The Dispatch, Vol. 35, Issue #2, 11/18/22

Page 1

ENTERTAINMENT Bowie's STC wows the crowd with their children shows put on at elementary schools. pg.13

PHOTO BY Natalie Cullen

IN-DEPTH

Astrology has become popular in recent years as students learn about the ins and outs of their chart. pg. 8-9

ART BY Isabella del Nido

pg. 6

Vol. 35, Issue 2 www.thedispatchonline.net James Bowie High School 4103 W. Slaughter Lane, Austin, TX, 78749

Pride in Publishing

Red Wave doesn't hit the midterm shore

AISD bond passed and board members elected

As voters waited in anticipation it was offi cially announced that the historic 2.44 billion dollar Austin Independent School District (AISD) bond was passed. This money will help update and renew schools across the district as well as add to teacher hirings and raises.

On Tuesday, Nov. 8, voters passed the AISD bond as well as choosing multiple new AISD school board officials. There were five officials elected, four whom are new to the board and one was reelected.

“I think it was a tremendous win for the students in Austin ISD,” Principal Mark Rob inson said. “What the bond is going to do is allocate money that is protected from recap ture, which means that every dollar will stay in Austin ISD to go to improving facilities and in some cases, completely modernizing existing facilities.”

AISD is one of several districts that is part of the recapture or more commonly known as the “Robin Hood” program. This program takes the AISD tax dollars and redistributes them amongst “property-poor” districts. When a bond is approved this money goes straight to assisting that specific district and is exempt from redistribution.

“In the six years that I've been in Austin ISD I know that there have been times when we have had facility emergencies at Bowie that we've had to repair and those repairs have had to be paid for out of our mainte nance and operations budget, which is the same budget that we pay our staff,” Robinson said. “So the bond has dedicated funds for those repairs so they can be planned so that it doesn't have to come out of the money that we pay teachers with.”

In the plans outlined by AISD, the bond would go towards security improvements, full renovations, technology upgrades, athletic improvements, and new buses. According to austinisd.org, the bond changes across AISD campuses will begin during the summer of 2023 with safety upgrades to keep students and teachers safe.

“The nature of the improvements that need to be made now are things that will be scheduled when students aren't on campus,” Robinson said. “What we've gone through

After months of speculation and long, tense hours of waiting, the re sults are in. Almost. Congressional control is at a standstill, and Amer icans are left holding their breath, waiting to see the stalled results of a congressional majority.

Democrats have seemingly defied expectations regarding their voter turnout. Days before voters were to express their opinions at the polls, outlets nation-wide predicted a “Red Wave,” in which Democrats would lose all control over Congress. That Red Wave never crashed on the shore, as the rumor failed to become reality.

prised,” AP Government teacher Dalton Pool said. “Usually, mid term elections are difficult for the president's party; the Democrats broke a lot of people's expecta tions. Republicans will still win the House, but only pick up seven or eight seats, which is historically im pressive. That Democrats hold the Senate majority, and might grow it if they win the runoff in Georgia, is a big deal.”

the 100 seats in the Senate, with Republicans holding 49. Two of those remaining seats are under the Independent party, who caucused with the Democratic party, meaning the Senate majority is in the left’s hands, 50 to 49. As Republicans don’t hold 2/3s of the Senate, they can’t overrule Biden’s veto, placing the nation in a potential stalemate.

but I’m also surprised with them as well,” senior Drue Donus said. “In the past, the opposite party usually takes the Senate, but somehow the

Republicans didn’t manage it.”

The results of one race still remain to be seen, however, as Georgia’s Senate election has reached a standstill. The decision between Trump-backed Republican Herschel Walker and Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock ended in Warnock’s favor. With 49.4% of the vote, however, Warnock didn’t have the 50% required by Georgia law to continue serving as senator. The runoff will be held December 6. No

Karthikeyan said. “One of the reasons Republicans are winning is the economy. Because it’s bad right now, Republicans will probably get more votes.”

In voting for the Speaker of the House, all House members vote for which representative they want to lead their chamber; House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy secured that position Tuesday night; Re publican leadership of the Senate is expected to be Mitch McConnell.

Although many students aren’t interested in politics, Pool believes it’s important to recognize the power the government has in every American’s day-to-day life. He believes young people should be the most invested in elections, as the decisions made today, and the consequences of those decisions, will affect them for the rest of their lives.

“If there’s one thing I want students to take away

For Officers Gregorio Guilbe and Christopher Mendoza, safety and secu rity are their top priorities while being stationed at Bowie campus.

Recently however, many students have been noticing an increase of Austin Police Department presence on campus, whom students easily mistake the School Resource Officers (SROs) for. While the SRO officers Guilbe and Mendoza do work for the AISD Police Department and Austin Police Department (APD), officers that are dispatched to Bowie are separate APD entities.

Whenever there are incidents at Bowie, such as pipe leaks and gas leaks, APD officers are dispatched to Bowie to investigate the situation, and make sure there are no safety issues that would affect the health of faculty and students. The SROs tend to work alongside the APD whenever incidents like these emerge.

“AISD Police Department works closely with APD in numerous ways. Some examples included traffic con trol and enforcement around AISD schools, vehicle accidents, providing resources for individuals in crisis, campus familiarization and layouts, community outreach, and response to critical incidents at AISD properties,” Mendoza said.

Assistant principal Paulette Walls explains how the SROs stationed at

Bowie are different from APD officers that are dispatched to Bowie for cer tain situations.

“As assistant principal I do work directly with [Officers Guilbe and Mendoza] on situational things.

Austin Police Department is totally something separate, you’re gen erally not going to see them both unless it warrants that. If there was an accident outside campus, you might see Austin Police Department officers, and you might see the SRO campus officers respond, but they are both two totally separate entities,” Walls said. “One takes care of things outside of school, while our SROs on campus are fully licensed, certified officers, so they manage everything on campus.”

Regarding students’ notice of an increased presence of APD officers on Bowie campus, Walls explains how it might have to do with security checks around campus.

“We are required by the Texas Ed ucation Agency to do security checks of the campus, and so in those checks, [APD officers] check the doors and make sure the perimeters and spac es are secure,” Walls said. “Outside of that, if we’ve had situations that occur related to safety and security for students individually needing help and support, we will outsource out to the police.”

Guilbe explains how a notice of increased presence by students of the

APD may have to do with the recent uprisings of school shootings, and es pecially because of the recent shooting at Uvalde.

“I haven’t observed much APD presence that I’m aware of but do recall that after the Uvalde incident, APD and Travis County Sheriff’s office were going to be making random check-ins at various campuses to provide more security,” Guilbe said.

“AISD PD does assist other agencies with traffic accidents, search and res cue, and community outreach.”

Despite Bowie having many re sources and connections to the Austin Police Department regarding health/

safety issues, the SROs on campus have a large responsibility to help make students feel safe.

“As an SRO at Bowie High School, my main objective is to maintain a safe environment for students, staff and visitors while providing any resources available when requested or in need,” Mendoza said.

The Bowie SROs have many re sponsibilities to ensure that students and faculty members are safe during school hours. To ensure security on campus, there are many protocols that Mendoza and Guilbe must follow while patrolling Bowie.

“Some of our day to day responsi

bilities are foot and vehicle patrol of the property, monitoring surveillance cameras throughout the day, presen tations/community engagements at schools, investigate offenses/threats to the campus, enforce state/local laws, provide mental health resources to anyone in crisis, work closely with administration/ counselors, and main taining a positive role to our students, staff and Bowie parents,” Mendoza said.

For pipe or gas leaks, the SROs fol low certain safety protocols to ensure the safety of everyone on campus. The SROs have connections with other safety departments as well.

“For pipe leaks, we would get in contact with Head Maintenance and maybe the city. If there is a gas leak, we get in contact with Austin Fire Department (AFD) but we would also follow our protocols,” Guilbe said.

While maintaining safety and secu rity on campus, the SROs also make sure to bring positive interactions to students and staff members. They make sure to bring about a positive environment for students during school hours.

“I really enjoy working at Bowie. We have a really involved staff, parents, students, and community,” Mendoza said. “I love to interact with students at school during passing periods and lunch breaks. If you ever see us around, come give us a first bump and chat.”

D
THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, NOV. 18, 2022
@jbhs_dispatch FIND US AT INDEX: NEWS 1, 2 POLITICS 3 FEATURES 4 , 5 IN-DEPTH 7, 8-9 SPORTS 10, 11 ENTERTAINMENT 12 REVIEWS 13 OPINIONS 14, 15 PHOTO ESSAY 6,16
PHOTO ESSAY Junior Will Gum works on his playing as well as composing his own original musical works. PHOTO BY Emerson Traugott SPORTS Freshman Rowan Cox makes a splash as he joins the Bowie swim team. pg. 10 PHOTO COURTESY OF Rowan Cox New trustees take office
+8 -8 -1 +1 435 SEATS 100 SEATS
Donna Kim Dispatch Reporter
READ MORE “Voters elect AISD board reps. and pass Bond” pg. 3 Democrats hold on to the
the
a
Senate, despite
nation-wide predictions of
big right shift
Q&A WITH OFFICER GREGORIO GUILBE Austin Police Department brings officers to defend campus 1. In what ways do SRO officers work with APD? As SRO we hold state and federal laws and abide by them. Our biggest goal is to see our students succeed without worrying about potential dangers on campus. 2. Do you enjoy working at Bowie? Every student I’ve encountered has a unique personality I love the campus that I’m assigned to and hope to return to next year
PHOTO BY Donna Kim GRAPHIC BY Isabella del Nido

Artists throw with new pottery wheels

With the new fine arts building sculpture classes benefit from new pieces of equipment

For junior Mia Schwartz the sculpture classes are an opportunity to express their creativity and learn about the ins and outs of clay and other mediums. Schwartz has learned to master how to throw on a pottery wheel through these classes and spends each sculpture class zoning out and focusing on creating perfectly round and uniform bowls.

With construction at Bowie coming to a close, The art department was able to move into several new and larger rooms in the new fine arts building. Specifically, sculpture classes were able to purchase many new pot tery wheels giving more students an opportunity to learn how to throw and use clay on a wheel. This also allows students to create clay pieces they may not have been able to prior to the addition of these new pottery wheels.

“Before, we only had a couple kids who were allowed to throw on their own time that had to come in outside of the actual class period,” sculpture teacher Ryan Logan said. “Now, we're going to actually introduce it to our intro classes and train them to use the wheels and it will be actual assign ments.”

Since there are more pottery wheels available, students are able to be introduced to the throwing process earlier in the class. This allows stu dents to enter the advanced classes and already have an understanding of how to throw. Before the expansion mostly upperclassmen had access to these tools and they would have to learn how to throw on their own time.

“The only rules surrounding the wheels is that you have to have taken sculpture for three years,” junior Mia Schwartz said. “It's sort of reserved for the upper class man, because there’s not enough for a whole class to use them at once, but the AP 3D and sculpture three class is small enough where we all could use them if we wanted to.”

Before the expansion sculpture students only had access to four wheels they could throw on due to the old room’s size. Now their room has many wheels lined up on two walls in the classroom along with many other clay tools that can allow students to add details to their pottery while it is spinning on the wheel.

“I’ve been in Mr. Logan’s sculpture class for three years now,” Schwartz. “The biggest change in the program was probably getting the new art room and facility, it’s given us more space to work on our projects.”

Another addition to the new room is that there are now two sides of the classroom that are still open to each other but have a wall that divides them. On one side students are able to throw on the pottery wheels and create art using wet clay. On the other side of the classroom students can work on their dry clay and clay that has been fired through the kiln process.

“There's a lot more space in the new studio to fit more equipment like the wheels,” senior Claudia McCabe said. “Not everyone knows how to throw, But we are trying to get people to throw more like actually teaching how to do it instead of teaching really specific people because we only had four wheels.”

For sculpture students, there are three different classes they will take throughout their high school career. The first sculpture class they can take is an intro class that teaches students how to use the clay and the different professional tools. Then sculpture two explores more complex technique and sculpture three allows students to go even more in depth and com plex. Seniors are also able to be in AP sculpture 3D which allows students to submit their portfolio at the end of the year to be scored by professionals.

“My favorite project I’ve done is probably this year, being in sculpture 3,” Schwartz said. “We are required to create a sustained investigation which is basically a big portfolio of a bunch of pieces that all relate to a theme.”

Sculpture students are not only limited to using clay as their art medium. Many choose to use mainly clay because of the wide variety of professional tools offered but other mediums like foam are offered. Most of the intro sculpture classes have assignments where students

“My favorite project that I made in this class was probably going to be the first year in sculpture,” McCabe said. “I made a foam relief board and it is inspired by an art piece by Rene Mag ritte. It's called the lovers and it's two people. I recreated it in my own style and it's one of my favorite pieces.”

In the sculpture 3 class, students are required to take a deep dive on one specific topic and explore it through their art. This theme is chosen by stu dents and can be a variety of different topics. This in depth investigation includes all sorts of mediums but includes pieces made on the pottery Wheels as well as hand sculpted clay.

“My favorite piece I’ve made is probably these two I’ve made recently,” Schwartz said. “They look like little wine glasses, one of them I turned into a sundae glass but the other isn’t done yet.”

When using the pottery wheels, there are several specific techniques and processes artists have to be aware of before getting started on the wheel. Students learn the basics of how to throw on the wheels and then they can get more creative with adding texture, lines, and changing the shape, the pottery while they are spinning.

“There's some specific rules, but most of them are your preference,” McCabe said. “One rule really is when you're sitting you want to have your elbows connected to your legs at all times for stability. You also never want to touch your piece or try and fix it when the wheel is not spinning.”

At the end of the year students in the AP sculpture 3 class will collect all

the pieces they have made and created their portfolio. With the expansion and addition of these wheels, many of the pieces students will have made will be clay bowls thrown on pottery

wheels.

“Throwing on the wheels is just really cool,” McCabe said. “You can also mass produce stuff really quickly. I’m still learning how to use every

thing and how to get better at throwing but it’s super fun and interesting getting to try things out and make art using our new wheels.”

Band celebrates with Trunk or Treat event

All Hallows Eve the Bowie band takes part in another intense rehearsal for their marching season, practices can be intense during this time of the year, but when practice ends the band fond themselves in a trick or treat twist known as Trunk or Treat.

Trunk or Treat has been a part of Bowie Band traditions for many years, and traces back to be fore all of the current band staff started working at Bowie. It acts as a sort of surrogate Hallow een for the band students who spend the night rehearsing. Parents join the students to help set up the event and also decorate their own cars with colorful lights, scary decorations, and some even play spooky Halloween songs.

“Trunk or Treat is an annual tradition,” Bowie Band director Tyler Jacks said. “The band parents bring candy and food and park near the rehearsal field and decorate their trunks with Halloween decorations.”

Trunk or Treat is one of the many Bowie band traditions and social events that happen through out the year. Band also goes on several trips throughout the year for competitions throughout Texas and beyond.

“The band participates in Trunk or Treat every year because it's a fun, social activity,” Jacks said. “We always try to balance the intensity of rehearsals with social activities.”

The tradition is renowned by students and Band directors alike for being a unique insight into the creativity and individuality of students. Trunk or Treat is not a Bowie-only tradition and has been known to be practiced in many high schools across the U.S.

“I think my favorite thing about Trunk or Treat that is unique to that event is getting to see the students' creative expression come through,” Jacks said.

Junior and Bowie band member Odin Lowe has been a part of the band since freshman year and has participated in many of the band's tradi tions including Trunk or Treat.

“It provides a time for the band to kind of express themselves through the light costumes and it brings the band together,” Lowe said.

Even people in band who have never been a part of these traditions or been a band member, regard them as an instant welcome into the program.

“It's just like one really big community,” Goris said. “Just like one big happy family, it is really

integrated.”

Students have free reign on Halloween attire, some choose to dress in group costumes or a duo. Freshman band member Aubrie Goris has ideas for her future years in the bowie band.

“It would be fun if we all did characters from a movie,” Goris said. “Like a group costume where we’re all different characters.”

Others dress independently and the true

creativity really shows from simple and fun costumes to abstract and intricate costumes that students plan for months.

“Last year, I dressed up for the 2021 World Series, putting on an Astros hat and a Braves hat,” Lowe said. “I told people the scores as they happened because the world series was that night.”

Trunk or Treat creates a very special environ ment for the students as they are able to let go and fully express themselves in a time of high stress. This tradition ranks high amongst the long list of Bowie band traditions for students.

“The Bowie band has a lot of traditions that are very different,” Goris said. “October for us is band-tober, there's a lot of pride within the band.”

Even with all the trips and other beloved traditions that Bowie band does, Trunk or Treat remains a favorite as it gives every one a chance to relax.

I love Trunk or Treat. It is one of my favorite traditions that we do as a band,” Lowe said. “I love all the goofy antics caused by the costumes and the candy.”

Correspondingly, band directors find Trunk or Treat is a time for students to blow off steam in a time of high stress for band members. Since this event takes place in the middle of band competi tion season and football season, it gives a chance for students to relax and focus on having fun with their friends and families.

“It's always fun to see the things that they come up with and getting to see some students' personalities come through in a different way,” Jacks said

Trunk or Treat is a tradition that each and every band member can enjoy with directors, seniors, and new band members alike, and has become a staple for every band kids Halloween celebration.

“As directors, we all enjoy Trunk or Treat just like the students do,” Jacks said. “Trunk or Treat is really a one-of-a-kind experience, we don’t do anything else like it.”

NEWS 2 FRIDAY, NOV. 18, 2022 THE DISPATCH
CELEBRATING WITH THE BAND: Band student's parents set up the trunk of their car with decorations that correspond with their "Greece" inspired costumes. While this band tradition is adored by many students, parents also love joining in on the fun by bringing drinks and candy for the band students to enjoy. PHOTO BY Savannah Linscomb THROWING DOWN: Junior Mia Schwartz works on perfecting her clay bowl she made using the new pottery wheels. Schwartz has been in sculpture classes for the last three years and has been able to see how the art department has changed with the addition of the new studio and new wheels. PHOTO BY Arden Ray OUT OF THE KILN: After students finish their piece on the pottery wheel it enters the kiln once to become bisque. The pottery glaze is applied to it before it is fired a final time. PHOTO COURTESY OF Mia Schwartz CENTERING THE CLAY: Senior Claudia McCabe works on the first step of throwing clay on a pottery wheel. This step is called centering the clay which ensures that the piece is round and uniform. PHOTO BY Arden Ray

Texans re-elect Governor Abbott

Gov. Abbott beat his opponent Beto O'Rourke with 54.8% of the vote

Reproductive rights, the Texas power grid failure, and the Uvalde school shooting. Those three major topics of concern weighed on his re-election cam paign. Neck-and-neck with Beto O’Ro urke’s campaign for months all across Texas, Governor Greg Abbott ultimately won the high-stake competition.

As voters absorbed the candidates debates, rallies, and commercials, Nov. 8 finally arrived and it was time to make a final decision for Texas. As the

polling sites closed and the votes came in, Abbott took 54.8% of voters while O’Rourke took 43.8%. O’Rourke won the larger Texas cities and Abbott gained the smaller more rural areas of Texas pushing him over the edge and securing the race.

“I was not surprised by the result,” senior Colin Doles said. “Given that Texas is a historically red state, I think that a Democratic candidate would need to be more moderate to win, and Beto was just a little too far left to convince middle ground voters.”

During Abbott’s second term, he pushed for a voucher plan that would allow parents to choose between send ing their child to a public or private school by funding private and charter schools with taxpayer dollars. During the campaign, O’Rourke claimed that Abbott tried to defund public schools while Abbott ar gued that pushing the voucher plan would not de-fund public schools.

ing to influence what's going on around us with Williamson County in particu lar, because they have been solid red for a very long time,” Narvaiz said. “So I think as Austin becomes less affordable, you start to see that spread.”

POLITICAL POINT OF VIEW

Biden has pardoned thousands of Americans convicted of simple marijuana possession. Unfortunately, it didn't do as much as we hoped.

“Funding has always been an is sue for education,” AP Economics and Government teach er Ruth Narvaiz said. “Abbott has pushed for school choice which would allow money to be taken from what gets used on public schools and funnel that towards private or charter schools.”

After the overturn of Roe V. Wade, House Bill 1280 went into effect, signed by Abbott in 2021 making abortion illegal in Texas except without exception for incest or rape. Abbott hasn’t spoken a significant amount on the topic after the law passed.

“Abbott is likely going to further restrict reproductive rights in Texas,” se nior Abby Alsup said. “Students should use their votes because while it may not seem like it makes a difference, every vote has the power to influence the policies in place and people in charge, especially at midterm elections because voter turnout is lower so your vote counts even more.”

Abbott only captured 27% of votes in Travis county, 45% in Hays county and almost turned the surrounding William son county blue with 51.2% of votes. In comparison, during Abbott’s first guber natorial election in 2014, he won with a significantly higher amount of the Republican vote in counties surrounding Austin according to KXAN.com. “I think [the Austin blue zone] is go

"O’Rourke’s campaign gained a particular amount of traction and support this election after los ing previous elections for senator, president, and governor. Specu lation of whether he will run for a higher, national political position or fade from popularity transpire.

“The next seat that's open is John Cornyn’s seat in the Senate and he ran against Ted Cruz and he could challenge Cornyn, but I would be surprised if he ran for president, I don't think he would do that but I don't think he's going away,” Narvaiz said. “He did really well for a Democrat in Texas, he had a huge campaign, he collected a ton of money, and he got a lot of votes.”

According to the Texas Ethics Com mission, O’Rourke raised $6,000,000 more than incumbent Abbott during the campaign.

“Beto will still have a successful career in politics, it just might not be at as high of a level as senate or governor,” Doles said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if his policies shifted slightly to accommo date more middle ground voters”

However, all local races turned Dem ocratic with Democrats Lloyd Doggett and Greg Casar winning the U.S. House District seats 35 and 37 which cover east and central Austin. Both will strive to restore abortion rights and create af fordable housing in the growing Austin.

“Elected officials will be in charge of key issues that affect students, such as district funding, as well as human rights and other issues that directly affect students,” Doles said.

President Joe Biden recently set forth one of the largest acts of clemency seen in years. In a speech at the White House on October 6, he announced an executive plan to pardon thou sands of Americans convicted of federal marijuana posses sion, even calling on state leaders to follow his example, in hopes of erasing the records of state offenders, as well.

While Biden’s push for par dons is a step in the right direc tion, I believe it’s ineffective.

The majority of those arrested for possession are found at the local and state levels, meaning the president doesn’t have the power to pardon them, and all he can do is pave the way for states to begin vacating convictions.

Many states had already be gun action to clear minor mar ijuana charges before Biden’s announcement, although it takes years to properly clear records. His action is there fore not entirely unforeseen, but with his announcement in mind, all we can hope is that this executive action will make the process more efficient.

For many, a pardon is the first step needed to get their records erased, meaning that thousands of Americans, most of whom are minorities, will have a chance to get their re cords wiped of past marijuana charges, removing the barriers blocking their access to edu cation, jobs, and housing, all markets which typically frown on previously convicted felons.

Voters elect AISD board reps. and pass Bond

CONTINUED from pg. 1 phase one of our renovation and modernization and rebuild ing was so significant that it couldn't be completed just in the breaks.”

In 2017 a separate bond was passed that was several million less than this current bond. Both bonds' purposes were very similar but the 2017 bond was used to update AISD school buildings and start large construction projects while the current money will be used to finish previous projects and update minor details.

“I was very surprised to see a bond of this size getting passed, but I was also very relieved,” senior Shabbir Akhtar.

that we play at, like Burger, will gain new turf.”

The newly elected board members include Candance Hunter, Kathryn Whiteley Chu, Andrew Gonzales, Arati Singh, and David Kauffman, who represents the district Bowie is a part of. All of these members have had some experience in the classroom teaching stu dents or prior experience as an AISD staff member.

who took over after Dr. Ste phine Elizalde stepped down last year, announced he was leaving AISD for a permanent position in the Houston area. This leaves the new board to choose another superintendent to take over after Mays leaves next year.

“AISD is one of the largest school districts in Texas, so it deserves more funding for its students.

A bond of this size will be able to fund both small and largescale projects all over the dis trict. It will also allow schools to have excess funds to put towards their specific issues.”

As past bonds have updat ed the Bowie’s buildings, this money will be used to fix less visible problems. According to Robinson, when students are on break, repairs to the pipes and the schools heating and cooling equipment will happen.

“There are several things that we've advocated for that We just don't have the funds for right now,” Robinson said.

“One is a secure set of double doors that will allow us to bet ter control access to the cam pus. In addition, the stadiums

“By passing the bond and electing progressive, stu dent-centered candidates, shows that our students and public schools are worth investing in,” AISD school board member Arati Singh said. “The elec tion also shows me that AISD can become a world class school district with audacious goals and the ability to meet them. And I couldn't be happier about that.”

Arati Singh started her career in the classroom as a fourth grade teacher in the Rio Grande valley. She then went on to work for many different districts and schools to help them design and update their STEM programs. The other members have had a very sim ilar start to their careers giving them an unique perspective on what schools and teachers in AISD need.

“I have faith in the new board-members. If problems ar en’t being addressed, replacing elected officials is a good step,” Akhtar said. “Having teachers on the board will lead them to getting the attention they deserve from bills around the district.”

This week the interim super intendent, Dr. Anthony Mays,

“I think that the new board is going to have their work cut out for them,” Robinson said. “There are a number of new board members who will be seated next year. The board will have to find a new superin tendent and that new superin tendent will have to assemble a team and lead the district in a time when there's definitely a need for leadership.”

AISD has now had three different superintendents in the last three years and the school board is now made up of almost completely new representatives. With all this turnover at the district, many questions arise regarding the district's future and how all these changes will affect AISD students and staff.

“I believe that this turnover will lead to a new chapter in the district,” Akhtar said.

“With new people coming in to voice their opinions, I see us having new ideas and plans. I have faith in the new board-members. If problems aren’t being addressed, replac ing elected officials is a good step. Having teachers on the board will lead them to getting the attention they deserve from bills around the district.”

According to KUT.org, Gon zales and other newly elected representatives feel that there is a disconnect between what AISD and what the board says they want to do and what plays out in the classroom. Since these new board members have extensive classroom experi ence, they hope to close that disconnect and make the most effective decisions for students and teachers

“I anticipate this new board will view teacher and family voices as a strength and resource to make AISD stronger than ever,” Singh said. “I expect our first few priorities will include finding an excellent interim superintendent, having a successful permanent

superintendent search, filling our vacancies with highly qualified teachers, strengthen ing our special education program, and advocating at the legislature for more school funding and local control.”

More importantly, Biden noted during his speech that he will push to have marijuana further researched, aiming to discover enough about it to change its label as a Schedule I drug. Currently, as a Schedule I drug, marijuana is categorized as highly addictive, considered on the same level as Heroin and LSD. Changing its schedul ing is difficult, but not impossi ble. If rescheduled to Substance II or III, its ability to be used for medical purposes will broaden significantly, and doc tors might have the ability to prescribe their patients medical marijuana, and dispensaries for such products will become more accessible to Americans.

To me, Biden’s push for change symbolizes the strug gle to balance science with criminal justice reform efforts. The majority of those who have been affected by the crimi nalization of marijuana are minority individuals, despite the fact that white Americans use marijuana at the same rate. Actions like Biden’s create more opportunities and second chances for a large number of minority Americans; however, it is important that we re member that immigrants and non-U.S. citizens are generally left out of these efforts, and are often forgotten by reformist groups, even though they make up the largest portion of those convicted of marijuana pos session at state, local, and the federal level.

While President Biden’s executive order doesn’t do much for the majority of those convicted, who were arrested at the state and local levels, it is a step in the right direction. It is important to recognize the precedent this sets for future efforts for decriminalization, especially if this manages to change marijuana’s substance classification.

Overall, I see Biden’s pardon as a possible path to medical marijuana legalization, as well as a means for future decrimi nalization of the drug. Hope fully this is an issue that the democratic party will continue to pursue. Even though this isn’t the exact change I would like to see, I understand the steps that President Biden is taking in order to create a big ger movement.

3 THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, NOV. 18, 2022
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Rocketry club blasts off to competition

Students join together to create rockets to compete in the American Rocketry Contest

Holding their breath, the rocketry club anxiously watches their rocket launch into the air, hoping they constructed it to the level of perfection required for its success.

Senior Riley Peterson has been interested in aerospace engineering since he was young. His passion for the subject led him to create the Bowie Rocketry Club which is meant for students interested in similar engineering specializations.

“We had two goals going into it. One was that we were going to make more advanced model rockets,” Peterson said. “They’re called thrust vector control model rockets. But now we’ve kind of shifted over towards trying to attend what’s called the American Rocket Contest where we’ll be competing nationally against other teams similar to us.”

Though Peterson’s interest in aerospace engineering is what inspired the club, some mem bers are new to the engineering branch.

“I had never touched any thing with aerospace prior to the club,” Latt said. “It’s been difficult, but I’m getting help from my team members. It’s all worth it.”

Before the newly founded club could begin to experiment with construction, they were handed the task of finding a place for the club to meet and work. Engineering teacher Christopher Redmond opened his room up to the club on Tues day afternoons to allow them to workshop their ideas.

This club is awesome. The skills they are acquiring by tackling projects they are putting on themselves is very valuable.

Creating an entirely new club from scratch can be a daunting task, especially considering the demanding nature of building rockets. However, Peterson was granted some aid from senior Laura Latt.

“Riley is always talking about what he’s doing on the week ends, which is building rockets,” Latt said. “We all got really interested in what he was doing and he came up with the idea to create a club. I helped him come up with the prerequisites for the club, and what types of math and science courses poten tial members should consider taking, in order to prepare them for the rigorousness of building rockets.”

"“I have not aided the club more than pro viding them a space to meet. This is all perpetuated by the club itself,” Redmond said.

“I’m there to sort of bounce ideas off of every now and again. I’m also just there to watch and help whenever they have questions I can answer.”

Aerospace engineering requires an exten sive amount of research, above what is offered in the typical high school education, forcing Peterson to acquire the nec essary knowledge on his own terms.

“I had to learn a lot about control theory specifically. There are a lot of MIT lectures posted online that I watched and learned from,” Peterson said. “It’s important to find a mentor. Email professors, or grad students at universities and they should be able to help you out. Half the battle is just doing the research needed for the process.”

The club’s primary goal for

the year is to attend and do well at the American Rocketry Contest, a national competition where various student teams compete to win a $30,000 prize. The contest is structured similarly to an egg drop chal lenge, where the rocket will be expected to reach a certain altitude and then return to the ground with the attached egg still intact.

“Riley really believes in us, which is why he entered us into the competition. And honestly, I believe in us too,” Latt said.

“With Riley’s motivation and passion, he can really help us to be at his level. So right now we’re just signing up and we’re going to enter our first launch to officially join the contest and compete in April. It’s super exciting.”

The competition will be dif ficult, and the team is working hard to prepare for the taxing process to come.

“They are extremely ambi tious. The club is doing this all on their own,” Redmond said.

“The club found the competition to enter in and started designing this rocket. They have taken this all upon themselves and it’s really cool to watch them do this and have this level of aspiration. They are tackling something that is hard, there is a lot of chal lenging mathematics and design that they have to do. They have to solve these problems them selves, it’s awesome.”

With the contest approaching in about six months, the club recognizes how lengthy the pro cess of building a rocket can be.

“We’re busy right now, we’re seniors with college applica tions. But after we finish those, we’re going to spend pretty much all our time working on it,” Latt said. “We haven’t started yet, but when we do, it’s going to be good and I’m super excited for it. I’m super excited. It’s a lengthy process, but we’re patient so we’re willing to put that much time into this.”

Aerospace engineering requires the members to be

extremely attentive to ensure the perfection of their products. When it comes to rockets, one mistake can result in their work blowing up.

“There’s so much coding and you have to consider all the components that’s going to be in the rocket, so the mechanical engineering part of rocket build ing is very lengthy,” Latt said. “There’s so many components and it all has to be super precise. Then there’s also test trials. If something doesn’t work out, you have to redo it again.”

Due to their outside com mitments, the club can only meet once a week, leaving little time to complete their work. Additionally, they have to learn how to do the science and math required.

“We have a good time com municating with each other, but getting stuff done is really hard because we’re also doing school

at the same time,” Latt said. “Ri ley is also teaching us everything at the same time while we’re in school. So it can get kind of confusing, but in the end we make it work.”

With the limited work time the club is allotted, they have learned to make their meetings as productive and efficient as possible.

“I love spending time with the team members. It’s a short amount of time but I have so much fun learn ing, and just talking about how we’re go ing to accom plish this task,” Latt said. “It’s really good team bonding.”

Though the club’s primary goal is to do well in the contest, they are also focused on general ly expanding their knowledge.

“We’re not just going to focus on the contest rocket but also other side projects to help expand our knowledge with rockets,” Latt said. “It’s a re ally interesting specialization of engineering.

Aerospace is a really interesting specialization of engineering. I think it’ll be helpful to have this knowledge for my future.

Alongside managing the time-consuming nature of the club, the cost of constructing a rocket has proved to be an obstacle for the club.

“It is crazy expensive,” Peter son said. “I and a lot of the club members had to get outside jobs to help pay for the costs of parts and tools. We all contribute money to the project.”

With all the different compo nents that go into creating the rocket, each club member has a different role they are responsi ble for.

"Aerospace isn’t what I want to major in, but I think it’d be helpful to have that knowledge for what I do want to do in the future.” The ex perience the members gain from their club work provides valuable groundwork and les sons leading into college.

“This club and these projects are awesome. They have a lot of career opportunities that could come from this,” Redmond said.

“The experience and meeting like minded people out in the field is going to be extremely valuable and the skills that they are acquiring by tackling projects that they are putting on themselves, is very valuable. It’s a neat set of habits and lessons in self motivation.”

“My part of designing a rocket is using a program called Autodesk Inventor to create a holder for the computer,” Latt said. “Basically, I do a lot of mechanical engineering. So the building aspect is what I’m in charge of in the club. It’s really expanding my knowledge and giving me more experience with building in general.”

Though the process has been taxing, the members urge other students interested in aerospace engineering to consider joining the club.

“It’s going to take a while to learn,” Latt said. “You have to test and try things, patience is key. You never have to do it alone, there’s always someone there to help and make the pro cess more fun. It’s a really good chance to gain experience.”

Family legacy prospers through competitive go-karting

Tires squeal as he races around the track; taking the in side line, junior Emerson Kindig makes a move on his opponent, passing the finish line. Kindig hopes to make a career out of racing as he drives into the future.

Kindig spends his free time racing at K1 Speed indoor racing track in Austin, as well as the Indy Kart Raceway in New York. Every time he visits his family in New York he takes advantage of the chance to race at another track.

League here at K1. Every first Tuesday of every month we meet and we do a full 12-lap race as well as qualifying and practice,” Kindig said.

According to Kindig, one of the reasons he keeps coming back is the physical and emo tional charge he receives on the track.

I think it’s so fun to come here everyday and do a couple laps. My favorite thing is just the thrill of pushing on the throttle.

“We watch many videos and even record my races,” Kindig said. “We sometimes go through them and see how we can improve and how I could get more time back.”

Kindig started go-kart racing when he was nine years old. As he aged, it grew from being just a fun hobby to a full passion.

“I’m part of the Junior

"“My favorite thing about karting is prob ably the thrill of just pushing on the throttle and feeling the G’s against you,” Kindig said. “That fast zero to 60 of the electric mo tor, just taking the turns nicely and smoothly. Other people are right be hind me, trying to fend them off and flooring it down the straightaways is exciting.”

Father and coach Michael Kindig not only supports him but has previous experience in the world of kart racing.

“I raced in an online NA SCAR simulation league back in 2000,” Michael said. “I keep re turning to go-karts and simula tors because I love racing, which

is inexpensive and challenging.”

Michael attends his son’s practices as often as he can to provide insight. He takes advan tage of this opportunity to help grow his skills.

“I feel I can coach him a lit tle, he has a great feel for it and has the talent,” Michael said. “I can tell him what I see from the sidelines that he can’t see. It’s a blast. I also love watching my son race from the sidelines because I can see how he is handling the car.”

According to K1 Speed, in recent years, karts have transi tioned from gasoline to elec tric motors in order to reduce emissions especially for indoor tracks. The electric karts also have better performance, pro ducing better track times.

“I prefer the electric ones because there’s more thrill in the acceleration,” Emerson said. “The fast zero to 60 of the elec tric motor sets them apart.”

According to Emerson, he wants to turn this hobby to a lifetime commitment. As he ad vances through the racing ranks, his love for racing has taken on a life of its own.

“I love it. I think it’s so fun to just go to the tracks every day and just race a couple laps,” Emerson said.

Emerson’s friend, junior Hudson Edgell, has watched

him grow over the past three years and has been with him as he improved his skills and knowledge.

“Since having a car Emer son has been way more into racing. He was the first to drive out of all of our friends and looking for his first car was when he got into the community. He signed up for a program at a track and found it fun,” Edgell said. “Emerson is passionate about cars and racing. He is able to keep calm while driving even when put under pressure. He has become more mature and focused on his goals.”

Emerson uses karting to improve his daily life. He has found that the things he learns while racing apply to more than just the track.

“I’ve had three cars and I love all of them,” Emerson said “I had a Honda Civic that was super small and I loved that car the same way I love karting. It had the same fun, zippy feel to it.”

As the power and efficien cy in the karts grow, so does his passion and commitment. Emerson reflects on the way in which he has learned from karting.

“It’s a very simple rule, I’ve learned not to drive the way I kart,” Emerson said.

Zach Scariano Dispatch Reporter
FRIDAY, NOV. 18, 2022 THE DISPATCH FEATURE 4
The Parts of a Thrust Vector Control Rocket Combustion Chamber Solid Fuel Post-Combustion Chamber Graphite Nozzle Injection Port Graphite Insulator
Bed Injector Distributor
Catalyst
Emerson Kindig Junior PREPARING TO RACE: Junior Emerson Kindig sits in his go-kart, hands on the steering wheel, ready to take off around the track. Kindig has been training in competitive go-karting at K1 Speed Indoor Racing, being coached by his dad, Michael Kindig, who has experience in the industry as well. PHOTO BY Zach Scariano. SIMULATION SUCCESS: Senior and founder of the rocketry club, Riley Peterson works with a rocket sim ulation to help track the success of his product. Peterson founded the club with the help of senior Laura Latt, in hopes to compete in the American Rocketry Contest in the spring. PHOTO BY Kate Davis

Twelve years of gliding across the ice

Junior ice skater practices weekly to advance into the senior rank at Chaparral Ice Rink

Ice skating is a rare activity for most Bowie students. For junior Ayaka Chao, ice skating represents many things in her life. The sport represents her dedication to activities, her atten tiveness to the world around her, and a de-stresser from her busy school schedule.

Chao has been ice skating for almost 12 years and discovered her passion through her first experiences as a child.

“I started ice skating when I was around five years old,” Chao said.

“I kind of started it for fun because I was introduced to it in a summer camp. When I went, I really liked it from the start.”

From the beginning Chao felt a strong pull towards ice skating.

Chao’s mother, Yuki Mimura, noticed immediately Chao’s gravitation toward ice skating.

test performing their new abilities to be graded by judges.

“Sometimes I go three times a week to just practice for the senior rank test,” Chao said. “I would love to pass that test by senior year.”

While taking nearly all AP classes, Chaos’ schedule can become stressful with finding a good time to practice skating.

"“I definitely feel overwhelmed by my schedule sometimes,” Chao said. “Especially on Mondays and Fridays. It’s like I’m at Chaparral ice at 5:30 in the morning, and then I have school, and then sometimes I have something after school. Then after homework, I’m usually staying up until like at least 12 o’clock doing all the stuff. Then I have to wake up at like 4:45 the next day, so it’s hectic.”

“Ayaka had a friend who was already into ice skat ing, so I put her in a summer camp for skating,” Mimura said. “During the camp, I noticed she was really happy and excited when on the ice. She was even able to skate pretty well for a five year old in just one camp day.”

Chao started attending group beginner lessons at Chaparral Ice in north Austin, as a friendly introduction to her new interest.

For almost six years, Chao was part of the beginner group and then started to level up in the ranks with the help of her new coach, Jessica Smith.

“I’ve been a coach for almost 17 years,” Smith said. “I think I’ve been Aya ka’s coach since she was in elementary school. My favorite thing about coach ing is providing an option for my skaters to reach their goals, both in the rink and outside in their normal lives. It’s fun for me to see Ayaka develop both as an athlete and as a remarkable person.”

According to Chao, the ice skat ing community she was able to be a part of pushed her to keep doing her best.

“I think my favorite memory would always just be like all the mile stones that I’ve hit,” Chao said. “All the hard jumps that would take me two or three years to master, when I would be able to land them perfectly.”

Despite the trials of Chaos’ sched ule, she manages to find a balance be tween her school and skating life, even showing signs of it while on the ice.

"“When I saw Ayaka ice skate in person, my first impression was how easily balanced she was,” senior Hibiki Jige said. “She would skate smoothly over the ice. It felt like she was another person I didn’t know. The many tricks she showed me were fascinating and fun to watch.”

What kept me going was just kind of all those Olympic ice skaters. I also have a lot of friends I’ve made. It’s like a little community.

Chao typically participates in a technical moves field rather than competition in the free skate field at Chaparral Ice. According to Chao, her field is separated into ranks, the highest one being senior rank. In order to level up ranks skaters must take a

Chaos’ natural ease on the ice ben efits her ability to perform new skills.

“A couple mo ments with Ayaka stick out,” Smith said. “When she landed her double flip randomly on her first try, and the ending of one of her first competitive programs several years ago. She always went full out to finish that program the best she could and it’s great to see that.”

For Chao skating on the ice pro vides a moment of self-reflection.

“Skating really made me think about my body,” Chao said. “Also it

really helps me mentally. I get to just kind of lay back without having to think about math or like history or whatever I like or don’t like about school, whatever is stressful about it. I just get to calm down in a cool environment, literally and you know, metaphorically.”

Skating has become a natural de-stressor for Chao, which helps with achieving her goals.

“She’s always improving,” Smith said. “I’ve seen her start her first jumps and compete a few times, and now landing several double jumps on and off the ice, and she’s starting to enjoy spinning more often.”

Chao’s dedication to the sport is recognizable and something her par ents admire.

“I’m proud of her for continuing the sport for around 12 years, even though her practices are early in the morning,” Mimura said. “She’s able to get up without complaining or want ing to skip, and goes to her practices with her best effort.”

Throughout the years, Chao has

created and met multiple goals, never giving up on what she wants to achieve. However, the judging test can be difficult when it comes to leveling up ranks.

“Test sessions can be hard. Ice skat ing isn’t like one of those things where you score something, and you get the point and win,” Chao said. “It’s more like the judges look at you and it’s all artistics. A judge can make or break your test. I’ve had times where I failed a test like five times, so it took me a whole two years to be able to clear that rank.”

Ice skating requires perfection and an understanding of one’s body. Media representation of skaters has largely affected Chao’s body image.

“I really love the American skaters, but personally I really like looking up to the Japanese skaters,” Chao said. “The American skaters are great, but they don’t have the same body type as me, so I can’ really relate to them with things I want to accomplish physically. But the Japanese skaters are similar to me.”

Ice skating has also trained Chao to be aware of her surroundings on the ice, when she’s skating solo, or along with someone else.

“We have skated together once,” Jige said. “I only have a little experi ence in ice skating so she would help lead me to make sure I wouldn’t fall. I was surprised by how attentive she was, making sure that I wouldn’t bump into other skaters who were speeding like crazy. I think her coach ing allowed me to get through this session.”

According to Chao, years out on the ice have changed her for the better. Chao has created a safe haven for herself and continues to enhance her skills.

“When I first started I would get really nervous for the tests,” Chao said. “Like shaking and whatnot, but as I did it every year, it got better. I still can get nervous but I don’t feel that way when I get on the ice. It kind of calms me down. I like being the only one on the ice, and it’s like, it’s just me.”

European foreign exchange students settle in at Bowie

It’s not a secret that American public schools have their pros and cons, but while day-to-day life here in the United States can at times be chaotic, many international students view their temporary residency in the states as a unique opportunity.

Traveling thousands of miles from their home towns and exiting their comfort zones, foreign exchange students from all over the world are expanding their cultural knowledge and develop ing personal independence by attending classes at high schools overseas. Numerous foreign exchange students will briefly call Texas their home this school year, including Casper Jensen. Jensen was born and raised in Norway is enrolled at Bowie High School for his junior year.

“It’s a once in a lifetime experience,” Jensen said. “You can’t really live with a host family when you’re twenty, so it’s now or never. It’s also just a cool opportunity for you to improve your English, learn about other people and their culture, try new things you’ve never tried, and become more independent.”

Moving from southern Norway to Austin, Texas at the age of sixteen was a life-changing adjustment for Jensen, although the expected language barrier was surprisingly not the most overwhelming change.

“In Norway we have to start learning English in third grade. I speak Norwegian, English, Swedish, German, and Danish,” Jensen said. “But the English used in math and chemistry here is especially harder than what we learned.”

Most foreign exchange students don’t get the choice to choose which country they temporarily reside in, let alone what high school they enroll in. Despite this, Jensen has still enjoyed many experiences during his first semester at Bowie.

“I like Bowie. It’s a good and supportive school and I like my teachers,” Jensen said. “In Norway you can only choose your classes in the last two years of high school, and there’s defi nitely a larger variety of classes here. My favorite event so far has been the homecoming dance because we don’t have homecoming in Norway so it was fun.”

Jensen is not the only foreign exchange student enrolled in classes at Bowie this year. 16-year old Agata D’Alessio moved here from Rome, Italy, and will be staying until the end of

her junior year next June.

“I want to pursue a career in international relations, so I thought being a foreign exchange student was a good way to get started and gain ex posure,” D’Alessio said. “This campus is so huge and I got lost multiple times in the first week I was here, but I’ve been okay after that. My favorite part of Bowie has been meet ing other foreign exchange students at the beginning of the year during FIT.”

In Italy we didn’t get to choose our classes. I feel like I’m at a university because I get to choose which classes I take.

These FIT sessions are organized by a group of Bowie counselors including Clare Smith, April Giuffre, and Brian Wennburg. Sessions occur twice a month specifically for the international students currently on campus.

“Our goal during these sessions is to accli mate foreign exchange students to Bowie. It’s an opportunity for the students to get to know each

"other and offer stories about their homes, languages, and express their challenges,” Smith said. “Many of these students have not had school counselors before, so we try to introduce that support system to them as well.”

During these 25-minute meetings the counselors work to recognize the challenges foreign exchange students are facing during their transition to a new home and provide them with resources to become more involved in Bowie activities.

“Being so far from your native country can be very scary; everything is new: the food, the culture, the host family, the mu sic, and sometimes even the laws,” Giuffre said. “It can be a very scary transition, so bringing them together is a good way for them to feel less alone.”

The students attending these bimonthly meet

ings feel the positive encouragement resonated by their foreign exchange peers and are grateful for their latest method of support.

“The most challenging aspect of Bowie for me has been meeting new people, but the FIT ses sions have helped,” D’Alessio said. “It provides us a safe space to hangout with people and spend time with each other.”

Being raised in another country, an inter national student’s depiction of American high school depends solely on the media they con sume. While many American high schools offer different experiences than those represented in movies such as High School Musical, there are still some similarities noticed by exchange students.

“It’s kind of similar to the movies,” Jensen said. “The school spirit around sports is similar, and the groups like the cheerleaders and athletes are the same.”

Fortunately, not all stereotypes representing American high school are true.

“I was very worried I wouldn’t be able to make the right friends,” D’Alessio said. “The picture we have in Italy of an American school is that there’s a ‘popular’ group that everyone knows, but it’s not really like that at Bowie because there are way too many people here to know everyone.”

The crackdown by school security, however, is a phenomenon unfortunately unique to the American high school experience. Although the rules currently in place exist to keep students safe, some exchange students may have a more difficult time adjusting to certain hallway expec tations because of their unfamiliarity.

“The rules here are more restrictive overall,” Jensen said. “In Norway there are no hall passes or school IDs, and you can come and go from campus throughout your day. The whole Amer ican school system is much more strict and I don’t feel as free.”

Despite the challenges there is no question that being a foreign exchange student benefits an individual’s education. Going to school on the opposite side of the globe can be scary, but the outcome is worth it.

“I’m not going to regret coming to Bowie. I wanted to experience a new culture and I am very glad I’ve been here,” Jensen said. “But I’m definitely going to appreciate the freedom the Norwegian school system gives me even more when I get back home.”

FEATURE 5 THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, NOV. 18, 2022
I think Ayaka’s strong suit is balancing both her skating and school life, and being able to switch focus one at a time.
KEEPING HER BALANCE: Junior Ayaka Chao has been skating for the majority of her life, starting off in elementary at Chap arral Ice, and working up until now. Chao practices before school every other week day, and finds this time relaxing from the daily stresses of high school. PHOTO BY Nick Wood LEAVING HOME: Casper Jensen traveled 5,000 miles from his hometown, Oslo, Norway to attend classes at Bowie for his junior year. Jensen enjoys the freedom of choosing electives but misses some of the roaming freedom in Norway schools. PHOTO BY Charlotte Koellner TRAVELING FAR: Agata D’Alessio traveled 5,770 miles from her hometown, Rome, Italy to gain ex posure to a foreign environment. D’Alessio hopes to pursue a career in international relations, using the foreign exchange plan as a starting point. PHOTO BY Charlotte Koellner

Music unlocks the door to opportunities

Experienced cellist and composer William Gum makes notable new achievements

Relaxing his shoulders, taking one last breath before sweeping his bow across the strings; these are the small tasks of preparation young composer and accomplished cellist William Gum takes before performing one of his original pieces, A Redwood Suite. Inspired, along with his other compositions, by nature.

“[Nature is] something that doesn’t have a lot of construc tive rules, it’s very free and can be whatever you interpret it to be,” Gum said. “So, I frequently use it as a source of my inspi ration because whatever that memory or image of nature means to me is what I can write about without any limitations.”

The cello had always been on Gum’s mind when picturing the activities he would pressure in school. Unknowing at the time that this activity would lead to a lifelong passion for music, composing, and cello, as well as facilitating friendships with the same dedication and enthusiasm for music.

“I had a neighborhood friend who played the cello and they really inspired me to start playing. They were very talented and really they were the main reason I picked up the cello in the first place,” Gum said. “My sister also plays viola so I knew I wanted to play in an orchestra anyway.”

Only one year after Gum selected the cello on his sixthgrade choice sheet, composing captured his interest. At 12 years old he began fiddling with notes, seeing how chords and other instruments come together to make something much bigger: later Gum started to replicate patterns and noises he heard in video games or other soundtracks, transcribing

these noises onto sheet music. Gum’s organization of simple musical compositions is what he credits as the reason for initially gaining interest in the subject. However, after years of practice Gum enjoys different aspects of the activity.

“The thing I love most abut composing is just hearing how a finished product sounds,” Gum said “Knowing that I wrote that and I can be really proud of what I accomplished and it’s something that I really enjoy doing.”

Composing is a difficult process requiring enormous amounts of concentration and a wide range of musical knowl edge. Gum relies on sponta neity when creating a piece; enabling creativity to flow in an effort to prevent the confine ment of repetitive procedures clouding new ideas, so when inspiration strikes Gum is always ready.

“It’s mostly just writing a ton of really short drafts or keeping memos of ideas. Or even playing around on the piano and cello. And seeing what works, and what I like, And slowly putting the pieces together little by little,” Gum said. “I never have a clear pro cess: it’s not like I will sit down one day and be like, ‘ok now I’m going to start a new piece’ and this is how I’m going to do it. It’s just whatever happens.”

Composing and cello alike opened the door for opportuni ties and relationships to foster. Collaborating with others and sharing inspiration sparks Gum’s own creativity.

“I think his creativity and his passion for music gives him ideas about different ways to make new music,” Gum’s friend and guitarist Besa Aulona Carney said. “And the amount of effort he puts into music, I’ve seen it and it’s real

ly extraordinary.”

After nearly six years of playing cello, Gum’s diligence and admiration for the instru ment have developed exponen tially. However, Gum has still faced many challenges.

“I really struggle with motivation, in general with music staying motivated is kind of something you have to do yourself,” Gum said. “So when you’re doing something, especially composing and men tors are always pushing you to be better, it’s really up to you to continue to push yourself, or else you won’t really get anywhere.”

Time, both in and outside the practicing room, as well as effort and skill, have allowed Gum to grow. Orchestra direc tor Joseph Smith has witnessed this progression in aptitude.

“I’ve watched Will go from being a young bright musician, to an accomplished young adult with mature musical ideas,” Smith said.

A distinguishable turn ing point in Gum’s musical career was his submission and unexpected eighth-place win in the Texas Young Composers Competition, using his original composition Redwood Suite. The competition requires a piece written from start to finish which is sent to a panel of judges who ultimately decide on eight pieces that will be performed by a professional orchestra.

“When I heard the trium phant final chord of my piece, then standing up and walking on stage while seeing all the other musicians go up with me: I would describe it as one of the happiest moments of my life,” Gum said. “I also got to shake the Austin Symphony conduc tor Peter Bay’s hand. It was so special and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

PLUCKING AWAY: Gum decides to practice one of the all-state excerpts he has mem orized. As the com petition approaches, practicing is more vital than ever, continuing to put in hours of practice everyday, two hours on weekdays and three on weekends. Remaining determined and turned away by approaching challenges, irreplace able qualities gained through years of cello and composing.

“My biggest goal currently is to make all-state this year and after that, it’s college auditions for cello,” Gum said. “Both I’m really nervous for, but I know that it’s out of my control and I just have to play the best I can in that moment.”

CROSSING STRINGS: More weight in the bow allows for a richer tone crucial in obtaining clean string crossings. The long list of accomplishments Gum has procured over the years: ranging from first chair in re gion orchestra to the Texas Young Composers Concert where he placed eighth out of 30 participants, does not come without regrets. The most prevalent ones around his previous prac tice strategies and how he first handled critics. “I probably would tell myself that I need to work on more focused practicing, working on the areas of a piece or scale that needed the most improvement not the most fun to play,” Gum said.

“Also from a composing standpoint don’t take feed back too harshly.”

PHOTO ESSAY 6 FRIDAY, NOV. 18, 2022 THE DISPATCH
Emerson Traugott Photo Essay Editor PHOTO BY Emerson Traugott ONE SHIFT AWAY: Moving up the fingerboard Gum makes one of the more difficult maneuvers in the Duport etude number eight, one part of the six different cuts that are required for all-state auditions. Every audition process can look different, but the rituals leading up to them stays the same in Gum’s case.“I have an alarm set a week before auditions on my phone for 11:11 to manifest,” Gum said. “I guess I use my superstitions to help me prepare before auditions, I know that it’s out of my control and I just have to play the best I can at that moment.” PHOTO BY Emerson Traugott A HARMONIC INTERLUDE: A light touch of the fingertip to the string in a certain spot allows the cello to sing or create a harmonic. An important part to many of the different etudes Gum is expected to have memorized for the all-state audition; a rigorous and nerve-racking process, which musicians spend months preparing for. “The people I’ve met through [Cello and Composing] have been so amazing,” Gum said. “And really the fact that I connect with music so much. It helped a lot with my identity and being able to find my true self.” PHOTO BY Emerson Traugott NO LIMIT: As Gum glides his bow across his string playing the beginning chords of his award-winning original piece, Redwood Suite. Inspired by numerous artists, mainly those of the impressionist period, Gum’s talents and cultivation of talent have allowed him to participate in opportunist he never would have thought about. “To have a symphony premiered by the symphony orchestra that you’ve grown up seeing and admiring was just really cool, and unlike anything, I’d ever done before,” Gum said. “It was also just really special because I was able to collaborate with all of my friends, and I met a lot of cool people through that experience.” PHOTO BY Emerson Traugott PHOTO BY Emerson Traugott

KEEPING CAMPUS CLEAN

Bowie students

and staff are empowering others to positively impact the environment

Approaching the trash bins, a student is faced with a crucial decision. Garbage or recycling? With box in hand from the piz za he and his friends ate during lunch, he contemplates which one he should use. In a rush and thinking he is doing the right thing, he throws the pizza box into the recycling. This however, is the wrong choice. Due to the greasy residue left on the box, it is contaminated and unable to be recy cled.

Though there is an attempt to recycle in classrooms, lack of education on the recycling process leaves many on campus incorrectly disposing of their waste.

is vital for successful waste segregation, otherwise, all the ways would end up in land fills.”

Austin ISD is aligned with the City of Austin’s zero waste goal to re-circularize over 90% of our surplus and waste by 2040. Ratakonda’s plans will help contribute to this goal.

“Easing into better waste management with small chang es is more viable long-term,” Ratakonda said. “To start, improving recycling efforts in classrooms would be effi cient as a lot of the waste generated in classrooms is recyclable.

As a generation that is facing the negative impact of environmental issues, it is important that environmental awareness becomes part of our culture.

“At times I see people either not recycling something that is recyclable or putting things that are recycla ble into the bin,” junior Anika Ratakonda said. “There could be better awareness regarding the commonly recyclable mate rials generated in the class rooms, so that we are properly recycling instead of trashing.”

According to the U.S. Envi ronmental Protection Agency (EPA), knowing where to cor rectly place waste is fundamen tal in reducing landfills. They found that each person produc es 4.40 pounds of garbage each day. This adds up quickly with the nation producing about 230 million tons of municipal garbage each year. This garbage ends up in landfills creating a vast amount of water and air pollution. The EPA found that, as plastic takes up to 100-400 years to break down entirely, these landfills will continue to grow without a more efficient way of discarding garbage. Waste segregation is a small step towards this on campus.

“Waste segregation is the separation of waste based on how it can be disposed of more efficiently,” Ratakonda said.

“Through waste segregation, waste is redirected from the landfill to be recycled and com posted. The harmful effects of landfill waste, such as chemi cals, on the environment can be limited.”

Ratakonda is a member of Bowie’s Earth Club, an orga nization at the school. Aiming for greater waste segregation on campus, Ratakonda and other Earth Club members are researching ways to improve waste management in class rooms.

“I have explored implement ing a three bin system, recy cling, composting, and landfill waste at Bowie,” Ratakonda said. “The challenge is main taining the correct separation of waste by all students and staff all the time. Correct separation

"Making the current waste segregation system in the cafete ria efficient is another good starting point.”

Clubs at Bowie have directed time and effort in both cleaning up campus, and taking steps to keep campus clean.

“Student organizations going around and helping clean campus is a great idea because it gets diverse groups involved in helping maintain the cam pus,” AP Environmental Sci ence teacher Jessica Davis said. “More activities where you could get groups from all over that are involved in all sorts of things to help out would increase the awareness.”

Earth club is one of those student organizations aimed at keeping campus clean.

“Earth Club is a student organization that works on en vironmental and sustainability related projects and activities,” Ratakonda said. “We conduct trash pick-ups to get the cam pus clean. We also explore pos sible eco-friendly changes at Bowie that help with the efficient management of resources and reduce our negative environ mental impact.”

Along with earth club, National Honor Society (NHS) also con tributes to keeping Bowie clean.

“One of NHS’s main con tributions to keeping Bowie clean is trash pickup days,” NHS president Bailey Alsup said. “This started recently and will continue periodically throughout the school year in order to reduce the amount of waste around campus.”

According to the Univer sity of Colorado Boulder’s Environmental Center, know ing the impact of the trash a person generates will inevita bly lead them to making more environmentally-conscious choices.

“The student body is very powerful when we come together. We can dramatically decrease the waste footprint of Bowie and operate in an eco-friendly manner,” Rata

konda said. “Students will carry the beneficial practices home creating a positive ripple effect in communities. Environmen tally sustainable habits built-in young students would stay with them even after they leave Bowie.”

Working to improve the city’s carbon footprint and make strides toward a renew able energy based local econo my, Austin has been recognized as a leading U.S. green city in national sustainability studies. Though the city is exceeding ly eco-friendly, that does not mean citizens can be any less aware individually.

“We sit on top of aquifers and so we're in a fairly sensitive zone,” Davis said. “With all the urbanization and build up, any thing that we can do individu ally to protect our green spaces is huge.”

Moreover, a litter polluted campus may affect the learning environment for students.

“A clean campus boosts morale and brings up a kind of a level of respect that people have not only for their surroundings but for each other,” Davis said. “It's kind of depressing, and demotivating when you're in a trashed out environment, and so I really do think it's im portant.”

The Covid-19 pandemic is estimated to generate up to 7,200 tons of medical waste.

SOURCE

How can I do my part in cleaning up the environment?

- Learn and become aware of your carbon footprint and what you can do to reduce it

- Find eco-friendly alternatives to things you already consume

- Opt for reusable items instead of single-use or disposable ones

Of the 40 million tons of plastic waste generated in the U.S. in 2021, only 5-6% - or about 2 mil lion tons was recycled.

IN-DEPTH 7 THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, NOV. 18, 2022
Anika Ratakonda Junior
BY Ava Wong
ART
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
World
SOURCE
Economic Forum

STUDENTS & STAR SIGNS

Aries "

I think it helps me when it comes to leadership positions and be ing more confident in my life.

Taurus "

I think that being a Taurus makes me super talkative and just a more cheerful person

Manning Adkins 10

Gemini "

I think Geminis tend to have very high highs and very low lows

Cancer "

I relate to being a Cancer a lot because am a very emotional person sometimes

Sara Anderson 12

Leo "

I consider myself an extrovert and people would describe me as crazy, but I’m just a Leo

Sophie Nehme 12

Virgo "

Being a Virgo corresponds with my personality by making me a thoughtful person

Libra "

I feel like Libras are super inde cisive and I think can be super indecisive sometimes

Olivia Nanda 11

Scorpio "

Scorpios are very passionate, adventurous and mysterious and I relate to being passionate

Clayton Laney 11

Sagittarius "

I’m very optimistic and I like to be very positive about things whenever I can

Capricorn "

Being a Capricorn makes me feel that I am determined and also organized

Laine Butterfield 12

Aquarius "

Aquarius’ are very independent and think that I am a very inde pendent person

Kyra Howell 10

Pisces "

Pisces are supposed to act very creatively and I think I can also be that way

DEEP WITHIN THE STARS

The ins and outs of western astrology and its interpretation in teenage culture

Twinkling, shimmering stars shine down as rays of guidance coming from the cosmos, giving a new definition to reaching for the stars. After all, it’s not rocket science.

For some, Western astrology is just a pastime or entertaining hobby, but for seniors Bella Col unga and Amara Lopez, it is so much more.

Colunga reflects on the mo ment she knew astrology would be a part of her life.

“My godmother owns a crystal shop,” Colunga said. “For my 16th birthday, she gifted me a bunch of crystals with little papers that explained what each one meant and that sparked my interest in learning about the spirituality of astrology.”

According to Energy Muse, crystals have energetic proper ties that can amplify pos itive energy, correspond to a healthy balance, and increase self-connec tion. As trology has many facets of spirituality, including tar ot reading.

“My friend gifted me this tarot deck and start ed learning about it and understanding how it corre sponds with zodiac signs,” Col unga said. “I have this medium, and she charges me for readings.

people can look at birth charts to learn more about themselves and the signs that correspond to them.

“It’s always been something that has been ingrained into my family, especially on my dad’s side,” Lopez said. “My Abuela made me a birth chart the second I was born.”

By entering a birth date, place of birth and time, practitioners can find information about how they interact with their psyche and its impact on the world around them.

“I think that it’s just some thing that like to look at to guide me,” Lopez said. “I feel like it’s not something that rely on for every single thing, but when I do, listen to it fully. It’s nice to have something to look out for to help me learn more about myself.”

In addition to reading birth charts, Lopez dives deep into her favorite part about the process, reading houses.

There are tons of stars but this is a foundation. You can take the themes of each constellation and get an idea of what the season will be like.

"“I think that reading houses is most interest ing for me be cause yes, we all have that sign everyone knows which is your sun sign but I think looking deeper into your chart like your Mercury, Venus, Mars and all that it tells you the most about how you deal with issues or how you look at areas of your life,” Lopez said.

Each house can be described as a department of life. It’s like a big map of you based on the locations and influences of the planets and stars.”

According to Gonzalez, she enjoys teaching people the “whole sign” system first because it is the oldest form of western astrology.

“The system teaches us that life is a circle and time is non-linear,” Gonzalez said. “It’s the ‘mundane’ practice base of astrology. Houses are divided cleaner, each planetary body falls in a single house. The rising sign always falls in the first house. Each house picks up after the other.”

On the birth chart each house is laid out in a circle. Gonzalez explains why house placements are so influential in reading one’s chart.

“Opposite houses are yinyang, providing what the other lacks,” Gonzalez said. “For exam ple, if the 3rd house represents early education, then the 9th house represents higher educa tion. If the 1st house represents the self, then the 7th house represents our relationships with other people. Houses 1-6 are the personal houses. Houses 7-12 are the interpersonal houses. The 4th, 8th, and 12th houses are privacy houses.”

As part of a chart, the Mid heaven (or the Medium Coeli) is the highest point the chart and is located in the 10th house.

Expanding a person’s horizon past the sun sign can further insight on their character. According to Lopez, she enjoys providing a new form of thinking to personal identity.

“We aren’t just one sign,” Gonzalez said. “We have personal inner planets (Sun, Moon, Venus, Mercury, and Mars) and the other outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto). These planetary placements fall into the twelve houses. There are tons of asteroids and stars but this is the foundation.”

According to Colunga, Gen eration Z has a more substantial interest in astrology, mostly be cause it’s a large topic on popular social media apps like TikTok.

“When people ask you what your sign is, you might auto matically think and say your sun sign,” Gonzalez said. “But we have many different departments of life and ourselves. Humans are complex, multi-fac eted, and multi-dimen sional.”

than ever with technology, cater ing to Gen Z’s charisma.

“If millennial’s brought an idea to change the world, Gen Z, who has Pluto in Sagittarius, would take that idea, draw its bow and arrow and shoot it all over the world,” Gonzalez said. “With your generation, Pluto transforms religions, philosophy, world affairs, higher education.”

As a young enthusiast, Lopez illustrates how she plays into the aspects of her friends’ lives through reading their charts. Bringing light to those who may not believe in astrology to the same extent as her.

planets and your person

A map of planets and their houses in relation to its effects to the body

As planets transit through the zodiac signs, they bring their own influences to the body. Based on this, astrology and medicine can go hand-in-hand

3rd house: hands, arms, lungs

mars venus sun venus

7th house: kidneys, bladder, veins, skin

9th house: liver, thighs, blood, hips

Sometimes I get my cards read by her over text. She’s really good at what she does.”

Those interested in astrology but don’t know where to start may initially shy away from tarot readings at first. For Lopez, her interest in tarot sparked at 16 years old.

“I’ve had my cards read by my friends and one of them got me into it,” Lopez said. “I started doing my own tarot cards, but I’m still learning.”

According to Cafe Astrology, a website dedicated to educating interests casually or intensely,

Catherine Gonzalez, a digital reporter, and long time astrology lover provides excellent insight to understanding how to read hous es in your birth chart. Gonzalez began her journey with astrology the minute her kindergarten teacher grouped her students up by star sign. Since then, she has been involved with traditional archetypes of tropical western astrology.

“When you look at your chart, notice that it is divided into 12 houses,” Gonzalez said. “You are the ‘x’ in the center of the ‘map.’ Each zodiac constellation sign is designated in a house.

The Sun

Rules over Leo. The Sun represents the way we shine light in the world.

Leo emphasizes creativity.

The Moon

Rules over Cancer. Gives Cancers a nurtur ing essence. Moods are skewed like the tides.

Mercury

Rules over Geminis and Virgos. Mercury retro grade creates lapses conversation.

“Your mid-heaven determines your work ethic and how you will succeed in your career, not neces sarily what you will be doing for your entire life,” Colunga said. “It has a big influence on the things that you work best with and what can make you more successful in your own career.”

Each part of a birth chart is personalized. But, there are as pects of astrology that can impact the collective.

“A lot of people hear about mercury being in retrograde but what it means is that there is a block in communication,” Colun ga said. “‘Retrograde’ means that the planets are moving backward, which creates a lock in whatever planet it rules. Mercury rules communication and when it ret rogrades it can affect your real life and how to communicate with those around you.”

Venus

Interest in western astrology is experiencing a renaissance fueled by Instagram accounts and TikToks that active ly engage viewers. This introduces a generation of a diverse younger population to the lan guage of the zodiac.

"think that with social media talking more about astrology and it becoming more popular, there will be a bigger spotlight on it.

“I’ve had certain people doubt astrology, and I like showing peo ple when they are open to it that it’s not something that is very broad and can apply to everyone but it’s really like honing in on certain aspects of people’s lives and helping them figure things out,” Lopez said. “I like enlight ening them on ideas they have about friendships and relationships that might lead them to look at things in a new perspective.”

Many people use astrology as a sort of compass to guide how they should live their daily lives.

11th house: calves, ankles, pituitary gland

1st house: head, face, eyes, muscles

2nd house: neck, throat, thyroid, mouth

“Personally, I think a won derful thing about teens nowa days is your Pluto placement,” Gonzalez said. “Pluto marks our generations. Think about how far out there Pluto is. The U.S. is currently experiencing our first Pluto return. It is going to last until 2023-2024. Pluto will finally be leaving Capricorn and the last time Pluto moved like this was during the French and American Revolution.”

According to Gonzalez, Gen Z is filled with adventurous, free-thinkers who are interested in world affairs and philosophy.

In this day and age, ideas are spread all over the world faster

Rules over Taurus and Libra. Taurus rules over money and luxury and em ulates feminine energy.

Mars

Rules over Aries. Mars is the God of War, so it represents drive, action, and leadership.

Saturn

Rules over Capricorn. Saturn represents dis cipline, structure, and order.

Each part of a chart describes a facet of life. One of those parts is your north node.

As reported by EliteDaily, the north node rep resents the moon’s orbit at the time you were born. The zodiac associated with a north node shows how someone will grow throughout life.

“Lead your life through your north node,’’ Gonzalez said. “A lot of people say that your rising sign is what ‘people see you as’ or ‘the mask you wear,’ but it’s much more than that. It’s your true essence, our body’s ego, the costume we wear in society. Arguably as important as our sun sign it reveals our natural, defense, and coping mechanisms. Our essence. Also, our projec tions, attitudes, and impressions of the world. Embrace it.”

Jupiter

Rules over Sagittari us. Jupiter represents personal growth.

Neptune

Rules over Pisces. As a very blue planet, Pisces is a strong water sign with a lot of empathy.

Uranus

Rules over Aquarius. represents forward thinking and humani tarian beliefs.

mercury mercury moon jupiter uranus neptune

5th house: heart, back, spinal cord

6th house: nervous system, pancreas

4th house: breasts, stomach, uterus

saturn

10th house: bones, teeth, nails, hair 12th house: feet, pineal gland, lymph

birth charts for beginners

every birth chart, sign placement shifts Descendant

IN-DEPTH 8 FRIDAY, NOV. 18, 2022 THE DISPATCH IN-DEPTH 9 THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, NOV. 18, 2022
India Moseley 11
Kristen Rodriguez- teacher
PHOTOS BY Arden Ray
Ellis Hall 12
Shivani Dilip Latha 9
Yasmeen Aljamal 12
ART BY Isabella del Nido ART BY Isabella del Nido
SOURCE Well + Good
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Money
Home,
Rebirth
For
Planet key: Sun Moon Mercury Venus Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Zodiac key: Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Gemini Virgo Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces Make your
SOURCE The Cut Base
you
placements
ART
BY Isabella del Nido SOURCE Spirituality Health
Ascendant (rising)
personality, temperament
& self worth How you communi cate family, property
Romance and love Physical well-being Committed relationships
and healing Travel, emotional journeys Career and status Timing of aspirations Secrets, hidden emotions
own chart!
on the time
were born, plan ets are in different

We have officially come to a close with the fall tennis season.

First year head coach, Diane Croll-Guard started her coach ing career with a record 1-7. This was not the record planned for the new coach, but hope fully the 'Dawgs will be able to bounce back for tournaments during the spring season.

Bowie took hard losses to Dripping Springs, Wimberley, Austin High, LASA, Anderson, and Westlake. Led by seniors Colin Doles and Satvik Raghu nathan, the pair reflects back on their last high school sea son with outlooks on personal growth. According to Doles the team was a lot better in previ ous years, but the senior be lieves that his role as a leader contributed to his overall abil ity as a tennis player and stu dent-athlete.

According to Raghunathan, the season required him to step into the role of a leader as well. The two seniors knew that as one of the few returning varsity players, it was their responsibil ity to step into a leadership role, given that the team lacked expe rienced players.

Despite a disappointing sea son, the team still bonded and grew closer to one another. Ac cording to Doles, they struggled a lot as a team. Doles went on to say how the team impacted them mentally, expressing that they were motivated by the same goal to overcome their struggles.

Raghunathan reflected on what kind of team bonding experiences the team had, ex plaining how after tough loss es and gritty wins, they would go socialize and eat at different restaurants after their match es. Raghunathan believes this helped the team enjoy the sea son and focus on growing in dividually and as a team rather than solely winning matches.

Because of this, Doles was able to feel accomplishment af ter this season, even with the absence of a number of wins. By playing in matches and many different environments, the team, specifically underclass men, were able to significantly improve their tennis abilities. Doles feels that the team will be able to build on the progress made during the fall season and continue to grow as a team.

Doles talked about the up coming spring tournaments and how the team could improve by becoming more dedicated to the sport. He gives a suggestion on how we can change this way of thinking about tennis by having a culture shift where tennis is taken as seriously as any other sport at Bowie. Made a class this year, the tennis team meets during eighth period. Because of this, the Bulldogs have immense potential to regain a reputable tennis squad in central Texas.

On a different note, Raghu nathan looks back on the most memorable moments during the fall season. According to Raghunathan, his favorite mo ment was playing a singles match against Westlake. Play ing a friend he has known since childhood, and Raghunathan emphasizes that it is one of the best matches he has played in his high school career and life.

Having their high school tennis career interrupted by the effects of the Covid-19 pandem ic, the two seniors describe the relief in being able to enjoy their sport without a mask or other restrictions. Raghunathan spe cifically emphasizes the benefits of experiencing a Covid-free se nior season.

With the presence of Doles’ and Raghunathan's leadership, the Bulldogs have the oppor tunity to end the season with multiple victories. I believe that the underclassmen and the rest of the team will rally behind the two seniors, as well as the new coach, and will represent Bowie better in the upcoming spring season.

25 yards in length, the average competitive swimming pool is subjected to an abun dance of skillful swimmers. However, since the age of five, freshman Rowan Cox has transformed the pool into his domain. His name synonymous with dominance throughout the swim world, Cox thrives in his domain, driving through the pool at a seemingly unmatch able pace.

A former Junior Nation als attendee, Cox has had an immediate impact on the Bowie swim team during his brief high school career, having been the victor of multiple competitions. Senior captain Norah Cullicott discusses Cox’s positive attitude and influence on the rest of the squad.

“Everyone knows who he is,” Cullicott said. “He’s a big name in the swimming world in general, but he’s very humble about that, which is always nice to have, so he’s kind of just like a little extra added bonus. When you’re swimming with fast people, you swim fast, and he’s able to provide that extra energy in relays for the team, and everyone kind of builds off that energy.”

Awakened in the early morn ings by a blaring alarm clock re minding him to get to the pool, Cox’s talent has developed due to his unwavering dedication to improvement. Cox has made immense sacrifices to perfect his art by waking up early for bowie practice and getting home late because of club prac tice. Cox gives insight on the difference of degree between club and school practice.

“I think that swim ming has probably helped me a lot with my work ethic,” Cox said.

“When I swim I want to get some thing done so I just get up early and do it. I think it’s translated pretty well to my school work and my life outside of swimming.”

According to junior diver Anabel Vohl, Cox’s work ethic is contagious, for the freshman has motivated the rest of the team to improve. Vohl men tioned that his motivation goes beyond his skill level though, as he constantly has a positive mindset and commitment to get better.

“It’s obviously super nice to have a swimmer of his caliber and his humility and dedication is definitely a bonus,” Vohl said. “When he first joined the team he was so interest ed in getting better every single day and I think that rubbed off on the rest of the team.”

Addi tionally, Vohl talks about the relationship between the swim and dive team.

Vohl claims that in the short time he has been on the team, Cox has helped bring the team together.

“The swim team is very

close as it is, and [Cox] has definitely strengthened that bond,” Vohl said. “It can be difficult to wake up early every day and go to practice but his attitude has been very bene ficial to the team. He pushes people to get better and is always very encouraging, so his impact has definitely extended beyond his personal skill.”

A multi-layered swimmer, Cox participates in many events requiring traits and abilities. He gives insight on certain characteristics needed for dif ferent races and describes the mental and physical strength it takes to compete and train at the highest level.

“Swim is mostly cardio, so you need a lot of stamina for longer races and strength for power in shorter events,” Cox said. “Practices and events challenge your brain into think ing you can’t do it, but part of swimming is getting past that mental block and getting to your goals.”

A competitive swimmer for much of his life, Cox competes for a club swim team and the Bowie team. Waking up early for Bowie practice and getting home late because of club prac tice, Cox has made immense sacrifices in order to perfect his art. Cox gives insight on the

difference of degree between club and school practice.

“Club practices are definitely harder because it’s all people who solely swim or it’s their main sport versus our [Bowie] team has a lot of people who swim for exercise or for their second sport cross-train ing,” Cox said. “At club, we focus more on technique and the el ements of swimming, whereas it’s just getting some basic stuff down at high school practices.”

As a captain, Cullicott is responsible for setting the standard and leading the un derclassmen. Despite Cullicott spending only a short time with Cox, the captain praises Rowan’s mindset and advises the freshman to maintain his humble persona and positive outlook on swimming in order to continue dominating the pool.

Sliding through the sand and on the courts, senior Katie Hansen comes closer to her future at Stephen F. Austin University (SFA), one ace at a time.

According to Katie’s parents, Hansen fell in love with volleyball the moment she picked up the ball for the first time. She instantly began practicing daily with her friends and family.

“She lived volleyball, breathed vol leyball, and even slept with a volleyball next to her every night,” James Han sen said. “She practiced in the house, outside the house and had two brothers who loved to hit the ball at her. We have given Katie every opportunity we could afford to play, improve, and ultimately become the player that she is today.”

Katie has been invested in volleyball since the 3rd grade. Her dad inspired her to play after his successful college volleyball experience.

"My parents pushed me to play," Ka tie said. "My dad helped me understand

that it's not easy, and it's definitely a struggle once you get there."

After playing through middle school, Katie started her high school journey strong getting an All-District Honorable Mention. She continued to dominate after her freshman year making varsity as a sophomore.

"In my sophomore year, coach Collins helped me a lot when he knew I was actually serious about it," Katie said. "He helped me get my name out there and helped me win a few district awards.”

Additionally, coach Madeline Evans, the Bowie varsity volleyball coach, has also supported Katie since she joined the team. According to Katie, Evans has been an inspiration, constantly pushing her to be the best.

“Before I was hired as head coach, she came to me with the initiative to start open gyms for incoming ninth graders,” Evans said. “This was a mo ment that I saw her step up as a leader and a role model both on and off the court.”

After Katie's successful sophomore season, she made All-District Second Team. She continued improving during practices and dominating her junior year.

"I committed at the beginning of summer of junior year to Santa Clara in California," Hansen said. "Then I just went through it junior year and I just told myself I'd go for it. After visiting Santa Clara last summer I did not like it and knew I had to commit somewhere else."

Committing to Santa Clara was only the beginning for Hansen. During her junior year, she team won offensive player of the year, team's most valuable player (MVP), and made All-District First Team.

“The main difference that I see now versus when I first walked into the Bowie gym and saw her play is her confidence,” Evans said. “Katie brings a serious attitude to the team. Mistakes aren’t funny to her. She is not okay with being 'just okay,' she wants to be the best.”

Evans details the hard work Katie displayed to go to college.

"She dedicates everything to her sport," Evans said. "While her focus was on the beach, she made an impact everyday in our gym."

After a conversation with Collins, Katie decommitted from Santa Clara and committed to SFA instead. According to Katie, this change brought concern from friends and family.

"I visited SFA, and it has always been on my list of colleges because I love the coach," Hansen said. "My parents were a little skeptical, but once I found SFA, I realized I'd be happy there, and they became more supportive."

During the postseason, Katie suffered an ankle injury. According to James, overcoming this injury was a challenge for Katie, she continued to focus, train, and grew as an athlete, learning patience and seeked support from her friends.

“She was devastated and upset but was also very determined to come back from it,” James said. “She was on the sand again to play in several championship tour naments in July. Her dedication, patience, and grit were incredible to see. She will be successful when she attends SFA. We are all excited for her future.”

“Especially with guys in swimming you grow more mus cle and your speed shoots up but then it starts to plateau,” Cullicott said. “If you don’t see those time drops like you’re used to it’s easy to get discouraged and not want to go to practice or try hard, but I think Rowan has the mindset to work through that and continue to improve.” Despite his undeniable talent and potential ability to compete at desirable stages, Cox finds enjoyment in swimming and portrays the friendships that have stemmed from his swim ming career.

“My favorite part about swimming is getting to do it with all of my friends,” Cox said. “I just like having people that I share similar hobbies and interests with that I can have fun with and do what I like.”

Swimming has helped me a lot with my work ethic. When I swim, I want to get something done, so I just get up early and do it.
SPORTS FRIDAY, NOV.18, 2022 THE DISPATCH 10
" Rowan Cox Freshman swimmer
COMING UP IN SPORTS: NOVEMBER 21 Varsity boys basketball vs. Mc Neil @McNeil NOVEMBER 29 Varsity girls basketball
3 Varsity
UT
@University
DECEMBER 9 Varsity swim ming vs.
@ Eanes
vs. Del Valle @Bowie DECEMBER
boys lacrosse
tournament
of Texas
Westlake
Aquatic Facility
Ceniceros-Fike Sports Columnist Questions? Concerns? Email: bowie.journalism@gmail.com Swim prodigee dominates pool Freshman Rowan Cox helps lead swim team through district competition Senior commit continues dominance on sand
THLETES SSERT A Bulldogs
tennis looks to bounce back in spring tournaments
Cooper
" It's easy to get discouraged, but I think Rowan has the mindset to work through that and continue to improve.
PHOTO BY Nick Wood and COURTOSEY OF Rowan Cox GRAPHIC BY Dimitri Silva Norah Cullicot Senior swim captain
ROWAN COX 100 yrd Breast time: 58.95 50 yrd Breast time: 23.13 100 yrd Back time: 49.80 sec 50 yrd Back time: 24.31 sec 100 yrd Freestyle time: 47.63 50 yrd Freestyle: 21.72 sec SWIM STATS
Dimitri STRIKING A SERVE: Senior volleyball captain Katie Hansen prepares to volley a serve at the opposing team. Hansen was nominated for the All-district First Team as a junior. PHOTO BY Nick Wood MAKING IT OFFICIAL: Katie Hansen poses with coach Madeline Evans during signing day. Hansen will continue her volleyball career at Stephen F. Austin next fall. PHOTO BY Charlotte Koellner

Joshua Flournoy looks up at the finish line seeing only one runner ahead, the only thing he hears is his footsteps coming one after another trying to get ahead of the person in front of him. While many students are just waking up when this happens, Bowie cross country runners are experiencing it in full throttle.

A sophomore, Fluornoy has been running since he was in 8th grade.

“Running has been a really big thing in my family for a long time,” Flournoy said. “ And that’s when I really took off and I found out that I had a lot of talent and I really wanted to hone that skill.”

Flournoy isn’t the only sophomore on the cross country team as fellow 10th grader Ethan Mangles, a relatively new runner compared to Flournoy, became a runner in a completely different way then Flournoy.

“Running was more about getting fit over COVID and quarantine,” Mangles said. “I just started running and that gave me a good base for freshman year and this year.”

Cross country has been extremely competitive this year with the biggest number of runners in years leading to a huge competition for the slim number of varsity spots.

“There’s a lot of casual runners, but the top seven (varsity team) were all pretty competitive with each other,”

Flournoy said. “And then junior varsity are all trying to compete with each other to get into that top-seven group.”

Cross country is only a fall seasons sport, whereas track is in the spring leading to many to stay in shape by doing track in the spring.

“It’s only the varsity and some JV who transition to track from cross country,” Flournoy said. “They want to continue to run and help improve endurance as well as stay in shape."

People often confuse cross country and long distance track running, but they are very different. Track has many more events and even the longer running races are shorter than what happens in cross country.

“Usually in track, the events are short as the shortest you’ll see is 400 meters and the longest you’ll see is two miles,” Flournoy said. “For cross country though the shortest is two miles all the way up to the five miles.”

Many cross country runners start in track and transition to cross country. One of these is former football player

and track runner senior Tommy Morales who has been working hard to make this last season a good one.

“After I stopped running track I wanted to do really good this year for the cross country team,” Morales said. “I didn’t want to let the team down in my last season on the team.”

The Bulldogs have been very successful this season as their varsity team made it all the way to regionals with one runner making it to state. Head coach Dalton Pool wasn’t surprised by this however.

“I knew we would have a good team this year with so many good runners returning,” Pool said. “I expected us to compete for a district championship and have an outside shot at getting to state, which is how the season ended up.”

When athletes have big games coming up most keep to the same routine as they have all year to calm their nerves. Mangles however, strays from the pack with his routine.

“I have a lot of trust in our training and we usually do a slight change called a taper before regionals and districts because those are sort of the highlights of our season,” Mangles said. “We’ll lower how many miles we’re running every week, and then we’ll tweak our workout slightly and we’re actually doing a workout today that’s sort of curated for two days before the race.”

Bowie has always been handicapped by the tough cross country division (6A) in Austin area high schools. Pool has gotten the Bulldogs to rise above this mental block and perform.

“Bowie has never really been known as a boys cross country school, but the past two years we have made regionals and advanced somebody to state,” Pool said.

Pool, who has been coaching for five years at Bowie, has seen a lot of players come through. Pool describes the hard work it takes to a breakout runner.

“We had many breakout performers

this year at Bowie,” Pool said. “Cross country is such a unique sport because the best runners are those who are talented, but also work hard.”

Pool takes pride in his players as well, treating every player like a son and is proud of every single runner.

“It is just as rewarding as a coach when a runner who is not naturally talented shaves five minutes off their 5k,” Pool said. “So many individuals achieved far beyond even my expectations, and those are the runners I am most proud of.”

Even with a tough region, Flournoy still believes Bowie has a great chance to qualify for state.

“There’s already a lot of teams that are really fast but if all of us run a

really good race, we will have a great shot at advancing to regionals and we’re gonna have to really work if we want to get to that state level right now but I think we have it in us,” Flournoy said.

As a possible last race at Bowie for Morales, he looks to make some noise at regionals.

“There’s always a chance for us to make it even if our region is very competitive,” Morales said. “I believe in our guys and think have a chance at state.”

With the season coming to an end Pool isn’t discouraged at all and believes in these Bulldogs.

“I'm really proud with how hard the team worked this year," Pool said.

we get to the course and get to practice before it gets dark.”

When you think of an all-star varsity player, you may imagine a well-seasoned senior coming into their last year on the team. However, this is not the case for the Bowie golf team; sopho mores Michael Vienneau and Knox Cannon led the golf team to new heights their first years playing, winning many tournaments and helping the team start a new legacy.

Both players started their golf journey at a very young age playing because of family and personal interest.

“I’ve been playing golf for as long as I can remember,” Cannon said. “I started playing because of my dad.”

According to Vienneau, he began to play com petitively with his dad’s support.

“I started playing golf when I was probably seven or eight and in tournaments when I was probably 11 or 12 years old,” Vienneau said. “I mainly played because of my dad and just watch ing it on TV when I was bored.”

Vienneau and Cannon have put up top-15 scores on the board shooting low 70’s and high 60’s individually. But at Bowie, they work as a team to get the best score possible.

“Both coaches follow us around while we play,” Vienneau said. “Its kinda cool because you can connect to the coaches more when you see them on the golf course and it allows you to be more open and free when talking to the coach es.”

For the first time in Bowie golf’s history, the team has a dedicated class period to be able to go play golf during school hours. Junior Alex Payne, who has been on the team since his freshman year, emphasizes the benefits of having this

change.

“Our team practices definitely help us bond as a team,” Payne said. “The team is always there talking getting lose and It feels like a good group of people.”

When the team is out playing, they have to

fight against the elements. This can get harsh as the sun can play a large part in the timing of when they can practice.

“The class period is super valuable, especially because the daylight starts to dwindle in the win ter,” Vienneau said. “So, on the days we get out

Cannon and Vienneau are not just seen as skilled players, but they have the opportunity to work with many different coaches throughout the season. This communication brings Can non and Vienneau to be proactive and strive for success. Head coach Sam Miller coaches in the spring and during fall season is the special teams coach for football. Miller explained his point of view toward the star players.

“Michael and Knox have been solid golfers from day one,” Miller said. “They are very driven players and work hard at becoming top level golfers. It takes many hours a day to perfect your swing, and they have some natural ability, but they also put in the time and practice to be solid golfers with great potential.”

The coaches on the team have set goals to place at districts as a team but with a lot of a new and strong competition most of the players will have to play extremely well, according to the coaches.

“We always have a team goal of placing at our district meet in late March,” Miller said. “That would mean moving on to regionals but its tough competition when you have the defending state champ in your district every year, Westlake. And with the addition of the 5A state champ Anderson now in our district, the competition is some of the best in the state.”

Even with strong competition, the golf team doesn’t back down. With the teams rising play ers, Miller looks to the future.

“I think it motivates our players to work hard and chase that goal,” Miller said. “But always trying to place in the top-3 at each of our tournaments is the goal.”

Harrison Austin Dispatch reporter
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going for glory in Round
Super sophomores bring golf team toward stardom
Bowie
Rock
" Our goal at Bowie is to develop every individual runner into the best possible runner they can be.
RUN ‘DAWGS RUN!: Senior Tommy Morales runs at the McNeil Cross Country Invi tational. Bowie as a team finished 40th out of 59 teams. PHOTO Courtesy Joshua Flournoy
Coach ‘Dawgs cross country’s stellar season comes to an end with a top-20 runner in state GET IN THE HOLE!!: Sophomore phenom Knox Cannon practicing at Grey
has shot in the 70s every tournament this
placing 2nd for Bowie in each of his
Dalton
Pool Cross Country
Rock golf course. Cannon
season,
tournaments.
GOING GOLD: To round out a stellar career, on November 4, senior Zach Munger had a top-25 finish at the 6A cross country state championship placing 20th out of 150 runners.
PHOTO BY Arden
Ray
PHOTO Courtesy Dalton Pool

Students put a twist on classic tales

Senior directed children’s shows showcase at Bowie and local elementary schools

Pinocchio, Winnie the Pooh, and The Wizard of Oz are all stories that any high school kid can reminisce on. Bowie’s Starlight Theatre Company uses these classic tales to create a tradition of senior-directed children’s shows.

The children’s shows ran from Nov. 2-6 featuring four dif ferent shows each night where seniors got the chance to show case their work twice through out this running time. Senior director Lucy Evans describes what directing a children’s show means to her.

“Directing a children’s show is very exciting for me because I have watched all my directors do it since freshman year,” Evans said. “Finally being in that posi tion is really special for me and all the other directors.”

This year, 14 seniors were chosen to direct the children’s shows with each director being accompanied by an assistant director and five to ten addition al cast members. Several of the senior directors have been a part of the company since freshman year and have been waiting to fi nally direct a show of their own. For senior director Caroline Cullinane, directing a show is a special opportunity that compa ny members look forward to.

“Personally, [directing a show] feels like a really big accom plishment just because I’ve been working in the compa ny for all four years,” Cullinane said. “Last year I got to be assistant director for a couple of shows and it was a lot of fun. With that being said it feels like a big responsibility and accomplishment for me and I’m really proud of my show.”

the challenges that came up in preparation for the performance.

“There were a lot of things that came up,” Evans said. “Mostly dealing with time crunches but I had to remind myself that I have people to help me. Just by talking to my cast or asking my assistant director for help, we worked everything out together.”

Although the seniors all did shows in similar genres, the production and stylistic choices were left up to their directing styles. According to Cullinane, the shows were all diverse because no two people have the same approach when directing.

“I would say the biggest dif ferences in the shows are based on the personality of the direc tor,” Cullinane said. “A lot of the shows are really sweet and classic but it’s mostly based on the director’s preference. I really enjoy over-the-top dramatic silly shows and because of this I tried to implement those elements into my show.”

The different styles of the directors are an effect of how they work with their cast mem bers. Evans knows it is crucial to communicate well and take into account the cast members’ feelings.

Directing a children’s show is very exciting because I have seen my directors do it since freshman year. Finally being in that position is really special for me.

"“With my cast, I always like to explain what I want and let them try it for themselves,” Ev ans said. “Most of the time their visions will mix with mine and make some thing even better. For a director, the most im portant job is making sure your cast is doing well. Keep ing them in check but also making sure they are feeling good about the show is super im portant.”

but also putting their own spin on it.”

The senior directors were also responsible for staging and producing the entire show with little to no help from the theatre teachers. According to Evans, previous children shows were a source of inspiration for a lot of the directors.

“I have learned from my past three directors on how to com municate with the cast in a way that’s not so demanding and treat them equal to me and my assistant director,” Evans said. “It makes the show move along much better if we are all equal.”

The senior directors had to ensure that their shows were ready in time as they performed at elementary schools such as Mils, Cowan, and Baldwin as well as Bowie. Leading up to the shows, seniors were responsi ble for calling rehearsals and making sure their shows were on track for the performance. Almost all of the rehearsals were outside of school hours so the seniors had to put in extra time and work. Evans notes

After cast members auditioned, the directors chose who they wanted in their shows and placed them in the roles that they saw were the best fit.

According to Cullinane, a team that has bonded and commu nicates well is essential for any production.

“I worked one-on-one and in a group with my cast members to show them what I wanted,” Cullinane said. “I got really lucky with a good cast that had a lot of good comedic instincts and they are great at listening to what I’ve advised them to do

Throughout the year, the Starlight Theatre Company performs many different types of shows with some being stu dent-directed and others being teacher directed. According to Cullinane, these two are very different from each other in the way that student-directed shows create closer bonds.

“[Student-directed shows] are a lot different just because the casts are a lot smaller,” Cullinane said. “Everyone is really close and you make a lot of good friendships. In a bigger show, it’s a lot harder to ask for help and you’re not really friends with your teachers.”

Most seniors will not have a chance to direct again until senior one-acts in the spring, as the company heads into re hearsing for the teacher-directed musical.

“The most rewarding part of directing a show is seeing my cast have fun,” Evans said. “There are a lot of stressful ele ments about putting on shows that sometimes overpower the fun ones, so seeing my cast en joy the process is very exciting because I want them to remem ber this show as something really fun for them. I’ve learned about being in a big leadership position by putting on a show

myself for the first time. There is so much work that goes into that so there is a lot to handle but it’s very helpful for life lessons.”

Although the theatre compa ny has many new and differ ent projects during the year, children’s shows are a tradition that has stayed a constant for the organization. According to Cullinane, even through the challenges, directing a children’s

show was a rewarding experi ence.

“I hope that people continue to want to be senior directors even though it is a very time-consuming process, especially for seniors who are applying to college,” Cullinane said. “It can be a challenge to take on but I would really hope that people continue to put effort into it.”

Guitar students audition for spots in region ensemble

Guitar instructor Aaron Bourgeois passionate ly waves his baton, directing his students who sit up straight, guitars positioned carefully on their laps. The students watch Bourgeois in a state of deep focus as the warm sounds they create spill out of their instruments.

On Oct. 28, around 50 students from various high schools auditioned at Travis High School to be in the Region Guitar Ensemble. Only 22 students were accepted after participating in the selective audition process. To prepare, students received their music a month prior to the audi tion.

“When you’re playing in a room and all the different kids from different schools are with you,” junior Noah Leroux said. “The judges are behind a curtain so they can’t see you. Everyone will do the solo and then they’ll do the excerpt which is like a piece of music cut out.”

Bourgeois took over the position of teaching guitar at Bowie just this year. Despite being new to the job, he remained present for his students who auditioned for Region and helped guide them through the process.

“The actual audition date was very interesting to me,” Bourgeois said. “Essentially every single student who’s auditioning goes into a room and unlike some of the auditions I’ve witnessed in the past they actually will perform their cuts while all the other students are in the room.”

Region hopefuls felt a mix of emotions as they prepared for their audition. Leroux remembers feeling confident that he would make the cut.

“One of the upsides [of this audition] is you hear everyone play you and can kind of gauge how

well you’re gonna do,” Leroux said. “When we finished I thought, ‘I’m pretty sure I made it.’ I did better than I thought I would.”

Once the auditions concluded, students waited for around two hours to see if the practice they put in was enough to get them through into the final ensemble.

“It was stressful waiting,” sophomore Besa Carney said. “I really wanted to know what chair I got because I was really close to the guy who got first.”

Students who made it through the audition process have the opportunity to perform in De cember after attending various rehearsals.

“We have a clinic that we do,” Carney said. “We get three pieces for ensemble and we each get our own part. After the clinic, we go for a week and then on one of the days later we have our performance and it takes the whole day because we also have a clinic on the same day.”

Not only do the students get to be a part of the performance at the end of the year, through this process they are also able to connect and create art with people they may not have otherwise crossed paths with.

“From a guitar standpoint its an opportunity to meet with kids from other schools you don’t usually get to play with, its like the best of the best from other schools,” Leroux said. “It’s a good opportunity to be in an ensemble that’s really good. It has the best kids from across AISD.”

Even though not all students who audition will be selected, Bourgeois emphasizes the importance of following through with an experience like this one.

“I think no matter what the region process is one that gives you a lot of perspective,” Bourgeois said. “At the very least you are working, it shows that you are willing to finish up a project, you’re willing to take the time to work on something, learn something, and be able to try to do your best effort with it.”

The passion that drives these young artists to pursue this instrument is something some stu dents may overlook. To Carney, playing the guitar holds a special place in her heart.

“I think instead of just looking at the notes and looking at the paper you have to play it with your heart and soul,” Carney said. “If you don’t do that then it’s just you playing sounds; you’re not really playing music. Music is with love and care and that’s what makes it a language.”

ENTERTAINMENT FRIDAY, NOV. 18, 2022 THE DISPATCH COMING UP IN ENTERTAINMENT: NOVEMBER 24 Thunder Cloud Subs annual Tur key Trot @ Long Center DECEMBER 1 JV Stars dancers and dance de partment fall show DECEMBER 8-23 Trail of Lights @ Zilker Metro politan Park
LOOKING CURIOUSLY : Amelia Cook and AJ Lee perform together in A Lonely Boys Guide to Survival. This show was directed by Lucas Wilcox and tells the tale of a badger scout and his friends going on adventures. PHOTO BY Natalie Cullen SHARING THE MOMENT: The cast of Stuart Little interlocks during their performance on Tuesday night. Stuart Little was directed by Ella Kul czar and assistant directed by Lola Dobies. PHOTO BY Natalie Cullen STRUMMING WITH INTENT: Guitar students practice during their class period. The students spent many class periods preparing for region auditions. PHOTO BY Vivi Lopez-Stern
NOVEMBER 25 Silver Star officers perform @ Ma cy’s parade in NYC 12

Best food trucks found around Austin

Four popular Austinite favorite food trucks with the best ranked menus and hospitality

Residents of Austin are nowhere near new comers to finding popular, yet delicious food trucks. Some food trucks around town have been there for years and many continue to create menu options that turn out to be just what their customers want to eat.

I have lived in Austin for 12 years, and I con tinue to be shocked at how great the food trucks are. There is very few options outside of town that even compare.

One of the most popular trucks in Austin is Dee Dee, Farm-to-Table Northeastern Thai Food. They are located on 4204 Menchaca Road, and have been rated 4.7 stars on Google Reviews by both locals and travelers.

The outside seating is very spacious and friendly to large groups of people, and they allow dogs to be on the venue as well. I personally liked how the seating was just far enough away from the ordering area, so it didn’t feel like you were too crammed into one spot.

Dee Dee’s menu is very diverse and full of options for both kids and adults. In my opinion, the best entree is the Laab Moo, a spicy mix of minced pork, sticky rice, and sliced cucumber. And the price is $13.25, which is arguably cheap er than regular Thai restaurant entree meals. The most popular dessert on the menu is the Mango and Sticky Rice, sticky rice soaked in coconut milk and topped with ripe mango.

Overall, Dee Dee deserves the hype that it is getting. The one downside that I can think of is that they only accept online orders from their website. However, The truck area is warm and welcoming to new people, and the menu is filled with unique options to choose from.

Another well-loved food truck that has gained fame is Pepe’s Tacos. The truck is located on 704 North Lamar Boulevard, and has a rating of 4.3 stars om Google Reviews.

The outside venue of the truck is definitely not what the owners focus on, unlike Dee Dee. In honesty, the outside area of the truck is not friendly to small children, families, and pets. However the amazing menu makes up for that problem.

The menu is small but mighty, there are limit ed options for food however just about anything you order will make you go back for seconds.

A good choice of a meal to start off with would have to be Pepe’s famous Taco de Birria, a birria taco made with corn tortilla, onion, and cilantro. If you’re not a fan of birria tacos, a good alternative to have is the Torta, a sandwich stuffed with fried meat, topped with mozzarella cheese, cilantro, and onion with a side of con somme (broth).

Pepe’s Tacos is a refreshing and simple food truck that sticks to the basics. The truck de serves its 4.3 star rating.

One of the most popular dessert-oriented food trucks, Churro Co. has made many mouths water from their made-from-scratch churros. Churro Co. is located on 1405 East Seventh Street and has a 4.6 star rating according to Google Reviews.

When you first walk up to the truck, you are greeted with a variety of scattered picnic tables to sit at after your order has been placed. Churro Co. is also pet friendly, so overall the area is very hospitable. The truck accommodates small groups however, and the general area can get full within just a few minutes.

In regards to the menu, there are so many flavorful choices of both drinks and churros. Churro Co. is a great place if you’d like to stop for a morning coffee or a cinnamon-filled dessert take out for after dinner.

A good classic to go for on the menu is the Traditional with Sauce, two crispy churros coated with sugar and cinnamon and accompanied with a dip choice of chocolate, cajeta (Mexican cara mel), or Nutella pudding.

But if you’re looking for a more bold option, a good choice is the Texas Comfort, churros tossed in cardamom sugar, topped with apple

pie, whipped cream, and caramel. However, just about anything you order off the Churro Co. menu will only leave you wanting more.

Churro Co. also has a plethora of dessert-like drinks and coffee to compliment the churro choices. A popular coffee choice is their Mexican Coffee, a twisted version of Cafe de Olla that is made with cinnamon and vanilla. However, they also have four vanilla ice cream floats that are nowhere near mediocre. For example, the Apple Soda Float is made with Fanta Orange Soda, va nilla ice cream, and topped with whipped cream and sprinkles.

Churro Co. is the perfect take out in Austin for churros and sweet drinks. Their menu never fails to amaze me, and their hospitality goes far and beyond what you’d expect from an average food truck.

A more classic take with a fun twist on TexMex food is Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ. This truck has been around since 2013 and has been rated 4.6 stars, Valentina’s is located on 11500 Men chaca Road.

The atmosphere of this truck welcomes their customers with open arms. There is a designated place to sit called the Front Patio, located just

to the right of the truck. I liked that there was plenty of space for family, friends, and pets.

Valentina’s menu has a variety of options de pending on what time of day you arrive as well as what type of food you prefer. They have Breakfast Specials, the Tex Pack, the Mex Pack, appetizers, and of course their main dishes as well.

Valentina’s breakfast tacos are my personal favorites out of the whole menu. Their Real Deal Holyfield is stuffed with fried egg, potatoes, refried beans, bacon, and your choice of smoked brisket, pulled pork, or cerveza beef fajita.

A solid main meal to get would be the Cer veza Beef Fajita Taco, sided with sea salt gua camole, tomato Serrano salsa, and topped with roasted poblanos and onions.

A perfect side to complement the taco is the Tangy Slaw or Mexican Rice, both with the op tion of different ounce sizes.

Valentinas’s Tex Mex BBQ is the best place for families, as they have many food options for kids. I liked how friendly the servers were, and how amazing the food tasted year round.

Lastly, one of my personal favorites, Burro Cheese Kitchen. Burro has multiple locations in Austin and has been rated 4.3 on Google Reviews.

I went to try Burros menu on Rainey Street, and they were surrounded by other food trucks within a park that had multiple seating areas. The overall scene was perfect for families and friends.

Burro has an amazing menu with so much variety. Their food revolves around artisan grilled cheese sandwiches, and they even have breakfast options that will leave your mouth watering.

The best sandwich by far to order would be the Long Tall Texan, made with sourdough, ched dar cheese, brisket, and Serrano pineapple sauce.

However, if you’re looking for a sandwich without meat a good alternative is the Via 206, with sourdough bread, Gouda, provolone, and a tangy yet sweet balsamic apricot fig sauce.

And if you’re not yet full from their stuffed grilled cheeses, they have appetizing sides such as a classic Mac & Cheese, Tomato Basil Soup, Kettle Chips, and Fresh Fruit.

Anything you choose from Burro’s menu is fantastic. I believe they deserve more than a 4.3 star rating for their awesome food, friendliness to customers, and their set up on Rainey Street.

Dee Dee Farm-to-Table Northeastern Thai Food, Pepe’s Tacos, Churro Co, Burro Cheese Kitchen, and Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ are the best food trucks in Austin, without a doubt.

All of their unique menus are in no need of change, most atmospheres are perfect, and each location is friendly to groups of family and friends.

And while most food trucks in Austin are arguably overpriced, these five are worth paying for their food, service, and kind hospitality.

With all of the shows coming out these days, most easily faded into the background. One thing that helps, however, is having the back bone of an already famous film franchise to boost your confidence.

In November 2017, Amazon made headlines when they bought the television rights to the critically acclaimed film series Lord of the Rings for $250 million.

The show premiered almost five years later on September 1, 2022 on Amazon Prime. The show follows a lot of characters including wellknown characters such as Galadriel and Elrond. It also introduces new characters such as Adar, Halbrand, Durin, Celebrimbor, and the first ap pearance of Gil Galad and Isildur, who appeared in the backstory of the first Lord of the Rings movie.

The show essentially starts the same way Lord of the Rings starts, with a narration. They introduce the idea that Morgoth, the predecessor of Sauron, has died and Galadriel is one of the few elves that still believes Sauron to be alive even though it has been quiet for years. It comes to light that orcs, being led by Adar, have been secretly attacking human villages and growing powerful in secret. The two are shipwrecked, which leads them to Numenor, a famous city in the Lord of the Rings universe.

With the help of the people in Numenor they have to stop the orcs and learn that things are worse than they thought. In addition, because it is not Sauron leading the orcs the question arises of where he is in the story.

There are so many more subplots in the show, but the main story is about determining who is leading the orcs.

Because there’s so much happening, so much happening, from different perspectives, it is diffi cult to follow at times. Due to the enormous cast of characters, there are some episodes were some members don’t even appear.

I don’t mind this because it does make it eas ier to keep track of the characters that are doing things now.

This does sometimes cause some confusion in the overall timeline in the show. The show fol lows a condensed timeline where a single event that might take 100 years, is shown in a single episode.

I think because of this, or because of this it seems like the writers simply forget things and some events get a little lost in translation.

For example, a character could be in one place in one scene, then in a completely oth er place the next with no explanation of how they got there. This is not a major thing but it is something that I noticed while watching the show.

Another very apparent thing the show does is to rely heavily on views pre-existing preexisting knowledge of Lord of the Rings. It doesn’t really

go into detail about certain characters and just drops some characters in there.

A good example of this is Elrond, a character from the original trilogy of movies. They don’t really spend time going into what Elrond’s role is in Lindon, the main elven kingdom in the show. Because of the fact that the show seems like it was written by a bunch of Lord of the Rings fans that were just told to go wild, there’s also a lot of “fan service” especially in the middle of the season.

What I mean by “fan service” is the show doing something specifically for old fans of the Lord of the Rings without adding anything really special to the show. For example, the thing that comes to my mind is Elrond, Durin, and the Mithril.

Mithril is a rare ore in the Lord of the Rings universe and Durin is a dwarf prince and El rond’s friend in the series.

What happens is when the Mithril is first mined Durin gives a piece of it to Elrond and calls it a “token of their friendship.” This is a direct parallel to Throin giving Bilbo a chainmail shirt made from Mithril in the Hobbit and calling it the same thing.

That being said, I don’t actually mind this parallel and I don’t have a major problem with a lot of the connections to the original movies, but it is very clear what they are referencing and who they’re trying to appease.

It is also very clear where they are going in the story when they talk about Mithril and then mention a balrog.

In the original movies one of the things Gandalf says is that a balrog attacked a dwarf city because they mined too deep and uncovered something. This something being Mithril. In addition, the balrog in Lord of the Rings is called Durin’s Bane and is named that because it killed Durin. This is a problem with sequels.

When making a prequel, something that is really difficult to do is to break away from the original story of what you are prequeling. When you know where everyone has to end up, it’s really difficult to create twists and turns in the story. This is one thing a show such as House of the Dragon, the prequel series to Game of Thrones, does really well.

They take the source material and change it ever so slightly so that the source material is still true but it comes to light in a different, less predictable, way. The one part I do think they did a pretty good job of this with is in the finale.

In my opinion, the finale episode was the best one of the season. The entire show the question has been where is Sauron, and the finale an swered that episode in a way that was kind of a twist.

It wasn’t the greatest because there were only so many people in the show Sauron could have been, but it was still good and I liked the way they did it.

The first season dragged a little in the middle

and they mostly filled the time with setting things up and doing fan service, but they filled the finale really well. Unlike some of the middle episodes, there were no points in the episode where I was sitting on my couch just waiting for the episode to end.

Overall, I think that there are a lot of places that they could take the show and I don’t think it’s going anywhere anytime soon.

They’ve already said that the max amount of seasons they’re going to do is five, and that

might just happen given the fact that the show is produced by Amazon and Jeff Bezos’ son is a Lord of the Rings fan.

I don’t know how they are going to stretch this story to five seasons, but I think that no matter how much fan interest drops, the show is in the clear.

I don’t think it’s a bad show but it certainly wasn’t the best. My hope is that the first season was only slow because they were setting stuff up. I can only hope the future seasons of the Rings

ART BY Asher Hagan
Negative reviews revolving around the Rings of Power
REVIEWS THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, NOV. 18, 2022 13 Critic’s Score: Audience Score: 82% 39%
PAYING UP: Customers of Valentina’s Tex-Mex BBQ pay for their lunch order. Valentina’s has been open since 2013 and has a 4.6 star rating on Google Reviews. PHOTO BY Madeleine Travis

EDITORIAL

Waking up on holiday morning to celebrate with her family. A sinking feeling in her stomach rumbles as she feels unbearable unrest realizing she can't celebrate with her loved ones.

With her Hanukkah traditions trampled on, she drags her feet to her car and begins to drive. She has four and a half hours of testing today. Her holiday has been ruined.

Because of Austin Independent School District's (AISD) 2022-2023 calendar, winter break has been pushed back three days, starting December 22 and ending January 9

students to miss finals to celebrate with their families instead.

In addition, the new calendar doesn't only impact holiday traditions, it also splits finals into two different weeks.

This creates an unequal opportunity and gives more time for studying and prepa

second nine weeks are longer than they have been, with about ten weeks instead of last year's nine.

Winter Break has always given us a week leading up to Christmas, containing the first three days of Hanukkah within them, but this year winter break gives us a week off after New Year.

While AISD did ask for input about

the 2022-2023 calendar as/after it was

their upcoming year's decision, nor did

Newsletter. The newsletter mentioned addition of extra days off for students

winter break was pushed back. When first announced, the news letter provided a calendar displaying that winter break wouldn't start until December 23, 2022.

While this was changed by just one day, no other newsletters had men tioned the impact of the new dates of winter break. AISD didn't properly inform students about the change.

The main and only way AISD can fix this massive blunder is by shift ing winter break back to what it has been every year previously: including religious holidays and keeping finals in one week.

The Dispatch believes AISD's 2022-2023 schedule change needs to be made with the student's interests entirely in mind and only brings con fusion and issues with the upcoming winter break.

In addition to this confusion, the new calendar seems to turn a blind eye to Jewish students who wish to celebrate their holiday while ensuring that Christian students celebrate their holiday.

Incorporating extra burnout days shouldn't push back winter break at all, and it doesn't make any sense that they do.

should remain respectful and clean up after themselves, and the act of paying should further push students to want to keep their parking in good condition.

Littering on campus can easily be seen as disrespecting Bowie and AISD, but the adminis tration isn’t affected by this. Texas is.

Chris Doe* slowly watched the construction of Bowie's new parking since his freshman year. He stands in the monument after 30 minutes off campus for lunch, trash in hand. Rushing to class he leaves his garbage parked on the second floor. Doe makes a daily routine of this, consistently littering Bowie parking with garbage.

Doe isn’t alone in this, as he and many other students litter their spots with trash and ugliness, leaving the community to pick up after them. This sickness is everywhere.

Students leave trash behind constantly, litter ing Bowie’s parking with the remnants of their food and drinks. There isn’t a day when the lots don’t have someone’s trash left behind, and with the reality that there isn't even enough custodi al staff to clean the inside of the buildings, the parking lots tend to be neglected. Which means trashy and ugly.

The school isn’t responsible for a mess made by students, and students should take responsi bility for their litter with the simple act of throw ing it away. Holding onto trash until you are able to throw it away isn’t a difficult task. Students need to respect our community and themselves as little enough to throw away their trash.

• The Dispatch

While trash cans may be sparse and aren’t around every corner, it takes minimal effort and time to hold onto trash until it can be discarded. It is utterly disrespectful for students to leave litter lying beneath their cars in Bowie’s parking.

Students should take pride in having these

• 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.

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facilities and respect them and this school for having these parking facilities.

Since students pay for parking, does this mean Bowie should clean up after students? Not at all. Regardless the rising costs to park on campus, which range from $50 to 200$, students

Don’t Mess with Texas is an organization formed to inform Texans and stop Texas littering.

According to dontmesswithtexas.org, 362 million pieces of litter accumulate on Texas roads yearly, half of which comes from vehicles. Bowie students are contributing to that number and polluting our city.

A simple solution for students is to hold onto their trash until a trash can is available. This can be done by keeping trash in their cars until they get home or another site for disposal or just holding onto trash in hand until they are on campus where there are more trash cans and disposal sites. This action takes minimal effort and keeps our parking, environment, and home safe and clean.

Students should be mature and respectful enough to clean up after themselves and not leave their landfill scattered across Bowie’s parking.

Littering here, at Bowie, is harmful to the entirety of the school as well as the land we live on. Have some pride in that land, and Don’t Mess with Texas.

*Chris Doe is a made up name for creative purposes

COMMENTARY FRIDAY, NOV. 18, 2022 THE DISPATCH 14
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.
POLICY THE DISPATCH STAFF
EDITORIAL
• SNO
SIPA
Friday, November 18, 2022 Vol. 35, Issue 2 www.thedispatchonline.net James Bowie High School 4103 W. Slaughter Lane Austin TX, 78749 PRIDE IN PUBLISHING PRINT EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Isabella del Nido Lucille Price Carey Wooley CHIEF OF STAFF Dimitri Silva PRINT MANAGING EDITORS Kate Davis Ben Tillisch Mazzy Warren IN-DEPTH EDITOR Ava Wong FEATURE EDITOR Sophia Sanchez REVIEW EDITOR Claire Scott PHOTO ESSAY EDITORS Rebecca Catlow Emerson Traugott SPORTS EDITOR Sam Vane OPINION EDITORS Dylan Zellner Lillian Hoover ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Amilia Velez ARTS/GRAPHICS EDITOR Asher Hagan PHOTOGRAPHERS Arden Ray Nick Wood PRINT STAFF Harrison Austin Noah Bihan Cooper Cenic eros-Fike Maddie Coleman Audrey Cullianane Noah Ellinger Maddy Franco Lucy Johnson Donna Kim Charlotte Koellner Cooper Lieb erknecht Savannah Linscomb Vivi Lopez-Stern Fiona Padalino Luis Rodriguez Zachary Scariano Madeleine Travis Bella Verette Michael Vienneau DIGITAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Natalie Cullen DIGITAL MANAGING EDITORS Jace Arriaga Alex Edwards Austin Ikard DIGITAL STAFF Ethan Atkinson Colin Barnes Isabella Boone Mars Canepa Rachel Maddox Nathan Pasley Bentlee Toland Quinn Wilkinson DIRECTIVE EDITORS Alli Ekrot Grace Harris Lauren Wright DIRECTIVE STAFF Emily Loewe Amara Lopez ADVISOR Michael Reeves, MJE PATRON SPONSORS The Cullen Family The Vane Family The Tillisch Family The Lamm Family The Gum Family The Broccolo Family The Verette Family The Davis Family The Wooley Family The Arriaga Family The Pate Family The Peterson Family Calendar snowballs student holidays Don't Mess with Texas: Littering piles up & poisons parking AISD change pushes back winter break leading to religious & educational disruption
Commentary Editor Questions? Concerns? Email: bowie.journalism@gmail.com PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY Nick Wood & Dylan Zellner ART BY Asher Hagan
Dylan Zellner

Talking fetuses, sexual assault, suicide, abortion, all wrapped in an NC-17 package, it’s no wonder the re cently released movie “Blonde” direct ed by Andrew Dominik has enticed so much controversy.

Blonde is based on the novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates about the life of Marilyn Monroe. While the film is labelled a “biopic,” it is a highly fictionalized and dramatized vision of her life.

The film begins with a brief glimpse of Monroe at the pinnacle of her stardom, and then flashes back to her frightening childhood with a schizophrenic mother. The film then follows her rise to fame in Hollywood, ending with her tragic death at age 36 by an overdose of sleeping pills.

If the film actually followed the actress’s biography with accuracy, it may not have been so controversial. Instead, the film provides such a liberal and misogynist interpretation of her life that will probably lead to even greater misunderstanding of the complicated and talented woman.

The movie contains graphic depic tions of violence, tragedy, rape and abortion. Trigger warnings should definitely accompany this movie. Her childhood shows her mother’s mental health issues and even a near drown ing of a young Monroe in the bathtub. The first sexual assault occurs when Monroe visits a film studio and is as saulted by the studio executive. Later, there is another disturbing assault.

The reluctant abortion scenes in the movie are particularly disturbing. In one abortion scene, the point of view is from the inside of her vagina looking out, to an operating room full of people. Later in the movie, Monroe carries out a conversation with a CGI fetus who asks her “You won’t hurt me this time, will you?” Abortion rights activists have correctly pointed out that these scenes contribute to “anti-abortion propaganda.”

Regarding such criticism, Dominik told USA Today that “I don’t think it has anything to say about Roe v. Wade.”

The NC-17 rating alone has been enough to cause controversy. Blonde is the first Netflix original movie to receive this rating, largely due to its sexual content. Such a rating typically leads to a blow to the film’s budget, as the NC-17 rating results in a smaller viewing audience, since no one under 17 is allowed to view.

Perhaps this is not as large of an issue for Netflix, since anyone without parental controls over their online viewing can see the film. In an interview with ScreenDaily, Dominik said that the rating was “a bunch of horses*t” and further that “It’s a demanding movie. If the audience doesn’t like it, that’s the f**king au dience’s problem. It’s not running for public office.”

What this film misses entirely is the other side of Marilyn Monroe. She was a talented and gifted actress. Her on-screen personality may have fre quently been that of a “dumb blonde” or a “blonde bombshell,” but the aca demic Sarah Churchwell, who studied Marilyn Monroe, said that “The dumb blonde was a role—she was an actress, for heaven’s sake! Such a good actress that no one now believes she was anything but what she portrayed on screen.”

Monroe studied at the Actors’ Stu dio in New York City and even formed her own production company Marilyn Monroe Productions after becoming frustrated with 20th Century Fox who held her contract. Fox eventual ly awarded her a new contract and a higher salary.

Over the course of her career, Mon roe starred in 23 films that spanned from dramas to comedies. The films grossed more than $200 million in

their first runs, roughly equivalent to $2 billion today. Monroe also had an interest in politics with very liberal views for her time, none of which was portrayed in the film. Having grown up in poverty and having a foster father who worked in a largely African-American neigh bourhood, it is not surprising that her views on race were so progressive.

She was even warned when filming “All About Eve” to not be seen by stu dio execs reading radical books on the set. In the 1960s she became a found ing member of the Hollywood branch of the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy. She was also elected as an alternate delegate to the Connecticut Democratic caucus and was a support

er of the early Civil Rights movement as it gathered strength in the 1960’s Monroe even had progressive view points with respect to sexuality. She rose to the defense of the gay actor Montgomery Clift and was quoted as saying, “no sex is wrong if there’s love in it.”

This is not the first time that Holly wood aimed at its female icons. Movie critics have also pointed out that other recent films labelled “biopics” have focused on the tragedy, exploitation, and despair in these stars’ lives.

For example, the 2019 movie “Judy” portrays the later part of Judy Garland’s life, which also ended in an overdose. Similarly, the movie “Pam & Tommy” which tells the story of

the couple’s sex tape scandal, places the scandal in the spotlight, at a time when the real Pamela Anderson chose not to be involved, and reported told a source close to her that she felt “violated.” Once again the tape and its tragic release that destroyed her career is being made public again, with Hol lywood profiting.

Are we really surprised that Hollywood continues to exploit Monroe and profit from her suffering even in her death? Marilyn Monroe led a fascinating life, focusing on the true events of her reality off set could have made an engaging film, without the need for trigger warnings and an NC-17 rating.

isn’t much else they can do to create a productive academic environment.

Questions? Concerns? Email: bowie.journalism@gmail.com

Flexible Instructional Time is a 26-minute period follow ing the day’s first period in which students can decide to attend any classroom available to catch up or seek extra help.

FIT’s concept initially seems to be productive, where students have time during school hours to seek additional assistance in classes they struggle with and get a chance to catch up when things in their classes are mov ing quickly. However, FIT does have a few problems.

Students can sign up for a class of their choosing on a website called Enriching Students. Enriching Students allows for teachers to reg ulate their FIT classrooms. Some teachers open their FIT sessions to all, while others only allow students currently enrolled in one of their class periods. Teachers can also manage the number of students that can enter their FIT.

The problem with this sys tem is that students signing up for a FIT class that they don’t necessarily need help with, take seats from students who do. Though students should be responsible for signing up for a class in a timely manner, there

Regardless if a class has enough seats for all the students who need extra help in that class, the majority of remaining seats, logically, are taken by students who merely need a place to go during the 26 minutes. Students who need flexible intervention time to focus might get distracted by others who aren’t using it responsibly.

Because students who don’t need extra assistance use FIT to relax, listen to music, or be on their phones, it appears as if it’s not doing much for the stu dent body. FIT becomes less of an intervention time and more of a break from schoolwork and productivity.

On the other hand, many students need the flexibility of FIT and the opportunity to get extra assistance in any class they need. Students may be unable to attend before or af ter-school tutoring. FIT allows students to get the help that they need on a daily basis.

But with the current structure, it does not seem to be working this way. Though some of these students are utilizing their time responsibly, it can be harder for others. Ac cording to the U.S. Department of Education in a 2017 brief on academic tutoring, about 32

percent of high school students required tutoring, and only eight percent of these students actually attended the required tutoring.

students from getting what they need during FIT. Though teachers can manually assign any student to attend their FIT, they may not be aware of

students that need assistance. These students could continue to ignore the help they need and waste those 26 minutes given to them. If teachers in each subject designate their FIT for either tutoring and re-takes or study hall it could prevent students from getting distract ed Students who need to work will face fewer distractions and have access to more guidance.

With more specifications, FIT can be much more effec tive. If a student needs a quiet study hall, needs to retake a test, or has nothing to do and needs a break, being able to easily find the right place to go can improve FIT for the whole student body. With more orga nization, FIT can give students exactly what they need to be successful.

Though some flexibility is helpful, the current unorga nized structure is preventing productivity. Many students struggle to properly utilize the 26 minutes given to them and oftentimes end up in a learning environment unhelpful to their needs. If a student doesn’t know how to get what they need from FIT, they can neglect the opportunity, and start to form unproductive academic habits. And so, in order for Bowie students to get the most out of FIT sessions they need a stricter and more organized structure.

Caren Spruch, director of arts and entertainment engagement for Planned Parenthood told The Hol lywood Reporter that “It is a shame that the creators of Blonde chose to contribute to anti-abortion propagan da and stigmatize people’s health care decisions instead.”
Students neglecting the opportunities FIT offers of tentimes feel uncomfortable seeking help in classes they struggle with. This prevents
Mrs. Pennington because she makes class super fun, engaging and takes
time to connect with her students.
Mr. Walding because he is an awesome teacher who always makes sure his students understand what they’re learning.
Mr. Warner is influential to me because he is a wonderful teacher and always helps his out his students. Hoover Commentary Editor Questions? Concerns? Email: bowie.journalism@gmail.com BULLDAWGS SPEAK OUT ! Which Bowie staff member is the most influential to you and why? " " " "
Ms. Smith is important to me because she is a great counselor who makes me feel safe and loved at school. Lillian
Emily Saucedo
McKenna Mulig Adam Reed Luka Swanter INTERVIEWS
BY
THE DISPATCH COMMENTARY 15 FRIDAY, NOV. 18, 2022
Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior
BY Lillian
Hoover
PHOTOS
Lillian Hoover
We may never know full truth of Marilyn Monroe but this portrayal was nothing close to it The new FIT system is frustrating and hard to use
Blonde mirrors a damaging perspective
Elizabeth Yowell Dispatch Reporter
ART BY Asher Hagan ART BY Lillian Hoover

FFA holds dog grooming day

Faculty & staff drop off animals for a day of pampering

The aromatic scent of soaps and shampoo float over the cramped room in the back of H hall. Water runs along the floor, and the sound of barks and chattered instructions create a cacophonous symphony.

Students work in groups, brushing dogs and bathing them on raised tables, laughing and addressing the dogs in sweet, gentle voices.

The Veterinary Medicine and Practicum class is used to grooming dogs, but not with so many people around. On A-days, the students travel to local vet clinics to work with animals and gain experience in the field of veterinary studies.

oversaw the Dog Grooming event, which was open to all staff, and was held on Friday, October 28.

“It's really a good way for Practicum kids to get handson experience,” Platt said.

“Students are introduced to some practice at their vet clinics but for them to actually really know how to do nail trims themselves, bathe dogs with different shampoos, make sure they get the ears clean, that sort of stuff. That's a really good way of gaining experience.”

FFA incorporates farming and animal studies but also has food science and natural resources pathways. For the Dog Grooming Day, FFA offered two different packages: a half-day and a full-day spa. The full-day spa package

included bathing, brushing, trimming nails, and cleaning ears. Senior Practicum, Secretary Ali Pool was one of the students who participated in the dog grooming day.

“We took care of the dogs, played with them, petted them, fed them. All of the above and it came with free grooming along with boarding,” Pool said.

Though students get practice through their work at local vet clinics, loads of challenges still presented themselves.

“Since I have dogs at home and I work at a vet clinic through Bowie, I have been learning how to properly wash dogs and take care of them," Pool said. "This is the first time I've done it here at Bowie and realized how difficult it is to do without a supervising veterinarian or Vet Tech. It

was still very fun to be able to groom teachers' dogs and help with that though.”

FFA plans to hold more dog grooming events in the future, but for now, they’re continuing their passion and learning through their internships at vet clinics. They can’t wait for the next time they can work to help the Bowie community by caring for animals, according to Pool.

Senior Student Advisor Falyn Crenek, has been in FFA all four years and also participated in the Dog Grooming Day.

“We had 13 dogs and only eight kids in our practicum so it was fun being able to split up the dogs between all the kids and get to interact with large and small dogs and trying to bathe all of them and trim their nails,” Crenek said.

TEAMWORK: Seniors Ali Pool (left) and Aiden Christiansen (right) work together to hold a dog in place while attaching a harness. There were more dogs than student workers at the monthly event"The difficult part wasn't the dogs. It was the people," Pool said. "It's such a cramped space with all of us just excited to get hands on and actually start doing 'the thing' so it was a bit frantic at the beginning but we eventually fell into a good pattern." PHOTO BY Becca Catlow HEAVY HOIST: Senior Ali Pool handles a dog preparing it to get bathed. She's been in FFA since she was a freshman. "I knew I wanted to be a veterinarian," Pool said. "I heard that there is a vet class and I immediately signed up and I found out that FFA is so much more than just farming." PHOTO BY Arden Ray QUICK TRIM: Juniors Amelia Olivas (left) and Mathew PogonatWalters (right) clip a dog's nails. Students have to be careful when trimming nails not to accidentally clip too close to the paws and cut the dog. “We gave the dogs a wash and trimmed their nails," senior Falyn Crenek said. "We also blow dried the dogs and they got cologne with it too.” PHOTO BY Becca Catlow Kaitlyn Platt teaches Future Farmers of America and BATH TIME: A student washes a dog using the myriad of soaps and shampoos that FFA offered, which included: tick, flea, baking soda, and floral scented shampoos. There were multiple dogs who were groomed by FFA students. "We fed, played, walked, and bathed the dogs," senior Ali Pool said. "We have a bunch of different dog colognes and different shampoos that we can use for sensitive skin or different allergies or just because you don't want your dog to smell like wet dog." PHOTO BY Arden Ray PATIENT BRUSHING: Seniors Sammy Stoeltje (left) and Kayla Pena (right) brush a dog after a bath. They engage in similar tasks when they intern at vet clinics. "Practicum is a double-block class," FFA teacher Kaityln Platt said. "We pair you up with a vet clinic and you get to learn a bunch of useful information." PHOTO BY Arden Ray Becca Catlow Photo Essay Editor FRIENDLY FACES: A student drys off a dog after a bath. Through interacting and taking care of the dogs, students were able to make close connections and friendships with them. "Every dog has their own personality," senior Ali Pool said. "I got to work with these dogs with the same sort of personality span as humans would. So it's like talking to a friend and helping them with what they need."
PHOTO ESSAY 16 FRIDAY, NOV. 18, 2022 THE DISPATCH
PHOTO BY Arden Ray

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