Which machine is this? Find out on page 3.
Against all odds, Lina’s back! By Kenadee Hatch SOPHOMORE year, Lina Nguyen (12) was an athletic, outgoing, involved teenager. But in the summer that followed, tragedy struck. Nguyen was in a car accident paralyzing her from the neck down with limited arm usage. The situation looked grim. Now, her senior year, and Nguyen is back against all odds, ready to graduate with her senior class. For the past year and a half, Nguyen has been homeschooled, preparing to return to Granger High School for the last term of her senior year. “I was scared to come back at first,” said Nguyen, “but I was also excited. Homeschooling gets lonely and I have missed my
friends,” said Nguyen. Nguyen is backed up by a long line of support through friendships. She has maintained these friendships through a Facebook page. “I feel like Lina can pull through anything,” said Julie Hor (12). “She’s always happy and has that little bit of hope. That’s what she did for us as a friend. I know she can handle anything.” Friends like Hor visited Lina in the hospital throughout the year she was away. They celebrated her birthday with her and dropped by periodically to wish her well. She even had Adeena Lago, dance teacher, at her side the whole time. “Lina has an incredible spirit,”
said Adeena Lago. “She is always cheerful, though she may not feel that way, but it’s the way she acts. It has to take a lot.” Finally, Nguyen is ready to take on the rest of high school. She putting her best foot forward and making it count. “My main goal right now is just to graduate,” Nguyen. “I hope to go to college, but for now I’m taking things day by day.” Graduation wouldn’t be the same without Nguyen’s bright smile to lighten things up. All the Lancers are ready to see Nguyen overcome this last obstacle in her high school experience. With all this support backing her up, there’s nothing stopping her from reaching her goal.
Future Business Leaders of America
Principal Haslam earned a singing valentine from the madrigals. Unlike the valentines delivered throughout the school on Feb. 9, the madrigals’ song went out over the P.A.
Love, your secret admirer
By Kenadee Hatch VALENTINE’S Day is here early at Granger High School. Students are being surprised by a gift from their special someone during a normal school day. Classes have been filled with love struck, blushing, smiling kids all day. The madrigals have been selling these Valentine’s at lunch for the past week. It was $3 for a song, $5 for a song and a chocolate or a song and a flower, and $8 for all three.
Now, it’s delivery time. They go from class to class handing out flowers, chocolates, and yes, even a love song. “I was tracked down in the hallway,” said Angel Zazueta (11). “It was cute.” Zazueta was given a Valentine and a rose during his second period class. He was seen dancing to the Madrigal’s version of the song “L-O-V-E” by Nat King. “We’ve spent a good amount of time rehearsing and preparing for
this,” said Liana Tan (12). It has paid off, because they made more money this year than they did last year. “My favorite part is seeing the embarrassment on their faces,” said Jeremiah Pons (12), a current madrigal. “They get all goofy and start blushing.” “The best part was singing to the administration, said Tan. They sat there with their giant smiles. Murdock even got a special request sung to him.”
“We had to divide and conquer,” said Jessica Le (12). “We split up in two groups so that we could get all the Valentines out in time.” “I would like to thank my secret admirer,” said Zazueta. And a thank you goes for all the recipients of these valentines. The simple thought is enough to make your day. Whether the valentine is shared between friends or sweethearts, one thing is for sure: love is spreading through Granger.
By Mario Gomez BUSINESS skills, FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) went to their competition on February 3rd and had a series of tests which challenged their business skills. Our FBLA team has prepared long and hard for this moment. It was a long bus ride to UVU, and the whole way our team had their noses in packets studying for what’s ahead. The competition consists of tests that you sign up for; there are many sections in which you can test, whether it is just a paper test in a quiet room or a public speech. There is no time limit, you go to a room and take your test and once you’re done you can roam free around campus. The competition is scored by the school’s test scorers, the school with the highest test scores and most awards win the competition. Unfortunately, Granger did not win enough awards to go on and make state. Although, we did have a good number of awards, we took 5th in accounting and business communications, 4th in emerging business, and 2nd in business ethics. We had only a small number of people on our team because FBLA isn’t as popular. Even though they’re not as popular, each member gave it their all. Granger should be proud going against 6 teams that seemed to have about 30 kids. Taylorsville won the competition, Hillcrest took 2nd, Skyline took 3rd, and Alta took 4th. Granger did not rank this time but as for next year we should have a lot more members in our team. If you would like to join, talk to Mrs. Drage and she will give you more information.
February 2011, page 2
VOL. LIII Issue
Swim vs. Granger
By Heather Larson EVERY year the swim team challenges the clubs of Granger High to a swim meet. Only a few clubs accepted the invitation this year. Some of those clubs included; drama club, cheer, and tennis. Each club was to swim half a lap which is one length of the pool. A couple of the members of the swim team went twice. There was no reward for the winner; still all the clubs did their best. The drama club went all out and wore costumes to this event. They swam in all sorts of attire from formal dresses to capes and even Egyptian outfits. Obviously, some costumes were easier to swim in than others. J.J Freeman (11) swam in a green dress. “It was extremely hard to swim in, the dress was very heavy after it got wet and it weighed me down a lot,” said Freeman. Although they didn’t expect
to win, they still had a good time attempting to swim in their interesting ensembles. Freeman said,” it’s one of my favorite drama club activities and I look forward to it every year.” The swim team enjoyed this meet just as much as the other clubs did. Not just because they were the winner, but because there wasn’t any pressure or stress like there usually is when swimming against other teams. They were able to relax, show off their skills, and swim just for the fun of it. “Compared to actual meets this one was very layed back, it was the best meet of the season,” said Tim Smith (12). Most swim team members found this challenge quite simple. “We’re used to swimming a lot longer than just half a lap so it was really easy for us,” said Riley Burrows (12). “Even though this meet was very easy, I still had a good time.”
X’s and what!?!
By Mario Gomez AFTER 532 total hours of practice, Granger took 5th in the drill region competition. “We did amazing, but I feel we got screwed over,” said Kelsie Helm (12). Some say that we didn’t win because of Granger’s bad reputation. “They didn’t think we wanted it bad enough, didn’t think we were in it to win it,” Helm had also stated. Hunter High took second and Cottonwood High took the victory. Former wolverine, Jerilynn Aulaumea (12) said it was awkward because she had competed with Hunter her sophomore and half of her junior year. This is her first year here at Granger and she said she loves it here. She didn’t like the girls or the coaches over at Hunter for personal reasons. This is the second year Granger has taken 5th place in the competition. “We were strong and everyone sacrificed everything, not just one person gave it their all,” said Mickayla Buonocore (11). She thinks this is the best Granger has per-
formed. Now we can’t really say that we had an unfair advantage because the other schools were unavailable to comment, but the Excaliburs all said that they deserved a lot better than 5th place. There are 9 seniors out of 19 girls this year, so next year about half of the team will be new. “The juniors and sophomores have potential for next year,” said Aulaumea, “I have faith in them.” The Excaliburs are confident
that next year will be their year, “Two years in a row of not placing, and it’s really getting old,” said Buonocore. Andrea Cahoon (10) said, “Even though we took 5th, we still had fun and we’re still amazing.” With a year like this to reflect on, the sky is the limit for the Excaliburs next year. There’s no telling how far they will go, but they are still amazing dancers. X’s and what?!
You are what you what you eat
Opinion by Brittany Edwards GROWING up your parents always told you to mind your manners! Say please and thank you! Don’t chew with your mouth open! But why?? What do manners mean to this person or the next? By definition manners are a way of acting or behaving. “It’s always polite to show respect for everyone”, says Cameron Sellers (11). “I believe that manners are things that shape you, and let people know you have respect for them.” These rules should apply all the time especially on dates. “When you are on a date
you should never chew with your mouth open, text the whole time, and if you’re a guy you should always open the door the girl,” said Cameron. Manners are something that you never forget about someone. In a person’s life, you will experience thousands of first impressions, and no one wants to be portrayed as rude, or disrespectful. But you don’t have to be portrayed as rude if you just follow a few simple rules! Everyone eats, but no one wants to see your food rolling around in your mouth! Chew with your mouth closed!
When it comes to polluting the earth, leave it to the cars, and don’t let out your exhaust! Don’t fart or burp in public! When it comes to dealing with people older than you, let them know that they are old by showing them respect! Body hygiene! What more should be said? It’s an important manner not only for you but for others by not stinking up the room! So to all you Granger kids who need to work on your manners a bit, take this into consideration! Manners aren’t for just a few people, they apply to everyone!!
Text me, if you want to reach me
The Bell Jar remains powerful
Review by Jeannette Mikkelson “SHOW US how happy it makes you to write a poem.” That ironic quote is from a character in the book The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. The Bell Jar is a story of a young poet named Esther Greenwood, an intelligent woman in the early 1950’s whose repression thrusts her deeper into depression and insanity. While Esther attempts to break from a sexist society, her peers seem to happily exist in a world where women struggled to be seen as intelligent humans. Well written and morbidly funny, The Bell Jar takes you through the break down and build up of Esther’s mental stability. Many themes of this book include taboo topics such as virgin-
ity, adultery, suicide, and rape. For years people have tried to ban this book from school libraries, but luckily none have succeeded. Possibly the most interesting thing about this book is that the author, Sylvia Plath, wrote most of it about herself. Plath’s almost autobiography shows shocking insight into her writing and art, as well the reasons for her own suicide, which took place in 1963 when she put her head in an unlit gas oven until she suffocated. Another good thing about this book is how quickly you can read it. The writing style is so smooth and the story line is so sarcastic, even people who do not enjoy reading will want to pick this book up.
By Melissa Lorton “PUT THAT phone away!” How many teenagers these days have heard that in class? Whether it’s someone else’s mistake, or you’ve just gotten caught texting, that’s a common phrase to hear in a classroom nowadays. Did you know that text messaging has become the main form of communication between teens these days? Take this statistic for example. “88% of teen cell phone users are text messagers. That is a sharp
rise from the 51% of teens who were texters in 2006,” from http:// pewresearch.org. Taylor Bailey (10) explains that “Friends are important to me. So when I find them, I don’t want to lose them.” She even has friends in different states. She also gets around teachers, by learning to text without looking at her keyboard, so she doesn’t get caught. Unfortunately for Bailey, her phone was shut off at the beginning of January, and she’s been struggling to keep in touch with
her friends, some of which she’s been in contact with since the second grade. Carson Stucki (10), on the other hand, doesn’t believe that cell phone usage is a necessity of life. “I do a little bit of calling and texting.” But he does say he’d get a job if it were the only way of keeping a phone. Mrs. Judy, the secretary librarian, says that when there weren’t cell phones, if you were out and about, you were just unavailable, and that was that. “When I first had a cell phone, I never used it. I was just happy I had one for emergencies.” More recently though, she says she texts a lot more than she thought she would, and enjoys being able to talk to her kids through text. So as a seemingly necessity of life for this generation, we’ll continue to text every day. Kids might even begin to talk in text talk. Who knows, right? So rly, 4sure, dont let yr life revolve around txting, or u mite lose some skillz.
February 2011, page 3
VOL. LIII Issue 4
Jockey as a job Kellie continues to heal
By Maria Camarillo MOST TEENAGERS get money by getting a job, have their parents give them money, and others by doing their own thing. Uriel Dominguez (11) gets money by racing horses instead of working. He races all weekend as long as the weather is good, usually from spring to fall. He started riding horses when he was 13 years old but started racing when he was 14. He “sucked” at racing when he first started, but then started getting good when he was about sixteen years old. His dad was the one that encouraged him to start riding horses, he didn’t want to but his dad pushed him to do it and now he loves doing it and is thankful. The pay depends on where he is racing. It ranges from about $400-$1500 dollars if everything goes good every two to
three weeks. But when the days are bad, the pay is lower. He usually races in Tooele but he also goes all over the place like in Portland, Oregon and also to Montana, Idaho, Nevada, and Wyoming. Racing horses is not all much fun; he gets hurt a lot too. He’s had broken and fractured a lot of bones. He also enjoys it because it’s fun. “I would rather do this than have a normal job because then I’ll hate it. So this is the fun nest job ever and I love it!” said Dominguez.
By Brittany Edwards “IT’S BEEN hard getting used to using my left hand for EVERYTHING,” Kellie Day (12) said in a text interview. “But it’s getting easy to accept [that] my left-hand writing sucks.” Twenty-five percent of teenage injuries occur at school. So when Day, was in metal shop class, the statistics caught up with her unfortunately. Kellie Day is an extraordinary student. She was the top welding student here at Granger. Last year she went to the district competition for welding and tied for first place. After her amazing win at district competition, she went on to nationals and took 13th place. But on January 20 at 1:35 pm, Kellie had an unfortunate acci-
Humor for some, racism for others
By Aubrie Hensley “THERE’S hardly any Asians here at Granger, so my jokes are a kind of a shout out to them,” said Ms. Sudparid, a teacher at Granger who tells jokes in class. Some of Ms. Sudparid’s jokes include aspects of Asian lives, but they’re not racist, according to her. “My jokes make fun of myself and other members of my family. I tell them to get my students’ attention,” said Ms. Sudparid. “They’re not rude -- they are mostly just stories about my family and me.” At Granger, you get a little bit of everything, so it’s hard to know when a joke is okay, and when the joke crosses the line. The best way to know a person’s comfort
zone? Ask them. Morgan Windgate (11) isn’t afraid of what people say. “Yeah, I’ve had people use racist jokes against me, but they don’t bother me. I tend to just laugh and direct the joke right back at them.” “A racist joke is defined by who says it and what they believe,” said Windgate. “If the person truly believes what the joke is saying, or they’re using it to just be hateful, then its wrong. When I say a joke, I say it to be funny. I laugh, and I expect people to laugh with me.” Megan Gabbard (10) had another view of it. “I’ve never had a racist joke made at me, but they still make me feel uncomfortable sometimes. They’re not fair,
because not everyone feels that way.” “It’s generalizing and tears others down. Yeah, I’ve made them, but hardly ever,” said Gabbard. “It’s really hard to just give a straight right or wrong, you know? I think it just depends on whether or not the person means it or not. If a dude goes around flinging n***a jokes to a black guy he hates, it’s totally wrong. But if he’s just messing around and the guy’s a friend and as long as it’s not offensive, it’s totally fine,” said Windgate. No matter what race you are, make sure when you tell a joke about another ethnic group that it’s appropriate, and that it doesn’t effect other people around you.
Can’t take it with you
By Daniel Christensen EVERYONE gets into a routine after a while, and who else would more likely to get into a routine at Granger then the teachers. “Being at Granger High School, and the people I have met here have made me a better person and changed my life,” said Ms. Biggar, who has taught at Granger for 34 years. Many teachers who have taught at Granger for a long time will miss some qualities about the old building. Ms Bird, who has taught here for 24 years said that she will miss that the math and
English building being separate from the main school. Mr. Van Keuren will miss the shop classes being separated as well, but change can be a good thing. Some things the teachers here are looking forward to more windows and better facilities. Ms. Biggar said, “I feel like the new school will create a better atmosphere for the students, and there will be more technology.” This building has been open since 1958, and many fun memories were made here. Mrs. Drage said, “I will never forget being on stage crew and having to catch a
bat that found its way in during a performance. I got the bat in a net with one swipe!” Mr. Dimas remembers gas leaking into the floor grate and when he went to grind some metal, all the gas ignited. There are many parts of the old school that teachers would like to see incorporated into the new building. Ms. Bird would like to see the lancer in the display case moved to the new building, and Mr. Van Keuren likes the mural of the lancer riding a horse engraved in the bricks by the lunch room. “Change is good,” said Ms. Bird. “Although there will be things I will miss about the old school, I am looking forward to moving to the new one.” Ms. Drage is looking forward to all the windows and the whole new design of the school. “There will be a higher spirit of success,” she said. All in all, most teachers at Granger are looking forward to the new building. “After the new building is finished I feel that more students will be able to be successful and students outside of the area will come for an enhanced education,” said VK. So let’s get excited and start working hard to make G-House as great as it can be!
and accidentally cut off four fingers from her right hand. Throughout the whole ordeal, Day remained calm and collected. It wasn’t quite the horror scene
most would expect. Most of her fingers were cleanly cut off, so there was hope for them to be put back on. But with much attempt only one was saved. “She is my best welding and metal shop student,” said Mr. Van Keuren, the metal shop teacher here at Granger High School. “You can compare this type of situation to when you first start driving a car,” he said. “When you first start driving, you are very cautious. But as you get better at driving the car you aren’t as cautious anymore.” With one finger now reattached, Kellie knows that it will take a lot of physical therapy to improve her right hand’s coordination, but she has been in high spirits.
By Celeste Anguiano & Carlos Hurtado ARE THE hallways of Granger starting to look and feel like the streets of New York? For many, it may seem like it when they are pushing their way through to their next class. “It’s some hard core walking because there so many big people crowding the hall” said Gustavo DelAngel (10) as he shoves his way through the Football Hall. “I try to avoid that hall, but when I have to get cross that hall I push my self through”. Many students complain about the crowded halls and the shoving that takes place, but is the school at fault? Principal Jerry Haslam has to disagree with that statement. “Just keep walking,” he said, “there are a lot of hallways to get around the school, and even though it is pretty chilly outside their will always be another route to class.” Assistant Principal Rod Horton said, “First a lot of kids just hang out by the walls or stairs there is different ways to get to class but they take that hall to only see their friends.” Other students like Eva Lopez (10) has been late to most of her
classes because of the “traffic” human jam in the Football Hall. “I have been late to almost all my classes because of the hallway,” said Lopez. But what is the cause of students being jammed up in the halls for? “They just chill,” said Kimberly Lolani (10), “but it’s not anyone’s fault their not stopping people from going to class.” Teachers and students like DelAngel, Lopez, and Loani, have asked themselves if there will be a solution to this mess. “We have stationed Officer Randall, Sam, and Mr. “G” to motivate the kids to get to class and to see that no problems will be caused,” said Mr. Horton. He also said there have not been any fights in the hallways, so all they have to worry about is pushing students to get to their classes on time. “The solution will be built when the new construction of Granger will be finish in two years, there will be wider halls for students to walk more comfortable in,” said Mr. Horton. Nowadays, we have our faculty pushing students to get to class, so goodbye streets of New York, and hello hallway.
dent. While trying to make a rifle target, Day made the mistake of not adjusting the machine properly while cutting a piece of metal
Traffic jam
Tri-Color Times Staff Editors Julie Hor -- Layout Yaritza Madrigal -- Photos Liana Tan -- Articles Journalists Celeste Anguiano Maria Camarillo Jonathan Carrasco Brittnee Chacon Vanessa Chacon Ashley Chambers Daniel Christensen Brittany Edwards Yenny Estrada Karen Garcia Paul Garcia Mario Gomez Matthew Hansen
Journalists
Kenadee Hatch Aubrey Hensley Karla Herrera Carlos Hurtado Heidi Izarraras Rebecca Jeter Heather Larson Melissa Lorton Paola Mascorro Jeannette Mikkelson Tule Nau Katelyn Paff Wendy Rojas Tatiana Romero Ezra Tapusoa David Thongphanh Angel Zazueta Joshua Zitting
The Tri-Color Times serves as a student forum for student opinion and student expression. The views expressed herein reflect neither the opinions of Adviser John Carlisle and Granger High School, nor those of Granite School District. The Tri-Color Times invites and publishes letters to its editorial board; all letters will be edited for taste, length and legality. Granger High 3690 South 3600 West West Valley, UT 84119 385 646-5320
February 2011, page 4
Junior Prom 2011
VOL. LIII Issue 4
February 2011, page 5
VOL. LIII Issue 4
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VOL. LIII Issue 4
Attitude adjustment
By Wendy Rojas SEE WHAT it is like for a student to change the way they use to be before they are this person today. Pamela Armenta (12) said that changing her attitude was a right choice to make in her life, otherwise she wouldn’t be the person she is now. Her attitude was a shy kind of person that had lots of problems with her family members, friends, etc. and she kept all of it inside her not telling anyone about it. She avoided most of the people that didn’t like her so that she wouldn’t get into any kind of fights.
”I am now more concerned about my friends then I ever was,” said Armenta. Having this change in her life was good because she said that she wanted to be a happy person who has friends and not be the girl in the corner by herself as other students walked by her. Pamela said that it was worth changing the attitude she had before, now she is more sociable with other students in the school and she does not feel like she has to be better than others around her. Seeing the progress she made it would be a tragedy to see it go to waste “If I would have not changed
my attitude and left it the same, I would not have the opportunity to graduate and go to Yale for college,” said Armenta. She also wanted to say she had friends in school that she could hang out with and be around new people and be surrounded by them not just talk to students in the class or hall ways and walk away. Having fewer anger issues and having more people around her has helped her in school a lot. She does not get angry everyday for any reason anymore and is more of a communicating person with an open mind, having ideas of what to make right, having the opportunity of being another, and better person in her life. Armenta’s closest friend said she has noticed a big change and difference in her she is now a better person that has a lot of good opportunities with open arms and be someone in life. She is not the only girl who didn’t have many choices before and who didn’t have friends or anyone she could talk to. Making this change was a good decision she now has more friends than she ever.
Parent for a boss
By Tatiana Romero FOR SOME people it’s really easy to get dressed in the morning and just grab any pair of shoes and walk out but for Genesis Valverde (11), it’s a hard pick. She tells us that she picks her outfit and shoes the night before so that she won’t be late. Valverde’s parents own a shoe shop in the Valley Fair Mall. She thinks that it kind of sucks working for her parents because they don’t pay her as much, Valverde tells us that working for her parents has some benefits, like getting first pick at shoes. Valverde says, “I wish, I could quit, but my parents won’t let me.” If she wants to get a day off,
she has to tell her parents a week ahead. Her parents don’t cut her a lot of slack. A rough estimate of how many pair of shoes Valverde has is about 30. She has her closet filled with shoes. Genesis says “my favorite shoes from the store are the heels and boots.” The only benefits she gets from working with her parents is the “cash,” and “shoes.” Valverde works as a cashier at “Shoe Outlet” because she says she doesn’t like looking for shoes in the back. Genesis relationship with her boss (mom) is really strong. “I see my mom as my role model,” she said. The reason that she looks up to her mom is because her mom is
a really hard worker and she enjoys doing what she does in the outlet. Valverde’s relationship with her other boss (dad) is a good one. Although she’s always with her mom, she really enjoys being with both of her parents. Valverde gets along with her co-workers, too; one of her coworkers is her older sister. Genesis really enjoys working with her because she is very nice and sweet with the customers.
An athlete outside of Granger
By Vanessa Chacon BRITTANY Thomas (11) has been playing basketball for 4 years. “In high school I play on the girls’ basketball team and I think it is a lot of fun but it also takes a lot of time and dedication. I have to keep up with school work and sometimes that gets really hard because of late games. I end up coming home around 9 when we play away games, So a lot of the time I really don’t feel like doing homework I just want to go to bed and sleep for school the next day,” said Thomas. The lady lancers have been working very hard this year and hopefully all this time and effort pays off at the end of the season. Also for a lot of the players basketball isn’t the only thing they do there is still school work and other sports they are involved with. She also plays softball and soccer at Granger High, and outside of school she races BMX.
“I love to BMX, I took state for my age group in 2010. I have been racing since 2006 and have loved it ever since. I get hurt a lot but it’s all worth it when I win!” said Thomas. She has won lots of trophies and continues to win them she doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon,
neither with basketball. “I enjoy it and I’m hoping for a great season with a lot of wins. I’m also looking forward for my senior year and hope for the best.” Playing so many sports in high school keeps her from making bad decisions. “The times I hang out are with my team at Practice
and team bonding things,” said Thomas. Plus to be on a team in high school you have to have a 2.0 in G.P.A and C.P.A. with no F’s or 0’s. Lots of athletes in high school wouldn’t have such grades if it weren’t for the sports they love to play. All the hard work and dedication it takes to be so involved is all worth it. It’s not all the memories you’re going to take with you out of high school it’s also all the lessons you learn from it. For example you can’t be late to practice or else you’ll have to sit out a game. That’s how it’s going to be in the real world when you have to be responsible or there will be consequences. The players on the girls’ basketball team have earned two spots on Granger’s list of top ten highest scores. Overall they have won 8 out of 9 games so far. If this continues, the Lady Lancers have a chance of taking region! This would be great for Granger High.
Flip the switch
By Ezra Tapusoa OUT OF all of the students at Granger High School, Britney Manatau (12) is a perfect example of how one student went from partying to studying. Like many of the students here at Granger High, she started skipping classes, because she thought it wouldn’t make a big difference. She tells us, she used to stay out late and pretty much did whatever she wanted. “I would do whatever I want and just go home whenever I wanted to,” she said. “I would argue with my parents to let me go out and I took advantage of them. At that time, I didn’t care because I was being selfish and didn’t care what they had to say about it.” Reality soon caught up with her, as her mom randomly came to school and checked up on her grades and attendance. Her grades were bad because she rarely went to class. As punishment, she was grounded and got her phone taken away. “I regretted not paying attention to attending classes and not doing
my work,” she said. As a senior she should’ve been on top of her grades. “I felt bad for it all; because I lost my parents trust, and that’s the worst feeling I’ve ever felt.” Through all the stress of trying to get back on the top of her class’s work and regaining her parents’ trust, she found the right path to do what she has to do before she has fun. As of right now in Britney’s life, she has earned her parents’ trust and still has time to enjoy hanging out with friends, but she does her school work first. Britney’s mom noticed an improvement. “Britney has really changed. She has a good attitude and she helps around the house, and she comes home when she is supposed to,” said Mrs. Manatau. “So if there is anyone that has the same problem as me, they need to change,” Manatu said. “It’s not going to take you anywhere with that bad attitude. Be good and stay out of trouble. Trust me being in trouble is not a lot of fun.
On and off again
By Katelyn Paff Winder said “the only reason I EVERY relationship has their gave him a second chance is beproblems, especially in high cause I kept thinking he would school. Some relationships end change.” because someone cheats, lies, is Daniel didn’t change. In fact, untrustworthy, or just the fact that the second time they tried dating, there isn’t any effort being put into it only lasted about 3 days. the relationship. But the biggest Most relationships like Jennifer problem in teenage relationships and Daniel’s never work out bewould be the constant break ups. cause there’s no effort being put The “on again, off again” pattern in from either person. When you in relationships tend to be pretty have a relationship, both people common here at Granger High. need to put in effort to see one Daniel Webb (10) and Jennifer another. Widner (10) were dating on and Josh Hernandez(12) was in a off for about three months. They year-long on-again, off-again rebroke up lationship twice. “We AuBut the biggest problem with never hung bree Dunn out. Ever. in teenage relationships (11) which We were and would be the constant started just growended a toing apart. If tal of about break ups. we changed 9 times. that much They had within three months, imagine a lot of problems such as trust, how bad it would have gotten if cheating, and false rumors about I stayed with Jenn longer than each of them. “The reason we that!” he said. Instead of talking broke up was because we had a to Jennifer about this, he ended lot of trust issues. It’s hard being it. with someone that you can’t trust. “There wasn’t much of a con- I kept trying to fix things because nection. We never got the chance I kept seeing the good side of to just hang out together. We nev- her,” said Hernandez. er seen each other unless it was in Breaking up repeatedly is a patschool,” Winder states. tern. If you can’t even make it 3 After the first time that Daniel months without breaking up, what and Jennifer broke up, Jennifer do you think will happen if you wanted nothing to do with him. got married to them? Two people Daniel decided to try and fix in a good relationship would talk things. “I felt horrible for break- about things instead of just ending up with her like that!” ‘That’ ing it right away when they have meaning over the internet. a problem.
February 2011, page 7
VOL. LIII Issue 4
Palenque vs. Prom Bullies continue to wreak havoc
By Karla Herrera MANY HISPANIC students decided to celebrate prom in a different way -- they went to a dance club called Palenque. They treated it like a prom: get a date, go out to dinner, dance, and just sing along with the songs. Unlike prom, they could dance until 3:00 A.M. “I’m proud to be a Mexican, yet we know that party is what we do!! Dancing is number one,” said Julio Ramirez (12). Palenque is full of lights with a disco ball, and has little decoration. Most teens love when places are full and believe they can even find boyfriend material in a club, but not at Palenque. Most teens can’t stand it when it’s full of people and you can’t even dance without getting hurt. “Going dancing when it’s full is a bad idea; you get so many people stepping on you,” said Arturo Carmona (11). “Most of the time it gets really bad that you can’t even dance with your partner,” said Gloria Garcia (12).
Before or after many decided is always nice to go out to eat with some friends. “My favorite part is eating after, it’s like gaining all your energy back,” said Garcia. Girls go all out for dresses as much as they would for prom. They buy them a day before or if they just decided they’re going to go that day, they buy it that same day. Not only do girls wear prom look-a-like dresses, they can also dress like a cowgirl with boots and hats. Girls in el Palenque have more freedom to choose what they can wear without anyone telling them it’s appropriate. Guys wear more of a cowboy look than suits for prom. instead of wearing suits for. All ages are allowed to go and have fun at Palenque. Therefore they make their beverages alcohol-free. You can have duels, a nonalcoholic beer that tastes as if it has alcohol in it. So next time you want to have a new experience and ditch prom, come have fun at el Palenque.
Spread the word
By Becky Jeter families and community because, “MI SMO Strpljivi sa ljudima learning English isn’t just a walk koji uce engleski jezik. Molimo in the park. vas vjezbajte ovdje; we are pa“Sometimes I teach with pictient with English learners. Feel tures,” said a Granite Peak’s free to practice!” This quote, from teacher. She helps her class unthe city, is being plastered all over derstand the questions they were West Valley City. In Spanish, Bos- asked. She repeats the question nian, Tongan, Somali and Viet- and puts it into a situation, “If Osnamese, encouraging its citizens car is here, learning English, and to embrace their opportunities to his wife and family is at home, is practice their English. The city there a difference in Oscar’s abilsupports both parents and their ity to learn English?” She is pachildren to expand their English tient with her students, and their abilities. families need Ms. Erto be just as icksen, a The city supports both patient and former ESL supportive parents and their children too. teacher says to expand their English “Most feel The city’s like they’re English Iniabilities. hopeless.” tiative ProcThis is why lamation emthe city emphasizes communities phasizes the importance of family and families to be united. “They and community support and the can learn together,” says Ms. Er- worth of an amalgamated neighicksen. borhood, “Whereas the ability “Yes, it is helpful that I can of all residents to communicate speak English,” says Carol Cas- with each other in English is the taneda (11), a student here at glue that binds our community Granger High, whose mother, is together, creates cohesive neighlearning English. “I try to help borhoods, and provides the best translate for her.” Castaneda un- opportunities for education, emderstands that learning English is ployment, housing and access to difficult for her mother, and states government,” and implies that “the family supports her.” the English Initiative is what will “The support of family will help achieve this goal. be productive” states Ms. ParIf you are interested in developrish, an English Teacher here at ing your English, check the West Granger. It is vital that citizens Valley City website, www.wvcwho are trying to develop their ut.gov for a English classes the English, have support from their Granite School District offers.
Opinion by Tule Nau com). Phoebe Prince, age 15, the conflict. Taking action and EVERYWHERE in the country, moved to Massachusetts from providing help for bullies as well or so the world, bullying occurs. Ireland only to be called an “Irish as those who are being bullied Whether people like it or not, it slut” and to be harassed mentally at least once a week, could posexists. A bully is basically a per- and physically by her fellow stu- sibly help. Teens tend to believe son that intentionally victimizes dents. She later hung herself on that the administrators only care people mentally and even physi- account of being bullied (www. about what they see bullies docally, who are mostly easily in- nydailynews.com). Eric Mohat, ing prior to what they hear bullies timidated. Most likely, bullies age 17, committed suicide after say to others. No matter what the lash out like that out of their own being harassed and tormented by administrators see or hear, they hurt, anger, and frustration, or be- his classmates (www.abcnews. should take action to protect their cause they were a victim of bul- go.com). These 3 innocent teens students. lying at one point in their If administrators showed life. Students may or may their students that they If you or someone you know is a care, maybe students not know this, but bullying exists in our very own would feel safer and sevictim of bullying please contact: hallways of our school. cure in their educational Granger High’s Buddy Box Bullying to me plays a environment. Students www.yourlifeyourvoice.org major role in high school. would probably feel more Walk around school and comfortable opening up Anti-Bullying Crisis Hotline: observe closely of what with a caring environment 877-443-9943 you hear and see. It could established. Parents should be very saddening to hear start looking for warning some of the things teens signs in their children. Ask nowadays say to others just to fell victim to bullying. them if school was okay. shoot down their self esteem and Personally, I feel as if bullying Word of advice for all schools: ego. “I think your mom made a is a wrongful crime for anyone to Observe not only what you see mistake with you” or “Look in the act upon another, however, ev- but what you hear also. Intervene mirror and see how ugly you re- ery one person has been a bully when students are being bullied. ally are”. Words will always hurt before at one time whether they Be more attentive. no matter what, yet apparently knew it or not. However, bullyWord of advice for parents: Alto bullies, others’ feelings don’t ing a person out of your own joy, ways pay attention to your child. matter enough. repeatedly, is absolutely a wrong- Look for signs of physical and What people do not realize is ful thing to do in my eyes. Some emotional abuse. Take action, that bullying in our decade has teens look down on themselves seize and protect your child’s led to a series of suicides that are because of bullying. Some teens safety. tied to bullying. Asher Brown, are depressed because of bullyWord of advice for students: age 13, shot himself in the head ing. Some teens are being bullied Never back down and speak out. after being harassed because he to death. How do you expect it to stop if was smaller, smarter, and for Talking to students about bul- you don’t open your mouth and his sexuality (from www.chron. lying once a year does not solve speak up?
Lancers got swag
By David Thongphanh FASHION and what you wear is a way of expressing yourself. You can tell what a guy or girl likes by what they wear, and how they wear it. Now a day’s people seem to go more for the urban vintage look and bring back styles from the 80’s and 70’s. In the halls of Granger you may see many kids mixing it up with different styles. There is the skater, jerker, the pretty boy and pretty girl swag look. There is even the crazy rocker Emo style with the chains and dark makeup. Jeans with holes, tears and dark faded shades are in style too. People like to accessorize the way they dress with scarves, jewelry brand named colored headphones, matching hats and beanies. Girls go for the layers look. They wear leggings, loose fitted shirts, and cardigan sweater over shirts and gladiators shoes that are known to be in style. During the winter time snow boots or boots with the fur are really popular. For guy’s, v-necks, Vans, skinny
and fitted jeans, pea coats with epaulets, cargo shorts, and long socks with Jordan’s. Epaulets are known as the military styled buttons on shoulders of jackets. “My jacket is tight,” said Angel Zazueta (11), “I like it because it’s the new style. The majority of my members from my crew, F.B.S, have a jacket with epaulets on it.” Zazueta also says skinny jeans are good to shuffle in. He said, in his own words, “It’s sick & smooth with it.” “I like V necks; they are nice and it’s in style something different than a plain t shirt,” said Ivan Carbajal (11). “I get my V necks from footlocker.” Carbajal also says footlocker has good deals like 3 t-shirts for twenty dollars. Different hairstyles play a part in switching the style up. Kids here at granger have the craziest and most original hairstyles. Tapered haircuts with a nice fade are seen a lot on boys. As for girls teasing knows as “the poof” is seen a lot here at Granger High. The poof is where you part your hair at the
crown rat it underneath, hairspray and comb it back making sure it doesn’t look like a rats nest. Sterling Platts (12) has his own style of hair. He said “I love my Mohawk. It is more of a messy looking one, and original. I think it was in about a year ago and I still think it is. Some kids overdo it. Sometimes it just doesn’t go with some kid.” “Girls should have a little taste of a boy’s side. I am cool with some skinny jeans, a plain t-shirt with a leather coat, and maybe throw some Jordans or Supras on that!” said Raven Rivera (10). Rivera also said she likes guys with a nice fade with a tapered haircut, or a fro hawk would do. “I think it’s the bomb dot com,” said Rivera. Kelly Brimhall (10) said, “Some girls need to think about what they are wearing and what they put on because it gives them a bad reputation.” Whatever their style, Lancers know how to look good and show off their swag.
February 2011, page 8
VOL. LIII Issue 4
Love is in the air...not By Karen Garcia DANIEL Rodriguez (11) and Tatiana Romero (11) have been dating since December 2007. They are excited to spend Valentine’s Day together. Rodriguez said, “I’m excited for Valentine’s Day because it is a day to spend with the person you love and just show them how much you love them and how much they mean to you.” Rodriguez said he is going to spend the whole day with her and not let her go. “We are going to be together the whole day and take a walk in the park and I have something up my sleeve this Valentine’s Day is going to be extra special,” he said. The only reason he hates Valentine’s Day is because he says he has trouble choosing what to get her. But he loves everything else about it. Amber Perrine (12) and Sterling Platts (12) have been together for 4 years now almost 5. They are planning on just spending Valentine’s Day with each other the whole day with each other. They have spent 3 Valentine’s Day with each other. They aren’t planning anything specifically and they don’t mind what they do as long as they spend the day with each other. Perrine said, “I really like Valentine’s Day except the only thing is that it’s hard to decide on what to get him for his Valentine’s Day gift.” She also said Valentine’s Day is special but they celebrate more on their anniversaries. Martin Banuelos (10) and Na-
thalie Ojeda (11) or Mrs. Banuelos as she likes to be called now have been together for one year now but no one really new about this secret romance until not too long ago. They are really happy to be with each other and are looking forward to spending Valentine’s Day together. They are going to hang out the whole day with each other and go on a dinner date. She
says “I’m hoping Valentine’s Day will be super cute and romantic like how everyone wishes it was” Martin just says “I’m just happy to be spending my day with my babe I really want to show her how much I love her” they are both having trouble on deciding what to buy each other for Valentine’s Day though. Nathalie says that she knows it’s going to be a good day because she is going to spend her whole day with him. They are both excited for this Valentine’s Day and are looking forward to spending many more together. Jessikah Maycock (11) says she is going to have a lot of fun
on Valentine’s Day. She says she is really going to make this Valentine’s Day count “I am going to make it special and make it like how they do it in the movies with the candles and all the roses and those romantic things.” She is going to spend Valentine’s Day with someone very special to her she says she is very excited for this Valentine’s Day and she really can’t wait for what she has planned. She is also traveling far to be with her Valentine’s Day so she says that it is more special. Single On Valentine’s Day Mercaedy Thomas (11) said she hates Valentine’s Day because if you don’t have a date or boyfriend it is pointless. She said she doesn’t have a boyfriend now so she’s not expecting anything for Valentine’s Day. She also said she hates seeing girls get big huge teddy bears, chocolates, candy, and presents while cuddling, hugging and kissing their boyfriends because she doesn’t have someone at that time. Thomas wishes that Valentine’s Day would have never existed because of the fact that everyone makes out in front of her. Brayan Luevano (12) says “Valentine’s Day is whatevers to me,” he said. He doesn’t really see a point in it unless you have someone to spend it with. He doesn’t mind seeing people in the hallways kissing or hugging. He also said he’s not planning on doing anything for this Valentine’s Day. Whether you have a sweetheart or not, just celebrate with the people that love and care for you the most.
A night at Azteca Bazaar
By Yenny Estrada THE BAZZAR is just down the street from Granger High School. The bazaar is a swap meet where a lot of people go. A lot of Granger High students attend the bazaar every Sunday. People of all ages dance at the bazaar. It is a family place. The dance starts at 7:00 P.M. and it ends at 11:00 P.M. They play all kind of music there. And it is very fun to go there with family or friends, or maybe a girlfriend/ boyfriend. The bazaar is not only a place to go hang out on Sunday and go dance, but also you can buy clothes, food, shoes, jewelry, and anything that you would like. Also there are a lot of places to eat there -- all kinds of Mexican food. You can also go play soccer there. There are a few kids from Granger High working there as security and also selling things. “I like coming here, it’s where me and all my friends get together to meet girls,” said Andres Salguero (12) “I really don’t dress up I come in what ever really. It’s really fun though, like all the kind of music they play, makes you want to get up and dance.”
“I come with my friends, I like to dance here because of the kind of music they play Banda, Cumbia, Norteñas, and Bachata. I dress up sometimes when I fell like it or when I am on the lookout for a new girlfriend,” said Brian Garay (10). “I love eating there with all my family, it’s such a nice place to just go eat and spend time with your family to eat, dance and just have fun,” said Yessica Estrada (10). “I like to go shop there a lot, but I mostly go to find a cute guy to dance with. There are a lot of cute guys here, some of them do come looking really good, I like when they dress up. I know it’s just a little swap meet but you have to always try to look your best no matter where you go at list that’s what I think.” said Estrada. “The thing that I like the most is all the music that they play here, I love dancing and here they play really good music -- all kind of music -- the bands there are really good they are really outgoing. One of the things that I really like is when the girls go up there and they dance with the people from the band,” said Estrada.