Growing up I was always told that I was going to go to college, even if it wasn’t clear how my family was going to pay for it. Nobody else in my family had ever gone to college; even still, it was treated as my default path in life, and I never really questioned why I should or shouldn't go. In that sense, I spent the majority of my upbringing taking it for granted. Now, as I enter
later. My dad became a self-taught programmer and has worked in web development ever since. My mom became an events coordinator for a multinational corporation. Even though they lacked college degrees, my parents formed strong careers and a new life for us. I only saw how they succeeded; I didn't understand how difficult it had been for them.
As I've grown older, though, I've become aware that
With senior year comes various benefits and excitement. Less notably than off-periods and senior parking spots, possible dismissal from Talon is an additional benefit. Talon serves as a 30 minute period to complete work or visit other teachers for assistance, but in reality it is mostly used to sit on your phone for a short period. Seniors are offered the chance to get exempt from Talon if they complete a few items. The student must apply to one college through applytexas.com and have a SAT score of 480+ in English and 530+ in math, or have a 945+ in English and 530+ in math on the TSI. The requirements are labeled as “college ready.” While most of the requirements are agreeable, one issue is the SAT score requirements because most colleges allow you to opt out of sharing your SAT scores during application. Additionally, the SAT and TSI requirement benefits those with natural test taking abilities, but disadvantages those who don’t test well. So, a student who has excellent grades, good attendance, and is on track to graduate could not be exempt from Talon solely because of test anxiety. Being exempt from Talon should focus more on grades and attendance rather than the scores on an exam that you have the option of not submitting during college applications. Overall, the testing requirements for being exempt from Talon are a miss.
Similar to last year, Talon is a part of our school day intertwined with our schedule. It can serve many purposes, and one main one is that every day, Talon is supposed to cover different subjects, each one covering different health awarenesses. But it is apparent that it isn’t actually going that way. There have been many reports that teachers simply aren’t covering the subjects they are supposed to cover that day. Adding to that , many students use Talon as a way to complete assignments that they still need to get done. While there are teachers who do follow the objectives for Talon, there are many who do not. While this might have been a good idea in practice, the fact that many teachers do not do it, and the fact that many students would rather have free time, the objectives for Talon are a miss.
The resurgence of the Hype Crew has led to a greater amount of school spirit at varsity games. The Hype Crew is the student section that cheers on the Hawks and has themes for the student section at every game. The themes for volleyball and football has led to an increased sense of spirit and a larger turnout. The football game on the 22nd against Glenn is themed neon and construction, and the volleyball match on 26th against Connally is themed PJ’s. The Hype Crew and their themes are a hit.
“It was kind of chaotic, because a lot of classes didn’t know when it ended.”
- Noah Langdon,11
“Some people were already done with the drill and doing what they normally do. While some classes outside of the building were still in lockdown. It was just really chaotic.”
- Pete Figueroa, 11
“Honestly, it wasn’t a big deal to me, I just think they’re super ineffective because the person who is shooting up the school is not going to be unaware of the drills we’re doing. It’s good that we have something, but it’s not very good.”
- Malek Bekka, 12
PfISD has recently incorporated the Raptor Alert system into attendance and drills, a protocol that started towards the end of last school year. Raptor is not new to the school; in fact, it has been implemented by the district for over a decade as a visitor management system to report all guests checking into the school. However, with the development of the mobile app, Raptor’s purposes have broadened to account for all students on campus as well. Although the goal of this new attendance system is to improve school safety and ensure every student can be located, its application during drills remains unorganized. This has left both teachers and students irritated by the length these procedures take to complete, as it forces them to wait in uncomfortable weather conditions while eating up a significant amount of classroom time.
Raptor as a whole is not the issue. In fact, with the exception of drills, the app has been useful. Towards the end of last year, all teachers were required to download Raptor Alert onto their phones. Now, once attendance is submitted to the office by a teacher, the app automatically shows all the students present on said teacher’s phone. This has allowed the school to record everyone on campus throughout the school day. This provides more security on campus, something that has become a priority for districts throughout the nation as gun violence on school grounds has been on a troubling rise. This, in addition to the new bathroom checkout procedures, has helped the staff keep track of all students and their whereabouts. So, as an in-school security measure, the use of the app works as an efficient safety protocol. It is when Raptor is utilized during drills that problems have emerged.
nearby, or some leave campus entirely. This becomes especially stressful for the teachers, who are tasked with the role of marking all of their students as present during the drill. This is unlike years prior, where teachers typically did not have to take roll during these drills, especially since classes would usually return into the building within a few minutes. Now, students and staff are forced to wait outside for anywhere between 30 to 50 minutes as teachers deal with the lengthy log-in process of Raptor and attempt to take attendance of their classes. Given the recent intense heat waves Texas has been experiencing, waiting out in these conditions with limited shade is anything from optimal. By the end of these drills, people return exasperated, sweaty, smelly, and for some, sunburnt. More so, it puts some individuals at risk of heat illness due to the extended time spent in these intense temperatures. Given this, it’s understandable why some students opt to get into their cars and dip.
Moreover, the length of these drills have consumed a significant amount of teacher’s instructional time and student’s in-class work time. For classes where time is limited and every minute counts, these drills are frustrating. Especially for teachers who then have to work around the drills and rework their lesson plans to fit everything that was missed without a class getting behind, putting even more on teachers’ already hefty to-do lists. This is also frustrating for the students who value their ability to complete work while in their classes, which now run the possibility of becoming outside of class work due to the time lost during these drills. Consider the most recent lockdown drill that consumed over 45 minutes of class; an unreasonably
The Hawk, the official student newspaper of Hendrickson High School, is an open forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions.
Opinions expressed reflect the beliefs of the student author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the entire Hawk Staff, the Hawk Adviser, the Hendrickson Faculty and Staff, or the Principal. Letters to the editor are welcomed, and may be dropped off in E211. Corrections will be printed when brought to the attention of the staff.
The Hawk is printed monthly at Community Impact in Pflugerville, Texas. 1,000 copies are printed each run, and are distributed to the student body for free before school on publication day and on newsstands throughout the building.
Co-Editors: Kate Hayes, Lilianna Moran
Copy Editor: Sophia Johst
Assistant Editors: Eliana Grant, Gia Patel
“I think that it’s important for us to have certain procedures set so that we can all be safe, but at the same time, in the Texas heat right now we’re seeing people faint because of the heat. So, if we’re going to do fire drills I think there’s a better way that we can do it so people can avoid being put into these situations.”
- Allison Chavarria-Hernandez, 12
Its application during fire drills have been annoying. During these fire drills, it becomes incredibly difficult for teachers to keep track of all their students, as they often get displaced while walking through the slew of other classes attempting to leave the building. In addition to students getting others will often class to and visit friends from other classes who are
So, although the use of Raptor in general is beneficial as a safety measure, its lack of efficiency during outdoor drills remains an irritant among the student and staff body. Unless a more structured employment of the app is developed, its continued use during these fire drills is nothing more than an inconvenience rather than a booster in school safety.
“They’re really dumb. There’s so many. We already know the process and at this point it’s just filling the quota for the school. I feel like a more effective way would be just advising how to get out quicker instead of just practicing over and over again.”
- Ilhaam Hassen, 10Illustration by | Eliana Grant
This year, along with previous years, the bathrooms smell of smoke and weed. Students gather in the stalls and vape during lunchtime and class time. The district is cracking down on students who carry or use vapes on school grounds to decrease the usage of vapes of any kind on campus with House Bill 114. This bill was passed in the Texas legislative session from January to May. This new law went into effect on September 1st. This new law will instill harsher penalties for students caught with a vape, regardless of if it’s empty or currently being used.
“The new law says there’s a mandatory
placement for a student who is caught with a vape with THC, nicotine, or marijuana,” Grebb said. “And that’s a change because normally, for nicotine, we would not send someone to the Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP).”
Previously, if a student was caught with a vape, the school would call their parents and then put in a referral. This typically resulted in a couple days in ISS. House Bill 114 has altered this process and the extent of the punishment for students caught with nicotine. Possession of marijuana results in even harsher penalties.
“Now that it’s a mandatory placement, we
have to have a placement conference and to determine if you go to OC or DAEP for 30 days,” Grebb said. “Before we hadn’t ever even placed someone for nicotine.”
The call for this new law is due to the vaping epidemic in high schoolers. Vapes, though said to be targeted towards those 21 years and older, are most popular in teens. Intentional or not, the colorful packaging and fruity flavors entice those under the legal age.
“Maybe vaping doesn’t seem as bad because you don’t smell or your clothes don’t,” Grebb said. “But who knows what it’s doing to kids’ lungs, because we’ll probably find
out in 20 or 30 years how bad vaping is, just like we did with cigarettes.” Vaping during school has proved to be an issue all throughout Texas schools. Not only does it affect students’ physical health, it poses issues to their schooling as well which is a main cause for the passing of House Bill 114.
“It affects them because then instead of concentrating in class they think about how they can get more nicotine,” Grebb said. “From what I’ve heard the nicotine content is a lot stronger in vapes, which makes addiction come on quicker.”
Following the Speech and Debate World Schools teams’ success at Nationals over the summer, the city of Pflugerville declared Aug. 8 as the official Hendrickson Speech and Debate day.
“We’re super proud of all our competitions,” Public Forum Captain Maya Hay said. “This [day] means our hard work and achievements have been recognized. It’s rewarding.”
This June, former students Lucas Flores and Kaitlyn Nash, seniors Maya Hay, Cecilia Acosta, Briana Williams, and juniors Waleed Haider, Shauri Yedavalli, and Rin Moore attended this year’s National Speech and Debate Tournament in Phoenix, Arizona. The World Schools team, composed of Nash, Hay, and Yedavalli along with two students from Wimberley High School, placed 9th in the nation. Individually, Haider broke to octo-finals in international extemp, Acosta broke to octo-finals in informative
and Nash was a National Student of the Year finalist among six other participants.
“We actually did really well,” Hay said. “We had a couple of people that made it to elimination rounds, and the World School’s team was the most successful that we have ever been, we were in the top sixteen in the country, so, we’re super proud of that. We worked really hard to get there”
Given the World Schools team’s accomplishments, both Hay and former student Kaitlyn Nash attended the officialism of Debate Day at the mayor’s office on the 8th. There, the mayor signed a proclamation recognizing the school’s debate team.
“I think it’s great,” Hay said. “I’m proud of how much the debate team accomplishes at Hendrickson and I think it’s great to be recognized by the city. Normally we don’t really get a lot of attention for our accomplishments, so this is a nice change.”
Many AP students spend the year working with an end goal in mind, doing well on their exams in May.
Advanced Placement (AP) are classes by CollegeBoard that allow high school students to challenge themselves and take college-level courses. In the spring, students have the option to take the AP exam in order to receive college credit if a qualifying score is made. HHS had 731 students take one or more AP tests last year. The scores are then declared on College Board’s website from early to mid July.
AP classes spend the year preparing for the exams on a yearly basis in order to
know what is on tests and to make sure all the material that is needed is covered.
“We prepare on a whole yearly basis, dealing with the type of quizzes that we did, so that having to explain evidence and then why it was significant helped us with the writing portion,” AP U.S. History teacher, Hellen Barczi said. “We also looked at the different skills that College Board is going to ask for you that we practice.”
Leading up to the AP exam, AP U.S. History spent their time reviewing through a three-week bootcamp.
“Three weeks prior to the national exam, I did before school and after school review sessions,” Barczi
said. “There were different topics for students, and they could pick what they wanted to come to review.
From 2022 and 2023, the AP U.S. History score results didn’t have a large difference.
“Students that had made consistently a grade of an 84-85 above, the percentage stays within the high 90s of students that qualify,” Barczi said. “Those have stayed consistent.”
Many people know how taking AP classes are college-level, have exams at the end of the school year, and can boost your GPA. However, the preparation and knowledge you acquire is often overlooked.
“What a lot of people don’t know about AP exams is that even if you don’t don’t make a qualifying score, the class and the experience for sitting for the exam is a good one to take into college,” Barczi said. “In a lot of cases, you can use that knowledge to help you with that college class. Even if a student didn’t make a qualifying score, the skills they learned while taking the AP exam and class can help them later on in other classes.
“I think some students feel like that it’s not beneficial if it’s not a qualifying score,” Barczi said. “But in a lot of cases, you can use that knowledge to help you succeed in a college class.”
This past summer Principal Michael Grebb was awarded and deemed the Region 13 Principal of the year by the Texas Association of Secondary School. Every year for the 20 Texas education regions a principal of the year and an assistant principal of the year is selected.
In June, the next conference will take place to have an award ceremony to recognize the 20 region principals in Austin. Grebb, along with the other principals, will be awarded and applauded for their efforts and achievements as Texas principals. Additionally, the state principal of the year will be elected.
“I was honestly surprised to be considered for this award,” Grebb said. “I’m really just glad to have Hendrickson’s name and our staff attached to this award.”
The award is given to principals who have demonstrated passion and commitment to their school and community. It strives to recognize those who contribute to the success of Texas schools.
“I honestly think it’s just people who are really passionate about being a high school principal and really love their school and what they do,” Grebb said. “I mean, at least that’s what I love.”
The award not only celebrates the principals and assistant principals, but it also reflects the schools associated with the nominees.
“I don’t like being recognized individually,” Grebb said. “I like recognizing Hendrickson and other people.”
Eliana Grant | Asst. Editor
In an award only granted to 1% of high school seniors, Nathan Ross has become a semifinalist in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship. This will allow him to apply
for over 7,000 scholarships, which are all together $28 million. These awards will be given in the spring, with the winners announced beginning in April.
Eliana Grant | Asst. Editor AP Psychology and ACC History teacher Sarah Lucas was nominated for a 2023 teaching excellence award by the Phi Beta Kappa Alumni Association of Greater Austin. This award is given
to high school teachers who have demonstrated their excelled capabilities in working with students. The winning teacher will be announced in October and will have a chance to win $2,500.
During the current school year the library has often been found to be closed and unavailable to students. This can be an inconvenience for students, as it prevents them from checking out books or providing a place to go during talon or before school. The answer to this sudden closure lies with the former librarian Kara Johnson.
“I got a promotion. I was hired as a library coordinator for the district, so now I’m in charge of all the libraries in Pflugerville ISD,” Johnson said. “The plan is that the district is not hiring certified librarians at this point because of budget issues. So, we are hiring library associates, which basically are people who run the library, check books in, check books out, and they will be under the supervision of me.”
Given the absence of Johnson and the library’s lack of an associate, students will have to sit and wait to see how they manage her possible
replacements. In the meantime, English teachers have been in the library before school and during classes to help manage and check books in and out.
“I don’t really think it’s an expectation, it’s more of a facilitation because [English teachers’] students need books for class and their independent reading and book clubs … and things like that,” Johnson said. “It was just basically that they step in and they would facilitate the checking out of the books to their students during their class time.”
Johnson claims new library associates should be hired in the upcoming weeks of school to take her place. For now, however, students must make due with aides and English teachers keeping things afloat.
“I hope that you guys have a great year with the new library associate,” Johnson said. “I know whoever they choose is gonna be awesome and I will definitely be here to help every step of the way.”
With daily temperatures of over 100 degrees, summer of 2023 undoubtedly posed a challenge for the school’s marching band and football team. While other students stayed indoors, these students gathered on the scorching field to hone their skills and prepare for the upcoming season.
“I always like to say don’t let the heat beat you, because that’s what we’re up against each day more than anything,”
Coach Doug Pierce said “The heat being an excuse not to go hard or practice hard, but at the end of the day, all of our games when we start playing in the afternoon are
really
hotter than even when we practice cause we do most of our practice in the morning, so sometimes it’s good to practice in the afternoon when the heat is high.”
Simultaneously, the marching band also fought back against the stifling sun during the summer band practice.
“I think that this year, in particular, the band students and the guard students were a lot more into what we are doing, so it didn’t affect the morale, but it did affect them physically,” Director James Hairston said. “You could tell they were more exhausted because of the heat.”
The heat even got dry and hot enough to
where there had to be adjustments made to the practices of these two groups to push back against heat-related illnesses.
“On a couple of days in the afternoon and before school started, we had to do a couple of alterations for practice because of our district policy.” Pierce said, “For example, if it’s over a certain degree, we have to stop practice every 20 minutes to give mandatory water breaks, take your helmets off, all that kinda stuff, but for the most part, it’s been standard protocol. Knock on wood, we did really good on handling that, and I think they were prepared for the heat, a lot of them worked
out over the summer in our strength camps and stuff so that always helps.”
On the marching band side, some changes also had to be made.
“Hydration, we had a lot more breaks, you know to get out of the sun, get in the shade, drink water,” Hairston said. “We didn’t have any emergencies, but we did have a few kids who had to sit out, a few kids who had to throw up, some who couldn’t show up one day but came back the next, but nothing major.”
Over the course of this hot summer, with record breaking temperatures and several week long streaks of 100+ degree days, concern arises for all outdoor animals. This is a particularly important situation for the Future Farmers of America (FFA) and the care of their barn animals.
“These animals are meant to be in the heat if you think about it, these are just show animals, right? But that’s still a lamb or a goat or a pig,” FFA advisor Pilar Lira said. “If you drive down a county road, you’re gonna see a pasture full of cattle … they don’t have AC or anything so their natural instinct just kind of kicks in. They’ll make sure that they drink water, we make sure that the kids change out their water twice a
day. Sometimes in the summer, they’ll do it even four to three times a day.”
Though these resilient animals, proper care for them is still expected. Over the past summer with these extreme heats, various methods and preventatives have been taken to decrease the likelihood of overheating, and allow for a better life for the animals of the FFA.
“It’s something that [the animals] face all the time, regardless if it’s summer or not,” Lira said. “We don’t have AC out there, it’s an outdoor barn, so it’s just
a little hotter than usual. We just kind of have the same precautions … these animals have exercise programs and stuff and we’re like, ‘hey, don’t run them on a treadmill if it’s 114 degrees outside, feel free to walk them in the morning when it’s a little cooler or in the evening when the sun has gone down to do that’.”
Proper care of these barn animals in these conditions is what Lira and her students aim to undertake.
With much time and effort, the FFA puts their animals first as they consider their animals needs during intense periods of heat.
“Livestock in the agriculture industry never rests, so even though it’s really really hot outside, we still have a job to get taken care of,” Lira said. “These kids have worked very hard despite being out in the heat, and we’ve had very gracious parents all school year that actually bought the kids two fridges, so they’re constantly stocked with cold water for the students and popsicles for them. … We have a job to get done, and so these kids have worked very hard despite the heat.”
Illustration by | Diane SalazarThis past summer, Austin has experienced record heat. It’s been dubbed the hottest meteorological summer the city has witnessed, a clear and concerning indicator of the progression of climate change.
“The data is clear. Over the past century, summer temperatures have warmed by 2 to 3 degrees. As recently as 1995, we only averaged ten 100 degree days every summer, now we average thirty. We’ve tripled our average 100 degree day count in less than thirty years as temperatures warm up. This summer we’re going to end up with more than seventy, maybe more than eighty 100 degree days,” KXAN Austin meteorologist David Yeoman said. “Climate change is raising temperatures and providing a higher baseline, so no matter what kind of weather patterns you have, if it’s a hotter weather pattern it’s going to be even hotter, if it’s a cooler weather pattern it’ll still be warmer than it used to be because we’re raising all temperatures across the year. This is especially prominent during the summertime.
Despite its record three digit temperatures, this summer has not been Austin’s hottest. It remains second to 2011, which according to Yeoman, 2023’s heat was “just barely behind”. However, unlike 2011, there is little meteorological reason for this summer’s intense heat.
“For the past three years, we had a la nina pattern-the opposite of el nino- which predisposes us to hot, dry weather. So, it would make sense that last summer we set some temperature records,” Yeoman said. “But this summer, we had rain in the Spring and we had some rain in the early Summer, so that moistened up the ground which is supposed to hold our temperatures down a little bit in the summer, but it just didn’t. We still managed to have the hottest summer on record in Austin.”
Moreover, this year, Austin was not intensely influenced by a heat dome. These domes acts as a high pressure atmospheric bubble; preventing hot air from escaping the area it covers, thus resulting in hotter and more arid weather conditions. Again, providing more meteorological evidence as to why a summer may have more severe heat waves.
“In 2011, we had that [dome] on top of us all summer, which is clearly why we were so hot and dry,” Yeoman said. “This summer, it really hasn’t been right on top of us most of the time. So, it’ll
be over New Mexico, or over Oklahoma or Kansas-pretty far away, yet we’re still hitting 106, 108, we even hit 110 this summer which is only 2 degrees shy of hitting the hottest temperature we’ve ever seen. So, it’s been a pretty remarkable summer with little explanation of why, which brings us to climate change.”
The impacts of these extreme heats have been detrimental to communities throughout Austin, and Texas as a whole. Currently, the state is experiencing a D-4 drought, the worst drought category on the scale. This has had especially harsh consequences for the agricultural industry, whose crops and livestock remain under risky environments.
“In agriculture, things just don’t like to grow when it’s this hot and dry. I can barely keep the native plants at my house alive and they’re native plants; they’re supposed to be adapted to this place,” Yeoman said. “A bunch of ranchers have had to sell their cattle because there’s no grass to grow for them to eat and they can’t afford all the hay they need to feed them to keep them, so they have to sell off their herd. There’s limited water for their animals, so they have to pay to truck in water instead of relying on natural water from creeks or rivers or a feed pond. This has had a huge impact on ranching.”
In addition to these industry related impacts, a spike in heat related illnesses have also been recorded as Texas temperatures reach frequent dangerous highs.
“At KXAN, we track how many people call 911 for heat stroke, or heat
exhaustion, or if someone passes out from the heat. We’ve seen a tremendous amount- hundreds of heat related 911 calls this summer because, when you have this heat over a holiday weekend or weekend in general, you have people outside doing activities. Heat like this takes a real strain on the human body,” Yeoman said. “There are different scales of heat alerts issued by the national weather service. First, you get a heat advisory which means it’s pretty hot and you should take it easy, the most serious one is an excessive heat warning which means the heat is really dangerous for people who are outside. We have had a record number of excessive heat summer, something like twenty five, when the previous record was three in one summer last year.”
Although staying indoors does assist in preventing these heat related illnesses, new issues are expected to emerge in the future in regards to the security of the state’s power grid.
“It is wise, unfortunately, in Texas to think about power outages,” Yeoman said. “The power grid in Texas is strained by extreme cold in the winter and extreme heat in the summer. So, it is possible that as climate change leads to more extreme heat waves we may see more frequent power outages. With this, it’s nice to think about what you will do in case that happens. Do you have extra water at the house? Do you have a way to keep yourself and your family cool if something like that were to happen on a hot day?”
In terms of the future, Yeoman predicts the temperatures to slowly rise as climate change continues to advance.
“It’s scary to look towards the future because this is a sample of what it’ll be like,” Yeoman said. “Not every summer will be brutally hot and rain free like this one has been. I’m sure we’ll get some cool,
wet summers because there are some natural fluctuations in the weather. But, as we have a rising baseline of temperatures, things are going to be hotter overall and things are going to be dryer overall.”
The state is also predicted to face more severe droughts in the future.
“There’s research that shows that with climate change, specifically in Central Texas we may still get the same amount of rain every year, but it is going to come all at once in big spurts. That means we’re going to have longer periods without rain,” Yeoman said. “This summer, in the past two months, we’ve seen less than a quarter of an inch of rain in Austin. It’s typical that we would have had about five or six inches of rain.”
These elongated dry spells will further exacerbate local water supplies.
“When you have this extended period of dry weather that means the reservoirs and streams aren’t replenishing with water. And, even if you have the same amount of rain overall, just having hotter temperatures dries things out because it evaporates water from the soil, the lakes and the plants. So, even if you still get rain, a hotter climate in the future is going to lead to a more arid climate here in Central Texas.”
Given the gravity of climate change’s effects, Yeoman urges for unity in reversing its consequences.
“No matter our political ideologies, we all share this planet together, so we should be coming up with solutions together,” Yeoman said. “Every molecule of additional carbon dioxide that we put into the atmosphere is just thickening the blanket around the Earth and it’s causing more heat to get trapped. So, if we could decrease how much we’re artificially enhancing the greenhouse effect, then that would lessen the effects of climate change. It’s important that we act soon because when you burn something from your tailpipe or something from a factory it doesn’t just last a day in the air, the average residence time of a molecule of CO2 in the atmosphere is 100 years. So, what we do today is going to affect the atmosphere for a long time going forward, even if we stopped burning all fossil fuels today the atmosphere would continue to warm up for a period of time before it started to cool off. So, it’s important that we take action now collectively as a society.”
78 days of triple-digit temperatures
492
heat-related illnesses in Austin within June July, and August
119°
hottest temperature recorded in Texas this summer
2nd hottest summer on record
Residents of Cedar Park are still recovering from a 37-acre wildfire in August that razed large patches of forest and an entire apartment building.
Beginning in the evening of Aug. 8, the fire primarily affected the Bexley at Silverado apartment complex on W. Parmer Lane, prompting news outlets to dub it the "Parmer Lane Fire."
While only one apartment building was completely destroyed, at least two others were affected, rendering 38 apartments destroyed or damaged. As a result of the fires, many more residents were evacuated; some 300 apartments,
95 townhomes, and multiple small businesses in the area were subject to evacuation. Local residents were cleared by the city to return the following morning, on Aug. 9.
Chanse Solis, a junior at Vista Ridge High School, said their family were some of the evacuees—and, in the devastation, they almost lost their home.
"The fires were crazy severe," Solis said. "I know a few people who lived in the apartments whose homes were burnt to a crisp."
Once the fire was contained, Solis and their family were able to safely return and help others who were less fortunate.
"My family and a bunch of our neighbors helped out the people who lost their homes," Solis said. "Out of such tragedy, a community came together, and it was beautiful.”
Solis volunteered further with their school's theatre department, which they are treasurer of.
“Vista Ridge Theatre organized a drive for clothes, food and supplies for the people that lost everything," Solis said. "I was very happy to get the opportunity to help give back to the community.”
While the Cedar Park Fire Department has stated they are uncertain of the fire's cause, Solis and other residents have their
own theories.
“I believe the cause of the fire was a cigarette," Solis said. "But, I also believe the heat had a lot to do with the fire as it made it spread so rapidly.”
Solis found some redemption in the negative events that took place, however.
“The fire didn’t have any permanent effects on my life, but it left me a lesson when I was at my lowest," Solis said. "It helped me appreciate who was around me helping, who put their lives on the line to help us."
Released on the same weekend as each other, blockbusters Barbie and Oppenheimer became popularly known as Barbenheimer, as audience members took it upon themselves to watch both back-to-back. It became a widespread trend to dress for the occasion, repping pink for Barbie and switching to suits and neutrals for Oppenheimer.
Although both movies discuss the complexities of self, the films as a whole are vastly different. Stylistically, Barbie takes a more unconventional approach, while Oppenheimer maintains a more classic feel. Additionally, the themes of Barbie are centered moreso around contemporary society while Oppenhiemer examines the past. However, it’s arguable that these movies’ differences complement each other, hence their rise to viral blockbuster sensation.
Kate
Hayes | Co-Editor2023 saw the arrival of the highlyanticipated, first ever live-action Barbie movie. Aptly titled just Barbie, it is a fantasy comedy written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Greta Gerwig. From the beginning, the announcement of Gerwig as director for the film generated a lot of buzz prior to the film’s release; she is most notable for works such as Lady Bird (2017) and Little Women (2019), both of which are coming-ofage films focusing on women’s experiences. Naturally, audiences anticipated that Gerwig would integrate this signature perspective into Barbie, and she certainly delivered. Barbie has become the highest-grossing film of 2023, accruing $1.3B in revenue, owing to the script’s incorporation of the broad spectrum of female experiences.
In Margot Robbie’s character ‘Stereotypical Barbie,’ we watch her struggle with the consequences of the alienation she experiences when she arrives in the real world and discovers it is a patriarchal society. In America Ferrera’s character Gloria, we watch her struggle to connect with her daughter, tween Sasha played by Ariana Greenblatt; Gloria also vents her frustrations with the conflicting social expectations placed on her as a woman and mother. Sasha is disillusioned, not just with Barbie, but the whole world. All of these characters encompass experiences commonly shared by women, even if they are not exclusive to women. I thought the most relatable part of the
Lilianna Moran | Co-Editor
film, though, was how Ken could not get the hint that Barbie did not like him back—and went to comically evil lengths to get revenge after he was rejected. A regrettably common experience, indeed. While the rest of the female characters are mostly one-dimensional Barbies, Gerwig still uses the diversity of the toy line to her advantage, including Barbies of all races, sizes, and abilities. Even outsiders to Barbie, pregnant Midge and sidekick Allan, got their spotlight. Though protagonist Stereotypical Barbie is a thin, abled white woman, the film still acknowledges with a tongue-incheek joke that her demographic is not the most “othered” group of women. It only makes sense that the film would include this much social commentary considering it’s based on an IP with plenty of controversy; Mattel has come under fire numerous times for the Barbie line’s representations of women’s bodies, sexuality, race, and intelligence. You could argue that Barbie had a social responsibility to address the faults of the toys that laid its groundwork. It was by no means perfect, but it was human, and even if a person has qualms with Barbie’s history, that doesn’t necessarily mean the film is lesser for it. In essence, Gerwig does an excellent job disentangling her film from Barbie’s problematic implications while paying homage to its roots.
Oppenheimer is a historical film written and directed by Christopher Nolan. The three-hour biopic provides an in-depth look into the career and adult life of American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. Its bold stylistic elements and detailed portrayal of his career and the political progression of World War II provide the audience with a portal into the thrillingly complicated life of Oppenheimer. The movie depicts the complexities between national duty and humanity; an internal struggle that Oppenheimer directly confronts.
The beginning of the movie emphasizes Robert’s innocent and genuine interest in physics. It opens with his early studies and eases into his time as a professor at the University of CaliforniaBerkeley, highlighting his seemingly innate intelligence as his academic success gains more and more recognition. However, this innocent passion slowly develops into a more serious obligation as he becomes the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory, the center of the Manhattan Project. Throughout his time as the director, the film depicts the internal battle Oppenheimer faces as he deals with the stress of leading the development and construction of the first atomic bomb. This, in addition to his rocky love life and questionable affiliations with the American Communist Party, puts him at slight odds with the government that so desperately needs him.
On top of the constant excitement of the plot, Nolan’s stylistic choices further captures the capacity of nuclear energy as well as the gravity of the Manhattan Project and its impacts. This is especially apparent in the scenes of the bomb droppings and the visualizations of quantum physics. Moreover, Cillian Murphy perfectly captured the weight of Oppenheimer’s role in the war, and the dichotomy between his sense of national responsibility and morality. Oppenheimer’s desire to put an end to the war and uncover the capabilities of physics conflicted with his desires to end the war with a less extreme and fatal measure. This struggle was further intensified following the events at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as Oppenheimer dealt with the burden of his contribution to this weapon of mass destruction; a weapon that would shift from an object of national pride to an object of international (as well as national) fear with the start of the Cold War. Overall, the film was extremely well done. The movie’s focus on the complexity of the Manhattan Project and Oppenheimer’s role takes it away from just an action-packed war movie and provides the audience with a nuanced perspective into the reality of the creation of the bomb. And, although the movie is long, its plot does not linger, constantly progressing through the stages of Oppenheimer’s career while maintaining the intensity that usually accompanies thrillers.
Varsity Football claims victory over McNeil in early season game. “I know that we’re going to district,” senior Spencer Distefano. “So, we’re happy with ourselves, we did better than we did last year. So, it’s good being on top and winning.”
Silver Dancers
half-time preformance during McNeil football game.
“It’s been really fun,” senior Nicole Hernandez said.
“All the performances have gone great.
Overall, we’ve gotten really close as a team.”
Varsity Volleyball embraces in team huddle during match against Cedar Creek. So far, the team has been victorious in every game; currently ranked first in the district. “I’m excited,” senior Catherina Krause said. “I’m glad we’re winning, but we still have to be prepared even though we’re first. I really want to win State this year and I think we could really do it. We have a really good team, and really good dynamics so I think we have a good chance winning States.”
The home field gets its frequent use throughout all the seasons by soccer, football, band, and even pep rallies. The football field was out of use during August, since the turf was in need of a replacement. Three weeks later and with brand-new turf, the football team and other sports have just recently started practicing on their new field.
“The life of a turf field is about eight to ten years, and we were on year nine,” Head Football Coach and Boys Athletic Coordinator, Doug Pearce said. “It is a lot of use between soccer and football year round, off-season, and other people using
it for band.”
The hot weather and many practices on the field made it time for new turf to be installed.
“The overuse and the heat created problems,” Pearce said. “It was time to be replaced.”
The football field already had problems that were water-related and problems with the turf’s top grass field.
“We have a top grass field, but it hasn’t really been taken care of over the last few years, because we haven’t needed it,” Pearce said. “It was supposed to be able to be used and then there were problems in the sprinklers. The water main breaks
flooded up there, so we actually had to move our practices.”
Practices were a struggle as the football field was not able to be used. As a result, football had to bring all the coaches and players to the Pfield a few times so they could practice for the upcoming season on a field.
“That involved having to be bussed, and plus bring all the kids over there,” Pearce said. “Which was a big operation as well.”
When they weren’t at the Pfield, every so often football would move practice to the baseball field or the Kelly Lane football field.
“Every now and then, we’d have
something up where one field was getting something done to it,” Pearce said. “So we had to move over to the middle school. They had water problems over there too.”
Despite the frequent changes in football practice and not always practicing on their field, the football coaches and players were adaptable to the challenges.
“There was definitely a lot of movement,” Peace said. “But the coaches and players did pretty good, adjusting to all the different schedules we had to do for that.”
What motivates you to do your best in volleyball games and/or volleyball in general?
“What motivates me to do my best with volleyball is my future and my family. I want to play volleyball in college because I want to play at the next level in order to enhance my skills as an athlete. My family plays a huge part in motivating me. They have supported me and helped me get to where I am through the countless hours of time they’ve sacrificed to cheer me on at games, tournaments, and practices.” Senior Morgan Warren said.
What moment in volleyball will you never forget?
“ One thing I’ll never forget is playing with my best friend, Kara. We’ve been playing together since fourth grade and this is our last year together and I’ll never forget all the ups and downs we’ve been through together.” Senior Jordan Flores said.
Describe a day you and your team won a game.
“One game I’ll never forget is when we played Georgetown, our rivals, last year. It was October 14, 2022 and it was the longest game of my life. We went 5 sets with them and each set was really close. In the fifth set we won 15-9 and that is a feeling I’ll never forget. Winning that game ultimately made us the district champions.” Senior Jordan Flores said.
What are the best times that happened in volleyball?
“ Whenever we’re having a really good rally before and during the game and when the game ends everyone is there cheering on for us, it’s just nice to feel like you did good in something you do.” Senior Kara Wynn said.
What does volleyball mean to you?
“ Volleyball means the world to me. I see volleyball as an outlet to block out everythinghappening in life. Whether my day was good or bad, when I step on the court I think about nothing but the game and how I can contribute to the team’s success. I’ve been playing volleyball for 11 years and I’ve never gotten tired of playing. Volleyball is more than just a sport to me because it’s my future, and I want to continue my journey going into college.” Senior Morgan Warren said.
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How did volleyball change you?
What do most people not know about volleyball?
It’s a mental sport, it’s not just physical. For example, there’s a ball coming at you like almost 20/30 miles an hour and if you mess it up, then you’re gonna be mentally upset, and some people don’t understand that if you’re constantly messing up can really mess up with your mental state during the game.” Senior Kamea Uitenham said.
“Volleyball definitely made me open up my shell. Even if I didn’t want to, I had to communicate with people to play the sport.” Senior Holly Jones said.
Nine years of collective cultural obsession have led us to this moment: finally, on Oct. 27, we are getting the first Five Nights at Freddy’s feature film, starring big-name actors like Josh Hutcherson and Matthew Lillard. One of the film’s principal writers is also Scott Cawthon, the original creator of the video game franchise. You can decide for yourself if that seems like a good or bad thing, considering how increasingly nonsensical the plot became as more games were released. Promotional material seems to indicate the film will mostly be based off the plot of the first game, which is promising. While it may not be the best, the first game is the classic Five Nights at Freddy’s narrative, and shares less pitfalls with the other games (i.e. an unnecessarily complicated plot) that could detract from the viewing experience. Additionally, this is lead actor Hutcherson’s first high-profile feature since his role as Peeta Mellark in The Hunger Games franchise. He has continued to act since the film franchise’s conclusion, but mostly in smaller films. I can’t anticipate that this film will be a huge blockbuster, but I definitely think it will be his most notable role since the peak of his fame, and who knows—
maybe Gen Z nostalgia for Freddy’s could spark a career comeback for Hutcherson.
Fans of Dracula, monster movies, and horror movies packed theaters on Aug. 11 to see The Last Voyage of The Demeter. The film takes audiences, as well as the crew of The Demeter, on an entire ride through one singular chapter from the original Dracula novel. The movie primarily covers a character named Dr. Clemens as he inspects the disappearances aboard The Demeter and fights his way through the film. The design of Dracula in most movies usually comes as a stereotypical suave and charming character. However, within this version of Dracula he is depicted as a true horror movie monster, which is much more in line with a classic Nosferatu. The film keeps up at being interesting through all two hours with consistent scenes of dread, action, and pure horror. Overall, it isn’t the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen and has a number of inaccuracies to the book, but it is an incredibly entertaining watch and suits my needs for a solid horror film.
notably, the magazine rack scene where the nun’s image is uncovered from flipping pages. This scene was in the trailer, but there were also some nun visages revealed in steam and in peeling paint that added to the creep factor.
The latest installment in the Conjuring series, The Nun II, released on Sept. 8. This second prequel offered some good jump scares and chill-inspiring cinematography,
While The Nun II offered all the ingredients of a good horror movie: dark, abandoned location, handsome hero flirting with danger, a battle against good and evil, it still felt more like a filler movie to get us to the next Conjuring film. The series is based on the memoirs of Ed and Lorraine Warren and one of their famous cases was the exorcism of a Frenchman named Maurice. This second film teases us with Maurice’s possession, which is rumored to be the plot of still in pre-production Conjuring: Last Rites. The Nun II is a good way to waste an evening if you are a horror fan, even if it’s not the best in the franchise.
The Insidious horror film franchise debuted its first movie in 2010. It is a popular horror series with great acting, intriguing plot lines, and a sound track that makes viewers tense up in fear. There have been 5 movies so far and all, minus the third in my opinion, have been wellexecuted and great additions to the series. The 5th movie, Insidious: The Red Door, was released this summer on July 7. It is also now available to view on popular streaming services like Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video. The movie focuses on the original characters in the future and continues the plot of the first film. Well-known and likable characters keep the movie afloat and make for a decent horror film to view regardless of if you’ve seen the series previous installments.
As the sequel to the classic 1973 Exorcist directed by William Friedkin, The Exorcist: Believer offers horror fans around the nation a new twist to the common possession trope the original film created. The movie centers around the demonic possession of two young girls following their disappearance. Determined to find the root of this evil, a single father of one of the girls contacts the mother from the original film who has experienced a similar situation in hopes of saving his child. This film seems as though it will offer viewers a thrilling new plot, while continuing the famous story line of the first film. Currently, the movie is set to be released to theaters on Oct. 6.
Eliana Grant | Assistant Editor