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CONTENTS
6 PRIED OPEN BY THE HANDS OF POWERThe truth that ’s being
revealed of those in
posit ions of authority
abusing their power.
8 CATS VS. DOGSA timeless debate is
pinned down and solved
once and for al l .
10 GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICAWhat’s going on and
what needs to be done
about this controversial
issue.
11 POP GOES THE PLASTICA history of the balloon
and it ’s strange, archaic
uses.
12 VIRTUAL VICTIMSThe power LHS has to
prevent, and even solve,
cyberbullying.
14 THE SYSTEMATIC OVERLOADDoes the school system
put too much pressure
on students?
16 FRIENDS FOR THE HEARTThe importance of loved
ones in your combined
social community.
18 THE RIGHT TO WRITEEducating and
empowering students by
teaching the l imits for
freedom of speech and
other rights.
20 WHAT’S THE COST TO YOU?
The dangers of drug
abuse and how to avoid
it , as well as how to get
help.
22 THANKSGIVING THROUGH THE YEARSThe f irst Thanksgiving
24 HOLIDAY BLUESMisconceptions
of suicide and its
correlation to the
holiday season.
26 THE WONDERS OF MUSICThe signif icance of
music.
28 WINTER DRIVING SAFETYPrecautions to take
when the roads are icy,
s l ippery, and dangerous.
30 THE MACY’S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADEWhy and how the Macy’s
Thanksgiving Day Parade
made, and continues to
make, history.
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From the actors of Hollywood to the employers of Louisiana, sexual assault claims have been relevant from past years to today. The H-2 is a visa program that allows immi-grants, mainly from Mexico, Guatemala, South Africa, and the Philippines, to come into the United States and work in non-agricultural jobs. As recently as 2015, inhumane claims against employers who work with the H-2 employees have been disclosed, accus-ing the employers of sexually assaulting the immigrants, who by the way are docu-mented and legally in the U.S. to work. They have been raped, starved, and threatened with deportation.
With the deplorable amount of abuse by men in power--the immigrants’ managers and supervisors--preventions must be put into place by way of monitoring, checking in, interviewing, etc., by those in charge of mandating the H-2 program to ensure the safety of the people they fought so hard to have a better life here in the U.S. Their purpose for
coming here should not be so easily ruined by rape, assaults, and threat by the people in positions of trust.
Here we are in 2017, where employers, politicians, and actors have been incriminated by sexual assault accusations. The person who spurred this slew of recent accusations is
Harvey Weinstein. Harvey Weinstein has at least 30 women standing up to reveal Weinstein’s sickening wrong-doings. Multiple actresses, such as Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd have told mul-tiple sources that Weinstein took them into a hotel room and offered the ladies mas-sages, sometimes appearing in a bathrobe, leaving the women uncomfortable and afraid. He then proceeded to have non-consensual relations with the women, threatening their careers if they refused to do anything he wanted, holding their futures over his head.
Another Hollywood story of sexual misconduct follows
popular actor and director Kevin Spacey, well-known as
House of Cards. Numerous cases have come into the limelight, label-ing Spacey a predator. 15 men so far have detailed Spacey’s action as having intention-ally groped young men and teenager whom he thought would never speak up. Spacey has now made a controver-sial apology, implying that his actions were based on the abuse of his childhood. He also took the time to contro-versially come out as gay in his apology.
Women haven’t always had as many rights as we do in 2017. In August of 1920, the
giving women the right to vote. Women have only had 97 years
not stop there. Equality was not, and is still not, accom-plished. In the 1960s, the idea of the “idealistic wife” came to be. The “perfect wife” would be imaged as a domestic woman who stays at home, that would always be nicely groomed for her husband, letting the man
Abuse of Power | BY JAndi Rychter with art by LHS Senior Madison Keathley
PR I E D OP E N B Y T H E HAN D S O F ABU S E
L H S P e a k P r e s s
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come home to a clean house with dinner ready on the table, and never have a com-plaint fall out of her mouth for the husband to hear. Women were not viewed as the bread-winners of the family, and would be viewed as unlady-like to others if she spoke her opinions. Rhys Conoley-Marsh, a junior in high school stated, “Women were con-
to to the home. Which gave men an illusion of
, as they were the ones “providing” and doing all the “work.” So the institution of sexism gave men a false sense of power. Giving the illusion that
”
Which leads to today with these accusations. Even though women have more rights than ever before in
21st century, women are still treated as if they need to depend on a man. Many women have been terrorized, and according to RAINN (Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network) they have found that 1 out of every 6 women in America have been raped or assaulted. 82% of assaults between 15-18 year olds are female, and 90% of adult assaults are on females. On average, every 98 seconds, someone in America is being assaulted. The percentages are so high for women because some men view women as defenseless. In many of these cases, the accused were in a position of power. They used their power to manipu-late women into sexual acts, putting them in traumatiz-ing places, something that changes lives completely.
have fought by females’ sides for decades, and especially in recent years. “I think men are realizing what is going on, and there is a power shift. As now, women are being cele-brated by coming foward to demonstrate their strength. I spend my day surrounded by
women of all kinds. I am proud to call them my friends, and they inspire me,” Cololey-Marsh states further.
Men and women have come a long way, and everyone is a work in progress. Women grow more and more everyday as they become more encour-aged and empowered. Women and men work together to stop abusive power, and they will work harder every single day when equality isn’t apparent.
“We al l move forward when we recognize how resiliant and striking the women around us are” - Rupi Kaur
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two animals have stayed neck-and-neck when it comes to being man’s best friend.
Tae Pumphrey, an LHS sophomore,
she says. “Dogs are always in your face with their slobber and licking. They’re just rambunctious. But cats are cuddly and soft. They’re more independent, and you don’t have to walk them and worry about people trying to touch them and interact with you. And according to a study I read, they have a unique relationship with every person they
know. I don’t hate dogs -- I like dogs -- but cats are just better.”
One self-described dog person disagrees. “Cats only tolerate people, but dogs love people. They’re always happy to see you when you get home. Dogs let you scratch their bellies, but a cat would scratch
I don’t think a cat has ever stopped a burglar from breaking into their house either.”
Some argue that dogs are better because they have the ability to protect you, like barking loud enough to alert people of a burglar, or even, in some
Cover Stor y
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cases, attacking intruders. That’s not necessarily untrue, it just depends on the breed. If you really think
protecting you in any situation, it would be apt to invest in some health insurance as soon as possible.
Others argue that cats are preferable because of their independence. When
between cat and dog behavior, most say that dogs are more needy, while cats jump at the chance to spend the day alone. To an extent, this is true, but doesn’t it just depend on each animal’s idiosyncrasies?
To rate which animal is truly better,
questions to ask. However, while many people have strong opinions about which is better, both cat and dog people are looking for the same
love, and companionship. The
people only comes in preference of which animal you think would make a better companion. So there probably is no magical answer to
better pet.”
This argument probably has no solution that’d satisfy everyone. People are just going to disagree. But when it comes down to it, that’s okay. Because cats and dogs are both not humans, and they deserve to be rewarded heavily for that.
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L H S P e a k P r e s s
10 11Pop goes the p last icBy Jake Toller
Balloons play a big role in many parties and are a necessity for younger
kids’ birthdays. However, bal-loons were not always celebra-tory. That fun, all-purpose party item was not always delightful. They were invented in 1824 and used for scientific purposes.
Invented by Professor Michael Faraday, balloons where used for hydrogen
experiments. Soon after they were invented, the public made use of them and began giving them to kids as a toy. One of the downsides to giving bal-loons to kids was that after a while they would pop. That fun, cheerful toy was soon a terri-fyingly loud-popping mess.
Later, the foil balloon was invented, resulting in a hard-to-pop balloon.
These are the balloons with fun design and graphics on them that we receive for birthdays and celebrations. Foil balloons also last longer by keeping them filled longer. Foil is also stronger than latex or rubber as well. Lastly, foil balloons
Balloons today are used for parties and celebra-
tions. Although, they were not always used as such.
(Jake Toller/LHS Peak Press)
have better designs, a wider range of colors, and fun shapes as well.
Balloons have not changed much over the past 194 years. The materials are the same,
except for the new foil balloons.
Only 34 states have explicit protec-tions against cyber-bullying, Colorado being one of them. HB 11-1254, a human rights law, states that i t ’s a Class 3 misde-meanor to cyberbully, meaning someone could end up with up to 6 months in jai l . However, i f related to a person’s race, color, rel igion, ancestry, or national origin, i t ’s a Class 1 misdemeanor -- 6-18 months in jai l . It ’s taken seriously.
According to Angela Duca, our Dean of
Students, here at Liberty administra-tion and counsel-l ing “can provide help and give stu-dents resources. [Administration and counsell ing] often advice students and parents to l imit who they choose to communicate with through social media and block people who they don’t feel are fr iends. Depending on the situation, law enforcement may also be involved.”
The Safe2Tell Program “provides students a way to provide information to help others at any t ime. [Administration and counsel-l ing] fol low up on Safe2Tell reports to ensure students are safe.” With the aid of this program, it al lows for easier communication and
In this pro-technol-ogy world, social media and commu-nication is para-mount to how teenag-ers (and some adults) l ive today. It ’s used for SnapChatting, posting, sending, tweeting, and so much more. With this al l-powerful abil i ty, there’s also many great dangers present.
Cyberbullying is a deep-rooted problem worldwide, and many places don’t have the capabil ity to stop cyberbullying.
Bullying means any written or verbal expres-sion, or physical , or elec-tronic act or gesture, or a pattern thereof, that is intended to coerce, intim-idate, or cause any phys-ical , mental , or emo-tional harm to any such
Cyber
V i r t u a l V i c t i m sBy Jackson Ayres
L H S P e a k P r e s s
12proper response via administration.
Unfortunately for victims, “[the school] can real ly only monitor and control what happens on dis-trict property. We expect parents and students to monitor student behav-ior, including social media, outside of school.”
However, the school may intervene “if i t is more l ikely than not that something could continue on school grounds. . . . In most cases the nexus of cyberbullying. . . ends [up] affecting students at school in which the staff get involved when we f ind out some-thing.” So, in other words, the school is al lowed to inter-vene i f there’s a high chance that there’s a threat to the student present during school t imes, or i f the bully-ing is continuing into school property.
In order to help prevent cyerbullying,
people should be responsible for their social accounts and use it no differ-ently than they would talk to someone. “If you wouldn’t say it to someone’s face, don’t post i t .” If you don’t l ike something someone said, ignore them. Responses and “comments” can only encourage the attacker and further deepen the problem. No one has control over what may be posted online-- once it ’s posted, there’s no going back. It can be copied, reposted, shown to others, reported, etc. .
Ms. Duca recom-mended students use an acronym before they post content, cal led “THINK”.
T- Is i t true?
H- Is i t helpful?
I - Is i t inspiring?
N - Is i t necessary?
K - Is i t kind?
These general guide-l ines can al low for a more curated area of social media, rather than one that attacks others.
With the widespread dilemma of cyberbul-lying, keep an eye out for fr iends and loved ones to help protect them. Just be sure to THINK before you post.
(Alice Cook/LHS Peak Press)
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THE SYSTEMATIC OVERLOAD By Abbey Schumaker
GPAs, SATs, College appli-cations, good grades, clubs and activities, sports,
list goes on. So much pres-sure is put on students to keep up academically as well as socially. The school system continues to get more intense and students are expected to achieve more now than they ever have. But, how much pressure is too much and when will the bar stop being raised? Many stu-dents have mental health problems because of the pressure and expectations put on them. I looked at
the Lancer student body, as well as some research to see how this pressure effects students and if things should be changed.
Many students will agree that school is too stress-ful because of all the work. Walk down the hall and you will hear many kids joking about stress. Enter a class before they are about to take a test and hear them joking about how they will fail. The reality is, they’re not joking. Worrying about school is a real struggle for all students. According
to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , 69.7% of high school students went on to college after gradua-tion in 2016, and the per-centage of students going on to college continues to rise. It’s no shocker that more students are going on to college after high school because more jobs are requiring degrees. If getting a good job down the road relies on getting a college degree, doing well in high school is crucial.
Students are recognizing this and letting the pres-sure of school consume
I t seems l ike everyth ing r ides on school and grades for k ids these days. I s the school system putt ing too much pressure
on stu-dents?
(L indsay Doebler/Vanpattenmedia)
ACADEMICS
L H S P e a k P r e s s
14 them. Liza Bohannon (‘20) says, “I feel like it is really unfair that when
teachers still asign home-work. It’s unfair that they take away time from our family. It feels like school consumes my life most of the time.” And most stu-dents have no choice but to do their work and keep up because everything depends on it. Personally, the career I want to go into requires a college degree so not being suc-cessful in high school is not an option.
Many colleges require
a GPA of 3.5-4.0 which requires a dedicated and hard working student. While I accept that school is hard and changes should be made, everyone has to go through high school so you as a students need to do everything in your power to help reduce your stress. You can minimize stress by managing your work and staying orga-nized. For example uti-lizing your time wisely if teachers give you time to do work in class. Stay oragnized by having a place for everything and putting it where it goes. Finally, ask for help if you
don’t understand some-thing because knowing th einformation will help you be more conifdent on tests and in the class as a whole. And remem-ber, don’t be too hard on yourself over your grades. If you did your best be proud of the grade you earned. Do everything in your power to minimize stress at school so you can feel better when you walk in the doors.
At the end of the day, it seems that the school system is providing a disadvantage to it’s stu-dents. Students have an immense amount of pres-sure put on them. The stress we feel is all too real and our mental health is begging for it to stop. I think the system needs to implement some changes to help it’s students. For example, I think that the grading system shouldn’t be as intense. It feels like anything below a B is frowned upon. Teachers could also give more notice on assigments and teach kids how to study
stress outside of the class-room. We have the power to achieve great things in the future so we need to take care of ourslves now.
(Abbey Schumaker/LHSpeak press)
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Friends for the Heart By Al ice Cook
F or years this season
is seen as this t ime to
spend with your fami ly,
your parents, grandparents,
s ib l ings, aunts, uncles, and
cousins, would l ine table
of food and fun t imes. . . for
most . For some they don’t
have that . Family is poele
them the happiest they can
be. Talk ing and feel ing with
them. The f r iends that help
them in a t ime of sadness
and stress. Some dur ing this
hol iday season are going to
spend t ime with their chosen
fami ly, their fami ly that
makes them happy and wi l l
a l l come together and be
t ruly happy.
A s times goes by
the word “Family ”
changes and fami ly
is t ruly just a word that can
be changed f rom the ones
you’re t ied to with your
blood and genes to a word
that means the one who wi l l
s t ick with you and comfor t
you t i l l you’re better. The
one who wi l l spend nights
with you laughing and
mak ing a person truly happy.
M any people around
the world, when
they get marr ied
get marr ied to the one who
makes them laugh and make
their hear t s ing with hap -
piness, not to people they
share their genes with .
Family wi l l be the ones
who are there for you in
the toughest t imes and so
should your f r iends. I n l i fe
sometimes your f r iends just
might be there more than
your f r iends and that ’s ok ay.
Fr iends are the ones people
are around most of the t imes
we feel so bad because most
of the t ime they are just a
be so c lose and they they
are the only ones who can
and wi l l suppor t us. Parents
one tex t away and some -
t imes that ’s c loser for us.
I n l i fe k ids hi t rough
patches and to our fami ly
we’ l l p lay i t of f as being
ok ay and we wi l l only te l l
those who were t ruly c lose
with . People wi l l natural ly
t rust their f r iends because
i t ’s the ones we feel c losest
with because of age, per-
sonal i t y, and other reasons.
K ids see their f r iends as
the third voice in their l i fe,
that wi l l a l l s i t
together and be
happy together.
For others an idea
for a per fec t fami ly
is their f r iends at
lunch who wi l l ta lk
and laugh with
want to
help their
k ids a l l they
can. That ’s
their job
as adults .
Fr iends are
People
L H S P e a k P r e s s
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family is one voice that we
get the car ing and comfor t-
ing advice that we’ l l take to
not get hur t . The nex t voice
is the person’s v ice. This i s
what the person wants and
wi l l most of the t ime lead
to the person gett ing what
they want a lone. The last
voice, the f r iend v ice, i s the
most reasonable to some
people because i t ’s a happy
middle of what ’s the best
for the person and what the
person real ly wants.
I n l i fe people just l ike
to feel loved and some -
t imes that person is
going to be a f r iend and not
a fami ly member. People
are c lose wiht f r iends and
that ’s normal. Fr iends can
mean the world to poeple
and that ’s ok ay and that ’s
normal.
(Al ice Cook/LHS Peak Press)
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The rights given to the people of the United States are
often known as the Bill of Rights. Through the Bill of Rights, citizens are granted unalienable Rights. However, the First Amendment comes under significant scrutiny, especially for those under the age of 18. One may wonder, “What are my rights as a student?” or, “What rights do I and don’t I have as someone who legally isn’t an adult?” Some would argue that those under 18 don’t have their rights yet, especially those granted by the First Amendment. Unfortunately, not all rights are granted to those under 18. The First
Amendment though, is granted. According to Constitute Project, a source that compares the world’s constitutions, within the First Amendment, people are granted the rights of free speech, religion, the press, the right of peaceful assembly, and the right to petition the government. With limits,
students of ASD20 cannot use the First Amendment for vulgar and libel purposes, or with intent to harm someone or their reputation.
Publications must follow the school policies as well as members of the school. According to Jessica Schubert, a
college law teacher, the freedom of press is “the right to circulate opinions in print without censorship by the government.” With the confusion of school policies in place, it can often be a struggle for someone to determine if they are within their right. Journalism students are some of the only students in schools that have the freedom of the press and extended freedom of speech, especially considering they’re expected to produce a source of news. Without that freedom to report, there’s no viable way for the journalists to give the scoop. In February of 1669, a supreme
THE RIGHT TO WRITE
BY KAI MANN AND JACKSON AYRES
America’s First Amendment:“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of
grievances.”
I ssues
L H S P e a k P r e s s
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court case Tinker versus Des Moines involved the First Amendment right of students. It was determined that students do indeed have this right, as long as their actions didn’t violate any restrictions nor infringe on other students rights.
Following this decision, in 1990, Colorado passed the “Colorado Student Free Expression Law” which states “The general assembly declares that students of the public schools shall have the right to exercise freedom of speech and of the press, and no expression contained in a student publication, whether or not such publication is school-sponsored, shall be subject to prior restraint except for the types of expression described in subsection
(3) of this section. This section shall not prevent the advisor from encouraging expression which is consistent with high standards of English and journalism.” Section three continues to note that students should not encourage disruptive or violent behavior, spread libel, nor promote unlawful acts. Through this law, students in Colorado are furthermore protected compared to those without a similar law.
When students were surveyed on their rights, 72% of Journalism students place their awareness of their First Amendment rights at a 5+. This means that the Peak Press staff knows the restrictions and limitations of what they
can publish and give to their readers. Students that don’t participate in Journalism however, 26% report their awareness at a 5 or lower. Finally, 36% of surveyed students said that they do not have First Amendment rights in their school building.
All over America, students are at risk of their rights being violated by school officials. Any case of censorship that is not justified by the restrictions of the Colorado Students Free Expression Law nor the First Amendment is considered infringing on a student journalists rights. This is unfair, not only to the student but also to the audience.
CHLOE ROBYN STANDS TO THE LEFT OF ELIZABETH BOHANNON, EACH HOLDING A SIGN RELATED TO FREE SPEECH. THE RED X SYMBOLIZES A STUDENT WHO HAS BEEN SILENCED BY THE FIRST AMENDMENT WHILE THE GREEN SPEECH BUBBLE SHOWS A STUDENT WHO EXERCISES THEIR RIGHTS.
19
(E l izabeth Bohannon/LHS PeakPress)
Teens are ready to explore every-thing that the world has to offer, and they discover empowerment, freedom, and adventure. Life seems to be going somewhere, but this simple item can take it all away. It destroyed people and has even taken a few of their lives world-wide, there are different varia-tions of it-so try to avoid them all. Society has always known of this “problem”. Yet they turn a
blind eye to it. It’s still a reoccur-ring problem till this day because people wanted to change some-thing about their life. This problem is known as drug abuse. One person knows all too well about the tragedy of drugs, but their name will be confidential for privacy reasons. They began doing drugs when they desired to escape reality. Their grades were slipping,
I ssues
W h a t ’ s T h e C o s t t o Yo u ? El izabeth Bohannon
L H S P e a k P r e s s
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they didn’t feel like they belonged, and they were stressed out. Nothing was according to plan. However from doing those drugs they met new poeple .These friends under-stood the pain and could relate.This person didn’t feel pressured to be perfect anymore, but now they were pressured to do hard core drugs. They began a new habit of con-stantly partying. They were living in the moment but little did they know, their life was wasting away. At these parties they were exces-sively doing rough drugs. They were fading away, getting worse every-day. Until they had a wake up call. from witnessing a tragic evnt of a friend. They realized that it was time to get help. This person was enrolled in a rehab facility. Even though drugs are not encouraged, they do not regret any of it. Some of those friends have been the best people they have ever met. Something this person would like to say is,is to stay away from heavy drugs such as meth cocaine and even bath salts.
Some symptoms that you or a loved
of performance at school, bloodshot eyes, changes of eating and sleep-ing patterns, and many more. Take care of those around you and make sure they are alright. because they wont always live to see another day. Bsnews.com did a survey in which out of 700 teens 427 people had
done drugs and 81 had access of drugs and didn’t do them. These are really high numbers, and it’s been increasing every year. Here are some ways to help yourself before it’s too
truly devoted to end this lifestyle? Then tell those around you about it, it’s important to have support. It can be a difficult journey and some-times you might relap. But its okay, relaps happen. Just make sure you are getting rid of the drugs.
This lifestyle is extremely danger-ous and its been a trend for young people . This type of stuff can make or break their life before it actually starts. Some people decide to take the risk and most often they pay for it, some dangle in the middle doing light drugs, and a few avoid it all together. Drug abuse is a real problem and it needs to slow down.So , what is the cost to you? That is the true question, because one indi-vidual can change everything.
21
Jean Leon Gerome Ferr is/1912
THANKSGIVING THROUGH THE YEARS
Th a n k s g i v i n g i s a time to come t o g e t h e r w i t h
friends and family to cel-ebrate all the good things we appreciate. Many fam-ilies celebrate over a deli-cious meal, which usually includes turkey or ham, and sides such as stuff-ing, yams, and pies for dessert. Although most families celebrate this
great holiday, many of them don’t know why we do it. Well, it all started with the Pilgrims and Indians.
In 1621, the Plymouth c o l o n i s t s a n d t h e Wampanoag Indians held a great feast celebrat-ing their first successful harvest in the new world. This day is known as the
very first Thanksgiving meal . Al though this was the f i rs t meal , Thanksgiv ing hadn’ t become an official U.S holiday until President Lincoln declared the first official Thanksgiving in 1863, which would occur every November. In 1941, P r e s i d e n t R o o s e v e l t established the 4th thurs-day of each November
By : Kevin Dorsey
A paint ing by a famous art ist of ear ly engl ish sett lers and Nat ive Americans celebrat-ing the f i rst Thanksgiv ing.
L H S P e a k P r e s s
22 H istor y
would be Thanksgiving day.
Back when Thanksgiving was first beginning, the day had traditions such as char-ities and kids crafts, while today, we do the same, but also more traditions such as Football games, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and Holiday Shopping on Black Friday. Another big tradition nowadays is the U.S President “pardoning” a turkey each year. In 1947, President Truman pardoned a turkey for the first time. The turkey was going to be served on the dinner table at the White House, but the president decided to save the turkey. Every President has pardoned a turkey each year to this day.
Ever since 1621, we have been celebrating Thanksgiving. The pilgrims and colo-nists came together to cel-ebrate over a great meal, and that is why we cele-brate Thanksgiving to this day. Traditions such as foot-ball games, kids crafts, and charities are just about as popular now as they were back then.
(Kevin Dorsey/ LHS PeakPress)
23
HOLIDAY BLUES...B y C h r i s t i a n G a rc i a
S U I C I D E M I S C O N -CEPTION Suic ide i s a problem that plagues our com-m u n i t y , b u t w e h a v e some misconcept ions on the topic.Specif ical ly about the h o l i d a y s . T h e h o l i -days are a t ime of joy a n d b e l o n g i n g , b u t we have come to asso-c i a t e i t w i t h p e o p l e who’re sad and lonely
a n d s u i c i d a l . B u t , a s t u d y c o n d u c t e d b y the Center for Desease C o n t r o l ( C D C ) f r o m 2000-2012 tel ls a dif-ferent story. . .
M O D E R N S U I C I D E AND WHY IT’S STILL A PROBLEMB e f o r e w e d i s c u s s the hol iday su ic ides , we need to know the poss ible reasons why
s u i c i d e m a k e s s e n s e to people, or how it ’s rationalized. For one, we see it as a way out of our problems. Yes, we don’ t al l see i t as our only way out, but some people feel they are cornered and the o n l y w a y t o e s c a p e is to give up. Suicide has evolved, i t is st i l l a p r o b l e m b u t p r o b -lems evolve as people
Don’t focus on what you’ve lost , for everything you lose, you always have someone to rant about i t to .
-anonymous
(h i f reevideos)
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e v o l v e . B e f o r e , a l l w e h a d w a s b l a d e s and medication, but n o w w e h a v e g u n s and a more aggres-s i v e s o c i e t y . S o m e c o m m o n c a u s e s o f s u i c i d e i n c l u d e not fee l ing wanted, feel ing out of place, o r t h e f e e l i n g o f having no worth.
H O L I D A Y S A N D SUICIDES T h e h o l i d a y s a r e s u p p o s e d t o b e a t i m e o f h a p p i n e s s , b u t n o t e v e r y o n e h a s f a m i l y t o m a k e them fee l we lcome. T h e h o l i d a y s h a v e always been a sign of togetherness, but we
as a soc iety tend to think of the bad side. We have been taught that the holidays are a v e r y r o u g h t i m e for a lo t o f people , a n d w e ’ v e a l w a y s s e e n i t a s t h e t i m e most people commit s u i c i d e o r s e r i o u s crimes. It just makes s e n s e , w e “ k n o w ” that a lot o f people are sad, therefor a lot of people wil l l ikely s n a p a t t h i s t i m e . B u t , t h e C D C h a s c o n d u c t e d a s t u d y on how the ho l iday season has a f fected t h e s u i c i d e r a t e s . They found that the hol idays are in fact t h e l o w e s t t i m e o f
the year for suicide. T h i s m a k e s m o r e sense than the alter-natives. The holidays ARE a t ime of hap-p i n e s s a n d p e o p l e feel more connected than any other t ime of the year. We, as a community, need to make sure others feel loved. It is the least w e c a n d o f o r e a c h o t h e r , e s p e c i a l l y because others could be at r isk of depres-sion without anyone b e i n g a w a r e . T h e s m a l l e s t r e a c h c a n help a lot. It gives us a sense of unity and p u l l s f a m i l i e s a n d friends together.
ONE OF THE HAPPI-
EST MOMENTS IN YOUR
LIFE IS WHEN YOU FIND
THE COURAGE TO LET GO
OF WHAT YOU CAN’T.
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M usic is a very important aspect in our
l ives. It can make a sad day happy, bring up new ideas and cre-ativity, that ’s the power of music. Let ’s dive into what music can do to your body. One thing music can do is rel ieve pain. It can help reduce the sensation as well as distress of both chronic pain and postoperative pain.
Listening to music can reduce chronic pain from a range of painful conditions, including osteoar-thrit is , disc prob-lems and rheumatoid arthrit is , by up to 21% and depression by up to 25%, accord-ing to a paper in the UK-based Journal of Advanced Nursing. Neuroscientists have discovered that l is-tening to music heightens posit ive
emotion through the reward centers of our brain, st imu-lating hits of dopa-mine that can make us feel good or even elated. Listening to music also l ights up other areas of the
no brain center is left untouched, suggest-ing more widespread effects and poten-tial uses for music. Music in a way works l ike a drug. When l is-tening to music i t releases dopamine, specif ical ly in your brain, which a feel good sensation. Also, music can help your memory. Mozart ’s music and baroque music, with a 60 beats per minute beat pattern, activate the left and right brain. The simultaneous left and right brain action maximizes
By Cyrus Pelt
Music
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learning and reten-tion of informa-tion. The information being studied acti-vates the left brain while the music acti-vates the right brain. Also, activit ies which engage both sides of the brain at the same time, such as playing an instru-ment or singing, causes the brain to be more capable of processing infor-mation. According to The Center for New Discoveries in Learning, learn-ing potential can be increased a minimum of f ive t imes by using this 60 beats per minute music. For example, the ancient Greeks sang their dramas because they understood how music could help them remem-ber more easi ly. So many studies, sci-entif ic experiments, and research projects have been performed to try and discover the extent of the power of music. Up unti l 1970, most of the research done on music had to do with
studying the effects of the beat of the music. It was found that slow music could slow the heartbeat and the breathing rate as well as bring down blood pressure. Faster music was found to speed up these same body mea-surements. Believe it or not, music can also help plants grow. When it comes to understanding the effects of music on plant growth, i t appears that i t isn’t so much about the “sounds” of the music, but more to do with the vibrations created by the sound
waves. In simple terms, the vibrations produce movement in the plant cel ls , which stimulates the plant to produce more nutrients. If plants don’t respond well to rock music, i t isn’t because they “l ike” classical better. However, the vibrations produced by loud rock music create greater pres-sure that isn’t condu-cive to plant growth. That is the power music to humans and even plants.
Kai Mann l istening to music in the preforming arts department of
Liberty. He real ly l ikes i t . [Cyrus Pelt/LHS Peak Press]
By : Dante Lopez
WStay safe this winter season
Snow tires are made of a special soft rubber to get the best traction on snowy roads, unlike al l season t ires which are a harder rubber.
Safet y
D r i v i n g c a n be exhilarat-ing, but also
dangerous. Though t h e r e a r e r i s k s t o d r i v i n g , o n e o f t h e m o s t d a n g e r -
o u s t i m e s t o d r i v e i s d u r i n g w i n t e r -ous conditions. The reason being is that r o a d s c a n b e c o m e very s l i ck , caus ing cars to lose traction and grip, leading to a possible accident. T h o u g h t h e r e a r e precautions you can t a k e t o m a k e y o u r
car safer and better s u i t e d f o r w i n t e r conditions.
T h e r e a r e m a n y t y p e s o f t i r e s f o r di f ferent purposes.
T h e r e a r e a l l - s e a -son tires, which can be used year-round, but winter tires will k e e p y o u s a f e s t i n s l i c k , s n o w y r o a d condi t ions . What ’ s t h e d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n t h e t w o ? A l l - s e a s o n t i r e s are harder and not e a s i l y p u n c t u r e d .
The reason for this i s s o t h e t i r e c a n get better tract ion. Expert Branan Lake, an auto- mechanic at Faricy Boys, advises that “ it ’s best to try a n d k e e p a g o o d amount of distance b e t w e e n y o u a n d the car in f ront o f you. And make sure t o p u m p y o u r c a r b r a k e s i n s t e a d o f holding the brakes, because i f you hold the brakes , there ’s a higher possibi l i ty you will lose control o f y o u r c a r , a n d most newer cars are a l r e a d y e q u i p p e d w i t h t h a t f e a t u r e . Keep a steady pace w h i l e g o i n g u p h i l l because chances are, if you stop you won’t be able to get going
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(Dante Lopez/LHS Peak
again. And if you do g e t s t u c k a n d c a n ’ t go , have a welcome mat or smal l carpet to put under you car t ires to get the trac-tion you need to get g o i n g . A l s o , m a k e sure to keep a saftey kit , food, water, and a way to get a hold of anyone.”
O n e o f t h e m o s t important th ings to h a v e i s y o u r c a r ’ s engine coolant. I f a car runs out or low on
c o o l a n t , t h e e n g i n e block can freeze and c r a c k , w h i c h w o u l d mean an entirely new e n g i n e . A l s o m a k e sure the car battery is good, because cold w e a t h e r c a n c a u s e batteries to fai l . It ’s good to get your car checked and winter-r e a d y . I t w i l l m a k e y o u r c a r s a f e r a n d bet ter-equipped for winter roads.
A d d i t i o n a l l y , t h e r e a r e o t h e r t y p e s o f
w i n t e r i z e d i t e m s , s u c h a s w i n d s h i e l d w i p e r s s p e c i a l l y m a d e f o r w i n t e r t o h e l p w i t h v i s i b i l i t y purposes. Keep your eye for more winter o p t i o n s t o e n s u r e your safety and your car ’s integrity.
W h e n d r i v i n g t h i s winter, drive safely, stay calm, and you’ l l be f ine.
The material in all-season tires, comonly used in Summer, Spring, and Fall. The difference between this (left) and Winter tires (right) is the way the material is carved, allowing for different traction.
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The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has been, and always will be a staple in American culture. The balloons, the floats, the performances, and even celebrities make up the components of what make them so great and enjoy-able for generations. They also get fam-ilies to start thinking about Christmas shopping and prepare them for the holiday season. Over the years, people
is Macy’s secret to making the parades the highlight of Thanksgiving? The answer lies into its historical roots.
In 1924, the parade started out at 34th Street and Broadway in New York. This parade had three floats pulled by horses, four bands, and animals from the Central Park Zoo. As is tradi-tion, Santa Claus was last in the lineup to prepare customers for Christmas. Three years later, the gigantic animal balloons replaced live animals that have scared some children and in the early 1930’s, the ballons included cartoon characters like Felix the Cat.
The balloons were released into the air at the end of the parade. In 1929, Macy’s began offering a $50 reward
HOW THE MACY’S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE ALWAYS MADE HISTORY
By McKenna White
[Flickr]
L H S P e a k P r e s s
30 H istor y
for any returned balloons with return address labels. In 1931, pilot Col. Clarence E. Chamberlain caught a balloon with his airplane’s wing, result-ing into a ban on retrieval by airplanes the following year. At the end of the 1932 parade, another pilot attempted to capture a balloon and nearly crashed, leading Macy’s to stop releasing balloons at the parade’s end.
Ever since 1934, celebrities became an important element of the parade wuth singer-actor Eddie Cantor joining the event that year. The Mickey Mouse helium balloon also reeled in parade goers. The early 1940’s, however, were different. From 1942 to 1944, the parade was called off because helium and rubber were needed for the World War II efforts. When the parade returned in 1945, it was
broadcast on television for the first time and was bigger and better than the earlier versions. This, surprisingly, is repeated for every year.
The team behind the parade works extra hard to outdo the previous event. That means bigger balloons, more floats, higher quality materials, and new technology, result-ing in the flashy spectacle that rolls through the streets of New York today. There is one instance of this from the past. In 2006, Macy’s celebrated its 80th parade with more floats and balloons than usual. This meant that the parade had 33 floats and 60 balloons (12 giant helium character bal-loons and 48 novelty, orna-mental balloons, balloon heads and balloonicles). This shows that they still do it even to this day. Ms. Clark, US History and
Psychology teacher at Liberty, said that she has held on to the tradition of watching the parade when she was younger. “It’s a tradition that peole watch the parade, wehether on tele-vision or in person”, said Ms. Clark.
The parade has been a Thanksgiving tradition for generations. The floats, bal-loons, celebrities and per-formances for every parade vary from year to year. From its start in the early 1920’s with it’s ups and downs in the 1930’s to the parade being can-celled between 1942 and 1944, coming back in 1945 and the parade being bigger and better in 2006 and every year, this timeless parade helps costum-ers prepare for the holiday season. It also gets them inter-ested in what they are planning for the next parade.
(Shinya Suzuki/Flickr) (Macy’s/thisischris.com)
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Art by Kiarra Walker
