![With the AISD rank and GPA discrepancies, some students had significant changes to their stats. College and career counselor Camille Nix worked with students to appeal their college decisions if they got rejected from schools depending on their previous stats before getting updated. Students worked with Nix to update schools on their new stats in order to fully get their appropriate decisions. “Those who already were accepted [won’t be affected], but it could factor in if a student appeals their initial decision,” Principal Andy Baxa said.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/53674616658_18d367e00f_o-1200x676.jpg)
![Junior Mia Milicevic practices her forehand at tennis practice with the WJ girls tennis team. “Sometimes I don’t like [tennis] because you’re alone but most of the time, I do like it for that reason because it really is just you out there. I do experience being part of a team at WJ but in tournaments and when I’m playing outside of school, I like that rush when I win a point because I did it all by myself, Milicevic said. (Courtesy Mia Milicevic)](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/c54807e1-6ab6-4b0b-9c65-bfa256bc7587.jpg)
![The Jaguar student section sits down while the girls basketball team plays in the Great Eight game at the Denver Coliseum against Valor Christian High School Feb. 29. Many students who participated in the boys basketball student section prior to the girls basketball game left before half-time. I think it [the student section] plays a huge role because we actually had a decent crowd at a ranch game. I think that was the only time we had like a student section. And the energy was just awesome, varsity pointing and shooting guard Brooke Harding ‘25 said. I dont expect much from them [the Golden Boys] at all. But the fact that they left at the Elite Eight game when they were already there is honestly mind blowing to me.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_7517-e1716250578550-900x1200.jpeg)
![BACKGROUND IN THE BUSINESS: Dressed by junior designer Kaitlyn Gerrie, senior Chamila Muñoz took to the “Dreamland” runway this past weekend. While it was her first time participating in the McCallum fashion show, Muñoz isn’t new to the modeling world.
I modeled here and there when I was a lot younger, maybe five or six [years old] for some jewelry brands and small businesses, but not much in recent years,” Muñoz said.
Muñoz had hoped to participate in last year’s show but couldn’t due to scheduling conflicts. For her senior year, though, she couldn’t let the opportunity pass her by.
“It’s [modeling] something I haven’t done in a while so I was excited to step out of my comfort zone in a way,” Muñoz said. “I always love trying new things and being able to show off designs of my schoolmates is such an honor.”
The preparation process for the show was hectic, leaving the final reveal of Gerrie’s design until days before the show, but the moment Muñoz tried on the outfit, all the stress for both designer and model melted away.
“I didn’t get to try on my outfit until the day before, but the look on Kaitlyn’s face when she saw what she had worked so hard to make actually on a model was just so special,” Muñoz said. “I know it meant so much to her. But then she handed me a blindfold and told me I’d be walking with it on, so that was pretty wild.”
Caption by Francie Wilhelm.](https://bestofsno.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/53535098892_130167352f_o-1200x800.jpg)
A small group of students gathered during fifth period today to protest against the Israeli military offensive in Gaza.
The students, who varied in numbers from less than a dozen to about 20 throughout the period, gathered with posters and their hands painted red to call for freedom for Palestine. The protesters started outside the main office and then marched the hallways of all three floors.
“It’s not even about religion – it’s about humanity,” sophomore Ayse Sari, the protest organizer, said.
Sari, who is of Turkish heritage, feels connected to the violence in the Middle East. After seeing graphic photos of the violence occurring in Palestine, “I knew I had to speak on it,” Sari said.
“I just want people to know what’s happening and that it should impact them severely. The fact that people are so uneducated about this topic makes me really sad,” she said. “If you have no humanity, you just don’t care about these people. I feel like if people cared enough they would do something about it.”
I feel like it’s a good way to show the student body of the school and show that we are brave and independent.
— Akriti Marak
Sophomore Akriti Marak said she got involved because she is aware of similar situations of oppression in her home country of Nepal.
“Palestine is going through the same thing as my home country, Nepal, and I feel strongly about this because of all of the people getting hurt out there and all of the lives being lost every day,” Marak said.
The protest gave students an opportunity to speak up about an important issue, she said.
“I feel like it’s a good way to show the student body of the school and show that we are brave and independent, and show up for what we believe in,” Marak said.
Many of the protesters, including Marak, have been spreading their message through social media as well.
“We are posting on social media apps and we are posting places you can donate to help the people in Palestine. There isn’t much we can do physically right now, so we are posting to try and spread awareness,” Marak said.
Baldwin Principal Shaun Tomaszewski said he believes any student should have the ability to express their beliefs.
“I am an unabashed advocate for student’s speech, even if that speech is controversial or potentially offensive,” Tomaszewski said.
He said he met with the organizers of the protest in advance, to warn them that some previous protests have had their message diluted by questionable behavior.
“In previous protests, the power associated with any potential message – and the impact that that message can have – got lost because the demonstration or protest just got out of hand,” Tomaszewski said.
He said the students told him that would not happen with this protest, yet he was disappointed with the outcome.
“What we saw today is similar to what we’ve seen in previous protests,” Tomaszewski said. “Today was almost a parade-type, carnival-type atmosphere.”
But he does not think the protesters’ case is lost.
“They could create a student group and they could raise funds through that group. They could conduct solid research. Those sorts of efforts show sincerity. It’s not just a sort of flashbang on social media,” Tomaszewski said.
Any potential discipline that protesters would face has not been decided, he said.
“I tell the organizers they can engage in protest and demonstrations, but they just are held responsible for violating any school rules,” Tomaszewski said. “If they skip classes, their teachers can write them up for skipping class. I certainly don’t prevent students from exercising what I truly believe is their right to speech.”
Staff Writers: Jacey Radcliffe, Aria Majcher, Maddy Behr, Ethan Green, and Zander Vecchione contributed to this report.
This story was originally published on Purbalite on May 29, 2024.
