Saddle Parade

by KATHY MAGANA

Staff Writer

We did it! The saddle is home! What better way to celebrate than to have everyone come out during homeroom to see the saddle make its way around campus and have a party with everyone after. The El Diamante varsity football team put in hard work on Friday, November 6, and beat Golden West, making them return the saddle to its rightful home. On Friday, November 13, all homerooms were invited to come outside and see our champion boys and the saddle make its way around the dip with our senior team captains, Keylan Liles and Matthew DeLeon. The sight of the student body lining the pathway shows how proud we are of our boys and how united we stand for the school accomplishment made that glorious Friday night. You could also hear the excitement from everyone as we cheered for the trophy that is the saddle. After the saddle made its way around, many of us gathered into the dip and in front of the library to just have fun and dance. Thanks to the best DJ out there, Quintin Ruiz, we had plenty of great music to enjoy and celebrate to. All around, you could see students smiling and cheering on Sam Baig as he danced his heart out with the school mascot. The event was filled with nothing but excitement, laughter, smiles, and especially a sense of pride that waved throughout the entire campus all day. The atmosphere is unforgettable. All good vibes rung out. From freshmen to seniors, everyone participated in the excitement and fun during homeroom. Even the staff were enjoying the festive event. It was definitely one for the books.

 

Starbucks Controversy

by MICHELLE PEREZ

Staff Writer

 

Who would have thought a coffee cup could cause such a commotion based on its appearance? It seems as though Starbucks has, when deciding to ditch their old Christmas designed cup into a simple red cup. There has been quite an abundance of commotion due to this switch, which I find stupid to even talk about, knowing that this is just a cup. In addition, the lengths people have taken to protest against Starbucks is completely ridiculous.

One way of protesting that has been shared on social media is customers buying their cup of joe and drawing their own Christmas decals or even stating that their name is “Merry Christmas”. Oh gosh, this method is more comical than serious. First of all, the people doing this are still buying from Starbucks, which defeats the whole purpose right there and as long as customers are still buying I doubt Starbucks cares if people doodle on them.

If you really are upset with Starbucks decision, here is your quick fix: get your coffee somewhere else! For instance, AMPM has some pretty cute Christmas themed cups for your coffee, plus it is cheaper! However, if you are a die hard fan of Starbucks then you gotta suck it up because it is literally just a cup that you will throw away once you are done with your drink.

Man Attempting to Walk Across Antarctica

by JULIAN BARCENAS

Staff Writer

The continent of Antarctica is located south of the equator and is made up entirely of ice sheets and snow. Antarctica is larger than both Australia and Europe. The conditions on the continent are very hard for a human to withstand, but there are crazy people out there who push the limits and do it anyway. A british polar explorer named Henry Worsley will try to complete his first unassisted and unsupported traverse of Antarctica all by himself. He is a 55 year old ex army officer and his goal is to be the first man to ever to walk across Antarctica alone without any help. His walk will be 1,200 miles which is the equivalent of walking from North Dakota to Iowa. There have been many people that have tried to accomplish the same goal as Worsley but he makes it clear that they had done it assisted and with company. He tells National Geographic reporters that he wishes to be alone because he wants the matter of success or failure to be on, “His own hands”. Just in case something goes wrong on his 75-80 day expedition, he must call ALE, a medical resource company, every 24 hours where they have a doctor and an airlift ready. He is hopeful he will succeed but he knows he will have bad days out on the ice cap but he has enough self motivation to get him to accomplish this very difficult task.   

 

Bangladesh Child Murders

by RUBY CHAVEZ

Staff Writer

Six sentenced to death for brutal killings following a viral video. The Bangladesh court has handed four men the death sentence over the brutal killing of a 13-year-old boy. It provoked national outrage after the video of the attack went viral.

According to  ABC News “ another two men were ordered to hang for separate torture and murder of another 13-year-old that occurred less than a month later.” Four men were ordered to be hanged after beating Samiul Alam Rajan for stealing a bicycle back in July. Only one man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Rajon in Sylhet on Wednesday.

In the video,  the young child being tied to a post with his hands behind him. He is being beaten with a metal bar, while the other attacker drags him by his hair when he falls down. Another tormentor is being heard in the background laughing while he is cries and begs for mercy.

One attacker who was seen beating Rajan, admitted to stealing the van and everything he had done. He also implies that the group had discussed  posting the video on Facebook so the “whole world can see it.” according to Independent.

After being brutally beaten for 16 minutes, Rajan asked for water and the attackers informed him to drink his own sweat. The untied him and forced him walk, but one of the attackers exclaimed “His bones are apparently intact, beat him more!”

The newspaper also implied that Muhit, Kamrul Islam, 24, Ali Haider, 34, and Monya Miha,45, have been charged with murder. Three of the men are still on the run while another is being questioned.

Saddle Week

by MALIK HIGHTOWER

Staff Writer
Saddle is a big week for El Diamante High School especially this year. If the football team does not win this week, they do not go to playoffs, and also will lose the saddle for two years in a row. If that happens, this season will be the most disappointing season El D’s has had in a long time. So this week we are showing school spirit with our dress up days hoping that our energy will carry over to Friday. This year’s game should be a close one too. El D beat Redwood, and Golden West lost to them. On the other hand, El D lost to Mt Whitney, and Golden West just recently beat them. So this year’s game will be a coin flip and we will only know the winner by waiting until the end of the game. I recommend you go to this game due to the environment and atmosphere this wonderful school is going to bring to the student section. Screaming from the top of your lungs and having a good time with good people. Also it would not be bad to meet new friends who are as loud and crazy as you are, Especially if you missed the Redwood game because games like these will be something you remember about your high school career, guaranteed. Even more so if we win to storm the field and celebrate with. Overall I am excited for what saddle week has in store and hoping it is full of great memories.     

The Haunted Doom

By VICTORIA MALDONADO

Staff Writer
For the month of October, students had the opportunity to work for an internship at a local haunted house, also known as The Haunted Doom, working only Thursday through Saturday nights until 6:30 – 11:00 on non-school nights and 9:00 on Thursdays. Upon arrival they would be handed a clipboard with a list of areas in the house, then be told to sign up for the room they wish, if the area was available. Depending on the area, a worker may get a costume and have their makeup done to go with the assigned area. Each area has it’s own unique theme and set up, the “asylum” is a room with bars and white spongy walls that have strange messages written in fake blood. Those workers would wear something along the lines of a “straightjacket” and their main objective was to seem like a stereotypical insane person. In the doll room, the workers must have their hair done in a doll like fashion and another worker would help them with their makeup, making them looked like a slightly broken porcelain doll. Despite this being a job, and it was taken quite seriously, many of the workers were also able to have fun with it. After all, the main objective was to scare people.

Is Photography an Art?

by ASHLEY BEAL

Staff Writer

“Photography is an art of observation, it’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place. It has little to do with the things you see, and everything to do with how you see them.” – Elliott Erwitt

Many people see photography as portraits, pictures of food, dogs, or even cats. Photography is so much more than that; it is showing an artist’s perspective on the world. Photography is a unique way to show the other side of something. Just like writing, you are expressing yourself and how you feel that day. The best part about Photography is you can choose who and what your subject is; we can also show the little things that always somehow show up in day-to-day life. How your pictures look depend on so many things; to get that one perfect shot, most would normally take one-hundred shots just to achieve it. Your photo has so many aspects, such as composition, lighting, setting, staging, shutter speed, and aperture. So many people believe you take one shot, a quick focus and snap, but it is not true. To me, photography is an art because people spend so much time and effort in just getting one picture. Never underestimate the ability of a photographer. Trust what they are doing with the camera; they most likely know more than you.

The Supernatural

by BEATRIZ SANCHEZ

Staff Writer

Throughout the years many people believe in the supernatural and many have said that they have seen some supernatural beings.

There have been complaints about them for the longest time in history, but they could be real or just in our heads. People say they can’t be explained to why or why not they exist, but there are many stories to prove that they do and that there are eyewitnesses to the stories.  

I believe that the paranormal do exist, that they are among us. After you die, you stay on earth and roam where no one can see you, or only some can.  They can be anywhere and you might not even know or you can feel them around you.

There has been many studies that involved testing for their existence. Like when a room gets colder and you can sense that you are not alone.

There are a lot of books and movies that seem to involve anything paranormal and many documentaries that tell stories of people who have experienced it or are either made up, but many people seem to believe in it and there are even people who deal with them as their job. The people with those jobs try to get rid of them from someone’s house  or from anywhere, and try to help anyone who needs it, and try to help one understand what is going on.

The supernatural is something that just about everyone has heard about, and many people believe in it, like I do, and believe that there might be something out there that many don’t even know about.