The Talon - Issue 5 (2019-2020)

2019-2020 Issue 5

Table of Contents Page 1-2: Performing Arts update and gallery Page 3: FFA News Page 4: Spring Sports Preview Page 5: The Super Bowl Page 6: In Remembrance of Kobe Page 7-8: College Choices; Coronavirus Page 9: Pop Culture

Fiddler on the Roof

by Taylor Simonian

Page 10-17: Guest Editorials

The Immanuel Performing Arts Department is in the midst of performing “Fiddler on the Roof”, a musical classic with a humorous take on the woes of constricting and outdated traditions present in late 1800s Jewish-Russia. It follows the life of Tevye and his wife Golde, (seniors Wolfgang Hoffman & Taylor Simonian), and his five daughters, (seniors Claire Ramirez & Kaitlyn Deaver, junior Janelle Wood, sophomores Hannah Brown & Maddie Ramirez), as life in their simple and beloved village of Anatevka begins to crumble around them.

Their only hope to survive the sudden changes ahead lie in the power of family and tradition.

Senior Wolfgang Hoffman, who plays Tevye, shared this sentiment when approached about his part in the musical, “You have no idea how hard it is to raise five daughters." Along with that, he wanted the

photos contributed by Kirk Kawagoe

Immanuel community to know that the bottle dance in act two is real, no theatrics, just seven boys with really impressive balance. When asked about how the show is going, senior Kaity Deaver was optimistic, saying, “It has been a super fun show to prepare for and to be a part of! There are so many different aspects to it, from humor,

to fear, and so much more. Our department has put a ton of work into it, and the result is awesome, come support!” I couldn’t have said it better myself! There are four shows remaining, with one on Valentine’s Day, two on February 15, and one matinee on February 16. Come support Immanuel Performing Arts!

FFA Fun

by Julia Scarborough

February 17-20 is national FFA week and the Immanuel FFA Chapter wants the student body to join in on the fun with dress up days and games at lunch.

Tuesday 2/17- Camo Day Lunch activity: Nerf Gun Target Practice Wednesday 2/18- American Day Lunch Activity: Golf Ball Obstacle Course Thursday 2/19- Country vs country club Lunch Activity: Corn Hole Friday 2/20- Extreme Blue & Gold Lunch Activity: Chapter Meeting

Tree Pruning State Champs Once Again

by Julia Scarborough

The Immanuel Tree pruning team was established in 2017 when they set the bar winning the state championship on their first run, then clinching another championship in 2018 to become the back to back champions, but falling short in the championship in 2019. This year the team consisted of Shyanna Ward, Nicole Ward, Jaden Paboojian, and Adrian Herrera. The purpose behind the contest is to prepare students to learn current agricultural procedures that are used in today's industry.

This event blends the testing of manipulative skills and knowledge required for careers in agriculture production. This year's team came in prepared this time around to win after falling short in last year's season. After the cold days spent in the fields practicing the team went into their first competition winning top team at the Reedley College Contest, then next stop going to State Finals at Fresno State and winning the contest for the third time in four years. Congratulations to the Immanuel Tree Pruning Team.

An Eagle Eye on Athletics

by Nathan Orosco

As Immanuel Schools' proud sports tradition continues, many are curious as to the state of current Immanuel athletics. The Talon reporters took to the streets and asked the athletes how they felt about their sports seasons.

Tennis: Senior Jonah Gomez is eagerly anticipating the upcoming season. He states, “The team is already working hard conducting challenge matches in order to determine ranking as we get closer to our opening match.”

Boy's Basketball: Ronnie Alvarado is a senior and 4 year basketball player at Immanuel.

He is experiencing bittersweet emotions as he is excited for the upcoming playoffs, but saddened by the prospect of his high school sports career coming to a close.

Girls' Basketball: Senior Julia Scarborough has enjoyed playing basketball at Immanuel since her freshman year. When reflecting on her final season, she expressed her gratitude for the friendships she has forged along the way, and an excitement to see what the group can do next year.

Boys’ Soccer: The Immanuel Boys’ Soccer Team has been through many ups and downs, including not being able to field a team last season. This year's team includes 9 seniors. When senior Josh Cabaluna was asked how he felt about this season, he simply said, “We’re back.”

Girls’ Soccer: Sisters Aly and Lexi Perez are both seniors enjoying their first soccer season at Immanuel. Despite recently transferring, both Lexi and Aly agree that the sense of family they found on the soccer team has helped them feel welcomed and excited for a new senior experience.

Baseball: Trace Pires has been playing baseball for as long as he can remember, and he says playing at IHS these past years has been amazing. On the verge of his senior season, he thanks his family, friends, and the Immanuel fans for all the support the team has received, and he looks forward to going all out in his final season.

Softball: The Lady Eagles are gearing up for another season, and freshman Emily Kawagoe was able to comment:

“From what I’ve seen so far being on the team, I think we’ll have a relatively successful season."

Track and Field: When asked about the upcoming track and field season, senior Carissa Hall said, “As the 2020 track season approaches I am looking forward to competing with my teammates and working hard towards my goal to attend the California State Meet in May. I believe that this year's team is strong and will definitely make this season a great one."

Boys’ Golf: Junior James Long has played golf at Immanuel for the past 2 years. When asked for a comment, Long claimed that being able to play such a relaxing sport with a great team has helped him on his journey through high school.

Swim: Freshman Jordyn Baptista, although never having swam competitively, expressed excitement about the upcoming season. She said, “Despite the frigid temperatures, I’m actually both really nervous and excited for this season. It should be a lot of fun.”

Super Bowl LIV: The Ads vs. The Game

by Ethan Garcia

The infamous national holiday The Super Bowl as you know has just occured and people are ecstatic. Well, except for the 49ers fans. They’re not all that happy with what happened that Sunday. Now when you think of the Super Bowl what comes to mind? The actual game? Commercials? Good times with friends and family? Or maybe rage-induced fights with friends and family over calls by the referees? This Super Bowl received 102 million viewers, 4 million more than the year prior. That’s plenty of people to see the 29 ads by major brands, each one costing on average 5.6 million. But how do ads impact us? How many people actually see an ad and immediately head to the store to buy it?

Several studies have been done on the effectiveness of advertising on viewers. How an ad is perceived by a viewer makes all the difference in the way a company markets its products. The Talon conducted its own (highly unofficial) survey of Immanuel students and the impact advertising has had on them. Students collectively said that certain

The Super Bowl saw the San Francisco 49ers fall 20-31 to the Kansas City Chiefs

ads are more memorable than others, with emotional appeals coming in at the top of the list of reasons. Emotion is what’s behind everything we do and think; it decides our opinions and that’s what is happening here. This connects us to the ad on a more personal level which makes the ads memorable. The advertisement that hit the hardest was Google's commercial presenting a recent feature to allow the user to access memories they’ve told Google. But that’s not what’s important what’s important was the story told. We hear an older man talking to his Google assistant and telling it specific details about his wife who we presumed has passed so that he would never forget her and would always have memories of her. It brings out the emotion in people that saw it. This ad felt real; it grasped your attention and it was an ad that viewers would remember.

While the effectiveness of the ads is up for debate, they are still what draws many people to the game in the first place. Students said that if “their” team wasn’t playing in the super bowl that year, the main reason to watch the game was for the commercials. Even though some ads were a disappointment, we still gather for the experience and the community of the game, even if it’s not our team.

Mamba Mentality

by Lexi Perez and Ronnie Alvarado

Kobe Bean Bryant, A.K.A The Black Mamba, was a 5x NBA champion, 2x Finals MVP, 1x MVP, 2x scoring champion, Los Angeles Lakers scoring leader, 18x All-Star, 4x All-Star MVP, Dunk Contest Champion, 15x All NBA team, 12x All-Defensive NBA team, 4th leading scorer in NBA history, Academy Award winner, and basketball legend. Kobe had some of the greatest performances from our generation, from scoring 81 points on the Toronto Raptors to scoring 60 points in his final NBA game. Immanuel junior Winston Williams, top scoring basketball player for the current season, was asked what Kobe meant to him. “He was the basketball player everyone wanted to be but couldn’t be.

Nobody could reach his level. His greatness is unmatched.” There will never be any other athlete like Kobe Bryant.

Some fans loved him, some fans hated him, but everyone respected him. Every time Kobe stepped onto the court you knew you were witnessing greatness. Kobe Bryant inspired a whole generation. He taught people what it was like to work hard, to grind day in and day out. Kobe said, “I’ve been blessed with talent but I work like I have none.” Kobe was known for having 4 AM workouts, then practice, then another workout. Kobe was all about being the best basketball player he could be. There’s a story about Kobe that truly shows what the Mamba mentality was. It was Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals, the LA Lakers vs. the Utah Jazz. Kobe, who was an 18year-old rookie and the youngest player to ever start an NBA game, had the ball in his hands with 10 seconds left. The score was 89-89.

As the clock was ticking down, Bryant shot a 3 pointer and air balled. As the crowd was thinking, “Okay, it’s only one shot”, he then proceeded to air ball 3 more times in overtime. The Lakers ended up losing and their season was over.

That night as soon as they landed back in LA, Kobe met a janitor and got him to open the gym for him. He would stay in there till the sun rose the next morning. Immanuel junior Jonah Tolpezninkas said, “He was my favorite basketball player when I was a kid. He made me want to play basketball. The way he could take over a game and his fade-away, dunks, and actually playing defense.

But what really stuck out to me was his work ethic and shooting 1000 shots in a gym one summer everyday. That influenced my game because now I stay after every practice or go home and continue to get better at my game. To earn it and know nothing is given to you. He wasn’t caught up with his image and stuff. He just wanted to be the best and was crazy competitive.”

Kobe was much more than a basketball player. He was an author, a businessman, and most importantly a dad. He always talked about his daughters Natalia, Gianna, Bianka, and Capri and his wife Vanessa and how he loved them. He coached his daughter Gianna and

her basketball team. He would tell former NBA players and ESPN reporters that Gigi was better than him and was going to be a star. Gigi at age 13 had already committed to The University of Connecticut.

Unfortunately, Sunday January 26, 2020 there was a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California involving 9 people. Those 9 people were Kobe Bryant, 41, his daughter Gianna Bryant, 13, Payton Chester, 13, Sarah Chester, 45, Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, 56, and his wife Keri (46) and daughter Alyssa (14), Christian Mauser, 38, and helicopter pilot Ara Zobayan, 50. Kobe and Gianna Bryant were buried on February 7, 2020 in Corona Del Mar, California.

All My Friends Know Where They're Going to College Except Me

by Erin Orosco

Throughout our high school careers, my peers and I have dealt with countless variations of the dreaded “what are your future plans” questions from teachers, family, and even each other. As freshmen, they always came with a “don’t worry you have time to figure it out” tacked on the end, but by the time junior year rolled around it became less encouraging and far more concerning. Seemingly the minute senior year started, we were faced with a bombardment of warnings about application deadlines, last-ditch SAT efforts, and crafting college essays that didn’t suck.

Personally, application season for me mostly consisted of procrastination, frustration, and realizing I participated in far fewer extracurricular activities than I’d like to admit. I did however, feel a sense of relief when I finally submitted the last one, as my immediate future was no longer in my own hands.

Unfortunately for me, this relief was short lived due to the fact that as I had

Olivia Barsoom

Molly Klassen

Q: Where are you going to college/ what are you majoring in?

“Grand Canyon University, to major in psychology.”

-Olivia Barsoom

barely finished applying, and now had (and still do have) months before I find out whether or not I have been accepted, almost all of the people around me were already committing to the schools they will attend next year. With the end of the year fast approaching, it’s easy to succumb to the stress of the unknown, especially as I watch my friends plan and prepare.

I am absolutely excited for my friends, and they have been nothing but supportive through my increasing distress. I’ve gone to them multiple times for advice both during application season, and during the process of deciding where to attend when my time does come. So instead of dwelling on my future uncertainties, I will continue to celebrate their milestones as they make strides toward adulthood. I sat down with a few friends to get more insight on their experiences, and this is what they had to say.

Takeo Fujioka

"I'm going to Boyce College in Louisville, Kentucky and I haven't picked a major yet." -Molly Klassen "I'm going to GCU and I'm majoring in elementary education and special education." -Takeo Fujioka

Q: How was the application process for you, and how did you eventually come to your decision?

“It was stressful, but not as bad as I thought it would be. It’s not like I was applying for Harvard or anything.

When coming to a decision, I just prayed about it. It’s all you can do, really. I also talked to a lot of people about how I felt, which I don’t normally do.” -Olivia “I only applied to two schools, and one was a community college which took about 15 minutes. My application to Boyce was also super easy. It was a little confusing but my admissions counselor was super helpful. I decided to attend Boyce because I wanted a change of scenery, and to attend a Christian college that I trusted. I also have family friends in Louisville.” Molly

The Coronavirus Outbreak

by Aly Perez and Ronnie Alvarado

The outbreak of the Coronavirus has become a worldwide issue.

The disease, which started in China, evolved through mammals such as wild birds or bats which were being sold in the open and to the public. It has been said that pigs were close by while seafood at a restaurant was being cooked and served.

China is being quarantined, and

Immanuel junior Yubo Feng, from Jinan City, China.

“Honestly GCU was the easiest application, and that was my ultimate decision.”- Takeo Q: How are you feeling now? Are you ready to start college? What’s your nervousness to excitement ratio?

“I am pretty excited, but there’s still a lot of nerves involved because it’s gonna be very different from what I’m used to. Also I’m pretty stressed because I need to find a roommate.” -Olivia “I don’t feel fully ready to move and change what has always been my normal. I’m excited to try new things and for all the fried chicken in Kentucky, but I’m nervous to be away from all my friends and family because I love them so much.” -Molly “I’m more excited than nervous. I’m ready to finally get out of the house and be more independent.” -Takeo

many stores are being closed due to this new virus. There have been over 1300 reported deaths in China as of this publication, and the number of people infected is rising daily. The virus has spread to 15 other countries, and is continuing to spread worldwide. In the United States there are 13 known cases. China is unsure if they should establish a global public health emergency.

Immanuel Junior Yubo Feng is an international student from Jinan City, China. Feng has family in the northern part, which is near the capital. Feng stated that “according to the analysis provided by the Chinese government, more than 20,000 people have been infected with the virus, but I don’t think this figure is accurate. In order not to affect the panic of the society, they may have falsely reported the number of infected people.”

From the information given he states that he thinks the numbers

of deaths and people infected are inaccurate. He also goes on to say that when he was home over the Christmas break, the virus wasn’t as serious as it is now, so he did not have trouble leaving the country to return to Immanuel. It might be different if he were home and trying to leave now. China has taken many precautions to prevent the virus from spreading even more, including building more hospitals, cutting off transportation, and closing major shops and restaurants. Despite the global panic, Feng says he believes “that the epidemic will be effectively controlled.”

TikTok Obsession

by Sienna Mehling

TikTok? What is it? TikTok originated from musical.ly, hit the App store on August 2, 2018, and its unprecedented growth has yet to slow.

Many parents and adults are concerned about TikTok, due to

many inappropriate videos that young users have access to, worrying that it could be a bad influence on them. According to Mrs. Ayers, “TikTok is a time suck.” Mr. Halstead seemed to have an equally negative opinion of the app stating, “TikTok is very unoriginal, everyone is doing the same dance." So there are some obvious cons of TikTok. It can be a waste of time and the inappropriate things found on it is something to consider as a parent or guardian.

From people who don’t have TikTok, that could be their point of view, but it isn’t just about the dances for the people that do have it. Freshman Kate Geiger said, “TikTok is funny! It makes me laugh." This is the main reason why many people enjoy it.

It is a comedic app, but you can do so much more on it. Senior Jonah Gomez said, “TikTok knows what you want and gives it to you. It’s algorithm is extremely well made, it shows you what you want and things you didn’t even know you wanted.” There are also some people that sell items that they hand-make and are able to make decent money off of it.

Many outsiders do not see this side of TikTok and they only see the cons of it. If you want an accurate opinion on TikTok, then get the app and you decide if the pros outweigh the cons or if the cons outweigh the pros.

The Child, the Legend, Baby Yoda

by Jordyn Baptista

First there were Ewoks, the Star Wars equivalent to a teddy bear, and now it’s Baby Yoda. The internet has fallen in love with this little baby, first debuted on the Disney+ Original “The Mandalorian”.

The mini Yoda took over the internet almost immediately, and he was pasted into almost every meme format possible. Whenever Baby Yoda made a move, it became a meme. Oh look, he made a cute face, meme. He waddled, boom, meme.

Everything Baby Yoda does is quality meme material that is free for the taking. With his floppy ears, enormous eyes, and his acute ability to manipulate The Force, this little Yoda has stolen the hearts of many people, and I don’t think anyone is complaining.

Guest Editorials: The Art of Persuasion Immanuel's sixth grade students, led by teacher Mrs. Hillner, recently completed a unit on persuasive writing. They learned the tenets of solid arguments, how to research a topic and state a claim, and the best ways to persuade an audience to see things

from the writer's point of view. The following essays represent some of the finest writing in the sixth grade. The Talon staff greets these students, and looks forward to the day when they will join our journalism team.

Should We Give Money to Athletes or No?

by Alexandra Schartmann, 6th Grade

Imagine that your favorite sport at school just got cut due to colleges paying athletes for the sport that they play. You are sad that you cannot do the sport, and you’re wondering why they are paying college students for sports they do. According to a survey by John Dennis a sports broadcasters co host for WEEI-FM sports radio, says 69% of people think that college athletes should not get paid. However, college athletes should not get paid because some athletes get scholarships, getting paid would make them focus on sports instead of school, and it would also burden smaller schools.

College athletes should not get paid by reason of the fact that athletes already get scholarships. For example, the NCAA gives out 150,000 scholarships to student athletes every year. Maurice Reed from Catawba College says “They are technically already paid with a free education due to their scholarship, and all of the different sports would not be able to be paid the same amount.” Clearly the athletes should not get paid because they are already getting paid through a free education and that free education is

Alexandra Schartmann

worth a lot of what they could be paid. In the words of Peterson.com, “Parents chip in almost three times as much as students.” Along the same lines, the athletes should not get paid because their parents pay for a lot of their college and when they get scholarships the parents do not need to pay for their college. Not only should they not get paid due to scholarships, but they also should not get paid, for they would focus on athletics instead of school.

If athletes were paid, there would be a risk that they would make athletics their priority instead of school. Orin Starn, an anthropology professor who has worked at Duke for 26 years, wrote that Duke “has its very own sports scandal” because annually its athletes “collectively miss classes by the thousands” due to athletic competition. As a result athletes missing classes because of athletic competition is unfortunate because they will have to make up their class and tests but will also have to maybe cut their sport if they are doing bad in school. A study revealed that in 2015, the average Division I athlete spent 34 hours per week on his or her sport during the season. The study shows us that tells us that they spend 6 hours a week on homework, they also spend more time on sports than academics. Missing classes is already a sign that student athletes focus more on sports than on school. As an illustration, Brad Berndt (the Duke senior associate athletic director) argues that ‘“There’s certainly ways to catch up and receive tutoring,’” Berndt said of athletics-related absences, “‘but there is no substitute for being in the classroom, especially at a place like Duke, where the classes are really small, and you learn from a faculty member but also learn from your fellow students.” Along the same lines when you get tutoring your grades go up and you might not have to give up your sport for your bad grades. Athletes would be tempted to pay more attention to sports if they were paid, and they clearly already have a hard time, college athletes should not get money for playing sports it would overwhelm smaller schools.

College athletes should not get paid because it would put a load on smaller schools. Paying college athletes would not be fair because one college athlete might get paid more than another athlete only because of the great program they got into.

For example, Natalie Regoli asks, “Would all student athletes receive the same amount of pay, no matter which school they chose to attend? If so, then there would be an undue burden placed on smaller schools that compete at higher levels.” For smaller schools that probably cannot afford paying players, how do they determine who gets paid what? According to Natalie Regoli “Is it fair for one athlete to be paid more than another because they were accepted into a ‘“superior;” program?”

Similarly, people that are in smaller schools or countries do not get the same chances in academics or sports so the athletes should not get paid to to poorer people no getting into better program. Well, it would not be fair to pay people because they got into a superior program. The athletes should not get paid because smaller schools may not have as much money as bigger schools.

College athletes should not get paid for the sake of them getting their entire schooling paid for already, because they would not make the sport there doing a priority over school, and it would put a weight on small schools that do not have money to pay players as much as other schools could.

Although, athletes want to get paid, there are some problems that colleges have to deal with when paying athletes. Therefore, let us keep college the way it is and not pay college athletes.

Hurting Animals is Hurting Humans

by Camila Lupa, 6th Grade

Did you know that 5% of animal cruelty events are with dogs? Some people think that others should go to jail for animal cruelty, and some people think that they should not. However, people should go to jail for animal cruelty because it is strongly related to other crimes. Also, the law already provides to go to jail for six months or two years. Lastly, most criminals not only torture animals, but also torture humans.

As stated earlier, animal cruelty is quite connected to other crimes. A study by the Chicago Police Department that took from 2001-2004 observed that 65% of animal abusers are also arrested for committing a crime to a human. The study shows that more people than we thought who harm humans also harm animals. Also, the National Sheriff Association did research and found out that animal cruelty is as serious as other crimes. The research that was taken here means that if you harm an animal, it is pretty much the same as harming a human and if you harm a human it is serious and so is animal abuse; furthermore, neglecting an animal could be the same as hurting an innocent child. In addition, animal abuse is starting to get controlled!

The law already states that for animal cruelty a criminal should go to prison for six months to two years. In the White House, the legislative branch used a voice vote to conclude that, if needed, animal abusers could go to jail for seven years.

Luckily, they only go for six months to two years.

The people at the White House also care about this serious topic. In fact, according to the ASPCA, the Preventing Animal Cruelty, (or torture act), is connected to the Animal Welfare Act, which is connected to the ASPCA. The Animal Welfare and

Camila Lupa

ASPCA took this very seriously, by helping out with it and also trying to prevent animal cruelty, which is a good thing. Not only is there already a law, but most people who do animal abuse crimes can also torture humans.

Almost all animal abusers also abuse humans! A study in 2013 by Phil Arkow, who was a humane educator for 20 years, states that 43% of people who commit crime to humans also abuse animals. is big, since crime is important, and if most animal abusers abuse humans, it is .In the past 25 years, psychology, sociology, and criminology studies have seen violence to humans and animals with one criminal. With one criminal, two crimes is a hugely effective, which is why if we reduce animal cruelty by putting people in jail, less crime will happen. As you can see, animal cruelty is a very serious topic.

Animal cruelty is a serious topic, and people should go to jail for it. There are many reasons that people should go to jail for animal cruelty. Animal cruelty hurts animals, and one thing that you can do is be an example of kindess to animals who need it!

Death Penalty Eliminated at Last?

by Joy Atmajian, 6th grade

He was then executed. The end. What a story.

Death penalty has claimed the lives of numerous innocent people. Many have the perspective that there is less crime with the death penalty; however, this arrangement has made no adjustment to the rate of crime. Others also think that people should be killed for what they did, but wrongdoers need a second chance for various reasons, such as chances of mental illnesses and fraud evidence. The death penalty should not be permited in California; first of all, people are killed even though they could have been innocent and were prosicuted based on poor judgment or artificial evidence. Secondly, mental illnesses effect the actions of people, and they do not understand why their actions were erroneous. Likewise, people can also change their outlook completely from seeing the other perspective of the person or people they hurt.

There is always the chance that a jury will make the wrong choice, but did you know that people are found innocent after they were killed? According to the Death Penalty Information Center, since 1973, 165 people in the united states were killed and later revealed as being truly innocent. "Here's something which everybody said: 'You cannot do this, you can't find this out,'" said Samuel R. Gross, a law professor at the University of Michigan Law School. Gross has been studying wrongful criminal convictions for years, often alongside the study's co-author, Barbara O'Brien of Michigan State University College of Law. Someone was actually killed innocently based on death penalty among many. His name was Vincent Benavides. Vincent Benavides was sentenced to death by false forensics and was killed unrightly, says Newsweek premier news magazine and website. People also cannot help doing bad things sometimes based on mental illness too.

People can also have mental illnesses and cannot help doing wrong. Wesley Purkey was not executed because he had Alzheimer’s Disease,

Joy Atmajian

Schizophrenia, and traumatic brain injuries that made him unable to think logically about what he did wrong and understand the reason the United States wanted to execute him. He did bad, and yet, he could not help it because of the state of mind he was in, according to kansascity.com. People like Purkey need to defend themselves in court so they will not be killed. Mental Health America Inc. found that people with mental illnesses need to defend themselves in court, but they cannot if they do not have the power. A disorder that affects thinking and actions is Schizophrenia; it can cause people to do things like killings and other crimes relating to it, and the criminal cannot choose to get it or control it. If someone has this or any other like it, they cannot choose their actions, so why would you kill a person that cannot control they do?

When people learn, their frame of mind can also change what they think when they grasp the concept of what another person is going through. John Newton was a slave trader, brought up with a Christian mother. But when she died, he was brought up by his father who had different beliefs. In a storm he remembered a verse in Proverbs, and he began to believe in God again and start a ship Bible study, says christianitytoday.com. He changed just

by remembering a verse, if he could be transformed that quickly, how come a prisoner that is seeking what is right not learn and benefit from the Bible?

The Bible has many instances where it helps people change. There is also a benefit coming from prison ministries; Prisonfellowship.org tells us that people participating in prison academies are 17% less likely to go to jail again, and 12% less likely to go to jail again in the two years that follow their release from prison than the people not participating in the program.“I had a heart change. I didn’t want to be that same Bill that I was before … If it can change a guy like me, why can’t it help the next guy?” -Bill, Academy Graduate from prison. The Death penalty has taken away second chances, instead of the death penalty, jail would help the person about to be

killed and the audience to live a more compassionate life, and the death penalty defeats that.

The death penalty has not helped the decrease of the crime rate or benefitted the states in which it was decreed. Innocent people are killed because of death penalty, and all death penalty does is decrease the population. People need second chances because they (like John Newton) can change. In conclusion, the death penalty does not help any states with it as a regulation. Furthermore, Death Penalty should not have the power to detract innocent lives or should it have the power to dilute the concept of forgiveness. Places with death penalty should put people through programs in prison, so that they can learn from their mistakes instead of being killed.

Censorship: Yes or No?

by Victoria Matlak, 6th grade

It is the weekend, and your teacher has given you an assignment to read a book about George Washington. You go to the library, and you pick up a book about him that looks like it has good information. However, all of the information is Rrated, and when you ask your teacher if the information is actually true, she says it is not. If there is censorship for incorrect information and things that are not appropriate for kids, then they would not get ahold of lousy things. Some people might think that the government should not be able to restrict what we read and write, because some governments are crummy and will restrict unnecessary things, like information that is true. If we have a good government, though, then they will make good decisions for the country/state.

Censorship is actually a good thing, and it has many benefits. If the government can restrict the information we read and write, then our country would not be full of terrible things such as careless words, and inappropriate pictures. Also, some people write rude comments and threaten to do

Victoria Matlak

things on social media that can hurt people, called cyberbullying, which should be censored. If we have a good and reliable government, then we can depend on them to make good decisions about restricting unacceptable information.

If the government can restrict information we read and write, articles in books, magazines, and other items that carry information that are not good quality or right would not exist anymore. For instance, Justice John Marshall Harlan (former attorney general of Kentucky) states, "one man's vulgarity is another's lyric," so someone might not think that something is inappropriate, but it might be, and the government can decide if it should go out in public or not. As another illustration, in the Morse vs. Fredrick case, the principal (Morse) suspended Fredrick from school because he put up a banner that was to promote a drug that was awful. When the court talked over the case, they said, “the concern here is not that Frederick’s speech was offensive, but that it was reasonably viewed as promoting illegal drug use.” Fredrick’s sign was the thing that was offensive to the court, not his speech. We have the freedom to say whatever we want, because sometimes words just come out of our mouths and we do not know it, but people are usually intentional about what they write. You can rewrite things, but you can not re-say things. While censorship can remove unpleasant words and pictures from books and articles, it can also remove cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying is practically just bullying but is online. It can affect the lives of many people in an unfortunate way. For example, in 2007, a PEW study showed that 32% of teenagers who use the internet reported to be a target of cyberbullying, and a lot of teenagers go on the internet, so a good deal of teenagers will get bullied online. According to the PEW Research Center, “A new Pew Internet Project report reveals that 93% of teens ages 12‐17 go online.” If you do all of the math, you should get about 13,440,000 teenagers in the United States get cyberbullied. Furthermore, Charles E. Notar, associated with Jacksonville State University, says that, “In fact, the anonymity of cyberbullying may cause students who normally would not bully in the tradition-sense to become a cyberbully.” What Charles E. Notar means is that people who were not a cyberbully at first but got bullied will want to

become a cyberbully later on. Censorship can stop all of that, and a lot of lives would be changed, but the government would have to be an acceptable one.

If the government is competent and reliable, then they can make decent decisions for our state, or country. Particularly, another PEW research study in 2018 showed that about two thirds of the adults in the United States trust the government, which is the majority. Likewise, PEW research also found that 88% of the US Congress is Christian, which means that we can probably rely on them if we say yes to censorship. Our government is democratic, which means that we get to vote for our government. If we have an untrustworthy government, it is our fault because we voted on them to be in our government. Exceptional, reliable governments are one part of why we should have censorship.

Even though censorship goes against the Bill of Rights, and it has its risks, there are many benefits to why we should have it. It gets rid of terrible things on social media and books, and it is awesome since our government for the most part is reliable. In conclusion, censorship can benefit many people and will help them to have a better life than with all of the dreadful things that are on the internet and in books. The government can make a publishing company where they figure out whether or not the book can be published, or website.

Censoring Our Freedom

by Emily Thomas, 6th Grade

Imagine you get on the computer and you’re on your favorite site about dogs, and all of a sudden the screen says: this site is banned.

Censorship is where the government is able to change, delete, and block sites. Some people think censorship is good, because it can protect citizens from seeing or reading inappropriate things. However, we should not have censorship.

Firstly, censorship should be banned because the government should protect what we believe true instead of choosing what we have to believe in. Secondly, censorship should be illegal because the government also should not make our decisions for us. And lastly, we should get rid of censorship because the government through censorship in the internet, should not be allowed to limit what you learn by taking sites off of the internet.

People’s right to believe what they believe true, should be protected by the government. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” The First Amendment is important to understand because it specifically says that the government cannot make any law that says we cannot have the freedom of speech, which is one of the things censorship can do. Therefore, Kennedy, Stevens, Souter, Thomas, and Ginsburg went to court in Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union; and they said they did not

Emily Thomas

want the government to be able to restrict potentially inappropriate materials on the internet for children because that should be a parent’s job.

They claimed that the law could “prevent online publishers from publishing certain material.” If the law was able to prevent online publisher from publishing some materials, it would not allow people to speak of what they want”,”which is breaking the First Amendment. Not only should people be able to believe what they want, but also be able to make their own decisions.

Because the United States is a democracy, we should be able to make our own decisions. In North Korea they have fake electronics that feel, look, and work like a Samsung; but really, they are just information monitors and they do not have internet, a search browser, or bluetooth. In the words of Kang Cheol Hwan ( president of the North Korea Strategy Center) said, “Ultimately, these products were carefully designed to control and monitor information,” he said. Red Star 3.0 has surveillance capabilities, and the interface of the intranet,

Kwangmyong, is set up to give the impression that the user has full internet access. In North Korea, the government has given the people phones with monitors and filters to make it look like there is internet. With this happening, the people in North Korea have no freedom to talk or post about what they think about things. Similarily, in China they do not allow people to talk about if they like the government, president, or ruler or not. In the words of Margaret Roberts wrote, “They can use fear, including overt censorship or punishment; frictionary effort to discourage access to information with. As censorship tries to take information away from people, it is much worse in China than it is in California, with in China they are threatening to punish citizens if they do not use the information they want them to and scaring them into tricking them. Censorship should not be able to force people to do against their will. Since the United States is a democracy they also should not be in charge of taking what we read or write off of the internet, preventing people from making their own decisions; we need to be free to choose.

If the government is allowed to take anything they want off of the internet, people will be restricted from learning new information. According to, the National Coalition Against Censorship, "The classroom is peculiarly the ‘marketplace of ideas.’

The Nation's future depends upon leaders trained through wide exposure to that robust exchange of

ideas which discovers 'truth out of a multitude of tongues, [rather] than through any kind of authoritative selection.”If the government takes away ideas (information that would later be turned into ideas) off of the internet, people will be taken away from inventions and thoughts that would effect everyday life. In the same way, when the government takes sites off the internet, it is making options lessen even if it is being done in a local library or school. According to the National Coalition Against Censorship, due to laws, 60% of libraries and public schools had to get censored internet. The filters claim only to be blocking inappropriate material, but it was unclear why some sites were blocked too. Censorship should not choose what is inappropriate or not because, if they do, they are giving us less freedom, which is something Americans should have. If poeple are not able to learn what they want freely, the government should not be able to learn what they want either.

People should be able to make and decide what they see, read, and write, without the government choosing. Americans do not ever want to give the government unfair power, because they could potentially have the power to control our right to have our own beliefs, and also the right to have opinions. Censorship should not be allowed because it can over time take away all of people’s rights to say, write, read, and believe.

Immanuel Class of 2026