The Secret Origins of Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School By: Kayla Obregon and Karla Ortega
On September 29, 2020, in a
suggested the name Dr. Bravo
students in the hallways were
Zoom Meeting, the Journalists
because he had many worthy
her favorite memories built in
of Francisco Bravo Medical
known things.
Bravo.
Magnet
School
One of the greatest challenges
Although Dr. Hernandez faced
interviewed Dr. Hernandez, the
Dr. Hernandez had to overcome
challenges along the foundation
creator of Bravo. We got to
was to create a group of people
of Bravo, she created a school
learn
challenges,
that “could serve as resources
that means home to many
motives, and vision for Bravo.
and put together the curriculum,
students and staff. Her strive to
Why was our school named
to begin a high school� she
create
Bravo you may ask? Dr. Julian
stated.
succeeding atmosphere for high
Nava, a board member,
graduational year and talking to
High
about
her
Cherishing
every
a
welcoming
and
school students will continue to subsist.
By: Brandon Martinez
1990 and Counting
October 30, 2020
The year is currently 2020, and with over 30 years since Bravo’s opening back in 1990, the faculty and staff have experienced some drastic changes. However, there is still a remaining staff member that has had the spirit to keep on teaching regardless of the circumstances, ever since the opening of Bravo: Mr. Morgan!
Mr. Morgan Prior to teaching at Bravo, Mr. Morgan
The
school
was a freshman chemistry teacher at
around
the University of California at Santa
contrast to the 1800 students
because
Cruz, and taught various summer
Bravo has accommodated this
dedication
school sessions at Roosevelt High
year. Students were coming
technology advanced and student
School. After applying for an interview
from all over the district; as far
numbers
on May 1990 at Bravo, Mr. Morgan
as the South Bay of Los
withstood many different changes,
was shortly after hired as a Chemistry
Angeles.
range
such as less diversity, more class
teacher. As Mr. Morgan described it,
allowed for diversity in the
offerings, and more representation
the first few years of Bravo were really
students, with the majority
of student action. Nevertheless,
unsteady yet memorable.
being
and
whether the changes were good or
by
bad, Bravo has remained special,
African Americans and Asians.
and has motivated him to continue
1200
This
Armenians,
opened students,
huge
Hispanics followed
with
In Mr. Morgan’s view, what makes
in
Bravo so special is the students
teaching.
their to
persistence
and
learning.
As
increased,
Bravo
has
now known as STAR and EHA. She went from being a student of the program to running the program as the primary liaison between the school and USC. In honor of Bravo’s 30th anniversary Mrs. Ramirez De La Cruz was interviewed on October 15, 2020 for being a past alumni of Bravo and teaching at Bravo years later. While being a student at Bravo she took taxing courses and was part of many clubs. She often stayed really late after school but she despised the late bus because she thought it would take her valuable time to do homework. One of her best memories at Bravo was when she was junior her mom got her a 1980 toyota corolla with 2,000 dollars. It made her life efficient and open doors for great friendships. She was hired as a freshman to work at the LA county Audiology clinic and worked there for 4 years during the summer. She also got 1st in science fair, a tradition she still continues with her students. Talking about tradition she was part of the Biomedical Research Program
Mrs. Ramirez De La Cruz wanted to follow her passion for science by becoming a Life Science and Career Technical Education teacher at Bravo. She recently got selected and currently serving as a USC Department of Public Safety (DPS) Community Advisory Board and a Research Teacher for COVID-19 ARC (Data Archive) Project at the USC Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute. She is also a board member at Bravo Alumni Association Mrs. Ramirez De La Cruz has been an educator for almost 2 decades. She started doing missionary work in Guatemala every summer 6 years ago as a wish from a cancer survivor daughter, and she wants to spend more time doing that after retirement. She is the first in her family to attain a profession.
Bravo Alumni Mrs. Avina By: Gabriela Acosta Carlos Villalba
Lucia Avina ( Mrs. Avina) is part of the Bravos Alumni and works in the Math department teaching Algebra 1 and Stats. Her mother’s experience with her two sons that attended Wilson ended up dropping out of high school which led to the occurrence of Mrs. Avina attending Bravo. She wasn’t a fan of attending Bravo as her homeschool Wilson had her closest friends. She shared some of her experiences as she wasn’t fond of the change. She described herself as timid and shy making it hard to make new friends.
As time went by, she ended up making positive and healthy relationships. One of her best experiences is volunteering at the hospital. One thing she didn’t like about Bravo was there wasn’t a football field, so she would go to Wilson for games. Ms. Avina has always admired Mr. Russell (English teacher), she describes him as one of the best teachers she has had. Mr. Russell's writing technique is something she has carried throughout college and now uses it to teach her children when writing. Now, she describes Bravo as an “over-preparing school “ and made college a lot easier than she had anticipated. One difference she noticed between Bravo then and now is the diversity in students and the different ethnicities that had attended and is now unfortunately less diverse school.
Before teaching at Bravo Mrs. Avina did not know what she had in mind for her future but she had an office job that she was happy with because “it was enough to get by and pay bills.” Even though she had had past experience with being a student teacher, her first year was tough and needed a lot of work because she was young (22 years old). She feared not being able to control a classroom full of high school students and not being taken seriously. In the end, she explained that her first days were surreal and an overall great experience. Due to COVID-19 classes are now online which has taken a different toll on everyone, Mrs. Avina stated she misses the human interaction such as having conversations about school, friends, and talking to past students about life. Teaching is harder now because one is just looking at squares and it can feel like one is talking to nobody but themselves. It’s now harder to build relationships with new students because you have to learn who one is just by their voice instead of their face. In the end, she wishes the best for everyone and to stay safe!
Trump vs. Biden
— By: Onima Khan —
Image by vulture and Getty images
The First Presidential Debate of 2020 By Onima Khan
This is a memorable year for many crucial reasons. One of which is the presidential debates, the first one was held on September 29. In this debate, America’s two presidential candidates faced off about their vision for America’s future. Or at least they were supposed to. This debate will be held in Cleveland, Ohio but was aired on TV and other platforms like Youtube, and publicized all over social media.
They brought up topics that weakened the other’s position. For example, Biden questioned Trump’s actions on dealing with the pandemic. Trump and Biden could both bring up each other’s past dirty laundry , like Trump’s tax records. Trump brought up Biden’s son and his personal matters. This debate was very interesting to watch, and was historical due to Trump’s non stop interruption. There were many memes that followed the debate, especially ones where Biden calls Trump a “clown”.
The debate was aired on television, in news channels like CNN. Other than that, it could also be watched on youtube and other websites online. Highlights from the debate can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.co m/watch?v=EHnqaDZ2 KLk , and some takeaways from the debate can be read at https://www.cnn.com/202 0/09/30/politics/trump-bid en-first-debate-takeaways/ index.html
2020 not only turned our life upside down but it is also affecting this spooky season. In a statewide briefing on COVID-19, California's Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said trick or treating "is really not advised" under the pandemic. According to CDC Considerations for attending an event or gathering, it is important to follow regulation to avoid more spread of the viruses.
● ●
●
●
● The following followed:
should
be ●
Outdoor activities are safer than indoor activities. Check with the event host, organizer, or event venue for updated information about any COVID-19 safety guidelines and if they have steps in place to prevent the spread of the virus. Avoid close contact by staying at least 6 feet apart (about 2 arms’ length) from anyone who is not from your household. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer (with at least 60% alcohol). Avoid contact with anyone who is sick. WEAR A MASK!
October 30, 2020
On October 6, 2020, it was announced that Bravo was going to have it’s first virtual Halloween competition! This competition was exclusively for the Advisory periods, in which students had a chance to create and customize their own Zoom background fit for the Halloween spirit, competing against other Advisory periods for a chance to win a grand prize! Photo by: Simonen on Shutterstock Previously, Bravo would host an annual Halloween door decorating contest for Homeroom periods, giving the students the opportunity to physically decorate their homeroom door for a chance to win great prizes. However, with school closures continuing on from March 2020 throughout October 2020 and resorting to online learning, that is not possible at the moment. Nevertheless, Bravo’s Halloween spirit lives on!
Zoom has an option to set a background, preventing anything behind you from being shown on the screen. Bravo’s Halloween Zoom background competition would put this useful feature into play! Students could create a spooky background with skeletons, pumpkins, ghosts, or bats; with their imagination being the limit!
Only one winner will prevail! What Advisory period would be the winner for Bravo’s first virtual Halloween contest? Only the Halloween spirits can tell!
To comply with School guidelines, students could not include blood, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, culturally or ethnically offensive material in their backgrounds.
Fighting for a Future -Date: October 6, 2020-
-By: Michelle Crisanto and Jazmin Gonzalez-
In order to fight his depression he used his family to motivate him. He also began to build a fence around his home to keep his mind preoccupied.
“I Am a Male Breast Cancer Survivor� On March 2014, Jerry, a male citizen from Blount County Tennessee went to a Dermatologist to inspect a lump on his left nipple. He had no idea that the lump on his breast was cancer or the journey he would go through in order to fight it. Jerry had to go through six different types of chemo treatment and get a full mastectomy afterwards. Chemo was difficult for him since the side effects not only took his hair, but his taste buds and feeling in his fingertips. Like any other cancer patient Jerry felt at loss with himself and felt that the chemo was taking away his identity.
After a year of treatment Jerry was cancer free! From his experience he learned to keep a positive outlook and is happy to bring awareness to both women and men.
Breast Cancer Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among American Women. Breast cancer commonly affects women older than 50. Men are also able to get breast cancer although it's not as common. According to the CDC, in 2017 in the United States, 250,520 new cases of Female Breast Cancer were reported among women, and 42,000 women died of this cancer. Cancer was also reported to be the second leading cause of death in the United States. One out of eight women would develop invasive breast cancer over the course of their lifetime.
Mammograms are a way to detect breast cancer and are usually a requirement for women to take after the age of 50. Women and men could also perform a self examination by laying down and feeling around the breast area for a small lump. People should also share any change to the size of the breast and if there has been any type of discharge to their doctor. According to the American Cancer Society, the death rates for breast cancer among women have declined 40% from 1989 to 2016. Some of the ways to prevent breast cancer are finding out your family's history with breast cancer include limiting alcohol intake, and exercising regularly. To bring awareness to Breast Cancer the whole month of October is dedicated to increase awareness to people and to raise funds for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. We also wear pink ribbons to show solidarity to all of the women and men who currently have breast cancer.
Made in China -Date: October 29, 2020-
Leaked document containing image of Uighur muslims in the Chinese camps in Xinjiang, China; published by the New York Times.
In Xinjiang, China, the Chinese Government is creating detention camps in an effort to suppress the Uighur Muslim minority. This drastic event has been continuously happening for over three years, and only now it has been exposed. According to various inspections and data from Western reports, at least one million Uighurs have been imprisoned since 2017 in more than 85 unidentified camps in Northwest China. Families are being decompartmentalized all for the satisfaction of these Chinese camp officials. What is exactly occurring in these camps?
-By: Fariha Anwar, Onima Khan-
This is not just a problem that can be solved by public authority, this is reality and years of life for innocent Uighur Muslims. Specifically, public authorities in China are enthusiastically encouraging this brutal matter. In an article by “The Guardian,” a Muslim woman named Qelbinur Sidik, explained her experience.
She described how the local officials in Xinjiang forced her to have a sterilization, in order for her not to produce any Muslim children. She was also sexually assaulted and saw many captive Muslims in the camp starve. The Chinese’s goal is to depopulate Muslims by torturing them and forcing them to do wrong deeds that are written in the Quran, the Muslim book, such as drinking alcohol and eating pork.
Muslims were forced to eat food that is strictly forbidden in their religion, and female muslims were forcibly detached from their hijab, which is a head covering for religious purposes. They are doing what society knows as “Ethnic and Religion Cleansing.” There are visible footage showing Muslim men in the camps, blind folded and shaved. When asked in a news conference, Xinjiang officials denied the torturing “rumors'' of Uigher Muslims and instead said that the news was “fabricated.”(The Washington Post). But evidence shows that in 2015 and 2018, Uighur regions of Hotan and Kashgar birth fell by more than 60% (The Guardian). The officials euphemise this as “re-educating,” but instead are creating a Muslim genocide.
Made in China -Date: October 29, 2020-
News about these camps were exposed nationwide one month ago, and are attracting thousands of attention. Throughout social means such as Instagram and TikTok, people are spreading awareness about the situations in Xinjiang, hoping to halt these gruesome experiences once and for all. They are also holding peaceful protests.
This is the picture used in thousands
of
social
media
profiles to spread awareness about
the
Uighur
Muslims
suffering in Xinjiang, China.
-By: Fariha Anwar, Onima Khan-
The picture seen above is not the only way people are spreading awareness about the situation. There are numerous petitions created that donates and petitions for the concentration camps to be diminished. In order to support the ban of these camps, visit https://savetheuighurs.carrd.c o/. The U.N. human rights council held meetings, where many countries signed against China’s governments’ wrongdoing. Many of the information provided here can be found in various places, but here are some articles that are related. https://www.pbs.org/newshou r/features/uighurs/ , https://www.motherjones.com /politics/2019/11/new-york-ti mes-china-leaks-crackdownmuslims-uighurs-xi/ .
Image from BBC News showing the muslim males in the camps in China.
Image from Arab New. Showing Ethnic Uighurs taking part in a protest march asking for the European Union to call upon China to respect human rights in the Chinese Xinjiang region.
Remembering the Notorious RBG — By: Ann Thomas & Karen Aguilar —
Image by Adam Johnson/Harper Collins
Remembering the Notorious RBG By Ann Thomas At the age of 87, former Supreme Court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is notoriously known as RBG, passed away at her home in Washington, D.C., on September 18, 2020, from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer. A woman of many accomplishments RBG was born and bred in Brooklyn, New York. Ginsberg’s mother was an excellent student who had to, unfortunately, drop out of school to put her brother into college had envisioned great feats for her daughter. The loss of her mother right before her high school graduation had become pivotal for her to be able to live a life her mother and women before her couldn’t. At a very early age, Ginsberg was determined to fix gender issues within America.
Earning a scholarship to Cornell University she excelled in her studies and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree first in her class. She ended up then enrolling in Harvard Law and was 1 of the 9 women attending there while being pregnant. She ended up transferring to Columbia Law and graduated top of her class. However, despite passing her courses with flying colors unfortunately being a woman in the 1960s she was not immune to workplace discrimination. Fortunately, she did not let that stop her and ended up researching abroad in Sweden. Immersed in the culture and wrote a book on Swedish Procedure Civil Practices. During the 1970s she led the fight against gender discrimination under the distinguished Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. In this position, she was able to successfully argue 6 landmark cases against the Supreme Court. Furthermore, she was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington D.C., and served there for 13 years. In 1993, she was appointed to be a Supreme Court Justice by Bill Clinton in 1993.
During the time there she wrote powerful dissents and was not hesitant to make her voice heard. RBG was truly an unforgettable, phenomenal force that did not waver in the face of adversity. .
Photograph by Sebastian Kim / August
What is next? By Karen Aguilar President Donald Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett on September 26 to be the next United States Supreme Court Justice. She has worked for the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit since 2017; at the same time, she was teaching at the Notre Dame Law School, where she taught civil procedure and constitutional law. Who is Amy Coney Barrett? Amy Coney Barrett has shown multiple accomplishments and her passion for law. She graduated first in her class from Notre Dame Law School and worked and was also able to go back to the school and teach in 2002.She became a successful and excellent teacher at Notre Dame; she earned the “Distinguished Professor of the Year” three times in a row and was named Professor of Law in 2010.
What are some of her political views? Barrett has proclaimed herself as an originalist, a person who believed that the Constitution must be interpreted based on the framers’ understanding at the time it was ratified. Additionally, she has shown her admiration for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, an originalist as well, due to his strict interpretation of the nation’s Constitution. She supports the strict interpretation of the Constitution and argues that judges do not have the authority to change the meaning of amendments and that any changes must be submitted by the people and Congress through legislation. Many are concerned about her religious views- which has earned her the support of social and religious conservatives- as they believe it will interfere with her partisanship when court ruling.
Image by: Alex Brandon
Image by: David G. Savage ,LA Times
Image by: Jamison Faught
Armenia / Azerbaijan Conflict
Destroyed buildings in a residential area in Ganja, Azerbaijan [DHA via AP]
Decade long Armenia-Azerbaijan dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh can potentially reach beyond the region Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images
Historical Context By Karen Aguilar Armenian, Azerbaijan, and Nagorno-Karabakh were originally part of the Russian Empire which maintained peace in the region as no group disputed over Nagorno-Karabakh. However, when the Russian empire fell in 1918, Armenia and Azerbaijan claimed Nagorno-Karabakh which led to hostility between both nations and small-scale war in 1920. The war was not resolved because, in 1923, Soviet Russia reclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh. Soviet Russia temporarily eased tensions by maintaining Nagorno-Karabakh within the Azerbaijan Soviet state and by granting the territory some political autonomy. Disputes sparked after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991;
Armenia and Azerbaijan became independent nations and both claimed Nagorno-Azerbaijan as their territory. During this time, Nagorno’s population was 80% percent Armenian, hence, when the legislature voted on the proposal to become independent and join the Armenian nation the proposal had high rates of approval. In 1992, full war broke out and when the nation’s agreed on a ceasefire agreement, hundreds of thousands of people had died and millions of people had been displaced from their homes. Since then, tensions between both nations remained yet, it was not until this year that the nations launched attacks against each other.
What is happening now? By Ann Thomas On September 27, 2020, conflict erupted in Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, a mountainous territory holding over 150 thousand people about Delaware’s size. The September conflict has been the most severe escalation since 2016, with hundreds of civilian casualties and has left thousands displaced. Azerbaijan fired artillery on Nagorno-Karabakh, killing eighteen people and injuring over a hundred. Armenia claims the attack was unprovoked while Azerbaijan says it was responding to artillery fire.
Subsequently, Armenia fired back, killing five Azeri. In response, Azerbaijan has declared a state of war on Armenia while Armenia declared martial law. Consequently, they have been endlessly shelling against each other. Past skirmishes have been short-lived, but this one has not only continued but intensified. On October 11th Armenian forces fired Ganja, the second largest Azerbaijan city with over 330,000 residents. Armenia had reported shelling on the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, Stepanakert. Amnesty International also corroborates, saying Azeri’s had been using banned cluster bombs attacking residential areas. Under international humanitarian law, Cluster bombs are more deadly than standard artillery since they leave warzones littered with unexploded munitions that can easily kill civilians even years after the fighting is over. Overall, disputes have escalated and experts hope this can be resolved through diplomacy in the coming days.
The Impact of the War By Karen Aguilar This issue clearly raises concerns for the protection of human rights; innocent civilians on both sides are killed due to the attacks and people are currently displaced from their homes. Furthermore, this issue has resulted in distress from the public and diplomats because of the possible consequences of these aggressions; the recent involvement of other countries like Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan and Russia’s alliance with Armenia can lead to a larger-scale war, to a greater extent, a world war.
Bravo Advisory Survey Quarantine things By: Onima Khan, Maimuna Chowdhury
https://forms.gle/HNZo2M8azmmyLtJA9