Cesar E. Chavez High School, Delano, CA 93215 Volume 14 Issue 6 – April 28, 2017

The GRAPEVINE ENTERTAINMENT p. 3

John Cena Proposes?!?

Alternatives to the Easter Bunny

Strange Monsters from D&D

In

Th

is

Issu

e OPINION p. 4

The Influence of Wonderful Citrus

The Culture of the Trophy Child

Should Easter Be a National Holiday?

Late Spring Issue

Equal Opportunity Cesar E. Chavez High School is committed to equal oppor-

tunity for all individuals in education. School programs and

activities shall be free from discrimination based on gender,

sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, ethnic

group identification, marital or parental status, physical or

mental disability, sexual orientation or the perception of

one or more of such characteristics. The school shall pro-

mote programs which ensure that discriminatory practices are

eliminated in all district activities. (BP 0410)

LOCAL p.2

Congrats to Indoor Percussion!

FBLA Makes History!

CCHS Spring Sports Update

By Coach Mendez Guest Writer

Editor’s Message

Recently, I watched a very profound movie called “Interstellar”; it had come

out a few years ago, but I hadn’t seen it yet. In spite of it being rather long

(nearly three hours), it was one of the best films I had ever seen. It was about

these brave explorers and scientists attempting to escape a dying Earth by trying

to colonize other planets. They reached these planets through a wormhole which

took them to another galaxy. The themes the movie dealt with and the concepts

it explored were amazing; by far though, one scene stood out in particular. As

the astronauts were preparing to enter the wormhole, an excerpt from a poem

(“Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”) by Dylan Thomas was played, an

excerpt which was also featured in the trailer for the movie. The excerpt was as

follows:

“Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of light”

The lines were repeated several times, each time filling me with more emo-

tion than the last, giving me chills and even nearly bringing me to tears. I began

to wonder what these lines meant. After a little research, I found the poem in its

entirety and learned that it may have been written for the speaker’s dying father.

It was a son’s last words to his father, telling him not to go out with sputter, but

a bang. In spite of impossible odds, he tells him to fight harder than ever before.

The poem encourages one last act of defiance in one’s dying moments.

In this way, I encourage all of you to do the same. There is about one month

of school left, so when it ends, make sure you end with a bang and not a sputter.

If you’re going to be AP testing, give every test your best effort, regardless of

how confident you feel in that particular subject. Although you may face impos-

sible odds, don’t go down without a fight. If there’s a class where you don’t

have such a good grade, you should work as hard as possible to pick it back up.

Even if it doesn’t end up exactly where you want it, it’ll have improved some,

and you can at least say that you tried. If you’re playing a sport right now, and

the season isn’t looking very good, refuse to stay where you’re at. Continually

push yourself and strive for more than what you’ve been getting. Again, at the

end of the day, you might not get the results you want, but it doesn’t matter

whether you win or lose; it matters how you win and how you lose. With that in

mind, I once again tell you, “Do not go gentle into that good night”; “rage, rage

against the dying of light”.

By Nicolas Chaney Editor-in-Chief

Philippine Assembly Night

     The United Filipino Organization (U.F.O.) annually showcases the Philippine culture through traditional

dances. Students have an opportunity to participate in this club, Filipino or not, and help to keep the Filipino

culture alive in our community. U.F.O. members rehearse around 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. and also met up after for

the main dances which are Tinikling and Singkil. During the week of performance, the members use their

time wisely doing full run throughs meaning projecting their emotions in their dances and aspiring for per-

fection. The presentation of the folk dances performed are by authentic native costumes. The United Filipino

Organization provided our school with a short preview hours before the show and were invited to join the

event and understand what the Filipino culture is about. 

The performance also included a script about a high school student, Malaya, who loves to paint and plans

to attend Yale University after high school. She was also know as "itim na tupa" (black sheep) because her

father died just before she got to high school and since then she wore very dark clothes. A jock named

Keanu ridiculed Malaya for what she wore. Later in the show, Malaya changes what she wears with the help

of Fabi, and Keanu doesn’t remember who she is. Keanu starts to like Malaya and ask her out on a date and

during the date Malaya shows Keanu her secret art room. Keanu builds up of anger and releases it in

Malaya's art room accidently destroying her scholarship painting. Malaya blames Keanu for ruining her

painting. During the scholarship ceremony, Malaya enters a new painting and Keanu also enters a painting

that Malaya painted for him. When Malaya receives her scholarship with her painting, she notices that it was

the painting she gave Keanu. Keanu confirms that he entered the painting for her. Malaya forgives Keanu

for ruining her painting and Keanu asks Malaya to be his girlfriend.

Boys and Girls State

For many decades, the state has chosen one boy and one girl from each and

every school to represent themselves as distinguished future students of Amer-

ica. Since 1935 and 1937, the American Legion Boys State and American

Legion Auxiliary Girls State have worked for many years to teach how gov-

ernment works while simultaneously developing leadership skills with an

appreciation of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. The future begins

with developed confidence and strong traits from the best high school junior

boys and girls which will be recognized by many colleges. This year’s Boys

State winner was Jaskarn Batth. To celebrate this honor, he said, “As long as

your heart is filled with ambition and passion, you can achieve anything”. The

winner for Girls State was Aman Kaur, who also happens to be Jaskarn’s

cousin. In a quote, Aman said, “It is an exciting and wonderful opportunity to

go above and beyond what you’re capable of”.

By Alan Isidro Staff Writer

By Erikha Mae Ibaan Guest Writer

Local News 2

CCHS Spring Sports Update By Allan Isidro Staff Writer

Chavez sports this spring have been exhilarating as these Titan athletes put their blood,

sweat, and hard work on line as they worked these past few month towards excellence.

From Tennis to Baseball the Titan atmosphere has been overwhelming with passion and

resilience.

Starting off with Boys and Girls Tennis the athletes worked each match with raw pas-

sion and emotion towards the eventual winning set not giving up on any opportunities to

win that one single point that solidifies their exhibition. In addition Boys gold have out-

doing their opponents on the course this season with several hole in ones and a couple of

bogeys. From that we move on to Track and Field led by Cesar E. Chavez's very own

Coach Troy as looks lead his fast, strong, and athletic athletes to victory. When looking

on local website (https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/School.aspx?SchoolID=1326)

the Titans have shown why they have worked day by day on their bread and butter to-

wards that inevitable track meet. From the track meet we move on to the dugouts as the

Titan softball team have succeeded expectations this season by scoring many runs and

playing towards their strengths with miraculous grinding wins. Chavez baseball have

also been successful this season playing their game knowing they have a target on their

back. The back to back Valley Champs are going through rough patch right now which

is common within champions as eve-

ry game takes an immense amount of

effort from not only the coaches, but

the players to play with that grit and

championship mentality that everyone

expects them to be at.

In the end this Spring Titan sports has

been an insane course as of jammed

packed of games, matchups, and un-

believable proportions. Who knows

what is to come of this season as any-

thing is possible. Source: lillypt.com

Sophomore CAST Science Test By Christian Becerra Staff Writer

This year, sophomores took the California Science Test, otherwise known as the CAST. It

is taken in grades five through eight as well as one grade in high school. This year’s test was

considered a "pilot test" so student scores were not col-

lected. The CAST is based on the new California science

standards which are a lot different than the standards

previously used from 1998. These new standards encour-

age the understanding of scientific concepts and being

able to engage in scientific thinking. It also encourages

more scientific and engineering practices and aims to

integrate common core state standards. At the end of the

test, students were given surveys asking their opinions

on the test. This test was for updating California science

state testing to base a test on the new state standards. Source: Dailytexanonline.com

CCHS FBLA Members Advance to Na-tionals!

The Cesar E. Chavez High School chapter of Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)

made its mark at the State Leadership Conference held in Sacramento, CA on April 6-9,

2017. Two of the chapter members taking part in the conference competitive categories placed,

making school history as the first to place at the state level. Congratulations to Marceleany

Cortez who took FIRST place in Securities and Investments and Kristine Carrillo for

achieving fifth place in Public Speaking II. Award winners received plaques for their accom-

plishments at the awards ceremony where over 2,100 CA FBLA members, advisers, and special

guests attended. FBLA members advances and will now represent our State of California and

compete in the National FBLA conference to be held June 28-July 2 in Anaheim, CA.

Additional accomplishments by the CCHS FBLA chapter that were recognized with a Certifi-

cate at the State section meeting all of which were "firsts" for the organization:

Financial Literacy Project Award (Shivraj Gil)

Government Awareness Project Award (Chapter Award)

Leaders in Life Project Award (Kristine Carrillo)

Gold Seal Chapter of Merit (Chapter Award)

The Gold Seal chapter award of merit is a special chapter recognition program named after Hol-

lis and Kitty Guy. This program recognizes the top 15% percent of chapters in the nation. In

order to qualify for the Gold Seal Chapter Award of Merit, both individual members and chapter

must complete a lengthy set of activities for their local chapter throughout the year. A local

annual business report documenting the activities along with the Program of Work (POW) is

then sent to the FBLA Director for review. Chapters who qualify are then recognized at the

state conference.

Members who qualified for the FBLA Business Achievement Award (Future Level) received

FBLA pins:

Aman Kaur

Kristine Carrillo

Jaskarn Batth

Daniel Ochoa

Edem Ipac

Shivraj Gil

Aaron Fernandez

Kristine Carrillo, who won her election last

February in the Central Section Conference

also took her oath at the State Section Meet-

ing and was installed as the Central Section

Public Relations Officer for the 2017-2018

school year.

"I commend the students for all of their hard work, countless hours working after school and on

weekends, and for their dedication to making this a very successful FBLA year" said Ms. Rose-

marie Dao, CCHS FBLA Adviser.

The FBLA mission is to bring business and education together in a positive working relation-

ship through innovative leadership and career development programs

By Ms. Dao Guest Writer

Source: DJUHSD.org

Indoor Percussion Champions By Ms. Dao Guest Writer

Congratulations to all three comprehensive high school indoor percussion ensem-

ble for continuing to do an outstanding job at the Pep and Pageantry Arts Association

of Central California (PPAACC) competition held throughout the Kern County ar-

ea. Cesar E. Chavez High School Percussion show titled "Soylent Green", Delano

High School Percussion show titled "The Box", and Robert F. Kennedy High School

Percussion show titled "Together" continue to impress judges. The results are as fol-

lows:

February 4, 2017 at Stockdale High School. Each group took first place in their re-

spective divisions.

Cesar E. Chavez High School, Senior National Open division, 1st place

Delano High School, Senior National A, 1st place

Robert F. Kennedy High School, Senior A division, 1st place

February 11, 2017 at Stockdale High School. Each group took first place again in their

respective divisions.

Cesar E. Chavez High School, Senior National Open division, 1st place

Delano High School, Senior National A, 1st place

Robert F. Kennedy High School, Senior A division, 1st place

March 4, 2017 at Shafter High School. RFK was moved up a division due to the same

division as DHS

Cesar E. Chavez High School, Senior National Open division, 1st place

Delano High School, Senior National A division, 1st place

Robert F. Kennedy High School, Senior National A division, 2nd place

March 18, 2017 at Centennial High School.

Cesar E. Chavez High School, Senior National Open division, 1st place

Robert F. Kennedy High School, Senior National A division, 1st place (87.9)

Delano High School, Senior National A division, 2nd place (87.7)

April 1, 2017 at Independence High School. FINALS

Cesar E. Chavez High School, Senior National Open Class GOLD medalist

PPAACC CHAMPIONS - MADE SCHOOL HISTORY!

Delano High School, Senior National A Class GOLD medalist PPAACC

CHAMPIONS

Robert F. Kennedy High School, Senior National A division, 2nd place

Delano High School Color Guard earned a AA Class PPAACC Color Guard Gold

medal and PPAACC CHAMPIONS!

Mark Your Calendars Seniors!! May 18, 2017 - Senior Sunset May 20, 2017 - Prom May 24, 2017 - Senior Picnic May 30, 2017 - Senior Checkout June 1, 2017 - Senior Breakfast June 1, 2017 - Graduation June 8, 2017 - Grad Nite

Don’t forget to buy your Yearbook!

Only $75 now, but prices will go up to

$80 in May!

3 Entertainment

Alternative Easter Bunny

Easter Panda, Easter Tiger, or Easter Koala. Those three could be

perfect Alternative animals for the Easter celebration but the definite

best would be the Llama.

Llamas have three stomachs. Much like people, Llamas always have

room for cake, but unlike people, a llama’s extra stomachs aren’t an

imaginary invention to trick your brain into letting you have dessert.

No. Llamas have three stomachs, so they’re awesome at digesting food,

and will weed your garden because they eat all sorts of green stuff, and

because they have a super effective digestive system, they’re way

cheaper to feed than other pets, like dogs and cats. They also learn

things super-fast, in one to five repetitions and care of their own. Lla-

mas have babies (called Crias) really easy and when the llama mom

gives birth after 11.5 months it only takes half an hour. Because they

have an attached tongue which can’t reach outside the mouth, instead

of licking the goo off their babies, they nuzzle and hum to them; how

cute? The Cria is usually up and nursing and being adorable within an hour and a half after being

born.

And these are only a few reasons of why Llamas are the perfect replacement for the East-

er bunny apart from the fact that it sounds incredibly funny because if a rabbit lays eggs, why can't

a llama?

Source: https://

www.twitter.com/

By Arlie Carrillo Staff Writer John Cena Proposes?!? By Alan Isidro

Staff Writer

On April 2nd the day of WrestleMania 33; fan-favorite WWE wrestler John Cena

proposed to his longtime girlfriend Stephanie Nicole Garcia-Colace who well in

fact also is in same industry wrestling under the name Nikki Bella. The couple has

been together for five years and without hesitation that night became their Wrestle-

Mania moment.

Which at first started as a rumor from many wrestling and non-wrestling websites

in the end ultimately became true in fact as almost no secrets can be kept hidden

from any news outlet. Their fairytale began with a feud against another wrestling

couple named Miz and Maryse placing the so called "it" couples in a mix tag team

match. The match lasted at least 5 mins with John Cena and Nikki Bella winning.

John Cena after the match grabbed a microphone from the audio crew an in one

fluid motion he got on one knee to pro-

posing confessing his love for her say-

ing "I've been waiting so long to ask

you this". Nikki Bella at this particular

time said" I forgot how to breathe

and I got really nervous". Nikki was

cautious even before the match because

she not only saw her parents, but John's

mother. Proposals are supposed to be

hidden, but in the heat of the moment

the match became the first priority.

In the end Nikki Bella did say yes in

a nervous, but excited voice as the man

her dreams proposed her

in surprising fashion. Many other wrestlers and people in the company do wish the

couple the best as the wedding bells will ring louder and brighter.

Source: justjaden.com

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: D&D Monsters

Dungeons and Dragons is a classic in the world of fantasy. Every modern fantasy

game, from Skyrim, to Dark Souls, to The Legend of Zelda and even Star Wars has

taken inspiration from Dungeons and Dragons (as well as Tolkien's work). One of

the key ideas they took inspiration from was the idea of having an entire world of

monsters to encounter and fight.

With 43 years and 5 Editions to work with, Dungeons and Dragons has had a lot

of time to come up with some really creative monsters. Although a lot have been

amazing, not every creature has been a gem, and some have been downright horrible

(and not in the fun, scary way).

THE GOOD: The Tarrasque

When you look up the word "Overpowered" in the

Dictionary, it just has a picture of the Tarrasque. And

then it kills you. At 50 feet tall and 70 feet long,

the Tarrasque is among the

most unstoppable monsters in D&D. It hits hard, rare-

ly misses, has diamond like armor and good luck

trying to sneak around it: It can see you, and if you're

invisible, it can see you better (for some reason). You

can't even kill this thing by normal means, thanks to

its ability to regenerate. Your gonna need to cut it

down to 30% health, then cast a once-in-a-lifetime

spell called "Wish" and literally wish for its death if

you want a chance to kill it. THE BAD: The Gelatinous Cube D&D has a plethora of amazing monsters with

simple designs that take a unique spin and catch you

by surprise at how good actually they really are at

being a devastating threat to your party. Gelatinous

Cubes are not one of those. These bad boys are exactly

as advertised; slow, wobbly cubes of murderous jello.

They're essentially immobile, and, having no brains,

aren't exactly bright enough to trick you into getting

caught. Sure, what

awaits you inside is a slow, acidic death, but with a

top speed of 15 feet per hour, I think you'd have a

better chance at getting run over by an angry turtle.

THE UGLY: Flumphs Named after the sound they make when they fly,

these squishy jellyfish monsters are just plain ug-

ly. Flumphs are an old monster that came out in

1st Edition in the 70s; most monsters that came out in

the 70s looked really ugly and goof, but over the years

have slowly been redesigned to be really awesome.

Yet, for some reason, the Flumphs were exempt from

this and each new edition seems to make them weird-

er and more uncomfortable.

Source: powerscore.com

Source: 4th Edition Player's

Handbook

Source: 5th Edition Dungeon Master's Guide

By Enrique Jimenez Staff Writer

Anniversary of Discovering Uranus

236 years ago, Sir William Herschel peered into the night sky with his telescope, observing

the stars and sights of the heavens. But Herschel notices that something was off about one of the

stars; it shined differently and seemed to orbit the sun. At first, Herschel thought it was a comet,

but a few years later, it had been determined that it was a planet. Originally named

"Georgian Sidus" (after King George III) it was soon changed to the more popular and fitting

"Uranus".

Some Facts About Uranus:

It's huge! Uranus has a Polar Diameter

of 49,946 km

It's heavy! Uranus has a mass of 8.68 ×

10^25 k, that’s equal to 15 Earths!

It's full of gas! Uranus is considered a "Gas

Giant".

It has dark rings! The rings of Uranus were

first discovered in 1977

It's ice cold! With minimum atmospheric temperature of -224°C Uranus is nearly coldest

planet in the solar system.

In 1986, the Voyager 2 probe was successfully sent to Uranus and took the first photos

of the planet, its moons and its rings.

Source: astronomy.com/uranus

By Enrique Jimenez Staff Writer

Coachella Taking place on consecutive weekends in April, the

annual Coachella Festival is back – and it's better than

ever. With artists like Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar

taking the stage, Coachella's lineup only gets more inter-

esting every year. Not to mention surprise performances

such as Tyler, the Creator and A$ap Rocky join-

ing ScHoolboy Q, Drake joining Future, or even Pharrell

Williams alongside Hans Zimmer.

Although an indie music festival may not be a place

for everybody to enjoy, Coachella can be an enjoyable

experience: from quirky spring outfits and the "hipster" environment, to the unusual personality of

performers. It's an event made for letting loose and having fun.

Source: coachella .com

By Luis Padilla Guest Writer

That's So Raven Spin-Off

Disney Channel's sitcom That's So Raven, aired

on January 17, 2003, ended on November 10, 2007

has a new spin-off of the classic Disney comedy

television series called Raven's Home. The new

series is scheduled to premiere later this

year. Raven's Home follows into the series of Raven

Baxter, now a divorced mother of the two pre-teens,

Nia and Booker, one of whom inherits Raven's psy-

chic abilities. The plan of having this sequel was

originally announced last year from Ra-

ven Symoné and Annelise Von Der Pol at the time Raven was leaving her place on The View to

then work on the new series.

Source: variety.com

By Madison Mendoza Staff Writer

Opinion 4

- The Grapevine - The Grapevine is a student publication distributed several times a year by the Journalism staff of Cesar E. Chavez High School. The Grapevine is an open forum for students and staff. The Grapevine encourages guest writes and authentic signed letters to the editor. The staff takes sole responsibility for the opinions herein expressed by the student body and acknowledges that these opinions are not reflective of CCHS or DJUHSD.

Editor-in-Chief Editors Nicolas Chaney Rubi De Lira

Kristine Carrillo

Staff Writers

Paola Garcia Enrique Jimenez Madison Mendoza Allan Isidro Arlie Carrillo Christian Becerra

Why is Easter Pastel? By Arlie Carillo Staff Writer

Certain colors become associated with holidays since they're an easy visual shorthand. Red and

green for Christmas, orange and black for Halloween, red and pink for Valentine's Day, green for St.

Patrick's and pastels for Easter. Pastels are used in this celebration because they're "spring"-y kind

of colors which evoke life coming back into the world after the black and white of winter, but not

yet at the full bold colors of summer.

What is a pastel color for Easter anyway? The pastel colors are particularly well suited for the

Easter decorations in light shades of blue, pink, green, citrus yellow and light purple. Also, light

orange or coral colors and light shades of turquoise are pastel are Easter colors. These colors associ-

ated with Easter reflect not only the softness of the spring season, but also the optimism that comes

with it. These trendy colors of Easter are connected with

the renewal and the fresh green of new buds and foliage

of the trees and white blossoms of trees in the spring.

Pastel Easter colors help to bring the freshness of spring

and the energy of a warm, sunny day. Easter is also asso-

ciated with children and babies because most of the time

they are the ones that go on Easter egg hunts and when

we think of babies we usually have the idea of light col-

ors. Source: Rd.com

Age of “Nontroversy” By Enrique Jimenez Staff Writer

So if you've been online recently or tuned in to the news on TV, you've probably been noticing

that a lot of people have been "outraged" over a lot of small things recently. It seems like every week

there's some new topic that the media is telling you makes people argue with each other to no end.

Yet, when you actually look around you, either nobody really cares or everyone seems to be on the

same side, so where is all this controversy that

you've been told is tearing people apart?

The truth is, it doesn't exist. Or at the very least,

it's not as big as its been made up to seem. See,

many networks and content creators are dying for

views and that sweet, sweet ad revenue, so they

pick a spicy topic and make up an imaginary oppo-

sition, or make it seem much larger than it really

is.

For example, remember the Pepsi ad with Ken-

dall Jenner? It was a very distasteful commercial,

but it wasn't outrageous. Some people on twitter

and YouTube made fun of it for a while, and soon, it began being known as the "Controversial Pepsi

Commercial" and news sites were saying that people were outraged over it. In reality, there was no

outrage or controversy. It was nothing but twitter jokes and YouTuber reactions.

Another recent Nontroversy was the United Airlines incident. Of course that was horrible, and

people were outraged, but everybody was on the same mindset. Everybody was against United, un-

derstanding that what they did was wrong. Nobody really tried to defend United until the whole

thing was already blown over.

While it is true that we live in an age where anyone can voice their anger online for the world to

see, I feel as though all of these Nontroversies that have been springing up recently tend to give us

the wrong impression of this generation, making it seem as though we're all these little balls of pent

up hate that are just waiting to explode at every little thing, which is just plain not true. Nontrover-

sies may seem like innocent little lies, but after a while, they can have a very negative effect on our

perception of others and can sour our whole outlook on the world.

Source: Youtube.com

Should Easter be a Holiday? By Paola Garcia Staff Writer

Easter Sunday honors the day Jesus resurrected from the

dead, according to the New Testament in the Christian Bible. In

my humble opinion, I believe Easter should be a holi-

day. Whether you celebrate this day for religious reasons or

not, it is a springtime tradition and a great reason to get together

with friends and family.

While there are people who believe Easter Sunday should

only be celebrated by Christians, I believe otherwise. People of

all cultures and religions spend this day by gathering with

friends and family, playing games, decorating and hunting for

eggs, and celebrating the beginning of spring. To them, this holiday is not about religion. It is about

springtime, life, and a new beginning.

Source: stonemanor.uk.com

The Ever Growing Influence of

Wonderful Citrus For nearly 18 years, the company now known as Wonderful Citrus has had an im-

pact on the community of Delano. In 1999, under the name Paramount Citrus, they

opened their first packaging plant in Delano, employing nearly 1,000 of Delano’s

38,000 people, becoming one of the largest employers in the area. Around 2010, the

company began to charter a school called Paramount Bard College Prep Academy

which changed its name in 2013 Wonderful College Prep Academy when the compa-

ny changed its name from Paramount Citrus to Wonderful Citrus. Also taking place

around the same time, a second packaging plant was built near the original. Wonder-

ful Citrus now employs over 2,000 of Delano’s now 63,000 people, remaining as one

of the largest, if not the largest employer in the area, not to mention those who work

at their charter school. Just recently, in 2016, they opened a second campus for their

school, the new one being for high school students while the original is now only for

K-8.

As Delano’s most massive

employer and owner of two

charter schools, it is safe to

say that they have quite a bit

of influence in the communi-

ty. But a question is raised

from the degree of influence

the company possesses. Is it

right for such an entity to

have a sway in local politics

to the degree which they do?

Well, on the one hand,

they’ve become an active

member of the community, and a vital part of the local economy, so they should have

at least some say in matters. At the same time, some would argue that no entity

should have such an influence. I personally do not see any immediate danger, but my

main concern would be not being too dependent on their presence. Companies suc-

ceed and companies fail, if Wonder Citrus should one day, God forbid, fall into the

latter category, we as a community need to be able to function without them being

there. Within the past two decades, Wonderful has become rather powerful; let’s all

just keep in mind that with great power comes great responsibility.

Source: turnto23.com

By Nicolas Chaney Editor-in-Chief

Culture of the Trophy Child

It's evening time, and you are exhausted. After getting home from an incredibly

long day filled with taking tests, hurriedly finishing assignments, and then tiredly

attending your extra-curricular activities ON TOP of already being sleep deprived

from the night before, all you want to do is go home, eat, and knock out in your most

comfortable pair of pajamas. It is at this moment- the one where you lay down to

relax after a stressful day at school- that your parents come barging into your room

and lecture you, conveying the message that working hard in school and achieving

the best grades possible is what is required of you to do well in life, because your

accolades not only reflect on you, but more importantly, they reflect on your parents.

As they speak, you begin to feel the pressure of having to succeed in school weigh

down on you, and the burden of academic and life responsibilities quickly turns into

an overload of anxiety. Do you ever experience this phenomenon? Well, if you do,

then I welcome you into the culture of being a trophy child.

A trophy child is a one whose birth or achievements are often paraded by parents

to enhance their status, an anomaly of which can be observed as an ever-present con-

cept in today's society. A majority of high achieving students, despite having astound-

ing intelligence levels, frequently struggle with the strain of dedicating endless hours

of their efforts to doing well in academics. If you ask anyone of these students what

their biggest motivator is for setting and accomplishing the high expectations they

have for themselves, not many will tell you that they want to be good enough to take

a few classes at the local community college and work at a gas

station while living a fairly content life. Most will give that

they desire to attend a prestigious university, attain a degree in

their respective field of study, and enjoy living lavishly with a

ton of money to buy a big house and a nice car. While under-

standing that working hard now to live an easier, more com-

fortable life later is great, parents of this modern age have

pushed their kids to unhealthy lengths in favoring a life full of

achieving the highest success over one that could be deemed

as content, or even "mediocre". This culture of the trophy

child drives parents to go to extremes when it comes to raising

their kid, often times driving away the child and alienating

them from any hope of a content life. Success is a good goal

to achieve, but it isn't the only goal to achieve. Furthermore,

how you define success determines how you strive to achieve

it. It is important that parents and children alike remember

that a person profits nothing if they gain the whole world and lose their soul. The

culture of the trophy child encourages such an outcome.

Source: http://margaretfeinberg.com

By Kristine Carrillo Editor