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Vol. 29, Issue 3 December 2019

Out of darkness, there is

HOPE see pages 10-12

December 2019 Volume 29 Issue 3 Happy Holidays Gators!

It’s that time of the year again where joy and laughter fills the air. This issue we focused on those whose are less fortunate than most and touched on the subject of homelessness. This holiday season, remember to give back to those in need.

Aside from that, if you look inside you will see many festive pages in the paper. We have a light war on pages 28 and 29, you can figure out which holiday character best suits you with our personality quiz, and we have a holiday starter pack telling you the best way to kick off this season.

Third issue was a rollercoaster to produce. We improved a lot from our first issue and are working hard to keep improving. We really want to keep the paper visually appealing with exciting infographics.

Last issue we got a lot of good feedback from our pictures, infographics, and stories.

It can only go up from here, which is where we are headed.

Some other fun things we have planned this issue to look at. We have a whole page dedicated to the lovely key club, because in reality, everyone knows

Editors’ Note

on the cover

Co Editors-in-Chief: Victoria Rodriguez Hannah Serquina

Homelessness is a problem that hits home for many students at GVHS. Take a look into the Title I Hope program and the opportunites that exist for students in need. photo by Cherie Franklin

Managing Editor: Abigail Culpepper Editors: News: Kristel Alfaro Borbon Features: Vivien Liebhardt Sports: Zachery Schauer A&E: Tyler Bonnette Opinions: Alexis Ladd Photo: Cherie Franklin & Sebastian Villamil Adviser: Eric Johnston The InvestiGator is a student-run and operated news magazine. All opinions and views expressed within are those of the author and not of the student body or staff of Green Valley High School.

Green Valley High School 460 Arroyo Grande Henderson, NV 89014

what key club is, but only a small part.

This story shows everything there is to know about the infamous club.

Have you ever seen the show ‘Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, and Dawn?’

Think back into your childhood, and you might see a fimilar face around campus -- Mace Coronel. the actor of

Reporters: Paige Bordelove Malia Deramus Neyta Flores Esquer Cherie Franklin Shaelyn Gamiao Brenna Knight Alexis Lane Violet Lamela Halle Scoles Sebastian Villamil Staff Artist: Alexandra Estrada Staff Managers: Abigail Culpepper Alexis Ladd

Letters to the editor or staff may be delivered to room 825 to Mr. Johnston or emailed to him at johnsem1@nv.ccsd.net

Dicky.

One last sneak peak -- Andrew Navarro. Have you ever dreamed of going to the Olympics? His dream might become a reality in 2020.

As winter break approaches we hope you all have a wonderful two weeks off and happy holidays!

Random survey conducted amongst GVHS students on Dec. 3, 2019

The InvestiGator t GVHS

CONTENTS

NEWS 7

Find out what goes into a nationally recognized Key Club and what it takes to make the community a better place.

Inside-the-Issue

FEATURES 13

The volleyball team had a joyful and positive motivator this year, Gigi Hutchinson.

SPORTS 15

Junior Andrew Navarro preps for time trials to try and qualify for the Olympics.

PHOTO ESSAY

18

The Nightmare Before Midterms takes over at this year’s Winter Week Assembly.

Up and away - Juniors Melanie Galvez Lopez and Leo Lapitan Jr. perform a lift during a dress rehersal on Nov. 19. Dancers were preparing for the Winter Dance Show which took place on Nov. 20-21.

A&E 21

Want to know what holiday character you are? Take the personality quiz to find out!

OPINIONS 30

The Kardashian-Jenner family takes power in the White House? The multi-millionaire family is more influential than Trump.

Cherie Franklin

04 news

Straight to the facts

Students voice their opinions at Sun Youth Forum

By Alexis Lane

O

n Nov. 13 at the Las Vegas Convention Center the Sun Youth Forum was held. The Sun Youth Forum is a conference that is optional for teens to attend from Clark County School District to voice their opinions and listen to others on modern-day issues and how they can be solved or avoided. Teens

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We were give 30 different questions that covered a range of topics.

Ana Campanico

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were split up into groups based on categories such as Law and Crime, Around the World, and Miscellaneous. The attendees were expected to demonstrate their critical think-

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ing skills and their knowledge on the topics given to them. Everyone had different opinions on certain topics because of where they come from and their backgrounds, but they were all excited to hear their peers opinions and take into account an outside perspective besides their own. They were able to come together as a community and solve modern day issues and give the owners of Sun Youth a younger person’s perspective on world issues.

Two students from Green Valley, seniors Lillian Torres and Ana Campanico were both recognized at the conference. Torres had the opportunity to win $1000 and Campanico was selected as a representative for her class committee.

Campanico was selected while debating in her group for miscellaneous. She represented her group while conversing with other representatives from different groups. Being a representative made her eligible for a scholarship of $1000 along with an interview with Sun Youth of Las Vegas. The interview would consist of her thoughts and opinions on global modern day issues and how she would use her ideas and other representative’s ideas to solve the issues.

“We were given 30 different questions that covered a range of topics.

For example, we talked about should vaping be banned, what is the biggest problem facing Nevada, what can we do to solve climate change, stuff like that,” Campanico said.

Torres attended the conference as well and won $1000 from being picked at random in a bingo-style drawing along with eight other seniors who have attended the conference. To her luck, it was her birthday as well. Torres participated in the

group of “Teen Topics” where they talked about lowering teenage pregnancy rates, gun control, and guns in classrooms, and she was able to voice her opinion on the issues and how to fix the problems that teens face.

Teens were very opinionated on gun control and forms of contraception.

They believed that there should not be guns in classrooms for the safety of the students and the teachers. The attendees also believed that forms of contraception should be more common on school premises.

Hannah Serquina

Lunch Time - Students participating at the Sun Youth Forum take a break from formal activities. The students took part in various debates throughout the day.

news 05

Dance team takes on Disney Season kicks off with performance on center stage

By Alexis Lane

D

ance team kicked off their 2019-20 season with a dance showcase in Disneyland during a trip to Anaheim, California for two days. Disneyland hosted a performing art week for young performers from across the country and invited dance teams to perform on

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The teams’ energy and their entertainment factors are amazing.

there are other schools that are really good that are going,” senior Olivia Watson said.

Because the showcase was all the way in Disneyland, they were the only dance team coming from Nevada, giving them recognition in an environment where they are not really known along with several other performing arts groups that came from other parts of the nation. The trip served as both a learning and also a

bonding experience for the team for the long season ahead of them with many more dance shows coming up this year.

“The team’s energy and their entertainment factors are amazing. This is going to be a really good experience for us because it’s going to prepare us for our winter show and competition. The team worked so hard and the improvement from the summer is amazing,” captain and junior Rachel courtesy of Neyta Flores Esquer

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Rachel Ostler

the mainstage. There were bands, orchestras and choirs from all over the country, but the Green Valley Dance team was the only dance team to perform from Nevada. They were invited when Disney witnessed them participate in a parade last year.

“It’s a fun trip to help team bonding and getting exposure for our program and not only is it California but

Showtime - The dance team arrives at the main stage at Disneyland ready to perform on Nov. 7.

They performed a total of 15 dances at the event.

Ostler said.

Their contagious energy that they give at school functions all start with team energy. The dramatic change in size has strengthened their bond and how they work together as a team.

The Disneyland trip helped the team bond and become closer as a group, and they had a memorable experience with each other during the trip.

The extra day in Disney was given to the team to relax and enjoy their trip with their friends and become closer to some they might not know that well and make a bond before coming back to school.

“We have families on the team and we got to ride rides with them and get to know each other more and it was really fun. We also didn’t have our phones on us,” senior Miah Bencich said.

According to the team, the showcase itself was an exciting experience.

They had to act quickly because of how fast the show was going and all the fast costume changes, but handled it well and executed an amazing show for the big crowd, being that they performed on the mainstage.

“Performing was stressful but other than that we had a fun time performing and it was an eventful day,” sophomore Emma Rojas said.

Ventano Italian Grill 191 S. Arroyo Grande Blvd.

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December 2019

06 news

School helps students in need

Gator Give organizes can drive for the holidays

O

By Zachery Schauer

n campus there are a lot of different clubs and programs.

The program “Gator Give” is one of many that help students in need around the school.

Gator Give helps kids in need and gives them the resources they might not have. It focuses on the troublesome that some students have in and out of school. They do multiple fundraisers helping students in need. ”Gator Give is not just Thanksgiving and holiday food boxes and gifts.

It’s ongoing, even though it targets this time of year because of the holidays,” advisor of Gator Give Debra Block said.

During Thanksgiving, Gator Give hands out baskets with holiday themed things inside. The baskets areIt brings out the holiday feeling and helps some students through hard times. Not everyone can get what they want during the holiday for various reasons, but Gator Give tries to get them things they can use on a

day to day basis.

During the Holiday season the program does a fundraiser that allows for students in need to fill out a holiday wish list. Teachers and clubs are then given the oppurtunity to sponser a student.

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We are looking to support students and families during the holiday time.

“When the classes get involved, that’s pretty powerful even if they’re just giving the money. It’s the reflection and hope they express,” Block said.

The process of the Gator Give program is completely confidential to keep the student’s privacy intact.

Student Council is given the wishlists with the names already blacked out,

they then distribute the wishlists and in the end collect/wraps the gifts.

Gator Give is perceived as something that happens during the holidays. But really its happening all year.

Even though the holiday season is the busiest time of the year for the program. Gator Give is intended to be all year long to help as much students as they can that are in need.

Cherie Franklin

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Debra Block

It spreads joy in the school and really emphasizes the spirit of giving. The classes have the oppurtunity to participate and get involved with something they may have never even known about.

Surprise - Gifts for “Gator Give” are wrapped and distributed to students in need. The counseling department works alongside Student Council to organize the program.

Gators make every cent count

Classes battle to donate the most money to charity

By Halle Scoles Four classes, four charities. That is how many organizations are going head to head in freshmen English teacher Julie Goldstein’s Penny Wars. Penny Wars is an english project that raises money for all kinds of non-profit organizations.

Penny wars works by having students choose a charity, then they present their charity and argue why students should vote for it via persuasive essay and a google slides

presentation.

“Not only do they get to practice persuasion, but they also get to learn about all of these different organizations, and then we actually get to donate,” Goldstein said.

The students in each class then take a vote for which charity their class period should represent, the top charities have a jar made for them to gather money; pennies are worth one point, quarters, dimes, nickels, and dollar bills are worth negative points for the amount they

Cherie Franklin

Change for Charity - Students in Julie Goldstein’s class donate change during a Penny Wars activity. All together $970 was donated to the winning charity.

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are worth.

For example, dimes are worth negative ten point, quarters are negative twenty-five points. Whichever charity collects the most ‘points’ in their jar, wins all of the money from all the jars combined.

This year, Goldstein’s top four chartities were: Operation Underground Railroad, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the Kevin Lederer Foundation and the Fernando Agreda Scholarship Fund.

“I remember when [Mr. Agreda] died, it really hurt all of us. When Mrs. Goldstein asked me to pick a charity I chose this charity as a way to honor him,” freshman Ethan Araki said in regards to choosing the Fernando Agreda Scholarship as his charity.

O.U.R is a sex trafficking prevention organization. The A.F.S.P. works towards suicide prevention.

The Kevin Lederer Foundation provides both financial and educational assistance to those battling with infertility. The Fernando Agreda Scholarship Fund is the final charity.

Agreda was an art teacher on

campus three years ago. He discovered that he had a brain tumor and passed away. To honor him, the Fernando Agreda Scholarship Fund was established. The fund is presented to students to assist with college tuition.

On average, The Penny Wars

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I chose this charity as a way to honor him.

Ethan Araki

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cultivates $500 annually for charities all across the valley. The winning charity was the Fernando Agreda Scholarship Fund. Second place was the Kevin Lederer Foundation and third was the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

This year $970 was raised, which is the most money that the project has ever raised.

feature 07

The key to the club

By Vivien Liebhardt

“I pledge, on my honor to uphold the Objects of Key Club International; to build home, school and community; to serve my nation and God; and to combat all forces which tend to undermine these institutions.”

This is what students at GVHS Key Club pledge by. The nationally recognized club includes students that participate in various forms of service in their communities. They meet weekly in adviser Hannah Santee’s room after school on Mondays.

“The environment in Key Club has a lot of positive energy, and everyone has the same aspects of wanting to help the community. It is great meeting new people and working together and everyone’s always interacting and talking to each other,” vice president junior Lorelei Casillan said.

The core values of Key Club are leadership, character building, caring and inclusiveness.

“Anyone can be a Key Club member but they have to do 50 hours of

community service within the months of March to April along with paying their annual $25 dues,” Santee said.

There are various other opportunities for Key Club that involve traveling out of state.

“November 9 and 10 we will be going to Six Flags in California for a pep rally, which is a sport and fundraising rally for a pediatric trauma program,” Santee said.

On Oct. 26 Key Club hosted a Regional Training Conference (RTC) at Green Valley. Santee is not only the advisor for the school’s Key Club but she has also been the regional advisor for the past 5 years. This has resulted in the annual RTC being held on campus. RTC is where Key Clubs all around Las Vegas come together to learn the fundamental tenets of Key Club and what it means to be a member of the organization.

“RTC was really fun. I got to meet a lot of new people from different schools, and we did a lot of service projects such as making little hats for babies in hospitals and making dog toys. We also practiced our cheers and ending up winning our division spirit stick,” junior Maxamillion Ghasserani said.

The spirit stick is a stick that honors a group on their attitude, enthusiasm and teamwork; the award judges the most spirited team, similar to the

spirit stick in assemblies.

“RTC was awesome. We had so many freshmen this year and even though we were not as big as other clubs we still had so much spirit and we won the division spirit stick.

We also ate some delicious Panda Express for dinner and had a dance and rave after the cheering and service events,” club secretary junior Ly Huynh said.

GV’s division is better known under “Division 28 East” and includes Foothill, Liberty, Silverado, Coral Academy, Valley, Coronado, and Chaparral.

“Coronado is one of our biggest competitors because their club is probably double the size of ours. It is a little intimidating, but even with such a small group we won the spirit stick over them even though they had more people, big fancy signs and drums. Liberty is a close second because they’re a big club too but our cheers were more rehearsed and put together better, which is one reason why we ended up beating them too,” Ghasserani said.

Over the years Key Club has held many different events, such as annual car washes, club fairs, fundraisers and movie nights. All fundraisers have different goals; larger fundraisers for bigger projects tend to have a broader scope when it comes to one final dollar amount. During events

Full of spirit - Key Club members pose in front of the gym on Oct. 27 after winning their division’s spirit stick at the annual Key Club RTC.

courtesy of Arianna Japalucci

such as the annual ‘Relay for Life,’ Green Valley tries to raise as much money as possible while not setting one specific goal.

“Last year we fundraised almost $3,000 for ‘Relay for Life’ which is a fundraising event for the American Cancer Society and a lot of other cancer related institutions, societies and associations,” Santee said.

While Key Club can appear quite festive with all the fun cheers, programs, games and events, the amount of time and hard work put in behind

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Key Club has a lot of positive energy and everyone has the same aspects of wanting to help the community.

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Lorelei Casillan

the scences can be immense. The club takes dedication and passion among their members in order to be successful at their events; they have to truly enjoy what they are doing while they are giving their time and energy to the community.

“Before big events we spend a lot of time preparing. For RTC specifically, since we’re the host school, we are the ones who need to set up the classrooms with all the supplies for service projects and educators, get the supplies themselves ready for use, and we have put up a lot of signs,” junior Arianna Japalucci said. “On top of that we have to get our cheers ready.

As RTC got closer there were more things we needed to do so more time had to be put into it. If the members wanted to they could go in whenever they had free time during lunch or after school. It’s a lot of work but it is worth it in the end.”

Key Club aims to cooperate with a school’s administration and faculty along with students to provide members with an invaluable experience in living and working together and to prepare them for useful citizenship.

“In Key Club I have learned to love and to get to know my community,” president and senior Sarah Pelle said.

Being in Key Club means serving my community and helping others serve their community as well.”

December 2019

08 feature

Music for the city

Violinist joins the Las Vegas Youth Orchestra

By Neyta Flores Esquer

F

reshman violin player Amador Guerrero is very passionate about the orchestra life, as he takes on both orchestra at GV and with the Las Vegas Orchestra.

“My friend told me to join Orchestra at Greenspun, so I did. I actually ended up loving it,” Guerrero said.

In his seventh grade year, Guerrero joined the orchestra at his middle school, Greenspun. He began with the violin because it was the cheapest, but coincidentally, he actually ended up enjoying the instrument. Here, his orchestra journey began.

“I loved it. It felt like a healthy environment to be in, and I really enjoyed the instrument, too,” Guerrero said.

Guerrero speaks on his violin, and how he finds himself releasing emotion through it. He quickly fell in love with it, and decided to continue the rest of his orchestra journey with the violin.

“It’s nice, really nice. You can relieve stress easily. When you’re upset, you can play a fast song, and it’s like you’re releasing all of the emotions,” Guerrero said.

Guerrero plays with Green Valley’s Orchestra, but he also tried out for the Las Vegas Youth Orchestra over the summer and made it. It is fairly new for Guerrero because practices started in August, but he enjoys club orchestra a lot more than he thought he would.

“School orchestra is less competitive. We get the music, we learn it, we play. Club orchestra is there for connections and to make friends. I enjoy club a lot- we get the music, but the orchestra talks to each other about it and it’s a bigger community. People want to be there,” Guerrero said.

With Green Valley’s orchestra practice and LVYO’s orchestra practice, he finds himself in some stressful situations. However, his violin helps with that. And along with his newfound love for playing his instrument outside of school, he is a prime example of a hardworking student. He handles both orchestras, school and still has to make time for other things.

“It can get stressful at times, but it’s really fun. Occasionally, with LVYO, we have sectionals. Right now though, we are working on Christmas music for upcoming events. And for GV’s orchestra, we are playing Mozart and preparing for our concert on December 5th,” Guerrero said.

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of one’s bow, vibrato is a specific technique by advanced violin players, and scales is the fingerings of the violin.

Guerrero and his brother, Nick, are the only two out of his family who play instruments. Amador plays the violin while his brother plays the guitar and the piano. Even though not many people play instruments in his family, they enjoy the music that the two create. The most supportive of all

courtesy of Amador Guerrero

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I loved it. It felt like a healthy environment to be in, and I really enjoyed the instrument.

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Amador Guerrero

Congratulations - Amador Guerrero was named most improved musician in 8th grade at Greenspun. He now plats violin at both GV and LVYO.

Zachery Schauer

Guerrero, viewing music realistically, knows that playing his instrument as a career would be incredibly difficult. He does, however, want to continue playing as a hobby after high school because he has a deep passion for it. Guerrero still aspires to be an

extremely talented violinist who can play hard pieces and learn quickly even if it is just as a hobby. With that, he explains how he needs to improve on bow control, vibrato and scales. In the violin, bow control (explained in the name) is working on the control

is his mother, Kim. She makes time to ensure that Guerrero is on time for events and has an extra ear to practice for.

“No one in my family plays an instrument other than my brother. My family is very supportive of orchestra though. My mom is the most supportive. She takes me to every practice and always listens to me play,” Guerrero said.

Along with his mother, his middle school orchestra teacher, Lisa Smith, played a huge role in his orchestra journey because she made him want to do better. She always pushed Guerrero to be better, never giving up on him even though he had just started.

“It was a frustrating start. To be even decent at any instrument, you must want to dedicate lots of time and effort to it. When I began, it was so frustrating because I sounded horrible. Ms. Smith never gave up on me though, she pushed me to be better and better always,” Guerrero said.

Guerrero began his journey with just an interest, and now, he has a full-blown passion for this art. Not only does it calm him down, but he truly has fun and enjoys it.

“Music will always be a great thing to pursue because it is something derived from passion,” Guerrero said.

“It’s not something easy because you work for it, but it’s impactful. It’s something you love.”

feature 09

TV star arrives on campus

Actor focuses on expanding career while balancing public school

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By Victoria Rodriguez

rom short films and commercials to staring on Nickelodeon, sophomore Mace Coronel has done it all.

Coronel was born on Mar. 10, 2004 in Manhattan, NY. He started his acting journey at the age of seven. He was inspired by people in his home life along with looking up to his favorite stand-up comedian Dave Chappelle.

“I was kind of drawn to [acting] it was I wanted to do. My mother and grandmother were both performers, not necessarily acting, but plays and theatre, but I wasn’t as interested in that,” Coronel said. “I was really interested in comedy, then I got into acting and since then it has been super intuitive thing for me.”

Coronel’s very first acting gig came with a Samsung commercial. It was a short gig, and it was aired internationally in Japan. According to Coronel he does not really remember much except for the fact it was fun and it was easy.

The first big thing Coronel did was booking a job for Nickelodeon on a TV series called “Nicky, Ricky, Dicky and Dawn” He got the job when he was nine. Coronel was on the show closer to four years, but parted ways before the fourth season had ended.

“I never really watched my own show, but it was fun to be on when I was younger,” Coronel said. “I was little, so I don’t remember much.”

Being a child actor requires a lot of time. While on “Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, Action! - Sophomore Mace Coronel smiles while shooting a scene for a film called “Pocket.” This scene was shot on a train in Los Angeles, CA.

courtsey of Mace Coronel

and Dawn” Coronel was required to film for nine and a half hours a day.

Despite the grueling requirements, being on Nickelodeon gave Coronel a lot of opportunities.

“I met a lot of good people that go farther than kids’ television that excel as either a director or actors or more.

So I’ve met a lot of good crews and it has helped me to be more professional in general, not just in my field,” Coronel said.

The transition from small guest rolls and commercials was, of course, exciting. Coronel described it as getting hired at a dream job you have always wanted. When he first started his career, he started on independent films and short films, and then moved his way up. However, he said that compared to the big shows like “Ricky, Nicky, Dicky, and Dawn” he prefers to work on more independent films.

‘The people I’m working with now has a really crazy story. When I first started, it was for colleges and projects for film schools,” Coronel said.

“Over the years, I’ve kept in contact with these people. Now these producers are Oscar award winning and I am going to start working on a project with them soon.”

Aside from his up rise in the Nickelodeon community, the new project Coronel is starting will be in the works by the end of the year, and released in 2020. He wants to try and finish out the rest of the semester before leaving to Los Angeles for filming. Coronel is continuing to work on trying to expand his career.

“It’s not going to be a kid’s television show -- I don’t do kids TV anymore -- it’s going to be a series. It’s hard to explain because I am not allowed to talk about it, but it’s going to be different. It’s something of its own kind,” Coronel said.

Without giving out too much information about his upcoming show, Coronel was able to give a picture as to how big this project is going to be.

There will be several other actors who are Academy award winners that he will be acting alongside.

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These producers are Oscar award winning and I am going to start working on a project with them.

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Mace Coronel

Since his time in kids TV, Coronel has done a other projects that he has been very proud of. One of them was called “Pocket” which was released in March 2019. It was an independent film but according to Coronel, it has over 800,000 views. It received coverage from Vice, The Atlantic and more.

“It was a really good film that

exemplified teenagers. We had partnered with Vimeo to release it. It is one of my proudest projects so far. I don’t know how to explain it, but it is really raw cinema,” Coronel said.

After not working for a little bit, Coronel got bored at home and decided to give public school a try. He had been auditioning for things and getting close to projects for almost a year and not much happened, so he decided to try and give public school a chance while he can.

“But of course, as soon as I finally enroll in high school I book a huge project and I am probably going to have to leave again -- but it is just like my contrary life. The universe works against me,” Coronel said.

The transition for Coronel was easy and not a huge adjustment.

According to him, he found public school to be much easier than homeschool and he likes the way things are going. And as for the students and friends, Coronel was not worried about people knowing who he was, just the way they chose to react.

“I’ve gotten recognize my whole life, so I don’t really bat an eye to it anymore. Some people are just annoying about it, and I don’t like rude people. In any field of life, I don’t like being put on a pedestal and I don’t like the idea of fame, Coronel said.

“But fame comes along with what I love to do.”

For the most part, it does not bother him anymore, and he knew that consequences might come with going to a public school with kids who have watched him growing up. And as for the school, Coronel was originally zoned for Foothill, but made the decision to go to Green Valley because his cousin goes here and his older sister graduated from GV. Making friends was a tricky subject for Coronel. According to him, famous or not everything is the same.

Going to a new school and not knowing anybody does not matter if he was on TV or not -- high school is still high school.

“I only have like two friends. It would be the same famous or not. I think everyone in life should have a small circle of friends, especially in high school,” Coronel said. “People think having a big friend group is cool, but by the time you get out, you’ll only have like one or two friends anyways.”

Coronel is trying to live a normal life, like the rest of the students on campus. He enrolled at Green Valley and is looking forward to what his future holds.

“I’m just trying to finish what I can of high school,” Coronel said. “Then get to work filming my new project.”

December 2019

10 feature

Hope for the holidays Program provides resources for students in need

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By Hannah Serquina

ome. The meaning of this word is different for many.

For some, a home means family and loved ones. For others, home is where they can fall into the comfort of their own bed. For many, home is something intangible or unstable.

Home is the mattress of a friend’s house. Home is sleeping under the bleachers or on the side of the street or in the backseat of a car.

Each year, an estimated 4.2 million youth and young adults experience homelessness. Of the 4.2 million, 700,000 are unaccompanied minors, meaning they are not part of a family or do not have a parent or guardian. On any given night, approximately 41,000 people ages 1325 experience homelessness.

The Title I Hope program at Green Valley created a variety of opportunities for homeless youth. Counselor Stacy Rosier advocates that the program has given less fortunate students the resources in order to make the best out of their situation, which can be different for everyone.

“Title I is implemented throughout the district. It’s a program that covers anybody who doesn’t have

a permanent housing situation. It could be somebody who’s living in a car, living in the park, or somebody who got kicked out of their house and is in a hotel motel or with a family member because they don’t have anywhere else to live,” Rosier said.

“It kind of looks completely different for everybody, but it applies to anyone who does not have a permanent housing situation.”

The main principle that the program advocates is that they take care of students who are unable to help themselves. In other words, if students are struggling, whether that be financially or within their family, they have the opportunity to get help and reach out to someone in order to improve their situation.

“The major point that I like to let people know at Green Valley is not necessarily if somebody is homeless, but that we like to take care of our own here. We want to know if somebody’s struggling in any way shape or form so if they are homeless that’s huge and we can help in different ways,” Rosier said.

When students are aware that other kids are in need, it extends the opportunity for other students to receive help. Green Valley is a com-

Take what you can - Social worker Faith Harper has clothes available for students who are in need.

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munity that can only be improved if one knows that they can seek to help in another. Often times it is difficult to determine whether or not one is struggling at home because it looks different for everyone.

“It’s really good for kids to start thinking, ‘That person might need help,’ whether it’s a pencil or a place to sleep at night. There’s different variations and sometimes it’s hard to spot and kids don’t necessarily know

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The major point that I like to let people know at Green Valley is not neccessarily that if somebody is homeless, but that we like to take care of our own here.

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Stacy Rosier how to spot that. It’s just the overall knowledge if somebody needs help and they don’t have what I have,” Rosier said.

Debra Block, counselor and liaison for Title I, functions as a communicator and a resource for unaccompanied youth. Specifically, Ms. Block holds the responsibility of giving kids the resources the school provides when students do not have a permanent home.

“I’m the go-to person when students in need fall under the Title I Hope guidelines. There could be

Cherie Franklin

Special delivery - Project 150 delivers Thanksgiving meals to Green Valley in preparation for the holiday.

The program provides food to those in need in CCSD.

Cherie Franklin

school supplies that are provided, there could be clothing and bus passes,” Block said.

Block also explains the significance of the Title I Program.

“The mission statement for Title I Hope works to remove barriers for homeless students so that they can enroll in school and to also educate school personnel, parents and unaccompanied youth of the educational options under the McKinney-Vento federal law,” Block said.

Another resource for unaccompanied youth is social worker Faith Harper. There are a variety of fees that can be taken care of if a student’s financial situation prohibits them from paying said fees. Harper is another communicator if a student’s home life is struggling.

“When a child comes in and they’re homeless, I provide with help looking for housing and I can also help with clothes,” Harper said. ”We try to make sure that they’re enrolled into this program because it helps them with free and reduced lunch, it helps them with graduation stuff, and it helps with their fees at school.

We provide families meal bags and weekend bags. They come here and get a cup of noodles and those kinds of things like that as well.”

In addition to Title I, Project 150 is a non-profit charitable organization that provides support for unaccompanied youth. Project 150 provides services to homeless, displaced, and disadvantaged high school students so they can remain in school, graduate, and build a bright future.

“We also help the family get close because we work with Project 150 so we hope that family with that as well.

With Project 150, high schoolers are able to get 10 outfits a month. They’re also able to get food and hygiene

stuff,” Harper said.

Many agree that the correlation between home life and academics is significant. Specifically, when ones home life is filled with stress over financial issues, it can cause a decrease in a student’s grades. Experts agree that if one does not have the basic necessities then they will fail to be the best version of themselves.

“I think that’s super significant because what our home life is like affects our academics. If we don’t have a good home life, it’s not going to transition over into having a good school

comes into the social workers room located next to the weight training room.

“The closet here has hygiene kits that were donated by the Sharon Foundation. We also have lots of clothes. We have lots of shoes,” Harper said. “We even have underwear and socks and those kinds of things.

And we also have backpacks full of school supplies. At the beginning of the year we’ve got over 100 backpacks donated.”

If there are students in need of something to eat there are a variety of options available for that as well.

Harper has snacks if students are lacking the ability to have them at

,,

With Project 150, high schoolers are able to get 10 outfits a month. They’re also able to get food and hygiene stuff.

Faith Harper

,,

life. You’re going to have absences and your grades are going to drop and more of those kinds of things will happen. We just try to make sure that they have those basic necessities so that they can focus more on being the best them,” Harper said.

The basic necessities are something that Green Valley can provide.

A closet is available for students who need, toiletries or school materials.

These are available to anyone that

Stocked up - Backpacks are available for sudents lacking access to proper school supplies.

December 2019

12 feature home. Students are welcome to come and utilize the supply.

“Yeah, so if they come in and say, ‘Miss I need something to eat today.’

I usually have a cups of noodles, mac and cheese, granola bars, and other small snacks here. We have a microwave and canned goods. 10 times out of 10 they’re able to just take whatever,” Harper said.

Harper notes that programs like Project 150 enable students who can not afford their own clothes to have access to name brand clothing. Most clothes that are given to homeless students are donated. Project 150 gives students who cannot afford their own clothes the opportunity to pick them out.

“A lot of times when homeless are given clothes and stuff. It’s just like whatever someone’s donated. I think that them having access to something like Project 150 gives them a chance to actually get good clothes because it’s a lot of name brand stuff and they have clothes, they have shoes, they have all that stuff,” Harper said.

Harper notes that Green Valley families do not hesitate to help those who do not have permanent residency. Harper gives praise and explains that the way parents provide for others is something she has never seen before.

“One other thing I have noticed here as well, is if a student becomes homeless or kicked out a lot of their friends they take them in,” Harper said. “To me that’s really awesome that parents are willing to take on like another mouth to feed and provide for them and take care of them as their own. So that’s something that was very new to me that I hadn’t seen.”

Harper claims that often times students are not midful of how they speak around those who might be struggling. Often times students boast about the latest items they are able to purchase. Harper explains that some students do no have the capabiility to buy the same luxiries of other students. Students are not aware that their peers may not be able to afford what they can. She explains the fact that the person could be your own friend.

“It could be your friend you could have a good friend I sit next to that.

And I feel like sometimes teenagers talk like ‘I have to do is I like these pair of shoes that cost $500 and I’m going to get them because my parents make a lot of money and then their friend is sitting there not able to afford those certain luxuries,” Harper said.

If there is anything that Harper

could fix about the issues of homeless youth, she would fix the supply of of shelters in the valley. By creating more shelters Harper bellieves it would allow homeless youth and their families to stay together.

,,

There’s a lot of things that can make someone homeless and it can happen to anybody.

Faith Harper

,,

“I think that if there is anything that I would like to change about homelessness is creating more shelters for the families, so that way they can stay together because they’re already going through a hard time and then for them to be split up,” Harper said.

There are often misconceptions on what homeless youth look like.

Harper educates that there is no specific way for homeless students to look. This is exemplified by the fact that Harper herself did not believe that there would be a population of students at Green Valley that struggle financially. She assumed that the problems of homelessness did not exist.

“I don’t think there’s a specific way that [homeless youth] look. I honestly was ignorant in the sense that I didn’t think that there were any homelessness issues. I didn’t think that there was any future issues. I was like ‘what could possibly be wrong in an affluent area like this,” Harper said.

Harper’s mind was changed as she learned that even at a place like Green Valley there are people with struggling households. Harper believes that the lesson can be applied to everyone.

She advocates that everyone should be aware that anyone from anywhere could struggle or not have the basic neccessities. . Most importantly, at any given moment there one can lose everything.

“There’s a lot of things that can make someone homeless and it can happen to anybody,” Harper said.

“That’s the unfortunate part because you can be living good today and then tomorrow, lose it all.”

Hannah Serquina

The InvestiGator t GVHS

feature 13

One strong sisterhood Volleyball superfan produces smiles on and off the court

By Shaelyn Gamiao

T

he once cold-textured surface was now warm with a single touch. Barely spinning, her gentle hands framed the ball perfectly and with a swift flick of her wrists, the ball was pushed passed the 8 foot double-block, and hit the back line on the opposite side of the net; the rally was over, and they scored the point. The audience went wild, but one rather devoted fan was the center of attention. For Gigi Martinez, every point counts.

The intensity is overwhelming for everyone but her. Whether it be dancing across the floor, starting cheers, or rowdying up the crowd, Gigi is always there to make sure that the team has the maximum support during the game, and for those that are unaware, she also has Downs syndrome.

“She is always by our side, motivating us, and is our quote on quote ‘number one fan’,” her older sister, senior Madison Hutchison-Martinez said. “She’ll be there shagging balls, or even in our team huddles before and after the game. She’s always there with the biggest smile on her face.”

Downs syndrome is a congenital disorder caused by a chromosome defect, specifically in the twenty-first position, in which there is an additional one present or in other words:

trisomy-21. Despite having such things as intellectual impairment and physical abnormalities, she has proven to everyone that she is much more than that. Some might even go so far as to say that she is a role model.

“I think that everyone loves her to death because if we are down a couple points or we are struggling in a play, you can look over at the bleachers and she will be there with her pom-poms cheering us on,” Hutchison-Martinez said.

Her high spirits are what inspire others to carry the same energy both on and off of the court. There is always an opportunity to pick the team up and encourage them to do better, and Gigi has lived up to her reputation of being the team’s “number one fan.” She can proudly wear that title as she prances across the floor, wooing and entertaining the crowd with her flexibility--and rather impressive dancing skills.

“I think it’s really cool to see how accepting everyone is of her. It’s very important for people with disabilities to feel included, and always have an inclusive environment,” HutchisonMartinez said. “I think that our team has done really well and it makes me happy as a big sister to see how welcomed she is in the program.”

One junior, Breanna Onori, can vouch for that. Playing on the same team as Hutchison-Martinez since

And Prep - Gigi Martinez gets ready to serve the ball at a home match. The teams gives the crowd a chance to win Gator gear by serving the ball and aiming for a t-shirt.

Say Cheese - Senior Madison Hutchison-Martinez poses for a picture with her younger sister, Gigi, after a recent volleyball game.

, , If we are down a

courtsey of Madison Hutchison-Martinez

couple points, you can look over at the bleachers and she will be there cheering us on.

Madison HutchisonMartinez

,,

courtsey of Madison Hutchison-Martinez

freshman year, Onori has been able to learn a lot about Gigi, and spend time getting to know her personally.

“I’ve been really close with Maddie and her sister since freshman year because as a setter, she always helped me even though I was one year younger than her. She always gave me tips, and so, with knowing Maddie I got closer to Gigi,” Onori said.

“She was always a really happy spirit to be around and she’d join us in the locker room for our team meetings.”

Gigi tends to keep herself very busy, and there is always something new going on. She also never fails to impress the audience. Some would

say that she is one of a kind and undeniably, leaves a huge impact on the team.

“She brought happy energy and was always cheering us on, dancing and sometimes she’d take our teammates off of the bench when we’re watching the JV team play, and she’d start dancing with them,” Onori said.

“Gigi was always interacting with the crowd and our whole team loves her because of how happy a spirit she is, and how much energy she brings.

She’s always the first one to give us high-fives after our game, no matter win or lose.”

It is safe to say that Gigi’s energy enhances the attitudes of not only the team, but the crowd as well. There is never a dull moment, and it is always the time to get your groove on, at least in the eyes of this dedicated fan.

“I know that she’s helped out, and I know for Maddie, she’s a big motivation. She’s always with us no matter what, and like I said, ups and downs, she’s always the first person to come give us high-fives with the biggest smile on her face,” Onori said.

“Throughout my whole life, Gigi has always been my number one motivator and my number one inspiration in life, not just in volleyball, and to just always keep working hard,” Hutchison-Martinez said. “The first thing I think when I’m working for something is to work for her.”

December 2019

14 feature

Journey of a young leader Journey to a young leader

By Sebastian Villamil

Y

oung leaders of the world take on the task of shaping the future for other young adults. Senior Journey Grasmick has travelled around the country to study and learn about the concept of leadership.

For the past two summers, Grasmick was selected to represent Green Valley High School at the Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership program.

“When I heard the news, I thought it seemed like a really great opportunity,” Grasmick said.

This program was created by the famous 50’s actor and humanitarian Hugh O’Brien. His non-profit organization’s goal is to empower the youth to achieve their highest potential and become better leaders. The program travels to a new city each year and hosts students who want to gain leadership skills in the future.

“I have always been involved in leadership my whole life, like with

NHS and I’m always volunteering. I started taking leadership classes in eighth grade,” Grasmick said.

Grasmick believes she has learned from this experience to always try to help out your community by starting non-profit organizations. These organizations do not have to be big, but can be more locally based.

“I have always liked volunteering for the community, it’s just a way to get kids to volunteer more because not many kids do so these days,” Grasmick said.

For Grasmick, she definitely is determined to open a non-profit organization to help the community.

“I’m a huge advocate for animals and homelessness. I’m definitely going to work and traveling to other countries to teach,” Grasmick said.

Grasmick got the opportunity to fly to Chicago and be one of the many young students from around the world to participate in The Hugh O’Brien World Conference. At this courtesy of Journey Grasmick

Order! - Senior Journey Grasmick takes a tour of the Nevada State Legislative building in Carson City. Grasmick learned about aspects of how laws are created and how voting works.

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courtesy of Journey Grasmick

Power to the People - Senior Journey Grasmick poses for a picture at the Hugh O’Brien conference in Chicago.

Students listened to various lectures from different cultures.

conference, she got to meet and hear inspirational speakers who run nonprofit organizations. The speakers encouraged them to take on leadership skills and to run non-profit organizations.

“I just got to see many kids from different places around the world, like from Brazil and Japan,” Grasmick said.

In Chicago, Grasmick met and exchanged day to day life with kids from different countries at Loyola University. This allowed her to become more open-minded to issues around the world. In an era where many Americans are unaware of world conflicts, these interactions at a young age with students from different countries can diffuse conflicts in the future. She was surprised by the huge difference in education systems in these countries, and how American culture is not as popular as many Americans believe.

“We even got to see a talent show, from all these kids that showed us their different dances, songs, and beautiful instruments,” Grasmick said. “They are very different from the United States, and it shows how Americans can be close-minded at our age.”

She believes that this program should be more accessible to more young teenagers in America because this can open students’ minds to world issues, and understand what other teenagers go through. She also believes that students do not tend to branch out to other cultures because of the social norm that Americans have everything.

“This program is not very well known, which is disappointing because more kids should be exposed to these types of programs in high schools,” Grasmick said.

After Chicago, Grasmick travelled to Nevada State Girls in Reno. This

program’s goal is to empower and encourage young women to participate in politics. Furthermore, Grasmick learned how the government worked, how laws are created and how votes are held in the legislative building.

Grasmick was happy to be a part of the Nevada State Girls program as she believes more women should be in politics.

“I was able to create my own government and able to vote on laws which was fascinating,” Grasmick said.

Grasmick has a strong support system as well. She proudly calls her mother her role model. Her mother is a very volunteer-driven person, which is why Grasmick sees her as a role model. Grasmick and her mother work with Sweet Fantasy, a non-profit organization against sex-trafficking.

Not only that, but it has also encouraged her to join school organizations like NHS and Student Council.

“She has always been there for me, and always encouraged me to do better because she believed in me,” Grasmick said.

Her best friend, senior Belle Lodovico, talked about how proud she is about Grasmick.

“If I can describe Journey in 3 words it would be unique, caring and spiritual,” Lodovico said.

Lodovico has volunteered with her on multiple occasions, and she believes that Grasmick will open future non-profit organizations.

As Grasmick heads out of high school to the University of Nevada Reno, she hopes to continue her passion for helping out the community and she is driven to make the world a better place.

“Every one of these programs involves breaking the barriers to make the world a better place,” Grasmick said.

sports 15

Navarro el nadador Student athlete sets sights on Toyko 2020

Cherie Franklin

A

By Alexis Ladd

s junior student athlete Andrew Navarro swims, families cheer, the tension rises, and the clock runs. Navarro falls short, just one second away from a qualifying Olympic Trial time.

In the presence of loss, an athlete is given two options: give up or keep fighting. Navarro, being the athlete he is, chooses to continue working on his journey. A journey that has had too much put into it to see it end just moments short of its goal.

Navarro has been swimming since the age of 7, when his parents decided to introduce something new to him.

His sister, Victoria, has also had a great impact on his life and him being in the position he is in currently.

“I started swimming because of my siblings. I was in a bad state, so my parents had me go into swimming. After a few years I realized how much I actually liked it,” Navarro said.

Swimming changed a lot for Navarro, and it had its highs and lows.

After deciding he really enjoyed the sport, life seemed to get better for him. Both physically and mentally, Navarro felt better as he became fit and drastically improved his social life, which had been a struggle as he grew up. Over time though, getting used to the high stress routine of being competitive at such a high level, Navarro considered quitting.

“At one point I began to not like swimming as much. My mom told me I could quit if I wanted, but I would have to accept the fact that giving up swim would mean I would be doing nothing with my time, and could go back to how things were before swim.

I reconsidered and stayed with it,” Navarro said.

A year later, Navarro knew staying in swim was the right choice after feeling like it really took him out of a dark spot.

“The motivation that swim required also improved things in school.

The discipline and morals made me a better person,” Navarro said.

Challenges come with being so dedicated to a sport along with the pressure Navarro had on him from family and coaches. Time and effort paid off and he soon became aware of his talent, he kept pushing and contributed more of his life towards swim.

“My main focus is practice and school, limiting my free time. If I choose to hang out with my friends all the time, I essentially wouldn’t be able to swim. It’s important for me to stay motivated by being healthy, fit and ready for what swim has to throw at me,” Navarro said.

All of the hard work is definitely driven by a different motive for Navarro compared to the typical athlete.

The Olympics. The biggest accomplishment an athlete can reach after mastering their sport. For Navarro, this is a reality and the requirements for being a part of the 2020 event boil down to every moment from now until trials.

“My goal is to make trial cuts during the next long course season.

I almost have it,” Navarro said. “In the two fly I need a 2:01, and I have a 2:02. I am very close.”

Making trial cuts is a challenge within itself, before actually making it to the Olympics and receiving a medal. Trial cuts are next summer and will be the biggest moment for

Navarro, although he claims he will do his best, he thinks he could obtain more discipline to feel more confident in making the cuts.

“For me there hasn’t been any offseason. I practice, have meets, and practice during winter, summer, spring and fall. Club swim has done a lot for me, but I feel like I can focus more and really push myself so I can get to where I need to be,” Navarro said.

Preparing for something like a big test, competition, or event can mean

,The,motivation that

swim required...the discipline and morals made me a better person.

,,

Andrew Navarro

different things for everyone. For Navarro he will continue his rigorous training and improve his diet.

“I’ll train like I am now, but make sure I do not miss any practices and fall behind. My diet is also important and I will begin eating healthier by cutting down on fats and not intake as much sugar,” Navarro said.

From the moment Navarro has started swimming, until now, the motive behind contributing such an immense amount of work has really been one thing. A genuine passion and reason rooted within someone, is what leads a challenge or task in one’s

life to result in success and achievement.

Navarro’s friends and family wish him the best of luck and make sure to support him throughout his entire journey.

“I used to swim with Andrew, he’s a good friend of mine and I’m willing to work with him by going to the gym with him and keeping him motivated to stay fit,” senior Kenneth Lee said.

In order for Navarro to do his best, it is important that those around him believe in him and make sure he is aware of his potential and ability. Friends and teammates that have swam with him see his effort and know what he is capable of.

“Andrew is really talented and as far as his opportunities, he could go to Harvard for swim considering he will possibly be representing Mexico in the Olympics. Because of his talent, he is able to grow and become even better, I see him making it really far,” Lee said.

Navarro will be competing in trials next summer hoping to place in winning an event. For this to happen, Navarro has a lot to prepare for, although he is very close. With the right support and practice Navarro believes making it to the Olympics will be a dream checked off of his list.

Taking one day at a time, he will focus on making trial cuts; having enough faith, he plans to then give his all in swimming for Mexico in the 2020 Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan.

“I want to make it because it’s my dream, has been from the moment I realized it could be a reality. It would mean a lot to be Latino and make it into the Olympics,” Navarro said.

“Most importantly, I want to make my family proud.”

December 2019

16 sports

Winter Sports Previews

Sarah Arendt

Simran Arya

Lock up - Senior William Zernich pins his opponent to the ground on Nov. 8. The team was going competing at the Green Valley Duals Tournament.

Simran Arya

Strike - Freshman Alexandre Cipili swings his arm to throw the ball. The team was competing against Coronado on Nov. 4 at Sunset Station.

Focus - Senior Alexandria Bucy prepares to roll the ball down the lane. The bowling team lost their recent match vs. Coronado.

Sarah Arendt

Pin him - Senior Karter Kares takes his rival to the ground during a recent match on Nov. 8 at Green Valley during the Green Valley Duals.

Wrestling

Wrestling has one thing in mind.

“To win Division, Regional and then State,” head coach Jon Ferry said.

After being the State runner-up the last two seasons, the team is looking forward to getting back to their championship ways.

“I do not want to finish in 2nd place this year and we won’t,” Ferry said.

The team has also witnessed an influx of new wrestlers this season.

“We do have new faces and it’s exciting because we get to see how they each are going to do this year,” senior Derek Recktenwald said.

Recktenwald is satisfied with the team’s dynamic thus far.

“I’m definitely happy with how our team turned out to be,” Recktenwald said. “There are mostly seniors which is good because we can teach the younger ones,”

Bowling

The bowling team hopes to have fun and continue to stay competitive vs. other schools in their conference. Led by head coach Brandi McElhaney, the team hopes to do well and improve from previous years. McElhaney stressed the importance of improving their finish from last year while maintaining good sportsmanship throughout the bowling season.

Standout sophomore Samantha Conti talked about how she wants to win a State championship after finishing in 4th place last year.

“We have a really good team and I’m excited for this season,” Conti said.

The InvestiGator t GVHS

sports 17

Hike - The offense takes a snap during a play vs.

Desert Oasis on Dec. 2. The Gators won their first game of the season.

Bailey Carpenter

On guard - Senior Lucas Mendez guards a Canyon Springs player on Dec. 6. The Gators fell short, losing 68-49.

Attack - Senior Chloe Theytaz dribbles past a Canyon Springs defender on Friday, Dec. 6.

The Gators lost the game 50-34.

Alyssa Giles

Alyssa Giles

Women’s Basketball

The women’s basketball team is keeping it simple this season.

“We are just trying to improve as a team and want to win games this season,” head coach Reynaldo White said.

White also thinks that the team has really good chemistry with a majority of the players being returning letter winners. He believes that the players come to practice to work hard, which is why he is confident that they are going to improve on their record from last season.

Junior Lusi Soifua, has made it her goal to become better on offense while keeping the team’s goal in mind as well.

“We want to beat teams that we have not been able to beat,” Soifua said.

With the hard work and Gator spirit, the women’s basketball team will surely do better than last year.

Flag Football

Flag football is off to a fast start this season, defending their tournament title in Mesquite after opening up with a victory on the road vs. Desert Oasis. Head coach David Torrez thinks that the combination of new and old players have made the team more dynamic.

“Our girls love to have fun and goof around, but once we get on the field we know how to play,” Torrez said.

Coming off of their first State championship last season, the team understands that they must continue to improve in order to win back-to-back years. Torrez is dedicated to keeping the team the best in the state. He also wants to make sure that his players understand that everything can be earned and taken away.

“We obviously want to work hard enough to defend State from the other schools,” Torrez said.

As usual, the team also has a familar foe on the schedule that seems to be circled each season.

“I’m definitely excited to play against Coronado because we always have interesting games against them,” Torrez said.

Men’s Basketball

Men’s basketball has a new look this year as first year head coach Ezra Irvin has taken over the program. Irvin is proud to be serving as the coach on campus.

He plans to make the team better by allowing the players to realize how much potential they have.

“My goal for this season is to improve our game,” Irvin said. “ I’m very excited for every game because it gets to show the improvement of the players.”

December 2019

1

The Nightmare Before Midterms

By Abigail Culpepper

2 1. Freshman Jaeshaun Powell steals the show during his first Boy Band performance. The freshmen put on a great show and kept the judges laughing.

2. Junior Callan Hermansen pulls a trick during their Boyband performance on Dec. 5. The juniors were crowned Boy Band champs.

3. The dance team ends their performance in a group pose. The team performed at the beginning of the Winter Week Assembly.

4. Sophomore Aidan Regan dances for the crowd during the assembly. The sophomores brought the competition with their crisp dance moves.

5. Senior Boy Band members (from left) Ilai Macaggi, Gabe Vargas, Tristan Macaggi and Kyle Webb sport classic jean shorts and cowboy hats as they steal the judges hearts during their last ever Boyband performance.

3

4

5

Sarah Arendt and Juliana Shepard

a&e 19

courtesy Day N Vegas Media

Just another Day N Vegas Inaugural local music festival applauded by students

By Hannah Serquina

D

ay N Vegas was a three day music festival that took place from Friday, Nov. 1 through Sunday, Nov. 3. The event took place at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds in Las Vegas, NV. Venues opened at 12 p.m. and all ages were welcome to attend.

The festival featured J Cole, Miguel, Denzel Curry, Saba, and more on Friday; Migos, 21 Savage, DaBaby, Rico Nasty, and more on Saturday; and Kendrick Lamar, Tyler the Creator, Schoolboy Q, Brockhampton, Megan Thee Stallion, and others on Sunday. These artists are what the current generation has called the hottest names in hip-hop today. Had it not been for them, some may argue that the festival would not have been nearly as successful as it was.

“Most of this generations’ well liked artists went there and performed. So, obviously we’re going to have our generation go watch,” senior Alan Herrera said.

One of the main reasons why everyone was so hyped about this music

The InvestiGator t GVHS

festival was because it was the first festival where all of the biggest names in hip-hop and R&B were able to perform all together.

“The line-up was so fire. Everyone wants to go to Vegas. Every artist, probably wanted to get a little of the action and something new, especially for Day N Vegas being a first time event so everyone came here,” senior Brayden Miller said. “Day N Vegas was the greatest time of my life.”

High energy was constantly present during the festival and the artists created exciting environments for the crowd. Due to this high energy, mosh pitting occurred, which is a way for the crowd to express how hype they are about the artist performing.

“Mosh pitting, it’s like a crowd.

It’s a specific area in the crowd where everyone opens a circle up, and then as soon as the bass drops everyone starts pushing each other, going crazy,” Miller said. “Ski Masks the Slump God was for sure my favorite.

There’s the energy of the crowd and the energy of him himself and surfing on top of the people in the mosh pit.

It’s insane.”

Another aspect about mosh pitting at festivals is that you must wear the right attire in order to ensure comfortability. Not only that, but it is

,,

The line-up was so fire...everyone came here. Day N Vegas was the greatest time of my life.

,,

necessary to make sure your favorite clothes do not get ruined in all of the chaos.

“So the first day I went all out, which was a mistake after the end of the night when all my stuff was messed up. So the other two days I wore something that I was easily able to mosh pit in,” Miller said.

Although mosh pitting occurs individuals also take part in crowd surfing. Crowd surfing is an alternative

way to get into the groove or engulf themselves into the artists’ performance.

“I like crowd surfing and every chance I got, I crowd surfed, and I even had a picture of me ski mask surfing on their Twitter,” Miller said.

Not only was there enjoyable music, but the festival also included a variety of food selections. Although it was costly, people still bought as much food as they could.

“I bought $17 Pizza, $17 chicken wings, and $20 pineapples,” Miller said.

Most importantly festivals such as Day N Vegas are an opportunity to be in the rhythm with those around you who share the same love for the same music. Day N Vegas was an environment for young people to forget about their worries and just vibe.

“Everyone’s, you know, singing along with this music and vibing with everyone else, so it was just great,” Herrera said. “I mean, it was cool. It was like mellow chill, you know everyone’s vibe into the music, getting along with no problems. That’s why I liked it.”

20 a&e

Goliaths hit the big screen

Holidays bring blockbuster movies to theaters

C

By Malia Deramus

an you imagine paying over $100 at a theater because the trailers for an upcoming movie were so fantastic, but once you watch the two hour movie it ended up having a horrible ending? But hey, it was worth it… hopefully. The movies from October all the way up to December definitely had some shocking twists and turns along with unforeseen endings.

Almost everyone knows Batman’s backstory and how he saves Gotham in his cloak and cape. No one ever came to think about his arch nemesis, The Joker. Finally, on Oct. 4, DC released the movie “Joker”. Director Todd Phillips created a persona of the character Arthur Fleck (played

by Joaquin Phoenix) whose alter ego became the Joker. Movie fanatic sophomore Dylan Byrd thought that the movie was enjoyable.

“I gave the movie an eight and a half because I feel like there are some things that did not need to be in the movie,” Byrd said.

In the film, there are multiple flashbacks and scenes that seemed to have prolonged the storyline further.

Arthur Fleck, better known as the Joker, had a strong “love” connection with one of his apartment neighbors.

Throughout the entire movie there are small scenes of Arthur and his neighbor doing couple-related things as they go on their first date at a comedy club. She even comforted him at the hospital when his mom had a seizure. Later in the movie, however, it is revealed that Arthur had imagined every scenario with her and never was truly dating his neighbor to begin with, causing flashbacks of scenes to dramatize the fact that his neighbor was never his girlfriend and was not there alongside with him that whole

time. Scenes like these were unnecessary and only created a profoundly long and downright tiring movie.

Adult critics on the other hand feel that “Joker” tries to emphasize mental illness and rebellion in large groups. Although DC comics never intended for his backstory to cause others to feel such a way, it struck up an interesting view-point on the movie. It was created to show the backstory on how the Joker came to be, and spread awareness on what illnesses he has and why they were important to creating the perfect Joker character.

According to viewers, a major downside to such a thrilling movie was how much directors and producers tried to prolong the movie with nonsense scenes. “Joker” gave an interesting approach on a villain’s backstory and gave the audience a spine chilling feeling while watching Arthur Fleck, a failed stand-up comedian with mental illnesses turn into the Joker, a villain of chaos in Gotham City.

Now, there is only one renowned Disney princess who hid her powers for years only to finally let her power flurry through the air and into the ground in 2013: Elsa. With that being said, after six years of waiting, fans of the movie are finally ready for the winter season with Frozen II’s release back in late November.

“I was kind of thinking, ‘Why are they making a second movie; what more is there to say?’” sophomore Gabbie Arellano said.

What more was there for Disney to add onto Frozen II? In the trailers, Elsa is seen trying to run on ice and the new sequel looked very complicated with so much going on for one movie. But, the sequel turned out extraordinary. Although Disney movies are portrayed as movies for kids, many adults and kids still love the movies that they release. “Frozen II” is about Elsa and Anna along with side-line characters going to the enchanted forest. The main goal was to figure out why Elsa has her powers and where they came from. The songs in the movie as well as its general appearance were so phenomenal that most consider the sequel to be a must-see movie. At the end of the film, fans were also treated to a postcredit scene featuring Olaf and the “ice monsters” Elsa makes, which is well worth the long wait of watching the credits.

May 25, 1977. This was the date when “Star Wars: Epi-

sode IV - A New Hope” was released.

But, upcoming December, there will soon be an end to this long sci-fi series. The last movie to complete the latest trilogy has been announced: “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” will be coming out in mid-December. The director of the movie, J.J Abrams, explained to the media that this Star Wars was not going to play it safe like “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, the most recent Star Wars movie. Then, on Oct 30, 2012, George Lucas shared the Star Wars franchise with Disney which many fans were 50-50 on the idea of Star Wars and Disney combining together.

“I’m probably one of the only few people who enjoy the new trilogy.

I think Disney saw a big opportunity to expand, so they took it.” senior Andrew Betancourt said.

Sheev Palpatine. Palpatine starts off as a politician but turns into the chancellor, later gaining the title of Emperor. Yet, in “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi” Palpatine was killed by Darth Vader, or so the fans thought.

Trailers and cast lists have confirmed Ian McDiarmid’s return in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” to re-

prise his role as the emperor.

The final trailer posted on YouTube had action packed scenes featuring titanic ocean waves and hinting a battle scene between Rey (played by Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (played by Adam Driver). As previously announced, there was a scene featuring Rey and the emperor, who is now a machine-like figure wearing the signature black cape from the original trilogy. It is unknown what changes will be made to the classic character, but fans have speculated numerous theories and possible explanations to his reappearance.

“I think the trailers were really interesting to watch,” sophomore Mahtab Zaragi said. “They were captivating.”

The new and final episode to this trilogy is one of the most expensive movies out of all of the Star Wars films. With its release, the series will finally come to an end, but the story will always remain.

Paige Bordelove

December 2019

a&e 21

Which Holiday Character are you?

Pick Your Favorite Cookie

Choose a Travel Destination

Chocolate Chip

Snickerdoodle

A Beach Bungalo

Trip to The City

Sugar

Gingerbread

Cabin

Ski & Mountain Resort 4 pts

1 pt

3 pts

2 pts

4 pts

Holiday Decorating

1 pt 3 pts

Hanging Out With Friends

2 pts

Holiday Movie 4 pts Marathon

Select Your Go To Holiday Movie How The Grinch Stole X-mas 1 pt Santa Claus Trilogy 3 pts 6- 9 The Grinch The holidays are not your time of year. You’d rather skip the carols and cookies.

3 pts

2 pts

Choose The Best Holiday Drink

Decide on a Winter Break Activity Sleeping

1 pt

Coca~Cola Egg Nog

1 pt 3 pts

Coffee

2 pts

Gingerbread Latte

4 pts

Pick an Ideal Weather Forecast Cloudy

Polar Express

Sunshine

Elf

Thunderstorms

Snow

15-19 A Reindeer

20-24 An Elf

2 pts

4 pts

10-14 Frosty

If given the choice you would prefer to just blow passed the season with minimum holiday cheer.

1 pt 3 pts

You are ready to decorate, sing and eat but the holidays can be a bit much.

2 pts

4 pts

You welcome the joy and cheerfulness with open arms.

December 2019

22 a&e

Every little piece counts Impassioned production details lives of nurses during wartime

By Kristel Alfaro Borbon

W

ar. An event filled with tragic occurrences that takes the life of many. “A Piece of My Heart” is a play that talks about women in war, specifically the Vietnam War, and the struggles they dealt with throughout the war. The play discusses the real events that happened in the war and all the after effects the nurses went through.

The play has five main characters but is based off of 20 different women that were in the Vietnam War. Each character has pieces of their story based on a real women from the war.

“The show tells the story of six individual women during their years in the Vietnam War, and afterwards their experiences after the war so dealing with the post-traumatic stress dealing with protest and just how their entire lives were progress and how they were affected because of the war,” junior Piper Irvin said.

There are very real issues that are not talked about, like the aftermath of being in the war. This play spreads awareness and teaches the audience that there is more to being in the military. It also displays mental

illness during and after the war and how they suffer because of it. It shows all the constant stress nurses went through, and how they had to learn quickly in order to help the men in the war.

“My character Sissy starts off the show as a young 17 year old girl who,

,,

I am so honored to be playing such a powerful and influential character.

I hope I do her justice.

,,

Paulina Pitch

despite not knowing much about the world, wants to save it. The show takes place over the course of 20 plus years. It’s very eye opening seeing how a naive and exuberant kid leaves her small town to serve her country, losing her innocence and child-like

nature in the process,” junior Paulina Pitch said. I love this show, and I am so honored to be playing such a powerful and influential character. I hope I do her justice.”

Some of the actresses in the play really connect to their character, and not just in the sense of their personality, some even relate to their ethnicity. The characters are very diverse and have very different personalities.

For example, Leann is half Asian and you see how she struggles with her identity throughout her whole life, and how it is one of the deciding factors of her joining the war.

“I play Lian she is like a hippie from New York, and she is also half Asian. Throughout the play she wanted to go to Hawaii. Since she is half Asian she has probably always had difficulties with her identity you can also see how she also struggles with that throughout the play,” sophomore Sophia De Lima said.

The play is very emotional because it also talks about the nurses love lives while they were in Vietnam.

You see how they fall in love with the men that fought in the war, and how they deal with the heartbreak of seeing a loved one die in front of them.

After the war the women get other Sebastian Villamil

Medic! - Junior Grace Pool and senior Hailey Kervic help wounded soldier sophomore Jake Gardner during a dress rehearsal on Nov. 12 in the theater.

The InvestiGator t GVHS

attempts with love, but they do not always work out. Some of the scenes where the women are talking to the men really show what some women went through after seeing some of their loved ones die do to war.

“Martha grew up with her parents like her mom was a nurse so she always the idea of her going into the army she wanted to help out in some way, and she was really confident about herself she thought if I go into this I know I’m going to do good.

Then she actually goes in and sees what Vietnam is like and it kind of shocks her so her character really develops from a very confident person to being naive,” senior Zara Alizadeh said.

The women see a lot of death in their time in Vietnam, even though they were there to help save the life of other’s sometimes there was not much they could do. All the gruesome scenes the nurses had to deal with everyday affected the nurses daily.

“My character wrote something in therapy, since this is based on a true story like in the book that I read that the play is based off, it says it gave them nightmares and panic attacks after seeing all that stuff they couldn’t even watch movies or even be in certain settings”, sophomore Savannah Galendez.

Veterans that attended the show got to go and watch the show for free.

It was to show thanks for there service in the war.

After the war the women have some trouble adjusting to their normal lifestyle. They start to wonder if everyone around them has changed or if the war changed them. Some of the women struggle with alcoholism, starting a family and going back to school. Simple things in their everyday life remind them of something in the war things as simple as the colors. They try to just cope with it until they can not take it anymore and seek help.

“The crowd each night was not huge but it was intimate. There was not a single dry eye in the room after each performance.” Delaney Domingo said.

To many the show was very emotional. It showed the stories that you do not see in verious places about the war. Through the war and the lovw life of the nurses the play showed all it all.

a&e 23

Best Albums of the School Year Late 2019’s most significant album releases to ring in New Year

By Malia Deramus anye West has continued his very controversial but well-known presence in the genre of hip-hop, especially so with his latest album “Jesus is King.” The album is a mix of West and other collaborative artists rapping, diving into topics involving religion and faith. A lot of his music falls into the hip-hop and rap genre, including this album. The songs featured in the album sound similar to a church chorus, contributing to the “Christian Rap” motif. It shows West’s demonstration of his loyalty to his faith, and with this newfound expression everyone is wondering, ‘why the change?’ Along with the album, he has promised to forgo swearing and is now following more rules that conform to his faith. West went from being a rapper known for vulgar word-choice and a narcissistic personality to devoting himself to gospel and his faith to Christianity. His last studio album “Ye” was far more inappropriate and differed drastically from his newest release where he expresses his loyalty and faith to Jesus.

K

By Halle Scoles Lady Antebellum has always maintained popularity by managing to stay grounded and connected to their country roots. They are a mature band and they have definitely continued to demonstrate this though their 8th studio album, ‘Ocean’ which was released on Nov. 15, 2019. Ocean delves into the very core of what Lady Antebellum is. The opening track, “What If I Never Get Over You,” hooks listeners with in its first line, “It comes in waves. The letting go. But the memory fades. Everybody knows.” The emotion and weary wisdom within Kelley’s voice is very clear in this song and it is highlighted

by Haywood’s smooth guitar that rolls in and out like the tides. The title track, “Ocean”, carries a soft, melodic tone throughout the song.

Scott’s voice is filled with emotions that highlight the struggles of love and what it can do to people. In the middle of the song, Kelley’s voice jumps in as a distant echo for Scott’s song which further enhances the song’s quality, and devolps a more meaningful message to the song.

By Shaelyn Gamiao

Luke Combs’ meaningful, heartfelt songs have set him on course to snare the largest streaming week for a country album ever. With record-setting album sales, he is monopolizing the country streaming market and reaching number one on the charts in little to no time at all. What he has accomplished is unprecedented, and with a sudden spike in demand on the country music charts, Combs is continuing his already memorable run. His new record, “What You See Is What You Get”, avoids pitfalls like electronic dance music with drum beats and murmur verse rapping, which routinely ruins other mainstream country music. The somewhat shallow and cliché country music paid forward to today hopes to not be garnered as a member of the Americana crowd, but to be seen as unique artist. His songs show his amazing talent for music, and shows how today’s music does not have to be limited to rapping or eletronic music.

By Tyler Bonnette

Tyler Bonnette

Coldplay, having remained a major presence in the genre of Pop rock for over a decade, has released yet another album. After seven studio albums and ten live albums, their eighth studio album “Everyday Life” was released on Nov. 22. The album has been praised by critics and fans alike due to being similar to the classic Coldplay style of their debut and early career. While their more recent albums have critcized for straying away from the band’s beginnings, their latest album brings back the original feel of their music and pleased both diehard fans and casual listeners. With tracks like “When I Need a Friend,” “Church” and the titular “Everyday Life,” the album is sure to be appreciated by most, even if it is simply playing on the radio on the drive to work or school. The album is unique in that it is split into two “sections” or smaller albums, the first being titled Sunrise and the second being Sunset.

December 2019

2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010

In 2010 a devastating earthquake struck the island if Haiti. The earthquake hit on Jan. 12, 2010 and was felt for miles around. Tremors could be felt as far away as Cuba and Venezuela. The epicenter was recorded just 16 miles away from Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince.

Over the next month disaster recovery crews were deployed to help work through the wreckage. In Feb. the death toll was reported as over 230.000 people having died.

T H E

BIG

events

five main events from the decade

By Abigail Culpepper

Tragedies have become far too common over the past decade. One of the worst events occured in Newtown, CT. On the morning of Dec. 14, 2012, Adam Lanza traveled to Sandy Hook Elementary School and opened fire. Lanza shot and killed 20 students and 6 adults along with his own mother and in the end, himself. This went on to become one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history.

Although the parents, staff members and country as a whole were promised change following the shooting, the U.S. has endured close to 280 school shootings following Sandy Hook.

The decade also included many social movements. Throughout 2018, trials took place following the 2017 accusations against Harvey Weinstein. Over the course of a year, 80+ women spoke out against Weinstein. Many of the accusations being said to date all the way back to 2006. Weinstein’s trials continued into 2019 with, much to the dismay of the public, closed-door hearings.

These accusations and trials sparked the #metoo movement which gave men and women alike a platform to speak out against their abusers. Many others in the entertainment industry also had accusations placed against them. The movement did not just spark accusations in the industry, everyday men and women were also able to use this newfound platform to speak about ending sexual abuse.

President Obama made many historical trips throughout his presidency. In 2016 he became the first sitting president in nearly 90 years to visit Cuba. The trip was intended to deepen America’s relationship with Cuba’s authoritarian government. The United States began the journey of ending the 54 year stretch of hostility back in 2014.

While on the island, Obama toured monuments, discussed trading relations and spent time with his wife and daughters.

This year on going, widespread protests throughout Hong Kong began in June. Protests began over the plan to allow extradiction of citizens to mainland China.

As the marches continued, the protesters made five key demands: The withdrawal of the bill, investigation into alleged police brutality and misconduct, the release of arrested protesters, a complete retraction of the official characterisation of the protests as “riots”, and Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s resignation.

The demonstrators have gathered outside of government buildings, in the streets and many other places to peacfully fight for their demands to be reached.

Much to the surprise of Hong Kong residents, Lam actually responded to the demands. The original bill that started the riots was put to a halt. However only that demand was met, they have refused to fufill any of the other four requests. Therefore, the protests continue.

vox.com, time.com, britannica.com, npr.org, thoughtco.com

December 2019

26 a&e

Vegas for the Holidays

Ice Skating

2019 checklist

By Abigail Culpepper

Ice skating is one holiday activity that can be enjoyed by all ages. Despite being in the middle of the desert, Las Vegas is home to many different rinks. A few of the many places residents can go for ice skating are: The Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas Ice Rink, City National Arena and other smaller rinks across the Valley. Many places also offer other activities along with ice skating such as movie and skating at The Cosmopolitan or skate with a Golden Knight at City National Arena.

Glittering Lights

There is nothing that says the holiday season like lights. The glittering lights located at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway is home to millions and millions of lights.

The weather is no factor here seeing as it’s a drive through display. Visitors have a few options to enter the 2.5 mile long light show. They can pay by carload, ride the Santa Tram or purchase a car fast pass.

Magical Forest

The Magical Forest at Opportunity Village is the perfect holiday stop for all ages. The event runs from Nov. 29 to Jan. 4. The Forest features light displays around every corner, gingerbread house contests, hot chocolate and even rides for adults and kids alike. Those looking for some all age holiday fun while supporting your community, The Magical Forest is the place to go.

Ethel M Lights

The Ethel M Christmas lights at the Cactus Gardens are a Henderson classic for the tiniest of kids to the eldest of adults. The Cactus Garden gets festive with their free walkthrough event. Every night The Garden flips the switch and the cactus and flora are lit up with holiday cheer. Visitors can also enjoy the chocolate factory on property, pictures with Santa, and a small ice skating rink.

The Giving Machine

One of the biggest parts of the holiday season is giving. The Giving Machine located at Downtown Summerlin is the perfect place to get your holiday fix of giving back. The machine includes options like school supplies for a year and food/water supply for those in need. Visitors can pay anywhere from $10 to $300+ depending on what they choose to donate. After giving back, guests can take a minute to enjoy all that Downtown Summerlin has to offer, such as their nightly snow event.

Coffee Shop stops

Coffee shops may seem like an all year event but there is something special about the holiday season. Many local shops, as well as places such as Starbucks and The Coffee Bean, offer holiday exclusive drinks that give a touch of holiday spirit in the form of a food or drink. Coffee shops during the holidays offer a quick way to get warm and cheery all at the same time.

photos in order from left to right. Row 1- The Giving Machine, The Glittering Lights, Coffee Shop Row 2- Ethel M Cactus Garden, Magicial Forest, Ice Skating at The Cosmopolitan.

The InvestiGator t GVHS

opinion 27

Alexa, stop spying on me Household appliances could be keeping tabs on you 24/7

I

By Tyler Bonnette

n a world of constant developments within the field of technology, a state of surveillance and corporations spying on their consumers seemed like a distant, unlikely future. The concept of the government watching you with cameras and recording devices has always seemed like a groundless conspiracy to most of America.

Now, it could potentially be a reality, all thanks to the willingness of customers to put these devices in the privacy of their own homes.

This generation has overseen the rise of technology in our daily lives as companies continue to introduce new concepts to us every day. This has brought with it convenience and leisure never seen before by any generation before us, with smartphones surpassing the usefulness of even some computers, and cars gaining capabilities of stopping accidents before they even happen.

With the increasing amounts of tech in our lives, however, the ability for these companies to collect information about us grows easier each day. This is especially true with the rise of the “personal assistant” kind of devices becoming more and more standard in the average household.

Amazon Echo, Google Home, and even Siri are a part of almost everyone’s lives in some way or another.

Considering that each one has the ability to listen in on what you say, there is no way to know whether or not they are recording the conversations and everyday occurrences within the household.

The main purpose of these devices is to assist the owner with hands-free tasks like setting timers, answering questions, playing music, et cetera.

This is done with basic voice commands and prompts, allowing the user to accomplish more just by talking to whatever the device in question may be.

Tech companies that sell these home devices are a growing influence on the lives of this generation.

While they have made certain basic tasks far easier for their consumers, it is no secret that they have more information on the population than most other organizations. Devices like Home and Echo are practically recording devices that consumers willingly place on a shelf somewhere

in their house. Though promises have been made that no information heard by the devices is kept or used, there is no actual way of knowing.

The privacy of the consumer has been questioned especially so in recent years as Facebook’s scandal involving Cambridge Analytica unraveled. When it came out that the corporation had been selling the information gathered from users to third-party companies, many became aware of just how much information that they had freely given out to the large corporations of the world.

The information sold by Facebook was willingly posted on social me-

,,

The presence of technology in our daily lives has made it far easier for companies to invade the privacy of their customers.

,,

dia, however. While consumers and participants of the website had every right to be angered by Facebook’s actions, it was still information that they had posted and shared, with the exception of some personal details required to make an account in the

first place.

Companies who market these personal assistant devices, however, have the ability to record audio from within the home that the consumer may not want to give out - private conversations, personal information, or other things they do not intend to be heard. Imagine companies being about to gain private information about your finances that they collected from a conversation held ‘privately’ in your kitchen.

Hypothetically, selling data gathered by the devices would be a catastrophic breach of privacy and security for the average consumer. Any major company, organization, or other group that has access to such sensitive material could have information on the daily lives of hundreds, thousands or even millions of people.

This is not just limited to the personal assistant devices. Devices like security cameras (such as the Ring Doorbell, which can record footage of the front porch of a house) can also jeopardize the privacy of individuals who have no knowledge of being recorded. The presence of technology in our daily lives has made it far easier for companies to invade the privacy of their customers.

Conspiracists have always feared secret cameras or recording devices being hidden somewhere in their home by the government. It is not the government putting these devices in our homes, however. The consumers themselves are the ones purchasing and utilizing them, allowing for companies and by extension the government to collect data about the average

citizen.

Some have suspected that Google themselves have already begun using the data that they collect. The wellknown auto fill feature of Google’s search tool with complete a phrase automatically and suggest potential options to choose from based on what you have typed or searched before.

Eventually, the company could begin auto completing based on what they hear within the homes of its consumers. This is coupled with the targeting of advertisements - companies could target users with ads based on the conversations they have in the comfort of their home.

Targeted advertising has always been something that has seemed foreign and a complete and total breach of privacy. Now, consumers have willingly allowed massive corporations to tailor advertising based on what they say out loud.

An issue with this is the fact that, should Amazon or Google turn out to be utilizing and/or selling the information it gathers from users, they will face little to no consequences. To undermine their ability to exploit their consumers, the government should have certain ways of blocking this practice, such as potential sanctions or fines that could actually affect their profits. A million dollar fine is still not nearly enough to incentivize the richest corporations in the world to stop what they are doing - it is a minor dent to their overall capital gain.

Measures like these are necessary to ensure the privacy of each and every citizen in not just America, but the world.

Alex Estrada

December 2019

28 pro/con

Welcome to the

Holiday decorations provide year round enjoyment

T

By Violet Lamela

here has always been a controversy upon deciding when the right time to start decorating for the holidays actually is. Well, the answer is simple, Christmas lights and decorations should be put up as soon as possible. While others decide to postpone decorating until long after Thanksgiving concludes, most retail stores can’t wait to begin putting up their annual holiday decor, prior to halloween.

The best part about each year coming to an end are the many holidays that the last three months of the year hold. For example, some of the most celebrated and well known holidays such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.

Once the red and golden leaves have all finally fallen and the fresh scents of autumn have faded, winter begins to show signs of its coming.

With the temperature decreasing, the scents that remind the elders of their youth have brought back a certain nostalgia to welcome us into the new season.

When the temperature shifts people are most excited for the colder weather, and the big change of wardrobe this time of year brings. Warm

,Christmas , lights

should always be put up before Thanksgiving.

I believe that the season of giving can never come too early.

,,

Taylor Theel

jackets and hoodies play a part in welcoming back the annual traditions that are well enjoyed, such as, visiting relatives, building gingerbread houses, making baked goods, drink-

ing hot chocolate, listening to festive music, shopping, giving gifts and receiving gifts, and of course preparing and or decorating for the upcoming holidays.

In most cases, decorations are usually displayed out where their peers can view them. Festive figurines on their lawn, wreaths upon their doors, garland on the railings, and most importantly lights all about.

These bright lights illuminate several houses throughout neighborhoods all around the country. Decorating for the holidays is a popular and very common tradition that creates a beautiful aura that is enjoyed by all.

“Christmas lights should always be put up before Thanksgiving. I believe that the season for giving can never come too early.” sophomore Taylor Theel stated.

The Holiday cheer instantly comes to you the second you nail in the last set of lights, or after decorating your tree with ornaments, it could even be after you finish that first batch of cookies. Despite how you decide to start off the winter season, the infectious atmosphere never fails to bring

Violet Lamela & Brenna Knight Random survey conducted amongst GVHS students on Nov. 18

out the Christmas spirit.

When people make the bold decision to put their lights up before Thanksgiving they are doing the community a favor by extending the “best time of the year”. Why would you want to limit the joy brought from the holidays to only being the last three weeks of the year, when you could have two whole months of it?

It takes numerous hours and weekends off to put up their festive decor each year. Especially for those who are extremely committed and dedicated to the holiday season. After putting forth so much effort and time into making the season as joyous as they possibly can, most would like to enjoy the positive effects for as long as it is possible. For this reason, many people start to put their decorations up as early as they can, giving them longer time to enjoy the season.

This time of year is known as “the season of giving” not only because of christmas and its exchanging of gifts, but because of thanksgiving and its annual traditions as well.

Thanksgiving’s main focus is being thankful for the things in life that you already have been gifted with.

Such as family and friends, being able to eat each night, never having to wonder where your next meal will come from. Simple concepts that seem normal and or “casual”, might not be for others.

Some people do not have access to food every night or even a stable shelter, tha is why people use Thanksgiving as a time to reflect on everything they have. Taking a single day to acknowledge the things that you have everyday makes no sense. Instead, people should make a habit of giving thanks for what they have year round.

Christmas is a time of giving to those around you, including those who may not be as fortunate. When people think of “giving”, they often think it has to be something that has value. To most people, the best gifts are the ones that come from the heart. These gifts are not always monetary, rather they are simply things like quality time spent together.

When lights begin to disperse upon houses early in the season it creates more positive energy all around.

Walking around and looking at the decorations displayed upon houses is an activity that many find enjoyable and it’s an activity that costs nothing.

pro/con 29

war for November

Sense of family is disrupted by consumerism

E

By Brenna Knight

ach year the holiday spirit appears to come earlier and earlier, with homeowners putting up Christmas lights and decorations before Thanksgiving. Even without the celebration of what you are thankful for and being with family, you can drive down numerous streets and see colorful lights dispersed on houses illuminating the neighborhood.

Thanksgiving is a holiday we should celebrate without having the distraction of Christmas and the greed that may come with it. Soon after the holiday is over, the thought of Christmas is brought immediately back up with cheap prices and sales for gifts, also known as Black Friday.

Even though this busy event is after the holiday, many look forward to it wanting to get the best prices and deals on gifts for others. Instead of making Black Friday a Christmas

appointed event, others should help people in need and make the event more charitable. To make the event more charitable, you can donate to many organizations such as St. Judes. Although, if you are in the Black Friday spirit you can buy gifts and other necessities for family, friends, or strangers in need.

“Christmas lights should be put up after Thanksgiving,” sophomore Natalie Hernandez said. “I think that Christmas is very distracting to other holidays because there are many activities and events that you can do in celebration to get in the holiday spirit.”

Christmas and Thanksgiving are two separate holidays, and should not be mixed. Thanksgiving is an important holiday because it sets the table for Christmas. It helps prepare those who celebrate to remember what they are thankful for and can slow down eager Christmas lovers. This holiday

Samantha Lillard

The Grinch? - Families often debate when to decorate for the holidays. Should the turkey share the spotlight?

that often seems to be disregarded, is not just a day to eat a big feast with your family and loved ones. It is a day to celebrate the first meal that the Pilgrims had with the Native Americans.

Christmas is its own separate holiday to spemd with your family that is meant to be celebrated in December not celebrated in other months that have their own holidays.

,,

Thanksgiving is a holiday we should celebrate without the distraction of Christmas and the greed that comes with it.

,,

“I think that Thanksgiving is a holiday to say thanks and be grateful. Christmas is when we give and receive.” Hernandez said.

Thanksgiving is solely an American holiday and is not celebrated by the rest of the world. This makes it easy for Christmas to overrun Thanksgiving. Once the spooky holiday is over, it seems as if it has become December and not November due to all the festive decorations that stores set up. But there is no hurry in decorating and there is plenty of time in December to decorate. Instead of decorating for the joyous holiday, decorations to celebrate Thanksgiving can be set out. Decorations such as a cornucopia, turkeys, pumpkins and squash, and other Thanksgiving decor. Some may even say that seeing all the decorations for Christmas in November would tire them out when it becomes the time for the holiday.

“Seeing all the Christmas decorations in November makes it less exciting for me to see them in December when it’s closer to Christmas. Seeing them for weeks on end gets boring.” sophomore Zachariah Chan said.

As a society, we tend to prepare for the future, and in this case, people like to decorate for Christmas early but there is plenty of time in the beginning of December. Waiting until after Thanksgiving is a good time to

put up Christmas decorations because setting them up in the first place can be a hassle. So why not wait until it is the proper time to decorate to save yourself more time of relaxation?

Not only do people at home prepare for the holidays, but so do businesses and companies. One of the main reasons that people decorate so early is due to businesses putting up displays and playing Christmas music persuading customers to buy their products. The actions of the company’s is not to have you celebrate early, but is just a tactic to make more money. Businesses will start putting out Christmas themed products to make them seem more ‘special’ and fit for the holiday season. Even food and drink companies start selling products that are limited edition just for the holiday season, even though, this often can ruin the spirit of Christmas.

“I feel as if when stores play Christmas music and sell gifts early in November, it ruins the spirit of the holiday.” Chan said.

Companies are extremely good at putting people in the Christmas spirit before December even starts. For instance, Starbucks markets adorable cup designs, festive drinks, and baked goods to their audience before Thanksgiving. This drives consumers to want to celebrate early.

There are also many festive activities that can distract from the meaning of Thanksgiving. Activities such as Ice Skating, going out and buying a real Christmas tree, and building gingerbread houses. Another popular actvitiy to do is to go see Christmas lights. Big companies start to decorate for Christmas early so they can bring in more customers. When you participate in these activities, you think of Christmas and not Thanksgiving. But why are there no activities to celebrate Thanksgiving? Thanksgiving is a time to come together with your family, so why not obtain activities that you can do with your family to strengthen the bond that you share with them?

Thanksgiving is to celebrate what we are thankful for and Christmas celebrates the gift of giving. The celebration of Thanksgiving and Christmas is like making a gingerbread house. Without a strong base and not recognizing what we are thankful for, the house will crumble and you just end up with a broken, sugary mess.

December 2019

30 opinion

Lip kits trump the White House Famous family influences society more than political figures

By Cherie Franklin

150 million.

That is how many followers Kim Kardashian West has on Instagram.

Kim is a member of possibly the most influential family in the United States. According to Forbes, the Kardashians-Jenner net worth comes in north of $1 billion, collectively.

President Donald Trump, who tends to gravitate a bit more towards Twitter, has amassed around 66 million followers. The fact that a single Kardashian-Jenner has more than double the following on a social media platform could be described as alarming at best. But, for many teens, it is the new normal.

Arguably, the Kardashians and families like them have more influence on our daily lives than our own government. The family includes

Kourtney, Khloé and Rob Kardashian, Kim Kardashian West, Kendall, Kylie, Kris and Caitlyn Jenner. Each of these people holds a special influence on an aspect of our lives. In fact, many teens today would know what Kim wore to the Met Gala instead of what is on their algebra test, or what happened last week in the U.S. Senate.

So much of our daily lives are determined by these superstars that one begins to wonder, how much do we think for ourselves? When it comes to

,,

The Kardashians and families like them have more influence on our daily lives than our own government.

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being an influencer, Kardashian-Jenner sister Kylie takes the cake. Her cosmetics company, Kylie Cosmetics, was worth an estimated $900 million in 2018. Yes, $900 million.

Her influence does not stop at just makeup, her presence on social media makes any social media star except for the few above her shudder. When Kylie got lip fillers, so did hundreds of girls who followed her. And when she took them out, so did they.

Donald Trump’s influence is also obvious, but not as prevalent in our culture as we would think.

If you ask a teen today about our 45th president, they won’t tell you about his political accomplishments. They’ll tell you about his hair or his Twitter page. Maybe they’ll even give you a quote and follow it up with “OK boomer.”

After that experience, you might wonder, does Trump even matter to any of these teens? And the answer you’d receive, most likely, would be no. The reason for this? Media presence. The life of a modern-day American teenager is heavily influenced by the Internet. Trump’s internet presence could Alex Estrada

The InvestiGator t GVHS

be described as less than ideal. Except for the thousands of memes and news broadcasts, you won’t see much of him floating around the web. The Kardashians definitely has him beat in this category, but not in the best way possible.

Their reality show with millions of viewers across America, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, has received poor critical reviews since its premiere. It is often criticized for the high degree of emphasis on the “famous for being famous” concept.

However, that is exactly why this family is famous.

But their influence is not necessarily a good thing. The KardashianJenners are well known for cultural appropriation among other scandals.

For example, Kim took boxer braids, a characteristic of African-American culture, and renamed them “Bo Derek Braids,” after a white female actor who wore them in a movie. This created an immense backlash from the African-American community as well as the rest of the internet.

However, it is not just Kim and Kylie who carry immense influence.

Khloe Kardashian, another sister of the family, has over 100 million followers on Instagram and has a net worth of more than $40 million.

She is involved in projects such as her Good American denim line, executive producing a true-crime series called Twisted Sisters and promoting products through endorsement deals. Amazon even sponsored her baby shower when she was pregnant with True.

Khloe has also had her fair share of scandals.

The most recent was a situation on the show concerning social media star and model Jordyn Woods and Khloe Kardashian’s boyfriend, Tristian Thompson. When the episode was released this past summer, chaos ensued. The story has been covered by multiple news outlets and is still being brought up today.

So, if teens pay so much attention to one family in the United States, do they pay this much attention to our government as well? Surprisingly, no. Many teens today are politically uneducated and don’t know what goes on in the White House.

This political illiteracy doesn’t reach just reach our government, however. Specifically, teens today seem to pay very little attention to our president. This seems difficult to do, as President Trump has a Twitter account more active than most of our social lives, but our generation still seems to be able to ignore it.

Simply, the media views teens as unimportant. As a result, media coverage is aimed toward adults that “understand” politics. However, if we pay so much attention and know so much about one family only because their image is pushed toward us, then the same should be said for any one thing that is aimed at teens. This lack of coverage is only worsened by the fact that many teens view politics as “boring and uneventful.” So now when all you see is memes of our 45th president instead of his political activity, you know why. And when we begin to be taken seriously, maybe we will take politics seriously too.

No one to turn to

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By The InvestiGator Staff

he holiday season looks different for everyone. Culture, religion, and socio-economic backgrounds all contribute to how one celebrates the holidays. Whether one celebrates Hannakuh, Christmas, St. Nicholas Day, or Kwanzaa, Winter is engulfed in a variety of activities. The sad reality is the holiday season fails to be celebrated by all. In other words, there is a portion of individuals who do not have the means to celebrate anything. They are alone.

In addition, family is another quality associated with the holidays.

For many individuals, family is nonexistent.

Not only that, many families are simply broken and do not have aspects like joy or togetherness. Although one can argue that the holidays are for giving and receiving, the holiday season, for many, is a reminder of what individuals do not currently or may never have.

The purpose of the staff bringing

light to these individuals is not to make readers sympathetic but to eduate them. Everyone has something that you do not and every family has baggage. Despite all that is broken in one’s life there is still opportunities and help available. Everyone can be a part of a community whether that be a school, club, or organization has a role to play in helping those who have nothing.

With the globalization of media and the generation’s need for instant gratification people are entitled, spoiled, and ungrateful. One complains they do not have the latest i-Phone and little do they know that the person next to them does not even know where their next meal is coming from. This is problematic because society is creating an environment in which everyone only cares about themselves. Consequently, people will no longer have compassion for one another, rather only the need to fill their own cup.

The way society can do better is to simply have gratitude. If one is

grateful for what they have they contain the capability to help those who struggle to make it by. It starts with a mindset to look at the things you do have rather than materialistic items we desire.

Adults have a role to play as well.

Through setting an example of gratitude rather than constant somplaining, adults can help guide the younger generations.. The holidays have become a competition for people to show off what they have and flaunt their possessions rather than celebrating and spending with family/ friends.

The adults need to set the example of embodying gratitude otherwise it will trickle down into the younger population. If one fails to show appreciation then it will cause another to be the same. Gratitude must start so that it can be spread. If one has the basic neccessities for life, there is always someone who could use help in obtaining the same things.

The most important aspect for one to have along with gratitude is

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understanding that they are never alone. There is always someone to reach out to or help that can be found in schools, in a friend and in other trusted adults.

Society is incredibly entitled and has the need for instant gratufication.

The general population is self-obsessed and wishes for more followers, rather than authentic connections with the people around them. This correlates to the holiday season as people will want more instead of showing appreciation for what is already given to them.

A self-obsessed society is blind to the fact that there are people who are just simply surviving. This becomes problematic because such a society will become stuck in a toxic cycle of ungratefulness and in return continue to spiral down if a drastic change is not made.

The fact of the matter is that individuals seeking help will have no one to turn to if society continues to lack morals and gratitude for the things they already possess.

Hannah Serquina

“I go to my Abuelitas house and help her cook, and give money to the homeless.”

~freshman Emanie De’shazer

“I try to give more than I receive, so I donate to food drives.”

~junior Dylan Ubriaco

“I always try to help out my family and friends throughout the holiday.”

~sophomore Diana Nevarez

“We go to soup kitchens, and we choose a family who can’t buy presents and buy them presents.”

~senior Zachary Hanson

December 2019

BAILEY CARPENTER | PHOTO

SOPHOMORE SABRINA PEAL TRIES TO RUN THROUGH A TACKLE ON DEC. 2 VS. DESERT OASIS. THE JV FLAG FOOTBALL TEAM SLIPPED BY THE DIAMONDBACKS FOR THEIR FIRST ROAD VICTORY OF THE SEASON, 13-12.

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