Author: adviser

  • The Government is Going Down

    The government shutdown! What does that mean? The government facilities has suspended their service due to an executive order given by the president. This means services like passport distribution, tax refunds, financial aid, and social security services are no longer running. This by far has been the longest on record in American history. The government has shut down for 22 days, and counting, yet no one knows specifically why this is happening. Trump announced in his public service announcement on January 8th, that he is very concerned about the borders. So until people consider raising money for a wall to be built to protect Americans from “drug smuggling….criminals.”, shutting down the government disables the border from allowing people into the country. Making the issue of immigrants and refugees less problematic for the President.

    The most important issue that interferes with the government shutting down is the impact on the community. The community’s need government assistance for public reconstruction, facilities that are government profit. Workers are not getting paid, so people are not showing up to work, which will sooner or later have a huge impact on government runned systems.

    How doe this affect you? In the long run, important services could stop all together due to lack of funds. The government supplies money each year to the district of Long Beach if the government postpones taxes, that could cause a Domino Effect of events that could lead to insufficient funding for schools. Not only schools, but financial aid for college students as well. The voices of the people are not being heard and California is suffering the consequences.

    A news report from NBC explains how a tree in Yosemite Park, that was one of the oldest, was cut down. Even though it may not seem like a big deal, the need to keep nature reservations is essential to keep a balanced ecosystem. Without these reservations, we would not be able to protect wildlife and essential resources for survival. The rangers blame the government shut down for not doing anything about it. This shutdown is affecting the US on a large scope. This allows the president’s agenda to go unchecked, meaning the voice of the people is not being heard. Corrupt businesses and capitalists are taking advantage of the shut down because there is no order. If this proceeds any longer than it has to, will our government truly be considered a democracy?

  • Volleyball Goes To The Beach for some Fun in The Sun

    In the spring semester, Poly High School will start its first ever Beach Volleyball Program. This sport will compete within the Sunset League in Huntington Beach. Tryouts are open to the entire school and the top ten girls will compete with the top level of Beach Volleyball for high school.

    Long Beach Unified School District doesn’t have Beach Volleyball as a sport but the athletic and high-performance volleyball players at Poly have been invited to compete in Division 1.

    The club president, Grace Abdoo, has stepped up and organized this new sport to increase its popularity. Currently they are raising money to enter the League and buy new equipment and jerseys. Games and tournaments will be Saturday mornings during the months of February, March, and April.

    Stay turned to hear the first Beach Volleyball results in Long Beach Poly’s history.

  • Signs During Finals Weeks

    Aries: Woke up early to study, fell asleep during the test. F

    Taurus: Tried to bribe the teacher for a good grade, couldn’t afford an A. B-

    Gemini: Passed on studying, passed the test anyway. D-

    Cancer: Watched Netflix instead of studying, got an A+… in the movie version. C

    Leo: Ditched finals period to go to the zoo, never regretted it. Incomplete

    Virgo: Skipped the party and studied all night. A-

    Libra: Tried to cheat off Aries… and also didn’t pass. F

    Scorpio: Half-studied, half-grade. C

    Sagittarius: Guessed right on the multiple-choice section! B+

    Capricorn: First one there and still not finished while everyone waits. A-

    Aquarius: Had a panic attack during the test, will have panic attack when report cards come out. D+

    Pisces: Faked being sick, won an Oscar! A+

  • Poetry is a Grand Slam!

    Taking place at the Poly Playhouse on January 11, 2019 at 6:30 PM, students recited their own original poetry while getting rewarded for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place. The prizes given where the money made with ticket sales  One of the contestants was senior Josalynn Bass, with her poem “Ana”. As she recited her poem it almost seemed as if this Ana was based on  an actual person, but nearing the end of it, the meaning started changing from a person to anorexia. Bass states, that at first she had written and intended on performing  another poem entirely, until she later changed her mind. In fact, the poem she performed was written “last minute” but was proven to be the right choice according to Bass. Her inspiration for “Ana” was based off of personal experience, but she also in part wanted her poem to have the ability to be able to resonate with the audience. She had hoped that after being heard, her poem might “relate with somebody else”, as it is a topic that is often not “talked about a lot”, since representation is not shown.

    Junior, Hannah Gardiner was also present, during the event, in reciting her poem “Normal”. Similar to the kind of twist “Ana” gave, the message it conveyed was one of how someone may look “straight” and be expected to act as such, but not exactly be straight. Atopic that is close to Gardiners heart, being so vulnerable on stage was a choice she made, when it would’ve been so easy to simply follow the prompt. Slam Poetry was an assignment given to the students, a part of Drama, as an assignment and Gardiner had the choice between “writing something for credit” or “actually putting [my] emotion into it”. Gardiner also used her personal experience as an inspiration when writing her poem. As for writing the poem, it took her “less than a minute” to come up with an idea of what kind of poem she wanted, versus finalizing her idea took “weeks”. Even the night before Poetry Slam, Gardiner was still “changing things” and was not as satisfied with the final product but liked “how it turned out”.

    Although everyone who showed up put their emotions out for all to see and recited their exceptional pieces, only three students walked away with prize money given to those who donated upon entering the slam. The third place prize went to freshman Ee’gypt Wilson who had not done an event like this before, but felt that she needed to get her feelings across, “I was worried about people seeing me be vulnerable on stage.” She doesn’t regret putting herself out there and was rewarded for doing so. Junior, Amber Payan expressed her anger and intense sadness for all the women who spoke out sexual assault this past year. She expressed her hatred towards abusers, and her empathy for survivors. Her passion  awarded her the second place prize. The winner of the poetry slam was junior Angelina Taylor, who spoke about her identity, as a black young American. She gained the audiences support and praise with every line she spoke. The crowd was filled with snaps, applause, and words that showcased their approval. Overall the poetry slam was a success, everyone gave their best effort, they went home proud, knowing that they had put themselves out there and were praised for it.

     

  • Bird Box Review

    Last month, on December 13, 2018 a new movie called Bird Box was released on Netflix, and it was a huge hit. Almost everyone was talking about this movie and boosting it up because it was “so good,” according to many.

    In the movie, a mysterious force takes over the human population and no one really knows what it is, only that if you see it, you will die. Now, the remaining survivors must avoid coming in contact with this force that takes the form of their worst fears.

    Malorie Hayes, played by Sandra Bullock, sets out to find a new safe place for her and her two children where she can start all over. She faces challenges on her journey through the woods and a river because she’s blindfolded throughout the whole trip… The movie has been compared to A Quiet Place but I don’t find much correlation between the two.

    Overall, the movie was good like people had told me before I had watched it, but I don’t think it reached the expectations of many, including myself because, personally, I expected a bit more since people kept “hyping” it up. See it if you want to, but don’t expect too much or you might be disappointed.

  • Crash Dat Soulja Boy

    Flash floods throughout California have resulted in a series of mudslides, leaving people stranded in their cars. Among those involved in such incidents is Soulja Boy, who posted on his twitter to confirm that he was in a car crash during the floods.

    “My car got stuck too almost went into the ocean,” he tweeted alongside a clip of mudslides. He later clarified the situation with his with his fans, adding that he was “involved in a very bad car accident ”.  He explained that he still hasn’t got his car back and that its still stuck “in the water in the middle of the mudslide/flood.” He doesn’t seem to bothered by the loss of his car, however.

    “I’m just thankful to be alive I don’t care about the car its materialistic, you can’t take it with you when you’re gone,” he added on his Instagram. Recently, Soulja Boy removed his two video game consoles from sale after shrugging off a potential Nintendo lawsuit. Before he stopped selling the consoles, he made a number of since deleted tweets laughing off the idea of such a lawsuit.

    “For anyone that thinks Nintendo is going to sue me you’re retarded,” he said. “Nothing going to happen everything is legit. My console isn’t going anywhere trust me,” as stated by Complex Magazine.

  • Shine 19

    Regardless of how good or bad your 2018 was, it is time to begin the new year on a high note. Instead of dwelling over the past, it’s time to look ahead and take advantage the new opportunities coming your way.

    Even though realistically we don’t become a new person on January 1st, we have access to a fresh start by cleaning out the baggage we don’t want to keep. Instead of focusing on what others post on social media and compare your life to theirs, find your own values and worth. People sometimes try to take you down despite your attempts to lift yourself up. Toxic people will go out of their way to affect you in ways that will try to hold you back, but we all have to move on by truly leaving those people in the past to become better individuals. Don’t hold on to the people you no longer need, because they’ve already filled their purpose in your life, 2019 is the year to put yourself first.

    Remind yourself to focus on the bigger picture instead of putting all your energy on something that might not even matter in 5 years. It is okay to be hurt and feel pain, the only difference is that you no longer let it affect you in ways it once did. Tell yourself to approach life differently, so that you can grow and become more open minded.

    In an entire year we grow from the previous experiences and realize the we need to value ourselves to truly find happiness. Do not resent those who have wronged you and close yourself in to your own thoughts. Approach each bad situation in your life as something to learn from instead of letting it control you. The less we try to pin the blame on others for the way we are, the more we learn to cope with pain. Your emotions are completely valid, so don’t dismiss them, allow them to fuel you to do something you are passionate about.

    As individuals, every person provides something different to the world, which in itself should make the world a better place. You have the power to make a difference in your community and do great things, never doubt that. Make 2019 the best year of your life thus far by fulfilling the resolutions you’ve made for yourself. At the end of the day you have control of your actions, so stop letting your mind hold you back and do the things you’ve always wanted to do 2019.

  • Just Becuase It’s Called High School, Doesn’t Mean You Can Get High!

    You do three things in the restroom: you take care of your bodily business, wash your hands, and get out. Occasionally, maybe you check yourself out in the mirror and fix your hair, but that is about it. These are basic, common needs that everyone has to take care of regularly, and thankfully, we have restrooms on campus to give people a place to fulfill those needs.

    But when certain people use the restrooms as a little hideout to get high, staff has to come close them down.  Suddenly, I’m wandering around campus like a chicken with its head chopped off, looking for an open restroom, praying to God that he’ll let me find one before my bladder decides it wants to turn my boxer briefs into Soak City. And God forbid that I ever have to take a dump here on campus, because there’s always the chance I’ll land myself in a restroom that hasn’t been closed down, but that people have smoked in. So, I gotta sit there on the toilet and just breathe in all that stank and let it marinate into my clothes, and then when I get home, my mom starts asking me, ¨John, why do you smell like weed?¨ and I gotta explain to her that it wasn´t me; it was someone else.  But of course, she hates me and does not trust a word I say, so she is trying to punish me when my only crime was having to take a dump at school. And it takes like 45 minutes for me to finally convince her I was not doing anything sketchy. And since I spend so much time trying to absolve myself of some sin that I did not commit, I have less time to get all my homework done, and I end up getting even less sleep than normal that night. So when you decide you wanna go get high in the school restrooms, the rest of us suffer.

    Don’t just take my word for it. The other day, my friend was on her period and had to put a new tampon in, she said she went to three different restrooms during lunch, which were all closed. By the time she got to the fourth one, her period juice had already oozed through her underwear and into her jeans. Nasty business.

    We all know weed isn’t as harmful as cigarettes and actually has a bunch of health benefits, unless you count all the cancer-causing carcinogens and particulate matter. Some people care about not getting cancer, so for this reason and all the others listed above, please just go smoke somewhere else.

  • Bandersnatch Review

    The Netflix series Black Mirror released the first interactive episode on the streaming platform on December 28, 2018.

    In this film, viewers are able to make decisions for the main character, Stefan Butler. Stefan is a 19 year old programmer who is creating his first video game, entitled “Bandersnatch,” in the year 1984. The choices start out light and fun like getting to choose what Stefan eats for breakfast, but over time they become more horrid and gruesome, some decisions involve selecting who you wish to murder and how to take care of the body. Each decision you make for Stefan leaves him feeling more and more out of his own control, driving him insane. The movie has 12 possible endings and it takes about 2 hours to unlock each possible ending. Once the viewer has reached a new ending, a new layer is added to the story or you can choose to skip the credits. There is about 300 minutes worth of footage for the entire Bandersnatch movie.

    I personally found the movie amazing but in a psychotic way. Throughout the viewing of the interactive episode, it occurred to me that the creators of this movie, and overall the show, had to be on some serious drugs in order to come up with the concept of the movie. In shorter terms, the creators basically said to themselves, “I’m going to create a movie where the viewer makes decisions for the main character while the main character becomes paranoid that someone is making decisions for him.”

    The movie ended up breaking the internet and became Twitter’s number 1 trending topic the days following its release. The show definitely changed the way TV shows and movies will be developed in the future.

    5 out of 5 stars!

  • Poly Jackrabbits Pin Down The Victory

    On January 10, boys varsity wrestling took on Lakewood in the Big Gym at Poly, and it was provided high energy entertainment for those that came to watch.

    Twelve exhilarating matches took place from weight groups 106 pounds to 235 pounds. Poly took the dub winning 8 out of 11 matches played against the fierce Lakewood Lancers. The majority of the matches were won by pins rather than points which just goes to shows how hungry varsity boys wrestling wanted the victory.

    Each match was filled with a fluctuating amount of emotions especially sophomore wrestler Zong Lo’s match. Weighing in at 152 pounds Zong showed some struggle closing in the match, but nonetheless Zong won by pinning his opponent. Zong, just a sophomore, wrestling at varsity states, “I felt nervous,” but since he had his team cheering him on, “I had courage!”

    Zong’s senior brother Chang Lo was another wrestler that night. Chang definitely has a more aggressive style, continually going after the opponent and eventually winning by a pin. The four year wrestling veteran trained so hard that, “it looks like they’re the one under performing.”

    Adrian Villicana also came out with a win that night not by a pin, but by points. You can score points for your match by escaping when your opponent has on the mat (1PT), taking your opponent on to the mat (2PT), when your opponent has you down on the mat and you come from underneath and gain control of your opponent (2PT), or when your opponent commits an illegal action such as stalling or an illegal hold. At the end of 3 rounds and no pin, Villicana had more points, winning the match.

    Closing out the night was David Cortez, a sophomore who competed in the heavyweight class. Using your weight to your advantage in wrestling is a key factor to pinning your opponent because you can easily weigh your opponent down. Cortez won that night by pin and even though he won the match he states he was, “impatient,” and, “nervous.”

    Altogether, Poly varsity boys won the night and hope to do the same in the upcoming matches, meets, and tournaments upcoming this spring semester.

  • Copyrighted Europe

    The European Parliament voted in favor of starting a new law to stop the spread of copyrighted material over the internet. These new laws are known as Articles 11 and 13. Article 13 is what will take away all copyrighted materials from social media platforms. Article 11, known as the “link tax” law, is where Google companies will now have to start paying publishers for including links in their articles. Together, these articles will tear apart the online network.

    This law has always existed, but things are becoming more drastic as it is now taking place among bigger platforms such as: Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc. What this means is that there will no longer be any “repost” of things on said platforms.

    This new law will leave a large amount of people in huge devastation. Have you ever seen a show or person you really admire and come across a fanmade video of them or it? That’s gone now. Because of this new law, the person who put their heart and creativity is now banned from making the things they love. YouTubers will also be hugely impacted by this. Many will most likely end up losing their jobs and as a result, there will no longer be any interacting with idols. Ever heard of the conventions, VidCon, PAX East, and West? Those will be put at risk and might end up having little to no people attend. Last but not least, online comedy; also gone. All you meme lovers will no longer be able to spread some laughter worldwide.

    Thus, the internet will no longer be the same if these articles get passed. Why are there not more people who know about this? There should really be more people who show an interest or care on the topic. Even if this doesn’t affect you, just imagine what it would feel like if it did.

  • Is Poly Woke Enough?

    Poly is known as one of the most diverse schools in Long Beach, but are we really living up to that reputation? Diversity is what makes this school one of a kind the main reason why I am proud to be a jackrabbit. Throughout my experience at Poly one thing I have noticed is the decrease in participation of clubs based on culture. After speaking with Poly alumni, many have also seen the drastic decline in cultural representation from when they were once high schoolers. As I freshman, I remember the beautiful dances put on by the Polynesian club and rallies for Latino heritage month.

    Now that I am a senior, I can see that there is a struggle to keep these clubs alive. Is it through the lack of publicity? Do students believe expressing their culture is no longer important? Is our workload too heavy to even consider extracurriculars that aren’t STEM related? Or are students in general no longer proud of their heritage? There are so many reasons as to why students shy away from expressing themselves on campus, but there needs to be a change.

    I believe that culture is essential to becoming more intune with who we are and is something that should be embraced because it is what makes us unique. Our upbringing has a huge impact on how we view the world around us and allows us to feel involved in a community. Without clubs like: Black Student Union, Lation Empowerment in Action, La Onda, Khmer Girls in Action, we would have limited outlets to express ourselves at school. These clubs allow people of all different ethnicities to come together and celebrate heritage. Together our voices can be heard and we can educate others in a way that feels interactive. It is a chance for us to look at history beyond a textbook and take a chance to make connections within our school community.

    Many students feel like they don’t have a community within their school, that school is simply just a place we are forced to go to every day. That doesn’t have to be the case, by joining clubs we can make friends and grow closer to people we see everyday. From personal experience, the more I surrounded myself with others I could relate to, the more driven I felt to do the things I am passionate about. Remember that it is never too late to join a club you are interested in.