Morgan Eye, news editor
In their fourth year in MacJournalism, Morgan Eye is serving the staff as the sole news editor. Eye believes that the best thing they can do as a journalist is to tell the stories of people whose stories are untold or under-represented. Eye first demonstrated a knack for storytelling when creating an award-winning broadcast news piece chronicling the struggles of high school freshmen during their year of pandemic-induced virtual schooling. The piece, “The Fish are Drowning,” was published nationally by PBS Student Reporting Labs and became one of the first MacJournalism broadcast packages to earn an NSPA Best of Show award. Eye continued telling powerful, underrepresented stories this summer when they were the top student in their class at Boston University’s Summer Journalism Academy. While many of their peers chose to write news stories about national events, Eye opted to tell the story of Vivian Luo, a.k.a.‘violinviiv’, a financial analyst turned street-violinist who battled a rare disease (acanthamoeba keratitis) to pursue her life’s passion for music. Eye hopes to continue telling stories that matter for MacJ this year and beyond that at the University of Texas at Austin.
![PINK FOR PROM: Seniors Vaughn Vandegrift, Peter Wiseman, Max Yehaskel and Alex Gold sing and dance their hearts out at Saturday’s “Under the Knight Sky” prom. Yehaskel and Wiseman stood out in the sea of black and navy suits as the pair opted for bright pink with contrasting, yet coordinating, shirts and ties. While the style decision seemed big to onlookers, for Yehaskel it was a simple choice.
“I like pink, it’s a solid color,” he said. “It almost melted when I ironed it actually. It’s 100% polyester, and I got it from Kohl’s.”
Yehaskel enjoyed prom overall, except when it came to the royalty announcement.
“Someone stole prom queen from me,” he joked. “It was very tragic. But other than that, it was fun.”
As prom marks another milestone at the end of senior year, Yehaskel is ready to sit back, relax and enjoy his last few weeks as a Knight.
“My grades don’t matter anymore [and] after AP tests I’m done,” Yehaskel said. “I’m going to go nuts, and I’m going to start cooking more.”
Caption by Francie Wilhelm.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/g_m_0458_52847345379_o-900x600.jpg)
![PART OF HISTORY: Principal Nicole Griffith, journalism teacher Dave Winter and science teacher Elaine Bohls-Graham pose with pride flags on the first day of AISD PRIDE Week. At his previous school in Midtown, Atlanta, Winter witnessed a similarly accepting and robust observance of PRIDE week. However, he feels that McCallum's history and culture, particularly with Spectrum, make Mac's PRIDE celebrations unique.
"For as long as I have been at Mac and before that, [Spectrum] has been vital in providing a safe space for LGBTQ students to be themselves," Winter said. "The group has had a lot of turnover with faculty sponsorship in recent years, but its essential role has stayed constant through all of that. I think that the main thing is that Spectrum and PRIDE Week helps to give students a voice on campus."
PRIDE Week closely followed Black History Month, where students and faculty organized similar events, like student panels. In both instances, Winter saw how crucial and courageous it is for students to lead the conversations on issues like identity.
"I was impressed [by] the fearlessness and leadership of the panelists and the willingness of students and teachers to listen and work to understand better the experience of others," Winter said.
Caption by Francie Wilhelm. Photo by Lillian Gray.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/dsc09798_52760398309_o-900x600.jpg)
![BACK TOGETHER AGAIN: Former McCallum soccer players pose for a group photo at the annual varsity vs. alumni match. The teams of graduated Knights consisted of students as recent as the Class of ‘22 all the way back to 2003. After two years of COVID delays, coach Nick Martin was finally able to hold the match on Dec. 28.
“[The alumni game] provides like a continuity for the program. It doesn’t matter what year you are,” Martin said.
While some organizational changes were made to the event this year, with matches being held tournament style rather than a free-for-all, Martin maintained the spirit of community that the match holds for his past and current players.
“Getting the chance to come back and see each other whilst also playing some soccer is something me and my friends have a hard time turning down,” class of 2021 alumn Aiden Golliher said. “I’d predict and hope that as the years continue, the close-knit community the boys varsity had will continue [and] that will allow this program to grow.”
Caption by Francie Wilhelm. Photo by Morgan Eye.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/dsc_2412_52601882073_o-900x600.jpg)
![REPPING THE SENIOR: Senior Helena Finos dances at the Winter Fairytale Dance last friday. Finos had been planning to come to the event from the start due to her position as senior class president.
“I wanted to come represent my class and it turned out to be a lot of fun so I’m glad I went!” she said. Finos was also pleasantly surprised by the number of students that showed up after disappointing crowds at prior events.
“It was a lot of fun [since] a lot of people came,” she said. “Which I didn’t necessarily expect since we didn’t have the best turnout at the last dance. I think are excited that we’re doing dance again after COVID and the long break from a lot of school events.”
Reporting by Ingrid Smith and Caption by Francie Wilhelm. Photo by Morgan Eye.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/52561412854_9decf47bc2_o-900x600.jpg)
![SUNNY CALIFORNIA: Principal Nicole Griffith poses with her wife Brenda and son Langston at the golden gate bridge in San Francisco.
For Griffith, Thanksgiving break is perfectly timed. “Thanksgiving comes at just the right time every year when we all really need a mental break from school, and this year I was able to completely forget that I was a high school principal and just be on vacation with my family. I didn’t check my email which I needed to do. It was a nice refresher." In their time in California, the group, along with Griffith’s mother, saw sights such as Alcatraz, took a cable car ride, rode a train and visited the science museum. “San Francisco is a fun place to be but it is also a place that is special to our family,” Griffith said. “My wife lived there and really loves it. I always joke that she left her heart there and we have to go pick it up every once and a while.”
Most excited for the trip was Langston. “[My son] loves travel. He gets so excited. He is a definite travel bug, which I don’t know where he gets that. But he loves travel, loves being around his grandparents. It was really great.” The young adventurer got to lean his head out the window on the train, learn cards with his grandmother and explore all of the sea creatures at the aquarium. Griffith was also thankful to miss the rainy weather in Austin. “The weather was beautiful [in San Francisco],” Griffith said. “We missed all the rain in Texas. By the time we got back on Saturday it had passed. But it was sunny in San Francisco and super clear. We never didn’t have these beautiful expanses of light.”
Photo courtesy of Nicole Griffith. Reporting by Morgan Eye.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/FullSizeRender-900x675.jpeg)
![Sophomore middle blocker Greta Carlson elevates to play the ball over two TSD defenders during the Knights’ 25-11, 25-15 victory after two losses earlier during the second day of play at the AISD Jason Landers Invitational Tournament. While the victory was encouraging, the lessons learned in the team’s losses to two San Antonio powerhouses (Stevens and Macarthur) were more valuable in the long run.
“The game (against Stevens) for me personally was a learning moment,” said Carlson’s teammate Saraiah Taylor said. “Getting to know my teammates and how they react to certain things. I know we have the potential to go really far; we just have to communicate with each other. We all love playing together; [we] just [have] a few things that need to be fixed.”
Senior outside hitter Jette Morris said that the skills necessary to compete well in volleyball are so interrelated that struggles in one area can directly impact everything the team is trying to do.
“We played pretty well the first set against Stevens,” Morris said, “but we lost our edge around 20 points in.”
Morris elaborated on how a team’s momentum can unravel.
“Volleyball is so integrated that if the serve isn't aggressive, the other team gets a big swing; if the block doesn't close it's tough to give the setter a good pass. Sometimes you have a stinker of a day and I did. We kind of did, collectively.”
“Volleyball is so integrated that if the serve isn't aggressive, the other team gets a big swing; if the block doesn't close it's tough to give the setter a good pass. Sometimes you have a stinker of a day and I did. We kind of did, collectively.”
The team’s struggles continued into the team’s second match against MacArthur, a game the Knights’ ultimately lost, but even in defeat, the Knights showed their mettle. On one memorable play in the second set, senior setter Sariah Taylor dove to keep the ball in play but suffered an injury in the process.
“I’m going to do what needs to be done for my team even if that means getting hurt,” Taylor said of the play. “The double loss was not the best for the team, but I know that we can come back from that.”
After beating TSD to end their Friday games, the Knights won all three matches on Saturday and then split their final two games on Sunday to win the consolation final of the tournament’s Copper Bracket.
Photos and reporting by Morgan Eye.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/52279979860_4c0a9b25a8_o-900x600.jpg)
![Junior Mateo Jones performs at Tunnel Vision in July 2022. Performing live provides motivation for Jones. "[Concerts] really got me really interested in making music again," Jones said.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2022-11-05-900x595.jpeg)
![ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES: Seniors Mira Wagner and Tyler Mankinen duke it out during the first moments of the final round at the Cap City Marching Competition. The 2022 marching show “Seeing Stars” gets its name from its boxing theme, and according to Wagner, who represents the woodwinds section, the early fight scene “definitely sets the tone.”
“Right off the bat you see two people fighting so you know that this show is full of energy,” Wagner said.” “Even throughout the show the woodwinds and brass are ‘competing’ against each other which goes with the boxing theme.”
Mankinen, who represents the brass section, believes the fight scene is a crucial element in the marching show.
“[The fight scene] usually gets the crowd pumped up and draws the attention of the audience into the show,” Mankinen said. “The show is super unique and seeing the crowd react to an unconventional element of a marching show is really exciting.”
Caption and photo by Morgan Eye.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/img_5736_52385662511_o-900x600.jpg)
![SENIOR SEASON: Decked out in their jerseys, senior Parker Mitchell takes a photo of senior Sophia Kramer and friends before the first day of school in the senior parking lot. The night before, the class of ‘23 decorated their cars to show their senior pride going into their last year of high school. “It’s tradition for seniors to come and take [pictures] the morning before the first day of school,” Kramer said. “Being able to share that memory together is definitely bittersweet. I’m super excited for this year but I am anticipating all the lasts.” Reporting by Alice Scott.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/52288662181_5a1d0b7ef8_o-900x438.jpg)
![JUMPING AROUND : As sophomore Finn Griffith (Joseph) performs “Joseph’s Coat,” Marshall Clifton (front and center) plays Gad, one of Joseph’s brothers. who holds up the coat during the song. Clifton’s role as a swing was to step in to perform if any actors were missing. “Getting this opportunity to hop in and out of different roles was amazing,” Clifton said. Joseph was his third musical. “I’m pretty new to musical theatre,” they said. ”While this was definitely a lot of work, I am so glad I [had] this opportunity.” Reporting by Cassidy Levin.](https://macshieldonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/51849012688_e19245d93d_c.jpg)
