Granger high school

Tri-Color TimesAn open forum for student opinion and expression TRICOLORTIMES.COM february 2014 LVI-6

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Mr. Hopkins’s speech inspires Granger students

By Bianca GomezTHE WORD ‘graduation’ has symbolism behind it. It symbol-izes the accomplishments of years of hard work and determination. Graduation is the time where students embrace being a Lanc-er. Ultimately there are students who have a hard time keeping up. Whether it is from falling behind in classes or senioritis taking over their lives. Counselors and administrators are passionate in influencing and assisting all to graduate. “Life is so very, very, very difficult for those who do not graduate. Essen-tially, you will be working twice as hard for half the money, com-pared to those who did graduate,” said assistant principal Oaks. This is true. When students grad-

uate, it is not only for themselves, but also for all those who have been by their side through their struggles. There are many things in life that people complete from novels to video games – high school should be completed, too. “There is nothing like having all the hard work, time, and rela-tionships made, that you have put in over all these years, graduation is a combination of all these. You open doors,” said college adviser Cooper. The reality of it all is this, if they can accomplish this, they can ac-complish anything life throws at them. Mr. Cooper did not graduate tra-ditionally, meaning he did not get the chance to walk, “My mom did not get to see me get my diploma,

I would give anything to have walked with my class,” he said. If students have failed classes and need to make up credits, packets will help them get where they need to be. In addition, Granger’s faculty expects that having freshmen start high school at ninth grade will help more students gradu-ate by adding the realization that graduation is only four short years away. It creates a gradua-tion mindset for all four years. “We use a method called the ‘bubble strategy’ ” assistant prin-cipal Gatti said. “We track them from when they begin school here, used to be with sophomores, now it’s freshman. We track how many credit hours they have and if we can help them.”

“It’s tough for those students who never attend, or do attend, but do not do work hard and only have three or four credits by se-nior year. We can’t help them graduate, but we will help them earn a GED,” Dr. Gatti said. For students who can’t gradu-ate, earning a GED is much bet-ter than leaving high school with nothing. No matter the circumstances, students should take the oppor-tunities presented to them here at Granger in order to further their education. Graduating will help now, and it will help later in a student’s life and successes. But failing to graduate will stifle many more opportunities to grow in the pro-cess to reaching full potential.

Administration helps motivate kids to graduate

By Misty GarlickMR. HOPKINS’S speech talks about the Martin Luther King Jr. speech that took place on the Au-gust 28, 1963. King’s dream talks about how he hopes that one day his four children can live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. On April 4, 1968, King was shot and killed by James Earl Ray. King’s speech has impacted a lot of people. Including some fel-low Lancers. “I thought it was pretty cool. Very inspiring and also very heart-touching. It was very bit-tersweet,” Antionio Loredo (10) said. Loredo feels that racism is stu-pid, and idiotic. “I think that a lot of people use it

as an excuse. For example: when a teacher tells them to stop talk-ing, kids use their skin colors as an excuse,” Loredo said. If he could change racism he would in a heartbeat. Some Lancers were very in-spired by Hopkins’s speech. “Hopkins’s speech gave me a totally different outlook on life. I didn’t really have an opinion on racism until Hopkins’s speech,” Alex Campbell (10) said. It touched him very deeply when Hopkins told the story of his two best friends. He also feels that a lot of peo-ple with different skin color still think that all “white people” are the same. “And it’s not true, I am white and I am not racist,” Camp-bell said. He also added that he sees a lot of Lancers of different types

hanging out together. It just all has to do with personality -- once past that, nothing else should matter. Even Granger’s staff was af-fected by Hopkins’s speech. “His speech was awesome and well worth going to,” said Mr. Oaks. “We are different, but we are still human, and we should all be treated the same way,” Oaks said. Mr. Hopkins speech has moved a lot of people and inspired peo-ple to love others. “Hopkins is a good person to get advice from,” said William Prater (12) said. He loved Hopkins’s speech and feels it inspired him very much to be a better person. Some Lancers would have added to Hopkins’s speech if they could.

Things like sayings from Dr. King’s speech or pictures and even video. “I would have added a video of Dr. King’s speech just to show how many people were crying during his speech,” Olson said. He was so inspired by Mr. Hop-kins’s speech that he bought one of the raps. “It was very influential and it had an impact on a lot of people including myself,” Hanin Sheikh (10) said. Sheikh feels that be-cause racism still exist today it is going to take everyone to stand up to it and get rid of it. “One person is not going to get rid of racism, but it does start with one person,” she said. Racism af-fects her every day because of stereotypes. Mr. Hopkins will continue to in-spire people with his speech.

If Mr Hopkins could change racism, he would do it in a heartbeat. Some Lancers were very inspired by his speech.

Girls Basketballby Lindsie Hicks

February 2014, page 2

By Bianca GomezTHE OLYMPIC games bring the world together and unite the USA as a country. This year the XXII Winter Olympics were in Sochi, Russia. Students and faculty from Granger were getting into the cel-ebrations and cheering on Team USA. The American spirit and the will to dream are components of the olympics. There are wide ranges of events from snowboarding to speed and ice skating, with a few odd ones in the mix like curling and skel-eton. There are always favorites. “I personally love the hockey; they’re rough and aggressive, I like that,” Danielle Martinez (12) said. “I also really enjoy the opening and closing ceremonies.” Others may watch from a com-mon love of sport. Take video guy Paul Nahrwold for instance: he was an active speed skater and even set his sights on Sochi. “I absolutely love speed skating; there is so much work that goes into it,” he said. “The difference between first and seventh is sometimes only four tenths of a second. The tech-nicality and strength is amazing, plus I like going fast,” Nahrwold said. The inspiration gathered from these games is unmistakable. “I really like watching the ice skat-ing, I mean it! I am starting to snowboard and you never know, maybe I will become the next Shaun White,” Zak Larsen (12) said. One of the big events is snow-boarding. “The half-pipe free-style looks so fun! I really like it because they are able to do so many amazing tricks,” Saeu Si-liga (10) said. “I personally like both win-ter and summer games because they’re both really different,” Cinaily Talavera (10) said. “My favorites are half-pipe and ice skating. Seeing how hard they work is really inspirational.” The olympics bring the world together. It provides and distraction from many conflicts and tension from countries and society for two weeks The games are an oppor-tunity to relish in the festivities while seeing impossible dreams become reality.

XXII WinterOlympics

By Jadira Hueramo FANS HAVE all sorts of reasons for going to Granger’s games. “I go to support my brother and cheer him on.” “I think he is doing fine, also think the team is doing fine. I think they can do a little better. I love going to all the games I think they are fun and fun to watch. I wouldn’t want to be on the team, because I haven’t played for awhile and I don’t want to play,” Kuei Makol (10) said. Some students don’t come to the games because their brother or sister is on the team. Others students have more so-cial reasons. “I go to the games so I can hang out with my friends, I think the

girls are doing good and the boys are doing all right. I also go to support our Lancers and cheer them on, I like to watch basketball but I wouldn’t play on the team,” Carlos Meneses (10) said. Some of the students go because of their friends and to have some fun. “I go to give support to Dylan and the team, I think the girls and the boys are doing great. I love going with my friends, it makes the games so much better because they cheer with me and stuff. I would like to be on the team if I could,” Adan Ayala (10) said. Some go because of their friends and they like to cheer. “I go to all the games because

it’s entertaining to watch and to support the team. The girls are doing really good, but the boys need to try a little better. I like when my friends go be-cause it makes the games much better. I wouldn’t want to be on the team because I only like to watch it, not play it,” Denis Zulcic (11) said. Watching the games inspires fans to step up their own game – to maybe try out for a team. “I go for the fun of it and to sup-port of course, I think the girls are doing amazing and the boys are doing great. With this inspiration, maybe Lancers will try out more. The games are fun if you have

Lancer fans have many reasons to attend games your friends because they cheer with me and make me laugh. I would maybe be on the team, but probably not because I need some skills,” Margarita Garcia (10) said. Supportive fans love to cheer

Gage Winters’s international news roundup By Gage WintersTHERE IS a huge debate going on about the olympics in Sochi surrounding the Russia’s anti-gay propaganda laws. This news matters to Lanc-ers, because we have some USA olympic athletes traveling to So-chi for the games and their pro-tection within the country is cru-cial to our competition within the games. While the anti-gay laws are put in place in Russia, many com-panies like Chevrolet, AT&T, Google, Chobani and DeVry University have spoken out about them, saying that they are against any laws that discriminate against a person, whether it be where you come from or who you choose to love.ACCORDING to a recent poll re-

leased by Gallup, only about 13 percent of American’s are happy with their Congress. Therefore it will be very unnerving to know that about 95 percent will be re-elected. The rates for re-election often hover at about 85 percent and haven’t dropped below that number since 1964. This is very important, because it shows that there is a very small number of people who approve of their Congressmen, and yet they’re not doing anything about it. As future voters of the U.S., it’s our right and responsibility to elect men and women who will do what we think is in the coun-try’s best interest. A problem that many people bring up about the current state of our politics is that it’s so po-larized, meaning that politicians

split between party lines on every issue, unlike earlier when they were more spread out on issues, and usually differed due to ideo-logical rather than party differ-ences. This makes many feel that Congress is very selfish and not very cooperative with each other across party lines, and this could lead to citizens being neglected or even hurt. Unlike some problems, voters can solve this one.THE PRESIDENT signed an Ex-ecutive Order on February 12, 2014 that will raise minimum wage for federal contract work-ers. The order will affect workers starting on January 1, 2015, and applies to expired contracts and new contracts.

This matters to students who would like to work for the U.S. government, and to clarify who the new minimum wage applies to, to end any stigma that may surround the topic in popular cul-ture. Because many thought that his signing this executive order ap-plied to all jobs in the U.S.,but it doesn’t and thus affects only gov-ernment employees as it seeks to give more incentive for all of those that are employed federally. And you probably shouldn’t worry that this will cause any types of inflation in the economy, or rise in prices, as it is just these certain employees of the U.S Government that will have their minimum wages raised if they are a new contractor, replacement, or have an expired contract.

VOL. LVI Issue 6

dered if every student can take the classes, and if so, what is the general outcome for students who do take the classes? “It all de-pends on what program they take. All the classes are technically for ninth through twelfth grade,” Mr. Taylor said. “But some of the classes in

the GTI program are for seniors only,” he said. “I don’t know statistically, but about 85 or 90 percent of the stu-dents tend to perform better be-cause it is a class they actually want to take -- not a class they are

required to take.” Even though the principal runs the program, he is not the only person talking about the GTI. “If I were to describe GTI in one word, it would be ‘interesting’ be-cause you learn many new things that you can later use and apply into real life,” Daniela Salazar

(9) said. When Salazar spoke about the program, she said that not all things were fun around there. “The teachers are nice because you can always ask them for help, and they will help you, but not ev-

erything is fun. For example some of the stu-dents who go there are extremely annoying and they irritate me, plus some of the homework can get extremely hard to do,” Salazar said. When asked if she would rec-ommend GTI to anyone she re-

plied, “Yeah I would rec-ommend GTI to students because it will give them a chance to learn new and different types of compli-cated things.” Although they think that GTI is fun, not all of the people think it is fun. “I do not like GTI be-cause it is too boring for me and it is too much work,” Stephanie Bern-abe (9) said. “Sometimes I like GTI because we get out of class early,” Bernabe said. “But mostly I do not like GTI because the home-work can get complicated and difficult.” Lancers are always pas-sionate when it comes to

their school work and we love to see their growth in GTI. So when it comes to choos-ing the classes for next year, just know that GTI can be difficult and a lot of work, but it can also be fun if you’re willing to make it happen.

By Maria AvilaTHE TIME for registration is on its way and many Lancers have been wondering what classes to take for next year. There are abundant classes to choose from, but students should keep in mind. Granger is part of the GTI or Granite Technical Institute program. Lancers all over the school may have been wondering how many years ago the GTI program was set up. “The GTI program has been set up for the past eight years as a state-of-the-art program where students take what they learn in school like math and science, and they learn to apply it into real-life situations,” GTI principal James Taylor said. If this program helps students with real life situ-ations, does that mean it helps them with college applications? “I feel like the GTI pro-gram does help with college applications because this program is a step ahead, and it is concur-rent enrollment, which means that the class you are taking gives you some sort of college credit,” Mr. Taylor said. Some GTI students have won-

GHS students and GTI principal like their programs

Bud Crowther works explains an assignment to one his students at the GTI.

Denis Zulcic (11) is more of a supporter kind of a guy.

for their teams, and they like to watch the games, but mostly they like to hang with their friends be-cause it’s a good time. It’s always better to have friends at the games: it makes the games more fun.

February 2014, page 3VOL. LVI Issue 6

Print EditorKaitlin Cluff

Online Editor Kaitlin Cluff

Managing EditorKelly Sanmiguel

Photo Editor Daryan Bauer

Tri-Color Times Staff

Brenda AguilarMaria Avila

Chardonnay BarlowTinnesha Blackhorse

Mc Call BuckleyNaz CamachoRosio Chacon

Susana EscobedoVictoria Espinoza

Angel FigueroaNicole Carcia

Shannon GarciaMisty Garlick

Brandon GodinezBianca GomezTevita Havea

Thomas HeartCris Hernandez

Daniel HernandezJadira Hueramo

Tina HuynhAide Hurtado

The Tri-Color Times serves as a student forum for student opinion and student expression.

The views expressed herein reflect neither the opinions of Adviser John Carlisle and Granger High School, nor those of Granite School District. The Tri-Color Times invites

and publishes letters to its editorial board; all letters will be edited for taste, length and legality.

Granger High School3580 South 3600 West

West Valley, UT 84119(385) 646-5320

Halina JohnsonCorrena Leatherwood

Samantha LopezRigoberto LopezAntonio Loredo

Taylor MolisAndrea Montes

Shelly NgoBrenda Nguy

Yohnathan RivasMariana RiveraMelany RiveraKevyn Robles

Roxana SalgadoKelly SanmiguelDominick Segura

Mohammed SheikhLexi ShepherdLucia UrcinoGage WintersLyndsey Xa

Lizbeth Zavala

Reporters Reporters

Lancers find creative ways to find a date for prom By Lyndsey XaMORE MEANING lies behind prom than just being a dance. It’s the one event that most Lancers look forward to all year. Prom is quickly sneaking up, as it will be held on April 19th. Girls get gussied up and dressed up in big frilly dresses, while guys get cleaned up and jeans and t-shirts get swapped for tuxedos. For some Lancers, this is their final prom, while for others it’s the first of few to come. Whether it’s the first, second, or last prom, Lancers know that asking in a pun-ny way has came to be a tradition. Before all the fancy attire, the well-planned dinner, and the cra-zy day activity, the biggest mis-sion most Lancers face is how to ask their future date. There are a million ways to ask, from small and cute to big and wild. It just depends on how comfort-able kids are. The ‘ask’ has really become one of the biggest parts of prom. “I just told my girlfriend we were going to prom last year and

didn’t ask her: she was pretty mad that week,” Chayton Peterson (12) said. Another thing to definitely keep in mind when planning the per-fect way to ask is how comfort-able the person being asked is with attention. If she doesn’t enjoy the spot-light, she wouldn’t want it to be drawn to her. Budget is also a big one, so Lancers short on cash shouldn’t break the bank on just the ‘ask’. There’s much more to prom than the ‘ask’ -- day activities and dinner should be added into the budget. Prom shouldn’t be just some-thing that all the girls look for-ward to, though. It’s a big event for the guys, too. “I think it’s cute when the boys make it a big deal and are as ex-cited about prom as I am,” Olivia Wynn (12) said. Past instances have really showed how people put their cre-ativity to use for the ‘ask’. “Once this kid got a cow and shaved “Prom?” into it and that’s how he asked,” Mandee Moore

(12) said. A boy could also do something more drastic that will actually leave a mark. “You could also bleach prom in big letters onto their lawn, so it will be there forever,” Moore said. Although too destructive an ‘ask’ might guarantee “No!” for an answer.

Danielle and Olivia wants boys to put some effort into their ‘asks’ for prom.

Robotics team begins workBy Rigo LopezTHIS YEAR, Lancers have new programs to go along with their new school. For example, Grangers first robotics team is starting. In the robotics program, stu-dents will get the chance to build a robot, have fun with friends and compete against other schools in various types of aerial and ground matches. “We compete in various ran-dom challenges every year, this year it is aerial assist,” Kane Tallington (12) said. In Robotics, aerial assist con-sists of building a robot that is capable of throwing a ball, as well block a ball during compe-tition. The challenge consists of scor-ing as many points as a team can, by throwing a ball through an opening area. Or even dumping the ball into a basket, with the latter not scoring as many points as the first. Currently, the robotics team is working hard on getting the ro-bot ready for the competitions starting in March. The competi-tions will take place at special centers where Granger will face

other high schools at state level. The idea for a robotics team came together when Tallington and Alan Navarro (12), thought it would be cool to build a robot and kick start a robotics program here at Granger. They managed to get over 10 people to join their program, but they knew they needed more help from other Lancers. Students who are interested and want to know how to join the ro-botics program should speak with Mr. McCarl (D-108) or Mr. Quist (D116). Members and mentors alike both agree that programming skills are not essential for joining the robotics team. “As long as you share a com-mon interest in the common goal, you are welcome and of value on the robotics team,” Mr. Quist said. Mr. Quist says that the gam-ing club and the robotics team both require a little bit of abstract thinking to get a unique result. “The only difference between robotics and the gaming club, is that robotics is more practical,” said Mr. Quist. Members of the robotics team

have different backgrounds, and not all know about programming. Some of the members of the ro-botics team are focused on the design aspect of the robot, while others focus on hands-on con-struction. Team captain Navarro encour-ages students to join the robotics team and he assures that they will have fun. Members of the robotics pro-gram encourage other students with an interest in design, en-gineering, programing or even welding to join the robotics team. “I like engineering, and that is why I joined the robotics team, and I think more people should join,” Nhi Vo (11) said. While everyone is accepted and there are no try-outs or special requirements to join the robotics team, Mr. Quist and Mr. McCarl both would like for sophomores and freshmen students to join, as the program will get even more awesome next year. The robotics team currently meets every day after school in Mr. Quist’s room, they then go to GTI where they build codename ‘Bolt’: Granger High’s first robot competitor.

Cute and sweet could also be the way you win your date over. “They should get running shoes and have a sign that says “Will you run to prom with me?” Dani-elle Martinez (12) said. If you have culinary skills, you could put them to use, too. “Spell out prom with cupcakes,” Christian Reyes (12) said. “You could also do the same

thing with cookies or even bake a cake.” Prom isn’t based solely around where you go for dinner or how much you spend, but rather the memories you make that day. All you have to do is try and have fun with special person. So, get asking Lancers, and make sure to make this an amaz-ing prom that you won’t forget.

Granger’s first robotics team hopes to build an effective robot and establish a lasting club for creative students.

January CorrectionsIN THE January issue of the Tri-Color Times, the play “An-nie Get Your Gun”, was mis-identified as a western version of “Annie.” In addition, Mason Watkins was misidentified as Dalton Mortenson. The Tri- Color Times staff

strives for accuracy and regrets these errors. Readers are invited to submit corrections in letters to the edi-tor, and the staff appreciates the attentive readers who help us maintain accuracy. If you wish to contact us, please tweet or email or write.

February 2014, page 4 VOL. LVI Issue 6

By Roxana SalgadoTRACK is not all about winning, but it is about how hard athletes work to win. To these athletes, track is a me-dium to a fit and a healthy life. “I want to be healthy and fit,” Zachary Larsen (12) said. He has been on track before. With Granger having 9-12th graders now, the idea is to get the students to join by 9th and 10th grade, so by the time they’re ju-niors and seniors they have the drive and experience to challenge to the other schools in a big way. Head coach Jeffries is pushing the team to the next level. Coach Jeffries is known for his tough practices and encouraging attitude. He is sincerely appreci-ated by the team and very respect-ed as well, but students know not to race him, because he will most

likely show them up. Coach Parks (née Gardner) fo-cuses on distance running. She is always there supporting the dis-tance team and sometimes run-ning with them. She helps give essential tips and always has a motivating attitude and never gives up on anyone, but encour-ages everyone to push themselves to the max. “I want to be able run three miles non-stop,” Miley Nguyen (12) said. She is new to track. Coach Brad coaches sprinting and hurdling. He is an honest coach who will help someone with his or her weakness and compliment him or her on his or her strengths. That is a very im-portant skill for a coach to have in every sport, because it not only encourages the athlete, but also helps improve the athlete.

Practices are only about 30 min-utes long with about 20 minutes before when it’s warm-up time. Other athletes, like Austin Brown (12), truly enjoy the sport, “I love running. It makes me feel good,” he said. Brown is also looking forward to getting recog-nized and maybe earning a schol-arship. He is doing track with excite-ment and a positive attitude: “Run a lot, push yourself, do things you don’t feel comfortable doing sometimes, he said. “I am excited to get in shape.” ‘Finish strong’ is a common phrase as well as ‘work through the workout, don’t just survive.’ Some decide to take it easy and barely survive the practice. As the season progresses, the fan will see how much the track team wants it.

Geography literacy could improveBy Chardonnay BarlowGRANGER High School is a very diverse school containing multiple languages and ethnic backgrounds. However, how well do Granger’s students know their world? National Geographic pondered this question as well, but on a bigger scale. In 2002, they polled over 3,000 young adults, ranging from 18 to 24 years old, in a geographic literacy test. These young adults came from vari-ous countries, such as Canada, France, Ger-many, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Sweden and the United States. The survey was con-ducted using 56 ques-tions, asking for students to point out the locations of various coun-tries, bodies of water, or geogra-phy-related questions, as well as various questions about the par-ticipant’s country. The National Geographic team commented afterwards, “The questions were at 5th grade level, if not lower.” Sweden achieved first place, answering an average of 71% of the questions correct. Mexico received last place, only able to answer 38% of the questions cor-

rectly. The United States took second to last place, answering only 41% of the questions cor-rectly. Shocking details of this sur-vey included that 11% of the United States’ own young people couldn’t locate their own coun-try on the map. Young people in other countries could better point

out the United States compared to its own youth. In the US, 29% of those tested couldn’t even point out the Pacific Ocean. The youth in the US even over-estimated the population in their country, guessing somewhere between 1-2 billion. The actual number is ap-proaching 320 million today. After seeing these results, the question comes to mind: “How would Granger High rank in a survey like this?” Would the melting pot excel because of its diversity or would it still fail the

test? A small survey was con-ducted with a few interviewed students. This survey contained 25 questions that asked students about the location of various geo-graphic locations in an attempt to recreate the 2002 survey. Despite it being a relatively easy test, starting with easier questions and ending with more specific

regions, most of the people surveyed had a difficult time answering the questions. “I felt like I did OK, I could improve,” Severo Quintero (12) said. “I was surprised when I heard the statistics…. People should know their world better,” he said. In California, it isn’t

even required that stu-dents learn geography. This is affecting the knowledge of stu-dents in the United States. With this lack of knowledge on how the world works, how can anyone think that the youth of today can create a brighter future for their planet? Jeremy Gidney (12) was one of the participants in this Granger version of the quiz. “The quiz was alright. Kinda bugs me that I missed one,” he said. “I wasn’t surprised by the results… People can be pretty stupid,” he said.

Track athletes ready to run

Trouble with schedule changes By Melany RiveraTHE NEW semester has started which means new classes for all the Granger kids. Schedule changes are common and are al-ways expected during the school year. That doesn’t mean that every-one enjoys them or the new expe-riences they will bring, especially all the new work they will have to do. Students have already gotten so used to seeing the same people every day and having finally been able to feel a little more comfort-able around them. The same thing goes for teachers. Students are now meeting new teachers and have to accustom themselves to their different teaching methods and expectations. “I honestly don’t like my sched-ule because the teachers I have are kind of mean and they don’t let us do anything fun like activi-ties or something, I was used to my other teachers” Edith Chavez (10) said. Students were eager to try and change their classes. Some just wanted to switch class periods, others wanted to switch back to their old teachers. Unfortunately the wait to talk to counselors was extremely long and by the time students had a chance to talk to them, there was no more room in the classes they wanted. “When I finally got to talk to my counselor, she told me that the classes were all full and that there wasn’t really anything she could do. I waited all that time only to be stuck in the same class” Chavez said. Not all students were unhappy with the outcome of the changes, some were happy to finally be pulled out of a class and be put into one that they originally had

wanted to be in. Many of them weren’t sure whether or not to change things but eventually made up their minds to try the classes out. “I’m happy with all my classes. When I first saw them, I wasn’t really sure about them. My coun-selor convinced me to stay in them, and I ended up liking them” Felicia Cervantez (10) said. Other students didn’t have to think twice about anything, the moment they saw their schedule they were extremely satisfied with what they had gotten, that includes their new assignments. “I was OK with my schedule when I first got it, which is why I didn’t make any changes. They changed my lunches which was kind of different for me, but my sister has the same lunch too, so that gives us a chance to hang out together” Magaly Morales (9) said. Some students had almost no changes whatsoever to their schedules this semester, and they honestly could not have been happier. They don’t have to go through the whole trouble of finding a way to get used to all the new things. “I really like my classes they’re pretty cool, I wouldn’t change them. I didn’t have to switch into any new classes all my core classes are the same and so are the teachers” Cody Donohue (9) said. From not being able to decide whether or not to change things to being determined to get what they want, Granger students have had lots to do this semester. This experience has helped students realize that if they want something they have to be quick to get it or they’ll be stuck with something they might not exactly like or enjoy.

At the semester change, the counseling center handles class change requests.

Lancers know their Geography.

New kids to Granger get comfortable By Correna LeatherwoodTHAT FIRST day of school is scary for everyone. Now imagine what it would feel like coming during the middle of the school year knowing only a couple of people, maybe no one at all, pos-sibly coming from a different state and or coming just because of parents who change jobs and such things. “I moved here because I moved to my dad’s house, and I went to Matheson Jr. High before I came here. I enjoy lunch here because my jr. high never let me go out for lunch. So I like the freedom for students and there is more room in the lunch room for me,” Jaden Combs (9) said. Granger also has new students who are fierce and bold like Bri-an Wickham (11). “I came from Salem Hills High

School because we moved. I like how big Granger is, and I like the students and the teachers here at Granger High School. My favor-ite teacher at the moment is Mr. Locey only because he’s funny and nice and his class is super easy to be in,” Wickham said. When Lancers see those new students, they might think: “They’re going to be part of our little group.” And students try and get them to be a part of their group. Sometimes it’s easy to spot the new kids because they have their backpacks strapped tight and they have their schedules clasped in their hands while scattering around like lost puppies looking for direction. “I was first living in California, and then my dad found a better job here in Utah. I went to East

High School for like two to three weeks, and then I came to Grang-er. In California we never had sloughing, we had a different kind of building structure, so here in Utah I just now heard the term ‘sloughing’. What I like about Granger so far is its diversity” Karla Alvarado (10) said. Everyone can have that out-sider feeling, whether it’s a new school, a new classroom or even a new kind of education like home schooling or tutor schooling, etc. So when it comes to newbies, they all grow a Granger heart eventually and fill it with Granger pride. They become a part of the school and go to the games and other activities. New kids have so much to learn, and the older Lancers are happy to help.

February2014, page 5VOL. LVI Issue 6

Latinos help the community and make a difference By Mariana RiveraLATINOS In Action is a club that helps out the community, gives opportunities for teens to get scholarships and motivates them to go to college. “We tutor little kids at Granger Elementary, we go and translate at other elementary schools, we also do lots of community service and that’s how we help out our com-munity’’ Jennifer Ochoa (12) said. “I encourage people to do LIA because it’s not only a club it is where you can bond with your community to help them out. We also do lots of fun activities like when the people from Capoeira showed us some dance moves and we interacted with their cul-ture,” Ochoa said. “LIA has tons of opportuni-ties for college but that’s not all its also a fun class, you get to go on field trips to colleges so you can have a chance to experience on how college works,” Marisol Torres (12) said. This weekend the LIA students went to UVU for a Wolverine Weekend. There they showed

them what college is like but they made sure to also make it fun. They played games and had a little dance party before going to bed. They also gave them a tour of the whole UVU campus but the students had to go on a scavenger hunt to experience the campus for themselves. They got divided into eight dif-ferent groups and each group got assigned to an ambassador stu-dent leader from UVU to help them out with the scavenger hunt. In the scavenger hunt they were assigned to find a specific thing that was located at their campus and in order to prove that they found what they were assigned to, they had to take a picture with their whole group. The whole point of the scaven-ger hunt was to get to know the location of each building found on their campus and to get the experience of how it would be if they were going to be attending their college. “I had a lot of fun because it in-spired me to go to college, I expe-rienced on what it was like to be

in college and how many things we could do. You get to meet new people and it’s very different from high school” Torres said. The experience of being in col-lege is different than being in high school, because in high school you live with your parents and in college you get to choose if you want a live on campus or off cam-pus, you have options. College is a little bit harder than high school, although it might get rough some-times it’s worth going. Students in LIA get involved in school activities not only to perform community service, they help outside school or even go and help out other clubs. “I like that our class has activities dur-ing class and doesn’t tutor all the time,” Veronica Ojeda (12) said. Since LIA is a class to help stu-dents embrace college they are always very lucky to have guest speakers during class. It is either speakers from colleges/universi-ties or advisors that have wonder-ful stories which tell the students of things they did to go to col-lege and what were their life and Marisol Torres (12) likes to be involved.

West Valley police chief to host community meeting By Yohnathan RivasTHE WEST Valley police will be holding a meeting every month. Concerned citizens who have questions for the police in West Valley can attend these monthly meetings. In February, the police will be holding the meeting at the West Valley Rec Center. After that they will be doing the meet-ings back at the Cultural Celebra-tion Center, then back to the Rec Center in April. West Valley City’s new Chief is Lee Russo. Russo is forty-nine years old. He is from Covington, Kentucky. Lee Russo started here around five months ago. “I know this is a good police department. I know that it is not corrupt. Yes, we do have prob-lems but we will fix them and move forward,” said Chief Russo. Police Chief Russo finds out about a crime and puts police on it to solve the problem. He would rather do everything as a team than having one or two people working on a mission. Lee wants to build a strategic way to solve

the problems and cases here in West Valley City. “The West Valley City police department is proud of who they are,” said Russo. Lee is always working hard to solve issues before they become problems by implementing in-spections. He is trying to bring down crime rate, bring offenders to justice and command support to every department. “By forty days an investigation should be finished,” said Russo. Chief Russo and his team will never hide from a problem. They will always work to try and solve even the smallest of problems. “We will not ignore it, no matter how small the problem is,” said Russo Something that the Chief has noticed here in Utah is that the media is always reporting the bad things that happen within the police department here in West Valley, but when the police do something amazing there seems to be no reporters to talk about the good things they did.

“I used to walk my dog by Hills-dale Park everyday. I then stopped because I would see a substantial amount of gang activity. By odd coincidence it started happening about six months ago,” a con-cerned West Valley citizen said. “So have you reported any of this gang activity?” said Russo. “I have not reported it but I was going to report it tonight,” the WVC citizen said. “Well that’s the reason nothing has been done. Something our community needs to understand is that we can only do as much as we know about. If our citizens would report daily of any activity they see, we will always fix it and move forward,” Russo said. The West Valley City police of-ficers are not only here to protect WVC citizens but also the stu-dents of Granger High School. “As of now we have the Granite Police department to protect the Granger students. It consist of police around the school and also working with police around the Granger area,” said Russo.

Teachers welcome students with styleBy Halina JohnsonLANCERS interact with a teach-ers or administrators frequently. They are what make this school operate. Many teachers can make class fun and some make Lancers want to fall asleep. “Mr. Moore makes class fun because he inspires me to keep practicing to get better. He helps me go farther in music,” Nathan Smalling (10) said. Lancers know that testing is a big part of their grades. Depend-ing on the student most likely they will pass if they study hard enough. “Mr. Oswald teaches personal finance, he gives us plenty of time to study, and also enough time to do homework,” Felix Castro (9) said. Lancers desire respect from teachers unless the student does not desire it, most of the time stu-

dents will respect teachers as long as they respect them and treat them as civilized people and not just kids they are teaching; every-one deserves some type of respect in high school. “Most of the time teachers are respective but it is only when they’re cranky or having a bad day when they’re not so nice,” Suleima Ramirez (11) said. You can catch teachers on their good days and possibly have something done nice for you; or you could make a teacher’s day better by doing something nice for them. “One time, Mr. Pace threw a party for me when I got my brac-es off after six years. He is my favorite teacher and I don’t have a doubt he is someone else’s fa-vorite, too,” Athena Garranore (12) said. Many schools have less-caring

teachers, some Lancers that have come from different schools have experienced teachers that would not help them with their work. The teachers in Granger High are presumed to be the most help-ful. “Even after I repeatedly ask teachers for help maybe four or five times in the matter of ten minutes, the teachers at Granger are still willing to help without complaint. At Cottonwood High, I never got as much help as I do at Granger; the school is great, but the teachers are the best,” Hope Carter (12) said. Most personal matters are rarely brought up to a teacher, but some can be there to help a student. “I believe teachers are acquain-tances more than friends to me; because I cannot really go to a teacher with my personal issues,” Savannah Thompson (10) said.Nathan Smalling (10) learns about physics from Dr. Van Tassell.

high school experiences were like when they were teens. Granger students interested in joining Latinos In Action next year can get information in the counseling center or by asking the LIA teacher, Mr. Eden about what the procedure to join is. La-tinos In Action is a great club to

join. They do a lot of community service, have the chance to learn from guest speakers and get to go on fun field trips. Getting in clubs and doing a lot of community service look great on a college application. Colleges always look for students that are involved with their community.

West Valley police chief answered quesitons at an open meeting.

February 2014, page 6 VOL. LVI Issue 6

By Tinnesha BlackhorseMUSIC is an everyday essential here at Granger High, and it’s just as diverse as the students who go here. Students get to listen to mu-sic in class. It can change a person’s mood within seconds of a song. Every student here has a specific taste in music. “I like to listen to rap on a daily basis. The lyrics in some of the songs are just so good. My favorite artists are Kendrick Lamar and T. Mills. I don’t really know how I got started listen-ing to rap, but I’ve loved it ever since” Marticella Andrade (10) said. Music can bring teens close to a person, and it can be a subject widely ranged with different art-ists and beats. “I listen to slow jams, I love lis-tening to Usher because his voice is so unique” Ruu Bana (11) said. Music today can also influence students’ outlook on life. “I listen to pop, punk and some rap because it’s happy music, it puts me in a good mood,” Bana

said. The artists I listen to are A Day To Remember, Pierce The Veil, Of Mice and Men and Bring Me The Horizon. Rap is Mac Miller and Hopsin. My sister was a bit of an influ-ence to my music” Ashley Mota (10) said. There is also culture that in-volves what music students pre-fer. “I like Somalian music, my favorite hip-hop artist is Ahmed Hussen because he can sing really good” Tina Omar (12) said. And Latino artists are definitely popular at Granger. “I like to listen to Prince Royce’s Spanish music. It is really good music” Maria Solorzam (12) said. There are also students here who can’t choose a single genre they listen to all the time. “I like Frank Sanatra, indie mu-sic, My Chemical Romance and dance music. It helps me fall asleep and I lis-ten to music so I’m not bored” Maria Jimenez (10) said.

Music has some kind of ef-fect on its listeners -- sometimes blocking out the entire world. “I listen to dubstep a lot, mostly Deadmau5 because his beats are bomb” Manuel Amarao (11) said. Dubstep is so popular today among teens and there’s an in-credible vibe received from the bass. It just seems to get kids up and dancing or moving. It automatically puts them in a good mood, if that’s the style of music they like. Then there is a big rap influence from underground rap to main-stream. “I listen to any kind of rap -- whatever I think sounds good, I’ll listen to it. My favorite rap artist is Emi-nem because he’s a good rapper, and his lyrics are real” Antonio Martinez (9) said. Every day, music comes and goes, but here at Granger there are students with a great sense of what they like in music that’s popular today.

Music tastes vary at Granger High School

Kids on the lookout for summer jobs By Tina HuynhWHILE some kids definition of summer is going out every night, staying up late, eating ice cream on a hot day and being in the sun for hours, that’s not what every-one exactly has in mind. With summer comes lots of free time and doing whatever a student wants without having to worry about those tests they didn’t study for. In that three-month span, hard-working Lancers take advantage of their freedom and make it pro-ductive while earning money. Summer jobs are perfect for those who have absolutely noth-ing to do and don’t want to spend their entire summer bored. “I hope to get a summer job after I’m 16. I want to try getting an in-ternship or volunteering first, then after, going into something more medical. I probably wouldn’t keep that job when school starts, though. It depends on if I could maintain my classes and a job. I want a job mainly to get money. I could buy myself nice things like clothes and shoes. I would hope it would be fun like if I had a good manager or people to work with,” Esther Aquino (10) said. Having a summer job might not be an ideal way to spend time. No one wants to work hours in the sweaty, hot air, when they could be in an air-conditioned house reading Cosmopolitan or scrolling away on Twitter and In-stagram. There must be good reasons to get summer jobs.

“I already have a job, but when you have a summer job, you can get extra money. You can do things without relying on others,” Danali Soto (11) said. Having a job in the summer also can’t be that bad either. Students won’t have as many of those nights when they’re bored out of their minds. They’ll have something to do, and they’ll get paid while doing it. It’s a win-win situation. “I have two jobs right now. One is at Fun Services and the other is at Ditch Witch. I would really love to work at Fresh Market or something like that, though. I would get a lot of money and pay for things that I have to pay off. It’s fun for me to work because I get to work with people and han-dle things for myself,” Brayden Kynaston (10) said. It’s true, working a summer job gives students independance. “I’m working at Taco Bell right now, but if I could still work when summer is over, then I would. If it’s not hard for me now, it’s not going to be hard for me then. I need the money. I want to buy my own accessories and stuff I need. It’s pretty fun, but it depends on the people you work with,” Es-meralda Gonzalez (11) said. Working a summer job isn’t ex-actly how many students picture spending their summer days, but it’s going to be worth it in the long run. They will be rolling in money by the time they go back-to-school shopping.

Summer jobs offer a chance to get a head start on savings or experience.

By Antonio LoredoCURRENTLY there are 186,000 jobs held by musicians and sing-ers today and counting. Thousands are undiscovered, and even more are trying to be-come musicians and singers. While many pursue this dream, there’s not an exact number, and a lot and those people will make it if they believe in themselves and try hard enough to succeed. Music is a very important thing, it represents culture and many other great things it’s an art of sound that expresses ideas and emotions. Without music the most talented and intelligent people might have been non-existent like Beethoven or Mozart. These people created some of the greatest music in the world, which inspired and intrigued very important people. This led to other discoveries in the music world by different peo-ple who were intrigued enough to create and develop new instru-ments and music. Which people fell in love with and brought us to the music to-day which is musical poetry like rap, rock, rockabilly, jazz, hip-

hop and these all flourished and inspired new people to continue with this great art. For example there are many Lancers who are doing playing music, too. “I have been playing the saxophone for six years and I’m still learning new things ev-eryday,” Isaac Gomez (11) said. Isaac has been interested in the saxophone since he was in 5th-6th grade when he first heard its wonderful music. “I am also a part of a band, it’s called Al-legiance we play 70’s and 80’s rock,” He said. Gomez joined the band around five months ago dur-ing school but to him it’s more of a hobby than a job. “I just don’t think I could deal with the stress of becoming a famous music art-ist,” Gomez said. Others differ with Gomez. “I would love to make music as a ca-reer. It would be great because it’s something I can do,” Angel Mof-fitt (11) said. Moffitt is strong-hearted person who works hard for her dreams her instrument of choice is her voice. “I’ve been singing ever since I was really little. I inspired myself to sing be-cause it something I felt I could do,” she said. Moffitt has been in

a school rock band for about 2-3 months. She plans on forming a band of her own soon. There is literally no way to keep track of how many people love and make music. Practically ev-eryone in school listens to music, whether as a stress reliever or an escape from the real world -- it’s everywhere. It’s like the black plague, but less disgusting and devastating. “I play the saxophone, and I’ve been playing since fifth grade,” Daniel Guevara (10) said. Gue-vara has been playing the saxo-phone since he was little, but he feels the same of keeping his mu-sical talent strictly as a hobby. He would rather be a well-known underground artist than a superstar. “If I wanted to be famous, the best way to get my name out there would be to buy a blimp and make it rain bags of candy with the band’s name on it,” Guevara said. There are so many great new people who are just trying to make it in the music business, and there are some who just want to be more connected with the people then the system.

Aspiring musical artists arise at Granger High

Singer Angel Moffitt stands in front of a collection of Rock School and Guitarkestra portraits.

With so many ways to enjoy music, students listen everywhere.

February 2014, page 7VOL. LVI Issue 6

Granger’s pedal car team puts its pedal to the medal By McCall BuckleyDRIVERS -- On your mark, get set, go! In this race, it isn’t the gas pedal being pushed to the metal, it is the pedal car being pedaled. Granite School District is once again sponsoring the annual ped-al car contest in which the each school selects a team then designs and builds a pedal car. All the cars are then auctioned off and the proceeds go to charity. A pedal car is a four-wheeled human-powered land vehicle. Pedal cars are powered by the feet and legs of the rider and can be built for racing according to the wikipedia.com website. Mr. Ballew, G-House Customs advisor, has selected an elite crew of students to build the Granger High pedal car: Dathon Jack (11), Luis Arellano (11), Chris Franco (12), Keaton Nuismer (12) and Scott Kearns (12).

These five students have the task of redesigning the basic car kit given to them by the district to make their pedal car into an old school muscle car worthy of the Championship trophy. The design must also make the car likeable enough that people bid big bucks on it to raise money for charity. “We want the car to be a hot-rod style with big tires on the back and small tires on the front,” Jack said. Other ideas for the car include having lights that work and a stretched frame. The car will then be painted black and orange and of course some with flames paint-ed along the sleek side panels. This is the first time any of these students will be working on a project this big. “This team has a lot of creative ideas that will help us win,” said Nuismer.

Franco agreed. “We have a lot of diversity on our team and this gives more creativity and skills,” he said. Jack explained that this project will definitely help each of them with their teamwork skills. “This is a really interesting idea that will bring a big spotlight to Granger High School,” Franco said. In this pedal car challenge, each of the student builders will put their design and teamwork skills to the test. “This is going to be a great proj-ect. I don’t really talk to many people other than friends, and this project will give me an op-portunity to be social and work with others that have the same interests,” Arellano said. Franco is confident in the team Mr. Ballew has chosen to repre-sent Granger High. Dathan Jack plans to improve his ability to work on a team.

Students at Granger High survive without cell phones By Angel Figueroa LIFE for Granger students gets easier and easier when trying to stay connected to family, friends, news, etc now that they have smart phones. It is somewhat rare to find a stu-dent without a phone, but those who do not have one still get by and still get connected without a phone. “I feel pretty radical not having a phone,” Maria Sanchez (10) said. “Even though most of my friends have phones, I don’t feel pressured to have one. I don’t need one, I have other things to distract me.” “Although in emergencies, like if I have to call my mom or something like that, I have to use my friend’s phone. If my friends aren’t around, I have to ask a stranger. Asking a stranger some-times can get awkward,” she said. “I find it hard to get up to date with friends, but other than emer-gencies and getting up to date with friends, it’s fine,” Sanchez

said. “All of my friends who have phones say they feel naked with-out a phone, but I don’t feel naked and I don’t have the risk of losing my phone.” Students who watch their screens instead of their surround-ings might be missing out on more than scenery. It’s likely that kids don’t realize this until it might even be too late to recognize it. “I don’t have a phone but be-cause of that, I’m more aware of my environment. Like last week I found $10 on the ground, and a few months before that I found a DS because I’m so aware of my environ-ment,” Carlos Sanchez (11) said. “When I had a phone, I didn’t really pay attention and I was dis-tracted a lot. I would forget to do homework or start it, and I wouldn’t finish it because my phone would distract me,” he said. “I had better contact with people outside school, and I still do but

it is still hard, because they might not be online or have a computer to talk to a friend,” he said. “For me people don’t really care if I have a phone or not, because there are other ways to get in con-tact with people. Like if I can’t give you a phone number, I’ll just give you my Facebook name. If you don’t have a Facebook, well I’ll just tell you how to find me on Twitter,” he said. “There are so many way to get in contact with people now that I don’t really need a phone. I don’t really miss it, because I can easily get by without it. Another reason I don’t have a phone is because I’m not really good with small things,” Sanchez said.

Even without cell phones, Lancers should never be bored.

Culture is a powerful influenceBy Victoria EspinozaGRANGER is the most diverse high school in the state. There are many different cultures found here throughout Granger High school. Some come from all around the world so there are more than just a few ethnicities found within the halls of Granger High. “I am half Mexican, half Co-lumbian. The things that my cul-ture does that are different from other cultures is celebrate birth-days as quinces. I’m so proud to be a part of my culture because I love it. Something that they expect me to do in my culture is go on a mission. In my culture, we have cultural dances that we do on birthdays and holidays the thing that I love the most about my culture is the food, especially pasole,” Tristan Carona (9) said. Tristan isn’t the only one who loves his cultural food. “I’m African American. Some-thing that my culture does that is different from other cultures is we have our daily prayers and we

pray about every 2 hours. Some-thing that is traditional in my cul-ture is that the girls wear Hijab to prevent the guys from looking at them other than their husbands. No I’m not proud to be a part of my culture only because they are really strict. Something that they expect you to do in my culture is follow all of the rules correctly and do not break the rules. We do cultural dances for holidays and celebrations. The thing that I love about my culture is the food” Sadiq Hamadi (11) said. “I’m Laos. The things that my culture does differently from oth-er cultures include how we live off rice and noodles and our New Year starts in April. Something traditional in my culture that we do is go to the temple. Something that they expect me to be in my culture is smart. In my culture, we do not have cultural dances, I can not move my hand like that. The thing that I love about my culture is when people assume that I eat dogs, I’m like yeah, I eat dogs! But I really don’t” Hillary Dao-

heuang (11) said. Some cultures expect you to do a little more than other cultures. “I’m full Mexican. Something that we do different in our culture than other cultures is El Dia de la Virgen. And something that is tra-ditional in my culture is El Dia de los Muertos. I’m very proud to be a part of my culture because it’s a fun culture. In my culture, we do not have many expectations. In my culture, we have cultural dances on celebrations and holi-days like on May 10, Dia de la Madres. Something that I love about my culture is that we can be ourselves,” Yarelly Correa (9) said. There are so many kinds of cul-ture found all around the world. Granger is a school that is filled with many different ethnici-ties and races being represented roaming the halls. Their members celebrate and eat many things. However, in some ways, all of these cultures are pretty alike which makes Lancers that much more alike.Hillary Daoheuang values her cultural heritage -- especially the pasole.

He said that Granger High cur-rently has a good holding in the contest and expects the team to do

better than other schools. The contest will be the final week in March.

GHS

February 2014, page 8 VOL. LVI Issue 6

By Taylor MolisSTUDENTS may not recognize it, but they are literally putting their lives at risk by being so careless around Granger’s new crosswalk. West Valley City should consider adding more signs or taking mea-sures to make the crosswalk even safer. Granger High existed for over 50 years before it was finally re-built about an eighth of a mile north of its original location. Soon into the school year, the ad-ministration noticed a big prob-lem: the crosswalk students used to use was now too far away for students to conveniently use. Jaywalking became a huge con-cern for the administration, so they decided to crack down on it. Police officers wrote tickets for students caught in the act. It defi-nitely helped a bit, but students

were still jaywalking, causing traffic problems and increasing the risk to their lives. Finally, after a few weeks of this, Granger got permission from the city for a new crosswalk, and it was put in. Students began us-ing the crosswalk and everything became much safer, everyone here could relax a little, but some still don’t think that it is entirely safe enough. Assistant principal Gatti said he is glad that the crosswalk is there, but also said that some don’t use it appropriately. “A lot of kids don’t use it that should. We still have a bit of a jaywalking problem. Kids do a good job at the cross-walks on the corner and by the seminary and also the one by our new parking lot, but they still don’t take all the precautions nec-essary at the new one. That wor-

ries us,” he said. “I personally think that it should be a lighted crosswalk with flash-ing lights or a sign to get a driv-er’s attention, because a lot of them are distracted or don’t see the paint on the ground. I really wish we could have a traffic light. That way, kids wouldn’t just cross one at a time and hold traffic up. Then we could just have a big group of kids wait and all go at the same time, then traffic would move easier. I think it’s one of the safest options,” he said. Dr. Gatti definitely has a point. Motorists do get frustrated when one kid crosses in front of them reaches the other side and they are ready to go again, but then there’s another. It frustrates them, and some drivers don’t stop because they may be distracted by texting, changing radio station, etc. “A crosswalk is good in princi-ple, but in reality, it’s just paint on the ground,” detective Arrington said. “Students need to make sure that cars see them, we have had one person been hit so far I think, and that’s just one too many. When most of the stuff that goes down, whether it’s a kid being hit or almost being hit, it could prob-ably be prevented if students were less careless.” “There will always be traf-fic here, it’s just a bad location. I mean, it’s right off Bangerter Highway and 3500 South. At the school, we can do every-thing we can to help it be safer, but the safety is also in the stu-dents’ hands. Be safe, look both ways, don’t just run out there,” Arrington said. Granger’s crosswalk is definite-ly an improvement on safety, but students create their own safety when they pay close attention as they cross streets, intersections, and driveways..

Crosswalks could be even safer

By Shannon GarciaLANCERS are dancing over the weekends which is a pretty popu-lar thing to do now days. People say dancing is ‘my life’, ‘my world’, ‘my love’ or ‘my every-thing’. When people dance, noth-ing else matters and the world around them disappears. It’s a magical thing and is something that it can never van-ish. People dance for joy or to feel alive, when people dance they feel happy and are in a good mood. People also dance because it gives them happiness, joy, cour-age and peace. It’s good to feel free for once with music. At parties there is music, and kids can dance even sometimes at a friend’s house. It is easy to learn how to dance if someone is showing you how. Some people say they don’t or cannot dance. They are differ-ent types of music for dancers to learn some moves: pasia, country, hip-hop, bachata, merengue, salsa etc. “I would like to take dancing classes to learn merengue” Nay-eli Arellano (11) said. It’s fun to learn how to dance. When people hear music they want to dance, and a lot of the time they can’t help but want to start dancing. People go out to dance over the weekends because it’s fun and

then people have something to do over the weekend. “Yes I like to dance, and where I dance is at Coyotes, and I dance to Mexican music,” Dayano Car-rillo (9) said. Dancing is awesome, and many people go dancing at Coyotes, which is mainly a hispanic music club, after parties, school, birth-days, quinceaneras -- anywhere there is music playing. It’s not embarrassing to dance with family members or friends or even a boyfriend or girlfriend -- it’s fun. People have different opinions about dancing but they’re entitled to them. “No I don’t like dancing, but I would take dancing class for fun I guess” Felipe Gonzalez (12) said A lot of guys don’t always feel comfortable dancing in front of people, especially a girl. Not only do boys feel this it can be the same for girls, too. People who love to dance want everyone to go out dancing with them. There are people mak-ing Facebook events, tweeting, or trying to throw parties just so they can dance. When someone gets wind of an upcoming event, it spreads like wildfire. Suddenly everyone knows about it even if they don’t know the person who is throwing the party.

Lancers like dance parties

Students at Granger love gaming By Andrea MontesGAMING is a big part of many Lancers’ time spent. It helps them socialize with oth-er people interested in the same games. There’s even a Granger club for gamers. “It feels really good and real-ly fun to be the president of the gaming club, since we get a lot of new people and it’s entertain-ing. I think gaming helps student socialize by making new friends who have similarities and like the same games. When people new people come and join gaming it makes me really happy, because it means more fun and more ac-tivities. Gaming affects my life by making it fun and less boring, I like to play Pokémon, Mario Kart, and Smash Brothers on my free time,” Anthony Iliff (11) said. This is really interesting, be-cause when thinking about gam-ing, it’s easy to overlook the great effects it has in someone’s life. “Gaming helps me think and

and socialize. Before I used to go to the library to read. Then I saw a couple of guys playing, and I got to meet them and learn how their game works. Now I play for fun, and it’s a hobby for me,” Agilio Sanchez (11) said. It’s truly really amazing how gamers get to meet people they’ve never seen in person before and just become friends because of a game played online. “Gaming improves my life and helps me stay socially active. It helps me think and concentrate on my next move and it takes away stress from my life,” Seferino Gonzales (10) said. Gaming not only helps Lancers make friends and socialize, but it also helps them do well in school and stay out of trouble or do bad stuff. “Sometimes games are friend-ly, but they can get competitive as well. I also play for fun and on my free time. I can say gam-ing helps me stay out of trouble,” Alex Kinyon (10) said.

Gaming club president Anthony Iliff started his club this year.

Photo: Weston Colton

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Everyday, students trust the crosswalk to safely get them across the street.