Summer 2021
May 2021 By Anali Mendoza Summer 2021 is coming up soon, but is the world really ready for it? The world has changed drastically in the last year and we didn't have a summer last year, as things have changed since then. Therefore, we are looking to have a better, brighter summer! Is the world really ready for it? Who knows, but boy are the people ready to finally be able to get out and enjoy the sun. Covid-19 hit the world strong last year and things during the summer were closed down, so what did the people do? Absolutely nothing! There were no places to go, no fun to have, and no adventures to go on. I know every person is ready to get out of the house and have some fun. COVID numbers have been going down and places are starting to open up again, making people very eager. Many people are frightened that this whole thing is going to make matters worse, and as people are going out more, the spread of COVID will rise again. There are people on the other side of this debate as well, who believe that as long as people are safe, wear their masks, and keep social distancing, things will help prevent the spread of COVID. I conducted a survey asking people if they are really ready for summer and what their plans are. Every person who answered my survey said they were 100% ready for summer and only 47% of the people are attending college, while the other 57% aren't; they are planning on just enjoying the summer and living life. I'm sure everyone is looking forward to being able to travel this summer. I know I am, along with the other 57% that said they wanted to travel this summer, and there are others who are unsure if they're going to travel or not, which represents the other 28% of people who responded to the survey. While talking to two of my classmates, I asked them some questions about what they are going to be doing this summer, as restrictions aren't so harsh. All the people I talked with wanted to have fun this summer and spend time with friends and family. One interviewee said that she was planning on taking college classes this summer and maybe even getting a job. I asked them a if they think COVID will still be a part of their lives, and both of them said something similar. One said “Yes, I really do think COVID will still be a big part of our lives because it takes years and years for a pandemic to go away completely. Also, nothing would ever be the same since COVID.” The other respondent said “Of course. I believe that COVID will always be a huge part of our lives. Hopefully by summer though, many people will be vaccinated and we can get things going again.” Both interviewees referring to COVID as always being a part of our lives and something that will take a long time to get away from helps illustrate the profound impact the pandemic has had on our world. There were so many things that we were unable to do last year that are now possible this year. I asked them the question on |
Sports and COVID
May 2021 By Andres Gonzales We all watch sports and wish to be there in person, but with the number restrictions due to COVID, it has been much harder to go to sporting events, big and small. The government has deemed events dangerous due to the fact that they risk spreading COVID. I find this hard to believe, due to the fact that the physical sport of wrestling is allowed, but people are not allowed to be near each other. This is ridiculous; the government is just using COVID as propaganda at this point. An article by CNN titled “Youth sports and other extracurriculars are spreading Covid-19, health officials say,” contains Dr. Anthony Fauci stating "When you go back and take a look and try and track where these clusters of cases are coming from in the school, it's just that." Although they blame sports for the rise in cases, they also blamed strands of COVID from the UK as well. They say that the UK variant is 50% more transmissible and that the disease is changing constantly, making it hard to stop. The confusing part is we all, at a young age, were taught that a vaccine is used to grant you a small immunity to a disease, reducing the chance and risk of contracting that disease. Out of all the participants surveyed, 100% agreed that is the purpose of a vaccine to keep you from getting dangerously sick. Yet for some reason, you may be required to get a second shot for COVID--what is the point of that? Isn't one enough, or is the first one ineffective? If so, why even take it? People get the shot in hopes of developing immunity, yet they still have to abide by the requirements of someone who has not taken the shot. 50% of people surveyed agreed. Although things have started to calm down, people are still required to follow pointless regulations. At the rate we are going, the vaccines are proving to be more dangerous. A Johnsen and Johnsen variant was giving consumers brain tumors. The government has been struggling to let things open, but as things do, they have ridiculous laws that make little sense. What is the point of imposing rules where they are not needed and forgetting where they are required. At this point it is better to let the people go back to the way things were before COVID. after all, what is the point of getting a vaccine to see a game and still being required to wear a mask? ********************** |
what they would like to do this summer that they couldn't do last year, and their replies were, “I want to stay the summer with my grandparents and I want to go camping,” and “I want to go places. Whether it be traveling, playing a sport, or just being at the local pool- I want to go out again, because I was unable to last year.” They are both looking to go out and have a good time this summer. I’m sure everyone is waiting to go out and have fun and be with friends; once again, I know I can’t wait.
The summer of 2021 is something that so many people are looking forward to. The sun will be out, and it will be a good time for everyone, so let's get out and enjoy the time we have for summer fun!
The summer of 2021 is something that so many people are looking forward to. The sun will be out, and it will be a good time for everyone, so let's get out and enjoy the time we have for summer fun!
Natural Disaster Strikes Again in Alaska
By Felecia Pacheco
I know this seems like it may not concern you...well...it just might. It may not seem like a big deal to think about, but Alaska just a month ago got hit with a big earthquake: a 7.6 magnitude earthquake to be exact, and yes, that was a huge earthquake. Here’s the kicker though--not three months before that, they were hit with a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, which means the earthquake that just hit them was an aftershock. And to add icing on the cake, the aftershock was supposed to be small, so they were unaware an earthquake this magnitude would hit them. Oh yeah speaking of the icing, let’s add the sprinkles. The second earthquake? Well it almost caused a tsunami, yup, a tsunami.
Earthquakes? They happen everyday; every single day they hit, close to home or across the world, it doesn’t matter...they consistently happen. The definition of earthquake is a sudden and violent shaking of the ground, sometimes causing great destruction, as a result of movements within the earth's crust or volcanic action. Sounds horrible doesn’t it? Imagine being in one now. Scary thoughts. But we here in New Mexico, and we don’t have to worry about that, right? Technically, one could be happening right now, while you’re reading this, but you can’t feel it. Now think about an earthquake; that describes the literal definition of the word. Think about the destruction one could cause to everything; now please keep that in mind while you read this.
On July 21, 2020 an earthquake with the magnitude of 7.8 hit Alaska, after every earthquake scientists know what to predict, the small aftershocks from the earth after the biggest one. One that I don’t think scientists predicted was the biggest shock of them all. Three months later, on October 19, 2020, a second earthquake hit, this time a 7.6 magnitude. Oh yeah, with a tsunami warning added to that. Although the tsunami warning was cancelled a few hours later the thought is scary, for both natural disasters.
Alaska is known for it’s natural disasters. In the last sixty years at least ten terrifying natural disasters have happened in Alaska. In 1964, almost the same exact thing happened: an earthquake and a tsunami warning. The only difference was that in 1964, the tsunami actually happened. Unfortunately to find someone that I knew has been in a natural disaster is very slim to none, so I found an article from CNN that had an interview from a clinic worker, Lorna Osterback. Osterback stated that she knew about the earthquake and it was normal since she lived right on the fault line. She considered it normal since she grew up there. Though Osterback also noted that, “I got nervous and immediately convinced my family to move to high ground to be safe.” That statement was after the state put a tsunami warning out. That’s why the scare was new for people and stings that natural disasters are always in Alaska.
A natural disaster is not just an earthquake; there are many more things that happen inside of Earth that cause a big reaction. Although natural disasters are common and natural, the result is almost always devastating and scary. Earthquakes happen more than we know, but for Alaska to almost go through that twice is what hurts Alaska. Alaska has always been devastated by natural disasters and this recent one is terrifying evidence of that.
2020 Vision
By Natalie Anglada This year has definitely been strange. Starting with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter protests, the wildfires, and now the upcoming election. As of right now, the United States is so divided between political parties and differing perspectives that this next election is going to be a close one. There is tons and tons of controversy concerning almost everything currently happening, and whether you are old enough to vote or not, the result of the upcoming 2020 presidential election can and will affect the next four years for America. We started with a banger this year when the newly found virus known as COVID-19 spread across all seven continents. We have been in quarantine for over six months and we have had to adapt to this new lifestyle of constantly wearing a mask and having to disinfect more than we have ever had to before. Many would argue that the extreme rise in cases in such a short period of time was because the current president, Donald J. Trump, downplayed the magnitude of the virus. This is opposed to his running mate and democratic nominee, Joe Biden. I interviewed Christina Perea, a New Mexico PERA worker and state native, pertaining to her eligibility to vote, and she exclaimed, "I am and have [voted] every year since I turned 18.” She also spoke on behalf of women’s rights, "I think the best argument from the liberals is that equality in our country is suffering. The minorities and women have it hard in our country and that needs to change. Especially when it comes to women's rights and equality. One of their best arguments is that women have the option to believe in pro-choice. I believe that women should and deserve the right to do what we want with our bodies. I wouldn't appreciate having a man telling me what to do or not do. I also think that women deserve to be paid the same as men in the same positions.” Perea is a mother of three girls and is also a role model to many young women in the Pecos community. If Donald Trump is elected, the vice president will be current vice president Mike Pence. If Joe Biden is elected, the vice president will be Kamala Harris, making history as the first female elected as vice president. All of the presidential debates will be held at several different universities across the country in the month of October. On the website 270towin.com, they list all of the US states average polls. On the website there is a pie chart displaying that New Mexico has 53% of democratic polls, 39% of republican polls, and 8% of others. It is indeed going to be a very close election. Trump has made it very apparent that he does not support the Black Lives Matter protests happening across our nation. During the Democratic National Convention, Joe Biden expressed his support for racial equality. The death of George Floyd, an African American man killed at the hands of police, sparked national outrage. This was the start of a historical division of the people. The protests that have made large headlines have shown violence and would also be categorized as riots; however, this is an invalid statement. A new report managed by CNN explained, “About 93% of racial justice protests in the US since the death of George Floyd have been peaceful and nondestructive.” This topic is already extremely debatable and with the election right around the corner, it will no doubt be one of the most interesting ones. I conducted a survey within my class about the election. The third question asked “Do you agree or disagree with the choices our current president, Donald Trump, has made? Of the 11 people that completed the survey: 18% strongly agree, 18% neither agree nor disagree, 36% disagree, and 27% strongly disagree. It was extremely surprising having responses contrast as much as they did. This certainly shows that the younger generation can indeed have their own opinions and even separate their own thinking from their companions and classmates. This election will for sure be one for the books. |
Online schooling--were you ready for it?
By Lauren Vigil Students across The United States are most likely doing online school, but this is the question: were we all prepared for online school? Many students could be feeling stressed because they didn’t know what to expect. I am even stressed as a student because I wasn’t prepared. A main factor of stress is not being able to get into the class meetings because of internet problems. Many students are probably thinking teachers are giving too much work to do in such little time. Whatever the case is, you can talk to your teachers or peers for help on what you need help with. Many school districts want to continue online school because they feel it is safe for students and staff. Since some schools didn’t want to do online instruction, many New Mexico parents are disenrolling their students from a public school and putting their students on homeschooling sites. The Article attached is from KOB 4 News: https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/more-parents-opting-to-homeschool-their-children-in-new-mexico/5835232/. This article by KOB 4 says that parents want to have their child safe and they probably weren’t prepared either. Another reason parents made that decision is because they probably felt like the school wasn’t prepared. When a group of Pecos High School students were surveyed about their opinion on online school, 90% of the students noted that they dislike the online approach. However, some students prefer online learning. For instance, Pecos High School student, Lorenzo Ortega responded “I feel that I like this new way of school a lot." When I gave another survey question to the group of Pecos High School students surveyed, 40% said they were prepared for online school. Lorenzo Ortega also stated that he was prepared for online school. One main big survey question I asked the group of students is if they wish we could go back to school, and 80% percent said yes. Ortega says he hopes we do not to go back to school because he feels like it wouldn’t be safe at these times. I would like to go back to school because this online instruction can get tricky at some points. But I wouldn’t feel safe going back because people probably wouldn’t follow the pandemic rules. Another reason I wouldn’t want to go back is because of more rules that students will have to follow at school. Many other people are probably wanting a vaccine to come out so we can go back to normal; I also want that. Right now, we all just need to stay positive and hope that things will get back to normal in the near future. |
Illegal Party in Peru
By Viktoriano Quintana Would you want to go to a nightclub party during a global pandemic? In Peru, "finally, a night out” turned into some peoples' final night out. An illegal nightclub party was held in Lima Peru Saturday night, August 23th at about nine o’clock. It was reported that at least one-hundred-twenty people attended this event. After police had been informed about this going on, they immediately rushed to that club and raided it. Those people panicked and tried to rush out to try to not get caught, but there was only one door to go in and out. And that one door was blocked; those people caused a stampede trying to get out of the building, which caused all of them to be trapped in the stairwell. While in that stairwell, some of those people had fallen down in the stampede and were trampled. This event ended terribly with some lives lost and with more than 20 new positive cases of the coronavirus. Since that door was blocked off and they weren't able to leave, the police officers had to break open the doors to let everyone out. As the people were piling out the doors the police officers weren’t letting anyone leave, but some managed to get away from the crowds. People were in shock, as there were several bodies on the ground and people were just trying to leave. In a news interview, it was also said by a witness that police had thrown tear gas where they were all located, but they deny using any weapons including tear gas. The police had gathered as many people as they could, laying them all on the ground in a big row. Some of those bodies were sadly the thirteen people who had lost their lives; they had been crushed to death or asphyxiated trying to escape the raid. From the approximated one hundred twenty people who attended this party were all in their twenties. Along with that, there were some recent studies noting that Peru is actually at high risk for the virus, and many people continue to test positive for the virus. In Peru there are about eight thousand people who are infected everyday, and it is one of the places that has a very high death rate as well. After the police had gathered everyone together they administered some tests to see if any would test positive. There were eleven positive cases. The police also arrested a total of twenty three people and tested those ones as well. Out of the twenty three, there were fifteen who tested positive, for a total of twenty-six positive cases. But on a positive note, there were people who used some safety precautions and wore masks and gloves. The large gatherings were already banned even before this happened; people were only able to have no more than five people together at a time. There was also a curfew for the citizens, in which everyone had to be at home by 10 pm. With all of this that happened, what about the people who planned this party? The night club owners are said by the government to be under investigation and will seek the max penalty. Already five months into this pandemic there are parties being held and many people who don’t wear masks. For this one in particular, there could have been several ways people could have avoided this event happening and the results after. If you were in that type of situation, what are some things that you have done? A survey given to ten people to answer some questions about if they were in that situation. What they would have done, and how they would feel? Out of the ten people who received the survey all ten answered. Some responded with the same answers and others with different answers. An example of one of the questions with different answers was “If you were to go, how would you feel, knowing people tested positive for the virus?” There were three answer choices they could have chosen from, “Calm," "A little scared," and "I would panic!!” One answered with “calm”, five answered with “a little scared”, and the remaining four answered with “I would panic!” But they all did agree that those people should not have gone to that party. There were also two interviews that were designed to get some more detailed information and reasonings on what some individuals would have done. The two persons who were being interviewed have chosen to be anonymous so their names will not be noted. Besides that, these two people are over age 21 and have been to night club parties before, which is important, since all the people who attended that party were in their twenties. One of the questions that was asked was, “Do you think people should have attended the party knowing that the virus restriction laws are still in play?” One of the responses was “No, They should have not gone because they knew that the virus is still at large and they should have known better. And I think that it is selfish of them because if they were to get the virus they could have the chance of spreading it to someone who it could affect badly.” To sum up the scenario, if you were to test positive, you could be putting somebody else’s health at risk. It may not affect them as much because they are young, but they could potentially pass it on to someone else and have a much bigger impact on them, especially if they are older or have any kind of underlying health condition. What this event causes is the virus to continue spreading, leaving everyone one more day from the pandemic being over. Some people that were there wore masks and gloves to prevent themselves from obtaining the virus. This ended with people losing their lives and a continuing increase in positive cases of the virus, all because some people wanted to go out and have a good time. In conclusion, that nightclub party should not have taken place and people shouldn't have gone. But nobody can control other people's actions or decisions. And if you are deciding to go out for any reason, please only go if it is very important, and when you do go out, protect yourself and others. Be safe! |
Black Plague in 2020 By Santino Garcia What if I told you the black plague is back? Would you be scared? Well, according to CNN news, we should not be scared because there's a small chance that you can get the plague, but if you do, you need to go to a hospital because without antibiotics there's a 66-93% chance it could kill you, even with antibiotics there's a 16 % chance it could kill you. If you don't remember the black plague was a devastating global pandemic that hit Europe and Asia in the mid 1300s and killed 25 million people, it was most likely spread through trading ships, but was personally spread through touching of clothes, hands, even just speaking closely with someone could result in possible death. The plague was so deadly that even the healthiest of people could go to sleep one night and never wake up. This plague was super scary and deadly. When people got the plague they developed fever, headache, chills, and weakness and one or more swollen, tender and painful lymph nodes. If you've never had swollen lymph nodes, it's horrible. You can't chew food without them hurting, you can't turn your head without them hurting, the slightest movements will put you in pain. To treat the plague, physicians relied on crude and unsophisticated techniques such as bloodletting and boil-lancing. These practices were dangerous as well as unsanitary, some people also relied on superstitious remedies such as burning aromatic herbs and bathing in rosewater or vinegar. Healthy people did all they could to avoid the sick. Doctors refused to see patients and shopkeepers closed their stores. Many people left the cities for the country, but even they could not escape the disease. It affected cows, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens as well as people. It was close to impossible to escape or cure the plague. Now after hearing that do you think the plague is still around and would you be afraid of it? After reviewing data from a recent survey 70 percent of the participants would be scared but you really shouldn't, as a matter of fact there's a one in thirty million chance you could get it. What you should be worried about is Covid -19, which already has 34.2 million cases. Covid -19 is easier to prevent than the black plague because we have the resources for it, but it's spreading faster because of the fact that people don't want to wear a mask. The only thing you have to do to prevent the spread of Covid-19 is to wear a mask and stay home as much as possible--it's as easy as that! You can have all the entertainment and fun to last you a lifetime. Imagine living in the 1300s where you didn't have television or video games or even your phones. How much harder would it have been to survive then? |