The Dispatch, Vol. 31, Issue #5, 04.12.19

D

ATTENTION ALL CADETS An in-depth look into the principles and processes of JROTC

WRESTLING THE COMPETITION Senior Aylen Vivar concludes her wrestling season at State meet

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THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2019

Dawgs dominate at meet Anna Esaka 1st place UIL Accounting 1 hour long 80 question test

Emily Leeke 6th place UIL Ready Writing 2 hour essay based on quote given

Shane Valentine 2nd place UIL Social Studies 1.5 hour 45 question test w essay

Students compete at district UIL Academic competition Peter Dang Editor-in-Chief

notice sometimes on one part of the test one student struggles and another student gets it and they will work together to learn about the problems they are having a hard time with,” Vance said. "It’s great to see them helping each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”

For most people, athletics comes to mind first when hearing the three letters UIL, but UIL includes much more than just athletics.

UIL, or University Interscholastic League, is an inter-school organization for Texas schools to compete against one another.

Competitions range many different disciIn UIL Ready Writing, students are given a plines, including athletics, fine arts and aca- quote as inspiration and they have two hours demics. Bowie has historically had high rates to write an essay based off of the inspiration of involvement in athletgiven. It is graded ics and fine arts, but acabased on creativity, demics is growing. originality and writ“The talented students ing conventions, really drive the team,” unlike many other UIL Ready Writing coach UIL academic comJacob Morgan said. “They petitions, which are are great students, they’re tests. creative, and they impress “This event is me.” creative so it is hardAcademic teams are er to prepare for composed of students than other events,” from all grades and all Morgan said. “We students are encouraged will write sample esto try out these competisays and I will read Melanie Hirschfeld tions. Most events have them and help them UIL Social Studies Coach an individual competition improve.” as well as a team compeSenior Emily tition.

Leeke developed her “The students all are deep love for writing based on the creativity in different grades but they have the book it affords her. in common and the team spirit in common,” “When I was little, I used to run around UIL Social Studies coach Melanie Hirschfeld the house and make my parents listen to stosaid. “There is not animosity or competi- ries or songs,” Leeke said. “Ready writing is tiveness, they realize their scores are for the so open, it's fun being able to write about greater good.” whatever I feel like. It's like I'm writing someUIL academic teams meet before school, thing for fun when I was little.” during FIT, during class, or after school to practice their skills and to prepare for competitions. Like other extracurriculars, students must dedicate themselves and their time.

The UIL Accounting team consists mostly “It takes only a couple students who are of accounting students who have the advanwilling to read a book and do the research on tage of preparing together in class. This has top of their school demands, jobs and life, to helped them be competitive at meets like the show up at high schools around central Texas district meet, at which the team swept the on Saturdays to compete,” Hirschfeld said. top three spots and won the team competiTeamwork is one thing in common that tion on March 30. these teams share. Students work together to “Coaching UIL accounting has been great, help each other do the best they can because there are a lot of kids who are good at math the goal of competitions is to perform well as and puzzles,” UIL accounting coach Jennifer a team as well as individually.

Vance said. “They take practice tests and see “The students, they help each other a lot. I how well they do.”

UIL Ready Writing

”

I hope that this program is a reflection of Bowie’s social studies team. I hope academic UIL can be a source of pride for students and staff.

UIL Accounting

INDEX

News 1 , 2, 3 Reviews 13

Feature 4, 5 In-Depth 6, 8, 9

The UIL Accounting competition is an 80 question test that is one hour long. It is designed to be as challenging as possible to find out who the best at accounting is.

“The test is very hard,” Vance said. “It was designed so that no one can make a perfect score.”

Another reason that students are attracted to UIL academics is because of the intricacies that help them expand their minds.

“Accounting can be very puzzling,” Esaka said. “But it is very rewarding after finishing it because every time there is a new challenge.”

UIL Social Studies The UIL Social Studies event consists of a 45 question test and an essay over one topic.

The test is objective and the essay is objective and subjective. Each year the topic covered changes, this year the topic is the United States civil rights movement.

“The questions are very specific,” senior Shane Valentine said. “Sometimes the questions ask about a very minute detail in the person’s life that you might overlook.”

For students like Valentine, UIL academics provides another chance to do what they enjoy.

“The questions can be tough, but learning the material was fun,” Valentine said. “It covers a lot of topics and it has been really interesting to learn more outside of class. I really love social studies” The team dynamic of the UIL Social Studies team includes leadership, with students who have more experience students helping less experienced students.

“Some people look up to me on the team a little bit,” Valentine said. “There might be a little more pressure on me to do well since I am a senior and this is my second year doing this.”

As a School

These UIL programs are a result of Bowie’s academic departments and the work that teachers and students put in to their education.

“I hope that this program is a reflection of Bowie’s social studies team,” Hirschfeld said.

“I hope academic UIL can be a source of pride for students and staff.”

Photo Essay 7, 16 Sports 10, 11

Entertainment 12 Commentary 14, 15

NAILING IT IN PREP FOR PROM Salons around Bowie help students get ready for prom

coming UP

April 13 Prom April 17 Blue Out Bowie April 18 Culture Day April 19 Student Holiday May 2 Trustee Awards Ceremony

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Pride in Publishing

Vol. 31, Issue 5 www.thedispatchonline.net James Bowie High School 4103 W. Slaughter Lane Austin TX, 78749

Senior event confirmed Graduating students invited to celebration Graduation night is statistically one of the most dangerous nights for teenagers due to the risks of impaired driving and car crashes, according to the American Automobile Association Foundation.

Project Graduation was started to make graduation night safer, touted as an all-night alcohol-free, drugfree, lock-in party.

This school year, the last day of classes is on May 24, while graduation is on May 31. This schedule may have been a reason for less interest in Project Graduation due to a weeklong gap between the two events. Nevertheless, Project Graduation is still happening and ticket prices will remain at $150 until April 15. After that prices will increase to $200.

“We have had some trouble getting enough seniors to sign up, but now that we do it’s on for sure,” Class of 2019 Booster Club parent Theresa Bastian said.

“There were a multitude of reasons including a delayed graduation, not everyone knowing about it. But we want to make this a funfilled memorable night.”

The event will start after graduation at Bowie, where seniors will ride buses that take them to High 5 event center. The party will last all night long, food will be

served, and there will be giveaways, bowling, pool, arcade games, karaoke, a disco dance, and many more activities.

“I have heard lots of feedback from students who attended Project Graduation in previous years,“ Bastian said. “They have really enjoyed that night; it was a special, memorable experience.”

Bastian encourages parents to sign up their senior students for this event.

“I would like to tell parents that Project Graduation is a safe, low risk activity on a dangerous, high risk night,” Bastian said. “You can’t eliminate risk every night, but on graduation night you can minimize it as much as possible while your senior still has fun.”

For seniors, Project Graduation may be the last time they see many of their peers and classmates before every student goes their own way and forges their path through life.

“I would like to tell seniors that you most likely don’t know what you are going to be doing graduation night,“ Bastian said. “Sign up for Project Graduation and you will have guaranteed plans that are fun that night.”

STORY BY Peter Dang

Cultural festivities Upcoming event to celebrate diversity The first ever Culture Day will be held on Thursday, April 18 at 10 a.m. in the courtyard.

Multiple booths will be set up to represent various cultures, with students stationed at each to educate their peers about their culture and traditions.

Teachers are invited to bring their students to the courtyard as early as 10 a.m.

There’s no sign-up required to attend, and all students and staff are welcome to attend on their own at 10:30,. Culture Day will run through FIT and end at 10:58.

“As leaders of Bowie Multi-Cultural Awareness Club (MCAC), Nyah, Keilyn, and I recognized that the campus lacked awareness and celebration for cultures,” senior Seun Odufuye said. “We wanted to bring awareness and celebrate the various cultures found at Bowie through Culture Day. Knowing more about different cultures, as well as celebrating them, brings about a certain type of unity that bigotry and ignorance destroy.”

Odufuye’s idea for Culture Day stemmed from the Culture Day that Mills Elementary holds each year. Multiple elementary schools in the area put on multicultural education events, and the MCAC believes this type of event would be just as beneficial to students now as it was when they were elementary school students, according to an email invitation for Culture Day sent out by MCAC co-

find us

@jbhs_dispatch

sponsor Amanda Pfeiffer.

“The goal for culture day, hosted by MCAC, French, and Spanish Honor Society is to enlighten, educate, and entertain,” senior Lin Tran said. “There will be cultural music from different countries playing as students visit each booth and learn about different cultures.”

In addition to various types of music, traditional wear, and presentations, attendees can expect to see interactive games like Cultural Bingo at Culture Day. “[Cultural Bingo] is basically our incentive to have kids actually learn,” Odufuye said. “So basically we will combine answers and have bingo boards and a person calling out questions."

Tran explained the importance and value that she sees in implementing a Culture Day. “Our world is so diverse and it’s beautiful, however, there is always miscommunication [and] misunderstanding between cultures that leads to a generalization or stereotype of cultures,” Tran said.

“Therefore to me, it is extremely important to let others have the opportunity to learn and really immerse themselves into different cultures to understand what makes each culture so different; what makes every individual so unique from one another.”

STORY BY Rachel Baschnagel

2 NEWS

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2019

Broken glass fuels focused fundraiser Cade Spencer News Editor

Glass lay broken on the ground as an estimated 75 windows were shattered around the Bowie facility.

This vandalism that struck campus on Dec. 13, 2018 caused the school community to call for increased security. In response to such demands, the PTSA decided to focus their Build Up Bowie fundraiser on necessary safety equipment.

The Build Up Bowie campaign is an annual fundraiser hosted by the PTSA that advocates for specific donations to address needs on the Bowie campus.

“The main goal of Build Up Bowie is to help fill specific school needs, identified with the help of Bowie Administration, through a no-hassle fundraiser,” Build Up Bowie PTSA chair Leslie Dippel said. “In years past, Build Up Bowie has provided extra tables in the courtyard, water bottle filling stations, and charging centers in the library.”

The PTSA had a $10,000 donation goal for the 2019 Build Up Bowie campaign after receiving an initial $3,280 in December for vandalism repairs.

“This year the Build Up Bowie campaign is going to support campus safety and security,” principal Mark Robinson said. “[This decision is] largely in response to the vandalism that occurred in December, [because] there was an immediate response from the community to donate to campus safety.”

After the vandalism, a hashtag titled #BowieStrong was created to promote unity and strength within the community.

“The Bowie Strong Campaign was a big motivation for this year’s fundraising goal,” Dippel said.

“We realized that there are campus needs that could use immediate resolution.”

Once the vandalism clean up was complete, Robinson led a full inspection of the campus security system.

“I think that one thing that was a concern [after the vandalism] were the alarms,” Robinson said.

SCAN ME: Scan this QR code to learn more about the Build Up Bowie Campaign.

TIME-LINE: A COMMUNITY RESPONSE

THE VANDALISM (Dec. 13, 2018):

Because of the vandalism, around 75 to 100 windows were broken on campus. Consequently, school was cancelled for two consecutive days.

BUILD UP BOWIE (Feb. 24- March 17,2019):

The PTSA Build Up Bowie Campaign contributes a total of $10,740.00 to campus safety.

#BOWIESTRONG

A HASHTAG CREATES UNITY (Dec. 13- Dec. 17, 2018): The #BowieStrong campaign collected an initial $3,280 for immediate vandalism repairs.

ART BY Shikha Patel, Shruti Patel, Cade Spencer

“We did do a check to make sure everything was working, and it has been explained to me that those systems worked the way they are designed to.”

After his inspection, Robinson explained that the reason the alarms were not activated was their level of sensitivity.

“A lot of the breakage was in hallways and classrooms, [and] those are areas where motion detectors have sensors that work a certain way to allow for some amount of motion,” Robinson said. “We can’t have something that is so sensitive it sets off a bunch of false alarms, [especially] with air conditioners that may make things in the room move when they turn off and on.”

Freshman Kylee Dinwiddie was surprised that such an event would happen at her school and that no alarms would be activated.

“The vandalism was a little shaky because I didn’t expect anything to happen,” Dinwiddie said. “[However], they got it cleaned up real quick and I feel safe at Bowie.”

In addition to the alarm system, Robinson would like to see improvements to campus lighting and security cameras.

“We had a security audit recently by district staff that identified multiple areas of need on the campus,” Robinson said. “[One of] the main things that we have discussed

with the PTSA has been improved vidual involved may not have been lighting because cameras cannot arrested.”

In addition to increasing campus see in the dark.”

Dippel and the PTSA team said safety, Robinson explained that the they are excited to be able to help Build Up Bowie contributions will improve the Bowie campus in such also be used to supplement security funds provided in the 2017 bond. a crucial way.

“By supporting us with purchas“This year, we are raising money to purchase enhanced security and ing materials that can be installed, surveillance equipment for Bowie, disconnected, taken out, and re-inwhich recent events have revealed stalled, the PTSA [will] allow us to maintain these [security] assets a need for,” Dippel said. “Bowie despite is a safe [future] campus and these While this will be only a small part r e n o v a security of a larger campus response, it is a tRi oo bn is n, ”enhancements will way that Bowie families can donate son said. “[Bond help keep and see an immediate response. funds] arit that en’t speway."

Leslie Dippel cific and As Robthe PTSA inson disBuild Up Bowie Campaign Chair wanted c u s s e d this conpossible tribution uses of the campaign money with the PTSA, to be a lasting one that won’t be he stated that he expects a large demo'ed in a future bond.”

As the PTSA got closer to reachportion of the funds to be used for ing their goal, they expressed their surveillance tools.

“Looking at supplementing just extreme appreciation for the overthe amount of cameras we have, I all community support.

“We are so grateful for everythink, is a lot of what we will do with any money raised by Build Up one’s generosity,” Dippel said.

Bowie,” Robinson said. “We know “While this will be only a small how important [the cameras] were part of a larger campus response, in resolving the vandalism, and it is a way that Bowie families can [without] those images, the indi- donate and see an immediate re-

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sponse.”

Despite needed security improvements on campus, Dinwiddie said she has enjoyed a safe and secure freshman year. “[During the day] I don’t really think about things happening,” Dinwiddie said. “We are in a classroom and the doors are locked.”

Robinson said he is grateful for the eager community response and excited to see new security upgrades operating by fall of this year.

“I think historically we have seen an increase in the amount of money the PTSA has raised every year, and with the initial response to #BowieStrong, I would expect that we can maintain that support this year,” Robinson said. “I think that there has been a lot of support in the community and we sure appreciate that.”

From Feb. 24 to March 17 the Build Up Bowie campaign collected $8,285. This total will be combined with an initial balance of $3,280 for a grand total of $10,740 for campus security.

“The community can donate by visiting the Bowie PTSA Facebook page and making a donation,” Dippel said. “Some Bowie families are also business owners or [employees] and have made donations in the name of the business, [which] has been a wonderful way for the community to be involved.”

NEWS 3

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2019 THE DISPATCH

OnRamps courses' new price tag

New, uncovered costs of UT OnRamps courses may come out of students' pockets Jadon Alvarez Senior News Editor

opportunity to gain college credit without a test tied to an expensive fee.

“I would recommend OnRamps UT Austin started an early college over an AP class because you get the program with high schools in AISD opportunity to get college credit that called OnRamps. In previous years, can transfer to lots of different colOnRamps was a free program that was leges and also it gives you a challenge paid for through the school's budget. and the teachers are amazing,” CabelStudents could take the courses with- lo said. “They really push you to work out a fee, but in the 2019-2020 school hard and do your best.” year there is a possibility that OnRamps The possibility of a fee for an adclasses won’t be free for students. vanced class that AP students would “There’s always been a fee associat- get for free has encouraged students ed with the use of curriculum and data- to rethink their schedule for the next bases,” English teacher Matt Flickinger school year. said. “But the Texas Senate passed a “It might affect my choice of taking bill last go-around that was paying for OnRamps statistics next year because I programs like OnRamps for students don't know if my parents will want to across the state.” pay, but also they want me to get colOnRamps is a dual enrollment pro- lege credit for applying to future colgram that gives students the oppor- leges,” Cabello said. “Many students tunity to earn college credit through are bright, but may not be able to aftaking a college course at their high ford the fee, which is discouraging and school. The fee was originally covered a set back especially if they have their by the district to offer more opportu- eyes on saving for college.” nities to students, but as the district The potential price of these classmakes budget cuts, OnRamps is not es could cost students a large sum of a priority. Flickinger believes that if a money, suspected to be in the hunfee is introduced, it will discourage stu- dreds. The chance of a price tag on Ondents from taking the offered courses, Ramps classes has confused many stuand eventually shrink class sizes. How- dents, including junior Bevin Flaherty, ever, nothing will be official until next who is taking OnRamps Rhetoric this year. year. Because of this, class sizes or of“If the fee is introduced next year, ferings of these classes on campus may I anticipate that the numbers [of be limited.

OnRamps students] will go down,” “It makes sense that they would Flickinger said. “For teachers, I don’t want to start having students pay for [think] they’re gonna be all that affect- OnRamps since it’s a college class,” ed. Class sizes Flaherty said. might go down “However, it raisbut we haven’t es some questions verified with for me, like if they our district if would have spethe fee is going cial prices for low to be covered income families.” or not.”

As this talk Junior Jucontinues, stuliana Cabello dents have been has taken Onsearching for a Grace Brown Ramps Rhetpossible resoluoric and likes Sophomore tion. Flaherty adhow the class dressed a possible is set up in solution to the such a way that she can discuss differ- rumors of charging students for their ent ideas with her classmates. education.

“I like OnRamps because it chal“I think that potential students lenges you to think outside of the box shouldn’t pay for these classes since for essays and really dive deep in the it’s offered through Bowie, so it doesn’t real world problems,” Cabello said. really make sense since this is a pub“For OnRamps Rhetoric, you also have lic high school,” Flaherty said. “I think to have a mindset for accepting others' that this issue could be solved by thoughts and concerns, which encour- teachers explaining to their students ages creativity and real life skills.” that they need to take these classes seOnRamps course offerings on riously since it’s a college level class.” campus include: rhetoric, statistics, Sophomore Grace Brown decided per-calculus, and physics. Cabello pre- to take OnRamps Rhetoric to get a differs OnRamps classes over AP classes ferent experience with an English class because OnRamps gives students the

s t n

e d tu

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The price is a debatable part of participating in the class, but you're essentially getting a college education for a fraction of the price.

ART BY Sumin Kim

and hopes this will bring her new opportunities to grow in her learning.

“I decided to take OnRamps as a way to experience a different kind of writing that most likely will recur throughout my college English courses,” Brown said. “I decided that it was a skill that

I personally wanted to develop more.”

Brown thinks that OnRamps potentially costing money might create an obstacle in her decision to take another one of these classes, but believes they are still beneficial.

“I personally don't think it's fair to

Funding lost due to senior skip day Katie Holme News Editor

The collective agreement amongst seniors to take part in “senior skip day” on March 15, the day before spring break, created a decline in attendance, as well as a significant amount of funding. During this senior “holiday” the school lost $17,000 from absences due to the school being funded on attendance.

The loss in funding came from 320 absent seniors combined with additional students missing from other grades. In total 504 seniors missed one or more periods.

“Everyday that you have a scheduled class is a very important day, the school year is very limited, we have a lot of things to cover in order to prepare them for success on their tests and its vital that students are here each day,” Assistant Principal Lawrence Britton said. “They should pride themselves on getting a quality education, and taking advantage of the instruction available.”

The TEA school accountability system in which campus distinctions are earned has influenced this year's attendance goal.

Because funding of the district and campus is sparse, the administration tries to stress the importance of attendance on campus in order to earn certain distinctions.

“We have a projected rating that we have to try to achieve and improve each year, and if we don’t achieve the 96.5% then it is not recognized as exemplary and it knocks us back [for the following year],” Britton said.

In order for students to gain credit for courses and eventually graduate, their attendance rate must be 90% or higher in all classes.

“What we would like is for all our students to be here at all times,” Britton said.

“We need to understand attendance is important. Attendance is tied to school funding, especially since the district is losing money. It does affect all of us, and I realized some students don't notice that. We are los-

$17,000 lost in funding

due to all absences on March 15

attributed to

SENIOR SKIP DAY GRAPHIC BY Abby Ong

ing money to provide services for them and what they need.”

Many students don’t find harm in missing school days, due to their personal lives.

“I think attendance is somewhat important but it doesn't represent your intelligence or academic ability,” junior Clara Provenzi said. “Although it is important for technical reasons, sometimes life happens, and we all need a break sometimes.”

To further encourage attendance, staff and faculty have revised attendance incentives to make them easier to understand and more accessible. Incentives include reserved senior parking spots and exam exemptions.

“The campus does not recognize this skip day, but we hope that our students would cherish the educational opportunities that they have and take advantage of that,” Britton said. “It is really important that they do that. The skip day does not only affect funds, but the content and education of students.”

Administration discourages senior skip day, but many seniors still took advantage of the unofficial day.

“I liked senior skip day because I didn't want to be at school," senior Andrea Bowen said. "I got to hang out with some friends, and also some places weren't as busy as they are on the weekends and after school which was cool.”

Overall senior skip day affected the entire school, from a vacant parking lot, to empty classrooms.

“The students not only affect themselves but other students as well,” Britton said. “I know they look at it as something of tradition, but it is tradition that we need to rethink. It is something that the district does not recognize, the campus doesn't recognize, so we need to rethink that without hurting seniors or the campus. Attendance all around was sparse and I would estimate we lost twice as much on that particular day.”

make students pay when in the past it was free to students,” Brown said. “Education should be free for students, especially in high school when we already have to worry about college loans and debt. We don't need to start our money problems at 16.”

Prom with Alumni Graduates under 21 can attend dance After the unanticipated ban of graduated students at the 2018 Homecoming dance, rumors began to surface of the same policies being implemented at Bowie’s class of 2019 prom.

The administration indicated that prom is open to anyone 20 years of age or under who has been invited by a current Bowie student as a guest. Any high school graduate prior to the year 2017 will be allowed to purchase tickets, and attend prom accompanying a date.

“They have to be twenty or under and they have to bring in a guest form, which will be available on the JBHS website soon,” 2019 class sponsor Jacob Morgan said.

“Prom tickets went on sale on April 1, so they will have plenty of time to get that filled out.”

In addition to a guest form, graduates will need to present their government issued identification at the time of the ticket purchase and upon entering the dance. They must be accompanied by a student.

The dance will be located at the Westin Hotel, and the means of thoroughly checking ID's will be enforced.

“If they are not an AISD student, they will need to bring a photocopy of their ID to buy their tickets as well as when they show up to prom, they have to have their ID

present at the event too,” Morgan said. “Just the copy of their ID will need to be there, so the [Bowie student] can bring their guest’s copy of their ID to buy the tickets.”

Students will be allowed to invite graduates or students from other schools, making prom's open attendance policy more flexible for students.

Principal Mark Robinson confirmed Morgan’s statements by stressing the age requirements and process of entry.

“No changes to prom have been announced or are planned,” Robinson said.

“Graduates, former (JBHS or otherwise) students 20 and under, are all able to attend as they have in the past, according to the same guidelines and process.”

Morgan stated that the age guidelines will be strictly adhered to for the safety of students and their dates.

“If they turn 21 the day of prom or before, they can’t go,” Morgan said. “They have to be 20 or below.”

More information on prom policies can be found in the email sent to students by the administration on Thursday, March 14. Because of such strict regulations, questions will be accepted and answered by email, or visiting administration in the front office.

STORY BY Rachel Baschnagel

4 FEATURE

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2019

Silver Star captain leaps into spotlight Abbie Brien Feature Editor

Walk to center stage. Don’t trip.

Keep a smile on. Hands behind your back. These thoughts race through senior Kristin Hauck’s head as she hears thunderous applause and prepares to perform.

In addition to being the Silver Stars’ Captain, Hauck has been involved with studios such as Premiere Dance Center and Rise Dance Company since she was four years old.

“With my dance journey, I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve been able to maintain an enjoyment for dance throughout the years,” Hauck said. “Whether that was studio dance or drill team, I haven’t gotten burned out yet and I think it’s because I’ve had a lot of different opportunities that have allowed me to continue my love of dance.”

Hauck earned the title of Silver Stars Captain in spring of 2018.

“Being captain has impacted my life because it has allowed me to lead others and have an impact on them,” Hauck said. “It’s so cool that I get to be a part of people’s lives every day.”

Before becoming captain, Hauck participated in Silver Stars by com-

peting in solos, trios, and group dances.

“We are proud of Kristin for leading the team as captain this year,” Silver Stars assistant director Emily Davis said. “She has always led by example, which makes it easy for others to follow.”

Hauck works closely with six other officers: Veronica Rapp, Trinity Vogel, Chloe Borsch, Jade Fattouh, Landry Case and Gabby D’Angelo to teach the team and assist the directors every day.

“One of the best parts about Kristin is that she never gives up,” junior lieutenant Fattouh said.

“Even when she’s exhausted, she always comes to practice early and continues to impress the team with her skills.”

Hauck is a straight-A student and she said that dancing helps relieve the tremendous pressures she faces trying to get into the college of her choice.

“My favorite part about dance is being able to perform and show people what I’ve been practicing,” Hauck said. “Dance is so fun and is a great way of [relieving] stress.”

However, Hauck’s busy schedule means she only gets about four to five hours of sleep per night.

“I don’t usually get much sleep because I have dance before and

after school, and then I have to do my homework,” Hauck said. “I try to take breaks and naps when I can though.”

One important aspect of Silver Stars is keeping up A and B averages in order to dance in performances.

“Kristin’s academic achievements are extremely impressive,” Fattouh said. “Sometimes she’ll help people with their homework and encourage people to challenge themselves in both dance and school.”

Hauck excels in classes such as BC Calculus and AP government.

“My only strategy that I use is to get as much done during the [school] day as possible,” Hauck said. “Whether that’s during fit or lunch, I’d rather use my time at school productively.”

Before becoming a Silver Star, Hauck danced at Premiere Dance Center until she was a sophomore.

“I have wanted to quit in the past because I had been doing studio dance my entire life, and I was kind of getting tired of it, but then joining Silver Stars was something new and different,” Hauck said.

“That made [dance] super fun.”

Hauck’s technical training, which is the preciseness of her movement, is due to many years

FINISHING STRONG: During the halftime show at a football game, Kristin Hauck strikes her pose under the Friday night lights. She performed a pom dance routine. PHOTO BY Preston Rolls

about winning. advanced ballet and other dance You get a styles. sense of self “Hauck is a enjoyment, strong technical and you don’t dancer,” Davis said. have to win to “In addition to Silfeel good about ver Stars rehearsals, yourself.” she trains weekly at Contempo a studio in Round rary dance is a Rock, and she’s style that combines very powerful and jazz, ballet, and modcompelling to watch ern. perform.”

“My favorite style of According to dance is contemporary,” Hauck, both stuHauck said. “It’s so fun bedio dance and cause it allows you to drill team have use your emotions advanced and you can apHauck in ply your own exher dance periences while j o u r n e y, doing it.” but in By training different multiple days ways. a week, Hauck “Drill says she has been team is pushed physically more perand mentally with formance difficult choreogbased, while raphy. studio is “There are more comdefinitely a lot petition of assumpbased,” tions about H a u c k dance, and s a i d . people think “ E v e n it’s just though something you do easy for compe‘girly girls’ titions to do, but it in drill just depends t e a m , on what levyou’re el you’re mostly dancing at,” performHauck said. ing at “I think football t h a t games w h e n and putyou train ting on LIFTING OFF: Senior officers Trinity Vogel a lot, a spring and Chloe Borsch lift up Kristin Hauck. They performed their Senior dance routine. dance is show.” very hard W i t h PHOTO COURTESY OF Shawna Fattouh and takes new TV shows such as World of Dance a lot of skill, brain, and artistic abiland Dance Moms, young dancers ity.”

Hauck won first place for her like Hauck often find themselves aspiring to dance professionally in solo at Crowd Pleasers Austin Showcase and the American Lone their future.

“When I was little, dance was Star Dance Championship this something that I took more seri- year. “[Winning her solo] is a huge ously, but as I got older, I’ve been able to have more fun with it and honor, and it was really rewarding it’s something I can do outside to see all of her hard work pay off,” Davis said. the stress of school,” Hauck said.

Hauck is graduating this year According to Hauck, one of the most important aspects of dance and the title of captain will be passed on to another team memis teamwork.

“Dance is special because not ber.

“Kristin deserves recognition only do you get to meet your best friends in dance and build because of her dedication to Silver relationships through that, it’s Stars over the past three years,” also super fun,” Hauck said. “It’s Davis said. “She’s an amazing capalso not super competitive all the tain, and she will be greatly time, so you don’t have to worry missed.”

Dawg dad caters to Austin South by Southwest festival Caitlin Worthington Dispatch Reporter

Austin’s famous South by Southwest festival brings many different artists, venues, and fans together to gear up for the fun. This year, the festival ran from Monday, March 11 to Sunday, March 17, mostly in downtown Austin.

For Bryan Baugher, sophomore Tipton Baugher’s father, this means getting his catering equipment ready to serve all the thirsty guests.

“My dad sells drinks at Auditorium shores during SXSW, which can lead to a pretty crazy and high stress spring break,” Tipton said.

Bryan is the co-owner of the wide-scale G&M catering company.

“I’ve been catering a number of different events for 25 years now, and I’ve been catering at SXSW for 22 years now,” Bryan said. “SXSW is a great event because we get so much more exposure than we normally would at other events.”

In addition to SXSW, G&M catering works a bit at the Austin Rodeo during spring break, serving food and drinks to hungry and thirsty customers.

“During a typical workday, in any other normal week, I’m at the office,” Bryan said. “[However,] during SXSW, I’m running all over the place from downtown to the rodeo [and then] back to the office trying to make sure everything is running smoothly,” However, when events get busier, G&M catering company has some helpers ready on deck.

“SXSW is normally super busy since it’s such a big event,” Tipton said. “My dad usually leaves early and doesn’t get home until the middle of the night during SXSW, so sometimes my family and I will work at SXSW or the Austin Rodeo to help out in any way that we can.”

10%

SPRITE

25%

15%

DR. PEPPER

COKE

DISTRIBUTION OF DRINKS BROUGHT FOR SXSW

50%

BUD LIGHT

ART BY Joe Morales SOURCE: Tipton Baugher

According to Tipton, high school employees can have a hard time balancing work with school.

“This year I had to go immediately to work after school, [even though] in past years SXSW lined up with our spring break,” Tipton said. “So I go straight after school and help cater.”

G&M catering has a set schedule that they follow most days.

“Typically we get there, set up equipment, and make sure that there are enough product[s] at all the booths,” Tipton said.

Tipton also has a job at a store in Barton Creek Square Mall called Francesca’s.

“I really like that I’ve had the opportunity to work in different locations and [also] for the experience,” Tipton said. “[Working at both places] is a really great experience that a lot of high schoolers don’t get.”

G&M catering won’t be the only company with new customers over SXSW this year either.

“I work at ‘Hey Cupcake’ off of Barton Springs road, and we have already been so busy [due to the SXSW fans],” senior Angelle Guilbeau said. “It’s definitely really busy hours, but tips are great.”

Although South by Southwest can be a stressful time for those working it, the process comes with some benefits, especially for the Baugher family.

“Since my dad sells all the drinks at Auditorium shores during SXSW, I get passes to see all the shows, which makes for a really fun spring break,” Tipton said.

This year, SXSW will host musical artists such as the DC punk group Priests and Swedish rapper Yung Lean.

“I really enjoy being able to listen to the music and work,” Tipton said.

The experience extends beyond the Baugher family, too.

“This year I get to bring friends which I’m really excited about,” Tipton said.

According to Tipton, the G&M catering team is a group of highly motivated people.

“I really like getting to know everyone every year,” Tipton said.

Although Guilbeau wasn’t able to land free passes with Tipton, she has experienced a diversity of people at SXSW, which she believes is rewarding enough.

“I’ve had people come up to buy a cupcake from all over the country,” Guilbeau said. “I met a couple that drove all the way down from New York for the event, which was pretty cool.”

No matter how busy things get, according to Tipton and her family, South by Southwest is a week to remember. “[The experience] is always so much fun,” Tipton said. “I think it’s a good way to spend my break.”

FEATURE 5

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2019 THE DISPATCH

Senior co-hosts speak out on original stream Miranda Cardenas Feature Editor

Slide whistles, side commentary, and lots of background laughter are just a few noises listeners experience when they put in their earbuds for the latest episode of their classmates’ budding podcast.

Seniors Will Pajak and Stephen Do have recently started up their own show filled with jokes, stories, and the occasional off-topic tangent.

“The name of the podcast is ‘Two Guys With Warm Beverages Talking,” Do said. “It started because my friend Will Pajak and I were having a conversation about how we wished we had a TV show where we could talk about the things we were passionate about.”

While Do says it was a spontaneous idea at first, the pair quickly discovered their love of podcasts and began considering starting their own.

“I had been a fan of several podcasts for a while and I thought that maybe it was something we might be able to do now,” Do said.

When Do struck up the idea for the podcast, it did not take long for him to spread the suggestion to his friend and co-host.

“We soon made plans to set the podcast in motion and sat down to do some recording,” Do said. “After the first episode, we realized we really enjoyed doing it so much that it kinda just stuck.”

Making the podcast has become a fun hobby for the two, who say they always remember to never take themselves too seriously to make content that makes them proud.

“We’ve been making the podcast for about two months now and our goal for the podcast was always just to have a good time,” Do said.

The podcast, which can be found on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, allows Do and Pajak to talk freely about topics that interest or concern them.

“It’s basically a recording of our everyday conversations, whether they are serious or funny,” Pajak said. “It’s nice to talk for 30-45 minutes straight with one of my best friends whilst making subjectively quality content for others to enjoy and share.”

The two friends enjoy the podcast because it allows them to do something entertaining while still being able to hang out and have their usual conversations they have in everyday life.

“My favorite part of the podcast is just hanging out and talking with Stephen” Pajak said. “We don’t really care how many views we get, we just want to have fun together.”

Topics are never the same in the podcast episodes and vary depending on what pops into the minds of the creators or what is written on

DEEP IN CONVERSATION: Seniors Will Pajak and Stephen Do laugh as they talk about some new podcast topics for their upcoming episodes. The podcast has quickly gained listeners and fans as it spreads to multiple countries all over the world as well as here in the U.S. PHOTO BY Preston Rolls

their scripted lists.

“Stephen and I talk about so many random funny things, it’s hard to choose just one favorite,” Pajak said. “One of my favorite conversations was a sleep paralysis episode and the one where we talked about irrational fears.”

While the two sometimes plan out what they are going to say, they usually just talk about a little bit of everything instead of one centralized topic to keep new ideas flowing.

“We’ll come in with lists of topics we want to bring up when we are going to record,” Do said.

“Things on the lists vary largely from personal stories to questions we want to discuss, or fun games and skits that we think might be fun to do while recording.”

However, according to Pajak, finding the time to do the show while balancing their lives outside and inside of school can prove to be somewhat of a challenge.

“Finding time each week to record is pretty difficult,” Pajak said.

“Stephen and I are both pretty busy people, but we try to stay on a regular recording schedule when pos-

sible.”

Even though this podcast is a hobby, the duo claims they take it seriously when it comes to making and producing its content.

“Will and I both like doing things right, whether it be school or recording audio, so it can be hard for us to make sure that all the things we do are up to our standards,” Do said.

While the podcast is still relatively young, Pajak and Do plan on continuing this in future years to come.

“Stephen and I are going to be roommates next year at UT Austin, so the podcast will continue next year,” Pajak said.

In the future, Pajak and Do plan on expanding the podcast’s content for the benefit of themselves and the show.

“We plan on having more guests in future episodes, and it would be awesome if we found a way to make money while doing the podcast,” Pajak said.

Close friends of Pajak and Do have shown their support and love for the duo’s podcast as episodes continue to come out.

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“It is the weirdest and best thing you will ever listen to,” senior Kaitlin Rush said. “It is hilarious.”

In the beginning, Rush said she wasn’t sure what to expect, but she kept an open mind because she wanted them to succeed.

“They told me to start listening to it and I was kind of wary but said I’d give it a chance, and I listened and now I’m one of their top five listeners,” Rush said.

Rush said she now looks forward to hearing all that the duo have to say in their show and enjoys being a frequent listener.

“As soon as a new episode comes out I listen to it,” Rush said. “They even said they’d let me be on it next year as a guest star, and you can conveniently find it on Spotify.

Be prepared because it can be really odd, but it’s so entertaining.”

The duo has reached listeners across the world as well as local listeners, and they continue to grow their fan-base with every episode they produce.

“They actually have a listener in Norway or somewhere in Europe I think, which is pretty crazy but exciting at the same time,” Rush said.

The diverse array of commentary is something that fans like Rush enjoy, and they say it contributes to the show as a whole.

“I really love the commentary they do in the background when they accidentally go off-topic and talk about the goofy stuff in their lives, not to mention they’re my best friends and I love them,” Rush said.

Pajak and Do both own their personalities and try to showcase their true selves into their work and conversations so other listeners can get to know them for who they are.

“The podcast is a fun thing we can share with friends and is a way to give our own weird, goofy content to the internet,” Pajak said.

The two are very passionate and proud of their podcast and hope their listeners love it as much as they do.

“If there is something that I hope listeners take away from the podcast, it is that it’s okay to be weird or goofballs sometimes,” Do said. “It can be one of the best ways to get a little more joy out of life.”

6 IN-DEPTH

CORPS VALUES THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2019

to the middle schools,” Hill said. “For the three core values of the Air Force. example, during Halloween, we would In the military, you can’t afford to lie. go [to middle schools] and do Hallow- ‘Integrity first’ is what I tell everyone Ever since Lukas Bastion was a kid, een safety. We have had students in the who comes here. I like to instill those he dreamed about serving his country. past actually wear Halloween costumes core values and prepare [students] for He became one step closer to his goal by and go over there and put on little skits. what’s waiting for them once they walk joining Junior Reserve Officer’s Train- They’ll teach individuals to be careful across the stage and they leave here.”

Since JROTC takes up a lot of the ing Corps as a freshman at Bowie. He with the candy you get; is it wrapped, is has moved up in ranks, and now, as a it not wrapped, stay away from strang- student’s time, from practice for comsenior, is the JROTC Corps Command- ers, stay in well-lit areas, those kinds of petition and community service, the cadets in the program have a tutoring er, the highest position in the program. things.”

JROTC students have an upper hand system set up. Upperclassmen often tuThe JROTC class at Bowie is funded by the Air Force and teaches students when in comes to joining a branch in tor the younger students.

“I help younger cadets learn to get leadership skills as well as different the military. Students who have been aspects of military branches. JROTC involved in JROTC for three years can their uniform on right, which is kind students have the option to compete gain three higher ranks within the Air of an unspoken thing within JROTC, in various competitions, rise up as one Force and two higher ranks in any other where you help out the younger kids in JROTC and out of it,” Dean said. “I’m of the class leaders, and participate in branch of the military. “[JROTC students would] start off doing a math tutoring session with community service and gain ribbons, or with a higher pay raise,” junior Derek some of the cadets within JROTC just in awards, to wear on their uniforms.

Perez said. “[JROTC anything they’re really struggling with.

“I think the best students] start off [There is] lots of social and emotional way to describe [with] more knowl- support—any older cadet is someone JROTC is a leaderWe have our own core edge than most people [an underclassmen] can come and talk ship lab,” JROTC values: integrity first, because that puts you to about any problems [they’re] facing Master Sergeant David Loyd said. service before self, and ahead and you kind of in the corps and we know really well just know what’s ex- how to refer you to other people or to a “In my curriculum, counselor if need be. The way we hanwhich is leadership, excellence in all we do. pected.”

The program not dle a lot of issues is through the chain [students learn] evPaul Hill only helps students of command—you go up the chain of erything from cuswho decide to join command until the problem gets retoms, courtesies and JROTC Captain the military after high solved.” ranks to how to eat Despite a large number of JROTC in a formal dining setting. We also have school, but can also aid on college apsections on communication and differ- plications because of their involvement students spending their FIT sessions and time in the afternoon in the JROTC ent job opportunities, [as well as] how in the community and at school.

“There is about 17 national awards room, the students are involved in a to prepare a resume. It’s a wide specthat will be awarded to cadets in number of activities outside the protrum of things.”

JROTC advisers and students from JROTC, which looks pretty good on an gram like theatre and sports teams.

“One of the really unique things nearby high schools often visit middle application for college,” Hill said. “We schools to share information about the do about 1,000 to 1,400 hours of com- about JROTC is it’s a lot of kids from a program in hopes of recruiting new stu- munity service. [College interviewers] lot of different cliques coming together actually ask what you [are involved in] into something a little more specialized dents.

“I always wanted to go into the mili- on the consolidated application for col- that they all have in common,” Dean tary since I was little so when they came lege; the cadets who are actually active said. “Last I checked, we had over 20 recruiting to my middle school, I saw in the program can start listing all of different extracurricular groups reprethem and got really excited because my their community service. A lot of folks sented within JROTC. Within JROTC older step-brother was in JROTC and I in JROTC have to add an extra page be- itself, you have kids who really love thought that was really cool,” Bastian cause they just write down everything drill or to be on the drone or rocketry teams where they’re launching rockets said. “I just got really involved from the they’ve done.”

Senior Thomas Dean believes that or racing drones. So it’s a really tight start. It’s helped me learn study skills.

It’s helped me learn how to make a re- a huge misconception is that JROTC knit family group.”

Within the JROTC class, students sume for different jobs; it’s helped me is a military recruitment program. Adget different jobs because JROTC is a visers describe JROTC as a leadership are taught leadership and military resume builder. It’s helped me just program that can teach people certain skills for half of each class on Mondays aspects of the military if they are inter- through Thursdays. On Fridays, JROTC learn how to be a good person.” students play games outside.

The students are required by the Air ested.

“Your requirements are you must be “The biggest misconception of Force to wear their uniforms to school on Wednesday or Thursday, depending JROTC is that you have to go in the able to participate in a regular PE class on which day they have the class. Wear- military afterwards, and that it’s just because we do some physical things; ing their uniform properly is a big part a solely strict military program; that’s we play some interesting games on not true,” Dean said. “Even in the col- Friday,” Hill said. “We play games like of students’ grades for the class.

“We place a very big emphasis on lege level of ROTC, only so many stu- flickerball, which is kind of like ultimate Frisbee, and we responsibility,” Loyd said. “We rarely dents will actually go have one called comsend a note home to mom and dad— to serve in the milkickball, which if you forget your uniform for the day, itary. Right now we [JROTC] is probably bat is a kickball game that’s not their responsibility to remem- only have [a few] cathe most life-changing with five balls flying ber, it’s yours. That’s a small thing, but dets that are going to around at the same personal responsibility and time man- enlist.” group of people I’ve time; it’s a blast.”

The ranking system agement is something we stress from been a part of.

Despite the many day one. That works whether you’re within JROTC looserules and guidelines going to college, whether you’re going ly follows the rankThomas Dean within JROTC, stustraight into the workforce or if you go ing system in the Air dents like Dean feel Force, with everyone into the military.”

Senior the program has There are many types of competition starting out with rank within JROTC, such as drills, drone fly- of Enlisted One. Students can get pro- helped them throughout their high ing, and rocketry. Each of the competi- moted by taking on more responsibility, school years and will continue to affect tion types have their own schedules for such as becoming the leader of a com- them after they graduate.

“You get over having to wear the petition team. practicing and competing.

“I like our ranking system because uniform and getting your haircut,” “I like the competitions because it allows for fun outdoor activities with it allows for cadets to try their best to Dean said. “When you start appreciatyour fellow cadets and a good meal reach goals that have tangible rewards,” ing [JROTC] for what it is, a program afterwards,” sophomore Nick Mosrie Mosrie said. “The ranks give you more of really fun individuals coming tosaid. “The Master Sergeant comes with responsibility and respect from other gether to make a whole organization, you really can enjoy it a whole lot more us and he’s really cool to talk to after cadets as you climb said ranks.”

All JROTC instructors are required and you just get to have fun with the you’re done and waiting for the cadets.”

The students are not required to to be retired from the military. Loyd people that become your best friends. participate in community service, but worked as a weatherman for both the I’d say [JROTC] is probably the most many do. Churches, schools and other Air Force and Army, and Hill was an life-changing group of people I’ve been a part of within school and I don’t think programs often ask Loyd and JROTC electronic warfare officer.

“I believe that we work on character,” I can give back enough to the corps for Captain Paul Hill to send students to Hill said. “We have our own core val- what it’s given to me in a sense of my help with different tasks.

“We have an Awareness Presentation ues: integrity first, service before self, personal identity and just my love for Team that, during school hours, can go and excellence in all we do. Those are the program in general.”

Faith Lawrence In-Depth Editor

”

”

RECOGNIZING RIBBONS

1

DRILL Armed and unarmed drill: Teams of students who perform a series of movements precisely either with or without with rifles. Exhibition: Teams of students who perform a series of movements while spinning and doing tricks with rifles.

REGULATION DRILL: Freshman Zachary Lyerly runs through a drill sequence. Each class of students is required to learn a set of steps for drill. PHOTO BY Faith Lawrence

2

ORIENTEERING Individual students race to different checkpoints through a park using just a map and compass.

3

CYBERPATRIOT A team of students who must secure a master computer by not allowing fake viruses or hackers to infiltrate it.

MARKSMANSHIP Students, as individuals and teams of four, participate in Olympic Three Position Air Rifle Competitions, shooting from the prone (laying down), kneeling and standing position.

4

SHOOTING FOR THE STARS: Former cadet, senior Chase Mangalindan uses an air rifle to shoot targets in the standing position. Marksmanship is an Olympic sport. PHOTO COURTESY OF Bowie JROTC

MODEL ROCKETRY Spot landing: Students launch and attempt to land a rocket by parachute at a target by adjusting the rocket settings.

Duration: Students develop recovery devices like parachutes and streamers to maximize the time from launch to landing. Altitude: Students work to streamline a launch vehicle to get the maximum height or altitude from an engine.

5

6

ACADEMIC A team of students answering SAT and general knowledge questions working against a clock in a competition against 800 other schools worldwide.

DRONE Search & Rescue: Individual students who race a drone to find a specific numbered plate in a park, touch it, and fly back. Racing: Individual students race their drone alongside others around a track. Obstacles: Individual students fly a drone through an obstacle course and attempt to get a quicker time than others.

7

FLYING HIGH: Sophomore Kush Patel holds two drones used in competition. These drones are the Mavic Spark and Mavic Pro. PHOTO BY Faith Lawrence

8

COLOR GUARD A team of four students who perform a series of movements and present the colors (flags) at events such as sports and assemblies.

PRESENTING COLORS: A team of four color guard members present the United States flags during the 2017-2018 school year graduation. Color guard also marches in sports games like football. PHOTO COURTESY OF Bowie JROTC

JROTC students are awarded ribbons for their behaviour and achievements in the program. The ribbons are worn on the right side of their uniforms.

Outstanding Cadet Award Awarded annually to the top cadet in each JROTC year group.

ART BY Faith Lawrence

CADETS in COMPETITION

Achievement Ribbon Awarded annually to no more than five percent of students based on achievements within JROTC, the school and local community.

Superior Performance Award Awarded annually to no more than ten percent of students for outstanding contributions to JROTC and the community.

Leadership Ribbon Awarded for completion of an Air Force approved Summer Leadership program of five days or more.

Dress & Appearance Ribbon Awarded to cadets who wear their uniform on designated days and maintain a 90 percent or higher uniform grade.

Good Conduct Ribbon Awarded each semester to cadets with no suspensions or bad reports from staff and faculty.

Service Ribbon Awarded to cadets with ten hours of community service, each addition ten hours, students receive an oak leaf cluster.

Attendance Ribbon Awarded each semester to students with no unexcused absences and no more than four excused absences.

PHOTO ESSAY 7

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2019 THE DISPATCH

Dancing, candy and palm trees, oh my!

Beach-themed No Place For Hate Parade is a sand-tastic celebration Abbey Repka Photo Essay Editor

Student Leadership has put together the No Place For Hate Parade for four years now. The parade assists in uniting students to fight against bullying.

Starting in the fall of 2004, the Anti-Defamation League launched the campaign of ‘No Place For Hate’ in Austin schools. Then, Bowie students picked it up.

“Originally, it started because the student leaders wanted to do something where everyone could march together and just have some way to unify the campus,” Student Leadership teacher Vickie Benson said.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, the initiative provides students and staff with resources to ensure their campuses are free of bias and celebrate diversity.

“Bowie is a No Place For Hate campus,” Benson said.

“In order to continue to be a campus that participates in the program, we have to put on three events every year.”

After last year’s performance, the Multicultural Awareness Club’s dance team, the MCAC Dancers, were asked to perform at the finale of this year’s parade as well.

“Even though we didn’t have much time, we made sure to pull everything together for a bigger cause,”

MCAC co-president Nyah Bernucho said.

According to Student Leadership student Alexa Robinson, bringing the parade to life required lots of hard work and time. Benson, alongside Student Leadership, dedicated many hours to making sure everything went right at the parade.

“There’s a lot of different pieces that come together to make it happen, so I guess it’s my job to figure out what all the pieces are and to make sure that there are people to do those pieces,” Benson said.

The MCAC celebrates diversity on campus by putting together dances for school events, including the Black History Month assembly and Bowie’s 30th Birthday celebration.

“We actually did a shortened version of the Black History Month performance due to a crunch on time, since making dances can be so difficult,” Bernucho said.

According to Benson, unity is a big focus that Student Leadership strives to achieve.

“No Place For Hate is basically a statement of not hating or holding any grudges or stereotypes against any group at all,” Benson said.

“We all have a place; we all have meaning and value. It’s really to encourage students and faculty to be more uplifting and positive with each other.”

WAVING AT THE CROWD: Cheering from the Student Leadership float, senior Alexa Robinson throws candy. The parade gave students the chance to celebrate being a No Place For Hate campus. “[The hardest parts were] organizing all the groups before hand,” Robinson said. “Then, during the parade, trying to get the groups in the right place and keeping it organized and on time.” PHOTO BY Preston Rolls

BUBBLE BATH: Smiling brightly, senior Cecilia Ortiz blows bubbles towards the onlooking students as senior Alexa Robinson riles the crowd behind her. Student Leadership has been planning the parade for two months. “My favorite part about putting on the parade was putting the float together with the class,” Ortiz said. “Also going around the school and seeing everyone so happy.” PHOTO BY Preston Rolls

GET IN FORMATION: Clapping and smiling, The MCAC Dancers put on a show at the finale of the No Place for Hate Parade. They came up with this dance in December for Black History Month. “Beyonce is one of my favorite artists to dance to,” senior Nyah Bernucho said. “Her music just livens the room.” PHOTO BY Abbey Repka

DANCING AROUND: Striking a pose, senior Nyah Bernucho finishes the Multicultural Awareness Club’s dance. The team reused choreography from Black History Month due to a time crunch. “I love the fact that this dance never gets old,” Bernucho said. PHOTO

BY Abbey Repka

SEA U THERE: Senior Jason Trevino marches in the No Place For Hate parade.

Along with the parade, Student Leadership has put on two other No Place For Hate events. “This is the 3rd event,” Vickie Benson said. “This is the fourth year we’ve done it as the final No Place For Hate event that we do.” PHOTO BY Abbey Repka

IN-DEPTH 9

8 IN-DEPTH

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2019

REAL

CLIMATE CHANGE

VIEWPOINT

FACTORS

“It’s known that the Earth’s global temperature has gone up. The sea levels have been rising because of ice caps melting, and there’s evidence in the ecosystems that have been affected. There’s things that you can’t blame on anything other than climate change.”

“Portrayal by the media and how much people realize that this should be talked about more even though it’s not.

I see things that say we should place more importance on it, and also people that I know who feel really strongly on it have educated me on it more than I would be otherwise.”

Junior Cassie Gutierrez

70%

of Americans believe global warming is happening

NEUTRAL “You could say that there is something changing on the Earth, weather that’s rising temperatures or more extreme winters, but my view is that I don’t know how much of that is natural and how much of that is man made.”

“I’ve read things online, stuff that makes sense. You can’t really compare things from millions of years ago to today. Most of my research came from online, and thinking it over a little bit after.”

Senior Adam Werchan

16%

of Americans are unsure if global warming is happening

FAKE “My view on climate change is that a long time ago, there was a certain weather and temperature. Now, we’re having the same weather. So I don’t think that it’s really climate change, I think it’s just how things happen.”

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2019 THE DISPATCH

“I’ve seen things on TV, like whenever I watch the news, that they’d say we haven’t had this temperature in hundreds of years at this time of year.

My mom agrees that we have had this temperature, it just hasn’t happened in a really long time.”

Unusual weather events revive discussion on the increasing global problem Marisa Salazar Double Truck Editor Raging waters run through cities, destroying homes and businesses. Wildfires burn down decade old forests, devastating vegetation and animal habitats.

Experts agree that these occurrences have resulted from climate change, which has people debating the importance and overall validity of the global phenomenon.

Uncommon weather patterns have sparked awareness for the impact human populations are having on Earth. AP Environmental Science teacher Ashley Spiro emphasized some primary causes of climate change.

“Climate change is caused by greenhouse gases, predominantly carbon dioxide, which stays in the atmosphere for hundreds of years,” Spiro said. “Greenhouse gases we release from burning fossil fuels, from animal agriculture, and from a variety of other different things have together resulted in a warming of our planet.”

City of Austin Climate Program Manager Zach Baumer expressed concern as greenhouse gases continue to be released into the atmosphere. He believes it is critical to focus on finding solutions worldwide.

“Right now, we are already seeing the effects of climate change in the form of extreme weather, like extreme heat, flooding, wildfire, and drought,” Baumer said.

“We’ve already lost lives, homes, and native habitat to climate change, and if we do nothing, it will continue to get worse.”

Climate change can be described as a positive feedback loop, where small actions can lead to an increase in the magnitude of the problem. To Spiro, while this positive feedback loop poses a complex problem, it is a problem that needs to have a viable solution soon.

“I think [people] should be incredibly concerned because the worse case scenario makes a lot of Earth unlivable,” Spiro said. “It means people will have to move, it means that resources are going to become scarce, and it means that very bad times are ahead.”

Earth Club president Morgan Scrimgeour believes that people in the United States don’t put as much thought into the topic of climate change as people in other countries. According to Scrimgeour, this is partially because the presence of influential and powerful businesses can make the actions of one person seem insignificant.

“We talk about it, but at the same time we don’t care enough to change what we’re doing to fix our climate problems,” Scrimgeour said. “I feel like some people think that their voice is insignificant against bigger corporations, so they decide that they’re not going to try anything.”

Differing Opinions According to NASA, the planet’s average surface temperature has increased by 1.62°F since the late 19th century. Along with this, the top 700 meters of the ocean have proven to be more than 0.4°F warmer since 1969. Despite the ample credible information, some people have chosen to remain skeptical on the true nature of climate change.

“I feel like it’s something that you can’t deny happens, climate change is there,” junior Cassie Gutierrez said. “I think it is an issue that should have more importance in our society, but it doesn’t, and people don’t care enough about it or aren’t exposed to the topic enough.”

While fierce debates about climate change are common, some have decided to accept people’s differing beliefs instead of challenging them. Spiro teaches climate change by presenting the facts and allows students to draw their own conclusion without being forced toward one side.

“It’s very difficult to convince people that they’re wrong when they already believe something,” Spiro said. “I don’t feel like those people are in the majority, and I also don’t feel like those are the people that I feel that I need to or I will be able to convince.”

Scrimgeour agrees that people are entitled to their own views and encourages people to do research and look at all the evidence before choosing a definite standpoint.

“I respect that other people don’t believe in climate change,” Scrimgeour said. “At the same time, I think that people need to open their eyes and see that global warming is real and our climate does change naturally, but we are speeding up the process with things that we’re doing.”

Climate Curriculum Like other controversial topics, whether it is appropriate for climate change to be taught in school has been questioned. AISD has policies regarding the teach-

ing of controversial issues, and there are stipulations on how and to what extent topics can be discussed.

“I think you should teach it in school, but in a way where it’s not forcing anything on to anybody,” senior Adam Werchan said. “Maybe say that the world is changing, but it’s caused by multiple factors, some of it’s natural and some of it’s probably man made.”

AISD policy permits students to express their personal opinions in class regarding controversial issues and requires the lesson to be taught impartially and objectively.

Senior Biologist for the City of Austin Balcones Canyonlands Preserve Lisa O’Donnell believes that advising students on remedies should also be included in lessons regarding climate change.

“It really just depends on how that curriculum is taught, but if it’s taught well and there’s no political interference with it then yes,” O’Donnell said. “It’s not only teaching about the phenomenon but how to deal with it. A curriculum that teaches the issue but also practical things people can do would work.”

Texas is one of the 10 states in the U.S. that hasn’t put into effect new science education standards, which means that classes in the state are not required to teach students about the topic of climate change. This has resulted in efforts from local departments, such as Austin’s Office of Sustainability, to encourage climate change instruction through incentive.

“I believe that students should be educated about [climate change], and that it should be mandatory learning,” Baumer said. “We try to help through our Bright Green Future Grant Program, which awards money to schools that want to do a sustainable project on their school campus and involve their students in the process.”

A major argument in favor of a mandatory science curriculum is the idea that current students will become the future politicians and business leaders who will have a direct influence over the management climate change.

“We’re the people that eventually can become legislators or do things that would help with climate change,” Gutierrez said.

“People should be more educated, and if you can start people younger on, then they’re more likely to think about it as something more important than it’s being por-

trayed as and actually want to do something about it.”

The aim to get climate change in school across the nation has been hindered by a need to be conscious of other people’s views that differ from the norm. To Spiro, it is a topic too important for younger people not to learn about.

“I think the tiptoeing around climate change so as to not offend a hypothetical person who doesn’t believe in it should stop,” Spiro said. “All you can do is become educated on it and control your own actions. You can’t control other people.”

Political Challenges For many, information on climate change comes from the news and internet. Since most Americans do not encounter the extreme effects of climate change in their everyday lives, scenarios and predictions presented in the media can be viewed as radical.

“It’s really easy to sound alarmist when you talk about it, but at the same time you almost have to,” Spiro said. “In the United States, we’re a wealthy country and we’re better insulated from climate change than other countries.”

Because the United States is a developed country, O’Donnell thinks it can be difficult for people to experience the consequences climate change enables. She said that since Americans have climate controlled cars, homes, and businesses, the nature of global warming can be questioned.

“A lot of people are buffered,” O’Donnell said. “We’re very adaptable, and we can think that something is the norm, like fire season or flood season. The job of science is to help connect all of those dots and to help find the causes and why are we seeing things.”

In April of 2016, 175 countries signed the Paris Agreement at United Nations Headquarters in New York. This agreement called for increased global response to the climate change problem, as well as increased effort for action and support. However, in 2017, President Donald Trump withdrew U.S. participation in the agreement due to potential economic burdens it would place on the country.

“Unfortunately, a person’s views on climate change can sometimes depend on their political affiliation,” Baumer said.

“However, I think we may be starting to see a shift as more and more people are speaking out — particularly climate scientists — and more recently, young people across the world.”

Whether climate change should be considered a political issue in general is divisive. Before the 1998 presidential election climate change was primarily a bipartisan issue. This was until George H.W. Bush called for greater attention to the topic during a campaign speech, which began an increase in partisan views on the subject.

“If you want to make it a bipartisan issue, where both sides can work together in finding a solution to it, then yes [climate change] can be a political issue,” Werchan said. “But not if you have one side saying it’s not happening and the other side saying the world’s going to end in 15 years.”

Regardless of the topic being bipartisan or partisan, Gutierrez supports politicians giving any kind of attention to climate change, since even discord seems better than no discussion at all.

“The people that are in politics are the people that have the ability to do something about [climate change],” Gutierrez said.

“Whether or not they’re going to do anything efficient with the conversation and actually create change and do something about it, I don’t know how well that’s going to go.”

The City of Austin is making efforts to ease the effects of the massive environmental changes.

For Baumer, it is important to take action on a local level but a collective global effort is crucial for actual change to be enacted.

“In Austin, we are making great strides toward becoming net-zero emissions, but we don’t live in isolation,” Baumer said. “It’s going to take a massive shift for humanity to curb its greenhouse gas emissions.”

According to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, in 2018, 61% of adults were worried about climate change and 65% of adults believed citizens should do more to address global warming.

“Climate change is the most important topic because it’s the life on our planet,” O’Donnell said. “It’s our lives, our kid’s lives, and your kid’s lives. We really have to act now before it’s too late, and we’re depending on the younger generation.”

Worried about global warming Not Worried

39% 61% Worried

Schools should teach about global warming Disagree

21%

79% Agree

How often people talk about global warming Occasionally

64%

Freshman Cross Lowder

14%

of Americans do not believe global warming is happening

Never

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* >22,000 Americans Surveyed in 2018 SOURCE BY www.climatecommunication.yale.edu

10 SPORTS

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2019

SAM SAYS The NFL is taking steps toward a better league with new rule changes Sam Blas Senior Sports Editor

There have been a few rule changes in the NFL. One being that there will no longer be any blindside blocks, which I agree with because they can harm other players.

But more importantly, there has been a rule change regarding pass interferences.

Coaches can now challenge defensive pass interferences.

For example, if there was a no call on a blatant pass interference, a coach can choose to challenge the ruling on the field. This also applies to the opposite, when a pass interference was called, but there was no actual penalty on the field. This applies to both offensive and defensive pass interference.

This new rule is probably in reaction to what had happened in the NFC Championship Game, where a Rams cornerback blasted a Saints receiver before the ball reached the receiver.

This lead to a massive controversy, even starting a petition that gained 760,000 supporters. Even I expressed displeasure in a past column I wrote.

I will take this time to say that the NFL finally got this right. With the addition of this new rule, the outcomes of games won’t be decided on an incorrect call, because sometimes the game can rest on one play, rest on one bad or missed call. Flat out, I am glad they decided to act upon the mess that was the NFC Championship.

Now, regarding other changes, like the aforementioned blindside block rule.

I mentioned that this rule was a good idea, with players safety in mind. I stand by that. In a past issue, I explained the dangers of CTE. The NFL is taking steps to help players lead a happy life after they retire from the league.

CTE and other forms of brain damage has been running rampant in recent years. CTE is becoming more common among football players and part of the reason is more research on the dangers of football has performed in the last decade.

CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy) is condition contracted by an extensive history of brain trauma. It can lead to mental disorders and in extreme cases, death.

Head trauma goes hand in hand with football and if the league wants to prevent this from happening to its players, this rule change is incredibly important in the advancement of this league.

Those are the two major rule changes coming to the NFL next year. But, they are still many, many more. NFL Headquarters in New York can now eject players if they deem it’s necessary. Teams can now choose timing of enforcement on a personal foul or an unsportsmanlike conduct foul on scoring plays, meaning they can choose to penalize the opposing team on the extra point or kick return.

Questions?

Concerns?

Want to share your opinion?

Contact: Email: Samblas @thedispatch online.net Room: F203

Freshman scores a varsity spot Naya Tillisch Sports Editor

After playing on high level club teams for nine years, Dillon Alpert has earned his way to a starting position on the varsity soccer team as a freshman.

“He was one of the best out of all the kids trying out,” art teacher and boys varsity soccer coach Ryan Logan said. “You could tell that he was the highest level freshman player.”

Alpert originally made the junior varsity A team, and he was moved up to varsity during preseason.

“I thought that he would probably be on my JVA team,” Spanish teacher and JV coach Felipe Mendoza said. “Once I put him on JV, I saw that he’s probably even too good for that... He needed to be at the varsity level.”

Alpert did not expect to make varsity as a freshman, and he said he was happy to have exceeded his expecta-

BALL CONTROL: Alpert traps the ball in their game against Hays High School. Bowie won the game 2-1. PHOTO COURTESY OF Mikayla Waldman

tions so quickly after tryouts.

“After tryouts, I didn’t think I was going to make the varsity team, but I did think I was going to make the JVA team because I’ve played with most of the players on that team before,” Alpert said.

One of varsity’s key players got injured early in the season, which opened up a spot in the defense for Alpert to take advantage of.

“He played a position we were in need of after one of our captains had gotten hurt,” Logan said. “He plays as our starting outside back.”

Alpert’s strength and dominance on the ball enable him to compete against older kids on varsity.

“With his intensity and his skill on the ball and ability to control the ball, I thought he’d be a good fit,” Logan said. “I was concerned about his size at first, but when I watched him play, he plays larger than he is.”

Along with his physical abilities, Alpert’s mental knowledge of the game helps him stand out from other freshmen, according to Mendoza.

“He has a great soccer IQ [and] a very good awareness of the game,” Mendoza said.

“I think there’s only been maybe one or two goals scored against [the team] on his side.”

Being on varsity has helped Alpert improve his game and get experience against better competition.

“My experience on varsity is playing the game and moving the ball at a much faster pace than the other freshmen on the freshman team,” Alpert said. “I feel that being on varsity will help me be a better player when playing with older opponents.”

In his freshman season, he’s noticed the similarities and differences between club

EYES ON THE PRIZE: Freshman Dillon Alpert watches the ball as it travels from his feet to another teammate. Alpert recently won the AISD Newcomer of the Year award. PHOTO COURTESY OF Mikayla Waldman

and high school soccer.

“My expectations for going into high school soccer was that it was going to be very competitive,” Alpert said. “High school soccer is different than my past teams in how we’re all closer and build team chemistry.”

Through his dedication on the field, Alpert has befriended older players on varsity.

“I feel that he’s done a great job filling a position of need,” Mendoza said. “The kids have really come to like him; he’s very well respected within the team.”

The varsity team has had many ups and downs throughout the season, according to Logan.

“We started off pretty weak in preseason,” Logan said. “The first round of district we played really well, and we’ve kind of struggled a little bit to finish off the season. We have a quality team, but we’ve hit a string of bad luck, so now we have to overcome it.”

Because of their record, the varsity team’s spot in playoffs depended on the outcome of their March 15 game against Westlake.

“The outcome of the game was a 4-0 loss for us,” Alpert said.

The team was not able to qualify for playoffs, but Alpert was proud of the team’s season as a whole and is excited for next season.

“If we [could’ve] scored our early chances in the game, it would’ve set a different tone and [given] us the motivation to win,” Alpert said.

Alpert has enjoyed his time on varsity due to all of the support he’s gotten.

“The thing I’ve most enjoyed while being on varsity is representing the school as the top team and all the hype after winning each game,” Alpert said.

Both coaches see the potential in Alpert and look forward to coaching him for the next few years.

“He’s a key part of the team,” Logan said. “He starts on varsity and he’ll probably be a four year starter.”

Wide receiver named as a top recruit of 2022 Kateri Jaquette Sports Editor

With only one Dawgs season under his belt so far, freshman football player Adrian Rodriguez has already begun to make his mark. In February of this year, Lone Star Prospects ranked Rodriguez 99 out of the Top 100 Wide Receivers for the class of 2022 in Texas.

Rodriguez began playing football nine years ago, and he realized his love for the game at a young age.

“I’ve been playing since I was six, and I loved playing, so I never stopped.” Rodriguez said. “I’ve had a lot of [high level] experience.”

The freshman, who is originally from Buda, came to Bowie in hopes of joining the football program and improving his skills.

“I thought coming to Bowie would be good,” Rodriguez said. “I started playing at Buda, and I finally came over to Bowie to play for high school.”

Football coach and geography teacher Tyler Branyon has been coaching Rodriguez’s team, Freshman Black, throughout the 20182019 season and offseason.

“Adrian is a quiet kid who works hard on a daily basis and likes to compete,” Branyon said. “He has a great burst of speed and has really quick feet, which helps his route running.”

Fellow freshman and teammate Grason Foradory appreciates the skills that make Rodriguez the player he is.

“Adrian’s a good teammate. He comes [out] and he [always] puts good work in,” Foradory said. “His speed is definitely really crucial, and his route running is pretty good too.”

Rodriguez knows his strengths,

4.8 second 40 Yard Dash

54.8 second 400 Meter Dash

ART BY Joe Morales

and he credits them to getting him ranked on the Lone Star Prospects list.

“I think I was able to get on the list because of my speed and the way I catch the ball.” Rodriguez said. “I am faster than most people.”

Lone Star Prospects has been increasingly recognizing Bowie athletes in recent years.

“I think now it’s become more and more of where these kids go to camps and start getting involved in

this ranking stuff. It’s very new and there hasn’t always been that opportunity,” athletic director Jeff Ables said. “He’s really young, so it doesn’t guarantee anything, but it’s a good start.”

Outside of his speed, Rodriguez’s work ethic and passion for the game stand him out among other wide receivers in Texas.

“You can see he really loves to play. You have to love the game to succeed,” Ables said. “He wants to

work and get better.”

Rodriguez is a well-rounded player, which allows him to be helpful in different positions and areas of the field. His versatility is useful to the team.

“He’ll definitely be a guy who can play both sides of the ball for us,” Ables said. “He’s a good enough athlete to play in the defensive secondary and play on offense as a receiver.”

Being only a freshman, Rodriguez is not very big, so his greatest disadvantage is his size.

“His deal right now is that he just has to get a little bit bigger, but we know he’s going to grow [in the future], so that won’t be an issue,” Ables said. “He’s lifting weights and getting stronger, and that’ll up his game and help him a bunch.”

Coach Branyon credits a portion of the top freshman football team’s success to Rodriquez.

“Adrian was a big part of the success of our freshman team this year,” Branyon said. “He and his teammates have a bright future at Bowie.”

Rodriguez hopes being recognized for his abilities will be beneficial when the time comes to start thinking about his future football career.

“I think it will benefit me a lot because [when] colleges look at the rank[ings], they’ll see my name,” Rodriguez said. “It makes me want to work [even] harder.”

Young and ambitious, the freshman has set several personal goals for himself in his upcoming years as a bulldog, all of which require him to continue training at a high level.

“In the next three years, I want to be a lot better than I am now so that I can be in the top-50,” Rodriguez said. “I want to work and play harder so that I can one day be number one.”

coming UP in SPORTS April 16 Varsity softball vs. Lehman @Lehman High School

April 19 Area Championship track meet @ Burger Stadium

April 18 Varsity tennis regional tournament @Waco

M a y 1 8 V a r s i t y t e n n i s S t a t e To u r n a m e n t @ C o l l e g e S t a t i o n

April 17 Varsity lacrosse vs. St. Andrews @St. Andrews High School

April 26 Varsity baseball vs. Westlake @Burger Stadium

SPORTS 11

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2019 THE DISPATCH

All-State wrestler dominates the mat Amelie Hayne & Caitlin Worthington Dispatch Reporters

One...Two...Three, Pinned! The referee slaps the sweat covered mats and blows his whistle, sending a loud shriek throughout the gym. A girl in a red and black outfit jumps up, throwing her arm in the air. The crowd erupts, cheering and shouting, as the girl trots off the mat.

Aylen Vivar, currently a senior varsity wrestler, has been on fire this season. She’s won twenty five matches and is currently ranked second in state, but this isn’t just a coincidence.

“All athletes have to go into the season with a lot of self discipline,” senior varsity wrestler Marisol Moreno said. “We push ourselves to our limits and have to push others so that they can be the best they can be in future matches as well.”

Behind every successful athlete there is a coach that, can make or break an athletes career, Coach Glen Lewis has been very supportive in Vivar’s wrestling career.

“She left it all out on the mat and competed with heart, but was unable to scratch through in that final match,” Lewis said.

Vivar recently competed at the State Wrestling Tournament at the Berry Center at Cypress, she placed in 2nd and was the only girl from Bowie to compete.

“Our lone girl, Aylen Vivar, was dominant through the 1st three rounds of the tournament and faced all-American in the finals,” Lewis said. “Her efforts landed

FIGHTING FOR IT: Vivar grabs her opponent. Vivar has been wrestling for five years. PHOTO BY Austyn Keelty

PINNED DOWN: Vivar quickly takes down her opponent at the Westlake Dual. Vivar ranked 2nd in state at the University Interscholastic League tournament. PHOTO BY Austyn Keelty

her as the state runner up at 102 lbs, and a member of the All-State Wrestling Team.”

All the hours of hard work and dedication have paid off for Vivar.

“At my last tournament I got first, but it wasn’t easy,” Vivar said.

“I had to wrestle and beat the girl ranked 1st in Texas 5A, as well as the girl ranked 19th in 6A.” Despite the fact that Vivar has been wrestling since eighth grade, she still gets anxious at times.

“I was nervous coming into the tournament because I knew I would end up wrestling the number one ranked girl, but I stayed focused and tried to remember everything I’ve learned,” Vivar said.

As a result of her success has, Vivar has opened the door to receiving athletic scholarships to a

handful of colleges.

“My education is my main motivation to wrestle,” Vivar said.

“Wrestling will pay for my college, I hope to get a full ride or at least close to a full ride then I can basically get a free education.”

Although being on a college team will provide many benefits to Vivar, it will also come with many challenges.

“Doing wrestling in college is gonna be like a job, wrestling is gonna take up my free time,” Vivar said. “I will be traveling a lot because tournaments are usually out of state. It can be time consuming, a little more than in high school,” To have a supportive team can be just as important as having a good set of skills for an athlete, Vivar has both a supportive team and

coaches that are constantly looking out for her.

“I like how much and how hard our coaches train us because it comes to us wrestling at a tournament we’re in better shape than our other opponents,” Vivar said “We can definitely come together as a family at times.”

Vivar makes sure to believe in herself and put her all out on the mat.

“I learned that I need to trust in myself and have confidence in my moves when I wrestle,” Vivar said.

For an athlete, being mentally prepared is just as important as being physically prepared.

“Right before a match to mentally prepare most wrestlers go over how they want the match to go which helps ease nervousness,”

Moreno said. “We will also jog and hop in place to warm up and get our adrenaline running.”

Doing their best to get rid of nerves is an important part of most wrestlers pre-match rituals.

“I not only won my last tournament, but I defeated one of the best wrestlers in state which was super exciting,” Vivar said. “I attribute [this] to the months of preparation and hours of practice.

According to her teammates, Vivar is a very dedicated wrestler, as she takes the sport very seriously.

“Aylen is a fantastic wrestler and wrestling partner, working with her opens up a lot of things I can do and she definitely helps out when I’m not sure of things,” Moreno said. “I learn more and get work done when we partner up.”

Janacek takes first in every meet Winning streak Sam Blas Senior Sports Editor

He walks to the rack in silence, focused on only one thing: the lift.

Junior powerlifter Evan Janacek has placed first in

all the powerlifting meets, which makes him one of, if not the strongest high schooler in Austin.

“I have the highest maxes out of anyone at Bowie so every once in a while, someone would

WEIGHT OF THE WORLD: Junior Evan Janacek deadlifts in the weight room. Janacek has been dedicating hours weekly to the sport. PHOTO BY Sam Blas

congratulate me because they heard my name on the announcements,” Janacek said “But it’s not really a huge deal, it’s just my friends, football players, or other powerlifters that recognize it.”

One person that has helped Janacek throughout high school powerlifting is his coach Lee Hipp. Janacek states that Hipp is one of the main reasons he has been able to get to where he is.

“Evan, at a younger age when he came to Bowie, he had already enjoyed lifting and he was already pretty big,” Hipp said. “This was his opportunity to shine and excel. He works at it hard and the more time he spends in the weight room, the more it shows.”

Another source of support is his good friend, sophomore Zach Jones.

Jones is on the football team with Janacek and has helped him become the best lifter he could be.

“When it comes to lifting, I feel like there is a certain aspect to lifting when you’re lifting with other heavy lifters, you hype each other up and what not,” Jones said. “Like on max day, everyone gathers around your rack and build you up, and Evan takes advantage of that.”

Janacek doesn’t only stand out in the weight room. According to Jones, he is an outstanding person as well.

“I met Evan in football, and we’ve been friends since, he’s a very outgoing person,” Jones said. “Evan has this energy and it just makes him a lot of fun to be

around.”

Evan goes to the weight room every single day after school and during his football class period, and all this hard work helped him reach his goals.

“I met my squat goal, I was pushing real hard for 500lb, and I didn’t think that I would make it, but I did,” Janacek said. “I stayed after school with Coach Hipp to help improve my lift. I still have a goal of 325lb on bench that I have yet to hit, but there’s still time left in the year and I think I could make it.”

According to Janacek, as he lifts, he allows his mind to become completely blank, focusing entirely on the lift at hand.

“I don’t really remember anything up until I get up but at the meet, I’m kind of nervous, actually.” Janacek said “My max is a lot higher in comparison to what I lift at the meet because of those nerves.”

Janacek struggles with that nervous energy affecting his performance.

“The overall energy is just nerve racking because I’m supposed to be the biggest lifter and I’m supposed to win the meet,” Janacek said “It’s a lot of weight. But, it’s still a lot of fun.”

Hipp believes that Janacek has the ability to lift at the collegiate level as well, stating that if Janacek puts in the work, he can accomplish anything.

“All in all, Janacek is very talented and he can take that talent as far as he chooses to take it,” Hipp said. “He can become an Olympian, I really do believe that.”

Track continues to succeed despite the changes in coaching staff

As the bulldogs kicked off their track season with a new head coach, physics teacher Rey Torres, a number of changes were made to the workouts and team dynamics.

Girls and boys are now working out together, running in the same heats, doing the exact same workouts, and are encouraging each other more than ever before.

With new district zones that include Westlake and Austin High, the athletes must prepare themselves for a more challenging season and area meet.

Although the team had to say a goodbye to long-time track coach Rita Gonzales, the track team has continued to succeed throughout the new season.

At the first meet, the Bastrop Relays, Bowie JV girls won first overall by 24 points, and the JV boys won first place as well. Varsity boys swept the 4x100 meter relay with a finishing time of 42.97 seconds, and senior Claire Meyer finished first place in the 3200 meter, ahead of second place by a minute and 19 seconds.

“The transition at the start of the season was hard because we lost a lot of fast seniors and had to rearrange all of our relays teams,” senior Alexis Guzman said.

“Even though it’s an independent sport, you rely on your team a lot.”

At the McNeil invitational, Varsity boys finished third place and freshman boys finished in second place.

There were a number of field standouts including senior Ethan Dougherty finishing first in high jump with a personal record of 6’8”, junior Josh McCormick finishing second in triple jump, and junior Alyssa Magallanez finishing first in high jump by clearing a height of 5’4”.

“A lot of the team has been struggling with injuries this season,” Guzman said. “That also makes relays difficult because we never have a consistent team, but we still pull through every meet” With a four-year winning district record, the Bowie track team has high standards to meet in the future.

Working out in the weight room every Tuesday and Thursday morning, practicing and competing despite rainy or freezing conditions, and staying at meets for up to 12 hours has all been a part of the team’s success and will continue to be in the upcoming meets.

The team has been steadily training, physically and mentally, for the big district meet and a new level of competition they will be up against.

Area will take place at D.W. Rutledge Stadium in San Antonio on April 17 and 18 , and Regionals will be at the Heroes Stadium in San Antonio on April 26 and 27.

“I’m pretty nervous about the area meet,” Guzman said. “If we get passed area then we have a good shot at state.”

STORY BY Austyn Keelty

12 ENTERTAINMENT THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2019

Learning film-making in the reel world Abby Ong Senior Editor-in-Chief

The sound of papers flipping fills the room as students follow along, reading a script for a short film.

Austin Film Festival (AFF) director Olivia Riordan directs the class in processing the various writing techniques in screen-writing.

Since early March, creative writing classes partnered with the AFF to learn about screen-writing. Students will have the opportunity to write their own short film and compete against three classes of students to have their film shot.

“By the end of this semester, we’ll shoot one of [the short films], so first of all it just teaches you that craft,” Riordan said. “On another level, [screen-writing] just teaches you about how to express your creativity and how to communicate that with others in sort of a different way, as well as practical reading and writing skills that can apply to a lot of storytelling mediums.”

Senior Coby Smith is thinking about pursuing a future in the film industry and enjoys learning from Riordan.

“So far we’ve been learning about simple things like elevator pitches and stuff like trying to get your ideas pitched,” Smith said.

“Before you pitch an idea, you need to fully understand and be able to answer questions about your film, like what kind of world it’s gonna be in and aspects like that.”

Although other schools in the district have previously worked with the AFF, this is the first year that the Young Filmmakers program is being offered at Bowie.

The curriculum was built through the efforts of several past directors to create a curriculum that aligned with Texas Essential Knowledge Skills (TEKS).

“The core of [the curriculum] is that it will work for teachers and that it will work for multiple mediums because while we’re a film festival, our focus is storytelling no matter what medium you end up choosing,” Riordan said. “So we’re trying to find and hit on things that [students] can apply to any of their creative endeavors.”

Previously, creative writing teacher Bree Rolfe taught the screen-writing unit as part of a drama unit. Despite her experience in

GETTING THE READ ON: Junior Max Pelayo reads aloud through a script in his creative writing class. Students will be creating their own short films scripts and one will be chosen to be filmed by the end of the semester. PHOTO BY Abby Ong

college with short films, she feels the resources brought by the AFF will be valuable for students.

“What they have is way more intense, I mean at the heart it’s the same but they have all these resources,” Rolfe said. “They have access to a million short films, so they bring in films that have been at the festival, and they have a bunch of clips that the kids can see [for] examples of short films.”

According to Rolfe, the curriculum being taught in creative writing is a shorter, condensed version of what has been taught at other schools, typically in a multimedia or English class.

“Those kids probably don’t have the background that my students have in writing,” Rolfe said. “We just finished the fiction unit and creative writing where they wrote short stories. We’re hoping, because this is a purely writing class, that they will be able to move along a little faster through the revision process.”

There are no limits to what students can focus their short film on besides the page limit and film-ability aspect.

“We’re looking for something probably capped at 10 pages so it’s really brief, which actually will be more challenging if they’re having to incorporate this all in a very small space,” Riordan said. “Other than that, they kind of have freedom to look at what story they want to do.”

Smith is thinking about writing a psychological horror to stand out from the other scripts.

“You have to make a certain shtick or something like that to make it stand out more,” Smith said. “So I kind of want to just do a weird aspect, something like that.”

One script will be chosen from each creative writing class, and then from there one of the three will be filmed by the students.

“I’m hoping to have someone in the industry read all three winners and they’ll select an ultimate winner and that’s the one we’ll shoot,”

THE NEED-TO-KNOWS: Austin Film Festival Director Olivia Riordan goes over the guidelines of a short film with the creative writing class. Riordan was helping the students become familiar with important details when filming. PHOTO BY Abby Ong

Riordan said. “Part of what we’re looking at too is film-ability, so if it’s in like the 50s in space, [we] can’t pick that one.”

Although he has to write a script that the students could be able to film, Smith believes that a large portion of creating the mood will depend on the audio as well.

“For me audio can just do so much in terms of music, or silence, or sound effects and stuff like that,” Smith said. “So I feel like even the setting doesn’t necessarily matter

too much, it’s just about how it sounds, how it kind of looks.”

According to Smith, he has always enjoyed watching the filming part of screenwriting.

“It’s really interesting to compare it, like what you saw on set, to what is the final product,” Smith said. “Sometimes you can write like a really good script, but then it just doesn’t get translated the way that you wanted to, but that’s just a problem with any film. We’ll see how it goes.”

Color guard goes global for world competition in China Avery Shelton Dispatch Reporter

Right around the time when students start preparing themselves for AP tests and spring finals, the color guard team is getting ready for a trip to Beijing, China to compete at Winter Guard International (WGI).

After receiving an invitation, the color guard team is set to be the first All-American team to attend WGI China and compete against other world-class ranked teams on May 18-19.

“We compete at the highest level against the best teams in the sport,” senior color guard member Maddie Feen said. “For reference, there’s only three other groups in Texas that have earned that classification [world class], so we compete against teams from all over the country.”

Since the team is traveling

internationally, there have been obstacles while preparing for the trip.

“It’s definitely been difficult fundraising for the trip,” sophomore color guard member Mariah Barsotti said. “There are a lot of funds involved and since the guard doesn’t have much funding to begin with, we have to pay for most of the trip ourselves.”

The team hosted a fundraiser and a guard competition on campus to aid in costs, and received some funding from being a finalist in WGI Dayton last spring which helped cover their entrance fee.

“We are all very grateful for the opportunity to go to a different country, but it definitely has had financial and academic challenges,” Barsotti said.

The team had to plan ahead for the process of getting all of the team’s equip-

FLEXING ON THE FIELD: Sophomore Emma Taylor shows off her skills during a Bowie football game. Taylor and the team are heading to Beijing in May for Winter Guard International. PHOTO BY Preston Rolls

ment to Beijing.

“Our director had to be very smart with what he chose to use for the show,” Feen said. “We still are spinning all of the equipment we always do; flag, rifle, and saber, but our props are these

massive inflatable vinyl balloons, which can easily be deflated.”

Another challenge for the students in color guard will be getting back with only two days left of finals, and some will have to take tests

in the summer unless the school works out an alternate test date.

“We’re all really stoked to be going to China and can’t wait for the experiences and culture we will encounter on the way,” Barsotti said. “I think a few bumps along the way won’t even compare to the memories we make.”

While plans are still being finalized with music travel consultants, the team is continuing to get ready for the trip, including taking etiquette classes and preparing for the Chinese culture.

“The details of the trip are always time-consuming, but it’s necessary, and will make the trip amazing,” color guard director Joseph Powell said.

The team plans on visiting many historical sites, such as the Great Wall of China.

“I’m most excited for the Great Wall of China because I get to see a beautiful land-

scape that I don’t get to experience in Texas, and the history behind it is really incredible,” sophomore color guard member Zoe Jordan said.

The expansion of WGI has resulted in a large and growing community for color guard teams.

“This experience will enrich the lives of our students at Bowie, and we are more than thrilled to represent WGI and the state of Texas,” Powell said.

Students on color guard recommend it to others due to its unique experiences and skills.

“Joining color guard was probably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” Barsotti said “It gave me an immediate family to turn to, connections across the school, and an amazing experience competing around the country and soon, the world.”

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REVIEWS 13

FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2019 THE DISPATCH

Nail it at prom with perfect fingertips Elizabeth Shymkiw Dispatch Reporter

For all of those out there who are in desperate need of a manicure for prom but don’t know where to go, I am here to help.

I went to three nail salons near Bowie and looked for they best application, service, and price to make prom-prep a little bit less stressful.

At each salon I got SNS nails with a short tip to have a consistent factor to base my opinions on.

The first salon I visited was Pro Nails. It is located in the shopping center near TCBY and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on Slaughter Lane at the corner of MoPac. My first impression of the nail place was horrible, but it quickly got better once the nail lady started to work on my nails. From walking into the salon, the layout has the drying station centered in the entrance and can look like the front desk at first glance.

I did not receive a greeting when I walked in, I only had people look over in my direction. This threw me off a little because I was confused where to go, so I accidentally walked up to a customer and asked if they had any openings. She was very nice about it and pointed me back to a lady who then told me it would be a 10 minute wait, but I was already embarrassed and hurried back to the waiting area.

I am usually a shy person around new people, so this actually left me shaking and laughing at myself for mistaking the middle aged housewife as a nail tech.

It only got worse from there because my shaky hands then knocked over the display of nail colors. I actually considered leaving because I was laughing and absolutely traumatized, but I sat it out and waited my turn.

After that the service improved a lot and my nail lady was super sweet, but she did not pay much attention to me and talked to a fellow nail lady the entire time. I absolute-

ly loved my nail color (I’m pretty sure it was color 160, a light pinky nude) and the tips have stayed on my nails so far without peeling off on the inside. It took about an hour to apply the nails and they offered drinks and snacks for an extra charge. The cost was $50 even and I gave a $10 tip for knocking everything over on accident, just in case I broke something.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I would rate the service as a 3 due to not having anyone greet me, the application as a 5 because I love the job they did and the cost as a 4 because it was on the pricier side of getting nails done, but wasn’t too horrible.

The second nail salon I visited was Nail Bar across the street from Pro Nails and near Orange Theory, also located at the corner of MoPac and Slaughter Lane.

When I walked in I was greeted and asked to pick out a color, which is pretty standard for most nail salons, but I thought it was friendly of them. I picked out a brighter pink color and sat down at the bar with my friend. Initially I was a little bugged because they went straight into applying the power instead of doing the usual nail prep, forgetting to file and take care of my cuticles.

I assumed that this would mean that the price would be cheaper, but it was the same compared to most nail places. They did offer beverages and we were done in about 30 minutes, which I did like. The cost was $40 and the nails lasted a little less than a week before peeling off, however my friends nails, who got the full nail prep, lasted a month and had no problems.

For service I would give Nail Bar a 5 because they were efficient and nice. I may have just had a bad glue, but the lack of preparing my nails before applying the powder made them last a quarter of their usual time and I have had problems with them doing this with gel nails before too. Because of this, I

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OASIS DAY SPA & NAILS

PRO NAILS

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would rate application a 1 because it was a waste of money to not have my nails last even a full week.

Cost, I would rate a 2 because I think they overcharged me for having to pay the same thing as my friend without giving us the same treatment.

The last salon I visited was Oasis near the Satellite Cafe located at Escarpment and Slaughter Lane.

Out of all the nail places, Oasis impressed me the most with their service.

The spa itself is beautiful and spacious enough so you don’t feel overcrowded when they became busy.

I was greeted with a warm wel-

come as soon as I walked in and was seated immediately. They do offer food and drinks and when leaving the salon they give you a choice of one of their own complimentary body lotions. My nail lady was kind and focused and started conversation with me while she did my nails, but didn’t over talk to the point where it was too much.

It took her around 40 minutes and my nails looked really nice.

My nails themselves were one of the best jobs I’ve ever received.

They lasted about a month and cost around $40, $35 without having a nail tip applied.

Out of all the nail places I visited, Oasis was my personal favorite

with a 5 out of 5 in all categories.

They are welcoming, efficient and don’t overcharge. This was the most relaxed I’ve felt while getting my nails done and they did an amazing job.

For those of you looking for cheaper options for getting polished nails check out a beauty school for the students to practice their techniques on customers.

Although it’s a little unconventional, cute nails come at a huge discount when the nail salon ego isn’t included in the charge. A good option located on South Lamar is Baldwin Beauty School, but make sure to call ahead to see if they are offering appointments that day.

More than a teacher, more Apex-not-so legendary than just an SAT prep class Jake Brien Senior Commentary Editor

Jadon Alvarez Senior News Editor

College admissions are a big factor in a high school student’s life. One test that factors into a student’s college admissions is the SAT or ACT. The SAT’s and ACT’s are two of the tests that most colleges require you to take that factor into your admission into the college of your choice (It’s one or the other most of the time).

The SAT and ACT consist of questions in the subjects of Reading, Writing, and Math, Science also if you take the ACT, to test the amount of knowledge you have in those particular areas and to see if you can use what you have learned in school to solve and get the correct answer.

On the SAT there is also an optional essay to see if you can write an essay that answers the particular prompt.

I took the SAT twice and when I first took the SAT my junior year, I went in without practicing my math, reading, or writing skills to see where I stood.

After getting my results back a few weeks later, my score was definitely better than what I got on my PSAT that I took sophomore year but it wasn’t the score I needed to get into my dream college.

Months later without knowing what to do to prepare for my next SAT, my friend recommended I take a class after school called “More than a Teacher”.

More than a Teacher is an SAT and ACT test prep organization that has after school classes with teachers at the school location of your choosing and you are provided a book of practice tests

ART BY Dalton Spruce

that you work on in class and work on at home.

There are also workshops for the optional essay and you can take a free practice test at More than a Teacher locations.

I decided to take More than a Teacher after hearing my friend’s recommendations and seeing their test scores.

I was hesitant of signing up at first because the price of the More than a Teacher session was not cheap, $500 to be exact, but I had to remind myself that this was for an important part that could determine the outcome of my future.

My first session was a few weeks later after school was a review of basic algebra 1 skills which wasn’t hard for me. Jeff Henson was the instructor of the math sessions and Judd Pfeiffer was the instructor of English and Writing sessions.

The first class with Henson was definitely an eye opener because there were some skills in algebra that I forgot how to use but with his reviews, you really get a grasp on the concept with the practice problems that were given. After our lessons, we were assigned homework that had to be completed be-

fore we returned for the next lesson.

The next class was English and Writing with Pfeiffer and we learned some cool strategies on how to tackle reading passages and how to catch the ways they would trick us in the writing portion of the SAT. We were also assigned homework which was beneficial.

After a few weeks of practicing with “More than a Teacher” sessions, I noticed it became easier to take the practice tests and my scores improved since the first day I took the class. There is also an optional essay workshop and there is a practice test that you can at the “More than a Teacher” center in North Austin.

I would recommend “More than a Teacher” to other students because my score improved a bunch from the practice SATs we took in school and my very first SAT. There are other SAT prep programs like Kaplan Test Prep and you can watch SAT prep videos with Khan Academy but I personally think getting the actual experience of working with a teacher on problems was beneficial in helping me retain the information to use for the SAT itself.

Before I begin, I should warn you that battle royale games aren’t my cup of tea.

I love Titanfall 2, I love Respawn Entertainment, but I don’t love Apex Legends.

However, I will say that Apex Legends has been the best battle royale game I’ve ever played.

In short, this game’s popularity is important for the gaming industry. Apex was released by Respawn with very little marketing and still received over 50 million players, critical acclaim, and surprise from the gaming industry as a whole over its quality. So why don’t I love the game?

I played Apex on an Xbox One for this review, and the first thing I noticed when playing were the awful graphics; it looked like a late Playstation 2 game.

However, I’m still a huge fan of Battlefield 4 on Xbox, so graphics don’t really mean that much to me to begin with as long as the gameplay is good enough. I’m glad 50 million other people seem to agree with me on the subject of looking past graphics for gameplay.

Regardless, the next thing I noticed while playing the tutorial was the movement; it’s the biggest problem I have with this game. Apex is n-o-t-h-i-n-g like Titanfall without titans. The movement of my character, the parkour, and the fast-paced adrenaline rush I feel while playing Titanfall 2 on Pilots vs Pilots (without titans, mind you) does not even compare to the joke of a drop-slide my Apex character performed.

So, I put aside my bias as I finished the tutorial and I jumped into a match.

Finding one was quick and simple, and I found myself running around a large open

ART BY Dalton Spruce

arena. I have to stress that Apex is best enjoyed with friends. My teammates on Apex have almost always been lone wolves who just run around like they’re in a free-for-all match in Modern Warfare 2 like idiots until they die four minutes into the game.

The problem with having a zero cost game is that the mass appeal is going to attract a lot of casual gamers who jump from whatever mainstream game is popular to the next rather than having an identity towards what they enjoy in a game. I like to think of casuals as the people who played Overwatch and only played as Soldier 76 or Bastion.

Looking for quality teammates? Don’t play this game.

It’s better enjoyed with your own friends because hardcore gamers generally

don’t play battle royale (unless they sell their souls by streaming on Twitch).

Now, casual gamers are not inherently a bad thing.

Introducing more people into gaming can be great for the industry. All I’m saying is that most people playing this game are not going to be experienced. With that said, I do like the gunplay in Apex because biased writer Jake Brien loves the gunplay in Titanfall 2. If people are going to play this over Fortnite, I’m happy at the end of the day.

“Now Jake,” you might say, “just what do you have against battle royale games?

Why are you so stuck up?

Listen scrub, I get that you think that battle royale is the future of gaming or whatever, and maybe it is, but I’m just saying that companies love you. Oh man, do they love your sweet V-Bucks in Fortnite.

I like to think of you casuals as the kind of players who sit right on top of the bell curve companies market to.

Cynical snobs like me sit on one of the tails of the curve, and we don’t spend money on microtransactions, we don’t play Fortnite, and we love obscure games no one cares about anymore because we wear nostalgia goggles all day long. Just because I like to play 10 year old games unironically doesn’t mean you don’t get an opinion.

All I’m saying is that I’m on a different part of the bell curve, okay?

Anyways, Apex is worth the time of every battle royale player because of its excellent gunplay, its contribution to an excellent game developer, and its focus on microtransactions as cosmetics rather than unfair gameplay enhancements.

I’d say go buy it, but it’s free. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go play Titanfall 2.

14 COMMENTARY THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2019

Movement against vaccinations is harmful to society

Preventable diseases return due to medical misinformation spread by anti-vaxxers EDITORIAL An anti-vaccination movement has been growing in the United States, creating hot spots of vaccine-resistant communities in areas across the country. Media attention to the controversy has publicized the issue, but many people are making judgements on vaccines without all the evidence needed to make an informed decision regarding the use of them.

Self-proclaimed “anti-vaxxers,” or those who choose to skip out on their and their children’s vaccines, are making a personal decision, but that so-called personal preference is putting other people in danger who might not be able to safely take vaccines for medical reasons. Vaccinations should be state-mandated and only those people who have valid health-related or religious objection to them should be allowed to pull their students from getting the needed shots.

When the majority of a community gets vaccinated, herd immunity helps to prevent the spread of diseases within the community.

The refusal of anti-vaxxers to participate in a community effort to keep everyone healthy can easily be seen as selfish unless they have true, scientifically-based health concerns that prevent them from receiving vaccinations.

In only the past few

VACCINE PRISON

ANTIV AXX

PREVENTABLE DISEASES

ART BY Sumin Kim

weeks, Washington, New York and New Jersey have all faced outbreaks of the measles disease, which has been considered eliminated in the U.S. since 2000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Measles can be easily treated through current vaccinations in order to prevent unnecessary deaths, but with the movement of anti-vaxxers, the fatal outbreaks of

this viral infection have been spurred back to life.

Many anti-vaxxers argue the claim that vaccinations can cause autism in children, but there is no credible evidence linking the two. This idea found its roots in a questionably executed report written by discredited former British doctor Andrew Wakefield and published in The Lancet in 1998. His article claims that there are di-

rect links between vaccines and autism in children, thus causing a panic amongst the general population.

Since then, almost all of the other authors of the report have disavowed it and The Lancet retracted it in 2004. A multitude of other scientists have studied hundreds of thousands of children throughout many years, and no credible relationship has been found.

Vaccines introduce a weakened or dead version of a bacterium or virus responsible for a disease into the body in order for the body to detect and destroy it.

While it seems counter-productive to inject a child with pathogens in an attempt to prevent disease, the body’s immune system attacks these weak versions of the pathogen just like it would a full-strength infec-

tion, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

After the immune system creates specific antibodies to fight off the vaccine material, those antibodies remain in the body, prepared to go to work in the event of an actual infection. The science behind vaccines is sound, and following the immunization schedule created by the American Academy of Pediatrics is proven to protect children’s health.

In order to protect the general public, vaccinations should be mandated by state and federal governments for every eligible person.

Many schools already require students be vaccinated before they can attend, but have exemptions for those who claim religious or personal objections to vaccines.

These exemptions should remain available, however, the personal exemptions should be limited to physician-verified health concerns.

Although the majority of the population can safely take vaccinations, age, health conditions, and other factors can make vaccines dangerous to some. This group that is unable to protect themselves through vaccinations rely on everyone around them for herd immunity.

Hopefully, anti-vaxxers will change their stance upon comprehension of the factsregarding vaccinations. Vaccinations are protective, beneficial, and necessary for a healthy community.

Music and social media have contributed to teen depression Ian Miller Senior Commentary Editor

If you’ve ever been around a group from this generation’s teenagers, then it should come as no surprise that more teens today are being diagnosed with depression and other such mental instabilities than other teens in the past. According to a study conducted by SAMHSA, fifty percent more teens reported suffering from major depression in 2015 versus just four years before.

Many have come to call this new culture that today’s teens are living in the “depression culture.” The depression culture could be described as the collection of somber and gloomy things today’s teens are constantly being exposed to, which could be fueling their increased depression rates.

There are plenty of people that attribute the depression culture to smartphone usage, but it isn’t smartphones themselves that contribute to teen depression. Rather, it is largely believed that social media itself is the culprit to causing sadness in teens. Even a basic concept such as music can prove to be a contributor to today’s depression culture with the trend of music producers creating more sad music in the last decade.

In my opinion, the influx of teen depression is something that simply cannot be prevented. Social media is a concept that’s too big to put an end to and, as a result of more depressed teens, bleak music will continue to be produced.

ART BY Ian Miller

The common belief between many is that smartphones are the primary cause of teen depression, but there’s more to it than just that. According to Psychology Today, a study shows that loneliness spiked sharply in teens during the past 20 years, with the main factor being from a social media increase.

Paired hand-in-hand with the success of smartphones, social media has become easily accessible from just about anywhere.

Communication done through a screen rather than in person is likely the cause of this outburst of loneliness, and with the sudden growth of social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other such platforms, the statistics begin to make sense.

Over time, these social media platforms

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will inevitably grow larger, influencing other innovators to create similar apps, keeping the snowball rolling. This in itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the side effects, which includes the increase in teen depression, is.

It’s not just loneliness that’s causing teen depression, however. The world surrounding these teens, which has become infected by the depression culture, has become a large contribution. One aspect of the world turning grim is music, the most universal and emotional form of communication.

According to Daily Mail, a study has found that music from 2015 is about 20 percent more unhappy than it was in 1985, even though upbeat songs seem to climb higher in

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the charts than depressing ones.

Influenced by the influx of depressed teens, music artists are now trying to cater to the depression culture by creating somber and ill-messaged singles. Songs are easily capable of inflicting emotions and defining one’s feelings for the remainder of the day.

A new surge of depressing music could very well contribute to an increase in the depressing culture.

According to Liberty Publications, a study has revealed that adults who gave up Facebook for one week ended the week happier, less lonely, and less depressed than those who continued using Facebook.

Realistically, it's not possible to simply get rid of teen depression. The rise of social media and influences of the depression culture will continue to grow as time passes. What we can do, however, is limit ourselves.

There isn’t a whole lot that can be done about the rise of teen depression over the past 20 years. We can only hope that those affected know methods to counteract their depressive feelings and overcome their sadness.

Questions? Concerns?

Want to share your opinion?

Contact: Email: millerianaisd@ gmail.com Room Number : F203

THE DISPATCH STAFF

SENIOR EDITORS Cianna Chairez Abby Ong Jocelyn Brooks Maddy Rice Shelby Papst Rachel Baschnagel Jake Brien Ian Miller Sam Blas Mikayla Zellner Joe Morales Preston Rolls Jadon Alvarez EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Peter Dang NEWS EDITORS Katie Holme Cade Spencer FEATURE EDITORS Abbie Brien Miranda Cardenas IN-DEPTH EDITOR Faith Lawrence

DOUBLE TRUCK EDITOR Marisa Salazar SPORTS EDITORS Kateri Jaquette Naya Tillisch

Austyn Keelty Avery Shelton Elizabeth Shymkiw Dalton Spruce Chase Westfall Caitlin Worthington

REVIEW EDITOR Gracie Angeli

THE DISPATCH ONLINE

PHOTO ESSAY EDITORS Rey Gray Abbey Repka COMMENTARY EDITORS Maya Amador Carter Scruggs ARTS/GRAPHICS EDITOR Sumin Kim REPORTERS/STAFF Natalie Aman Emily Breach Gigi Francis William Grossenbacher Amelie Hayne Madisen Johnson

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mo Orr MANAGING EDITORS Ellie Coulston Kaitlyn Zellner STAFF Austin Civatte Shruti Patel Shikha Patel Amara Robertson Amanda Zinni ADVISER: Michael Reeves

COMMENTARY 15 FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2019 THE DISPATCH

Politically correct culture crisis Jake Brien Senior Commentary Editor

"You're not even listening."

(The weight of the actual problem)

Americans love controversy. In the absence of genuinely complex social issues, people would rather focus on the conflict rather than the issue people are fighting over.

Take for example the 24 hour news networks. Rather than having formal debates, CNN's brief crossfire was canceled after Jon Stewart guest starred on the show and completely destroyed it's credibility. Stewart pointed out that the news networks were more interested on having polar opposite views and shouting matches than civilized discussion and that it's polarizing America.

Unfortunately, the 24 hour news cycle still focused on arguing between it's guests due to the importance of ratings. With the media

we consume, whether it's celebrity gossip or sensationalized journalism, we as Americans are tailored by pop culture to love controversy.

Rather than discussing the complex social issues of race, gender, policy making, or otherwise, we sit and listen to people debate the same points over and over without actually offering any solutions.

We're no better than the media.

With Twitter being a good example of people being the most obnoxious about their opinions, PC Culture is in full swing in the comments section of anything even remotely controversial. Most people on Twitter just love to say their opinions, and this generally gets misconstrued by the media as being a sign that most

people are like those who comment on Trump or Hilary’s feed with allcaps and exclamation marks.

Society’s vocabulary is not something we can bend to the will of philosophical discussion on whether or not a word should or shouldn’t be said because society’s preference is always changing -- whether we like it or not.

Questions?

Concerns? Want to share your opinion?

Contact: Email: jakebrien@ thedispatchonline. net Room Number : F203

Equality and fairness are foreign to the corrupt Maya Amador Commentary Editor

The words ‘celebrity’ and ‘scandal’ seem to go hand in hand. Usually these scandals are along the lines of cheating and heartbreak but recently a new type of scandal has been brought to the forefront. Corruption. We all know that even the B-List celebrities make quite the pretty penny. With money comes power, so why not use that power to your advantage?

Any high school student would kill for extra time on their SAT. Test taking can put an immense amount of pressure on students, this can cause them to perform poorly when the it comes time to actually take the test.

For someone to use their money to buy themselves essentially a personal helper for the most important test you will take in high school is one of the most selfish and unfair things I’ve ever heard.

Actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman thought nothing of it when

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Leyna Huynh

"It protects us more from diseases so we can't get sick"

it was time to send their children off to college. The actresses are just two of the 50 people who were caught in what is being called the biggest college admission scandal in history.

USC is famous college in Los Angeles with a very notable alumni such as Neil Armstrong and Will Ferrell.

USC is also the school Lori Loughlin bribed her daughter, Olivia Jade, into. She paid William Rock Singer, CEO of a college admission prep company called The Key, $500,000 to disguise her daughter as a recruit to the USC crew team, which she has never competed in.

During the week the scandal broke, a clip of Jade talking about college surfaced. In the clip she talks about not caring for a higher education and wanting to go to college mainly for the parties. This type of attitude being broadcast to a young audience could give kids a twisted view of college.

I assume after growing up with that much privilege and essentially having ev-

Reflecting on high school as graduation date approaches.

Natalie Aman Columnist

ART BY Sumin Kim

Political Correctness as a culture (PC culture) is in full swing. Society has become polarized -- either believing in unfiltered, unapologetic freedom of expression, or having a hyper-awareness not to offend anyone.

Neither an inherent determinant nor a benefit to society, PC culture is a fictional concept of us assigning nomenclature of an inherent truth; the only thing we can expect out of life is change. Let’s act rationally and stop pretending like abstract, offensive words have the power. We are the ones who use the words, the words don’t use us.

We’re all guilty of preferring sensationalism with celebrities, and I’m tired of it. Stop worshiping public figures and focusing on the shock value when they say something controversial. Either ignore the offense or correct it, but don’t argue endlessly. Eminem’s apology of calling Tyler the Creator the f-word shocked me as well as pop-culture. However, the truth of the matter is that Eminem would have apologized 10 years ago had rap critics and fans regarded the f-word as unacceptable.

While Eminem’s younger days are behind him, the deceased celebrity Michael Jackson’s continued scandals are certainly not. The release of the Leaving Neverland documentary has sparked an idiotic, irrational desire to pay attention towards if some PC Culture, C-list celebrity thinks Michael is guilty.

Documentary about child molesting comes out. C-list says he/she is unsure about Michael being guilty.

PC Culture erupts. C-list has to apologize. Another C-list comments on the former C-list… do we see the problem here?

"NO, YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!"

CHAT with NAT

ART BY Dalton Spruce

College Admissions

Desperate Students

erything handed to you, it would be difficult to learn how to be independent. But taking away someone's deserved spot in what is possibly the college of their dreams seems beyond selfish.

At Bowie, I hear constantly about people's woes when it comes to testing. Huffman must have had flashbacks to the pressure to pass when it came time for her daughter

to take the SAT. Huffman paid $15,000 to Singer to give her daughter additional time and have someone correct answers on her test.

Constantly allowing the rich to get away with blatant crimes will only further an unfair system. We need to encourage government officials to makes some changes in order to ensure balance in our society.

Being able to pay away

any issue they have when the rest of world struggles to pay their bills every month teaches no responsibility.

Questions?

Concerns?

Want to share your opinion?

Contact: Email: mayaamador@ thedispatchonline. net Room: F203

Do you remember how you would always roll your eyes when your parents would tell you how cute you were and how “you just shouldn’t ever grow up!”

And how it mildly annoyed you when they would make a fuss on your birthday because you weren’t going to be their sweet little baby for much longer?

Well I must admit I am definitely on their side now.

I, for one did a lot of growing up this school year.

But at the same time I’ve been desperately trying to grow back down.

Senior year has been one for the books for sure. As I’ve walked y’all through in the past four issues, we’ve applied for colleges, scholarships, jobs, and have checked off a number of our beloved senior traditions.

How bitter sweet.

Now as we stop getting ready to leap into life after Bowie, and actually do it, I think we have to remember what to let go of and what we still need to be holding onto.

There’s so much talk of wanting to escape this place and finally move onto the next chapter, and trust me, I’m with you. But I also one for slowing down and living in the moment as our time together shrinks.

Hold onto those memories that make you smile uncontrollably when you think of them, and the friends that you can call at the drop of a hat, and hopefully a little math and English in there somewhere.

Let go of those test grades that didn’t reach your standards, or that drama that seems impossible to escape.

Do me a favor and take that risk you’ve been wanting to take, say hello to that person in your class you’ve been wanting to start a conversation with, and don’t take the people you see everyday for granted.

This may have turned into some corny letter, but I sincerely mean every word.

Seniors, make the most of it and finish out the year as the best version of yourself possible.

Questions?

Concerns?

Want to share your opinion?

Contact: Email: natalieaman@ thedispatch online.net Room: F203

BULLDAWG SPEAK OUT

What do you think is the most important reason for people to get vaccinated?

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TEACHER

Riley McCue

Chris Lamm

Autumn Steinle

Kimberly Wiedmeyer

"It's important that we all try to keep each other safe and prevent the spread of diseases."

"To protect yourself and the people who have weak immune systems who aren't able to get vaccinated."

"I think they're pretty great for people to survive."

"I am for vaccinations because... SCIENCE!"

PHOTOS BY Chase Westfall and Austyn Keelty

16 PHOTO ESSAY

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2019

FFA students get a taste of ranch life

HIGH TIME FOR SOME HAY: Gnawing on a handful of hay, Rumble the sheep enjoys a mid-day snack from his handler, junior Mark Fattouh. FFA students who are raising animals need to make sure that their animals have a balanced diet fit for their needs. “Hay is a really important part of the sheep’s diet because it is a ruminant,” Fattouh said. “I feed hay twice a day because it helps to stimulate their stomachs and aide in their digestion.” PHOTO BY Rey Gray

Agriculture students’ agenda includes raising and caring for their livestock ing the best animals out of a class.”

Before students can start putting their animals in competitions they have to FFA students put a lot of time in to bond with them. They do this by playtaking care of their animals, day in and ing with their animals and spending time day out Future Farmers feed, bathe and with them to build a relationship of trust. care for their livestock. Starting as early The relationship that they build with as July FFA students can purchase and be- their animal will allow them to perform gin raising their animal for the year. They in competitions. get their animals as soon as they can, Sophomore Hannah Shepard has been choosing from pigs, goats, lambs, sheep, working with her goat, Skipper all year chickens, turkeys, and rabbits. and often takes him out to play and run in For students to begin raising their an- the FFA field and grass track. imals they have to first be in the class, “Skipper’s favorite thing to do is run pay their dues for FFA, then they have to around the grass track here,” Shepard choose one of two pathways for FFA; said. “He’s named Skipper because agriculture or animal raising. of the way he runs, he can’t do While taking these courses stuit properly so he skips dents are raising their animal around.” or plants and learning hands At competitions on skills. students’ animals can go “I chose the animal to auction, and when that pathway because, while I happens students can make do enjoy horticulture, I prea profit off of the animal that fer working with animals,” they are raising. junior Mark Fattouh said.

“On the market it is less “I feel like working with than a dollar per pound for animals allows you to pigs,” senior Will Gamblin said. form bonds with the “But if you make auction you patience which allows can make a couple thousand you to provide them dollars off of your pig.” with better care.”

At the end of the year stuMost students dents choose to do a few difwho are raising aniferent things with their animals choose to show mals, freshmen Adrian Lopez them in competirecently gave his goat, Lord tions, these comFarquaad, to a ranch in Marpetitions are a vital ble Falls. part in FFA and “I gave him to this really give the students a nice couple who own a lot of chance to display their goats,” Lopez said. “When hard work throughout I dropped him off he looked the year. so happy to be with the other “Showing competigoats.” tions are the opportuThe students in the Future nity to show off your Farmers Association not only animal,” FFA teacher, grow and raise animals and plants, Shelby Stephens said. they also cultivate valuable “You prepare all year life skills. for the show, getting READY TO RUMBLE: Rum“In the FFA program, your animal in the ble the sheep poses in his students cultivate responbest shape possible, purple coat. He is named sibility, leadership, deterattend show, go into Rumble because he commination, and a passion the ring with other monly kicks out his feet for for agriculture,” Stephens students and walk attention. PHOTO BY Rey Gray said. “It is also the goal that your animal around they leave with a practical the ring, utilizing showmanship skills knowledge skill set, such as knowing how specific to each species. A judge will then to care for plants, care for animals, and determine the placing of the class, pick- other aspects related to agriculture.”

Rey Gray Photo Essay Editor

HANDLING THE HAM: Franklin the pig receives tummy rubs from his handler, senior Will Gamblin. Its important that FFA students know their animals and their needs. “We rub their stomach because it calms them down, sometimes they’ll even roll over for you,” Gamblin said. PHOTO BY Rey Gray

BAAA-D BEHAVIOR: Lord Farquaad wrestles with his handler, freshmen Adrian Lopez, while he puts on his leash. Lopez commonly walks Lord Farquaad on a leash instead of the mechanical carousel. “I like walking my goat by hand because it helps me form a better bond with him, “ Lopez said. PHOTO BY Rey Gray

SPEED RACER: Running around the track, Skipper gets his exercise in with his handler, sophomore Hannah Shepard. Exercise is important for the animals. “We exercise them to build up their muscles,” Shepard said.

“That is the main aspect that the judges are looking for in our animals.” PHOTO BY Rey Gray GOING FOR A DRIVE: Junior Mark Fattouh works with his sheep Rumble on his drive.

Drives are an essential part in competition and they show off the animals muscles that the students have been working hard to define. “Teaching your sheep to drive is the basis of lamb and goat showmanship,” Fattouh said. “To teach your sheep to drive you put them in an elevated table and put their hooves on the edge. If they don’t push against you while you push against them they’ll fall.” PHOTO BY Rey Gray