The Dispatch, Vol. 36, Issue #6 5/17/24

Vol. 36, Issue 6

www.thedispatchonline.net James Bowie High School 4103 W. Slaughter Lane, Austin,

Student council runs annual elections

The votes are in for the co-presidents and vice presidents of the 2024-2025 school year

As the votes for the year have been cast and tallied up, juniors Noble Cox and Emiliano Martinez are ecstatic to have been elected as the co -presidents of Bowie’s student council for the 2024-2025 school year.

Envelopes were given to each of the five presidential candidates after elections on April 30 with the status of the polls inside, Cox and Martinez hastily opened their own in anticipation of the results.

“It really was ner ve-racking, I was walking home that day and I stopped and sat on a bench because I couldn’t take it anymore,” Martinez said. “I was going to wait to go home and open the envelope with my parents, but I couldn’t handle not knowing.”

Cox and Martinez met during their freshman year and have stayed close friends while running together in cross country and hanging out in the same friend groups.

“We’ve already been communicating well,” Martinez said. “I feel very excited for next year, it’s going to feel like working with one of your closest friends.” Cox and Martinez are both looking forward to being co-presidents next year and already know how to work well together since they’ve been friends and known each other for so long.

“Emiliano’s been one of my good friends since we met,” Cox said. “So, it’ll be a pretty fun time to get to work together.”

office after his world history teacher and Bowie’s student council sponsor

AISD enacts new bond

Football team anticipates new field improvements over summer

The bond passed in 2022 and allocated over two billion dollars to enact a comprehensive modernization of campuses across the district. The bond was separated into three separate propositions, the first was general purpose, which included upgrades to safety and security systems, next was technology, and finally stadiums, which will go towards updating the aging sports facilities within the district.

The first two propositions were completed and now in 2024 two years after the bond was passed the final proposition is about to commence. Upgrades to the athletic fields on the Bowie campus will begin this summer. The major aspect of these improvements will be the installation of new artificial turf on the football, fields.

“The fields we practice on are not up to date and are poor quality. A lot of the time it's more dirt than grass and can usually be muddy,” senior Pace Sanford said. “We also have a lot of field-related injuries such as twisting an ankle, so updating these fields will decrease the likelihood of this incidence benefiting the sports

department as a whole” Now that construction over the parking garage and the fine arts building has met completion the last proposition has commenced. New artificial turf and updates to the aging sports facilities will be made.

"The new turf is really necessar y and I’m glad the district is allocating moment towards that project,” Clayton Laney said. “I think the new turf and renovation will help players of any kind of sport play better and ensure a safer time on the field.”

Students and coaches alike are excitedly anticipating the installation of the renovations according to Sanford a senior on the football team.

“I think the new renovations will bring in more traction to have more kids try out for football since the field will be nice," Sanford said. "I also believe the updates will help allow athletes to practice more efficiently and stay away from more field-related injuries,” STORY BY Emerson

Alejandro Garcia talked him into attending a meeting. Cox felt welcomed into the program and decided to run for vice

president. He was then elected as vice president of the Homecoming Game for the 2023-2024 school year

“Mr. Garcia told me to show up one afternoon and I did,” Cox said. “I really liked the environment and helping with yard

work around Bowie.” Garcia has been involved with Bowie’s student council since he attended the school as a student. He has since taken over as the lone sponsor of the program for the past two school years after previously working alongside fellow US history teacher, Wendy Uzzle. Garcia’s former high school world history teacher turned colleague, James Ellerbrock, was also the sponsor of the student council program for 31 years. His time with the organization began in 1988 when the school opened, and continued until his retirement in 2019. Ellerbrock inspired Garcia to become a teacher and wanted him to sponsor student council when he returned to Bowie as an educator.

“To be in charge of this program after I watched my former colleague do it for so long and lead the school in such fun and cool things makes me want to maintain that legacy and build upon it,” Garcia said. “I want there to be a Bowie of the future, and I want that to be where our legacy goes.” Student council has grown immensely at Bowie in recent years, as evident by the number of vice president candidates more than doubling from last year’s 10 candidates to this year’s 28. 15 of those 28 candidates were voted into office for the 2024-2025 school year and will each be holding different positions with different responsibilities throughout the school year READ MORE “Student body elects leadership positions for next year” pg. 2

No Place For Hate hosts community fair

Charlotte Koellner

Executive Editor: Content

Walking into the courtyard, junior Sydney McBurnett was ecstatic to see that she and her classmates’ hard work and planning had come to fruition to produce Bowie’s first-ever community day. As student-constructed booths wrapped around every inch of the courtyard, and clusters of students spread out to visit each organization’s table, McBurnett was pleased with the positive turnout emerging from the student leadership classes efforts.

The student leadership class, taught by boys basketball coach Trey Lindsey, organized the event to occur in the courtyard during both lunches on Friday, April 26. Student organizations were invited and urged to sign up for a booth to promote their group to the student body.

“The event was entirely student-organized,” McBurnett said. “Coach Lindsey split us into different groups, and each group prepared a different aspect of the event. For instance, one group reached out to clubs interested in having a booth, another group focused on organizing the student leadership booth, one group focused on advertising the event, and so on.”

Community day showcased various student organizations and clubs, ranging from the National Honor Society (NHS) to the Crocheting Club. The event aimed to promote inclusion amongst different organizations at Bowie, and provide certain organizations an opportunity to recruit interested students before the end of the school year.

“Bowie has tons of clubs that host a safe space to hang out and engage in fun social time, which is super important,” NHS sponsor Jacqueline Gonzalez said. “But, this event also

highlights the programs that offer positive community service opportunities. This helps put groups, such as honors societies, on underclassmen’s radars so they know about us.”

In the past, Bowie organized a No Place For Hate parade each spring. However, the parade showcased fewer organizations and garnered less hands-on student interaction, so the student leadership class decided to execute their community day plans.

“This event benefits the campus more because it’s an extension of club fair day, and the faces of student organizations can advocate for what their programs offer,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a good way for students to see what Bowie offers and how they can get involved in different groups. Students can say, I might not be a junior just yet, but when I am, I could get involved in this, or let me see what other clubs

look interesting to me.”

In addition to organizing community day, student leadership engages in their community by volunteering at elementary schools, participating in book and clothing drives, and organizing fun, Bowie-focused events. Upperclassmen interested in joining the class should talk with their alpha counselors.

“The student leadership class brings a lot of pride to campus,” junior member Knox Cannon said. “Everyone in the class strives to make Bowie a better place and motivates other students to be proud of being a Bowie Bulldawg. The goal for the event was to encourage that idea of being proud of your school, so hopefully other students can honor their Bowie pride as well." ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS BY Kate Davis, Asher Hagan, and Sophia Sanchez

Peyton Dorsey News Editor

Last year, Cox decided to run for student council

PHOTO BY Ryan Zuniga

Traugott

CAMPAIGNING

Martinez. PHOTO BY Peyton Dorsey

COMPETITION CLASHES ON CHESS BOARD: Senior Issac Hoke concentrates on his chess game against sophomore Nathan Musat. No Place For Hate hosted a community fair for clubs to encourage inclusion and acceptance at Bowie. PHOTO BY Alex Edwards

CLUBS IN NEW COMMUNITIES: International Bulldogs pose for the camera. The club consists of Bowie's foreign exchange students and is sponsored by April Giuffre. PHOTO BY Alex Edwards

Clayton Laney, 12

PHOTO BY Sophia Sanchez

Bill 17 bans DEI offices on campuses

A closer look at the bill that changes the role of diversity programs on college grounds

Savannah Riggins News Editor

On June 17, 2023 Texas Senate Bill 17 was passed. Following it’s passage, the impact of Texas Senate Bill 17 is reverberating throughout the state’s educational landscape, promoting a wave of reactions and adjustments among educators, administrators, and students. The legislation, which restricts the incorporation of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) program on college campuses. The law went into effect on January 1, 2024 it has elicited a range of responses and adaptions.

DEI offices on campuses help members of minority groups attain mentorships, tutoring opportunities, introduction into educational fields and they also help university faculty become more diverse.

“They [minority groups] have disadvantages against them, sophomore Shivani Dilip Latha said. “So, to take this helpful resource away completely will diminish the demographic of minorities that go to their colleges because now there is no rule stating that you can help students who are struggling.”

Following the law's implementation many colleges and universities have scrambled to adapt to the new alterations in the law, causing many people on university campuses around Texas to lose their jobs. A source who would like to remain anonymous for their protection works on the University of Texas at Austin campus (UT) in the centralized academic unit and said they have seen the campus redesign certain programs to fit within the legal confines of the bill

“In most cases, there were name changes to programs and redesigns to programs that included a broadening of the groups they would ser ve,” the source said “The only programs that I know of for sure that were closed in full as of January 1 are the Multicultural Engagement Center

and the Monarch Program. Some programs run out of the Division of Campus and Community Engagement (DECCE) were moved to different parts of campus. All 60+ staff laid off had formerly been in positions related to DEI.”

Campuses like UT they have multiple DEI related programs that are operating. According to the Austin American-Statesman The Gender and Sexuality Center closed and became the Women’s Community Center and The Office for Institutional Equity changed names to the Center for Access and Restorative Engagement. In addition staff resource groups now have to be registered and function autonomously

“The closures and layoffs were justified by UT administration as being due to redundancies with other programs on campus, " the source said. “Unfortunately, the university has not provided a comprehensive list of the programs that were closed or which positions were laid off.”

According to The Daily Texan Governor Greg Abbot plans to strengthen SB 17 in hopes of ensure universities comply with the law and don't find loopholes. The bill has ignited national debate about the role of DEI offices and initiatives in public universities. There are concerns about the law’s effect on discussions about race, gender and sexuality .

“It doesn't make sense because it just consistently shows that big universities and corporations only want to benefit themselves,”

“It doesn't make sense because it just consistently shows that big universities and corporations only want to benefit themselves”

Shivani Dilip Latha Sophomore student

Dilip Latha said. “They are not trying to help the people of the working class.”

People on both sides of the bill are voicing their opinions on the potential impact of the bill and it has become a focal point over the future of education in Texas. Advocates are arguing that SB 17 seeks to further provide equality and fairness to all students regardless of race or

Mazzy Warren Editor-in-Chief

Austin voters flooded the polls on Saturday, May 4, to cast their ballot in the Travis County Joint General and Special Elections.

This ballot combined minor elections among multiple cities in Travis county. All Travis county voters had the chance to elect three of eight board positions for the Travis Central Appraisal District, who will work to determine annual property valuations for tax purposes. The city of Austin had six propositions on the ballot, for voters to decide whether to dis-annex from city limits. Other cities in the county also got the chance to elect mayors, and to vote on school board trustees and bond propositions.

“It was exciting to vote for the first time, but it was also intimidating because I had never done it before,” senior Elizabeth Gilbert said. “There were so many people running for so many things, it was daunting but exciting.”

For the first time, Travis county voters elected three people to the Appraisal District Board of Directors. This election is a result of last year’s Senate Bill 2, which made changes to the Texas tax code, now requiring a board to oversee the operations of the appraisal district, which is responsible for appraising property tax rates.

“Taxes are important,” Evan Pruett said. “If there are people overseeing the appraisal process, it can help prevent unfair and biased chances.”

For the first seat on the Travis County Appraisal District Board, nonpartisan politician Don Zimmerman faced off against Democrat Jett Hannah. Hannah won the race with 69% of the vote. GOP Chairman Matt Mackowaik competed with Democrat attorney Shenghao “Daniel” Wang and Libertarian Jonathan Patchke for the second seat on the board. Wang won with 67% of the vote. Democrat Dick Lavine faced nonpartisan politician Bill May in the race for the third seat on the board. Lavine won this spot with 73% of the vote.

“It’s interesting to see how people voted in this election,” Pruett said. “I typically agree with the democrat perspective, but I don’t know the candidates well enough to know how they’ll affect the board.”

The six disannexation propositions focused on the dis-annexation of the following neighborhoods: Lost Creek (Prop A; 738 acres), Morreland Addition (Prop B; four acres), Blue Goose Road (Prop C; 28 acres), Lennar at Malone (Prop D; 40 acres), Wildhorse (Prop E; 104 acres), and River Place Outparcels (Prop F; 212 acres). Only individuals living within these districts were able to vote on

gender sexuality by leveling the playing field.

“I think that someone who supports the bill doesn't have a clear understanding of how this is beneficial,” sophomore Anna Leggate said. “They just don't understand the impact taking away this resource is making.”

However, opponents express concerns about the potential consequences of this bill. Arguing that SB 17 weakens the efforts to create a more inclusive campus environment and recruit a diverse student body and staff

“It’s trying to take opportunities away from kids of color to further help white children,” Dilip Latha said. “Everyone deserves equal opportunities in this situation. Equity over equality, because students of color systemically have disadvantages against them in every aspect of American society.”

The passage of the bill re-

flects broader national debates surrounding the role of DEI initiatives in education and public discourse. While some states have embraced measures to support diversity and equity in educational settings others, like Texas have taken a more restrictive approach.

“This bill will cause colleges around the United States to only cater to a certain demographic of people, mainly white,” Dilip Latha said. “That leads to the further lack of opportunity from people of color especially those who rely on race based entry to understand the system set up against them in hopes of better futures.”

According to the source many UT faculty and staff are concerned to speak up and voice their opinions due to the lack of transparency and the over-compliance of the university. Especially after the mass firing of

66 staff members on April 2 to illustrate the university's compliance to Senate Bill 17. According to The Daily Texan the university declined to comment further on the changes to the DCCE.

A lot of staff are scared to talk for fear of reprisal either from the university or to the university by the legislature,” the source said.

Texas isn’t the only state to enact this bill. It is one of three states to have passed it, the others being Tennessee and Utah. The bill has also been introduced in over 30 states during their current legislative session.

“Introducing the bill to other states is not a good idea,” Dilip Latha said. “I think we should take it out of the states it is already implemented in, because it's affects the amount of diversity on college campuses. This in turn leads to a unanimous point of view on topics that should be

covered in various ways through a diverse student body.” This law will be in effect for the foreseeable future and will continue impact current high school students all across Texas. Students will no longer have access to this resource and will be responsible for finding opportunities for themselves without the assistance of the Diversity, Equity am Inclusion departments.

“The university had made great strides over the years to develop communities and cohorts so people could find their place of belonging in the university and feel more connected and more than just a number,” the source said. “The changes to the programs that are continuing and the shuttering of other programs undo so much of those efforts and also may leave students feeling lost and floundering to find their place.”

Student body elects leadership positions for next year

CONTINUED from pg. 1 Harrison Austin and Camila Tellez have been voted as co-vice presidents at large. Arun Gandhi, Shivani Latha, and Megan Tran are co-vice presidents of teacher appreciation. Haden Barnett and Gabby Bochey are co-vice presidents of Bowie’s Got Talent. Carson Ledford and Carlos Ortiz are co-vice presidents of the renewed dodgeball tournament.

“The plan is to bring back our dodgeball tournament which we haven’t had in years since the pre-COVID world,” Garcia said. “That was a fun school wide event that hundreds of kids would get to participate in, and we’d get to have a Bowie dodgeball champion of the year, which everybody loves.”

Liz Luck and Valeria Portilla are co-vice presidents of community engagement. Parker Snow and Declan Stockdale are co-vice presidents of the homecoming dance. Noah Dougherty is the vice president of the homecoming game. Reed Watts is the vice president of yard work.

“The passion I saw from the students running encourages me about them leading student council next year,” Garcia said. “The election went great, I’m so happy that so many people came and participated and wanted to try out to be leaders.”

whether to disannex from the city, and every proposition that received votes passed.

“I always try to vote in local elections,” government teacher Dalton Pool said. “Local elections are just as important as state and federal elections, and arguably have an even greater impact on your life, as many local elections are relevant to how resources are allocated to things you are more likely to use in your daily life, like local roads, schools, and parks. ”

The city held these disannexation elections as a result of House Bill 3053, which was passed last year. This bill requires cities with 500,000 residents or more to hold disannexation elections for areas added to their city limits between March 3, 2015 and December 1, 2017. Disannexation means that homeowners in these areas will no longer pay Austin taxes, and the public services that were provided by the city of Austin will be replaced with

Travis County services.

“A lot of people don’t like the high tax rates in Austin, so I think the main reason people would vote to disannex is to avoid those taxes,” Pruett said. “And it might give them a sense of independence from Austin, especially because they’re not always considered a part of the city.”

According to Axios, this election had a low turnout rate compared to the amount of eligible Austin voters. Though some believe this election is too minor to have an impact, Pool believes it is crucial that everyone participates in every election they can.

“Young adults should always vote no matter if the election is local, state, or federal,” Pool said. “The decisions being made today by our local government will drastically affect future generations down the road. It only makes sense that those most impacted by our government have a say in it”

Student council is trying to bring back some traditions Bowie used to organize, and the program is also wanting to be more involved in helping the community next year.

“We’re trying to do more community activities,” Martinez said. “I feel like this year we lost that and through the COVID pandemic we lost a lot of connections.”

SCAN TO

ART BY Layne Foxcroft

ART BY Sophia Sepulveda

Silver Stars dominate at spring shows

Bowie students and families show out to support Silver Stars at their annual spring shows

Arden Ray Photo Essay Editor

All year long, the Bowie Silver Stars choreograph, rehearse, and prepare for their Spring Show. Silver Stars’ families and friends come out to show support and see all the talents the dancers have to offer.

Senior First Lieutenant Olivia Cassidy took the lead for multiple numbers and performed a solo to Lana Del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful” at Spring Show.

“My favorite routine I performed at Spring Show was Tap co! It was to “Smooth Criminal” by Michael Jackson. The routine was super fast but a lot of fun,” Cassidy said.

Among the many numbers she performed in, Cassidy joined her fellow seniors for the show’s annual senior dance. Seniors get to take the spotlight together to enjoy their last show as a Silver Star.

“My favorite part of Spring Show was doing our senior dance for the last time,” Cassidy said. “It was super emotional but I loved dancing with the seniors one last time before we go off to college.”

Seniors demonstrate a lot of leadership on and off stage with the younger Silver Stars and Star Dancers. Senior dancers and managers work hard to set an example and encourage the younger teammates.

“We take initiative in and out of practice and always keep a positive mood during practice, even if it’s seven in the morning,” Cassidy said.

Senior leadership was also demonstrated by managers.

Senior Jaya Kulkarni has been a Silver Stars manager for three years. She leads the other managers in making the Silver Stars

successful.

“I help to direct my fellow managers to ensure all of our tasks get done properly and to the best of our abilities. Having the directors out this year was pretty difficult but we worked well and made sure we got everything done,” Kulkarni said.

“As a senior it is my job to keep the younger girls motivated and excited to be a part of the team.”

Silver Star’s student managers play an essential role in behind the scenes work before, during, and after Spring Show. They keep things organized backstage and make sure every dancer is ready for their next number. Kulkarni played a big part in helping with costumes, electronics during the show, and making sure every dancer is accounted for and ready to go.

“Throughout the show I helped the directors with the projector for the slideshows, ran to get the dancers backstage in time for their dances, helped the Silver Star girls with quick changes and hair pieces, and my final task was bringing our mascot, Legacy, down on her ropes during finale,” Kulkarni said. “Before the show it was my job to make sure each performer had every costume piece they needed and after the show we had to recount and put everything away which was very tedious.”

The biggest part of Spring Show preparation is learning the routines and rehearsing them. Silver Stars dancers spend long days and work hard all year long to put on a great spring show.

“We have been preparing since the start of the school year. We preform a lot of our contest dances at Spring Show, and we learn most of those

during August/September,” Cassidy said. “We found out the theme of our show around November, so we started thinking of the storyline around then.” Kulkarni and other managers work all year to make sure Silver Stars have support through the rehearsal process and to keep everybody in good spirits.

“It definitely gets to be a lot for the girls since there were days they’d have to come to school really early and stay after late to make sure the lights and things for the show were perfect but we just kept telling ourselves it’s our last big performance of the year and we worked so hard all year to put this show together,” Kulkarni said. “Also having it be the last performance for the seniors kept everyone motivated because they wanted it to be good for them.”

The Silver Stars dancers and manager’s hard work all pays off when a packed audience cheers them on for three nights in a row. The Bowie community’s appreciation for the Silver Stars was loud and clear at Spring Show.

“I think the audience enjoyed the show,” Kulkarni said. “There were some parts where I heard people laughing with us and I had some friends after the show tell me how impressed they were with everything.”

The families of Silver Stars bring much support during competition season, spring show, and other events and activities. At Spring Show, parents, grandparents, and other family members show out to cheer on their Silver Star.

“They always cheer super loud at all our shows and it makes the energy super fun,” Cassidy said.

TAP TAP TAP:

by

show.”

BY Arden Ray

POSING FOR THE AUDIENCE: Star Dancer Maya Barrera strikes a pose as the lead of her routine at Spring Show. Barrea had a special part in the dance with one of her teammates. “This routine was probably one of the most exciting dances I did throughout the Spring Show, having a special part at the beginning of the dance was one of my highlights,” Barrera said. “I also really

PHOTO BY Arden Ray

MAKE A MOVE: Sophomore Star Dancer Abigail Ospina shows off her moves during an electric routine at Spring Show. The routine received a long and loud applause from the audience. “We get support from everyone- our directors, parents, booster club and our peers,” Kulkarni said. “It’s so nice having people come to our shows because a lot of work is put into them and it really pays off when we have a full audience of people to share it with.” PHOTO BY Arden Ray

LEAPING TO THE SKY: Senior Silver Star and First Lieutenant Olivia Cassidy and her teammates leap across stage at Spring Show. Cassidy took the lead for multiple numbers and led her teammates through Spring Show. “We stick to a schedule during practice and shows so that we don’t fall behind track,” Cassidy said. PHOTO BY Arden Ray

Making a Leep towards the sky

ART BY Isabella Verette

Junior Evan Leeper soars in the sky on his way to becoming a licensed pilot at 17

Isabella Verette Feature Editor

The roar of the engine, the sound of flight control, and the elevating feeling of lifting off the ground are nothing new for junior Evan Leeper. Leeper has been working on obtaining his pilot’s license over the past few years. The FAA requires that a person must be 16 to fly alone and be at least 17 years of age before officially obtaining a pilots license. This will be the case of Leeper in July of this year.

“For some people, it takes six months, and for others, it takes a couple of years,” said Leeper. “For me, it’s taken a couple of years because I don’t have the chance to fly that often.”

While technical experience with a plane, like flying in general, is a large portion of the training applicants have to complete to obtain your license, there are other parts to the training that can be more taxing.

“My least favorite part of this process is the bookwork because there’s a lot of it,” said Leeper. “You also have to do specific types of hours flying in the plane, like night hours, solo hours, and instrument condition hours which means you can’t see outside.”

While no one else in the Leeper family flies planes, his grandpa also shares the same interest in them that he does.

“While he doesn’t have his pilot’s license or fly real planes he does fly remote control planes,” Leeper said. “It’s something we both have such an interest in.”

Leeper has been dreaming of being a pilot since elementary school.

“I’ve always been so interested in flying and planes,” Leeper said. “I’ve always wanted to be a pilot either flying a cargo plane or an airline carrier, so I went on a discovery flight and that’s when I decided I wanted to work towards my license.”

Leeper rents planes when he’s working towards his hours, between night training and solo hours.

“I like flying smaller planes right now, they are nice,” Leeper said. “Right now I fly a Cessna 172, it’s a single-engine plane kind of similar to a car engine.”

There were mixed reactions to Leeper’s decision to decide to fly, while his friends were on board, his parents were nervous.

“They seemed hesitant at first, but ended up being supportive,” said Leeper. “And my friends are always asking me to fly them even though I don’t have my license yet, they are supportive.”

With hesitance, Leeper’s parents were still elated with his decision.

“I felt excited, proud, and scared! I was proud of him for wanting to pursue something unique and challenging,”

"

overwhelming especially since he had not even started driving” Darwin Devers-Hertrz one of Evan’s friends had a few different emotions but landed on one that overwhelmed the others.

I’ve always been so interested in flying planes and I’ve always wanted to be a pilot either flying cargo planes or an airline carrier.

Evan Leeper Junior

Jessica Leeper, Evan’s mom said. “At the same time, him flying in the air seemed scary and

“I thought it was cool since you don’t hear often about teens working towards a pilot license,” Devers-Hertz said. “And it is just in general a pretty interesting activity/ hobby to be involved in.”

But being a student and in the rigor of classes Evan is in while also trying to meet the specifics of flying hours can be a

challenge, and the people in his life saw that when he made the decision he wanted his license.

“I was a little surprised because it sounded intense and like a lot of work especially if you are younger,” Devers-Hertz said, “But, in reality, it is not that bad, and you just gotta keep up with the learning and practicing aspects.”

Since early childhood, Evan has been intrigued by being in the air and aviation.

Evan is so passionate about aviation that his interests inspired his friends to get a deeper understanding of what flight is all about.

“I started learning a bit about planes and got a cheap flight simulator setup,” Devers-Hertz said “but I haven’t kept up with it as much as I used to or gone down.”

Evan first started working on his license after a birthday present from his parents.

“We first gifted him a discovery flight for his birthday and he loved it,” Jessica said. “We knew it was something we needed to foster and support so we signed him up for flight lessons.”

With the support of his parents and his friends, Evan is making strides toward his dream job, but there are always risks when it comes to flying.

“The most nerve-wracking part was when I realized he eventually would have to fly alone. I am not sure why I didn’t realize it until the day we went to Lockhart Municipal Airport for his first solo flight,” Jessica said “I was so nervous especially when his instructor told me he had to fly multiple patterns alone. Just the first one was too much.”

While flying is scary and a really interesting hobby to have, it’s not all about the pilot, other aspects go into being able to do the hobby and excel at it, including support from loved ones.

“His dad and I realized quickly that he would need financial support as flying is an expensive hobby,” Jennifer said “He was only around 11 years old so we also had to commit to driving him to Austin Bergstrom International Airport (ABIA) and sign lots of paperwork since he is a minor.”

When Evan gets his pilot’s license he has an idea of where he wants to go and what he wants to do.

“I’ve always wanted to fly to Big Bend in Texas, so I want to do trips like that,” Evan said. “And I want to be either a commercial or cargo pilot as a future career so, being able to go places that are fun and fly and also do it for a job is the ultimate goal.”

I thought it was cool since you don’t hear often about teens working towards a pilots license, and its just in general a pretty interesting hobby to be involved in Darwin Devers-Hertz Junior

“Evan became interested in planes in early elementary school,” Jessica said. “When he started flying remote control planes with his Grandfather and going to local airshows.”

With supportive family and friends, and a passion for aviation Evan is on the path to his dream job, and pursuing his favorite interest.

“I flew with him and his instructor once when he was in middle school and it was awesome,” Jessica said. “His dad has flown with him several times and the views were great, it been amazing to see him throw himself into something he’s really passionate about and what to pursue a career in aviation.”

Brighton Toland steps into bright lights of Los Angeles

Sophia Sanchez Executive Editor

Barbies in hand, script in mind, and iPad ready for action, a young Brighton Toland prepares to create her best stop-motion film yet. Years later, Toland now a senior about to graduate she prepares, to take on a job within the film industry in Los Angeles following graduation. The Merman Film Company works across America and the United Kingdom, offering multiple jobs for creative outlets such as marketing, script writing, prop handling, and much more.

“I’ve always had a love for film,” Toland said. “I’ve always been more of a film girly than a stage theater girl. I love films because there are so many aspects to it. It’s camera work, set, costumes, props, makeup, and hair. Just so many things go into building something and it’s really fun.”

"From a young age, Toland quickly picked up a passion for film and stuck to the artistic hobby. According to Toland’s father, Steve Toland, the time and effort put into all of her projects were not left unnoticed.

that I knew she had a real passion for this type of storytelling.”

Brighton is a part of the Starlight Theater company and has been able to build experience and supportive relationships along the years, leading up to becoming an officer.

“She can make friends with anybody,” junior Brielle Boring said.

“She’s so supportive, so sweet, to anybody. Everyone she meets immediately loves her, she just has that type of personality and that energy about her. That is so incredibly special. I think she’ll thrive very much, she’s very polite and definitely a people pleaser.”

According to Brighton, she was able to have some insight into how the film industry functions due to her dad’s previous job in Los Angeles and connections.

I love film because there are so many aspects to it. It’s camera work, set, costumes, props, makeup, and hair.

Brighton Toland Senior

“I first took notice of Brighton‘s love of film and the way she would play with different dolls,” Steve said. “She found an app on her phone and created some slow animation and then she would take hours and individually film these different scenes frame by frame that made it look like a movie instead of just a video recording. It was so creative, and took her so long,

“My dad grew up in the valley of Texas and there was one person there who is his really good friend who lives in Los Angeles,” Brighton said. “She has some connections and she said she could help me get an interview. I did the interview about two months ago, and got hired to work with Merman.”

Brighton plans on keeping a positive mentality as she enters this new chapter in her life ready to combat any challenges.

“I am so grateful as to how I am starting,” Brighton said. “A lot of people start differently. Whenever they want to go into acting in LA, most start working at a restaurant but I did not want to do that. I’m just doing props, so then I can kind of get familiar and get my name around, I think it’s important to know all of the aspects of the scene.”

According to Brighton, the few concerns she has for taking this leap are having a set schedule and being able to provide for herself. To combat

these worries, Brighton plans to focus on building a healthy work schedule while producing a title for herself.

“Patience and tenacity are the most important skills to hone,” theater teacher Matthew Humphrey said. “I think the challenges in these fields of study aren’t unlike other industries. To succeed, you need tenacity and perseverance, especially in the face of adversity.”

As this chapter of Brighton’s life comes to a close, others around her buzz with excitement to see where Merman will take her.

“She’s so lucky that she gets that opportunity to go straight out there,” Boring said. “Not everyone gets that opportunity. So, I think she’ll like not only to experience a head start but really go into the world of film and just get first-hand experience.”

With her eyes set on the future Brighton holds onto her personal goals, determined to remain creative.

“I guess a goal would be I for sure want to help with a movie that gets produced and published,” Brighton said. “I also want to have a good schedule of living on my own, while making sure I learn how to grow on my own. Then getting an agent as well would be amazing.”

Before her departure, Brighton was producing and directing a short film about girlhood, the main plot based on her own experiences, a tribute to her friends and family.

“I am proud of Brighton for so many things,” Steve said. “Some thoughts that immediately come to mind with regard to working in the film production space is her ability to learn from her mistakes quickly and to be a team player.”

With production having a lot of different elements and moving parts all at once, film isn’t the easiest job to have.

“Any type of production work requires team effort so it’s not always about just doing your job or trying to

READY FOR TAKE-OFF: Junior Evan Leeper sits tall and ready in a Cessna 172 preparing to knock out some of his mandatory flying hours to obtain his pilots license. Making ahead start toward his dream job of being a cargo or commercial pilot Leeper is inching closer to obtaining his license around July. PHOTO COURTESY OF Evan Leeper

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION:Senior Brighton Toland, camera in hand, shoots for the stars. Toland plans will be working for The Merman Film company following graduation. PHOTO BY Nick Wood

P et debuts with dynamic publicati n

Charlotte Schwarte Feature Editor

A glow lights senior Raven Kemenesi’s face as she studies the computer in front of her. She types word after word out, silently mouthing the words to test the sound. After the last period, a poem sits on the screen, ready to join its relatives on other pages.

On May 1, Raven Kemenesi published a poetry book consisting of 26 poems describing the trials of growing up, womanhood, and the personal reflections of the author herself. It is available online at Amazon, titled The Murder in My Garden.

“Writing poetry helps me process my emotions, my thoughts and my feelings,” Kemenesi said. “It’s reflecting on things I’ve gone through, reflecting on things that I could have gone through if something happened differently.”

Kemenesi started writing poetry around age 14, but has dedicated herself to many arts and hobbies throughout her life.

“Ever since I was really little I wanted to become a published author,” Kemenesi said. “I knew that I wanted to publish something, whatever that may be. I’ve tried writing novels, to no success. But then I got into poetry.”

Due to the poem quantity, The Murder in My Garden is classified as a poetry chapbook, a small printed booklet that historically was a popular form of street literature.

“It’s not a linear process, writing a book,” Kemenesi said. “It’s very much up and down and all over the place. There’s a lot of overthinking that can go into it.”

Kemenesi used the book not only as a creative release, but is also donating 25% of the profits from each sold book to Pet Peace of Mind. This is a national non-profit program that cares for the pets of hospice patients during

their illness.

“I think a big thing that is so apparent when you meet Raven is her passion for what inspires her,” Peer Assistance, Leadership, and Service (PALS) sponsor Jacqueline Gonzalez said. “That was so evident in her interview for PALS that she cares deeply about things and her heart is gold.”

A common theme among her peers and teachers is their opinion that Kemenesi has a determination towards her goals and what she’s passionate about.

“Raven’s a go-getter, if she wants to do something she’s going to, like the book,” senior Rosemarie Nevland said. “She’s also really good at getting people together for an event and connecting people. She’s a very cheerful, great person all around.”

Nevland is one of multiple credited artists in The Murder in My Garden, all of whom contributed to the gothic theme with illustrated artwork and photography. Senior Max Diaz is another friend and artist who participated, specifically making the cover art.

“It’s so cool that one of my friends has published a book, and I’m very proud of her,” Diaz said. “I hope that she gains some sort of success from it, and that people recognize her work.”

As many authors do, Kemenesi took a pseudonym to publish the

book under. She was undecided between similar surnames but eventually settled on Raven Vervain for a variety of reasons.

“I had been struggling to create a solid pen name,” Kemenesi said. “I ended up picking Vervain because I thought it would be cool to have the same name as a plant that is surrounded in so much mythology and was considered sacred by the ancient Greeks.”

Written on the back of the book and its description on Amazon, Kemenesi wrote a couple of sentences under her pen name that she says reflects her feelings towards the anticipation of her book being read.

“Wherever this book may go, so does my soul and memory,” Kemenesi said. “Through that, I will live on this Earth for eternity. Handle this version of me with care.”

"book, because it’s something that I thought a lot about growing up, confronting my mortality,” Kemenesi said. “There’s a lot about mental health, and what it means to be a girl growing into a woman in our society. I use a lot of figurative language of nature, because I feel a really huge connection with nature and I love it so much and I see so much beauty in it and I wanted that reflected in my poetry.”

To convey the themes that Kemenesi felt drawn to, the book featured artwork by Rosemarie Nevland, Max Diaz, Grace Hooks, and Olivia DeVore.

Raven Kemenesi Senior

The Murder in My Garden deals with a vast array of topics, all purposefully or inadvertently chosen during Kemenesi’s process of reflecting within herself and expressing those thoughts into her writing.

“I talked a lot about death in this

“I read through the poems and I thought through what images she made with her words and I found specific things that stuck out or seemed thematic for the book,” Nevland said.

The Murder in my Garden is self-published, using Kindle Direct Publishing, an Amazon run platform that allows users to publish their literary works for profit in 10 countries and 45 languages.

“I wanted to make my younger self proud,” Kemenesi said. “I’ve always wanted to publish, and I haven’t

entered adulthood fully yet. So why not make her proud? And I feel like I absolutely have.”

Kemenesi’s extracurriculars span from guitar to Spanish Honor Society, and she has implemented poetry into her community by creating a group of around a dozen people that meet to share their own literary works.

“I love that she has the confidence to put herself out there,” Diaz said. “She is setting up these poetry readings and I really admire that.”

The Murder in My Garden is the cumulation of Kemenesi’s time writing, organizing, and planning, whether in PALS or through the poetry readings.

“I hope this book brings Raven a sense of pride and accomplishment every time she sees the cover,” Gonzalez said. “Not many 18-year-olds can say they’re a published writer, and recognition of that effort and passion is so important.”

After graduating, Kemenesi plans to attend Austin Community College (ACC) studying psychology and continuing to write poetry. She offered some words of advice for aspiring authors.

“Do whatever you want,” Kemenesi said. “It’s your book, it doesn’t matter what other people think. Because at the end of the day, you do this for yourself, not for anybody else. You want to attract an audience that is there for you and your poetry.”

Raven Kemenesi reads The Murder in My Garden, her self-published poetry book that delves into her introspective thoughts. She found inspi-

experience

growing up, and nature; such as the roses that surround her. PHOTO BY Charlotte Schwarte

Senior Day sets a spotlight on seniors

BY

Students and staff organize a day of activities as tribute to the graduating 2024 class

Ryan Zuniga Dispatch Reporter

Every year, there is a day dedicated to seniors to not only close out the year and reward them for their achievements throughout high school but to also congratulate students. Bowie high school has had senior breakfast as an annual tradition since the school was established in 1988. But, this year marks the second official year of senior day. Senior day focuses on recognizing the diligent seniors and providing enjoyable activities for them to participate in throughout the school day.

“Last year two students came up to me because I am the event coordinator on campus that’s in charge of all of the events,” Assistant Principal Hector Munoz said. “They wanted to advocate through me to do more for seniors instead of just having breakfast. Then, students and myself last year proposed a plan to Mr. Robinson and he approved it. Now, this is the second annual year of having activities and expanding senior breakfast to a full day as well.”

Seniors started off their day with getting attendance in their first period classes and then heading to the cafeteria to take part in senior breakfast. Bowie parents and guardians pur-

chased donuts, muffins, tacos, drinks, cookies, and more to be donated for the breakfast celebration. History teacher Alejandro Garcia and the student council helped with the preparations of senior breakfast as well as the clean up. This is the second year students get to participate in other activities other than breakfast.

“Although I wasn’t actually a part of senior day, I still really enjoyed it” student council vice president Hayden Barnett said. “I liked seeing everyone and seeing which college they all planned to go to.”

Before releasing the seniors to the athletic building, seniors Charlotte Hill and Riley Harris asked representatives from all the different organizations, sports, and groups to be able to give a close out talk and acknowledge their successes that came with the year as a way for all the groups to say at least one last thing to their fellow peers.

“Parents and students donated juice boxes as well as money so the student council could spend money for the 650 tacos ordered,” Garcia said.

“But, essentially the community always comes through heavily and donates more than we need which is really awesome because when we’re done with it, we let the teachers and staff eat the rest of the food, I love

that as well.”

After breakfast, seniors were released to the athletic building to take part in track and field related activities. Inside the gym, students were able to play basketball or sing karaoke. Out on the track were small activities set out for seniors such as ladder toss, tug-of-war, Frisbee, jenga, spikeball, and more. Senior teachers contributed to the organization and ideas for track and field.

“The weather was not very good, which eliminated a lot of outside activities,” Garcia said.

“We could probably re-imagine some of these events for next year and figure out how to incorporate those activities during the breakfast so people have more stuff to do once they’re done eating instead of just hanging out for 40 minutes”

At around 1:30 p.m., seniors were sent to the big gym to get a walk-through of their graduation happening in June at Burger Stadium. Academic Director Kaylin Brett and Munoz gave a presentation of the set-up of senior graduation and how to prepare properly for security checks or unexpected weather.

“No disrespect, but I wish Bowie made it more fun,”

senior Victoria Vottelerr said.

“Senior day had a really weird set-up and administrators said

they had an alternate plan if the weather was bad, but it didn’t change. I feel that since we’re seniors we should get something a little more exciting.”

As graduation day approaches in the upcoming month, all seniors received their cap and gown. Students lined up in the big gym while parent volunteers handed out their cap and gowns. This symbolic attire represents years of hard work, growth, and achievements as seniors prepare to transition to the next chapter of their lives.

“Personally I liked the gown and cap handout near the end of the day,” Vottelerr said.

“Even though it took awhile, It gave me the chance to be able to talk the other seniors in the gym. Mr. Munoz said we weren’t able to decorate our caps, which was a little disappointing.”

A TOSS GOODBYE: Senior Will Gum tosses his bean bag high while competing in a game of W. Most seniors spent their afternoon attending the track and field mini-games created by Bowie staff members. “I enjoyed the breakfast part of senior day,” Gum said. “And going out to eat lunch with my friends.”

PHOTO

Ryan Zuniga

GET A GRIP: Seniors participate in a game of tug-of-war during the track and field part of Senior Day. Activities such as Frisbee and spikeball were available along the track for the seniors to enjoy. “Senior day was a kind of fun way in which everyone can say one last thing to their fellow peers,” Garcia said. PHOTO BY Ryan Zuniga

FINGERS CROSSED: Senior John Walton crosses his fingers in hopes to win a gift card worth up to 25 dollars. Walton wears his Texas shirt in honor of his plan to attend UT of Austin. “I liked the karaoke at senior day,” Walton said “It was really funny seeing everybody sing in front of a crowd.” PHOTO BY Ryan Zuniga

SWEET, SALTY, SNACKS!: Students stand in line to prepare their breakfast provided by parents and staff. Multiple kinds of pastries, drinks and cereals are given out by members of NHS and student council. “I enjoyed the freedom we had to do several different things,” senior Finn Alexander said. “I also was a fan of the breakfast part. Honestly that was more put together than I expected.” PHOTO BY Ryan Zuniga

HANDS OFF: Seniors Riley Belkin and Keria Nanda spend their senior day playing jumbo jenga. Jumbo jenga was one of many options provided to the senior during the track and field part of the day. “My favorite part was going off campus to Bush’s with my friends,” Belkin said. “I usually don’t go off campus for lunch but senior day gave everyone a long lunch which was great.” PHOTO BY Ryan Zuniga

SCAN TO SEE MORE!

VIDEO BY Reagan Tso

Youth navigate the world of activism

Elizabeth Yowell In-Depth Editor

Sweaty from the fires lit under their feet, thousands of passionate students roar through the streets, shaking the ground they march on. A 17-year-old high school junior pulls out their phone to record, as others shout and proudly hoist their signs as far above their heads as possible. The thick cloud of fervor surrounding the crowd keeps the fire burning. They will not be silenced, they will not be pushed around, they will not be ordered, and their fire will not be extinguished.

Gen Z steps on the scene

The image of passionate young people standing up for what they believe in is one seen time and time again throughout history, with educational institutions often acting as the battlefield for angry students fighting at the forefront. Some of the most notable waves of student activism have been precursors to significant political and social change documented throughout history.

“Every generation of students finds itself becoming activists and protesters of one kind or another, and thats healthy, and that's natural," Professor of Public Affairs and History Jeremi Suri said. "Because every generation of young people cares about issues that older people don't care about. They have a different perspective on the world. That's part of what the civil rights movement was. It's part of what feminism was.”

Every

people don't always have good solutions, but they have a good sense of the problems."

Equipping Social media as a tool of activism

Because today’s generation of young activists has grown up only knowing a world of modern technology, many have become accustomed to utilizing the online world as an outlet to educate themselves, and a tool to advocate for what they believe in.

“I think the positive is that your generation has more information than any generation has ever had before," Suri said. "You can go on your phone right now and get in-depth coverage of what's happening in Ukraine, or what's happening in Gaza. You have the kind of data you can get in a few seconds that used to take hours in the library to collect.”

In the midst of recent Pro-Palestine protests taking place across the nation, Bowie senior Kinda Natsheh, who has been continuously active in advocating for an end to violence in Palestine, was inspired to organize a walkout. She posted information about the time and location of the walkout on her Instagram story.

and that's healthy and it's natural.

Jeremy Suri Professor at UT

As the pattern of angry and passionate youth continues into the generation of today, there are a few ways that the world of activism is seeing changes. As a result of the worldwide pandemic beginning in 2019, students of Generation Z experienced a chunk of their young lives In isolation.

“With COVID, there was a moment where everybody felt like they had to know what was going on around them because we didn't really get to experience it ourselves,' sophomore Fiona Sobocinski said. "We had to go out and we had to do research, which hasn't been the case in the past because you’d just be going about your life, you didn't really think about it."

Growing up in an age of global isolation, the generation of young people has developed a hunger to be educated about the world around them. Many young people in today’s world look to the plethora of information that resides online, specifically on social media platforms.

“This generation has two advantages; first, they know how to use social media in a way that others don't," Suri said. "Second, they have a sense of some of the problems in the world. Young

“I've been using social media as a tool of activism for a while because I think social media is probably the best way to get people involved with politics," Natsheh said. "It's where most young people get their news information. So for a while, I've been sharing articles and posts that I think are important and resonate with my beliefs.”

Students like Natsheh, who share content on social media in an attempt to advocate and bring awareness to issues they feel passionately about, are contributors to the circulation of information that has inspired so many other young people to get involved with activism.

“Because of social media, there's been a lot more awareness that's come up about certain social problems that a lot of people weren't aware of," Sobocinski said. "When there's an underrepresentation of a marginalized group, issues can kind of get lost. Social media has made it so that people can see what others are going through in a more magnified way.”

Speaking out through the Duct tape

As activists, especially young ones, many students face the very institutional and political powers from which they are demanding change, taking measures to prevent advocacy or shut down demonstrations. In the recent Pro-Palestine protests popping up on educational campuses across the U.S.,

like Columbia University, MIT, the University of Pennsylvania, and Austin’s very own UT, the demonstrations were abruptly halted by the intervention of the local police forces.

“The worst thing to do is like what we did at UT where we brought the police in, I think you don't have to agree with everything that students say, sometimes activists and protesters are a little naive," Suri said.

"The best thing to do is to reach out, talk, and engage. If you try to repress these feelings, they don't go away. They get stronger, they get more radical, and they

become more angry."

The intervention of institutions in student or youth-led demonstrations, especially by law enforcement, has been a historical reoccurrence, dating back to efforts of the civil rights and anti-war Movements throughout the 50s, 60s, and 70s. In an interview published by the San Diego Union-Tribune in early May of this year, Lisa Deaderick notes how those who held positions of power in the 60s and 70s criticized student protesters for not holding more peaceful demonstrations. However, she writes, that even in attempts at peaceful protest students are still apprehended and often punished by police and school officials

with attempts of repression against them, until they see change taking place.

Student activism is powerful because the youth are the future of our society, so they will be around for much longer.

Fiona Sobo Sophomore

"Efforts to silence young people rather than listening and negotiating with them, will only increase anger and will only increase conflict,” Suri said. “It's counterproductive to try to repress them, and that's what the historical record would show; that the ideas and beliefs of young people don't go away because someone older tells them to shut up. They just deepen.”

In the Union-Tribune interview, Roderick A. Ferguson, the author of “We Demand: The University and Student Protests” and professor at Yale University, describes that young people who are passionate about seeing any sort of ethical change, will continue to push against those with power, even

“Older people can convince themselves that since they've been successful for thirty, forty years, they can just go on as they always have," Suri said. "Young people, they have some real insights. Every generation of young people does. Because you look at the world and things that we’re taking for granted, and you say; ‘those things we're taking for granted, they don't have to be that way.”

Leaving their mark

'The youth have the power to change the world.' This phrase is one many young activists have heard growing up. In a world with so many social, political, and environmental issues, Gen Z is more active in pursuing change than ever. In a 2020 poll, done by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), 83% of young people believe that they have the power to change the world.

“Our new generations are what's keeping our culture alive," Natsheh said. "There's a quote that I heard when I saw the activist and author Angela Davis, and she was saying how the younger generations should work to make equality, a habit and not a hobby. I think that activism should be kind of the

same. It shouldn't be a hobby, It should be something that you continue to do because it's the right thing to do, because you know that it is what should be happening.”

From the civil rights movement to the global climate change movement, where Gen Z activists like Greta Thunberg have led waves of worldwide activism that have garnered several successes, activists of Gen Z can be predicted to only increase their involvement in the political, social, and environmental issues of today ’s world.

“I think students are saying okay, now we need to make our voices heard," Suri said."If we have good political leadership, there will be discussion, leaders will reach out. That doesn't mean they'll give in on everything, but it means they'll reach out and they will engage and students should feel like they matter. If students don't feel like they matter, and I think they don't feel like they matter now, they're going to continue to progress."

As Gen Z activists continue to call for their voices to be heard and push for change in issues they feel passionately about, their success in areas they have advocated for will shape the future of activism for generations to come.

“Youth Activism is powerful because the youth of society is the future of our society, so they will be around for longer," Sobocinski said. "We as young people really paint the picture for the future. So it's really important to be a young person sharing your opinions and advocating for things you believe in because you in the long run will make up what the future becomes.”

ART BY Sofia Sepulveda and Elizabeth Yowell

ART BY Elizabeth Yowell

Info-graphic data is from a poll of 205 Bowie students. Out of the 205 students who responded, 40 were freshman, 102 were sophomore, 31 were juniors, and 32 were seniors. 102 students recorded that they identified as female, 69 identified as male, 12 identified as non-binary, and 1 said they preferred not to share.

WHAT MAKES STUDENTS FEEL HAPPY OR SUCCESSFUL?

HAPPINESS vs SUCCESS

Student priorities around happiness and success influence their life decisions, mental health, and general wellness

Liberty Pittman In-Depth Editor

Quiet chatter fills the air in the carefree birthday party environment as sophomore Shivani Dilip Latha makes her way over to her friend expecting a conversation just as lighthearted.

‘I’m so glad you’re here, it feels like we haven’t hung out in months,’ her friend says playfully. ‘Your always in FIT or doing work, I never get to see you anymore’ the friend ends in a subtly, more serious tone, causing a wave of guilt and realization to wash over Dilip Latha.

Had it really been that long?

It started with choice sheets and the simple decision to choose more difficult classes. Then it was one algebra assignment, one time she had to choose to stay home instead of hanging out with her friends. But day after day the work stacks up, and that one day becomes every day, and those days become habit, and that habit becomes a system. Get home. Eat dinner. Work late into the night until eventually she has to give into the fatigue and go to bed. That one day without her friends became months, because she is prioritizing success over happiness.

“That moment at the party made me realize just how much my time commitments have changed since freshman year when I was taking all academic classes,” Dilip Latha said. “I’m not able to see my friends as often and it kind of shocked me because wasn’t aware of how much change had occurred. I chose success over happiness a lot this year because I consistently prioritized my grades and my academic success, so wasn’t spending as much time with my friends, and I wasn’t seeing them as often as was seeing them last year. However because of that was more successful academically.”

can build their resumes and get higher paying jobs in the future.

“A lot of people are motivated by the opinions of others to pick success,” Crawford said. “I think that of course everyone wants to be successful. And there’s always people who say money can’t buy happiness. And I think a lot of people may disagree with that because money is a problem and a real challenge for a lot of people nowadays, so of course I think they pick success. Happiness, can’t pay bills. A lot of people choose success over happiness just because money is such a huge issue these days, and there is a lot of outside pressure and pressure from family wanting you to be successful.”

SCHOOL SUCCESS

"“Happiness is when you’re carefree and you’re not worried about something actively or consistently.”

The battle between happiness and success is one that has been going on for a very long time, and no one can seem to agree on which one is the most important. One of the main issues in the argument is that everyone has their own definitions of what happiness and success mean to them. Britannica defines happiness as an ongoing state of well being emotionally. However Dilip Latha defines happiness as a lack of negative emotions.

Shivani Dilip Latha Sophomore

Within the realm of school, the choices between happiness and success can be different than in life overall. According to Crawford, students can be very motivated to choose success in school due to pressures from grades, tests, and their peers. There is also pressure on students to do well in school due to the societal ideology around going to college. “The school system really prioritizes success, and puts a lot of pressure on students to do well and perform well,” Crawford said. “I am of the mindset that not everyone should go to college, and think that’s a real priority of the school system. Oftentimes, I think that they make going to collage seem like the only option, that you need to go to college to be successful. I think the school system definitely placed an emphasis on success at the expense of happiness. There are lots of times when students have come to me saying things like ‘I was up till 3 a.m. Last night’ doing homework or finishing a reading because they spent eight hours trying to do math or chemistry homework. In my head I react like ‘Oh, holy crap, please get some sleep’. I don’t care that much, Students shouldn’t care that much, we can always work something out. I think success is put over happiness a lot of times in school, and I think that comes at a price.”

According to Dilip Latha, students put a lot of pressure on academic success due to worries about the future. Dilip Latha believes that teenagers spend their high school years resume building because of high expectations from colleges.

success in school, she has found ways for that success to also make her happy. “Within the realm of school I definitely choose success over happiness, but I also learned that how to live with that is to derive happiness from success in school,” Sur said. “In school try to focus on my classes, I focus on my homework, I focus on my grades, and don’t play games. I don’t really hang out with my friends except at lunchtime, but sometimes you’ll even catch me in the library working during lunch. In school, I definitely put success first because I think that’s more important, It’s an investment in my future. I might not be so happy in school, but then when do get that satisfaction of completing my goals and completing my level of success, then feel happy later. I also try to balance success in school with happiness outside of school.”

HANDLING HOME LIFE BALANCE

According to Crawford, creating separation between school or work and outside life is important, so she tries to do things she enjoys while at home, and not check her email. Crawford believes that school is hard, and home life shouldn’t be hard as well.

“I don’t live to work, but I work so can live,” Nevarez said.

“Outside of work enjoy spending time with my kids and my wife. I try not to bring home work so that I can just enjoy them. They’re more important than my job, and try to show them that by making sure that I’m not bringing any of my frustration home or bringing home work. So I can spend my time with them, and they can have my undivided attention. I grew up without a dad, so one of my purposes when I got married and had kids was that I was not going to be like my dad. was always going to be there for my kids, so my kids don’t have to experience what experienced. The fact that I’m so involved in my kids’ lives, and I can see the difference between their childhood and mine, makes me feel successful.”

level of work that goes into it,” Nevarez said. “A lot of students do club ball and they practice on their own so they can compete for playing time. That’s a rude awakening for those who are going in just for the social aspect as opposed to the kids who are going in to grow and to get better and to compete. Those kids are the ones who are better prepared for it, but I wouldn’t say they are happier, they may not be happy.” Outside of athletics students can still find happiness and success in their hobbies. Dilip Latha enjoys her hobbies such as crafting because they are a break from her usual left brain school obligations, and give her a chance to be creative. Cox enjoys his hobbies because they allow him to help others, just like others have helped him.

“Boy Scouts has helped me a lot throughout the years,” Cox said. “It makes me happy because get to shine my skills on the younger scouts that get to teach them and improve their abilities. Boy Scouts makes me feel happy through success because feel when I improve the younger kids’ abilities that makes me feel successful, and happy because I’m glad that what I taught them is working.”

ROSY RELATIONSHIPS

While students pick hobbies outside of school that often bring them happiness along with success, it is not just what students are doing outside of school that influence their emotions. The people students spend their time with can also influence whether they feel happiness or success is more important.

“My dad really pushes my brother and I to be successful in life and to be better people altogether.”

Noble Cox Junior

95.1%

Students feel hanging out with friends makes them happy.

“Happiness is when you’re carefree and you’re not worried about something actively or consistently,” Dilip Latha said. “I think felt truly happy in middle school because I wasn’t consistently worrying about the future and I was secure in what I was doing. wasn’t constantly spending middle school worrying about my grades and what was going to do in high school and what I was going to do after high school, I would just take things as they came. Now I feel like spend a lot of time thinking about the future, and I’m not as present.”

Many things can encourage someone to choose happiness over success. According to Harvard professor of psychology, Daniel Gilbert, the pursuit of happiness is a motivator for virtually all of the choices people make in life.

“Someone would say that happiness is more important because when you’re happy, everything feels successful because you’re not consistently worrying about materialistic things to define your emotions,” Dilip Latha said. “A lot of happiness nowadays isn’t even things that bring you joy, It’s just being comfortable, and feeling healthy. And a lot of success comes at the expense of your health.”

According to Dilip Latha, happiness and success go hand in hand. She believes that success is happiness because happiness stems from feelings of comfort in life caused by being successful. A similar idea to this is recognized by psychology professor Leslie Riopel from Northwood University, who believes that happiness and success are definitely linked, and that many people spend their life aspiring to be happy, believing that through success they would achieve that happiness. Of a group of 205 Bowie students polled, 70.2% said that success is one of the things that makes them feel happy, and 30.9% of students said that happiness is one of the things that makes them feel successful.

“Success, I think, is being pleased with yourself,” English teacher Lillie Crawford said. “For me success looked like

‘I’m going to go to college and I’m going to start a career in teaching. I’m going to help people, I’m going to teach students, and I’m going to work with other people who are like minded to me.’ Success to others, though, may be different. Everyone has their own path, like my brother who is on the path to become a professional wrestler. That’s success to him, so think true success is doing what brings you joy, doing what you have a passion for, and doing it with your entire heart, making it your life. I think that’s success.”

“I’m prioritizing success over happiness and I’m spending all my time exhausting resources into my academics,” Dilip Latha said.

“I’m not spending nearly half my time having successful relationships and spending time with people. I feel like I’m always working and it’s causing me to burn out.”

Students’ lives outside of school can push them towards success. Parents have a big impact on what their children think is important in life, and according to a survey done by the Pew Research Center 88% of parents said that it is extremely important for their child to be financially independent as an adult, and 41% of parents said that it’s extremely important that their child gets a college degree.

“Romantic relationships definitely bring me joy,” Sur said. “It feels nice to be with someone that you like and to get to know them on a deeper level. My friendships definitely bring me joy but it’s more like pure fun. My familial relationships bring me joy because those are the people that trust with anything, and they trust me. We go through a lot of difficult times together and a lot of good times together. We can not necessarily be the nicest to each other, but we know we’re always there for each other.” The happiness students find in relationships can also be used to help them be more successful. According to Dilip Latha, when students surround themselves with people who have similar workloads or interests to them and are successful, the students themselves can feel more motivated to prioritize their success.

“I feel like the people I’m with really encouraged me to become a better person,” Dilip Latha said. “I feel fulfilled in my relationships, so I don’t feel the need to seek more.”

81.4% 69.1%

Students say that getting good grades makes them feel successful.

Students say that preparing for the

Students say that being liked by people makes them feel happy.

The choice between happiness and success can be motivated by outside factors such as peoples economic situations. Many students prioritize success by getting jobs outside of school to start saving and preparing for the future. According to Melissa Marcus from the UNC school of medicine students with jobs in high school

Junior Noble Cox believes that the school system puts emphasis on student success, but that it’s adapting to also prioritize student happiness. With AP tests going on around school many students are hunkering down to study, but posters around school with phrases like ‘you are more than a test score’ can show the schools shift towards prioritizing students mental health over their test results.

“I feel like the school system prioritizes a little bit of both happiness and success,” Cox said.

“I feel like the school system is making a shift towards allowing students to be happy with the creation of new organizations and more inclusivity but then I also feel like they’re kind of gearing us towards success by teaching us differing viewpoints and teaching us how to be successful in the future.”

While putting too much emphasis on success can be harmful for students, according to Spanish teacher and soccer coach Isaac Nevarez the amount of effort and prioritization of success a student puts into school can be reflected in a students grades and school performance.

"“My home life outside of school is pretty chill,” Cox said. “My parents push me to do well in school, and I think it’s good that they do that to me, it allows me to kind of build on myself and improve as school goes on. think my home life makes me feel successful because my dad really pushes my brother and to be successful in life and to be better people altogether. He also has us listen to podcasts and things like that on car rides to kind of improve our abilities, our ideas.” Student home lives can also just be a chance to take a break from school and relax or spend time with family. Sur utilizes her home life as time to prioritize her happiness and achieve a balance from all her time prioritizing success at school.

“True success is doing what brings you joy, doing what you have a passion for, and doing it with your entire heart.”

Lillie Crawford English Teacher

“I think students prioritize happiness because it’s easier,” Nevarez said. “School is hard, reading a book isn’t fun or easy, writing an essay isn’t easy. think that as students develop emotionally they just want to do what’s easier. At least that was my experience. I remember this one time was supposed to take the SAT and I was supposed to study. Every night I would tell myself I’m gonna study, but every night I went out with my friends. The night before the SAT I think stayed up till two in the morning, so I definitely chose happiness or success”

Prioritizing happiness can feel good in the short term, but according to sophomore Drake Growing, eventually students will have to prioritize their success.

“I put happiness over success mostly every day, because working hard is boring,” Growing said. “I just want to play games and completely ignore my academics. I feel like anytime I’m assigned work or a teacher is talking to me, I’m no longer happy at that moment. In the future I will probably have to put success first because my GPA is really bad, so if I want to go to a good college I have to get it up, which means actually have to try at school.”

A big grin appears on Kate Sur’s face as she checks the grade book to see she got a 100 on her advanced Algebra II final, all of the effort she put into studying had paid off. Now, as a senior Sur looks back on this moment and remembers how happy it made her. While Sur prioritizes

“My home life outside of school makes me happy because I pursue things that give me contentment and satisfaction at home like hanging out with my family like hanging out with my cat, cooking, exercising, reading or making string art,” Sur said. “Things I do outside of school make me happy because I actively choose them and I actively pursue them for that goal. For someone to be happier in their home life I would say pick things that you like, do things that you enjoy, and then put time and effort into it and don’t feel guilty when doing it. Pick things that you enjoy doing and that will give you happiness. Also seek out social connections with people because humans are social beings. I feel successful in my home life because I achieved the happiness that I’m looking for there. I have achieved the relaxation, the detachment from school, and the personal connections I was looking for.”

HAPPINESS WITH HOBBIES

In students’ lives outside of school the activities they take part in can influence whether they prioritize happiness or success. The competitive aspect of hobbies and especially sports can influence students to prioritize success and miss out on the joy that their hobbies can bring.

“A lot of students want to join the soccer team to be able to socialize with friends and they get that aspect of hanging out, but when it comes to winning, they’re caught off guard by the

HAPPINESS VS SUCCESS: THE VERDICT

At the end of the day, some people prioritize success. Nevarez believes that success is a permanent attribute, while happiness is a fleeting emotion.

“Success is more important because being happy is easy versus success is harder to attain, but having success doesn’t go away,” Nevarez said. “For instance, like I got my college degree that will never change. For me being happy that could change, my emotions will change over time”

Some people prioritize happiness. According to Crawford, happiness can actually motivate people to be more successful.

“I think happiness is more important because I think you can’t have success if you’re not happy,” Crawford said. “One has to come from the other; unless you’re happy you’re not going to be very successful because you’re going to be miserable and moping around all day and not able to do the things you love. So, happiness I think is the priority.”

Some people prioritize both. According to Sur, when students only prioritize happiness in the moment instead of investing time in their future they will be less successful in school and in the future. On the other hand Sur also believes that taking a break from harshly prioritizing success can be beneficial for mental health and productivity.

“I think both happiness and success are important in equal measure,” Sur said. “Working towards your goals and accomplishing your goals is important. Meanwhile, being happy along that journey is also important because you’re not always going to be successful, but you still need to be happy and that like motivates, failure can motivate, but also happiness can motivate you to get to the next level.”

Many people believe there is a way to be happy and successful, whether that be through balance between work and life, or finding work that they love.

“I think the key to being both happy and successful is finding and doing what you love,” Crawford said.

“Finding that thing that you can make money from, but that you don’t hate, so you can look forward to your job every day. I think there’s a way, especially in this day and age with social media and all of the technology, there’s a way to make anything that makes you happy your successful job. feel like you can make anything that makes you happy into a job or a way to be successful. I think that finding that thing that you

say that learning makes them

SSERT

Softball season has a heartbreaking end in third round of playoffs

It was a disappointing end to the season, we made it to round 3, before losing to a really strong Lake Travis team. Obviously finishing like that sucks, but all in all it was still a really good season with a lot of good memories. This was my junior year, and it was no doubt my favorite year ever when playing softball. I just really loved the way our team competed and how close we all are.

I think beating Stony Point the way we did, it really gave the team the confidence we needed going forward as we knew the competition was only going to get harder.

As a team we have chemistry that I have never personally experienced before. We all get along so well and we are always having so much fun which makes the high pressure situations so much easier.

Round Two was also nice for us. We beat East Central two games in a row and we really felt like everything was coming together for us.

The format for softball playoffs is super weird. Either team can decide on either playing one or three games for the series.

We wanted to play three games because we thought we were the deeper team who had that advantage in the long run, Lake Travis chose one game. They won the coin flip.

We did not let that affect us, as I think everyone would agree we played a really good game.

Pitchers for both teams really did a great job of keeping runs off the board.

Sometimes you kind of just gotta give it to the other team. They played super well and there’s no way around it.

Obviously, all of us got another shot at them, but the reality is that we don’t.

We all kind of just accepted that and moved on, but yeah it was definitely heartbreaking.

I know a lot of us are looking forward to next season already, we are going to be losing a lot of key pieces, but a lot of our younger players now had a chance to develop which is nice.

Having the same coaching staff is super nice too, hopefully no coach leaves, because I feel like that’s kinda the core of the team. I like the roster that is coming together so far, I think everyone is kind of ready to move past this loss and get revenge next season.

We all believe we can come out on top, next year is our chance to kind of just make that happen. Again, I love my teammates and can’t thank them enough for providing so many unforgettable memories.

I really want to thank the seniors who are leaving.

Most of them I met when I was a sophomore and they kind of took me in and treated me so well, they really made me feel at home which I am forever grateful for.

All the seniors played so well this year and were such a big part of our success. Their impact is definitely going to be missed.

I also want to thank the coaching staff, they made the season so much fun, and really motivated us to get better throughout the whole year. They made this season really fun and I can’t wait to be back playing for them next year. I can’t really make any predictions on what the next has in store of us, I don’t want to give any of us bad karma.

I do think we are going to be super competitive again. We have everything it takes to make it far, and we have unlimited talent. We just need to put it all together and go on a run, that’s all it takes.

COMING

Baseball Breakout Into Stardom

Junior Josh Gonzalez, steps up to the plate as a breakout player this season

Michael Vienneau Sports Editor

Feet back in the box, eyes completely locked in to the once domineering pitcher, Junior Josh Gonzalez plans to make his mark for his team.

In a year full of crazy accomplishments and injuries, the Bowie Baseball team has still found a way to make the playoffs. Coach Degelia, who has been at Bowie since 1998, was able to lead the team to its 24th consecutive year in the playoffs. Because of the injuries, a lot of new players had to step up and help propel the team to new heights.

“This year has been much different than year’s past,” Degelia said. “Josh Gonzales has done a great job stepping into his role this year. After Jaden Corzine went down with injury, I put Josh into his spot to help fill the gap. He has done just an amazing job at the plate and in the field for us.”

Degelia, in his 11th year as head coach, racked up his 200th win in the middle of the season against Lake Belton. A big part of the team’s success has been pitching and timely hitting. With Gonzales leading off this year, Degelia has had a big emphasis on just getting the ball in play this year.

“It has been incredible to watch how consistent he’s been all year, both at the plate and on the field,” Degelia said. “Baseball is a really hard game, and the fact that he is batting .320 and has barely struck out all year just shows you how good of a player he is. He has done an incredible job at shortstop this year as well. I know he was more comfortable at second base, but he has been just fine at short, making maybe only two errors all season at a really tough position.”

Gonzales has played two years on JV before being moved up to varsity for this year. He began the season out of the starting line up, before eventually moving up to start at shortstop and lead off due to a few injuries.

“I kind of expected him to be a breakout player,” Degelia said. “I know his family really well so I’ve watched him play for a while now, and after watching him perform so well in the fall I had a good feeling

that he was going to be a really solid ball player so there really was no surprise.”

Gonzales’ breakout year has been recognized by many, including being featured in the Austin American Statesman “25 Austin-Area Baseball Players Having A Breakout Year.”

“Being featured in the Statesman was an amazing experience,” Gonzales said. “I wouldn’t say it was a big surprise as I have been working really hard this year, so I feel like in some ways I almost kind of expected it.”

Being a lead-off hitter, Gonzales main goal is to get on base and to start the game with a spark. Stats prove he has done that and more, leading the team in On Base Percentage, Batting Average, Runs, RBI’s, Hits and Slugging Percentage.

“Being the “spark plug” is really cool just because I feel like I can just get the team going,” Gonzales said. “That energy is just contagious, by getting the team going it feeds throughout the line up and all of a sudden everyone is getting hits and it just gets passed on.”

The Dawgs’ recently defeated Vista Ridge in round one of the playoffs. Winning both games with a score of 1-0. The Dawgs now advance to round 2 of the area playoff where they play San Antonio Johnson.

“Playoff baseball just feels different,” Gonzales said. “I think it just really puts a lot of pressure on the players and coaches and every game just means a little more. It makes some people play better and some play worse. I think it just all depends on the person. I

think our team has a lot of guys who are ready for the moment and they are going to thrive when it really matters.”

Junior Daniel Soto has been a teammate of Gonzales for the last several years, who he has built a close connection with since meeting each other just as young teens. They have played for the same team under the same coach for the last three years.

“It’s Josh’s first year of varsity and he has already shown so much,” Soto said. “He has been going crazy this year and all the recognition he’s gotten has been very well deserved. He has been extremely consistent all year which is so important in a season full of inconsistencies. I also just love him, that’s my guy.”

As the end of the season

nears, district, region and state awards are soon to be given out. Gonzales is a strong candidate for these coveted positions. There are only a few select players who earn a spot for these awards, Gonzales has a chance to cement his spot as his playoff run continues.

“When there is a ball hit to Josh, you know a play is going to be made,” Soto said. “When he’s in the box he is crazy stable. You know he’s going to put the ball in play because that’s just what he does. He has been the most consistent hitter all year for us. He should be heavily considered for district MVP, at least all district first team for sure. He has put up a nearly perfect resume, there is nothing he could have done better. I’m excited to see what he’s capable of next season.”

Crossing the finish line & qualifying for nationals

Kate Davis Editor-in-Chief

Breathing heavy, wind blowing in his hair, sweat dripping down his back, senior Resiser Johnson pushes through the last stretch of his race. Despite the burning in his legs, he goes faster, knowing he has to show up for his team.

On March 30, four Bowie track athletes competed at the Texas Relays race in the 4x800 meter relay race. With a time of 8:04, the team qualified for the Nike Track Nationals in June. Johnson is one of these athletes, along with junior Joshua Flournoy, junior Samuel Kehler, and junior Ethan Mangels.

“I was surprised at first because I had no idea we were going to make it,” Johnson said. “We barely qualified for the Texas Relays, but there we had a really good race. When we heard back it was just such a great feeling and we were all very excited.”

According to Johnson, the team’s comradery has played a crucial role in their ability to compete well and qualify for the national meet.

“We’re all really close and were very competitive with each other,” Johnson said. “We want to run faster than each other, which helps us get better and better because we are always trying to be faster than one another.”

In preparation for the meet, the relay team has been training with an outside group called Born to Run (BTR). With this group they work on their speed, tempos, and sprints.

“I think we’re going to do great at nationals,” Flournoy said. “I think we’re ready. All of us are primed and doing good. We’ve been training really hard and running well. So, I think it’s going to be a really good time.”

In addition to the 4x800 relay team qualifying for nationals, four more track athletes qualified for the UIL State Track

Meet in the 4x100 meter race. These athletes include junior Owen Langdon, senior Matthew Martinez, senior Griffin Crawley, and senior Julian Whitby.

“We were all very excited,” Langdon said. “Waiting for it was very nerve-racking, but when we found out it was crazy. It was unexpected for the most part, but it was definitely a great moment together.”

Their qualification marks the first time that a Bowie 4x100 team has qualified for the state meet since 1997.

“One of the biggest motivators for us this season was having that underdog mentality the whole time,” Martinez said. “Nobody really thought that we would make it past the District meet, let alone Area. Then, once we got to Regionals we kind of felt like we had nothing to lose. Nobody really thought we were going to do anything.”

In order to have success this season, the relay team needed to make changes to their usual routines.

“One of the main things that was different is that we had three seniors on the team. This group made a commitment to finish strong,” track coach Brandon Pittman said. “For the speed events we need as many of the athletes as possible to come out from the other sports to be good, and this year we did.”

According to Pittman, one of the most notable reasons behind both relay team’s success this season has been their mentality and work ethic throughout the entire year.

“It was fun coaching this group of athletes,” Pittman said. “They came to work every day with great attitudes and competed in practice, which is why they improved so much during the year. They challenged each other daily with friendly trash talk and when as a coach you don’t have to challenge the athletes, because they challenge each other, you know you have a chance to be great.”

UP TO THE PLATE: Junior Josh Gonzalez locks his eyes in on the pitcher, mounting his feet on the base. His full focus all on the upcoming pitch, Gonzalez became Bowie’s breakout player of the season after steeping in for Jaden Corzine after his injury. PHOTO BY Arden Ray

GOING ALL IN: Senior Resiser Johnson completes crucial hand off to Joshua Flournoy. They qualified for the Nike Track Nationals in June. PHOTO BY Nick Wood

Running towards victory, Freshman Ellie Grigsby completes a hand-off during a relay at a track meet. Grigsby is a multi-sport athlete and is one of the most successful freshmen at Bowie.

Grigsby hasn’t always been in the track scene. She only recently decided to try it out with the reference of one of her old gymnastics teammates. Once she tried it she realized how much fun she could have running and jumping for the track team.

“One of my old teammates told me she was going to do track,” Grigsby said. “Even though she doesn’t go to the same school and said that I should do track with her. So that’s when I started doing track. I am very glad I tried it because I found out how much I love it.”

"coach Lora Tilson has a very high opinion of Grigsby, her accomplishments this season, and how she has been rewarded.

“Her work ethic is great. She has to manage being a gymnast as well, which can be very challenging, but she is great at it.” Tilson said. “She wanted to do multiple events in track, and she was successful at every single one of them.”

Not only is Grigsby successful individually on the track, but she also impacts the track team in a positive manner. Coach Tilson describes how her presence brings productive work from the other team members.

“Her presence impacts the team as she is a part of our relay team, competing in multiple different relays,” Tilson said. “She is positive and gets along well with all the runners. She is always positive no matter the results.”

Everything wont always be perfect and how you want it to be. You will have ups and downs but striving to improve your times

Before Grigsby found her love for the art of running, she was ,and still is, a high-level gymnast. Now, she has to work out her time management. She explains the difficulties of balancing track season and gymnastics at the same time.

Ellie

Grigsby Track Athlete

“Usually my scheduling works out between them,” Grigsby said. “However, sometimes I will have a gymnastics meet in Dallas, and then immediately after a track meet. So sometimes I have to make sacrifices for both sports.”

It’s hard enough balancing gymnastics and track, but putting school into the mix enhances the stress. As a student-athlete, Grigsby needs to be able to handle everything thrown at her.

“I try and do all my school work during class and in school,” Grigsby said. “I never have time during the weekend because I am always out doing running or other things. It does get a little stressful sometimes.”

Her hard work in both the classroom and on the track have been recognized. Bowie track

Her hard work isn’t just recognized by her coach, but also by her teammates. Freshman Sydney Murphy, who is on the relay team with Grigsby, has high praise for her work.

Murphy explains Grigsby’s dedication to the sport.

“She is always at practice, she is always working her best, and she never gives up,” Murphy said. “Being the first-leg means she has to start fast out of the blocks which can be hard. She handles the pressure very well and is an amazing runner.”

Attitude on the track is important but so is how runners act off of it too. Murphy believes that Grigsby has a good personality.

Grigsby is someone who you want to be around because of her personality,” Murphy said. “She is enjoyable to spend time with at all times. Being on the relay team together really brought out her funny side as well, and we all loved it” Grigsby loves to run most events. This season she did a mix of jumps and relays. She competed in the 4x100 and

4x200 meter relays, 100-meter hurdles, and the triple jump. She had competitive times and lengths in all events.

“I enjoy running the most, my record for the 100-meter hurdles is 15.36,” Grigsby said. “I do know my triple jump personal record is 35’9”. I am very proud of my times considering I am relatively new to the track world.”

Her accomplishments haven’t gone without recognition. Coach Tilson is very impressed with the achievements Grigsby has made throughout the successful track season. Coach Tilson compliments Grigsby’s strengths.

“Grigsby’s biggest strength is that she isn’t afraid to do multiple events,” Tilson said. “She knows she can be successful, and she works very hard to practice each event so she feels prepared.”

Hardworking athletes will always have a high chance of getting an injury. Practices and events all the time add to the chances of injury. Grigsby is just one of many athletes who have a severe injury.

“I tore a ligament in my foot,” Grigsby said “I was doing gymnastics and when I did backflip, I landed wrong, and my foot snapped and my ligament tore. I have an important competition soon so I need to be healthy quickly so I can be ready to compete at my best.”

Staying healthy is one of the most important part of being an athlete. Grigsby wants to continue doing both track and gymnastics in college.

“I wouldn’t want to go Division 3, especially for gymnastics I wouldn’t go Division 3,” Grigsby said. “Track and field have more colleges in all divisions, so I would just want to go somewhere that fits my standards.”

Even as a freshman, Grigsby has already thought about what tips she has for future and upcoming athletes.

“I am totally a perfectionist, so I want to make sure people know everything won’t always be perfect and be how you want it to be,” Grigsby said. “You will have ups and downs but keep striving to improve your times. For example, at the beginning of the year, I was running four seconds slower than I did at the end. All I did was continue to work and not give up.”

very long process, but so much

Now, Grosso plays for the Bowie varsity soccer team as a striker, as well as plays on club teams at FC Westlake and Classics Elite.

“I love playing with my best friends. It’s really, really fun,” Grosso said. “I also love just the competitiveness of school soccer. It’s different than club because you’re playing against other schools. So, you know a lot of the people on the other teams, because it’s all in your area.”

According to soccer coach Carrie Hoffman-Howell, Grosso’s success can be attributed to her work ethic and mentality on and off the field.

“As a coach, I love the fact that she just gets out there and works hard. She brings it every single practice and she’s coachable,” Hoffman-Howell said. “She’s probably worked harder than anybody else out there at every practice, at every game, and she always has a positive attitude. She’s encouraging everybody around her to step it up and work just as hard.”

Not only has Grosso’s diligence led to her own success, she has become a vital member of the Bowie soccer team and has contributed to their success

this season.

“She’s a great leader with her positive attitude and kind nature towards her teammates,” senior Julia Mutschler said. “She helps rally the team together with the pep talks right before the start of the game. She never fails to keep supporting her teammates on and off the field.”

According to Grosso, the biggest challenge throughout her soccer career has been switching between club teams and coaches. However, throughout any obstacles she faced, she attributes her progress to two people.

“The biggest motivator was definitely my parents,” Grosso said. “They always pushed me to email coaches and keep working, even though my recruitment process was a longer one. My dad helped me significantly with emailing coaches and they both just supported me so much and gave me all these opportunities that I wouldn’t have had without them.”

After years of training, Grosso has verbally committed to play soccer at the Division I level, with the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), starting in 2025.

“I was really excited because it’s always been my dream to go to a

Division 1 school,” Grosso said. “It was so exciting that it actually happened because it was looking not as possible for a while. But once I found my groove and got more exposure it definitely opened up that opportunity and I’m super excited.”

According to Grosso, one of the key reasons why she chose UTEP was the atmosphere among the team.

“I just love how the coach really creates an environment where everyone is friends, everyone is family, and everyone works for each other,” Grosso said. “I feel like it’s hard to find that, where everyone is going to give it their all because the other person wants that too. I also just love the whole entire aspect of just being on a team together and just loving where you’re at.” ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS BY: Cooper Ceniceros-Fike

Caroline Baxter Sports Writer

RUNNING FOR GLORY: Freshman Ellie Grigsby finishes an important hand-off to keep Bowie’s chances of winning alive. Grigsby had a very successful first track season as a bulldog. PHOTO PROVIDED BY Sofia Flores

ON THE HUNT: Running towards goal, Ava Grosso keeps calm and readies herself to shoot. Grosso finished the season as the Lady ‘Dawgs top scorer. PHOTO BY Ryan Zuniga

VIDEO BY Slyder Degelia

Choir Cabaret continues a tradition

Students perform their final concert of the year by traveling through different decades

Katie Grumet Entertainment Editor

Friends and family eagerly fill the auditorium seats. As people begin to settle, the lights dim and the first few students take their spots on stage. The show is starting.

The show begins in the decade 1960 and goes through the decades leading up to 2020. The show highlights popular songs from each decade.

On May 10, Bowie’s Choir had the opening night of their annual Choir Cabaret. The shows were held for two days and this year ’s theme was Blast from the Past with songs from the 1960’s to 2020. Songs such as Dancing Queen, Dance the Night, and Can’t Help Falling in Love with You were performed.

“I’m on the Leadership Council and I’m one of the directors and so we all came up with an idea and decided on decades,” Choir Co-President Mason Cottam said. “It ended up being the most focused idea, decades was new and fun and it was a nice cohesive theme.”

Cabarets at Bowie have been performed since the school originally opened in 1988. Bowie’s first choir teacher Sheryl Jones began the tradition. Since then, every year the choir has performed a show where students get to sing pop songs.

“We’re doing a history section of our cabaret program and I reached out to

Miss Sheryl Jones. Cabaret started back when she was here, one of her seniors that was in the class of the late 2000s [directed] it,” Choir Director Aaron Bourgeois said. “We have our Cabaret that we do every year but I think people don’t know how much of a tradition it is on campus.”

Despite the Cabaret being a tradition, things have changed since when it was established. Traditionally, the Cabaret had been a fall show but now it’s a show that takes place in the spring. However, other characteristics of the show have stayed the same such as it being student-led.

"

“ I like to relieve the pressure that we’ve had from [UIL] and also, a lot of these kids’ favorite ways to sing is to sing the songs that they know and love,” Bourgeois said. “It’s definitely our most attended show throughout the year so I love that they can get a little more recognition through that performance.”

It’s definitely our most attended show throughout the year so I love that they can get a little more recognition through that performance.

“I had a kid who joined me last year whose dad was originally a member of the choir with the first teacher who was here so people are aware of what used to happen in the choir program,” Bourgeois said. “And I’ve liked being able to establish that this is a continuation of a tradition.”

Aaron Bourgeois Building Manager

The Cabaret is an opportunity for students to perform the songs they love and remind them why they love to sing. It also allows students to show off their hard work in improving their voice throughout the year.

Each student performing in the Cabaret sang different songs from a variety of decades. For sophomore Anusha Rudra, she’s looked forward to performing Falling For Ya by Grace Phipps and Dance the Night by Dua Lipa.

“When we perform it, I’m sure it’s gonna be fun, especially in the costumes and stuff,” Rudra said. “I am personally in Falling For Ya from the Teen Beach Movie and there’s also Baby by Justin Bieber. There’s a lot of fun songs being performed.

To prepare for the show, the students performing in the show are gathered after school, after school and during the weekends. In addition there were been rehearsals during class to help the students learn choreography and the songs.

“We’ve had class rehearsals for learning choreography and songs during class time and then after school or weekend rehearsals,” Cottam said.

“Student directors have been working with other groups to bring out harmonies or just meeting up with them to make sure we’re on track to be ready for the show.”

Cabarets are also a great learning experience for the student directors if they intend to have a career in directing in the future. Through the support of Bourgeois, student directors are able enjoy the “good parts” and still have support from him if they need help with the music or fulfilling their vision.

“I let them have the fun parts of directing without all the bad parts of it. This directing experience is for them to enjoy and I’ve told them to let me be the bad guy and handle situations where students are not doing what they’re supposed to,” Bourgeois said.

“The main way I end up helping is through helping them fulfill their vision while also managing expectations, being able to know what’s realistic so that we can make sure that we have a show that’s very good quality.”

For many of the students in the

choir, singing or music is a passion for them. They also love the sense of community that they gain from being part of the choir program.

“I’ve been in the Bowie choir all four years and I’ve also been singing my whole life. Music is the thing I’m passionate about and I’ve settled on choir specifically because singing is my favorite way to express that,” Cottam said. “I love the choir community, it’s very welcoming, very full of love.”

Seniors use their shows as a platform for awareness

Asher Hagan Executive Editor: Art/Graphics

As senior Olivia Taylor looks around at people lined up to audition, the nerves of directing their own theater production start to creep up. And as the next person steps up to audition, they push the feeling down, deciding to trade nerves for excitement.

Every year, Bowie’s Starlight Theater Company allows senior members to take on the role of a director and choose their own show to put on. The program started in the 90s during the theater program’s 3rd year in existence and is still a time-honored tradition for the program. Each senior that volunteers to direct a show picks a one-act play they would like to direct, auditions cast members, and works together with the tech theater program to put on their show.

“I chose to direct a show because I want to go into directing,” Taylor said. “I want to be a screenwriter or movie director, so this was a great opportunity to at least get the feel of directing a show as well as getting together a cast and crew. I definitely think I benefited from it and want to continue doing directing.”

Senior-directed shows started as a way to get seniors more experience in a role they normally wouldn’t take on in high school.

Theater teacher Matthew Humphrey is a Bowie alumni that participated in the senior-director program when he was a part of the Starlight Theater Company when he was a student.

“Directing a show when I was a senior was very enlightening for me,” Humphrey said. “I definitely had to check my own ego a little bit at that time, but it helped me deal with a lot of personal issues through putting those things on stage and gaining that experience.”

Although they had to get per-

mission from their teacher, seniors were mostly free to choose what show they directed. This resulted in students choosing shows that called to them, with some of those shows, such as Five Kinds of Silence, containing heavier topics like themes of domestic violence and abuse.

“You have to be careful with how you’re portraying these topics because you want to be able to get your message across to the audience without directly hurting someone,” freshman Alice Goss said. “You want to affect someone whether it makes them happy or sad, but not seem like a caricature or a stereotype.”

Goss plays one of the leads in Five Kinds of Silence and feels that the Starlight Theater program prepares students to take on roles such as these. Both Goss and senior director Olivia Taylor agree that more intense themes need to be explored.

“My play is about a high schooler trying to figure out why his friend became a school shooter,” Taylor said. “It’s a very heavy story, but the issue of school shootings have, very sadly, become more prevalent in our lives and is something a lot of people including myself have to worry about.”

In recent years, the topic of censorship in schools has become more prevalent with things such as an increase of 63% in the number of books banned in Texas during 2023 alone according to KXAN. In addition, a study done by the Texas Public Radio found that out of 2,300 teachers in Texas surveyed, about 85% of them are worried about censorship in schools.

“I think that as long as everyone is comfortable and willing, it’s super important to be spreading awareness about these topics,” senior Amelia Cook said. “At the end of the day, not talking about these things is not going to make them go away, so I would rather normalize conversations so we can talk about

these things.”

Cook portrays the lead in the show Go Ask Alice, a play about a teenage girl struggling with drug addiction. The play is based on a book by the same name that was written in the 70s near the height of the psychedelic era and preaches about the dangers of teen drug use. There are scenes in the play where my character has breakdowns and goes through withdrawals, so it was a lot to portray,” Cook said. “I do think

that the benefit of having a peer direct you instead of a teacher is that there is a lot more understanding and I was able to work with her outside of school and have her walk me through scenes.” Taylor says they make sure students are aware of the play they’re signing up for and make efforts to make sure every actor is comfortable with what they’re portraying. Overall, many students agree that the senior-directed plays give students

valuable experience for their futures-, and their teachers can see a difference too.

“These kids have gone from being little squares on Zoom to having their own shows and being the heart of the Starlight Theater Company,” Humphrey said. “It’s wonderful. We really encourage students to take pride in what they do, so I think the reward is baked into the program.”

UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT: Bex Cao-Spurlock took the stage with Jolene by Dolly Parton. Cao-Spurlock is one of the directors for Cabaret and sang Jolene for the 70’s section of the show. PHOTO BY Katie Grumet

TRIO TAKES THE STAGE: Grady Hicks, Preston Solis and Spencer Findley performing Blackbird by the Beatles. This song was included in the 60’s section of the Choir Cabaret. PHOTO BY Katie Grumet

CAKE TO THE FACE: Lillian Joy, Tess Roadman and Caroline Otstott end the play Crimes of the Heart by smearing cake onto each others face. They are participating in Bowie’s one-act plays, short productions directed by seniors that delve into emotional topics. PHOTO BY Madison R.

SCAN FOR MORE!

PHOTO GALLERY BY Madison Rasp

SCAN FOR MORE!

VIDEO BY Will Olenick, Gabby Bochey and Audrey Cullinane

Daiso Japanese retail store location opened in Austin

Bentlee Toland Review Editor

The bright lights shine on the customers filled with excitement after waiting in line to enter the new Daiso Japanese store at The Sunset Valley  5400 Brodie Ln Ste 990, Austin, TX 78745. It’s 10,000 square feet filled with Japanese-inspired home decor, stationery, food, household goods, beauty, and more.

Daiso began in the capital city of Kagematsu, Kagawa, Japan in 1972. The founder, Hirotake Yano, started as a mobile vendor store called Yato Shonen, the store was officially called Daiso in 2001 when it first expanded into Taiwan, China. Meaning “to create” in Japanese, the story spread to Australia, Dubai, and then the U.S. in Seattle in 2005. The company is worth around 550 billion Yen, which translates to $3.3 billion in U.S. dollars. There are over 6,000 stores globally and 100 in the U.S., according to Daiso’s U.S. website. There are 22 stores in Texas as of March 2024.

When walking into Daiso you notice right away how organized everything is. It was very easy to navigate. Each aisle is labeled by the signs on the ceiling. Prices are marked in Japanese Yen and there are conversions to American dollars posted all around the store, in every section and row. The best way I would describe this store is like a Japanese version of 5 Below or the Dollar Tree but with better quality items.  I loved this store but one of the main problems is that everyone likes it. The shopping center is often very crowded and busy. I am sure if I went at a more standard time it would be a lot more crowded but from my personal experience, there were just the right amount of people in the store.

The store hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. except on Saturdays, when it’s open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. I went around 8 p.m. and it was open and busy.

There have been multiple complaints about the store closing early, but this wasn’t my personal observation. I love how there’s almost everything in this store. One of the first things you notice when you walk is a fun selection of stickers and crafts and plenty of Disney merchandise, mostly Mickey Mouse.  I was in shock at how cheap almost every item was priced. The slides would easily be twice the price at other stores for the same quality. I felt like more than half the store had items that were just tiny versions of them. It was actually really cute but random stuff just in a tiny form. If I had a doll house this store would be the first place I would go to get decorations for it.

They had two aisles of toys that I wanted to buy stuff, like a mini ping pong set. Behind those aisles is the pet section which was pretty selective and about seventy percent of the pet items were for cats or very small dogs and animals.

In front of those selections are school supplies like pens, pencils, binders, paper, and more. I will be shopping here for school supplies next year purely based on just looking at how cheap they are. Towards the arts and crafts aisles there is even workout gear. I was astonished at how many items they could have in not that big of a store. There is not any selection in this store where I even had close to the thought that these things looked cheap. Something I did not expect to see was the huge number of jars and containers. It was like I was in a mega Walmart looking at their aisles of containers and jars.

I walked to the end of the store to find the snacks, candy, and drinks. I bought seven items, five candies, one strawberry soda, and a cute duck keychain. The total was $25, which I thought was a good deal. The key chain was good quality and very

delightful. The strangest candies I got were these gummies that were sparkling soda flavor and cola flavor. Sadly, they did not taste that good but I am glad I went and tried something unique. Another different candy I tried was this chocolate-covered thing that almost had a boba-like texture that was strawberry flavored. It was good but I did not expect it to be that texture. I would eat it again, but it was not my top pick for a candy.

The strawberry soda I liked. I thought it was cool how you could

open the bottle by popping a marble down into a little glass section of the bottle. I would love to try all the cool and ethnic drinks, especially all the teas they had. I do wish they had a bigger display of more Japanese drinks.

Overall, it was a really fun experience to try new things with friends and family.

I went to self-checkout so I did not have any experience with the staff but based on reviews they seem to be very friendly people. Regarding the Daiso

website and some Yelp reviews, they seem to restock a fairly fast amount so I will be heading back when the restock happens and trying many more snacks and drinks. I might even buy the mini ping pong set and pick up some arts and crafts.

Daiso sells a wide variety of amazing items for exploration. Everything here was so cute and appealing. I had a great and memorable experience at Daiso. I would recommend people try something new and take a trip to Daiso.

Battle of the bagels: Casper, Wholly Bagel, Wham Bam & Einstein

Bagels, as you may know, are a very popular snack or meal for anyone. You can put anything you want on them from cream

and

to

nutella and potato chips. They became popular in the United States in the 70’s and before that they were only sold in niche Jewish shops around the country. Bagels are a popular favorite for many people but what spot sells the best tasting

bagels?

I will be visiting four different and popular bagel shops, Casper Fermentables, Wholly Bagel, Einstein Bagels, and Wham Bam Bagels. Casper Fermentables is a Brick and Mortar restau-

rant and bakery, they serve sourdough, kombucha and fermented vegetables inspired by Korean and Jewish ancestral traditions. Ben Haller the Founder and Fermentation Director opened the restaurant/bakery alongside Phoebe Raileanu the General Manager and Sales Director, in June of 2022 after only selling their products in farmers markets in and around Austin.

Casper Fermentables, located at 4715 S Lamar Blvd #101A, Sunset Valley is open Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. has an expanded menu that offers sourdough bagel sandwiches with plain, sesame, poppy, everything, jalapeno, or berry bagels, focaccia avocado toast, eggplant parm sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches, an array of different types of sourdough, cookies and a brownie.

To drink, they serve Casper bottled Kombucha, Yaupon or Turmeric Kombucha, seasonal Kombucha, Yunnan tea, Iced coffee, drip coffee, and sparkling water.

The building is fairly small but has indoor and outdoor seating, there are about four

small tables and one large table inside and four picnic tables outside. When ordering, you see a selection of bagels and bread next to the register that you can use to order which is fairly handy due to the menu being a bit confusing. I ordered a simple everything bagel which is just a bagel with every kind of bread seed on it, with cream cheese, avocado, salt and pepper. When you order, they give you a number that you place on your table and you can order for there or to-go. If you order to eat your food in the restaurant, they serve it on a little rectangle silver plate that looks like a cookie pan with parchment paper on it. If you order to go, they pack up your bagels or sandwiches in fitting boxes.

The bagel looked really good, I was really pleased with the presentation, the bagel was a little hard to bite and was almost chewy rather than crispy, the surface of it was also packed with seeds that make the bagel taste rather burnt. I really liked their homemade cream cheese and the avocado looked and tasted perfect. Overall the bagel was good

put together with the toppings but the bagel on its own did taste burnt and was a little too chewy. Wholy Bagel is a bagel shop with two locations, one on 4404 William Cannon Dr and one on 3637 Far West Blvd and is

Val Tikhonva Dispatch Reporter

cheese

marmalade

SHELVES STOCKED: The party section at Daiso Japanese retail store is stocked with numerous festive items. The store is located

in Sunset Valley. PHOTO BY Bentlee Toland

STORY BY Val Tikhonova

WHAM BAM, THANK YOU MA’AM: The Wham Bam Bagel truck stands proud in it’s pink glory. This truck is located at 415 E St Elmo Rd, in Austin Texas. PHOTO BY Val Tikhonova

Women's medical concerns are ignored Healthcare disparities

EDITORIAL

The first instinct of many individuals who begin to experience abnormalities with their health is to schedule an appointment with their doctor. After visiting their physician, people often walk out of the doctor’s office with more peace of mind after receiving advice from a well-educated, credible medical professional. That said, for many women in the United States, their experience seeking medical care is quite the opposite.

According to the National Library of Medicine, the U.S. public healthcare system marginalizes women’s health and fails to take into account the unique risks and experiences of a diverse population of women including women of color and transgender people. The Dispatch Editorial Board believes this is a major problem, as disparities in women’s healthcare prevent women from receiving equal access to necessary services, and therefore takes a negative toll on their health and well-being.

As stated in an article by Boston University, Black women are two times more likely than white women to develop diabetes over the age of 55, or have blood pressure irregularities. Black women also face various obstacles such as a lack of health insurance and larger medical debt which often prevent them from accessing necessary health services.

Despite disproportionate medical challenges Black women face, including higher maternal mortality rates, and an increased risk of dying from heart disease at a younger age, Black women are largely excluded from clinical research which focuses predominantly on white males. Due to the systemic racism that persists in various American institutions (including the U.S. healthcare system) Black women are often treated with bias, and the challenges they face may not be taken into consideration by healthcare professionals.

In addition to systemic failures that contribute to this inequality, many healthcare professionals hold individual biases that detrimentally impact a woman’s ability to receive crucial medical care. For example, according to a study cited in a USA Today article, 8.15% of women seen by a female doctor died within 30 days of their visit compared to the 8.38% who passed under the care of a male doctor. While this difference in percentage may seem negligible, the closing of this gap has the potential to save 5,000 women’s lives per year. It is also important to note that

hinder women from getting adequate care

this gap in percentage was only .08% for male patients.

The existence of this gap can be attributed to the fact that female doctors are often better at communicating and making shared decisions with patients. They are also more likely to take a patient's concerns seriously and create a more comfortable and non-judgmental atmosphere for women patients.

Finally, discriminatory healthcare practices also detrimentally affect transgender women.

According to the National Library of Medicine, trans women often face discrimination in medical care settings, sometimes causing them to postpone seeking treatment. Furthermore, recent governmental policies threaten to strip women of their right to bodily autonomy and ability to access lifesaving medical care including bills that restrict access to gender affirming care and the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Although some individuals may argue that the issues surrounding women’s healthcare are too widespread to realistically resolve, it is imperative to start taking steps in the direction of addressing these disparities. Women are con-

stantly belittled, and the unique obstacles that marginalized women face are not taken seriously in this sector, in some cases, costing women their lives. There are a few actions that could be taken to begin improving the various obstacles women face when seeking medical care. Firstly, healthcare professionals should be required to complete trainings that combat implicit biases and provide education addressing how to prevent the consequences that arise from such prejudice. Additionally, medical students should be required to take certain classes centered around effective patient-provider communication and the topic of women’s healthcare disparities so they have the knowledge and skills necessary to combat this issue.

Women face numerous obstacles when seeking medical care, a human right, which can result in them not receiving crucial treatment. In a society that too often ignores the struggles of women, steps must be taken to address this issue so that women are not prevented from accessing basic necessities that allow them to live full and healthy lives.

Happiness should not be sacrificed to reach

success

It is difficult to pursue future goals without neglecting one's well-being

Vivi Lopez-Stern Commentary Editor Questions? Concerns? Email: bowie.journalism@gmail.com

The United States is known to cultivate a culture of workaholism which occurs when individuals work excessive hours, find themselves thinking frequently about their job, or experience a lack of enjoyment surrounding their work. According to a study cited in Harvard Business Review, 72% of successful entrepreneurs struggle with depression among other mental health impairments. From the time they are young, many individuals dream of achieving success, but fail to ask themselves one crucial question: at what cost?

The definition of success may vary for different people, but historically, the idea of success in the U.S. has been defined by factors such as earning a high salary, owning a house, or starting a family. In many cases, the act of following what is seen as the typical road to success upholds a society of conformity in which people are restrained from expressing their individuality or pursuing ambitions that are seen as unconventional. Therefore, the prioritization of this one size fits all definition of success has detrimental impacts on an individual’s mental health and wellbeing.

The idea that a person has to place their personal ambitions on

the back burner in order to achieve success is instilled in individuals from the time they are young. Children are taught that, in order to have a well-paying career, they must focus their energies on school so they can later attend a reputable university.

The problem with this is that students are given incredibly heavy workloads that take a considerable amount of time to complete if they wish to receive good grades. As a result, it is difficult for students to maintain a balance between academic excellence which they are taught to prioritize if they wish to be successful, and pursuing non-scholastic passions, as well as maintaining a social life outside of school. When students fall victim to hustle culture, they adopt the notion that they will not be accomplished if they do not spend an unhealthy amount of time working. This can cause students to suffer from numerous detrimental impacts to their mental health. For example, according to the National Library of Medicine, academic stress can be linked to anxiety, depression, and have negative effects on academic performance.

Furthermore, young individuals are often taught that if they pursue an unconventional career path related to an activity they are passionate about outside of school, they are less likely to achieve stability and success. This can result in children

giving up on creative outlets or various forms of self-expression to spend excessive amounts of time completing school assignments.

The perpetuation of this toxic messaging contributes to a society of conformity. Rather than seeking personal fulfillment, individuals give up on passions that bring them joy because they are told that only certain careers will grant them financial security.

That said, success isn’t solely defined by financial status. According to an infographic by the World Economic Forum, for many Americans, achieving success can also include being married and having children.

The upholding of these traditional values places harmful pressures on individuals to conform to such expectations if they wish to be perceived as successful. This can have significantly negative effects on individuals because these societal norms are not fit for everyone, and may serve to restrict the individual goals a person has.

Finally, the desire for success has a negative impact on and individual's wellbeing because it instills a fear of failure. As a result, individuals may be unnecessarily harsh on themselves when they make mistakes.

Furthermore, people may avoid taking risks out of worry that their gambles may not pay off. Both of these actions take a severe toll on the emotional wellness of an individual because they can result in

low self-esteem as well as a lack of meaning in one’s life. While some may argue that certain pressures are necessary for an person to reach their full potential, no amount of success is valuable if it comes at the expense of an someone’s mental or physical wellbeing. Ultimately, happiness should never be sacrificed in the process of pursuing success. Because of this, the best way for people to strike a balance between ambition and personal well-being is to redefine their idea of success so that it pertains uniquely to them. Individuals should strive to find what brings them joy and fulfillment on a personal level rather than submitting to the expectations of others as their key to accomplishment. This will allow for their success to be measured by contentment rather than superficial achievements.

Additionally, this will positively affect an individual's mental health because people will be less burdened with social pressures. Instead, it will be possible to prioritize one's personal goals and freedoms.

The mainstream concept of success often causes people to sacrifice their mental stability and perpetuates a society of conformity. For these reasons, true success can only be measured on a personal level and accomplished when an individual puts their own needs first.

ART BY Layne Foxcroft

ART BY Sophia Sepulveda and Asher Hagan

The lazy stereotype does not fit Gen Z

Generational differences cause older age groups to constantly make unfit assumptions

Sam Bode Commentary Editor

Questions? Concerns? Email: bowie.journalism@gmail.com

It’s no secret that Generation Z is growing up in a very different world compared to older generations. The rapid growth of technology has forced our generation to grow up in a digitally dominated world and has had a large effect on our priorities and opinions around how we should be living our lives.

Because of these drastic changes, older generations are struggling to understand our choices. They believe that our generation has been led astray and we are a weaker and lazier bunch than them, but that simply isn’t true. Generation Z should not be labeled as the laziest generation just because we grew up under unique circumstances and are choosing to do things differently.

An argument often made by older generations against Gen Z is that the use of technology makes our lives significantly easier because we have the whole world at our fingertips. While there are obvious benefits to having the internet for school and work, it also increases the amount of expectations put on you. Put your phone down for thirty seconds and suddenly you have missed five emails from your teachers, three phone calls from your boss, and ninety four text messages in a group chat fighting about the project that is due at 11:59 p.m. Because we are able to connect with each other at any given time, the world moves at an extremely fast pace. It’s not slowing down anytime soon and Gen Z is working really hard to keep up.

Another problem technology has forced onto Gen Z is too much exposure to real world issues at a young age. Because Gen Z was the first generation to grow up completely online, there weren’t enough boundaries around what we were being exposed to. Older generations give us an extremely hard time for being too sad or complaining too much, but it can be hard to stay positive when our innocence was demolished by grotesque videos about politics, violence, social injustices, climate change, and

much more.

In fact, according to CNN, researchers found that Gen Z is much more likely to report that they are feeling anxious and lonely than any other generation. These feelings can lead to depression and lack of interest in things that they are normally excited about. Older generations are mistaking our suffering with laziness because they aren’t willing to listen when we try to explain ourselves. Because Gen Z has grown up looking at the entire world at once, online and through social media, we also know how much the world has to offer. This has changed our perspectives on how much time and effort we should put into our careers. Other generations may be content working

BULLDAWGS SPEAK!

Are older generations too hard on Gen Z?

INTERVIEWS BY Sam Bode

PHOTOS BY Sam Bode

Clay Petershagen Freshman

Reed Watts Sophomore

No, because Gen Z is surprisingly disappointing.

Yes, because when they were starting out, everything was cheap and getting into college was really easy. "

Not really, they have just reasons to be upset. They grew up different than we did, and they have different morals.

They can be, because they think that they had it harder and it's bad that we have it easier.

endlessly, but our generation has been exposed to so many travel opportunities and fun activities, making us unenthusiastic about spending our days chained to a desk. Older generations call us lazy because they think we are unwilling to work hard at all, but all we truly want is to avoid spending all our time working and to make as many fun memories as we can.

Older generations have judged Gen Z before we were able to prove our worth. People born in 1997-2012 are considered to be a part of Generation Z. That means that someone in Gen Z could be as young as eleven years old. No one has their priorities straight and their life planned out at eleven years old, not even in past generations. The rest of our generation is

still in school or new to their career, so it’s not surprising if we are more interested in having fun rather than committing our time to our careers or schoolwork. Older generations are acting like they were ready to drop their whole life for work and responsibilities at our age, and that it’s only appropriate that we do the same. Gen Z is not ready to give up the fun things in our lives yet, but that doesn’t mean that we are never going to be willing to work.

Gen Z actually has to work harder than past generations to be able to succeed. Not only is getting accepted to colleges a challenge, but being able to afford college is slowly becoming an impossible task. According to U.S. News, the cost of tuition has been on

the steady rise for at least two decades now, and this price doesn’t even cover the cost of housing, food, transportation, and other school related expenses. Because of this, many students now have to hold down jobs, get scholarships, or have a stellar academic performance to be able to pay for college without having to take out large student loans that will drag them down for decades after they graduate.

Someone from an older generation could argue that young men our age used to go off to war and fight for their country and young women used to carry many children and took care of a house and family, and that Gen Z is lazy because we aren’t sticking to those classic roles. This argument is not very accurate though, because in 2022, the U.S. military had 1.4 million active personnel, and there are millions of women that take care of families in the US. There are many men and women that aren’t sticking to their stereotype, though, and older generations are mistaking this beautiful freedom for laziness. Just because someone doesn’t fit into their outdated role, doesn’t mean they are living their life incorrectly.

Gen Z is able to take action when they feel strongly about something. Recently, college protests have swept across the globe. Students at universities, including Columbia, UCLA, and the University of Texas at Austin, are calling for a ceasefire against Palestine. These students are paying attention to world events, forming opinions, organizing protests, and standing up for what they believe in with strength and respect. Regardless of your political opinion, anyone can recognize that these actions are far from lazy. Older age groups need to stop making snap judgments towards Generation Z. We may do things differently than they would, but that doesn’t make us a lazier group. Our priorities may lie elsewhere, but that doesn’t mean that we are wrong. Gen Z is a colorful, outspoken, and powerful generation that is going to impact the world in ways that we can’t even imagine, and we work hard every single day to make the world a more accepting and safer place for everyone. Older generations are wrong to label Gen Z as lazy.

FAFSA delays cause missed chances

Madeleine Travis Commentary Editor

Questions? Concerns? Email: bowie.journalism@gmail.com

Put yourself in a scenario where you’re applying for college and the thing that could make or break your acceptance just got delayed until December. All of your plans were to apply to college in October but it was just set back two months and the anticipation couldn’t be more pressing. This was the case for all of the students across the U.S. applying for college when the FAFSA was announced to now be available in December as opposed to the strict October deadline that has been routine up until the 2023-24 school year. This delay has completely disrupted many students' college plans and many college application schedules were disrupted by this as well making it a nationwide inconvenience.

As of May 9, according to WUNC, many students are still waiting for their financial aid for the upcoming college semester. This is due to the two-month delay of the FAFSA in 2023 which is going to cause many students to use money they don't have when it comes to financing college. Representatives from the FAFSA cooperation have said that they don't really have a strict deadline for the form but have regularly made it available to the public around October for the year's newest seniors. This makes the already stressful and complex process of applying to colleges much harder for those who plan to fill out the FAFSA. Seeing that the FAFSA is essential for students to fill out who are applying to college, it seems wrong for the individuals of the company to not deliver on their part after a huge delay in the whole system.

CNN stated that many students haven't finalized their applications because they are still unsure of when or if the FAFSA program is going to give them the aid they need to pursue college. Issues with the FAFSA aren't in small numbers either with as many as one million students left unsure if their aid for college and other education is going to come through in the time that they need it. In January they also added a minor change to the form after it was sent out to millions of people which then further delayed the process of everyone receiving what they need.

If certain major changes were made to the form they should have been completed before the publishing of the document to the public. Due to last-minute changes, students may have been cheated out of major college opportunities simply because they’re unsure if they can afford college without the proper help. All students should be eligible for the same educational opportunities and there shouldn't be one form that dictates the success of

one individual to another based on their financial status. A small mistake, especially one that can be fixed with more throughout the planning, is something that has a huge impact on a large number of people and shouldn't be happening in the first place.

Many individuals also have time to make changes or corrections to the FAFSA form that they’ve already submitted in December because of the changes that were made after publishing the form in January. The people who run the FAFSA program should have made sure that all of the changes were made before knowing that they would have to have a faster return rate on distribution of the funds for the students who applied to the form. If it weren't for these small changes and the major delay of the release of the form, many of this year's seniors

would have been able to grab opportunities that they may not be able to now because colleges require the completion of the form. Seeing that millions of students across the country are now unable to apply to the colleges that they previously wanted, there should be debt relief offered to new freshmen when they start college in the fall. The entirety of senior year is already stressful enough for many students who aren't able to meet sufficient funds for college and have been left in the dark by one of the most reliable financial aid institutions. This was a major slip-up by the individuals in the federal government in charge of this program and has cost millions to be out of massive opportunities and the possibility of the careers that follow.

Elizabeth Alozi Senior

Barrington Young Junior

ART BY Asher Hagan

ART BY Layne Foxcroft

Coming into our last year in this program, every member of the Dispatch leadership team had a rough relationship with one another; we either didn’t know each other, were scared of each other, or blatantly hated each other. Despite this rocky start, these challenging (yet rewarding) six issues have brought us so much closer; we aren’t lying when we say we have cherished our time together, and share the utmost love and respect for our peers, friends, and fellow journalists. Without the effort that each leader has put into this program, we wouldn’t be able to call the Dispatch one of the best scholastic newspapers in the country. Although we have put in significant work to this program, our success would have been impossible without the contributions of each and every member on staff. Every team has been faced with their own challenges, but we are so proud to see

Alex Edwards Online Editor-in-Chief University of Texas

them overcome these complicated obstacles. These brilliant minds are growing into outstanding journalists, and it has been incredible to see every member on staff work to raise the standards of this already flourishing program. To our award-winning, investigative reporters, our innovative artists and photographers, and every other section of the program: we thank you. We especially want to recognize the efforts of the multimedia team, who has truly redefined the Dispatch’s online presence. They have built their section from the ground up; this is the first year that we have had such a dedicated staff create such diverse, high-quality mediums of journalism that go beyond the print edition. This work has been instrumental to our success.

And thank you to Reeves for putting up with us, trusting us, and allowing us to freely practice the skills that will carry us into

Mazzy Warren Print Editor-in-Chief University of Texas

our college careers and futures beyond that.

Between your support, your high expectations, and your passion, you have defined our time at this program. Thank you for the chances to fill up our quote books, and we wish you luck in your future career as a gangster rapper.

This April, the Dispatch received two ILPC Gold Stars, the highest recognition a scholastic journalism program can earn. These distinctions are a direct result of the students who have poured their energy into this program, and we are so proud to have had the opportunity to work with and lead these journalists. We love this paper, but more than that, we love our beautiful, talented, ambitious staff. We will miss y’all so much, but we can’t wait to hand this program down to the students who will lead this program into another wonderful year. Goodbye and good luck!

Executive Editor: Online Texas A&M

Print Editor-in-Chief Stephen F. Austin

Austin Ikard Online Editor-in-Chief Texas State University

Asher Hagan EE: Art/Graphics University of Texas at Austin

Emerson Traugott EE: News Northeastern University

Madeleine Travis Commentary Editor Austin Community College

Charlotte Koellner EE: Content Texas State University

Noah Bihan Photo Essay Editor University of Texas at Austin

Sam Vane Sports Editor University of Wisconsin-Madison

Sophia Sanchez EE: Writing University of Texas at San Antonio

Savannah Linscomb Entertainment Editor Austin Community College

Nick Wood Photo Essay Editor Texas State University

Ben Tillisch EE: Sports University of Texas at Austin

Claire Scott Reviews Editor Texas State University

Cooper Ceniceros-Fike Dispatch Reporter Arizona State University

A message from the Dispatch leadership team