A school in Austin, Texas, where Dazed and Confused was filmed is at risk of closing next year. And one of the school\u2019s music teachers has issued a plea for the film\u2019s most famous homegrown star to save it.<\/p>\n
Bedichek Middle School, which was used as a set location for the 1993 cult classic, is one of 13 schools that the Austin Independent School District has proposed closing in 2026 as a cost-saving measure to address a nearly $20 million budget shortfall.<\/p>\n
The movie, directed by Richard Linklater, featured numerous up-and-coming actors, including Ben Affleck, Parker Posey and Matthew McConaughey, who was born in Uvalde, Texas, and made his onscreen debut in Dazed and Confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlright, alright, alright,\u201d Samantha Stewart, Bedichek\u2019s orchestra teacher, wrote on Instagram, quoting McConaughey\u2019s most famous line. \u201cHelp us blow this post up! We are fighting to keep the music playing at Bedichek Middle School.\u201d<\/p>\n
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View this post on Instagram<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A post shared by Samantha Stewart (@samanthastewart.atx)<\/p>\n
\\n<\/p>\n
According to KXAN, Stewart, a professional violinist, has worked at Bedichek for 13 years, helping secure $80,000 in grants for its orchestra program.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019ve poured my heart into this program \u2014 securing grants for instruments and lessons \u2014 to give every student a chance,” Stewart continued. \u201cNow, this beloved, historic school faces closure. Bedichek is more than just a school; it\u2019s a cultural landmark. These are the same halls where Dazed and Confused was filmed! We can\u2019t let this history, and the future of our students, be erased.”<\/p>\n
Stewart tagged McConaughey and his wife, Camila Alves, in the Instagram post. The couple founded the just keep livin Foundation (named after another McConaughey line in Dazed and Confused), whose mission is to empower high school students. And they\u2019re actively involved in numerous philanthropic endeavors.<\/p>\n
McConaughey visited Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, following the deadly 2022 mass shooting there, and launched the Greenlights Grant Initiative to help schools improve safety by streamlining access to federal funding for mental health and security resources.<\/p>\n
According to Bedichek\u2019s website, the school had an enrollment of 638 students in the 2024-2025 school year. It was among seven schools in the proposed closure plan to receive an F from the school district.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just had two kids make all-region orchestra, which is a huge deal for our school because most of them don\u2019t have private lessons. There is so much good. Our football team is currently undefeated,\u201d Stewart told KXAN. \u201cWe have so many wonderful programs here. So, I just feel like that F rating does not encompass our whole campus.\u201d<\/p>\n
The school board is expected to vote on the plan on Nov. 20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A school in Austin, Texas, where Dazed and Confused was filmed is at risk of closing next year.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8205,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133,7848,7844,7847,7845,7846],"class_list":["post-8204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-bedichek-middle","tag-dazed-and-confused","tag-everett-collection","tag-matthew-mcconaughey","tag-samantha-stewart"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}