The Dispatch, Vol. 31, Issue #6, 05.17.19

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COOKIE PARADISE Sophomore Mariah Barsotti bakes majestic cookies for her new business

AN ASTOUNDING ATHLETE Junior Sydney Heim named as AllAmerican and AllState lacrosse athlete

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FINAL GOODBYES Senior staff members of the Dispatch reflect on the past four years of high school

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coming UP

May 24 Last Day of School May 31 Graduation June 1 SAT Testing June 10-14 Summer Drama Camp

Pride in Publishing

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2019

Vol. 31, Issue 6 www.thedispatchonline.net James Bowie High School 4103 W. Slaughter Lane Austin TX, 78749

Summer plans for a school makeover Cade Spencer News Editor

EVERYTHING to know about SUMMER

CLOSED CAMPUS:

Summer camps have been relocated since the campus will be closed from Mar. 30 to Aug.12.

CONSTRUCTION NEW GARAGE: The

new garage will consist of four total levels with staff on level one, students on levels three and four, and tennis courts on level four.

LATE NIGHT SPORTS: The shuttle

schedule is open to adjustment for late night arrivals, such as teams.

THE DAILY RIDE:

The distance between Bowie High School and the Westoak Wood Baptist Church is 1.3 miles with an estimated three minute drive.

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As the glorious months of summer approach, seniors eagerly prepare for college, students and teachers dream of restful vacations, and the campus falls into silence.

As Bowie closes down for the break, the Campus Architecture Team prepares for a new phase of summer construction.

In order to undergo construction in accordance with the 2017 AISD bond and Campus Architecture Team, the Bowie Campus will be closed from May 30 to August 12.

“The CTA is composed of students, administration, faculty, parents, and architects with the support of the AISD central office staff,” CAT Parent Representative Brian Crow said. “For the [summer phase], addressing parking was an absolute requirement before we could start even one project to build new spaces for the school.”

Before the CAT can begin construction on the academic facilities, city regulation requires the addition of 200 spots to the school lots.

“The summer construction is going to include the Slaughter entrance and all of the parking area in the front,” CAT Management Assistant Debby Theis said. “They are going to reconfigure the loop, which will feed back onto Slaughter, for where the garage is going to be.”

In addition, the new parking arrangement will include an exit way onto Slaughter with 2 left turn lanes and 1 right turn lane.

“I am most excited about the addition of turn lanes exiting the parking lot onto Slaughter,” Crow said. “[They] will make a huge and visible difference in getting students out of the parking lot at the conclusion of the day.”

Another major aspect of the first phase of construction will be the campus parking garage; however, work on the garage is scheduled to continue into the 2019-2020 school year. When the new garage is completed, it will consist of four levels with an additional 900 spots.

“All of the parking area in front of the academic wings will be used in the first phase construction of the garage,” Theis said. “On top

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OVERFLOW PARKING: Next year, a portion of seniors and a few juniors will park at the Bethany Lutheran Church.

Students should apply by May 22 on Naviance.

APPLY NOW: To get a parking permit for the 2019-2020 school years, incoming students should check their Naviance email for a link to the applications due May 22.

Permits will be given out to all three lots.

SHUTTLE CRAZY:

Next year incoming juniors and sophomores will park at the Westoak Wood Baptist Church. Shuttles will run from 6:30 AM to 10:00 PM.

ART BY Cade Spencer, Shikha Patel and Shruti Patel

of the garage will be tennis courts, and this will allow for the [current] tennis courts to be demolished to [provide land] for an athletic complex.”

As the parking lot changes, incoming senior Emma Davis described that she is sad to see some of the old campus traditions leave.

"Next year, I will miss the paint-

ed and personalized [senior] parking spots," Davis said. "[They] were a big part of what made Bowie stand out in comparison to other schools."

In addition to the garage, the remainder of the school lot will be transformed to fulfill a multi-purpose role.

“There will be parking avail-

able for seniors in the new lot that will be constructed this summer,” Theis said. “[Eventually] it will be considered the marching band lot, but it will be striped for parking.”

Because construction on the parking garage is expected to last into the school year, incoming seniors and juniors will have to apply, until May 23, to be granted permits

Brash threats fuel enhanced security Marisa Salazar Double Truck Editor

2019 marks twenty years since the shooting at Columbine High School, which took the lives of thirteen people and sparked an ongoing era of heightened safety protocols in schools nationally.

In April there was a threat found on campus that caused the administration to emphasize the importance of security and caution with the increased presence of SROs and additional security.

The role of the School Resource Officer (SRO) is to protect the students and staff from any threat to safety. Officer Stephanie Kirkov explained that she interprets any sort of threat completely seriously.

“If I get a report that somebody made a threat, from one person that maybe overheard it or didn’t feel like it was a joke, that’s a threat that we’re going to investigate,” Kirkov said.

“I don’t know what’s a joke and what’s not, and I’m not

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going to risk guessing.”

Sophomore Kaitlyn Muras believes that jokes about violence should be reprimanded with an emphasis on the significance of the issue.

“I worry a lot about shootings,” Muras said. “I think they are never going to happen, however, it can at any time. It’s scary that kids are normalizing school shootings and joking when their life could be in trouble.”

The repercussions for making a safety threat can range from expulsion to criminal charges. Senior Nikola Andric disagrees with the harsh punishments given for seemingly harmless jokes.

“They are clearly jokes,” Andric said. “I feel like some stuff shouldn’t be taken so seriously. I definitely don’t think it’s fine for people to joke about that, however, I feel like some things are taken out of proportion.”

One of the safety precautions that schools practice are drills, which helps students know how to act appropriately in a real event.

News 1 , 2 Photo Essay 7

HEIGHTENED ATTENTION: Police officer Steven Melton surveils the parking lot as students leave for the weekend. A school threat on April 15 has enhanced the presence of security. PHOTO BY Marisa Salazar

“The purpose of lock down drills is to get students familiar with the protocols that would happen in the event of an actual emergency,” Kirkov said. “Students should take things seriously and follow the protocols to the tee, so if there is an event they can know exactly what they need to be doing.”

Andric stated that it is unnecessary to have lock-down drills as often as we do.

“I think it’s important, but for every time a drill happens, half the time the teach-

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ers don’t turn off the lights and kids are just messing around,” Andric said. “It’s not like we need to rehearse every couple of months.”

To Kirkov, safety threats are something that should not concern students.

“You all are here to learn, not to worry about if a school shooting is going to happen,” Kirkov said. “Your academics should be number one, your social life should be number two, and that’s all teenagers should think about.”

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Senior Goodbyes 12

in the campus lot (A) or Bethany Lutheran Church and Preschool parking area (B).

“I am disappointed about parking in the church as a senior because I feel like we should have gotten the same opportunities [as] seniors in previous years,” Davis said. “[However], in the long run I understand that it is necessary for them to move us to the church lots to benefit Bowie's student population."

While construction in the academic buildings is not planned to occur over summer, HVAC system repairs will take place.

“The HVAC or AC and heat renovations in the academic wings will have two phases finishing up from the bond of 2013,” Theis said.

“We did one phase last summer where they did all of the piping underground, and for the summer and through the year they will be changing out units and air handlers.”

Despite crucial repairs in the parking lot, Crow explained that he is more excited for the renovations that are to come for the overall school facility.

“While our focus is on fine arts and athletic spaces for the bright future, we had to address parking and traffic flow as a foundation project,” Crow said. “The result will be a beautiful new campus look with improved safety and traffic flow.

In addition, garage construction will force some junior and sophomore drivers to park at the Westoak Woods Baptist Church next year and shuttle into school.

“There will be a shuttle from the new temporary parking lot to Bowie that will run from 6:30 AM to 10:00 PM,” Theis said. “This depends on the demand, and as we get through the year we'll be able to see how many people are using it.”

In order to commemorate the beginning of the summer construction, a public groundbreaking event will be held at 9:00 AM on June 6.

“It is an exciting thing to work on and it will be fun to watch it develop and become real,” Theis said.

“We have been talking about it and planning for over a year now, so to watch it actually take place will be really exciting.”

Graduation date extended Erwin Center bookings push back the day As the school year comes to a close, seniors are preparing for one of the most important events of their lives. Every year, graduation day marks the end of the senior's high school career and the beginning of their future. However, this year’s ceremony is different as graduation has unexpectedly been pushed back to May 31, a week after classes wrap up on May 24.

However, according to Assistant Principal Larry Britton, the scheduling of graduation was out of Bowie administration’s hands. In the scheduling process, the ceremonies of UT and other AISD schools must also be considered.

“We get the schedule from the high school office downtown, and they determine the schedule based on the availability of the Erwin Center,” Britton said. “Since we started school earlier, and we had a few days off, like in the Christmas holidays, the schedule got pushed back."

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While the schedule may feel inconvenient, senior Jack Barsotti welcomes the change as it reduces the stress of finishing the school year.

“I’m fine with it because we have AP tests at the end of the school year, and we’re busy with finals, so we don’t have to think about doing as much, and it’s one less thing to worry about as we approach the end of the school year,” Barsotti said.

Although graduation will occur later, seniors agree that a scheduling change won’t affect the importance or magic of the day.

“I don’t think it would have any affect on people showing up because graduation is something that the family and the parents look forward to,” Britton said.

“It’s a great accomplishment to have a parent or grandparent see your child or grandchild stand up and walk across that stage."

STORY BY Will Grossenbacher

2 NEWS

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2019

Celebrating senior top 'Dawgs at honor night Madisen Johnson Senior Feature Editor

“The purpose of this event is to acknowledge and celebrate the diverse talents, leadership, and achievements of the Senior Class of 2019,” social studies teacher Kaylin Brett said. “These seniors have left a positive mark on Bowie over the past four years, and we want to give them a proper send off.”

There are two main awards that are given to the students invited, the pride in performance award, which was awarded to any senior.

The second award is called the excellence award and it was given to the students who were nominated by each

From Trustee Awards to ‘who’s who’, there are several award ceremonies on campus that celebrate students that have distinguished themselves academically.

A different award ceremony has been added this year, the Senior Honor night awards. Senior Honor night was created to be a time to honor any student not only based on academic standings, but rather on their impact on Bowie with their attitude, integrity, and good deeds.

SHARING SMILES: Dartanian Babcock, right, accepts a medal from biology teacher Jessica Davis on stage while sharing a laugh. Babcock was awarded pride in performance award , excellence award, who's who, top 10% in NHS, and national merit. PHOTO BY Rey Gray

department at Bowie.

“Teachers and staff consistently get words of appreciation and thank you letters from our kids, but the teachers often do not have the opportunity to thank them,” Brett said.

Along with these awards, the staff awards the students who; completed NHS, finished in the top 10%, were awarded the ‘who’s who’ award, received national merit awards, and also UIL scholar graduates.

Brett wanted to start this award ceremony to recognize everyone, not only those with academic accomplishments.

“Tonight is the staff ’s chance to say thank you to this wonderful group of students sitting in front of us,” Brett said.

The students who received these awards were not alerted of the awards they were receiving and were only given an invitation to the event.

“It was exciting not to know exactly what I was getting, it made me look forward to the ceremony to see the award I was given,” senior Olivia Hanna said. “It made me feel like I had made a difference at this school.”

Brett obtained permission to start this new awards program because she ran a

similar program at a previous school.

“I ran this event at my former school in Houston, Texas. After coming to Bowie, I felt that there needed to be a bigger celebration and send off for the senior class,” Brett said. “I wanted to specifically create this event to be more inclusive of other talents.”

The event made students feel appreciated even if they haven't excelled in academics, but rather other areas.

“I was given the award

by Mr. Lauer and it meant so much to me because he was my freshman year world geography teacher and still to this day he is my favorite teacher I’ve ever had in high school,” senior Haley Ohlen said. “I think this ceremony should continue for the future years of students because it felt very nice to be embraced by teachers and staff at Bowie after four years of hard work” This inclusive award ceremony will continue for the following classes and recognize as many students as possible.

“This event allows the entire staff to award seniors allowing it to be more inclusive and representative of the entire class,” Brett said.”It is based on leadership, pride and character.”

FINAL GOODBYES: Adam Werchen embraces social studies teacher Alejandro Garcia as he accepts an award at senior honor night. Principal Mark Robinson observes the excitement and positivity of the event to the left. PHOTO BY Rey Gray

New voices legislation is advocating for student rights Kateri Jaquette Sports Editor

Currently in the state of Texas, student journalists under the administration of public education are subjected to prior review by their school administration. Prior review allows for the school to censor what students publish, leaving them vulnerable to facing consequences for reporting the truth.

“New voices is a legislative movement that's aimed at protecting journalists from censorship and protects advisors from being retaliated against,” senior advocate Neha Madhira said.

The staff of the student publication Eagle Nation at Prosper High School were barred from publishing multiple opinion pieces for reporting on topics like their school walkouts, banned books, and the removal of school traditions. Editor-in-Chief of the publication Madhira, and her fellow staff members have become the face of the New Voices movement in Texas.

“Right after we spoke out many people started telling us their stories,” Madhira said. “We wanted to use these testimonies and these stories for something good.”

Attempting to revise the law, students had to prepare for what they were going to face.

“We spent most of the summer, and an-

other six or seven months studying up on all the different cases and the legalities around this entire thing,” Madhira said. “We wanted to make sure that if people tried to attacked us with questions or try to prove us wrong we would know our rights.”

After months of research, conversation, and lobbying the student journalists were able to have Senator Jose Rodriguez from El Paso, file Senate Bill 2225 which is a three part bill that proposes to restore, protect and extend student press rights. In April of 2019, the bill got its first hearing in the upper chamber of the House of Public Education Committee.

“The first time coming into the hearing we obviously didn't really know what to expect,” Madhira said. “But we knew the representatives, what they stood for, and what we were going to be dealing with.”

Commentary editor of The Dispatch, Jake Brien, became very involved with New Voices legislation this year when the bill first made it to the house in which he attended multiple hearings.

“At the senate there were more rules and less talk,” Brien said. “At the house there was conversation and a lot of back and forth between the representatives during the hearing.”

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Neha Madhira, left, and Haley Stack speak at a TED talk on the importance of new voices. The talk was apart of the event TEDWomen in 2018, which highlighted female activists. PHOTO COURTESY OF Neha Madhira

advisors have become involved in the New Voices movement. Their hope is to ensure the protections of their First Amendment rights to better their communities through honest journalism. Madhira and her staff find passion in reporting and personal rights.

“When you use your voice to fight for change or to fight for something you want, your community will result in nothing but better opportunities, more awareness of what's actually happening and how to take action,” Madhira said.

ENTERTAINMENT 3 FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2019 THE DISPATCH

Senior directors take over the theater Naya Tillisch Sports Editor

The lights glare down on the stage and the audience applauds as the curtains open and the seniors pray that the pieces they put their heart and souls into are delivered perfectly by their younger cast members.

The senior one acts, which were available for other students to see from May 8-12, are short plays in which the seniors were in charge of writing and directing.

“They are [showing on] Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at six, and then on Saturday and Sunday at two,” theater director Betsy Cornwell said.

Being a director as a senior is a unique experience, and Cornwell believes it benefits students greatly.

“It’s a good way to learn about management and seeing the big picture,” Cornwell said. “They learn to understand what it’s like to be responsible for the people who are under you. It’s really unique program that I don’t think any other school in Austin, maybe even Texas, does.”

Ben Harmon, a senior director who has been in the theater program since his freshman year, is directing the play “‘dentity crisis.”

“I have creative control over all aspects of the show, [including] picking actors, music, lights, or creating the set,” Harmon said.

“My senior one act is about a girl who has a nervous breakdown because of how insane her family is.”

He has really enjoyed being a leader and director this year.

“The most exciting part of directing the show is watching it all come together in the last couple of rehearsals,” Harmon said. “I love seeing the different shows because there’s such a wide variety of shows that would never be chosen for fall or spring shows.”

Students also enjoy the Senior One Acts because they allow them to work with new people.

“My favorite part of Senior One Acts is the people I work with,” sophomore actress Aidan O’Brien said. “Some of them I’ve done

NAIL THE ROLE: Sophomore Maia Gerdes plays Catherine and senior Stephen Achilles plays Hal in the senior one act “Proof”. The play, directed by senior Grace Clark, tells the story of Catherine’s struggle with mental health after the death of her father. PHOTO BY Rey Gray

shows with before and some of them I haven’t...they have made rehearsal a lot of fun.”

O’Brien appreciated how the Senior One Acts open up opportunities for younger students.

“Sophomores and freshmen generally have more opportunities to be in leading roles because some of the juniors are assistant directors to the seniors,” O’Brien said.

It’s her second time acting in a senior one act, and she is part of the show “Starting Monday.”

“I play a nurse. It’s a small role but I’m on stage in several scenes,” O’Brien said. “The show I’m in is directed by Claire Wilcox. It’s about two young women, Ellis and Lynne, who meet and become good

friends. Ellis is diagnosed with cancer, and Lynne is by her side through her treatment.”

Because there are 12 senior one acts, finding time to share the stage and rehearse has been difficult.

“The most challenging part of this show has probably been that we haven’t rehearsed on stage with our set yet,” O’Brien said. “Because there are so many shows in a short amount of time, we haven’t [gotten a lot of] chances to rehearse on stage.”

The process of creating and executing the shows is very rewarding for both teachers and students.

“I like watching how the younger students responded to the direction of the older students,”

Cornwell said. “It’s really fun and reflects all of their hard work.”

Harmon explains how watching the acts is exciting, but also really nerve racking for the first-time producers. “[It is] challenging juggling all of the parts of the show and hoping they all fit together,” Harmon said. “[The] show all comes together in the last rehearsals.”

Outside of the senior one acts, the theater program has had a successful year.

“We sold out eight or nine performances of Mamma Mia,” Cornwell said. “We did really well in our competitions, but you have to remember that we do as many plays as we can so that as many kids as

want to can participate.”

Harmon credits his success as senior director to Cornwell.

“Mrs. Cornwell has taught me pretty much everything about directing from blocking to getting better performances out of actors,” Harmon said.

Harmon has loved his time in theater and will definitely miss it after he graduates.

“It’s a bummer that I’ve done my last acting performance…[but the] Senior One Acts allow for casts to get close [and] are a great set of shows to end the year on,” Harmon said. “Now that I’m graduating, I wish that I had taken in more moments to just appreciate everything in the company.”

Fine art classes visit Ireland AISD’s summer production cast reaches grand heights Amanda Zinni Staff Writer

In 2020, the award-winning band, choir, and orchestra programs will be going international, for they will be traveling across Ireland and performing concerts in Limerick and Dublin. The three programs are collaborating for the first time ever, playing different pieces that will highlight the talents of Bowie’s music programs.

Bowie fine arts directors chose Ireland as their destination because of the sightseeing possibilities and potential concert audiences.

“Ireland is an easy international trip and it’s an interesting destination because it’s unspoiled,” band director Garth Gundersen said. “The Irish people also really love music, so if you schedule concerts, they’re usually very well-attended.”

While in Ireland, the programs will play two concerts: one as a combined group as well as one with smaller ensembles.

“In Limerick, we’ll get to do our bigger works and our big, combined pieces,” Gundersen said. “In Dublin, we’ll perform at Christ Church, we’re going to do chamber music there [with] small groups of instruments.”

The programs will be joined and conducted by world-famous Irish conductor Larry Livingston.

“Our students are going to be studying with and learning from Larry Livingston in his own home country,” Gundersen said. “We may

ART BY Sam Blas

even play Irish music while we’re there, making it a great educational opportunity.”

Even though the trip isn’t until the spring of 2020, the students are already looking forward to spending time with one another.

“I wanted to go on this trip because I really love spending time with my friends and going to Ireland is a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity,” sophomore orchestra student Annalisa Gonzales said.

The international trip will provide the students with a unique bonding experience.

“I think going on trips brings us closer together as a family because we experience things together,” junior band student Jenna Larner said. “Not only can we do that with the band, but we can do that with the choir and orchestra too,” For many students, the trip will be their first time performing with the other music programs.

“I’ve worked with the orchestra a few times, but I’ve never actually played with the choir,” Larner said. “[It will be] a first-time experi-

ence for me that...will really help me become a better player and expand my musicality.”

Bowie’s music programs typically teach separately, and have never performed together as one group, making this a new opportunity for students.

“I really like the idea of getting together with the orchestra and the choir and being able to play one big song because we’ve never really done that before,” Larner said. “It’s cool to not only do it in a different country but together for the first time.”

To attempt to reduce the cost of the trip for students, the band has already begun to raise money through fundraisers.

“We did a mattress fundraiser and all the money [from that] is going to go straight to the cost of the trip,” Gundersen said.

“We’re [also] going to sell signs that people can put in their yards ...and then a large percentage of the [sales will go] back towards the trip.

[The] community [can] advertise the trip and support the program.”

The trip to Ireland will allow the students from the band, orchestra, and choir programs to bond, as well as to learn more about different types of music.

“We wanted to build the musical collaboration between the choir, the orchestra, and the band,” Gundersen said. “I think the performance opportunities, [and] make it a really appealing trip for our programs.”

Amelie Hayne Staff Writer

Summer is coming up and the school year is finally coming to end, but that doesn’t stop the AISD theater program. This summer, students from around AISD will have the opportunity to participate in the upcoming summer musical.

The summer musicals cast was decided by Randy Cantu and Marco Bazan from Bowie and Christina Burbank from Crockett. They set up a google classroom page for audition videos, and later had callbacks before releasing the cast list.

“I look forward to getting to work with students from across the district and being able to bring a musical to life that I connect to and that resignates with me,” Bazan said.

The musical opens up new opportunities for students to ART BY Sumin Kim

See the performance at the AISD Performing Arts Center

spend their summer being a part of a show and meeting new people.

“I am most excited to spend time with everyone in the cast and get to know people that don’t go to Bowie because the cast often gets super close because we spend so much time together,” junior Maya Armand said.

The summer musical is called ‘In the Heights’ and is about a group of mostly Hispanic characters in Washington Heights, NYC. The group grew up together in this very close-knit neighborhood, and reconnected as adults.

“I do like the musical choice because ‘In the Heights’ is written by Lin Manuel Miranda who also wrote Hamilton...the music is so upbeat and fun and the rap element makes it stand out,” Armand said.

There are two casts created for the musical that are brought together to collaboratively work together to create an amazing musical.

“The cast is really interesting we got a pretty good mix for both casts, I have full trust in the directors that they believe in who they casted,” junior Eric Larson said.

Rehearsals begin May 30 and will be held through July 11, and performances will be held at the AISD Performing Arts Center.

“I am most excited for the

fact that I’m going to spend the summer with great friends and getting new opportunities in the AISD summer musical,” Larson said.

Larson is playing the role of Usnavi in the musical, in which he owns the bodega and plays a fun character filled with spirit and joy.

“My favorite part about being in the theater program is that we are a company, community, and a family,” Larson said.

Musicals require a lot of hard-work and dedication put in by everyone who is a part of the production.

“The most rewarding part about being in a musical is seeing other people’s faces when you greet them after the show,” Larson said. “For me, it’s really about making the audience feel something and making their experience fun...and [putting] on the best possible show.”

The summer musical would not be possible without the efforts of the directors, technicians, actors along with everyone participating and helping make the production possible. The show dates have not been announced “Being a director allows me to be creative and collaborate with students, while getting to see a production from the ground up,” Bazan said. “Also having a vision and fulfilling that vision the best way you can, while still enjoying the process.”

coming UP in ENTERTAINMENT June 1-3 Choir Solo & Ensemble Contest June 10-14 Silver Stars Dance Clinic

June 23-27 Theater Summer Camp

July 22-26 Color Guard Camp July 19-21 Summer Musical Shows

4 FEATURE

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2019

Sophomore makes dough by the dozen Abbie Brien Feature Editor

Piping bags filled, hands steady, and apron on, Mariah Barsotti prepares to make dozens of cookies for eager customers.

Barsotti frequently makes cookies for events such as shows, blood drives, or just for friends.

“My favorite part of my business is getting to create cookies a simple thank you or for such neat events like blood drives,” Barsotti said.

“It’s really amazing getting to pull everything together in the end and give it to someone who gets really excited over them.”

Barsotti creates a wide variety of cookies ranging from having a simple flower on the cookie to designing entire faces on a cookie.

“I think her business is a great idea because a lot of people don’t do cookie decorating, and her creativity sets her business over the top,” sophomore Elise Gonzales said. “Her creative mind can produce such original cookies that no one has ever seen before. For example, I know she did a Bob Ross inspired cookie which turned out super funny and detailed.”

Barsotti is usually very busy during the holiday season, rushing around to make creative and interesting cookies for people.

“Holidays like Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Valentine’s Day are my most sought after cookies because those types of days usually are associated with treats, and my cookies are a more unique gift and treat that’s not the usual candy,” Barsotti said. “Holidays are always really fun because I make a lot of cookies that are similar, so it creates a spread of different designs that form a cohesive collection.”

Barsotti’s talent has spread word around the school to many students.

“I’ve used her cookies for a lot of events like birthday parties and gifts,” Gonzales said. “For one birthday party, she made us all cookies like the Tiffany & Co. brand which turned out beautiful, and then we used her cookies for the Silver Stars spring show and the cookies were in the shape of a boot which was adorable.”

According to Barsotti, she spends hours meticulously focusing on the tiny details of her cookies.

“My favorite part about the cookies is the decoration it’s just so in depth and detailed,” Gonzales said. “It was also cool because she posted videos on her Instagram of how she decorated them, which was interesting to see the process and how precise she has to be.”

In addition to baking

ICING ON THE TOP: Mariah Barsotti ices the letter “M” to decorate one of her cookies. Barsotti uses simple decorations as well as complex designs such as faces to top her creations. PHOTO COURTESY OF Mariah Barsotti

THE WAY THE COOKIE CRUMBLES: Sophomore Mariah Barsotti prepares cookie batter for her baking business: Mariah Makes. Barsotti’s business has been running since Valentines Day of 2018, and she primarily sells to her peers during holiday season, as well as family friends. PHOTO COURTESY OF Mariah Barsotti

cookies, Barsotti splits her time between her cookie business and her busy color guard schedule.

“My cookie schedule relies heavily on my color guard schedule,” Barsotti said. “Some weeks my time is completely filled with world guard practice and some weeks I’ll spend 20 hours making cookies; I’ve done as many as four orders in a week or gone for two months without making any.

Usually I get an itch to make cookies after a couple weeks of not being able to, and that makes making cookies even more exciting.”

According to Barsotti, she always strives to be a determined student in addition to a busy baker, and is in difficult classes such as Pre-AP Algebra 2 and Pre-AP Chemistry.

“It’s definitely a struggle to manage all my cookies, school and color guard,” Barsotti said. “I’ve gone weeks where I’m completely overwhelmed with everything, and cookies are the icing on top. I have to plan ahead and unfortunately have had to deny some orders that I really would have liked to do, which is one of the biggest

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lieves a lot of pressure off of struggles.”

Although Barsotti is de- me.”

Mariah spends a lot of scribed as a talented and eager baker by her friends and time perfecting recipes for family, she did not receive not just the right canvas for design but for the taste. any technical training.

“Her cookies are literal“I never really baked before my [cookie business],” ly the best I’ve ever tasted,” Barsotti said. “I’ve always Gonzales said. “It’s so cool enjoyed making desserts because most heavily decowith my mom around the rated cookies end up not tastholidays but it didn’t become ing that good, but something that sets a hobby her apart until I from othwas introCookies are an amazing er places duced to the cookway I can express myself is that the cookies my mom had and relieve stress. It’s very ies taste therapeutic. as good made. Afas they ter that, l o o k , I took to Mariah Barsotti which baking is amazpretty Sophomore ing.” q u i c k l y, Not only has her talent adapting the recipe I had originally received to make it gotten her many customers, my own, evolved recipe and Mariah’s personality gets her many friends in addition to process.”

Spending so much time in customers.

“I love Mariah, she is the the kitchen affects more peobest person with the best ple than just Barsotti.

“She takes a lot of time in cookies ever,” Gonzales said. the kitchen, but I would de- “Her business is really thrivscribe it as a beautiful mess,” ing right now because it’s Mariah’s mother Janelle Bar- such a cute and good idea, sotti said. “She’s also using and a wide variety of peothe profit to save for a car, ple can use cookies for their which I like because it re- events. That’s why they’re

”

so loved by everyone anyone can appreciate them and use them in some way while negotiating with such a loving and caring person who truly wants the best for her customers.”

Although Mariah makes a profit from her business, she truly has a passion for the design aspect.

“Cookies are an amazing way I can express myself and relieve stress,” Mariah said.

“It’s very therapeutic to pipe and helps me express my more creative side. I put a lot of pressure on myself with school and guard, so it’s really important that I have an outlet.”

According to Mariah, she could even see her passion for baking cookies take her to a cooking show one day.

“Right now I really enjoy making and selling cookies,” Mariah said. “I’m not sure what the future of my business will be, but it’s definitely setting me up for the experience if I was ever to start another business.

Who knows, maybe I’ll be a cooking show host one day, or maybe I’ll have to stop when I reach college, but I’m really happy doing what I’m doing right now.”

FEATURE 5

FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2019 THE DISPATCH

Students compete to win first-ever Nerf war Miranda Cardenas Feature Editor

Soft darts soaring through the air, friendly shouts, and sneak attacks have become an everyday sight as teams battle each other each week in Bowie’s first -ever Nerf war.

Students from all grade levels have been competing in teams against one another to battle for a Nerf gun victory.

“My friend Riley and I started this around the end of March,” junior Teagan Lopez said. “We got the idea from a friend at Dripping Springs High School, and realized a lot of other schools in our area had a Nerf war of their own.”

This war has a system in place to keep it organized and fair.

“Our Nerf does five people per team, and uses a bracket system which means each team has one other team per week and the winner moves on to the next week,” Lopez said.

While some may think the Nerf war could cause some problems on campus,

there are rules in place to keep the game respectful and orderly.

“We don’t allow the Nerf guns on campus or at school events so that kids feel safe and we respect school rules,” Lopez said. “Other safe zones are airports and churches.”

This experience has had positive impacts on participants whether it’s cheering teams on or competing against others.

“This has definitely been a really positive experience not just for my friends and I but for the whole Bowie community, this silly game of Nerf has definitely brought all the grade levels closer together and created more friendships,” Lopez said.

The Nerf wars have required more than just planning for attacks, they also require teams to physically execute plans to get other teams out.

“My favorite part of my time in the Nerf war was going on chases, and running through parking lots as we hunted other teams,” junior Riley McIntyre

NERF GUNS IN HAND: Creators of the Nerf war, Juniors Teagan Lopez, Riley McIntyre and Matthew Mojica, plan out strategies. Lopez and McIntyre put a lot of time and effort organizing this for the school. PHOTO BY Kaitlyn Zellner

said.

McIntyre and Lopez hope to improve this event next year to better accommodate everyone who wants to join.

“Next time I run something on such a large scale and not just within a friend group, I want to organize it better because I wasn’t expecting so many people to join in the first year,” McIntyre said.

The Nerf wars event adds to the social aspects of campus life even though none of it takes place on campus.

“This is basically a big social event , it allows people who would maybe never meet or much less talk, to come together to have fun,” McIntyre said.

According to participants, they liked not only the social aspect of the war but also creating a stronger bond with friends and teammates.

“While the social aspect of this whole thing was good, I also found it really fun to be constantly on the lookout with your friends and plan missions while still having fun and joking around,” sophomore Ryan Kinney said.

With students from many different organizations in the Nerf war, it offered a common pass time many students could participate in together.

“I really loved working with my teammates and working towards a common goal each week,” Kinney said. “It was cool spending time with my friends, because usually we are all involved in so many other separate things so this gave us an opportunity to come together and see each other.”

McIntyre encourages new people to join next year, but warns newcomers to be ready for the commitment to put in the work to win.

“I want more people to join for sure, but just make sure you get a good squad that’s ready to play otherwise you won’t go far,” McIntyre said.

The playful and competitive social event has offered a past time for students to take their mind off of every day stressful tasks.

“This allowed me and my team to forget our outside problems and focus on something juvenile and silly, but fun” Kinney said.

The purpose of the Nerf wars was just to have fun and show students there’s more to life than school and the stress that comes with it.

“Next year I want it to be bigger,” Lopez said. “I just really want people to realize there’s more to high school than home work, busy work and tests.”

ART BY Shruti Patel

Cadet soars into the future with aviation scholarship Faith Lawrence In-Depth Editor

Since elementary school, senior Aidan Ellisor hoped to join the military. He joined Bowie’s Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) program to get one step closer to his goal of becoming an Air Force Officer.

Ellisor received three scholarships for his involvement in JROTC and academic excellence. Ellisor received a scholarship from Texas A&M University, Air Force flight school training program, and from the Air Force Academy; he accepted the scholarship to the Air Force Academy where he will train to become an Air Force Officer.

“I’m mostly looking forward to the stability of not having to worry about what I’m going to do and who I’m going to be,” Ellisor said.

“I’m always looking forward to flying jet fighters.”

In fifth grade, Ellisor already knew he wanted to have a career in the Air Force.

“My [interest in the military] started at a very young age, actually on my graduation announcement my mom has a picture of me in a flight suit that I got this year for my flight scholarship,” Ellisor said. “She also has a picture of me when I was about three or four in another flight suit my uncle got me that I wore for Halloween. In fifth grade, we had to write down what we wanted to be when we grew up for our yearbook, and I wrote down Air Force Officer.”

Ellisor is the Vise Corps Commander of the JROTC class, which means he is

the second in command of the corps. The Vise Corps Commander assists with the Corps Commander and JROTC instructors by doing things like coordinating events.

“He was always a leader,” JROTC Master Sergeant David Loyd said. “He always has a can-do attitude, an optimistic outlook, he plays by the rules, he’s somebody that I can put in charge, and it has been this way from very early on. He’s one of those cadets you can put in front of other students and you don’t have to worry about him because he’s going to take care of them and he’s not going to let them do stupid stuff and he’s not going to do stupid stuff.”

Many of Ellisor’s family members were involved in the military.

“All three of my uncles [went] into the Air Force, two of them pilots and one of them went to the academy,” Ellisor said. “I don’t believe that if I didn’t have the [familial] influence I had with my uncles, my mom and my grandfather that I would have gotten into the Air Force or the military at all.”

Out of the 9,894 students who applied for an appointment to the Air Force Academy, only 1,492 were offered admission, according to a demographic profile of the class of 2020.

“Nobody is going to get into any of the academies by being pushed by someone else,” Loyd said. “That push has to come from them inside, there is just too many hoops to jump through and too much paperwork; you’ve got to really want it. I think

in every area of Aidan’s high school life, he has that drive.

Whether it be grades, or football or the corps, he’s got that motivation. He hasn’t let anything get in his way.”

Ellisor’s involvement in the UIL Math Team led him to get a high SAT score his junior year. Students on the UIL Math Team learn math that goes beyond what is taught in high school math classes.

“He had to go outside the bounds of his classroom experience to achieve [the appointment], it’s something he did that was above and beyond,” UIL Math team supervisor Bill Russell said.

“It’s something that very few people that come through my classes are able to do and he did it naturally.”

Since such a few number of applicants get offered an appointment at the Air Force Academy, Loyd thinks a high class standing helps a student’s chances in getting admitted.

“He is a phenomenal talent in terms of math,” Russell said. “He’s one of those rare people who just gets it, he understands things very quickly and very easily, I saw that very early on in our relationship. I tried to push him and get him to make the most of that. He got his appointment and everything he has gotten because he worked for it.”

Ellisor has received two national awards for his achievements in JROTC. “I got the Order of Daedalians Award last year, which is very prestigious, it’s the second highest national award a cadet can get,” Ellisor said. “The year before I got the American Legion

POSING IN UNIFORM: Senior Aidan Ellisor poses at age 18 and at four wearing a flight suit. At the young age four Ellisor knew he wanted to be in the military and his efforts since earned him an appointment to the Air Force Academy. PHOTOS COURTESY OF Ellisor family

Scholastic Excellence Award.

That was for scholastic excellence and wanting to pursue an Air Force career. The Daedalians Award was for good character, high academic achievement and military potential.”

Ellisor has been involved

in JROTC since his freshman year. Being involved with JROTC helped him with other aspects of his high school career so he could be well rounded.

“The best thing I can call [JROTC] is a pillar to lean on,” Ellisor said. “Whenever

I was feeling down, not myself, or I didn’t have a good game or practice at football or something else went wrong, ROTC was always there for me. It’s never let me down, it’s great. It’s really a family. Once you get into it, it’s hard to leave.”

6 IN-DEPTH

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2019

Upperclassmen school their students Peter Dang Editor-in-Chief

Twenty kindergarteners, sitting crisscross apple sauce focusing on their teacher standing at the board, teaching them to write a sentence. This teacher is not the one with their name on the door, this teacher is a high school junior or senior. The students participate actively, each one raising their hand trying to seemingly raise it higher than the next to get called on.

After high school, there are many career paths to choose from. For some students, it may be education, or a career working with children. Ready, Set, Teach gives students the opportunity to work with children in an educational setting in high school. Students interested are required to take child development as a prerequisite and then they can interview for Ready, Set, Teach.

“I have always loved kids and I wanted to have a way to hang out with kids and Ready, Set, Teach has been a blast for me,” junior Megan Devaney said. “I'm with a kindergarten class, my class is very hands on and I am always working with the kids. I don't really have a moment of downtime so that's been a lot of fun.”

In the first six weeks, students learn about what to expect, including how to work with children professionally, TEKS, classroom discipline, lesson planning, evaluation, ethics, blood-borne pathogens, and what to do if accidents happen. The program does not go to elementary schools to work with mentor teachers and students until the second six weeks.

“I had a student say that you don’t really teach us after the first six weeks,” Ready, Set, Teach Teacher Laura Barnes said. “At first I was surprised, but in many ways they were right, we help them figure this out from a facilitative role after the first six weeks. It is all about the students.”

Working with students for two hours a day, twice a week, the Ready, Set, Teach students get to know their students personally and learn a lot about every single one of them throughout the year.

“There's this one little boy. He points out the most peculiar things and the other day we just finished our measurement unit and he asked ‘Ms. Taylor, how tall are you?’” junior Taylor Hubbard said. “He's just so sweet.”

Ready, Set, Teach students are in authoritative positions in the classroom. They work with their mentor teacher and their students to ensure that they are respected just like the

SHOWING APPRECIATION: Junior Michael Sugrue works with one of his fourth graders on their Mother's Day poem. Sugrue likes working with fourth graders due to their maturity. PHOTO BY Peter Dang

mentor teacher.

“Establishing authority is important, I do it mainly by having rules and actually following through with what you're going to say,” senior Claire Richardson said. “If I tell a kid ‘hey if you do that again I'm going to write in your folder’ I actually do it and don’t give them a pass.”

Along with forming a relationship with their students, Ready, Set, Teach students form a relationship with their mentor teachers. The mentor teachers welcome the Ready, Set, Teach students into their classroom and teach them how to run classrooms, how to work with students and other faculty members along with other teacher duties.

“My mentor teacher explains everything to me and I feel like I learn a lot more through her because we have a positive relationship,” Richardson said. “She asks for my input on things such as how I would do a lesson and a

FOCUSING FURIOUSLY: Junior Lilly Yeager teaches math to her small group of fourth graders. Yeager likes Ready, Set, Teach as it gives her networking opportunities with teachers and administrators. PHOTO BY Peter Dang

TIME'S UP: Junior Cassandra Gonzalez works with her student on learning to tell time. Gonzalez's students are eager to learn from her. PHOTO BY Peter Dang

lot of the time we end up comparing notes to figure out how it could have gone better and then we work towards that next time.”

Working with elementary school aged students requires a multitude of different aspects from a Ready, Set, Teach student, including respect, communication, confidentiality, responsibility and accountability.

“You're not going to get respect if you don't respect them,” senior Rylee Holder said. “Working with older kids you have to get to their level and they will show you respect.”

Ready, Set, Teach students are required to teach one lesson in front of the whole class every six weeks, but most students teach more than one. Ready, Set, Teach students also work with their students in small groups and one on one. Working in different sized groups allows Ready, Set, Teach students to learn how to meet the different needs of their students.

“It sounds weird but public speaking skills is really important when teaching a full class of fourth graders,” junior Michael Sugrue said. “They have no boundaries, they have no hold back, they'll tell you what you're doing wrong and it's really helped me with my public speaking skills.”

The prerequisite to Ready, Set, Teach is Child Development which is a predominantly female class, limiting exposure of males to the field of education and working with children.

“We wish there were more boys in the program,” Ready, Set, Teach Teacher Jean Frazier said. "The boys in there love it, the little kids think all of our students are rock stars, but especially the boys, because there’s not many of them.”

Because the program is focused on education and working with elementary school aged children, the program is predominantly female, reflecting the trend in elementary education. According to male Ready, Set, Teach students, they encourage more males to join.

“I feel like anyone can teach if they were interested and wanted to. No one is not fit

SPEAKING SOFTLY: Junior Derek Perez speaks with one of his second grade students. Perez wants to pursue a career as a Special Education director. PHOTO

BY Peter Dang

CLASS CAMPING TRIP: Senior Claire Richardson teaches her first graders how to make smores. Richardson plans to become a nurse practitioner with a specialty in pediatrics. PHOTO BY Peter Dang

or is too fit for being a teacher,” Sugrue said.

“I just think that their career path probably interests females more than males.”

The program has been running for three years, evolving each year. It gives students experience working with children to become teachers, doctors, nurses, attorneys, social workers along with other careers working with children.

“In the beginning we were focusing on as the name said preparing students for the field of education and we still mean that,” Barnes. “We are finding so many students come to this program because they want to work with kids.”

For some students like Holder, they were inspired to work with children due to certain teachers who have made a significant impact on them growing up.

“I've always wanted to work in a field where I can help kids. When I was growing up, I was very close with a lot of my teachers and they helped me through a lot,” Holder said. “So I think it would be really rewarding to do the same for the next generation.”

After completing a portfolio consisting of a résumé, lesson plans, a case study, letters of recommendation, evaluations and work from throughout the year, Ready, Set, Teach students can get a Paraprofessionals and Substitute certification for AISD. This certification allows students to become substitute teachers for AISD after graduating high school.

“The Paraprofessionals and Substitute certification looks great on a résumé,” Barnes said. “If the students want to be a substitute teacher they will have to go through Human Resources and be interviewed, but it gets their foot in the door right out of high school.”

The education field is in high demand for teachers and this program helps prepare students for the field and for other careers working with children.

“We need more teachers, they are under appreciated,” Hubbard said. “I feel like if we had even more people in Ready, Set, Teach we would be a very big help.”

PHOTO ESSAY 7

FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2019 THE DISPATCH

Kickin’ it with the black belt brothers

IN THE AIR: Mid-jump, sophomore Sean McCulloch soars through the air. Sean has been learning and competing in taekwondo for 14 years. “Everyone thinks if you do taekwondo you’re a ninja and everyone thinks you just go to tournaments and knock each other out,” Sean said. “But that’s not normally the case.” PHOTO BY Abbey Repka

Siblings practice martial arts at family-owned academy Abbey Repka Photo Essay Editor

BREAKING THE BOARDS: In the middle of jumping, Senior Timmy McCulloch prepares to break the boards.

Timmy strives to achieve all his goals in taekwondo and to never give up. “Practice and perseverance and not giving up are the hardest parts,” Timmy said. PHOTO BY Abbey Repka

HELPING KIDS IN TRAINING: Sophomore Sean McCulloch helps teach the kids 13 and under class. Sean has been teaching the classes for years. “I really like being an instructor because I see myself in those kids,” Sean said. “I want to be a good role model to them like my instructors were to me.” PHOTO BY Abbey Repka

Tension fills the room while sophomore Sean McCulloch and senior Timmy McCulloch await to see if they pass their fifth-degree black belt tests. Sean and Timmy both currently learn and compete in taekwondo.

Sean started taekwondo when he was about twoand-a-half years old and has stuck with it ever since.

“My parents own the place so I’m always over there,” Sean said, “Then my brothers started before me and I always saw them doing it and I really want to just join in and do it with them.”

Along with taking taekwondo classes, Sean also helps his parents teach classes to the younger kids.

“Kids that are 13 or younger, I’ll help teach their classes,” Sean said, “I also teach my class which is 14 and up.”

Sean and Timmy’s mom, Glenda McCulloch, also helps teach classes at Westlake Taekwondo Academy.

“After we met, I spent a year watching him take class with Mr. Johnson, going to many testings and tournaments so before long he and several of the adult students convinced me to join,” Glenda said. “I had been watching and supporting him for so long it was really different being on the other side of the workout floor.”

While teaching classes is fun to Sean, he prefers the competition element where he and his friends battle for bragging rights “I like the social part about it and going to tournaments and competing with everyone and just seeing my friends compete against me and try to beat them at it,” Sean said.

One common misconception in taekwondo, according to Sean, is that people believe that at tournaments you just go to knock each other, however that is not the case.

“You just go to tournaments to do forms and board breaking and sometimes you do sparring but you don’t knock each other out anymore,” Sean said. “We do more of sports sparring where it’s just fast and you try to score points instead of knocking each other out.”

Tournaments typically take place on weekends and according to Sean, they can take up hours of competing with one another.

“In each ring you will have about three judges and then you can go anywhere from three competitors to 15 in your ring and you will all compete to do forms or you will compete sparring or you will break boards against each other,” Sean said.

Timmy also does taekwondo and he began learning this form of martial art when he was about four years old. “[My biggest inspirations are] my parents, they pushed us a lot, and since they own the place we’ve always been apart of it,” Timmy said.

According to Timmy, there are many challenges in taekwondo, but if you can overcome them, then the reward is amazing.

“Testing for my fourth degree black belt was super challenging,” Timmy said.

“I go to class three times a week for practice.”

Sean also agrees with his brother that their parents are their biggest inspirations to keep pushing themselves past the limits and to keep on going even when life is tough.

“My dad has coached me through everything in life,” Sean said. “He’s helped me with taekwondo, he’s always been my baseball coach and he’s gotten me through everything I’ve gone through.”

According to Sean, taekwondo allows learners to view the world in a different way.

“I guess you can say the manner aspect of everything I see differently from most people,” Sean said.

HELPING TEACH: Senior Timmy McCulloch advises the kids on one steps and two steps. Timmy has been studying taekwondo from a young age due to his parents. “I’ve been doing taekwondo since I was four,” Timmy said. “So 13 years now.” PHOTO BY Abbey Repka

LOOKING OVER THE CLASS: Watching over the class, sophomore Sean McCulloch stares sternly. Sean has learned everything he knows from his father. “He just always inspires me to do my best,” Sean said. “He pushes me to do that.” PHOTO BY Abbey Repka

8 SPORTS

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2019

SAM SAYS NBA player Kyrie Irving facing unfair criticism this season Sam Blas Senior Sports Editor

The NBA Playoffs are now in full swing. We have seen dominant play from Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Kevin Durant. But, I would like to focus on Boston Celtics point guard, Kyrie Irving, who I believe is facing unfair criticism throughout the current series between the Celtics and the Bucks.

The main source of criticism seems to be stemming from his inefficient shooting during games two - four, where he went 4-18, 8-22 and 7-22 respectively.

To be fair, this is a very low percentage in comparison to what Irving has usually shoots, which through the regular season, he held a very impressive percentage of 48.7%.

There is no excuse for his very poor performance in game two. But, to only focus solely on his shooting performance during game three and four for criticism is just flat out ignorant.

In game three, Irving was still able to score twenty-nine points, six assists, and three steals. Which, disregarding his efficiency, would be considered a very strong showing. The same could be said about game four, where he had scored twenty-three points, ten assists, and two steals. Another strong showing, when disregarding his efficiency.

Russell Westbrook, who is hailed as one of the best point guards of the decade, consistently shoots like this on a nightly basis, yet he is still respected and presented as a top five point guard in the NBA today.

And people seem to forget how well he did in the series against the Pacers, where Irving lead the Celtics to 4-0 series victory over their opponents. He averaged 22.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 7.75 assists. Irving’s critics seem to ignore how well he did in the first round, which is very extremely unfair to him.

Not to mention how well he performed in the playoffs before. People seem to forget how he hit one of the most impressive shots in NBA history which secured him a Finals win. Or how he scored forty-one points in that same series. Or how he averaged twenty-five points in both the 2016 and 2017 playoffs.

Irving is easily one of the best playoff performers in the NBA and to disregard that fact due to three “bad” games isn’t the brightest of ideas.

Lastly, are we going to ignore the fact that the Celtics bench scored a whopping seven points in game four and seventeen points in game three? Irving should be last person being held accountable for the Celtics’ shortcomings, as he has been leading the team in scoring and assists.

Simply put, Irving deserves more respect in the NBA. He is one of the best playoff performers of our generation, and to base your judgment of his ability off of three games is just flat out ignorant. Two of the games which have been so heavily criticized weren’t even bad performances on his part.

So, I ask you, please withhold judgment until the end of the series.

All-American takes on national tournament Caitlin Worthington Staff Reporter

The whistle blows, the ball is up, and a herd of players run towards midfield. The ball flings across the field and before anyone can blink it swishes into the net. The crowd cheers and the bleachers begin to shake. Another goal for Heim.

Junior Sydney Heim, the All-State and All-American Bowie lacrosse player was recently named as one of the team members for Team Texas, a competitive youth club team based out of Austin.

“I decided to try out because I made the team freshman year and it was a really good experience,” Heim said. “I had a lot of fun and it was great to play against better competition.”

The competition is high and only a few student athletes are selected to play on the team each year.

“There were a couple of other Bowie players that tried out, but it was a lot of players from other schools like Cedar Park, St. Michaels, Westlake, Westwood, and Austin High,” Heim said.

ON THE MOVE: Junior Sydney Heim sprints down midfield towards the goal. Heim was awarded with The differences between playing All-American and All-State honors this season. PHOTO COURTESY OF Matthew Markert for Bowie and Team Texas will be a challenge for Heim. across the country. sport of lacrosse.

“Team Texas differs from Bowie “I am looking forward to compet“Sydney is such an awesome playa lot in the atmosphere because you ing against high level teams because er and teammate, not only does she are playing with people you don’t every state is going to be represented have great skills, but she’s super fun really know,” Heim said. “Team at the tournament,” Heim said “The to be around,” Folliard said. chemistry is a lot different because team is competitive and is filled with Head Bowie lacrosse coach Bill you only have players who Euler is another one of Heim’s many a few complex really want to supporters. practices toSydney and leads by example with play hard.”

“Sydney leads by example with gether and are A switch exceptional individual skills, she exceptional individual skills, takes expected to of pace is im- takes advice from coaches and implay togeth- advice from coaches and implements portant for plements quickly to enhance her perer for a high quickly to enhance her performance. Heim if she is formance,” Euler said. “Sydney plays stakes tournagoing to grow midfield and possesses a combinament.” her skills and tion of a great work ethic, toughness, Bill Euler Not only become a bet- speed, strength, hustle and determiwill she have ter player. nation.”

Head Lacrosse Coach to adjust to “This seaHeim hopes to finish her high REACHING FOR THE TOP: a change in team dynamics but a son Bowie did okay,” Heim said. school lacrosse career with a great Heim fights for control of the ball during the draw at the final change in position.

“We won all of the games we played season with her team and coaches.

“I play midfield for Bowie, but I against division two teams, but we “The head lacrosse coach at Bow- game of season against Cedar will be playing defense on the central only won one division game.” ie, Bill Euler, has done amazing Park. Heim scored four out of Texas team,” Heim said.

Heim is a vital player for both things for our team this past year,” the six shots made by the Lady The team will travel to the east Bowie and Team Texas. Her team- Heim said. “As far as lacrosse goes, I Dawgs during the game. PHOTO coast this summer to play against mate senior Brooke Folliard recog- would like to see our team make it to COURTESY OF Matthew Markert the highest level competition from nizes her skill and dedication to the the playoffs next year.”

”

‘Dawgs raise the bar to reach the top ranks

Weight room leaderboard propels fierce competition between athletes Peter Dang Editor-In-Chief

The lifter takes a deep breath in, un-racking the bar, the bar descends, then ascends, the lifter lets a breath out and takes another one in, repeating for a specific amount of repetitions. The bar goes up for the last time and is put back on the rack.

The loud metallic clunk of the bar being re-racked resonates through the weight room.

Across the weight room is a board divided in four, each

column containing names of the lifters who have lifted the most in each of the four lifts: power clean, squat, bench press and dead lift.

The weight room is place that gives athletes the opportunity and potential to make them more athletic. It requires a specific attitude and mindset from lifters to ensure that the desired results are attained and goals are achieved.

“We’ve got to have a sense of urgency and a sense of purpose to get the job done,” weightlifting coach Lee Hipp

said. “The most important thing required from the lifters are that they are paying attention, listening, having a good attitude and doing the best they can.”

In the weight room players get stronger, which can help them improve their athletic abilities and play their sports at a higher level. Increased strength can help players hit harder and run faster. Senior Matthew Martinez, currently ranked top in dead lift, uses the weight room to improve his performance on the field.

“Anything you do in the

POWER AND DETERMINATION: Junior power-lifter Evan Janacek performs lat pull-downs. Janacek is currently ranked as one of the top lifters at Bowie. PHOTO BY Marisa Salazar

weight room contributes to what you do on the field,” Martinez said. “The stronger you get in the weight room the better you are on the field.”

During weightlifting sessions, music is playing and lifters are focused and encouraging each other to put in all of their effort. Senior Cooper Laake uses the environment around him to help him get in the right mindset before lifting.

“When it is time to get serious and lift, you drown out everything and listen to the noise of the weight room and get lost in it,” Laake said.

“When it’s time to work, it’s time to work.”

The lifters on the leader board are mostly football players who spend more time in the weight room to increase their strength and reach new personal records during the spring offseason.

When lifters are trying to get a new personal record, the atmosphere of the whole weight room becomes more intense and competitive.

“Everyone was watching, I wanted to be the largest and I wanted to be the strongest, everyone was around me, everyone was yelling,” Martinez said. “Finally when I got the bar up everyone went crazy, the whole place erupted.”

Many athletes strive to have their name on the leader board. Senior Seth Ewing has managed to get his name

up there and uses that recognition to increase further his motivations and set new personal goals.

“It was really motivating to see my name on the leader board because I look at the past players and see how much they got, how much they lifted and I’m up there with them,” Ewing said.

“And I realized dang, I did it.”

The leader board has a presence in the weight room that makes itself known to those working out. It serves as a motivator, encouraging lifters to prove how strong they are in order to get on the leader board for others to see.

“When we are in the weight room, every time we go to leg press it is right by the leader board,” Ewing said. “You look up there and you see past players and you think I want to up be there for the future generations to come and see my name on the leader board.”

Getting your name on the leader board is not impossible, but it is not easy.

Those who have the skills and strength required to lift the heavy weights necessary to be on the leader board worked hard for their spot on the wall.

“Anyone can get on that board if they really want to,” Laake said. They just have to spend the countless hours in the weight room like I did.”

coming UP in SPORTS M a y 1 8 Te n n i s Te a m Tr y o u t s @ B o w i e H i g h S c h o o l

June 3-6 Summer Softball Clinic @ Austin High School

June 3-August 1 Weight & Conditioning Camp @Burger Stadium

July 22-25 Cheer Camp @ Gorzykci Middle School

A u g u s t 1 3 - 1 4 S w i m a n d D i v e Tr y o u t s @ C i r c l e C A q u a t i c s F a c i l i t y

June 10-13 Girls Lacrosse Summer Camp @ Bailey Middle School

REVIEWS 9

FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2019 THE DISPATCH

Lil’ Doddy; burgers, bar and a burglar Gracie Angeli Reviews Editor

I love food, a lot. I also like to try new things, and see the cool restaurants and activities our city has to offer.

All of this in mind, I was very excited to try Lil’ Doddy, the new restaurant that opened April 15, on William Cannon.

Hopdoddy Burger Bar’s reach is expanding, and has opened up a new location under the name Lil’ Doddy.

Lil’ Doddy is located at 4625 W William Cannon Dr #3, Austin, TX 78749, and is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. everyday.

The new Hopdoddy’s location is meant to be more casual and faster-paced, with a new take on the beloved name.

They serve burgers, fries, salads, and a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

I went around lunch time on a Wednesday, so it was about the busiest that they get on a weekday.

Parking was difficult to find, and the line to take orders almost went to the door.

I also noticed that in the outdoor sitting area, there was an area set for a line outside, which showed that a line going all the way out to the parking lot can be expected.

It was already so busy and uncomfortable that I can’t imagine going on a weekend night when everyone is looking to eat.

Walking in, it was incredibly busy and loud, and there were people everywhere. I was immediately surprised by the crowd on a Wednesday afternoon, but felt that it was a good indication of the reputation of their food. I have heard a lot of people talking about their new opening, and that they were excited to go.

A worker near the front takes your order as a group on a tablet, and then another worker separates them at the register, if you want to pay for your individual orders sep-

arately.

It was so loud in there that the employees had a hard time hearing our orders, which resulted in some mix-ups, but eventually we got it figured out.

It took a lot longer than intended, but they opened just a few weeks ago, so it is understandable that they are still working their system out.

They then gave us a table number, and we had to go and find our table.

All the tables inside were full so we had to eat outside, which was not bad other than it being hot and humid. While they can’t control the weather, a few ceiling fans in the sitting area would have been nice.

The setup outside did feel kind of odd. All of the tables were very close together, staggered at weird angles. I felt uncomfortably close to our neighbors the whole time.

The actual food was pretty good.

I got the classic cheeseburger, which is exactly like it sounds, and I enjoyed it.

I like any kind of French fries, so I was happy with those. They serve kennebec fries, and kennebec potatoes are just a type white potato. I didn’t know that so while waiting in line I looked it up on my phone. I didn’t realize there are so many different kinds of potatoes, so that’s cool.

The beef was a little bland, and since I only got cheese, lettuce and tomato, there was not a whole lot of other flavor. It was a good burger, but it didn’t taste particularly special or worth the extra money.

I definitely don’t think I would pay $6.75 for that burger often.

I personally think that it is overpriced, but that is to be expected, since it is a branch off of Hopdoddy, and that is a popular and trendy restaurant.

I think that the prices should be reduced at least a little from Hopdoddy, since Hopdoddy is downtown and in a wealthy, touristy

GETTIN’ THE GRUB: Lil’ Doddy’s Classic Cheeseburgers and truffle fries are ready to be served up.

The classic cheeseburger comes with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and an option of one or two patties, all at the price of around $7, with no add-ons. PHOTO BY Rey Gray

area.

It is nice to have a cool restaurant more local to Bowie, only a few minutes away. It feels like a downtown and trendy place, only in a random parking lot.

I went with two of my friends, and they both said that the food made them feel sick afterwards, and they regretted getting their burgers.

I felt fine after going, and was confident in my food decisions, but it is a little alarming that they both felt sick from the food. Then again, it is fast food, and that can make your stomach feel weird, so maybe it just comes with the territory.

The whole time I felt a little overwhelmed because of all of the people and noise, and also with having to spend $7 on a simple

cheeseburger.

For me, this is one of those things where once you go, you are satisfied and feel like you have seen enough. It was a cool experience and I am glad I got to go, but I doubt I will go again soon.

I have not been to Hopdoddy in years though, so it would be cool to go now so I compare the two restaurants.

There’s 87 days in summer vacation, so make it worth it Avery Shelton Dispatch reporter

As much as everyone is looking forward to summertime, with the end of the school year, and all the fun things they have planned, running out of things to do in the middle of the break is inevitable.

Luckily, there are plenty of new and exciting places and events to try out this year to make the most out of your summer break.

One good way to have loads of fun and new experiences this summer is by trying something you’ve done before, but in a new and different way.

For example, if you’ve already gone paddle boarding and aren’t interested in doing the same exact thing again, I recommend switching it up a bit, and doing at night with Glow Paddle Austin. This looks like such a fun way to spend the night with a group of friends, which costs about $36 per person, with a guide included in the price.

They operate on the weekends, but make sure to book your night in advance.

Also, instead of just going to a regular movie theater to watch one of the many movies that come out over the summer, go to Stars & Stripes Drive-in Theatre for a different experience and an even big-

Paddle Boarding

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ger screen.

If you’re looking for more of an indoor activity, getting together a big group of friends and trying out one of Austin’s many escape room facilities is a great way to spend an afternoon.

www.thundercloud.com Proud to support Bowie Bulldogs

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ART BY Joe Morales

My favorite one I’ve been to is The Escape Game, located at 05 Red River St, Austin, TX 78701.

The goal of these rooms are to escape the locked, themed room of your choice within an hour by solving puzzles, riddles, and working

ORDER FROM YOUR PHONE.

BHS NEWS

pe Esca Room

with your friends. I have had so much fun every time I’ve gone, but still have yet to make it out of one on time.

Other than Barton Springs, there are tons of places to spend a day soaking in the sun and swim-

ming around.

Some other new places to try out if you haven’t heard of them before are Deep Eddy, McKinney Falls State Park, Krause Springs, Jacob’s Well, and many more.

Each of these locations cost less than $10 and are a perfect place to spend a nice day outdoors while possibly trying out something unique.

They’re all close enough to make a fun day trip out of it and are perfect for families, a large group of friend, or just a couple people.

If you’re still looking for a fun outdoor experience, but have already gone to each of Austin’s springs and swimming holes, you don’t have to travel far this summer to reach this exciting zip-line adventure.

Located in Volente, which is about 40 minutes away from Bowie, Lake Travis Zip-line Adventures offers a great experience. While this activity is more pricey at around $125, it includes a full day of zipline courses with a private beach to spend the rest of your time relaxing and even having a picnic.

The next three months of summer break will be gone before you know it. There are definitely plenty of other things to do, but make the most out of your break by trying these fun ideas.

You make the memories.

We make them last.

Yours forever, Bowie Yearbook Order today at BowieYB.com

10 COMMENTARY THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2019

New voices sparks a free speech revolution EDITORIAL

New voices is a movement that intends to liberate student journalists from the ruling of the supreme court case, Hazelwood v.

Kuhlmeier, and restore the original ruling of Tinker vs. Des Moines.

Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier is a harsh ruling that was instituted in every state that allows administration to censor school-sponsored publications if they have legitimate concerns.

This discriminatory reality that was ruled in this case repealed the priors of the Tinker vs. Des Moines ruling that stated “teachers nor students shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate.” Due to the Hazelwood case, there have been many occasions in which the hardworking students of their proud publications have been censored in heinous ways, that are out of line of the administration, and did not pose any harm to their educational institutions.

Since then, many students and their advisors have sparked a revolution to defend their individual rights legally in court, as well as appealing to legislative committees and recently the state senate.

The Dispatch staff as well as the face of the notable movement, Prosper High School EiC Neha Madhira, have participated in hearings and the spread of awareness in order to create justice. Madhira and her staff decided to get involved in New Voices legislation after their publication was unfairly censored by their school’s administration. There is absolutely no doubt of these students passion for journalism as well as individual liberties. New Voices legislation has passed in 14 states and is pending in another half dozen.

We encourage Texas to join them soon.

Constitutional rights are essential when questioning the ruling of these cases, as well as future ones. The first amendment of the U.S. constitution states that congress shall create no laws to limit the freedom of

speech, religion, or press which one would possess as a citizen of the United States.

Because these cases can get confusing, and the polarization of politics that factor these decisions, it is essential to take a step back, and remind oneself of the fundamentals of freedoms. Censorship under educational institutions oppresses the future of our country, causing resentment towards those who keep students silent. Censorship should be seen as an injustice to what our founding fathers stood for, no matter the status of their involvement in the country.

Allowing students to publish with no fear of punishment towards their creations, allows them to set boundaries, and learn how to uphold a professional publication themselves. The majority of publications find pride in the painstaking hours of work it takes to create an amazing and informative product.

With the pride that radiates from students hard work on journalistic product does not create a breeding ground for dangers that may upset the school, but one that informs the student body in order to create awareness of the community they belong to. By having truth, there is transparency and awareness, something that is vital to a community as well as a school.

Many argue that because of these forms of media are funded by the public's tax dollars, that there should be limitations set in place in order to keep these publications from getting ‘out of line’.

Yes, technically these are school-based publications, but because many are not funded directly by a school district, they all should be free from censorship.

Under any law, federal or state, all citizens of the US have the right to free speech and press. No matter the money one would spend in funding a school through tax dollars, it is still up to the publication to respect the rules regarding libel and slander.

ART BY Dalton Spruce

Student journalist unite to fight for school newspapers who experience unfair censorship

Yet, many student stories tend to pertain to the student body and what is current and important to them. Therefore, informing them to further educate the student body, as well as the community with student insights such as commentary pages and trend stories.

By educating the community, students create their own opinions, and decisions, one that a story one would read in the newspaper cannot be directly responsible for.

Information is essential to education, as

well as creating awareness to hopefully create change, get involved, and in a negative situation, take charge. Nourish the future and give them these rights in order for them to uphold the importance and establishment of our constitution.

It is essential to uphold individual, and equal rights, no matter the publication, institution, or the age of the creators. The future of journalism remains in students hands, the protection of the future is vital.

The best ways to conquer finals while avoiding stress Amelie Hayne Staff Reporter

As the school year is coming to an end, finals and AP exams are approaching.

Time to start cramming and stressing, as many students find that upcoming tests lead to a lot of added stress. Students all have their own way to relieve stress, some stress eat, slap on a face mask, study like crazy, or even just

ignore it and decide to wing it.

Being prepared to take a test is a lot of hard work, and can lead to a lot of pressure being put on a high schooler.

Studying and mentally preparing for an upcoming exam can be stressful for many.

With finals approaching getting stressed out is easy.

Finals count as a whole six weeks grading period, that one exam can have a big role in your final grade in that

course.

Even though, incentives provide a safety net for students stressing about taking finals, many students only get one or two and some students don’t get any incentives at all and are stuck cramming for their finals.

Incentives are based off of attendance and students who have excessive unexcused absences, won’t get the chance to get one. Incentives serve as reassurance

ART BY Sumin Kim

EDITORIAL POLICY • The Dispatch is the official student newspaper of James Bowie High School. 3500 copies are published and distributed for free six times a year, generally once per six weeks for the school’s students, staff and community.

• The Dispatch is an open forum for student expression. The Dispatch is not reviewed by school administration prior to distribution, and the advisor will not act as a censor.

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

• The Dispatch works to avoid bias and/or favoritism. We strive to make our coverage and content meaningful, timely, and interesting to our readers. Our articles reflect our genuine objective of reporting news and will be held to a high standard of quality.

• We make every effort to avoid printing libel, obscenities, innuendo and material that threatens to disrupt the learning process or is an invasion of privacy. We avoid electronic manipulation that alters the truth of a photograph without indicating that the photograph is an illustration.

• Staff editorials represent the opinion of the editorial board arrived at by discussion and will not be bylined. Bylined articles are the opinion of the individual writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Dispatch staff or administration as a whole.

• The Dispatch welcomes reader input. Please send any letters, articles, comments or corrections to bowie.journalism@gmail.com, call (512) 841-7825, mail them to 4103 W. Slaughter Lane, Austin, TX 78749 or drop them off in room F-203 with adviser Michael Reeves or any editor. Letters must be signed, and emailed letters will require verification before publication. We will not necessarily publish all letters received and reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.

CURRENT STAFF AWARDS • NSPA Pacemaker winner, 2018-19 • NSPA First Class, 4/4 Marks, 2018-19 • CSPA Gold Medal, 3/3 All-Columbian, 2018-19 • JEA 2nd Place Best in Show, Chicago Fall Convention, 2018-19 Issue #2

• SIPA All-Southern, 2018-19 • UIL/ILPC Bronze Star, 2018-19 • TAJE HM Best in Show, 2018-19 • ASPA 1st Place Senior HS, 2018-19 • NSPA Online Pacemaker Finalist, 20182019

for students worried about finals, if your final grade is lower than your semester average, then the grade of your semester average will go in as your final grade instead of having a bad grade for your final.

It’s important to prioritize what you need to study based on what you need the most help with. Making sure that you have the time and resources to be able to study successfully is crucial. Using Quizlet is something I have found to be very helpful when trying to memorize things for upcoming tests.

Quizlet is free and many teachers use it to help students prepare for tests, with millions of users it’s easy to find pre-existing quizlets about the topic you need help on to study.

Making sure to communicate with your teacher about things you don’t understand and attending tutoring sessions if you need extra help, is a major key to being successful on tests. Also reviewing old homeworks and quizzes and reviewing the problems that you got wrong, can be very helpful as

PRIDE IN PUBLISHING Friday, May 17, 2019 Vol. 30, Issue 6 www.thedispatchonline.net James Bowie High School 4103 W. Slaughter Lane Austin TX, 78749

well.

Procrastination often gets in the way of studying, but something I have found useful is to remove all distractions while working.

Turn of your phone, choose a comfortable and quiet place to work and make sure you’re focused. Even then sometimes I just don’t want to study and would rather watch some Netflix, but you have to find something to motivate you. Your motivation can be watching some Netflix after you finish, rewarding yourself with a shopping spree or even motivating yourself with snacks can be effective.

Not only is it important to make sure that you review and study prior to a test, it’s important to take a break and relax. It’s easy to get caught up in cramming for a test, but we have to remember to take a second for ourselves to minimize stress.

There are many ways to relax in between or while you are studying, making sure your in a comfortable place, having snacks ready and having peaceful music playing, can be very calming. I would

recommend listening to Lofi Beats it’s not distracting and is soothing, and you can find a variety of this genre on youtube or any music streaming platform.

I find that making sure you practice self-care habits regularly helps with avoiding stress. Taking a nice hot shower or bath, putting on a face mask, listening to your favorite music and having a good night's sleep can be very refreshing after a long day.

We can all agree that tests can become stressful and demanding, however it’s a part of high school and if you are able to find what works for you in regard to preparation, testing can become a breeze.

I would encourage you to test out new methods and ways to study and de-stress to feel ready and comfortable to take a test.

Questions?

Concerns? Want to share your opinion? Contact: Email: ameliehayne@ dipatchonline.net Room: 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 SENIOR STAFF Natalie Aman Emily Breach Gigi Francis Madisen Johnson Austyn Keelty Dalton Spruce Caitlin Worthington

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 REVIEW EDITOR Gracie Angeli

PHOTO ESSAY EDITORS Rey Gray ADVISER: Michael Reeves Abbey Repka

COMMENTARY EDITORS Maya Amador Carter Scruggs ARTS/GRAPHICS EDITOR Sumin Kim REPORTERS/STAFF William Grossenbacher Amelie Hayne Avery Shelton Elizabeth Shymkiw THE DISPATCH ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mo Orr MANAGING EDITORS Kaitlyn Zellner STAFF Austin Civatte Ellie Coulston Shruti Patel Shikha Patel Amara Robertson Amanda Zinni

COMMENTARY 11 FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2019 THE DISPATCH

Following the failures of fast fashion Maya Amador Commentary Editor

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Low prices, floral patterns, teenagers, and Instagram are the things that come to mind when stepping to a clothing store at the mall.

Now, the mall does have a few other options to pass time such as, going to see a movie, grab a bite to eat, but most people's favorite thing to do at the mall is go shopping.

Business insider found that in 2016 teens top three favorite clothing stores were Forever 21, H&M, and Zara. These stores are also notoriously known as fast fashion retailers.

Buying clothes every weekend might seem like a harmless activity, but the effects can be bigger than you might realize. Fast fashion is when a fashion trend is rapidly produced for mass retailers and then sold for a low price.

Fast fashion has been coming more and more into the light as a result of many people taking initiative to protect the environment. Colorful commercials and tempting sales cause many people to end up with more clothes than they really don’t need; causing piles of thrown away clothes to collect at the end of year.

According to the Council for Textile Recycling (CTR), 25 billion pounds of textiles are produced each year in the U.S. alone.

Unfortunately, not a lot of these clothes get donated and 85 percent of textiles produced are thrown into U.S. landfills. At first, this number is shocking but when you stop and think about all the times you went shopping simply because you had nothing else to do it starts to make sense. We all are victims of this and it’s a hard habit to stop but mindless shopping is something that we will all see the effects of when it hurts our bank accounts and our planet.

These clothing piles can be just as harmful to the environment as plastics. Fabric for these fast fashion companies is often dyed using carcinogenic chemicals. The dye is often dumped into a nearby river making it toxic and harming the people that live close by.

According to The World Bank, roughly 17 to 20% of industrial water pollution is owed to fabric dyes and treatments. This polluted water eventually flows into our oceans, harm

ART BY Joe Morales

ing the wildlife that inhabits the water.

The process to make these clothes isn’t any better. Fast fashion companies often try to hide the fact that most of them use slave labor to make their clothes. Yep, that's right, adults and children work up 14 hours a day, six days a week, in unsafe conditions, to make that cute crop top you wore that one time. These workers aren’t getting paid well either most make less than we do in one day.

Most of these buildings are extremely unsafe with workers being exposed to harmful chemicals and safety regulations not being kept up to code.

Some may remember the Bangladesh Factory fire in 2012 that killed 112 garment workers. The fire was theorized to be caused by a short circuit on the ground level. Workers became trapped due to blocked fire escapes. You would think this situation would

be looked at right away and become an opportunity to learn from mistakes, but only five months later another factory in Bangladesh collapsed. Just the day before, the building was evacuated because of cracks that began appearing in the walls of the building. The workers were told to return shortly after the evacuation. The next morning the building collapsed, killing 1,021 workers.

When you look at all these horrific effects you need to ask yourself if all these clothes are really worth it. Whenever I buy from fast fashion stores, most things end up with holes after one wash. It will benefit you in the long run to buy something of higher quality. Thrifting is also great way to not only save money, but save the environment.

If you are someone who is more artsy, up-cycling might be great option for cutting down on fast fashion. Up-cycling is taking old, un-

wanted items and making them into a completely new item.

I’m not suggesting you completely stop shopping at fast fashion retailers, but that you take the time to educate yourself before shopping at these stores. Our environment is in deep trouble if we don’t take every possible action we can to save it. I highly encourage you to make better choices on your next trip to the mall.

Questions? Concerns?

Want to share your opinion?

Contact: Email: mayaamador@ thedispatchobline.net Room Number : F203

The smoke and mirrors of raising the tobacco age limit Carter Scruggs Commentary Editor

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Recently Senate Bill 21 in the Texas Senate was passed, and is set to raise the age of tobacco products from 18 to 21, but there is an exception for active military personnel. The bill was passed in a 20-11 Senate vote and was part of the campaign by Texas 21, a bunch of organizations that want to raise the age of tobacco products 21. A dozen states have already raised the minimum age to 21 already along with a bunch of other major cities like New York City, Chicago and Boston.

However, this almost seems pointless in a way. This wouldn't do anything significant to stop the current onslaught of contraband found in youth. While raising the age of tobacco products may be good in spirit, realistically, this law does nothing.

This goes for pretty much everything that is illegal, just because you raise the age to purchase something doesn't mean that the people under the age will follow it, as long as they have someone that is of age and can buy it for them they really have no problem. Here in the high school setting the majority of people that are doing this stuff are already under the age limit so just increasing it to 21 doesn't really do anything.

Of course these tobacco products are bad, and no one even of age should be using them as they cause a number of negative health effects on consumers such as cancer, numerous life threatening diseases, weakening immune systems, and an addiction that is very hard to overcome.

There is an argument to be made that people have a right to purchase what they want. At 18 people should be able to

exist. If an exorbitant amount of teens seemingly have access to a bunch of tobacco products obviously there is something wrong with how the current laws are being enforced.

There have also been some concern behind this “tobacco 21” movement, and that it may actually help the tobacco companies, acting as somewhat of a Trojan horse, with some of the tobacco companies are positioning this as the only thing that needs to be done, with them pretty much saying that enough has already been done.

In the twelve states that have already raised the limit to 21, some of them have just been ignoring other anti-tobacco measures. For example there is a bill currently in Arkansas that could prevent cities, and counties from enacting some stricter regulations, and preventing stricter enforcement. In Virginia, another state with the tobacco age at 21, legislation is going to be set in effect soon. However, it lacks sufficient funding for law enforcement to penalize youth for buying tobacco.

So maybe this movement to raise the tobacco age to 21 isn't all it's cracked up to be, while good in substance it seems to be lacking in actual effect, as well as it might actually be helping the big tobacco companies and the industry.

have more control of many of the aspects in their life, and that may include to choose what they consume, though it may not be the best for them, and I highly disagree with anyone wanting to do it, they have been on the earth for 18 years they should arguably be able to make more decisions on their own.

While sure it might do something, there are other, better ways of doing things. Maybe instead of passing legislation to raise the age, they could actually enforce the laws that already

Questions? Concerns? Want to share your opinion? Contact: Email: carterscruggs@ thedispatchonline.net Room Number : F203

BULLDAWG SPEAK OUT

What do you think about the upgrades coming to Bowie in the future?

9th

10th

11th

12th

TEACHER

Alyssa Wright

Bennett Nienmeyer

Elizabeth Dimitt

Brandon Garcia

Vicki Herbert

"They're good ideas but I think more consideration needs to be taken to show how effective they are."

"It better be worth it, because we didn't get it, I just hope it helps out the other people."

"I think that having a parking garage lowers my property value. It is a nightmare waiting to happen."

"I guess it'll be a cool change, and it'll be fun to not have so much traffic."

"I don't personally see a problem but I trust the people working on this, I see this as a solution."

PHOTOS AND INTERVIEWS BY Carter Scruggs

12 SENIOR SIGN-OFFS THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2019

SENIOR

Art Editor, 1 year Emerson College, Design Technology The more successful I become, the more I need a man.

—Beyoncé

PRESTON ROLLS

RACHEL BASCHNAGEL Copy Editor, 1 year Colorado State, Journalism and Communications I'm smart... You wouldn't know it, but I know a lot of big words!!

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Photo Editor, 2 years St. Edwards University, Photography and Digital Media Design Sorry I can't hang out, I'm taking someone's senior pics that day.

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Writer, 1 year UT Austin, Neuroscience If I keep my body moving and my mind occupied at all times, I will avoid falling into a bottomless pit of despair.

—Parks and Recreation

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MADISEN JOHNSON

Writer, 3 years Texas Tech, Sociology I am 100% certain that I'm 0% sure of what I'm going to do.

—Parks and Recreation

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SAM BLAS

Sports Editor, 2 years Austin Community College, Journalism Wanna see a picture of me at the Capitol?

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JOE MORALES

EMILY BREACH

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we did without the support of our community. Thank you to the administration and the teachers— for putting up with our pestering questions and encouraging us to pursue topics of relevance. To our wonderful janitors— for putting up with our late hours and scary piles of food. To our family, our staff— we couldn’t have asked for a stranger group of weirdos to share this year with, and we wouldn’t have had it any other way. To Reeves— for your constant support of us and our vision, for knowing when to guide us but also for trusting us to make it our own.

And to queso.

MADDY RICE

Managing Editor, 2 years University of Colorado at Boulder, Neuroscience Do you follow my dog on Instagram? @blue.not.green hit him up.

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GIGI FRANCIS

Writer, 3 years Austin College, Communications I don't wanna watch the sunset! I want to catch more Pokémon.

—Pokémon

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MIKAYLA ZELLNER

Entertainment Editor, 3 years University of Arkansas, Human Resources Never regret anything that made you smile.

—Mark Twain

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SHELBY PAPST

News Editor, 3 years Texas State, Communications Life's pretty easy when your only known goal is to get rich and own like five Pomeranians.

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DALTON SPRUCE

Graphic Artist, 3 years Welding Trade School School is like riding a bike, but the bike is on fire and everything is on fire, because you're in Hell.

CIANNA CHAIREZ

Editor-in-Chief, 3 years Cornell University, Psychology The economy stinks, bees are dying, and movies are pretty much all sequels now. ­—New Girl­

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Commentary Editor, 3 years Texas A&M, Political Science We are all republicans, we are all federalists.

—Thomas Jefferson

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IAN MILLER

Commentary Editor, 3 years UT Dallas, Electrical Engineering Leaving expired milk under your bed for two weeks does not make cheese.

—Dylan Luce

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MO ORR

Online Editor-in-Chief, 3 years Texas State, Psychology I was afraid that the Best Buy guy was going to be mad at me. ­­—John Mulaney

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NATALIE AMAN

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Columnist, 2 years UT Austin, Psychology Mmmmmm.... Chicken!

—Vine

JAKE BRIEN

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JADON ALVAREZ

News Editor, 3 years Texas State, Psychology and Pre-Med Thanks sister.

Writer, 3 years Austin Community College, Nursing You are what you believe yourself to be.

—Paulo Coelho

ABBY ONG

Editor-in-Chief, 3 years UT Austin, Public Health You have the moral backbone of a chocolate éclair. ­­—John Mulaney

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CAITLIN WORTHINGTON

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” AUSTYN KEELTY

Photo Editor, 3 years University of Tampa, Communications and Women's Studies minor Close enough.

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with 175 individual awards from all of their years on staff, the most any class has won in Bowie’s history.

Although the four of us are incredibly proud of all that our staff has accomplished, we know that as we go our separate ways in life, the things we will look back on are the experiences we’ve had. Evacuating from the San Francisco convention hotel at 3 a.m., going through every single font in InDesign, Saturdays spent at Bowie to crank out the paper, and discovering the perfect grilled cheese recipe (hint: shredded cheese and mayo).

We wouldn’t have made the memories and skills that

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JOCELYN BROOKS

Managing Editor, 2 years Trinity University, Communications and Psychology You could pour soup in my lap and I'll probably apologize to you.

—John Mulaney

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We started this year with an open letter to our Bowie community: a promise to do our best in proper coverage, correct any mistakes that occurred, and do justice to our role as student journalists. Through maintaining that promise, we learned about the continued importance of factual reporting, the effects of infographics, and that we really need to remember to brighten photos.

Even through our senioritis, we stayed after school going insane, editing stories, and pushing our staff. This year, our dedication has paid off through 135 individual awards and 10 staff awards. The graduating seniors leave

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” SCAN HERE

read our

SENIOR LETTERS

by scanning the QR code above or by visiting thedispatchonline.com