The Phoenix Issue 4 Volume 7

The Politics of Art

blue and orange food

See page 6 & 7

truck review, see page 9

parkland a year later, see page 5

Fremont High School

the

PHOENIX

Vol. 7 Issue No. 4 Feb. 1, 2019

The State of creative writing at FHS

by Fiona O’Bannon & Emily Wilson

Collaboration

In light of the recent poetry performance hosted

by Fremont High School on January 11, where poets Phil Kaye and Sarah Kay advocated for the power of spoken word and creativity, questions about the lack of creative writing in Fremont’s curriculum have arisen.

Creative writing is a form of writing which typically focuses on more imaginative descriptions to produce written stories, poetry or song lyrics.

There are many students at Fremont with a passion for creative writing, such as senior Shobhana Shreedhar, who has been writing fictional stories since age six. They have since developed a specialty in fictional fantasy writing and world-building. They are currently trying to get a book that they have been working on for four years published.

“My book started out as a typical high fantasy, reminiscent of Lord of the Rings, but I quickly began incorporating real-life struggles and all sorts of representation… It’s deeply important to me that I accurately represent as many people as possible in my writing,” Shreedhar said. “I think creative writing fosters empathy, emotional control, and of course imagination in anyone who undertakes it. It allows writers to step into other people’s shoes, which is something I feel is highly important in today’s society.”

The nature of creative writing, however, differs from the goals of American high school English curriculums, which instead focuses on analytical and technical writing.

The Fremont Union High School District requires all enrolled students to take 40 credits of preparatory English composition and literature in order to graduate. This also meets

the four year UC and CSU A-G English requirements that students must fulfill if they are planning to pursue a higher education.

Fremont High School offers an assortment of eight different English classes, varying in academic rigor, and allowing students to choose between regular, honors and AP level classes.

Although the district offers multiple English courses with a variety of focuses, the FUHSD lacks a course focused on the development of creative writing.

Instead, most courses focus on developing a student’s critical thinking ability and analytical skills.

California is one of 41 states that have adopted the Common Core State standards of education. The Common Core curriculum outlines what students should know and be able to do at the end of each grade level in regards to mathematics and English language arts literacy.

The Common Core English language arts standards focus around helping students develop critical thinking and analytical writing skills in preparation for college, career and life success. While these skills have been determined as essential for students to prepare for their future success, these standards also guide teachers to incorporate more analytical essay writing in their curriculums.

English teachers are often challenged to teach students a balance of reading, writing, listening and comprehension skills that will prepare them for the future. Although teachers may be willing to incorporate more creative writing assignments into the curriculum, the needs of the students may require that they focus their time on teaching other skills.

As high schoolers are expected to enroll for standardized tests

such as the SAT, ACT, and state testing, teachers are adjusting their curriculum to account for the needs and increasing expectations of the students.

“I don’t think it’s something that is officially stated in our job, but I think that as English teachers, knowing that your [students] will take SATs [their] junior year … in terms of the reading and being able to critically think, a lot of what we do in our classes also have to reflect you being able to demonstrate that you’ve mastered those skills”, Story and Style teacher Robert Javier said.

In this subtle shift towards preparing students for analytical and technical writing, creative writing focused projects can sometimes become a secondary priority for teachers.

AP English Literature, for example, has an entire unit dedicated to creative writing. However, students who do not wish to enroll in AP level English classes will not have access to that unit. Despite this, Fremont teachers are still looking to expose students to various aspects of creative writing through other means.

“I think what you see more often though, are ways that teachers have incorporated creativity,” Fremont’s English Department Chair, Amy Gibson said. “Not all classes have an entire unit dedicated to it, but there are many creative assignments that teachers do, and I think that’s pretty common.”

Yet not all students are satisfied with this compromised solution. Instead they argue that the prompts are more there for the sake of trying to incorporate creativity into a task rather than inspire students to write creatively.

“I’m not very satisfied with

it, frankly. In the rare times that we are able to do creative writing assignments, they’re almost always constrained by a dry, uninspiring prompt. If teachers could pick prompts from online writing blogs, that would make things a lot better,” Shreedhar said.

Some students have proposed the idea of adding a creative writing course as a separate elective and allowing students to gain formal guidance to grow their creative writing skills.

However, formally adding creative writing as an elective, or formal unit in standard classes, may be too difficult to implement.

This is partially because all courses must be approved by the FUHSD, and partially because it would be an additional course load for teachers to organize and teach.

It allows writers to step into other people’s shoes, which is something I feel is highly important in today’s society.

Shobhana ShreedhaR Additionally, creative writing may not be beneficial or an interest for all students to spend time learning. Students interested in pursuing STEM based careers, or doing research in college, may find that refining their analytical writing skills to be more useful way to spend their time.

“It kind of depends on what you major in. Writing is absolutely a skill, and that’s very pervasive.

Critical thinking is

an important skill. Creativity is important, but creative writing is more English based,” Gibson said.

Despite challenges in dedicating more school time towards creative writing, Fremont’s staff supports students expressing themselves through creative writing.

“It might not be just from the writing itself, but it might just be from the overall experience. […] it could be the sharing in a writers workshop sort of way, what your peers have written. That sort of writing and exposure I feel people can benefit from,” Javier said.

Both independent and community based explorations are viewed as a positive solution to student’s desire to engage with creative writing outside of school curriculum.

Ruben Zamora, one Fremont’s librarians, is a vocal supporter of creative writing and expression. He continues to advocate for these art forms by organizing the poetry performance that brought internationally known poets Phil Kaye and Sarah Kay to Fremont, on behalf of their organization, Project Voice.

Sarah and Phil founded Project Voice which is, according to their website, an organization that uses spoken word poetry to entertain, educate, and inspire people of all ages.

He also offers a clear perspective of the shift away in student interest from these methods of expression as he once led the club, License to Speak, an outlet for freshmen and seniors alike to share their writing.

However, as students graduated, and academic focus continued to advance towards standardized testing, License to Speak was disbanded. Student interest at Fremont has shifted towards STEM

based subjects partially due to the increased presence of tech corporations in Silicon Valley. Amid this STEM focused community, niches of creative writers and artists have arisen.

“Society still regards this art form highly. As proven by Sarah and Phil’s sold out shows at public theaters across the country.

Our students have not had the enthusiasm to investigate and cultivate the art form with each other and on campus, the way they once did” Zamora said.

Despite no longer heading the club, Zamora still encourages curious students to engage in creative writing art forms.

“I’m here to encourage, I’m here to advise, I’m here to help nurture anyone who wants to grow their writing, public speaking, spoken word,” Zamora said.

While Zamora fully supports students who desire to get involved with creative writing, he underlines the importance of students advocating for their interests themselves.

The initiative to restart a poetry movement at FHS needs to come from the students first. “It’s a little bit disheartening for me, because I want to see it happen, but I can’t push,” Zamora said.

Fremont’s Creative Writing Club, which meets every Thursday at lunch, has established itself as a base for creative writing minded students to gather in absence of License to Speak. Alternatively, the Creative Union of Literature offers students opportunities to get involved with communities and events outside of Fremont. They organize participation in writing competitions, festivals and projects such as the National Novel Writing Month.

Through engagement with clubs, organized events and independent exploration, interested students can surely find creative solutions to develop and improve their creative writing skills.

FHS Phoenix | Samhitha Tumkur

News 2

Feb. 1, 2019

The senior thesis: Fremont High annual project

by Vivien Su

A&E Editor

It is that time of the year again - Fremont’s Story & Style students are busy hacking away at their senior thesis. The senior thesis has been a tradition on the Fremont campus since the 2012-2013 school year, the first year Story & Style was introduced to the Fremont English Department.

The senior thesis is a composition consisting of 15 pages. The thesis is, by far, the longest project that any Fremont Story & Style student has to complete and counts for two-thirds of their grade.

Seniors in Story & Style are given the task of writing an analytical research paper.

Topics can range from meaningful life experiences to significant political or societal issues, historical events, pieces of literature, contemporary society and much more. After picking their topic, students have to

formulate a research question and through extensive investigation, answer that question in a 15-page paper.

The project was assigned to seniors in January, and the thesis is expected to be completed in April.

What sets the senior thesis apart from any other in-class writing composition is its notorious length and the creative freedom studying gives. Much of America’s writing curriculum circulates around analysis and argumentation, so rarely are seniors provided the platform to express their creativity and write about topics that hold personal and cultural value to them.

“The idea of being able to choose a topic that is of interest to you is a game changer,” said Robert Javier, a Story & Style teacher at Fremont High School.

“Typically, [teachers] assign [students topics and tell them to] research it, write about it or present it.”

Although many incoming seniors are intimidated by the size and length of the project, teachers and even students themselves seem to agree that the assignment is not as scary as it seems.

“The reality of this paper is about 15 pages, but none of us Story & Style teachers are saying you’re writing a 15-page paper and it’s due next week or tomorrow,” said Javier. “We break it up. We guide you. Don’t be intimidated.”

“The work is split up over a multitude of steps, so it just feels like a lot of small assignments that are all related rather than one giant thesis,” said Austin Tao, a senior at Fremont High School.

“As is most, if not all things, this project might seem intimidating at first glance,” said senior Peyton Chen. “However, our teachers and staff offer plenty of structure and guide us through the process. There

really isn’t anything to be afraid of.”

The purpose of the senior thesis is for seniors to enhance their research skills, which will prove to be very useful in the near future. Seniors are expected to go beyond the domain of the internet.

They also have to interview and communicate with their advisors and teachers. In essence, the senior thesis is a culmination of months worth of research that extends far beyond an everyday research paper.

The research skills garnered through this project is intended to prepare students for their introductory English classes in college.

“The research skill of being able to assess the credibility of sources and its usefulness for your argument [...] is setting them up for college and really, life in a greater scheme,” said Javier.

“All the seniors writing

the thesis got a presentation on how to use the research databases on the Fremont school website,” said Tao. “I’ll be using those (GALE, JSTOR) online databases.”

During the process, seniors are also required to find a mentor. A mentor can be any member of the school administration and faculty, a parent or relative, or outside sources. Students are required to contact their mentors periodically, asking them for advice on their paper as well as to read over their drafts. “[The mentor is really] some other person that will serve as a guide to help review your work [and to be] that objective point of view to give you some kind of feedback at a certain point,” said Javier.

As for those who may be struggling with the project, there are many suggestions offered by students and teachers.

“Don’t put off ev-

erything until the night before,” said Peyton Chen.

“A good senior thesis, first and foremost, has to have a good research question,” Javier said. “[The question] has to be specific enough where when you research it, you’ll be able to find enough evidence. It’s something that has to be informative and analytical.

[Students should be] talking about a topic, evaluating the topic’s impacts, comparing and contrasting, making connections and trying to find value and meaning in whatever it is you are wanting to discover or investigate. These are the papers that tend to go deeper.”

And so the long journey begins. Good luck to all the seniors who are writing their theses.

California High School Proficiency Examination

by Quinten Seghers

Staff Writer

For any freshmen or sophomores interested in graduating high school before your junior year, there is a way!

The California High School Proficiency Examination is a test that determines whether or not someone is proficient in reading, writing and mathematics taught in all California public high schools.

The primary purpose for the examination is to serve as a way to let students graduate high school earlier than usual by allowing them to skip their junior and senior years of high school.

The CHSPE is administerd by the Sacramento County Office of Education,

which charges $130 to take the test.

The test dates for the 2019 school year is March 16th, June 15th and October 20th.

In addition, a student can take the test if they are either 16 years old at the time of the test being taken, or if they are enrolled in 10th grade.

The CHSPE covers mathematics and English based language arts. To pass the CHSPE, one must pass the mathematics and English-based language art sections. Most of the test consists of multiple choice questions and the grading scale ranges from 250-450 points. A minimum score of 350 points in each section is needed to pass.

The English language

arts section consists of two subsections. A reading multiple choice test and a language subtest, which includes an essay that is graded from one-five points.

The reading subtest covers several topics, such as reading comprehension, vocabulary, context clues etc. While the language subtest covers areas such as showing comprehensive usage of correct grammar, expressions, sentence structure etc.

The mathematics portion of the examination follows a very similar style of testing. It is a multiple choice that contains questions that include geometry, statistics, probability and more.

In California, if a student passes the CHSPE they

receive a “Certificate of Proficiency” by the California State Board of Education which is the legal equivalent to a high-school diploma.

However, only having a CHSPE certificate can come with some unexpected downsides.

“Most employers and most colleges outside of California would consider a CHSPE certificate to be valid for a High School diploma requirement,” said Sherry Fazzio, a guidance counselor at Fremont, “But I think that’s kind of taking a risk, you can’t know for sure.”

Additionally, passing the test does not automatically allow a student to stop attending high school. A student would still need parent or guardian approval in order to drop-out of high

school.

Students can still pursue other options that do not have to end necessary with leaving high school early. Instead, some students may wish to take a different, less abrupt path like participating in the Middle College program.

Middle College is a program that allows students to earn college credits, depending on the class being taken, while still being in high school.

In addition, a student can get some first-hand experience when it comes knowing how colleges work.

This can be especially useful for students when the time comes to start applying for colleges.

However, these college classes would most likely

need to be taken outside of general school hours.

“I felt like if I had taken [the CHSPE] test then I would have had more freedom to do whatever I wanted because there are no classes besides art that I would like to do here [at Fremont],” Uma Naik, a sophomore at Fremont said. “I’m considering doing middle college right now which is where you become a full-time student at De Anza… But I would still be a student here.”

Either way, students have many options when it comes to a viable path for a successful future after high school.

Opinions on the new Fremont High A-Building

by Max Palli

Staff Writer

December 3rd was the first day that students could enter the new A-building after waiting for around half a year for the construction to finish. There is a new hall at the end of the A-wing along with new classrooms. The office has now been completely moved to the new building, and some science rooms have been moved to the A-building.

According to Virginia McCabe, a science teacher at FHS, the new classrooms have more windows and natural light coming into the buildings than the old ones. In fact, they are very spacious, with additional whiteboard space compared to the old science rooms that were more focused on

being efficient and compact.

“Now that I’ve moved into the new building, I like it because it’s a much bigger space and it’s better organized and moving gave me a chance to declutter materials that I haven’t touched for years,” McCabe said.

“Students can see the main screen better because this is a more modern classroom with attention to design [being able to see the screen].

Students are seated at tables instead of individual desks to encourage partner work.”

A good example of the new building being modern is the addition of a new air conditioning system.

The old air conditioner is almost 20 years old, according to Principal Bryan Emmert. With the new bond that was passed in November, plans are being

made to redo the lights, heating and AC in the whole school using the money.

“The ability to heat and cool is a lot more advanced, as opposed to before where you could hear the water running through the pipes,” Emmert said. “It’s much quieter now.”

Student consensus converges on the opinion that the A-building is closer and in a convenient location compared to the old science buildings.

“I like how the classrooms have two doors, one on the inside and one on the outside,” senior Miranda Kushner said.

According to Emmert, instead of having multiple offices across campus where visitors would have to trek around to go to the guidance counselor from the

Dean’s office, it has been condensed into one area right next to the visitor parking lot.

Now parents can just park, walk in the front door and have access to the whole administration, including the student advocates and guidance counselor, which were not in the office before.

The new building is also architecturally in line with the 1923 main building that was originally the school since it encircles the Quad and the library.

“It sends a pretty powerful message when one walks on campus and sees the top-notch school we’ve created with bond money,” Emmert said.

The main building that used to be the administration will be converted into classrooms and the special

ed department in the wake of moving the office.

With the passing of bond CC, new buildings are also being planned.

“We are planning on building a field house to allow greater flexibility for PE classes, presentations, athletic events, and others,” Emmert said. “On rainy

days like these we don’t have enough space for all of the PE classes, so we want a bigger building to provide more indoor spaces on campus to support the instructional work in PE.” But until then, enjoy the new AC and desks.

Photo Courtesy of Max Palli | The Phoenix

News

Feb. 1, 2019

New deans enforce rules at FHS

by Anastasiia Klymenko and Natalie Wolff

Collaboration

With a new year and a new building, the Fremont High School administration has also started to enforce new and old rules.

One particular rule they have recently started enforcing is that students are not allowed to be inside a classroom unless there is a teacher in the room. This, among others, is a rule that is not new, but has become strictly enforced under the new deans.

Recently, staff have been going around from class to class checking if a teacher is inside and kicking students out if they are alone.

Dean Chris Moore explained that teachers are supposed to be present in a

classroom in order for students to be legally allowed inside. If not, their absence violates the law.

“I can see why the teachers would want to have this rule,” freshman Nikhil Jagota said. “But personally I believe that for both the students and the teachers it is more inconvenient.

Often times, there would be students waiting outside of teachers classrooms not knowing where else they should go, but really it is better for their safety.”

Another rule that is being implemented is that students need to carry their student ID card with them whenever they are leaving campus during an open block period.

On their ID, they must have a sticker that informs the staff that the student

is permitted to leave the school as per their schedule and the consent of their parents.

“The sticker basically lets us know that you have an open period and are allowed to leave class,” Moore said. “We want to make sure that we have permission from your parents and we want to make sure that the students who are leaving class actually have an open class period and [are] not just leaving because they want to.”

The students at Fremont High have mixed opinions on the new rules that have been enforced.

“I agree with the open block rule,” freshman Sanjana Checker said. “Unless you’re eighteen, you should get permission from your parents to leave. It’s just for

[the students’] safety.”

While this is the rationale that some students have on the implementation of these new rules, there are also other students with the opposite opinion.

“I don’t think it’s like really necessary,” junior Amira Salama said, “Because I think people will find a way to get out anyways.”

According to Salama, if students are really determined to get out, the sticker will not stop them, instead, it will just increase their chances of getting caught.

This rule, along with every other, has been enforced mainly for the students’ safety and to make sure that they are actually leaving class when they have an open period and are not just ditching.

by Michelle Cortez

“Be the change” may just be the new motivational slogan for young people around the world to make their own impact. However, this slogan also happens to be the motto of Challenge Day. Challenge Day was a day-long event on January 15 meant to demonstrate compassion, truth, diversity and promote self-expression to youth and their communities.

Though the attendance was lower than previous years, the leaders in charge of the program were still able to provide a safe space for students and Fremont staff to let their guard down and become vulnerable.

The program is structured to unite communities

and reveal the side people don’t normally share with others. This day is filled with fun activities from volleyball to dancing, however, it does have its serious side to things. One of the games that puzzles the participants is the “Cross the Line” activity.

The announcer asks the crowd a series of questions and those who relate, cross a line. As they get across, the announcer then asks the participants to notice who else has crossed and acknowledge the fact that they are not the only ones going through the same issue.

Senior Shobhana Shreedhar was one of the many who thought the game was impactful.

“The multidimensional struggles that so many people kept hidden were suddenly exposed and I saw

the true selves of the people around me for the first time,” said Shreedhar.

This impactful day grows many upcoming leaders throughout the nation and they all have the same motivation: to change the world. However, this change starts with the development of their campus culture.

Towards the end, the two Challenge Day leaders emphasized the importance of spreading kindness and uniting the student body.

One of the biggest takeaways the students had in mind was the importance of having empathy to those in and out of campus.

“There are so many battles that each and every one of us is fighting every single day, and we need to be mindful of that,” Shreedhar said. “You never know if something you say could

hurt someone, so we all need to be careful with the language we use.”

Not only is this program incredibly meaningful for students, but the teachers and staff who attend also left with a new and fresh mindset. Teachers like Jeff Kakes agreed that this day was beneficial to not only himself but to others attending and would recommend staff to go in the future.

“As both a teacher and a father, it’s always shocking to see just how many of our students have been subjected to unwanted sexual comments, advances, or worse,” said Kakes.

All in all, this event empowers schools to spread positivity and kindness and encourages students to stand up and become leaders to change the world.

Open House Event on January 24th

by Leann Bast

News Editor

On January 24th, an open house introduced the new A-building to community members. This area includes tons of classrooms, the main office, the dean’s office, the guidance counselors area, the college and career center and the new student store.

The open house began after school and lasted for an hour. The event started out in front of the new Abuilding, facing the parking lot On either side of the main office doors, there were balloons pillars with a ribbon in the center of them. The said ribbon was cut later on in the event.

To start off the event, Fremont High School’s very own band opened the ceremony, followed directly after by speeches. The speeches were mainly to thank people who were involved in the

making of the new building as mentioned by Bryan Emmert, principal of FHS, but they also were to let people know what was going on at Fremont. “[The open house] is to showcase the new building, it’s to thank the people who were involved, and it’s a chance for community members who may or may not come to the school all the time to get a chance to come in and see what’s going on,” said Emmert.

“So, you know, we sent invitations out to all the parents, they sent cards out to people who live within a mile radius of the school... so it’s a chance for people to just come in and see what’s going on at Fremont, what’s some of the good stuff that’s going on at Fremont.”

After speeches, a few people were called up and received packages of Fremont gear as a thank you for being involved in

the meticulous planning of the construction of the new building.

Finally, it was time to cut the ribbon and officially open the new building.

After a few pictures, the building tours started and people who attended the event had the option to be led around the building by a student, staff member, or by themselves. In the

the

PHOENIX Editor-in-Chief Nadia Anees | Caroline He News Leann Bast | Samhitha Tumkur Arts & Entertainment Trixie Rodriguez | Vivien Su Sports Suryan Bhatia | Patrick Ramos

Opinion Michelle Cortez | Ambika Vaidya Center Spread Sophia Pulido | Sydney Sharp

Challenge Day at Fremont Opinion Editor

3

back, there was a room with refreshments.

“I hope it [was] a nice experience for everyone to get a chance to come in, see the building, walk through the building, and, you know, thank all the people that have been involved in the process, making it come to fruition,” said Emmert.

Online Fiona O’Bannon | Diana Piper | Michael Wang Staff Writers Shira Agmon Enrique Alfaro Clarissa Bunker Nevaeh Campos Kiana Thelma Devera Madellyn Garcia Jay Ghate Anastasiia Klymenko Vikash Kumar Abigail Mingus Nicole Morris Maximillian Palli

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Fremont High School 1279 Sunnyvale Saratoga Rd, Sunnyvale, CA 94087 (408)-522-2400 | fremonthighphoenix@gmail.com Advisor | Emer Martin Mission Statement: The Phoenix, protected under the California Education code, is a public forum for the students of Fremont High School. The Phoenix staff will publish features, editorials, news and sports in an unbiased and professional manner. The Phoenix is the official student newspaper and is distributed free of cost to the students. The Phoenix publishes eight issues throughout the school year.

Editorial Policy Editorials are the official opinion of The Phoenix.

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Opinion 4

Feb. 1, 2019

The effectiveness of New Year’s resolutions

by Diana Piper

Online Editor

One month after New Year’s Day, many have already given up on their New Year resolutions. Even with the illusion of a fresh beginning—a chance to start anew—people have trouble managing their temptations.

Instead of waiting until the end of the year for a feeble attempt to make a change, one ought to take action as soon as they feel a need for self-improvement.

In a study in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, John Norcross evaluates people’s ability to adhere to their New Year’s resolutions.

He found that people who make resolutions are typically in two different stages of self-change.

One of the stages is

the contemplation stage, when you are considering a new change, and the other is the action stage, when you make big changes. The ones in the action stage are marked as resolvers. Those in the contemplation stage are marked as non-resolvers. An important aspect to note here is that the resolvers had already considered and planned for their new goal before January 1st.

Unremarkably, resolvers were more successful in achieving their goals than non-resolvers. Resolvers’ success at their goals decreased from 71 percent at the first and second week of January to 46 percent after six months. Non-resolvers decreased from a 51 percent success rate at one and two weeks to four percent at six months.

These figures demonstrate how hard it is to stick to a resolution. This is because the unsuccessful, who are the majority, are relying on the beginning of a new year to drive and encourage them. However, soon the new year becomes the current year and the determined and energized mentality wears off. The

drive of New Year’s is like tinder when starting a fire.

It burns strongly, at first, but weakens very quickly. The individual must provide his or her own logs of determination and self-efficacy to keep the fire going.

Resolvers were more successful than non-resolvers simply because they were further along in the stages of self-change. They had already mentally prepared for their change, and were making the change solely for themselves, not because of the new year. The new year can be a marker, the date at which people decide to begin their new change, but it cannot be anything more than that.

Interestingly, 54 percent of non-resolvers made a definite decision to start changing their bad habits later in January. They were left out of the final success statistics because their decision occurred after New Year’s. This again reveals the greatest reason for the lack of effectiveness of New Year’s Resolutions. People change when they truly want to change.

The statement appears simple, but it has

great magnitude in the case of New Year’s resolutions. New Year’s appears to non-resolvers as a fun new beginning, where it could be easier to make a vague change. To others, it appears to be the time when they will make a great and specific change, for which they have prepared. The latter will change and the former will not, because

Drawing courtesy of Anubha Gupta

they do not have a plan.

A quote that describes this situation perfectly is “a goal without a plan is just a wish,” written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in his famous novella, The Little Prince. To make a change, and to stick to that change, one must make a plan. Otherwise, it is too easy to relapse and return to bad habits. People have always had trouble resisting

temptation. A plan makes it much easier to do so.

New Year’s resolutions may be a tradition, but they do not play much of a role in the actual process of self-improvement. People change when they have gathered enough determination and self-efficacy to. People ought to and do make a change solely because they want to, not because of an annual tradition.

Photo courtesy of Clipart Library

The dark side of reality television addiction

by Anahi Ruvalbaca Staff Writer

From challenging game shows to the luxurious lives of celebrities whose lives we love to indulge in, reality television has been the most intriguing and mindless form of media we consume since the early 2000s. But what is it that makes it so

interesting to watch others doing impossible tasks beyond their capabilities or simply living their lives?

Ever wondered why you turned on America’s Next Top Model or Keeping up with the Kardashians every Sunday night?

I must admit that avoiding reality TV can be extremely hard, especially when I find interest in seeing others’ talents on reality TV, but I can’t help but think why I would waste an hour of my time to binge watch a new episode.

Although I watch reality TV religiously, I am no expert in the science behind why I enjoy it so much. Like any other Gen Z, I gave “rea-

sons for reality TV addiction” a quick Google search to find endless stories titled along the lines of “Here’s why you’re addicted to reality TV.” Researchers from across the web mention “hyper-authenticity,” which is when viewers are able to compare and contrast their lives from those on the show. I found truth in this information: I remembered my grandfather the night of the FIFA world cup, screaming at the TV every time his favorite team missed a shot, as if he could do any better. This shows the same comparison within a viewer and normal television as it does with a viewer and

the competitor on a reality TV show such as American Ninja Warrior. But me?

What talents or interests do I have that I would compare as to being better than to those on a show?

Then I remembered my younger self who wanted to be Paris Hilton and achieve her celebrity status. The answer lies within myself—not only in my brain but in my aspirations too.

Maybe it wasn’t the competition factor but more so the fame and fortune that I was attracted to. Odyssey mentions that fans of their favorite TV show are able to fantasize about desired fame through status, and that reality television allows

them to do so.

The article also mentions that most people will hold you in high regards if you are popular or famous.

Therefore, whether or not people like Kim Kardashian get negative attention, the fact that America tunes in to watch her show means that she must be “important”.

I have dreamt of being famous one day and still idolize my favorite authors, actors and singers for having a career where the public audience loves them. But is comparing myself to those on a show concerning?

I may not be doing any crazy stunts, but how does reality TV affect my health?

Life and Style magazine

debated a question of the images reality portrays of expectations on physical appearance and whether body image judgment is motivating or depreciating. Shows like Naked Attraction, where people get undressed and look sexy for a television show, do not motivate me or show me the behindthe-scenes to the fame and fortune I desire.

These types of shows can send negative body image messages our society already struggles with. Reality TV turns the objectification of people into a form of entertainment, but is that how much we want our younger siblings to value themselves?

Although Real Housewives of LA or The Simple Life don’t portray body image messages as heavily or obviously as others do, they still captivate the idea of luxury and fame.

Reality television may show behind-the-scenes of these famous lives but they never seem to really tell how those on the show earned their place on it? Was it hard work or was it simply handed to them? If it was handed to them why should we idolize that?

I believe that there needs to be more caution about what we desire based on what we see and what messages the shows are giving and what values they are promoting. I will definitely be giving it a second thought before tuning in with all of America to enjoy my dose of reality TV.

Photo courtesy of Amazon, ABC and Vulture, Logopedia, Variety, Under Cosnideration,

Opinion

Feb. 1, 2019

5

A year into Parkland, nothing has changed

by Sonia Wadher Staff Writer

On February 14, 2018, seventeen people were killed in cold blood at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida.

Nineteen-year-old former student, Nikolas Cruz, confessed to the horrific crime and was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder.

Almost one year ago

today, Cruz had taken an Uber to Stoneman Douglas High School, pulled a fire alarm, and started firing his rifle at fleeing students.

The shooting happened over the span of six minutes and twenty seconds before Cruz abandoned his weapon and walked out of the school blending in with students as they were led out by the police force.

He walked free for three hours before being arrested and detained by police.

Fourteen children and three teachers lost their lives while another seventeen people were injured.

This shooting has been considered the deadliest shooting at a high school, exceeding the infamous Columbine High School

massacre.

Days after the shooting, students gathered back at Stoneman Douglas High School to speak about the events that had occurred.

Many talked about the friends and teachers they had lost, while others stood quietly.

No number of code red drills, exercises, posters, or videos could ever begin to prepare an individual for the horrors of a school shooting.

However these students, who had been targeted just days before, had taken the opportunity to voice their opinions on gun control and gun violence.

Emma Gonzalez, a senior, survived the shooting and became a guncontrol reformist. She and a few of her fellow peers

established the Never Again MSD, which according to Wikipedia, is “an American student-led political action committee for gun control that advocates for tighter regulations to prevent gun violence.”

The idea for this was to encourage gun control advocacy and gun legislation reform.

Emma Gonzales and her fellow peers gained attention across America and their Twitter hashtags, #WeCallBS and #NeverAgain, went viral.

Almost one month later, students led the March For Our Lives movement to show their support for tighter gun control laws.

The March For Our Lives gained nationwide support. It started with a

17-minute student walkout: a minute each for each of the victims that lost their lives in the shooting.

However, one year later and nothing has changed: we have averaged an approximate one shooting every week for the past year.

Florida passed a bill titled the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, which changed the legal age of buying firearms to 21 with background checks and other hazards taken into precaution.

As a junior in high school, this shooting opened my eyes to what could become a reality for any of us. With all that is going on in our country, it has become normal to have any type of shooting happen, whether it be in school

or on the streets.

I believe that as we are approaching the legal age to vote, we should vote for something that can make a better change in our country, where someone feels comfortable enough to go outside and doesn’t need to worry about getting shot or attacked.

Unfortunately, achieving this goal will take a lot more cooperation on the part of the American public and government.

Other than one bill passed by the Florida governor, no other laws in any other states have been passed as of now.

Living spontaneously Makeup dupes = fake

by Abigail Mingus Staff Writer

“Spontaneous” can be an intimidating word for many. The concept of living out of your comfort zone or taking risks or making a decision with little to no thought can be challenging and scary.

For those who do live life outside their comfort zones, this has become a lifestyle, as it fuels the way decisions are made about everyday things.

But there is a common misconception with this lifestyle that being more adventurous means becoming more reckless.

Spontaneity stems from the concept of freedom: being able to make decisions for yourself and having a more open mind.

According to The Medium, “you can still be spontaneous even when you have plans”. In most of one’s daily life, people feel pressured to make decisions and plan ahead which causes an endless routine.

As The Medium discusses the importance of balance between planning and spontaneity, “the planner exists to serve you, not the other way around.”

According to The Telegraph, setting aside time for spontaneous activities, although it may sound contradictory, will force an individual to become more adventurous.

There are many benefits to living more spontaneously according to Elite Daily. Most important,

being able to find one’s true passions and someone’s source of happiness. Taking risks especially when it comes to activities or hobbies can reveal one’s true joys in life.

Another large reason is to prevent burnout. Keeping a more adventurous mindset can ensure a joyful and satisfying career. This can also allow for an overall more enjoyable future.

Elite Daily discusses a gateway to living spontaneously, is a solo trip. This doesn’t mean necessarily traveling across the world.

Taking an unexpected road trip or just a long drive can introduce the concept of individual decisionmaking.

This can also include simply just getting on the bus and getting off somewhere that seems interesting to you. Elite Daily states that this can create the ability to “make [one’s] own itinerary, without having to compromise.”

Ways to become more spontaneous, according to The Telegraph, can also include things such as practicing a passion, like cooking or music. Another option can be an improv class and even spending time with children.

Not only does this allow for individual time and growth but it can also open up social opportunities and potential life long relationships.

When it comes to this lifestyle the biggest thing stopping people is fear. Fear of poor choices or a faulty outcome, but in reality the only potential outcome for a vast majority of decisions is failure.

According to Takespace, the number one thing keeping individuals from living their best life is the fear of failing.

According to the Huffington Post, “Identifying an error when it occurs allows you to break free of closed loop failure leading to new potential solutions.”

This can be anything from learning how to ride a bike to inventing the newest electronic devices.

Fear is the driving factor in most situations in life, good or bad. It’s important to know that fear can be a positive thing that can push people into fantastic new situations and opportunities.

Becoming more spontaneous doesn’t have to be a hassle, and for some people, it may just not be the right fit. But if an individual is looking for a change or a chance to release the boredom and emptiness of certain aspects of their life, attempting to make more impulsive choices can open up a world of opportunities.

Spontaneity doesn’t need to be an all the time occurrence and it can involve some sort of plan. Too many spontaneous actions can create a more stressful life, meaning that finding balance is key.

There are no rules to this lifestyle except to simply have an open mind and remember that at the end of the day everyone has the power to try and change their life.

Drawing courtesy of Anubha Gupta

by Maddy Garcia Staff Writer

Whether you are obsessed with makeup or just use it casually, you may come across the choice between buying inexpensive drug store or “dupe makeup” or splurging on a more high-end brand.

Although makeup “dupes” may seem affordable at the time, the money you save may end up going toward buying acne products due to the harmful effects of cheap makeup.

If you are always on a tight budget or do not prioritize makeup, you might find fake or drugstore makeup to work in your favor.

However, recently, several social media influencers and YouTubers have come across fake brands, which scam buyers by selling them a cheaper version of the product, both in price and quality.

In the past couple of months, makeup dupes have been becoming more relevant since more fake makeup seem to be popping up whenever the newest products are released.

Usually, I would say go for a fake fashion product such as a cheaper designer handbag or less inexpensive watch, but don’t be dragged into a false sense of security when it comes to fake makeup.

In some places like Los Angeles and New York, you can see multiple stands and mall kiosks selling counterfeits versions of MAC, Morphe, Anastasia, Kylie Lip kits, and Urban Decay. And those are just a few of the popular brands.

What makes fake makeup so tempting to buy for most consumers is that the price of the counterfeit items can be 90 percent cheaper from the authentic brand.

Counterfeit makeup is also illegal.

Recently in 2018, “the Los Angeles Police Department raided the city’s fashion district and seized $700,000 worth of counterfeit cosmetics [within just a month],” according to Kimberly Holland,

news editor of Healthline.

When criminal gangs mix up whatever mystery ingredient for their so-called makeup to sell to unsuspecting consumers, they do not care what goes into the concoction as long as it looks somewhat like the real product.

These are not chemists with degrees mixing up batches of eyeshadows and lip kits. They are street educated people looking for any way to make money, even if it means scamming people. What buyers end up getting is an allergic reaction instead of a pigmented shimmer gloss.

Although some people might think this is not an important concern, many of us enjoy using makeup. A dash of translucent powder, a streak of lip-gloss, and the perfect streak of liner, for example, are part of people’s daily routines. Without it, some would feel incomplete.

Unfortunately, the harmful effects of fake makeup are not just limited to skin issues. There are a variety of health problems that can occur after multiple uses.

Lipsticks and eyeshadows found at Santee Alley, an infamous fake makeup distributor found in Los Angeles, were found to contain lead that advanced to affecting the nervous system, leading to high blood pressure, allergies, and even decreased rates of infertility.

“Before you hand over your hard-earned money, though, keep this in mind: It could be counterfeit, and—in addition to buying something that’s not the real deal—you are also risking your health by buying and using products that may contain substandard or even dangerous substances,” according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

There have been many scary tweets these past few weeks of people sharing out their personal experiences with fake up casing awful things to their skin. For example twitter user, “jasmineglen” tweeted that her fake Kylie lip kit contained gasoline in it. Another user by the name ‘emma morgan’ said her lips were puffy and bright red after she had an allergic reaction to the glue found in another fake lipstick.

Although counterfeit makeup might seem cheap and convenient, everyone should be aware of all the precautions and spend a little extra money to avoid getting damaged skin and ultimately wasting their money altogether.

Photo courtesy of FreeIconsPNG

Special Feature

Feb. 1, 2019

6

THE POLITICS OF ART

an artist’s talent make THE Does POLITICS OF MUSIC them above basic morals?

The Tainted History of the R&B Pied Piper

By Ambika Vaidya

Among the most prominent sexual assault allegations in the 21st century, perhaps none are as well connected to the R&B community as those that the “Pied Piper of R&B” has faced.

Singer and former basketball player R. Kelly has had sexual abuse allegations tainting his extremely successful career as a R&B and hip hop artist for nearly two decades. Kelly’s history of sexual misconduct started with his illegal marriage to the late American singer Aaliyah.

According to Biography, Kelly’s relationship with the teenager Aaliyah was initiated in 1994 when he was her mentor and helped her produce her first album Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number. That same year, a 27-year old Kelly married a 15-year old Aaliyah.

However, Aaliyah’s family had the marriage annulled in 1995. Soon after, the following year, Kelly married Andrea Lee. In 2002, shortly before Kelly was due to perform at the Winter Olympics, the Chicago Sun-Times ran a story

Double Standards in the Rap Industry

By Shira Agmon

on a surfaced video of Kelly having sexual intercourse with an underaged girl.

Though in following interviews, Kelly claimed that he was not the man in the video, he was nevertheless indicted on child pornography charges and arrested in 2003. Yet, despite the video and further images of Kelly with an alleged minor, the singer was acquitted of all charges in 2008.

Ten years later, in 2018, after the release of the BBC documentary R. Kelly: Sex, Girls, and Videotapes, a former partner of Kelly’s stated that he purposely gave her a sexually transmitted disease— a claim that Kelly denied. Additionally, the documentary also showed another

girlfriend of Kelly’s claiming that he had groomed other underrage girls to have sex with him.

With the rise of the #MeToo movement as well as Time’s Up, Kelly has faced a significant amount of backlash from society. The social media campaign #MuteRKelly proposed to boycott Kelly’s performances and music. Additionally, the Lifetime documentary series Surviving R. Kelly strives to reach out to victims of Kelly’s sexual misconduct and gives them a chance to make their stories heard on screen.

It is about time that celebrities like Kelly, who have escaped major backlash for their sexual harassment for decades together, are brought out into the light.

With the Harvey Wein-

“Sex sells” is a phrase that is often used in the entertainment industry.

It means advertising sexual images or sounds to arouse interest in a product or brand, typically using attractive women or men to draw in new customers.

Musicians have been applying this technique to their careers as well, whether it’s them or their background dancers wearing provocative clothing in their videos to get more recognition and views.

A popular topic of discussion has been the praise a male singer gets when he posts a sexually provocative video and the negative reactions a female singer gets when she does the same.

Over the years, there have been many songs that started controversies because of their inappropriate music videos and some that should have been talked about more.

One of the most well-known music controversies is Anaconda by Nicki Minaj.

The song is part of her third album “The Pinkprint” and was released on August 4, 2014. The music video was released on August 19, 2014. The song was very popular and it broke the 24-hour streaming record with 19.6 million views. With all those views came a lot of reactions, at

stein sexual allegations serving as a catalyst, other celebrities with histories of sexual misconduct are being dealt with at last. Kelly’s songs are relatively “old” and the majority of his sexual misconduct crimes were exposed to the world when many of us high school students were young. Nevertheless, hopefully, with the help of documentaries such as Surviving R. Kelly and R. Kelly: Sex, Girls, and Videotapes, the younger generation can be aware of the Pied Piper’s dark history.

first they were mostly positive; Kory Grow from Rolling Stone talked about the use of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s Baby Got Back sample and how “the song itself stayed true to the theme of the original”.

Amy Davidson from Digital Spy gave the song three out of five stars and said that “Nicki’s breaking down barriers.”

Even Sir Mix-a-Lot chimed in and said that he has “a whole new level of respect for Minaj”.

The song was placed number two on MTV’s Best Songs of 2014. However, there were a lot of people who didn’t see the song in a good light. The London Economic called it “one of the worst songs ever”, and National Review said the song was “degrading” and promoted drug abuse and prostitution.

Nahariya, a city in Israel, even banned the song from playing at concerts and sports events. They claimed the song is a “violation to women’s dignity” and encouraged a “culture of rape and humiliation for women”.

All of these things are true. Most of the video is Nicki shaking her butt at the camera and giving a lap dance to a seemingly uncomfortable Drake at the end. But is anyone actually offended by this video?

Girl, you know you got a body/ Where’d you get your little body?

- R. Kelly

Nicki using her sexuality to sell her music is not at all surprising.

Even though the video itself might not be “feminist” or “empowering” to my standards (she does eat whipped cream off of herself after all), I applaud her for being able to feel comfortable enough in her body to show it off.

The next song, Swalla by Jason Derulo, features rappers Ty Dolla $ign and Nicki Minaj (with a little more coverage this time).

There was a lot of hype around the song when it first came out, and it got a lot of positive reviews; Mike Wass from Idolator called the song a hooked-filled banger and referred to it as a “no brainer for pop radio and the likely soundtrack to every party for the six months”. Distracttv talked about Derulo’s background dancers and said they were “truly flexing to the melody and one of the main highlights of the video”.

When I was looking at reviews of the song, almost none of them talked about how the females were portrayed in the video. It starts with Jason Derulo sitting on the floor while half-naked dancers are laying on the floor around him, twerking.

During the chorus, the girls are practically

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T e r s o a v A s s f

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Special Feature

Feb. 1, 2019

7

By Samhitha Tumkur If you’re ever on Twitter, you are probably familiar with the term, “cancel culture.”

It’s everywhere, and almost impossible to avoid. “This celebrity is cancelled,” “This company is cancelled,” there’s always someone or something being subject to cancellation. It can range from Kanye West’s being cancelled because of his ideologies about slavery and Donald Trump to the cancellation of Dean Martin’s Christmas classic, “Baby It’s Cold Outside.”

Cancel culture, as a social media related term, refers to the complete shunning of problematic people, and things.

Websites like Urban Dictionary define it as “to dismiss something/somebody. To reject an individual or an idea.”

From my own observations, there seem to be different levels to cancel culture, one of which celebrities and influencers exhibit so-called “problematic” attitudes and promote hateful or harmful rhetoric and another level where people simply become “cancelled” for expressing different ideologies.

Where Do We Draw the Line?

Paul, West was almost unaffected by this cancellation as his recent album Ye debuted at No. 1 on Billboard.

However, there have also been rare occurrences where people who were called out for racist or problematic were significantly affected by their actions.

Bill O’Reilly, a top-rated FOX news anchor, was forced out of the company because of multiple sexual assault allegations.

There have also been instances where old tweets of famous people resurface with words, humor, or ideologies that have not aged well. For example, Twitter icon Brother Nature, who is known for his interactions with deer, had his tweets from when he was still a young teenager exposed. These tweets consisted of Hitler jokes and despite the age of those tweets and the influencer apologizing for them, people still insisted on canceling and unfollowing him.

Even though cancel culture can be an effective tool to fight back against certain hateful rhetoric, there must be a

Nearly every artist faces a scandal at some point in their career, but at what point does a mistake or slip of the tongue become unforgivable? How does someone decide whether or not to continue giving their support? Where is the line between supporting what an artist creates and what they choose to do with their lives?

This question is a difficult one to answer, as it can be extremely dependent on circumstance and personal conviction. Various artists have been declared “cancelled” via social media, but the reasons behind these controversies can be subjective. While artists such as R. Kelly have faced backlash for alleged violence and abuse, some people claim that his actions don’t affect whether or not they listen to his music.

There are also artists who have not committed felonies that face the same knowing where to draw the Frank line. Now judgment.

Ocean, an openly biif you’ll excuse me, I have to artist, delete has my faced resentment sexual R&B search history. from fans, losing support from some after coming out to the public. Previous-fans have argued that they can no longer support his love songs, knowing they are written about men.

By Sydney Sharp

grinding over Derulo and are licking lollipops in an oversexualized way which is slightly uncomfortable to watch.

In the second part of the song, where Ty Dolla $ign is introduced, the dancers get up close and personal with the rappers, touching them while they are singing and dancing on them as well. At one point Derulo even takes his shirt off and picks up a dancer in slow motion in a very sexual and somewhat awkward way.

A lot happens in the second chorus. To summarize it, just more uncomfortable sexual dancing and a combination of clips from the video so far.

Then Nicki Minaj comes in. Surprisingly, there wasn’t anything too sexual about her performance and her verse was probably the best part of the song. The part that comes after her though, in which a girl that is fully naked, is covered with wet paint all over her body, was kind of hard to ignore when watching the video.

Overall, the music industry is full of many different types of songs and music videos, with some appropriate and some not. The key is to know the difference between creating interesting visuals for the video and objectifying women for the purpose of entertainment. It’s all about

In one of the more extreme cases, at the beginning of 2018, Youtuber Logan Paul filmed a dead body in a Japanese forest known to be a destination for suicides and posted it onto his Youtube channel. In addition to exposing his audience (of mainly young children) to a dead body, Paul proceeded to joke about it, coming across as insensitive to his audience and to the as well. As news of this spread, Paul was considered ‘cancelled.’

After Paul was met with an onslaught of angry responses toward his video, he released another video apologizing for his insensitive behavior.

Although the internet seemed to reject his apology, Paul still maintained his popularity and even made the Forbes list of the highest earning Youtubers in 2018.

Like Paul, Kanye West, a famous rapper, has also been “cancelled” after he revealed that he supported the current sitting president, Donald Trump, and claimed through one of his tweets that slavery was a choice. Similar to

I feel that anyone should have the right to boycott or listen to an artist; they are entitled to have the choice of where to put their money. But it is an entirely different issue when someone chooses to defend an artist’s questionable actions just because they appreciate their art.

Celebrities have become deified by the media, portrayed as perfect and untouchable figures. It is because of this facade that many people choose to defend them and deny their allegations.

These conflicts have only become more relevant with movements such as #MeToo bringing previously-hidden offenses to light. One of these offenses involves famed actor, Johnny Depp, who allegedly assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard in 2016. According to Heard, “Johnny continued screaming at [her], pulling [her] hair, striking [her] and violently grabbing [her] face.” She even went as far as sharing photos of her injuries to the public as proof for her claims.

Yet despite these allegations, fans of Depp immediately came to his defense, accusing Heard of lying for press

limit to which cancel culture is put into effect. Although people have the right to boycott certain people, they must first and foremost understand that no one is truly perfect. No one is so “woke” to the point where they are immune to problematic behavior. It is also important to know that people’s beliefs change over time and we, as a collective community, must be open to apologies.

Regardless of what your stance on cancel culture is, this form of social boycotting ultimately only exists online and does not apply in real life as such “cancelled” people are still successful and have fans regardless of their actions. In many cases, it is almost impossible to get people to change their beliefs and “canceling” only isolates the person with those ideas.

The only way to translate cancel culture into real life is for people to vocally express their discomfort and condemn the people who made them feel that way and possibly educate others who might be influenced by their words. Tolerance of opposing views

attention.

While I have no quarrel with people who still choose to enjoy Johnny Depp films, I do not think it is acceptable to completely ignore what he has done. The same mentality can be applied to all artists accused of crimes.

I agree that everyone has a right to enjoy what they want, whether it be music, film or another form of art, but I do not believe that anyone’s personal talents can completely excuse their actions.

Artists have great talent, but this does not put them above basic moral standards. If someone chooses to support the art of an individual with a controversial past, they are within their rights to do so. Simply enjoying something shouldn’t be scrutinized, especially when it doesn’t harm others.

But by choosing to remain blind to the controversy because of the art, you are blatantly insulting the people that have been negatively impacted by these artists.

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Photo credits: Clipart Library, AaronMonsterLG, PTAC Alaska, Clipart Panda, Clipart Panda, DLPNG, Twitter

Arts & Entertainment Anticipation for the 2019 Grammys grows 8

Feb. 1, 2019

Trixie Rodriguez A&E Editor

There’s no time of the year like award show season.

The glitz, the glamour, the coveted golden statues and of course, the grief and glee of celebrity winners and losers. The 61st Grammys is less than a month away so here is the rundown on everything Grammys.

Alicia Keys, 15 time Grammy winner, and human rights activist is set to host on February 10th. This will be Alicia’s first time hosting the Grammys or any other major award show.

One of the things she is best known for is her spot as a judge on NBC’s hit show, The Voice.

This year’s Grammy nominations were released

on December 7th. The nominations sparked controversy and shock throughout the internet with front-runners such as Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift noticeably absent from major categories. One Twitter user went as far as to say “we can all agree that the Grammys this year is trash. Taylor Swift saved pop music in 2017 and 2018. It’s time for her to save The Grammys.”

However, there were some things the Grammys did get right this year.

Pulitzer Award-winning, Kendrick Lamar continues his amazing year, with a whopping 8 nominations.

This was also a winning year for women in the industry. Country darlings, Megan Morris and Kacey

Musgraves were finally able to break into other categories. Cardi B, who rose to stardom in 2017 after the release of her smash hit, Bodack Yellow, was also recognized with 5 nominations.

One of the best things about the Grammys are the live performances. It looks as if this year is no different. Some of the celebrity performers include Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello and first time Grammy nominees, Dan + Shay.

There is nothing better than the satisfaction of predicting the big winner of the night. This year there are many predictions circulating the internet and here are some of the standouts.

Janelle Monae has

A host-less Oscars

by Vikash Kumar Staff Writer

On Sunday, February 24, 2019, the 91st Academy Awards or the Oscars will be held to recognize the many actors, actresses, directors and producers that have made incredible movies and short films in 2018. This year’s Academy Awards will be held at the Dolby Theatre, in Los Angeles, California.

This year’s award show currently has no host and it seems as if that will not be changing anytime soon.

The original host was set to be Kevin Hart, a famous comedian and actor. This all changed when Hart’s homophobic tweets from 10 years ago resurfaced. The executives of the Oscars then issued Hart an ultimatum: apologize or step down as host. Hart refused to apologize, saying that he had already addressed the tweets multiple times and felt like the media was

targeting him.

As of now, this will be the first Oscars in nearly three decades that has no host. According to Vox, the Oscars will not continue the tradition of having a set host, but instead will have multiple celebrity guest hosts that come in to introduce segments, hand out awards, and even play musical numbers. They also say that the Avengers will make an appearance, as well as other famous celebrities.

Award show season is the busiest time of year for celebrities as there are many situations that can affect the outcome of who wins. During the Golden Globe awards, which was held on January 6th, 2019, many movies were awarded.

Movies like Spiderman, Into The Spider Verse, and Bohemian Rhapsody have already won Golden Globe awards. Spiderman, Into The Spider Verse was awarded as the Best Animated Motion Picture of the year, as

it deserved. Interestingly enough, the outcome of the Golden Globes do not have an impact on the Oscars results.

Predictions for the Oscars have been circulating since they are only a month away. Some predictions that have been circulating include Incredibles 2 for Best Animated Feaure and Alfonso and Roma for Best Picture. Although, these are just predictions both of thee movies have recieved critical and commercial praise.

The Oscars are an amazing opportunity for the film industry to recognize and honor the directors, actors and actresses that have achieved excellence in their field. Movies give people an escape and relfect the world we live in. Make sure to watch the ceremony on February 24th to join thousands in the celebration of film.

Kevin Hart & Twitter

by Enrique Alfaro Staff Writer

On December 6, 2018, homophobic tweets from the comedian and actor Kevin Hart resurfaced. Hart was set to be the host of the 2019 Oscars when the tweets resurfaced. He told the public that he had apologized for his remarks before and that people should stop focusing on his past.

However, people who are truly remorseful are usually willing to apologize at any point in time. His refusal to issue a second apology lead him to step down from his host status.

Ellen Degeneres, an LGBTQ icon, has publicly voiced her support of Kevin Hart and encouraged him to host the ceremony. This resulted in a public backlash against Degeneres for back-

ing someone with a history of homophobia. Hollywood Reporter said that “The interview clips [between Hart and Degeneres] proved divisive on Twitter, with some feeling that DeGeneres was giving Hart a pass for his homophobic comments.”

The problem is bigger than just Kevin Hart. Homophobia runs rampant in the entertainment industry.

Eminem and Blake Shelton are among the perpetrators.

Eminem has faced criticism for slurs used in his music and Blake Shelton has had to deal with the consequences of old hompohpic tweets much like Hart. Both have since apologized.

What makes this a standout occurence is that it has left entertainment’s biggest night without a front man. This is the first time

this has happened in decades. As of right now there remains no official host for the 2019 Oscars. Twitter expressed interest in celebrities such as Tiffany Haddish and John Mulaney.

The incident has started conversations surrounding homophobia and cancel culture with valid arguments on both sides. Some people feel that Hart was being unfairly “attacked” and if a white celebrity had made the same comments their behavior would not be scrutinized in the same manner.

The conversation is also a great reminder to today’s youth that Instagram post are permanent. This is why it is important to be careful.

Moreover decent.

always been a critic favorite and this year is no different with her revered album, Dirty Computers predicted to take Album of the Year.

This year there are two posthumous nominations for Mac Miller, who died this September, and Chris Cornell who died in May. These deaths hit the music industry hard. Cornell took his own life and Miller had been fighting addiction for a long time when he overdosed. Hopefully, the Grammys will take a moment to address these growing issues. Miller’s parents are reported to be attending the event in their son’s honor.

Tune in at 5:00 PM on Febrauray 10th to be a part of the biggest night in music!

Photo courtesy of Spotify

PICTURED above, Dirty Computers by Janelle Monáe is expected to be named Album of the Year.

Oscar Nominations Best Animated Feature Incredibles 2 Isle of Dogs Mirai Ralph Breaks the Internet Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Best Actress

Yalitza Aparicio (Roma) Glenn Close (The Wife) Olivia Colman (The Favourite) Lady Gaga (A Star Is Born) Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)

Best Director

Alfonso Cuaron (Roma) Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite) Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman) Adam McKay (Vice) Pawel Pawlikowski (Cold War)

Best Picture

Black Panther BlacKkKlansman Bohemian Rhapsody The Favourite Green Book Roma A Star Is Born Vice

Best Actor

Christian Bale (Vice) Bradley Cooper (A Star Is Born) Willem Dafoe (At Eternity’s Gate) Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) Viggo Mortensen (Green Book)

Photos courtesy of Pinterest

Arts & Entertainment Blue and orange, the food trucks review 9

Feb. 1, 2019

by Caroline He Editor-in-Chief

Pupusa Callajera

Orange Food Truck

When I was a freshman, there were only two places in walking distance if you wanted to go off campus for lunch:

K’s Crepes and Falafel Stop. We now (thankfully) have more options, which include the two food trucks set up across the street.

Both food trucks serve Latin American street food.

Comparing the two, the orange food truck is cheaper in price, but the blue food truck, which is called Pupusa Callejera, appears to offer a larger variety of street food such as plantanos fritos and nachos. The nachos cost $8.25, and you can also pick the type of meat you want to add. The nachos are savory, and they have a good balance between the ingredients. Both food trucks also sell pupusas made in-house.

Pupusa Callajera seems to

sell out of them regularly. I have tried to order pupusas four times after school, and they’ve been sold out all but once. If you are interested in buying these seemingly popular menu items, get to the truck early.

The orange food truck is more likely to have pupusas available. They are very similar to the ones at Pupusa Callajera in texture and in taste. The pupusas have a sort of doughy texture and a corny aftertaste that goes well with the savory fillings.

Moving on, both the orange and blue food truck sell tacos for around two dollars each before tax. The orange food truck seems to dice the onions on the taco in larger chunks compared to the blue food truck, and they use different tortillas to contain the meat and condi-

ments. Between the two, the orange food truck also has spicier tacos. Personally, I have weak taste buds, so I prefer the tacos from the blue food truck since they are milder.

Both food trucks also sell burritos and quesadillas.

Pupusa Callajera sells burritos for $9.50. You can pick the type of meat you want out of a list, which includes brisket and fried pork. The burritos themselves are pretty filling.

Overall, I think they are tasty, but there is a bit too much sauce in them for me. My spice tolerance is terrible, but I actually prefer the burritos from the orange food truck because they taste more crisp and fresher.

The orange food truck also has more options when it comes to the cost of the

burrito. You can get a regular burrito for eight dollars or a super burrito for nine dollars, while you can only buy one type of burrito for $9.50 in the blue food truck.

During lunch, especially on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the two food trucks are very busy.

If you want to avoid long lines, I would visit the food trucks after school. Even if you get caught in a long line, the wait time is fairly short anyway.

Comparing the two, though, the orange food truck generally has a shorter wait time and is less busy overall.

I personally prefer the orange food truck to Pupusa

Callajera because it is more convenient for me to get to and because they have larger portions for similar, if not, cheaper prices. Both food trucks are very good and worth a try if you have not already.

Caroline He | The Phoenix

Spoken word Instagram Confessions at FUHSD

by Atharv Panditrao

by Jay Ghate

Staff Writer

Staff Writer

The purpose of spoken word poetry is to perform an original poem on a subject that the reciter is passionate about. There is no “correct” way to write spoken word poetry, and performers Phil Kaye and Sarah Kay demonstrated just that.

Phil and Sarah have been performing spoken word poetry for many years all over the country.

It has been a decade since their first performance at Fremont High School. To this day, high schoolers remain their favorite audience to perform in front of.

“I fell in love with poetry as a high schooler, and so I remember what it felt like at that age, so getting to watch other students that age falling in love with poetry, it’s like getting to fall in love with it again,” Kay said.

Their poems were relatable and unique. Before reciting their poems, Phil and Sarah always explained the poem’s significance, which enabled the audience to appreciate their poems even more.

Sarah recited poems about youth and love, and Phil discussed issues like family and heartbreak. Together, Phil and Sarah nailed it with their talent for words and charisma. The poets were able to incorporate a wide variety of subjects into their performances. They performed several poems together, and these focused on how to find inspiration and how the expectations they had about love in seventh grade changed as they reached adulthood.

They both wanted the audience to learn something from their performance.

“We want them to have exposure to spoken art, poetry and excitement about the ability to express ourselves in whatever way you like,” Kaye said. “What’s exciting for me is the challenge of telling your own story using your body and your voice.”

“For some, this is their first time listening to spoken word poetry,” Kay said. “I hope this will spark a curiosity in you and you will want to seek out more of it at Fremont and in the area.”

A new trend at Fremont High School has surfaced: the FUHSD love letters Instagram account. The account is essentially a place where FUHSD students can anonymously send in their confessions to their crush.

These confessions will then be posted by the account’s owner. Each admission is also anonymous, and most of them only include the name of the person whom it is meant to be sent to.

The account was started as an option for people who couldn’t say what they wanted to say or didn’t have any closure with their crushes. It was meant to be a safe place for people to express their emotions and feelings without fearing possible confrontations or embarrassment.

The FUHSD love letters account currently has over 1,400 followers from all over the district. However, it is predominantly made up of letters from FHS students.

While many of these confessions are serious, some of them are written jokingly and are comical.

“I like the serial ones,

the ones who have been given nicknames, because they show up so much,” said the account’s owner, who has chosen to stay anonymous.

To send a letter, students can either send a Direct Message or post anonymously through a site called sarahah. Some of the comical letters are posted on the account’s Instagram story, while more serious ones are generally posted on the account’s wall.

The account was founded on Christmas. It has been revealed that the owner is a sophomore at Fremont.

Each post is colorcoded depending on what school the sender is from: pink if they are from Fremont; green if they are from Homestead; light blue if they are from Lynbrook; tan if they are from Cupertino; purple if they are from Monta Vista; and white if it is unspecified.

Students enjoy the account because of its humor and the sense of community that it promotes among students and their friends.

The account has become extremely popular.

Since its setup, the account has accumulated hundreds

of followers and has posted over 400 confessions. It also receives many sarahah confessions every day.

To see more confessions, love letters, heartfelt messages and comical comments, visit @fuhsdlovelet-

Photo courtesy of fuhsdloveletters

Lime bikes move Fremont students around

by Clarissa Bunker Staff Writer

Community electric bikes are a growing trend in the Bay Area, and now it is arriving in Sunnyvale. One of the most popular electric bike companies is Lime Bikes. These bright green motorized bicycles can be seen all over Fremont.

Although these electric bikes can be ridden and left anywhere at a reasonable cost, there has been opposition to the distribution of them around the city.

The main problem with the increasing popularity of these bikes is that they are beginning to appear everywhere, mainly in places where they are not wanted.

This includes on school campuses. This problem is rapidly escalating and growing out of control.

According to The Orlando Sentinel many people are getting frustrated with the widespread mess caused by these bikes. Residents are upset about the fact that they get placed anywhere

and they are not even being locked up. It’s an eyesore for some people as well because most of the time, the bikes are just left on sidewalks.

This phenomenon started on the Fremont campus in early December.

Fremont’s staff has a few concerns about this issue.

“Neither FHS or FUHSD were working with the company to place the bikes here,” Dean of Students Chris Moore said. “It was a complete surprise to all of us.”

Currently, the school is working with the City of Sunnyvale to gather more information. Students face a lot of danger as well when using these bikes, so there is a bit of concern surrounding the topic.

“We are concerned that these bikes are being left around the area of FHS either blocking the sidewalks and/or being left on our property,” Moore said. “Additionally, we are concerned that by placing the bikes in this location entices stu-

dents under the age of 18 to ride them without a helmet in violation of the California vehicle code.”

Though the bikes were not supposed to be placed in front of schools, these bikes have helped some students in need of transportation, making it much easier and convenient to go from place to place.

“I was curious to see how it worked, and I wanted to see if it was a good option for me to get to/from school everyday.” Cerys Edwards,

a senior at Fremont, said when she saw a few parked on Fremont’s campus. The bike ended up being great and it was very easy to ride.

Although the new introduction of Lime Bikes has affected the Sunnyvale community negatively, it is still a very helpful mode of transportation for some despite the dangers some might face when riding these bikes.

Arts & Entertainment 10

Movies to hit the big screen in 2019

by Thomas Poplawski Staff Writer

2019 will be a big year for movies. From animation to action and comedies, there is sure to be a reason to go to the theaters this year.

February is a great month for animated movies. The long awaited sequel to The Lego Movie and the How to Train Your Dragon movie franchise are set to come out. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, which stars Chris Pratt and Elizabeth Banks, will hit theaters on February 8th. This movie will revolve around restoring harmony to the LEGOUniverse after the first

movie. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, starring Jay Baruchel and Cate Blanchett, will premiere on February 8th. This movie will have Hiccup and Toothless heading into the Hidden World to save Earth and their dragon utopia.

In March, the first of three live-action remakes

by Disney, Dumbo, will be released to theaters. This movie will follow the same story as the original Disney classic. Captain Marvel will also hit theaters and will be about Captain Marvel, whose other name is Carol Danvers, being stuck in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races.

This will be the first Marvel Cinematic Universe movie since Ant-Man and The Wasp.

The second Marvel movie this year will be Avengers: Endgame, the continuation of Avengers: Infinity War. The returning cast to this movie includes Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo and Chris Hemsworth.

Beginning in April, Warner Bros. will also release a superhero movie, Shazam!, which will star Zachary Levi and Asher Angel. This movie will be about the origins of DC’s Shazam and how he fares against the villain Dr. Thaddeus Sivana.

In May, the next Warner Bros. production, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, starring Ryan Reynolds and Justice Smith, comes out.

The movie revolves around Detective Pikachu assisting in finding the main character’s father.

Also coming out in May is John Wick 3: Parabellum, which stars Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and Halle Berry. The story revolves around John Wick attempting to escape assassins trying to claim the $14 million on his head.

Ending off the month is the next live action remake from Disney: Aladdin, which stars Will Smith, Naomi Scott and Mena Massoud.

This remake will also follow the main storyline of the Disney classic.

In the beginning of June, The Secret Life of Pets 2, which will star Kevin

Hart, Harrison Ford and Patton Oswalt, comes out.

The movie will continue the story of the first movie with the lives of the pets being played out after their owners leave.

Men in Black: International , starring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson from Thor: Ragnarok in 2017, comes out in June as well. This movie is about the Men in Black fighting off aliens who have made it to Earth.

At the end of June, the fourth installment to the Toy Story franchise, which will star Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, will be released.

The movie’s plot has yet to be announced as of this issue.

July delivers the final Marvel Studios movie in 2019: Spider-Man: Far From Home, which will star Tom Holland and Zendaya. This movie will have Peter Parker and Nick Fury attempting to prevent Mysterio from destroying Europe.

The Lion King, the final live-action remake from Disney this year, will also come out, but the date of its release has yet to be

announced.

The Lion King is set to star Béyonce, Donald Glover and Seth Rogen. The final remake will also follow the same story of the original Disney classic.

The fall season movies begin with Joker, which will star Joaquin Phoenix and Robert De Niro in October. This movie is set around the DC character’s origin story.

Later in November, the Sonic the Hedgehog movie, which will star Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, and James Marsden, will be released.

The movie revolves around Sonic teaming up with a police officer and trying to stop Dr. Eggman.

Ending off the month comes the sequel to Frozen with Frozen 2 by Disney, which will star Kristen Bell, Josh Gad and Evan Rachel Wood. This movie will have Elsa and Anna go on an adventure far from their kingdom.

All in all, 2019 is sure to be a year of movies that fans of any genre will appreciate.

Feb. 1, 2019

Photos courtesy of The Star, Pinterest and Science Fiction and Fantasy Stack Exchange

Representation Upcoming music releases of 2019

by Sophia Pulido

Centerspread Editor

My nephew is a young half African-American and loves superhero movies. After Marvel’s Black Panther came out, he brought the superhero’s mask with him to a baby shower for one of our relatives.

He wore the mask with so much pride and showed it off to everyone sitting at our table. For the first couple of minutes of the shower he wasn’t able to talk because of the common shyness that kids face. He ended up using the mask to answer questions such as “How old are you?” and “What’s your favorite subject in school?’ You could see the confidence radiating off of my nephew. It was like he thought of himself as the Black Panther.

Growing up with prejudice often negatively affects the confidence of kids of color. It’s not often that you see a superhero of a different ethnicity besides Caucasian, and this may make it difficult for kids of color to relate to someone who holds so much respect and love from the people around them. It doesn’t give them the same experience that a white kid would associate with their childhood as they start to grow older.

Marvel created their first African-American superhero during the Civil Rights Movement because Stan Lee, the creative leader of Marvel, felt that it was necessary to include everyone in his comics and a majority of his readers were African American. Black Panther, as a whole, started a new era for People of Color. It ignored the common inferiority that’s associated with African Americans and associated them with intelligence and compassion.

Another movie that captured my nephew’s attention was Marvel’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse which starred an Afro-Latino as Spider-Man. In the movie, protagonist Miles Morales learns the way of being Spider-Man alongside many other versions of the superhero from different dimensions. He learns to believe in himself and take a “leap of faith.”

This brings a great message to kids but the movie also has many different costumes for Spider-Man. The costumes of these super-heros hold some significance to kids but many kids wonder who’s behind the mask and if they’ll ever look like them. It means so much to kids of color to see a hero reveal his true self.

The increasing amount of movies that value the many ethnicities that aren’t usually properly represented in film is seen to be helping the kids who hold diversity in their ethnicity. I see my nephew growing up into a bold and intelligent individual who knows there is good and bad in the world and will still be able to draw himself to the good side. It is heartwarming to see him and his happiest moments when he’s behind his mask and see that happiness remain as he takes it off.

by Patrick Ramos Sports Editor

Childish Gambino (new album) After an incredible 2018 working on Atlanta, Solo: A Star Wars Story, SNL, and This is America, along with two other songs, nothing appears to be slowing this creative genius down. Especially after finishing up his 2018 tour, many people are expecting Donald Glover to come out with, most likely, his last solo album. The anticipation only rises as Gambino has been returning to rap with his feature on 21 Savage’s song, Monster.

Kanye West (new album: Yandhi) Even through all the backlash West has received, the man was still able to produce incredible music back in 2018. He produced Teyana Taylor’s album, Nas’ album and Pusha T’s album as well as releasing two of his own albums, Ye and Kid See Ghosts, with frequent collaborator Kid Cudi all in the same month.

Fans were astonished by the great production on each of these projects.

Pusha T’s Daytona was nominated for best rap album from the Grammys.

Also, Kids See Ghosts is seen as one of the greatest albums of 2018 due to its unorthodox and psychedelic rap. The album Yandhi is claimed to have features such as the Migos, 6ix9ine and many other big names.

Tyler the Creator + A$AP Rocky (new album: Wang$ap) With both artists dropping Potato Salad last

year, both of them have been teasing a new album Wang$ap. The two have collaborated many times before on tracks like Who dat boy and What the F*ck Right Now. Both have been very busy with Tyler still coming off his grammy nominated album Scum F*ck Flower Boy, designing clothes for Golf Wang and running the festival Camp Flog Gnaw. Rocky is currently on tour for his recent album Testing but through interviews has been dropping hints of an album release time.

Frank Ocean (new album or new singles/ features) Ocean has been teasing music fans ever since late 2018 with photos of him in the studio and in his first interview since his Grammy appearance in 2012. Last year he only released a cover of the song Moon River, from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s, along with featuring on A$AP Rocky´s Testing and Travis Scott’s Astroworld.

Fans and critics have been waiting patiently ever since the release of both albums Endless and Blonde back in 2016 which were critically acclaimed and loved by fans. However, Frank is a very unpredictable artist and there is no telling if he will drop an album or new music in general this year.

Dreamville project (new album: Revenge of the Dreamers III) J Cole´s record label, Dreamville, is set to release one of the most ambitious

projects of the year. Around a hundred artists are working on the album Revenge of the Dreamers. Some of the most talented people working on it are J.I.D, DJ Khaled, Masego, Saba and Tay Keith, just to name a few. Many artists like Cole are working for hours on the writing of a single song.

Surely this album is going to be incredible with the amount of underrated talent attached to it.

Daniel Caesar (new ep or album or music) It has been two years since Caesar’s first album Freudian, containing hits like Get You featuring Kali Uchis and Best Part with H.E.R, was released. The album was nominated for a Grammy. Since then Caesar has released a couple of singles and a collab with the Free Nationals. Caesar has shown snippets of new songs throughout his social media but remains very secretive regarding whether he is releasing an album or not.

Berhana (new EP/ album/singles) In 2018 Berhana had a great year. He released two new singles Whole Wide World and Wildin, both of which have incredible quality. Along with that, he was noticed by the likes of Donald Glover and had Berhana’s song Janet, featured on the TV show Atlanta.

Wildin details the trials of being famous as Berhana still struggles with problems despite making money. Ever since then Berhana has been hitting the studio constantly and working on new music.

It is unsure if it is a new album or an EP, but fans can only wait.

Steve Lacy (new album) Steve Lacy’s Demo released in 2017 and was an awesome debut for the young artist. Producing all of his music on garageband, he demonstrates that you can make anything from anywhere. After finishing and touring with the Internet for the album Hive Mind, fans are anticipating an epic return to solo music after not releasing any in 2018 except with the Internet.

Logic (new album(s)) Logic had an incredible 2018 by releasing two projects Young Sinatra IV and Bobby Tarantino II and performing at the Grammys.

This year, there is no telling what will happen as he is set to star in a movie directed

by J.J. Abrams, wrote a book called Supermarket and release another set of albums.

It is unknown if it will be mixtapes or albums such as his much anticipated Ultra 85. Logic has a lot of ambition for 2019 and we cannot wait to see what comes next.

Chance the Rapper (new album/singles) Chance the Rapper also has been on anticipation of his first commercial solo album after releasing several singles such as I Might Need Security. Chance has been hard at work as he still has time to work with the local people of Chicago by donating money and implementing programs into their schools.

sports Healthier alternatives to energy drinks

11

Feb. 1, 2019

by Sophia Suon Staff Writer

An increasing amount of high school students have become more and more reliant on energy drinks over the years. Popular drinks, like Monster Energy, NOS, Five Hour Energy and more have marketed themselves as drinks that students can rely on.

However, many are not aware of the various health risks these drinks may carry.

Energy drinks supply people with energy boosts depending on the amount they consume. Excessive intake can lead to higher performance among young students, which may be why students are convinced they

should drink these beverages.

The main ingredient that supplies this energy boost is caffeine. Caffeine, also found in coffee, is a chemical that acts on the nervous system, leading to high alertness, making one feel more awake and energetic.

Caffeine alone is very effective on young adults; however, it puts them at risk for heart disease, insomnia, anxiety, severe mood swings and much more. According to nutrition expert and food safety consultant Toby Amidor, students should not start consuming energy drinks until they have

finished physical growth and development.

However, caffeine is not the only content of energy drinks that puts one’s body at risk. There are a vast amount of unlisted ingredients found in popular energy drinks, one of which is ginseng, a type of plant. In fact, high levels of ginseng are found in the second highest-selling energy drink around the world, Monster Energy.

Used alone, ginseng is not harmful to the body; in fact there are health benefits that come with the consumption of ginseng.

However, the mix of ginseng with high levels of sugar and caffeine is severely harmful to young adults.

This mixture can lead to problems related to blood pressures, rapid heartbeat, extreme migraines and vaginal bleeding.

Considering the variety of high risks these energy drinks include, there are many healthier alternatives.

One of the substitutes include the zero sugar, natural, sparkling Matcha Energy Drink by Matchabar Hustle. It is clean of unlist-

ed ingredients and does not include any harmful chemicals. According to Matchabar, this energy drink is made up of a combination of antioxidants, which helps stabilize heart rate. Matcha Energy Drink is mainly made up of matcha, a fine powder that comes from green tea leaves.

Another substitute is the popular energy drink formula G Fuel. G Fuel is an all natural, zero sugar and caffeine free energy formula. It was strictly made to be a healthier alternative to the more sugar-loaded energy drinks.

According to G Fuel, unlike other canned energy drinks, G Fuel increases focus and is guaranteed to have no rush of heavy tiredness after the energy boost wears off.

There are several different alternatives to caffeinated energy drinks that are much safer and healthier for your body. Drinking healthier substitutes will not harm your body and will positively affect your future performance.

Photo courtesy of Energy Drink Heaven

EXTREME SPORTS Spring sneak peek

by Kiana Devera Staff Writer

Imagine falling out of a helicopter going as fast as 125 mph, or hanging on the side of a cliff with nothing but the clothes and shoes you wear or racing through 20-foot waves that are about to crash onto you. Some wouldn’t dare think about doing these things, but for others, this is their lifestyle.

Extreme sports are defined as recreational activities involving a high degree of risk that often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear.

In recent years, these daredevil sports have been growing in popularity, with website Xtremesport4u reporting that participation in traditional sports have fallen as much as 37 percent while unconventional sports like these have been rising as much as 51 percent.

However, they aren’t called extreme sports for nothing—there are many risks that come with these exhilarating ventures. In a 2014 study recorded by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, in the seven popular sports featured in the Winter and Summer X Games, of the four million injuries reported for extreme sports participants, 11.3 percent were head and neck injuries, with teens and young adults accounting for the highest percentage of those injuries.

Despite all the possibilities of severely damaging their bodies, the numbers of people joining extreme sports continue to grow. Some would tell you that they do it because they love the danger and the adrenaline that comes with the risk and fear.

For others, they joined simply for a challenge that can further strengthen their bodies.

With today’s massive obesity epidemic, any sport that gets people off the potato chips and couch for some real physical exertion may potentially provide long-term health benefits. Extreme sports could also offer that and an opportunity to express oneself in unique and unthought-of of ways.

Whatever reason a person might have for including themselves in these thrilling sports, there is no question that these riveting athletics are heart stopping, bold, risky and definitely extreme.

Photo courtesy of TED

by Sampreetha Tumkur Staff Writer

Golf The golf team had a successful season last year, with eight wins and four losses proving that Fremont can hold its ground against the many public schools they face. This year, the golf team aims to challenge their score of 220, which they received last year as a team. However, they are hoping to score at least 200 while maintaining a positive winning record.

Badminton The badminton team was ranked in the middle of the league last season. They worked hard to achieve a decent season. Coach Thomas He hopes to send two people to CCS this year. He also believes that with a stronger work ethic the team will do better.

Swim Last year, the swim team had a good season. This year, Coach Andy Clifford wants to build off last season, and be more competitive.

Read more about the Spring Season and other wonderful stories at

fremonthighphoenix.wixsite.com/the-phoenix

sports Fremont High School’s soccer season success

Feb. 1, 2019

12

by Michael Wang Online Editor

Soccer, the most popular sport in the world, has inspired and entertained people of all ages for decades. It is no surprise that the sport has the same effect here at Fremont High School. This last season was a challenging yet fruitful one for both the boys and girls varsity soccer teams.

On Oct. 29, 2018, the winter season officially started, marking the beginning of new opportunities for Fremont’s soccer athletes.

Senior Jacqueline Stahl, a captain of the girls varsity soccer team, had many insights on the events of this winter season.

She believes that one thing that has made this season more challenging was the loss of strong senior athletes who graduated last year. However, this obstacle

has led to the team growing closer, since they have learned to focus more on enjoying the sport and bonding over the struggle.

In fact, in Stahl’s opinion, one of the best games of the season was against Santa Clara High School on January 14, where the team managed to end the game in a tie, making it the first time that a Fremont girls varsity soccer team had scored in the upper division.

“The one truly unique thing that I’ve noticed this year is that despite often being the weaker team on the field, we are never the lazy team,” said Stahl. “These girls will play the full 80 minutes whether the score is zero to zero or eight to zero, and to me, that’s truly impressive.”

The team learned many lessons over the course of the season. For Stahl personally, she was able to

learn how to lead and motivate the team efficiently. In general, Stahl believes that the team has learned that it needs to work on being more inclusive to all its members.

“We want everyone to feel comfortable and excited to come to practice each day,” said Stahl. “So when the new girls on the team don’t feel that way, I see it as a major failure, a failure for which the older players are especially responsible.”

As for the boys varsity soccer team, coach Demba Diallo has been impressed by the team’s performance throughout the season.

Unfortunately, due to a high number of injuries, the team was put at a disadvantage this season.

Despite this, Diallo says that the unity between the players has remained strong.

This was most evident during the game against Mount Pleasant High School in the Lovato Cup tournament.

“[This game] was one of the greatest I have ever witness[ed],” said Diallo.

“There was everything that a team need[s] in order to succeed. There was discipline, dedication, determination, honor, pride, integrity [and] above all, unity.”

Outside of the games, the boys soccer team has performed impressively in different areas as well.

According to Diallo, the academic success of the

athletes has improved to the point where about 98 percent of them stay eligible to play. Additionally, the perseverance of the boys soccer team to succeed as a program has been extraordinary.

On a personal note, Diallo wishes to continue to try and teach all the athletes to be model students and team players.

“I hope that [the junior varsity team] wins the league, [and] that varsity at

least makes it to the playoffs and move[s] up to [the] A division,” said Diallo. Above all, [I] hope that my family responsibilities and career path won’t den[y] me the opportunity to return next year.”

All in all, both teams have had an amazing performance this season as they continue to persevere despite numerous obstacles in their path.

FHS boys varsity soccer team gathers around with coach Demba Diallo during practice.

The team has had a successful season, with many inspiring games throughout.

JACQUELINE Stahl, a captain of the FHS girls varsity soccer team. The team has continued to persevere through their games this season despite the loss of many senior players.

Photos courtesy of Gretchen Parenteau, QuickCycle Photo and Jason Kaila