The Dispatch, Vol. 31, Issue #1, 09.28.18

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SHOCKING SURPRISES PALs finally reveal themselves to teachers after three weeks of secret letters

CHEMISTRY ON THE FIELD Freshman football team connected since elementary through Pop Warner league

FOOD TRUCK MANIA Junior Julia Krebs' design, Food 4 Thought, chosen for new AISD food truck

Pride in Publishing

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, SEPT. 28, 2018

Accountability ratings in Texas Education Agency releases grades by campus Cianna Chairez Editor-in-Chief

Oct. 5 & 8 Student Holiday Oct. 10 PSAT Testing Oct. 20 Homecoming Dance Oct. 25 Late Start

pg.16

pg. 10

pg. 4

coming UP

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Vol. 31, Issue 1 www.thedispatchonline.net James Bowie High School 4103 W. Slaughter Lane Austin TX, 78749

What is

JOURNALISM find related content on pages:

6 8+ 9 14

OVERALL SCORE

Every year, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) evaluates different campuses and districts under what is called the Accountability Rating System. This year, Austin ISD had an overall score of 89 and Bowie got an overall score of 97.

Campuses are graded overall by the domains of Student Achievement, School Progress, and Closing the Gaps.

“I think Bowie got a great grade because it’s a great school,” principal Mark Robinson said. “And I think it’s a great school because we have conscientious students who have gifted teachers who set high expectations and who support students in reach of those high expectations.”

Within the overall domains, there are certain components. Under Student Achievement, there are three components: STAAR performance, College, Career and Military readiness, and Graduation rate.

“Bowie’s in pretty elite company in that not a lot of schools scored a 97,” Robinson said. “We have a core of really good teachers here, who put kids first, who understand that kids don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Under the domain of School Progress, the two components are Academic Growth and Relative Performance. Bowie met the standard of every component. To student council president Cade Blagdan, Bowie deserves the grade.

“Despite the overarching amount of problems within the materialistic part of Bowie, I believe the community of teachers and students well represents this grade,” Blagdan said. “There are so many amazing classes

BEHIND THE SCENES: A peak into the structure and work of the journalism department on campus.

STUDENT PRESS RIGHTS: An in-depth look into the role of a scholastic publication, censorship, and the First Amendment.

SELF-CENSORSHIP: The editorial board's view on self-censorship and how it affects the publication.

HANDS-ON DEMONSTRATION: Biology teacher Stacie Feen shows freshmen Sophia Moawad and Matthew Elam a demonstration of their lab. Feen teaches Pre-AP Biology. PHOTO BY Sophia Guzman

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS: Read about the reasons why the editors decided to focus on journalism this issue on page 14.

What are the

with amazing teachers that will be there for you in more ways than education.”

THE DISTINCTIONS

In addition to meeting every criteria, Bowie earned six out of seven distinctions.

“I think everybody realizes that there is potential opportunity here in not only giving students a positive experience in high school, but also building that academic resume that helps get them into that college that they want, the

scholarship that they want, the job that they want and the life that they want,” Robinson said. “I feel like all of that is what makes it work.”

To earn a distinction, a school must perform in the top 15% of the schools in their comparison group.

“So when you take the best schools and then you put us in there and then we score in the top quartile, then that says we’re really doing something right, because

we were able to earn six out of seven distinctions,” Robinson said.

The different distinction designations that were earned include Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Comparative Academic Growth, Postsecondary Readiness, and Comparative Closing the Gaps. The only one not achieved was English Language Arts/ Reading.

READ MORE “Accountability” pg. 3

DESCRIPTIONS on each page?

The descriptions located on the pages that follow are meant to inform readers of the different purposes of each page and clarify what type of content is appropriate.

find them on pages

3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

Painted parking spots stir up debate about criteria Katie Holme Reporter

The past few years, seniors with outstanding attendance have been able to submit an application for a painted, reserved parking spot to the administration for approval. This year several spots have sparked controversy because of their content.

The situation began when one student requested a bible verse, which was declined.

His family appealed the decision all the way to AISD superintendent Dr. Paul Cruz's office. Other spots, which had already been approved and painted, included the Yin and Yang symbol, and the Taj Mahal. These were used as examples of why the bible verse should have been allowed.

"I spoke to those students (whose spaces) were brought up so they explained they did not have religious significance and that they were cultural references that were secular," Robinson said. "Then I was able to advocate for those students so they did not have to change their spots."

In the end, the two secular spaces were allowed to stay, while the Bible verses was declined. The school later issued an

INDEX

News 1 , 2, 3 Reviews 13

announcement through the weekly Bowie representing her culture and not her Star Newsletter explaining the differences religion, Principal Robinson deemed her between the designs and their decisions spot acceptable and allowed it to stay. process.

“Instead of getting to the root of the problem “The difference between the religious and and talking to administration professionally, political policy is that a school cannot endorse many people jumped to conclusions and or advance a religious belief,” Robinson said. made uneducated assumptions. I understand Junior Simoon Saiyed the anger and was one of the students frustration that whose parking spot, a many people felt,” silhouette of the Taj Saiyed said. “My Whoever this person was Mahal, came into question is directed made me feel as though this anger with the administration. to whoever felt complaint was a personal “I was upset and the need to annoyed that whoever assume what my target against my beliefs, felt the need to report my spot represented. spot didn’t have an issue making me feel self-conscious. They should have with others spots that some shame and represented Christianity,” realize that he/she Simoon Saiyed Saiyed said. “Whoever brought forward Senior this person was, made a very ignorant me feel as though this complaint that complaint was a personal spiraled out of target against my beliefs, making me feel self control, causing many people to feel hurt and conscious.” targeted.”

Saiyed's spot also included a moon Another wrench in the process happened referencing the end of her first name. when word about the situation reached the After explaining her spot was specifically local media. KXAN, an Austin-based tele-

”

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

Photo Essay 7, 16 Sports 10, 11

Entertainment 12 Commentary 14, 15

vision station, aired a story about the controversy. In the piece that aired, the news reporter stated they were not allowed on campus to do their interviews. According to Robinson, no effort was made to contact him and the district has a policy in place which states that the local media cannot come on campus unless invited, which meant they had to do their story from across the street.

“I was surprised that they could use my name without speaking to me first and would have appreciated the opportunity to explain,” Robinson said. “I think that when it was all explained then and they were able to see that there was not discrimination, just confusion, and hopefully the changes we make for next year will clear up that confusion, it would have been done.”

As the administration was dealing with the original three spots, additional complaints were brought to light. One spot included a Bible reference that was not in the originally approved drawing, a design with a political reference was singled out, and another student said she had a cultural reference declined and wanted her space reevaluated.

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@jbhs_dispatch

READ MORE “Parking spots" pg. 3

2 NEWS

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, SEPT. 28, 2018

Crazy climate calls for air conditioning New A/C system installed to help students and staff dealing with the extreme temperatures Shruti Patel Online Reporter

Sweat dripped down the face of senior Viviane Harle as she left school after the first day, sitting in classes with no air conditioning.

As described by principal Mark Robinson the pipes that regulate the water used for heating and cooling were damaged, affecting the air forced into the classrooms which ultimately resulted in the school being renovated this summer.

“When the campus was originally constructed, all of the water ran through a single circuit,” Robinson said.

“Over time the pipes deteriorated so there [were] leaks that required us to take the system off-line to repair.”

As the school has gotten older, many of the appliances have worn out, resulting in the need for repairs to better improve the school environment.

“Over the summer the pipes were replaced as preventative maintenance, and isolation valves installed so repairs could be made when necessary without impacting the whole campus,” Robinson said.

The future of these renovations excited teachers and students who look forward to the regulated temperatures in the hallways.

One being Money Matters, Graphic Design, and Intro to Arts and A/V teacher Jeni Garcia.

“I look forward to not strolling through sweaty halls or the equivalent of a meat locker during times of extreme temperatures,” Garcia said.

However, due to the

unit being off-line over the summer there was conflict in some individual units around the campus when turned on.

“Unfortunately having the entire system down all summer meant that individual units did not run in June and July,” Robinson said.

“Therefore when we turned everything on in August, we learned that we had some that needed parts replaced before they would work.”

Students faced hot classrooms at the start of school and some problems have extended, leaving more than a few students unhappy.

“In my 8th period class it’s almost always boiling in there,” Harle said. “We all get sleepy in class and it’s just a moist, gross feeling.”

The classroom environment is a crucial learning component to a big portion of the student body and their ability to function.

“Everything from general mood to significant concerns like heat exhaustion are impacted,” Robinson said.

Sophomore Miranda Cardenas is one of the students who struggles with the inconsistency in the environment in her classes.

“In the hallways, it’s so humid, so stuffy," Cardenas said. "It becomes a constant struggle to adapt to each classroom all while attempting to perform well."

The first phase had been an impactful experience and has helped to determine the needed work remaining.

“We took the opportunity to begin the work this summer, knowing that there is more to be done,” Robinson said.

More repairs are being

ART BY Maddy Rice

undergone for everyone still being affected by the crazy temperatures in classes.

“When I was walking in class and it was not hotter in

the classroom than it was in the hallways, I knew the AC was most likely fixed,” Harle said.

The project started over

the summer and will continue throughout the next few school years until the temperatures can be tolerated.

“At the completion of this

three phase project, we are in hopes that HVAC issues will be minimal on a day to day basis,” Robinson said.

New school counselors come to lend helping hands Rachel Baschnagel Copy Editor

They change schedules. They offer emotional support. They are the counselors.

After applications and interviews this summer, Bowie hired all five of its top picks for new counselors, according to returning counselor Laura Loza. Now she and fellow returning counselors Nona May and Carli Valverde welcome Kim Gilbert, Kim Libby, Clare Smith, Heather Gallier, and lead counselor Nicole Hepburn.

“It was a big change having five new counselors; the majority of the department being new,” Loza said.

“But everyone's really awesome- we were able to hire all of the candidates that we chose and everybody that we wanted ended up coming here. So they are all really, really great.”

While there has been mass speculation about what caused so many of the previous counselors to leave, Robinson wants to assure faculty and students that the counselors who left all had personal, non-negative reasons to do so.

“We had quite a bit of turnover in the counseling department, which was obviously observed, and it wasn’t for any particular reason,” Robinson said. “People kind of re-

”

JUMPING ON THE JOB: Heather Gallier works in her office on student documents as a new counselor. Gallier was hired this year for 10th - 12th grade. PHOTO BY Chase Westfall

flect on their place in the organization when new leadership comes in. Everybody made individual decisions that were good for them.”

Each counselor on the new team brings their own unique strengths to the table, regardless of if they are fresh from graduate school or have been counseling for many years.

“I was very interested, as the principal, to make sure that we were getting positive people who were kid-centered and willing to commit to support Bowie,” Robin-

son said. “When we brought everybody together we felt like we really had a diverse group of counselors who could bring a lot of talent and ability to our school community.”

The new counselors are having to learn all the policies and procedures as the year commences.

Learning these while also dealing with the student body can sometimes be tough, according to Gallier, but the new recruits are facing the challenge head-on.

“What I’m seeing is a learning

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curve,” Gallier said. “So it’s kin- in the past. da difficult when everyone’s new “They were both very nice and and you have a question ‘cause it’s actually helped me at that moment like…no one knows. No one knows and didn’t make me wait for like how they’ve done it before. So three weeks,” Gomez said. “Also, that’s been the biggest thing, just both of them had good body lanlearning about all the programs, guage in general but straight up but communication and support said they liked talking to me behave been great.” cause since they were new, they Though students have reported- wanted to get to meet the students. ly witnessed some And they talkof the learning proed to me not cess of the new just about my staff, senior Anna I am happy about the new schedule.”

Ippolito, whose The councounselor is Gallier, counselors because they selors are presays it hasn’t inter- seem to understand the pared to make fered with her re- stressful life of a teenager. some changes ceiving the help she to their rouI can tell they are trying tines in orneeds.

“I went to talk to help every single kid at der to further to her so I could support and Bowie. get my schedule attempt to changed and she broaden their took care of it super role in stuAvery Arnold efficiently,” Ippolito dents’ lives.

Senior said. “She was su“Our motto per competent and for this year is helpful. She was more than happy ‘practice positivity,’” May said. to help.”

“We’re all here dedicated to help From the student responses so the students. I think the students far, the counselors’ new approach are gonna see a 180 degree turnhas been paying off. At least for se- around this year and I’m so excited nior Taina Gomez, speaking with for this group. We’re calling ourHepburn and Gilbert was more en- selves the BCTE- Best Counseling joyable than with other counselors Team Ever.”

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FRIDAY, SEPT. 28, 2018

NEWS 3 THE DISPATCH

Construction creates congestion TEA overall scores Cianna Chairez Editor-in-Chief

ART BY Joe Morales

As the construction at the Slaughter and MoPac intersection increases, students and faculty members living on the other side of the highway are forced to sit in heavy traffic before and after school every day.

For the students and staff at Bowie, the traffic that is caused by the construction adds more time to their daily drive to and from school.

People use that time to take an alternative way to get to school. Senior Claire Richardson is one of these students.

“The worst part is that no matter what time of day it is it always takes forever to get where I’m going,” Richardson said. “Because of the traffic I now have to get up earlier to even make it to school on time.”

For senior Sarah Rolan, her alternate way adds time to her drive to school.

“Sometimes [my way] is slower,” Rolan said. “But it’s hard to tell. It frustrates me because I don’t know the most effective way to get to school. I’m using a lot of gas this year taking these alternate routes.”

Rolan has been driving for two years and from her years of driving knew that the traffic to school would be intense.

“I just knew that traffic on the first day of school was going to be really bad so I knew to take the alternate route,” Rolan said. “It definitely makes me pay more attention to the road, but at the same time I zone out when I'm sitting in traffic.”

Along with the construction comes narrower lanes and shifting patterns.

“People run red lights all the time,” Rolan said. “It’s quite terrifying. I trust my instincts as a driver most of the time. It’s other people that I’m worried about.”

For biology teacher Jessica Davis, she worries about the students driving in the heavy

CONTINUED "Accountability" from pg. 1

traffic.

“Because a lot of them are early drivers, just learning how to drive, and that’s a lot to navigate,” Davis said. “With the construction walls, the narrowed lanes, and the shifting patterns and people on edge. My daughter just got her license in August, and it terrifies me. But hopefully it will make them better drivers. I think they’ll be more ready hopefully for whatever they encounter in the future, but until then it’s nerve wracking.”

The construction on MoPac and Slaughter began in January 2018.

“The worst part about traffic is not knowing how long it will take to get to school,"

senior Darcy Kanneman said.

“It has caused me to come close to a wreck almost every day and causes people to be late to school and stress.”

The approved design for the intersection is called a diverging diamond. This design is meant to ease the traffic while safely and effectively allowing vehicles to cross the freeway bridge to get across MoPac. It also allows for easier pedestrian and bicycle access.

“So I looked up a picture of what a ‘diverging diamond’ is supposed to look like,” Davis said. “It’s very confusing and I’m very scared. But hopefully, it will relieve some of that congestion there."

There are three phases to the construction.

“I have to leave my home sooner,” Davis said. “I find that if I’m there around 7:15 to 7:30 it’s much better, but after that it starts to go downhill. [I have] to get out of the door much sooner if I want to be able to park here.”

The construction is set to be done by early 2021. For Davis, sitting in the extra traffic has made her patient.

“I think it’s having the reverse effect on a lot of people, but I’ve just come to terms with that there’s nothing we can do,” Davis said.

“You might as well just find a good station and make the most of it."

Parking spots spark social controversy CONTINUED "Parking spots" from pg. 1

“Political speech is very different, schools can't necessarily censor that. Since that represents different viewpoints or peoples opinions, we want to encourage those opinions,” Robinson said. “The bottom line in all of this, is that we are not asking anyone to change their spot design that was approved, the only thing we are doing is holding these students to their originally submitted design.

The cultural spot that was supposedly declined was Kennedy Hartman’s design depicting a self-portrait with a t-shirt on which included the words “Black Girl Magic.” The administration contends that the drawing was illegible or incomplete and that there was no approved drawing with the words on the t-shirt. Hartman argued her drawing was censored while another space with a “Blue Lives Matter” flag was allowed to stay.

“Black Girl Magic is something I believe in. Black women are put through so much in society but yet we still

stand strong, tall, and we’re very talented,” Hartman said. “We (Robinson and Hartman) had a very understanding conversation and I honestly feel like we both learned from it. We each talked about the bigger picture of all this and the limits that we each have on this situation.”

Hartman was allowed to turn in an updated design which will include the letters “BLM,” which stands for “Black Lives Matter” and a fist representing empowerment.

“I was able to openly talk about how I felt about “Blue Lives Matter” and the effect it had people of color and myself and how I just wanted equal treatments for every student no matter their beliefs,” Hartman said.

Wesley Kelly was the student who turned in the “Blue Lives Matter” space, which was approved, painted, and has not be the subject of any repainting discussions.

“I realize that having my spot represents a controversial subject and may seem like a big deal to some but my

goal was just to support the people that saves lives in our country,” Kelly said.

The criteria students were provided, states they must include things that represent them or the school, as well as their name, and the use of a specific kind of paint. Once approved, seniors were allowed to paint their spots according to their submitted design. With the problems, Robinson is committed to making changes next year, including the potential creation of a design approval committee “I feel like we made a mistake about not clarifying what is and isn’t allowed because we hadn’t revisited the expectation. We didn't want students to focus on what they couldn't do, we wanted to focus on what they could do,” Robinson said. “Clear guidelines for spot designs will be laid out, and the committee that will possibly be put together will include campus representatives, district representatives and maybe even a representative from the legal department.”

EXPRESS YOURSELF : The parking lot in front of Bowie features many painted spots that display the creative and unique minds of the senior class. Senior get the privilege of a parking spot if they meet attendance requirements and pay a $50 fee. PHOTO BY Andrew Nourse

What is the

?

NEWS page

Bowie 97, AISD 89

“We are working on our literacy model and the way that we are teaching English to make sure that it is the best practice that is getting the best result for students as far as being able to read critically, to write persuasively, and to write informatively,” Robinson said.

THE PREPARATION School Improvement Facilitator Ruth Ann Widner credits the success of the campus to the teachers.

“One of the things is that we’ve been very strategic,” Widner said. “We understand what the expectations are. I think the strongest element is that our teachers are organized in their professional learning communities (PLCs) and so what the teachers are doing is they’re combining their skills. You’re putting lots of great minds together and really ensuring that the instructional piece is very, very strong.”

The first year the distinctions was introduced, Bowie earned three out the six. Since then, the campus has achieved a new distinction every year.

“So we earned six out of seven distinctions which is phenomenal,” Robinson said. “Over the years, we’ve added one every year and so to earn six out of seven is really solid, there were only a couple of other schools that were able to do that in our campus comparison group in our local area.”

IN COMPARISON To determine what schools Bowie is competing against, there is a demographic profile compared across the state. The profile includes the number of students, the percentage of students that are economically disadvantaged, the mobility rate, the percentage of English language learners, and special education students. The schools with the most similar demographic profiles are put in comparison groups.

“There’s a commitment to excellence,” Widner says.

“The motto out front says ‘Pride in Performance’ and that is in the classroom, it's on the athletic fields, it’s in the dance competitions, it’s in the speech and debate tournaments. It manifests itself everywhere. There's tremendous commitment to excellence and I think it’s part of the culture among the teaching staff and among the students.”

The schools in Bowie’s comparison group in the Austin area include Westlake High School, Lake Travis High School, Vandergrift High School, Round Rock High School, and Westwood High School.

“We’re not being compared with different schools in our district, no one in our district is in our comparison group,” mathematics instructional coach Cindi Carroll said. “So we’re compared with really great schools in the state. As we should be, because we’re a really great school too. But that does make it really challenging.”

ATTENDANCE One of the factors that plays into the overall accountability rating is attendance. The greater percentage of attendance, the higher the score.

“Attendance continues to be one of our big focuses that’s why we have the attendance incentive for painted parking spots, the exam substitutions, that’s why we talked about it a lot last year and we continue to talk about it this year,” Robinson said.

Last year, Bowie saw an attendance rate of 96%, putting them in the top of the second quartile. According to Robinson, the goal is the first quartile, where the minimum percentage is 96.5%.

“I believe attendance will become a larger part at Bowie due to this score,” student leadership senior Melania Dobson said. "Knowing these scores is helpful because it helps us understand the changes taking place with attendance.”

Attendance also plays a factor in school funding. The higher the percentage of attendance, the more funding the school receives. According to Robinson, last year Bowie lost over $900,000 in funding.

“It’d be really nice if we had those funds,” Robinson said. “Even if they're not directly to the school, they’re in the district where they are accessible through budgets, so that we can continue to develop our school community.”

DISTRICT WIDE The TEA doesn’t just grade each individual campus.

They grade the school districts as a whole as well. Austin ISD had an overall score of 89.

“I thought it was pretty impressive,” Widner said.

“For a large, urban district, again really with some resource challenges, that they’re performing really well. I was pleased with the score.”

In the 2018 Accountability Ratings Overall summary for AISD, it states that the district did not receive an overall rating of an A due to at least one campus with an “overall or corresponding domain rating of ‘Improvement Required.’”

“I was proud of that B because in such a diverse district, with the schools being so different and with there being challenges all around, it’s a very different set of challenges for different schools and so I think that’s important for us to keep in mind, because we’re not a one high school district like Lake Travis or an Eanes ISD that makes it much more nimble, much easier to respond,” Robinson said. “Austin ISD is so big it’s like an ocean liner. It can turn but it’s going to take a little while.”

IN THE FUTURE Overall, the past few years have seen Bowie’s improvement in earning a new distinction every year. To Widner, the improvement won’t stop anytime soon.

“That’s pretty unusual that you would see that kind of year-to-year increase,” Widner said. “What it’s saying is that we’re not plateauing as a school. What we’re doing is that our achievement is increasing year after year after year. So we’re really continuing to move towards excellence. I think it’s just the idea that it’s not stagnant, it’s not plateaued, its continuous and we’re not going to stop because every child deserves to have the highest quality education possible.”

The news pages consist of stories that are informative, factual and concise. On this page, the stories are objective and focus on topics that are timely. For the Dispatch, these stories are relevant to the community and tend to have an impact on the students and faculty of the campus. Opinions expressed in these stories should be evident in direct quotes from sources, and not from the writer.

4 FEATURE

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, SEPT. 28, 2018

Student design goes for a tasteful drive

Junior Julia Krebs’ graphic design submission chosen for popular Food 4 Thought trailer Peter Dang Sports Editor

dents more food choices is a great idea. Some believe that variety is the spice of life.

The bell rings and stuAn increase in food choices dents fill the hallways, means that AISD nutrition rushing to lunch. Walking is able to cater to more stuacross the courtyard, a new dents. food truck is there. Not “We came up with a Nacho Average, but Food 4 unique menu that students Thought. Similar yet differwon’t find in the cafe,” Bradent, the new food truck is ley said. “We got lots of stuthe second food truck creatdent feedback to figure out ed by the district. what they liked.”

Junior Julia Krebs deFood 4 Thought’s menu signed the exterior of AISD’s will include scratch cooked second food truck. Her winhamburgers, pizza burgers ning design was selected out and veggie burgers topped of her 75 classmates. with spinach and mush“We were looking for a rooms. The menu also inschool to design the seccludes an Asian BBQ Chickond food truck theme to en Sandwich, all entrées will accompany the Nacho Avbe served with sides includerage Food Truck,” AISD ing coleslaw, potato salad Nutrition and Food Services and fresh fruit.

Marketing Specialist Lindsey “They were all very creBradley said. “We chose the ative,” Bradley said. “But our The food truck graphic design program at team felt the Food 4 Thought competition was Bowie after learning about theme tied food and educathe project they completed an assignment for tion together very well.” for the Baylor, Scott & White Creativity was the numgraphic design.

Julia’s food truck Clinic on Twitter.” ber one requirement from design was chosen Graphic Design teacher AISD, as a unique and memApplicants had just out of 75 other Judith Cooper was contactorable food truck was their ed by Bradley during the two weeks to create submissions. goal. AISD Nutrition’s has last weeks of the 2017-2018 many goals including teachtheir designs to meet school year to design the new ing students healthy eating the deadline. food truck. Cooper called habits as that they can carry the project Nacho Average throughout life. Nutrition is assignment, referring to the one of the most important ART BY Julia Krebs first food truck designed DESIGN BY Marisa Salazar aspects of well being for a

by Anderson High School student. ect,” Krebs said. “I was real- that her project will be seen good idea, design starts with students. For the Graphic sign.”

“Food 4 thought and NaKrebs’ passion for graphic ly proud of the slogan I came almost every day by different a good idea,” Cooper said.

Design 1 students, this was cho Average Food Truck are “It was exciting to see some- on different schedules the their first opportunity to get design started in her soph- up which was healthy food students. omore year. She hopes to to fuel strong minds.”

“I did not know I won thing one of the students their work published. year,” Bradley said. “We In addition to coming up until after they wrapped the thought of in three dimen“Julia was an amazing continue doing graphic dewanted the trucks to visit student she had a lot of cre- sign as a hobby, and is con- with the slogan, Krebs came food trucks,” Krebs said. “I sions.“ more schools.”

Kreb’s slogan was such a ativity,” Cooper said. “She sidering making her passion up with the name of the thought it was cool, I was Both trucks will be maktruck, “Food 4 Thought.” surprised because I forgot good idea that Cooper had also had a lot of energy and a career. ing repeated stops at Bowie “I am proud of this proj- She is particularly excited about it.“ other stuenthusiasm for graphic dethroughout Krebs and her fellow dents use the year, graphic design students only it in their unlike last had the last two weeks of designs as year when They were all very school to create their food well. Krebs the Nacho truck design. The students hopes to creative, but our Average didn’t know who won un- keep doing truck was at team felt the ‘Food 4 til after summer ended and graphic deschool Thought’ theme tied the the truck was wrapped. For sign on her every FriKrebs, it was a surprise that own, as she food and education day. Food her design was chosen. did not have 4 Thought together very well.

“I learned how profes- room in her will be vissionals do graphic design,” schedule to iting Bowie Krebs said. “There were a fit Graphic Lindsey Bradley Oct. 2 and lot of very specific require- Design 2.

25, as well Nutrition & Food Services, ments.”

“I think as Nov. 16.

Similar to graphic design that Marketing Specialist it’s Nacho Avprojects in the profession- great to erage will al world, AISD had certain have a vabe stopping requirements designers had riety of food trucks like vaat Bowie Oct. 11, Nov. 6, and to meet. The designs had to riety in the lunch line,” juDec. 4. include the AISD logo in two nior Aidan Gunter said. “I “Congratulations to Juplaces, a unique name, and think Nacho Average is too lia,” Cooper said. “Congratua unique slogan. More than cheesy.” lations to Bowie, congratulathat, the design had to proStudents like Gunter be- tions to the whole graphic Food Truck Frenzy: Senior Ryan Noser buys food from Food 4 Thought during mote healthy eating. lieve that having a second design program.” lunch. The food truck offers a wide variety of meals, including vegetarian options.

“I thought it was a really food truck which gives stuPHOTO BY Marisa Salazar

”

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FEATURE 5

FRIDAY, SEPT. 28, 2018 THE DISPATCH

Bowie Buddies presidents strive for inclusivity

Student organization focuses on showing kindness to all regardless of circumstance Miranda Cardenas Reporter

Senior co-president Natalie Aman believes that the program is beneficial for everyone and thinks Kindness, warmth, and friend- everyone should get involved in ship. These are the three words some way. that sum up the goals of the Bowie “For people who want to join Buddies program.

Bowie Buddies, I say do it,” Aman This program allows Life Skills said. “It’s such a fun way to make students to have a buddy. Senior an actual impact on kids at this co-president Alyssa Poole has fall- school. We have a lot of fun as buden in love with being a part of this dies, and you get to hang out with organization, and she tries to make kids you normally wouldn’t hang the program a place where every- out with.” one feels like they belong.

Aman’s favorite aspect of the “I felt really passionate about program is that she feels it is very making sure that the kids who rewarding to make the kids feel so don’t really get to interact with a happy. lot of other students, like the Life “It’s such a joy to see how excitSkills kids, have that opportunity ed they get when we deliver mail, to form close bonds and relation- paint their faces, or just hang out ships with new people,” Poole said. with them,” Aman said.

“It’s extremely important.”

Life Skills teacher Alyssa Werley Bowie Buddies students do dif- also feels a strong passion for helpferent things throughout the year ing her kids and supporting them to create a fun and warm environ- to be the best they can be. ment for their buddies.

“I feel like there are a lot of peo“We make cards for our buddies, ple who like to down-play their and we have some fun parties with abilities,” Werley said. “I like to everyone,” Poole said. “Really just bring out their abilities, and make anything that can make their day my students believe in themselves better and make them smile.” in everything that they do.”

Poole feels that her biggest Bowie Buddies allows kids that accomplishment as one of the are separated from the general stuco-presidents has been getting dent body to be integrated with more of the student body to partic- different kinds of people, helping ipate with the program and making them socialit fun for everyly and emoone. There are tionally. special events “ There’s for the buddies such a big “The best feeling I get is and the memcademic when I see how happy the agap bers of the orat this ganization and kids are and how they’re point with other Bowie my kids and impacted by different students to their peers,” bond, such as parties or the Special Werley said. the Bowie Bud“So this Olympics.” dies Special club really Olympics. allows them “The best to have opAlyssa Poole feeling I get is portunities Bowie Buddies Co-president when I see how that they happy the kids don’t really are and how get anymore they’re impacted by different par- with interactions.” ties or the Special Olympics, which Werley believes Bowie Budis my favorite event out of the dies really makes a difference in whole year,” Poole said. “And just the Life Skills class’ emotions and having the whole school come out, self-esteem, also adding some new the sports teams always do such a friends and much needed diversity great job of making the kids feel to the day. encouraged and I think it’s really “They’re with the same group rewarding for everyone involved.” almost the entire day, and have that

”

FOCUSING ON KINDNESS: Alyssa Poole makes a card for her buddy, these cards are used by the members of Bowie Buddies to show kindness to their buddies and to check in with them from week to week. Along with letters, they also have face painting and celebrations on spirit days. PHOTO BY Abbey Repka

same routine everyday, so when they get to see their buddy they really look forward to it and spending time with them,” Werley said.

The Life Skills teachers believe that the program helps all of the kids feel acknowledged and rewarded.

“It’s hard for me as a teacher to give every single child specifically what they need and when they need it when there’s 30 something other kids who have their own needs, but I feel rewarded in even the littlest things,” Werley said. “If we’ve been working on one skill all year and it’s finally achieved, that

makes it worthwhile.”

Junior Life Skills student Shea O’Reilly is one of many students that are a part of this program, and has been participating in the Bowie Buddies program for the past two years now.

“My favorite part of Bowie is seeing all my friends, and I see a lot of them through Bowie Buddies,” O’Reilly said. “All my Bowie Buddies are pretty much some of my best friends.”

The organization is important to everyone involved, not only the buddies in the Life Skills class.

“This organization is important

because it helps grow the sense of community at Bowie,” Aman said.

“A lot of the buddies only spend time with the kids in their Life Skills program, so being a buddy is important because you get to make new friends and see our school from a different perspective.”

Poole encourages anyone who wants to join this organization to do so with an open mind and heart.

“I think anyone who’s outgoing and enjoys making others smile should join,” Poole said. “It’s a lot of fun and an overall great opportunity to be a part of something awesome here at Bowie.”

From Alaska to Texas: sledding back to warmer weather New teacher Eric Krauss moved down from the north to teach in his home state Abbey Repka Reporter

Kaktovik, Alaska, is 3265 miles away from Austin, Texas, yet Integrated Physics and Chemistry (IPC) teacher Eric Krauss decided to make the journey there and back twice.

Kaktovik is located is the northeastern part of Alaska and about 298 miles away from the Arctic Circle.

“I lived north of the arctic circle and snow could fall during anytime of the year including the summer,” Krauss said. “Most days there was several feet of snow on the ground and the local roads would have to be plowed daily.”

Life in Alaska brings drastic changes to one’s life, but Krauss was not afraid of the obstacles.

“I wanted a different kind of teaching experience,” Krauss said. “I have lived in Texas most of my life and hanging it up was nice.”

Krauss had lived in Kaktovik for two years and says that his life now in Austin, Texas compared to his life in Kaktovik is more convenient, however he misses the scenery and cold weather.

“It is still weird to me to go to the store and see all the items available at an instant,” Krauss said. “Where I lived, if you didn’t have something you couldn’t get it. You had to order it and wait for it to ship in the mail which took several weeks.”

While in Alaska, Krauss worked as a teacher to several different students at a local school.

“My days were pretty routine, I would go to work and teach 14-20 students per day,” Krauss said. “In addition to teaching all science and math subjects from seventh to 12th grade, I would teach an elective course.

Sometimes I would teach PE depending on the semester.”

In Kaktovik, the yearly temperatures dif-

What is the

?

FEATURE page

EYES ON THE PAPER: Teacher Eric Krauss grades a students assignment. Krauss made the transition from Kaktovik, Alaska to Austin to teach. PHOTO BY Chase West-

fer from around the mid 40s Fahrenheit in the summer down to a high of minus 20 degrees in the winter.

“I remember after my first winter there when the temperature got above zero degrees and how warm it felt outside,” Krauss said. “For the students and people living in the village, zero degrees was warm.”

According to Krauss, the hardest part about living in Kaktovik was flying to Anchorage, Alaska every six months to stock pile up on food.

“The hardest part was shopping for all your food and supplies for six months in two days,” Krauss said. “During that time you had to pack and mail all of it. I would send anywhere from 10 – 20 70 lb totes [of food].”

Flights to Anchorage were long for Krauss and typically were about six hours long with the layovers.

“You would typically fly from Anchorage to Fairbanks,” Krauss said. “Then from Fairbanks to Deadhorse [which is] also know as Prudhoe Bay, then from Deadhorse to Kaktovik. Sometimes you could skip Deadhorse and go from Fairbanks to Kaktovik directly.”

While in Anchorage, Krauss had limited time to buy as much food as he could and never got time to enjoy the city.

“The whole ordeal was stressful, tiring and time consuming,” Krauss said. “I never got to enjoy Anchorage as much as I would have liked because of this.”

Along with flying to Anchorage, Krauss

has flown back to Austin, only to endure another long flight.

“Flights back to Texas were long as well,” Krauss said. “Anchorage to Seattle was four hours and it was another four hours from Seattle to San Antonio or Austin.”

Although Krauss has experienced different things in Alaska that he considered normal while living there, he now realizes how different they were and how it will impact his daily routines.

“Life without blizzards that have 100 mph winds and wind chills at -120 degrees will be a significant change to my routine,” Krauss said. “I would frequently encounter polar bears while walking though the village, and I no longer have to worry about that.”

Although Krauss loved his life in Alaska, he had many reasons to move back to Texas.

“I grew up in San Antonio, Texas,” Krauss said. “My wife and I have family here.”

Along with teaching in Alaska, Krauss has taught in many other places in Texas, his home state.

“Before Mr. Krauss taught in Alaska, he taught in Houston and so I think coming back to Texas was interesting to him,” science teacher Erin Kowalik said.

Krauss helps his students by using different ways and methods that he has learned over the years.

“It’s helpful to bring in new people because [Krauss] can make his kids more successful with his new ways to learn,” sophomore Alexis Hertel said.

Bringing in new people to Bowie with different backgrounds, according to fellow teachers, can help the social and cultural environments at the school.

“It’s always wonderful to expand our faculty and get to know new teachers and have them bring their new ideas and teaching styles in to the Bowie High School community.” Kowalik said.

The feature pages consist of stories about members of the community who have done or gone through something of interest. A feature story is a type of soft news, considered a human-interest story. For The Dispatch, it typically focuses on an individual or select group of people, mainly current students or staff. However, occasionally feature stories about graduates or family members of students.

6 IN-DEPTH

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, SEPT. 28, 2018

FOCUS ON JOURNALISM

LET'S

RECAP

The Associated Press, or AP, style refers to the standardized format of writing journalists must abide by in their work. Here are some of the most frequently encountered rules.

NUMBERS

Numbers 1-9 must be written out, while all others must be expressed numerically.

Ex. She will be eight before he is 17.

DATES

Months August-February are abbreviated except when unaccompanied by dates. "Th" is not used.

Ex. His birthday is on Dec. 13.

STATES

Individual states are spelled out, and states longer than five letters are abbreviated when listed with a city.

Ex. After I lived in Michigan, I lived in Nashville, Tenn.

*#@$!

Copy including obscenities must be flagged and replaced with alternate characters.

Ex. Her s--- was not part of the (vulgarity).

BRAINSTORM: Think of potential story ideas and whether to publish them in the print or Online version.

CREATE: Write stories and gather photos/ art for page.

DESIGN: Decide the layout for the story, artwork, and photos.

Before publication, all photos must be converted from the RGB (red-green-blue) color palette to a CMYK (cyan-magenta-yellow-black) palette for better print quality.

Journalism is ubiquitous.

It light their stories and shine a light television and the introduction of the can be insightful or corrupt, fair on all that is relevant in the com- 24-hour news cycle,” Raper said. “We or slanted. And in today’s soci- munity. I believe that these photos each, especially student journalists, ety, it is more present than ever, validate their accomplishments.” have to be very careful to how we use including in the halls of Bowie.

Through feature stories and ac- our voice and to ensure that we are The mediums vary—with so many tive community engagement, all going the extra mile to be credible, to resources available now, journalism can three mediums provide opportuni- be factual, to be able to back it up to take forms such as writing, video, pho- ties for students to be recognized. show the evidence because so much tography, art, design, and more. How"There are many students out there information is so quick to access.” ever, one constant is its purpose: to tell that don’t have an opportunity to exIn response, many students are the untold stories of the community. press their feelings, and I want my becoming more aware of the ef“Journalism provides a forum for staff to be those people for them, to fects of “fake news,” both in the expression,” yearbook adviser Lind- be their advocates,” newspaper adviser local community and nationwide. sey Shirack said. “Journalism sheds Michael Reeves said.

“Recent political light on the effects of law and policy, “I think everyone has events keep me more We just want to holds those in power accountable, the right to speak, but tentative to the news builds community by sharing stories I think some people serve ... and help our because I love being and elevates voices. To study jour- are afraid to speak.” community grow and informed on politics nalism is to become a better commuWhile controverand current events.” be stronger. nicator and a better thinker, which sial views or fear of senior Taylor Bhuimakes students better citizens of our publicity are often yan said. “However, Margie Raper society whether or not their path factors spurring hesiit makes me wary of leads them to continue in journalism.” tation in subjects, all who the news source TAJE President Though this takes multiple forms on students are encouris, so I stay away from campus, one platform is the Lone Star aged to share their views regardless. biased sources as much as possible.”

Yearbook. Composed of approximate“We want varying opinions; we Still, the importance of the work ly 400 pages, the books cost rough- want to know what people tru- rests in the hands of the reader. ly over $100,000 a year to publish. ly think of things," senior newspa“I’ve heard people disregard the pa“A yearbook’s essential focus is per Editor-in-Chief Abby Ong said. per, and it can be very disheartening to tell the story of the year, which is "Refusing an interview means the to hear countless hours of work be recomplicated because what the year loss of a perspective to a story.” duced to nothing in the eyes of some, means to one student is vastly difAs journalism began to grow but at the same time it only motivates ferent than another’s,” Shirack said. in schools, the Texas Associa- me to prove them wrong,” Ong said.

To complete the book, yearbook tion of Journalism Educators was Due to long hours and team buildstudents are divided by job duty, in- founded to support new transi- ing, the journalism classrooms are cluding staff writers, content editors, tioning teachers in the industry. scarcely empty, and many students find business editors, reference editors, “Back when TAJE first got started, themselves working during FIT, lunch, photo editors, people page editors, the intent was to be a network and a before/after school, and on weekends. managing editors, and editor-in-chiefs. place for teachers to go to training,” “I want people to know they have “The aspects of yearbook that peo- TAJE President Margie Raper said. a place on a high school campus and ple don't really see is the teamwork “We provide learning opportunities, if this is the place for them, I think that goes into making the book,” jun- training opportunities, but really we we develop that relationship and this ior Mishell Magnus just provide a re- becomes their place,” Reeves said. said. “The whole yearsource of peers for Furthermore, journalism students To study journalism is any journalism educa- often walk away with more than a secbook crew depends on to become a better tor to turn to. We are ond home—they become equipped with each other because if one doesn't finish on communicator and a all classroom teach- skills that can be applied to multiple time the other falls ers; we are all jour- aspects of daily life beyond high school. better thinker. behind and so on.” nalism educators. We “There is something when someDeadlines are set don’t always know all one says ‘it’s your decision’ to strugLindsey Shirack throughout the year the answers, but we gle with your own internal morals and for certain parts of the have a heart for kids your own internal principles, so I think Yearbook Adviser book, often requiring and we have a heart that’s something my students learn by editors to devote time outside of class. for teachers and we just want to talking with each other and I think “Even though sometimes it's re- serve our community and help our that’s really important,” Reeves said. ally frustrating because staffers are community grow and be stronger.”

Regardless of what the future slacking or there's too many spreads However, despite efforts to im- will hold for the face of journaldue for one deadline, the reward prove, most published works ism, the stories aren’t going anyis huge because you tell a story will often still contain mistakes. where, and neither is the knowlof a whole school year in a cou“I think that there’s this idea of per- edge that helps in sharing them. ple hundred pages,” Magnus said. fection, that we’re gonna be perfect, “Those skills we teach—law, ethThe same storytelling can also be and we’re never going to be perfect,” ics, responsibility, critical thinking, found in commercial photography, Reeves said. "We do the very best we can collaboration, communication, proa course designed for students to be as accurate as we can, but we’re ject management, working with looking to pursue photojour- gonna spell someone’s name wrong. a group, working with deadnalism as a hobby or career. We’re gonna have some misinforma- lines—that applies to any career “I believe that people tion on occasion. People need to know path and those are skills that impact our community,” it’s not purposeful, it’s just a mistake.” you can do in high school commercial photograAdditionally, fallacies and errors or middle school and you phy teacher Judith are becoming increasingly preva- can take those with you N Cooper said. lent with the advancement of ac- for the rest of your E “Our photos cessible media and technology. life,” Raper said.

W K SP high“Social media probably brought O about the most major change to jourO AP nalism after the introduction of E RB

”

”

R

CREATE: Write stories and gather photos for spread.

REVIEW: Discuss the issue as a staff, including strengths, weaknesses, and reader feedback.

Sarah Baber

Journalism students confess the most outrageous things they've done to snap a photo or meet a deadline.

PUBLISH: Finished photos are uploaded to students' blogs.

EDIT: Submit to editor for revisions and address edits as needed.

DISTRIBUTE: Students fill classes and kiosks around campus with the new issue. PHOTO BY

NAME

Rolls

A YE

EDIT: Submit to editor and adviser for revisions and address edits as needed.

in the of JOURNALISM

EDIT: Students use Adobe Lightroom to edit photos. PHOTO BY Preston

COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Jocelyn Brooks Managing Editor

"

I have probably gained 10lbs in the amount of fruit snacks stress eating I have done.

Claire Meyer, 12

"

"

I sat right in front of the bulldog where the [football] players run out and took pictures of them as they were running toward me.

Anika Scoma, 11

"

BRAINSTORM: Plan the "ladder" and decide which spreads to design.

"

"

PLAN: Gather materials and decide the focus of the shoot.

BRAINSTORM: Think of potential photo ideas and how to execute them.

DISTRIBUTE: Books are set up for students to pick up or buy. PHOTO BY Preston Rolls

PROOF: Previews, or "proofs," of spreads are received and reviewed for final edits.

DESIGN: Decide the layout for the story and photos, leaving room between elements and an "eye-line," or the white space dividing the page.

What is the

I once paid over $300 to go to a film festival so I could cover the film classes trip.

Jake Brien, 12

SHOOT: Photographers are advised to take more photos than needed.

IN-DEPTH page

?

An in-depth page is given to topics where the staff feels more coverage would be useful. On this page, the story often brings in more sources than the average story to get a variety of perspectives. These pages allow for freer design with the intent that the page editor will include lots of information through stories, art, and info-graphics about a specific topic.

PHOTO ESSAY 7

FRIDAY, SEPT. 28, 2018 THE DISPATCH

Students intern at new hotels downtown Austyn Keelty Photo Essay Editor

Students take in the clean smell and crowd of travelers as they enter the eight hotels, which include Van Zandt, JW Marriott, and The Driskill, new to Hospitality.

Due to the renovations the Barton Creek Resort is experiencing this year, the Bowie Hospitality program, run by Jill Wolfington, was forced to find new hotels for their class.

“I am so excited about the energy in the new hotels.

They’re very hip, trendy hotels,” Wolfington said.

Wolfington, wanting to give students the opportunity to get real world work experience deiced to create the Hospitality program .

“I was an outside sales manager, and I just really loved the job and the hotel industry so much, but I had my degree in education as well so I decided to combine the two,” Wolfington said. “I had a very supportive administration that allowed me to try something unique.”

This was the first program in Texas that allowed high school students to intern at surrounding hotels in the city. During their first year of the program, students have a two periods blocked off for hospitality which gives them the time to bus and work at the hotels.

“I took hospitality to explore different career options because I didn’t really know what I want to do, but it really has furthered my interests in something in that field because getting the work experience has really helped me,” junior Annika Jensen said.

Not only do the new hotels give students better ideas of what they want out of a future career, but they also help build essential

LEARNING THE ROPES: As junior Tristan Hanson stands behind the host stand at the Westin, he learns the basics from his fellow employee.

Working at the different stations throughout the hotels has given students an opportunity to consider all professions under the Hospitality field.

“I’ve learned how to greet guests, how to seat them at tables, how to confirm reservations, and how to talk to people on the phone,” Hanson said. PHOTO BY Austyn Keelty

skills for working in the hospitality field.

“I work with people that are maybe in their mid-20’s and they’re all really nice and friendly. It will help me build people skills and also learn how to handle an angry customer,” Jensen said.

Due to the strict working guidelines of the high-class hotels, students who are inclined to join the class must go through an interview pro-

cess to make sure they’re fit for the job. Second year students conduct the interviews and assist Wolfington in deciding who joins the class.

“You can get kicked out of the class if you are a bad employee or just disrespectful with your job. If you maintain good customer service and everything then you stay in the class without any problems,” senior Emily Oaks said.

Number of students at each hotel Courtyard Marriott

Aloft/Element

Hilton

2 Westin

5

10

3

4

4

3

Van Zandt Stephen F Austin

4

Driskill The W ART BY Austyn Keelty

Students will rotate job positions every five weeks to get a feel for each profession.

Students learn about jobs in the housekeeping, sales, and restaurant/food departments.

“Students participating in the program will learn basics of hotel operations. By working alongside employees in each of these areas they will leave knowing what each department does,” Assistant

General Manager of the Van Zandt hotel Nicholas Yezierski said.

Second year hospitality students get two periods blocked off for the class as well; however, they must get a job in the Hospitality industry and work at least 10 hours a week. This allows students to experience work, just like interning, but now they earn a paycheck in return.

“I wouldn’t have known this is a field I’m interested in and also getting to intern in so many different aspects it really helps you narrow down what you want to do with your life,” Oaks said. “I know after interning in human resources I will never work in human resources, but I found out that I love being a barista and that experience got me my job at Starbucks.”

BREWING UP A STORM: Junior Annika Jensen makes a latte for a customer at the Aloft/ Element Hotel cafe, and learns from her coworkers on how to deal with customers, prepare food and drinks, and be a good employee. Jensen started off training to be a barista and was serving customers after one day of training.

“I really like the hotel that I’m at because it’s really laid back and I feel like it really stands out from the different hotels,” Jensen said.

“Everyone is really nice and friendly and they always want to help me out.”

PHOTO BY Austyn Keelty

ONE MEAN CLEAN: Laughing and talking to her advisor, senior Riley Bluemel arranges bed sheets and reloads the cart to make beds. Bluemel started off in cleaning services at The Westin with her classmate junior Andrea Chavanne.“My favorite part about the class is the fact that we get real life experience and not just sitting in a classroom all day watching videos and taking notes,” Bluemel said.

PHOTO BY Austyn Keelty

JUST CHECKING IN: Advisor Jill Wolfington checks in junior Oriana Horr at the hostess stand inside the Aloft/ Element hotel. Similar to the Hospitality students, Horr took Hospitality to further explore her interests in the field. “I want to be a wedding planner in the future and I thought this class would be good for me to learn more about it,” Horr said. “I’m getting a lot of new skills and learning a lot.” PHOTO BY Austyn Keelty ART BY Preston Rolls

What is the

?

PHOTO ESSAY page

A photo essay consists of a series of photos that tell a story. This page is expected to be dominated by high quality photographs, along with a short story and extended captions to support the story told by the photos.

Photo essay topics are chosen by the page editors, who are expected to write the story and take the majority of the photos for their page.

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, SEPT. 28, 2018

•BENEFITS OF FREE PRESS•

Embedded in the core of the American society and government lies the freedom of press, one of the five basic rights provided by the First Amendment.

In recent years, the rising use of the term ‘fake news’ continues to increase public distrust of the media. Defined as the inaccurate reporting of information, ‘fake news’ is often used as a rallying point against journalism as a whole in attempts to discredit news organizations.

“Today’s politically-charged climate includes direct attacks on fundamental First Amendment freedoms on a daily basis from the president of the United States,” Journalism Education Association president Sarah Nichols said. “It’s disheartening to see an outright attack on a particular profession, but it’s clear that the president seeks to destroy the legitimacy of the media.

Journalists will continue to report with truth and accuracy, operating ethically, despite these challenges, as their work matters more than ever.”

According to AP U.S. history and government teacher Carlen Floyd, the role of journalists has been crucial throughout history, from the beginning as English colonists through to Vietnam and Watergate.

“The free press has just been fundamental to having everything from being made aware of issues to being exposed to different opinions,” Floyd said. “From our very inception, it’s been critical; it’s set free democracies, liberal democracies, from other democracies where you have a free press but not really.”

Journalism has seen a shift to Online platforms over the years, but Nichols emphasizes the continuation of quality reporting by journalists no matter the method of distribution.

“Their role hasn’t changed over time even though just about every aspect of reporting, information-gathering, and delivery have,” Nichols said. “Part of reporting the truth is to hold those in power accountable, and in times when misinformation can be shared widely and without a critical eye, or if access to information is limited, the role of journalists intensifies.”

WHAT’S SCOOP THE

8 IN-DEPTH

?

ON GETTING THE SCOOP

IN-DEPTH 9

FRIDAY, SEPT. 28, 2018 THE DISPATCH

Insight into the First Amendment, Censorship, and Scholastic Press Rights

“

”

“

For University of Texas journalism senior lecturer Kevin Robbins, it is essential for journalists to be “fair, neutral ... and unafraid to tell the truth.”

“They should seek that truth through transparency and above-board channels,” Robbins said. “Journalists should never, ever deceive someone in an effort to find and reveal information in the public interest. They also should be aware of context and not distort facts in order to advance an agenda.”

Senior Editor-in-Chief of The Dispatch Cianna Chairez emphasizes the need to be objective in reporting, something she pushes her staff to do on a daily basis.

“As a journalist, your ultimate goal is to inform your audience and not to spread propaganda, sensationalize news, or try and sell your product,” Chairez said. “Our job is to do the best we can possibly do to inform the public of the hard facts and let them base their own opinions off of that.”

In order to retain trust from the public, Robbins encourages journalists to continue their role as informants.

“Journalists in today’s world, at least in a democracy like ours, should embrace their essential, constitutionally protected roles as seekers of truth, watchdogs of government, champions of openness and tellers of stories that give meaning to confusion and order to chaos,” Robbins said.

WHERE HAS NEW VOICES LEGISLATION BEEN PASSED? Legislation passed

FIRST AMENDMENT

•CENSORSHIP ISSUES•

Following the censorship of three stories, the staff of Eagle Nation Online of Prosper High School in Prosper, Texas was put under prior review by their new principal John Burdett. The first was a news piece regarding the cancellation of a senior reward and was followed by two editorials, one over the removal of a book from the sophomore reading list and the other discussing an activity on National Walkout Day. “The three recurring themes to why he censored all three stories were because they were, ‘negative, not uplifting to the school and cast our school in a bad light,’” senior Editor-in-Chief of Eagle Nation Online Neha Madhira said.

After the second story was censored, Burdett began prior reviewing the paper. In March, the staff was informed that their award-winning adviser, Lori Oglesbee-Petter, would not be recommended for renewal the following year.

“The editorial board was very upset because she was not only our adviser but our second mother, so we wrote a letter to the principal, the superintendent and the school board expressing all of our concerns,” Madhira said. “We received deafening silence and soon found out Ms. Oglesbee would be fired.”

Editorials were banned after the second editorial was censored, and Burdett would not meet with the staff to discuss this policy, only the new adviser. This pushed Madhira to reach out to the Student Press Law Center (SPLC) and the Journalism Education Association Scholastic Press Rights Committee (JEA SPRC) about the situation.

“The editorial board members and I drafted a press release with the help of SPLC legal consultant Mike Hiestand and JEA SPRC member Lori Keekley and took it to local publications,” Madhira said. “They wouldn’t publish it and we didn’t know why, so the SPLC published it directly on their website. Our administration was silent all summer so we just kept pushing and received coverage from over 18 local and national news publications, including the New York Times.”

The Constitution, 1791

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

FAIR REPORTING

C

Legislation pending

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esu

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It was important to Madhira that the staff continued pressing the issue, as she felt that prior review negatively impacts the learning process of a student journalist. In their first meeting with the new adviser, Lisa Roskens, the staff was told that Burdett would no longer be prior reviewing and that editorials were allowed again.

“A student newspaper is not a free-for-all, but it is a place where we express our voices as well as speak for others who do not have the platform,” Madhira said. “We are definitely overjoyed we can be a more free student press and have written multiple opinion pieces since.”

NEW VOICES

This process introduced Madhira to New Voices, a national, student-led movement to bring First Amendment rights to students. Currently, 14 states have passed the law, and Madhira hopes to get Texas’ bill, which includes adviser protection, passed despite the fight against it.

“Everything that happened at our school really opened my eyes, not only because of the actual process in getting our administration to talk, but because of all of the censorship stories I heard from other students who sent me messages of support,” Madhira said. “I knew our story couldn’t just end at our school, so I basically worked on New Voices all summer.”

Madhira continues to promote the importance of student voice through managing the New Voices Texas’ social media, speaking at conventions, and talking to lawmakers.

“When students are belittled and told they cannot express what they feel is important for the school to know, I think they’re going to feel the same way when they are older and working for larger news publications,” Madhira said. “It can be daunting to speak out when you feel you don’t have many supporting you, but your voice can make all the difference.”

•JOURNALISM AT BOWIE•

Principal Mark Robinson looks to The Dispatch to get a feel for what changes need to be made around campus.

“Student voice is very important to me because I want to make sure that the work we are doing reflects the work that needs to be done,” Robinson said. “I want to make sure that our priorities are the right priorities to make an overall better experience for the students that we serve. If it is important enough for a student to write about, it is important enough for me to get informed about it so I know what is going on.”

For yearbook adviser Lindsey Shirack, a school publication that is not student-led comes with credibility concerns.

“Can a publication claim to be the voice of the students if it’s really just a public relations front for the administration?”

No legislation enacted As of 09/20/18 *Map varies depending on when state legislatures are in session and when bills are proposed.

SO UR

While the professional press is protected by the First Amendment, these rights do not fully extend to student journalists.

“Schools, according to Supreme Court cases, are responsible for teaching journalism, journalistic integrity and journalistic skills,” Floyd said. “School newspapers are not like the free press. [They are] school sponsored, which means taxpayer sponsored, which means different sets of guidelines, rules, and potential regulations.”

In 1988, the Supreme Court case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier ruled that a school’s administration has the right to enforce prior review should they have legitimate reason to believe learning will be affected, which means that stories must be approved by the administration before publishing.

“Some states have press rights or free expression laws to protect students and others do not,” Nichols said. “Censorship strips students of the decision-making process, stifling the learning experience and negatively affecting the publication and the readers it serves.”

According to Interscholastic League Press Conference assistant director Jeanne Acton, Texas currently allows prior review, although some school administrators choose to act on it and others don’t.

“Some schools have principals that give them more leeway and allow them to cover more controversial things, but not every school in the state of Texas allows that,” Acton said. “It is incumbent upon the editors to build a trusting relationship with their principal to try to get that and it doesn’t always work.”

THE FIRST AMENDMENT

Shirack said. “Certainly one of the goals of student publications ing, problem solving, deadlines, how to multi-task,” Acton is to clarify changes or policies that will affect students in an said. “No matter what field you go in you have to know how accurate way, but it’s also to communicate the effects, whether to communicate, you have to know how to write, how to probpositive or negative, of those changes for everyone from the lem solve. I don’t think there’s a class out there that teaches as many life important skills as journalism.” majority to the most marginalized.”

As an Editor-in-Chief of the school yearbook, The Lone Star, The Dispatch is a student-led publication that serves as an open forum of student expression and is not held to prior re- senior Sophie Bega leads a staff of 160. The perception of jourview by the administration. The adviser, Michael Reeves, does nalism in mass media has caused Bega to be more attentive to not prohibit discussion between students and instead strictly what the staff covers.

“Mass media today has a negative connotation to it, and it’s guides them and checks all stories for libel and slander.

“Luckily, we are fortunate enough to have the freedom to mostly due to our current [presidential] administration,” Bega publish the stories we want to publish,” Chairez said. “How- said. “The right to freedom of the press has been tested, and ever, I do believe that there are instances in which we self-cen- it’s affected all journalists, even us at a high school level. I want sor and will hold a story from being published out of an al- to make sure we are getting a fair representation of the entire school instead of a select group most cautionary instinct. I think that may share the same opinsometimes we lean towards less ions as me.” controversial stories out of this In addition to informing the mindset that we don’t want to Journalists ... should embrace their school, journalism also serves as offend anybody.” essential, constitutionally protected a historical archive.

Robinson sees journalism “As I’ve gotten to read about as a class that teaches critical roles as seekers of truth, watchdogs of some of the things that were thinking, which allows students government, champions of openness, written over the years, it tells to learn how to present things and tellers of stories that give meaning to me what was happening, what in a way that helps others form people were concerned about informed opinions. confusion and order to chaos. over the years,” Robinson said.

“Not everyone’s going to “It provides so much more comknow [the facts] all the time, Kevin Robbins mentary, so much more editorial, and one of the big mistakes that so much more information about we make as people is walking University of Texas Journalism Professor what people were thinking and around with either preconceived dealing with at the time.” notions or just knee-jerk reacFormer Editor-in-Chief of The tions to things that we hear that are uninformed opinions,” Robinson said. “It is very important, Dispatch Violet Glenewinkel feels the role of journalists is to for democracy to work, that we have access to information and “tell the story of humankind,” even through stories as seemingwe think critically about it and we know what that tells us, so ly simple as a music review.

“Everything journalists produced is a story meant to inform we can then form opinions that are informed.”

Chairez credits being on staff with teaching her to see from the public, whether that’s now, tomorrow, or years from now,” Glenewinkel said. “Without journalists and their stories, would different perspectives.

“I’ve covered many stories in my three years in this program we know half of the stuff we do now about fifty years ago? We and every story takes me down a new avenue of the school,” are recording the history of now.”

Chairez hopes for The Dispatch to be the source students, Chairez said. “I believe that getting the opportunity to interview different people around campus has given me the ability teachers, and parents go to for information about what is hapto gain a new understanding for what these students and teach- pening on campus.

“Whether it’s a story about our football game winning disers represent. In the same way that journalism defines my high trict or a commentary about gun rights, everything we put in school career, I get to learn about what defines others.”

According to Acton, journalism is one of the most important the paper is relevant to our audience,” Chairez said. “I think it’s beneficial for us to reflect the student voice as well as bring up classes students can take in high school.

“It teaches communication, it teaches writing, critical think- topics that inspire conversation.”

”

TINKER v. DES MOINES

It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.

Justice Abe Fortas, 1969

”

“

. . . educators do not offend the First Amendment by exercising editorial control over the style and content of student speech in schoolsponsored expressive activities so long as their actions are reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns.

”

HAZELWOOD v.

KUHLMEIER Justice Byron White, 1988

“

While courts have held that public school student journalists face certain restrictions, we also have the opportunity to make clear that with the supervision of an adviser they should not be censored because they are reporting something the administration objects to for reasons other than those provided by law.

”

NEW VOICES Senator José Rodríguez, D-El Paso

What is the

IN-DEPTH

page

STORY & GRAPHICS

BY Abby Ong Editor-in-Chief

?

An in-depth page is given to topics where the staff feels more coverage would be useful. On this page, the story often brings in more sources than the average story to get a variety of perspectives. These pages allow for freer design with the intent that the page editor will include lots of information through stories, art, and info-graphics about a specific topic. A double-truck is when two pages side by side are dedicated to a single in-depth topic.

10 SPORTS

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, SEPT. 28, 2018

Team chemistry starts at a young age Freshman players who played Pop Warner before high school continue to build bonds Peter Dang Sports Editor

Ready... set... hut! The ball is snapped, the quarterback catches the ball and drops back; he scans the field. The receiver cuts across, losing the safety, the quarterback brings the ball back and then launches it.

The ball spins a perfect spiral, traveling towards the receivers hands. The ball is caught by the receiver who runs with all his might towards the touchdown. He crosses the line, the crowd jumps up and cheers.

The Football program has players who played for the South West Austin Dawgs, a Pop Warner football team.

Pop Warner is a tackle football league for players ages 5 to 15. This season will test whether having players who have played together since elementary school makes a team stronger.

“I talked the Titans into changing to the Bulldogs,” Football Coach Jeff Ables said. “I think that change will prove to be beneficial.”

Ables worked with the South West Austin Titans to change their name to the Bulldogs to make it known that students who were zoned for this team are zoned for Bowie. Making the mascots the same makes young players from SWA Dawgs look up to the Bowie Bulldogs.

“I think the experience of playing has helped them,” Ables said. “Learning our system at a young age has helped for sure.”

In football, experience can be one of the most important parts of the game. Experience starts at a young age.

This prediction and anticipation are part of the muscle memory ingrained from ex-

Receiver: Cash Peters, #3 Receiver: Noah Vasquez, #2 perience. The more practices and games played gives a player experience that helps them predict anticipate the opponents players and plays.

“I think when you grow up playing together in Pop Warner, junior high and then high school it can definitely create a strong bond with those players,” Ables said.

“This bond is what makes a team strong, they can trust each other.”

Trust is another important aspect of football. Trust is the result of building a strong bond. Without trust the team can’t work. The quarterback trusts his center to give him the ball. The quarterback trusts his offensive line to protect him from the defense. The running

Quarterback: Grason Foradory, #5 Receiver: Adrian Rodriguez, #25

backs, tight ends, and receivers trust the quarterback to get the ball to them in the right place and at the right time. Football teams are built on trust, each player trusts each other to do their job to the best of their abilities according to coaches.

“I hope the parents see this as a great experience that helps teach their kids about the game of football and life lessons,” Ables said.

“Football is more than just a game, it can teach players important things they can use in life.”

Playing football can teach players life lessons like teamwork, discipline through putting in the hard work required, leadership through leading a team and

Receiver: Erik Anderson, #18

Receiver: Dylan Thamsorn, #88

working with others, accountability through playing your part and overcoming obstacles like being benched and getting injured. Most of all, these players are taught to get back up when they are knocked down, and not letting what knocked them down keep them down.

“I feel like I have closer relationships with people from Gorzycki than my relationships with people I just met a few weeks ago,” freshman football player Gabriel Musat said. “I know our team bond will continue to grow as the season goes on and as we play more seasons together.”

Coming into high school, players have experience playing the game. They have bonds built with others

from middle school. These bonds are strong on and off the field. For the ten players who played on SWA Dawgs together, they have built a bond that has lasted for a large part of their lives.

These players have played with each other so long they know what the others are trying to do.

“It has been really fun bonding with other people that I didn’t know before coming to Bowie,” Freshman football player Grason Foradory said. “You get to know them even better, meeting people from other schools.”

Playing with other freshmen who came from different middle schools has allowed these players learn more about the game. Each

player brings a unique part to the team. For the players who played for SWA Dawgs, they too have created new bonds this year playing with others they have never played with.

“The brotherhood it really builds a bond between you and the other people,” Foradory said. “I feel it when I am with the other players on and off the field.”

The team looks towards to the second half of their season filled with growing together, overcoming challenges together and winning.

“I want to win every game for the rest of the season.”

Foradory said. “I like hitting, I like scoring touchdowns and I like playing the game I love.”

New swim and dive coach plunges into the new season Coach Peyton Bobo comes back to his hometown to coach the aqua ‘Dawgs Kateri Jaquette Reporter

The swim team is wide awake before the sun rises; they’re in the pool before most are out of bed They finish their rigorous workouts by 8 a.m. School has just begun and the Bowie swim team is gearing up for the season with their new head coach, Peyton Bobo. The Texas native has returned to his hometown Austin from Plano to coach the Bulldogs this year.

Growing up in the Austin area, Bobo attended Kealing Middle School and Pflugerville High School. Bobo was apart of many clubs like Latin club and math club. While swimming for his high school’s team, he was also swimming for the club team that first introduced him to coaching.

“I was a super dork in high school, I was in many clubs and I swam,” Bobo said. “In order to swim on my club team, I had to coach the little kids everyday before practice.”

After graduating high school, he continued his swimming career throughout college at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

“When I finished high school I coached summer league teams, I’ve coached ever since I can remember,” Bobo said. “I swam all the way through college and now I just like coaching it.”

Getting to know an entire team personally, while attempting to accurately understand their skill level is a challenge for a new coach, but Bobo is taking on this task with a smile. Bobo has coached many teams.

“There are 61 one of them,”

MAKING A SPLASH: Coach Bobo teaches swimmers how to do a relay start. Bobo has been coaching swim since he was in high school. PHOTO BY Preston Rolls

Bobo said. “That’s a lot of names, but the kids are good, once I see them compete I’ll have a better idea of their strengths and weaknesses.”

Although practices just started, the swim team has had plenty of time to get to know Bobo. Junior Ella Devany has high hopes for her third season with the Bowie swim team alongside her team and their new coach.

“Coach Bobo is a great coach and we are happy to have him as apart of the team,” Devany said. “He is stricter when it comes to practices but he is teaching us the meaning of teamwork so that we can be the best swimmers if we put our mind to it.”

Bobo’s experience with swimming is obvious to the swimmers.

His experience translates into workouts that are meant to make

swimmers faster through improving technique, building more strength and building more endurance.

“I am very glad he took the job,” junior James Hayek said. “He is super knowledgeable when it comes to swim.”

Although his coaching techniques differ from what coaches have done in the past, Hayek has come to appreciate and respect Bo-

bo’s coaching style.

“Something he does that other coaches haven’t done in the past is before we do something he actually explains why we are doing what we are,” Hayek said. “He explains how it benefits us as swimmers overall so I know that everything I’m doing has a purpose which is very motivating.”

Similar to Devany, Hayek and other swimmers look towards to a positive season where they get faster and grow together. They look towards to becoming more competitive and having a great time.

“I think he’ll make an overall positive impact on the team through his coaching style,” Hayek said. “He’s all for having a good time and putting in work at the same time, as well as having competitive spirit.”

Bobo is passionate about the swim team and hopes that this year he can encourage other members of the Bowie community to recognize and support the team.

“We are trying to increase spirit and school awareness that Bowie has a swim team,” Bobo said.

“We’re trying get our name out there so it’s not this back-end sport that swims at Circle C.” As well as promoting school spirit Bobo hopes to improve the experience of being on a swim team by emphasizing the importance of team bonding. He believes a team bond strengthens its members.

“I want them to be a team,” Bobo said. “A bonded group that works together and cheers for each other is stronger and at the end of the day; they spend time together because they want to, not because they have to.”

Coming UP in SPORTS Oct. 2 Volleyball vs. Austin @ Bowie High School

O c t . 4 Va r s i t y Fo o t b a l l v s . A n d e r s o n @ B u r g e r S t a d i u m

O c t . 9 D i s t r i c t C r o s s C o u n t r y m e e t @ O l d S e t t l e r s Pa r k

O c t . 1 6 V o l l e y b a l l v s . L a k e Tr a v i s @ L a k e Tr a v i s

O c t . 2 5 J V Fo o t b a l l v s A u s t i n @ B u r g e r S t a d i u m

O c t . 2 7 B o w i e S c r i m m a g e Fe s t @ B o w i e H i g h S c h o o l

SPORTS 11

FRIDAY, SEPT. 28, 2018 THE DISPATCH

Austin to acquire new sports stadium

Columbus Crew Soccer Club makes the move from Ohio down to Texas

ART BY Sam Blas

SAM SAYS

Why are people burning Nike products?

Sam Blas Sports Editor

Colin Kaepernick is the most controversial athlete of today’s era. His protest is against the systematic oppression and racial injustice against minorities in the United States of America.

During the first 49ers preseason game on Aug. 26, 2016 against the Packers, Kaepernick chose to sit instead of stand during the national anthem. For the first three preseason games his actions went unnoticed by the media, but during the final preseason game, Kaepernick decided to kneel instead of sit.

This garnered nationwide controversy, splitting America into two sides. One side that believed Kaepernick had disrespected both the flag and our veterans. The other side that believed in what Kaepernick had to say.

On Sept. 4, Nike teamed up with Kaepernick for an ad campaign. This lead to a nationwide boycott of Nike products, lead by conservatives who believed Kaepernick disrespected the flag and our veterans. A few of these people reacted by burning Nike products they owned. Many promoted this action by posting videos on social media.

People have their right to boycott Nike.

They have a right to choose what to buy and what not to buy and that’s one of the main idea of capitalism. I respect their choice. I just want to clear that up before I get into the next topic and that is about the people who are choosing to burn Nike products.

First off, don’t burn your Nike products.

There are a plethora of reasons not to and we’ll be examining some of those reasons.

For one, burning materials commonly found inside shoes, like rubber and foam, is hilariously bad for the environment.

Also, instead of burning your Nikes past wear-ability, donate them to people in need.

Maybe to those veterans that are having trouble adjusting to our society.

Second off, if you are going to burn your Nike products, don’t post it on social media.

You are just giving Nike free advertisement.

Conservatives aren’t the only people that hold strong feelings about the Kaepernick ad. Liberals and Democrats, such as myself, support both Kaepernick and Nike throughout the protest and ad campaign. We believe

What is the

?

SPORTS page

ART BY Sam Blas

that Kaepernick is fighting for what he believes in and that is the basis of what this ad campaign is about.

In my opinion, Kaepernick had every right to protest, his first amendment right protects his actions. People want to deny that right, which is what goes against what our veterans and soldiers fought for.

Protesting is one of the most patriotic things you can do as an American. That was a right given to us by our Founding Fathers.

Why not utilize it?

With all the protesting aside, let’s get into the effects and outcome of the boycott.

The details of the contract between Nike and Kaepernick, estimated to be in the millions, has not been disclosed. So Kap should be living good.

Nike on the other hand, suffered immediate consequences, the stock of Nike dropped to $79.60 from $82.20, but then jumped to an all-time high $83.47.

So the ad campaign seems to be working out pretty well for Kaepernick and Nike, but not very well for the boycotter’s.

Ultimately, Nike’s new campaign endorsing Kaepernick has split the nation in two.

One of those sides supporting the Nike campaign and Kaepernick, while the other does the opposite. Those who were against Kap in the first place had the terrible idea of burning Nike products when they have much better options to their disposal. Don’t burn your Nike. Donate them instead.

Questions? Concerns?

Want to share your opinion?

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

Braker L

n

Event Parking (1,000 spaces)

Pl lla

Cost: $200 m Opening: March 2021 Capacity: 20,000

Ka

Domain area, and shuttles could take you to the stadium,” girls soccer coach and history teacher Carrie Hoffman-Howell said. “That way The Domain is getting more business, and transportation to the stadium is more organized.”

Columbus Crew FC is determined to come to Austin, but their fans in Ohio are not pleased with the idea, and a lawsuit against Precourt Sports Ventures has made it a challenge.

“Major League Soccer is working to resolve the lawsuit,” Robinson said. “We are focused on bringing the team to Austin.”

MLS fans in Austin are really looking forward to having a team and stadium of their own.

“Soccer fans will be excited because they’ll finally have a team in the city to root for,” sophomore Lola Valeria said. “I’m mainly looking forward to going to some games with my friends and family.”

Valeria has been an MLS fan since she was young and currently plays soccer for Bowie and her club.

“I started watching games when I was little because of my dad, who first got me into soccer,” Valeria said.

“Since the Austin team will be new, I’m not expecting them to be really good right away, but I think they will be a good team in the future.”

Hoffman-Howell believes the new stadium will positively impact the soccer community in Austin.

Mc

Bright lights shine down on the field, thousands of fans occupy the stands, and cheering comes from every direction as the ref ’s whistle marks the start of the game.

These are the hopes the Austin Football Club has for the new, privately funded Major League Soccer stadium they have plans to build at McKalla Place near The Domain.

“Austin is an ideal city for Major League Soccer,” community engagement specialist of MLS2ATX Kelan Robinson said. “Austin is a young, diverse, tech-savvy, city that we believe will embrace the inclusive, welcoming and exciting experience MLS in Austin will bring.”

The Columbus Crew Football Club, a popular MLS team owned by Precourt Sports Ventures, is aiming move to Austin in order to become the new Aus-

tin FC team.

“Moving to Austin brings numerous benefits for not only the club, but also for Austinites,” Robinson said.

“Precourt Sports Ventures will privately fund and build a $200 million soccer stadium and park.”

The stadium will hold 20,000 people and will serve as the home stadium for Austin FC, as well as a location for other important events in Austin.

There will be space for cultural events, community programming, music festivals and more,” Robinson said. “[Additionally], the park and trails will be open to the community 52 weeks a year.”

Because the stadium will be built in such a populated area, Precourt Sport Ventures is providing hundreds of millions of dollars to the community through donations and transportation improvements.

“I’ve heard that there may be an option to park in The

Burn et Rd

Naya Tillish Reporter

ART BY Sumin Kim

“I think soccer is pretty strong in the Austin area.

The population of the sport is already here, so it makes sense that we’d have an MLS team,” Hoffman said.

“I think the team will help grow the soccer fan base for sure. Everything helps it grow.”

Precourt Sports Ventures plans to give back to the community by reducing tick-

et prices to fit as many peoples’ budgets as possible and donating millions of dollars to local youth players and clubs.

“PSV is providing 1,000 comped tickets to each home game and 1,000 reduced-price tickets to each home game to allow as many Austinites as possible the chance to experience cheering on [their] hometown

team,” Robinson said.

Austin FC has high hopes for the future, and they hope to benefit all Austinites through their new stadium.

“Austin is a proud melting pot of diverse cultures and communities. Soccer has the power to bring everyone together and unite all of Austin with its very first hometown professional sports team.”

Changes made to sport districts Every couple of years University Interscholastic League (UIL) districts are switched up creating a new set of teams for schools to play.

“I think it’s a good thing that they switch up the districts every now and then,” senior volleyball player Terah Clemons said. “It gives us an opportunity to play a variety of teams,” Districts are generally based off of the population of a school, placing Bowie in 6A-1, the biggest conference.

“Since we’re playing bigger schools, competition is harder,” senior baseball player Virgil Anchondo said. “But playing harder teams gives us more opportunity to improve and grow as a team.”

The district changes are a result of UIL deciding who

should play who for the following two school years.

“Bowie’s district changed just like every other district,” Varsity baseball coach Sam Degelia said.

“In another two years districts will be changed once again.”

This year Bowie is playing a variety of different schools, including some old rivals.

“This year will be exciting because we will be playing Lake Travis, Westlake, Hays, Austin, and Lehman,” Anchondo said. “The district is going to be more challenging this year.”

These old rivalries have created a fun atmosphere for athletes, but have also given teams an incentive to work even harder then in previous years.

“It’s always fun to play new faces, but playing

harder teams means working harder,” Clemons said.

“Practices have become more intense and expectations are higher.”

Since most players have played the teams before, they know what to expect from their competitors, despite the two year gap between now and the last time districts were changed.

“Everybody in our district now was in our district a couple years ago and we competed pretty good so I’m hoping that we’ll compete just as well this year,” Degelia said.

All in all, the new district change has brought excitement for players.

“I’m pumped to see what all the teams do this year,” Anchondo said. “[I am] ready to work hard to beat STORY the competition.”

BY Caitlin Worthington

Ultimate prepares for next season Last year, the Bowie Ultimate team won the Texas state championship.

“It felt very fulfilling,” captain Luke Broderick said. “I‘ve always wanted to win something that big and I never really had the chance to do that until I joined ultimate. I was super happy with what the outcome was and I hope we get to do it again next year.”

Club sponsor Kelly Tagle is particularly proud of the team.

“I can’t take any credit for what they were able to do, but I shared their joy,” Tagle said. “It’s just flat out awesome. There’s nothing like winning state.”

During the state tournament, the team played

against Marcus High School from Dallas, who many of the ultimate team consider rivals, according to captain Caroline Myers.

“Last year we were knocked out by our rivals, Marcus, by one point,” Myers said. “This year we were able to beat them. A lot of the kids knew each other on the other team because the ultimate community is very tight. So people from Bowie played against people they knew and it was fun to compete against each other.”

The team has high expectations coming into this season. Myers looks to the future with both caution and excitement.

“Many of our players were seniors last year, so

we lost a lot of players for this year,” Myers said. “We need to get more and more people interested in ultimate that have never played before. I am very excited for the next season, but we still need to improve.”

When the team held an informational meeting to scout for new players, around fifty people showed up.

“I just think that there’s a lot of interest and we need to capitalize on that interest and use it to improve our team,” Tagle said. “That makes me so excited for this season because we’re going to have so many new people join.”

STORY BY Sam Blas

The sports page consist of stories focused around the various sports students at Bowie are involved in. Sports news stories are factual and timely, giving information about the changes to the various teams at Bowie. Sports feature stories focus on a particular student or organization that has done something of interest relating to athletics. Often coverage comes from non-Bowie sports teams.

12 ENTERTAINMENT THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, SEPT. 28, 2018

Marching for program improvements Will Grossenbacher Reporter

When you see the Marching Band this year, you won’t see the classic gray and black formal uniform. Instead, you’ll see brand new sleek black pants, along with a colorful floral top. All of this is possible because of the band students hard work when raising money for the March-A-Thon fund raiser.

The March-A-Thon was conducted over the summer to help the band raise money and to introduce new supporters to the program.

“We wanted to increase exposure for Bowie High School and our band program within the community,” Head Band Director Garth Gunderson said.

In an effort to raise awareness about the band in the areas surrounding school, the band marched around Circle C neighborhoods next to the community center pool, played popular tunes, and went door to door handing out flyers asking for support.

“We marched through the neighborhoods around Bowie to promote Bowie High School, promote our band program, and thank the community for their support of this fundraiser and for our band program,” Gunderson said.

Freshman Kristian De La Garza was one of the students who marched around the neighborhood.

“It was really humid and everyone was super moist and sweaty, and it smelled bad, and then we had stuff to do after that too,” De La Garza said.

Senior Jack Barsotti agreed that it was hot and sweaty, but thought that the march was necessary for the fundraiser.

“Even though it was really hot and sticky outside, it was pretty fun, I’ve never marched through a neighborhood before and I liked seeing all the people come out of their houses in their pajamas,” Barsotti said. “It was necessary because it was beneficial to help raise funds for the band, and we desperately need those this year in order to get the uniforms to perform a great show” Junior Hugo Tellez believes that

MARCHING MADNESS Parading through various neighborhoods, the marching band serenades residents in hopes of raising money for their program. The band students raised about $54,000, which went to new uniforms. COURTESY OF Bowie Band

the band made him who he is today, and was happy to help raise money.

“I enjoyed marching around the neighborhood because it showed what the Bowie band signified and who we are and how we perform,” Tellez said.

One of the main goals of the March-A-Thon was to raise enough money to afford new uniforms for the bands’ competition season. “[We wanted to] raise funds for a new competition uniform that we will wear for our marching show this fall and thank the community for their support of Bowie High School,” Gunderson said.

Many of the band students felt

connected with the community when they raised money and awareness of the band.

“I enjoyed the March-A-Thon because I felt like we were giving back to the people that were supporting us,” Tellez said.

Most of the students thought the new community exposure to the band was a welcomed change.

“It was great to be able to reach out to the community, which is something the Bowie band has never done before,” Barsotti said. “It made band a little bit more interesting this year and now more people are aware of it, which is going to help us get funding.”

The band used a company called

‘SNAP! Fundraiser’ to get the message out and raise more money.

“SNAP is the most successful and recognized Online platform for raising funds Online,” Gunderson said. “They are very protective of the Online profiles and protect our students and families.”

For many people in the community, this was the first time they had seen the Bowie band.

“The most important aspect of the fundraiser was community exposure,” Gunderson said.

The band was able to raise $54,000, which was well over their goal of $40,000.

“We had a phenomenal fundraiser, with over 80 percent of the band

participating,” Gunderson said.

The fundraiser was so successful that Gunderson decided do the March-A-Thon annually.

“We are planning to make the March-A-Thon an annual event and make it in a different neighborhood that feeds into Bowie High School next year,” Gunderson said.

Although the March-A-Thon earned a lot of money for the band, the band’s main focus with the March-A-Thon was to bring the community together.

“Bowie High is a great school,” Gunderson said. “Community involvement in the school is what will continue to make Bowie one of the best schools in Austin.

New boss leads technical theatrics behind the scenes Shelby Papst News Editor

The change was instant when he walked through the threshold. He exuded a stage manager’s experience from the start and it was clear the experience wasn’t for himself. It was to pass onto his students.

New technical director Colton Perry has started his first year working with the students in the regular and advanced Technical Theatre classes.

“I’m looking forward to having so many students that are interested in tech,” Perry said. “In my last school, I did

not have as many students that were interested and it was a dwindling department.

The fact that Bowie is so excited to do tech just makes me really excited about working here.”

The students enjoy his passion for teaching.

“My favorite thing about Perry is that he is so comfortable with teaching anything, from his random facts of the day to stage management skills and general organization,” junior Samuel Fafel said. “He is able to combine an effective learning environment with a comfortable one.”

Perry’s main priority as a teacher and director is for his students to realize the potential they already have within them.

“I sometimes find students in schools that don’t have a lot of time to create and express themselves,” Perry said. “I want to teach them not only how to create, but how to realize their creations, their ideas, so that they see that with hard work anything can really come to life if you put enough time into it.”

Despite how new he is to the program, his students are appreciate how Perry acknowledges their feelings and responsibilities.

“My first impression of Perry was that he views us as actual people, not just students,” senior Julia Cabrera said. “He recognizes that we have other commitments outside of class, but he also views us as mature students that can work well and get things done. ” Perry brings something to the tech theatre program that has been absent in previous years.

“He brings with him professional experience,” Fafel said. “For a long time, Bowie has gone without a Tech director that actually knows tech, rather than just design, especially when it comes to the differences between pro-

TENACIOUS TEACHING: Leaning over, Colton Perry assists students with their assignments. Perry has real world experience in the tech field. PHOTO BY Cade Spencer

What is the

ENTERTAINMENT page

?

fessional theatre and high school theatre.”

As a teacher, Perry’s favorite part of his job is the students.

“They are always fun, they have got a nice energy with them and that’s what will turn a bad day to a good day, talking with some students,” Perry said. “Even if something is not great in my personal life, I come to school and there are students that are just excited to do work and do theatre. It almost cures any sadness that I have in my life.”

Cabrera, among other students, anticipate what Perry will bring to the theater.

“I think Perry will bring a lot of positive energy to the theatre company,” Cabrera said. “He is very adamant about making sure we don’t get too stressed this year and he’s enthusiastic in everything he does. I’m excited to see how that affects the company.”

Perry may be a new addition to the theatre, but he’s in it for the long-run. Teaching is his passion and he is prepared for what the program has in store for him.

“My favorite part about being a director is the creation aspect and as an educational director, I like guiding people through that process,” Perry said. “I like seeing, starting with almost

RULER of the TECHIES Cares Passionate about his job

Prepared for what’s to come

Real World Experience

GRAPHIC BY Mikayla Zellner

nothing, and resulting in something so huge and amazing, and it doesn’t always have to be huge, but you always end up with

something that is amazing if you put in the time and effort, and that’s one of the most beautiful things to see.”

The entertainment page consists of stories regarding the theatre department, band, orchestra, and choir. These stories focus on fine art, performance-based student organizations and give insight to the work that goes into them.

coming UP in ENTERTAINMENT Sept. 29 Bands of America Competition Oct. 1 Choir Concert @ Bowie

for his students

Oct. 10 Orchestra Fall Concert Oct. 12-14 Starlight Theatre Company Fall Shows

Oct. 20 Homecoming Dance Oct. 26-28 Choir Cabaret

REVIEWS 13

FRIDAY, SEPT. 28, 2018 THE DISPATCH

The Queso Quest: only one can reign ‘Round Town: A look into local businesses throughout Austin Maddy Rice Managing Editor

Last year on food blog Wide Open Eats, reviewer J. Marie Martin made the bold move of claiming Kerbey Lane Cafe’s Kerbey Queso was the best queso in the entire state of Texas— without even including Torchy’s Tacos’ Green Chile Queso on the list. To revisit the age old debate of Torchy’s vs. Kerbey, we reviewed five restaurants recommended by students to have the best queso in Austin, and went on a quest to find, well, the best queso.

The first queso we tried was a classic: Torchy’s Green Chile Queso. Although I go to Torchy’s pretty much every weekend, we made sure the queso was being rated on a completely objective scale.

In order to rank all of the quesos we were going to try, we decided to calculate the scores based on consistency, flavor, balance of add-ins, and spiciness if the queso was intended to be spicy. We also considered other factors such as the price, amount of queso and chip quality.

Torchy’s absolutely dominated our scale; we walked out of there giving Torchy’s a whopping eight out of ten.

For $5.25, customers receive eight ounces of runny cheese that is balanced by just the right amount of guacamole, accented by the magic combination of Torchy’s Diablo Sauce and cilantro. At a reasonable price, we were very satisfied with the tastiness Torchy’s provided with their queso.

Next, we had to go to the familiar Kerbey Lane Cafe.

Again, we were not strangers to the infamous Kerbey

ART BY Joe Morales

Queso, but nonetheless we reviewed using our perfectly crafted scale.

It probably comes as no surprise that Kerbey also got an eight out of ten, with its stellar flavor cheese and thick consistency. The queso features the perfect amount of guac to mix in, but the pico de gallo is a bit much and often we found our cheese was stolen by sneaky tomato bits.

Lastly, being close to most students’ neighborhoods, Kerbey is in a prime location for after-school snacking.

However, the $8.09 queso is a lot for what it is if you’re not splitting the cost with other people.

Branching out beyond the familiar tastes of Torchy’s and Kerbey, we tried Magnolia Cafe on South Congress as our third queso. At about the same price as Kerbey, we re-

and lettuce on a homemade flour tortilla. The Pioneer was probably the best vegan dish I’ve had in a long time.

The rice from Cool Beans was great, but the beans were just mediocre with a weird aftertaste. I also loved the flour tortillas they make fresh every day, which is the only item on the menu that is not gluten free.

The atmosphere at Cool Beans was very fun. The taco truck really embodied what I think Austin is all about, really relaxed, cute, healthy and environmentally friendly.

The second vegan place that I enjoyed was Capital City Bakery. The bakery is completely woman-owned, and it started out as someone making cakes out of a home. It then turned into the first vegan bakery food trailer in Austin, which then moved to its permanent location downtown.

The bakery features things like brownies, cupcakes, cheesecakes and cookies in the shop and cakes you can custom order Online.

I ordered a triple chocolate brownie and a pumpkin

carrot cupcake; the cupcake was very delicious and moist despite not having any animal products added. I loved the mix of the pumpkin and carrot since it tasted like a fall dessert. The brownie was not as good as the cupcake, but it was still great.

Both treats went beyond my expectations for what I thought a vegan dessert would taste like.

Capital City Bakery had such a cute atmosphere and the look could probably be found on Pinterest. I loved all the decor and style of the bakery. The people working at Capital City Bakery were very sweet and eager to answer my questions about their desserts and told me about their most popular items.

I had a lot of fun trying a bunch of vegan food and now know where to go when wanting some healthy meat substitutes. My absolute favorite restaurant that I tried was the Capital City Bakery, mostly because I enjoy desserts more than food, and they had amazing desserts, but I had a good experience at all of the places.

ceived a similar size of good, melted cheese but without any add-ins. Although I’m sure there is a way to add guac or pico, it would have been nice to have in the mix.

However, you are served a complimentary bowl of salsa that balances out the flavors.

Again, the queso was a good amount of spicy and overall good— but not best.

Seven out of ten.

Decorated sort of like a

hula hut, Cabo Bob’s off East Ben White Boulevard gave us the cheapest queso we’d tried so far at the bargain price of $3.50. With amazing flavor and consistency similar to Kerbey’s, the Cabo Bob’s Chips & Queso came with no add-ins, but didn’t even really need them. It also incorporated a shocking amount of spice for what it was, leaving our taste buds satisfied.

But there’s a catch: it was small. Between my boyfriend and I, we finished the dip in a much shorter amount of time than we did anywhere else. Still, easy eight out of ten.

The last place we tried was at a traditional restaurant/bar called El Mercado off South First Street. Based off recommendation, we ordered the Phillip’s Special Queso for $8.99 which included taco meat, guacamole, jalapeños and onions.

By itself, I wasn’t really a fan of the cheese especially compared to the last four places we’d tried. However, with all of the add-ins, the dish tasted like a deconstructed taco that was large enough for a group of people to share. We walked away giving it a six out of ten, not bad, not great.

We ended up with a three way tie having given Torchy’s, Kerbey and Cabo Bob’s all an eight. Each queso brought something great to the table: spice, flavor, and cheap price.

However, we had to make a decision. Cabo Bob’s didn’t have enough queso while Kerbey felt too pricey for just two people to share— but Torchy’s was just right.

With impeccable flavor and a reasonable price, we deemed the Green Chile Queso the best queso in Austin. I couldn’t tell if I was disappointed that the best queso was just the classic Torchy’s that we have all the time, or proud that it knocked all the rest out of the park. For its affordability, we knocked Torchy’s up to nine out of ten on our list.

After all, it is “damn good”.

Austin’s animal-free ambiance Introducing Buster’s Rebirth: there is a new ‘Dawg in town

Austin takes pride in being friendly to all lifestyles, so naturally there are plenty of vegan restaurants in the city.

I tried the vegan restaurants Flower Child, Cool Beans, Arlo’s Curbside Kitchen, Capital City Bakery, Koriente and even the vegan burger from the AISD food truck Nacho Average Food Truck. While all of the places I tried were great, Capital City Bakery and Cool Beans stood out from the rest with having the best food and experience.

Cool Beans is an all vegan and mostly gluten-free taco truck that advertises “authentic Mexican, vegan cuisine”. Despite its menu featuring things like queso and chorizo, the food truck is entirely vegan and makes these things with animal product substitutes.

Cool Beans’ menu is mostly tacos, but it has other options like nachos as well as chips and salsa. I got an order of The Pioneer taco, which has beans, queso, guacamole, tomato, cilantro

DATA FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES AND GOOGLE.COM

ART BY Joe Morales

What is the

?

REVIEWS page

Rey Gray Reporter

If you’ve seen the new Bowie logo you’ve noticed that it doesn’t look anything like it did last year. Last year Bowie was sued by Gonzaga University because we were using their copyrighted logo, and that meant that we had to give our mascot Buster the Bulldawg a makeover.

Do I think that the lawsuit was needed or warranted?

No, but it ended it up having a good outcome. The lawsuit against us didn’t seem like a positive thing at first, in fact is was a pretty big and costly mess, but it gave us an opportunity to create our own logo that is ours, and only for us to use.

This is not the first logo that Bowie has stolen either, over the years we have used many mascots that aren’t ours and gotten away with it, but this time we couldn’t

ART COURTESY OF Bowie

Faith Lawrence Reporter

get away home free.

The lettering on the logo is probably the aspect that I love the most about the new design. I enjoy how the white “James” on the top fits snugly between the “B” and the “E”, and how the “High School” fits nicely on the bottom. I also enjoy the font and color that they chose because it creates a classic varsity sports look, and the white outlining on the red letters ties in the white lettering on the top and bottom.

The whole thing looks really clean with the black and gray outlining and gives it a

polished but modern look. I also like how Buster is standing on top of the words and has the same outlining as the letters because it gives it a uniformed style and makes it look like they belong together.

In the new design for the bulldog he is showing off a snarl while wearing a spiked red collar with the Bowie “B”. I do wish though that the star in the Bowie “B” on the collar was white instead of gray. The full body style is more intimidating in my opinion, and adds bulk to the logo instead of it just being a floating head. I also feel like the logo was tastefully made and the angle that its coming at adds more to the appeal of it.

The logo was designed by Varsity Brands, a company that focuses on re-branding and redesigning logos for schools. A committee of teachers and department heads from band, football, and other activities around the school communicated back and forth with the company to give us the look and feel that Bowie needed.

All in all, the new logo design is polished, clean, modern and most importantly, we own the copyright so it’s ours and only ours to use indefinitely.

The reviews page allows students to personally evaluate different forms of entertainment. Most of the time, the topics include movies, music, books, and apps. This year, the Dispatch is attempting to focus our coverage on local happenings such as theatre shows, band and orchestra concerts, and favorite restaurants around Austin. These stories contain the opinions of the person writing the story, the reviewer.

14 COMMENTARY THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, SEPT. 28, 2018

Ideacide and you: the guide to avoiding self-censorship Analyzing how constraining our thoughts serves as a roadblock for creative thinking EDITORIAL There is no doubt that every student at Bowie has been affected by the changes introduced this school year, and anyone who puts on an ID or has to walk an extra two minutes because of a newly locked door surely has two cents to add to the conversation. Even though teenagers are known for being over-dramatic at times, there still lies an unconscious tendency in most people to hold back their thoughts and opinions, often referred to as self-censorship.

We should all make an effort to actively note and rethink our hesitations, for freely expressing our thoughts will add different perspectives and have an impact on important issues. At The Dispatch, for example, we make the decision to not self-censor so our fellow students can access truthful information they need to know.

Some people may not know the term self-censorship, but many of us have experienced it at some point in our lives. Basically, it is not saying what we want to say because we think it will not make any difference to the issue or that people of authority won’t care. Self-censorship is very common in high school when we are old enough to

What is an

EDITORIAL

?

ART BY Ian Miller

have ideas, but not old enough for them to be taken seriously.

While most students are probably not openly intimidated by authority figures in school, the psychological topic of obedience to authority provides explanation on why we tend to censor what we want to say. Ever

since we started school, and even in society, we have been taught that respecting adult authority meant not challenging them. If we chose to challenge them, consequences followed and we began to grow cautious of what we said and who we said it to.

A term that goes well with this topic is

ideacide. Whether this is a student avoiding a controversial essay topic or being hesitant to voice an unpopular opinion in a class discussion, we have all experienced ideacide.

This poses the question of whether or not we have grown cautious of saying certain things in anticipation of backlash.

Ideacide can be classified as fear, because uncertainty is, in some aspects, what may be stopping us from saying things that we want to say. Whether that stems from being overly critical or from an expectation of rejection or change, we miss an opportunity to share our views. By being aware of this self doubt, we can begin to consider whether or not we truly have nothing to say or are just scared of negative reactions.

At The Dispatch, there are times when we take a risk publishing a story that may stir up controversy. While most newspaper readers will only ever see the finished product, producing relevant and informational content can be tricky. We deal with self-censorship every issue but make efforts to move past it in order to uphold the virtue of true journalism and put out the best work possible. In the same way that being on staff fosters free discussion, we encourage the Bowie community to actively engage in discussion on issues that matter to them.

An editorial piece presents the staff’s opinion to a particular issue. The topic chosen is often brought up during staff brainstorms and tends to be a subject staffers are passionate about. Our editorial board votes on what stance to take, and a member of staff writes the piece representing that opinion.

Letter from the Editors Understanding political perspectives Carter Scruggs Reporter

The Dispatch explains the focus of this issue In light of the ongoing criticism of the media, our staff decided we wanted this issue of the paper to be centered around journalism, with the intent of clarifying for our community the goals of The Dispatch. Our purpose as a student-led newspaper is to serve the student body through informing, challenging, and highlighting different parts of the school.

We aim to spark conversation through the work we publish.

We are here to reflect the voices of the Bowie community through addressing student concerns and to help bridge the gap between the administration and students by giving an in-depth look into decisions that are made. The Dispatch aspires to continue building credibility as a source that students, parents, administration, and staff can look to.

In our quest to do so, we encourage public feedback. Journalists exist to inform the public and should be held accountable for the work that they put out. At The Dispatch, we try to uphold this standard by reaching out to multiple sources, researching and fact checking, and by having multiple people read stories prior to publishing.

Even so, given that members of staff are scholastic journalists, mistakes are made, and we’d like a chance to rectify the situation and grow as staffers from feedback. All members of staff can be contacted through their staff emails firstnamelastname@the-

dispatchonline.net or through our adviser Michael Reeves at bowie.journalism@gmail.com.

In addition, if readers have any suggestions of what they wish to see covered, we ask that they reach out through those emails as well.

In this issue, to better explain how and why we do the things we do in The Dispatch, we also decided to define what different sections of the paper are, so that readers know what to expect from each section. For example, readers should know that news stories are meant to be objective and informative, whereas commentary stories serve as a place for a writer to take a stance on a subject. This information can be found in the “What is?” description boxes throughout the publication.

The Dispatch is committed to asking questions and presenting the facts of various issues. Now more than ever, we are pushing our staff to cover hard hitting, relevant topics and in doing so, we acknowledge that readers may be discontent with what they read.

Despite the scrutiny of fake news casting journalists as ‘the enemy of the people,’ as student journalists we are determined to retain the trust that our community has in us and can only guarantee we will do everything we can to report honestly.

Cianna Chairez, Abby Ong Editors-in-Chief

We live in a world today where people can share their opinion at the click of a button, but it seems like people have been more inclined to share said opinions in recent times.

But is the recent spike in political activeness good or bad?

Ever since the 2016 election, it seems that the levels of political activeness has increased by tenfold, a fact can be seen everywhere in our daily lives.

Whether people are protesting against the president, school shootings, or something else, people have been more inclined to share their voices and fight for what they think is right. Here at Bowie,there was a walkout on campus just last year, where students protested gun violence after the Parkland school shooting, where 17 people students were massacred and many more were wounded.

No matter our political beliefs after the 2016 election, people have become more opinionated, and its effects can be seen in almost every aspect of life. No matter who we sup-

role in the lives of all teenagers, but a new aspect of pressure may about to be nailed in. While it is great that people are now talking about issues that need to be discussed, people that have unpopular opinions can be left feeling alienated because of their beliefs.

Austin is generally a pretty liberal city, seeing as how they hold the majority in almost every part of the local government, but that doesn't always mean they get along. If we know that Austin is mostly liberal, then one can assume Bowie follows suite. I know a number of people that say that they don’t like sharing their beliefs knowing that the majority of the people around them that don’t feel the same.

Bottom line we shouldn’t be judging people for stuff that is not entirely under their control. Imagine you’re a cow on a farm, your family are the farmers, and you have to eat your food from a trough. You have to eat this food because you have no other choice. Should we really judge other people because they eat a different amount of food, or a different type of food, or maybe even no food at all? The point is, most of us really have little control over our beliefs.

Our political beliefs are just one of the things that makes us who we are, but that doesn't mean that we should let them control every other aspects of our lives.

Questions?

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

ART BY Dalton Spruce

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 • CSPA Silver Crown, Gold Medal, 3/3 All-Columbian, 2017-18 • JEA 2nd Place Best in Show, SF Spring Convention, 2017-18 Dispatch Issue #5 • ASPA First Place Senior HS, 2017-18

port politically, it is quite obvious that the president has been a very divisive figure, and has driven an already divided political climate to the extremes.

There’s no doubt that people have become more opinionated since the election and are therefore more active politically. This is why it’s important to people of our age, and really of any age, to do our duty as American citizens and use our right to protest, even if it seems that almost everything in our lives is being politicized. This is evident in events such as sports, like the NFL, where players are kneeling in protest and all of the backlash the players and organizations have been getting for allowing it, even though they have every right to protest for what they believe.

Seemingly there appears to be no escape from the beast that is politics in this modernized world. It is everywhere, persistently making everyone aware of the fact. There’s even brands making political statements to the abundance of boycotts every time a person representing something says anything minutely controversial.

Peer pressure plays a significant

• NSPA Pacemaker Finalist, AllAmerican, 4/4 Marks, 2017-18 • UIL/ILPC Bronze Star, 2017-18 • TAJE HM Best in Show, 2016-17 • TAJE 2nd Place Sweepstakes, 2016-17

Friday, Sept. 28, 2018 Vol. 31, Issue 1 www.thedispatchonline.net James Bowie High School 4103 W. Slaughter Lane Austin TX, 78749

THE DISPATCH STAFF

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Cianna Chairez Abby Ong

PHOTO ESSAY EDITORS Austyn Keelty Preston Rolls

MANAGING EDITORS Jocelyn Brooks Maddy Rice

COMMENTARY EDITORS Jake Brien Ian Miller

NEWS EDITORS Jadon Alvarez Shelby Papst

COPY EDITOR Rachel Baschnagel

FEATURE EDITORS Madisen Johnson Marisa Salazar SPORTS EDITORS Sam Blas Peter Dang REVIEW EDITOR Gracie Angeli ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Mikayla Zellner ARTS/GRAPHICS EDITOR Joe Morales

ASSISTANT EDITORS Miranda Cardenas Katie Holme Cade Spencer REPORTERS Natalie Aman Abbie Brien Gigi Francis Ella Friedman William Grossenbacher Amelie Hayne Kateri Jaquette Sumin Kim Faith Lawrence Carter Scruggs Avery Shelton

Elizabeth Shymkiw Dalton Spruce Naya Tillisch Caitlin Worthington PHOTOGRAPHERS Rey Gray Abbey Repka Chase Westfall THE DISPATCH ONLINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mo Orr MANAGING EDITORS Ellie Coulston Kaitlyn Zellner STAFF Maya Amador Austin Civatte Shruti Patel Shikha Patel Amara Robertson Amanda Zinni ADVISER: Michael Reeves

COMMENTARY 15 FRIDAY, SEPT. 28, 2018 THE DISPATCH

IDs spark debate: purpose vs. plastic

The Pros: the ends justify the means Ian Miller Commentary Editor

No matter where we navigate ourselves around Bowie, they are never too far from us. Placed on the surface of tables, noisily clanking against their metal retainers, and being frantically tied to a lanyard before class, it seems impossible to escape from the new school IDs this year.

At the beginning of this school year, Bowie revamped its ID system, requiring everyone on campus to wear a school ID during school hours as an extra layer of security.

This new change was met with several groans from students as they learned about the inconveniences of wearing a small plastic card during school hours. Many were inclined to voice their concerns against the principal for making them wear such hassling, annoying, pestering bits of plastic.

Here’s the thing - the new IDs really are just small, plastic cards. The abundance of students who think this new system is the end of the world for them need to reconsider their priorities. For one, the implementation of these IDs is the least oppressing thing the school could’ve done to increase security. Secondly, this shows that the school cares about and puts thought into our safety. Lastly, it’s possible that, in the future, these IDs could have other uses besides security.

Let me make this clear to some students - having to wear plastic cards will not make school a new purgatory. There are many other districts in Texas, such as NEISD, Cy-Fair ISD, and EISD, who have begun forcing their students purchase clear backpacks. Honestly, we should be thanking AISD for only going so far as to make us wear IDs when they could have opted for a more stringent method of security. I’m sure that those other students in Texas would much rather want the option of wearing an ID over having to wear transparent backpacks for the rest of the school year.

If AISD did absolutely nothing to increase security after the shooting in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 students were brutally massacred, should students really see that as a positive thing?

Think about it this way: by applying the ID system to Bowie, it shows that AISD is look-

ing out for our safety. They are demonstrating that they actually care about our well-being through the addition of school IDs. If AISD did absolutely nothing to increase security measures for their students, that would indicate a lack of concern for the prosperity of us students. It’s like a parent giving their kids a flu shot; sure, it might hurt a little at first, but in the long run, the purpose of the shot is to help the kid.

There’s a good chance these IDs could be used for other purposes than just security in the future. Schools all around the nation have already begun using their ID cards for several other uses, such as library passes, meal cards, and even as a way to take attendance in classes. Instead of filling in a Google survey each time a student visits the library, we could just swipe our IDs and get signed in. Instead of punching in a student number each time a student orders from the cafeteria, we could just swipe our IDs and pay that way. Instead of spending 10 minutes a class taking attendance, we could just… actually, let’s be honest. We all like that. In any case, IDs have a big potential when it come to things non-security related.

The next time we hear someone comment about how unfair and annoying it is to wear an ID, remember the kids who are forced to wear clear backpacks.

Remember the fact that AISD is looking out for us. Remember that there’s a good chance these IDs don’t have to be used entirely for security. Remember that, ultimately, these IDs are just flat pieces of plastic, not the catalysts to the end of the world.

Questions? Concerns?

Want to share your opinion?

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

?

What is the

The Cons: security theater isn't security

COMMENTARYpage

It just baffles me. A group of individuals actually sat in a room and pressed local high schools to scramble for any security whatsoever - and this is the best they could do. According to the Austin Independent School District, school safety is as easy and affordable as wearable plastic.

The truth is that I don’t feel safe at Bowie High School. These IDs are examples of “security theater.” Without definitive research supporting the validity of the notion that these IDs will make students safer, it’s clear that most students are upset. The district and Bowie alike must continue to use its limited resources to push for more security measures that incorporate student feedback because the majority of the student body is feeling as if Bowie has implemented a shady and unproven system.

It’s not just about prior research, it's about common sense. I don’t want an ID system that’s more focused on providing multiple services to students than it is protecting them. If Bowie wants to use IDs for the library or to check in for lunch, then these present their own issues and divert attention from what the purpose of these IDs are right now; to protect students. I highly doubt that the district has forgotten this, but I’m tired of hearing rumors about the IDs being used for miscellaneous purposes with nothing to show for it.

After each school shooting within the last 20 years, American high schools have scrambled to find alternative methods to meet parental and federal concerns for safety. For example, practicing lock-down drills at school was not always the norm, that only

became mandatory after the Columbine shooting. But these IDs are unacceptable.

Say a student loses a pass. That student has to go to the office and get a temporary sticker - a “raptor pass” - to serve as a placeholder until a new, free ID is given to the student. This second ID is free, but if the student loses that pass, then he/she will need to fork up $5. If the student doesn’t have $5 or is on their third attempt, they don't get to go to class and they receive in school suspension. This entire, needlessly complicated process is ridiculous. The National Education Association has stated that while they prefer security that’s backed by research, they have no quarrel with whatever system makes a school feel safer. There’s just one problem with this.

I don’t feel safe at Bowie and I’m not alone. Just because something is being done doesn’t mean it’s working. In fact, the illusion of safety is what could get some of us students killed someday. It’s easy to label people as whiny or petty when a few groans are heard after an announcement about the IDs from principal Mark Robinson, but I feel this dehumanizes us. These IDs are supposed to bring us together, not cause divisions. I'm for safety. The district is for safety. We should all listen to one another and seek to work to come to a conclusion which will benefit all students.

Locking certain doors, practicing drills, and informing students about what they can do to stay safe in the event of a shooting are all positive steps.

The clock is ticking. Let’s create an environment where faculty and students work together to explore new options beyond these IDs. Let’s show other schools in the district that we can create safety that takes into account Bowie’s unique campus. Let’s feel safe again.

Questions? Concerns?

Want to share your opinion?

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

ART BY Dalton Spruce

The commentary pages are where the staff expresses its opinions about current topics. Other than the review page, these are the only pages in the paper where staff writers are encouraged to share their subjective thoughts; ultimately, staffers are encouraged to research their topic of choice to promote informed opinions and are free to write about what they choose so long as their work is not guilty of libel or slander.

CHAT with NAT

As soon as we began our year as seniors, it seems as if we hit the ground running with anything and everything related to college. It’s been a whirlwind of information that brings with it a mountain of things to accomplish in a small amount of time. It also seems as if everything we are tasked with doing in order to apply to college costs money. A lot of money.

And it all starts with the dreaded application. Let me tell you, I was shocked when I found out how much just applying to college costs. For example, my ACT and SAT tests, sent score reports, and application fees combined is costing me over a whopping $400.

I hope I’m not the only one who was surprised by this news because wow, that is a lot of babysitting for me to do. Recently, I can’t help but wonder…why? Why does the process of applying to colleges, of which you’ll only attend one, if any at all, cost so much money? The ACT and SAT tests cost over $60 a pop if you are including the es-

Jake Brien Commentary Editor

say. To send the scores you earn, it’s another $12-13 per school you ship them to. If you are one of the many kids who take an ACT or SAT prep class, don’t forget to throw those costs into the mix. After that you still have to fill out the actual applications, order transcripts, get letters of recommendation, and write your essay.

Just when you think you’re finally set, you’re required to dish out even more cash just to submit those things to your schools.

The most common college application fee in the U.S. is $50, with the lowest being free and the highest being $90 at Stanford. Now I personally don’t think that’s fair. I understand it is peoples’ jobs to sift through the thousands of applications, but having a $75 fee just for the chance to

College applications cost more than just your personal time get accepted seems a little ridiculous. Money doesn’t grow on trees, and for many families these fees that make up the college application process cause a lot of stress.

I personally think applying to colleges should cost half as much as it currently does. While there’s nothing really that the schools could do about standardized testing fees, they do have control over their application fees. Even lowering the cost per application would help.

They don’t have to nix the fee completely, although I would be all for that. But if they are dependent of having a fee to lower the size of the applicant pool and pay their admissions staff, at least make it affordable.

With these fees, however, come the responsibilities of students to prioritize their schools and save up money, which are two strengths necessary to be successful in college.

For those who haven’t quite been introduced into the craze that is preparing for college, get ready. I don’t mean that in a way to scare you off or make you nervous.

While it is a stressful process, it is also very rewarding and a great learning opportunity. Although, it would be a fun and more exciting process if it didn’t include the stress of wondering how to pay for it.

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WHAT IS A COLUMN? A column is a standing head, something that appears in every issue of the paper, in which a columnist shares their opinion of different topics of a specific category, such as politics, lifestyle, sports, etc.

Questions? Concerns?

Want to share your opinion?

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

BULLDAWG SPEAK OUT How do you feel about the school's new security measures?

9th

10th

11th

12th

Richard Roberson

Katelyn Cordero

Reagan Stracener

Gia Spencer

"I think that because of how large the school is, I think they need more security guards around in general."

" “I think, yes it great that their being protective, but the badges aren’t really going to do anything.”

"I feel like the IDs are kind of dumb, but at the same time they're keeping us safe."

" We can complain about it all day but there's still a chance of everyone dying, so I think that a badge Is comparable to a life.”

TEACHER

Bree Rolfe

"[The IDs] are a step in the right direction.

They're long overdue for Bowie. Also, I think locking certain doors was long overdue."

PHOTOS AND INTERVIEWS BY Chase Westfall and Jake Brien

16 PHOTO ESSAY

THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, SEPT. 28, 2018

One of the hardest secrets to keep

FULL OF JOY: Math teacher Kelly Flickenger makes her way down the aisle of Bowie PALs students as she enters the secret PALs reveal party. The PALs lined up and waited for their teachers to come in so they could surprise them. “It’s one of the things that the PALs do which teachers truly appreciate,” Flickenger said. “I like this idea that Garcia does and it really let’s his kids get creative with different ways of thanking their teachers.” PHOTO BY Preston Rolls

PALs surprise teachers and show their appreciation Teachers do more than just grade papers: they sponsor clubs, assist with student struggles, and overall foster growth on campus. Since they’ve dedicated their lives to helping students, the Bowie Peer Assistant and Leadership (PALs) Club annually celebrate teachers through “Secret PALs.” Club members write letters and even buy gifts for every teacher and administrator.

“The whole Secret PALs event started the first year there was a group in 1988, and we do it so the Pal Students can give back to the teachers,” PALs advisor Alejandro Garcia said. “Teaching can be such an under appreciated job, so my goal is for students to show their appreciation for them.

To ensure no teacher, administrator, or staff member is left out, each student is given between seven and nine teachers for whom they write cards, make posters, or even give gifts..

“It’s my goal to make sure every teacher is assigned a Secret Pal,” Garcia said. “There are some teachers here that receive daily praise from students, so it’s good to give thanks to those who don’t always get it.”

The act of writing letters, decorating cards or giving gifts can be tedious since some students have never met their assigned teachers.

So Secret PALs appreciate when teachers write back; it forms a bond neither of them will forget.

“One of my favorite aspects of secret PALs is writing to staff mem-

bers that I haven’t met, and some prise the teachers whom they have that I haven’t even heard of,” senior been writing to.

Pal Natalie Aman said. “I’ve heard “All the teachers get to come back from some teachers that I don’t during their lunch and they finally know and it’s been fun for me get- get to meet their secret pal,” Garcia ting to know things that we have in said. “We give teachers the opportunity to meet some students that they common.”

The act of keeping the secret can ordinarily wouldn’t taught and also be hard. Some students are paired gives them the chance to see some with teachers they currently have, of the cool kids that go to this high school.” so keeping everything secret until The bonds the party has been formed between When the PALs hear teacher and stua struggle for some.

“It has been es- how their simple words dent are so much pecially difficult for stronger after they and kind gestures me to keep two of find out how much my teacher’s se- make teachers happy, they have in comcret,” Aman said. with each it really makes them mon “I have one of them other. currently, so every “I think it’s joyful. time I go to their amazing that after class I have to do Alejandro Garica only three weeks my best not to say of writing back PALs Advisor the little phrases or and forth with things I wrote in my some teachers I’ve letters.” realized how much in common we As teachers check their box for have,” senior Brooke Folliard said. letters, they begin to write back and “Then ultimately meeting these forth between them and their secret teachers, some of which I’ve never PALs, forming bonds met is so fun because they are so “It’s is like a ray of sunshine go- surprised at who their secret pal ing to my teacher mailbox in the was.” morning to find something compleIn the end, the goal of Secret mentary and sweet,” English teacher PALs is about forming connections Kimberly Wiedmeyer. “When I ini- between student and teacher, and tially got my first letter I was excited showing thanks to the Bowie staff. because this student knew me, so “Overall my goal was to get my writing back to them was nice to see PALs to understand the value and how well they actually knew me.” power of saying thank you,” Garcia Finally, after three weeks of bak- said. “These students put a lot work ing, crafting, writing and delivering, into their letters and afterwards I’ve the group spends a full week prepar- had teachers email me showing their ing for the big reveal party. At the thanks gratitude towards their separty the students get to finally sur- cret PALs.”

“

Preston Rolls Photo Essay Editor

ARMS FULL: Senior Pal Cade Blagdan hugs his secret pal Science teacher Erin Tilton. For some PALs, this was the first time they have ever met their assigned teacher. “Meeting my teachers and talking to them was the best part,” Blagdan said. “All my teachers were so sweet and talking to them really brought tears to my eye.” PHOTO BY Preston Rolls

MATERIALS SCATTERED: Finishing her cards, Senior Kaitlin Rush writes her last letter to her secret pal, Kim Gilbert. Each student was assigned about seven to nine different teachers to write to.“It takes me about and hour to make all my letters because I decorate them to be really colorful,” Rush said. “I love adding all these different stickers and such to the cards” PHOTO BY Preston Rolls

DELIVERY TIME: Senior Natalie Aman gathers her letters for her secret PALs and puts them in the teachers boxes for them to pick up. This was the third and last week of delivering notes the teachers. “Delivering the cards is so fun because we get to write fun letters and it allows us to be creative,” Aman said. “It’s nice to give back to my teachers.” PHOTO BY Preston Rolls

GIVING BACK: Meeting her secret Pal, English teacher Vicki Hebert gives a gift back to senior Kaitlin rush. Some teachers brought students their favorite treats which they learned through writing each other. “I was so happy to get Ms. Hebert she’s one of my favorite teachers,” Rush said. “It’s wonderful to give back to her since she’s such an amazing teacher.” PHOTO BY Preston Rolls