Category Archives: News

News

Attempted bombings of the democratic party

Nico Cortez

Staff Writer

In recent news there has been an alarming amount of attempted pipe bombings throughout the country towards members of the democratic party. These include Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and some of the CNN Offices. These “pipe bombs” are homemade bombs filled with extra dangerous add ons such as shrapnel, glass, and nails in order to be more deadly.

Some of the bombs were said to possibly contain the lethal substance ricin as well as pyrotechnic powder. A suspect of these attempted bombings is Cesar Sayoc Jr., a 56 year old man who was arrested and charged with five counts in North Miami. And while he is the prime suspect, that hasn’t prevented more of these pipe bombs from being sent around the country. These bombs were sent through the mail, with two being hand delivered, and concealed in manila envelopes. But ended up being intercepted by the authorities before any harm was done.With the attempt on the democratic party leaders lives just two weeks before the midterm elections, it has sparked controversy and conversation on whether or not politics has become too violent and dangerous in recent times. After being notified of what was happening President Trump spoke his opinion on the matter, “The media also has a responsibility to set a civil tone and stop the endless hostility and constant negative and oftentimes false attacks,” Trump said. All the while attempting to bring the country together in light of the atrocities committed, “In these times we have to unify, we have to come together and send one very clear, strong, unmistakable message that acts or threats of political violence of any kind have no place in the United States of America,” he said. In an attempt to not further separate the political sides in these highly sensitive times. One wrong move and it could just push the sides to become more actively violent toward each other.

These numerous bombs were all said to be identical and to come with a countdown clock attached to the side, which authorities claim was another reason to believe they were fake and for show only.This is because that kind of aesthetic is only put in the movies but lacks any real merit in making actual bombs.

So while they have yet to officially release the information on whether they were duds or fakes, it’s not
so far off the mark to assume the bombings were a hoax.

News

Earth losing fight against American officials

Sytha Beth Ortiz

News Editor

Hoax. Expensive tax. Bulls–t. All words President Donald Trump has used to address climate change in our country. On October 11th, in an interview with 60 Minutes reporter Lesley Stahl, Trump admitted to “something happening” although he’s not convinced it’s caused by human activity. When challenged with scientific fact researched by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA, Trump claimed scientists “have a very big political agenda.” Trump and many Americans view climate change as a hoax.

“People often refuse to believe that phenomena such as climate change isn’t happening since they are insulated from the effects of climate change. Many Americans are rooted in a fixed mindset due to their insulation from the impacts of global warming, pollution or similar malady. ‘If it’s not directly impacting me, then is it really as bad as they portray it in the media?’ When you only see images or documentary footage of the adverse climate effects, you can easily dismiss them as edited or manufactured, rather than a true reflection of reality,” AP Environmental Science teacher Melissa Michalak said.

Climate change is not yet severe enough to directly impact the daily lives of people making it easy to overlook.

“Second, many people now have poorly developed sense of science and critical thinking skills, leading to an undeveloped ability to evaluate competing theories and information. They then pick the version of reality that conforms to their chosen political affiliation or is easiest to rationalize as they go about their day. Given the sheer amount of information (and disinformation) available, it’s no wonder many people in developed nations remain skeptical of global warming,” Michalak said.

The effects of climate change negatively impact all life on Earth.

“The future generations are definitely the most vulnerable to climate change because it will take time to take effect,” senior Ariana Tamez said.

Climate change does not have an immediate, visible effect on the environment which generally causes people to overlook the consequences of their actions. “When people don’t believe they impact climate change, they rarely adjust their patterns in a way to minimize their global footprint. A person won’t recycle, drive a more fuel-efficient vehicle (or alter driving habits), reduce trash or general consumption of goods, simply because they do not believe the impact he or she makes alters anything. They assume if I’m not negatively affected, then what’s the harm,” Michalak said.

Freshman Iliana Hernandez mentioned her concern for the wildlife losing their homes due to the melting of glaciers. “The polar bears can’t live. They can’t find anywhere to live. And it’s because humans are like ‘pollution, pollution, fossil fuels, fossil fuels’,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez shared that humans have the largest impact on climate change and holds humans responsible for the harm done to the environment.

“People who can’t (or won’t) consider the larger implications of their actions, and they won’t expect their leaders, businesses or neighbors to take up the slack for them so they support political representatives that don’t take any meaningful action to stem global warming, or actively pursue policies that exacerbate the problem for short-term economic or political gains among supporters or like-minded individuals,” Michalak said.

The erratic temperatures are a cause for concern because of the effects it will have on ecosystems throughout the world.

“It matters because it affects the availability of the resources our society needs to function,” Tamez said.

   The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have researched indicators such as temperatures during the night and day, sea levels, aquatic life, ecosystems, human health, and population measurements to determine the effects of global warming on our current environment. Recently, they released a report stating that if the Earth warms 1.5 degrees Celsius, consequences could be detrimental to all life systems.

   Warm spell duration indicators, defined by NASA, is the annual count of at least six consecutive days with temperatures that exceed the 90th percentile of daily maximum temperature, show that there will be “extreme” hot and cold temperatures on land as well as in the sea. Hot temperatures will affect Central and Eastern America, leading to drier and warmer temperatures, not ideal for the breadbasket of America. Storms will also increase in strength. Warmer temperatures lead to warmer waters which fuels storms like hurricanes.

  “Our current president is on record saying climate change/global warming is a Chinese-perpetrated hoax meant to “screw the US.”  His actions since taking office, such as extricating the US from the Paris Climate Accords, hiring pro-business Cabinet members, and freezing or lowering EPA standards for gas mileage, pollution (and pollution enforcement) and other policies prove that this administration puts corporations and corporate profits above human and environmental health,” Michalak said.

  Organizations and agreements such as the Paris Climate Accords and the Environmental Protection Agency are formed to conserve and improve the environment. The Paris Agreement’s goal is to gather countries in a combined effort to slow the rate of climate change and assist developing countries with the necessary supplies. Withdrawing from the agreement only increased the finances needed to work towards the countries’ goal which increases the difficulty of implementing change.

  “Return to the Paris Climate Accord.  Reinstate much of the regulations present in the Clean Air and Water Acts that have been gutted since the early 2000’s and support climate science on the national and international level.  Raise gas mileage standards and provide subsidies for electric cars, solar panels, wind power (both for residences and communities) and move away from fossil fuels (coal and oil),” Michalak said.

  With new innovations and technology arising, there are plenty of ways to reduce and avoid increasing the amount of pollutants entering Earth’s atmosphere and causing global warming.

“America should be a beacon and leader in their realms, but steadfastly refuses to move on much of these ideas. Giving the next generation the knowledge and ability to make change is the key to limiting and possibly reversing the deleterious impacts of climate change and global warming,” Michalak said.

News

Human trafficking pandemic plagues Texas

Salma Valadez

Staff Writer

The pandemic of human trafficking has plagued our nation for centuries. Unfortunately, the prominent issue of this modern-day form of slavery has gone neglected and left many of those most susceptible to falling victim to the human trafficking industry – the third largest international crime industry – uneducated on the reality of its commonness. Texas specifically ranks second in the nation for the most human trafficking activity, especially in the San Antonio areas.

A21 Freedom Chasers is an organization dedicated to abolishing the modern-day form of slavery commonly known as human trafficking. Cecilia Lopez, an active member of the organization’s branch in the San Antonio area, shared information regarding the status of the human trafficking industry in San Antonio.

“I have seen the problem of human trafficking increase, and the dynamics of recruiters change while I have led the A21 Freedom Chasers in 2015,” Lopez said.

The ploys used to lure potential victims into the human trafficking industry have evolved due to an increase in technology usage. While in-person tactics at locations such as malls, bus stops, and school walking routes still occur, a majority of traffickers now use various social media platforms to recruit both male and female victims.

“A young person may think they are speaking to someone close in age to them, who can relate to their feelings or need and even be romanced online. In reality, they are being lured. Traffickers are extremely patient when it comes to luring their victims because if they are successful in luring this young person, they know they will potentially gain over $6k a year from selling them for sexual favors.” Lopez said.

It is also important to remember that the stereotypical portrayal of victims locked up in chains represents only 5% of all human trafficking victims.

“This is why being aware of the red flags is so important.With that said, some victims are allowed to attend school and live at home, and are expected to show up for their pimp during certain hours of the day,” Lopez said.

Another reality that goes neglected is the fact that previously recruited adolescents involved in the industry are used to lure other children and teenagers.

“The victim is promised not to be sexually abused any longer if they can recruit another person,” Lopez said.

The city of San Antonio is a part of Trafficking Triangle, an area between Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio in which heavy human trafficking activity occurs.

“We do know that I10 has been named the most trafficked highway in the U.S. – which leads us to believe we don’t fall too far away from Houston, being that Houston and San Antonio share highway I10.What also makes that assumption grow is that San Antonio also has I35 that runs through it.” Lopez said.

The A21 Freedom Chasers Organization is one of many organizations in the San Antonio area that aims to abolish the modern-day form of slavery known as human trafficking. One of the ways A21 Freedom Chasers achieves this goal is through educating the public, both adults and children, on the human trafficking industry.

“We offer a course for high school students, and adults, called Bodies are Not Commodities that walks through the issue of human trafficking at a global level,” Lopez said.

The organization also offers ways for youth to get involved and spread awareness to help bring an end to human trafficking.

“We spread awareness by hosting the global Walk for Freedom in San Antonio, and we use the power of social media to shed light on what human trafficking is and make reference to any news around it,” Lopez said.

News

Student reaction to Kavanaugh confirmation

Taylor Breig and Jennifer R Gardner

Staff Writers

Despite controversy, Brett Kavanaugh, was confirmed into Supreme Court on October 6th by a 50-48 senate vote. Many citizens voiced concerns of Kavanaugh’s confirmation into office due to the allegations of sexual assault made by a professor at Palo Alto University, Doctor Christine Blasey Ford. Because of the case, many citizens debated about how assault allegations should be handled .With a new Supreme Court Justice on the bench there is both excitement and concern raised on what Kavanaugh will do while on his term.

An area of concern for some is abortion, women’s’ rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, assault charges and accusations.

“Odds are he’s gonna be a conservative Supreme Court Justice but something that’s very common is for people to gauge it incorrectly,” AP government teacher Bryan Taylor said.

Taylor shared how Bush’s appointee John Roberts, considered conservative, was the man who saved Obamacare, and Barack Obama’s appointee Elaine Kagan turned out to be more conservative than first predicted.

“The big issue is Roe V Wade and abortion. I would not be shocked at all if Brett K votes to save Roe V Wade and does not overturn it. Supreme Court Justices, [are] always very hard to predict in that the seat actually changes their perspectives,” Taylor said.

Doctor Ford’s allegations caused multiple repercussions in recent times, including within the #Metoo movement.

“I think it would hurt the me too movement more because of the lack of details she’s able to provide. So now as justification for anybody else [to say] like ‘oh she’s making it up anybody can be accused’ and that’s gonna be the go-to for people who aren’t on the me too side.They’re just going to start making the argument or point to her as a reference that ‘anybody can say anything happened fifty years ago when I was in high school; offer minimal details and [that] you’re basically just gonna try and sabotage people’s lives. [So] I think it’ll be used to hurt that effort in the long run,” Taylor said.

Some may question Ford’s motives because of her timing.

“[Doctor Ford] obviously seems very credible, she seems like a mature person. I almost certainly doubt that she’s making it up. Some people think there’s a conspiratory theory that maybe she’s making it up to sabotage him [but] that’s almost certainly not true.” Taylor said.

A possible reason for suspicion can be linked to Ford’s refusal to give evidence for her case such as therapy notes, polygraph materials, and communications with the Washington Post and there only being one eyewitness, Mark Judge, who has already stated in a letter he wrote, that he does not recall the event nor has he seen Kavanaugh behave in such a way as described by Ford.The FBI has been unable to properly interview and investigate those in Ford’s life who may have known about her assault. Kavanaugh’s claim that he has never been heavily intoxicated, was contradicted by two of his former college roommates in an article by the Washington Post.The roommates claimed they can testify about Kavanaugh’s past drinking habits. Some however, have voiced rebuttals towards an article like this.

“If you go back in my life and talk [to] every single person that ever met me, some people are gonna say good things and some people are gonna say bad things. Brett Kavanaugh was a more of a heavy drinker than he ever admitted. I think he tried to downplay it [but] I think it was pretty obvious that he was a wild party boy.” Taylor said.

The most difficult thing about sexual assault cases is that sometimes the assault happened years or decades ago, which can be frustrating for both the victim who has had to live with this experience, for juries who may believe what the victim is saying but know there is little evidence to support it, and for the person on trial who might have forgotten the event making it harder for them to defend themselves.

“It sucks because if they don’t have that physical evidence anymore and then it happened it’s definitely way harder to accuse somebody. You just have to trust them. There’s not a way to be 100 percent sure when there’s no evidence physically,” senior Jules Recio said.

With the lack of evidence, this leaves room for bias and sometimes even harassment for the person who is bringing up the charges. This is especially prevalent in the workplace. According to a survey done by the National Public Radio Inc located on their website, it was found that 81% of women have experienced sexual harassment while at work.

“Now you have men that are assaulting women at work and they’re getting in trouble but not by a lot.The woman is still getting blamed and not believed and that’s what’s aggravating,” AP Spanish teacher Yolanda Faraklas said.

A common problem when people come forward with charges of sexual assault that are less recent or in some cases decades old is they are harder for people to judge.

“It’s a tough situation because it’s so long ago and there’s such a lack of details that it’s always gonna be a ‘he said she said’ scenario and it’s impossible for either side to prove their case,” Taylor said.

Although this case of accusation has brought a stall on the inauguration of Kavanaugh, all who have been affected in some way, can agree that this case brought a turning point into what is considered just and morally correct within the judicial system. Multiple cases of rape and sexual assault have gone untouched or the assaulter has gone free without repercussions.

“It can represent [us] in two ways. One could be that we let a potential molester [be] a judge while the poor victim gets nothing but backlash. The other way is that we allowed an induction of a Supreme Court judge to be stopped because of allegations that may or may not be true. Either way, America isn’t looking too good for itself,” junior Abigail Hardy said.

It is of the utmost importance to report as soon as any assault happens. People need to tell somebody, anybody, and not feel shame or fear for getting the help that he or she needs.

“It varies from person to person. It is our job to support assault victims as they try to heal. For some, that means sharing their story in a public setting, perhaps in an attempt to hold their assaulter accountable or to prevent others from becoming victims. For others, it is addressing the issue in a more private setting,” English and Literary magazine teacher Robert Beckwith said.

News

Campus updates to Windows 10

Jordan Barton

Staff Writer

NISD implements an update on technology with Windows 10.  The districts strives to upgrade and improve the tech, from iPads to Chromebooks several improvements have made around our campus and in the district. The desktops used for signing into the library have been improved by no longer requiring date of birth, so morning traffic to get into the library has been minimized and convenience significantly improved. Not all changes have been as smooth.

“When I left in June everything worked. Now I’ve put in six work orders to get these things working,” geometry teacher Carrie Flores said.

Last year our campus was full of Windows 7 computers. Over the course of the summer, the majority of those computers have been updated to Windows 10.

The library has been the most affected place on our campus because it has about 40 computers including the sign in computers.

“Some people don’t know how to log off, so it takes a while to turn on,” Librarian Sheryl Stoeck said.
With the release of Windows 10, Microsoft announced they will no longer have yearly or bi-yearly OS releases, but instead have periodic updates to Windows 10, being the final OS in their plans. This should mean that NISD should not have any reason to update or change our OS in the foreseeable future.

Implementations of new tech can come with speed bumps, the first six months of using Home Access Center was filled with technical issues and difficulties understanding the User Interface. Many teachers have complained about the difficulty of performing basic tasks such as printing grades and the general confusion towards navigating the software.
Visit the technology link on the NISD website if you experience issues at www.nisd.net/technology.  The technology services staff will guide students and staff in the right direction.

News

U.S. Open results in controversy, alleged sexism

Sally Abdul Khalek

Feature Editor

Cartoon Courtesy of https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2018/09/10/an-australian-artists-racist-serena-williams-cartoon-receives-swift-and-international-blowback/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.951cdc2e25a3

Naomi Osaka won the final match in the U.S. Open against the undefeated Serena Williams. It was an emotional match as an accusation of sexism overshadowed the win of Osaka, the first tennis player to be born in Japan and win the Grand Slam championship.
Osaka defeated Williams, her childhood idol, in  6-2, 6-4, blocking Williams from getting a record-tying 24th major singles title. The match’s umpire, Carlos Ramos, exchanged a couple of words with Williams and issued three penalties against her in the second set. The first penalty was given to Williams for supposedly receiving instructions from her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, which is against the rules. Mouratoglou later admitted that he was coaching during the game.
“That’s what umpires do all year,” Mouratoglou said, “and it would have ended there, and we would have avoided a drama that was totally avoidable.”
Williams was offended that she would be accused of cheating and demanded an apology from the umpire. After losing one of the games, she threw her racket on the floor out of anger, resulting in receiving her second penalty. At the end of the game, Williams called Ramos a thief for taking a point away from her, resulting in the loss of the game.
The U.S. Tennis Association fined Williams $17,000 for her outburst which caused the three penalties during her controversial game. After the game, she talked about her actions at the game and why she did what she did while on the court in an interview.
“I can’t sit here and say I wouldn’t say he’s a thief because I thought he took a game from me,” Williams said. “I’ve seen other men call other umpires several things. I’m here fighting for women’s rights and for women’s equality and for all kinds of stuff. For me to say ‘thief’ and for him to take a game, it made me feel like it was a sexist remark. He’s never taken a game from a man because they said ‘thief.’ For me, it blows my mind, but I’m going to continue to fight for women and to fight for us to have equal coordination — to be able to take our shirt off on the court without getting a fine. This is outrageous.”
After the U.S. Open, the Melbourne’s Herald Sun Australian cartoonist, Mark Knight, published his reaction to the game. In the cartoon, Knight mocks the exchange that went on between Williams and Ramos on the court during the game. He portrays Williams as a child throwing a tantrum as the Umpire asks Osaka, “Can you just let her win.” The cartoonist is being criticized for the way he caricatured both finalists. Some critics say Osaka looks like a small, white woman as Knight gave her light skin, a thin frame, and blonde hair. Knight was confronted on Twitter about not treating male players the same way.
“Don’t bring gender into it when it’s all about behavior,” Knight said.
People continue to criticize umpire Ramos as well as Williams for what had gone down during the game.
“I both think they were at fault and they both could have done things to prevent the situation,” junior Hannah Barton said.
Whether the umpire was right in his decisions is still unclear as many remarks on the way it happened are still being questioned.
“I feel like there was a misunderstanding between the two. If they both talked about the penalties more, it could have been avoided,” Barton said.

Serena Williams has officially wrapped up her 2018 season as she has withdrawn from the China Open in Beijing. Naomi Osaka has also withdrawn from the China Open as she is dealing with an illness and will not be able to continue. The China Open will continue with the nine Grand Slam champions left. Hopefully next year both Williams and Osaka will be returning once the season starts up again.

News

Death of rapper Mac Miller shakes up music community

Emily Bayardo

Staff Writer

26-year-old Pittsburgh rapper, Mac Miller, was found dead on September 17th, 2018. Miller was found in his home in San Fernando Valley. USA Today revealed that after a long, drawn-out battle with drug addiction, Miller’s inner demons had bested him. Miller had previously addressed his battle with drug addiction within his music, coming forward with the fuel behind his addiction. The news of his unexpected passing quickly circulated around social media, rapidly gaining awareness from both artists and fans alike.
Miller’s passing created a wave of shock within the music community and amongst his fans. Many were devastated to hear the news, even coming forth and saying that he was such a lively positive individual.
“It was so out of the blue, I didn’t think it would be him. If anything, I thought it was fake news.” said junior Alex Anderson.
In addition to Anderson, junior Mia Contreras was also in shock.
“I thought it was fake news. I couldn’t believe it,” Contreras said.
Miller radiated light and positivity which was infectious towards others and listeners.
“He really helped me through a lot of dark times. His music was raw and made me feel like I would be okay.” Anderson said. “His music inspired me to be a happier person overall,” Contreras said. “There was something about him that always made me feel happy and positive”
Due to circumstances of his death and struggle with addiction, social media was flooded with tweets manipulating the subject into a drug lecture and pointing blame.
“I believe it was more of a cry for help,” Anderson said. “Normally people have addictions because they feel like they have nobody to turn to.”
Contreras shared people need to be more careful and understand how serious addiction can be.
Recently, blame has been placed on Miller’s ex-girlfriend, Arianna Grande. Comments had mentioned that she was at fault for causing Miller to overdose.
“She’s not obligated to stay in a toxic relationship,” Anderson said. “She shouldn’t be to blame when it’s not her fault. His own demons had caused him to use drugs.” Contreras said that “People can’t go blaming someone else. It’s really stupid she didn’t do anything wrong and actually tried to help him.”
Miller was a significantly influential figure and now with his absence, there seems to be a void within the music community.
“His lyrics were very real and raw he actually rapped about real issues going on in the world,”  Anderson said. “He took time and put thought into his music. I feel like that’s why he was so influential.”
Miller has left a long-lasting legacy on both the music industry and listeners. His constant positivity and light will always be remembered in people’s hearts.

News

Youtube demonetizes non ad-friendly content

Nico Cortes

Staff Writer

Youtube has been a widely used platform since around the late 2000’s and is now universally used by millions of people on the daily. However, in recent events, it has become apparent that this may not be the case for some in the near coming future. The demonetization of “non ad-friendly” content on Youtube channels across the board has made this quite apparent. This includes topics and things that are deemed inappropriate by Youtube which includes controversial topics, sexually suggestive content, violence, and vulgar language. Demonetization happens when videos are deemed inappropriate can be marked by  Youtube and not have advertisements run on their videos anymore, which means that the ad revenue the content creators once received is cut to almost nothing. For example, Philip Defranco is a Youtube channel that primarily deals with addressing controversial topics and recent news that happens in the world. It was at this time of  Youtube changing its policy that a number of his videos were taken down purely for the reason that they were controversial. Now while the demonetization of these videos started happening in September of 2017, it wasn’t until recently that they really started cracking down on every little thing that pointed toward inappropriate content. The catalyst for this sort of extreme enforcement was when popular Youtuber, Logan Paul, featured a deceased person’s body in one of his videos. This caused huge outrage toward Paul and it also pushed Youtube to dramatically increase the demonetized videos on the platform along with changing their policy that demonetized channels for not being large enough to earn the right to be monetized in the first place with Youtube officially terminating partnerships with those channels because of them not being popular enough. The company has sent emails to channels stating,  “under the new eligibility requirements announced today, your YouTube channel, [Channel Name], is no longer eligible for monetization because it doesn’t meet the new threshold of 4,000 hours of watch time within the past 12 months and 1,000 subscribers. As a result, your channel will lose access to all monetization tools and features associated with the YouTube Partner Program on February 20, 2018, unless you surpass this threshold in the next 30 days. Accordingly, this email serves as 30 days notice that your  YouTube Partner Program terms are terminated.” https://geekdad.com/2018/01/youtubes-new-rules-will-kill-small-content-creators/

Smaller content creators all around are affected, with some videos getting gutted because of the inappropriate policy enforcement, or some being demonetized completely because of channel size and viewership, leaving many of these creators who create content on this platform in a very rough spot.

News

Nike Ad causes controversy

Nicolas Weissenberg

Staff Writer

Recently Nike dropped their Dream Crazy ad which is part of the 30th anniversary “Just Do It” slogan campaign. The ads chief spokesperson, Colin Kaepernick, is most known for kneeling during the national anthem at various football games which started in 2016. Even though the ad featured many other athletes from Nyjah Huston to Lebron James, the spotlight was on Kaepernick. Some people were furious that he was in the advertisement while others were inspired. Those that were angered went onto social media to express their feelings.

On the internet, there are plenty of videos showing people burning their own Nike shoes as a type of retaliation towards the company. This reprisal began shortly after the ad was dropped. Whether it be in a barbeque pit or on the front lawn, people have managed to destroy their shoes in many different ways. Some people poured gas on their shoes as others just lit it and slowly let it burn.Although Nike’s market value has gone up by 6 billion, people burning their shoes still affects the company.

“Honestly I thought it was just, in a lack of better terms, idiotic because they’re giving money to the cooperation anyways.They’re just burning shoes when they could be donating it to so many other places or different people like veterans that don’t have shelter, food, or clothing or shoes to wear,” Senior Robbie Smith said.

Not only do 300 million children around the world not have shoes, but there are also 1.5 mil- lion veterans that live in poverty in the United States. Moreover, in the midst of all this hardship people are burning good shoes. As Smith stated, donating those shoes could have helped a lot of people that are struggling, but instead, they turned into ash.

Although some people were resentful of the advertisement, there are still many people that felt inspired by it. Countless people found the ad very inspiring because of Kaepernick’s role in it. Though he wasn’t the main focus of the ad, Kaepernick managed to inspire people as did the other athletes who made appearances. Considering that Nike is such a large cooperation, a lot of people have been affected by the advertisement.

“I found the ad very inspiring because he’s standing up for what he believes and he even got fired,” sophomore Carlos Masso said.

Since Kaepernick became a free agent in 2017 no team has offered him a contract. He also filed a grievance because he suspected that the owners of the teams colluded so he could not get signed. Even though he hasn’t gotten signed on to a team yet, he still stands for what he was protesting for and now that he has a job with Nike he is no longer unemployed.This is very inspiring because of the way he persevered his beliefs even though he was practically fired from the NFL for doing so.

News

Parkland returns to school, students reflect

Faith Collins

Online Editor

Last school year, February 14 marked a devastating day for America, and especially the people of Parkland, Florida. Six months after an active shooter walked onto their campus, taking 17 lives and ruining what was supposed to be a day filled with love, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School started a completely new school year. Going back to school, many students still fear for their safety and claim the tragedy will be in their thoughts forever.

Starting a new school year isn’t exactly what every student looks forward to during the summer. It was especially troubling for these high school students whose lives would never be the same after the loss of numerous innocent classmates. This subject also makes our students think of how they would feel if they were in their place.

“I still think about Parkland and the 17 students who lost their lives, and I’m also thinking about gun policies and moving forward. I want to help them. We are a generation that witnessed [Parkland], now we have to go off and influence our government. We’re going to be the new policymakers. We’re going to be the new generation that replaces [the people in office]. I hope that we always think about Parkland. I would not know how to feel if I were a Parkland victim,” senior Amaya Larralde said.

Larralde recalls the day she heard the news from Florida, and the emotions she felt when listening to the news on television.

“I remember looking at the news and I was sitting with my mom, brother, and sister, and crying after seeing the 17 students on the screen. I don’t know why it touched me a lot, but I knew that this was so wrong that these kids won’t have a full year with a graduation anymore because someone else chose that for them,” Larralde said.

Numerous school districts have established policies on security in an attempt to decrease the likelihood of shootings like Parkland and Columbine from happening again. For example, NEISD implemented a clear backpack policy starting in the fall.

“Personally, I think [the policy]’s a step in the right direction, but I don’t feel like it’s enough. Just because a backpack is clear doesn’t stop someone from grabbing a gun and coming to school,” Larralde said.

Now that school shootings like Parkland and Columbine are becoming more common in American society, junior Jonas Meza feels that schools should take certain measures such as watching facial cues of visitors and students, and being more aware of the way people around us are behaving.

Meza describes how he would feel if he were in any of the Stoneman Douglas student’s shoes this school year.

“I’d be [hesitant] because I would think that everything would be a school shooting,” Meza said.

Even though the shooting took place in Florida, it reached the lives of many other people across the nation, especially students.

“It was a horrible, horrible tragedy that happened. It didn’t just shake that town, it shook the entire nation and started so many protests, uprisings, and a lot of outbursts that I think helped the community,” senior Sawyer Murphy said.

Along with the protests, many students felt as though there wasn’t enough being done to prevent these tragedies.

“[Schools] should be more invested in how our mentality is of each one of our students. It shouldn’t be ‘don’t bring guns to school’, we should get a more in depth perspective of what’s going on inside the minds of the students,” Murphy said.

Murphy continued to share her thoughts on the school system’s approach toward creating a safer environment for students.

“I think they’ve tried, but I don’t think they’ve tried in the right ways.There are other measures you can take to prevent these kinds of tragedies.You don’t chop down a tree by hacking at the leaves, you have to start at the root, and the root is what’s going on inside of the lives of the kids who commit these crimes,” Murphy said.

As evident in the graphic on page one, there were numerous different attempts to incorporate security policies in schools across the nation. In one example, a school in Tennessee installed bullet proof glass in their front office for security measures. Policies as such are proceeding to be implemented in various other schools since the tragic event earlier this year.