The Dispatch, Vol. 30, Issue #4, 02.09.18

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PUBLISHED English teacher Matt Flickinger publishes his book, “These Dreams Which Cannot Last”

pg. 4

GIRLS SOCCER Bowie ‘Dawgs start the 2018 soccer season with a bang

FRI. FEB. 9, 2018

2021

Students sit in quiet rows, their phones tucked carefully into little manila folders and eyes already staring at the hands of the clock.

The STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) test has begun, an exam meticulously planned and prepared for much of the school year, but there are more to these scores than mandatory tedium.

The State of Texas 2016-2017 Report Card for James Bowie High School was released to the Bowie community January 3, 2018. It contained information regarding student performance on the STAAR, as well as student demographics, financial expenditures, and AP and Dual Credit performance and enrollment. Bowie scored above the district in almost all of the categories involving academic performance.

“I was more than impressed,” principal Mark Robinson said. “Almost without exception there was growth from 2015 to 2016, and 2016 to 2017.”

Bowie also gained five distinction designation in Mathematics, Social Studies, Top 25% Student Progress, Top 25% Performance Gaps, and Postsecondary Readiness.

“I was very pleased that we had five academic distinctions, that’s the most that we’ve ever had at Bowie for our student body, so that was really excellent,” academic dean Susan Leos said.

However, there were two distinctions that Bowie did not obtain: Science and Reading.

“I think there’s always going to be lower test scores whenever you have such a big student body,” student body president Jimmy Counihan said. “I definitely think those test scores, particularly in reading, aren’t on par with Bowie standards and can be improved.”

Despite those scores, Bowie’s report card is largely a success that the school plans to carry into the future.

“They [the scores] do reflect very well on our student population, on the support of our parents who help their students, and on our teaching staff and all of those things they show; that Bowie is a very academically oriented campus and that we are serious about preparing students for college and for careers in their later lives,” Leos said.

Improvements Include

Slaughter Lane New MoPac mainlines

Extending the MoPac mainlines underneath the Slaughter Lane and La Crosse Avenue intersections (two lanes in each direction)

La Crosse Avenue Shared-use path

Constructing a Diverging Diamond Intersection at MoPac and Slaughter Lane

Extended entrance/ exit lanes

The project will...

1 2 3 4

Making intersection improvements at MoPac and La Crosse Avenue

Enhance safety for ALL modes of traffic (vehicular, pedestrian, and bicyclists

Improving pedestrian and bicycle accommodations, including building a 10-foot shared-use path on the west side of MoPac from Slaughter Lane to La Crosse Avenue

Decrease wait time at Intersections

50,000

Decrease over-all travel times Improve left-turn movements

Source: TxDot ftp.dot.state.tx.us

Vehicles travel on this portion of MoPac every day

scale

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td

*no

to wn

MoPac construction

ART BY Victoria Newell

Managing Editor

March 1 Late Start March 27 Growth Mindset Parent Meeting April 2 String Orchestra Concert April 5 Late Start

pg.10

pg. 8-9

When the construction on MoPac ends, the current freshman will be preparing to graduate in 2021

Victoria Newell

coming UP

Vol. 30, Issue 4 www.thedispatchonline.net James Bowie High School 4103 W. Slaughter Lane Austin TX, 78749

THE DISPATCH

Report card results

#ME TOO Women of Bowie stand up for the #MeToo movement and empowering young girls

A COMMUTE INTERRUPTED: At the intersection of MoPac and Slaughter lane, drivers navigate the increasing level of road work. The project will increase safety. PHOTO BY Mia Barbosa

Delays expected to impact students for years Cara Andres

Photo Essay Editor MoPac rush hour, a slow crawl the Bowie community is all too familiar with. Recently, this journey has been interrupted with a new obstacle; construction.

On Sept. 3, 2015, the Texas

Department of Transportation and the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority conducted a traffic noise workshop concerning the barriers on MoPac at the intersections of Slaughter Lane and La Crosse Avenue. Major construction for this $53.5 million project is currently ongoing and will be finished in early 2021.

“The continued growth in this area in south Austin, increasing delays, and our commitment to safety prompted the need to examine the two intersections for changes and improvements,” public information officer Christopher Bishop said READ MORE

“MoPac” pg. 2

New Bowie Bulldog Mia Barbosa

Managing Editor At the start of the school year Gonzaga University gave Bowie a cease and desist order for plagiarizing their bulldog logo. Any products created for the school from now on will have to be with a new logo but any current products may still be used to represent the school.

Since November the mascot and logo team, made up of seven staff members, has been working alongside design company Varsity Brands to create a new image for the school to use. They plan on keeping the original ‘Bowie B-Star’ as well as creating a full body bulldog, a bulldog head, and a set of fonts that the school may use interchangeably.

“The ‘B-Star’ is going to stay the same, that’s one of the ones we’ve had forever,” football coach and member of the mascot and logo team Sam Miller said. “It’s specifically to us and is not copyrighted; it’s just one of those things that people identify Bowie with.”

So far teachers have been receiving emails with polls to update them on the process and allow them to give feedback.

“If the logo will be standing for many years to come to represent the staff as well as the student body, then letting the vote be for the whole school would be neat,” sophomore Robyn Andrews said. “Once we all get on the same page it will better unify the school publicly.”

The mascot and logo team has yet to decide if a poll will be available for the students to be able to vote on their favorite design, but they are still taking into account what the community will want.

“People have an emotional connection to the bulldog that we’ve been using so there’s a sense of nostalgia and so anything other than that image doesn’t seem like a fit,” school improvement facilitator Ruth Ann Widner said.

The new logo package is estimated to be finished next school year and the athletic programs will soon be using logos from that package since currently they all use different ones for their products.

“Being a basketball player I see a lot of the bulldog head that we have now since it’s in the middle of the court, and I would be a little sad if it got completely changed forever,” Andrews said.

New tables in the hallways foster student community Cianna Chairez News Editor

Between the rapidly advancing technology and the distribution of Chromebooks, keeping electronics charged may become an issue for students. However, the district has found a solution to this problem.

AISD purchased tables for the hallways that allow for students to charge their devices before school, during lunch and after school.

“They will create opportunities for collaboration and flexible learning spaces, and the teachers can use them if they want to bring their class out into the hallways and do different types of teaching and learning,” management assistant Debby Theis said.

In addition to their charging qualities, the tables provide students more areas to sit and work in the

hallway.

“It’s giving the students more options than just sitting on the floor. We have shortage of seating, so we wanted to give them more options,” Theis said.

These table came as a

seating,” Theis said. “That was their initiative. The funds did not come from Bowie, those came from the district.”

The tables are changing where students would normally eat their lunch, draw-

“ They will create opportunities for collaboration and flexible learning spaces ” - management assistant Debby Theis response to Bowie’s lack of seating areas around campus.

“This was an initiative from downtown, the Contract and Procurement Department contacted us and realized there was an issue with shortage of desks and

ing them in with the benefits of being able to charge their electronics.

“I use the charging tables a lot because of my phone and laptop,” freshman Asia Griffith said. “I originally would have sat in the courtyard on the benches and ate

with my friends.”

However, as the popularity grows for these tables, there is a demand for additional seating areas, given the campus’ large population.

“I use them pretty much every day before school and during lunch,” sophomore Collin Stoddard said. “More would be great because they’re normally crowded.”

Some students are concerned about other problems being fixed first, such as the heating and air conditioning system.

“We do put in work orders every day to take care of all of the issues we do have,” Thesis said. “Whenever they get out to fix them, they’ll fix them.”

In addition to the new seating in the academic hall, students would like to see an increase the number of these tables in other areas

SOCIAL RECHARGE: Juniors Simone Saiyed, Phil Brual, Mia Moore, and senior Sarah Baber do homework at one of the hallway tables. The tables also have the ability to charge various devices. PHOTO BY Preston Rolls

of Bowie.

“I wish they would put more tables in the cafeteria or the fine arts wing,” Stod-

dard said. “Other than that, I love them and I wish we could get more.”

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The Dispatch

Fri. Feb. 9, 2018

News

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hil d c v o i t c t tim u

Cianna Chairez News Editor

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o g in

Recently The Criminal Justice Division of the Office of the Governor gave AISD a $4.48 million grant to build on-campus mental health support centers for children who are victims of crime.

This grant affects 22 elementary school campuses in AISD. Each campus will be supplied with two staff members to help children and their families who have been victimized cope through therapeutic methods.

“The first three years are the most critical in a child’s brain development,” child development teacher Laura Barnes said. “And toxic stress can impair that brain development. And that’s why this is such a wonderful program because it will counterbalance whatever has been going on, or seek to help it.”

The funding for this program came from the federal Victims of Crime Assistance Act of 1984.

These funds are monitored by the Governor’s office. They are meant to specifically aid Texas children who undergo any acts of violence or crime in their home-life.

“I definitely think that we will see a difference,” child development teacher Jean Frazier said. “I mean if they have made attempts to treat them at an early age, then we may not see some of the damage that we’re seeing today.”

The grant applies to elementary schools in East Austin, where the crime rate is high, the transportation is lacking and language barriers prevent families from receiving the proper help.

“It will be way better to get help in elementary as

opposed to waiting and not getting help until high school or adults,” nutrition teacher Kelly Langdon said.

According to ChildTrends.org, children who are victims of crime and don’t get the help they need, are at higher risks for academic and cognitive problems, delinquency, and involvement in juvenile justice systems.

“Kids come with such baggage, we all come with baggage,” Frazier said. “You know, now they can go through and begin addressing and getting help.”

When a child is continually exposed to violence, it begins affecting the developing of their brain, according to the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. Fundamental functions, such as memory, focusing attention, impulse control and decision-making become impaired.

“Everyone handles it differently,” Langdon said.

“Everyone handles abuse differently. It affects them in some way, shape or form that how you would handle it would be different from how I would handle it.”

A study conducted by the National Center for Victims of Crime found that out of the children who reported abuse, 42% of school officials knew about it and reported it, when compared to medical professionals and police officers.

“We are, by law, required, all teachers, elementary through high school, to report any suspicious child abuse,” Barnes said. “So we’re kind of on the front line, as are preschool teachers.”

Under Texas law, any suspicion of child abuse under good reason must be reported. The teachers are protected when reporting and it is a part of their training to detect questionable behaviour among students.

“Teachers stay teachers,” Frazier said. “We can get in trouble if we think we see something or even know those children have been abused and we don’t report it. We can come under the gun.”

Not only does exposure and victimization of crime lead to an issue for developing the brain, but it also increases the risk that the child will become a perpetrator in the future, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Kids that are abused at a young life tend

s of

cr

im e

to abuse their children, that is fact,” Frazier said. “If we can get that abuse to be snubbed out earlier, they can reprogram those kids to think on a little bit of a different level.”

Students who seek help can find it at the Center for Child Protection, which is specific to Travis County. Their focus is to provide aid and support to children who have undergone abuse.

“If they don’t want to go through the school, there is a Center for Child Protection,” Frazier said. “It’s an Austin-based organization. Travis County only. It has support for the family and it does not cost a penny.”

The child development teachers teach the effects of child abuse and exposure to crime. They are a tool in providing awareness for this issue.

“We all cover child abuse, and we cover a lot of things, but it’s not where you start, you can’t do anything with your past, you can only control your future and you have a fresh start everyday,” Barnes said. “Make good choices, but be positive about it.”

a CYCLE of

ABUSE

OUT OF 747 MALES...

35% 11% were victims of abuse and became perpetrators

were victims of abuse and didn’t become perpetrators

ART BY Callie Richards and Cianna Chairez

SOURCE: BJPsych

Out of the incidents of child victimization reported...

SOURCE: National Center for Victims of Crime

2%

of medical professionals knew about victimization episodes

42%

of school officials knew about victimization episodes

13%

of police officers knew about victimization episodes

Almost 11 percent, or more than 1 in 10 children reported being directly exposed to five or more different types of violence with just over one percent reporting 10 or more victimizations.

SOURCE: Children’s Exposure to Multiple Types of Violence, Crime and Abuse, 2011

MoPac construction to continue for three years The project consists of constructing a diverging diamond intersection at MoPac and La Crosse Avenue, extending the MoPac main lanes, making intersection improvements, and improving pedestrian and bicycle accommodations.

“When completed, the projects will help drivers cross Loop 1 faster and more safely, and allow better traffic flow along the main lanes of Loop 1 by eliminating two signalized intersections,” Bishop said.

This project will allow for future expansion in the Loop 1 area and improve cross traffic flow in the future.

“If Austin wants to fix it’s traffic problem, it is long past due on improving our urban mass transportation,” junior Wolfgang Burst said.

TxDot claims that this project will improve safety for all travel, lower wait times at intersections, improve left-turn movements, and decrease travel time in general.

“People will exit to Slaughter and La Crosse which will greatly ease traffic on and off MoPac,” principal Mark Robinson said.

“In my mind, it is long overdue and can’t happen soon enough.”

However, some students have felt that the construction going on has been a nuisance to them. All of the cones, closed lanes, and trucks have allowed for more traffic.

“Everyone’s already going slower, the

lanes are tiny, and the entirety of the process is extremely time consuming,” senior Emily Lawson said. “It’s taking our semi-quiet community and growing it closer to the city and making it busier.”

In addition, people have concerns over the environmental degradation that this project is causing. Several trees in the MoPac area have been chopped.

“It does make me really sad to see so many trees being cut down,” economics and government teacher Ruth Narvaiz said.

“The trees in the middle of the MoPac lanes are all gone and it looks bad.”

Although some have found the project to be a nuisance, others believe it’ll ultimately improve driving conditions in the Southwest Austin area.

“When no one lived Southwest it made sense for MoPac to end at a stoplight; at Slaughter,” Robinson said. “Now, because of growth in the region there needs to a way for traffic to flow past.”

Therefore, many look on the positive side about this project, since they realize it will ultimately reduce traffic congestion and make the roads safer.

“Hopefully, the end product will alleviate traffic frustrations in the future and the frustration that we are experiencing now will all be worth it,” physics teacher Rey Torres said.

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The Dispatch Fri. Feb. 9, 2018

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Reviews

Full Out Bummed (FOB) for new album Fall Out Boy fans are not manic for ‘Mania’ after band tries to expand unique ‘sound’ Shelby Papst Review Editor

Royalty. Luxury. Extravagance. All meanings of the color purple.

The album ‘Mania’ from alternative-rock band Fall Out Boy was released on Jan. 9 and hasn’t fully encompassed all that the color is in their ten song track.

‘Mania’ is their seventh studio release from Island Records following their album ‘American Beauty/ American Psycho’ in 2015.

Fall Out Boy consists of band members Patrick Stump, Pete Wentz, Joe Trohman, and Andy Hurley and have been my favorite band since I heard “My songs know what you did in the dark “(Light em’ up)” in sixth grade.

With every album, they’ve continued to amaze me with their non-conformity to a certain type of ‘sound.’ I would not use this album as an example of the group’s differentiation though.

However, after my anxious wait for ‘Mania’, listening to the tracks I was a little let down on how few of the tracks I found myself wanting to buy the second I heard them.

If this album were a church, I wouldn’t find myself on my knees to confess my love.

None of them were bad by any means, but after their very soulful past albums this one felt almost dull by comparison.

This can’t be said for all of the songs, I only wrote this down to make you press rewind on what to expect.

By far my favorite album on the track was “The Last of the Real Ones.”

From the moment that song started I felt the energy Fall Out Boy is famous for pouring into every line, note, and beat of Hurley’s drumsticks.

“Champion” and “Bishop’s Knife Trick” had this charm to them as well that gave me such a nostalgic feel to their previous releases that I couldn’t help but play them on repeat.

The overall theme of the album is different from the others, which is what the group was going for.

I felt a very spiritual vibe present in all the songs.

Some just had a stronger pull than others.

“Young and Menace” in particular was a song very unlike anything Fall Out Boy has done in the past and sounded more along the lines of Panic! at the Disco mixed with dub step. However, this unusual sound worked very well for them and became one of my favorite songs in ‘Mania.’

Compared to ‘Save Rock and Roll’ this album is a lot less rock-based and leans more alternative or indie.

I’ve never been very into indie music so it could explain my preference towards previous albums.

Some of the songs more to the pop-rock feel would be “Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea” and “Bishop’s Knife Trick” which were both tracks I really enjoyed and to me reflected Fall Out Boy’s fourth studio album ‘Folie a Deux’.

On the negative side, there is “Sunshine Riptide” and “Heaven’s Gate.” They don’t hold a very upbeat feel and are the two tracks I found the most dull.

Fall Out Boy made sure to include the unique ‘sound’ exclusive to this album in both tracks, but neither appealed much to me.

Overall I can say I liked ‘Mania’. It’s not my favorite, nor in my top-three Fall Out Boy has released, but I wouldn’t discourage listening to it.

The band favors not tuning into one particular genre and for me it seems the one they steered most towards in this album wasn’t for me.

Fall Out Boy has not completely abandoned everything they pushed to sound like in their previous albums, but more that they tried to

Bringing back the black Jadon Alvarez

Entertainment Editor Exploring the depths of human psychology and sociology, Black Mirror is a Netflix Original Series that was released to Netflix on Oct. 21, 2016.

Black Mirror is known as a modern day “Twilight Zone.”

With episodes that ranged from plots like social status depending on the popularity of your social media, and a chip that records every single second of your life, this show has been known to get a little wild.

Late last year, the fourth season of Black Mirror debuted, giving fans a reprieve from their year-long wait.

This season included six episodes with plots that, like every other episode, get you thinking about the human mind.

I thought most of the episodes this season had plots that pulled the viewer in.

Overall, two episodes were my favorite because the acting was exceptional and the plots themselves were pretty creative and of course, made you think after you finished them.

ART BY Dalton Spruce

One of the episodes though had me bored because although the actors didn’t do a bad job in my opinion, I thought the plot itself was boring and something that you’d probably find in another TV show or movie.

In my favorite episode “Black Museum”, a woman named Nish is on a road trip and makes a pit stop at a museum named Black Museum where she meets Rolo Haynes, the owner of the museum itself.

Rolo gives Nish a tour of the museum and introduces her to three special artifacts inside the museum, each having a unique story to them which Rolo shares.

This episode in particular had me on the edge of my seat because the stories that came with each artifact, a stuffed monkey, a hologram, and a pain simulator, each were definitely unique and thrilling.

The other episode that was one of my favorites and that critics praise as one of the season’s best episodes, was “USS Callister”. In this episode, a woman named Nanette Cole gets hired

at Callister Inc., a company that produces a game where players can go in a simulated reality of an outer space setting.

As the episode progresses, Cole gets trapped inside a virtual reality with other familiar faces and together they try to escape the clutches of their captor.

I liked the Star Trek vibe this episode had and I thought the episode was like a suspense horror movie where you didn’t know what was going to happen next, which is something I love about horror movies.

The one episode that I wasn’t a huge fan of was “Metalhead”. In Metalhead, a woman and two other men have to outrace killer robotic dogs that have risen since the destruction of mankind, for reasons unexplained.

Although the plot could sound cool if you’re into survival of the fittest type scenarios, I was bored the whole time trying to watch the main characters escape these vicious creatures because it was just people and a machine running around.

I loved the underrated actors that the directors choose, probably from shows and movie you’ve seen before. Letitia Wright who played Nish in “Black Museum” is in the new Marvel’s “Black Panther” as Shuri, one of the main heroines in the story. Cristin Milioti who played Nanette Cole in “USS Callister”, was from the sitcom “How I Met Your Mother” or Academy Award Nominated “The Wolf of Wall Street”.

I would recommend this show if you’re into some horror and a lot of psychology. If you don’t like to think about life after watching something that opens up your eyes to a new concept, this show is not for you.

I give praise to Black Mirror for keeping me up at night and wondering about life.

Overall, I think it’s safe to say this season was one of the best seasons Black Mirror has produced yet.

ART BY Callie Richards

make ‘Mania’ stand out from the others to appeal to a broader audience in a way that was almost too unlike them. If they were pushing for purple, they did it well with a lot of blue - slow, dependable, calming - with only a few upbeat reds of violence and demanding

energy here and there.

If I could recommend one track from ‘Mania’ it would be “The Last of the Real Ones.” The strong beat and beautiful lyrics had me nearly clutching my chest at the emotions it brought up.

I’m just young enough to still believe as long as

Fall Out Boy keeps making songs like this one, they will continue to be number one on my play-list.

Whether you want to hold this album tight or don’t, no one can deny that Fall Out Boy has delivered on the unique ‘sound’ they never fail to give their fans.

Local

BUZZ

New year means new releases. 2018 brings all new entertainment to wash out the bittersweet memories of the past year. Make sure your resolution involves one of these things coming to you.

Lana Del Rey

CONCERTS

Frank Erwin Center Feb. 11

Steve Aoki

Stubbs Feb. 28

Noel Gallagher

Moody Theatre Mar. 5

ALBUMS Neal Morse Life & Times Feb. 16

The Men Drift Mar. 2

Tax The Heat

Change Your Position Mar. 9

MOVIES

Black Panther Feb. 16

Early Man Feb. 16

Tomb Raider Mar. 16

Bayonetta 2

Switch, WII U Feb. 16

Assassin’s Creed Origins XBOX, PC & PS4 Mar. 6

Attack on Titan 2

Switch, PC, XBOX One, Etc Mar. 20

GAMES

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Fri. Feb. 9, 2018

The Dispatch

Feature

4

Teacher publishes young adult fiction

Matt Flickinger releases first novel over the summer about the trials of high school Abby Ong

Feature Editor

MATT FLICKINGER

M

o v e rwhelmingly positive, but I also don’t think the kids who don’t like me are going to read my book. I hope they do, I mean hopefully everyone reads it, but so far it’s all kind of my fans who have read my book, and they loved it.”

Senior Meghan Henry had Flickinger her freshman and junior year, and she credits him with inspiring her to keep writing. Flickinger informed some of his students about the novel while he was writing it, and as soon as she found out the novel was published, she bought it and began reading it immediately.

“The book is about this kid who is coming into high school, he runs cross country,

ost young adults look forward to starting a career but don’t realize the effort and reality of it all. One requirement for colleges and jobs is a resume with a brief explanation of your education, training and experiences.

Writing a resume can be a daunting task, and for most people writing an outstanding resume is tough.

Writing a Resume Your resume needs to be concise, clear and focused on what you are really trying to display. Here are some few simple and clear steps to write a exceptional resume.

Column by Shikha Patel

How to ADULT

py it would make me happy for them. I was just on a roller coaster of emotions, but ultimately I felt very satisfied after reading it.”

Oldham found reading a book written by someone she knew to be an interesting, worthwhile experience.

“I really enjoyed the book,” Oldham said.

“It was especially cool just knowing that he wrote it, and reading it you hear it in his voice, in Mr. Flick’s voice, which was really cool because I saw a lot of the inspiration from Austin and Bowie High School in his novel as well, so I felt even more connected to it.”

Writing the book took Flickinger seven months. He dedicated many hours to writing the book and sometimes spent as many as 30 hours writing in a single week. The deal Flickinger won required a complete manuscript that needed little to no editing from the company, so prior to sending it in he spent a lot of time rewriting personal edits, finding support in those around him as he did so.

“My family’s very sup High school portive, last year was is tough, especially kind of hard for us because I was gone a for freshman Zain lot writing, and I find Thompson. Ever since it difficult to write when there are a lot tragedy struck his life of distractions, the last year, he can’t figure wrong kind of distractions, around,” out what comes next. His Flickinger said. mother is silent and his “I have a writing group that I used oldest friend has moved to be a part of that on to a new group. actually consisted Charlotte Hanson wants of some teachers from the school out of River Valley, Texas. as well as some But getting through outside people, it was definitely junior year without totally helpful.

In the proscrewing up her chances cess up to that, the Rated 5 stars on the actual writing of of leaving seems the book itself was Kindle store impossible. Her goals a very lonely experience though. The are disappearing, her support that I got was grades dropping. Can Charlotte escape the just encouragement when I felt discouraged town she’s outgrown, or will she be stuck, or got a reminder from like too many of her peers, dreaming the publishing company that I had a deadline comwithout ever leaving? After Zain and ing up.”

Charlotte meet one wild night, will they Flickinger currently has a young adult murder mystery be able to help each other, or will their in the works, and over the years relationship drag both of them lower he has also published various short stories, poetry, and a play. than they already were?

“One thing that I have listed on

Fans of “Eleanor & Park” my author pages is that in writing the blurb for this one and trying to figure out and “Althea & Oliver” will how it fits in with the rest of my works is that love this story about loss, all of my works tend to gravitate around identity, and how one characters trying to figure something out,” Flickinger said. “Whether that is something F l i c k friend can change i n g e r ’ s , about themselves, usually, or something two lives. senior Me- about the world that they may or may not gan Oldham, en- be aware of that needs figuring out, there’s joyed reading the novel always an introspective part to my works as well. Oldham said that she related that is kind of a common thread. This one to pieces in a lot of different characters and more so, just because it’s longer than anyread several events throughout the book thing I’ve ever written.”

With Flickinger’s efforts to make the that she had been in herself or could see book as realistic as possible, he creates a herself doing.

“It took me on a roller coaster ride of story Oldham finds relatable, and she recemotions, and it was definitely not a hap- ommends giving it a read.

“I think it should be one that we read in py-go-lucky book where you just feel really good about it the whole time,” Oldham English class, it’s so real that I feel that every said. “It was one of those where you read high school student should have the chance it and you felt so emotionally connected to read something that isn’t scripted,” Oldand attached to the characters that any time ham said. “It’s not flowery and sugar coated they would experience something painful and candy coated, it’s real. Every high it would make me really sad for them and schooler should have the experience to any time they’d experience something hap- read something so down to earth.”

and he’s kind of finding his way,” Henry said.

“He doesn’t really have any friends, and his one friend from middle school has found his own group in high school, which is pretty typical of the high school experience, I think. Everybody kind of finds new people and finds new interests, so it’s a relatable entrance into the book and introduction to Zain, the main character’s name.”

Another former student o f

FICTION

PHOTO BY Abby Ong

Authors draw from their own experience with life, be it things they’ve lived through, witnessed, or heard of. Surrounded by high school students, one English teacher put his observations from time in the classroom into print.

After getting second place in an international short story contest in 2015, Matt Flickinger won a prize package that gave him the opportunity to publish a novel. Currently available as a Kindle Exclusive only, “These Dreams Which Cannot Last” will be released as an ebook on iBooks and other venues in the next year.

“It’s a young adult, coming of age story, kind of a dual-narrative,” Flickinger said. “It follows the year in the life of a freshman high school boy and a junior high school girl, both of them struggling with some form of loss in their life and kind of finding solace with one another in terms of friendship and finding out a little bit more about themselves through the experiences that they share.”

Flickinger found inspiration for the book from a number of different places.

“I really like reading young adult works, and a little bit of the experiences in the book are based on personal experiences, [but] it’s not at all an autobiography,” Flickinger said. “Basically, I wanted to write a relatable, modern, young adult work that gets at issues that freshman boys go through, kind of all freshman go through, and that touches on some identity issues with both characters that would be engaging to readers in a real way. It doesn’t really pull punches when it comes to the more conventional and less conventional topics in teenage life.”

Pulling from his daily experiences with high schoolers at his job, Flickinger aimed to make the book as realistic as possible.

“I think [being a teacher] just solidified some of the choices that I made in terms of character motivation, the way that they interact with one another, the world, their parents,” Flickinger said. “Teachers are always listening in I think, even when you guys don’t know that we are, which kind of made it easier to tell when I was being honest and real with the way that kids related to life and kids related to each other. I feel like I read a lot of young adult works in which authors are kind of guessing, and they come off as pandering or unrealistic and I didn’t want that. In terms of my teaching, I think it’s just what I’ve learned from my students to create an accurate and real voice for the age that I’m writing about.”

Flickinger doesn’t think he’ll ever feel completely finished working on a piece of

writing, as there are always potential edits to be made. However, for the time he spent writing the book, he feels satisfied with the way it turned out. So far, no one has had anything bad to say about the novel, he said.

“I’ve had a couple of students come in this year, one of them left me a review the other day on Amazon,” Flickinger said. “Right now, the feedback has all been pretty

1

WHAT TO PUT: When applying for a job or college, you are advertising yourself to the interviewer. List the things you are proud of, such as the level of education you’ve reached, volunteering, etc. Listing these things will help the job or college you are applying to really get a glimpse of what kind of person you are. A lot of employers or colleges are looking for hard workers who will stay dedicated to what they do. An important tip is to never lie on your resume, which leaves bad impressions and leads to dire consequences.

2

CREATE A HEADING:

The heading is the section at the top of your template which gives your contact information. Depending on what the resume is for, the information needed varies. This could include your name, address, email, and/or phone number. First put your name, make it bold and large. Next put the other desired personal information. By doing this you are allowing the college or job to contact you if they have further questions or inquiries.

3

FORMATTING: A good resume needs to be designed in a way that is appealing to read. If you aren’t design inclined, use a template. Resume templates exist to make your life easier and reduce format errors. Picking the perfect type can be challenging but choose what fits your preference the best. Most word processors offer resume templates, allowing you to create a resume with little to no effort. Choose a template that you are comfortable with, as well as one that looks clean and professional.

4

EDIT THE RESUME: After you have finished putting together your resume, you should go over each part and make sure it makes sense. Editing your resume for mistakes and revising it to make sure it gives the impression you want is a very good idea. Another good idea is having others read it because other eyes notice things you blur over when you look at your own writing. Have others edit for mistakes and ask for general feedback. *Last column by Avery Shelton

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Feature

Biker races across state for competitions

Junior Austin Buttlar helps train up and coming bikers while on the varsity team Madison Austin Feature Editor

Tires crunching against the dead leaves, mud spraying up from the person in front and crossing the finish line with a smile.

That’s what mountain biking is the rush the adrenaline all the work just for that moment at the finish line.

Junior Austin Buttlar is part of the varsity mountain biking team.

The team practices almost everyday of the week with only one off day.

“We practice six days a week with Friday being our off day. Normally practice on a weekdays last 1- 1.5 hours mainly focusing on sprints like going as hard as you can as fast as you can, Weekend practices are 2-3 hours focusing more on endurance and increase the distance we can do in a given amount of time,” Buttlar said.

When it comes time to race Buttlar likes to take his time getting ready and into the zone by taking time to warm-up and plan his route.

“I warm up by riding the stationary bike for about 30 minutes and then I roll out my legs in order to loosen my muscles,” Buttlar said.

As a varsity team member Buttlar has to prepare for a much longer race than others on the team.

“These varsity racers have to get their mind set to suffer for nearly two hours. A two-hour race takes tons of preparation time. Austin and the other riders do a great job of staying positive and staying focused,” mountain bike team coach Chad Bobbitt said.

Biking was not always his passion, Buttlar picked up the sport at the beginning of freshman year.

“I started biking freshman year after being introduced to mountain biking by my uncle,” Buttlar said.

During race day onlookers only have few chances to see their biker during the race which can last for hours. This can be nerve racking parents and friends as they don’t know what is happening.

“The sidelines can be very stressful. Because he can’t be seen and I don’t know if the course is dangerous,” Buttlar’s mom Michele Fagan said. “I am always anxious to see how he is doing and to see he hasn’t been injured along the way”.

As Buttlar’s senior year is coming up plans are being made to potentially continue to bike in college.

“I plan to go to a college with a cycling program and I would like to work in the cycling industry when I graduate,” Buttlar said.

Race’s at the high school level for mountain biking are few and far between, however there are

PICTURE PERFECT : While in his Bowie mountain biking uniform junior Austin Buttlar stops for a quick picture with his bike on the trails of Circle C. Buttlar plans to continue biking in college and hopes to have a job that involves biking of some sort. PHOTO BY Madison Austin

still opportunities to race outside of the school team in competitions around the state.

“In the high school series there are five races, but there are other races you can do that are part of the TMBRA ( Texas Mountain Bike Racing Association) series,” Buttlar said.

“ When I’m biking, it gives me the opportunity to take my mind off things and focus on the trail and the nature around. ” - Austin Buttlar As an upperclassman Buttlar is expected to look out for and mentor the younger bikers on the team.

“In addition to racing at the highest level, they also are expected to mentor and teach our upcoming middle school team members the necessary skills needed to race at the high school level,” Bobbitt said.

The team works together so often that they have become more of a family than a team. This is achieved by adhering to the teams

core values.

“We spend so much time together as a team that we are a super tight knit family by race season,” Bobbitt said “Basically, we are team building each and every day. We don’t have any traditions, etc.”.

Buttlar enjoys biking because it is a chance for release of daily stress.

“When I’m biking it gives me the opportunity to take my mind off things and focus on the trail and the nature around,” Buttlar said.

Choosing just one thing that makes a sport your favorite is hard and it’s no different for Buttlar when it comes to biking.

“I don’t think I have one favorite thing about biking but I do like the aspect of racing and being able to bike with my friends,” Buttlar said.

When it comes to the team there are some core values that the whole team follows in order to stay positive and motivated throughout the race season.

“We do adhere to our core values 100% of the time. I am a bulldog - We each represent the bulldog mountain bike team through our actions and decisions. Challenge ourselves - We commit ourselves to continuously improving our performance and pushing through our comfort barriers,” Bobbitt said “Elevate others - we lift up our teammates through positivity, confidence and graciousness.”

SPEEDING ALONG TRAILS: Austin Buttlar speeds through the trails behind ATX Bikes. Buttlar has been riding with the Bowie mountain bike team for three years now. PHOTO BY Madison Austin

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30 In-Depth

tion for one thing or another that people barely have time to just sit down and have dinner with their families.”

"One year seniors blocked off a section of the parking lot and had a barbecue out there. Everyone was coming over getting hot dogs—even APs were coming over and getting hamburgers and stuff like that."

5

VICKI HEBERT

"They slid one of those blow-up things underneath the fence back there, and so when we got to school there was a blow up bouncy thing in the pit in the middle of the courtyard."

"There was a senior that climbed up one of the towers right behind the school and hung a big sheet from it that said class of ‘93 or ‘94."

PHOTOS BY Suzie Doerr and Kyle Roehrig, COURTESY OF Lone Star 1989 yearbook

The Office Black Mirror Stranger Things Friends Criminal Minds

Harry Styles Ed Sheeran Adele Drake Cardi B

The Cosby Show Cheers David Letterman Houston Nights Thirtysomething

“There will always be some people who define themselves by trying to make somebody else feel bad and that’s one of those just really nasty things about being a human being,” English teacher Vicki Hebert said. “But I think that that is not as acceptable as it used to be. School policies can be whatever school policies can be, it’s the kids. It’s the way you guys are looking at each other. It’s the way you guys are looking at the world that’s making it. The rules may have more awareness, but the awareness has been embraced by you and awareness of the administration.”

And while these new movements have impacted the way students act toward each other, they don’t eliminate from the struggles and humanity of those characters defined in the old movies we watch today. Because while the characters might be dated 30 years back, they remain as timeless as the environment that is shaping students into who they become.

“It’s kind of like watching flowers that have been planted a long time ago come up and bloom,” Hebert said. “We didn’t know what was going to come up, but man it’s cool.”

PAST PRANKS

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Erasure INXS Information Society U2 The Pet Shop Boys

"Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS "Look Away" by Chicago "Wild Thing" by Ton Loc "When the Children Cry"

by White Lion "Tender Lie" by Restless Heart

Sonic McDonald's Wendy's Kentucky Fried Chicken Gertrude's

Benjamin's Foley's Banana Republic XoXo's The Limited Express

"Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee ft.

Justin Bieber "That's What I Like" by Bruno Mars "Humble" by Kendrick Lamar "Believer" by Imagine Dragons

Kerbey Lane Cafe Chuy's Chick-fil-a Whataburger Torchy's Tacos

Pacsun Nike Forever 21 Urban Outfitters Adidas

Jeep Ferrari Mercedes Lamborghini Lexus

Pinballz Arcade Zilker Park South Congress Barton Creek Alamo Drafthouse

HANGOUTS

4

ALEJANDRO GARCIA

"One year, as a damaging prank, in upstairs C hall they put super-glue inside the locks and then glued pennies on them. It was impossible—you couldn’t get a key, so you couldn’t get into the rooms."

3

WENDY UZZLE

"Star Wars" series "La La Land" "Harry Potter" series "Wonder Woman" "It"

CARS

"My AP kids, after the AP test, practiced for like two weeks and then one day in the passing period we had a breakout in the entire downstairs all the way around upstairs were people doing the JiHo dance together."

2

ALEJANDRO GARCIA

"Young Guns" "Rain Man" "The Lost Boys" "Three Men and a Baby" "Die Hard"

CLOTHES

1

VICKI HEBERT

Scarlett Johansson Sofia Vergara Emma Watson Jennifer Lawrence Meryl Streep

FOOD

“There’s absolutely less free time than there was back then,” history/ PALS teacher and former student Alejandro Garcia said. “When there’s so many organizations that take up so much of your time and there’s so much homework, there’s so much preparation for one thing or another that people barely have time to just sit down and have dinner with their families.”

These adjustments have not only impacted student life as a whole, but have increased issues in students’

Michelle Pfeiffer Debra Winger Cher Meryl Streep Glen Close

SONGS

- Alejandro Garcia

Chris Evans Zac Efron Chris Pine Leonardo DiCaprio James Franco

ARTISTS

“ There’s so much prepara-

Keiffer Sutherland Charlie Sheen Robert Downey Jr. Tom Cruise Dustin Hoffman

SHOWS

Think about a movie from the ‘80s, any movie. A John Hughes film, a cult classic, a cheesy adventure plot. Today, the characters might seem vintage, outdated, or even irrelevant.

Although the movie characters may have been fiction, they reflected a real aspect of culture of society and a way to mark progress in students life.

“I think as far as high school students, we haven’t changed,” history teacher and former student Wendy Uzzle said.

“We still were concerned about fitting in. We still were concerned about what we were going to do on the weekend.

The biggest concern for us was how the band competition would go or how the dance competition would go.

So we’re still really invested in student life and I don’t think those things have changed.”

However, with the rise of academic competition and pressure to be successful in high school, students’ focuses have shifted to become more ambitious in their respective interests and consequently have compromised other aspects of student life.

1989 2018

MOVIES

In-Depth Editor

ic right where the H2O car wash is, and that was the only place anywhere near that you could go during lunchtime to get food,” economics teacher Ruth Narvaiz said. “I guess students did leave campus and go home, but there weren’t choices back then. The Randall’s wasn’t here, the CVS wasn’t here; it was all just vacant.”

In addition, bullying has shifted as new principles are introduced and students are taught to be more conscientious of the power of their words and actions.

COURTESY OF Lone Star 1989 yearbook and polled students

ACTRESSES

Jocelyn Brooks

lives, such as mental health problems.

“Now there’s just so much pressure I think for people to get their college credit and do this and do that and people cram all night long; I didn’t do any of that,” Garcia said. “I went to bed at a reasonable time, I never stayed up all night studying, I never freaked out or cried or panicked because of AP tests, and in a lot of ways, it’s unfortunate that that era’s gone because we didn’t talk about mental health issues or depression or anxiety. I’m sure people had that stuff 15 years ago, it just wasn’t as prominent as now, where you see that everywhere, and I think the contribution of the school to those pressures is big. But that’s unfortunately the society that we live in. That’s what’s emphasized—that’s what’s important.”

Still, the student body has encountered growth by becoming less stratified than the groups 30 years ago.

“Every group kind of had their space,” Uzzle said. “The band kids hung out by the band hall, I don’t think that’s changed. The seniors and the ‘white hats’ (we called them that because they wore these white hats with their college name written across it) were right outside of A hall. The ‘Tree People,’ as we called them—there was a tree, not the big tree we have in the courtyard, but another tree that they all kind of hung around and they were more of your gothic, metal-y sort of crowd.”

While student cliques still exist today, the exclusivity that accompanied them has decreased.

“Everybody just had their own little thing, and I don’t really see that as much anymore, if at all,” Garcia said.

“Everybody hangs out with everybody, and that’s a good positive development to see with people not shying away from meeting new people just because they’re in a different group of friends or play a different sport or have different interests than they do.”

Bowie’s surrounding community has since seen change, as well. Over the years, the area has seen more and more development appealing to students.

“When we opened 30 years ago, there was no place to eat around here at lunchtime, except there was a Son-

of STUDENT LIFE

NOT

Comparing popular student trends from 1989 to 2018

ACTORS

YEARS

hot or

RUTH NARVAIZ Porsche BMW Jaguar Ferrari Mercedes

"One year they clogged the drain hole in the pit in the courtyard and filled it up with water and threw a bunch of goldfish in it."

ART BY Preston Rolls

Curfew Amnesia The Planetarium City Lights Deca

PHOTOS BY Kyle Roehrig, Cynthia Carnes, and Tommy Greenlees, COURTESY OF Lone Star 1989 yearbook

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Photo Essay

Flying & falling fantasy a magical favorite

HOLIDAY WITH MARY: While taking a stroll in the park, “A” cast members, senior Maddy Sparkes and Blake Pousson, who play Mary Poppins and Burt, sing and dance to the song “Jolly Holiday” during the first act of the musical. Sparkes had always dreamed of playing Mary Poppins.”Mary Poppins is actually my dream role so getting to play that was like amazing, like is this really happening,” Sparkes said. PHOTO BY Violet Glenewinkel

Mary Poppins comes to the Bowie stage Maddy Rice Staff Writer

STEP IN TIME: Sophomore Eric Larson who plays Burt sings to the song “Step in Time” with other chimney sweepers. Technicians have to make sure complications such as wires getting tangled don’t happen. ”Sometimes they will collide in mid-air and their wires wrap each other,” junior Emma Thomas said. PHOTO BY Cara Andres

BUTLER DOWN: Knocked out by Jane and Michael’s trick is Jack Maedgen who plays Roberston. A lot of time and effort go into the production of the musical and many technicians don’t leave right away. “Ten O’clock through twelve O’clock, but at least ten,” senior Sam Searles said. PHOTO BY Violet Glenewinkel BEING MRS. BANKS: Playing Mrs. Banks is senior Piper Kopser who sings her solo ballad. Technicians prepare for the next scene.”While I was singing, the tech crew had to roll on the parlor set piece and some techies under the stage were setting up the fog machine for the next scene,” Kopser said.

PHOTO BY Ashley Ramirez

The crowd holds their breath as senior Blake Pousson hangs upside down from the top of the stage, his voice carrying throughout the theatre.

How did he get up there?

What some don’t realize is that tons of theatre technicians are constantly working backstage to bring the show to life, including lifting up Pousson and “A” cast member sophomore Eric Larson to walk on the ceiling every night.

This year’s musical, Mary Poppins, featured some of the most extensive tech equipment and systems that the Starlight Theatre Company has ever used before: there’s projections, lighting, set, fly, costumes, makeup, sound, and even magic.

“I’m shocked that we BECOMING MARY: During dress rehearsal senior Maddy actually got [the musical] Sparkes takes on her role as Mary Poppins. Sparkes finds done on time,” fly crew similarities between herself and Mary.”She is very poised member junior Shelby about herself and the way she carries herself,” Sparkes Papst said. “It’s always a said.” PHOTO BY Preston Rolls push towards the end to lot of credit so that’s kind of technicians do just seeing it get everything finished on the point. But it is extremely happen. The first time, it was time and we got a lot we satisfying if you do your job like, ‘that’s magic.’” need to get done… and beright.

Mary Poppins came to fore you know it, it’s show ”According to techni- an end on January 21 with week. Time is just not in our cians, the smoothest part the cast’s last performance favor, ever.” of tech’ing for the show of “SupercalifragilisticexpiWhile every show has the was actually the fly. The STC alidocious” as they ran off basic tech, the new incluhired an outside company the stage. After weeks of sion of magic brought new to assist them. Papst oper- preparing, the techs finally animation to the set. One of ates part of the walk that saw their hard word take on which is bag magic, where Bert takes on the stage, tak- a life of its own. props master junior Emma ing either Pousson or Larson “It’s a lot, and it’s so much Thomas sits behind a set across the top each night. on you and your body and piece and delivers props to “Watching him up there your mind that you’re like Mary Poppins’s iconic bag [for the first time]... it was ‘oh my gosh this is really through a hole in the wall. hard to keep working be- hard,’ but in the end it’s so “It takes a lot more work cause everybody was just… worth it because I love than a lot of people would stunned,” Papst said. “Every showing art and working think it does because we night, seeing the audience with all of the technicians,” build everything from freak out for it, that’s prob- head tech senior Shelby scratch– it’s a lot of work,” ably one of the best parts. I Kelley said. “It’s so worth it Thomas said. “But our job don’t even know if the audi- and I’m proud of what we is to remain unseen, so we ence gets as excited as the have done so far.” do all of that for really not a COMING TO LIFE: Senior Blake Pousson comes to life on stage as the statue Neleus, during the song “Jolly Holiday. Pedestals for the statues were made with wheels so that transitions would be easy. “ We built many rolling pedestals to give the statues a place to stand but also transition smoother,” senior Shelby Kelly said PHOTO BY Cara Andres

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Fri. Feb. 9, 2018

In-Depth

E O ## M T O MET OO The Dispatch

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Fri. Feb. 9, 2018

In-Depth

ART & STORY by Violet Glenewinkel

A wave of sexual misconduct allegations and stories of harassment against men of power have moved women across the world to take a stand against years of unequal, unjust treatment. This movement has built up incredibly as the empowering voices of females, young and old, expressing their time as victims has come to an end.

The #MeToo movement, sparked by a tweet made by actress Alyssa Milano to help give voice to sexual assault victims, began not only as women in the media speaking out about their unfair treatment, but a chance for all women to now have a voice of their own.

“The movement has opened the doors and paved the way for women to be brave, courageous and empowered in their speaking out against a long-standing, unspoken culture of harassment,” English teacher Amanda Pfeiffer said.

Originating from the many allegations against Harvey Weinstein, the movement was a shock to the world by giving light on the hidden horrors of the workplace between all genders and the constant fear of women’s reputation being tainted for speaking out against a person of power.

“We, as a nation of people, cannot problem solve, listen, discuss, and come up with honest, fair solutions if we do not acknowledge that problems exist,” academic dean Susan Leos said.

The

STORIES

JOYCE BRISCO English

This is not a gender-constrained movement.

With a focus on women, #MeToo also includes all races, genders, and sexualities, letting everyone’s voice in to form a unity of empowerment.

“I think the focus is on women, which is great, because I think a lot of the time our voices are kind of suppressed in our society,” geometry teacher Deepthi Ramachandran said. “It does affect more women than men, but it’s still both genders.”

Through platforms such as social media, the web has given opportunity for women who have endured through unfair treatment to join together across the world as well as go against the unrealistic standards a consumer society imposes.

“In all its ubiquity, the Internet has yielded some positive results for young women,” Pfeiffer said.

“It has bound them together and encouraged like-minded women to build each other up and stand up against false campaigns for beauty and self-esteem that are designed to disparage and encourage constant consumerism.”

Unfortunately, people who share their stories are also being attacked through anonymous or fake accounts from either people they do or do not know.

“I have friends who are still being harassed from people on social media,” art teacher Mindy Le Jeune said. “They know who harasser is and they have tried to stop it by contacting the social media platform, but the person finds another username and starts again.”

Half of the time, these threats and criticism is coming from other women towards the victim sharing her story.

“As women, I believe that we must stick together to support survivors of sexual abuse, violence, and misconduct,” senior Anna Seningen said. “I believe that a woman should never put another woman down for speaking up about her stories of abuse.”

One issue arising from the movement is the term “feminist” and what that truly means in the eyes of people who may not fully understand or may misinterpret it.

“Men and women alike do not realize that being a feminist does not mean that you believe that women are superior to men,” Seningen said. “It means that you support the complete and total equality of men and women in every situation of life.”

This moves into understanding what it means to be a woman and what may not be comfortable or consensual for them.

“Men have a responsibility to acknowledge and try to understand perspectives foreign to them so they can act more sensibly,” senior David Goeller said. “Behavior like this often arises from ignorance towards others and one’s self, as well as ignorance

of the consequences of one’s actions.”

When people do not take into consideration their actions is when innocents become victims.

“I was at a friend’s birthday downtown and there was a guy sitting at a table on the side of the street and coughed the word slut as I walked by,” sophomore Kendall Johnson said. “I had never had that experience before until that moment and I felt super powerless because I hadn’t done anything to that man to call me that, nothing I did could’ve made that man call me a term like that.”

Comments made like in Johnson’s case leaves an impression on the individual that can create far worse effects on self-esteem or mental-health.

“As a woman, I have always been baffled at how men, not all men, have had the capability to address a woman in a manner in which could ruin their whole evening,” senior Natalie Haddad said. “Any time a complete stranger insists on telling me I ‘look sexy’ or have any kind of potential to ‘get some’, it truly ruins my whole evening and I’m then in fear of any other kind of unwanted attention.”

In a lot of cases involving teenagers, young men feel a type of entitlement towards being able to act the way they want towards women which is one of the biggest things #MeToo is trying to shake away.

“I’ve been looked at as dumb or not capable just because of my sex and discriminated against because of the color of my skin,” senior Nya Martin said. “I’ve dealt with countless boys who felt that they were entitled to my attention and time and as soon as they get rejected they try to insult and harass me.”

At times, female teachers are treated unfairly by students just because of their gender and have to work towards receiving equal treatment and respect.

“As a woman, and a tiny one at that, I have had students try and test me,” English teacher Bree Rolfe said.

“There is a period at the start of every school year where I have to work to get respect perhaps a little more than a male teacher.”

Even during times when feminist movements like the nineties’ “Riot Grrls”, harassment and discrimination made a home amongst the punk wave; something the “riot grrls” were fighting against.

“Before I was a teacher, I wrote about music as a journalist,” Rolfe said. “I experienced some encountering editors or musicians who treated me like I didn’t have the same music knowledge as my male coworkers.”

on by women (teaching, nursing, child-care) have somewhat lower incomes than more male-driven occupations.

“Historically, I think our country has not always put financial worth into any profession seen more as ‘women’s work’,” Leos said. “The pay is not the same in comparison with other fields that employ more men than women.”

The #MeToo movement has sparked questions and controversy around why there is such thing as

“ Young women

REASON

BREE ROLFE English

In these situations, it’s difficult for women to find the courage to speak up towards a perpetrator with power from fear of losing their job, losing respect, or not having support to back them up; this being the reason the #MeToo movement began in the first place.

“You think about it later on and wonder why someone would say that when they wouldn’t say that to a male coworker who’s on my same level,” Ramachandran said. “When something like that happens to me, it’s almost like taking your power away.”

This leads into the fight for equal pay and how positions mostly taken

ment, including how relationships between men and women work and the way these relationships work.

“The last school I worked at, this health teacher said something along the lines of ‘boys, if you get drunk at a party, you might have sex with a girl who you think at the moment is a ten and when you sober up you find out she’s actually a five’,” Ramachandran said. “I’ve never been so horrified.”

Teachings like so have been rooted into society

“ It exposes the

are now more EMPOWERED than ever with genuine confidence. ”

scale of how much SEXISM is still prevalent in society. ”

“ It shows there is CHANGE and I am hopeful. ”

MICHELLE PFEIFFER

BELLA LUFSCHANOWKSI Junior

English

MINDY LE JEUNE Art

“ We must stick together to SUPPORT survivors of sexual abuse and misconduct. ”

ANNA SENINGEN Senior

WOMEN Q&A

“ The move-

“

ment has provided a place for STORIES to be shared and heard. ”

of Bowie “

What is the effect of #METOO? Why do you believe in it?

MARIE PRESCOTT

Asst. Principal

”

and have slipped under the radar, further creating an unequal view toward women.

“There’s a lot of things wrong with that statement: that a girl considered a ten are the only ones worthy of having a sexual relationship; assuming that a man is the only person that has a say in that situation is kind of what is communicated there,” Ramachandran said. “He was teaching fourteen year old boys that this is what life is like.”

Next to education in schools, education at home involving parenting has been a factor considered in the debate between “nature versus nurture” on the way men view and treat women.

“Sometimes our own ways of raising children predispose both girls and boys and then both groups suffer,” Leos said. “You know, all the folks who say boys should not be interested in dance and girls will never be any good at math.”

Universal sayings presented to young children of both genders leaves an impression that is a start to inequality, even something that seems simple or innocent.

“The age-old line of thinking that a boy who picks on a girl does so because he likes her is still flying around and I am sick of it,” Rolfe said. “I have “ The #MeToo a four-year-old niece and it starts movement is just even in preschool. We’re teaching THE START for her that sometimes people who like making people us hurt us.”

Gender roles and stereotypes in aware. ” relationships also has created difference between women and men, DEEPTHI further pushing men to an imaginary RAMACHANDRAN “higher-standard”.

Math “Women are taught to be more affectionate and men are taught to be kind of more hard in their feelings and ‘it’s not cool to show their feelings because they’re men’,” Ramachandran said. “There’s this kind of parody between the way a someone is supposed to act and what they see people of their same gender do.”

This “higher-standard” mind-set It provides a sort creates a superiority factor within of COMFORT to men when compared to women.

those who have been sexually abused. ”

NYA MARTIN Senior

“ It has made

CARMAN

VASQUEZ History

SUSAN LEOS

Academic Dean

“ #MeToo can be

seen as a way for women to show solidarity and SUPPORT. ”

“ I believe in #MeToo because I believe in the SAFETY all women deserve. ”

LAURA LOZA

NATALIE HADDAD

Counselor

The

HELP

younger generations more AWARE of how far we still have to go. ”

“ It is important

for our young women to have all the SAME opportunities as young men. ”

The

“women’s work” and how that moved certain men toward feeling they have the power to manipulate and disrespect the opposite sex.

“I believe education is the root of everything,” Ramachandran said. “Never are men told ‘don’t rape women’ or ‘don’t whistle at a woman down the street’ or ‘don’t approach a woman when she’s by herself and make her feel uncomfortable’.”

Awareness of problems in the health education system has also been revealed through the move-

Senior

STEFFANIE PERSYN Librarian

“Growing up in the world today, social constructs push this idea upon people that being a man puts you at an advantage,” senior Julian Haddad said. “I believe some people foolishly take this mentality to heart and treat women unfairly because they believe their genitalia gives them a free pass to do so.”

This thus proves a feeling of “power” or “superiority” isn’t just from men in a high position, but also resides in young male students towards young women who are equal to them.

“When students need help, there are some boys who will just interrupt me when I am having a conversation with a female student or cut in front of them to talk to me,” Rolfe said.

A lot of times, the actions born from stereotypes or wrong-teachings go under the radar from victims being too scared to speak up.

“We do not always know about all the instances either because students who are victims often do not tell authorities,” Leos said.

At Bowie, there is a policy in place to deal with accusations of harassment between any students, regardless of gender.

According to counselor Laura Loza, the first step is for students to come to a trusted counselor and report the someone that has made them feel uncomfortable or treated

them in any disrespectful manner.

After the counselor has been fully informed of the misdemeanor, the statement is then transferred to the student’s assistant principal with the help of the school resource officers.

The

SOLUTION

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KENDALL JOHNSON Sophomore

“Disciplinary action is usually taken on the perpetrator,” Loza said. “The administrator may have to enact a ‘no contact agreement’ in which both parties sign or even have to file a Title IX report.”

To ensure things are dealt with properly, administrators and teachers are required to learn the process and what must be done when students approach them about a misconduct or situation.

“Administrators and teachers are required to attend trainings and professional development, and I think our staff takes it seriously,” Leos said.

Now that the #MeToo movement has shed light on the unequal and unjust treatment of women in every standpoint and position, it is now a matter of what will be done to prevent such happenings from occurring anymore.

“Changing the way people act is a tough way to look at solving the problem as people tend to be very stubborn,” Julian said. “But, I believe a mindset of mutual respect, peace, love, and positivity could help foster a new age without these terrible scenarios of assault and harassment.”

Moving the attention towards the perpetrator is one step towards focusing on getting justice and prevention from more unequal treatment.

“I think that the solution to this is focusing on the offender and not the victim,” Martin said. “Instead of women being told to be modest and careful, men should be taught that women are not their property and women are allowed to make decisions for themselves.”

Another possibility is to keep pushing the idea of feminism and what that truly means to the public.

“I personally will not stop pushing the idea of feminism until women are paid just as much as a man is for the same exact job, until women are seen as more than just an object, and until every woman feels that she is just as powerful, as strong, and as equal as a man feels,” Seningen said.

There’s also the aspect of the people in power backing up movements like feminism and #MeToo for if they speak out on it, others will follow.

“The powerful people have to stand up for the little guys,” Ramachandran said. “As a woman and a minority, I can fight as hard as I want to, but the white man is the voice that people listen to right now.”

The people in power who are getting away with unfair treatment towards the opposite or same sex is where accountability needs to come in.

“We need to find a way to keep everybody accountable, there needs to be like this circle of accountability rather than this hierarchy of power,” Ramachandran said.

However, to people like Ramachandran, education is where the real change will occur.

“I think the solution is finding a way to educate everyone, educating young people that your generation that can make that step where this won’t be a problem anymore in the workforce and holding people accountable for what’s happening,” Ramachandran said.

In the education system, differentiating opinions on how to educate students on tricky subjects such as gender equality, health education, and healthy relationships are extremely prevalent now.

“How do you educate or teach children about relationships, but then how do you get all parents to consent one of the most important and heaviest topics to talk about it?” Ramachandran said.

Despite there still being a long way to go, the generation of women now will grow with this movement, further pushing towards the respect all genders, races, and sexualities deserve in a society still working towards equality.

“I am so very inspired and humbled by these young women each day and wish, in high school, that I had just an ounce or sliver of the empowerment and unapologetic passion they have,” Pfeiffer said. “What a difference that would have made.”

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Fri. Feb. 9, 2018 The Dispatch

Sports

Leadership drives championship hopes Staff Writer

Cleats hit the field as the varsity girls’ soccer team crunches turf under their feet in what seems like freezing temperatures to begin practice for their preseason.

Players pass the ball left and right as they go over drills for their upcoming game.

As the girls varsity soccer team begin to play games during their preseason Janet Gummerman, the head soccer coach, goes into detail about her hopes and goals for the team this season.

“This season I’m really looking forward to defeating all the teams in our district because our varsity is full of talented players,” Gummerman said. “I also hope for our team to do good enough this season so that we get that district title.”

A majority of the girls varsity team last year was composed of seniors who all

graduated, now new players are stepping up from the junior varsity team and joining the varsity roster.

“It’s rewarding to finally be on varsity after playing on the freshman and junior varsity team the past two years,” junior Rheanna Reyes said.

For junior Hannah Erb she will be making a comeback on varsity after recovering from breaking her arm last season “Last year I broke my arm really badly, which resulted in three surgeries and four months of recovery,” Erb said. “It was really challenging coming back this season since I was so out of shape and I missed practice a lot, but my teammates were really supportive of the whole situation.”

Since the soccer teams begin practice in the winter, freezing temperatures cause problems for the girls that have to practice almost everyday.

DIRECTING HER GIRLS: Senior Madison Horner points in the direction she needs her teammate to run for a pass she will make across the field. In the game against Del Valle Horner scored one of the four goals and helped lead her team to a win. PHOTO BY Mia Barbosa

“The weather really impacts the game and practices because sometimes our practice gets canceled since the weather gets pretty bad,” senior Avery Schmidt said. “When it’s freezing out isn’t exactly everyone’s favorite, so we just have to really bundle up for some games and practices.”

The girls hoping to play for the school have to go through a difficult week of tryouts that require a lot of skill before the coaches announce the rosters for each team “Being on varsity as a sophomore or junior is a big accomplishment,” Gummerman said. “During tryouts I’m always looking for the best girls, I look for their dedication, skill level, and if they have strong academics.”

Communication between players is crucial during a game, so for the seniors who have been playing together the past four years they are very successful on the field together “Communication is so incredibly important and I think having a bond on and off the field really works in our favor,” Schmidt said.

“We have team dinners and hang out outside of school, it’s nice playing on a team where you can call 20 of your teammates your closest friends.”

Since soccer takes up a majority of their time, the players struggle with keeping a balance between soccer, social life and school work.

“Balancing school, soccer and social life can be hard at times however a majority of my friends play soccer,” senior Madison Horner said. “So having the ability to spend so much time with my friends doing the thing I love is a nice balance.”

As their skill for the sport increases over the years, players continue to set goals for this upcoming season to

PLANT AND PASS: Junior Bergan Bible prepares to make a pass past Del Valle junior Xenia Abarca as junior Hannah Hall watches. On February 19 the girls are scheduled to face off against Del Valle again in a home game. PHOTO BY Mia Barbosa

better themselves as a player.

“ Motivating the girls I play with is always important, because otherwise we wouldn’t have the impulse to try and win the game. ” - Madison Horner “This season my personal goals for the season are to hopefully make it far into the playoffs and end the season

PHOTO BY Mia Barbosa

Photo of junior Carina Vockell

able to come together.

“We have had to get over a couple of difficulties this season,” Vockel said. “We went to two tournaments that were really competitive and we didn’t do as well as we hoped in them but they provided a lot of learning experience for later games.”

The team’s focus is on comradeship due to the players and coaches hard work.

“The girl’s basketball team is really close and we are all really good friends and are there for each other,” Vockel said.

“We all also have the same desire and intensity to win which makes us a very competitive team.” STORY BY Shelby Kelly

On the girls team there are three captains, and each of them has to step up to their role and take leader-

ship when guiding the team.

“In order to lead, the other captains and I must work together to motivate the other girls on and off the field to ensure a victory,” senior Madison Horner said.

“Motivating the girls I play with is always important, because otherwise we wouldn’t have the impulse to try and win the game. Our goal as a team is to get the district title and in order to do that we need to work together and take each game by game so hopefully one day we’ll get there.”

Alina Kinsey first in wrestling

Girls basketball are district champs The girl’s basketball team improved their district record to a perfect 9-0 record and claimed the district title in a win over Del Valle late last week. With one more win, the team will accomplish one of its season goals, to be undefeated in district play.

“We started off slow and were down by 13 and came back to win that game,” Vockel said. “We really needed to win that game to beat the second place team so that win was really big.”

The girls just have to win against San Marcos in order to stay undefeated.

Coach Vickie Benson said their success is due to the athletes that have stepped up as leaders that have stepped up.

“We have some great leaders on the team, they want to do what I am asking them to do and they believe in each other,” Benson said. “They have learned how to become winners.”

The team’s first game was in early November and since then they have been

with a winning record,” Erb said.

For some athletes finding the most fulfilling sport may be difficult but senior Alina Kinsey found that wrestling is her best match.

Kinsey instantly fell in love with the sport and she ended up becoming a senior captain of the team as well as placing first in five events this year and second in three.

“My favorite part about wrestling is that it really strengthens your body and mind, I’ve accomplished things I would’ve never thought I could do,” Kinsey said.

Bowie wrestling coach Glen Lewis had high praise for her abilities as an intense worker whose work ethic makes her stand out.

“Alina’s always working to improve her wrestling,” Lewis said. “She has really pushed herself over the last few years to become one of the best wrestlers in the state and she’s got everything she needs to be a state champion.”

Photo of senior Alina Kinsey

PHOTO BY Mia Barbosa

Preston Rolls

Kinsey attributes her success to her hard work and determination.

“I’ve been going to extra practices after Bowie practices,” Kinsey said. “I sometimes go to the weight room, I run a lot to keep up with cardio.”

In order to continue her desire to be victorious and her love for the sport Kinsey’s goal is to get on a college wrestling team.

“I always wanted to be the best at something, it’s always been a strong desire of mine,” Kinsey said. “I really just want to earn a spot on a team and keep winning throughout my college career.”

STORY BY Mia Barbosa

coming UP in SPORTS Feb. 2 Varsity tennis vs. Akins @Akins High School

Feb. 24 Varsity & JV track meet @ Memorial Stadium

March 23 Varsity baseball vs. Del Valle @Del Valle High School

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The Dispatch

Fri. Feb. 9, 2018

S

Sports

Got to keep their heads in the grades SUMIN’S Student athletes learn how to handle both game time and academics Peter Dang Staff Writer

Student first, athlete second those are four of the most common words student athletes hear from their coaches. In order to participate in games, student athletes must be passing all of their classes with at least a 70. However, some sports require student athletes to miss school to play sports.

Sports such as baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, volleyball, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, and wrestling have meets, games, tournaments where students miss one or two days of school to participate. Away games may require student athletes to leave school early to arrive at the game. Missing school means that student athletes are required to makeup work.

“At the start of the semester, we had Thursday, Friday, Saturday tournaments for weeks on end, I didn’t go to many B day classes,” junior soccer player Kendall Johnson said. “But luckily there wasn’t much work that I missed.”

With advanced classes, a social life, and a keeping conditioned and ready for the next game it can be hard when the athletes have to miss.

“It’s really tough missing so much school because missing lessons can cause me to fall behind in a lot of classes,” senior Tiffany Licon said.

Sports like soccer have tournaments for two or three weeks, causing students to miss the same classes week after week, this can be detri-

mental to a students’ education if they do not take steps to ensure that they are on top of their education.

“During JV last year, I had friends in the classes that would help with notes,” Johnson said. “My friends have played a big role in helping me succeed.”

Playing sports on a team creates a strong bond within the team The road trip to far Texas cities where music is blasted, fun is had and laughs are exchanged.

“Traveling with my team and placing in tournaments have been memorable,” junior basketball player Carson Donahue said. “We got third at a Waco tournament this year and I’m proud of that.”

A benefit to the busy schedule is learn how to maintain the equilibrium between responsibilities so later in life, in a job or on college, they can be more efficient.

“I balance the workload by time managing and prioritizing,” Licon said.

On top of homework students have every night, student athletes have sports practices and workouts to attend, this conditions students to manage their time shrewdly.

“Time management affects us all, even as adults, we only have a certain amount of time,” coach Felipe Mendoza said. “Time must be used wisely or you are wasting it.”

Many students might get time in class or FIT to complete work or study but when days are missed, the student has to create time outside of class.

“The hardest part is hav-

Columnist

STUDY BREAK: Senior Tiffany Licon does her math homework, using her time while she has it. Tiffany is a softball player and is one of many student athletes who has to miss school often because of games and tournaments. PHOTO BY Mia Barbosa

ing to make up all the work I missed on my own time,” Licon said.

Falling behind on work and catching up on work is

wake up and get ready

- 7:00: practice before school - 9:00: begin school

- 7:00: go home, shower and eat - 9:00: 3-5 hours of homework

ART BY Shelby Kelly

*Then the cycle repeats

Photo of senior Bradon Gough

PHOTO BY Mia Barbosa

- 4:45: practice after school

- 1:00am: sleep (5-6 hours)

Many people call for a change in the Wenger system

Sumin Kim

Typical day in the life of a high school athlete - 6:00:

STANCE

even harder than trying to keep up with work.

“To me, sometimes it is worth it to miss school because I love soccer,” sophomore soccer player Pablo Bartolo said.

“Sometimes it isn’t worth missing school because I miss important material and some classes like English can be a challenge.”

Mendoza explains that although being a student athlete is a balancing act of achieving academic success and performing at a high athletic level, it can also be worth while and enjoyable.

“As a student athlete it was fun to miss school,” Men-

doza said. “I liked missing school to play with friends and the sport I loved.”

Teachers understand the passion that student athletes have and want them to be able to play, as a result coaches constantly remind students to do well academically and to keep on track on and off the field, Johnson explains that with this help it worth it.

“I really enjoy soccer, I think it’s worth missing school,” Johnson said. “It’s been great being on the team and there’s something special about it.

“ It’s really tough missing school so much school because missing lessons can cause me to fall behind ” - Tiffany Licon

In Premier League 25R, Swansea City shocked Arsenal by defeating them 3-1.

Arsène Wenger, manager of Arsenal, is probably consoling himself from the last few great matches by Arsenal.

In recent years, Wenger was always in danger of getting sacked and being turned against by fans because of the low performance of Arsenal. Fans started to use word “wexit” which is “Wenger + Exit” to show the anger for the lack of trophies Wenger’s Arsenal won.

In my opinion, within one or two season, Wenger should retire or move to other club.

Few reasons are first he doesn’t have innovation anymore like he did in 1996 when he was signed for Manager of Arsenal.

For the most of time tactics Wenger’s Arsenal never changed while winning no trophies aka “Same Old Arsenal”. But thankfully, that has been changed in recent years by Wenger using three in the back. But that was it.

His football tactic gets many denounces by public. Wenger likes to create beautiful and perfect goals, so most of the times his perfectionism wastes good chances.

For example, in Swansea City game, Arsenal had 74.3% of possession, yet they had only nine shot while Swansea City having 12. This pattern of having useless possession has been continuing throughout Wenger’s years in Arsenal.

Based on past few years, Arsenal need changes to go to where they belong in league table. Wenger said, “Managers always have to be an innovator.” Before other transfers, Arsenal have to change the Wenger system which continuous fails of same obvious pattern.

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Fri. Feb. 9, 2018

Entertainment

The Dispatch

12

Mary Poppins, practically perfect in every way

Classic musical brought to life in the most delightful way by Starlight Theatre Company Jadon Alvarez

Entertainment Editor Bowie musicals are known for bringing the play to life with the crowd cheering along. Considering that Tommy and Tarzan were such great successes, the audience learned that whatever musical the Starlight Theatre Company decided to perform next would be one people would be raving about for the next couple of weeks.

The Starlight Theatre Company decided to perform the classic musical, “Mary Poppins," with senior Madeline Sparkes taking on the role of titular Mary Poppins.

“The Banks have been looking for a nanny and [Mary Poppins] just

SPOONFUL OF SUGAR: Freshman Riley McCue and senior Emily Robinett play Michael and Jane Banks. The actors' energy captivated their viewers. PHOTO BY Violet Glenewinkel

appears out of nowhere,” Sparkes said. “[Mary Poppins] has magical powers and it amazes the kids and she leaves once she recognizes that they don’t need her anymore.”

New tech theatre teacher Cortney Hall predicted producing the musical would be hectic due to her prior experiences as a previous Bowie student, but she says it’s a totally different story as a teacher.

“I’ve done musicals with Bowie as a student so I was ready for the chaos,” Hall said. “It’s just a whole different ball game when you’re a teacher because there’s a lot of things I didn’t know had to be done so there’s a lot of learning on the fly.”

The actors put their best choral voices and acting into their practices and they had to work in a fast paced environment.

“The actors themselves started with rehearsing the music first so there was a lot of choral rehearsal and then they split up to where half of them would learn a song and half of them would go learn blocking or choreography,” Hall said. “In January when they got back there was a lot of putting everything together in the last minute. It was fast paced but it was also really fun.”

Sparkes put in the extra work to bring the musical to life to make sure her character came off as authentic as possible.

“This is a family-friendly show so being able to develop the back-story that she has and why she’s there and what relationship she has with each character and bringing that to life,” Sparkes said. “In order to bring the dialogue to life is something that I had to work on personally a lot, especially with the “Bird Woman” scene. It’s just finding that connection with each personal relationship and portraying the correct message behind each one.”

Considering how hard the Starlight Theatre Company worked, it

SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS: Madeline Sparkes played the magical title character in Mary Poppins. Spectators said Sparkes was well casted in this incredible role. PHOTO BY Preston Rolls

was no surprise that spectators enjoyed the performance.

“I really enjoyed the musical because it was very well choreographed, had wonderful exciting music performed live by the orchestra,” junior Taylor Brown said.

“The whole cast were each so incredibly invested in their characters and did an excellent job playing them.”

The musical included many scenes that are notable to the audience, however the "Step In Time" scene was a fan favorite.

“My favorite song in the musical was probably “Step in Time” because the choreography was entertaining and the cast seemed to really enjoy performing it,” Brown said.

The "Step In Time" scene was a scene that the Starlight Theatre Company loved putting together and performing because of the dancing and the flying.

“It’s just a lot of fun and it’s stu-

JOLLY HOLIDAY: Senior Blake Pousson plays Bert, Mary Poppins' pal. Pousson was a crowd favorite with his characters charm. PHOTO BY Preston Rolls

dent choreographed and [assistant principal] Mrs. Leos was in it and it’s just a really fun number,” Hall said. “The chimney sweepers have a really cool tap dance number and that’s the number where Bert walks on the ceiling and then Mrs. Leos did her tap solo and there were projections and flying in that number.”

Although Hall thinks there is always something to improve, she says working on and performing the musical was fun.

“Overall I think this is one of my favorite musicals,”Hall said. “On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it an 8 because there’s always things that you’d want to change afterwards.

But this was a really fun show.”

Calling all dancers: competition season has started Mikayla Zellner

Entertainment Editor It’s finally the time of year when the Silver Stars put away their pom poms and begin to vigorously rehearse their intricate competition dances. Because competition season is upon them, the team is working hard in practice to perfect their routines.

“The Silver Stars have grown so much, they’re working so hard,” Silver Star director Emily Davis said. “We start off football season with doing pom and streaming dances and things like that and now we’re getting into so much technical work.”

The team will compete at various locations in the coming weeks, including trips to San Marcos and even one in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

“We compete at Westwood High School and then we compete at Texas State and then over spring break we compete for nationals in Hawaii,” junior Olivia Hannah said.

The girls compete in multiple categories, and are always placed in the largest divisions for their competition dances because of the school size.

“Your division is based on how big your team is and how many people there are, so we’re usually in the largest category because it’s the 50 [dancers] and over category,” Hannah said. “We do jazz, contemporary, hip hop, kick, and then we have companies. They’re much smaller and the more elite teams and that’s jazz company and hip hop company and then we have a dance where just the seniors dance.”

They have picked out certain songs in an effort to have the best choreography possible.

“Our theme this year for Silver

OFFICERS ONLY: Junior Chloe Borsch performs with her fellow Silver Star Officers. Her jazz dance matches the comic book theme. PHOTO BY Kaitlyn Zellner

Stars and for spring show, is ‘Comic Book’,” Hannah said. “ A lot of our songs have to do with a hero and a villain and like other things like that, so our team jazz dance is a remix of the song ’Holding out for a Hero’. We have a lot of songs that go around that theme, like sad songs and pop songs and we do Beyonce for one of the two.”

They even have professional choreographers work on the dances with them because the competition pieces are different than the other dances they do.

“We integrate competition style dance into the Spring show as well as adding other dances to that,” junior Savannah Savoy said.

“For competition dances we have choreographers come in and they choreograph routines for us. Field routines we all learn and they're kind of simple, they're more for

the pizazz and the wow-factor on the field, but competition is a little bit more tough to clean and polish and a has a little bit harder choreography” The girls spend a tremendous amount of time perfecting the choreography under Davis and new director Leanne Bilnoski.

“The Silver Stars practice about three hours a day during competition season,” Davis said. “We go over to the Burger stadium gym and we practice from 7-9:30 a.m. and then at our school we practice from 7-10 a.m. Mondays and Fridays” Thanks to Bilnoski, the competition dance choreography has been exceptionally better than in the past.

“We did gain a new director so we have different aspects because she's a bit more technical than the last one,” Davis said. “She integrates a lot more cleaning and polishing and harder choreography.

We've grown as a team I think as well because every year people leave and people come so over the year we get together and bond so it's kind of a team effort.”

According to the team’s directors, the Silver Stars’ hard work has been improving their dances.

“They’re technique and their skill sets are really starting to shine and especially in competition season; we get to see what limit they can take it to,” Davis said. “They’re doing such a great job and working so hard.”

They held a pre-competition showcase for extra practice and a chance to let their family and friends see them without having to spend an excessive amount of time at the girls’ actual competition.

“We’ve been cleaning and cleaning and cleaning our dances so that they look good because we have a showcase February; first here at Bowie for just family and friends who want to come so yeah

THE CHOSEN TRIO: Senior Callie Bedrich, junior Kristin Hauck, and sophomore Landry Case perform to the song "Time Flies" by Lykke Li. This modern contemporary dance mesmerized the audience and ensnared their attention. PHOTO BY Kaitlyn Zellner

coming UP in ENTERTAINMENT Feb. 17 Silver Star Showmakers Contest @ San Marcos Feb. 27 Full Orchestra UIL Concert Mar. 2-3 American Classic Chamber Choir Competition Mar. 3-4 Color Guard WGI @ Dripping Springs

there’s a lot of practicing,” Hannah said.

One of the downsides of the competitions is that the days are very long.

“We get up super early,’’ Hannah said. “Competitions for drill teams only are one day so I usually get up around like 4:45 in the morning and be at whatever school were going to by six a.m. and then awards end at midnight so we don't get home until late.”

Even though the days are very long and hard, the girls have enjoyed their past experiences at competitions.

“There are sometimes mishaps like costume malfunctions, and dance malfunctions like forgetting.” Savoy said. “But it's also super fun because you get to spend the day with your friends and you get to mess around and dance.”

Considering how hard the team practices, it is safe to say that the Silver Stars have a real shot at winning this year.

“We’re a little behind but, our dances are pretty good this year and I think we can do really well, we just need to practice a little more,” Hannah said. “We have a strong team this year and our new director is great. She knows what she's doing so yeah I think we're going to do pretty good.”

Even though the girls work tirelessly together, they wouldn't change the experience for anything.

“This is a passion of mine, I like dancing and I like being together with the people that I spend most of my time with,” Savoy said. “The girls are kinda like sisters to me because I spend every morning with them so we've grown close over the years and it's just fun to dance and be around people that you love.”

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The Dispatch

Fri. Feb. 9, 2018

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Commentary

Powerful movement takes over pop culture The phrase “me too” may not have meant a lot to anyone until just recently. This simple sentence has managed to earn a powerful meaning through the strenuous efforts of many women over the past few months.

Because of it, society is finally shifting its attitude in regards to harassment and sexual abuse and finally allowing women to have a voice they deserve.

Many women have utilized the #MeToo movement to share their stories and experiences with both sexual harassment and empowerment. This unifying movement has exploded with positive responses from all aspects of the media and the professional world.

This surge of attention is really important for our society because this issue has constantly been pushed aside and women have been told they’re lying about their stories or they’ve witnessed others like them not given the help they need.

At the same time, society has told women to just tell authorities as soon as sexual assault or harassment happens and to not keep it to themselves. This is blatant victim blaming to tell woman the only reason they haven’t gotten the justice they deserved was because they kept their experiences to themselves out of fear.

Despite the outburst in recent months, this movement was created in 2006 by activist Tonora Burke who wanted to create solidarity between women who have struggled with similar sexual harassment stories. This movement reemerged into its new form as a hash-tag when allegations of sexual harassment against Harvey Weinstein arose.

ART BY Avy Friedman

EDITORIAL

After the Weinstein story became mainstream news, many women in Hollywood began to confess about their experiences with sexual harassment from men inside their industry. Seeing that not even celebrities were immune to sexism, violence, and discrimination inspired everyday women to claim #MeToo. It’s gained lots of attention in the workforce, forcing corporations to finally address this issue.

One of the symbols of the viral movement is wearing black in solidarity and it’s truly empowering to see so many women of all backgrounds and stances come together through a simple phrase and a color. With black representing this feminine solidarity,

celebrities were seen proudly wearing their black attire at the Golden Globes. For once, it was important to ask these women what they were wearing as they boldly supported #MeToo. Many Democratic female politicians also wore black to Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech even though he never even discussed women’s rights as his speech, making their statement that much more meaningful.

Not only does this movement unify women, it exposes and forces many of the men guilty of harassment to face their well-deserved consequences. Seeing people we’ve all watched and idolized be exposed

for their disgusting actions is eye opening and shows the seriousness of the situation because it is often someone completely unexpected.

Even though this movement is just the beginning, it’s still paved the path to solving America’s sexism. The first step is always addressing what the problem is. In this case, having so many women relating to each other and using the #MeToo movement to connect has shown many Americans that even if this problem of sexual harassment doesn’t apply to them, the issue is still extremely prevalent.

Sexual harassment and sexism is a frighteningly common issue meaning there are young women at this school who have experienced it first hand. However, there are many students and staff who are in full support of the #MeToo movement and are more than willing to offer support to anyone so no student here should live in fear.

It won’t be easy to simply cut out sexual assault and harassment quickly because it is deeply rooted in our history. However, it is now a little easier to improve the problem through smaller processes. For example, we, as a nation, need to make college campuses safer and we need to teach children, at a young age, the concept of consent. Although results won’t be immediate, there is a new wave of voiced individuals all sprouted from a powerful hash-tag. #MeToo has given so many strong, capable women of all ages, backgrounds, and professions across the country the confidence and support needed to inspire positive change for the country’s future and has enabled their voice for the better.

Good riddance to all the trends and topics of 2017

Katie Holme Staff Writer

A new year means new beginnings and room for improvement for everyone. Over the course of the past year, the world has changed drastically in all aspects.

We have seen changes almost everywhere including places like the Internet, the music industry, and our nation. As we ring in the new year with high hopes, there are some things to consider leaving behind.

This year was definitely a big year in politics for the United States, whether you support Donald Trump or not. As of this year, our president has sparked movements across our nation since his election. Nuclear warfare, aka the end of the world, is now something we have to worry about daily due to Trump’s relations with foreign countries.

Speaking of the end of the world, climate change is a real thing and everyone should understand that in 2018! Let's leave that ignorance behind. It is scientifically proven that the temperature of the atmosphere is increasing dras-

tically. This means those scientific studies cannot be debunked by a couple of angry tweets from our president.

Since republicans have dominated attendance in office this year, Ajit Pai, the man in charge on net neutrality, has tried to rip the freedom of the Internet out of the public's hands and give control to big corporations in order to make a profit off advertisement production. This man and any idea of net neutrality being repealed should be completely left behind in 2017 because most of us love the Internet the way it is.

The Internet is our modern day platform for almost everything, and a beautiful place to spread information. Although the Internet has its flaws, it is something we universally love and use daily.

In order to improve this effective tool, we must perfect it and make room for better things.

Let's start with something that needs to be wiped from this earth forever: Trump’s twitter account.

Most of us can agree that this is something Trump should not have access to because he abuses its power and creates chaos on the Internet.

Another thing that Trump and the entire Internet needs to stop doing is trolling and cyberbullying. The sheer act of putting someone down online is childish and unnecessary.

On a lighter subject, what is

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

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

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the Internet without the beloved memes that have become valued by all of the Internet? While this year has produced some amazing memes, there were some terrible, more horrifying ones of the darker realm. I personally think we should start 2018 with a clean slate and generate some new and improved meme ideas while still remembering the old.

Along with these 2017 memes, some trends eventually became memes (the life cycle of the Internet). Throughout the year we have seen some pretty crazy things, anywhere from fidget spinners to Gucci belts. Although these trends are still prominent today, I think they will fade over time like every other fad or trend that blows up the Internet.

The music industry has played a huge factor in our culture this year and as always affects our everyday lives. The biggest trend in the music industry this year was SoundCloud rappers which is not necessarily a bad thing until you factor in drug culture. Drug culture must stay in 2017 and not creep its way into 2018 due to the devastating effects it has taken on musicians and fans. Glorifying drugs like Xanax is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly or promoted for recreational use. 2018 should be the year of a more positive music industry.

In conclusion, 2017 was a great year in many aspects but it is also Friday, Feb. 9, 2018 Vol. 30, Issue 4 www.thedispatchonline.net James Bowie High School 4103 W. Slaughter Lane Austin TX, 78749

ART BY Callie Richards

With the new year finally here, it's time to move on to better things and forget the past

something we need to reflect on and learn from. The new year should be a symbol of new opportunities and a reminder to create

or accomplish personal goals. We should all make our new year resolutions to make the world a little more livable in 2018.

THE DISPATCH STAFF

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Violet Glenewinkel

MANAGING EDITORS Mia Barbosa Victoria Newell NEWS EDITORS Cianna Chairez FEATURE EDITORS Madison Austin Abby Ong SPORTS EDITOR Shelby Kelly

COMMENTARY EDITORS Preston Rolls Caitlin Worthington Jake Brien Avy Friedman ONLINE STAFF Ian Miller Kiran Patel EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mo Orr REVIEW EDITOR Shelby Papst MANAGING EDITOR Kaitlyn Zellner PHOTO EDITOR Austyn Keelty CALENDAR EDITOR ARTS/GRAPHICS EDITOR Marisa Salazar Callie Richards SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORS Ellie Coulston COPY EDITOR Ella Wright Kathleen Nguyen

ENTERTAINMENT EDITORS Jadon Alvarez STAFF WRITERS Mikayla Zellner Natalie Aman Gracie Angeli PHOTO ESSAY EDITORS Sam Blas Cara Andres Peter Dang Ashley Ramirez Gigi Francis Katie Holm IN-DEPTH EDITOR Madisen Johnson Jocelyn Brooks Sumin Kim Maddy Rice

VIDEO EDITOR Dalton Spruce STAFF Liam Conally Justine Lockhart Douglas Smith Michael Sugrue Robbie Warhola ADVISER Michael Reeves

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The Dispatch

Fri. Feb. 9, 2018

Commentary

14

Apple reaches new low with batteries $$ $ $ $ $ $ $$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $$ $$ $ $ $$ $ $ $ $ $$ $$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $$ $ $ $ $$ $ $ $ $$ $ $ $ $$ $ $ $ $ $ $$$$

ART BY Jake Brien

Late last year, Apple announced to the world that it has been slowing down older iPhone models using large software updates, a fact many iPhone users have long suspected. Angry customers say the purpose of these updates is to encourage the purchase of newer iPhone models, however, Apple insists such updates are to protect the lifespan of the lithium-ion batteries these iPhones use.

The way I see it, Apple’s goal with these updates aren’t to protect the battery, but rather to promote its newer iPhone models.

Apple should have at least let its customers know about this issue to prevent the controversy surrounding these software updates. There’s so much else Apple

could’ve done to solve this problem, and it went with the option that most inconveniences their customers’ phones.

For example, Apple could have set a system to replace batteries annually for a reasonable fee. That would solve the lithium-ion batteries’ slow degradation in a way that’s much more considerate to the customer.

If a high school student can come up with a simple solution such as this, then I imagine a company worth over $900 billion can

CHAT with NAT

Natalie Aman Columnist

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard someone say “New Year, New Me!” in January, I’d buy myself a plane ticket to Europe.

While this reboot mindset is a great place to start, it won’t do you much good if you solely rely on wiping the slate clean at the start of each year.

Now, I am a firm believer in goal setting.

I think that you can honestly achieve anything if you are willing to set aside your personal agenda to work towards that goal. But I also believe there is a difference between setting a goal and wiping your slate clean with the turn of the calendar.

You don’t have to have a blank slate to have personal growth. In fact, I think we learn the best and grow the most from the experiences that are tough to wipe away.

Speaking for myself - and hopefully many of you - there was a lot to be learned from 2017. From all the bumps and turns *tick*

*tock*

Social Media

Video Games

*tick*

Work *tick*

*tick*

Hobby Homework

Sleeping Sports

Lovelife

Tick Tock...

*tock*

*tock*

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*tock* *tock* *tock*

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ART BY Jake Brien

Reading Netflix Friends

Family

*tick*

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*tock*

as well.

Apple’s main goal here isn’t to fix the battery life of their phones, but rather to direct its customers towards buying the newest, greatest phone they release. The lifespan of a lithium-ion battery can be very easily tested, making predictions for the death/failure of one of these batteries easy to discover. If this is the case, then Apple can do even more to support the replacing of the phone’s battery by setting reminders and notifications telling the user when his/her bat-

How can we use our time better? in the road regarding friendships, family, school, and our world, I found out so much about myself.

When the end of December came rolling around, I was fired up, ready to leave the past in the past.

Then I got to thinking... Why leave the past behind? It’s not going anywhere, after all.

I think it’s important to go into every situation with an open mind and a go-getter mentality. And regardless of all the crummy things that may have happened in the past, it’s important to start the year off on the right foot, just not with New Year's resolutions.

Real goals are present every day; they don't simply start on New Years. Tying your aspirations for personal growth to a specific day once a year will result in backtrack, not achievement, of your goal.

Revisit your list of priorities. We can become so easily lost in the midst of friends, homework, and hobbies, and often forget personal time to reboot.

When you spend the time figuring out what is meaningful to you and what will help you become the best version of yourself, it all becomes pretty simple from then on out.

Another thing you can do this year is aim to leave your comfort zone more often.

This can be a range of different things.

Maybe you could try signing up for a club or course you wouldn’t have originally considered, maybe you could listen to a new type of music, maybe you could pick up a new hobby, or maybe you could make a new group of friends.

Getting out of your comfort zone can include a wide range of things.

Don’t ignore the past; what’s happened has happened, and you can’t depend on a new year to somehow create the new you.

My point is, try something new this year.

Make a list of your goals and focus on personal growth.

As Hannah Montana once said, “Life’s what you make it, so let’s make it rock.”

tery is becoming unhealthy and in need for a replacement.

Perhaps the biggest reason I think Apple is lying to its customers, however, is the fact that Apple hid these phone-slowing updates from its users. Before the allegations were made against Apple, no one knew for certain that these updates existed. Even as the rumors were floating around, Apple never once took the time to properly respond and confirm that these updates existed, probably because it knew the issue would cause all

The failures of "Be the One" ARE WE REALLY LEARNING DEPRESSION AWARENESS

Maddy Rice Staff Writer

As many of us know, high school is grueling. With a seven hour school day, hours of after school activities and piles of homework, we see higher rates of stress, often leading to disorders such as depression or anxiety. It’s clear that the mental health of students is an exigent issue plaguing our community, so what are our educational institutions doing to help?

In order to spread awareness for depression in the community, AISD launched a suicide prevention initiative entitled “Be the One,” using both a video and Power Point educating students about suicide prevention.

Overall, “Be the One” painted an accurate description of depression, and provided ways to get help, including real-life examples from diverse students sharing personal stories with their battles, and personalizing the message to help show students how complex mental health really is.

However, the district's programs are at a huge disadvantage because students have a negative bias

AISD

CORRECTLY?

towards the school system.

Let’s face it, there are faults within every education department that feed this inclination, like how the counseling department doesn’t provide much help to students who have visited with complaints.

When asked, a majority find that the counselors provide little consolidation for issues and would not approach them with problems in the first place because of the widespread stigma that counselors are intimidating.

As teenagers, we are still growing and learning, and that requires a certain amount of attention that can only be provided by counselors who truly have time to guide students rather than just help with schedules.

If this means expanding the counseling department, then maybe it should be considered because one thing Be the One didn’t emphasize was how difficult it really is for students to speak up. When the counseling department seems scary and a waste of time, reaching out for help be-

ART BY Ian Miller

Ian Miller

Commentary Editor

the controversy they have been receiving recently.

Even so, a customer deserves to know what’s happening to their phones and why they’re suddenly slowing down, especially when some of those phones cost up to $1000.

The best bet iPhone users have right now is to try and get their phones' batteries replaced as soon as possible. It should help with performance issues you may or may not be experiencing, and it will probably help to extend your battery life, “refreshing” your phone back to the state it was in when you first bought it. I imagine it may take a while before this is actually a viable option because of the huge demand for batteries coming into Apple at the moment.

There are so many other options that Apple could’ve taken to try and fix the issue of lithium-ion batteries degrading over time.

That’s why I believe Apple’s goal with these software updates isn't to stop their batteries from crashing, but rather to try and get their customers to buy the newest and greatest Apple product, which, if you ask me, is truly evil.

comes even more toilsome.

No one simple solution exists for preventing suicide and helping with depression, but certain accommodations could be made so that students feel more understood in the educational community.

Since a huge part of the problem lies within reaching out, why not bring the help to those who might need it? Another possible solution includes a more widespread acceptance of mental health from students and staff– if the students want to see a more aware campus, then we need to put in the effort too, it’s not only up to the staff.

While still respecting people’s privacy, I think there would be some great benefits to showing people we care and are here to listen. The problem isn’t that people don’t care, but rather finding an effective way to communicate with each other in order to help students during the crazy whirlwind we call high school.

BULLDAWG SPEAK OUT

9th

Rey Gray

"It's a good marketing tactic, but as a company they shouldn't do that because it makes people not trust them."

"How do you feel about Apple slowing down people's iPhones to save battery life?"

10th

11th

12th

TEACHER

Erika Spake

Kelley Isreal

Jackson Moore

Amanda Pfeiffer

"I want to have a faster phone because I go on social media a lot and I'd like my phone to be fast enough to use it."

"I applaud them in some ways, but also I'm a little bit mad because I have an older phone and now it doesn't work."

"It just seems a little scummy, ya know?"

"It sounds like in an effort to unveil this fancy new iPhone, they prioritized that over making sure people remained a loyal customer."

PHOTOS AND INTERVIEWS BY Jake Brien and Natalie Aman

15

The Dispatch

Fri. Feb. 9, 2018

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Commentary

Sumin Kim Staff Editor

On December 5, 2017, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that all Russian flags, uniforms, and anthems are banned from the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics. This comes after the Russian drug scandal throughout the 2012 London Olympics and 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. The issue resurfaced in the 2016 Rio Olympic games, but the IOC refused to throw Russia out of the Olympics. As a result, Russia’s Sports Minister at the time, Vitaly Mutko, received a lifetime ban from all Olympic games.

In my opinion, IOC finally made the right decision after letting Russia get away with cheating for a long time. The decision should have been made earlier, but I’m glad they finally decided to ban them.

Before this ban, the IOC had been too lenient on their punishments to Russia because they decided to continue allowing Russian Olympians to represent the country at the games instead of requiring them to enter as independent athletes. There is a possibility, however, that the IOC could

lift the ban just so Russia can fly their flag in the closing ceremony.

Now we know just how much of a mess the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic games were. 11 out of the 33 medals awarded to Russia were invalidated because of the drug use. Additionally, 43 Russian athletes from Sochi received disciplinary action, as reported by the IOC. Sochi feels nothing but shame for these Russians. It was their home, and they cheated their way throughout the Olympics in an attempt to win more medals.

The more shameful thing is that in 2015, according to World Anti Doping Agency (WADA)’s report, Russia cheated in such an organized sophisticated manner; they went so far as to switch urine samples and etc. That report was confirmed as a fact by Rodchenkov, the director of the Russian Anti -Doping Agency.

Russian president Vladimir Putin described the Russian athletes’ deeds as “absolutely staged and politically motivated.” There is plenty of evidence that suggests this was, in fact the truth. Putin’s statement directly connects with the Russian government. The Russian government probably wanted to prove how well prepared they were for this Olympic season. In addition, they likely wanted Sochi 2014 to be the most successful Olympics game they’ve ever had.

The government corrupted the sportsmanship by

connecting that to politics.

This incident shows a perfect example of when people use a neutral competition for their advantage in politics.

This issue will most likely impact the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Russia lost their reputation internationally from the doping scandals, so it will be interesting to see how they host the world cup.

If the IOC seems to have been soft on Russia, who systematically corrupted the Sochi Olympics, FIFA has been spineless. Mutko, who is banned from the IOC, has not had any direct consequence from the Russian Football Union until he resigned on December 12, 2017. He also resigned as the chief organizer of the World Cup. Although FIFA’s secretary general, Fatma Samoura, reported to BBC that “there are no widespread doping incidents in Russian Football,” WADA’s McLaren was able to list 33 cases just between 2011 and 2015.

Doping is something that should never be an issue in the first place. It ruins the meaning of sportsmanship and defames the competition.

However, the fact that the Russian team cheated only leaves the impression that they cannot be trusted and will do this again. For every competition they ever compete in from now on, Russia is going to be a suspect of doping.

The Russian government

ART BY Callie Richards and Madison Austin

Russia banned from Winter Olympics

has disgraced their people because, from this point onwards, people will associate Russians with doping. The real disadvantage here goes to the clean athletes of Russia. If they get an outstanding result in a competition,

the media and people will be automatically suspicious towards them.

This incident will hopefully teach the world the outcome of mixing drugs and sports. The IOC should not be easygoing towards Rus-

sia. The government has to know this corrupts their athletes and isn't worth the slander. For the future, the IOC should improve their doping test to prevent future incidents like this from occurring.

Hollywood speaks out over workplace sexual abuse

tainment industry.

Time’s Up, like #MeToo, is a movement to take initiative and stand up for victims of sexual misconduct, especially women by creating a sisterhood, supporting them and using celebrity platforms to bring awareness to the issue and to bring about a change.

Movements like Time’s Up are essential in the world and needed until the issue of sexual harassment and misconduct is solved.

They empower men and women and create a platform where people can share their stories prove to the perpetrators that victims cannot and will not be silenced.

Prior to the new year, many sexual harassment allegations were made against big names in Hollywood, including film produc-

TIME’S UP For legal support for individuals who have experienced sexual harassment contact TIME'S UP™ Legal Defense Fund. er Harvey Weinstein who was accused of rape and sexual in October. The revelations of his misconduct initiated a ripple effect and men and women alike have begun to share their stories and put a spotlight on workplace criminals.

The result of the recent efforts of movements like Time's Up as well as determined

ART BY Abby Ong

Kiran Patel

Commentary Editor

Over the past year, especially the past few months, many courageous individuals have surfaced to share their stories of sexual harassment they endured by people in the enter-

and strong willed victims have been effective. The criminals that hide in plain sight and degrade their colleagues by disrespecting and violating them are finally being brought to justice by the public, media, and the industries they are affiliated with.

In 1992 Mia Farrow, who was at that time in a relationship with Woody Allen, report-

ed her adopted daughter Dylan Farrow was sexually abused by Allen. The allegations were investigated and dismissed as fake.

Now 25 years later, due to the resurgence of the allegations, the Goodspeed Opera House has decided to cancel Woody Allen’s production “Bullets over Broadway.” Actors in his upcoming movie “A Rainy Day in New York” have decided to donate their earnings from the film to charity, one of them being Time’s Up. Women, men, and child stars showed up to the 2018 Golden Globes wearing all black to stand in solidarity and show their support to victims and use their high profile platforms to speak out and work towards ending this brutal cycle of inappropriate and unacceptable. The movement has also inspired those attending the Grammys to wear a white rose as a symbol of unity.

The union of many of the powerful individuals is just the start, but sexual misconduct will continue to happen in the common workplace, in plain and behind closed doors, until society as a whole and each individual person keeps their ears open to abuse and doesn't let victims go unnoticed.

Victims must be heard and perpetrators must be punished.

Sensationalism is taking over mainstream journalism

Jake Brien

Commentary Editor

Let’s be honest: the media is pretty boring. For cable news stations and mainstream newspapers, they know that most people can get tired of the news. So, it really takes a lot of hard work and creativity for a decent media source to keep people invested… right?

It seems that the mainstream media sources like CNN, FOX, and even alternative ones like the Daily Kos, are more concerned with using sensationalism than telling a story like it is in order to keep viewers invested. At a time when the media is under attack from people referring to it as “fake news,” it’s important to examine how sensa-

tionalism in today’s media, specifically cable news, is only making such accusations worse.

The truth is, a 24-hour news station or website is going to run out of ideas pretty quick if the company doesn’t focus on topics that will keep viewers invested.

More viewers means more advertisers, and more advertisers means more money. While there’s nothing wrong with wanting to make money, I have a problem with media stations pandering to specific demographics, and people missing the point of journalism entirely, namely companies like a website such as the Daily Kos (liberal) and the cable station of FOX (conservative).

It’s the Daily Kos and FOX that create the stupid mindset of “it’s us versus them”, acting as though there’s a huge difference in investigative reporting and journalism between the two stations. Both of these stations are similar in that the Daily Kos deliberately targets a liberal demographic whereas FOX targets conservatives.

The point I’m trying to make here is that we as citizens of the United States of America should be better informed than what these stations provide for us. They’re keeping people in the dark from parts of stories that may interest the opposite political mindset.

What scares me is people who refuse to accept the whole truth: every, and I mean every, source of news is biased. Nothing is going to change that because humans, by nature, are biased.

In an effort to circumvent this basic principle, certain media stations try and stay as objective as humanly possible. Media sources such as the BBC (a news source based in the U.K. that reports on world news, not just in the U.K.) and CBS both try to stay objective when reporting the facts to viewers/readers, but it’s not enough.

It’s essential to be as informed as possible. Journalism is a business, and it’s important for any business to make money. We must always keep this in mind. I don’t pretend to be unbiased, but it’s my goal to

fak CNN e n is ew s!!!

ART BY Callie Richards

be objective in how I receive news.

I encourage every student reading this to have at least four sources of news (FOX, CNN, BBC, CBS, etc.) on his/her phone.

We may never know the full truth when watching or reading a news station on TV or on our

phone, but what we can do is remain open to learning. Patience is crucial. So, the next time a journalist on the Daily Kos tells you about a new Trump controversy, take the time and effort to see what FOX, BBC, CNN or even Reuters has to say on the matter.

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Fri. Feb. 9, 2018

The Dispatch

Photo Essay

16

Day in the life: aspiring pottery artist Austyn Keelty Photo Editor

Most people have dreams when they’re younger. Whether it’s to be an astronaut, a celebrity, or even the president, no dream is too big or ambitious in a child’s mind. However, when children grow up those dreams sometimes seem to disappear. There are a few individuals that stray from this stereotype of facing reality and allow the dreams to grow up with them.

Senior Fen Hendon has made a name for himself through his art and even more recently his pottery.

When he started drawing at the age of seven, Hendon created stick figures comic series which began his passion for art.

“ ...it gives me something to feel good about myself. ” - Fen Hendon “Both my parents were artists so that kind of nudged me in the right direction,” Hendon said. ”I didn’t really start pottery till last year though. We had these

wheels in the art room and nobody ever used them, so my friend and I just started messing around and ended up really liking it.”

Not alone in his venture into pottery, Hendon’s mom, Andrea Hendon is also an artist and has challenged and supported Fen’s artistic talents by supplying materials needed and pushing his limits.

“There were certain styles like his pen and ink drawings that I tried to push him more into, but from doodling to self expression, I think his art has expressed tough stuff he has gone through,” Andrea said. ”But I’m glad he experimented because when he finally found clay he seemed to find something that really helped center him.”

His art has also gone on to affect others around him such as his girlfriend, senior Rose Eichelman who took sketching as a hobby, but has now pursued art more deeply.

“Well I think Fen is the reason that I got into art again,” Rose Eichelman said. ”His art style also inspires me and sometimes I find myself drawing something similar to his art style but I try to make my own twist with it.”

Fen has decided to try and make a profit off his growing pottery collection

JUST A TRIM: After molding his clay, senior Fen Hendon uses a wooden knife to trim his new piece of pottery.

After this, he will let the clay dry for 24 hours and then load it into the kiln for another 24 hours. ”I kind of just throw it on here and then decide what I want to make in that moment when it’s right in front of me. I never really have a goal until I start making it,” Hendon said. PHOTO BY Austyn Keelty

and began to sell it mainly through his pottery instagram account “portfolio. hendon”. Using this account as a way to make extra money and gain recognition, it also has helped Fen get

GLAZED AND CONFUSED: Senior Fen Hendon covers his new collection of pottery with glaze to prepare them for the kiln. Starting off with doodles and working his way up to pottery, Hendon’s mom has always offered inspiration and encouragement.

“My mom used to draw and paint a lot but she’s moving more into quilting, and she has an etsy account. Just seeing her work hard on art is definitely an inspiration,” Hendon said. PHOTO BY Austyn Keelty

GETTING TECHNICAL: Senior Fen Hendon spins and cleans up a new piece with a sponge. Constantly creating new pieces to sell and advertise on his instagram account, Hendon tries to find as much free time as possible whether it’s during off-periods, before school, or after school “I hope I can have a future selling my art and that’s kind of what I’m going for. I made an Instagram for myself but mainly people just come up to me and ask for custom stuff, so I thought I might as well try,” Hendon said. PHOTO BY Austyn Keelty

footing for a possible future career in art.

“I want to have my own studio space one day and possibly be an art teacher. Really just any way I can make art and influence oth-

ers to make art,” Fen said.

Starting as just something fun to try and do during his free time, Fen never thought pottery would affect his life the way it did.

“It gives me something

positive to look forward to and it gives me something to feel good about myself.

It’s a way for me to get my energy out and not do bad stuff. It’s like an outlet,” Fen said.

MAKING AN IMPACT: Senior Fen Hendon and his girlfriend senior Rose Eichelman go on an art date at the Circle C Park. Hendon has affected many people surrounding him with his talents, and hopes to continue to inspire people in the future.

“Well I think Fen is the reason that I got into art again, like I said it was a hobby that I would do every now and again but since I started dating him I’ve been inspired to do a lot more of my art. He’s also the reason I started taking an art class at Bowie as well,” Eichelman said. PHOTO BY Cara Andres

THE FINAL TOUCH: After letting his pottery dry for 24 hours, senior Fen Hendon paints the glaze on his pieces and prepares them for the kiln. Although Hendon hasn’t painted on his pottery in the past, he wants to experiment with different kinds of clay in the future. “I have not decorated them with paint yet, but there’s this white clay that we have that I might do a series with and decorate them with my portraits that I occasionally do,” Hendon said. PHOTO BY Austyn Keelty

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL: Senior Fen Hendon molds a new piece of pottery in the art garage during his AP Sculpture class. To find inspiration, Hendon has found pottery Instagram accounts that he uses to think of new ideas for future creations. “I follow a lot of pottery Instagram accounts and spend most of my time watching other pottery artists,” Hendon said. PHOTO BY Austyn Keelty