Vandegrift’s quarterback kneels, running out the last 44 seconds of the game. The moment the quarterback’s knee hits the grass, the 2014 football season was effectively over for LBJ. After making it to the fourth round of the playoffs, the regional quarterfinals, the Jaguars lost on Dec. 6 to the Vandegrift Vipers, 40-35.

“[I felt] sick to my stomach,” defensive lineman Johnnie Williams said. “We could have done better. We could have scored more points.”

The Jaguars finished their season with a five point loss to Vandegrift, whose average margin of victory in the playoffs before they played LBJ was 22 points. According to Coach Jackson, this was his fourth time

in the playoffs. “I knows it will take a long time to get

back to this point in the playoffs again,” Coach Jackson said.

LBJ senior and quarterback Avery Jackson accounted for 219 yards rushing and 189 passing during the loss. However Vandegrift was able to stop LBJ three times when the Jaguars were within 25 yards of scoring. Avery said the loss was hard for the team.

“It was disappointing to finally take the loss in the playoffs,” Avery said. “I’m just proud of the team for fighting hard the whole game, even through the mistakes, we gave them a lot of effort. Everybody stepped up, everybody made plays. Everybody gave it their all, thats all you can ask.”

The Jaguars allowed 530 yards of offense and five touchdown passes during the game. One Vandegrift receiver was allowed 209 yards and three touchdowns. Avery

said that Vandegrift was the most talented team the Jaguars had played.

“They had some tall receivers and they used them well,” Avery said. “They had a good offense. They played hard. They used their weapons well.”

The LBJ defense contained Vandegrift running back Travis Brannan to 91 rushing yards on 27 carries. The previous game, Brannan accumulated 291 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries. Avery said that the team accomplished their goal of stopping the run, but struggled to stop the rest of the Vipers while they focused on the running back.

“Their receivers were tough,” Avery said. “It’s hard to stop both [pass and run].”

Volume 41 Issue 3 7309 Lazy Creek Drive, Austin, Texas 78724Dec. 15, 2014

L I B E R A L A R T S A N D S C I E N C E A C A D E M Y,LY N D O N B A I N E S J O H N S O N H I G H S C H O O L S

eyeGO to the Arts provides students with cheap ticketsHannah MarksStaff Writer

Robin Daemmrich &Isabel SaraleguiSports Editor & Staff Writer

The LBJ community was rocked to its core after receiving news that LBJ senior Jermaine Dillard had been killed by a vehicle on Nov. 8 while crossing Highway 183. Dillard, a recent transfer from Seattle, Washington was part of the playoff-bound football team.

Teammates raised money for his family and held a candlelight vigil at LBJ just days after his passing. Senior lineman Dyquan Howard said the news of Dillard’s death was hard to comprehend.

“I just walked out of the house and I was upset,” he said. “It made [me] think about life and how in the blink of an eye he can be gone. Because, instead of walking across that bridge he could have been at the Homecoming Dance that night with us, or he could have been doing something with the team.”

The homecoming game was Dillard’s last. Since then, Howard said Dillard’s spirit has been a present, motivating factor at games.

“Especially the last game [against Alamo Heights],” Howard said. “The opposing team scored a touchdown, they kicked the ball, and [the referees] called a penalty on us. They got the opportunity to kick again, and they missed the kick...You’re not just going to miss a kick when nobody’s blocking you.”

According to LBJ assistant football coach Pete Moreno, other Austin-area high schools, such as Vista Ridge and McCallum, have offered support by wearing purple bands during games in Dillard’s honor and raising money to help subsidize funeral cost.

“It was huge,” Moreno said. “I can’t say enough about how the family felt...It just shows what our community can do as well as the surrounding areas, when it comes to helping out when things go the way they do.”

Moreno, who worked with Dillard since the summer, said he worked hard during practice and always applied himself in games and that his dedication will have a lasting impact on the football team.

“He was a great kid,” Moreno said. “He was a team player, and people always enjoyed his company...He was here every day, no matter what. He wasn’t going to quit. He was going to give everything he had and always ask how he could help.”

Dillard’s good friend, LBJ senior Deitrich Heard, wore Dillard’s number 64 jersey during playoff games.

“The first game, I volunteered [to wear the jersey],” Heard said. “Me and the seniors got together after the game, and we decided I was just going to wear it for the rest of the season. I feel like it’s an honor and a privilege to wear his jersey and carry on his football legacy.”

Dillard’s absence is felt in the community and on the team, Moreno said, and although Dillard is gone, his memory is alive on the field.

“Every day, every game we play, the players pay tribute to Jermaine,” Moreno said. “It wasn’t just one game. It’s every day that we’re out here, and every game that we play, we do it for him.” story by Eliza Cain

LASA graphic design students design and pitch logos for the new Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning. The chosen design will be used as the department’s official logo. photo courtesy Missi Patterson

SUCCESS BY DESIGN

High school students from all around Austin gathered on Dec. 4 at Open the House: Teens Create, an event aimed at educating the general public about art which was hosted by a group of teenagers including LASA senior Lina Fisher. photo courtesy Hannah Zurko

HOME IS WHERE YOUR HE[ART] IS

LASA junior Lesley Martinez sits next to other theater goers, waiting for the performance to start. Unlike the other patrons her, Martinez paid only $5 compared to the regular price that ranges from $75 to $200, depending on the seating area. Martinez bought her ticket through the eyeGO to the Arts program at the Long Center, a program that makes expensive theater tickets available to high school students for just five dollars.

“Most plays sell really expensive tickets, so I’m never able to go watch all the plays I actually want to watch,” Martinez said. “This program allows me to attend plays and other performances at a much more affordable price.”

Heath Riddles, the PR

and Social Media Marketing Manager for the Long Center, said that the eyeGO program is still relatively new, having only started last season. Riddles said that the interest level has been high since starting and that they hope the program continues to grow.

“The student response has been wonderful. We’ve had students showing up, asking about tickets,” Riddles said. “The general interest level has been high, so we are just thrilled.”

Martinez discovered the program while looking for shows to attend as part of her Honors Theater requirements. She attended “Elf: The Musical” with an eyeGO ticket over Thanksgiving break. Martinez had seats close to the front, in the pit area near where the orchestra plays.

see page 7 see page 8

Jaguars finish strong

see eyeGO on page 15

LBJ varsity football team loses 35-40 against Vandegrift Vipers in Class 5A-Division I state quarterfinals, make it furthest in LBJ history

Jermaine “Seattle” Dillard Remembering #64

LASA students participate in feminism conferenceOlivia LeeStaff Writer

The Girls Empowerment Network Austin (GENaustin) held their seventh annual We Are Girls Conference on Nov. 15 at Austin High School. The event’s theme was “taking the lead,” and the purpose was to teach girls essential leadership skills and give them the tools they might need to combat arising problems. The conference specialized on bullying, body image and being a girl. Blair Stirek, the special events manager of the conference, said the conference lasted one day and hosted around 1800 people, including girls from third to twelfth grade as well as accompanying adults.

“At the beginning of the day, they started off with a GENaustin rally, so it’s kind of like an assembly,” Stirek said.

“It got the girls excited and they were able to see our feature conference speakers and do a sneak peek of their session. We did some games, and we did some really fun interactive stuff with a huge group of people.”

Stirek said the significance of the event lies in that it helped girls deal with any problems that could possibly arise in their lives such as dating or drinking problems. Sessions at the conference included how to create healthy relationships, enhance parent-daughter communication and increase positive body image.

“We had three different feature conference speakers,” Stirek said. “Saul Paul, [who] talked about his trail from four felonies to a 4.0 gpa. We also had Ragen Chastain, she’s a

see Feminism on page 5

LBJ junior Ashton Williams chases Vipers quarterback Jamie Hudson.“[The loss of Jermaine] helped us because we knew we weren’t just playing for ourselves,” LBJ Senior Cameron Meeks said.“We were playing for somebody that wasn’t just a teammate, they were like a brother. So losing him effected everybody on the team. So we stepped up.” photo courtesy Jim and Becky Gdula

Jermaine Dillard with his mother on senior night. photo courtesy of Jim and Becky Gdula

see Playoffs on page 11

see page 14

THIRTY-NINE YEARS OF HAYNESLBJ Marching Band Director Don T. Haynes announces his retirement from LBJ and his goal to move on to public speaking for his next career move. photo by Emma Varela

Barbies are a crucial part of a childhood. From having tea parties to ripping heads off, every gender, color, and creed interacted with these entertaining dolls at some point. Recently however, the dolls have broken out in a search for new features to make them more relatable to children. By breaking out, we mean literally. What started as an art project in the summer of 2013 just became available for mass purchase: a Barbie doll with the proportions of the average 19 year old woman. By that, we mean a 166 pound woman with a 38 inch waist. The doll, with its wide hips, thick legs and rounded rump, goes against the concept of the perfect figure. This is great, but the doll further comes complete with a sticker pack that features pimples, moles, cellulite and scars that can be applied. This idea, to redefine society’s concept of beautiful and perhaps make Barbies more relatable is admirable, but in our opinion, goes a bit extreme and is not realistic in playing a crucial role in this issue.

Most girls grow up playing with Barbie dolls. From Christmas Barbies in elaborate snow queen dresses to Malibu Barbie driving in her convertible with Ken, these dolls have been a staple of playtime and fun for millions of children. Recently though, the negative effects that these dolls could be having on young girls who develop playing with them has been at the forefront of Barbie discussion. Graphic designer turned toymaker Nicholas Lammily created the Lammily doll: a Barbie with the realistic body proportions of the average 19 year old woman. The ambitious art project has played a key role in fueling the fire to the controversy over Barbies, our youth, and the image society paints of beauty.

The main reason for this is the unrealistic proportions of a Barbie doll. If the measurements of a Barbie doll were to be translated to a real human, she wouldn’t be able to do simple things such as support her head with her neck or grow a full liver. People claim that such impossible proportions may cause girls to grow up with unrealistic expectations for what their bodies will look like. This is where companies like Lammily come in.

Lammily has created dolls that not only have the hip-to-waist ratios and measurements of the average woman, but that can also have acne, scars, stretch marks, tattoos, that “real-life models” do. The idea behind this being that the dolls are then easier to reconcile with mothers, teachers, aunts, and friends, promoting healthy body images among girls. This is a valiant approach to an issue

For starters, most kids who are Barbie age don’t know what stretch marks or cellulite are. All they do know is that they want to make their Barbies look pretty. So why would they want to put strange marks all over them? Along this same line, acne seems ridiculous.

However, Barbies shouldn’t be so outlandish that they are not relatable to, as relating to your toys, a crucial part of your upbringing and childhood, is important to every child. Being able to put freckles on Barbies and customize them so that their hair color or skin color is more similar to their own is understandable.

The only reason that Barbie has become controversial is because we’ve made Barbie controversial. Eating disorders and self worth have become a large societal issue for our generation and we’ve been looking for people and things to blame. As a result, Barbie has come under fire. In reality, when young girls play with Barbie, all they want to do is dress her up, have her go to work, and make Ken doll take her out on dates. If Barbie’s body is under any scrutiny at all, it’s by the creepy neighbor boy who comes over, takes all of her clothes, decapitates her, and runs away. By the time girls start thinking about their body image, they’ve already grown out of their Barbie phase. They have moved on from brushing Barbie’s hair to playing sports and hanging out with friends. At this point, what is affecting their self-confidence is a multitude of other things, including the people they see on television and listen to on the radio.

We, The Liberator, acknowledge that the social stigma to remain beautiful in the public eye has pervaded our society, and that this is indeed an issue ingrained within us as a culture, but believe that targeting Barbies for children isn’t the correct way to address this issue. Kids play with everything from Barbies, stuffed animals, and trolls to actual animals. None of these leave a permanent impact on a child’s psyche as to what is beautiful or a n at o m i c a l l y accurate. Did you ever not play with a stuffed animal because it wasn’t representative of a true bear, with its beady eyes, soft fur a n d lack of a functional nervous a n d respiratory system? If we are truly looking for an anatomical, realistic Barbie, why don’t we go ahead and give them toilets, heart attacks, and breast cancer? Children’s toys were not meant to be accurate models of everything; that is why they are toys, thing for us to play with, then move on from, not base our lives and ideals off of.

Fixing Barbie isn’t going to fix our issues. Focusing on the images that girls are exposed to as they get older and giving them more healthy, more normal role models is where the real work needs to be done.

STAFF STANCE

Have an opinion about a new school policy? Have a bone to pick with something the Liberator has published? Any-thing else on your mind? Write us a letter and drop it off in room 265 or in the boxes in the school offices.

Dear Editor,

Dear Editor,

Dear Editor,

liberatedminds speak

Corin WagenLASA juniorIt’s a cultural perception. Everything you see makes an impression. Young people are much more impressionable and Barbie comes at a very formative time.

I do think that we need to inform people that Barbie is not naturally sized, but I don’t think these new dolls are necessary. When I was little, I didn’t notice [Barbie’s] size.

Smith PittmanLASA freshman

I think it depends on the age [of who is playing with it]. If you’re younger, you don’t pay attention to your body. Whereas, teenagers are overthinking Barbie dolls.

Marisol RodriguezLBJ sophomore

Chelsea Banawis, Roxy Bonafont, Mason Crowell, Nurit Elber, Alex Friedman, Grace Fullerton, Mary Louise Gilburg, Gil Johnson, Aryaman Lamsal, Olivia Lee, Ana Lopez, Hannah Marks, Meris McHaney, Victoria Mycue, Carter Pace, Alex Pasch, Oliver Powers, Isabel Saralegui

STAFFERS

Zia LyleSurya Milner

Entertainment Editors

Eliza CainSesha McMinn

News Editors

Meagen Allgood Robin Daemmrich

Sports Editors

Basab Ghatak-Roy Audrey Halbrook

Commentary Editors

Chloe EdmistonLogan Kramer

Life and Feature Editors

EDITORIAL BOARD

EXECUTIVE BOARD

Sammy JarrarSam Zern

Editors-in-Chief

Chris JonesBusiness Editor

Adviser Kim Katopodis

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

1. The students on The Liberator staff will print articles which have been researched to the best of their ability to obtain most complete information. 2. The information will be presented in an objective, truthful and fair manner. 3. When personal commentary is given it will be in good taste on issues that have been researched, analyzed and where expert opinion has been sought, and then presented with the best abil-ity of the writer. In addition, all opinion or commentary will be clearly labeled as so. 4. No material which is obscene, libelous or that will cause an immaterial and substantial disruption of the school day, ac-cording to accepted legal definitions, will be printed.

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

1. Determine the content of the publication (with input from other staff members). 2. Stress the editorial policy.3. Ensure the accuracy of the publication.4. Address disciplinary or other inappropriate behavior of staff. 5. Vote on removal of staff members.6. Change or add policy as necessary with three of four board members voting favorably.

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

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

Non-Staff Contributors: Bylined contributions are welcome.Correction of Errors: The staff makes every effort to print accurate information. In the case of errors, a written correction will be made in the following issue of the newspaper. Sources: In general, no anonymous sources will be used in reporting. Sources from within the school, as well as those not connected with the school, will be used. Under no circumstances will gifts, including coupons, etc., be accepted by the staff members from sources or advertisers. Note: The Liberator is an open forum.

Abby KappelmanGraphics Editor

Caitlin AndersonWillow Higgins

Frankie Marchan

Web Editors

Sydney Hairston

The college center is really helpful. I’m glad that we have a place to work on college applications and ask Ms. Kocian questions. It’s full of great resources.

I like the way teachers help you out. They understand that you are busy and they will be flexible with deadlines. It helps students maintain their grades without being overloaded.

- LASA seniorZafar Maniya

- LBJ junior Steven Salgado

I wish that more people went to the football away games. We have a really small student section when they don’t and it’s much harder to be spirited and improve the spirits of the players.

Dear Editor,

- LBJ sophomore Adoni Sanders

The LBJ administration changes the schedule too much. We could have enrichment one week and not the next. It’s annoying.

- LASA freshmanCaroline Varela

Are the changes being made to these dolls necessary?

LBJ seniorI think it’s a good thought because it will help girls realize they don’t have to look like a Barbie. But realistically, what girl is going to go and buy a doll with cellulite?

Doll brings attention to possible correlation between classic toy and decreasing body image of young girls

the liberatordec. 15, 2014

The staff thanks: Julia Guernsey, Kathy Cox, Nikki Zern, Allison Kramer, Jyoti Milner

art by Abby Kappelman

Teachers accomodating for stress Praise for new College Center

Lack of spirit at away games Schedule change frustration

Defend Net Neutrality! I’m sure you’ve heard that rallying cry in the last few weeks or months. But what is Net Neutrality, why is it important, and what are we defending it from?

Silence. We’re going

to explore that so you can at the

very least understand what all these people are talking about and at most create a few more educated ralliers for the defense of Net Neutrality.

It’s been said before, somewhat comically, that the Internet is a series of pipes, but a lot more complicated than the simplicity of the analogy implies. While the Internet can certainly be considered a series of pipes, made up of wires and cables, it’s truly a vast web that defies the imagination. I’m going to try to explain how it works as briefly and simply as I can. Computer nerds beware, I’m not one of you. This explanation eliminates lingo and complexity by design.

When you want a piece of information, like, say, you want to get a bunch of video files from https://www.netflix.com/ so you can watch House of Cards. Your computer makes a request for that info, wrapping that request up in Netflix’s server’s IP address so that packet will know where it needs to go to receive that Spacey video. That packet goes to your Internet Service Provider (ISP) which is constantly connected to the Internet with huge cables and incredibly powerful computers. The packet continues through the pipes towards the server that contains the information it’s looking for. Once at the server, Kevin’s beautiful face is cut up into a bunch of tiny packets, which are each wrapped up in their own IP envelope and instructions on how to piece it together again, and sent off to your computer through your ISP by any route possible. That, without going to too much trouble, is how the Internet works.

The Federal Communications

Commission, which oversees all the rules of the Internet (and a bunch of other stuff) is currently debating allowing ISPs like Comcast and Time Warner to create what they are calling “Fast Lane” Internet. They claim that the biggest users of the pipes, like NetFlix and YouTube, can pay to get their packets shipped to you faster. How is this possible? Is the Internet going to get faster? No. In fact, for the most part under this plan, the Internet is going to get a lot slower. In order to create faster Internet speeds, ISPs would have to create bigger pipes to get that information to you faster. That costs money, a lot of money, money that these companies would rather not spend if they don’t have to. What they would much rather do is have you pay for a certain Internet speed and then only give that speed to the companies who also pay the ISP.

Imagine, for example, you ordered some books to be shipped to your door.

You pay for 3-5 day shipping because

you need those books pronto (they’re House of Cards books and you heard there might be some Kevin Spacey

stickers in those bad boys.) One of the books is coming from a major book carrier and the other one is coming from a mom and pop book seller in Kansas. The shipping company goes to that major book carrier and says, “Hey, your business is so

successful that almost half of

our

shipping comes from you alone, we might even have to buy more trucks.” The book carrier says, “That’s fantastic! Now you get to grow your business and make more money!” The shipping company says, “Yeah, well, about that. We don’t like the idea of paying money to do that, so cough up some dough or that book isn’t going anywhere for at least a month.” To which the book carrier says “Dude! They paid for 3-5 day shipping!” The shipping company replies, “Doesn’t matter, cough it up.”

That’s the situation being proposed. Comcast wants to try and earn money from both ends of its business without improving service, but, in fact, by degrading its service. Net Neutrality states in this case that books are books, no matter the carrier, and should be delivered at the rate that the customer ordered them. ISPs dare to break this because they know they can get away with it. If Netflix isn’t loading, you don’t say “Oh! My

ISP is being awful and I should go complain

to them about their holding Kevin Spacey hostage.” You say, “Gosh, Netflix is slow tonight. I guess I’ll

just watch

live TV to get my

shows.” Guess who owns the TV

and included it in the bundle with your

Internet. That’s right: Comcast. No matter what, they win.

This has already happened. Comcast wanted Netflix to pay for their videos to continue to make it to their customers on time. During negotiations, Comcast throttled Netflix’s service and Netflix lost a ton of money as people became frustrated with their videos’ download speed. Netflix gave in and paid Comcast back in February.

Now, forcing the ISPs to spend money doesn’t sound particularly great to those of us who believe in capitalism as the driving force behind better services for less money. The idea is that if a corporation is forcing consumers to pay too much, some competitor will come into the market with the same product for cheaper, be incredibly successful and either drive the other guy out of business or force the prices down. However, in the world of ISPs, it is incredibly difficult for any competitor to get started. You need massive amounts of money to build those tubes, and even more money to get them connected to every house in America. Google’s Fiber project, in which Google is attempting to become a major ISP, is experiencing major troubles getting started. Even with all that money and talent, Google is struggling.

The demands of the supporters of Net Neutrality have been to convert ISPs to common carrier status, like electricity, phone companies and airlines already have been. Essentially, common carriers cannot give preferential treatment to certain customers. In return, common carriers aren’t responsible for the stuff they move, be it phone conversations about a terrorist attack, flying a murderer to his next victim, etc. Now ISPs, who already have the legal protections of common carriers and who have marketed and

built themselves around the idea that they are common carriers, want

to differentiate themselves in order to make more money without making any investments in their

infrastructure.The magnificence of the

Internet as a flat and open playing field for all sorts of

people to try and make their way in the world is jeopardized

by this move by cable companies. This is not capitalism, this is not innovation. This is a mobster shakedown and the destruction of one of the greatest things people have ever made. Defend Net Neutrality.

the liberatordec. 15, 2014

Net Neutrality entails true equalityMonopolies on data trafficking of internet highways are cause for concern

Neolithic eating habits embracedBeing forced to explore a paleo diet leads to surprising revelations

My father is a cave-man or, at least, he tries to eat like one. As a follower of the strict paleo diet, he only eats what our neolithic ancestors would have eaten: seeds, nuts, meats, veggies and some fruits. It’s extremely restrictive and leaves only “cheat days” for things like dairy and chocolate. For these reasons, I always eschewed his diet and his emails (one can only read so many articles about how sugar is going to kill them before they grow numb to the words and just start craving

chocolate bars each time they receive one). That outlook changed though when I haggled with my dad

for some new clothes. Our parting deal was that, in exchange for a sports bra I wanted, I had to give up anything with added sugar for two weeks. My consumerist ways clouded my judgment and I didn’t even stop to think about what this would really entail before shaking on it.

The most horrific part of this experience was that I realized that pretty much everything has added sugar: granola bars, yogurt, raisins, some brands of salt, and even my vitamins. I woke up in the mornings and boiled water for my coffee, pouring it over grounds and adding a splash of milk. The lack of vanilla left my mouth with an unpleasant surprise. My meals became meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts and eggs. Treats were unsweetened nut butters and sour greek yogurt. Stress of homework found me staring longingly at the pantry, where my orange and almond-infused chocolate lay, calling my name. Begrudgingly, I’d reach for a clementine or a cup of tea. But by the end of it, I found myself reveling in my now bitter morning lattes and snacks of raw almonds. My cravings had subsided and I actually felt quite good. Kale me crazy, but I discovered I really liked vegetables.

My appreciation for the foods that my parents had always fed me wasn’t enough to stop me from eating a piece of cake the day that I had completed my two-week challenge though. An appreciation of vegetables had done nothing to make me believe that sugar wasn’t the best thing in the world. But the stomach ache I got from that one slice of cake after having given up sugar for only 14 days had me thinking that my dad might not be as crazy as I always assumed.

So, I did a little research and life came full-circle. I sent my father a link about the evils of sugar: a documentary called “Fed Up”. We watched it together and I became even more horrified about the presence of sugar in almost everything. On top of that, I was finally able to conceive just how terrible sugar is for our bodies.

Something about actually seeing these things and hearing them coming from the reputable sources, such as professors and researchers, made it all finally click. I had read the words so many times in articles my dad sent me. I had dismissed the very words I read. I saw them, I processed them, I forgot them. Watching this documentary, though, I couldn’t ignore it anymore.

For starters, sugar is the cause of the obesity problem in

America. It has 56 different names ranging from cane sugar to dextrose and is present in 80 percent of the food items in the average grocery store. The amount at which we encounter sugar daily has increased as we have claimed to create healthier products (think low calories and low fat). In order to make these low fat products taste good, sugar is added. In order to take lactose out of baby formula, sugar is added. Essentially, the food industry is protecting the sugar industry by tricking people into eating more sugar. This only furthers the obesity problem as people attempt to fight their medical issues with low fat and low calorie products.

Sugar causes a number of illnesses and as obesity rates have risen, the life expectancy of younger generations will likely fall. The age at which people are getting heart attacks has fallen as low as nine. The number of adolescents who have Type II diabetes has gone from zero to more than 57,000 in 30 years. Beyond that, the problem isn’t exclusive to those who are physically obese. In fact, about half of the population (whether considered obese or not), will suffer from some of the most negative effects of sugar. What matters isn’t the visible fat, but the internal fat and its distribution, especially in the stomach region, the excess of which is caused most often by sugar.

On top of all the harmful effects that sugar has on our health, the way that sugar is handled by our government is much like the way it deals with the tobacco industry. The sugar industry has become intertwined in our economy and politics and has stopped the United States government from making many important changes to its dietary recommendations that organizations such as the World Health Organization have tried to impose. Michelle Obama’s campaign for healthier children took a turn from eating healthier foods- focusing on fruits and vegetables- to making sure that children are being more active. As the food industry felt threatened, they took control of the program and diverted the public from the problem, in order

to protect their source of revenue. When Coca-Cola starts partnering with government health programs, it’s hard not to pause and question the validity of what you are being told. Obesity is a problem that, of course, relates to exercise, but is mostly due to diet.

Also like tobacco, sugar is incredibly addictive. The worst part of my no-sugar challenge was the cravings I experienced for a little bit of chocolate or a bite of a granola bar. I am not alone. Typically, sugar cravings can take between one and three weeks to kick, depending on the person and how much of it they typically ingest daily. For most people, especially

young people to whom Type II diabetes and obesity is becoming such a threat, that amount is quite high.

Most children’s snacks are packed with sugar: fruit snacks, granola bars, apple sauce, juices. Think of all the commercials you see on television for cereals, sodas, and squeezable yogurt, which are targeted to children. We’re raising children

from a young age to be addicted to sugar. As they get older, their dependence on sugar increases. It’s a habit that they aren’t even aware of. Their insulin production is constantly high and their brain continues to have the signals that they’re full have stopped. They stay hungry, they keep eating and the percentage of fat on their body increases. Thus, obesity sickens another person.

For these reasons, I plan on participating in my dad’s challenge again. This time, not for a new top, but because

I know the facts. Sugar is a toxin that is eight times more addictive than cocaine and

much too prevalent in our current diet. I hope to make long-term changes to how I eat, in order to protect my own health. I’ll start with 14 more days of no processed foods and no added sugars. When the 14 days are up, my plan isn’t to suddenly go back to eating foods with added

sugar, but to remain conscious of what I am putting into my body to fuel me throughout

the day: less of the toxins and more of the brussel sprouts.

Alex FriedmanStaff Writer

art by Lina Fisher

Audrey HalbrookCommentary Editor

art by Victoria Mycue and Basab Ghatak-Roy

When I was little I wanted to be either a teacher or an astronaut, so I decided to be an “astronaut teacher”: a teacher, but in space. This answer would change pretty regularly throughout my childhood as I worked my way through the standard list of favored occupations (actress, doctor, superhero). It was easy to pick something that sounded cool and run with it. The question “what do you want to be when you grow up?” once invited carefree ambition and creativity,

but now that the answer matters, it’s become an oppressive and inescapable ultimatum.

I began receiving daily college recruiting emails in ninth grade. The PSAT asked me to indicate my preferred major. Small talk with anyone, from doctors to relatives, inevitably includes questions

concerning my “plans for the future.” We spent a day in French class articulating career goals and writing what we want to study and do for a living on the blackboard. As I watched confidently chalked scrawls of “linguist,” “marine biologist,” “diplomat” and “surgeon” spread across the board (in French, obviously), I hoped nobody noticed me hovering awkwardly to the side without writing anything, and something akin to shame settled in my stomach. Because here’s the truth: I have absolutely no idea what I want to do.

I can’t drive, drink or vote, but I’m expected to have a short list of colleges, a preferred field of study and some career in mind. A major factor in all decisions I make is how something reflects on an application. I’m seriously considering taking double-blocked BC calculus next year, despite my complete disinterest in ever pursuing mathematics, simply because it looks good to colleges. I can’t fill my schedule with the creative writing and philosophy classes that genuinely interest me because I need to take APs to boost my chances of an acceptance letter in a couple years. I’m not even halfway through high school, but my plans for the future (or lack thereof) have become an urgent and immediate source of stress.

In second grade, I decided I wanted to be an author and maintained that goal with conviction for some time. Middle school was, in a way, a three-year process of slowly pulling off the “that’s never going to happen” band-aid. I arrived at high school freshly disillusioned and directionless, just in time for my peers’ college frenzy to kick into gear, and was promptly left in their proverbial dust as they began chasing internships and building résumés.

The experience has been isolating, but realistically, I doubt that I’m actually alone in my concern. The expectation that every sixteen-year-old is capable of the level of self-reflection necessary to decide what they want to do with the rest of their life is almost laughable, especially considering our culture’s contradictory stereotype about teenage irresponsibility. It’s ridiculous that we’re so obsessed with successfully moving through the system that planning for higher education starts four years in advance and kids are deciding what they want to be before they’re even sure of who they are. I have the rest of my life to be an adult; I’d rather be a kid for a little bit longer.

Post Halloween stomachaches

Hello, my name is Meris-- and I’m a criminal.

It’s been 155 days since I last had a run in with a man in blue. You see, this little “run

in” with the law I had all these days ago, has only now stopped lurking in the shadows of my life. One hundred and fifty five days ago at 7:55 a.m., like the good public school student I am, I was making my voyage to the other side of the world. LASA, I mean. Sorry, easy to get the two mixed up. Crossing a bridge on Highway 290 to take my exit to school, I quickly found myself in the middle of a heart attack. I looked down at my bouncing speedometer to read 60 mph. Lucky for me, the speed limit in this area was actually a whopping 50 mph. The speed limit had decreased due to workers being “present” in a work zone. Please draw your attention to the air-quotes I put around “present.” Anyway, long-story short, Officer Garcia quickly arrived at my window only to tell me what I had just figured out on my own. “Ma’am you were going 60 in a 50 mph zone. License and registration please. Thank you. I’ll be right back.”

As Officer Garcia walked away, I sat there showing no sign of weakness. I thought about jail and how it meant no school and not having to worry about what to wear everyday. Before I could finish my list of pros about the orange lifestyle, he re-approached me, gave me my ticket and explained that I would need to appear in court with a parent.

So I go to court and it turns out the officer that pulled me over had screwed up and was just going on a “pull everyone over” spree, so I had an option of not paying the $500 ticket. My mother chose for me.

I walked out of court with an order

to do defensive driving and 16 hours of court ordered community service. For those of you that are unaware of the facts for “court ordered” community service, the city has about a page long list of sketch places for you to participate in your indentured servitude. The paper is divided up into columns with the name of the organization, contact info, addresses, and age requirements; that part is key to this story.

Just like everything else in my life, I procrastinated. Surprisingly I was able to get the defensive driving course completed by late September and could check that off my list. (The list my mom sends me everyday asking if

I’ve done my

community service hours yet or not.)

Finally, on the last weekend before Halloween, the day my hours were due, I decided I better hop on ‘em. They didn’t come with an orange jumpsuit or swirly tattoos, but they might as well have. I was in for quite an experience.

On Oct. 25, I woke up at 7:15 a.m. and drove across town to the Habitat for Humanity warehouse. My brother, mom and I used to volunteer with the organization and I didn’t remember it sucking too hard, so I called the lady in charge and told her I was coming. Turns out you actually have to be 18 to volunteer with these people without a parent present, and there was no way my mother was going to come down there and organize wood and bricks with me for eight hours. I left with rage in my eyes and a pissed off taste in my

mouth. Actually that taste was probably from all the cigarette smoke from outside. Either way, I got in my car and had a slight panic attack that I might be sent off to jail soon if I didn’t get myself together and get my hours finished.

On my way home, I spotted a Goodwill. I walked in with fingers crossed, hoping they would let me complete my hours with them. The guy in charge of all the volunteers/parole people, Jason, gave me a clipboard with papers that took five minutes to fill out. I started immediately after.

Jason took me to the back of the store where everyone worked and gave me an extremely brief orientation. On the first day I tagged

clothes. You know those really annoying plastic

string things that attach your tags to your clothes? Yeah, well I did that for seven hours, only to realize in the last few minutes of working, I was surrounded by criminals. Actually, these people are my friends. We laughed and sang along to Drake

as we shoved needle guns into

dirty clothes. I was surrounded by “previously troubled adults” and I liked it.

One of my new friends, Dominique, had gotten out of prison the same time I was headed off to summer camp for three weeks this past June. She talked to me about how Goodwill provided her with insurance and a small, but steady income. She told me, even though it paid poorly, it beat prison. I laughed, but as I became closer with Dominique and the other employees, I realized Goodwill is a brilliant organization that benefits people trying to restart their lives. When people drop off their used clothing items at Goodwill, it provides jobs for criminals like my friends and me.

(Meris McHaney finished her hours at Goodwill and appeared in court December 11, 2014. She has been absolved of her crimes.)

SmallTalk

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Criminal behavior opens the window to the world of Community Service, along with its pros and cons

Major stress starts early

Ana’s declassified freshman year school survival guide

Freshman year is the proverbial sebaceous cyst on the already pimply back that is your high school career. You smell different, you’re hairier and your Facebook profile picture still has that Obama 2008 campaign filter on it. You probably still listen to that one pump-up Arctic Monkeys song on your iPod shuffle on the way to school in Mommy’s Honda Odyssey. You bought a whole new pack

of Ticonderogas and a closet of cargo shorts and training bras. Freshman year is like showing up at Marley Fest, thinking it’s actually commemorating the Rasta King himself. In both cases, you will inevitably come out dabbing at your reddened eyes, on the phone with your mom crying for her to come pick you up. Here are some tips to get you through the year-long wave of humiliation that is ninth grade. Social Situations

If you’re a Kealing Hornet or a Fulmore Falcon, you’re good. You already know two-thirds of LASA. Give the remaining third a break, though. No one really cares to hear about how great of a teacher Ms. Flores-Wolsky was. I didn’t even go to Kealing and I know pretty much the entire staff from all of the anecdotes I heard in Spanish III. You’re going to face the pressure of assimilating into the social scene of high school. You probably see all the lavish, dangerous high school parties depicted in movies, you want to join the queen-bee clique and you probably feel inadequate among all the comfortable seniors. Don’t sweat it. You’ll get there. You’ll get invited to parties, they will get busted by the cops and you will be too scared to go to another one again. Music festivals will be just as taxing. Drink a lot of water, cover your mouth and nose with a t-shirt to protect yourself from the fumes and don’t accept anything from anyone. It gets better. Schoolwork

First semester freshman year is a get-out-of-jail-free pass. Other than that, every choice you make will impact your GPA. You will regret everything by the end of junior year. Try to get through Beowulf, the Bhagavad Gita and SciTech with tact and grace. Don’t join any extracurriculars just yet. You will feel overwhelmed and the bricks in your backpack will accumulate accordingly. Focus on getting all your homework done so you can... prepare for more homework. You have three more years to build your resume with meaningless clubs and titles. Be nice to all of your teachers, no matter how cattywompus their curriculum. Also, don’t cheat. Once you cheat, you won’t be able to NOT cheat for the next three years. I’ve seen it happen. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to cry. It’s cathartic, and it adds a nice little blush to your cheeks.

People please prepare prior to polling, pick Pace for position

The general elections passed in early November, where candidates ran for everything from Governor to School Board Representative. As a 17-year-old I wasn’t able to vote, but I still tried to be as involved in the political process as I could, whether it was block-walking for certain candidates or delivering political signs throughout the city. However, I probably wouldn’t

have taken such an interest if my mother hadn’t been involved in the campaign herself, running for the Austin Independent School District School Board District 9 At-Large position.

Before my mother announced that she was running for the school board, I had never taken much interest in local politics or realized how dedicated and how much effort the candidates put into their campaigns. Reflecting back now, I’m realizing how much of an ‘uneducated citizen’ I actually was. There are plenty of ways to learn about the candidates in the General 2014 elections, but I was too unmoved to do the actual research and learn about the different candidates.

Judging by the way the 2014 general elections went, I’m not the only person who would have voted without any prior knowledge. After the general election results came through, it was clear that a large portion of the voting population didn’t put much thought into the election. This ‘uneducated voting’ was most obvious in my mother’s race. To break it down, the two major candidates, who raised the most money and were the most active throughout the Austin community, only received a combined 49 percent of the votes. One of the candidates, who I won’t name, was very inactive at public events, and hardly tried to make a name for himself. Yet he still received nearly 20 percent of the votes.

If voters would actually spend time to research and become educated about the candidates in their local races, they would begin to understand the power that their vote carries. If every person in the past election who voted based on completely arbitrary things went back and actually researched the candidates that they were voting for, they might realize the difference that their vote could’ve made. So for future elections, whether it be a general or local election or something as important as the primary elections in March, anyone who plans on voting should take the time to become educated and use the power of their vote wisely.

Carter PaceStaff Writer

Roxy BonafontStaff Writer

art by Lina Fisher

art by Lina Fisher

Vicks-infused KleenexCollege Center napsFuzzy socksHoliday treesAlmond butter

Running in the coldTight headbands

Keeping up with slangChristmas trees

Food falling en route to mouth

the liberatordec. 15, 2014

LASA

freshman Kate Stankiewicz

Meris McHaneyStaff Writer

Ana LopezStaff Writer

Three Science Olympiad (SciO) teams from LASA competed in the Cypress Falls Science Olympiad Invitational Contest (CyFalls) on Nov. 15 in Houston. The LASA team got second place out of 46 schools. Club sponsor David Walker said that for the first tournament, spots for new members are prioritized.

“For our tournaments in the fall, we normally do try to get younger kids exposure to the tournaments...and that’s why we took three teams—to allow more people to compete,” Walker said. “For around half of these guys it was their first Science Olympiad competition, so it was kind of eye opening for them.”

Walker said LASA junior Sam Gunn did well at CyFalls. Gunn participated in four events: two biology, one geology, and one science vocabulary event.

“[In] the biochemistry one, we didn’t do very well at all because we didn’t make a model,” Gunn said. “...Our model was really bad because we spent no time on it. But other teams made really good models, but did poorly on the test. So it averages.”

The next competition for the LASA SciO teams is the Kingwood Invitational on Dec. 13 in Houston.

Sadun begins lecture series and discusses sizes of infinities

body positive activist, and she has a hugely popular blog called Dances with Fat, and she talked about how the beauty industry really kind of messes with our heads and how we’re just fine and how we’re told that we’re not but we’re beautiful just the way we are.”

Rachael Ellisor, LASA junior and an officer in the Feminists of LASA (FOL) club, said the conference was a great event that brought significant issues to attention. The club’s purpose is to educate the public about feminism and help raise money for certain organizations that cater to women’s needs. The club has intentions of helping the Circle of Health organization as well as local women’s shelters. Ellisor said she completely supports what GENaustin is doing.

“Personally, I think it’s really great to have an event like that where the purpose is to boost the morals of girls and also help parents with raising their girls with a healthy body image, which is one of the major issues we are advocating for in this club,” Ellisor said. “I really appreciate what this conference is trying to do [by] getting a group of people together and educating the ones that need to be educated and then helping along the ones that already believe in something.”

Ellisor said she has also attended other girls events in Austin such as the Girls and Science event that was held at the UT campus for engineering.

“I think these events that happen are really good,” Ellisor

said. “They have classes educating parents on how to talk to daughters and understand them better, helping to tell women they are strong leaders as opposed to telling them they are bossy which is another big issue. Also, just nurturing girls minds and not teaching them that their bodies are the only thing that is valuable about them is very important.

Megan Pratt, LASA junior and an officer in FOL, said the club supports anything that seeks to empower women through education. She said it is great to see organizations dedicated to empowering women to make their own career choices and follow their passions.

“Across the country, women are repeatedly discouraged from participating in math and science fields through

microaggressions and general gender discrimination within those subjects, at

school, home, and in the workplace,” Pratt said. “Even though LASA is credited

with being a progressive school that produces highly acclaimed scholars

of all genders, I’ve personally seen many girls talking about feeling uncomfortable or discriminated

against by their male peers within programs at this

school.”This is something the Feminists of LASA is trying to combat. According to Pratt, empowering women and girls through education will help with this inequality.

“This conference serves not just the community, but society as a whole by helping bring

capable minds into new academic fields,”

Pratt said. “Within schools, you get more females participating in

math and science classes and extracurriculars organizations, bringing new minds and new perspectives to these vital fields.”

According to Ellisor, the FOL club has had a lot of positive outcomes, but it has also received negative comments because people think the club is a joke. One misconception the club deals with is that feminists think women are superior.

“We’ve had a huge positive response, it’s just these people that don’t believe in the cause because of their own misconceptions that we need to help as well,” Ellisor said. “And that’s what this conference is about, and I think that’s really great and I would love to be a part of something like that in future years.”stories by Victoria Mycue, Sam Zern and Aryaman Lamsal

the liberatordec. 15, 2014

LASA Science Olympiad huddles up on the day of the Cypress Falls Invitational tournament in Houston. photo courtesy of Blake Karwoski.

LASA Science Olympiad takes second at invitational

Putting a twist on the All Topics Are Considered lecture series, LASA junior Jonathan Sadun has begun hosting a series of talks exploring different realms of mathematics. Sadun said his goal was to move away from the arithmetic based math students are used to.

“What you learn in school is a restricted subset of mathematics that can frankly get a bit boring after doing it for a long time, and I think that a lot of people basically get bogged down with school math,” Sadun said. “But they don’t see the scope of mathematics, and they don’t really see what the best part of mathematics can be.”

Sadun’s most recent lecture was “Infinity, the Continuum Hypothesis and How to Count.” It focused on the different sizes of infinities that appear in different sets of numbers.

“I was looking for topics that... would be accessible to everyone yet be complex enough that even the more advanced kids would learn stuff from it,” Sadun said.

Youth and government club takes part in competition

The LASA Youth and Government (YAG) team participated in the district competition at Austin High School on Nov. 22. This year the team, advised by LASA teacher Ronny Risinger sent 30 students to the competition.

According to LASA senior Madeline Goulet, the Youth and Government team performed well at district, winning all of their verdicts and placing in the top four overall. Goulet said she was impressed with how well the team performed, especially LASA senior Rose Smiley.

“Rose Smiley always plays an excellent witness. She usually ends up being the defendant who is being put on trial,” Goulet said. “Her background in theater really helps her transform into the character.”

Risinger said YAG allows students to experience how the government works. He said participants are able to use a wide array of skills including, writing, debate, critical thinking and even photography.

“In each section, students are immersed in the reality and details of how that section works in the real world,” Risinger said. “In the youth legislature, students draft bills and debate their merits hoping to pass them in the House or Senate chamber.”

The team has qualified for the State competition which will run from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1 at the Texas State Capitol.

During November, students from the University of Texas volunteered their time to teach LASA students about their research involving enzymes and proteins as part of the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI). UT professor Dr. Josh Beckam received funding from the university for the project and encouraged his own students to reach out to an Austin area high school. Five UT students from the FRI, Antonio Garcia, Vicky Gomez, Renée French, Priya Patel and Grace Truong from the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI) chose to work with LASA and collaborated with LASA biology teacher Jill Griffin to introduce LASA freshmen to enzymes and protein structure with hands on experiments.

LASA freshman Jesus Uresti is one of the students who was invited to participate in the project. He said the UT students of FRI brought taught new information and experiments that LASA students don’t learn in freshman biology classes.

“The FRI outreach program [were] these students from UT that came and helped us learn because we wanted to learn more about proteins and enzymes,” Uresti said. “They would give us these tests plus hands-on experience with the proteins. I enjoyed the experience, and the teaching style worked because we all seemed to remember the information given to us, and we all had an enjoyable time because we were doing things that we enjoyed doing.”

UT student Antonio Garcia, a part of FRI, said he initially became interested in the project himself because he wants to spread the importance of research to other communities, especially to high school students.

“It’s important for us to show high school students that science and research give us the opportunity to help make people’s lives better,” Garcia said. “Because proteins are so essential to life, understanding them is incredibly important for expanding our knowledge about living organisms, and for learning how to prevent the progression of

infectious diseases.”Garcia said FRI focused on choosing

a high school in Austin with students who were interested in pursuing science in college. He said his team wanted the students they worked with to be invested in learning about research going on at UT.

“We knew that we wanted to reach out to a high school that would be excited to collaborate with us and that had expressed interest in making connection with UT Austin,” Garcia said. “We spoke with an outreach coordinator at the UTeach program, and she thought the biology students at LASA might be a good fit.”

Garcia said FRI’s outreach to LASA is about more than just informing the

community of their research. He said he also wants to encourage science-focused students to participate in research efforts when they get to college.

“Those of us involved in FRI have found that participating in research and working in a lab environment has allowed us to become better students and better scientists,” Garcia said. “Research at the undergraduate level is becoming more and more accessible. Summer programs, such as those offered by UT/FRI, allow high school students to participate in research at an even earlier stage in their careers. We hope that giving high school students the opportunity to explore the concepts and technology that we use in our research lab will encourage them to apply to these types of programs and

realize that scientific research can be engaging and worthwhile.”

LASA freshman Jessica Mauer, one of the participants in the project, said the sessions when the UT students came to LASA were extremely informative. She said Garcia and his teammates successfully taught about proteins and enzymes in an easy to understand style.

“FRI came to lecture us about a bit of their program, what they do, and on the folding, composition and more of proteins,” Mauer said. “They also gave us pre-tests and post-tests everyday to see what we learned, [to see] if what they’re teaching is sticking to us and if it is working for them so they can continue to do lectures like this.”

Garcia said he and the rest of the FRI team taught the curriculum to the LASA students over the course of three

days. He said the project focused on teaching the material

through hands on projects in which the high schoolers could physically understand the modeling of proteins.

“During the first day, the students stepped through the process of protein synthesis— from transcription, to translation, and finally protein folding,” Garcia said. “They used foam modeling ‘Mini-Toobers’ to physically fold their protein based on chemical interactions between amino acids. On the second day, the students used PyMOL, a program utilized by research institutions across the nation, to visualize and manipulate the 3D structure of a protein and its inhibitor.

The third and final day, we gave students an opportunity

to analyze the interactions between various chemical compounds and the active site of a protein. They were challenged to make predictions about the strongest inhibitors for an enzyme that is currently being studied in our lab because of its role in the deadly disease of African trypanosomiasis.”

According to Griffin, the experience her students received of working with the FRI was very beneficial. She said it’s an opportunity she hopes will be repeated for more LASA students in the coming years.

“I think that the students really benefited,” Griffin said. “They really enjoyed it, based on what I saw. The students learned a lot, and it was fun.”

UT Freshman Research Initiative talks proteins and enzymes at LASANurit ElberStaff Writer

Feminismcontinued from page 1

Fire academy students participate in a drill to put out a fire at one of their practice sessions over the weekend. photo courtesy of Jim Richardson.

graphic by Abby Kappelman

graphic by Abby Kappelman

the liberatordec. 15, 2014

LASA students have been participating in online Capture the Flag (CTF) information security competitions where participants must reverse engineer, hack and decrypt computer systems to solve a series of challenges. Each challenge is designed specifically for the competition, making it a legal way to get hands-on experience in hacking.

LASA seniors Evan Tey, Nha Nguyen, Sam Grayson and juniors Neil Patil and Ishan Shah have participated in many online CTF competitions as a team of five. On Nov. 29, they began a week long competition, EasyCTF, which involved intense coding where the team attempted to get as many points as possible by solving online problems.

“Capture the Flag is a computer security competition which tries to teach students by having challenges on exporting systems,” Nguyen said. “If you know how to export a system, you know how to breach it, so some people call it a hacking competition.”

The team of five worked together theorizing possible exploits and finding solutions to the given problems. Shah said they didn’t stop working for an entire week, attempting to gain as many points as possible. He said the competition will help prepare members of the team for a future career in computer science.

“I’m planning on majoring in computer science and network security has always interested me, so I really like CTF,” Shah said. “It’s a really nice way to be able to ethically hack something. It’s just like hacking, but it’s not illegal, and it teaches you a lot of really valuable security skills so you can protect your own sites better.”

Patil said that the competition’s complexity requires a uniquely perceptive mind and often problems take the entire group to solve. The difficulty is created by the ambiguity in many of the questions

they have to answer. “What I find personally challenging

about CTF is that because it’s a puzzle...it’s never straightforward what you need to do,” Patil said. “There’s always a trick and for me, that’s extremely difficult.”

However, according to Shah, the solutions to each problem are often worth the grind the competitions requires. He said other than preparing for a future in computer science, each competition has intrinsic value as well, such as the satisfaction of completing a challenge.

“I think its really fun to break a challenge,” Shah said. “When you have a really hard challenge they’re usually organized in difficulty from easiest to hardest. When you solve a really hard challenge, or even a mid level challenge, that’s really a cool

experience.” Sometimes there is an additional bonus for the top finishers. For PicoCTF, another online CTF competition which finished on

Nov. 7, there was a prize bonus for the top eight finishers. The LASA team didn’t win any prize money, however they finished in 18th place of over 3000 teams. Nguyen said during the competition, the prize pool was a motivating factor for many participants, such as himself.

“I’m personally not going to major in computer science, but in PicoCTF there’s money involved in the competition,” Nguyen said. “Eighth place earns $1000, and I think first place is $6000. We were second at one point, but we dropped down.”

According to Nguyen, CTF helps people searching for a future in Computer Science as well as those looking to use their problem solving skills for a prize. It provides a program that ensures its competitors acknowledge the importance of computer security and are able to see through the vagueness in its questions.

“Bugs that hackers use are usually really hard to notice,” Nguyen said. “CTF encourages people to find these bugs in the competition, and through it, you learn more deeply about computer programing as a whole.”

LASA senior Lily Xu, along with two teammates from Houston, made it to the regional finalist level of the Siemens competition for the 2014-15 school year. As one of the teams that advanced, she prepared a poster, a presentation and took part in a question and answer session with a panel of judges. Her group took part in the regional level competition at MIT.

The Siemens Foundation partnered with Discovery Education to host the 2014 Siemens competition. The online submission process entailed writing a research paper under 18 pages not including the abstract and references. After the research papers were submitted, 60 regional finalists were selected to advance to the regional level. At this level the groups were assigned to six regions. This year the regions were all hosted at universities including UT, MIT, NYU, CalTech, Carnegie Mellon and Georgia Tech. From the regional level, one team project and one individual project were selected to advance to the national competition where scholarships of up to $100,000 were awarded to the winners. Xu’s project began at a camp she went to this summer.

“I attend a camp over the summer where we got to work with professors at Texas State University... on a research project in groups,” Xu said. “This summer I worked with a group [of] two other students from Houston, and we worked with a Statistics professor and a Computer Science professor that had several ideas for directions for our project.”

Xu met her two team members over the summer and together they conducted breast cancer research and decided to take part in the Siemens competition.

“We worked on a bioinformatics project [where we took] data for DNA methylation in the human genome of breast cancer patients and normal individuals,” Xu said. “We were able to identify 26 genes that could act as ‘biomarkers’ or indicators of predisposition or susceptibility for breast cancer development. At the end of camp, our camp director encouraged all of the groups to enter into the

Siemens competition.”LASA senior Dhruv Puri also partook in

the Siemens competition but did not make it to the regional level. He said that the process was similar to a scholarship search.

“You basically write up a research paper,” Puri said. “They call it a research report... You have an abstract, you go onto your methods, specifically what [you did], what kind of significance [it has], what kind of results you have, and [the] results. It’s pretty hardcore stuff in that sense. Once you do that... you submit that and then these guys miraculously get about 800 of these papers read and looked over. They pick the top 300. After that, they look over those and pick the top 60. Once you get [in the top 60] you get money.”

According to Puri, the best part of the entire process was the actual hands-on research. His project focused on cancer research and on finding a regulator to track how cancer develops.

“My two favorite parts [were] just doing the research itself,” Puri said. “[It] was really fulfilling in itself. It made me feel like I was part of our research world. It felt cutting edge. And my second favorite part was pressing the submit button. I cannot tell you how good that feels.”

Though he did not make it to the regional level, LASA senior Evan Tey said that the Siemens competition was a new experience. He said that breakthroughs while researching were the best part of the competition.

“For a math project, this means proving a theorem after potentially days of staring at a board,” Tey said. “For me, this was the morning of July 4th when my group was working in a classroom on Texas State’s campus finally solving the problem that would become the core of our paper.”

According to Tey, the competition opened his eyes to future career options.

“Siemens was the first time I had conducted research and formally written it up, so for one, it showed me how exciting research could be and therefore how it could be a potential career,” Tey said. “Besides this, Siemens, I felt, was really a testament to who I am, because it forced me to work hard, solve problems, and troubleshoot when things went wrong.”

What I find personally challenging about CTF is that because it’s a puzzle...it’s never straightforward what you need to do

-LASA junior Neil Patil

““

The LASA Amateur Radio Club competed in the School Club Roundup contest during the week of October 20-24. Not only did the club win the competition, but it also broke amateur radio records. The president of the club, LASA senior Jacob Yarnell, helped lead the team to victory alongside seniors Demaree Rios and Sofia Valdivieso-Sinyankov, juniors Bennet Leff and Hoyt Taylor and freshman Mirah Gordon.

The club had 24 hours in a five day period to make as many contacts as they could using the radio equipment in the school radio room. The club made a record-breaking 959 contacts throughout 48 states, seven provinces, 49 countries, eight clubs and 47 schools. Yarnell said the competition was a good learning experience for all of the members.

“We had broken records before and actually had beaten our previous score last February when we competed, but this year we did extraordinary,” Yarnell said. “[We beat] every record set by ourselves, and [beat] the overall contact and points record set by anyone else.”

The club earned a total of 354,645 points in the contest, beating out all other competing clubs. Club sponsor Ronny Risinger said the atmospheric conditions during the competition greatly contributed to the number of contacts the team was able to make.

“The radio propagation depends really a lot on our sun,” Risinger said. “Radio waves bounce off our atmosphere so the more charged up the atmosphere is, the better. There was a sunspot that week the size of Jupiter on the sun, a massive sunspot, and it was facing directly toward earth. It was just spewing all kinds of ions at the atmosphere, and so it was just amazing.”

The charged atmosphere allowed the

club to contact countries across the

world like Saudi Arabia and Morocco. However,

Risinger and club mentor Joe Fisher told the team that all

competing clubs would have good conditions which encouraged the members to work harder and faster

at making contacts.“[The members] really worked hard,”

Risinger said. “They put in the full 24 hours. When they were doing the contest, they were going as fast as they possibly could. You’re talking so much you get hoarse. It’s pretty stressful.”

Yarnell agreed that good conditions made the competition particularly spectacular. Another factor in the team’s success was the contacts made by morse code. Yarnell made 40 of the 959 contacts through morse code, his preferred method of radio communication.

“Morse code is truly the easiest mode,” Yarnell said. “When you try and make voice contacts, the signal stretches over three kilohertz and can be very garbled if you’re not dead on frequency when listening. Also, a voice is unintelligible if it’s not loud, and everyone’s accents makes the challenge of comprehension even harder.”

In the School Club Roundup Competition, each regular voice contact was worth one point, and each morse code contact was worth two points. All morse code was done by Yarnell, who learned the skill when he took the

Amateur Radio class in his sophomore year.

“We were required to learn the code as part of the class if we wanted to make a 100 [percent],” Yarnell said. “One morse code contact at

the slowest speed possible of five WPM (words per minute)

was necessary to receive a 100 [percent] on the final. One contact lasted 30 minutes

at this speed, if not longer, but as I started making more and more I was able to decipher the code in my head without writing it down, and eventually was able to copy at over 25 WPM, quite a fast speed most people never make it to.”

Yarnell became president of the Amateur Radio club in his junior year after LASA senior Elliott Gordon graduated. Yarnell said taking the Amateur Radio class got him interested in competing. This year, Yarnell has focused on recruiting and training new members so that the club can continue after

he graduates in the spring. LASA junior Bennet Leff recently joined Amateur Radio club and worked alongside Yarnell in the School Club Roundup competition.

“Jacob Yarnell was a huge help as club president,” Leff said. “He earned more contacts than anyone in the club and put up great numbers. He’s been helping to encourage

participation and lead the club to victory this year. He’s our ‘guru’ as Mr. Risinger calls him, so losing him to graduation next year will be a big deficit.”

However, Leff said he is still confident that the club can go on without Yarnell next year. Leff said he even thinks they can secure more first places in competitions.

“After winning first place and training more skilled club members, I believe we can

put up a good fight next year to bring home another first place,” Leff said. “Ultimately, it’s about getting enough enthusiastic people onboard so that we can teach them to operate the radio.”

Yarnell said he is proud of all the hard work and time the club members have put in this year, especially during School Club Roundup contest. He

said he expects great success in the future for the team.

“It felt tremendous to know that in my final year of doing this, I was able to help get the club the number one spot and do it so spectacularly with a record-breaking win,” Yarnell said. “I must say everyone did a great job. It was not just me.”

Online competition tests students’ decryption skills

Student competes at Siemens

Alex PaschStaff Writer

Sesha McMinnNews Editor

LASA senior Lily Xu stands in front of her research project at the Siemens competition photo courtesy of Lily Xu

It felt tremendous to know that in my final year of doing this, I was able to help get the club the number one spot and do it so spectacularly with a record-breaking win.

-LASA senior Jacob Yarnell

““

Victoria MycueStaff Writer

Regional finalists including LASA senior Lily Xu were part of the region five group hosted at MIT photo courtesy of Lily Xu

graphic by Abby Kappelman

the liberatordec. 15, 2014

LASA students in the Advanced Graphic Design classes pitched their logo designs for the new Austin Community College (ACC) Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning on November 18 and 19. The Advanced Graphic Design course serves as the next step after Electronic Magazine for students interested in designing graphics. As an assignment, students were each given the task to spend three weeks brainstorming and inventing a logo to accurately represent the new center at ACC. The opportunity arose when Missi Patterson, assistant Dean of Faculty at the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, attended “Back to School” night.

“I have a child at LASA who is in the Advanced Graphic Design class, and the reason this whole thing came about is I went to the ‘Back to School’ night, and I heard Mrs. Harrison talk about her plan for the Advanced Graphic Design classes,” Patterson said. “She was going to set it up like there was a client and then they would do pitches in class, and I thought that was a really great idea...so I contacted her and asked if she would like to give the students a real client.”

The Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning is a division of faculty development at ACC. Patterson said their philosophy is that teaching is a skill that can be improved over time like anything else. To develop this skill, Patterson said the center provides teachers with an opportunity to practice their craft by working together with their colleagues. So when looking for a new logo, they wanted this idea to be reflected in the design.

“We want something that speaks to the idea of collaboration, working together, that it’s about excellence, that it’s about always improving and never standing still,” Patterson said. “So these are all the kinds of ideas we thought would be of value to include in a logo. And you know pretty, of course pretty.”

Other than including the essence of the organization in the design, Patterson did not place any restrictions. Patterson

said she studied creativity as a graduate student and learned that the best way to impede creativity is to give too many constraints.

“I did mention that it should look nice with the ACC logo,” Patterson said. “It is a blown apart star that kind of looks like a human in primary colors. It should look nice with that because anytime we are going to use the logo we are probably also going to have that logo somewhere near by. But other than that I left it wide open.”

The logo would appear on the center’s website, emails, any publications, the monthly report that goes to all ACC faculty and t-shirts. Given the enormous

opportunity, Brandi Harrison, Advanced Graphic Design instructor, said she wanted to give each student a chance to design their own logo.

“The way I set the assignment up was so that students would each have an opportunity,” Harrison said. “I feel like group work was not the way I wanted to set it up because in most situations, if you’re a freelance designer you’re not working with a group. So I did want them to come to the conclusion of designing this logo on their own.”

LASA sophomore Aidan Evans-Strong, a student in Advanced Graphic Design, said she enjoyed the challenges and struggles of providing for an actual client. She said most of the work is done in class with the exception of sketching at home.

“The design part actually wasn’t that different from the other projects we’ve done,” Evans-Strong said. “We started out by sketching rough ideas by hand, and then coming up with a good idea...In class we had a lot of studio time to just work on the logo in Illustrator and we also did gallery walks where we see everybody else’s sketches. That is the

most enjoyable part for me.”Even though each student

individually came up with a design and moved through the design process on their own, they collaborated in class to receive feedback from each other on their logos. Harrison said the students critiqued classmates’ logos during gallery walks.

“Gallery walk is basically whenever they all put their sketches out, and it’s a practice done a lot in art school, and so they put all their sketches out and then their peers come around and give them votes on their sketches on which ones will translate the best into the project at hand,” Harrison said. “And so they

got some feedback on that. And then after that I sat down and talked to each of them about which ones they should move forward with.”

The students were invited to the ACC Highland campus where they pitched their designs to the Faculty Development Advisory Group. This group was made up of faculty

representatives from many different campuses as well as two representatives from ACC’s Marketing Department.

“We had two rooms reserved,” Harrison said. “All the students waited in one room and then, one by one, the students came over by themselves into the room. Each student had three and a half minutes to pitch their logo.”

Patterson said currently the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning is only considering LASA student designs for their logo, and they have not yet chosen one. She said she would really like to see what the students come up with because she has a lot of confidence they can do something great. According to Evans-Strong, the experience is one she will never forget. She said presenting to clients was a great learning opportunity.

“I was pretty nervous, especially once I was sitting there waiting to present,” Evans-Strong said. “They made us go to a separate room after we presented, to separate the people who had gone from the people who hadn’t. The experience was great because I was actually able to present to real clients who might choose my logo.”

Graphic design students present logos to ACC

LASA junior Emelia Patterson designed this logo and is one of the finalists from which the ACC faculty will choose a winner. photo courtesy of Emelia Patterson

AISD schools face intradistrict inequityAlex FriedmanStaff Writer

LASA junior Maddie Crabb created and presented this design to the ACC Faculty Center and is now one of the finalists. photo courtesy of Maddie Crabb

LASA senior Alex Friedman is one of the finalists who presented this logo idea for the new ACC Faculty Center. photo courtesy of Alex Friedman

According to a recent report update by the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP) Austin Independent School District (AISD) has a two tiered system when it comes to public schools. A lack of funding, the TCRP says, has led to schools with families of high socioeconomic status receiving more resources and better educations than those schools with families of low socioeconomic status. TCRP recently looked deeper into this inter-district funding, with the help of TCRP attorney Joe Berra.

Berra, who has focused on civil rights for most of his career, said he sees a lack of equity when it comes to Austin schools, due partly to the formulas used to determine per student funding, where some students, like disabled students or English language learners, are counted as more than one student.

“So Austin ISD has, I believe, about 80,000 students, but for every economically disadvantaged student, that student is counted as 1.2 students,” Berra said. “...So when you add all that up, instead of 80,000 physical students, we have 100,000 weighted students. And then the funding comes based on your weighted student population. The problem is the amount of those weights is totally inadequate.”

TCRP says the lack of funding from these formulas leads

to intradistrict inequalities, with wealthier schools picking up the tab and poorer schools, where many of the weighted students live, not being able to do so. Berra said the problem of equity, however, can be seen in more ways than just disparities in funding. One example, he said, is in magnet schools like LASA and Kealing which can create certain risks for the school district.

“The district has made a choice to create some high quality academic programs and as part of their commitment to that choice, has funded it with an extra 30%, so you don’t get the same funding per student at LASA or Kealing,” Berra said. “That by itself does not imply automatic inequity...Then the problem becomes, how much equal access is there really to those programs?”

Therein lies the problem, according to Berra. He said that the contrast between LASA and LBJ’s racial and socioeconomic make-up is cause for concern.

“There’s this kind of problem of creating two schools on the same campus and that in itself being a kind of segregation of vision,” Berra said. “And then, the schools having a racial make-up that is very different. And so when you have that staring you in the face you have to ask why or how is that happening and [does] something need to be corrected here? And that may be the kind of so called “objective criteria” for getting into the schools in fact is creating a division that is not what we want.”

That division, he said, could be solved by opening up the divide between the two schools. Berra said that the purpose of locating magnet school on the East Side was to create opportunity, but that there has to be more substance to back up that goal.

“Part of the reason for locating those [magnet] schools on some of the East Side was to try to say ‘we don’t want to reproduce discrimination or inequity so we’re going to put these schools on the East Side,’ with the idea that somehow that was going to create more opportunity for the students on the East Side,” Berra said. “...The effect became parents from higher socioeconomic class...took advantage of it and others did not. So the question is how do we open [magnet schools] up more to the community itself?”

When it comes to solutions, however, Berra leaves that up to the community. He doesn’t want to appear as though his role is to come in as a problem fixer. His role, he said, is to point out the issues get the conversations started.

“A lot of our work is about uncovering inequities that are there, trying to find some of the root causes and so making the policy makers aware, the professional educators aware, and the community aware so we can have a dialogue around some of the solutions,” Berra said. “Our expertise is more pointing out and assessing where inequity exists, and we need everybody’s expertise to come up with policy solutions or programmatic solutions to address that.”

Seven LASA juniors have been selected by the current National Honor Society senior officers to represent the junior class by serving on a junior liaison board. NHS officer John Chan, a part of the team that chose junior officers, said the purpose of the junior liaison board is to take on one volunteer event each semester.

“The junior liaison board will plan two events, one in the first semester and one in the second,” Chan said. “We decided to split up the board into two groups and have each group plan one project.”

More specifically, the board has the opportunity to plan events closer to home. Chan said that the events planned by the junior board will be different than a regular NHS event.

“The board is meant to help bring events [to LASA students] that are hosted and run by NHS,” Chan said. “Instead of NHS simply working as the manpower behind another organization’s event, with the board we are dedicated to running and planning our own event.”

Junior board member Krista Bangs said

she feels that the opportunity to collaborate with other juniors is a great aspect of the board.

“We have had two meetings so far, and it’s mostly been brainstorming ideas for the event we are planning for January,” Bangs said. “I really enjoy bouncing our ideas off each other since it’s a team effort and hearing what other people think we should do for our big event. We are working on designing an event right now, and I’m very excited to see how it turns out and what we end up planning.””

Bangs said there’s a higher significance to the work the board is doing. Through organizing a volunteer event, the board members get to have a say in what cause in the Austin cause they choose to support.

“I really enjoy organizing and planning events as well as doing things for a good cause,” Bangs said. “I’ve volunteered at many NHS events, and I think it’s important to be involved in community service and helping others.”

During the application process, the NHS officers said they looked for juniors who were willing to dedicate time to volunteering despite their busy schedules. Chan explained how his fellow officers went through the selection process for the board.

“We looked for people who had time

in their schedules, were dedicated to volunteering, and had both the ideas for events and the ability to plan them,” Chan said. “Me and Dhruv were picked by Zoey to help lead the Junior Liaison Board [as] we’ve both been in NHS since junior year. We selected people who we felt were able to plan events based on our experience planning events for NHS in the past.”

Chan hopes that this year’s junior liaison board will have the opportunity to be more involved with the events they’re planning and with NHS as a whole.

“The junior liaison board has been a part of NHS for years, but this year we decided to revamp it,” Chan said. “We decided that instead of juniors just planning events along with the senior officers, this way we could get them more involved with their own part of NHS.”

Overall, Chan is very interested to see the all that the new junior liaison board will accomplish this year.

“We’re really excited to have two huge events planned completely by juniors,” Chan said. “Everyone seems very enthusiastic, and our first semester group is hard at work planning the winter event. The group’s working together really well.”

LASA NHS Junior Board sets sights on creating eventGrace FullertonStaff Writer

LASA junior Krista Bang and LASA senior Dhruv Puri compile ideas for an NHS event. photo by Eliza Cain

Olivia LeeStaff Writer

The experience was great because I was actually able to present to real clients who might choose my logo.

-LASA sophomore Aidan Evans-Strong

““

Noche de las Estrellas (‘Night of the Stars’) is an annual production by LASA teacher Angie Browne’s Spanish six students, and features a variety of performances, including dance numbers and covers of popular Spanish songs. This year’s event was held on Dec. 10 and included group and solo numbers, costumes, and lights. As students took on the personas of various Spanish artists, they lip-synced and danced to songs of their choosing. LASA senior and Spanish six student Anna Blankenship says the performance is a reflection of her and her classmates’ work throughout their many years taking studying the Spanish language.

“In most Spanish classes, students learn about grammar, vocabulary and history,” Blankenship said. “So it is really cool to put to use all the knowledge we have learned over the years to create a huge presentation. It’s fun to learn about the components of modern Spanish through pop culture and people who are promoting the Spanish language.”

To accomplish this huge presentation, the Spanish 6 students have been preparing since September. The first step for the students was to choose the songs they wanted to perform, a task that required a good deal of consideration and even counseling from Browne.

“My favorite part is helping students choose their song,” Browne said. “I usually give them the freedom to select a song, but some of the songs that they initially pick would be really hard for them to feel comfortable performing on stage. I help them choose based on their personality or who they look like.”

Since choosing their songs, the students have spent the remainder of the semester focusing on choreography and rehearsals.

“We’ve had dance rehearsals basically every day in class,” Arora said, “We had to first choreograph the songs and then teach these dance moves to everyone participating in the song.”

Arora, who performed the song ‘‘Mi Tesoro’’ by musical

duo Jesse y Joy, a duet entitled ‘‘Morena Mia’’ by Miguel Bose and Julieta Venegas and danced in multiple songs, says she enjoyed the project and believes it has brought her and her classmates closer together.

“I have never done anything like this before,” Arora said. “It’s fun to do something so unconventional in an academic class. Our class is really small, with only 13 people, and we’ve definitely bonded a lot over the course of preparing for Noche.”

Despite the unconventional nature of the project, Browne says that it has been an educational experience as the show itself is informative of Spanish language and culture.

“People should come to be entertained, but they’re also going to hear popular songs that are famous in the Spanish-speaking community, but they will also learn facts about the artists. We’re gonna have two hosts that will be talking in between when they change clothing, and that’s going to be translated into English.”

The event was an educational experience for the performers as well, as the students learned more about both the language and the cultures of Spanish speaking countries through their exploration of popular singing and dance.

“Memorizing so many songs definitely helps us learn new vocabulary,” Arora said. “But beyond that, we are learning a lot about Spanish music, culture and history, as we are performing songs by artists all across the Spanish-speaking

world. One fun thing is hearing the different accents that singers from different countries have in their songs and comparing them that way.”

Each Spanish six student is required to perform a unique solo musical number, which results in a variety of Latin pop songs. Some students lip-sync to songs and artists that are well-known in the United States, such as Enrique Iglesias and Shakira, while others students perform music by artists known only to other Spanish speakers, such as Miguel Bose and Fanny Lu. Browne plays songs by artists like these in all levels of Spanish classes, as a more exciting way to study the language.

“My goal is to choose songs that are really popular now, but also to incorporate a variety of styles,” Browne said. “We chose songs to appeal to a broader audience and international singers that are not necessarily Spanish, like ABBA.”

As students have been working on the performance for quite a while, they’ve developed a strategy for memorizing the songs for lip-synching.

“At the beginning we worked on selecting individual and group songs,” Arora said. “Then everyone had to memorize the words to their songs. Since then, it’s been dance rehearsal basically every day in class, because we had to first choreograph the songs in small groups and then teach to everyone in the song.”

The show featured a number guest appearances, from first ladies Hannah Read and Jessica Lopez to LASA Spanish teacher Adriana Lacera’s elementary school son, Jonah, who was a backup dancer to Shakira’s “La La La.” Each student brought their own personality to the show, from ‘80s workout songs to iconic pop songs.

“My role is to be a singer, dancer and musical celebrity,” Blankenship said. “I have been looking forward to participating in this production since freshman year, since Spanish six is the only year we get to do it!”

An Austin hallmark, the Trail of Lights, has been home to thousands of first dates, families, and general proponents of holiday cheer. Depicting various scenes from pop culture, children’s stories, and holiday tales, the infamous Christmas lights at Zilker Park commence the beginning of the season and the beginning of one of the most popular events in Austin, Texas. This holiday season, the Trail of Lights Foundation will celebrate its 50th anniversary with some new changes and additions to the Austin tradition. Spurring the event is Mario Espinoza, president of the Trail of Lights Foundation.

“One of the things the board tries to do at the Trail of Lights Foundation is to make sure that we keep things young and different,” Espinoza said. “I know people don’t want to come back and see the same displays over and over again. Although, there are some displays that people just love. If we ever took them I’m sure they would not be not be happy.”

Starting Dec. 7, the Trail of Lights celebrates its 50th anniversary with new displays, a fee on the weekends, an updated trail and the return of the annual yule log for the first time in four years. According to Espinoza, the fou n d at i on has been focusing on k e e p i n g the event financially s t a b l e a m i d s t an influx of visitors and a desire to keep the event innovative.

“We have to look at the financial sustainability of the event itself. In early years it was funded entirely by the city, but the city of Austin does contribute but not nearly the amount that it used to,” Espinoza said. “The majority of the 1.5 million dollars that it takes to produce the 15 day event comes from donations by very generous people.”

Starting this year, the Trail of Lights

will implement a gate fee of three dollars on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays for children over the age of 12 in an attempt to lessen crowd congestion and ease the flow of movement. Long time attendee

“[The event] started off with some employees of the city of Austin Parks department. They got together to do something special for the citizens of Austin,” Espinoza said. “They started off by doing just a couple of very small displays very early on. It included all kinds of things and evolved

over time.”While finding a balance of new and

old displays is difficult, Espinoza says that the Train of Light’s impact on the community has always been known. He said the event has been able to capture the spirit of the holidays early on in the season and has been able to gather

people together, creating a sense of family, community and belonging.

For LASA senior Desiree Moreno, the Trail of Lights is the perfect event to attend with her relatives amidst the bustling holiday season.

“I’m a huge fan of spending time with my family, and going to the Trail of Lights during one of my favorite times of the year lets me

have that nice family time,” Moreno said.

“I think it’s an important event in

Austin because it has been

around for so long. It really holds

a deeper meaning for other families that have lived here their whole lives.”

For others, the Trail of Lights is a symbol

of Austin’s u n i q u e

charm and the warmth that the

holiday season brings.“It’s not a tradition for me, but if I could

I’d make it a tradition,” LASA junior Raina Rahman said. “The holidays are all about people and doing good for others and being around the friends and family that you love. It’s one thing to celebrate the holidays in your own homes, but to come out and celebrate it with neighbors, with residents, with fellow Austinites, that’s just an awesome experience.”

the liberatordec. 15, 2014

Chelsea BanawisStaff Writer

Fifty years of lighting up

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TOP guesses as

to who is behind lasa compliments

Though not of Australian descent, the Jaguar’s defensive player does in fact, live down under. Those who have seen this young man around LASA’s campus know that he always has something to tell all his mates. The original complimenter, Sydney is our top pick for

LASA Compliments.

Underneath those snug fitting, green-colored skinny jeans, chambray button downs and his poetic beard, we all know Bradley Sharp loves each and everyone of us. (Especially you, freshmen.) It only makes perfect sense that this jubilant man stays up into the wee hours of the night, typing up compliments about our lovely,

alluring, captivating, enchanting, delicate selves.

In real life he tells you that your parents hired him as a friend, that your knees are fat, and that he’s not skipping class. A man of infrequent speech and the id-like decision-making, Vignesh’s passion lies in altruism. So while you think he’s out walking the halls, the young man from Westwood writes a compliment for every

single student at LASA.

Picture Alan Santucci in a dark room with a small, 12 inch computer screen brightly lit in the corner. The man wears nothing but red pants, a red jacket and a red hat with a fluffy, snow white end. On that screen lies the admin page for LASA compliments. With a hefty ho-ho-ho, LASA’s ex-assistant principal still watches over his students, brightening each and every day as his skin turns an unsightly albino

white. Merry Christmas!

Behind her carefully crafted exterior lies a woman who doesn’t really care about “the self and other”; she only cares about you. When you see her furiously scribbling a series of post-it note novels, you can be

sure each post-note is a reminder of your inner beauty.

SYDNEY HAIRSTON (#22)

MR. SHARP

MS. CARDINALE

MR. SANT[A]UCCI

5

VIGNESH VASU

I’ve never done anything like this before. It’s fun to do something so unconventional.

-LASA senior Megha Arora

““

Annual performance highlights Spanish culture, song, danceRoxy Bonafont & Ana LopezStaff Writers

graphic by Victoria Mycue

the liberatordec. 15, 2014

VARSITY BOYSSCHEDULE

VARSITY BOYSPre-District Season

Nov 18 v Austin High 65-66Nov 21 v Akins 70-56

Nov 25 v Anderson 49-52

Jan 28, 7:15pLBJ v Reagan

at Noack

SEASONAL STATSDec. 6 Meet Record

Jan 31, 10:45aLBJ v Eastside

at Noack

Feb 3, 7:15pLBJ v Travisat Burger

VARSITY GIRLSSCHEDULEJan 27, 7:15pLBJ v Reagan

at Nelson

Jan 31, 9aLBJ v Eastside

at Nelson

Feb 4, 7:15pLBJ v Travisat Nelson

VARSITY GIRLS* = district game

Nov 11 v Vista Ridge 52-82Bowie Tournament Nov 13-15

55-64, 51-49Nov 24 v Reagan* 80-27

Nov 25 v St. Stephen’s 47-52

Benjamin Pfei�erRecord 2-3

152 lbs

Teague HartiganRecord 11-3

120 lbs

MEN

Winston Baxter-HarwellRecord 6-2

145 lbs

Eduardo HernandezRecord 3-1

126 lbs

WOMENOlivia Crawford

Record 2-1215 lbs

LBJ senior Jabrell Scott dribbles down the court, shouting instructions over the crowd. He passes the ball to LBJ senior Shane Smith in the paint, who then lays it up

for two points. The buzzer goes off and the scoreboard reads 66-65, Austin High. “We made some bad mistakes that they capitalized on, and missed some free throws,” Scott said. “So you know, it was a good game overall, but I

think we could have done better.”LBJ basketball coach Freddie Roland said that the team has been

struggling this season with the addition of some new players. Five of the Jaguars’ varsity members, currently on the LBJ football team,

cannot join the basketball team until the football season ends. As a result, Roland brought some younger players to fill the

empty spots. Roland said that the Jaguars should have a 3-0 record, but the new players didn’t have enough experience

yet. “We should be undefeated,” Roland said. “Free

throws just let us down at the end and I think that has a lot to do with fatigue; not being able to rest

your kids and rotate them. The [young players] we are carrying on varsity to help out a little bit,

they’re just not experienced enough to come in the game and give us a long rest for a kid

to sit out for two or three minutes and get a breather.”

Roland said that last season the Jaguars had a very cohesive team, with seniors who played on varsity together from sophomore year onwards. He said that this maturity led to a high level of confidence throughout the team that this season’s Jaguars haven’t found yet, but they will well before the season ends. With two tournaments coming up, Roland said that he expects the skill level of his team to

increase quickly.“I think we’ll do well,” Roland said. “I think the seniors will come around. I’m pushing

a little bit. I’m kind of pleased with what’s going on right now. They can’t see it, but I think we’re going to be just fine.”

Roland said that the Jaguars are ready for the tournaments and that he hopes that the team will learn a lot. LASA junior and varsity basketball player Sam Pastor said that the next few tournaments will have a big impact on the confidence level of the team. He said that the Jaguars’ goal is to win both of the upcoming tournaments.

“We have the Bowie tournament coming up,” Pastor said. “I don’t know who we are going to play but we are going to go out there and play hard and hopefully win the tournament. Then next weekend is our tournament which we host. We are going to play a bunch of teams that are not from Austin. There’s a team coming from Australia. I think we won that tournament last year, so we are just hoping to repeat this year.”

The tournaments coming up are set to have strong teams and Roland said that they will give the younger players practice, as well as raise the bar on the Jaguars’ own level of play. Roland said that he has very high expectations for his boys and they know that. Roland said that the Jaguars aim to use what they learn in district and bring it to playoffs.

“We’re going to play a couple tournaments and we’re going to lose a couple more, but over all I’m looking at a 22-6 season and that’s great,” Roland said. “Probably going to want to be district champs. I think we’re playing better teams than our opponents are playing. We’re playing 6A teams, we’re not playing 5A and 4A teams as of yet. So the tougher the competition is the better off the team is. We’re right there.”

Walking through the halls around the gym, one can find see many

framed photos of past girls basketball teams. A picture of the 2010-11 Lady

Jaguars at the state championship hangs on the walls next to coach Rene Brown’s

office, along with pictures of numerous different district championship teams.

This year’s girls basketball team faces an extra challenge on their road to another

district championship. The district season began earlier this year than in years past,

leaving the team less time to prepare for their important district games, which are used for

playoff consideration. The Jaguar’s played Bastrop in their first district game on Nov. 18. According

to Brown, starting the district season this early is different for the team.

“We normally start when we come back after Christmas break, but since the district has added three

teams now, we [started] way before Thanksgiving,” Brown said.

The Lady Jags started out the regular season with a scrimmage against Harker Heights on Nov. 1, and they played

their first non-district game on Nov. 11 at Vista Ridge High School, losing 52-82. According to Perry, the team was not ready

for the game.“I was really working hard to keep us in the game,” Perry said. “The

new [UIL] rules of the game are no physical contact and no touching other players, so that gave us a big advantage. We were in the double-

bonus before half-time.”Against Vista Ridge, Perry scored about 30 points and LBJ junior Stephanie

Knight contributed to the game with assists and points, but the Jaguar’s efforts were not enough to get the victory. According to Perry, some of the LBJ players

were nervous going into the game. “We have a few underclassmen on varsity this year so they were pretty nervous,”

Perry said. “I think that had a lot to do with the outcome. We need some more bonding.”

While many of the girls have played basketball and volleyball together before, the team is still getting to know each other’s and their own playing styles.

According to Perry, the team bonds by eating meals together and talking.“We sit together, talk about what we going to do, set goals, try to

reach the goals,” Perry said. “If we [don’t reach our goals] it’s not

bad or anything we just try to do better next time.”

On Nov. 18 the Jaguars defeated at Bastrop 62-42 in at Bastrop High School. According to Brown, the game went very well for the Jaguars.

“All the girls played hard,” Brown said. “Bastrop is supposed to be one of the top competitors [in the district], and we beat them by 20 points. We should win the district championship without really any tough competition.”

On Nov. 25 the Jaguars were defeated by St. Stephens at home, losing 47-52. Perry accounted for 18 of the Jaguar’s points, and grabbed four rebounds, and stole the ball five times. According to Perry the game was very good, but the team needed to play tougher defense.

“The only reason we lost is because we weren’t talking enough on the floor,” Perry said. “If we had kept communicating and kept running I think we could’ve kept up with them. They weren’t better than us, and I’m pretty sure we could’ve beat them. We had to really push deep down because our big player fouled out and everyone just kind of gave up.”

The Jaguars had a number of turnovers against St. Stephens, which Perry said might have cost them the game. According to Perry, when some of the team’s players fouled out, they lost some of their motivation to keep giving their all.

“When you hear your coach yelling at you, everybody kind of gets down,” Perry said. “If we had kept the game at our pace we could’ve won.”

Although the team started with a 4-2 record, they are still undefeated in the district. Perry said she hopes that the team has gotten their jitters out.

“Well I’m a senior and I’m the captain so I predict we aren’t going to lose anymore district games and we’re just going to have a great season,” Perry said. “I think this is the best team we’ve had my four years.”

Brown said she looks to continue the Lady Jag’s 14-year district championship winning streak this year. She said that LBJ has not lost a district game in recent history.

“We’re looking forward to just having fun, playing and winning,” Brown said. “We’re looking forward to winning the district title and going further in the playoffs.”

The team shares Brown’s expectations for the season. Knight said they’re all looking forward to winning the district and making it into the playoffs.

“Predictions I have for the rest of the season: we’re going to get first place for district, as usual, and get some good wins,” Knight said. “I know that we’re going to accomplish great things.”

Young team struggles in preseason

Girls aim for 15th back-to-back title

Meagen AllgoodSports Editor

Robin DaemmrichSports Editor

The top LBJ sports statistics from the past six weeks graphic by Abby Kappelman

photos by Robin Daemmrich

LBJ sophomore Marcus Collins

LBJ senior Tyshelle Perry

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the liberatordec. 15, 2014

The Paper Jaguar with Chris Jones

The Paper Jaguar is an experiment in “participatory journalism” which was pioneered by George Plimpton in the mid-60s. Plimpton wrote a book called The Paper Lion detailing his tryout with the Detroit Lions professional football team.

Inspired by the idea, intrepid former sports editor Jake Stewart practiced with a different LBJ athletic team each issue and catalogued his experience here. In this issue of the Liberator, Business Editor Chris Jones practices with synchronized swimming team.

I felt that wearing a leotard was a tad much, but still, I was ready to dance. As I strode into the Town Lake YMCA natatorium late Sunday night, I was more than ready to practice with the Austin Angelfish Synchronized Swimming team and partake in the sacred art of water dancing. I expected to show up, hop in and make a splash with my undiscovered aquatic talent. The goal was to quickly launch my career as a professional amateur synchronized swimmer and then flourish in the abundance of fame and fortune that comes with it, but before even entering the pool, I realized my modest goal might be sunk.

To my surprise, I spent the majority of my practice with the all-female synchronized swimming team, or ‘synchro,’ above the water. The practice began with half an hour of dryland workouts that made me more out of breath than I would care to admit. As a soccer player and swimmer myself, I am no stranger to dryland workouts, but my past experience did nothing to prepare me for the bizarre environment in which synchro exercises occur. Most people are probably unfamiliar with the characteristics of a natatorium, so allow me to explain: it is essentially a large metal box surrounding an enormous pool that creates an ecosystem defined by warm swamp-like humidity, toxic chlorine fumes with very little space to actually perform the work out. The most unsettling part of it all, though, was the blaring pop music that boomed and echoed throughout the space. After painfully stretching parts of my body that I had not known existed and giving my best attempts at the team’s dryland squats and crunches, I will never doubt again that Meghan Trainor is ‘all about that bass.’ With the team limber and warmed up, I was tired and sore, but ready to get into the water and start showing my stuff.

Again my expectations were mistaken, as I was informed that it was not yet time to get on my swim cap and nose clip. Instead, the team stayed on dry land and began what they referred to as ‘decking.’ This activity consists of the girls intensely learning the team’s complicated routine on the pool deck before entering the water. After witnessing how intricate every move is, this makes perfect sense, yet it is something that I never even thought about before. The Austin Angelfish usually spend months of practice perfecting their routines, but I was determined to make the most of my 45 minutes decking. After accidentally hitting all eight girls on the team in the face and tripping a shocking two of them, I managed to master the first six seconds of the routine. This may not sound like much, but with the number of twists and turns and highly specific movements involved, I felt pretty accomplished. As the decking session ended, it was finally time to get wet and I knew the tiny water-dancer inside of me was ready to shine.

However, disappointment struck yet again. The team did not cheerfully erupt into their precious routine. Instead they just started swimming laps. If I had wanted to go to swim practice, I would have woken up at five a.m. and driven 40 minutes out to the Eastside YMCA for LBJ’s. The laps were followed by another half hour of underwater synchro drills. This was the portion of the practice where it truly hit me that I was in over my head. Starting with eggbeater ladders, sculling and ballet legs, I barely had any idea what the names of these drills meant, let alone how to actually do them properly. These exercises tired me out so much that when it finally came time to practice the routine in the water, I had lost any enthusiasm that I started this endeavor with. I struggled with a key aspect of synchro—endurance—and this caused me to commit the cardinal sin of the sport: touching the bottom of the pool. My best efforts at performing the Angel Fish’s routine nearly resulted in the lifeguard having to jump in the pool to make a save. After explaining that I was not, in fact, drowning, but rather just doing my best to ‘leave it all on the field,’ I decided that practice was officially over for me. I expressed my gratitude to the team for letting me interrupt their practice, said my good-byes and limped home to recover.

I came to synchro practice with the intentions of spreading my water wings and artistically expressing myself, but rather I was met with the intense amalgamation of dance, swimming and gymnastics that synchronized swimming is. Though I learned a lot and ended up having a pretty good time, you will not see me starting a men’s synchro team in Austin anytime soon.

LASA senior and Science Olympiad team captain Blake Karwoski calls across the field to gather his teammates to their makeshift line of scrimmage. LASA Science Olympiad members line up on one side, facing the LASA Robotics team on the other. From the sidelines, Karwoski calls the players to begin LASA’s first football game pitting Science Olympiad versus Robotics, or ‘Battle of the Nerds.’

“This was the first annual [game],” Karwoski said. “I talked to a couple of my friends and robotics team members and we thought it would be a good idea. Everyone seemed to love it.”

The robotics and Science Olympiad teams put out posters in the hallways and made announcements about their game the week before. LASA Science Olympiad sponsor Jon Croston said that they didn’t spend much time planning and organizing the game, but it worked out well enough.

“Everyone was really excited,” Croston said. “It was a lot of fun. I hope they do it again. I think that next year it could be a lot better. This is more entertaining than powder puff.”

The game was held after school on Nov. 20. The Science Olympiad team scored early on and led for the entire game, winning 7-0. Croston said that the score was off of a blocked punt.

“The robotics team had to punt from a few yards out of their end zone,” Croston said. “No one wanted to punt it, so these two players were handing the ball back and forth until finally someone punted it right as everyone got on them. The ball went up about five feet in the air, and when it came down Justin Kang caught it and walked right into the end zone.”

Croston came to watch the game, but left the coaching up to the players. According to him, the scene on the field was mass chaos.

“The teams just tried to throw the ball in the right direction,” Croston said. “It was not a big field and they were playing 11 on 11, so there was just a mass of people. So when you tossed it the ball was pretty much up for grabs every time. It was

really hard for them too because they were playing two hand touch, so as soon as they caught the ball they were swarmed.”

Those who were not playing stood on their respective sidelines and cheered on their teammates. Karwoski said that a lot of people showed up for the game.

“We had like three rotations going because we had a lot of people show up,” Karwoski said. “Not really a lot of organization going on—it wasn’t like a real football game—[but] the game was interesting for sure.”

LASA senior Vicente Kaufhold led the robotics team as quarterback for part of the game, and defense for the other part. According to Kaufhold, two of his plays were particularly memorable.

“During my time as quarterback I made a nice 20-yard throw that ended up on basically the one yard line,” Kaufhold said. “I also feel bad because on a defensive rush I jumped up to block a pass once and ended up tackling the other team’s quarterback down and hitting him in some sensitive areas.”

The game-time rain did not force the game indoors, in fact they stayed and battled it out for an hour. LASA sophomore Amir Downing said that the rain affected the nature of the game.

“[The rain] made the ball a little harder to catch,” Downing said. “But I don’t really think that’s a problem considering no one could really catch in the first place.”

Neither team wore jerseys or coordinated team colors, and most players wore flat-soled tennis shoes that provided little traction on the wet grass. According to Kaufhold there was lots of slipping and falling during the game.

“Everyone was really just an amateur,” Kaufold said. “Amateur is the word I would use.”

There were more interceptions than completed passes during the game, but Karwoski said that it was still a great game. He hopes the teams enjoyed it enough to play again next year.

“The seniors are looking to pass the game on to younger students,” Karwoski said. “[We] hope to do it again next year. We hope to make it a yearly tradition.”

As fall draws to a close and the bitter cold of winter begins to envelop Austin, the varsity girls rowing team from the Texas Rowing Center slides their boat out of Lady Bird Lake. Team members and LASA juniors Sophia Amstutz, Anna Odell and Chloe Carlander move off of the water and go indoors to practice on rowing machines in preparation for the spring season. Just a few months ago the team traveled to Boston for the Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR) in October to test their skills in one of the best known regattas in the world.

“The HOCR is the biggest fall regatta in the United States and probably the world,” Carlander said. “People come from all over the world to participate. It’s so big that you have to put a bid in and get chosen to be able to race.”

The HOCR attracts about 11,000 athletes every years, as well as about 400,000 spectators who line the riverbanks of the Charles river. According to Carlander, those who place in the top half of their division get an automatic bid for the next year.

“This year we raced a four (four rowers, four oars and one coxswain) and got 27th place out of 84 boats,” Carlander said. “We got top half so we get to go back again next year.”

The HOCR is a way for the team to get an idea of how they will do at their national competition , since an event of such a large size attracts tough competition. Odell says that the team is trying to become well known at nationals

“Our team isn’t well known nationally,” Odell said, “But we are working very hard to become competitive at nationals.”

Odell, the coxswain, has many commitments when the team is racing on the boat. Aside from coordinating the direction of the boat, her primary job is to persuade the crew to row harder and faster. According to Odell, Amstutz and

Carlander and both outstanding rowers.“They have both gone to nationals twice,” Odell said. “I

have so much respect for their hard work.”Amstutz and the rest of the crew have rowing at least five

days a week for an hour and a half to prepare for nationals. Amstutz says that she uses this time reset her mental switch and decompress everyday.

“Rowing is probably one of the biggest things in my life, if not the biggest,” Amstutz said. “I love racing for the competition and experience, but how close everybody is on the team means a lot to me. Rowing gives me something to look forward to everyday after school, and it’s time that I get to take my mind off of everything else in my life and just row.”

The teammates socialize outside of practice. Odell says that the teammates who go to LASA see each other all of the time.

“It’s nice to have someone that you can talk to about school and rowing,” Odell said, “because they understand your life.”

As senior year and college approaches for all three LASA juniors, they are faced with the question of whether or not they want to row in college. Amstutz says that she sees collegiate rowing as a possibility in her future.

“I haven’t really decided yet if I want to, but I could definitely see myself rowing in college,” Amstutz said. “It would be a serious time commitment, but I love the sense of community you get from being on a team and seeing my teammates almost every day.”

Odell said that she hopes that come June the team is prepared enough that they will have a shot at a good result in nationals. She said that the only thing she is worried about is that TRC is not a very widely known team, and therefore might not qualify to race.

“Getting to nationals is a huge accomplishment as it is and TRC isn’t a very well known team nationally,” Odell said. “If we qualify for a light four, I’d love to get a top ten.”

Gil JohnsonStaff Writer

Robin Daemmrich & Oliver Powers Sports Editor & Staff Writer

“It was interesting to say the least,” Vicente Kaufhold said. “Solid hour long football game in the rain.There was one score in like the first three minutes and then not another score for the rest of the game.” LASA junior and Science Olympiad team member Lucas Baltisburger jumps for the football. photo by Isabel Saralegui

The more you rowTexas Rowing Center’s girls team competes in Boston, LASA juniors work towards being recognized rowers

Science Olympiad, Robotics teams square off in first-ever “Battle of the Nerds” football game

graphic by Alex Friedman

LASA junior and Angelfish Jasmine Stone coaches LASA senior Chris Jones at her synchronized swimming practice. photo by Meris McHaney

The Jaguars started their four-game playoff run in the same stadium as they finished.

On Nov 15 the Jaguars took on Vista Ridge in the first round of the playoffs. Having lost to Vista Ridge earlier in the season, 23-19, Coach Jackson said that they went into the game with a new plan. This was something he said they needed, because the Jags have a smaller squad than other teams.

“They [had] a pretty good defense and I’ve got some guys playing defense and offense who got tired, but they sucked it up,” Coach Jackson said. “You’ve got to change your personality for what you’re trying to do. Right at the end of the fourth quarter, it’s still 14-7 and there’s about seven minutes left in the game. It’s fourth down so we went for it, but Zae threw an interception. We had a guy wide open, but he missed it, he threw it to the wrong guy. Still, our kids showed so much resilience, because [Vista Ridge] intercepted and ran it back for a touchdown, but we came right back. That right there shows that our kids knew they could win. In their heads, our kids knew they could win.”

After their 26-21 upset win against Vista Ridge in the first round of playoffs, the LBJ football team raised their heads in prayer to thank their teammate, LBJ senior Jermaine Dillard, who passed away Nov. 8. Vista Ridge players raised money during the game to help Dillard’s family pay for Jermaine’s funeral. After the game, Vista Ridge players delivered the donations to Coach Jackson. The Jaguars celebrated their win on the field, with LBJ seniors and defensive backers Zae Giles and Ashton Williams doing backflips on the fifty yard line. LBJ senior and linebacker Sydney Harrison said that the team was happy they won, but quickly moved on to the thought of their next game.

“After we won we got on the bus and everybody was like, ‘did Alamo Heights win?’ and they won, [so we got focused on] playing them” Harrison said. “We’re always looking forward to next week from the second we get on that bus. It was cool to win, but it was time to get down to business.”

The following week, the team watched and rewatched game footage that coaches at San Antonio’s Alamo Heights sent over. Ashton said that the Jags had the mentality that they were going to win.

“I’m thinking ‘we’ve got to get this [win],” Ashton said. “This team cannot beat us and they will not. We push hard and go for everything we want. So, if we win that’s what’s expected of us, so it’s not really a big deal for us. When we go on the field it is not like, ‘will we win?’ it is more like, ‘when is a time that defense and offense will click and we will pull out the win?’ It’s more of a matter of when not how.”

On Nov. 22, LBJ took the field against the Alamo Heights Mules in San Marcos’s. In the first half the Jags went up 14-0 after recovering two fumbles for touchdowns. After a scoreless third quarter, the Mules scored two touchdowns in the fourth. Then, with time running out, Avery responded with a 47 yard touchdown run to pad the Jags lead and make it, 20-13. The Mules had a final two minute drive which ended with an

interception from Giles. According to LBJ sophomore and cornerback Jordan Jones, the defense won the game for the Jaguars with two defensive touchdowns.

“Our seniors really stepped up and took leadership this week to help our young guys try to get the victory.”

Before the game, the teams faced heavy rain which threatened to postpone play. However, the major rain receded just before game time, allowing the teams to take the field. Throughout the game, the teams had to deal with intermittent light rains. According to Jones, the rain affected the Jaguars in multiple ways.

“I think it made us more pumped up,” Jones said. “It didn’t affect them because they still stuck to their game plan, passing. We couldn’t get the ball out there so we had to run a bunch more.”

The game was played in Texas State’s Bobcat Stadium, which has a capacity of 30,000 spectators. LBJ Senior and linebacker Cameron Meeks said that playing in the stadium was a great experience.

“That’s like a once in a lifetime deal,” Meeks said. “You don’t get many chances to play in a stadium like that”

On Nov. 29 LBJ advanced to the third round of the playoffs, where they faced Victoria West. The first half saw scores from both sides, tieing 7-7 at the end of the first of half, but LBJ regained a lead in the third quarter. The fourth quarter became a tug of war between the two teams.

The Jaguars were down 35-28 and after a touchdown they needed a two point conversion to win. Avery received the hiked ball, and passed it to Giles, who threw it to Davidson waiting in the back right corner of the endzone. The Jags got the two point conversion and pulled ahead, 36-35. With three seconds left in the game,Victoria West went for a field goal that could have won the game, but instead they kick the ball straight into the arms of Johnnie Williams.

“It felt good to know that we caught the ball and that the game was over,” Williams said. “Blocking a game winning field goal [gives you] a good feeling.

Next year’s Jaguar football team will lose 13 seniors to graduation, including Avery, Davidson and Giles. However, despite their losses, the Jaguars will maintain a larger number of their starters. According to Jackson, next year’s quarterback spot is still up in the air.

“It could be a sophomore, Trelyn. It could be Allie Green. It could be a junior Jordan Jones. I don’t know,” Jackson said. “They are gonna have some athletes. I think the team is going to be able to manage the loss of this year’s seniors. They’re gonna be good. ”

the liberatordec. 15, 2014

continued from page 1

Playoffs

LBJ vs Alamo HeightsNov. 22

LBJ vs Vista RidgeNov. 15th

LBJ vs Victoria WestNov. 29

A Vista Ridge football player delivers donations from Vista Ridge fans for the family of Jermaine Dillard to Coach Jackson following their game.

Below: LBJ Senior Ashton Williams(#44) tackles an aerial Vista Ridge player. The Jaguars held Vista Ridge to 21 points, defeating them in the bi-district round of the playoffs. The Jaguars moved on to play Alamo Heights from San Antonio. all photos courtesy of Bob Daemmrich

LBJ senior Sydney Harrison (#22) celebrates after defeating Victoria West. From his neck hangs the cleats of teammate Jermaine Dillard, who passed away on Nov. 8th. “Football, it doesn’t just build character and strength it also builds a family,” Harrison said. “We’re all one family and when Jermaine [Dillard] passed, it was a tragedy, but it also helped everyone come together and unite and realize that we needed to not only [win] for ourselves, but do it for each other and do it for the community.”

LBJ Junior Robert Satterwhite(#5) tackles a Victoria West player during the Jaguar’s 36-35 win. LBJ was down 35-28 with 5:14 left in the 4th quarter, but came back and scored a two-point conversion to avoid overtime and advance

LBJ senior Ashton Williams(#44) runs though the rain as he breaks away from the Alamo Heights quarterback. After recovering a fumble, Willams returned the ball 55 yards for the first touchdown of the game. “[The ball] just landed in my hands” Williams said. The Jags would go on to win 20-13, and advance to the next round

LBJ senior Avery Jackson (#7) escapes the tackle of a Victoria West definsive man

the liberatordec. 15 2014

the liberatordec. 15, 2014

Presents are stacked high under the tree, and as soon as midnight arrives, LBJ junior Jacelyn Calderon and her family

descend upon the neatly wrapped gifts. Each family member inspects their own piles of presents, with the smaller children weighing each before deciding on their final, most-anticipated gift.

“My mom used to do [the tradition] when [she and her siblings] were kids,” Calderon said. “So when we were younger she would always say that we would get a ‘sneak peak’ on Christmas Eve.“

Calderon’s family holds a tradition of each picking out the gift that they most desire to open in the first minutes of Christmas. Calderon said that this midnight present-opening has been happening every year since she can remember. Each member of the family opens their presents in order of age, with the youngest and most anxious cousins and siblings tearing into their gifts first. Calderon said that when she was younger, she would plan which present she wanted to open beforehand to make sure that she got her most exciting gift.

“It’s gotten less exciting since as you get older, your gifts get less appealing to you,” Calderon said. “When you’re younger it’s like ‘ooh I got this toy, I got this electronic.’ But when you get older it’s more clothes so you can just go and pick any random one. When you’re young, you knock on the box, trying to hear what you have. It’s more exciting for the younger kids.”

Although Calderon is older and she said the tradition has lost some of its sparkle, she continues to enjoy the time she spends with her family. Calderon said that she is thankful for her opportunity to have this tradition with her family, and her family’s ability to give each other presents to continue the tradition.

“I cherish [the tradition],” Calderon said. “Not everybody has a Christmas Eve or is able to open one gift so for me to be able to open that one and still have more to open the next day, that makes me grateful.”

Piling the last of the toys into his car, LBJ science teacher Nicholas Dellas drives to the SafePlace shelter to deliver presents for families in need during

the holiday season. Dellas and his family have been buying toys and donating them in lieu of giving presents to each other for the past three years.

“It’s impossible to buy anything for anybody because usually you just end up spending money on stuff the person doesn’t need or possibly even want, because you feel like you need to get them a gift,” Dellas said. “Instead, a few years back, we took all the money we would usually spend on each other and just went on Amazon and bought tons of toys and gave them to a shelter instead and we still did little stuff with stockings.”

SafePlace, a shelter for families that have been victims of sexual and domestic violence, accepts donations of toys and presents for families that they support. The donations are then collected by volunteer sponsors who wrap the gifts and deliver them to the families on Christmas. Dellas said that he loves knowing the joy these toys will bring to kids who wouldn’t normally even have a Christmas, and he spends time searching for presents the kids would most enjoy.

“The buying of presents in fun on Amazon,” Dellas said. “It’s like going on a shopping spree for kids. You’re just sitting there, buy, buy, buy! It all shows up at once two days later, so there’s these big boxes out in front of the house with all the stuff. And opening it up! It’s not even for me but I’m like ‘oh look at this, look at this!’ So that’s kind of fun!”

This holiday tradition has given Dellas’ family the ability to help others while still enjoying the anticipation and excitement that go along with giving presents. Thanks to donations from people such as Dellas, families who don’t have the means to provide the holiday season in the traditional way for their loved ones can still enjoy the time with family without having to worry about what they can afford. Dellas said that since starting this charitable tradition, he and his family have seen the joy and happiness it brings to know that they are helping someone else celebrate the holidays.

“I would recommend [charitable giving] because it makes you feel good and people benefit from it,” Dellas said. “There’s no reason to sit there and spend money on people that don’t need [things] when there’s people that actually are in need.”

I set my pencil down on the desk next to my last test of the semester. It is early afternoon, the air is chilly and the semester is over. On the long bus ride home, I chat with my friends. At home, I pack a few final items, grab my sleeping bag and clothing-stuffed backpack and get in the car to go to church.

For the past two years, my winter break has started with a trip to San Antonio with some of the youth from my church, St. Catherine of Siena. The annual mission trip embraces the spirit of giving that surrounds the holidays when the stress of the semester ending and holiday decorating is not overwhelming. We spend time with the San Juan de los Lagos youth, attend posadas (reenactments of Mary and Joseph searching for shelter in Bethlehem, ending with a party complete with tamales, Mexican

hot chocolate, and other treats) and help with a variety of other community tasks.

In addition, we volunteer at the Unicorn Center, which is a day center for adults with developmental disabilities. Some of the adults there proudly hold jobs, but my youth group tends to work with those who do not, entertaining them for a day with holiday-themed crafts, games and music.

Both years, I have spent most of my time at a table primarily full of non-verbal people. Many of them lack fine motor skills, but the smiles on their faces clearly show how proud they are when they have finished making a Christmas card for their mom or caretaker, or when their ornament finally looks like a

reindeer. One craft we brought was a wreath-shaped foam ornament with numerous accompanying foam stickers. I worked with several adults who were eager to decorate the wreaths but who were unable to peel

the backing off of the foam shapes. When I peeled off the wax paper, they were extremely excited to place the sticker down. Then, when I helped them knot the string that the ornament would hang from, they looked up and

smiled. They had accomplished something, and the result of their design was beautiful.

The St. Catherine’s Youth Mission Trip helps me recognize that I can make an impact on the community. I am able to see a few of the many places

help is needed: food pantries, community parties, building upkeep and local organizations such as the Unicorn Center. Serving others in need is a personal responsibility that is important to the community and to me as a faithful person. In addition to being glad to help others and pleased to see smiles on strangers’ faces, serving communities in need helps me find joy in my own life. When a single Christmas present or putting stickers on a handmade Christmas card makes someone else’s day, I reflect on all the amazing things and opportunities I have in my life on a daily basis.

I am accustomed to completing simple tasks like writing a card. Yet, for some, drawing a picture or being able to communicate a message is a significant event. Instead of considering communication as something that has to be done, these joyful adults help me see communication as a privilege not all of us have. By seeing the gratitude of those I help on the mission trip each year, I’ve become grateful for my own diverse experiences, and my desire to serve grows stronger.

In the midst of winter break, while carolers bombard me at the entrance to HEB and nights in my neighborhood are lit up by bright strings of lights, I complete a special holiday tradition. I don’t celebrate Christmas. Don’t get me wrong, I have no FOMO (fear of

missing out) and I am perfectly happy celebrating Hanukkah whenever it falls on the calendar that particular year. But celebrating Hanukkah leaves me with an annual conundrum: what should I do on Christmas Day?

As much as I hate to agree with stereotypes, it’s completely true that many Jews eat Chinese food and go to the movie theater on Christmas Day. Chinese restaurants and movie theaters are some of the very few businesses that keep their doors open on Dec. 25. The only other notable open attractions are grocery stores full of people who forgot something for their Christmas dinner and charities. During recent Christmas Days, I’ve gone to see new movies, eaten a lot of Chinese food with family and friends, flown back home from a family vacation (airports are practically empty on Christmas Day) and volunteered with Mobile Loaves and Fishes handing out food and hand-knitted scarves to homeless people around Austin. Without needing to sit next to an evergreen tree in my living room ripping open presents on Dec. 25, the possibilities are wide open. After years of experimenting, I’ve found that some of my most rewarding Christmas experiences have been the days that I’ve spent with charities giving to those in need. It’s easy to forget that while most of the city is shut indoors to celebrate Jesus’s birthday at church or at home, the seemingly empty streets outside are

filled with people who aren’t so lucky. A warm meal, a smile and a simple “Merry Christmas!” completely brightened the days of those I served with Mobile Loaves and Fishes a few years ago.

Last year, instead of volunteering, I used my special day to experience a Catholic midnight mass for the first time. I dressed up in a red dress, marched into a large church with my dad and was quickly amazed by the grandness of it all. The scents, the sound of the bells being rung and the large number of people singing in harmony were breathtaking. It was a strange experience staying silent for most of the service as the people around me sung their hearts out, but it served well as a time to reflect. Even when compared to the rest of the lengthy list of random things I’ve done on Christmas Day, this was different. It felt blatantly clear that I was the odd one out among all of the proud Christians in the pews around me. Yet at the same time, it seemed fitting that I was doing something completely out of my comfort zone on a holiday that is marked by long-lasting traditions and comfort for a good portion of Americans. December 25 may have no religious significance to me or my family, but I can still use the day to experiment and try new things despite my lack of Christmas-related traditions.

Currently I’m debating what I will do this year to celebrate Jesus’s 2014th birthday. When I searched for “Christmas traditions” on Google, I found plenty of viable options. High on my list of possibilities is a Christmas-themed food fest in which I consume ungodly amounts of eggnog, hot cocoa and anything peppermint-flavored. Alternatively I might bake cookies for Santa and then feed them to my family instead. Or perhaps I will be a bit more considerate and find somewhere to volunteer again. Then again, I’d be content even if all I did was drive down practically empty streets to go experience something new while everyone else celebrated their long-lasting traditions.

Dreaming of a lo mein Christmas

The St. Catherine’s Youth Mission Trip helps me recognize that I can make an impact on the community.

““LASA student volunteers to bring holiday cheer

Logan KramerLife & Feature Editor

The giving tree

Chloe EdmistonLife & Feature Editor

Frankie MarchanWeb Editor

Chloe EdmistonLife & Feature Editor

Lots of toys for all the good girls and boys

page design by Logan Kramer and Chloe Edmiston. graphics by Abby Kappelman.

LBJ Band director Don Haynes watches in the press box during the final football game of the regular season as the band arranges themselves to spell out his name on the field. From the box, Haynes gives his final farewell over the intercom to parents, faculty and students after devoting 39 years to ‘the one, the only, LBJ band.’

“Leaving this wonderful school will be very, very hard to do, but, as I told the marching band back in August, I want very much for them, and the school I love, to celebrate with me,” Haynes said. “I hope there won’t be too many tears, either from me or those I shall bid farewell to, but I’m certain it will be awfully tough at first.”

As a 24-year-old University of Texas at Austin alumnus, Haynes was offered the band director position by LBJ’s first principal Ron Beauford. He accepted the job in the summer of 1975. Haynes said his first defining moment at LBJ came when he entered the band hall for the first time as director.

“The entire band and student leaders embraced me from the first day I was introduced by Principal Beauford,” Haynes said. “The band members, whom I had never seen until that moment, gave me a standing ovation when I walked up to the podium. From that instant until now, it has been an amazing love affair between the LBJ band and me.”

The band was still a fledgling organization with one year under its belt when Haynes took his position. In Haynes’s first year as director, the band got all first division rankings at the UIL marching competition. An achievement, he said, which sealed the students’ trust in him as a director.

“When we earned a first division at marching competitions (UIL) the entire marching band would race across the field when their first division rating was announced,” Haynes said. “[They were] quick to find me and my assistant director, Rosendo Sanchez to haul us off the field on their shoulders like a football team winning a state championship.”

Since then, the LBJ band has been able to participate in many competitions and different parades and games. In 1981 they were invited to perform during the halftime show of the Cotton Bowl between Texas A&M and The University of Alabama, where Haynes conducted over 30 bands in playing the national anthem and music for the halftime show.

“Whenever you get a chance to do that, it’s like ‘what an honor and a privilege,’” Haynes said. “It’s great. It feels incredible and the last thing you want to do is mess up.”

In 2007, after 32 years working at LBJ, Haynes was honored by the Austin Independent School District board of trustees with a theater in his name on campus. Haynes credits the recognition to the LBJ band’s numerous successes under his leadership.

“For a building to bear my name at the school that I love, and have given 38 years of my life-is an overwhelming honor,” Haynes said.

Working alongside Haynes is LBJ marching band director Brian Mayer, a former student of Haynes’s who returned to the school. Mayer said he respects Haynes’s commitment to the school and the program that he has shaped.

“One of most unique parts of Mr. Haynes’s story as a band director is the fact that he has spent 39 years at this school, and built this entire program from the ground up himself over the past decades,” Mayer said. “It is a rarity in our profession to see that level of commitment and love for a program. This speaks volumes to his love and dedication to this school and community.”

Haynes has been proud to influence thousands of young musicians throughout his career, among them LASA senior Beck Goodloe. Goodloe has known Haynes since middle school, when Haynes first taught him how to play the clarinet, and he said Haynes is an integral part of the LBJ band community.

“He just makes you feel like you’re everything to him and he makes everyone feel loved,” Goodloe said. “He is just the kindest person. I’ve never seen him get mad at anyone. He’s just very level-headed and calm about everything he does.”

This attitude has helped Haynes connect with many of his students over the years. He specifically remembers two students who, although having difficult home situations, found a big brother in him. Haynes said that this closeness with his students enabled his long tenure at LBJ.

“If you embrace the students and they embrace you back, that’s how you add year after year and they become decades,” Haynes said.

Haynes’s responsibilities as head director of the band include transportation for band events, organizing music for the top ensembles and top symphonies and corresponding with LBJ and LASA administration. In addition, Haynes personally conducts the top LBJ band, the wind symphony.

“He’s invested so much into the band and everything he does,” Goodloe said. “Everything the band is known for and

everything we represent is something that he started and that he brought to LBJ. The entire band in itself is his legacy. Everything that we do, all the traditions that we have, are all centered around what he created.”

Haynes announced to his friends and family his retirement and plans for the future in a video at the beginning of this school year. In the video, he says his next career move will be motivational speaking to inspire young people and young band directors alike.

“I have wanted to explore another profession,” Haynes said. “I’d like to go for it: motivational and inspirational speaking is a passion.”

The decision to change careers after 39 years came about after Haynes realized it was time to do something new and different.

“I absolutely love my special relationship with my students, the faculty, the band parents and of course my graduates over the past 38 years,” Haynes said. “It will be mighty hard to say my final goodbye, but this job, while being one that I still enjoy, has become extremely demanding on my time… and

ultimately my physical health.”Many students like Goodloe met Haynes years

before attending LBJ/LASA. Haynes helped several new band students at Kealing Middle School as well as those whose older siblings were his students at LBJ. LASA senior and LBJ Band drum major Sydney Robinson said she remembered enjoying his lyrical conducting and enthusiasm for music from the first time she met him.

“Mr. Haynes means so much to me,” Robinson said. “Not only has he been my director for the last three years, but he has been a mentor and inspiration for myself and the rest of the band. He is a truly amazing and dedicated teacher.”

Through the years as band director, Haynes has been able to get to know many of the families of

students he has taught. He said that he and the parents are able to formulate a tremendous bond on behalf of his students.

“We call ourselves the ‘LBJ band family,’ and we’re serious about that tag,” Haynes said. “As a music organization that has traveled across the globe, we learn to depend on each other; look out for each other; have a great time together whenever we gather in the name of the LBJ Band.”

Haynes will depart LBJ with a legacy of excellence after leading the band towards winning dozens of awards. After working with so many generations of the LBJ Band, Robinson said Haynes will leave a long-lasting effect on his past students and the school itself.

“The legacy he will leave can pretty much be summed up with ‘Don T. Haynes,’ Robinson said. “His name is a legacy in and of itself, and is recognized nationally among music educators. He has built everything the band is for the last 39 years. When you say LBJ band pride, you know Mr. Haynes is responsible for that. He opened up so many doors for thousands of students throughout his career.”

the liberatordec. 15, 2014

LBJ band director finishes last marching season, set to become motivational speaker after retirementChelsea BanawisStaff Writer

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“By far - I shall miss my band students. I will miss developing the music skills for my students. I will miss the relationship I have with some of my colleagues on campus, and I will miss the fun-loving, hard working band parents whom I totally adore.” - Don Haynes

The entire band in itself is his legacy. Everything that we do, all the traditions that we have, are all centered around what he created.

-LASA senior Beck Goodloe

““

Don Haynes leads the LBJ Band in cheers during a football game at Nelson Field. Although Haynes is not directly in charge of the marching band, he goes to every game. photo courtesy of Don Haynes.

Haynes and members of the LBJ Band celebrate performing at the 1978 Fiesta Bowl. “Going on trips with my students... has been priceless,” Haynes said. photo courtesy of Don Haynes.

Haynes conducts students during band class in 1975, Haynes’s first year as director of the LBJ Band. Haynes was given the job at LBJ after only one year of directing band at Anderson High School. photo courtesy of Don Haynes.

As a live DJ set booms in the background, Austin high school students contribute to a community art wall, make buttons, play games and view art on the roof of the downtown Jones Center. This diverse group of teens is united over a passion for the arts and for an evening dedicated to creation, entertainment and social awareness.

In an attempt to expose the youth to the art scene, Austin’s primary community art museum and art school, the Contemporary Austin, employs 12 teens aged 17 and 18 to outreach to their demographic. This Teen Council organizes public and free events biannually that aim to introduce youth to up and coming artists and provide opportunities for teens to embrace their creativity and become involved in the arts. On Dec. 4th, the Teen Council hosted Teens Create: Open the House, a rooftop event that provided attendees with an evening of galleries, entertainment and arts and crafts. LASA senior and Teen Council member Lina Fisher helped plan and organize the event.

“The purpose of [Open the House] is to get teens interested in art and to come to museums,” Fisher said. “The idea is that it’ll be easier to do that if there is a fun event going on rather than just a tour.”

LASA art teacher Jessica Michlik attended the event and said that events like these are essential to the art community. Michlik said that it’s important to get more teens into museums because there are many great exhibits to see in Austin galleries.

“I think getting the kids out there in high school is awesome because they’ll get familiar with [the art scene] and they can get their friends involved,” Michlik said. “It kind of pushes them to study a little bit more art, maybe in college as a minor, or just for fun. It keeps the ball rolling.”

The Teen Council meets every Wednesday to brainstorm and figure out the premise and logistics for upcoming events. Fisher said that the council works together to

share ideas and come up with activities that would appeal to people their age.

“It’s a group effort, so we’re all members of the same council but we’re split into teams,” Fisher said. “So there are separate stations at the event with different activities. Basically different committees will be devoted to different activities.”

Fisher’s 11 colleagues come from d i f f e r e n t high schools across the city. She said that it has been i nt e re s t i n g working with the Teen C o u n c i l because even though each m e m b e r comes from very different areas and backgrounds, they share similar interests. Fisher works with McCallum Fine Arts Academy senior Amani J.K. Alexander, another key organizer of the event.

“I’ve been on the sub-community that’s been responsible for the activities on the roof,” Alexander said. “I specifically have organized the improv section entitled ‘Who’s House Is It Anyway?’ and I’ve also helped decide what will be on the roof, like props and hot chocolate, and what we will be representing on our Tumblr the week of the event.”

The Teen Council is comprised of prospective artists who work with community outreach. Fisher said because most council members are passionate about the arts, it is easy to promote that passion to their peers.

“It’s pretty cool because everyone else here is creative so it’s nice to work in that environment,” Fisher said. “I’ve always loved art, so its really exciting to be part of something that impacts the creative community. It’s cool to see the inner workings of the museum world and to be able to

meet local artists

regularly and ask them about their work. It’s as fun and inspiring a job as I could ask for.”

The Teen Council events not only serve to bring youth into Austin museums, but also to promote up-and-coming artists and new exhibits. Teens Create: Open the House specifically promotes the Korean artist Do Ho Suh, whose work is presently in the gallery at

the Jones Center. His work helped develop the event theme of ‘home’.

“Suh’s work is centered mostly around themes of home, sense of place and how it connects to sense of self,” Fisher said. “His work is sometimes really interactive. For example, he built giant cloth houses that you can walk into. This inspired the interactive parts of the event, and we tried to have fun activities in keeping with the theme of home. It’s cool to have this event in a gallery where his work is being shown, because it gives the whole experience a definite feel.”

Suh’s exhibit is an important aspect of the event, because it makes the art scene tangible and exciting for event attendees. Michlik said that Suh’s exhibit was a success amongst the

crowd.“Having a

guest artist is a pretty big deal for

teens because they don’t get that kind of exposure very often,” Michlik said. “They can’t just go whenever they want to because a lot of those are events reserved for people who are members. So that was cool to see someone who’s professional and working, and talking with the kids was fun.”

The members of the Teen Council used Suh’s exhibit as a way to tie the activities together and keep Open the House cohesive. Fisher and Alexander said they worked to keep

the activities y o u t h f u l in order to balance out artistic e l e m e n t s that may have been i n t e n d e d for an older demographic.

“I hope the event will feel like a party in a museum,” A l e x a n d e r said. “We

have an amazing exhibit showing right now and on top of that we’ve added amazing interactive activities, movies, an open improv circle and a dance party on the roof with a DJ! I think it will get Austin teens and young adults really excited about

the extraordinary Contemporary Art Museum that we have in this town.”

Because the event was a success, many attendees said that the community should do more things to get the youth involved and going to museums. Michlik said that we should start pursuing ways to get teens inspired to make art.

“We should try to get students into competitions and get their work out there,” Michlik said. “The more it’s seen the better, and that makes other organizations want to show and display their artwork. I think that kind of gets people interested because they want their work to be out there. Even young kids, year after year, put their work in VASE and then they already have a name going for themselves.”

Teens Create: Open the House has attracted youth from all over the city and inspired them to access their creativity and become involved in the Austin art scene. Fisher and Alexander said that they have put a tremendous amount of work and passion into the event, but it has been worth their while because they truly care about the arts and think that the community will be better off if more teens are involved.

“I am passionate about Open the House because I feel the best way to continue and expand the art form is to target those who may not already be aware of what the museum has to offer,” Alexander said.

the liberatordec. 15, 2014

Jaguar Jams is a themed playlist curated for your listening enjoyment. You can listen to the playlist online via Spotify at lbjliberator.com.

Willow HigginsWeb Editor

BRINGING DOWN THE

HOUSE

“Theatre is good entertainment,” Martinez said. “I’ve never been to a play that I haven’t enjoyed, and I think most people would agree. And even if you don’t end up liking the play, you only paid five dollars for it.”

Martinez, like Riddles, has seen that many students do not attend theater events. Martinez said that students tend to stay away from going to these plays because they believe them to be boring.

“Everyone is made to read one Shakespeare play or another, and to be honest his plays are a bore to read,” Martinez said. “Most are. But what they don’t know is that watching a performance is actually really awesome. There’s more that goes into a show than just acting! But teens don’t know that, so they don’t willingly decide to go watch a play.”

The program tries to get students the ideal fine arts experience at a price that is affordable to high school students. Riddles hopes that the program is able to make it easier for students to have access to the arts. The cost offset for the reduced price tickets for the eyeGO program is covered by the Long Center, as part of their commitment to make arts accessible to youth.

“A lot of people think that the students will

get a five dollar ticket and be sitting in the back row or something,” Riddles said. “We make a very special group of tickets available that are reserved for students. For five dollars you will be sitting next to our greatest patrons who have spent $75, sometimes almost $200 for the seat that they are sitting in and a student for five dollars will be sitting in the very next seat in the very same section.”

Austin Independent School District (AISD) is the eyeGO program’s biggest partner. They helped start the program and continue to help spread the word of the program. Riddles said that he hopes to get other partners on board in the future.

“We would like to invite other partners in the Austin area to join us,” Riddles said. “We’d like to see some of the other iconic and flagship art institutions in town come on board and join us in making these very specially priced tickets available to students throughout Austin.”

Martinez is involved with the theater program at LASA/LBJ. She is part of the technical theater and finds plays and theater events as good entertainment.

“Students nowadays don’t appreciate live entertainment outside of concerts, and they really should,” Martinez said. “There’s a deeper connection made when you see a story performed live, as opposed to seeing it on a screen. It’s almost magical, and I think it’s something every person should experience. Price shouldn’t get in the way of that.”

continued from page 1

Local teens host rooftop event to inspire more

interest in the arts

It’s really exciting to be part of something that impacts the creative community. Teens Create: Open the House gives me that opportunity.

-LASA senior Lina Fisher

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Songs to Secularize Your Holiday Season

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Andy Williams

Carol of the Bells composed by Mykola Leontovych

Whether you celebrate with Santa or light the menorah, there is no denying that this season simply fills one with joy. This tune perfectly captures the winter exuberence. Sing-a-long with your family anytime of day.

This instrumental melody can be heard regularly throughout the month of December in television ads, department stores, and some of our favorite holiday movies. The lack of words and joyous tone makes it enjoyable no matter your holiday tradition.

Suite from Polar Express by Alan Silvestri

The book and movie-adaptation of Polar Express focus on the idea of believing not in a specific religion but rather in the other aspects of the holidays--family, friends, and the joy that comes with spending time with them.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside by Louis Armstrong

The winter months are the time for bonding over baking delicious treats, cuddling by the fire, and spending time with that special someone. This song will turn your thoughts away from the chaos of December and instead to finding the perfect person to duet this song with.

I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm by Frank Sinatra

No one can deny a classic Sinatra song, especially during the holidays. Let your romantic interest be the subject of your music-listening as you blast this on full volume alone in your room.

eyeGO

the liberatordec. 15, 2014

THE

After years of producing one of the best newspapers in the nation, The Liberator staff has run into a few repeat offenders: people and things we pitch and write too often that we’re all sick of hearing about.

Katherine “the Zigs” Cooper

Wendy Davis licks wounds after gubernatorial loss, recruits army

Did you know Annie Murphy plays softball? Because we made sure you did. Every issue. For four years.

We’ve seen the best and “wurst” of Germany, from

German student films to sausage festivals. Much like

France, the Liberator has fallen to the Germans.

Ex-gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis

tends her flock of bright-eyed LASA sheeple.photo by Zia Lyle

photo courtesy of Murphy

graphic by Victoria Mycue

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“DO PEOPLE NOT KNOW WHO I AM?”