The Forge Vol. 106 No. 4

Celebrity Deaths p. 6 | A Decade in Sports p. 12 | Trump Impeachment p. 5 | Social Media p. 7

THE FORGE Vol. 106 No. 4

SANTA BARBARA HIGH SCHOOL - FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2020 Scientific Breakthroughs Take a look at the scientific advancements that took place in the past decade . | p. 2

Est. 1914

Gun Violence

Fire Destruction

Better understand the impact gun violence has had on society in the last decade. | p. 6

Fires have had a prominent role throughout the decade, here’s how... | p. 9

A Decade in Review

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JANUARY 24, 2020

Scientific Breakthroughs of the Decade

BY KARISSA FIELDS

As the decade comes to a close and a new era in science approaches, we look back at a decade of incredible discovery and innovation. Throughout this past decade scientists have begun further collaborating on a global scale. Scientists have made remarkable progress in better understanding the human body, earth, cosmos, etc. Over the last decade, scientists have pulled off massive feats. Below are five scientific breakthroughs as we blast into 2020.

People may recall the image of the black hole blowing up your feed along with the endless memes. Essentially, a team of international astronomers captured an image of a black holes silhouette for the first time. What are black holes? Black holes are mysterious places in space where nothing, not even light, can escape. Many people thought this to be impossible, because capturing an image where no light can escape would only produce darkness. However, for scientists, the biggest scientific battle they had to overcome was how from thousands or even millions of light-years away, they would be able to capture an image of the hot, glowing gas falling into a black hole.

This ambitious group of astronomers and computer scientists worked for well over a decade to attain an image of a black hole. The team improved upon a radio astronomy technique for high-resolution imaging and used it to detect the silhouette of a black hole that was outlined by the glowing gas that surrounded its event horizon, the escarpment beyond which light cannot escape. Learning about mysterious structures in the universe provides insight into physics and allows us to test observation methods and theories, such as Einstein’s theory of general relativity.

As of now we do not know whether there is life on mars but thanks to our adorable real life wall-E, Curiosity Rover, we know that it was habitable.

Curiosity Rover landed on Mars in August 2012. Curiosity discovered rounded pebbles, suggesting new evidence that rivers, lakes, and possibly even oceans ran through Mars billions of years ago. In 2014, Curiosity Rover discovered complex organic

Photo Courtesy of Google Images molecules, the building blocks of life.

Scientists in the next decade will shift their questions of mars from “was Mars habitable?” to, “can mars support life?”

The Higgs Boson is sometimes referred to as the “God Particle”. This “God Particle” will help us to understand how matter gets its mass. In the 1970s, physicists Peter Higgs and François Englert proposed a solution on how matter gets its mass in the form of a novel energy field that permeates the universe; The Higgs Field.

This theorized field also came with its associated fundamental particle, the Higgs Boson. In July of 2012, a decades-long search ended when two teams at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider announced the detection of the Higgs boson. The discovery filled in the last missing piece of the Standard Model; the theory that describes three of the four necessary foundational forces in physics and all known elementary particles.

The identification of the CRISPR-Cas9 system has helped make huge advances this decade in our ability to precisely edit DNA. It allows bacteria to store pieces of viral DNA, recognize any matching DNA, and then cut the viruses DNA into ribbons. In 2012, researchers proposed

that Crispr-Cas9 could be used as a powerful genetic editing tool considering it has the ability to precisely cut DNA in ways that scientists can easily manipulate and could be used on human DNA. Though the CRISPR-Cas9 has the potential for great benefits, it has also created a staggering ethical debate. In 2019 Chinese researcher, He Jiankui, produced the birth of two girls whose genomes had been edited with Crispr. This announcement marked the first humans born with heritable edits to their DNA. The announcement sparked calls for a global embargo on heritable “germline” edits in humans.

This past decade marked the detection of the first gravitational waves.

Albert Einstein proposed that when objects with enough mass accelerate, they can sometimes create waves that move through the fabric of space and time like ripples on a pond’s surface.

This idea is known as the “Theory of Relativity”. The ripples are known as gravitational waves and are a key prediction of relativity. Nobody had directly detected them until 2015. The U.S.-based observatory, LIGO, felt the aftershock of a distant collision between two black holes. In 2017, LIGO and the European observatory, Virgo, felt another set of tremors, this

time made when neutron stars collided. Telescopes around the world saw the related explosion, making the event to be the first ever observed in both light and gravitational waves.

The landmark data have given scientists an unparalleled look at how gravity works and how elements such as gold and silver form.

The Tens marked a decade of immense scientific discovery and has changed the face of science as we know it.

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JANUARY 24, 2020

THE FORGE

NEWS | 3

Decade Recap

BY MADELEINE MISHLER This past decade has certainly been a turbulent one, but that is not to say that throughout these ten years we have not changed for the better. From culture shifting social movements, to historical politics, some of us may have forgotten the monumental moments that have occurred within this most recent decade.

In 2013, Edward Snowden, an American whistleblower, released highly classified documents from the National Security Agency about the United States. This quickly prompted a global discussion about national security and “individual privacy.”

Similarly, the nation was prompted into seemingly permanent partisanship in 2016 after businessman Donald Trump was elected as the president of the United States. On a totally related note, he was the third president in American history to impeached. This will certainly go down in the history books.

In his presidency, Trump awarded Tiger Woods, an American professional golfer, the Medal of Freedom in the same year he won his fifth Master tournament—solidifying his official comeback in sports.

As for other professional athletes, Olympic gold medal winner Simone Biles absolutely dominated in gymnastics in 2016. The women’s U.S. gymnastics team included Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Laurie Hernandez, and Madison Kocian were dubbed the “Final Five.” Biles won five gold medals in Rio de Janeiro, and has gone on to win her second World Artistic Gymnastics Championship.

The U.S.A. women’s gymnastics teams doctor for the 2016 Olympics, Larry Nassar, no longer has the privilege of the title “American Doctor,” but rather, “convicted child molestor.” Nassar evidently absuded many of his patients, some of which were on the U.S. Olympic team. Nassar was convicted, and consequently sentenced to 175 years in prison.

Thankfully for Nassar, he was not sentenced to the same prison as Jeffery Epstein, a fellow convicted sex offender. Epstein allegedly committed suicide in his cell in late 2019, but investigators say that they are hesitant to rule his death a suicide due to the nature of the evidence found at his death scene. Epstein reportedly was afraid for his life, and according to 60 Minutes, paid inmates to protect him. Epstein must have been aware of the prison hierarchy; ultimately

no one wants to live with a child molestor.

Many news sources attribute Epstein’s arrest to the #MeToo movement, which exploded in 2018. The movement arguably gained it’s fame and power from the men and women in Hollywood, who spoke of the abuse of power and sex that was so common in their industry. Not long after, nearly all social media platforms were influenced by #MeToo followed by men and women sharing their stories of sexual abuse or harassment. The movement has sparked an important discussion in our culture and society, and has instigated change. Despite what critics may say, this evidently is not a witch hunt, but the persecution of wrong-doers whose parents never taught them better.

The #MeToo movement was not the only social movement that soared within the past few years. After a deadly shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida, students and their families and friends did not hesitate to advocate for their rights for a safe learning environment. This was how the gun control advocacy group, Never Again, was founded.

The response to this was grand. Students across the nation stepped out of school to advocate for their safety, education and mourn the loss of other students.

What doubtlessly greatly aided in the boom of these social movements was the popularity of social media. Within ten years, social media has turned into a career for some influencers, rather than a hobby that it used to be. One of the most popular social media platforms, if not the most popular, is Instagram, which Mark Zuckerberg clearly thought was a goldmine because it was bought by Facebook in 2012. Since then, Facebook has merged with other popular apps such as WhatsApp, and has attempted to buy Snapchat with a three billion dollar offer, which was declined. According to CNBC, Zuckerberg is now crushing Snapchat’s value with Instagram, and investors of Snapchat are quickly selling their shares. Would Snapchat take that three billion dollar offer now? My magic eight ball says, “odds are likely.”

Along with the boom of social media came the boom of smartphones. In the beginning of 2010, the iPhone 4 had just launched and people were ditching their Blackberrys for the flashy phone. Many companies have since followed in suit, creating smartphones themselves,

such as Android, Google, and Samsung.

Smartphones allow us to keep a phone, streaming service, and video games all in our pocket.

I expect flip phones to become extinct by the following decade.

Thanks to smartphones, we can watch some of the greatest box office hits anywhere we go.

The Marvel cinematic universe has monopolized the film industry and box office this past decade. Since the release of The Avengers in 2012, the American public has developed an obsession with seeing their favorite comic book stories come to life on the big screen. Overall, the franchise has made billions, the highest grossing film being Avengers: Endgame which made only $2.789 billion at the box office.

However, that is not to say that all great stories translate well on the big screen. In fact, many should not be. The greatest, and most recent example of a film that should have never been made is Cats. The New York Times review says, “A doctoral thesis could have been written on how this misfire sputtered into existence, though there’s nothing new about the movies’ energetic embrace of bad taste.” If this is any indication of the success of broadway musical film adaptations, then please do not touch

Hamilton--which has been burning up on Broadway since its release in 2015.

Like the musical Hamilton, our forests, houses and belongings have been burning up thanks to climate change. In 2016, some of the world’s most powerful countries agreed to sign the Paris Climate Agreement, which ensures that countries will take precautionary measures to slow the detrimental effects of climate change.

Unfortunately, the United States backed out of signing the agreement because of new presidential administration. According to President Trump, he believed that climate change was a “hoax” but has suddenly had a change of heart as of only a week ago, when he retracted his prior insulting statements about the reality of our trashed planet.

Overall, these past ten years have been, to put it lightly, stimulating. From box office successes to Facebook’s domination of social media, this will be a decade that will not go unforgotten. I am even more curious to know what the future holds, is a decade of roaring ’20s in our future?

Here is to a new year, a new decade, and let’s hope a new president.

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THINGS OVERHEARD IN THE HALLWAY

THE FORGE

A Decade of Opioid Abuse

BY ZANE FORTE

Over the past ten years, drug overdoses have been a serious problem, leading to a tragic rise in the number of drug related deaths in the United States. Almost 500,000 Americans died in our last decade because of overdosing off drugs like heroin, methadone, fentanyl and other opi oids, but we are starting to see im“Why do you call him yeti?” provements.

“Look at him.”

In the past decade, over 100,000 people have overdosed off of prescription opioids. Over the counter “Mr. Gamble, what’s your favorite painkillers are usually used for med“The Office” character?” ical purposes, but they can often end “Dwight.” up in the hands of someone who will use the drug recreationally. One study showed that one out of twenty “Santa Claus has my heart and my... never mind.”

people who were prescribed painkillers used them for non-medical purposes. One reason for this is different health care providers having different ideas on when to use these painkillers, and how much to prescribe. Another way painkillers can end up in the wrong hands is someone will get prescriptions from multiple doctors at the same time, and sell them to people for recreational use. Synthetic Opioids such as fentanyl can be illegally made and sold, increasing the circulation of painkillers. When using pain killers, make sure to only use the amount the doctor prescribed to you and never buy painkillers off anyone selling them illegally to help prevent overdose and

“Kind of reminds me of North Korea.”

“YouTube Rewind 2018? Yeah.”

“Yeah, you’re a Forge girl now.”

“Sometimes you just say things and I don’t remember.”

“Make me your widow.”

“If I don’t get into Columbia like the kid in Gossip Girl then I’m moving to Iceland.”

“What ever happened to Brooke Morison? She’s got clean teeth, get it? Since she goes to Colgate.”

“Starting to think that SBCC may be the best option for a slacker like me.”

“What day is it?”

“It’s the third day of Hanukkah, baby!”

“All I want for Christmas is you... and to graduate.”

“Do you think I could still become President if I fail PE?” “The Forge? I hate the Forge!”

JANUARY 24, 2020

addiction.

While opioids can help treat severe pain, there are many downsides to this pain killer. Using opioids for more than three days will increase the risk of addiction. After a few months, the individual will start to become tolerant and any pain they had will slowly return. The user will then become dependent, and experience withdrawals when trying to get off the drug. Some effects of these withdrawals can include muscle spasms, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and anxiety.

We began the last decade with 38,000 overdose deaths in 2010.

This number increased each year up until 2017, when it reached its peak of 72,000 deaths. In 2018, the death rate dropped down to 68,000 deaths, which was the first decline in almost two decades. One reason for the lower death rate has been tightened security and doctors becoming more cautious when prescribing painkillers. Another reason is easier access to the drug naloxone, which can treat overdose in emergency situations and has saved thousands from death. While we are currently making improvements to the overdose death rate, there is still much more we could do. Keeping naloxone in

stock and available to those taking opioids is one way lower death rates.

Over-prescribing painkillers is another problem on the doctors side.

Those who are taking prescription opioids need to be educated on the potential effects and risks of the drug.

For those already addicted, treatment and therapy should be encouraged and provided.

Besides overdose, there are many other ways drugs can tear apart your life. Drugs are expensive, and can lead you into homelessness if you are not careful. Going to prison is also a possibility when using drugs illegally.

Drug usage can also lead to long term effects on the brain such as anxiety, depression, and memory problems.

Drug addiction can ruin a users relationships with their close friends and family.

Drug usage is a dangerous habit that can break up families and friendships, result in homelessness, and worse case cause you to overdose and die. Be careful when using drugs, and only use the prescribed amount given by doctors. While we are slowly making improvements, drug overdose is still a serious issue that can happen to anyone if they are not careful. These improvements will hopefully continue throughout our new decade.

tained great themes and messages in their first iteration. In the sequels, the writers made an attempt to create messages that suited an older audience, and they succeeded. These movies followed the characters that these teenagers once loved, such as those in “Frozen” and gave them issues and problems that the teenagers themselves were probably going through as well. Issues like growing older and even climate change. They reminded them that they’re not alone. Even if they’ve grown up, they can still return to those childhood movies.

Aside from animated children’s movies, the decade was also a huge one for live-action animated movie remakes, “Alice in Wonderland,” “Maleficent,” “Cinderella”, “The Jungle Book”, “Beauty and The Beast”, “Christopher Robin”, “Dumbo”, “Aladdin”, “The Lion King” and “Lady and the Tramp” were remade into live action films. These movies followed the same overall story and characters of the first movies but were remade in their own unique style.

While a new audience came into cinema, new reviewers were created.

Rotten Tomatoes is a website many movie-watchers use to determine whether or not they should see a movie. The ratings are shown as a percent, and some of the best and worst rated movies of the decade. The most highly rated movies, with ratings of 100 percent included “Leave No Trace” a drama and “Mr. Roosevelt” a comedy. The worst movies, according to Rotten Tomatoes, with ratings of 0% included “The Ridiculous 6” a comedy, “Precious Cargo” a drama, and “Gotti” a drama. Not much of this shows just how movie watchers were feeling about the average movie that came out this decade, however looking deeper into these movies could help reveal an overall theme of what people were enjoying in film.

In sum, movies this decade have been influential in racial, ethnic, gender, and other controversial issues. New movements such as #Metoo and #Oscarssowhite were created, boundaries were broken, more people were represented and overall this decade in cinema will be one to remember.

A Decade of Cinema

BY CAROLINE NUHN New movements have been introduced, remakes have been made, drama has been rampont, and overall, the past decade has been a roller coaster in regards to cinema. These past ten years will be ones that people will remember as being an incredibly influential time in cinema.

Movies like “Get Out”, “Blackfish”, “Moonlight”, and “Lady Bird” were released. All three films broke molds in cinema. These were some of the most popular films of the year, and were spoken about by nearly everyone, whether online or face to face.

All of these movies held diverse and sometimes controversial messages within them. Messages that tested society’s view and acceptance of race, identity, gender, and sexuality. For example the controversial disdain of the Catholic faith and religion in “Lady Bird” or the new view of sea creatures in captivity in “Blackfish”.

This is what helped them gain their popularity, along with their innovative and creative cinematography.

Movements “Me Too” and “Oscars So White” shot to popularity. Me too, the movement that brought to light

many women who experienced sexual assault, was incredibly prominent in Hollywood. Allegations of sexual assault and rape were made against many popular men in the cimema industry. Many of these men being quite popular in the movie industry, some of them included, Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, and Casey Affleck. This led to more gender-balanced movies, including directors, actors, writers, and other roles. The “Oscars So White,” movement was started as a social commentary on twitter regarding the extreme lack of diversity among Oscar winners and nominees. Records were broken after this tweet went viral, however there is still a long way to go regarding diversity in cinema.

Seguin to a more lighthearted topic in cinema, for years many children’s movies have been awaiting sequels.

“The Incredibles”, “Finding Nemo”, and “Frozen II” are all movies many current teenagers have been hoping for. This is the decade they got them.

“Incredibles II”, “Finding Dory”, and “Frozen II” all were released over five years after their original movie was released. All of these movies con

JANUARY 24, 2020

NEWS | 5

THE FORGE

President Trump Impeached

SBHS in Memoriam

Donald Trump becomes the 3rd president in history to be impeached | Photos Courtesy of Google Images

BY EMERSON STEADY President Donald Trump was impeached by the United States House of Representatives on December 18, 2019, making him only the third president in American history to be impeached. Impeachment does not mean being removed from office. Rather, the articles of impeachment which were approved by the House now go to the Senate, where a full trial will be held to determine if Trump will be removed from office. The articles accuse Trump of withholding military aid in order to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden and obstruction of Congress. If two thirds of the Senate were to find Trump guilty, he would be the first president ever to be removed from office by impeachment. However, this seems unlikely given that the Senate has a comfortable Republican majority which still seems to almost entirely support Trump, despite the personal and political turbulence of his presidency. In fact, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the process, “the most rushed, least thorough, and most unfair impeachment inquiry in modern history.”

Additionally, McConnell is working closely with White House lawyers in setting the process and rules of the trial. When push comes to shove, Trump being removed from office is highly unlikely. Still, the House’s vote marks a historic moment in American politics.

The impeachment inquiry began after a whistleblower made a complaint regarding a call between President Trump and the newly elected president of Ukraine, Volodomyr Zelensky. A rough transcript of the call was later released which showed that Trump used 391 million dollars in military aid from the United States as a bargaining chip in getting an investigation which would benefit him politically. Democrats have accused Trump of using his elected office for personal gain. The constitution says that a President “shall be removed from office on impeachment for,

and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes or misdemeanours”. The latter category is generally agreed to be very broad, and Democrats say that Trump’s actions fall into it. The two articles of impeachment drafted by House Democrats accuse Trump of abuse of power for his dealings with Ukraine and obstruction of justice for his response to House subpoenas in the impeachment inquiry.

Importantly, impeachment is a political process rather than a criminal one. This means that Trump being removed from office is independent of if he actually committed a crime.

Because impeachment does not work like a standard criminal trial, the Republicans in the Senate actually get to shape the rules of the trial including what can and cannot be shown as evidence. In the end, the senators will vote as jurors and if 67 or more of them vote for removal, Trump will be replaced by Vice President Mike Pence , who previously served as the governor of Indiana and is widely known for his anti-LGBTQ policies and beliefs. The actual trial began on Wednesday January 22nd with opening arguments from both sides.

Trump has been the target of impeachment efforts by House Democrats since his first day as President, and, in fact, this is the fourth time that articles of impeachment have been drafted, but the only time they have reached the House floor from the House Judiciary Committee.

Speaker of the House and Democrat from California, Nancy Pelosi, intentionally waited before bringing any charges against Trump in order to avoid the political damage of making claims against Trump that were not well founded. At this point, entering a Presidential election year, it is hard to tell what the lasting effects of impeachment will be. Even if Trump were removed from office, Mike Pence would only be President until next January. Come November, the impeachment may actually empower the Republican base, among which only 10% supports Trump’s removal

from office and the vast majority of which sees the articles of impeacment as a purely partisan move by Democrats. On the other hand, 80% of Democrats support Trump’s removal from office and it would leave the Republicans without a clear candidate for president. Overall, 47% of Americans support Trump’s removal from office.

This marks a tipping point in the split in political ideologies of Americans when many consider the United States to be the most divided since the civil war. Although impeachment attempts were made against both George W. Bush and Barack Obama, this is the only one to be passed by the House or even come close to being passed. But what Democrats see as a moral imperative to stop Trump’s abuse of power, Republicans see as a ‘witch hunt’ purely based on partisan desires. The effects of this divide will far outlast Trump’s presidency.

Whether or not Trump is removed from office, the 2020 election at all levels has already been radically redefined by impeachment, illustrated by its prominent role in the most recent Democratic Presidential debate in Los Angeles. If Americans cannot begin to see eye to eye on these issues, the fundamental concepts that unite this nation begin to crumble, namely a shared belief in the universality of the Constitution. Between impeachment, Trump’s re-election campaign, and the possibility of war with Iran, 2020 will perhaps be one of the most politically turbulent years of the past century. The question for this brand new year is: will the lawmakers in Washington who have been elected by the American people finally be able to put politics aside to hold an unbiased trial into whether or not President Donald Trump violated the Constitution, or will there just be more of the same hyper partisan political theater which has become all too familiar in recent years while America slowly crumbles?

BY GISELLA DEALBERGARIA

This decade has been an iconic one to say the least, with significant evolutions in technology, scientific breakthroughs, and historical political events that have taken place, especially in the more recent years.

These things are acknowledged almost daily, for good reason, but we should also reflect on the people we have lost in our own Santa Barbara High School community in the past ten years.

As unfortunate as it is, we have experienced the loss of more people than the average school. These events should not happen as often as they do, but each time we’ve encountered a loss of one of our students, I have never seen a community come together so tightly, for examples: In 2017, MAD student, athlete, friend, son, and brother Connor O’Keefe passed away on March 11th. It was my first year at SBHS, and every day school was filled with energy, school spirit, and rambunctious students constantly roaming around the campus. The weeks following his death shed to light the impact that Connor brought to the entire community. The halls were silent, heads were down, and students travelled in packs, reflecting the loyalty that they had for Connor, and each other.

In the year following, our community experienced multiple tragedies when the mudslides struck Montecito. Relatives, friends, and homes were lost in a matter of hours, and the Santa Barbara community united for months after to en-

sure safety, recovery, and give condolences to those affected.

SBHS lost one of our own, junior Jack Cantin. Again, our school came together to cope with the loss, and to remember his legacy. Later that school year, we lost Andrew Hernandez, another junior. The pattern continued; his class and his team grew even closer to each other and made sure everyone got the support they needed.

Community members have made sure these students’ names will never be forgotten by pasting stickers on their cars, binders, and anywhere else they fit. With this being the decade of social media, we’ve used tags like #HonnorConnor and #JackCan to remind each other of the impact that these kids had on everyone in our community.

I am extremely impressed with the way our school copes with these unusual and horrible situations. Each time we come together and protect each other, considering everyone’s feelings and creating new bonds that will never be broken.

In Memoriam, 2010-2019 Michael Jimenez- July 3, 2013 (football coach) Nicholas “Nick” JohnsonMarch 24, 2014 (graduated student) Connor O’Keefe- March 11, 2017 (student) Cody Irwin- June 1, 2017 (student) Jack Cantin- January 9, 2018 (student) Andrew Hernandez- May 15, 2018 (student) Ahrlenny Wendy Hernandez- February 26, 2019 (student)

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THE FORGE

JANUARY 24, 2020

Missing These Celebrities

Photos Courtesy of Google Images

BY GENISIS ZARATE In 2010, celebrities that passed away were Corey Haim and Gary Coleman. Corey Haim was an actor and teen heartthrob during the 80s. He starred in movies such as Firstborn, A Time to Live, and The Lost Boys. He died due to a heart problem and pneumonia. Gary Coleman landed his breakout role starring in Diff ”rent Strokes. He said the now iconic catchphrase in the movie, “What’choo talkin’ ‘bout Willis”. Sadly, Coleman died on May 28 after suffering from an intracranial hemorrhage.

singer and songwriter. She released hit songs like Saving All My Love for You and How Will I Know.

On February 11 she was found in a hotel bathtub where she died from accidental drowning. Etta James was a gospel prodigy and is considered one of the most dynamic singers in music to this day. She released songs I’d Rather Go Blind and At Last. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. Sadly, James died due to her battle with leukemia and other health problems.

In 2011, celebrities that passed away were Nate Dogg and Amy Winehouse. Nate Dog was known as the soul man of G-funk. He released songs such as It’s Goin Down Tonight, Hardest Man In Town, and She’s Strange. On March 15 he unfortunately died from congestive heart failure. Amy WineHouse broke into the music business when she was 16. She released albums such as Frank and Back to Black.

Winehouse also struggled with alcohol abuse and on July 23 she tragically died from accidental alcohol poisoning.

In 2013, celebrities that passed away were Paul Walker and Cory Monteith. Paul Walker starred in films such as Varsity Blues, and She’s All That, but his breakthrough role was in The Fast and The Furious. The movie has since become a franchise and now has 8 movies and 2 in the making. While one of the movies was in the works, he tragically died in a car crash on November 30. Cory Monteith appeared in Stargate Atlantis, Smallville, and his hit role in Glee. Cory had a past with drug and alcohol issues, and although he had seemed to have left them in the past, on July 13 he was found dead in his hotel room from a drug overdose.

In 2012, celebrities that passed on were Whitney Houston and Etta James. Whitney Houston was a

In 2014, celebrities that passed away were Robin Williams and Shirley Temple. Robin Williams was an actor and a comedian. He starred in movies such as Aladdin, Jumanji, and Good Will Hunting.

Williams struggled with severe depression and ended his life on August 12 in his home. Shirley Temple was a child actor during the Great Depression. Temple was known for her cute curls and optimistic personality. She starred in movies such as Carolina, Bright Eyes, and The Blue Bird. On February 10, Temple passed away in her home from pneumonia.

In 2015, celebrities that passed away were B.B King and Leonard Nimoy. B.B King was a singer and guitarist. He had hits such as You Know I Love You, Woke up this Morning, and Three O’Clock Blues.

He won over 15 Grammy Awards over the span of his career. He unfortunately died in his sleep on May 14. Leonard Nimoy was an actor and he made his Hollywood debut at the age of 20. His breakout role was in StarTrek: The Original Series, where he played the character Spock. Sadly, on February 27 he died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

In 2016, celebrities that passed away were Muhammad Ali and Prince. Muhammad Ali was boxer and is considered one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century. He had a career record of 56 wins, 5 losses, and 37 knockouts before he retired in 1981. On June 3 he sadly passed away from a respiratory issue. Prince was a singer and a songwriter. He had hit songs such as When Doves Cry, Let’s Go Crazy, and Kiss. He unfortunately died from an accidental drug overdose on April 21.

In 2017, celebrities that passed away were Chester Bennington and Chuck Berry. Chester Bennington was the lead singer of the band Linkin Park. They had hit songs such as Numb, In the End, and What I’ve Done. He struggled with severe depression and sadly took his own life on July 20 in his home.

Chuck Berry was a musician and is considered the “Father of Rock and Roll”. He made hit songs such as Maybellene, Roll Over Beethoven, and Johnny B. Goode. He sadly passed away on March 18 from cardiac arrest.

as a rapper and producer. He had many hit songs including 100 Grandkids, Self Care, and Hurt Feelings. Sadly, he died from an accidental drug overdose on September 7. Aretha Franklin was a singer and is considered the “Queen of Soul”. She had hits such as Respect, Freeway of Love, and I Say a Little Prayer. She won a total of 18 Grammy Awards, which makes her one of the most honored artists in history.

She unfortunately passed away due to pancreatic cancer in her home.

In 2019, celebrities that passed away were Cameron Boyce and John Singleton. Cameron Boyce was a child actor and dancer. He starred in T.V shows and movies such as Jessie, Grown Ups, and Disney’s Descendants series. Boyce died from a seizure in his home on July 6. John Singleton was a director and producer. He worked on films such as Boyz in the Hood, Poetic Justice, and Hustle and Flow.

Boyz in the Hood landed him to be the first African American nominated for Best Director. He sadly died from a stroke on April 29.

In 2018, celebrities that passed away were Mac Miller and Aretha Franklin. Mac Miller was known

The Progression of Gun Violence This Decade

BY ESMERALDA GONZALEZ Gun violence has been exploited in schools as late back as the 1840s, nearly 200 years ago. The lack of attention the government put into this issue is costing more and more lives every day. Shootings aren’t exclusive to school campuses, they can happen anywhere at any time.

Gun violence has to end, and policies need to change. Enough lives have been taken, improvements must be made.

Gun deaths increased by 16% from 2014 to 2017. Each year about 36,000 Americans die from some form of gun violence. Approximately more than 1.2 million Americans have been shot in the past decade, and statistics show nearly every American will know at least one victim of gun violence in their lifetime. In the overall 36,000 dead from guns, 22,274 (61%) were gun suicides, 12,830 (35%) gun homicides, 496 (1.4%) law enforcement shootings, 487

(1.3%) unintentional shootings, and 295 (0.8%) undetermined .

In 2017, gun deaths reached their highest level in at least 40 years, with 39,773 gun-related deaths that year alone. The rate of gun deaths in the United States has experienced an incredible increase that started four years ago. A new examination of death certificate data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows this is “the first significant increase in these fatalities in 15 years.” Since 1999, the number of gun deaths held steady year after year — at 10.4 firearm fatalities per 100,000 people. But in 2015, the rate began creeping up nationwide to 11.8 deaths per 100,00 people–marking a 13.8-percent increase.

Some people may argue that owning a gun is in their constitution right since in 1791, the second amendment was made, and stated that “A well regulated Militia, be

ing necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” This was made over 200 years ago and it no longer applies to today’s society. Gun laws need to be regulated more because there have been enough massacres, violence, and shootings. Not only do policies need to be stronger, but guns should not be in homes with children who can have immediate access to a gun. They should be locked away at a shooting range where they are with professionals to prevent any harm. School education boards can also create safer environments for the students such as closed campuses, better security measures, and more drills to ensure safety and protection.

The Gifford Law Center (To Prevent Gun Violence) believes proposals offered by the gun lobby to arm teachers and repeal gunfree school zones laws are “danger

ous and counter-productive”, educating both children and parents about the dangers and consequences of firearms and significance of safe storage, and allowing guns on campus would likely lead to more campus homicides and suicides.

This is because young adults between the ages of 18–25 experience the highest rate of serious mental illness. About 10% of college students seriously consider suicide while about 1,000 college students commit suicide each year. Access to an armed gun is found easily these days. With people selling them off the streets and some adults leaving armed weapons in their homes, the chances of a minor having access to a gun are higher. When a gun interferes with their troubles, a suicide attempt becomes considerably more harmful since 85% of gun suicide attempts are catastrophic.

With gun violence on a constant rise, it’s important to edu

cate today’s youth, parents, and educators on how to ensure the safety of their families and students. After years of battling a change to gun laws, it’s time to take more charge of our safety if laws won’t be passed. Being responsible with powerful weapons is a big matter of importance when it comes to the safety of everyone.

Unfortunately, there are those who support on the issue of firearms and those who oppose the move for security reasons. The numbers of public shootings have increased in the last few decades and its time the government creates more effective laws geared towards preventing these problems to restore public safety confidence and avoid future catastrophes.

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Social Media This Decade

Photo Courtesy of Google Images

BY SOFIA DIPADOVA

One of the most drastic changes from this decade to the last is the creation, expansion and proliferation of social media platforms. Social media is defined as the different forms of online communication used by people to create networks, communities and collectives to share information and ideas. It is something most of us don’t go more than a few hours (or minutes!) without using, something that connects old friends and creates new relationships.

The beginning of the social media revolution was in 2010, when many new social media apps began to emerge such as Spotify, Ping and Foursquare. But until Instagram came around, there was no clear competition for the social media giant Facebook, which began the decade with 400 million users. In October 2010 Instagram launched, and by the end of the year had acquired 1 million registered users (compared to Facebook’s 608 million). In 2010 Instagram allowed people to share, upload and create photos in a way that had never been done before: as a smartphone only app, which paved the way for selfies.

With the global population craving even more ways to share their newly acquired selfie skills, Snapchat was released just a year after Instagram in 2011. Today there are stories on almost every social media platform, but Snapchat created and revolutionized the idea. People loved the high-risk thrill of disappearing messages, photos and stories that only lasted 24 hours. The number of social media users sky-rocketed from 0.97 billion in 2010, to 1.4 billion in 2011. In 2012, Facebook recognized the clear potential of Instagram and purchased the company for a record breaking one billion dollars, in hopes to expand its audience to the younger, more tech savvy crowd.

Although the connectivity and creativity that social media inspires, around 2015 people began to realize that it was negatively impacting mental health, particularly in teenagers. With media now having a completely new outlet for advertising, and a whole new way for cliques to bul Photo Courtesy of Quincy Ruggieri

ly unsuspecting preteens, some argued that social media was doing more harm than good. A study in 2017 of half a million eighth through 12th graders found that the number showing high levels of symptoms for depression increased by 33 percent between 2010 and 2015. Additionally, social media has reportedly fostered a behavioral addiction with teens spending multiple hours a day on social media. They later coined the term, ‘FOMO,’ otherwise known as, “fear of missing out.” Social media users frequently find themselves in awe over other people’s lives and fun activities because influencers choose to reveal the best parts of ourselves--it is no wonder teens are depressed from spending too much time on social media.

The newest trend in social media is TikTok, an app where users create short comedy and talent videos. While launched in 2017 with the old platform Music.ally, the app began to gain immense popularity in October 2018, with roughly 524 million users. Being deemed the most downloaded app in the Apple App store, and the 6th most downloaded app in the world in 2018, it was nothing short of viral. Tiktok wraps up 2019 and begins the new decade with over one billion users.

This decade was branded the social media revolution for a reason; 3.2 billion people now engage with social media at least once every day. Although the history of social media is relatively short compared to many other things, it doesn’t make it any less of a defining factor of modern society. Social media is an integral part of many lives today. Just as MySpace and Friendster were popular in the early 2000’s, social media is bound to adapt and develop over this coming decade as well, which is one of the most exciting things about this newfound tech.

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JANUARY 24, 2020

An Opinion: Gen Z and Its Stereotypes

BY HANNAH ZIOUANI With all students currently enrolled in high school having been born between 1995 and 2006, they all share one undeniable characteristic in common: they are all part of the newly named generation: Gen Z. To qualify to be a member of Gen Z, one must be between four and twenty-four years old. Commonalities: they have been exposed to technology at a very young age, they have proven to be great at multitasking, they have shorter attention spans than previous generations, they are self-confident and autonomous, and they are particularly environmentally aware . Even though Gen Z formed just a few years later than the previous generation (the Millennials), they are a distinctive bunch. Gen Z is on track to surpass previous generations as not only the most diverse, but also the most educated, according to the Pew Research Center’s analysis of the U.S Census Bureau’s 2018 current population survey. While they have set the bar high, older generations, in turn, have contrived many false assumptions about the powerful and evolving generation. These assumptions have become popular stereotypes, stereotypes that undoubtedly need some debunking.

It’s become a common theme for older generations, predominantly the Millenials, to assume that Gen Z feels ‘uncertain’ about the future. This ideology of an unsettled feeling and experience of insecurity is an assumption prompted as a result of Gen Z growing up through the Great Recession, witnessing housing foreclosures, and seeing their Millennial and Gen X parents being increasingly mindful of expenses and eating out. In summary, it’s a common belief that Gen Z is “less confident in the American Dream.” Although this is understandable, this generalization is simply over exaggerated. CivicScience, an intelligent-solutions company, concluded that among Gen Z respondents (ages 13-18 by CivicScience’s definition), 37 percent thought society would get worse, 33 percent thought it would get better, and 30 percent thought it would stay the same. While these statistics do indeed prove that a slight majority of Gen Zers are worried for the future of our country, the data found was lower than that of the Millenials, as 39 percent of Millenials have a bad outlook on the future. Given this data, the presumed ‘insecurity’ and ‘unsettled feeling’ in Gen Zers towards the future compared to that of Millenials is not dominant enough to assume that Gen Zers aquire that characteristic pre-dominantly.

A popular stereotype put on Gen Z, and probably the most discussed amongst the general public, is the as-

sumption that they are ‘tech-dependent’. It is believed that Gen Z finds ‘freedom’ in obtaining an electronic device, as they can interact with practically anyone via facetime, text, general messaging, or contact through social media, without even leaving the house. The smartphone’s role for Gen Z is typically described as akin to a baby’s blanket, implying that it provides a feeling of security, safety, and belonging. In a more aggressive context, it is presumed that without a phone, Gen Z feels ‘naked’. Despite our immense comfort with technology, Gen Z expert and scientist, Connor Blakely, insists that Gen Z actually prefers face-to-face communication versus communicating via technology. Rather than ‘tech-dependent’, it is more accurate to describe Gen Zers as tech-independent, as they typically use their phones to arrange in-person connections. Sports Industry Expert, Matt Powell, described Gen Z as having only known a user-generated, wireless, and hyper-connected world. To them, technology is “invisible but ubiquitous.”

An additional common misconception by the general public about Gen Z is that they are self-absorbed and, in turn, aren’t particularly open-minded. This misconception by the public is merely an idea speculated given the amount of exposure Gen Z is given to social media, along with the new and evolving career path as a “social-media influencer”. However, this idea is a definite generalization.

A team that analyzed data from the Census Bureau to produce Pew’s first-ever report focused on the post-millennial generation concluded “The researchers analyzed post-millennials who are currently between the ages of 6 and 21. They found nearly half — 48 percent — are from communities of color.” Nevertheless, Gen Z’s common presence on social media should be a positive notif, as the influence they intend to spread is most likely inclusive, compassionate, and selfless due to their probable exposure to a plethora of races, religions, and sexualities.

With tech-independence and a fairly balanced view on the future of our country, Gen Z is possibly the most stabilized and constructive generation there has ever been.

They consider themselves to be more accepting and more open-minded than any previous generation. The influence of Gen Z is only expanding, though, with the search for truth at the center of its enthusiastic behavior and consumption patterns. All in all, it is important to remember that the first step in capturing any opportunity is being open to it, and with that, Gen Z is a force to be reckoned with.

A Decade of Natural Disasters

BY MORGAN MALONEY In the past ten years there have been many natural disasters globally, nationally, and locally. According to the University of Oxford, natural disasters over the past ten years caused 0.1% to 0.4% of the global population deaths. Natural disasters, on average, are responsible for about 60,000 deaths per year. These tragedies were so drastic that they impacted the lives of people all around the world.

On January 12th, 2010, an earthquake with a magnitude of seven hit the island of Hispaniola in Haiti, which severely affected the Dominican Republic as well. This was one of the biggest earthquakes to ever hit Haiti and, according to CNN, it killed between 220,00 to 300,000 people, injured another 300,000, and displaced about 1.5 million more. Nearly 3 million people in total were affected by this earthquake and approximately 80,000 buildings were destroyed. Almost one year later, a massive earthquake hit Japan. On March 11th, 2011, an earthquake with a destructive magnitude of nine followed by a tsunami took the lives of many Japanese citizens. This earthquake is classified as the “Tōhoku Earthquake”, and Japan not only suffered damage from the earthquake itself, but it also caused the world’s largest nuclear disaster since the first nuclear disaster Chernobyl, in 1986. Fukushima, the nuclear disaster due to the Tōhoku earthquake, displaced many people from their homes and left them without power for several weeks. Fixing the plant was an extremely dangerous job that had a plethora of long- term health effects for the workers. This series of natural disasters killed approximately 16,000 people and injured another 6,000. According to the Japanese government, the disaster was estimated to cost a total of 199 billion dollars in damage, and the World Bank estimated the overall economic cost to be 235 billion dollars, making this the costliest natural disaster in history.

On March 13, 2013, Tornado El Reno occurred in the rural parts of Oklahoma, and it was granted the widest tornado recorded in history. Tornado El Reno was apart of a larger weath-

er system, and over the next following days, dozens of other tornadoes occurred. Tornado El Reno, in particular, caused eight fatalities and injured about 151 people. El Reno didn’t cause much damage to structures, but the winds were estimated to be about 300 m/ph, according to the National Weather Service. On August 30th, 2017, Hurricane Irma, a category 5 hurricane hit Florida and lasted until September 13th, 2017.

According to NOAA, Hurricane Irma costed 50 billion dollars in damages and was one of the most expensive hurricanes in Florida history. Approximately 134 people died due to Irma’s destruction. About 12 days later, another category five hurricane hit Florida, this was known as Hurricane Micheal, and it was recorded as the third most intense Atlantic hurricane to hit the United States since Hurricane Camille in 1969 according to The National Weather Service.

In California, over the past decade, there has been many wildfires due to a merciless drought and arid climate. In Santa Barbara alone; we have experienced tremendous fires over the past decade, one being notably destructive fire, known as the Thomas Fire, which was one of the largest fires recorded in California History. The Thomas fire burned approximately 281,893 acres and ruined more than 1000 buildings. The Thomas fire displaced many people for a couple of weeks and did not become fully contained until January 12th, 2018. Only a mere two weeks after the fire was put out, Montecito suffered an immensely tragic and fatal debris flow. The citizens of Santa Barbara were widely unaware of the potential damage of debris flow. Santa Barbara lost 23 beloved members of the tight-knit community. On the night of the sudden debris flow, January 9th, 2018, there was extreme weather, estimated to be 0.5 inches of rainfall but not within a five-minute period. This weather caused boulders, mud, and other forms of debris to crash down into the community which caused massive damage. According to the Los Angeles Times, the debris flow destroyed more than 100 homes and damaged nearly 300 more. The debris flow left

many people without electricity and gas, and displaced many families due to the damages to their homes and unsafe living conditions. These series of natural disasters had dramatic effects on our community and it took a long time to recover from them, and in fact, we are still recovering.

These natural disasters, globally and locally, have impacted many communities, causing great suffering; from losing beloved members and economic loss. They have had to repair and rebuild all that was destroyed. These natural disasters over the past decade have destroyed the lives of many around the globe and will continue to have an impact on them and their communities.

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JANUARY 24, 2020

Fighting Local Fires Throughout the Decade

Shots from some of the California’s wildfires. Photos Courtesy of Google Images

BY ANYA MCCUE Natural disasters have been a prominent devastation amongst the entire world. For Santa Barbara, the most common are the California wildfires. Fire season is year-round in our small town and at this point, we are never surprised evacuation order. In the past decade alone Santa Barbara has had nine major fires: Thomas, Alamo, Whittier, Rey, Sherpa, Gibraltar, La Brea, Jesusita and Tea (in order of most recent to oldest) that have burned 471,406 acres, destroyed 1,372 residences, and been the cause of two deaths in total. This excludes the smaller spark fires in the past decade.

This also does not take into account the most recent fire, The Painted Cave Fire. The fire burned about 4,300 acres, and 2,400 homes were put under mandatory evacuation.

It started in East Camilo Cielo and Painted Cave Rd but the ferocious winds pushed it down the hill. At first, the fire it just appeared as some smoke but when it got dark, the tall flames from downtown Santa Barbara were extremely evident. Over the next few days the winds changed, blowing a veil of smoke over Santa Barbara. After about a week and a half of hard work the firefighters an

nounced that the fire 100% contained on December 4th.

Santa Barbara also experienced the second biggest fire in California history, the Thomas Fire. The Thomas fire sparked on December 4, 2017 and spread to 281,893 acres. The fire destroyed 775 family homes, over 200 homes were damaged and two people were killed. 87,043 people were evacuated from their homes during this time. Personally, I was evacuated to a hotel where many other families were evacuated to. The majority of the hotels in Santa Barbara County had evacuees checked in and some generously lifted their “No Animal” policies so that families could bring their pets with them.

The air quality was so terrible that almost every citizen was wearing masks when they went outside.

There are invisible fine particles in the smoke that can have long-term effects on ones lungs and they can even travel into the bloodstream. The Thomas Fire took a toll on many local Seniors, as they have more fragile lungs, and the long-term effects on younger children of being exposed to the toxic air could be incredibly detrimental.

The Thomas Fire was 100% con

tained on January 12th, 2017, but the natural disaster didn’t end there.

The devastating Montecito Mudslides came with the first rains after the Thomas Fire, destroying dozens of homes and killing 23 people. This was a direct result of the Thomas Fire because it burned up all the trees and plants that were holding the rocks, dirt and plants of the mountains together. The moment, it rained the saturated soil on the mountains swept down on Montecito, taking on it’s fatal journey, any and everything with it.

We have seen so many fires and disasters in Santa Barbara and our town is still standing. The people we have to thank for that are the brave firefighters who are truly real-life superheroes of our time. According to the official Santa Barbara Fire Department website they have been, “Answering the call since 1926.”

That reigns almost a hundred years of being first responders. They have saved hundreds of lives and homes.

So many of us would not have our houses or families without them. We greatly thank you, firefighters.

I remember driving by the Arlington while the Thomas Fire and Mudslide disasters were going on

and in big lettering it said, “Fire fighters, May the Force be with You.” I recalled that for one two and a half hour Star Wars movie everyone could just come together and forget about all the horrible disasters going on outside. For one moment all the adults could act like giddy kids again.

For one moment all we had to do was enjoy the movie. When everyone walked outside the theatre, the Thomas fire’s weight stayed put on

our shoulders. It seemed like now, the only thing that mattered was the feeling of togetherness that everyone felt when we were inside the theater together and the Santa Barbara community that we have built. That is why we are 805 strong.

Artificial Intelligence Changing the Decade

BY VIVIANA TRUJILLO

As the new decade begins we enter in new discoveries, technology and new way of living. Artificial Intelligence, more commonly known as A.I., is no longer a figment of our imagination. In fact, Artificial Intelligence is being used with increasing frequency and application. Artificial Intelligence is intelligence demonstrated by machines, in contrast to the natural intelligence shown by humans. Artificial Intelligence is helping humans, animals, and life as we know it. It also makes everyday things less difficult.

People are using A.I. to not only preserve the world, but change it for the better. One example of this is the change from using cameras equipped with motion and heat sensors to gain information and protect snow leopards from poaching, mining, climate change and other threats to using A.I. In the past when using these cameras, there were many problems. The cameras would capture the wrong animals and take 200,000 to 300,000 photos that would take hours to go through. In this last decade Microsoft A.I. has made a solution accelerating the process, with a machine learning model that can identify snow

leopards and automatically classify hundreds of thousands of photos in a matter of minutes. This research and A.I. can help endangered species from becoming extinct heading into a new decade.

Another way A.I. is helping to better our lives is with wildfires; as we know wildfires have been a constant problem, occurring in not only California but nation and worldwide. Descartes Labs has been working with Artificial Intelligence that can now pinpoint wildfires within minutes using satellite imagery. A.I. will scan images from 2 weather satellites to check for thermal changes of heat or presence of smoke. Although it still has its faults and needs some improvements, it is already making a great impact in California alone. Soon it might be able to prevent devastating tragedies such as the Australia one.

A.I. not only helps wildlife but it also helps us humans in many ways, one example of this is, A.I. helping to eradicate preventable blindness and increase access to eyecare services in places where most people do not have the same access to health care as the U.S. does. This A.I. is able to

quickly diagnose those with retinal diseases and in the future it will be able to assist doctors with diagnosis’ which will be significant in places like India. By preventing blindness and detecting diseases it also helps us find other things like diabetes.

A.I. is also helping with one of the world’s biggest problems, feeding the world; more specifically feeding the world without wrecking the planet.

Every year farmers have to risk their livelihood when something they can not control like weather can ruin their crops. Sensors in the company’s end-to-end solution measure 12 important factors including soil moisture, leaf wetness, light, wind and rain. Using Microsoft A.I., The Yield applies advanced analytics and predictive modeling to create a 7-day weather forecast for a farmer’s specific microclimate. An intuitive mobile application helps farmers use the forecast to determine how, when, and where best to plant, irrigate, protect, feed and harvest their crops. This makes their job easier and giving them a sense of certainty. This technology is being worked on to help oyster farmers and others.

This is only a small part of the future of technology and A.I. As you can see, A.I. is able to help us in many different ways, and has contributed to finding solutions within in many different areas of professions and epidemics. Examples such as oyster farming, fire detection, ending world hunger, diagnosing retinal disease, and protects snow leopards is proof of what A.I. can accomplish in mere years, and we can only imagine how artificial intelligence will continue to grow in favor. This is all technology from the past decade that have and will be worked on to create a better future, and while it is relatively new, we clearly see an upward trend of success in A.I. technology. As we continue onto the future prepare to see more of artificial intelligence that persist to help us in all areas of humanity and civilization. Artificial intelligence has quickly aided us with many of life’s seemingly unsolvable problems, A.I. undoubtedly has a bright future and is solidified as a technological breakthrough that is here to stay in these upcoming years.

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JANUARY 24, 2020

Growing Distrust of News Media This Decade

BY ELIAS CAMPOS

If the 2000s were the decade that killed print media, then the next decade surely danced on its grave. The world transitioned to electronic media during this past decade, resulting in a sharp decline in newspaper circulation in the United States. Since the 1940’s newspaper circulation had been steady at around 55,000,000 papers annually in circulation on average; this remained steady until about 2007. In the last ten years circulation has decreased steadily; however, in the last three or four years newspaper circulation has taken a nosedive. In 2018 circulation reached only slightly over 28 million, the lowest it has been in 70 years. To put this data into perspective the pace of the drop-off, just three years prior circulation was at around 37 million, nearly ten million more than in 2018.

This kind of decline is to be expected going forward, as more and more people consume media on the internet instead of more traditional outlets such as magazines, newspapers, and television. Another cause for the decline in newspaper circulation could be the growing distrust of the news media in America. Since the election of President Donald Trump in 2016, the news media (and the United States in general) has been the most polarized it has ever been since perhaps the Civil War. This polarization spans much further than just news media, though, it has also found its way onto late-night talk shows, the professional sports media, movies and television, etc. It seems individuals and companies in modern society are forced to either choose a side or fall into obscurity among the titans of their indus

tries, who have already sold their souls by using their products and platform to push a political ideology. For example Michelle Williams using her platform at the Golden Globes to support abortion rights. This idea is a philosophy that most news outlets live and die by; most of the major relevant news sources are seen as leaning a certain way politically, and often sacrifice their credibility by publishing articles that will appeal to a certain demographic of readers. People like to read articles from writers that share their point of view; readers who believe the newspaper they have subscribed to does not publish articles that represent their ideology are likely to end their subscription.

The fake news epidemic spreading like wildfire online has become the top contributing factor to the

growing distrust in the media. The phrase ,“fake news”, has more recently become synonymous with President Trump as he often dubs negative news about himself and his administration as being false, but in actuality it is a very real problem that plagues social media platforms. Facebook in particular has had a difficult time monitoring fake news on their platform. With the recent announcement from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stating that Facebook will not fact check ads by political candidates has made fake news a more pressing issue for congress.

Now with the 2020 election on the horizon, it will be interesting to see how the media will cover these events and how their coverage will be perceived by the American public. These events represent question marks for the

future of news media. Would the removal of President Trump from office work to reverse the polarization of the country moving forward? Will news outlets become less partisan if a new president is elected? How will fake news affect the outcome of the upcoming election?

These are questions that affect the students of SBHS as well, as the answers to these questions will affect the world we will inherit once we move on from our life as teenagers and transition to adulthood.

How Terrorism Affected the Decade

BY SAM LONG Terrorism: intimidation and violence acted upon innocent people in order to achieve an organization or individuals religious goals or belief in government/world views.

Terrorism has affected our country severely, it has changed the views and policies of our country, and changed the perception of people from other countries leading to certain policies put into place .

Time Square in New York 2010, a car started smoking and a

vendor went over to find a running car with its hazards on and smoke emerging. The vendor then called over a police officer; who started an evacuation when he smelled gunpowder resonating from the car.

Later, the fire department came and the potential bomb still didn’t ignite. A bomb squad later came and broke into the car finding two five-gallon containers of gasoline,three bags of fertilizer, three propane tanks, fireworks and a sketchy battery rig. Faisal Shahzad, a U.S citizen born in Palestine, was tak-

en into custody at J.F.K airport and charged 10 counts of terrorist-related crimes. Shahzad was reported to be angry about the USA drone attacks upon his birthplace. Luckily, no civilians were hurt. Shahzad was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.

On January 17, 2011 a pipe bomb was found in Spokane Washington planted near the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. March.

The bomb was designed to launch shrapnel into the marching crowd and kill as many people possible.

The bomb concealed in the backpack was found and defused. The FBI offered a 20,000 dollar reward and soon found a suspect, Kevin Harpham, who admitted to his crimes, as well as his motive being a white supremacist. Harpham believed that his terrorist actions would further his allegiance to his racist beliefs. Luckily he failed and no one was injured in the process.

Harpham pleaded guilty to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and he was sentenced to more than 30 years of prison as well as permanent supervision.

On April 15, 2013 the Boston marathon was in progress when bombs set off, killing 3 spectators.

Injuring 260 more. A few days later, two dangerous men, known as

Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev where identified as the bombers soon after and a manhunt started in Boston. The brothers had stolen a car and taken a hostage. The hostage then escaped to a gas station and reported them to authorities. Soon after a shootout broke out, wounding Tamerlan Tsarnaev, he was taken into custody. He died in the hospital with multiple bullet wounds. Shortly after, Dzhokhar was captured hiding under a resident’s boat. He was taken into custody and questioned.

Tsarnaev based his actions on the ongoing war in the Middle East, and he admitted his association with terrorist organizations. He was charged for 30 separate crimes and sentenced to death.

On June 16, 2016 in Orlando Florida, Omar Manteen went into a gay nightclub committing a mass murder by shooting and killing 49 people, and injuring 53 others.

Manteen was said to be mentally ill. In a phone call with 911 he confessed his association with the terrorist organization ISIS. There proceed to be a three hour standoff with police until he was fatally shot by authorities. This was the largest crime toward gays in history.

On April 27, 2019 in Chabad of Poway, a California synagogue,

19 year old John Earnest opened fire in a synagogue filled with over 100 people. Earnest reportedly screamed slurs against the Jewsish people attending the ceremony while committing the crime. He killed one elderly attendee, and injured several others. Police were informed of the shooting after Earnest himself called them. He soon fled the scene and was then taken into custody. At first his motive was unclear, but after the police investigated they found he had posted a manifesto on an online message board that went into detail a mix of his Nazi and Christian extremist views. Earnest’s court date is set into 2020. He is facing more than 100 counts and is awaiting a possible death sentence.

Even after all these acts of hate and tragedy cast upon us as a country, we constantly improve and protect our people no matter the race, religion, or gender.

What matters is that hate has been pushed upon innocent people in our country, and we won’t tolerate it. Hopefully in the next decade we unite against Terrorism and end it in union as the country where freedom is a birthright.

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A Decade in SBHS Sports

BY ANDRE BATTLE With the end of the year approaching, a goodbye to the 2010s and hello to 2020 is upon us. The last ten years have been incredibly eventful for Santa Barbara High School, especially in regards to sports. There were numerous CIF championships won by the Dons in the past decade, and many losing streaks were broken and morphed into winning streaks. Overall, this decade has been very eventful for all of Santa Barbara High School.

Since Santa Barbara does not track league wins, this article will mostly be focusing on CIF championships and breakout seasons.

To cap the decade, Santa Barbara High School had an amazing 2019 season, as the Dons football team made it agonizingly close to a CIF championship, losing in the finals.

The Dons football program had always put on a show and were always highly ranked in the 2010s, but they could never make it to or even break out of the first round of the playoffs and make a run to the CIF championships. The Dons always seemed to have a great quarterback such as Deacon Hill and Frankie Gamberdella, fast and strong wide receivers such as Jackson Gonzales and Jake Knecht, and an unstoppable defense, this year led by Noah Wood. Despite this, they could never make it far into CIF. Finally, this past year, the Dons put all the missing pieces together and made it farther than just the final round, they made it to the CIF championships but ended up losing by a heartbreaking turnover to Sunny Hills. The Dons kept their heads up, though, and are now focused on coming back to the same place next season, but this time, they are planning on winning it all.

Another sport, basketball, both boys and girls, have had ups and downs during the past decade but always ended on a good note and are confidently heading into their season this year. The basketball program is always one to keep an eye on, as they have a plethora of talented athletes try out every year. The Dons girls team had one of their best seasons ever in 2014 led by Amber Melgoza, as they won the CIF championship and made it to Division 3 State Finals, losing to another great team. The most memorable part of the decade for them was definitely their win

over the nationally ranked Matre Dei. Nonetheless the Lady Dons are hoping they can do the same thing five years later this season, as they have a very talented group of athletes. As for the boys team, they also had their glory day a few years ago in 2016 where they had one of their best seasons in ages. The boys were able to win CIF and were unstoppable. The team was led by Ben Clay and Bolden Brace, who is currently playing basketball at Northeastern University, a division 1 College. This success culminated in one of their best seasons in a long time as they finished with an unbelievable record of 31-1. The Dons are hoping, with a new coaching staff led by Cory Adams and group of prospects, that they can return to the CIF finals this season. Coach Adams said, “I am excited about the group we have right now, we are very competitive and have some very talented athletes this year.”

Water Polo, on the other hand, has worked very hard throughout the decade to get a CIF championship, which they were finally achieved this past season, finishing the season with a record of 24-9. The game went down to the wire but the seniors stepped up and with a few clutch goals at the end of the game, the Dons were able to overcome the powerful Schurr High School. Coach Mark Walsh said, “It’s actually been so long I forgot how good it felt, and man it felt so good when it was over.

I was like ‘oh my god we really won this,’” after the big win. It was a tremendous season that will go down in history, as the boy’s teams won their first CIF championship since 2006.

It was a huge milestone for the team and they are aiming at getting to the same spot next year. As for the girls, they did not win a CIF championship this decade but are still keeping their heads up, as they are looking stronger as each year comes. As of now, they are mainly focusing on putting the pieces together and going far into the playoffs with their strong varsity core.

The soccer program at Santa Barbara High School never ceases to amaze, and the boys won two CIF championships in the past decade, one in 2010 and another one in 2018.

The more recent one was definitely one of the most entertaining soccer games in Santa Barbara High School

history. The Dons narrowly beat L.A. Cathedral in penalty kicks to get the finals to win, but they stepped up in the crunch time and ended up victorious. The girls, on the other hand, were not able to taste CIF victory and have not won any CIF championships despite their evidently talented teams. The girls are not going to give up, though, and are looking forward to next season and believe if they all can work together and play their best, they will be unstoppable.

Another popular sport, volleyball, has not won a CIF championship this decade, either, even though they have has multiple D-1 athlete such as Will Rottman, who moved on to play at Stanford. For the boys, they have made it past league numerous times this decade but were never able to break out and win in the CIF finals.

The girls are in the same scenario as they have talented athletes, a good coaching staff, but have never won a ring. Both teams can’t and won’t lose any hope of will, as both teams have a talented and supportive coaching staff to lead them to victory.

The Dons baseball team has also not won a CIF championship in a long time, and have struggled with a few issues in and around the team. Nevertheless, the team has grown in athletes, up-coming stars and returning D-1 athletes hungry

for a CIF win including Bryce Warrecker and Nick Oakley. They will not stop trying until they get it.

Two sports that do not get much hype but should are tennis and golf.

The boy’s golf team won two CIF championships at the beginning of the decade, and the lady Dons have multiple golfers who are listed high of golfers in California and is led by an amazing coach, Ryan Throo[.

Both teams have improved immensely throughout the decade, and are hoping on maintaining that energy into 2020. As for the tennis team, the girls won a championship in 2012, as they went a clean 10-0 in league that year. The boys, on the other hand, are “ring-less” in the 2010s but are staying positive and are keeping their heads up going into 2020.

Other sports that should get some recognition are lacrosse, wrestling, and cross country/track and field. Both girls and boys for lacrosse have not had the greatest of seasons in the past, but have found a lot of raw talent and are looking forward to going into 2020 and on. Furthermore, wrestling has gotten a lot of recruits in the past two years and is hoping on returning to its once glory days with great coaching staff and wrestlers.

Finally, cross-country/track and field. The Dons cross country/track

and field program has been strong throughout the decade, as many runners have made it to CIF in the past ten years. The runners and coaching staff are especially looking forward to being able to run on the new and improved track next season. One track and field coach said, “It feels good to know that we will be able to finally host meets at our own track… It’s going to be fun for everyone involved with track and field.”

The Dons athletic program as a unit is one of the best in the entire city, and sports have been quite an influential part of Santa Barbara High’s history and everyone is looking forward to a new decade of league wins and CIF championships given to us by our talented athletes and exceptional coaching staff.

The Dons have won CIF championships this past decade in: 2010, Boys Soccer 2010, Boys Golf 2011, Girls Tennis 2012, Boys Golf 2014, Girls Basketball 2016, Boys basketball 2018, Boys Soccer 2019, Boys Water Polo

A Decade in Dons

BY EMERSON STEADY Over the last ten years, more than 5000 students have graduated from the hallowed halls of Santa Barbara High School. Between MAD, VADA, CSA, theatre, and all of our other world-class departments, SBHS has produced outstanding citizens who have gone on to careers in a variety of fields from creative and performing arts, to STEM, and have even moved on to become professional athletes.

Additionally, throughout the 2010’s,

many previous graduates got to reap the rewards from the seeds sown at SBHS, accomplishing great things in all walks of life.

One graduate, in particular, accomplished a not-so-great thing: wiping out half of all life in the universe with the snap of his fingers.

That’s right: Josh Brolin who played Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame and is the son of the famous actor, James Brolin,

graduated from Santa Barbara High Barbara to study chemical engi- played on the varsity team at SBHS School in 1986. The archvillain of neering, but dropped out to pursue and then went on to play for USC. Marvel’s super-franchise was not Youtube full time when he was con- Craig was on the American Olympic only popular in the films, but also tracted by the online entertainment team which won gold medals in both became a viral meme, which could network, Machinima. Although Ma- London in 2012 and Rio in 2016. surely be due to his purple skin and ron started by playing Call of Duty, With so many exceptional stuoversized chin. As Endgame went on he now almost exclusively focuses on dents emerging from Santa Barbara to become the highest-grossing film the sandbox video game, Minecraft. High School, it comes as no surprise of all time, Thanos became a cultural His top videos, wherein he plays dif- that the first ever all Dons reunion, icon with his own subreddit, r/Tha- ferent modes in Minecraft and pro- held on October 5th this year, was a nosDidNothingWrong. vides his own commentary, have tens resounding success with a high turnAnother forebearer of many me- of millions of views on his YouTube out from Dons of all ages. The event mes, SBHS alum, Jordan Maron, channel. featured tents with memorabilia started his Youtube channel CaptainIn the world of professional sports, from each decade of SBHS’s layered Sparklez in 2010, and rose to be one numerous SBHS alum have risen history and another one is scheduled of the most well-known Youtubers in to prominence in the past decade. to be held in 2022. As for the Dons a new and incredibly popular ‘gam- Pitcher, Dylan Axelrod, class of ‘03, who have graduated from SBHS in ing’ culture. Ten years later, Maron was traded to the Chicago White Sox the last ten years, who knows where has over ten million subscribers, in 2011, where he had an Earned Run their lives may lead them: the Senate, making him the 478th most sub- Average of 2.89 in his first season. Hollywood, or Mars! As we reflect on scribed YouTuber, and is especially Axelrod continued to pitch for them the close of a brilliant decade and the known for his Minecraft parodies of for two more seasons. More recently, Dons of the past, let us look forward popular music, such as, “Revenge” in baseball, Kevin Gowdy, class of ‘16, to the siblings, children, and friends and “Fallen Kingdom.” After grad- was drafted by the Philadelphia Phil- who will come to SBHS in the future. uating from SBHS, Maron attended lies and assigned to a minor league Once a Don, Always a Don! the University of California at Santa team. Water polo player, Kami Craig,

12 | NATIONAL NEWS

THE FORGE

JANUARY 24, 2020

A Decade in Professional Sports

BY WILL GOLIGOSKI

The last decade in football and basketball has been nothing short of historical seasons, spectacular plays, and record breaking moments. Throughout the decade there have been incredible moments in both sports, which happen to be the two most watched sports in the country. There has been growth not only throughout the league, but the industry of professional sports has expanded during the past ten years.

In the world of NFL and NCAA football there have been some never before seen moments.

One of the greatest endings to a college game came in the 2013 Iron Bowl when Chris Davis, of Auburn, returned a missed 57 yard game winning field goal for a 109 yard touchdown as time expired to upset the powerhouse Alabama Crimson Tide. Another incredible ending was when Michigan dropped a punt while leading the rivalry game against Michigan State, leading to a scoop and score by Michigan State safety Jalen Watts-Jackson as time expired. The closing of the 2017 national championship was truly spectacular when Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, found wide receiver Hunter Renfrow with a two yard touchdown pass as time expired to take the lead and beat Alabama in the closing moment. Diving into the NFL, there have been heartbreaking endings, records broken, and incredible plays every season that continue to draw in more and more attention to the league. One of the most memorable plays in Super Bowl history was Santio Holmes toe-tap in the right corner of the endzone against the Arizona Cardinals led by Kurt Warner. The play Holmes made, on the brightest and biggest stage imaginable, is truly inspiring to generations of athletes.

Another unforgettable Super Bowl moment and story was undrafted free agent from West Alabama, Malcolm Butlers, interception on the 1-yard line to secure the

Patriots their fourth championship since the beginning of their dominance in 2001 when they narrowly beat “the greatest show on turf ”, the Saint Louis Rams 20-17.

One of the most recent iconic Super Bowl moments was in the 2018 games when Doug Peterson and Nick Foles called for the “Philly Special”,a legendary trick play on fourth and goal where Foles caught a touchdown pass from Eagles tight end Trey Burton, to take the lead against the New England Patriots heading into halftime. Eventually this led to and defined the Philadelphia Eagles victory and first championship since 1960. Outside of Super Bowl moments, there has been a fair share of spectacular plays that ended seasons and showed how ridiculously talented NFL athletes are. What has to be most of the greatest displays of talent in recent years was Odell Beckham Jr’s one handed grab down the sideline against the Dallas Cowboys, which very well could be seen as the greatest catch of all time. Another great display of talent was Marshawn Lynch’s trucking and weaving run against the Saints in the NFC wild-card game that showed off the power and agility behind Lynch and his skillset. In more recent years, Saints fans had their hearts broken in the NFC divisional round when Case Keenum found Stefon Diggs for a 61 yard touchdown as time expired to win the game. Not only was this a huge moment for Vikings fans and the NFC playoff picture, but it was also the first time in NFL history where a touchdown to win the game was scored as time expired during the playoffs. Without a doubt, this last decade in football has been spectacular and history changing for fans and players nationwide.

Throughout the world of NBA and NCAA basketball in the past decade, there’s been buzzer beaters, high-scoring games, and major upsets. The most historical upset in this decade, and also the

entire history of the NCAA tournament, was when UMBC beat Virginia in the round of 64 during the 2018 march madness tournament, which marked the first time in history when a 16th seed beat a first overall seed. Another program defining play was when Kris Jenkins hit a game-winning buzzer beater to win Villanova their first national championship since 1985 against North Carolina in the 2016 march madness title game. College basketball has seen a variety of underdog teams make deep runs into tournaments and for the national championship, none more famous than the 2011 Uconn Huskies that won the national championship after winning the Big East tournament starting with Kemba Walker’s infamous step back against Pittsburgh to win the game and put them on a historic end of season run.

Turning towards the professionals in the NBA, there’re been some

major events over the last ten years that will never be forgotten.

When Kobe Bryant declared he was going to retire there was heavy anticipation towards his final game for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers played the Utah Jazz at the Staples Center, where Kobe proceeded to score 60 points and secure the final win, wrapping up one of the most memorable careers in NBA history.

Throughout the league there’s been many clutch shots but in the eyes of many people there aren’t many more clutch shots than Ray Allen’s corner three pointer in game six of the 2013 NBA finals that tied the series at 3-3, where later the Miami Heat ended up winning in game seven and taking the championship from the Spurs. Another amazing shot was when Damien Lillard won the Portland Trailblazers the playoff series against the Houston Rockets by hitting a 37 foot three pointer as time expired. One of the biggest

shots in this past season was when Kawhi Leonard put up a three point fade away from the corner and the whole arena had to observe the ball bounce around the rim after the buzzer sounded, until it dropped through the net and the Toronto Raptors beat the Philadelphia 76ers. All throughout this decade of basketball there have been many other huge moments where players stepped up and made big plays to change the history of the NBA and NCAA leagues.

In the last 10 years, for both basketball and football, cities and their fans have been growing around the teams that reside in their area. As cities expand, the economy around entertainment for everyone has grown alongside, and in football and basketball the economy is spreading overseas to other countries. The past decade of football and basketball was full of amazing moments that won’t be forgotten by

A Decade of Social Movements

BY MICHAEL MARCELLIN As this decade begins to draw to an end, it is important to remember the social progress that we have made in the past 10 years. Back in 2010, where we were as a country, and what we knew has shifted quite a bit. This article details certain events that show our countries position on social justice. #blacklivesmatter George Zimmerman was a neighborhood watch coordinator who shot and killed, 17 year old unarmed African American teenager Trayvon Martin while he was visiting his father’s fiancée in the gated community in Sanford, Florida.

Zimmerman initially called 911 to report a suspicious person and against the advice of the 911 operator, he followed Martin and shot him, killing him. Zimmerman was then arrested and put on trial for Martin’s murder, but the jury found him not guilty arguing that he acted in self defense. This enraged many people, and this began the movement of Black Lives Matter.

Black Lives Matter protests police violence and systemic racism against African Americans. #lovewins, #loveislove In 2010, same sex marriage was legal in only five states (Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont). In a landmark Supreme Court decision in June 2015, same sex marriage became legalized across the whole country.

To celebrate this step forward, people used the hashtags #lovewins and #loveislove. #pinkforleelah, #hernamewasleelah Some major movements occurred within the transgender movement as well. Transgenderism has been a major issue this decade and opinions on this issue vary greatly. But one thing is certain, this community has been the victim of many situations. Transgender people are frequently the victims of suicide due to discrimination, transphobia, and violence. It is

reported that 40% of trans people have attempted suicide at some point in their lives. This is drastically higher than the general population. One famous suicide that took place was in 2014, 17 year old Leelah Alcorn from Lebanon, Ohio, who was born biologically male but identified as female, wrote a suicide note which she posted on Tumblr before walking into traffic and being run over by a truck. Her suicide note detailed the abuse she suffered at the hands of her unaccepting family and being forced to undergo conversion therapy. This caused many advocates to try and enforce Leelah’s Law, which calls for a ban on conversion therapy. This event drew major awareness throughout the transgender community with the hashtags #pinkforleelah and #hernamewasleelah becoming very popular after that. Other hashtags that stemmed from this that were related to her but not exclusively were #restinpower and #fixsociety. #metoo A major movement that has existed since 2006, but was not popularized until 2017, #metoo protests sexual harassment and sexual assault. It was first used on MySpace by sexual harassment victim and civil rights activist Tarana Burke. This hashtag became very popularized in October of 2017, following the sexual harassment and rape allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein, who is currently on trial for those allegations. Burke accepts her role as “leader” of the movement, but prefers the term “worker” for herself. Burke also states that this movement has grown to include both men and women, and encourages the use of other hashtags such as #himthough and #ididthat. #guncontrol, #marchforourlives Around 109 people in the United States die everyday due to firearms whether its suicide, homicide, or a reckless accident.

The very easy access to guns has become widespread concern.

School shootings are often described as a uniquely American

problem, with 95% of public schools in this country having “active shooter drills”. The massacre at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida happened on Valentine’s Day of 2018, when 19 year old Nikolas Cruz opened fire at his former high school killing 17 and wounding 17 others. This started The March For Our Lives, a march in Washington DC protesting gun violence in schools. This massacre and the following social movements also inspired Florida and other states to raise the gun purchase age from 18 to 21 and enforce stricter background checks for potential purchasers.

These are just some examples of social movements that have shaped this decade, and have influenced our culture today, a lot of progress has been made, but let’s hope for a new and even more accepting communities in 2020.