The Eagles Eye; Issue 5, Volume 22

ISSUE 5 VOL 22

Akins Success Stories

students succeeddespitechallenges PAGE 12

THAT CONCERNS YOU" THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OFAKINS EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL "EVERYTHING COVER CREDIT: ELY RODRIGUEZ 10701.

S.FIRST STREET, AUSTIN, TX78748

MAY 22, 2023

AKINSEAGLESEYE.COM

THE EAGLE'S EYE

About

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EDI TORS

TABLEOF CONTENTS

EDI TORS-I N -CHEN I EF T ERTA I N M EN TMark Lomas Diego Hernandez

Samantha Limon Marcelo Palacios

I NDEPT H

PH OTO

N EWS

OPI N I ON S

Mark Lomas

Ashley Caceres-Sanchez

L I FE& ST Y L E Diego Hernandez

Kairi Natal

SPORT S

OU TGOI N G EDI TORS EDI TOR-I N -CH I EF OPI N I ON S Roberto Ramirez

GRA PH I CS Zach Albritton Diego Resendez

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Rudy Morales

Adamaris Olivares

Hannah Patnode

Us

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4 MathewMcCounaughey comesto Akins 5 Moreneedsto bedoneto protectcitizensfromguns 6 Lovetheart despitetheartist 7-10Seniorsreflectbackontheirtimeat Akins 11 StarWarsJediSurvivorvideogameexpands the StarWarsGalaxy 12 Akinsstudents triumphovertheodds 14 CincodeMayoshowcelebrates Latinoculture 16 Akinsathletesreflectbackon howtheycanimprove nextyear

SPORT S Adan Sanchez

STA FF WRI T ERS Joaquin Arredondo Eduardo Cerda Antonio Cerda-Puente Jake Copeland Veronica Diaz-Reyes Natalee Garcia Will Hale Angel Jorge

Jason Ponti Jeremiah Santos-Hernandez Xavier Vargas Vaughn Vega Brennan West Matthew Ybarra River Lehnhardt Alexander Luna

STAA FF RT I ST &PH S OTOGRA PH ERS Hayden Garcia

Ruby Munoz-Alvarez

PROUM D EM B ERS OF

The Eagle's Eye is t he of f icial st udent new spaper of Ak ins Ear ly College High School. It is published once per six weeks, for the students, staff and community.

The Eagle's Eye is an open f or um f or st udent ex pr ession, not r eview ed by school adm inist r at ion pr ior t o dist r ibut ion, and t he advisor w ill not act as a censor . Content represents the views of t he student staff and not school officials, The Eagle's Eye w ill avoid bias and/ or f avor it ism . We w ill m ak e our cont ent m eaningf ul, t im ely and int er est ing. Our articles will reflect our objective of reporting news and will be held to a high standard of quality.

We w ill m ak e ever y ef f or t t o avoid pr int ing libel, obscenit ies, innuendo and m at er ial t hat t hr eat ens t o disr upt t he lear ning pr ocess or is an invasion of pr ivacy. We will avoid electronic manipulation that alters the truth of a photograph. All icons used are from flaticon.com.

St af f edit or ials r epr esent t he opinion of t he edit or ial boar d ar r ived at by discussion and w ill not be bylined. Bylined articles are the opinion of the individual writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Eagle's Eye staff or administration as a whole.

The Eagle's Eye w elcom es r eader input . Please send any letters, articles, comments or corrections to akins.journalism@gmail.com or mail them to 10701 South First Street Austin, Texas 78748 or drop them off in room 223 with advisor David Doerr or an editor. Letters must be signed, and emailed letters will require verification before publication. We will not necessarily publish all letters received and reserve t he right to edit for length and clarity.

THE EAGLE'S EYE

Not ices

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Gr aduat ion is set f or May31 at Bur ger The Akins graduation ceremony is set for Wednesday, May 31 at 7 p.m. at the Toney Burger Activity Center, which is located at 3200 Jones Road in Austin.

Parent Directions Parents will be allowed to start entering the Activity Center after 6 p.m. There are eight guests per graduate allowed.

Student Directions Graduating seniors can car pool and park at the stadium. Parking is limited. Once there, students should enter by the highway side, which is opposite from Jones Road, before 5 p.m. Students are advised to bring bottles of water. Students will assemble in a staging area between the Activity Center and the baseball field.

Families and friends can park at Burger Stadium, but Austin ISD will be running shuttle buses from the Akins parking lot from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. This is the recommended way to get to graduation for parents and family.

Visit AustinISD.org/graduation for more information.

Expir es 6/ 30/ 23

THE EAGLE'S EYE

New s

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Moviest aron cam pus Akinsstudentsserveas backgroundactorsduringa professionalvideoshoot with actorMatthewMcConaugheythat wasfilmedon campuson May6.PhotobyRobertLockay

Matthew McConaughey shootspublic service videoatAkins safety Oscar Winning Act orCom esttoopromote Ak ins ASHLEY CACERES-SANCHEZ NewsEditor A cinema-style video camera sits on a track in the driveway at the front entrance of the school. A cinematographer sits in a chair watching camera footage. Akins students stand still waiting for the director to yell ?background? before walking into the camera?s line of sight.

Then the director yells ?action? and actor Matthew McConaughey walks into the scene and begins talking to the camera that follows him to the main entrance of the school while he talks about a law passed last year called the ?Safer Communities Act.?

The Oscar-award-winning actor?s appearance at Akins on May 6 wasn?t just a celebrity photo opportunity. Instead, he was starring in a public service announcement video that was filmed at three different locations on the Akins campus with a professional film crew.

McConaughey, who grew up in Uvalde, Texas has recently become outspoken on gun violence issues after the mass school shooting in his hometown last year on May 24. Even before his involvement in gun violence issues, McConaughey had founded the Just Keep Livin Foundation, which has worked to promote healthy living and mental health strategies to teens through the creation of after-school clubs at 44 schools across the country.

Science teacher Matt Stricklen, who has led the Just Keep Livin Club at Akins since 2016, served as a liaison between McConaughey?s film crew and the school officials who were on hand to make sure the film shoot went as smoothly as possible in the 10-hours or so they were on campus to film it. Student members of the Just Keep Livin Club volunteered to serve as background actors, walking around

McConaughey as he walks around the school, up the main stairwell, and into a classroom in the STEM hallway for the filming of the video. ?It's all about safer schools, making resources available for safer schools,?

Stricklen said.

This film was made to encourage districts and schools in Texas to take advantage of the grant money provided by the Safer Communities Act. In an interview conducted with The Eagle?s Eye staff during the video shoot, McConaughey said he was prompted to film the video when U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, who represents Uvalde, asked him for help to promote a federal grant program that provides funds to schools to improve campus security and mental health services.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act implemented several changes to the mental health system, school safety programs, and gun safety laws.

McConaughey said that some districts have been slow to apply for grants because of political bias and the workload to apply for grants. ?So I'm here because it would just be a shame if (the law is) nothing but a symbol,? McConaughey said.

Gonzales had advised McConaughey to help promote the large sum of grant money provided, which is meant to help support schools.

This support includes ?from mental health professionals, or increased security personnel or just simple things like better doors, better hardware, better locks. It's all about making safer schools,? Stricklen said.

Students in Just Keep Livin' Clubs from Akins, Navarro High School and a charter school participated in the making of the

M AT H EWM CCON AU GH EYI N ACT I ON MatthewMcConaugheytalksto the camerain an Akinsclassroomwhilefilminga publicserviceannoucementvideoto promoteschoolsafety.PhotobyKairiNatal public service announcement.

Seniors Amber White and Lukas Cardenas who are a part of the Akins Save Club were invited to participate in the video as background actors. The student-led Save Club started this year to promote efforts to reduce gun violence at schools. They have advocated for an anonymous reporting system that would allow students to notify school officials to stop school shootings and ensure their classmates and friends are receiving mental health care.

White and Cardenas are also part of the Law Practicum class, which have made their own efforts on campus to promote

school safety and mental health access.

Students like White and Cardenas spent hours waiting for the directors and crew to set up the shots. ?It's not as glamorous as they make it seem, right,? Cardenas said.

The video is expected to be seen on television and in online ads starting in June.

McConaughey said school officials who want help writing grants to receive the federal money should visit GreenlightGrantInitiative.org.

"There's a bill with billions of dollars is not being utilized. Why not?" because they cant fill out the grant," McConaughey said.

THE EAGLE'S EYE

Opinion

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Tex aslaw m ak erignor s egunlaw dem ands Aftera yearsincetheUvaldeschoolshooting, Legislature hasn'tmadeneededreforms Over the past year, there has been a significant increase in gun violence in America.

It has led to 14,600 deaths in 2023 so far. That includes teens and children to 17 years old with 637 dead and 1,525 injured according to the Gun Violence Archive.

With all this gun violence one can't help but wonder what lawmakers are doing to fight this surge. This is especially timely with the anniversary of the terrible mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde on May 24 last year. The shooter was a former student of the same school, who bought an AR-15 rifle and thousands of rounds of ammunition legally as soon as he turned 18. He had previously tried to gain one illegally by asking two people to obtain a gun for him. Eight days later he went to his former elementary school and killed 19 students and two teachers.

We believe that laws to reduce gun violence should be passed in the Texas Legislature, NOW. These bills, although unlikely to be passed, would benefit and increase gun safety in the state of Texas, and decrease gun violence. Since the mass shooting in Uvalde, no major action has been taken to prevent other mass shootings.

In an article by Christopher Hooks, who writes about Legislative action for Texas Monthly, he wrote there have been 19 mass shootings in Texas since the Legislature has been in session. As Hooks mentions multiple instances not only in Texas but the whole country, the number of mass shootings continues to be on the rise. And at the national level, according to an article by the Washington Post more than 200 people have been killed and 428 have been injured in mass shootings so far this year.

Still, the Texas Legislature continues to ignore the problem and turn away from calls for gun control laws.

With Uvalde and the most recent shooting that happened at a mall in Allen, Texas, the Senate has instead recently approved a bill that would ban children from receiving gender-affirming care according to Alex Nguyen who writes for the Texas Tribune. While access to gun control remains untouched, there continue to be bans placed on care for transgender children. As the number of those injured rises, there's no action to seek

change, while they continue to remove access to gender-affirming care. The Legislature shows their motives as they remove the help for children to feel comfortable in their bodies and enable their lives to stay at risk from guns.

Despite all of these mass shootings and all of these lives lost. Conservatives won?t budge on passing gun control laws. Why is that? Well, it comes down to the fact that many conservatives view gun ownership as a sacred right. They believe that these gun control laws will infringe on their 2nd Amendment right to own guns.

Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota commented on why he doesn?t support gun control, saying that he believes voters would probably throw him out of office. That?s another Ely Rodriguez reason why conservatives don?t support these gun control bills. They don?t want to pay the political price for protecting their citizens. They want to get re-elected and these bills could hurt their chances at reelection.

One solution to the gun problem is gun control laws. These bills don?t prevent people from owning guns. They still allow people to access guns, however, they make the public safer by making sure guns don?t get into the wrong hands. Most people support gun control laws, so Conservatives shouldn?t have to worry about the political fallout of their actions. In fact, they?ll gain public support for their initiative.

In particular, we support a bill that was filed ? and supported by the family members of victims of the Uvalde shooting ? that would have raised the age limit to purchase semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. The bill was finally passed out of committee late in the session, but the bill failed to advance for a full vote in the Texas House of Representatives, and is now basically dead without leaders in the Legislature prioritizing this bill or any other new gun restriction laws.

To feel safer we need gun laws to help reduce these ongoing tragedies. After all the tragic events that have happened, change is the next most important thing to occur. As other laws are passed the most important and relevant to our safety is being pushed away.

We believe in the freedom to live safely in our schools and communities.

EDITORIALBOARDMEMBERS

CO-EDI TOR-I N -CH I EF M a r kL o m a s

CO-EDI TOR-I N -CH I EF Di e g oH e r n a n d e z

GRA PH I CS EDI TOR CO-EN T ERTA I N M EN EDITTOR El y Ro d r i g u e z

PH OTOEDI TOR K a i r iN at a l

Sa m a n t hLai m o n

SPORT S EDI TOR

A d a m a r iOl s ivares

CO-EN T ERTA I N M EN EDITTOR OPI N I ONEDI S TOR Marc elo Pa l a c i o s

Ru d yM o r a l e s

N EWSEDI TOR

A s h l e yCa c e r e s -Sa n c h e z

SCA NM E!

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THE EAGLE'S EYE

Opinion

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Lovet hear t w or kdespit et hear t ist Shouldyoustillsupportcreators ofRickandMortyorHarryPottereven if atoddswithyourmoralcompass Jason Ponti spite of an unfortunate artist is Staffwriter completely decided upon where your morals stand.

Art is an amazingly universal way to express ideas, John Lennon is regarded as experiences, and values which one of the greatest artists of all are reflective of the artist.

Whether in the form of music, time. His career with The works of art, poems, or films, art, Beatles, as a solo artist, and his in general, is able to draw out promotion for peace made him a the emotional and personal side beloved figure whose influence spanned multiple generations. of us to make something that can His music immortalized his be appreciated and admired.

But if an artist is morally legacy as a gifted and brilliant wrong, does that make the art artist, and his sudden death was morally wrong too? We can still a tragic event that was mourned appreciate good art despite a bad by thousands. He?s been solidified as one of the greatest artist, but does that mean we artists to ever live. appreciate the bad artist as well?

Unfortunately, Lennon was not How can we separate the art from the artist? How can we put the perfect man everyone them against each other in an thought he was. Behind his ?art vs. artist? struggle? beautiful music career, Lennon From Harry Potter series had a history of emotional and physical abuse, especially author J.K Rowling?s towards women. He admitted in controversial transphobic interviews that he was violent comments to Pablo Picasso?s incredibly misogynistic views, towards women, most notably there are plenty of artists who his first wife Cynthia Powell. were considered to be detestable She?s stated in a memoir that people despite the popularity of Lennon would strike and terrify her out of jealousy and their artwork and subsequent possessiveness. He?s also been influence.

One recent example of this known for being emotionally ?art vs. artist? issue would be the absent in the life of his first son controversies surrounding Justin Julian Lennon, along with many Roland, the creator of the inappropriate remarks and actions. popular animated TV show Rick Despite John Lennon?s abusive and Morty. He has a fruitful relationships with the people career with his work on Rick and Morty and within the 10 years of closest to him, he?s still revered its lifespan on Adult Swim, it as an astounding artist and quickly became one of the most remains a cultural icon till this popular adult cartoons to air. day. His songs touched multiple generations of hearts and Despite Rick and Morty being a influenced many people in many hit with the viewers and ways. Although some may dislike garnering a massive cult following, the creator was John Lennon and his actions, you dropped from Adult Swim after can?t deny his impressive impact he was charged with domestic and his complex mind that violence against his created some of the most culturally defining songs. ex-girlfriend.

But does liking Lennon?s music After the lawsuit came into the public eye in 2020, he left the mean you like what he did? Of studio, leaving his legacy on a course not. You are able to enjoy sour note. Despite the charges what you want despite who and being dropped, his public image where it comes from, even if it comes from a very nasty place. has been tainted and spoiled. He The decision to continue hasn?t worked on any projects supporting the art you enjoy in since. Rick and Morty is still

ZachAlbritton widely enjoyed today. Even with Roland?s future career as a writer in tatters, his show is still performing well.

But possibly the most infamous and current example of this issue would be Kanye West.Throughout his 19-year-old career, Kanye West has been recognized as one of the world?s best-selling music artists with over 160 million records sold and numerous Grammy Awards and nominations to his name. His career has had a significant impact on hip-hop and pop culture as a whole. With several music and fashion collaborations, his influence on modern-day culture is tremendous.

With so much recognition and praise, and an incredibly large fanbase, how can someone this high up fall so far? Although his music career is huge, Kanye West has always been known for having very outspoken views on many issues such as abortion and gun rights, which has stirred up controversy in the past years.

In 2022, Kanye West publicly spoke about incredibly sensitive and controversial topics. During an interview for InfoWars, West made a series of antisemitic

comments and praised Adolf Hiter, claiming to ?love Nazis.?

He also denied the Holocaust and claimed that it was ?factually incorrect? that Hitler killed six million Jews.

This, of course, was widely condemned by the public and many of his sponsors withdrew from partnerships with him, such as Adidas, Gap, and Balenciaga. He?s held such a high pedestal only for it to rapidly come crumbling down.

Although he?s been dropped and criticized since his recent offensive statements, Kanye West?s music is still incredibly popular. The general public harbored a dislike of West for his statements, and rightfully so.

However, despite his social outcasting, he remains an influential and dominant figure in music.

Despite his apparent ?canceling,? West?s music will continue to be impactful and admired for years to come. But does appreciating Kanye West's music mean you also appreciate his beliefs? Obviously not.

Enjoying someone's work doesn?t necessarily correlate to enjoying the person themselves. What you like and dislike is completely

decided on by each individual and their own values..

If you think West is a horrible person and you just can?t listen to his music anymore, then that's OK. If you still continue to appreciate his art while disliking him as a person, that's OK, too. It all comes down to the individual and where your moral compass leads you.

Some people have suggested boycotting the latest Harry Potter video game because they don?t want Rowling to receive any money from the purchase of the game. However, others believe they say they don?t want to deny themselves what they believe is an important What we create, even if it?s not considered art, is molded by our morals and ethics, right or wrong. It?s where we stand as the viewer to decide whether or not we support the art when approached by it and whether we support the artist. This, however, does not excuse Kanye or any other artist of what they?ve done. Despite their success, they are still responsible for their actions. But the decision to continue appreciating them is completely up to you.

A RT B Y DI EGO RESEN DEZ & Z ACH A L B RI T TON

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Senior

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Sect ion

Seniorclassof 2023discusshect icyear s Roberto Ram irez OutgoingCo-Editor-in-Chief As another school year closes in, the senior class of 2023 has prevailed and exceeded expectations never thought possible. The four year pathway hasn?t been this straightforward however, as the freshman year was cut short with the rise of COVID-19 cases shutting down the school for nearly two years.

The online learning years were filled with trials and tribulations, but we still prevailed.

All of this is reflected in a recent Squawk Talk podcast conducted with seniors Skylar Hawn and Carlos Rebollar, where they share their memories and feelings of their high school years. ?It was definitely weird and it was scary.

But I made the most of it at home. I took up a lot of new hobbies I still have to this day,?

Rebollar said. ?Though it was a scary time, I did come out of it with hobbies that are good for me and good for my mental health.?

Hawn expressed similarity with Rebollars experiences in the extracurricular side. With her not being too close with Akins until the return back. ?I wasn?t too attached to Akins. I hadn?t really involved myself with a lot of the clubs I?m in now at that time,? Hawn said. ?But coming back to Akins after COVID, that?s

when I submerged myself in with all the programs and really awesome opportunities.?

Rebollar also shared some other closing remarks, and general feelings towards his experiences. ?Make the most of it, really enjoy it," Rebollar said. "It really does fly by. You?re super lucky as an Akins student to have access to have completely free opportunities and programs and academies. No other school in AISD has the amount of CTE programs that we have. No other school lets you get your realtor license as a high school student. No other school lets you be taught by a criminal defense attorney who has 20 plus years.?

With more than $9 million in scholarship money amassed, internships earned, and college acceptances far and wide, the Class of 2023 has scored success for their futures and is destined to bring greatness into the future.

PROM 2 0 2 3 ROYA LT Y The Classof 2023celebratedthe end of their high schoolcareerduringthe SeniorPromheldat the Universityof Texasat Austin'sAlumniCenter.Seniors SofiaChio,Yahir Alpizar,and Angel Nelsonposefor a photoafter beingcrowned as winnersof the PromCourt election.Theywerenamed"PromRoyals"and receiveda sash and crownto commemoratetheir winning.PhotobyKairiNatal

Senior

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RisingHipHop'pr incess' or Minajk nockof f VERONICA DIAZ StaffWriter .Following in the footsteps of her idol Nicki Minaj, rapper Ice Spice has risen to fame in the last year.

Ice Spice, whose real name is Isis Gaston, grew up in the Bronx, New York City with her father who was an underground rapper. She attended school at State University of New York while playing volleyball which she quit in 2020. Around this time she ended up meeting and working with record producer RiotUSA. Today, she is a sexually provocative rapper who made it on the Top 100 Billboard chart with ?The Boys a Liar pt.2? and ?Princess Diana,? which is a collaboration with Nicki Minaj. Some of her initial fame came from social media with a video of her doing the ?Buss It? challenge going viral with 26.6 million views. Shortly after that, in March of 2021, her song ?Bully Freestyle? came out as her debut. The song was successful but it wasn't exactly mainstream like her future songs.

The first time Ice Spice became mainstream was with her song ?Munch (Feelin?U)? Where she took over TikTok and Instagram with more than

500,000 people using her song in their own videos and racking up more than 2 billion views.

Ice Spice?s skyrocketing popularity was also helped by multi-platinum album selling rapper Drake, who has become somewhat of a mentor to her.

Drake shared ?Munch? on his SiriusXM Radio Channel. The lyrics ?You thought I was feeling you?? from her song became a trend and the #icespice tag gained 4 billion views.

Ice Spice?s eye-catching fashion and hairstyle have also attracted many fans. She has bright orange curly hair which is now seen as her trademark.

Many people have posted photos and videos of themselves cosplaying or copying her hair. This has dramatically gained her a lot of popularity since her hair has made her more recognizable.

Ice Spice has had a lot of celebrities contribute to her fame. Lil Nas X dressed up as her for Halloween and posted a TikTok. The child of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, North West, posted a drawing she made of Ice Spice. Beyonce chose her for a campaign collection with Adidas.

After her first song went viral many thought that she was a one-hit wonder but they were wrong. After ?Munch(feelin' u)? many songs became

even more successful and became part of the top 100 Billboard charts. Her fame has grown immensely, so much that this year she was invited to The Met Gala where she wore Balmain and her hair was pressed down with a side part.

Even after a lot of experiences and successes many people still ask the same question. Some have asked if she is only famous because of the ?simps? that love her.

Many of the videos that have gone viral of hers have been videos where she dances and moves sexually, making this a legitimate criticism. The answer to it is questionable since her songs are good but most of the views on her videos are male-dominated. Will she slowly fade away from the public eye once people get bored of her? Many Celebrities have gone through this exact problem.

At the beginning of Nicki Minaj?s career, many people were saying that she was only famous for being provocative, and ten years later she is still an A-list celebrity. Ice Spice?s career could be like Nicki?s or she could end up being forgotten. It's still too early to know, which direction her career will ultimately take, but for now, she has the world's attention.

Ice Spice& Nicki Manajdo eachother'smakeup in their hit musicvideo"PrincessDiana"that was releasedJanuary2023.The titleof the songis a referenceto a jokethat her fanshavespreadonline, comparingIce Spiceto PrincessDianawho was knownas the "People'sPrincess."Ice Spiceexplained her reactionto the confusingcomparisonin an interviewwith Billboard.?At first,I wasconfused.I waslike,?Um,PrincessDiana?Out of everybody??

But [then]I waslike,?F***it,she?siconic.??

JediSur vivor ex pands t heSt arWar sgalax y DESMIN CURRY StaffWriter Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is an action-adventure game developed by Respawn Entertainment as the sequel to the 2019 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order game. Many fans of Fallen Order were excited about the continuation of the story in a new game with expanded features and new gameplay mechanics.

Jedi Survivor was released on April 28th for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Windows. The game received positive reactions from fans with an improvement in gameplay and the story. However, many PC gamers and some console gamers have been experiencing frame drops and some crashes, especially the PC players with higher-end computers. Despite these problems, players have been happy with the game.

The story of Jedi Survivor is a continuation of the story from the first game. Cal Kestis makes his return as the protagonist of the story. In Jedi Survivor, Cal is trying to find a way to stop The Empire from growing more powerful and find a place to finally hide from the Empire. Cal will meet new allies to help accomplish his goals with some areas

having temporary companions to help you out.

The gameplay is a ?Dark Souls-like? experience with Meditation spots as players?resting points, where players can regain health and change their skills and combat style. Thankfully, in Jedi Survivor Cal has kept all the skills he learned in Fallen Order, avoiding the gaming cliche in which playable characters lose their powers offscreen and have to relearn old skills. This makes the gameplay more dynamic in the early stages of the game

Courtesyof RespawnEntertainment

than Fallen Order in which Cal has to slowly learn Jedi powers and combat skills.

In Survivor, Cal is able to perform wall runs, use a grappling hook, and dual-wield lightsabers all before ending the first level of the game.

Despite the initial performance issues for some players, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor feels like a worthy sequel that doesn?t do too much in terms of ambition; however, Respawn Entertainment made

quality-of-life changes, including three new lightsaber stances to further enhance the gameplay.

In Jedi Survivor, there are five stances you can choose from, Single-Bladed, Double-Bladed, Dual-Wield, Blaster, and Crossguard. Single-Bladed is your jack-of-all-trades stance. Double-Bladed is a mobile stance best suited for multiple enemies. Dual-Wield is a purely aggressive stance with an emphasis on melee combat focused on racking up combos. Blaster is a single-blade saber with a blaster to add range. Crossguard is the final stance, it is a heavy-hitting, pure-damage stance with slow but devastating attacks.

Overall, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a good game that expands on the ideas of Fallen Order while also providing new characters while bringing back some favorites from Fallen Order.

Players and spectators alike will enjoy the story even if they?re not playing the game while sitting back and watching Cal navigate through new worlds and environments. The character?s emotions really shine during their cutscenes which look almost as good as watching a Star Wars movie. Fans appreciate that the game adds to the Star Wars franchise and isn't just trying to replicate a movie.

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Akins st udent s soar t o success En d of sch ool year br in gs oppor t u n it y t o celebr at e Mark Lom as Co-Editor-In-Chief This school year has been difficult. Students have had to deal with the lingering effects of the pandemic, sky-high inflation, and many other problems. However, despite all of these difficulties, many students were able to come out on top and excel.

Many groups won awards and they deserve recognition for their hard work. It would be physically impossible to list all the students who did so well this year since there were so many of them.

So here's a list of a couple of groups and students whose success was notable.

The Orchestra earned a Superior award for their stage performance and received an excellent rating in sightreading. After their performance, a colleague of Orchestra Director Thomas Mann, told him that the Akins Orchestra was the best orchestras that he had heard in 22 years. The director said that other people agreed that the orchestra did very well.

Mann said that ?Akins should be proud of not only what Sinfonietta has accomplished this year, but the entire Performing Arts Department.?

The Akins chapter of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) has also racked up awards this year, including on April 25 when members won in the Star District Public Speaking Contest. Two FFA members got first place in their respective categories. Two members got 2nd place and two members got 3rd place in their respective categories.

(Grade level) Ryder Thorton, a musician who is in FFA, was invited to Indianapolis as part of a national FFA band. He performed in front of 40,000 FFA members.

(Grade level) Amaris Maldonado retired as Star District Sentinel and two Akins members were elected. Lily Gonzalez became the Star District President and Brynne Laguna became the Star District Treasurer.

Members of the Akins Diamon Dazzler?s Dance Team won two APEX awards in February, which means that they had the highest score in any category. Diamond Captain Rachel Croom won 1st Place for her solo and senior Valeria Pena won 1st runner up for her solo.

Criminal Justice students placed first in cell extraction at the Texas Public Service Teacher Association (TXPSTA) State Criminal Justice Competition. This group of students have placed first in this competition since they started competing in 2018. Maryjane Zuniga placed 2nd in inmate processing.

The class of 2023 made over $9 million in scholarships.

Many of these seniors will use these scholarships at universities such as St. Edwards, UT, and Texas Tech.

Several student athletes won scholarships to play sports at the college level, including senior Elias Brown, who will play wheelchair basketball at the University of Arizona.

Akins is also celebrating the first graduating class from the Early College High School program, which allows students to earn between 40 to 60 hours of college credit while in high school.On May 12, 45 out of 119 Akins students earned an Associate's Degree in General Studies. Those who didn?t earn their associate's degrees

still got a headstart on their college credit hours.

Another Akins senior Caleb Stever was recognized as a 2023 Scholar-Athlete by the National Football Foundation.

Junior Raven Martin did so much for Akins this year.

She gained 100 volunteer hours for a scholarship and a graduation cord. This success helps set her up for doing well in college as well as life.

Some quick success stories from this year Seniors Peter Olea and Edison Chea placed 5th in Austin ISD Science Fair. Their project was investigating biofuels using pAmylase.

Sophomore Ava Linnell broke multiple Akins track records.

Many Akins students participated in the Visual Arts Scholastic Event. Art teacher Eric Cannon told the Eagle?s Eye that had over 51 submissions from 35 students, and 39 of these submissions received top scores. 12 submissions received a 3 on the judges rubric.

Senior Deonne Topete went to state wrestling all 4 years of high school, she placed 5th in state this year. She has gained the all american status due to how well she has done in wrestling.

JROTC was called into service at many places.

"

Akins should be proud of not only what Sinfonietta has accomplished this year, but the entire Performing Arts Department.

-Thomas Mann

"

Called into Camp Mabry, football games, veterans day ceremony There was many students this year that excelled.

These group of students couldn?t have done it without the work of the administrators and teachers. This group of people helped to support these students as they went through their high school career. If you see any of these students in the hallways, make sure to congratulate them on their success.

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Fir stEar lyCollegest udentgr s aduat e Soonto graduateseniorsin the EarlyCollegeAcademyposingafter an EarlyCollegeHighSchoolAcademyassemblyand awardsceremonyPhotoCourtesyof JohnRodriguez

Firstgroupofstudents intheEarlyCollegeAcademy settograduate withdegrees Diego Hernandez Co-Editor-In-Chief The first group of students in the Early College High School Program will graduate with an Associate?s Degree from Austin Community College on May 31.

After the beginning of the program in 2019, the students in the Early College Academy have taken classes at Austin Community College over these past four years. The Associate?s Degree will be in General Studies and will save them thousands of dollars and give them a head start in college. ?I believe around 2018-2019 is when we started recruiting,? Early College Project Specialist John Rodriguez. ?At that time, y?all were eighth graders. Y'all are the first official one, for a select few students that are going to get their high school diploma after they received their associate's through Austin Community College.?

Senior Andres Rodriguez said the program has given him a huge head start, saved him much of his time, and taught him skills to use outside of school. ?I did this program to save two years of college, and basically my life,? Rodriguez said. ?It taught me high school is such a small section of our lives. The Early College Program was a way to help me understand what I have to do once college, or this program, is over and what work I need to be doing when I?m older so that I?ll be able to achieve success beyond high school.?

However, not all students are required, or even go, to a four-year university after the end of the program. But the skills taught in the program are still beneficial to the students in their life regardless, John Rodriguez said.

?Whether or not you're continuing to four-year university or grad school, that's fine, but you'll learn a lot of skills really, really early,? John Rodriguez said. ?You'll learn to jumpstart yourself into professional responsibilities into communicating with professors into being trusted as the youngest freshman year to do college classes.?

The Early College High School program provides a large array of benefits for graduating students, but due to its high difficulty, graduating students had to overcome the difficult obstacles in the program. Senior Dulce Maldonado said to be successful in the program, students should possess or develop certain characteristics. ?Resilience and mental resilience, you know,? Maldonado said. ?It's not easy because you are going to fail. For example, I failed my first US history exam. And I was like, great, it's over. But then I ended up passing the class. So it turned out really good. Like, it's gonna get bad before it gets good. And you're going to learn from your mistakes.?

But graduating seniors advise the new incoming students into the program to put in the dedication it takes, and speak about their concerns when necessary. ?Take the time to actually sit down, read some of the material,? Andres Rodriguez said.?If you have questions, ask your professor, maybe go to office hours, maybe send them an email about certain assignments. Really try to get involved with the class.?

Out of 119 seniors in the ECHS program, 45 of them graduated from ACC with their Associate?s Degree in general studies on May 12.Although the program does provide students with major benefits, John Rodriguez believes the program is quite

SEN I ORCEL EB RAT I ON Graduatingseniorsin the EarlyCollegeHighSchoolprogramgatherfor an academic assemblyto recognizetheir accomplishments PhotosCourtesyof JohnRodriguez the difficult one, and isn?t made for everyone, requiring major commitment and dedication to complete. ?Yeah, it shouldn?t be for everyone,?

John Rodriguez said. ?I don?t think any program should be for everyone. And ECHS is just another example. It?s got to be the kid that wants to do it, not the parent, which is a challenge. We?ve noticed in our program that the parents may want it for their students. But if the kid doesn?t want to do it, the kids are not going to do it.?

But despite requiring a large amount of commitment and dedication, the Early

4

College High School program provides a unique opportunity for students, giving them access to higher education they could otherwise have difficulty accessing. ?It's good for this campus to have this as an option for the community,? Early College Project Specialist John Rodriguez said. ?A lot of students in our program are going to be first-generation college-bound students, first-generation kids to even take a college course. So it?s amazing that we're offering that to the communities here that we serve.?

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Essay

Capt ur ing Color f ulCult ur e Latino

A WA K I N GFROM A DREA M JuniorRichieWrightscharacterNickBottomrollsdownthe stairsin confusionafter wakingup in the fairyforest.PhotobyKairiNatal

A ParedesMiddleSchoolstudenttwirlsher dressduringa Ballet Folklorikodanceperformedduringthe annualAkinsCincode Mayoshow.PhotobyKairiNatal

AnnualCincodeMayoShowcelebrates Latinoculture, studenttalent Kairi Natal PhotoEditor The Cinco de Mayo show is an annual Akins tradition, featuring Florkorico dancing, Mariachi performances, singing, and many more traditions of Latino culture.

The show often includes performances by current Akins students, alumni and even some students from middle schools that feed into Akins.

Many of the students who performed had been preparing for the show since the beginning of the school year.

Sophomore Luis Garcia, who performed a Ballet Folklorico dance, said they've been practicing all year for the Cinco de Mayo show. ?We've been practicing for this show since the beginning of the year because there's so much that goes into it from the steps to the choreography,? he said.

Some of the students who performed ended up

having their own solos during the show.

Sophomore Mark Lira performed a difficult guitar solo called ?Tango En Skai.?

Lira said he had to clear his mind while playing and pretend the audience wasn?t actually there. ?Nothing was really going through my mind,? he said. ?That's kind of how you have to do it.

You just got to clear your mind and play like you're not there.?

Garcia said he was proud of his and his partners?performances. ?After the performance, I felt good because this was something that requires time and practice, and seeing the final product was amazing because I felt like I accomplished something,? he said.

Ashley Caceres-Sanchez, a Latinos Unidos member who served as the event?s master of ceremony, said the event took all year to plan. ?It was pretty amazing to see the show become a reality,? she said.

SOLO ON STAGE SophmoreMarkLiraperfromingthe classone solo "TangoEn Skai".Photo byDiegoHernandez

Phot o Essay

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OPEN I N GACT SeniorJudithJimenezopenedthe Cincode MayoShow, singinga solo with "HazmeTuya."

Shealso sang with the AkinsMariachiand anothersolo song.PhotobyKairiNatal

SEREN A DI N GT H E CROWD FreshmanGuillermoTem performingthe solo "Sin Ti"with the Mariachi band.PhotobyKairiNatal

DEA D COYOT E T WI RL I N GDRESSES SophmoreLuisGarciashoutsa gritoduring"La Cuchi."Garciaalso performedseveralsolo danceperformancesin additionto thisgroup dance.PhotobyKairiNatal

AkinsalumnaNataliaEstradaplacesher foot on AkinsalumusOsvaldoSanchezto showthe showthe conclusionof their dancethat traditionallyendswith eitherthe womanor the coyotecharacterdying.PhotobyKairiNatal

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Risingat hlet es in sear chf or im pr ovem ent ADAMARIS OLIVARES SportsEditor

With the school year coming to an end, sports seasons are finalizing, now the athletes reflect on their seasons and move towards improvement. While we didn't have very successful seasons, the new year will start soon.

With new beginnings, these rising athletes hope to improve their seasons and their teams as well as themselves.

These athletes have been an example to their teammates and will continue their successes in the coming year. Being leaders both on and off the field, they want to improve themselves, the team, and their program itself. As they continue to practice and learn to become leaders, they look forward to starting a new season, sharing their own successes with their team and bettering their upcoming seasons.

Ava Linnell, Track AO: In what ways would you like t o be a leader next year ?

AL: ?I would want to be a leader by having a positive attitude and showing younger athletes by examples how we want our

program to be and the hard work that is expected of them.?

AO: What changes do you want t o make t o t he pr ogr am next year ?

AL: ?I want us to have more of a

Leila Pina, Softball AO: In what ways would you like t o be a leader next year ?

LP: ?I want to take charge of the team and make sure we have like a fun but good season.?

AO: What changes do you want t o make t o

t he pr ogr am next year ?

LP: ?I would like to go to the wight room more and just have more drills, I just like to have a drama free place, just talk to the other person instead of talking

SCORI N GSU CCESSES

CA PTA I NA N D L EA DER

JuniorDiegoZunigaplayingas captainfor the varsitysoccer team.PhotobyAylaRamirez

JuniorDavidCisnerosplaysalongthe varsitybaseballteamduringa scrimmage.PhotobyVivieneGarza

winning mindset and more school spirit.?

AO: How do you want your season t o go next year ?

AL: ?I want my season to keep improving.

I'm not as much of an underdogs anymore and I want that to give me confidence and be ready to go against hard competition and run well. I also want to run more strategically.?

Jacob Rodriguez, Football

to other people and making it a big problem.?

AO: How do you want your season t o go next year ?

LP: ?I would like to win a lot more games but as long as we have fun and it's working, I don't really care about the outcome.?

David Cisneros, Baseball

AO: In what ways would you like t o be a leader next year ?

JR: "Holding people responsible for their actions so it can?t negatively affect the team and weed out the players not committed to the

AO: In what ways would you like t o be a leader next year ?

DC: ?I've been a captain for the past two years so I hope to continue that and just help the freshman and underclassmen develop into

program." AO: What changes do you want t o make t o t he pr ogr am next year ?

JR: ?Try to get more people involved such as parents, sponsors or just people that can help

better man and better baseball players.?

AO: What changes do you want t o make t o t he pr ogr am next year ?

DC: ?We need to focus on being better men first and have better

change the program as well as bring our team all together."

AO: How do you want your season t o go next year ?

JR: "I want the season to go as well as it possibly can and leave my last season as a statement that Akins won?t have the biggest or fastest players but we fight all the way through."

relationships within the team, as far as like being better friends on and off the team.?

AO: How do you want your season t o go next year ?

DC: ?We need to try to push for the playoffs, but a real success for me would be having everybody come together and play like a full team together."

Jessi Byrd, Volleyball AO: In what ways would you like t o be a leader next year ?

JB: ?Making a strong impact on them and helping them become better people, better athletes, helping them with homework, helping them

with grades, or being a role model as an upperclassman especially because I'm going to be a senior next year.?

AO: What changes do you want t o make t o t he pr ogr am next year ?

Diego Zuniga, Soccer AO: In what ways would you like t o be a leader next year ?

DZ: ?I'm going to continue being a leader next year by setting a good example and by pushing my teammates to reach their full potential.?

AO: What changes do you want t o make t o t he pr ogr am next year ?

DZ: ?I would like for the soccer program to receive more support from the school in

JB: ?I think within the team we should be closer with each other like treat each other like family on and off the court.?

AO: How do you want your season t o go next year ?

JB: "Everybody needs to work just as hard as the person standing next to them and I definitely think we can achieve that next year."

announcing the games and getting better equipment for the cold weather.?

AO: How do you want your season t o go next year ?

DZ: ?It's been hard making playoffs in the previous years with the district that we're in, but we'll have a good team next season and I'm confident that we'll finish in the