The Educator

Are there enough specialized education

There are too many opinions to count regarding

Read more about it on

Read about some of them.

Standardized testing.

programs for immigrants?

Page 6

page 12.

Everyone wants to help the homeless, but what do they really need?

Read about the top

7

items to donate to your local homeless shelter on

page 30.

Letter from the editor

The first day of class that we got our group assignments, my partners and I sat down and promptly began to panic. What could we possibly make a magazine about? It felt like all of our suggestions were completely disconnected: we had no theme, no plan, and no ideas. But as time went on, we realized that this really shouldn’t be so difficult. All we needed to do was make a magazine that we would want to read. So that’s what we did.

Our magazine has continued to change and evolve throughout this process, but our thought process has stayed the same. This magazine is for students like us: Austin teenagers who are inquisitive and excited and who most of all want to learn. With stories about standardized testing to infographics on what you should donate to your local food bank, The Educator is made to provide information about current social issues to any student who is curious.

There have been many roadblocks in our way as we worked to complete this magazine, but being a part of such a wonderful team has made all the struggles completely worth it. My teammates and I are incredibly proud of the work we have done on this magazine, and we hope you will enjoy reading it just as much as we enjoyed making it for you.

- Perry Estes, Editor in Chief

Contributors Mikey Orta went to Kealing Middle School from the ages of 11 to 14.

He has been a Bible quizzer for seven years and continues to be active in this activity. He looks forward to this year and hopes he can be successful at nationals. He has always been interested in the education system and his interest was taken to another level when his mother began to work as a Secretary and Bookkeeper at his old elementary school.

Ashley Kim was born and raised in South Korea and moved to Austin at the age of eight. Having experienced the adventure of moving to a foreign country, she has always been interested in children’s education, specifically immigrant education.

She also enjoys listening to and playing music, taking pictures, reading the Bible, and going on road trips with her family. She loves learning more about synthetic biology and latin.

A proud Austinite, Eva Strelitz-Block has always been interested in politics, community issues and social science. She loves to learn about people’s differing perspectives on current events and the world. One day, she hopes to travel overseas to continue to broaden her horizons. In her free time she can be found reading, watching Netflix, playing with her cats, or rowing on Town Lake.

Perry Estes has lived in Austin her whole life and is excited to be a student at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. Her interest in education has been developing since she was a young child when her mother founded her own school to promote alternative education options in Central Texas. In her free time, Perry enjoys singing in the Lyndon B. Johnson Early College High School choir and being a member of the Alley Cat Players, LBJ’s theatre troupe.

4

Table of Contents

2

Letter from the Editor

3

About the Authors

6

Are Standardized Tests Helpful?

10

Standardized Tests: Good or Bad?

The Editor in Chief describes the struggles and obstacles the team faced, and how the team worked together to make The Educator.

A brief biography of the authors of The Educator.

Different perspectives on standardized testing: opinions from Pearson, teachers, principals, and students.

Facts and data regarding standardized tests and why individuals have developed the opinions they currently hold.

12

The Social Capital How a non-profit academy is affecting the lives of immigrant students in Austin, TX.

5

16

Immigration: By the Numbers A graphic of the facts and data of immigrant population in Texas and the number of ESL programs that are available for them. A short list of famous immigrants in the American history.

18

Guns on Campus: The Problem or the Solution?

The impact gun control laws have on education settings and learning in Texas.

Open Carry in the University of Texas and varying opinions about it.

22

Gun Politics: Just the Facts

24

Homelessness in Austin

30

Top 7 items needed by food banks

Different politicians express different opinions on gun control.

Inequality in central Texas is affecting lives. What are the causes of homelessness? What can the government do to help?

Many people want to donate to food banks and give to the homeless...top 7 items you can donate to food banks.

6

Are Standardized Tests Helpful?

Article Written by : Mikey Orta

Photo courtesy of Flicker.com

7

M

ateen Kontoravdis, a 9th grader, typical student in Texas sits in a room, taking one of multiple standardized tests. The room is quiet, the air is cold, and as expected everyone is trying their hardest on the test. Kontoravdis is just one of the many students that will take the standardized test.

These tests come in multiple forms, to examples being the EOC (End Of Course exam), and the basic standardized test provided by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). Children in Texas from 3rd grade to 12th grade take these standardized tests, but whether these tests are needed is the real issue. Not only do some individuals think it is an inaccurate test but some individuals think it is entirely too stressful. In fact some would say that standardized testing is one of the most stressful things that students and administrators have to deal with. While at the same time people describe the tests as a helpful tool to show the growth of knowledge in a certain area. Do we need the tests?

In Texas alone, hundreds of students take the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR). During one of these tests, individuals get 5 hours to take the test and answer all the questions, with no breaks.

These tests often times have questions that do not impact the grade of the student but instead show whether or not the questions are written well and in a understandable manner in hope of making next year’s test better. The students that take these tests are in all grades starting from third grade and then every year after. The STAAR is used to test students on subjects that they have learned during the school year and to ensure growth of knowledge on the topic. These tests are also administered to ensure that the students have an understanding of the subject.

While most individuals agree that it is important to see how well a student performs or how well a teacher teaches, there is still disagreement on how to achieve these goals.

Some administrators and teachers fully support standardized testing while some administrators think that the tests are inaccurate and unreliable.

Teachers and administrators that disagree with the tests have many different ideas of what it should be. While some teachers and administrators might not agree with what should replace standardized tests they can still agree that in their opinion there should be no standardized tests.

Photo taken by Mikey Orta Ms. Jennifer Pace, the Principal at joslin Elementary

“Standardized test results help us all

determine what students are learning and where they haven’t quite grasped a concept,” says Debbie Ratcliffe, the Director of Media Relations for the Pearson Organization.

Ratcliffe says this to further make her point that standardized testing is in fact helpful and helps administrators learn about their students. Ratcliffe also says that the tests are there to create a uniform and unbiased result that shows how well a student understands a concept. Ratcliffe says that it really does help to have a standardized test that can accurately show understanding, because it allows teachers to alter their teaching and lessons for the better of the students. She also says that these tests allow teachers to understand what some of the incoming students will be like in the sense of the information that they know. In some cases, Ratcliffe says, that major course curriculums have been altered thanks to the standardized tests results.

On the contrary, however, many administrators say that the tests are inaccurate.

The majority of the individuals against the Standardized tests mention that there is no way to fully understand how much a student knows about a subject, based on one test that is taken on one day. There is another argument made, that says that it is unlikely for test producers to create short but accurate tests that fully and accurately show a student’s growth. Many administrators such as Jennifer Pace, the Principal

“Uniform and unbiased result”

Photo supplied by Wikimedia Commons Students taking a test

“I think of oversight Joslin in that standardized testing elementary, the Austin suggest that there Independent School should be one little piece of a district (AISD), believes should be benchmarks that or tests that are spread out standardized tests are not useful, bigger puzzle” and that the tests don’t get returned in over the year that would accurately show mental growth. She also says that she thinks that understanding of student knowledge is important to know.

“You know, I think that accountability is important but again I think standardized testing should be one little piece of a bigger puzzle,” says Pace.

In this social issue it is important to remember the opinion of the individuals actually taking the tests-- the students. One interview conducted was with Mateen Kontoravdis, a freshmen at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, locally known as LASA. He discussed his academic career and the standardized tests he has taken over the years. Kontoravdis describes the environment of the rooms in which the testing occurs.

He says that it is always cold and extremely quiet. He says that it is good that it is quiet but he says that it is uncomfortably quiet. He mentions that when he was in elementary school he felt that the test was just there to show how good the teachers are at teaching.

“No, I don’t think that just one test can give you an accurate representation of an entire year’s worth of knowledge,” says Kontoravdis.

Lisa Hernandez, a former 3rd grade teacher, and current intern of governmental relations and policy

a good manner of time.

“I do not feel that they are an accurate measurement of student achievement, by the time we receive the scores, or sometimes we didn’t receive the scores like the first year of STAAR. I feel that it doesn’t really give students the chance to review, and go back to what they missed, so there really is no purpose behind it,” says Hernandez.

Hernandez also goes on to talk about the actual process of administering the tests. She said that she always felt bad if not horrible for administering these tests. She talked about how regulated it was and how she had to read line for line, word for word, from the booklet that she received. She talked about the effect it had on her teaching. She explains that her classes could never do any fun projects towards the end of the school year because of all the studying they had to do. She says that she herself had to take tests that were similar, and how “brain dead” she felt afterwards.

Symanthia Harris has been almost everywhere when it comes to schools. She has been a kindergarten teacher, assistant principal at an elementary ,a principal at a charter school, an assistant principal at the high school level, and currently is a Pre-Kindergarten

Photo courtesy of Flicker.com Answer sheet of a Student taking a test

at Joslin Elementary. After all of her positions in the school, Harris believes that the tests are too stressful. She described the test to be “ pencil and paper things” and for the most part things that you won’t have to deal with as an adult.

She along with Pace, Kontoravdis, and Hernandez believes that the tests are not able to accurately show student growth. She also says that the tests are stressful for teachers and administrators.

“Stress on the teacher number one is that you often worry have I taught them everything they need to know, and a bigger stress on test days is that you know you’ve given them all the things they need, you’ve given them the strategies, you’ve given them the information, but a big stress is will they actually use it, when it’s time.

Symanthia says that even her Prekindergarteners are affected by the tests. She says that one of her responsibilities is to lay down the basic necessities, so that in Kindergarten they have something to work with. This is true in all grades but it is important as she says to get them ready sooner than later.

Whether or not the test is helpful is still a question that is yet to be resolved. While students could do without it they still to an extent get the reason of the tests.

The administrators and teachers alike think that it is helpful to know how much a student understands a subject. However they do not believe that standardized tests are not the way to receive this information. The last major side to the story is the producers of the test who believe that the tests accurately represent student understanding. The real question still stands and hopefully will soon be solved: Do we need the tests? 

“The real question still stands...Do we need the tests?”

10

Standardized Tests: A national study conducted in 2007 by the Center on Education Policy reported that since

2001, 44% of school districts had reduced the time spent on science, social studies and the arts by an average of 145 minutes per week in order to focus on reading and math.

Created by Mikey Orta

Annual state spending A Public Agenda on standardized tests survey of 1,342

rose from $423 million to almost $1.1 billion in 2008 (a 160% increase compared to a 19.22% increase in inflation over the same period)

students in grades 6-12 found that

71% of

students think the number of tests they have to take is “about right�

The topic and idea of standardized tests is experience. It is very easy to forget the facts and ongoing conversations about standardized current politicians. Even though 15 years have Behind (NCLB) Act, there is still a heated schools and students of America.

Good or Bad? The Sacramento Bee reported that “test-

related jitters, among young students,

are so common that the Stanford-9 exam comes with instructions on what to do with a test booklet in case a student vomits on it.�

52% 42%

of surveyed teachers reported having spent too much time on standardized testing.

of surveyed teachers said that the emphasis on improving Standardized tests scores had a Negative impact on their classroom.

11

After NCLB the US slipped from

18th in

the world in math on the PISA to

31st place in 2009

15%

Only of teachers reported a positive impact.

mostly based off of pure opinion and personal All facts provided were provided to form a biased opinion. There have been many by the following: testing and it is still one of the main topics for Procon.org passed since the passing of the No Child Left Txblc.org debate about the tests and their effect on the Neatoday.org

The 12

Social Capital How an academy is affecting the lives of immigrant students in Austin, TX.

By Ashley Kim

I

t’s your first semester of college for the first time in America. As you walk into the library with a heavy jacket to protect you from the harsh wind, a librarian asks, “Is it cold outside?”

To you, this simple phrase sounds like gibberish.

You ask her five more times, but you just can’t understand what the message is. Finally, the staff gets tired of asking and says nevermind. Embracing your embarrassment, you turn back.

“Would you please say it slowly?” you ask.

“Is-it-cold-outside?” asks the libarian.

You know all the words when they are written, but it’s difficult to understand when all the words are put together in a quickly spoken sentence.

This is the situation many students from foreign countries find themselves in. The Bridge International Christian Academy (BICA) recognizes the struggles of being from a foreign country and helps these students adjust to living in America.

Created in 2011, BICA is an academy that helps immigrant students find their identity as a foreigner and get used to living in America. Currently taking place at a church facility where students can come every Saturday, BICA provides a friendly environment, time to bond with other immigrant students through learning and playing, and provides education with academic subjects.

(from left to right) Yejoo, Mrs. Ha, Rachel posing while dressing up.

Photo courtesy of Yeonjai Rah

Yeonjai Rah, the founder and director of Bridge International Christian Academy in Central Texas, says her goal is to maintain a cooperative center for Christian, multicultural, and multilingual education. This academy was established to provide an environment for the promotion of Christian values and world view, as well as parents’ involvements in their children’s education, as well as maintaining the connection between the native culture the students are from, and the English skills they are learning. BICA provides academic education, such as English, Korean, as well as non-academic subjects such as craft, music, art, and many others.

Depending on which country the student is from, there can be different difficulties the student has to face says Butler.

“Language is one thing. The other thing, I would say, [are] some other cultural issues, for example, how to behave in a classroom,” says Rah, the founder and director of BICA in Austin, TX.

Students from non-western culture can find it very different in the way people interact, and non-verbal communication can be very challenging, says Megan Butler, a wellness counselor at Liberal Arts and Science Academy. Butler says she has worked at an international school before, and has been able to know a lot of students who were in the situation of being from a foreign

country. She says that there is a cultural shock at first, so the students really need a “safe place to ask questions, to learn things, and be supported, because it can be really scary to learn that all by yourself,” says Butler.

“It was really hard to get along with people at first because obviously, you couldn’t speak the language,” says Alice Lee, a student at Vista Ridge High School and a graduate of BICA.

Lee was one of the first students to be enrolled in BICA. Now fluent in English, she says she has made many friendships through BICA, and was able to find methods of studying that best fit her.

During recess in Elementary school, other [students] would play these games, that I had no idea about, Lee says.

With challenges of learning new things in the American society, she says BICA has been overall a great memory to her and helped her to become more comfortable with being part of the American society.

Through BICA, students who have not been introduced to American lifestyle can slowly be exposed to it and learn with other students on the way. Rah says the first thing BICA can do is give the students a comfort zone, and

[

]

“Because if they lose the confidence of their ethnicity of nationality, it’s not easy for them to love this new society”

Students (from left to right) Zabbie, Rachel, and Nari making Turkish Delights from Narnia during craft time.

Photo Courtesy of Yeonjai Rah

13

Logo of BICA Photo Courtesy of Yeonjai Rah

give their parents a way to discuss their children’s education and pray together.

According to Butler, when you are in a new place, you are in total learning mode, and you are really absorbing the new experiences and taking a lot of risks.

“You need an ally in the new place, and still a source of support from wherever you are coming from,” Butler says.

Acknowledging the struggle with language, Rah puts emphasis on not just English, but bilingual education.

“Because if they lose the confidence of their ethnicity or nationality, it’s not easy for them to love this new society,” says Rah.

Not only does Rah and the staff promote learning English, but also strives for integration of both the student’s native cultural and the new culture they are exposed to. BICA also goes beyond conversation skills in English, helping students to dig into the literature, such as the Chronicles of Narnia, so that they can have good analysis skill, and have a deeper

Students’ artwork during craft time.

Photo courtesy of Yeonjai Rah

She says because many Korean mothers think that they are not good at English, it’s hard for them to be involved in learning or school life, and most of them think the only way they can help the child’s education is send them to academies and afternoon programs and support them with money, but not be directly involved in the learning.

Fathers playing the game “catch-the-tail” with students.

“I try to educate mothers, here in the United States, Photo courtesy of Yeonjai Rah [so they] can proactively be involved in children’s public school life,” says Rah. comprehension in English, she says.

She says every week, at BICA, she and other

Students from foreign countries living in America moms can monitor together their children’s learning can often be confused of their true identity, whether they process. She also says she tries to invite fathers belong to the culture they come from, or they belong to the to share the experience and have some play time, culture they live in now. This struggle of finding their true because she thinks it’s an important process for identity can often lead to a sense of not fitting in, which parents to learn how to play with their kids. makes it more difficult for the students to fully live their

Rah says because it was very hard for her life in America. BICA focuses on Christian education, to adjust in the United States, she really wanted believing that students can overcome the struggle of their newcomers from of course, her own country, and identity if they have strong identity in God, Rah says. other countries,[to] have a good relationship. It’s

“I liked how it was a Christian camp, [and] there are not just an academy, just to learn knowledge, but it’s a lot of Koreans, so I felt at home I guess and could interact more about relations so these Christian friendships with people,” Lee says. can be really strong resources even when they

Apart from the language grow up, Rah says. [These “I hope our organization and identity struggle, Rah says she relationships] are great can be a stepping stone thinks the family relationship is encouragement even when for their lives if they very important for the children’s they become grown ups, school life. they can connect, it’s really a continue to live in the

Apart from the language social capital, Rah says.

United States,” and identity struggle, Rah says

“I hope our she thinks the family relationship organization can be a stepping stone for their is very important for the children’s school life. lives if they continue to live in the United States,” she says.

[

]

 Students singing at the 2014 winter Choir concert.

Photo courtesy of bicarr.org

Students posing for a picture at the Spring 2014 Spring concert.

Photo courtesy of Yeonjai Rah.

16

IMMIGRATION:

By Ashley Kim

The number of immigrants is constantly rising in America. However, the number of available ESL/ELL programs are falling behind, leaving an unproportionate balance. Here are facts and statistics of immigrants compared to ESL programs in specifically

the state of Texas.

people are foreign born in Texas (2014)

(35.6%) of the population in Texas have one or more foreign born parents (2014)

LEP pupils in grades PK-12 were served using ESL programs.

Credits pulitzer.org

more than

esldirectory.com

about.com

visaease.com idra.org

murthy.com

forbes.com

migrationpolicy.org

livescience.com

By the Numbers

17

Texas was the

About

state with the largest number of immigrants in the United States.

registered ESL in-school programs in Texas

children in low income families with only native parents

Below are some immigrants who moved to the United States and became a well known part of the U.S. History.

Notable Faces

Joesph Pulitzer Journalist & Publisher

Born in Mako, Hungary in 1847

Albert Einstein Physicist / Mathematician

Born in Ulm, W端rttemberg, Germany in 1879

David Ho Medical and Scientific Research

Born in Taichung, Taiwan in 1952 all photos from google

Patrick Ewing Athelete

Born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1975

Arnold Schwarzenegger Body Builder, Actor, Politician

Born in Thal, Austria in 1947

GUNS on Campus:

18

The problem or the solution?

By Eva Strelitz-Block

I

magine you are a college student at the University of Texas at Austin who wants to wade into an interesting and controversial discussion on a subject about which people generally disagree. You are about to speak up when a glint of light catches your eye.

You look over your shoulder and see a shiny, black gun holstered to the metal belt of a fellow student’s ripped jeans. Your heart starts to pound. You are not so sure anymore if you should share your opinion to the entire class; you realize that your thoughts are still fairly clumsily formatted, and therefore vulnerable to misinterpretation. What if the student with the gun disagrees with you? What if your perspective angers the student? You decide against contributing to the conversation. This scenario might very likely be the case for hundreds of students on the University of Texas campus beginning the 2016-2017 school year.

Senate Bill 11, which requires the state’s public universities, including the University of Texas at Austin, to allow handguns in dorms, classrooms and campus buildings, was signed by Governor Abbott this summer following a 98-to-47 vote and will go into effect on August 1, 2016. The legislation, commonly referred to as “campus-carry,” requires public universities to permit the open carry of firearms on campus. Schools can designate some areas of their campus gun-free, but they are explicitly prohibited from preventing students

from bringing guns into classrooms. Private universities can either opt in or out of having open-carry on campus.

Many private universities such as Rice University in Houston, Texas have already opted out. At UT, students, faculty and parents, have very strong opinions about the legislation.

“The students are nervous about it,” Dr. Shannon Cavanagh, professor of sociology at UT says. “They really are.”

Many students and faculty do not like the idea of looking up from their books, laptops, or notes to see a student with an openly holstered gun sitting nearby.

They want college campuses to be safe havens for learning, where students can comfortably seek out new experiences and explore their identity. Guns on campus do not feel consistent with their cultural aspirations for their university climate, Cavanagh says. In fact, over 1,000 faculty members have participated in rallies for a gun-free campus in which teachers and students actively protest campus-carry. Just recently Dr. Fritz Steiner, UT’s longtime Dean of the School of Architecture announced that he is leaving Austin and returning to his alma mater, The University of Pennsylvania, as Dean of School of Design in large part because of his concern with campus carry. As he explained in a recent interview with the Texas Tribune, he does not want to feel responsible for a law he does not believe in.

UT at Austin campus where campus-carry is going into effect on August 1, 2016. Photo courtesy of flickr.com

“There is no problem that is being solved by having guns on campus, but it does have the potential to create more problems by having lots of young people around guns,” Cavanagh says, underscoring many faculty’s perspective.

These faculty members believe that the presence of weapons in classrooms will threaten the open and nourishing atmosphere of the learning environment.

Cavanagh thinks it could even affect the nature of the topics she explores in-depth in her classes. Cavanagh teaches sociology classes that cover many contentious subjects and she says she is worried that open carry will impact her comfort level in challenging her students to openly debate difficult issues.

“How much am I going to tiptoe around, you know, how am I going to push?”

Cavanagh says. “My job is to push students to have sort of uncomfortable conversations and [campus-carry] can change that,” Cavanagh says.

Some parents, too, are nervous about having guns on campus. Most place a premium on their children’s safety, and increasing the number and visibility of guns on campus appears to jeopardize the safety of students.

“It makes me horrified to think about my children learning in a place where there is a threat of violence,” Clayton Maxwell, freelance arts and culture journalist in Austin, Texas, says. “No matter what your argument is, guns are violent tools and education should be a free space to think and learn and not grapple with guns.”

There are alternative perspectives on the legislation, and they are more nuanced than the public discourse suggests. Typical pro-gun ideas are embedded in this perspective.

These include the notion that protecting gun freedoms is a crucial 2nd Amendment constitutional right. Here, gun rights are seen as critical to protecting law-abiding citizens’ rights to enjoy firearms for hunting and sport without the intrusion of the government. Additionally, many people perceive guns as crucial to self-defense and self-reliance, and they view their ability to use guns in service of self-defense as a constitutionally protected right. Finally, protecting the rights of people to conceal-carry is viewed by some as an issue of liberty and privacy; policies limiting conceal carry are seen as government over-reach.

However, even ardent gun supporters identify concerns with campus carry. Many pro-gun advocates

“Education should be a free space to think and learn and not grapple with guns”

Pro-gun advocates have their own concerns about how the campus carry controversy is impacting the climate of free speech on campus. Risinger thinks that the campus-carry controversy exposes the leftist bias present on university campuses, while Hempfling says he worries that the campuscarry is “political posturing by some far-right, 2nd amendment proponents.”

University campuses are not the only communities that have concerns about opencarry; religious institutions are also worried about the potential impact of open-carry on their communities. Generally, religious institutions are philosophically opposed to violence, says Bee Moorhead, Executive Director of Texas Impact, a statewide, grassroots interfaith religious organization focusing on social justice issues.

The Texas state capitol where Senate Bill 11 was passed following Texas Impact members include individuals, a 98-to-47 vote on May 31, 2015. photo courtesy of flickr.com congregations, and governing bodies of the are all-for concealed carry but do not necessarily Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths. Texas Impact perceive open-carry as either essential to exercising the lobbies the state around policy issues that concern the right to keep and bear arms, or necessarily helpful. broad religious community such as expanding Medicaid “I see very few circumstances where open carry to help low-income families, caring for refugees in our is necessary, prudent or does not provoke unwanted communities and addressing climate change. attention and mind set,” Bobby Hempfling, sales Texas Impact is also lobbying the Texas manager at Martin Instrument in Austin, Texas, says. legislature to address the effect of House Bill 910 on Ronny Risinger, a high school Social Studies houses of worship. Many faith-based institutions teacher at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy specifically prohibit the presence of weapons. According (LASA) in Austin, Texas, who himself has a license to to Moorhead, Texas’ open carry law will make it harder carry concealed firearms, notes that he would not open- for religious institutions to meet their responsibilities to carry given the discomfort with open-carry that most their denomination. people hold.

“I think it wasn’t very good cooperation with the

“I feel that [open-carry] is just not necessary,” State for it to pass the legislation the way that it did,” Risinger says. “That being said, I believe in liberty, so Moorhead says. that choice to open-carry is up to the license holder.”

According to House Bill 910, the only way for Civil liberties, Risinger observes, is an important religious communities to strictly enforce the prohibition framework for thinking about campus-carry. There are of guns inside religious building is to post opt out signs several ways for pro-gun and anti-gun advocates to look on all doors leading into the building. The signs that at this issue. An important lens in this conversation prohibit concealed-carry are Texas 30.06 posters and the is the notion of constitutional rights. According to signs that prohibit open-carry and concealed-carry are Risinger, it is important that all constitutional liberties Texas 30.07 posters. are respected and embraced.

“For the convenience of people who want to carry

Pro-gun advocates are not opposed to the idea weapons, houses of worship now have to pay to be able of common sense gun regulation. to comply with their own [internal] policies that they are

“I tend to see it as a common sense regulation not supposed to have weapons,” Moorhead says. “So they restricting but not eliminating those same rights,” are complaining.”

Hempfling says. “Something similar to the right of free In their advocacy and lobbying efforts, Texas speech, but not the right to yell ‘fire.’”

Impact took an insider stance on open carry. According

Moreover, some people feel that the open-carry to Moorhead, Texas Impact members went straight and campus-carry controversy is overblown. According to the Texas legislature and shared the religious to both Hempfling and Risinger, because the majority communities’ complaints. When the legislature decided of students on campus are under 21 years old, the not to change the bill as initially authored, even after minimum age for students to have a license to carry, listening to Texas Impact’s improvement suggestions, people should be mindful of the fact that there will not Texas Impact decided to help the religious communities be that many students of age to carry guns on campus.

comply with the law by providing religious institutions with signs allowing them to opt out of open carry and helping those institutions post the signs. Future lobbying efforts will be determined upon analysis of the impact of the legislation following its full implementation.

“The only way to really see if the law works, or if it has unintended consequences, is everybody has to implement it, right?” Moorhead says. “[Implementation] is really important to figuring out what works or not.”

There seem to be two main fundamental divides at the heart of the campus-carry/open-carry controversy. The first is whether or not people see guns as instruments that Downtown Austin, Texas. photo courtesy of wikipedia make them feel more or less safe. On the one hand, many themselves. people think that the presence of unconcealed weapons “The only person that might be able to defend normalizes guns and the threat of violence in society, while you is you,” he says. still decreasing the level of safety.

The second fundamental divide in the debate “By having guns we are creating an expectation that coalesces around the role of government in society. there is a level of violence in the community and if I were Here, one faction argues that the government must you I’d say ‘I don’t want that level of violence, I just don’t not only prioritize public safety by giving individuals want it,’” Moorhead says. the ability to defend themselves, but it should focus on

On the other hand, others believe that the safeguarding citizens’ constitutional liberties, including accessible presence of firearms increases the level of the right to bear arms. safety, as it is imperative that people have the ready ability “I think that tolerance of all constitutional to defend themselves against others’ violence. In fact, liberties should be something that we seek to embrace, according to Pew Research, the top reason that people own whether we agree with the underlying right or not,” guns and keep them in their homes is so they will be able Risinger says. to protect themselves.

In contrast, other people who oppose campus “By using their gun to defend the classroom against carry/open-carry tend to see the presence of guns as a killer, the license holder will restore security to the having a negative effect on their sense of freedom and learning environment, and save lives,” Risinger says. safety in public spaces.

In addition, Risinger says he believes that too many “It really is sort of a chipping away of citizenship people have become dependent on others to take care of of what we do,” Cavanagh says. “There is a time and a them, and in the end people need to be able to defend place for guns, I guess, but by making open-carry legal

In Texas, people have to be 21 years old to obtain a license to carry. photo courtesy of wikipedia.com

in grocery stores and coffee shops and college campuses, it changes that.”

Everyone’s perspective on this debate is personal and depends largely on their personal experiences, education, upbringing and political leanings. However, the gun control and pro-gun constituencies don’t always line up as the public expects: it’s complicated. There are educated advocates on both sides. There are republicans and democrats on both sides. Still, there seems to be one common denominator between firearms advocates and anti-gun protestors.

They are both informed by their perspective on safety, a commitment to their particular vision of healthy communities, and their own vision of the role of government. 

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Gun Politics:

In election year 2016, gun politics are taking center stage. The presidential frontrunners have all indicated that their views on gun policy and gun culture are central components of their campaign platforms. Many voters have made it apparent that their votes will most definitely be influenced by politicians’ views on gun control and gun laws. It is important that voters and future voters are educated about gun politics in order to make the most informed vote.

Republican

Democrat

Democrat

REPUBLICAN

Donald Trump

Hillary Clinton

Ted Cruz

Bernie Sanders

• Trump is a major supporter of the right to bear arms and to keep guns in the household.

• He believes that everyone should have the right to be able to protect themselves and their families using guns.

• If he becomes president he will make background checks more extensive while still giving every person the right to bear arms.

• Clinton is a big advocate of both gun control and restrictions • If she becomes president, she will work to strengthen background checks and close loopholes in the system.

• She will ensure that the safety of communities all over the country will be prioritized over the gun industry’s wants.

• She will keep guns out of the hands of convicted criminals.

• Cruz is a major proponent of the right to bear arms.

• He has always talked about how the second amendment right to bear arms is essential and necessary to American citizens and is an important aspect of being able to protect one’s family.

• In fact, he was awarded the NRA Carter-Night Freedom fund in 2010.

• Bernie Sanders does not take an incredibly strong stance on gun control compared to other Democrats (like Hillary Clinton).

• He thinks that gun control, and laws, should fall under state laws, not federal laws.

• He has stated that he thinks that it is important to promote gun rights for people who want to own guns, but he says that it is important to ensure the safety of all citizens.

Just the Facts

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Globally and nationally there appears to be a major correlation between the restrictiveness of gun laws and the degree of gun violence in countries and states. It seems to be in countries and states with more restrictive gun laws there is less gun violence and vice versa.

by Eva Strelitz-Block

United States:

United Kingdom:

Israel:

3.5 deaths by guns per 100,000 people

.06 deaths by guns per 100,000 people

.10 deaths by guns per 100,000 people

Canada:

Norway:

.38 deaths by guns per 100,000 people

1.0 deaths by guns per 100,000 people

Credit: cfr.org, hillaryclinton.com, donaldjtrump.com, feelthebern.org, tedcruz.org

The clothes closet for the Central Mission program at Central Presbyterian Church. Photo by Perry Estes.

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Homelessness in Austin: How Inequality in Central Texas is Affecting Lives

by Perry Estes

A small room packed to the ceiling with used clothes, an old kitchen overly warm with the heat of stoves and busy volunteers and a cart stacked dangerously high with toiletries pushed back and forth around a rough circle of tables. This doesn’t sound like a place to go looking for salvation, but that is exactly what brings more than seventy five people here every Thursday morning.

The Central Mission outreach program at Central Presbyterian Church (CPC) Austin has set out to help homeless and low income individuals in Austin by inviting people into their building every Thursday morning for a hot breakfast, new clothes and a chance to build community.

According to the City of Austin housing department, there are more than 2,300 people in Austin who go without shelter every night.

Founded over three years ago, the Central Mission was designed to meet the needs of

the people of Austin who are homeless and living downtown. The program provides food, clothes and shoes, toiletries, bus passes and help to acquire IDs for the people who come in each week. But the founders of the mission didn’t just want to provide material needs, they wanted to work alongside the men and women who came in to establish relationships.

“We wanted it to be more than just a service, we wanted it to be community building,” Kim Rogers, associate pastor at CPC and founder of the Central Mission program, says. “That’s what makes us different as a church.”

The Central Mission was founded by Rogers and Brandon Lairson, an employee at CPC Austin, in response to the influx of homeless people who came into the church each week to get water or to use the bathroom.

Because CPC is located in downtown Austin, there are significantly more people who are

We wanted it to be community building

homeless living around the church than there would be for a typical neighborhood church setting and so Rogers and Lairson say they wanted to help provide for the needs of the church’s neighbors. The Central Mission program has evolved over the years since it has been in operation, and it now includes a program to help those who come in to get state IDs or birth certificates if they no longer have any. This has become an important part of what the Central Mission provides, as lack of identification is a major roadblock for people who are homeless trying to get full time jobs or permanent housing.

“If you don’t have an ID, you can’t get a job, if you don’t have a birth certificate, you can’t get an ID,” Rogers says. “So we were trying to provide these basic resources that people need.”

In fact there are many obstacles to acquiring housing for those who are homeless that one might not expect. According to Pettigrew, the main problem in Austin is that housing prices have begun to increase exponentially as more and more people move into Central Texas from other cities. Pettigrew says expensive new housing has begun taking over Austin, including neighborhoods in the city that have traditionally been home to the majority of Austin’s low income population.

Rogers says the gentrification of the East Side in Austin is an example of how the increasing number of people moving to the city has impacted those who already live here. Rogers cites this issue as a major cause for why there is still a large population of Austinites who are homeless. Rogers says that those in Austin

who have high incomes have begun running up the price of housing even in areas that have traditionally been more affordable for those with lower incomes.

“In Austin, we allow the haves to take over the have-nots, and the cost of living has gone up so high that it’s not affordable for people who are low income,” Rogers says.

According to Ari Pettigrew, community relations manager for the Foundation for the Homeless, the lack of a strong manufacturing base of jobs in Austin worsens the issue of the rising cost of living because the absence of such jobs forces the population to need a college degree to get a job that pays above the minimum wage.

“The middle class is ceasing to exist in Austin,” Pettigrew says.

This factor increases the chance of someone becoming homeless in the event of some unexpected event like the death of a family member, a medical emergency or a natural disaster, such as a flash flood. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2014, just under 20% of Texans are living without health insurance.

But according to the New York Times, prices for medical procedures and services have been steadily increasing across the United States over the past five years. This leaves the huge number of uninsured Texans in a dangerous position, as any unanticipated medical costs could very well break the bank.

Everybody who’s homeless has a different story

Shelves of t-sh

irts to be dist

“One hospital stay and the family is out of their home because they’re just living paycheck to paycheck,” Pettigrew says.

There is a complex series of cultural factors that lead people to become homeless, and especially here in Austin the exact reason someone loses their home is often hard to pinpoint. Lairson, who now works as the groundskeeper at CPC, was homeless himself in the past. He reflects on the issue of homelessness in Central Texas by noting that there are many reasons people lose their homes.

“Everybody who’s homeless has a different story,” Lairson says. “It can happen to anyone.”

But while it’s true that homelessness can affect anyone, some populations are significantly more likely to be impacted than others.

According to the Institute for Children, Poverty and Homelessness, there are almost twice as many African American individuals in homeless shelters in the Austin area as there are white individuals. And according to the same report, across the United States African American families are more than three times

ributed to thos

e in need who

visit CPC. Ph

oto by Perry E

stes.

as likely to live in poverty than white families. Rogers says that institutionalized racism is a major underlying reason for people to lose their homes, as it creates a system in which certain populations are significantly disadvantaged when it comes to factors that are important in being able to hold permanent housing, like access to affordable education and healthcare.

“We have to remember that we are not all born with equal opportunities,” Rogers says.

“Clearly there are errors in our system that

Laison poses next to the Homeless Jesus statue outside CPC. Photo courtesy of Kimberly Rogers.

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keep people oppressed and create greater obstacles to finding housing.”

According to Rogers, understanding privilege is an important step in being able to reduce homelessness in Austin. Rogers says that because many of the factors that cause people to lose their homes are influenced by racial bias, working to solve the root of the problem by combating systemic racism might be the best way to reduce homelessness in the Central Texas area. Rogers says she believes understanding the reasons people become homeless makes it easier to work to support all people in gaining access to basic needs like housing. Whether someone has become homeless due to societal factors that deny them access to healthcare or education or if someone lost their home due to substance abuse, Rogers says that it shouldn’t matter. She says she believes all people deserve housing regardless of their current situation.

“In a country that has so much, where there are individuals that posses so much of the wealth, why do we allow people to go without a home?”

Rogers says.

And it’s true, the “housing first” model some cities have adopted to address the issue of homelessness is working. According to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, those who are chronically homeless (individuals who have either been homeless for more than a year or have had more than four episodes of homelessness in the past three years,) can cost taxpayers as much as 30,000 to 50,000 dollars per year per homeless individual from things like emergency room visits and time spent in prisons.

The simple fact of the matter is that housing these individuals costs the government significantly less money than not housing them does. The attempt to solve this problem by providing people with homes regardless of their mental health or chemical dependency allows them to begin addressing such issues in a safe and consistent way that will ensure long term recovery from

chronic homelessness.

According to the Utah Division of Housing and Community Development, Utah has reduced chronic homelessness in their state by 91% over the past decade simply by implementing the “housing first” model. Utah was the first state to fully implement this program, but its success there bodes well for its use in other states in the future.

“We need to switch our thinking and our mentality to a ‘housing first’ model,” Rogers says.

However, the state of Texas has not yet expressed intent to implement a “housing first” model in an attempt to end homelessness. So Central Presbyterian Church has decided to continue working to combat homelessness by openly speaking out and educating people about how issues like systemic racism and economic inequality affect Austinites.

Leaders of the church have been featured in various local news stories speaking about these controversial topics, and they have hosted multiple programs in the interest of educating their congregation as well as the public on what one can personally do to combat these injustices.

These methods of outreach, as well as the continued growth of the Central Mission program to provide immediate solutions to current needs, are what Rogers says the church would like to focus on in the near future.

The issue of homelessness is an ongoing and heavily debated topic. Because this issue has become so controversial, it is difficult to make progress in addressing the problems faced by individuals who are homeless in Austin. However, the “housing first” model that has been proven to be effective in reducing homelessness might be able to change this. A way to solve homelessness while still saving the government money could just satisfy everyone’s goals, but for now, programs like the Central Mission are still needed to support people in working towards stability. 

Clearly there are errors in our system that keep people oppressed

We need to switch our thinking and our mentality to a ‘housing first’ model

The Homeless Jesus statue outside of Central Presbyterian, which depicts a man who appears to be homeless with characteristic nail marks visible on his feet.

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

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TOP 7 : #1: Dried Beans

BEANS

Reasonably sized bags of dried beans are a good choice to donate because they take up less space than pre-cooked beans do and they can be stored indefinitely. They are also a great source of protien and an incredibly versitile ingredient.

#2: Nut Butters Nut Butters, like peanut or almond butter, are also a great choice because they are high in protein, as well as being nonperishable and easy to prepare.

P eanut Butt er

#3: Canned Meat or Fish T UNA

Canned chicken and fish are very valuable for the same reason as beans - they are high in much needed protein, and they can be added to a variety of dishes to improve nutrient content.

#4: Feminine Products Feminine products are one of the most important things to donate because they are always in high demand and often aren’t covered by food stamps.

TAMPONS

ITEMS NEEDED BY FOOD BANKS. Food banks are incredibly important resources to supply much needed items to people and families in need. Because many food banks are under funded, they rely heavily on donations for their programs to run smoothly; but often these organizations will only reviece donations of the same couple foods over and over, like dried pasta or rice. So what are actually the best things to donate? Here’s our list of the top seven things you should donate to your local food bank.

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by Perry Estes

#5: Baby Products Baby products, like diapers, wipes and formula, are all helpful choices as well because they can be very expensive to purchase, but are absolute necessities for those with young children.

#6: Soup Packets Y TAST

Soup packets are good to donate because they allow a simple way for people to cook a full, flavorful meal out of other simple ingredients, like beans and rice.

#7: Socks and Underwear Socks and underwear are always in high demand at food banks who provide non-food items, so they are a great choice to donate.

Sources: Austinfoodbank.org, Kord.com, Arkansasfoodbank.org

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.�

-Nelson Mandela