2018-19 Tomatalk Issue 2 by Laurie Bender

TOMATALK HE

December

Diversity makes us stronger VOLUME 43• ISSUE 2•Dec 7 ,2018• KAMIAKIN HIGH SCHOOL • 600 N. ARTHUR ST. • KENNEWICK, WA 99336

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FRIDAY, DEC. 7, 2018 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Sp tlights

A ballerina’s journey to the big stage By ADDISON FOUNTAIN STAFF REPORTER

ophomore Lillian Callister is a ballerina at Kamiakin and will be performing in the 2018 Mid-Columbia Ballet’s production of the Nutcracker. There are 180 dancers total in the production. Callister will be playing a snowflake, an Englishman, and a flower in this year’s production. She has been a ballet dancer for 13 years now, and she’s planning on continuing for years to come. “I like the challenge and the fact that you can never do it perfectly and so you always have something to strive for,” Callister said when asked what her favorite thing about ballet is. Ballet is a lot of hard work and takes up lots of time. Callister works 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. every day and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. The only thing Lillian doesn’t like as much about ballet is that it can be painful. “Ballet is good because it’s taught me a lot of life lessons and how to work together with others, and it’s really challenging and makes you think a lot and you definitely have to be dedicated,” Callister said. The Nutcracker is put on every year by MidColumbia Ballet and has many amazing dancers in it. It premiers Dec. 7, 8, and 9 at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Richland High School auditorium. Tickets

are available online at MidColumbiaBallet.org, by phone at (509) 946-5417, and at the Dance Boutique in Richland. Tickets are $28 for adults, seniors/students are $19, and children are $14. Callister went to a Pacific Northwest Ballet Swan Lake and got to watch them take their ballet class and she said, “It was so amazing that they got to do this every day as a career and I could see this as something I would do for more than just a hobby.” Ever since then, Callister has been pursuing ballet and trying to perfect her form. To everyone who’s thinking about trying ballet she says, “You just have to put the work in to see that effect, and it takes a while to really improve so it can be frustrating, but stay motivated and keep working!”

Courtesy of MidColumbia Ballet

Winter wishes this year has changed into greater possibilities BY MADDIE BRIGGS SPORTS EDITOR

his year, the ASB, under the leadership of teacher Elise Fleming, decided to try a new way to collect winter wishes. Always before, everything was done by hand, but this year, students could use a QR code to scan the image and make a wish electronically. Fleming explained the system and why the ASB decided to go this route instead of doing it the old way. Q: What is ASB’s goal this year? A: We’re hoping to grant 100 to 200 wishes this year, so that’s about the same amount of wishes as last year. Q: How was it possible to start voting online? A: It’s actually something that two other high schools in the Tri-Cities have been doing for the last few years. So, they introduced it to us at a conference we went to with them. They have had a lot of success with it, and it’s also a great program so we’re excited to start moving towards the future. Q: How has voting online improved organizing wishes? A: We were hand typing in hundreds of wishes every year and trying to organize students and what teacher they had, and now that’s all automatically submitted with their wish. Doing online submissions for winter wishes saves a ton of time with organization and the administration process that goes on behind the scenes.

It allows us to be way better organized so that we can hopefully grant even more wishes than we have in the past. Q: How much more can you give? A: There’s been a comparable amount of wishes, but I feel the wishes that have been submitted this year have been higher quality. Before we had to weed out wishes that weren’t serious or weren’t legitimate needs for students. But now the wishes we are getting are legitimate needs, and we’re able to grant more wishes. Q: How has prepping for wishes gone so far? A: So far, winter wishes has gone according to plan. We’re still in the middle of the process. We’ve collected all of the wishes and now we are just getting donations and things organized in order to grant wishes in a few weeks. Q: What’s the future of voting online? A: We imagine we’ll keep the online voting system for the rest of this year and going on in the future. The more people learn about it, the more successful it will continue to be, but it’s been a really seamless process. It saves us a ton of time and it allows us to easily get into contact the entire student body. This way everyone has an opportunity to vote over multiple days, and it can still be organized and regulated in a way that makes sure that the voting is legit.

Maddie Briggs Winter wishes poster

FRIDAY, DEC. 7, 2018 The Tomatalk Kamiakin High School

Donors needed in winter Blood supply runs short

By ALISON FELLMAN

ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Courtesy of Air Force medicine

Many people aren’t aware of the fact that blood donation is a seasonal activity. Or, at least it should be. In the wintertime, blood donations often drop as a result of holiday schedules, the flu season, poor weather, and people traveling over the holidays. This makes it even more essential for people to donate blood. Every two seconds, someone in the world needs a blood transfusion, and around one in seven people need blood upon entering a hospital, according to givingblood.org. The most a person can donate at any blood bank location is one pint, and one pint of blood can save three lives.

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Despite these statistics, out of the 37 percent of people eligible to donate, less than 10 percent do. Young people especially are less likely to give blood, which is why Kamiakin’s blood drive is so imperative. The blood drive occurred on Dec. 3, with many eager first-time donors. One student, junior Kestra Engstrom, expressed her enthusiasm for donating for the first time. “I’m really excited to be giving blood. My blood could be used for research to make major medical advancements, or it could go to someone with a life-threatening illness and give them a chance to survive,” she said. Donating blood not only aids the recipient, but the donor experiences benefits as well. Other than helping save human lives, evidence suggests that high iron levels are associated with a higher risk of cancer. Since iron is lost through blood donation, donating could potentially decrease the risk of cancer, according to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Regular blood donations can also decrease the risk of heart disease through the reduction of iron levels. The Red Cross is hoping that the blood drive will encourage many first-time donors to become lifetime donors. A person at least 16 years of age and who weighs at least 110 pounds can donate blood every 56 days. In order to make more donations after the blood drive, contact any hospital in the Tri-Cities or a local Red Cross blood bank. Kennewick’s American Red Cross Blood Donation center is located on 7202 W. Deschutes Ave, and they can be contacted at 1-800-733-2767

Courtesy of the American Red Cross

The Tomatalk: Kamiakin High School, 600 North Arthur St., Kennewick, WA, 99336, 509-222-7015, email tomatalkstaff@gmail.com, or go online at tomatalk.com and comment there.

Staff: Adviser: Laurie Bender Editor-in-Chief: Thomas Metcalf News Feature Editor: Jonathan Ziegenfuss Sports Editor: Maddie Briggs In-Depth Editor: Thomas Metcalf Opinion Editor: Rucy Questad Entertainment Editor: Alison Fellman Cover made by: Jonathan Ziegenfuss Staff Reporters:

Louis Barrett, Addison Fountain, Jeremai Hernandez, Jorge Munguia, Taya Questad, Griselda Rivera Madrigal, Meriah Rodriguez, Imogen Santoyo, Anna Solis-Garza, and Vazgen Yedoyan

MISSION STATEMENT:

The purpose of the Tomatalk is to inform, entertain, and further educate the students at Kamiakin High School and the surrounding community.

PUBLICATION POLICY:

Content is determined by the staff. Students are protected and bound by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and other protections and limitations afforded by the Constitution and the various court decisions relative to student publications. The Tomatalk has been established as a forum for student expression and as a voice in the free and open discussion of issues. The staff of the Tomatalk is expected to be professional, objective, truthful and accurate. The staff will adhere to Washington State Law (WAC 180-40-215) which prohibits the following material to be published: 1. Potentially libelous material 2. Malicious attacks on an individual’s character 3. Material which is excessively vulgar or obscene 4. Material which encourages illegal activity

Around the Campfire NEWS & FEATURE

FRIDAY, DEC. 7, 2018 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Christmas can be a time of disaster in more ways than one By Anna Solis STAFF REPORTER

hristmas time is the year where the tree glows and shines with silver and gold. Houses shimmer and spiders linger. Yes, spiders. Maybe some mice, too. Whether we like it or not, there are bound to be Christmas disasters this year, but sometimes it seems it wouldn’t be Christmas without a little disaster. Approximately 27.4 percent of U.S citizens purchased real Christmas trees while 21.1 percent prefer not to. And some of them may have a good reason not to. According to a new report released by pest control company Safer Brand, as many as 25,000 bugs can live in one Christmas tree. The good news is that most of these insects are harmless and die as soon as you bring the tree home, but among the ones that live, the most common will be aphids, spiders, mites, adelgids, praying mantises, bark beetles and sawflies. To prevent these little critters from invading the household, Safer Brand recommends examining your tree’s trunk and branches for bug nests before buying it and leaving it in your garage for at least 24 hours before decorating. Finally, before bringing it inside, shake it out over a white sheet to dislodge any bugs. And most importantly, do not spray aerosol pesticides on it, as these can be flammable. Another problem with Christmas trees and associated with other activities during

the holiday season has to do with house fires. According to ESFI and National Fire Protection, their statistics indicate that 30 percent of all home fires and 38 percent of home fire deaths occur during the months of December, January, and February. These winter fires result from a variety of sources. According to reports from the United States Fire Administration (USFA), incidence of fires caused by cooking, heating, and open flame all increase during the winter holiday period. To prevent these disasters from happening, it is important to pick a fresh tree. Fresh trees are less likely to catch on fire. If purchasing a real Christmas tree, it’s essential to choose a tree with green needles, regardless of the type of tree. Secondly, keep it moisturized. Dried Christmas trees are more likely to become a fire disaster. Experts recommend keeping a real tree watered at all times to ensure that it remains consistently moist. Thirdly, keep it away from heat. Ensure that the tree is at least three feet away from any heat source, including fireplaces, radiators or heat vents. Real Christmas trees can be an adventure, but most people want to keep that adventure tame and safe.

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Fifth Quarter Dance a fun activity that will raise money for Winter Wishes By TAYA QUESTAD STAFF REPORTER

nother dance has been highly recommended here at Kamiakin, and it looks like it will become a reality. The ASB team worked hard to make the Fifth Quarter Dance become a reality. They petitioned administrators multiple times to convince them to let us have another dance. This dance will be called the Fifth Quarter Dance. The dance is happening for the first time on Dec. 14. It’s only $5, and every dollar we receive from this dance will go to grant more winter wishes. Winter wishes are in process now, but every year some winter wishes go unmet. There just isn’t enough money to pay for everything, so the dance will help raise the money the ASB needs to grant more wishes. This dance will be right after the varsity basketball game and will go until 11 p.m. It will be for Kamiakin students only due to the fact we couldn’t get the transfer papers for visitors to come. “This will be a casual dance for students who don’t feel welcomed or don’t like formal dances to come and just have fun. No pressure, no date just you coming to have fun after the basketball game,” Kamiakin ASB teacher Elise Fleming explained. This dance will take a lot of chaperones. They are expecting at least 200 students to show up which will mean they need at least 20 parents and teachers chaperoning this dance. Parents can email Mrs. Fleming at elise. fleming@ksd.org, and she can give you all the information needed to help.

The dance will be held in the west gym, and doors open at 9 p.m. “There is going to be a DJ and cool lights, and the ASB team is working hard to make this a fun night,” Fleming said. There isn’t really one theme. There will be no entry after 10 p.m. unless there is over time. Students will need their student ID and $5 to get in. “This dance will be a great day to transfer us into winter break,” Fleming said.

FRIDAY, DEC. 7, 2018 The Tomatalk â&#x20AC;¢ Kamiakin High School

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Tribal Reviews ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

FRIDAY, DEC. 7, 2018 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Kamiakin’s fall play ‘Speak’ joins the conversation By ALISON FELLMAN E N T E R TAI N M E N T E D I T O R

The fall production of Kamiakin’s drama club was ‘Speak’, adapted for the stage by Don Fleming, and originally written as a novel by Laurie Halse Anderson. It tells the story of Melinda Sordino, a high school girl who has fallen silent and reticent after surviving a sexual assault at the hands of a fellow student at a party. Since the incident is misunderstood by her classmates and family, Melinda’s only confidant is her inner voice, who takes the form of a person in the play. The voice follows Melinda around while she goes about her life, monologuing her thoughts and reactions to others, often advising her on what to say in instances where she must speak. Over the course of several months of school and one-sided interactions with her classmates, teachers, and parents, Melinda struggles to know how to deal with what has happened to her. Directed by the drama teacher and club adviser Chris Hamilton, the play provoked a needed conversation surrounding the nature of sexual assault, and contemplation on how society, or more relatively our peers and school staff, respond to situations like these. During an after-the-performance discussion, the audience had a chance to ask their own questions about the play. Hamilton explained that in other plays done by the drama club, the topic wasn’t always so relevant to what is happening in the media right now. “Other plays [we’ve done] have been more abstract, but this makes it more real,” said Hamilton. Explaining his decision to put on the play, after many years of waiting for the right time and right set of actors, Hamilton said, “It’s a really timely play, but when has it not been timely, you know?” During the discussion it became evident the actors were dedicated to the story and in tune to the topic and message it presented. Junior Rian Marshall, who played the inner voice of Melinda, spoke of how important the story was to tell, especially now: “I think it gives the play a more real, sensitive feeling since it’s so heavy in the media,” she said. The story also deals with the way we interact with our peers, and how important it is for us to be able to trust each other in these circumstances.“The message is you never really know what is going on [in someone’s life] and it teaches you to pay attention,” said senior Cleo Howell, who portrayed

Senior Cleo Howell and junior Emma Sorenson. Photo by Randy Olivares.

Melinda. “It teaches you to not make snap judgements,” added junior Emma Sorenson, who played Rachel, Melinda’s former best friend. When asked by an audience member if the actors had learned how to handle a situation like this, Marshall said, “Yes-I think we learned we could trust each other.” The performances in ‘Speak’ were integral to the effectiveness of the play. The supporting cast provided antagonism and comedic relief, while Marshall and Howell gave wonderful and contrasting performances as a girl who is torn between the desire to speak out and the fear of it.

‘The Grinch’ movie an old classic with a new twist By ADDISON FOUNTAIN S TAF F R E PO R T E R

The 2018 movie ‘The Grinch’ has caused a big fuss. Since everyone’s excited to see the new rendition of this Christmas classic, I took it upon myself to go see what all the fuss was about. The movie starred Benedict Cumberbatch as the Grinch, Cameron Seely as Cindy-Lou Who, and all narrated by Pharrell Williams. This movie was a great rendition of the original 1966 cartoon giving more backstory to the Grinch’s life and why he hated Christmas so much. There were several new characters in the movie, and it added greatly to the story. Fred the Reindeer was especially popular and fun. Even though I would have liked to see more of him, he was a great addition. ‘The Grinch’ was much better than expected, but nothing can top the original cartoon. In the movie, there was some backstory revealed about the Grinch that shed light on why he was so grumpy about everything, and that was a new addition to the movie that was not in the original. He was turned into the victim as opposed to the villain in this movie and that shocked many viewers including myself. The Grinch and his dog got into their usual mischief and stole Christmas for all of Whoville. As he was about to push the decoration off the cliff, he saw the Whos singing their town song and it made him realize Christmas isn’t about presents and decorations. It’s about family and being together with one another. His heart grew to its correct size, and he finally felt welcome in the Who community. The new Grinch movie was nothing to write home about. I would rate it a 3 out of 5, but it significantly showed what the real spirit of Christmas is all about.

FRIDAY, DEC. 7, 2018 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Tribal ARTS & Reviews ENTERTAINMENT

Diversity in media is increasing, and it’s essential By LOUIS BARRETT SHENANIGANS EDITOR

Morning cartoons, school time stories and afternoon video games are a few examples of fictional media we absorb at our age. Media comes in many shapes and sizes and involves an array of themes and characters. Even when plotlines of stories are otherworldly or downright eccentric, there’s always a way to relate our lives to the lives of the characters or the events taking place, literally or symbolically—or at least there should be. Our world holds a wide variety of people. Colored, LGBT, disabled and religious traits are some that shape and differentiate us from one another. Our stories and interests can also make us unique. This ultimately leads to controversy regarding media and how they portray these groups. Individuals may feel left out from the norm when all they absorb represents more mainstream groups, rather than themselves. In turn, when media represents these groups, it sparks happiness. TV shows such as ‘Orange is the New Black’ or ‘Brooklyn 99’ are shows representing LGBT characters and people of color alike. The list also expands to many modern video games. ‘Overwatch’, a team-based multiplayer video game, has a wide roster of characters. Within this roster is an impressive variety of people (and animals). Despite some critiquing how the representation can be improved upon, they have characters from places such as Korea, Egypt, Mexico, India, and much more. On top of this, in December 2016, one of their characters was revealed to be in a lesbian relationship. Having a role model is important, as seeing a positive reflection of yourself can improve your self-confidence. With media having an impact on how we socialize and view people, this positive representation brings minority groups into a more positive light for outsiders.

There are times where representation backfires. Stereotypes, racist caricatures, and offensive tropes such as “bury your gays” are a common cause of this. With plenty of history to back it up, the “bury your gays” trope is assigned when homosexual characters are stripped of their happy ending, or outright die, over any other non-LGBT character. Earlier this year, controversy broke out after the season eight release of Netflix’s ‘Voltron Legendary Defender.’ Fans, baited at a gay relationship between major character Shiro and new character Adam, criticized the series due to poor treatment of the couple. Instead of giving any in-show confirmation of their relationship, Adam ended up dead. Many agreed he was nothing more than a flat plot-device, only labeled homosexual due to his scripted death, and therefore unimportant to the big picture. Toxic representation only causes harm and distress. It also sets up a poor standard for these groups, or a negative stereotype some may assume of them. Those who are being represented will gain confidence and fulfillment, whereas outsiders can become more open-minded and educated on these groups. Everyone benefits from healthy representation.

‘Fallout 76’ falls flat after only a few hours of gameplay By THOMAS METCALF EDITOR IN CHIEF

Bethesda, the legendary game company who brought amazing worlds to life through amazing stories and adventures, has released their newest game. But it’s different in many ways which are more negative than positive. The newest installment to the “Fallout” franchise is titled ‘Fallout 76,’ a very different and unseen style of game when compared to the rest of the series. The ‘Fallout’ franchise consists of single player adventures where the player explores a nuclear wasteland, looting abandoned buildings while fighting off irradiated creatures and other humans. In every installment of ‘Fallout,’ these core gameplay mechanics have meshed very well with the story. But in ‘Fallout 76,’ there is an obvious lack of story. Bethesda went for a different style in this installment. The game is an online multiplayer game in which players can meet other players around the wasteland. This sounded very exciting and fun to many players when it was announced. With the removal of non-player characters, or NPCs, there is no centralized questline that every other “Fallout” game is based upon. ‘Fallout 76’ attempts to replace this with player interactions, but this is difficult to do as

the accessible area in the game is much larger than in previous games and the max player limit per server is only 24. The two redeeming qualities of the game are the gameplay itself and the graphics. The gameplay, although repetitive after a while, still holds the same core gameplay as previous installments. Looting and shooting is still the primary way to play. The other quality is the graphics. Upon entering the game, even the loading screen has high quality visuals which are all noticeable throughout the rest of the game. Even with its many flaws, ‘Fallout 76’ is at least decent. With a group of friends, it can be a very enjoyable time. It is a game that is very fun for the start but loses steam as it goes on.

Chief IN-DEPTH Legends

FRIDAY, DEC. 7, 2018 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Diversity mak

A Tomatalk feature on Ka

The statistics of diversity at Kamiakin By THOMAS METCALF EDITOR IN CHIEF

iversity. It is something that is important to humans and society. It’s what makes everyone different from each other, whether in the color of skin or gender and sexuality. In today’s society, diversity has taken on a whole new form when compared with the diversity of only a few years ago. Out of the 18,430 enrolled students in the Kennewick School District last year between kindergarten and 12th grade, around 35 percent were of Hispanic descent. This contrasts majorly with the statistics from only five years prior, in which only around 23 percent of the 20,347 students were of Hispanic descent. Specifically at Kamiakin, these numbers are actually lower. With data from 2011 to 2016, the race of students was, and still is, dominated by white with an average of 70 percent throughout the years. Hispanic, however, is at second with an average which is well below the district percentage at only around 18 percent.

By looking at the statistics for the entire Kennewick School District, it can be seen that over the last few years, the percentage of Hispanic students is slowly rising and the percentage of white students is slowly dropping. Along with that, Kamiakin is actually the least ethnically diverse high school in Kennewick. Kamiakin was 68 percent white in 2016 compared to Southridge which was at 62 percent and Kennewick which actually had a majority of Hispanic students and only 43 percent white. Kamiakin also follows the same trend of an increased number of Hispanic students. In 2011, Kamiakin consisted of only 17 percent of Hispanic students, which is low when compared to 2016, where there’s been a gradual increase to 25 percent over only a few years. In conclusion, the world is becoming more ethnically diverse. This trend is highly apparent when looking at the changes in diversity in the world, the United States, and Kamiakin.

Data courtesy of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)

Every social class represents Kamiakin in a variety of ways By JORGE MUNGUIA STAFF REPORTER

Photo courtesy of Charlene Hardy

ur school has a variety of cultures, races, and backgrounds. Part of this includes the socioeconomic class into which one has the fortune to be born. Our school has all extremes when it comes to socioeconomic class. Those who are higher class may be able to choose whether or not to work after school. They can go to the college of their choice without going into major debt. They can focus on helping those who are less fortunate. When they have parties, their friends get to enjoy activities like swimming in their private pools and boating. The majority of our students probably hail from the middle class. They may not need a job, but they may choose one to ease their parents’ burdens of paying for extras like clothing, gas for their

car, and fun activities. Increasingly, our school is seeing students from the lower middle class or lower class. These students may be eligible for free lunches. Their parents require them to work sometimes to help pay for necessities or to contribute to their family expenses. These students have less time to devote to extracurricular activities and school, so they may struggle more academically. Senior Lyzette Guzman considers herself part of the middle class. Even though she doesn’t consider herself wealthy, her parents still give her the necessities. For Guzman, money has never been a problem. “My parents always make sure I have enough, and they always make sure I have money when I need it.” she said. Guzman’s parents will always

support her for whatever she needs, especially now that she’s a student. She couldn’t see herself working and going to school at the same time. “I feel like that would affect me a lot because school itself is hard and if I had to spend my time out of school working, I wouldn›t have as much time to study and do homework for my classes, and that could easily put me behind and cause my grades to drop,” she said. Not everyone has the same advantages, but no one chooses what family they are born into. Students at our school need to realize that we are represented by all classes and respect each other equally.

FRIDAY, DEC. 7, 2018 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Chief Legends

akes us strong

amiakin’s diverse students

Social status and its affect on students By IMOGEN SANTOYO STAFF REPORTER

n 10 years will it really matter who was popular? No. What will matter is how many goals an individual has achieved, and if they have come to peace with who they are. Some people who do not attract attention in high school may actually be the most successful. In high school, these individuals often remina under the radar. People in the popular group may not even see them. As a result, they feel like outcasts at this point in their lives. These individuals hear other groups call them names like lames, losers, let downs, wannabes. These are the groups who feel like they’re below the popular kids. They may feel less important. But maybe they like being unnoticed and not always in the limelight. In fact, being in the limelight might squelch their creativity. They don›t want to sacrifice who they are for what others want them to be. What people do not realize about these kids is that they are okay with their high school status. They really do not mind what others think about them because they are okay with who they are. These individuals own their differences. Some students agreed to discuss why their high school social status does not really affect them: Marlen Garibay: Q:Do you like being unnoticed? A: I sometimes like being unnoticed because then no one bothers me. Q:Do you ever wish to be like the popular kids? Why or why not? A: Why would I like to be like the popular kids? I don’t like much attention and I usually like to be alone. Q:Are you happy being different? A: Yes, I am happy being different. Why would I like to be the same like everyone else? I am my own person, and I like it.

Kristin Clifton: Q: How do you feel your social status affects you at school? A: I honestly feel like it doesn’t affect me because I don’t care what people think. Q:Do you wish to be popular? A: No, because they’re stuck up. Q: Do you like being different from the popular kids? Why? A: Yes, because being different is more unique than being like every other kid. Jaida Miller: Q: Do you feel your social status affects you at school? A: No, because I don’t think about or care about it. Q: Do you like being in the limelight? A: No, just because I’m introverted. These three students all had the same outlook on their social status. They like who they are and don’t care about what others think of them nor do they care that they aren’t popular.

“Why would I like to be the same like everyone else? I am my own person and I like it.” Sophomore Marlen Garibay Photo courtesy of Imogen Santoyo. Student in picture is unrelated to students quoted in the article.

Chief IN-DEPTH Legends

A student opens up about the complexities of coming out to family and friends By ANNA SOLIS STAFF REPORTER

ne group at our school that may seem different than others is the LGBTQ community. As time goes on, the number of these students is increasing at school. More students are feeling the freedom to come out sooner to their friends and parents, but it is still a tough situation for others. This student asked to remain anonymous because she cannot tell her family and some of her friends her sexual identity. The Tomatalk, though we usually do not interview anonymous sources, because of the sensitivity of the topic, we will honor this student’s request. Q: How did you find out you were pansexual? (Pansexual means “sexual, romantic or emotional attraction towards people regardless of their sex or gender identity. Pansexual people may refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are not determining factors in their romantic or sexual attraction to others.” A: This is kind of sad, but it was mainly youtube and I have this friend and I was attracted to her. Q: Did people treat you differently after you came out? A: Well, I came out to my friends who were already apart of the LGBTQ community but others I told were more like, ‘That’s kind of weird,’ but I don’t think anyone truly treated me different.

Q: How do feel about the LGBTQ community becoming more common? A: I think it’s good because a few years ago, it was pretty rare and I feel like it helps people who are new to it and don’t know about the community. Kind of helps them get used to it, know that it’s not something weird or something to hate/discriminate against. Q: What do you think of people who use the LGBTQ to want/gain attention? A: You shouldn’t have to use a title to feel special. You shouldn’t have to use this to get attention. Q: How do you feel when people view the LGBTQ people as people who want attention? A: This is just who we are, and we shouldn’t have to say it to get attention onto us. We just want to feel like normal people. What we identify as shouldn’t change people’s views on us.

made a lot of friends since I know I can’t come out to my parents or my church. Q: How do you feel about your limits on people you can come out to? Has it affected you? A: It’s kind of sad because my girlfriend is out to everyone, so I wish we could walk around and be a normal couple, but I can’t because if someone from my church saw me, that would probably ruin my life. I wish I could come out, but I don’t feel safe but maybe after high school, I’ll be free. Q: How have limitations affected your relationships with family and friends? A: It really hasn’t affected my family because I’m really good at hiding it, so I’m like yeah, I’m straight but with my friend relationships, it kind of hurts them.

Q: Have you experienced any homophobic things. How has it affected you? A: Yes, my parents are very homophobic and don’t exactly say nice things about people in the LGBTQ community, and I’ve also gone to church. Sometimes in church lessons, they talk about how being gay/lesbian is wrong and even if you’re bisexual, it’s wrong. Q: When did you come out? Who was supportive? A: So I came out in ninth grade, pretty late, but everyone’s been pretty supportive because I’ve

Photo courtesy of www.commons.wikimedia.org

Homelessness creates special challenges for students who experience it By MERIAH RODRIGUEZ STAFF REPORTER

n 2017, 1,260,721 students in the United States were registered as homeless, 35,511 of which were/are homeless students in Washington. Homeless students are faced with diverse challenges and struggles due to their circumstances. This student is a student at our school. This person moved here this year from another state. This person, choosing to remain anonymous, would like us to understand the unique challenges that being homeless can create for students like them. Q: How long have you been homeless? A: I›ve been homeless since this summer. Q: How did you become homeless? A: I lived in Florida, but my mom kicked me out of the house because I›m an alcoholic and my dad didn›t let me stay with him. I see a therapist now to work on my mental health and to stop drinking.

Photo courtesy of pixabay.com

Q: How did you come to be in Washington? A: I had moved in with my aunt, but I didn›t get a job in a month like she told me to, so she kicked me out. Q: Where do you stay now? A: I hop couches. Wherever anyone lets me. Q: What are the biggest challenges for you? A: It›s hard telling people I›m homeless. And making friends over here. Washington is really different. And I don›t keep up with my school work. Q: How do you overcome these challenges? A: Well, I›m glad some family and some friends let me stay at their place, so I have them. They help me a lot with school, food, and they try to support me with everything pretty much.

FRIDAY, DEC. 7, 2018 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Tribal Games SPORTS

Wrestling team hopes for another successful season By JORGE MUNGUIA STAFF REPORTER

he wrestling team has been on top of the rankings for some years now. The season didn’t officially start until November, but that didn’t stop the team from getting in shape for the season. The Braves would work out and condition, then go downstairs and practice there, wrestling during open mats. When asked about how the Kamiakin team is different from other teams, senior Kevin Cornejo said, “The bond we all have and how we get along, we support each other in bad situations. That’s the difference.” The team had its first dual on Tuesday, Nov. 27 against Pasco. The Braves,

who had lost to the Bulldogs last year, looked to win and set a tone early in the year but came up short to an aggressive Pasco team. “We need more effort on the mat. We can’t be giving up so many points to pins. They are slight changes that make huge differences. We have the talent to be the best team in the state, but we have to put in the effort,” said team captain, senior Austin Almaguer. The team has multiple goals this year and is hoping to win state as a team this year, so they are focusing on getting better every day. The Braves have a long season ahead of them and expect to get better as the season continues.

“ We have the talent to be the best team in the state, but we have to put in the effort.” Senior Austin Almaguer Senior wrestler Kevin Cornejo (right). Photo courtesy of Griselda Rivera

Striking a new legacy at Kamiakin By JEREMAI HERNANDEZ STAFF REPORTER

owling: who doesn’t like a fun night of bowling with friends or family? This year Kamiakin High School made a girls bowling team. The head coach is Chad Potter, and the assistant coach is Tina Davis. Twenty-one participating girls are on the team this year. They have a total of 16 games. So far they have a record of five losses and one draw. The team is in the ninth position in the varsity bowling standing table out of nine schools. “So far we are doing extremely well considering we are all beginners to the sport. We don’t have any girl that has participated in youth league. We are starting from scratch. We have a lot of girls that have worked extremely hard to get to where we are. We have extremely high

hopes for the rest of the season,” said assistant coach Tina Davis. The team holds their practices at Spare Time Lanes. “We bowl four days a week, and we have a solid group of girls that come in on those other three days and try and get better and do things on their own,” said Davis. They do this using different methods, like having their families and friends go bowling with them on the weekends, Davis said. “We only get the lanes for four days, so we are kind of at a disadvantage because we only practice four days a week, but the girls are finding time outside of school and outside of practice to continue and work on their game and improve,” said Davis.

Kamiakin’s girls bowling team. Photo courtesy of Chad Potter.

Tribal Talk

OPINION & EDITORIAL

PRO:

FRIDAY, DEC. 7, 2018 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Birthrights U.S birthright law should stand

By RUCY QUESTADE OPININON EDITOR

“A

ll persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” This is the 14th amendment of the United States Constitution. An amendment current U.S. President Donald Trump wants to end.

If birthright citizenship is eliminated, the government is essentially exchanging one simple rule for a complex one. The simple rule is if a person is born in the United States, he or she will become a citizen — no ifs ands or buts about it. The more complex rules are harder to prove, such as a blood bond, which grants citizenship based on familial ties. There is also nationalization, which can cost a lot of money and time, which for many people across the globe who are trying to escape their country, is unavailable. Senior Kevin Cornejo comes from a family of immigrants. Cornejo’s parents originally hail from Mexico, and he is a strong supporter of the

Birthright Act. “If birthright citizenship is eliminated... it wouldn’t be fair for anyone. It wouldn’t be fair for them, or us, for people who want to come here, do what they want, live how they want, they wouldn’t be able to because that law took it from us,” Cornejo said. Thinking globally, only 35 countries worldwide have unrestricted birthright citizenship laws. Many countries either implement jus soli (right by soil) or jus sanguinis (right by blood) citizenship, or sometimes a mixture of both, like the United States. While President Trump believes the United States is the only country with birthright citizenship, as ref-

erenced in an Axios interview with reporter Jonathan Swan, it clearly isn’t. These other countries have had no major problems with their birthright citizenship laws, which closely resemble the U.S.’s. Trump’s main argument is that “continuing to grant birthright citizenship will result in the loss of something irreducibly American,” according to an article from Vox. He also claims that because many parents of those with jus soli citizenship came to the United States illegally, since the parents had no right in the U.S., their children shouldn’t either. But maybe the problem isn’t with the law. Maybe the problem is with those carrying it out.

CON: Birthright law should end By IMOGEN SANTOYO STAFF REPORTER

ll people within the boundaries of the United States are fighting about whether the undocumented children should be eligible to be automatic citizens. Some say yes, these children have rights here as well, while other people say no, these children should be deported along with their parents. Numerous reasons support the idea that birthright citizenship should not be automatic. For one, it causes women to illegally come to the U.S. to have babies. “People come here to have babies,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in 2010. “They come here to drop a child. It’s called ‘drop and leave.’” In fact, there are four million children who are citizens here who are children of undocumented immigrants. That is a staggering fact. These undocumented parents take up to 17.1 percent of the jobs in the U.S. And there are many who believe that children born to undocumented immigrants should not automatically be citizens.

Peter Schuck, a professor emeritus at Yale Law School, believes that the court’s holding was consonant with the intentions of the Congress that wrote the 14th Amendment — namely, that citizenship would be conferred on children born in the U.S. to “resident aliens.” This, he believes means that only children born to legal resident aliens should have this right of citizenship. This would solve a whole host of problems. Some senators want to introduce legislation which would only allow citizenship to those who have at least one legal parent. This law makes sense and would solve the problem of so many children who are citizens and children of illegal aliens (Los Angeles Times). Whether or not the children were born here, they shouldn’t have the eligibility to become automatic citizens because these children are just as unauthorized as their parents. Just

within Washington alone there are Photo Curticy of: Wikipwedia Commons 250,000 undocumented people, and 27 percent of those undocumented people take up the immigration population. (Immigrants in Washington | American Immigration Council) Changing this amendment and requiring at least one parent to be legal for children to be citizens is a good idea. It may curb undocumented immigration, and it will help with the draining of American resources into children whose families do not need to be here anyway.

FRIDAY, DEC. 7, 2018 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Tribal Talk

OPINION & EDITORIAL

KaHS Editorial Board Jonathan Ziegenfuss, News and Feature Thomas Metcalf, In-Depth Alison Fellman, Entertainment

Rucy Questad, Opinion Maddie Briggs, Sports

EDITORIAL POLICY: Editorials are the opinions of the individual members of the Tomatalk staff and are not intended to express the opinions of the administration, staff, students of Kamiakin High School, nor the advertisers in this newspaper. As a forum for student expression, the Tomatalk will publish letters to the editor. All letters are due one week before the next publication date. The staff reserves the right to edit or omit submissions as necessary. All letters must be signed by the student submitting them. However, if a student prefers his/her name not appear in the publication, his/her name may be withheld. All letters to the editor must be 300 words or less. In cases involving political or controversial issues, staff members are encouraged to solicit all points of view.

What we think...

It’s high time for ELA required reading books to switch to modern era

For years, English classes have required reluctant students to read certain books. Unfortunately, some of these books rarely change. Most of these books are set between 50 and 100 years ago. Pair that with students’ decrease in pleasure reading over the past 20 years, and schools have a problem. Students have little interest and have a difficult time relating to these stories. If anything, this required reading is creating drudgery and making already reluctant students even more resistant to reading. Something needs to change. Reading for leisure has gone down for adults, so it’s likely that it’s lower for high schoolers. Most of the classical literature takes place during the late 1800s some of the time, but most of the time they are set in the 1900s: the Roaring Twenties, the world wars, the Cold War, and the Civil Rights Movement, for example. Classical literature has captured these times with ink and paper, but these events have become more redundant now. So what happens when teachers assign these books is that people don’t bother to give the story a shot. If students can’t be hooked

in the first few pages, they are unlikely to keep going. Unfortunately, most of these

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because more modern novels may have questionable language, subject matter,

There’s only so much you can write on a story that has been read by many generabooks are tions. descriptive and boring in the beginning, so they don’t hold students’ attention. Now all required reading isn’t bad. The best I’ve read was ‘How to Kill a Mockingbird’ written by Harper Lee and I quite enjoyed reading it. The other books that I have read have been more of an unpleasant experience. They were questionable and have left me wanting to just stop. Maybe there needs to be a new mix. We could have some of the old classics, but why not mix it in with more modern novels? The problem is that it’s harder to get new books adopted in our school district

or be controversial in some way. But it would be worth checking out newer literature that would engage students more. One class at our school incorporates newer and more interesting books. It is Cultural Identity Through Literature which has books that are more recent than the ones regular English classes usually assign. There’s only so much you can write for a summary or essay about a book that has been read from other generations. There should be more variety like the Cultural Identity Through Literature and more options that are more up

to date. Just because there were more writings during those times doesn’t mean there isn’t any well written literature made now. Some books that have gained popularity over the years should also be added to the selection for high schoolers. ‘Harry Potter’ written by J.K. Rowling, ‘Me Talk Pretty One Day’ written by David Sedaris and ‘Mr. Fox’ written by Helen Oyeyemi have been accepted by the public as fantastic literature and must reads. Stories like these might be good options. School districts shouldn’t get rid of the literature that has been taught. We are not fans of being forced to read. Most of the time we have a hard time paying attention to the story. We want to be engaged with the book, and we are unable to do that. There should be more variety to the books that we read. There is more amazing literature out there, and it’s sad that the school district isn’t giving it a chance.

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Possible more modern books:

‘Beloved’ by: Toni Morrison ‘Joy Luck Club’ by: Amy Tan ‘I Am Malala’ by: Malala Yousafzai ‘The House on Mango Street’ by: Sandra Cisneros ‘Plague of Doves’ by: Louise Erdrich ‘The God of Small Things’ by: Arundhati Roy ‘The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian’ by: Sherman Alexie ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ by: Mohsin Hamid ‘The Bell Jar’ by: Sylvia Plath ‘Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus’ by: Dusti Bowling ‘The Hate U Give’ by: Angie Thomas ‘The Complete Persepolis’ by: Marjane Satrapi ‘The Secret Side of Empty’ by: Maria E. Andreu ‘Every Falling Star’ by: Sungju Lee ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ by: Khaled Hosseini

Tribal Talk

OPINION & EDITORIAL

FRIDAY, DEC. 7, 2018 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

U.S. schools prove quite different than Armenian

ByVazgen Yedoyan STAFF REPORTER

ach country has its own education system. Some of them are similar to each other, but some of them are really different like the American education system. I am from Armenia and in my country, we have a different education system than you have here, and I should say that your system is much easier in some aspects. First, we don’t have the same schedule every day and I think it causes your school to be easier and more boring because you have the same classes every day, so you don’t have to do a lot of homework. However, I can’t understand how you are doing the same thing in the same order every day because in my country, we have the same weekly schedule, so we don’t do the same thing every day and we have to do more homework because it could take three days before you have the next class, so if you don’t study, you will forget. The American education system has a lot of great ideas and opportunities but unfortunately, most of them are not realized. In your schools, you have a lot of labs and

a lot of equipment to work with problem of your system. and to make the process of learnAnother difference is that in your ing much more interesting, but school, attendance is so important. instead of it your classes are just In my home country, our grades usual without using all this equipcan’t go down because of absences. ment you have. Here when you miss a day in One example that I’ve noticed is school, you have to do all work that some teachers in the beginthat you missed in order not to ning of the year gave us a learning lose credit. In Armenia, we don’t style test to find out the learning have to. We just take the test if we styles of all students, and I was missed any. excited that teachers would have individual approaches for all students, but unfortunately most of them don’t use it, teaching everybody in the same way. Also one lack of the American education system that I’ve noticed is that you teach to do everything in groups. You think that group work is important, but it’s not helpful always because sometimes in their lives, people face some problems that nobody can help them with. You don’t teach your students to think wisely. You don’t expect them to have an idea about all spheres of Photo By: Vazgen Yedoyan life. I think this is the biggest School No.11 after Griboedov

And of course, the best thing of your schools is lunch. I really love it because in our schools, we don’t have it. We have only five minutes after each period and that’s all, so we just have little snacks in this five minutes and have lunch at home when the classes are over. I want to mention, that I don’t think that the American education system is horrible, or that I don’t like it. It’s just my own opinion, and like everything else in the

world, it has good and bad sides.

Open campus is outdated and needs to change By JORGE MUNGUIA STAFF REPORTER

amiakin is the only open campus school in the Kennewick School District. The structure and architecture of the campus is outdated and incompetent in the fundamentals of the routine of the students who attend. For instance in the winter, it makes it hard for students to go to and from classes and are forced to wear big jackets and carry them around. When leaving class, it can also be dangerous. Students slip on ice and get their shoes wet. The cement that surrounds the buildings is extra slippery and causes a hazard. If students slip on that cement, they can be seriously hurt. All weather has an impact on students and one thing leads to another. When it’s too hot, girls want to wear short shorts and a tank top because of the heat but

then get dress coded by teachers. The open campus also comes with more cost. In the winter they have to spend hundreds of dollars to buy salt for the ice on the ground and stairs and the plowers to plow the snow so the students can walk and get to their classes. Regular schools wouldn’t have that problem with weather. In the summer since there’s a closed campus, the school’s air conditioning is pretty set and the doors don’t get opened as much so the building stays cool. Not for Kamiakin-- after every class, the doors get opened letting the cold or hot air in and thus having to have the air conditioner or heater on more often and having to pay more. On an open campus, students are more at risk of school shooters. Why? Because the doors aren’t guarded by security and Kamiakin

has three main entrances. Doors are open all the time during school hours. It’d be easy for anyone to come in and pull the fire alarm letting all the kids out of their classrooms and into the hallway although there is a new rule that no one is to be let out unless an email is sent out, but now that makes it unsafe for when there is an actual fire. There is a bond proposal in February for the community to vote on. Kamiakin is one of the schools that will benefit from new

Photo By: Jorge Mungula construction. Instead of remodeling this outdated campus, the district should create a larger building that would encompass more classroom where students don’t have to leave and go from building to building.

FRIDAY, DEC. 7, 2018 The Tomatalk â&#x20AC;¢ Kamiakin High School