El Diablo - February 2020

EL DIABLO

SHOW ME THE MONEY Durango High School Issue 3 Volume 69 February 2020

NEWS

2-7

EDITORIALS

16-19

El Diablo Newspapers’s Table of Contents

Chinese TikTok Conspiracy. . . 4 & 5

The 100 Club . . . 6 Reducing Plastic Use . . . 7

FEATURES

District Budget Audit . . . 8 & 9 Life 360 . . . 10 ESS Funding . . . 12

Should you worry about war with Iran? . . . 17 Trump’s Impeachment . . . 19

What sport did your teachers play in HS? . . . 20 Girls Basketball Recap . . . 22

Hollywood’s Highest Paid Actors . . . 27 Art Chart . . . 29

Demon’s Advocate . . . 30 Horoscopes . . . 31

SPORTS ARTS & LIT LIFESTYLES

20-23

24-29

30-31

El Diablo Voice of the students and official newspaper of Durango High School.

Head Editors: Maddy Gleason, Chloe Ragsdale, Bryn Valdez Features Head: Mia Boudreau Features Editor: Jack Breezley Sports Heads: Stevi Cameron, Georgia Mynatt Sports Editor: Mia Whistler Arts Heads: Saylor Stottlemyer, Rush Webster Arts Editors: Rebecca Bowers Lifestyles Head: Luke Swift Lifestyles Editors: Ezra Adamski, Kendall Floyd Photography Heads: Corbin Miller, Avery Wickes Broadcasting Executives: Evan Bastin, Leif Basley, Natasha Potempkin, Todd Murray Foreign Correspondent: Grace Swanson Reporters: Isaiah Downing, Jake Genualdi, Haleigh Harper, Kalista Pena, Maddy Mortimer, Matthew Mueller, Aiden Roessler, Laura Clark, Carson Delinger, Aspen Wyatt, Hannah Wills, Abby Bowman, Leah Wesley, Lassen Griggs, Lauren McFarlane, Maggie Markva, Lakyn Yarbrough, Chloe Bowen, Diego Verduzco, Toby Kline, Connor Rhea, Seth Cregeen, Sophia Holt, Ruby Ward, Jack Whistler

2 Feb. 2020

8-15

Subscriptions: $25 a year, please send a check and mailing address to El Diablo, 2390 Main Avenue, Durango CO 81301. Thank you for supporting scholastic journalism.

El Diablo is a public forum for public expression produced by the students of Durango High School’s newspaper class under the advisement of Todd Jolley. It is printed by the Durango Herald/Farmington Daily Times. The paper encourages letters to the editor but will not print unsigned or libelous letters; opinions stated are not necessarily those of the administration, staff, or school board.

DISCLAIMER: Advertisements may not reflect the views of Durango High School students or El Diablo Staff.

Mailing address: 2390 Main Avenue, Durango, Colorado 81301 Phone: 970-259-1630, ext. 2221 Fax: 970-250-3987 Email: eldiablodhs@gmail.com tjolley@durangoschools.org

NEWS

Staff Editorial

MADDY GLEASON CHLOE RAGSDALE BRYN VALDEZ

Head Editors

Now, more than ever, local budget issues within the educational system seem to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue, and at the forefront of district-related debates.

Although each member of the community has unique priorities, it’s evident that there are a few items on the list that supersede others in terms of urgency for the district to complete. Of course, a raise in teacher salaries is important, as well as updated learning materials and more funding to school athletics, to name a few.

While it’s not uncommon to share these wants with a peer, or community member, there seems to be a common perception that the district is either too self-involved or too wasteful to acknowledge these needs, when the reality is that their hands are essentially tied. And yes, this is no excuse to disregard the upkeep and betterment of Durango’s public education; however, it does make doing so more complicated than some interpret it to be.

As discussed in this issue’s District Budget Audit, the allocated budget is smaller than perceived by most, assuming the promised amount is granted from the state in the first place, which it rarely ever is. The net funding from the state and elsewhere that is actually granted is mostly fixed, with minimum amounts designated for materials, salaries, transportation, athletics, etc.

With the small amount that is left over, the district generally finds it gets taken up by unforeseen expenses and debts that cannot be avoided, essentially depleting any potential resources to fix up classrooms or add a stipend for teachers.

From a student standpoint, these issues rarely arise within our day-to-day lives. We may see that teachers are upset with their pay grade or experience a classroom that needs some updating, but for the most part, the budget is an element of the district that the student body is almost totally unaware of. Nonetheless, even those less educated on a subject should be encour-

NEWS

aged to vocalize their opinions.

Within the 9R school district, the most candid opponents of the district budget management have been forthright parents and staff members, particularly teachers. As explored in the Budget Audit in this issue, these concerns are justified. There are indubitable barriers faced by growing teachers and district families.

However, when we look at the bigger picture for the district and the students, the process of dividing the budget appropriately and effectively is a game based on risk and chance, though it shouldn’t have to be.

Of course, all budgets should be equipped with the means necessary to support their staff, students, and environment, but that is not a realistic expectation for a district like 9R that is expected to balance every priority the community has. With a strong athletics program, an incredibly boastful student body, and a hardworking staff, the district can’t possibly please every waking aspect of the community.

With that in mind, it’s unfair to the students, staff, and leaders of this community that our budget is limited. Every district deserves a plethora of support and resources to improve their educational enterprises and create a better world for everyone involved.

If the district were to be granted a larger budget, chances are it would come from the state, but as it stands, this is highly unforeseeable. Colorado has historically ranked fairly low in terms of educational funding, currently ranking at about 40th for individual student funding, and 34th place nationally for teacher salary.

Additionally, most of the proposed state budget increases over the past few years have been rejected, such as Proposition CC last November, which is even more frustrating for a district who genuinely wants the best for their students and teachers.

So, while there is always room for improvement, even in the best districts, budget management is simply not as cut and dry as many would have it made out to be, and in many cases is far out of the hands of local figures, whom the blame falls upon.

Durango 9R School District vs. Montrose County School District DURANGO

MONTROSE

Total Student Population

6,260 5,251 students students Spending per student

$12,589 $9,989 Total Local, State, and Federal Funding

$67,721,202 $70,237,958 eldiablonews.com 3

Following

For You

CHINESE TIKTOK CONSPIRACY

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1.368K

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@eldiablonews #greenscreen #fyp #foryoupage

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Take Your Man - Mahogany LOX

4 Feb. 2020

NEWS

WE CAN TAKE YOUR DATA IF WE WANT TO, AND LUCKY FOR US, YOU AGREED TO...

HALEIGH HARPER

Reporter

Ayo, China’s spying on you check!

If you somehow haven’t heard of TikTok, it is an app where people can create up to one-minute videos that are usually comical or include dances. Its former name was Musical.ly which was launched in 2014 but became TikTok in 2017.

In a poll on El Diablo Instagram, 60% of students use TikTok and 40% of students do not. Worldwide, it has 500 million current users. It is also the most downloaded app on the Apple App Store.

The private company TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a company in China that also owns other popular platforms. The US-China Business Council (USCBC) says that businesses must make their actions and intentions public. TikTok is allegedly spying on people in the United States, which became a conspiracy because of these agreements.

“I think that most of the data that the Chinese Government can gather from Americans using Tik Tok is not super important, most of the data that they receive are probably locations, phone numbers, and just the app usage, which is not too worrisome,” said So. Ariana Keuski, who is an avid user of TikTok. But honestly, what new information can they get that will tell them what they want? When filling out your profile, all a person enters is their name, email or phone number, and password.

“I wish I knew how reliable the information we have is. I imagine there are a lot of tech companies that make their data available to one government agency or another,” said DHS government teacher David Weisfeldt.

Since it is not known what types of information the company is collecting, no one can tell how serious this situation is.

TikTok is intended for users 13 years of age and above and there are many users under that age that use the app; they may alter the age they enter when they create an account. TikTok is most likely aware of this, and the company is now facing fines of about 6 million dollars because it violates the Children’s Online Privacy Act (COPPA) of 1998 which protects children under 13 years of age by prohibiting companies to collect their personal information without parental consent.

“It seems pretty obvious that kids are doing that and they just look the other way. None of those age requirement things work very well. If I go to some video game or something, you must put in your birthday but I’m not old enough, why would kids not lie about that? They should develop something reliable to weed out those

NEWS

that aren’t really of that age to consent,” said Weisfeldt.

Leaked investigations have shown that videos concerning the Communist Party of China, Tibetan independence, the religious group Falun Gong, sensitive topics about the Chinese government, and more have been censored and not shown on the For You or explore page. When Hong Kong related videos were searched, zero results popped up.

If TikTok was simply watching what users post to see what they are up to, they definitely are aware of one in particular: Charli D’amelio. As of early January, she has 16 million followers but began on TikTok in July. Many people say she currently has the “hype” and she mainly makes dance videos.

“I think that Charli is not the best representation of America because she is very out there and always wants attention from TikTok and her followers. I think that the majority of teenagers do not act like Charli, and it makes America look bad in the sense that teenagers are so involved in this social media app instead of schoolwork or bettering yourself,” said Keuski.

According to a survey of 40,000 kids done by the UK’s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), 25% of children connected with a stranger and 1 out of 20 of those kids were asked to strip during a live stream, a feature of the app where anyone can join if an account is public.

“I think that statistic is so creepy but as an app, there is only so much you can do to prohibit certain things. TikTok could possibly remove any accounts that are involved in inappropriate live streams or content,” said Keuski.

TikTok’s Terms of Service states, “You agree that you are solely responsible (to us and to others) for the activity that occurs under your account.”

Which means, as an app, that they have no obligation to prevent this.

When first setting up an account, TikTok automatically sets the account to the public, so that anyone can see a person’s videos.

“That’s a little weird to me, I mean over 18, then you’re in the public square but younger than that; that’s a little disconcerting… it seems to me that they have that backward, one of the steps they could easily take is to have it set to private in the beginning by having to go through a couple of steps to make your identity private, a few steps to explicitly say that your account is public or private,” said Weisfeldt But what else can the app do to protect kids if they

will probably

use the app anyway?

“I think that they could also make it a setting that if you are “13 years old” then you can’t change your account to public,” said Keuski.

TikTok is very fun and addictive for many people but there are some safety issues especially for minors and kids.

eldiablonews.com

5

the

100

club

Honoring responders and helping victims

JAMIE HITTI

Reporter

The impact of tragedy on a community can be quick and difficult to deal with. The impact of tragedy on a family can be devastating. In these cases, the 100 Club is organized to relieve the pain and difficulties that come along with any disaster and devastation that first responder families may suffer from.

“In 1974, we had a fire downtown, where the mall is today. During that fire, we lost a fireman and a police officer,” explained current President of the 100 Club Jerry Martinez, “And there were no funds set up to help first responders. So, a local guy went out and just started walking around the streets and just started raising money,” said Martinez.

The fire in the mall 46 years ago encouraged people like Martinez to start raising money to help people dealing with tragedies like this one. After many years of growth and dedication, the 100 Club now provides many services to families, including donating money, moral support, organizational help and more. 100 Club member Geno Trujillo said, “It is all about supporting the community, supporting the people who support us.”

The 100 Club is valuable because, as member Greg Behn states, in community, it’s important “to support officers that put themselves at risk for our town.” Appreciation and sympathy from members of the community can have a large impact on families in need. A consistent support team is exactly what we need when it comes to tragedy.

Consistency is the key when it comes to support.

Geno Trujillo exclaims, “I’ve been a part of the 100 Club for five years,” and plans on being a member for much longer. “The last major incident we had was 8 years ago, a plane went down in Cherry Creek and we had a fight for life, but the accident killed three responders,” Martinez says. “What’s nice about having this money in the bank is that within 24 hours, we write their families a check for $20,000.” The checks that these families receive take care of the costs such as funerals and insurance. “It’s important for them to know they have support,” Martinez references first responding families.

Law enforcement member Ed Aber says the 100 Club is about having “a culture of appreciation for service.” Aber’s take on getting the youth involved is that it comes with age. Getting involved with the community “is something that comes with age and maturity. So it’s hard to make that direct connection early on, and as young people grow they start to appreciate more things around them” Aber says. Youth getting more involved in the 100 Club would ensure an even bigger and brighter future.

Though the 100 Club is a well-known thing among first responding families, it isn’t as familiar to other members of our community. There are many ways of getting people involved in the community, and supporting the 100 Club is one of them. “We need to go to the roots! Speak up and let our children know how important community is,” Geno Trujillo says. Leading by example is Trujillo’s solution to getting more youth involved within nonprofit community club such as this one.

Advertisements do not reflect the beleifs of the El Diablo advisor or staff.

6 Feb. 2020

NEWS

DURANGO BEYOND PLASTIC

KENDALL FLOYD

Lifestyles Editor ASPEN WYATT

Reporter

KALISTA PENA

Reporter

a A recent survey given to the citizens of Durango had only one question: “Do you support a plastic bag ban?” said Durango Beyond Plastic Volunteer Michelle Herringer.

This seems to be a popular question recently, as the topic of climate change has become hugely popular over the last several months. But what exactly would a plastic bag ban look like in Durango? That question is exactly what Durango Beyond Plastic, a new volunteer group, wants to answer.

“The first goal for the group was simply to get City Council to listen” said Herringer.

The group began by gathering volunteers and spreading awareness about the issue of plastic in Durango. They wanted to inform the public and gain enough attention to spark the interest of City Council.

NEWS

Another goal for Durango Beyond Plastic was to “meet with city council on November 19th, 2019” said Herringer.

In this meeting, Durango Beyond Plastic hoped to prove the relevance of this issue by packing the room full of Durango citizens and inviting numerous people to speak on the issue.

“Many other places have already banned plastic bags, and Durango is behind the game. In fact, entire countries have already passed laws banning plastic,” said Herringer.

In 2002, Bangladesh became the first country to ban plastic bags followed by the state of California in 2014. Since then, many other countries and states have done the same.

Of course, if Durango bans plastic bags, “there will be people who miss their plastic because of its convenience,” said Herringer.

For example, people rely on plastic to pick up their dog and cat poop. Obviously, plastic is useful and cheap, which is why many people don’t want to give it up.

Some consumers are against the ban because they believe there aren’t any other suitable options.

“Durango Beyond Plastic doesn’t hate plastic, we just hate what its doing to our environment,” said Herringer.

The volunteer group understands the usefulness of plastic, but they are also aware of its effects on the environment.

For this reason, they want to encourage consumers to find more sustainable options, and a ban would help push people in the right direction.

“I think it’s really good but they should probably have some kind of alternative in the store,” says So. member Lindsey Johnston.

For Durango Beyond Plastic, “the next step is a 15 minute meeting in January 2020” said Herringer.

The goal of this meeting is to educate Durango City Councillors about the plastic bag ban in order for them to be knowledgeable on the issue.

A staggering 1 trillion plastic bags are used around the world each year. Why not strategically stash some bags where you can access them- In your car, at work, or in your backpack. Never be caught again!

60 million bottles are still used every day around the world, with most of them ending up in landfills. Invest in a glass or stainless steel alternative instead, and get into the habit of taking it with you everywhere you go.

Globally, we used 60 billion disposable coffee cups each year. Planning a trip to the coffee shop? Take a reusable coffee cup and sleep easy knowing you’re doing your bit to stop the scourge of plastic use.

An estimated 2 billion disposable razors are thrown away each year in the US. Laid end to end they would stretch halfway to the moon. Go for a reusable safety razor insteadthey will take getting used to but are so much better for the environment.

eldiablonews.com 7

A DISTRICT BUDGET REVIEW: After Durango’s Budget Audit, new questions come to light about Durango’s educational priorities and budgeting methods. Follow Snowberger and Gallagher as they debreif the realities of managing the district budget and balancing community needs such as teacher compensation, sports funding and facility management.

CHLOE RAGSDALE MADDY GLEASON BRYN VALDEZ

Head Editors

With the turn of the decade comes a reevaluation of one’s priorities and prerogatives, and often the vocalized commitment to catalyzing a change. Change is a necessary element to growth, which requires the strength to overcome both internal and external doubts, many of which have been vocalized within the 9R school district of Durango.

Led by Superintendent Dan Snowberger, the Durango 9R school district is an unquestionable asset to the community. The education system is at the center of our flourishing community, yet has faced unwavering scrutiny for years, as budget issues are always at the center of every major setback for the education system.

Most recently, the budget has been under inquiry for misjudging the priorities of the community. Less obvious, however, are the strict limitations and hard work that factor into this crucial element of academic success.

Snowberger and Chief Financial Officer Samantha Gallagher, along with the Board of Education, dictate the parameters of the budget, and always try to place an emphasis on promoting the ultimate wellbeing of the students and staff. The Board of Education consists of nine members of our community who have extensive backgrounds in finance who advise the district on its budget.

“Operating funds come primarily from local property taxes and state funding. Of that amount, $1,100,000 goes towards athletics, $1,100,000 goes to capital projects, $275,000 goes to subsidize food services, $30,000 goes to subsidize Kid’s Camp and the overwhelming majority of the remainder is spent in schools on salaries and benefits,” says Gallagher.

8 Feb. 2020

Starting Salaries for Western Slope School Districts National Average: $39,249

Gunnison

$38,495

Durango 9R

$41,000

Montrose County Montezuma County

$36,629

$31,557

Telluride County Credit to Colorado Department of Education

$45,800

Denver Public Schools

$40,523

Mesa County Valley $38,189

However, there is only so much leniency that Snowberger and Gallagher have in dividing the budget, as most funding comes from local, regional, and state resources. According to Financial Transparency for Colorado Schools, the Durango 9R School District receives significantly more funding from a local level (due to property tax revenues) compared to the Montrose and Delta County school districts. However, Durango 9R also receives less state funding than Montrose and Delta.

This issue has been consistent in the past, most recently with Proposition CC in the 2019 Colorado ballot. Proposition CC would “allow the state to retain revenue above the state spending cap to provide funding for transportation and education,” according to Ballot Pedia. La Plata County voted to pass this bill, while the state of Colorado as a whole voted against it.

The failure to pass Proposition CC is only one of the many that circulate Durango 9R’s budget. State legislation, budget distribution, and testing programs are only a few of the major points of conflict regarding larger school funding issues.

“We have changed the budget document to be more transparent and will continue to make changes to help our community understand the ways in which money is being spent at the District. We want to ensure people understand where it all goes,” says Samantha Gallagher.

A recurring misinterpretation surrounding the Durango School District is the amount of funding that goes into new programs. During the 2016-17 school year, the PARCC (The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) testing program was at the forefront of community discussion.

“There’s always controversies on budget. People are always critical; but

the reality is that it’s money that can’t be spent anywhere else,” says Snowberger.

This idea often leads to community backlash, as this money seems to be taken out of the budget for ever-changing programs, though would not even belong to the district if it weren’t for those new developments.

However, other testing programs like SchoolVault came directly from the district budget, not from state funding.

This $2 million program was implemented during the 2013-14 school year, and received negative feedback from some in the Durango Teachers Association, as it was interpreted to be an apparent waste of money. The district moved away from the program in 2016 towards the Summative Demonstrations of Learning in line with other top districts in the country.

Another major conflict with state funding surrounds teacher compensation.

This issue not only exists in Colorado, but

FEATURE

“

Really, it’s not our budget, it’s our community’s budget.

-Dan Snowberger

“

FEATURE

Micah Susman, former DHS English teacher and ardent advocate for just teacher compensation, resigned in late 2019 due to unfair compensation from the district, particularly the abrupt shift in these health care premiums.

“When I returned for my second year at DHS, there were new, higher costs for health insurance coverage due to terrible mismanagement and systemic issues.

As a result, my already inaccurate and low gross income went down by a couple hundred dollars in my first August paycheck! So I was making less than my first year at DHS. Now it wasn’t even enough to support my family,” says Susman, who vocalized these sentiments to his students.

Susman had been persistent in his advocacy for reasonable pay; however, after conversations with the teacher’s union, the campus administration, the 9R human resources office, the school board president, the assistant superintendent, and the superintendent over the course of a year, he finally decided that school board did not recognize his efforts. Perhaps with a shared motivation for leaving, three other teachers have quit their jobs in the past school year.

“Teachers work long hours, pour their hearts and souls into their jobs, and many are getting burnt out and are not willing to continue due to the lack of respect and inability to make ends meet with their current pay,” expresses Kopack.

The Durango 9R district already

“

Teachers work long hours, pour their hearts and souls into their jobs, and many are getting burnt out and are not willing to continue due to the lack of respect and inability to make ends meet with their current pay.

-Teri Kopack

invests over 85% of its funds into salaries, and disputes Kopack’s claim that there is a lack of respect towards teachers. Durango 9R salaries are also the highest on the Western Slope, which wouldn’t be possible without the 2016 Mill Levy which raised starting salaries by more than 10%. Furthermore, the district pays an additional $15,000-17,000 in benefits on top of salaries, which is significantly higher than most other employers that are not in the governmental sector.

In an attempt to address these frustrations, districts across the state and the country have implemented some changes in legislation like four-day work weeks, as seen in the Salida School District.

As with every school district across the country, there seems to be an impossible balancing act that upper management like Snowberger and Gallagher are expected to maintain, whilst still keeping everyone happy.

“We’re proud that we’ve put as much money towards salaries as we can, but short of hitting the lottery and someone donating to the school district, there’s just no money. With increased salary compensation comes increased class size. So we’re really at that point now, if we continue to increase teacher salary, you’ll have class sizes increase as we will need to reduce staff to afford increased compensation,” says Snowberger.

Class size increases are not probable for the district, and in comparison to other districts in the state, Durango has some of the lowest pupil to teacher ratios.

“

across the country in states like West Virginia, Florida, Oklahoma, Illinois, and Kentucky, where teacher strikes over compensation are frequent. Attention to other issues within a district like classroom supplies, spending per student, and management of the grounds impact teacher compensation at large, which many staff members have spoken up about in recent years.

One of those avid voices is Teri Kopack, DHS teacher and member of the Durango Teachers Association, who believes that educators should be compensated more for their contribution to the school system in order to prioritize the needs of the student and to keep educators in this profession in the future.

“When you compare our district to other local districts, like Bayfield, Mancos, and Cortez, we have a pretty good overall pay scale. Unfortunately, when you look at the number of days teachers work in those other districts, as well as the fact that the cost of living in Durango is significantly higher when compared to those other communities, our average teacher salary just isn’t keeping up,” says Kopack.

Along with the cost of living in Durango, the increase in health insurance costs is also a major contributor to the lack of adequate teacher compensation, as the district could no longer function with the current costs of insurance premiums, so they had to be raised. This increase caused district-wide outcry and led several staff members to vocalize their discontent, and some to even resign from their teaching jobs. However, the increase in health insurance costs is a nationwide issue that only complicates the issue of teacher compensation and school district budgeting.

Although the future is not as bleak as the issues may lead one to believe, there will need to be a definite shift in the way the Durango community participates and takes charge of their educational system, when given the opportunity. The district has announced a multitude of budget meeting and hearings, and often have minimal support from the community.

“Really, it’s not our budget, it’s our community’s budget,” says Snowberger.

Despite consistent and unwavering support from La Plata County for increased education funding, the state of Colorado is a different story. It becomes increasingly more frustrating when the state of Colorado fails to take the action necessary to appease the demands they are so vocal about otherwise. In order to truly make a change in what the Durango 9R budget looks like, the community of eachers, parents, and students must speak up to decide what their communal values and priorities are, whether it’s sports funding, academic funding, or teacher funding.

“We need to get creative and start tightening our belts a little and work together to get through the situation that we’re in,” says Gallagher.

Kopack notes that on March 19, 2020 in Denver, Colorado, community members can participate in Colorado Education Association’s Day of Action to march for more adequate funding.

eldiablonews.com

9

o g r n B i r d l e i a u kin B : 0

st?

36 Life

Tru

10 Feb. 2020

provide unnecessary information like how fast I drive or what time I arrive somewhere. However, in the rare case, I got kidnapped I would be good to go!” Mann makes a valid point. Other apps such as Find my Friends offers a less invasive location tracking feature only, without any of Life360’s gimmicks. Life360 advertises these features due to safety being its first priority, although they are not always used in that way.

“Maybe it would make me feel safe if I were in a city or something. My parents do pay for my phone and know where I am in case of an emergency, but they mainly use it to see if I’m somewhere that I’m not supposed to be. Life360 leads kids to lie to their parents” says Kairalla. Life360 gives families a valuable tool, but it is all up to the individuals on how they want to use that tool.

For many, the app doesn’t make them feel safe, just annoyed. For others, the opposite.

“The app does make me feel safe. Someone will know where I am in case I get in a crash or other emergencies” says an anonymous student.

“If my behavior is suspicious, my parents will check the app, but I’m usually open with my parents so there’s no need for them to freak,” says an another anonymous student.

The student makes it clear that the app can be beneficial when used in a relationship built on trust. For some students, having more parental support can be beneficial.

“I don’t trust my daughter. I like to see where she is and make sure she is where she says she’ll be. The app has made our relationship stronger and has started to build trust between us. She doesn’t feel the need to lie to me anymore,” notes an anonymous DHS parent. The app seems to help or hurt relationships on a case by case basis. Knowing the dynamics between the unique parent-child relationship is key when determining how the app affects both parties.

“I don’t care where my kid is as long as she’s not doing drugs. I trust her judgment” claims Catherine Steiner, another DHS parent.

The contrasting points of view between parents reveals that every parent has their own ways of parenting. The claims point out that there’s no one right way to raise a child nor is there one right way to be involved in his or her life. This appears to be the foundation of the mixed feelings surrounding this app.

21st-century teens are living in a far different age than their parents did. Access to technology has changed everything. Life360 aims to help parents catch up with their family’s crazy lives. The high controversy and mixed opinions surrounding the app makes it extremely clear that Life360 works best when there is a clear understanding of communication between kids and their parents.

g

Life360 is a family app that was launched in 2008. The app’s primary purpose is “family sharing” but the most attractive feature to parents of teenagers everywhere is location tracking.

Life360 uses location tracking to allow all members in a closed family group to see each other’s real-time location at all times.

The app goes further than similar apps such as Find my Friends by Apple in that it displays location history, arrival and departure times, and comes with an “ETA estimator.”

The app also comes with battery monitoring which displays every device’s battery percentage within the family, customizable location alerts, and for an extra monthly cost, driving reports.

Life360 is every concerned parent’s dream: it shows how fast their kids are driving, where they are, how long they’ve been at any given location, what their phone battery is, and even if any crimes have been reported in an area.

Life360 currently boasts 50 million family circles and a current 4.8-star rating on the app store. It’s currently the sixth most downloaded app in the category of social media. Thousands of reviews from satisfied parents gush personal stories and praise for the app.

Critical reviews are far and in-between. One critical review titled ‘From the kid’s point of view’ from the username @Tellybubby states that Life360 is an ‘invasion of privacy’ and the parents who install it are ‘psychopaths.’ Another viral video from the social media app TikTok displays the user @middleofnowhere0102 going on a rant to parents about how the app ‘is not accomplishing what you think it is” and “teaches your kids to be sneaky’ Judging by the 1.8 million likes on the Tik Tok, many agree with these statements.

Not surprisingly, many families in Durango have employed the popular app to keep tabs on their kids. The app is present in the lives of many students and parents at DHS and affects the relationships between students and parents.

“My parents installed Life 360 after I got in trouble for lying where I was,” says Sr. Sophie Kairalla. “The app definitely doesn’t make me feel any safer, it just makes me feel like I have a chip in my neck.” Kairalla’s claims match those of many on the internet and at DHS. It’s clear that many kids feel like their parents use Life360 as a tool for punishment and surveillance. Life360 sends an automatic notification to family members when settings are tweaked to try to disable the app, making it hard to get around; Kairalla says she’s never tried to disable the app in any way.

“I don’t feel like I have that much freedom anymore because I feel like my parents are always watching me,” says Sr. Karver Mann. “I think there are other apps that reflect my parent’s concern for safety that don’t

JACK WHISTLER Reporter

FEATURE

DURANGO VS. GOLDEN: ANGUS MUELLER

Reporter

aaaWith much discussion about where our school’s money is going and whether certain programs or departments are receiving adequate funding, school spending has been a hot topic. Many have said that certain programs or clubs should receive more funding, while some say that teachers should be paid more. But how does our spending compare to the spending of other high schools?

To get a little insight into our school’s spending, we spoke with Durango 9-R School District Chief Financial Officer Samantha Gallagher.

She’s been at 9-R for about a year and a half, after six years in the Denver area. She doesn’t have a direct influence on where the money goes here at DHS, but she gives our administration a budget that they can distribute how they like.

“Our goal is to drive funding to get the best education possible for students,” said Gallagher.

Sometimes that’s not always possible as the money that they get to fund our district is only about $60-$61 million dollars annually, and only about $8 million dollars goes towards DHS. Only a little over a million dollars of that comes from the federal government.

“The only way teachers could be paid more was if we got more funding,” said Gallagher.

The decisions that they have to make based upon teacher’s salaries are difficult, but

a financial comparison

they’re limited with what they can do. It can be debated whether or not they deserve more for what they do, but that change has to come from above any school district.

“During the first week of October, any students who aren’t present for those days, we don’t receive funding for them,” said Gallagher.

This also affects any new students who come to our school after October 1st. However, it works the other way as well, as any students that leave our district after October 1st are still counted in our budget.

This may not be as helpful as it seems though, as, in a growing community and school like Durango, DHS seems to be getting more and more new students transferring every year.

Comparing DHS to another school of similar size, Golden Senior High School, their budget for the year is about a million less than that of Durango High.

With almost 200 more students, that results in a much lower amount per student.

So, although many may find things to criticize about how our budget is handled, our school has it much better than other schools within Colorado. We need to appreciate what we’re given regardless of whether or not it’s fair and take our complaints to those above district employees.

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FEATURE

eldiablonews.com 11

DISTRICT FUNDING GOES TOWARDS HELPING ESS PROGRAM

ABBY BOWMAN Reporter

There are many programs at Durango High School that help, offer exceptional care for students, and promote a safe environment. The Special Education Program (ESS) is one of them. The Special Education Program supports their students, with the goal of preparing them for life outside of highschool. They have many students to teach, and require adequate funding to do so.

“Our teachers do an amazing job with the resources that they have, and they take very good care of their students,” says Principal Jon Hoerl.

Educators can teach to the best of their ability, but a lack of adequate funding and resources makes it very difficult for them to do their jobs. At the start of each new school year, the Special Education Program gets a budget, but where does that money come from?

“We get 8,200 dollars per student, but we also get extra money on top of that to make sure we meet Special Ed Services needs. The money is given to the District, then divided up based on the needs of the school,” Hoerl states.

This money comes from the state and federal level, and each state receives a different amount of money based on how many students it has.

“Federal Maintenance of Effort regulations require that the School District spend the same or more than the previous year on Special Education. There is a two part test that the State will look at to ensure Districts are meeting the Maintenance of Effort requirements. Currently, from the general fund alone, more than 10% of total expenses go towards Special Education needs,” says Stephan Steiner at the District office.

This makes sure that the Special Education Program gets the appropriate budget each year and that they cannot cut down on it.

“When we get money for our classroom, it goes towards our cooking and our hygiene needs,” says Matt Clark, a resource teacher for students with severe special needs.

Clark and Ms. Main, the other resource teacher at DHS, work with their students on independent cooking classes. It costs about an additional 2,000 dollars per special education student compared to a general education student.

“The big funding need for us is food, but also goes toward field trips, and need bus transportation. We also have our adaptive sports program,” says Ms. Main.

The Special Education department teaches their students in a different way which requires more money because the department goes on a lot of field trips to give the kids real life experiences.

“For our program, I feel like we do really well and I feel really supported by the school, so overall we’re happy here. We never really have a problem with getting that funding for our everyday things,” says Clark.

It is when they go on field trips and need transportation for the bigger events is where they struggle with finding that money right away.

“It would be nice to get more funding for another van, and be able to have our own small bus. Right now we only have a passenger van that is able to fit five kids and two staff members and we do a lot of outdoor activities and sometimes we have to split the group which sucks. It would be cool if we could take them all at once so we can do more activities,” Clark says.

Transportation for the Special Ed program is very important because they do a lot of outdoor activities and it can be hard finding the appropriate vehicle for them to use that is big enough so they can accommodate all of their students at once.

“We are taking our kids up to Grand Junction for the Unified Basketball Tournament, so we really need for a big bus that has a toilet and other accommodations for our kids,” Clark also adds.

This is where the budget starts to run out, and it can be challenging for them to find the money so that their students can have the beneficial experiences. When they do

12 Feb. 2020

run out, they go to the families of their students or sometimes use money from their own pockets.

“The breakfast budget goes fast and when a student is hungry in my eyes as a teacher I can’t teach them and it becomes really hard. When the budget does run out for various things I started to use my own money because I’m still going to provide for my students. They are my world,” Main says.

The educators in this building should not have to use their own money and rely on family funding, but Main and the other special ed staff are very committed to their students and would hate to see them struggle or miss out on opportunities to improve their learning.

Clark and Main are not alone, there are many people helping them with their students.

“I love my staff and I know I can count on them. If I am busy with something else I know they will be able to help me out. I trust them and we all support each other. It’s amazing,” says Main.

A big part of the budget is finding a good staff who will be fully committed to teaching and helping their students succeed.

“It can be difficult to hire people for positions in the area of special education,” Steiner said. This results in the district relying on the professions in the special ed department to figure out what staffing they have and who they are lacking. Although, getting the appropriate number of staffing bodies who can do their job well is not a problem at DHS. They are reliable and work very hard.

From the perspective of a parent they should be able to trust the program that their child is in. Newly elected school board member Kristen Smith has a child in this program.

“Our son, Asher, has always had all of the services and needs listed in his IEP provided by the 9-R school district. He has had a great experience as a special education student in this district and always has the staffing he needs,” says Smith.

This is evidence of the wonderful staff here at DHS, never failing to care for the students. Families of the students can relay and be confident in the working ability and trained professionals teaching their children.

“One area that has been a challenge is the lunch hour. Due to the open campus special education students often eat alone in the cafeteria. This is the greatest time for socialization for special education students. I would love to see Durango High School sports teams, music and drama groups and clubs making time to eat lunch with special education students. Asher is a fun guy and so are his other special education peers.

Students can find them in the DHS cafeteria at lunch everyday,” says Smith.

Lunch hour is a busy and chaotic time of the day but we cannot leave behind and forget critical members of this school.

“A lot of the research that’s out there says that co-teaching will help bridge the achievement gap that currently exists between our special education students and our typical peers. There is a certain ratio that you have to maintain within a classroom in order to do it effectively. The ideal looks like 20% of the students in a class have an IEP to 80% that do not. This gives them the accommodations to meet their educational needs while still giving them the grade level exposure and at the pace that everybody else experiences,” says Hoerl.

The special education is not overlooked when it comes to the budget. The staff takes excellent care of their students and there is no lack in adequate funding. The school would love to see more inclusion between the special education students and the rest of the kids. There is always room for more money but they do the best with the budget they have.

FEATURE

DURANGO LIVING COST: HIGH, BUT WORTH IT MADDY MORTIMER

Reporter

Sitting in his olive-green recliner, E! News playing on the TV, and his deep-red Australian Shepard sitting at my feet in another rocking chair placed beside his, John “Chenny” Chenowith jokes “life is a closed book” as we begin our conversation. John is native to Pueblo, but the geography eventually lured him to Durango 40-something years ago at the age of 24.

“Living here was just less expensive, it was more one-on-one, no bull, no anxiety, more laid back. Now, tourist money runs Durango, and that makes locals suffer. It’s more corporate-run now, you forget about local small business; which is what used to drive Durango; locals aren’t taken care of anymore,” said Chenowith.

He turns away from me towards the TV momentarily before he states that the wages are terrible and if he hadn’t gotten the job at LPEA, he would’ve been forced to move. Mr. Chenowith was almost forced to move away as prices got steadily more expensive, but found a job as an equipment operator at La Plata Electric Association, and was able to stay. However, he now travels to Farmington to get all he needs since prices for necessities have been rising.

While he loves Durango, Chenowith wants to move to a smaller town like Cortez. He shifts towards me and asks me about my future plans of leaving Durango before telling me that I’m lucky to get out of Durango and to move somewhere that’s easier to live in.

John’s girlfriend, Jackie Doyle stands with her hands planted firmly on the countertop over a stubborn six-year-old girl who refuses to try quinoa. Doyle is a DHS alumni and a lifelong Durango native.

“We were in the middle class growing up, my mom had one job and daddy had two. He worked on horses primarily. Back then, no one cared who had more money. There was one guy who drove a nice car and no one cared,” said Doyle.

Jackie was 16 years old when she began driving in 1973, and gas was only 32 cents a gallon. In the past, the oil trap drove Durango’s economy, but now the train does and many people have grown against the train recently due to the allegations that the train started the 416 fire. As she grew up, she became a single mom.

“I couldn’t afford to live here, I was living with my mother. I worked at Dairy Queen and North Main City Market, but then I got the job at LPEA 25 years ago. That’s why I was able to keep living here; I almost

FEATURE

moved to Farmington,” said Doyle.

As I ask her about living here now, John puts his thumb down as he walks across the kitchen and says, “it sucks.”

“It’s still hard to live here, back then rent was $500 dollars for a small apartment and now it’s $1,000. Durango’s become a tourist trap, and their money is what runs the government which runs Durango. They’ve imported politicians from Denver and bigger cities to come in and change county rules, it’s ridiculous.

The government is delusional now, they keep putting in new regulations on residents that are only giving money to themselves. People with money move here and want to change Durango,” said Doyle She brings out her 1970’s DHS Toltec and flips through the pages, she stops and laughs at the fact that she was the Winter Sports Queen in 1975 and the long note that an admirer wrote for her.

“Durango used to feel like a community, and now it doesn’t,” says Doyle.

Durango sits well above the nation’s average for the cost of living. According to bestplaces.net, the median net price in the USA is $231,200, while that cost almost doubles in Durango to $470,800 (which is even ahead of Colorado’s median home cost is $384,000). However, the median income is only $57,024, which could possibly explain why 49.2% of people are only renting homes and why the homeless population has inflated in the last few years.

A one-star review of Durango on Niche.com said “It’s near the mountains.

Plenty of recreational opportunities. Too expensive to live here. Wages are terrible. Not sure how the majority of people make it here.”

Another three-star review said, “the employment in my area fluctuates often and tends to lend itself to low skill jobs. Many people graduate from the local college and continue to work at the same coffee shop because there are no other jobs available. Because it is such a service industry based town, it makes it very difficult to make anything above minimum wage, therefore several people are often left working two or three jobs just to pay rent.”

As most of us will likely end up living elsewhere after our time here at DHS in possibly more affordable locations, you can’t pay for a better view anywhere else in the world. Nowhere else are you guaranteed picturesque mountains in a place where the seasons don’t limit activity, which is ultimately what you pay for.

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FEATURE

New York University Your application status has been updated; don’t expect good news.

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Durango High School (dhs@durangoschools.org) District Email Surprises Many LAUREN MCFARLANE

Features Editor

On Dec. 18, Superintendent Dan Snowberger sent out an email that elicited either comfort or shock throughout the 9R district. It had come to his attention that some students in the 9R district were sharing inappropriate photos of themselves.

“I think it was an opportunity for us as a community to reflect and say ‘Ok, are we engaging our students in conversations about this?’ ” said Snowberger.

Snowberger, in addition to the Durango Police Department, stated intent of the email was to raise awareness of the issue and to start a community conversation about the dangers of social media. However, some students felt the email was accusatory and would unintentionally cause distrust between parents and students.

“I feel like it could’ve been handled more towards the families first before addressing it to the whole school,” said So. Matrix Orio. “I feel like it painted us high schoolers as really bad and it made parents worry unnecessarily.”

Snowberger and the detective on the case both agreed that they didn’t want to take legal action against the students involved. The police were not interested in charging students, however they did want to locate the source, and make sure they notified students who might have been victimized.

“The last thing we want is for our students to be criminally charged, that’s not our intent. Anything you send electronically, you have no control over,” said Snowberger.

On campus, Snowberger reminds, “At school, anything that is on school property is legal grounds for school administrators to search. There’s no right to privacy on campus because it’s our responsibility to protect the student body. Constitutional rights, if you will, don’t extend necessarily to search and seizure here.”

With that said, the student handbook mentions the search of lockers, which can be searched whenever for any reason without student permission, but doesn’t mention cars, backpacks, or phones. The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU) states that administrators or teachers cannot show “individualized suspicion” when searching student property, essentially meaning that they must have a reason to search a student and it can’t be random.

This incident actually began last spring, but was not reported to authorities

FEATURE

until more recently. “It started back in the spring and had not been reported to any school official. It started between students across multiple schools, including some of our secondary schools and charter schools,” said Snowberger.

“It’s not even the high school, I don’t think, it’s more middle schoolers. I feel like if he wanted to address his attention to that, then that’s perfectly fine, but he shouldn’t address it to the whole community because that makes us look bad and it puts a bad name on us,” said Orio.

One surprising thing they found was student addiction to social media.

“We actually found in this process that are students that are so concerned about posting often that when they’re engaged in sports, they’re passing their phone to someone else and saying ‘here post as me’.” said Snowberger.

In fact, a poll from the El Diablo Instagram showed that 61% of polled DHS students consider themselves to be addicted to social media.

Snowberger was concerned that students were judging themselves too heavily on their social media accounts. He feels that social media addictions are becoming more and more prevalent. In his email, Snowberger encouraged parents to check their children’s phones regularly. Researchers at San Diego State University suggest that more than one hour per day of screen time for children ages 2 to 17 is associated with lower psychological well-being.

In his initial email he stated, “It is incumbent upon parents to be aware of their child’s use of technology to prevent their children from falling victim to poor choices that are difficult to undo. (...) As a father of five, I too have learned and grappled with the challenges of parenting children in today’s society and in a world of technology,” said Snowberger.

Alternatively, So. Grace Martinez and her parents have a different view on the subject, “My mom told us about the stuff on the internet, the good stuff and the bad stuff. She told us we needed to understand and recognize what was bad and what was good,” said Martinez, “She didn’t put any parental restrictions, she doesn’t go through our phones, she knows that in the real world we’re going to have access to whatever information we can find. It’s about being mature enough to recognize when you’re in a bad place and getting out of it.”

El Diablo reached out to Detective Newman and Durango Middle Schools and were unable to find a mutual time to conduct an interview.

eldiablonews.com15

Greta Thunberg as Time’s person of the year?

CHLOE RAGSDALE

Head Editor

A fresh face graces the cover of one of the world’s most renowned media sources; a face untouched by age, from puberty even, and from what many may speculate on wisdom. Seventeen year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg has become the youngest person to pose on the cover of Time Magazine; her well known long locks and casual sweatshirt posing the question, “How is someone this young making such a prominent impact on our world?”

Greta Thunberg goes beyond the world of typical seventeen year olds - beyond the world of Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok - and skyrockets into the world of adults, making headlines as she addresses global figures and organizations like the United Nations with her startlingly brutal words.

“The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say - we will never forgive you,” qualified Thunbger at the UN Climate Summit in New York in 2019.

Her words have done a number on varying parties across the globe.

Young climate activists and students around the world have yielded to her inspiration, joining in on their very own climate strikes such as September 20, 2019, with millions participating in the US alone. Her blunt and almost aggressive attitude towards the lack of action in adjusting climate-related legislation has sparked a lifestyle of environmentalism as an aspect of our pop culture, where it is no longer just a way of life - it’s a blazing passion.

In the few days of 2020 alone, massive bushfires swept across Australia, burning around 15 million acres of land, says The Verge. This event has prompted an intriguing response from America’s up-andcoming generation: the generation who fight alongside seventeen-year-old Thunberg. However, their battle is fueled not by missing school and emotionally addressing the UN - it is fueled by social media.

Posts upon posts are generated in support of Australia in their clash with the rabid bushfires, sprouting from well known celebrities to average teenagers, all of them flashing pictures of the destruction and damage caused by the horrific disaster. These posts, while generally out of one’s genuine interest, sometimes provide invalid donation sources that contribute nothing to the disasters. So

16 Feb. 2020

what do these posts actually do to help Australia, and what has this done in the past to actually provide aid for those suffering from the effects of global climate change?

As the “Thunberg generation” views these disasters from their phones, their response is inevitably quick and emotional, though the action from there is generally unreliable. Often accompanying these photos are links to discover more about the disasters and offer means of compensation to those suffering, which is undeniably important to help these tragedies, though may be often ignored by the general public, or fueled mainly by celebrities whose bustling pockets and tarnished images could be saved by generous donations.

Nevertheless, change has yet to come.

Major world leaders like President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison are just a few of those who have turned a blind eye to global climate change and its preventive measures. In 2017, President Trump left the Paris Agreement, where global powerhouses like France, Britain, and 193 other countries enstate pacts to lower carbon emissions. China and India, two of the three biggest contributors to worldwide carbon emissions (the other being the US), have ratified the Paris Agreement, while the US has backed out of it, leaving a massive question mark in the environmental state of our country and our world. To add to our remittal in the Paris Agreement, President Trump has continued to deny scientific facts about climate change, and has even attacked a girl half his size because for her action against his opinions.

“So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!”, President Trump announced in a tweet the morning after Thunberg’s debut as Time’s Person of the Year.

This childlike behavior continues in Australia, as Prime Minister Morrison has continued to deny scientific evidence against the effects of their carbon emissions on the severity of the fires, says The Guardian.

The state of our world as we know it is truly baffling; leaving a child to scold our leaders in the face of this true and inevitable danger is almost laughable. This bemusing and frustrating situation is unfortunately even present as we find ourselves staring at the cover of 2019’s Time Magazine.

Greta Thunberg, though the face of the climate movement today and a voice followed by many activists around the world, is a child. Her remarkable efforts and rallying ability should be applauded and praised around the world, but should be met with a sense of disappointment and fear as well. What kind of future does our planet have if those in charge of political and scientific change are seemingly too lost in their own beliefs to prevent more disasters, or even the mass extinction of the human race?

As Thunberg has stated repeatedly in her social media and speeches, she does not align with a political party. Instead, she is focused on what truly lies ahead, and how the adults of today’s world are not spearheading this problem as fearlessly and as powerfully as she is.

Greta Thunberg should be held in high esteem, as she has accomplished far beyond what many of us can even hope to achieve. But she should not have had to. If the state of our planet is truly to be improved, the current and future leaders of this world should be prepared to use Greta’s words to ignite concrete and life-saving changes.

EDITORIAL

War with Iran? No need to worry

JACK BREEZLEY

If you have been keeping up with the news, or social media lately, you have probably heard or seen Iran in headlines. Memes about World War 3 and the draft, along with headlines about dangerous tensions with Iran have taken over the internet, and have many worried. To understand why people are worried though, it’s necessary to take a step back and understand what led to this point.

On January 3rd, 2020, the United States conducted a missile strike in Iraq effectively assassinating Qassem Soleimani, an Iranian Military General. Following this airstrike, the US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq came under siege by Iranian and Iraqi civilians.

Soleimani was regarded as a terrorist and was on the FBI’s Most Wanted List (NPR), and according to President Trump and the Pentagon, was responsible for the killing of Anti-Muslims in the Middle East (NPR).

Soleimani was a “celebrity-like” figure in Iran, and a Major General in the Iranian Quds. Quds, a branch of Iran’s military, is a secretive special operations and spy agency. The Quds have been viewed as extremists by the Western World, mainly for “swearing to reclaim land from Israel,” (BBC). It is not hard to understand why Soleimani was a target for the USA and other allies.

Immediately following the missile strike, the US claimed responsibility and Iran vowed “crushing revenge.” Following up on Iran’s promise, on January 7th, Iran launched 12 missiles at two US military bases in Iraq. It was reported that there were no casualties, however there was damage to multiple buildings and aircraft hangers (NPR).

Finally, on January 8th, President Trump announced that the US would not resort to violence currently, but would instead turn to stricter and more punishing economic sanctions and would ask North Atlantic Trade Organization (NATO) members to do the same. Trump also warned of the US’s supreme military power over Iran, along with comparable allies (BBC).

Following the original airstrike killing Soleimani, many social media “memes” were created. These memes surrounding ‘World War 3’ and ‘reinstating the draft’ spread like wildfire across social media sites. They also served as a stark reminder of the dangerous tensions between the US and Iran.

So here’s why you shouldn’t be worried about another war or the draft.

The draft is a process in which men from ages 18 to 25 have to legally enter, and if selected, join the armed forces. The draft was revoked from use in 1973 after protests over it and controversy over the Vietnam War (New York Times). Even though the draft has ended, it still lives on in a sense.

The Selective Service is a program which all men, once 18, must legally be available for federal aid. However, if a draft was reinstated, this would mean all men would have to

EDITORIAL

legally

Features Editor

join the draft via the selective service. This is what has people worrying the most.

Fortunately, it is very unlikely that the draft would ever be reinstated unless in dire need of manpower, but as it currently stands, the US has 1.3 million currently enlisted individuals serving

in the armed forces (New York Times).

In the process of banning the draft in 1973, there was wide joint party support, meaning both political parties, Democrats and Republicans, supported the end of the draft, and this is a commonly held belief of both parties today (New York Times).

Additionally, in the event of reinstating the draft, the bill would have to go through the House of Representatives and the Senate, and finally the President, and if any of those three says no, the bill is forgotten (NPR). So if you’re nervous about being drafted or having to fight, don’t be worried, as a draft would be very hard to reenact.

If you’re worried about war with Iran too, I hope I can bring you some sense of calm. On January 8th, Trump stated that the US and NATO allies would enforce stronger economic sanctions on Iran. In doing so, Iran would eventually be forced into political talks. This method, although slower, would ensure peace over violence.

However, if Iran were to retaliate using violence, the US would most surely at that point be obligated to respond with violence, ending in only more violence. Fortunately though, Iran knows that they are underdogs. The US has very powerful allies such as Japan, Great Britain, Germany, Canada, France, Suadi Arabia, and many other countries. Iran would be drastically outnumbered in conflict which surely is a strong deterant to violence.

So in the end, it is unlikely that the tensions with Iran will escalate to war, and that the draft would ever be considered to be reinstated. So next time you see those memes about ‘World War 3’ and ‘the draft’ just shake them off your shoulder and know they aren’t serious.

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LAUREN MCFARLANE

Features Editor

On his 2016 campaign trail, Donald Trump made a promise. He was going to build a “great wall” on the Mexican border and he was going to make Mexico pay for it. Four years later, little progress has been made on the wall and billion of dollars have been spent. So, where is his funding coming from and where is it going?

After his election, Trump said, “I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border and I’ll have Mexico pay for that wall.”

In January 2017, Trump began to attempt wall construction but he lacked appropriate funding. At the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019, the government shut down because Trump refused to pass any bill that didn’t include budget for the wall. Mexico adamantly refused to pay for the wall, derailing Trump’s plans.

An article from CNBC in Feb. 2019 claimed that the Trump Administration would pull $1.375 billion from Homeland Security, $600 million from the Treasury Department, $2.5 billion from the Department of Defense’s Drug Interdiction Program and $3.6 billion from the Department of Defense’s Military Construction program. So in total, the Trump Administration requested over $7.5 billion, taking money from valuable programs like the Drug Interdiction Program and the Treasury Department’s Drug Forfeiture. Recently, he claimed he will need $11 billion to build all 576 miles of the wall.

Though he has spent billions of dollars, he hasn’t actually built any new barriers.

Trump has replaced over 100 miles of existing barriers, (the border fence is about

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18 Feb. 2020

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576 miles long). Here’s what he could have done with that money instead.

By spending 5,000 to 20,000 dollars a day, we could clean the ocean (between $122 million-$489 million per year). This doesn’t include equipment, disposal or labor costs, but Trump would have enough money in his budget to cover those as well. He could also help reduce carbon emissions and help America become more sustainable overall.

Trump could invest $2.2 billion of his $11 billion on the American public. $438 million could be spent on contraceptives for teenagers. $200 million could be spent on permanent housing for 20,000 homeless people. $258 million could be spent on literacy programs to improve education in America.

The money could also be spent on bettering our education system. Decreasing the student to teacher ratio would improve student performance. $11 billion dollars would buy over 7,000 teacher salaries and benefits of $75,000 per year for 20 years.

Around the world, Trump could spend $270 million to supplement Vitamin A for children in poorer countries, which reduces their chances of health risks. $100 million dollars could be spent to improve research around the country. Any amount of money could be put into mental health research or facilities.

Though the border wall does address the concerns of many Americans, the funding for its fortification is better suited to address internal issues like human rights and health care, rather than trying to isolate our country.

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EDITORIAL

I’M NOT ORANGE, I’M-PEACH! WHY TRUMP IMPEACHMENT PROMISES BETTER FUTURE FOR AMERICA EZRA ADAMSKI

Lifestyles Editor

President Trump, even before his bid as commander-in-chief, was racked with scandals. From crooked business practices to openly admitting to assaulting women to confirmed housing discrimination on the basis of race, among countless other accusations and schemes, Mr. Trump’s pre-political life was dogged with controversy after controversy. These issues have been brought up time and time again throughout his presidency, but now, a much larger, more pressing matter has taken the spotlight.

Early calls for impeachment can be traced back to the summer of 2017, when two Democratic representatives, Brad Sherman of California and Al Green of Texas, filed an article of impeachment for obstruction of justice. This was two months after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. The House, being majority Republican at the time, ignored this; however, after the 2018 midterms led the Democrats to gain control in the House, talk of impeachment became more serious. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi originally sought to tamp the calls for impeachment, claiming they were divisive.

After the Mueller Report was released (re: no collusion with Russia but no exoneration that Trump and Co. obstructed the probe) on April 18 of 2019, Democrats received further ammunition with which to argue for impeachment. On July 25, 2019, the notorious Ukraine call was made. Trump asked Volodymyr Zelensky if he could “...do us a favor”; in other words, demand that he look into the Biden family’s activities in the region or he would not send the country aid. This blatant misuse of power wasn’t known until an anonymous whistleblower filed a complaint with the Senate and House intelligence committees on August 12. A little over a month later, Pelosi announced the start of a formal impeachment inquiry, and in November, public impeachment hearings began. On December 18, President Trump was impeached by the House.

Trump’s tenure in the White House can be best described as tumultuous. To be more precise, it is all infuriating, shameful, and abysmal. For marginalized groups – LGBT people, people of color, immigrants, women, and people with disabilities - it is terrifying. The potential for the removal of such a president, though it’s embarrassing to call him such, offers a glimmer of hope. It provides the opportunity for a man, who has spent his life dodging, sneaking, and conniving his way out of accountability, to

EDITORIAL

face exact prosecution.

A common concern, and argument against impeachment, is that it may cause the country instability, particularly concerning economics. However, impeachment is not an economic issue. Even if it were, a look at President Clinton’s impeachment shows not only a rise in the stock market during his trial, but a growing consumer confidence as well, although it’s hard to connect market movement to impeachment hearings in the first place. If the concern is political, then right now, it is particularly justified.

After tensions escalated due to Iranian-led violence in Iraq, Trump took the most extreme course of action possible by ordering a drone strike to kill Qassim Soleimani. This was, supposedly, to prevent a war as opposed to starting one. But a quick look at America’s relationship with Iran, and the Middle East at large, over the past several decades reveals that an action as volatile as this could easily trigger another large-scale conflict.

After nearly 60 people were trampled to death at Soleimani’s funeral, it’s clear that Trump’s hawkish route was, at best, ill-informed and potentially catastrophic.

This man - who is absolutely unfit to be president in nearly every regard has pushed ridiculous and occasionally dangerous conspiracy theories on his bloated Twitter account. He questioned Barack Obama’s citizenship, despite the latter providing his decidedly American birth certificate. (Speaking of official documents, remember Trump’s promise to release his tax returns? Hm.) He pens incoherent tweets about the falsified Deep State and a so-called white genocide, both theories that are favorites of his “very fine” Neo-Nazi supporters. He alienates entire communities of people in a single 280-word rant or awkward press conference. And, while a president being “mean” doesn’t make them unfit to be president, the rhetoric Trump spews only adds fuel to his largely white base and impacts politics globally.

Other countries’ perception of us and our leader is shaky at best, according to the Pew Research Center, and the Western European voice in the survey said that America has stopped respecting the individual liberties of its people.

This type of behavior would not be tolerated coming from any other leader. It is crude, uninformed, and unprecedented, or, as our president would say, unpresidented.

DISCLAIMER: This image was created by the author and does not reflect the views of El Diablo’s advisor or staff.

eldiablonews.com 19

ALLOWS COLLEGE ATHLETES TO PROFIT FROM THIER NAMES LEAH WESLEY Reporter

As of October 29, 2019, the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) shocked the sports world when they announced that they voted unanimously to permit college students participating in athletics the opportunity to benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness in a manner consistent with the collegiate model. What does this all mean? Since the NCAA does not allow college athletes to be paid for the sport they play, they decided to let these athletes choose to make money through marketing themselves. Furthermore, it is directing all three divisions to immediately consider “updates to relevant bylaws and policies for the 21st century.” Giving future college athletes the opportunity to make money off of their title is a very abrupt change to our culture, so is this change in our future a good or bad thing?

There are many positive outlooks to this highly controversial topic. The NCAA also released many rules to make this new change more fair to college students who may not play sports or even have the opportunity.

This new law could potentially help these struggling athletes to support themselves and their families. Many of these college athletes train several times a week all while giving their best performance on and off the court or field. They are then left to defend themselves with little money to pay for the costs of tuition, food, books, and sometimes even sports gear. If college athletes are given this opportunity, it will push them to work harder in school and on the court or field, which will result in fewer college dropouts and potentially, a much higher graduation rate.

There are also many negative aspects to this debatable topic. A majority of people would argue that this law is not a good idea. Paying student-athletes based on their image and likeness would result in less than a very small percentage of football and basketball players being paid while most all other collegiate athletes, especially women, would be hung out to dry. The popularity

20 Feb. 2020

of college sports is simply not equal across all teams.

Universities are only able to fund less-popular sports by using the resources brought in by donors and television contracts associated with the more popular sports. That diversity is good for universities, for the athletes on those teams, and for the fans who love to watch and cheer as classmates, alumni, or community members.

“Should college athletes be paid? Maybe to a certain percentage, or they should get paid but it should be set aside somehow for future living expenses or their education, something to fall back on - I think we could do a better job of rewarding those kids,” says Tim Fitzpartick, a Physical Education Teacher & Girls Basketball Coach.

“I find it confusing, I know that they’ve been opposed to paying players for a very long time and then a sudden decision to pay players in a limited fashion I think may just be a hedge, so I’m kind of undecided.

Unsure, we’ll see what happens,” says Jeb Davis, an Athletic Trainer with Mercy Sports Medicine for DHS. “Overall, it’s a good thing. I remember hearing this interview with Derrick Rose where he had borrowed money from another player to get lunch, and on his way to lunch, he walked by a footlocker that had his jersey that was on sale for 70$. And he couldn’t even afford lunch. I think it’s a really good thing, the way they’re approaching it with giving a percentage of merchandise that has their name on it is fair, but I worry that it could be the start and the tip of an iceberg to a bigger conversation of how college athletes are compensated that could water down college sports, and that scares me.”

Says Ryan Knorr, DHS District Athletic Director.

There are many future college athletes at our school, whether they have been recruited or plan to walk on to a team. While this is a highly debatable and controversial topic, it is overall a good thing for struggling college athletes, but many would argue that they are receiving a free education. For the most part, many of our sports influencers at DHS share their positive outlooks on this topic but still give their outlooks on how it may lead to a downfall. So do you think allowing college athletes to benefit off of their name is a good or bad thing?

SPORTS

WHAT SPORTS DID YOUR TEACHERS PLAY IN HIGH SCHOOL?

Kaylee Wright

Teri Kopack Robert Aspen • Academic counselor • Played basketball in highschool for two years on the school team and recreationally all four years • Ran track and field one year • A part of the key club • Played volleyball in college for a year and basketball in a recreational league all four years

SPORTS

Tim Coddington

• Teaches SAT Prep and AVID • Ran track 3 years; ran the 100m, 200m, long jump and triple jump • Played one season of soccer • Did one season of nordic skiing

• Teaches Modern US History • Played baseball at Grossmont High School in San Diego, CA • Played football at Grossmont High School in San Diego, CA • Played baseball at the University of Wyoming and San Diego State University

• Teaches math • Played volleyball, basketball & softball all four years of highschool at Woodmore highschool in Ohio.

• Played intramural volleyball at Bowling Green State University

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GIRL’S BASKETBALL ABBY BOWMAN

Reporter

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22 Feb. 2020

P U TH G E IN

to become a team that is connected and bonded,” Fitzgerald adds.

They hope to become the top team in the state and add another trophy to DHS’s collection.

Knowing the flaws a team struggles with and working to fix them and improve its skills are essential for a hard-working team.

“I want them to get better at shooting. That’s a big one. It’s just a skill that you have to put the time into and that’s something you have to do all the time. You have to do it year-round if you want to be good at it, at least at shooting. And so that’s something that our whole program has to improve on,” Coach Fitzpatrick states.

He wants to work towards the development of this skill by doing a lot of different drills.

“First it’s breaking down technique, and working on [drills], and then practicing those at game speed,” Fitzpatrick states.

He believes in the importance of working as you would in real competition.

Being able to shoot and play at the fast pace of basketball is important for doing well when the time comes and the ball has to go through the hoop.

“I have been working harder than I ever have and if an opportunity arises where I can play basketball in college, then I wouldn’t pass that up,” Fitzgerald says.

She hopes to take this sport with her as long as she can. Eventually, after all this hard work and support from the older players and coaches, it’s time to go further in a person’s life and they must decide what they take with them.

“I play basketball because it is a dynamic escape for myself. When I am on the

AS O N SE

A slow, deep breath in, slight bend of the knees, wrists tilted, waiting. Slowly she pushes upward with her whole body, forcing the ball toward the basket. A moment passes and... it’s in! The crowd goes wild! This is what makes basketball such an exciting game.

“On the court, nothing else matters. The feeling of making a pass to a teammate and watching them succeed. The feeling you get when you have an open look and the ball comes off your fingertips.

The feeling of helping a teammate up after they take a charge or celebrating a great play. The feeling is incomparable and something I only get from playing basketball,” says Sr. Emma Fitzgerald on why she fell in love with the game.

Varsity girl’s basketball coach Tim Fitzpatrick has been coaching the sport for more than 26 years.

“I think the season is going really well. We played two of the top three teams in the state, we also played a ranked team in New Mexico, so they are getting to see some of the best teams around early in the season,” Fitzpatrick states.

He believes that with the help of Seniors Emma Fitzgerald, Jael Larson, Patricia Pena, and Lauren Park, the team will have a great set of players for later years through their support and experience on the team.

“By giving guidance to the younger kids, they will help them understand what it takes to compete at a completely different level than middle school athletics. Having leadership and an example for younger kids, showing them how we play in this program,” he states.

The girls work to teach their teammates how a highschool game works, what they need to bring to the team, and how their attitude affects them and their team’s performance.

“Encouraging the younger girls to keep their heads up and work hard is something that I believe is super important. I hope to spread positivity and passion so they carry those traits with them as they grow,” states Fitzgerald.

All the work put in to help the younger players on the team has come to the overall goal of developing a strong team. The coach and top players work to prepare for playing throughout high school and allowing them the opportunity for scholarships to help with college.

“This team is competitive and athletic. We hope to get first in the Southwest League and make a deep run in the state tournament. Collectively, we also strive

court, nothing else matters,” says Fitzgerald.

SPORTS

Life of a Sports Fan:

So you live in Durango and don’t ski?

STEVI CAMERON

Sports Head Editor As residents of Durango, we are blessed with having Purgatory just 27 miles from downtown, making skiing and snowboarding common winter activities for many of us. Not to mention the fact that living in mountainous Colorado gives us access to many other spectacular ski resorts that tourists often travel extreme lengths to reach.

I myself enjoy skiing better than almost any other activity in the world, and yet, I have many peers who would never dare touch the slopes in their lifetime.

Us skiers (and snowboarders), who grew up with the sport and go to the mountain so often it becomes religious, can hardly imagine what life would be like without it.

However, keeping the whole picture in mind, I can understand the intimidation some non-skiers may face. First, skiing is expensive. A teen season pass is $549 and a day pass varies from $75 -$109, which can definitely add up and make skiing unavailable for certain people who have priorities other than skiing. Other non-skiers were unable to start from a very young age and are afraid to reveal that they do not yet have experience. Learning how to ski or snowboard can take time and patience, and even humiliation, all of which highschoolers are short on. Nevertheless, I hope it is something you can try in the future!

I have now defended those who do not ski or snowboard, but what are some activities you can do with your friends so as to not feel left out and still enjoy the winter season?

Chapman Hill is an in-town ice rink as well as a ski area. If you are looking to continue your school spirit and watch a fast-paced game of hockey, it’s fun to go to the DHS Hockey games at Chapman. Additionally, every Friday, Chapman hosts disco skate nights from 7:30 to 9:00, making it easy to rent skates and affordable to attend. Skating to the music with colorful lights and a group of friends can be an incredibly entertaining and wholesome activity to do on a Friday night. If all of your Fridays are filled, Chapman does various other open skates as well.

SPORTS

If you don’t mind the inside of a gym, play pickup basketball at the rec center and be sure to come to the DHS basketball games. The energy around our basketball is very enthusiastic, so that both the girls and boys teams are exciting to watch.

Though cold, I still love getting outside in the winter and there are many ways to do so. Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are great ways to spend time with friends and family while enjoying the mountains and winter wonderland around Durango. I like to pack a picnic and a thermos of hot chocolate so that I can romp through the snow for hours, making it an adventurous day that I can be satisfied with.

The Nordic Center by Purgatory, Vallecito Lake, and the Hillcrest golf course are all great places to ski cross-country, but you can take your nordic skis to many other places as well. I have even skied through my neighborhood when there is enough snow. My favorite places to snowshoe are up Junction Creek trail, Cascade Creek, or even the Test Tracks. Outdoor activities such as these can be lots of fun, a form of healthy exercise, and can fill your days during the winter months.

When we think of winter, we think of cozying up inside and hibernating until spring, but there are plenty of fun activities to do this season and appreciate the winter sports our community supplies. For those of you who don’t make it up to Purgatory this year, have a fun winter season filled with thrilling activities both inside and out. As for those of you who do, I hope to see you on the mountain!

eldiablonews.com 23

WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? EZRA ADAMSKI Lifestyles Editor

I didn’t grow up on Mr. Rogers. I might’ve watched an episode here or there when my parents grew tired of the Oswald and LazyTown lineup, but, by and large, I really had no idea who Fred Rogers was. My parents and older family members had grown up with him - I just hadn’t.

But, amazingly, miraculously, it felt like I had as soon as A Beautiful Day in The Neighborhood came alive on the screen. It would be easy to attribute this to Tom Hanks’ outstanding performance (he deserved the Golden Globe, but that’s a different story) or the dreamy, subtle way it was filmed. However, if it’s not because of the actors on the screen, it’s because of the music. The soundtrack was undoubtedly stellar.

However, I realized as soon as I left the theater, that it wasn’t because of any of those things. It wasn’t even a combination of those three elements.

T

IGE STO A R RR

RISHMAN I HE

Although this Bong Joon-Ho masterpiece is written completely in Korean, Parasite has repeatedly been hailed as the best film of the year, making it a possible up-and-comer for the biggest award at the 2020 Oscars - Best Picture. The film, which deals with compelling themes including social inequalities and discrimination between the top 1% and the lowest of the low, horrifyingly examines the intense class polarization between the Park and Kim families, which ultimately ends in tragedy.

Nominated for: • Best Picture • Best Director (Bong Joon-ho) • Best Original Screenplay • Best International Feature Film

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Y

PA

Lifestyle Head

CATCH UP ON OSCAR BUZZ! MA

LUKE SWIFT

It was the way the movie had made me feel. It was the way the movie forced me to reflect on sentiments I had always held true and steadfast, too stubborn or too scared to let go of. It was the way a movie made me cry in a way few others have. It was the way I could talk to myself during a film without being distracted, hold a conversation with myself not out of boredom but out of necessity.

Why do we hold onto anger? Why do we hold onto fear? Why do we let so many pieces of things gone wrong, of missed opportunities, impact the reality we have now?

There are very few problems - well, big, widespread problems - that are fixed in a day.

Be patient. Everything will work out.

That was the dialogue floating through my head throughout the course of the film.

It was breezy and pleasant. It fluttered in time to the soothing, pastel frames flickering across the screen. And, on a more basic level, sometimes it’s nice to be reminded that you are loved just the way you are. Especially if you’re being reminded by Tom Hanks.

Written and Directed by Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story displays the devastating effects divorce can have

on even the strongest family. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson handle the transnational divorce as if it is their own, drawing influence from the filmmakers’ and actors’ experiences with divorce. This film showcases the hate we feel for the ones we love in times of hardship, regardless of how strong the bond might have once been.

Nominated for: • Best Picture • Best Director (Noah Baumbach) • Best Actor (Adam Driver) • Best Actress (Scarlett Johansson) • Best Supporting Actress (Laura Dern)

This Martin Scorsese picture, according to critics, could just be his best in decades. This historical drama focuses around Irish hitman Frank Sheeran (Robert DeNiro) who goes into business with Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci) and becomes deeply involved in his extensive crime family. As Sheeran’s infamous stance rises, he becomes entangled with the worker union king, Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), who, unbeknownst to the public, is heavily tied to organized crime as well.

Nominated for: • Best Picture • Best Director (Martin Scorsese) • Best Actor (Robert DeNiro) • Best Supporting Actor (Joe Pesci, Al Pacino) • Best Adapted Screenplay

ARTS

AIDEN ROESSLER

Reporter

At the end of 2019, we were inundated with new Star Wars stories. With new entries, many forms of media such as the first live-action Star Wars series, The Mandalorian, and the first single player Star Wars game in almost a decade, Jedi: Fallen Order, have fans excited. But just how much Star Wars is too much?

After watching both The Rise of Skywalker and The Mandlorian as well as playing Jedi: Fallen Order, 2019 was ultimately one of the best years for the Star Wars franchise as a whole.

The Rise of Skywalker has been debated constantly on the internet since its debut and has been viewed by many already. Like the previous film, The Last Jedi, it has been a deeply divisive movie. As of January 2019, 54% of critics gave the movie a positive review while 86% of the audience gave it a review of 3.5 stars or higher, according to Rotten Tomatoes.

A large part of this divide stems from the The Last Jedi, as The Rise of Skywalker ultimately disregards the direction The Last Jedi wanted to take the series. This was a relief for fans who didn’t like the unfamiliar direction The Last Jedi was taking the saga, but a disappointment to those who appreciated the shakeup of the Star Wars formula that episode VII delivered.

Ultimately, if you didn’t like the Rise of Skywalker, want stories that recapture the magic of your favorite Star Wars films, or are a dedicated fan yearning for more high quality Star Wars content, there are many excellent Star Wars stories from late 2019 beyond the Rise of Skywalker to be immersed in.

The first of these is the excellent streaming series, The Mandalorian. The show began airing on Disney+ in November. Centered around the adventures of a mysterious bounty hunter known only as the Mandalorian, each episode of the show was an intriguing Western-inspired, self-contained story set in the period between the Original Trilogy movies and the Sequel Trilogy.

Pedro Pascal is excellent as the Mandalorian, conveying a wide range of emotions despite spending the entire series behind a helmet. Also, “Baby Yoda” is lovable and a great sidekick for the Mandlorian as his innocence is a great compliment to the Mandalorian’s battle-hardened personality.

The Mandalorian is also one of the best additions to the Star Wars cannon in a long time, and adds to the Star Wars universe in many ways. The primary way it does this is by filling in the gaps between the Original Trilogy and the Sequel Trilogy, and exists in a time period with the Empire in decline and imperial warlords vying for control. Ad-

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ditionally, it shows how many places have been affected by the events of the original trilogy. For example, the Mandalorian visits the iconic cantina on Tatooine from the first Star Wars movie, and it is revealed to no longer be so vibrant. Finally, it is a nice break from the epic stories of the movies and tells a much more grounded story that gives you a sense of how the inhabitants of the Star Wars Galaxy live day by day.

Overall, The Mandalorian is some of the best Star Wars content Disney has produced since buying the franchise and is an above average TV show that deserves the massive amount of attention and discussion it is receiving online.

Just days after its release in November, the first single player Star Wars game in almost a decade released called Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. It came as a breath of fresh air after two sub-par Star Wars Battlefront games.

Needless to say, many fans, including myself, had tempered expectations, but were excited to get a new fully single player Star Wars game.

After finishing Jedi: Fallen Order I can say that it exceeded my expectations.

To begin, although the force powers and combat take a little time to get used to, using your lightsaber and force powers to carefully take down waves of enemies feels satisfying, due to the incredible sound design and weight of the lightsaber, that makes it feel like the powerful weapon it is in the movies.

Additionally, while Fallen Order only features six planets, most of these levels are very large, and have many fun platforming sections, and slightly underwhelming puzzles. Additionally, as you unlock new abilities, including force abilities, throughout the story, you can come back to levels and find more hidden gems in them using your newfound abilities. Fans will appreciate that many of these secrets are hidden scans that give more insight into the Star Wars universe.

Also, while the story is not as grand in scope as most of the Star Wars movies its average plot is elevated by some of the most complex and interesting characters in the Star Wars Galaxy. For example, you play as Cal Kestis, a Jedi who has been hiding from the Empire for most of his life and still deals with the trauma from surviving the Jedi Purge seen at the end of Episode III. Even the main villain, The Second Sister, has an intriguing backstory and a personal connection to other characters that makes her more than a red lightsaber wielding imperial.

Ultimately, I believe GameSpot said it best, “Jedi: Fallen Order creates one of the best Star Wars experiences in years because its willing to make being a Jedi difficult not just in dueling with your lightsaber, but in finding your way in the galaxy”.

Although the Rise of Skywalker was a divise end to the Skywalker Saga, late 2019 was one of the best times to be a Star Wars fan, and its many excellent stories make it easy to become a Star Wars fan for the first time, as they are the franchise at its best.

eldiablonews.com25

Does money=happiness?

CHLOE BOWEN

Reporter

The intriguing idea that more money creates a greater amount of happiness is one proposition that is commonly misunderstood. Although it is easy to cling on to the idea that more money is the key to happiness, there is much more to this story then is typically told.

It’s easy to assume that those in wealthier positions such as celebrities or CEOs are happier because of the endless things they can provide themselves with, but one’s belongings are just things.

“While money is capable of providing us with a wider range of decision making power, it cannot beckon happiness alone,” wrote Sociology Professor Benjamin Waddell.

In places with a lot of money such as business corporations or big motion pictures, you can often find cruelty and sorrow, whereas in places with less wealth, you can find love and satisfaction. Money can not deny nor be viable to the entity of happiness.

“Money is helpful for the basic funding of everyday living and is just a factor of life,” said Jr. Mirah Tulley.

Out of 110 voters on El Diablo Instagram, 85 voted “yes,” more money will make them happier whereas only 25 voted “no,” more money will not produce a greater amount of happiness in their lives.

According to Gross National happiness, how we measure progress and success can have a significant effect on our happiness levels.

For example, some see buying a new shirt or getting a raise to be something that they should do or work towards to increase their happiness.

The difference is how you see that progress if you spend your life trying to get to the top, trying to earn the most money you can lose sight in what being happy really means. Others choose to use their money for what they need and then find happiness

26 Feb. 2020

in other ways.

“I think that a certain amount of money can help a person or a family to be comfortable, and as long as basic needs are met like shelter, food, medical access, etc. If those things are met, I don’t think money is essential to one’s happiness,” said DHS counselor Katie Brandau.

Because money is advertised as something that can open up opportunities and solve world problems most feel the increase in green means an increase in self joy.

But data proves differently, “Survey data shows that happiness increases in kind with income up to about 75k per year, and after that, it flat lines. In other words, once our basic needs are met--food, housing, transportation, leisure time--additional income actually leads to decreased happiness,” explained Waddell.

It is easy to see a path where the money is the solution to things we can not find an exact answer to, and it is almost costumed to try to find those answers through the influences of others.

“In this modern day in age there are a lot of comparisons, there’s a lot of pressure to be a certain way and have a certain lifestyle, a lot of it based on what we see others doing,” expressed Brandau.

Subsiding money from that point of view, many people find happiness through things that do not involve money at all, and rather the things they have right in front of them.

“Happiness is rooted in the relationships we hold with others. This is why middle-income countries like Costa Rica, where poverty has traditionally been held at bay through social programs and education, have much higher measures of happiness than wealthy countries like the United States,” said Waddell.

The association between happiness and money has existed for many years, but money can't buy happiness because whether anyone truly wants money to be the fundamental base of our society, that doesn’t mean it has to be the base of our emotions or overall well being.

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HOLLYWOOD’S

By Laura Clark

WRITE DOWN YOUR GOALS!

-Decide what you want to spend money on -Examples: X-Box game? Airpods? Paying for college?

-Next to each goal write out how much it will cost -REMEMBER: Dropping $10 at lunch every day will keep you from reaching your goal!

ACTORS 1. Dwayne Johnson Earnings: $89.4 million

2. Chris Hemsworth Earnings: $76.4 million

WRITE DOWN YOUR EXPENSES! -Track your expenses for a couple weeks -Write down every purchase you make -Download an app or go to mint.com to help track your spending -REMEMBER: Daily expenditures tend to add up quicker than you might expect!

3. Robert Downey Jr. Earnings: $66 million

4. Akshay Kumar Earnings: $65 million

MAKE A PLAN! -Go back to your goals -Pick one and create a timeline -Example: There’s a laptop that costs $1000 and you want it in 6 months, so you will need to save $166.67 each month.

-Figure out some spending cuts -Keep a photo of the goal near you to keep you on track

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5. Jackie Chan Earnings: $58 million

H I G H E S T P A I D

ACTRESSES 1. Scarlett Johansson Earnings: $56 million

2. Sofia Vergara Earnings: $44.1 million

3. Reese Witherspoon Earnings: $35 million

4. Nicole Kidman Earnings: $34 million

5. Jennifer Aniston Earnings: $28 million

eldiablonews.com 27

How many streaming services are too many?

One-Screen: $8.99/month Two-Screens: $12.99/month Four-Screens: $14.99/month

$6.99/month

150 10 million subscibers

million subscibers

Prime Video Only: $8.99/month Prime Student: $6.49/month Amazon Prime: $12.99/month

$14.99/month

101

Pros: 1. Extensive Movie Collection 2. Has access to every movie ever Cons: 1. Most items cost money to rent/buy

134

Pros: 1. Many Critically Acclaimed Films 2. Ad-Free 3. Becoming HBO Max in May 2020 to include more Cons: 1. Expensive 2.Can’t Download

million subscibers

million subscibers

Standard: $7.99/month Ad-Free: $11.99/month Hulu w/ Spotify: $9.99/month

$4.99/month

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million subscibers

100 million subscibers

$15.00/month$18.00/month

Student: $6.99/month Standard: $11.99/month Family: $17.99/month

28 Feb. 2020

Pros: 1. Netflix Originals 2. Can Download Cons: 1. Losing Friends and The Office 2. Expensive..and can’t download everything Pros: 1. Amazing Collection 2. Four Screens per Account 3. Inexpensive Cons: 1. Glitches Out Sometimes

Pros: 1. Great Shows 2. Fairly Inexpensive Cons: 1. Not a wide selection 2. So many ads with standard account Pros: 1. Interesting Shows (Critically-Acclaimed) 2. Inexpensive Cons: 1. Only has Apple Originals

not yet available

Pros: 1. Incredible Selection of Shows/Movies 2. Exciting and New Cons: 1. Expensive 2. Weird Name

1.5

Pros: 1. Downloading Power 2. Runs while on other apps Cons: 1. Expensive, and not many movies/shows

million subscibers

HBO Review: “The shows that they make are some of my favorite shows: from Game of Thrones to Succession to Euphoria.

They have super intense shows and they have funny shows. It is definitely my go-to streaming service. The app can be frustrating sometimes because you cannot have multiple profiles, but the quality of shows makes up for it.”

Sr. Luke Ford Netflix Review: “Netflix is one of the best because it releases so many original shows and movies which is really nice, and it doesn’t have ads, which is also a bonus.

Unfortunately, though, they also have to remove shows more frequently than other services which isn’t ideal.”

Sr. Andrew Saddler Overall Review: “I use Netflix for most of my shows, but I also have Amazon Prime, and Disney+.

On Netflix, I like the series that they do like You, Bojack Horseman, Trailer Park Boys, Black Mirror, and even the Twilight Zone. Also, I love Scooby Doo. I think there are a lot of different streaming services and I think we’re probably paying the right amount for them.”

Jr. Morgan Mallonee SAYLOR STOTTLEMYER Head Arts Editor REBECCA BOWERS Arts Editor

ARTS

BRYN VALDEZ

Head Editor

MADDY GLEASON

Head Editor

CHLOE RAGSDALE

ART CHART Pro

Con

Our Advice

I would pay Timothee Chalamet to run me over

You might fall in love with fictional characters

Harass Timothee Chalamet until he dm’s us back

Almost better than Papa’s Pasteria- Almost

Quite the hassle, even for a new restaurant

Wait to check it out until they get their act together

Makes you feel like you’re mid70’s milkmaid in the North of Italy

Umm kinda homeless-y

We don’t think Romanians would appreciate it

Locks up all your insecurities

Looks like you’re trying to be Lil Huddy, and not in a good way

Diversify your jewelry selections

JB’s songwriter should be fired

Even if you’re a fan-there’s no way you can trick yourself into liking this

There were some questionable fashion choices

If you missed it- go back and watch it for the Kobe Bryant tribute

Head Editor

Film

Little Women

Food Primi Pasta

Women’s Fashion Silk Bandanas

Men’s Fashion

Lock Necklaces

Music “Yummy”

by Justin Bieber

The Tea The Grammys

ARTS

I can’t bring myself to say anything good about this song Billie Eilish got the recognition she deserved!

Rating 1-5

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Dem

e ca t

A s d ’ v n o o

Nuclear Power Reactor Operator - $93K Transportation Manager - $92K Supervisor of Police and Detectives - $88K Power Distributor - $68K

How do I ask my friend to pay me back?

Talking about money is always awkward, and especially when you’re asking for it from a friend, but no decent person will ever intentionally keep your money, unless you and the beneficiary have some passive-aggressive beef going on and they do actually want to steal your money as a form of retaliation, in which case you probably shouldn’t have lent them money in the first place.

IT Manager - $140K

Be Direct:

Architerctural/Engineering Manager - $140K Aerospace Engineer - $113K Airline/Commerical Pilot - $111K

Petroleum Engineer - $187K Nurse Anesthetist - $165K Marketing Manager - $130K Financial Manager - $125K

My guess is that most of the time, if someone has failed to pay you back, it’s probably because they forgot about it, and if you bring it up, I’d be willing to bet (ahaha, get it?) that your friend will respond with an overly-apologetic and flustered “OhmygodyessosorryIforgotaboutthatIPROMISEI’llrepayyoufirstthingtomorrow.” So don’t be nervous about asking someone to pay you back. And don’t be a wimp and ask over text, just be up front and ask in person.

Get Clever:

Of course, it gets tricky when you’ve asked them once, waited a few days, and they still haven’t paid you back. At this point, it’s definitely not impolite to ask again, but if that’s too uncomfortable, you can orchestrate a situation where you can cleverly drop a “Hey, since I paid for lunch last time, can you get this time?”

Or you can be extra clever and “forget your wallet” next time you go somewhere with your friend, so they have to pay for you, and you can avoid any awkward confrontation. But that takes a lot of effort, and I think it’s ultimately easier to just be straight up and ask for your money back than to craft a scenario in which you passively-aggressively correct the relatively minor injustice committed against you.

Good luck, and remember that you can’t rightfully be bitter about someone not paying you back if you haven’t even asked for them to pay you back in the first place.

Good Luck! -Your Fellow Spawn of Satan

30 Feb. 2020

LIFESTYLE

EZRA ADAMSKI

Lifestyle Editor

Aries (March 21 - April 19): The prospect of not only a new year, but of a new decade excites you. Be aware HOROSCOPES that this shift awakens pressures in areas of your personal life and long-term goals. Opportunities for leadership, particularly in positions of power, will open up to you. If you’re not careful, a pathway will be replaced with a barrier. You’ve always been one to leap before you look; this year, ask yourself why you’re leaping.

Taurus (April 20 - May 20): You find comfort in routine. This year is the year to ask yourself if this is nothing more than a love of stability, or a way to avoid the potential discomfort that change may bring. If you allow yourself to become unaware and out of touch, you’ll be stuck in a self-made rut. Inspect the ways you conduct yourself, interact with others, and maintain your inner spaces. A fork in the road is approaching. Follow the path you see first

Gemini (May 21 - June 20): You may have found yourself reliant on others for comfort, reassurance, and, above all, a sense of belonging. Your personality is multifaceted, and the various expressions of it are prone to flickering in and out of the spotlight.

This doesn’t make you false, but it does bring up a pressing question: Are you letting the right people see the right parts of your spirit? Are you saving the right energy for the proper times? Your time and presence is precious; save your charisma for these sacred places.

Cancer (June 21 - July 22): You find that you only share your deepest fears, secrets, and uncertainties with a select group of people. This is in the interest of self-preservation...or is it?

This new year invites you to examine your one-on-one relationships and exactly where you stand in your social circles. Naivety is a curse in times like these. Trust is not always a two-way trade. You are, more often than you think, your own greatest ally.

Leo (July 23 - August 22): You’re not one to shy away from indulgence and glamour, but where does selfcare become gluttony? Sometimes self-healing is more than dropping a bath bomb into a steamy tub. You’ll be faced with a harsh, yet necessary, reality check early in the year. Take this new decade as a chance to tear down the old houses of lazy, greedy habits and replace them with ones focused on health, growth, and a renewed spirit.

Virgo (August 23 - September 22): Your tendency to lean towards the mundane, even in the interest of effectiveness and prudency, will only hold you back in the new year.

Building from the ground up, focus on your areas of creativity and artistic expression. Art holds value, and finding outlets for it will echo in all arenas of life. You’ve never been one for sentimentality; remember, then, that art doesn’t have to be for anyone but yourself.

Libra (September 23 - October 22): This upcoming decade will bring fantastic revitalization to all areas of personal interest. Years past may have felt more difficult than rewarding, more isolating than fruitful, and more deeply hurtful than anything you could have imagined. Through these challenges, you’ve certainly found your voice, and you’re starting to get an idea of how to use it to your advantage. Joy can be found everywhere, in any circumstane, and you, above all else, know that. Now it’s just a matter of finding it.

Scorpio (October 23 - November 21): This year, above all, is one for making new connections in new ways.

You may have found yourself stuck in certain cycles that aren’t fulfilling your basic needs. Now, possibly more than ever before, is the time to closely examine and consider your current worldview and personal beliefs. You’re not one to easily let go of such things, and you’re usually not eager to sacrifice your own time and comfort for the sake of others. It’s time to decide what you truly value and if what - or who - you keep in your personal life.

Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21): This year is one for the assessment of your belongings. What material items bring you genuine happiness, and which are there out of a fear of emptiness?

Making money and enjoying the products you exchange for it are in a larger focus. Balancing what matters most right now isn’t necessarily a philosophical issue; rather, it’s one of whether or not you absolutely need the shiny, alluring commodities that surround you.

Temptation lies in unexpected places.

Capricorn (December 22 - January 19): Your drive, cleverness, and natural ambition often get you what you want. This year, whether at the beginning or the end, will force you to confront a sizeable challenge or adversary. You’ll find that you must break something down in order to rebuild it. How you deal with this will determine much more than the next few months. Turning to bitterness in the face of such uncertainty is the easiest way out, but you’ve never taken such simple routes to success.

Don’t let it start now.

LIFESTYLE

Aquarius (January 20 - February 18): The past year contained an event so significant that you all but withdrew from all but the most trusted people in your life. This work in your private, personal sector of being will continue in the upcoming decade. How and why you choose to continue to heal will determine your relationships with family and your own internal dialogue.

Follow your gut and disregard your heart.

Pisces (February 19 - March 20): Too often, you’ve been an idle character in your own story. Sitting back and letting life play out works in times of peace and stability, and, as you’ll soon find, those may not be prominent for much longer. It’s time to consider what you truly want. No matter how outlandish it may sound, even to yourself, it isn’t out of reach.

Connections can lead to new goals and the fulfillment of old ones. Now is the time to do something you’ve only ever dreamed of. There is honor in the attempt.

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Durango High School Issue 3 Volume 69 February 2020