17 minute read
save our bees [pg
from April 2022
Save Our Bees
By AINSLEY NAJAFZADEH Staff Writer
Advertisement
Spring has finally sprung, flowers are blooming and fruits are ripening; however, it appears that people have forgotten who is responsible for our vibrant spring season: bees. Our furry pollinators’ work is underappreciated and they don’t get the praise they deserve; in fact, our lack of care for our bees is gradually causing them to become extinct, making bees an endangered species. From sunflowers to apples, bees are essential to the growth of our produce and ecosystem. Bees accentuate the beauty of mother nature by pollinating flowers that provide vibrancy to our environment. According to the U.S. Department ofAgriculture (USDA), Bees pollinate 80% of the world’s flowers, as well as more than 130 different fruits and vegetables, including kiwis, strawberries, watermelons, and squash. Bees not only improve the environment but also support the economy by bringing billions of dollars into the United States through agriculture. Bees play a significant role in our world’s food supply, as 1 out of every 3 bites of food eaten relies on the ongoing activity of bees. In a lifetime, the typical worker bee produces 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey, which isn’t even close to the quantity of honey we put in a cup of tea. Despite the fact that bees contribute so much to our planet, their population has been rapidly declining, with billions of bees being killed each year throughout North America. According to the USDA, this can be credited to various factors–parasites and pests, pathogens, poor nutrition, and sublethal exposure to pesticides. Pesticides are not even targeted toward the killing of bees, but unfortunately, bees are one of the species the pesticides affect most. The United States Environmental Protection Agency stated that the Insecticide Sulfoxaflor, a systemic insecticide, is “highly toxic to bees and other pollinating insects.” The loss of bees is directly taking a toll on the ecosystem and economy, and it’s important that we do something about it before it is too late. Organizations such as The Bee Conservancy are trying to spread awareness and teach people how they can help with the declining bee population. Some ways they suggest include: planting a bee garden, avoiding treating your garden with synthetics, providing trees for bees, creating a bee bath, building homes for native bees, hosting a fundraiser, supporting local beekeepers, and any other way that will be effective in saving bees. Bees serve an important part in our everyday lives, from the food we eat to our ecosystem, it’s only fair that we give bees recognition and prevent their extinction. Next time you see a bee in the wild, give the bee a little thank you for the hard work it does for you and the Earth.
Which Batman is the Best Batman?
By KIRA CAMACHO
Staff Writer
The iconic superhero, Batman, has been an incredibly well-known figure for 83 years. His first debut was in May of 1939, in Detective Comics No. 27 (DC). Due to Batman’s immediate success, the Bat quickly gained his own comic series. Batman #1 was released in the spring of 1940. Since then, Batman has become one of the most famous superheroes in the world. Batman’s first onscreen appearance was in 1966, when Batman aired on ABC. In this instant hit, Adam West played a latex-covered, silly Batman—a stark contrast from The Batman. Since then, a number of actors have played their own version of Batman. In this article, I’ll be comparing my top three—Micheal Keaton, Christian Bale, and Robert Pattinson. In 1989, Batman was released, starring Micheal Keaton as Bruce Wayne, Jack Nicholson as the Joker, and Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face. Tim Burton directed this dark tale, which went on to win many academy awards. Just about any movie with Tim Burton involved will earn my stamp of approval, but this one is particularly great. Keaton plays an iconic Batman in this film, and I have to give him kudos for being the first in this era of Batmen. To me, he seems to be a mix of Bale and Pattinson’s Batmen. He’s smooth like Bale but is still obviously suffering from his past like Pattinson. Unlike the other two Batmen, he’s awkward and funny at times. It makes him appear much more approachable and “normal.” Overall, this is an excellent movie and Keaton is an outstanding Batman.
From 2005 to 2012, Christian Bale played Batman in the Dark Knight trilogy. These movies also star Cillian Murphy, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Heath Ledger, Tom Hardy, andAnne Hathaway. Bale is often crowned the title of best Batman, and this trilogy had a long reign as the best Batman movie. Bale’s Batman is the perfect mix of brooding and snarky, always throwing in a one-liner before fighting a villain. But in my opinion, Bale is a better BruceWayne than Batman. He plays a perfectly suave, rich heir to the Wayne fortune, but his Batman feels unnatural. His voice is incredibly forced and seems to be drowning in his huge suit. The Dark Knight series is fantastic, but I think the overall movie is better than Bale’s specific Batman. Lastly, Robert Pattinson in 2022’s The Batman. This movie was absolutely astounding— I saw it twice in movie theaters and am so excited to stream it on HBO Max. Not only is the cinematography breathtaking, but the plot is captivating, and Pattinson is the perfect Batman. Pattinson’s Batman is a detective, and we get to see him working closely with Commissioner Gordon. Even though he’s the big, bad, Batman in his authoritative Bat-suit, he’s still very human out of it. This Batman is still dealing with the trauma of his parents’ death, and actively working to make sense of the past. Though it’s nice to see a humorous Batman with plenty of oneliners, that’s not really who Batman is. Batman is traumatized and is constantly re-living the death of his parents. He’s not light, funny, and covered with spandex—his goal is to be feared by criminals, not make them laugh. Pattinson also takes in Batman’s aversion to killing. The other Batmen haven’t exactly ignored this, but it’s more of a clear character decision from Pattinson. The Batman is fantastic, and Pattinson is even more so. It’s hard to come to a conclusion on my favorite Batman; each actor has left their unique mark on the character. It’s a close call, but I think the best Batman is Robert Pattinson. He’s an incredible actor with great range, and the best Batman yet. P.S: a VERY honorable mention to Will Arnett as Lego Batman. If he was in the running for best Batman in this article, he would’ve easily won.
What Does It Take To Be A Leader?
By SABRINA LO
Staff Writer
Leaders are present everywhere in society, and at Arcadia High School, there are many. I interviewed freshman Amber Cheung, sophomore Mako Amano, junior Shannon Cheng, junior Kevin Wu, senior Michelle Chen, and senior Nicole Klatt; all of whom are leaders in some way at AHS. To begin with, let’s start with introductions. Cheung is the freshman Class President, Cheng is the Symphony Orchestra Concert Mistress, Amano and Wu both played leading roles in AHS’ recent play, Mamma Mia!, Chen is the President of Key Club, and Klatt is the Orchestra Council president as well as the cello section leader in the Symphony Orchestra. A leader must possess many qualities to make them suitable for the role. However, each person’s traits and values are different. For Wu, hard work is key to being successful. “Being a leader regards putting in the work above the necessary requirement, dedication, and practice,” said Wu. “As a lead role in theatre, you do not have the authority to command others, but you may have to take action in charge of things.” Cheng also believes that a vital part of being a leader is being humble. “Just because one is “labeled” as a leader, they should not overuse their power to make it seem like they are superior to everyone. A leader should instead try to guide everyone in the right direction, not dictate,” stated Cheng. “As a leader, I lead by example of how we can strive for improvement, and not necessarily perfection.” Leaders are not just given their roles complimentarily; in many cases, auditions or a way of selection is required. For Cheung, this meant getting signatures for her ASB petition, campaigning, and making statements to let her peers know why she was a good candidate. Amano had to audition for his role with confidence and emotion and ultimately, waschosen to play Sam Carmichael, a leading role in Mamma Mia!. Before being elected President in Key Club, Chen needed to undergo an intensive election round, including applications, a speech, questioning, and a caucus session specific to presidential candidateKlatt not only needed to audition to be a cello section leader, which is the leader of all the cellos in the orchestra; she previously had to audition to get into Symphony Orchestra, the highest orchestra at AHS. Being a leader is not just dictate, dictate, dictate. In fact, it is quite the contrary. “The other officers also bear responsibility in managing the club, and as the President, I have to think of how to maintain both the officer board and the club, and how to best delegate tasks to ensure the proper functioning of the club,” said Chen. There also is an added-on responsibility and workload, to make things run smoothly. “The most challenging part of being a leader is mostly bearing the pressure, stresses, and expectations of the position,” said Wu. Although there are so many challenges and additional responsibilities with being a leader, there are rewards. Amano and Wu share similar feelings of gratitude for the reactions of the audience, giving them thunderous applause after working so hard. “Behind the glory, you look back, reminisce, and remember the hard work and effort you put into the musical for thousands to enjoy,” said Wu. So next time you look at your leader, think of all the work behind the scenes they had to do and appreciate them!
the history of guitars
By KIRA CAMACHO
Staff Writer
The guitar is the most popular instrument in the world, followed by the piano. About 10% of people in the world have played, or play guitar, which means that 712 million people play guitar. The instrument is beautiful and versatile, especially with today’s various effect pedals. But where did this instrument begin? The guitar we know today derives from the medieval instruments, the oud, and the lute, which predate human history. “Many say that a man known as Lamech, who was Noah’s grandfather and the sixth grandson of Adam and Eve, designed the Arab precursor to the guitar.” wrote the College of Contemporary Music. Apparently, Lamech was inspired to design the oud after hanging the body of his dead son from a tree.
The next shape of guitar was the lute. It had a variety of shapes and sizes, generally with a curved back. The first record of a lute-like stringed instrument appeared in 3500 to 3200 BCE in Southern Mesopotamia. By the end of the Renaissance, the lute had evolved into a 20 to 20 stringed instrument.
Eventually, the lute’s popularity diminished, and Baroque guitars became prominent in Spain around 1600 to 1750. They had five strings and moveable frets, making the instrument easy to play. Also popular in Spain was the vihuela, which you might see mariachi groups still use today.
By 1790, the evolution of Spanish guitars ended with what is now the standard body time and six strings, but they were still small until Antonio de Torres Jurado changed everything. Jurado’s guitars had a broad body, a thin belly, and an increased
curve at the waist. Instead of wooden tuning pegs, he used machined heads. Europeans copied this instrument with steel strings. When Europeans brought this instrument to America, it became the modern guitar. Christian Frederick Martin was a German guitar maker who immigrated to America, he created the flat top form of the acoustic guitar. He used an Xbracing to help the guitar body cope with modern steel strings, another game-changer. The steel strings made guitarists change their playing style, forcing them to use picks more often. Then came the big names. Orville Gibson, who you may know from the Gib - son guitar company, created the archtop gui - tar. Gibson is still known for their huge guitars, with bodies similar to cellos, giving the instrument a larger sound. In 1931, George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacker made the first electric guitar. Rickenbackers are still extremely popular today and used by everyone from The Who to Creedence Clearwater Revival in the 1960s. In 1951, Leo Fender invented the first Fender Telecaster, and in 1952, the first Les Paul was made. “It’s pretty impressive that the companies that made the first electric guitars are still so popular today,” said Alex Rauda, a junior at AHS. From the lute to the classic Les Paul, guitars have come a long way. Today, we have electric guitars shaped like anything you could imagine, and effect pedals that’ll blow you away. tried and true Telecaster and Les Paul
-STUDENT FEATUREANDREW “GADONSPACE” LOW
By DARIN BUENALUZ
Staff Writer
Attempting to pursue feats such as Twitch streaming while being a fulltime student is no easy task. It requires sacrificing time and effort for important things like academics and personal life to work towards embracing one’s biggest passions. For junior Andrew Low, better known by his Twitch username “GadonSpace, ” streaming is more than just another side project. It’s something he wants to continue even after graduating from high school while also receiving his college education. Though his viewership has been modest with less than 50 viewers per stream, and his content limited by obligations such as school, Low is committed to continuing the growth and presence of his channel.
“GadonSpace” was created in March of 2020, after everyone was forced indoors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Low, like many others during the safer-athome period, was hit hard by quarantine and a lot of time on his hands. He wanted to spend it pursuing previous interests, in this case, Twitch streaming. He began streaming not too long after his account creation but was kept from making content for a couple of months after his computer broke. After replacing it in the middle of 2020, “GadonSpace” began exploring two main sources of content for his Twitch streams: studying and gaming. The former of the two would be streamed during the week, and the latter during the weekends.
“I decided to stream because I needed to do studying and was also doing online school. I thought it would be a good idea to stream me studying,” he stated.
Study streams served as one of the main ways that Low maintained communication with other people during the quarantine period. He did collaborations with a few other Twitch streamers but mostly kept to himself and his own group of friends. During his weekend streams, Low would feature games tailored to his own personal interests, including Valorant, Roblox, and Minecraft. However, his opportunities to stream became more limited once school reopened for in-person learning for the 2021-2022 school year.
Another unique aspect of the “GadonSpace” channel is the name itself. Low had originally created the name several years ago after first purchasing Minecraft. He also explained how he felt “Space” was more fitting in his account name than the typical “TTV” (Twitch TV) that is common among most streamers.
Aside from Twitch, Low has a following on several other social media platforms, including YouTube and Instagram, though he isn’t currently active on either. There is more to Andrew Low than his streaming. At school, he considers himself a talkative person and is always
trying to stay on good terms with his friends and most of his classmates, despite being looked at by some as “different” for the hearing aids he has to wear all the time. On the other hand, Low admits one thing he could work on in terms of his personality is putting actions behind his words, as he sees himself in a somewhat hypocritical light. This is due to Low being an advocate for protecting one’s privacy and personal information, yet he recognizes that he doesn’t conduct himself in a way as much as he feels he should. Furthermore, Low views himself as a generally honest person, as displayed through the aforementioned self-admission of hypocrisy. The sense of fashion of “GadonSpace” has changed over the years. Once committed to keeping his clothing restricted to one color, Low has begun to change his everyday attire to be more vibrant in order to reflect his generally positive personality. “I used to wear all black and dark colors, and then somewhere online I saw a video explaining how dark colors can affect your mental health, and that bright colors can make you happy. So I wear brighter colors to try and become a happy person.” After graduating from high school, Low intends on attending college to major in either the world of politics or philosophy. But regardless of his pursuits as an adult, one thing that he is devoted to continuing is the “GadonSpace” channel. He is working on creating more appealing thumbnails and titles for his streams, though he also pointed out his current disinterest in doing direct advertising or further collaborations. In the end, “GadonSpace” has been and will continue to be more than just a name that Andrew Low created, but rather a community.
dbuenaluz@arcadiaquill.com Photo courtesy of ANDREW LOW Graphic courtest of SGVIMAGES
By CHLOE WONG
Campus Focus Editor
If there’s one lesson the past few years have taught us, we all know now to never take things for granted—and that includes the privilege of living on our green earth. At a time when snow caps are melting and air pollution rates increase annually, caring for our planet is more important than ever. For most citizens, though, it can be difficult to make environmental change on a grand scale. Tied to the official Keep America Beautiful Foundation (KABF), Keep America Beautiful Month (KABM) “[empowers] individuals to take greater responsibility for their community environment.” KABF was established in 1953, while KABM became widely observed decades later during the 1980s. Observed annually each April, Keep America Beautiful Month promotes ways that the average person can make their community more eco-friendly, while also helping the planet as a whole.
Outside the typical habit of making sure to pick up your trash, there are many ways you can participate in KABM this April, according to the KABM website. Consider planting a tree in your backyard and following the “reduce, reuse, recycle” rule on a regular basis. You can begin “plogging” (the act of collecting litter while jogging), or even start your own garden. On an aesthetic level, plant-growing is sure to beautify your neighborhood, but vegetation also provides oxygen for the environment and offers wildlife a place to live. In addition to the resources provided by KABF, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) offers more options for helping the environment. For instance, NOAA states that conserving water mitigates the amount of runoff that ends up in the ocean, while opting to use long-lasting light bulbs helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To take a more active role in keeping your community beautiful, you can host a community clean-up at your local park. If you’re short on time, though, doing something as simple as taking a reusable bag to the grocery store can help our planet in the long run. It doesn’t take much time, effort, or environmental expertise to make your community beautiful; just the knowledge of how to help and a sense of motivation. This Keep America Beautiful Month, contribute in any way you can!
