The Dispatch: Issue 1

D
Vol.
Behind the
Fence
Peter Dang
Editor-in-Chief
A chain link fence separates the
old Bowie and the future Bowie, machines
whir while performing construction,
workers discuss plans and
labor diligently. Managers and engineers
meet to discuss blueprints and
challenges. Everyday, the site looks
a little different as progress is slowly
but surely being made.
Construction was started at the
end of the 2018-2019 school year.
The groundbreaking ceremony was
held on June 6. Phase one of construction
has been completed. Phase
two of construction is in progress
and on schedule.
“In phase one, we completed the
surface parking lot,” project engineer
Jack Whaley said. “For this phase
our challenges were mostly last
school year when we started work
after school ended and wrapped up
work before school started.”
The surface parking lot is parking
lot A which was made available for
seniors with the best attendance to
apply for a spot to park if they qualified.
The lot was scheduled to be
finished before classes started this
school year, but due to some permitting
delays, the project was delayed.
The parking lot was finished about
two weeks behind schedule, causing
the school to implement temporary
parking solutions at the Bethany
church.
“In phase two, which we are in
now, we are building a parking garage,”
Whaley said. “I’m excited to
tackle this stage of the process and
build a beautiful parking garage.”
Grade and elevation for the parking
garage was established using
markers, it was finished Sept. 18.
Storm drain improvements designed
to accommodate for the parking is
being completed. The week of Sept.
23, the foundation of the parking garage
was started.
“Page Architects have come up
with a really good design and they
are really driving the project,” Whaley
said. “Martinez Engineers have
also been a key part.”
Following the 86th legislative session, an
excess of 1,000 bills were passed and sent to
the office of Governor Greg Abbott. 820 bills
were either signed into law or were allowed
to become a law without the Governor’s signature.
The laws became effective on Sept. 1.
Many of the laws passed were of interest
to students and staff here at Bowie. The
new laws received mix reactions from constituents.
Laws passed included ones about
school funding, tobacco, free speech on
campuses, gun carrying in natural disasters,
transmission of unsolicited images, and
women's health, among others.
“There were quite a few laws passed after
this session,” social studies teacher Dalton
Pool said. “Some of them will have great effects
on our community, others will not as
they are very specific to a circumstance.”
A notable law that passed that will affect
Bowie is House Bill 3 which provides $11.6
billion in education funding. Austin ISD as
a result gave teachers with more than five
years of experience a 7% raise while other
employees will receive a 6% raise. AISD will
also pay less money to the recapture program
that subsidizes poorer school districts, leaving
more money to be spent by the district.
“Being a teacher I was interested in the
education bill,” Pool said. “I was encouraged
by both sides coming together and working
together to try to get more funding for
schools and to try to raise pay for teachers.”
Another law that caused lots of stir was
Senate Bill 21 which raised the age to purchase
and possess tobacco to 21. Supporters
of the law rejoiced that Texas was attempting
to prevent another generation of nicotine
addicts. Many believe this is in response to
INDEX
News 1 , 2, 3
Reviews 13
The foundation consists of a deep
pier system where vertical piers in
the soil will support the garage. The
piers will be between 15 and 25 feet
deep depending on the depth of
the bed rock. Crews will drill holes
down to solid bedrock. Afterwards,
concrete will be poured into the
drilled holes creating piers. After the
piers are completed, beams extending
between piers will be poured
out of concrete. In-slab utilities like
conduit for electrical wires for lights
and storm drains to redirect storm
water from the garage will be installed
at the same time.
“Our trade partners have been essential
to this project,” Whaley said.
“We have quite a few of them and
increased use of e-cigarette devices among
teenagers who had previously not used other
forms of tobacco before.
“For the past 30-40 years, the US at large
has had a lot of success reducing tobacco usage
and reducing addiction to nicotine, especially
in the younger population,” Pool said.
“But I think e-cigarettes have made that a
challenge.”
Following protests of members of hate
groups like Texas A&M University canceling
a rally by white nationalist Richard Spencer,
Texas passed Senate Bill 18 which allows any
person to engage in free speech activities on
Feature 4, 5
In-Depth 6, 8, 9
WICKED
WAX
Candle business
created by
junior
Caden Cooper
pg. 5
THE DISPATCH
FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 2019
Photo Essay 7, 16
Sports 10, 11
BEE
BUZZ
Junior Jayden Wu
starts beekeeping
to protect
environment
pg. 7
they are all beneficial.”
Once the foundation of the garage
is completed, the first floor
slab will be poured around the end
of October. Afterwards preparation
work like setting up concrete forms
for beams and posts will be completed
in order to start the second story.
“After we finish the foundation,
we are building up,” Whaley said.
“It will be exciting to see the progress
as it is made.”
To reduce their impact on traffic,
the construction company carefully
plans and schedules around the
school schedule. Deliveries of materials
and equipment are scheduled
before 7 a.m. or after 9 a.m. Construction
crews are scheduled to arrive
before school starts and to leave
before school ends to reduce their
impact on traffic.
“Everything we do here at Bowie,
we have to consider the school,” senior
project manager David Murphey
said. “With a campus this big and a
population of nearly 3,000 students,
we have to be meticulous.”
Student input through student
representatives on the project team
has been carefully considered and
implemented in some cases. Class of
2020 representative for the project
team senior Emma Davis explains.
“I brought up the idea of creating
an additional left turn lane onto
Slaughter,” Davis said. “The team
thought that was a good idea and
college campuses.
“There’s a lot of things that polarize Americans
these days,” senior Abbas Akhtar said.
“But if the fundamental right to express our
thoughts and opinions is infringed, whether
right or left leaning, it can damage the ideals
that hold us together.”
In the wake of gun violence in Texas, a
new law was passed allowing firearm owners
to keep their guns on their body for seven
days after a natural disaster even if they are
not licensed. Before, some firearm owners
had to leave their weapons behind if they
were under mandatory evacuation.
Entertainment 12
Commentary 14, 15
ATHLETE
PROFILES
Follow the
lives of four
varsity
athletes
pg.11
32, Issue 1
www.thedispatchonline.net
James Bowie High School
4103 W. Slaughter Lane Austin TX, 78749
they made it happen.”
Like many of the students she
represents on the project team, Davis
is deeply fascinated by the ongoing
construction.
“I think it's super interesting to
see everything that's being done,”
Davis said. “Especially because I am
interested in a career as an architectural
engineer.”
The parking garage with the rooftop
tennis courts will be the first of
its kind in Austin ISD.
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity
to build tennis courts on the
rooftop of a building,” Murphey
said. “It’s not often you get to do
that here in Austin like it is in downtown
New York.”
“This law will make law enforcement’s
job tougher than it already is when there is a
natural disaster,” Akhtar said. “Imagine people
taking the law into their own hands or
making threats in these already tense times.”
In the age of digital media, sharing of media
has become easier than ever. Some people
have taken advantage of that by sending
unsolicited sexually explicit images of themselves
electronically, also known as unsolicited
nudes. With the passage of House Bill
2789, it is now a misdemeanor to send such
images without the receivers consent.
“Too many people receive pictures they
don’t want and feel attacked,” senior Makena
Patterson said. “There used to be no way
to punish the sender or make them feel the
repercussions of their actions, but now there
is and hopefully this deters it.”
Women’s health advocates were angered
to see Senate Bill 22 passed. The law prohibits
state and local governments from working
with agencies that perform abortions,
even if the agencies provided other women’s
health procedures like mammograms and
pap smears which are unrelated to abortion..
“This law hurts women and society as a
whole,” Patterson said. “It’ll make the cost
of services higher, so instead of screening
people for things like HPV which can cause
cancer, we may have to treat more people for
cancer.”
Even though the laws passed this legislative
session brought out many different
opinions from constituents, the lawmaking
process allows constituents to have their
voice heard and their vote count.
“I still have complete faith in our democracy
and our law making process,” Akhtar
said. “Although I might not agree with laws
passed, the lawmaking process is part of our
republic that we hold so dear.”
find us
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Dance
Pride in Publishing
Phase one: parking lot complete
DOWN IN THE DIRT: A front loader is parked by the dirt mound which will be a part of the mound in the parking garage. The laser
mounted on the tripod on top of the mound is used to establish grade and elevation of the parking garage. PHOTO BY Peter Dang
State votes in over 800 laws following latest session
Peter Dang
Editor-in-Chief
JUST A BILL: The capitol building on a bright fall day. The 86th legislative session
lasted from Jan. 8 to May 27. PHOTO BY Peter Dang

2
NEWS
THE DISPATCH
FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 2019
The stewing storm of sweet smoke
Cade Spencer and Peter Dang
Managing Editor and Editor-in-Chief
A teenage boy hides away in a
bathroom stall as he slowly takes a
small device from his pocket. Lifting
the e-cigarette to his mouth,
the boy inhales a puff of smoke. As
he exhales, a light haze of sweet vapor
fills the room. This very scene
has become commonplace in high
schools across the nation.
As of September 1 in the state of
Texas, the legal age to buy tobacco
and nicotine products, including
e-cigarettes, is 21.
“It was like sophomore year
with just like everybody that was
in our grade was doing it,” senior
Ben Satler* said. “Everybody kind
of just kept doing it until they got
hooked on it, and now I know kids
that are actually addicted to it.”
According to the Campaign for
Tobacco-Free Kids, 19% of high
schoolers in Texas use or have used
e-cigarettes.
“I distinctly remember two years
ago, it [popped] up on the scene,”
Biology and anatomy/physiology
teacher Jessica Davis said. “I remember
because, well, there was a
rumor that it would happen in the
bathroom.”
Despite what commercial advertisements
may display, when the
battery of the e-cigarette heats up
liquid to produce smoke, it releases
aerosol into the lungs, not water
vapor.
“When I first started, it was like
it’s just, it’s a better alternative to
smoking, and people have been
smoking for 60 plus years,” Satler
said, “Then I started looking it
up and like popcorn lungs, and all
this started coming up, and I was
like, do I really want to mess up my
lungs at 15 years old?”
“Popcorn-lung” or bronchiolitis
obliterans,
as
described
by the
Texas Department
of Health
Services, is
caused by a
chemical in
vape flavoring
called
Diacetyl.
“I knew there were always health
problems associated with vaping,
but now I realize it is worse than
I thought,” junior David Ronald*
said. “[It] scares me for the kids
that did it not knowing the problems.”
Popcorn lung occurs when Diacetyl
scars tiny air sacs in the lungs,
and symptoms of wheezing and
shortness of breath can appear, according
to the DSHS.
“My science brain was a little
skeptical because I had a very tough
time believing that it was a safe alternative
to cigarettes,” Davis said.
“The combination of it being a
hot liquid pulled into your lungs,
which your lung tissue is always
When people go into the academic wings
during lunch, they are greeted by the silence
and emptiness of the hallways. At the beginning
of the school year, the administration
announced that students were no longer allowed
to eat lunch in the academic halls.
“Students are invited to eat in the cafeteria,
the fine arts building, the courtyard, or in
the C/D hallways of the academic building,”
principal Mark Robinson said via a schoolwide
announcement.
Along with the announcement, the staff
had a first-day student welcome message,
shown in homeroom, that asked students to
eat only in the areas mentioned in the video.
“The final thing we want to make sure you
know is that students can not eat in the academic
wings,” assistant principal Stephanie
McGraw said in the homeroom video. “Again,
all of the centerpiece [in front of the library]
is for you during lunch, however, hallways
are for students in the academic area.”
As the new policy is enforced, teachers are
thrilled to have the hallways be quieter with
no students disrupting their classes while
they are teaching.
“Honestly, it’s the best thing ever [because]
last year I had a ham sandwich
thrown at my door. It was thrown by a group
of freshman and they later threw one again,”
AP environmental science teacher Ashley
Spiro said. “When kids were allowed to eat
very vulnerable, with thousands of
chemicals present just can’t be a
good thing.”
As released by the Center for
Disease Control and Prevention,
530 cases of lung injuries connected
to e-cigarettes have been reported
as of September 17.
“I feel like most of the kids that
are probably getting these illnesses
from vaping could have also
come from like illegal THC [tetrahydrocannabinol]
cards,” Satler
said. “Those have no regulations
on them where these kids are, and
they could be smoking pesticides
for all they know.”
The CDC has also released that
16% of the illnesses reported are in
youth under 18 years of age.
“I think people just want to be
accepted by others and they think
it’s some kind of social status boost
when they [smoke],” Ronald said.
“People also vape because they
don’t want to do drugs, but they
still want some kind of title similar
to that.”
As reports of vaping-related illnesses
increase, the exact cause of
lung symptoms has yet to be determined.
“I’ve had the debate with my
own kids in this perception that
it’s a safer alternative to cigarettes,
that it’s just vapor,” Principal Mark
Robinson said. “That debate has
made me aware of some of the misconceptions,
and as a principal and
a parent, I connect with this issue
in a meaningful way.”
In response to the spike in lung
conditions connected to e-cigarette
use, the Food and Drug Administration
is drafting a national ban on
flavored pods.
“I think [a ban] may have an
impact at the youngest ages, the
middle schoolers and high schoolers
that are trying it,” Davis said.
“I would
love to see
even more
regulation
by increasing
the tax
on it so
that is becomes
cost
prohibitive
for younger
people.”
In addition to new state-wide
policies, Robinson explained that
Bowie has adjusted its vaping policy
to meet the urgency of the situation.
“I feel like this is like a lot of the
other problems that the schools are
asked to solve, but it can’t just be
all the schools to solve,” Robinson
said. “We’re going to continue to
be vocal and educate our students
about the dangers of vaping because
it’s our current reality.”
Within the new policy, a student
can now receive three days of ISS
for a first time tobacco offense.
“I didn’t let nicotine control me,
and I stay on task with my stuff,”
Satler said. “If it’s really controlling
someone’s life outside of school,
We're going to continue to just be
vocal and educate our students
about the dangers of vaping
because it's our reality.
that means that they have another
major problem to deal with.”
Despite an increased presence of
teachers in hallways during passing
periods and lunches, it can be difficult
to control e-cigarette use in
the bathroom.
“I’m not surprised
kids are drawn to it,”
Davis said. “I just hope
that they understand that
they are hurting themselves.”
Despite the prominence of vaping
on campus, Bowie is officially a
no-tobacco campus, meaning e-cigarettes
should not be brought to
school.
“We already know smoking is
bad for you, but we’ve seen this
just spread like a wildfire,” Robinson
said. “I would hope that anyone
who reads this article would
think twice and ask, do I really
need to do this?”
New policy provides teachers with silence during lunch
Brianna Lopez
Dispatch Photographer
”
Mark Robinson
Principal
*David Ronald and Ben Satler
are fictional names to protect
anonymous sources.
ART BY Sumin Kim and Cade Spencer
TIME FOR LUNCH: Sophomores Adelaide Sibley, Erica Lee, and Andrea Hascribein
(from left to right) enjoy lunch at one of the many side-table options across camp.
In accordance with the new policy, students cannot sit in A,B,F, or E hall during
lunch, however, C and D hall are available for use. PHOTO BY Cade Spencer
VAPING
What You Need to Know
As of September 17,
530 vaping related
illnesses have been
reported.
The legal age to
buy tobacco or
nicotine products
in Texas is now 21.
Bowie policy gives
three days of ISS
for tobacco on
campus.
E-cigarette use can
lead to shortness
of breath and lung
infection.
Sources: texastribune.org,
mercurynews.com, dshs.
state.tx.us, and cdc.gov
anywhere, there weren’t enough people to
supervise. The campus would be a total mess
after lunch.”
However, some of the students were relatively
displeased at first as they searched for
a new spot in crowded common areas such
as the cafeteria and fine arts building.
“I was upset with the rule because seating
wasn’t an issue but now seating is,” sophomore
Danny Burton said. “I just had to find a
new spot to eat, which I did.”
When the lunch period begins, teachers
stand guard in the hallways making sure that
students don’t go into the academic wings.
In the past, teachers have felt that groups in
the wings were disruptive to their class.
“I keep an eye out for students, and I
make sure kids who were sitting in the hallways
kindly sit in the common area,” biology
teacher Brandy Ramos said. “Most students
are apathetic to it."
As teachers monitor the halls, they must
also ensure that all students are wearing
their ID’s.
“I feel there are better things for them to
be doing than just standing there in the middle
of the hallway like soldiers,” sophomore
Elissa Wechsler said.
If a student does not have their ID on
their lanyard, they can be asked to go to the
office for a temporary ID sticker.
“It is sometimes hard to figure out which
kids are from the classrooms and which ones
are just wandering the halls,” Ramos said.
When the policy was not enforced, students
didn’t notice how much of a mess they
would leave on the tables, however, custodians
and teachers did.
“I think the students didn't notice it that
much because they didn’t have to clean it
up. It would be a wreck and either I or the
custodians had to clean [their mess] up,”
Spiro said. “In the past, I had to go out with
cleaning spray and paper towels and give it
to students to clean up. I would just stare
them down, but since I didn’t really know
their names, I couldn’t do anything.”
Despite the benefits the new policy offers
to teachers, some students have mixed feelings
about the loss of seating.
“I don’t know, but it seems okay for now,”
Burton said. “No matter what, someone will
be mad about this [lunch] policy.”

Cade Spencer
Managing Editor
Imagine walking into a high
school classroom to see a community
of students as diverse as a field
of wildflowers. Within this community,
students can freely share
their opinions, beliefs, and values.
In its inaugural year, a new class at
Bowie has empowered this vision
to become a reality.
Carlen Floyd is the teacher of
the new Ethnic Studies class, an
elective that encourages active discussion
about minority groups and
oppression in America.
“Ethnic Studies in some ways, I
feel like, is mislabeled because it is
the study of identity and marginalization,
and it is not always ethnically
based,” Floyd said. “It is the
study of people who have typically
been considered less than, why
they have been considered as such,
and the social, economic, and political
ramifications of such beliefs.”
In addition to ethnic groups, the
Ethnic Studies curriculum includes
LGBTQ+ and religious communities.
“This type of education is important
because it helps you understand
who people are and how
you can interact with them,” senior
Liam Kornacki said. “It teaches you
that you do not have to be scared
of someone just because they are
different from you.”
As of the 2019-2020 school year,
the Ethnic Studies course is required
to be offered across all AISD
high schools.
“Look at the AISD demographics,
we have populations that deserve
to have more emphasis than
a paragraph or chapter in a textbook,”
Floyd said. “When we decided
to offer [the class] to Bowie,
I went and started recruiting because
I wanted this to happen.”
Senior Mariana Ramirez felt
compelled to enroll in the class because
of the new perspectives and
discussions it could offer.
“Being Hispanic, I have never
really seen my culture thoroughly
represented in school or very
much in general,” Ramirez said. “I
thought this class would be a great
First FFA grooming day this year
Senior future farmers offer pet grooming services to staff
It's bring your pet to school day, well
not quite. Today is the first Future Farmers
of America grooming day of the year
in which any staff member can drop off
their dog with senior veterinary medicine
practicum students. Students offer a wide
variety of pet care options under the supervision
of FFA advisor and Agriculture
Science Teacher Amber Dickinson.
“Bowie has done grooming days before
I started here but many other agriculture
programs in the state of Texas also
do grooming days,” Dickinson said. “This
opportunity gives the practicum students
real-world experience for future jobs with
animals.”
There are two package deals which include
a full or half spa day for pets. The
full-day includes services from students
who will bath, dry, brush, trim nails, and
clean ears along with the owners' choice
of shampoo or colognes. It also includes
walks twice a day with pickup at the end
of the school day.
“Students learn proper skills through
the Animal Science Program here. During
Small Animal Management they spend
time on proper grooming skills and animal
restraint,” Dickinson said. “They relearn
animal restraint skills in Veterinary
Medical Applications and get to take the
groomed dogs out to play and walk. Then
students get to go out to their vet clinics
and practice animal restraint for about a
month before they come back to class.”
The half-day package includes all the
details stated above but pick up for the
pet is around 1 pm. Services can also be
purchased individually or added on such
as shaving and anal gland expression. To
keep students safe, shots are required for
all pets, as well as paperwork that must
be filed and turned into Dickinson 24
hours before the event.
“My favorite part of the day is getting
to watch my students learn real-world experiences
by dealing with customers,
practice how to handle dogs, and how to
properly groom,” Dickinson said. STO-
RY BY Katie Holme
way to learn more about my own
culture and the cultures of others.”
As the class challenges student’s
knowledge of various cultures,
the curriculum also questions the
foundations behind the American
identity.
“It is probably the most challenging
class I have had when it
comes to thinking about who you
are, what you have done, and what
NEWS 3
FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 2019 THE DISPATCH
New class offering: Ethnic Studies
Recently added course celebrates diversity and educates students on global cultures
ART BY Sumin Kim
you are planning to do,” Kornacki
said. “I think that this is an education
that people may not want to
learn, but the truth is, until we are
educated, we have unwarranted biases
that are in our life.”
In 2018, the State Board of Education
approved a statewide Ethnic
Studies course that should be implemented
by 2023-2025.
“We are looking at historical oppression
and discrimination and
how that leads to current problems
in all aspects and levels of
society,” Floyd said. “Awareness
is where it starts, and understanding
can help us imagine and act to
change the world.”
According to DataUsa, 160,985
people currently work in careers
affiliated with ethnic studies.
“I would argue that this is
probably one of the most important
topics to learn about, not just
for what it teaches you, but for
what you do with people in your
life,” Kornacki said. “If I had to
say that any class has given me
confidence that my generation is
going to have a bright future, it is
this one.”
As a member of the Multi-Cultural
Appreciation Club, senior
Anamarie Jarmon-Booker understands
how the knowledge acquired
in ethnic studies can apply
to the world.
“If we learn about people’s ethnic
backgrounds, then it can help
everyone around the world understand
one another far better,”
Jarmon-Booker said. “I’m friends
with several folks in New Zealand
and I’ve learned so much about
their life and culture just by conversation.”
Within the first few weeks of
school, Floyd set aside time to
develop a list of norms that could
create a comfortable and supportive
environment in the class.
“The [class] presentations
[have] had so much emotion going
into them and we are so proud of
the people who share their opinions,”
Kornacki said. “[Presenters]
were scared and nervous about being
judged, but then the class surprised
them, as they did with me,
with kindness and relatability.”
New student news source app
The Dispatch is now available on a new journalist platform
Apps provide user-friendly access to
millions of platforms daily. The luxury of
accessibility now applies to the Dispatch
in which students and staff can access the
publication on the new app called Student
News Source. Editor-in-Chief of the
dispatch Online, Kaitlyn Zellner explains
the benefits of the accessibility to her
publication and finds it easy to use.
“This new app is a great way for students
to access all of our content in a very
easy way,” Zellner said. “The website has
been designed for computer access, but
this app allows mobile access in a very
clean way.”
Student News Source is a hub of student
journalism around the country and
allows users to access publications that
use SNO sites. The app features the stories,
photos, and videos that are produced
by award-winning scholastic journalists.
“I like the app and think that my team
and I can specifically look at the app and
feel accomplished that our hard work is
making an additional accessible product,”
Zellner said. “I understand that students
are rarely going to search the website for
information but now you can easily have
everything right on your phone.”
Other features include the ability to
subscribe to notifications in which users
will be alerted when their favorite publications
post new content. Along with
notifications users can also interact with
content including options to save stories
to read later, commenting, and easy access
to promote/ share content through
other social media platforms. The app is
now available for download on Apple and
Android platforms.
“I think it would be good for students
to download this app because they can
see what's going on around campus or
even in the community,” Zellner said. “It
is a nice way to see what their friends are
writing, what stories include their friends
or even themselves. It is also a great way
to support our Online publication and the
hardworking students who create the
content.” STORY BY Katie Holme

4
FEATURE
THE DISPATCH
FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 2019
The power of coding: junior produces apps
Amorah Schultze
Feature Editor
The breeze carried chlorine
from the pool, soft
waves lapping at the shallow
end, enticing anyone to step
in for a swim. But he was too
preoccupied with his computer,
the sound of a keyboard
as steady as the beat of
his heart. The previous summer,
it was adding data to his
second app, Swim Stats. This
time around is the app Finished,
a homework organization
app that would render
planners unnecessary.
Junior Zachary Eilers has
produced two apps, Meteor
Storm and Swim Stats,
which are meant to be both
informal and entertaining for
students. He began developing
apps in his sophomore
year, when he found a Google
coding app called Flutter.
Eilers’ interest in mobile
apps was sparked from “the
way that our world is transformed
from mobile apps”,
and that led him to pursue
coding.
“I taught myself to code
in eighth grade, and the first
thing I did was I built an Android
app using a program
called MIT App Inventor,”
Eilers said. “You can kind
of drag these code blocks to
form the logic of your app.”
Later, in his freshman
year, Eilers finished the Java
coursework for Computer
Science in November. From
then on he dedicated the
Junior Zachary Eilers
PHOTO BY Amorah Schultze
While most seniors will be gearing
up for the final semester of high
school in early January, and getting
ready to go off to college, senior
Cara Spradling will
be getting
ready to
embark
class to developing his coding
skills.
“One great place to look
is a site called Udemy. It’s an
Online course marketplace,”
Eilers said. “The courses
that are taught through video
and so you code along
with the instructor, and you
learn from how they’re doing
everything,”
Eilers began to develop
his first app for iOS after
learning how to code and use
variables.
“[I] get a rough sketch of
what each screen’s gonna
look like, and how the user
interface is gonna work,”
Eilers said. “[Then,] I will
build out the screen, build
out features… Once I have
all the bugs fixed, and I feel
that it’s ready, I release it.”
This is how Eilers created
his first app, Meteor Storm.
It was all programmed with
CoronaLabs.com.
“The Earth is in the center
of the screen, and there’s meteors
that fly from the edges
toward the Earth. You have
to tap them to before they
get the Earth to blow up,”
Eilers said. “After a certain
number of meteors hits the
Earth, [it] blows up and you
lose the game. Your score is
the number of meteors that
you destroy before the Earth
explodes.”
After launching Meteor
Storm, Eilers discovered
Google Flutter, a coding
framework that determines
the general look, shape,
and location of any coded
items…
“A framework is code that
framework authors have
written [and] is designed
to take care of… interacting
with the phone,” Eilers said.
“The way a game works on a
phone is by calculating frame
by frame what the screen is
going to look like, and then
putting it on the screen. I
don’t have to worry about
that because I use a framework
that figures it out for
me.”
The “easy” format of Google
Flutter allows Eilers to
focus on the idea and design
of his apps.
“I really like the material
on the trip of a lifetime.
Spradling plans on graduating
early and using what would be the
last semester of her high school
experience to travel the world and
expand her comfort zone.
“I plan on traveling to Latin
America first, then Europe once
it gets warm so I get a balance of
cultures,” Spradling said. “In total
I’ll be gone for about five to six
months.”
Spradling sees this as
the perfect time to take
a trip like this as it’s
bridging her past
of high
design components within
Flutter,” Eilers said. “I [can]
plan out the application a
little bit more, because it
[makes] developing the app
take much less time.”
His second app, Swim
Stats, is able to generate
detailed information on the
different swim trials, times,
and bios on swimmers all
across the states using his
custom-made server on Amazon
Cloud. It’s Eilers’ first
app created by Google Flutter.
“The server gets the requests,
takes the name from
it, and plugs it into a form on
U.S.A. Swim Website to essentially
search for the times
of that summer,” Eilers said.
“[Then it] takes the HTML
page…grabs the little pieces
of data from it, and then returns
it back to you.
Eilers formatted his app
so any saved swimmer’s
name and information will
be instantly accessible, even
without an Internet connection.
“Currently you can search
U.S.A. Swimming Time, go
on their website, and search
for a time. However, it’s a
little bit tedious [if] there’s
no Internet connection,”
Eilers said. “One of the features
of my app is when you
search for a swimmer, all
the data from that swimmer
is automatically saved. You
can quickly and easily view
[their] saved times… so you
don’t have to go search them
again.”
He’s working on his new
app, Finished, this year.
“It will help [students] to
organize their schedules,”
Eilers said. “So that they’re
not cramming and staying up
until 2 a.m. the night before
something is due.”
Eilers doesn’t have any
way to handle user feedback
through the apps. He
said the suggestions for improvements
comes from his
school to her future and her aspirations.
“I have free flights that expire
when I turn 21 so I want to use
them now before I get too busy,”
Spradling said. “I’ve traveled before
and it’s one of my favorite
things to do, I love learning about
different cultures and how others
live their lives.”
Aside from having a love and
passion for traveling, Spradling has
also come to have a passion for a
sport not as common in Texas as it
is in other states.
“I’m going to surf and see the
world,” Spradling said. “I’ve been
surfing since 2016 and I’ve been in
love with it ever since then.”
In past trips, Spradling has done
numerous service projects
to help communities in numerous
countries, and hopes to do
more service work on this
trip as well.
“Service work
while on the
trip would
be great,”
Spradling
said. “I’ll
see if any
projects
a r e
friends.
“I might put my email
in the app and the settings
page,” Eilers said. “[I can]
create a form the user can fill
out to provide feedback on
the app.”
Zachary’s close friend,
junior Wes Wasserburger,
is someone who provides
feedback as much as possible.
He enjoys the features
of the Swim Stats app, as it
enables him to keep track of
any swimmer’s times.
“I like [the] effort that
he put into the looks of his
app,” Wasserburger said.
“It’s worth downloading because
it’s a really solid app
and there’s no product out
there quite like it.”
Zachary’s father, Bradley
Eilers, has worked in several
roles related to computers,
some of which are software
development, enterprise architecture,
and IT management.
He got a Computer
Engineering degree from
Texas A&M, and has worked
with Zach on his apps, encouraging
Zach to move forward
with his skills.
available once I get to my destinations.”
With such an expansive trip that
has unpredictable possibilities,
Spradling has the support of her
loved ones to help send her off.
“While my family and friends
are all supportive, I feel like they’re
still a little sad I’ll be gone for so
long,” Spradling said. “My family’s
most nervous about me going on
my own in a foreign country especially
surfing, since it’s such a dangerous
sport.”
One member of Spradling’s
support system is one of her best
friends senior Taylor Snyder, who’s
known Spradling since their freshman
year.
“The past two summers she went
to China to teach kids English, and
that’s when she fell in love with the
idea of sharing cultures, and fell in
love with traveling, which I think is
really awesome,” Syder said.
Spradling graduating early unfortunately
means she will not be
graduating on the same day as Snyder
and the rest of her friends.
“We’re also sad that we’re not
gonna be able to graduate with
Cara on the same day, thats a big
thing,” Snyder said. “There’s going
to be a missing piece of the puzzle
of our group.”
Snyder speaks out on how this
trip will also affect her along with
the rest of Spradling’s friends.
“Almost every Friday night all of
our friends go to Cara’s house to
hangout because it’s like a second
home to us so in a way,
it’s upsetting that she’s going
to be gone and we won’t
get to see her or her family
anymore,” Snyder said. “Especially
her parents because
they’ve played a big role
in all of our lives for
awhile now, so I feel like
it’ll just be a weird transition.”
“From the time Zachary
took Mr. Howard’s game
design class at Gorzycki, he
started asking me tons of
questions about how the Internet
works,” Bradley said.
“I really enjoyed those discussions
and they eventually
led to us working together
to create a simple web site
related to swimming. Zachary
decided he could create
a better user experience as a
mobile app.”
Nearly every industry has
been disrupted by technology,
as Bradley puts it. He believes
his son’s accomplishments
are important for the
future of his career choices.
“Amazon has changed Retail.
Uber disrupted the taxicab
industry. The list goes
on,” Bradley said. “The point
is that coding and technical
skills will be critical no matter
what industry you are in.
Not every one of the current
generation of students needs
to be a hard core coder, but
they do need to understand
how technology works to
compete in the job market of
the future.”
Senior graduates early to take off on a global adventure
Miranda Cardenas
Feature Editor
China
Mexico
Google Maps
PASSPORT
ART BY Sammie Thompson
Boarding
International
flight to...
Job Openings
There are seven million
job openings that
require coding skills.
College Requisites
Burning Glass found
around 90% coding
jobs require a bachelor’s
degree.
Specialized Skill
Coding’s becoming
less specialized: half
of programming jobs
are in industries outside
of technology.
Coding Language
There’s many coding
languages (Python,
C, C++, Perl,
Visual Basic, Ruby &
PHP, and Java).
Peru
1,154 miles
Costa Rica
2,412.1 miles
Italy
5,766 miles
Salary
Higher salaries by
$22,000, on average.
Careers
Almost half of all
jobs that pay over
$58,000 require coding
skills.
MIT: Coding Across
New Hampshire
is coaching local
teachers to integrate
computer science
into curriculum.
Growing Market
Programming jobs are
growing 12% faster
than the average
market.
Fast Company, The Guardian ART BY Amorah Schultze
COMMANDING CODE: Zach is working through
codes on the computer. He’s refining his third app,
Finished, ready to be complete by winter break. PHOTO
BY Amorah Schultze
Senior Cara Spradling
PHOTO BY Mia Folkers
Another person impacted by
Spradlings plans is another friend.
Senior Eva Dwelle, who’s known
Spradling since their eighth grade
year.
“Cara loves learning about other
cultures and meeting different people
so I’m excited for her to pursue
her passions out of her comfort
zone,” Dwelle said. “I’m so proud
of her for graduating early but
when she goes on her trip I’m gonna
miss her so much.”
Dwelle offers Spradling some
advice to take with her while she’s
traveling the world next year.
“I hope she doesn’t forget about
her friends,” Dwelle said. “But I
also hope she just enjoys her time
to relax and replenish.”
Entering a new chapter of life,
Spradling looks forward to expanding
her knowledge of foreign cultures.
“I hope to get a better understanding
of other cultures and languages
out of this trip,” Spradling
said. “I’m most looking forward to
being completely out of my comfort
zone alone in a foreign country,
but I think the hardest part will be
missing everyone I love at home.”

The heat is rising, soy
wax simmers into a bubbling
magma. He gently
pours the soothing fragrances
of lemon, lime, and jasmine
into the pot. Finishing
up the wax, he secures the
thin wick to the bottom of
a glass mason jar. With the
ending touches overnight,
these simple and environmentally
friendly wax lights
are packed up, taken to the
post office and the next day
are on their way to a satisfied
customer.
Junior Caden Cooper
started the school year with
the decision to be his own
boss. He created his own
candle business, MDRN
Candle.
“Working a regular job is
super time consuming and
I found
it to be
boring,”
Cooper
said. “I
found my
interest in
creating
a product
and
selling it,
which was
more flexible
and
successful
for me.”
While planning an ideal
business, candles weren’t
the original idea for making
profit, according to Caden’s
mother, Susan Cooper.
“Caden has always wanted
to start his own Online
business, and often came up
with ideal services and products,”
Susan said. “When he
started asking around he really
thought the candle business
could be a money maker
and after some research
found that making candles
wasn’t a super difficult process.”
Even with the flexibility
and freedom of the business,
Caden states the process to
make these candles is not as
easy as some may assume.
“I found [it] bene[ficial]
in buying all the supplies in
bulk,” Caden said. “I create
the candles in batches of
five, which takes about four
or five minutes”.
All the different aspects
to a business is a lot to handle.
Caden’s family does
their part to assist in the
business. One major helper
being Susan.
“I’m his bookkeeper, help
out with melting wax, and
dropping shipments at the
post office,” Susan said. “His
younger brother, Coy Cooper,
helps to prep jars, installing
wicks, and packing
orders. Overall, I have really
enjoyed helping out, it’s
something I never thought I
would be doing.”
Currently, Caden has produced
eight scents of candles
including Cinnamon, Vanilla,
Beach Linen, Honeydew
Melon, and more.
“All of the candle have
their own enjoyable smells,”
Caden said. “My favorite
would be the Oak Moss and
Amber because it is a forestry
smell, and is a candle that
works well all year round. “
The scent of a candle
is what makes them sell,
and Caden
seems to be
producing
the perfect
type of smell
according
to Caden’s
closest
friend and
customer,
Jordan
Riechers.
“The first
two candles
I bought
were the
Fraser Fir and Day at the
Spa,” Riechers said. “I like
the simplicity of the candle,
it is natural which makes
them very appealing.”
As an independent entrepreneur,
Caden has increased
business with his
own website, along with numerous
public networks.
“My website mdrncandle.
com overall has been what I
would consider successful,
and I sell candles for eighteen
dollars, which is below
market average,” Caden said
“I’ve also found success in
advertising and working on
social media pages.”
Susan states Caden’s
management of time and
smart choices have not led
to negative outcomes, and
showed significant profit
within just a few days .
“Caden finds time to order
supplies, do business
research, and work with
things Online in between
his schoolwork, lacrosse and
coaching a baseball team,”
Susan said. “He has had
over $500 revenue in his
first week of opening the
store, and has been communicating
about carrying his
candles to other local boutiques.”
Although Caden’s brand
is becoming successful this
year, Caden still plans for
improvements and additions
to the business.
“MDRN candle is planning
on making new scents
accessible with the seasons,
along with more sizes and
possibly different waxes,”
Caden said. “The long term
goal would be to expand
into soaps, reed diffusers
and maybe into some type of
home decor type of brand.
Through assisting Caden,
Susan believes the experience
of running a small
business is a perfect activity
to start and learn from
while attending high school
at the same time.
“Small business is great in
high school if you have the
drive to keep up with it and
have a good idea for products
people want, “ Susan
FEATURE 5
FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 2019 THE DISPATCH
Junior entrepreneur sparks up profits
Caden Cooper’s candle business offers a variety of scents and sizes for every season
Mia Folkers
Feature Editor
”
The most satisfying
thing for me is working
and having pride in
something you have
created.
Caden Cooper
Junior
CAREFUL HANDS: Junior Caden Cooper uses caution while stirring the wax, careful
not to burn his hands. Soy wax must be melted at around 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
PHOTO BY Rae Gray
MIXING IT UP: Mid-stir, junior Caden Cooper melts wax to make his homemade candles. Cooper’s candle
company has been making substantial profits lately and is projected to make even more in the coming months.
PHOTO BY Rae Gray
said. “Students have more
freedom to try new things on
a small scale, than when you
are older trying to pay bills.”
Even with all the work
in this business, Caden has
to keep up with growing
demand. Riechers believes
Caden reflects an organized
attitude for his brand, and
showed a clear talent in business.
“Caden definitely fits
the role as a business guy,”
Riechers said. “All the time
I’ve known him he has been
pretty curious about financial
content and I’m so glad
to see him becoming successful
in it.”
The experience of running
MDRN Candle is more
than just having a job to
get through the rest of high
school. For Caden, it’s building
and creating a passionate
occupation for life.
“I love business, it’s what
I want to do when I grow
up,” Caden said. “The most
satisfying thing for me is
working and having pride in
something you have created,
and then that time leading to
something people can love.”
While most people find
running a business a very
daunting and full time task,
Caden finds a way to maintain
balance and effort between
his candle business,
school, family, and being an
Under Armour All-American
lacrosse player.
“Sometimes it does get
kind of difficult to prioritize
myself and my time with
how much I have going on
because it can get overwhelming
sometimes,” Caden
said. “But I know at the
end of the day I’ll figure it
all-out and make everything
happen because I really enjoy
doing all these things,
and putting effort into it.”
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6
IN-DEPTH
THE DISPATCH
FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 2019
PROS
I am blessed to be in lot A. It's very
close [to Bowie] and traffic is not
near as bad as it used to be. -senior
Robyn Andrews
LOT A
CONS
One negative thing is that there is
only one entry point so I have to
take a minor detour around the
school. -senior Sarah Brown
One positive thing about parking
in B lot is that there is an easy exit
sometimes. -senior Camryn Cuchia
LOT B
A negative aspect of parking at
the church is walking to my car by
myself late after school. It's very dangerous.
-senior Hannah Bohannan
One positive thing about parking in
lot C is that there are always empty
parking spaces. -junior Kaitlyn Muras
LOT C
One negative thing about parking
in C lot is that we have to ride the
shuttle. It takes a long time and is
frustrating when you are trying to
get to school. -junior Kaitlyn Muras
ART BY Sumin Kim
BOWIE HIGH SCHOOL
The consequences of
construction on students
Faith Lawrence
Managing Editor
Changes around campus aim to increase
the maximum capacity of Bowie
from 2,463 to 2,900 through creating
new parking spots as well as new fine
arts and athletic buildings, according to
the 2017 Bond Program. On paper, adding
additional parking spaces for students
is a great idea, but students were
unaware of the magnitude of the bond
project and what it would entail.
SUMMER CONSTRUCTION
Construction on Bowie’s parking
lots began over the summer, leaving the
school closed to any activities including
sports practice, regular office hours, and
teachers preparing for the school year.
“We weren't able to start rehearsals
for Into the Woods as early as we would
have liked to, so it definitely put a damper
on those rehearsals,” senior Gillian
Griffis said. “We
were planning on
rehearsing like
two weeks before
school started. I
know a lot of organizations
meet
up before school
starts to get stuff
done and they
weren’t able to
do that.”
Summer renovations also led to further
complications during the beginning
of the school year like busses running
off of schedule and Lot A students being
displaced for two weeks.
“I know we didn’t have air conditioning
in all of our classrooms up until almost
the day that school started and we
still face some challenges with regards
to that, but I think our teachers in this
building [have] done a really amazing
job,” Assistant Principal Aaron Vohl
said.
PARKING GARAGE
Many students, including Junior
Amelia Crawford, would have prefered
if the parking garage had not been built.
Crawford believes the garage will be the
cause of more traffic.
“I have never heard one student or
member of the faculty say anything positive
about the parking garage,” Crawford
said. “The parking garage will take
forever to leave after school not to mention
that it will be very hard for inexperienced
drivers. I think that many accidents
will occur when students try to
leave, as it will be harder to observe your
surroundings. It also seems unsafe for
students to have to walk in the parking
garage alone at night after extracurriculars.
I feel like I am waiting for parking
that no one wants”
Junior Lily Albini’s main complaint
about the parking garage is that it will
be difficult for new drivers to deal with
”
and navigate.
“There [was] definitely a lack of parking
but I feel like a parking garage wasn’t
the best idea, especially with new drivers,”
Albini said. “I am definitely scared
and I will be hesitant to park in the garage
next year if it is complete. I overall
do not think it is very smart putting new
drivers in a small garage and I think it
will increase accidents from people trying
to get out and beat traffic or get in
and to class.”
PARKING
The conditions for having a parking
permit have changed since last school
year; students now will get only one
warning before having their car towed as
opposed to the previous three warnings.
This change is due to a limited number
of parking spaces in every lot.
“I really do need our students doing
as requested with regards to parking,
because otherwise they're impacting
other students
I know this is a challenging year,
but hopefully we're going to see
a lot of benefit in the future with
regards to the construction.
Aaron Vohl
[and] they could
impact our relationship
with
some of these
other entities
that are helping
us out,” Vohl
said.
Griffis, who
parks in Lot A, is
generally satisfied
with her location of parking due to
the proximity to school and not a large
amount of change from the 2018-2019
school year’s parking.
“I am lucky because I am in Lot A and
I don’t have to experience construction
as much but I would have hated it as a
sophomore, getting my license and just
wanting to drive to school and having to
park on [Wolftrap] or not being able to
park near Bowie,” Griffis said.
While both Lot A and Lot B are nearby
Bowie and allow students to have
close parking to school, students parked
at Lot C, which is 1.3 miles away from
Bowie, have to plan for shuttle commute
when leaving for school in the morning.
“When I park at Lot C, I have to leave
my house 30 to 40 minutes earlier than
I [did] for when my mom drove me previously,”
Albini said. “After school it also
adds about 15 minutes to get home from
the shuttle ride time and the traffic. But
I think the shuttle isn’t that bad. Despite
the extra time it takes back and [forth] it
is an okay system.”
In addition to getting displaced parking
spots for two weeks in the beginning
of the school year, current seniors were
not able to paint their own parking spot
over the summer like previous senior
classes have.
“For this one year, band isn’t using
the [parking lot] yet, so we should be
able to paint the spots and then paint
over it at the end of the year,” Griffis
said. “It’s little and not very important,
Assistant Principal
but to [seniors] who have been told
since freshman year that we were going
to be able to paint a spot, it’s kind of
annoying. We’ve been thinking of ideas
for it and just can’t do it.”
ENVIRONMENT
However, construction has not only
impacted student’s schedules and parking
situations, it has also affected a species
of bird, the golden-cheeked warbler,
living in an area of construction.
“My understanding is [the golden
warbler is] an endangered species and
due to where it habitats they had to delay
some of the work in that area until
it migrated,” Management Assistant to
the Principal Debby Theis said.
FUTURE FOR BOWIE
While changes around school can be
frustrating, Vohl is looking forward to
the outcome of construction and seeing
the parking garage as well as new buildings
complete.
“I know that may be harder for some
of our seniors because they won’t have
the luxury of enjoying this parking garage
that we have been so in need of for
so long, for 30 years,” Vohl said. “I appreciate
everybody for being patient and
working with me and that’s been helpful
to say the least.”
Even though construction is currently
a big inconvenience for students and
staff, Theis urges students to have patience
and focus on the better outcome
for Bowie.
“I’m most looking forward to the
end of the construction for my siblings
to have a better Bowie to attend,” Albini
said. “I think all of the new facilities
in their plans will be great for incoming
grades as long as the construction runs a
little smoother.”
Bowie plans to add universal air conditioning
and heat once all renovations
of the school are done, estimating to be
completed by 2022.
“I feel like the [administration is]
focusing so much on the parking right
now that I would be curious to see what
they were going to do about central air
and heat, which is something I know a
lot of people are looking forward to but
aren’t exactly sure how it’s going to happen,”
Griffis said.
While construction on Bowie is going
to take up at least another two years,
Vohl believes the benefits will be worth
the wait.
“Thanks for being understanding to
our students, as well as our families,”
Vohl said. “I know this is a challenging
year, but hopefully we're going to see a
lot of benefit in the future with regards
to the construction. I wish I could provide
parking for everybody; I wish I
could snap my fingers and make it happen.
I'm thankful that our families and
our students have, you know, been as
understanding as they have and have
found ways to make it work.”
STUDENT
SUGGESTIONS
Bowie juniors and seniors voice their ideas
over how construction and parking situations
can be improved.
ART BY Faith Lawrence and Sammie Thompson
Junior Lily Albini
An improvement for Lot C would be
the three [shuttle] buses actually
leaving first after
school like the
administration
said, instead of
what we have
now where we
wait in line with the rest of the cars.
Junior Kaitlyn Muras
I think they should implement more
drivers [on the shuttle] in the morning so
we didn’t have to wait so long.
Senior Camryn Cuchia
Something that could be improved
would be having trash cans in
the parking lot and along
the walk back.
Junior Ninabelle
Sitler
One thing to improve is the
amount of parking spots
available because I know there are
empty spots available at Bethany, yet
they say the parking permits are sold
out. That just doesn’t add up.
Senior Sarah Brown
The light to turn left into and
out of the parking lot should
be longer.
Senior Hannah
Bohannan
I personally feel if we could
park closer to the school in
the church parking lot it’d be a little
shorter of a walk for everyone.
Junior Lauren Schoenfeld
There could be more
spots available on
Wolftrap and surrounding
neighborhoods to improve
parking.
Junior Jenny Toran
WOLFTRAP
More parking spots at Bowie would
decrease the number of people parking
on Wolftrap.
Junior Cassandra Garcia
I think that more police stationed
around Bowie would be beneficial
because students just walk in the street.

PHOTO ESSAY 7
FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 2019
THE DISPATCH
Beekeeper keeps community bee-utiful
SMOKING THEM OUT: Jayden Wu uses his smoker so that he can safely access the bee hives to
check on them. The smoke makes the bees believe that their hive is on fire, causing them to eat
their honey supply and go into a sugar coma. “I have to be able to use the smoker on my bees so
that I can calm them down to safely access them,” Wu said. “The smoke does not major harm to
the bees, it just causes them to sleep and stop swarming.” PHOTO BY Rae Gray
GIVING THE MONTHLY CHECK UP: While checking on his bees,
Jayden Wu looks for eggs and if the bees are producing honey. He
checks on the bees every monthly to make sure that everything is
going smoothly. “When I check on the bees I make sure that they
are doing what they need to be doing,” Wu said. PHOTO BY Rae Gray
Jayden Wu works to preserve bees by beekeeping
Rae Gray
Photo Essay Editor
TIME TO SUIT UP: Jayden Wu is puts on his beekeeping suit. Bee
keepers have to wear protective gear to prevent themselves from
getting stung by their bees. “I used to be able to wear just a face
net, but since my bee population has grown they have gotten more
aggressive, so I needed more protection,” Wu said. PHOTO BY Rae
Gray
FRUITS OF LABOR: Pictured on the left is the filtered honey, and
on the right is the beeswax from the honey that was filtered. Jayden
Wu collected three jars of honey at the end of the summer. “The byproduct
of having the bees is that you get your own supply of great
honey,” Jayden’s father, Jerry Wu, said. PHOTO BY Rae Gray
GETTING STARTED
Over the past six months, junior
Jayden Wu has been working
to preserve bees in his own home.
After hearing that bees are dying,
Wu started the process of becoming
a beekeeper.
“I decided to get into beekeeping
because I heard that bees were
at risk of becoming endangered,”
Wu said. “I also like honey a lot so
it was a win-win situation.”
To start the process of becoming
a beekeeper, Wu first had to do
his research.
“I watched a lot of YouTube videos
on local beekeepers, and followed
them on Instagram, just to
see how they did it,” Wu said. “I
also took an introductory class on
beekeeping with Bee Friendly Austin,
they taught me how to take
care of hives and everything that
I needed to know to get started.”
Wu also had to decide on the
type of bees that would be most
beneficial for him and the environment
around him.
“Most beekeepers work with
Italian bees, and thats the type I
have,” Wu said. “Italian bees make
the most honey, and they’re the
most docile and least likely to attack.”
Before Wu could even start
this process though, he had to
get permission from his parents
on whether or not he could have
a beehive in his backyard. His father,
Jerry Wu had mixed feelings
in the beginning but eventually
came around.
“I think initially, everyone is
naturally apprehensive about beehives
near your home much less
in your own backyard,” Jerry said.
“Austin is a bee friendly city so as
long as the rules were followed
and all the things were learned
that needed to be learned to maintain
them, I was okay with everything.”
CARING FOR THE BEES
Bees are a self sufficient livestock
to raise. Once the hive is
established they are almost completely
independent. That in mind
it is still important to check up on
them to maintain their hive.
“In the beginning, I would feed
them and check on them, like once
a week, to make sure they’re doing
all right, and not having problems
and that they’re growing,” Jayden
said. “Now that they are established
I only to check on them
once every three to four weeks.”
HARD AT WORK: Jayden Wu’s bees are hard at work producing
honey. On the left is the empty honey cones, and on the
right is the honey cones filled with honey. “I wasn’t planning on
collecting honey at all this year, but I checked on them one
day and I noticed that they had produced a lot more than I
thought,” Wu said. PHOTO BY Rae Gray
Beekeepers have an important
role in maintaining the health and
stability of their hive, they have to
make sure that their bees are developing
properly.
“When I go in and check on
my bees I make sure that they are
not swarming or making another
hive,” Jayden said. “I also make
sure that they are laying eggs and
producing enough honey for them
to survive off of.”
Jayden is pretty independent in
raising his bees, but that doesn’t
mean that he doesn’t have the
support of his family.
“It’s kind of like your kid wanting
a dog of their own but then the
dog becomes part of the entire
family so eventually, everyone has
a hand in feeding, walking, scooping,
etc,” Jerry said.
THE IMPORTANCE OF
BEEKEEPING
Beekeeping possess many benefits
for both the beekeeper and the
bees involved. It is an important
part in the preservation of bees
and provides shelter and a safe
place for bees to grow.
“So bees, naturally they would
be able to survive on their own
in the wild,” Jayden said. “But
there’s now parasites and diseases
that have been introduced from
different parts of the world. The
biggest problem right now is the
varroa mite, which is originally
from Asia, but it’s now spread all
over the world, except Australia.
So without human intervention,
the mites would just completely
destroy all the bees. So for them
to survive, they need humans to
get rid of those mites. Beekeeping
helps with that.”
Beekeeping is important for the
environment as well. Bees are a vital
pollinator and part of the ecosystem
that everything depends
on. AP Environmental science
teacher, Ashley Spiro strongly believes
in bee preservation.
“Bees are pollinators. Pollinators
are responsible for fertilizing
the vast majority of flowering
plants on earth,” Spiro said.
“Nearly all fruit and vegetable
crops rely on pollination to grow
as well.”
HOW PEOPLE CAN HELP
THE BEES
Besides beekeeping there are
other ways that people can help in
protecting the bee population. To
support the growth of bees people
can also look into what they grow
in their backyard, and what they
put into their soil.
“To help bees people can ban
pesticides, such as neonicotinoids,
that are shown to decimate bee
population,” Spiro said. “People
can also plant wildflower gardens
and other native flowering plants
to help provide plentiful resources
for all of Austin’s local pollinators.
Everyone can make an effort to
slow the speed at which the earth’s
climate is changing. This can be
done by people making an effort to
reduce fossil fuel consumption.”

8
IN-DEPTH
THE DISPATCH
FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 2019
IN-DEPTH 9
FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 2019
THE DISPATCH
Gun control triggers heated debates
Perspectives clash as recent gun violence sparks newfound interest and widespread discussion
MASS
SHOOTINGS
in America 2019
A Mass Shooting is defined as
when at least FOUR people are
injured or killed in the attack.
Marisa Salazar
Editor-in-Chief
In wake of the El Paso and Odessa-Midland
shootings that claimed
the lives of 30 people, gun violence
laments itself as a primary issue in
America and a concern for people
across the nation. According to
Gun Violence Archive, the number
of mass shootings in 2019 has
reached 310 incidents. Consequently,
the topic of gun control
has become problematic with polarizing
viewpoints and it remains
arduous to differentiate between
facts and misinformation.
Texas Gun Sense is a statewide
nonprofit and nonpartisan
organization that advocates for
evidence based policies in reducing
gun violence. Ed Scruggs,
the board president of the group,
has been involved since the Sandy
Hook shooting several years
ago.
“More people are interested
in this issue than ever before
and they’re going to carry
it with them to the voting booth
come next election,” Scruggs
said. “Now, I think we have a lot
of public momentum on our side
where folks on our side are more
energized than the other side.”
A position within the gun control
debate includes those who believe
the right to own firearms should
not face limitations. Michael Cargill,
owner of Central Texas Gun Works,
stated that in a time of uncertainty,
people are wanting access to protection
in the event of an attack.
“The police are going to take minutes
to get [to the scene] and by the time
they respond I could lose my entire family,”
Cargill said. “People are wanting to put
their own protection in their hands because
they know that they cannot depend on law
enforcement to come and save them.”
Junior Manasa Polavarapu declared herself
neutral regarding the issue of gun control.
She claimed that, with such a complex
issue, definitively choosing a single viewpoint
will lead to complications in looking
for reasonable solutions.
“It hasn’t directly affected me,” Polavarapu
said. “At the same time, others have been
affected. I wouldn’t say completely take it
away because some people use guns properly,
but there are also people who use guns
the wrong way.”
Likewise, social studies teacher Alejandro
Garcia believes that gun control is such a
complex and disparaging issue that finding
viable solutions can seem futile in such a
misguided and hateful society.
“I don’t think anything will reduce gun
violence,” Garcia said. “We are in a society
right now where everybody tends to turn to
violence. I’m not sure if there’s anything we
can do to solve this epidemic of racist, disgraceful
violence.”
According to the Stanford Law Center, the
sale of firearms increases following a mass
shooting. This was confirmed by Cargill,
who said that after a mass shooting the sale
of firearms and shooting classes increases at
Central Texas Gun Works.
“I think more people need to take their
own personal protection in their own
hands,” Cargill said. “There’s no way you’re
going to be able to stop all the evil people
that are dead set on committing crimes and
committing evil, they are going to commit
that evil.”
POLITICAL POLARIZATION
As divides grow between those with differing
ideologies the debate over how guns
should be managed in the United States continues
without a foreseeable end. Scruggs
expressed disappointment that the divisions
within the country may hinder improvements
on gun control.
“We live in a very polarizing time in a very
divided country: politically and culturally,”
Scruggs said. “[Guns] can define someone’s
identity, it says a lot about culture, and because
of that they also play a big role in the
cultural divide that we have in the country.”
It has been a decade since the Columbine
High School shooting and a year since the
Parkland High School shooting. Schools and
the students in them have fallen victim to
gun violence. Now both students and teachers
must be aware of potential dangers on
campus, which Garcia conveyed grief over.
“[School shootings] have crossed my
mind, because this is the world that we live
in now,” Garcia said. “I think every teacher
has thought about what they would do and
how they would secure and make sure their
students are safe. It’s sad that we have to
think about
that.”
Sophomore Aidan
Barboza believes that gun
control is needed in America.
However, a quintessential right like the
Second Amendment, the right to bear arms,
should remain intact since certain people
use guns responsibly.
“There are some instances where a gun is
needed to protect yourself,” Barboza said. “I
do think that the right to bear arms is something
that people should have because it is a
right that you are allowed. At the same time,
that doesn’t mean that you should be able to
own all sorts of weapons on the market that
aren’t needed.”
As teenagers approach voting age, Garcia
said that students must become educated on
all aspects of gun control and consider both
sides of the issue. He does his part to present
students with unbiased information and
encourages them to draw their own conclusions.
“Being able to find unbiased information
that people can turn to for facts, as opposed
to opinion, is very important for teenagers
who are in such a very persuasive part of
their life,” Garcia said. “I try my best as a
teacher to be very unbiased in the evidence
I present in history and let those students
make their own opinions.”
MENTAL ILLNESS
A claim in the debate over gun control is
that guns don’t kill people, people kill people.
This sentiment asserts mental health
issues as leading people toward acts of violence.
While Scruggs considered the idea,
he also claimed that only about 4% of those
who engaged in gun violence last year were
classified as mentally ill.
“Better mental health treatment would
help and possibly reduce some mass shootings
or gun violence,” Scruggs said. “I think
a lot of times people think the answer to gun
violence is just better mental health care
for the mentally ill and to fix mental health
care, but they’re citing things like anger or
impulse issues as mental illness and that’s
not necessarily true.”
Widespread mental health screening on
all potential gun buyers is considered a possible
solution in easing gun violence, but Polavarapu
is certain that an idea of this magnitude
would be inefficient and essentially
impossible.
“You
can’t
do it for
every single
person,”
Polavarapu
said. “You also
don’t know who
has an illness and
who doesn’t because
some people hide
[mental illness]. This
could be a solution, but I
don’t think it would practically
work.”
THE NEXT GENERATION
The future of gun control is in the hands
of those who have been growing up in a
country ravaged by mass shootings, Scruggs
stated, and that change will come from the
actions of younger generations now.
“You are the generation that’s going to
change this,” Scruggs said. “Your generation
is coming up in this world and you’ve had
to deal with this your whole life, and you’re
going to have the experience and the knowledge
and the energy to really make change.”
Barboza believes gun control is an issue
that everyone must be concerned with, due
to the prevalence it has in present day as
shootings become more frequent and are a
legitimate concern across the nation.
“I think that most everybody should be
informed about gun control,” Barboza said.
“It’s something that is very relevant right
now and is a very serious topic that young
adults and people in general need to be educated
on.”
Garcia stressed the importance of being
aware of the information surrounding such
a divisive issue like gun control, especially
for students who are approaching the voting
age.
“If you don’t understand why people are
STUDENT POLLING DATA
Would you support a nationwide ban on the sale of assault style weapon?
ART BY Sumin Kim
ups
e t
about guns,
then you’re not
paying attention,” Garcia
said. “People informed
about actual facts is the best
way to stop and curb some of
the violence that happens. Educate
yourself, find out what
people are actually saying, and
use that to kind of form your
knowledge.”
The debate surrounding gun
control is ongoing. Scruggs
commented that the tragedies
associated with gun violence has
permanently changed America
and the state of freedom in the
country has come into question.
“[America] has lost a lot of
innocence,” Scruggs said. “The
other side will say that having a
firearm is about protecting freedom.
We’re a more cynical
country, a country that’s more
afraid, and that doesn’t feel like
freedom to me.”
YES
51.7% 12.1% 36.2%
NO
ART BY Arushi Sharma
El Paso Shooting
August 3, 2019
Midland-Odessa Shooting
August 31, 2019
SOURCE www.gunviolencearchive.org
VERY
VERY
YES
UNSURE
How confident are you that passing stricter gun control laws would reduce
mass shootings in this country?
36.2% 28.6% 21.4% 13.8%
SOMEWHAT
NOT VERY
How worried are you, if at all, that a mass shooting could happen in your
community?
38.3% 25.9% 21.7% 14.1%
SOMEWHAT NOT VERY
When you turn 18, will you consider purchasing a firearm?
47.6% 30.3% 22.1%
UNSURE
NOT AT
ALL
NOT AT
ALL
NO
290 STUDENTS POLLED
9/16-9/20; Polled through Google Form
148 Females, 132 Males, 10 Non-binary/other
75 Seniors, 78 Juniors, 57 Sophomores, 80 Freshmen

10 SPORTS
THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 2019
ATHLETES
ASSERT
Is Texas football
really “back”?
Jaxson Glenewinkel
Guest Sports Columnist
Back in 2005, the Texas
Longhorns had a historic
football season that went 13-
0, and they won one of the
best championship games
ever. In the final minute,
they scored a touchdown to
win the game. Ever since,
fans have been longing for a
return to the national stage,
and every year it brings back
the question: is Texas back?
Under head coach Tom
Herman, many fans think
Texas may once again be able
to compete for a national
championship this year. After
ending last season with a
win over then No. 5 Georgia,
the team has high expectations
for this season. Naturally,
fans wonder if Texas
is truly “back.” In my opinion,
Texas has a high chance
of making the playoffs this
year. But will they win the
title? I highly doubt it.
Texas looks good this
year, and after only losing
to LSU 45-38, they could
easily sweep their schedule
and finish 11-1, but
that doesn’t mean they’re
ready to compete with elite
teams. Texas’ performance
against LSU was impressive,
and last year’s win against
Georgia was too. However,
both games are not as convincing
as they may seem.
Georgia played awfully after
being kicked out of the playoffs,
and they had many key
players sit out for the draft.
LSU had an uncharacteristic
game on defense. Known for
their excellent pass defense,
they played poorly and kept
Texas in the game.
Texas has an easy schedule
this year with only two
other AP top-25 teams left
to play: Oklahoma and TCU.
Their only true opponent is
Oklahoma, currently ranked
No. 5. Oklahoma has a very
good transfer at QB, and
their offense is one of the
best in the league. However,
their defense is inconsistent,
and with Texas’ current
passing offense, Oklahoma
won’t offer a true test of
Texas’ defense. TCU just got
into the top 25, and I don’t
expect them to stay ranked
for long. The other teams
in the Big-12, Texas’ conference,
are just not that good.
I expect them to win all of
their games except Oklahoma.
They may be able to top
Oklahoma and be the Big-
12 Champions once again,
but that doesn’t necessarily
mean they’re back just yet.
I think the Playoff Committee
will put Texas in playoffs,
but they’ll be the number
four seed, and a team
like Clemson will be way too
much for Texas. With Texas
lacking at running back and
Clemson’s extremely suffocating
defense, I see their
season ending with a loss to
Clemson in the playoffs.
Texas definitely has a
much better team than the
past few years, but even if
they win most of their games
this year, Texas is simply not
“back” yet. They won’t be
tested with a weak schedule,
and they don’t have the talent
to beat the elite teams.
Questions?
Concerns?
Want to share
your opinion?
Contact:
Email:
bowie.
journalism@
gmail.com
Room: F203
Rookie quarterback dominates
Naya Tillisch
Sports Editor
After countless early
morning practices, dozens
of late night games, individual
training, and two years
of playing football for the
Dawgs, sophomore quarterback
Diego Tello has earned
a spot on the varsity team.
“Diego is a really good
kid,” athletic director Jeff
Ables said. “He’s playing
hard and doing everything
we’ve asked him to do.
Tello found his love for
football at a young age.
“I have been playing football
since I was four,” Tello
said. “I started playing because
I loved watching [it]
as a kid.”
As a freshman, Tello was
moved up to JVA after starting
quarterback Trinidad
Sanders got injured.
“We moved Diego to the
JVA last year to get him more
prepared to play tougher
competition,” Ables said.
“We liked him and he did a
really good job of grasping
our offense. It’s just the experience
factor and getting
reps that will help him improve
his game. ”
His coach-ability and intelligence
allow him to compete
with older players on
the varsity level.
“I knew he was going to
be an essential part of our
offense in the next couple
years,” junior wide receiver
Thanio Bright said. “Diego
has a strong arm, great mobility
in and out of the pocket,
and makes great decisions
when it comes to options
and read[ing the field].”
A huge number of seniors
graduated from the team last
year, so a lot more underclassmen
are getting opportunities
to play this year.
“We graduated 47 guys
last year, so we only have 12
returning lettermen,” Ables
said. “Players like Diego are
going to have to grow up
quick and step up. They’re
doing well; they’re playing
hard and doing the best they
can, so that’s all we can ask
of them.”
Tello has set big goals for
himself to accomplish in the
next two years.
“My goal for this year is
to help my team win in any
way,” Tello said. “Over the
next two years I’m excited to
lead the team, and the goal
for us will be to [eventually]
get to the state championship.”
Starting senior quarterback
Trinidad Sanders injured
his knee in the game
against LT on September
13, so Tello will be one of
the players stepping into his
place as quarterback.
“Diego will definitely
September 28 Swim team meet @Round Rock
October 1 Varsity volleyball vs. Westlake @Bowie High School
October 4 Varsity football vs. Anderson @Burger Stadium
STAR PLAYER: Sophomore quarterback Diego Tello searches for a target as his opponent charges at him. Tello
will be one of the varsity starting quarterbacks for the rest of this season. PHOTO BY Abbey Repka
play at quarterback a good
amount,” Ables said. “We
hate to lose Trinidad, and it’s
a big loss for us, but everybody
is going to have to step
up and play their best.”
With a major player injured
and so many young
players, Ables notes how
this season will be very trying
one for the team.
“The team is facing a little
bit of adversity right now,”
Ables said. “It’s like what
I told the team at practice:
when you go through adversity
you find out what you’re
made of. Ultimately, they’ll
be closer together and stronger
because of it, and they’ll
be better because of it.”
Despite the challenges,
Tello loves playing on varsity
coming UP in SPORTS
and being a part of the football
program.
“I wouldn’t change anything
[about football],” Tello
said. “We have great coaches,
and if everyone works
hard this year, we will be a
great team.”
The team is very close,
which is one of the aspects
Tello appreciates so much
about football.
“My favorite part about
playing for Bowie is getting
to play with great teammates
and coaches…[I want] to
grow with my team and
strengthen our brotherhood.”
After throwing his first
touchdown against Lake Travis,
Tello is excited for the
upcoming games.
October 7 Varsity tennis tournament @TBD
“I’m starting my first game
on Thursday against Del Valle
(Bowie won 38-21),” Tello
said. “I will be ready to play
any time my team needs me
[on the field].”
He hopes to one day get
committed and play college
football.
“We take it one day at
a time, and [he will] play a
lot,” Ables said. “He has potential
to start full time as a
senior and later play in college.”
Tello has certainly made
an impact on the varsity
players and coaches, and he
is expected to have a bright
future in football.
“Diego is a future D1
quarterback; you heard it
here first,” Bright said.
Junior dives into abundance of college offers
Amelie Hayne
Dispatch Reporter
New doors are beginning to open for junior
Maya Johnson, for the young student-athlete is already
receiving college scholarships from Bethune
Cookman, North Carolina A&T, and East Carolina
University. Johnson has been playing volleyball
since she was 11 when her interest in volleyball
first began.
“The main reason I got into volleyball was because
of my older sister,” Johnson said. “I have
always looked up
to her and once she
started playing volleyball,
I decided I
wanted to be just
like her and play.”
The way an athlete
trains reflects a
lot on their performance
in the game,
having the resources
to be able to receive extra training can provide a
leg up for many players. Johnson’s dad owns an
athletic company that helps train athletes and
build strength.
“I work out with my dad, he is a strength coach
and I workout with him two times a week in season
and in the off season I go to workout three
times a week. That helps me get stronger and
helps with injury prevention,” Johnson said.
Johnson’s teammates recognize her success on
the court, junior Evelyn Batista also plays alongside
Johnson on the Varsity volleyball team.
“Maya is really good and has improved significantly
over the past couple of years. She is a true
team leader and sets a good example for the rest
of the girls on the team,” Batista said.
A coach is able to see how players develop and
perform from a different perspective, as well as
how they grow and improve throughout the season.
“Johnson is an overall dominating player; she
touches 10 to 1, and she leads our team in blocks
and she leads our team in kill percentage,” varsity
volleyball coach Miguel Saenz said. “She’s a very
physical, dominating player that we rely on,”
”
Having a supportive coach can influence an athlete’s
performance when playing and can also help
to build their confidence up during the game.
“Johnson’s also a good leader, she’s a quiet
leader and leads by example, she inspires her
teammates with her plays, she contributes on and
off the court in many ways,” Saenz said.
Many athletes have role models that they look
up to and who help to keep them focused on playing
their best. Johnson looks up to the Olympian
volleyball player, Rachael Adams who is a member
of the United States women’s national volleyball
team, and is a role
My favorite part about being on the team
is getting to spend quality time with the
team to connect and make memories
with them.
Maya Johnson
Junior volleyball player
model for many girls,
including Johnson.
“She has helped
me become better
at higher level volleyball,
I have really
looked up to her as a
volleyball player and
as a person, she is
what I strive to be as a player,” Johnson said.
Johnson plans on using volleyball to help get a
scholarship for college and further her education,
which is something she has been working toward
since high school started.
“My goal is to get the opportunity to play volleyball
in college so that I can get a degree in biology
and I would like the chance to be able to
become a marine biologist and start a career in the
biology field,” Johnson said.
Staying motivated is a very crucial part of becoming
a successful student-athlete, many players
have their own unique things that make the
sport worth playing.
“My biggest motivation to play volleyball is the
competitiveness,” Johnson said. “I love the high
pressure situations you are placed in and the aggressive
side of the game. I love being on a team
and going through the ups and downs together.”
Being a part of a sports team can lead to different
problems that players have to put up with
throughout their season, but most athletes are
able to find the positive out of these situations.
“Volleyball has made my high school experience
pretty challenging because of missing class
for games or tournaments, but I‘ve made some
BUMP, SET, KILL: Junior middle blocker
Maya Johnson hits the ball back on to Ann
Richards’ side of the court. Because of her
performance, she has received interest from
several colleges. PHOTO BY Abbey Repka
really good friends to make up for that,” Johnson
said.
In team sports, most players have friends that
are there to support them and make the whole experience
more fun and enjoyable.
“My favorite part about being on the team is
getting to spend quality time with the team to
connect and make memories with them while we
are at practice, games, and tournaments,” Johnson
said.
October 15 McNeil Invitational XC meet @Old Settlers Park
October 25 Homecoming game vs. Austin @Burger Stadium

SPORTS 11
FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 2019 THE DISPATCH
Bulldawgs dominating student athletics
NCAA Dreams
Mr. President
Triple Threat
College Recruit
PHOTO BY Kateri Jaquette
PHOTO BY Marisa Salazar
PHOTO BY Kateri Jaquette
PHOTO BY Peter Dang
Arianna Lax
Her heart is racing as every muscle fights
through the water, finally reaching the wall
she looks up at the clock, another record
time. Junior Ariana Lax is on the rise, improving
her skill and speed with every stroke
she takes.
The 16-year-old began swimming competitively
eight years ago, and is putting in
countless hours of hard work to improve every
year.
“I swim about 18 hours a week,” Lax said
“I practice twice on Monday, Thursday, Friday
and Saturday but once on Wednesday.”
Lax’s hard work has been paying off recently
as she has competed at the state level
for the past three years and been invited to
exclusive training camps.
“I went to the National Diversity Select
Camp at the Olympic training center in Colorado,”
Lax said “Only 48 swimmers from
around the country qualify to go for the
weekend.”
With less than two years left in high
school, the junior has her eyes set on an opportunity
to swim competitively in college.
“Right now I would like to swim Division
1,” Lax said “The top college meet in is
NCAA and it is really hard to qualify for so
that is my main goal.”
Ariana has a strong support system of
coaches and teammates that keep her performing
at the top of her game.
“My club coach always tells me to go faster
and do my best on every single thing we
do in practice,” Lax said “My training partners
are the two girls on my team that are
the same speed as me so we race and push
each other to be faster.”
Another one of Lax’s big supporters is
Bowie’s head swim coach Peyton Bobo, who
has coached Lax for a year now.
“She could go as far as she sets her mind
to,” Bobo said “She will definitely swim D1
if she wants to do that.” STORY BY Kateri
Jaquette
Carlos Canepa
Long meetings, intense practices, and
late night study sessions are all in a day’s
work for our student council president.
Senior Carlos Canepa is simultaneously
running clubs while taking on a rigorous
course load and playing highly competitive
tennis.
Canepa has spent the past eleven years
committed to playing tennis.
“I have been playing since I was six years
old,” Canepa said. “ I have been on varsity
all my years at bowie and I play at the super
champ level.”
The senior has a number of other extracurriculars
that he works into his schedule.
“I am involved in student council, the
Spanish Honor Society and the National
Honor Society,” Canepa said “I am the president
of both the Spanish Honor Society and
student council.”
Canepa has had to deal with the struggles
of being a heavily involved student athlete
but has managed to overcome those challenges.
“I manage to balance everything by being
very organized,” Canepa said “I have planner
where I put down important dates like
due dates, tournaments, and appointments
and with that I can more or less manage my
time.”
The head tennis coach James Dammann,
has coached for many years and has seen his
players struggle with time management.
“I think everyone on the team has struggled
with balancing school because we are
gone a lot,” Dammann said “They have to
be really motivated to be able to balance everything
out.”
Dammann has coached Canepa since his
freshman year and admires his commitment
to his work.
“He has a really good work ethic,” Dammann
said. “He plays a lot of tennis and
works really hard.” STORY BY Kateri
Jaquette
Katie Cole
Dribbling, setting, and cradling. Senior
Katie Cole is a triple-threat in every sense of
the word, playing on three varsity teams for
three separate sports.
“I am playing volleyball, basketball and
lacrosse this year,” Cole said “I have been
playing volleyball and basketball in high
school and through middle school but this
is my first year playing lacrosse.”
Although she plays hard for all of her
teams, Cole is especially committed to one.
“Volleyball is definitely my main sport
because I start in the summer so I get to be
there for all the entire season,” Cole said “I
miss the first few months of basketball so it
is hard to have the same commitments and
goals when I’m coming in three months behind.”
With volleyball in August, basketball in
the fall, and lacrosse until the end of May,
Cole has an intense athletic schedule.
“Last year I played my volleyball playoff
game then I was at basketball practice at
7:30 the next morning.” Cole said
On top of her impressive athletic commitments,
Cole is also a member of a number
of clubs and is involved with the Austin
chapter of the National Charity League.
“I am my own worst critic because I am
involved in all of these things I love so much
I hate myself when I am not doing well at
them,” Cole said “As horrible as it is, all of
my motivation is internal because I have always
been the person who wants to be the
best at something.”
Despite her harsh self criticism, Cole is
an extremely supportive friend and teammate
according to senior Sarah Israel, who
has played with Cole for years.
“She is so encouraging and is really good
at giving constructive criticism,” Israel said
“If you are on a team with her she is like
your family, and it is really nice to have
someone like that on your team.” STORY
BY Kateri Jaquette
Jayden York
Hot summer practices, grueling workouts,
and intense training are all part of
Bowie’s football program, and while the
work is tough, it is paying off for some of
the players. Last week the varsity wide receiver
Jayden York received his first scholarship
offer from the Division 1 school, Bryant
University.
The senior began playing ten years ago
and by his freshman year he had his sights
set on college football.
“Freshman year I realized I wanted to play
football in college,” York said “It’s a sport I
love and it would provide me the opportunity
to go to college for free.”
York has committed countless hours to
the sport and achieving his college dreams.
“I spend around 30 hours a week practicing
to prepare and train before game days,”
York said “I’ve just tried to stay focused on
reaching my goals and working towards
reaching them.”
York has both the skill and sportsmanship
to be a successful athlete. York’s teammate,
junior Evan Mallet, recognizes his natural
leadership abilities.
“He’s a character,” Mallet said “He has
always been one of the big leaders and has
always been the guy we go to when we need
a big play.”
Although he has already secured an offer
from a division one school, York is still setting
goals for himself throughout his final
season as a Bowie Bulldog.
“I hope that this season I can successfully
carry the team to the 4th round in state,”
York said “I would like to get over one-thousand
receiving yards and fifteen sacs.”
Mallet attributes York’s leadership as
well as the leadership of others to the teams
positivity.
“We’re always positive even when we are
down when we take a tough loss we still
come back to win the next big game,” Mallet
said. STORY BY Kateri Jaquette
P R E S E N T T H I S A D
A N D G E T A N
Done your way
E A R L Y B I R D
D I S C O U N T
$ 1 0 O F F
B o o k b y O c t o b e r 3 1 s t

12 ENTERTAINMENT
THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 2019
The Apotheosis casts a choir soloist
Senior vocalist presents herself with a new a voice to the outdoor performing ensemble
Callie Payne
Entertainment Editor
The lights shine down on senior
Hannah Cherukuri as she begins
to sing for the large audience. The
stadium fills with melody as the
band begins to play.
The Bowie Band’s show this year
is called The Apotheosis, which
features Cherukuri. The band has
never before added a choir member
to their show.
“My best friend and I are the
main characters in The Apotheosis,”
Cherukuri said. “I am royalty
like a goddess and everyone starts
worshiping me but I don’t know
that. The story is basically me figuring
out that I am a god. My best
friend is the storyteller and she is
the one that informs me.”
All-State is a competition for
musicians particularly high schoolers
in Texas.
“After me and (senior)Sara
(Brown) both made all state they
decided to write us into the show,”
Cherukuri said. “It is really rare
that marching band shows have
someone who isn’t in the band.”
Brown is an oboist who has also
been added to the marching band
Show.
“I am like the instrumental
counterpart to Hannah’s singing
vocals,” Brown said. “Being in this
show is an amazing feeling. Getting
to have a part in making a show
that will entertain people makes
one feel so accomplished. Knowing
that one day someone may decide
to join band because they loved
the show you were in makes all the
hard work worth it.”
Band Director Garth Gunderson
describes the process of putting the
show together and the behind the
scenes on what it takes for a successful
show.
“We meet as a staff and talk
about what went well and what
didn’t go well,” Gunderson said,
“We hire someone to write the
show for us and then the drill designer
writes the drill for that. We
have a program coordinator who
coordinates how the color guard
fits in and the props and all of the
Corinne Piorkowski
Entertainment Editor
Starlight Theater is currently working on
their fall production called American Dream.
The show has four staff directors, as well as
numerous student led assistants and managers.
Specifically, Haymarket Eight is about
racism and terrorism during the Haymarket
Riots of 1886.
The ‘American Dream’ shows reflect on
ancient hate crimes and tragedies that are
still evident in today’s society, and are used
to bring awareness to it.
“It is an ongoing issue of segregation in
our society that has sadly yet to diminish,”
sophomore actress Sarah O’Leary said.
As this show and topic uses deep meanings
that can be difficult for viewers to understand,
actors must work their hardest to
portray their characters correctly to the time
period and emotion that the Haymarket Affair
brought along in real life.
“I think by working with characterization
to really understand what happened during
the Haymarket riot will help us convey the
story a lot better,” O’Leary said.
Preparing a show for performance is not
an easy feat, and requires several different
roles from students and staff to unify a specific
topic.
“We make sure that everyone is adapting
to their roles and responsibilities,” stage
manager Tayah Savoy said. “We also make
sure that the tech positions are running
through their roles smoothly.”
The topic of Haymarket Eight and the other
American Dream shows are carefully chosen
by everyone involved to convey the aged,
yet real events that took place in American
society.
“It is super old, so I have to get in the oldtimey
mindset,” freshman actress Arabella
Chairez said. “Even though it’s challenging,
it’s always super fun.”
With that said, directors had to keep in
mind the idea of making the events unique
to Bowie’s theatre program, and creating
special details and characters, while keeping
LOUD AND TUNEFUL: In the half-time performance, senior Hannah Cherukuri sings in The Apotheosis. Cherukuri had to focus on her volume
to make sure everyone in the audience could hear her vocals while the band was playing right behind her. PHOTO BY Peter Dang
production value.”
In order to be considered as a
soloist it is necessary to have the
right experience.
“Sara and I both made all-state,
so after that the director wanted
to implement us in the show,”
Cherukuri said. “I sing and dance
while she plays her instruments.
It is so fun to be able to do this
because I have been the marching
band’s biggest fan.”
The band competes in various
competitions and also is included
at the halftime performances at
football games.
“It is a very nerve-wracking process
but it is one of the most rewarding
feelings when you finally
do make it,” Brown said. “You work
for months on the same music and
then you get to perform with the
best musicians that are your age
and it’s amazing.”
Gunderson guides the soloists
on the field during the performance
in order to make sure things are
working smoothly.
“Hannah Cherukuri is an All-
State Choir member so she is one
of the best singers in the state,”
Gunderson said. “We utilize that
talent and she was also in band in
middle school so she already came
prepared. I am the person on the
tower that communicates to her
things that I am hearing through
the speaker because sometimes
when you are singing you are not
aware of how it sounds forty yards
away.”
There are many advantages that
come along with being a soloist in
the show.
“The greatest benefit from doing
this is that me and my three best
friends are able to travel together
during senior year,” Cherukuri
said. “I never thought this would
be something I would be able to
do. I have had many people who
are so supportive and I think that is
another benefit I have gotten from
this.”
After hours of preparation, the
show is finally ready to perform in
front of hundreds of spectators.
“When all of the pieces come
together it is very fulfilling,” Gunderson
said. “We started the design
Eight Hours of Labor
Eight Hours of Recreation
Eight Hours of Sleep
the Haymarket Riot’s events accurate to history.
“We have been working on making scenes
and defining characters during the time period
to help us better portray our timely characters,”
O’Leary said.
Creating a show requires collective teamwork
and is completed with every theatre
role being fulfilled.
“I think that everyone understands that in
order to create a great performance, we must
be compatible and connect with each other
in every rehearsal,” Savoy said.
Although acting is the only thing audiences
can physically see and critique, the backstage
tech crew also plays an important role
in assembling a performance.
“I love being backstage because it really
showcases the compatibility in the range of
skills within our students,” Savoy said. “Being
able to be a part of the process that connects
everyone together is a very humbling
and knowledgeable experience.”
The topic of the Haymarket Eight, although
touching, may cause controversy
with viewers, which must be noted when the
show is being prepared and performed.
“Haymarket Eight relates to how minorities
in America are often convicted of crimes
they didn’t commit, and how white people
coming UP in ENTERTAINMENT
process last November, so we have
been working on this show for
about six months. We are still at a
point in the season where we are
developing the ideas and so it is a
work in progress.”
Participating in the marching
band Show is a role that requires
effort and preparation months in
advance.
“I was so scared going into this
because I had so many questions,”
Cherukuri said. “ I had to mentally
prepare myself because it is a crazy
amount of hours to put in. It can be
so much work we have rehearsals
everyday and most people don’t
usually know that. Every bit of
hard work has been worth it and I
have grown a lot as a musician.”
Starlight Theatre takes on the 1800s American Dream
Admission -
$5
Oct 10 - 13
HAYMARKET EIGHT
ART BY Sumin Kim
tend to try to play the victim,” O’Leary said.
“This is very relevant in today’s society just
as it once was.”
Conveying a show focus may also be a
struggle for theatre staff, as each year topics
change and are significant in a different and
captivating way.
“There was a riot and bombing and minorities
were immediately picked to have
committed the crime, when they showed no
signs of suspicion,” Chairez said. “That segregation
is still there today, even if people act
like racism is completely gone.”
The cast and crew of Haymarket Eight
must collaborate in order to form the image
that they are trying to create. This includes
lighting, sound systems, costumes, and acting.
“We’re all always there for rehearsals,
pitching in ideas and giving all of our effort,”
Chairez said. “This allows us to bring our
show together for the people that want to
watch us.”
Rehearsing for a show begins with an audition,
which had to have been done prior to
beginning any practices or scripts.
“For auditions, we were allowed to choose
from monologues that were out in the hallway,
but we did not get to choose which
show we were casted in, so we must have
been prepared for them all,” O’Leary said.
Rehearsals structures may change as show
dates become closer, which requires even
more focus from everyone involved.
“Closer to the performance, we will run
on stage with lights and tech in order to
reach our fullest potential,” Savoy said.
Overall, this year’s fall shows are intended
to bring attention to issues in society that
have been happening for centuries, according
to the students and staff involved with creating
a captivating show and displaying the
message.
“The theatre community has proven to be
a place of compassion and creativity that I
would love to continue to learn and live in,”
Savoy said.
Oct. 5-6 Starlight Theatre Fall Show
Oct. 12-13 Starlight Theatre Fall Show
Oct. 19 Austin Food Truck Taste-Off
Oct. 22 Tyler the Creator Concert
Oct. 22 UIL Band Regional
Nov. 1-3 Choir Cabaret

Shake up your day at The Yard
Gracie Angeli
Reviews Editor
In the midst of the
chaos of school, it’s
nice to be able to grab
a quick treat to cheer
yourself up.
With all of the stress
and school work, it can
feel like you have no
time to do something
for yourself, but sometimes
you just have
to decide that getting
a milkshake to make
yourself happy is more
important than that
homework assignment.
And that’s exactly
what I did.
The popular national
franchise The Yard
Milkshake Bar opened
up in late June, and has
made quite an impact
on Austin. It is located
in the domain, at
3400 Esperanza Xing
Austin, TX 78758. It
is a little bit of a drive
from Bowie, but if you
are in the mood for an
adventure ending with
an extravagant milkshake,
I think it would
be worth it.
The Domain is a
pretty crowded area,
so finding parking for
The Yard was pretty
difficult. I ended up
having to park a good
few minute walk away,
which was fine, just a
little annoying for one
milkshake. I would
recommend only going
to The Yard if you have
more time and can visit
a few other stores in
the shopping center, to
make the parking worth
your while.
I went on a Saturday
night, so it was almost
unbearably crowded.
Walking in, it was a
shock seeing how loud
and audibly harsh the
environment was.
I then had to wait
in line for fifteen minutes,
which was okay
because I had to decide
what I wanted anyway.
Get ready for this app to fire up a media storm
Sammie Thompson
Dispatch Reporter
Immerse yourself into a universe
full of flaming meteors and an Earth
that shoots red-hot lasers in my new
favorite game: Meteor Storm.
Meteor Storm is an action game
developed and coded by Zachary Eilers,
a junior at Bowie. Eilers created
the app from scratch based off of an
idea he had for a while.
“I’ve had the idea for the meteor
storm game since eighth grade,” Eilers
explained. “I wrote the code for
the game myself using a cross platform
game engine called Corona.”
The primary goal of the game is to
defend the Earth from meteors that
are quickly spiraling towards it.
To destroy a meteor, you tap on
it, and lasers shoot out at it from the
Earth. But be careful, because if you
don’t tap on a meteor in time, the
Earth’s power is drained and you
could lose the game.
The basic concept of Meteor
Storm is similar to many other defense
games, such as the Bloons
Tower Defense series or Plants vs
Zombies.
However, in contrast to these
games, Meteor Storm is much simpler
and requires less strategy.
The app has many cool features,
such as the sleek and colorful icons
used to create the Earth and the asteroids.
There are also sound effects to
alert you when an asteroid hits the
Earth, which you can turn on and off
from the main menu.
There are no levels or different
modes to choose from, but more
asteroids do appear the higher your
score, making it increasingly difficult
to keep them away. Eilers shared
that creating these features was an
enjoyable part of making the app.
“My favorite part about creating
the app was designing the features
and effects the game would include,”
Eilers said.
SPOON LICKIN’ GOOD: The Yard Milkshake Bar’s Cookie Dough Delicious shake is ready to be slurped up. The
Yard’s pint sized milkshakes average at around $15, and come in many different flavors such as the Cereal Killer and
the Cookie Monster, or a customizable shake. PHOTO BY Gracie Angeli
One complaint I
do have for the ordering
process is that the
menus at the front of
the store are hard to
read.
While in line, I was
trying to read the menu
and it was just impossible
because of how
small the print was.
As I already had my
contacts in to help my
vision out, it was concerning
that I couldn’t
read it.
Once I actually got to
the employee that took
my order, it was quick
and over with soon. She
then gave me an order
number, and I was to
sit and wait for them to
call my order.
I ordered the Cookie
Dough Delicious shake.
The shake comes
with cookie dough ice
cream and whipped
cream, chocolate chips,
a chocolate drizzle, and
a scoop of edible cookie
ART BY Sumin Kim
dough on top, all in a
chocolate icing dipped
mason jar. This sounds
like a lot, and it was,
but it was also one of
the simpler shakes on
the menu.
The milkshake bar
also had regular ice
cream, and eighteen
other specialty milkshakes
to choose from
and a choice of making
your own custom
milkshake, all coming
in either a pint or quart
Personally, I really enjoyed playing
this game because it was very simple
and hard to put down. The app displays
your current high score, which
made it hard for me to stop playing
until I beat it.
As someone who isn’t really a
“gamer,” I appreciated the low skill
level required to enjoy this game.
Compared to similar games, I
think that Meteor Storm could appeal
to more players who don’t necessarily
have the experience required
for more complex games.
I also really liked the design of the
app itself because it’s colorful and
fun to look at, but it doesn’t take
away from the actual game itself.
In my experience, the game has
many things about it that are appealing
to players everywhere.
However, there was one downfall:
Does the game capture the user’s
attention for an extended period of
time? If I’m being picky, I think the
answer to that question is no. After
a while, the simplicity of the game
could make it repetitive, which, in
my opinion, would cause players to
lose interest after a while.
I believe that the addition of levels
or different modes to the app
would help retain some of the focus
that could potentially be lost. These
would provide users with an option
for how they play, and encourage
them to keep playing in different
ways.
Eilers explained that as of right
now, he is focused on other ideas and
REVIEWS 13
FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 2019 THE DISPATCH
size.
The other specialty
shakes’ consisted of a
Birthday Cake Shake,
with birthday batter
ice cream and a Mint
Green Monster shake,
with mint moose tracks
ice cream.
They were fairly
quick and efficient with
making my shake, and
that meant a lot.
The shake itself tasted
good, I wouldn’t say
there was anything remarkably
special about
it, but I enjoyed it.
The shake was also
presented well, and
looked cool. I was
sticky by the end of it
and it was a little too
much presentation for
me, but would make a
good photo.
Overall, I think that
they could have more
dairy options, and
could be cheaper. But I
still think The Yard was
a cool experience.
is not looking to create an update for
Meteor Storm.
“I probably won’t create an update
for the app anytime in the future
because I have other projects that I
would rather put my time into,” Eilers
said.
Taking everything into consideration,
I would rate Meteor Storm 4
out of 5 stars.
I think the app is well developed
and appealing to all audiences, but
an addition of game modes or difficulty
levels would give it the final
touch it needs.
Overall, I am very impressed with
how well this game worked on my
phone, and I would definitely recommend
it to anyone who wants to try
out an addictive game.
Around
Town with
Amelie
Find fun things to do
around Austin for the
upcoming fall
Amelie Hayne
Dispatch Reporter
As October begins to
slowly creep around the
corner, it’s time to start
getting ready for spooky
season and start by getting
into the Halloween spirit.
If you’re a fan of horror
movies and looking to find
a good scare, then look no
further than the House of
Torment.
The House of Torment is
located in north east Austin
near the intersection of
HWY 183 and HWY 290
East. The House of Torment
is a full experience
due to how the fun starts
before you get into the actual
attraction. Before even
getting through the lines,
actors in costume will come
up to people and create
personal interactions with
guests.
There are three different
rooms that change every
year, this year the rooms are
Rise of the Dead, Clown,
and Dimensions of Darkness.
A general admission
ticket includes access to
all three houses, and range
from $20 to $30 depending
on what day of the week
you go. However, you can
also upgrade your tickets to
a Fast Pass for an extra $10,
or skip the line for $20 to
get into the attraction faster.
If you’re interested in
watching some scary films,
look no further than the
Blue Starlite Mini Urban
Drive-In, located off I-35
and is about 30 minutes
from Bowie.
Individual walk-in tickets
are around $11, but
they also have packages
for drive-ins that include
snacks and unlimited passengers.
The prices range
from $30 to $45.
They are showing horror
movies like the Blair Witch
Project, Addams Family,
the Goonies, Beetlejuice
and more spooky classics.
Showings at the cinema
occur all year round, but
horror movies are being
screened from September
through October.
If you’re looking for
something closer, the Alamo
Drafthouse is screening
a variety of horror movies
to get into the Halloween
spirit.
The Alamo is located
right off of Mopac and
Slaughter, and in October
they are screening the
Shining, the Cabin in the
Woods, the Phantom of the
Opera, and you can find
more Halloween showings
on their website. Tickets are
not on sale yet, but should
go up when it comes closer
to October.
If you’re looking for a
creepy and spooky experience,
don’t miss out on the
Austin Ghost Tours.
Austin is home to many
haunted sights and locations
that the ghost tour
makes sure to feature.
They offer three different
unique tours located
in downtown Austin. On
Thursdays it’s the ghost,
murder and mayhem tour,
on Fridays it’s the alleyway
and shadows ghost walk of
the capitol tour, and Saturday’s
are the Historic District
Ghost Tour.
Reservations are required
so make sure to
book the tour on their website
if you are interested.
Tours are 90 minutes
long and cost $25 per person.
Make sure to check out
any of these options so that
you don’t miss out on the
fun.

14
COMMENTARY
THE DISPATCH
Austin is one of the fastest-growing cities in the united
states and is constantly expanding. With this expansion,
Construction feels like it never stops, especially in the areas
surrounding Bowie and towards Loop One South MoPac.
Construction has created a chaotic environment that surrounds
campus constantly. The inconvenience is there, and
affects the daily lives of those who live in the surrounding
area, but how is it affecting our environment?
The current political climate is stressing the importance
of being Eco-conscious due to the heated debate on the legitimacy
of climate change. According to the White House’s
official website, Donald Trump’s call to action in response to
climate change entails little to no effort.
The official stance states Americans are misinformed about
the country’s energy supply, the carbon emissions are “their
lowest level in 25 years” and “American energy policy must
balance environmental protection with economic growth to
encourage innovation, discovery, and prosperity.” Although
the stance of Trump may be deemed sufficient based on his
political values, carbon emissions, as well as the state of our
atmosphere, is continuing to deplete.
With this being said there are several questions to ask:
how is the construction in the surrounding area affecting
our fragile environment, and what can the community do to
improve these already implemented construction projects in
our area?
To answer these pressing questions, we must take into account
the policies in place to legally protect the environment
on behalf of the private construction company. Because of
these already existing precautions, construction was cleared
in the Bowie area, but there is always more that can be done
by us, the individuals.
As a community, we are responsible for our small ecosystem.
Because we are responsible for the surrounding wildlife,
we must do more to protect it now that construction has
altered the balance existing amongst the environment.
The effects of the private construction company have
seemed to displace surrounding wildlife. Students may have
seen small ducks roaming into construction or overgrowth of
greenery in several areas of campus regarding the construction.
If one spots a displaced specimen of wildlife, be sure
to contact an administrator, or a nearby adult rather than
disturbing the wildlife itself.
Something else that must be addressed is the large pile of
dirt and waste that is located next to the construction site, in
which dust, smells, and other residue constantly stir in the
Maya Amador
Commentary Editor
Hearing the bang of a Hydro
Flask hit the ground has become as
common as hearing sneakers skid
the floor.
Hydro Flask sales went up almost
10 percent last year with their
overall housewares sales reaching
$418.1 million, according to SGB
Media. Some people might heavily
credit this increase in sales to a
new trend, VSCO girls.
If you haven’t heard of a VSCO
girl, there’s a chance you might
have seen one. They’re typically
teenage girls who wear oversized
t-shirts with Birkenstocks,
scrunchies on their wrist, and lets
not forget the VSCO girl staples, a
Hydro Flask and metal straw.
They’re known for their peppy
personality and having a sort
of cult-like feel when they are all
together due to their similar look
from one to the next. The term
VSCO actually comes from a photo
editing app created in 2011
called VSCO. VSCO girls have
been known to use the app for every
photo they post on Instagram.
Even going as far as to create special
photo shoot hangouts out of
FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 2019
Construction's impact on the environment
Examining the long term effects of rampant city growth on the issue of climate change
EDITORIAL
old attics, sheds, or closets to capture
the perfect VSCO photo.
This trend, like you probably
can guess, became very popular
through social media. One app in
particular that has run wild with
this trend is TikTok.
ART BY Katie Holme
Keep my pond clean!
atmosphere near the outdoor areas of campus.
Being the less glamorous part of a construction project, it
is important to question how these changes to our campus
are affecting the surrounding environmentally fragile areas,
such as the Veloway and the Edwards aquifer. With this massive
amount of waste, the school must communicate with
the private construction company to create an environmentally
friendly area.
To create an Eco-conscious campus, the reflection of one’s
behavior is essential to understanding the effects of Bowie as
a community on the environment. Although there are faults
in the construction process to improve our campus, there are
some positive outcomes that have stemmed from it.
For example, the traffic due to construction, as well as
the scarcity of parking spots available, has encouraged students
and staff to carpool which has (theoretically) reduced
Bowie’s carbon footprint. Small changes like these are essential
to fighting the ongoing battle with climate change and
TikTok is an app where you can
lip sync to songs for up to fifteen
seconds. Many have used the app
to create their own memes and various
types of other content such as
singing, dancing, and art videos.
Other than VSCO girls, TikTok
are highly encouraged to keep Bowie beautiful. With this
though, there has been more litter near areas of construction,
and in the church parking lot. Students and staff alike
must be conscious of their decisions and how they may be
affecting a larger issue.
Although construction is essential to societal progression,
it is important to treat Mother Earth with respect and
kindness so, ask yourself, what am I doing to contribute to
the longevity of a ‘healthy’ earth, and how do my actions
contribute to larger, ongoing issues including debates like
climate change.
Due to individual action, many have contributed to a larger
cause that will, in turn, affect the rest of the world for future
centuries (if the human race is lucky enough to solve
pressing environmental issues). So to help with the problem,
make sure to pick up litter, carpool, and do any small
thing one can do to contribute to campus in a positive, environmentally
conscious way.
VSCO girls and the effects of stereotypes on teenagers
VSCO READY: Sophomore Samantha Cordova poses with her
scrunchies and Polaroid camera. These items have become defining
characteristics of the VSCO stereotype. PHOTO BY Brianna Lopez
has cultivated other trends such as
E-boys and E-girls who are known
for adorning multiple amounts
of chains along with baggy plaid
pants. With these stereotypes and
trends of course comes people who
make fun of them. If you spend
five minutes on TikTok you’ll find
someone doing their impression of
a VSCO girl, poking fun at how all
VSCO girls appear the same.
Stereotypes are nothing new. It’s
easier to group people together and
to write them all off as being the
same. Teenage girls in general often
get labeled as obsessive, cringey,
and basic. For years it is been
embarrassing to enjoy a genre of
music or a T.V. show in fear of being
labeled a crazy fangirl. We often
forget that girls are the ones fueling
the hype, it is the young girls
who create tomorrow's legends.
For example, Elvis and The
Beatles are considered some of the
most influential musicians of all
time and who is responsible for
their initial success? Teen girls.
While men experience this stereotyping
too, the entertainment
content that young girls enjoy often
gets labeled as less intelligent.
In fact, the National Institutes Of
Health states that compared to
CONSTRUCTION
AHEAD
boys, girls are twice as likely to experience
depression by the age of
16. It’s becoming alarmingly clear
that this harassment of young girls
is having some sort of effect. Depression
isn’t just something to
brush off as a part of life. A poor
mental state can affect every aspect
of your life, causing you to put off
work or in some cases develop severe
anxiety, suicidal thoughts, or
other serious repercussions.
One of the most important parts
of growing up is about self discovery.
If you don’t try new things
without worrying about what others
think, you might miss out on
something you might really enjoy.
If scrunchies and oversized
t-shirts are your thing, no one
should stop you from doing that.
Even if you grow up to regret some
questionable fashion choices, at
least you could say you were your
most authentic self.
Questions?
Concerns? Want to
share your opinion?
Contact:
Email:
bowie.journalism@
gmail.com
Room: F203
EDITORIAL POLICY
• The Dispatch is the official student newspaper of James Bowie High School. 3500
copies are published and distributed for free six times a year, generally once per six
weeks for the school’s students, staff and community.
• The Dispatch is an open forum for student expression. The Dispatch is not reviewed
by school administration prior to distribution, and the advisor will not act as a censor.
Content represents the views of the student staff and not school officials.
• The Dispatch works to avoid bias and/or favoritism. We strive to make our coverage
and content meaningful, timely, and interesting to our readers. Our articles reflect
our genuine objective of reporting news and will be held to a high standard of
quality.
• We make every effort to avoid printing libel, obscenities, innuendo and material
that threatens to disrupt the learning process or is an invasion of privacy. We avoid
electronic manipulation that alters the truth of a photograph without indicating that
the photograph is an illustration.
• Staff editorials represent the opinion of the editorial board arrived at by discussion
and will not be bylined. Bylined articles are the opinion of the individual writer and
do not necessarily reflect the views of The Dispatch staff or administration as a whole.
• The Dispatch welcomes reader input. Please send any letters, articles, comments
or corrections to bowie.journalism@gmail.com, call (512) 841-7825, mail them
to 4103 W. Slaughter Lane, Austin, TX 78749 or drop them off in room F-203 with
adviser Michael Reeves or any editor. Letters must be signed, and emailed letters
will require verification before publication. We will not necessarily publish all letters
received and reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.
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PRIDE IN PUBLISHING
Friday, September 27, 2019
Vol. 32, Issue 1
www.thedispatchonline.net
James Bowie High School
4103 W. Slaughter Lane
Austin TX, 78749
THE DISPATCH STAFF
THE DISPATCH PRINT
EDITORS-IN-CHIEF
Peter Dang
Marisa Salazar
MANAGING EDITORS
Faith Lawrence
Cade Spencer
Katie Holme
FEATURE EDITORS
Miranda Cardenas
Mia Folkers
Amorah Schultze
SPORTS EDITORS
Kateri Jaquette
Naya Tillisch
ENTERTAINMENT EDITORS
Callie Payne
Corinne Piorkowski
REVIEW EDITOR
Gracie Angeli
PHOTO ESSAY EDITORS
Rae Gray
Abbey Repka
COMMENTARY EDITORS
Maya Amador
Carter Scruggs
ARTS/GRAPHICS EDITOR
Sumin Kim
COPY EDITOR
Amanda Zinni
REPORTERS
Ellie Coulston
Dylan Ebs
Amelie Hayne
Maya Hayne
Tiera Jarmond
Lauren Joy
Azul Lin
Isabella May
Arushi Sharma
Samantha Thompson
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Lainey Combs
Anna Holme
Brianna Lopez
Cassidy Pesek
Reagan Zuniga
THE DISPATCH ONLINE
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Kaitlyn Zellner
MANAGING EDITORS
Shruti Patel
Shikha Patel
STAFF
Austin Civatte
Natalie Cullen
Bethany Hanson
Izzy Rejino
ADVISER
Michael Reeves

COMMENTARY 15
FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 2019 THE DISPATCH
The ascending price of living in Austin
Dylan Ebs
Dispatch Reporter
Like it or not, Austin isn’t the city it once
was. A city that had a vibrant, underground
culture full of free-spirited hippies pursuing
their passion, is now evolving into a hotspot
for tech startups, higher prices, and
corporate America. Of course, Austin will
continue to grow, but when the expansion
of the city strips away the culture that built
the city, the positives no longer outweigh the
negatives.
Let’s go back in time to 1970. Austin had
a population of 250,000, and the city was
vastly different from today. There was no
real industry, and Willie Nelson was one of
Austin’s only claim to fame. Plenty of bands
trying to gain exposure performed anywhere
they could, no matter how small an event
was. Fast forward to now, where the largest
private employers are H-E-B, Apple, and
Samsung, according to the Austin Chamber
of Commerce. Besides, the changing dynamic
of Austin has resulted in many nostalgic
Austin businesses to close because of rent
prices.
Nowadays, there are too many examples
to cite, but the list of long-time Austin
restaurants closing continues to grow. One
of the most recent notable closings was
Hut’s Hamburgers, which opened in 1939
and announced the closing this past June,
and Frank and Angie’s, an Italian restaurant
owned by the same owners of Hut’s Hamburgers,
closed last year. And in case if you
hadn’t already guessed it, a 28-story mixeduse
building will replace Frank and Angie’s.
Frank and Angie’s won’t be the only longtime
Austin restaurant to close and be replaced
by big business. The Frisco Shop, an
American restaurant running strong for 65
years, closed in July of 2018. The restaurant
was loved among all groups of people, and
served as a symbol for civil rights in Austin
as it was one of the first restaurants that
hired women and minorities, and desegregated
years before the Civil Rights Act of
1964 was signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson.
However, it’s not just long-time restaurants
impacted by the increasing rent prices
and increased developments: it’s affecting
the residents that helped develop Austin’s
culture to where it is.
In 1928, city officials designed a zoning
plan that was described as a “Master Plan”
that would effectively segregate the city.
The master plan came after a 1917 Supreme
Court ruling that zoning laws that segregated
against minorities were illegal, and the
master plan was developed as a way to circumvent
the Supreme Court ruling. As a result
of the master plan, almost all of the African-American
population had to live East of
I-35 but were not given the same economic
opportunities as the rest of the population.
The City of Austin decided to create a
“Negro District”, which effectively segregated
Austin, and utility companies cut off services
to African-Americans who lived outside
out of the district. This resulted in the rest of
African-Americans living outside of the Negro
District to move to the district. Because
African-Americans were not given the same
opportunities to succeed in Austin, many of
them struggled with poverty but didn’t move
because where they lived was pretty cheap
and came together as a community.
Today, developers have recognized the potential
of East Austin and the process of gentrification
has begun, as new developments
and housing have sprung up in the past several
years. On the surface level, it may seem
like a good thing, but the developers launching
new businesses and housing aren’t doing
it with the long-time residents in mind.
Because of these developments and rising
cost of living in East Austin, many of the
residents that have had generations of family
living in East Austin for decades are now
moving out because of rising property taxes
and overall cost of living.
According to Zillow, the median cost of a
home in Central East Austin in January 2010
was $243,000. The cost has now increased
by a staggering 90% to $461,800. It is almost
impossible for someone who has lived
in East Austin when home prices were fairly
cheap to be able to afford the property taxes
on a house whose value has increased by
ninety percent in just ten years.
As Austin continues to develop, it is important
that the diverse culture and quirks of
Austin that helped build the city continues
to remain as a flagship of what makes Austin
unique. If the things that makes Austin
unique leave, an essential component of the
city will be left in the dark.
Load up, lock up, and own up to state gun control laws
Lauren Joy
Dispatch Reporter
$
ART ART BY BY Carter Carter Scruggs Scruggs
Questions? Concerns?
Want to share your opinion?
Contact:
Email: bowie.journalism@
gmail.com
Room Number : F203
ART BY Carter Scruggs
The discussion of gun control
has been one of the biggest arguments
in the United States for the
past decade. In the United Sates
alone 36,000 Americans are shot
and killed each year, that's an average
of 100 per day. Clearly this
is a huge issue. Recently the majority
of people side with the idea
of making gun control laws more
strict. Specifically 53 percent of
Americans believe gun laws should
become more strict. But, the issue
with making them more strict
is taking away part of someone's
freedom as an American citizen,
and more importantly taking away
something that can be used to protect
you, rather than hurt.
Being someone who stands in
the middle ground, not fully being
pro or anti gun, I feel that some
people would never give up the
right to own a gun. I agree that gun
violence and mass shootings will
always be prominent all around
the world no matter what laws
would be created. With 72 percent
of Americans already owning
guns I don’t doubt that they will all
just give them all up easily. Criminals
getting their hands on guns
would still be an issue. 83 percent
of Americans believe that criminals
will get guns regardless of what the
law says. But, on the anti-gun side,
It is horrifying that you can walk
into a gun show and buy guns with
just showing a piece of paper work.
With Texas having 10 of the deadliest
shootings in modern American,
a reality that can terrify students.
In April 1999 a huge mass
shooting took place at Columbine
High School. Twelve students and
one teacher were killed. Along with
injuring 23 other students. Almost
15 years later most gun control
laws have stayed the same. I
shouldn’t be scared to go to school
because of the possibility of being
shot by one of my own class mates.
If anything, school should be a safe
place. A 2004 report by the US secret
service and the department
of education found that over two
thirds of students who used guns
in violent acts got those guns from
their own home or that of a relative.
This information makes you think
twice about gun control and how
we should view Americans’ use of
guns. With this issue growing and
the government barley changing
any laws that could change this, the
issue is only getting worse. Clearly,
something needs to be done. What
can we do?
I’m not saying the government
should eliminate firearm use completely
because like I said before,
not everyone is going to give up
that right easily and guns can be
used to protect. I believe that before
getting the right to use a gun
you should have to go through
more than just straight up buying
one. People should have to be required
to maybe take a class or at
least get a background check.
When people want to get their license
they have to take a class,
drive for a certain amount of hours,
and get permission from a few facilities
and people. This is how getting
the right to owning a gun
should be. If people really feel the
need to have one to keep themselves
safe, you can know the right
ways to protect yourself with a gun.
On the other hand, the more effort
it takes to get the right of owning a
gun the less people will own guns,
and eventually, the less mass shootings
there will be. Right now 2,900
children from age 0-9 are shot and
killed every year, and 33,100 from
ages 9 and up. These numbers need
to be changed for the less.
Questions?
Concerns? Want to
share your opinion?
Contact:
Email: bowie.
journalism@gmail.
com
Room: F203
BULLDAWG SPEAK OUT
What are you most excited to see come out of the construction at Bowie?
9th 10th 11th 12th TEACHER
Tony Lin
"I'm most excited to see
better parking and to
get into school quicker."
Aidan Garcia
"Probably the parking
garage because it's
going to save a lot of
space."
Melissa Meir
"I'm excited to
have working air
conditioning, and also
for the parking lot to be
finished."
Elliott Crunk
"Results... I am excited
to see a parking
building with tennis
courts on top. "
Jackie Gonzalez
"As someone who went
to this high school,and
is now teaching here I
think change is a really
good start."
PHOTOS AND INTERVIEWS BY Carter Scruggs & Maya Amador

1 6 PHOTO ESSAY
THE DISPATCH FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 2019
Theatre takes a journey ‘Into the Woods’
Advanced musical theatre classes produce their take on another classic production
Abbey Repka
Photo Essay Editor
As the curtain opens and
the spotlight reflects off the
stage, you can almost feel
the audience’s anticipation
and excitement in the air.
Students in advanced musical
theater recently put on
two captivating performances
of their rendition of ‘Into
the Woods’, a musical about
multiple fairytale characters
who go into the woods to
follow their dreams.
“Into the Woods follows
multiple storybook characters
such as Little Red Riding
Hood, Cinderella, Jack
and the Beanstalk, and the
addition of a story about a
baker and his wife gathering
things for a witch,” sophomore
Ariana Ritzie said.
“Everyone goes into the
woods to achieve their greatest
wish.”
Students in the past have
put on shows such as Chicago,
In the Heights, and Urinetown
but this year they
wanted to try something
new so they picked Into the
Woods.
“We were looking for a
production that would challenge
them and we wanted
to use material from a new
composer we hadn’t worked
on previously,” musical theatre
teacher and director
Marco Bazan said.
Bazan helped to produce
this musical along with the
help of students.
“I helped produce and
work on some directing,”
Bazan said. “This is a self-directed
student product, so
my job is to make sure it
comes together.”
Into the Woods is set in a
fairytale land where the audience
gets to see into each
of the characters lives.
“Cinderella has been
abused for most of her life,
so she just wants to escape
for one night,” junior Rachel
McBurnett said. “When she
goes to the ball, she happens
to catch the prince’s attention
and he helps her leave
her abusive house and live in
a paradise.”
McBurnett, along with
others, knew exactly what
role they wanted to audition
for.
“I have worked on Cinderella’s
main song ‘On
the Steps of the Palace’ in
the past, so I figured I may
as well audition with that
song,” McBurnett said.
While some who auditioned
knew exactly what
they wanted to be, others
had no preference.
“I tried out for any male
part and got put as Rapunzel’s
prince which I guess is
technically a lead,” sophomore
Matthew Cluchey said.
“I just wanted a part I could
have some fun doing.”
Although there were challenges,
McBurnett fought
through them with a positive
attitude.
“Traditionally people
think of Cinderella as a thin
girl, and I am obviously not
that,” McBurnett said. “My
friends convinced me it
didn’t matter, and it turned
out the directors agreed.”
Being apart of a production
sometimes involves
both inside and outside of
school activities.
“My favorite part about
tech is that we all try to help
each other out when possible,”
Ritzie said. “During the
show we have mic tape and
we needed some special tape
called Tegaderm so I went
out to buy some for the crew
to use.”
Everyone involved in the
production had fun doing
their part and they each created
new memories.
“My favorite memory was
probably whenever I had to
wait with whoever played
Rapunzel, and both of us
freaking out and waiting
for our cues to go onstage,”
Ritzie said.
Overall, the cast of the
production said that everyone
involved made this experience
amusing.
“I really like working with
the people in the production,”
Cluchey said. “Our
directors, Cantu and Bazan,
are great and the people
make it a really enjoyable experience.”
KNOCKING ON THE BAKER’S DOOR: Junior Haley
Pousson pretends to knock on the baker’s door to get
some bread for her sick grandma. Pousson has been
acting since 6th grade and was very excited to get this
role. “The music of Into the Woods is very complex because
it is Sondheim,” Pousson said. “I thought it would
be a really nice challenge for me.”
PHOTO BY Abbey Repka
DANCING WITH THE BIG BAD WOLF: Junior Haley Pousson dances with junior Jaden Davis and his entourage
of wolves. Pousson played the role of Little Red Riding Hood, while Davis played The Big Bad Wolf. “Little Red is on
a journey to bring bread and supplies to her grandmothers house in the woods,” Pousson said. “She faces complications
on the way.” PHOTO BY Abbey Repka
‘LOOK OVER THERE’: Junior Rachel McBurnett
points towards the sky. McBurnett auditioned for Cinderella
because she knew the music pretty well. “People
who play Cinderella need to be able to sing pretty
high,” McBurnett said. “And be good with rhythm
because the music is so hard.” PHOTO BY Abbey Repka
JUST A BOY AND HIS COW: Junior Riley McCue comforts his cow, played by senior
Kamryn Morales. McCue along with other cast members where astounded when
they got their roles. “I was so incredibly thankful and excited when I got [the part of
Cinderella],” junior Rachel McBurnett said. PHOTO BY Abbey Repka
HOW TO BREAK THE CURSE: Junior Sydney Reinhart tells the baker and his wife,
played by senior Eric Larson and junior Maia Gerdes, about the curse she placed
upon them. Musical theatre teacher Marco Bazan helped the students produce
and direct this production. “My favorite part of directing is seeing students grow as
performers and really develop confidence in their acting choices,” Bazan said. PHO-
TO BY Abbey Repka