A teenage student stumbles into their first period English class an hour late. Their dilated and bloodshot eyes match their flushed skin. Their hands jitter as they sit down and try to pay attention to…

Legs pumping, Austin FC Academy forward and would-be Bowie freshman Rowan Wells commands the soccer ball at his foot, weaving in and out desperate defenders as he churns forward toward the opposing team’s…

The snap, crackle, and pop of pristine electricity echoes through Bowie junior Lucas Knoepfle’s bedroom computer lab as he adds the finishing touches to his latest engineering project.
First, beginning…

Overlooking the vast layer of clouds below her, senior Anni Dotzenrod shifts the control stick centered within the plane’s dashboard. She begins the exciting, yet risky, descent towards a safe landing,…

Walking off the field, shins covered in grass, senior Jackson Coggins finishes playing his final game in Europe before returning home to the U.S. 
When Coggins was young, his athletic journey started…

Breathing deep, junior sprinter Mara Saprautzki tenses her muscles, awaiting the loud crack that will commence the fierce rush of adrenaline that characterizes the 100-meter dash. A long way from her hometown…

It’s finally graduation day for the Class of 1997 at Bowie High School. Everyone throws their caps into the air in celebration of the past four years of hard work and dedication. At the time, science…

Headphones on, standing in his closet, Alan Roth raps his newly written song into his microphone, which is wedged between a couple of t-shirts.

Roth, a junior, has been rapping for about a year and…

The dishes are washed, floors are vacuumed, and all is calm in the Vega household.
Cha-ching.
Sophomore Nick Vega gets paid for completing his chores. His family does things a bit differently than the…

Librarian Tara Walker-Leon is ready if she needs to be.
Armed with Austin Independent School District’s (AISD’s) challenged book policy, she prepares herself to defend against any possible objections…

Ding!

Hearing their phone go off, senior Arlo Craft checked their notifications to find a remind message from Sexuality and Gender Acceptance club (SAGA) sponsor Bree Rolfe. It was a link to a Twitter…

Not again.
Junior Kyan Blacklock reaches into the outer pocket of his backpack and switches his ringing phone to silent as he feels a stinging glare coming from his teacher. The call isn’t coming from…

Sophomore ShaeLi Fielding knew what was about to happen. There was a substitute teacher in her class, and they had just begun taking attendance for that period. The sub starts listing off names one by…

Sitting in the room of a doctor’s office under the bright white LED lights, junior Rohan Dharwadker couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Dharwadker had just been diagnosed with an arrhythmia, or…

The opportunity happened because of pure chance.
Veronica Canto-Ponce, a director at ONE Management in New York, has a sister who’s a real estate developer in Austin. Her sister had just bought a house…

Standing at the corner of the mat, breathing heavily. Looking her opponent in the eyes. Her coach and teammates hyping her up in the background. This is the moment she’s waited for all year. The High…

Ziipppp.

Junior Sam Frederick is ready. He steps into the school building, another Friday down. As he walks down the halls, students give him smiles and fist-bumps; people even shout out his nickname,…

It’s 2009. Nic Lee’s hands are linked with his mom’s as they look at an old photo on the wall. An upbeat song is playing in the background as the rest of their family members dance. Lee, a current…

Austin housing prices skyrocket as pre-existing communities are being pushed out
She has six brothers and two sisters. A father who works below minimum wage. She was told she would have to move out because…

It started off as a normal Friday with the 9:05 am bell.
Thirty minutes later, sophomore Martin Piorkowski’s substitute teacher was singing loudly to the song Toxic by Britney Spears on a karaoke…

Walking off the field with his head held high, JV Star Dancer junior Luka Swantner’s adrenaline wears off quickly as the Austin High football fans begin to verbally harass him.

They shout disparaging…

Political polarization impacted by media bias and perceptions
Senior Caroline Rasmussen has heard the same story before. The election was stolen. Her step-grandma has been sending her conspiracy videos…

Droughts, rising temperatures, floods, heat waves, storms. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), these are a few of the symptoms of climate change. National Geographic defines climate…

Sitting down in front of the small electric piano, she adjusts her microphone to a perfect height. She places her hands on the black and white keys, takes a deep breath, and begins to play.
During quarantine,…

Caulin Wagner knew something was wrong when he felt extreme pain in his left leg.
Wagner, a senior, went to his doctor and was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a common type of bone cancer.
“When I realized…

Beginning the 2021-22 school year, the Bowie administration has formed a campus-wide initiative called Students Organized for Anti-Racism (SOAR) with 30 faculty sponsors, including teachers and counselors,…

On January 6 a violent mob of insurrectionists stormed the United States Capitol while it was in session to certify the electoral votes for the 2020 Presidential election. Reported and fact-checked by…

After nearly 330 days of protesting and public outrage, ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted on all charges brought against him for the death of George Floyd. Floyd was killed on 25…

Capitol insurrection, the President banned from social media, Democrats controlling the Senate, a new President, the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine, a Presidential impeachment trial, and over 25 million…

Just an 18-minute car drive from campus, the Capitol  stands as the center of Texas’ democracy and political establishment. Traditionally, inside the building’s chambers, 181 representatives and legislators…

Today marks exactly one year since schools closed due to the pandemic. The Dispatch staff and Bowie community reflect on the year in quarantine.

This story was originally published on The Dispatch on…

Despite the blackouts and pipe bursts caused by the cold, the residents in Austin were able to experience an authentic snowy winter right at their front door for the first time in decades.

On Presidents’…

Below freezing temperatures, roads slick with ice, and power and water outages are what people across the city of Austin have been experiencing in the past few days.

Due to the winter storm that has…

With the help of social media, thrifting has gained a lot of popularity. Students who thrift share their thoughts and experiences.

This story was originally published on The Dispatch on February 5,…

Hated discussion about politics with her parents, both sides intensely arguing in support of their perspectives on  abortion, climate change, the Black Lives Matter movement, or which Presidential candidate…

As each player rushes to the field for warm-ups, he studies the opponent and reviews the general plan for the first quarter. Knowing the game so well, he understands the expectations of his team, and has…

Kyle Walter, an 11-year-old born with activity-dependent neuroprotective protein (ADNP) syndrome, was adopted by the Bowie football team last year through an organization called Cheyanna’s Champions…

Today marks the date of President Joe Biden’s first day in office. Students reflect on what they want to see from Biden and what his first priority in office should be.

This story was originally published…

Tensions climaxed as extremist supporters of President Donald Trump rallied at the nation’s Capitol in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, Jan. 6. The chaos interrupted the U.S. Congress who were gathered…

Fans fill the stands, erupting into celebration as a player breaks through the opposition’s defense and shoots the ball into the back of the net. This is exactly what junior goalkeepers Zach Kos and…

All summer long, downtown Austin was filled with a roar of voices from Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests. Off of I-35, where the Austin Police Department (APD) headquarters are located, BLM protesters…

Balance, core strength, patience, and concentration are all characteristics needed to participate in the sport of slacklining. For senior Jovi Smith, these qualities are second-hand nature as she walks…

From nationwide protests to ongoing debates and conversations, there is something new in headlines every day. Out of these headlines come more topics, issues, and organizations that make up main events…

When early voting began on Tuesday, Oct. 13, registered voters faced a difficult decision: voting for the next President. Between the main two candidates, President Donald Trump and Democratic Presidential…

As the early morning shift starts, she watches as hundreds upon hundreds of unknown faces enter the building. As she tries to keep up, she quickly works to organize everyone to the open machines so they…

Controversy over J.K. Rowling’s new book, “Troubled Blood,” featuring a male murderer who takes advantage of female victims by crossdressing as a woman himsef, has sparked from comments she made…

August 4, 2020 was a day we thought would be just like any other in the city of Beirut, Lebanon. I woke up, had my breakfast, and then went with my mom into town to shop for a few things. At around 5:45…

Managing editors Natalie Cullen and Izzy Rejino ask seniors who are eligible to vote about the upcoming election.

This story was originally published on The Dispatch on October 16, 2020.

Opening your front door, you watch as a new puppy curiously runs to explore every room in the house. As its small paws quickly travel into your room, you imagine the millions of pictures and memories that…

You wake up on a Saturday morning and take out your phone to scroll through TikTok for several hours before getting out of bed. After getting ready, you make a cup of coffee and go back to bed, turning…