Introducing Mr. Medinillia

by Kereion Miller & Carolina Ceballos // Staff Writer

Carson High School welcomed a new Vice principal in October, Mr.Medinilla. He has been with LAUSD school district since 1990. His goals for Carson High School are to keep the school a clean and safe campus. 

Mr. Medinilla stated, “I am most excited about being part of the great Colt Legacy and to help with student achievement.”  

Our staff and students expect a lot from are Vice principal. He thinks his biggest challenge so far is learning the layout of the campus. He decided to come to Carson for the opportunity to work with great students and staff. He already has been close with some of the teachers and students here in our school. 

Angel Luna, a 12th grader at CHS said, “He will definitely do well as an Vice principal because he always get things done and he is really nice and tries to make sure all the teachers have the things they need.”

Aaliyah Trunell, a 12th grader at CHS stated, “I feel that the new vice principal is very intelligent and he seems very nice and cares a lot about the students in Carson High school and I think that he has a great attitude and is very respect to everyone.”

The teachers have had some conversations with Mr. Medinilla and they like how he is taking care of business and helping our students and making sure everything is organized. We expect a lot from Mr. Medinilla and so far he has been doing an amazing job.

Carson High School Stage Design teacher Ms. Kadota stated, “I expect the new vice principal will fit in very well at our school as he has already displayed a sincere and caring demeanor. He has come up with solutions to a few of my concerns, however I think he will bring a certain amount of reassurance to the teachers and will listen to our concerns. 

We should all give our respect and big warm welcoming to our new Vice Principal Mr. Medinilla. He has big plans for Carson high and to help students achieve their goals.

Shutters Down

by Richard Garcia // Staff Writer

After 47 years of entertainment, the Fun Factory, Redondo Beach Pier’s premiere arcade finally closed its doors. Sunday, October 13th was its final day of operation, leaving longtime fans in disbelief.

“It was one of those places that I thought would be there forever” Replied Mr. Farbman, Carson High School’s Onsite Information Technology Specialist. “Even the first time they said they would close it down I was like a little nervous, but then they said they were gonna like, put that off, and I was like ok cool it’s still here.”

The city of Redondo ended up buying out the arcade, a decision costing them $9 million dollars. “I’ve been fighting with the City of Redondo for almost 50 years, and I’m just tired. It’s sort of like — you raise your daughter, she’s leaving home and it comes that time where you just say ‘hey, have fun!’ That’s where I am” replied Steve Shoemaker, owner of the Fun Factory in an interview with Easy Reader News.

Shoemaker spent the last day of the arcade asking anyone to make him an offer, willing to sell everything within the arcade, From the machines to the signs, and even the various prizes left over. He also plans to auction everything left on the 9th and 10th of November.

As of now, the City has no plans for the vacant space, leaving locals and loyal fans to speculate, and to hope that the city will find a suitable replacement for this long loved attraction.

Up and Coming Artist: Phenix G.

by Charisma Mosley // Staff Writer

“GOOOOOOD MORNINGG CARSON COLTS” is the familiar and energetic voice we hear every day to start us off as we dread for 3:10 to come. This voice, to many students on this campus is recognizable because the person behind the intercom is someone who is very approachable, funny, and not only involved in so many activities in Carson High School, but is also the Associated Student Body President, Phenix Gauthier. With Phenix also being apart of our theatre shows, events and other things she’s involved in, you wouldn’t think she could have anything else on her plate, but she has yet to show what she can’t do. Phenix has started, among other things, to mix and create her own music. Many of Phenix’s friends who have heard her music, also thinks that her sense of humor and rhyming makes her music fun to listen to and will give a good impression for people who don’t know her.

CHS senior Nubia Brooks said,”People will like her because she is down to earth, funny, and genuine.”

If you’ve never met Phenix, you could already get a sense of who she is based on what others say about her and seeing or hearing about what she does around campus. 

When asked why might other students like Phenix’s music, CHS senior Brooklyn Jones stated,” It always has like a certain rhyme and it’ll be like rhymes that you wouldn’t think go together but it sounds really good.” 

Rhyming for some might not come as an easy task, as we can see actual rappers can’t even seem to rhyme some of the simplest things together or they reuse material, but Phenix is potentially on a Kendrick Lamar/J Cole skill level. Music is nothing new to Phenix though, she actually started performing in 10th grade for the 2018 graduating class. After that, it just came natural and she began doing it for projects for her classes and the feedback she received kept her going over the years. 

“My future goals for music is really a strong hobby so whatever happens with it happens, I’m just gonna keep doing it regardless, it’s kind of a stress reliever for me so I just hope to make more songs and hopefully people will like em.” stated CHS senior Phenix Gauthier. 

Phenix also has a new song called, “Our Ocean” and a Youtube channel entitled FunWithPhenix, so if ever you want to check out the hype of all this Phenix talk or just want a form of entertainment be sure to look up her channel. 

Music Review: Jesus is King by Kanye

by Khameron Belleza // Staff Writer

Kanye West’s new Christian sound for new album. “Jesus Is King” was released on October 25, 2019, through GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings. His new album follows a Christian theme, with Kanye describing it as “an expression of the gospel”, has his fans are left with mixed emotions. 

Carson High senior Paul Jaime said “ This album wasn’t great at all. This change wasn’t good in my eyes. It only had two or three good songs on it. This album is still going to do good because Kanye has die hard fans. His other albums are better than this one. It’s not like im going to play this in the car.” 

AMA junior Jason Padilla “ The album was trash, I like the old yeezy!”

CHS senior  Julius Aguilo said “ The album is trash! It only had one good song, but I already knew it  was going to be gospel before I listen to it because of the name. To me the album will be good for another audience, not for the people that like his original style.”   

In the months after he announced a recommitment to Christianity, the album is West’s first offering in the wake of Sunday Service, the performance series he’s turned into something of a global church brand. “As West sells it, figuratively and literally, Jesus Is King is a representation  of his past sins, absolution, a blank slate from which to spread the word of a very specific God, one whose blessings rain down on a cul-de-sac in Calabasas and a ranch in Jackson Hole” according to Rolling Stone. Kanye’s old album “The Life Of Pablo” was explicitly an album about faith—and yet the timing is notable.

CHS senior Gabriel Lingatong said “ I feel like its a good change, I’ve been seeing him more happy, once he found his christian self. I guess it’s good because Kanye is happy. I was expecting more of his old rap style, I didn’t know there was going to be so much gospel rap. I like the new transition with the quior, and it was good because it is new. When I listen to the album the quire and the instruments really hits. It’s very chilling to hear, you could feel the emotions and the gospel part. Kanye’s diversity shows he’s a good artist. His album will do good because, its Kanye West.” 

CHS senior Rosie Mandela said “ I think the album is different then the rest of his music, and especially that its a gospel album it’s a cool new fresh different thing for his christian fans and fans who look up to him. It’s a good mixture on getting gospel music into the industry. I feel like there is a lot more hate because its Kanye you don’t expect him to preach about God’, about church is cool, and about being at church on sunday. People are expecting something weird or like typical Kanye. When he brought it back to something really humbling like church, it was just a shock. Listening to Kanye you can tell he doesn’t have a specific sound and if you don’t have like the type of ear to where your able to take in all his diversity in his music Kanye isn’t the artist for you. Your not going to get the same type of music over and over from Kanye. As a gospel album I think it is really good. Honestly people need to get it out of there head of being like rap and gospel can’t mix and open their ears to the versatility, then the album should do just as great as I expect.”

According to Billboard “Kanye West’s new Jesus Is King album is heading for a No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 chart, according to industry forecasters. Those in the know suggest the set, which was released on Oct. 25 via G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam Recordings, may launch atop the list with perhaps between 230,000 and 260,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 31.” With the mixed feelings and hate Kanye has been receiving, the album has hit number 1 on billboards.The album also topped Billboard’s Christian albums and gospel albums charts, marking West’s first appearances on those rankings.

Fairness or Luck

by Klarice Sakamoto // Staff Writer

The homecoming court. It’s an annual tradition for students to elect both their homecoming king and queen. This year Carson High School Associated Student Body decided to do things differently.

Instead of students getting to vote for their ideal homecoming king and queen, it was raffle. Each campus had their own individual homecoming court, Academies of Empowerment and Education, the Academy of Medical Arts, and CHS.

“We did it differently this year… We let each school determine how they would like to choose their court to represent their school and at the end we decided that we would do just a raffle to see who is the queen of all queens and the king of all kings. Something a little different.The overall king and queen was just a drawing,” states CHS Leadership Teacher Ms. Vernon.

AEE and AMA held an actual election where students got to choose the homecoming court while CHS raffled their winners. After each campus’ homecoming court was decided CHS Asb also raffled off the Carson Complex king and queen, which was announced at the homecoming game. Was this the fairest route to take?

“It was decided to hold the election as a raffle to avoid unnecessary drama. I don’t think it was fair, it took away some elements of excitement and defeated the purpose of the competition aspect of running for homecoming as well,” said CHS senior Serah Niupulusu.

CHS senior Zonaye Tupuola said, “I’m not sure why they raffled off the homecoming king and queen. I heard something like they don’t want it to be a popularity contest but that’s just what it is. Whoever gets the most votes should win because that is the only fair way.”

Academies of Empowerment and Education senior Makoa Tuisaloo agreed with Tupuola, “It wasn’t fair at all in my opinion to raffle off the homecoming winners. A raffle is pure luck, basically defeats the whole purpose of an election in my opinion. If they were going to run it this way they should’ve let all the candidates know ahead of time because I know my school (AEE) and AMA held a voting poll.”

At the homecoming game they didn’t announce that the winners were raffled. If CHS was going to raffle off the winners wouldn’t it be considerate to the other candidates to announce that the winners were picked rather than voted for?

Tuisaloo also stated, “If they were going to raffle it they should’ve at least made that clear to the crowd at the homecoming game. Everyone assumes they got the most votes but that isn’t the case because it was raffled.”

Delicious but Deadly

by Christine Veloira // Staff Writer

Relatively speaking, Americans have been known to suffer from obesity, diabetes, and other health issues. However, this comes as no surprise being that many obtain their food from undesirable fast food restaurants. It is not an unknown fact that a large majority of fast food chains use unhealthy products and ingredients, causing foods to have an overly high percentage of fat, calories, and sodium levels eventually leading to elevated cholesterol and blood pressure much above the appropriate levels. 

Even America’s most popular such as McDonald’s and Dominos, are terribly unhealthy and bad when ingested regularly. Despite its favorable taste, these foods cause undesirable health effects, even if eaten gradually over time. Most fast food restaurants care solely about revenue and not their consumer’s health. 

With excessive fat percentages comes an increase in possible heart disease and obesity. Whereas 20-30% fat is considerably acceptable, a vast range of fast food chains have percentages of 36% and usually much higher. Sodium levels are also considerably high at 300-2000mg of sodium per meal, causing a rise in blood pressure, risk of hypertension, strokes, and even Alzheimer’s. These restaurants may also contain an excessive number of calories, generally ranging from 900-1200 per meal, and promote the consumption of processed, refined carbohydrates.

 The end result? Obesity and weight gain come along with it. Increasingly, the use of these carbohydrates, such as white bread, french fries, and donuts, which are low in fiber, promote the heightening of blood sugars, pre-diabetes, and eventually Type-2 diabetes. 

Food is essential to life, but regularly eating these unhealthy foods contributes to a pushing many nearer to death. At what cost will Americans neglect the inevitable consequences of these inexpensive but unhealthy fast food restaurants and all for its favorable taste? Obesity, heart attacks, strokes, and Alzheimer’s disease – until when will America allow delicious food to eventually turn deadly and decrease their quality of life? Is the price of a fat, greasy burger worth more than a lifetime of memories with a healthy body? If so, then perhaps Americans are doomed of the evil health problems these fast food restaurants come with.

#CSUNJDAY

by Kyndall Beamon // Staff Writer

For Carson High School Journalism students, yet another year has passed which meant a new chance to enjoy the 2019 Journalism Day! Journalism day was held at Cal State University Northridge and it was a great opportunity and learning experience. CHS Journalism Students got to attend workshops for various genres in writing. Such as News, OpEd, Social Media, Features, and Sports! The students got to write an article in their genre and compete in a Write-Off competition with other schools!

Former Carson High School student Tatiana Jackson had this to say on CSUN J-Day,“Journalism Day is a day where Journalists come together to support one another and exercise our first amendment right. It’s where we can network and perfect our craft. As a Carson High Graduate, Former High School Insider Intern and a Current Cal State Northridge Student I feel an obligation to go and make sure the event goes as smoothly as possible.” It’s good to see that a former CHS alumni was able to attend for support.

L.A times High School Insider worker Molly Heber mentioned the benefits of 2019 CSUN- Jday. “Students can attend workshops with L.A Times Journalists who are experts in the field and in turn students can bring advice back to their classrooms…and use it to become better Journalists themselves.” As we can see, Journalism Day was certainly a great learning opportunity for students! They took advantage of it.

At the end of CSUN J-Day 2019 Write-Off competition, CHS senior Jonathan Maduike was awarded an Honorable Mention for his article in the Sports genre!Congrats Jonathan! Hopefully next year will be another great experience at Journalism Day for any new Journalism students.

HBD Marine Corps!

by Maria Barrozo // Staff Writer

The MCJROTC program in Carson high school celebrated the 244th Marine Corps birthday while having a cultural diverse potluck and cut cake ceremony at the MPR on November 8th 2019 

The Marine Corps was founded on November 10th 1775 in Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as the Continental Congress ordered two battalions of Marines to serve during the Revolutionary War. Since then, the Marine Corps has been serving with Naval tides and it’s one of the most elite serves in the world.

This event takes place at the MPR with all the cadets in the program but however not only does the cadets celebrate it, also the instructors celebrate with them.

 “[I] Celebrate the Marine Corps birthday with the cadets because they are a part of the Marine Corps family (at least for the time being) so they get to enjoy a little piece of what real Marines participate in every year at this time of year,”said Master Sergeant Yankowy.

Why is it important to celebrate the Marine Corps? I ask to cadets and they said, 

“[It is] cuz you where you come from- you remember where everyone comes from, you remember the origin, you remember the place where it all started. You know, you become more thankful for that if haven’t happened” said George Rudametkin, 12th grader and CHS

“It’s important to celebrate the Marine Corps birthday because it is the beginning of the military defense and recognise everyone who serve and everyone who was apart of the Marines” said Kiolo Ventura, 12th grader and CHS. 

Rudametkin CHS and Ventura CHS are also CO [Commanding officer] and XO [Executive officer] for this year 2019-20 year.

“Favorite part was the food and dancing,” said Princess Reano, 9th grader and CHS.

“I enjoyed the energy of everyone there and how we were all just family at the moment. I also enjoyed seeing everyone just let loose on the dance floor and have a good time” said Jeric Olan, 10th grader, CHS.

“My favorite part was the dancing and hanging out with my friends,” said Claudia Guevara , 9th grader, CHS.

The Marines should be appreciated for their work in serving their country, for their honor, courage and commitment but also willing to fight for our country. Happy 244th birthday and thank you for your service Marines, OORAH!!! 

Carson Athletics Hall of Fame

by Blake Fabre// Photography Editor

On Saturday, November 16th the Carson Colt Alumni Association (CCAA) held the inaugural Carson Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony. In the first class of this new event, they inducted six Carson High alumni: Wally Rank, Wesley Walker, George Markulis, Mike Wilson, Dr. Ralph Mann and Coach Gene Vollnogle.

The ceremony was streamed on Facebook Live and hosted by Beto Duran, a working columnist for ESPN, and former Carson Colt. The inductees were all honored for their achievements at and in their career after Carson High. Coach Gene Vollnogle, who the football stadium is named after, was the first football Coach in the school’s history. Vollnogle began at Banning High School, but once Carson High was built in 1963 he decided to coach there. Gene Vollnogle passed in September of 2012 and was represented by his daughter Terry at the event. He was the only inductee not in attendance. 

Wally Rank, a former highschool basketball star went on to play for the, at the time, San Gabriel Clippers.

 Rank expressed his gratitude and appreciation for the event by stating, “It’s nice. It just shows how your peers recognize the things you did in the past.”

Dr. Ralph Mann ran track at Carson High for three years. He was a Marine League, city and state champion. After his high school career ended, he went on to run at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Mann received the silver medal in the 400 meter hurdles event.

George Markulis, was honored for his versatility within the athletic department at Carson High. Markulis played basketball, baseball, football and ran for the track team. It’s astounding just how much he did in his packed four years.

“I’ve had so much support and so many people in this community. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the tremendous coaches, the faculty, the school that gave me the foundation to do extraordinary things in my life.” exclaimed Markulis.

Wesley Walker was honored for his football career in high school which extended to him becoming a wide receiver for the New York Jets from 1977-1989.  During his speech, he thanked Coach Vollnogle for his leadership and bragged how under Coach Gene, he never lost a game throughout his four years, making Carson High, a football juggernaut. 

The final inductee that was honored was Mike Wilson, a former Carson football player who went on to play as a wide receiver for the 49ers between 1981 and 1990. During his time with the 49ers, Wilson was apart of winning four Super Bowl titles. Mike Wilson has made four appearances at Carson High’s Varsity football games along with talks with team. Currently, he is the wide receiving coach for the LA Wildcats, a new, local XFL football team that has partnered with the Colts.

The ceremony was extremely well-received by all in attendance and especially the inductees. The Hall of Fame Committee of the Carson Colts Alumni Association spoke about how the process for this event to happen was long and trying, but they believe it came out perfect. There had been talking about starting a Carson Athletic Hall of Fame since 2007, but this year it finally came to fruition. CCAA showed off a large plaque featuring the inductees names, that they plan to permanently display on one of the pillars between the C and G buildings, underneath the raised walkway. They also sold pins at the event so the attendees would forever remember the historic event.

XFL Partnership

by Blake Fabre // Photography Editor

In Fall 2019, Carson High School announced it’s football team’s  partnership with the LA Wildcats XFL Team. On Tuesday, October 22nd, at 4pm, the campus staff held a ceremony celebrating the partnership between the LA Wildcats and Carson Complex sports. The free student-attended rally was advertised as a way to spread colt love and excitement throughout the Carson Complex. The rally featured many student athletes and LAUSD administrators who helped to honor and wish good luck to the hopeful student athletes.Previous to the rally, the student athletes and Marching Blue Thunder band members were gifted with LA Wildcats shirts from the XFL.

But, what is the XFL? The XFL is a football league of its own. Although similar to the well-known NFL, the two leagues have some key differences. It follows the same basic rule structure regarding the physical game, barring a few changes as a result of the founder Vince McMahon’s efforts to differentiate the two leagues. The changes are said to be quite liberal, concerning things such as changing the coin toss portion of the game into a “scramble” situation where one player from each team would race to take possession of the ball,  fully allowing post-touchdown celebrations with no penalties and letting players have nicknames on the back of their jerseys. These nicknames were intended to become a given player’s staple, like a WWE wrestler would have. McMahon is also the executor of the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.).

 The LA Wildcats are one of the eight XFL teams in the league and are conveniently playing all home games in the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. Some students worry that the city might get a little more crowded, but still share their excitement for this professional team playing in their city. 

Carson High School senior Tyler Rivas, who is the starting center on CHS’s varsity football team, explained, “I’m really excited that the team [ the LA Wildcats] will be playing in Carson.” 

He elaborated by saying that the XFL has also offered free tickets to the home games at Dignity Health Sports Park  to the entirity of the Carson High football team. 

“I’m planning on going to a lot of the games when the time comes,” said Rivas.

Although the festivities were held at Carson High School’s Gene Vollnogle Field, the entire District is celebrating the partnership. This partnership entails the extension of the League Professional’s knowledge and training. They are offering a coaching program, entitled “Coaches Coaching Coaches” where coaches can speak with each other about strategies, experiences, accomplishments and football philosophies. Professionals are also teaching field clinics many useful techniques and fundamentals and offering that same training to many Beyond The Bell programs. 

Carson Complex students and staff along with the rest of LAUSD are thrilled about everything the XFL partnership is offering. The many opportunities including professionally led workshops and awesome free t-shirts are leaving the school population buzzing with excitement for the LA Wildcats and Carson Colt love.

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