By: Haley Romero & Valery Gonzalez, Holiday Reporters

March 1st, 2023

UNITED STATES — Throughout history men have always been talked about for their accomplishments, their wrongdoings, and their importance. On the other hand, women have always been shunned or aren’t talked about enough. Women's History Month is an important time to celebrate the many contributions that women have made to society throughout history. Women have played critical roles in science, politics, literature, art, and countless other fields, yet their achievements have often been overlooked or undervalued. By dedicating a month to recognizing and celebrating women's accomplishments, we can help to raise awareness of the many ways in which women have shaped our world.

Women's History Month also serves as an opportunity to highlight the ongoing struggle for gender equality. Despite the progress that has been made over the years, women continue to face significant barriers in many areas of life, from the gender pay gap to underrepresentation in leadership positions. By shining a light on these issues and celebrating the achievements of women, we can help to inspire the next generation of women leaders and work towards a more equitable future for all.

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is an American Politician and diplomat. Hillary Clinton accomplished many goals for women in politics, she was the first woman to win a major party’s nomination for president and later on the first First lady to win a seat in the U.S senate. She’s fought for women's rights and played a lead role in publicly supporting the creation of the State Children’s Health insurance Program, the Foster Care independence act, Gender equality, etc. Hillary Clinton also helped start the National Campaign to end teen and unplanned pregnancy, she championed the Paycheck Fairness Act and co-sponsored the Ledbetter Fair Act. Hillary Clinton also played a huge part in fighting for legislation to guarantee paid sick leave and parental leave for all federal employees. “Women’s Rights are Humans Rights” is a really important quote to all women because it emphasizes that women's rights are just as important as men's rights, women shouldn’t feel inferior to men because all genders are equal since we're all capable of doing the same things.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, popularly known as RBG, was a leader in the realms of law and justice. She broke down barriers and smashed glass ceilings for women in the legal profession as just the second woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court. During her time on the bench, she wrote landmark rulings that helped to safeguard and enhance women's rights, such as the right to equal pay and the freedom to choose. RBG was an ardent advocate for gender equality outside of the courtroom and worked relentlessly to promote social justice and civil rights for everyone. Her legacy as a feminist icon and pioneer inspires and empowers women all around the world, making her an everlasting emblem of Women's History Month and a tribute to the force of endurance and determination in the battle for gender equality.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, commonly known as AOC, is a rising political figure in the United States and a prominent advocate for progressive reform. She has already had a big influence on the political scene as the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, promoting progressive ideals like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and criminal justice reform. AOC is recognized for her outspoken dedication to social justice and her courageous advocacy for vulnerable groups. She has also been a prominent opponent of the political establishment, highlighting systematic inequity and government corruption. AOC has experienced major difficulties and opposition in her career as a woman of color, but she has persevered with elegance and drive, inspiring a new generation of women to enter politics and fight for change. AOC's achievements serve as a compelling reminder of the significance of government participation and the necessity for varied viewpoints in creating public policy. She is a role model and a trailblazer for women everywhere, and her legacy will continue to inspire future generations.

Therefore, Women’s History Month is a chance to reflect on the remarkable achievements made by women throughout history. It’s time to celebrate the accomplishments of women who have broken down barriers, battled for their rights, and made substantive contributions to their industries. It is also a chance to recognize the continued challenges that women confront today and to fight for a more equal and just society for everyone. Women’s History Month honors the numerous women who have paved the way for future generations while also inspiring young women to strive for greatness in their own lives.

By: Ezra Agabra & Christopher D. Salas, Student Reporters 

March 1st, 2023

32ND STREET USC MAE - On the day of March 1st, 2014, the UN organization, UNAIDS, launched the very first zero discrimination day. Its goal was to stop discrimination of any kind from occurring in workplaces, public institutions, and more. The first major event was in Beijing where over 30 business leaders convened in an attempt to fight against the immense amount of prejudice in jobs all around the country. The movement was very successful and in turn, led to many more of these days to come to fruition.

The need for such a day was welcomed by many. Many countries and certain practices in our modern times still uphold historical values that may discriminate against numerous races/identities. This specific day promotes equal rights for the LGBTQ as well as POC. More recently it's also been expanding on disabilities, an attempt to encompass all forms of discrimination. While the day is promoted by the UN organization, people such as businessmen, lawmakers, and even fellow everyday civilians have been known to show support through reposts, merchandise, and festivities. But a more specific example of the workings behind zero discrimination day would be the organization UNAIDS.

UNAIDS is an organization that was originally founded for the purpose of accelerated, comprehensive, and coordinated efforts toward the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. It was founded on July 26, 1994, in Geneva, Switzerland by Peter Piot. UNAIDS stands for Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. Every year on March first, the day is celebrated under the theme of “Remove laws that harm, create laws that empower.” This statement appears on their website under the page for Zero Discrimination Day: “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.” This quote was said by John Lewis, a civil rights leader and politician of the United States of America.

The impact of this governmental holiday has been noticeable. Not only has it achieved its primary goal of awareness for HIV/AIDS, but it also provided support to other famous human-rights days such as:

-   LGBT+ History Month (UK) 2023

-   LGBT History Month 2023 (United States)

-   Pride Month 2023

-   National Coming Out Day 2023

-   Human Rights Day 2023

Overall, the significance of Zero Discrimination Day has been immense. Never before have so many countries been united to support and sponsor people of all kinds of nature. From fighting for natural rights to fighting against limitations, our society as a whole has come very far. It's with organizations and holidays like these that our world may one day be a safe haven for a person of any Race or Age or Sexuality or Disability or Nature, a world where equality is not a dream long gone but a thing of the past.

By: Vanessa Gamez, Holiday Reporter

February 14, 2023

Valentine's day is a day when people express their love over gifts and affection. Many people typically buy flowers, teddy bears, and candy. Every year people spend a ton of money on these gifts. Since they are buying things like teddy bears for $15-30 and flower bouquets which can cost anywhere around $30-55. An example would be in a recent NRF article in which they estimated the average person can spend $130.75 on gifts for significant others, friends, and family on Valentine's day. 

Valentine's day is ranked to be the 3rd most expensive holiday in the U.S. The NRF has estimated for 2023 the spending for Valentine's day is expected to go up to $23.9 billion in gifts. Since last year the highest it went up to was $21.8 billion. In a chart from the NRF article, there were $6.2 billion dollars going into jewelry in 2022 which is higher than in previous years. As well as spending $6.2 billion on an evening out.

Although there were polls and graphs of what can be the possible total cost of things for Valentine's day. The actual cost for things this year was around $26 billion. Which is 4.2 billion more than their estimation. It has also been shown that most people even go into just buying gifts because of how much they cost. The most bought thing this year was flowers. Flowers were what 34% of the customers mentioned when asked what they would buy. The most popular flowers to get were roses, carnations, lilies, tulips, and sunflowers.

Matthew Shay, the NRF President, and CEO stated “Valentine’s Day is a special occasion for many Americans, even more so as we navigate out of the pandemic, and retailers are prepared to help them mark the holiday in a memorable and meaningful way.” CEO Matthew Shay explains that even after the pandemic, people will still take Valentine’s as a meaningful holiday. Retailers have what people want and make good money from what they sell. "Our report showed that about 27 percent of people said that they may end up taking on some credit card debt because of Valentine's Day," said Lending Tree Chief Credit Analyst Matt Schulz.

I think Valentine's Day is a fun holiday for friends and significant others. It is ridiculous how much people spend. I also think men spend twice as much money as women on Valentine's day. With prices rising, everything becomes more expensive. If I try to buy a bouquet of teddy bears for my friends the price would range from $20-50 depending on how big I want it to be. I think some businesses overdue the prices for their products, but at the same time I think it is good business and promoting since people are desperate for good gifts for their loved ones.

By: Angel Sebastian Parra and Cody David Cartier, Historical Reporters

February 7th, 2023 

Black History Month is meant to annually celebrate the achievements that were acquired by African Americans. Black History Month originated from the even “Negro History Week,”. Ever since 1976, every president in the U.S. designated February to be the month of Black History. Carter G. Woodson is the person who created Black History Month. He first set out in 1926 to educate and promote people of black culture and history. According to history.com,  “The story of Black History Month begins in 1915, half a century after the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in the United States.” There is an association called Association for the Study of Negro Life and History or ASNLH for short.

Black History Month was created to help focus people’s attention to the contribution that African Americans made to the  It helps support the fact that they did have contributions to the United States. This month is to honor the African Americans that were brought to be enslaved but it also honors the African Americans that are here today. The month of February is to honor the sacrifices that every single African American who helped shape the nation we have today. The month February was chosen in specific because in the second week of the month, it coincides with the birthdays of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

One of the people that Black History Month is honoring is Harriet Tubman, she was a slave who escaped and after a bit, she started to help other slaves gain their freedom. Another person that Black History Month is honoring is Martin Luther King Jr, he helped enforce the thought that all people should be equal. He is known for his “I have a dream” speech, as well as making a nonviolent campaign during the Civil Rights Movement. Another person that is honored is Malcolm X, he was basically the opposite of Martin Luther King Jr., he thought that African Americans should protect themselves by any means necessary. Last but not least, another person who should be honored is Rosa Parks, she is known for not giving up her seat for a white passenger who tried to take it away just because she was African American and she was supposed to sit in the back of the bus.

Black History Month started in Chicago. At first the name of this month was Negro History Week which evolved into Black History Month. You may wonder why Black History month starts in February. The reason for that is because two great figures were born in that month. This includes Abraham Lincoln (Born on February, 12) who freed the slaves and Fredrick Douglass (Born February 14), famous black author and orator.

In conclusion, Black history month was a month for African American Achievements to be noticed. Black History Month was created in order to celebrate and recognize the contributions that Black Americans have made to the United States. We also honor their struggles and achievements throughout history. This month is a time to shine a light and celebrate the rich history and cultural heritage of Africans. We have to further continue our ongoing efforts to achieve greater equality and justice for all.

By: Anthony Quintanilla and Angelina Alvarenga, School News Reporters

November 7th, 2022

32ND ST USC MAE - The holiday season is near! The time for hanging out with family and friends, not just that but, the best traditional foods are needed for the holidays! So we have interviewed teachers from 32nd Street USC MAE School for their traditional holiday recipes that you can use for yourself! So let's take a quick look at the recipes we manage to get from interviews with teachers!

The first recipe we managed to get from is Ms. Ng. Her favorite holiday dish is dumplings. She makes a variety of dumplings made out of chicken, shrimp, and ginger wonton. She loves the flavors and sauces that go with it ,“10/10. I love dumplings and making them by hand and with my family, it makes them even better!”, Ms. Ng stated. Her family would come together, sit, talk, and make dumplings for hours. This tradition comes from her Dad’s side of the family. “My dad is half-Chinese and grew up in Hong Kong,” she said. Making dumplings is a typical Asian tradition. She follows several recipes, some of which have been passed down from her dad's side of the family and some of the recipes are from cookbooks. Similar ingredients to achieve this dish are shrimp shelled and deveined, salt, oil, peeled ginger, sugar, Chinese rice water, sesame oil, cornstarch, chopped scallions, ground white pepper, wonton wrapper, and egg. 

The second recipe we managed to get was from Mr. Ortega. He claimed that his favorite meal to make in the Holidays is Chicken Tuscan Alfredo Pasta. He also claims that he loves cooking this recipe all year round because he said “It's the only thing he knows how to cook that comes out perfect.”. He estimates that this recipe is at least 100 years old and was probably made somewhere in Italy. The reason he loves making this dish is that he said  “During the holidays I typically have more time to make it and I feel like I don’t have to do it super fast.”. The way this recipe came to be is because  his daughters were watching a Disney show and one of the characters from the show made a dish similar to what he makes. He said to himself “I can do that.”. From that point forward he started looking at videos and other recipes doing this and he started combining these recipes together to end up making his recipe. The ingredients to make this dish are the following: a thin slice of chicken breast coated with milk, salt, pepper, and lastly bread crumbs. He said,  “Doing this will make it sizzle and will come out very crispy”.

The third interview we managed to get is from Mr. Rodriguez. Christmas is coming up so of course, Mr. Rodriguez said, “My mother's cooking”. According to him, having tamales brings back memories of spending time with family. He has a huge family and they all go to his mom's house to spend that special time with each other. “I think my mom makes the best tamales…” Mr. Rodriguez said as his rating for the meal. He says that his mom gets excited about cooking for the family. Mr. Rodriguez said, “All the love and passion for the family is reflected on the plate.” This is very special because food made with love is different. The history of this dish was every Hispanic tradition. He would go to the Amapola which is a market and buy the masa for the tamales. That market is pretty popular when it comes to masa. He would wake up at 4 in the morning to make a line because that's how packed it would get.

The fourth interview we managed to get was with Mrs. Ki. Her favorite dish she told us  she makes during the holidays is Alfredo White Pasta. She claims she would rate this dish at least an 8/10 really depending on what she adds. For example, she usually sometimes adds chicken or bacon to the Pasta. This is not a traditional food she likes to make but one of the best foods she decides to make during the holidays. The reason she likes making this dish is that she said “I typically love pasta with white sauce”. I can completely agree with her because Pasta with white sauce tastes amazing! Some ingredients we listed that are used to make this Pasta is fettuccine, water, butter, whipping cream, and salt.

The fifth interviewer we managed to get was Mr. Butler. He said his favorite dishes that he enjoys eating during the holidays are typically common dishes that people eat. He claims he can’t cook but if he was able to he would cook Turkey, Macaroni and Cheese, Stuffing, and Corn Bread. He claimed that he would rate this dish as a 10/10 because of the tradition they usually do with his family every year. He said that “There's no possible way of eating this every year” implying that they make different dishes every year with his family. We want to shout out to these teachers who had the time and patience to get interviewed!

By: Analee Bonilla, Weather & Safety Reporter

November 14th, 2022

LOS ANGELES, CA - Are you feeling bored in Los Angeles during this 2022 winter season? Then you're in the right place and I'm here to help you! Take advantage of this change of season by creating a Winter Bucket List filled with cold-weather activities.  The sunshine is slowly disappearing and the leaves are falling off the trees, which can only mean one thing; winter is coming. Winter is the coldest and quite possibly the best season of the year. Here are some things you can do to prepare for the weather and some activities you can do while enjoying your winter break. Instead of hiding out at home under the covers, you can enjoy your winter season of 2022.

One of the best things about California winters is that there is no “winter”. If you have lived in Los Angeles you know that it never snows here and it never goes below the 50’s in the daytime. To celebrate the start of the season you can ice skate, spend the night in a cozy cabin, create a Winter song playlist, go on a sleigh ride, have a snowball fight, make your new year bucket list, build a snowman (or snow angel), go tubing or sledding in Big Bear (or other locations), have a bonfire, decorate sugar cookies, etc. The possibilities are endless and I want to help you all have the best time this Winter. One of the most important things is to have fun, enjoy yourself, stay warm and most of all stay safe!

Dress in layers, wear a hat, gloves and scarfs. Have hot drinks and food such as soups and stews, move around at least once an hour and avoid sitting still for long periods. This will help keep you warm. Microwavable heating pads, hot water bottles or heated blankets and of course keep warm and enjoy s’mores! I cannot stress this enough, please stay safe. Winter storms create a higher risk of car accidents, hypothermia, frostbite, etc. Winter can bring extreme cold, freezing rain, hail and high winds. These can last from a few hours to several days. “Cold weather can put increased stress on our cardiovascular system. Cold temperatures cause your blood vessels to constrict, shallow breathing, and a slight thickening of the blood. These changes can cause chest pain.” This quote from SignatureMD is the main reason why I want to help you guys stay warm and SAFE this winter.

Cold weather and winter storms can be dangerous and unexpected. Plan ahead to stay safe and healthy. Get your home ready. Get ready for outdoor activities and power outages. Even while winter shouldn't come as a surprise, many of us might not be prepared when it does. You are more likely to be safe and healthy as the temperatures start to drop if you are ready for the risks of winter.

Be ready for emergencies caused by the weather.  Maintain a supply of water and cooked, refrigerated food in clean containers. Be cautious of the present and expected weather when considering vacation plans. Dress appropriately for the outdoors and become aware about outdoor safety precautions. Be ready to check on family members and neighbors that are more vulnerable to cold weather issues, such as young children, elderly people, etc.  Bring your pets inside if you have any. Provide them with safe, warm shelter and access to fresh water if you are unable to bring them inside. Winter's arrival cannot be stopped. But if you listen to these recommendations, it can help you be prepared.

Even if these extra precautions are needed, I encourage every single one of you to enjoy yourself and just allow yourself to have a good time even under the circumstances!