Author: Elsa Williams

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News

Scholarship Application Closing

If you’re a senior taking AP Government or Econ, a college and career center or other counselor has likely come to your social science or history class to remind you about the scholarships available for CKM students, many of which have upcoming due dates. If you missed your counselor’s speech about student opportunities, here is a brief reminder!

First and foremost, make sure you submit your FAFSA, as its deadline has been extended several times due to delays, giving those who have been struggling with the new application a greater grace period to troubleshoot. Counselors should’ve also made a trip to your classroom over the last few months to talk about financial aid, where they would’ve guided you through the FAFSA application process; however, if you somehow missed one of these support days, use your school account to sign into californiacolleges.edu, where they will have a step-by-step guide to help you through the application.

There is a Weebly website for the CKM career center which has links to several portals for scholarship applications, but many of which are due this week, April 17th at the latest, so get your application in as soon as you can. The majority of the CKM exclusive scholarships are due by April 12th, so if you haven’t already asked for a letter of recommendation from a teacher or extracurricular leader, you may be in trouble.

There are also a handful of scholarships for certain cultural groups available, like the MLK and initial catholic scholarships, which are both still open to applications (as of when this is published). Some of the scholarships are based on experience and may require an essay or personal statement, so be prepared to get personal on the application for some of the grants.

Only a handful of CKM and Sacramento Area grants are still available, so if you have already missed the window for some of the larger grants, there are also several other scholarship websites listed on the career center’s page. Scroll down to the bottom to find about a dozen 3rd party pages that host many different scholarships from around the country, for all kinds of highly specific majors and backgrounds. Be sure to sift through as many as you can, for you may find one perfectly tailored to you. Don’t miss out on opportunities for free money!

https://ckmhscareercenter.weebly.com/scholarships.html

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Entertainment News

New Wave is WACK!

Last Friday, March 15th, dozens of McClatchy students made their way to Davis for a New Wave Club Night, hosted by Wack 530, a group that organizes local shows for local artists. There were four DJs, including CKM’s own Ruby Copher, aka Dick Bandit, who played a mix of nostalgic and modern music that fit the retro theme. The show was hosted in one of the coordinator’s garages and consisted of a small but energized audience of students and local youth. If you are interested in attending more events like the former described, make sure to follow @wack_530 on Instagram if you haven’t already!

Attendees were urged to dress according to the New Wave theme, typically a quirky style of danceable music that was popular in the 1980s and ‘90s, but also famous for its colorful, alternative fashion. The venue itself was decorated head to toe with pink glitter, posters, and lights, honoring its advertised title of a New Wave Club appropriately. The guests were equally decorated in the typical New Wave style, with lots of colorful makeup and outfits to match the vibe of the music blaring. 

Speaking of blaring, the cops were called! Later in the night, there was apparently a noise complaint that resulted in a few police officers showing up briefly. However, the organizers complied and turned down the music a little bit, and the party was left to rage on!

As the party continued, the DJs switched a few times and each had their own unique choices of music to play. Some of the songs that the crowd was most excited about were Space Age Love Song by A Flock Of Seagulls, West End Girls by Pet Shop Boys, Blue Monday by New Order, and Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper. Of course, the performers were also dressed just as fabulously as their excited fans, with pink and purple statement makeup to match the eclectic music. 

Overall, the New Wave Club Night was yet another successful Wack show. They throw these types of local events fairly often, so if you missed this one, don’t fear! Be sure to keep updated with Wack to know when there will be another! For more information, follow @wack_530 on Instagram which will also lead you to the handles of all the musicians who played too. Congratulations Ruby on your awesome show!

Photos by Chloe Slack!

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Entertainment Opinion

In Defense of The Curse

While receiving critical acclaim, Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie’s new show, The Curse, has yet to be well-received by audiences. Following an HGTV couple as they gentrify a small community in New Mexico, Española, under the guise of improvement, The Curse is one of the most disturbing yet intriguing shows I’ve ever seen, one I’ve already managed to watch twice. While it may not bode well for those sensitive to cringe, this show may have some of the most interesting performances and concepts I’ve ever seen.

The Curse follows Whitney (Emma Stone) and Asher Siegal (Nathan Fielder) as they film a home improvement show focused on implementing “passive,” eco-friendly homes in the area. The couple is accompanied by their pretentious producer, Dougie (Benny Safdie), as they fabricate their entire persona in order to seem as if they are benefiting the area they are, in fact, gentrifying.

Juxtaposed by natives to the area and community problems created by the production of “Flipanthropy,” the HGTV show produced by the couple, The Curse satirizes the exploitation of people of color and poverty in small communities by real institutions, as the Siegal family capitalizes on the misery that their “renovation” causes others. The team comprising “Flipanthopy” takes advantage of the disadvantaged community to make themselves seem like the town’s saviors, despite confrontation from several citizens of Española, outright calling them “cancer” to its livelihood.

The TV show within a TV show makes the plot feel like you’re watching behind-the-scenes footage instead of a finished product. As the couple’s facade drops when they’re behind the camera, the viewer gets the impression they are seeing their true colors, a stark contrast to the caring family they present on screen. However, as the series develops, the thin veil of their adoring relationship begins to slip, escalating their marital issues on and off-screen.

After watching The Curse, I will never watch an HGTV couple the same way again. This show was horrifying without having any actual “horror” within the plot, as the dialogue between Safdie and Fielder was disturbing enough on its own. I’m exceedingly impressed by how truly awful all the characters in The Curse are to each other and the people around them, hopefully, as a result of their phenomenal acting. I can’t help but applaud the cast for being so convincingly insincere and nasty to their counterparts.

The show does have a TV-MA rating for sex and nudity as well as language. However, the show is fairly moderate overall, not necessarily as grotesque as its rating would suggest. The uncomfortable energy that the actors bring, particularly the chemistry between Safdie, Fielder, and Stone, is the most cringe-worthy aspect of the entire series. In fact, I would say the nudity and profanity’s only purpose is to amplify the characters’ drama.

I would recommend this show to fans of horror who enjoy tough but rewarding watching experiences, as the final episode, without spoiling, completely changes the entire perspective of the series with a strangely satisfying yet bizarre ending.

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Features

Interview with Dance Team Captain, Selena!

Selena is a senior in the final chapter of her time at CKM. She has been a dedicated member of the dance team since freshman year and is now the Varsity captain of the Mane Event Dancers.  Selena looks back on the time she has spent at CKM very positively, and she hopes to give other young dancers the support she cherished while dancing for our school. 

Next year, Selena will be moving on from captain to a new role as an assistant coach, so she can continue working with the team that inspired her passion for dance. In addition to dancing for CKM, Selena has also coached the Cal spirit team, helping potential Lions perfect their skills with her expertise. 

Besides dance, Selena is also familiar with other forms of the arts, like photography. She is currently taking a class on the subject but also takes pictures of the things she loves for her enjoyment. Sports photography has particularly become a love of Selena’s since she has been dancing at football and soccer games for CKM, often snapping pictures from the sidelines while she cheers the Lions on. 

Selena is thankful for all the people she has met through CKM dance, as she has some of her most precious memories at CKM with the friends she made on the team. Sophomore year, 2021-2022, was a particularly memorable year for Selena, as she feels like that’s when the team was the closest to each other because it was much smaller than it is now. She’s still really close with many of the people she met that year and appreciates the closeness between CKM dance members.

Selena is excited to stay local for college so she can come back to help with the team and the community. She feels that she gained a lot of important social skills through CKM that have prepared her well for a future career as well as just in her daily life. She appreciates the work she and her team have put into their improvement and she’s very proud of what she and the rest of the Mane Event Dancers have accomplished over the years, all with the help of amazing coaches who helped push her to do her best. 

She wants to tell future CKM dancers to enjoy their experience here and try not to take it for granted because it goes by all too quickly, don’t stress too much, and just enjoy learning a new skill and have fun. Since joining the team, Selena has found a passion for dance and now can’t imagine her experience without her time on the team; Try new things and take chances, and you might find a new self truly loving what you do!

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News Opinion

Students Come Together for Campus Clean-up

On the Saturday morning of February 3rd, dozens of students went back to school to clean up classrooms, hallways, and school facilities. Together, they swept, scrubbed, and scraped C. K. McClatchy from the entrance to the field, leaving our campus the cleanest it had been in weeks. It’s important to keep our schools clean all the time, but especially after a deep clean, because we hardly have an excuse to litter our school again.

This is the second pickup I’ve been to, one last school year around the same time. Last time the groups were very disorganized, with many people bunched into one section of the school at the same time. We also didn’t have access to certain janitorial services or classrooms, since it was just before finals week, and apparently, some teachers were nervous about students cheating on tests while cleaning their classrooms. Last year was overall a bust; little work got done, and we were unproductive due to supply shortages, but this year the teams were much more prepared to take on the school.

The cleaning lasted from 10:00 til Noon, and there were eight groups total, each assigned to their specific section of the school. I was in the science and ROTC quads, and we had step-by-step instructions to sweep, scrub, and mop classrooms and the quads. We were very productive, with only some supply issues between other groups; I remember there being a lack of mops specifically. Other groups were just as productive, some even finishing a little early and joining other groups to help with unfinished work.

There were some issues with the chemicals used in cleaning, as we were supposed to dilute many of the chemicals used while scrubbing floors and desks, yet some groups didn’t realize and still used the concentrated cleaners straight. After they were cleaned, some parts of the school smelled awful, indicating there were way too many cleaning supplies used in the area. I’m sure it’s not all that harmful, but at the time it was exceedingly hard to breathe while standing in the same hallway for so long.

As far as I’m sure, this event was organized by senior Cara Taylor, who arranged groups and helped other leaders with instruction the day before. She is the reason this pickup was able to move so smoothly, as she regularly moved from group to group, helping other groups with the tasks at hand. It is thanks to her as well as all the teachers and students who attended that the cleanup was so thoroughly effective!

If you noticed that McClatchy seemed a little shinier this week, try to continue to keep our school clean by being mindful of litter and other waste. The cleanup was a great group effort, and hopefully, it will inspire new motivations to keep McClatchy in a better state than it was the day before.

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News

McClatchy Clubs Spreading Joy This Holiday Season

The season of giving is upon us, and many clubs are finding ways for CKM students to spread joy all around Sacramento. This is the final week before winter break, so many of them are set to conclude this Friday, the 22nd. However, while this is the last opportunity for seasonal community service, stay updated with the following organizations for chances to give back all year round!

Firstly, the Brown Issues club is holding a food and toy drive to support farmworkers this holiday season. Give back to those who put food on our table by donating goods before Friday, December 22nd. The Brown Issues team is looking for non-perishable food and gently used toys to donate. If you have any items from previous donations, consider leaving them with Mr. Meza in room 215 or any Brown Issues member before winter break.

Another drive to take advantage of this week is the Feminist Coalition’s feminine products drive for the Wellspring Women’s Center. The class with the most donations will win a pizza party, so supply as many items as you can for a chance to win. Ask your English teacher if your class is participating in the drive this week; there should be a box for donations in every English classroom.

Finally, the CKM Key Club is holding a potluck this Tuesday, December 19th, where they will be collecting cards to send to the memory care center at the Carlton Senior Living Home. Make your cards in advance and bring them to room 31 during the weekly Key Club meeting at lunch. There will also be community service hours available for anyone who makes a card for the benefit. To get more information, contact a Key Club member or find them on the group’s Instagram, @ckmkeyclub.

There are also dozens of community events all around the Sacramento area this season, with countless organizations putting together opportunities to give back before the holidays arrive. The holidays are a great time to help others and support the community. If you are interested in other ways to support those in need this season, reach out to groups that are important to you and ask what help they need. Many local businesses are also holding similar drives this season, so be sure to stay involved with your community to find ways to help.

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Entertainment Features

Romeo and Juliet Cast and Tech Interviews

The VAPA theater students presented their fall performance last week, featuring William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. It was the classic tale of the fateful star-crossed lovers with an alternative flair. Uniquely cast and styled, the 2023 production of Romeo and Juliet was a post-modern arrangement of a classic told a hundred times before.

Contessa Gonzales, a senior who played Juliet Capulet, said the play needed a fresh take, a different post-modernist view of the story that wasn’t related to the 1996 Luhrman interpretation. She tried not to look at any other renditions of her character so she could be original in her interpretations of the script. Contessa compared this production to the aesthetic of Tim Burton, but others have described it as having pop-punk styles, costumes, and music.

Contessa also expressed that the emphasis on Juliet’s age was very purposeful in her portrayal of the character. Juliet’s emotions are intense, and her immaturity is apparent throughout the drama, as she and Romeo make rash decisions that end in their demise. It’s important to note that many interpretations of the original play believe it was a cautionary tale, considering all the tragedy that ensues.

Dallas Murphy, who was the head of the lighting production, said that the color was very representative of the different eras and settings of the play, with orange representing the Montagues and pink symbolizing romance. Contessa, too, said that the colors of her costumes were coordinated with the events in Juliet’s life; for example, she would always wear red during a death scene.

Myari Adams, the student director of Romeo and Juliet, said her time with the VAPA team was awe-inspiring. She felt that her role as a student director allowed her to get to know everyone on set and even become closer to the people she already knew. She is thankful for the opportunity to work backstage as well as an actor in other productions. If you are interested in theater but not necessarily acting, consider joining the tech team with Dallas and Myari for their next show this school year.

There was a wonderful turnout at every show, and they would like to thank everyone who loyally came to their showings in the fall. If you enjoyed the show, auditions for the winter production, Little Women, are currently taking place for its later performances.

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Entertainment Opinion

Unconventional Holiday Movies for Your Winter Festivities

The best movies to watch during the holiday season are the ones that hardly have to do with the holidays at all. Most of these do happen to be Christmas-related, but that’s only because there are so many Christmas movies. Regardless of what you celebrate, anyone can enjoy these cheerful, random movies during this festive season. I believe the best part of a Christmas movie is not how it celebrates the holiday itself, but rather how it honors everything associated with the winter season, like family, joy, and giving. 

Let’s start by settling the Die Hard debate, it is absolutely a Christmas movie. There’s Christmas music, the plot takes place on Christmas Eve, and it is about a family coming together for the holidays. Besides the violent terrorist attack that the rest of the movie surrounds, at its core, Die Hard is about a guy trying to celebrate Christmas with his family, doing everything in his power to ensure his and his wife’s safety. It’s funny, exciting, and festive, a Holiday movie that will keep everyone happy. 

One of my favorite Christmas movies is the 1974 Black Christmas, a classic horror movie about a sorority house that is visited by someone much more sinister than the Holly Jolly Santa Claus on one Christmas Eve. Despite its festive name, the movie doesn’t have much to do with Christmas at all and instead is a suspenseful horror movie that is genuinely super scary. There were a few remakes made over the years, but I wouldn’t bother with any of them, none compared to the horrifying original. The 1974 version is free on a handful of platforms, so I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a frightful holiday movie to start the season. 

Another favorite of mine is Greta Gerwig’s 2019 Little Women, based on the 19th-century book written by Louisa May Alcott. This movie follows the lives of four sisters amidst the American Civil War, as they take on love, family, and their careers. There is only one short Christmas scene, but the movie is joyful and keeps the holiday spirit high throughout the story. Little Women may also be the most critically acclaimed movie on this list, winning over a dozen Academy Awards when it was released. 

Edward Scissorhands is not necessarily a holiday movie, but it takes place partly during Christmas, so I always watch it around this time of year. If you haven’t seen it, Edward Scissorhands is a Tim Burton film about a man with scissors for hands learning to find love and family as he explores the world after being forsaken by his creator. It’s a wholesome movie about unconditional love that can be enjoyed all year round, but it’s especially appropriate during the holiday season.

Gremlins is probably the most campy movie on this list, as the horror-comedy is about a small town being overrun by strange, singing creatures, called the “mogwai.” Don’t be fooled by its horror genre, this movie is hilarious. The creatures that the movie surrounds are small, fuzzy, and tiny until they turn evil, green, and scaly, not exactly the most intimidating villains. It’s lighthearted and one of the most festive movies on this list, a great family movie to celebrate with this year. 

Finally, if you’re in a more dramatic mood, Carol is a festive romance that takes place during the Christmas season but doesn’t have the cheesy Hallmark energy that most Christmas romances have. The movie is about two women who bond and slowly fall in love after meeting in a department store during a hectic winter day. Carol is a tender romance that is sweet if you are looking for a slow burn that is well-made and still festive enough to celebrate with. 

I hope you find yourself enjoying some of these unusual holiday movies this winter, no matter what you may celebrate during this time of year. Sure, most if not all of these are Christmas movies, but that’s only because there are so many of them made. If you have any holiday movies that you love to watch that aren’t listed or aren’t necessarily Christmas-themed, feel free to share them below and keep the recommendations going.

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News

2023 Festival of Plenty

Black Student Union’s Festival of Plenty was held this Friday, November 17, during lunch in the lunch quad. The event included cultural dishes from all sorts of clubs on campus, all of which were delicious and very affordable to students. Clubs and organizations often hold fundraisers on campus, but this was one of the first events in which all the student union members collaborated in one big feast. The Festival of Plenty was a great way to kick off the Thanksgiving season and our upcoming break.

From savory entree to a sweet dessert, there was something for everyone at this Festival of Plenty. With so many unique options, the Festival of Plenty was a great way to have a delicious lunch and support McClatchy’s cultural clubs on campus. 

Black Student Union planned this whole event and undoubtedly had the most vast spread of all the clubs there, but there were tables all around offering something unique to the culture they represented. Black Student Union’s menu included chicken, fish, mac and cheese, collard greens, and many more sides and beverages; Meanwhile, the Raza Collective was serving aguas frescas, the Pacific Islanders Union had spam musubi and pork buns, and the Hispanic and Latinx club offered elote, pan dulce, and gansitos. There were also tables for the Young Lines/K-Pop club which sold cupcakes and ramen and the Jewish Student Union which had cupcakes too, all of which sold for $10 or less. 

The event was a huge success for everyone able to participate. With all the different foods offered during the festival, you would think that lines would spread out over all the open booths; However, each stand seemed equally bustling with customers, hopefully meaning that all the clubs present were able to benefit from this fundraiser. Most of the food sold out pretty fast, so if you didn’t get your fix of whatever meal you were hoping for, be sure to keep up with the organizations there to see when they will have a booth again. 

Fundraising like this is also a good time to get familiar with clubs you may have missed at Club Rush, so if any of the clubs mentioned above sound exciting to you be sure to find their Instagram or a member to keep updated on meetings and other events in the future. However, events like these only happen every so often, so try not to miss them when they do!

This potluck was a great send-off to the upcoming break. In the Thanksgiving spirit, it was nice to see everyone enjoy working together to create such a nice meal on the last day of school lunch. Hopefully, this inspires others to do the same with their family and friends and celebrate gratitude however they see fit. Thank you to the Black Student Union for organizing such a wonderful event!

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Entertainment

Fall Playlist

Head Over Heels – Tears for Fears

This song reminds me of the opening scene of Donnie Darko, one of my favorite fall movies, about a kid’s hallucination of the end of the world. This song is also just a new-wave classic, the perfect kind of music to enjoy during this season. 

Rainy Day – Susan Christine

Other than new wave or alternative, one of the most appropriate fall genres is of course folk, and this song is a perfect example of how fitting it is. Her downbeat song albums like Paint a Lady are a peaceful addition to a mellow afternoon and will always suit a rainy day well. 

The Nightingale – Julee Cruise

Like the foremost song, this piece makes me think of one of my favorite shows, Twin Peaks. It’s a murder mystery, and as the plot slowly unravels throughout a slow and twisting show, so does the community at hand. This is all ultimately very typical of writer and director, David Lynch, who, if you can stand the dark aura of Twin Peaks, has also created many other bizarre stories, like that of Eraserhead and Mulholland Drive, all excellently weird movies to watch during this dreary time of year.  

Only When I’m Dreaming – Minnie Riperton

If you don’t care for the dark energy of the previous show or song, Minnie Riperton’s whimsical, soul music will surely suit you much better. Honestly, I could listen to her all year long, but when the leaves change color, I always want to celebrate with her fanciful jazz. 

September Song – Eartha Kitt

There are maybe hundreds of different “September Songs” out there, but this one is without a doubt my favorite of them all. It’s old and sounds like it could be from a Disney Princess movie, but I think it’s purely magical. A bit older than the other choices on this list, but a  comforting, nostalgic song for autumn nonetheless. 

Flowers In December – Mazzy Star

This song may be the closest I will ever get to country, and yet it’s still one of my favorites on this whole list. Mazzy Star is the master of melancholy, and even with a harmonica, her music is still slow and quiet, like a December day. This entire album is very delicate, especially during this serene season. 

Sleeping Lessons – The Shins

I could sleep to this song every time it comes on. The backing track specifically is rhythmic, I could listen to the piano riff at the beginning all on its own for hours on end. I honestly wish The Shins would release that version so I can sleep to it. 

Fool in the Rain – Led Zeppelin We end with possibly the most upbeat song on this playlist, and surprisingly that is a Led Zeppelin song. I feel like the lyrics paint the scene of a dark, gloomy day that I can relish in all the better when it is dark and gloomy outside. This is the perfect time of year to enjoy Fool in the Rain, so listen while it’s still meteorologically relevant!