the antlerette // december 2016

THE ANTLERETTE

Issue 4

the antlerette

december 2016 IN THIS ISSUE

Make America White Again

by Mauriana Raye, Editor-In-Chief

As the diversity in America grows, hate grows as well. America is a country full of different cultures, races, and religions; so you would think we would take pride in our diversity. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

Ever since July of 2013, tensions between races rose. There has always been tensions between blacks and whites, but 2013 was the breaking point when Trayvon Martin was murdered by a police officer. This murder spurred the Black Lives Matter movement with protest against police forces and the negligence of officers.

In 2014, Isis spread terror around the world, increasing racial attacks in the US on Muslims and Sikhs out of the fear of terrorism. There were riots in the streets of St. Louis after another African American, Michael Brown, was murdered at the hands of a police officer. In 2015, there was the attack on Paris as well as the Charleston Church, both racially charged acts of terror that caused fear and anger across the world and cost both countries over a 130 lives.

Then in 2015, Donald Trump decided to run for President. After all of the tragedies and fear, here was a man who promised to change our country and make it “great” again. Trump took the fear and

hatred of white nationalists and used that to build his campaign. He targeted Mexicans, accusing them of stealing “our” jobs. He made promises to give those jobs back to Americans. The white Americans who felt cheated, even though they weren't working in those types of jobs, rallied behind Trump.

Trump is endorsed by the KKK and many white nationalists commit hate crimes in the name of Trump. His whole campaign was built on racism and hate, but no one wants to talk about it. His ambiguous message to “Make America Great Again” was interpreted by white nationalists and racists to make America white again. After America was stolen from the Native Americans. Trump never said what he means when he says that he will make America “great” again, but it's very similar to Hitler's promise to make Germany great again. Plans to build a wall to keep illegal immigrants out somehow encouraged racists to yell “Build the Wall” and hand out deportation letters to Mexicans, even to those who are here legally.

The ones who were born in America are treated as if they don't belong here. The same goes for Muslims, and Sikhs are targeted as well because racists don't know how to tell the difference between a Muslim or a Sikh, they just see dark skin and a headdress. They're told to get out of “our”

Elk Grove High School’s First Annual View Points On November 29, 2016, Elk Grove High School had the honor of hosting four special guests. These guests were a part of a presentation brought to us by TDA known as View Points.

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Spending Money, Making Money, or Losing Money For the last several years, the residents of Elk Grove have had high hopes for the shopping mall supposedly being built near the southern parts of the city. It has been highly anticipated by many and has recently garnered more attention…

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country even though this country is theirs.

Even African-Americans are told to go back to Africa as if Africans weren't brought to America and forced into slavery by Europeans.

One of Trump’s cabinet members, Michael Flynn has been spreading outrageous stories about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Most recently, he shared a false news report that Hillary Clinton had a secret child sex trafficking ring in a Washington pizza parlor. The owner and employees of the pizza parlor, Comet Ping Pong, were victims of harassment after the “scandal” was created. On December 4th, one man decided to take it upon himself to save

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the children who were hidden in the basement. He brought an armed assault rifle to the parlor and demanded to be taken to the back. Thankfully, no one was injured. It shows how dangerous it is to have a president and cabinet members who lie and willingly spread false reports just to incite hate.

Trump’s America segregates minorities and people of color for the sake of

making this nation white again. His America is a violent and terror filled country for anyone who isn't white, male, heterosexual, or Christian. It's America at its prime, when women and African-Americans didn't have any rights and white men held all the power.

Trump isn't for the people. He represents the hate and intolerance of white nationalists and it's disturbing to see just how many of his supporters share the same ideas, even if they claim to not be racist

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/11 /08/us/politics/election-exit-polls.html?_r=0

Homemade Christmas Treats

by Katie Goldman, Staff

Three cute Christmas treats to make this holiday season are, Reese’s Christmas trees, Nutter Butter snowmen, or a reindeer cookie made from your favorite cookie mix. All of these treats are easy and cheap to make. They can be a fun family activity that little kids could participate in, and they are so cute that they are almost like a decoration for the house.

The trees are very simple. All you need is regular Hershey's kisses, Reese's Minis, average sized Reeses, and white chocolate. Once all of these materials are gathered, start off the process by melting the white chocolate so it can hold the tree together place, a mini Reeses at the bottom upside down so it can act as the trunk. Then using the melted white chocolate placed the regular sized Reese's on top of the mini one (also upside down). Then, with another layer of melted white chocolate place one more miniature Reeses on to the regular one upside down. Finally, with the last layer use the white chocolate to stick a Hershey's Kiss

on top sitting right side up. Extra decoration such as frosting and white sprinkles can be used to resemble snow on the tree, but they are not necessary.

The Nutter Butter snowman is another incredibly simple one. For materials the necessary items are, Nutter Butters, white chocolate candy melts, M&M’s, and round chocolate sprinkles. First, melt the white chocolate and layer it over the Nutter Butter. Next, use the sprinkles as the eyes, mouth, and nose of the snowman. Finally, place M&Ms of your choice on the stomach of the Nutter Butter snowman to form buttons. That will create an adorable Christmas treat that everyone can enjoy.

The reindeer cookies are just cookies with chocolate pretzels, and M&M’s placed in the shape of a reindeer. The cookie dough would ideally be something along the lines of peanut butter, gingerbread, or sugar cookie dough. However, any dough can be used. They just won't show up as clearly as the ones that I named (M&M cookie dough is

not recommended). Once the cookies have been made place two chocolate pretzels at the top corners of the cookies to act as antlers. Next, place two brown M&M’s at the upper center of the cookie to resemble eyes.

Finally use either a red or brown M&M at the lower center of the cookie to act as the reindeer's nose. That's all it takes to create an adorable reindeer cookie.

Making Christmas treats are a fun way to bring your family together for the holidays. They get people into the Christmas spirit and, if there are little ones in the house they can leave their treats out for Santa's visit.

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Elk Grove High School’s First Annual View Points

by Olivia Ali, Business Manager

Kamran Fardanesh, Design Manager studying and cannot wait to apply all he has worked for in the real world of microbiology.

On November 29, 2016, Elk Grove High School had the honor of hosting four special guests. These guests were a part of a presentation brought to us by TDA known as View Points. This presentation dove deep into the lives of microbiologist Kyler Lugo, banker and LGBTQ+ rights activist Christopher Biles, firefighter Erika Benavides, and nurse Dave Benavides. All four shared their experiences and how many lifechanging decisions led them to where they are today. All four had very different lifestyles and very different viewpoints.

However, they all valued determination and the drive to succeed, regardless of what could have negatively influenced lifechanging decisions.

The first speaker was Elk Grove High School’s very own Kyler Lugo. Graduate of the class of 2010, Lugo is now enrolled in Stanford University to earn his PhD in microbiology. During the presentation, Lugo and his audience explored microbiologic studies such as the immune system, pathogens, and bacteria. What we also explored was the fact that Lugo did not always aspire to be a microbiologist. Initially, Lugo had plans to become an environmental scientist. He realized soon after that becoming an environmental scientist wasn’t meant for him. He finally understood the fact that “I had to choose the path that I wanted.”

From then on, he followed his dreams to become a microbiologist. He left his audience with the final message: “there isn’t one right path.” You will always find a way to follow your dreams, regardless of how long it takes you to get there. Kyler Lugo is still attending college after 5 ½ years of studies.

He continues because he loves what he is

The second speaker is also an Elk Grove High School alumni. Christopher Biles was a student of the graduating class of 1990. Throughout the presentation, Biles introduced his audience to social issues we as humans face daily through social networking and in the real world. Biles and his audience examined his philosophy of the “bubble”.

The bubble, as he states, is a “micro community” that we as individuals build and use as an excuse so we “don’t have to worry about anything outside of the bubble.” Biles claims that containing yourself in this small bubble is unhealthy and inhumane. He stresses the importance of expanding your bubble and reaching outside of your comfort zone. Biles used himself as an example during the presentation to illustrate the importance of expanding your bubble. Biles was entering a very scary world when he went into banking. Leaving high school and entering the real world forces you to expand your bubble and meet new people. He had to do just that in order to succeed as a banker and grow as a person.

Finally, Erika and Dave Benavides spoke to the audience about their experiences with gender stereotypes and how they took it upon themselves to break the mold. Erika, originally from Nebraska, moved out to California and graduated from Sacramento State. From there, she got her EMT certification, and later completed and successfully passed the test to become a firefighter. Her road to becoming a firefighter as a woman was not easy, as it was a mostly male dominated profession at the time of her entry, as well as her time of retirement. She spoke on the struggles and sexism she experienced that lasted from her days of training until the days she became a captain. It wasn’t an easy road for her, but it gave her a sense of accomplishment to know she carried out her dream. It also gave her an important message to share with the audience to follow your passions no matter the road block in your way, and to never let anyone get you down or tell you that you can’t do something based on your gender.

Her husband, Dave Benavides, had a similar story. When he graduated, he became a nurse. Originally wanting to join the service, he was deterred from that due to his father’s experiences as a World War II veteran. After becoming a nurse, he received similar backlash for not only his gender, but also his race. At the beginning of his career, only 10% of all nurses were male, making him extremely vulnerable to weird looks and crude remarks from others. However, he does not let that stop him from happily living his life in the career of his dreams. Although Erika and Dave both loved their jobs, Erika decided eight years ago to take on a business and open Vic’s Corn Popper in Elk Grove.

The Viewpoints presentations presented by TDA was a great experience for students to consider the different points of view different people hold on certain topics.

The presentations consisted of stories and personal experiences that each speaker experienced throughout their lifetime and shared with students in hopes of getting them to understand what kinds of hardships and experiences can take place beyond high school regarding their schooling, careers, and personal lives.

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Christmas Miracle

by Tess Sommer, Staff

Christmas time is finally here! But why is Christmas more exciting than most other holidays? Well, I will explain.

Reason #1: Receiving gifts from others. The excitement of a child or teenager of wanting to wake up, go out into the living room, and see big stacks of candy by their stockings and tons of presents near the Christmas tree. Or attending events such as the White Elephant Gift Exchange, Christmas parades, Christmas parties, etc. These events cause a wild, but fun chaos because who doesn’t like a party?

Reason #2: Christmas plays. Most religious people get super excited about taking part of the wonderful celebration of

the birth of the savior, Jesus Christ. The plays consist of how Mary and Joseph are traveling in cities and stop at a place that is named Bethlehem.

Reason #3: Movie marathons. In some cases, people love getting ready for Christmas by making up popcorn, hot chocolate, and watching Christmas movies with their families. Especially on Christmas break, most families don’t plan on working all the time. Instead, they would rather enjoy spending time watching the cheesy Christmas movies, such as Christmas Story, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, Home Alone, Santa’s Workshop, Scrooged, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, to satisfy their time before Christmas day.

New Year’s Resolution? More Like New Year’s Desolation

by Landon Parkinson, Editor

It’s New Year’s Day and everyone’s on top of the world! Johnny, who got coal in his stocking, resolves to stop lighting his little bro’s hair on fire. Elsie, who’s been losing all her friends, has resolved to stop eating beans for breakfast. Joe, who has two broken ankles, resolves to stop parachuting off his roof. Everybody’s super stoked for a fresh start for improvement.

obviously not working for most people so he proposes scrapping them altogether. He invented the New Year’s Promise in their place. When making a New Year’s Promise, one writes down something he or she wants to do better that year on a slip of paper. They then give that slip to someone and tell them not to give them that paper back until they have completed their promise.

Now it’s two months later.

Johnny’s little bro doesn’t have hair anymore. Elsie sits by the open window in class, and Joe is paralyzed. Unfortunately, stories of failures like these are not uncommon. Statistics show that a whopping 92% of New Year’s Resolution are broken.

High hopes are being crushed and optimism is spiraling into depression. Instead of motivating people to improve like New Year’s Resolutions are supposed to do, they are making people accept their limitations and feel even more hopeless than ever before.

Just imagine if Elsie gave her slip to a friend. She would then have a friend to support her in her promise and motivate her to keep it. It makes a big difference knowing that breaking a promise won’t just make your life stink (no pun intended), but will disappoint someone you care about as well.

Alex Sheen, founder of “because I said I would,” is frustrated by this problem and has a solution. Resolutions are

Another reason why the New Year’s Promise works is simply the word “promise” itself. People put a lot more value in a promise than a resolution. When we make a promise, it is our word that gives the promise its value. When we break promises,

Reason #4: Christmas break! For anyone who goes to school, they can’t wait for the long winter break! Even at the start of school, most students already want Christmas vacation because no one can withstand the long hours of sitting on a desk and learning all the time. So, they count down the final days before Christmas break comes. Because of these reasons, these are why I believe Christmas to most people is the best holiday out of all the other ones

our word loses value, and eventually our word does not mean anything at all. When we make a New Year’s Promise to ourselves, it is our word and our self-confidence that we put on the line.

This coming New Year’s, do not become like Johnny, Elsie and Joe who betrayed their own trust. Do not decide that beans are just too tasty to quit, parachuting is way too thrilling, or seeing little Bobby’s red-head rolling on the ground is too hilarious. Make a promise and keep it.

Improve your life and build up trust in yourself. As Alex Sheen and thousands others can attest, it will increase your confidence and self-esteem. As motivational speaker Shia LaBeouf advises, JUST DO IT!!!!

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The Saga Continues, But Is It Worth the Watch?

by Chelsea Planesi, Staff

“May the Force be with you” is one of the most iconic lines in cinematic history.

The phrase instantly makes you think of the Star Wars series. Last year, director J.J. Abrams blessed us with the seventh episode in this series, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

This film expanded the Star Wars universe even more than the prequels and the animated TV shows did. On December 16th, the universe will be expanded even more with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, starring Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen, Diego Luna, and Forest Whitaker. I know what some of you may be thinking, “Another Star Wars film? They should’ve just kept it with the originals.” Another movie might seem unreasonable to those who are not fans of the franchise, but I’m here to defend Disney and Lucasfilm for creating another film.

Rogue One is technically a spin-off of the other seven Star Wars movies and will open up a new dimension of this fictional universe. Here are some reasons why you should be totally psyched about this movie, if you are not already: Rogue One is a prequel in the Star Wars series. If you’re lost on the timeline, I’ll briefly explain it. The original movies from the 70’s feature Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo and the prequel trilogy came out in the early 2000s, explaining the backstory of Darth Vader (also known as Anakin Skywalker at that point) and ObiWan Kenobi. Star Wars: The Force Awakens takes place after these seven movies and is the first installment of a sequel trilogy to the original films. Rogue One takes place in between Star Wars: Episode III- Revenge of the Sith (2005) and Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope (1977). This spin-off film tells a story about a band of rebels who attempt to steal plans for the Death Star and follows the plot of the original Star Wars trilogy. It will also answer some questions that fans have about holes in the iconic films’ plotlines.

Darth Vader is confirmed to appear in the movie, although no one is quite sure how

much screen-time the notorious villain will have.

The plot and connections to the other movies are not the only exciting thing about this film. Rogue One has an incredible line-up of stars that will appear in it. Felicity Jones portrays the lead character, Jyn Erso; this British actress is known for her performance in The Theory of Everything opposite of Eddie Redmayne and Inferno, the film adaptation of Dan Brown’s famous novel. Jones’ on-screen father is Mads Mikkelsen, who starred alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in Marvel’s Doctor Strange earlier this year. He also played James Bond’s antagonist in Casino Royale. Mexican actor Diego Luna stars as Captain Cassian Andor, but his work in Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, or Dirty Dancing 2, caused him to gain fame in America. Forest Whitaker brings the character of Saw Gerrera to life.

Gerrera appeared in the animated TV show Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Whitaker is bringing him to the big screen in Rogue One. Whitaker is known for his recurring role as Jon Kavanaugh in the television show The Shield.

Of course, all of these actors and actresses are amazing, but there is one actor above all that you should be excited for: James Earl Jones. Without him, we wouldn’t have the iconic lines such as “Luke, I am your father” and “Remember who you are.” If you don’t already know, it’s Jones that we have to thank for giving Darth Vader and The Lion King’s Mufasa such epic voices.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is going to launch the world of Star Wars into a whole other level. You should be excited for this movie because everything about it is fantastic: the plot, the connections to the originals, and the cast. Especially since James Earl Jones is returning, so you should be rejoicing.

POEM OF THE MONTH

Fate of Tomorrow

by Hannah Faith Villareal, Editor

Sadness engulfs me As I sit there, hours upon hours Completing problem after problem Reading page after page My eyes have become red And sleep is but a distant memory Coffee has become my only companion I know not the hour For the numbers become formulas in my sight The pressure grows stronger Reminding me of my past failures Bringing horrors to my mind It is a daunting task For what I do tonight Determines the fate of tomorrow

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Spending Money, Making Money, Or Losing Money

by Sheralyn Laron, Staff

For the last several years, the residents of Elk Grove have had high hopes for the shopping mall supposedly being built near the southern parts of the city. It has been highly anticipated by many and has recently garnered more attention these past few weeks due to the news of a nearby casino as well. In order to gather more people to the yet to be opened shopping mall, there are plans to open an Indian casino that would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to fund.

While there are some people who are more than accepting of this opening to lure in customers, there are also people who have their doubts with the casino. The focus

on opening a casino means that there will be less attention and development on the mall which has been in the works for more than a decade. There is also worry that a casino at this part of Elk Grove would cause an increase in traffic.

This talk of an Indian casino has also attracted the attention of groups that are specifically against the creation of tribal casinos. Petitions have been created in order to stop any beginnings of this casino. They are being spread throughout several centers like Target. However, as the talk of opening a casino increases, people may have actually begun to change their minds. Recently, more than 600 people have voiced their different opinions and want their names to be taken

Moana or Moanot?

by Anna Serpa, Editor

Moana, the new Disney princess movie is sweeping the continents. However, is this new flick worth a trip to the theatre?

After watching this film twice since its release on November 23 of this year, it is a beautiful film through every element. The storyline follows the usual Disney plot structure with a backstory, adventure, and good morals. It’s another family fun movie with gorgeous animation of scenery and characters. With this film, Disney brought Lin-Manuel Miranda to assist with the music, expanding his repertoire from Hamilton to Moana with even catchier songs

hook from Tamatoa. On the way to get his hook and complete Moana’s task, we come across pirates and Maui teaches Moana about wayfinding, otherwise known as sailing. Throughout this expanse of time, Hei Hei, Moana’s comedic and useless sidekick, gets into many situations. However, Hei Hei is only one of four sidekicks in the film; others include the ocean, Pua the pig, and Maui’s “living” tattoo. These all contribute to the comedy in the film with actions rather than words. The film climaxes with Moana and Maui finally reaching Tafiti, but they have to defeat the demon of earth and fire.

Moana begins with the village’s wise woman telling legends to the young children of the island and, as in the trailer, we see a 3-year-old Moana wobble to the beach.

As Moana grows up into a teenager she keeps returning to the sea and dancing with her grandmother by the shore despite her father’s fear of the ocean. However once an ancient secret is revealed, Moana runs off to reset the balance and save her village. The stars, ocean, and grandmother’s reincarnated spirit guide the way.

There is no doubt this movie takes every viewer on an adventurous ride, but some things could have been shown better.

The ending could have been explained better. Maui’s character could have been developed more. Despite the lack of development in both the ending and Maui, Moana is a family fun film and is a great adventure for all.

Soon after, we meet an egotistical Maui, the demi-god of the air and sea, who is solely focused on retrieving his magical fish

off these anti-casino petitions. People have taken an interest in the opening of a casino because it would increase job opportunities for the area. It would connect the northern parts of Elk Grove to the southern areas where casinos have already flourished. It would also provide more hotels, pools, spas, and restaurants for people to enjoy.

There is no telling what will become of this area near Highway 99 that was originally meant for just another shopping center, but it may quickly turn into another way to lose money. A decision as large as this one comes with many possible choices. If this casino is built, people can either spend and lose money to fund and support it or they can possibly have more job opportunities to make money. What do you hope will come out of this new casino if it is ever constructed?

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TDA’s First Annual View Points

Above Left: Christopher Biles Above Right: Kyler Lugo Bottom Left: Erika Benavides Bottom Right: Dave Benavides

Left to Right: Dave Benavides, Erika Benavides, Christopher Biles, Kyler Lugo