The Chorus Line’, is being filmed remotely by students and then sent to the technicians to edit the clips together. “[The rehearsals] were on Zoom, other than a few in the parking lot,” McBurnett said. “It was actually pretty smooth but sometimes I don’t think actors and directors would realize that some things just wouldn’t work Online because of the lag. But other than that the rehearsals ran just fine.”

Although there are many upsides to doing

THE BIG FINALE: Dancers get ready on stage to perform their number. Students involved in the musical were invited to perform and record the final dance in the show at the AISD Performing Arts Center. PHOTO COURTESY OF Sydney Reinhart

the show virtually, difficult challenges come with it.

“Staying motivated has been really hard because we don’t get to see each other and perform with each other,” McBurnett said.

“It can make it really hard to find the energy to do things.”

According to McBurnett, the musical experience is not the same as previous years, however the students and directors are giving it their best effort.

“I feel like we’re doing our best to make people have something similar, especially the underclassmen, but it just isn’t the same as

being onstage with others and having an audience,” McBurnett said.

Even if the musical experience is different this year, there is still a bright side to doing the musical, according to senior Haley Pousson.

“It’s been a cool thing recording vocals over Zoom and seeing them come together,” Pousson said.

There are two main sides to producing the musical. The actors film their parts using either Zoom or their phones, and the technicians run the behind-the-scenes things such as editing the show.

“I wish people knew about the tech and everything that they do,” junior Ava York said. “I feel like all the tech always works super hard and people sometimes don’t realize how much work goes into it.”

Students who felt comfortable were invited to the AISD Performing Arts Center to record a dance for the big finale.

“This play was additionally a challenge because of the story’s dependence upon dance,” Cornwell said. “Our president, Tayah Savoy, stepped up to the challenge and has choreographed dance numbers for the entire show.”

After over a year of COVID-19 and remote learning, the directors, actors, and technicians have figured out the best way to produce shows.

“We’ve gotten to do a lot of trial-and-error with the previous shows which has allowed us to understand how to produce them better and how the process works,” York said.

Even with pushing through all the challenges of the virtual musical, the experience is still not the same to McBurnett.

“I really miss just being around other people, acting with others, having social interactions in rehearsal,” McBurnett said. “I would probably sell my soul to sing in a group again and hear harmonies.”

coming UP in ENTERTAINMENT Apr. 8-10 STC Spring Shows Apr.12-23 Band Spring Camp

Apr. 17 Senior Prom

Apr. 19-30 Color Guard Auditions May. 6-7 Silver Stars Spring Show

IN-DEPTH 9

8 IN-DEPTH

ME NTA L HE A L TH : C OV I D - 19 THE DISPATCH MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021

MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021 THE DISPATCH

One year of quarantine has proved to be detrimental to teen mental health, but the widespread release of the vaccines gives students some hope Faith Lawrence Editor-in-Chief

Isolation. Separation from friends. Interrupted routines. Canceled extracurriculars. Prolonged time indoors. Endless hours spent staring at a computer screen doing busy-work. Little things like hugs and parties, no longer considered safe. Missing out on a year’s worth of activities.

March of 2021 marked one full year since Austin Independent School District (AISD) closed its campuses due to COVID-19 precautions, and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) implemented health policies in order to keep the population safe, such as social distancing and mask policies. While the initial campus closure was only supposed to be active for a limited time, senior Laurel Shultz has yet to step foot on campus in her final year of high school.

“I was not expecting the pandemic to last this long at first, I was uneducated about the virus and didn’t think a virus could disrupt everyday life so drastically,” Shultz said. “I thought it would last three months tops. Honestly, now that it has been a year I feel annoyed at former President Trump for not heeding the warnings he got from other countries about the virus the way I feel he should have. He put hundreds of thousands of lives on the line because he chose to ignore the warnings, and as someone who knows multiple people who died in the early days of the pandemic lock down, that makes me angry.”

Staff members, like Assistant Principal Susan Leos, have tried keeping a positive outlook throughout the pandemic, focusing on how quarantine has bonded students and staff with a shared experience.

“What I will retain from this year of quarantine is a newfound sense that people can find ways they never even thought of to make a community, even without the physical place if they are willing to find ways to connect with each other,” Leos wrote in a one-year-of-quarantine reflection letter. “The resiliency of our staff and students to create a community of learners through the power of human connection is what keeps me going.”

Jessi Gold, a psychiatrist at Washington University in St. Louis, commented in a New York Times article that teenagers begin to learn how to navigate relationships and develop nuanced communication skills while in high school.

Therefore, attending classes that are Online or that have limited in-person experience could possibly cause teens to lose some of those social skills.

“Everything is stagnant now,” New York City Ayden Hufford said in the same New York Times article. “There’s nothing to look forward to. I sit on the computer for three hours, eat lunch, walk around a bit, sit for three hours, then end my day. It’s

LOCKED INSIDE G r

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of teenagers claimed they have become

STRONGER and MORE RESILIENT during the pandemic, according to The Wheatley Institution.

United States were

THREE TIMES as likely to experience mental distress, anxiety, or depression than from the two previous years.

30% of high schoolers have felt unhappy or depressed more often since the beginning of quarantine.

Between March and December of 2020, the therapists with Vida Clinic Behavioral Health, a counseling option for AISD students, has seen about

4,000 STUDENTS and

2,000 teachers and parents.

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During Spring of 2020, people in the

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SOURCES ifstudies.org, www.texastribune.org, www.americaspromise.org/

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53%

Even though students have felt an increase in feelings of depression and anxiety since quarantine began, teens have had the opportunity to get more sleep since then. The Institute for Family Studies reported that the percentage of high school students who slept seven or more hours a night increased by 29 percent since 2018. Additionally, a total of 53 percent of teens claimed they have become stronger and more resilient during the pandemic.

“Teens during the pandemic appear to have managed the challenges of 2020 with resilience, taking comfort in their families and the slower pace of life,” an article published by The Institute read. “Although teens were worried about health, economic stressors, and the protests, these challenges were seemingly offset by increases in sleep time and family time. These results suggest that once the pandemic has lifted, later school start times and more family time may be helpful in mitigating teen depression.”

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) announced that the COVID-19 vaccines became available to all Texans ages 16 or older starting Monday, March 29. Additionally, the DSHS administered over 11.8 million doses of the vaccine to Texans as of Friday, April 2.

“I think returning to our more normal routines will help a large number of students,” Toohey said. “It seems like current medical experts feel hopeful that widespread vaccinations will greatly reduce the spread and allow for many of the current restrictions to be lifted.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 11 percent of adults in the U.S. felt symptoms of anxiety or depression before the COVID-19 pandemic began and 42 percent had symptoms in December of 2020. Gallier thinks that as life becomes “more normal,” due to the vaccines, the percentage will likely decrease.

“The widespread administration of the vaccine gives me so much hope, and I think that getting back to normal life as quickly and safely as possible is really important in getting my anxiety back to the low level it was at before the pandemic began,” Shultz said. “The vaccine will give me the reassurance I need to go back to my daily routine as well as feel comfortable again in social settings. My anxiety about the pandemic alone is sky-high, so having the vaccine and having my friends and family have it will be such a relief.”

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A LOOK AT THE FUTURE

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In the Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Learning Network’s “Coping During COVID-19” video series, psychiatric-mental health professional Julie Carbray said that the social isolation adolescents are facing during quarantine has been looked at as being most problematic for long-term outcomes for children. After a full year of quarantine, students still report having feelings of depression and anxiety that surfaced when the pandemic first began.

“I experienced a lot of changes in my mental health after quarantine began; my anxiety went through the roof and tasks I used to be able to do are now a lot more difficult,” Shultz said. “I was shocked at how fast my entire lifestyle was flipped upside down and it caused a lot of stress and fear-inspired anxiety. Especially at the beginning of quarantine, it was hard to cope with because I was never alone, felt overwhelmed by the expectations in school, at home, and never felt I had time to myself which I desperately need because I am an introvert. Although I was able to ‘keep it together’ on the outside, on the inside I felt trapped, overwhelmed, and anxious over every small detail most people probably wouldn’t even notice.”

The Institute for Family Studies at the Wheatley Institution found that the percentage of teenagers who reported being unhappy or even dissatisfied with their life increased during the quarantined summer of 2020. Additionally, depression, loneliness, and general unhappiness are at an “unacceptable” high level among teens in the United States.

“Mental health needs have sharply increased across the board from kids to adults,” Licensed Mental Health Specialist and school social worker Amanda Toohey said. “Many people struggle with isolation as well as an overall loss of their normal routines, paired with fewer opportunities to do things for self-care and things that bring joy to our lives. The pandemic has been referred to as a collective trauma- something we are all experiencing together and coping with at different levels.”

Medical News Today reported that, towards the beginning of the pandemic, 38 percent of those surveyed felt tired and lacked energy, 36 percent were having sleep disturbances, and 25 percent were feeling down or depressed. Over a quarter of populations around the globe were facing an increase of pandemic-induced anxiety or depression.

“Know that you are not alone and that help is available in many forms,” Toohey said. “Talking to a trusted adult is a must. We tend to turn to our friends or peers for support which is great, but when it comes to depression and mental health, involving an adult is especially important. You can also try out various coping skills to find what works bestconnect with others, journal, exercise, art, music, mindful meditations; there are many options to try out.”

Counselor Heather Gallier suggested that students dealing with feelings of depression or anxiety use the acronym “MEDS” to help with their physical and mental health. “M” stands for mindfulness, focusing on the present, “E” for exercise, “D” for diet, and “S” for sleep.

“I always emphasize the link between your physical health and your mental health,” Gallier said. “Thinking about those physical factors and paying attention to them is always my biggest recommendation. Then, I recommend

have shared that when their students talk about things that are difficult, they try to refocus them on the positives.

This can invalidate the student’s feelings and make them think the adult doesn’t understand. It’s important that we continue to recognize and verbalize back to students how challenging things are right now and how big the losses and changes feel to them.”

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ART BY F

QUARANTINE’S EFFECT ON MENTAL HEALTH

thinking about balance and scheduling activities you enjoy in your week and your day, even when you feel overwhelmed.”

“My advice for students dealing with difficult mental health changes is to seek help,” graduate Sidney Tishgart said. “There’s no shame in having a therapist. Another thing that’s been hugely helpful for me is finding something to look forward to. It can be as simple as ‘I’m gonna go get coffee in the morning’ or even something like, ‘I’ll be at a concert soon, just push through.’”

Writers at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) wrote that it is likely that the COVID-19 pandemic will result in psychiatric disorders such as Post-Traumatic Stress, Depressive, and Anxiety Disorders, as well as grief-related symptoms. Additionally, NCBI published an article written by several doctors, which described that the pandemic has created a global context likely to increase eating disorder (ED) risk and symptoms because of disrupted routines, decreased social interactions, increased exposure to ED-specific or anxiety-provoking media, and health concerns.

“Developing an eating disorder during this time is more common than you’d think,” Tishgart said. “If you’re suffering, you are not alone. For students suffering from eating disorders, I think it’s important to stray away from the toxicity of social media. A quick fix is unfollowing influencers or others who make you feel lesser than. Of course, there’s more to it than just a social media detox, but it’s all about baby steps. Diet culture is another thing. Sure, ‘hot girl summer’ is coming up, but you’re a badass as-is, and worrying about food or appearances should be the least of your concerns.”

The National Eating Disorders Association found up to a 78 percent increase in the number of calls and Online chats they received compared to about a year ago. Anyone struggling with an eating disorder can contact a helpline when in a crisis situation at nationaleatingdisorders.org or by texting “NEDA” to 741741.

“What can be important is having compassion for yourself,” Gallier said.

“Keep in mind that you’re going to have good and bad days, and not every day will be perfect. What’s important too is thinking about the people in your life, and surrounding yourself with people who are very supportive. I don’t think we realize how much diet culture is in our world, so being careful of the things you say is essential if there is someone in your life struggling with an eating disorder.”

Since quarantine and remote learning has forced most students to attend classes from home, associate professor at the Rutgers School of Health Professions Ann Murphy and senior training and consultation specialist PJ Wenger recommend that parents and teachers should watch out for signs that students are having trouble with their mental health: struggling to complete work, pay attention, sleep, eat, or interact with family or friends.

“Validate their feelings,” Murphy said in an interview for Newswise. “Teachers

AR

ay

all just a cycle. [Sometimes,] I’ll lay down with my camera off and wait for it to be over; It’s sad and somewhat lonely.”

10 SPORTS

From athlete to assistant coach

THE DISPATCH MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021

ATHLETES ASSERT A new era of Texas basketball: Chris Beard replaces Shaka Smart Riley Payne Dispatch Reporter

The Texas Longhorns men’s basketball team just had one of its best regular seasons in quite some time and ended up winning the Big 12 Tournament for the first time in 26 years, punching themselves a spot in the big dance.

The Longhorns were rewarded with a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament, putting them in the position of playing a lower ranked team, Abilene Christian in the opening round.

The Horns came out slow, but they had a solid lead half way through the second half.

The Horns committed over 20 turnovers, which is an abysmal performance for one of the top-12 teams in the tournament.

No. 14 seed Abilene Christian had the smallest team in the tournament, making the Horns’ performance even more embarrassing.

Ultimately, the game ended in a one-point, upset loss to Abilene, 53-52. This team had such a high ceiling, so the only thing to blame is coaching.

Texas head coach Shaka Smart has been with the program for six years now, and is yet to have a single tournament win under his leadership. Although he brought in some elite high school talent and made some good runs towards the end of a few seasons, it was clearly time to make a change.

Before being relieved of his duties, Shaka Smart took the job at Marquette University, knowing he wouldn’t have one in Austin for much longer.

The coaching search didn’t take too long with the top two candidates being Brooklyn Nets’ Royal Ivey and Texas Tech’s Chris Beard. On April 1, 2021, the Longhorns agreed to a seven year, $35 million contract with the former Red Raider’s head coach.

Beard is a Texas alum who previously led the 2018 Red Raiders to the elite eight for the first time. The following year, Tech was in the National Championship game.

This resume is impressive in itself. Additionally, Beard led one of his younger, less talented teams to the second round of the NCAA tournament before falling to the No. 3 seed Arkansas Razorbacks this year.

When the news broke, some people thought it was an April Fools joke, but Texas fans should be thankful it wasn’t.

Beard also brought his good friend, UT-Arlington head coach Chris Ogden, along with him to Texas.

These hires are giving some Texas fans hope, but many need to be content with the fact this team may not be back at the top for a while.

Naya Tillisch Sports Editor

Senior Grace Pollock, once a varsity track athlete, has had an unbelievable year since she was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and forced to undergo multiple surgeries and relearn how to walk.

“I was diagnosed with a disease called lupus over the summer, which as a side effect gave me a nasty blood clot in my leg,” Pollock said.

“It unfortunately put an end to my sports career.”

Pollock began running track in seventh grade and has loved it since, so her diagnosis was devastating to her senior year season.

“I used to run the 100 and 300 hurdles, and last year I had the opportunity to run in some relays,” Pollock said.

“Track season has always been my favorite part of the school year. I had big plans regarding my senior year of track that weren’t able to happen. I deeply miss the ability to run and workout, which were big parts of my life before this.”

RECOVERY: Senior Grace Pollock was diagnosed with Systematic Lupus Erythematosus. She has had five surgeries on her leg. PHOTO COURTESY OF Grace Pollock

Varsity girls track coach Rey Torres has been coaching track for over 30 years, and he was a hurdler and relay runner just as Grace was. “[Pollock] is a wonderful person who I admire a great deal,” Torres said. “Pollock is a very determined and hard working young lady who constantly puts in extra time to get faster and stronger in the hurdles. When she was running, she would stay late just to get some extra time hurdling.”

Pollock’s injuries came as quite a shock to the team, for COVID-19 kept many of her teammates and coaches from seeing her during and after her diagnosis.

“It was early summer when [I found out] about Pollock and about the situation with her clot,” Torres said. “It was terrible news and I felt horrible. Several months before, Grace had told me her calf was hurting and that she could not run. We both thought that it was a strain in the calf. Then COVID-19 hit and there was no more track last season so I had not seen or heard from Grace until [I got the news].”

Senior athlete Katherine Kastl has been close friends with Pollock since elementary school and has been by Pollock’s side through it all.

“I was really shocked,” Kastl said. “I didn’t see her for a couple of months, and it wasn’t until around June when she told me what was actually wrong.”

Kastl believes Pollock has done a great job of handling such a long and painful situation.

“She’s done a great job of focusing on the bright side of things and staying optimistic throughout her journey,” Kastl said. “Grace is a very, very hard worker. She’s always wanting to get better no matter what is thrown at her. She cares a lot about her friends and is very inclusive.”

Pollock’s recovery has

been intense, for she has had multiple surgeries and is continuously working to get stronger.

“Over the summer, I had five surgeries in hopes of getting the blood clot removed, but they were unsuccessful,” Pollock said. “I’m having another major surgery [over spring break] in hopes of helping my being able to walk normally again.”

The numerous surgeries took a toll on her body, and she still feels their effects months after.

“The most difficult part of the injury was the medications I was put on,” Pollock said. “They had awful side effects like major swelling all over my body that’s just now starting to go down seven months later.”

In an effort to find a way Pollock could still be involved in track for her senior season, Torres and the other coaches had the idea to make her an assistant coach for the team.

“Grace does a wonderful job helping out as an assistant coach, [and] it is great to have her out there as part of the team,” Torres said. “Grace has her own stopwatch, so she helps me time the girls running and then records their results [at meets as well as practices].

What’s even better is that she reminds me to do things when I’ve forgotten to do them.”

Pollock has appreciated the associate coach position, for she is able to be with her team while also helping out the coaches and giving advice to other athletes.

“The coaches have been so amazingly supportive throughout this unpleasant experience,” Pollock said.

“My favorite part about being an assistant coach is watching the athletes grow in their abilities. Watching everyone get faster and stronger is such an amazing feeling knowing that your team is getting better with

every practice.”

Kastl explains how Pollock’s coaching position has been good for her and helped her overcome a difficult time in her life.

“Grace was a big contribution to the team [last year],” Kastl said. “As a coach, Grace is always willing to help and she really enjoys track and being around everyone. I definitely think it’s helping remind her that she’s important and still a part of the team even if she’s not able to run in meets.”

Pollock said she is incred-

ibly grateful for the support system the track team has provided, and everyone involved is wishing her a quick and smooth recovery.

“All of her friends on the team feel horrible for Grace.

They all wished that she was still able to run and compete…[and] our team misses her on the track,” Torres said. “Grace always had a positive mindset despite all the struggles she has faced.

In my opinion, her great attitude [is what] has helped her to overcome this physical obstacle.”

Athletics affected by new COVID-19 guidelines

AISD’s limitations on game audiences have changed for spring sports Riley Payne Dispatch Reporter

Varsity junior baseball player Jayden Francis is up-to-bat for the first time for the Bulldogs, but there aren’t many people to cheer him on or boo him behind him in the crowd.

The 2020-2021 season was rattled by COVID-19, and AISD had protocol allowing for athletics to only have a limited audience.

“I’m glad we got to play this sea-

son during a pandemic,” Francis said. “Without the fans though, it’s less motivating. Having more people increases the intensity, which encourages me to do better.”

The limited audience means less eyes are on each athlete, which puts less pressure on some of the players.

“With the limited audience, there isn’t much to worry about”, Francis said. “You don’t have to worry about having a bad performance.”

Questions?

Concerns?

Want to share your opinion?

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

ONE STEP AT A TIME: Senior Grace Pollock is building her strength and working with a physical therapist in hopes of being able to walk and exercise normally once again. She has made tremendous progress since her surgery over Spring Break and is mobile with the help of a walker. PHOTO BY Naya Tillisch

BATTER UP: Varsity junior short stop Jayden Francis patiently awaits for a ball from the Lehman pitcher. Bowie varsity tied the game 5-5.

PHOTO COURTESY OF Jayden Francis

Junior Varsity volleyball player Ashley Salas was also grateful for the opportunity to play this season.

“I think we all took this season seriously, not because the audience wasn’t there to watch but because we were never really guaranteed a next game,” Salas said. ‘With COVID and everything it was really easy for our season to just end out of nowhere.”

Audience capacities are expected to return to normal next school year if everything goes as planned with COVID. “I think there will be a positive effect to having a full audience watching,” Salas said. “I think players will be excited to see their family and friends watching and supporting.”

The limited audience was different, but it helped some teams come together and truly focus on the game without distraction.

“We were definitely more focused on the game for sure,” Salas said.

“Mostly because we didn’t have the crowds cheer us on, or even sometimes the opposing teams students talking to us.”

Without an audience, away games feel quite similar to home games this year, which is usually not the case.

“There was definitely an advantage playing road games knowing the crowd couldn’t really aid the home team,” junior football and basketball player Noah Vasquez said. “It really made home court advantage non-existent.”

Playing with a limited audience took time for the athletes to get used to.

“The first time playing with a limited audience was very strange,” Salas said. “We were so used to the

stands being packed with family and friends supporting us.”

Many freshman athletes have not yet gotten the chance to play a high school game with a full audience.

“I feel players who’ve already played at full capacity and such will not really be affected as this was just a weird season,” Vasquez said. “But for those playing for the first time, this was their introduction into high school sports. They never really got a full chance to adjust to a big game atmosphere or a full away game feel, which could definitely affect them negatively later.”

Though there were both advantages and disadvantages to playing with a limited audience, Vasquez managed to get through the season successfully, for Varsity basketball made it to the quarter-finals in playoffs.

“Having less fans definitely allowed for better communication on the court since everything was very quiet compared to a normal year,” Vasquez said. “There also was a lack of energy at times since fans were not there to help get us going, but we made it work.”

Some games still had enough of an audience to have an atmosphere, but going back to normal will be a relief for Vasquez.

“Every game except for a few [still] felt like a game,” Vasquez said.

“All the other games we had a limited amount of fans, which created a game atmosphere.

[However], whenever we went to Del Valle, there was nobody [allowed in the stands], but both teams and their gym being so quiet gave the game the feel of a scrimmage.”

coming UP in SPORTS A p r. 9 G i r l s W r e s t l i n g D i s t r i c t To u r n a m e n t @ B u r g e r A p r. 1 6 A r e a Tr a c k M e e t @ V a n d e r g r i f t

A p r. 1 7 V a r s i t y b o y s l a c r o s s e v s . G a t e w a y C o l l e g e P r e p @ B o w i e

A p r. 2 0 V a r s i t y g i r l s s o f t b a l l v s . S a n M a r c o s @ S a n M a r c o s

A p r. 2 3 R e g i o n a l Tr a c k M e e t @ H o u s e Pa r k

A p r. 2 7 V a r s i t y b o y s b a s e b a l l v s . H a y s @ H a y s

SPORTS 11

MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021 THE DISPATCH

A fresh set of eyes on the track prize

Vickie Benson expands her expertise as a new track coach for the 2021 season Corinne Piorkowski Sports Editor

Coaching a sport requires many different skills to win games and form relationships with players. When coaching multiple sports, these skills have to be strategically applied to fit the new one, and requires a diligent person to complete the challenge.

Vickie Benson is the head girls’ basketball coach, and in light of this year, has taken on a new coaching job for varsity track.

“My favorite part about being a coach, specifically in high school, is that I get a chance to push and encourage young female athletes beyond what they think they are capable of,” Benson said.

“I believe we all have more to give and that we should never settle for less than our best.”

Benson has been a coach for basketball, volleyball, and track for 20 years, which makes her credible for athletes because of that experience.

“I have always coached two sports during my time at Bowie since 2010,” Benson said. “Sports in high school for me was how I got through some really tough times.”

In track, Benson helps out with various drills and workouts that are specifically designed to help runners in certain events.

“Coach Benson joining has made practicing go by faster just because the coaches have extra hands to help with drills and stations,” junior runner Ashley Salas said.

Specifically, Benson coaches the field events like long and triple jump in addition to helping out overall.

“Most of the time, these

kids are really athletic, I just need to hone in on their technique,” Benson said. “They are usually pretty motivated to be really good, so I just need to help them figure out how to be their best.”

In track, practices look slightly different than other sports, since it’s all outdoors and every person is practicing something different.

“A typical track practice is we start at 5 p.m., we warm up and depending on the day we either have an easy workout with stations or sprints,” Salas said. “Right now I run the 4x200, open 200, 4x400, and sometimes the 4x100.”

For the team, this year has required many adjustments, excluding adding a new coach to the staff.

“This year has definitely been challenging for everyone, but practices have been different this year,” junior runner Ellie Dusterhoft said.

“We have to wear our masks and run with them, which takes some getting used to.”

Even though Benson has other coaching experience, there are big differences between coaching track and basketball.

“Track is different because it is really easy to determine who runs or completes in different events,” Benson said.

“In basketball it’s mainly based on judgment calls and who I think will produce from day to day from what I see in practice regularly; there are so many mental and physical components to work through in basketball.”

Adding Benson to the track staff has allowed for more experience for the runners in practice and in meets.

“Having Coach Benson at practice has helped me in

meets because of the drills she has introduced at practice,” Dusterhoft said. “As a hurdler, there are specific techniques needed to succeed and Coach Benson helps me achieve that.”

From the runners’ perspectives, Coach Benson has adjusted well to being a new coach in their sport.

“I think Coach Benson fits in great with the other coaches this year,” Salas said. “She is a multi-sport coach so it probably took no problem for her to fit in, as she already has experience working with athletes.”

As a sport, track is one that is personal to each athlete and requires individual work to succeed among peers.

“I started running hurdles in middle school and I have worked very hard to get onto varsity,” Dusterhoft said. “I have put in a lot of work to get where I am and I love the sport very much; I want to continue it for as long as I can.”

At meets, there are many opportunities for runners to meet and interact in between races.

“My favorite part about running track is the social aspect of it for sure,” Salas said.

“Everyone there is so kind and relatable, the memories you get out of track practices and track meets are amazing.”

For Benson, the experience of coaching a new sport has been both an unforgettable and beneficial one, especially during a pandemic and mostly remote learning.

“I can’t imagine if I was coaching volleyball during this time and how I would have been able to give the basketball players my best effort,” Benson said. “I have

JUMPING FAR: Senior Abbey Smith completes a triple jump in the district track meet. Coach Benson specializes in coaching this event along with long jump and has helped these athletes place at this district meet. PHOTO BY Reagan Zuniga

enjoyed getting to know the track athletes; I’m thankful for the opportunity.”

Overall, Benson finds joy in coaching high school student athletes and helping

them reach their fullest potential, even if they believe it is beyond reach.

“I went into coaching because I wanted to challenge and inspire young athletes to

be more than they ever hoped or imagined they can be,” Benson said. “When you can wrap your mind around that, you are capable of so much more.”

Varsity basketball makes it to the third round of playoffs Luke Smith Dispatch Reporter

thing we’d been through.”

The team also was able to put together some exciting highlights After making it to the third during their playoff run, which round of the playoffs, the boys bas- were broadcast on different social ketball season has come to a close. media platforms.

They finished in third place in the “My favorite moment in the district behind Westlake and Lake playoffs would be when I stole the Travis. ball from a kid on San Antonio Towards the end of the season Judson in the second round of the and in the playoffs, there were playoffs and flushed on a fast break some truly incredible performanc- dunk,” senior forward LD Butler es. said.

In Bowie’s last game of the regA team’s initial goal for the regular season, the Bulldogs defeated ular season was to make the playAustin High 69-51. In this game, offs and that’s what the varsity senior guard and Army basketball team accomplished with a collabocommit Coleton Benson scored 53 rative effort from both the coaches points. and the players.

“It was crazy, it just felt like any“Advancing each round in the thing I shot was going in. I only playoffs gets a little more exciting missed four shots the whole game each time, even though the first too,” Benson said. “After the game game is always the toughest one I was just thinking to myself, wow, and beating Westwood 55-40 was I really just huge, and in the dropped 53.” second round, The incredibeating San Anble performance tonio Judson

by Benson and It was a total team and scoring our the entire team season high of effort and a special shocked players, points was group of young men; I 84 fans and coaches a good feeling,” alike. believe I learned more Collier said.

“That was an “In the third from them than they amazing night; round, we lost learned from me. one shot led to a heart-breaker the next and the at the buzzer players could to San Antonio Celester Collier feel Coleton in Clark 48-46, Head Coach the moment,” but I am still head coach Ceproud of how lester Collier the boys played said. “The bench and teammates all season.” were all excited and knew the ball In the whirl of craziness brought was going in; It was an amazing about in 2020 and 2021, with the performance and as a coach, I was pandemic among other setbacks, proud.” the varsity team prevailed and In the playoffs, Bowie defeated lasted in the playoffs among other Westwood in the first round and great teams.

San Antonio Judson in the second “It was a fun season and a good round, but lost in the third round year, finishing 20-5 and going to to San Antonio Clark. the third round of the playoffs de“I’m really proud of us. We spite the adversity we had to go fought hard and did way better through with COVID-19 protocols than anyone would’ve thought we and the winter storm,” Collier said. would do,” Benson said. “We ob- “We couldn’t practice during the viously knew we could be success- winter storm week and practiced at ful this year and that’s why we did Hays High School while there was what we did this year; it was re- water damage at Bowie; the whole warding to see all of our hard work team was resilient.” pay off in the playoffs after everyThroughout the year, the perfor-

”

”

NOTHING BUT NET: Senior varsity member Cade Holzman takes a shot against an opponent in one of the playoff games this year.

The team went to three rounds of the playoffs before ultimately being eliminated. PHOTO COURTESY OF HD Flores

mance of individual players and the team overall improved, which is what a team hopes for at the beginning of a season.

“Our defense was really good in the whole playoff series and we started playing our best basketball in the second half of district play,” Collier said.

The team worked hard to overcome obstacles throughout the season.

“The team’s biggest improve-

ment would be us learning how to play through adversity when things weren’t going our way,” Butler said. “Our defense improved; we became more aggressive and started to talk more, which helped us create a flow for offense.”

With the conclusion of this season, the coaches will prepare to build new rosters as the senior players graduate and move on, which is a process the coaches are familiar with, even though it is dif-

ficult to let go of influential senior players.

“It’s always the next man up; we lost a lot of good seniors the year before this, such as Riley McIntyre, Ethan Walker, Jayden York and Drew Dunsmore,” Collier said.

“This is an opportunity for the next group to step up and a chance for this year’s juniors to step up.”

With their experience, this year’s seniors can give advice, tell stories to, and ultimately prepare new juniors, sophomores, and freshmen of what it’s like to play varsity basketball and have a productive season like the team did this year.

“What I’m going to miss most from Bowie basketball would be the thought of not being able to play one more game with my guys,” Butler said. “I love them a lot, and basketball has brought us closer together.”

Team chemistry can develop friendships that last much longer than the time spent in long practices and on the court.

“I’m going to miss Coach Collier, my teammates, and the culture of Bowie basketball,” Benson said.

In the next couple of years, more changes will be coming to varsity basketball that will hopefully improve the team, allowing the players to improve even more every season.

“I’m excited about getting an opportunity to play in the new gym next year,” Collier said.

Older players can also reflect on key younger players for next season and evaluate how they are going to help lead the team to an even better season than the one that the team had this year.

“My boys Branden Myart, Noah Vasquez, and all the other juniors will step up next season,” Benson said.

The whole team, coaches, parents, and boosters worked long and hard hours to push forward through the obstacles of this year and make this basketball season memorable.

“It was a total team effort and a special group of young men; I believe I learned more from them than they learned from me,” Collier said.

12 POP CULTURE

THE DISPATCH MONDAY, APRIL 31, 2021

Prepare and plan to avoid panic

SEASONAL ACTIVITIES to do in AUSTIN Seniors confused on what to do once accepting admissions offer from college Four ways to welcome spring that align with COVID-19 policies.

Lauren Wright Dispatch Reporter

Now that spring is here, there are many fun activities to do that still align with Covid-19 guidelines. There are still lots of fun things that can be done for spring while remaining safe and enjoying the new season.

Many families have had picnics for years to celebrate spring and enjoy the nice weather that has come back.

This year picnics can still happen but not the same way they have in the past.

One of the most common picnic spots is Zilker Park.

Picnics are also cost-effective because all you have to pay for is the food you are bringing. To remain safe at a picnic make sure that everyone there keeps their masks on unless eating or drinking.

To learn more about Zilker and other fun activities happening at Zilker visit https://austintexas.gov/department/zilker-metropolitan-park.

If you enjoy looking at plants and taking pictures of flowers, then going to bluebonnets could be something you like. Driving to go take pictures with bluebonnets has been a tradition that many families have done for years now. It will be socially distanced because you can find a spot without any other people nearby.

This is a fun and free activity that can be done with friends, family, and even pets. In most instances, while driving you can see bluebonnets and pull over but to find a more in-depth list of the places you can drive to see bluebonnets visit https://do512family.com/ best-places-to-find-bluebonnets/.

A fun activity that has become popular to do in Austin is going to Peter Pan Mini Golf. Mini golf is a fun thing to do if you want to find an activity that is outside. Mini golf is very enjoyable to do because not only are you with people you know but also get to enjoy the nice weather outside. It is socially distanced and the only people you will be near is the people that you go with.

Masks are still required to wear to make sure everyone stays safe. The prices for mini golf are for 18 holes it costs $8 and for 36 holes it’s $12. For more information go to https://peterpanminigolf.com.

If you enjoy being in nature then visiting Lake Travis would be a fun thing to do.

Lake Travis has lots of fun activities like paddle boarding, that is a great activity to enjoy how beautiful nature is and the nice spring weather. Paddle boarding is an easy water sport that you will easily understand how to do, paddle boarding is more fun to do with your friends or family.

To remain safe the company requires you to keep a mask on until you are on the paddle board in the lake, prices are very affordable at $15 per hour. To find more about paddle boarding go to https://www.lakewaymarina.com/paddleboard-kayak/.

These options will allow you to enjoy your spring while remaining safe and keep others safe as well.

Callie Payne Pop Culture Editor

Excruciating anxiety, endless worries, and excitement flow through the mind of a student about to apply to college. Luckily, the time has come where this is over and many seniors have begun to hear back from their colleges and make their final decisions.

Once seniors have accepted admissions to a college, it may be confusing on what the next steps are or even mentally exhausting preparing for such a big change.

“I am really excited but at the same time extremely nervous about going to college,” senior Brooke Druebert said. “Everyone always says college is one of the best times of your life but I am still sad that I am going to be leaving both my friends and family. However, I love being independent and meeting new people so that really excites me.”

Even though going to a new school and starting a new chapter in life can be terrifying at times, making a plan of what should be done next can be very helpful.

“Get involved, this is especially important if you will be attending a school that’s hundreds of miles away from your family, friends, and familiar surroundings,” college and career counselor Carli Valverde said. “Getting involved in campus organizations or activities will help you make friends and meet campus staff which will help with the adjustment transition to a new school. As long as you’re going through the steps above and making an effort to meet new people on campus, you will be more familiar with campus and resources that are available to you to help your new transition to school.”

Erin Rannefeld who is a Bowie High School alumni is currently going to the University of Texas at San Antonio but is transferring to go to the University of Texas at Austin this fall.

“One thing about college that nobody told me is that to really have a good experience, you need to put yourself out there,” Rannefeld said. “I think a lot of people go into college expecting to magically make all these friends but if you don’t put in the effort to meet people and put yourself out there you’re not going to have the experience you want.”

According to College Raptor, it is extremely important to visit the campus once students have been admitted. This might sound strange but this second visit is able to provide a completely different perspective than the first time visiting.

“I am super excited to go to the University of Oklahoma this fall,” senior Brooke Druebert said.

STEPS TO PREPARE FOR COLLEGE

College and Career Counselor Carli Valverde’s list of six steps to take in order for seniors to prepare for college after acceptance.

1Accept Admissions 2Complete FAFSA 3Complete Housing 4Sign up for orientation 5Get required immunizations 6Take the TSI if necessary SMILES AND SOONERS: Senior Brooke Druebert poses for a picture as she visits the college she will be attending this fall. Druebert will be living in one of the three towers located on campus. PHOTO COURTESY OF Brooke Druebert ART BY Callie Payne and Faith Lawrence

“I am actually going to visit the OU campus over spring break to see more of the city and to talk to the nursing school.”

Some important and necessary things to do once a student has accepted a school’s offer of admissions is to complete FAFSA, housing, financial aid paperwork (if applicable), make sure they have all necessary immunizations, sign up for orientation, and make sure you meet the requirements for the TSI.

“I have absolutely loved my college experience so far, I’ve been able to meet a ton of really cool people and take part in a lot of really fun activities through the organizations I’m involved in,” Rannefeld said. “Once you decide where you want to go and do all the things the school requires, it is way less stressful and easier to enjoy life around you. I just recommend enjoying the time you have now and looking forward to how awesome of a time you will have in the fall.”

Social media begins to hold celebrities accountable Carey Wooley Dispatch Reporter

Over the past ten years many celebrities have made a statement to a reporter in an interview, or created a new tweet with a comment on the world around them that they can never take back. That initial tweet or interview may have gone unnoticed or not called out at the time but in recent years these statements have been re-discovered for everyone to see.

Throughout the past decade, social media has grown exponentially in popularity creating a platform for celebrities to connect with their followers directly. At the same time it has also created a place for these celebrities to make statements that might come back to haunt them.

“I think that older tweets/interviews coming back shows social progress, so I’m glad it happens,” junior Caroline Ramsmussen said.

“Sometimes, I think the apology is

genuine and the comment wouldn’t have been said by the person today because of personal growth or other factors, but I still think calling out inappropriate behavior is important to make sure it changes.”

When many celebrities make these problematic comments the person in question will normally make an apology publicly and try to change the situation which doesn’t always work. For example in 2018 Kevin Hart was supposed to host the Oscars but had to step down after problematic and homophobic tweets from 2009 resurfaced.

“When older tweets or controversial statements come back from an older time I try to focus on how long ago the statement was made as well as if that person tries to show they have changed if the situation isn’t bad,” sophomore Nadia Petru said. “I think since everything is documented now it’s hard to realize something may have been said when it was acceptable, and that people should be

According to Reputation Refinery, 57% of social media users suffer from posting regret.

Questions?

Concerns?

Want to share your opinion?

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

ART BY Amorah Schultze

able to get a second chance if they show growth, and if the situation wasn’t extreme.”

When the individuals under the spotlight make these problematic statements society can react in many different ways but most of them include some sort of repercussions.

This can include their career never going back to the same it was before or being “canceled”.

“People should be held accountable for what they said in the past, but I believe we should also extend grace to those who have admitted their faults and actively shown growth,” English teacher Megan Shewmake said.

Media in general has undergone a massive shift. As social media became more popular, traditional media started to lessen in popularity.

This started a shift in how people consume their news and overall media consumption. People began to use streaming services and didn’t need to read a magazine or newspa-

per to consume their news and information.

“I think media has definitely changed over the past 10 years, especially a transition to more individualized media such as Fox News or CNN or even Twitter depending on age or political views,” Petru said.

“It’s all directed at a certain audience that doesn’t normally hear the other side of the story or an unbiased opinion.”

The rise of social media gave way to a new kind of celebrity, influencer.

From YouTube to Instagram and now Tik Tok, individuals started to dominate the platforms. These people were not immune to the same problematic tweets and comments having a light shone on them.

“Social media has become more mainstream and an easy way for people to access information and alternative perspectives in real time,” Shewmake said. “As a result, more people are beginning to rely on social media for current events rather than traditional news sources. As this trend continues, many traditional new sources are seen as partisan.”

Celebrities and influencers alike have had to face these consequences for their comments. Some of these comments resulted in apologies and the person in question was able to come back to their career, others were not as lucky.

“I think a perfect example is JK Rowling’s offensive tweets because she was “canceled” and now a lot of people won’t even read/watch her books or movies in protest,” Ramsmussen said. “These same repercussions are true for many other “canceled” celebrities.”

Even if these celebrities make an apology for their actions there is always the question if they would be able to come back from their actions.

The public and the fans of that person make that decision.

“I think normally my opinion will change at least a little after someone apologizes Online,” Petru said.

“Whether they made a really good apology that was well executed or an apology that seems just to show my opinion on how they handled this situation can change for the better or for the worse.”

REVIEWS 13

MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021 THE DISPATCH

Netflix takes on the world of true crime

A comprehensive review of two new documentaries: “Night Stalker” and “Crime Scene” Sammie Thompson Reviews Editor

True crime documentaries are a guilty pleasure for many people around the world.

They captivate audiences with their unique storytelling and ability to make real, horrifying events seem like works of fiction. In recent years, Netflix has been known for producing high-quality documentaries about high-profile cases. This reputation continued earlier this year, when they released two new documentaries: “Night Stalker: The Hunt For a Serial Killer” and “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel”.

“Night Stalker: The Hunt For a Serial Killer” was released first on Jan. 13. The limited series includes four 50-minute segments which chronologically tell the story of one of the most notorious serial killers in history, Richard Ramirez. Known as the “Night Stalker,” he terrorized neighborhoods in Los Angeles and the surrounding area in the 1980s with a string of murders, kidnappings, and assaults.

This documentary re-frames this wellknown story into a new one by highlighting the perspectives of victims, detectives, and journalists that were involved in the Night Stalker case. Two of the lead detectives, Gil Carrillo and Frank Salerno, are the main sources in the documentary, which allows the audience to understand their process of trying to find the killer.

The documentary begins by setting the stage in 1980s Los Angeles, painting the city as a booming, vibrant place with a dark side.

It describes the increasing crime at this time, including several strange murders in which witnesses described similar events. Detectives Carrillo and Salerno come to the conclusion that this is a single person committing all of these crimes, but they can never seem to find them. Finally, a single fingerprint and other small clues lead them to Ramirez, and he is captured and arrested.

My initial reaction when watching this documentary was surprise at how much detail was used to describe the Night Stalker’s crimes. A majority of the runtime was dedicated to explaining exactly what happened to his victims and how that led the detectives to find him. There were several graphic pictures and video clips of crime scenes which helped tell the story, however, I would not recommend watching this documentary if that is something you do not want to see.

Additionally, something that immediately caught my attention was the use of randomly added video clips during voice overs

Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel Overall: 2.5/5 Informativeness: 3/5 Hotel Cecil Low Daily Weekly Rates 700 Rooms

Production Quality: 4/5 Entertainment Value: 2/5

Overall: 3/5 Informativeness: 4/5 Production Quality: 3/5

Night Stalker: The Hunt For a Serial Killer

Entertainment Value: 3.5/5

ART BY Sammie Thompson

or at other breaks in the story. One moment, someone would be answering an important question, and the next, there would be an ominous shot of a random alley or a bullet falling to the ground. I understand that these clips are added to build suspense, but in my opinion, they added nothing to the documentary. There were many instances in which this cliche “true crime” footage was used where something else should have been added that would better help the audience understand what was happening.

Despite these flaws, I still enjoyed watching this documentary and thought that it was informative and captivating. I appreciated that there was a focus on the perspectives of other people involved in the case, especially survivors and family members still seeking justice. As survivors were recounting their terrifying experiences, I could feel their emotion and sincerity through the screen, and I hoped even more that justice would prevail.

The other documentary, “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel” was released on Feb. 10. This documentary also has four parts that are each about an hour long and tell the story of Elisa Lam, a 21-year-old Canadian traveler that mysteriously disappeared at the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles in early 2013.

This documentary begins by laying out the history of the Cecil Hotel, which has been the location of a wide variety of crimes and is considered to be haunted by some people.

It then discusses who Lam is and how she traveled to the hotel before disappearing in January of 2013. An investigation was immediately set up to find her, but there was almost no trace of where she could be. Eventually, Lam’s body was tragically found in a water tank on the roof. The official cause of her death was determined to be accidental drowning, with her mental health considered a contributing factor, as she had previously been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression.

“Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel” doesn’t end here, however. There is a focus on what happened after her death, when more and more people learned about this case Online and felt that something wasn’t right. This feeling among Internet users was exacerbated by an infamous video of Lam acting strangely in an elevator before she disappeared. Conspiracy theories were and still are everywhere, ranging from a staged disappearance, foul play by someone staying at the hotel, and even a cover-up by the hotel staff.

This brings me to my least favorite part

about this documentary. So much time was spent interviewing random YouTubers on their theories about this case that something vital, in my opinion, was missed: actually getting to know who Lam was. While there were attempts to show the audience her personality through old social media posts, I would’ve liked to see an interview with someone who actually knew her in real life.

Overall, this documentary was decent.

It was captivating and even a bit creepy at times, but it was a little too long and drawnout for me. I also found it interesting that there was actually a connection between this documentary and “Night Stalker: The Hunt For a Serial Killer”, because Richard Ramirez (the “Night Stalker”) was confirmed to have stayed at the Cecil Hotel before he was arrested.

I would recommend watching these two documentaries if you are interested in learning more about these cases and have a couple hours to kill. However, I would not watch either one if you get scared easily, because they can both be pretty disturbing at times.

Ultimately, it is important to keep in mind as you are watching that these events are not fictional, but that they happened to real people with real families and friends who may still be seeking justice.

Popular drama “Ginny and Georgia” is all over the place Donna Kim Dispatch Reporter

Netflix seems to have the same pattern of releasing binge worthy, yet over-the-top high school shows that are packed with drama, twisted characters, and unrealistic fantasies of the world of high school.

“Ginny and Georgia” is Netflix’s most recent show that has made its way to No. 1 on the charts, proves this to be quite true.

The show starts off with the main family: single mother Georgia, 15 year old Ginny, and nineyear-old Austin. It opens up with the family of three moving to the city of Wellsbury, Massachusetts.

Georgia promises her Austin and Ginny that things will be “different” this time, and that they are finally settling down after years of

moving to different states.

Georgia, who is young and very gorgeous, catches the eye of the attractive mayor of Wellsbury, and she tries to get her way into his level of authority by trying to impress him with marketing skills as well as her good looks. Ginny finds new friends in her new high school, and struggles with self-harm issues, choosing between two boys, and maintaining a stable relationship with her mysterious mother. Austin, meanwhile, faces anger issues in school and deals with typical school bullies.

The one thing I noticed when I first started this show was how dramatic every character is, including the side characters. The people that Ginny surrounded herself with in her high school were all overthe-top and angsty, and she and her

Rotten Tomatoes: - 68% average critic score

three friends always went through the phases of wholesome moments, to betrayal, and then back to forgiveness. This seemed to be the endless cycle for the group of four.

The two main love interests for Ginny are the stereotypical “bad boy” and the popular boy of high school who has perfect grades. Even the adults, who were the classic ‘Karens’ who attend PTA meetings and only bring gluten free snacks, were over-the-top and reflected the teenagers in a way. I’d say that the only characters who acted normal were Marcus (the “bad boy”), and Joe, who works at the local Blue Farm Cafe.

Another thing about this show that I didn’t particularly enjoy was how all over the place it was. There were always multiple things going

GINNY

&

GEORGIA

- 69% average audience score

ART BY Rae Gray and Sammie Thompson

on, and sometimes, some important events were never seen. They were always just brought up in a brief conversation, and that was that.

Each scene was also different; sometimes it was a scene with drama, other times the scene would have love and passion, and sometimes it would be a wholesome scene with mother-daughter moments. The show is filled with unpredictable genres and tones that leave the audience questioning what is going on.

One thing I liked about this show was Georgia’s character, and how strong she was as a single mother. I love how the show included brief flashbacks to her past, and how mysterious she really is. We can see that she has done many illegal activities in the past, and that makes her dangerous and sharp-witted. She’s able to quickly adapt to her surroundings, and manipulate people easily so she can get what she wants.

Even though she slowly starts becoming the villain towards the end, I love how all her motives are out of love for her children.

She would do anything for Ginny and Austin, and you can truly see that when she kills Kenny, one of Georgia’s “older” husbands with a wealthy background.

Ginny, who in a way is a parallel of Georgia, is frustrated because she doesn’t know anything about her mother’s past, and that forms a rift in their relationship. I think Ginny was ungrateful at times because she couldn’t see how much her mother truly did for her. I like how the show depicted Ginny and Georgia’s relationship more as sisters and less as Georgia being a mother and Ginny being a daughter, as it showed how close in age they were, and how they acted so similar.

I liked how the show touched on the topics of racism and inequality, but the way they depicted it was unrealistic and too dramatic.

In my opinion, the way the show

Ratings Overall: 3/5

Plot: 3/5 Characters: 2/5

Production Quality: 5/5 Discussion of Important Topics: 1.5/5

Entertainment Value: 4.5/5

ART BY Sammie Thompson

portrayed these topics seemed too forced, and didn’t seem like it was there for the sole purpose to inform the audience of the seriousness of these topics.

There was the classic “racist teacher,” who would target Ginny purely because she was mixed raced. It seemed as though the teacher was put in the show simply to display racism and how Ginny handled it.

There are also a few brief scenes that show Ginny burning herself with a lighter to display how she hurts herself, and to render in the theme of self-harm. Scenes of her self-harm were scattered throughout the show, and were not clearly touched on. I feel like they should have gone over this subject more in the show, as it really explains the complexity of Ginny and her character.

Overall, I would rate this show a solid 3 out of 5, as it was fun to binge because of the all-over-theplace storyline. Although it has its many flaws and faults, the use of drama throughout the series and its notable plot makes it a very unique show.

14 COMMENTARY THE DISPATCH MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021

Conservatives' never-ending culture war

Right-wing media has taken a turn for the tabloid in order to distract viewers from real issues E DI TOR I A L

It seems like the whole year Americans have been forced to confront the issues with our healthcare system, our policing system, racism, and plenty of other socioeconomic problems riddled in our country's foundation that persecuting someone over Dr. Seuss books can seem almost comforting. The conservative media has gotten very good at providing this comfort to their base.

Reactionary politics have been a key component of Republican politics for decades and from that sparked culture wars.

It makes the job of professional Republicans easier, if they can convince you that they also despise the wildly inappropriate Lil Nas X music video instead of convincing you on policy, they can pretty much get away with anything. It’s important to not get caught up in these pointless, mostly Online, battles. Everyday, policies that affects you are going through our local and federal government. Instead of arguing with Lil Nas X fans on Twitter you could be advocating for real change.

Pundits, like Tucker Carlson, are infamous for this type of news coverage. During the height of the second stimulus bill that was being pulled apart by the Senate, Carlson thought it was a great time to focus on The Dr. Seuss Foundation’s decision to recall and stop the production of six of their books due to racist imagery.

To most, it’s not surprising that books written in the 1950s included some problematic images, most of the books that were recalled weren’t well-known and this was a decision that the company made on it's violation.

Carlson however, took this information and did what pundits do best, manufacture

outrage. He took news that would have lasted a day on Twitter and blew it up to his base of millions, while a bill that affected those in his audience was at the hands of the Senate.

Republicans claim to be starkly against cancel culture, unless a celebrity goes against their conservative values. Lil Nas X has fallen victim to this conservative canceling due to the music video for his new song "Montero (Call me by your name)."

In the video, Nas makes allusions to Satan among other biblical references, like the Garden of Eden, at the end of Nas' meeting with Satan he snaps his neck and takes his horns for himself, he fully accepts the title of sin.

The symbolism is purposefully very heavy-handed and representative of something a lot of queer kids deal with.

From the moment you realize you’re gay you’re consumed by others perception of you. People will openly tell you that they don’t agree with your choices and that you’re going to hell from a very young age.

It doesn’t take a genius to see why someone would want to reclaim that title, especially since it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. Either conservatives need to change the way they to talk to and about LGBTQ+ youth or they need to learn how be okay with people sharing their own opinion and experience when it comes to the church.

Republicans need to realize there are more important things happening than music videos and Dr. Suess books.

If Republicans really do care about finding the truth and doing research, they should cut down on the highly sensationalized stories published in the media and focus on real issues that affect their audience and as a viewer, it’s important to take a step back and see not even Dr. Seuss himself would care that much about the books.

WANTED Lil Nas X

CRIME: Made a music video about coming to terms with his sexuality.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY Maya Amador PHOTO COURTESY OF Camila Falquez)

ERCOT favored corporations over thousands of Texans' lives Amanda Zinni Copy Editor

SOURCES https://dshs.texas.gov/news/updates.shtm#wn

Ten Texas counties with the most deaths caused by the winter storm.

111 people died across all counties in Texas

31

Most of the deaths were caused by hypothermia

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dropped below freezing for several nights in a row. Cases of carbon monoxide poisoning were reported all over the state as people tried to warm their homes with grills, cars, and generators.

At least 111 people throughout Texas died during the winter storm, and a majority of these deaths were caused by hypothermia. While some of the responsibility lies with power companies for failing to prioritize higher-earning customers,

the Texas power grid was never meant to last through extreme weather events.

One of the main reasons that Texas experienced so many power outages during the storm was because power sources, mainly natural gas, were not designed to withstand cold weather.

While the rest of the United States operates on two power grids, the Eastern and Western Interconnections, Texas operates on its own

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During the February snowstorm, temperatures dipped below freezing for several days, and many Austinites lost power.

However, many buildings in downtown Austin and homes in wealthier neighborhoods maintained their electricity throughout the storm.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) power grid left many Texans without power, showing that it may be wiser to put aside Texan pride and become a part of the nation’s power grid.

The corporate buildings downtown had power throughout the duration of the storm while neighboring areas did not.

Power companies prioritizing office buildings, which are essentially abandoned due to COVID-19 preventative measures, over homes is dangerous.

While private companies may pay more to keep their lights on, homes are places where people go to unwind, be with their families, and ultimately feel safe. They should be treated as such, not disregarded in favor of some cold corporate building that will only contribute to light pollution.

While office buildings maintained their glow, the lack of power forced people to go to extremes to stay warm as temperatures

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PRIDE IN PUBLISHING Monday, April 5, 2021 Vol. 33, Issue 4 www.thedispatchonline.net James Bowie High School 4103 W. Slaughter Lane Austin TX, 78749

ART BY Maya Amador

separate grid.

The reasoning behind this decision? Texan independence. Lawmakers in the 1930’s didn’t want the national government interfering with Texas law, so they decided to create an entirely independent power grid within the state.

This independent power grid (called ERCOT) is what prevented Texans from receiving power from neighboring states, which is how states on the Eastern and Western

power grids maintain power in severe storms.

It has been about a century since the ERCOT policy was enacted and about a month since it was proven unwise. The issue is in the hands of Texas lawmakers and whether they prefer Texan independence or the health and safety of those they represent.

While some may argue that there is no reason for power sources to be built to last through extreme winter storms and that a February snowstorm, or any snowstorm, in Texas was a once-in-a-lifetime event, global warming studies say differently.

An increase in extreme and unlikely weather events is a consequence of rising global temperatures. As humanity’s impact on the planet increases, so will the potential of more devastating events occurring.

While a majority of the responsibility for the climate crisis lies with companies and their use of natural resources, there can be preparations made to face the inevitable increase of extreme weather events.

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THE DISPATCH STAFF

THE DISPATCH PRINT EDITION EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Faith Lawrence Cade Spencer

COMMENTARY EDITORS Maya Amador Anna Holme

MANAGING EDITOR Rae Gray

PHOTO ESSAY EDITOR Reagan Zuniga

NEWS EDITOR Arushi Sharma

COPY EDITOR Amanda Zinni

POLITICS EDITOR Dylan Ebs

ARTS/GRAPHICS EDITOR Amorah Schultze

FEATURE EDITORS Miranda Cardenas Mia Folkers

ASSISTANT EDITOR Azul Lin

SPORTS EDITORS Corrine Piorkowski Naya Tillisch ENTERTAINMENT EDITORS Callie Payne Abbey Repka Samantha Thompson

REPORTERS/STAFF Colin Barnes Lucciana Choueiry Isabella del Nido Grace Harris Maya Hayne Donna Kim Emily Loewe Rachel Maddox Max Muzny

Riley Payne Cassidy Pesek Nicole Rooney Carter Scruggs Dimitri Silva Luke Smith Ella Waltuck Ava Wong Carey Beth Wooley Lauren Wright Dylan Zellner

THE DISPATCH ONLINE EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Shikha Patel Shruti Patel MANAGING EDITORS Natalie Cullen Izzy Rejino

ADVISER Michael Reeves

COMMENTARY 15 MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021 THE DISPATCH

Climate change needs to be addressed Anna Holme Commentary Editor

In February, Texas reached record temperature lows as snowstorms ravaged the state. In Austin alone, over 200,000 residents lost power due to the snow at the height of the outages. And in a horrifying new update that was recently released by the Texas Department of Health Services, over twice the number of people have died from the Texas snowstorms than what was previously estimated, with the death toll currently standing at 111 lives.

Even though the event now referred to as a “snowpocalypse” occurred some time ago, this new information that came out is a reminder of the shortcomings of Texas infrastructure and legislation, namely in regards to climate change.

These sort of events are all too commonplace in the U.S. and should act as a wake-up call to take on more progressive counteractive measures. The Green New Deal is one of these measures. Climate change must be addressed, and we must take on the present problems under the Green New Deal in order to prevent further disaster.

Climate change is more than just a flashy word used to bolster a conversation. It is currently creating detrimental changes to our country’s environment, and these changes are accelerating. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Earth’s global surface temperature has been rising on average 0.15º F every decade since 1901, with the U.S. temperature rising at a faster rate than the worldly average.

This surface warming is in large part caused by the emission of greenhouse gases from large corporations, which get stuck in the atmosphere and trap the Earth’s heat.

The Carbon Majors Report states that since 1988, 100 corporations produce around 71% of the greenhouse gas emissions found globally. This is a huge number, and only emphasizes the role large corporations have in ruining our planet.

While only a fraction of a degree of increased warming per decade may seem insig-

nificant, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has projected that if these trends continue, climate change could cause huge issues that are even more detrimental than the problems we see today.

NASA has reported that climate change is leading to long-term atrocities such as massive droughts, more common and more intense heat waves, larger and more frequent hurricanes, the possibility of sea levels to rise up to eight feet by 2100, and scarily enough, for the arctic to essentially melt entirely and become ice-free.

If general environmental damage isn’t abhorrent enough already, by the turn of the century over half of the animal species in habitats like the Amazon or the Galapagos could become extinct due to climate change.

And as for humans, climate change exacerbates issues like home damages, higher bills, health issues, as well as more expensive and limited food and water.

These complications caused by climate change also affect certain groups of people significantly more than others, namely people of color. According to the Princeton Student Climate Initiative, “communities of color are disproportionately victimized by environmental hazards and are far more likely to live in areas with heavy pollution.” For example, people of color in the United States are 38 percent more likely to be exposed to asthma-inducing gas emissions from non-renewable resources due to historical redlining. Additionally, 57 percent of Americans of color live in an area that has at least one failing health grade in regards to air pollution.

This number is only 38 percent for white Americans.

Climate change is more than a surface-level issue. It is a systemic issue that has disadvantaged marginalized communities. Climate justice acts as a form of social justice, and it is crucial to implement strategies like the Green New Deal to combat it.

The Green New Deal is a congressional resolution initially presented by Rep. Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez and Sen. Edward J. Markey that addresses climate change in America. It outlines the re-shaping of the

misinformation emissions legislation corporations systemic injustice American economy in order to prevent the detrimental consequences of climate change.

The Green New Deal does not directly present any new legislation to be passed by law, as it is non-binding, but it instead sets the groundwork for acknowledging the large systemic issues in our country regarding climate justice. Starting with the Green New Deal, the United States can begin to create policies that actually allow the resolution’s ideas to come to true fruition.

While President Joe Biden’s climate plan to invest $2 trillion into climate prevention and create millions of jobs has good fundamentals, it is not drastic enough and is lacking in many ways. It doesn’t abolish the damaging practice of fracking, it doesn’t acknowledge other systemic issues tied into climate justice such as housing and healthcare, and Biden aims to complete his plan by

ART BY Anna Holme

2050 rather than the Green New Deal’s goal of 2035.

Climate change isn’t an issue that can wait. Climate change isn’t an issue that can be postponed due to financial greed or as an effort to stave off the inevitable. The problems are already here and are only going to get worse. Climate justice must be ensured now, by any means necessary. Anything less, and we betray our fellow humans and the very Earth we inhabit.

Questions? Concerns?

Want to share your opinion?

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

Online learning increases student fatigue and burnout Amorah Schultze Graphics Editor

Since COVID-19 began, teenagers have shown a 46% increase in depressive states and symptoms, according to Michigan Medicine.

Social isolation, a lack of productive emotional and physical outlets, limited engagement with school, and confined quarantining are all sources of distress for students.

The concerns over rampant depression coincide with a rise in anxiety, loneliness, and incomplete socialization skills. Most students aren’t going out to meet friends, are canceling important social events and activities like sports or theatre, and are struggling to adapt to Online school.

This student fatigue is more than the amount of schoolwork students have. The unique circumstances of quarantine have only intensified student pressures while providing few activities to relieve stress. Teachers are attempting to limit the curriculum to accommodate student needs. However, the emotional weight that comes with isolation and self-paced classes are where fatigue can disrupt students’ academic performance.

Without the disciplined schedule of extracurriculars, students don’t have the space to express their self-interests or refine their

social skills. These activities have been adapted as best they can be, but can’t mimic the environment that fostered passion from students.

Even more comes the stress of disciplined self-independent work.

Students may not be capable of self-paced, independent learning.

Freshmen leaving middle school can feel mounting anxiety over their own futures. Especially with

ART BY Amorah Schultze

the immediate concerns over GPA and a different scheduling system that fosters more complex classes; these changes only exacerbate the transition difficulties. But Online learning has forced young students to conform to a completely new learning format that puts their delegation and scheduling skills to the test.

Sophomores and juniors have especially intensive workloads

which can dictate the path of their careers. The additional barriers between studying and test environments completely halts necessary engagement that is conducive to academic success.

With seniors, there’s already the chance of senioritis, but the onset of Online learning only intensifies the lack of motivation to perform well. Many students believe senior year is centered around friendships and relationships that may end come springtime. There’s already a lot of stress associated with becoming an adult and taking on new responsibility for higher education, career, or plans for the future.

Additionally, distance learning creates a unique lack of accountability for students. Without the threats of confrontation from teachers or other students, the drive to complete work can be diminished.

While the self-paced environment may be compared to a college or university system, there are many key differences that go unaccounted for. The lack of authority figures and peer interaction is antithetical to a normal college campus, where the surrounding areas cater to students and the proximity to campus encourages engagement and participation.

All of these factors have led to an

emotional burden on students that is worsened by a lack of healthy outlets. Without friends to vent to in-person, and with only family members who may not understand the toll of schooling during quarantine, the only real connection to the outside world is the Internet.

Luckily, there are solutions to the problem of boredom. Whether it be starting small businesses, learning new hobbies, investing time into books, and even binge-watching shows, they’re all great ways to occupy time. The flexible school schedule creates more opportunities to clean out the closet, sell old possessions, and replace clutter.

There’s also a chance for more meditative methods of self-reflection and exploration, without the influence of peers or a constantly busy schedule. Finding a balance during the unique circumstances of quarantine isn’t easy, but there’s breathing room to discover oneself outside of the constraints students face in a formal school environment.

Questions? Concerns?

Want to share your opinion? Contact: Email: bowie. journalism@gmail.com Room Number: F203

BULLDAWGS SPEAK OUT How does climate change affect you?

INTERVIEWS BY Anna Holme PHOTOS COURTESY OF Interviewees

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What happened in Texas is a good example of how it affects me. I, along with everyone in Texas was extremely unprepared for what happened- so unprepared that many people died.

April Carroll Junior

Climate change has affected me as it’s made it so Texas has had many unusual weather conditions. Whether it be super hot summers or even the snow store we just recently had.

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I wouldn’t say that it affects me personally in a bad way like through health or daily living, but it has opened my eyes to see what I can do to help.

Gracie Harrison Sophomore

Abilyn Alvarado Senior

Climate change affects the world in many ways.

I worry for our future and the futures of our children to come. Knowing the Earth may not make it a whole lot longer is unsettling.

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Claire Scott Freshman

Peyton Bobo Math Teacher

I have always said that if you don’t like the weather in Texas wait 15 minutes. I think climate change has made this statement even more true.

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6 IN-DEPTH

THE DISPATCH MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021

Senior experience burdened by fatigue With graduation around the corner, Class of 2021 reflects on their last year of high school

ART BY Rae Gray

their belief that senior year is a milestone and a time to make final high school memories, and that it is difficult to not feel somber about what the Class of 2021 has missed out on.

“I feel like there should be more, its hard to think about only having two months left till graduation,” Machacek said. “There's a sort of emptiness feeling around not getting the whole senior year experience. We’ve missed out on all of the football games, pep rallies, and even just the day-to-day mundane things like walking into school late with coffee or donuts and saying hi to your friends in between classes.”

As the school year is coming to an end with less than two months left until graduation, like many other seniors, Machacek Of high reflects on the end of his school seniors high school career. said that their “The realization that post secondary my senior year is not plans changed since the going to be what I exstart of the pandemic, an pected it to be because The second of what is going on in increase from 18% of the world has started most commonly seniors during a to become cemented in previous survey in cited obstacle to my mind," Machacek said. spring 2020. learning was "My whole reality of what senior year was going to be has “distractions at been flipped upside down. This is all home and family I can get from my high school senior year.” responsibilities,” affecting However, the end of high school marks the start of a new chapter in life.

44 percent of students.

“I’m excited for beginning a new time in my life and just kind of leaving things that aren’t good right now in the past and start- Forty-one percent of ing fresh,” Caddel said. “I think especially remote learners said their going on to college and everything else that comes after graduation is going to be benefi- “virtual classes are cial for me and be a nice reset to start mak- interesting” and 35 ing more memories and figure out more percent said “someone about ourselves.”

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The alarm starts blaring at 8:45 a.m. and an exhausted senior struggles to resist hitting snooze for the fifth day in a row. When they eventually open up their laptop to log onto Zoom they are bombarded with a seemingly never-ending list of assignments and projects to take care of, but can find little motivation to actually do them.

The past year of remote learning has presented its own challenges to students and faculty as they adjust to the current reality of the education system.

AP English IV teacher Judd Pfeiffer believes that a significant challenge to is the increased responsibility that students are required to have during this time.

“I think it's harder in a lot of ways because a lot more responsibility falls on the shoulders of the students,” Pfeiffer said. “Because you don't have someone there driving you and pushing you all the time so you have to have a lot of self reliance, to get all your work turned in, and even just to participate in class.”

With the challenges that Online schooling has presented, Pfeiffer believes that there is another added layer of difficulties that the Class of 2021 has to reconcile with.

“I think a lot of seniors are missing that aspect of their social life, and of course that's important for all students, but especially for seniors because they won't be here next year,” Pfeiffer said. “And so this is for a lot of y'all the last time to see each other, and to experience your last year of high school that you've been working so hard for. It also can be really hard because a lot of seniors do have ‘senioritis’.”

Senioritis is not a new term, it has been used to describe the challenges that students face coming into their last year of high school regarding motivation for years. However, according to senior Fabian Machacek the last year of remote learning has amplified the already expected ‘senioritis’ diagnosis.

"I feel that if we were in person and I would get to see my teachers and classmates face-to-face I’d be more motivated to participate in class,” Machacek said. “I'd be more motivated to raise my hand to go first or volunteer, while Online I feel like I’m just quietly sitting in the corner, and if the teacher calls me, I'm like, ‘okay, whatever I'll talk.’”

Senior Jax Cadell believes that not only is lack of interaction between students and teachers negatively impacting seniors, but also the lack of social interaction inside the classroom.

“I think part of why it's so much harder being Online is because I'm not around anyone,” Cadell said. “I think just being around 30 people each class period and just having those personal friendships, even if it was just for that class made it such a big difference in having the motivation to actually do school. And now it's just a bunch of blank screens, and just hearing audio and not even having a real relation with your teacher. Because school is just Online, it doesn't seem like anything is personal anymore.”

Experiencing a lack of motivation and little social interactions are not the only problems facing seniors. According to Machacek, not being able to have a separation between school and home has also negatively impacted his senior year.

“Instead of your home providing a feeling of an escape away from school and getting away from the stress of school, having school be Online has brought that stress home,” Machacek said. “Having school be Online has brought the stress and the worries of academics home without the social buffer and the fun parts of our senior year coming home with it.”

With all of the struggles that seniors have voiced facing, Pfeiffer believes that the key to finding motivation is to look forward to the future that they have ahead of them.

“Most of our seniors are going to go to a college or university or have plans after graduation," Pfeiffer said. "And if you're completely shutting down this year, not only are you not learning things that you're probably going to need next year in college, but you're also not practicing the skills you need. My advice to seniors especially would be to think about your future. Because college can be really fun, but it's not fun if you're stressed out about your grades.”

Machacek expressed

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Rae Gray Managing Editor

Of students reported that feeling depressed, stressed, or anxious was affecting them as the top obstacle to learning.

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Youth Truth REPORT

usually notices if I’m not paying attention.”

Nearly half said they can take breaks as needed during online classes.

SOURCE Youth Truth Report