The Liberator Issue 5 (2015-16)

REPORTER DIVES INTO LBJ WATER POLO

ARGUABLY THE BEST: DEBATE TEAM REVS UP ACTING AS MODEL STUDENTS

Trying to stay above water during a drill, LASA junior Emma Jane Hopper (foreground) practices with Kimmy Wilson and the rest of the LBJ water polo team during her experience for the Paper Jaguar column.

Hopper said she was “surprisingly decent” during practice– check out the full story for more. Photo by Sesha McMinn

At their February debate tournament at Harvard University, LASA juniors Sahil Vaidya and Kalyani Allums prepare to compete. There, both LASA debate teams won bids to the elite Tournament of Champions in April. photo courtesy of LASA Debate

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April 15, 2016

Issue 5

Volume 42

LASA senior Nico Flores poses for a photoshoot downtown with a local photographer. She pursues modeling as a hobby, though there are other students who’ve signed onto agencies to get paid for their shoots. Each of these models has had their own unique experiences with the industry, and they open up to The Liberator about the positives and negatives of modeling. photo courtesy of Nathan T. Hopkins

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7309 Lazy Creek Drive, Austin, Texas 78724

Supply the Teachers First Lady makes SXSW appearance LBJ, LASA students attend Obama’s panel on female education initiative gifts 3M Logan Kramer & Sam Zern school supply boxes Editors-in-Chief to AISD employees Sesha McMinn

News Editor

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long with community volunteers and business leaders, the Austin Independent School District (AISD) helped to launch the Supply the Teacher’s initiative, a new nonprofit organization working to raise money to provide classroom supplies for AISD teachers.

3M, an office supplies company, donated over $1.4 million in school supplies, delivered as 6,300 gift boxes to AISD schools from Feb. 19 through Feb. 29.

Each gift box contained colorful tape, post-it notes and calendar notepads in Supply the Teachers’ first community donation.

AISD Executive Director for the Office of Innovation and Development Michelle Wallis took part in launching Supply the Teachers and said she was grateful for the donation from 3M. “This donation is unprecedented, and we are so appreciative of 3M’s generosity and the incredible dedication of the Supply the Teachers volunteers,” Wallis said. “Every single one of our 6,000 teachers is receiving a personal box of 3M supplies. This donation will provide relief to teachers who often spend their own personal funds on classroom supplies, and sends a positive message to our teachers that our community supports them.”

According to Supply the Teachers founder Melinda McKenna, the mission of the Supply the Teachers nonprofit organization is to help bridge the resource gaps for teachers in their efforts to provide a high quality learning environment.

“It’s unfortunate, but teachers often carry the additional financial burden of having to purchase simple classroom supplies out of their own pocket,” McKenna said. “We count on our teachers to inspire our children and help prepare them for a productive future. How can we expect them to do that well when the funds to supply each classroom are so limited, especially here in Austin, Texas? It is our goal to assist each teacher with additional core supplies for their classroom. Even the simple stuff is very much in demand like paper, pencils, tape, glue [and] sticky notes.”

3Mgives and Government Affairs Manager Russell Bridges said that 3M and AISD have had a longstanding relationship, which prompted 3M to make such a large donation in the form of school supplies for AISD teachers.

“From time to time, at year end, we have inventory that we try to place in 3M communities across the U.S.,” Bridges said. “In November, our Consumer Business Group contacted me about possibly donating a large quantity of office and school supplies...I had no idea how ‘large’ the donation would be, but I quickly contacted AISD’s Office of Innovation and Development staff to see if they would accept it.”

According to Bridges, to receive any cash and product donations from 3M, AISD had to complete an online application. AISD staff completed the application and 3M donated about 80 pallets of product.

“About that same time, Supply the Teachers was beginning to ramp up and the product that was useful for classrooms was designated for distribution to teachers,” Bridges said. “Beyond the 6,300 teacher gift boxes, there are also office supplies that campus and district offices will be able to use in the coming months.”

LASA English teacher Christina Swan said that providing teachers around AISD with needed school supplies is a great idea. However, she said that in the future she hopes that programs like Supply the Teachers will be able to provide her with more necessary supplies such as paper.

“I think that they should consider what teachers might actually need...,” Swan said. “We always need paper. I don’t know if it’s considered a school supply but we always ask [students] to bring kleenex and hand sanitizer because those things are super useful and it would cost a lot of money if we use the department money for that. We [also] use a lot of dry erase markers.”

Right now, Supply the Teachers is working to develop partnerships with other community organizations and businesses for future donations.

McKenna said Supply the Teachers’ long-term goal is to allow all these teachers to have the resources to buy the supplies they specifically need for their classroom.

“We want to create a ‘classroom expenses’ spending account for each teacher so they can purchase the specific products they need to support our children’s classroom education,” McKenna said. “Multiply that by 6,000 and it becomes clear we’ll need help from individuals and businesses small and large to reach our goal.”

When the first ever sitting First Lady spoke at a South

by Southwest (SXSW) panel, one LBJ senior and three LASA seniors were in the audience. Through a contest held by the Austin Chamber of Commerce, a handful of Central Texas high school students who had filled out the FAFSA were given the opportunity to attend the talk. LBJ senior Angela Davis learned about the contest from LBJ National Honor Society sponsor and math teacher Susie Smith. Davis said when she heard back from the Austin Chamber of Commerce that she’d been chosen for the program, she couldn’t believe it.

“I signed up to the contest and and was like ‘There’s no way I’m going to win this’ because I don’t win anything,” Davis said. “So the guy had emailed me, then he called me and was like ‘Congratulations, you get a chance to meet the First Lady, yada yada yada,’ and to be honest, I cried. I literally cried on the phone with him.”

Michelle Obama was joined by Missy Elliot, Diane Warren, Sophia Bush and Queen Latifah on the panel to discuss the White House initiative Let Girls Learn, which aims to help adolescent girls worldwide attend and complete secondary school.

“I think this opportunity is paramount to high schoolers because Mrs. Obama’s panel was about the importance of education and the current inequity present

in education...,” LASA senior Pia Desphande said. “The fact that I’ve gotten such a good education empowers me to make a difference in the lives of others, and I think this talk really reminded me that many people don’t have that opportunity.”

Davis said she enjoyed being able to not only hear Mrs. Obama speak but also hear the other panelists talk about the Let Girls Learn initiative.

“The most exciting part was being able to hear the keynote speech between the First Lady, Queen Latifah and Missy Elliot,” Davis said. “It was like three big icons in the female world for us today being in one place, and I’m in the first row seeing it on the stage. “ For Deshpande, hearing about the lack of secondary education worldwide was personal because her grandmother got married at age 12 and did not have the chance to receive a secondary education. Deshpande said she left the panel eager to start working towards Let Girls Learn’s mission.

“I think the most pressing thought in my mind as we left was the convention center was the responsibility we all had to enact change,” Deshpande said. “Even if it’s on a smaller scale, every person has the agency and resources to make a difference— and when the level of education I’ve received outpaces that of most of the world’s girls because of sociocultural differences, I feel like I have a responsibility to make sure everyone has a right to an education.” graphic by Grace Bodine and Claire Cannatti

Student art featured at Capitol Sarah Lucas

Staff Writer

An array of watercolors is painted over silky smooth threads, with the colors blending seamlessly together to create a picturesque scene of towering mountains. The silk painting shows a lone deer in the foreground looking out into the distance from one side of a stream, with the mountains on the opposite side. This is the scene of LASA sophomore Angie Trinh’s painting, which was displayed at the Texas capitol in downtown Austin from Feb. 28 to March 5 of this year.

“When I first signed up for VASE [Visual Arts Scholastic Event], I didn’t exactly have an idea of what I would paint for the event,” Trinh said. “After a while, I finally decided on painting a picture of mountains that I took at Yosemite National Park.”

Trinh’s painting, entitled “The Mountains”, was an entry to the VASE competition during the 2014-2015 school year. Although Trinh had originally created the piece to submit to VASE, the painting was later chosen to hang at the capitol following its exhibit at Austin Independent School District’s (AISD) “Youth Art Month Show”. Rather than the methodical, point-based scoring used to judge pieces at VASE, the selection for this show is entirely subjective. At this show, the Visual Arts coordinator for AISD, Kristen Marstaller, chooses pieces she likes on an annual basis. Marstaller then asks teachers and students of those pieces to give her permission to use them to showcase what she considers exceptional work at Texas Art Education Association (TAEA) conventions and whenever the district is asked to display work, which is what allowed for Trinh’s exhibit at the capitol.

“Kristen chose Angie’s piece because she liked her excellent use of color and unique choice of medium, [as] Angie’s piece is a silk painting,” LASA art teacher Elizabeth Hewitt said.

Reflecting back on the artistic process for her piece, Trinh admits that she was crunched for time. It took her three days to complete the entire painting as the deadline for submissions to VASE quickly approached, while it usually takes students a few weeks to work on a submission for VASE. “Since I waited until the last few days to actually start my painting, I ended up staying up until 4 on the third day,” Trinh said. “But it was totally worth it.”

At the time, Trinh was enrolled in Art 1, but the painting was not created as an assignment for any specific

class. Trinh said she painted the piece to challenge herself with trying something new. According to Hewitt, entry in VASE is completely voluntary at LASA, though AISD pays the entry fees and for busses to and from the event, which helps with making the competition more accessible to all students.

“It is a good and easy way for them to experience an art competition and to see what it takes to make a work of art ready for display after it is made,” Hewitt said. “If students make it to the state level they get to experience some very cool workshops.”

Trinh said that she didn’t expect her painting to be recognized, on account of her chosen medium, silk, being out of her comfort zone. She said her apprehension also stemmed from her sheer lack of prior experience in art competitions, since it was her first time competing in VASE. While she received high marks at VASE, the biggest surprise came later, when she was given the opportunity for her painting to be hung at the capitol following the Youth Art Show.

“I first heard of the news from a close friend of mine during one of the mornings,” Trinh said. “Throughout the rest of the day, other people started to congratulate me on it and that was when I really realized that my painting was actually hanging in the capitol. It sort of came as a shock because it was totally unexpected. I haven’t seen my piece for about a year now and haven’t even heard of any news of it until recently, so to find out that it was hanging on the capitol came as a surprise.”

LASA sophomore Angie Trinh stands next to her award-winning landscape watercolor painting, which is currently being displayed in the capitol building downtown. Photo courtesy of Angie Trinh

the liberator april 15, 2016

STAFF STANCE

EXECUTIVE BOARD Adviser

Huma Munir

Editors-in-Chief

Logan Kramer Sam Zern

EDITORIAL BOARD Commentary Editor News Editors

Eliza Cain Meagen Allgood Olivia Lee Sesha McMinn

Life and Feature Editors Sports Editors Entertainment Editors

Roxy Bonafont Victoria Mycue Chloe Edmiston Oliver Powers Chelsea Banawis Meris McHaney

Graphics Editor

Claire Cannatti

Web Editors

Hannah Marks Oscar Newman

Managing Editor

Leila Nyandusi

STAFF WRITERS Bethany Bissell, Grace Bodine, Carolina Gokingco, Emma Jane Hopper, Mateen Kontoravdis, Elan McMinn, Eleni Millikin, Oscar Newman, Max Randall, Alia Shaukat, Quinn Simpson, Jorge Villa Rangel, Gus Albach, Marlen Avila Moreno, Andrew Degrasse, Clara Gibbs, Maximilian Irby, Jeffrey Kovar, Sarah Lucas, Grant McCasland, Kenza McKerrihan, Emma Moran, Clara Morse, Delaney Phillips, Isabel Saralegui, Eva Strelitz-Block, Ashley Thomas, Zoe Trungale, Olivia Tung

Editorial Policy Responsibilities of a Free Student Press: Serving the primary communication link within the Liberal Arts and Science Academy and Lyndon Baines Johnson High Schools and between the school and the local community, this newspaper accepts the responsibilities inherent in being a free press. The Liberator staff strives to produce a professional-quality publication that follows the Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists. The objective is to print the news in a fair and objective way with the utmost regard for integrity.

Editorial Content: 1. The students on The Liberator staff will print articles which have been researched to the best of their ability to obtain most complete information.

2. The information will be presented in an objective, truthful and fair manner.

3. When personal commentary is given it will be in good taste on issues that have been researched, analyzed and where expert opinion has been sought, and then presented with the best ability of the writer.

In addition, all opinion or commentary will be clearly labeled as so.

4. No material which is obscene, libelous or that will cause an immaterial and substantial disruption of the school day, according to accepted legal definitions, will be printed.

The Editorial Boards and its Functions: The Liberator staff will be governed by an editorial board comprised of the following individuals: editors-in-chief, section editors and the business manager.

The Editorial board will: 1. Determine the content of the publication (with input from other staff members).

2. Stress the editorial policy.

3. Ensure the accuracy of the publication.

4. Address disciplinary or other inappropriate behavior of staff.

5. Vote on removal of staff members.

6. Change or add policy as necessary with three of four board members voting favorably.

Viewpoints: Printed material which is a view of a staff member or a contributing writer will be labeled as such. These views are not intended to reflect the view of the administration of Liberal Arts and Science Academy and Lyndon Baines Johnson High Schools nor the School Board of the Austin Independent School District. Viewpoints will be given in two areas in the newspaper.

Editorials: These will be determined by the staff consensus. The editorial will be unsigned and will represent the viewpoint of the publication.

Letters to the Editor: Letters to the Editor are accepted for topics of general interest to the readership of the newspaper. Letters must be submitted typed or neatly printed in ink and must have the signature of the writer and the writer’s grade level. Editors reserve the right to determine which issue the letter goes in, with every effort made to print the letter as soon as possible. The editors also reserve the right to edit the letter for grammar, length and repetition.

Non-Staff Contributors: Bylined contributions are welcome.

Correction of Errors: The staff makes every effort to print accurate information. In the case of errors, a written correction will be made in the following issue of the newspaper.

Sources: In general, no anonymous sources will be used in reporting. Sources from within the school, as well as those not connected with the school, will be used. Under no circumstances will gifts, including coupons, etc., be accepted by the staff members from sources or advertisers.

Note: The Liberator is an open forum.

The staff thanks: Kathy Cox and Sherri Mycue

Supreme Court needs to block Texas abortion law, increase access to abortion for all women In 1973, the Supreme Court made a landmark decision that appeared to put an end to a major controversy: Roe v.

Wade gave women the right to have an abortion. Instead of settling the matter, this outcome has divided America into pro-life and pro-choice camps and generated a continuous national debate about the extent to which abortion should be legal. Once again, this issue is in the forefront of the news as a case which challenges the validity of a Texas abortion law, Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, is argued in the Supreme Court.

HB 2, signed by former governor Rick Perry in 2013, placed tough restrictions on abortion clinics in the state.

Not only does the law ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, but it also requires that abortion clinics meet the standards of “ambulatory surgical centers” and employ doctors who have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals. Though the supporters of the law claim it is intended to protect women’s health, it’s actual purpose is to limit abortion access in Texas. We, the Liberator, believe that the Supreme Court should strike down this Texas law in order to protect women’s health and to ensure unrestricted access to safe abortions for all women in our state.

The restrictions of HB 2 create unreasonable mandates for abortion clinics and doctors and violate women’s rights by making it difficult to obtain an abortion.

While it is reasonable to require clinics to follow certain safety precautions, the requirements of the 2013 law create unwarranted obstacles to getting an abortion for Texas women. Based on the 1992 Supreme Court case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey which ruled that states were not permitted to place undue burdens, including “unnecessary health regulations,” on the right to an abortion, the Texas law is clearly unconstitutional.

There is evidence to prove that Texas HB 2 limits the availability of abortion services: in 2012, there were 41 abortion clinics open to the public in the Lone Star state, according to the Texas Policy Evaluation Project.

In 2016, over half of those clinics have closed. Because the remaining 18 providers are clustered in major metropolitan areas including Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston, the executive director of the ACLU of Texas said 35 percent of women living in rural areas of the state are left without access to abortion. There is little doubt that the Texas law was the impetus for these closures. According to a survey of the administrators of the more than 20 clinics that were forced to shut their

doors, 18 said they had to stop offering services after the 2013 law took effect. The restrictions, theoretically put in place to protect women’s health, have instead put overwhelming stress on the very clinics that are meant to provide women with safe abortions.

For example, the provision that clinics be licensed as “ambulatory surgical centers” is both unfair and unrealistic.

Many clinics in Texas are run on limited resources and simply cannot finance the costly renovations, relocations or medical equipment purchases that this unnecessary requirement dictates to meet the new standards. Not only that, but the national mortality rate for abortions from 2008 to 2011 was only 0.73 per 100,000, a percentage that is lower than the mortality rates for routine procedures like colonoscopies or liposuction, which are not required to be performed at ambulatory surgical centers.

In addition, the provision that requires doctors providing abortion services to have art by Grace Bodine admitting privileges at nearby hospitals means clinics that are located where local hospitals refuse such privileges must close. And, many clinics employ visiting doctors who travel among facilities, meaning they cannot gain admitting privileges at a hospital adjacent to every clinic.

It isn’t just abortion rights supporters who view these regulations as inessential; major medical organizations like the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists agree that these measures are not based on modern medical practice.

In fact, instead of ensuring women’s health, these harsh restrictions may actually cause pregnant women to pursue riskier alternatives.

Already this law and other regulations like it have had a major impact on abortion statistics in Texas. According to the Associated Press, while abortions nationwide have dropped by 12 percent from 2010 to 2014, in Texas the decline was over 30 percent. But even in recent years, around 65,000 to 70,000 abortions are still performed annually in the state. It is improbable that the reduced number of abortion clinics that remain open--and more are likely to close in the near future--will be able to adequately meet the ongoing demand for abortions for all women in Texas.

The Supreme Court will make a decision regarding Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt in June. If they choose to uphold the Texas law, it could set a dangerous precedent for the rest of the nation, encouraging other states to pass regulations that also severely limit access to abortion. The Supreme Court should protect a woman’s right to choose by rejecting Texas HB 2.

liberated minds spea k

Under the new regulations, do you think women in Texas have enough access to abortion?

Dawnyay McKee

Nick Venn

No, not really. Because I feel that they only allow abortion in some clinics because some people think it’s right and some people think it’s wrong.

I think it’s idiotic because women should have the right to do what they want to do and take care of their body the way they want to and this decision shouldn’t be made for them.

Bridget Carolan

Chantel Hardeman

I think that there should be more access to abortion. I hear stories of people that have to drive all the way across the state, so they have limited access, and I think that is a violation of their constitutional right in light of Roe v. Wade.

I don’t [support abortion]. It’s bad.

What’s the point of taking your baby’s life? It’s your baby. Why would you want to do something like that?

LBJ junior

LASA senior

LASA freshman

LBJ senior

Student suggests new course

Request for senior off-period

Dear Editor,

Dear Editor,

I would allow seniors to have off-periods instead of I think we might want to add a Life Skills course. Like explaining how to do your taxes and other things like that an office aid period. that are important, and they don’t teach you in school.

- LBJ senior Bria Jones

- LASA freshman Jack Kovacs

Call for longer lunch period

Less focus on grades

Dear Editor,

Dear Editor,

I wish lunch was an hour!

Have an opinion about a new school policy? Have a bone to pick with something the Liberator has published? Anything else on your mind? Write us a letter and drop it off in portable 9A or in the boxes in the school offices.

- LBJ senior Ashton Williams

I wish that the stress of LASA would change. I think a lot of us focus on our grades. And just realizing that grades aren’t necessarily everything at the school.

- LASA senior Rosa Barron

the liberator april 15, 2016

Revising the college admissions process Student reflects on Harvard report, stress of high school experience

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admissions process. Students should not have to sacrifice their health and happiness for college admissions and their efforts to chase some idealized vision of collegiate success.

This initiative strives to support students leading balanced, engaged, and manageable lives. Frankly, how could anyone not be all for that? I know I am.

However, in some ways I think the pressure to be “well-rounded,” to cultivate my academic and athletic talents and to serve my community, is forcing me to stretch myself in ways that I may not have otherwise. Moreover, the cultural shift this report proposes seems huge and given the way in which economies have been built to support our hyper achievementorientedness, everything from SAT prep companies, to service trip organizations, even the college programming tied to high scores on the SAT and ACT for young high schoolers, it feels difficult to have full confidence that this transformation will occur in time to benefit me or other current LASA students. I do hope though that we are all mindful of both our responsibilities to our communities and the importance of finding the college that is the best fit for each of us individually, rather than just seeking admission to the “best” college. ap

better identified and recognized.

This movement represents a very significant cultural shift. The report suggests that students should not focus all of their energy on standardized testing. In fact, it says that in doing so, colleges could make the SAT and ACT an optional part of applying for college.

Truthfully, sometimes I wonder how taking standardized tests can determine someone’s college potential. Surely, there are more v a l u a b l e aspects of a student’s resume than test scores.

The report redefines and highlights the value of community service. In this new model, the criteria used to assess a student’s service will focus less on “where” it is performed or even “what” it is but rather on whether or not the student is able to fully immerse themselves in a meaningful experience in which they will be able to learn about the world and their place in it.

Community service to the Austin community should be as valuable as community service in Madagascar.

Richard Weissbourd, Senior lecturer at Harvard, also notes that students should “do with rather than do for those who are different from them or disadvantaged.”

Finally, the report emphasizes the importance of reducing “achievement pressure” for students.

It notes that young people today are increasingly suffering from depression and anxiety due in part to the stressful nature of the college

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I may only be a freshman, but worrying about where I’ll get into college and what I need to do to ensure my competitiveness for college admissions already keeps me up at night. And I know for a fact that I am not alone in shouldering this ever-present, low-level anxiety. Will my college prospects be doomed if I am not able to go on that summer service program? Are Eva Strelitz-Block my SATs strong enough? Am I sufficiently “well-rounded?”

With increasing intensity, high Staff Writer school students have been loading up on as many AP courses as they can handle, completing as many two-week community service trips as possible and taking both the ACT and SAT numerous times in order to bulk up their resume to ensure their admission into the “best” college. Often, these efforts are undertaken at the expense of sleep, socializing and family time.

In January, the Harvard Graduate School of Education released a report titled “Turning the Tide.” It strives to lay out a new approach to college admissions and consequently, to the high school experience and creating the college communities of the future. The report speaks to an important aspect of the conversation that often seems to be overlooked: the current college admissions process is clearly rigged to disadvantage under-resourced students who have less access to the time, support or resources necessary to engage in the learning and extracurricular opportunities most associated with this traditional notion of “success.”

“Turning the Tide” is a response to the questions that colleges, universities, students and parents across the country have been asking: “Has the college admissions process turned teenagers into sleep-deprived, anxietyridden, achievement-obsessed, uninteresting students?”

And their conclusion seems to be: “yes.”

This is why the report instead aims to promote the importance of community and ethical engagement alongside students’ intellectual achievements.

Undervalued activities such as contributing to one’s family’s household income and helping to care for family members would be recognized as both ways to assess a student’s contributions to their communities and as important achievements in and of themselves. The report’s larger ambition is to ensure that the strengths and potential of more socioeconomically diverse students are

Senators need to hold a hearing Student calls for end to stigma for Supreme Court nominee towards mental illness, medication

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Above are the opinions of The Liberator staff and not the individual featured.

College waitlists Bumble Mites Senioritis AP exams

teachers and other professionals think that overdiagnosis is unnecessary for children who are diagnosed with ADHD. Obviously, overmedication and the abuse of such medication is an issue. However, sometimes the stigma surrounding medication can lead to parents being reluctant to let their child get diagnosed, which in turn often leads to teenagers not being able to access needed diagnosis, medication and therapy. And this is harmful as well.

For many teenagers with mental illnesses, being diagnosed is important.

Firstly, there are practical benefits to being diagnosed--it makes access to therapy and medication to help them function much easier. But also, for many teens, labels such as ‘depression’ and ‘anxiety’ can help them to know that they are not alone in what they’re going through and that there is a community of people who are experiencing the same things. This can be especially important for those who are diagnosed with more stigmatized mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder or OCD, which affect around one percent of children and teens.

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It seems as though, aside from Donald Trump, one of the most polarizing issues in America is teenage mental illness, specifically ADHD. Everyone has their own opinion on the existence of teenage mental illness and the Clara Morse appropriate treatment and Staff Writer diagnosis of it.

And often, these opinions are expressed online; a search of ADHD child diagnosis will lead to numerous help sites and bloggers upset about higher rates of teen mental illness diagnosis.

Many argue that overdiagnosis of mental illnesses in teens leads to overmedication and unnecessary therapy.

Diagnosis has certainly increased over the past few years: the percentage of children who have ADHD has risen from 5 percent in 1980 to approximately 11 percent today. Although some of that can be attributed to overdiagnosis, some is also due to increased recognition of actual mental illnesses.

Despite the risk of unnecessary overmedication that can come with a diagnosis of mental illness, teenage diagnosis should be destigmatized and teens should be permitted necessary access to therapy and medication.

According to the National Alliance of Mental Illness, one in five teens have some sort of mental illness. And ADDitude Magazine says that one of the reasons for the rise of ADHD diagnosis is the Internet, which lets teens and their parents more easily access lists of symptoms and possibly identify their own symptoms.

These facts suggest that the reason for increased diagnosis is not solely because of large pharmaceutical corporations looking to sell more medication.

However, there are still many antidiagnosis advocates. Some decry the use and overuse of medication in teens, especially regarding ADHD. Many

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challenge directed at the Senate members who have repeatedly refused to meet with any Obama Supreme Court nominee.

Some Senators have agreed to meet with Garland, however, which is the least they can do based on his impressive qualifications for the position. As the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Garland is an experienced candidate and deserves consideration by the Senate.

While most GOP senators have said they will not meet with Garland, according to NBC News, 14 Republican senators have said they will. These meetings will take place in the coming weeks. I hope more Republican senators will follow suit. Even if Republican senators decide to vote against Garland’s appointment, at least they would be doing their job by holding a vote.

The Senate has never taken more than 125 days to vote on a nominee before. Obama still has over 300 days in his term, so the Senate would have to stall the nominee for almost three times as long as ever before. If this were to happen, it would be very obvious that certain members of the Senate were trying to block the nominee, emphasizing the reality that the Senate is not performing its constitutional duty and is instead letting politics get in the way of the nomination process. I think that it is reasonable for the Senate to wait on making a decision for a period of 125 days, but that should be the maximum length before they have to vote on the nominee.

Democratic Senators have demanded to know why the Republicans are refusing to do their duty, and major Republicans like Senator Mitch McConnell have responded that they want the American people to have a voice in the decision making.

While I understand they need to represent their respective states, if not doing their duty is the price that is paid, then I do not feel that it really is true representation.

Polls conducted by YouGov show that 26 percent of Republicans, 46 percent of Independents and 84 percent of Democrats want Obama to nominate a new justice.

It’s important to remember that the American people are the very ones who re-elected Obama in 2012. Americans made a decision to vote for Obama as president, and with his election, it became one of Obama’s duties to nominate a new justice when a vacancy opened. Whether or not Republican senators fully support his nominee, they need to at least agree to a hearing and a vote.

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After a full day of quail hunting at a friend’s ranch in Shafter, Texas, Antonin Scalia went to bed early, saying that he wasn’t feeling well. On the morning of February 13, Scalia was found dead of natural Max Irby causes in his bed.

He was 79 years Staff Writer old.

Scalia’s death was tragic for his family, but his absence as a Supreme Court justice has more profound and far reaching effects, the most obvious of which is marking a major setback in progress for conservatives. Scalia, the longest serving member of the current justices, was often considered the most conservative of the nine Supreme Court justices. Now that he is no longer a member, the floor is open for President Barack Obama to nominate a liberal justice in his place, leading to a liberal majority in the Supreme Court which would decide controversial cases on issues like abortion and affirmative action. However, many Republican members of the Senate have stated that they will not vote on Obama’s Supreme Court nominee and will even refuse to meet with the proposed justice. Instead, Republicans want to prolong the process until the November election, hoping a Republican president will win and replace Scalia with another conservative justice.

In my opinion, this issue is ridiculous.

The Senate should allow Obama’s pick consideration, and, if the senators truly think that the candidate is unfit for the Supreme Court, they can simply vote against the nominee. But the nomination should not be blocked just because of opposing political views. Impeding President Obama’s responsibility to fill vacancies while he still has nearly a year left in office seems wholly unreasonable, especially when the position is as important as a Supreme Court justice.

As former President Ronald Reagan once said, “Every day that passes with the Supreme Court below full strength impairs the people’s business in that crucially important body.”

Last month, Obama chose to nominate Merrick Garland as a justice for the Supreme Court. This move was a

without intervention in the form of diagnosis, medication or therapy.

However, mental illness almost by definition involves abnormal, unhappy and distracting mental conditions, and if it is possible for teens to avoid the worst of it via therapy or medication, then I am a firm believer that teens should not be required to go through mental suffering because of a bias against medication.

There is also a tendency from adults to underestimate effects of these mental illnesses on high schoolers. Many times, they brush it off as ‘just the high school experience,’ or bullying as ‘a part of life.’ Some parts of this are true, yes--the typical high school experience generally does include some stress about school and social situations. That is normal. What is not healthy is teens faking sick to avoid social situations or teens having panic attacks and breakdowns every other night or teens who hurt themselves because they can’t see another way out. Suicide is the third-largest cause of death among teens, and over 90 percent of those who kill themselves have a mental illness. These situations can often be made better with access to therapy and medication.

It is important to keep children from being unnecessarily medicated. But it may be even more important that those same teens know that they are not alone and that they have the opportunity to trust well-trained doctors when they tell them that there’s a chemical imbalance, which a certain pill could help to fix. A fear of medication is no reason to prevent diagnosis.

New trend or true allergy?

the liberator april 15, 2016

Two perspectives on eating gluten-free foods We had been driving around for an hour just looking for a place to eat. But there was no end to our hunger in sight. We passed hundreds of restaurants, but my sister refused to eat at any of them.

I found it quite ridiculous that we couldn’t eat at a restaurant because of some sticker on a window, but it wasted two hours of my life trying to find food because of my sister’s “dietary needs.”

My sister, like many others, Jeffrey Kovar is gluten-free. And like most Staff Writer people who choose to go on a gluten-free diet, she is doing it by choice, unlike the one out of every 100 people who has celiac disease according to a 2013 survey done by WebMD. I am not judging anyone who chooses to go gluten-free or saying that there is anything wrong with dietary restrictions. I myself cut chocolate out from my daily intake because the “treat” makes me vomit. I see why people avoid certain foods because of allergies but rejecting gluten for no other reason than personal preference makes no sense to me.

So while I do not have a major issue with people like my sister choosing to go on a gluten-free diet (I just don’t understand it), it does cause some problems when dining. The uncertainty of trying to find a glutenfree restaurant wastes precious time and energy my family could be using to enjoy our time out. The only real reason for finding a gluten-free restaurant is that it offers a way for my sister to feel special.

All we can do is hope that all restaurants start serving gluten-free food, but the expectation that restaurants ought to have gluten-free offerings has sparked a ton of debate as of late.

A sizzling controversy over the past few year has been whether people should expect restaurants to always have a gluten-free menu. It’s a standard that many restaurants, especially Italian ones, do not care to follow because of the large number of foods on their menus that contain gluten, such as bread, pasta, and pizza. Restaurants would have to find some way to substitute ingredients to create tasty gluten-free dishes.

It’s a difficult task that requires a lot of energy, time and money.

Despite all of this, I doubt that the gluten-free trend will go out of fashion any time soon. Already, the number of gluten-free options available in grocery stores has increased exponentially and the general public has a much better understanding of celiac disease. However, I do hope that you consider the pros and cons and the inconvenience to your friends and family if you impulsively choose to stop eating gluten.

I can’t eat gluten. I’ve adopted this sentence as a go-to introduction at restaurants because “I am gluten free” doesn’t seem to fit well enough. There are lots of people who say they’re gluten free, but I have an allergy to gluten, unlike many who simply choose to avoid it. Every single day for the past seven years, I’ve avoided that pesky protein found in wheat, barley and rye that’s called gluten, because I’m allergic to it.

Logan Kramer I don’t have a choice when it Editor-in-Chief comes to avoiding gluten, but I also have no issue with people who choose to go on gluten-free diets. If not eating gluten makes someone feel better, then by all means they should join the g-free crew. In fact, I owe some of the awesome new gluten-free food options that exist to those who made gluten-free eating a fad diet a couple years ago. When I first became gluten-free, I ate a piece of gluten-free bread that actually tasted like (and had the texture of) cardboard. I refused to try any other glutenfree bread product for months afterward. Since then, gluten-free options have definitely improved, and I’ve discovered the best gluten-free foods by trial and lots of error.

The pros of this fad diet have come with cons as well. Many people scoff when I say that I eat gluten-free and ask whether I choose to avoid gluten or have an allergy. Sometimes I want to scream at them “Do you think I would give up normal pizza, donuts, bagels, bread and lord knows how many other items by choice?” The answer is no, I actually have an allergy. But I get this question at restaurants as well. Every time my family goes to a restaurant my mom clarifies “We have an allergy” and “Are you absolutely sure that’s gluten-free?” and “Can you atti ann C make sure that the chef knows e lair that we’re really sensitive to crossyC b c contamination?” Waiters, and often the phi gra rest of the world, don’t realize that we have a serious allergy to gluten. While others choose to avoid it, my family’s health depends on making sure that tiny bits of bread crumbs don’t end up in our salads and that we don’t eat a piece of gluten-free pizza that came into contact with gluten-ful pizza.

As the initial excitement surrounding the fad of glutenfree diets wears off, I will still be eating gluten-free. I’ve gotten accustomed to life while allergic to gluten, and it’s normal for me. But I wish that others would understand that I don’t choose this. Mistaking my allergy for a fad diet isn’t just rude, it’s potentially detrimental to my health. So while I respect those who make the choice to avoid gluten, please don’t write me off as one of them. Then I’ll be able to enjoy my gluten-free cookies in peace.

Ban private guns for good I can’t think of anyone I have personally known who has been injured or killed in a gun-related incident.

Therefore, gun violence, Claire Cannatti because it is not Graphics Editor immediately evident to me, must not be a very widespread or pressing problem in the U.S. today.

Right?

Well, no.

Gun violence in this country has become an epidemic, even if it hasn’t affected me personally. Yet nothing substantial is being done to curb the problem because of the (in) famous Second Amendment. It has been a long time since the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution. The country has come a long way, and so has technology. In a lot of ways, that’s great. The government’s role in people’s lives has changed drastically with the invention of everything from cars to electric lighting to the Internet, and for the most part that’s been good; the government has changed and adapted to the changes in our world.

But there’s one issue where the country refuses to reexamine the stance taken almost 250 years ago in the Bill of Rights: gun control.

The Second Amendment has been twisted and misused so thoroughly in past decades that the “original intent” of the writers is completely ignored in favor of using it to justify total freedom to carry any gun any time—remember how freedom to carry firearms is explicitly connected to the maintenance of a militia?— but honestly, at this point that doesn’t matter because the world is different now from how it was in 1791, astoundingly so. And more specifically, guns are different. We need to change our rules to control

the gun epidemic.

At the time of the Bill of Rights’ ratification, muskets were the prevailing form of firearm. They shot four rounds in a minute. Today, semiautomatic guns (which are available for purchase at places like Walmart) shoot more than ten times as fast at 45 rounds per minute. Additionally, the guns used today are more powerful, have better aim and don’t generally involve sticking knives on the end so that if you run out of ammo you can at least stab one more Redcoat before you go down. It’s just not the same world.

The country has changed just as much as its guns have, though.

Despite representing just four percent of the world’s population, Americans own at least 270 million of the 650 million guns that are privately owned worldwide, according to Action on Armed Violence. This statistic is even more dramatic when considering that only 32 percent of Americans own guns, according to NBC News. To put that another way, 1.4 percent of the world’s population owns over 40 percent of the world’s privately

Brady Foundation, a year in the U.S. boasts on average 32,514 gun deaths and 75,962 gun-related injuries. I know, those numbers are so big that comprehending their scale gets to be too hard and so people just dismiss them as statistics, just numbers on paper. But if you take a moment to try to understand the scale of injury and death that we can directly relate to guns, it becomes clear that we need to do something about what is an overwhelming problem in our country.

The truly frightening thing about all of this is that to us, it’s normal. We hear about individual cases of gun violence, but they don’t shock us.

We hear about school shootings and church shootings and movie theater shootings, and we sort of sigh and think, “God, again?” And then, maybe a Twitter conversation will ensue as people try to blame gun violence on the mentally ill despite the fact that according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, mentally ill people are more likely to be the victims than the perpetrators of gun violence.

Shooters are classified as one brand or another of “crazy” after the fact, usually by the media with little to no medical proof.

But graphic by Claire Cannatti often, shootings don’t even merit that level owned of attention, simply because they guns. That happen so often. If it’s not at least is staggering 20 people, or undeniably racially to me—I mean, we had a motivated or targeting children, we whole movement a few years mostly just move on after a blurb in ago about one percent of the the evening news. population controlling half It’s disgusting. It’s also life in this of the nation’s wealth. This country right now. But I don’t want it is nearly as skewed, but even to be like this in 10 years or 20 years. more dangerous. According to I want the next generations to be able CBC News, there are 88.8 guns to look back at this time and not be for every 100 people in the United able to imagine what it was like living States, largely because most gun with guns in most households and owners have more than one gun in mass shootings being reported every their possession. other week. I want them to think of However, the effect of guns on guns how we think of cigarettes— Americans have even more to do very obviously dangerous, generally with increased chance of death. For to be avoided and mostly a relic of example, Jacquelyn Campbell’s the past. Britain used to have a part of 2003 study says that women who are their Bill of Rights that protected the victims of domestic violence are five right to carry firearms, and then they times more likely to be killed by their realized that bit was pretty dumb, and partner if the abuser has a gun. The rate they eliminated it with a series of of firearm-related suicides in the U.S. Firearm Acts over the course of the is 5.7 times the average rate of other 20th century. We can do that, too. We developed nations. Our country can can ban private guns if we can bring boast being the location of 87 percent ourselves to reconsider the value of of child gun deaths in the developed the Second Amendment. We have world, according to the Children’s to, for the sake of everyone in this Defense Fund. And according to the country.

Hoverboards dangerous, represent negative trend Over the last six months, the trend of hoverboards has swept the nation. Kids and teens across the U.S. ride their hoverboards blissfully, but they don’t realize the potentially harmful effects their hoverboards come with. The fun contraptions are nevertheless hazardous, with multiple reported fires stemming from their use. Hoverboards are also contributing to our laziness, Andy Degrasse encouraging us to be less active Staff Writer by providing one more way for us to avoid the simple task of walking from place to place.

Admittedly, hoverboards are very entertaining to ride on, and it is a cool experience to be able to glide around effortlessly. But the fun of this experience quickly wears off. For the people who haven’t risked their lives by riding one of these machines but want to know what it feels like, imagine riding on a segway, except without the handles or the embarrassment of riding a segway. But these machines are much more sinister than segways. The majority of hoverboards are manufactured overseas, and because there is not a name brand selling them, many people are buying shoddy products. With 16 reported fires over the past few months, this is more than just an anomaly. A simple Google search will yield videos of hoverboards bursting into flames for no apparent reason. The moderate and fleeting fun of riding on a hoverboard is not worth the inherent risk of concussions or worse if you’re not careful.

Hoverboards are not only dangerous but are also part of a culture trend towards laziness and dependence on electronics that is affecting our entire society. For years, the primary mode of transportation for kids ages six through twelve were active things like a scooter, bike or even the classic Ripstik. My friends and I would spend hours exploring the neighborhood with the wind in our faces, having a blast and getting some much needed exercise at the same time. However, the youngbloods of this new generation have replaced the aerobic activities with hoverboards, one of the least active ways of getting around ever created. In the information age we live in today, the luxury provided by technology is often a positive thing. The fact that airplanes can take a person around the world and allow them to experience new cultures and ideas in a matter of hours is amazing.

But when we depend on technology to do something as simple as walking from place to place, it is no longer an advantage but a crutch.

Hoverboards signify a trend towards an excessive and unhealthy reliance on technology to do things for us. Imagine a Wall-E like world where people are not able to move by themselves and are amorphous blobs, carted around by the technology we created. This is the path our society is on. But in this scenario, there is no lovable robot to steal our hearts and save the world.

Student praises the merits of her overalls Over time, men and women have evolved together. We are the Homo sapiens sapiens: the upright walkers, the forced monogamists, the worldwide big-mouthed dominators. We are one in the same between the genders in many ways, except for our opinions on overalls anad perhaps the high-waisted shorts as well.

My overalls are one of my Emma Jane Hopper favorite closet staples. They were expensive--because I Staff Writer invest in my main pieces-and they are absolutely darling, incredibly soft and made of pale blue denim. I’d wear them every day and with leggings underneath for the cold months if I could, but I end up wearing them less than every other month.

Why? Because of the comments I get from half of the population.

While most girls will stop me to tell me they love my overalls, from boys I’m told that I look like a farmer (specifically, an Argentinian farmer, whatever that means) or I’m asked where my cows are. Girls ask me where I got them, and boys call me Farmer Brown.

Girls tell me they have a pair just like them and boys…

Well, you get the idea.

The boys aren’t trying to be mean or nit-picking.

Oftentimes, the male commenter is actually a friend of mine who thinks he’s being helpful and fashion forward. Why does this fashion gap exist?

It’s seen again with high waisted shorts. I love them and most girls love them too, but often boys think they’re unflattering, to say the least. On one of my favorite TV shows, Fresh Off The Boat, the father says that his wife’s six-inch zipper on her era-appropriate 1980s high waisted jeans isn’t his favorite thing in the world, but he loves her so he chooses to ignore it. This phenomenon of male versus female fashion preferences seen on this ‘relatable family’ type sitcom proves it’s real.

I think that boys are, quite simply, wrong. I don’t care that they think I look like an Argentinian farmer, I think I look cute! I still, however, find myself making fashion choices I might not otherwise make because of what others say. My individuality and originality is compromised by my self consciousness. But I’ve been trying to allow myself to dress how I want. I think of it as an exercise in self confidence. I hope to convince myself that other people’s opinions about my clothes come second to my own.

Despite my best efforts, I still find myself worried every time I end up in overalls, which is why they don’t leave my closet very often. All I can do for now is try to care less about other’s criticisms of my clothes which is why I say this: girls, don’t listen to dumb boys who don’t know what they’re talking about. Dress how you want to dress.

the liberator april 15, 2016

PTSA brings improv, DJ club to Project Graduation Olivia Lee

News Editor

AISD mandates LBJ, LASA to keep all entrances locked to ensure greater security Jorge Villa

Staff Writer

A few months ago, both LBJ and LASA underwent a security audit by the Austin Independent School District (AISD) police. The security audit’s purpose was to measure the safety for both schools. The AISD police noted that the downstairs back doors were unlocked throughout the whole day without anyone constantly monitoring those doors. With that in mind, AISD asked both schools to lock the doors and give teachers in the portables a pass for students to use when they wanted to enter the main building. LASA assistant principal Marc Hernandez was one of the staff members that was in favor of this new rule.

“Safety is our number one priority and so this new rule is going to benefit students’ safety and staff as well because this will make visitors register in the front office like they are supposed to,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez said he supports any safety rule that has a legitimate reason behind it because he wants LBJ and LASA to have a safe learning environment.

He said he knows this new rule will be irritating for a lot of students because restroom use in the portables will be limited. Every teacher in the portables received one pass for one student to leave the class at the time.

If they lose the pass, it has to be reported to the office immediately because the school police don’t want any stranger to have access to enter the school. LASA freshman Aly Hirani said this rule is annoying to him especially because he has many of his classes in the portables.

“I know that they are doing this for our safety, but I just think that teachers should have multiple passes especially for classes like yearbook or newspaper,” Hirani said.

He said that for students like him this is annoying because during lunch whenever students want to enter the building they can’t because the doors are locked so they have to either call a friend or go around the school to enter through other doors. LBJ freshman Samuel Santander said he likes the new rule because it makes both LASA and LBJ a safer campus.

“Anything that is for the safety of my classmates and myself I am all for it, but sometimes like in this case the new rules can be annoying but of course that’s worth it because we don’t want any harmful strangers in our school,” Santander said.

He also said that he supports anything that is for the safety of his classmates and himself because he believes that anyone should feel safe while they are at school learning. LBJ security officer Lorenzo Ray said that locking the back doors was a great idea.

“Honestly I think that everything that is related to locking the doors is a positive thing,” Ray said.

“We can overcome any negative things if there are any.”

LASA juniors Riley Pruden and Julia Bradley represent Jaguar band at the LASA 2016 New Student Clubs and Organization Fair, speaking with incoming freshmen to help guide their freshman elective course choices. Clubs from band to robotics to theatre were represented at the fair. photo by Hannah Marks

Club fair advises new students on choice sheets Hannah Marks

Web Editor

The gym was packed, filled with tables surrounded by students and teachers sporting LASA shirts. New students and their parents roamed around, moving from table to table, getting their questions answered at the New Student Clubs and Organization Fair before moving on to the choice sheet assembly in the theater. While the day for new students to fill out their choice sheets is not new, having a fair before hand was this year. According to LASA assistant principal Andy Paulson, they decided to have a fair this year to help parents and students decide what elective to take and teach them more about out of school activities.

“Ms. Crescenzi wanted to have a fair to help answer some questions from students, such as: ‘if I want to do Robotics Club, do I have to do the robotics class? What if I want to do Robotics and something else?’”

Paulson said. “They wanted to meet with kids and kind of see what they do, talk to the sponsor, get some questions solved.”

At the fair, there were tables for electives new students can sign up for that are associated with a club or group, such as First Ladies Dance Team or the Jaguar Band, as well as other tables for the LOTE teachers, Computer Science and more. There

was also a Parents and Friends of LASA (PFLASA) table and a table with all of the administrators and counselors where parents could get their questions.

“I know that a lot of parents, when they left, were very appreciative of the information,” Paulson said.

“Parents were very appreciative of the information because it helped - it’s tough when you live in a neighborhood and you go to your assigned high school, and it’s completely different from driving across town and going to the school that you were selected to go to that’s a top school.”

LASA counselor Carole McPherson also came to help answer parents’ questions and incoming sophomores and juniors fill out their schedules during a smaller assembly while the incoming freshman filled out theirs. She said that her goal with the fair before the choice sheet session was to help ease parents’ worries over the next four years.

“My biggest thing is that there is always a lot of anxiety for people coming to LASA that don’t know a lot about it, so I wanted to lower that anxiety,” McPherson said. “I wanted people to think “okay, I can do this and there are a lot of people here who can support me.” That is always my biggest takeaway from any event that we do with parents, whether it’s college stuff or new student stuff.”

During the fair, these tables had

teachers and students involved with those organizations which students and parents could talk to for specific questions. LASA junior Corey Cochran-Lepiz was one of the students who helped out at the fair and then afterwards at the choice sheet assembly.

“I was representing the theatre and all of the different classes we offer like Acting I, Tech Theater and Musical Theater,” Cochran-Lepiz said.

“We were just trying to get people interested and answer any questions they had about it. We tried to make sure people knew they didn’t have to take the classes to do the club after school because there were a lot of people interested in that as well.”

Cochran-Lepiz said that he felt the elective fair was helpful for the incoming students although he said it seemed that most of the incoming freshman already had their one elective in mind and might not have taken much interest in the fair.

“It seemed like we had a large portion of people already going to band or orchestra or theater,” Cochran-Lepiz said. “We had a large portion who said ‘I’m going to do this.’ It seemed like it helped out a small portion, but it may have helped the decision when it comes to what math you [are] taking next year and future electives that you had in mind to take in the future years because they only have one elective their first year.”

Professional Pathways teacher evaluation system upholds AISD values with updated techniques Atkinson said the new version also set higher standards for teachers, which can be a powerful incentive for teachers Staff Writer to work to improve. With PPFT, she said, the rubric for This year, LBJ switched away from a decades-old teachers was designed so that the highest level was almost teacher evaluation system to a brand new one. In Texas, impossible to meet and that the second highest level was school districts can either use the evaluation system the one that teachers were expected to meet.

“The highest level is like, ‘This teacher has gone above recommended by the TEA Commissioner of Education or and beyond’, like ‘They’re an AP teacher and all their use their own. Recently, there has been a change in the Austin Independent School District’s (AISD’s) teacher kids got fives,’” Atkinson said. “The highest scores are evaluation system, which has affected everything from purposefully very difficult to get, and they don’t expect teacher evaluation domains to the tests that teachers you to get the highest score, they expect you to get the give. The new system was implemented in LBJ and other second highest. It’s basically like getting a B instead of an schools this year, and will go into effect district-wide, A, [and] if you get a C you’re okay but if you get a D or an F, you’re in trouble.” including at LASA, next year.

Atkinson also said LBJ had an easier time moving AISD worked together with Education Austin and to the new system. A key part of PPFT are the Student the American Federation of Teachers to design a new teacher evaluation system called Professional Pathways Learning Objectives, or SLOs, a type of assessment to test for Teachers (PPFT) that would uphold AISD’s values student knowledge on one unit the teacher has taught, and make the scoring system less biased and simpler for which makes up 15 to 20 percent of teachers’ grades. LBJ teachers and administrators alike. PPFT replaced another has been involved with the Reach grant, which requires teacher system known as the Professional Development every teacher to complete Student Learning Objectives, and Appraisal System (PDAS), which put a heavy focus for almost 10 years, which made their transition easier.

“As teachers we were doing SLOs [with the Reach on the 45-minute required teacher appraisal, in which an grant]; it was mandatory that we all do them,” Atkinson administrator sits in on a teacher’s lesson and evaluates their teaching based on a rubric, as a main part of the said. “If you failed it then you didn’t get money, if you teacher’s overall score. The observations could be biased passed it then you got a chunk of money… Now it’s part of or inaccurate and sometimes lead to unreliable scores, LBJ our evaluation, which has a different twist on it.”

Although LBJ teachers have been working with SLOs art teacher Emily Atkinson said.

“There’s the ‘dog and pony show’ that a lot of teachers for many years now, the SLOs are new to many teachers put on knowing an administrator is going to come and in AISD. Different than a quiz or midterm, they are highly watch them, so they make sure they have a good lesson regulated tests that evaluate a teacher’s ability to have taught a certain subject. that day,” Atkinson “There’s some very said. “They might even specific requirements Observations are so go through and say for SLOs,” Atkinson said.

‘Gosh, what are the biased… it’s not purposeful “They have to be so-andthings administrators so many questions, they bias a lot of the time, but look for, I don’t always have to be such-anddo that, I’ll make sure someone might observe me such level of difficulty… to do that.’ Really You can’t say, ‘oh, I’m who knows nothing about art. tailoring what they’re going to give a geometry going to do that day test, I’m going to -LBJ art teacher Emily Atkinson to the administrator’s cover everything from inspection.” triangles to stuff about However, in PPFT, the appraisal is worth less, and the categories in which pi, I’m going to put that all in one quiz and say ‘look! this teachers are evaluated are different in PPFT than they proves that I’ve taught stuff this year.’ You have to focus on were in PDAS. This makes the teacher’s score overall one unit… [SLOs are] supposed to be right in the middle.”

The SLOs are required for all teachers, even those of less grounded in potentially biased observations and appraisals. LBJ Academy Director Bradley Clark said the non core classes, and Atkinson said creating this detailed new evaluation categories were excellent and they meshed test can be difficult for instructors of non-core classes, such as art, which Atkinson teaches, and physical education. well with LBJ’s preexisting system.

However, Taylor said PDAS, although it did not “We have an instructional framework that we use at LBJ, and these are our teaching emphases, you know, the include SLOs, did not encourage teacher development and things we like to have teachers do, and this PPFT really improvement nearly as much as PPFT. Atkinson also said aligns well with our framework,” Clark said. “It even has the PPFT system with SLOs was an overall improvement some of the same language and everything. So that’s why from the previous system, in which the bulk of the score was based on biannual observations. it works well for us.”

“I think in some ways it’s a positive direction, to not Clark said the new system is helping to reduce bias in observation. Under the new system, it is also required that just have observations,” said Atkinson. “Observations are different administrators do the appraisals. He said that he so biased… it’s not purposeful bias a lot of the time, but thinks this new system is appealing to teachers because someone might observe me who knows nothing about art. They might watch me and say ‘they didn’t do suchthey feel they’re getting a fair appraisal.

Joann Taylor, Director of the AISD Leadership and-such,’ or ‘they did such-and-such that didn’t make Programs Department, said the main purpose of the new any sense to me’… But that takes that bias and makes it system was to diversify the score given to the teacher by slightly less of their score. I think that [SLOs] add a little having more factors playing into it and to promote AISD piece to our score that’s a little more concrete.”

Clark said for him as an administrator, the system values, such as innovation and dedication. Clark also said worked very well. He said one of the best features of the that AISD was able to execute this mission well; for him, new system was its new domains of teacher evaluation and one highlight of the new system is its centralization.

“From an administrative perspective, one of the things the user-friendly online database.

“I like that everything is centrally housed,” Clark said. that I like about it is that it houses all of the appraisal “I just love that everything is centrally located, it’s really documents in the same place online,” Clark said. “You only have to go to one place, and you can click on the easy. And again, I like the domains in which teachers are preconference, the appraisal, the post conference… it’s evaluated, they’re intuitive for teaching and they make sense, they’re logical. So I’ve been very happy with it.” very user friendly.”

Clara Morse

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This year, the LBJ/LASA Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) added more activities to the graduation party thrown for LBJ and LASA seniors at the end of the year. The party, known as Project Graduation or the Senior Celebration, will be held at the East Communities YMCA on June 2, the night of graduation, from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.

In the past, activities available to students included swimming, dancing, gaming, foosball and table tennis.

There was also a casino, karaoke, a comedic hypnotist and a photo booth as well as a spa with manicures and pedicures, hairstyling, massages, henna tattoos and fantasy make-up including face gems and body art. PTSA Programs Chair Laura DiCarlo is helping to plan the activities this year and she said there will be a few extra activities that will be new to Project Graduation.

“We’ve added the LBJ DJ club and Merlin Works, a comedy improv group, and we’re going back to grilling so the food will be really great,” DiCarlo said. “Our photo booth will also be new and improved. They also have new soft flooring in one of the YMCA studios that will be nice for yoga and then showing movies for those who want a place to rest.”

According to DiCarlo, Project Graduation has cost about $20,000 each year for the last couple of years.

In order to keep the ticket price as low as possible, at $15 per person, the funding for activities at the party comes from a variety of places one of which includes the Project Graduation online auction. The auction items typically include jaguar merchandise, prom tickets, gift cards to restaurants like Taco Deli, Sap’s Fine Thai Cuisine, Uchi/Uchiko, or Magnolia Cafe, and activities with teachers. Some of the activities auctioned off this year include bike-smart maintenance with John Stormberg, Brazilian dance lessons with Mark Hernandez, geocaching with Jill Hutson, a terrarium workshop with Meagan Butler, a vegetarian dinner cooked by Neil Loewenstern and envy nails and spa with Claudia Villarreal. ACT and SAT preparation classes were up for sale as well as a week in Sheila Henry’s parking spot.

“The classes in the last couple of years have had a little money left over that was used for seed money for the following year and class gifts,” DiCarlo said. “The gift from the class of 2015 was $1,500 to the college counselors at LBJ and LASA to use for anything related to students and college. Every year there is an online auction in November. We also provide and document anti-drug and alcohol education throughout the year to be eligible for grant money from the Texas Department of Transportation. We have over $18,000 from the auction, grants, seed money and we are expecting to make over $2,000 in ticket sales that will give us the full $20,000 we need.”

DiCarlo said the objective of the Senior Celebration is to serve as a fun and safe option with many activities that students with different interests can all enjoy.

According to DiCarlo, graduation can be a dangerous night for seniors because of drinking and driving, so every year the LBJ/LASA PTSA organizes Senior Celebration/Project Graduation as a drug and alcohol free lock-in for seniors on the night of graduation.

“This is a way to keep our kids safe while they commemorate their achievements as a community one last time,” DiCarlo said.

the liberator april 15, 2016

lai re C

Austin Independent School District (AISD) held the second community input meeting for the Imagine Northeast Austin process on March 3 at the Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex. The meeting marked one of the final steps in a year-long process that was sparked in March 2015 when the AISD Board of Trustees directed district staff to create a proposal for the development of a 10-acre plot of land set aside for a new school in the Mueller development. Dr. Kevin Foster explained that the district worked with his organization, the Institute for Community, University and School Partnerships (ICUSP), to draft a proposal that was directed and shaped by community interests.

“So AISD, about a year ago, was given a charge by their board to investigate possibilities for developing the site,” Foster said. “So what they did was decide to work with ICUSP to work through a community engaged process. Or, another way to put it is–to have a community generated proposal come before them that they could consider. So AISD wanted to explore use of the land but only in a way that matched the community’s needs and interests and hopes and aspirations.”

Foster outlined the steps that have been taken so far in the Imagine Northeast Austin process, starting with meetings with a core group of stakeholders over the summer. According to Foster, these stakeholders established foundational values that should underpin any eventual proposal. Following Board approval of that work at an October meeting, three teams of community members were created to start fleshing out the proposal itself.

“We put together a small group to be the working team, and that team worked through the summer and took in community data and came up with the central tenets that should be guiding the process to figure out what to put on the site,” Foster said. “That was brought before the school board in October, and the school board liked what they saw and gave further direction. Since then we’ve been in a community engagement process where we had a core team of community members, about a dozen, and two auxiliary teams–one working on enrollment strategies and one working on partnerships.”

AISD representative Sonia Dominguez explained that those teams came up with a variety of ideas for a new school that were presented and discussed at two recent community input meetings.

“That planning group came up with some options.

There have been two community events that have been held– one on Feb. 20 and one on March 3–and these were open to the community so that they could provide us with their input and their feedback on what they would like to see,” Dominguez said.

Reviewing the first meeting on Feb. 20, Foster identified several points of consensus that emerged from the first round of discussions. Most community members agreed that the school should be open to all students in the northeast region and not limit admissions to students on the basis of applications or geographic location in the

Mueller neighborhood.

“In general, across the Northeast, people do not want a school or schools on-site where access is determined by application or where it’s available to some people and not others based on an application or a performance bar,” Foster said.

“They built a pretty clear consensus on that. So far, many people are interested in a middle school.

Many people are interested in ensuring whatever goes in there serves the entire region or serves a broader area, not just the closest neighborhood.”

Dominguez attended the following meeting on March 3 and said that the idea that the new school should cater to the entire northeast region continued to be a point of general agreement among attendees.

“A lot of people have talked about–this really needs to be a regional resource, whether it’s a school or a regional facility,” Dominguez said. “Different people have asked for different things. But a really common thread is that it should provide access to northeast students, whether they live there or not.”

According to Foster, this push for equitable education stems directly from the community’s dissatisfaction with the historically poor state of public education in northeast Austin. The new school at Mueller provides an opportunity for reimagining what education could look like for disadvantaged students who have only ever been exposed to failing schools and lackluster resources.

“The reality is, you have some kids who have been subject to inferior education all the way along, and permanent subs in their classes and other factors leading to where we are today,” Foster said. “And what people across the northeast are saying is that– we don’t want to reproduce that. We’ve had enough of that.”

Dominguez said that the work group will review these main themes that emerged from the input meetings and take that feedback into account as they work to create a final proposal.

“A lot of people talked about aging facilities, overenrolled and under-enrolled schools, and ensuring that all of our students in the northeast have access to great academic

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Northeast Austin community imagines future school

programming,” Dominguez said. “Those are the top three things I would say came up in that meeting, and those are the types of things we’re looking into as we continue to plan, come back to our planning groups, and refine our proposal.”

There’s a wide range of additional data the work group will consider, Foster said, as it drafts a more refined proposal to be presented to the Board of Trustees at a public work session on April 11.

“We have surveys that have been administered, there was a workshop that was done by the master developer of the Mueller neighborhood, there were focus groups done by my group and there’s been all this additional engagement,” Foster said. “So all those are our data points, and then we have this additional community group considering them. Out of that, you come up with a proposal.”

According to Dominguez, the feedback that’s received at the April 11 session as well as discussion at a final community meeting will inform further adjustments that the work group makes to the proposal before a likely Board vote in May. “Depending on the feedback we receive at the April board meeting...we would take that feedback from the board and go back to our planning group and refine and then go back to the community one more time before May,” Dominguez said.

Debate team awarded bids LASA looks to replace forum Carolina Gokingco to Tournament of Champions Staff Writer

Gus Albach

Staff Writer

Papers shuffle, throats clear and eyebrows narrow in concentration as LASA senior Isaac Cui delivers his opening statement at the Harvard National Forensics Debate Tournament. According to Cui, the Harvard tournament, which took place on Feb 13-15, is one of the many important tournaments the LASA debate club has participated in this season. The tournament not only allowed the team to gain experience and compete, but also helped them qualify for the Tournament of Champions (TOC) which is held annually at the University of Kentucky.

The TOC is an elite tournament where some of the best debate teams in the nation go to compete.

“The team has done better this year than we’ve ever done,” Cui said. “A big goal that we’ve had over the last decade of this club was to qualify to the TOC, an exclusive tournament where the top about 72 teams from around the country debate.”

In order to compete in the TOC, a team must receive bids. These bids can be received from certain national tournaments, as long as the teams advance into the required round for the tournament. The Harvard tournament provides one of these bids, as long as a team is able to reach the “octo-finals,” or the top 16. This year, the team was able to excel at reaching the TOC, and qualified two teams for the tournament. The TOC is one of the larger nationwide tournaments, and Cui said that it is an achievement the LASA debate team has been working towards for some time. This is the first time the team has ever had two teams qualify for the TOC. “As a school, LASA earned 1 bid to the TOC [this year]” Cui said. “This year, we’ve earned 7. To put this into perspective, LASA, as a school, has only earned 11 bids [in total].”

LASA mainly competes in cross

examination debate, or CX for short.

In this debate type, students debate a specific policy. For example students might debate the policy: “The United States federal government should substantially curtail its domestic surveillance.” The policy is then debated for the whole year, which is unique to CX debate.

“The idea behind having a yearlong topic is that these topic issues— domestic surveillance, ocean policy, etc.—are extremely complex and require a lot of expertise,” Cui said.

Due to the complex debate topics, members of the LASA debate team spend hours preparing for events for the entirety of the lengthy debate season. Katherine Chacon, a freshman on the team, has noticed debate can often take over her academic life but has many benefits in exchange.

“It can also interfere with schoolwork, causing some stress and forcing makeup work,” Chacon said.

“Overall it isn’t too much to handle though... It has not only helped me with my public speech ability, it has also helped me to meet other people, and to be a part of a team.”

Cui also said that debate has had many positive effects on the students in the club and has especially helped them to widen their range of knowledge.

“In terms of just knowledge, debate expanded my horizons a lot,” Cui said.

“I would never have learned about the laws that [I did]...It also taught me important skills: how to effectively take notes, how to speak in front of others.”

Through hours of studying, learning and preparing, the LASA debate team was able to finish well at the tournament, wrapping up a bid into the TOC, and showing improvement for a brighter future.

“I think debate, unlike any other activity, teaches a worldview that is critical,” Cui said. “Inherent to debate is a type of epistemic relativism, the idea that truth is never solidified or concrete.”

“

“

LASA debate team attends the Harvard debate competition to gain greater experience leading up to the Tournament of Champions. photo courtesy of Isaac Cui

said. “I like the idea because it gives us an opportunity to address issues that we see with students right away, and it also builds in Beginning the 2016-2017 school year, a study hall for students who don’t necessarily LASA is considering adding a FIT period need tutoring but could really use some to the official schedule. FIT periods would additional time built into the day… There’s a change several aspects of LASA. For instance, possibility, if we do FIT [next year], maybe FIT periods would take the place of Forum every day, there’s an option where we could and affect the variety of assemblies every maybe incorporate something like extension student has to attend. A FIT period is a courses [back into FIT periods].”

Assistant Principal San Czaplinski shares 35-minute block that will replace Forum and may occur once or even multiple times a similar excitement about FIT like Aguayo. a week. Prior to attending FIT, students Though she’d like to see LASA adopting would sign up online to attend a class of their the idea of FIT, she later notes the various choosing depending on several factors -- the concerns about FIT coming from a number classes available, their interests, the need in of teachers.

“Personally, I think that it’s a great studying sessions, tutoring sessions or office idea,” Czaplinski said. “It really sounds hours.

“I would like [FIT periods] because they like something that would work well for would make forum more useful,” LASA our students at LASA because having that freshman Hannah Saquing said. “Forum opportunity to choose where I’m going to go takes away from our lunch and replaces it versus just being herded into Forum weekly with time that isn’t occupied with anything of would be beneficial.”

Though Czaplinski believes FIT periods great importance. If I could have 35 minutes could greatly to study for a aid students, test or learn she is aware [The] opportunity to something new, of the several that would be choose where I’m going to issues that were so much more brought up by go versus just being herded meaningful.” teachers and The idea of into forum weekly would administration. a FIT period Because Forum be beneficial. came from a is dedicated to representative -LASA assistant principal San Czaplinski instruction at from Bowie some level at High School that FIT could and resembles extension courses in past years LASA, the fact at LASA. Extension courses allowed students potentially replace Forum entirely brings up to attend two back-to-back 30-minute classes several questions and concerns about Forumduring the week instead of Forum every centered events, such as the assemblies for Wednesday. In extension courses, teachers information or even choice sheets.

“There are also some other concerns, for taught short lessons based off their hobbies.

LASA Social Studies Department Chair example, ensuring that everyone does go to a Maricruz Aguayo scheduled extension FIT class, which would be our responsibility,” courses during the 2012-2013 school year Czaplinski said. “Ensuring that there are quality FIT classes on a weekly basis, which and taught a class on sewing one time.

“I taught a class on basic sewing,” Aguayo may not be an issue here, but then a bigger said. “And [the class] is about how to sew, concern is finding the time to do all of the how to thread a needle, how do you sew a assemblies for information…where [an button back onto your clothes, and it was a entire class can attend but] it wouldn’t take class time from teachers.” lot of fun,” According to Czaplinski, many teachers Extension courses covered a wide variety of topics, such as one about bizarre foods. The are also asking whether or not FIT would take class watched Bizarre Foods with Andrew the place of office hours. Czaplinski said that Zimmern after which the teacher brought depending on whether or not FIT takes the in a friend who cooked some bizarre foods place of office hours, some teachers are either to share with the students. There were other for the idea or some are against. As for now, extension courses as well, for students who the future of FIT is not a guaranteed thing as had an interest in photography, music, going LASA administration and departments still remain undecided and split between FIT’s outside to play soccer or even coloring.

“Mr. Davis taught ‘Bridge’ during his implementation in the upcoming school year.

“It is not a for sure thing, and depending extension courses,” Aguayo said. “Coach McNeil [played] ‘Dominoes’ during on the department you ask—English versus his extension courses. One time, Mr. math versus LOTE—we either have some Loewenstern did vegetarian cooking… It was department 100 percent on board, and the a lot of fun though it took a lot of work to teachers think it’s a great thing; they feel their students would truly benefit from having schedule [extension courses].”

In the past, TAKS testing took place something like this on a more regular basis the entire first week of March. Afterwards, versus once a week, and they believe having students were done for the year. However, that opportunity to choose where you’re because STAAR testing and its new schedule going to go is a positive thing,” Czaplinski impacted the forum schedule greatly and the said. “And you have some teachers who feel district started to require surveys, extension like this is going to be too difficult to manage courses were discontinued. In the meantime, and keep track of where students are. I think Aguayo is excited about the possibility of FIT it’s just kind of up in the air [right now], so and how ideas from extension courses could we’re taking feedback from all of the adults that would have to really buy into it in order be integrated next school year.

“I love the idea [of FIT periods],” Aguayo for [FIT] to work successfully here at LASA.”

the liberator april 15, 2016

AISD offers teachers affordable housing Mingyo Lee

Guest Writer The Austin Independent School District (AISD) recently announced a new initiative to offer AISD teachers affordable housing in a market that is growing ever more expensive. AISD Board of Trustees Members Julie Cowan and Amber Elenz helped develop the affordable housing program at the Grove at Shoal Creek, which is located at the intersection of 45th Street and Bull Creek.

Cowan said that the program was not technically AISD’s because according to Ordinance 20080618-098, which was passed in 2008, Planned Unit Developments (PUDs) like the development at Shoal Creek are allowed to avoid certain PUD zoning regulations in return for land donations to the Austin Housing Finance Corporation or donations to the Housing Assistance Fund. Developers can bypass these stipulations by paying a fee, but Cowan and Elenz, who are both residents near the development, managed to convince the developers at Shoal Creek to entertain a different proposal.

“I said [to Trustee Elenz], ‘I think I’ll just email the general email account and ask if [the developers of Shoal Creek] are going to build affordable housing, would they consider designating some of that...to teachers,’” Cowan said. “I didn’t even know if that was allowed, to be honest.”

The developer took up the idea, and soon officials like AISD Chief Financial Officer Nicole Conley began working with the developer to advance the plans. Cowan said that the deal, however, is far from being completed.

The Shoal Creek developer and the city are still working to reach a compromise over the plans for the development, which is allowing units that would’ve been allocated to teachers to instead be allocated to other city employees.

“At first [the developer] said 100 percent of the affordable housing unit could be for teachers, but now they’re saying that it may have to go towards some other city employees, like fire, EMS or police,” Cowan said.

“So we’re not quite sure what the numbers are going to be. It started around 79 or 78 [percent] or so, and we’re now down to about a quarter of that number—17 or 19 or something like that.”

Cowan said that much of it has to do with low teacher salaries in a booming city. More and more people move to Austin each day, and the city has completely changed from what it was just decades ago. As a result, Austin’s housing

market is reaching new heights; the median Austin home price in 2015 was $263,000, up 9 percent from 2014, and median rent hovered around $1,540 a month, which is a 4 percent increase from 2014. Not only that, but 2015 was also the fifth straight year of annual home sales increases.

Meanwhile, AISD teacher salaries have stagnated.

“We recognize that we don’t pay people enough for them to live in Austin,” Cowan said. “It’s not nearly what we value them at, but it’s all that we can afford. When you look at our budget, 85 percent of it goes to paying salary.

We don’t have a lot of money that goes to all the other expenses.”

AISD has one of the lowest average teacher salaries in the Central Texas area. According to data from the Texas Education Agency, the average AISD teacher’s salary is $47,476, which is lower than that of other nearby districts’, like Lake Travis ($49,245) and Leander ($49,277). When compared to districts in larger cities in Texas, AISD falls substantially short compared to Houston ISD ($53,698) and Dallas ISD ($53,222).

“I do have friends who are also teachers who are trying to buy a house who are looking in places like Pflugerville or Kyle instead of in Austin proper,” LASA English teacher Caitlin Palmer said. “A lot teachers will have to live outside of Austin but work inside Austin because of housing prices…I actually stayed in Austin against the advice of most of the people I knew, who advised me to move to Houston or Dallas where I could get a job really fast but I really wanted to live here, so I’m living here and I’m trying to make it work.”

AISD, though, has been implementing certain benefits to attract more teachers. AISD pays both teacher retirement and Social Security, and the district also pays first-time teachers more than competing districts do.

After a couple years, however, that advantage is negated as other district’s wages catch up. Cowan also attributed the salary differences to the state recapture system and irregular state funding, like how Texas lawmakers cut the public education budget by $5.4 billion in 2011 and specific districts are not required to pay extra property tax money back to the state.

“We’re not the only ones [who have to pay money back to the state],” Cowan said. “Lake Travis has to pay money back and school districts that are very rural but have oil and gas have to pay money back, so it just kind of depends. Now, Houston ISD has never had to pay money

2015 Median Austin House Price:

$263,000:

9% greater than 2014

which was 8% greater than 2013 2015 Median Austin Rent/Month:

$1540

4% greater than 2014

which was 6% greater than 2013

back to the state, but they’re just on the verge of having to do so. In my mind once Houston ISD, and perhaps Dallas, starts following that, [starts to pay money back] then maybe at last legislatures are going to...look at their funding system.”

Relatively low wages are an influential factor in high levels of teacher turnover, according to the Peabody Journal of Education. Teacher turnover rates are determined by the number of teachers that resign, retire, transfer to schools within the district or switch to nonteaching jobs, divided by the total number of teachers per school. High teacher turnover rates can affect a school’s ability to maintain a stable educational plan. From 2010 to 2013, teacher turnover rates increased from 15.3% to 21.9% in AISD, and some teachers like Palmer are noticing the effects.

“I think that [AISD’s low salary] definitely has an effect on teacher turnover rates simply because you could go to a neighboring district and get thousands more dollars per year,” Palmer said. “So I think that might affect teacher quality as well. I think it is kind of embarrassing for the district to have such low teacher pay with the obvious cost of living rising every year.”

While the district attempted to address this program by spending $62 million over five years to retain teachers in struggling schools, AISD found the program inefficient - six high schools where the district offered incentives saw turnover increase from 2011-2013 according to the Austin-American Statesman. To Trustee Cowan, however, these turnover rates don’t tell the whole story.

“The other thing about teacher turnover is that most teachers are female,” Cowan said. “And so at some point a lot of teachers decide that if they get married or they move…or if they do want to start a family they might need to move further out…[and] if they’re living further out there it’s easier for them to work out there too.”

The affordable housing program is the first of its kind in Texas. Cowan said she is optimistic, anticipating that the program is just the beginning.

“I’m real hopeful that this will be the first of many, where other project developers will also see the benefit to the community and realize that this is a good thing to do for certain workforce groups like teachers,” Cowan said. “It’s really a great pilot program and model for other school districts and parts of the state to do something similar.”

2015

5

graphic by Claire Cannatti

was the

th

straight year of annual home sales

increase

Apps for Good program to be piloted in LASA classrooms All the way from the United Kingdom, Apps for Good will start piloting their smartphone app-writing program at LASA. The program was created and has been used successfully in the UK and is designed to help teach students how to write and create their own smartphone apps.

T h e program is planned to be fully running by the start of the next school year. LASA science teacher Alison Earnhart is one of the leads for the Apps for Good program at LASA and she is excited that L A S A gets this

opportunity.

“The reason why [this program] is so cool is that [Apps for Good] specifically made it so it can be integrated in any kind of class, so it’s not just for a computer science class,” Earnhart said.

“You could do it for a history class or a biology class because what the people behind Apps for Good are trying t o inspire is not only to get a s many people familiar with what it takes to create an app, but they are trying to inspire inventions and creations for the good of society.”

The Apps for Good program will start piloting on campus because LASA is a member of the National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools (NCSSS) with Earnhart as the school’s representative on the board of directors for NCSSS. Earnhart said Apps for Good contacted NCSSS looking for schools interested in trying out their program before they launch the program full scale in America.

“We are very lucky, we are one of the only schools in America right now who is going to begin piloting this program,” Earnhart said. “Because we are a member

of this organization, we kind of got in on the very first roll out of the pilot program.”

Earnhart describes the program as a suit of different online modules or classes similar to those on Khan Academy.

Apps for Good is an open source technology education movement from the UK that partners with educators to teach students from ages 10 through 18 how to write and create a mobile, web or social apps. Earnhart said the apps the students will be creating are supposed to be used to solve real world problems.

“For example, [LASA government teacher Ronny] Risinger was talking about how he would like to use this so a student could design and create an app that takes your location via your phone and tells you where the nearest polling stations are and gives you the hours,” Earhart said. “That’s an example of a project he could do in his government class.

Side by side, even in a government class, he could be teaching students how to code and how to work with apps. And they are trying to invent or create something that actually has a cool useful purpose.”

Along with Risinger’s government class, LASA social studies teacher Neil Loewenstern has also been introduced to the program and has ideas of how to use the program in his world geography class. He said his students could actually create an app that could be helpful in the situations his students learn about in class such as issues on development, issues in Sub-Saharan Africa and achieving Millennium Development Goals.

“Two years ago, when we started the Millennium Development Goals project, we had students design apps, but it was more of a storyboard then,” Loewenstern graphic by Grace Bodine

Grace Bodine

Staff Writer

said. “This [program] would be a chance to make that app and potentially put it out there so people could use it and maybe help somebody in their life.”

According to Earnhart, there is a digital divide between those who know how to use computers and smartphones and those who don’t. She said that gap is ever increasing so she believes it is important for students to have opportunities like Apps for Good to learn about the technology they use everyday.

“I think we will be doing a service to every student by teaching them how to work with this technology because no matter what they go into, what they study and what they become as adults, knowing how to create and edit apps on your own smartphone is a really neat skill to have,” Earnhart said. “That layered on top of this overarching idea of public service where it’s like ‘I’m not just designing a game but I’m trying to design something that will help solve a real world problem,’ as an engineer, this is the part that I get super excited about.”

Loewenstern said these types of technology studies are important because students can use it to help society. Even though there is a large technology gap

Doors open at 6pm Showtime: 7 - 10pm

Tickets will be on sale at school prior to the event and also at the door

between different societies, Loewenstern sees the cell phone as the easiest way to reach out to people in underdeveloped areas and it also may help them to become more developed. “[The program] shows and gives students the opportunity to think about how to use this technology to change the world hopefully for the better,” Loewenstern said. “It seems like some of the ideas that we are looking at and talking about for development, especially in world geography, about helping people are creating apps that could be on someone’s cell phone has a lot of potential.”

Before the end of this school year, Earnhart said she might be able to get a club up and running that meets either during lunch or after school. This club would allow for students to get together as a team and learn how the Apps For Good program functions.

“We would run through the software modules and make sure everything works,” Earnhart said. “If it’s interesting and it’s something that we like, then the next step would to be next year certain teachers adopting this into their curriculum and make it a part of their class.”

Bring your family and friends!

Picnic tables are available You are also welcome to bring lawn chairs and blaknkets for outdoor seating

the liberator april 15, 2016

POSING A QUESTION: Victoria Mycue & Roxy Bonafont

Body image

Life & Feature Editors Her eyelids painted gold and blue, her hair slicked back, she leaves hair and makeup and stands before the bright lights. At the photographer’s instruction, she lies on the backdrop.

Adrenaline rushes through her as she begins to contort and balance. LASA senior Emily Pencis says her art feels like acting, like performing a precise role.

“When I do shoots, particularly like [those] that are very inspired by something, it feels to me like acting feels, and I haven’t acted in so long,” Pencis said. “You really feel like you are embodying that trait.”

Pencis is one of a number of LASA students who model. Many have prospered from the experience, noting gains in confidence and freedom of identity expression. They have also faced issues in the industry ranging from racism to over-sexualization.

Modeling boosts confidence, encourages creative expression Modeling can be a major source of confidence and thrill, according to LASA senior and model Becca Saulsberry.

“I enjoy the limelight—I’m not going to lie,” Saulsberry said. “It can be glamorous, and it can be fun. It also made me feel like I was doing something big... I really liked that momentum and that feeling.”

Like Saulsberry, some teen girls are drawn to the modeling industry for its psychological benefits. Pencis began modeling in May 2015, and while she said she never before had imagined herself modeling, her more than 30 shoots since then have aided in boosting her confidence in how she looks and what she wears.

“Before I started modeling, I would always think I had a distinct style,” Pencis said. “I would see something on the rack, and I’d be like, ‘Oh that’s such a cute dress, but it’s not me, I can’t buy it, I can’t wear it.’ And after I started modeling, it became a really objective way to look at how I look, like I can see that and I can say, ‘Hey I would look pretty in that,’ even if it isn’t really something that I would normally wear. And that’s sort of let me explore different aspects of my personality. Like I can actually be incredibly feminine without feeling uncomfortable with myself, which was a problem for me before.”

In addition to exploring her own capacity for feminine expression, previously unwieldy territory for her, Pencis also delved further into gender expression and experimentation when she signed up to model for an androgynous photoshoot.

“[Modeling has] let me explore different aspects of my personality. Like I can actually be incredibly feminine without feeling uncomfortable with myself, which was a problem for me before.”

-LASA senior and model Emily Pencis “The androgynous shoot was my favorite shoot that I’ve ever done, actually. It was so fun,” Pencis said. “I spent hours online beforehand just looking at male models and androgynous models and pegging down the difference in posture and style.”

LASA wellness counselor Meagan Butler said the specialized performance of modeling is a type of creative outlet, one that has been fruitful for a few of her students.

“Many teen models see modeling as a form of self-expression and enjoy using modeling as an art form,” Butler said. “Many have an interest in fashion, make-up design, hair design, art or photography.”

For Pencis, modeling is a creative outlet akin to acting. Especially when doing themed shoots, she said she finds the opportunity to embody a specific trait or communicate a particular emotion to be as empowering and immersive as performing on stage.

“When I’m modeling I feel more in my body than any other time,” Pencis said. “Everyone talks about athletes and artists—[they] talk about this flow and kind of an adrenaline rush that you get when you start doing something creative or something really exertive, and for me it’s both exertive and creative. It’s actually physically challenging to hold yourself in all these weird poses for a certain amount of time. It’s challenging mentally to try and express a certain emotion.”

Pencis said out of the more than 30 shoots she has done, she has only had one discouraging experience. Part of the reason for her overwhelmingly positive experience modeling is, she said, that the type of work she is involved in is more artistic than commercial. LASA senior Nico Flores has also modeled for local photographers and said she found less pressure in the non-commercial environment.

“There’s a lot more room for artistic interpretation with amateur modeling and working with local photographers, because a lot of photographers think of themselves as artists rather than as business people,” Flores said. “I feel like a lot of photographers for clothing, like for magazines and things like that, their main priority is getting published and getting paid for their photography, whereas the shoots that I enjoyed the most were ones with photographers who just really liked taking photos and wanted to do cool stuff instead of doing the same cliche thing.”

Flores said she avoided much of the harm the modeling industry is notorious for by working solely with artistic photographers.

“As far as artistic expression goes, like personal artistic photos, I don’t have a problem with that side of the modeling industry, because I feel like if women’s bodies are seen in an artistic way and in a ‘this is beautiful’ way... I don’t know if I think that it’s still objectifying or if it’s something that has artistic value, but I feel like the artistic value of it is what makes it okay and what makes it good,” Flores said. “The part that I really have a problem with is the sexualization and objectification that happens in mainstream modeling and photography, but I think that it’s okay if you’re a photography student and you just want to make art. I don’t think that puts as much stress on people to become [too thin], because it’s not setting an ideal.”

After five years of independent modeling spent compiling an impressive portfolio, Saulsberry achieved what she had aspired to from the get-go: in January 2016, she signed with the official modeling agency MAZZAmodels. But following a month of deliberation and revelations, Saulsberry decided to quit.

“The other two models [at the first MAZZAmodels shoot I did] were 14 and 15 years old, and, just physically, they hadn’t started to fill out. When I was 14 I had just gone through a growth spurt, so I was stick and bones too,” Saulsberry said. “Compared to them, I felt like I was too big...standing next to them. Like I actually have thighs hanging out of these shorts.

If they were wearing the shorts, you wouldn’t be able to tell—there wouldn’t be anything to hang out.”

According to the Model Alliance, a majority of models begin working between the ages of 13 and 16. Pencis and Flores started modeling at 17 and 18, respectively, and Flores said starting later than average helped her maintain a healthy attitude.

“Since I started modeling when I was already 18, it didn’t affect me developmentally that much,” Flores said. “I didn’t have to keep up with this appearance throughout my whole adolescence, so I think that that was definitely good for me to not start when I was like 14 and then feel like I have to stay as skinny as a 14-year-old throughout my whole adolescence, because I don’t think that’s a healthy feeling to have.”

Saulsberry, on the other hand, began modeling at age 13. Now, as an 18-year-old, she said she has outgrown the ideal build for models.

“I think when I looked more like [the ideal for models] it was easier for me to not really relate to [the pressure to change], but now that I’ve had more experiences where I have felt that stress and that pressure to look like something that I’m not, I realize I don’t want to make anyone else feel this way,” Saulsberry said.

The modeling industry, Saulsberry said, holds unrealistic and immoral expectations, which she said she’s grown to understand and reprimand more over the years.

“I think as I’ve grown mentally and physically, [I’ve realized] it goes against my morals, and it’s getting harder and harder, because I don’t like how it encourages these standards and body image that is so unrealistic for so many people,” Saulsberry said. “I am already on the thin side of the average woman, so for me to feel like I need to lose weight is not okay. The body that they want is just so unrealistic, and I don’t want any other women to feel like they need to look like that, or they need to look a certain way, or they need to have a thigh gap or any of these ridiculous things.”

According to a survey of 85 New York and Los Angeles models done by the Model Alliance, 31.2 percent of working fashion models have had an eating disorder. Butler said that the pressure some models feel to change their appearance or weight can lead to unhealthy eating habits.

“In my reading I have noticed that eating disorders are correlated with perfectionism,” Butler said. “Highly intelligent and high-performing students can be at higher risk for developing eating issues. My students who struggle with eating issues have rigid thinking and experience intense negative self-talk.”

According to UT psychology and women’s and gender studies professor Dr. Rebecca Bigler, the ideal body as presented by the media negatively affects young girls as they strive to meet unattainable standards. Through multiple studies, Bigler has observed that some girls internalize the expectation that they should be sexually appealing and look like the models and celebrities they grow up seeing.

“Most girls, preadolescent and early adolescent girls, just don’t [look] like them,” Bigler said. “They won’t be successful. And part of that is the women themselves don’t look like that.

They’re airbrushed, they’re altered. It’s their full-time job. They have whole teams of people that do their hair and work them out at the gym, so it’s a lot for a 15-year-old to look like that without those resources. So we think maybe the girls who really want to look hot look to those media models, and they fail against that standard. They realize their own body is not a body like Beyonce, and their own sexual appeal is not what it is for some of the top models, and that makes them feel worse about their body than a girl who, for example, says, ‘I don’t care about looking hot.’”

Racism in the industry Flores said that she was interested in the modeling industry as early as middle school when her friends became involved, but that she didn’t pursue it until recently because she believed that she didn’t look the way models were supposed to.

“Traditionally, models... have a look I really didn’t have and I still don’t have,” Flores said.

“Whenever I was a kid I would see pretty much only tall, white, thin girls as models and that’s what my friends were who were models, so I was like, ‘I guess I don’t really fit in with this.’”

LASA senior TK Nelson, who also models for local photographers, said that she has felt pressured by modeling culture to lose weight. However, she said that she has struggled most with racism in the industry that favors white models and European features.

“For a while I was seeing on Facebook posts for models, and they would say they are only looking for pale models, as in only white models, and I was like, ‘This is not going to be easy,’” Nelson said. “Some people are only looking for black models and those people are also kind of creepy, because of like a fetish. You have to look out a little more.”

According to The Fashion Spot, about 78 percent of models who walked the runway during Spring 2016 Fashion Month were white. Bigler said that when modeling agencies are pressured to hire more women of color, they tend to seek out models who are women of color but still have light skin. Ze also said African-American women are often sought after to fulfill a stereotypical role in an advertisement that’s highly fetishized.

“There’s also a whole section [of the modeling industry] where it’s just outwardly racist in the sense it draws on stereotypes, so that when there are jobs for [African-American] women, it’s also in a kind of, ‘You’re the wild animal model, so our perfume is called Jungle, and we’re going to dress you, an African-American woman, in a sexy lion outfit,’” Bigler said. “There, you’re getting the sexism and the racism together very much in the modeling portrayal.”

Bigler said this issue stems from both the media executives, mostly white men, and companies’ target audiences. In order to be more inclusive towards the diverse audience that is America, media has changed, but Bigler said the direction it has moved is only tangentially progressive. Models are selected to cater to their audience: for instance, commercials on Black Entertainment Television will hire African-American models and advertisements on Spanish language television will feature Latino models, which Bigler argues doesn’t actually diversify mainstream media.

“That doesn’t solve the problem of making the country more racially progressive, accepting, valuing diversity,” Bigler said. “I think in many ways we have a pretty far way to go still with those kinds of issues.”

Sexualization and objectification

the liberator april 15, 2016

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS OF MODELING?

“The objectification is very dehumanizing, because I’ve been told, ‘As a model, your job is to be an attractive coat hanger.’ They want the focus to be on the clothes, and they basically just want a frame for the clothes to go on.”

-LASA senior and model Becca Saulsberry

Racism intersects with the broader issue of objectification in modeling.

Bigler believes that the way women are sexualized in media caters to a male audience, although women are told that displaying their sexuality through activities like modeling is empowering.

“Men control most of the media images,” Bigler said. “It’s through the male gaze that women are dressed and presented, although it’s complicated by the fact that women are sexual creatures, too.”

The way women are presented in modeling, said Bigler, is in a way most palatable and attractive in a patriarchal context. Modeling tends to emphasize traits that are considered desirable, favoring women who are submissive and demure. Especially in fashion and advertisement modeling, Saulsberry said the industry is primarily interested in displaying their clothing or product and the models are meant to be sexual but unassuming.

“The objectification is very dehumanizing, because I’ve been told ‘As a model your job is to be an attractive coat hanger,’” Saulsberry said. “They want the focus to be on the clothes, and they basically just want a frame for the clothes to go on.”

Nelson said she has also faced objectification and suppression while working as a model.

“Models, I feel, are not allowed to have opinions,” Nelson said. “Being a model is a very quiet job. You’re basically just a mannequin. Sometimes it’s fun, but sometimes it’s very inhuman and it gets to you, and that’s horrible.”

Nelson is part of Model Mayhem, an online community that connects photographers, models, makeup artists and others involved in the modeling industry, locally. While it has been a source of most of her gigs, she also said that the site has a culture that expects a certain submissiveness from models. Many photographers, for example, don’t allow their models to bring escorts to shoots.

Nelson posted on the site in opposition to this limitation, noting how it jeopardizes the safety of models first meeting a photographer.

“Recently I went on a rant on that website, and everyone was like ‘You’re not allowed to have these opinions,’” Nelson said.

According to Bigler, the industry endorses silence among working models in order to perpetuate the “quiet” role of women.

“That is a classic example of that kind of role for women, that we are eye candy, meant not to be taken seriously, not to be listened to, to not have an active role, only a passive, quiet, donothing, you’re-there-for-our-visual-gaze, sexual eye candy [role],” Bigler said. “It’s breaking my heart, in some way, to see so many young women see those models of the ideal feminine woman and then internalize, for some of them, that that is what they want to be.”

Sexualization of youth Another form of objectification and sexualization some models face is the industry’s fetishization of youth and desire to depict women as childlike.

“I have makeup artists tell me almost every time, ‘You’re so cute—you look like a doll’ or ‘I just want to make you into a doll,’ or ‘You’re so cute—I just want to put you in my pocket,’” Saulsberry said. “It’s like, I know you have good intentions and you’re trying to compliment me, but I’m not a doll, I’m not a coat hanger, I’m not something you can put in your pocket.

I’m a person.”

Bigler said one of the reasons that the industry values youthful features and slenderness is, again, to keep women models in the traditional demure role in the patriarchy.

“Most people see that phenomena as connected to sexism, that you want to make adult women look more like girls, more innocent, because it somewhat strips them of their power and their respect and their adult qualities,” Bigler said. “They’re less threatening when they’re more child-like. They’re not as serious. You don’t have to consider them in a full adulthood kind of way.”

According to Bigler, not only does the industry pressure adult women models to look like young girls, it also attracts and caters to young girls interested in a modeling career. Ze said that over-sexualizing youth not only affects models but also their audience, who internalize this perceived importance of sexuality at a young age.

“Girls who show higher internalized sexualization are the ones who show more body shame and more body consciousness,” Bigler said. “At first you might be surprised by the body shame, because you think that girls who feel especially good about their body wear very skimpy, tight, hot clothing because they think that they have very good bodies they want to show off, and that is not what we find at all.”

graphic by Grace Bodine

The influence of modeling and media in society, changing the industry Pencis believes that models epitomize ideals in our society, and that if the industry and what it portrays change, it could have a significant impact on problems that are pervasive throughout our culture.

“So I think that modeling generally has come to represent what society expects of us and it’s notorious for that, and I think that a lot of the criticisms of modeling are criticisms that need to be made of what our society thinks in the first place,” Pencis said. “I think that in some cases it definitely has served as a negative reinforcement cycle for what’s expected of women in particular and what’s expected of men and how we’re supposed to look and how we’re supposed to interact.”

Some companies have responded to calls for more inclusive advertising: Aerie’s Real campaign, for example, features unretouched models with a variety of body types. Saulsberry said that she was excited to notice a trend of companies attempting to combat traditional beauty standards in the modeling industry.

“There have been some efforts to encourage plus size modeling or in between modeling, but it’s still going to take a while for the whole industry to catch up to that,” Saulsberry said.

“I don’t know if it will or not, but I hope it will… Mostly it’s in the high fashion world where they want the thin models, and that’s where the money is. You either do commercial or high fashion, and it’s gonna be hard to get booked for runway shows or anything like that if you’re not the standard body type. I think there are places that are moving in the right direction, but I think it will take a long time for the entire industry to catch up to that.”

Saulsberry quit modeling because of negative experiences with a culture that she felt was pressuring her to change the way she looked and hold herself to an unattainable standard.

However, she signed once more with MAZZAmodels just weeks after leaving the industry.

“I decided to re-sign when I saw that there were plenty of other models my size or bigger getting booked and realized I could continue modeling without losing weight, and that feeling too big was all in my head,” Saulsberry said. “I missed the excitement and sense of purpose and direction it provided, especially during this period of my life where those things are lacking severely.”

Her first shoot since returning to modeling, she said, was a much more constructive experience than the one that drove her to quit.

“This shoot I had more control over my hair, makeup, wardrobe and publicity of the photos, and I was more confident in my decision to be there, more comfortable in my body, and had more fun with the other models there,” Saulsberry said. “It was still a little stressful feeling the need to appear as good as possible in the photos, but I think practice will make that become easier.”

The modeling industry is complex and nuanced, and those involved note both positive and negative aspects of the culture. Ultimately, like many LASA models, Saulsberry has decided to approach the industry with optimism.

“The modeling industry is a greatly flawed one, but I enjoy having it in my life because it’s fun and exciting,” Saulsberry said. “It has taught me poise and confidence and business and networking skills. Plus, I don’t think I would ever feel satisfied if I never at least explored where it went, because the truth is I have no idea what it could lead to!”

graphic by LASA senior Emily Pencis. photo courtesy of Alejandro Osma

Twenty years ago, the average fashion model weighed statistics collected from ABC News and PBS

8%

LASA senior Becca Saulsberry. photo courtesy of Devin Mazza

Today, she less than the weighs average woman

23%

LASA senior Emily Pencis in an androgynous shoot. photo courtesy of Arielle Lewis

LASA senior TK Nelson. photo courtesy of Alejandro Osma

5 68%

The length of less than the the average average woman modeling career is

YEARS

LASA senior Nico Flores. photo courtesy of Chime Anyanwu

of U.S. women believe the media sets an unrealistic standard of beauty

2.5%

of the models at São Paulo’s 2008 Fashion Week were black, even though

50.8%

Claire C anna tti

of Brazil’s population is black or of mixed race

the liberator april 15, 2016

Austinite provides perfect guide to survive annual music festival Max Randall

Annually, South by Southwest brings in hundreds of acts from Staff Writer all over the world hoping to either get discovered, or to just put on a show. However for locals, especially high school students, going to see shows is no easy task. With the combined effort of record high traffic and full venues, SXSW can go from heaven to hell in a flash. Here’s what I’ve learned about how to make the most out of SXSW with no money, no car, and no drinks.

in line, but you don’t need to spend money to experience the true spirit of SXSW, which is getting to see some bands that you may know, but more importantly, enjoying the discovery of new groups and sounds you wouldn’t have the opportunity to hear. From well known national indie bands playing multiple free shows throughout the week to an obscure Japanese duo playing in an alley, SXSW is your doorway to discover everything from the commercial to the quirky. The festival itself is the best time of the year in Austin for concentrated band and people watching, where Plan Ahead Lineups go up weeks ahead of the festival, so check big name acts and our own “Keep Austin Weird” crowd can show their true to see if any of your colors, without a penny favorite artists are going.

The festival itself is the best time spent on you part.

The SXSW website even Surprises await around has a feature where you of the year in Austin... where big the corner, while no can look at only all ages name acts and our own “Keep holes are made in your venues, making going to pocket, from celebrity shows legally a breeze.

Austin Weird” crowd can show appearances like If you don’t know any their true colors.

Bill Murray and the artists that are coming, First Lady, to hippie use the website to check -LASA sophomore Max Randall grandmas starting out groups ahead of time drum circles; from and plan around seeing those bands. It’s a great way to discover new bands that your buddy in a punk band, to your dad’s favorite hair trashers trying to re-establish their street cred. you would have never even heard of.

“

“

Have a Backup Plan

Avoid Impulse Buys

Be Prepared to Be Turned Away

Dress Accordingly

If SXSW has taught me anything it’s that what can go wrong will. Whether it be the weather, timing, transportation issues or just the venue halting your plans, it’s good to have something to go to in case the worst happens. The most defeating thing is if you’re halfway through the day and have to call it quits because of no planning or if you have no idea of what to do if plans fall through.

SXSW can be a gamble as to whether you’ll be able to get into a venue or not. Sadly the latter happens all too frequently. In my case I waited three hours to get into one show, only to be told by the staff that the concert was closed to general admission five minutes before the event was to begin. This goes back to being prepared ahead of time and knowing where to go and what to do if you are turned away.

Don’t Spend a Dime

People who spend tons of money for passes= losers.

Most events at the festival, especially ones that allow people under 21, are free and are usually open without RSVP, making tickets and VIP passes irrelevant in having a great time. Throughout my week I didn’t put a single dollar towards getting into shows. You may not get into the top of the bill acts without paying for passes and standing

With free passes comes great financial irresponsibility.

The real trap at SXSW is the products and sponsors. Fancy fusion food trucks and “one of a kind vintage clothing deals” can lure you into buying products or souvenirs that you normally wouldn’t pay mind to. Prices are also jacked up beyond belief, which can bleed your wallet dry. Besides some dude is going to hand you his mixtape a block down.

You won’t need anything else.

With Austin having the unreliable weather it does, clear skies can turn into thunderstorms and 90 degree weather can get chilly in the span of minutes. Saint Patrick’s Day, which usually falls during the festival, almost always tends to bring a taste of damp, chilly Irish weather, as opposed to the usual sunburn-inducing, bright and balmy Spring Break climate. Check the forecast ahead of time and dress smart in order to be prepared for the day. You don’t know how long you will have to stand outside in miserable weather.

Get a Ride

Having plans killed by not having a ride is not the way SXSW should be experienced. If that means working it out with friends, parents or even making plans for Ubering around hours ahead, then that is what needs to be done.

The walk from venue to venue may be enjoyable, but can

be a lot longer than you think.

Walk Around

If a ride is not possible, there’s no harm in walking around if you feel safe to do so. Some of the best moments from my SXSW experience happened out of pure coincidence, resulting from stumbling upon backyard shows and unknown upcoming artists that I’d never would have known about without the help of my two feet, timing and happenstance.

Find and Meet Friends

If you’re like me, then your friends are already out and about going to shows just like you. It’s only a matter of tracking them down in the moment or planning ahead.

Trust me when I say that having friends with you to stand in line with or to just explore the city with can mean all the difference. The festival is also an opportunity to meet new friends who share common musical tastes or just the electricity of the communal experience, as well as people from interesting and kooky walks of life who you might want to avoid if you saw them on the street any other time. Instead, you’re sharing a laugh in line or rocking out with this person. Austin can feel like a small town confined in a big city, but during S X S W the city feels like a different, m o r e cosmopolitan place. It’s a a melting pot where different people from across the city to across the world gather in one location with the intent of having fun and enjoying all that the festival offers. Take initiative. Go out and see as many shows as possible and enjoy the complexity as well as the spontaneity of South by Southwest. title graphic by Meris McHaney story graphic by Claire Cannatti

The Bachelor: Senior in Love A commercial ends and the audience is dropped into one of

Isabel Saralegui the first rose ceremonies on the popular TV show the Bachelor.

Staff Writer

“Lauren...” Seven girls look up, tears in the brims of their eyes, with one binding hope. “Lauren W., will you accept this rose?”

Lauren W. bursts forward from the row of girls, some clinging to the roses already given to them, as if it was different from the 20 identical roses already handed out that night, the others, no rose in hand start hanging on each other and sobbing. Lauren W. seals the reception of her rose with a kiss and turns back to stand with the rest of the girls.

“Ladies, if you did not receive a rose. Please say your goodbyes,” Chris Harrison said, overdramatically. The women sniffed back their tears and gave solemn interviews outside “The House” and talking about how maybe somehow they’ll find love outside the show.

As a self-proclaimed tomboy for most of my life, I never expected to be so invested in the Bachelor TV series. However, what started out as arms-crossed reluctant viewing at a sleepover turned into something I wait for, I study for, I prepare for. I make brackets of the contestants, placing bets on my picks. Bachelor/Bachelorette season is an extra March Madness and the perfect bookend to my school year.

This past season of the Bachelor just ended with, get this, one of the seven Laurens mentioned above, Lauren B. winning the heart of Bachelor Ben. The best part of this season was that once all the other Laurens/Lauras, about six of them, were eliminated, Ben unfortunately still called Lauren, Lauren B. That level of awkwardness is very rarely found outside of the Bachelor. Another highlight of the Bachelor is that, about

every other season there’s a contestant, or Bachelor from Austin. The downside of these contestants repping ATX is that they’re all known for being psychos.

After years of watching awkward proposals, skydiving and shark diving dates and montages of leaving girls on islands, I think I know what it would take to create the perfect Bachelor season. The first component is finding the guy. I used to think that the best bachelors were model-quality bar owners or stock brokers, but after this past season, seeing hunky, yet gentle and kind Ben, I know that the Bachelor has to be an All-American Boy Next Door type. Let’s call him Will. Also, he’s a software consultant and a SeaWorld whale trainer.

The first 30-ish girls that arrive at the house are a wide variety of women, representing every demographic, but most specifically, blonde women between 21 and 26 living a 3 bedroom 2 bath, with no roommates, working as a kindergarten teacher and driving a Volkswagen Jetta to volunteer with clownfish with cancer. A few girls jump into his arms, as he signals behind their backs for security to move them along into the house and settle them down with a frozen margarita. Some girls bring gag gifts or make overly sexual jokes that make Will reach for his pepper spray. Then, there’s one girl, she’s different, maybe it’s because she’s a little more sophisticated, maybe it’s Maybelline, maybe it’s because he saw who she really is, looking deep into her eyes and loving her soul. Or maybe it’s because she’s a brunette and her name is Gwen H. Gwen H. Yeah, get this, for some reason this season there’s only one Lauren, Lindsay, Ashley and Kate, but four Gwens.

That would be the groundwork for a season full of heartbreak, awkward dates and drunken fights for all of America to see, and in the end a six month engagement that will be all over tabloids. graphic by Claire Cannatti

KE$HA CONTROVER$Y sparks debate Artist’s struggle for justice opens eyes to violence against women Leni Milliken

Everyone knows Ke$ha for her top chart hits like “Tik Tok,” “We R Who We R” and “Your Love is My Drug,” but where has she been since her last song was released in 2012? She explained in her own words that the reason behind this four year hiatus was not being able to make the music she wants to make. But recently, Ke$ha revealed that there is more to this issue.

For the past two years Kesha Rose Sebert, known as Ke$ha, has been involved in a lawsuit against her producer, Lukasz Gottwald, or Dr. Luke, for the sexual and emotional abuse she claims he inflicted on her. The lawsuit says that Dr. Luke took over Kesha’s career to the point of making threats against her and her family if she didn’t make the career choices he insisted upon. The suit also contains many sexual assault allegations that include date rape drugs and Kesha waking up in a bed not knowing how she ended up there. In mid-February of this year a New York judge ruled on the case that Kesha

Staff Writer

would have to continue following her contract with Dr. Luke by not creating any new music outside of his specific production company which means Kesha now cannot create any music of any sort without collaboration with her abuser.

It’s crazy to me that we could live in a nation where a woman is forced to work with her alleged rapist and abuser. Kesha is being forced not only into this, but also into giving up what she loves because of what this one man has done to her. How is this fair in any sense of the word?

While Kesha struggles to maintain her career, her presence in the public eye and her outlet of creativity, Dr. Luke continues to deny her allegations. Our society lets Dr. Luke believe that what he has done is okay and that he will have no consequences for hurting this young woman’s career and leaving her with long-lasting emotional scars.

More recently, in late March, Kesha has filed for an appeal to cut ties with both Sony and Dr. Luke, but her efforts are still being countered with comments from Dr. Luke’s lawyer about how “spinning lies in the media” is a waste of Kesha’s time and she should move on.

Rape and abuse victims all over the world are afraid to speak out against their abusers because of cases that end with verdicts like this. This is why we all need to become more aware of how important the issues of rape and abuse are, especially the way they are dealt with in our judicial system. According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National

Network 68 percent of sexual assaults in the US are not reported to the police and 98 percent of rapists in the US will never spend a day in jail.

We as a nation need to stand up for the rights and the just treatment of all abuse victims, but the spotlight on Kesha’s situation makes her even more important. As a message to all affected by abuse daily in our nation, we have to support Kesha and her right to separate from her abuser. This is why I stand to free Kesha because no victim anywhere should be blamed for what has happened to them. No victim should ever have to walk the same streets as their abuser, daily. No victim should have to continue their career and follow their dreams under the guidelines of their abuser. And no victim should have to wait endlessly for their abuser to get the retribution they deserve. graphics by Grace Bodine

the liberator april 15, 2016

Leaving high school on a high note LASA seniors go through arduous college application process in order to major in music definitely improved my musicianship, because working on so many pieces at once has expanded my technique and tone to levels they just weren’t at before,” McDaniel said.

“Because I was so stressed about having to do so many things at once, I had to set aside about an hour a day just for music, and that definitely helped as I was working on my pieces.”

A part of the college application process for music includes sending recordings of playing your craft to be considered for some of the music programs at schools.

LASA senior Wasson for example, had to make recording of her playing french horn and said this part was difficult because the audition tapes were more time consuming for her to compile.

“Each school wanted something a little different, so I had to prepare a lot of pieces,” Wasson said. “Recording

“

The band program here is amazing, and the atmosphere is both nurturing and competitive. I’m always inspired to do my best by the other fantastic musicians here.

-LASA senior Ciara McDaniel

“I think that if you love music and have a definite plan for what you want to do with it, then you should absolutely pursue your dream,” McDaniel said. “There are a lot of other sub-fields within the music category, music isn’t just performing. You can also teach music, do music therapy, and even do music engineering. You don’t have to be the best musician in the world to major in it.”

LBJ band director Brian Mayer has instructed McDaniel and Wasson for four years and said they both share a love for music and performing along with a beautiful dedication to music. When Mayer was a member of the band in high school, it created a second home for him and he said that studying music was the perfect medium to help him go into a profession that created a direct and positive influence on others lives. However, he said that he hopes band prepares students for their futures no matter what college major or career they pursue.

“I hope that all members of the band leave high school better prepared for life because of the skills that we helped them learn,” Mayer said.

“I hope that their time in band helps to give them the traits that they need to be happy and successful in life.”

Throughout their time at LASA, McDaniel and Wasson said they found the LBJ band department extremely accepting and helpful in their future endeavors.

“The band program here is amazing, and the atmosphere is both nurturing and competitive,” McDaniel said. “I’m always inspired to do my best by the other fantastic musicians here, but I also have a good support group of people to pick me up when I fall down. The band is nothing but encouraging, and I can only hope that I can have that kind of influence later in life.”

“

Over the past Entertainment Editors f e w months, hundreds of thousands of high school seniors have put their heads down to focus on the taxing college application process. Submitting test scores, transcripts and writing essays are all part of the long journey to college, but a select group of students will stay up late running their fingers over keys, strings and sheet music to perfect their performance audition pieces. LASA seniors Star Wasson and Ciara McDaniel are among the group of students that will apply to college as music majors.

“Applying to college for music is definitely more complicated than a regular application,” McDaniel said.

“On top of having to write all the essays and doing the normal application, you also have to write separate music essays, create a music resume and get outside recommendations, and fly out to schools to perform and audition on several pieces that cannot be region etudes, which is what most of us spend almost the entire first semester working on.”

McDaniel applied to Baylor, Lewis and Clark, Kalamazoo, St. Olaf, University of Texas at Dallas, Willamette and Trinity’s music programs as well, but will study at Trinity next semester in San Antonio. McDaniel said even though the application pools to get into certain music schools can be very competitive, she thinks that in the end, the reward to come is worth all the stress.

“I think this whole process has

Meris McHaney & Chelsea Banawis

each piece and putting together five different tapes was far more stressful than I thought possible. These tapes would be my first impression with these horn professors, and I wanted everything to be perfect so I had the best chance of being accepted.”

According to Wasson, auditioning for the music schools has been the biggest thing to happen in her life along with being accepted by a horn professor at a college who only accepts a few students every year. Being accepted, to Wasson, was validation for everything that she had done to get to this point in her music career.

“My biggest goal is to become a better player,” Wasson said. “It sounds simple, but it’s extremely complex. Playing an instrument is largely based off of muscle memory in your hands and face, and changing how you play changes that muscle memory.”

While Wasson plans to perform and perfect her craft, McDaniel will double major in music and psychology with a minor in some form of social work to pursue music therapy.

graphics by Claire Cannatti

Mr. Jaguar 2016 Recap

event unites both LBJ/LASA for an entertaining evening

Mr. Jag is the annual male pageant competition held in the Don Haynes Theater for the LBJ/LASA community. On March 29 LBJ and LASA student councils worked together to present the event in order to unite and provide entertainment to the student body. LBJ student council members like seniors Selene Lopez, Diana Urbano and sophomore Amanda Rodriguez helped spread the word around LBJ to gather contestants while LASA student council presidents Quinn Simpson and Joanna Ma were able to take a lead on connecting the LASA competitors. Among the contestants included LASA seniors Nick Blacklock, Alec Hunter, freshmen Rishi Chandna and LBJ freshmen Shelby Medrano and senior Deron Tilley.

The talents provided acts like an impromptu skit from the “Three Headed Jaguar” (LBJ seniors Raqib Felver, Jalen Spivey and junior Allie Green), an original rap from LASA sophomore Sawyer Timco and a juggling skit from Chandna. Before the performance, students met at the theater altogether for the first time to practice the group dance to “Sorry” by Justin Bieber choreographed by LBJ First Lady and LASA senior Hannah Read.

At the end of the evening, the contestants walked up with their escorts to impress and smooze the judges including LBJ teachers Nicholas Dellas and Mitchell Shotts and LASA teachers Yasmin Florey and William Kiker.

However, at the end of the night the crowned kings were Blacklock for LASA and Tilley for LBJ. The prize of Mr. Cub was awarded to Timco and the title of Mr. Meerkat to Medrano.

Written by Chelsea Banawis, photos by Marlen Avila and Chelsea Banawis

Top 5

MRS. MOORE: Oxygen MR. SHOTTS: Bullet MR. SHARP: Dante MR. BRANCACCIO: DJ

Names teachers would give their kids MRS. AGUAYO: Tang and Song (Twins)

by Meris McHaney

the liberator april 15, 2016

D-WALK OF THE PENGUINS: LASA science teacher to attend teacher program in Antarctica LASA science teacher David Walker’s classroom buzzes with energy and conversation; the clock hands move to read 11:35 a.m. and third period commences.

In Antarctica, nothing significant is happening. Penguins waddle across white ice. Soon Walker will be one of these penguins—metaphorically, of course.

During winter break of the 2016-2017 school year, Walker will fly to Chile where he will embark on the National Geographic Endeavor, an expedition ship that will sail to the peninsula of Antarctica. Walker is one of the few teachers accepted to have a place aboard the ship.

He will experience the 17-day voyage as a 2016 Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellow.

The expedition takes about one hundred guests to experience the little-traveled continent to explore the wilderness. The cruise offers guests excursions like kayaking by icebergs, hiking on the ice, among others, with a team of National Geographic naturalists, undersea specialists, historians, video journalists, and photojournalists. The trip normally comes with a high price tag, but Walker’s place is not as a guest. Rather, he will be given the opportunity to attend in exchange for providing National Geographic with original educational material based on the excursion.

“It’s mainly going to be a more educational-type of experience from which I will glean things to bring back in the way of deliverables,” Walker said. “I have to contribute to their blog, I have to write lesson plans for them that they can market on their website, I have to do X number of outreach things. That’s where teachers pay them back.”

This teacher program is similar to one Walker participated in last summer called Teacher at Sea, provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Walker and a small research team sailed around the Gulf of Mexico from June 24 to July 9, 2015 on a NOAA mission to research the biodiversity of the gulf.

Eventually the data was recorded to help the government set new fishing regulations based on species population levels. As part of the program’s requirements, Walker kept a blog and wrote lesson plans.

“With the NOAA thing, I wrote the lesson plan and used it in one of my Planet Earth classes just to see what happened,” Walker said. “It wasn’t as directly related.

Planet Earth is a pretty specific class in terms of what we do, with all the field trip and biodiversity project. It was related to biodiversity and allopatric speciation, but it was just a different example of that. That’s how I weaved that in.”

Walker said he hopes to use the lesson plans he crafts from the Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic trip in his classroom as he did with that from the NOAA Teacher at Sea program. Though the requirements as a

In NOAA Teacher at Sea, Walker and his team used a trawl to lift organisms to the boat to collect data on them.“We bring up everything, dump it on the boat, sort it, catalogue the biodiversity, sex all the organisms, and do the equivalent of a planet earth type of project on biodiversity but with marine biodiversity from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico,” Walker said. photo courtesy of David Walker

teacher fellow are similar in the two programs, Walker’s upcoming trip to Antarctica is not research-based.

“I’m not going to be going down there like, ‘Let’s research the penguins!’” Walker said. “I could observe things myself and write whatever I want about things, but it’s mainly going to be a more educational-type of experience.”

Though the expedition team is comprised of accredited experts, its role is predominantly to guide the paying guests during their time in Antarctica. Accordingly, this trip is inherently different from the NOAA Teacher at Sea program.

“The governmental entity is National Geographic, not

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I can bring these experiences to my class to create better learning experiences for my students.

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Zoe Trungale

Staff Writer

-LASA teacher David Walker

NOAA, and this one is not research-based. This one is going to be eco-tourism,” Walker said. “...[The guests] are people who are wanting to go not on a vacation, because it’s Antarctica, but they’re wanting to go on a scientificallythemed thing.”

While the upcoming trip is not research-based specifically, Walker has engaged in scientific research many times. However, NOAA Teacher at Sea was the first education-related scientific research program in which Walker has taken part.

“I have participated in a wide variety of different types of research, and field work is my favorite,” Walker said.

“My main job after college was conducting bench research in molecular biology. While the work was interesting, the laboratory was very confining, and working long hours in the lab by myself was quite isolating. Field work is much more interesting to me, because even if I’m working by myself, I’m outside and surrounded by nature.”

Though Walker said he now constantly seeks out scientific research opportunities and has worked at LASA for six years, he hasn’t always known he wanted to teach science. Throughout college he says he tried out numerous subjects, starting with English and switching to and from philosophy, political science, physics, neuroscience, theatre, history, biology, chemistry and finally biochemistry.

“I eventually decided to try teaching out, as I wanted a career with more social interaction and thought it would be an interesting challenge,” Walker said. “And I ended

While participating in NOAA Teacher at Sea, Walker and his team practiced an abandon ship drill, during which he tried on a survival suit.

“It is made out of neoprene, so in that regard it reminds me of fly fishing waders,” Walker said. “However, it feels quite claustrophobic once you put your arms in it and zip it halfway up your face. I needed much assistance in putting it on.” photo courtesy of David Walker

up loving it. What’s also great about the teaching career is that my summers are free to explore different fields and travel opportunities.”

Walker teaches the signature course Planet Earth as well as all levels of Organic Chemistry, while also coaching the Science Olympiad Team. He says opportunities like NOAA Teacher at Sea and the Lindblad ExpeditionsNational Geographic Antarctica trip allow him to grow in the classroom.

“In Planet Earth, we talk a great deal about the world’s biodiversity and the factors affecting it, both positive and negative, especially those of a geologic origin,” Walker said.

“I love bringing personal experiences into the classroom, and given the content of Planet Earth, I always actively seek out opportunities to learn more about the world and its life.”

Planet Earth is also taught by AP Environmental Science teacher Tim Fennell. During Walker’s time at LASA, the two teachers have worked closely. Accordingly, Fennell wrote Walker’s recommendation for the Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographicprogram.

“He deserves it,” Fennell said. “He’s one of the most talented and dedicated teachers I’ve ever taught with, especially for this stage in his career, so early in his career, he’s as good a teacher as I’ve ever encountered.”

Walker’s upcoming trip will allow him to once more become a student as he ventures south to learn about the chilly environment, while also gaining valuable understanding he hopes will enrich his classes.

“On this trip, I will get to visit an area of the world rarely toured by humans and learn directly from professional naturalists, undersea specialists, photographers and video journalists,” Walker said. “I can bring these experiences to my class to create better learning experiences for my students.”

Walker said he often brings back experiences from his research trips to his classroom, so his upcoming trip will present plenty of opportunity for inspiration, both personal and educational.

“Honestly, simply setting foot on the continent will be amazing,” Walker said. “But I am very excited to see all of the wildlife there and observe the work that Natural Geographic field scientists conduct. I have gotten more and more into photography over the past couple of years, so I’m hoping to take great photos and videos to bring back to class. I’ve already purchased a book on Antarctic wildlife and am studying up.”

As much as science is a hobby for him, Walker says he will continue to teach during the year while pursuing his scientific passions in his spare time.

“As of now, I want to keep teaching. I find this job both challenging and fulfilling, and this is in large part due to the students I teach,” Walker said. “I learn so much from my students every year, and this serves as a major contributor to my growth as a teacher.”

One of the missions for Walker and his team during the NOAA Teacher at Sea program was to monitor lionfish populations. “We found a lot of lionfish, which is an invasive species, which caused a lot of problems to native biology off the coast of Florida,” Walker said. photo courtesy of David Walker

LASA junior runs YouTube gaming channel Alia Shaukat

Staff Writer

channel. He registered for an advertising network two months into making videos and began to make a serious income approximately six months in.

“I am partnered with a network called Freedom and that has allowed me to monetize my videos with ads, which is my main source of income,” MacAuley said. “There are also sponsorships that I have gotten such as Control Freak which make me money as well.”

In the future, MacAuley sees film and editing playing a significant role in his life.

He hopes to continue making videos and is thinking about majoring in film or editing during college.

MacAuley’s advice for other people who want to get started on YouTube is to not focus on the financial aspect.

“Just have fun with your videos, don’t make them for money,” MacAuley said. “Do it because you like making videos. Go out and enjoy yourself.”

graphic by Grace Bodine

The virtual floor has cobblestones with small patches of grass growing in between the cracks. Set in a mythical science fiction world, the player roams the field with weapons in hand. The goal is to save the last safe city on Earth that is about to be taken over by ruthless aliens. This game is played by many, including LASA junior Kekoa MacAuley, except MacAuley’s games are watched by close to 39,000 people.

With 38,919 subscribers and counting, MacAuley makes YouTube videos that focus exclusively on gaming, mainly Destiny and The Division, two online games with massive followings. He currently makes three to four videos per week, keeping his fan base updated as much as possible. MacAuley, who started making videos in September 2014, believes that his success is due to originality.

“I guess I just found my niche, a game that was new that came out and it had a huge audience; I think they have over 25 million players,” MacAuley said. “Not many other YouTubers were focusing on that, so I really grew a big viewer base quickly.”

His interest started to develop at 12 years old, when a friend of his bought an Xbox. Since then, MacAuley’s love for gaming has only grown through the making of his videos.

“I started about a year and a half ago because I thought it would be interesting and I wanted something to do,” MacAuley said. “Actually, my parents would let me play more games if I was making videos.”

His videos started from the inspiration of other skilled YouTubers.

MacAuley watched YouTube videos, especially gaming videos, for many years until he decided to make videos of his own.

“I knew that a lot of people made videos as a job, and I had been watching a lot of Call of Duty YouTubers like Ali-A and they really inspired me to start making videos,” MacAuley said.

“They all had really high quality content and I wanted to do something similar.”

As his videos change and improve, MacAuley changes as well. He said that his communication skills and his interest in film and editing have developed as his channel matures.

“My thumbnails, which are the little pictures that you click on, really sucked at the beginning and so did the audio-quality content,” MacAuley said. “For my speaking stuff, I said ‘um’ a lot in the beginning and I think that mainly I’ve reduced that, and my speaking during videos has gotten a lot better.”

MacAuley’s success has allowed him to profit off of his

the liberator april 15, 2016

LASA sophomore dives deep into swimming The starting noise sounds as 10 bodies dive into the water, and take off down the pool in a dead sprint. As the swimmers start the second length, LASA sophomore Alex Mancevski starts pulling ahead of the competition with no signs of slowing.

With swimmers on the right and left closing in on him, he tried to give everything he had left. As the final wall approached, Mancevski beat out the others by less than a half second to advance to the finals.

Mancevski started his swimming career when he was one-year-old at his local pool trying to stay afloat.

Once old enough to take swim lessons, Mancevski did so at the City of Austin Summer Program. He quickly learned enough to join a summer swim team called the Dick Nichols Devil Rays at a local pool. After two years of swimming competitively, his coaches recommended that he consider swimming against harder opponents.

They suggested starting to swim at Longhorn Aquatics.

Mancevski, eager to get better, asked his parents to sign him up. His parents let him join in October of 2007 just as he turned 7 (the minimum age to join). At this point, Mancevski was competing almost every month, and had started taking the sport extremely seriously.

“It was a very exciting time since many of the coaches were already Olympians or swimmers training for the Beijing Olympics,” Mancevski said.

At the time, he was still tentative about fully committing to swimming, but after getting more competitive with swimming, Mancevski was completely hooked and hasn’t stopped since. In 2008, he began getting coached by 4-time Olympic medalist Neal Walker. At first, he was only Mancevski’s coach, but for his birthday, he started private lessons with him as a present. After this, Mancevski qualified for the Long Course Texas Age Group Swimming Championship (TAGS). He was the only 8-year-old with two events, so at that time, he was the only one like that. His two events were the 50 Backstroke and the 100 Butterfly. Mancevski said that having this success so early on helped to drive him forward in his swimming career and motivate his later training.

“Being successful so young inspired me to continue doing my best,” Mancevski said. “Since 2009 until 2015, I’ve always qualified for TAGS in at least a couple of events, and some years, I qualified for nine events.”

Having success in what you do always helps people to keep with that activity, and Mancevski was extremely successful. He felt it increased his commitment to swimming and drove him into even more success and achievement. Some of his achievements include being 2nd overall in TAGS in 2011, and third overall for his age group in 2013 at state.

Mancevski said getting into swimming is not that to a strict protein diet while trying to avoid dairy as to surprising considering his maternal family. His mom, reduce lactic acid. Hydration is key, but trying to stick Teresa Graziani explained that when they go to Macedonia, to water is important. Once he finishes warm-up, he will their family lives 5 minutes from the ocean, and this made often go buy two egg tacos from the concession stand for it a necessity for him to swim at a young age. Alex didn’t added fuel, and then mentally prepare himself for the race. care much for the cold water, but still learned to brave the “I shake hands with my competitors in adjacent lanes,” harsh currents. said Mancevski. “After I’ve done that, I start focusing, “The Pacific and Ohrid have very cold and deep visualizing what I need to do for my race.” waters,” Graziani said. “That made it necessary for Alex to Mancevski believes that swimming is part mental be proficient at swimming since an early age.” because if anyone doesn’t think they can swim fast enough

Mancevski has had lots of supports from to beat their competitors, then they have already lost the everyone around race. He has developed a him Graziani said, two pronged strategy to his so whenever he racing. First he tries to repeat was thinking of his best time by visualizing stopping he always his best race. Then, he had someone to focuses on improving and keep him going. beating out the competition.

Once he got into To do this, he thinks of how swimming, he he needs to change or alter -LASA sophomore Alex Mancevski became interested his technique to shave off in water polo as every possible second. well. After a few years of swimming at TAGS, Mancevski, “[Now] it was about mental strength more than decided he would try to pursue water polo. In 2014, when technique,” Mancevski said. “[My] muscles ached so much he was 13 years old, he chose to go to the Water Polo that my body was telling me to stop, but your brain has to Junior Olympics instead of the two TAGS events he had tell your body to continue.” qualified for.

Graziani thinks that swimming is something that’s “In 2014, since I was 13 years old, I chose to go to Water worth sticking with and that if anyone is serious about Polo Junior Olympics instead, although I had qualified for it, then they can go as far as they want. Mancevski found two TAGS events,” Mancevski said. “But in the summer of inspiration in bettering himself, but that can come from 2015, I swam seven events in LC TAGS, I got into finals anywhere. Graziani recommends that being on a team for every event.” provides a bigger drive to keep swimming because being Mancevski loved to swim and play water polo, but as with friends make you want to keep doing what you’re time went on he kept changing organized sports. Even doing. By being on a team Mancevski was able to keep though Mancevski was very much committed to the with the sport until he completely focused. sports he played, he didn’t specifically focus on diving, and “My advice is to enjoy the time you’re swimming. In playing golf to swimming until junior high. Since the third a team, it’s more fun, you have friends, practice isn’t a grade, he would finish school and rush to the golf course, solitary endeavor,” Graziani said. “The person has to find and afterwards to UT for swimming and diving. that motivation, whatever it is, and that should make him “He was successful at all those sports.” Graziani said. or her go swim laps.”

“He qualified for Junior Nationals in diving, he got 2nd or Mancevski’s commitment and intense work ethic has 3rd place in golf tournaments, and qualified for the State paid off over the years with success after success, but he Swimming Championship (TAGS) since he was 8 years believes that he was lucky to be successful. He thinks that old. The difference now is that he’s narrowed his athletic anyone can be successful in what they do if they keep interests to swimming and seasonal water polo.” working at it and dedicate time and energy to what they Mancevski time after time motivates himself by looking do. at his competition and the times he needs to get to beat “Swimming is a sport you can do for life,” Mancevski them. He has developed a routine that he has perfected said. “I’ve been fortunate to be successful but I believe that to best suit the race. His first recommendation is to get a everybody who swims benefits from the discipline and the fitful night rest, and to eat lots of carbohydrates for dinner. work ethics learned by waking up early, improving your Personally, Mancevski likes the dish “Arroz con Pollo,” but own time and testing your own limits.” any carbohydrates will work. The next morning he sticks

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Being successful so young inspired me to continue doing my best.

LBJ Sports: By the Numbers Boys Soccer

2/23 vs. McCallum, T (1-1) 2/26 vs. Travis, T (1-1) 3/1 vs. Cedar Creek, T (0-0) 3/5 vs. Crockett, W (2-0)

Girls Soccer

2/23 vs. Lanier, W (6-0) 2/26 vs. Reagan, W (7-0) 3/8 vs. Crockett, T (0-0) 3/12 vs. McCallum, T (1-1)

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Elan McMinn

Staff Writer

A run-down of recent scores and statistics of LBJ sports for the past six weeks.

Boys Basketball

Girls Basketball

2/22 vs. Georgetown, W (57-55) 2/26 vs. Lanier, W (76-64) 2/29 vs. Vista Ridge, W (64-58) 3/4 vs. Nixon, L (69-70)

2/16 vs. East View, W (50-46) 2/19 vs. Tivy, W (49-43) 2/23 vs. Vista Ridge, L (43-72)

Graphic by Chloe Edmiston

Kickboxing gives well-earned buttkicking Laney Phillips

To be honest, when my friends first brought up the idea of taking a kickboxing class I was a little terrified. The thought of being punched and kicked over and over again was not my cup of tea. I know of many celebrities, such as Gigi Hadid, using kickboxing as their primary way of working out. I’d heard great reviews and experiences from people who’ve taken a class, but I never thought me and my weak wet lettuce arms would be found in an intense kickboxing class.

For my first class, I was expecting a simple introduction with maybe a few general techniques.

I was so excited to wear the picturesque boxing gloves and punch things.

Everything about kickboxing seemed so intense and somewhat appealing, except for the fact that I lack any arm muscle, and unsurprisingly, that is a necessity. I was not prepared for the crazy amount of conditioning and the extremely precise technique that was required.

When we first arrived at the gym, I was over whelmed with the amount of people there for the class. I don’t know why I was surprised, I know how appealing it is. We were told to arrive 20 minutes early so they could teach us the basic form and the certain ways to punch. So, there we were after our short 20 minute lesson on how to move in our bare feet and hand wraps; which, embarrassingly, I didn’t know we were supposed to wear, ready to take on the world.

The next thing I know, we’re running around the gym at a somewhat uncomfortable pace. Since when was running a part of kickboxing? We eventually came to a stop and the instructor told us to start doing high knee jabs—something I didn’t fully understand.

I waited until someone started, and I tried my best to mimic the insane looking moves the rest of the class was doing so easily. Once I finally got a hold of punching and kicking my leg simultaneously, we immediately moved on to the next thing. We got in a very large circle and began doing crazy hard

graphic by Sofia Dyer

Staff Writer

conditioning. I am a dancer so I am used to a little cardio here and there, but this was excessive. After what seemed like 10,000 squats and lunges I was ready to give up and possibly throw up my lunch, we were instructed to do 20 burpees. I think I laughed a little when he said this, because if you have ever seen me, you would know how much of a challenge this would be. My arms are literally the size of nutrient-deprived twigs. Once I made it through, he counted us newbies off and sent us to work with another instructor on the fundamentals I was so relieved that we were finally going to get to wear the super rad boxing gloves and punch things.

He started us off with a simple step and jab and step back. I did not realize how heavy the punching bags were, so I started off strong. And as soon as I hit the bag I almost fell over. And so after about five repeats of this my arms were already tired, typical me. Of course after about five minutes of that we were told to do 20 pushups on our knuckles with our gloves on.

This seems pretty easy with all the cushion, but in fact it makes it about 10,000 times harder. By this time in the class I am completely pooped and cannot imagine lifting my arms ever again. But somehow I manage, and we’re up again learning how to cross-jab and hook.

After going through all these routines and movements we were given, the class was coming to a close. We had about seven minutes left in the class, so I assumed we would do some sort of cool down or stretch. But boy was I wrong. The last seven minutes of that class were the hardest I worked all day. They had us continuously punching the bag for what seemed like eternity, and if we stopped they would come up next to us and shout “keep it up!!!” So if we stopped, it was incredibly awkward.

The instructors were all around pretty great and very experienced. They all made sure we knew what we were doing and that we were being safe. They constantly were tending to us and giving us notes on how to improve and make the movements easier and better for us. The instructors were so focused on making sure we got the most out of our experience and enjoyed ourselves. Everyone was so inviting and so focused on what they were doing to even notice me embarrassing myself.

Although kickboxing is probably the most intense and physically demanding sport I have ever participated in, it is the most fun I have had working out probably ever. I felt so exhilarated during and after the class and was so determined to work this hard all the time. My entire body was incredibly sore the following week, but it was absolutely worth it and I enjoyed every minute of it. And yes, my weak wet lettuce arms were undoubtedly the most sore.

LASA water polo team begins practicing for second season Mateen Kontoravdis

The whistle blows and swimmers in purple caps race to the ball. You can hear the splashing, everyone is wrestling each other. The LBJ team catches the ball and swims up quickly to pass the ball to the other side. The opposite team rushes to catch it. The LBJ team just played their first game against Anderson High School on March 25.

“It’s way more of a team sport than swimming, when you are really just doing individual stuff and I really do love swim practice, but sometimes water polo is much more physical and you can play actual games like you would in a soccer match,” LASA junior Finlay Scanlon said.

She and her friends started the girls team last year with four students. This was enough to hold practices, but unfortunately their team was not large enough to play against other teams.

This year, students of the water polo team were determined to make the sport more popular at LASA and LBJ. LASA junior Hannah Grace Jensen is a veteran member of the water polo team and has been helping to teach new members this year at practice.

“Everyone is very supportive, because everyone is new to the sport,” Jensen said. “We have a very unique atmosphere.

There is a lot of diversity in the sport, and I have gotten to meet a lot of kids and made friends with kids in all grades.”

LASA freshman Aldo Ordonez first began playing water polo after his friend invited him to a practice a few years ago and he instantly loved it. Just recently, he came back from the 2016 Olympics Development Program Championship for water polo.

“Water polo is naturally a very fun sport and some of the people already had previous experience, and for some of the people, I simply told them that I think they should join and try it out and see if they like it,” Ordonez said.

He and five others helped recruit players this year. He said that the team has grown tremendously since last year and that the team will now be able to compete in games against other schools. Although the team has grown, Aldo says that there is always room for more players to join.

“Water polo is pretty much like soccer in the water,” Ordonez said. “You pass the ball to your teammates and then over the net and score. I like water polo because it is fun and it has pretty much all of the advantages of soccer except in terms of passing the ball.”

Currently, the team does not have any plans to make the sport a UIL sport, because it is much easier to operate as a club.

“We will probably just keep it as a club sport because it is also then super easy for anyone to join at any point,” Scanlon said.

Their practice times are Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8 to 9:30 p.m., at the Leo and Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center at the University of Texas.

Staff Writer

the liberator april 15, 2016

LASA and LBJ tear up the field in 2016 World Cup

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The sounds of excited shouts and yells filled the air on the LBJ soccer and football fields on April 1, mingling with the sharp scent of vibrant green grass as the players made their ways through the games. Students in loud and soft colors contrasted the green in such a way that made it abundantly clear that spring is here, and with it comes the LASA/LBJ German Club’s World Cup. Cheers from spectators and teammates alike fueled friendly competition between all, students rooting or playing for their favorite teams and giving this annual event the atmosphere that it has become famous for. After the first loss, teams fell to the loser’s bracket where winning is only consolatory. A loss in the loser’s bracket results in elimination from the event, though many players stayed to cheer on the other teams. In the end, Italy was crowned the champion in a 4-3 final match against Bosnia.

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photos courtesy of Gabriel Salgado and Isabel Saralegui

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U.S. Virgin Islands and Germany fight for the ball. “Even though we weren’t the best team we all still tried really hard and had fun doing it. I really enjoyed playing with the people I would never normally play with on the school soccer team,” U.S. Virgin Islands player and LASA senior Roberto Guzman said of the event.

In the Bosnia versus Democratic Republic of the Congo game, LASA seniors Bryson Hill and Alvin Hong go after the ball. When asked what his favorite part of World Cup was, Hong said, “The cupcakes that they gave the second place prize.”

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Italy player and LASA junior Vijay Veeraraghavan heads the ball for Italy against the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “It’s a great opportunity to have fun with friends, exercise, and get free snacks,” Veeraraghavan said.

LASA senior and Bosnia player Fox Pfund-Pulliam fights to make it in the goal. “I love soccer and Bosnia. And I thought I could win the world cup,” Pfund-Pulliam says of why he played in the World Cup this year.

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Italy player and LBJ junior Diego Mata goes for the goal. “What I liked most about World Cup was coming together with my friends and playing the beautiful game,” Mata said.

LASA junior and Democratic Republic of the Congo player Erik Benitez guards the goal for his team against Italy. “This event is amazing, it really gives everyone a chance to take part of a beautiful sport- soccer- and not just that but it makes friendships stronger,” Benitez said.

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the liberator april 15, 2016

SPEEDO

The Paper Jaguar with Emma Jane Hopper

LASA ultimate frisbee team participates in interscholastic College Station tournament Emma Jane Hopper

Staff Writer

Spring is in the air! The sky is blue, the leaves are green, the spirits are lifted. Away goes the cold, and in comes the many new things, among them flowers, showers, and ultimate frisbee.

LASA’s own ultimate frisbee team has begun to play tournaments for the new 2016 season, starting at College Station this Easter weekend. The team is split into LASA X and LASA Y, with X having placed 10th of 12 and Y having placed 6th of 12 in the first tournament. This is a part of Spring League, which lasts five weeks playing against Austin area teams, finishing with the state tournament in May in Round Rock. Despite losses, the team stays positive.

“I was expecting both LASA teams would be competitive and I think we accomplished that... Every game was hard fought and everybody played their best and with a lot of spirit,” return player and LASA sophomore Dylan Cox said.

The LASA team is doing a good job of keeping up, even with a lack of experience and practice for many players. It was the first game for many freshman and new players, which made it more about getting experience in a competition setting.

“This tournament was to get playing time and practice for everyone as individuals as well as for the team as a whole,” team captain and LASA senior Sam Pastor said.

The general consensus was that the most important outcome of this tournament was growth of the players, both new and returning.

“Wins or losses to me that didn’t really matter, in the end we had a lot of fun, and a lot of underclassmen… were able to get a lot better and the chemistry of the team got a lot better as well,” LASA senior and other team captain Gabriel Salgado said, “This was pretty much the first show of how we are as a team. We’re off to an awesome start and it’s going to be really fun.”

The LASA team faces stiff competition this year, as evidenced by the results of the tournament. The growing popularity of ultimate frisbee means new competition is continuously added each year to the pool of teams in the spring league.

“Our competition is pretty good, very athletic and Photo by Greg Kreth

Squeezing into the only athletic swimsuit in my closet, a red and black Speedo that had been worn exactly two times before, I exhaled forcefully to get it all the way up. I was preparing to venture into the world of water polo and I was relying on a swimsuit I had bought more than six months before, since I gave up on my swim team dreams (one exhausting 30 minute workout in the Jewish Community Center pool after purchase).

Finally, slowly being strangled in the not-stretchyenough material and with a swim bag on my back, I was ready to go. I had a swim bag packed with the essentials-- water, a towel and a change of clothes.

I waited by the door until I was picked up by my generous (and actually athletic) neighbor who helpfully also belonged to the team. She drove us downtown to the Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center, where water polo practice was to be held from 8 to 10 p.m.

As we made our way from the car into the center we ran into another familiar face-- a member of the ultimate frisbee team, whom I’d seen on my last endeavor for this column. He recognized me first, reintroducing himself as “the one who narrated all of his moves” for me. We moved along into the building.

It smelled of chlorine and my inevitable failure, with lights that glared like police headlamps overhead. The environment was intimidating: I was already shaking in the flip flops my mom had lent me to make up for my dearth of appropriate footwear. To make it worse, of course, was the presence of the Anderson swim team just one multicolored lane line over. I wasn’t expecting that, and I certainly wasn’t expecting to have to actively avoid eye contact with an ex-flame of mine who plays for Anderson water polo.

I soldiered on, however, and found that I actually knew a few people on the water polo team. We began with warming up, dividing into lanes and swimming four laps of freestyle, three laps of backstroke, two laps of breaststroke and one lap of butterfly. I’m best at breaststroke and butterfly, but I made it through the freestyle with only a few Oxygen Deprivation Moments and the backstroke with only a few Unexpected Drowning Events. I was actually pretty decent at swimming. I went to state for breaststroke in fourth grade, so I guess you could say I’m pretty pro.

After I was beginning to feel confident (and out of breath), we moved on to drowning each other. I’m being completely serious. There was this part of the practice-- and I may be getting things entirely out of order as the entire practice was a near-death experience for me-- where we partnered up and put our hands on someone’s shoulders and then we pushed them down while they tried to stay up. I wasn’t drowned because I was new, but I swear I nearly killed my partner four or five times. After the ritualistic drowning we threw a ball back and forth for a little bit. We were only allowed to catch or throw with one hand at a time, because both hands are illegal in a game. I think it’s already hard enough that you have to stay above water the whole time anyway and the extra challenge is not necessary, but we got it anyway. After we were finished with passing practice, we did some shooting.

The shooting part was a real knock to the head, literally. At first there was no goalie and I was feeling pretty confident in my abilities, but then a freshman boy started playing goalie and I never got another shot in. I gave up pretty quickly and used this article as an excuse to get out of the water, taking a “writing break.” This was when I noticed that, whether it was the glaring LED lights without any notion of subtle incandescence or the lack of oxygen in my system, my hands were already purple. I sat down with my journal on the edge of the stands near the LBJ team, but eventually I bailed on writing to go back to the practice as I found my ex was edging closer and closer to me. It was probably just a coincidence but it was a weird one, and the team had moved on from shooting, so I needed to get back in anyway. Turns out drowning is preferable to awkward conversations with some people!

I got back just in time to do this defense drill where we practiced a move we’d make in the game. I was in a group of three so one person was always without a partner and just hanging out until it was time to throw the ball to another person. I was so excited to be the solo person. It was my chance to cling to the water polo ball like a sea otter with two broken legs, desperately trying to discreetly catch my breath. Unfortunately for me, the water polo ball-- my flotation device, as I began to call it (aloud, unfortunately, for I was too delirious from exhaustion to think inside of my head)- would not crack open with a snack inside like the otter’s urchin.

Finally practice ended, earlier than I expected.

I was free to leave at half past nine with the rest of the girls, but I found myself staying until ten with my fellow reporter and the boys until my creepy ex finally got back in the water. He’d elected to wait by my things in the stands for 10 minutes, trying to inconspicuously be the only Anderson team member out of the water.

Despite the pain and my inability to walk properly the day after, I actually had a lot of fun with water polo.

I was surprisingly decent at it, and I felt decent enough to decide to join the team not long after writing this column. I made it through a practice, so how terrible could a whole season be?

LASA senior Will Goodwin passes the frisbee as LASA seniors Sam Pastor, captain of the Vertikills, and Milan Rivas look on. The two teams LASA fielded placed sixth and 10th respectively at the tournament in College Station on March 26. “There are a lot of people at LASA and at other high schools that ultimate is one of the few things they do in their free time because they devote most of their time to it,” Pastor said. photo by Greg Kreth

Frisbee smart, however we have not faced any of the Dallas area teams that will be the heavyweights at the state tournament in May,” Pastor said.

The challenge the LASA ultimate frisbee team faces from skilled teams, however, doesn’t lead to hard feelings, or a change in the mood and feeling of the team.

“Every team we’ve played has… just been fun to play.

We’re lucky to have played such skilled and spirited teams,” said Cox. The thought that fun is the most important part of ultimate is shared by most on the team, including Salgado.

“All of the other teams were pretty great with their spirit and it’s always great to play others,” Salgado said.

The ultimate frisbee team is looking forward to a more successful season this year compared to that of last year’s, regardless of the competition. The team itself has grown tremendously, with this year’s two teams being the first time the team has had to split.

“The team as far as players is almost the same as last year with the addition of some talented underclassmen.

The returning players though have all come back more experienced and better players as far as skill and understanding of the game is concerned,” Cox said.

“Overall, the team is more cohesive and more competitive this year which is really exciting.”

Ultimate frisbee is good for growth in the individual, both physically and mentally, according to Cox. “It’s helped me gain better body control and balance as well as just getting to know my body better and getting familiar with it,” Cox said. “It’s [also] gotten me to focus and be patient as well as giving me a good sense of team and fellowship.”

The LASA team stands out because of its team interaction. Most of the players when spoken to were most proud of the environment of their team.

“We talk a lot. There’s always constant communication between people on the field and the sideline and lots of mentoring from the captains to the developing players,” Cox said. “Everybody’s always supportive of everyone else. Even when people make mistakes and mess up, everybody else is there to lift them up and dust them off and we just keep playing. ” Pastor also spoke of the unity and atmosphere of the ultimate frisbee team, noting that many players are there for the joy that the sport brings them.

“Our team is going to be the loudest on the sidelines, and most supportive out there because we have a great group of players, some great coaches and we all are out there having fun,” Pastor said.

To Salgado, it’s not just the LASA frisbee team that comes together when they play: it’s everyone on the field.

“You have more fun when both teams have fun, so it’s not necessarily the competition makes you angry at the other team but you can make friends with [them].”

Looking forward after upset

this season, according to Coach Roland.

“The odds of us beating them were pretty low,” Roland said. “But we didn’t pay attention to that. We went in Mere seconds on the clock mixed with shouts from there with the mindset to win. That game was big for us court and sideline alike reflected the neck and neck game to get to where we got to.” on Friday, March 4, pitting the LBJ basketball team against The game against Vista Ridge was highlighted by a last Joseph W. Nixon High School from Laredo, Texas. After second shot by LBJ sophomore Shasirae Harvey, who sent a 14-7 season, the LBJ basketball team traveled to San the Jaguars into overtime against an intimidating team Antonio to play in the regional semifinals of the playoffs. lead by Vista Ridge junior Aaron Gregg, a nationally However, after a tense showdown with the Mustangs, the ranked point guard. Harvey said, that while making the Jaguars ultimately lost 70-69. LBJ head coach Freddie shot, everything faded away except for the pressure of Roland said although the team gave it their all, the game missing. was still in limbo to the very end.

“Nothing was going through my mind,” Harvey “We started out really well and we finished up really said. “I was just scared. Scared I wasn’t going to make well but we lost a game that I thought we were the better it because I had a similar situation last year and I didn’t team going in,” Roland said. “There were a lot of errors, make the shot.” turnovers and missed With more free throws but we upperclassmen stayed with them joining and The odds of us beating them for a long time but continuing to play just missed it by one were pretty low, but we didn’t for LBJ, next year’s point.” season looks bright At the start of pay attention to that. We went in the player’s eyes. the season Roland “We’re going to in there with the mindset to win. expressed that in order have a whole new to go far, the team group of kids next would have to work year,” Harvey said.

-LBJ basketball coach Freddie Roland together to overcome “We’re going to be the challenge of only older and we’ll have having two seniors more experience.” this year. LBJ senior Buddah Mott said that it was the Highlight moments like Harvey’s last second shot young team’s willingness to work together that propelled and the whole new crop of kids joining the team them to the fourth round. have defined the team so far, but according to Coach “We stayed together as a team,” Mott said. “We had Roland, as the team grows, so do levels of expectancy our ups and downs and we had some arguments within towards improvement. With a growing team and the team but we worked it out, got together and bounced Roland’s leadership, LBJ basketball is looking to surpass back as a team, which got us that far. We have a real bond expectations for the future. as brothers.”

“We’re just going to do everything we can to get better The loss against Nixon was a surprise to many at basketball,” Roland said. “I have a lot of expectations members of the team and the coaches, especially after the for them to step up, and so do others, especially since we close game against Vista Ridge High School a week earlier. only had two seniors this year. We should be good next Vista Ridge was one of the top contenders in the state, and year.” beating them was one of the biggest accomplishments

Max Randall

Staff Writer

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The Paper Jag is an experiment in “participatory journalism” which was pioneered by George Pimpton.

Pimpton wrote a book called The Paper Lion detailing his tryout with the Detroit Lions professional football team.

Inspired by the idea, intrepid former sports editor Jake Stewart practiced with a different LBJ athletic team each issue and cataloged his experience here. In this issue of The Liberator, staff writer Emma Jane Hopper practices with a LASA Water Polo team.

the liberator april 15, 2016 This March, students from LASA and LBJ made their presence known at South

by Southwest (SXSW) by participating in panels, presentations and their own film screenings. Whether showing hundreds of conference goers what their teachers mean to them in a film or talking on a panel about the first year of the president’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative, these students brought their jaguar pride downtown to contribute to Austin’s premier music, film, education and interactive festivals. Many of the students, such as LASA senior Artur Pachachura who presented a robot at SXSWedu, had never experienced SXSW before this year. “It was my first time at SXSW, so it was also very interesting to see what that was all about,” Pachachura said.

graphic by Claire Cannatti

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During SXSWedu, 17 student filmmakers from throughout AISD presented their films about their personal champions. Students from LBJ showed their film about Natalie King, the Early College High School Coordinator, and students from LASA presented theirs about English teacher Corey Snyder. photo courtesy of Peter Brancaccio

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While senior members of the LBJ Fire Academy class demonstrate patient stabilization, LASA senior Amir Pilav talks to onlookers about the program AISD’s showcase at SXSWedu. “I went to go present for the fire academy because I have been given so many opportunities and made so many good memories that it made sense to try and give back,” Pilav said. photo by Sam Zern

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Last year the White House began an initiative called My Brother’s Keeper to encourage young men of color to reach their full potentials.

After speaking at a SXSWedu panel about the progress the initiative has made in its first year, LBJ junior Robbie Joseph, AISD superintendent Paul Cruz and Reagan High School student Donovan Luna pose for a picture. photo courtesy of Paul Cruz

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The AISD: Champions film premiere was part of a collaboration between AISD and KLRU. Beyond the filmmakers, other students were invited to the showing at SXSW, such as LBJ junior Alyson Weekly. “Ms. King invited me because she thought I needed to see some of the student films and I needed a break and I consider her one of my heroes so I was like really happy to be going and seeing a film about her,” Weekly said. photo courtesy of Peter Brancaccio

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During the AISD Showcase, LASA senior Artur Pachachura and LASA science teacher Alison Earnhart present the LASA Robotics team’s 2015 world winning robot. “LASA is one of very few schools in AISD to have such an accomplished robotics program and so I came to represent my team, who won their division at last year’s world championship, and my school as a whole,” Pachachura said. “I was surprised to be asked to present even such a short presentation and then have the opportunity to experience SXSWedu.” photo by Logan Kramer

Film - Interactive - Education - Music