Issue 3
THE ANTLERETTE 11
The Antlerette
May 2018
Literary Publications? What’s That? by Hannah Faith Villareal, Editor-in-Chief IN THIS ISSUE Literary Publications, otherwise known as the school’s newspaper, is not well known considering the fact that EGHS is the only high school left in the district to offer this course, lasting well over a century. EGHS’ own Literary Publications class goes under the name of the Antlerette, stemming from EGHS’ mascot the elk. The class itself runs like a legitimate newspaper with it being run by a team of student editors under the supervision of a teacher advisor. Students have the opportunity of calling themselves “published writers”, and are able to experience what it’s like to undergo the process of publishing. It’s a great class, but unfortunately, not many people see it like this. Journalism is a dying breed, at least, among schools. It is sad but true to say that electronic media is more popular. But none of that would have even existed without the newspaper. The Antlerette is a gateway for future professional writers of EGHS to gain the experience and knowledge of brainstorming topics, meeting deadlines, and undergoing edits. I became a rookie Antlerette staff member upon my sophomore year, under the urge of my freshman Honors English teacher. Since
then, I’ve been a part of the Antlerette for three years, enjoying the privilege and opportunity that many students don’t realize they have in joining a class that’s more like an endangered species. I’ll admit, as a rookie, I had some disputes with editors at times, which is quite normal for non-editorial staff really. But as I leveled up each year, I came to understand the importance of the process and the people involved in publishing. A piece has to be refined in order to be good enough to be read by the public. Measures have to be taken, such as swallowing your pride when you feel that your writing is being insulted, when it’s really just constructive criticism that only exists to improve your article and have it ready to be published and read by others. You’ll learn that some people, out of ignorance, will mock the fact a school newspaper still exists. You’ll learn that the job itself is actually not as easy as one might think if the motive is serious. But, even if many people have come and gone or have not recognized the class’ importance, it has been important for me. I hope Lit Pub will become well known, considering the fact that Elk Grove High is the last high school in the district to offer this course. It will last over centuries. The
Antlerette is a class treated as a legitimate newspaper, run entirely by a student editorial staff under the eyes of an advisor. Students will call themselves a published writer and will experience what it’s like to undergo the process of publishing. It’s a great class, and though this article is published and may not even be read by many, I hope that this class will get the credit it deserves.
Thinly Veiled Prisons
From early childhood, a majority of Americans are exposed to zoos. We are taught that zoos are a source of important educational value, where we are to expand our knowledge of wildlife and develop a connection with the environment. As children, we experience zoos on school field trips, our fingers tapping on glass and marveling at the sight of animals we would not normally interact with in nature..………..……Page 4
The Insanity of Loneliness The human mind deals with extreme isolation through changes in hormones, dietary behavior and even hallucinations, both visual and audible; which are publicly known as insanity. The question is, why does the brain do this and how? Since the 1930s, psychologists have researched and experimented with the effects of extreme solitude combined with sensory deprivation.……… ………………………………………Page 5
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Cyberpatriots by Christian Ajos, Staff Computer science is a growing field in the working world. With computers on the rise, information becomes easily available. Information needing to be protected led to the creation of the field of Cybersecurity. Cyberpatriots aims to teach high school and middle school students about cyber ethics, and help them take their first step into a career in cyber security. Cyberpatriots is an organization created by the Air Force Association. It is a national program and is also a competition. Students are put into teams of five to six and compete nationally against other teams. The rounds are split into preliminary, state, regional and national. The preliminary round determines which tier the teams are sorted into. There are three tiers. The first tier is the Silver tier, which mostly has beginner teams. The middle tier is the gold tier, which has teams with intermediate experience. The final and highest tier is the platinum tier. The platinum tier contains most of the senior teams. Unlike the platinum tier, the gold and silver tiers
2 cannot advance past the regional round. Only the top twelve percent of the platinum tier teams from their respective regions are sent to Baltimore, Maryland. There, the teams compete for the national championship prize, which includes recognition from the Secretary of Defense and scholarship money. The competition’s difficulty is based off tier and round. Silver teams, despite having the same images as the gold and platinum tiers, have the fewest errors on their images making it easier. Images are operating systems which can be operated on the host computer by using VMware. Gold tier has more errors on their images, making it more difficult than silver. Platinum has the most errors making it more difficult than the previous two tiers. The images mainly consist of the operating systems of Windows, Windows Server, and Linux. All tiers must also take the Cisco Networking Quiz. The total score of the quiz varies from round to round, but the content remains the same. However, the platinum tier has an extra Cisco challenge called the Packet Tracer challenge. Platinum tier teams must use the packet
tracer software to construct digital networks using common networking devices such as routers, switches, and computers. Cyberpatriots is a competition designed to give students an edge in the working world. This is a competition that seriously challenges students to hone their computer skills.
https://midwestcybercenter.org/MC%C2%B2%20Calen dar/cyberpatriot-x-competition-march/
The Biggest Lie of the University of California by Chelsie Adams, Staff Every Californian high school senior has heard the phrase “UC”, meaning University of California. Ambitious seniors have even dreamt about attending one of these ten ideal schools, but just how many have actually achieved that dream? The California public education system tells students that they, especially in the top 10% of their class, have a good shot of getting accepted to one of these colleges. I’m sure many of EGHS’ own seniors from the top 10% can agree with me when I say that this is nothing more than a massive lie. Despite the California state law requiring UCs to allow the top 12.5% of all Californian high school seniors to be eligible for admittance, the UC system still does not give students equal opportunities to attend. The UC schools have been diversifying over the years, yet they have not achieved a good level of diversity. As of 2012, in California public schools, the racial diversity is as follows: 26% white (non-Hispanic), 52% Hispanic/Latino, 11% Asian American, 7% African American, .7% Native American, .6% Pacific Islander and 2% mixed. This greatly differs from undergraduate classes at UCs with 29.5% white, 37.7% Asian American,
19.3% Hispanic/Latino, .6% Native American, 3.6% African American, and 4.5% international. These percentages aren’t even close to reflecting each other. Why is it that a state-funded university only has half of the percentage of African Americans as a California public school? Why is it that three times the amount of Asian Americans were accepted into a UC than were in public school? And why is it that there are more international students than African American and Native American students combined? How does this promote a healthy, racially diverse environment for these undergraduates? Also, from 1999-2014, the UCs attempted to diversify themselves by increasing their acceptance of Asian American and Hispanic/Latino freshmen. This increase was followed by a decrease in the acceptance of whites. As these 3 races fought for representative dominance at the UCs, the proportion of African Americans and Native Americans attending these schools remained well below 10% altogether. The UCs are far from being diverse, with African American and Native American applicants still being
disproportionate in comparison to white, Asian American, and Hispanic/Latino applicants. The idea that race has nothing to do with college applications is a facade. The fact that universities specifically ask for race and that race is a required field demonstrates that race is a deciding factor. It is said to be for demographic purposes, but colleges take your race into account when deciding who to admit and who to reject. Part of this facade is the policy of Affirmative Action, which gives individuals from marginalized groups more expedient consideration than individuals from non-marginalized groups. This gives universities, nationwide the ability to assess one’s race as admission criteria, just as they would assess one’s GPA. A “mismatch” effect, as The Atlantic calls it, has occurred from this, creating an educational environment of varying education levels. A 2004 study at UCLA, one of the most prominent UCs, displayed that blacks are more likely to drop out of their law school because they do not match the abilities of their classmates at this specific college, while, at a less prestigious school, they would
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succeed in achieving a law degree. This mismatch effect of students not being at the right university for them has been created because of Affirmative Action. Racial diversity does not mean
Group Mentality by Zion Trunnell, Staff Historically, human progress and advancement has led to the consolidation of various societies and social structure that has changed the way we think about individuality and group dynamic. However, technological advancements have eliminated the need for certain aspects of human behavior and psychology that is needed for survival. These include things such as hard feet (ancestors rarely had shoes so their feet hardened from walking across dirt and mud) and group survival (Herd Mentality). Herd Mentality is the belief that the survival of a group or community is more important than the survival of the individual. This is seen in animals such as elephants. Elephants usually travel in packs of up to 20 elephants to protect the female elephants and the baby calves. The stronger males stay around the perimeter to defend against predators trying to breach the line of defense to get at the calves. Ants also have a sort of group mentality, as worker ants find food and take it back to their home to feed the queen; she is the future of the ant hill, as she gives birth to more ants. Despite the focus on individuality and individual rights in the last few centuries, humans still very much have group mentality, whether we want to admit or not. This is how the ancient humans have adapted to and changed almost every region
3 disregarding one race at the expense of another; it means incorporating all races at all times with equal representation. The UCs should accurately, or at least approximately, reflect California’s racial diversity. They
should not cast away African Americans and Native Americans to make room for more international students.
in the world. Through group survival, huntergatherer societies were the first true congregation of human community, and it was made through the need of survival, not through an invisible hierarchy that only exists in the mentality of the modern person. All the people in a hunter and gatherer society worked for the survival of their group. The men hunted game and brought back meat if they succeeded. The women and children gathered food from the trees and vines, and weaved clothes made of animal fur. However, the development of human society throughout history has made group survival less important to human survival. After the initial development of structure and agriculture, humans became less concerned about the survival of the community, and more over the protection of themselves and their families. This shift in perspective when looking at our survival has been brought from revolutions such as the American Revolution, Enlightenment, or the Great Awakening, where there was a focus on individual rights and individuality. People during these eras went away from the specific social norms of the time. As society developed, people no longer saw themselves as part of groups based on the need for survival, but as individuals that focused on personal gains, which ends up benefiting the rest of society. When the early 20th century companies started it created economic prosperity in a countries based on their performance, people also developed themselves as individuals, putting emphasis on traits and
personality of a person, and less focus on construed stereotypes of societies past. Individuality can also be selfish in someone, as it takes focus away from other people. This could possibly cause discrimination, because people would be thinking about themselves when it comes to certain privileges. This problem is brought up in issues over limited resources. Despite how important individuality is to human society, we still have group mentality when it comes to social constructs. This is seen in everyday behavior when a person makes assumption about someone else based on how they look or how they act. People often group people together that are similar, making the same assumptions about all of them. Certain morals, behaviors and attitudes can be seen differently by people, and have different value, so if they meet someone that does not match what they assume is good and normal, they infer it is a bad thing. This type of attitude creates counter culture movements, where people who feel ostracized by society have public displays of their behavior. However, this can create an “us vs. them� mentality when it comes to social norms. This behavior is heavily seen in politics, as politicians, will make policies based in their perception of others, and the issues that affect them. Group mentality in humans effects the way we see others, as we rarely see others as an individual, but as a group.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1328744
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Thinly Veiled Prisons by Emily Kennedy, Editor From early childhood, a majority of Americans are exposed to zoos. We are taught that zoos are a source of important educational value, where we are to expand our knowledge of wildlife and develop a connection with the environment. As children, we experience zoos on school field trips, our fingers tapping on glass and marveling at the sight of animals we would not normally interact with in nature. Zoos portray themselves as a positive resource for children’s education and a giving environmental benefactor dedicated to preserving wildlife. Given these societally pushed ideas we’ve all encountered since childhood, it should come as a surprise that zoos have a harmful side. However, this realization is not jarring for most people because, unlike other false impressions, most people harbor an inkling of the cruelty of animal captivity through the interactions they’ve had at the zoo. The
damage evoked by entrapment can be seen expressed in the eyes of a lion, in the anxious pacing of a pent up polar bear, and in the swaying shoulders of a chimpanzee. If we pay attention, it is widely apparent that these animals are not happy and being forced into confined living spaces for the benefit of human entertainment has profound negative effects of their mental and physical wellbeing. These animals require their natural environments with their specific climate and sprawling space to roam. Zoos claim to protect endangered animals through breeding in captivity, but this is clearly contradicted by the fact that most animals imprisoned in zoos are not, in fact, endangered. As far as the portion that is actually endangered, their treatment is based off zoos’ artificial motivations. Their interest lies in breeding baby animals because they bring in revenue, not because they are attempting to preserve a species. If they had noble intentions, zoos would release animals into the wild once their health and stability is secured, but instead zoos tend to keep animals in captivity.
Black Lives Matter: Stephon Clark by Asiyah Mohammed, Staff On March 18, 2018, news of an unarmed man brutally murdered by Sacramento County police officers, Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet, devastated the nation. Each officer fired 10 shots at Stephon Clark in the backyard of his grandmother’s house. The situation quickly made its way to the public. Stephon Clark was killed within minutes of the shooting as an autopsy revealed that 8 bullets had entered his back. The officers involved claimed that they did, in fact, kill this 22-year-old father of two. Clark’s fiance, Salena Manni, and his two sons are forced to mourn the loss of a man who should still be alive. The nation is crying for justice for Clark and his family. Hundreds of people across the state of California came to Clark’s funeral in Sacramento, CA. Ex-NBA player Matt Barnes
announced at the funeral that he would be starting a college fund for Stephon’s boys. Stephon’s brother, Stevante Clark, led demonstrators from the funeral to the downtown area. Stevante also led a protest at the Sacramento City Hall as a meeting was occurring. The meeting was for the public to share their comments on the shooting, and was disrupted as Stevante jumped onto the mayor's desk to tell the public that the City of Sacramento had failed them. The City of Sacramento has failed to protect its citizens. The United States is failing to protect its citizens as police brutality continues to make common appearances. The death of this man sparked protest across the Sacramento County against police brutality. The protests in downtown Sacramento took over the interstate last
Zoos also argue that they provide an important outlet for educating children about wildlife, but this is exaggerated, particularly considering modern technology. With the access to advanced documentaries and resources cataloguing animals in their natural habitats, there is no conceivable need to see a restless animal pacing around its cage in a zoo. Children can gain more valuable knowledge through other means than they ever could through a commercialized zoo field trip. Zoos are blatantly inhumane and unnecessary, and it’s past time for society to cease supporting them.
https://myveggietravels.com/theproblem-with-zoos/
month and blocked the doors of the Golden One arena. The chaos resulted in more violence as police officers harassed demonstrators. In one instance, a 61 year-old woman named Wanda Cleveland was ran over by a police SUV. There has been a nationwide outcry in regards to Clark’s murder. Throughout this article, I have failed to mention that Stephon Clark was black. Stephon Clark was a black man, a black father, a black friend. Stephon Clark was a person with a personality and goals like every other person in the world. Justifying murder because of the mistakes of police officers (ie. mistaking a cell phone for a gun) is not right. The issues being suppressed today about police murdering black people need to be fixed. Enough is enough.
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ALS: Unknown and on the Rise by Grace Vierra, Staff ALS is a disease that saddens me for many reasons. Last June my grandmother passed away from it; it is a terrible death and it invokes extreme suffering. Many of you might be wondering what exactly ALS is? Well, ALS is an incurable disease that progressively gets worse once diagnosed. It affects the nerves of the brain and the spinal cord that controls your muscles. Essentially, your muscles progressively get weaker and weaker until they do not work anymore. You lose your ability to speak, write, and walk. You lose your freedom and the ability to be a person. If you have heard of this disease, it is most likely because you have heard of Stephen Hawking, one of the world's most intelligent minds. Hawking lived with ALS for 55 years, and this was quite an accomplishment. Today, once diagnosed with ALS, you are expected to live 2-5 years at the most, so Hawking beat the odds by decades. Though Stephen Hawking’s intelligence was greatly valued, living with ALS created many obstacles for him. He had an amazing brain, yet he had to rely on others for nearly
every human function. For the things that people could not assist him with, like talking or walking, he relied on his wheelchair and other machines. One of Professor Hawking’s machines is still one of the greatest advancements in ALS history. He had a machine that allowed him to speak. If you look at a photo of his wheelchair, you will see a tablet that is located in front of his face. When Hawking had something to say, he would look at the letters on the screen to spell out words. The tablet would track his eye movement and it became his voice. This advancement is amazing for people like my grandma, because her voice was the very first thing that ALS took from her. Stephen Hawking is an inspiration to many people because of his discoveries in the sciences, but he is also an inspiration to the ALS community. He gives these people hope because they can see him and believe maybe they do not only have 2 years left. He lifts them up because he never gave up, even though the disease kept trying to bring him down. He gives them encouragement
The Insanity of Loneliness by Tanner Mendoza, Staff The human mind deals with extreme isolation through changes in hormones, dietary behavior and even hallucinations, both visual and audible; which are publicly known as insanity. The question is, why does the brain do this and how? Since the 1930s, psychologists have researched and experimented with the effects of extreme solitude combined with sensory deprivation. Solitude is a state where you are alone with little to no human interaction over a set period. This sensory deprivation is a state where you are deprived of stimulating your senses such as sight and hearing. In this circumstance, participants would have their senses blocked in ways such as blindfolds to disengage sight or gloves to deprive touch. During the Korean War in the 1950s, the Chinese were rumored to have been using this solitude and sensory deprivation on American soldiers to “brainwash” them. Since that rumor, the Canadian and
American science communities have peaked in curiosity on this subject. While we ourselves can enjoy being alone to relax, reflect, and think, the human mind can greatly deteriorate after extensive time in these types of environments. Michael Stevens, American educator and host of million-dollar YouTube channel Vsauce, had experimented by placing himself in sensory deprivation for three days straight back in January of 2017. In his circumstances, he had placed himself in an all-white, soundproof 10x10 square foot room. It had one bed, a toilet, and even soylent (A liquid meal replacement) and water for food and hydration in white bottles. It also had cameras to monitor his behavior. An evershining light was implemented to also test the body’s effects on changes in lighting. The obvious first effect was boredom. Being in that room alone had already made Stevens very restless within the first five minutes of the 72 hours. To cope with it, he
http://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-hawkingdeath-what-is-als-lou-gherigs-disease-2018-3
because he lived each day of his life to the fullest. With ALS on the rise and a future generation of people that may be diagnosed, it is very important that the ALS community keep Stephen Hawking as its prime example. Now that he has passed away, the people with ALS still need a source of hope. Stephen Hawking was a strong reminder that life is not over, it has merely changed. As Hawking once said, “However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at it. It matters that you just don’t give up”.
resorted to exercise, counting footsteps, and talking to the camera to report the status of his mind and body. As time went on, he also displayed a complete loss of any sense of time. After sleeping the first night, he had estimated the time to be 4 hours ahead of what it had actually been on the 1st day and even being 36 hours off within the 2nd day. After being unable to keep his mind engaged after prolonged solitude, Stevens had appeared to suffer from anxiety and depression. After nearly 48 hours he began to dream of being in that room, making it very difficult for him to distinguish between dreams and reality. After the full 72 hours were complete, his blood pressure had heightened and he had a decrease in cognitive ability and sense of well-being. In the past, psychologists have stated that as little as three days in this type of isolation can cause major hallucinations and even brain damage. As it turns out, the characteristics of insanity such as imaginary companions and hallucinations are coping mechanisms of the human mind in attempts to stay mentally engaged. These symptoms, however, can be very damaging and even scarring. Inmates who have spent
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consecutive years in solitary confinement have been seen to have irreversible effects of loneliness, and deterioration in social interaction and cognitive ability. Humans are social by nature, whether it is with another
6 person, with an object, or even a painful experience. These studies have shown that humans, by nature, would rather feel pain than extreme boredom.
Hello Summer, Goodbye School by Jenna Quarnstrom, Staff Out with the old and in with new, as the saying goes. Out with the endless homework and days spent behind a desk, and in with the pool parties, swimsuits, and gloriously lazy afternoons. Every student longs for summer, especially in the last waning hours of school time. However, even as the school year winds down, the rainy days cast the idea of summer right out the door. Summer becomes more
Sun Damage by Gianna Toribio, Staff Summer is right around the corner, which means spending a lot of time outside. There are so many things to do, but think twice before you expose yourself to the harsh sun. One should take many precautions before a day of tanning or swimming. One of those includes protecting your whole body from harsh UV rays that can come back and haunt you in the future. Not to mention, not protecting yourself could cause cancer. Protecting your skin is not a big ordeal that
of a thought than an actual occurrence when the overcast clouds cry out their burdens. The overload of homework continues to cascade upon the heads of students in every classroom and the warm, sunny days are hidden behind dreary skies. Summer seems to lag more and more every year, as each grade level rises. What used to last an eternity now lasts mere seconds, and how can one enjoy the
summer with things such as summer school and summer homework in the way? As the years go by, summer seems more of a fleeting bird than a loyal dog. Where have the years gone by? Where are the years when I truly enjoyed the summer and took full advantage of it? Hurry, hurry summer, so I can once more have a chance to not let you slip through my fingers like fine sand on a beach. Hurry, so the homework can surcease and the days of enjoying ice cream cones dripping with their refreshing delight can once again begin.
takes a lot of time. All of us know what to do, but this is a good reminder to do it. The most obvious method of taking precaution is sunscreen. You should be conscious of always putting on sunscreen and make a habit of doing it every time you leave the house. Even if it is not hot outside or you cannot physically see the sun, that does not mean it's not there. Sunscreen is by far the best way to ensure you will not burn or harm your skin. What many people overlook is putting sunscreen on your lips. Your lips are just as sensitive as the rest of your skin, so do not forget to pick up a chap stick containing SPF in it.
Why stop there? Hats are also a great way to protect you from the sun this summer. Your face is very susceptible to the harsh effects of the sun. Taking this extra step can not only save you from the pain of a sunburn, but also help future you. Over time, the sun’s UV rays damage our elastin. This causes sagging and wrinkles. Not only can your face age quickly, but the sun's UV rays can also damage your eyes, which is where sunglasses come in handy. As the weather starts getting warmer, do not forget to protect yourself. It does not take much time out of your day. Although you might not notice any negative effects as of right now, your future self will thank you.
going vegan already. Many people are trying to get healthier, trying to go green because clearly global warming is a thing, and the truth is being leaked about the treatment of animals in agriculture. With all the documentaries coming out and studies done on the standard American diet versus the plant-based diet, why has the American
Cancer Society or American Diabetes Association not changed their diet suggestions or meal plans? The World Health Organization has classified processed meat as a group 1 carcinogen, which is categorized in the same group as tobacco, plutonium, and asbestos.
Rise of Veganism by Hannah Villarreal, Staff Veganism is a movement that has been going on for a long time, yet recently in the last few years, it has skyrocketed. With all the documentaries and articles created to prove to the public that the exploitation of animals is pointless, cruel, and a giant red self-destruct button for our planet, it is hard to believe that there are not more people
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In recent years, an increasing number of people have wanted to make better food choices and trying to be healthier, which is good, but sometimes they make the typical and wrong food choices. The misconception for people is the belief that certain animal products are healthy and good for you when in reality they are not. For example, chicken has been labelled a health food for years, but it’s been found to be the leading cause for sodium intake in the standard American diet and has 100 mg of cholesterol in only 4 ounces of it; other foods that have 100 mg of cholesterol are beef, half an egg and 3 cups of milk. Now why would the American Cancer Society encourage you to increase your intake of this? To make matters even stranger, the American Health Association states beef and pork are part of healthy eating. The World Health Association even states that dioxins, which are a group of highly toxic pollutants that can cause cancer, have been found in every part of the world mainly in the fatty tissue of animals and over 90% of human exposure to this toxic
7 chemical is through their food. The food is in fact mainly meat and dairy products, including fish and shellfish. Surely dairy must be okay, except for that fact that Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health states the number one source of saturated fat is dairy. There is a strong link between dairy and autoimmune diseases, stated by Michael Klaper, M.D. Nutrition-Based Medicine. All of this information is available, yet the world still believes these foods are healthy for you. Slowly people are uncovering this information on their own instead of activists trying to show people the facts. We all know that global warming is a thing,
https://foodrevolution.org/blog/vegan-statistics-global/
but do we really know why it is caused? To most people, global warming and planet destruction are from the elevated levels of CO2 in the air and are caused by the gas from cars and factories. In reality, animal agriculture is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gases while transportation is only 13%, so instead of walking, biking or even running to your destination, try to change the way you eat. Animal agriculture is also the cause for 51% of human climate change and 30% of the world's water consumption; water usage domestically is only 5% compared to animal agriculture using 53% of it. Love the rainforest? Animal agriculture is responsible for 91% of Amazon rainforest destruction that includes 136 million acres being cleared and destroyed because it. This is also the leading the cause for “ocean dead zones”, habitat destruction and species extinction. But thankfully our society is changing and realizing the wrong doing that’s going on, we take a step closer to taking better care of ourselves, our planet, and the creatures who inhabit this planet alongside us.