The Liberator 2022-2023 Edition 3

At its inception in 2021, the girls’ basketball program had only 23 players. This season, the program grew to its largest size since 2021, to the point where the program was able to create a new junior varsity (JV) team. With the unprecedented growth, new challenges and demands have come up for the team, but also, according to player Francia Sarrat, a bigger, stronger, and even more cohesive group of athletes.

Students in Biotechnology I engage in introductory training for using biotechnology lab equipment and techniques, and explore DNA technologies, protein technologies, ethics, and applications. Second-year Biotechnology

Vincent Cruz is the head coach of the LASA girls basketball team. While this is his first year as head coach, Cruz has been a softball coach for the past four years and a football coach for three. Due to his experience, Cruz can testify to just how incredible the increase in team turnout this year has been.

“Overall, program size has definitely improved,” Cruz said. “If I am not mistaken, last year there was only a varsity team which was, at its largest, 10 players, and I think I’m being generous in that number. This year I am proud to say we have a JV team of 15 players, and a varsity team of 10 players strong.”

graphic by photo by Kayla Le

AUSTIN VENUES SPEAK

see

students are able to participate in formal internships supervised by a university or industry mentor to apply what they learned in Biotechnology I. On Dec. 19, 2022, a group of students from Biotechnology II worked on a proposal on drug testing that was accepted by a research program in Japan. The six seniors behind the proposal, Jay Campanell, Richa Kalari, Gabriel Keller, Amelise Morrison, Sophie Sun, and Zachary Suri, will be traveling to Tokyo on Feb. 24th to complete the project. Keller described how he and Campanell found out about the opportunity to have their project funded.

see BIOTECH page 11

graphicbyKaylaLe

photo by Kayla Le

photo by JC Ramirez

Swishes

photo by Kayla Le

Volumes

America and Global Democracy How the United States Impacts International Politics

Staff Stance: Every grading period the Liberator staff present their opinion on an important current issue in the form of an editorial written by the Commentary editors. The opinions in the piece below represent those of the staff as a collective, not of each individual member.

On Jan. 6, 2021, Americans witnessed an historical anomaly in the United States’ democratic political process: a mob of former President Donald Trump’s supporters, convinced that the results of the previous year’s presidential election were illegitimate, broke into the nation’s capitol and attempted to prevent the certification of said results by a joint session of Congress. The event precipitated widespread public distress about the future of American democracy, triggered a second impeachment of former President Trump, and prompted the creation of a select committee by the House of Representatives to investigate the attack (which released its report on Dec. 22, 2022). Internationally, the leaderships of more than 70 countries expressed concern over the riots.

Notably not among the ranks of those international leaders condemning the Jan. 6 riots was President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro, long an ally of former President Trump and fellow practitioner of populist right-wing politics. Though concerns over President Bolsonaro’s commitment to democratic principles are longstanding, they boiled over in the winter of 2022-2023 with Bolsonaro’s response to his defeat in Brazil’s presidential election at the hands of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, more commonly known simply as Lula. Like former President Trump, President Bolsonaro had made cryptic and unfounded warnings of fraud prior to the election and entertained doubt about its legitimacy after the results came back in his opponent’s favor. These similarities are not mere coincidences, but signifiers of a concerning development in the global democratic movement.

As the oldest continuing republic in the world, the United States is in a unique position to influence the character of international democracy. Though the outgrowing tendency of American popular government can be traced back to the expansionism of the 19th century, the US did not begin to come into its modern role on the global stage until the end of the Second World War. With the isolationism of the early 20th century decisively broken, the US took on a leading role in determining the trajectory of post-war Europe and Asia. In addition to providing funds to rebuild in the wake of the war’s destruction, America helped to draft the constitutions of former Axis countries, including Germany and Japan, enshrining in them representative democracy. Since then, the US has served as something of a pacesetter for the free world, with even domestic decisions making international waves.

It is no surprise, then, that the effects of the largest upheaval in American democracy in decades were not confined within the borders of the United States. Though the overwhelming international

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response was condemnation, former President Trump’s supporters found some fellowship in the leadership of nations like Hungary, Poland, and Brazil. It is also unsurprising that President Bolsonaro, who often aligned himself with former President Trump on matters of policy and personal style, chose to adopt his American counterpart’s approach to electoral defeat. What is shocking and concerning is how readily and easily President Bolsonaro’s supporters, so-called “Bolsonaristas,” carried out a physical attack on Brazil’s governing institutions just over two years after the Jan. 6 riots brought the threat of populism to the attention of the world. Though the riots in Brasilia were not a one-for-one reproduction of the attack on the United States Capitol, it is difficult to miss the parallels between the two events.

Though the similarities between the riots in Washington, D.C., and Brasilia are largely self-evident, they are worth restating. Both events were precipitated by months of electoral doubt-casting by right-wing populist presidents, who appeared to have anticipated their losses beforehand and sowed suspicion about the legitimacy of their nations’ elections in preparation. Both occurred in the midst of widespread misinformation and disinformation, most notably on social media such as Facebook and Twitter and on messaging platforms like Whatsapp and Telegram. There is even some overlap between the principal actors in each incident. Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of the former Brazilian president, has worked with Steve Bannon, former President Trump’s former advisor and far-right media mogul, since 2019.

The two riots are not, however, identical. Brazilian observers, including Raphael Tsavkko Garcia of Al Jazeera, have pointed out that the Brasilia riots were apparently more extensively coordinated over a longer period of time (with discussions of insurrection appearing on platforms like Facebook and Telegram months prior) than those on Jan. 6, 2021. What’s more, evidence suggests that members of the Military Police and Brazilian Armed Forces supported the riots and in some cases helped to organize them. On the other hand, President Bolsonaro notably did not pursue his claims of election fraud with nearly the same intensity as former President

Our impact on the world has definitely gotten worse in the past few years. We’re going down and bringing everyone down with us.

Trump, and was quicker to condemn the Brasilia riots than former President Trump was to reproach his own supporters on Jan. 6. Nonetheless, the similarities and connections between the two are cause for concern, especially in a world where right-wing populism has gained footholds in nations across the globe.

In the aftermath of the Jan. 8 riots, the United States has a responsibility to examine its role on the global stage and the effects of its internal politics on international democracy. According to the Eurasia Group Foundation, in recent years support for American influence has waned in countries traditionally allied with the US (such as Germany), while increasing in countries led by rightwing populists with authoritarian tendencies (including India and Hungary). While there are no easy solutions to the rising tide of democratic illiberalism, the United States can start by holding accountable those responsible for attacks against democratic principles, including enacting legal repercussions for those who attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election. In addition, steps must be taken to curb online disinformation and monitor social media content that could incite repeats of the Jan. 6 attacks. Finally, individual Americans can inform themselves on the inner workings of our democracy and participate in efforts to restore faith in the electoral system. It is imperative that the American republican government continue to thrive, as we remain one of the bellwethers of global democracy.

Donald Trump did a lot to hurt our democracy, and obviously, we have a huge impact on the world, so it hurt a lot of other people too.

America’s role in global democracy in the last decade has gone from a more physical and militaristic approach to a more ideological approach.

Editorial Policy

I think that optimism about the role of the United States in the world wasn’t there before the war in Ukraine and the past few years have been a story of decline in American prestige.

Have a great spring break!

Finish this year strong!

letter to the editor 2022-2023

Bouna Sakho Freshman

Zachary Suri Senior

Scarlett Neulander Sophomore

Owen Osburn Junior

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photo by Norah Hussani

photo by Beatriz Marteleto-Lara

photo by Beatriz Marteleto-Lara

photo by Beatriz Marteleto-Lara

AI Draws Attention Away From Artists

produces images based on a prompt, have caused controversy with artists whether or not AI art is considered a true art form. Art can be defined as the expression of human creativity through skill and imagination – the removal of the human aspect of art would leave art pieces to be empty shells of machine generated work attempting to mimic human emotion.

artists argue that AI art is not true art, and it can have a major impact on the roles artists play for society. It is important to realize that working as a freelance artist, income is not stable, unlike a full time job. Developing AI that can produce art pieces decreases job opportunities for artists and can negatively affect their income.

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes a part of everyday life, it is taking over jobs for those working in retail, transportation, and translation. However, when it comes to creative projects, such as writing and art, there should be a limit on what AI can intervene with.

AI is the simulation of human intelligence which is processed by computer systems. It works by combining a large variety of data, alongside an algorithm which allows the software to develop and learn patterns automatically. The rise of AI tools such as ChatGPT, a software that can produce extended text from a single sample, can lead to issues of plagiarism in academic environments. Also, AI art software like DALL-E 2 and Midjourney, software that

ChatGPT is an AI program developed by Open AI that operates in a conversational format. A user can write a sample of text, and the program is able to expand that idea into more elaborate forms of writing such as emails, questions, and essays. AI has had a large impact in education with the addition of a new form of plagiarism, but AI is also affecting other areas such as art and creation due to the rise of AI art. AI art, similar to writing generated by AI, works by being fed pieces of art to train the program to develop pieces through text input.

According to the Artland Magazine, the algorithm works by finding patterns in different pieces of art and associating keywords with specific characteristics or art styles. Some

An argument that was made for the introduction of AI is that it is similar to the introduction of photography. According to the New York Times, the 19th-century French poet and art critic Charles Baudelaire, called photography “art’s most mortal enemy.” While it is an advancement, photography has over the years become its own separate form of art. Contrasting AI art with traditional digital art is like comparing apples to oranges: they are both art but made in very different ways. Unfortunately AI art is made by other pieces of art, which are often stolen.

Many artists such as Polish artist Greg Rutkowski make the claim that AI programs steal from them directly and indirectly. In order for AI programs to work, people need to insert different works in order for the program to start learning, creating the issue of art being stolen from people and used to make more pieces in the style of the artist. Independent artists feel the

detriment of this because this decreases the chances of commissions or exposure, as was the case with Rutkowski. He is known for his classical art style which he uses to make fantasy themed landscapes. His distinctive art style has gained popularity as an AI prompt, so much so that his art is not the first thing that shows up on the internet. There is a huge difference between taking time drawing, shading and producing traditional digital artwork and writing a text prompt to give to a robot.

There are many issues with AI generated content, from its potential to encourage academic dishonesty to art theft. AI has started to replace jobs that can be done without humans, but there are occupations that require creativity and human emotion to be successful— two things that AI will never have.

Biden’s Classified Document Scandal

not to touch or look at the files once they found them, and White House officials emphasize that he was completely willing to let the FBI into his homes to search for more documents as well as his personal, hand-written notes. But the President had to be cooperative. Anything else would look extremely suspicious; even his stay at Rehoboth during the FBI’s 13-hour search of his home came under scrutiny. After all, he could just be hiding there with the most incriminating papers while leaving the rest to be “recovered.”

Just a few months after criticizing former President Trump for his “totally irresponsible” possession of classified documents, President Biden has been put under investigation for his own mishandling of similar documents. In light of this hypocrisy, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is now investigating two presidents — one present and one former, one Democrat and one Republican — for the same dim-witted mistake. Even so, the discrepancies between the two situations are stark, and thus one is more blatantly unacceptable than the other.

President Biden’s legal team recovered the classified files in early November of 2022, right before the midterm elections. According to the President, he does not regret any of the actions he has taken since, including his choice not to publicly disclose the discovery for another two months. Instead of simply explaining that the President did not want to lose seats in the senate, his administration has focused on his cooperation during the process. President Biden’s lawyers say that he followed their advice

However, there is no evidence of the aforementioned situation happening, and since his Rehoboth home had already been investigated, it is unlikely the President hid any other classified documents. In their search on President Biden’s Wilmington home on Jan. 20, 2023, the FBI only recovered an additional six files to those he had already disclosed, bringing the total to around 20 classified documents. These “stray papers,” as Biden refers to them, date as far back as to his time as a senator in the 1970’s and include those labeled “Top Secret” due to the grave danger it would pose to the American people if they were leaked.

Of course, this can not begin to rival the whopping 300+ documents found in former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home alone. Dozens of these had the same Top Secret label, and some were marked important military documents. Falling into the wrong hands, these could potentially provide more information about our tactics than from all the spy balloons combined.

Although their role does not revolve around

the protection of these documents like the FBI, both presidents still had training before they could access any classified information. For President Biden’s senatorial term, none of the papers were to leave the Secure Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) they were housed in. As vice president under Obama, Biden not only had clearance to view the documents but was flooded with a stream of these confidential files at his desk. Former President Trump was in a similar, if not even more involved position as president. Nevertheless, each of them was reminded at the end of their respective terms that all classified documents must remain within the National Archives.

Former President Trump, defiant as ever, held onto the documents for nearly two years after leaving office, claiming they were his and not the government’s. According to his aides, he would actually walk off with charts, graphs, and other briefs that he didn’t necessarily understand despite their warnings against it. He also reportedly waved letters from Kim Jong-un in front of his staff as if to say, “Hey, look at what I got access to, aren’t I such a big boy!” This is the behavior people have come to expect of toddlers, not the president of the United States.

And yet, it wouldn’t be far out of the realm of possibility for one of his advisors to have to go, “No, Trump, hey— give them back, that’s not yours. You know the rules, young man.” As a matter of fact, at least two chiefs of staff did, though not in those exact words. They had to request that he follow the laws regarding the preservation of documents. It’s clear how that turned out.

Even if President Biden’s claims are true, and he really had taken the papers found at his estates with drastically less forethought than former President Trump had, it must have been humiliating to find folders with those orange cover sheets after his condemnation. He’d done what amounted to berating his younger brother for stealing from the cookie jar, only to lift his pillow and find his own forgotten stash.

All of the partisan hate and fear fueled by the last two presidential elections has left parties feeling the need to defend one president over another. Republicans created the House Oversight and Accountability Committee to investigate FBI investigations for the fear that they were mishandling former President Trump’s case. Merrick Garland, the Attorney General and a Democrat, is trying to prove that he and the rest of the Department of Justice are handling President Biden’s case using the same, non-partisan rules. President Biden took these documents home when he didn’t have the clearance to take them out of the SCIF, but says he was unaware that he possessed them, and so far, he is fully cooperating with the FBI in their investigation. Former President Trump, on the other hand, took hundreds of files as souvenirs from his time with the privilege to access them. Though the distinctions in regards to intentionality, sheer volume, and clearance are enough to set these two apart, it is important to remember that both men had the same lapse in judgment, and in doing so, put the security of the United States of America at risk.

graphics by Amelia Coleman

comic by JC Ramirez Delgadillo

graphic by Amelia Coleman

graphics by Amelia Coleman

The Out of Tune World of Classical Music

Elitism Remains Prevalent While Diversity Stays Rare in the Genre

my sometimes messy relationship with the art, I still love it. The fact that I’m making music by gliding horse hair and tree sap over metal strings attached to a wooden box still gives me the same giddy rush of excitement as it did when I was seven.

and demeanor are always professional because I know, like it or not, that I am representing a huge group of people.”

I was seven years old when I left the music store, my first ever rented violin strapped to my back and an unsuppressable smile painted on my face. The violin was a little too big for my small body to carry – the case kept bouncing against my back, and the straps were a little too loose. But I was determined to carry myself up the stairs to my music school every week without fail.

And from that point, I pretty much went down the stereotypical violinist pipeline. I went down the Suzuki road, learning “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” and then “Allegro” and eventually “Gavotte.” I listened to the CD’s that came with the books in the car. After every book I finished, my fingers craved the complexities I might find in the next book. My mind relished the challenge of figuring out which notes are half steps and which ones are whole steps. When I learned how to play in third position, my brain exploded.

Ten years later, I’m still playing the violin but less religiously. I did hit the point of teenage angst where you start rebelling against everything, including playing music. I hit the point where I’d cry frustrated tears after practicing. I went months without touching my instrument once. I go through cycles of practicing every day, to every other day, to once a week, to once in a while. Despite

I say this to clarify that I am not the most consistent classical musician. I am by no means a prodigy. Most people probably wouldn’t even say I’m an exceptional player whatsoever, but I have been in this field for a long time. I’ve played in a couple orchestras, watched classical performances, have had several different private teachers, and have attended music programs and auditions. What I’ve noticed is that when it comes to classical music, it’s a predominantly white world in almost every room I walk into. The conductors are white. The musicians are white. The music played is written by white composers. The teachers are white. Even the audience is white. According to NPR, less than 2% of orchestra musicians in the U.S. are Black. Comparatively, Asian Americans are well represented in orchestras, with over 9% of orchestra musicians being Asian, while Asians make up about 7% of the U.S. population (though that certainly doesn’t mean we don’t experience our fair share of harmful stereotypes and discrimination in the field either).

This lack of representation is systemic. Those who are minorities in classical music face unique barriers that others in the industry will never have to reckon with. Here are just a few of their stories:

Black musician and author Brendan Slocum has described a time when he was a guest conductor at a middle school. Upon arriving, the kids thought Slocum was there to move equipment – not a conductor. “As a teacher of you kids, I realized early on that, for many of my students, I would be the first Black man they actually meet in person,” Slocumb wrote in his author’s note of The Violin Conspiracy. “The impression I leave on them will hopefully stay with them for years to come: my speech, appearance, attitude,

“People are afraid of being uncomfortable, but with discomfort comes growth,” said Black conductor Roderick Cox in a New York Times interview. “And we will see that change taking place in our programming; schools won’t just be producing conductors who want to do Wagner, Strauss and Mahler. I love these composers. But there are more voices to hear.”

It’s not our place to tell the stories of minorities in music for them, but it is our place to uplift their voices. I’m asking my fellow classical musicians to be critical of the environment we’re participating in. We can accept the industry for what it is, or we can take steps to change it – and this can take many different forms. For instance, teachers can send their students recordings of pieces performed by minority musicians. Sure, recordings by Hilary Hahn and Yo-Yo Ma are undoubtedly great sources of inspiration, but so are Sheku Kanneh Mason, Sanford Allen, Jessie Montgomery, and Esperanza Spalding. Conductors can choose to have their orchestras play music by minority composers as well. I’d also encourage music schools to be cognizant of and take action to mitigate the barriers that prevent students from learning classical music — this could range from students not having access to transportation to serious financial barriers. Instruments, repairs, equipment, sheet music, and lessons themselves add up to a lot of money, so advertising financial aid opportunities and having share subsidized music programs are crucial to closing the gap of income disparities.

I’m hopeful that classical music can provide an accessible and welcoming environment to everyone, regardless of race or socioeconomic status. I’m hopeful of a world where the only struggles musicians of color face is getting the perfect staccato and learning fifth position, instead of discrimination and exclusion. Why would we settle for a solo when we could get a symphony?

The Golden State Goes Green

JAMES

In Aug. of 2022, California’s Air Resources Board announced that the state would ban the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035, marking a significant boon for the goal of ending climate change in California and putting pressure on other states to adopt similar stances. According to the Board, the ban will result in a 50% reduction in pollution from cars by 2040. In addition, 15 other states have decided to commit to the same regulations as California concerning this issue. The ruling will be beneficial to stopping climate change and is a positive decision overall.

However, this controversial decision has its downsides. For example, the average

From wall-to-wall in my closet sit clothes that I don’t wear, shoes I haven’t touched in years and products that I’ve never even used. Everything I once thought was amazing in the midst of the pandemic is now collecting dust under my bed, emitting a stench of guilt over the worthless buy. All of the unused products stemmed from the constant production of new clothes and fresh products which is draining our resources, emitting copious amounts of fossil fuels into the atmosphere, and turning consumption into a meaningless commodity. Like anything, the problem isn’t with buying things but with the extreme. The constant consumption of things we don’t need, what we saw on social media, or in an ad on the side of the highway gives way to a society that is entirely built on excess. If we are more thoughtful about what we buy, and businesses switch from constant publishing to slow, high quality products it will reduce the issues of competition and the insistent

electric vehicle (EV) costs about $18,000 more than the average gas-guzzler, according to U.S. News. Additionally, Kelley Blue Book notes that the average cost of an EV increased 3.1% more than that of a gas-powered car from April 2021 to April 2022. It’s true however that the cost of fuel and maintenance is much less for EVs, so the cost will even out over time, but the average electric vehicle still garners a hefty price of $66,000, according to Kelley Blue Book. This price discrepancy, along with the fact that Californians will soon be unable to purchase new gas-powered cars, means that many low-income residents will be unable to afford an EV. This results in a tough dilemma for California — how does the state make progress towards stopping climate change by

graphicsbyAlexandriaValencia

making people buy electric cars, while also ensuring that poor residents aren’t left in the dust? Fortunately, there is a viable answer. California has developed programs that provide grants to help people purchase EVs. However, two of these organizations have already shut down and others are quickly running out of money, according to the Guardian. California should invest much more money into these programs and execute them properly if they want more people to switch to EVs. Additionally, making charging stations more prevalent and informing people that EVs aren’t that expensive in the long run are some ways to change the mindsets of Californians and increase sales of these greener vehicles. It is also very important to realize that the problem of

Overburdened by Over

consumption of goods caused by our capitalistic society.

There hasn’t always been this overabundance of expenditure.

According to Business Insider, spending increased by 25.69% from Jan. 2019 to Aug. 2021.

The increase in the popularity of social media has played a pivotal role in this uptick. Social media has promoted the popularity of overconsumption, with seemingly endless videos of unboxings, try on hauls, and product ads produced from trends that rise and fall within the week. The outfit that is all over my “For You” page one day is wiped from existence the next, and with the way trends have been changing faster than ever. This insatiable need to buy the newest thing and to own what everyone else has is practically the definition of materialism, and with the constant demand for new, companies are taking shortcuts.

Fast fashion companies are more popular than ever; with it comes cheap manufacturing, labor, and a lot of sales. Companies like Shein and H&M constantly drop new lines of clothes to fit into whatever is currently popular, contributing to the 11.3 million tons of municipal solid waste of textiles in landfills in 2018, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

climate change won’t be solved just by switching to electric cars. Although electric cars do emit much less greenhouse gas than gas-powered cars, the cars still produce significant pollution just from manufacturing. Although the ban on gas-powered car production is a great start for California, the state should do more to help stop the effects of climate change, like creating more bike-friendly roads and rethinking public transportation.

California’s plan to end the sale of gaspowered cars by 2035 is realistic, but the state should do more to make EVs affordable for their citizens and think about additional ways to fight climate change, such as making cities bike-friendly and investing in public transport. By eliminating the emission of greenhouse gasses from vehicles, increasing green space, and decreasing the amount of cars on roads by consolidating transportation, California can lead the world into a new age.

consumption

Unfortunately, cheap clothing isn’t sustainable, not just for the planet, but for your wallet. Eventually, these clothing items and products will deteriorate and fall apart at the seams. Having to constantly buy new apparel rather than rewearing long-lasting clothing and reusing highquality products eventually outweighs the cheap, quick buy. The excess created has also resulted in an economy based around “too much.”

However, if we try to reduce our buying too much, it will ruin our economy. Additionally,

according to an article by Business Insider, an excess of products being produced with no one rich enough to buy them contributed to the Great Depression. Even so, people aren’t going to stop buying overnight, but finding a way to shift our economy away from fast, cheap production towards more high-quality products will boost global economies. Without fast fashion, companies will need to focus on a more circular economy that produces higher quality jobs and keeps products in the market.

Downsizing on what we buy, and making each purchase we buy meaningful is what is going to help us make sure our economy, environment, and livelihoods are stable. Choosing what we buy today safeguards our ability to live tomorrow.

Death Penalty in Texas

In July 2004, John Ramirez committed the murder of a Corpus Christi convenience store clerk. On Oct. 5, 2022, Ramirez was executed in Texas via lethal injection. According to the Texas Tribune, Ramirez showed great remorse for this murder, and even the victim’s family was not in favor of his execution.

A study done by the Death Penalty Information Center found Texas had the highest number of state executions. As of Feb. 2023, there are seven executions scheduled for 2023 in Texas, and this number could possibly grow.

Lilah Bounds is a LASA Sophomore and Youth and Government member. She said the death penalty is a punishment for capital crimes and is heavily against its use.

“In murdering murderers, we’re stooping to their level of crime,” Bounds said. “We are being bad guys, even if we’re punishing bad people.”

Rick McClatchy is on the Board of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty [TCADP]. He said his religion plays a big role in why he is against capital punishment.

“As a Christian, my ultimate commitment is to live like Jesus,” McClatchy said. “When Jesus was presented a woman who had committed a capital offense in her day, he forgave the woman saying only her accusers that were free from guilt could stone her. Of course none of us are free from sin and guilt, so this in effect ends the possibility for a Christian to support the death penalty.”

Bounds says the death penalty in Texas is more controversial because of how harsh it is. For example, she said the death penalty is legal in California, Oregon and Pennsylvania but even so, these states have moratoriums in place so that the death penalty is only used in the most serious of cases.

“One reason why Texas may have such a high execution rate is because we don’t have a public defender system for indigent defendants, and we instead rely on court-appointed lawyers who likely don’t have experience in capital murder defenses or appeals,” Bounds said.

McClatchy said there are big issues that come with the use of capital punishment such as racial and classist biases. Wrongful convictions that could send an innocent person to death, also play a role in the controversy surrounding capital punishment.

“The same problems we see in the application of the

death penalty exist across the board,” McClatchy said. “People of color and poor people are more likely to get the death penalty, which raises serious questions about the fairness of its application.”

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the death penalty does not deter more criminals than a long prison sentence would. Bounds said this research is cited by many modern-day opponents to capital punishment.

“The alternative to this form of capital punishment would be life in prison, which many argue is not ideal due to the expenses of keeping inmates in appropriate facilities,” Bounds said. “However, it has been proven that using lethal injection as the death penalty can be just as expensive as sparing the criminal’s life, and instead sentencing them to a life in prison; which some say is just as bad, or worse than facing the death penalty.”

McClatchy said that in several cases, the defendant was often abused growing up, lived in extreme poverty, or was underrepresented in court. One such case that McClatchy talked about is that of Andre Thomas, who was convicted of the murder of his estranged wife and children, and sentenced to death. Thomas, a Black man, was raised in extreme poverty and started hearing voices in his head when he was only nine years old. Throughout his childhood he tried several times to take his own life. In 2004, when he was twenty one, Thomas was suffering from severe schizophrenia and active psychosis, and murdered his ex-wife, his wife’s child, and the child they had had together. He then tried to take his own life, and then turned himself in. The all-white jury that convicted Thomas in 2005 though, dismissed his defense of insanity. McClatchy says racial biases were clearly at play in Thomas’ trial.

“Several members of the all-white jury that sentenced him to death expressed overt racial bias on their pretrial jury questionnaires…The U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that the Eighth Amendment prohibits the execution of a prisoner who, like Mr. Thomas, does not understand why he is being executed,” McClatchy said.

“Since being on death row, Mr. Thomas’s mental health has deteriorated. He is not competent to be executed.”

Mackenzie Waldinger is a sophomore at LASA. She says she finds the death penalty absolutely unnecessary, and there are much safer alternatives.

“I don’t think anyone should die, especially because our justice system is so messed up that we shouldn’t really trust it until many reforms have been made,” Waldinger said.

Lucrid Legislation

DAVIS BURNS club contributor

Every two years, lawmakers and political officials gather in Austin in order to discuss and pass laws in the Texas Legislature– this is called session. In 2023, the 88th legislative session is already underway, with some game-changing bills on the table, according to the Texas Tribune. Among those bills are house bills raising teacher pay, changing funding tactics for school, and altering things like vouchers and accountability for charter schools.

One bill that is very important to educators across the state is one that would raise teacher pay. Under the proposed Senate Bill (SB) 657, teachers that stay in the profession and in the same district could receive $10,000 annually for four years. The bill would also give students a $40,000 scholarship to pursue teaching, in an effort to combat the teacher shortage, according to the Texas Tribune. LASA AP Government teacher Ronny Risinger said that the issue is near and dear to his heart.

“It has come to my attention that quite a few people are saying that we need to raise teacher pay, and I do at the state level, believe that’s absolutely necessary,” Risinger said. “We have a huge 30 plus billion dollar surplus, and so certainly the state’s share of education funding could be raised substantially.”

Bills like SB 657 and similar bills like House Bill 1548 would give teachers up to a $15,000 pay raise. A sum that, according to Risinger, would be substantial, but unlikely.

“So the issue becomes will school choice be paired with increasing teacher pay, and that’s kind of where that’s where the rub comes in,” Risinger said. “[James] Tallarico, who used to be my house representative, introduced a bill to raise teacher salaries $15,000 a year, which would be a substantial raise. I don’t think that’s going to happen, but if there were ever going to have any substantial teacher raise, the most conservative Republicans are going to demand some access to school choice initiatives, whether it be expanded statewide vouchers, expanded charter schools, or what have you.”

Another issue in this legislature is that of school funding. For a long time, school funding has been based on attendance, not enrollment, which has led, in many lowincome schools and schools all over the state, for students to go to school when they

are sick to keep funding, De Leon said. State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, filed House Bill 31, which proposes basing the state’s public education funding system on student enrollment instead of average attendance, according to the Texas Tribune. Marty De Leon is a lobbyist for school districts across the state of Texas, and said that in the state of Texas, each student’s attendance is worth $6,160 of funding to their district.

“The pandemic has shown us that if you come to school, and you’re sick, you might be infecting other students,” De Leon said. “So it’s not a good idea for you to go to school. If someone in your class has COVID, they must sit out a week before they can come back. Well, that means they miss five days of school. The way school districts are funded, again, it’s based on attendance, needs to be updated and modernized. If half the school district is sick, for example, then they lose half their funding.”

Another prevalent issue is the recapture system, something that De Leon describes as a “robin hood” system in which the funding from wealthier districts is redistributed by the state to less affluent ones. $800 million from Austin Independent School District are redistributed to other districts.

“It’s a growing concern,” De Leon said. “It’s not easy for any school district to remit that amount of money and not have a detrimental impact on its students and teachers.”

Senior Catherine Masey, a member of Youth and Government, said that she thinks the correct issues are being addressed as far as school life is concerned. She said SB12, a bill that would require students to take a mental health course before graduating, is a step forward.

“I think it is super important, maybe one of the most important bills, discussion in response to the Uvalde massacre, and I think that the reason school shootings happen is because kids fall through the cracks,” Masey said. “This bill is, hopefully, a step in the right direction to filling in those cracks.”

The end of this Legislative session is May 29, by which lawmakers hope to effect some changes for the Texas Public Education system. However, according to the Texas Tribune, the earliest that some of the bills passed in the session can go into effect is Aug. 27, 2022.

Looking for Extracurriculars? Join the Club

Art Honor Society

When: Wednesdays and Thursdays during lunch in Ms. Hewitt’s room (708A) Contact: elizabeth.hewitt@austinisd.org

The members of the Art Honor Society, like senior president Isabella Zavalney, considers the club one of the school’s more laid back and social clubs. The club serves as a creative, collaborative space for artists to grow their skills and work outside the curriculum.

“I wanted these people to do artistic things outside of the classroom,” Zavalney said. “especially for people who aren’t in Art because they can’t have another elective, and they still want to do art.”

This year, Zavalney has been expanding the club into new territory, beginning with competitions and art challenges between club members on Wednesdays. She says that it’s helped to bring new people into the club.

“You don’t have to be good at art to do art,” Zavalney said. “It’s fun, and

CyberPatriot Club

When: Thursdays during lunch in Mr. Shockey’s room (505) Contact: lasacsclubs@gmail.com

One of the most important issues in computer science today is cybersecurity, and LASA has a club for that. CyberPatriot, one of the school’s largest clubs with over 50 members, teaches students about cybersecurity, operating systems, and more, while challenging them to work together in stressful situations at competitions. Senior Nathan Williams, who has been a member of CyberPatriot since 7th grade, says that the pressure is part of what makes the club great.

“I met some friends I have now because of [CyberPatriot], just because we were put together,” Williams said. “It’s like that with many other teams. When you sit together for six hours in a high-stress situation with cookies, it works fairly well… I think my favorite thing is when things go horribly wrong and we brick our computers, just utterly break them, and you

Astronomical Society

When: Wednesdays during lunch in Ms. Owens’ room (706) Contact: lasaastro@gmail.com

The LASA Astronomical Society is open to all - and with what the club has planned, they’re seeking new members. Since nearly all of the club’s members graduated last year, new club leader and junior James Ervin says he has set ambitious new goals for the club, starting with building a radio telescope out of a TV satellite dish.

“What better way to rebuild the astronomy club than to start with a project?,” Ervin said. “Of course, I’m still very early in the process. I’m still trying to gain support… My goal is by the end of the semester to finish a geosynchronous satellite survey and then have the architecture that we need for next semester to actually build a full on hydrogen survey.”

However, senior William Rhodes attests that not everything the club works on is so grandiose in scale. According to Rhodes, the club played a role in setting up the solar system model running down the hall outside the cafeteria.

“We did a scaled astronomical unit project, where we worked with the astronomy class itself,” Rhodes said. “We made models of the solar system

there’s a lot more elements, like designing and engineering in art. That’s why I’m trying on Wednesdays to do competitive sketching… I’m trying to get people who may not have thought that art was something they would do.”

The club’s sponsor switches annually between art teachers Jessica Fisher and Liz Hewitt, the latter of which is this year’s sponsor. According to Hewitt, the club’s members take on a variety of art-related roles around the school.

“The Art Honor Society is supposed to bring art to the campus and to encourage the members to enter art competitions and grow their skills,” Hewitt said. “We do community service, art functions, maintaining the gallery, and learning new techniques that you don’t have time for in class.”

Despite all those roles, the club is still quite casual and relaxed, according to junior Erika Torii-Karch, who is part of the Art Honor Society. According to Torii-Karch, Art Honor Society is an inviting space, and more people should join the club.

“Literally just show up,” Torii-Karch said. “It’s fun, you get to hang out with people and do art stuff. It’s super social, it’s great here. It’s a place to do activities.”

start calculating the time it takes. You go, ‘I have an hour left to redo four hour’s worth of work,’ and when you pull it off, it’s great.”

The competitions are only one part of CyberPatriot - at club meetings, students learn about new cybersecurity topics through events and presentations. For sophomore Malcom Roalson, the learning process is one of the best parts of CyberPatriot.

“It does teach you the tools and the skill sets necessary that you will need for real world scenarios,” Roalson said. “The CyberPatriot club has a lot of connections such as capture the flag events, where they introduce you to different ways to learn… The presenters are great and have interesting topics.”

Club sponsor and computer science teacher James Shockey says that the club is a great opportunity for students to start learning about cybersecurity at an advanced level. According to Shockey, CyberPatriot members get access to paid resources and explore university-level topics.

“My degrees were in computer science, and I did a security class in my master’s courses, and it talked about some of the issues they teach here, but this goes even beyond that,” Shockey said. “I think that this is a really great program, and it’s good for the country because people who are going forward out into the world now have some idea about how to secure systems.”

and scaled down the actual distance, and laid it all across the hall. We helped make the scale bigger than it would have been otherwise.”

Club sponsor and Astronomy teacher Ellen Owens says that the club has been active for over a decade, and it’s worked on many major projects in that time. The club is also responsible for running astronomical observations, setting up and operating several telescopes at parks around the city

“Previously, we had a lot more people doing photography, and getting into that, so we would always have people at the observations running the cameras and showing people how to run the camera,” Owens said. “We’ve done stuff in the past where we built solar filters to do the transit of Mercury several years ago. We finally went camping last year to get to darker skies.”

According to Owens and Ervin, the Astronomical Society has interesting things for all sorts of people to do. Both think that students interested in STEM should consider joining the club.

“It’s a great opportunity to do science and technology in a hands-on way,” Owens said. “People can learn how to use the telescopes and actually spot things. They could do more of the technology side if they want to get into the radio telescope. They could do photography. We’ve done stuff with light pollution, so you get to do whatever you want.”

JOLIE GROGAN staff writer

Spotlight on Austin’s Areas and Attractions

LILY WILKERSON staff writer

Cherry Creek

Creeks: Williamson Creek

Cherry Creek

South Boggy Creek

Parks:

Kincheon Branch

Cherry Creek Neighborhood Park

Silk Oak Neighborhood Park

Piney Bend Neighborhood Park

Stephenson Nature Preserve And Outdoor Education Center

Zoned Schools:

Cowan Elementary School

Cunningham Elementary School

Sunset Valley Elementary School

Covington Middle School

Bowie High School

Crockett Early College High School

Notable Businesses:

Westgate Lanes (bowling alley)

Cherry Creek Catfish (restaurant)

Altitude Trampoline Park

Cherry Creek is one of the largest neighborhoods south of the river, but it often flies under the radar. Consisting of mostly older homes developed in the 70s and 80s, the Cherry Creek neighborhood runs along its namesake creek and West Gate Boulevard for 3.5 miles through parks, creeks, and hills. With a population of over ten thousand, more than 1% of all Austinites live within Cherry Creek.

Creeks:

Parks:

University Hills

Little Walnut Creek

Dottie Jordan Neighborhood Park

Little Walnut Creek Greenbelt

Zoned Schools:

Andrews Elementary School

Winn Montessori

Webb Middle School

Option of attending Bertha Sadler Means Young Women’s Leadership Academy or Gus Garcia Young Men’s Leadership Academy

LBJ Early College High School

University Hills is a large neighborhood in Northeast Austin, often overshadowed by its larger neighbor of Windsor Hills. The neighborhood is divided by Little Walnut Creek and its tributaries, which have carved the terrain into substantial valleys and hills. University Hills is one of the closest neighborhoods to LASA’s old home at LBJ High School, just down Loyola Lane. With a population just under 5,000, you could fit LASA’s student body into the neighborhood more than three times.

graphicbyAlexandraValencia

Map Legend

Austin’s Nau’s Enfield Drug store in Clarksville was a pharmacy owned by the Labay family since 1971. The pharmacy, which is also a soda fountain and diner, will close in March of 2023 due to the Labay family being unable to renew their lease for the building, according to KVUE.

The store was located on 12th Street and West Lynn Street, and had been in business since 1951. Laura Labay took over the store 6 years ago and became manager after her father, Labay said.

Labay explained to KVUE that she was surprised when the owners of the building told her that they were not planning on renewing the lease and were instead deciding to sell the property. Labay’s parents, particularly her dad, had put much time and effort into the business, and are taking the loss of their store very hard. Labay explained the feeling as similar to losing a family member. She says during her time as manager, she tried to keep the store open through the staffing shortages, equipment breakages, and the pandemic. Despite these challenges, Labay said she values the community the store has created and values each customer.

In the process of closing the store, Labay put up a sign out front, encouraging people to come and buy some of the antiques and inventory left in the building. She says that at first there was no one coming to pick anything up, but then, throughout the weekend the crowd grew. She had to return the keys to the building or leave the property by March 2023. Labay said she never imagined that she would have to shut down the business. At the moment, Labay doesn’t know the next steps for her business, her family, or herself.

April Fool’s Day, 1984, was the day local Austin business, Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds opened. However, on Dec. 17, 2022 the store closed for good. The store on South Congress was opened 38 years ago by Jenna Radtke. According to Radtke, she has always been a very wild person, and enjoys wearing colorful pieces of clothing, which led her to open a store in the costume renting and selling business.

The store is very popular in Austin, which is why it has come as a surprise to many that the store is closing, according to Austin Monthly. In an interview with Austin Monthy, Jerry Durham, the store manager, said that there are a lot of factors that contribute to the store’s closure such as the changing landscape of South Congress, which Durham said will likely only continue. In addition, a lot of the store’s suppliers didn’t make it through the pandemic, which has made it very difficult to get products for the store, and contributed to supply chain issues since then.

An article from CBS Austin said that Lucy in Disguise With Diamonds has been an Austin staple and has become a part of the city’s identity throughout the years. Durham also said that this creative and weird store owes its success to the creative community of Austin, and without them the store wouldn’t have lasted this long.

- Zoned School

- Creek - Highway - Park

- Notable Business

Wooten

Parks: Wooten Neighborhood Park

Zoned Schools:

Wooten Elementary School

Burnet Middle School

Navarro Early College High School

Notable Businesses:

Shu Shu’s Asian Cuisine

P. Terry’s Burger Stand

Highland Lanes Emerald Tavern Games and Cafe

Wooten is a collection of quiet neighborhoods tucked away in North Central Austin. Developed in phases from the 50s to the 70s, it’s split by the Red Line and bordered by a busy freeway, but the neighborhood is tight-knit and it has a strong community feeling. With a population of 5,312, it’s actually larger than some of its more well-known neighbors - Allandale and Brentwood are both smaller.

The neighborhood is home to Wooten Elementary School and the popular Wooten Neighborhood Park at its southern end, and Burnet Middle School in its north. The Burnet campus briefly served as the home of Navarro High School in the 60s.

Feb. 16, 2023 was the last day of service for Austin’s iconic La Mexicana bakery in Bouldin Creek. The spot was originally a bakery owned by La Reyna, another Tex-Mex eatery, but was bought by Jesus Martinez Becerra in 1989. Becerra immigrated to the United States from Mexico when he was 14 years old with only ten dollars in savings. Becerra said his initial goal was to make $1000, just enough to send back home to his family in Mexico, but after making double that amount he was able to see a future for his business and community, according to KXAN. Becerra founded the new bakery, named La Mexicana, and has been the owner for the last 32 years.

Before the pandemic, the bakery was known for being open 24 hours a day, attracting many hungry customers craving late night treats. However, during the pandemic, the bakery was forced to shorten its hours considerably as compared to pre-pandemic ones. Becerra is retiring and he says he made the decision to close the store rather than pass it onto family because of the pressures associated with running a bakery, including long hours and responding to consumer demand, according to an article from Austin Eater. Becerra’s daughter, Bianka Lopez, said in a post on Facebook that the bakery did not get pushed out because of gentrification or rising costs, but rather because her father wants to enjoy his retirement. According to Lopez, La Mexicana has left a special place in the hearts of Austin locals, and Becerra is leaving behind a large legacy.

The City of Austin officially recognized Becerra’s influence in Austin by creating “La Mexicana Bakery Day” an annual city holiday on Feb. 16.

ALONDRA AGUIRRE staff writer

Confusion as Abortion Guidelines Change

For the 49 years, from 1973 to 2022, the constitutional right to an abortion was indisputable due to the Roe v. Wade decision. However, on June 24, 2022, the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision overturned the original Roe case, leaving legislation on abortions up to individual states.

Many states, like Texas, had already created “trigger laws” in preparation for Roe v. Wade’s overturning. Trigger laws are laws decided by a legislative body, but are only put into place once a certain thing happens, in this case once Dobbs was decided, several states outlawed abortion. Currently, in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee or Texas abortion is banned with no exceptions for rape or incest, according to the New York Times.

According to Dr. Margaret Kini, a family doctor and women’s health provider at Community Care, abortion restrictions in Texas have been around far longer than the Dobbs decision. Many of these older restrictions worked towards pushing doctors away from performing abortions.

“Cap laws are targeted restrictions on abortion providers that have been in the state of Texas since 2003,” Kini said. “They’ve forced clinics to close and had a devastating impact…the bills target specifically abortion providers and enact medically unnecessary but politically motivated regulations under the guise of protecting the safety of women.”

Abortions have been used as a political tool since the mid1970s. According to an article from CNN, before Roe v. Wade, and even shortly after, abortion was a very bipartisan issue, with many Democratic, as well as Republican, leaders spearheading the antiabortion movement, as both largely represented Catholic communities that were known to be anti-abortion.

Despite historic sentiments, currently, 61 percent of Americans agree that abortion should be legal, according to a survey from Pew Research. Jess Pires-Jaconse is the Organizing and Outreach Manager of Avow Texas, a non-profit fighting for unrestricted access to abortion for all Texans. He said most Americans are in support of safe and legal access to abortions.

“National polling consistently shows that the majority of Americans support abortion access and oppose politicians interfering with their healthcare decision,” Pires-Jancose said. “Unfortunately, decades of gerrymandering and voting restrictions across the country has created a political system in which our elected officials often do not represent our views as community members.”

Furthermore, The New York Times found that only 16 of the 50 United States have fully unrestricted abortion access, despite the 61 percent of Americans who believe abortions should be legal. Studies by NBC have shown that abortion has become an incredibly partisan issue in the U.S., with the Republican party promoting anti-abortion legislation, and the Democratic party trying to uphold abortion access.

Sarah Wheat is the Chief External Affairs Officer at Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas. She said most data supports the narrative that Americans approve of abortion access.

“Polls show that the majority of Americans believe that abortions should be legal,” Wheat said. “Yet some politicians continue to promote bills that would add additional penalties and bans on abortion.”

Although there is a significant amount of words used within each bill, the Texas laws regarding abortion are clear. Abortion is illegal in all circumstances with no exception for rape or incest. However, the law does not prevent people from partaking in illegal and unsafe abortions, according to Wheat.

“Under Texas’ statewide abortion ban,” Wheat said. “Texans can’t access an abortion from a medical doctor trained to provide abortion services.”

Contradicting Texas’s laws, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now allows the first of two drugs offering a prescribed abortion to be sold at retail pharmacies, like CVS, if they follow specific regulations. One of the drugs, Mifepristone, works by blocking the production of progesterone, which is necessary for a fetus to grow. Progesterone is also necessary for cancers to grow, and mifepristone is often used as a cancer treatment.

“Surgeon oncologists felt that their restrictions were actually limiting this safe and effective medication, [mifepristone,] and causing delays in people getting the care they need,” Kini said. “So it does still require a prescription. It’s not available over the counter, and there are still some unnecessary obstacles to prescribing it and dispensing it such as special certification for the pharmacy provider.”

The FDA first approved mifepristone in 2000, and its safety has rarely been questioned medically. In a prescribed abortion, mifepristone is taken first and then supplemented by misoprostol, which is used to prevent stomach ulcers and protect stomach lining.

“Mifepristone was approved by the FDA more than 20 years ago,” Wheat said. “[Mifepristone] has been used by more than 5 million people to safely end their pregnancies since then.”

The selling of mifepristone at retail pharmacies raises many questions about what that means for Texans, as abortion is still completely illegal. Pires-Jaconse says the constant change around abortion laws only complicates matters.

“It is important for Texans to know their rights,” Pires-Jaconse said, “because oftentimes even healthcare providers, police, and district attorneys are misinformed on protections for pregnant people due to the strength of anti-abortion stigma and confusing nature of abortion restrictions.”

Unlike performing one, receiving an abortion is not criminalized in Texas, and the state is explicitly banned from prosecuting a pregnant person for seeking an abortion. However, this law seems to not be as enforced as heavily the outlawing of abortion itself.

“Under Texas law, a pregnant person cannot be prosecuted for their pregnancy outcomes, however, the risk of criminalization does not fall equally across all Texans,” Pires-Jaconse said. “We have seen cases of Black and brown Texans being jailed for suspected abortion attempts.”

Because abortion bans cause an uneven impact on various social groups, understanding the legislation is important according to PiresJaconse. Additionally, Kini says making abortions illegal only widens economic and racial disparities.

“[The] criminalization of abortion doesn’t stop women from having abortions, it only increases risks for people, and there are clear disparities in those risks,” Kini said. “So while abortion bans and all these legal restrictions harm people who are or maybe are pregnant, they cause even greater harm to those already affected by things like systemic racism and economic injustice.”

A Timeline of Abortion Laws in Texas

THESKINNY

Global News

January

In late January, the United States government started tracking a Chinese balloon over US airspace, according to CBS. The balloon floated over the continental US for several days, but once the Defense Department made an official public statement, the balloon seemed to pick up speed and head towards the East Coast, according to a US official. On Feb. 4, a US fighter jet shot down the balloon, which the Chinese government claimed was a weather balloon that blew off course. Following the incident, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken canceled his visit to Beijing.

Feb. 6

On Feb. 6, an earthquake hit Syria and Turkey, killing, as of Feb. 14, 41,000 people. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake is one of the deadliest to occur in the region for the last century, based on an article from CNN. The Turkish government has now detained approximately 130 people for their role in constructing the buildings that fell and caused casualties because of suspicions they violated safety codes.

Feb. 14

The US government has now detained four more people in connection to the assassination of Haiti’s president in 2021. Three of those detained were American citizens, including one man who was an FBI informant during the president’s killing. Two of the four men worked at a security company that hired 20 men with military training to storm former President Moïse’s presidential residence, according to the New York Times. The other two were connected to financing the plot. Following the president’s death, gangs largely took control of the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince.

National News

Feb. 10

On Feb. 10, the FBI found classified documents in former Vice President Mike Pence’s home. One document with classified markings was found, and six others without markings. This adds to the number of classified documents found in president Joe Biden’s home in Delaware last month. Both Joe Biden and Mike Pence were cooperative with letting the FBI search their homes, according to PBS.

Feb. 12

The Kansas City Chiefs were able to win a close victory against the Philadelphia Eagles in this year’s Super Bowl LVII. Going into Rihanna’s halftime show, the Chiefs were ten points behind the Eagles, 14-24, but after a few controversial referee calls, the Chiefs were able to pull through and beat the Eagles 38-35, according to Bleacher Report.

Feb. 13

Rise of Antisemitism in the United States

Since World War II, antisemitic attacks, rallies, and hate speech has been spreading in America have skyrocketed. The growing antisemitism is clear from the many attacks on synagogues that occurred this past year, such as the attack on a New York City synagogue in Dec. 2022, according to CNN. World Geography and Facing History teacher Neil Loewenstern has noted an abrupt increase in antisemitic attacks that he had not noticed before.

“Personally, I haven’t experienced much antisemitism, but recently, I have seen increasing antisemitism in the Austin community and the country,” Loewenstern said. “The most shocking instance was that about two years ago, our synagogue’s doors were set on fire, and last year, there was a group hanging antisemitic banners here and in San Antonio. Those are things I’ve never seen in my whole life, and I’m all of a sudden seeing them here in Austin.”

Sophomore Jonah Plasse has also observed a recent rise in antisemitic speech. Although his overall experience as a Jewish person in America has been a good one, the looming hate of antisemites has made him more fearful of the implications that come with his religion.

“For the majority of my life, my experience in the Jewish community has been a fairly positive one,” Plasse said. “It has provided me with a larger family past my own with Judaism’s sense of community. However, there have been some moments where being Jewish has led others to say some hurtful things. In recent years, violence against Jews has been on the increase, making it harder to be part of the Jewish community without some sense of fear.”

Reflecting on the change in recent antisemitism, sophomore Shahar Yaacob has noticed that her perspectives on certain subjects are almost immediately assumed by others because of her Israeli heritage and Jewish faith. She believes that many antisemites mix up Judaism and being Israeli, thinking the two have become synonymous. In addition, Yaacob has noticed that because of this blending of Judaism and Israeli origin, many people also tend to blame all Jewish people for the actions of the Israeli government.

“I was born in Israel, and I came to the US when I was three years old, so all of my family is Jewish, and I participate a lot in the Texan Jewish community,” Yaacob said. “Concerning antisemitism, I get stereotyped for my opinions often when we have certain discussions, such as ones about the Israel-Palestine conflict. If a conversation about it starts in class, for example, I feel like my opinion is immediately assumed to support Israel, even though I am very against how the Israeli government handled it.”

Loewenstern agrees with Yaacob that people tend to mix up dislike of Israel with the dislike of all Jewish people, creating a blend of anti-Zionism and antisemitism. He has also noticed that it is mostly younger generations who face more antisemitism because of the IsraelPalestine conflict.

“Antisemitic thinking has grown in our country, and for younger people, that is often attached to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Loewenstern said. “For older generations, it’s not so much about Israel, but for younger generations like Gen-Z, the issues around the IsraeliPalestinian conflict [has stirred up] some sympathy for the Palestinian cause then gets translated into bad things about Jews.”

Loewenstern also believes that this influx of antisemitism in the US is caused by the recent political activity of former president Donald Trump. He said that antisemites might’ve felt validated by Trump’s speech, especially when Trump uses Jewish people as scapegoats to support conspiracy theories.

On Feb. 13, a shooter entered Michigan State University and opened fire, killing three students and critically wounding five. The shooter was 43 year old Anthony Dwayne McRae, who was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound off campus.

State News

Feb. 2

On Feb. 2, a winter storm passed through Texas leaving about 262,000 citizens without power, according to NPR. The storm began on Monday, Jan. 30, and led to at least seven deaths in Texas, due to accidents on icy roads. Due to the storm, Dallas and Austin schools remained closed for multiple days, and thousands of flights were canceled, according to the New York Times.

Feb. 13

On Feb. 13, the FBI released a statement that they would be beginning civil rights investigations into deaths at Harris County Jail. The deaths being investigated are of two men who died in custody, Jaquaree Simmons and Jacoby Pillow, who died this January. Since Pillow’s death, at least three other inmates have died in Harris County Jail this year, following last year’s 27 deaths while in custody, according to CBS.

“It’s partially related to the Trump administration not condemning activities such as the Charlottesville rally against the removal of a Confederate monument statue,” Loewenstern said. “Some of the people that participated were also shouting antisemitic and anti-Jewish chants, and a woman that was protesting against it was killed. [In response], President Trump commented that there were good and bad people on both sides, and I think that this gave a lot of support for antisemitic people to want to support President Trump.”

Rabbi Will Hall is Senior Jewish Educator at Texas Hillel. He said he has experienced antisemitism in the form of antisemitic slurs and graffiti, but he said one of the best ways to prevent antisemitism is education.

“I think education and doing multicultural interfaith work to bridge gaps between communities goes a long way,” Hall said. “I also think the best thing Jews can do is to continue to live only and proudly in their Judaism, showing that hatred won’t stop us.”

Local News

Feb. 14

On Feb. 14, State Senator Charles Perry put forward legislation to increase funds for new water supply sources and projects. These projects include acquiring water rights from other states, desalination of marine water, and new water transportation infrastructure, according to KXAN. This would put a constitutional amendment on ballots this November for voters to potentially increase funds for water development projects.

BEATRIZ MARTELETO-LARA staff writer

“

I also think the best thing Jews can do is to continue to live only and proudly in their Judaism, showing that hatred won’t stop us.

- WILL HALL, RABBI

AVANI GANNE club contributor

graphic by Alexandra Valencia

MIC’D UP AT CULTURE FEST

In the small gym, students participated in a dance-off at a session on modern day hip-hop culture. In the choir room, students jammed out to live music performances of R&B hits from the 90s and 2000s. Meanwhile, students in classrooms throughout the campus listened to talks on disability culture, preserving native languages, and the history of Islam in Texas. The culmination of these sessions was Culture Fest, an annual event hosted for students by the Diversity Council (DivCo). During Culture Fest, speakers come and lead workshops and lectures for students on issues that they might not otherwise get a chance to learn about in class– everything from Alaskan native languages to how to have difficult conversations.

This year, it took place on Feb. 16. Senior Anokhi Sheth, one of DivCo’s Culture Fest leads, explained the process for selecting who will speak at the event.

“The Culture Fest team is responsible for sending out like five emails a week, and they research people who they find interesting and who they think will be important to speak at Culture Fest,” Sheth said. “We give them a little bit of an outline because we try to have the speakers be from minority groups, refugee groups, or something that will give students a new perspective.”

According to Sheth, DivCo has focused on having more breadth in their speakers and Culture Fest sessions this year. DivCo has tried to reach out to new speakers rather than relying on people who have returned multiple years in a row.

“I think we are having a more diverse group of speakers this year because, in the past, there have been people who we’d called back for 5 to 10 years,” Sheth said, “One of those sessions was called ‘Belarus Belarus.’ But we didn’t invite them back this year, because, although it’s really cool to hear their story, we thought it would be good to branch out and find new people.”

First-year DivCo officer and junior Rahi Deo was surprised by just how challenging organizing Culture Fest was. Since students don’t see all the work that goes into planning the event, Deo said that many people don’t realize how complicated it can be to put together.

“As a regular student, I had always loved Culture Fest, but I was unaware of all the work that was put into it,” Deo said. “Going to meetings and seeing people basically glued to their computers, planning and creating a great opportunity for students was really inspiring. Organization was very hard because we felt like we had to have disaster plans for everything.”

One of the challenges DivCo faced was finding speakers that would appeal to the broad interests of the LASA population, according to senior DivCo secretary Zachary Suri. Suri said that it was important to DivCo that all students felt they had a place in the conversations happening at Culture Fest.

“I think our challenge this year was to make sure that we had guests who could really speak to students,” Suri said. “There were plenty of people who were fascinating and who maybe some of us wanted to hear from but who weren’t necessarily guests that all of the school could connect to. And so we tried to do our best to make sure that we have guests that would actually talk about themes and topics that felt relevant.”

Senior DivCo President Sahana Sudarsan agreed that it had been a priority of DivCo this year to expand the types of speakers who spoke. According to Sudarsan, choosing interesting speakers makes students more likely to attend the event.

“I think we have a good range of groups that are being talked about, which is something new about this year,” Sudarsan said. “Something that we are working towards in coming years is making sure we have more breadth. I hope that we get to a point where all LASA students want to and are able to attend.”

Suri explained that many of the DivCo speakers this year are also authors or coming to speak about their books. This added a new element for students because it allowed them to read the speakers’ books in advance or have their books signed by the authors.

“This year we’re focusing more on books in particular – especially ones that are very close to what we’re discussing in social studies classes,” Suri said. “I’m thinking of Professor Jeremi Suri

and then Professor Daniel Joseph – they both have new books out on things that we talk a lot about, particularly APUSH, and so the Social Studies Department has purchased those books for kids if they want to read them.”

Christopher Parks is another speaker who used his talk to discuss his book. Parks is a German teacher at LASA, but he explained that he didn’t want his talk to be an extension of his German class.

“I didn’t really want to go for the obvious cultural presentation about German culture, so I decided wanted to have a presentation about the prioritization of creativity,” Parks said. “And then I tied that in with the book that I published last year and talked a bit about the contextual history of the novel.”

Parks felt that his event at Culture Fest was successful, drawing roughly 50 students for each time slot. He hopes students continue attending and engaging with Culture Fest.

“My experience attending Culture Fest was always really positive, and then this experience of hosting a session was a really great experience for me, so I can just hope that it’ll be the same next year,” Parks said. “The attendance was great, and there was a lot of engagement. I hope that Culture Fest continues to draw true authentic interest from the student population.”

According to Park, the experience is a great opportunity for students to learn something because they are interested in it – not just for a grade. According to Parks, learning for personal enjoyment is something that students will need to learn to practice for the rest of their lives.

“Culture Fest is a chance to break away from the routine of learning, and just learning about specific subjects and grades and assessments,” Parks said.“It’s a chance to break out of that habit of just learning for a certain rubric or academic achievement and being able to pick something out of all the sessions that’s really of interest to you.”

Suri agreed that a lot of the importance of Culture Fest is allowing students to cultivate new interests and learn about things that the LASA curriculum might not touch on. He said that Culture Fest can be a place for students to connect what they are learning about in the classroom with new topics.

“I think it’s really important that students see what the things they discuss in the classroom look like in the real world,” Suri said, “and I think it’s really important for students to see how themes of inequity and racial injustice work in the real world and to hear from people who are doing original research on those topics.”

Sheth added that the event was a yearly tradition because it allows students to grow curiosity and hear from new perspectives. According to Sheth, if students are open to the experience, it can be a unique opportunity for them to learn.

“I think it’s just a really important tradition to keep going because it allows the students new perspectives that they usually wouldn’t hear,” Sheth said. “It keeps them curious, and it allows them to learn from so many different perspectives. When you grow up, you would pay hundreds of dollars to see these kinds of people speak, and now you’re just getting it for free. So I think it’s just important to take advantage of these opportunities.”

According to Suri, Culture Fest ties into DivCo’s larger goal of representing and educating the LASA student body. Suri explained that he joined DivCo as a way to become more involved in these conversations about diversity and representation.

“I joined DivCo because was really interested in having conversations about equity,” Suri sad. “I felt like our school didn’t do a good enough job of forcing freshmen like myself, and then when I joined as a sophomore, to discuss these issues and how they relate to our everyday lives on campus.”

Deo explained that, in the future, DivCo plans to continue expanding the event so that students have more options of workshops and speakers. Although this was her first year as an officer, she hopes to continue supporting Culture Fest next year as a senior.

“I hope we get more and more sessions because I think there are always topics that we don’t highlight that students are really interested about, so we want to take feedback, and we want to have sessions that students are passionate about,” Deo said, “It’s already an annual thing, but we want to make it bigger and bigger.”

Aurna Mukherjee, a junior who attended Culture Fest this year, reported that the event was a lot of fun. She explained that she got to learn about topics she otherwise knew nothing about.

“The first session that I attended was ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of being Japanese-American,’” Mukherjee said, “It was really interesting because I didn’t really know about the violence Japanese Americans faced when they went to America, so it was interesting to learn about that but then also to gain perspective on what types of careers they’ve pursued.”

Sudarsan also shared that she was excited about a lot of the sessions at Culture Fest. Suri, Sheth, and Sudarsan all mentioned that they were interested in attending or learning more about Art Markman’s session, “The Psychology of Difficult Conversations.”

“I think ‘The Psychology of Difficult Conversations,’ is super interesting and relevant,” Sudarsan said. “It’s about the psychology of civil discourse, which I think is super cool for a bunch of high schoolers who are going out into the world to hear about.” Mukherjee felt that Culture Fest acts as exposure to subjects and groups that students don’t know much about. Not only is it interesting to learn about new topics, but Mukherjee believes that it is a critical skill for students after they graduate from LASA.

“I think it’s really important for students to know about the different cultures that there are and be exposed to different kinds of people because I feel like if you don’t have that sense of diversity in you, when you go into the real world, it will be difficult for you to adjust,” Mukherjee said. “In a lot of situations, the demographics in schools aren’t really representative of the people you’re going to see in life.”

Deo agreed that Culture Fest is one small step that LASA takes toward producing students who will be educated on sensitive topics and able to have difficult conversations. According to Deo, it is important that students attend Culture Fest to take advantage of this opportunity for growth.

“All in all, we want students to attend and learn something new because learning is one of the first steps to growth,” Deo said, “and with growth comes tolerance and cultural acceptance, and a less ignorant and less hateful society.”

ISDIVERS I T Y COUNCIL?

While Diversity Council is primarily known for organizing Culture Fest every year, members also work on monthly projects that help foster an inclusive space at LASA. These events range from “Thankful for Diversity Day,” where members bring cultural dishes for the student body, to hosting guest speakers and workshops in the library. The council also sends out a monthly newsletterwith diverse media recommendations, and current events updates.

ART MARKMAN

SESSION SPOTLIGHTS

Both historian and LASA parent, Jeremi Suri was among the speakers Diversity Council had lined up for the day. At his session, Suri discussed how past racial politics continue to influence and distort current elections. He held a Q&A session after his talk, in which students brainstormed how to make the U.S. electoral system more inclusive and fair. Suri brought up topics such as decreasing the minimum voting age, and increasing the amount of polling locations, especially in rural areas. Suri also has a book coming out, which the Social Studies department purchased for LASA students who are curious to read.

Luis Miguel Ramirez is a LASA Spanish teacher, but is also a singer-songwriter and former frontman of Latin Alternative group, Son de Rey. He took Culture Fest as an opportunity to introduce his Pop, R&B, and Tejano inspired music to students, playing both some of his recorded songs, as well as performing some of them live. Students also got the chance to learn about Ramirez’s creative proccess, from brainstorming song ideas to music production.

Art Markman has given talks at LASA before, but this is his first time at LASA’s new campus. Markman has a PhD in Psychology, and has written a number of books bringing cognitive science to a broader audience. He is also a part of a radio show and podcast called Two Guys on Your Head, produced by KUT. At Markman’s Culture Fest session, he talked about civil discourse requiring the ability to talk about difficult topics that can create strong emotional reactions. His session focused on the psychological value of having these conversations, as well as strategies for having them more effectively.

Jeremi Suri

Luis Miguel Ramirez

graphicbyAmeliaColeman

graphicbyAmelia Coleman

It’s really important for students to see how themes of inequity and racial injustice work in the real world and hear from people who are doing original research on those topics.

-Zachary Suri, Diversity Council secretary

Sur-PRIZE! 2023 Teachers Win Awards at LASA

AIDAN GANNON staff writer

On Jan. 8, 2023, Sophie Pressler won the Teacher of Promise Award, an honor awarded to the best first-year teacher at LASA. This year, Sophie Pressler teaches advanced English 1 and 2. The other award, Teacher of The Year, was presented to Shontel Willie, a chemistry and forensics teacher. The Teacher of the Year is awarded to the teacher who went above and beyond to help their students.

Before becoming a teacher at LASA this school year, Pressler trained as a student teacher, helping the primary teacher and sometimes teaching the class herself. Now, in her own English I and English II classes, Pressler uses various teaching methods she has learned as a student teacher.

“I like to use a good mix of all-class, individual, and group work,” Pressler said. “I think it’s really important to have a mix of these options because they each test different skills.”

Pressler chose this profession because she enjoys teaching people and getting the chance to help students. Since working as an assistant teacher last year at LASA, she said her love for teaching has only grown.

“I really enjoy helping people,” Pressler said, “I am good at helping people, and I have always been good at teaching things I didn’t fully understand.”

Ossiel Blanchard, a freshman in Pressler’s English I class, has enjoyed taking her class. She said can see why Pressler received the Teacher of Promise Award given her enthusiasm as a teacher.

“Ms. Pressler is really nice and open to student’s ideas on any particular topic or part of what we may be discussing,” Blanchard said. “She is also super helpful and understanding in terms of assisting students with an assignment.”

Eliza Hawley is another freshman in Pressler’s English 1 class. Hawley said that Pressler works hard to make sure all students understand what’s going on in class.

“Ms. Pressler is really talented, and works really hard to help her students,” Hawley said.“whether by reading through an essay in office hours, or spending time making the lessons engaging

with kahoots and video clips.”

Isaac Braman-Ray is also a freshman in Pressler’s English I class that is enjoying her teaching style. He said that the class has pushed him to be more outgoing and engage in class discussion.

“The class is interactive and even though English is my least favorite subject, it is enjoyable,” Braman-Ray said. “And I’ve gained some social skills, which is helpful because I’m usually pretty shy.”

Braman-Ray adds that a lot of his enjoyment of English comes from Pressler’s willingness to help her students. According to Braman-Ray, Pressler won’t leave students who don’t understand behind.

“The teacher is friendly and helpful,” Braman-Ray said. “She is understanding about outside circumstances and is willing to give extensions.”

Shontel Willie, the teacher of the year, is another teacher known for her helpfulness. Like Pressler, she also mixes up her teaching style.

“My teaching methods have been flipped classroom and station,” Willie said. “We’ve gone back and forth between lectures and using the station rotation method. I’ve found that station rotation and flipped classroom are more engaging for students. This allows them to do more activities in class, and it’s more interactive for them.” Willie has taught at LASA for six years. Prior to teaching, she spent 12 years as an environmental chemist.

“I was meant to teach,” Willie said. “I have always wanted to be a teacher since I was 38.”

Willie loves how unpredictable teaching can be. Though some professions become repetitive over time, Willie explains that students ensure each year is unique.

“Teaching is an adventure. Every day,” Willie said. “That’s what I love about it, it’s not the same thing every day -- each day will be different.”

New House Bill Banishes Books at LASA

LASYA SANGANA staff writer

Right outside of the LASA library is a display of books for Black History Month, the walls of the library are plastered with posters promoting queer authors, and there are flyers recommending Native American-written books. Despite the broad range of books the library at LASA boasts, a new bill

Removing these books from classrooms and school libraries essentially removes these people and ideas from students.

proposed by the Texas government will alter the content inside the library in a very permanent way.

House Bill (HB) 338, which was proposed in Nov. of 2022, will add a mandatory, state-given, age-appropriate rating to all books in Texas school libraries. Under the legislation, publishers would assign specific age ratings to all books sold to school districts. State agencies could direct publishers to amend any of these ratings and if publishers fail to do so, the school districts would be banned from purchasing them. Additionally, if the publisher doesn’t comply, they will have to recall all copies and stop selling the book in Texas, and schools would be banned from buying books from the publisher.

Freshman Alyssa Wang points out that she can see the pros and cons of age ratings, but talked about how she’s concerned

how exactly the books would be rated. Students of the same age can have vastly different maturity levels, making it difficult to determine what age is most appropriate for them to read different materials.

“I have to say that it’s understandable that they would pass that bill,” Wang said, “but at the same time, I’m very concerned about what exactly would qualify as age appropriate.”

Wang went on to say that she understands how this bill could be dangerous. She is worried that authors and publishers would become more restrictive with the language and content they put in books in order to stay relevant in education.

“I also think that some political ideas may be a little restricted since it is very hard to escape political influence,” Wang said. “But personally, I think what students read isn’t exactly in the control of the school, so I don’t think it impacts this student’s education all that much.”

Freshman Elena Zong commented that ratings of the books could potentially be very politicized and dangerous. Zong worries that the government might want to prevent knowledge and influences from particular books or political ideologies from reaching kids.

“[The ratings] will probably stay politicized because humans can’t really censor their bias from the stuff that they decide,” Zong said. “So even if it’s like us, a group of people like a board deciding which books to censor or not, there’s still going to be some bias in that. Unless it [the board] was enormously diverse.”

Zong added that she believes this bill will limit certain ideals and allow other political ideas to spread throughout Texas. To her, this seems like a bad thing since she feels reading helps shape children’s viewpoint, and with certain books being censored, it could cause future generations to be more biased.

Elizabeth Switek, the librarian at LASA, feels that putting age limits on books is a government intrusion and said that limiting access to ideas and information limits citizenship skills. Additionally, it would just be an extra burden to librarians and school districts. Switek mentioned that librarians are more than qualified to make purchases for their students, and the bill

minimizes their expertise.

“An American Library Association survey has already found that librarians in many states are making purchasing decisions with the potential for a challenge in mind,” Switek said. “They are making ‘safer’ choices and not buying books that they think these extremist parent groups will try to challenge; which means that less inclusive books are being purchased.”

According to Switek, the passage of HB 338 could prevent students from being educated on important topics. Switek commented that controversial subject matter would be the first to leave the shelves.

“Right now we are seeing certain school districts making it illegal to have books with an LGBTQ character, or books where Black Lives Matter is mentioned,” Switek said. “Removing these books from classrooms and school libraries essentially removes these people and ideas from students which means they cannot learn about the world around them.”

Subscription Services Single Out Students

JOLIE GROGAN staff writer

Digital study tools are resources for students looking for new ways to study. Tools such as Quizlet were free online study set tools to help students memorize key terms and questions for their tests. Not everyone has access to tutors or specialized help, so many students use these online study resources.

As of Aug. 1, 2022 however, Quizlet has changed the “learn” and “test” features to cost $7.99 a month. The “learn” and “test” features allow students to get a more comprehensive understanding of their study sets and use features to make sure they are memorized. Quizlet premium content also includes expert-curated study guides and materials, whereas the site had previously been largely powered by student-uploaded content.

Quizlet’s recent addition of premium content is one of the main sites that has caught students’ attention for charging money. Sophomore Ivy Sernovitz is a student in AP World History, and often uses online resources for studying.

“Quizlet is the study site I use most of the time,” Sernovitz said. “I like to use Quizlet for any class that involves memorizing vocabulary, such as World History or language classes.”

Freshman Niamh Catterall is a student in World Geography, and uses study sites for various classes. World Geography students often use specialized study sites, such as Seterra, which provides practice map quizzes.

“I use Quizlet or Seterra most often, but I only use Seterra for one class, so Quizlet is the site I use the most,” Catterall said. “I use Quizlet to study Spanish, Biology, and World Geography.”

Sophomore Leo De Los Santos uses Quizlet primarily for AP World History. Quizlet has features that allow you to use study sets created by other people, or you can create your own study sets.

“I use Google Slides or Quizlet to study most often,” De Los Santos said. “I use Quizlet in some classes, and if I do, the quiz is made by me or a friend.”

When it comes to opinions on quizlet charging money,

opinions vary. Sernovitz does not find harm in being charged money for certain features.

“I think it’s fair for them to ask you to pay for extra features if most of the site is free,” Sernovitz said.

students to get a comprehensive understanding of content.

“I think that quizlet charging money makes things a lot harder for students,” De Los Santos said.

According to Quizlet CEO Mathew Glotzbach, 50 million monthly active users engage with Quizlet for their study needs. Catterall agreed with De Los Santos that having expenses for common features is not right.

“I think that it is unreasonable because they know that only students really use their sites, so they are exploiting our needs for their own good,” Catterall said. “I don’t think that the cost that they charge is ever reasonable for what you get out of it.”

De Los Santos also doesn’t think the monthly fee is worth it. However, Sernovitz finds some of the Quizlet Premium features, such as materials that directly align with textbooks, online courses, and standardized tests, to be occasionally helpful.

“I wouldn’t pay money for the extra features because I don’t think they are necessary,” Sernovitz said. “However, I have a friend who pays for a premium account and allows me to use it sometimes.”

Quizlet had reasoning behind their decisions to charge money – according to Forbes, the increasing subscription economy has made companies use premium content in addition to advertising. Furthermore, according to Glotzbach, Quizlet going premium was a “natural and planned extension” of Quizlet’s free content.

“I think they ask for money because they are a business with employees and they need to make a profit somehow,” Sernovitz said.

Though many students were disappointed by Quizlet’s choice to go premium, Quizlet maintains their choice to move to a subscription model. For students seeking other ways to study, there are still plenty of free study sites such as Coursera, Udemy, Udacity, Edx, LinkedIn Learning, Skillshare, and Memrise.

However, not all students think it’s fair to charge money. Sophomore Leo De Los Santos believes the absence of the “learn” feature that students relied on for so long can make it difficult for

WILLE ACCEPTS AWARD Willie accepts flowers as a congratulations for winning teacher of the year. Willie teaches chemistry and forensics at LASA. photo courtesy of Cosmo Courtois

TEACHER OF PROMISE PROMISES FUN IN ENGLISH Sophie Pressler teaches freshmen students about Macbeth. Pressler calls on students for an engaging class discussion. photo by Delia Rune

graphicbyAmeliaColeman

- ELIZABETH SWITEK, LASA LIBRARIAN

graphicbyAmeliaColeman

Spanish Six Stars

LILI XIONG student life editor

Noche de las Estrellas, or Night of the Stars, is an end-of-year celebratory performance put on by Spanish teacher Luis Miguel Ramirez’s Spanish 6 class. At Noche de las Estrellas (Noche), students choreograph and perform dances, play Latin music, and lip sync in a variety of different acts, which are all performed on the big stage at the end of the year. As a Spanish 6 student, senior Hays Turner will play a large role in the preparations leading up to the event.

“I will be helping pick songs to perform, working on choreography, promoting the show to the whole school, and practicing my dance moves,” Turner said. “Everyone in class picks roles and we all set our own deadlines to make sure everything is ready for the big night.”

Senior Lily Prath has also been hard at work preparing for Noche. She is particularly looking forward to performing one of the dances she’s been choreographing with her classmates.

“I’m going to dance, play guitar, make a documentary, and help make posters,” Prath said. “As a class we’ve all been working on the choreography for our dances and preparing to host auditions for anyone else wanting to participate.”

Prath hopes to integrate students throughout all levels of the Spanish program into the event. According to her, some of the goals she has in mind for this year’s Noche include getting a good turnout and increasing engagement.

“I’m hoping more people in other Spanish classes audition,” Prath said. “One of the dances we’re choreographing right now is really fun, and I’m looking forward to performing it.”

Turner is also looking forward to increased student engagement. He’s excited to see his friends perform what they’ve been working on in front of the crowd.

“I hope that this year, Noche gets the support it deserves,” Turner said. “We all work so hard to put on a show for the school that is both well-rehearsed and really enjoyable.”

Noche de las Estrellas will be during the evening of April 12. All Spanish students receive extra credit for attending, but, according to Hays and Prath, everyone is invited and welcome.

Luis Ramirez, one of LASA’s Spanish teachers and the organizer of Noche de las Estrellas, said that Noche is a LASA tradition he enjoys helping continue. Ramirez explained that Noche de las Estrellas is a great opportunity for students to receive recognition for their artistic talents while also improving their knowledge of different cultures.

“Even though we touch on art and culture from Spanish-speaking countries in class, we don’t really get the chance to live it, breathe it, and study it,” Ramirez said. “So Noche de las Estrellas gives students an opportunity to make actual connections with the Spanish-speaking community. It’s a tradition that LASA has had for many years, and I am happy to continue it.”

Biotech Across the Globe

“One day, Mr. Oleniczak, knowing that Jay and I were both taking Japanese, mentioned an email he got about a research program in Japan,” Keller said. “Knowing that teachers (and students alike) get these types of emails all the time, and that they often cost thousands of dollars, we didn’t think much of it, and thus were hardly listening to him until we heard him say ‘... and the program is all expenses paid!’ We were really surprised and immediately knew this was a great opportunity to not pass up.”

Campanell was one of the students who worked on finding funding for the project, which is being paid for by Pfizer Japan and the Japanese government. Campanell already knew a Pfizer researcher through a summer internship at George Washington’s Biostatistics Center.

“His name was Toshimitsu Hamasaki, and he worked at Pfizer in Japan as well as the PMDA, Japan’s equivalent of the FDA,” Campanell said. “One day we went out to lunch, and I told him about this program that I wanted to do. He was already familiar with it because he had helped a Ph.D. student in France help go to Japan to do research. He was very kind and offered to set us up with the R&D department at Pfizer Japan with his former colleagues and from there we worked on our proposal and eventually submitted it.”

Every time a new drug is created, it has to pass certain trials to make sure it’s safe for the general public. According to Suri, the goal of the research project is to look at the effects of differences between trials in the U.S. and Japan.

“Japan, demographically, is a much more homogenous society than the United States,” Suri said. “We’re looking at how that affects the development of drugs and the regulation of pharmaceuticals in particular industries, and we’re looking at a specific drug for diabetes that has been around for many years and released in both countries for which clinical trials have been conducted.” One of Campanell’s biggest influences for the topic of the proposal was a conversation he had with Japanese researcher Toshimitsu Hamasaki. For Campanell, that conversation highlighted the importance of researching those differences in drug testing.

“I was actually inspired by Toshi for the nature of the research project,” Campanell said. “Another day I was talking to him, and he mentioned how when he was working in Japan, and they were seeking approval of drugs that were already approved in other countries they sometimes had to lower the dosages of the international drugs to make them suitable and safe for the Japanese population. That got me to think about the differences between the US versus Japan in terms of pharmaceuticals, and I figured to explore this difference further we could make our proposal and research focused on it.”

The group aims to shed light on the potential limitations and challenges of the different methods used to test drugs and how that impacts their safety. According to Suri, demographic differences in the populations could change the efficacy of the tests.

“We haven’t fully developed our hypothesis yet,” Suri said, “but personally, I think we’re gonna find that the clinical trials in Japan are slightly less effective at finding potential adverse effects, particularly for drugs which are initially developed in Japan, simply because the society is going to have less diversity, a narrower pool of people on which drugs are tested.”

Suri expressed excitement over the trip. He hopes to be

able to compare first-hand some of the differences between the U.S. and Japan’s biotechnology industries.

“I’m really excited to see how the workplace culture differs from the United States and how biotechnology development differs,” Suri said. “I’m very curious about how the scientific process and also the regulation of pharmaceuticals differs between the two countries. I think that those differences are going to be very revealing about the development of drugs and also about potential areas for improvement in our own regulatory environments.”

Keller also shared some of his hopes for the week-long trip. Not only is Keller looking forward to engaging with researchers in Japan, but he is also excited for the experience of traveling to a foreign country with the group.

“We’re all super excited to go,” Keller said. “We still can’t believe this is happening. Every day we have blocked off to do something with different researchers in Japan, but we’ll be sure to have a lot of fun in Japan too.”

Academic Groups at LASA STEM New Interests

Students at LASA can often spend hours each day on schoolwork, but many students find time to pursue extracurricular activities that they’re interested in as well. Among the numerous sports, clubs, and organizations available to students, some of the most popular are in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math, together known as STEM. Clubs like Science Olympiad, Computer Science club, and many others provide additional opportunities for students to pursue their interests in these fields by participating in competitions and practices outside of school, but also introduce the additional factors of stress and time management.

Sophomore Guha Ekambaram competes in Science Olympiad and Future Business Leaders of America. These activities are in addition to participating in international aeronautics competitions all outside of his regular classes.

“In Science Olympiad I do build events like flight, so engineering,” Ekambaram said. “It’s basically just building something, testing it and building it again before competitions. Usually you grind really hard for a week or two before competing.

LASA has a large Science Olympiad program, consisting of two full teams, and even more students who practice or compete at invitationals. Students can be extremely competitive in their contests, and spend hours after school or at home working on anything from building a bridges with teammates, to studying for a cell biology test.

Junior Sunayna Adoni recently placed first in multiple study events such as Cell Biology and Anatomy and Physiology for Science Olympiad. These successes don’t come easily, according to Adoni.

“It’s a huge time commitment for the events that I compete in, which are both study events,” Adoni said, “but it’s just like any other extracurricular where you have to put in a lot of effort if you want to succeed.”

Another area of STEM that is becoming increasingly popular at LASA is computer science. Various clubs allow students to explore the different forms of computer science and programming including Cyber Patriot, Programming in Practice, Women in Computer Science, and Project Web. Junior Jai Nagaraj is the new leader of LASA’s Computer Science club and is working to continue learning and practicing with more students.

“We tackle a variety of things, currently what we’re doing now is we’re hosting a UIL competition for computer science to show your knowledge in the subject,” Nagaraj said, “and then later on, what we’re planning on doing is giving lectures and talks about programming and practicing various subjects that we’re passionate about, or club members want to see.”

According to Nagaraj, the club’s goal is to support and teach students as they learn more about programming. Especially with recent developments in artificial intelligence technologies, the club is constantly changing the topics discussed, but with student interests in mind. The club’s goal is to provide resources to those struggling with or new to computer science, but it isn’t demanding of their time.

“Occasionally, we may give things that you could try out, resources you could look at, but it’s really not like another course,” Nagaraj said. “It’s more lenient. There are certain clubs, like CyberPatriot that do require outside involvement because they’re like competition, but other than that, if you want to learn, then you can just come on back.”

The variety of choices mean that any student who’s interested in the subject of computer science has a way to get involved and learn more, regardless of the time they have to do so. By choosing their own level of interest and available time, students have access to more possibilities in the field while maintaining the ability to stay in control of their time.

I actually pulled an all nighter last night trying to get stuff ready for regionals, so there’s that, that was, about 7 hours, I’m assuming, of straight work for that.”

Science Olympiad is a nationwide competition that brings together middle and high school students to compete in various STEM events, such as forensics, bridge-building, and environmental science. The club is designed to challenge students in a fun and engaging way, allowing them to showcase their skills and knowledge in STEM subjects.

Despite the possibility of a struggle, students like Adoni and Ekambaram agree that it’s worth it. They said the skills gained, feelings of success, and sense of community are the best rewards to earn from their experiences.

We tackle a variety of things, currently what we’re doing now is we’re hosting a UIL competition for computer science to show your knowledge in the subject and then later on, what we’re planning on doing is giving lectures and talks about programming and practicing various subjects that we’re passionate about, or club members want to see

- JAI NAGARAJ, JUNIOR

Mueller Lit by Water Lanterns

Eager for Creativity

A Spotlight on Animation Class

figures, and then, take [photos] picture by picture of the scenes we wanted to make so that we would have full on animation.”

The Austin Water Lantern Festival is an annual festival run by an Austin company called One World. A water lantern festival is an event that uses floating paper lanterns and LED candles to carry hope and love across Mueller Lake Park, according to the Water Lantern Festival website. This year, the festival takes place on March 25. Ashlynn Bryson, One Worlds Marketing specialist, said she enjoys the celebration because of how relaxing the lanterns are. According to Bryson, festival goers often find joy and comfort in the glow of lanterns.

“The lanterns have become an amazing thing because this unique festival combines the beauty of lanterns with the peacefulness of water,” Bryson said. “[The water lantern festival] creates an experience that is both visually stunning and emotionally moving.”

Along with the beauty of the lanterns, according to Bryson, the festival allows for attendees to connect to their culture. According to Bryson, for some visitors, the festival connects them to their past as they remember their ancestors and family and let go of heavy emotions.

“The festival is also a great chance for people to honor loved ones who have passed away, to make wishes for the future, and reflect on the present,” Bryson said. “The lanterns which are released into the water, symbolize the release of negative thoughts and emotions and the embracing of positive ones.”

According to senior Anokhi Sheth, the celebration can have long lasting effects on people. Sheth attended the water lantern in 2019 as a freshman at LASA, and still thinks back to her experience.

“When I went it was free,” Sheth said. “We just happened to stumble upon it, and we were let in without having to pay anything. I would highly suggest it to anyone even remotely thinking of going.”

Even though Sheth went to the festival for free, in order to participate in the festival and launch a lantern, attendees must purchase a ticket. According to the website, the tickets include a wristband for entry, a LED light, a floating lantern kit, a commemorative drawstring bag, a marker, playing cards, conversation cards, and lantern retrieval and water cleanup tools.

Junior Jaynie Lee attended the celebration in 2022. She said she enjoys going to local events, like the Water Lantern Festival, with friends and feels others would enjoy it as well.

“I would suggest everyone go at least once,” Lee said. “It’s a bit expensive to buy the kit, but it was really fun to see your wishes float away on the water.”

The company holds the event across Texas, including cities such as Corpus Christi, Dallas, and Houston. For people looking to attend the Water Lantern festival, tickets cost anywhere between $27 to $56 dollars depending on when the ticket is bought.

In LASA’s Animation class, students learn how to add motion to their art while learning the skills and tools necessary to make art come to life. During the class, many topics are covered including 2D animation, 3D environment, character design, and stop motion animation. By the end of the course, students have acquired skills to use animation programs effectively in order to animate.

Teacher Nancy Zamora, is a first-year instructor at LASA, although she has been teaching for seven years. She went to school for Media Arts and Animation at the Arts Institute of Austin. Zamora enjoys teaching animation to high school students who don’t have prior experience.

“I want everyone to learn a little about the different aspects of animation and what it all entails,” Zamora said. “I also love when students take my class with a fear of 3D software and end up loving it more than all the others.”

Zamora feels that her students enjoy learning about what goes into creating cartoons, films and games. For instance, one of the assignments is creating a character using an existing one and an inanimate object.

“For example, a katana and Grunkle Stan or popcorn and Sailor Moon,” Zamora said. “I hear a lot of chatting and laughter with this assignment. I love when my students get really excited about learning something new or find joy in what they are working on.”

One project during the school year involves using Blender, a free and opensource 3D creation and animation suite, to create a 3D environment.

Another project that junior Manuel Gaspar enjoyed focused on a different type of animation.

“We would do stop motion animation,” Gaspar said. “The process for that would be that we would make our own scenes, prepare the

The diversity of projects is one of the reasons students, such as Gaspar, enjoyed the class. Junior Mateo Rives has also enjoyed the class projects and the opportunity to experiment with creative outlets.

“I signed up for the class because I needed a tech credit, and I have always loved animation, cartoons, and art in general,” Rives said. “I liked it so much the first time that I decided to take Animation 2 the next year.”

Part of the incentive to take further animation classes is the workload. According to Rives, if students manage their time well, students don’t have much homework.

“On most days, you just get the entire class period to work, so if you spend your time wisely, you do not ever really get homework, unless you want to work outside of class,” Rives said.

A lack of homework is not the only reason that students, such as Rives, enjoy the work environment. Rives enjoys Zamora’s teaching of what he considers an interesting subject.

“I definitely enjoy the class because, unlike most classes at LASA, it is not stressful, the grading is not harsh, the teacher is awesome, and the content is actually really fun and engaging,” Rives said. “It definitely exceeded my expectations for how much I enjoyed it. It is definitely something I look forward to each B day.”

Pop singer and songwriter Taylor Swift announced her Eras Tour on Nov. 1, 2022. The tour has enchanted fans, and it will cover her musical eras from all of her albums; from country to pop to indie. The tour will also be her first tour in five years.

Lover Fest, a worldwide tour following the release of her sixth album, “Lover,” was set to take place in 2020, but the tour was canceled due to COVID-19. The announcement of her Eras Tour, though, has sparked fans to revisit some of her previous music. Junior Arden Randazzo and their twin sister are enthused Taylor Swift fans and were delighted to get tickets to the Eras Tour. They are looking forward to hearing both songs from past albums, as well as “vault tracks,” which are previously unreleased songs that are now out of the woods and on the tracklists of Swift’s re-recorded albums, “Fearless” and “Red.”

“I can’t wait to hear some songs from ‘Midnights,’ ‘Lover,’ ‘Folklore,’ and ‘Evermore,’” Arden Randazzo said. “We haven’t heard any of them live, or the vault tracks. I’ve been listening to ‘Mr. Perfectly Fine’ again recently, and I want to hear it live.”

Arden Randazzo was first introduced to Swift’s music through hearing her album “Red” on the radio. Their dad bought them a CD of the album, and as a child, Swift’s lyrics captured their wildest dreams and left an impact bigger than the whole sky.

Junior Liesl Geiger, however, more recently discovered Swift’s music and is not as familiar with her older work. In order to prepare for the concert, Geiger said has been listening to Swift’s older albums.

“I have listened to Taylor Swift’s music ever since middle school when I started listening to music, but I was never really a big fan,” Geiger said. “And then her Folklore and Evermore albums came out, and I really like that style of music, … and then she announced her tour, and I got tickets for that. And then I started listening to all of her other albums because I have to catch up and make sure I am prepared [for

the tour].”

The process for getting tickets to the Eras Tour took several hours, and some fans reported waiting up to 8 hours for them, according to CBC news. Freshman Maddie Golby bought tickets to an Arlington show through SeatGeek.

“It was still kind of nerve wracking because we kept finding tickets and then some of them would get taken,” Golby said.

Fiona Randazzo, who also bought tickets through SeatGeek, had a similarly stressful experience. In order to get a better chance at buying tickets, the Randazzos became “Verified Fans,” a mechanism used by artists to make sure tickets are sold to fans directly rather than companies seeking to resell tickets.

“[My parents] both waited on the website for like 6 hours, and then my mom ended up getting tickets, like 45 minutes before my dad did,” Fiona Randazzo said. “We’re going to the Arlington shows, and those ones were Seat Geek rather than Ticketmaster, so I would like to think that’s why it went smoother. It was still a mess, but they didn’t completely mess everything up.”

Geiger knew all too well what it was like to buy tickets through Ticketmaster as she waited for around five hours to buy tickets for one of Swift’s Houston shows. Fans, such as Geiger, believe Ticketmaster did something bad: at least 15% of interactions across the site experienced issues, according to Ticketmaster.

“I had the flu on the day that they were being sold, so I could stay home and log on [to Ticketmaster] right at 10 o’clock,” Geiger said. “Shortly after that, everything crashed … every so often, I’d come in and check on it, and nothing would have happened. But after 5 hours, we started getting action.”

The wait did not deter fans from being excited about the tour, according to freshman Lucy Farrow. Farrow, who will be going to a performance with Golby, has planned out what time the two will leave in order to be prepared for the concert.

“We’re going to go to the stadium early,” Farrow said. “I want to leave Austin by 8 a.m. to get started on shopping. Yes, we’re gonna go as sunshine and midnight rain. It’s gonna be really fun.”

The costumes Farrow and Golby are wearing are in reference to the lyrics “you were sunshine,

I was midnight rain,” from Swift’s song “Midnight Rain.” The last time Arden Randazzo saw Taylor Swift was during her Reputation Tour and the experience is still burned in the back of their mind. According to Arden Randazzo, there were more people dressed up at the concert than they expected.

“I didn’t dress up last time,” Arden Randazzo said. “I was in sixth grade. I didn’t know, but people dress up and I’m definitely going to dress up. I think [people dress] up like Taylor from music videos and dress up as things she’s performed. I know some of the craziest costumes, like someone dressed up as a Starbucks cup because of ‘Starbucks lovers.’”

Along with dressing up in bejeweled costumes there are other customs that will be taking place at all of Swift’s performances. One of these traditions will be the exchanging of friendship bracelets in reference to one of Swift’s songs from her album, “Midnights.”

“In the song ‘You’re On Your Own Kid’ there’s a line that’s like ‘so make the friendship bracelets, take the moment, and taste it,’” Farrow said. “I think it originated on TikTok where people are like ‘Oh my god we should all make friendship bracelets and swap them at the tour,’ so hopefully I can do that.”

In order to have the best day, Arden Randazzo has been preparing for the concert by making friendship bracelets. Arden Randazzo doesn’t fully want to trade the bracelets.

“On the internet, people are talking about making friendship bracelets because of the lyrics from ‘And You’re On Your Own Kid’ to trade,” Arden Randazzo said. “I’ve made some, but I don’t know if I’ve gotten too attached to the ones I’ve made.”

On top of the swapping of friendship bracelets, concert attendees are not only excited about listening to Swift’s music. Fiona Randazzo is not only looking forward to throwback songs but also the opening performances.

“I really like [the openers] Gracie Abrams, Beabadoobe, and especially MUNA,” Fiona Randazzo said. “At ACL, we were in the front row at their show, and I really liked them, so I’m excited for that.”

Swift will be performing in two cities within a few hours of Austin. She will be in Arlington from March 31 to April 2, and in Houston from April 21 to 23.

GRIFFIN BEAM staff writer

SARAH GARRETT entertainment editor LILI XIONG student life editor

graphics by Katie Busby

FUN IN THE FIELD LASA’s Animation class got an opportunity this year to visit the Austin Film Festival. There they watched films as well as panels and conventions. photo courtesy of Mateo Rives

graphics by Amelia Coleman

AIDAN GANNON staff writer JC RAMIREZ DELGADILLO web editor

graphics by Alexandra Valencia

Austin Venues Speak Volumes

The Impact of Local Venues on the Austin Music Scene

KATIE

The Austin music scene has been around for a long time, growing as every decade adds something new to the mix. When different cultures entered the city they brought with them many different genres of music from Willie Nelson’s bluegrass, to the large indie rock scene, to the many varying artists that grace the stages of the ACL Festival and SXSW every year. Music venues in Austin hold the most history, some of them dating back years as far as the early 1900’s according to their websites, each of them with their own unique history and importance to the music scene.

McCallum junior Thomas Ross is in the indie rock band “Daydreamer.” He said he originally gained his interest for music through fine arts programs in schools before transitioning into the Austin music scene with his band.

Into The Woods

The lights went up on the Austin Independent School District (AISD) Performing Arts Center (PAC) for the Alley Cat players’ performance of “Into the Woods,” written by James Lapine and Steven Sondheim. The stage was filled with looming trees that held the multiple different storylines that were to play out through the performance. Elaborate costumes, lighting, and a tower adorning the stage filled the audience with whimsy and wonder. On the nights of Feb. 10 and 11, the cast and crew of the production opened the curtains of the PAC to a full theater.

To prepare for the spring musical, both the cast and crew worked countless hours this semester, according to sophomore Levi Scott. Scott worked behind the scenes as a part of costume and run crew, as well as makeup and hair crew.

It was Scott’s first time being a part of the crew, and while they loved the amazing community of the Alley Cats, he admitted that it was difficult to do so much work in so little time. Due to the icy road conditions and power outages, AISD canceled almost a week of school from Jan. 30- Feb. 4, and therefore prevented almost a week of rehearsal time very close to the show date.

“We stayed at the PAC until 8:30 every single day the week after the freeze,” Scott said. “[We were] rushing through dress rehearsals and tech rehearsals because we missed an entire week.”

Sophomore Brennan Lein played Jack, one of the several main protagonists of the musical, and was very excited about playing the role. He agreed that the time lost due to the winter storm made production harder on the cast and crew.

“It was definitely harder with the time constraint,” Lein said. “We only had a month to throw the show together, but we got through it.”

Sophomore Astrid Gothard was a part of the construction and run crew for the musical and also shared a similar perspective on the subject. She was involved with the production of many onstage props, and observed how the crew wasn’t able to do everything they hoped for.

“The loss of a few workdays meant that we didn’t get to do a few bonus projects that we had been intending,” Gothard said. “I’ll always be a little bit sad that we didn’t get a roof on Repunzel’s tower, or a few more branches on Cinderella’s tree.”

While the pre-production was fast-paced, Lein and Gothard agreed with Scott that the close-knit camaraderie of the Alley Cats made the chaos worth it. According to Gothard, preparation for the play was intense, but everyone pitched in to help.

“The community is amazing because you’re spending hours and hours and hours with the same group of people over and over [again],” Lien said. “It’s just incredible to see the way that it all comes together and the bonds you formed with everybody.”

Through just a month of preparing for the big day, those in the cast and crew had already formed strong connections with each other. Gothard and Abrahams agreed that the many long nights were less strenuous on the Alley Cats because of the friendships in the company.

“Missing that week for the ice days meant that we were really behind going into performance week,” Gothard said. “The actors thankfully did an amazing job catching up and absolutely nailed their performances.”

During the preparation of the musical, the cast and crew were able to refine their skills. This included the ability to make friends with many different kinds of people, according to Scott.

“The ability to be around people who are super different from you was strengthened by being in the musical,” Scott said. “The theater attracts everybody.”

“Once I got to the high school level of music I just fell in love with it,” Ross said. “It’s so much fun, and I think that’s what really, if anything, what got me into it, got my interest piqued really would be sitting in the audience and watching the high schoolers perform percussion ensembles and stuff. That’s when I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this could be so much better than it is right now,’ and that’s what sparked my love for it.”

Wezmer, a band local to Texas has played many shows in Austin. The band promotes themselves as a group that has always seen themselves as creatives and expressionists and have really enjoyed being able to share their work in the uniqueness of the Austin scene.

“Austin is a home town to so many old and new friends. Austin venues have been a treat, they’re respectful of our craft and very professional on every show,” the band said. “The Austin music scene has many sub scenes, which we find very interesting.”

LASA senior Elise Ponder has done a lot of work within the Austin music scene and is very passionate about it. Last year, Ponder organized an event series titled “Tunnel Vision” which gave her even more experience in the music scene as she was working at the head of this production.

“Both my involvement with Austin Music Foundation as well as the creation of my event series “Tunnel Vision” are really what drew me into the Austin music scene I would say,” Ponder said.

According to the Austin tourism website, the huge range of different types of venues and size and number of them as well had created a really diverse music scene in Austin with many different opportunities for musicians. Ross agreed with these sentiments, saying that Austin provides a great way for smaller acts to be heard.

“For garage band style, or just local bands, I think being in Austin is really amazing, because you’ve got all these venues,” Ross said. “You’ve got so many ways to get out there. You’ve got these radio stations. You’ve got tiny little pop ups all over the place. Whether they be music or not, you know, you can pretty much play anywhere at anything, and I think that’s great. Especially for … small bands just popping up and trying to get their name out and trying to get publicity and be heard.”

Ponder agreed that the scene is a really great place for smaller artists to get their start. With the diversity of venues and the involvement of some of them in supporting the local music scene and keeping it alive they host a huge range of people.

“I think an amazing thing about Austin’s music venues is how supportive they are of the developing scene & new artists,” Ponder said. “There are definitely some venues here that are clearly very profit driven, but there are also a sizable amount of local places that are super interested in supporting the local community. I’ve always thought the musical diversity in the scene is super interesting. All ages, all genres, you can really find any and all communities here.”

“Daydreamer” played their first venue show last year after winning the battle of the bands at McCallum. Ross said it was a really cool experience to be up on stage with his bandmates and friends, in front of more people than they had ever played for.

“It was such a life changing experience because we realized, ‘Oh, this is what is out there, and this is what is possible. This is what we could do every night if we wanted to,’” Ross said. “And I think that really, really got us fired up to kind of like, get this little garage band like, the tightest that it can be, if that makes sense.”

Ponder said that the music scene echoes the feel of an older Austin. According to her, many quintessential Austin venues have enticed people with their rich histories, promising futures, and the excitement that every night brings.

“I think it’s a big part of the reason so many people want to move here,” Ponder said. “I also think the scene is super reminiscent of ‘Old Austin’, and that means a lot to Austinites today.”

According to Wezmer, the music scene has been very inviting to them and they have felt very at home in Austin music venues and supported by a great community. They really love the different niches in the scene but how the Austin venues still bring them all together.

“We believe the scene is a collective thought,” Wezmer said. “One that brings people together through expression, music, passion, talents, and over all love.”

Importance of Diversity in Media

Representation in the media empowers teens, according to PBS. A 2020 study by the University of California Los Angeles showed that top-grossing films featuring diverse characters and storylines, has a median global box office revenue nearly $200 million more than movies lacking representation. The divide in profits highlights the clear business benefits of including diversity in media, in addition to the cultural and social significance. However, reports by the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and the University of Wisconsin-Madison show that women, people of color, and people who identify as LGBTQ+ are underrepresented in both books and movies.

It’s common for films and books featuring diverse characters to be censored in other countries or in school libraries, such as the Disney film, Lightyear, which has been banned in Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E, and Malaysia due to a lesbian couple being shown, according to Variety. Keegan Sarwate is the founder of the Banned Books Club and a junior at McCallum High School. The club that has recently spread to numerous other high schools in Austin, including Bowie, Anne Richards, and LASA through the Austin Independent School District (AISD) Banned Books Club. Sarwate said that media can be a powerful tool for self-discovery.

“Being able to see yourself or your feelings represented in the media lets you see, ‘Hey, this is a thing that people actually experience,’” Sarwate said. “It doesn’t mean that you’re alone. It doesn’t mean that you’re crazy. It just means that you’re not what you originally thought you were.”

Vanessa Mokry teaches film classes at LASA. She said there can be negative effects of a lack of representation in films.

“When you watch things, and you don’t see anybody that looks like you, it’s harder to connect,” Mokry said. “It gives you different messages, that you don’t belong.”

Katrina Brooks is the owner of Black Pearl Books, a diversity-focused bookshop in Austin that funded the AISD Banned Books Club. According to Brooks, messages advocating for inclusion are especially potent for children.

“Studies have shown that if you give a child a book that they can connect to, they’re more likely to read it,” Brooks said. “And so in classrooms, when you see children of color that don’t like to read, a lot of times, it’s because they can’t connect with what is being presented to them. They can’t identify with the stories of a white suburban child and what their struggles are because that’s not the world that they live in.”

Often the reason that media lacks diversity is because of preconceived ideas towards what should and shouldn’t be portrayed in media, according to Mokry. Ideas such as these come from previous eras of television

and what was considered appropriate at the time.

“We watched things, [and] we didn’t realize that things could be different,” Mokry said. “Things were portrayed on TV in a very squeaky clean kind of way. but that’s not what real life is like. And once real life started catching up… it just rippled through into more of a real, more realistic type of filmmaking media.”

However, although representation has been increasing in the media, not everyone has access to it. Texas school administrators alone have banned over 800 books from school libraries according to the Texas Tribune, an action that Brooks says is about control, especially over children.

“It’s a form of censorship,” Brooks said. “If you can control what people are reading, you can control how they think about things.”

Sarwate said that children are especially vulnerable to being controlled. Their opinions will often echo that of their parents, but can also be learned from media they consume, according to Sarwate.

“Hatred is learned,” Sarwate said. “People aren’t born hating other people. It is inherited from the people that they are around the environment they are around, so if their environment is saying ‘hey, people are different from you, and that’s a good thing. And that’s a normal thing, and those people shouldn’t be treated any differently’ then that’s what young people are going to start to believe.”

One of the most common arguments for banning books is that they contain subject matter that children shouldn’t be exposed to, according to the American Library Association. Sarwate believes that this way of thinking ignores an integral part of many people’s lives.

“Kids deserve to know about what is happening in the world [and] what has happened in the world because the thing is, there are some kids who can’t avoid knowing that information,” Sarwate said. There are some kids who just can’t avoid knowing about the darker parts of life because they live it.”

The push for diversity in school libraries echoes a larger trend. Representation in media, especially film and television has exploded over the past decade, according to Mokry.

“The audiences are asking for it,” Mokry said. “They’re demanding However, these trends have not spread to every country. There are lots of places with limited freedom of speech where people can’t fight for the representation they want, according to Sarwate.

“You have to fight for those people who don’t have that ability because if they tried to fight for it, it would be dangerous for them,” Sarwate said. “It would be a risk. It would put their life at risk, put their family at risk. And we are in a position of privilege that we live in an area that allows us to do these kinds of things. So we have to use that privilege to make these stories accessible to everybody, and not just the people around us who already know.”

BUSBY entertainment editor

HOUSEHOLD NAME Mohawk, a venue in downtown Austin, has been open since 2006. Since then they have hosted many concerts in both their indoor and outdoor spaces. photo by Katie Busby

LOCAL JAMS Texas local band Wezmer played a show at Mohawk on Feb. 3. They were part of a set with other local bands, Daydreamer and Trace of Lime. photo by Katie Busby

AVANI GANNE club contributor

WINTYR RICE staff writer

graphic by JC Ramirez Delgadillo

Peter Pan Thrives in Neverland Editor’s Picks

Golf Course Celebrates 75th Anniversary

ALONDRA AGUIRRE staff writer

Kneeling and dressed up in a green Lost Boy jersey, a sculpture of Peter Pan looks down on a mini golf course in downtown Austin. This year, the Austin landmark Peter Pan Mini Golf is turning 75 years old.

Peter Pan Mini Golf consists of 18 golf courses with different sculptures ranging from giant green dinosaurs to star-studded turtles. For the past years, residents of Austin have come to enjoy the wonders of the golf course. Peter Pan Mini Golf was founded in 1948. According to CoOwner Margaret Dismukes Massas, her dad and uncles founded the course and have passed it down since then.

“The business was started by my dad and his brothers [Glenn, Jack, and Clifford Dismukes] in 1948.” Massas said. “The game of mini golf was gaining popularity in the 40s and the brothers decided to give it a go. It has always been kept in the family all these years. I am one of four Dismukes family members that share ownership in Peter Pan.”

According to junior Jace Castleberry, the family-run business has been a place he has visited ever since he was a child. Castleberry enjoys the unique nature of the mini golf course.

“It’s surrounded by stores and is downtown, so I think I enjoyed it for both the vibe and because it’s a fun place to play mini golf,” Castleberry said. “I also [enjoyed it] because all of the different courses are made of sculptures, so playing through that is more fun as opposed to just your average regular golf course.”

The sculptures are one of the things that make Peter Pan Mini Golf a fun place, according to Castleberry. Massas said that when Peter Pan Mini Golf first started, her dad sculpted all the sculptures himself.

“It looked different in 1948 than it does now,” Massass said. “A lot of the sculptures were added over the years. My dad Glenn Dismukes sculpted all the originals including Peter Pan, the T Rex, the pirate, the pig, the rabbit, and many more, but he passed away in 1998.”

According to junior Malcolm Obianwu, people from Austin have grown up with experiences at the golf course throughout their years. Peter Pan Mini Golf has been a reliant activity for the people of Austin starting from a young age and still being something people can do as they grow older.

“I had a few experiences, probably early growing up, maybe seven, or eight years old, me and my family would

go there,” Obianwu said. “Every once in a while like a holiday thing. Birthdays and stuff like that. It’s these special cases where we’d go there … but growing up, every once in a while I still go there.”

Similar to Obianwu, junior Advika Sharma feels that Peter Pan continues to be a part of Austin, as it grows with people. Despite the child-like nature of the place, Sharma said that as kids grow older they continue to enjoy the wonders of the golf course.

“I think it’s because it doesn’t have an age limit, it doesn’t matter how old you are, you can still enjoy it,” Sharma said. “There’s still stuff for you to do there, and it’s so age-friendly for little kids as well, but it doesn’t get old as you grow older. It doesn’t get boring or anything like that, so people will still keep coming back to it. And also [it’s] just this little place for people in Austin to go. It’s not really like a tourist spot, I feel like it’s a cute little nook for people to hang out.”

Massas agreed with Sharma’s belief that people enjoy going back to Peter Pan because of its uniqueness. Peter Pan Mini Golf is important to the residents of Austin, according to Massas, and keeping it authentic is what keeps attracting people.

“We think the business has lasted because we don’t change,” Massas said. “People love coming back and making memories, year after year. We keep things simple and inexpensive and laid back and people love that. We believe Austinites love the nostalgia and [the] ties to ‘old’ Austin.”

According to Obianwu, as years have gone by since Peter Pan was established in Austin, it has started integrating into the Austin community and becoming part of the city. Peter Pan Mini Golf’s importance has continued to grow and has become a symbol of Austin, according to Obianwu.

“As it’s here longer and longer, it will become a more stable part of Austin,” Obianwu said. “So, I would argue that it’s gotten stronger in the community as the years went by, and I think it will continue to stand apart, as long as people keep going. It’s a staple of Austin, something that when people come to visit here, they wish to go there. I think it symbolizes Austin…something that makes it unique from other cities.”

Castleberry agreed that Peter Pan Mini Golf is a core part of Austin culture.Despite Austin growing and changing, the mini golf course has remained a constant part of the city’s history, according to Castleberry.

“The main reason why it’s still here after all of the real estate craze, after all of the remodeling, after all of the downtown expansion, the reason why it’s still a successful business, and it’s still here is because it’s an integral part of Austin’s culture,” Castleberry said.

Go-to Drink Orders

Boba

Some say home is where the heart is, but I say home is where the boba is. It’s not just a drink. It’s the boba experience. It’s the boba community. It’s a chance to flex your creative muscles as you ponder which toppings to add to which drink. My drink order varies from time to time, but my rule-of-thumb is to order the drink that looks the most unique to the shop I’m at. It does go without saying, though, that you can do no wrong with a classic matcha milk with boba. Even though the satisfaction of stabbing the plastic covering of the boba with my straw is immeasurable, and the contrast between squishy syrupy tapioca balls and creamy milk tea is heavenly, boba also carries memory. I remember drinking taro boba after workouts. I remember using FoodPanda (the Taiwanese equivalent of Uber Eats / Grubhub) to order lemon tea boba to school. I remember going to a boba store in Berlin almost every day last summer, much to the scrutinization of my friends. Above all, I remember that in Taiwan, boba is five times less expensive than it is here, and I cry.

Chai

Whether it is hot or cold, rainy or dry, tea has always had my back. Teas in every form have helped me through many occasions. Peppermint teas have soothed my sore throat during flu season, chamomile has calmed my mind during nights when I can’t sleep. Even gas station teas, which I have triumphantly grabbed from the depths of the refrigerated beverage area, have provided me with some form of happiness on long family road trips. My favorite tea, however, is masala chai. My introduction to chai was tainted by an airport, and while I should have known that buying any sort of hot beverage in an airport would be a risky move, I didn’t listen to my conscience and was taken aback by the scalding and watered down beverage. However, when I was traveling with my parents and we stopped in a little Indian restaurant, my perspective changed. The chai I ordered was warm and fragrant, a beautiful blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom, so because of that foreverimpactful experience, I will always order chai at a cafe, be it hot, cold, or in-between. Even though it won’t be quite as amazing as the restaurant’s tea, I am happy to say my go-to drink order is chai.

Lemonade

Free Fun at South By Southwest

SStartup Crawl

Startup Crawl is an event that will be held at the Capital Factory House in the heart of downtown. During South by Southwest, the brightest minds in technology and business will be joining together there to give educational sessions and help others make connections with people of talent. It’s a great place to go to if you’re looking to start your own business or peer into the minds of some of the smartest people in Austin. This event is open to the public and is taking place on Friday, March 10th from 6-9pm.

SShe-Media Co Lab

During this event, Katie Couric, Christy Turlington Burns, Phoebe Robinson, and more will be taking the stage to talk about women’s rights and health issues, with topics ranging from abortion to healthcare. They will also bring to light the innovation that stems from the history of health and their relevance to the future. This event is from Sat, Mar 11, 2023, 10:00 AM – Sun, Mar 12, 2023, 5:00 PM and is located in East 4th Street Austin.

XFlatstock

South by Southwest is holding an art exhibition called Flatstock from March 15-17th from 10a.m - 5p.m. The art displayed there will be poster art, which can include both textual and graphic elements, and is used to support the American Poster Institute. Art fanatics would enjoy the variety of handmade, visually diverse, creative pieces displayed there. The posters will be made by some of the world’s most influential gig poster artists such as Ambré, The Lemon Twigs, Sunflower Bean, and The Zombies.

WThe Future of Food

The Future of Food is an event that will include an open discussion about food around the globe, and how it affects culture. The event will take place over several days and there will be opportunities to participate in engaging activities and experiences, including trying food from various vendors. This event will take place on March 11 from 4 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Sweet. Simple. Sour. Lemonade. Strawberry flavored, raspberry flavored, prickly pear flavored. From Starbucks or homemade, from a stand on the side of the street or slid across the counter with a couple refreshing ice cubes clinking against the sides of the glass. The most revitalizing beverage when a drop of sweat rolls down the back of your neck after a walk, the sun beats into your burned shoulders at the beach, and the myriad of mosquito bites that litter your legs itch at summer camp is a tall glass of lemonade. The condensation forms rings on the countertop and cools flushed cheeks when pressed against them. The simple combination of a glass of water, a twist of lemon, a spoonful of sugar, and frigid ice is hard to botch, and I often find myself throwing together a glass for a pick me up no matter the season, throwing in any combination of fresh fruit for extra zing. Pineapple? Sure. Peach? Why not? Pomegranate? Sounds good to me. Kiwi? Maybe not kiwi. The timeless beverage brings back memories of grass stains and freezing Deep Eddy water, kites and the Zilker air. Besides the fact that kiwi lemonade would be slightly nauseating, the drink can be enjoyed in a multitude of ways.

Coffee

When I was younger I thought I would never like coffee. I took a sip of my dad’s and promptly declared it was nasty and said that no matter what he said, even when I grew up, I wouldn’t enjoy it. As much as I hate to admit it, I was wrong. I’m still not a fan of black coffee, and I prefer espresso to drip, but there is something about the bitterness of coffee mixed with other flavors that I really love. The caffeine is definitely a plus too with everything I have to get done. I do love a novelty latte or a seasonal drink with long names and weird ingredients because it’s just fun, but I do have some standard orders I fall back on. I love mochas and frequent Bennu coffee for the atmosphere as well as the way the chocolate flavor mixes with the similar flavor of the coffee in a delightful way. I also enjoy a vanilla latte, the lighter and sweet flavor of the vanilla mixing with the milk and acting as a foil to the flavor of the coffee creating a very comforting drink. Iced or hot in a multitude of flavors I have come to really love this drink and I am ultimately glad I was proved wrong.

SARAH GARRETT entertainment editor

NORAH HUSSAINI commentary editor

KATIE BUSBY entertainment editor

LILI XIONG student life editor

graphics by Sarah Garrett

graphic by Alexandra Valencia

Information from SXSW and Eventbrite. Research by sports editor Sanwi Sarode and Charlotte Whalen.

graphics by Sarah Garrett

graphic by Amelia Coleman

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Dive into the Wonderful World of WOLO

MANU SINGHAL ZEKE SIMELOFF club contributors

At the end of 2022, we were given the chance to view what was considered to be a globally significant water polo tournament from the poolside. Not only did this allow us to witness the suspense of the game up close, but also allowed us to interview some of the most significant players in water polo. The North Texas New Year’s Showcase, which took place from Dec. 28 to Jan. 3, hosted three powerhouse water polo teams in North Texas: the US Pan American Champions from the United States, the World Champions from Spain, and the Olympic Champions from Serbia.

For those unfamiliar with water polo, it’s a team sport played in a pool, with the objective of throwing a ball into the opposing team’s goal. The game is fast-paced and requires a mix of swimming, passing, and shooting skills, making it a unique and challenging sport.

Watching water polo from a dim laptop screen held no candle to witnessing the game from a couple feet away. All the matches had memorable moments ranging from an emotional fist fight in the water, to a ruthless penalty shootout cementing a win for Serbia, to an insane comeback by the Spanish who scored 7 consecutive points in 9 minutes.

However, what really stood out to us during our time at the games were the individual stories of the players themselves. One

of the most important players representing the Spanish team was 20-year-old Unai Aguirre, a recent addition to the team who has already participated in numerous International Swimming Federation (FINA) World Tournaments and will play in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Aguirre was initially a football goalkeeper as a child, but at seven-years-old he was willing to give water polo a chance. This willingness to step outside of his comfort zone and try something new ultimately led to his success in the sport.

“I’ve been playing water polo since I [was] seven years old,” Aguirre said. “I was [a] football goalie. And I swam also, and my [coach] said to me like, ‘you want to play water polo as a goalie because you are football goalie, and we need a goalie.’ And I mean, it’s not bad, no? I made it a career and I’m so happy.”

Although Aguirre is new to the league, he has already been nominated for several awards such as the 2022 European Swimming League (LEN) Awards Best Male Water Polo Player. He said that what lies behind his rapid success in global professional water polo is his approach to training.

“I’m training at 100% every day,” Aguirre said. “I try to improve at every training session, and that’s why I’m here. And I’m so happy, and now I have a lot of things to improve, but in a good way.”

USA National Team member, Max Irving, started playing water polo in high school, and later moved to the college level at University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), before eventually making it to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo with the USA water polo team. Similarly to Aguirre, Irving believes that he can only gain as much as he puts in.

“Immerse yourself in the game and everything, every day matters,” Irving said. “So whether you’re at training, try to train as much as possible. If you can play up in age group, play up an age group. If you can do swim team, do swim team. But you know it’s one of those things you’re gonna get out what you put in.”

Irving has also proven this to be true, as he went from being a redshirt, a player who is on the team but does not play in games at UCLA, to joining the national team in the span of just 3 years. On top of that, Irving has shown to be a fierce competitor in the water despite his smaller stature and size compared to other professional players. Spain’s water polo team did not get to global prominence with Aguirre alone, and according to Aguirre, the team

Raptors, lace upto Ru n in Austin

last year

currently consists of some of the best players they have ever had. While ranked sixth in the world by FINA, their team has a dominant player in every position, something that continues to push them higher in global rankings.

“I think that we have one of the best generations that Spain had in recent years. Here we are an amazing team,” Aguirre said. “We are top players in every position. We won the World Championship in Budapest this year. We’ve been 20 years without winning anything.”

Álvaro Granados, one of Aguirre’s teammates, is another one out of the five men nominated for the 2022 LEN Awards Best Male Water Polo Player. He also competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and helped his team win a gold medal in the 2022 FINA World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Granados joined Spain’s national team when he was only 16 and over the past seven years he has had to focus on his flourishing professional water polo career. Granados has had to balance being an athlete along with his own personal life and other passions he is currently studying.

“If you really want it, you can do it,” Granados said. “But for me, this is the meaning of wanting something. I can say, I want a nice car, but if I don’t work for it, if I don’t put so much effort on this, I will never achieve it, right? And being an athlete, it’s so hard and so tough some moments, you need to put a part and leave behind many, many things.”

Granados said he faces difficulties in his sport, spending long and draining hours training, but perseverance makes the positives so much more worth it. He is not only able to turn water polo, something he loves, into a career, but is able to make friends and travel the world.

“Sometimes it’s really hard, but it’s my life and I enjoy life,” Granados said. “For me, the most pretty thing of this sport is to share moments with my teammates. Traveling together, being here is the best example. Being in the United States in Dallas, with my teammates, and enjoying and knowing other countries, other cultures, it’s amazing actually.”

Not only did this tournament showcase some of the best water polo teams and players in the world in action, but provided us a unique opportunity to witness the dedication of these severely underrated athletes up close, learn about their individual stories, and have the ability to share them. This was a once in a lifetime experience, changing our perspective on the game and the world of professional water polo.

NISHTHAVERMA club contributor

The Austin Marathon and Cap10K are two of the most highly anticipated running events in the city, with the Austin Marathon being the 25th most popular running event in the country and having 100,000 spectators, according to the Austin Marathon website. The Cap10K is the largest 10K in Texas and the 6th largest 10K in the country.

The Austin Marathon typically sees around 17,000 runners from all 50 states and over 30 countries. The course takes runners through various areas of Austin, including downtown and historic neighborhoods such as Hyde Park, East Austin, and South Congress.

Similarly, the Cap10K race is usually attended by 20,000 to 25,000 runners and starts and ends near the Texas State Capitol building. The race route also takes runners through downtown Austin, as well as neighborhoods like Clarksville and Travis Heights.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 and 2022 Austin Marathons and Cap10K races were held virtually, where runners completed the race on their own and submitted their times online. Senior Nicolas Gallego is running the 13 mile Austin Half-Marathon for the first time this year, and has been training consistently for it.

“I start with shorter runs, and then I do track workouts,” Gallego said. “Track workouts can vary. I won’t get into the specifics of track workouts because they’re really just numbers. You’re naming distances, you’re running at different speeds and times. But really, once you’re done with all that stuff, and you start training with long runs, like 7, 8 miles, gradually increase it until you can run [more].”

Sophomore Tessa Cook ran in the Cap10K

and is planning on running again this year. She enjoys running, and treats the event as a hobby rather than a serious investment.

“Last year, I decided to do it because I had already been doing a lot of training,” Cook said. “I like to run after school between four and six miles and the 10k is six miles. So yeah, it was like, ‘this will be nice.’ This year, I’m trying to run a little bit faster than my fun runs, but I’m not making any serious effort because running is mostly just a hobby for me.”

Running, in general, can feel very rewarding even when doing it as a hobby, according to Gallego. Gallego said that the challenge is good for both his physical and mental health.

“It’s definitely a big achievement,” Gallego said. “You accomplish something and it’s fun. It can be bad while you’re running, but once you make it, you’re like, ‘Yeah, I just did that. Look at how tough and strong I am.’ And the physical benefits are, ‘Hey, I’m in shape. Yeah, I can run and I can move. I don’t hurt all the time. I’m healthy.’”

Junior Vance Mader is also running the Cap10K for the second year in a row. He does cross country, which he said helps with staying in shape. Mader uses his track meets to practice for the event.

“All of the races in cross country are five kilometers, so it was a little bit of a step up to do the 10K last year,” Mader said. “Other than that, I haven’t done very much running outside of cross country practice, which happens in the fall. Track has recently started up and I’m doing that occasionally. That should hopefully get me in a little bit better shape.” Mader explained that his goal during the 10K was to keep pace with the rest of the group running. He said that if his experience goes well, he plans on

running it again in his senior year but this time with some friends.

“Yeah, I’m mostly doing it for fun, but I feel like if the group that I’m going with is too slow, I’ll speed up, or if the group that I’m trying to get to is too fast, I’ll slow down,” Mader said. “I’m not trying to push myself as hard as I would be for a track meet or cross country meet. I think it’s really fun to do it with some friends, especially if they’re into running. That would help, but if they’re not, you can help push them along if you’re an experienced runner.”

According to Mader, running in a long event takes a lot of mental strength. He said that one’s success depends on how serious they are about training, and that it’s not easy.

“Running is a very individual sport, where you have to have the right mindset going into it, and going out of it to actually get through the race at the time that you want,” Mader said. “And I’d say that’s what differentiates it from other sports because there is still a team aspect, but it’s mostly how hard you want to push yourself. That’s how far you’re gonna go.”

The Hard Hitting Facts About Contact Sports

After the injury of Damar Hamlin, the safety player for the Buffalo Bills football team, awareness for high-impact sports injuries are at an all-time high. Hamlin’s injury was freakishly uncommon and not directly correlated with most of the concerns for sports like football, but many see it as a warning sign, according to The Washington Post. High-impact sports can have catastrophic consequences on players’ lives, and the recent media attention on their repercussions is a step in the right direction.

Historically, professional sports injuries have been overlooked for the entertainment of the viewer, and many athletes play on injuries to boost public interest or out of fear of disappointing their fans, according to Integrated Rehabilitation Services. Ironically, these injuries often cause a short-lived career. Arguably the most famous football player of all time, Tom Brady, played the entirety of his 2008 season recovering from an ACL tear, and then in 2021 won the Super Bowl LV while harboring an MCL tear on the same knee for the entire 2020 season, eventually retiring in 2023.

Although knee and other limb injuries are common in many sports, and can often result in an early retirement for the players who suffered from them, they are not the most debilitating. Concussions are a scarily frequent occurrence in high-impact sports, most commonly in ice hockey, football, and lacrosse respectively. A study done by Henry Ford Hospital’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery in Detroit Michigan found that concussion rates in the National Hockey League are between 5.8 to 6.1 concussions per every 100 games. With 1,312 games in the average NHL season, this means on average there are anywhere from 76 to 82 concussions per season.

Boston University Neurology found that constant concussions

can lead to post-concussion syndrome (PCS), or in extreme cases, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE often manifests itself with an alarming symptom list consisting of memory loss, impaired judgment, impulse control issues, Parkinson’s disease, and in patients that live long enough, progressive dementia. All of these symptoms prove that head trauma from high-impact sports can have catastrophic results, which is why injuries in sports must be taken more seriously.

Often used as a poster boy for PCS in hockey, Pat LaFontaine, who played in the NHL for 15 years, suffered 6 concussions throughout his career as a player. In the 1996-1997 season, he was advised by the Buffalo Sabres medical team to retire after he was diagnosed with PCS, according to the New York Post. Instead, he was traded to the New York Rangers where in 1998 he suffered yet another head injury, resulting in aggressive, persistent postconcussive syndrome. LaFontaine told the NHL that “the worst thing you can do is come back too early,” adding that “you wouldn’t only be jeopardizing your career, but you might also suffer longterm damage.” LaFontaine’s advice perfectly encapsulates why high impact sports should be regarded with more attentiveness, with a focus on athlete care instead of media press and competition.

For a formal CTE diagnosis, the patient’s brain tissue needs to be analyzed post-mortem. Many current and former professional athletes have been either formally or informally diagnosed with CTE. Two famous cases of informal diagnoses (both of whom are still alive) are football players OJ Simpson and Antonio Brown. Both athletes have shown violent behavior and impaired judgment, with Brown having multiple domestic abuse lawsuits against him and Simpson being accused and acquitted of double first-degree murder.

Both Simpson and Brown are proof that high-impact sports can not only harm the athletes but also those around them. CTE can have serious consequences and many leagues don’t have the proper protocol to protect their athletes, and in turn, their loved ones. Suggested safety protocols consist of intensive concussion training, stronger rules promoting player safety, regular medical checks, and heightened medical assistance on sight at all practices and games.

Unfortunately, major sports leagues seem unequipped to handle these types of catastrophic injuries. According to USA Today, at the Bills-Bengals football game where Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest, the National Football League instructed players to take a five minute intermission before proceeding with the game. Clearly, players did not go through with this and stood in support of Hamlin. The NFL later denied ever instructing players to do so, but athletes should have more time to treat and assess their injuries during games in order to prevent more serious, long term injuries down the road

Additionally, much of the NFL’s behavior throughout the incident seems to be far more for PR than for any actual care for Hamlin. The vast amount of highly-skilled players in leagues allow leagues to treat the signed ones as if they are statistics that can be replaced and not just human like us. This, coupled with an athlete’s pressure to prioritize playing instead of their health, makes high impact sports dangerous.

The serious and verifiable damages caused by high-impact sports are endless. The abundance of players and their loved ones who have suffered from the long-lasting effects of high impact sport injuries should be enough for leagues to insure more extreme safety precautions in the future.

RACING FOR THE BALL During winter break, Manu Singhal and Zeke Simeloff, traveled to Dallas to watch the North Texas New Year’s Showcase and watched Spains, Serbias, and US professional water polo teams compete. While there, they interviewed some of waterpolos best players. photo by Zeke Simeloff

IN PLAY The US team (white caps) and the Serbia team (black caps) prepare for a play in front of the goal. The US makes a offense play as the Serbian defends their goal. photo by Zeke Simeloff

BEATRIZ MARTELETO-LARA staff writer

graphic by Annabel Andre

graphicsbyKaylaLeandAnnabelAndre

Reaching New Heights at Climbing Club

Rock climbing has grown in popularity at LASA thanks to the Climbing Club, which is in its second year as a club. Local Austin climbing gyms, such as Austin Bouldering Project (ABP) and Crux Climbing Center, have provided members with places to learn and practice. The club meets every other Wednesday after school at the ABP. On weeks the club is not at ABP, they meet in T207B on Mondays during lunch.

Having climbed for years, seniors Ryan Le and Aidan Stokes restarted the school’s Climbing Club, which had stopped running after COVID-19, this year. Since becoming captains in the club, Le and Stokes have hoped to establish an environment that will allow interested students to get involved and eventually pass the club on so that it can be enjoyed by future students.

“We wanted to make it into something just because there are a lot of people we know at LASA that climb a ton,” Stokes said. “So the way I saw it was if we add more structure to [the club], maybe it’ll take off the ground and then be something that we can leave behind for people below us.”

On Mondays, during lunch, students go to Arredondo’s room to watch climbing films, such as The Alpinist, and experience the climbing culture and community. On Wednesdays, students take trips to Austin Bouldering Project after school.

“Obviously, we can’t climb in school because there is no place to do that, but what we can do is watch climbing movies,” Stokes said. “Every week there’s something happening, but some weeks it’s Monday and other weeks it’s Wednesday, and Wednesday after school is when they [club members] have fun.”

Aside from strengthening their climbing abilities, club members are able to build a strong sense of community and friendship, according to Stokes. The club is open to students of all experience levels, and they welcome anyone looking to improve their skills or try climbing for the first time. Stokes said climbing is a demanding activity, but members support and encourage each other as they tackle difficult climbs. One of the ways Stokes helps out is by giving beta, which is specific advice on how to complete a difficult climb.

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“If you haven’t ever climbed before I can run you through how it goes with the basic etiquette and how the walls work,” Stokes said. “I can also give beta if people are confused about a problem. I climb it with them and figure out what points they’re missing or I can give form suggestions like body mechanics.”

David Arredondo, the club sponsor, has been climbing for seven years, and it has since become one of his favorite hobbies.

According to Arredondo, climbing can be a humbling experience, although he still recommends trying it out.

“I joined a climbing club when I was in college, and it was one of my favorite parts,”

Arredondo said. “I got very involved in the club and helped run the club my senior year. That was a really

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graphicsbyAnnabelAndre

wonderful experience, and I still have deep friendships from that time, so take the risk and come out.”

The strong community of climbers is very open and accepting of people, according to Arredondo. He also said that you can find and get to know all sorts of interesting people from climbing.

“I like the community of people, the type of people who end up rock climbing,” Arredondo said. “They’re usually really analytical, driven people, at least on some level. People who are used to trying hard and failing and trying hard again.”

Le has been practicing climbing for four years and uses his skill to compete in bouldering. According to Le, experience level doesn’t affect participation in the club, and helping new climbers is one of Le’s favorite parts of leadership.

“One of my most memorable moments with the club was when we took beginners on their first climb,” Le said. “Watching them progress from nervous and uncertain to confident and successful was incredibly rewarding. Seeing the joy and satisfaction on their faces made all of the hard work and planning worth it.”

According to the captains, the Climbing Club is low commitment and aims to provide a way for students to get into climbing and have a group to experience it with. Stokes reassures those who are interested in joining that climbing is nothing to be afraid of.

“It’s called a climbing club, but most of it is falling club, right?” Stokes said. “So if you’re new, you haven’t ever done it before, [or] if you’re worried about how you’re going to look or how it’s going to be, I’d say that those are valid worries and that you’ve got to understand that’s where we all were when we started, and that’s where we still are. You’re joining a community of climbers and fallers, not just climbers.”

Prior to attending softball practice for the first time, the only thing I knew for certain about baseball was that if you talk about the Astros cheating, people get angry. Furthermore, the only thing I knew for certain about softball was that it was an extension of baseball. Ten minutes before practice started, entertainment editor and pitcher Katie Busby gave me a crash course on how the game worked and the different positions, roles, and terminology I might need to know. Once I stepped onto the field, I promptly forgot all of them. Regardless, walking towards the field with a battered and illfitting glove on one hand, a bat in the other, and an awkwardly fitted mask on my face, I felt like the softball field was my oyster– and I was going to devour the oyster.

To kick off practice, I participated in an outfielder catching drill where we were thrown a long pass and had to catch it and throw a long pass back, which turned out to be much easier said than done. As I neared the front of the line and my heart rate quickened, I thought to myself, Don’t overthink this. It’s just like basketball. It was not, in fact, like basketball. My form was all wrong, and the bruises I got on my shoulder and hand

served as a testament to that. I realized that I was trying to catch the ball at the center of my body, which was something I had to unlearn from basketball. Admittedly, I also casually ignored the, now obvious, fact that I was supposed to catch the ball mostly with the glove I was wearing, not my hands. Embarrassingly, I got serious whiplash every time I expected the softball to behave like a basketball, but it’s at least 5 times smaller, yellow, doesn’t bounce, and just doesn’t listen to me the way basketballs do. Most importantly, I learned that a softball –despite what you may think–is not soft whatsoever. That thing can cause serious pain.

Don’t get me wrong, there were good things. I caught the ball–sometimes. There came an undeniable feeling of satisfaction when I felt the ball, secure in my borrowed and worn glove. Also, the other players were so encouraging that it was impossible to wallow in self-pity at my skills, or lack thereof. Softball players do this thing where they high-five each other with their gloves, and even though they all had the most beautiful, flawless form compared to me, whenever I

caught the ball, there’d be a line of outstretched gloves waiting for me to high-five.

Then, I went to practice with the infielders, which I liked because it hurt less. Coach Emily Kossa would bat a ball, and I was positioned at what I think was called “short stop,” or middle infield. Essentially, each time Kossa batted the ball, we practiced communicating with each other to get the ball to first base as quickly as possible. Even though I kept fumbling and chasing after the ball, the other players’ guidance and encouragement made it all the more fun.

We ended practice by playing a short game of softball. I was told to get ready to bat. One of the captains, sophomore Abby Aardema, gave a noble effort at explaining how to bat, and I thought I’d gotten the general idea, but then senior Emma Chu informed me to just “use my animalistic instinct,” which I was sure I did not have.

As I stepped up to the plate, instead of getting the ball pitched to me, Coach Kossa “soft tossed” it, which was probably for the best. It took a few tries, but I did end up hitting the ball at some point, and I took off running towards first base, where I learned that you have to keep your foot on the base until the ball leaves the pitcher’s hands. On my long and humbling journey back to home base, I ran when I wasn’t supposed to and forgot to run when I was supposed to. But with the help of the players and coaches, I was able to make it right back to home base. Walking back to the locker room after practice, body aching, heart full, the oyster of softball devoured, I thought that maybe it would be best if I just stuck to basketball.

The Super Bowl is a nationwide competition to see which professional American football team will be the year’s National Football League champion. This year the teams competing were the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, with the Chief’s ultimately claiming victory with the score 38-35 after halftime.

Physics Right teacher John-Curtis Croston was born in Kansas

City and has been a lifelong Chief’s fan. Croston said that despite years of losses, being loyal to one team has finally paid off. Watching the Chief’s grow in strength is one of the reasons he loves football.

“I was born in Kansas City, so I was always a Chiefs fan, and they won the Super Bowl before I was born,” Croston said. “And then literally 50 years went without them winning a Super Bowl. There’s something about liking good teams, popular teams, but it’s another thing when you really

hold onto a team even when they’re not good. Then when they become good, it just feels like not a reward exactly, but it feels amazing after all the losing seasons and after everything else.”

The Super Bowl is the most watched sports event in the United States, according to ESPN.

Andrew Meng, a freshman on the LASA football team, said that football is popular now because of how long it’s been around in American culture.

“Since football is rooted so deeply in recent American history it’s not a shock that the game is important to many people that live here,” Meng said. “I only watch the games when the Chiefs play so I’ll be watching the Super Bowl this year. My favorite aspect is watching my favorite team play.”

According to Croston, fantasy football has also played a huge role in the Super Bowl’s popularity today. Fantasy football is a virtual game in which fans can create their own football teams, setting up a new lineup every week, and compete against one another for fun.

“Football is the number one sport in America, and honestly I think it’s grown because of fantasy football,” Croston said. “It is fun because you can play your own game based on the games that happen on Sunday, and then you end up no longer just following one team, but you learn more about the other teams in the league itself. So I think that’s really helped the NFL.”

Croston said that another reason football exceeds the popularity of other sports is because of the limited number of games in each season. According to Croston, as every game gains more importance than the last, the outcomes are more exciting to witness.

“In football, there’s a limited number of games,” Croston said. “There’s 17 in the season, so every game tends to matter more. I’m a Kansas City Royals baseball fan, but every game doesn’t matter in baseball because there’s so many of the games. In fact in the [National Baseball Association] (NBA) they say that nothing matters until basically the playoffs, whereas in football because everything matters there’s more at stake

in every game. I think that really does pull you in.”

The community that comes from watching the Super Bowl is also an aspect that tends to draw audiences to it, according to junior Dylan Ramirez. He said that because the Super Bowl is exclusive to the U.S. the game is especially important to American audiences.

“I’d say the Super Bowl is popular because it’s the sport almost exclusive to this country,” Ramirez said. “The Super Bowl brings lots of people together and is sort of like a big Friendsgiving. It’s the most important game so everyone wants to see it, and to play in it you have to be the best of the best.”

Croston agreed with Ramirez, stating that the Super Bowl has a special way of bringing people closer together. According to him, the Super Bowl is one of the few times where the large majority of people have a common experience to talk about.

“I remember when there were only a few different channels on TV, and so everyone ended up watching the same sorts of shows,” Croston said, “and the next day at school and work there were a lot of common experiences that people were talking about, which I don’t feel happens anymore. But the Super Bowl is one of the few times where I feel like the greater culture watches the same thing at the same time, so you have a little bit of community the next day talking about a shared experience.”

Despite the Super Bowl’s popularity, not everyone has the time to pay attention to it, according to Croston. As an incentive, Croston decided to offer extra credit to his physics students if they decided to watch the Super Bowl, saying that the game is something he wants everyone to enjoy.

“I think LASA needs more sports appreciation,” Croston said. “It’s an experience that’s amazing, even if you’re not a huge fan. It’s something that everyone should experience.”

Coaching a sport can be incredibly challenging, according to LASA’s head swim and dive coach Christopher Parks, with responsibilities ranging from just coaching the sport all the way to team management and organization. Some of LASA’s coaches balance coaching a sport while teaching a completely different subject in their classroom.

As well as being head coach for the swim and dive team, Parks is also the German teacher. In a given week, Parks said that his coaching job requires that he work an additional eight to ten hours.

“It’s a pretty big commitment,” Parks said. “Realistically, the easiest and the smallest part of the job is the actual coaching, so going to practices and giving feedback to athletes. I think, really, the title should be coach/project manager. That’s where a lot of the time is spent.”

Parks mentioned that the biggest thing he keeps in mind while managing his time is the same thing he tells his students, which is to not create extra work for himself or to overcommit to things. He uses many ideas and skills he learns from coaching and applies them to help his students in his classroom.

“A lot about how you get real skills with a language not just has knowledge that you can recite, and memorize, but actual abilities to talk,” Parks said. “It’s a lot like a sport. You have to practice. You have to train. You have to exercise a certain part of your brain.”

World Geography teacher and Baseball coach Eric Martanovic said that he does not see much distinction between coaching and teaching in that both have their own learning objectives, routines, and procedures. To him, teaching involves encouragement and

positivity, and coaching involves fostering individual talents and efforts.

“Athletics enriches academics,” Martanovic said. “In coaching, you have to take the individual qualities, or effort, of the player and build on that by acknowledging and accepting their positive contributions. When applied in the classroom, this builds not only confidence within but a rapport with the student wherein they feel comfortable to grow.”

Great Ideas teacher and Girls’ Soccer coach Chloe Cardinale agreed that academics and athletics work hand in hand. According to her, for some students, doing a sport during high school can be another important outlet.

“For a kid who doesn’t necessarily want to do a lot or is not really motivated

In addition to the team consisting of veteran varsity players who have played basketball for years, there are also new JV players. Freshman JV player Genesis Flores joined the team because she wanted to play a sport she enjoys and develop new relationships. Flores was also excited to revitalize her skills on the court.

“I have definitely started learning how to work [on a team],” Flores said. “I used to think I could do everything by myself, but now I know, especially on the court, I have four other teammates to help me out. I have definitely started learning more about basketball after I took a huge break from it, so coming back into a team was the best idea.”

Despite their initial inexperience, the freshmen have become well accommodated into the system of play and the team dynamic,

not place in the qualifying list of teams for the 5A district due to a tie between Navarro and Travis for the final spot. Despite the fact that Cruz only joined the team shortly before districts began, Sarrat said Cruz’s coaching style has been one of the deciding factors in the team’s success.

“We got Coach Cruz at the very beginning of district play, so that was definitely an adjustment because we didn’t really know what was going on with our old coach, but we were excited,” Sarrat said. “I’m really proud of our team moving in and not giving up, not stopping, and Coach Cruz has been the best, most supportive coach. I think it’s been really positive for our team. Our record is showing it, so it’s been great.”

academically, wanting to play a sport keeps them in the classroom,” Cardinale said. “A kid that’s maybe really hyper focused on only school, getting them to look outside of that, play a sport or do something where they can exercise and decompress, and help them with that balance.”

Overall, Cardinale said teaching another sport can be very demanding, almost like another full-time job added onto six other classes. She has to schedule and plan activities during the season and find time to think ahead for the next season as well.

“But I really do like it,” Cardinale said. “Getting to know the kids and having a team outside of the classroom, like a group of kids that you see in the hallway and you guys are all working towards a common goal, is rewarding.”

according to sophomore varsity player Francie Sarrat. Sarrat noticed parallels between her first-year experience and the current experience of the JV players.

“This is our first year with the JV team, and it’s mostly freshmen,” Sarrat said. “I would say even half of our programs are freshmen this year, but it’s been really fun to watch them have what we had last year. At the beginning, they were really shy, but now they’re getting to know each other, and I see them hanging out in the hallways. Between JV and varsity too, we’ve become a bigger, stronger program, and it’s really nice to see.” The cohesion between both teams has translated very well to their competitive performances, according to Sarrat. At the end of last season’s districts, the team’s record was 3-10; however, as of Feb. 4, the varsity record stood at 9-7. The season ended after varsity did

As the varsity team begins their playoff run, the girls’ basketball program as a whole is hoping to keep their momentum going. According to both Cruz and Flores, one of the key goals of the team is to be able to create JV-A and JV-B teams in the near future, with JV-A being the primary JV team and JV-B essentially acting as a freshman team.

“Hopefully, more people continue into next year and, by the time we, [freshman,] are in our sophomore and junior years, we have all three teams,” Flores said. “We should at least get third place in the district [if we] stay connected as a team, be in the positive environment we are in right now, and just keep playing.”

A HELPING HAND Ashley , Lili Xiong, and Francie Sarrat (left to right) celebrate after difficult game against the LBJ girls basketball team. The team found much more success this year winning nine out of sixteen games, which is especially impressive compared to their score last year, 3-10. photo by Kayla Le

GAME. SET. MATCH. Tennis coach Vincent Vizcaino instructs players during practice. The team starts by warming up with serves and groundstokes. photo by

LOCALLY LOVED LOCALLY LOVED

Students’ Favorite Stops Around LASA

ELLA LILLY ZIA HARVEY photo editors

Greater Goods Coffee

The flagship Greater Goods, located on 5th Street, features a collaborative workspace, popular coffee, and even a training lab to learn about the art of coffee. Known for their matcha and variety of coffee blends, Greater Good’s is a local and LASA student favorite according to the Liberator instagram poll. They additionally offer classes to learn how to brew coffee as a team-building exercise, or for fun.

“Greater Goods is my favorite place for a quick coffee shop, to study for a few hours, or meet friends. I’m picky about my coffee, but I’ve never been disappointed by their lattes. I love the minimalistic style, and the couch under the bookshelf is my favorite cozy place to hang out.”

- Junior Agam Zadok

UROkO Sa-Tén

Uroko is nested inside Springdale General and is known to be a sort of hidden gem. They have a variety of sushi rolls, sashimi, and appetizers, but they are known for their temaki, which is essentially sushi rolled in a cone. You can order it at the store or preorder a DIY temaki kit to make it yourself at home.

- Sophomore Dedepya Rudrarju

Sa-Tén Coffee and Eats may look like an average coffee shop, however, they serve a range of items such as croissants, katsu chicken, many types of toast, and black sesame lattes. Many people take advantage of its cozy interior to study. It’s especially popular with LASA seniors, who can leave campus and grab a quick lunch seven minutes east of LASA.

“Sa-Tén is definitely pricey for a regular stop but every once in a while I like to spoil myself on the weekends and study there. There are two locations (one near lasa and one near my house) and they’re both pretty small, so I like to get there early and get settled before the morning rush. My absolute favorite Sa Ten offering, however, is their food. It’s so, so good— like, Asian inspired drinks and small dishes that are really well done. One thing is that they close at 5pm so I almost never go after school.”

- Junior Sofia Francis

“ My friends and I love going to Uroko during lunch. My personal favorite is the salmon sushi burrito, but I think there are a lot of great options on the menu. The service there is awesome and I love the vibes. I would definitely reccomend.”