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Table of Contents

Letter from the Editors

About US

Who Let the Dogs Out?

Blood, Sweat, and Brands

Local Austin Coffee

Traffic Jams

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24

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Table of ContentsKeep Heaven Weird

Capitol Caring

Amy’s

AISD Budget Cuts

Exclusive Interview with JB

Guitar Sculptures in Austin

Top 5 Places to Visit in Austin

Bound in Austin

Letter from the Editors

4 USAustin Spring 2012

Photo Courtesy of Mary Louise Gilburg

5USAustinSpring 2012

Jackie SingerCo-Editor In Chief

Annie MurphyCo-Editor In Chief

Amina Moheddin Co-Editor In Chief

Cassidy CurraCo-Editor In Chief

The process of creating the first (and only) issue of USAustin was an interesting experience filled with

catfights, design flaws, and four very different per-sonalities. However, with perseverance, we were able to bring to you this fun and informative magazine all about the marvelous city that is Austin. USAustin is here to bring fellow Austinites and out-of-towners

alike new knowledge of the exciting world that Aus-tin had to offer. Whether it be about food, fashion, or an endless rivalry, USAustin is a variation of different

ideas, personalities, and viewpoints to bring you everything we can tell you about Austin.

Jackie is a hard working, straight-A student who strives for perfection. Not only is Jackie smart, but she’s also an athlete. She in on the dance team as well as the varsity tennis team. She is fun-loving, bright, and incredibly determined. She knows she’s the best, and her type of the leadership is the kind that gets stuff done. Her dream job? To be the CEO of Apple or another Fortune 500 company. She wears Sperry’s probably everyday, but she’s amazingly stylish. Jackie’s hair is soft, blond, and a luscious river of flowing godliness. Everyone loves Jackie. EVERYONE! If Jackie is hungry, you can trust her to go the healthy route. Jackie Singer: perfection personified.

Amina is not an Austin original, but she is an Austin fan. She loves thinking about and plan-ning her future, yet she lives in the moment. She is extremely ambitious, and is always look-ing for opportunities to learn life lessons and gain experience. Her current objectives are earning her driver’s license and volunteering enough hours at her local hospital because she wants to be a nurse. She spends most of her week trying to catch up with other LASA students. Her favorite hobbies include making artwork during World Geography, shopping, and poking fun at her magnet school.

Jackie

Amina

About US


Cassidy is an outgoing, fun loving person, who loves to party. Well, not really, but she is still amazing. Cassidy enjoys reading, and her favorite place in the entire world is the library. Cassidy is most com-monly known to the group as “the smart one” and is insanely intelligent. Cassidy may seem shy at first, but once you get to know her she is funny, kind, and always willing to help. Not a day has passed when Cassidy hasn’t helped someone with their home-work. Cassidy’s normal school attire is a T-shirt, boot cut jeans, and her Newbalance shoes. She often comes to school with her hair up, most commonly in a simple braid down her back. Cassidy has an amazing bone structure and many people think she will grow up to be a model (although she is way too smart for that). Cassidy is a fantastic writer, and will one day grow up to be a wealthy author, who has an amazing husband.

Annie Murphy is a shy, quiet, old soul who en-joys sipping tea at her house on the country-side. Just kidding guys, but she is pretty… well, epic would be appropriate here, but that word is pretty sinful. So, we’ll just say she’s sweet, hilarious, and can probably beat me (Cassidy, the author of this bio) up. Annie’s skills at do-ing things last minute are something that many people are intensely jealous of. Annie is always willing to help, and is known for bobby-pinned hair, athletic shorts, and usually some sport re-lated t–shirt. Annie plays for her varsity softball team and recently won Offensive Player of the Year for her district. She also enjoys making people laugh (as you can probably see from her bio photo).

About USAnnie

Cassidy


Original Photo COurtesy of Search-Best-Cartoon.comModified by Jackie Singer

The annual game is over, but the rivalry will never end

Who Let the Dogs Out?


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On Thursday, November 24, 2011, Texas A&M and the University of Texas foot-

ball teams played each other for the 118th time. Now, with the Ag-gies leaving the Big 12 and joining the Southeastern Conference, the two teams won’t be going head to head anytime soon, but that does not mean that the rivalry is over. Die-hard UT fans still sneer at passing A&M fans on the street and will continue to do so, even with the absence of a game. Aggie fans also continue to foster ongo-ing animosity for the University of Texas at Austin.

The SEC announced in September 2011 that Texas A&M will officially join the conference next season, becoming its 13th member. The University of Texas will be stay-ing where it is, saying goodbye to its longtime foe for the annual Thanksgiving Day grid-iron match up. “Farmer’s flight” is the term used to describe the Aggie’s deci-sion to leave the Big 12 in a recent Texas Monthly article and it is per-fect for describing the situation.

“I enjoy beating [UT] when it happens,” says Austin American Statesman staff writer, Dave Thom-as, who admits to being an A&M fan. But A&M’s track record is less than exemplary. According to Tex-as Monthly, A&M has only won 37 of the 118 games played between the two teams. The University of

Texas has more than double the Aggie’s number with their 76 to-tal wins, with five ties between the two. Those statistics alone should be enough to put A&M fans in their place, but the College Station loyalists have the audacity to use the lyric “Saw Varsity’s horns off ” in their fight song, referencing the steer, who was UT’s former mascot. (One of only a handful of college fight songs in the nation to make mention of their primary rival is the “Aggie War Hymn,” according to Bleacher Report columnist Amy Daughters).

When the University of Texas hatched the idea for the Long-horn Network over four years ago, they had approached Texas A&M to join them to create a joint net-work to allow sports to be aired on television that normally would never be seen by the fans at home. Originally the Aggies weren’t in-terested and the Longhorns were afraid they couldn’t do it alone, but by the time Texas A&M inquired about the network again in 2010,

it was too late. Texas had decided that they had the prestige and the know-how to do it alone. When the Horns signed a $300 million deal with ESPN it brought with it a wave of uncertainty within the Big 12. This deal was a major reason that Texas A&M decided to pull out of the conference.

Politics aside, I, as a proud Austin native and fan of the University of Texas Longhorns, believe that the Aggies had a hidden motive for leaving the Big 12. The Aggies had become tired of losing to the con-tinuously dominant Longhorns. Dallas Observer News sports writ-er Richie Whitt wrote that the Ag-gies were “trying their best to bolt the Big 12 Conference for the SEC. A&M, it has become clear, can’t stand the fact that it’s been lost in its rival’s shadow.” He went on to say, “The Aggies can’t beat ’em, so they’ve decided to leave ‘em.”

Clearly the decision makers at Tex-as A&M would never admit to their inferiority complex. They stand by their decision as doing what is best for their sports programs. Accord-ing to Tully Corcoran, a writer for Fox Sports Houston, the Aggies “do stand to make more money as an SEC team. If that weren’t the case, it would be hard to imagine them making the move.”

I still think they are just sore losers. Hook ‘em.

“Those statistics alone should be enough to put

A&M fans in their place.”



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The quality of designer clothes is the reason for their price. Right? Everybody knows that. Why else would someone buy a 3 by 12 inch

purse for 750 dollars? Well, according to numerous new studies, more than 63% of the designer clothes

on the market today are made in the same factories as non-designer garments.

It is not unusual these days to see individuals wear-ing high end clothing. In fact, in some places, it has become so common that it is a social necessity. It may be an exaggeration to say that wearing clothes with recognizable brands will fetch you more respect than anything else.

In a society where most are struggling to make rent, we have come to envy those who can afford to buy such clothes. We see the brand and wish we could wear it. Brand clothes have become something won-derful, sparkly, and desirable. But there comes the point where some start to doubt the wonderfulness of the whole trend. Should we really be wishing for designer clothing this badly? What is so different be-tween the clothes with the brand and those without? Is the whole thing quite silly?The answer is quite simple once you know the whole

story.

One of the biggest reasons that many turn to the de-signer stores instead of normal stores is because they have been led to believe that designer clothes are of

higher quality than others of the same or similar style. This is not true. In fact, a lot of European designers demand to have their creations manufactured in third world countries. This is not to say that everything de-signer is made the same way. Of course, there is much variation. But it is safe to say that if it’s designer, and it doesn’t cost as much as rent, then it is the same more affordable clothing. There is a fine line between de-signers that want the quality and perfection, and ones that want the money. Unfortunately, it is very hard to distinguish, since designers are the ones to decide ev-erything about their clothes, including how much to pay every worker.

Despite common belief, workers that make designer clothes are not paid any more than workers that make other clothes. They don’t work in any better condi-tions, either. Usually, when a case is filed against a designer company, it’s dismissed by many possible factors against the claim. Some include, “we have no business with the factory,” or, “we are not allowed to dictate hours and wages of factory workers,” along with many others. But one case, involving theDonna Karan brand, managed to get to the bottom of the situation and uncover a truth, at least about one of designer companies.

Blood, Sweat, and

Photo Courtesy of “Ironchefbalara”

Photo courtesy of “Ironchefbalara”

“I was too scared to miss a day...I was worried that I would lose

my job.”

By Amina Moheddin

11USAustinSpring 2012 11USAustinSpring 2012

Donna Karan International would seem like any other designer company, until you visit the factory that the company employes, named Jen Chu, and located, sur-prisingly, in New York City. The company had suits filed against it more than once, but the executives of

the company have managed to wiggle their way out of trouble. Further investigations revealed that the de-signer and the executives were actually the ones that demanded that workers work in bad conditions. One worker at the factory described the work conditions. One of the workers, named Feng Jiang, was an im-migrant from China. She described her experience working in the factory. “I was too scared to miss a day because I was worried that if I did, I would lose my job,” she said. Another worker told reporters the same story. “They had very high expectations for us,” he told reporters. “There was a lot of work to be done. There were surveillance cameras to moni-tor key areas.” In conclusion, most workers that worked in the factory were workers that no one else would hire, therefore, they were left with no choice but to stay. Outside the US, it’s worse. In India, for example, workers are required to work like machines, fully ironing fifty shirts an hour. And even when workers meet their hourly goals, they are paid enough for an apple daily. As part of a BBC experiment, 6 teenagers were sent to India to work in a factory for a period of time. All

6 of the teenagers were valued customers to high-end fashion. After the experiment, the teenagers learned a lot about the sweatshops of India. There was much shock when the teens discovered where their high end garments come from.

“I thought it was going to be a vacation,” one teenager said. But due to the overwhelming work load, and her inability to meet the unrealistic expectations, she broke down and ceased to try.

According to another article, the reason many Eu-ropean designer brands sell for so much is because many people read “Made In Italy” on the label and immediately feel comfortable buying the garment. They have been led to believe that Italian brands, since they cost so much, pay their workers acceptable or very good wag-es. This theory used to accurate, but is not anymore. Due to high numbers of immigrants from China in Italy, immigrants, being the lower class citizens, are given mass production jobs. With mass produc-tion comes low wages and poor working conditions. Therefore, the numbers of sweatshop factories in Eu-ropean countries are rising. In the end, it is the people’s choice to support design-ers, their non-existent values, and place cash in their pockets. I only suggest thinking twice before picking up a fancy dress or bag. After all, there are many mock up brands available for less than half the price.

B r a n d s

Photo Courtesy of “danielfoster437”

Photo Courtesy of “austinevan”


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Austin Coffee

Because local coffee is always better than Starbucks

“Local coffee houses just seem to

have more atmosphere.”

You’re walking into Star-bucks, and you get an eerie sense of déjà vu.

You’ve never been to this one before, yet you recognize every chair, table, and stir stick. If this has happened to you, you are not crazy. You are simply standing in one of the 19,435 seemingly identical Starbucks worldwide. If you want a taste of individual-ity and fun new coffees that you won’t find anywhere else, try vis-iting a local Austin coffee shop.

When you walk into a Starbucks, you can expect a predictable menu, with classic favorites and simple, modern ambiance.

However, when you walk into any one of the many local Austin coffee shops (such as Austin Java, Strange Brew, Ruta Maya, Spi-der House, and Summer Moon), you can expect an eclectic Austin vibe with music, funky chairs and tables, and adventurous menus with coffee drinks you’ve never even heard of. In March 2009, Josie06 of the Experience Project blogged that “Starbucks is okay, but the local coffee houses just seem to have more atmosphere.” Local coffee shops also sup-port the Austin economy. This means that when you buy from a local coffee shop, you know that the money is going to help

Photo Courtesyf David Freeman

By Annie Murphy


your community in some way. Whether it’s by providing local jobs, creating money for coffee shops to host local shows/con-certs, or providing the opportu-nity for local Austin coffee shops to sponsor schools or local parks, you can feel confident that your money is going to a good cause. However, when you buy from Starbucks, the money goes to Starbucks employees, Starbucks coffee products, and Starbucks advertising. Little, if any, goes to our local Austin community. Given the choice, I know where I would rather have my hard earned money go.

Local coffee shops can also be supporters of the Austin music scene, which is yet another way they are better than Starbucks. Many Austin coffee shops that I’ve been to will have small stages or posters advertising for Austin artists, and will usually play lo-cal artists through their speak-ers when there are no musicians playing live. Ruta Maya, for ex-ample, has a large stage which they use for various performanc-es. In fact, they have a total of five upcoming performances

just this week, and host a “Kids Show” every Sunday at 10:30am.

“Coffee just seems to taste bet-ter when you’re drinking it to a familiar Austin musician,” said LASA student Erin N-M.

Granted, some people don’t lis-ten to Austin music, and might say they prefer the normal “cof-fee house rock” that Starbucks plays. They also might not like the funky atmosphere, and may argue that one cup of coffee bought from a local coffee shop isn’t going to make that big of a difference to the Austin econo-my. However, to them I say that living in Austin and being an Austinite, is all about being in-dividual and weird. It’s about not going with the norm or the main stream, but finding new ways to do everything from design-ing clothes, to making music, to drinking coffee. My mother Sharon once said, “let’s not set-tle for average, when we can go above and beyond.” So let’s not settle for Starbucks. Let’s help out the amazingly unique local cof-fee shops that help make Austin what it is today.

MozartsAddress: 3825 Lake Austin Blvd.Phone: (512) 477-2900

Strange BrewAddress: 5326 Man-chaca Rd.Phone: (512) 828-7636

Ruta MayaAddress: 3601 S. Congress AvePhone: (512) 707-9637

Spider HouseAddress: 2908 Fruth St.Phone: (512) 480-9562

Cool Local Coffee Shops:


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Traffic JamsWith this year’s SXSW, comes more people, more lines,

and a lot more traffic

ery event and its not-so-sheepish corporate sponsor’s mul-titude of advertising, how much of that really goes into the unique small businesses that keep the spirit of Austin thriv-ing? Whereas cute boutiques Downtown flourish, some businesses are actually forced to close down during the

event due to the road closures. Accord-ing to local running shoe business owner Ruth England, she loses $15, 000 in lost revenue due to the five days she’s forced to close during the festival. She told lo-cal KVUE news sta-tion, “They’re here to party. They’re here to smoke. They’re here to drink. They’re here to listen to music. They’re not here to buy running shoes.”

Only 42 bands of the nearly 300 this year are actually from

Austin, informs sxsw.com. This is not nearly close to the number of Austin band that used to be exposed at what is considered such as prestigious event. A multitude of in-

By Cassidy Curra

Photo Courtesy of Nicole Curra

The air is hot in the March sun, and mu-sic is drumming in the background. Hu-mans conglomerate together in sweaty

masses: dancing, talking, laughing. It is the be-ginning of the South by Southwest season, and the city of Aus-tin is filled to the brink with peo-ple waiting to see up and com-ing indie rock bands or the cult classic remake at the Alamo Drafthouse. I can only say one thing: I hate all of it.

Every year during spring break, Austin

is invaded by a mass of young people. Bars open up just for the occasion, and every hotel room in the city is booked. So one would expect South by Southwest to be the best thing for the Austin economy. But with ev-

Still Want to Go to SXSW? Then Support these Austin Bands!

Black Books Ringo Death Star The ZoltarsMarmalakes Uncle Lucious SchmillionNot In The Face!! Edison Chair Amplified Heat

15USAustinSpring 2012 15USAustinSpring 2012

ternational bands showcase here when more local musicians could perform instead, and the Aus-tin culture is overshadowed by the throngs of people who won’t look up from their iPhones long enough.

And what about the average Aus-tinite? Most people can’t afford the wristband that, according sxsw.com, costs 225 dollars alone and still doesn’t guarantee entrance to any performance. This means that only someone with a relatively high income can attend the festi-val, while most Austinites can’t af-ford the colossal event held in their own city.

leave instead of listening to a crack-ling voice on a gigantic screen.

With South by Southwest, also comes the mass of people who come to see it from across the country, and even across the world. With more people, comes more traffic, longer lines, crowded res-taurant, and establishments that judge you based off of the color of your badge… or if you have one at all.

So, yes, maybe South by Southwest does to god for our economy. But is it really all worth it? Are you ready for the lines? Are ready for the un-grateful people? And more impor-tantly, are you ready for the true Austin spirit to be conveyed incor-rectly? If you are, have fun the next time you decide to invade my city.

The festival has another issue alto-gether. If there was only one band that you would want to see, you still would have to actually buy at least a wristband. True, there are frees shows all around the city at local clubs, restaurants, etc. How-ever, they’re so poorly advertised and at such inconvenient times, that most people either don’t hear or just can’t attend them. Then the free shows that are advertised, such as this year’s Counting Crows per-formance that I was present at, are so crowded that one is inclined to

“With more people, comes more traffic, longer lines, crowd-ed restaurant, and establishments that judge you based off of the color of your badge… or if you

have one at all.


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Keep Heaven Weird

Thongs, tiaras, and high heeled shoes. This is the common attire as hundreds

of people gather in front of City Hall, waiting to begin their march down to 6th Street in the “Love for Leslie” memorial parade. “Les-lie brought a whole new feeling to Austin,” said Alice Masterson, Les-lie’s sister. “I just wish I could have had more time with him.”

Albert “Leslie” Cochran, born

The legend of Leslie will never

be forgotten

By Annie Murphy

and raised in Miami, Florida, has been a fixture in Austin since 1996, when he arrived here from Atlan-ta, Georgia on a tricycle. A thin man with long blonde hair and a scraggly beard, Leslie was most commonly seen wearing women’s clothing. His favorite outfit was a leopard thong, high heels, a tiara, and a small, colorful tank-top, but Leslie was also often seen in cheer-leading outfits, short-shorts, and a variety of halter tops. Leslie is a

model of true Austin eccentricity. He is known throughout the city as an icon, and someone who has helped make Austin the unique city it is today.

“When I think of Austin, I think of three things: music, bats, and Leslie,” said Dan Murphy, a local Austinite who had seen Leslie on several occasions.

To the city of Austin, Leslie was


“Leslie always seemed to be

happiest around other people.”

more than just a cross-dressing homeless man. To them, Leslie was a big part of what made the city so “weird”.

“I never met him,” said Jack M. a ten-year-old who was born and raised in Austin, “but his person-ality just seemed to be so outra-geous. I guess that’s why everyone loves him though isn’t it?”

Leslie would often tell children things like “stay in school,” or “it may seem boring, but you have to pay attention to your teachers be-cause they’re smarter than you.” He was full of advice for people of all ages, and was never shy when it came to offering his opinion.

“Leslie always seemed to be hap-piest around other people,” Mas-terson said. “Whenever he was talking to others or telling some-one a funny story, he would get a certain light in his eyes. It was like he transformed from a man on the street into a man full of stories and wise things to share.”

Through the years, Leslie’s fun and outrageous personality was not only something that Austinites had

come to expect and enjoy, but an Austin staple in itself by showing others the wonders and the eccen-trics of this unique city.

“He just represents so much that is good about Austin,” said Austin City Council member Mike Mar-tinez. “We’re going to miss him, and that little part of Austin is now gone forever.”

After Leslie’s death, the city of Aus-

tin was overcome with emotion. A moment of silence was observed in his honor by the Austin City Council, and a public service was held on March 11th. Hundreds of people attended.

“I think that, even though he led a very unconventional lifestyle,” Masterson said, “Leslie couldn’t have been happier with the way his life turned out.”

Original Photo Courtesy of George Hamilton, Illustration by Annie Murphy


Feat

ures A Bite out of the Budget

Stacia Crescenzi’s office is an imposing force. The walls are painted storm cloud gray, and her desk sits toward the back: steely, metallic, industrial-

ized. A long wooden table lies in the middle of the room, black boardroom type chairs line every side of it, awaiting its high profiled visitors. But when she steps through the door, the small, blond-haired prin-cipal of the Liberal Arts and Science Academy has a smile on her face. Walking over toward the table, she relaxes in the once intimidating chairs that now seem comfortable, if not cozy. She instantly alleviates any initial stress as she leans into the malleable fabric, putting one into an easy, placid mood to talk about a very serious subject: Austin ISD budget cuts.

Within the recent years, budget cuts are on the minds of most Austin parents. 92 million cuts are facing the school district in the last two years, and students, par-ents, and teachers fear the cuts to come. Crescenzi, however, is looking, not in fear, but in hope for the future.

Photo COutesy of Ian Britton

By Cassidy Curra

“It’s not depressing at this point because I am hiring teachers. I’m not planning on cutting programs,” she says in regards to future cuts.

However, when talking about the previous year’s cuts, where, despite not being at LASA until this year, she experienced as Academy Director at Lanier High School, Crescenzi was nearly solemn. Her thoughts on what was the most difficult part of the entire experi-ence of budget cuts were clear, eliminating programs, and, most importantly, having to let go of staff. “Push comes to shove, these are people’s livelihood. It’s peo-ple’s jobs, and beyond it being their paycheck for most teachers, their identity is tied to the content that they teach and the students they interact with. And to take that identity away from them, or to have them feel like it’s being minimized, I mean that’s tragic.”

The response of teachers and other staff members can put an even larger and more difficult emotional strain, causing teachers to be defensive about their

Is the worst of the cuts over?


ies classes where there are large written projects that teachers have to grade, is probably making it dif-ficult for them to get things back in a timely manner.”

It’s unfortunate, though that LASA is hardly unique in the majority of these afflictions, whether it be in cutting staff, programs, or the in-crease in class size. The one area, according to Crescenzi, where the magnet school might differ from the average AISD school, is in the “unusual electives” that the cam-pus offers. “I think we had to real-ly, really look at some of the unique electives that we offer that really no other campus offers, and by losing teachers you can’t make the core level classes so large that it makes it difficult for teachers to either grade or connect with each student. So, I think losing those classes hit us harder than say it would a tradi-tional campus.”

programs instead of focusing on growth. “[The worst part of the budget cuts] was the emotional strain that it took on, that it put on staff to worry about their jobs, to worry about the jobs of their col-leagues, to feel like they had to de-fend what they do. I feel like really, long term, I think that that was the worst about last year and the bud-get issues, wasn’t the money. It was people shouldn’t have to feel like it’s my job or my colleague’s job.”

The importance of staff is a reoc-curring theme with Crescenzi. “Staff. There’s no doubt about that. Staff. Just maintaining the connec-tion that staff can have to students and class sizes that are reasonable for teachers to teach and grade, I think that’s integral. That’s the one place where I think above all else we cannot give in,” she states with a powerful and unquestionable voice in response to what she firmly be-lieves is the most important area to maintain money in.

It’s not just the staff that are being affected by the cuts, though. Even without strong emotional turmoil, students are being afflicted by these cuts, in ways they might not even realize. “The one area where students might be affected, where students don’t really know they’re being affected as much, but prob-ably are, is in the small increase in class size when it comes to heavy writing courses like your English classes. The number of essays, and papers, and things, or social stud-

Fortunately for Crescenzi, and LASA in general, the worst part of the cuts is over. Crescenzi hopes to see her school grow as a whole, with teachers striving to improve and push their programs to new levels. “I’m excited to challenge the teachers to grow their programs. Make their classes such a perfect challenge of ‘this is so hard, and I’m learning so much, but darn, it’s so much fun.’ If you can achieve that perfect balance, kids are going to be desperate to get in your class.”

Budget cuts have always seemed like something to fear, but Cres-cenzi believes we are almost through the storm. Her hopes for a better LASA, with superior teach-ers and programs because of the cuts, are not unrealistic. In fact, they are closer than ever before. If anything, the budget cuts are the best thing for LASA, growing the school, and the district as a whole.

“It’s people’s jobs, and beyond it be-ing their paycheck for most teach-ers, their identity is tied to the content that they teach and the students they interact with. And to take that identity away from them... I mean that’s tragic.”

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Amy’sAustin’s favorite ice cream shop

By Amina Moheddin

The nostalgic feel of Amy’s Ice Cream is unmis-takable. Whether someone has been in Austin two weeks or all their life, Amy’s is a great place

to visit. It’s the classic, unique, and unofficial icon of Austin. Eighteen year old Kassandra has worked here for only three weeks, but she knows the store like it’s home. “I’ve grown up here pretty much. I’ve come here so many late nights with friends. So I have a sen-timental connection with it,” she said.

Since its founding in 1984, by Amy Simmons, the store has gained massive popularity all over Austin. The store has earned the Reader’s Ice Cream award, given by the Austin Chronicle, for eight years in a row. The unique ice cream store has many visitors, despite having a modest size. The great ice cream, at-mosphere, and excellent customer service have made it irresistible. Kassandra is an average Anderson se-nior, and newbie worker at the Arboretum location of Amy’s Ice Cream. Kassandra is glad she chose Amy’s

Ice Cream for her first job location.

“This is a great first job, because the people here are really cool, and it’s really local,” she said with a smile. She enjoys being able to be herself while working here, and the great co-workers. “It (the store) isn’t too intense or stressful,” she said. Her training, for the job wasn’t either. The four day program trained her to work specifically at Amy’s Ice Cream. After the train-ing, she started serving ice cream, and quickly found her favorite aspect of working at Amy’s, serving the long lines of people during the hottest times of the day. “Get the job done, and have a good time and be respectful, but am still really relaxed and chill,” she said. This allows her to feel a sense of accomplishment and gratitude, she said, and also helps her improve her mood for the rest of the day.

“At the beginning of the day, when I’m focusing on the wrong things, I can within an hour, change my mood

Photo Courtesy of “atmtx”

Photo Courtesy of “Robert Banh”


and be happy.” Overall, she said, the whole of the store and its ice cream gives people something to enjoy any day and everyday.

Kassandra explained that the store receives the main supply from the Amy’s Ice Cream factory at Burnet Rd.

There are various rotating flavors that come and go at Amy’s. Of course, though, the crowd always has to have a favorite. One flavor, in particular, is a huge suc-cess with Amy’s customers. “Our most popular flavor is Mexican Vanilla!” Kassandra said without hesi-tation. “Whenever someone comes in, and they say they’ve never been here before, I offer them a sample of the Mexican Vanilla because it’s just our favorite,” she explained. Kassandra also said that the variety of different flavors is ridiculous.

“The craziest flavor we have right now is White Light-ning cause its vanilla with rum in it.” she said. Kassan-dra said that her favorite ice cream flavor was Mexi-can Ollieo. It’s a rotating flavor made up of mexican vanilla with lime and olive oil. Yes, olive oil. Even with all the crazy flavors, overall, every ice cream flavor that Amy’s serves is creamy and delicious, and all the seven main flavors are gluten-free!

“It just makes you happy inside,” she said, and I agreed.The ice cream at Amy’s plays an important role in its popularity, but so do other things as well. The shop is always busy, weekdays and weekends. With the large student audience, though, the weekends are always busier.

“The weekends, for me, are just really busy, because that’s when I work,” she said. Then she described how long the line for ice cream can get some days. She ex-plained that last weekend, the line was especially long.

“We had a line that is standing right there, for an hour straight,” she said, pointing 5 yards away from the store door. The popularity of the shop seemed to overcome anything and everything, since people like the store so much. Unlike all the other Amy’s loca-tions, the Arboretum location doesn’t accept credit or debit cards. According to Kassandra, this is the only problem she ever faced during her work in the shop.

“The fact that we don’t accept credit cards...it really irritates some people. We do accept cash and checks, though,” she explained. She also said the customers enjoy the ice cream anyway, despite this minor dif-ficulty. The feedback she has received from customers is great. Many have told her about the great customer service. Besides the great service though, Amy’s has many other things going for it as well. There are many, many different reasons why Amy’s “clicked” with Aus-tin residents. Among them is the customer service of Amy’s employees, Kassandra said, adding that the interactive presentation that is the serving of the ice cream is the special icing on the cupcake.

“The ice cream is just really delicious. You get to watch the person prepare your ice cream and you choose anything you want...so I think thats whats it,” she said. “The quality of [the] ice cream, the environment, too, is something that makes so much of Amy’s.” She later said that Amy’s has a very unique and selective process when it comes to hiring new employees. According to Kassandra, she enjoyed the refreshing change from papers, resumes, and applications. She explained, in detail, the application process she had to pass in order to get hired.

“What you do is go in there and ask for a bag...and you decorate it with your creativity and if it was creative enough then they’d call you back and then you get an interview and everything,” she said.

Overall, Kassandra, and many others enjoy the pres-ence of Amy’s at Austin. With virtually no competi-tors and hundreds of loyal customers, Amy’s is here to stay. It remains an icon of the Austin spirit, where everyone can carry be weird together.

“I don’t think there’s anything like Amy’s Ice Cream out here.”

“The unique ice cream store has many visitors, despite

having a modest size.”


Feat

ures

Passionate volunteer, Kelsey August, decided to “go big” in 2009 and adopt a preg-

nant cat on death row, before Aus-tin became a no kill city. She rolled up her sleeves and delivered six kittens, then taking care of the lit-ter and a mother, while trying to place the cats into new homes.

“That was very fulfilling. I’d never had that experience before,” said August, recalling her story. August loves animals and hates the idea of

Capitol CaringBy Jackie Singer

seeing them put to sleep or run-ning wild on the street.

Individuals and companies alike are doing what they can in our community and beyond to im-prove the lives of those around them by volunteering their time and donating money. Everyday in Austin there are people who are working to build a better future.

With over 3,000 local charities, it can be difficult and rather daunting

to figure out how to get involved, says local philanthropist and CEO of the Entrepreneurs Foundation, Eugene Sepulveda. Some wonder if you have to be wealthy to impact a charity, or if everyday citizens can make a difference.

“Too many people have a narrow definition of impact and that has dollar signs in front of it. I think that’s wrong because believe it or not, sometimes nonprofits have plenty of money. What they need is more bodies, more support,” said Sepulveda. “If we think about animal rescue charities, what they need are people to adopt the pets. They can’t just build more facilities if people don’t adopt them.”

Now that August has established a Fortune 500 company, she dedi-cates her time to improving her community and donating to Aus-tin Pets Alive. She believes that her work is a hands-on way to make a difference.

“It was an extremely memorable experience,” concluded August.

“You should get involved at the the intersection between what you are passionate about, what you are good at, and what the community’s needs are, because then what you are doing doesn’t feel like work,” Sepulveda explained.


PASSION

GIFTS NEEDS

Where you should

get involved

What do you love to do?

What are you really good at?

What are the needs in the community ?

Long time volunteer, Sepulveda descibes the per-fect way to get involved as an intersection between

gifts, passion, and community needs.


Realtor Chad Goldwasser, CEO of Goldwasser Real Estate, saw a community need, realized his abil-ity of bringing people together, and merged it with what he loves: mu-sic. Goldwasser’s company began hosting the Rock ‘n’ Restock ben-efit concert in 2002.

“I am really passionate about mu-sic, so [my company] decided to have a concert and make it a fun-draiser.” Around the holidays, the Capitol Area Food Bank puts out a lot of their food, so Goldwasser’s company chose to make their a benefit concert for restocking the shelves at the local food bank.

Austin has not always been seen as a city where people are involved with philanthropic issues. The 2008 Chronicle of Philanthropy reported that Austin was very low in per capita giving in comparison to other cities with a similar popu-lation nationwide, and as a result, organizations such as I Live Here, I Give Here were created. However, not all Austinites were satisfied. Sepulveda wanted to look deeper into the original report.

“I thought the methodology [of the report] was poorly done,” Sepul-veda said. “This did not take into account that we’re a state capitol, which means we have a lot of state workers and they’re not known for their philanthropy because their

current pay isn’t that high.”

Sepulveda went on to point out that, “we are also very young and young people tend to volunteer more than they give. If you looked at the report, it didn’t talk about volunteerism then, but we volun-teered off the charts.”Sepulveda added that this means Austin should produce some very good philanthropists as the popu-lation ages and develops more dis-posable income.

as cities get larger, they have more and more problems to face. This means that Austin must continue to motivate people to get involved to help the city live up to its full potential. He says that the needs in the community are expanding with more people and the strains of the national economy.

For those who wonder why some-one should donate time and mon-ey to charity, the answer might be in what it brings back to the indi-vidual or their company. Goldwas-ser believes that it is important to give back to the community where a business earns its money.

“It’s not only smart because it helps the city and it helps the people that are hurting in some way, but it’s also good for your business when people see you doing that,” says Goldwasser.

August points out that her involve-ment and passion inspires her friends to make a difference, too, and often they expose each other to a variety of causes. Sepulveda added, “I’m not sure if charity work is selfless or selfish, as I gpet so much in return. I’ve meet the best people in the country - I mean think about it, if you want to meet the [most influential] people in the city, where would some of these people be? [They will be] volun-teering.”

Capitol Caring

“We are also very young and young

people tend to volunteer more than they give.”

An inside look at Austin’s volunteering community

In the future, Sepulveda noted that for the long-term there, “needs to be more major donors. There needs to be more people who have the ethic of giving, but I think we’re making progress”.

Forbes Magazine recently named Austin the fastest growing city in America. According to Sepulveda,


Extr

as

BookWomanThis Austin bookstores is catered to woman, just as its name specifies. It’s a great place to hang out and relax. Come here to find anything from a great ro-mance novels to a group of woman who share book tastes with you.

ADDRESS: 5601 Brodie LanePHONE: (512) 892-3493

Boundin

AustinBy Cassidy Curra

Photo courtesy of ebookwoman.com


BookPeopleBookPeople is just one of those Austin staples. The two story building is decorated incredibly cool and funky, and the store holds signings with great Texas authors. The selection itself is amaz-ing, and the store holds a variety of book clubs as well.

In Half-Price books, one can find both new and used merchandise. It’s a re-ally interesting and unique store with a staff that feels more Austin than the place itself. With great, low pric-es, one can find books that are still in great shape for a really low price.

Half-Price Books

ADDRESS: 2929 S. Lamar Blvd.PHONE: (512) 443-3138

ADDRESS: 603 N. Lamar Blvd.PHONE: (800) 853-9757

Photo courtesy of sheistoofondofbooks.com

Photo courtesy of thatotherpaper.com


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By Amina Moheddin

Places to Vis i t

i n A u s t i n

To p 5

Photo Courtesy of “heatheronhertravels”

Photo Courtesy of “young and with it”

Austin Bats

Every year bats migrate to Texas for the summer sea-son. One of their resting stops is under the Congress Avenue bridge. Every day at dusk, the bats emerge to look for food. You can watch the event from several viewpoints around the area.

Barton Springs

Plenty of trees, a sloping hill, and calming water.What more does this place need?

45


Photo Courtesy of “transient musket”

Photo Courtesy by “DAR in Austin”

Photo Courtesy by “DAR in Austin”

Alamo Drafthouse

A historic Austin theater, this place has the latest movies, greatest popcorn, and the best seats in town.

State Capitol

This immense structure was designed and built in the 1880’s, and still stands tall and glorious as a symbol for Austin people. Also, the sur-rounding stores and pubs provide a surround-ing scenery and life. Best visited at night.

6th street

The busiest street in Austin at any time of the year, is always 6th street. Live music, ethnic restaurants, an im-mense amount of lights, and a general feel of Austin cul-ture is what makes this paritcualr spot in Austin a must-see for everyone.

2

3

1

Exclusive Interview with JB

Q:A:

Q:A:

Q:A:

What made you want to be on the radio?

What has been your strangest experience as a local celebrity?

What is your favorite type of music?

I didn’t really intend to be on the radio at first. I wanted to do a summer internship, so I asked my dad if I could live with him (while I was in college) for the summer and do an internship for some experience, but I couldn’t get a film or TV intern-ship. I ended up getting a radio internship working in the promotions department and I fell in love with [radio].

Being asked to emcee events, which I’m not good at. Those throw you into a lot of weird situations.

I really like the lineup of ACL. That’s a lot of different genres, but I like the “small font bands”- as you go down the festival line-ups, I like the ones that aren’t headlining; those at the bottom of the lists.

from the JB & Sandy Morning ShowBy Jackie Singer


Photo Coutresy of Jackie SingerEx

tras

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as

Q:A:

Q:A:

Q:A:

Q:A:

What is your favorite place to go around Austin?

What brought you back to Austin after you moved your show to Dallas?

How early do you wake up to host your morning show?

Who was your most outrageous in-terview on the show?Jack Black was pretty outrageous be-cause throughout the whole interview he stayed in character for his band Tenacious D, who believe they are the greatest band in the world. He was just really starting to get big and he was going to host the MTV music awards. I had prepped all of this Jack Black stuff, but he totally stayed in character for the whole interview.

The Hike and Bike Trail. My wife and I are runners, and I love going there, seeing the improvements that are being made. It’s like having a gym right in the middle of city.

I get up at 4:15, grab a coffee and go to my computer to read through all of the overnight entertainment news that would be relevant to our listen-ers for about an hour, just so that I am up to speed. Then I take the world’s fastest shower and drive to work, set up my laptop and I am ready to do the show.

We took the job in Dallas after turning down about 5 other jobs because we wanted to stay with the same company and we liked the people that were making the big decisions. They were the ones who convinced us to take the Dallas job. That was the worst job we ever took. The station changed to hip hop, 9/11 happened while we were there, and revenue went flat for a year. We were able to go back to Austin, which in retrospect, was okay. At the time it was horrible.


Photo Coutresy of J.B. Hager

Guitar Sculptures In Austin

The “Austin GuitarTown” project was presented by Gibson Guitars six years ago in 2006. It was started as a public arts event dedicated to bringing both musical and visual artistic elements together. This was to be done by placing a unique display of various 10-foot tall guitar sculptures around Aus-

tin. These sculptures were to be painted by local Austin artists, and were supposed to have

a wide variety of artistic styles pre-sented on them. There was an auc-

tion held on the guitars in 2007 to raise money for Austin based charities, but a few guitars still remain around the city (mainly in the Austin Bergstrom air-port) and are viewed by thou-sands of people every day.

“Vibrancy”By Craig Hein

Address: East Side of Congress and 4th St.

Guitar Sculptures In Austin

By Annie Murphy

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Photo

Courtes

y of Annie Murphy

“Musician”By Howard Weliver

Address: Austin Bergstrom Airport

“Por Vida”By Kathy MarcusAddress: Austin

Bergstrom Airport

“Livestrong”By David MiderAddress: Austin

Bergstrom Airport


Photo Courtesy of Annie Murphy



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