A brief version of the HIllside Hotwire Dec. 2918

Volume 20 | issue 2

december 2018

A NATION

Divided

December 2018The

Parent Lunch

Hillside Hotwire • Feature 7

By Sadie Hale• Cub Reporter

Making the most of this time-honored tradition

A mom and her daughter sit across from each other at lunch. Art by Malia Latham

So… it’s just you and your mom/dad.

For some, this inspires anxiety, fear and even a bit of terror. For others the thought of getting some “me” time with a parent is wonderful bonding time, a time to connect, share stories and feel loved. One of the classic one-on-one opportunities is the parent lunch. Here’s how to low-key nail this, bond with mom/ dad and maybe even get a little something extra out of the deal.

Step 1-The Place

Eat at a place your parent likes. Try to stay away from fast food restaurants. You’ll want to spend as long with your parent as you can. You can make suggestions, but don’t make the final decision. You want your mom or dad to be content with their food as you talk.

Step 2-The Compliment

You need to be nice and show your mom or dad that you care about them.

You can say things like, “I like your shirt, is it new?” or even, “You look really cute in that outfit mom.” Make sure you say it in a meaningful voice. Don’t just make up anything, give them a real compliment.

Step 3-Talking Face to Face

Look your parent in the eyes as you talk. Don’t sit next to them, sit across. If they ask any questions about your life, don’t just respond with basic answers, get real with them. It’s your parent your talking to, not some stranger. Tell them what is really going on in your life. Your parent is someone you know you can trust. You can tell your mom or dad some of your secrets. Any parent is going to be happy that their teenage kid is talking to them, and they won’t tell anyone if you don’t want them to. However, don’t spend the whole conversation on you; ask questions about them. They are just as important to you as you are to them.

Step 4- The Ask

Now is the time to ask for something you have really been wanting. There are several things you can ask for. These might include a later curfew, hanging out with friends more often, or where they stand on dating. Or you could ask for things like a higher allowance, a new phone, more trust and responsibilities from them, a change in discipline (ex. Instead of being grounded, you can offer to clean the whole house), or even a different answer to a previously-asked question. Make sure you are prepared to backup your question with reasons.

Step 5-Thanking

At the end of lunch, thank your parent for the lunch, for talking with you and for their response to your questions. Make sure to thank them for putting up with you, and, at the end, ask if you can do it again sometime soon.

December 2018

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Hillside Hotwire • Feature

Would you rather...

By Alexia Stein• Staff Writer

or

Internet

Listen to “Everyday Bro” on repeat for three hours straight.

Live with no Internet for three days.

or

Make a rap song with Mr. Miranda

DJ a gig with Mr. Tobler

or

Play football with Jordan BlakelyHave Sophie Shipp teach you how to dance

or

Live a day in the life of Tori StrehlowLive a day in the life of Joey Pagan

December 2018

Hillside Hotwire • News

13

The art of parking

A coveted senior tradition returns to the HillBy Elly Davis • Co-Editor

Jacob Hale pressed a paint roller down hard on the parking lot blacktop, squeezing out red paint on to his newly-acquired parking spot. He was one of over 60 seniors who gathered after school on a temperate September day to double coat their new parking spots.

During a presale meeting, seniors who wanted to purchase spots learned the cost and what the fees were for. “The $25 is the cost of the black paint needed to cover the spots at the end of the year,” said student body president Joey Pagan. The seniors will need to paint over the spots and clean up in May before school gets out.

Seniors wanted parking spots for different reasons. “I wanted one so I’d for sure have a spot when I’m late, ” said Tanner Norris.

Joel Benavidez, who nabbed the first parking spot, said, “My group of twelve decided to buy our parking spots all together in the first row, so every morning and after school we could all be by each other. We want our senior year to be amazing, and this will just add to it.”

While painting the parking spots, many seniors said it felt like an iconic senior moment, like they were all one big family who had achieved being seniors together. The moment arrived, they said, with a sense of pride and realization that they will never do this or be in this same position again. “It brought the seniors closer together,” said Norris.

In earlier years, Foothill was allowed to have senior parking spots, but they were taken away

after some inappropriate action from the student body. “Mrs. Burkhead allowed us, after years of no senior parking, to restart and build a Hillside family,” said Pagan.

The current administration has focused on developing a community and making the school a great place to be. Seniors said they now feel pride in their school, and they think it will translate to the underclassmen when they are seniors.

1) Elly Davis watches her father Tyler Davis apply a second layer of yellow paint to her parking spot. “While painting her parking spot, it hit me that my daughter was a senior in high school,” said Tyler Davis. 2) Hailee Gornichec rolls the black paint over her freshly-swept parking spot. 3) The parking space of Jessica Koontz

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December 2018

14

Hillside Hotwire • Opinion

A Nation DividedHow politics is tearing our nation apart

Student-written story/opinion

By Elly Davis • Co-Editor Illustration • Sadie Hale

America has been through her fair share of economic downfalls and political upheavals. But what we are seeing today comes close to the mass unrest found in the 1860s during the Civil War. Our nation is no longer calmly voicing their opinion, but presenting their “correct” beliefs through physical violence and patriotic division.

No one should be forced to relinquish their opinions or beliefs. But we as a nation must give everyone that freedom on all sides of the political spectrum, whether it is on the right or the left. We might not always agree with one another, but we must share our political thoughts through civil communication and not through physical violence.

The United States has been a nation of change since its birth in 1776. Currently, in America, it is impossible to try and find the initial trigger for our nation’s current divide, though, in my opinion, the election of 2016 between current U.S. President Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State stands out as the most recent trigger. Throughout the year leading up to and after the election, the saying ‘lesser

of two evils’ was heard quite frequently, this being the most PG-13 of the sayings. I feel that our nation was only trying to decide who would hurt the nation the least, and the ‘silent majority’ chose Trump instead of Clinton, which the Democratic party was not happy about, and who then became quite loud and sometimes violent in their opposition.

Since this election, the two sides have been split apart more frequently and destructively. In 2018, Republicans and Democrats feel like they’re on different planets. Our world is a Twilight Zone episode where each day we think that the horror and discomfort will be over, but in reality, it never is. So we must talk to one another and solve the problems and differences ourselves.

Since President Trump has been in office, “Fake news” has been thrown around quite often, mainly about CNN and other news groups formed by clear political parties. In my opinion, more often than not, the news will show their viewers what fits their narrative or just make up facts that never really happened.

An example of news groups changing stories to fit their narrative is the

Trump Tower Story, where there was an alleged secret meeting between a handful of heads of state. But all of the quotes were from anonymous sources who were not credible. The news channel continued to take back their story and recant events, eventually phasing out the buzz and story altogether.

I feel that neither CNN nor Fox News present

straight facts. They present things that make their channel or their beliefs look better. Some of us might remember when news was just that: news, little to no opinion embedded into what we heard so that we could make up our own minds and form conclusions based on the facts.

For those who truly want the facts, I feel the best place to

December 2018

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get news is overseas. Outsourcing news allows us to find sources who have little reason to dabble in American politics. Another tip is to look for sources listed in a news article or video. For example, Lowder with Crowder, a YouTube political comedian, lists his facts on the screen

of his videos so viewers can decide if those news sources are really credible.

Each one of us has the responsibility to ferret out the real truth behind the opinions.

As a nation, we watched as Dr. Blasey Ford testified against Justice Brett Kavanaugh saying he sexually assaulted her in the early 1980s. It was our generation’s OJ case, only OJ did not go away after the case was over, but no one has heard from Ford since, and she chose not to pursue any lawsuit against Kavanaugh.

Obviously, it is necessary to take any woman seriously if she claims that she has been sexually assaulted, but we have a policy in America that the accused are ‘innocent until proven guilty,’ not guilty because the media says they are.

It is a scary time to be a man. If we always believe the woman and take her word for it, anyone could accuse

anyone of sexually assaulting them, and their lives could be over. An example would be the Rolling Stone article about the University of Virginia’s alleged gang rape, which never happened. Rolling Stone used discredited news sources for the article, and that false story nearly destroyed an entire team’s reputation. Rolling Stone retracted the story in its entirety on April 5, 2015.

Look at the facts and figure out for yourself what the real truth is.

Being completely divided from one another through politics and everyday life will result in our country being split apart. Find out the facts for yourself and learn what you truly believe. The country and its ability to move forward is lost when no one will talk to each other anymore. Talk to each other about your beliefs, but be cool about it. Political change starts with one person having a conversation with a friend a neighbor, or even a family member.

December 2018

18

Hillside Hotwire • Feature

TOP

10OF 2018

Ayla Thompson • Staff Writer

December 2018

The year of 2018 is almost over, and it has produced a lot of new movies, albums, styles, and more, and they’ve been a big hit here at the Hill. Whether it’s movies, albums or television shows, we all have our favorites.

Top 10 Albums: At #1 we have Ed Sheeran’s Divide. Produced in March of 2017, his songs still stuck big time as we went into 2018.

#2 is Drake’s Scorpion. Drake’s newest album was a big hit among teens and young adults. The album name relates to Drake’s zodiac sign, Scorpio, which was very influential in relation to his album.

Shawn Mendes’ new album, titled with his own name, is #3. Released in May, it featured “In My Blood,” which is basically just him talking about himself and the

issues he faces. #4 is BTS’ Love Yourself Answer. The world renowned K-pop boy-band released more than one album this year, but their most recent album Love Yourself; Answer was a bit hit among A.R.M.Ys (name for BTS fans) and even those who weren’t fans.

Sophomore Trinity Jones said the album definitely portrays a message that inspires many. “The whole album all gives the inspirational message that you should love yourself,” said Jones, “and that loving yourself is one of the most important things you should do.”

At #5 is The Thrill of it All by Sam Smith, released November 2017, the album still received tons of positive

feedback coming into 2018. Also released in November of 2017, Taylor Swift’s, Reputation, was popular and hit #6. #7 is Kamikaze by Eminem, released August 31 of this year, and it was a surprise to his fans, because he released his previous album, Revival less than a year ago. In the album, he throws down everyone he has a problem with.

Rag ‘n’ Bone Man’s album Human is #8, with the popular song “Human” featured.

At #9 is Trench by Twenty-One Pilots. After being silent on social media and in their music careers, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dunn came back with this new album.

Lastly at #10 is Dua Lipa’s self-titled album. The overall theme from her album was girls supporting each other.

Fashion Trends

70s and 90s styles made a comeback. The most popular trend was old school Vans.

At #2 is jean jackets, which are a part of the return of the

70s and 90s, which can also be paired with #3, crop tops.

High-waisted and ripped jeans were popular as well, and they stand at #4. Freshman Jordan Elise said that

Movies The #1 movie of the year was Black Panther. #2 is Avengers: Infinity War. With a tragic be-

Hillside Hotwire • Feature 19

ripped jeans are a favorite ginning and ending, the movie among high school-aged people and even older people. “ I Taking the #3 spot is In-

gave fans a lot to process.

think at first ripped jeans were credibles 2. Approximately 13 considered trashy and rough years after the first movie was looking,” said Elise, “but once released, the movie caused a they were able to be modernized and controlled, they young and old.

fairly large stir among those

became a big part of today’s #4 is Jurassic World: Fallen style.”

Kingdom followed by Deadpool 2, which made $700 mil-

Though it was a bigger trend in the beginning of the lion, the fifth highest grossing year, overalls were common movie of the year. in stores like Forever 21, H&M and more. To pair with overalls and high-waisted or ripped jeans, old band t-shirts were popular and are #6 in the top

10. Bands like Led Zeppelin, Def Leppard, and AC/DC shirts were common.

#7 is Adidas, with the classic and popular black and white shoes that many seemed to love.

#8 is baseball caps. With small embroidered designs on them, they are a perfect way to “top” off your outfit. Laced and criss-crossed clothing has stuck around since 2017, and are now even on pants.

At #10 is Crocs. The lightweight shoe with holes all along the top are a go-to shoe for those who don’t want to spend the time getting into sneakers.

At #6, is Mission Impossible: Fallout, which was more of a hit for older generations.

#7 features Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart and even Nick Jonas. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was a humorous but action-packed movie that was a huge hit with teens and young adults. Junior Karla Espinoza said that she really enjoyed the movie when she went and saw it with friends. “I went with two of my friends for Sadies when our plans were canceled,” said Espinoza, “and it was a great last-minute movie.”

Ant-man and the Wasp is at #8 followed by Solo: A Star Wars Story. Lastly at #10 is the horror film A Quiet Place.

December 2018

Hillside Hotwire • Feature

23

RoadRacing

A sport popular in ages past makes a healthy comeback

By Mckayla Gardiner • Cub Reporter

Alysa Gardiner tucked

herself into the incredibly small space of her soap box derby car. Her blood rushed throughout her body as her car handler squished her all the way into the capsule. Her foot quivered on the brake as the flag waved. After releasing the brake, the car plummeted down the hill, picking up speed. As she gained momentum, she looked to her left to see where her competitor was and then ducked her head down for less wind resistance and looked for the smoothest line. As she crossed the finish line in first, she could hear her family cheering.

“The line you drive on the track is key,” said Gardiner.

The All American Soap Box

Derby (AASBD) is a fun, family racing sport for kids and teenagers from the ages of 7-21.

Kids, teens and adults all compete in rally races to rack up points for the nationals. The rally races are two-car heats, and whoever has the best time overall wins the heat and moves on, and the loser gets put in the consolation bracket.

“My biggest fear in this sport is the competition I face,” said the second place winner of the last rally race in California.

To make up for any differences in the speed of the cars, drivers try to use the slope to their advantage, angling for the best/fastest line. Experienced racers will watch early races to see which part of the hill is fastest.

This is a sport that anyone

can pick up really fast. “I saw some people who had never sat in a soap box derby before do really well,” said racer Mckayla Gardiner. “This is a sport that many teenagers are passionate about. Some have been doing it for a long time and spend their free time working on their cars and practicing on the roads in their neighborhoods.”

Racing in this sport has had a life-changing effect on some kids. Now some want to be professional race car drivers, a lofty goal since these cars don’t even have engines.

This sport takes up a lot of time in a racers life so they have to balance this out with school and other commitments and that could be challenging for some of them. However,

all that time may pay off in the form of scholarship money. Also, racers get to travel around the country and see new things and do what they like to do at the same time.

Unlike a lot of kids who have athletic events early in the morning on Saturdays, racers get to travel to different states and have races all day over the whole weekend. But there are also some downfalls or struggles with this sport. Being away from home for entire weekends can take a toll on schoolwork and on friendships. Also, racers might get beat by the same person each race, and the competition doesn’t change much. But all that doesn’t matter when they strap themselves in and plunge down the next hill.

1) Aubree Gresko races down the track toward victory. 2) Alyssa Gardiner prepares to race down the track. “I really wanted to win this one; I have been training for a long time,” said Gardiner.

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