The Antlerette Issue 6

The Antlerette January 12 2020 Volume 94 Issue 6

Conspiracy: Elk Grove’s Local Teen Band Jordan Ritchie, Editor-in-Chief Music is such an integral part of our lives.

While most of us love to tune into mainstream music, why don’t we support young, local artists? Conspiracy is a local band starring teens in our own community: Angelgrace Bonnett (Singer), Nacho Greisan and Luke Keenan (Bassists), Nolan Martin and Logan Clark (Guitarists), and David Lee (Drummer). New to the music scene, they form a variety of covers and originals too. I spoke with lead singer, Angelgrace Bonnett, to hear more about the band.

How did you form your band?

“Well, we’ve all known each other as musicians and friends, and played music with each other before through School of Rock and we all wanted to start our own band, so we got together and got workin’ and here we are!”

What are your favorite songs to perform at gigs?

“As far as our favorite songs go, we all love playing our music. Being in this industry, you’re of course gonna play music you don’t like at one point. Playing covers that are crowd pleasers are always the funnest, seeing everyone in the audience brighten up and get excited because then they’ll sing along to every word and get up and dance. There’s no particular song we

prefer playing, but anything that gets the crowd going totally gets us hyped.”

Any embarrassing or weird memories with the band?

“Our band has definitely had some weird memories, especially as friends. At one of our gigs on Halloween, one of our members wore a dinosaur costume, another wore a baby mask and trying to play guitar in such difficult costumes didn’t end very well!”

What’s the best part about performing?

“The best part about performing is the thrill of being able to express our love for music to our audience. Connecting with our audience through doing what we love is one of the most powerful experiences ever.

Being on stage, doing what we’re best at and impacting the world by doing so is amazing.”

What’s the best part about performing with a group?

“The best part about performing with a group is being able to share all of our experiences together rather than by ourselves. Music brings people together on an emotional level and connects them in a way that can’t be found anywhere else.

There was a study done about how friends who play music together connect on the same exact brain wave that can’t be shared with people outside of the band. I’d personally rather go through this industry with my friends beside me rather than going in solo and dealing with all the hardships myself.”

While getting to know more about Angelgrace and Conspiracy was a blast, I

thought more about their experience. You always hear famous musicians talk about their journey to stardom and the struggles they encountered along the way. While some people’s experiences are different than others, more often than not, you hear them say something along the lines of “Success didn’t happen overnight.” So I was curious as to what challenges Conspiracy faces as a band new to the industry.

“Being a new band is pretty difficult because nobody in the local Sacramento musician industry really knows you, especially venues. If you’re not a popular band, venues are less likely to book you and it’s especially harder since we’re younger. A lot of venues require you to be over 18 because minors can’t really perform at the venues around here. It’s also hard to find a sound that fits your band. Being new, every band member has a different taste in music and different opinions on how they want the band’s sound to be like; some might want it heavier rock or metal; some want pop or funk or something, it’s all a challenge to find a collective groove that fits the band and also would fit the audience and what the audience wants.”

Finally, inspired by Bonnett’s and her band’s courage to do what they love by performing, I asked her for any advice she has for other young aspiring musicians, especially teens.

“Honestly, the only thing I have to say is that this industry will be tough, and going into it for the wrong reasons will be your downfall. If you’re going into it for the fame, then the passion for your music will fade and everything will be about getting more followers or chasing the spotlight.

Keep your mind set on your music and improving and growing as an artist and if it’s truly meant for you, that alone will get you where you need to go.”

To support Conspiracy, follow them on Instagram “@therealconspiracy_”. You can also email the band to book them. So if you’re a fellow fan of music, check them out

on Instagram and attend their next gig! If you’re an aspiring artist looking to find your way into the music industry, take your dream and set it into motion. Conspiracy is doing it right now, so can you. Like Angelgrace Bonnett said, “Keep your mind set on your music… that alone will get you where you need to go.”

“You’re good-looking...for an Asian” Jordan Ritchie, Editor-in-Chief So is that supposed to be taken as a compliment errr… what?

Imagine if someone said to you, “You’re good-looking for an Asian!”

Yeah, I wouldn’t know what to say either.

Fortunately, I haven’t been put in a position where I’ve had to respond to this statement, but many Asians living in the Western world have. They are all victims of casual racism.

It means exactly what it sounds like.

Typically, perpetrators of casual racism have no intention to cause offense, but end up doing so, anyway. Maybe they do so by making a subtle race-related joke, distancing themselves from people of certain races, or making insulting remarks coated with positivity like saying someone is attractive despite the rest of their race being generally unattractive.

For example, actor, Lee Doud, who is of Chinese heritage, has had some unfortunate experiences in dating due to his race. In an interview with HuffPost, he describes a date he went on in which the person he was

meeting asked if he was Latino. When Doud revealed his ethnicity, his date “...became very distant and when I continued to flirt, he claimed that he was no longer ‘feeling it.’”

While this is a perfect example of the casual racism Asians are victims of, the effect of this form of discrimination pales in comparison to the blatant and hateful racism we also face.

Sinakhone Keodara, another Asian actor, has also dealt with racism in the dating world. He mentioned that while using a dating app, the person he was conversing with replied with “Asian, ew gross.” He also mentioned that he’d run across profiles saying such things as “no Asians” and profiles that express the user’s disinterest in Asians.

A couple years back on his show, Steve Harvey made a joke–that was not very well-received–after mentioning a book called How to Date a White Woman: A Practical Guide for Asian Men. Harvey chose not only to poke fun at the book itself, but its intended audience as well. He laughed hysterically and turned to an audience member and said, “Excuse me? Do you like Asian men? No! Thank you… ‘You like Asian men?’ I don’t even like Chinese food.” I could proceed to mention the things he said after these statements, but there’s no need. You see my point. I’ve had people tell me that they’re not attracted to Asians, and while we have freedom of speech and everyone has their own opinion and likes and dislikes, should that make these attitudes tolerable? It is extremely wrong to generalize an entire race or group, especially in a way that is insulting or offensive. So you’re not attracted to Asians? Fine. But for you to tell an Asian that, or worse, to let the whole world know, is not only rude and inconsiderate, but also ignorant.

However, these attitudes are nothing new. Asians have been overlooked and ignored for years. For example, to my knowledge, never has there been a predominantly Asian person on the cover of

People’s Sexiest Man or Woman Alive issue.

Some may bring up 1994 title-holder, Keanu Reeve’s Chinese and Hawaiian ancestry from his father’s side to refute my point, but this is not something widely-known. While Keanu Reeves is a spectacular actor and human being, I rejoiced in learning of his Asian roots, but it seems that he is recognized by the public as Caucasian. I don’t know if that makes him more or less likely to be subject to the “You’re goodlooking for an Asian” compliment.

Though this whole topic enrages me, I understand the origin of this stigma.

Oftentimes, Asians are stereotyped as ugly or unattractive. And while stereotypes often hold some measure of truth, this one is completely ridiculous. Once again, generalization. Excuse my abrasiveness, but every ethnic group has ugly people. There is no one race that is completely good-looking and no one race that is completely unattractive. Asians are no exception to this.

Are Asians unworthy of beauty just because their beauty standards don’t align with that of the Western world? We are just as deserving of beauty. Different does not mean inferior.

However, despite the struggles, we’ve had our victories. In the last decade, two of our Miss Universe winners were Asian, representing the Philippines—Pia Wurtzbach (2016) and Catriona Gray (2018).

In 2019, Jungkook was named TC Candler’s Most Handsome Face of the year, representing South Korea. Maybe these are small steps, but progress is progress. Let us wash away this stigma and put an end to casual racism, not only for Asians, but for all.

Maybe, in the future, a beautiful Asian person can walk down the street, show up on a date, strike up a conversation, and not be told that they are good-looking for a Asian, but just good-looking as a person.

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbcout/asian-american-man-threatens-classaction-discrimination-suit-against-grindrn890946

Problems With Being an Asian in America Greg Santos, Staff People often talk about the hardships that they have to experience within their own race, yet I haven’t heard many Asians speak up.

Segregation was ended in 1964 thanks to MLK, but racism still exists in our world today. People still treat others differently based on the color of their skin and/or their ethnicity. Asians are one of the most, if not the most discriminated race in America.

One reason for this is the stereotypes that have formulated around the Asian race. For instance, an everyday stereotype that Asians get made fun of for is their eyes. Asians are known to have smaller than average eyes and they get insulted for it all the time. This opens up a new stereotype that Asians get criticized for being: bad drivers. It has gotten to the point where when someone sees a bad driver, they say, “Oh, I bet he’s Asian.” It is just ignorant and irritating.

Some other popular stereotypes used against Asians are they eat dogs and cats, they are all good at math, they’re short, they all like anime, they all look the same, etc.

It is clear that people treat Asians different than the rest of the world. Jeremy Lin is a great example. Jeremy managed to maintain an astounding 4.2 GPA at Palo Alto High School in California, while also leading his basketball team to a record of 32-1. In the 2005-2006 season, Lin was the captain as a senior and let them to the State Division Championship, where his team upset the heavily favored Mater Dei of Southern California, 51-47. Despite having a GPA of over

4.0 and leading his high school team to a championship as complete underdogs, Jeremy Lin did not receive any athletic scholarships from Division I programs. Lin averaged an astonishing 15.1 points, 7.1 assists, 6.2 rebounds, and 5 steals in high school, along with a 4.2 GPA, and didn’t get any D1 scholarship offers.

He averaged 17.8 points, 4.3 assists, and 5.5 rebounds at Harvard University. He went undrafted. When he was declared for the 2015 NBA draft, all of the teams passed up on him. He later earned his way into the NBA, but it took him longer than a typical player with his skillset to get there. It makes the world wonder, if he was African-American or Caucasian, or any other race for that matter… would he still get passed up on?

As previously explained, the Asian race has been slept on, discriminated against, and treated poorly. Asians have been dealing with this doubt and disrespect for too long. We need to fix this underrated problem and treat everyone equally with respect.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asianamerica/13-moments-asian-america-movedus-2018-n950516

The Death of Journalism in America Ryan O’Sullivan, Staff American journalism is an outlet for writers to express their opinions, share facts, debate, and overall inform the American population. The first foundation of journalists came in England in the 1880’s.

After this creation, it took off to the Americas and began spreading all over the world. We started to witness the voice and

opinions from panels of writers, which led to a differing of ideas in the American population.

Now, instead of hearing a few voices, we would see newspapers and coverage of important events from all types of viewpoints. The birth of journalism gave us the ability to see three sides of an issue or event. The two main sides against each other and the facts. This gave Americans the power to start thinking for themselves.

However, journalism in the past couple years has started to fall. This is due to the uprise of fake news, spam, and the increase in people distrusting the media. We have lost the power to go in depth due to the fact that everyone is going to be biased or not be able to maintain a long enough attention spam. Websites are now solely basing the entirety of their articles around the fact that if you have a differing opinion you are the enemy. It’s much easier to think of it on the spectrum of right or wrong rather than understanding the other side and formulating your own ideas.

An example of how we have lost a great deal of journalists comes from The Denver Post.

The Denver Post is a daily newspaper founded in 1892. Not long ago, The Denver Post had 300 writers on their panel. At this present time The Post has only 70 writers due to the fall of journalism. The Post has also lost a great deal of subscribers due to the fact that the old subscribers can get the same news off their 50’ flat screen TV. We need to ensure 2020 is not the year when journalism goes down in flames, so go out and support your local news companies right now.

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/thedeath-of-journalism-grrrgraphics-art.html

The Real Victims Isella Nepomuceno, Staff The recent death of Iranian general, Qassam Soleimani, has heightened tensions between the United States and Iran, and has many Americans worried about the possibility of World War III. Jokes about getting drafted have been circulating the internet and desensitization of war has spread rapidly. However, the panic that has ensued is unnecessary because if war were to break out, it would never touch American soil. The real victims, the ones who should be panicking, are those overseas in the country that we make out to be evil. The innocent citizens are the ones who will suffer at the hands of missiles and bombs, even though they are simply trying to survive.

The way Americans have become desensitized to the thought of war proves our privilege. The fact that we can turn a blind eye to the very real suffering of Iranians and make jokes with the excuse that its a “coping mechanism” is ridiculously apathetic. It is easy to forget those who are suffering when it doesn’t interfere with our own well-being.

The jokes that have been going around contain inaccurate information and do nothing except spark fear. There is no reason for arguing that the jokes are a coping mechanism if their sole purpose is to mock the real victims.

And why should we concern ourselves with problems that don’t directly affect us? We have to worry about things that hit closer to home, don’t we? The issue with this perspective is that by viewing these conflicts from far away, we remove the humanity from the Iranian people. We must remember that they are real people with families, goals, and lives.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1223 447/us-drone-strike-iran-qassem-soleimanibaghdad-airport-attack-iraq-donald-trump

And Iran, Iran So Far Away Ethan Maiuro, Staff On January 3rd, 2020, a United States airstrike, ordered by President Donald Trump, killed top Iranian, Military General Qasem Soleimani, considered by many to be the second most powerful person in Iran’s government. The strike occurred near Iraq’s Baghdad International Airport, four days after violent rallies at a Baghdad United States Embassy broke out. Understanding the basis of this action requires a broad examination of ever-growing United StatesIranian tensions.

Rising Tensions Iran has a history of political and foreign conflict with the United States and other global superpowers, due to its heavy involvement and support in global terrorism.

The Department of State reported in 2018 that Iran spent nearly a billion dollars annually to "support terrorist groups that serve as its proxies and expand its malign influence across the globe.” From 2010 through 2015, the Department of Justice confirmed and reported dozens of terror incidents sponsored and/or orchestrated by Iran and have proved it to be in opposition to the United States’ interests. In 2011 the United States foiled a plot by Iran to assassinate a Saudi ambassador on his way to Washington. The Israeli government reported in 2012 that Hizballah (a terrorist proxy group funded by Iran) has stockpiled

50,000 missiles in Lebanon, some of which are capable of striking anywhere in Israel, including population centers. The same year an Iranian sponsored bombing killed six Israeli citizens. In 2014, Peruvian officials arrested a Hezbollah operative plotting attacks on Jewish and Israeli operatives. In 2015, another Hezbollah official was arrested after storing 8.5 tons of explosive material with the intent to attack Israeli interests. The same year Kuwait officials would foil a plot, planned by 25 Iranian nationalists, to carry out attacks on Kuwait soil. Kenyan officials arrested two Iranlinked Kenyan nationalists that admitted to “conspiring to mount terror attacks against Western targets in Kenya”. This is only a small list in a small period of time of attacks that Iran has been involved in, but the threat of Iran would only be exacerbated by Iran’s arsenal of nuclear weapons. For decades, Iran has encountered numerous disagreements with the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), an international treaty that prevents the spread of nuclear weapons and promotes peaceful uses of nuclear energy, involving its non-compliance of NPT agreements since the 1980s. In an attempt to soften Iran’s conflict with the NPT and quell its terrorist actions, Iran agreed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on July 14, 2015. The JCPOA, an executive agreement that was not legally binding, was an attempt to restrict Iran’s nuclear stockpile in exchange for an estimated 56 billion dollars in sanctioned funds. Carrying over into the Trump administration, the United States withdrew from the nuclear deal, reimposing sanctions on Iran. After a number of incidents with Iran following the United States’ withdrawal from the JCPOA, a United States embassy in Baghdad was under attack by Iranian backed militants, that had been approved by Soleimani. In response to the totality of Iranian backed action, a drone strike was ordered by President Trump, killing top Iranian general Quasem Soleimani.

United States’s Response Considering Iran’s history of violence against the United States and policy disagreements with the NPT, nuclear and terrorist threats by Iran had to be quelled, which was what the JCPOA made a desperate attempt at. While it did heavily restrict the manufacturing of Iran’s nuclear weapons and enrichment of uranium, it made no effort to deter terrorist acts. As a prominent political figure in Iran that had played a major role in global terrorism, Soleimani sought to reshape the Middle East in Iran’s favor by working as a power broker and as a military force. Individually and through proxy forces, Soleimani assassinated rivals, armed allies, and, for most of a decade, directed a network of militant groups that killed hundreds of American soldiers and thousands of Iraqi soldiers. Virtually no United States government official has disputed Soleimani’s identity as an extremely bad actor in opposition to the United States’ interests.

Based on this history, was the drone strike targeting Soleimani by President Trump legally justified? The 1973 War Powers Resolution, empowers presidents to use force when there is a declaration of war; a specific statutory authorization, or “a national emergency created by attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.” Use of force in these circumstances does not require advance congressional briefing or consent, although reporting after the fact must occur.

As the strike against Soleimani was in response to a siege on a United States Embassy, organized by Iranian-backed militias, it can be considered a clear threat to armed forces (as United States and Iraqi forces were present at the embassy) and even national security (as over 200 diplomats were present during the siege and the confidential information that’s kept within the embassy).

Some would regard this action by President Trump as a provocation of war

with Iran, but this response by President Trump was supported by other recent historical events. The Trump administration had not previously responded to two prior Iranian attacks, shooting down of a United States military drone and attacks on two oil tankers through the Gulf of Oman. A day before the strike on Soleimani, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper stated there were indications that Iran or Iranian backed forces had been planning additional attacks and it was possible that the United States might have to take preemptive action in order to protect American lives. This action was displayed in response to an attack on a United States Embassy in Baghdad on December 12th 2019. At that point, the nation’s commander-in-chief evaluated its options to address this issue, which included President Trump’s plan, developed over seven months, to kill top Iranian general Quasem Soleimani. This choice sought to advance two goals: First, to rid the United States and in fact the world of an enemy who had for years disrupted stability in the Middle East and was irrefutably responsible for the deaths of thousands; and the second, to deter Iran from resuming and continuing terror activity. At present, these goals appear to have been met. After a single response, Iran has backed down and new sanctions have been imposed upon Iran, cutting off billions of dollars in support of the Iranian regime.

https://thehill.com/policy/international/middl e-east-north-africa/481369-iran-to-executealleged-cia-spy-officials-say

Lizzo and the Significance of Body Shaming Benjamin Carrillo, Staff Lizzo has been a huge part of 2019 and has remained in the spotlight from the transition into the new decade, gaining a lot of success off the songs “Truth Hurts” and “Good as Hell” which were made 3 years ago. Although the songs are old, the messages displayed in all the songs are perfect anthems of loving yourself and body acceptance. An interesting thing that makes Lizzo stand out is the amount of self-love she has. This confidence she displays makes many people jealous of her, which has led to an endless amount of trolling and teasing from every corner of the internet.

Specifically, the popular apps TikTok and Twitter are the main spawns of such jokes.

The bullying has gotten so severe Lizzo has decided to delete her Twitter, stating “Yeah I can’t do this Twitter s*** no more… too many trolls...I’ll be back when I feel like it.”

No one should have to feel like this. And we need to understand that there is much more significance to bullying than we pretend to know.

Body shaming is on a long list of ideologies that we should not carry into the new decade. This practice of shaming someone for his or her body can easily get out of hand and lead to extreme mental illnesses or diseases. Many cases of depression can be linked to a negative selfimage of yourself due to your weight. But in reality, all bodies are beautiful, and yes, obesity can lead to unhealthy diseases like diabetes and cause a hindrance for everyone around them, but it is ignorant to assume someone’s state of health based on their body and claim you’re shaming them because you care. Although it does not show the same, many skinny people suffer with different types of diseases. The most important part of this is that any body type can fall victim to illnesses. A prime example

of this is Jillian Michaels’ situation that has recently gone down.

In a Buzzfeed News interview discussing Lizzo she stated, “Why are we celebrating her body? Why does it matter?

Why aren’t we celebrating her music?

‘Cause it isn’t gonna be awesome if she gets diabetes.” Not only is this incredibly toxic, but it’s not true either! Many people did not discover Lizzo because of her weight. And that was not the intention when discovering her. Lizzo is celebrated because of the good vibes her music will give people. They make people feel like they can do anything. Many people have quickly come to Lizzo’s defence. The Good Place’s Jameela Jamil tweeted, “Just Saying...MY WHOLE DAMN THIN FAMILY HAS DIABETES AND HIGH CHOLESTEROL AND PROBLEMS WITH JOINTS. Why is this woman acting like she’s an MRI? Stop concern-trolling fat people and get in the bin.” We need to stop bringing people down and instead raise each other up.

With so much going on in the world, we should stop focusing on how other people are doing and instead focus on the big issues on our planet as of right now. As a whole, we need to stop attacking people for what they are doing. Let us all live our own lives.

It is Lizzo’s own concern what happens in her life. We all deserve to live our lives judgment free and feel “Good as Hell”.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/09/lizzoalmost-quit-music-the-day-she-released-herno-1-billboard-hit.html

Herd Pride Calvin Wilber, Staff It was 12 o’clock at night and I had just finished meandering through my ten stats questions, twenty-eight pages of AP Government reading, chapter overview for economics, and blankly staring at college emails trying to comprehend the wordy gibberish they had sent me. I was working in the kitchen and finally got up and walked down the hall, passed all my sleeping relatives, and into my room. I flicked the light on, revealing the messy, junk-covered floor and unmade bed. I sighed at the stress inducing mess and flicked the light off and walked over to my bed. I sat down on it and began debating in my head. Should I spend the next two plus hours watching videos on YouTube, searching the internet for faster, flashier videos like a junkie searches for a better and better fix, or go to bed and be somewhat clear headed tomorrow? I eventually decided to watch YouTube on my phone and watched nine to twenty videos that would’ve made me laugh a few weeks ago, but now, barely made me smile, before I finally knocked out at around 2:30.

I was awakened at 6 AM by “War Pigs” blaring from my speaker. I struggled for about five minutes to get my eyes open and to get the motivation to get up and dressed.

The rest of the preparation for school went by in a sleepy haze as I packed my backpack, filled my water bottle, and grabbed my guitar. I was almost completely unaware of the whole process until I brushed my teeth. I was gripped by an inner anxiety and my tongue stiffened and I spat out my toothpaste and started gagging. I cursed under my breath as I wiped the leftover toothpaste from the corners of my mouth.

Finally, I kissed my mother goodbye and walked out into the cold, dark morning. I got in our van with my dad and sister, and we left for Elk Grove High School.

Dad tried to start a conversation, but neither my sister nor I were awake enough to respond with anything intelligible or pleasant, so he turned on the radio instead.

The radio show hosts were arguing about some conflict between homeless people and a neighborhood. My dad scoffed a couple times to show his distaste for the “hobos”. I was upset by my dad’s hatred for the homeless, but I didn’t bring it up because I didn’t want to fight this early in the morning.

Anyway, I completely forgot about it as Dad dropped us off at the front of the school. A security guard had set up traffic cones in an attempt to stop parents from dropping their kids off in the front parking lot for some unknown reason, but the morning crowd (band kids, other zero period kids and me) were dropped off at the same spots as usual.

We staggered into the maws of Elk Grove High School and I headed for the cafeteria. I was the third kid to enter it, the other two kids were both quietly staring at their phones on opposite sides of the room.

I walked to my regular spot, a table facing the windows, away from the crowd that would gather there in an hour, and sat down. The band kids started gathering at the table next to mine, laughing and shouting.

Some kids I vaguely knew came in after a while and sat at my table. I decided that it was time to start gathering information for my article.

I turned to them and asked, “What do you guys think Herd Pride is?”

One girl stared at me drowsily and responded, “Something that is… very annoying in the morning”; another responded “Honor Effort Respect Determination”;and a guy responded, “Just like showing respect for our school.” I thanked them, but wasn’t satisfied. And instead was a little fixated by their vagueness. We’d had so many assemblies celebrating the Thundering Herd and Herd Pride, but what did that mean? What is Herd

Pride? What is the Herd lifestyle? I decided to try to find out.

The cafeteria began filling up and sophomores were crowding my table. They were loud, boisterous, and completely unself-aware, yelling hateful slurs, video game nonsense, fandom gibber, and plans to get nudes. All of this garbage, coming from these 15 year olds that wanted to be grownups, left a bad taste in my mouth. I grabbed my stuff and left the cafeteria.

I walked across the quad to my locker, the question of Herd Pride still echoing around my head. I definitely did not feel any pride in my school nor any shame.

EGHS was just a place I had to go spend, and mostly waste, seven hours of my life. It wasn’t until senior year that I started feeling negative at all about the place; before that I didn’t give it much thought. School was just a part of my life, and had been since preschool.

I got my first three periods of folders and books out of my locker because I wouldn’t have any time to get to them until lunch. I walked across campus to my first period English class and the bell rang just as I reached it.

I walked into the dimly lit room and sat down. I pulled my English journal out and flipped to a clear page, then I rested my head on it. I closed my eyes and listened to the students entering the classroom. A few students muttered softly to each other, but the classroom had a silent aura no one was willing to fully shatter. The teacher walked to the front of the class as the final bell rang.

She told us that we had an assembly before lunch. I groaned and cursed under my breath, assemblies were always huge wastes of time.

“What is the assembly about?” asked a student.

“Herd Pride.”

My ears perked up. Now I was interested. What better place to define Herd Pride than from its propagators? An assembly about Herd Pride was no big surprise, we’d had many weird assemblies

since the new principal had taken over.

Many people felt uncertain about the new principal, and they each cited their own unique reason: “He’s trying to turn us into Cosumnes Oaks.”

“He wants to shorten lunches.”

“He’s not even asking us about how we feel about the changes.”

“He wants to get rid of Herd Time.”

Just like the school, I didn’t share their concerns about him but I understood the resistance to him. He represented change, and change is the last thing a campus full of suburb dwellers set in their routines want.

Anything new and uncomfortable displeased the Herd and did not elicit any positive response. From all my experiences with changes of power in the town of Elk Grove, I wonder if there is ever any positive transfer of power, or if it is always tainted by privileged fear.

The rest of English went by quickly.

We talked about the novel Native Son and about the struggles of black people in the thirties. I got very emotional as I imagined never being or feeling safe as forces bigger and more powerful than me could end my life with no consequences and feeling disconnected from the land I was forced to live and work in.

I began to notice some similarities between oppressed people and the students of Elk Grove. I was tempted to draw a venn diagram comparing, but then the bell rang and I forgot about it.

The Herd began migrating, an agitated mass sweeping me along with it. I weaved quickly around the students who were strolling the halls leisurely. I had five minutes to cross the entire campus and get to my World Language class and it took all of my effort to make it on time everyday.

The one minute bell rang and all the security guards started shouting at anyone nearby. Some less self-conscious students sprinted past as I maneuvered around the

clotted hallways and slid into my World Language class as the bell rang.

World Language was one of the most bipolar classes I had ever experienced. The difficulty level day to day was erratic to say the least. One day we’d watch a video and the very next we’d do the hardest practice test I’d ever done. The weird pairing of extreme difficulty and goofy easiness led to a surreal environment. I’d try to stress about the class, but without fail, the sleep atmosphere would lull me into a sense of distant security.

Luckily, the class went by quickly enough and it was on to third period, Antlerette. Thankfully, this class was right around the corner so I was in no rush. The door was locked for the class so I pulled out my guitar and started playing. Students and teachers walked by and little by little, the Antlerette people began showing up. As the bell rang the teacher showed up and let us in.

Once inside, everyone migrated to their usual places in the room and began talking.

Antlerette was a loud class with tons of different conversations overlapping each other.

“It’s crazy we live in a society where...”

“Oh my god watch this video, it’s so...”

“Did you hear what he...”

“Remember third drafts are due...”

The loose chaotic energy was refreshing after World Language and I went to the assembly afterwards feeling ready for whatever was next. The assembly was in the auditorium and the quad was crowded with students filing into the building. I got inside and snagged a seat at the back of a bleacher in a corner. I looked at the assembly set up.

It was an inspirational speaker with a presentation. Once everyone was settled in, he started talking.

“What’s up Elk Grove Herd?” There were some cheers and he held his hand to his ear and repeated, “What’s up Elk Grove Herd?” This time, the cheers were louder

and more numerous. This set a precedent for the rest of the presentation. This speaker’s style was call and response with as much audience participation as possible. He created cheers for us to complete and played parts of popular songs. He also addressed the Herd lifestyle as we were promised.

“What does Herd stand for? Honor, Effort, Respect, and Determination. Herd Pride is the pillars to being a better person.

To honor your teachers and classmates, put effort into your work to respect yourself, your peers, and your teachers, and to be responsible in everything you do. These are all things you’ll need to achieve greatness in life.”

I wanted to accept his message and live by it, but something was holding me back. I wasn’t sure if it was simply teenage cynicism or my peers who were muttering sardonically around me influencing me, but there was definitely something stopping me and some of my peers from believing him.

Was he right about Herd Pride? Is it simply guidelines to live by? And anyway, what did this speaker know about Herd Pride? He didn’t go here. And based off the varied responses of the students to him was there any universal way to define Herd Pride?

These thoughts swirled around in my head as we left the auditorium for lunch. I became more unsure as I looked around at all the people on campus, each with their own stories forming their own groups, their own subcultures. Is there really any universal culture on the campus? What did we have in common?

I couldn’t accept the wholesome vision of Herd culture being based on living by the acronym. We didn’t share that in common; but as I thought about it, I realized there was a lot we did have in common. We all went to the same school with its weird bell schedules that never seem to be the same, that had fire alarms in frequent bursts, that had Herd Time to make up homework or tests or to just goof off. We all shared a

limited number of teachers who were also trying to understand the chaos of campus.

We all had to deal with the same offices when we needed to leave school early or counselors when we needed to figure our schedule out or security guards when we’re sitting on a table. But not much beyond that.

We all lived different lives with different experiences and cultures.

I continued thinking about this as I went to my locker, ate lunch, and strummed on my guitar. But once the bell rang I forgot about it.

My next class was Choir. Choir was a wild but fun mess of a class. So many different ideas and assignments were discussed and thrown around. Several people had told me that they took the class so that they could have an easy class. I don’t follow their logic because I find learning songs to be just as stressful and just as much work as any other class. After an hour of practicing my songs for the Valentine’s singing grams and discussing music with the other guitar players, the bell rang.

Next was Statistics. Statistics was a fairly ordinary class. I didn’t struggle in it too much and, if I were able to stay focused enough, I would be able to finish all my work before the class was over. I wasn’t always that lucky but it was nice when I was.

I left Stats and headed to my final period: AP Government. Government was the opposite of Statistics; it was laid back and unrestrictive. The atmosphere was warm and fun and far less crowded. I was one of the first people to enter the class and I lay down on the couch the teacher had in his room and rested for the passing period.

When the class started, we began discussing modern politics and news before we got into the lesson. We discussed the assassination of the Iranian general and why no president had done it before. After that, we took notes on a powerpoint about how nations gain or lose democracy and its effects. And after that, class was almost over. We discussed the potential presidential

candidates in the next election and discussed the promises they had made so far. Then the bell rang and I forgot all about government and politics as I joined with the Herd as they dispersed.

Many headed to their lockers and then, who knows where everyone on campus goes after school? Many probably went home, or to jobs, or to practice of some kind.

The private lives of the Herd were impossible to tell from a distance. As I watched them leave, I noticed that the farther they got from school, the less they looked like a herd. The population of the school broke up into smaller groups of kids which slowly broke apart into handfuls of individuals. And maybe that was what we should focus on instead of Herd Pride.

Maybe instead of trying to be a herd we should try to be individuals, and respect each other as such.

http://eghs.egusd.net/

Robots Finna Live On The Moon OwO? Yasamine Yusufzai, Copy Editor In 2015, Japan surveyed the moon because they wanted to build a moon base. They believe that a moon base is necessary to explore the universe and they plan on creating this base by using robots.

One of their biggest reasons for using robots was the fact that it would require less people to work. Usually, people on the Earth would use the robots to build and explore the

universe, but now the robots do mostly everything by themselves and o nly a few humans watch them. The robots would build the base faster and cheaper than humans would.

These robots would create the base in the south pole of the moon and the energy that they would use is solar power. The robots would weigh 660 pounds, have highdefinition cameras, seismographs to look into the moon's inner structure, and arms to collect rock samples and then come back to Japan using rockets. The cost of this whole project would total up to be 2.2 billion dollars. Since it is so expensive, the building of the project had been postponed to 2020.

Hopefully, this year, the moon base would be completed so that we can discover more cool things about the universe.

Lyme disease is a disease that is caused by ticks that have bacteria on them when they bite you. Lyme disease symptoms include joint pain, fatigue, fever, rashes, and swelling. Since Justin has revealed that he has Lyme disease, fans are quite concerned.

Lyme disease is typically cured by antibiotics. According to medical professionals, Lyme disease can rarely cause death. If Lyme disease is untreated for too long, you could suffer serious neurological damage. Hopefully Justin gets the medical help he needs to get better.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/articl e-7865971/Justin-Bieber-suffering-Lymedisease.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article2623209/Russia-plans-colonise-MOON2030-according-leaked-governmentdocument-says-robot-rovers-sent-2016.html

Justin Bieber’s Lyme Disease Victoria Swan, Staff Justin Bieber has been a star since the early 2000s and most people know who he is. Beliebers (what the fans call themselves) have been observing his life for years on end. Justin Bieber is a pop singer who has been in the spotlight since he was 13 years old. Lately, his fans have noticed that Justin looks like he’s lost some weight and looks extremely sick. Recently, Justin Bieber revealed that he is suffering from Lyme disease.

How to Make Money & Manage it as a Teen Amarra Brown, Staff Andre Leon Talley once said, “Money isn’t everything…but it is when you start thinking about putting money away toward your retirement fund.” Similarly, for teens, this money can be put toward simpler things such as a new pair of shoes, a brand-new car, or even a small college fund. However, earning money as a teen isn’t always as easy as it may seem at first glance. There are many methods and opportunities made available in the United States for teens looking to accumulate wealth. In today’s economy, knowing how to manage this money is a key factor in how successful you will be in reaching monetary goals, as well as having money left over to save.

We all know the most common ideas that come to mind when the two words teen and money are mentioned in the same sentence: dog walking, fast-food employment, neighborhood odd-jobs...etc. What hasn’t been mentioned to most teens are the bigger and better opportunities that will allow them to make an equal or greater amount of money, except doing something a little less basic. This can be a paid internship at a hospital or starting your own small business doing something easy that you’re good at.

One of the biggest problems with teens earning money on their own is that they often have no idea how to manage it. The cycle goes something like this: earn it, spend it; spend it, regret it, earn it back, then spend it. So on and so forth. Pro tip: start with small saving goals. A quarter here, a dollar there, until you reach your larger goal. A great first step in saving money is opening a checking and savings account with a bank or credit union. This way, you can have a clear idea of what money you’ve spent, earned, and saved without having to reach your hand into the ole piggy bank you kept since you were five years old.

Just as earning money is important, so is knowing how to manage it. The sooner teens can grab the concept of saving, investing, and just smarter spending in general, the more the economy will grow as well as their pockets.

https://www.moneyunder30.com/how-teenscan-save-money

Jenny and Gloria Fashion Lorelai Paige, Staff For most girls going to Junior Prom or Senior Ball this year, there’s a lot of stress surrounding the ever-important task of finding the perfect dress. The dress that will be unique to the rest of the attendees, fits perfectly, and is still cheap enough to satisfy your parents. It’s a tall order, but luckily there’s a dress shop just 15 minutes from here that checks all the boxes for the perfect prom dress: Jenny and Gloria Fashion.

Many other dress shops I’ve been to are impersonal-- you’re left to your own devices, just skimming the wide collections of dresses trying to find anything that’s good enough. It’s so stressful going into stores like Windsor or Macy’s without any clue of what’s going on, not to mention worrying about which dresses will even fit. At Jenny and Gloria Fashion though, the owner is walking around the store helping customers constantly. She also has a secret talent where she can pick out dresses that will fit just by looking at you, which takes away all of the stress of finding the right size yourself. The experience of a family-owned shop is one that you simply cannot find at a big company where most people go prom dress shopping.

The best-selling point for why you should go to Jenny and Gloria Fashion for your prom or ball dress is the promise that no one else attending the dance will wear the same dress as you. It’s a common scenario: a girl gets all excited for her prom dress but is offended to find that another girl showed up in the exact same dress, and then chaos ensues. At Jenny and Gloria Fashion, they jot down the name of your high school as you’re purchasing the dress so that they won’t sell that specific dress to anyone else from the same school, making the night of prom stress-free from accidental copies.

This prom season, shop at a store that is unique, cheap, has great service, and has that small local business feel. Consider shopping at Jenny and Gloria Fashion this year.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/Jenny-andGloria-Fashion-136061906788414/posts/

Michelle Kile is Running for Mayor in 2020 (Part 1) Selena Enriquez, Staff “Proactive instead of reactive.” On December 11th, I had the pleasure of interviewing Michelle Kile, who is running for mayor in Elk Grove against the incumbent Steve Lee. I decided to write this article because I believe that Michelle Kile is a great candidate for mayor. It’s time we have more strong and dedicated women on the council and start getting new council members instead of cycling through the same ones for years. Stephanie Nguyen, the only woman on the council, will be there until her term expires in 2022; Darren Suen and Steve Ly have been sitting in for 6 years. Pat Hume comes in at a whopping 14 years; and Steven Detrick has been sitting in on meetings for 12 years. In addition to the fact that the same few people have been serving for years, Kile shares some excellent ideas on ways we can improve Elk Grove. Kile is very compassionate as revealed in my interview.

Her campaign is not about running for mayor and having a title; it’s about improving Elk Grove and being a proactive part in that change. Kile was previously very active in protests and seeing governments not be active or involved in making change was infuriating. Her main passions are

sustainability, youth engagement, addressing the violence against women and people of color, and increasing homelessness in Elk Grove. She wants Elk Grove to be the model city to others, not vice versa.

Young people are our future and in order to make sure that voter turnouts reflect the actual majority values is incredibly important, and instilling those civic values is something that Kile hopes to improve. She wants to make sure every single person in Elk Grove is heard.

Michelle Kile is a mother and is concerned for the path Elk Grove is heading down when it comes to domestic violence.

“Overall, crime in Elk Grove has gone down, but if you seperate the crime into categories, the story changes. Crime against women has gone up, crime against minorities has gone up, and it needs to be addressed.

Unfortunately, it’s not happening right now.

[The council] is touting the overall and focusing on the big picture and forgetting the little pictures. It makes me scared, and I don’t want to be scared in Elk Grove, I want to be safe here in Elk Grove.” She expresses similar sentiments towards homelessness, and how Sacramento is “addressing” their homeless issue by pushing them into Elk Grove. Elk Grove may have the lowest homeless rates in the county, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t on the rise. On average, there are 18 calls a month and counting for camp cleanups, homeless people, and other matters pertaining to the rising issue here.

Kile plans to address the climate crisis by helping Elk Grove citizens get out of their cars and on their bikes or walking and implement a reward program for those who drive electric. The city can become more pedestrian and bike friendly through protected bike lanes, so people feel more comfortable riding their bikes. Personally, I would utilize protected bike lanes. I would encourage Kile as mayor to consider implementing the JUMP bike and scooter program as part of her reform as well!

She recalls stories of when she and her children would buy groceries and, as they would drive away from the store, they would be handing out their groceries to homeless people. On December 27th, I went to Smart & Final to buy a loaf of bread.

Now, I'm nowhere near being poor but I had forgotten to bring an extra buck with me. I just so happen to run into Michelle Kyle's seventeen-year-old campaign manager, her daughter, who was kind enough to buy me a loaf of bread because she believed that I was in need. She went out of her way to do something kind and that is a true reflection of her mother.

Kile is passionate, determined, and a great candidate for mayor. She frequently attends the City Council meetings and our Youth Commission meetings. Part 2 to be released in March!

their ways for the better since they never admit the things that they did wrong. For example, someone in close relation to me has always celebrated New Years and told us that we need to strive and become better people. But I could say that statement regardless of what day it was anyway, as well as, this person never changed their ways and ended up in a really sticky situation that forced them to admit their past mistakes.

However, this isn’t the case for every single person and New Year’s should always be something to reflect about yourself for the things you did wrong and how to better yourself in the future. It’s a time where individuals or a group of people get together and reflect with each other on things they could become better on. It’s just for me that I don’t really like New Years’ resolutions because of the bad experiences I’ve had with New Years, but this is just my opinion and not everyone has to agree with it.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/60776/ why-do-we-make-new-years-resolutions https://www.michellekile2020.net/

New Year’s Resolutions Tess Sommer, Design Manager New Year: New Me! is usually the way most people start the new year. Why is it so important? New Years is a way to reflect about your past decisions and make yourself want to change to become a better person.

Personally, my opinion is that I never really cared about New Years’ resolutions. I don’t care about New Years’ resolutions because I know that people never change