The InvestiGator

investigator

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Vol. 30, Issue 2 December 2020

WHAT’S NEXT? Students brace for how COVID-19 could drastically affect their futures see pages 14-16

Green Valley High School 460 Arroyo Grande Henderson, NV 89014

December 2020 Volume 30 Issue 2 Editors-in-Chief: Tyler Bonnette Kristel Alfaro Borbon Vivien Liebhardt Editors: News: Liliana Burke Feature: Cherie Franklin & Shaelyn Gamiao Sports: Zachery Schauer & Sebastian Villamil A&E: Malia Deramus & Violet LaMela Opinion: Brenna Knight TEACH ON - English teacher Abraham Mokunui holds a Google Meet during an English class during second quarter. Many teachers worked out of their classrooms until late November when CCSD ordered buildings cleared due to an increase of the spread of the virus throughout the community.

Eric Johnston

Editors’ Note Against all odds, the first semester of the school year is coming to a close, and just about everyone is anxious for Winter Break. It has been a rough ride for us all, and the last few months in particular have been chaotic and challenging in their own ways - with the holiday season and the election, there is no denying that the year has only gotten crazier over time.

This issue delves into the chaos of the holiday season as students continue to celebrate with food and classic traditions, while still occupying themselves at home. We look into the creative ways that students have been spending their time at home, from playing music to practicing acrobatics. Some have been playing games competitively, while others have been playing the one game that took the internet by storm this year as even the closest friends call each other out and turn against each other.

While students remain at home, the school campus finally gets some of the well-deserved renovations that it has been promised, and plans for the imminent midterm exams, which some say might not be in the best interest for the district, are set to take place. And, as the year comes to a close with the pandemic still in full swing, recently developed vaccines have been scheduled to be released, which has already been met with suspicion.

Finally, following the Raiders’ arrival in Vegas and the controversial presidential election, we take a look at the year we have had so far, and all of the events that have made 2020 out to be one of the most memorable years of our lives. There was certainly no shortage of controversy and chaos this year, which thankfully, is finally nearing its end.

ON THE COVER

Eric Johnston

Vol. 30, Issue 2 December 2020

investigator

the

With life on hold due to COVID-19, many high school students have worries about how their futures will unfold.

College, athletics and daily life as they know it are all up in the air.

WHAT’S NEXT? Students brace for how COVID-19 could drastically affect their futures see pages 14-16

Green Valley High School 460 Arroyo Grande Henderson, NV 89014

Copy Editor: Neyta Flores Esquer Social Media Manager: Alexis Lane Reporters: Jeremy Anderson Selenne Arroyo-Martinez Jamine Gomokla Brook Gray-Vanderbur Simona Grigonis Nathan Paet McKenzie Shelton-Lott Adrian Sifuentes Taylor Theel Emma Trifonova Reilly Weatherford Adviser: Eric Johnston The InvestiGator is a student-run and operated news magazine. All opinions and views expressed within are those of the author and not of the student body or staff of Green Valley High School.

Letters to the editors or staff may be delivered to room 825 to Mr. Johnston or emailed to him at johnsem1@nv.ccsd.net.

Green Valley High School 460 Arroyo Grande Henderson, NV 89014 702-799-0950 x4060 The InvestiGator is a member of the NSPA, JEA, CSPA & Quill & Scroll Society.

Inside the Issue News Presidential Election

Feature David Hawley Class of 2021

Sports News way to get active

A&E 2020 Recap Holiday traditions

Opinion Midterms?

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• News •

Liliana Burke

Campus turns into construction zone CCSD decides to renovate many schools in the district to improve learning environment

By McKenzie Shelton-Lott

T

he school administration decided to take advantage of not having students on campus and use the opportunity to renovate the school to improve the learning and teaching environment for staff and students.

These changes include replacing the grass on the football field with synthetic turf in an effort to reduce injuries on the field and to lessen water usage, as well as getting brand new carpeting in every classroom.

“All of the district fields are trying to get done before February,” assistant principal Bernadette Hawkins said.

POWER TOOLS - A truck goes across the grass that is being removed from the football field. Multiple steps have to be taken in order to prepare the ground for turf.

Eric Johnston

“

GUTTING THE GROUND- - Work on removing the grass field began in September. CCSD decided to replace the grass of all football fields with turf.

I can tell you firsthand that having an improved facility gives students and teachers a sense of pride.

Brian Castro While the entire district is going through some changes, there have been some major decisions involving only GVHS. This includes renovating

Eric Johnston

the library, which will be turned into a more updated space for students to work and relax.

“We’re focusing on making it more of a media center, where teachers can send students to collaborate in small groups,” Hawkins said. “We’re adding a lot of USB ports and just modernizing it because it is outdated.”

The school is also looking to add a new robotics lab which will give the robotics team and students a whole new area to build and practice.

“That’s such a good avenue for a lot of students,” social studies teacher Clay Mauro said. “Students want to learn about coding and engineering.

You don’t see that in a lot of schools.”

December 2020

Green Valley’s latest change is the High School of Business classrooms.

These classrooms are being changed from normal rooms with desks and a white board, to offices with a business like setting and collaborative tables.

“I can tell you firsthand that having an improved facility gives students and teachers a sense of pride,” varsity football coach Brian Castro said.

From smaller renovations such as the carpeting, to bigger changes like the new computer lab, GVHS is doing their best to take advantage of an empty campus to make the school a better environment for students to learn and grow once they return.

• News •

America elects new leader

Election season polarizes nation during uncertain times

By Sebastian Villamil

E

lections took place this past November, in what seemed to be one of the most historical moments in American history. The country has battled through a year with natural disasters, social movements and a global pandemic. In this year’s election, the voter turnout rate was one of the highest in nearly 120 years.

This was seen in the votes won by both candidates - altogether, their popular vote totals were the highest among all presidential candidates in the nation’s history. When the votes were tallied, former vice president Joe Biden was elected the 46th president of the United States.

“I am glad that people are using their right to vote more this year, because this is a way of appreciating our democracy,” junior Christian Flaviani said.

After the voter turnout of the 2016 election, many saw it refreshing to have seen such high turnout this year. This election not only decided who becomes the president but also appoints multiple seats in the government that play vital roles.

“This year’s election was important because it determines the fate of the country,” senior Cash Donovan said.

Donovan feels that the American people need a strong president that will ultimately guide us through these unprecedented moments, given the fact that the country is still undergo-

ing a pandemic as well as economic uncertainty.

“We’re all Americans, and we need to push our political affiliation to the side and do what’s best for the country,” Donovan said.

He acknowledges that the American people have to stop fighting over political affiliation and instead focus that both sides are trying to make the country better. This is something that many American students have begun to accept, and many of them are becoming more independent and not being politically associated with any party. They see how it destroys our chance to be a united country, and frequently quote how George Washington predicted the fallout of the country by blaming it on political parties.

“I just feel like the two-party system needs to go because we need to stop viewing people on political affiliation and more on whether or not their policies will help the community,” senior Ally Ikehara said.

Some students argue that there should be even more political parties, but understand the parties such as the Green Party rarely get any attention.

“I feel that it’s bad that people only go for Democrat or Republican candidates when there are candidates from other parties that are way better,” Flaviani said.

In this year’s election, people voted for many different reasons. Some voted because they want a strong economy and want to prevent receding into another economic depres-

VICTORY RALLY - Los Angeles citizens gather to show their support of President-elect Joe Biden.

With a highly contested election, many people on both sides took to the streets claiming victory.

Sebastian Villamil

Sebastian Villamil

FLYING HIGH - People on the streets of Los Angeles wave Mexican flags as others celebrate Joe Biden being declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election. The celebration in L.A. saw hundreds on people come together once results came in.

sion, while others voted because they want more health care benefits or improvement on immigration laws.

“I believe that the Biden administration should take into consideration in improving the immigration laws that are in place at the moment,” senior Angelique Siguenza said.

Siguenza believes that the government should take into consideration new programs when it comes to immigrating into the country.

“I feel like it will most likely stay the same under the Biden administration, but I do feel like the process of getting into the States is too long and confusing,” Flaviani said.

Immigration has been one of many relevant topics that sides argue on and continue to throw blame at each other for, and that is one area where many voters get frustrated.

Some seniors that are eligible to vote have grown tired of the immature and childish bickering that have become so prevalent in politics. They also believe that there is not enough consideration taken when it comes to the rest of the important positions on the ballot.

“This is a huge problem because we only focus on the very top positions when there’s a whole list of government positions that are also very important,” Ikehara said.

This election was also different from any other election because of the mass use of mail-in ballots. This was used to prevent people from go-

•5•

ing to polling places on election day, and catching or spreading COVID-19.

This was important, because a large these votes became instrumental in Joe Biden becoming the presidentelect.

As election day neared, students felt anxious and nervous. People across the country feared whether or not people were going to protest, and many businesses began boarding up their locations in metropolitan areas.

“I was anxious during the whole thing, as states flipped red and blue, we could not tell the clear winner,” Donovan said.

When the media declared Joe Biden the 46th president of the United States, incumbent president Donald Trump chose not to concede. The Trump administration sued several states for voter fraud, suspecting it to be the case in states such as Pennsylvania and Georgia. Explaining on Twitter, Trump believed that he legally earned a second term in office.

His claims will go through the court system to decide whether or not they are accurate.

Voter turnout on both sides combined saw over 152 million people cast a ballot. It was a dramatic and stressful election - it shocked many when Georgia turned blue for the first time since the Clinton Administration in the early ’90s.

“I’m glad that people are finally recognizing that every vote matters, no matter what,” Flaviani said.

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• News •

Cue the Webcams Theater utilizes technology to continue performances

By Brook Lyn Gray-Vanderbur

T

his year’s highest theater class, Advanced Studies, is one of many groups experiencing difficulties. Theater is trying to produce plays as well as getting new students adjusted to the environment of the class.

“Advanced Studies is almost like theater four, but one step higher, we do our own shows, where the other classes don’t,” senior Leilani Beck said.

Throughout a typical year, students would go to watch the plays that the theater classes produce. Al-

though virtual class is different than usual, the program is still finding ways to put on shows.

“Right now we’re working on our Shakespeare unit. There weren’t a lot of performances coming in from Broadway Night so we’re kind of doing a hybrid of both of them,” senior Delaney Domingo said.

Putting Shakespeare Night and Broadway Night into the same performance has eased the workload greatly.

“Doing it at home means we have much more time and flexibility to rehearse at our own paces by ourselves, get our scripts memorized and over with super easy,” junior Ashley Clark said. “But the disadvantage is that it’s

difficult to apply that to when we actually have rehearsals; we can’t interact with our cast the way we would in real life and that makes it much more difficult to communicate.”

Even with the difficulties that the

“

Doing it at home means we have much more time and flexibility.

Ashley Clark

theater classes are dealing with right now, students have used this situation to their advantage.

“Assignments are a lot easier online, because in person you’d have a bunch of performances and memorization,” Domingo said. “And when we’re online we kind of don’t have to memorize as much, and we can film something as many times as we can.

If we were in person we just have the one time to get it done perfectly.”

Many groups such as theater are trying to find a way to utilize technology during this time. Not only to communicate or to attend class, but also to keep on track and produce performances and material for people to watch.

Liliana Burke

Club finds the key to success

Student organization members continue to serve

By Selenne Arroyo-Martinez

K

ey Club is an international student led service organization for high school students. Its purpose is to serve local communities. Key Club members bring change into the community and within their members. The club’s core values are leadership, character building, caring and inclusiveness.

“We believe that through service and volunteer work, we can help our members adopt these values such as being more responsible and caring,” junior Shanya Mascarenas said.

Many members join Key Club in an effort to make an impact in their communities and create a positive atmosphere within the group. They expect a change in their communities and within themselves.

“I was motivated to join Key Club

after seeing the effects of our service,” Mascarenas said. “It’s the best feeling to see the smiles on everyone’s faces, both the members and community members.”

There is plenty of diversity in Key Club, as many of the club’s members have different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

“My favorite thing about Key Club is how all our members, coming from different backgrounds, come together

“

I love seeing people smile while being in the club, and I get to see that.

Isabelle Jones

to help our community,” senior Isabelle Jones said.

Recently, Key Club had its annual Regional Training Conference (RTC) virtually through a Google Meet on Oct. 24.

This is a 12 hour event where CCSD Key Clubbers come to participate in in-service workshops and informational workshops.

However, the event was shortened to 3 hours this year due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

“More than 1000 people [normally would] come to our school just to participate in service and show spirit all throughout the day before the pandemic,” Jones said.

Communication is key when it comes to being in a club. Everyone has to be on the same page that way events and meetings can run smoothly.

“We maintain communication with our members through our social

•7•

media platforms, such as our website and Instagram,” Mascarenas said.

Key club members have found ways to stay in touch and continue to do the work they set out to do.

“The members and overall people in Key Club make the club really fun,” Jones said. “I am so passionate about being in Key Club. I love seeing people smile while being in the club, and I get to see that.”

• Feature •

Victoria Cournoyer

One brush stroke at a time Senior artist works towards dream future

By Simona Grigonis

A

rt. A magnificent way to express feelings and thoughts through a piece of beauty.

Since the age of 10, senior Victoria Cournoyer has felt an immense passion for art knowing that it would be a big part of her future. With her older sister having gone to art school when Cournoyer was little and having friends who appreciate art, she has had the opportunity to truly see it in action.

“I saw a lot of the stuff my sister did, and I really liked it. So I got all of her art supplies when she graduated,” Cournoyer said. “Around fourth or fifth grade is when I really started putting my time into it.”

While growing as an artist, Victoria spent years figuring out which styles of art she was truly passionate about. She spent time on realism, fashion illustration and even graphic design until realizing her true calling in cartoon art.

“With cartoon art you can do a lot more and keep it much more fun. You have to keep a balance with studying realism but also doing cartoon work, you can’t really have one without the other,” Cournoyer said.

As Cournoyer grows and learns more about art,

she does take inspiration from many artists. Typically you would hear people naming artists such as Picasso and Van Gogh as early inspirations. However, Cournoyer takes after modern day artists, such as Holly Warburton and Kitt Thomas, who catch Cournoyer’s eye for their movement and colors.

“When I first got serious about art, when I was about ten, I was drawing whatever older artists drew, whatever they drew, I wanted to do that too,” Cournoyer said. “But now there’s so many Contemporary artists that I love.”

Through experimentation, taking art classes, and practicing the basics, Cournoyer has discovered that her signature style is distinguishable by the colors and subjects she chooses to use for her pieces. Bright, happy colors and undertones of beauty and femininity are what shine through in her art.

“The only thing that’s really consistent about my art style would be subjects that I draw and the colors. I’ve done some political pieces but I just like to do stuff that people can look at and be like ‘Oh my gosh that’s pretty’,” Cournoyer said. “I usually just like to draw pretty people and keep it colorful.”

One of the hardest things for artists is getting their work out there so that people can appreciate their talent. To pursue this, Cournoyer has started doing commissions for friends, family and anyone

December 2020

who is interested in the beauty of her art. However, this has not been easy as art is not the number one thing people seek.

“People don’t think art is a real job which is laughable because there’s art everywhere,” Cournoyer said. “Being put down to pursue something more classic like working in STEM, teaching or nine to five jobs gets draining at times, it takes a while to grow a self esteem for it.”

The negativity sometimes seen towards art careers has not brought her down however, as she continues to focus on spreading her work. Even if she does not get many commissions at a time she will make art pieces for friends to enjoy, which in return gets her art more attention and pushes her creativity.

“My biggest accomplishment relating to art I think is just in general how far I’ve come. I often compare myself to more ‘advanced’ artists, or just artists who I admire a lot and tend to forget how far my art has come and how completely unique and independent I’ve made it,” Cournoyer said.

Cournoyer’s art has in return reflected on her friends, bringing them comfort and joy from seeing her do something she cherishes. Victoria’s close friend Gwen O’Brien has seen first hand how an artist evolves.

“It’s helped her express herself, and has aided her in finding her truth. Not only is it an immense talent and career path of hers, but it’s always been her form of reflection, a way to project her thoughts and feelings,” O’Brien said. “As far as I’ve seen, art, for Victoria, is her way of journaling.”

In the coming years, Cournoyer is planning on a relaxed yet compelling future career in concept art. Concept art is a form of illustration used for conveying ideas and emotions in films, animation, and other media. This is a form of art that combines many different aspects based on a combination of interests.

“I really would like to be a concept artist in the future, designing and drawing characters for books, movies, TV shows and things like that,” Cournoyer said. “I often see other artists and their concept art and fun endeavors and I think I’d enjoy it a bunch.”

As Cournoyer continues to blossom into a suc-

“

Art is always changing and developing, but carrying your art in a proud way despite all the misconceptions is a big challenge.

Victoria Cournoyer cessful artist, she takes pride in how far she has come and hopes to influence others to pursue what makes them feel good and allows their expression to shine through.

“Art is always changing and developing but carrying your art in a proud way despite all the misconceptions is a big challenge,” Cournoyer said. “But for me and any other artist I know, we couldn’t give up our craft because it just makes us feel great.”

How to build a band Students get together to form new music

By Liliana Burke

“M

usic is fun but it’s so much more fun when you play with others. It’s a form of communication,” senior Jacob Drum said. “When you bring instruments together you get a great sound that one instrument can’t replace.”

Drum has found a way to express his creativity through rhythms and riffs while strengthening his relationships with friends on campus.

Drum took the opportunity to do this when he recruited sophomore Benjamin Bernstein and junior Danger Gersh to be a part of his band.

“I play bass in this band because the guitarist was singing out with my neighbor and heard me playing drums, and he got my number,” Bernstein said. “He texted me to see if I want to play drums for him in a band and I said yeah, but I’m a bassist. I know a good drummer, and he said all right.”

There are different instruments needed to complete the sound of different bands. This can be through guitar, drums, piano, bass, vocals and more. Each musician in a band has a different role to play in order to create the sound trying to be acquired.

“We’re actually looking for a singer right now,” Drum said. “I play guitar, I also got a few harmonicas the other day so maybe when I learn that I can apply it.”

However, difficulties can arise when trying to obtain certain goals and find the perfect pieces to have what is needed to make the band complete.

“The issue is that kids at this stage are really not confident. When you have a singer you need someone who’s gonna be like I am here, this is where I sing,” Bernstein said. “Just like when you’re a guitarist, you have to be like, this is where the solos are. I think you just find people who are more self conscious about their voice.”

Most musicians spend years perfecting their skills on the instrument they play and grow through practicing techniques and working hard. For Drum and his band mates, they have found this to also be the case.

“I have been playing drums since I was 7 years old, so nine years there, but I also play classical percussion and have been doing that since I was 11, so five years with that,” Gersh said. “My inspiration is just the love of making music.”

Learning to play instruments and writing music can be difficult tasks to achieve, much more to continue these tasks with determination and interest for reaching the dream goal.

“Me and Ben have been trying to start a band since my freshman year, and no one has actually had any drive to stay committed to learning and writing music, Jacob is the first person who actually has the same amount of interest in doing this,” Gersh said. “It’s honestly surprising how much of a difference it makes to have someone who actually

cares about playing music.”

Some bands stick to doing covers of songs made by famous artists while others are ambitious and begin writing original pieces of music.

“When we started we did covers but now we’re focused more on writing,” Drum said. “We’ve been together for about 4 months, Ben and Danger have known each other for awhile, but I met them when we first got together.”

After the band played a few songs to find out how they worked together, they began to take on the task of writing their own music.

“We have covers so if we needed to do a show we could, but we are working on original songs now,” Bernstein said. “It’s just for fun right now. I mean we are working on these originals right now, and we can’t really play shows but yeah our continuous future are the clear intentions.”

There are all kinds of different genres of music which can include classical, rock, hip-hop, pop, R&B etc. Although, the band mostly focuses on rock.

“We are all big classic rock fans, I tend to go towards progressive rock, while Ben does more metal and jazz and Jacob is more a straight ahead rock guy, but we all like rock and we like trying to play different types of it,” Gersh said.

One struggle that many groups like this see is finding a way to practice and work together. With conflicting schedules and something that needs time along with collaboration, it can be difficult to figure out how to meet up and practice as a band on a regular basis.

“Our drummer has got a little in-house studio set up. Just like audio interfaces, the mics plugin, like direct plugins for them,” Bernstein said. “So we go there sometimes and practice or record some things.”

Ambition is a huge factor to many groups hoping to make it big like the idols and celebrities before them. While some groups chase down goals, some groups form bands or teams just to do something for fun.

“So we like playing together and we want to see where this goes, maybe play some small gigs, maybe hit it big,” Drum said.

Although there is no way to hear this band perform at the moment, the group is caught between potential band names to give themselves an identity.

“There are two competing band names right now, it’s between red labels and commercial revolution,” Bernstein said.

Many musicians decide to stick to more solo work and produce music by themselves, but some musicians enjoy collaborating with others to produce a blend of sounds.

“It’s fun to play with other people and learn how different people solo and interact with each other when they’re playing,” Bernstein said. “That’s the most fun part of playing with other people in my experience.”

•9•

ROCK ON - Drum, Bernstein and Gersh practice after school last year. The trio tries to practice at least once a week.

courtesy of Benjamin Bernstein

MOVE IT - Assistant principal David Hawley stands in front of military trucks being relocated.

Hawley recently retired from the U.S. Army.

courtesy of David Hawley

From the frontline to the sideline Veteran finds new career in education

By Violet LaMela

H

OOAH! A phrase often chanted amongst soldiers meaning to be heard, understood and acknowledged. The word itself is something quite familiar to assistant principal and athletic coordinator David Hawley. Prior to working with students at GVHS, Hawley spent ten years serving in the United States Army on active duty orders.

“I was 31 years old when I enlisted into active duty,” Hawley said. “I wanted to serve my country and try something challenging while I was still physically capable.”

While serving his country and attempting something new and challenging was encouragement enough, there were also noticeable changes within his family’s behavior that had played a large role in his decision to enlist.

“My youngest brother had completed two of his three deployment tours and was starting to disengage from family and friends,” Hawley said. “I wanted something in common that he was extremely invested in where we could talk about.”

Having already begun his career and started his own family there were obviously many times he often

had second thoughts about enlisting.

As these thoughts came and went, Hawley ended up deciding to bite the bullet and take the risk.

“I had already established a career and started a family and that was something I had to think about,”

So that was definitely a part of my decision, along with my brother,” Hawley said. “Then I also felt like I needed to re-energize as an educator, I felt like I was kind of dying out.”

As a former football coach and teacher, Hawley had always been a

“

I wanted to serve my country and try something challenging while I was still physically capable.

David Hawley Hawley said. “Being on active duty provided that common ground and brought my brother back to us emotionally and mentally.”

This choice not only provided him with a chance to be close with his brother again, but also gave him many opportunities that could help pay off many of his school loans and allow him to better himself as a coach, an educator and even a person.

“The military was a good way to knock out some of my school loans.

big influencer about the importance of being focused and staying in good shape prior to enlisting into active duty. Because of this, Hawley felt better prepared for the long and intense training he was about to endure.

However, while he may have been ready physically, there were many things he had to adjust to mentally.

“I was actually in better shape than most of the soldiers during basic training, it was more the mental aspect or the maturity level that was the hardest to deal with,” Hawley

• December 2020 •

said. “Like if we were doing stuff that would get us in trouble at night or we didn’t follow directions they would make us do extra workouts and exercises and all that just because of maturity level.”

Hawley flourished during his time in the Army, earning several promotions as well as being awarded numerous commendations.

“My goals were to achieve the rank of Sergeant and provide leadership to other soldiers,” Hawley said. “During my time in the military, I achieved several awards; Rank of Sergeant in 3 years, Platoon Sergeant, Army Commendation Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Warrior Leader Course Commandant’s list and Expert Marksmanship.”

Along with his many awards, Hawley was also promoted to 7e Satcom Systems Operator and Maintainer with a top secret clearance. As well as working Top secret missions for Special Forces, Rangers, White House Communications, Air Force I Communications, Pentagon Communications, NATO mission communications, and NSA support.

“For my specific job it took seven doors to get into my facility and you

• Feature • had to have certain clearances. I had the top secret clearance which is the highest clearance you can get in the military,” Hawley said.

While learning to adapt to the military lifestyle wasn’t always the easiest job, it was still one that Hawley greatly benefited from. After many years of adjusting and learning, he started to form a new mindset. This newly found way of thinking taught him a lesson that he would value for the rest of his life.

“One of the biggest things I noticed personally is that things are definitely not as hard as I thought they were, compared to what our service members are going through,” Hawley said. “There are things like not sleeping, being woken up, knowing that another person’s life is in your hands at all times and you still have people who complain about their coffee not being hot enough.”

After being introduced to such an eye opening prospective, Hawley deems that tasks that would previously initiate anger and/or stress have become much simpler than before.

He began applying what he learned from years on duty, to things in his everyday life.

“When someone cuts you off on the freeway or in the city, what do you see people do? They flip them off, yell at them and scream,” Hawley said. “Nowadays I’m just like, ‘Alright go ahead and get over,’ you know? It’s not even a stressor anymore.”

Even though serving in the military and being in charge of a few thousand children may seem to be polar opposites, Hawley believes that the lessons learned in both places end up being very similar. Hawley believes that his time spent in the Army learning from others refueled him as an educator and taught him many things that can be passed on.

“If you’re looking to enlist be sure you have your life in order as best you can, your schooling and everything.

You have to be ready for a life changing event,” Hawley said. “You will be paid for what you do, but you’re also going to be told what to do. You learn to take criticism without it being personal.”

Although there were many rough patches Hawley had to overcome throughout those ten years, there were also many moments to cherish that he will always carry with him.

“If I could do it all again of course I would,” Hawley said. “The only thing I would change is when I started.”

While his job description may have changed, Hawley’s memories of serving as a member of the Armed Forces will last forever. As he closed one chapter of his life, he continues to look forward to new challenges in the future.

“They call it a transition if you’re being honorably discharged,” Hawley said. “When I left I said ‘This is Sergeant Hawley singing off for the last time.’”

GOING DARK - Assistant principal David Hawley works on his selfie photography skills while testing out night vision equipment.

www.google.com courtesy of David Hawley

• 11 •

Violet LaMela

• Feature •

Gamer finds his call to duty Senior breaks onto competitive scene of popular video game

By Zachery Schauer

W

ith the release of the latest game in the Call of Duty franchise, it starts up another competitive season for players such as senior Stylz Clifford. Clifford plays Call of Duty, but on the competitive side to win money and hopefully make it to the major league.

Call of Duty a series of first person shooters. You have control of the weapons you use in the game, and play the objective, or you can be like others and you can take the less desirable but more popular path of focusing solely on dominating the opposing team. Call of Duty League (CDL) has only three game modes, Search and Destroy, Domination and Hardpoint. This is the same three modes every pro plays on the main stage.

There are multiple ways to play competitive COD through some websites, such as CMG, UMG and GameBattles. Players find a match on the website and they either win or lose and they can play for money or play for free.

Competitive Call of Duty, before it was a franchise league, was called Call of Duty World League, or CWL. Gamers just needed a roster and then they could play in the league. Viewership has risen from back then and

“

It is not always about the money, it is about the hard work paying off.

Stylz Clifford allows more players and fans to play.

“I heard of competitive COD back in Advanced Warfare from my friend that had a comp COD team as his clan tag and also had the emblem,” Clifford said.

In competitive Call of Duty, you play a role, which means you have a specific job to do every game. For example, there are roles such as “slayer,” “main AR,” and “flex.” Each role is important to the team to ensure the

highest chance of victory. The teams also play a big role in competitive Call of Duty, because that is how they compete to win money. There are so many ways a team can be set up, such as a 2v2 team, or even up to a 5v5 team, with a substitute player waiting.

“I used to play for a team called VorTex Gaming in Black Ops 3. I was known as the young prodigy on the team because I was the best search and destroy player and it was also my first year of playing,” Clifford said.

Clifford says he plays the CDL playlist because that is where some of the best of the best compete, but he says some of it is because everyone is allowed to play it. It just depends on whether players can keep up with the level of competition of the game mode.

Clifford likes to challenge himself on a day to day basis in the game, and as a result has become known as a solid player who dedicates time to make himself better at the game.

Clifford’s mom, also known as “mama yuki” by all of his friends, is supportive of his choices to play competitively, but still hopes that school is his priority.

“I feel if it is something that makes him happy then its great, but school is important,” Clifford’s mother, Deysha Chock said.

Competitive Call of Duty recently made their league a franchise league.

Team owners had to put in $25 million dollars just to enter the league and teams were named by city or state.

“My favorite team in the CDL right now is the Chicago Optic; I like how they play. They are a hype team, so it’s always a show when they play and throughout the season they were a top tier team,” Clifford said.

While watching the gameplay, people find players they like and who they support on and off the main stage.

Clifford’s favorite player is Seth Abner, but many people know him by his gamertag “Scump.”

“I want to be like the pro player Scump. I’ve been watching him since Black Ops 2 and he is known as the king of Call of Duty, so of course I want to be like the king. Right now, I’m the young prince,” Clifford said.

Clifford is aware that he has to continue to improve in order to move up the ranks.

“My biggest weakness when I play has to be my ego. When I start to lose it gets into my head which makes me mad and low key blame my teammates, but sometimes it’s not their fault.”

Every pro says it: egos are not a good thing to have when playing. Egos can mess with players’ heads in the moments that matter. It can be a 1v1 and they think about their ego and it will put more pressure on them to win. Also thinking of winning or losing

• 13 •

before the game even ends can mess players up, as it can cause them to lack focus on the game that they are currently playing in.

With the new installment of Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War the competitive teams have been switched from 5v5 to 4v4. This was a dramatic change and many pro players lost their spots on teams due to the rule change.

“I feel like the new installment of Call of Duty which is “Cold War” will be way better in the comp scene because we are back to 4v4 which in my opinion is better than 5v5 that we had in Modern Warfare,” Clifford said.

He hopes to progress further and further into the world of competitive gaming, especially with Call of Duty.

“What’s next for me is to work hard and try to get into Call of Duty challenger, which will put me one step away from the COD Pro League,” Clifford said.

Clifford has found that the competitive scene is beneficial for the prize money that accompanies it. The organizations that host competitive games and tournaments will usually provide a certain amount as a reward.

“The best thing about competitive COD for me right now is winning money,” Clifford said. “In total I have $2,000 earnings from playing. But it is not always about the money, it is about the hard work paying off.”

ALMOST THERE - Senior Zachery Schauer ponders his future out front of a shut down GVHS. Students have been in class virtually since Aug. 24 and they have not been on campus since March 13.

courtesy of Zachery Schauer

A clouded future

Students continue to battle global pandemic

By Kristel Alfaro Borbon & Tyler Bonnette

I

t has been getting more and more difficult every week. There are spikes in cases, setting new records each and every day. There is no denying that it has been a challenge for everyone, with “zoom fatigue” setting in with many students, and everyone wanting the pandemic to be over.

But what then?

There does not seem to be a feasible way to make up for all of the opportunities that were ruined by COVID-19. In March, when school was first canceled, everyone was devastated, especially those who expected their graduation just a couple of months later.

Those few months, however, were nothing compared to the year that followed, and the

graduating class has lost so much more in the span of just a few months of distance learning. All of the most memorable and exciting parts of High School had to be canceled, leaving much to be desired for the senior class of this school year.

“In the end, we’ll all manage to survive it,” said senior Piper Irvin. “But we’ll all just kind of have this regret emotionally that we never really got to do the things that are like the Rite of Passage of high school.”

At first, the district labeled many events and sports as “postponed,” but most have simply been canceled completely. Depending on how long the school continues its distance learning policy, seniors will have missed out on Homecoming, Prom, and potentially even graduation, to name a few of the many events that are simply impossible to do.

“I think there’s going to be this emotional sadness for the rest of our lives, since we look up

December 2020

to doing these things - Homecoming, and Senior Prom, if that gets canceled - and they never actually happen,” Irvin said.

Unfortunately, all of these amazing events that everyone talks about for years cannot be made up for. The senior class will not be getting these months and experiences back.

“Coming into senior year, I was most looking forward to making those final everlasting memories with friends in and outside of school before college,” senior Daniel Arroyo said.

There are also plenty of individual experiences that many students feel that they will miss out on.

There was no shortage of things to look forward to this year, with performing arts like Band, Orchestra, Choir, and Theatre.

“It’s nice that we get to do things on our own time, and we have our own time to manage work, assignments and stuff,” senior Jaden Randall said.

• Feature • “But it’s kind of disappointing because I was going to be the stage manager for the musical this year.

And I don’t get to do that.”

A large amount of seniors have been looking forward to their senior year since they were freshmen. They have been working hard to excel in some of their extracurricular activities such as their electives and sports clubs.

“My senior musical was probably like the biggest thing that I wanted to be a part of,” Randall said. “It makes me kind of sad because I don’t get to mentor other kids, but we also have other opportunities this year because we’re doing other shows.”

Some students are thankful that the least of their worries are having a lack of school events, they think that there are more important things to worry about during times like these. With a worldwide pandemic many people are at high risk of COVID-19, and some have had tragedies happen

of perspective. I fully experienced a semester of on-line school, which was not exactly fun, but I experienced it, and I’m glad I did,” senior Eugene Paik said. “One fourth of my full high school experience was in much more comfortable chairs. I still appreciate all the teachers I’ve learned from and all the kids I’ve met, face to face or not. ” Seniors are also being affected emotionally, staying at home all day has been a very large issue for a large number of students. High school is often seen as a time to gain freedom, independence and to just have fun with friends. The majority of students have had some trouble adjusting to this new unexpected lifestyle.

“Ever since Freshman Year I thought, ‘I’m not going to do anything until senior year,’ since I was basically going into adulthood,” senior Lorelei Escalante said. “I was waiting until senior year to do everything, and now I regret not doing anything beforehand because I can’t do anything now.”

“

Coming into senior year, I was most looking forward to making those final everlasting memories with friends in and outside of school before college.

Daniel Arroyo in their family.

“My mom is a nurse, so she sees this everyday, she doesn’t directly work with COVID-19 patients but she’s in a building with COVID-19 patients, basically like 24 seven so likely had some meat getting it or higher because she could give it to me and I like I’m so terrified of giving it to somebody else.”

Students are trying to have a positive outlook on this and try to look for things to appreciate and be thankful for such as health and being financially stable. During the pandemic these seem to be things students have gained a new appreciation for.

“I just try to look on the bright side, my parents are both working so financially we’re not stressed out, and I have so many things to like be thankful for,” Irvin said.

For some having on-line school and an absence of school events has been enjoyable. There are many students that have learned to prefer on-line classes over regular classes.

“Well having the full experience is a matter

Due to on-line school some students are now stressing out more than ever before. There are students that have more work than previous years, despite the fact that teachers were told to cut down on the workload given to students.

“Online school is probably just as stressful if not more, than in person school,” Arroyo said.

“It’s hard staring at a computer screen all day from eight to two, and then being expected to do the same for another two plus hours after school. On the other hand, many of my teachers have been trying to counter this stress produced by on-line school by focusing on mental health and being more lenient on due dates.”

With college right around the corner this is especially stressful for seniors. Worrying about applications and requirements on top of school is very demanding, and it requires a lot of time.

There is also time dedicated in school to teach students how to apply for college, and certain experiences like that are bound to be lacking in on-line classes.

“College applications can be stressful if you try

Tyler Bonnette

• 15 •

to rush them and save them for the last minutes,” Arroyo said. “As long as you evenly spread the work out and take a break every once in a while, the stress seems to fade away from the process and it becomes easier to manage.”

Some seniors are worried about how this year will affect their futures. Some argue that they have not learned very much in on-line school, so they might not be prepared for college. Another argument is that they will not be able to relate to the typical high school experience.

“It’s kind of disappointing that we don’t get dances, sports and stuff like that,” Randall said.

“But the same time, it was kind of like a blessing in disguise, because for people who are working on scholarships for college and stuff like that they have more time to focus.”

Even without the prospect of college, finishing high school is an incredibly stressful experience.

Graduates are expected to have jobs once they are out of school, but oftentimes the stress can simply be too overwhelming. This year is no different - if anything, it is worse. Ignoring the unemployment rates thanks to the pandemic, searching for jobs is still a daunting task for graduates, and this year has only multiplied the stress from school to make it all the more challenging.

“I had a difficult time,” senior Brandon Negrette said. “I kept getting emails about missing assign-

• Feature •

ments and stuff, and when I finally got out of the crisis I had piles upon piles of work to do.”

It is already a staggeringly difficult process to leave high school, and yet there has been no shortage of work to be given to students during these distance learning protocols. It is practically terrifying to go out into the real world, and the pandemic

“

I think there’s going to be this emotional sadness for the rest of our lives, since we look up to doing these things.

Piper Irvin does not help in the slightest - in a study done by the Pew Research Center, 69 percent of Generation Z young adults either lost their job or had a family

member that lost their job thanks to the pandemic.

“Thankfully, the teachers are giving me extensions to finish in time, but still, it’s so stressful,” Negrette said.

While there is not much that can be done by the current generation at this very moment, a lot of pressure has been placed on this year’s high school students - especially the Class of 2021. It is an incredible burden to bear; today’s students will forever be remembered in history for their perseverance, their bravery, and their resilience against all odds.

The same study from the Pew Research Center determined that 87% of the generation wants to be financially independent at some point in their lives, and despite the hardships this year has presented, students continue to press on and keep going.

“I think that we’ll all manage to survive it,” Irvin added. “Of all things, I’m not angry, because, you know, it’s a pandemic and people are dying. We’re lucky that our worst problem is that we aren’t going to Homecoming or Senior Sunrise.”

It will not be easy, of course - students certainly need to put a brave face on and work hard. The resilience of a generation is out in full force. It is the necessary sacrifice to make - in order to get out of this mess, everyone, especially the soon-to-be graduates, have to keep trying.

“I think it’s fair to be sad,” Irvin said. “But I’m accepting that this is what has to happen.” courtesy of Zachery Schauer

READY TO GO - Senior Zachery Schauer poses in front of the school motto “Commitment to Excellence” sign. This is Schauer’s last year at GVHS, and he has being doing on-line school since March.

• Sports •

FLIPPIN’ OUT

All-star gymnast triumphs over hardships with championships

F

By Alexis Lane

rom ‘Mommy and Me’ classes, to local competitions, to two regional championships, junior Lia Whitman has been perfecting her gymnastic abilities for almost her entire life. She is currently a level ten at Gymcats Gymnastics, one level below being Elite - the level that sees Olympic scale competitions.

Throughout her career, she qualified for the Western National Championships two years in a row when she was a level nine. At one of her championships, she took first place on beam, and has competed against some of the country’s best. Thanks to her talent and status, she has had the chance to meet role models such as Alicia Sacramone and Ally Raisman,

two famous Olympic gymnasts.

“I started some classes at a gym, which just started out as some ‘Mommy and Me’ classes, but the coaches started to take special interest in me because I was progressing so fast,” Whitman said.

Whitman began her gymnastics career at the young age of 2 years old, and quickly took a liking to it. She practiced often, and found it to be incredibly fun and engaging.

“My older brother actually was in it first because he wasn’t a very coordinated child. My parents then decided to put me in it too because they knew it wouldn’t hurt me to get some exercise and work on my coordination, and I was just 2 years old at the time so they didn’t think anything of it.”

Her abilities earned her special recognition from her coaches, who

courtesy of Lia Whitman

courtesy of Lia Whitman

then encouraged her parents to support her gymnastics career, allowing her to continue on her path to success. For years, she has practiced and honed her strengths, and made herself known through hours of practice and competing. Above all else, she loves the rush of adrenaline she gets when she learns a skill, as well as the many life lessons learned along the way.

“I started taking more classes with progressively longer hours and I ha-

“

Coaches started to take special interest in me because I was progressing so fast.

Lia Whitman

PERFECT FORM - Lia Whitman shows off her skills among other gymnasts. Whitman has competed in high level events around the country over the past few years.

ven’t stopped since,” Whitman said.

Competitions have been a major part of her life, and are always intense since there is so much at stake. They progressed like a ladder - first, she had to prove herself by doing well in State competitions, which leads to Regionals, and then Nationals. Reaching the National level was especially exciting for her, as she could test her abilities against the best gymnasts in the country. Through and through, she has always had the support of her coaches.

“They have been incredibly crucial in my development in gymnastics and also as a person. I came from a sort of abusive situation in my last gym,

• 17 •

and Cassie and Jill are the absolute opposite,” Whitman said. “They truly care about me and my well being first above anything to do with the sport.”

Whitman has had a successful career so far, but she has experienced some setbacks along the way, with quarantine being one of them. Ten weeks of practice were lost, and with it some of her skill. When she came back, she had struggled with bouncing back. Even before quarantine, she had experienced a few major setbacks to her career, including some injuries - a sprained back caused her to lose six months of training a couple of years ago.

“Coming back, I lost a couple of my skills which was very tough,” Whitman said. “I struggled a lot but my coaches really kept my spirits up and made sure that I wasn’t losing confidence in myself which helped me pass a lot of the blocks and difficulties created from the time off.”

The support of her coaches has allowed her to become both a better gymnast and a better person. They were able to teach her important life lessons, while also helping her with her confidence in gymnastics. They have encouraged her through competitions and classes, and have been one of the driving forces of her continued career in gymnastics. In the future, she is hoping to attend North Carolina State University, or any Division 1 school that is willing to give her a full ride scholarship for gymnastics.

“They have taught me to be confident in myself and to always learn from my mistakes,” Whitman said.

“They have taught me that gymnastics is not everything in life and that I should be happy in whatever I choose to do in life. I owe a lot of who I am to them.”

• Sports •

New teams, new faces New teams to Valley come with new fandoms

By Nathan Paet

W

ithin the recent immersion of major league sports teams in the Las Vegas Valley, many people of the city have expressed their inner fanaticism of sports. Traveling just a few decades back in the city of nightlife and entertainment, it would be completely unheard of for it to be known for various sports teams like city tourism hot spots around the country.

Fast forward to the year 2017, the inaugural season for the Vegas Golden Knights became a reality. This season took place on a global scale, and introduced many to hockey and the market that it carried. Their accolades and achievements, especially with making the Stanley Cup Finals in their first year, also helped bring people’s attention to the team. And also opened many eyes that thought it was not going to be that good of a year for the team.

The proven success of the team does not solely depend on their successes however. As of right now, the team is ranked 12th in game attendance, which is roughly 18,000 fans per game and is near max capacity in their stadium, T-Mobile Arena. They are also ranked fourth in jersey sales, which in addition to the ticket sales, proves that they have a strong fan presence.

It is not everyday that something this odd happens. This is a result of people rooting for a team for the sole purpose that the team in which they are rooting for also play in the same state or city that they live in. Many have never even had any prior acknowledgment as to what the sports team has brought over.

Like thousands of others that support the somewhat new franchise, junior Jose Antonio Villasenor-Poumian is a self proclaimed fan of the VGK since they found their home in The Valley.

“I always liked hockey, but never watched it. Then I saw that we got a team, then I became interested and a fan of VGK,” Villasenor-Poumian said.

Previously known as the Oakland Raiders, the Las Vegas Raiders found their home in Las Vegas this year. Although they have had an already solid fan base from their previous homes in Oakland and Los Angeles California,

they have brought the spotlight to shine on them once more and introduced the spirit of football with them.

The change to Vegas made the team grow even more bringing in more fans to support them. Even though they

Raiders franchise.

“Unlike the Knights, I am not a fan of the Raiders myself, but I do believe that Vegas is capable of providing plenty of fans for them because it is Vegas’ first sports team. Similar to what the

Sophomore Edgar Trujillo talked about his own thoughts on if this is a form of bandwagoning.

“I feel like it isn’t exactly bandwagoning because they’d only switch teams for the simple fact of where a

Zachery Schauer

are not able to see fans in the stadium supporting what they do, they at least know that the Vegas and Oakland fans are watching.

Much like the Vegas Golden Knights, the Raiders success started way before the season actually start-

Knights did during their first year,” Villasenor-Poumian said.

Becoming a fan of a new team like the Raiders or the Knights is not a bad thing. However, there is a societal controversy that many talk about that has to do with switching from team to

“

I always liked hockey, but never watched it.

Then I saw that we got a team, then I became interested and a fan of VGK. Jose Antonio Villasenor-Poumian ed. During the building process, the Raiders, much like many other sports leagues and teams, offered fans the opportunity to buy season tickets. Many of which took the opportunity, which allowed the team to amass $549 million dollars just off of seat licensing alone.

The amount actually made downplays the projected number that they had which was about $250 million, proving that many in the valley did have a massive interest in being a part of the new

team. The controversy is known as a bandwagon.

To sum it up, a bandwagon is someone that joins a fashionable or popular trend in order to fit in with everyone else. The reason why it is considered controversial and in most cases looked down upon, is because when you bandwagon a trend, it is known as a copycat behavior which nullifies original thoughts and is replaced with a more in demand one.

December 2020

team is located and some people like supporting local sports teams,”Trujillo said.

Sometimes original fans will call out bandwagons just because they are not “real” fans, even though they are both supporting the same thing. Yet the original fan is just trying to scare the bandwagon away but most do not get scared at all. The original fans will always ask question’s from the past to see if they truly are fans as well. Supporting a new team that is in your state or city is not bad at all it show local interest.

With the numerous sports teams that have in recent times named the city of Las Vegas home, it is clear to say that the little big city that never sleeps, may soon be the landing spot for what many see as the newest sports city in the nation.

“At the end of the day, I feel that teams will still get the support that they need either way. It has been the first time in history that we would ever get a major league team and we would be known for something other than gambling and nightclubs,” Trujillo said. “Because of it, I feel that Vegas teams will have a lot of success.”

• Sports •

Quarantine’s new pastimes

Rare sports see rise in popularity as team contests face restrictions

By Jasmine Gomolka

W

hen people think about sports, the ones that will usually come to mind are sports such as football or basketball. However, with the pandemic continuing on throughout the year, contact sports like these have been almost entirely canceled. Some students have picked up on some unfamiliar sports that suited their own niches.

One sport that has gained popularity in the last year is the sport of Spikeball. In Spikeball, the goal is to hit the ball towards the opposing team

“

Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu are good for exercising, but they are also good for self defense.

McKenzie Jones off of a circular net in the center. The opposing team returns it, and the ball bounces back and forth off of the net between the two teams. Each team is allowed up to three passes to each other in order to return the ball back to the other team. If the ball is not returned within those three passes, then the serving team gets a point.

“Spikeball is a very underground sport - most people see it just as a

game, but it can be played competitively and most people do not know that,” junior Derek Lawrence said. “I will bring to their attention that it can be known as a competitive sport.”

Unique sports like Spikeball have let athletes choose how seriously they want to become involved in the growing popularity of the game. While some just picked up on the sport to have things to do in their free time others have put more time and dedication into their performance.

“It has taught me to have faster reflex and has improved my hand eye coordination significantly,” Lawrence said. “It requires you to make split second decisions, so it has helped me improve my decision making speed too.”

Spikeball is a simple, easy-to-learn sport that can quickly get addicting.

It can have games played one-on-one or in teams of 2 or 3. It also does not require much equipment - all it needs is the Spikeball itself as well as the circular net in the center, which is only about a yard across. It is a fast paced and entertaining activity to play in one’s free time, and has very flexible with its rules.

Some other sports that have risen in popularity during the pandemic are far less casual and have stricter rules to them. Jiu Jitsu, for example, is a form of martial arts that requires many years of practice, and has plenty of rules to work with and learn. The rules are in place to keep things fair as well as safe for all participants.

“What stuck out to me was how you can control the force that you are putting on that person, and how that affects the way that you interact with other tools in general,” junior Isabella

courtesy of McKenzie Jones

Correa said.

Overall Jiu Jitsu teaches many protective skills for all sorts of people, no matter the gender, size or age. This sport teaches self defense while also allowing you to stay in shape throughout it all. Not only that, but it serves as a great stress reliever. It can boost one’s confidence in themselves, and relieves anxiety or stress in a physical manner.

“It can also affect things like your morality,” Correa Said. “Even if you were to be angry, it helps you know that, if you were in some sort of argument with someone, your intentions

Sebastian Villamil

• 19 •

would not be to hurt them, but to actually communicate with them.”

Similar niche sports to Jiu Jitsu have also become more popular in the last year. Muay Thai, also known as Thai boxing, is another combat sport that requires a lot of training and effort being put into it. It is not as popular as Jiu Jitsu, but the two sports are somewhat related to one another in many different ways.

“I never really knew about Muay Thai until the gym I went to for Jiu Jitsu had both, so I signed up for them and now I love both sports,” sophomore McKenzie Jones said.

Muay Thai matches consist of five, three minute rounds with a two minute resting period in between each round. The rounds are scored individually, with a maximum of ten points for each round being available. Points are awarded to each fighter for clean strikes. The sport was developed over hundreds of years ago as a form of close-combat that makes use of the entire body as a weapon. Because of this, it has been called the ‘Art of Eight Limbs’ in martial art circles.

“I think it is more unpopular than other sports, especially with younger people, because they are more interested in team and school sports,” Jones said. “But, not only are Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu good for exercising but they are also really good for self defense, especially for girls.”

• A&E •

One for the history books As 2020 wraps up, many are happy to wave goodbye

By Vivien Liebhardt

T

he year 2020 is finally coming near its closing. It has been eventful, so to speak; the bushfires raging across Australia burning 18.6M hectares and killing 1B animals.

The US drone that hit Baghdad International Airport and took down an Iranian major general. With war breathing over the shoulder, and racial tensions over police brutality reaching a boiling point, the year somehow found a way to get worse. The nation is still grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic that began in March as deaths from the virus near 300,000 people.

“2020 is absolutely dreadful and I don’t find it funny. This year has been terrible for literally every single person I know. I have lost people to suicide, I have lost people to Coronavirus, I know people who struggle from addiction that are stuck in the house. I think that this year is going to go down as one of the worst years in history,” senior Alex Schmett said.

Though some have coped with the year through reading humorous social media posts or producing videos and new music, many students have taken the time to learn more about themselves. While the country struggles with the pandemic, mental health and self awareness have been cast into the limelight as families deal with loss on numerous levels, from the deaths of loved ones to the financial and personal struggles that come as a result of 8+ months of isolation.

“I feel like this year I was really able to recognize things that are toxic to my environment, including friends that never really made me feel my best.

Staying at home made me understand the value of having my family around me. I am so privileged to have such a supportive family, and this pandemic has only increased my love and appreciation for them, specifically my parents, who work so hard to provide for me and my sister,” junior Sowmya Kumar said. “I have taken a lot of time for self-reflection and self-care. I feel like most of us forget to give ourselves some downtime and TLC, and we just get so caught up with other things that we forget to take care of ourselves. Reflecting honestly helped me love myself better, and I think we could all use a little boost of self-love and reflection during these times.”

The global pandemic is already having deep psychological effects on many people as anxiety, fear and worry are rampant. As people cut themselves off from social interaction, anxiety may turn into depression. Social interaction with peers is critical for the youth, and with schools closed, working at home encouraged, and larger gatherings canceled, that interaction is has all but come to a halt. Texting, social media and video chat can help fill the void, but virtual communication is just not as beneficial than face to face contact. However, students have found a way to look at things with new perspectives and have tried to find a light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

“I became a stronger and more loving person. I went through a lot in 2020, my family moved to a

“

I have lost people to suicide...to Coronavirus, I know people who struggle from addiction that are stuck in the house. This year is going to go down as one of the worst years in history.

Alex Schmett different country but I wanted to stay here so I did, I found a job, got my license, my boyfriend broke up with me whom I loved very much and throughout all of it, I found self love,” sophomore Sophia Nover said. “I realized when we were in the lockdown what life is really about, one failing grade doesn’t matter, being popular doesn’t matter, that’s not important in your future life. I saw how much bigger the world is than just my own little bubble.

I found myself and what I want to do in this world and I learned to be with myself and to love myself because no one will love me like I will.”

REMINISCE - Many household names have passed away in 2020, such as Naya Rivera, Sean Connery, Kobe Bryant and Chadwick Bosman.

Vivien Liebhardt

• December 2020 •

• A&E •

Vivien Liebhardt creativecommons.org

• 21 •

•A&E•

This story kinda sus Mobile game gains popularity among students

By Neyta Flores Esquer

I

mposter? Crewmate?

Sus? What does all of this mean, one may ask. Well, it all refers to the spontaneously popular game that everyone is playing, called Among Us. This game is an online multiplayer social deduction game developed and published by an American game studio called Inner Sloth.

Among Us takes place in a spacethemed setting, in which players each take on one of two roles, most being Crewmates, and a predetermined number being Impostors.

The Impostors have to attempt to be secretive enough to not get caught, so technically everyone is trying to come off as a Crewmate.

Many people think it is a new game, but in reality, it is not. The game was released in 2018, and it was never thought to be as successful as it is now. It was not even remotely popular up until July of 2020, when during quarantine, it’s popularity climbed the charts due to a popular

Twitch streamer.

Twitch is a well-known online service where one can watch and stream digital video broadcasts; it is usually used by gamers.

A streamer called Sodapoppin began streaming Among Us and playing it on Twitch, thus leading to even more people playing it, such as Pewdiepie, who has 107 million subscribers on YouTube. After this, the game was trending on Twitter. Everyone was talking about it.

“I started playing last month when my girlfriend began asking me to play, along with my coworkers, sisters and best friend. I started with one game and ended up playing for hours,” junior Madison Seitzinger said.

This game is truly seen as one of the most “addicting” games, which seems to be why everyone is playing it. Along with the fact that it can be played with friends (or strangers), anywhere, anytime (and it is free).

People say it’s so popular because “people love to lie and trick one another,” and it makes complete sense.

In a game of 10, there can be up to 3 Impostors, which are the ones

who have the power to kill any of the Crewmates. However, when one begins the game, it is unknown who is who since everyone looks like a Crewmate.

Everyone can talk to each other, assume who seems “sus,” or suspicious, vote the ones who seem guilty out, etc. It is a game of lying, yet trust at the same time.

Things such as the voting time, player speed, kill distance, number of tasks and player vision are all determined by the game host and can be customized after each round.

There are also numerous tasks, which are in a way, the objective of the game because if all crewmates finish their tasks, they automatically win. Everyone in the game is supposed to be doing these tasks such as aligning the engine output, calibrating the distributor, assembling artifacts, cleaning filters, fixing the wires etc.

These tasks are also a way to realize who is the impostor; they cannot actually do the tasks, however, imposters are able to help fix damage caused by sabatoge.

December 2020

“I wasn’t going to start playing, but one day at work, everyone was bugging me to play because of how fun it was. I had to give it a try.

I ended up playing for way longer than I should have,” junior Kimberly Gastelum said.

There are some faults though: for a good minute, there were hackers continuously barging into games and hacking them. This led to not-sograve things like getting kicked out of the game and not letting you join any new ones; however, it did lead to some grave matters like people’s phones getting hacked.

The Among Us team said that it was fixed by now, thankfully, but it went on for about three weeks.

Other than that, this game is insanely entertaining; it is genuinely really difficult to get tired of. It keeps going because even if you lose, you can join or start another game.

It also leads us to meet new people and chat with them, which in turn creates new friends. And I mean, how fun can it be finding out who is lying.

There is no doubt, the hype in this case is totally worth it.

Violet LaMela

•A&E• Brenna Knight

Watch Season 2, you say Popular show strikes back with new episodes

By Adrian Sifuentes

T

he Star Wars franchise has been beloved by fans across the globe for nearly two generations.

Since 1977, the community has continuously kept growing to the point where the movies alone have grossed billions of dollars. With the continuation of the series being up to date, The Mandalorian on Disney Plus has definitely caught the attention of previous fans, as well as new ones, and has grown a fan base of its own apart from the main Star Wars franchise.

The Mandalorian has encouraged new viewers to watch the rest of the franchise as a whole, which has brought new experiences for fans alike. With the introduction of new and innovative ideas, the show has some exciting elements that they are introducing in season two as well as plans for a season three.

The start of the first season turned out very successful. Long time fans of the Star Wars franchise were a bit skeptical of the spin-off series at first, in understandable fears that it would not live up to its expectations.

Yet, the community was pleasantly surprised to find a new interesting and innovative take on the series as a whole.

The Mandalorian has many viewers having mixed opinions on what they think about the show. Some people criticize the show for having a “painfully average” theme, with others even going as far as to call it a “dusty disappointment,” as stated by Charles Bramesco from The Guardian.

October 30, 2020 marked the

launch of season two for the hit show. While fans patiently awaited its launch, Disney Plus has already confirmed that a season three is in the works. Season three is expected to expand on the backstory of several characters and allow us to see what the next adventures will have the main character face.

Despite having to compete with shows for viewership such as Marvel’s heavily anticipated WandaVision, The Mandalorian still stands its ground as one of the top rated shows on Disney Plus while still allowing other shows to have their chance in the spotlight.

Junior Kayla Lawson, a student who has been following the series, loves the show despite not entirely liking the Star Wars franchise.

“I have watched some Star Wars movies before this, but I’m not that into the movies,” Lawson said. “I love all Disney related movies but I’d honestly prefer watching marvel movies instead.”

The appeal started when Lawson’s dad suggested the show to her due to his love of Star Wars. She thought she might as well give it a try since she wanted to learn more about the popular character, Baby Yoda.

“I first became interested in the Mandalorian because my dad loves Star Wars and he told me about it.

I really wanted to see baby Yoda as well. I’m not a huge Star Wars fan but I do love Space and Adventure shows, so I knew I wanted to watch it,” Lawson said.

Entertaining the viewers is key to keeping an audience engaged and Lawson has a pretty good idea of what makes the show so enticing as well as why it keeps you on the edge of your seat.

“I really want to keep watching the show because it is so detailed and easy to follow. The storyline is incredible and it leaves every episode with cliffhangers that make you want to continue watching. It’s overall an incredible and beautifully made show,” Lawson said.

Her final thoughts of the show give insight to what other long-term viewers might think about the show as well.

“I absolutely love the show! After watching season one and the beginning of season two, I completely fell in love with the story and built a connection to the characters. I would totally recommend this TV series to anyone!” Lawson said.

The show has drawn the attention of many and caught the hearts of fans all over the world. The Mandalorian would not be receiving this much attention if it was merely mediocre, which alludes to the fact that the show has a “staying factor” within the eyes of the audience.

One thing the production crew gets right is actually making the show feel like Star Wars. Since many fans were disappointed with the previous Star Wars movies, there was a lot of pressure to make The Mandalorian as great as it could be without straying away from what made the original movies so great.

However, lots of people were expecting to see another cash grab scenario which lowered the expectations of the fan base surrounding the franchise. Fans wanted to see the show at its highest potential and they were quite happy when they were not disappointed with the outcome.

The show gets lots of praise for the score, character development,

• 23 •

and production value overall. With an astonishing six directors directing different episodes, there was lots of worry that the show would fall apart, as they have done so with previous titles in the past. Yet, the directors pulled it off with flying colors and maintained a stable plot throughout each episode of the first season.

The Mandalorian himself is adored by everyone who enjoys the film, but not just because he is the main character. Everyone expects the main character to succeed at everything that they do, which allows the intensity to die out and creates a boring atmosphere within each episode.

In the case of The Mandalorian, we get to see his struggle. We know that he is tough and has a great chance of surviving each encounter with the enemy but the directors and screenwriters are not afraid to show that he gets overwhelmed in the worst of situations and needs help every so often, otherwise he will most likely die.

With every predicament The Mandalorian gets into, the audience has this feeling of worry that consumes their mind. This feeling of worry fuels their anticipation for whatever will come next because the show has already established that The Mandalorian is not indestructible. Sure he can fight and sure he can defend himself, but the audience knows that he will not always make it out in the best condition possible.

Everyone involved in the making of the show has given a substantial amount of effort, which the public admits paid off entirely. With the new season arising and new seasons to come in the future, The Mandalorian is one show that most would agree will not disappoint.

•A&E•

Coffee? No, tea please Boba popularity continues to rise

By Malia Deramus

C

offee. One of the top most popular beverages in the world. From companies like Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Dutch Bros, coffee has always been someone’s start of the day. Recently, a new craze has hit the streets of go-to drinks. Bubble tea.

Bubble tea, most famously known as boba, has been around since the 1980’s but has become more trendy in recent years. Bubble tea’s main ingredients include black tea, ice, milk, and tapioca pearls. Tapioca pearls are chewy black balls that sit at the bottom of the drink and can be consumed. They are made from the cassava root and are cooked in sugar and water until it reaches the chewy consistency.

The infamous drink has a variety of flavors with many different locations that sell boba. The most popular and base flavor is milk tea. There are so many different shops in Las Vegas that serve this sweet drink, some common shops include, No. 1 Boba Tea on Mall Ring Cir , Noons Boba Cafe on W Warm Springs Rd, Miss Panda on E Sunset Rd and QQ Boba on S Eastern Ave. No. 1 Boba Tea is very convenient because it is in multiple places around the city whereas Noons Boba Cafe and Miss Panda have only one remote location.

Huge amounts of different flavors

Malia Deramus

is very common for most shops that sell boba. It is very easy to create new flavors of boba and mix and match toppings as well. No. 1 Boba Tea has over 20 different flavors and types of bubble tea. They also serve a variety of toppings you can choose from in addition to the beverage.

The toppings can be added to any type of boba you select. Although, it is an additional price of normally a few cents.

Boba pricing usually is an average of $3.50 for a regular cup of boba which normally is 16 oz. Places can vary on pricing and sizes of their cup. For instance, Noons Boba Cafe charges $4.95 for their Thai Milk Tea with boba versus No. 1 Boba Tea which serves the same thing for $3.95.

I tried the Thai tea at Noons Boba Cafe and it tasted sweet and was nice and cold. The boba at Noons Boba Cafe tends to water down faster than other bobas.

Noons Boba compared to the other three shops has a unique look with seating inside and outside. It is also conveniently placed right beside Green Valley High School as an easy access point for a hangout spot. The only reason I would give Noons Boba Cafe four out of five stars is due to the wait time and how quick the boba waters down.

QQ Boba on Eastern did not have dine-in seating due to COVID-19 regulations. They have a plastic screen covering the door where you are able to make orders from outside the

Malia Deramus

building. I enjoyed how the store took precautions regardng safety guidelines. The one day I went there I also got Thai Tea to compare the same item from different shops. The same drink was a few cents less pricey and tasted practically the same. An issue I faced and it seems like others who reviewed it felt the same way was the customer service. The guy working there seemed to constantly be in a rush even when there was no one else ordering. The wait time was also longer than average. I would rate QQ Boba three out of five stars because of the customer service and service time.

Miss Panda was another store that had almost the same thing as QQ Boba in regards to COVID-19 safety guidelines. I ordered the Thai Tea right outside the shop and the delivery was quick. The store seemed to be well decorated even though customers were not allowed inside. The outside is right beside Galaxy Movie Theaters but, Miss Panda somehow found a way to make their location just as well known as the movie theaters with decorative lights placed all around the outside. I would rate Miss Panda a four out of five stars.

My number one boba shop out of all the four stores has to be No. 1 Boba Tea. I went to the one right nearby the Galleria Mall and everything about the shop was very clean and the staff was amazing. I ordered the Thai tea

December 2020

again and before I payed for my drink the tea was already done. The pricing for the average size was around the same price as every other shop but the drink tasted so much better than the others. The flavoring in the tea was very potent at No.1 Boba Tea. The store also has one of the biggest varieties of boba I have seen. They are very organized and precise with their drinks. I would definitely give No. 1 Boba Tea five stars because of their excellent customer connection and quality.

Many people enjoy the aesthetic of the cold drink, whereas some purely love all the flavors and the chewiness of the tapioca pearls at the bottom.

The craze for boba started as a drink to try out for the purpose of boba being new on the market, but turned into so much more.

Boba has definitely made a trend and compared to places such as Starbucks, Boba has risen up to the standards of coffee. The sweet and savory drink has so many flavors versus coffee that are hard to miss. The popularity for boba started peaking because of the pandemic. Majority of citizens do not go out on a morning coffee run or go out as often at all reducing the need for a caffeinated beverage.

Although we can not determine if bubble tea is a trend or a full-time drink , it has increasingly become a well-known and loved beverage around Las Vegas.

•A&E•

Holiday treats span cultures

By Emma Trifonova

G

reen Valley students and teachers celebrate the winter holidays with all sorts of foods special to them.

From gingerbread to tamales, the way they spend their Christmas dinner is unique from person to person.

“I have deep Hispanic routes in my family since I’m half Latino, so my mother usually makes traditional Hispanic dishes,” sophomore Dominic Coudin said.

Though Christmas may seem like a rather generic holiday, it is important to consider how different ethnic backgrounds contribute to different types of Christmas dinners. Each culture can vary greatly when it comes to ethnic foods, which is reflected during the holidays.

In Coudin’s family, tamales, enchiladas, caldo and pozole are common foods his family eats during the holidays. These are just a few Hispanic foods that are incorporated in Coudin’s Christmas dinner.

Some other Hispanic foods that are famous around the winter holidays are

tostadas, pavo, bacalao and bunuelos.

Pavo is a famous Mexican turkey recipe, and turkey happens to be native to Mexico. This makes it interesting to see how turkey is incorporated into winter holiday dinners in Hispanic dinners.

“My favorite Christmas meal is Po-

stew, meat, and can be seasoned or garnished with shredded lettuce or cabbage, onion, garlic, chile peppers, lime, salsa, radish and avocados, along with a few other foods.

The ingredients in Pozole differs depending on the region, but hominy is always used in the recipe, which is

“

I have deep Hispanic routes in my family since I’m half Latino, so my mother usually makes traditional Hispanic dishes.

Dominic Coudin zole de Carne because growing up my relatives and extended family would always eat this dish during the early winter and December times,” Coudin said.

Pozole de Carne is an important Mexican dish. It is essentially soup or

corn that has been treated to be chewy and puffy.

“I really like tamales, they are my second favorite of all of them simply for the fact that they’re both warm,” Coudin said.

Tamales are cornmeal dough with

Violet LaMela

• 25 •

fillings put inside of them. A popular filling for tamales is usually meat.

However, a variety of fillings can be put into tamales, from vegetables to chilies, and can taste very different depending on what the filling is.

Despite the tasty foods that Hispanic culture has to offer, there are other ethnic foods that are eaten on the holidays. Bulgarian food is a great example of this.

“I have two favorite Christmas meals, one is lasagna, the other one is a Bulgarian dish made with filo dough and feta cheese called banitza,” science teacher Petya Crones said.

In many multicultural families, it is easy to see how the meals blend and mix together at the dinner table. In Crones’ household, American and Bulgarian cultures are combined together to make for a quaint Christmas dinner full of all sorts of foods. Still, some similarities can be found in between the differences.

Lasagna is made out of thin dough strips with cheese -- and commonly other ingredients -- in between them, while in banitza, the dough is quite fluffy and can be crunchy, and mainly feta cheese is used in this dish. Although, lasagna and banitza both are similar as they use dough and cheese in their recipes.

“I love lasagna because my husband grew up with it as a family Christmas tradition which has become our family Christmas tradition also. I love banitza because this is what I grew up with in Bulgaria,” Crones said.

Foods put on the dinner table during Christmas can have a special meaning, like always eating that food on a certain holiday. Crones’ Christmas dinner takes these important aspects from her side of the family, and her husband’s, and puts it into one big Christmas dinner.

There can be a simple reason why a specific food is eaten during the holidays, however, the reasoning can also go much deeper than that. For example, there can be a special attachment to the meal. The foods served on the holidays can hold a special place in people’s hearts.

Different ethnic backgrounds and events that happened in a person’s life can change the way these holidays are spent.

“Our lasagna tradition dates back to my husband’s great grandmother and has been passed down to his grandmother and mother,” Crones said. “Banitza is what my grandmother always made from scratch, and my mother. These meals always bring fond memories.”

•A&E•

• December 2020 •

• Opinion •

The danger of political polarization Divided nation becomes desperate for unity

By Jeremy Anderson

D

emocrat or Republican, Liberal or Conservative; These “labels” have drawn a line and widened the gap between Americans more than ever before. The divide is too great, considering the fact that we are all still Americans, no matter our political alignment.

“I do feel the country is more divided than ever. Even some families are divided between parents and children. Our current political state is in a horrible position right now, and it’s pinning anyone with different views against each other,” junior Abraham Denstaedt said.

There is no question that the polarization of American politics is largely thanks to President/Former President Donald Trump. Throughout his business career, and now political career, he has consistently been polarizing. He has formed a new political alignment/party: “Trumpism.”

This “party” has less alignment with the Democratic or Republican party, if you want to look at historical core values. Trump has completely altered the image of a typical American president.

“I don’t believe the divide was caused by a certain party because there are long standing Republicans, like Mitt Romney and former senator Jeff Flake, who are against Trump, while it seems the Democrats are more united,” Denstaedt said.

The departure from quintessential conservatism ranges from his undoubtedly controversial past, including calling for the death penalty of five (proven) innocent black men, known as the “Central Park Five,” seen by many as an example of possible racism portrayed by Trump.

Alongside this, his relative mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic, including his downplaying of it, and the holding of large rallies that have contributed to over 700 deaths according to a Stanford study, have unnecessarily polarized the country over a deadly pandemic that should not be questioned in its severity.

“In D.C. a few [weeks] ago, Trump supporters rioted and the police didn’t stop them like they stopped the majority of peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters in the summer,”

Denstaedt said. “A sign at the MAGA riot even said, ‘Coming for Blacks and Indians first, Welcome to the New World Order.”

It is hard to ignore the sheer outrageousness Trump conducted during his term, from an impeachment accusing him of soliciting Ukraine for potential interference in the 2020 election, as well as the more recent “Stand down and stand by” statement regarding the white supremacist group Proud Boys, which led to actions such as the MAGA riot mentioned above. It has led more and more liberals rightly questioning why their friends continue to support him. The same in the opposite direction has occurred, in conservatives dismissing their friends who ignore

“

We need to listen to each other and not cut each other off once we mention something we might disagree with.

Abraham Denstaedt the past of Joe Biden, a legitimate concern, from his anti-busing stance in the late 20th century, as well as the disputed 1994 Crime Bill that was put in place during a rampant time of crime. Once again, a mirage of severing in the country between party lines is reflected.

“A lot of people were scared of the possibility of Trump getting reelected, and others were scared of what would happen if Biden got elected,” Denstaedt said. “The fear from either side losing is enough to show that we are so polarized to the point where we’re scared of the other party’s candidate winning.”

During Election Night/Week, in what is supposed to be the cornerstone of democracy, anxiousness, fright and even terror came to fruition. The first night, as Trump had some larger leads in battleground states, such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, he, his sons and

some of his campaign staff declared victory, with many votes yet to be counted. As the lead in these battleground/toss-up states tightened due to the influx of mail-in votes in the coming days, his supporters went out to polling places and yelled, “Stop the count,” illustrative of that aforementioned fear, as well as denial.

Locally, at the Clark County Election Center, a frenzied man interfered with a press conference by yelling about the “cheating Joe Biden” , and was eventually escorted out as a result of his rampage. However, it was an all-too-familiar sight, mirrored on the roads in Texas, where a Trump caravan surrounded a Biden/Harris bus, which was described as a terrorist act by prominent Democrats, and a patriot act by prominent Republicans, representative of that continued divide between the two parties’ most prominent figures.

On the other side, supporters of Biden asked for all votes, in-person and mail-in, to be counted. This is exactly what happened, as there was the greatest voter turnout in election history. As Biden took the lead in those aforementioned battleground states through mail-in votes, and eventually declared victory for reaching the 270 electoral votes required to be president-elect, fraud was quickly declared by the opposition. From claims of 140,000 votes “appearing” for Biden, to dead people supposedly voting, lawsuits have been filed.

There still has been no concession

by Trump, although some have asked him to, given the large deficit he has little chance of recovering from, and the lack of evidence available to suggest there is voter fraud according to multiple news outlets, including the Washington Post.

Overall, if 2020 has shown us anything, much of America is based on party politics, a sad result of this is lines being drawn in every sect of the country, between friends and even family. This is not how it should be; it should not be a face off between who’s good and who’s evil.

“We need to listen to each other and not cut each other off once we mention something we might disagree with,” Denstaedt said, “I feel like no one listens to each other anymore and we need to more than ever if we want this country to survive and unify.”

• 27 •

Kristel Alfaro Borbon www.pewresearch.org

• Pro/Con •

The best approach

Positives of distance learning midterm exams

By Taylor Theel

113

days, 2,712 hours, 162,720 minutes, or 9,763,200 seconds is the amount of time between the first day of school and students’ first midterm. Exams this 2020-21 school year should most be definitely required for a number of reasons.

Over the course of about four months, students have been taking six to eight classes; spending hours on end completing homework assignments, studying for tests, completing projects, and so much more.

Junior Matthew Pelle states he believes there should be semester finals this school year for students to have an end objective.

“There needs to be a goal at the end of the semester, so students know they didn’t do all of this hard work for nothing,” Pelle said.

With so much time and effort put into these focuses, it would be a waste of their efforts if there was no end result in December. Students have worked extremely hard during this past semester, and there would be no point in learning all of the information constantly thrown at them, just to not be able to display that knowledge on a final exam.

“There are people who may struggle to keep up with their classwork while taking on extra responsibilities at home, and exams could save their grade,” junior Ann Grell said.

Kylee Brahma

student does not have enough time to get these assignments in, then their test could give them something to slightly depend on.

A final exam will inevitably cause students to put more time into studying to prepare for their final assessment. The result of their studying and preparation could be the opportunity to raise their grade to one they are more content with.

“Since I decided that I wanted a

“

There are people who may struggle to keep up with their classwork while taking on extra responsibilities at home, and exams could save their grade.

Ann Grell In addition to having a goal, it can clearly help students with their grades as well. Seeing as midterms are worth 10% of one’s overall grade, it could give them that small push to get a better percentage.

This year it is a given that classes are more difficult, it is easy to lose track of time, and forget to turn in assignments. These events would result in missing work and a lower grade; if a

higher grade in one of my classes, I decided it would be better to study for that particular class a little more than the others,” Pelle said.

If one is able to complete their midterm well it would clearly illuminate their work ethic and proficiency in that class; they have been paying attention, getting help they need, and completing their course thoroughly.

Anyone could turn in assignments

by cheating off of their classmates, finding answers on-line or participating in some other form of cheating, but when doing an exam there is no easy way use cheating to get by.

When students are working on a test it purely demonstrates their knowledge on the material they have been working on throughout the semester, one who does not complete their own work would not be able to do the test the same.

A similar situation would prove the need for tests; a formal would force those who do not have a good work ethic “off the hook”.

As stated, most students put a lot of effort into finishing their assignments and learning their material.

It would be unfair if those students were not able to demonstrate their intelligence and let those who do not complete their course to get away with it.

Students who pay attention in class are ones who deserve to express their knowledge on their learned material. Those who would be getting away with it are taking that opportunity away from those students.

Exams could also be a great chance for some to recognize where they are in the class. After they complete their assessment and get their grade back they will be able to see what their

December 2020

strengths and weaknesses are.

After acknowledging these aspects, they will be able to try and focus more on that certain subject they did not understand too clearly. This could extremely benefit a student who will be needing that topic to understand future material.

All colleges have the ability to see any and all grades and information reported on official transcripts, including your final grades in core academic courses. To keep these numbers high, a good grade on a final could potentially interest these schools.

It is important for students to keep this information in mind when thinking about taking their s, especially if they want to get into good colleges.

This year has had it’s difficulties, but if colleges are to see that a student has received good grades in their courses despite the struggles of the entire pandemic the world is facing, it will look extremely impressive. It will show that the student persevered and succeeded against all odds, and was determined to learn even if it was in a new, foreign way of doing so.

Exams this year will be difficult, they typically are, but no matter the situations students are in, final assessments have their list of positives that will benefit one’s future.

• Pro/Con •

to on-line midterms

Self taught students unprepared for exams

By Reilly Weatherford

S

tudents of the 20202021 school year can all agree that this school year has been rough.

Students, teachers, and parents have had trouble adjusting to the new on-line curriculum. New websites and platforms have been introduced to us and new ways of having a notebook though your computer have appeared as well.

Many people are nervous about what the future holds with the final exams this year.

Junior Abraham Denstaedt brings up how many kids have been discouraged in school due to being home for so long. A lot more kids this year would struggle due to not having hands on work and not being able to retain information as much online, considering we basically have to teach ourselves.

“I feel like I am less prepared in on-line school than in person school because there is less hands on work, it’s harder to ask questions, and that it is harder to complete work,” Denstaedt said.

Denstaedt is taking four AP classes this year; AP European History, AP US History, AP Language and Composition, and AP Psychology.

“We are not able to discuss everything we need to discuss in time,” Denstaedt said.

“I think it is even harder now because people have even less motivation than in the beginning of the year.

Some people are really busy or in hardship too,” Denstaedt said.

Junior Essence Winter believes that school should have been in person instead of on-line, that way it is guaranteed that people do not cheat on exams. Since school has been more difficult this year, students should be allowed a cheat sheet.

“I honestly do not feel prepared enough for an exam this year. I’ve been practically forced to teach myself a bunch of things,” Winter said.

Eckhardt claims that it’s been a difficult year and hard for her to learn since she does better in person to really soak it in along with helping with time management.

“We should just only take a final exam when we go to a hybrid schedule next semester at the end of the

year, if we do,” Winter said.

Junior Lexy Prieto mainly feels as if the workload is too much for her to keep up on. Thinking about the final exam, she feels way under prepared.

“I do not feel like I learned the information completely. I am more of just trying to get the work done so I don’t fall behind and I feel like the teachers do not know how to properly prepare us for the exams,” Prieto said.

Prieto states that depending on the household, students do not have a good head space. Some kids have to cook, clean and babysit their siblings.

Depending on how many kids you have in your household, it could be harder to concentrate or even get the wifi to work consistently.

Prieto also mentioned that kids with mental health issues find it harder to ask teachers for help, causing a huge loss in communication when feeling lost and confused with assignments.

Students should not have to take the final exam because the entire school year, students have to take countless numbers of unit tests and benchmarks to assess their level of understanding on the topics covered.

This means that students’ progress is being tracked and evaluated over the course of the whole year.

Therefore, taking a cumulative exam at the end of the year does not

really tell the teacher anything that they do not already know about the students’ abilities.

Students teaching themselves has brought up opinions of not being prepared for exams. This would be due to teachers methods of preparing the students, but for sophomore Kalynn Casanova, she believes that this is a learning experience for all of us.

“Teachers are definitely not at

Another big factor is students’ mental health. With the amount of stress that has been put on students’ shoulders, trying to teach themselves and still live their daily lives, having midterms could intensify the students’ diminishing mental health.

“Having midterms could worsen students’ mental health, and even more than the midterms of years past,” Casanova said.- “Now we have

“

I honestly do not feel prepared enough for an exam this year. I’ve been practically forced to teach myself a bunch of things.

Essence Winter fault. They are struggling with this just as much as we are,” Casanova said.

With this, having to adjust to something new in our everyday lives, that takes a big toll, and is difficult to get by with.

“Social distancing has us all into a state of confusion, diminished mental health, and just struggling with trying to figure out what to do,” Casanova said.

to go back and try to remember every single bit of it to try and take a midterm that I don’t think should be happening in the first place.”

With all that has happened this year, and all the adapting that students have done, enough hard work and perseverance has been shown to make up for midterms. To have midterms this year would mean more stress for not only students, but teachers as well.

random survey of GVHS students on Nov. 22

• 29 •

Brenna Knight

• Opinion •

A needle full of controversy Some people fear deployment of COVID-19 vaccine

By Cherie Franklin

“I

nternational Study Finds COVID-19 Conspiracies Linked to Vaccine Hesitancy”. “Is The COVID 19 Vaccine The Mark Of The Beast?” “‘Coronavirus vaccine will be injected as a biometric chip to access private data’: Anti-vaccine propaganda”.

All of these are news headlines pertaining to one of the hottest topics in the nation: the development and release of a COVID-19 vaccine.

In an age of information, the problem is no longer lack thereof; it has now become a matter of deciding which information to trust. Trusting the wrong thing, regardless of whether or not we know at the time, causes immense amounts of trouble in our own lives as well as in the lives of others. Social media has catalyzed the increase of false belief and misinformation at an unprecedented scale.

Platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have played a large role in this species, especially on the topic of vaccination. Part of what makes this so effective in an age of social media is the fact that people who are exposed to it share it widely among friends and peers who trust them, with no intention of misleading anyone. Social media transforms disinformation into misinformation.

Misinformation and its acceptance often come from a lack of

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Social media has catalyzed the increase of false belief and misinformation at an unprecedented scale. fact-checking at its bare bones. Often enough, many people who are duped into believing that vaccines do not work simply do so because they do not possess the motivation to see if what they read on a page is actually true. In most cases, this works because of the trust that we place in the ability of our peers to give us a reliable source. After this initial point, it becomes harder and harder to disprove a misinformed person’s beliefs thanks to a psychological phenome-

Tyler Bonnette cdc.gov

non called confirmation bias.

Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one’s prior beliefs or values. People tend to unconsciously select the information that supports their views, but ignore information that doesn’t. This direct influence on what we believe is the older sibling to “wishful thinking”. Confirmation bias plays into anti-vaccination directly, especially when more than one person is involved in validating those views and beliefs.

Why is all of this so dangerous?

Someone who thinks they know enough about a subject to believe that they are right will never realize that they are wrong. This same person will spread their beliefs on to their friends, who then are the ones being harmed by untrustworthy information. In the case of vaccination, the stakes are much higher than just being wrong about something trivial.

The real lives of adults and children alike can suffer the consequences if someone chooses to not vaccinate their child.

Strangely enough, on-line communities that are actively and openly

anti-vaccination regularly post and share content that is framed as evidence as to why vaccines are harmful or ineffective. This can be anything from news stories, scientific papers, and interviews with prominent vaccine skeptics to scientific papers and legal advice supporting anti-vaccination efforts Once a person slides down the slippery slope of vaccination skepticism, the decisions they make become increasingly dangerous.

Choosing not to vaccinate your child or yourself may be the most dangerous of them all. The whole reason for vaccines is to prevent the spread of disease.

In the case of children, they run the risk of infecting their community and may even be removed from school or child care facilities.

If not vaccinating your children when there isn’t a global pandemic is already dangerous, then the choice to not receive the COVID-19 vaccine could be a catastrophic one.

December 2020

With the COVID-19 vaccine well on its way, misinformation has already weaved its way into Facebook groups, ads on TikTok and Instagram, and suspicious pop-ups anywhere on the web. Conspiracy theories including microchips and many others have been producing dissent in discussions concerning the

virus, a n d even placing distrust in the minds of many who are contemplating their own vaccination.

• Editorial •

The finale of 2020

By The InvestiGator Staff

W

What a year it has been. On New Year’s day, everyone set up their New Years resolution, such as losing weight, having better grades and becoming a better person.

But everyone can agree that 2020 may not have lived to our expectations, with a global pandemic, a civil rights movement and hundreds of people losing their jobs. 2020 has been a time to have a lot of alone time, and to appreciate what we have everyday. Especially in high school, students are now realizing that they should be thankful for what they have. Going to school used to seem like such a burden, but now that everything is on-line students have gained a new appreciation for their peers and their teachers.

The majority of generation Z, at such a young age, has been trying to take the pandemic seriously, and make the best out of the situation. Many try to educate themselves and others through social me-

dia platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, by posting things like “reasons to wear a mask” or “why you should stay at home.” Most of Gen Z believes that everyone can do their part to help during such

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In times like these we just have to remember to be thankful for what we have. troubling times.

Staying at home and being expected to do work in the same place that you enjoy your free time can be demanding, and at times frustrating. Some students struggle with finding a balance between their

school life and their personal life. Many students also seem to struggle with motivation, with large amounts of schoolwork to do, often it piles up and stresses them out.

Missing out on the traditional high school years every teen experiences can be a little despondent, especially for seniors. Not having the ability to go to homecoming, prom and possibly not have a normal graduation gets students a little down sometimes.

But in times like these we just have to remember to be thankful for what we do have.

With the holiday season coming up we have to remember to be thankful, and to realize how lucky we are just to have simple resources. This holiday season will for sure be one to remember, and we just have to look at the positive side of all these situations.

Thankfully, we have reached the end of 2020, and hopefully 2021 will bring better luck and allow us to improve and work hard towards our goals. We just have to keep looking at the bright side of things and be kind to one another.

Kristel Alfaro Borbon

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• Gallery •

photo by Eric Johnston

Science teacher Scott Panik’s classroom sits empty during the third week of second quarter. Several teachers, such as Panik, continued to teach from their classrooms during distance learning until district protocols forced them to work from home for the remainder of the first semester.

EMPTY SEATS