shieldthe

McCallum High School / 5600 Sunshine / Austin, TX 78756 / Feb. 8, 2013 / Issue 4 / Volume 60

Staffer investigates climate changes as 2012 is revealed as

warmest year on recordstory on page 6

what’S inSide

Students share personal experiences about

driving accidents

Staffer voices opinion on recent controversy over

internet censorship

story in page 10

story on page 22

8th annual fashion show sparks creativity in models, designers

story on pages 12-13

02 the shieldcontentsfeb. 8, 2013

table of contents

1. dance majors perform in the dance show walk with Me, Jan. 18-20, directed by Brazie adamez. 2. Junior Cohen Lewis-hill cries during the performance next to freshman Marilyn Connelly. “this show really taught me how very personal art can have a huge, widespread impact,” Lewis-hill said. 3. Junior ashlyn eddy sits on an edge in the MaC lobby where the show was performed. Read more about the show on page 18.

Febuary 01 Choir Guest Concert at 7 p.m. 09 Fashion Show at 7 p.m. 14 Late Start 16 Mr. McCallum 24 Steel Drums from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. 28 Late Start 28 “Oklahoma” through March 3

save the date

advertisement manager Seren Villwock heads to the kitchen for national Soup Month. Go to page 21 to see more.

March11-15 Spring Break21-23 Romeo & Juliet 21 Pre-UIL Band Concert 23 Battle of the Bands 21 Piano Recital 29 School Holiday

coverSophomore Kate Pargaman and junior Yazmin Bautista practice walking the runway during rehearsal on Feb. 4, in preparation for the 8th annual benefit fashion show Feb. 9. Photo by Grace Frye.

3

Students, teachers discuss controversial gun control proposals

5 Parents, teachers, students weight pros and cons of new STAAR tests

8

11 Nikki Northcutt wins gold in first teacher pageant

9 Language teacher returns to Japan after visiting McCallum

15 Players look forward to upcoming baseball season

18 Staffer previews upcoming traditional male pageant

19

22 Staffer looks into internet censorship

5 3

news

feature

14 sports

18 entertainment

opinion

1. 2. 3.

03the shield news feb. 8, 2013

When AP U.S. History teacher Joe Underwood heard President Obama de-cided to crack down on gun control laws, he was not enthusiastic about the laws-to-be.

“Laws are followed by people who fol-low laws,” Underwood said. “Criminals are by definition not law followers. Stricter laws are not going to keep more people who would commit illegal acts from com-mitting them.”

President Obama announced during his second term inauguration that he is zoning in on gun control laws and cam-paigning for Congress to strictly tighten gun ownership laws. The president re-leased a 10-point plan explaining the action he hopes to take with Congress in the next four years. Obama’s plan includes more efficient background checks on weapon buyers; more efficient treatment offered to the mentally ill; better resources provided to public school officers and security staff; completely banning assault weapons and armor-piercing bullets; and restoring the 10-round limit on magazines.

Junior Josh Hagler said some types of weapons should not be legal.

“I honestly feel like no one needs an automatic gun,” Hagler said. “I think guns can be used for self-defense. But what would you need an automatic gun for? I have guns, a shotgun, but if it’s for self-de-

fense, you’re not going to use an automatic weapon. “

The National Rifle Association is defending the nation’s current gun laws by claiming the weapons used in recent acts of violence in the country should not be blamed on the guns but on the lack of security at the locations of the tragedies. In response to the shoot-ing at Sandy Hook Elemen-tary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the NRA pro-posed a plan that would post armed guards around every public school in the nation, a plan that would ultimately cost the federal gov-ernment over $2 billion per year.

Assistant Principal Gabriel Reyes said he thinks stricter gun laws would ben-efit McCallum, but the school isn’t in any more danger than it has been in the past.

“We have two officers on campus, we have radios, we have drills,” Reyes said. “We try to maintain a safe environment for all kids. But it’s up to kids to take drills se-riously and to do what we ask them to do, especially when it’s a real threat. I do think most of our kids take it seriously. These

kids are living it. We’re part of it, but it’s their reality.”

Reyes said AISD has prepared for vio-lence that could occur in schools.

“Of course, you never want something like that to happen,” Reyes said. “That is why we run drills and we have officers on campus, so that we can be ready. You

never hope it happens on your campus, but you al-ways want to be ready just in case.”

Under-wood said there is no single solu-tion to the vi-olence issues the country is facing.

“I completely agree that we need to have a conversation about mental health,” Underwood said. “This woman, who’s son committed these things in Connecticut, repeatedly asked for help for her son, but no one could do anything about him be-cause he had not yet committed a crime. I think fixing that is a huge step in the right direction. “

Hagler agreed.“You can make all the guns you want il-

legal,” Hagler said, “but criminals are not going to obey gun control laws just like

they don’t obey other laws. So the people who are going to obey gun control laws are not going endanger people with them.”

Though he does not think laws against gun ownership should be passed, Under-wood said some actions discussed by the White House are credible.

“I own dozens of guns, and I have filled the background checks out dozens of times, and there is nothing to keep me from lying,” Underwood said. “I could eas-ily lie and no one would be the wiser, so there’s obviously weakness there. Another thing the President did say that interested me is making it easier for states to commu-nicate with the FBI, who ultimately deals with background checks, about any men-tal health issues, domestic dispute issues or abusive issues that a person may have. I think that’s great; we can strengthen the background check. That’s a great idea. “

Underwood said the solution to peo-ple’s fears of violence is not gun control.

“There is nothing you can do about crazy,” Underwood said. “We live in a dangerous world. We need to take steps to make it as least dangerous as possible. Generally, people are unwilling to accept the fact that there is nothing we can do about danger, so they find something to blame the danger on — the availability of guns is an easy target. Guns are tools just like any other tool. People are panicking, and the solution is not more gun control because guns are not out of control; peo-ple are.”

Second amendment debated

NATALIE MURPHYstaff reporter

Josh HaglerJunior

“Criminals are not go-ing to obey gun con-

trol laws just like they don’t obey any other

laws.

”

Students, teachers join discussion on gun violence prevention

11,078 gun deaths per yearAmerica270,000,000 registered guns

Japan710,000 registered guns England3,400,000 registered guns

Mexico15,5000,000 registered guns

40 gun deaths per year11 gun deaths per year

11,309 gun deaths per year

Graphic by natalie Murphy.

04 the shieldfeaturefeb. 8, 2012

Senior Malini Riddle has performed commendably on standardized tests her entire life.

“While this was a comfort as I went through the process of applying to college,” she said, “it also disturbed me greatly, for my high scores mean one thing alone: I have never been appropriately challenged. What would I be capable of if my teachers had spent their time challenging me rather than drilling TAKS preparation into my head? What could I have accomplished with the many hours I spent working to-wards that all-powerful test?”

These are the same questions that have been running through the heads of numer-ous parents, students and administrators as the new State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, was implemented just last year. Students entering ninth grade in the 2010-2011 school year were the last graduating class to take the former state stan-dardized test, the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skill, or TAKS, as the new test was phased in in the spring of 2012.

With the STAAR, students will be held accountable for answering more rigorous, open-ended ques-tions in 15 subjects and for the first time be asked to complete the test in four hours. In addition, the assess-ment will count towards 15 percent of a student’s final course grade.

The wave of changes led to tremendous objection, and new advocacy groups were formed in pursuit of prompting a change in testing standards. Texans Advocat-ing for Meaningful Student Assessment (TAMSA), a grass roots volunteer orga-nization committed to improving public education, has gained momentum in light of growing backlash against the test.

“TAMSA began when parents of last year’s ninth graders learned of the issues associated with STAAR — inclusion in grades and the number of tests to gradu-ate,” TAMSA co-founder Dineen Majcher said. “It was clear that the testing regime had gone too far, so we joined together to work to effectuate positive change for our children.”

The development that has encountered the most resistance is the 15 percent rule. Parents say this requirement can substan-tially affect an individual’s GPA and class rank and, as a result, alters their guarantee for entry to some universities.

“TAMSA is concerned with the over-emphasis on high-stakes STAAR tests and opposes the inclusion of state stan-dardized tests in local grades,” Majcher said. “We do believe that utilizing multiple measures for student assessment would be

more sensible and provide better results in the long run. Requiring a student or a school’s grade or ‘rating’ to be based on one set of tests does not give a complete picture of strengths and weaknesses.”

The state has seen criticism from many concerned citizens in the form of protests, one which will bring thousands to the steps of the State Capitol Feb. 23 as they

unite in “saying no to under-funding and over-testing.” Texas Commissioner of Ed-ucation Michael Williams said the system merely needs time to settle in.

“It’s important to remember that this is only the second year of implementa-tion for the new tests and the first year of implementation for the new accountability system,” Williams said. “The Texas Edu-cation Agency is gradually phasing in the new passing standards to reduce the over-all shock to the system, but these new tests do represent a significant increase in rigor. I would advocate for giving the new sys-tem time to work. However, I would like to point out that every time our state has increased the rigor of its testing system, teachers and students across our state have not only met the standards but exceeded them.”

Williams noted why he believes the tests are a necessary procedure for the state to take.

“While not the only measure, testing plays an important role in determining how well your school is doing in teaching all its students, and where to focus resources to help those students who need help,” Williams said. “The Texas Legislature has es-tablished a body of knowledge — in math, English, science and social studies —that all students are expected to have mastered upon graduation. Testing helps us know if students in all parts of

our state have learned the important con-cepts of these core subjects.”

Majcher said TAMSA is not against using the test for the purposes of evalua-tion and information that Williams identi-fied.

“Parents who belong to TAMSA are not opposed to testing that is diagnostic – testing that identifies where there may

be learning gaps in an effort to provide resources and training to address those issues,” Majcher said. “We are opposed to imposing greater stakes on students be-cause that turns the system into one that is punitive to students, and ultimately will result in higher drop-out rates.”

In the 2012 school year alone, the state spent $90 million on testing. Commis-sioner Williams said, however, the benefits outweigh the expense.

“The economic landscape where you and your fellow students at McCallum will be competing for a job is very differ-ent from the one I faced when I graduated from my high school in Midland,” Wil-liams said. “It’s important that we prepare all students for whatever step they want to take next — be it college, career or the military. I can tell you that institutions of higher education in Texas and across the country have an expectation that students coming onto their campuses are ready for a more rigorous college curriculum. And on those campuses, the classes you take may have only two tests or just one that deter-mines whether you pass or fail. If you elect to go straight into a job, many professions will require a test for certification in that occupation or as a necessary step to man-agement positions and higher pay. Prepar-ing all students today will help strengthen your future and the future of our state and nation.”

Riddle, as a member of the Student Advisory Committee with Superintendent Meria Carstarphen, has had a number of chances to reflect on the transition to the STAAR test.

“I am skeptical of the need to spend such a large amount of money on such a small change,” Riddle said. “Just like col-lege-bound high school students have the opportunity to choose the tests they take, fill out resumes, write personal statements

Michael WilliamsTexas Comissioner of Education

“ Preparing all stu-dents today will help strengthen your fu-

ture and the future of our state and nation.

”

CAITLIN FALK assistant editor

STAAR Warsnew standardized test sparks public outcry;students, parents weigh affects

05the shield feature feb. 8, 2012

and submit music or art supplements, so too should K-12 students be offered a vari-ety of methods to display their skills.”

Riddle also mentioned these tests cre-ate negative outcomes when they do not cater to each individual’s level of learning.

“To borrow the words of my fifth grade teacher, ‘You can’t test a kid like you can test a car,’” Riddle said. “A car may be evaluated according to a checklist, but the developing mind of a child or adoles-cent is far too complex to be accurately understood through such one-dimensional means as today’s standardized testing. Not only are standardized tests discouraging and intimidating to lower performing stu-dents, but they are also frustrating to and unappreciative of students who score high-er. But the impact of the tests extends far beyond the reach of the test itself. Forced to meet predetermined standards, teach-ers have to tailor their lesson plans to fit a structured curriculum rather than catering to students’ individual needs. The result is that some students are overwhelmed while others are under-motivated, and no one’s

needs are met.”Majcher agreed the tests can

leave some students under-motivat-ed in the classroom.

“There are many aspects of the high stakes that are problematic,” she said, “but perhaps the most trou-blesome is that it suppresses the true joy and passion that can and should be a part of a great education. We don’t want our children to be accom-plished test-takers. We all want stu-dents who are excited and curious about issues, who are true problem-solvers and creative thinkers. Test-taking wastes precious instructional time and focuses students more on end results (a grade on one stan-dardized test as representing their knowledge base) rather than the learning process.”

The TAMSA organization, which many active parents from Mc-Callum have joined to try and generate change, is working closely with schools and had many meetings with legislators

and other leaders in Texas.“This issue is so important because it

affects the single thing we all care most about — our children,” Majcher said. “If

our children’s education is being impacted in a negative way, it is important for us to stand up, say that the status quo is unac-ceptable and work for positive change.”

texas graphic by Caitlin Falk. answer sheet graphic by Caitlin Falk and Grace Frye.

The Knights of Steel performed with 40 other ensembles from around the world at the 66th Annual Midwest Band and Or-chestra Clinic in Chicago over the winter break.

Senior Rose Banks said after the band’s performance, the audience gave the Knights a standing ovation for their per-formance.

“On the last day we were in Chicago, we

Knights of Steel perform in Chicago

news in brief

Over 60 AVID students came to school on a Saturday for a Scholarship Workshop Jan. 26. The students showed up for six hours to learn how to write a scholarship essay.

“We basically learned what to write and what not to write on a college application,” junior Ceaser Munoz said. “I would say it’s worth it.”

Gerard Ochoa, an author and presenter on Path to Scholarships, spoke at the event.

”He talked about ways to get a schol-arship, and he really made sense, made us want to try it and believe we could make it,” junior Leslie Garcia said.

aVid students participate in scholarship workshop

english teacher Flor Mota was named the McCallum teacher of the year Jan. 26. Mota said her mother inspired her to be-come a teacher. Other finalists were photography teacher Car-ey west, history teacher Joe Underwood and technology teacher andrea Moyers.

The trustees of the Austin school dis-trict approved plans Jan. 28 to introduce three new single sex schools for the 2014-15 school year. The board voted to establish an all-boys schools based on the blueprint of the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders. In addition, a proposal was voted on that would convert Pearce and Garcia, located in East Austin, to single gender schools.

“I think converting Pearce and Garcia is a good idea since it gives AISD students more options,” junior Bianca Breed said.

Breed said these types of schools can be beneficial for students.

“I liked the all-girls and uniform parts of [Ann Richards], which made classroom learning more focused and I didn’t have to worry about what to wear every day,” she said. “It also turned me into a really studious person and it offered great col-lege help. What I didn’t like was they were overly strict about the uniforms and forced a ‘sisterhood’ on us.”

aiSd Board votes to fund single-sex schools

were shopping and people were picking us out, of thousands of people shopping, and were telling us how good we were and that they bought our CD,” Banks said.

On the trip, the group had the chance to see the Blue Man Group perform.

“We went to so many places,” senior Eva Trevino said. “I’m so happy I went. All the extra rehearsal after school was so worth it.”

The Moody Foundation, located in Galveston, has donated $4.6 million for the development of an all-boys school in Austin.

“For middle school years, I think the big benefit is the gender separation,” Breed said. “You don’t have the distraction of the opposite gender, which I noticed makes the classroom environment more efficient. I think the separation turns into a disadvantage once it reaches high school years.”

06 the shieldnewsfeb. 8, 2013

The numbers are in: 2012, the year with spring heat waves, severe droughts and a devastating hurricane that caused millions of dollars in damage, ended with some interesting news. Turns out it was the warmest year ever recorded in the conti-nental United States.

Freshman Charity Co-peland was surprised by the extreme climate when she went on a family trip during sum-mer break.

“The lakes have been getting lower, and at my house we don’t have any grass at all,” Copeland said “Last year, when I went to Utah, they were having the worst drought ever.”

Last year’s average temperature was 55.3 degrees Fahrenheit, 3.2 degrees above

normal. According to the National Cli-matic Data Center, it was a full degree Fahrenheit warmer than the previous warmest year, 1998.

“Globally there is a clear pattern of warming that has been attributed to re-lease of fossil carbon dioxide associated

with human activity,” Charles Jack-son, a re-search scien-tist at UT, said. “When consider-ing regions, it becomes more diffi-cult to know what fraction of observed change can be blamed on global warm-ing and what

fraction of the change is associated with other factors such as urbanization, chang-ing landscapes, natural fluctuations of weather and climate.”

Jackson researches on the dynamics of a changing climate and observing the nu-merical models of the climate system.

The hot year contributed to the lack of precipitation in 2012, making it the driest year on record.

“We had the worst one-year drought on record in 2011 with 40 percent of normal precipitation in the state,” Bridget Scan-lon, a senior research scientist at UT, said, “reservoir storage down to 60 percent of normal and economic losses from agricul-ture of $7.6 billion.”

Scanlon’s expertise is in the evaluation of the impact of climate variability and change on groundwater resources by land use.

Texans also experienced their warmest year recorded last year, with a statewide average temperature of 67.4 degrees Fahr-enheit, a tie with 1921. Junior Lily Hammer was forced to change her everyday activi-ties due to the weather change.

“I can’t exercise outside as much, espe-cially during the summer,” Hammer said. “Texas has definitely experienced extreme temperatures these past few years.”

There are some speculations as to whether or not the severe weather changes contributed to the disasters there have been, such as floods.

“Because the soils get so dry,” Scanlon said, “any rain that falls gets absorbed by the soils like a sponge and does not run-off, so the reservoirs don’t fill up for a long

time, which will end in a flood.” The drought itself has still not waned.

The dry conditions still cause damage throughout the United States.

“We need to manage water more effec-tively, and recycle whenever you have the chance,” Hammer said. “McCallum stu-dents should bike to school if you are in a short enough distance. “

The drought has sparked wildfires in the west, which charred 9.2 million acres. But with the help of satellites, scientists are able to track the impacts of drought on water storage.

“The satellites indicate large changes in water storage in the soil zone and groundwater (67 – 73 km3) of depletion,” Scanlon said. “These have large-scale im-pacts on water resources.”

Even small actions can have a good ef-fect to make the rising temperatures slow down.

“We can slow down the rising temper-atures by emphasizing ‘green’ solutions to energy consumption,” Jackson said. “I particularly like the idea of painting or having very light colored streets/house tops as they will be more effective at re-flecting solar energy rather than absorb-ing it. Nevertheless, the current warmth is a result of many decades of human ac-tivity.”

BELLA TEMPLEstaff reporter

Lily HammerJunior

“We need to manage water more effectively, and recycle when ever you have the chance.

”

It’s getting hot in here

Scientists’ research shows 2012 was warmest year on record

Taking in the sunshineJENNIFER CASTROstaff reporter

On Jan. 7, a city council-appointed group recommend-ed that Austin begin applying solar panels to all major buildings around the city.

“I think it’s a good idea,” sophomore Natalie Viruegas said. “We keep depending on using fossil fuels, but what would happen if we don’t have them anymore? It’s better to start now than later (on using solar energy).”

Austin’s goal (if it were to add more solar panels around the city) is that by the year 2020, Austin can produce 200 megawatts, which would help power the entire city with-out having to rely on fossil fuels and have clean energy to all Austinites.

“I think (solar panels will make Austin better) because I think that green technology is an excellent way to go,” Physics teacher Kendra Flenniken said. “It’ll be clean en-ergy and a teaching tool and set the tone for where we want to be.”

With Austin known as a “clean air city” for the city’s stringent no-smoking ordinances, and Austin’s decision of giving all of its residents recyclable bins a few years back, some say adding solar panels would be the next step in be-

two of the 15 solar arrays at the Mueller Center taking in the sun’s rays. Photo by Jennifer Castro.

something benefiting all of us, for those who are living here in Austin now and for those who will live here in the future.”

Sophomore Sheila Aguilar said she is concerned about the cost.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Aguilar said,” but think about it. Where do you think the money’s going to come from? If this does become official, who’s to say the city won’t raise taxes to help fund this project?”

Even with high costs, Flenniken said the solar panels are worth it.

“Yes, they are more expensive than, for instance coal burning, but the costs that have not been taken into ac-count by burning coal are the costs of the environment and public health,” Flenniken said. “Solar is a viable option that’s cost-friendly because it is a clean technology.”

Since solar panel is clean energy, it could also lower the rate of pollution in and around the city of Austin.

“Pollution has become some sort of problem,” Viruegas said, “not only in Austin, but majority of the U.S. Since so-lar panels give us clean energy, we don’t have to use fossil fuels and coal burning into our ozone layer. True, we may have to pay more, and even though some may not like it, it can help our air be more fresh and clean.”

NATALIE MURPHYstaff reporter

Concerns raised about poisonous gas as winter months continue

As the cold, winter season continues, carbon monoxide poisoning is again a concern. As property owners dust off their gas stoves and fireplaces, they unknowingly release carbon monoxide into their homes.

Carbon monoxide is a colorless, tasteless, odorless gas that is released by the burning of any fossil fuels and is released into a contained space. The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning vary, but one threat is always present when the gas is release: death.

“The first step [of prevention] is to buy a monitor and put it up in your house,” school nurse Kathleen Thelen said. “It looks like a smoke alarm and can detect

certain levels of [carbon monoxide]. Also make sure there is some ventilation in your house. If you have a gas stove, make sure your pilot light is lit.”

Fifty-two percent of homes in Austin are heated with natural gas, and more than 53 percent of residents burn fossil fuels on a regular bases. Using generators, grills, camp stoves or other gasoline or charcoal-burning devices inside a home can result in the release of carbon monoxide. Recognizing that the gas is released is often difficult because it can’t be seen, so understanding the side effects of the poisoning can be crucial.

“A lot of people don’t notice anything other than they may have a headache,” Thelen said, “because you can’t really smell it. Oftentimes all it will do is cause

sleepiness.” Building manager Mary Noack said

though the school cannot detect carbon monoxide, the gas does not pose a threat here.

“We don’t have anything that emits carbon monoxide,” Noack said. “Our air system is all water heated, so there’s no gas or anything burning that could put off those types of fumes.”

Austin toxicologist Patricia Rosen said carbon monoxide poisoning is often the result of heaters that haven’t been serviced properly.

“Carbon monoxide poisoning is due to a by-product of a combustible substance,” Rosen said. “Typically when the cold temperatures hit, people turn on their heaters. If they are not functioning

properly, CO will be developed when the fuel being used, such as natural gas, is burned. There is an outbreak whenever there is cold weather although CO poisoning can occur at any time. At any time of the year, use of combustible fuels can cause CO poisoning such as occurs with the use of forklifts that are gasoline powered or floor polishers in an enclosed space.”

Rosen said the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are similar to the flu.

“The symptoms occur in all those who are exposed at the same time,” Rosen said. “Careful maintenance of heating units and adequate ventilation when operating gasoline powered tools helps to prevent CO poisoning. A CO monitor similar to a smoke monitor should be used in the home.”

Colorless, tasteless, odorless danger

austinites react to city-council’s debate over installing solar panels

ing more green-friendly. “I think it will make (Austin) more green,” Viruegas

said. “Since Austin always gets lots of sunshine, I think it makes sense to install the panels and use that energy into

07the shield news feb. 8, 2013

08 the shieldfeaturefeb. 8, 2012

On one of his last few days here, head custodian Hubert Clayton stopped in a classroom, remembering the years he has spent working at the school. Soon, he will retire from AISD and move on to continue his career at public libraries, a new challenge for him. For him, the future holds excitement for a new chapter in his career.

“I started at elementary schools and moved up to middle schools, and finally McCallum,” he said. “Now I’ll be starting a new adventure working at the public libraries. I’m excited to be moving on the next level in my profession.”

While looking into the future with excitement, Clayton also shared a feeling of nostalgia looking back on his years at McCallum.

“My first day at McCallum actually got off to a rocky start,” Clayton said. “I had to knock on the front door because I didn’t have my keys yet, and nobody would let me in. I had to wait for somebody else to walk in, and I followed them and entered that way. At first I was thinking, ‘Oh boy, this is how it’s going to be.’ But everyone

was friendly to me right away. I saw it was a great school, and now two of my kids go here, too. I love how diverse the school is. I’m going to miss my co-workers.”

Clayton added after his retirement, the thing he will miss most about working at the school is the atmosphere that working with students brings.

“I’ve really enjoyed the students here,” Clayton said. “I’ll probably have some interaction with students working with the library, but not as much. Working at a school is different every day. You never know what’s going to happen when you come into work. It could be anything from a cafeteria spill to a raccoon in the band hall.”

head custodian hubert Clayton in his yearbook photo. Clayton is soon to retire from aiSd. Photo courtesy of 1st Photo texas.

Head custodian moves onSEREN VILLWOCKadvertisement manager

In fact, he said his encounters with animals were the strangest thing he has seen in the hallways of McCallum.

“I’ve seen raccoons, rats, ants and all sorts of things,” he said. “One time in the cafeteria, some students let crickets and little white mice loose. The mice were jumping around everywhere trying to catch the crickets. All the students stood up on the tables. I didn’t want to touch them, so the

students had to try to catch them again. It was definitely the most bizarre thing I’ve seen working in housekeeping.”

Over the years working at the school, Clayton said he has seen an improvement in the cleanliness of the school and the

attitude of the students.“Not necessarily because of me, but

overall I’ve seen the school’s rating go up,” he said. “We have an inspector come in every year come and look in the halls, the restrooms and the classroom. In AISD, McCallum is now one of the cleanest schools. Our rating is excellent now. I’ve seen the students learn to keep the school clean, too. I love when I see the kid start to take responsibility for their classrooms and hallways.”

Clayton said working at McCallum was not just a memorable experience, but also one that has taught him a lot.

“I’ve learned that people have a set way of doing things, and in my profession, you have to work with them,” he said. “Like in one room, a teacher used to use tape on the floors to line the desks up, but it was hurting the floor so I worked with her to find a different solution with small pieces of tape on the walls instead. In my job, it’s things like that you have to work with people and communicate. I feel like I’ve grown a lot over the years. I think any experience where you’re not learning and growing isn’t worthwhile. That’s why I’m excited to move on to the library and have a new set of experiences.”

Glowing compliments anonymous student creates Facebook page to spread positivity

Somewhere in the halls of McCallum, an anonymous student is working toward making the school a better place by spreading positive thoughts over social media. Inspired by a project at LASA called “LASA Compliments,” this person created a Facebook page where students can send anonymous compliments to each other. The creator of the Mac Compliments page is unknown, but the idea has taken off with McCallum students on Facebook. The page was created in mid-December and has since had hundreds of compliments sent in by students.

Students who are “friends” with the Mac Compliments page can post an

anonymous compliment by messaging the page with the compliment, which the anonymous creator will then post and tag.

“I think that with so much negativity, on the Internet, especially, it’s important to have a safe place where students can feel supported,” the anonymous student said. “Although I love McCallum, it is easy to feel lost with so many people around. I hope that Mac Compliments provides a sense of connection and community to everyone who participates. My goal for creating the page was to make people feel like their best traits aren’t going unnoticed. For example, the idea that somebody is inspired by your good attitude could inspire you to stay positive. It just seemed like such a purely positive

idea, and I was excited to bring the idea to McCallum.”

Though the page has gotten a lot of attention among McCallum students on Facebook, the creator said he/she is not surprised.

“I know most of the students are very loving and encouraging people,” the student said. “I am not surprised, just lucky to be the one to get to see it all. I have heard people talking about it at school, saying both positive and negative things. I have gotten a lot of really nice messages on Facebook about what the project means to them, and it cancels out any doubts or worries I have about the page.”

The creator pledged to stay anonymous and maintain the anonymity of those who submit a compliment to post on the page.

“Anonymity is important to me because I don’t want anyone to feel judged or concerned about the compliments they send in,” the student said. “I don’t plan on ever telling anyone who I am. The only one besides me who knows is my pet.”

The only rules on the page are that hate messages and profanity will not be tolerated. The page’s description suggests that students compliment people they don’t talk to otherwise as well as people they talk to every day to spread some love.

“I so admire all of the complimenters, especially those who compliment someone they only know peripherally or might be afraid to talk to in person,” the creator said. “I think every single person who has taken the time to submit a compliment has done something very important.”

SEREN VILLWOCKadvertisement manager

09the shield feature feb. 8, 2013

Mixing culturesMac welcomes Japanese exchange teacher

VIOLET ACEVEDOstaff reporter

It was a hot and simmering day in July when a group of Japanese women stepped off a plane in Texas. They were sent here by their government to study American teaching methods and improve their Eng-lish. Among them was Yoshioka Megumi.

“I wanted to go to America for a long time; unfortunately, I couldn’t [before],” Megumi said. “So I applied [for this pro-gram].”

As a part of the Japanese Ministry Program for English Teachers in Japan, Megumi gained a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience America first-hand. She was in the country for six months, spending her last weeks at McCallum High School. She left Jan. 17.

“I hadn’t [known she was coming] be-fore Sensei mentioned her,” senior Rozlyn Roberts, a Japanese student, said.

Japanese teacher Sensei Toshio Nishi-da was the primary host teacher for Megu-mi. However, since Nishida is only at McCallum on B days, he needed another teacher to help out, so he went to Spanish teacher Karen Kasmiroski.

“I did it because I lived in Japan for five-and-a-half years,” Kasmiroski said.

After she knew who her host teachers were going to be, Megumi was able to fo-cus on her learning.

“[I saw] how different and similar peo-ple are. [In America], they have confidence and it looks very cool,” Megumi said. “In Japan, sometimes for me, I hesitate. In America people can do whatever they want to do. It’s very liberal and free.”

Some of her opinions came from sitting in on numerous classes, including those of English teacher Eric Wydeven as well as those of dance teacher Rachel Murray and science teacher Nicole Sorto and many more.

“I was surprised of the differences be-tween Japanese and American students,” Megumi said. “They say their own opinion in class.”

This unique perspective is what Megu-

mi has shared with McCallum. Besides observing classes, she taught lessons about her country and culture, spending the ma-jority of her time in Nishida’s class.

“She taught [us] about mostly Japanese culture,” Roberts said. “She taught us how the Japanese school system differed from ours. The differences were interesting. Kids [in Japan] are in charge of cleaning their own school, cook for and cater to each oth-er at lunch.”

Megumi also got a chance to teach stu-dents in other classes, including those of English teacher Alissa Bell and business teacher Richard Fidelman.

“There’s been really good feedback from students. They all enjoyed it. The students all seemed really interested,” Kas-miroski said. “For some she’s the only real Japanese person they’ve talked to. It’s a

great experience to know how people are like on the other side of the world. It’s im-portant for everyone.”

Including Megumi. She said it was important to be given the chance to view American culture.

“Whenever I learn about another cul-ture, it makes me think about my own

culture,” Megumi said. “To accept other cultures is impor-tant. I want [American students] to be proud to be of their American culture be-

cause Americans are awesome.”She was this enthusiastic about the

whole experience. She brought a positive attitude to each class she visited, giving her the strength to get over language and culture barriers.

“She spoke English pretty well, but it was definitely still in the works,” Roberts

said. “She mostly just skipped words here and there. [But] I thought she was very nice, polite and positive. She did not get discouraged when some people talked during class, and held her own in teaching the class and keeping us interested.”

In fact, overall, in Megumi’s opinion, the majority of people who interacted with her were very friendly.

“The students and teachers were kind all the time. The most impressive thing was the people in Austin. They were al-ways smiling,” Megumi said. “They were so kind. Whenever I got lost, they helped me. Some would take me to that place. They were very friendly. Super sweet.”

That is what Megumi treasures the most about her trip here. Out of the many things she gathered in America, her “trea-sures” are the calligraphy and good-bye notes the Japanese class gave her before she left.

“When they give me my treasures, I was almost crying. I’ll show my students,” Megumi said. “For them, it’s almost unbe-lievable.”

But Megumi was not the only one who enjoyed her brief stay in America.

“I would like to learn more in-depth about her culture,” Roberts said. “It was a joy to be around her.”

Kasmiroski feels the same.“I’ve enjoyed seeing her and being that

person that she talks to about her experi-ences,” she said. “It reminds me of when I was in Japan. It brings back pleasant mem-ories for me. It’s a pleasure to think that hopefully I was doing the same for her. It’s been a lot of fun. She’s very dedicated. I hope that we can keep in touch.”

Whether or not that happens is un-known, but there are some parting words Megumi wished to give the students and teachers of McCallum.

“I want to say thank you to everyone,” she said. “Kasmiroski and Nishida. The foreign language [department]. The teach-ers that accepted me to have a presentation even though they were very busy. [And] all the students in McCallum High School. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

Yoshioka MegumiJapanese exchange teacher

“ I want to say thank you to everyone...

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

”

Yoshioka Megumi shows off her “treasures,” good-by notes from the Japanese class. Photo and graphic by Violet acevedo.

10 the shieldfeaturefeb. 8, 2013

Tales from behind the wheelStudents share stories of wrecks while they were driving

Teens never seem to think about it. They get it into their minds that they can outlive anything, that they can even beat death.

However, based on the most recently available figures, car accidents are the lead-ing cause of teen deaths between the ages of 16-20. In fact, according to the CDC, teens are three times more likely to get in a wreck compared to their adult counter-parts.

McCallum students are no exception. Numerous Knights have been in the driv-er’s seat when their car has been hit. Three of these students are sophomore Tabitha Copeland, junior Violett Beane and junior Ashlyn Eddy.

VIOLET ACEVEDOstaff reporter

Ashlyn Eddy

When Eddy set off that morning, she had no idea her day would contain an event which to her was the unimagi-nable. It happened near the McCallum campus, on her way to Thunderbird’s coffee shop. She was turning left to-wards the shop, mind elsewhere, when it happened: Her car was hit.

“I was shocked,” Eddy said. “I didn’t understand. I didn’t believe what was happening. It took me a second to process what happened. I was freaked out about it. I just started driving three months before.”

While she was turning, someone, a person she didn’t see, collided with her passenger side. No one was hurt, but Eddy did get a ticket and went to court.

“It sucked because it was my fault because I didn’t yield the right of way,” she said. “[When I was turning] I was like ‘I don’t see anyone.’ I didn’t process it.”

Like others, this experience has changed the way Eddy thinks about

her driving decisions, even making her think twice before getting behind the wheel.

“I’m scared to drive now because of this. I’m really trying to prevent it from happening again,” she said. “You just have to be aware of so many things at once, pedestrians, other cars coming into your lane and more. You have to learn to be really good multi-tasker [to drive].”

With her heightened attention to the dangers of the road, Eddy is doing all she can to prevent a repeat of her ac-cident. And through her vigilance, she has realized important realities about driving.

“[I realized] you can get in an ac-cident,” she said. “You are vulnerable. You are not in this safe box carrying you around. Don’t think you’re never going to get in an accident. I thought, ‘Oh, it’s not going to be me. I’m not one of those teens that’s in a wreck their first year.’ Just be safer than you think you have to be.”

Tabitha Copeland

The highlights of hundreds of cars were outshining the stars that night downtown during the Formula One race. Copeland had only been driving a week. After meeting her friends for dinner, she was heading home on Cesar Chavez. She was passing through an in-tersection when she was hit by a drunk driver making an illegal left.

“I didn’t see him at all because there were so many headlights,” Copeland said. “He didn’t stop and I didn’t either.”

After the accident, her knees were so swollen she couldn’t walk on them for two days. However, it could’ve been much worse. At the time of the crash she was driving a ‘60s station wagon with no airbag.

“I should’ve been driving a better car,” Copeland said. “The only thing that kept me in the car was the seat belt.”

Surviving the wreck was only half the battle.

“Ever since then, I’ve been afraid to drive. I try to avoid driving at all costs,”

Violett Beane

It was a dreary, drizzly day. Clouds were in the sky, and the highway was in its normal busy state when Beane was on the road. She was coming off the on ramp when the worst happened: her brakes failed. She tried to swerve off onto the shoulder but didn’t make it. She crashed into another car.

“I thought I’d died because my air bag came out and there was all this powder everywhere,” Beane said. “For a split second I thought, ‘Is this heav-en?’ I got out and I was crying. But the guy was really nice about it.”

Things would’ve been different if Beane had known at the time what exactly went wrong. The brakes didn’t

she said. “When I drive through an in-tersection, I’m much more cautious. I don’t drive during rush hour. If I do, I don’t drive on the highway or on big roads. I know exactly where I’m going so I’m not wondering around. I try not to drive with more than one person even if they’re family. I do try to drive with one other person, though, so I have two sets of eyes.”

Despite her new self-enforced safe-ty rules, when she contemplates her chances of getting in another wreck, she takes on a rather pessimistic tone.

“I think my chances are very high,” she said. “People are stupid; I’m stupid at times. I don’t pretend it won’t hap-pen. Better to drive with that mentality because it’s safer.”

This experience has taught her a lot, making her more aware of the dangers of driving, dangers she wishes to share to others.

“Don’t drive drunk. Don’t text while driving,” Copeland said. “But enjoy driving, and love other drivers even though they can be stupid.”

completely fail. Bubbles were in the brake fluid, reducing the hydraulic pressure and making it difficult for the brakes to do their job. If she had only pumped the brakes, she would’ve been able to stop.

“I didn’t think about letting go [of the brake pedal]. I didn’t know to pump the brake,” Beane said. “I couldn’t even put on the emergency break; it was happening too fast for me to think of it.”

Despite experiencing something that would put many people off driving, Beane is as excited as ever to get behind the wheel. But this time, she does so with more knowledge and awareness.

“I love driving, [but] I use more caution now,” she said. “Hopefully [my chances of getting in another wreck] are zero, when it’s my fault at least. I can’t stop anyone else

from hitting me.”It is because of that realization that

she has some words of advice for her fellow teen drivers.

“Be careful on roads,” Beane said. “Every day you get in a car, you risk your life. A lot of people don’t realize that that the car is like a weapon, like a gun.”

For more info, visit KeeptheDrive.com

11the shield feature feb. 8, 2013

Teachers and TiarasAV Club produces McCallum’s first faculty pageant

GINGER BICKLEY staff reporter

English teacher Nikki Northcutt won the first-ever teacher pageant Jan. 24.

Members of the AV Club came up with the idea for the teacher pageant as a fund-raiser.

“We we’re looking for ideas for fund-raisers, to raise money for a new recording studio and other equipment,” sophomore Thomas Magnison said. “One of the ideas that came up was a pageant for teachers, It was just kind of funny, and I knew kids would love to see their teachers perform their talents and wear crazy costumes.”

The audience selected Northcutt after she performed karaoke as her talent.

“A lot of the audience members prob-ably enjoyed her performing,” Magnison said. “She sang “We are the Champions,” which was probably really popular.”

Northcutt said she was surprised by her win.

“This is my second year here at McCal-

lum,” she said. “I’m new, so I was flattered and surprised.”

Northcutt said her favorite act was English teacher Flor Mota’s salsa making.

“I liked Ms.Mota’s act because it re-minded me of a Robert Palmer video from the ‘80s,” Northcutt said.

Many McCallum teachers participated in the pageant.

“At first we we’re thinking about hold-ing some sort of voting system, but in the end we just tried to get as many teachers as possible, so if they want to they can join.” Magnison said.

Lots of preparation went into putting on the new event.

“We had one rehearsal which was the day before, so it was kind of hectic. But other than that it was mostly just getting everything ready, preparing questions and thinking about how we we’re going to structure the pageant,” Magnison said

Northcutt also prepared for the event. “I did (rehearse) embarrassingly in my

car,” she said. “I also had to go to Dress

Barn and find the ugliest, shiniest dress I could find, and then I had to go to DSW and find some drag queen-sized shoes, and I had to buy a karaoke version of Queen’s “We are the Champions” on iTunes, and that’s about it. My students were very sup-portive. I’d like to thank Laura Rodriguez for letting me borrow her dozen roses to hold while I taught class the day before.”

There are plans to continue the pageant and make it an annual McCallum tradition.

“Hopefully, we’re going to try and get the teachers to do it again,” Magnison said. “Hopefully we’ll have more creative ques-tions and maybe even some sort of judge.”

Northcutt said she was not sure if she would participate next year.

“I’m not sure on the rules,” she said. “I think I might have to hand my tiara to the next person, so I’m not sure if I’m allowed to compete next year.”

Magnison said the pageant was a suc-cess.

“I think we made well over $600, so that will definitely help,” Magnison said.

history teacher Bill Staples, dec-orates a cake as his talent. the cake was later auctioned off as part of the fundraiser.

english teacher nikki northcutt sings Queen’s “we are the Cham-pions” as her talent at the teacher pageant. “i just really like to sing bad karaoke, ” she said. Photos by tiffany Scott.

Math teacher Scott Pass, assistant Principal Sophia Sherline, orchesta director Ricky Pringle and english teacher nikki northcutt dance in a segment of the teacher pageant.

Spanish teacher Juana Gun dances as her talent.

The ever-present Spark. The fire it lights. The memories it creates. This ambiguous creative fuel is what de-

signers in the eighth-annual McCallum Benefit Fashion Show hope to capture.

“Spark is a lot of things,” senior co-director Sophie Levy said. “The whole idea of our show was for the designers to show us what sparked them in life and reflect it in a fash-ion line. We want to bring out the spark of in-spiration in the designers, audience and models that makes life exciting. We think the theme is very much about confidence and personal inspi-ration.”

The show, entitled SPARK, is co-directed by Levy and senior Maeve Richards.

The pair, who have been involved in the fash-ion show since sophomore year, are finally able to express their “spark” in a show they can call their own.

“This year we really wanted to focus on the designers and what inspires them in art and in design,” Richards said. “We are using a very simple set, mostly black, that leads back to the designers and their creations. For the models we really wanted to focus on natural beauty and a clean, fresh face. We really wanted girls and boys who exude confidence and natural beauty; mod-els that find beauty in themselves and are com-pletely okay and comfortable with themselves.”

According to Levy, the years as intern and assistant director were well-spent and helped the directors to execute their plans this year.

“Planning the show is extremely complicat-ed and time-consuming,” Levy said. “Bringing Maeve’s and my vision to life involves meetings with local store and boutique owners as well as our sponsors and crew. It’s not something one could do without already having seen it done twice. It’s also one of the most fun things I’ve ever done.”

Keeping with the tradition of donating the proceeds from the fashion show to a charity of the directors’ choice, Levy and Richards have decided to donate this year’s proceeds to the organization Dress for Success.

“We’re donating our proceeds to the Aus-

tin branch,” Richards said. “Dress for Success provides resources to women re-entering the workforce after being in a disadvantaged situ-ation; they have access to professional clothing to help empower them while looking for work. We think this organization has a great mission: to empower women and to create a stronger support system for people looking for work.”

To prep for the show, the models, design-ers and directors have been busy with fittings, rehearsals and much more.

“The audience will see myriads of talent from McCallum students as well as an extreme-ly exciting performance,” Levy said. “Our whole team of models, designers and crew makes this show extremely professional, and the show will be executed in a really exciting way. The audi-ence will not be bored.”

Levy and Richards said they love the sup-port they get from everyone, especially Mary Ghazi, their faculty sponsor, and senior Leigh Kim, their technical director.

“Every year the show improves; that’s always going to happen,” Richards said. “But, this year, the designs are really off the chain; our design-ers have really raised the bar. What really makes the show special is how many different people contribute to it. We definitely want to add a big thank you to Ms. Ghazi. She’s so amazing for staying through all of the rehearsals.”

Confidence. Poise. Attitude. Strut. These are what it takes to be a model, co-head model Corina Santos said.

“Originally, I was interested in being in-volved in the fashion show so that I could have a more leading role, like my sophomore year to be an intern, so to get my foot in the door I tried out to be a model,” Santos said. “But, I found that being a model you’re just as involved and in a much different way. I feel like you really get to connect with the people who make your clothes because this is an extension of their personality and how they want people to see it is how you are going to present it; and I think that is really important.”

This is Santos’s third year as a model and first year as a head model.

“As head model for the model workshops, I helped out coaching girls who were inter-

directors

Models 1. Senior Gobi-Kla Vonan displays a menswear design by senior danbi heo in the second act of the show. 2. Junior Violet Beane struts a custom design in the second act. 3. Sophomore Kate Pargaman and junior Yazmin Bautista walk the runway together.4. directors Sophie Levy and Maeve Richards and sophomore interns Megan Jones and Caitlin Sconce discuss the model lineup during the intermission break.5. directors Levy and Richards.6. Co-head model Leila willis-newton and Heo during a last minute fitting.7. Sophomore Sophia Stout and junior Katie Sanchez parade their clothes. Photos by Grace Frye.

1. 2. 3.

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feature12 feb. 8, 2013

8th annual benefit fashio

13feature the shield

ested in modeling for the fashion show with their walks, helping to boost their confidence and giving them positive criticism that would improve their walking,” Santos said. “Leila Willis-Newton, who is the other head model, worked with them on posing; and then for their audition the goal was for them to successfully combine both of those in a unique walk that would really appeal to the directors and de-signers that would show that they were really strong at walking.”

Inspiration can come from anywhere, San-tos said. She auditioned because of her like for a popular television show.

“I had always watched ‘America’s Next Top Model’ and been like, ‘I could do that, maybe one day,’” Santos said. “I thought that it would be really fun to wear clothes that people who actually went to my school had designed.”

Santos said one of the biggest fears of a model is tripping on the runway. The high stress of opening night is thrilling.

“I get really bad nerves that night of the show,” Santos said. “I remember my first fash-ion show my freshman year. I was so tense and kept thinking, ‘I’m going to trip on the runway, or something bad is going to happen,’ but as soon as I got out there I experienced the big-gest adrenaline rush I’ve ever had. The people are cheering for you and they’re clapping and you know that they’re enjoying your presence on stage, and that just really gives you the at-titude and the energy and the confidence to do the best walk you’ve ever done and you get to show off the clothes.”

On Saturday the Mac will be buzzing with models, designers and tech crew all waiting for big show, she said.

“Opening day we’re usually instructed to braid or curl our hair the night before. That’s usually the texture the hair stylists want to work with,” Santos said. “We get to school really ear-ly, like 7 or 8. Last year we had hair and makeup come to us, this year we are going in groups to a salon to get our hair and makeup done. That’s really fun because you get to relax. Most of the beginning of the day the designers are doing last minute fittings, and then we’ll just hang out because we have to stay at school. We eat lunch at school, and then we do a run-through,

like a total dress rehearsal with changes and ev-erything. Then it’s just waiting until the show is supposed to start. I can’t wait. It’s always so fun, and it’s proven itself to be an experience twice in a row for me that I don’t want to stop doing. I am definitely really excited.”

The spark is different for each designer. That is what the show is capturing; the indi-vidual concept of each designer of his or her perception of modern beauty, head designer Joe Van Overbeek said.

“One new thing that fashion show has start-ed doing is that they have become a lot more lenient on theme, which is a really good thing,” Van Overbeek said. “They are making it a much broader scope so the designers have more free-dom to do whatever collection is relevant to them rather than what is relevant to the theme. In past years, the theme has been really limit-ing, like they’ve done Maude or India, stuff like that, and it really restricted what the designers could do. So this year, and last year too, they’ve got a new trend. Freedom is really what fashion is about. It shows something new, the new tal-ent of a small sect of the McCallum Fine Arts Academy.”

As head designer, it is Van Overbeek’s job to oversee all of the designers and help them when it is needed.

“I think the biggest part is that as head de-signer you are more of a figurehead to the young-er designers; you get to offer them help that they need that they wouldn’t be able to get from other younger designers,” Van Overbeek said. “It’s re-ally about having all of your stuff together and being on top of things and being a role model for the other designers. Of course, along with that, there are the basic things like choosing the in-coming designers and getting to close the show and that kind of stuff, and you have to be a little more on page with the rest of the heads. I also do designer checkups, when to check on the design-ers and their progress.”

As the years go on, Van Overbeek said the show evolves with each new set of directors.

“Each year, each show, it’s like the rules are redefined by the heads and so it’s kind of the heads thinking like, ‘Well I want to do things this way, but I still need to follow these old

rules,’” he said. “So, I think it’s like this every year. There are certain decisions the head de-signer gets to make, and then there are ones that they don’t. Like this year I didn’t have a ton of model input, but I’m having a lot more input about the lineup of the models. After a certain point the head designer is just another one of the designers because they are eligible to win the competition, so there has to be an even play-ing field.”

Van Overbeek said he thinks the changes in the fashion world are well represented in his line this year.

“I think there are different kinds of fashion design, but the one that is really relevant to me right now is fashion design as an art form,” he said. “Because for a long time there was a consumer industry and there was a couture industry, and that was like the really impracti-cal pieces. And now, as haute couture is kind of dying out there is more of an interest in surreal-ism art as fashion, it is not so much a consumer industry as it is an art medium.”

According to Van Overbeek, the talent in this year’s show is different than the past years.

“Last year’s talent was a lot of seniors who had been doing it since their sophomore year, so it was very controlled, a little more con-trolled,” Van Overbeek said. “And this year it’s a lot of new, first-year designers. So I can’t re-ally define the difference in tier of the talent, but there are definitely some fresher faces and new experiences to be had.”

Overall, Van Overbeek said the annual fash-ion show is an important part of the McCallum community.

“I think fashion show is a really incredible thing,” he said. “I know some schools are trying to replicate it through their fashion clubs, but McCallum is like one of the first high schools to have a fashion show, which is just really incred-ible. And we are so fortunate because we have this incredible theatre, and these incredible art students designing beautiful collections and these really organized heads doing great stuff. It’s a really incredible experience, and I think a lot of people undervalue it, and I think everyone should come to fashion show because it’s just really fun.”

GRACE FRYEeditor-in-chief

designers

ion show explores natural beauty, individual inspiration

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14 the shieldsportsfeb. 8, 2013

Rudy

Pellegrini

TS: How long have you been playing soccer?Bobby Pellegrini: I’ve been playing since I was 4, so for

about 12 years.

TS: What position do you play?BP: I play center defender, which is also called sweep-

er, but we refer to it as center because sometimes we play flat back, so I am the defender in the middle of the defensive line. I prefer playing outside defender, but cen-ter defender is the leadership position in the defensive line. It is nice to be able to control what happens in the defense.

TS: How has the team changed since last year?BP: Last year we lost about 12 seniors, so we have a

completely new team. We are a lot smaller but we are also a lot faster, so it will be an interesting season. I think we have done pretty well adjusting to the new team; a lot of the newer players have been playing with each other for a while, so the chemistry was already there. We just need to step up to the level of varsity play.

TS: What do you hope to accomplish this season?BP: I really want to make sure the other teams don’t get

any silly goals, but an all-district award would be nice. It is definitely a goal I would have, but I’m not going to be upset if I don’t get it. I would rather have a good defensive season and play my best than worry about an award.

TS: What do you hope for the team to accomplish?

BP: It would be awesome just to make it to playoffs. We don’t have to win every game, but making it to play-offs would be great because we have such a new team. Last year was the first year we had made it in a very long time and we lost 2-1, but we still played really well, so I hope we can make it back this year.

TS: What has been the hardest thing for the team to overcome this season?

BP: Definitely grades, making sure we are on top of our school work so that everyone is eligible to play.

TS: What is your favorite part about soccer?BP: I just love the game. It is always moving and it is

really fast-paced. It doesn’t start and stop like a lot of other sports, which is cool. It is definitely a challenge to know where you have to be at all times.

TS: How does school soccer compare to club soccer?BP: School soccer is not as intense as club soccer,

but I have more fun playing high school soccer, probably because it is more relaxed. When I’m playing club soccer, it’s more long-term success whereas every game is its own game in high schools soccer, which is nice.

TS: How do you prepare for a game?BP: I have a rather vulgar playlist full of music that

gets my heart rate going that I listen to before every game. It’s mostly rap and dubstep music. That playlist gets me really pumped and excited before a game.

TS: What has been the biggest accomplishment so far?

HR: I broke 30 seconds in my 50 freestyle, which was awesome because I’ve wanted to do that for a long time. But all of my times have gotten drastically better, espe-cially my 200 free.

TS: What is your favorite part about swimming?HR: Parkas, they are the coolest thing ever. It’s cool

that we get to practice at UT because you get to say that you swam where Ryan Locate and Michael Phelps have swum.

TS: What do you look forward to the most?HR: Helping people drop their times at regionals. Next

year I hope we can get first at district.

TS: How will the team prepare for regionals?HR: We are practicing a lot harder because regionals

are on [Friday], so it has been a lot more intense and we are doing sets that are more specific to our events.

TS: What teams are in the district for swimming?HR: Just LBJ and Ann Richards for the girls. But LBJ’s

team is bigger than ours, so they already have an advan-tage. Even if we win every event, because they have so many entries, they have the ability to get more points.

TS: How long have you been swimming?Hannah Rudy: I’ve been swimming competitively for

nine years.

TS: What is your favorite stroke? Why?HR: Freestyle or backstroke because it’s the main

stroke, and backstroke probably because it is easier than breaststroke and butterfly.

TS: How does McCallum swimming compare to other swim teams you have been on?

HR: I like it a lot more than any other team I’ve been on. Everyone gets along really well, and it is more fun. Since we are all around the same age, we compete with each other in practice, which is fun and a good way to get faster. It’s really nice to be around the same level as most of the other swimmers because we are able to pace each other, which is nice because when you get to competition you are swimming against them and you are able to pace yourself based on what they are doing.

TS: How has the team changed since last year?HR: We have a lot more people, and we have a differ-

ent coach. We definitely work a lot harder than we did last year, which has made people’s times drop a lot. We have also been able to go to more meets, so people have had more opportunities to get good times.

MARY STITESphoto editor

Bobby

Hannah

15the shield sports feb. 8, 2013

Knights prepare for fresh baseball seasonWES JOHNSstaff reporter

Last season, the Knights varsity base-ball team beat LBJ in a winner-take-all district championship game after the two teams split their regular season meetings.

“They claimed to be co-district champs last year, but we were outright champs,” senior Jacob Haggerty said.

Haggerty, junior Kris Reyes and senior Andrew Childs all said the district oppo-nent they wanted to play most was LBJ.

“We just hate those guys, and they’re the biggest competition in our district,” senior Eric Counts said.

The Knights began their season the last weekend of January when they held tryouts. Coaches observed the players as they threw, ran, hit and took in-and-outs. Some players had the added benefit of being in the baseball class throughout the school year; this added time with the coaches helps them to understand the im-

pact they’ll have on the team. The varsity squad will have seven new

players and eight returning members.“The hardest thing for guys their first

year on varsity is that they aren’t used to the pitching and the speed of the game,” Hag-

gerty said. “There is a big advantage for kids who are in the baseball class because they are more mentally and physically pre-pared for the season.”

Coach Russell Houston started the year with getting his players in shape.

“We ran 96 miles, literally,” Counts said. “It was the worst thing ever.”

During the off season, the players in the baseball class kept their skills sharp with live inter-squad scrimmages. Scrim-mages allowed the players to stay in shape and gain more experience with live pitch-ing. Drills run in practice helped to de-velop skills at certain positions and helped prepare players for situations they will en-counter during the season.

“The thing we need to work on most is hitting,” Counts said. “What is going to get us far in the playoffs is hitting.”

The last two seasons, the Knights have been knocked out of the playoffs in the first round, but players have hopes of getting past that roadblock this season.

The team will start the season by play-ing in scrimmages against other schools before they enter tournaments in Fred-ricksburg and Georgetown. District play for the Knights will start in March. The first match-up with LBJ is scheduled for March 25.

Junior eamon Umphress and the rest of the JV team warm up with long-toss before practice. Long-toss helps to warm up the players arms and build arm strength. Photo by wes Johns.

With the most anticipated game of the season against LBJ tonight, the girls var-sity soccer team hopes to step up. Coach Nancy Honeycutt said the outlook looks good for the season.

“We had a whole bunch of seniors graduate last year, so it’s been a whole new leadership goal for the new group we have now,” Honeycutt said. “The biggest thing we are trying to work on is communica-tion and teamwork. We tend to want to sit back and let them have the ball and then

Girls soccer heads into big match against LBJ

The JV soccer team sits with 2 wins. The Knights last game resulted in a 3-1 loss to Crockett.

“We played well in the beginning,” ju-nior Kiran Joyce said. “Once the second half started, they scored, then scored, then scored again.”

With a large portion of their schedule ahead of them, the Knights have plenty of time to improve their record.

“We started the season with only a few returning JV players,” Joyce said. “Now we’re playing a lot better.”

The team’s next game will be Saturday against JBJ at Nelson Field.

JV soccer team to playLBJ tomorrow

The JV and varsity softball teams were announced Jan. 18. Varsity player Hannah Smith, who was accepted onto the team as a freshman, said the try out process was harder than she thought it would be.

“We had to try different positions on the field,” Smith said. “We were timed running the bases, we were given pop flys and ground-ers to catch, and we did a lot of hitting.”

Smith said the team really enjoys play-

The Knights swim team is preparing to bring their season to a close with their re-gional meet in Magnolia this weekend. Eigh-

Softball team ready for new season

sports in brief

The Lady Knights JV soccer team, and new coach Tom Gammerdinger, faced some tough competition early in the schedule, including Anderson and Bowie.

“We played really hard against Bowie,” sophomore Allie Faulkner said. “We really fought for the ball at the end.”

The team has struggled with losing players due to grades and not showing up to practice.

“A lot of the girls started the season without knowing much about soccer,” Faulkner said. “Now, they understand the game a lot better and have better control.”

The Lady Knights host LBJ tonight at 7:45 at House Park.

JV girls soccer continues despite low player turn out

Swim team competesin regionals this weekend

teen swimmers progressed from the district meet that was held at UT in February.

“We had a really good season this year,” swimmer Hannah Henry said. “We have lots of kids going on to regionals. It was a great season, especially because there was a lot of new people.”

try to take it from them instead of us taking control at the beginning.”

Honeycutt said the players enjoy being around each other and are supportive of one another.

“They support each other when they’re on and off the field,” she said. “They hang out together a lot and like each other, so it’s been really good and a lot of fun.”

ing together. “We have a great team this year because

everyone is talented and focused, but we’re all still easygoing,” Smith said.

The team plays its next home game Feb. 19 against the Wimberley Texans.

16 the shieldsportsfeb. 8, 2013

Cooperstown keeps out suspected PED users

WES JOHNSstaff reporter

Superstars have always dominated the history of baseball. Cy Young, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Jackie Robinson, Hank Aaron, the list goes on and on. Most of these legends are separated from the rest when they are elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Every year the Baseball Writers As-sociation of America meets to de-cide which players will be forever enshrined in Cooper-stown.

When the BWAA met in January to vote this year, they were faced with a group of players from what is known as the “Steroid Era.”

Baseball players have always looked for an edge during their weary travel schedule and demanding 162-game season, and some turned to drugs

Just two weeks ago, the Miami New Times obtained a list of names from a Mi-ami area anti-aging clinic that linked play-ers and coaches across multiples sports, including Alex Rodriguez, Yankees third baseman; Melky Cabrera, Toronto Blue Jays outfielder: Jimmy Goins, strength and conditioning coach at the University of Miami; boxer Yuriorkis Gamboa; and professional tennis player Wayne Odesnik.

During the ‘60s, the usual drug choice of players was amphetamines in the form of pep pills. During the 1980s, steroid use began to gain popularity in the major leagues, but many turned a blind eye to the practice.

One of the first moves against the use of drugs was a memo sent in 1991 by baseball commissioner Fay Vincent which specifically banned the use of illegal drugs,

including steroids. The memo threatened permanent expulsion from the game for players who were involved. Unfortunately, this memo was not enforced and nothing really changed in the Major Leagues.

When Bud Selig was made commis-sioner of baseball in 2005, he imposed a very

strict an-ti-drug policy on minor league players only. The new policy allowed for ran-dom drug testing, educa-tion and strict penalties

for those caught. The early 2000s were full of ex-players

revealing the truth about the effects of steroids on their careers. In 2002, Ken Caminiti admitted to using steroids dur-ing his National League MVP season in 1996 and for several seasons afterwards. Caminiti died in 2004 from a heart attack from the combined effects of cocaine and opiates, but coronary artery disease and an enlarged heart were contributing factors.

Other players including Jose Canseco, Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield have admitted to either knowingly or unknow-ingly using steroids, but still countless oth-ers deny any use of drugs.

The name most baseball fans think of when they hear steroids is Barry Bonds. Bonds owns the records for most home runs in a season (73), most homeruns in a career (762), most MVP awards (7), and dozens more, but many feel these records are tainted due to Bonds’ link to steroids.

Bonds’ largest connection was his in-volvement in the BALCO scandal in 2003. Greg Anderson, of the Bay Area Labora-

tory Co-operative, had been Bonds trainer since 2000 and was indicted by the Grand Jury and charged with supplying anabolic steroids to athletes. Bonds came under sus-picion during this time because there was no mandatory testing in Major League Baseball. Bonds insisted he was innocent and said his change in physique and his in-crease in power were due to bodybuilding, diet and legitimate supplements.

While Bonds was testifying before the Grand Jury in 2003, he admitted to using a clear substance and a cream he received from then personal trainer Anderson, who had told him it was flaxseed oil and rubbing balm for arthritis. Some leaked grand jury testimony showed he ad-mitted to unknowingly using “the clear,” a designer steroid THG, and “the cream,” which is designed to mask hormone ratios and beat drug tests.

In 2006 reports came out that Bonds was under investigation for whether or not he committed perjury during the BAL-CO investigation when he testified the clear product and the cream, given to him by Anderson, were flax- seed and arthritis balm. After a series of delays to his trial, Bonds was sentenced on Dec. 15, 2010, to 30 days of house arrest, two years of probation and 250 hours of community service for obstruc-tion of justice in

his grand jury appearance in

2003. The case is currently under

appeal.If Bonds truly did not take steroids, it

cements him as an all-time great in base-ball history. He played at a high level

throughout his career and deserves to be in the Hall of Fame ONLY if he truly did not take steroids.

When the HOF ballots were counted and no players were elected, for the first time since 1996, it was a sign that steroid use will not be viewed lightly in the eyes of the voters. This vote decided how steroids would be viewed in the HOF, and they made the right choice. Steroids give play-ers an unfair advantage over others, and

boost their performance to higher levels. Despite their con-

nections to steroids, suspected users still

had support from some voters. Bonds, Clemens,

and McGwire each got more than 16 percent of the

vote. The hype around the “Ste-

roid Era” took some of the atten-tion away from some of the clean

players on the ballot like Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell, Mike Piazza

and Curt Schillings. Biggio was the closest to the 75 percent needed for en-

shrinement with 68.2 percent, but in the end none were elected. This has happened before, but it draws further attention to the question of steroid use. The voters have decided that players who have connections with steroids have no place in Cooper-stown. Still, the problem continues as the investigation in Miami proves.

I hope next year Biggio will be voted in because he was truly an outstanding play-er. Biggio had 3,060 hits, 291 home runs, and 1,175 RBIs in his career. He played with the Astros his entire career, and be-cause of this he never won a World Series, but he did retire with plenty of accolades. He moved positions to accommodate the changes his team made, but wherever he went he put up numbers. He played 1,800 straight games before ever going to the disabled list, and he rebounded from tragic injuries, tearing his ACL and MCL in his left knee in 2000. If Biggio is never enshrined, there is a serious problem with the system.

decision by Baseball writers association keeps steroid debate going

illustra-tion by wes Johns

“ The ‘Steriod Era’ took some of the atten-

tion away from clean players on the ballot like Craig Biggio, Jeff Bag-

well, and Mike Piazza.”

17the shield opinion feb 8, 2013

CAITLIN HENSONstaff reporter

I grew up playing baseball at a ballpark called North Austin Optimist, or NAO. I started with T-ball, and then I moved up to Pinto. At NAO they have divisions; in order, they are T-ball, Pony, Pinto, Mus-tang and then Bronco. You start T-ball at the age of 4, and can play up to Bronco until you’re 18.

When I played T-ball, we had a set of twins, Nina and Tina, on the team, and they were my best friends. I remember when Nina slid to home base and landed on her arm. She broke it. The ambulance drove onto the field and then I became diz-zy. I fainted. But no one knew. Everyone was so focused on Nina, they didn’t know I had fainted until a mom saw me and brought attention to me. I remember wak-ing up in the ambulance and freaking out immediately, like any 6-year-old would do.

But that didn’t stop me from playing. I continued to get hit; every kid does. Half the kids dropped out because they got hit. But my theory is that if you play right, and if you hit and catch the ball, you won’t get hit. Practice makes perfect. If you don’t practice, you’ll get it.

I stopped playing when I hit Pinto. When girls finish Pony, they move up to Pinto softball, but I kept getting hit with the ball and couldn’t hit it, so I dropped out. Base-ball runs in my family, so I didn’t quit because I sucked; it just wasn’t something I didn’t love anymore. I loved it until I started soft-ball. Softball was so different, the way the

ball was pitched and the ball itself. The whole idea of softball felt wrong

to me, so I asked a coach I was close to if I could practice with his team. His team was baseball, guys’ baseball. At first the guys thought I was a joke, a blonde girl playing “big boy” baseball, as they put it. But once they saw me hit the ball to the outfield I gained their respect, not because I simply hit a ball, but be-cause I wasn’t afraid to show them up.

Once they saw how I pitched and how fast I ran, I played a prac-tice game with the team. I will admit the guys didn’t hold back, so I didn’t either. I ran three homeruns and six outs in the first

Stepping up to the plateStaffer remembers pros, cons of playing baseball, softball

two innings. At the end of the game, I got high fives and “good jobs” and a lot of “not bad for a girl” jokes.

I wish they could have a girls’ baseball team at MAC, or at least let a girl try out of the guys’ baseball team.

Next year, I might join the softball team at Mac just to see how they play. Not all teams are all the same, so I’ll give it a shot. I can’t judge softball just on what I played years ago. It might be hard to get back in the game, but I will put my best ef-fort in, and I’ll see where it takes me.

I guess what I’ve learned is that you can’t give up on something that you failed at once. Just because you fail doesn’t mean you can’t do it. My dad used to say, “Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday’s success or put its failures behind and start over again. That’s the way life is, with a new game every day, and that’s the way baseball is.”

the Blue diamonds in 2006 at the closing ceremony. Our team had just run from first base to home plate to retrieve our trophy. Every year we have an opening and a closing ceremony at the beginning of the year to wel-come and end the year. Photo used with permission of www.naopt.com.

A softball is 11.88 and 12.13 inches in circum-ference and weighs between 6.25 and 7.00 ounces; A baseball measures between 9.00 and 9.25 inches in circumference and weighs between 5.00 and 5.25 ounces.

When pitchers throw from 35 feet, the bases typically are 55 feet apart; when pitchers deliver balls from 40 feet, the bases usually are 60 feet apart. The smaller base paths in turn create a smaller infield area, which af-fects the defense of the infielders.

In baseball there are 9 innings (7 in high school) and in softball there are 7 innings.

In baseball, the ball is pitched overhand; in softball, the ball is pitched underhand.

“Every day is a new opportunity. You can

build yesterday’s success or put its

failures behind and start over. ”

Differences between Softball and Baseball

images from www.free-clipart.net

18 the shieldentertainmentfeb. 8, 2013

Last year, dance teacher Brazie Ada-mez choreographed “Walk With Me,” a story told through dance about Adamez’s son Drew, who had undergone chemo-therapy to kill a rare soft tissue tumor called Rhabdomyosarcoma.

“It is a dance production about our journey from diagnosis to treatment and what a family goes through,” Adamez said.

According to Adamez, her inspiration for the show came from her son and their family. Adamez chose to express how she felt in the form of dance, which is started the idea behind “Walk With Me.”

“Right after when he was still a baby, five months after his treatment, I created a small section of it, a couple of pieces,” Ada-mez said. “I have been building up over the years, and we did it last year for the first time.”

The dance performance targets family emotions of the audience members and the unity of loved ones. Returning cast mem-ber Leila Willis Newton said the dance connected with her on a personal level.

“This is my second year performing,” Willis Newton said. “I think that it is a beautiful dance After all the chemothera-py, Drew is still cancer free.”

“My grandma was diagnosed with can-cer, but luckily she was able to survive it,” Willis Newton added.

According to Adamez, 20 percent of the proceeds gained from admission tick-ets went to help cancer patients in Austin.

“I want the dancers to experience the emotion and know that they can heal through art and expres-sion,” Adamez said.

Audience members were also af-fected by the show.

“The play connected with me on a per-sonal level,” sophomore Arvind Hathaway said. “My uncle was diagnosed with pros-tate cancer, so seeing Ms. Adamez’s dance made me think about him.”

Freshman Haley Hegefeld said the dance incorporates more contemporary techniques.

GAGE WANNstaff reporter

Brazie AdamezDance Instructor

“I want the dancers to experience the emo-tion and know that

they can heal through art and expression.

”with additional reporting by Grace Frye.

“The dance is more of a modern style, which basically you take ballet and mix it up with more arm movements and expres-sion,” Hegefeld said. “The dance is called ‘Walk With Me’ because when the narra-

tor is telling the story, the dancers are walking you though the scenes.”

Returning cast member junior Cohen Lewis-Hill said the prep-arations that went into the show were ex-tensive.

“To pre-pare physi-cally for the

shows, I did a simple warm up and stretch series to avoid injuries,” Lewis-Hill said. “Preparing emotionally to tell such a per-sonal story was much more difficult. This year my role was less emotional, so medi-tative exercises were usually enough. Last year, though, my role involved crying and breaking down for 20-30 minutes. That involved digging into some pretty dark

places and bringing much more of me to the performance, which wasn’t always easy or enjoyable.”

Lewis-Hill said she agrees with Ada-mez that dance is an important medium of self-expression.

“Dance is unique for its absolute imme-diacy,” Lewis-Hill said. “Dance takes the most basic things we know—space, time and bodies—and uses them to externalize the internal in beautifully complex ways. Because dance is a physical action in time, it doesn’t last forever, and that immediacy makes it that much more rare and effec-tive.”

Lewis-Hill said she joined the show for the uniquely challenging dance experience and to help Adamez tell her story.

“This show really taught me how very personal art can have a huge, widespread impact,” Lewis-Hill said. “All you know is your own experience in this world, but when you’re willing to share something so intimate, it gives your art a very authentic quality and gives audiences a very strong connection with the artist. This was com-pletely Ms. A’s story, but it touched every-one who heard it. Everyone could connect, and that’s really beautiful to me.”

Take a ‘Walk with me’dance department performs 2nd annual cancer survivor show

Left: dancers act as cancer cells to represent the struggle choreographer Brazie adamez’s son drew went through. Right: Sophomore deniz Vega and junior Cohen Lewis-hill organize photos to symbolize reminiscing the past. Photos by haley hegefeld.

19the shield entertainment feb. 8, 2013

The lore of dancingStudent shares her experiences with ballet folklorico

VIOLET ACEVEDOstaff reporter

Crisel SuarezSenior

“High school would’ve been boring without

ballet folklorico. I really like dancing [in

it].

”

You can hear the ballet folklorico danc-ers sometimes after school in the empty cafeteria, practicing. The Hispanic beats, the rustle of fabric, the tap of shoes, and the sound of Spanish teacher Señora Juana Gun’s voice encouraging and instructing can be heard echoing off the scuffed tiles. Amid the jumble of dancers is senior Crisel Suarez.

“I started sophomore year,” Suarez said. “I thought it would be a great expe-rience, and I wanted to learn more about different regions and traditional dances.”

Ballet folklorico is a type of dance en-semble that was started in Mexico City in 1952 and has traveled to the United States with immi-grants. Its purpose is to showcase the various tradi-tional dances of Mexico, something Suarez is in-terested in.

“[Ballet folklorico] re-minds me of Mexico and all their culture,” she said. “I was born there and moved here in 2005.”

Since moving here, Suarez has become a dance major and is well experienced in different types of dances. She finds the dances of ballet folklorico, however, some of her favorite.

“[The dances are] not stressful,” Suarez said. “You don’t have to be strict like some others. It’s more relaxed.”

The different dances the ensemble per-forms come from various regions in Mex-ico, including Veracruz in east Mexico, Jalisco in the west, Nayarit in the south-west, and many more. Suarez’s favorite dance, El Torrito, is from the Chiapas region.

“Someone gets to wear a mask of a

bull,” she said with a smile, “and I get to dance with the bull and the kids [we per-form in front of] are like, ‘Ah, a bull!’”

The ballet folklorico ensemble per-forms mainly around Cinco de Mayo (the anniversary of the Battle of Pubela) and Dieciseis de Septiembre (Mexican Inde-pendence Day). They’ve performed at the state capital as well as various elementary schools around the city.

“It’s great to see the children’s [reac-tion]. They’re like, ‘They’re so pretty,’” Su-arez said. “I especially like turning because the skirt goes up, and the audience gets to see how dresses are. The flowers [on the skirts] are really pretty.”

One of the highlights of the year for Su-arez is the Pan American Student Forum

of Texas Confer-ence in San Anto-nio. It is not a com-petition. Instead, it is similar to a showcase where high schools across the state come and perform and show off their knowl-edge of Mexican culture.

“I’m really ex-cited,” Suarez said. “This year it’s

March 22-24. Last year I lost my voice for two days. I couldn’t talk; it was annoying. [But] our performance had glow-in-the-dark [aspects] and that was cool.”

But those “cool” costumes take a lot of preparation to pull off.

“[Before a performance] you have to have time put on your hair piece and make sure it doesn’t fall,” Suarez said. “The make-up’s also important so [the audience] can see you under the bright lights.”

For women, the ballet folklorico cos-tume consists of elaborate shirts and hair pieces meant to reflect the culture behind the dances they are performing. But Su-arez is quick to say things don’t always work the way they should with the cos-tume.

“It was on a Cinco de Mayo field trip,”

she said. “I was wearing one of those heavy braided [hair pieces], but it wasn’t tight enough. So when we were spinning, it fell off. It was funny because the same day someone else’s hair piece fell off [too].”

This memory is only one of many Su-arez has gained during her three years in ballet folklorico. She has gained many more thanks to the friends she has made while in the ensemble.

“[The ensemble’s] pretty close. We al-ways try to help the newer kids,” Suarez said. “We tell them, ‘It’s okay; you can do your schoolwork. We can help you. You don’t have to come to practice.’ With that support we have, we make [the ensemble] successful.”

But ballet folklorico is more than just showing off the bright colored costumes and making friends. In the end, it all comes

back to the reason it was first started: showing people the dancing heritage of Mexico.

“Some people have the wrong idea of what Mexico is,” Suarez said. “They don’t think of the culture. They think all Mexico is, is a huge drug cartel. They mostly think about the crimes they see on the news and they don’t think about the cultural aspects of the country. [That’s] important to re-member.”

Suarez plans to continue dancing in ballet folklorico ensembles after she gradu-ates from McCallum. She’ll either join St. Edward’s ensemble or Texas’s ballet folk-lorico company, Roy Lozano’s Ballet Folk-lorico De Texas.

“High school would’ve been boring without ballet folklorico,” she said. “I really like dancing [in it]. It’s a good experience.”

Senior Crisel Suarez performs at webb Middle School. Photo courtesy of Juana Gun.

20 the shieldfeaturefeb. 8, 2013

Man of the KnightSenior boys prepare for their Mr. McCallum 2013 debut

Senior Zoe whitworth photographs senior Sam hagood for the Mr. McCallum 2013 calendars that will go on sale to raise money for the Se-nior Class. Photo by Mary Stites

“People should expect to be moved in their soul by my performance. i don’t want to tell you ex-actly what i’m going to do, but i am singing a meaningful song about love and self-esteem.” -Gobi Vonan

“People will be so surprised. i’m doing a duet with Griffin [Stuesser]. We have been trying to keep it pretty low-key. we have been practicing our talent a lot.”

-wil Smith

“i’m doing two routines. One i will keep a secret, but the other has something to do with ‘Mean Girls.’ i know ‘Mean Girls’ by heart, so i have been practicing my surprise talent the most.”

-Brandon Corpus

MARY STITESphoto editor

With just over a week leading up to the annual Mr. McCallum senior boys pageant, Student Council, the senior class and participants are working to get their routines done and put on the finishing touches. Whether audience members are laughing at or with the contestants, senior boys have been preparing to woo the crowd with their Mr. McCallum debuts Feb. 16.

Since the first Mr. McCallum show in 2009, the male pageant has become a standard fundraiser the Senior Class puts on with the aid of Student Council and English teachers Flor Mota and Diana Adamson. The show consists of standard pageant activities that will accent the boys’ personalities and skills.

“Mr. McCallum is the senior boys pageant where they get to show off their talents, answer funny, thoughtful questions,” senior Hannah English said. “They also get to show off their bathing suit bodies and all of that jazz.”

With the show quickly approaching, Senior Class officers have been staying late after school, coordinating meetings and practices and running errands to prepare for the show.

“I’ve been helping with the photo shoots, getting the guys together for the pictures and meetings, making sashes, getting the crown, all of that stuff,” English said. “I’m the Senior Class secretary so I just do whatever Ms. Mota or Ms. Adamson needs me to do. I have just been getting everything together.”

Mr. McCallum, in conjunction with various other fundraisers the Senior Class does, benefits the senior prom, Grad Night and baccalaureate. The events the

seniors plan end up being expensive, but the fundraisers will give them a bigger budget for the events.

“The sales for the tickets will go to Grad Night, where we get locked into Dart Bowl after graduation,” English said. “So all of the ticket sales will go to making our Grad Night fun. And we made a deal with Whataburger this year; if you go to Mr. McCallum and then go get food from Whataburger, part of the money will go to Grad Night. ”

Usually the Senior Class has a senior auction, where parents and companies donate their products and various other things to be auctioned off to benefit the class. However, this year the Senior Class has chosen not to do

the senior auction. “Since we aren’t doing a senior auction this year, this

is one of the biggest fundraisers we will do,” English said. “Everyone likes to go and see the guys do crazy things, so we are hoping that we can raise lots of money for our Grad Night.”

The contestants are all very involved in different activities, which has put a delay on some of the things that must be done to prepare for Mr. McCallum. The big challenge Student Council and the Senior Class has had to work with is scheduling and getting everyone to the same place at one time.

“So far the biggest challenge has been getting all of the guys together for pictures,” English said. “A lot of the guys have sports and other activities going on after school, so it’s been hard to find a time that works for everyone. We have had to put a delay on the calendar because we still have to get so many pictures and Photoshop them, but we have been working really hard to make sure that everything goes smoothly.”

Even through the complicated schedules and long hours, English said she has enjoyed being part of the Mr. McCallum planning.

“I like being able to have a sneak peak of what is going on,” English said. “I like knowing how funny it is going to be and how interesting of a show it will be. I like that I have been able to help out and have things go smoothly.”

While many boys will reveal their hidden talents and amaze the audience with insightful answers, the contestants are expected to put on a good show.

“People should expect funny talents, interesting questions, funny answers, having a good time and laughing with or at the guys,” English said.

Soup’s on! Staffer celebrates national soup month in the kitchen

Impress your family by making this gourmet, honey-sweet soup look so easy. With the frozen cubes of squash you can find at Central Market, this soup is a breeze. This soup is perfect for winter with its creamy and sweet flavor. To all the tofu-phobes out there, I dare you to try this one.

Ingredients:2 10-oz packages of frozen squash 6 cups vegetable broth 1 carrot1 yellow onion2 chopped celery stocksOlive oil

Run the bags of frozen squash under warm water and set aside to thaw. Peel and chop the carrots and celery into small chunks. Next, slice and sauté the onion in 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Heat the broth in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Puree the contents of one of the squash packages in a food processor, scraping the sides or adding some warm water when necessary to achieve a smooth consistency. Add the puree, the contents of the other squash package, the carrots, the celery and the onion to the pot. Heat and cook for 20 minutes, stirring often.Meanwhile, prepare the tofu cream. Blend the tofu in a food processor until smooth. Add the maple syrup and cinnamon and blend to combine. Stir ¼ cup of the cream and the thyme directly into the soup.Swirl the remaining cream on top of each serving, topping with a pinch of cinnamon and fresh thyme garnish if desired. Makes 4-6 servings.

This delicious roasted vegetable soup combines flavorful ingredients for a smooth, comforting winter meal. The herb dumplings add a fra-grant and refreshing touch for a small bite of flavor.

Ingredients:3 carrots1/2 butternut squash1 sweet potato2 leeks2 medium turnips1 yellow onion4 garlic gloves, unpeeled6 cups vegetable stock1 bay leaf

Preheat the oven to 400° F.Prepare the vegetables by peeling and chopping the carrots, butternut squash, parsnips, sweet potato, and the white and light green part of the leeks into 1-inch chunks. Quarter the onion. Spread the vegetables and the unpeeled garlic cloves out on two baking sheets. Spray with cook-ing oil or toss with olive oil to coat the vegetables evenly. Sprinkle with two pinches of salt and pepper, with chile powder if desired, and roast at 400° F about 40 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Squeeze the roasted garlic from the skins. Use a food processor to puree the vegetables in batches. Add some of the vegetable stock when needed to get a smooth consistency. Next, heat the remaining vegetable stock, the puree and the bay leaf in a large pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often.While the soup is simmering, whisk the baking powder, flour and salt together in a small bowl to prepare the dumplings. Add the marga-rine and use a fork to mix until the mixture appears crumbly. Stir in the herbs and the milk to create a dough-like consistency. Drop round, bite-sized spoonfuls into the simmering soup, carefully using a spoon to immerse the dough in the soup. Cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes to allow the dumplings to cook through. Makes 6 servings.

1 cup flour2 tsp baking powder½ tsp salt2 tbsp margarine or butter1 tbsp finely chopped marjoram2 tbsp finely chopped parsley1 tbsp finely chopped thyme½ cup plain soy milk/dairy milkSalt and pepper

1 package soft tofu2 tsp cinnamon2 tbsp maple syrup½ tsp chopped thymeFresh thyme for garnish

winter squash soup with maple-cinnamon cream

Roasted vegetable soup with herb dumplings

With winter’s chill setting in, now is the perfect time to celebrate national soup month with delicious new recipes. I made four different soup recipes this month, each using a variety of different fla-vors from my recipe books to make some unique soups. The great thing about these recipes is that anybody can easily make a gourmet meal for his or her whole family with the right ingredients in the kitchen and a wooden spoon on hand.

In part of my cooking exploration this month, I talked with Taye Cannon, a soup chef in the Central Market kitchen, and learned about how the soups there became a classic Austin tradition.

SEREN VILLWOCKadvertisement manager

The Shield: How much soup is made daily in the kitchen?Taye Cannon: We make about 1000 pounds of soup daily. You need re-ally big kettles that stand up from the ground and can hold 100 pounds of soup at a time. There are also lots of different commercial utensils that you need, like spoons, whisks, strainers and knives. S: What ingredient is used most often? TC: We use at least 40 pounds of onion from local purveyors or the market daily in the soup-making process.S: What’s the most popular type of soup? TC: Chicken Tortilla Soup or Gumbo.S: What is the kitchen atmosphere like?

Find more pictures, recipes and the full interview online at

macshieldonline.com

21the shield opinion feb. 8, 2013

Here in America the Internet is one of the only places where our freedom of speech is truly used, and you can always speak your mind. This isn’t the case in many other countries, especially those that don’t grant their citizens rights as strong as ours. Since the Internet is shared by the whole world, people shouldn’t have the right to prevent others from experiencing it.

Freedom House’s 2011 report surveyed 15 countries on how free the Internet was in those countries. They found four coun-tries had “free” Internet, seven had “partly free” and four other countries had Internet that was “not free.” The report also found five of the countries were moving to more free Internet and nine lost freedom.

Recently in France, a debate emerged over a controversial move by the Internet provider Free, which is rated in most polls as the second most popular in the French market. The provider allowed advertise-ments to be blocked when users upgraded the software.

This has created many problems. Ad-vertisements create most of the revenue for websites when companies pay to get their ads posted on the website. Since this provider blocked ads, no users could see them. If you can’t see ads, there’s no reason to pay a website to put them on their page. If websites aren’t getting money from ads, they are not generating a profit.

Free agreed to abandon the policy, but this issue sparked debates on many websites over whether anyone has the right to censor the Internet. A popular technical website, tech.in.com, surveyed 47 countries and found that since 2011, at least 19 countries made policies to censor the Internet. This can cause large amounts of controversy within these countries, and can even cause a small revolution or pro-test.

A similar issue occurred when Inter-net Explorer 8 came out. It had a setting that gave advertisers your location. This

was turned off by default. Because it was turned off, advertisers were less likely to pay for an ad that would have something to do with location. This also caused a loss of profit for many websites.

Governments shouldn’t have the right to restrict information from their citizens. These restrictions could cause the same effect as the ad- blocking incident, creat-ing an unfair loss of revenue for companies that rely on viewers from many different places.

A U.N. treaty was signed by nearly 90 countries on Dec. 14 to give greater control over the Internet to govern-ments. How-ever, not ev-ery country agreed to this treaty. Over 20 countries sided with the U.S. and refused to sign the proposed protocols.

Many countries already have some sort of Internet restrictions in place. Some cen-sor and guard their citizens from the out-side world.

North Korea is the most restricted. Here, most of the country’s 24 million in-habitants are unable to access any Inter-net at all. Some residents can connect to an internal Intranet, which only connects to government media. Imagine not being able to Google that question that has been irking you for days. That would be frus-trating.

In Iran there isn’t much in place to block users, and anything there can be gotten around with a proxy server or other widely used methods. The main things are Western media sites, including Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. This is a prime example of censorship for the reason of keeping citizens from the ideals of western society.

China has its own filtering system, dubbed “The Great Firewall,” which cen-sors blogs, social media and politically abrasive material. Searches for any con-troversial material, like the jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo and any corruption scandals, respond with an error message. Again, these are bypassed with proxy servers.

These restrictions on searches are un-fair towards citizens. They should at least be able to know the bad things their coun-try has done. Think about what it will be

like to those people if they ever do find out their country isn’t perfect. Imagine if we didn’t know about all the bad things that happened here in the

U.S., which we see every day on the news.Here in the US we don’t have a com-

pletely free Internet. Copyright and other infringement issues can still give the gov-ernment a reason to shut down a website. This keeps Internet piracy down but also can restrict small amounts of information, making the Internet not truly free.

In the Gulf Arab states, political sites are often deemed “threats to the state” and are blocked. Any bloggers who post opin-ions that are considered offensive to rulers or users who call out for a political reform are jailed.

Many of these punishments or restric-tions are way over the line, ranging from fines to even incarceration. From the per-spective of other countries, I can see why you would block websites that go against the beliefs you have taught and believed in for centuries. Other places don’t have these long-held beliefs. Their censorship is usually focused on keeping occupants from the ideals of western civilization.

Keep the Web world-wideProviders should not be allowed to censor internetJACOB STRAIGHTstaff reporter

Many companies and school systems have some sort of restriction to most websites, which can go either way. On one hand, you are restricting their rights to information, and if they do get caught on unproductive websites, that can be dealt with. Some of the blocked website may have information the workers need, depending on the job. This could create many different issues.

On the other hand, blocking websites prevents workers from visiting unpro-ductive websites, which can effectively increase the productivity. If workers are more productive, the company is going to be more successful. Censorship for the rea-son of productivity is a completely other is-sue. Here in Austin ISD, we have are own censored servers. Nobody argues against it because this is a place for focusing and not for random Internet videos or games.

Restricting the Internet basically makes the whole original idea of a “World Wide Web” irrelevant because it wouldn’t be world-wide, considering many parts of the world wouldn’t be able to connect. Another issue is that it wouldn’t have the endless websites full of information be-cause the information would be censored by countries and providers.

Another thing countries do to limit the freedom of Internet usage is inspect the emails and any other information sent on-line. Many countries do this, including the US. This is seen by some as an infringe-ment of our right to freedom of speech.

However, others say it can help solve and prevent crimes. Emails can be used as evidence and greatly reduce the amount of time it takes to solve these crimes. This is fine as long as it its used for good purposes and not taken advantage of.

The web can also be used by activists to get help for an issue. In 2011, protesters in Egypt used Facebook to plan out protests. They also posted videos to YouTube to raise awareness of their protests.

Freedom of the Internet is a right and a value that should not be put into jeop-ardy.

22 the shieldopinion feb. 8, 2013

“ Freedom of the In-

ternet is a right and a

value that should not

be put into jeopardy.”

shieldthe staff

A.N. McCallum High School 5600 Sunshine Dr. Austin, TX 78756(512) 414-7539 fax (512) 453-2599

shield.newspaper@gmail.om

editor-in-chief GrACe Frye

adviserrHoNDA Moore

assistant editorCAITlIN FAlK

photo editorMAry STITeS

advertising managerSereN VIllWoCK

reporters

VIOLET ACEVEDO, GINGER BICKLEY, JENNIFER CAS-TRO, CAITLIN HENSEN, WES JOHNS, NATALIE MURPHY, JACOB STRAIGHT, BELLA TEMPLE, JAMAICA WONODI

The Shield is published by journalism students in the Newspaper production class.

Although students work under the guid-ance of a professional faculty member, the student staff ultimitely determines the con-tent.

Students may not publish material that is obscene, libelous, or that which will

cause a “substantial disruption to the edu-cational process.” Content that may stimu-late heated debate is not included in this definition.

The Shield operates as an open forum for exchange of ideas. opinions expressed in editorials are the ideas of the staff. opin-ions expressed in the columns are that of the writer’s alone.

letters to the editor are encouraged and must be signed. Positive identification may be required when a letter is submitted. let-ters may be edited. letters that are critical of the newspaper staff’s coverage of events or that present information that may stimu-late heated debate will be published.

letters that contain malicious attacks on individual reporters, the adviser, or the prin-

cipal will be rejected. Anyone interested in purchasing an ad

should contact rhonda Moore at (512) 414-7539.

The Shield is a member of the Inter-scholastic league Press Conference, Na-tional Scholastic Press Association and the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

online editorBAroN HeINrICH

23the shield editorial feb. 8, 2013

As a wave of controversy has washed over the issue of standardized testing, one must ask whether these tests are even pos-ing the right solutions, much less asking the right questions. The answer is they don’t. Nearly three million students in Tex-as each year slump down behind a desk for annual standardized testing that will take hours of their time. This high-stakes test-ing faced developments in recent years as the class of 2015 welcomed a new standard-ized test: the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness, or STAAR.

The STAAR was designed to improve upon its predecessor, the Texas Assess-ment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). With a compilation of more rigorous ques-tions, this test emphasizes “readiness stan-dards” to evaluate skills deemed important for success in later courses. And for the first time, students will be placed under a time limit of four hours to complete the test.

The number of changes demands scrutiny. Precious teaching time in the classroom is wasted on hours spent on pre-determined testing days to distribute and take these tests. Instructors are already forced to cover nearly impossible loads of information in a limited time even without consideration of the numerous hours spent

in testing rooms. In the midst of all of these downsides, it is important to remember one seemingly small but significant conse-quence of this test: educators are forced to narrow their curriculum to fit only subjects which are tested and exclude any exciting aspects of the subject unlikely to emerge on the test. This stifles the discovery and enjoyment that comes with education as teachers feel obligated to advise on numer-ous testing strategies throughout the year instead of instilling a love of learning in ev-ery student.

In 2012 alone, the State of Texas spent close to $90 million dollars on developing and putting into effect the new STAAR test. The money used to administer and create this test would more effectively be used if it were directed towards suf-ficient teacher training and resources to aid student learning. Too much money is exhausted in improving these tests when there is a clear lack of funding in public education.

In addition, the law that launched the STAAR test requires that the end-of-course exam count for 15 percent of one’s course grade. This is perhaps the most ob-jectionable aspect of the STAAR. Because the test now factors into an individual’s GPA, his or her class rank can, in addition,

be greatly affected. Other students in states not under this system have a clear advantage in applying for higher education. Their GPA is not forever influenced by a single test taken in a matter of hours. Now, not only does the test waste teaching time, but it directly affects students’ possibili-ties of acceptance into out-of-state universities.

It isn’t that the state should not be held accountable for its students. Standardized test-ing does allow for the state to recognize gaps in service to different socioeconomic groups. The test should remain operating only for that purpose. And if it is to stay, the illogical 15 percent rule must be abolished. Instead of obsessing over discovering deficiencies

in the system with these tests, the public should have faith in teachers and their abil-ity to know how to do their job as long as they’re provided with sufficient economic funding and resources from the state. As of now, even that needs mending.

Putting the system to the test

Cartoon by Tillie Walden.

photo essay24 the shield feb. 8, 2013

1. the Lady Knights varsity soccer team beat Crockett 4-0 for the third district win at Burger Field Feb. 1. Senior Grace Siegel watches senior tania Salgado go for a ball coming off of a punt from the Crockett goalie.

2. Coach nancy honeycutt congratulates Salgado after her goal on the sideline. “I like playing midfield because I get to score a lot of goals,” Salgado said. “But i also get to have a bunch of assists. Of course scoring goals is fun, but it’s fun to be able to help some-one score a goal and be a part of the play.”

3. Senior Katie Gernsbacher dribbles the ball towards the goal. “we had a comfortable lead on Crockett,” Gernsbacher said. “Once we are ahead of the other team, we get to try different things, put people in different positions, and work with different plays to see what works.”

4. Senior Molly Price and Gernsbacher run side-by-side down the field. “We have a really good group of players in our midfield,” Gernsbacher said. “everyone is able to play good balls up to the forwards, go up and dribble the ball themselves and they are able to recognize what works and what doesn’t, so we can really take advantage of our strengths. they are also really good about hus-tling back to defend.”

Photos by Mary Stites

1

2 3

4

Kicking the ball and taking names

Lady Knights varsity soccer team takes third win in play against Crockett, giving

the team a 3-0 record in district