The InvestiGator

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Vol. 30, Issue 3 March 2021

CHANGE IN THE AIR The local landscape looks drastically different since GVHS opened its doors 30 years ago see pages 10-12

Green Valley High School 460 Arroyo Grande Henderson, NV 89014

March 2021 Volume 30 Issue 3 Editors-in-Chief: Tyler Bonnette Kristel Alfaro Borbon Vivien Liebhardt Editors: News: Liliana Burke Feature: Cherie Franklin & Shaelyn Gamiao Sports: Zachery Schauer & Sebastian Villamil A&E: Malia Deramus & Violet LaMela Opinion: Brenna Knight ALL IS QUIET - As the 2020-21 school year continued to remain virtual, the gym has been unused throughout the year. Fall and Winter sports were officially canceled, while Spring sports are scheduled to take place beginning in early April.

Eric Johnston

Editors’ Note With just one quarter left of the year, and the new hybrid schedule on the horizon, change is surely around the corner, and hopefully it will be for the better. This issue of the InvestiGator takes a look at just how much change we’ve seen in the last decade here in the Las Vegas Valley, along with some other important topics that people have had on their minds.

As the presidential transition seemingly came to a close, the Coronavirus has been tackled head on by most countries as the vaccine is being distributed. Still, while we wait patiently for the beginning of an at least slightly normal school year, we relax at home choosing from the growing market of streaming services and watch the latest movies that have been released through them. New hobbies have been taken up, like taking care of houseplants, to alleviate some of the monotony of being stuck at home.

Sports have finally begun to make a return, both on and off campus, and the steady return to campus becomes more and more possible each day. Juniors took a visit through the halls for the ACTs last month, and now it seems like everyone will have a chance to return as well.

With the world’s largest companies growing larger by the minute, a debate is struck about certain shady business practices that have been inhibiting our cell phones, and technology in general is called into question over whether privacy is guaranteed to users of social media and the Internet.

If all goes according to plan, and the vast majority of people receive the vaccine, the Coronavirus may just be diminished enough for us to finally return to school and greet each other the way we have before.

While the schedule we’ve been given seems a bit confusing, it is a stepping stone to everyone’s official and permanent return to campus.

ON THE COVER Vol. 30, Issue 3 March 2021

investigator

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Since GVHS opened in 1991, the surrounding community as well as Henderson and Las Vegas have continually grown. From new hotels on the Strip to new restaurants on Stephanie St., the area continues to experience changes in scenery on a regular basis.

Green Valley High School 460 Arroyo Grande Henderson, NV 89014

Copy Editor: Neyta Flores Esquer Social Media Manager: Alexis Lane Reporters: Jeremy Anderson Selenne Arroyo-Martinez Jasmine Gomokla Brook Gray-Vanderbur Simona Grigonis Nathan Paet McKenzie Shelton-Lott Adrian Sifuentes Taylor Theel Emma Trifonova Reilly Weatherford 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.

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

Green Valley High School 460 Arroyo Grande Henderson, NV 89014 702-799-0950 x4060 The InvestiGator is a member of the NSPA, JEA, CSPA & Quill & Scroll Society.

Eric Johnston

CHANGE IN THE AIR The local landscape looks drastically different since GVHS opened its doors 30 years ago see pages 10-12

Inside the issue

04

News

08

Feature

10

Green Valley Then & Now

16

Sports

20

A&E

26

Opinion

N o t d e a d l i e r, m o re w i d e s p r e a d

Second wave of COVID-19 emerges, could affect even more people

By Alexis Lane

A

new strain of COVID-19 has emerged in some parts of the world. In Dec. of 2020, a new strain of Corona virus has been discovered in places like Brazil, the United Kingdom, South Africa and densely populated areas of the United States like the states California and New York.

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This form of the disease is not more deadly than the first form, but it is much easier to spread from person to person.

This form of the disease is not more deadly than the first form, but it is much easier to spread from person to person. There is no proof yet whether or not the COVID-19 vaccine will have an effect on the new form of the disease.

The new strain of COVID-19 is basically a mutation of the original

form of it, but mutations of the disease have been discovered even when it was first studied in China.

Since it is seen as a “cousin” of the Flu, it has some of the same characteristics of the Flu: it is always changing and mutating, making it easy to spread. Mutations are caused by the spread of the disease.

New strains of COVID-19 are actually detected almost every week.

Diseases must be able to mutate to live off of their host. Health officials believe that new strains may not become more deadly because if the disease itself kills the host, it cannot spread to different people.

The vaccine is currently being distributed to essential workers such as health care workers and food distributors across America. Teachers have been getting the vaccine in preparation for schools going back into session, including teachers at GVHS. People of the general public who will likely get the vaccine first are the elderly and young children since they are more susceptible to getting the disease.

A person being vaccinated would be given a round of shots at two separate times. Two approved vaccines are the Pfizer and the Moderna vaccine, but Pfizer is the popular choice.

Pfizer is more popular due to its 95% efficiency rate when it comes to bat-

tling COVID-19.

The efficiency of the vaccine has not varied through age, ethnic or racial groups. The Moderna vaccine has a slightly lower efficiency rate at 94.1%. The vaccine, for most people, has mild side effects such as fatigue, sore arms, swelling, and a mild fever.

Along with the new strain, the CDC has declared that you do not need a negative COVID-19 test to return to school, work or go in public.

There is a “contagious period” where someone who tested positive must quarantine themselves for ten days.

After quarantining themselves for this time, their feverish symptoms must be completely gone before going out in public. Even if they have already had the virus or still have it, they must still go out and follow CDC

• March 2021 •

guidelines.

Historically speaking, pandemics usually come in “waves” where the second wave affects way more people because they tend to be easier to spread. The last pandemic called The Spanish Flu that the United States experienced had the same characteristic of coming in “waves”. Everyone of all ages is at risk because of the disease constantly mutating to be able to live off their host and spread to other people.

With the new strain of COVID-19 emerging, social distancing restrictions will continue to be the norm.

Some governors of states may even tighten restrictions and others may loosen them. It takes everyone’s effort to get through the pandemic together.

CNN.com

• News •

New way to ACT

Students return to campus for annual exams

By Zachery Schauer

T

o add to the confusing year of school, the next question is what is the plan for ACT and AP tests?

ACT and AP tests are some of the biggest tests of the year, specifically the ACT for juniors. Prior to the pandemic, ACT test takers would be the only ones at school with the rest of the students at home. With no one on campus,the typical plan for testing has been updated for safety reasons.

Recently CCSD had a meeting for opening schools to small group learning and possibly for both tests; the vote ended up passing, 7-0.

“All ACT and AP testing sessions at school will require students and staff to wear a mask. In addition, students will need to be able to say NO to 5 specific questions. If the answer is YES to any question, they will not be able to enter the school site. Hand sanitizer will be located in each test-

ing room and students will be asked to maintain 6 feet of social distance at all times. We have spread the ACT testing locations around the school using all major hallways to disperse the 700 juniors coming to school Tuesday, February 23rd,” Assistant Principal Raymond Ortiz said.

The ACT test is designed to check on students to see if they are prepared for college, while AP tests help students earn college credits and determine if the student will qualify to receive college credits. This makes both tests big for the students taking them and has a big impact on their future education.

“For ACT testing, there will be no more than 16 students in each room,” Ortiz said.

The school board is currently figuring out a way to have the tests due to not having students in the classes.

Students can also take the ACT on April 17 as long as they register by March 12 if they decide to postpone coming to GV on Feb. 23. Those tests

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Students will need to be able to say NO to 5 specific questions.

Raymond Ortiz

will be held in pop up areas around town that will be safely organized so students can be watched while taking the test and follow COVID-19 precautions at the same time.

Unlike last year, teachers would have been prepping and making sure students are ready for the ACT and some teachers would even change the assignments for the day just to help students in class. But without that help, multiple students’ scores will be affected this year.

The AP test will start on May 3 and will go through May 14. Some tests will be held online this year due to

what is going on in the world right now. Others will be held in organized areas as well. Along with that, all AP tests will be taken fully instead of having one prompt like last year.

Both tests are big for each student and affect their futures as far as going to college is concerned. The tests will be taken a bit differently and that is to ensure safety. For questions make sure to check out CCSD’s website or their news feed. Both locations should have continuous updates for testing. Also, for more information, check the College Board for AP test updates.

Brenna Knight

•5•

• News •

USA: The country in turmoil Capitol siege demonstrates rough transition of presidency

By Jeremy Anderson

F

ive people died and others were injured, as thousands of people stormed the Capitol in the early morning hours of Jan. 6. This unprecedented protest evolved into violence over the results of the continuously disputed 2020 election that saw Joe Biden become president of the United States.

Why this happened can be linked back to Election Day itself, where it was made clear no concession would be made at any point between then and Inauguration Day by former President Donald Trump. As it became clear Biden was president-elect and the electors looked to certify the results, suggestions of fraud and a stolen election culminated in more bloodshed: On December 12, four people were stabbed and 23 more sustained injuries as a result of a clash between Biden supporters and those denouncing his victory in downtown Washington DC. This clash shocked people across the country.

“I felt it was unnecessary and that there was another way they could express their feelings,” junior Courtney Easton said. “And it was really surprising considering they (Trump supporters) were upset about the riots of the summer, then they themselves rioted.”

Less than a month later, a more drastic protest/riot shook much of Washington, as well as much of the country to the core. The fracture between the Trump and Biden Administrations became evident. On Jan. 6, which is the date in which the“final” certification of election results

by Congress takes place, including the Vice President who oversees the entirety of the process, which in this case was Mike Pence, a consistent ally of Trump throughout the years they were together as President and Vice President. Pence’s name was echoed through the halls of the Capitol, but for different reasons. “Hang Mike Pence!” Was shouted time and time again according to various videos that surfaced the Internet for his inaction against what was seen as a stolen and fraudulent election by the protesters

at the Capitol.

There have not been many drastic changes since the insurrection, and some expect that to remain the case.

“I think there will just be some tension for a little longer, and as long as not much else happens I just think it’ll be a ‘remember when’ type of event, not necessarily any truly bad outcomes,” Easton said.

For centuries, the peaceful transition between presidential administrations has remained intact and has represented the cornerstone of democracy.

“It’s how the country has always been, and it’s one of our few good qualities that we’ve maintained for so long, it is not good to damage that,” Easton said.

A multitude of factors came into play in fracturing the peaceful aspect of the transition between the former and new president of the United States.

“Social media didn’t help. I think it was easier for people to post their anger and find other people who felt the same way,” Easton said. “People never branched out to people they may have disagreed with, just people who had the same views as them. I think this led to a split between the two sides.”

After the siege, the FBI warned most state Capitol officials of more protests/riots ahead in their own state on Inauguration Day. There was a great deal of tension in await for something similar to happen at one of the 50 state’s capitol buildings.

However, only a few dozen across the country showed up in protest of the inauguration, including just one who showed up at the New York State Capitol with a Trump flag.

“In terms of my expectations of people to be at state capitols, then yes definitely, I did expect people to be at the capitols. But I was a little surprised about the lower turnout because they were threatening it for so long,” sophomore Ananya Subramaniam said. “I was taken aback about how there was no significant radical event given the state of our nation and the division that we have.”

Soon after the inauguration of President Biden, U.S. Representative for Georgia’s 14th congressional district, Marjorie Taylor Greene, filed Articles of Impeachment against

“

I felt it was unnecessary and that there was another way they could express their feelings, and it was really surprising considering they were upset about the riots of the summer, then they themselves rioted.

Courtney Easton Biden for being “unfit to hold the office of the presidency…(and) is willing to abuse their power and be easily bought off by foreign governments,” (ABC News). To put this into perspective, no time in the country’s history have the Articles of Impeachment been filed on a president’s first day in office.

“To have a bona-fide conspiracy theorist put in a major position in our country is surprising to say the least,” Subramaniam said. “I didn’t expect something like that to hap-

pen.”

Since this, the Articles of Impeachment have been filed and the trial is underway against Trump for what the prosecutors suggest is his part in the “insurrection” of Jan. 6.

The continual claims of fraudulence during the election process led to the Capitol breach, the clash of opposing protesters, and the endangerment of many government officials as the lack of a peaceful transition of powers showed its dangerous outcomes.

courtesy of Ben Burgess, Street Sense Media

• March 2021 •

• News •

TIME FOR NOTES - While sitting at his desk, math teacher Andrew Lenselink teaches one of his classes. The projector on the desk was pointed at the notes he was making for students so they could follow along with the lesson.

Education moving forward

ANGLES - Social studies teacher Tanya Rasmussen stands in front of her whiteboard while teaching a class online. The computer was angled so that the students could see the agenda as well as the teacher.

Plans for returning to campus

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By Taylor Theel

ince March 13, 2020, educators have faced unimaginable blind sighted changes. As 2020 has ended and 2021 has begun, the second semester’s itinerary for CCSD staff could never truly be determined.

Last semester, it was a small step forward, teachers were back at school setting up Google Meets and teaching from their classrooms; however, after some outside speculation, COVID-19 cases were back on the rise, teachers were told by the district to teach from home from that moment forward.

Over the course of a couple months cases have been slightly decreasing and a vaccine has been formed with an efficiency rate of 95%.

Thus increasing the chances of teachers being able to go back to school and teach in the comfortability of their own workspace once again.

“As of this moment teachers and counselors have the option to work from their home or at school,” Principal Roberts said.

CCSD staff have been given the choice to work from home or from school; however, Roberts addressed that the likelihood of all teachers going back is dependable on different factors and the given situation.

“A lot of those questions are dependent on the availability of vaccines, how fast people can get vaccinated, etc.,” Roberts said.

In addition to common procedures such as regular hand sanitizing,

masks, and social distancing, Principal Roberts himself is also unsure of other guidelines that will be put in place to keep everyone protected.

“We are still waiting on guidance from the district as far as how schools will function when students return to school,” Roberts said. “This is an incredibly difficult logistical problem to solve and will take some time to make sure we get it as right as possible.”

Barnaby Butterfield, a new social

productive and is able to get familiarized with his surroundings, seeing as he is a new teacher.

Danielle Lewis, a junior English teacher, presented a similar perspective.

“I will always act in a way that is for the betterment of my community’s health and safety,” Lewis said, “I plan on returning to my classroom as soon as it is safe for myself, my colleagues, and my students to do so.”

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I will always act in a way that is for the betterment of my community’s health and safety.

Danielle Lewis studies teacher at GVHS has also talked about his knowledge of the subject.

“So far I have not returned to the site just yet. I am in the process of making that determination,” Butterfield said.

The idea of working from school has been a topic Butterfield has recently thought about; he came to the conclusion that he will go back if he is asked to do so. On different terms he feels it will be best to go back a couple days a week, then work from home the other days.

Butterfield has recognized that going back could however be beneficial in the sense that he feels more

Looking at a different perspective, Clay Mauro, sophomore history teacher and coach has given insight on how he feels about the situation as well.

“My circumstances are a little different. If it was normal, then 100%, I would be going back, in the sense that my wife is pregnant, so I gotta be super cautious,” Mauro said. “Newborn babies literally come out with zero total immune system.”

Even though Mauro discloses on how he misses the classroom and his interactions with his students, he has been able to find a lot of positives through the situation.

“To be honest it has been a bless-

•7•

ing in disguise, like I’ve been able to be here with my wife, I’ve been able to, you know, be there for the growth of our child, Banyan loves it as well.

During that time I’ve even gotten married.” Mauro said.

For all teachers , students and staff, CCSD staff is there to help ensure students’ education. A teacher could be teaching from home or they could be teaching from their classroom but will continue educating students.

It has been a stressful year for many students and CCSD staff, but it is just extremely important that in this time everyone keeps in mind that many students and teachers alike are doing their best to stay positive in these tough situations.

“I made a joke all week actually, that when we go back, you guys should have to wear your icons on like a T shirt. Otherwise, I just won’t know who you are,” Mauro said.

No one is really affected the same way when going through the difficult situations everyone is going through.

People react in different ways even if the future is not set in stone of when staff and students will return to campus.

With all the uncertainty in the air, it is difficult to determine and make solid and secure plans as to when teachers can go back to teaching in their classroom environments and doing in class demonstrations or when students will be able to finally return to campus after spending a school year staring at a screen instead of reading notes off of a whiteboard.

• Feature •

The rescuers Two dogs risk their lives through everyday dangers

By Vivien Liebhardt

F

rom time to time everyone hears about heroes and their aid during devastating times. People like to think that they understand the impact of destruction along with the dangerous acts needed to prevent spread or to save lives. The appreciation for heroes goes further than just humans, dogs are also to thank for their bravery and guidance in helping the community.

Service dogs have been helping individuals and communities for as long as time could tell. Service dogs have many different uses ranging to personal benefit or larger impacts on a bigger scale. They have helped find the bodies of 911 casualties, sniff out substances such as explosives, the list goes on and on.

Kya and Glory have been working together for three years as search and rescue dogs. Sophomore Benjamin Bernstein adopted Glory 8 years ago and

Kya 3 years ago. Glory is a yellow lab, she is a live find dog, which means she finds living victims who are trapped. Kya is a Dutch Shepherd Belgium Malinois mutt who is a ‘HR’ dog, which means she finds human remains and whole cadavers.

“Kya was able to find scattered ashes from an urn that had fallen and broken after the wild land fires in California earlier this year,” Bernstein said.

Glory and Kya’s mission starts with being notified by a call. After a disaster they get a list of everyone believed to be missing and their job is to search over anywhere those people may be. Kya has a bit of a different duty, she will also search buildings that have burned down if there is believed to be a dead body inside.

“Glory has been to Colorado twice for flooding, Virginia for a hurricane, and Alaska for a national cold weather wild lands collaborative search and rescue training. Kya has been to Georgia for hurricanes, has searched multiple houses here for various reasons, and earlier this year was in California for wild land fires,” Bernstein said.

Glory and Kya spend the majority of their time living comfortably at home while waiting to be called into action. They tend to get deployed for 3

• March 2021 •

weeks to a month at a time. John Bernstein, Benjamin’s father, is their handler and always goes with them when a search is needed.

“For a long time the police department was responsible for the dog team and only police officers could join it. Eventually it was open to the public when the police department no longer had control over it, that is when I joined,” John said.

The dogs do get paid for their duties. Payment depends on how long the deployment is, along with their tasks. It tends to be around $25 with comped food, free board and free transportation.

“The deployments are pretty stressful, we usually stay in high school gymnasiums on cots for weeks, which are packed in fairly tight,” John said.

John does not just work with Kya and Glory, he is also a fire captain for the city of North Las Vegas.

He has been a firefighter for 25 years along with being a dog handler for 12.

“I have always wanted to work with dogs to help search houses and buildings after disasters. After I went out to clean up 9/11 and saw the dogs search, I knew I wanted to find a way to be a part of it at some point,” John said.

Working with search and rescue teams after disasters can be very dangerous. Dogs can get injured, along with people. The impact of finding victims can be gruesome and traumatic as well.

“At dog training they can get cut up on the rubble pile and when you are hiding in a hole it is possible for it to collapse, but when they are out on deployment it’s all pretty dangerous,” John said.

“They had to wear cold weather gear in Alaska and they had issues with people falling through frozen lakes. When they were in Colorado they had to cross a sewer pipe over a canyon, that was pretty dangerous.”

Kya and Glory do a large training once a month at Las Vegas paving, which takes up an average of 8 or 9 hours. They train Glory by hiding people in holes for her to find. For Kya they hide scents out on the pile to find.

“Training is consistently the same, they are not dangerous. The most time consuming part is setting up holes cause you have to find a suitable spot and dig out a hole in the concrete,” John said. “Occasionally I will put scents under flower pots and see if Kya can find the remains.”

Kya and Glory strictly work with John. John is just as involved as they; when the dogs train he trains. Some others at the station also have their own search dogs so it is not surprising that Kya and Glory only work under John.

“Training is not that outrageous, other than hiding in a hole for a few hours every couple months it is pretty normal. I am pretty used to having my dad gone cause he is a firefighter so he lives and sleeps at the station, so it is not a huge deal when he gets deployed,” Bernstein said.

When Kya and Glory are not off training or participating in a mission they are pretty normal dogs.

They love to take walks and lay around the house.

• Feature • TIME FOR A WALK - Glory trains at Nellie Air Force Base to be prepared for missions.

courtesy of Benjamin Bernstein

“

After I went out to clean up 9/11 and saw the dogs search, I knew I wanted to find a way to be a part of it at some point.

DO YOU SMELL THAT? - During the summer of 2020, Kya searches for victims in Northern California after a wildfire.

John Bernstein “They are just like any other dogs, but they do have special toys they get as rewards if they complete their task during training,” Bernstein said.

When Kya or Glory find a pretend victim during training they are rewarded with play time. They usually end up with a toy which is a rubber hose sewn in a piece of fabric that they can chew on or play tug a war with.

Search and rescue teams have many more aspects than some come to find. Lots of dogs have different tasks that vary by breed or environmental aspect. These dogs are not just house pets, they are dogs that have been trained since birth to specifically pick up details that not many dogs automatically do.

Being a part of a service community and first responders is very respected. Many believe they are some of the hardest workers along with most trusted due to their work in saving lives. Anyone can get more informed and involved through NV Task Force 1’s website.

This profession can take you all over the world and expose you to challenges and devastations that are unimaginable. These dogs and their handlers have years of experience and training when going into dangerous territories.

“Kya and Glory have gone on missions for as long as I can remember. It is still cool watching them train and hearing stories about their missions, “ Bernstein said. “But I know there is no party hiding in a hole for 5 hours during training and it is a lot harder than it seems.”

SIT & LISTEN - Glory comes to work with Captain John Bernstein to continue to train.

•9•

G rr ee ee nn G VV aa ll ll ee yy tt hh rr oo uu gg hh tt hh ee aa gg ee s

By Tyler Bonnette & Kristel Alfaro Borbon

W

hile the big city’s horizon has remained mainly the same, the area that many have grown up in has become nearly unrecognizable in certain places. The conclusion of the decade brought many changes to the world that many people have spent their lives in, as new businesses open and close, and relics that made fond memories faded into obscurity.

The immediate area around campus has stayed mostly the same, but it is undeniable that major changes have taken the town over the last ten years. People who have stayed put have witnessed several changes, some big and some small: the storefront near the school’s closest 7-Eleven has seen five different pizza restaurants opening and closing; the building just across the street has cycled through restaurants just the same; the closing of Fresh & Easy saw Natural Grocers appearing in its place; and the nearby vacuum repair shop was replaced with a Yogurtland.

“The Green Valley area was actually very green to me when I first moved here. I felt like there were many parks and neighborhoods with grass lawns and many well grown trees that were not all just palm trees,” Coach Samson said. “Driving through Green Valley seemed like it was way more into preserving nature with parks and hiking trails than other communities in Las Vegas.”

Neyta Flores Esquer

HOT SPOT - Dutch Bros. recently opened just up the street from GVHS. The coffee chain has a loyal customer base which includes students.

It is bigger than just that, though - the embedded culture of Henderson and the surrounding area has been severely altered over time. Businesses come and go, but some bring bigger, more noticeable changes to the place that they occupy.

“I don’t think change is happening too fast actually. Compared to when we first moved here, there has definitely been a lot of road and structural changes,” sophomore Ananya Subramaniam said. “However, I don’t think our society that we’ve built here in Green Valley has changed much and if it has, I’m sure it’s for the better.”

Anyone who has lived here long enough will be able to identify an example of this easily. A decade ago, a little coffee shop called Dutch Brothers was practically unheard of, and now, with the recent opening of a location on Stephanie, there are over a dozen stores in the Las Vegas valley, becoming a staple of the city’s culture. In the span of a few years, it became the go-to coffee shop for anyone who was hoping for a cheap and pleasant experience to start the day.

“I think the growth comes with positive and negative effects, being that yes although people are finding places to live and make money it’s also not good for the environment to destroy the land and deplete it of its resources while filling it with pollution in such a short time,” sophomore Amador Guerrero said.

Dutch Bros. is the most significant example, but plenty of other businesses have come and gone. Obviously, this is not unique to the Las Vegas Valley - just like any other city, housing developments have sprung up seemingly out of nowhere, and parks have flourished more and more over time. Some memorable places have stayed the same, like the park on Arroyo Grande, which has been practically the same for years. Others, like the Whitney Mesa area, have been developed massively, with new hiking trails, playground equipment, and basketball courts.

“I still drive through the neighborhoods and feel like the neighborhoods have a lot of trees and grass. There are still so many neighborhood parks and places to hike,” Coach Samson said. “The major difference is the amount of the growth that has taken place with houses being built, roads being widened and stores/casinos being built. It just always seems to be so busy everywhere like stores, restaurants and just driving from one place to another. I am not a big fan of change anyways, so many changes too fast for me.”

As for housing developments, numerous acres of land have been spent on the beginnings of plentiful “new-urbanist” areas

like Anthem and Inspirada. With places like this being present for a while beforehand, they certainly expanded beyond anyone’s expectations in the last ten years. Rolling hills covered in near identical houses, dominating the city’s landscape for miles upon miles. The sprawl of urban housing, with amenities being close to the center and within walking distance from most houses, is noticeable from miles away.

“Green Valley has grown so fast because of the simple fact that it’s a suburban area,” Subramaniam said. “People are having families and are moving to the suburbs to make their family safe and have easier access to schools and parks and other really amazing resources.

Unfortunately, this has not been the most ideal situation for some of the most iconic and recognizable places in the valley. With more and more plans underway for new neighborhoods sprouting up left and right, there is always one thing that is called into question the land that it will sit on.

“I think innovation is key to a growing city and I would argue that most of us have proven capable of keeping up with the change,” sophomore Brandon Anderson said. “The community offers so much to us in the way of unique luxuries and entertainment, so people are willing to invest back into it for that reason.”

A prime example of this was seen recently with the beloved Bonnie Springs, just outside of Red Rock Canyon. The classic

“

western-themed town was known by many who had spent a large portion of their lives living in Henderson and Las Vegas.

An enjoyable destination for locals and tourists alike, it saw many visitors, especially during the Halloween season, where it took on a new approach and made hundreds of memories for anyone who stopped by.

“Green Valley is a great location because you can still be a part of the “city life while also being able to feel like you are also in the “desert” when you go on a hike through the different areas in Green Valley,” Coach Samson said.” There are so many fun things to do in Green Valley with all the new restaurants, stores and sporting/entertainment events. Plus people in Green Valley are so nice and really take pride in this community.”

I think that innovation is key to a growing city and I would argue that most of us have proven capable of keeping up with the change.

Then, in 2019, it closed down to make room for a new housing development close to the Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area. For many, it was a tragic day as the renowned tourist spot was officially closing its doors. Some say that it was inevitable, but none can deny that it created fond memories for its visitors, both during year-round visits and the popular “Bonnie Screams” Halloween event. The valley lost an important part of its culture to the creation of new housing and expansion of urban neighborhoods.

“I don’t think change is happening too fast but I do think it’s both nice and bad to see the way things are changing everyday,”

Brandon Anderson

PERFECT VIEW- The Las Vegas skyline on March 4 shows all the action going on downtown. Las Vegas is the third most visited city in the United States.

Sebastian Villamil

• 11 •

Guerrero said. “I think Green Valley has grown so fast because of the opportunities that people can find here.”

Another relic of the old valley is slated to be replaced as the Henderson Pavilion is converted into a stadium for the city’s minor league hockey team, the Silver Knights. Dozens of shows and events have been hosted at the Pavilion, but as its popularity declined, and the pandemic hit the city hard, there was no denying that it was soon to be re-branded.

“I think the moment that I realized that the city has really changed was kinda after the beginning of quarantine because before then I wasn’t going out much,” Subramanian said. “I’m obviously still not going out that much but when we were driving around and I saw all these new buildings and houses that were built, I realized that the town I lived in when I was six was now a city.”

With all of these changes come notable changes to the culture of the local population. Some have been viewed as positive, while some have been seen as negative. The Las Vegas area especially saw many additions to the Strip and the surrounding area, with massive attractions such as the High Roller at the Linq, the massive “Slotzilla” on Fremont Street, and the two stadiums that sprung up next to the Strip.

“I was driving down a street that I had not been on in quite some time. The road was at one time one lane in each direction so two lanes only,” Coach Samson said. “Now it is three lanes in each direction so a total of six lanes,and there was traffic that filled these plants. That’s when I realized this area really is growing in population.”

The former two attractions are simply additions to the “charm” of Las Vegas, and are in no way surprising. The latter, however, took the city by storm - following the Oct. 1 tragedy, the city united under a new sports team, the Golden Knights.

Soon after, the Raiders announced their arrival in the valley, with a massive stadium being built to commemorate this.

“Much of the growth has brought communities together whether it be cheering on the Silver Knights/ Golden Knights/ raiders or meeting people at a restaurant or community event,” Coach Samson said. “Some bad is that traffic has really become

Neyta Flores Esquer

EAT HERE - Stephanie St. has seen many new restaurants over the past decade. SkinnyFATS is a popular spot for students and locals.

much busier, crime has risen over time and the building of some houses have taken away from the desert. Nature feels in some communities.”

Some see this as a welcome addition to both the landscape of the city as well as the culture of the area’s population. Others saw it as something negative - a massive, flashy stadium being built as a sports team suddenly arrives with little to no warning.

“I prefer the new (Green Valley,) the constant growth and the modernization has led to many more opportunities and luxuries that weren’t present in the old Green Valley,” Anderson said. “I think I realized it freshman year, having more freedom to do things opened my eyes to seeing how rapidly the city has changed and continues to change.”

Sebastian Villamil

VIVA LAS VEGAS- Traffic accumulates at the Las Vegas Strip on March 4. Las Vegas gets an average of 42 million visitors a year.

• Feature •

By McKenzie Shelton-Lott

T

he history that comes with being a Black American is widely accepted as challenging, to say the least. For hundreds of years Black Americans were enslaved, discriminated against and brutalized.

The idea of Black History Month began with Carter G. Woodson. In September of 1915 Woodson and minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH). This organization was made to research and document the achievements made by Black people.

In 1926 the group began sponsoring “Negro History Week.” The week chosen was the second week of February due to the fact that it lines up with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglass, both very prominent people.

Negro History week became very important for people all around the United States. By 1960 many black college campuses began celebrating Black History month.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford officially named February Black History Month. Every president since has continued to designate February as Black History Month and assign a certain theme. Past themes have been “African Americans and the

the tension surrounding race, it is important that we elevate Black voices throughout the entire year, especially during February.

Demetrius Beam, a US History teacher at Green Valley, spoke about how he enjoys allowing his students to hear about the trials and tribulations of black directly from those who went through it, rather than letting people retell the story.

“My intention, this year, was largely to try to make that focus not just the typical focus of slaves, but from the perspective of” Beam stated. “There should be some curriculum development and some inclusion, and it certainly should not be limited to one month out of the year.”

Beam also discussed how his perspective on race was not truly formed until he went away to college where he witnessed much more diversity than in his hometown.

“To be quite honest, early on, I was never exposed to diversity. When I went to college I began interacting with more people who were different from me ethnically and racially,” Beam said.

Bailey Perryman, the varsity cheer coach, had a slightly similar experience. Perryman talked about growing up in Las Vegas but moving to Utah for college where she experienced slight judgment for her race for the first time.

“I was born and raised here, however, I went to college in Utah and that was definitely a culture

Black History Origins Exploring the importance of Black History Month

Kristel Alfaro Borbon

Vote’’ and “Black Migrations”. The theme for 2021 is “Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity”.

Black History Month is used as a way to educate people on the history of Black people. Usually, throughout February there are many music and film festivals that showcase Black musicians and filmmakers, food festivals to display food created

by Black people, mini museums to exhibit Black history, and poetry slams where Black artists and show their art.

In Nevada there are many sites that have contributed to Black history, specifically in West Las Vegas. Due to the popularity of the Strip during the 1930-1990’s era, many black musicians came to Las Vegas to perform. During this time many Black people were not able to stay on the strip due to discrimination.

The Black community began creating a new home for themselves, and spaces made just for them. In West Las Vegas there was a library and theater made to showcase the talents of the black community. There was also Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino, and an arts center.

Now, the arts center as well as the library and theater remain while places like Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino closed a while ago. Recently, a sign was put up to acknowledge the Historic West Side and its role in the growth of Nevada.

With the current climate of our country and

• 13 •

shock,” Perry stated. “There I was being treated differently. For the first time I would have security checking me out on the sidewalk or police pulling me over after basketball practice.”

“I’ve come to realize that it’s not just me. My race plays a part in everything I do,” Perryman said.

During Black History Month last school year, GVHS’s Black Student Union, had segments on GVTV that spoke about prominent Black figures and what they did. This was all organized by the BSU president Ariyon Comer.

Ariyon discussed how being black was not about her skin but about her roots. She also discussed the importance of learning and educating yourself.

“Being Black is less about my skin tone. We’re a part of a culture and it is important to know our roots,” Comer said. “It is important that we spend this month celebrating and learning from the past.”

Ariyon also discussed some things she would enjoy seeing this month. “ I hope to see more inclusiveness. I want people to feel as if they can be themselves without fear.

People shouldn’t have to change to make other people happy or lessen themselves to fit society’s standards.”

This month is all about acknowledging Black history and learning from it. It is a month to support and elevate the Black community. Buy from Black owned businesses, promote Black artists and celebrate diversity in local communities.

• Feature •

The Melody of Madrigals Breaking down what makes singing group so resilient

T

By Emma Trifonova

he campus musical group Madrigals, which is run by Grammy nominee Kimberly Ritzer for 30 years, has been pulling a team effort to make Madrigals work online for the 2020-21 school year. Due to schools being closed, Madrigals has required significant effort from both Ritzer and her students to make the class work.

“It is so much different for us than being in person,” Ritzer said. “We have to practice with all of the students on mute, except for me or the section leaders who help run rehearsals in our breakout rooms. It takes a lot of practice and commitment on the part of each student to make this craziness work.”

Madrigals have taken getting accustomed to virtual learning, where the students cannot get a more in-depth teaching experience like they did when

“They never settle for anything less than the very best performances of our music that they can produce. I love that they will never settle for mediocrity and always want to do their very best,” Ritzer said.

In all, the resilience of the students and teacher of Madrigals shows that the obstacle of virtual learning has not deterred Ritzer’s future plans for the singing group.

“Once we are allowed to travel again, I want to take Madrigals, Concert Choir and Bella Voce to perform in Carnegie Hall again,” Ritzer said. “The last time we went in 2016, the Madrigals had their own featured performance on the main stage, it was awesome.”

Ritzer’s enthusiasm for Madrigals’ strength to make it through the whys and woes of virtual school is also shared with her students.

“Everyone in the choir has been eager to listen to others sing, but unfortunately it is not realistic to have everyone unmute due to the delay over Goo-

“Madrigals feels like a mini family, absolutely, yes,” Martin said, “I have met some of the greatest people in Madrigals, and I truly feel like it has always been a family.”

Building strong lasting bonds and becoming comfortable with one another is a difficulty in every new group. With time and ice breakers, clubs and groups start to feel like a second home after a certain amount of time.

“I remember being a freshman and being terrified that the seniors would hate me, but in reality, they welcomed me with open arms and truly made me feel at home,” Martin said, “you spend so much time with everyone whether that’s in class, or on trips, to the point where you naturally make connections with everyone.”

Running the diligent and united class of Madrigals has been Martin’s dream for some time.

“I am very grateful to be able to run the choir program alongside my Co-President, Caroline Martin, and the leadership team,” Martin said. “Caro-

“

We still sing everyday and constantly learn new pieces to perform, even if it is just through a recording.

Molly Martin

going to school physically. Virtual learning requires patience and understanding in Madrigals for both the student and Ritzer. Still, Madrigals have found a way to incorporate bonding time through the screen.

“The only time during virtual Madrigals that they hear each other all together is when they watched our complete virtual choir videos for our Winter Concert,” Ritzer said.

The Winter Concert was made up of individual students singing, and the clips of them singing was compiled into one video to combine their voices, much like it would have been if the Madrigals students could sing together in school.

Even though Madrigals’ students and Ritzer are far apart, they get to be united through their passion for singing.

“The students in Madrigals are very focused on making incredible music,” Ritzer said.

The Madrigals students take their singing seriously, in-person or not. The effort they put into the class continues to amaze Ritzer.

gle Meet,” senior Molly Martin, Madrigals’ Co-president, said.

Distant learning has made it very difficult for many clubs and groups to rehearse and discuss matters do to the unreliability of the Internet.

Many have felt disappointed with how classes are conducted and find it hard to be positive. For many others, positivity and hope of going back to the norms is what drives them day by day.

“Although it is harder, all the section leaders have stepped up, and we have made the best out of virtual learning,” Martin said.

Madrigals’ students, despite not being able to work together as they did when going to in-person school, find ways to put all of their hard work into the class.

“We still sing every day, and constantly learn new pieces to perform, even if it is just through a recording,” Martin said.

In the face of a communication barrier between one another, they continue to be close during these difficult times.

• 15 •

line and I have been dreaming of this ever since we were in middle school, and we were honored to be selected. We really enjoy getting to know everyone in the choir programs, and being student liaisons for Mrs. Ritzer.”

Other students in Madrigals, like senior Brendan Stephens, also share the same thoughts and opinions about the class.

“It is just filled with a bunch of really great people,” Stephens said.

The students of Madrigals have experienced positive changes in their lives, whether it be academically or singing wise. The class continues to impact the students and encourage them to grow and flourish into their best selves on the inside, and the out.

“Madrigals is a unique environment, where you get a bunch of students who want to go beyond the expectations of a normal high school choir,” Stephens said. “If you want to really strive to be a better musician and singer, Madrigals will be a great place for you to grow.”

• Feature •

Cancellation of school sports Fall, Winter seasons officially canceled as Spring athletes hold out hope

By Brenna Knight

W

ith the exception of Nevada, high schools all around the country are allowing athletes to compete in winter and fall sports. Cross country, football, girls golf, soccer, tennis, and girls volleyball have been canceled for Green Valley’s 2020-2021 school year.

On Jan. 11, 2021, Nevada announced that fall sports for high school would be canceled, taking away what is left of a sense of normality for student-athletes. The particular reason for this unideal circumstance is because they believe that if kids cannot be in school safely, then they should not be playing sports. Especially when there are multiple factors that come into play when trying to be safe.

“I think Nevada is one of the only states not having sports because of the industry that currently resides in Las Vegas. If COVID-19 rates spike, casinos and many jobs could potentially see a rough time again.”

Senior Gabriel Nicolae stated. “I say this because I have family in the casino industry and truly there would be a decent amount of jobs affected if COVID-19 rates were to spike up again.”

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC), they stated, “As our knowledge of how the virus that causes COVID-19 has evolved, we have increasingly recognized that transmission depends upon multiple factors that cannot be easily accounted for by simply dividing sports into three distinct categories of risk.”

Later in the month, a second request to lift the prohibition of high school sports was attempted. On Jan. 22 of 2021, Governor Steve Sisolak came to a conclusion with the NIAA (Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association) that unless he decides to not only discontinue the current pause on sports, but the Directive 034 prohibitions as well, than there could be a chance that basketball, wrestling and football may continue on Feb. 15, 2021.

Having fall sports canceled has made students wonder if spring sports are going to be canceled as well. COVID-19 has made the task of deciding if there should be a season for spring sports a lot more difficult.

“Obviously nothing is official by CCSD as of yet, but if the current sta-

tus of online learning is still in place in April, then yes, I believe spring sports will be canceled,” assistant principal of athletics, David Hawley said. “As of now, spring sports are a go and we have to wait until the district makes a decision with online and face to face learning.”

With this cancellation, many people on campus are upset that it will not be an exciting year for sports.

Some were looking forward to the uniqueness of athletics and what they bring to the school year.

“GVHS staff misses seeing our students on campus and performing in all aspects of the face to face experience. We as educators choose to work and interact with students face to face and see them grow as young adults academically, socially, and athletically,” Hawley said.

This circumstance was especially bad news for senior athletes as scouts from colleges normally look for athletes to bring to their teams. This puts seniors at a serious disadvantage, especially when they relied on those scholarships they might have gained for college.

“There was a lot on the line for many athletes, especially seniors.”

Nicolae said, “People know everyone’s senior year as an athlete is supposed to be ‘special’ in a way and I feel like the district has fallen short of

“

Everyone’s senior year is supposed to be ‘special’ and I feel like the district has fallen short of everyone’s expectations.

Gabriel Nicole everyone’s expectations a little.”

With this cancellation of sports, seniors do not have the opportunity for scouting and scholarships. The amount of pressure on these athletes have increased since then, but so have college coaches. They have to make a tough decision on how to move forward and recruit, especially since the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) have granted an extra year of eligibility. To ease this situation, the NCAA has stated that the Division 1 council has extended the recruiting dead period for all sports through Apr. 15, 2021.

Athletes can agree that their extra-

March 2021

curricular activity has a big impact on their high school experience. Having memories with teammates and being able to compete is what makes it all worth it. Some even find high school sports as an escape from reality. Not only that but senior year is typically known as a prime time to develop friendships for a lifetime, many of these relationships derive from student-athletes sharing the common love for their sport.

“The memories made with teammates are simply irreplaceable. The time we spend out there together creates a bond regardless of anything outside of the field; When you’re on it you create memories with people that become almost like a family to you,” Nicolae said.

Despite the fact that sports are canceled, students are very understanding of the circumstances the world is undergoing. Although, it does not soften the blow that athletes feel about their sport being canceled.

“A lot of seniors this year won’t get the chance to experience what a lot of others in the past have had the opportunity to.” Nicolae said, “I do feel like personally this has taken away a huge part of my high school experience. I can say that I do understand the safety concerns currently with the things going on in the world, but truly I am a little saddened,” Nicolae said.

Brenna Knight

• Sports•

In search of a golden year

Golden Knights 2021 season is off and running

By Adrian Sifuentes

T

he Vegas Golden Knights have won over the hearts of fans, not only in Vegas, but across the country. Racking up more wins than losses, they are a team that is sure to resonate with their audience and expand their fan base. In fact, Local fans have had their fair share of memorable moments from watching their players dance around the ice.

“It’s my city’s team and they make the game exciting to watch,” sophomore Madison Tumility said. “Yes, they are my favorite hockey team and the fact that they score lots of points and win lots of games makes them fun to watch.”

On a different note, many other hockey fans enjoy watching the Knights despite favoring other teams’ excellency. Liking a team doesn’t mean you always have to stick to one specific side either. Many fans get a thrill out of purely watching someone’s talent.

“They aren’t my favorite team, but I do like watching them, they are the only hockey team I really watch,” junior Katelyn Cortázar said. “ I realized I liked the Golden Knights when I really started to get into learning the game, and how they play. It’s definitely very fun to sit and watch.”

Before COVID-19, fans would love to gather inside the stadium and watch the team in action.

“

My first time at the arena was amazing. The whole arena was Vegas Strong and they sent the message that we were in this together.

Sierra Aylward “Going to my first game and seeing/feeling the energy outside of the arena and continuing inside was a really amazing experience,” Tumility said.

For others, a moment of complete

awe would occur when interacting with the players themselves. Furthermore, the players who show passion for what they love doing will make those memories last a lifetime.

“I was starstruck by the team the

sport and others because of their kind heartedness. Usually, it’s a mixture of both.

“I love all of the team but Marchessault was my favorite from the start.

I have his jersey and love wearing it.

the Knights came to town.

“I had no prior knowledge about hockey,” Aylward said. “My brother used to watch the penguins and that’s about it. Now hockey is on in our house all the time.”

Zachery Schauer

first season they played in 2017, when they went to the finals and won the first game,” senior Ethan Kiefer said.

“Even though they never won the Stanley Cup, it was still so amazing seeing a team just start off and get that close to victory. Such an amazing experience.”

Senior Patrick Giddens shared his favorite moment from the Knights when he said, “A moment where I was starstruck by the team was when they defeated the kings on a sweep in the first round and then eventually made it to the Stanley Cup final in their first year of ever being a team. That starstruck me because it’s unheard of for an inaugural team to get that far and be that good.”

For many fans the moment they step into the arena creates a magical memory like no other.

“My first time at the arena was amazing. The whole arena was Vegas strong and they sent the message that we were in this together,” senior Sierra Aylward said.

Of course, many fans tend to pick and choose their favorite players.

Some due to how good they are at the

I also love Fleury but who doesn’t?”

Aylward said.

Kiefer would agree with that statement adding, “Marc Andre Fleury is my favorite player because he’s the one that keeps everyone from scoring and one of the reasons we’ve gotten as far as we have and he’s just a good person and a great player in general.

It’s always funny listening to his interviews too and he’s got such a good spirit,” Kiefer said.

However, some people have a hard time choosing between which player they think is their favorite. Most players meet each other’s level of strength and wit.

“My favorite player on the Golden Knights is a tough one because I’m torn between Mark Stone and Marc-Andre Fleury,” Giddens said.

“They are both solid players and even better people. Anytime I see them talk or do anything off the ice, I aspire to be like them.”

Despite the Golden Knights making hockey such a well-known sport here in Vegas, not many people who are fans of the Knights now had any prior knowledge of the sport before

• 17 •

Even though the Vegas Golden Knights have attracted new fans to hockey as a whole, others have enjoyed the sport even before the Knights grew a large fan base.

“I was a Blues fan before the Knights were ever even thought of and I still am a blues fan, so I already had some knowledge of the game but I never knew we would have hockey until it was announced that we would have a team,” Kiefer said.

As of right now, The Knights are 4th in the west, meaning that they are 3 teams behind in their current standings of the playoffs. COVID-19 has delayed some of the Knight’s games but that doesn’t stop them from giving it their all. Additionally, they are facing each team in their division 8 times which has never happened before.

“The Golden Knights definitely inspired me to play hockey and I joined a street league to get my feet wet with the sport. When playing I felt the same energy as when I would watch the Knights play. It was awesome! I continued to get better but have taken a hiatus due to the Corona virus pandemic,” said Giddens.

• Sports •

Fitness app crave

Gyms closing causes many to switch to at home apps

By Selenne Arroyo-Martinez

A

s students approach almost one year of having to adjust to a new life, a life with masks and social distancing, technology has allowed them to continue an important aspect of their daily lives, health.

Due to quarantine restrictions, many gyms had to close down, leaving students no other choice but to rely on other resources such as fitness apps.

The use of fitness apps has increased its users significantly by students. Before quarantine, a few students used fitness apps to maintain a good weight or even lose weight. After quarantine, students lost the motivation to use those apps.

“I started using the EOS fitness app last February. After COVID-19 hit, I wasn’t able to go to the gym for a couple of months which made me not want to go after quarantine was sort of lifted,” junior Aidan Regan said. “I didn’t go back until this September.”

Many students took advantage of quarantine to maintain a stable weight with the help of fitness apps. There are a variety of fitness apps with different advantages. Students usually use the FitBit to maintain their weight or simply look at their data. Others like to track what they do in a day with those apps “I use myftinesspal to track my calories, which makes my life so much easier,” junior Sabrina Peal said. “Before, it was difficult to track how much I was eating, but now I can just log it in on there and it lets me know how much I eat.”

Not only does this app let you keep track of your calories, but it lets you know how many carbs and proteins you are consuming. This app is not a weight loss app but it helps in conjunction with that. Myfitnesspal allows one to improve one’s diet and promote more mindful eating habits. Under Armour is the seller of myfitnesspal, and also has other fitness apps called Map My Run by Under Armour, Map My Walk by Under Armour, and Map My Fitness by Under Armour which is great for tracking walks, runs, and your workouts.

Other than those apps, popular wristbands that many students use is FitBit. FitBits are worn around the wrist and track your water intakes

along with your calories and steps.

This is very similar to the Apple watch but FitBits solely focus on one’s health and fitness.

“I like seeing my heart rate and I can play breathing games on it,” junior Thanakorn Patrick Nanongkhai said.

“Having asthma, I like to know how my heart is doing during an intensive exercise.”

Not only do FitBits control your activity, but apple watches do similarly the same and more students use that.

The apple watches have an app called Activity where it keeps track of one’s movement throughout the day. This app also tracks how often one stands up and how many minutes of exercise you do. Apple watches also have a workout tab where it shows your history of exercises you’ve done. It lets you track how long you go for a run or how long you are going for a walk along with bicycling.

“I have an Apple watch that tracks my heart rate levels and detects when I am working out,” sophomore Alexis DeAsis said. “It’s really important to track your heart rate while you work out, so I depend on a lot on the app Activity that is already pre-installed on my apple watch.”

Like myfitnesspal, an app named Carbon - Smart Diet Coach and does everything s normal nutrition coach would but at a fraction of the cost. This app is a science-based nutrition app designed by nutrition coaches.

“I mainly use Carbon to track what I eat to make sure I have the proper amount of food and nutrients I consume each day,” DeAsis said. “My entire family uses this app. We track our food daily and if I’m feeling motivated, I’ll even track my food into the app a week in advance so all I have to do is pull out my meal.”

Although more people use myfitnesspal, Carbon - Smart Diet Coach will adjust the plan as the student or person progresses to optimize the results. Carbon will make adjustments to keep the person progressing towards the goal. Their coaching program system uses the latest techniques in nutrition science to make sure the person gets the best results possible. The person’s nutrition can be tailored to their diet preference.

“It’s an everyday use kind of app,” DeAsis said.

Many factors can affect one’s physical health. Being in quarantine, students had little to no motivation

to continue caring about their physical health. Using fitness apps, it helps them engage more in their health.

“I downloaded the EOS app so I could use it to check into the gym but when quarantine began, I stopped going to prevent spreading the virus,” Regan said. “Not going for a long period of time unmotivated me to go back.”

• 19 •

With having to adjust to a new lifestyle, health has not been easy to maintain.

“I lost motivation drastically. It caused my health to drop and I didn’t start getting back into the groove until around November,” DeAsis said “I started gaining much more motivation after that.”

Vivien Liebhardt

• A&E •

Revolution on stream Streaming services continue to provide students with options

by Liliana Burke

F

rom Netflix to Disney Plus to Prime Video and Hulu, the usage of streaming services is increasing more than ever. Throughout the events of 2020, people were stuck at homes and the variety of growing streaming platforms provided several people with entertainment.

Each service has different plans with benefits that appeal to viewing customers so a lot of thought can go into deciding which platform to sign up with. One thing people ask be-

enue from subscriptions amounting to over 6.5 billion U.S. dollars.

This puts Netflix at having approximately 35.15 million more subscribers than Prime Video, even with Primes competing rise to popularity.

However, Netflix isn’t the only service getting competition. The two services are also getting competition from rising platforms Disney Plus and Hulu.

Disney Plus was the most recently launched platform having been released Nov 12, 2019. Since its recent release it has gained 86.8 million subscribers as of Dec 2020. This platform creates large competition

ing companies. Not only does making the choice depend on which plan suits the customer better but also what they prefer or want to watch.

Some platforms carry certain shows that another company doesn’t. For example, Netflix no longer carries the popular sitcom Friends but platforms Hulu and HBO Max, another competing service do provide paying subscribers with this show. These kinds of pros and cons of the platforms influence the business of streaming services greatly and affect which platform a person might choose and pay for.

However, it seems that Netflix still seems to stay at the top of the charts. In a student survey, 100% of the responses had Netflix as their favorite streaming service.

“

I have Disney Plus, Netflix, and Hulu. I would say that Netflix is my favorite.

Liliana Burke

fore purchasing is which streaming service is top rated? In 2020, Netflix was still in the #1 spot for most used services.

Netflix was founded Aug 29, 1997 and since its release has brought in at least $20.16 billion (2019). As of Dec. 24, 2020, Netflix had over 60 million subscribers in the US alone but 195.15 million paid subscribers worldwide, making it the most popular and demanded streaming platform. However, with new streaming services coming into existence, Netflix is beginning to get a lot more competition. Platforms like Prime Video, Disney Plus, and HBO Max are on the rise and are becoming more popular with cheaper plans than the 24 year old Netflix platform.

Netflix’s top competitor is currently Amazon Prime Video that launched Sept. 7, 2006 from Amazon.com founded by Jeff Bezos. After 14 years of streaming, Prime has 150 million paying users and in the third quarter of 2020 brought in a net rev-

due to being partnered with another popular streaming service, Hulu.

This partnership gives Disney Plus customers a bundle deal of getting to use both services to view some favorite shows and movies for a cheaper combined price.

Not only does the Disney Plus bundle provide Hulu services but also provides ESPN Plus for those who are more into watching sports than watching the Avengers or Star Wars. This bundle deal contains plenty of variety to appeal to many different people from teenagers and adults to toddlers and people with different tastes of genres from romcoms to crime fighting or action/ adventure. Due to having something for different people, this deal is a popular choice which creates even more competition for Netflix.

By 2024, with the trend the streaming platforms are going, Disney Plus will have more subscribers and customers than Netflix, which puts more pressure on the compet-

Kylee Brahma “I have Disney Plus, Netflix, and Hulu. Out of the platforms I have, Netflix is my favorite,” senior Kylee Brahma said, “It is because of the surplus amounts of shows, animes, and movies, my favorite movie on Netflix is ‘Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse.’”

The ‘Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse’ trailer generated 164,000 conversations across social media platforms within a day of its release, and in three days had been viewed 44 million times, making the film one of Sony’s most viral. However, it was removed from Netflix on Dec 25, 2020.

Responses are similar in favorite platforms, although there are some who prefer another platform due to having a favorite show or movie on there.

“I have Netflix, Disney Plus, and HBO Max. Disney Plus is my favorite because it has ‘Star Wars’ on it.

My favorite show on there is ‘Clone Wars,’” sophomore Kalynn Casano-

• March 2021 •

va said.

Seasons 1 and 2 of ‘Clone Wars’ had about 3-4 million viewers and was highly popular. However, seasons 3 and 4 dropped down to 1-2 million viewers. From the Worldwide Box Office, ‘Clone Wars’ brought in about $68,695,443. In 2020, its total value was estimated at US $70 billion, and it is currently the fifth-highest-grossing media franchise of all time.

Once again, Netflix is chosen as a preferred option for streaming services due to certain features allowed with the platform. In 2020, more households opt to have Netflix over the once preferred service of cable TV. “I have Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus and Netflix,” sophomore Isabel Zamora said, “My favorite is Netflix because I enjoy being able to watch whatever movie or show I want without ads or commercials, and my favorite show on there is ‘Criminal Minds.’”

Another response from Nicole Iliopulos, a sophomore agrees that ‘Criminal Minds’ is a favorite show.

‘Criminal Minds’ first 12 seasons are streamed on Netflix, while the last 3 seasons can be found on Hulu. The Nielsen Company (an info,data and market measurement firm) said the last episode of the 15th and final season brought in 5.4 million viewers which was up 12% than its average.

“Out of the platforms I have, Neftlix is my favorite. It is because it has a wide range of shows I love to watch/ re-watch constantly which fills up my free time,” Iliopulos said.

Sophomore Riana Reyes agrees that Netflix has a wide variety of shows and movies for different viewers with viewing preferences from FBI crime-fighters and superheroes to K-dramas and animes.

“Netflix is my favorite service because I can watch K-dramas, like ‘Crash Landing on You,’ or my favorite animes on there,” Reyes said.

Although Netflix remains number one with its ad-free service and wide range of films and series, it is gaining competition in the streaming service business. With the ever growing number of people hopping on the Internet to sign up for a platform to watch favorites, the streaming service industry is booming.

• A&E•

On The Big Screen ith every new year comes new entertainment, and as the youth begins to age, what they find interest in controls what ends up becoming the new trends. The teenage generations tend to control what is popular and what is not. The popularity of Disney+ and other movie streaming platforms such as Netflix and Hulu have caused movies and tv shows to increase since everyone has spent so much time at home.

The 2020 film Birds of Prey is a superhero film based on the DC Comics team the Birds of Prey. The film is about Harley Quinn breaking up with

the Joker and joining forces with other superheroes named Huntress, The Black Canary, and Renee Maria Montoya to save Cassandra Cain from the fictional setting of Gotham Cities crime seeking Black Mask, causing the formation of “Birds of Prey”.

This movie is a ten out of ten coming from a not so superhero loving viewer. It kept my interest throughout the entire movie and had also taught me a thing or two about the additional superhero movies. Also, I feel like since the Birds of Prey group was full of girls going against boys it shows a more feminist type of view which makes the movie better, it shows you a different side of girls that many movies and shows do not often portray.

story throughout the original film.

Mainly, they left out one of the main characters Li Shang (the son of an army general) due to the #metoo movement. Not only that, but they also left out the little, but mighty, dragon (Mushu) originally voiced by Eddie Murphy. Another crucial aspect that was noticeably absent was the songs that represent a lot of the strong suits of women all around the world. The songs demonstrate how hard it was for her to keep pushing towards her goal when all of the men in the army were doubting her.

I feel like this production would be a four out of ten in my opinion. It was very interesting and informative, but I feel as if the information coming out as they sang had my mind all over the place because it was hard for me to focus and keep up at the same time. Also, with me and many others not being the biggest fans of musicals, it can be awkward to get used to and enjoy at home on TV. With that being said, the choreography was amazing and, being completely honest, it really was one of the only things keeping me interested.

By Jasmine Gomolka

W

This drama/family film is about a music teacher named Joe Gardner wanting to reconnect with his soul and body after they separated accidentally before he had an opportunity to become a jazz musician.

I personally believe this film should be higher than a ten out of ten. This film painted out a picture of the feelings being acted out throughout the entire film, it made me emotional. I am not usually able to keep my interest focused on movies, but this movie caught my eye the whole time.

The animation in this movie trips out my mind and makes me think.

A live-action retake at the movie Mulan came out in 2020. This action and drama film is an adaptation of the original Mulan movie. The film is about a teenage girl trying to help get her father out from serving in the Imperial Army. She does this by disguising herself as a young man so she would be able to sneak into the army, without raising any suspictions from other members of the army.

I would rate this film a three out of ten. This is because I believe that the original Mulan is definitely the way better and more elite option. Not only because I am not a fan of live action films, but because I feel like the directors and scriptwriters left out a lot of the main details that carried the

• 21 •

•A&E•

YEAR OF THE METAL OX 2021 Lunar New Year traditions accomodate for quarantine

By Brook Gray-Vanderbur

C

hinese New Year is one of the most celebrated holidays in Chinese culture.

Along with it being greatly celebrated all over China, it is also celebrated almost everywhere else in the world. Every Chinese new year cycles to a new animal. In 2019 it was the Pig, the last in the cycle, and 2020 began the cycle again with the Rat. 2021 began the year of the Ox. There are big differences between American new year and the Chinese new year. The American New Year celebrates the start of a new year and new beginnings. American celebrations last for two days with New Year’s Eve being on Dec. 31 and, once the clock strikes midnight, Jan. 1 of a new year begins.

The Chinese New Year, however, lasts for 16 days from the 12th of February to the 22nd. This celebration is

called the Spring Festival. The main difference between the American and Chinese new year is the story of the sleeping monster.

“They say there is a monster, the monster in the ancient time slept for 365 days. On the last day, the monster wakes up, and he’s so hungry, and he needs to eat people. Then, there is a God,” Chinese teacher Chi Chen explained. “The God thought about a way - first of all, the monster is afraid of the color red. Secondly, the monster is afraid of the big noise.”

This myth is the main reason why the whole Spring Festival is focused on the color red, and sees loud celebrations and demonstrations to scare away the monster that is threatening the people. It is customary in Chinese culture for people to decorate their house with red decorations and set off fireworks and firecrackers. This is also the reason why there are parades celebrating. After all, what’s better at making noise than a parade?

“We start preparing for the holidays actually 15 days before the first day of the new year,” Chen said. “So every day you have something to do.

For example, you have to clean your kitchen. You have to clean the house.

You have to buy something to decorate your house.”

The choice of animal has a part to play with the history of the Holiday. The ox, horse, goat, rooster, pig and dog are six of the main domestic animals raised by people, while the rat, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake and monkey were all animals loved by the Chinese back in the Shang Dynasty (1600–1046 BC).

“The God said, ‘Why don’t we have a running race? So the first 12 animals can represent the universe.

The first year will be the rat, then the second year the ox.’ So that’s how we choose the first 12 winning animals to represent each year, and that is the order every 12 years,” Chen said.

The animals were separated into

two categories - Yin and Yang - depending on whether they had odd or even numbers of claws, toes or hooves. They were then arranged into an alternating Yin and Yang sequence.

After the Spring Festival there is the Lantern Festival, considered the “true” valentines day for the Chinese.

During the festival, houses are filled with colorful lanterns, sometimes with riddles written in or on them if the riddle is solved the riddle solver earns the same gift. Festival celebrations also include lion and dragon dances, parades, and fireworks just like the Spring Festival.

This year is a little different, though, because of the Coronavirus.

Normally this holiday in China is the most traveled a year, where there are more people on the trains than in their homes. But this year, the government of China has told citizens to remain home, so it is very different for the Chinese people this year.

Violet LaMela

• March 2021 •

• A&E •

Green grows on Gators

Say Aloe to the newest quarantine sensation

By Cherie Franklin

F

irst, it was toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Then it was flour, yeast, and sugar.

Quarantine commodities like these flew off of grocery store shelves and businesses never could quite keep them all in stock.

As the stay-at-home orders refused to let up, another item joined this ever-growing list of items no one could seem to find. What is this item you ask? House plants.

For those with already blooming green thumbs and for those who need a little more care, buying and looking after house plants became a growing trend in quarantine. Among the many benefits of owning a house plant, a few of the most notable in-

“

I can control what’s going into them, what these plants are doing and how they’re growing.”

sons including the natural rhythms that can be found in it. There is comfort and reward in knowing exactly what is going to happen when you take care of a plant well, and people need any amount of dependability during times such as this more than ever.

“One, delayed gratification in times of COVID feels good,” Fergen said. “And two, it’s nice to have these, like, things that I can control what’s going into them, what these plants are doing and how they’re growing, then it gives me something to deal with - it’s a good, positive coping thing.”

Taking care of a house plant also gives many people a chance to “nurture”, which presents a host of psychological benefits and is proven to reduce stress similarly to having a pet. The ability to escape and to feel that you are doing something positive by nourishing a small environment translates into psychological wellness

for many people. In other words, it’s comforting to know you can exercise a small amount of positive control in an unstable world by creating healthy plants and nurturing them in a way that makes them flourish.

“TikTok was super helpful for me because it showed me that there were other people who were going through the same exact problems as me, so it made me feel a lot better whenever some problem did arise. From there, I could move on and find solutions,” junior Andrea Lipscomb said.

For many, quarantine is the first time they’ve had a garden of their own that didn’t shrivel up and take their green-thumbed dreams with them.

“I have tried to take care of plants since I moved out of college. I killed every plant, and I’ve had plenty of people who were like, ‘Oh it’s okay, I’m gonna set an alarm, you’re gonna water it according to this,’ and I still killed it,” Fergen said.

Tanya Fergen clude boosts in mood, improved air quality, reduced fatigue, as well lowered stress and anxiety. So what exactly moved so many teens to buy house plants? Two of the biggest factors may be TikTok and good old self-preservation.

“I feel like especially in COVID there’s been a couple of things that people are doing to cope. And I feel like plants are part of that, and even if it’s not real plants I think there are other replacements that are still plant-like. Green things that we can care for and have control over,” Tanya Fergen, the IB Language and Literature teacher, said.

Going green indoors has a lot to do with our biology, according to Rutgers University professor Joel Flagler.

We respond to the color green and he believes people are seeing new uses of the garden that transcends food or flower production. Flagler said during times of crisis, people are more drawn to nature for several rea-

• 23•

Although there are many places one could go wrong when caring for a house plant, social media platforms like TikTok aid in giving new house plant “parents” guidance. Accounts like @hanginghouseplants offer tips and tricks on everything from how to care for your first house plant to choosing the right soil and fertilizer to revive a plant that may be struggling.

Accounts such as these have existed on the platform long before the pandemic, but many saw a dramatic increase in follower count when the stay-at-home orders began as more and more people turned to caring for plants. Tiktok was the way that inhome gardening reached one of its most avid audiences, teens. Creating a comfortable distance learning space is vital for a beneficial learning experience, now more than ever.

“Having houseplants in my room now is really nice because I’m sitting at my desk all day at school. What’s even more exciting is that you start to see those subtle changes over time on how your plant is doing and it’s this incredibly rewarding thing,” Lipscomb said.

Finding new ways to keep your daily routine different is one thing Lipscomb enjoys, and right now that’s taking care of their plants.

“I have something new I’m able to be really passionate about that doesn’t require going out or risking anything since all the stuff can be ordered online,” Lipscomb said. “And that’s something that’s really hard to come by these days.”

For those who would like to try out a little in-home gardening themselves, the best advice is to start small. Getting several house plans with varying levels of difficulty as well as different levels of care may be a daunting task for someone who is new to the world of caring for houseplants. Start out with a sturdier plant such as the golden pothos, snake plant, or spider plant. Beginning with plants like these that can withstand a range of temperatures, watering schedules, and amounts of sunlight is an amazing way to dip your toes into the water since these plants leave a large room for error.

Whether it comes to having a few fake Philodendrons in your bedroom or a Bird of Paradise in your bathroom, having one of those little green things is one of the best ways to add some color to your home’s ever-growing garden.

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• A&E •

What’s your sign?

Stars spark interest within younger generations

A

strology, when thought of, is seen as not only a pseudoscience, but an overall lie. Many people tend to think that the idea of one’s personality being connected to the solar system as absolutely ridiculous. However, due to astrology becoming insanely popular during quarantine, it has spread everywhere - at least in relation to Gen Z and social media. And most of the anti-astrology people looking in must wonder: what in the world are birth charts? Zodiac signs? Sun, moon, rising? Well, may the rundown begin.

Astrology is a pseudoscience; it is the idea that human traits, habits and human affairs are connected to celestial objects (planets, stars, liliths, degrees, placements). There are twelve zodiac signs, along with the sun, the moon, the planets and the twelve houses; which in turn, are all pieces of one’s birth chart.

Beginning with the twelve zodiac signs, in order: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. A zodiac sign is the portion of the zodiac taken over by the Sun at the moment of one’s birth, in this case being simply the day of birth. More specifically, everyone knows their zodiac sign because it is based off of their birthday.

A birth chart is a “screenshot” of the solar system at the exact moment of one’s birth. When trying to get a birth chart online, the things needed are: birth date, time and place. This all goes into finding out where the planets were aligned at that exact time. Each planet represents a different aspect of a person, and they each have different (or the same) signs from your sun sign. Sun, as spoken about before, represents one’s true self: the ego, the way they act with power, the person they are meant to be in their future. However, the Moon sign represents one’s inner self: how they react, how they process things emotionally, how they cope and how they allow their feelings to be shown. This continues with every planet such as Mercury (the planet of communication), Venus (the planet of love) and Mars

(the planet of desires, impulsivity and aggression). For example, one can be a Pisces sun but have a Taurus moon. Both positions take place in who they are and their habits/positions in life.

With these basics come more, such as: ascendant (rising) signs, descendant, houses, elements, aspects, and so many more things that can be taken into account when it comes to analysis. The most popular and basic thing in astrology though, is the “Big 3.” The Big 3 is one’s sun sign, moon sign and rising sign. These three things can be seen as a way to easily analyze a person. The sun sign being one’s true self; the moon sign being one’s inner self; and the rising sign being one’s outer self.

said.

In astrology, it can all be about analyzing, evaluating and overall understanding. People who tend to love astrology in a serious way just love the fact that they can understand people. Certain placements in a chart can show how one reacts when it comes to love, relationships, emotions. It can also show how that person views life; if they are persistent or not; if they believe in keeping emotions and secrets to themselves instead of truly expressing themselves, etc. It is all about growth.

“I like astrology because it helps me better understand myself and the people around me. I think that astrology also gives guidance in trying to become the best version of

Now, there are many moments where astrology is perceived as irrational, stupid even, due to compatibility, “new” zodiac signs, stereotype, etc. Many people right now view it as the coolest, most interesting thing to learn about while others think it’s absolutely ridiculous. And even though astrology may not be real to everyone, it is a constant topic of discussion according to members of Gen Z. “It’s all fake. The things astrologers say, or the things that social media says, are all so general, basic even. It’s all just things that can apply to everybody. Traits like “emotional,” “stubborn,” “angry,” are all such general traits. It is pure idiocracy to think that it has anything to do with the stars,” junior Jacob Drum

yourself and makes people more self aware. It also aids in pointing out your good and bad character traits, taking accountability for them, and becoming more happy with yourself in doing so,” junior Kai Scruggs said.

Compatibility is quite complex. It touches with elements, sister signs, placements, etc. The elements are: water, fire, earth and air. Three signs belong in each element, making 12 total signs. Water is Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces; fire is Sagittarius, Aries, Leo; earth is Capricorn, Virgo, Taurus; and air is Libra, Gemini, Aquarius.

In astrology, fire and air are most compatible while water and earth are most compatible. However, compatibility also correlates with moon signs. For example, a Pisces moon is compatible with a Taurus moon (wa-

Malia Deramus

By Neyta Flores Esquer

• 25 •

ter and earth), even though the sun signs could be incompatible.

Sister signs are the signs that are complete opposites from one another on a chart: Aries/Libra, Scorpio/ Taurus, Sagittarius/Gemini, Leo/ Aquarius, Pisces/Virgo, Cancer/Capricorn. Now, these signs can either be intensely incompatible, or insanely compatible - no in between. It’s a yin and yang relationship, for they balance each other out; however, it can lead to some head clashing and imperfect moments.

“It’s kind of interesting to see everything come together. Surface level, people think it’s this weird, fake thing, but it can lead to a lot of self analysis. I’m a Sagittarius, my best friend is a Gemini; we’re sister signs, and our friendship just makes so much sense. My stepmom and my dad are Scorpio/Taurus, which also makes so much sense as another sister sign relationship. I can view all of these people around me and understand their dynamics in the weirdest (but coolest) way,” junior Madison Seitzinger said.

Compatibility is such a big thing to touch on in astrology because it can work in so many ways, with every single one of your placements. It can correlate with sun signs, moon signs, elements, Venus placements, sister signs, and even stelliums. Stelliums are when you have more than three placements in one sign.

“It’s super cool to see how things connect in my life through astrology.

For example, I saw the other day that my descendant (the sister sign of my rising sign) can demonstrate the sign that I intensely dislike/like but is constantly popping up in my life. As a Pisces rising, I feel like I love Virgo placements and Virgo tendencies because I lack those traits. It’s really interesting,” Scruggs said.

On that note, astrology is full of information that truly never ends, but the journey is quite the experience. A birth chart is a wheel that can truly analyze and read one’s entire life. It can show people about themselves, their habits (positive and negative), synastry, compatibility, wants, needs, preferences, etc. So all I can recommend now is: go online, find a birth chart website, type in the information and see. What’s YOUR sun, moon and rising?

• A&E •

Blockbuster or bust?

Popular movies aren’t always what they are cut out to be

does have a feeling of being overrated in the sense that it is widely associated with aesthetics rather than the actual content of the movie.

Last year, the movie “Parasite” took the world by storm. The South Korean thriller/comedy stole the show at the 2020 Oscars taking home four Academy Awards and being the first foreign film in Oscar history to win Best Picture. “Parasite” marvelously shows the symbiotic relationship between an upper and lower class family with endless symbolism of greed and classism. Displaying flawless visuals of the hopeless feelings of poverty as they bleed into the seemingly ideal wealthy lifestyle.

The idea of “Parasite” feels in a way familiar, yet it was bent into something shocking that no one could expect it, whilst bringing light to the major growing issues of classism.

Moving on to a classic that will never be forgotten, The Godfather. The three part film series starring Al Pacino, Marlon Brando and many other A-list stars is a film that always rings a bell in our minds. Even if you have never seen it, you most likely know about the iconic mafia, crime drama film. With an average rating of about 4 and half stars out of five, it seems like the public agrees that this film doesn’t need much improvement, if any at all. Sequels of renowned films are known to not be as great, however, The Godfather series has consistently impressed viewers throughout the three films.

The Godfather series continuously has intriguing characters played by immensely talented actors, giving a perfectly dramatic view into crime and the mafia. With interesting characters and an iconic plot, it makes sense as to why The Godfather is nearly a perfect 10.

In the last few years the movie industry has been struck with a popularity for coming-of-age movies. 2017’s Lady Bird was praised for its authentic characters and relatability in the categories of parent relationships, nostalgia, future education, and struggling with growing up.

Shaelyn Gamiao Starring astounding actress, Saoirse Ronan and Timothee Chalamet as the story details Ladybird’s journey through her last year of high school. Teen comedies are often sugar-coated and made to look as if high school is a magical moment with people breaking out in song and dance. Lady Bird gives a new and refreshing perspective into high school as it highlights the reality of broken hearts and unexpected troubles.

Many praise movies for their action and excitement and although Lady Bird lacks that, it instead gives us a slightly harsh reality rather than a fantasy world we see too often in film. Even without that loved action, Lady Bird was very well perceived earning a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes.

By Simona Grigonis

W

e can all agree that movies are one of the most prominent forms of entertainment. With a trained eye, conceited critiques are ready to publish their opinion with no second thought of going against the majority opinion.

Through the years, society has gathered a collection of films that seem to be objectively good. Movies that the majority of teens and young adults have seen such as “It,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Parasite,” “The Godfather” and “Lady Bird.” These movies are known for being engaging and well made, but are there really no prominent flaws?

Let us start with “It”; adapted from the 1986 horror novel by the infamous Stephen King. It details the story of seven teenagers as they are tormented by a dancing clown with a large forehead named Pennywise. The commercial success of this movie was relatively significant, having made over 701.8 million dollars in box office. However, the overall rating of “It,” according to IMDB is about three stars out of five. That is pretty average, not that special. Yes, it is entertaining and, although rated R, teens urged their parents to let them see it when it was first released, however it seems that the begging was not as worth it as it may have seemed at the time.

The style of horror “It” tends to lean towards relies on frightening the watcher at moments rather than building an overall feeling of suspense and internal fear.

For a horror movie to be superiorly executed it needs to provide a consistent uneasy feeling rather than just random jump scares. It seems more like a scary-at-times movie rather than a horror film.

Next, “Pulp Fiction,” the movie poster you have probably seen plastered on numerous T-shirts. The 1994 film, directed by Quentin Tarantino follows two hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife as their lives intertwine with undertones of revenge and crime. In recent years, it seems as if this film has reached peak popularity amongst teens and young adults. Although it does seem that recently Pulp Fiction is more loved for the aesthetic rather than the actual film. With a neo-noir feel, it sets the scene for a dark 90s aesthetic, widely associated with the modern grunge and e-girl/ e-boy aesthetics.

This seems like the case with Pulp Fiction, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Many people oftentimes value beauty over content, but is that really what movies are about? Although Pulp Fiction is a relatively good film, it

• 26 •

• Opinion •

Rotten to the core

Company continues history of scandal, mistreatment, mistrust

O

By Nathan Paet

n April 1, 1976 in a compact suburban home in the middle of Cupertino, Calif. created a computer, then a few months later a moderately small software company was born from that computer. The tech duo hopefuls, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, created the first of many products for their new company, Apple.

Nowadays, technology is something that makes the world go round. It is the forefront of innovation, and everyone you know has some sort of tech that they own. Apple, the creator of many technological products, is most famous for their iPhone.

The smartphone that introduced modernization of a handheld-portable computer.

Apple’s minimalistic nature and easy to understand simplicity makes them seem like the golden child of all tech and software companies. However, not everything that seems perfect is necessarily perfect. What most are unaware of are the many scandals and ways that they swindled their users right under their nose.

Batterygate is one of Apple’s most notorious scandals. In 2016, Apple was found guilty of purposefully ruining older generation iPhones batteries, which in turn throttled performance overtime.

Apple did this, and continuously did this, until 33 states in the US, including Nevada, called for action with lawsuits and legal claims which set up a future investigation.

What was the point of purposefully ruining their own phones? It was Apple’s attempt in taking advantage of their loyal customers by intentionally pushing them to purchase the newest, fastest and non-damaged battery iPhone. Coincidentally, Batterygate was not the only scandal related to Apple in 2016.

Another infamous “gate” that Apple was known for was their Bendgate. During the first months of the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus, Apple did not properly check the quality of their product, and sold “defective” products with no concern about the structure of the phone.

Evidently enough, Apple’s lack of care and sloppy quality control of their products for their customers resulted in a delicate frame that made phones bend with the slightest bit of force applied to it. For example, many users’ phones bent from simply putting them in their pocket for a certain amount of time throughout the day.

In the case of any damages being done to your Apple product, for example the Bendgate or the Batterygate, you would want to repair it. The problem is not with repairing it, but with the consequences if you do not repair it strictly with Apple, like a breach in warranty.

The comparative costs between the two is astounding, with the heftier price being Apple and a more affordable option if you repaired it somewhere else. Apple forces the user to stick strictly with them, without any moving room or flexibility

with their own product.

Also happening in 2016 with the release of the iPhone 7, the tech company decided to surprisingly announce that they would stop including a headphone jack with their phones. The public did not take this news lightly. This caused major backlash for the company.

It may not sound major as of now because mostly everyone that owns an updated iPhone is able to make-do without a headphone jack, but in 2016 it was more than a big deal. Even in hindsight, and looking back at the removal of the headphone jack, it created more complications than what it originally planned to fix. It created a solution to a problem that was non-existent.

As of late, Apple’s endless shenanigans still have not ended. With the release of the new iPhone 12 in late 2020, many more controversies and nuisances were brought to the table. Most notably being the introduction of a new charging cable and the lack of many accessories that would previously have been part of the iPhone.

The new charging cable, established a brand new USB-C cable for their chargers. The only problem was that the company did not bother to add a wall plug for the charging cord. Their reasoning for this sounds legitimate, but reality is that it is unfair for the customers. Unjust marketing on the behalf of a well-respected company.

Apple stated that there were many unused wall plugs in the world being thrown out and in turn damaging the Earth’s environment. The only problem with that is that the new cord is not compatible with the older wall plugs, making it useless and more of a hassle since the user had to either use their older wires, or had to buy a new wall plug which would be compatible with the new cable. The cost of an authentic Apple-made plug will cost the user upwards of 20 dollars.

Another inconvenience brought upon the users of the new iPhone 12 was that it did not come with accessories such as headphones in the box with the phone. Headphones have been included with every iPhone since the first one made in 2007. This meant that if the user wanted to use headphones with their newly purchased iPhone, they would have to either purchase new earbuds costing them an additional 20 dollars which was formally free, or find a non-apple alternative.

It is still very perplexing as to why Apple decided to change their ways after 13 years of everyone loving an included set of headphones. Ultimately making it seem like Apple’s one and only goal is profit.

In order to ensure that Apple achieves their devious success, they greatly depend on their users’ lack of understanding. They also capitalize on the ignorance of their customers. Their exploitations of their own products equates to an extremely apathetic attitude for how they treat their customers.

Metaphorically speaking, Apple walks all over their users’ and takes advantage of them in the wrong way for their own personal financial gain.

• 27 •

Apple thinks you’re an idiot.

-Alex F.

“

Apple [robs] its customers on a regular basis whether it’s faulty decaying batteries or a temporary hardware update. How is it an improvement to make a headphone jack that makes it impossible to charge at the same time with their garbage battery? It’s so you have no choice but to buy their new gen of hardware/products making the rest obsolete just to [rob] and disrespect their customers at a ridiculous inflated price. Apple leadership hates you and makes their money by robbing their customers.

“

“

The last update I did on my phone completely took away the ability of the phone to charge. I understand everyone needs to make money but I’ve only had the phone for a year and a half. After I paid it off I had to do a hard reset because it would turn on and then the battery wouldn’t charge. There is a fine line between making money and being completely slimy and underhanded.

-Madison Q.

“

The greediest company EVER. -Gosia D.

“

If Apple cannot take its customers under consideration but only thinks about profits and money, then I am off to the competition. Selling my Apple devices. It’s time to give another company a chance. Apple got rotten!

“

www.sitejabber.com

• Opinion •

The everyday citizen’s Right to privacy for everyone that goes online

By Violet LaMela

I

t is a common debate whether or not teenagers are entitled to the amount of privacy that they have, but as society develops in the 21st century, personal privacy is a definite must.

With the never ending incline in popularity of social media platforms over the last decade, the amount of privacy teens and influencers have should be self-determined. Many influencers make the decision to post publicly about all of their problems and/or relationships with other content creators, which makes their followers feel invited into their personal lives.

“Everyone deserves privacy,” junior Mitchell Engdahl said. “You don’t want everyone knowing about what you’re going through or your personal life.”

Since the 1930’s technology has developed alongside society and its needs tremendously. As a matter of fact, modern day society has begun to be built completely around technology. Many teens and young adults use the Internet to introduce themselves to others and put oneself “out there.”

For example, applications used for dating, blogging, advertisements and to meet new people.

“If you’re brave enough to post personal information on social media then that’s all you,” Engdahl said.

“I’m not going to tell you to take it down or anything because that was your choice to post it.”

When beginning to create content online not everyone thinks before they post, which can eventually lead to conflict. Oftentimes content creators tend to overshare and invite viewers into their personal lives.

However, even after sharing personal information there is still a large variety of settings you can change to ensure your privacy from other users.

For example, people can determine whether or not they want a public or private account, restrict and/or block certain users, create custom/private stories and can determine who can and can not view stories.

“I like the idea that I’m able to choose who can see certain things

and who can’t. It makes me feel better because I’m already pretty skeptical of social media,” junior Matthew Pelle said.

Having a “private” account requires people to request users prior to following. This feature gives the account owner full control over who can view their profile and posts. Restricting accounts hides certain users’ comments from other followers.

Blocking users completely restricts them from viewing anything you share. Being able to decide who can and cannot view or interact with your social media accounts allows people to feel more in control of their privacy. In reality, it’s the media platforms that are invading your privacy.

“I always thought it was weird how Instagram’s explore pages worked,” Pelle said. “I remember one time I liked a video of a kid playing a game that I had never seen before, then next day my explore page was covered in videos and pictures related to that game.”

How exactly do Internet plat-

forms customize and alter their user’s feeds? The answer is found through online cookies. HTTP cookies are small pieces of data that are stored on users’ computers while browsing online. Cookies are supposed to help make the web quicker and easier to use, but in order to tailor browsing experiences they have to “know who you are.” They customize individuals’ web experience based on previously visited websites, current location, recently viewed user profiles, and numerous other factors.

“I don’t trust a lot of social media apps like Instagram and Facebook,” Pelle said. “They can remember what websites we go to and can base ads and stuff off of our searches.”

While the majority of cookies are overall harmless, there are still some situations where issues may arise.

The data in cookies does not change, meaning that the cookies themselves are not harmful. However, despite them not being able to produce and cause viruses alone, there are people who can perform cyberattacks in or-

der to hijack cookies- completely invading people’s privacy.

“Well I feel like we basically give away our information because we’re the ones who click agree,” Pelle said.

“I don’t know anyone who actually takes the time to read the terms of service all the way through.”

Ultimately, everyone has individual control over how much privacy they have, even when they are unaware. This is because everyone who has their privacy invaded online technically agreed, no matter if they know they did or not. As soon as a person decides to sign up on social media they have to accept the terms of service before they can do anything.

Just like when opening a website, a pop will always appear and ask you to accept cookies before using them, because they can only be used when you say yes.

“I definitely do believe that we are entitled to privacy,” Pelle said. “But I also believe that if we started paying attention we would realize that we already have it.”

Shaelyn Gamiao

• March 2021 •

• Opinion •

entitlement to privacy Social media users forfeit privacy voluntarily

By Shaelyn Gamiao

“G

ood morning, and in case I don’t see you: good afternoon, good evening, and good night”. Alluding to the famous Truman Show, our reality is much like this fictional film.

We are so immersed in technology, that we have become victims to invasive powerhouses, and the only ones to blame are ourselves.

Society has become accustomed to the ideals and standards that the media has created. Technology is advancing much more than we even realize -- to the point that our every action is taken into account. We are always being watched. We have given these powerful tech companies access to our lives. We delivered all the information they needed on a silver platter. To not only make accurate predictions of what we are thinking, but to also control what we think.

“Once you put something on social media, it is on there forever even when deleted. If you chose to post something, you shouldn’t expect to get privacy,” junior Ariana Stewart said.

The irony? We control who gets control over us. The dilemma? Society normalized using more efficient and convenient tools that allow us to maximize profits. So essentially, those in power will stay in power because we put them there, and need them to stay there so that we can live comfortably. The right to privacy provides an excuse for the powerful to keep their secrets while they invade the rest of our lives.

Entitlement to privacy is certainly a tricky subject. We complain about our private lives being exposed and our information being leaked when we are utilizing the technology that did so. Every device comes with the risk of exposure. That is a given. We really should be questioning our own actions that led to such complications.

Most media users proudly upload their posts, providing location details along with the friends and family members they are with. This data does not remain restricted to our expected audience only.

We have acknowledged that this

Shaelyn Gamiao

is the age of misinformation, yet we pay no mind to it. Social media and the Internet was created as a means of convenience along with the ease of access to almost any piece of information, and we collectively decided that our personal information is a small price to pay for easier accessibility to a vast library of knowledge.

When a company gathers sufficient information on you, it can tailor its offerings more specifically to your needs, allowing the marketplace to function efficiently. By visiting a website, more times than not, you will be asked to “allow or block cookies”. These “cookies” are recorded to track your history and navigation on the site. This provides them with a clear picture of who you are and your interests, allowing advertisers to personalize ads based on your activity. In other words, it is a breach of online privacy policy, making you public property. This information can be used by cybercriminals to carry out unauthorized activities, opening windows to your online existence.

“Having a private account only

keeps you away from people you don’t accept. But the owners of social media have access to everything,” Stewart said.

Most of the time, our information is not encrypted and can be accessed by anyone with the means to obtain it. E-banking and e-business portals have significantly increased the risks associated with online privacy. By sharing crucial details, we are paving ways for burglars and making ourselves vulnerable to cybercriminals who want access to our information.

Most of the personal danger depends on an organization’s capacity to act on personal information on a mass-manufacturing basis, and derives precisely from their sole focus, excluding the rights of everyone else.

Large organizations do persecute individuals. Whistle-blowers, for instance, have often been subjected to investigation and smear campaigns.

“Having a public account definitely opens you up to predators. Everyone can see what you post,” Stewart said.

Though another form of harm

• 29 •

arises with networks of partisans co-designing potentially acceptable worldviews, and those ideologies flourish. Social media -- or rather the developers -- lure you into certain domains with the intention of recruiting you. We know what we are robbed of, but after being exposed to such advanced technology, why would we ever choose to turn back?

We evolved to manipulate and gossip because it is easier than ever with the resources available to us in this day and age -- easily lured, knowing that it can turn us cruel and shallow. The ability to ignore the urge to compete and satisfy a public dispute with the most inflammatory posts is attenuated when we are forced to take a stance on a controversial topic by interacting with the condemnation.

Not only is our information being exploited at our approval, but it is being used to subconsciously control our actions and decisions.

“People are responsible for what they post because they chose to post it,” Stewart said.

• Opinion •

What is next for the future?

Famous philosopher predicts next 2000 years

By Malia Deramus

H

ow much power can one person have?

What if somehow, there was a way to see the future ahead of time? There was someone out there who believed to have both, Nostradamus.

Michel de Nostredame, also referred to as Nostradamus, was a French astrologer and a physician who was born in 1503 and died in 1566. His most famous book is called “Les Propheties” (Nostradamus, 1555) and consisted of around 942 poetic verses predicting future events from his time.

In retrospect, Nostradamus’ predictions should not be looked at in detail but the more you look into his predictions or “prophecies,” the harder it becomes to put an actual science behind them. His prophecies unexplainably replicate events from the future that would be impossible to predict. It is almost as if he knew the future.

It was said he made over 100

predictions for the following 2,000 years. The most recent predictions pertain to this new year, 2021. This year’s predictions by Nostradamus include a zombie apocalypse, an asteroid hitting Earth and a possible famine in America.

Some of these predictions seem that they could possibly occur including the asteroid and a possible famine due to close calls in 2020 as both have been discussed as a possible dilemma for the future.

Many of the popular predictions that have already come true include the holocaust, the Kennedy Assassination and 9/11. Whether Nostradamus was right or not, his poetry in “Les Propheties” almost precisely depicts what happened in those three events.

Looking back at one of his predictions that came true, the holocaust, it is almost hard to deny that he predicted the coming of Adolf Hitler to the tea. In one of his verses in “Les Propheties,” Nostradamus continues on to talk about a ruthless leader who was born in Western Europe with poor parents, just as Hitler was.

Another verse talks about children of Germany observing nothing in cages of iron. His other prophecies written down are similar to Adolf Hitlers predictions.

His prophecy with 9/11 is quite exact as well. The verses leading to the prophecy of 9/11 explains “the sky will burn at forty-five degrees latitude” and a “fire approaches the great new city, within months, rivers will flow with blood.” These carefully thought out predictions can describe how Nostradamus truly did find a way to predict what lies ahead.

Many brush off these similarities between reality and prophecies as major coincidences but there is no way one man can have multiple theories come to life. Many philosophers of Nostradamus’s time believed that he was working with the devil to write the future. Nostradamus claimed he predicted the future through astrological study and inspiration from God. He also stated that an angelic spirit helped understand how these forces manifested themselves.

One false claim that was spread

Kylee Brahma

• March 2021 •

around like wildfire is that Nostradamus predicted the Coronavirus. So much incorrect information can be put out on the internet that it is hard to figure out what is real and what is fake. Snopes and Politifact, two fact-checking websites, claim that there is no textbook evidence showing that Nostradamus truly wrote about the Coronavirus.

All these predictions made by Nostradamus are too exact and similar to past events that have already happened which is why many philosophers believe in his portrayal of the future. Nostradamus even predicted his own death a day before he passed.

His last prediction was a conversation made with his priest. Nostradamus’ priest said his farewells to which Nostradamus responded with “You will not find me alive at sunrise.” and he died later on that night.

As the world is still grasping around the idea of a man so powerful to predict the future, Nostradamus’ highly accurate predictions are not a force to be reckoned with and predicts 2021 will be one crazy roller coaster.

• Editorial •

Growth far and wide

By The InvestiGator Staff The year is close to being done, despite feeling as if it had never started at all. Soon, we’ll all be free of our schoolwork for a short few months, and we’ll all continue to hope for the end of this dreaded quarantine. With the announcement of the upcoming change to a confusing and seemingly unnecessary hybrid school plan, the future seems daunting.

It has been an almost unending stream of turmoil in the news, so as the third quarter comes to a close and the vaccine slowly makes its way out into the world, there seems to be a sigh of relief waiting for us all just around the corner. As we near the anniversary of the cancellation of school last year, we get to see firsthand as the virus is slowly dealt with as our lives go back to normal, even if it is a lengthy process.

There is no sign of stopping for school, though - the final stretch is coming up, and judging by the

change in schedule, it is going to be a major change of pace for everyone. Whether you’re choosing to go back to school or choosing to stay home, it’s go-

“

Though the class of 2021 may not be getting their ideal conclusion to high school, they will certainly see the beginning of a new era. ing to be an odd schedule to get used to. Make no mistake - it is going to be a stressful final quarter for students and teachers alike.

• 31 •

In a way, though, it would be a fitting end to the year that we have been through so far. Students have continued to persevere, and though some have begun to feel the weight of the second semester over time, merely finishing this year would be an accomplishment for the books no matter who you are.

And, with the way things are going, this may just be the summer that sees everything finally get put back together. As more and more people become vaccinated, and states become safer and safer, we may just see a permanent return to school starting at the beginning of next year.

Though the class of 2021 may not be getting their ideal conclusion to high school, they will certainly see the beginning of a new era once the Coronavirus steadily dwindles out of our lives over the next year or so. For the first time throughout this entire school year, the future has begun to seem somewhat confusing, but promising nonetheless.

• Gallery •

BACK TO SCHOOL Principal Kent Roberts points to a poster as he directs students to their testing rooms on Feb. 23, 2021. Juniors were on campus to take the ACT test that is required

by CCSD for graduation. It was the first time since Mar. 13, 2020 that any students had been on campus. photo by Eric Johnston

• 32 •