Month: March 2023

Things to do After School

Post author By Ilijah Curtin
Post date March 13, 2023
No Comments on Things to do After School

After a long day at school, students are often looking for fun activities to finish off their stressful day. Below is a list of suggestions for activities you can do to help unwind from the pressure of school and enjoy your weekdays.

1. Visit Local Restaurants & Shops

Around Sacramento, you can walk or catch the light rail to find many local restaurants and shops. Our school is surrounded by them. It’s common to see students across the street eating at Oscar’s or down the road at Taylor’s. Local businesses also surround our area. One of my favorites is Zanzibar Trading Company. If you’re into collecting crystals, the place is scattered with them.

2. Join A Club Or Make Your Own

Not all clubs have to take place at school. Several communities have created clubs of all kinds that are worth giving a try. There are so many ways to connect with others who share your interests, from video games to reading. And if there isn’t one, create one. Putting yourself out there will help you build your own community.

3. Go Hiking

It’s never too late to go for a hike. There are a number of trails in the area that are short but enjoyable. It’s a great source of exercise and very interactive. Grab a book and some water, and enjoy nature.

Exploring Downtown

Exploring the town is an awesome experience, whether it’s with friends or on your own. There are so many things you can take part in. Special events or cruising the streets are a great pastime. There are so many activities and hang-out spots for people of all ages.

5. Volunteering

Many of you are probably required to complete community service hours, and this is the perfect time to do so. There are several options to choose from, and it doesn’t have to be done alone. Invite a family member or friend to help.

After school, there are so many other things to do rather than staying in your room. Take advantage of some of these tips to have a better weekday.

Features Opinion

Late for School? Here Are A Few Tips To Be On Time

Post author By Daniel Cole
Post date March 13, 2023
No Comments on Late for School? Here Are A Few Tips To Be On Time

It’s kinda hard to get to school on time, especially if you don’t have an organized schedule. Maybe you do make it to school on time, but cut it extremely close to being as late. As the new late policy has been established at McClatchy, I thought it’d be best to share some things you could do to hopefully get to class on time and not have to get the slip and wait in a ridiculous line.

Early Bird Catches The Worm

Now, you don’t exactly have to wake up early, but it is a good idea to go to bed at a reasonable time. You might be tempted to stay up late for some sort of game or to watch something on your phone, which I completely understand, but unless you have a really legit reason to stay up late, try to get to sleep close to 10 PM for the sake of your morning-self. It is hard to get your body to wake up at a designated time, even with alarms. If you could manage to wake up somewhere close to 6 AM, imagine the productive things you could do with all of that time

Point A to B

Try to leave for school at a reasonable time to ensure that you arrive by thetime first period starts. Make sure to factor in the walk/drive/route you take to school; maybe it takes a few minutes, or maybe it takes ten. If your commute is something like fifteen minutes, for example, I’d suggest that you leave sometime between 7:55-8:00 AM, so you have enough time to walk to class and gather your bearings as opposed to sprinting to get there at the last second. Punctuality is all about crossing the distance between points A and B, and from there you can form a schedule and do as you please.

Stay Organized and On Top of it.

Mornings can be messy, regardless of the setting. There are a lot of things people have to fit into their schedule, such as a morning shower, preparation of breakfast, getting dressed, etc. Creating a schedule or routine for your morning helps keep duties on track, so all of these specific tasks don’t take excessively longer than they need to. And hey—you can also have a light schedule where each activity is a little more time-consuming. Want to take a hot shower in the morning or sleep in nice and late? You can try just that; just make sure you have a set plan/timeline to accomplish the necessary steps of your morning and head out for school.

Of course, these are all just recommendations. If you’ve already developed habits that work for you, then you can continue on your way, or, if you don’t mind the slip, pay no attention to my suggestions. The bottom line of this How-to is that organization and a little extra planning can make any schedule easier to manage, so anyone can adjust to the new (though quite strict) CKM late policy.

Opinion Technology

Are Aliens Studying Us?

For many years, conspiracies and beliefs have circulated the claim that aliens are here with us on earth and are watching our everyday lives. Today I will be discussing my thoughts on this.

Humans have the technology to do amazing things such as create space technology, but we have never seen life on any other planet besides our own. I would like to believe that aliens live somewhere in space, but we cannot find them because of the absolute vastness of space. We have seen UFOs and supernatural activity on camera, but every fuzzy sighting and highly pixelated image has been chalked up to civilian and military air activity. If aliens have been sighted, they clearly possess technology far beyond our own and have faster-than-light traveling methods. .

We have no evidence that there is definitely life in space, let alone life that could be infinitely stronger, faster and different from us and the kinds of life we know. We see aliens as weird and creepy, and they may feel the same way. Aliens, if anywhere, have to be somewhere where there is a lot of technology and power. They do have spaceships, so obviously there are living things that know we are here and have the power to come into the gravitational pull of the earth and also leave.

Even then, there could be even more advanced forms of life studying aliens in whatever place they are located. It’s dangerous as well; it’s as if we don’t know where they exist but they know exactly every move we make, what goes on in the world, and they are able to see us without us ever knowing. We rarely catch a glimpse of what we believe is a UFO. It could just be a cloud, a light from somewhere our eyes cannot reach, or maybe our imagination. But now it is getting to a point where sightings are constantly uploaded to the internet, concerning the public.

The fact that people think aliens are fake shows us how low our intelligence really is. We should never overlook the fact there could be other life out there that is hidden from human sight and that we may never discover. We are not advanced enough to discover aliens yet. We have made space devices and technology that can reach our own solar system’s planets, but we have no idea whether alternate universes truly exist or not, and if so, how to reach them. Maybe the aliens we speak of know not to come out of the UFO or give any appearances, and that is why we can only imagine what they look like or fabricate something representative of the concept.

Aliens are still so unknown in their ways and activities. Humans may see what we assume to be a UFO, but no one has completely accurate proof. In my opinion, there has to be life out there that we do not know anything about yet – aliens – and it is only a matter of time until we figure out how they really present as a ‘species.’

News Technology

AI is advancing. FAST

Source: The Daily Star

The picture above was not made by a human. It is not the result of a constructive thought process, but was actually made in seconds, generated by artificial intelligence (AI)

Over the past year, AI has been in the mainstream media because of its rapid, extreme advancement . AI used to be a much more complicated process, but now there are whole apps dedicated to making AI art, like the image pictured above. More recently, people on Tik Tok have used AI to make AI voice-generated impressions of presidential figures, but these have been used for a more comedic tone rather than for harm. This may sound scary to people who are not aware of the capacity of AI. So far it has been harmless, but only time will tell.

Conspiracy theorists have always been throwing out phrases such as “AI is taking over,” but now this seems like a possibility not limited to just conspirators. This new wave of AI generators is young–barely a year old–so there is no way to tell how far it will go in the future. The AI possibilities are endless, because it is supposed to mimic humans and our intelligence.

I talked to some people around McClatchy’s campus about their thoughts about AI. The first person I talked to was Nathen, who said “It’s… cool. It’s good.” Victor had a more pessimistic and humorous outlook on the topic, saying, “We about to end up like I, Robot,” in reference to a movie related to the topic. Anthony had an optimistic type of response: “AI is kinda useless right now, but maybe in the future it will be more significant”. Lastly, Justin simply said, “It’s cool.”

Overall, the students at CKM have diverse opinions on the recent advancements in AI tech, with some feeling optimistic, others scared, and still others unfazed.

News

Alex Murdaugh charged with murder of wife, son

Post author By Ilijah Curtin
Post date March 13, 2023
No Comments on Alex Murdaugh charged with murder of wife, son

South Carolina disbarred lawyer Alex Murdaugh is standing trial, accused of killing his wife and son. As the Murdaugh story developed, several arrests and shocking financial record reveals have led this case to become one of the most closely-watched trials in America.

The bodies of Murdaugh’s wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, were found near some dog kennels at their Islandton home. In his statement to the police, Murdaugh said he left his home around 9 pm to visit his mother, but when he returned, he discovered their bodies. When police arrived on the scene, a distressed Murdaugh told them that his son had been receiving threats related to a boat wreck from years ago.

Months after the murder of Murdaugh’s wife and son, a check was found by an employee in the office of his law firm. Even though the check was addressed to the law firm itself, it was made out to Alex Murdaugh. After the firm conducted an investigation, Murdaugh resigned.

After Murdaugh resigned, he claimed he was shot in the head while changing a flat tire by a driver on the side of the road. It was later revealed that Murdaugh wasn’t alone. Curtis Edward Smith, Murdaugh’s friend, was with him. Murdaugh admitted he asked Smith to shoot him in the head. Murdaugh’s lawyers claimed he wanted it to look like a suicide so that his other son, Buster, could collect life insurance. After apologizing to his family, friends, and colleagues, Murdaugh announced he was entering rehab for his painkiller addiction.

Murdaugh and Smith were both arrested. The charges against Smith include assisted suicide, aggravated assault, and insurance fraud. In September 2021, Murdaugh surrendered himself to the police and was charged with multiple felonies, including insurance fraud and filing a false police report. The prosecutor charged Murdaugh and Smith with conspiracy charges in July 2022 for years of oxycodone money laundering.

The trial for Murdaugh’s murder charges began in January 2023. Murdough’s defense lawyers claimed he could never kill his family because of his lack of time and motive. In response, prosecutors argued Murdaugh killed his family to gain sympathy and avoid finance charges.

Over the course of this trial, many details about the Murdaugh family history have risen to the surface. Their family legacy has kept them together for decades and strengthened over time, and their privileged status has allowed for a large amount of corruption that has, until now, gone unnoticed.

Columns Hispamix

An Insight to the Afro-Latinos Experience

Post author By Samantha Archuleta
Post date March 10, 2023
1 Comment on An Insight to the Afro-Latinos Experience

Afro-Latinos are the luckiest people, but also the most misunderstood and unheard of because they possess a unique identity. An Afro-Latino is an individual from Latin America or of Latin American descent who is also of African ancestry.

There are different types, like Afro-Brazilian, Afro-Mexican, Afro-Cuban and more. Another common term is “Blaxican” which is used to represent someone with a combination of Black and Mexican culture. There are over 35 million Afro-Latinos across Latin America and about 6 million Americans who identify as Afro-Latino.

To be connected and a part of two amazing cultures is awesome. I’m proud to be Mexican and proud to be black. I am thrilled to experience amazing food, music, and art from both sides; it is something indescribable.

My mom, before her tragic passing, was big on black culture and taught me the importance of being black. Like how to be comfortable in my own skin and to be proud.

Although, it can be tough being Afro-Latino, for being too much or too less of something. Because I am very connected with my Mexican side and I am so a part of the Mexican culture, this has resulted in things being said. I’ve been told that I’m not really black, or not at all, because I am also Mexican. I say I can be and am both.

What Afro-Latinos go through that need to be discussed more. Feeling the pressure from one or both sides to be just one or the other, can be stressful at times. Some may choose to be just one or the other, but to solely identify as one or the other is to disregard a part of who you are.

Quiero decirles a las personas quienes me dijeron ‘no puedes ser un negro, si eres un mexicano también’, pero hoy voy a decirles que soy una persona muy feliz y contento con quien soy. Estoy orgulloso de ser un mexicano y feliz de ser parte de una cultura muy linda. Sin ninguna duda tengo lo mejor de dos mundos, porque ser un negro y un mexicano es muy cojonudo y lindo. Si eres un Afro-Latino como yo, entonces siempre deberíamos estar orgullosos de ser Afro-Latino. Hoy, mañana y para siempre, recuerda eso.

I am proud to be who I am and if you’re an Afro-Latino, you should be too.