On
Wednesday, Feb. 12, Pueblo’s CCLC Program hosted a voter registration drive in
order for young voters to participate in Arizona’s Presidential Preference
Election next month; the deadline to register for the March 17 election is next
Tuesday, Feb. 18.
Economics
teacher and CCLC Coordinator/sponsor Mary Wallace said, “We partnered with folks
who were familiar with the voting process to help us with the drive, including
Mi Familia Vota and the League of Women Voters.”
In
order for Pueblo students to register for the general election in November,
they must be a U.S. citizen, be 18 by November 3 and have no felonies. Warriors
who missed this opportunity to register will have another opportunity to
register to vote in another drive in September.
“It’s
important to bring a form of identification to register,” Wallace said.
Many
Warriors volunteered to make today’s voter registration drive a success.
“I
partnered with [credit recovery teacher] Ms. Christina Benitez,” Wallace said,
“and without her wonderful help, the process of making the voting drive a
reality would have been difficult.”
Benitez
said, “We feel a sense of accomplishment in being able to generate an interest
in the political process of voting. Our Pueblo students seemed very happy and pumped
to have the opportunity to participate in the upcoming presidential election.”
Both
Wallace and Benitez hope that this enthusiasm continues with our young voters,
and she encourages our students to inspire their parents to vote,
too—especially in the general election (Tuesday, Nov. 3).
La Familia Vota: Victor Preciado, Shania Shelby, Samantha Torres & Selina Ramirez.
Ms.
Selina Ramirez, the leader of Mi Familia Vota and a fervid member of the group
for the past four years, was present at Pueblo’s voter registration drive,
along with three other members of MFV: Mr. Victor Preciado, Shania Shelby and
Samantha Torres.
“We
[Mi Familia Vota] really want young people to vote,” Torres said. “The youngest
age group of voters is and has historically been the least active on election
days. We want to change that statistic. We especially want to appeal to
Hispanics, who have the lowest voter participation among all ethnicities.”
Mi
Familia Vota visits Pueblo sometimes as often as twice a month, and the group
has already registered many students who will be 18 by November. The number of
registering students has dwindled a bit due to the high number of students who
have already registered.
“Still—every
new registered voter means a great deal to us and the political process,”
Torres said.
She
added that she and her co-workers try to reach as many prospective Latino
voters to participate—even going door-to-door to educate and inform others to
vote.
“We welcome any Pueblo students who are 16 or older to help us spread the word,” Torres said. “Students can earn $15 per hour, up to five hours per day, by joining our group.”
If interested, get in touch with a local Mi Familia Vota office at: mifamiliavota.org.
He may have been sore the next day, but Class of 2020 senior Joel Bustamante finished the TMC/A-Mountain Half-Marathon race on Sunday, Oct. 28, in just one hour, 36 minutes, which is excellent time considering that the first place time was one hour, 06 minutes.
Bustamante
said that Hiking Club sponsor Mr. Ernesto Somoza motivated him to participate
in this event by giving him a coupon to participate in this event.
“I’ve
always wanted to run a complete marathon,” Bustamante said, “but maybe I should
stick to half-marathons until I have completed enough conditioning.”
To run 13
miles (a half-marathon) is a challenge for anybody, but Bustamante said that
the beginning of a lengthy race is the most challenging.
“Your legs
feel great pain until they become numb,” he said. “After about seven miles, I
couldn’t feel my legs, and I felt that ‘runner’s high’ which is actually an
endorphin high.”
Bustamante
said that he is fervid member of the Hiking Club and was an avid member of the
Cross Country team last year, which gave him more confidence with running.
“I always
encourage my friends to exercise, in general,” he added. “Exercising is healthy
for everybody, and I guess I just want all of my friends to stay or to get
healthier.”
He paused
and added, “This half-marathon is just the beginning for me. Some day I want to
participate in the Boston Marathon.”
On Friday, Sept .28, Pueblo’s homecoming was punctuated by a tailgate party, organized by our own student council members.
Ms. Sarah Sutton, who is beginning her first year as student council teacher/advisor, started the year off to organizing this huge event.
Sutton said, “Everything at Homecoming went well for being my first year of being a part of student council.” She added that she was very impressed by the huge numbers of alumni who showed up for this event.
Many clubs participated in the tailgating event, which is a grand opportunity for clubs to raise money for their clubs.
Sutton said, “There were about 20 clubs selling, and student government gets five percent of what the clubs earn because of the effort and costs of putting up posters and preparing for events like this.”
Despite a very successful tailgating night, student council admitted that they faced some difficulties in preparing for this event.
Vice President Class of 2022 Angelina Cecil said, “There was miscommunication, and clubs were not setting-up in their correct location. But in the end, everything worked out.”
Angella Armenta, secretary for the Class of 2022, has a few suggestions that can help improve Pueblo’s next events.
Armenta said, “Clubs can definitely learn how to be more organized. Better communication is needed and a better way to handle the tickets needs to be discussed for next year.”
Still, Sutton feels that Tailgating 2018 was a very successful event. “We’ll all be better off next year.”
Warriors Defeat ‘The Undefeated’ By Adamaris Castillo and Jessica Prado-Rascon
What better way to kick off the fall weather for the Warriors then to blowout the Douglas Bulldogs, after a very disappointing 1-4 losing streak! The 2018 Homecoming game was a perfect day for the Warriors to show the world what they’re actually made of.
After losing a few consecutive games, the Warriors practiced diligently to ensure that they had a dramatic and triumphant comeback on the field at this year’s homecoming game.
…With a win of 47-0, our Warriors made this homecoming one for the books!
Running back and linebacker Omar Ibanez (#34) said, “I felt like I stepped up. In fact, we all stepped up as a team to play for each other rather than playing for ourselves. I also felt that everybody on the team brought all of our strengths together to complete the goal we had set for this game.”
Senior Flavio Gonzalez (#77), defensive end, said, “The game against Douglas really united the team and got the stamina rolling for us. I think that this game actually helped us build the chemistry that we needed to sustain us through the rest of the season.”
Robert (“Bobby”) Jackson (#1), a senior and a wide receiver, said, “I felt like this game really brought the team closer to being a real team—a whole team. During the homecoming game, we truly showed our true colors—and they were some bright ones!”
According to Head Coach Brandon Sanders, “Defeating an undefeated team was a definite wake-up call for the players. Their ‘inner Warrior’ awakened!”
He added, “The homecoming game was a solid win for us—definitely winning at the right time. The team truly showed the world what we Warriors can do.”
Sam Lopez & Arlie Kontic crowned King & Queen
Royalty: Some Traditions Never Die By Candy Rodriguez and Alyssa Soza
The traditional crowning of royalty during homecoming’s halftime definitely brought great anticipation and excitement to the Pueblo community. At last, our Warriors finally got to see who they chose for king and queen; this year, seniors King Sam Lopez and Queen Arlie Kontic were named Pueblo’s royalty.
“I was a little surprised that my peers voted for me,” Queen Arlie Kontic said. “All week long, I was a little nervous. I wondered how I would act if I won, and when I did, I actually didn’t make a fool of myself.” She paused and added, “Being homecoming queen was the cherry on top of a really great day. The next day was my birthday.”
King Sam Lopez said, “I was genuinely surprised that I was voted king, and I was even rooting for the other nominees [Chuck and Lulu],” Lopez said. “I felt that my peers really respect me and appreciate me. I am very humbled to accept my peers’ votes to be their homecoming king.”
Seniors Chuck Hindley and Lulu Pereira were honored to have been nominees, as were Alex Cocio and Renee Olvera.
“I was honored to have been nominated for queen,” Pereira said. “Two ‘L’s make a ‘dove’.” She explained that she and Chuck Hindley were prom prince and princess nominees, and we were nominated—but lost—this year.
“I still feel lucky to have been nominated,” Pereira said. “What a great honor, and I couldn’t be happier for Sam and Arlie for being our king and queen this year.”
Dance On Saturday? by Jacquelyn Gutierrez
For the first time in recent memory, Pueblo High School held their homecoming dance the day after the actual football game, on Saturday, Sept. 29 inside the South Gym. Actually, this dance almost didn’t happen, but members in the Student Council take the initiative to proceed with homecoming dance plans.
For the 2018-19 school year, Pueblo High School’s student government decided to host prom a day after the football game because many wanted a more formal look to the homecoming dance. In past years, students attended homecoming dance directly after the game—usually in jeans and sweatshirts.
Ms. Sarah Sutton, the new student government sponsor, said, “I am extremely proud of how the junior class held this whole thing [homecoming dance] together. Overall, it seemed like everyone had their fun [at the dance], which is the whole point.” Junior class treasurer, Damon Carrasco said, “Homecoming dance gave students a lot more time to prepare, compared to past years when the dance was immediately after the game.” She paused and added, “I really believe that Saturday worked out great, and I hope that we continue to hosting the homecoming dance the day after the football game.”
Although, the dance was not on a traditional Friday, there was a large turnout of over 100 students with an unexpected appearance of a live band, PELT, kicking off the night.
Senior Marina Rivera said, “I loved the band at the beginning. The music was great and gave a great feel to just kick back for a bit,” Rivera said, “I just thought the DJ should have played more of a variety of music, that’s the only thing I didn’t like.”
Along with the crowd, there was a German presence at his very first homecoming dance.
“I loved it. In Germany we don’t have events like this, so it was so nice to have been able to experience something like this,” Said Sophomore foreign exchange student Johannes Grundler
Overall, the crowd was pleased with the great job that the junior class did in hosting the Homecoming dance this year.
Yamaika Romano & Abigail Sotelo at Women’s March 2017 in Tucson, AZ.
On Saturday, January 21, 2017 several Pueblo Magnet High School students and faculty participated in the Women’s March, which began at Armory Park and ended at Joel D. Valdez Library Park.
There were several purposes of the Women’s March, including for marchers to advocate for equal rights of women, to end racial profiling and to voice opposition towards President Trump, who had just been inaugurated the day before. There were also protests related to pro-choice and birth control.
Participant and Pueblo High School teacher Dr. Raul Gonzalez said, “This march was an opportunity for everyone to express themselves and to stand up for those groups and individuals who are under attack. I hope we don’t miss more chances to actually do something about the injustices in the world.”
Men and women of all ages and of all races let their voices be heard. They used their power of communication to stand in solidarity with the many groups that have been under attack—such as women themselves, the LGBTQ community and minorities.
Pueblo High School teacher Ms. Victoria Bodanyi also committed to being a part of the march. She said, “Marching was straight up goosebumps the whole time I marched. I felt I was a part of something bigger, and it felt good to stand up and speak out.”
Marching inspired several of Pueblo’s students to express themselves—to voice their frustrations and opinions.
Junior and participant Yamaika Romano Robles said, “The march made me feel stronger about the future. There’s always hope.”
Another junior, Abigail Sotelo, said, “During the march, I felt empowered by my own fortitude and my own convictions. I mattered—my voice really mattered. I feel as if Donald Trump has nothing on me and nothing on America.” She paused and added, “Trump does not represent me, at all.”
On Monday, Jan. 16, 2017, the Tucson Community joined hearts as they commemorated the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a march that began at the University of Arizona Bio Tech Park (on Kino Parkway) and ending at Reid Park. Among the marchers included several Pueblo students and staff members.
Despite temperatures in the very cool 40’s and 50’s and occasional rain, thousands of Tucsonans endured the three miles of the march.
Vanessa Mendez (Left) and Corina Ballesteros (Right) pose with a picture with Congressman Raul Grijalva.
One participant, Pueblo senior Corina Ballesteros, said that she has always been impassioned by King’s life—as well as his legacy.
“King would have loved what we all did on the march,” Ballesteros said. “His life still continues to resonate all of the original qualities that made him such an icon—for all people. He will always symbolize unity and peace, and that is something that we should never lose sight of, especially in our splintered country.”
Another Warrior student, senior Vanessa Mendez, said that this was her first time marching for anybody.
“I was very surprised how many people were involved in this [MLK] march,” Mendez said. “I felt empowered marching because of the vibrant environment.”
She paused and said, “There are still people out there who believe that King does not merit a holiday,” Mendez said. “I recently learned that Arizona was the last state to approve the King holiday back in the 1980s. However, King definitely deserves to be recognized. Next year, this event will be especially moving because it will mark the 50th Anniversary of King’s death. I am already committed to marching—and bringing along a lot of my friends with me.”
Not all was docile during the march. Many of the participants voiced their concerns regarding several issues including: police brutality; the “Jobs for Justice” movement; and racial profiling. Many of the marchers also protested against President-elect Trump, five days prior to his inauguration.
Food was available at the end of the march, and the marchers enjoyed the live jazz musicians.
The sun broke away from the clouds…
Ballesteros said, “President Obama’s farewell speech was playing at the park. I think that a lot of us were already missing Obama—even though he was still officially the president when the march occurred—especially considering what president we’ll have next…”
Mendez said, “Through this march, I learned that I have a civic duty to perform—as an American. I believe in the democratic process, and I wholeheartedly believe in the First Amendment, which is my right to express my voice, peaceably.” She paused and said, “I think King would be proud of all of us today.”
Both students were photographed with Congressman Raul Grijalva at the end of the march, at Reid Park.
October 27 was Pueblo Pride Day, a time when our Warriors and other volunteers met after school in the cafeteria at 3:30 p.m., and for an hour, they cleaned and better our Pueblo community.
Volunteers participating in Pueblo Pride Clean-Up Day
This event, which was started by the Science Club (sponsored by Dr. Lolita Levine) was bigger and better this year. CCLC provided snacks and water for participants who worked hard to beautify our campus.
Students and volunteers performed duties such as weeding the garden, picking up trash and painting the red drive way curve.
“Everybody is smiling, and that’s the best part,” Levine said. “It’s nice to see teachers and students working side by side.”
Students were separated into different groups in the cafeteria, which will each be led by their own leaders for different sections at school.
Ms. Elizabeth Raizk hauling off some brush.
One of the group leaders is Ms. Elizabeth Raizk, one of Pueblo’s science teachers, and she was in charge of the garden group.
“This is how we show our Pueblo community that we are doing more things [community service] to make Pueblo a better place,” Raizk said. “Pueblo gets cleaner, and it shows our community how great we are. This event is a win-win scenario.”
“I really want to emphasize our school and nourish our soul,” Levine said. “This is not just a school—it is our home.”
