![It was definitely out of my comfort zone to get [the dress] and decide I loved it enough not to wait and risk not having something that memorable.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Precious_20180902_JRS_00008_ed1.jpg)
![In their full runway outfits, (from left) Audrey Lee 25, Olivia Lucy Teets, 25, Fashion Design teacher Ms. Judy Chance, and Xueying Lili Yang pose for a photo. All three girls made it to Austin Fashion Week by getting in the top 10 in a previous runway show held by Shop LC.
[I like my students] creativity and how they can look at a fabric and make it their own, Ms. Chance said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_9686-e1714088765730-1129x1200.jpeg)
![IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Junior Zalie Mann performs “I Love to Cry at Weddings,” an ensemble piece from the fall musical Sweet Charity, to prospective students during the Fine Arts Showcase on Wednesday, Nov. 8. The showcase is a compilation of performances and demonstrations from each fine arts strand offered at McCallum. This show is put on so that prospective students can see if they are interested in joining an academy or major.
Sweet Charity originally ran the weekends of Sept. 28 and Oct. 8, but made a comeback for the Fine Arts Showcase.
“[Being at the front in the spotlight] is my favorite part of the whole dance, so I was super happy to be on stage performing and smiling at the audience,” Mann said.
Mann performed in both the musical theatre performance and dance excerpt “Ethereal,” a contemporary piece choreographed by the new dance director Terrance Carson, in the showcase. With also being a dance ambassador, Mann got to talk about what MAC dance is, her experience and answer any questions the aspiring arts majors and their parents may have.
Caption by Maya Tackett.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53321803427_47cd17fe70_o-1-1200x800.jpg)
![SPREADING THE JOY: Sophomore Chim Becker poses with sophomores Cozbi Sims and Lou Davidson while manning a table at the Hispanic Heritage treat day during lunch of Sept 28. Becker is a part of the students of color alliance, who put together the activity to raise money for their club.
“It [the stand] was really fun because McCallum has a lot of latino kids,” Becker said. “And I think it was nice that I could share the stuff that I usually just have at home with people who have never tried it before.”
Becker recognizes the importance of celebrating Hispanic heritage at Mac.
“I think its important to celebrate,” Becker said. “Because our culture is awesome and super cool, and everybody should be able to learn about other cultures of the world.”
Caption by JoJo Barnard.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/53221601352_4127a81c41_o-1200x675.jpg)
A few weeks ago, I saw a postboard near the life skill classrooms that said “April is Autism Awareness Month,” but it was decorated with puzzle pieces. As an autistic person, I immediately felt uncomfortable seeing them especially because I would be passing by it every day. The reason why the puzzle pieces bothered me was because the symbol is outdated and problematic.
Representing austism as ‘missing a piece’ or being a ‘puzzle’ implies that it is a problem that needs to be solved. But I am not a problem to be solved or missing any pieces.
The puzzle piece is problematic because it was popularized by Autism Speaks and is known as their main symbol. For a big percentage of the autistic community, Autism Speaks is harmful to us. As Paula Jessop explains in her article, “Autism Speaks was the biggest organisation to approach autism awareness from this perspective that autism is a disease requiring fixing, curing. Therefore, their campaigns were the most hurtful, upsetting and offensive to autistic people.”
Representing austism as “missing a piece” or being a “puzzle” implies that it is a problem that needs to be solved. But I am not a problem to be solved or missing any pieces. So while I appreciated the effort the life skill teachers made to raise awareness, for me and many people like me the symbol has too much of a negative connotation and history.
For the next few hours after seeing the poster, I kept thinking about it, how I didn’t want to walk by it. I felt something horrible in my chest and I felt like I needed to DO something, anything. So I went to discuss it with an AP during a hike from the English hall to the postboard and back, and the next day I explained the problems to a life skill teacher and she had me show her the appropriate symbol for the community. Within a few hours I saw while walking from my theatre class that the puzzle pieces were removed. I appreciate how fast they changed it and how they changed it right when they were aware.
This story was originally published on The Shield Online on April 30, 2023.
