Magnet magazine 3 3

March 2017

Vol. III

Issue 3

The Magnet

Sneaker Culture in the Modern World

by Alen Zohrabyan

Recapping the Oscars

by Vache Sarkissian

Visiting Glendale’s Great White Hut

by Trisha Gomez

Clark Calendar

Letter from the Editors As seniors wait to find out what university they’re going to be attending, and while juniors study frantically for AP testing, we bring to you a collection of stories that will help to get your mind off of second semester stress. From topics such as last month’s Oscars and the hype of sneaker culture, this issue focuses on subjects that will distract you from the seemingly nonstop academic workload.

The cover story by Alen Zohrabyan is a deep analysis of society’s obsession with high-end sports shoes. He discusses the origin and significance of collecting sneakers in the modern world.

In the Lifestyle section, Trisha Gomez visits a Glendalian classic - The Great White Hut. She writes about her positive experience at the fast food joint

and how pleasant the food is considering the affordable prices.

In the In The Life section, Urielle Corcuera writes about taking lessons to learn how to defend herself. Also, Janine Porras writes about her experience attending an event known as the Compassion Project, an event which simulates what it feels like to be part of a developing country.

Henry Reed’s opinion piece about Trump’s immigration ban discusses the importance of the plan and how it is vital to the security of America.

Our A&E section features indie artist Homeshake’s latest album Fresh Air, the new A Series of Unfortunate Events netflix series, and the book Diary of an Oxygen Thief. All these stories plus many more can be found online at clarkchronicle.com.

Table Of Contents Lifestyle

Features

10 The Oscars: Who won vs. who should’ve won

2 Students establish a new ecosystem amongst classes

Vache Sarkissian

11 The Great White Hut

Henry Reed

Trisha Gomez

4 Adavnce Placement or Advance Payment?

Christine Ohanyan

6 Hunt for cosmetics that are worth the cost Ani Agesyan

8 Sneaker Culture in the Modern World Alen Zohrabyan

In The Life 20 Taking a journey into the life of a child from a developing country Janine Porras

22 Learning how to defend myself Urielle Corcuera

Opinion 24 EpiPen’s price increase robs allergic patients Anthony Francisco

25 Temporary immigration halt is a necessity Henry Reed

A&E 26 Homeshake’s ‘Fresh Air’ is a soul-searching journey through space Vache Sarkissian

27 ‘Series of Unfortunate Events’ Gabriella Kchozyan

28 Diary of an Oxygen Thief Chelsea Santos

The Magnet Magazine Magazine Editors: Himanshi Ahir Anthony Francisco Natella Muradyan Vache Sarkissian Staff Writers: Ani Agesyan Urielle Corcuera Anthony Francisco Trisha Gomez Gabby Kchozyan

Christine Ohanyan Alen Zohrabyan Janine Porras Website Editors: Henry Reed Arman Antonyan Chelsea Santos Vache Sarkissian Vache Sarkissian Kasy Vasquez Alen Zohrabyan Business Managers: Photographers: Ani Agesyan Jaden Florita Arman Antonyan Trisha Gomez Rita Bilamejian Eunice Ramilo Henry Reed

The Magnet, an open forum, is published by the Clark Magnet High School Publications class (4747 New York Ave., La Crescenta, CA 91214, 818.248.8324), which is solely responsible for all copy, designs and ideas contained herein. The Magnet has the right to edit any letter for purposes of clarification, length and grammar. The expressed opinions are not that of Clark Magnet High School nor of the Administration. Layouts completed on-site. This magazine was printed by aPrintis Inc., 4695 Chabot Dr, Site 200 Pleasanton, CA.

Visit us online!

clarkchronicle.com

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Features

Students establish a new ecosystem amongst classes A collaboration emerges among the robotics, engineering and cinematography students through the construction of a cinema tool Story and photography by Henry Reed Clark Magnet has many unique features when compared to other Glendale Unified high schools, such as its block schedule, relatively small community or the yearlong senior project. A new such feature has recently sprouted among the robotics, engineering and cinematography classes. Students from those courses contributed to a mutually-beneficial project, one that aided the robotics students in filling their class community service hours and one that will open a new range of possibilities for the cinematography classes — building a cyclorama from scratch.

“A cyclorama is pretty much a wall and a floor with a smooth transition in between that is all green,” said Michael O’Gara, one of the robotics students involved in working in this project. “This lets the cinematography team use the green color and change it to a different background.”

Bagrat Paronikyan holds the wood straight for cutting.

Matt Stroup inspects ripped wood.

According to cinematography teacher Matt Stroup, the cyclorama will be finished “before the ides of March.”

Small adjustments need to be made, such as puttying the screws, before the cyclorama is finally painted green.

Prior to the project, the cinematography class had a simple green screen that students could use to place people or objects into different locations; however, it had a severe limitation.

“The problem with the traditional green screen is it does not cover the floor. If you were to attach another green screen you would have dark seams that you would then have to go in postproduction and clear out,” said cinematography teacher Matt Stroup. “You get into issues where you have to get people up off the ground, or you must cut off their legs. It really limits your ability to have a person in an open space and make it look like they’re actually in that space given the perspective of the camera.”

Stroup has been thinking of implementing a cyclorama for a long time,

but what really sparked his interest was a conversation he had in the beginning of the school year with robotics and engineering teacher David Black. The robotics class has a requirement for each student to invest four hours into a community service project with an engineering focus. “That happened to come up in conversation and I thought, ‘Hey, this would be a great opportunity to have them design and engineer and then build this cyclorama that we could use in cinema.’ So, then we have this situation where we’re doing this cross pollination with students who have a common interest in both subject matters,” Stroup said.

Stroup spoke with Alexander Fenyes, a cinematography and robotics student, and organized a meeting. Fenyes brought O’Gara along, and the trio developed a plan. The early blueprints were done on paper before being transferred into Autodesk Inventor by O’Gara and Fenyes.

With the parts list ready, Stroup came back with his personal trailer and delivered the resources that he purchased

Features

Alexander Fenyes cuts wooden plank edges at a forty-five degree angle using Matt Stroup’s portable saw. using funds from a previous cinematography project done for the Glendale Education Foundation.

This is where the first challenge began. The pieces of wood had to be ripped, meaning cut lengthwise, which neither O’Gara nor Fenyes had done before. After receiving a cautionary warning from their engineering teacher, Black proceeded to teach both O’Gara and Fenyes in the process of ripping wood.

An additional problem was the lack of labor. “It was hard getting enough people to help with the actual project, most of the time it was just myself and Michael,” Fenyes said. To alleviate the trouble, Stroup asked seven students during enrichment to collaborate in the long development of the cyclorama and brought along his portable saws from home.

“My teacher, which I have a lot of respect for, needed help with the construction, so me and my engineering buddies just gathered up and helped him out,” said Bagrat Paronikyan. Paronikyan, along with the other cinematography students who assisted with the project, had previous experience in Black’s engineering classes. “I passed Intro to Engi-

neering last year, so now I’m in regular engineering,” Paronikyan said.

However, some students did not have any engineering experience. Such was the case with Edward Bakchadjian, who decided to help as he thought that the cyclorama would be a great addition to the class. When talking about the various applications of the cyclorama,

3 Bakchadjian used an example of creating a skydiving scene without actually being in the sky. Bakchadjian said that with the cyclorama, one can “pan the camera, going from the floor to the roof and maybe showing a round view” of the actor, allowing for a realistic scene that would not be possible with a simple green screen.

This collaborative work among robotics, engineering and cinematography students has created an ecosystem where the cinematography students earned experience in a large-scale project and contributed to a future upgrade to their equipment and where the robotics and engineering students learned new skills and filled their community service hours. However, the ecosystem is projected to spread even larger than those three classes. “I don’t want to limit the cyclorama to just cinema,” Stroup said.

“In previous years, the robotics team used our green screen to do product shots with their stuff. We have animation, so now [with the cyclorama] you could do something like in Star Wars where you actually build a model ship and manipulate that ship and composite it. So animation can use it. Mr. Zamlich has students from photography, they can come up and do still images and then take that back into Photoshop and key it out. It has a lot of different uses,” Stroup said.

All pieces of the cyclorama, including the curve, have been built.

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Features

Advanced Placement or Advanced Payment?

Students share their perspectives on all things AP Story and photography by Christine Ohanyan “I like being around people who take school as seriously as I do, which is why I would rather be enrolled in an AP course than a regular course,” said junior Shushana Khachatryan, expressing her approval of the College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) program. “I do think that APs have created more competition in school, but I think that some friendly competition with your friends can be fun and it doesn’t hurt to have a little more motivation to excel in school.”

The AP program is an educational program administered by the College Board and implemented in schools across the United States since the 1950s.

The purpose of it is to provide students with college-level courses and offer an exam at the end of the year which, if passed, may allow the student to earn college credit for that course.

The number of students taking AP classes in high school has steadily increased. According to the College Board, 33.2 percent of public high school graduates in the class of 2013 took an AP exam, which is significantly higher than the 18.9 percent of graduates in the class of 2003 who took an AP exam.

It is also evident among students that the average number of AP classes taken by individual students has increased. Clark alumna Anahid Yahjian (Class of 2007) said that she finds it hard to believe the number of APs her younger family members have taken and how they juggle all of their work.

“When I was in high school, taking two

AP classes was considered amazing.

Now the normal number of APs is four or five,” Yahjian said. “From what I remember, AP classes were extremely demanding and very difficult, because a dense amount of material was given at

“To me it’s very clear that there are alternative motives to offer AP classes in high school that have nothing to do with helping students prepare for college.”

—Nareh Abramian

once coupled with a pile of assignments to complete. That must cause a great deal of stress for current high school students.”

Junior Isabella Hakobian said that the increase in students’ interest in AP

Nareh Abramian classes is most likely due to the level of competition that a program like AP breeds in an academic environment.

“In an education system where your college acceptance or rejection depends partially on others’ accomplishments and how far you rank compared to them, you’re pretty much forced to take what they do into consideration,” Hakobian said. “It’s like a domino effect. I don’t think anyone actually wants to take four or five APs; it’s more like they have no choice.”

On the contrary, junior Davit Malkhasyan, who is currently enrolled in four AP classes, said that he never felt pressured into taking any AP classes and that he has a positive outlook on

photo via wikimedia.org under Creative Commons license

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The average cost for an AP test preparation book is about $20. the program. However, some students have a more negative view of AP classes.

Senior Nareh Abrahamian said that AP classes are unnecessary and a high school should prioritize preparing its students for college anyway. “Maybe it’s just me, but I thought that high school, any given high school, is supposed to prepare its students for college as it is — regardless of whether or not the students take AP classes,” Abrahamian said. “Just like middle school is supposed to prepare students for high school even though no AP courses are offered in middle school. To me it’s very clear that there are alternative motives to offer AP classes in high school that have nothing to do with helping students prepare for college.”

Like Abrahamian, senior Larisa Mkrtchyan said that there is an alternate motive for offering AP courses, which she believes is profit. “The whole AP program and other things that College Board issues such as the SAT and ACT are more expensive than most people realize,” Mkrtchyan said. “They milk money out of students’ pockets from start to finish; you buy the tests, buy the prep books, and pay to send scores to colleges, all of which is even required by most colleges regarding the SAT for

mere consideration of an application.”

Although College Board is a nonprofit organization, Mkrtchyan’s speculations seem to be supported by the facts. According to Silver Chips Online, College Board’s profits in 2009 made up 8.6 percent of its total revenue, a figure

“College Board did not aid in my educational journey throughout high school; I did not learn anything from being forced to take a few tests and pay for them.”

—Raisa Faisal

impressive even for a for-profit institution. These profits were made in addition to what College Board planned to spend on test and curriculum development.

Mkrtchyan also believes that College Board’s AP score policy proves that the organization is not interested in how much material a student learns.

“What’s most ridiculous about the whole AP thing is that you can never view your tests after they have been scored,” she said. “So how exactly are you

supposed to learn from your mistakes?

You don’t. They gave you a score and that’s all that matters; you might as well be a number.”

Similarly, senior Raisa Faisal said that since the AP program and College Board did not exactly take part in her education by helping her learn, they should not have such a profound effect on her future. “College Board did not aid in my educational journey throughout high school; I did not learn anything from being forced to take a few tests and pay for them,” Faisal said. “So I do not know why this completely separate profit organization is allowed to have so much say in which college I get to go to.”

Math teacher Amir Ghavam said that although he understands the viewpoint that the AP program is motivated by profit, he does not entirely agree with it. “I do think that the program, if implemented appropriately, ought to support students and improve students’ chances for college admissions,” Ghavam said. “That being said, I do not, however, totally disagree that there is an element of profit behind not only the AP, but also many other aspects of the education system.”

Raisa Faisal Despite the stress and money that AP classes might require, counselor Susan Howe believes that AP courses are worth it as long as the student is taking the courses for the right reasons. “If you’re taking it for the actual purpose of taking an AP class, which is to pass the exam and earn college credit, then yes it is worth it,” Howe said. “However, if you’re just taking it for the academic prestige or to boost your GPA, it is definitely not worth it.”

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Features

Hunt for cosmetics that are worth their cost High-end vs drugstore makeup

Story and photography

by Ani Agesyan “I always end up spending a bunch of money when I walk into Sephora,” says junior Anna Karapetyan. “I can’t help it. I love what they sell.” Everyone who goes makeup shopping knows it’s hard to resist falling into the temptation of splurging on makeup. Whether in Sephora or CVS, spending too much money on makeup is inevitable. According to Quartz, the average woman spends nearly $15,000 on makeup in her lifetime. With that much money being spent, it’s hard to tell what products are really worth it and which are not.

Many variables are taken into consideration when creating and pricing a makeup product: ingredients, manufacturers, packaging, service and brand reputation. The price of a product obviously relies on what it is made up of. Aside from the actual pigment in a product that gives it its color, there are other base ingredients: fillers, fragrances, moisturizers, minerals, binders, sunscreens, preservatives and many other compounds.

High-end makeup is usually made up of better quality ingredients that makes the application and wear of the product superior to those of drugstore brands. Higher-ended brands tend to have more pigment rather than fillers, whereas drugstore brands tend to have the opposite. The use of more pigment also means that luxury brands have more extensive lines of shades. However, according to Refinery29, only 15 percent of the price paid goes towards the ingredients.

Most of what consumers are paying, or not paying, goes towards the packaging; the more you pay, the more expensive the packaging is. As stated by Quartz, people are mainly paying for the

packaging.

The company that manufactures the product can change the price depending on their productions costs. According to Quartz, packaging has become the focus in the industry, such that “there are actually awards given out for it”. The more attractive the packaging, the more consumers gravitate towards it. Some brands like Two Faced, Tarte and Jeffree Star Cosmetics use brighter colors that catch the eye; other brands like Anastasia Beverly Hills, Christian Louboutin and Urban Decay make classier packaging that have more clean cut, minimalistic aesthetics.

“Anastasia Beverly Hills is one of my favorite brands,” said junior Emily Hakopyan. “They have amazing products and their packaging is really pretty. The Modern Renaissance pallet is one of my favorites; it has a cute velvet packaging.”

The service that comes with going to stores like Sephora or Mac contribute to the price also. Having a chance to try on products with professionals who help customers pick and apply the best products contribute to the price also.

However, when shopping for cosmetics at your local Target or CVS, there are no samplers, so choosing a color can be a guessing game.

Aside from the ingredients, manufacturer, packaging and services, the brand reputation also has a great effect, as it does with most non-beauty products. “Sometimes clients ask me what products I am going to use on them just to know if it’s brand name,” said freelance cosmetologist Armine Nikolyan.

“They even request high-end products because they think it’s better than affordable brands.”

Just having a product from a brand like Chanel or Giorgio Armani in one’s vanity gives it value. “I prefer high-end brands. I don’t have any drugstore prod-

ucts. I just like the overall quality of highend makeup.” said junior Lousine Aslanyan. Brands with high reputations are the ones that get away with extremely over-priced products that people buy just to say they have products like the latest Natasha Denona pallet which is priced at $239.

Within the last two years though, drugstore brands have been stepping up their game, with brands like NYX and Elf even opening their own stores in malls.

Chemist Randy Schueller told Quartz, “Price does not really correlate to quality when it comes to cosmetic products.”

Brands like Maybelline and L.A. Girl have released products that have become cult favorites for having the same results for half the price.

With all the progress in drugstore brands, whether it be ingredients or service, it is becoming harder to distinguish which high-end products are worth it when one can always find its cheaper counterpart, or as they say in the beauty community, it’s “dupe,” at the drugstores.

“I have an even mixture of high-end and drugstore makeup,” said sophomore Ani Vartanyan, “It’s really hit or miss for me.

Some things I like from drugstores, some from department stores.”

Features

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Students’ thoughts about makeup

Ani Vartanyan, sophomore What’s your favorite makeup product?

I can’t pick, I love them all.

Do you usually go for high-end or drugstore makeup?

I have an even mixture of high-end and drugstore makeup. It’s really hit or miss for me. Some things I like from drugstores, some from department stores.

Do you feel there’s a difference in quality?

Nope. I honestly don’t look at the label as much as I do the actual performance.

Do you value the quality rather than the brand name?

Ya, always, I get whatever works for me.

Emily Hakopyan, junior What makeup brands do you usually shop for?

Anastasia Beverly Hills is one of my favorite brands. I usually look for anything new they put out. I love them too!

What’s your favorite product from them?

The Modern Renaissance pallet is one of my favorites; it is really pigmented and has a cute velvet packaging.

Do you look for nice packaging when shopping?

I like it when the packaging is pretty, ABH has really nice packaging.

Do you use any drugstore products?

There are a few I like. One of my favorites is the L’oreal telescopic mascara.

Ani Babayan, junior I know you love makeup.

Where do you usually shop?

Sephora! I also do a lot of online shopping too. Sephora is so tempting. I love going there! I always end up spending a bunch of money when I walk into Sephora. I can’t help it. I love what they sell.

Me too! Do you use any drugstore brands?

I have a few products. I really like the soft matte lip creams from NYX.

Lousine Aslanyan, junior Do you prefer shopping at drugstores or department stores for makeup?

Me and my sister always shop at department stores; our favorite is Sephora.

Why? I prefer high-end brands. I don’t have any drugstore products What’s your favorite brand?

Probably Kat Von Dis in my top five, I love the whole aesthetic of her line.

What’s your favorite product?

I love the everlasting Liquid Lipstick, it feels really nice on the lips.

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Features

Sneaker culture in the modern world

It’s more than just collecting shoes

Story and photography by Alen Zohrabyan They stand in seemingly endless lines in the scorching heat and in the bitter cold to buy the newest kicks, light up like little kids when they finally get their hands on the sneakers with that certain colorway, and treat their shoes the same way a parent would their child.

These sneaker enthusiasts are known as “Sneakerheads,” and to them, shoes are more than just the leather, rubber and plastic that make up the footwear.

Originating in the 1980s, the birth of the sneakerhead can be associated with the introduction of Michael Jordan’s highly influential line of basketball shoes in 1985 and the prosperity of hip-hop and the use of sneakers as symbols of prestige and prominence in the Eastern and Western coasts by art-

ists. Today, many outstanding rappers have a signature sneaker they wear, including Kendrick Lamar, who displays the Ventilator line of Puma shoes; Wiz Khalifa representing the very popular Chuck Taylor’s by Converse; and Kanye West, who wears the shoes from his collaboration with Adidas, the Adidas Yeezy Boosts.

Some Clark Magnet High School students have also embraced the sneakerhead culture. “I’ve been collecting sneakers since I was 8,” said Clark junior John Lising. “I have a few friends who mostly buy and sell, but I love buying shoes and having an assortment of my favorite sneakers.” Lising also said he bases his outfits and shoes for his own comfort and fit, noting that “unlike other sneakerheads, I don’t put too much time on my clothing and shoes. I just wear whatever I want and what I’m comfortable in.”

Now, in 2017, this sneaker culture and the subcultures within it are still prevalent throughout the states, and have even expanded internationally, reportedly having an avid collector fan base in major foreign cities, including: London, Tokyo, Toronto, Paris, Berlin, and Barcelona, according to Complex.

The sneaker collecting industry is both a highly lucrative and influential business, with shops of all sizes sprawled throughout Downtown Los Angeles. and collectors seeking the latest in-style sneakers to purchase. Social media also plays an active role in shining light onto the sneaker culture. As of February 2017, Instagram’s most popular sneaker news and media page, @SneakerNews had a following of almost 6 million users, and @ComplexSneakers and @SneakersAddictCom had a combined following of 500,000 users.

Due to its vast influence and reach,

Features collecting sneakers has become part of the lives of children, teens and adults.

Nick Aro, a junior at Clark Magnet, and an active 16-year-old sneakerhead, said that he was introduced into the sneaker collecting scene through his interest in basketball and the shoes basketball players wore, adding that the addition of social media was a major factor in his induction to the scene. “I went to my first sneaker convention in the summer of 2012, where I bought my first pair of Retro Jordans, the Jordan 3 Infrared,” he said.

Aro compared collecting sneakers to something many did as children — gathering Pokémon cards to compare and talk about with to friends. “We get older but still hold onto things we did as kids, our hobbies just evolve,” he said.

Another devoted sneakerhead is Conrad Pruitt, an English teacher at Clark Magnet High, who just like Lising and Aro, began collecting sneakers at a young age. He described a chunk of his life where he lost interest in collecting sneakers, but had his interest rekindled when “my wife bought me a pair of $200

Modern technology and social media go hand-in-hand with sneaker culture.

basketball shoes, and I felt what $200 sneakers felt like.”

Pruitt also said that unlike many collectors who buy shoes and store them and only wear them on occasion, he actually uses the sneakers he purchases for playing basketball, and believes they offer a boost to his performance. “I can definitely feel a difference when I wear my Lebron 11’s and Kobe 9’s when I’m playing basketball,” adding that he certainly believes he will be collecting sneakers in the future.

The sneaker market is a highly prof-

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itable market, with a reported $17.2 billion in sales in 2015 according to Forbes, which estimates that the industry will grow and reach $220.2 billion in value by the year 2020. Along with major sneakers companies like Nike having sponsorships with high profile basketball players, including Kyrie Irving and Lebron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors, the sneaker industry will surely continue to grow.

Aro’s Nike Air Force 1’s.

Lifestyle

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The Academy Awards

Who won and who should have won

By Vache Sarkissian

Best Picture: Moonlight Should have won:

Manchester by the Sea

This film slowly crept its way into existence and slid its way into the Academy’s Best Picture nomination list. The charm of this film is how simple it is. Nothing was extra, there was nothing yelling at you. The beauty of this film is in how gently it presents itself. Kenneth Lonergan’s masterpiece featured stellar performances, a solid script, brilliant music, and a tender sense of intimacy unmatched this year.

Although Moonlight shined very bright and deserved its wins, Manchester was the hidden gem that should have won this one.

Best Actor: Casey Affleck Should have won:

Casey Affleck

Casey Affleck gave us, without a shadow of a doubt, the most heartwrenchingly brilliant performance of the year. His performance as Lee Chandler, a blue-collar Bostonian forced to take care of his nephew after his own brother, Joe Chandler, dies of heart failure, was the most brutally honest and emotional of the year. A performance like this well deserved the award and will be remembered far after the Awards are over. With this role, Affleck proved that not only is he a far better actor than his brother, but he’s also one of the greatest dramatic actors of his generation.

Best Actress: Emma Stone

Cinematography: La La Land

Rachel Weisz

Silence

Should have won:

The fact that Rachel Weisz wasn’t even nominated for this role is an absolute travesty. Both Colin Farrell and Weisz easily deserved nominations for their leading roles. Fortunately, Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos’ work didn’t go completely unnoticed, as it grabbed a Best Original Screenplay nomination.

However, Weisz really did this film justice. Narrating the film until the halfway mark and then making a grand entrance as the woman Colin Farrell falls in love with, she completely ties the film together, and it’s hard to imagine another actor in her place, whereas Emma Stone's acting seemed very replaceable and mediocre.

Should have won:

Good cinematography in a film is when the DP goes out of their way to capture a shot that will amplify the whole scene.

No film in the list of nominations was able to do this to the effect of Rodrigo Prieto’s work in Silence. Having not even been nominated for his tremendous work with Alejandro González Iñárritu in his first four features, he was then nominated but lost for Brokeback Mountain. He is nominated this time for some of the best work of his career, and a win is long overdue for the prolific Mexican.

Best Director: Damien Chazelle (La La Land)

Original Screenplay: Manchester by the Sea

Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

Manchester by the Sea

Should have won:

It seems that the bright lights and pretty colors of La La Land were too distracting for the Academy, as this category was a clear Moonlight win. Barry Jenkins’ second feature was absolutely flawless in the directing department. His vision and understanding of composition and rhythm was a treat to see on the big screen, as he told the story of a young inner-city boy named Chiron as he struggled to find himself in a world that kept telling him who he was.

Should have won:

The screenplay for this film was absolutely exquisite from start to finish.

The sheer brilliance in versatility writer/director Kenneth Lonergan showed in the script itself was unmatched by any original screenplay this year. One second the characters in the film were breaking each others’ hearts and the next they’d be screaming at each other in bitter, New England slang. The way this film captures the small-town, Boston suburb feel of the city of the same name is perfect.

Although this year featured many phenomenal scripts such as Moonlight and the pleasant surprise The Lobster, Manchester by the Sea absolutely takes the well-deserved cake on this occasion. photos courtesy of collider.com

Lifestyle

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The Great White Hut

Glendale’s historic little hut continues to serve up delicious and affordable fast food

Story and photography by Trisha Gomez Just on the outskirts of bustling Downtown Glendale, the infamous, bright red Great White Hut stands on the corner of Orange and California.

This landmark is hard to miss, but is dismissed by many people.

This place is not your typical eating establishment by any means. The shack itself is tiny, not exceeding the amount of space of the typical food truck. Their menu consists of American favorites with a handful of Mexican favorites as well.

Many of these items have a really unexpected yet oddly delicious twist, like the "Sunrise" fritas bowl. Fritas are essentially a large serving of fries with a variety of toppings on them like meat, vegetables and sauces. The idea is to create a cheap but very filling entree out of what is essentially a side dish.

One of these delicious fritas bowls is the not-so-classic "Classic" style fries The carne asada, feta cheese and Spicy Garlic Aioli sauce are a great complement to the crispy, thick-cut fries. All these ingredients are filled up to the top of a little cardboard to-go box in true street-food fashion.

The sauce, however, is the ingredient that really gives this plate a kick, giving your tastebuds a tangy, then spicy sensation. After getting a taste of these hot, crispy fries, the potato-filled cardboard box is a difficult one to put down.

The carne asada tacos, which also entertain cilantro, onions, and salsa, are some of the most flavorful and authentic tacos I've come across in a non-Mexican environment. The price and the quality are out-of-this-world, and not to mention that "The Hut" celebrates Tuesdays with 99-cent Taco-Tuesday tacos, knocking the neighboring block's King Taco out of the park.

The Hut’s classics: tacos, burgers, and fritas.

The Great White Hut Address 121 W California Ave, Glendale, CA 91203 Hours

The Great White Hut’s hamburger features a beef patty, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles and thousand island sauce all in between a toasted bun — truly an American classic. In my opinion, the structure and quality is comparable to the beloved In-N-Out hamburgers.

However, if you want something a little extra, getting a double or adding on bacon, avocado, or even an egg, is the way to go.

A trip to this eatery is a must, especially for Glendale natives. It's important to support such a quality local establishment, rather than to just walk down the street and go to an In-N-Out or a Subway, especially since the Hut

Monday - Thursday: 6am - 9 pm Friday: 6am - 3am Saturday: 9am - 3 am Sunday: 11am - 5pm www.greatwhitehut.com has a variety of classics at unbelievably low prices. Although it is located in a rapidly developing Downtown Glendale, its out-of-the-way location still provides a mellow atmosphere for you and your pals to hang out and eat some delicious, authentic fast food.

The appropriately named “hut” stands proud on the corner of California ave. and Orange St.

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Student Work

The still world moving around us Breadth, magazine, hobby, emulation, and best shot projects

Elen Sayamyan, senior

A n i k B o y a d z h y a n III

Anik Boyadzhyan, senior

Luiza Vardanyan, senior

Chantal Kasbarian, senior

Aleen Kadoian, senior

Rosie Asatryan, senior

Student Work

Emily Hakopyan, junior Serena Torres, junior

Lili Navasardyan, junior Ben Satzman, junior

Eduard Bashnakyan, junior

Gabriella Kchozyan, junior

13

14

Student Work Hobby, magazine, and greatest shot projects

Areil Hovsepian, junior

Jaden Florita, junior Students taking photography this year are using different elements and properties to showcase their knowledge of the principles of design.

Photography 5-6 students went to work on their breadth projects needed for their AP portfolios where they had to take twelve photo while those in Photography 3-4 incorporated the style of a famous photographer in their emulation projects. The purpose of the hobby project is to take photos of something the students have passion for and are knowledgeable of. The magazine project is to have students incorporate the magazine format into their work.

Melanie Poghosyan, junior

Arina Megerdichian, senior

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Student Work

Allen Yousif, junior

Preti Abnoosi, senior

Melissa Diaz-Mancio, sophomore

Zhanna Arsenyan, senior

Leila Manaois, junior

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Student Work

Poetry, prose, and more!

Oldies, But Goodies

Hidden

By Lily Eloyan

By Arpi Iskandaryan

Sadly, I was born after music’s glory days. By the time I came into the picture, quality music was well past us.

The phrase, “It’s an oldie, but a goodie,” is pretty much redundant to say because the odds of it being a newbie, but a goodie, are low. If it’s an oldie, it probably is a goodie. And I don’t mean oldie as in back when Beyoncé was in Destiny’s Child, I mean back when music was life-changing, world shattering, heart-crushingly good.

I mean Freddie Mercury coming out by writing the world’s most beautifully dichotomous song that had everyone singing their hearts out then crying their eyes out a minute later. I mean Led Zeppelin concocting a song so symbolic that even today, no one’s quite sure if it was actually about a stairway to heaven. I mean Leonard Cohen making even the most nonreligious sing out “Hallelujah!” I mean The Beatles helping us believe that we’ll get yesterday back again. I mean The Bee Gees creating music so groovy that it helped everyone actually stay alive. Oldies and I are no strangers in the night. We know each other well. We’ve spent hours together, just pondering the meaning of life through music. You can’t do that with today’s garbage. Best they can do is get you turnt at some random party that you’ll spend trying to impress everyone around you anyway.

You didn’t go to a Pink Floyd concert and make sure you got Instagram-worthy selfies. You were too busy head banging, laughing, crying, singing and making memories to last a lifetime. Dear oldies, I can’t help falling in love with you, I will always love you and even though I’m already 18, I will always be the dancing queen.

Your eyes are open, But you choose not to see anything.

Past events have hurt you, And tore down your image of a perfect life.

What you don’t know is that your sadness travels, And adds on the pain.

Oh mother let me help you, So I can finally be sane.

You push us all away, And tell us you’re fine.

But what you don’t realize is that I have eyes, And I can see that it’s all just a lie.

My hope is slowly fading, Why can’t you just listen?

It’s always the same childish game, When I try talking to you.

So here I stand.

Saying this one last time.

Mother, I’m growing up, And I don’t have time for your lies.

Open your ears And hear what I’m saying Because this is going to be the last time.

I need your help, And I need my mother To help me through this roller coaster of a life.

Alen Zohrabyan

Student Work Home

By Demetrio Rebollo Home

The birthplace of the hearth and of fertility. Shall we congratulate the comforts of the home? Or should we congratulate man? For the many deeds and creations that humankind has wrought with their hands.

For me such praise escapes my grasp one too many times. But of course the prospect of home has never escaped me. Nor has it tried to kite me and my necessity for its miraculous wonder. To be frank, home reaches out to me. In the quiet of the night, and the bustling noon of day. Whispering to me softly “calm, child, hear my voice. Know that in my embrace you are safe.”

I wouldn’t reply, only cling to the warmth that surrounded me. The soft grace that allowed me to breathe. Effortlessly easing me into a state of peace and harmony. Ingenious was the lord to craft thee, as he made me. To be harbored in your firm clutches, rescuing me from my selfless iniquities.

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The voice persisted, filling me with a euphoric entity that would heal the spirit of a man, imprisoned for consulting demons. So powerful that even the first star, he who fell from grace, would bow. Enough to tear through a storm that would shake the world. Bringing forth the period of nirvana, and ultimate tranquility.

An unbridled passion of love, and giving what no one could compete with. It would give all who heard it, the sensation of love.

It continued: “You need not fear, be calm, bathe in my love. Accept the fate given to you. To suffer in the wilderness, then come back and return to me. Just remember, if you ever need me, I will be there”.

Then before I’d waver, the truest words would leave me.

Uttering in my speechless gasp, “I love you mother, do not forsake me.”

She would smile and kiss the top of my head. Before pulling me in tighter. . . . “I love you too, more than you can imagine. The oceans will cry out in thirst, and the land will drown in the sea. Before I forsake thee.”

Disposing of its lingering and questionable sensation, thoroughly cleansing me of my sin and greed. Freeing me from my disappointments and dispositions in my life. From the treachery of school to the everlasting nightmares that haunted my dreams. Bringing with them the haunting vision of ghastly phantoms.

Surging me forth to the accelerated state of denial.

Screaming in my terror of the long dark. Seeing the eyes of who struck a cord within the hearts of men, to freeze.

Summoning apparitions of horror and gruesome gore.

After the surge I would feel the comfort. The hearth within that called me out from the cold. Begging for me to relax and be at peace. Beckoning for me to enter its limitless fortitude. Melting me from the icy prison the Spector aroused. Speaking to me softly, “All will be well, I shall protect you. Fear not child, as you are mine, I am yours.”

“White House at Night” - Vincent van Gogh courtesy of wikimedia.com under Creative Commons license All writing is from Mrs. Guarino’s Creative Writing class. If you’d like to submit your writing, please see the magazine editors during enrichment in Mr. Davis’ room.

18

Student Work

Different cultures through art Music culture, Egyptian, word art, and parks Students from AP Art compiled portfolios on how music affects culture from the 1970s and 1980s. Students from Draw 1-2 created drawings of Egyption-related symbols and beliefs.

Elizabeth Minasian, senior

Meri Vardanyan, junior

Lauren Momjian, senior

Meri Vardanyan, junior

Student Work

19

Aot Chanthorn, freshman

Morgans Andrews, freshman

Lara Tolmajian, junior

Elizabeth Minasian, senior

Students from Design 1-2 created art pieces in which words where incorporated in various objects. Students from Multimedia created archetictual plans for parks.

Edgar Kilamyan, senior Amineh Shahbazian, senior

20

In the Life

The Compassion Experience Taking a journey into the life of a child from a developing country Story and photos by Janine Porras I entered a small room filled with stars in the sky and tall grass that covered the walls. As I listened to the sound of crickets, I found myself standing in a recreated field in which a little boy had worked since he was seven years old. I had entered the life of a young boy from Ethiopia named Samson.

He had worked alone for hours in harsh weather conditions and barely had enough food to eat. Abandoned by his mother at the age of three, he was raised by his aunt. “I was too much of a burden, even for my mom,” he said with a heavy heart.

This recreated scene is of part an interactive journey called the Compassion Experience, where I recently learned about the struggles and hardships children in third world countries face. Exhibits are built to replicate the

markets, schools and homes of children living in poverty, making the experience feel more realistic. Participants use a headset and an iPod to listen to actual children tell their stories as they walk through their lives.

People get to experience the life of a child living in a developing country without leaving home. Stories of children from all over the world are shared in the Compassion Experience, a mobile event that comes to churches to raise awareness about children who live in poverty. The event is free and meant for people of all ages.

The Compassion Experience is a project created by Compassion International, a Christian organization that helps children through a sponsorship program. The sponsorship program is stated to be “the only child sponsorship program validated as effective through independent and empirical research,” according to their official website. There are over 4 million children living in extreme poverty according to Children International. The purpose of the project is to help the millions of children to grow into responsible and accomplished adults, as well as strengthen their relationships with God. The event was an exciting way to view the life a child from a completely different world from ours, said junior Allysa Tubal. It was a fun and interesting learning experience that opens our eyes to the realities that children are faced with.

Two stories were offered for us to walk through: Yannely, a girl from the Dominican Republic; and Sam-

Yannely’s bed with her box of letters on top. son, a boy from Ethiopia. Both faced their own difficulties and struggles. We started with Samson’s first.

Samson was not able to attend school because his aunt couldn’t afford it. Until their next door neighbor had encouraged Samson’s aunt to enroll him in the Compassion Center located near their local church. There he was able to get free education, build a better future for himself, with the help of sponsors, and strengthen his religion.

His sponsors sent letters that encouraged him to dream big and supported him to accomplish those dreams.

I had found some of those inspirational letters on his desk as I walked through the classroom.

Samson had hoped to get out of Ethiopia and become a poet, but in order to get into a good college he needed to pass his secondary school exit exam. He didn’t pass, and you could hear the disappointment in voice as he read the letter aloud.

Instead of moving out, he decided that he could help children like him fulfill their goals.

The last room we entered was a woodshop and the walls were covered

21

In the Life

I was excited to experience the journey. with pictures of Samson with giant smiles surrounded by his friends. Today, Samson is a woodworker and role model, helping children build a pathway to their dreams.

“I think it’s wonderful that people gain hope and inspiration from stories like these,” said Truman Harrington, a volunteer from the event.

Next up was Yannely’s story. The first room we had entered was her kitchen — a small, dark room. She shared that it was just she and mother living together. Her father had left after he found out her mother was pregnant. I stood there bewildered as to why her father would leave his wife and unborn child. He never wanted to admit that Yannely was his daughter; she couldn’t even use his last name.

“My mother worked many jobs, but no matter how much she worked it still wasn’t enough,” she said. With her mother constantly working, she was often home alone and only had one meal a day: a bowl of rice and a green banana.

As we continued on to the next room, she shared how her mother found the Compassion Center. Yannely was provided education, food, and an influential sponsor named Dorothy. As we entered her classroom, she described how outside the window she could see all the little kids playing on the playground, laughing, and smiling. It felt like I was actually there with her.

Dorothy and Yannely had built a strong relationship by writing to one another. Yannely had mentioned how she wanted to grow up to become a doctor, but struggled to take the high school exit

exam because it is mandatory in the Dominican Republic that students use their father’s last name, which I found interesting. “My mother begged and pleaded the school for me to take the exam,” Yannely said.

Yannely was able to take the exam and pass. Today she is in med school studying to become a doctor. In her office, the blue walls were covered in pictures of her helping the children in her community and a beautiful picture of her and her mother.

Stories like these are heartbreaking to any person, especially a parent.

For mother Salve Tubal, the stories were tragic to know that a young children suffer from starvation and deadly diseases, but in the end they became inspiring.

Yannely and Samson persevered through their obstacles. Tubal hopes that people

Sameson’s classroom when he was in elementary school.

learn to not give up and not to lose hope in God. “Always have faith in God because he has plans for everyone,” she said.

While Compassion International’s mission is faith-based, many other nonreligious organizations help alleviate poverty as well. Children International is one of the largest organizations that helps children in poverty through a sponsorship as well. Their program aims for children to “graduate healthy, educated, empowered, and employed,” according to their official website. Their belief is that education leads to less poverty, better health and peace, and that through these efforts the cycle of poverty can be broken.

I find it hard to imagine that children of such young ages face the struggles of finding education, clothes, or even food.

According to Children International, there are about 6 million children that die from malnutrition before the age of 5. Some work from a very young age to make little money and barely get one meal. “Amazing to think that with the help of people that supported and motivated them, they were able to overcome their obstacles,” Harrington said.

“It is truly inspiring how Yannely and Samson pushed themselves to do their best,” Tubal said. “I would want to visit the Compassion Experience again to listen to other people’s stories.”

For more information visit CompassionExperience.com

22

In the Life

Learning how to defend myself Self-defense class not only teaches safety, but also builds up one’s confidence Story and photos by Urielle Corcuera Today’s society is arguably one where women are more sexually violated than men are. According to Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), 9 out of 10 victims of rape are female. There were 2.78 million men who reported being raped since 1998, while there were 17.7 million reports on women, which is a little bit more than six times more compared to the men’s record. Of course rape isn’t the only problem that women face today. There is the matter of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.

With all these problems that threaten a female’s state of being, I decided that it was necessary for me to know how to protect myself if a situation ever calls for it. Surfing the Internet, I found out about IMPACT personal safety, an organization that teaches people how to defend themselves from physical harm.

IMPACT offers many classes including Intro Workshop, Women’s Basics, Men’s Basics, Kids Class, Pistol Class and Advanced Courses.

I chose to participate in the Intro Workshop, which was a 3-hour one-day class that cost $75. The place was hard to find since it was located in a huge plaza. My cousin Maui and I arrived in class

30 minutes late.

It was intimidating. When we walked in, ten pairs of eyes were already glued to us. And as I made to walk towards the instructor, I tripped on the training mat. As awful and embarrassing as it may sound, it broke off the awkwardness in the air, and when my cousin and I finally joined the group, we were all laughing at my clumsiness.

Lisa then introduced us to her colleague, Ben, who was to play the role of the assailant. We then went around in a circle introducing ourselves and telling why we had joined the class.

Despite the anxiety that was twisting my insides, I was still excited to learn

In the Life something new. To start off, Lisa and Ben demonstrated a scenario. Ben pretended to be a drunkard while Lisa pretended to be a lone citizen leaving a grocery store at night. The scene started with Ben stumbling and yelling obscenities.

Lisa kept her distance while being hit on by Ben. Lisa then told us to observe the body language she was showing, and when Ben started asking inappropriate questions such as sleeping with him, Lisa made sure to adamantly say no with confidence which made Ben leave her.

Finishing the scenario, Lisa reviewed her moves to us. She pointed out the fact that even though she, as a victim, would normally be afraid, she needed to act like she was confident and unafraid so that the assailant would not look at her as someone who is vulnerable. In short, body language sends a message to the attacker if the target is easy or not, so the key would be for the target to act as calmed as possible.

Afterwards, we got into the action part. They first taught us how to be in balance and how to prepare ourselves if someone were about to assault us. We had our hands up to our faces, with the back of the hands facing us. We also had our dominant foot in front of us with our knees slightly bent to keep our balance.

Finally in action, Lisa and Ben taught us the proper movements while keeping a good stance. Thrust up with the heel of the palm. Move closer to the attacker.

Raise the dominant knee and hit the groin as hard as you can. We repeated the same step until we mastered it.

After practicing the physical part, it was time for speech. Now, one would think that self-defense is all about action, but really, it’s also about how you communicate. Lisa told our group that speech is very important when being consulted by a suspicious stranger. “Just like body language, speech can also lead an assailant away,” Lisa said. The key was to say no, and mean it.

To practice, Lisa and Ben put us in a scenario where an unwanted attention was being given to us. Ben was to act as the assailant, and then we were told to make up a setting. When it was my turn to be put to test, I chose the scenario of walking home from my bus station since

it is something I do every after school.

The scene started with Ben rudely shouting at mefrom a distance and then walking up close. Using the basic knowledge I was taught, I kept my distance and tried to keep a cool facade. With the big Captain America shield on my shirt, Ben asked me if I wanted to come to his house so he could show me his Captain America collections. In the real situation, anyone in their right mind would not come with a stranger, so obviously I said no to his offer. However, Ben kept on insisting so naturally I kept on declining.

Although I knew it was just a scenario, it still felt intimidating. I was panicking on the inside because I did not know how to respond to an unknown man. Add to that was the fact that he was talking to me aggressively and my only way out was talking. Fortunately, though, we practiced speech over and over again.

The reason why was for our body and mind to be familiar with such situations so if it happens in real life, we would have a better presence of mind.

Towards the end of the class, Lisa and Ben put everything they taught us in one practice. We did several practices with the combination of speech and action.

We did a cycle of this practice until the clock hit five. When we finally finished, I got the chance to chat with Lisa and found out that she had been mugged twice — once in Chicago and once in

23 Louisville. She came out of the incidents thinking that she was fine. It wasn’t until she was alone at a convenience store asking a man behind the counter for the keys to the bathroom that she realized she wasn’t fine at all after the mugging when instead of telling her where the bathroom was, the man started walking towards her. And as he was walking toward her, he told her that he wasn’t going to hurt her and that the key was behind her. It was then that she realized that the man was reading off of her fear and could tell how scared she was.

“Had he been someone who was looking for a victim, he would’ve chosen me,” Lisa said. “The fact that he could see that I couldn’t control my fear made me realize that that was not how I want to live my life.” Lisa added.

These events led Lisa to find out about IMPACT, learn self-defense, and teach the skills to other people — all of which have had a great impact upon her. “The person that the world sees is a confident, and strong woman,” Lisa said.

Being able to teach other people, specifically women, self-defense is a rewarding feeling, Lisa said, because many find women as weak. “In the media, and in movies and TV shows, women are portrayed as powerless, and that’s just not true,” Lisa said. “So, I think understanding that we’re all capable of things just as much as men are is very important.”

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Opinion

EpiPen’s price increase robs allergic patients

By Anthony Francicso

photos via wikimedia under Creative Commons license

EpiPens have always been a lifesaver to many people who have allergies. According to WebMD, EpiPens are a form of medication that are used in emergencies to treat very serious allergic reactions to insect stings/bites, foods, drugs or other substances. The chemical known as Epinephrine is used to temporarily reverse life threatening symptoms such as swelling, hives, sudden decrease of blood pressure.

Generally, EpiPens are used outside of the hospital in locations such as schools, homes and airplanes in the case of a person’s sudden allergic reaction. Recently, prices of EpiPens have risen tremendously, making it difficult for middle-class consumers to purchase them. This sudden increase in price is completely unjustified because the change in price did not steadily increase in the last few years According to the New York Times, Mylan, the pharmaceutical company that produces Epipens, made a steep increase in their prices for EpiPens. In 2007, a set of two EpiPens was available for pharmacies to purchase under $100.

However, in 2009 pharmacies started paying $104 for a set and in July 2013 the price was $264.50. In May 2016, the price had increased to $608.61.

Mylan has increased the price of EpiPens to take take advantage of its customers. Raising the price of EpiPens has made it difficult for many individuals who have allergies to purchase a set.

EpiPens are stored in school if a student has an allergy which may lead to lifethreatening symptoms. Since the recent increase in price of EpiPens, schools must be pay even more to purchase EpiPens.

EpiPens are kept in convenient places to be used easily accessible.

These places include the first aid kits

of classrooms, cars and bedrooms.

Allergic patients should have two EpiPens at all times in case one EpiPen does not fully reverse the symptoms.

According to Raps, the CEO of Mylan, Heather Bresch, defended the price of EpiPens on Dec. 1 by saying that the company has made the EpiPen more “ergonomic” and that patients “never see a needle.” She justified that the components of the EpiPens are vital and that the company is constantly making improvements. Bresch explained that the company had to increase the price of EpiPens to make “a reasonable profit.” When Brech was asked about if she saw the consequences of the price hike, she said that customers are

“Children are now at a risk of dying since not all parents have the luxury to pay the expensive prices Mylan has set.”

not understanding how the system of pricing works and that there is a lot of wrong information in the media.

Mylan is attempting to improve a product that does not need any more improvements. EpiPens are attempting to make continuous improvements just to make more profit from consumers.

Competition between companies that sell auto injectors to relieve allergic competition has increased, and that may be the reason Mylan is attempting to make improvements to be the top its category.

According to the United Press International, Mylan executives refused to testify to a Senate judiciary committee

An unopened EpiPen. about the spike of EpiPen prices. Lawyers from Mylan mentioned in a letter that they will not answer questions about the $435-million settlement to the Justice Department officials. On Oct. 7, Mylana agreed to pay the settlement of $435 million for overcharging its EpiPens.

According to Advisory Board, Mylan is releasing a generic version of the drug for half-price of the EpiPen. This generic version of the EpiPen will be released early December and will cost about $300, which comes with a set of two generic EpiPens. Mylan announced the plans of producing a generic version of the EpiPens on August. The generic version will have be the same as the overpriced EpiPen and will be sold in dosages of 0.15mg or 0.30mg Mylan should have not increased the prices of EpiPens in an attempt to increase its profits. Not increasing the prices could have prevented the settlement they had to pay and prevent them from wasting efforts to make another form of EpiPen. Children are now at a risk of dying since not all parents have the luxury to pay the expensive prices Mylan has set. Mylan is charging parents more money and return is providing them an overpriced product to save their child’s life.

Mylan EpiPen’s product outside of the box.

Opinion

25

Temporary immigration halt is a necessity for maintaining security

By Henry Reed

photo via flickr.com “No Ban - No Wall - No Raids” by ep_jhu licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

Massive protests surged around the nation in airports and in front of the White House when the President signed an executive order that temporarily blocked travel from seven nations — Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya — and indefinitely disavowed Syrian refugee entrance to the United States. Protesters held up signs that read, “We are all immigrants in America” and other such safespace propaganda, completely ignoring the fact that these seven countries were noted by the Department of Homeland Security to be sources of terrorism.

The protests are exaggerated, misinformed reactions to a necessary order to keep United States citizens safe from the terrorist attacks, people who support these attacks and people deeply rooted in violent ideologies towards women, members of the LGBTQ+ community and those of different religious views.

The seven nations are identified in the executive order by reference to the Obama Administration’s restrictions on the Visa Waiver Program. Even before the Trump Administration, former President Barrack Obama realized that these nations are threats to the American public and ordered the Department of Homeland Security to evaluate the countries. The Department then deter-

mined that restrictions upon the seven nations are necessary, stating in its press release that the restrictions were the “latest step” to “strengthen the security” against “the growing threat from foreign terrorist fighters.”

The hostility of these countries is self-evident even without the evaluation from the defense agency of the United States. The terroristic state of Iran, one of the nations whose citizens are temporarily barred from traveling to the United States, launched two test missiles as a threat to Israel, with one of the missiles having the text “Israel must be wiped out” written on it.

This is not the first time Iran has threatened Israel, one of the most important United States allies in the Middle East. In the Iraq-Iran War anniversary parade conducted by Iran, military vehicles with the text “turn Tel Aviv and Haifa to dust” were driven amongst the various missiles and tanks. The military chief of staff, Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, called the care package the United States sent to Israel a “criminal move,” saying that this makes Iran “more determined to increase [its] military power.”

Iran has a history of violence against certain categories of people, which is the case with every country referenced in the executive order. Not only do Iran and its military members threaten other countries, the nation also regularly executes gay men and persons of a different religion than Islam, as does Somalia, Yemen and Sudan. In Iraq, young girls have their genitalia mutilated by their mothers “in the name of Allah!” using razor blades. A staggering 21 percent of Syrians support ISIS, the terrorist group responsible for burning alive foreign soldiers, committing multiple beheadings, running slave rings and imposing Sharia law upon captured territory.

The executive order states that the vetting process needs to be revised in

order to be able to “determine the information needed from any country” to find out whether a person entering the United States is “who the individual claims to be and is not a security or public-safety threat.” This, obviously, is not an easy task and will require a larger focus from the Department, without the distractions of screening migrants from hostile, violent nations; therefore, the president temporarily suspended the entry of persons from the seven hostile nations outlined by the Department of Homeland Security in order to alleviate the pressures put upon the individuals responsible for revising the screening process. Because ISIS members posing as Syrian refugees with valid Syrian documents have previously committed terrorist attacks against Europe, the executive order halted the acceptance of Syrian refugees indefinitely.

Is this a ban on Muslims? No, of course not. According to a nonpartisan report by Pew Research Center, the temporary immigration ban does not affect most Muslims, as only 12 percent of Muslims reside in the countries temporarily barred. In fact, the top five countries with the largest Muslim population are not affected.

The executive order is a temporary restriction on travel for seven countries and a permanent ban on refugees proven to be sources of successful terror attacks. The people holding up their safespace signs are only fooling themselves. While the protesters may think the people from these seven countries are peaceful and harmless immigrants, in reality they have proven to be the exact opposite.

The execution of gays and non-Muslims, the inhuman treatment of women, the support of terrorist organizations and the threats towards other nations are not peaceful acts, they’re violent and inhumane. The least the United States can do is institute a temporary restriction.

26

Arts & Entertainment

Homeshake’s Fresh Air is a soul-searching adventure through space The Montreal-based indie-pop genius is back with some groovy tunes from another planet

By Vache Sarkissian

photos courtesy of sinderlyn.com

The first words of Homeshake’s newest album emerge as if a Martian was welcoming us up a staircase to a distant planet, where everything is made of glass and the three dimensions disappeared. “Hello, welcome” utters a voice, inviting us along the latest journey that is the Canadian musician’s third LP. Born Peter Sagar in Edmonton, Alberta, Homeshake has built a rather small yet strong fanbase in the world of jizz-jazz. Having been the touring guitarist for Mac DeMarco (what feels like decades ago), Sagar has left that life, moved to Montreal with his girlfriend, and has since been creating some of the most interesting, experimental, and truly enjoyable music of the last many years.

Homeshake has built a very unique style of music for himself. His first cassette, The Homeshake Tape, and his first LP, In The Shower, were very melodic and jazzy instrument-based releases.

The guitars led the music and the offbeat rhythm section fit the sounds like a ragged, half-forgotten glove laying in the snow; all while the sweet, soft voice of Homeshake sang sweet songs about the sweetest love.

He has since been evolving his style to include more synthesizers and drum machines, and blew everyone’s mind with his most successful LP, 2015’s Midnight Snack, which featured some of the most jazzy combinations of guitars, keyboards and funky basslines in modern music.

It seems now with Fresh Air, Homeshake is continuing that trend.

Finding most of his sounds in the late ’80s, this record is like a slightly more synth-heavy sister to Midnight Snack.

On the first side of the record, we find two of the singles: “Call Me Up” and “Every Single Thing,” which are pretty great exemplifiers of the type of sound that can be found on the record. The bass is big and bouncy, the drums are snappy and mostly electronic, and the lead melody is led by a soft, R&B inspired synthesizer.

To the preference of some, and to the displeasure of others, this album has the least amount of real instruments. Unfortunately, the absence of Sagar’s unique style of guitar-playing is heavily felt, and one can only imagine how much better the record would be had there been more guitar leads rather than synth leads. Aside from the minute-long intro, there isn’t a guitar on the first side of the record until the sixth track: “Getting Down Pt. II (He’s Cooling Down),” which is an allusion to his previous songs “Getting Down” and “He’s Heating Up.” Arguably the best song on the album, “TV Volume,” is led entirely by a very snazzy, wah-wah guitar along

with an absolutely killer guitar solo that plays twice and adds some much needed guitar-based funk reminiscent of In the Shower’s “Making a Fool of You.” The very next track, “Khmlwugh,” is an electronic masterpiece. A Kandinsky of electronica. Being the most similar in style to the tracks on Midnight Snack, the awkwardly-titled song is the most relaxing song on the album, as an eerie synth climbs down a ladder of pitch and simultaneously falls upward onto a waterfall of tempo and dynamics; all the while the voice of Sagar softly tells us the meaning behind the song: kissing, hugging, making love, waking up and getting high. Or rather, khmlwugh.

Another guitar-based gem is the record’s titular track. With a slow, seemingly perpetually ascending but never descending chord progression, “Fresh Air” sounds exactly like a breath of fresh air. There really is no better way to describe it. Not only is it a breath of fresh air for an album which until that point was heavily synth-led, it feels like a mild reinvention of the human spirit took place, as the wind howls above the sounds of the instruments as Sagar sings about walking out into the cold for a breath of fresh air. It’s the perfect track to summarize the laid-back and therapeutically calm atmosphere of the record as a whole.

Once again, Homeshake has taken a huge step into solidifying his place as the most inventive jizz-jazzer in the short but lively genre of music. With Fresh Air, Homeshake has proven that there is no other artist capable of producing such soothing music as he single-handedly is able to.

Essential Tracks: “TV Volume” “Khmlwugh” “Not U” “Fresh Air”

Arts & Entertainment

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A Series of Unfortunate Events revives childhood memories

By Gabriella Kchozyan photos courtesy of collider.com

“I would advise all our viewers to turn away immediately and watch something more pleasant instead,” said Lemony Snicket, the narrator and author of the famous children books: A Series of Unfortunate Events.

This was the introduction to Netflix’s new original series based on Snicket’s novels, which debuted Jan. 13 and has captured audiences of all ages, especially those who have grown up reading about the Baudelaire children and the greedy and haughty Count Olaf.

The adaption contains eight, 45-minute episodes. Season 1 covers four of the 13 novels, leaving fans eager for more. The graphics are quite picturesque, though the majority of the show has dark and uncanny scenery compiled with equally eerie music. The language and plot are inviting to both children and adults.

This Netflix series puts prior adaptations to shame. The 2004 movie

starring Jim Carrey was a complete flop. It strayed away from the books completely and failed to take off at the box office.

So it is understandable that some viewers were anxious and reluctant to see the Netflix renewal due to fears of another poorly made adaptation that directors based loosely on the books.

Snicket, whose real name is Daniel Handler, also helped in writing the script for the show.

The dialogue is humorous, witty and absolutely impeccable. A prominent theme of the show is the inability for adults and organizations to protect the Baudelaires. It sprouts questions about morals, maturity and intuition as the tale unfolds.

Undoubtedly, the show captures the dismal essence seen in the books, while projecting it on screen in a refreshing light. With subtle parallels to today’s most pronounced issues in society it truly is a model for other TV programs to follow.

For those unfamiliar with the plot, the tale of the Baudelaire children follow Violet, the eldest and most innovative; Klaus, the booksmart middle child; and Sunny, the infant who has a knack for putting her teeth to extreme use.

The children lose their parents in a fatal fire, and go through numerous guardians to escape their distant relative Count Olaf, who wants the sizeable fortune left to the kids.

A good show needs good acting.

Neil Patrick Harris proves himself as

the perfect actor to capture Count Olaf’s raw and unsettling character. Harris, whom I’ve admired since his role as Barney in How I Met Your Mother, amazes with his ability to tackle such a unique character.

Alongside Harris, Malina Weissman as Violet, Louis Hynes as Klaus, and Presley Smith as Sunny all carry out great performances.

Though the series might not completely be the same as the books, it still delivers. People who have not read the books would still enjoy the program greatly. Executive producer Barry Sonnenfeld has said, “The second season is laid out to be 10 episodes for the next five books and the third season would be the rest of it.”

This Netflix adaptation revives the book series from a series of unfortunate and disappointing attempts to bring it to the screen. Many, including myself, are delighted by this new production and now impatiently await for Season 2.

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Arts & Entertainment

Diary of an Oxygen Thief takes readers’ breath away

Story and photo by Chelsea Santos You’ve probably seen pictures of the first page of this book going around social media. It’s an ingenious marketing strategy, anyways. Free advertising, and all that jazz. Why, this review is an example of free advertising itself.

The cover is a questionable thing, looking to be some sort of ugly snowman or snow-blobfish with an object at its base that looks to be more phallic and utilitarian than decorative. I’m pretty sure that’s not where the nose goes.

“Hurt people hurt people.

“Say there was a novel in which Holden Caulfield was an alcoholic and Lolita was a photographer’s assistant and, somehow, they met in Bright Lights, Big City. He’s blinded by love. She by ambition. Diary of an Oxygen Thief is an honest, hilarious, and heartrending novel, but above all, a very realistic account of what we do to each other and what we allow to have done to us.”

This is what is printed on the back

of Diary of an Oxygen Thief, a 2006 selfpublished novella by an anonymous Dutch author. It has gained a cult following over the years, making its way into the shelves of famed book giant, Barnes & Noble, notorious for not selling any works not from a publishing house.

While more of a long, personal, reflective essay, Diary of an Oxygen Thief serves to teach readers the lessons learned by the author, or the narrator— whoever is speaking has no redeeming qualities, regardless. But it’s painful to read, in the best way. The truth really does hurt.

The first gripping lines of the book go as follows: I liked hurting girls.

Mentally, not physically. I never hit a girl in my life. Well, once. But that was a mistake. I’ll tell you about it later. The thing is, I got off on it. I really enjoyed it.

It’s like when you hear serial killers say they feel no regret, no remorse for all the people they killed. I was like that. Loved it. I didn’t care how long it took either, because I was in no hurry. I’d wait until they were totally in love with me. Till the big saucer eyes were looking at me. I loved the shock on their faces.

Then the glaze as they tried to hide how much I was hurting them. And it was legal. I think I killed a few of them. Their souls, I mean. It was their souls I was after. I know I came close a couple of times.

But don’t worry, I got my comeuppance.

That’s why I’m telling you this. Justice was done. Balance has been restored.

The same thing happened to me, only worse. Worse because it happened to me. I feel purged now, you see. Cleansed.

I’ve been punished, so it’s okay to talk about it all. At least that’s how it seems to me. I carried the guilt of my crimes around with me for years after I stopped drinking.

As you continue, the narrator brings up his own misgivings, and quotes Elbert Hubbard, an American writer: “They say you’re not punished for your sins, you’re punished by them.”

He continues to recount his sins, his downward spiral, and how karma finds

a way to get him back for what he’d done.

He is brutally honest and is not afraid to admit his feelings, nor recount the humiliation he experienced in his heartbreak, which is refreshing. You never really get to hear about how men truly feel when they face rejection. They’re usually too proud to own up to their emotions, while the narrator lays it all out on the table for everyone to see.

He shows what love does to a person, and how, when wrong, can eat at your soul and hurt you in ways love isn’t supposed to. And he realizes that everything he has done has come back to him, proving the old adage of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Anonymous is wickedly manipulative, both within the constraints of the plot and in the way in which he writes.

He manipulated dozens of women, and he’ll manipulate you into rooting for him in the end. At times you’ll catch him being rather whiny and complacent, giving off a faux-Caufield vibe, but Holden would never let himself succumb to the evils of society so easily. Holden would call this guy a phony.

This book is poignant and eloquent in the way it details these events that happen to people every day, and it’s an exposé on human frailty, especially the many flaws the narrator admits he has.

But this book will make you angry. Very angry. If you’re easily impressionable, I’d suggest holding off on reading this. This is not a love story by any standard, unless you count the narrator’s twisted passion for his sadistic-turned-sadomasochistic lifestyle.

I wish wholeheartedly that I could meet the author in person and talk to him, maybe tell him to pull a Thoreau and leave society for a while—he follows me on Twitter, though, so maybe I’ll try that. But I can’t wait until my Barnes & Noble order of the next book in the Oxygen Thief diaries comes in the mail, and see if Anonymous has changed his ways.

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