Granite Bay Gazette, March 2020, Vol. 23, Issue 6

GRANITE BAY HIGH w 1 GRIZZLY WAY w GRANITE BAY, CA w 95746 w VOLUME 23 w ISSUE 6w FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020

Gazette THE GRANITE BAY

Tuning into politics

The presidential field is narrowing after Super Tuesday, and GBHS students are beginning to pay more attention FOCUS, pages 16-17

Gazette photo /ANGELINA KOLOSEY

inside

The latest St. Patrick’s Day fashion trends that will surely keep you from being pinched. PAGE 24

The Gazette’s Ali Juell shares her take on the current political immaturity of officeholders on both sides. PAGE 30

CURRENT 2 LIFESTYLE 10 ATHLETICS 18 A&E 22 VOICES 29

We’re online at GraniteBayToday.org

Follow us: @GraniteBayToday

Contents

Page 2

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

EDITOR’S NOTE

lindsey zabell lzabell.gazette@gmail.com

Appreciate the high school experience

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our years ago, when I walked on this campus for the first time as a Granite Bay High student at the 2016 Grizzly Retreat, I was surrounded by people saying, “These four years are gonna go by really quickly, so make the most of it!”

I remember thinking to myself, “no they won’t.” But as I’m sitting here as a senior with just a few months left of high school, I finally realize that those people really weren’t kidding when they said high school goes by fast.

When I look back on my past four years here, I remember saying, “I can’t wait to get out of this place.”

I admit that sometimes I really took my high school for granted.

The opportunities here at GBHS are different than most schools. We have almost every extracurricular possible, the opportunity to create our own clubs and different opportunities that allow students to engage in things they’re interested in.

Looking back, I realize I took some aspects of high school for granted.

In a few months, I won’t walk on to my college campus and be able to recognize every face I see.

I won’t be able to walk up to my counselor’s office and get help with everything I need.

I won’t have the luxury of having that amazing 28-minute-period called Grizz Time where I do absolutely nothing.

I used to think high school wasn’t enough for me, that I was ready to go into the world and do bigger things.

In reality, I’m just like almost every other senior here. Excited to do different things, but scared to experience this sudden change.

As I sit here in my fourth term of Advanced Journalism, I realize how grateful I am to have a teacher that allows us to be creative with what we do and use our voice.

I had teachers who truly cared for me and wanted to see me thrive.

But now, as I can finally see the end of high school coming, I realize I took these little things for granted.

These past four years gave me experiences and memories that I know I will take with me as I become an adult, and I’m grateful for all that GBHS has given me. *** Lindsey Zabell, a senior, is a Gazette senior editor.

16 & 17

Gazette photo/ASHLEY YUNG

10 30

5 CURRENT 2-8

LIFESTYLE 10-15

ATHLETICS 18-21

high school for granted, but enjoy every second of the four years they have here before they end in the blink of an eye.

on campus celebrate the accomplishments of women in history while raising awareness about the inequalities women face today.

ness: Teachers in the math department join the craze over the 2020 NCAA men’s Div. 1 college basketball tournament.

2 Editor’s Note: Students shouldn’t take

10 International Women’s Day: Students

3 Sexual Assault Reporting on Campus: The Catapult system for reporting sexual harassment and other abuse is a resource intended to help students.

11 Remembering Kobe Bryant: The NBA

4 Personal Finance Course Contains

Sophomore students and teachers decide which social science class is their favorite.

Errors: Content in district-wide finance course seems irrelevant and includes several mistakes.

5 GBHS to Add Ethnic Studies: New

elective course prompts students to study underrepresented racial groups to further their cultural understanding.

6 Science Teachers Differ Over Their

Beliefs: Despite different views on global warming, teachers continue to teach climate change.

7 Implications of Coronavirus Spread for Granite Bay High: Recent health crisis stemming from China leads to xenophobia against students of Asian descent.

8 GBHS Contemplates a Major

Schedule Transition: Administration examines the positive and negative effects of transitioning away from a block system.

star’s recent death impacts students on campus.

12 AP Human Geography v AP Euro:

13 STN Convention: Students in media

prepare to attend a popular film conference in Washington, D.C.

14 Team Zeena Project: Friends of cancer

survivor Zeena Alzanoon raise money in her honor.

19 GBHS Prepares for March Mad-

20 Winter Sports Thrive during Post-sea-

son: Girls’ basketball continues to dominate even after finishing a successful season of victories.

ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT 22-27 23 Day in the Life: Take a glimpse into the

daily routine of freshman Braelyn Evans and senior Derek Wong.

24 St. Patrick’s Day Style Guide: Enjoy

these fashion tips to stay ‘pinch free’ this March 17.

15 School Catfishers: Misuse of social media might put students at risk of administrative interference.

26 Say Yes to the Dress: Several GBHS ju-

FOCUS 16-17

VOICES 29-31

cal Realm: After Super Tuesday, staff and students are starting to pay more attention to politics heading into November’s general election – including two students who lobbied a state senator for the right for 17-yearolds to participate in the California primary.

Many Families: The loss of loved ones can have brutal impacts on relatives.

16 Granite Bay gets Involved in the Politi-

niors begin to pick out their dresses for the upcoming Junior Prom.

29 Pets are a Very Important Part of

30 Non-harmful Drugs Should Be Le-

galized: Substance-users should not be hindered by bureaucratic laws.

31 Electric Cars Should Not Be Judged:

New technology in automobiles begins to have a positive impacts on the environment.

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Granite Bay Gazette wFriday , March 6, 2020

NAMES IN THE NEWS

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Adminstration seeks to thoughtfully aknowledge sexual assualt allegations Students are encouraged to disclose their traumatic personal scenarios for authority figures to handle

BY PIPER BACON

sophie criscione scriscione.gazette@gmail.com

The 2020 Boys State nominees for GBHS have been announced

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ongratulations to this year’s Boys State nominees, Gannon Gonsiorowski, Leland O’Neal, Lathan Skeehan, Michael Vaughan and Eli Zhuchenko.

The winner will get the opportunity to represent Granite Bay High School at the Boys State program taking place this summer at Sacramento State University from June 20-27. Best of luck to all the boys interviewing and applying for this spot. *** Fourteen students from our speech and debate team qualified for the state tournament. Our GBHS speech and debate team alone took almost 30% of the state qualifying spots in our league.

Great job, speech and debate, and good luck to those students competing at the state tournament April 24-26! *** Among the many talented students who performed various acts at this year’s talent show, Aly Acaso won best overall act and the grand prize of $100. Congrats Aly, your hip-hop dance routine was amazing!

Other contestants who won awards include Alecsis Dela Cruz with best vocal solo, Caitlin Roig for best nonvocal solo with a phenomenal piano performance, and The Relevant, including Rathip Rajakumar, Dhilan Bansal, Jeremiah Onyango and Hunter Hsu, winning best group act with a moving performance of spoken-word poetry. *** Two of our GBHS choir students, Ethan Han and Alex Paperno qualified for the California All-State Honor Choirs at the State Music Educators Conference where they had the opportunity to sing in front of some of the best choir students in the state. Congratulations to these two talented students! *** All students above the age of 16 and interested in possibly saving a life should sign up to give blood this year. The Blood Drive at GBHS is on Thursday, March 19, and donors will receive a free T shirt and free food, along with the feeling of making a difference.

***

Sophie Criscione, a senior, is a Gazette assistant editor.

pbacon.gazette@gmail.com

I

n this era of awareness, more women have taken a stance against sexual assault and raising awareness.

They’ve been fighting for change, and the change they’ve been pushing for has begun to push through into their daily lives.

This is being shown in all forms of culture throughout the country, spanning from cancel culture to school administrators rising up to help young girls in various cases of assault and harassment.

Locally, Granite Bay High administrators have seen a rise in students coming forward about sexual assault, allowing them to step in and begin helping young women.

This begs the question of how school administrators go about dealing with cases of sexual assault that are brought to their attention.

Assistant principal Jennifer Buschmann makes sure the process is thorough and fair.

The process of assessing a claim of sexual assault or harassment cannot begin, of course, without a student coming forward about the occurrance. “(The student) should always report it in whatever way they feel comfortable,” Buschmann said.

Students are given many options, be it in person or through an email, and even through a few alternative options.

Buschmann has seen several assault allegations reported through the GBHS online anti-bullying form, which isn’t limited to specifically reports of bullying.

She also recommends involving the police if the assault happened off-campus.

The important thing for victims seeking help with their situation is that if administrators don’t know anything, there is no way they can help at all.

While Buschmann said the administration actively wants to help the best it can, each case of assault is different from the next – there is no black-and-white way to determine the severity of the assault.

One student, who requested to remain anonymous, spoke out about filing for a case of sexual assault, only to be made to sit and wait for an answer.

This left the student confused, and angry.

Therefore, the GBHS administration handles “I was told that if anything came out of the each case accordingly. investigation, that I would be informed,” the The only real guarantee is that the police are student said, “and that’s where the case sat. For always involved. three months.”

“If (the assault) happened off-campus, then we According to Buschmann, the administration typically work with whatever law enforcement is did resolve the complaint – the conclusion was in charge of that specific area,” Buschmann said. that the incident was a misunderstanding and that “If that process hasn’t been started yet, then we proper action was taken. involve our resource officer.”

“Sometimes, it’s not that cut and dry,” Bus GBHS administrators follow up on assault and chmann said. “There are all sorts of different harassment reports with a protocol known as the shades, and that’s the hard part of this job.”

Title IX procedures.

Buschmann said the administration encourages These procedures, accordstudents to come out with ing to the United States any allegations on assault and Department of Education, harassment because staying make sure that no matter As a woman, I’m looking silent is more dangerous than what, any public school is speaking out. required to follow up on any at (the allegations) with a Students who have been allegations of sexual assault microscope. If I were in the victimized aren’t alone – many and harassment and make of their peers at GBHS are sure it is taken care of and victim’s shoes, how would I ended immediately. willing to help and will be “Under Title IX, even there with them through such have felt? if the police are dealing a difficult process.

– Jennifer Buschmann with (the sexual assault “If anybody’s assaulted, allegation), we follow up,” they should step up and trust Buschmann said. that their administration can GBHS administrators, as required by Title IX, do something about it and trust that they’ll keep run their own investigation, making a decision of them safe,” senior Amanda Batiste said. “You want how to proceed according to their best judgment. to feel safe at your school, and you should feel safe “We try to find out how the students interact on at your school.” campus,” Buschmann said.

Batiste recognizes the difficulty of standing up.

The main goal of the investigations, according “It’s easier said than done,” Batiste said. to Buschmann, is to make sure that everyone is With that in mind, students should know safe on campus.

They’re looking to see that each student involved administrators are not against them.

The adults at GBHS are not dismissing them. in the allegation is getting the support they need.

They’re not alienating them, and accusing them The gray area within Title IX procedures comes down to the administrator’s discretion of the situa- of being dramatic – they recognize that their students’ struggles are just as serious as their own. tion, and whether or not everything is presented Administrators like Buschmann work hard to as it seems. make sure students feel safe on campus, and they “Each circumstance is different,” Buschmann sympathize the best they can. said, “so it’s difficult to speak broadly.”

“As a woman, I’m looking at (the allegations) This discretion leaves some students a bit upset with a microscope,” Buschmann said. “If I were in over whether or not the administration is really the victims shoes, how would I have felt?” doing their job.

Gazette photo illustration/ASHLEY YUNG

Instances of sexual assault on or off campus warrant GBHS administrators to ake a serious look at these allegations and handle them effectively in the manner they see best fit for the situation at hand. The number of reports or harassment and assault are up at Granite Bay High.

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Gazette illustration/SOPHIE CRISCIONE

Active shooter drills can result in trauma

GBHS practices protocol in case of an emergency

BY LINDSEY ZABELL

E

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

lzabell.gazette@gmail.com

ver since the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, 2018, schools nationwide have begun to take serious precautions regarding how they can prevent such a situation.

On the GBHS campus, there are certain mandatory safety precautions that each classroom must go through. This ranges from certain safety slideshows to practicing how to hide and lock classrooms in the event of a real threat on or near the campus.

In recent weeks, the American Federation of Teachers and the National Educators Association – the two biggest teacher unions in the country – have released a report stating that practicing active shooter drills on K-12 campuses can actually cause more trauma and fear in students. This is because of the fact that in some cases, these active shooter drills can turn out to be too realistic, causing trauma to students, especially those with special needs or who are younger.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 95% of American public

schools conduct some form of regular active shooter safety drill – sometimes called a lockdown or active-threat drill.

Granite Bay High does not participate in these types of active-shooter drills. Instead, GBHS does non-active lockdowns, in which students, teachers and staff members are instructed to be silent, lock the doors and turn off the lights – but there is no shooter simulation..

Although these lockdown drills do not involve the realistic aspects of an actual active shooter, they can still cause fear and anxiety.

Rob Wilcox, the deputy director of policy and strategy for the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, told Maine Public Radio that these active shooter drills are scaring students across America.

“We’re seeing students who are suffering pretty significant trauma from lack of ability to pay attention in class, to nightmares, to nail-biting, to kind of constant fear and anxiety,” Wilcox said.

After the extended GBHS lockdown that was initiated in response to a concerning note left in a bathroom stall in February 2018 – just 11 days after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida – several students and parents began to show

concern about lockdowns and what they could really mean in an the event of a real threat.

“The unknown can be the biggest fear,” said assistant principal Greg Sloan, regarding lockdown drills at GBHS. “That’s kind of been a focus in our district conversations, is how do we make the reunifications smooth and appropriate and also not scare parents beyond what they need to actually worry about.”

Senior Sienne Le agrees that these lockdown drills can sometimes cause more unwanted fear in students.

“I understand that it’s really important to practice it, and I’d rather us practice doing the (lockdown) drills than not,” Le said. “But it makes you just think about what could happen more than if (we) didn’t practice the drills.”

According to Sloan, GBHS has taken several steps to reduce the odds of an active-shooter incident from happening on campus.

“Some of the precautions are the physical environment,” Sloan said. “The fences that were locked (and certain) procedures (such as) coming through the front. It doesn’t prevent everything, but the idea is slowing down what could occur because every minute is crucial.”

Wilcox, in his interview, reiterated that preparation is important, but it can go overboard.

“Staff in schools certainly need to be made aware of the procedures and protocols. If there’s

an emergency, they need to be ready to lock down a school at a moment’s notice,” Wilcox said. “ But when it comes to preparing students, we have to be mindful of the impact that this could have on them, because the data and evidence is showing that extreme drills, unannounced drills are not doing anything to prepare students and are really causing more harm than good.

Because of the emotional toll active-shooter drills can have on students, the schools in the Roseville Joint Union High School District all avoid the most realistic sorts of drills.

“I’ve actually been in active shooter drills where someone has a gun with blanks and they actually try to break into the room and you actually run and barricade,” Sloan said. “I signed a waiver and I’m an adult, and even I felt, ‘Oh, this is intense,’ and to do that schoolwide ... that’s pretty controversial, and that’s not something we have planned at this time. Our (drills) are lockdown drills (that) every teacher knows.

It (was just) lock your doors, (administration) checked (and) everybody did it appropriately.”

Although GBHS students have never experienced these types of intense and emotional drills, the reality is that thousands of students nationwide have participated in these activeshooter drills – and they have had to deal with the aftereffects.

Personal finance course contains errors District-wide online class includes spelling mistakes, missing links

BY ASHLEY LUCIA

alucia.gazette@gmail.com

A

s the class of 2020 at Granite Bay High has been swept up by a number of changes – including a new graduation date and location and a “senior week” for senior activities the last week of school – the required personal finance course has stirred controversy.

This year, for the first time, students have to take an on-site final exam to complete the course.

“The intent was to ensure that all students are completing their own exam,” said assistant principal Jessup McGregor, who noted that GBHS students in the past had paid students to take the online exam on their behalf.

This year, seniors were told they had to complete all course materials at an on-site final exam – and their failure to do so would put their graduation at risk.

“Per (district) graduation requirements, all students must pass the exam in order to graduate,” McGregor said.

The new requirements have resulted in several challenges.

According to a senior female who asked to remain anonymous, her exam was “score boosted” after she failed the exam several times. According to the student, an adult proctor – who was not a GBHS staff member – identified herself as “admin” and allowed the student to pass even though she had not achieved the 70 percent minimum passing score.

The student could not identify the district official who boosted her score.

A senior boy who struggled to score above 68 percent said the same thing happened to him.

“I tried so much, but then the administrator … came inside the classroom and said ‘I appreciate your effort and I’m glad you came out here. Let me just ask you a true or false question since you were so close to passing and if you get it right, then I’ll boost your score,’ ” the senior boy said. “So I answered right and she changed my score to a 70.”

In addition to score boosting, according to students, the course contains numerous content and spelling/grammatical errors, as well as irrelevant information.

“To me, I felt as though the information that was given was not effective as I went through the whole course without watching one video and I did not retain any information after I took the test,” the senior boy said. “There were a lot of spelling errors, (and) I felt

like the whole course was quickly made and no effort was made to revise any mistakes.”

As students have found more problems with the course and exam process, they are being encouraged to report them to the administration.

“I’ve been able to get a number of items fixed as they are reported to me,” McGregor said. “I would encourage students to bring up their concerns so we can address them.”

Several students presented the district with screenshots of misspellings and of broken links for videos, as well as a list of exam questions for which the course provided no information.

Some students brought their concerns to GBHS AP government teacher Jarrod Westberg.

“Seeing... what my students showed me with the amount of Source/ BLACKBOARD mistakes and lack of care … that was frustrating,” Westberg said. Several spelling errors were found throughout the course “It’s unbelievable that’s the product they decided was going to be a Students have reported grammatical errors, broken links and requirement for your graduation” inaccurate information. Fischer said he believes the student focus Westberg was further disappointed by the fact that the course on the course is a sign they are viewing it as an important graduahas been consistently approved and supported by the school tion requirement. board.

“The fact that there are recent issues being raised about the con“As a government teacher, I teach (students) how governments tent seems to be a sign that students are paying more attention,” are supposed to matter – then you see a local government who Fischer said. praises that,” Westberg said. “It’s incredibly disappointing.”

The feedback of students and staff has ignited conversations in Former GBHS assistant principal Mike Fischer, who now serves the district to consider including the personal finance course as as the district’s director of STEM curriculum and instruction, was part of the curriculum in economics courses, which students are the original creator of the personal finance course content, but he required to take as seniors. no longer oversees the course and is not responsible for the recent This adaptation would allow trained teachers to make the perrevisions that have sparked negative feedback. sonal finance content part of their classroom focus and avoid the “When the course was first developed, board members actually problems with an online course. vetted the course outline, reviewed the material and gave very speWestberg said these conversations should include acknowledgecific feedback about the original content,” Fischer said. “I do know ment of the inconveniences the class of 2020 has endured as a that a new editor made some major revisions about two years ago, result of the poor management of the requirement. so it’s changed quite a bit since the original version.”

“If they cared, they would admit they put together a pretty weak Fischer was able to gather the content from various sources product and have (the) wherewithal to come back and say ... sorry, including other state courses, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, seniors,” Westberg said. “My fear is (students) are going to leave commercial banks and credit unions, which often sponsor content here not knowing anything and thinking it doesn’t matter.” specifically for high school finance courses.

Although the personal finance course has created additional The revised course, however, has significant problems. frustrations for the class of 2020, students are open to new ideas “I know the revisions that were made a year or two ago were to further improve the efficiency of their financial education. pretty significant, and that there have been some concerns raised “I feel as though this course could be taught proficiently if recently about some of the content,” Fischer said. (there) were an actual class for it during the last term of senior According to superintendent Denise Herrmann, instructional year,” the senior boy said. “That way, people are more engaged to technology coordinator Marie Criste was responsible for the actually retain the information given to them.” changes.

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Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

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GBHS to add Ethnic Studies New elective course prompts students to study underrepresented racial groups to further their cultural understanding

Gazette illustration /HEBA BOUNAR

BY SHREYA DODBALLAPUR

sdodballapur.gazette@gmail.com

S

tarting in the fall of 2020, ethnic studies will be offered as an elective course at Granite Bay High School. Open to all 9th through 12th graders, the course will be taught by International Baccalaureate History of the Americas teacher Jillyan McKinney.

According to McKinney, the course will focus on the interdisciplinary study of race and ethnicity, as understood through the perspectives of major underrepresented racial groups in the United States.

“This course will provide a space for difficult, complex and sometimes overshadowed discussions in regard to race and identity,” McKinney said. “It will ask students to question the origin and continuity of race and racism, and perhaps discover their own area of research and actions that can affect social justice for all.”

Designed by a team of teachers led by Keshila Jones and Avery Beebe from Roseville High, the curriculum will focus on four major under-represented ethnic groups – African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans and LatinX Americans.

Within those groups, students will analyze the concepts of identity, indigeneity, power and privilege, migration, and regeneration and transformation.

“This course gives a voice to the voiceless and the historically marginalized or forgotten,” McKinney said. “My intention is to provide a space for students to have a meaningful dialogue about our nation’s history and how to overcome these tensions through education and discourse.”

As the world becomes more and more connected, courses

like Ethnic Studies that instigate cross-cultural dialogue become more and more important.

“Teachers and district officials believed that this course was necessary in order for our students to become culturally competent, global citizens,” McKinney said. “My hope is that students will find value in diversity and it will strengthen their understanding of equity and justice … (and) will also provide them the necessary skills to thrive in their future employment and life.”

Senior Becca Nelson said she wishes she had the opportunity to take ethnic studies while she was still in high school, as she believes it would benefit her in the real world.

“I think this course will make younger students more aware of the world we live in,” Nelson said. “This is extremely important in that knowing about different cultures can help you better understand others and the connection(s) you can form through the knowledge and respect of another’s heritage is incredibly valuable.”

Nelson said that even though she won’t be able to take the class, she is excited for others to delve into a subject that doesn’t get talked about in other classes.

Junior Krista Nabil said she is also excited for her generation to receive a cultural education.

“I’m taking ethnic studies because I think it’s so important to learn about our world in the sense of race and how people view their lives,” Nabil said. “Our campus has a lot of problems with racist slurs and other issues, and I think if we all just understood the origin and exactly why we should respect everyone and the impact it can have on people, (it could) lead to a decrease in those issues.”

The social impact generated from ethnic studies courses might be significant enough for it to become a state-wide

graduation requirement. The California State Legislature is currently reviewing Assembly Bill 331, which would have the ethnic studies course become a graduation requirement beginning in 2024-25. Until the bill is voted on and passed, the course will remain a social science elective.

“I think it should be a required class because having the human knowledge of ethnic studies and being able to respond to issues we see in society is important,” Nabil said.

Nelson said she also believes ethnic studies should be a requirement, especially considering how evolved the world is today.

“Other classes haven’t really given me significant education in racial content or ethnic studies, just because I think that teachers do not have enough time to go into the depth required for cross cultural examination of history or literature,” Nelson said. “I haven’t really been exposed to many other cultures, so I think other students and I would benefit immensely from learning about different customs, histories, traditions, and foods too.”

Ethnic studies will be an important class that can have a societal impact that will carry on for generations.

“We live in a world and in a community where citizens are constantly grappling with their identity, racial tension, historical fallacies and much more,” McKinney said. “Ethnic studies will help students describe how social movements have resisted oppression in the past and present, and use these movements as models to bring about transformational change in their own communities.

“I have never been more excited about a course in my career.”

Gazette illustration /KATE FERNANDEZ

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Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

GBHS admin makes significant changes to the future school year course catalog Among new revisions includes removal of AP Chemistry

BY MAREESA ISLAM

I

mislam.gazette@gmail.com

n the wake of changes to the 20202021 Granite Bay High course catalog, students have struggled to make last-minute adjustments to their schedule requests.

One course in particular, Advanced Placement Chemistry, is being affected by these changes and will no longer be offered at GBHS starting next fall.

This unexpected announcement has left many students wondering why such a fundamental course is disappearing.

According to Suchi Krishnaraj, the current AP Chemistry and IB Chemistry teacher, AP Chemistry is leaving “... to make the master schedule more manageable and to increase IB Chemistry enrollment.”

This newly announced adjustment might help increase the typically small

IB Chemistry HL-1 class size, which averages just eight students.

In addition, the course’s removal from the GBHS catalog will undoubtedly affect students who lack flexibility when selecting classes. “(The change) will definitely adversely affect students who want a higherlevel chemistry course, but do not have the one year time commitment that IB HL-1 will require,” Krishnaraj said.

For many years, AP Chemistry has enhanced students with new skills and knowledge.

“If anyone had the desire to take this course, I would encourage (them) to pursue AP Chemistry because we learn so many interesting ideas of the chemistry world,” said junior Paloma Garcia, who is enrolled in AP Chemistry this year. However, to see this course go has

surprised many students.

“I was a bit shocked when I heard that AP Chemistry was being taken away from the course catalog,¨ Garcia said.

Kavya Krishnan, a current junior who anticipated taking AP Chemistry her senior year, said she is disappointed about the removal of the course. She hoped AP Chemistry would allow her to grow closer to her goal of pursuing veterinary medicine in college.

“Having this course would have greatly supplemented the knowledge I need in college for my career course,” Krishnan said.

Now, she has some regrets about her course selections in previous years.

“I didn’t plan for this unexpected change, and now I regret not taking AP Chemistry in (my) junior year,” Krishnan said.

Some students expect the withdrawal of AP Chemistry to directly affect the IB Chemistry curriculum in the coming years.

“The curriculum of IB Chemistry HL-1 may be changed (in that) more types of questions and topics … prevalent on the AP exam (will be taught),” said Shreya Reddy, an IB Chemistry student.

Although the final result of AP Chemistry’s departure is not yet known, many are curious to see what the future might bring.

“I am very very sad to see AP Chemistry not offered by our school,” Krishnaraj said. “It has been a very prestigious course, and I have worked very hard in creating the AP (content). … Hopefully it is offered again in the future.”

Gazette illustration /ASHLEY LUCIA

Science teachers differ over their beliefs The department disagrees about the root cause of climate change

BY KATE FERNANDEZ

I

kfernandez.gazette@gmail.com

n light of the recent fires that ravaged Australia, climate change and global warming have been weighing heavily on the minds of many people.

The topic of climate change has been long debated, with many differing views and opinions. And while there is an abundance of evidence showing that our climate is in fact changing, whether humans have contributed to this change and to what extent they have, has been the impetus for endless tension.

Trevor Lynn, a physics teacher on campus, defines climate change as “the big term for all of the changes associated with the rapid increase in average global temperature that we’ve seen in the last 200 years.”

The reason climate change has become so worrying, however, is the speed at which the global average climate has been changing.

“Modern climate change is the phenomenon that we’ve seen in the past 150 to 200 years, so since the industrial revolution,” Lynn said. “Average global temperatures have risen over an entire degree celsius. That’s the number that usually takes a couple million years to change, and we’ve seen that kind of change happen in 200 years, so that is extremely rapid.”

According to Lynn, the industrial revolution – which was the

transition to a new process of manufacturing in Europe and the don’t think should be something that should divide us.”

United States – is the assumed cause the majority of scientists have Though he doesn’t completely agree that humans contribute to decided is the spark for these rapid changes. There are, however, global warming, he continues to teach his classes about climate some sources who disagree, which has furthered the tension that change when the topic bubbles to the surface. has resulted from this debate.

Without a doubt, climate change has been one of the most Although this debate has surely been extensive, the Granite Bay controversial topics in recent history. There is an abundance of High science department continues to teach the evidence in support of humans contributing process of climate change to their students. to climate change, however there is also some Biology teacher Heidi McKeen is in full supevidence pointing to the contrary. These obport of teaching the process of climate change to servations are the main reason that this topic I think teachers should her students, despite possible disagreements. is still debated.

“I think that teachers should always do their Elizabeth Henderson, a biology and chemalways do their best to not best to not be biased in presenting information,” istry teacher on campus, doesn’t support the be biased in presenting McKeen said. “You could be a non-believer of fact that the topic is debated, saying, “Media climate change and global warming but still is portraying this as though it is a debate. It is information. present the information to your students. I not up for debate, when 97 out of 100 scienthink we all try really hard as teachers to present – Heidi McKeen, tists agree. When you get 97% of anyone to information from multiple sources and multiple agree on anything, let alone leading scientists Biology Teacher views so students can synthesize information across all disciplines, then it’s time to ask and draw their own conclusions, form their own who’s paying off the other 3.” opinions.”

Though there are clearly many different Not every science teacher shares the same views on climate ways to view the global debate on climate change, it has been change. Stephen Miller, another science teacher on campus who made clear that teachers at GBHS will continue to teach the facts teaches physics and chemistry, is an example of one of those teach- on climate change and global warming. ers who teaches the facts of climate change despite his differing “It’s critically important to our students to understand it. While views.

I support academic freedom, teachers must be factual and up In response to the topic of climate change, Miller said: “Do to date, and present the best scientific evidence we have on the I believe in climate change? Wholeheartedly. Climate has been subject. There is plenty to debate about how we will solve the changing since the beginning of creation. Here’s where we differ: problem- but no one can deny that the problem or dispute the global warming. No, I don’t believe in global warming – which I evidence,” said Henderson.

Page 7

Current

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

Implications of coronavirus spread to Granite Bay Recent health crisis stemming from China leads to xenophobia against students of Asian decent

BY RIA DHAMEJANI

rdhamejani.gazette@gmail.com

A

new virus has caused a global outbreak from China, the infection otherwise known as “coronavirus.”

Officials don’t know much about the virus, other than that it has been traced back to the city of Wuhan, China.

According to CNN, it’s predicted that coronavirus originated from Wuhan’s practice of selling non-domesticated animals for consumption as a Chinese delicacy.

The virus most likely started in animals

and has now spread to humans, meaning that there is no vaccine ready for usage yet.

Alongside the global scare this epidemic has caused, there has also been a recent uproar in xenophobia toward individuals of Asian descent.

The Granite Bay community has been affected by the global spread of the virus, but in other ways than most may think – racism.

Students coming from many different Asian descents have experienced racism of all sorts on and off campus.

“The flu is more harmful toward us than the coronavirus,” said sophomore Jonathan Lee. “The biggest thing it has brought is stupidity

around the whole entire world because it has brought a lot of racism, and people just want to make a big deal out of it.”

Lee, who is of Asian descent, has experienced racism from the coronavirus on social media and on campus.

“It hurt me in the beginning, but then I realized … I’m better off just not thinking about it,” Lee said. “It kinda makes me feel better that I’m not the only one dealing with it. (My) whole race is dealing with it also, so I take it as a collective thing instead of me being singled out.”

Lee, as well as many other students of Asian descent has been racially profiled as “Chinese” even though he doesn’t come from that specific background.

He compares this profiling to common ignorance in everyday society.

“It’s not even just the coronavirus, it's other

stuff (too), like when a terrorist attack happens, people poke fun at Muslims and it’s just really disrespectful,” Lee said.

Individuals are often unaware of the difference between what might be considered a joke and what isn’t, which is concerning to many people.

“There’s different types of sensitivity toward the topic and race,” sophomore Jaiel Dava said. “Some people aren’t used to jokes like that and they’re definitely going to feel threatened or bullied by those remarks.”

Dava’s ancestry is Chinese, and yet he does not seem as affected by many remarks as other people might be.

If people are complaining about it, then others should just stop,” Dava said. “You don’t want to keep contributing to this unnecessary racism.”

STATES WITH CONFIRMED CASES OF CORONAVIRUS AS OF March 2, 2020

Gazette infographic /ASHLEY YUNG Source/ CDC, March 2, 2020

Source/ WEBMD

This is the number of confirmed coronavirus cases by the CDC since January 21, 2020 Source/ CDC

Although there have been a confirmed 43 cases since Jan. 21, the disease is rapidly spreading. According to freep.com, there are 325 people being screened in Michigan.

According to kgw.com, there are 800 people under public health supervision due to corona.

Current

Page 8

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

GBHS contemplates a major transition Administration examines the positive and negative effects of a move away from 4x4 block

BY MAREESA ISLAM

up is providing a longer period of time for students to work with content (though not necessarily more instructional time), as well as more After more than two decades on a 4x4 block time for teachers and students to build relationschedule, Granite Bay High teachers and admin- ships,” McGregor said. istrators are at least having conversations about McGregor said that while discussions are hapmaking a change. pening, an actual switch to a new schedule isn’t “Discussions regarding the benefits of various on tap in the near future, if it happens at all. schedules tend to be ongoing,” GBHS assistant “At this time there is not a plan (or) timeline principal Jessup McGregor to implement a change to said. (the current) schedule,” Recently, the possibility of McGregor said. integrating a traditional sixStudent preferences will Each type of schedule period yearly schedule into also play an important role GBHS has gained the attenin terms of the feasibility of brings many benefits as tion of administrators. any particular schedule. well as some drawbacks.

“Each type of schedule Junior Eric Antonio acbrings many benefits as knowledged that each course – Jessup McGregor, well as some drawbacks,” schedule has its unique McGregor said, “as … many assistant principal strengths and drawbacks. folks have feelings for and “They both have pros and against each.” cons,” Antonio said.

In a traditional six-period schedule, students He said that the six-period schedule would are enrolled in six classes that meet every day perhaps provide students more time to build for the entire school year, with the exception stronger bonds with peers and teachers, the of courses that meet for only a semester such as classes’ workloads could increase. government and economics.

“In a six-period (schedule) … you get a closer In this system, students would take 24 courses relationship with your teacher all year,” Antonio in four years of high school vs. 32 in the 4x4 said. “On the other hand, you might have more block schedule. homework.”

“One of the primary benefits that often comes Just six classes per year could pose inconve mislam.gazette@gmail.com

Gazette photo /MAREESA ISLAM

A GBHS student’s schedule displays the typical Granite Bay High 4x4 block schedule, which includes four classes per semester and eight per year. An alternative would include six classes. niences to students. For example, such a change could limit students’ ability to take desired courses.

“There are several different classes I’ve been wanting to take,” junior Rachel Low said.

“Switching to a six-period schedule would limit what I would be able to do.”

In addition, Low noted that required high school courses would account for a large portion of a six-class schedule, causing students to sacrifice elective courses for essential academic classes.

“In a six-period year, the majority of the classes would need to be academic to meet the school’s requirements, so although you would have less total classes and more time to process material throughout the

year, you would have less opportunity to explore elective courses,” Low said.

Austin Hailey, an eighth grader who will be at Granite Bay High next year, prefers the current 4x4 block schedule.

“I think (the current GBHS schedule) would be better because you are given a less-busy schedule with more time to work on each subject,” Hailey said.

Regardless of the downfalls and benefits of each schedule system, plans of actually implementing a six-period schedule isn’t on the radar.

And generally, students seem to be content with their eight classes per school year.

“With eight classes per year, it can be overwhelming, but you have the ability to balance your schedule with electives,” Low said, “and you only need to juggle four classes at a time.”

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Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

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Page 9

Lifestyle

Page10

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

International Women’s Day

Holiday exclusively celebrating women can also be used to remind many of continual oppression

BY CORI CAPLINGER

ccaplinger.gazette@gmail.com

There has rarely been a time where the inequalities of the sexes hasn’t been prevalent. But the historical inequalities have shown only slow improvement in the contemporary society we reside in.

Despite this reality, International Women’s Day has remained a holiday to celebrate the successes, achievements and history of women world-wide. The event takes place on March 8 and is a positive way for women internationally to recognize and support each other.

“I think it’s a lot about women empowerment and equality and kind of showing our face and saying ‘Hey here we are,’” Granite Bay High School’s Advanced Placement (AP) Human Geography teacher Kathleen Angelone said. “We don’t want things to continue the way they are continuing, so it’s a way for women to be heard, I think, in large numbers because it is world-wide.”

Since the beginning of the 19th century, IWD has tried to consistently offer a reminder that the hardships and challenges women face never fully go away, and then show how women have adapted to an ever-growing and changing society. On the internationalwomensday.com website, you can see a timeline of major events spanning from the Industrial Revolution all the way to today, revealing that IWD adapts – allowing women to come together over great feats of time.

While IWD seems like it would be a major holiday, some women said they don’t think the celebration gets enough attention.

“I wish we paid more attention to it,” AP Literature and English Language Development teacher Christy Honeycutt said. “When we have students come here from other countries like Mexico for example, in Mexico they celebrate Dia de la Mujer, which is the day of the woman. It’s like a big deal, and

it’s something they acknowledge, whereas I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone in the United States say ‘Happy International Women’s Day.’ ” “It’s (IWD) not like a broadcast, super-well announced thing as much as it could be,” Angelone said. “It could be definitely advertised more, encouraging more people to do more.”

Some critics have questioned the validity of the IWD celebration in the United States because of the overall lack of representation and acknowledgment. Among the questions?

How can such a well-off and educated country have a shortage of powerful women residing in government and high level positions?

“We are one of the only fully developed nations that’s never had a woman in a presidential role,” International Baccalaureate World Religions teacher David Tastor said. “England has, Pakistan has, Germany has, India has, ... I mean here we are in 2020 and we don’t have that.”

IWD, to those who acknowledge it and celebrate it, reveals the injustices and the facts of men and women not receiving equal treatment. This issue is what gave birth to feminism, the movement directly tied to IWD and the current power that drives it.

“Feminism is important because it’s common sense,” Angelone said. “There’s no reason why women should be treated differently, or paid less, or thought as less significant than men.

In fact it should be the opposite.”

Changing preconceived thoughts and notions isn’t easy, but it’s necessary in order to completely rid society of inequality between the genders. What starts as small actions leads to much bigger and more impactful changes in the future.

For Tastor, inequality and the demeaning oppression of women can even become apparent in classrooms.

“I think as a male, recognizing our role in feminism, not speaking for women when they have something to say, not assuming their understanding but listening and allowing opportunities for a voice to be heard,” can mutually benefit men

and women, especially in a classroom environment, he said.

Many educators have begun the process of slowly integrating feminist ideals into their ciriculum as a way to combat sexism.

“I cover gender inequality in my class extensively,” Angelone said. “I know my students get (education about feminism) from me, but it’s not like they’re going to get it from like a math class or something. So if there is a way to incorporate (feminism) as a school-wide thing, I think that would be better. We need to fill in the hole of where students aren’t getting that information.”

Education regarding feminism in the school environment seems like it would be beneficial, but concerns are arising from those who believe educating students and others about feminism should remain optional.

“I believe we can educate people more about feminism, but not force it on people that don’t want to learn about it,” senior Ean Mayhew said. “It should be their own will to want to learn about feminism.”

The challenges for women are not over yet. In 2018, women made 82 cents to every dollar earned by a man, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. Female employment in the science, technology, engineering and math fields has declined since 1990, according to the U.S. Department of Labor blog. Finally, women make up just 5.4 percent of fortune 500 chief executive officers, according to Inequality.org.

“It’s a proven fact that women will make less over their lifetime.” Tastor said. “It shouldn’t have to be that way. We shouldn’t have to be in a society where women are automatically financially dinged.”

Inequality is not going to vanish overnight – it will take time and patience and cause many to go against what they believe.

International Women’s Day, albeit a holiday, should remind many that the difficulties women face are far from over.

“What women are capable of,” Angelone said, “is pretty dang impressive.”

Special to the Gazette photo /SARAH KONDAS

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

Lifestyle

Remembering Kobe

Page 11

Communities worldwide mourn the loss of an influential figure

BY BRENT EVANS

bevans.gazette@gmail.com

K

Gazette illustration/DYLAN ROWE

obe Bryant, 5-time NBA champion and sports legend, died in a helicopter accident on January 26th, 2020 along with 8 others in Calabasas, California. Among the victims was Bryant’s 13 year old daughter Gianna.

The 18 time All-Star retired just 4 years ago after 20 seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in NBA history.

Kobe’s influence reached far beyond LA, however. “(I) got the chance to watch this young man grow and mature right before my eyes,” teacher and football coach Jeff Evans said.

“Off the court, he worked as hard in his other endeavors (as he did in basketball). (He was) an unwavering loving father (and) … community leader.”

“What made him so special (on the court) was his relentless (and rare) pursuit to be great.” Kobe’s legendary work ethic has been well documented since he entered the NBA in 1996 and has inspired many athletes and will continue to for years to come.

The so-called “Mamba Mentality” has become synonymous with greatness in pop culture, and for good reason. “You can point out a couple of players that may have been better … than Kobe, but you will not find someone that was tougher,” Evans said. As a fan, Evans said he could always “count on (Kobe) to work as hard as he could, harder than anyone else, to make sure his team won.”

That drive to be great, however, often set him at odds with teammates and fans. Possibly the strongest example of this was Kobe’s relationship with Shaquille O’Neal. The two were teammates during the early 2000’s, when the Lakers won three straight NBA titles.

Despite the success, Bryant and O’Neal had their differences; Bryant criticized O’Neal for his work ethic, or lack thereof, while O’Neal accused Bryant of being too hard on him, claiming he was talented enough to be out of shape and still perform at a high level.

In recent years, however, the two have reconciled their differences, even appearing in a commercial for NBA 2K18 together. Following Bryant’s death, O’Neal tweeted “There’s no words to express the pain I’m going through with this tragedy of losing my niece Gigi and my brother Kobe Bryant. My condolences go out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers on board.”

Senior Alonzo Cannon, a Lakers fan, admits he had his problems with Bryant at one point as well. “Kobe was someone … I didn’t like while he was playing. I saw him as (rude and selfish). It wasn’t until … I got older and (realized) he was the opposite. He was such a selfless … person, … the kind of man I aspire to be.” Cannon said.

“What made Kobe so special was his … integrity to himself and his family to be the best (version of himself ). … If he set out to do something, … he would sacrifice anything to strive (for) his version of success, while challenging and inspiring others to to step up,” Cannon said.

Though he’s gone, Kobe will never be forgotten. “He served as an inspiration to athletes and sports fans everywhere. … (He) was an icon,” said senior Zack Haug. “My family, being very big on basketball, raised me (to) idolize (players like) Kobe. He was recognized as one of the greatest to ever play the game … and kids looked up to him as someone who was a leader both on his team and in his community,” Haug said. “He was … a legend.”

The NBA honored Kobe and his daughter Gianna during the 2020 All-Star Game with Team LeBron wearing the number 2 in honor of Gianna, and Team Giannis wearing 24 in honor of Kobe.

The All-Star Game MVP was also named after Bryant, who won the award four times.

On February 24th, a tribute was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, highlighted by emotional speeches from Michael Jordan and Bryant’s wife Vanessa.

Kobe was unlike any player in NBA history. He embodied the very essence of hard work and dedication, showing the world that regardless of one’s situation, success is achievable.

From sinking game-winning free throws moments after tearing his achilles tendon to scoring 60 points in his final game, Kobe’s career was the stuff of legend, and that’s exactly what he was; a legend.

Bryant is survived by his wife and three daughters, Natalia, Bianka, and Capri.

*** Editors note: For Kobe, who inspired me and so many others. You will be missed.

National tea franchise goes local in GB Immigrant entrepreneur creates unity through her pursuit of authentic boba

BY MAY LIN

S ‘

mlin.gazette@gmail.com

hake for life’ - a motto repeated in hundreds of stores around the world. The exquisite taste from the just a simple mix of tea, milk, sugar, and chewy tapioca balls is what made this product shared amongst many. However, there’s one company known for taking this drink to the next level. “(Ding Tea) is pretty high up my list of boba shops because their teas and boba are actually fresh compared to other stores. There’s some other places where you can taste the fat in the milk tea and the creamer. This place genuinely has tea and you watch them add the milk to it. They also have a lot of options,” said Jessica Fayer, a senior at GBHS. The franchise is located in Taiwan but branches out to more than 1000 locations internationally. Their menu features from their signature milk tea to coffees and slushies, as well as fruit juices and hot drinks. They’re known for the freshness of their ingredients and commitment to making the experience as authentic as possible so it’s no surprise why many risk buying into the business.

“It took me eight months to go from beginning to end.

I started last June and went to Taiwan and got to know the company, and came back here to look for a location.

I was aiming for Granite Bay High School because boba is mostly about the younger generation,” said Michelle Nguyen, the owner of the Ding Tea that recently opened in Granite Bay. With the bustling of customers coming in and out, the up-beat music, and aesthetic layout of the store, it is no wonder why Ding Tea has been getting an average of 200

customers a day since their soft opening.

“In a community where the sources for a quick drink are Starbucks Coffee, Dutch Bros Coffee, and Pete’s Coffee, I think Ding Tea’s status as a boba shop already makes them very special relative to Granite Bay,” said senior Theodore Tran.

The extremely supportive community relieved many doubts the shop had originally before it launched, and the feedback from the customers is what keeps the doors open all day long.

“I honestly didn’t think I was ready for opening day but a lot of people came and were really excited. We heard that everyone was waiting this whole time for it so we were really happy to see that,” said Maddy Le-Nguyen, a junior at GBHS and daughter of Mrs. Nguyen. “I see a lot of people from school. I know that people are enjoying the boba and I’m happy that they get to hang out with their friends, creating a community.”

No matter what time of the day it is, the shop is always busy carrying out orders. Customers even linger around the store after ordering their drink because of the relaxing environment. However, although it seems to be thriving in appearance, don’t get fooled as it took a lot of hard work to get this shop going.

Nguyen was one of many immigrants looking to settle in America for a better life after the Vietnam War in 1991. At first, she resided in Iowa with her family and then moved to Silicon Valley where she started her career.

“I got tired of the busy life in Silicon San Jose so I decided to move to Granite Bay. After that, I didn’t want to go back to work for the title company. I realized this sleepy town needed a good boba place,” said Nguyen.

Nguyen’s past experience in the business world wasn’t

the only skill that led to where she’s at now. As a single mom and for what she had to go through, perseverance was a sole discipline that kept her on her feet. Since the beginning, she has been working 14 hours every day without a day off.

“It’s tough… What’s amazing is that I push through it every day; it feels worth it. There’s always a struggle, if you talk to anybody who has opened a business. It takes guts,” said Nguyen. “There’s no such thing as jumping into a business and not knowing where it’s going to go. You do it and put your heart and soul into it, and you know you’re going to make it.”

Special to the Gazette photo /MADDY LE-NGUYEN

 Ding Tea Boba shop recently held its grand opening in Granite Bay and instantly attracted customers within the community.

Gazette photo /DYLAN ROWE

Lifestyle

Page 12

The rise of

enmo

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

If you really knew me, you would know...

Gazette illustration/DYLAN ROWE

Virtual payment app remains popular within teenage demographic

BY ALI JUELL

ajuell.gazette@gmail.com

P

hones have everything these days.

Recipes, full-length shows, the list goes on and on.

They now have the opportunity to not only change cooking and entertainment as they’ve always been known but to also change how money is transferred.

Many teenagers have forfeited physical payment methods for easy access on their phones with the use of apps like Venmo and Apple Pay. Venmo allows users to digitally transfer money to their friends or other contacts, while Apple Pay utilizes a physical credit or debit card’s information to make transactions at businesses.

“Most of my friends use (Venmo) and I... forget my wallet (sometimes, so) it’s really helpful for when I need to pay them back,” said sophomore Jerimae Pielago.

Digital payment has become a great tool for any situation that arises, whether it be a spontaneous trip to Chipotle or a split appetizer at Mikuni’s. “(I) use both Venmo and Apple Pay,” said Stephanie Samson, a student at Sierra College.”With Apple Pay I can use it at stores and (to get) food. (Using) Venmo I can pay my friends if we want to split something.”

Luckily, the increased use of digital payment by teenagers is even positive for local business owners. “(Digital payment is) really convenient and saves time and paper,” said Kat Tianpathong, whose parents own a restaurant in the Roseville area. “It’s good (for when) we’re busy.”

Despite the overall positive reception, both apps have left something to be desired for some users.

“Venmo takes away money if you want to do an instant transaction,” said junior Gabriel Weber, referring to the 1% fee users incur when choosing to have their transfer completed within 30 minutes.

“It (can be) annoying.”

In addition, many businesses have not yet begun to accept ApplePay, leaving some potential customers with no other ways to pay.

“Whenever stores don’t take ApplePay I get anxious,” Pielago said. “(There are times when) the store or restaurant (I’m going to) doesn’t specify whether or not it takes (ApplePay), which can be stressful.”

Even though both have a long way to go before they become common forms of payment for all customers, ApplePay and Venmo prove to be the latest successful change in how people exchange money At the end of the day, what is the key to the sudden popularity of Venmo and Apple Pay? “I think… it’s just a convenience thing,”Samson said. “(Also) it’s kind of fun to see what other people are (sending) each other (on Venmo). It’s like a new social media. It’s revolutionary.”

Battle of the sophomore APs Students discuss which social science class is more beneficial

BY SOPHIE CRISCIONE

W

scriscione.gazette@gmail.

ith registration for next year’s classes recently completed, the question for most freshmen interested in Advanced Placement classes was whether they should take AP European History or AP Human Geography for their sophomore year history class.

The transition into either one of these AP classes can be difficult for students who are not accustomed to the higher level content and new style of teaching.

Senior Ellie Scholes took AP Human Geography her sophomore year and although it was her first AP class, she didn’t find the course to be too demanding or strenuous. “(AP Human Geography) was a big change, going from CP classes to AP classes, but based on the curriculum, I think it’s manageable and definitely not too difficult to learn for those interested,” Scholes said.

Some students may have decided not to take the year long block of Honors English 10 and AP Euro, worried they won’t be prepared or perform well in a more rigorous course.

Senior Kara Kleinbach disagrees, and believes any student interested and up for the challenge of AP can do well in the class.

“The stereotype that AP Euro is too hard and only the smartest kids should take it is not true,” Kleinbach said. “Euro is a tough class because it’s everyone’s first AP class, but Mr. Valentine really helps you get engaged, understand everything, [and is] always willing to help you.”

Most students seem to enjoy the alternative, AP Human Geo, but Scholes wishes she could have taken AP Euro as well, for its interesting history content.

“I’m very happy that I chose AP Human Geography because it was my favorite class (at) Granite Bay High School, but I do wish I had taken AP Euro because I didn’t realize how much I loved history until I took AP US,” senior Ellie Scholes said.

Gazette photo /SOPHIE CRISCIONE

AP Euro teacher Michael Valentine agrees that Human Geo is an interesting class, but he does not think it gives students the history background they might need if they wish to continue into AP US History their junior year.

“Mrs. Angelone does a great job teaching (AP Human Geography), and it’s an interesting course, but it is not a history course. It does not give you any history background, it is just that geography,” Valentine said.

Juniors taking AP US History often find having taken AP Euro helpful.

“If after Human Geo, you move onto AP US, you don’t have any history background and that can make AP US even harder,” Valentine said.

Additionally, the format of the US History AP test is identical to that of the Euro exam, giving students who have taken AP Euro a year of extra preparation for the AP US test.

“The format of the (AP) tests are exactly the same, so by them practicing when they’re sophomores, they’ve got it by junior year,” Valentine said.

AP Euro students prepared for the DBQ all year long as sophomores, while the test format was completely new to Scholes and other students who had taken AP Human Geo. “I didn’t know how to write a DBQ going into the class and still didn’t feel confident at the AP test,” Scholes said.

In the end, both AP Euro and AP Human Geo are intriguing courses that students should come into with the motivation and interest to learn.

“I want students who want to be there, history is cool (and) even if you’ve never liked history before, I’ll get you,” Valentine said.

AP Human Geography teacher Kathleen Angelone wants her students to put forth their best effort and respect others in her class.

“I expect students that are willing to open up their minds and hearts to other cultures, be respectful of all people, (and) I expect students to try their best,” Angelone said.

When making this tough decision, freshmen should remember to sign up for a class they want to take.

“Consider what you’re most interested in, (and) don’t push yourself to take the higher level classes if you don’t want to,” Scholes said.

Gazette photo /SOPHIE CRISCONE

ella rosenblatt “If you really knew me, you’d know that I have an outie belly button.”

carson hailey “If you really knew me, you’d know that I don’t like potato salad.”

mehar rangi “If you really knew me, you’d know that I like to do push-ups.”

garrett jeffrey “If you really knew me, you’d know that I like mountain biking.”

Compiled by: Heba Bounar

GBHS media program prepares to go nationwide

Students who broadcast GBTV venture to an awards convention for their excellent work in broadcasting

BY JJ HILL

jhill.gazette@gmail.com

A

s time progresses, each and every person on the planet gets closer towards discovering their niche. For some, it may be a talent, such as singing; for others, it may be a point of interest, such as enthusiasm for cars.

Granite Bay High School, for example, boasts a multitude of differing programs and teams, and with over 2000 students in attendance, it’s no wonder that so many students find themselves interweaving passions with their education.

GBHS’s Media program is a shining example of a set of classes with an easy entrance and a clear path involving higher levels of skill if one finds themselves interested.

While many students may take Media Production, those inclined will move on to Advanced Media Production where they can produce stories, aid in the creation of GBTV, and even attend STN, a huge competition featuring schools from everywhere in the States.

“It’s a yearly convention where students can compete, mingle with others doing the same, and learn from industry experts,” said Zach Weidkamp, who’s been heading the program for nine years and has attended every STN since.

“They’ll do well. It all just depends on how much time they’ve put in to preparing. Anything can happen.”

For the most part, each year contains a variety of different students spread across each class and grade level. However, the team travelling to Washington, D.C. this year finds themselves in a particularly tricky spot: there are no Media veterans attending alongside them.

“We’re definitely a smaller, less-experienced group than last year … but we do have a lot of talent on the team, so who knows where we’ll end up,” Jake Russell said. He’s currently a junior and, as GBTV’s main anchor, is recognizable as in the program.

As anchor, Jake is undertaking STN’s Anchor Team competition, in which a one-minute script must be produced, reported on, recorded, and edited all in the span of a day.

However, Anchor Team only makes up a fraction of the competitions offered at the convention. Students may find themselves creating a music video, sports highlight reel, news report, or short story, which are all projects being undertaken by GBHS students in March.

The crown jewel of the competition, however, is the Crazy 8, an eight-hour marathon in which teams must conceptualize and create an entire production. Even a second late, and the entry is disqualified.

“Hopefully I can gain experience from everyone. We’re nervous, but we’re excited,” said Devin Madden, a current sophomore who is also in his first Advanced Media Production course in high school.

“I love film and journalism, making stories that are fun, and giving people a good laugh. That’s what’s important to me.”

Gazette illustration/DYLAN ROWE

Underclassmen become drivers on campus

Page 13

Gazette illustration/DYLAN ROWE

Lifestyle

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

Sophomores and juniors begin to get their licenses toward the end of the year, causing mishaps in the lot

BY BECCA NOLAN

“I usually try to get to school around 7:10 so I get a parking spot next to my friends and then when I’m leaving I wait for a lot of the traffic to clear out so it’s easier to get out,” Harrison said.

Sophomores at GB have taken the wheel and there has There are ways students handle this situation, since been stress surrounding the community, regarding getting sophomores are not supposed to park in the GBPL [Granin and out of school as a new driver. ite Bay Parking Lot] although some students in a rush to Many students at GB have experienced the pressures of get to class still do. being a new driver at GBHS. A lot of students are “Coming to school is easy, but leaving dealing with these same can be hard because parents are aggresproblems like Harrison, sive,” sophomore Alissa Ansari said.

Hillman and Ansari, but An issue that is revolving the campus are managing to get the job is how students are all supposed to get done and get in and out Coming to school is easy, but a parking spot at school, and getting in of school which is all that and out of school. Students need to find leaving can be hard because matters. a place to park is tough as it is, but for “It bugs me when I back some students getting to school very early, parents are aggressive, up so I have space to pull is not an option.

– Alissa Ansari, out but the car in front “Some of the struggles I’ve had is backs up right after I back GBHS sophomore getting out of Feist parking lot, because up and then I have to there is a ton of cars and you can’t really wait for them to pull out,” see when you’re backing out, if someone sophomore Caden Self said. were to crash into the back of your car,” There are so many people sophomore Hannah Harrison said. A lot at Feist making it difficult of people who park at Feist tend to not leave a lot of room for the students who make it such a priority to get there for other students which is a recurring case for Harrison early, to get out of the parking lot.

Similar to the problems that Harrison mentioned sopho“I get there at like 6:55 AM to get a spot in the morning,” more Izzie Hillman mentioned that, “a struggle is having to Self said. This shows how dedicated students are to getting get there [Granite Bay] at or before 7, to get a parking spot a spot, and what they are willing to do to get a spot, let on the street or at feist.” alone a good one.

A lot of the problems facing many of the students are not For many students this would mean getting to school at so many accidents or parking tickets, but rather getting to the crack of dawn to resolve this issue. school on time, and early enough to get a spot somewhere Many places are available for students to park in, but as before either a parents, or upperclassmen. This has been a a community it is difficult to get in and out with ease, as big issue, and we are seeing how the students are adapting students are proving. to it. bnolan.gazette@gmail.com

Lifestyle

Page 14

‘Team Zeena’ Project

Friends of cancer-survivor Zeena Alzanoon raise money in her honor for Leukemia Lymphoma Society

BY HEBA BOUNAR

hbounar.gazette@gmail.com

Stories about victims of the life-threatening disease of cancer has become all too common throughout the world. In fact, it’s almost become too common to the extent that feeling the direct emotions that should be a logical response to such tragic stories is sometimes a helpless case.

However, when the victim is a family member, friend, acquaintance, or even fellow student, the impact has a far more touching, emotional element.

This effect is a characteristic of the story of Zeena Alzanoon, a sophomore student at Granite Bay High School who survived cancer.

On August 3rd, 2018, Alzanoon was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a rather inauspicious beginning to her high school journey.

Alzanoon recalls stories of her fretting over finishing her homework, laughing about her worry to manage schoolwork in addition to her critical health condition.

“Every time I would go to a chemotherapy lesson, I would try to do homework at the same time as they would last up to five hours,” Alzanoon said.

“My therapists would always playfully scold me, asking ‘what are you doing? Put that away!’

Obviously the last thing I wanted to worry about was school, but at the same time it gave me a sense of normalcy.”

After three physically enduring months and six cycles of chemotherapy, Alzanoon beat cancer on December 4th, 2018. Following her powerful success story, she vowed to dedicate her life to service.

“Finally becoming cancer-free just made me really passionate about helping others get through everything just like I was able to,” Alzanoon said.

“I really wanted to make a difference after everything I had gone through--to use my experience to do something good.”

Her wishes certainly did not go unfulfilled.

Inspired by her gripping story, Alzanoon’s friends formed an initiative to raise $25,000 for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, dubbing themselves Team Zeena in her honor.

Nominated for LLS’s Students of the Year fundraising program, sophomores Saiyra Qureshi and Olivia Kurani founded the project, gathering friends to help support Alzanoon through the improvement of the lives of young people like Zeena also fighting cancer.

Desiring to show Alzanoon that she would never have to battle cancer alone, Qureshi jumped at the opportunity to lead a project directly inspired by her story.

“I didn’t know Zeena when she had cancer, but I know that she lost friends as a result of it, and some people didn’t stick around for her,” Qureshi said. “I really wanted to show her that I would have been someone who was there for her to help her unconditionally.”

Team member Zayneb Bensalem, a sophomore,

was inspired to join the initiative as a direct result of Alzanoon’s incredible personality and accomplishments in spite of the restraining disease.

“I’ve been observing how truly remarkable Zeena’s recovery has been,” Bensalem said, “and I think it’s really inspiring to see how strong she has become since I first met her in her weak postchemo state. Now, she is so active and is always helping around the community.”

Serving as a team member of the project inspired by her own story has made Alzanoon extremely appreciative.

“The fact that I was able to inspire others and that people look up to me as a strong person is really cool,” Alzanoon said, “and I am so glad that I could be the motivation of a team doing something so great.”

Among the main goals of Team Zeena besides raising $25,000 is raising awareness about how common cancer really is, attainable through a story as local as Alzanoon’s.

“I always grew up hearing about all these cancer survivors, but it never really hit me because I didn’t personally know any of these people,” Bensalem said. “By seeing how my own friend had been affected by the disease made me realize how common and how much of an issue it actually is, and I hope that more people within the community can realize that as a result of our project.”

GBHS Honors English 10 teacher Anthony Davis is also a team member, motivated to take part in the initiative as he was reminded of his own son’s experience with cancer.

“My son had a brain tumor when he was two and a half,” Davis said, “so I connect with and relate with Zeena in a way as I personally know somebody young, (like Zeena), who has had that kind of life-changing, potentially life-ending disease.”

As a result, Davis agrees with the greater impact of raising awareness about cancer through the story of a peer.

“The face, I think more than anything, makes all the difference,” Davis said. “For example, my Pennies for Patients box sort of just sits there and goes unnoticed and unappreciated, but to have a student who has gone through (cancer)--to have a face to be able to look at and realize ‘oh, wow this is real,’ creates a greater emotional connection to the issue.”

As fundraising ends April 3rd, Team Zeena encourages any donations possible, emphasizing the benefit of representing the Granite Bay community.

“As Team Zeena,” Alzanoon said, “we are representing the whole community, and if anybody could help donating, it would represent us as a whole.”

Qureshi added, “If we can make a difference, any student can make a difference.”

Donations can be made at events.lls.org/sac/ sacsoy20/tzeena.

Gazette photo /HEBA BOUNAR

‘Team Zeena’ forms initiative to raise $25000 in honor of friend Zeena Alzanoon.

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

Q: What is your favorite thing about teaching AP Human Geography?

A: I love the content of the course. I think it is a great way to expose students to different cultures so that they can become more open minded and become active global citizens. Out of all of the classes I have taught, Human Geography is by far my favorite.

FACULTY focus Katie Angelone

Compiled by Ria Dhamejani

New classes and staffing changes

GBHS admin accommodates additions to scheduling in preparation for a new year

Gazette illustration/SHREYA DODBALLAPUR

BY BELLA KHOR

A

bkhor.gazette@gmail.com

nother year, another adjustment to add to the class catalog.

Granite Bay’s catalog for next year’s schedule requests includes changes such a new Ethnics Studies course, which could potentially be turned into a graduation requirement.

But with only so many students and only so many spots in a schedule, there are always adjustments to be considered, especially with a prospective graduation requirement on the horizon.

“Right now the State Legislator has the bill in committee, there is a possibility (an Ethnic Studies course) may become a (state-wide) graduation requirement,” AP coordinator Jillyan McKinney said.

Currently, it is shown on the catalog as a social science elective, and even without a graduation requirement to boost student interest it appears to be well-anticipated.

McKinney, who will be teaching the Ethnic Studies course, says that due to the buzz and interest in the course, it will likely have a couple of sections in next year’s schedule.

“The students essentially ‘vote’ for what they want offered when they choose their classes each year,” said principal Jennifer Leighton.

This year-by-year basis of assessing student interest and desire for certain courses is a factor in considering schedules.

“Anytime you add an extra course, wheth-

er it be an (Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or College Preparation) course, it’s going to dissipate the numbers a certain way,” McKinney said.

This shift in numbers could result in administration shuffling teachers to different topics, to keep a balance in class sizes to teachers if student ‘votes’ aren’t numerous enough to keep a class offerable.

“The teacher who was going to teach (the cut class) would be assigned to another class that fits their credential, or transferred to another (department) that has classes they can teach as a last result,” Leighton said.

According to AP U.S. History teacher Brandon Dell’Orto, many teachers on campus are credentialed to teach other classes.

“Most of us are credentialed to teach almost anything in our field (of study),” Dell’Orto said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re good at (teaching those topics), and it doesn’t necessarily mean that we want to (either.)”

If the Ethnic Studies course does end up becoming a graduation requirement, then everything will change, according to McKinney.

“When you require three years of social science or physical education, it impacts the master schedule depending on what the district decides (to do),” McKinney said, and it would be no different for an ethnic studies course graduation requirement.

At the moment, there are no additional graduation requirements that GBHS faculty or students have to consider for next year’s classes.

Lifestyle

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

Page 15

Social Mediation

Students fear the possibility of administration interfering with their online identities

BY JJ HILL

W

jhill.gazette@gmail.com

hen posting to social media, it’s easy to assume that the only people seeing your photos are those who follow you, especially with a private account.

Unfortunately, the opposite may be true.

With its everlasting presence only increasing over time, platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat are becoming somewhat of a doubleedged sword. While they facilitate the easy spread of information and encourage their users to share almost every aspect of their lives, social media also allows those without explicit permission to view profiles and gain a private insight into someone’s life.

To combat this, schools are encouraged to initiate conversations about social media with their students in order to prevent oversharing online. For example, in August 2016, Cavitt Junior High hired James Munton, a motivational speaker and author who had designed his CyberSense presentation around posts gathered from at-the-time students.

While the posts were rather mundane and littered with non-offensive captions such as “Cavitt dances are lit,” many felt it was a step in the wrong direction. Samuel Davis, who is now a senior, was one of those whose content was displayed in front of the entire school.

“I was kind of shocked and embarrassed …

I don’t want all that out there,” Davis said.

“They never asked for permission. I know it’s there for the public to see, but the school could’ve asked us to use our accounts.”

While the usage of their accounts by the speaker was rather benign, just how easily they were accessed carries huge implications in how social media can be used to monitor students in a much more personal way than ever before.

Granite Bay High School’s student body was given a reality check of this back in 2017 when an Instagram account going by @ deerobins63 suddenly followed accounts with “GBHS” in their bio en masse. The account held both the name and pictures of a nonexistent GBHS student.

While later revealed as a social experiment conducted by a student wanting to shed light onto online safety, many quickly woke up to the possibility of possibly being watched by school administrators.

Victoria Grivette, a former GBHS student, had helped in aiding the discovery of @ deerobins63’s account.

“I understand the inherent desire to know what’s going on in students’ lives to the school can appropriately address situations,” Grivette said, “but using social media breaks the professional distance between staff and student.”

Grivette said that instead of allowing for a community in which peeking over students’ shoulders is a necessity, the school should focus more on facilitating a positive educational environment.

“The middle ground here is to keep pushing things like peer counseling and outlets to share in safe spaces so when students feel ready to share, they can,” Grivette said.

Fortunately, it seems that GBHS hasn’t

Five tips on how to avoid media misinformation

BY ALI JUELL

ajuell.gazette@gmail.com

1.

2.

Gazette illustration/MAYA SNOW

Senior JJ Hill acts as a catfish, using Kylie Jenner’s profile for his own account. begun spying on students without permission. However, that doesn’t mean that they can’t utilize your posts against you if they are incriminating.

“If a post deliberately affects a case, we’ll most likely take a look at it,” said Shon Schoer, GBHS’s school resource officer. “It could be felonies, misdemeanors, or anything along those lines. It just depends.”

If administration is given information of a possibly felonious offense, they have the ability to look at your phone and its contents.

“People are less likely to open up,” Grivette said, “ if they think opening up will just result in punishment.”

3.

4.

5.

Get news from trustworthy news publications (such as PBS News, Politico, BBC, The Washington Post, or The Wall Street Journal). Steer clear of obscure news sites.

Find articles that are straightforward with facts and not commentary. You don’t want your opinion to get clouded before you fully grasp a topic, give yourself room to form your own opinions before reading someone else’s!

Cross examine your facts by reading multiple articles from multiple (trustworthy) publications regarding the subject you’re researching. A good rule of thumb is to read three different articles in order to be assured you’re getting the correct and most up-to-date information.

Use government websites for research when possible. More trustworthy than regular sites, government sites are perfect for getting thoroughly researched and factually correct data.

Talk to experts on whatever subject you’re trying to find out more about. They might have information you would have a hard time finding online and they can help you determine whether the facts you find on the internet are true or false.

Lawsuit threats not unusual for Gazette Adviser has seen his share over the years, but almost all of them fizzle

BY EMERSON FORD

said. “My staff was also once threatened with a lawsuit by a local business that was allegedly selling alcohol to minors – they didn’t want the t’s not everyday that a teacher is threatened name of their business in the paper.” with a lawsuit. However, for Granite Bay For the most part, the threats are made by High school teacher Karl Grubaugh, it’s not people who are annoyed at the potential subject unusual – maybe even mundane. matter of a story and the ways in which they In his 21 years working as a social studies and believe it will impact student readers. Issues or journalism advisor at GBHS, Grubaugh has circumstances which they do not want to be been faced with several lawsuit threats – he estirevealed to the general public are typically the mates at least a dozen – related to his work with focus for these individuals. the Gazette student newspaper “These have overwhelmand the GraniteBayToday.org ingly been from peeved student news website. people who don’t want to “Mostly, the threats come from No one ... gets to override acknowledge that students people who don’t want the story real, serious situations to be told,” Grubaugh said. students when it comes to face that justify real, serious Citing several examples from inreporting,” Grubaugh said. dividuals in the past who have at- choosing content.

In response to the tempted to silence certain stories, – Karl Grubaugh, lawsuit threats he receives, Grubaugh explained that sensitive Gazette and GraniteBayToday.org Grubaugh reiterates the issues especially are susceptible to legalities behind student threats. adviser journalism and the legal “An uncle who didn’t want us to protections for student report that his nephew had been journalists in California. arrested for theft off campus ...

“Generally, I end up a father who said we didn’t have writing the offended party the right to publish photos of a letter and explain California state law – that students in swimwear for a fashion spread ... an according to Ed Code 48907, students and organization that said a story I’d OKed about sexual habits of students (compared to a national students alone determine content in scholastic publications, and prior restraint (that is, preventsurvey) was a violation of parental rights.” ing publication) is only legal in cases of libel, Bernadette Cranmer, a teacher at GBHS who obscenity, invasion of privacy and creating ‘a is certified by the Journalism Education Associamaterial disruption’ of the educational mission tion as a Master Journalism Educator, also has of the school,” Grubaugh said. experience with facing threats from her time Unless a story violates one of those guidelines, teaching journalism at GBHS. Grubaugh said, it can’t be squelched.

“In my experience, parents threaten lawsuits “No one – not me, not a parent, not the prinwhen they believe their child has been talked cipal or other site administrators, not the superabout in the newspaper by name in a way that they believe is publicly embarrassing,” Cranmer intendent, not school board members – gets to

I

eford.gazette@gmail.com

Fortunately, we do not have prior review at GBHS. However, some schools in California do have to deal with it when administrators read all (copies) before it goes to print.” override students when it comes to choosing Another GBHS teacher, Christy Honeycutt, content,” he said.

Over the years, Grubaugh has become more was briefly a student journalist in college as a accustomed to receiving and responding to copy editor. “My advice would be fact check evpotential lawsuits. erything, and make sure the law is on your side “Earlier in my career, I think they worried in all that you publish,” Honeycutt said. me a little more,” Grubaugh said.

Cranmer also has advice for student jour“Now, I take them in stride. nalists from her years of experience.

This is a community of “Recognize that people sometimes folks who’ve rarely will try to manipulate you or will failed to get their way. only tell you part of a situaWhen a student tion because it suits their best newspaper pubinterests,” Cranmer said. “Be lishes something sensitive to the fact that young they find upsetpeople will do dumb things ting, they think sometimes, but that doesn’t they can bully and mean that they should have bluster their way their names printed in the to a retraction or an paper. apology. When they “If you do print their names, R U P can’t ... they grumble LA BAL have a good reason for doing D O and eventually go away.

AD REY so; if you don’t print their names, n/SH o i Having been around the t tra have a good reason for that, too. … illus block a few times now, I ette Gaz Remember that just because you can print know how it almost always goes, something, doesn’t mean that you should.” so it doesn’t get me too cranked up.”

The bottom line, for Grubaugh, is that good Despite the numerous lawsuit threats he journalism is going to inevitably ruffle some has faced, Grubaugh has never actually been feathers from time to time. involved in an officially filed lawsuit for his role “If I don’t get a threat every once in a while, I as an adviser to the Gazette. wonder if I’m doing my job – trying to inspire “Usually these are bluff and bluster that students to tell important, meaningful, signifiquickly fade,” Grubaugh said. “One threat got cant stories and tell them sensitively and well,” filed, but I was removed from the suit at the 11th hour and replaced by an assistant principal. Grubaugh said. “I once had a guest speaker from the Sacramento Bee come to class, and he The family that sued eventually lost the suit.” showed up right in the middle of a lawsuit threat Aside from lawsuit threats, student journalists that went public. face other barriers to publishing their stories.

“He told my students: ‘If you haven’t been “This issue isn’t just about lawsuits,” Cranmer threatened with a lawsuit, you’re not really doing said. “Some high schools – even in California – journalism.’ ” have to combat prior review or prior restraint.

Focus

Pages 16 & 17

GBHS gets involved in the political process

As the presidential field narrows after Super Tuesday, it’s tough to predict how things will go for the November general election

BY ANGELINA KOLOSEY

B

akolosey.gazette@gmail.com

ernie Sanders. Joe Biden. Michael Bloomberg. Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar. Tom Steyer. Elizabeth Warren. All are featured in the latest political headlines, and until last weekend, all had been competing for success on Super Tuesday.

Since 1984, the first Tuesday of March during the election year has been a significant day in the making or breaking of a presidential candidate’s success.

Super Tuesday is the first multi-state primary election. Primaries were first used as a form of getting a candidate’s name out there by John Kennedy, who in 1960 ended up campaigning in many states asking for people’s votes.

After Kennedy’s successful election, in 1969 primaries became essential to a candidate’s success – they changed the game. “(Primaries) are kind of a preview warm-up election where the Democrats only vote for Democrats and the Republicans vote for only the Republicans,” Granite Bay High Advanced Placement United (It) really kind of shoots States History teacher Brandon the direction of who’s Dell’Orto said.

Super Tuesday usually consists probably going to get of about a dozen or more states, however this number changes the nomination, a ton of every four years as states attempt people will probably drop to front-load the calendar in order to have their delegate votes out after Super Tuesday be more meaningful.

“It became obvious that if depending on how they you’re a state that has a primary do. late in the calendar year, they may have already chosen who the person is before you can – Jarrod Westberg, vote so you have no say in it, so states started jumping on top of AP Government teacher each other to get earlier (dates),” Dell’Orto said.

Overall, this first multi-state primary – which happened earlier this week on Tuesday – is significant in determining the success of a candidate. “(It) really kind of shoots the direction of who’s probably going to get the nomination, a ton of people will probably drop out after Super Tuesday depending on how they do,” AP government teacher Jarrod Westberg said.

In fact, candidates Pete Buttigieg and Tom Steyer dropped out last weekend after the South Carolina primary. Political pundits suggested Sen. Klobuchar and possibly Sen. Warren were most likely to drop out after Super Tuesday. If and when they do drop out, that would leave former vice president Biden, Sen. Sanders and former New York City mayor Bloomberg still in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Candidates will be campaigning with rallies in states that they infer they might have a good chance of winning – a candidate who is able to appeal to many states on a more national, rather than one on one level, is certain to be more successful. “(Pres. Donald) Trump performed very well on Super Tuesday (in 2016), and that kind of made the whole narrative going, ‘Woah, this guy can actually win,’ because remember at the beginning, no one thought that he could get the nomination,” Westberg said. “But then it was like, ‘Woah, he is a major national candidate right now.’”

This year Super Tuesday was more significant for California as the state has been able to jump up in the calendar for its primary election.

“California used to have (its primary) in June, and by the time it got to us they had already long decided, so this is the first year that California basically has jumped up,” Dell’Orto said, “It’s one of 50 states but it has 55 of the delegates that are going to be in the Electoral College which is like one tenth (of the national total).”

Winning the state of California can serve as a campaign-saving outcome for a candidate because of the large number of delegates the state offers.

“Proportionally it’s a big big state, so if you can win California, you can afford to lose in lots of other states, so the significance of California is you probably have a pretty humongous backing,” Dell’Orto said.

Although Super Tuesday might be more significant, caucuses – such as those already held in Iowa and Nevada – also serve as important opportunities for candidates to stand out, put their names out into the public and gain financial support from donors.

“The caucuses are so important because you get the media attention and all that, then Super Tuesday’s really more of an OK, who’s going to get that number of delegates, who’s really so diverse of a candidate that they can get different states,” Westberg said.

A national candidate is a candidate who is able to please many diverse groups throughout the country, and national candidates seem to perform better in both caucuses – and especially in the Super Tuesday primary.

“You have to have national recognition because you have all these different states, western states, eastern states, southern states and all these different ideologies, and now you’ve got to really appeal to the masses,” Westberg said.

This election season, however, has been one to ponder the predicted results as many of the candidates can appear as national candidates who are constantly going head to head with one another.

“It’s going to be interesting,” Dell’Orto said. “I would have predicted Joe Biden just a while back, but it’s been interesting seeing how passionate people are for Bernie, the people that really love Pete Buttigieg really love him, Amy Klobuchar is the one that has got a lot of experience, and you know finally she started popping on the screen a little bit.

“I don’t think that you can discount, however, how important the television ads are, when Michael Bloomberg and Tom Steyer are just pouring tens of millions of dollars into the ads, this is the least certain of how it’s going to turn out I’ve ever been in my adult life.”

As a result of society engaging in all the technological advancement that the 21st century has to offer, the media coverage and political campaign ads, especially those of billionaire candidate Bloomberg, have been everywhere.

“Although he hasn’t been doing too hot in the debates, I think Michael Bloomberg will gain a lot of support on Super Tuesday,” senior Derrek Wong said. “I think many citizens who aren’t too involved in politics will support him because of his massive media presence lately, even if they aren’t aware of his ideas.”

The Super Tuesday of 2020 might play out as an important factor in deterProportionally it’s a big mining the extent to which Bloomberg’s advertisements big state, so if you can win did or did not contribute to his success, however, many are California, you can afford to not sure what to predict for election outcomes as a result lose in lots of other states, so of following all the political turmoil that candidates from the significance of California both wings have been involved is you probably have a pretty in this election season. humongous backing.

“I’m so up in the air – I think Bernie will do well, I think Biden’s going to do well, – Brandon Dell’Orto, the Bloomberg thing with all the money and all the commercials, I think that’s going AP US History teacher to tell us everything, if he has put enough money and commercials there to get a serious showing,” Westberg said. “I’m just so up in the air right now, I used to feel good with predictions, but I’m really totally up in the air.”

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2019

From the classroom to the Capitol – two seniors use their voices to advocate for voting-age alterations

BY ASHLEY YUNG

R

ayung2.gazette@gmail.com

ecently, two GBHS senior boys presented a bill to a California state senator.

In December, GBHS senior Zack Haug had the idea to promote 17-year-olds voting in the California primary election if they would be 18 by the general election.

“I got the idea because I planned to vote in the primary,” Haug said. “I incorrectly believed that anyone who could vote in a general election could vote in a primary for that election. I called the Placer County elections office and was told that even though I can vote in the general election, I’m unable to vote in the Democratic primary in California.”

This is because Haug is currently only 17. However, Haug said he believes he should’ve had the right to vote.

Haug brought his concerns and his idea to fellow senior Jordan Greenfelder.

Although Haug is a Democrat and Greenfelder is a Republican, they both were in favor of this bill, since it has more to do with youth voting than the advancement of a certain political party.

“It’s bipartisan,” Greenfelder said. “It’s (already) been passed in 19 other states. So it’s not like only Republican states or only Democratic states have passed it.”

They both believe in giving young people representation and a voice in government, to match current levels of political involvement.

“We think (not allowing those who’ll be 18 by the general election to

Gazette illustration/ANGELINA KOLOSEY

vote in the primaries) is almost taking away the voice of the younger generation,” Greenfelder said.

“In the past four years, we’ve seen a big movement in our generation becoming more and more politically active. In the end, we’re still going to be voting, so why not give us the opportunity to vote for who we want to vote for?”

However, AP Government teacher Jarrod Westberg said there is still a political aspect to the bill that must be examined.

“I know both parties would want to look at who benefits from (this bill),” Westberg said. “The Democrats have a super-majority in both parts of (California) government, so I would see them saying if it helps Republicans, (they’d say) no. If it helps Democrats, they would say yes.”

Although the idea is democratic, Westberg is unsure if it would actually help the Democratic party, since voting in a primary election doesn’t change who wins the general election, only who the candidates will be for each party.

“In the future, (passing the bill) would just get more voter turnout,” Westberg said. “That’s all that it would do. It doesn’t necessarily mean it would make one (party) or the other win.”

Greenfelder said he believes that if anything, California Democratic legislators should be in favor of passing the bill, given their liberal majority.

“We’re a progressive state,” Greenfelder said. “We believe in moving forward (and) moving toward what’s right.”

Haug and Greenfelder were willing to take the steps to make their voices and idea heard.

“With the help of Jordan, I called and emailed the offices of four state senators,” Haug said. “(I) was denied a meeting by them all, until I decided to call the office of state senator Brian Dahle, whose assistant stayed in contact with me to discuss my idea and eventually allowed us to schedule a meeting at the Capitol building.”

The two prepared for a meeting with Sen. Dahle, which was scheduled in February.

“We prepared pages of documents and legal references from other states’ constitutions and put together a requested revision of California’s elections laws,” Haug said.

By the end of their meeting, state senator Dahle seemed to be in agreement with their idea.

“At the beginning, (Dahle) thought we were just trying Special to the Gazette/ REBECCA FONTAINE to lower the voting age,” Seniors Jordan Greenfelder, left, and Zack Haug pose with Sen. Brian Dahle to whom they proposed the Greenfelder said. idea to allow 17-year-olds to be able to vote in the California primary election if they would be 18 by the time “But when we of the general election in November. elaborated on it more and ing, it sounded like (he) and “We know we’re not going to gave our his secretary agreed with the get (this bill passed) for us, but reapremise.”

At the beginning (Dahle) we want to get it for the next genson- However, Sen. Dahle’s legislaGreenfelder said. “The thought we were just trying to eration,” tion period had ended, meaning vote that we’re making doesn’t that he couldn’t propose their bill lower the voting age, but when necessarily impact the country, this year. However, they take his but it could. It has the possibility support as a positive sign and will we elaborated on it more and to.” continue to pursue the passing agreed that the bill gave our reasoning, it sounded Westberg of this bill. makes sense and is perfectly “We’re currently working feasible and legal. like (he) and his secretary on reaching out to other state “I think (the bill) makes sense,” senators to try to implement a Westberg said. “I think an agreed with the premise. change as quickly as possible,” 18-year-old (before they turn 18) Haug said. “But we may not be should be able to be a part of that – Jordan Greenfelder, senior able to have our bill voted on first (presidential nomination) until next year.” process.”

Although the bill won’t be directly able to affect Haug and Greenfelder, they’re willing to continue their efforts to help future students.

Athletics

Page 180

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

Auto-racing community hits the tracks close to home

Uncommon sport creates unity and allows self-expression among its fans

BY SEAN TURNER

R

sturner.gazette@gmail.com

acing has always been a unique choice in the sporting world. In comparison to other sports and hobbies, motor sports has differentiated itself with the thrill of pushing far past the limits of the human body.

However, along with the competition aspect, what truly distinguishes motoring from other sports is the culture and variation of self-expression that its community is capable of.

Though not the most common sport on campus, some Granite Bay High students have taken to the sport and found various ways to participate.

“What I like the most about the car community has to be the fact that everyone in it has a common interest,” senior Jack Gillespie said. “No matter how old you are or what you

drive, you can always be an enthusiast and connect with other people.”

To Gillespie, the sense of community can be just as important as participation when it comes to cars.

Auto shows and local car meets provide a great place for enthusiasts of all types to meet new people who share similar interests as well as see unique and interesting cars.

Unfortunately, motorsports is also unique in the fact that it can have very high barriers to entry due to the cost of the machines required.

But many enthusiasts believe this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case.

“It can get really expensive,” senior Duncan Nichols said, “but everyone can start somewhere. … I know people who have built their cars from salvaged parts.”

Nichols said he believes there’s a lot of fun to be had in cars that don’t cost as much as

the typical idea of a race car, and that there’s plenty of room to grow if you start there.

“I think there are layers to how accessible cars are as a hobby,” Gillespie said. “You don’t need a race car to be an enthusiast.”

Attending meets, shows and professional racing events doesn’t require owning an expensive car, and it can be a great way to interact with the community without having to bear the most expensive aspect of the sport.

“Cars can be a cheap hobby,” GBHS graduate Blake Clements said. “People pull up to meets in ‘clapped-out’ Honda Civics, and they still have fun.”

As for those wishing to actively take part in racing, there are still affordable options. Local tracks such as the Sonoma Raceway allow for the renting of cars that are track ready for an hourly fee.

But once past the monetary barriers, some have found resistance in more social aspects of

the sport.

“There is a stigma (against car enthusiasts),” Clements said. “I have been stopped by many parents claiming we’re driving recklessly just because our cars were too loud for them.”

Those who are part of the car community have long been labeled as reckless or irresponsible by many because of how they modify or drive their cars.

“I think there are plenty of stereotypes against car enthusiasts,” Gillespie said. “But car people are just that, enthusiasts. It’s really just a hobby and an interest.”

Gillespie said he hopes people don’t define the entire community based on the stereotypes and see motorsport the same they would any other sport or hobby.

“While some people do stupid stuff on the road,” Gillespie said, “that doesn’t count for all of the communty.”

Gazette photo /JJ HILL

Athletics

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

Page 19

Granite Bay High prepares for March Madness

Teachers in the math department join the craze over the 2020 NCAA men’s basketball Division 1 Tournament

BY SEAN TURNER

sturner.gazette@gmail.com

E

very March, basketball fans across the country anticipate the largest collegiate sporting event of the year: March Madness.

The NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament is a 21 day sporting event in which the top 68 teams compete in a single elimination bracket to decide the champion for that year.

“I have been watching college basketball for as long as I can remember,” said Scott Becker, a teacher in the mathematics department.“Some of my first real memories of the tournament were Michael Jordan and North Carolina winning in 1982.”

For those like Becker, March Madness is a fun tradition they have had for years.

“Year in, year out, the tournament provides amazing moments of the little guy underdog toppling the perennial giants of the sport,” Becker said.

The nature of such a large tournament allows for viewer participation through predictions of the bracket.

Because of his interest in the March Madness event, Becker used to run a bracket among teachers and

staff, but unfortunately it became harder over time to garner participation.

“I haven’t run brackets with the staff in a long time,” Becker said. “It somewhat ended when all the games moved to websites like ESPN and CBS Sports.”

According to Becker, participation in the teacher bracket declined as brackets became more digital. That’s when he began to encourage online participation.

“It seemed like it would be easier with it being online,” Becker said, “but then everyone had to create online accounts … and it actually turned out to be tougher to get people to participate.”

A few teachers instead have opted to make in-class activities based on March Madness brackets for their students to enjoy.

“I usually run a march madness challenge in my statistics class for fun,” said Bruce Honberger, another teacher in the mathematics department.

Honberger believes the March Madness activity is a fun addition to his statistics class, and he’s not the only one.

“I always have students get very excited about following their teams throughout March Madness, even

the kids who don’t follow basketball,” Becker said.

Becker created a March Madness game that allows for participation from students regardless of their knowledge of collegiate athletics in order to share his excitement with all of his students.

“March Madness is a passion of mine,” Becker said. “I always wanted to find a way to incorporate into my class and share that excitement with my students.”

Many of the students who have participated seemed to enjoy the break from the regular class curriculum that March Madness activities offer.

“It was fun and a nice change of pace from AP season,” said Daven Kashyap, a senior who participated in a classroom bracket during last year’s March Madness.

Kashyap added that he hopes activities like this continue and become more popular among teachers.

“More decompression from school and teacher-student bonding outside of academics can’t be a bad thing,” Kashyap said.

Gazette illustration/MAY LIN

Grizz Quiz Compiled by: Becca Nolan Josh Kerekes

Jenna Herrenschmidt

Laine Weber

Jackson Degner

Ryan Beidler

Italian food

Sushi

Pasta

Filet mignon

Pizza

What is your favorite place you’ve traveled?

Italy

Europe

Hawaii

Europe

Mendocino

What do you want to do after high school?

I want to get a college degree.

I want to become a pediatrician.

I want to travel.

I want to play D1 lacrosse.

I want to become a ski instructor.

What is your favorite animal?

Dog

Panda

Dog

Dog

Liger (a lion and a tiger)

What is your favorite beverage?

Coke

Water

Coffee

Redbull

Coffee

Lacrosse

What is your favorite food?

Basketball

Let your curiosity blossom READ THE GAZETTE

Lacrosse

Lacrosse

Football Coach

Athletics

Page 20

Senior commits for lacrosse at Ohio State

Kiana Perez

BY DARYN CONNER dconner.gazette@gmail.com

B

eing a student athlete is always hard, but varsity lacrosse player Kiana Perez makes it look easy.

Kiana Perez is Granite Bay High School junior who recently verbally committed to Ohio State University this winter.

“In one of my last home games, Ohio State saw me and had interest in me and then asked me to fly out and visit campus a couple days later,” Perez said.

Despite her recent success, Perez’s lacrosse career has not always been smooth sailing. Perez has worked long and hard for her career and her recruitment. “(My recruitment process) was hard,” Perez said, “I was getting many looks at first, until the end of my (most recent) club season.”

After the highs and lows of her athletic career, Perez knew Ohio State University was where she belonged.

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

“Just walking on the campus, I got this feelLacrosse star prepares to head to Ohio ing (...) and I just knew there was no other place State University for me,” Perez said.

In addition to her club career, her time playing lacrosse for the high school team was an important factor that pushed Perez to take the next step.

“Playing in college wasn’t that important to me until I got into high school,” Perez said. “The competition and quality of play is what drew me to want to play at the highest

level I could.”

Along with her tireless work ethic, many people helped Perez through her process of committing.

Perez is especially grateful to her parents “(for) all the time and money they spent to get me where I am now,” Perez said.

Now that Perez is committed, it is time for her to become familiar with her soon-to-be school.

“I go out for my first official visit next month,” Perez said, “I’ll get to see every part of their campus which is pretty cool.”

One significant consideration for Perez’s college choice is her teammates and fellow commits, which she will be meeting for the first time during that trip.

Despite her participation in college related events, Perez remains excited for upcoming her high school sporting events.

“School just started, and we have two pretty big games coming up, so I’m excited.” Perez said.

As a two-year varsity player, Perez is excited to see how her second season plays out on the field.

“We have a lot of the same girls as last year, but we did lose a couple of good seniors,” Perez said, “but I still think we’re going to do really well.”

In addition to the excitement that comes with playing on the field, Perez looks forward to continuing bonding with her fellow team mates.

“Some of my really good friends that don’t play on my club team, play high school, which is like one of my favorite parts about the GB season.” Perez said.

Throughout the ups and downs Perez never gave up and it has certainly paid off.

“I’m really proud of where I am now and I always just remember everything happens for a reason.”

Winter sports thrive during post-season Girls’ basketball team continues to dominate even after finishing a successful year of victories

BY BECCA NOLAN bnolan.gazette@gmail.com

T

he girls’ varsity basketball team at national rank has moved -67 and state rank to -3. Their overall state rankings stand at 20-9.

“I think the varsity season is going really well, we’re all working really well together, and we’re all really good friends so it makes it a lot easier on the court,” sophomore Julianne Conterill said.

“I’m very excited and a little nervous but I know that if we put forth our full effort we can do it and we can beat them,” said Conterill.

The team is confident about their next upcoming games, as well as heading into playoffs.

“Brianna Lambey has had the most impact on the team because she has set by example,” Conterill said.

The team has strong players that help lead the girls varsity team to victory, and inspire the players to always try their hardest.

Boys’ Soccer The varsity boys’ soccer team boast an impressive season this far in league and now move on to playoffs. They have a national ranking of 313, and overall 10-7-5.

“As of right now we won 2-1 against Laguna Creek, even though it should’ve been 7-1, but it didn’t happen. But we played really well,” junior Elon Martin said. “It felt so good to win, and we are hoping to do the same against Whitney.”

The players have a positive attitude moving forward and are excited to see how they will do in playoffs.

“We’ve played Whitney twice this year

and had our good halves,” junior Mike Vaughan said. “The first half of the first game we played against them was really good but we had our individual mistakes on the second.”

For Vaughan, one of the most notable features of the team is their unwavering commitment to improvement and growth. Reflecting on their past triumphs, he feels confident in how far he and his team has come in terms of overall performance, drive, and talent.

“I think when we were younger in past years we thought the team was a lot better, but the talent on this team, we’re a younger based team and we can really see how the players have grown over the season to where we’ve become a stronger team I believe than we were last year,” Vaughan said.

Both players have been on the varsity soccer team for two years, and are proud of their team and the commitment put forth out of everyone.

“Our team chemistry is also really good, like in the pre-season we look like Real Madrid – we destroyed other teams,” Martin said.

“The relationships that I have with my friends on the team are second to none, (they are my) best friends, and it makes it easier to play with them on the field because I know them and they know me,” Martin said.

Girls’ soccer The Grizzlies went 5-2-3 in Sierra Foothill League play to finish second and advance to the playoffs.

In the opening round of the SacJoaquin Section Division II tournament, Granite Bay defeated Oakmont 5-1. In the second round against Pitman, the

Grizzlies were tied 1-1 after two overtime periods and went to penalty kicks.

Goalie Summer Holt blocked three Pitman shots and the No. 4-seeded Grizzlies advanced to the semifinals against No. 1-ranked St. Francis.

In that match, St. Francis scored with four minutes left in the second overtime to beat Granite Bay 2-1 and end the Grizzlies’ season.

“I feel like our team did really well this season, even though we could have easily beat St. Francis, and won the championship,” junior Kelly Jones said Wrestling Elias Mendoza, Talon Niimi and Mason Wilcox all participated in the Masters tournament and qualified for the state tournament. At the Masters tournament, Mendoza finished third in the 195-pound weight class, Niimi was fourth in the 113 weight class and Wilcox was fourth in the 160 weight class.

Gazette photo /DARYN CONNER

Varsity soccer player Luke Garman winds up to send the ball toward his teammates.

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Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

Athletics

Page 21

Spring

SPORTS

Update

Boys’ volleyball team fALL prevailsSPORTS in scrimmage UPDATE

BY MAREESA ISLAM

mislam.gazette@gmail.com

In the first scrimmage of the season at Jesuit High School, the boys’ volleyball team dominated the court.

“The team definitely has a lot of improvements to be made … but we definitely showed a lot of strength and scared a couple of teams,” junior Aaron Solana said. “As a team, we’re hoping to win another section title.”

Gazette photo /MAREESA ISLAM

Gazette photo /MAREESA ISLAM

Girls’ and Boys’ Lacrosse Although the season has just sprung into action, athletes on the girls’ lacrosse team are excited to see how they place in their upcoming games and expect nothing shy of excellence.

“There are girls who have never even touched a (lacrosse) stick and have improved so much,” sophomore Neejata Shrestha said.

As for boys’ lacrosse, “We hope to live up to how last year’s Junior Varsity team did,” sophomore Alex Lang said, “as we went undefeated being 14-0.”

Baseball As the 2020 baseball season begins, the team hopes to improve from their season.

“The goal that we’ve set is to win our league,” junior Blake Bentley said. “We’re hoping that would eventually turn into possibly winning a section championship.”

Softball At their first game of the 2020 season, the softball team lost against Ponderosa High.

The athletes hope to create a better team dynamic and community this season to succeed in their future games.

“We hope that we can learn how to work together as a team and meet friends that we may not have met outside of softball,” junior Kathryn Shannon said.

Gazette photo /DARYN CONNER

Gazette photo /MAREESA ISLAM

Stunt With matches approaching fast, the stunt team is looking forward to the new spring season.

“Our home matches are March 5 and 12, but since stunt is a new sport, people don’t really know much about it,” junior Rylie Van Order said.

Swimming After successful time trials and hosting a 15-team invitational at the newly refurbished GBHS pool, the boys’ and girls’ swim teams are kicking off the season with a great start and high hopes.

“As a team, one of our goals is to maintain our winning streak of league champions for the girls,” junior Amber Myers said.

Boys’ Tennis The boys’ varsity tennis team is excited to start the season at its first match on March 17 against Oak Ridge High School, and hopes to achieve greatness this year.

“I hope to ... win three straight years of section championships,” sophomore Shane Timmons said.

Gazette photo /MAREESA ISLAM

Gazette photo /DARYN CONNER

In top left, Leland O’Neal and Brycen Mogensen jog along the field for Track and Field practice. The swim team, top right, practice in their lanes during fourth period athletic P.E. Second row left, Ella Marks, Delaney Johnson, and Ellie Griffin practice for their upcoming season of lacrosse.

Freshman Drew McKown, second row right, practices throws on the field for the softball season. Bryse Bentley, third row left, winds up to throw a baseball during practice.

Sophie Densham, third row right, practices strokes during fourth period Athletic P.E. The track and field team, bottom left, warm up by jogging along the track.

Track and Field Track and field team members are excited to see what this year may bring. Apart from setting records and placing well at meets, the team also hopes to grow closer.

“I would love for this the team to come together and become more connected,” junior Barbara Maldonado said.

Gazette photo /DARYN CONNER

Arts&Entertainment

Page 22

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

Teachers reminisce on their senior years

GBHS faculty share memorable stories from their own high school years

BY PIPER BACON

A

pbacon.gazette@gmail.com

s the semester drags on, the days getting longer and longer, seniors begin to wonder if everything interesting has just been drop-kicked out of existence by the California Department of Education.

Calculus just isn’t what it used to be.

What ever happened to the epic high school adventures that Disney Channel movies promised?

Well, fret not, because there are still a solid three months left in the 2019-2020 school year, a generous period of time for some wild adventures.

For those who have already accepted that this year has stagnated and see no possible increase in excitement, don’t be too quick to make assumptions – the senioritis hits hard, but not hard enough to stop all crazy opportunities in high school.

Don’t believe it? Just ask some of the teachers at Granite Bay High.

“Me and about 20 of my friends decided we were going to be sick … so we went on a skiing trip,” said Advanced Placement U.S. History teacher Brandon Dell’Orto.

An alumni of Calaveras High, Dell’Orto recalls how tired he was. He even lost hold of the energy necessary to tie his shoes and brush his teeth.

At least, that’s what he said.

And so, because of this loss in energy, he and his friends started on a 45-minute trip up a hill to their ideal skiing destination.

That’s when things started to go haywire.

“The (truck) in front of me had four kids in the front seat, because it was the age of seat belts just starting to be required, and three or four kids in the back of the truck, just kind of bouncing around,” Dell’Orto said.

It had snowed the night before, so the roads were slick. As Dell’Orto drove behind the truck, it suddenly hit an ice patch and began to spin out of control, going over the edge of the road and smashing against a tree.

“As it spun, it threw one of the girls out from the back, and she ended up hitting a tree. The car sat on its side … we all stopped and pulled over immediately,” Dell’Orto said.

One of the girls had cut her ear open, causing her to bleed out, however her injury wasn’t fatal.

“It looked a lot worse than it really was,” Dell’Orto said. “It was just a blur … so we never went skiing. Nobody did.”

Dell’Orto checked up on the girls when they were in the hospital, and they turned out to be alright.

Upon going to a Board of Education meeting, for which Dell’Orto was a student representative, he came clean about the incident, only to get chastised by the board members.

While neither a fun nor ideal trip, it was definitely some-

thing to wake him up in the middle of his senior year.

Dell’Orto isn’t the only teacher on campus, however, with some crazy scenarios from their senior year of high school.

AP European History teacher Mike Valentine had a run-in with his own life-or-death scenario in the American River back when he was a senior at Cordova High.

“The river was high. It was spring, and it had finally rained after two years of a drought … (my friends and I) weren’t paying attention to where we were, and we bounced off a wall,” Valentine said.

What seemed like fun for Valentine and his friends during a rafting trip turned out to be more dangerous than they thought.

While they weren’t paying too much attention, a different raft came up to Valentine’s, bumping into them and taking a turn for the worse.

“We were just humming along … (the other raft) ran into us while we were bounced up against the wall, and the current flipped them,” Valentine said. “All I saw was the raft. I didn’t see anyone in it.”

After Valentine watched the scene of the raft flipping over,

See MEMORIES, page 28 Gazette photo /MAYA SNOW

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

Arts&Entertainment

Page 23

Day In The Life

From sun-up to sun-down, the Gazette follows the daily routines of two GBHS students

7:29 am After sleeping in an extra hour for collaboration day, Braelyn curls her hair as she begins to get ready for school.

In third period Health with Mr. Thomas, Braelyn works on her “True Colors� essay.

7:00 AM

7:32 am Before the bell rings, Derek meets in the parking lot with his friend, senior Cade Scribner.

9:00 AM

Derek heads to his 3rd period Engineering class taught by Mr. Dolan and works on crafting his own skateboard.

11:00 AM

11:24 am

1:00 PM

1:10 pm

12:32 pm After leaving school for 4th period off campus, Derek heads to Chick-Fil-A with friends to enjoy lunch.

3:26 pm

3:00 PM

Braelyn heads to Tops Yogurt in Rocklin and spends time with friends.

5:00 PM

7:00 PM

freshman braelyn evans

Derek gets back home from hanging out with friends for a few hours and starts to work on homework.

8:42 pm Braelyn finishes up cheer practice at Just Tumble by stunting with her teammates.

7:37 pm

9:00 PM

Compiled by: Brent Evans, Maya Snow, and Lindsey Zabell

senior

derek wong

Arts&Entertainment

Page 24

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

St. Patty’s Day fashion guide Enjoy these fashion tips to stay ‘pinch free’ this March 17

BY DARYN CONNER

M

dconner.gazette@gmail.com

ay your clovers have leaves of four, and may your luck be evermore.

The Irish holiday, Saint Patrick’s Day, is right around the corner, or rather, right at the end of the rainbow.

Many GBHS students participate in the festivities of Saint Patrick’s Day, and have some fashion tips and tricks on how to not get pinched.

“I usually wear green on Saint Patrick’s Day,” junior Aynsley Conner said, “this year I’ll probably wear a green skirt with a sweater or something.”

Instead of an obvious statement piece, some students like to be more subtle about their green, wearing only small green accents.

“I might wear a green necklace or earrings,” sophomore Katie Nimtz said. “I like to kind of hide my green, so if someone tries to pinch me, I can flash (my accessories) and psych them out.”

Some like to be sly, some like to be standard , and some like to go all out.

“I’m wearing a green morph suit,” junior Kelly Jones said. “I consider myself very dedicated, so it’s just going to be all green that day.”

For those who want to fully celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, students have shared some of their favorite places to get the best clothes.

Party City always has clothes and accessories in every color in every color, so you have a good chance of finding something green there.

Unlike people who love to partake in Saint Patrick’s Day,

some feel they are a little too old to play dress up.

“I usually forget (to dress up) now that I’m older,” freshman Emily Hopper said, “(and) I gave away all my green clothes from when I was younger.”

The excitement of dressing may be gone now, but some students like to think back to their favorite Saint Patrick’s Day fits from youth.

“Oh my gosh, it was crazy,” junior Olivia Galvin said. “(In sixth grade) I wore a little green hat, and on that day, I actually found a four leaf clover at school.”

Whether you wear green or no green, hopefully your Saint Patrick’s Day brings you endless pots of gold.

Remember to tread carefully this year, a leprechaun could be right under your foot. And if you find a four leaf clover, consider it the luck of the Irish!

Gazette illustration/MAYA SNOW

Gazette illustration/MAYA SNOW

Gazette photo /DARYN CONNER

Special to the Gazette photo /KELLY JONES

Reviews

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

Page 25

The Gazette staff shares the best food, music, and movies from the last month.

Jamba Juice

Starbucks

BY JULIETTA GOLOVEY

BY ANGELINA KOLOSEY

jgoloveygazette@gmail.com

akolosey.gazette@gmail.com

wOrder: Razzmatazz wMenu Highlights: Aloha Pineapple, Strawberry Wild, MangoGo-Go, White Gummy wAddress: 8690 Sierra College Blvd #170, Roseville, CA 95661 Quick Take: The Jamba Juice razzmatazz smoothie ingredients are bananas, strawberries, raspberry juice, orange sherbet, and crushed ice, with a sweet taste yet sourish and more of a juicy berry taste rather than just a sherbert.

Gazette photo | Julietta Golovey

“Wide Awake!” by Parquet Courts

wOrder: Grande pink drink with almond milk, add peach juice, add banana, 2 pumps creme base, blended. wMenu Highlights: Nitro Cold Brew, Coconut Milk Latte wAddress: Starbucks 7082 Auburn Blvd #150, Citrus Heights, CA 95621 Quick Take: A customized smoothie drink mixing a well known drink, the pink drink, with some fruit and fruit juice to get a classic strawberry banana smoothie taste.

Gazette photo | Angelina Kolosey

“Rare” by Selena Gomez

BY BELLA KHOR

BY JJ HILL

bkhor.gazette@gmail.com

jhill.gazette@gmail.com

wGenre: Indie rock / Postpunk wProducer: Danger Mouse wSkip To: Before the Water Gets Too High Quick Take: On “Wide Awaaaaake!”, Parquet Courts packs their fiercest social commentary to date with smooth, catchy tracks guaranteed to leave whoever crosses its path with a mark. With its heavy inclination towards politics, the record is easy to listen to

Rough Trade Records

but hard to digest. Whether it resonates or not is a choice left to the listener.

wGenre: Pop wProducer: Interscope Records wSkip To: Dance Again Quick Take: Selena Gomez hasn’t made a bad album, and she isn’t about to start now.

With her last album, “Revival” being released in 2015, the nearly five year wait for “Rare” was worth it.

An album practically oozing with self-awareness and growth, “Rare” appears to be

Little Women

Interscope Records

a collection of songs with lyrics that reflect upon events from the last four years of her life.

Birds of Prey

BY BRENT EVANS

BY ASHLEY YUNG

bevans.gazette@gmail.com

ayung2.gazette@gmail.com

wLead Actors: Saoirse Ronan, Timothee Chalamet, Meryl Streep, Emma Watson, Laura Dern wDirector: Greta Gerwig wFavorite Moment: The scene where Amy talks about art and an “economic proposition” or the surprise ending. wPlot Summary: Four ambitious young women come of age.

Quick Take: Humanized, emotional, and necessary portrayal of people.

IMDb.COM

wLead Actors: Margot Robbie, Ewan McGregor wDirector: Cathy Yan wFavorite Moment: Ewan McGrogor’s performance as Black Mask. wPlot Summary: Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey find their independence as everyone in Gotham City conspires against them.

Quick Take: Birds of Prey is a refreshing take on the comic book genre, combining stunning visuals with a great cast of

IMDb.COM

characters in one of DC’s best films in recent memory.

For a longer look at this month’s Gazette reviews, visit GraniteBayToday.org

Arts&Entertainment

Page 26

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

Say YES to the dress!

Several GBHS juniors begin to pick out their dresses for the upcoming Junior Prom

Gazette illustrations/ KATE FERNANDEZ

BY DARYN CONNER

T

dconner.gazette@gmail.com

Top Trends

his year’s Junior Prom is coming up on March 21st, and the stress to find the perfect dress is something every highschool girl goes through.

Like most teenagers, junior girls like to buy dresses from their favorite or most popular stores in town.

“My dress is from white fox boutique,” junior Camille Garcia said, “It’s always been one of my favorite stores so I’m not surprised I ended up getting my dress from there.”

As they are opposed to the common stores, some juniors like to think out of the box and buy from stores they normally wouldn’t.

“I’m getting my dress from (a website) in England because I thought I would have a better chance of no one else having it,” junior Kayla Morotti said.

Buying from stores is usually the way students go to get a dress for junior prom, but many seniors sell or rent their dresses from previous years.

LED LIGHTS

Instead of buying new, junior Grettel Sainz is renting her prom dress from a senior friend.

“I’m renting from my friend because I know no one else will have it and I can save a little money,” Sainz said.

Buying, renting or borrowing are what most high school girls choose to do for Junior Prom, however, a few artistically talented students make theirs.

“I’m really interested in fashion, and I thought it would be cool to use junior prom as an opportunity to make a dress,” senior Meryl Isaacson said.

Along with the method girls use to get their dresses, the stress of how everything will turn out is always something people worry about.

“I’m scared for my dress to come because I never know what it’s going to look like until I see it in person. Sometimes it doesn’t always look how it does online,” Garcia said.

In addition to how it will look, Morotti is still hoping she will even get the chance to wear it that night.

HAIR COLORING

LED lights in bedrooms with remote control with several colors are on the rise. These lights are usually put on the top of a ceiling lining a room, and are a great way to make your room a little brighter.

Gazette photo /LINDSEY ZABELL

“I ordered mine from like a different country, so I don’t know if it will make it here by Junior Prom,” Morotti said, “I’m not too worried but it’s always in the back of my mind.”

Even though Grettel has a unique dress from a friend, she still has doubts that someone else might have it.

“Sometimes you think that someone might have bought it last year when they saw Scossy wearing it,” Sainz said, “Its kind of dumb to think that but I still do.”

For Meryl Isaacson, there is extra stress because her dress is in her hands.

“I’m using a trial and error method since I don’t have a (sewing) pattern, so I just hope I don’t mess up, because if I do, it will be too late to buy one.” Isaacson said.

Whether you buy, rent, or create, hopefully your junior prom is a night to remember, and your dress is even better.

LULULEMON In recent years, the clothing brand Lululemon has gained popularity among many students. They are known for their comfortable leggings and unique patterns.

A popular way to spice up your look is with some hair dye.

Recently, many students have begun to dye their hair with natural ombre colors, or even with unnatural colors such as pink or blue.

INSTAGRAM.COM/hairbychazz

Gazette photo /LINDSEY ZABELL

Compiled by: Julietta Golovey

Arts&Entertainment

Gazette illustration/KATE FERNANDEZ

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

Page 27

Snapchat, a popular social media app, has experienced a decline in popularity

BY DYLAN ROWE

W

drowe.gazette@gmail.com

hen it comes to social media apps, Snapchat ranks in at one of the most popular in the world next to Instagram and Facebook. Snapchat is different though, as unlike Instagram and similar apps, Snapchat allows and encourages users to send messages through photos and chat rooms rather than just sharing photos for likes and comments.

Every app has its niche that attracts its users to keep coming back to it. For Snapchat, this thing is called a Snapstreak. A Snapstreak measures how many days you

have texted with one person in a row, encouraging users to keep logging onto the app each day.

Streaks have been around since the app originated, yet as the app grows older, more and more people have stopped worrying about keeping them.

“Sending streaks is kind of out of style,” senior Ethan Case said, “if I snapchat a person everyday and start a streak with them it’s fine, but if it’s not natural then I won’t go out of my way to keep it.”

Many users customize their streaks with drawings, different filters, emojis, and phrases to spice their daily photos up. However, this has become less common because of the change in popularity of sending streaks.

“I still send streaks but they just look like regular

photos,” said Bella Gennuso senior at Granite Bay High School. “I used to customize streak photos but I don’t anymore.”

Snapstreaks aren’t the only incentive that Snapchat conveys to their users, as it also gives all of its users a Snap Score. A Snap Score adds up all of a user’s sent and received messages and photos since they signed up for the app.

“A person’s snap score can tell a lot about a person,” senior Ean Mayhew said, “depending if it’s high or low.”

There’s no doubt that Snapchat will maintain it’s broadened popularity throughout the world. However, it is questionable if streaks will survive the newest updates.

...Hello Houseparty

GBHS seniors have brought back a previously popular app to group video chat again

BY MAYA SNOW

msnow.gazette@gmail.com

T

he popular app “Houseparty” made it’s rise back in 2016 when the senior class was just starting high school. But now, since the beginning of 2020, students have been redownloading the app. A group of 12th graders have started using Houseparty as a form of communication again.

Senior Ean Mayhew said that he uses the app everyday to talk to his friends.

“I like houseparty more than Facetime because it is easier to navigate and invite friends,” Mayhew said.

This downloadable application is safer than giving out personal information too.

“I also like Houseparty more because I can give people my username rather than my actual phone number,” said Mayhew.

This group of friends uses Houseparty almost every day, and they make sure to keep the ‘streak’.

“We keep the streak by going every

night and earning points” senior Derek Wong said.

The app is used for entertainment, but it is also used to help students with their learning process.

“My friends and I love to go to Houseparty every night. We all talk while doing homework, and it is nice because we can help each other if we have questions on assignments,” Wong said.

Some of these same students would also use the app back in 2016.

“I (used to use) the app to talk to my friends while we played video games together freshman year,” senior Bella Gennuso said.

Since then, Houseparty has made its comeback into the Granite Bay community.

“I have been using Houseparty almost everyday this year, and I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon,” Mayhew said.

Gazette illustration/MAYA SNOW

Freshman vs Senior: What social media do you use most? How long per day?

I use Instagram the most, for probably 4 hours a day. brianna duprel

Compiled by: Dylan Rowe

I use Snapchat most of the day. I use it for at least 3 hours. kelsey cole

Gazette

Page 28

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

MEMORIES: History teacher saved woman’s life as a teen Continued from page 22

he didn’t see anyone until a man surfaced from the rushing currents.The only thing the man told them to do was to “get the old lady.”

“I didn’t see anybody,” Valentine said.

He recalled not being able to see anyone, until a girl in her early 20s came up from the water.

“I reached down, and (my friend) and I started pulling her up, but we still didn’t know where the (old) lady was,” Valentine said. “She was under the raft, and the raft had been flipped upside down.”

Valentine quickly realized that the older woman was drowning.

Three of his friends, who were all big guys

with Valentine being the smallest of them, dove between the rafts to get to the woman.

“By now, we were going down the river while trying to get the raft off, and she’s yanking them down,” Valentine said. “She was panicked, turned upside down and turning blue.”

There was a struggle to get to the edge, but they managed to make it on time, Valentine and his friends leaving this adventure with their heads held high, knowing they’d just saved a life.

As crazy senior years go, GBHS teachers are no strangers to the concept of wild life-threatening situations or even weird little things to happen throughout the day.

Science teacher Lisa Goldsmith has her own list of crazy stories from her senior year.

Some of it was small and funny.

She took up the opportunity of senior ditch day, though it didn’t go quite as expected.

“I went to the local lake with my best friend,” Goldsmith said. “We were swimming and I ran into a dirty diaper floating in the lake.”

Her other experiences were a bit shocking, to say the least.

“The power went out and I was in the library.

I left to go to the bathroom, and when I came back out, a bolt of lightning struck the power lines next to the building,” Goldsmith said.

Her friend Vince had watched the scene from afar, calling it “too close for comfort.”

“Long story short, I was almost struck by lightning,” Goldsmith said.

SMART IS THE NEW

With all this happening in just a few teachers’ senior years, it’s not impossible for some wild memory to come out of any day in this final semester of high school.

So, the best thing for seniors to do instead of succumbing to senioritis is to just keep their heads up and look for new, exciting opportunities.

Who knows, they might just save a life.

Even if it’s the last day of school and it seems like nothing exciting has happened at all, don’t worry – graduation isn’t even the end just yet.

“At graduation, when we threw our caps in the 137740 air,” Goldsmith said, “I watched mine – and it hit my friend Chris in the eye.”

SEXY.

Be able to find Iran on a map. Know what the city council is up to behind c l o s e d d o o rs . F i n d o u t h ow t o m a k e a n i c e b ox p e a n u t b u t t e r p i e f ro m s c r a t c h . G e t i t a l l i n t h e n ew s p a p e r, p r i n t o r d i g i t a l , b e c a u s e a l i t t l e d e p t h l o o k s g re a t o n yo u .

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Voices

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

GAZETTE Granite Bay

GRANITE BAY HIGH SCHOOL 1 GRIZZLY WAY GRANITE BAY, CA 95746

Senior Editors: Cori Caplinger Bella Khor Angelina Kolosey May Lin Dylan Rowe Ashley Yung Lindsey Zabell Assistant Editors: Piper Bacon Heba Bounar Sophie Criscione Shreya Dodballapur Kate Fernandez Emerson Ford JJ Hill Mareesa Islam Ashley Lucia

Page 29

Pets are a very important part of all families The loss of loved ones can have brutal impacts on relatives

A

few weeks ago, when I came home from school, my Mom was crying. Frantic, I asked her what was wrong, to which she replied that my dog was going to die.

Usually people have time to prepare.

Usually, it’s a matter of years, not hours. But that wasn’t the case when I came home that day.

In short, my dog needed to be put down, and she needed to be put down soon. She had rapidly growing masses on her liver and spleen, internal bleeding, a heart murmur and likely a plethora of other undiagnosed illnesses.

It seemed impossible. Just two days before she had been completely fine, leaping onto my sister’s bed and jumping eagerly at the sound of her leash.

But the night before she had been off. She refused to get up from her bed and would barely lift her head.

Rightfully worried, my parents brought her to the vet, where they received her diagnosis. Our dog,

whom my family loved more than anything, had reached the end of her life.

Perhaps more than anything else, this event made me aware of just how little time we have with the animals we cherish. These animals can become as important as any other family member, yet they will pass in a fraction of the time.

To me, my dog was a part of my family. In her eight years of living, she had become more like a sister to me than a pet.

More often than not, the grief that results from the death of a pet is dismissed by society. Since they are animals, the pain that results from them passing isn’t usually taken seriously.

But the grief that my family and I felt was incredibly real. She might have been a dog, but we mourned her nonetheless.

You never know when a loved one will pass, and for that reason the time you have with them is incredibly

COMMENTARY

kate fernandez kfernandez.gazette@gmail.com

valuable. Make every moment worthwhile, because you never know when that moment will end. *** Kate Fernandez, a senior, is an assistant editor.

Illustrations Editor: Juliette Golovey Staff Writers: Daryn Conner Ria Dhamejani Brent Evans Alexandra Juell Rebecca Nolan Sean Turner Administrative Assistant: Andrew Martinez Adviser: Karl Grubaugh The Gazette is published eight times per academic year by students in the advanced journalism class at Granite Bay High School.

Content is determined by the staff and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Granite Bay High School’s faculty, administration, adviser or student body.

Students are protected in their exercise of press freedom by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and California Education Code 48907.

Signed editorials and columns reflect the views of the writer.

Letters to the editor and guest commentaries are encouraged and must be signed, although anonymity can be granted on a case-bycase basis.

The editorial board reviews letters to the editor, advertising and guest commentaries and reserves the right to edit and refuse material. Reasons can include length, clarity, libel, obscenity, material disruption of the educational process at Granite Bay High School or violation of copyright laws.

Send Letters to the Editor to staff.gazette@gmail.com Identification Statement GRANITE BAY GAZETTE PUBLISHED EIGHT TIMES PER ACADEMIC YEAR c/o Granite Bay High School 1 Grizzly Way Granite Bay, CA 95746 Subscriptions: $25 per year/ $15 per half year

Gazette illustration/CORI CAPLINGER

Lack of empathy causes stress

nine, and things get really tough.

These are state guidelines, and GBHS does not make the policy.

Stanford Children’s Hospital with However, it would not hurt staff a long road to recovery – and guess members to conduct themselves in what. She was welcomed home by a manner that is sympathetic to all a multitude of messages from the students. They don’t know exactly GBHS attendance office notifying what challenges an individual might her of her excessive absences and be facing, and rather than blaming truancies. them, asking about their well-being The attendance office had been should be a priority. notified of I constantly find her condition myself stressed and countless times overwhelmed by the – but she had attendance standards. been misunderI have forced myself stood, unheard to school countand overlooked, less times when I just like the rest struggled to muster of us. the strength to walk, Had the polisuffering from debilicies not been so tating weakness. extreme, she Many students would not have work extremely hard, attended school and although they during those cite losing funding episodes of as a reason for their alucia.gazette@gmail.com extreme illness intense scrutiny, and therefore could have reached a these same students make GBHS the diagnosis sooner. The only reason she reputable academic institution it is. pushed herself beyond her reasonable Without our strong teachers and our limits was because “they made it clear own hard work, the school would not (she) couldn’t have another absence.” yield the results it has.

Thank you, attendance bureaucracy.

Students are valuable. We do not Limitations on the number of deserve to be misunderstood, overabsences a student can receive are looked and unheard. based on periods rather than days. *** You catch a sickness and are out for Ashley Lucia, a senior, is an one day – that’s four absences. Reach assistant editor.

Attendance policies fail to recognize special circumstances

A

s an active student with involvement in a multitude of programs at Granite Bay High, I never thought the attendance window would be one of the largest obstacles to my own success and wellbeing as a student.

I don’t skip class. I don’t not try.

And I don’t not care. I do have existing health conditions.

Yet each time I approach the attendance window, or they confront me, I find that each of these components of myself is scrutinized.

Preconceived judgments of students outweigh their clarity in response to anyone.

Even with a chronic-illness form on file, I have found that some still find ways to question my condition and therefore issue me a truancy.

Truancies only multiply as they dictate what is considered excused and unexcused. Just last week, I was told I needed to write “paragraphs in an e-mail detailing my exact symptoms” each time I was ill due to the “number of my absences.”

If you do not have a medical background, why should you question the nature of my health?

Even though I have maintained strong academic performance despite my obstacles, a truancy still is indicative of my achievement here in their minds.

California Education Code 48205 outlines when a student may be legally excused from school and includes both illnesses and medical appointments.

These are a few examples of excusable absences protected under the education code, and may not be deemed truancies. Yet, for many students these guidelines are not upheld.

It has taken me these past four years to realize I am not the only one who has been misunderstood, unheard and overlooked. Countless students have faced the same battles with those who enforce policies not representative of all – and something needs to change.

I understand having stricter policies, but not at the expense of our well-being.

One of my close friends had untreated appendicitis for months, trudging to class every day in extreme pain – why? Because of the attendance policies.

Four months later, her appendix ruptured on a Monday and surgeons were unable to comprehend how she endured the pain for five days before she was finally rushed into the emergency room. That is unheard of – and sadly, GBHS is at least partly responsible.

Now two months later, after a multitude of infections and other complications, she was released from

COMMENTARY

ashley lucia

Voices

Page 30

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

Non-harmful drugs should be legalized Substance-users should not be hindered by bureaucratic laws

I

want to preface this by making it clear that, no, I am not a drug user.

The most I’ve ever been under the influence was probably when I was around 5 years old, taking cold medicine for the first time.

Boy, was that a trip. Gotta love that NyQuil.

However, just because I personally choose to not do drugs, be it because of concern for my own health or in fear of my mother, does not mean that I am against drug use.

What I am against is government intervention in terms of drug use.

There are a few exceptions to this belief.

Drugs that

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induce violence, or drugs that more than likely result in a one-hitKO, should be illegal for the safety of the general public.

This includes substances such as methamphetamine, heroin and the notorious “gray death” – a fun combination of heroin, fentanyl and carfentanil that can lead to a quick death after just one dosage.

If a substance can cause you to lash out and harm others, or if it can kill you after just one dosage, then I fully believe it should be illegal due to its hazardous nature.

However, making all drugs illegal isn’t going to stop the public from abusing those drugs – it’s just going to get otherwise innocent American citizens thrown in prison.

Besides, I fully believe it is not the government’s business to prevent people from doing what they want with their lives if they aren’t an immediate danger to themselves and those around them.

I understand this is a thin line to walk, and a very large gray space that is difficult to navigate. I’m not going to deny that.

I’m also not going to deny the impact that substance abuse can have over a person’s life. It’s terrible.

However I do not agree with throwing addicts in prison for only hurting themselves.

If a person is addicted to some sort of substance, throwing them in prison and ruining their life is not the answer.

Those who are addicted to any sort of substance deserve a second chance in life and should go to rehabilitation and recovery centers.

Now if they do end up hurting others while under the influence, that’s a whole different story, but that’s not the issue I’m arguing here.

I’m also not talking about driving while under the influence, either – that is illegal and should remain so because it is a hazard to the safety of others.

If we’re trying to prevent people from harming others while under the influence, then the government should also make alcohol illegal.

They already tried, and failed.

One of the reasons why prohibition was put into place to begin with was because of the increase in domestic violence across the nation.

Prohibition made the issue worse by making alcohol illicit.

Illegalizing drugs won’t make the drugs go away, it’ll just make common drugs less safe and, once again, get everyday people thrown in prison.

In the end, it is up to citizens’ life choices to determine whether or not they abuse a substance and suffer the long-term consequences.

It’s not like America doesn’t educate children on drug addiction and abuse. While in many places, it could be better, that’s a different issue.

Even still, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, one of the most commonly abused drugs are simply over-thecounter, everyday medications.

This isn’t common knowledge.

And so, the majority of citizens getting criminalized for doing drugs are those who live in lower-income communities, getting something put on their criminal record for the rest of their lives for a mistake they could’ve made in their youth.

Not only are they suffering, but American tax dollars are constantly going toward persecuting and imprisoning average people for choosing to do drugs.

Not to mention that this war on drugs, while supposedly unbiased, does have a tendency to target people of color from lower-income communities.

For reference, Black and Latinx Americans pbacon.gazette@gmail.com make up 47% of the total percentage of people arrested for drug law violations.

These Black and Latinx citizens, being incarcerated for potentially one instance of illicit drug trafficking or possession, are now left with that mark on their criminal record for the rest of their lives.

This will later hold them back from getting a desirable job, and likely prevent them from moving up in their workplace because of one infraction.

From my perspective, legalizing what are now illicit substances isn’t even a party vs. party debate.

Both sides of the political spectrum will benefit from the legalization of more drugs.

On one hand, our tax dollars won’t go to fund something that will potentially never be stopped.

On the other, fewer people of color and those living in lowerincome communities will be at risk for incarceration and a mark on their criminal record.

Many of the people getting arrested for drug use aren’t evil people. They’re not criminals.

They’re people taking their own lives into their hands.

And that is their choice. *** Piper Bacon, a junior, is an assistant editor.

COMMENTARY

piper bacon

Many modern politicians lack maturity

The current political spectrum is completely overridden with contentious and immature officeholders

L

ibtard!” “Racist!” “Snowflake!” “Idiot!”

Last month, at Pres. Trump’s State of the Union, address we saw Donald Trump deny Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi a handshake, in addition to Pelosi tearing President Trump’s State of the Union address in half.

I didn’t know that so many politicians had never graduated from kindergarten.

Politics has always been a bit childish. From the very beginning of American politics, politicians have been throwing around insults and cruel names – and they’ve had just as many thrown their way.

But that doesn’t mean it’s ever been OK. No matter who you support, it’s troubling to see how Washington, D.C., has become more and more polarized throughout the years, to the point that there seems to be little respect for people on both sides of the political aisle.

Not only Washington, D.C., but almost all of America has seemingly gone out to the political edges.

With Twitter and YouTube especially, users can anonymously share their feelings, and as a result I’ve seen so many horrible political arguments break out.

“You’re so f------ dumb!”

“Drink bleach, libtard!”

“Die in a hole, you racist hillbilly!”

We’ve reached the point where a lot of people just want to hurtle insults at those of different political views, as if it’ll cancel out the anger of another uninformed and delusional extremist.

Not only that, but we’ve reached a point where it’s considered OK to insult people openly.

That’s what makes me worried for our future Ga as a country. zet te In modern il America, it seems as if a lustra t rather large proportion of people feel ion/K the need to be red or blue rather than a ATE FE RN mix of the two.

AN Many people refuse to even have friends or DEZ significant others of different political beliefs,

as if those people can’t possibly be good, honest human beings.

As we get more blue or more red as individuals, it becomes increasingly difficult to have a productive conversation about politics.

Politics have become like a religion where we feel that we must convert people to our beliefs in order to save them from themselves.

We all like to assume that our beliefs are the right beliefs, that everyone else is wrong and just doesn’t understand the truth.

Well, that’s ridiculous.

Everyone needs to try and understand the beliefs expressed by other people instead of trying to change them.

COMMENTARY

ali juell

ajuell.gazette@gmail.com

I used to be the type of person who felt self righteous in my political beliefs, until I realized that it’s not worth it to make foes for the sake of being “right.”

The only way American citizens will be able progress and change for the better is if we stop acting as if the opinions of people we disagree with don’t matter.

The Washington Post said it best: “Democracy dies in darkness.” *** Ali Juell, a junior, is a staff writer.

Voices

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6 , 2020

Electric cars should not be judged New technology begins to save the environment

A

s technology moves forward, we see advancements in many areas, but one area has had a radical change in recent years: the popularization of fully electric cars.

Companies like BMW, Volkswagen, and Tesla have released very successful electric cars, and these cars are often praised for their environmental friendliness and cheap recharges.

However, enthusiasts in the car community have been very apprehensive toward the new technology.

Though this is not the opinion of all in the car community, countless online forum posts can be found on why electric cars are inferior.

However, as an enthusiast myself I believe the opposite.

I think that electric cars are merely the

next step in motorsport, and shouldn’t be met with disdain but rather with interest and excitement.

Though not as developed yet, I believe that electric vehicles will break past the limits of combustion engines with ease.

Fully electric cars bring several performance advantages traditional cars lack such as instantaneous torque, improved weight distribution, and the lack of a transmission.

Prototype electric race cars such as the Wolkswagen I.D.R. have broken track records set by some of the fastest traditional cars.

But most importantly of all, I think electric cars are the only viable solution to keeping motorsport alive as the world necessitates a fight against global warming.

Climate change is the most pressing global issue and cars are one of the largest contributing factors.

COMMENTARY

Page 31

HEARD on the BAY Who is a woman you look up to or admire?

sean turner

sturner.gazette@gmail.com

Change is a necessity in any sport, but if the racing community embraces electric cars now, that doesn’t need to be a negative thing. *** Sean Turner, a senior, is a staff writer.

“Definitely it would be my mom because she does a lot. She has three jobs and she’s a single mom.”

cole resendez freshman

Xenophobia is based on stereotyping

Racism still remains prevalent

B

y now, many are aware of the Coronavirus outbreak in China that happened early in the year. The coronavirus is a kind of common virus that causes an infection in your nose, sinuses and upper throat, much like other colds.

However, this new type of virus became notorious because of the sudden fatality rate. But here are some other statistics for you as well.

More than 1.25 million people die in road crashes every year, averaging around 3,000 deaths a day. One person dies every 37 seconds from cardiovascular disease. You have more of a chance of getting struck by lightning than dying from this disease. But do those figures keep you from going outside or actively try to lower your risks?

Probably not.

In fact, if I’m solely focusing on the statistics, we’ve got it all wrong. Shockingly, a lot more people are getting second-hand symptoms from the virus and the numbers are increasing at a faster rate. The new disease is

called xenophobia.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not dismissing any of these numbers by any means. However, the reason I brought this up is because I’ve experienced and seen a lot of xenophobic rhetoric and racism going around. False information including warnings to avoid Asian foods, videos accompanied by inaccurate speculation about the cause of the virus, and dehumanizing comments that have gone viral.

If you’re not going to use your platform to spread prevention information and instead just joke around assuming that anyone who’s Asian has the Coronavirus, then get off.

I wish I was being too sensitive, but the aftermath of this racial hatred has gone too far.

For example, there’s been a decline in business in Chinatown in San Francisco that coincides with an uptick in xenophobic attacks against people of Asian descent around the world.

According to the Guardian, “People are refusing to be served

by Asian people in shops … a

the Ebola outbreak. My point woman was thrown off a train is that occasional jokes are fine, because she was Asian. … This but don’t take it to the point adds to the racism and stereowhere you’re contributing to the types about the Chinese that stereotype issue. The University already exist.” of California at Families Berkeley, one of are getthe top schools ting torn in the country, apart and even posted hundreds “common are dying. reactions” to In China, the Coronavidoctors are rus including working anxiety, helphours on lessness, social end, trying withdrawal and to combat xenophobia. this When is virus to xenophobia ever the point a normal reacwhere their mlin.gazette@gmail.com tion? masks China, where the virus origiare imprinted onto their faces nated, is still working to fight and multiple physicians have the virus and support each other collapsed in the middle of treatduring these tough times and ment due to the exhaustion. yet, halfway across the world, Yet, despite this courageous and people are tearing at each other resilient effort everyone should with anti-immigration messages be looking up to, we point to and strong prejudice. them as a laughingstock and Ironic, is it not? use it as an excuse to pour out *** hatred for another race.

May Lin, a senior, is a This hasn’t happened just senior editor. once. The same racism rose with

“My mom because she’s always been there and taking care of me since forever and helps me with anything.”

talon nimi

COMMENTARY

may lin

sophomore

“A woman I look up to is my older sister, Katelyn Fernandez, because she’s always there for me.”

karly fernandez junior

“The woman I admire most is definitely my older sister, Victoria. She taught me everything I know.”

It’s time to shift politics to younger people

T

he importance of introducing politics to children at a young age tends to fall on the shoulders of parents and teachers, but what we fail to realize are the consequences on relying on parents to educate their children about their political views.

This habit has instilled a reliance on parents by their children to formulate similar political views, often identical to those of their family, ruining what would be an amazing and enlightening opportunity for students to research and educate themselves about politics and come up

EDITORIAL The voice of the Granite Bay Gazette

with their own views without influence from outside parties.

Politics are a touchy subject in the school environment, but it needs to be more common. We should think of the school environment not only as a place to learn simply math, science, English and other subjects, but as a place where students are completely

able to and actually encouraged to educate themselves about the happenings in politics.

No one can truly be successful in this country without education, and that education can be used in many ways.

The voting age in our country is also a problematic trend within the political sphere.

Lowering the voting age might not have a huge impact, but it would be a huge step in making the primaries and election relevant to an even younger group of people.

Politics are dominated by the same subset of individuals, and it’s time to shift the

power over to the next generation.

Elections are vital to our democracy, and there are so many ways to make them relevant to the younger generation.

Politics is no longer for just rich, white men.

So introduce politics (gently) into the school environment.

Students trust teachers, and if they were to be encouraged to learn more about politics, it would be mutually beneficial to all. Lowering the voting age would then encourage participation and could be just the change we need.

greta gunell senior

“The wonderful mother that gave me all these wonderful traits that I feel that she’s instilled in my life.”

grant adams staff

Compiled by Emerson Ford

Page 32

Gazette

Granite Bay Gazette wFriday, March 6, 2020

Second Look Students take the opportunity to showcase their gifts through vocal and nonvocal performances at GBHS’s annual talent show on March 27

 Freshman Natalie Lux sang “All I Ask” by Adele after intermission, left. Senior Sequoia Torez performs an original piece called, “Something Sweet”, top right. Bottom right, sophomore Gracie Hollwager passionately sings a piece from a Broadway show.. Freshman Ryan Masty stands to the side, waiting to hear the award annoucements after all of the acts, middle right.

Gazette photos

by Daryn Conner Ursus yearbook photos

by Rachel Sollazzo