Volume XXXVIII Issue 3 15 Dec 2015
theArrow 100 LAKEVIEW CANYON RD. WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA 91362
www.westlakearrow.com
GRAPHIC BY ALLISON MENDOZA
2015: a year in review Allison Mendoza Feature Editor 2015 has marked many milestones. The world has survived three years past the Mayan World apocalypse, there have been technological breakthroughs that seemed only conceivable “in a galaxy far, far away,” and–speaking of far away galaxies–the world has seen its first glimpse of Pluto. From the never-ending Kardashian drama to Pope Francis speaking to Congress, 2015 has left more than a footprint; it has left a legacy. During this past year, politics has managed to become almost as exciting and dramatic as Gossip Girl. The U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states on June 26, 2015. The news spread like wildfire through countless articles, tweets, Facebook posts and pride rallies across the country. Pope Francis spoke to Congress in late September during his visit to America to encourage the government to “break out of its cycle of paralysis and use its power to heal the ‘open wounds’ of a planet torn by hatred, greed, poverty and pollution.” Race conflicts flooded the media. Rachel Dolezal served as president of the Spokane chapter of the National Association of Advancement for Colored People (NAACP) until it was discovered she is actually white. Her caucasian parents saw her on the news and told the truth. In 2014, there were inner city riots about the Ferguson shooting and police brutality. These issues collided in 2015 with multiple school and college shootings. On Oct. 1, The Washington Post published an
article titled “So far in 2015, we’ve had 274 days and 294 mass shootings.” The attacks on Paris gave a new definition to “the shot heard ‘round the world.” Paris was attacked at three separate points by ISIS on Friday Nov. 13. The massacre left 130 innocent civilians dead and hundreds seriously wounded. Three days after the attacks, ISIS released a video threatening other countries, including the U.S. The terrorists specifically mentioned Washington D.C. and a few days later, New York. The video mentions Times Square and suggests that a bomb would be strapped to a suicide bomber, hidden under his jacket. ISIS invaded and took over Syria in September of 2014, prompting thousands of Syrians to take extreme measures to escape the terror. After the terrorist attacks in Paris, another dispute between Republicans and Democrats broke out over whether or not America should harbor refugees. California entered its fifth year of serious drought, and Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order for water conservation. The technological revolution has continued making history with gadgets like the oh-so-popular Hoverboard. The board works like a Segway without the handle and allows the rider to seamlessly float across the floor. Additionally, Apple came out with the new iPhone 6S, which features animated photography (no, not video; think Harry Potter). Later in the year, NASA used a combination of seven different instruments to aid its New Horizon program to answer some of the many questions it had about Pluto. With this technology, NASA released the dwarf planet’s first pictures. “I’m very impressed with the way people are able to conduct space travel in a way and in a context that they haven’t before,”
said Nate Young ‘16. “Both NASA and private companies have been doing very important and amazing things.” In Boston, a new drug for AIDS is currently being researched and trials are being done on monkeys. Researchers hope that the drug’s effects will last longer and therefore overcome the major issue of AIDS patients not regularly taking their antiretroviral pills. Americans were outraged when Mark Shrinkeli bought the rights to an AIDS drug and immediately raised the price from $13.50 to $750.00 per pill–a 5,500% markup. The world of sports brought both triumphs and scandals. The U.S. women’s soccer team made history during its match against Japan, which was “the most-watched soccer game in U.S. history,” according to ussoccer.com. The game started out with 16 million viewers and ended with a grand total of 23 million. The U.S. team also ended up taking home the cup. “It’s a huge deal for our country and national pride,” said Hannah Sharts ‘17. “It’s boosting the popularity of soccer and inspiring players across the nation to play at that level.” One of the biggest sports scandals this year was when the Patriots were caught using deflated footballs during games. Many Americans felt that the team’s Super Bowl win was unjust due to this violation. Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao boxed their long awaited fight on May 2, after Pacquiao agreed to the 60/40 split of the total money received from the match. Much controversy focused on whether or not Mayweather was better than Pacquiao prior to the fight. When Mayweather won, Pacquiao supporters suspected that Mayweather’s men had payed the Pacquiao team to lose so that Mayweather could maintain his undefeated record. Mayweather kept his $180 million while Pacquiao donated $40 million of his $120 million to charity. [Continued on page 5]